ஸீரோ டிகிரி -சாரு நிவேதிதா (Zero Degree - Charu Nivedita)

After reading two of Charu Nivedita's book, I can firmly say that this book is bit better than the last. But the story did not touch me, like a passing cloud story went passed me without any impact on me. A non linear and lippogrammatic novel  - the author should be appreciated for this effort.

But does these effort makes sense in context of the story, I have no idea.  First , this novel is  not one story book,may be collection of many stories with same central theme connecting all or all story can read independently without affecting the flow of the others. There is no structure,The author explores lust, sexual behaviours, human wants, aberrant sexual practices, violence against women, phone sex, mythology ,numerology and also expose our cultures veils.

As lyricist Vaali said "Charu writes brutal truth" , this novel is an example for it. But I can sense that the author tries to insert sex in all things a man do, again I'm not sure about this idea. Eroticism and Vulgarity are the two important pillars of this novel. This book also consists of poems, letters and essays. In fourth chapter page 28-30, there is a multiple choice questions for readers to answers, quite interesting .

The writing is plain and easy to understand and sometimes incomplete. I read somewhere that Charu used six styles of Tamil in this book.I think the author is not trying to tell a story, he just wants to break the shackles of so called "taboo" topics.As in all Charu's book there are lots of references to different books and writers - Kathy Acker,Cortazar,Kafka,Katherine Mansfield and  Oulipo writers etc.

While reading I felt irritated ,boring, shocked and surprised - a roller-coaster emotional journey. This is definitely not a easy read , not for the ones who avoid sexual content.  I took considerable time to read and reread . I still can not say whether I liked this novel or not. As someone said somewhere 'whether you like it or not one can not ignore Charu' it's true.

The first line in the book :

'அகதி முகாம்கள் உட்பட இன்று உலகளாவி பரந்து கிடக்கிறது தமிழ் சமூகம். அதற்கும், ஒட்டுமொத்த மனித குலத்துக்கும் அளிக்கப்பட்ட கொடையே ஸீரோ டிகிரி.'

I don't know what to say.

Then there is

தமிழில் நாவல்களில் ஏன் உலகத் தரத்தில் எழுதப்படவில்லை .
பட்டாக்கத்தி வாலுறையில் பென்சில் சீவும் பேனாக் கத்தியைப் போட்டுக்கொண்டிருப்பவர்களால் எப்படி வாள் சண்டை போட முடியும்.

This is the one thing I don't like at all from Charu, he just bounce on those who don't like his writings.

Nothing wrong in reading this book. Read at least to know the novel format ,very different. Read and decide yourself!

After typing the above, I went out to eat lunch, there was an Old man standing near the bookstall I have see him many times, most of the time talking about some writers or books .By coincidence he was talking about Charu. He said  "I read the interview(I don't know which interview) of Charu, in Nagarajan, Ku Pa and some olden days writers writings there was truth in it but I doubt the truth in Charu's writing.!!" . I don't know much about G.Nagarajan or Ku.Pa but definitely we can not ignore Charu.

Messi - Luca Caioli

Normally I won't read biographies of living/playing sportsmen but I gave myself exception for reading biographies of two great athletes of my generation - Lionel Messi and Usain Bolt. If anyone asks whom do you like more ? My reply will be "Messi".

I came to know Messi only when he received his first Ballon d'or .One my school friend is a big Barcelona fan, I was curious why he supports Barcelona than any English clubs. He replied "you just watch one Barca game, then you will know". I did watch the whole match Barca playing against Real Madrid. Wow! I was amazed by the passing style -tika-taka of that Barcelona team, as if each player was connected to others telepathically .The crown jewel of Barcelona team was Messi.

The author had full access to Messi and his family but I think he did not bring out much from them. The author explains how Messi and his family sacrificed many things to support Messi.  At the young age of 13 Messi left his home town Rosario , Argentina to Barcelona  to join La Masia - Barca's training facilities.The book details the problem Messi faced during his junior years at Barcelona and how he gradually got into the senior team.

Many people asked me and still asking "who is best Messi or Ronaldo?", I will always answer -on the pitch both , but off the pitch Messi. I love Ronaldo's run and Messi's dribbling(twist and turn). I will never compare them, they both are unique talent of our time.

Another footballer's biography I wanted to read is Andrea Pirlo, the Italian magician.

This book is for the ones who is not following Messi but for Messi's fans like me its not providing any unknown information about him.

