Thursday, October 02, 2008

Sparks in a Book

There was not one amongst us who looked forward to being born. We disliked the rigours of existence, the unfulfilled longings, the enshrined injustices of the world, the labyrinths of love, the ignorance of parents, the fact of dying, and the amazing indifference of the Living in the midst of the simple beauties of the universe. We feared the heartlessness of human beings, all of whom are born blind, few of whom ever learn to see.

The Famished Road by Ben Okri.

A Spiritual Guru may take reams of paper or hours of discourse to say something so profound, which a fiction writer has done so simply. Here is another beautiful example:

“D’you know what happens when you hurt people?” Ammu said. “When you hurt people, they begin to love you less. That’s what careless words do. They make people love you a little less.”

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.

These kinds of sparks do elevate our spirits. And, they also spur us to dust up the characters idling in our heads and to weave stories around them.

I’ve no illusions that anything I put on the paper will be worth seeing the light of a printing press at least for the next twenty years. By then I hope to acquire some decent skills of being a fiction writer.

But one needs to spell out such grand missions when life seems to be stuck in a black hole.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dreaming and Wishing is Starting-Point+the Journey+the Destination.One must know where he wants to go. Whether one will reach the destination is not really important.....Yes "Journey" and its Difficulties are proportionate to your Dreams. Small dreams = Small Problems & Uncertainties, Big Dreams=Big Prob & Uncertainties....
But crux is one must Visualize where he wants to go & that is Dreaming. Enjoy the journey! hcp

Alexis said...

Dear Paresh,

You already have the skills required for becoming a fiction writer. So start writing...zgxikx

rauf said...

Stuck in a black hole is a state of mind Paresh. i understand that some spark, some inspiration works wonders, some words of encouragement can make all the difference.

The best thing about life is, there is a will to survive in all of us, all living organisms. This defeats all philosophies.

You can ask any priest why he is not in a hurry to go to heaven and meet God.

harimohan said...

dear paresh
you have already achieved what many of us living in more comfortable alcoves than black holes could dream of ,so rear ahead and do that book if you cant who else can ?

Anonymous said...

Paresh,

you already are a writer, and a very good one. you are erudite, sensitive and expressive. most of all, you are not afraid to write what you truly feel. even your deepest darkest thoughts.

and you have a wide appreciative audience too. you don't print on paper, but on a webpage.

the difference? you don't get paid right now! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Paresh,

I thought you had already started your jouney in the highway of literary works!!! In fact I thought I was waiting for the 2nd chapter!!!!!

Can one use authority to demand that one sees some solid work in the near future???? !!!!

Humility is good...but don't be blind to your abilities!! So open your comp and get going..... You have all the right ingredients to start of ...or should I say continue on that journey. To feel confident one needs to put things down...lots of it ....and perhaps you need to let others judge your work....not judge it yourself, especially even before you have written your piece!!

Look forward to deep insights/relaxed reading/angry words/ poetic expressions/whatever...

All the best. Warm regards,
SN

Ruth said...

I hope you don't mind a visit from a stranger, Paresh. Rauf sent me here. I was just going to read, browse. But this post is so precisely what I was feeling yesterday, now I have to leave a comment.

I have been reading Anne Michael's Fugitive Pieces, just finished it yesterday. I didn't want to finish it. Since starting the book, I've had to just close it again and again, not because I was tired of reading, but because she did what you said: she spoke something so simple and profound that I had to let it settle in. A spark that elevates the spirit is a good way of expressing it.

I also understand what you wrote about writing. After reading Michaels' book I sincerely feel that because I can't do what she did, I'd rather not write a book.

But your commenters are also right. If you write well (I didn't get very far browsing here yet), what you have to say is unique and should be written.