The book tells us about the Parsi people, who they are, and how they came to live in India, migration of few of them to Singapore. It shares stories about famous Parsis in Singapore and describes different Parsi families living in Singapore and Malaysia.
The book shows how the adopted to Indian culture but still keep up their own tradition.
One of the panels in Zoroastrian museum highlighted this – “In numbers Parsis are beneath contempt, but in contribution, beyond compare!” – M.K. Gandhi. Similarly, within the small society of Singapore, tiny population of Parsis has interesting stories to tell us. Framroz and Pheonix aerated water factory story is something which most of them would be aware. I need to write about it one day.
This coffee-table book explains Parsi culture, how they are involved in the journey of Singapore, and their delicious food in detail.
My first boss used to say, every village will have a story to tell us. Similarly every family has a story to tell either their family or to the society. But the time and money involved in documenting such tales is enormous. From that perspective, the author’s work is commendable.
Is there anything worse in this world than being rejected and neglected?
Plot
This Tamil novel tells the story of Devaraj, a man who faces challenges because he can’t hear well. Life throws many obstacles his way: sometimes it’s his own insecurities, sometimes it’s bad luck, and sometimes it’s just the way things turn out. A rude teacher at school forces him to quit, and a trip to a sign language school exposes him to the darker side of people. Everywhere he goes, he seems to return home empty-handed or feeling guilty. Back at home, he faces the disappointment of his angry father and frustrated mother. But his friend Ramasubbu stays by his side, encouraging him and helping him find a new path. The story follows Devaraj until he’s 47, leaving the reader wondering if he’ll ever find his place in the world and settle down with a wife.
Compelling Narrative
The interesting thing about this book isn’t just the story, but how it portrays different characters. Each chapter focuses on a different person, or even a few people! “Sumitra” by Kalpatta Narayanan narrates the story in similar approach too. So what makes this style of storytelling so engaging? It’s because we get to see human relationship, behaviour unfold through these characters, some of whom are listed here.
Devaraj’s mother
Ramasubbu, Devaraj’s childhood friend
Devaraj’s father
Razak sir, Devaraj’s rude teacher at school
Kanthi akka
Sreenivasan, the communist leader during emergency period
Daniel, The supervisor of the Sign school
Naomy, Maid of the Sign school
Rajamani, A Gandhian and the proprietor of Gandhi Vilas hotel
Man Udaiyar, Devaraj’s Grandfather at Timmalapuram
Vairavan Chettiar, Timmalapuram and his 2nd wife BhuvanSri from Penang
Sudharsanam sir and teacher
Thambaiyah from Vandipettai
Veppankulam Reddiar
Sangunni Pandaram
Perumal Nayakar and Manga
Gopal ayyar, owner of Gopalar Canteen at Vandipettai
Kesava Reddy, commission broker at Vandipettai
Joseph, printer training batch mate at Tuticorin
Grace Ammal, oldie at Sangu Thurai, native of above said Joseph.
Savari Muthu, the rationalist
Joslyn, Devraj’s first lover
The Sri Lankan refugees
The unnamed lady at Madurai town bus
Saveetha, coworker at Khadi shop at Ooty
Dr Balaiya, Mrs Balaiya, son Prabu, maid Subbamma
Pulenthiran, the passerby during new year
Valli Aachi and Meena Aachi from Chettinad
Guna, the assistant boy at Kaashi
Hemavathy, the spirit at Kaashi
Sadhu Siddhalingam
Devaraj’s brother and sister-in-law
Chakarapani, the scammer at Meenatchi Chit fund
Sivasu, the late married man
It feels almost like reading a collection of blog posts, each one revealing a different perspective on the story.
Emotional Depth
Many of us get discouraged when we keep failing. We try our best, but come home empty-handed or feeling ashamed. Ideally, eventually one of those attempts pays off, and things take off. But what if that breakthrough never comes? The constant disappointment can drain your energy and make it hard to keep trying. It’s like being trapped in a cycle of negativity, and it’s tough to break free. Very few stays energized and continue their hunt. Nimitham delves into profound such human emotions.
I liked all the chapters, to name a few, –
There’s a particularly interesting chapter titled “கனவுகளும் வளர்கின்றன / Kaṉavukaḷum vaḷarkiṉṟaṉa” (which literally translates to “Dreams Grow”). It dives into Devaraj’s nightmare. It brings out a gambler who gambles against himself. This reminded me of a similar concept in “Venmurasu” by Jeyamohan, where characters like Draupadi or Yudhisthira gamble against themselves. I’ve even tried it myself, but it never seems to work out! Gambling against yourself requires a unique skillset. But it is a strong metaphor. It fits into the narrative of Devaraj’s life gambling against himself. It’s a very thought-provoking chapter!