Click here for one of the best article about Messi 

Another great article about Messi

Time interview

வெக்கை - பூமணி (Vekkai-Poomani)

Another great book from the great Poomani. One stunning aspect of this novel is the way author explains the places where father and son pair hides. A detailed description of farmland, mountains, lake, their food and customs of the villages is simply superb. The author holds the hand of the reader and takes them to these wonderful places. The book also gives feeling of watching a good documentary.For that itself one can read this book.

The story starts with a revenge murder. Chidambaram's aim was to chop Vadakkooran's hand but end up with killing him. Chidambaram and his father escapes from police and waiting for suitable time to surrender in the court. The story looks very simple but how well the author uses this hiding plot to tell the story of marginalized and their lives controlled by rich people and government. Though story takes place only eight days, through flashback the author tells three generations of Chidambaram's family.The killing  of Vadakkooran is cumulative anger of those generations.

Throughout the story. except police, no one questions Chidambaram and saying any bad thing about his action of killing a man. In fact they are all appreciative of him and give support and protect him,though Chidambaram is ready to accept the crime . The village people believes that what Chidambaram did was correct, in fact any one them would have done that. They do what they really believes correct. They also understands that police will not helps in handling the issues with Vadakkooran.

The author depicts Vadakkooran as a power hungry wealthy man, who wants to take Chidambaram and his family's land. Theirs is the only land left for Vadakkooran to buy. The way author reveals the characteristics of Vadakkooran is interesting - first he cheated farmers and use their land for ginning factory and later shoot and kills one of the protester(not really protester he just came as bullock cart driver) and using his money and power escapes from justice . The author also highlights how those who in power helps people like Vadakkooran. Throughout the story there is a thin line of anger towards Vadakkooran.

Another highlight of this novel is the way author portrays the village people specially Chidambaram's family. A loving parents,an adorable sister and ever loving aunt and uncle and supportive village people make this novel a great one. The co-operation among these working and farming village people is something missing in today's villages.

The theme and the questions arose in this novel is relevant today even after 30 plus years. The writing style is very fluid one can not put down the book easily. Like in his  novel "Piragu" , the author uses conversational language throughout the book which makes the reader hooked and understand the characters point of view, in this way the reader can visualize his own point along with the characters point simultaneously .The author is not trying to side with anyone, he just leads the reader.

A must read and I'm looking forward to read this wonderful authors another book 'Anggadi'.

பசித்த மானிடம் - கரிச்சான் குஞ்சு

This is the perfect title for the book. The book talks about human's hunger for everything mainly physical satisfaction, respect and power. The author beautifully brings the culture and the lives of ordinary people in kaveri area between 1920's to 1950's.

There are two main characters whose lives meet at many points. The common aspect of their lives - lust. But we can easily identify how these two lives their life exact opposite to each other. Ganeshan fails in material world and moves to spiritual world  but Kitta grows in material world but fails in spirituality.

I doubted the story line a bit since the story takes place in 1940's before Indian independence. Specially , the same sex  portrayal . The relationship between Singamuthu and Ganeshan,  - first time I read some thing like this in Tamil novel. Another relationship between the female doctor and Ganeshan, whom doctor uses like a gigolo.Another unbelievable thing is that Ganeshan and Kitta both are from conventional Brahmin family . But that was the master stroke by the author for breaking the taboo topic.

The author had created variety of characters. Sama, brother of kitta, who is living his life roaming around and ends up dying with treasure given to family. Sankari, the friend of Balamba, who treats everyone the same way(I liked this character).The author very cleverly uses the character of the policeman 'Pasupathy' to show how people believe in 'godmen'. But in this case ,the author also uses this character to explain the spirituality and way of good life. The blind Sundari inspires leper Ganeshan' by her belief and hope. Does portraying the main character as leper means punishment for his sins?

In the last part of the story, Ganeshan lives in a five house street and they respect him and searches him when he leaves them . I wondered why the author used number five and while reading I thought of five senses and how author uses the number to explain how Ganeshan came out of it. I searched anyone had same thought as mine, I found Mr.Rajanayagam too had same as mine.

The story moves very fast as if the author wanted to finish it as soon as possible but one can still enjoy the story. Though the story looks cinematic at times, specially Ganeshan's as he gets introduced to new characters one after the another but author make sure that each character speaks for itself.The writers like Jeyamohan and S Ramakrishnan put this novel in their top Tamil novels list.

Definitely one the classics of Tamil literature. And a great read!

