Javed Akhtar, Arvind Mandloi
2017
Manjul
pp. 84
I picked up this book in hope of reading some light poetry by Akhtar. Although classified as poetry, there are sections in this book that are more or less snippets of his thoughts. The introductiony m Mandloi is quite engaging but the whole book did not meet my expectations. It is possible that I had set my expectations very high, since I was reading Akhtar.
Having said that, I felt that the book gives you enough food for thought. The tone of the writing is strongly socialist, and thus all whose heart is on the left are likely to identify with what he is writing. In that, his writing is inspirational. It is also refreshing to read someone who so strongly believes and propagates the power of the written word. The disappointment was two fold. One, there were some well known writing pieces that were interspersed in the book. While the book did not claim that this won’t be so, it is a bit distracting to read the familiar. The second bit of disappointment came with the lack of organisation. The sequence of writings is too random and could actually have been more coherent. Nevertheless, this is the first time I have read about his personal journey or his relationships with the people around him. Taking it on face value, he is quite an inspiration.
Another unique quality of the book is the Hindi calligraphy style in which it has been presented. Maybe it is an oversight on my part, but I did not find mention of the artist who has drawn beautiful caricatures for each piece of writing. Both these are interesting elements of the book and do make you dwell longer on each page. At the same time, I strongly advise against reading it on an e-reader. Please pick up a paperback on this one. (Particularly since the sales proceeds, the book specifies will go to an NGO working for children.)