There’s another great chapter called “The World of Vandipettai” (வண்டிப்பேட்டை எனும் உலகம் / Vaṇṭippēṭṭai eṉum ulakam), which focuses on the bustling Vandipettai cotton market. It introduces us to a bunch of fascinating characters, like ‘well maintainer’ Thambaiya, ‘Penang’ BhuvanSri, ‘Efficient housewife’ Manga, ‘Gopallar canteen’ Gopal Ayyar, and ‘Commission Broker’ Kesava Reddy. The author makes a great point: every place has its own story, whether it’s the village you grew up in, the temple you visit, or even the tree where you used to play. And when someone tells the story of a place, it leaves a lasting impression on you. This chapter does exactly that – it captures the rise and fall of the Vandipettai market, along with the stories of the people who made it what it was. It’s a truly captivating read.
The novel explores Devaraj’s relationships with women throughout his life. We see this theme play out in Naomi, Joslyn, Vanarani and RangaNayagi – relationships filled with hope, and a brief encounter with an unnamed lady in Madurai. The stark contrast between experiences with Naomi and the Madurai lady leaves a lasting impression on the reader. It’s interesting to see how Devaraj, despite facing limitations in his life, might subconsciously expect certain qualities from his partners. However, it’s important to remember that limitations shouldn’t dictate expectations. Just because someone faces challenges doesn’t mean they can’t have desires, and general human nature plays a role. This point is tragically mirrored by a real-world incident: a worker, enraged by a woman refusing service due to his race, ended up taking her life. This horrifying event reminds us that limitations shouldn’t justify prejudice.
Conclusion
What truly elevates Nimittam is its exploration of human relationships. The way the story unfolds through different characters, allows us to experience a rich tapestry of connection, rejection, and hope. Overall, it’s a deeply satisfying read that leaves a lasting impression.
Five on the treasure island by Enid Blyton is an engaging and delightful adventure story for kids. It takes over the reader from page 1 (in which many children or even adult books fail). It is packed with excitement all the way till the end. That makes this novel a perfect read for young readers of 7 – 12 years of age group. Do you dare to ask me why I am reading this?? it was published in 1942 and I were not born at that time 🙂 But great stories never get old!
Julian, Dick and Anne visit their cousin George (Her name is Georgina, but she likes to be called as George!, Hey! she is much tougher, huh!) for summer holidays. She can be a bit grumpy sometimes. But Julian behaves in a matured manner and pave way for a better friendship.
George takes them (along with her dog Tim) to explore Kirrin Island, belongs to her mother and a shipwreck nearby. When a big storm hits, the shipwreck actually washes ashore. That’s when things get really, really interesting. Kids encounter with mysterious clues, traps, strangers etc on a treasure hunt.
No need to mention, this story is so engaging, similar The Secret Seven | Enid Blyton. It sugarcoats the thriller with friendship and bravery for kids. It has a compelling message for adults on parenting too. This book is like a roller coaster ride! Every page throws you into a new adventure, making you want to race to see what happens next. There are no super-confusing words, so you can keep up with the action easily.
The renowned English children’s author, Enid Mary Blyton (1897 – 1968), had a fascinating background behind her highly successful series of books. According to Wiki, her first story was published in 1947, which was followed by several other successful books. Her works were a global sensation and she even held the 4th place as the most translated author – an incredible feat!
I suggest this to my children and I would recommend it for your children to read too.
In Tamil Nadu, the widespread news of drug addiction among children is diminishing the trust in our society. Let our children continue their addiction towards story, not narcotics. Have a nice weekend. Happy Weekend.
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I’m participating in the #TBRChallenge 2024 by Blogchatter
A book should absorb a reader in its first 20%, imo. If it doesn’t, better to keep it aside without any regret. After all we are a human being, we are not bound to read all that were published.
But can a book swallow a reader in its first page itself and swirl him into the fantasy world cooked by the author? Can. If you suspect, read this novel.
Yoko Ogawa’s “The Housekeeper and the Professor” (2006) – the story is about a Professor, a mathematician who can remember his new memories for only 80 minutes. His long term memories were stuck with 1970s due to a road accident.
House keepers could not work for him. So they are keep on changing. Finally the narrator, another house keeper, reaches the house of the Professor. The housekeeper understands that the whole world is mathematics for him.
One day, he understands that she got a 10-year-old son. He insists that she should not keep her son waiting home alone until late at night every day. He become furious and tells the housekeeper to bring her son come to his home directly from school from the next day. The Professor nicknames him “Root”, that resembles his flat hair style. From then on, the story revolves between 4 persons – The professor, the narrator, her son and professor’s sister-in-law.
