The Lord of the flies by William Golding

      A novel I read when I was doing my first year college, but studied in detail recently with a lot of literary connotations attached to it. It was written during the atomic war time where William Golding fantasises a plane crashed on an Island and a handful British  school boys wrecked here which seemingly looks like the Coral Island. The story opens with a jungle scene which is marked by the wreckage of a plane shot down by another enemy plane. The boys are the victims of the wreckage and are dispersed all over the place.
     At the outset only two boys are seen on the Island one is the fair skinned boy Ralph and the other the fat bispeckled boy piggy, freckled and suffering from asthma. Others who join  afterwards are,  Jack Meridew the Choir leader, Samneric the twins, Simon Maurice, Roger, Johnny and the other members of the choir.
     William Golding in the novel talks about man's fallen nature and the inborn tendencies of man to kill and destroy. He also goes on  to tell that man also wants to live and to live in groups and discover civilisation and wants to be rescued from the evil in the mind. So the need to live a rescued civilised life over powers his desire to kill .
     But he likes to live in a group with a leader, here Golding shows how the boys live in groups with a leader who is voted  in a democratic way so they have groups and one group headed by Ralph takes care of the rescue operations and the other takes care of the food i.e hunting for food .
      They use the voting system and a conch for gathering people in to the group. Ralph wants to build a fire so that people seeing them would come to their rescue  
     William Golding talks about how they practise group dynamics, and how one group is a rival to the other group Jack feels he is superior to Ralph because he is a hunter, he is aggressive to action where has Ralph is in the rescue team and is very sober and submissive, there is rivalry among them, some admire Ralph and his team others admire Jack.
      When Jack hunts down a pig they go into a frenzy and they attack the members of the team they slit the head of a pig and  hang it up like a flag on a pole
       Jack the hunter has savage instincts, he feels aggressive and  wants to kill Simon and eventually does it. Ralph helps to restore order by blowing the conch and gathering people for an assembly. He emphasises on the mission of rescuing themselves rather than getting into rivalry with one another. They build the fire and save it and are finally rescued by a captain of a civilian ship.

The Catastrophe

In the beginning it starts with curiosity:

Curiosity kills the cat;

And then you begin to act upon it.

Action leading to the rest;

Every action has a reaction,

And so the apocalypse.

Sometimes we think it is easy,

To do the difficult.

But when we are in it,

Then we know the formidable.

It is a vicious circle,

A circle that cannot be broken

A circle that goes on moving

The inexplicable.

Sometimes we call it action

Sometimes consequences

Sometimes   human folly

But   alas!  We find it

Is a catastrophe of what

 We have brought upon us.

THE KABAB MAN

    

        Every day of the week I see

                                                                     Him sitting there.

                                                                     With bricks kept one

                                                                     Upon  the other,

                                                                     Like a charcoal mine;

                                                                     With a skewer

                                                                     On which lies all kinds of shape and size,

                                                                     Some round,

                                                                     Some long,

                                                                     Some sleek,

                                                                     Some stout,

                                                                     Some like tongues.

                                                                     He keeps the fire burning,

                                                                     Till the end of time.

                                                                     Besides the convent wall

                                                                    The same I used to see,

                                                                    Forty years back.

                                                                   Besides my convent wall

                                                                   The man with his skewer,

                                                                   And a long beard

                                                                   And a grill made of bricks.

                                                                   Nostalgia to the core

                                                                   My mind bore.

                                                                   A scene which I saw

                                                                  When I was a little girl.

                                                                   I see it when my little girl

                                                                  Goes to school.

                                                                  The same kind of a picture

                                                                  The same kind of a man

                                                                  With his long beard

                                                                   Sits besides the skewer and grill

                                                                   Made of brick.

                                                                   Besides the convent wall.

                                                                   Alas! It is the nostalgic past

                                                                   If we could undo it.

                                                                   And go back into times,

                                                                   It brings us fond memories.

                                                                                                                ©  -Anjana Pai.

A Trip to Mount Mary.

At Bandra on Pali hill is situated the beautiful cathedral of mount Mary.A sure visit for all those who live in Mumbai. In the cathedral  is the beautiful statue of mother Mary with Infant Jesus There is so much of serenity for the human mind, when you go and sit in that cathedral on the mount. The popular belief that  whatever  you ask mount Mary will be granted. People from all religions, caste and community come here. I make a trip every year with my family. The serendipity that I have come across visiting this place is immense. The peace of mind  one gets when one goes up the mount is more than anything one can ask  for or get. When your life is full of turmoil, when the waves are hitting high, when there is a cloud hanging over your head. When things are uncertain that is the time one should visit this place. The peace and tranquil that one feels in this church is not at all comparable to any other place on earth.    

An enchanting afternoon at the Leopold Café (Colaba).

