On picking up hindi after nine years...

... I discovered why I had dropped it in the first place. I really like the language, but absolutely hate the subject.

In school, I would have been one of those nerdy and quiet, 'straight-As' type of students, were it not for my consistent Cs and Ds in Hindi. Instead, I remained a nerdy and quiet type of student without ever achieving the redeeming quality of 'straight-As'.


My problems with the subject were never-ending and the largest of these was my spelling. I was losing close to 20 marks out of a 100 mark paper on spellings alone. But spellings in Hindi are easy. The word is spelled exactly as it is said. Unlike English or French. However... those damn vowels! Choti 'u' ki matra, choti 'e' ki matra... it all sounds like badi 'u' and badi 'e' ki matra to me!! (Quick translation: there are two ways of writing each vowel depending on whether there is a small emphasis on its sound in a word or a large emphasis on the sound but it never sounds like a small emphasis to me).

This also applies to consonants which are halved if there is only a slight sound of that alphabet. Some words like उत्तर (uttar or north) have one and a half of the same consonant! (Agreed. The example used is a very simple word.) Sometimes, there seems to be more than one way of writing a particular sound. The whole thing just came across as being very dodgy to me.

Second problem: Vocabulary. Unfortunately, as one taught in English-medium schools, growing up in South Bombay, with both parents speaking Hin-glish at home as they are used to using English thanks to their jobs, I didn't have much contact with the language. I'm not too interested in Hindi cinema either and at that time, didn't read Hindi books. As a result, I didn't pick up too much on the vocabulary or on muhavare (phrases?).

Third Issue: Handwriting. OK its not as though my handwriting in English is particularly famous for its neatness. But it is legible most of the time. Forget about another person reading it, even I can't decipher my handwriting in Hindi.

In ninth grade, when I came upon the rare chance to choose between Hindi, Sanskrit (the scholarly language of the ancients and mother of Hindi today) and French, I dropped all efforts at improving my knowledge of the mother-tongue and defected to a language of the Europeans and the UN.

Come full circle to today and if I clear the exams I gave in May, I find myself facing a Hindi challenge in December. As I discovered yesterday when I started relearning the subject, I don't even recall what seven or eight of the alphabets look like! And get quite confused between many of the others.This not something to be proud of. Am squaring myself to start  with the basics: writing down the varnmala (alphabet) five times. I can still read it somewhat comfortably though and obviously speak it fluently, if in simple words.

Thus now, to the subject that was once the bane of my existence, I say:





Current Mood: Confident, optimistic

Must be STRONG..

...by which I'm referring to not caving in to my unyielding love for BL (especially yaoi) manga. I discovered this awesome world about a year ago and have since then, with great effort of will, managed to cut down on my yaoi time to just a few hours a day. It was officially a problem because I was reading it whenever I was on my own... i.e. when I was supposed to be studying. Or attending classes. Or sleeping. Or eating. Or reading something else.

(Is it going too far if I liken my situation to that of Chief Hokutos...??)

However, there is no way I can regret falling in love with the genre. Buried within the giant mountain of BL literature - novels and manga, there are some truly amazing and touching stories. And it is such a pleasure to realize, while I'm reading a story, that it one of those gems. .

The me from 2 years ago scorned most romance for being 'pink fluff' that makes you gag. I think that 21 year-old Rimjhim would be angry with Rimjhim today -- a complete convert.

A massive thank you to mangakas and their publishers for creating such amazing work and to all scanlators for their efforts in bringing it to the rest of the world. I wish the manga market would pick up in India so I could buy them. It is far too expensive for an unemployed-law-graduate-preparing-for-various-exams to order them from abroad. Idle hopes of learning the languages are crushed as soon as I look at the vast syllabus for my exams later this year, but perhaps I'll get the chance to change this someday.

A note of caution though: Reading BL has given me an entirely new perspective on the male of our species. There are times when I'm looking at a person but only seeing the butt or thinking, "This guy is totally an uke." or "Imagine the two of them together." And so on...

*Sigh* As Haru puts it... Mom, Dad, I've become...

I need to get me one of these!

Confessions of an Eternal Procrastinator and Incurable Optimist

A month out of university and with the Exam scheduled for May 26, 2013 not looking too hot, I am finally forced to admit that I have a serious problem: Procrastination.

This is something I have been in denial about for about 7 years now, owing to the fact that I generally do reasonably well (not great) even with last-minute effort. Doesn't look like that will be the end result now. Immediate lessons learnt: (i) The UPSC requires more than a month of study (which everyone but me probably already knows) and (ii) is a risk not to be undertaken without a back-up job.

