A few days back, I sat in a contemplative mood recounting the books I’ve read in the past few months. The books include -- Idris – The Keeper of the Light by Anita Nair, Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif, Urnabhih – A Mauryan Tale of Espionage, Adventure and Seduction by Sumedha Ojha, The Translator by Leila Aboulela, and In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.

Only when I put down this list in this fashion, did it occur to me that I’ve been reading women writers that too from developing countries. There is something in these stories that attracts me – for one, they are not the standard stories that emerge from the West. I think I’ve had enough of those. There is just so much one can explore and experience (so what if it is in the form of books?) It’s like taking a journey to these places, getting glimpses of the subtle nuances of their cultures, gaining insights into their languages, noting the place of women in these societies, and even exploring the question of their identity and how they seek a place for themselves in the world.

One novel moves from Somalia to the Malabar coast and thence to Ceylon and then finds its way back to the mainland in Toothukudi (Tuticorin) and on to the diamond mines of Golkonda. Set in the 1600’s, this enriching novel recreates the time and the places with such authenticity, one feels history textbooks and classrooms could be transformed. The level of detail and the recounting of ordinary moments are extraordinary. The book leaves you with lasting impressions. This is Anita Nair’s Idris – The Keeper of the Light.

Another novel moves from Britain to Egypt – set in the past and the present, it weaves a story of overcoming loss and finding love. The story is revealed through a series of letters discovered by a close family member of the main characters – a grieving English lady trying to overcome a personal loss and a staunch Egyptian nationalist. The underlying themes of British imperialism, the fierce nationalism of the Egyptians, and the continuing turmoil of the Middle East are skillfully interwoven in the story and perhaps, what stands out is the grace one is capable of in the face of adversity. This is Ahdaf Soueif’s The Map of Love. Ahdaf Soueif is Egyptian, as you may have guessed.

In my next post, I will cover the books Urnabhih – A Mauryan Tale of Espionage, Adventure and Seduction by Sumedha Ojha and The Translator by Leila Aboulela. The book, In the Time of the Butterflies deserves an exclusive post – you will see why when you come to it. And I hope to do justice in my review of this truly inspirational book that is based on a true story.

Urmilla invited me to a round of Words With Friends, and I found it quite addictive. The little yellow letters make cheerful, bouncy sounds when they move around. It’s fun to try different combinations of letters to see which words scores the most. Words With Friends is the app version of that good ol’ mind bender known as Scrabble. However, I think that the analog version of Scrabble, with its little square letters (lovely wooden ones if you have an old set), is more challenging, and here’s why.
 
Playing in real time. Your opponent/s sat with you, and you had to make sensible words in a limited time frame. With the app, you can take upto several days to decide what word you want to play.
 
Applying your own mental dictionary. While playing Scrabble, you had to have a good dictionary in your head, and you needed to know what words really qualified as words. If you were sharp, you could catch your opponent trying to pass off ‘xo’ as a word. Now, the app tells you if a word is acceptable or not.
 
Doing your own Math. When we played Scrabble, we had to mentally calculate the total number of points we would score. The app does it automatically now. So numerically challenged folks like me are getting even rustier at mental math.
 
Still, Words With Friends lets you play all the time, with friends on other continents. And you suddenly discover the very valuable role of vowels, and how often Q is followed by U. And wonder of wonders, you actually begin to realize that the game is as much about strategy as it is about words. 

I continue a few thoughts here from my last post where I talked about how my generation moved from handwriting to typewriting to the world of word processors and beyond.

I can’t help but think it ironic that in the time when we wrote letters and some of us perhaps wrote diaries, there really was so much to write. And we actually wrote! I’m not sure how things run in schools and colleges these days, but being from the Humanities stream, I remember writing reference notes for hours sitting in the college library. I do not remember what exactly I wrote in those 3-hour long exams – but I know my answer sheet booklet was full. Now, I doubt I can write one paragraph without making a mistake. What’s worse, I’m sure I will miss the keyboard after I’ve jotted the first sentence.  

I did not spend much time in the typewriting phase – just that bit that was necessary to write (type) for the typewriting exam. I went on to build my career in technical writing. That involves a whole lot of word processors and other content writing and content management software. But that I do for a living. My letter writing has died down completely. The last diary I maintained was perhaps 15 years back. I’m still in touch with friends and family the world over, but that communication too has graduated from snail mail, to email, to IM (Instant Messaging), to poking, to messaging on WhatsApp.

Isn’t it strange that we have tools that help us write quickly, easily and more accurately (thanks to Spell check and Grammar check) but our abilities to actually write have diminished significantly? We rely on all sorts of short forms and emoticons. Right from GM, LOL, FYI, BRB, and BFN to a host of emoticons, we seem to be challenged when it comes to expressing ourselves using words, sentences, paragraphs. Those absolutely adorable emoticons/emojis are so handy, why not use them and appear peppy? Appear young and happening?

It took us thousands of years to develop a language and write and express in it, write remarkable prose and poetry in it, and now all we can do is send grins and smileys? Are we moving at a rapid pace towards the Stone Age? Is this what is meant when people say that all things are cyclical? I mean what’s the difference between a Stone Age drawing in a cave and our emoticons (except that ours are on smart phones and other devices)? It does not seem very smart to me to be losing track and sense of language like this.

BRB with a new post soon. BFN :)