My Experiments with Time

Roll of the Dice - Book review Anand Neelakantan's 'Ajaya Book l- Roll of the Dice' was indeed unputdownable. The book is a tribute to the Prince of Kauravas and villain of Mahabharatha, Duryodhana and his aides. In his own words, Neelakandan had been drawn towards the anti-heroes in our epics, and this book is an attempt to give life to the silent heroes who have been overlooked in our uncritical acceptance of conventional renderings of our epics.  Last month, when my nephew suggested this book as a good read, I was not quite sure I would complete it, as I have never really been enticed by the epics. Nevertheless I borrowed his book as a keepsake, a spare for a rainy gloomy day. I found the author's note compelling, as I could relate to his words when he said he was drawn to the anti-heroes. This book is Duryodana's Mahabharata, and also Karna's, and Ekalavya's, and Aswathama's, and Balarama's and Bhishma's, and the little known Jara's and V

Today we are having the last jackfruit of the season, the aroma of the over-ripe jackfruit permeated the air. This officially marks the end of summer, the end of chakka-kaalam and maambazha-kaalam (jackfruit season and mango season). For Keralaites, and specifically non-resident Keralaites- NRKs (a coin termed by my friend for Mallus who live elsewhere), jackfruits and mangoes are a nostalgia. It reminds us of our grandparents and cousins, summer vacations and monsoon weddings.   After having spent fifteen months in Kerala, my longest time here, I can definitely say the summer that culminates in the monsoon (April-July) is the best season to live here. The mangoes and jackfruits are the only solace during the scorching summers. They silently tell us that by the time you consume all of us, the monsoon will be here. So dutifully we devour all the jackfruits and mangoes not just in their raw and ripe forms, but in their multiple avatars of chakka kandal, chakka varatti, chakka appam, cha