The story starts here in a quiet tone. there is no great adventure or dramatic twists. It just flew as the stream find its own way. Numbers connects every scene in this novel. Number fascinates the professor. It resonates the housekeeper and her son too. She starts going behind numbers and starts weaving her own aura of numbers around her.
Author make the reader to visualize the numbers, as if someone starts weaving from a faraway horizon, like a lace, which spread through the universe in its pattern and colours. Each mathematicians try to emit their own rays into those endless lace. There is a mention about invention of Indian mathematician Aryabhata. The way of connecting the Greek math and Indian math, to emphasize how 0 influenced the way of doing mathematics, is nicely written.
I liked many places in this novel, notably –
when the professor pick a stick and scribbled Artin’s conjecture on the dirt of park on their way from barber shop
when he stared at helper’s hand during cooking or making dumplings. I used to sit and watch my mother while cutting vegetables or stirring sambar 🙂 Is that a perfection? Or the rhythm? what makes that interesting
last but not least – The way the Professor ends the confrontation of his sister-in-law with the housekeeper by leaving a note with Euler’s identity formula touch the reader deeply. While the mathematical connection remains a mystery, it speaks volumes about the value he places on their relationship.
It was such an elegant language, without bombarding with words, the story line mesmerizes the user.
My recommendation: Recommended.
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Reco by: ReadingnationSg to celebrate Sakura / cherry blossoms of Japan.
I’m participating in the #TBRChallenge 2024 by Blogchatter
Manreet Someshwar’s Lahore (2021), the first book in her Partition Trilogy, is a historical fiction novel that take the readers into the traumatic period of India’s partition and the subsequent independence.
The novel unfolds through two parallel narratives – the historic events that includes Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Mountbatten – Edwina couple and their daughter Pammi in one track, and a story of Laur / Lahore which portrays Sepoy Malik, his undiminishing love with Kishan Singh’s daughter, his evergreen friendship with Beliram.
The fiction tries to show the blood dripping scenes of the partition and its aftermaths. It describes the bloody clash in one chapter and portrays the neatly dressed Mountbatten and Edwina in other chapters, which helped to show the contrast of interests of divide-and-rule policy of the west.
The reader could realize the effort of the author’s research to bring out this fiction. But we need to honest while writing about it. Author tries to balance the history and fiction, but it made me to think as if it was skewed more towards the non-fiction part. Coming from the non-fiction part, almost everyone has known already. So, half of the book is about something which we knew already (except a few)?
In other way, the non-fiction part took the fullest energy of the author, which reduced her attention on the fiction part.
The narration has many Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi words, which frequent shifts readers – unfamiliar with those languages – often and make their reading challenging initially. But author would have assumed that the reader will adjust, as they added nativity to the story. I did. But will I continue to do in the next book of this trilogy, I don’t know!
Overall, I’m neutral about this.
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I’m participating in the #TBRChallenge 2024 by Blogchatter
Rajambal (1908), a vintage Tamil detective novel, offers readers an intriguing plot with a social commentary interweaved with the sharp mind of an investigator Govindan.
Rajambal was daughter of a rich man Swaminatha Sastri. Kanakavalli, her stepmother, wanted Rajambal to marry her brother Natesan. As Swaminatha Sastri did not agree, she tricked to fix the marriage with fake astroloers. But Rajambal loved Gopalan. As an additional pressure, old magistrate Neelameka Sastri wanted to marry Rajambal too. With his influence in Police and society, he tried his best to threaten the family to make them to agree to the marriage proposal.
Meanwhile, Rajambal went missing. Later she was found murdered. Police point their fingers at Gopalan for the criminal act and remanded him. Tenacious ‘Triplicane detective‘ Govindan gets involved to solve the riddle.
It is a gripping commercial novel. No doubt about that. But it becomes important as it exposes scathing attitude of the upper-class bureaucrats who flip-flop the life of a common man using their influence to attain what they want.
The story was written in scene-by-scene and fast-paced, which is suitable for stage-drama or movie. Avvai TK Shanmugam staged this drama multiple times and paid royalty to JR Rangaraju. It was later released as a movie, which was a debut movie for Actor RS Manohar.
J.R Rangaraju created his detective characters Thiruvallikeni Thuppariyum Govindan (Govindan, the detective from Triplicane) and Savukkadi Chandrakantha (Chandrakantha who whips). His novels had the messages of social reform, including swadeshi movement. His novels were reprinted many times. Later, he was convicted for plagiarism in his novel Varadharajan. I wonder about an English writer who knew about J.R Rangaraju and his novel and file a case against him. Most unlikely. Writer Jeyamohan perceives like this.
Whatever the quality of these novels, they portray the corruption of the British rule and the ideas of Swadeshi. That may have caused the British to be unhappy. It is true that the British government suppressed their writing citing copyright issues.
