SHORT TAKES
Tryst with truth
Reviewed by Randeep Wadehra

What is man? Selected writings of Madhava Ashish
Penguin.
Pages xiii+304. Rs 350.

UnDERSTANDING ‘man’ is to understand one’s self, which requires a great amount of effort and discipline. While the individual and the universe form a united whole, yet, seeking the truth remains a personal effort, says Madhava Ashish – who was born in an aristocratic Scottish family as Alexander Phipps. He came to India in 1942 and stayed on. He met the Hindu saint Ramana Maharshi which set him off on a lifelong spiritual quest. Initiated into a Krishna sect, he joined the ashram of Sri Krishna Prem – originally an Englishman named Ronald Nixon, who had great affinity for Indians and had broken all taboos extant in colonial India to become a Vaishnava monk. Nixon had joined Lucknow University as a Reader of English, where he became close friends with the vice-chancellor Dr Chakravarti and his wife, whose spiritual influence impacted his decision to join the Krishna sect.

Madhava points out that a person’s trek into the unknown is like passing through a trackless jungle, i.e one has to find one’s way to the truth on his own, "We hear of a path, even of many paths that lead to the same goal. Yet no one who has blazed a trail through the jungle of his mind and has thereby left a trail in ours. We cannot follow in his footsteps. No one but ourselves has ever trodden or can ever tread our private jungles. Beyond the jungle, they say, there lies a mystery. But the mists that shroud it are not dispersed for us when they melt before another seeker’s gaze."

This book is, on the one hand, a fascinating tale of Madhava’s spiritual evolution and, on the other hand, it provides us with glimpses of life in an ashram at Mirtola near Almora.

Life as I See
by Joginder Singh.
Diamond.
Pages 207. Rs 95.

And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,

And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot;

And thereby hangs a tale.

— As You Like It, II:7, William Shakespeare

Joginder Singh, a former CBI Director, is known for his self-improvement books. In this collection, the author presents different facets of life. In the article, On Celebrities, he observes that while one has to work hard to achieve the celebrity status there are many who inherit it from their parents. Some of the details given by him are not at all flattering to people belonging to this class. There are other pieces like Glimpses of Babu’s Paradise, Flirting with borrowed glory, Do not mess up, Being role models and many others wherein the bitter-sweet and sour facets have been portrayed in a humorous and, sometimes, sardonic vein.

S.H.A.W.
by C. M. Nimbalkar.
Frog Books.
Pages 147. Rs 195.

Decoding the acronym-as-title of the book should be easy for those familiar with our Armed Forces, especially the Army. It stands for the Safety, Honour and Welfare of your country, which comes first always and every time. However, this novella is about more than patriotism. Although its overall setting is an Army cantonment, its story opens in the picturesque Munnar with an extra-marital sex scene. The narrative has been premised on a "situation" that is really not credible in these days of test-tube babies and medically assisted pregnancies. Just because the husband is sterile, it does not mean that his wife has to sleep with another man – even if that man is her ex-lover — for begetting a child. There are other options – honourable as well as stress-free. Later on, the husband is abducted by terrorists and the lover – a Colonel in the army – gets into the rescue act.

Bollywoodian kitsch? Touché!

HOME