           It was a hot and sultry afternoon, and we were very hungry. We were pacing up and down the streets of Colaba cosway. We checked into Mc Donald’s, the security guard outside told us that the eating hours were over and the outlet was closed from 12-4! We walked ahead in search of a restaurant when suddenly,we saw this delightful place to eat some grub. The crowd at the café looked very mirthful. It was a mixed crowd of both Indians and Foreigners. There was lovely aroma of food spread all over which activated our taste glands and we were ready to take the plunge.

           The whole place looked very English. There was a high counter on which the owner sat. From where he got a panoramic view of the crowd. The huge room which accommodated myriads of people all eating and drinking to their hearts content.

            The crowd was served both vegetarian and non-vegeterian according to one’s choice, huge quantities of draught beer also to go along with the food. All the people were busy talking and laughing and enjoying their meal. We pulled two chairs and made ourselves comfortable amidst the crowd. Since it was peak lunch hour the waiters were busy serving the already seated crowd. We were waiting patiently for 15-20 mins till the waiter came to our table. We ordered Thai green curry and Garlic fried rice and some beer to go along with it.  The waiter spoke very sweetly and took down the order, then disappeared for an hour, came back and told us that they cannot make our order because of some internal problems. So we had to change our order. Then they served our order fast. We enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere and began our journey back to the streets of Colaba cosway. The most memorable trip we ever had. Thanks to the Leopold!!! J

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                         ©-Anjana. Pai

Delayed Monsoon

                                              Delayed Monsoon

                                                                                  By chitralekha Paul

                “Delayed Monsoon” is the best book I have read written by Indian Women Authors in English now. To begin with, the Title ‘Delayed Monsoon’ is so apt for the story. Abhilasha the lead character in the story meets her ‘true love’ late in life. The author rightly puts it, when the earth (Abilasha’s life) was parched the monsoon came to revive her dried up existence. She (author) describes the cultural as well as the social aspects of the people of Calcutta. I like the way the author uses the connotation on page 102 “Abilasha got angrier. Why did he call me sweetie instead of addressing her as ‘Boudi’ the customary Bengali way to address a brother’s wife? Author brings out the conservatism followed in Calcutta, also an exposure to Bengali language.   

                   The way in which she shifts from first person narration to third person is excellent. Makes us understand the characters and narration very well, on page 23 “With all her minus and plus points, Jyotirmoyee was a unique Lady. Her unconventional attitude made her different from her contemporaries”, shows rapid changes taking place in the social scenario in Calcutta. The whole book itself describes modern internet age which revolves over one idea that is, Modernism.

                    The book is a thorough narration of the Life of Air force officers and their wives about which the general populace feels is prestigious and sophisticated but the author rightly puts it as “Glimpse into what goes on behind the gates guarded by vigilant men in uniform.” Very apt description of the tough side of the very sophisticated lives of Air force officers and their wives. Her narration of the lovely places in the south like ooty, coonor and wellington is a simply good read! Must read the novel, which is one continuous stretch of really readable, enjoyable material.

                   At the end of the novel the author speaks again in the voice of her character, Abhilasha, this change in the narration style emphasizes and acts like the punch line making the story real. The last lines of the author’s Note pages 7-8, “Abhilasha is neither me nor Anamika, she is the synergy of both and even more”, introduces the book to the readers in a very spectacular manner.

                                                                                                     © -Anjana Pai

                                                                                                

Lychgate

   
                                                           Lychgate
With Malice Towards None...............

Once upon a time there lived  in a certain land a man who was very intelligent, highly educated and was placed on a very high rank in the society of famous people and academicians. They were to be known to the top crust of the people of that land.

This man was very sensitive, very popular among the crowd and very famous for his wit and sarcasm. He knew all the 'Mantras' of how to keep people happy. He knew how to win their hearts with his   sweet tongue. Anybody who met this man would feel that he is very convincing and a literati of those times. He knew the people appreciated him and he loved to give long speeches about the the superegos and all. He  thought  that he always superseded others  in every thing that he did. He was a socialite of his times. He was a suaver and thought that he had  the Talisman to give his people. But behind the mask that he wore was a very adamant snob. He loved to hear people applaud whenever he did something. If they didn't he would feel hurt and angry with them. He would try to convince them with his long speeches. If they didn't agree he would label them. 

One day this man met with such a crisis in his life that neither his humor nor his sarcasm or wit could save the situation. He was responsible for what he said and that inevitable, his own words proved to be detrimental to him. It boomeranged and that was his end. His egos were hurt and he had to bury his pride. He had to put it in a coffin which lay by the lychgate,after that the people of that land did not hear about that Egotist but they found a man in him who was really down to earth and humble and genuine. He was a changed man.


Notes:

• The man in the passage represents the human mind.
• Lychgate is the arch gate in the church place where the ego is shut in the coffin which is again the mind.
• Burying is  getting rid of our minus points like ego etc.

                                            

                                                                                            ©  -By Anjana. Pai.