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BOOKS
Civil Fare
New
writings, known romance
By Mitali
Saran
The
word "periodical" implies a predictability that the editors
of Civil Lines continue to aspire to, without success, but with indomitable
good humour about the whole thing. Over three years have elapsed since
the publication of Volume 3 of India's answer to Granta in 1997. But just
when everyone thought it was over for good, Volume 4 has shown up, with
a little help from The Hindu.
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CIVIL
LINES 4
Ed By Rukun Advani, Mukul Kesavan, Ivan Hutnik
Permanent Black/Ravi Dayal
Price: Rs 195
Page: 187 |
It
includes travel pieces, short stories, memoirs, anecdotal vignettes and
poetry (including a bit of deadpan doggerel entitled
Tonguing mother in the introduction). The authors range from the already
famous, like poet and translator Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, to the relatively
unknown, such as Ambarish Satwick and Shashank Kela.
Kai Friese goes looking for the Brokpa people of Ladakh in "Liver
is Not Mutton", lured by rumours of an Aryan race said to be so pure
that Neo-Nazi German women seek to be impregnated by them. His investigation
of race theory, orientalist scholarship and Indo-Pak border relations
is couched in a lightly ironic style, as funny as it is deadly
serious.
Anther take on origins, somewhat fervently written, is Tenzing Sonam's journey
to China as a Tibetan living in exile in India. "A Stranger
in My Native Land" describes the difficult tug of war between roots
and political ideology.
Shashank Kela's short stories are no better or worse than most of the
Indo-Anglian fiction on the shelves today. "Bougainvillea" is
an exploration of middle-class morality exploded by incestuous adultery,
"Intimations" is the tale of a man's encounter with history.
Brijraj Singh's "Data" is a meditation on the wrenching loss
of a parent.
Three short pieces on the collision of cultures by Shiela Dhar provide
comic relief. An unusual sermon delivered in "A Taste of British
Guiana", innovative musical improvisation in "Lady Linlithgow
and the Taming of Raga Adana" and a misreading of cultural signs
in "The Harmonium" are all well-written vignettes.
The collection ends with some fine poetry by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and
Ambarish Satwik, ranging from the sacred to the profane. Civil Lines Volume
4 is, typically, an interesting read. But don't hold your breath for Volume
5.
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