Nevertheless, one must not lose hope. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. If not this year, next year. A month out of college is no reason to lose hope with regard to the issue of the-all-important-source-of-income.

I have to wonder though: Does the combination of procrastinator and optimist make one a builder-of-castles-in-the-air? Is this never-ending optimism the root of my  problem? Methinks someone is starting to irritate herself.

Present Emotional State:
I feel a little like a traveler who accidently finds himself (herself) locked inside India's Mars Obiter, 30 seconds from launch on October 22, 2013. Of course, in this scenario, the accidental traveler's survival is tied solely to the success of the Mission. All considerations of food, oxygen, temperature, pressure, gravity, boredom, solar radiation, etc. are irrelevant.

This picture illustrates the point perfectly: (How I wish I was the one who drew this)

I must say though, the comparison above isn't meant to take away anything from what must be an experience beyond compare: actually looking at Mars through a spacecraft orbiting the planet.  

Higashino Keigo, Crime fiction novelist

                                                        The Devotion of Suspect X

A murder mystery from the masterful Higashino Keigo-sensei, the Devotion of Suspect X is the third book of his 'Detective Galileo' series and arguably one of the most mind boggling murders in the world of crime fiction. At the very outset, Keigo-sensei shows us the murder itself. We see how it happened, who did it and the motives behind it. The reader is then presented with a greater challenge: what is the perfect way to hide a murder?

                                                    

Salvation of a Saint

Another gem from the 'Detective Galileo' series, Salvation of a Saint follows largely the same detectives as they attempt to unravel a seemingly perfect murder. Is it possible to commit a murder from another city all by yourself? The reader is told who the murderer is at the very beginning, and then thrown in the dark with the detectives as they try to piece together the crime.

What strikes you first is the writing style. Simple and evocative, the translations by Alexander O. Smith reflect a writing style that reminds you of the discomfort of being in a bare, windowless room on a hot, sunny July afternoon with only a small table fan to provide some measure of relief. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that it is difficult to read, only that the memory of it lingers. Note that there are is no flowery brandishing of the brush, but neat, straight, crisscrossing lines that form a maze with a most definite exit.

The content of the writing is thought-provoking. The books are a cultural experience if one is not Japanese nor has ever been there. We are given glimpses of the life of the average, modern-day Japanese person and of a culture that very different from what we know. Although translated in English, they retain the peculiarities of a new language and culture: such as in the politeness that often across. Are the Japanese ordinarily such a polite people?  

The books also offer interesting discussions on the human psyche, such as the motives behind the murder, the circumstances that influence certain actions or conclusions about a situation. What I found particularly intriguing was the question about the determination and resolve required to carry out a murder. Very few authors can make a reader look beyond the facts of the murder and peer into something much deeper and darker than mere facts.

As for the plot itself, there are no loopholes and the story is sound. The narrative is well-edited and flows at a natural pace, neither too fast nor too slow. Keigo-sensei possesses the rare ability to truly distinguish his characters from one another. In the questions asked by the detectives and the answers they receive, we are presented with the point of view of someone completely unaware of the 'how, why, who' of the murder (though the readers themselves already know this). The bystanders, witnesses, friends present a one-sided view that clearly lacks a comprehensive understanding of the situation. The different viewpoints keep the books, which reconstruct the incident over and over again, from getting repetitive or boring. On the contrary, keeping up with physicist Yukawa's ideas is a challenge in itself. 

Finally, for the reader who likes to solve the case along with the detectives, the answer is probably there in what you are reading but rather impossible to discern. Good luck though!

If there are any flaws in the books, it is that the writing can be a little too bare sometimes and that Detective Kusunagi doesn't seem to be quiet as smart as I'd like to think he is. Moreover, people who are a little impatient may find it hard to get through the first few chapters as Keigo-sensei lays down the foundation for the murder. Bear with it. It won't last for too long and in the description of everyday lives, he's giving you clues. Besides, there's a sure reward for your patience: an answer that lives up to your expectations.

Although I have only read two of his works, I can say with some confidence that Higashino Keigo is not a writer that should be missed. The two books mentioned above are amazing examples of both sound plot and solid writing. Perhaps I should try other Japanese authors. A Murakami Haruki that I read also used a similar simple, almost bare writing style, though the content was rather dark and depressing. Some people might consider such a style of writing bland, but I rather enjoy it. Besides, as a law student, I know bland. This is not it.

Next on my list: Manatsu No Hoteishiki by Higashino Keigo and Out by Natsuo Kirino.