Page 36 - BBC Knowledge - October 2017 IN

on the shelves
Books
ON THE SHELVES

BOOKS

WORDS: MOSHITA PRAJAPATI

LOOKING FOR THE
RAINBOW: MY YEARS
WITH DADDY
Ruskin Bond
Puffin Books; `250
Released to mark the author’s 83rd
birthday, the memoir delves deeply
into the short but impactful two
years Ruskin Bond spent with his
father. It tells of collecting stamps,
watching movies at Connaught
Place in Delhi, eating meals at
Dario’s on Mall Road in Shimla,
of the advice to ‘paddle your own
canoe’, and the shared love for
books. Each vignette offers a
nostalgia-tinged view
THE GREATEST into the life of little Bond with
URDU STORIES EVER senior Bond and the irrevocably
TOLD honest understanding they had
Translated and edited by of each other. True insights into
Muhammad Umar Memon a father-son relationship are rare,
Aleph; `492 and Ruskin Bond, going back over
Every one of the 25 stories 70 years, paints them so vividly
in this anthology of Urdu with the tender emotions of
stories has been carefully an eight-year-old boy that it will
selected by renowned take you down memory lane
Urdu translator and editor, to your own childhood.
Muhammad Umar Memon, KARNA: VICTORY IN DEATH
to illustrate a facet of Rik Hoskin
form in the Urdu literary Illustrations: Sachin Nagar
tradition. Translated into Campfire Graphic Novels; `350
English with the poetic It’s difficult to not want to root for Karna, a man who fulfils
all the tropes of a superhero, but is let down by his human side
grace of Urdu intact,
and his society. Born out of wedlock, the result of a boon between
these stories reveal the
a princess and a god, Karna is never allowed to achieve his
hidden, mystical, romantic,
potential because of his low-born status — that of a charioteer
traditional, modern, social
(his true birth hidden from him till too late). Karna’s journey
and political aspects is defined by his decision to fight against his enforced destiny.
of the period. At the core Blinded by vengeance, he chooses to side with the arrogant
of every story written by Prince Duryodhana, who leaves the reader confused. Does
the celebrated Urdu writers he truly care for Karna or is he just (mis)using him to destroy
of the sub-continent lies an the Pandava clan using Karna’s superior skill as a warrior?
exploration of the depth One is never sure. The graphic novel captures Karna’s anguish,
agony, rebellion, sacrifice and steely resolve with raw, bold
of the human spirit and
strokes in emboldened ink and text. The final showdown at
the contemplation
Kurukshetra pits brother against brother, forcing the reader to
of its mysterious way
ponder: Would Karna be on the other side of the battle line had
of working.
he been accepted by society, or not led astray by Duryodhana?
Or is this a lesson to tell us that even superheroes, with a heart
of gold and good intentions, can be flawed?
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