How Soccer Explains The World by Franklin Foer

I searched in Google for some good books about Football and its history. Many people pointed out "The ball is round by David Goldblatt" and some other books. But when I saw this title "How Soccer Explains The World " I was curious and bought the book immediately. I started reading it immediately and was really happy that I read this wonderful book.

“Soccer isn't the same as Bach or Buddhism. But it is often more deeply felt than religion, and just as much a part of the community's fabric, a repository of traditions.” 

The author explains how the globalization and football works in different countries. The author very clearly explains that the globalization did not end tribal fighting or created equal space for everyone to progress. On the other hand it created even more unbalanced world with poorer people are getting marginalized. He explore the failure of globalization.

“Indeed, this is an important characteristic of the globalization debate: the tendency toward glorifying all things indigenous even when they deserve to be left in the past.” 

The author put much effort to understand why English fans reacting in a manner they are and their rationale behind supporting particular team. He visited many stadiums around the world to get to know the details .In each chapter the visits different countries and meets different people and gets details of different issues.

"As the Protestants celebrate a goal, they're egged on by the team captain, a long-haired Italian called Lorenzo Amoruso, who has the look of a 1980s male model. Flailing his arms, he urges them to sing their anti-Catholic songs louder. The irony is obvious: Amoruso is a Catholic. For that matter, so are most of the Rangers players. Since the late nineties, Rangers routinely field nearly as many Catholics as Celtic. Their players come from Georgia, Argentina, Germany, Sweden, Portugal and Holland, because money can buy no better ones. Championships mean more than religious purity."

The author clearly indicates how sport has been deeply entwined with politics and cultures of the countries. In the chapter "How Soccer Explains The Sentimental Hooligan", the author talks about Chelsea Headhunter Alan 'Garrison' (not his real name). Alan's story was very interesting but I doubt it veracity. I also not sure about the author's claim of 'more than 100 killed' in English hooligans during 80's. In another chapter "How Soccer Explains The Pornography Of Sects", the author explains the relationship between Celtic and Ranger fans(Catholics and Protestants). He visits to the ground with both supporters and try to understand their relationship with the clubs. The author points out that the clubs are the benefactors from the fans sectarianism.


 *The above graphics is taken from " http://prezi.com/n9t2kepublhq/how-soccer-explains-the-world/# " . Thanks to creator.

The authors loves Barcelona football club as it is owned by the fans. He like the way the club works. He also tells the story of Barcelona football club and how the team and the stadium became the place for the people of Catalonia to vent their anger .

I should say that this book is a must read for those who interested to know about football culture and impacts on societies.

எல்லா நாளும் கார்த்திகை - பவா செல்லதுரை

One of the few books I wanted to read for a long time. I love Bavachelladurai's short stories , read most of his stories at his blog. I was very excited when received this book and started reading immediately. In this book the author talks about his friends in different fields.

In this book Bava writes about his relationship with 24 of his friends. Most of the people on that list I knew so I was able to relate many events .The very first chapter which talks about the authors relationship with Balumahendra is interesting specially about the first scene of "Mundrampirai". The episode of author Zacharia's drinking habit and how his family makes wine for christmas every year too was interesting.Another interesting character in this book is Photographer Kris Fallon ( not able to find him in Google). The chapters about Mamooty and Naseer ,S.Ramakrishanan and Konagi are fine example of how good the author let others be themselves in his home.

After reading this book one question raises "Are we celebrating our friends and friendships?" . I think we should before its too late.In the foreword Ayyanar writes:

"“பவாவின் எழுத்தை விமர்சகச் சட்டத்திற்குள் வைத்துக் கூறு போட்டு இது இந்தவகை என நிறுவுவதில் எனக்கு விருப்பமில்லை. தேசங்களற்ற நாடோடியின் பாடல் எந்த ராகத்தில் இருந்தால்தான் என்ன? என்ன மொழியில் இருந்தால்தான் என்ன? அந்தக் குரலின் வசீகரம் அல்லவா நம்மை அடித்துப் போடுகிறது! அந்தக் குரலின் எளிமையல்லவா நம்மை அசைத்துப் பார்க்கிறது! அடிவயிற்றிலிருந்து பீறிட்டெழும் அந்த சாரீரமல்லவா நம்மைக் கரைய வைக்கிறது! பவாவின் எழுத்து அத்தகையதுதான். பவாவின் எழுத்தை நாடோடியின் பாடலுக்கு நிகராகத்தான் பார்க்கிறேன்.” "

I too felt the same.

Some of the chapters here