I just finished reading The Da Vinci Code. Then I went back to read what Roger Ebert had written about it. He says, 'I should read a potboiler like The Da Vinci Code every once in a while, just to remind myself that life is too short to read books like The Da Vinci Code'.

Kaavya



Ever since Kaavya burst into the literary scene and unceremoniously ushered out, a few of my friends have been talking to me about it.

As usual, those who missed it, here's the backdrop. Kaavya Viswanathan, 18, a Harvard sophomore, wrote a book called 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life'. A typical chick-lit novel became the news when the publisher paid an unheard of $500,000 royalty advance and even signed her up for a second book. The book was released with much fanfare and while Kaavya was busy signing copies and attending interviews, reports of plagiarism began surfacing. New York Times published many passages from Opal Mehta that resembled 'Sloppy Firsts' and 'Second Helpings' by Megan McCafferty. Initially, Kaavya was silent on these allegations and later another UK author claimed that many phrases and even ideas were lifted from her book, the last straw was laid. The book was withdrawn and later the publisher cancelled the book deal with Kaavya.

So what do I have to say in this? Many asked me about his because they related this episode to my infamous aversion to plagiarism and piracy.

I have been following Kaavya's story ever since she hit the headlines due to her obscenely high advance. From then on, my wonderment is mainly about how an eighteen year old will come out with a novel convincing enough for a grownup adult woman.

I wasn't expecting Kaavya to plagiarise and this episode cannot be simply categorised a 'lifting'. I'm saying this because of her age.

At 18, you generally don't have much ideas on your own. Many of them would be borrowed ones. Unless you are a Mozart, you mainly air views based on the books you read or the people you meet. It's like a kindergarten kids saying they want to be teachers when they grow up because that's the only professional they meet with. So my reservations with Kaavya were about what she has to say to a working woman of twenties. It simply turned that she didn't have anything new. As she herself confessed after the scandal broke out she was 'excited about those books so much' and 'internalised the ideas and words' when she was writing, she couldn't distinguish her ideas from McCarthy's. Problem was Kaavya probably didn't have much ideas on her own because she was too young for that.

Meanwhile, many Indian magazines started debating whether plagiarism is an Indian habit. It like saying the drug trafficking is a Columbian habit. But is it true? I would certainly say no. We may be tolerant towards plagiarists but we're not a nation mastered that crime. And it doesn't apply to Kaavya's case because she is an American. The publisher simply wanted to cash-in on the sensational idea of an eighteen year old sophomore writing a chick-lit and the plan backfired. Kaavya was to be made a new role-model and she ended up becoming a poor, young victim who, perhaps hasn't even realised what hit her.

My friend asked me, now that the book is off the shelves, whether I want to read it. I said I didn't want to even when it was on the shelves.

Note: Chick-lit is a term used to denote a genre of popular fiction for young, working, especially single women in their twenties. Chick is an American slang for young woman and lit is a short for literature. The book that is believed to have started this genre was Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary.

We, the irresponsible people



The elections are over. The public is quite sad that the month-long entertainment is coming to an end and they are now in the climax. The folks from the film-industry are going to heave a huge sigh of relief. One, those who campaigned for the parties are getting a reprieve and those who refused to be part of this circus and flown off are booking their return tickets. Two, those who have made summer blockbusters are waiting for the election to end so that they can release them.

For the proverbial aam-aadmi, it doesn't just make any difference. He is actually depressed because from now on, he has to pay for any entertainment.

Hang on. This post is not about the circus called election. This is about how we respond to it. Many of my colleagues didn't vote citing that it's a waste of their time. Some even had a very caustic remarks about the politicians.

This scathing sarcasm about the politicos is not new and it's increasingly getting on my nerves. To the extend, that the other day I blew my top when somebody in our canteen commented that 'What good will these elections do? All these leaders are ___ anyway'.

I thought hard on that. In reality, we, the people, are actually worse than our politicians. Let me explain.

The government employees don't want to work but will continue to expect hikes and their right to strike when the hikes are denied. They are utterly irresponsible to not worry about where will the goverment get their hike money from. Not to mention the amount of bribe they receive and often even demand from the rest of the people.

We freely litter the landscape, pay bribe to a government offical to violate a rule or two, and cross red signals. Filmmakers plagiarise stories and the public pirate their movies. We evade tax, encroach public spaces and honk wildly till we reach home.

The government headed by these _____ politicians have banned plastics but we discreetly use them. They have banned Gutkas but we slyly get it from the bunker shops. The auto drivers who loudly criticise about petrol hikes and blame the leaders for that, actually adulterate the fuel, release heavy toxic smoke from their engines, often dislodge their silencer to save fuel, and in turn, polluting the noise fabric and of course violate meter norms and demand astronomical rates.

On the contrary, I see the politicians actually talking real issues. When I followed the campaigns, I heard them talking about environment, fixing rate for sugarcane, seed management, and even IT. I wonder how many of my colleagues who despise these leaders are aware of the problems faced by the sugarcane farmers or how much of plastic they really burn.

Yes, there were freebies doled out and some atrocious claims made. I also don't deny that politicians misuse their power. But I see everyone with some power definitely misusing it, albeit for a little extent.

And there are some politicians with brazen carelessness about the state of affairs. I can include the likes of Laloo, Ramadoss under this category. But barring these people, on the whole, I believe they have been responsible and anyday not worse than you or I.

My own personal grievance about these politicos is they are not visionaries or think on long term. But I guess lack of planning is an Indian attitude and cannot be simply attributed to our leaders.

How many of us plan our career or family for the next 10 years? We plan for the finances simply because it's a national habit and culturally and socially if you have savings or a house or a land, you are considered responsible and intelligent.

Otherwise, there are hardly visionaries among us. So what's plaguing us as a nation and what's the aam admi's relationship with the democratic system that we are so used to for nearly sixty years?

I intend analysing these questions.