After a long time!!

Last post was dated 25th Jan. Today is 9th of June. It really has been a long time!! I started this site with the very optimistic notion that I will update it every day. LOLz Lolz lolz.

So what have I been doing all this time? Nothing much. I took back my resignation papers and have been buried neck deep in work ever since. Oh the sweet irony of life!! Work has been gruelling and never ending. But it has been fun in its own way. And I added some more books to the list mentioned previously. Read "My ear at his heart" by Hanif Khureishi, "The Argumentative Indian" by Amartya Sen and "A House for Mr. Biswas" by V.S. Naipaul.

"My Ear at his Heart" is an honest story about the writer, his family and particularly about his father's literary ambitions and heart breaking efforts to be a writer. Growing up, I wanted to be a writer. I was a dreamy- eyed, painfully shy kid who was always around books. I was Enid Blyton in my kiddish fantasies.

But now, when I read books like "Beach Boy" or "My Ear at his heart", I realise that I could never have been a writer. These two books are autobographical; they are about growing up and they are about the writer's families. And both the books are honest. I would have never managed the endearing honesty of BB or the brutal honesty of "...at his heart". Hanif Khureishi wonders in his book if he is doing the right thing by writing about his father and his family in this way. But he goes ahead and does it. Would I have the courage? I do not think so.

Picked up "...at his heart" without knowing anything about Hanif or his earlier writings. Hanif's uncle Omar Khureishi is also a kind of celebrity (a famous cricket commentator among other things) and has written two autobiographical novels. Hanif's quotes from his uncle's books a few times and they really seem interesting. On the other hand, his dad's writings do not impress. His dad's writings are all about his personal experiences, the bitteness and a few deep rooted memories and complexes. If I had tried to be a writer, I think I would have churned out something that. How do good writers go beyond their personal experiences, rise above their personal lives and write?