Different Take

All ye bemused by the brilliance of the largest selling Spanish writer of this moment, I have something different to say. True, the wisdom that drips through his narrative puts his works a cut above others. There are millions impressed by him and out there are many more to relish the same experience. There are even some who claim his books have helped them regenerate themselves, that they have found new meanings of life after reading it. Apparently one can’t go against these views, more so on the western front for its legacy of a life that’s economical on opportunities to look beyond daily chores.

In the Indian Subcontinent, however, to the dismay of many, the vision can hardly be considered unique. Mahabharata and Bhagavad-Gita discussed the aspects of destiny in a much wider canvas. I don’t know much about the literary works in other Indian languages; but in Bengali, many cases can be cited that excel in interpreting the predestinarian nature of life Parthiba by Shirshendu Mukherjee being a prominent one.

West is good at executing concepts and making the most of them. We Indians can’t help being on the other side. We believe in putting no bars in consumption of wisdom or enjoying its goodness. Hence, Jagadish Chandra Basu didn’t try to patent radio waves paving the way for an Italian to do it. Steven Spielberg supposedly traced the concept of E.T. from a draft script by Satyajit Ray while the later kept searching for a producer for filming it. The Mughal Empire needed a Dalrymple to unearth its elegance dumbed down by the British. Matrix-3 paid tribute to Gita by laying an audio track on its end-scroll chanting the famous hymns: Tamaso ma Jyotirgamaya/ Asado ma These are but modern day examples, past can show you even more.

And after all this, imagine how you feel when a thoroughbred Desi reader turns up in exultation that s/he have found a new meaning of life in Coelho’s work.

Any comments?