FROM A HOBBY TO AN ENGAG(ING) EMENT

School days were the times when I used to be glued to books. A million pardons if anyone thought that I was glued to the academic books. The books were fictions. From the time I was in second standard, I have been a proud member of the City Central library. At a time we used to pick up atleast two books and sometimes the number would be as many as four using the cards of my maternal uncle. From the genial stories in the Ladybird series such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Rapunzel with all her golden locks the graduation to Nancy Drew, Hardy boys, Alfred Hitchcock, Sherlock Holmes,Agatha Christie was through a session with the folk tales and fairy tales. The feverish pace at which these books were devoured was peppered with the great dessert of Amar Chitra katha and Indrajaal comics.

These were replaced by best sellers of Jeffrey Archers and many others. The critic in me soon took over and the selection of books was left to a choice of many who would review and give me a positive go ahead. Reading as a habit was on its way out when my posting was to a place which had little room for any mental activity. Reading resurfaced as a habit. At this point of time a young friend of mine recommended Chetan Bhagat's Two States. This was more so after there was some discussion on the movie of 3 Idiots which I declined to watch very politely (or so I thought, since most people who I interact with would beg to differ on the aspect of the politeness).

Days passed and I managed to lay my hands on a copy of the book. It was a good read and a rip roaring comedy. It reminded me of another book in Kannada (may be the author was the great Iyengar) about the couple's trip to America and one Tamil piece on the wedding being conducted in America on typical traditional styles.The Kannada book was an autobiographical piece on the experiences of the author and his spouse touring the USA in the traditional attires attracting the attention of the folks around them. The cultural differences were brought out in a subtle manner. I used to read out this book to my friend's father who had been hospitalised and needed some respite from the hospital aura. The Tamil piece was a book given to us to increase my fluency in reading Tamil. It spoke of a venture of holding a Tamilian wedding in the USA where the whole marriage party is flown into the States and they do not wish to compromise on any of the traditions. One of the unforgettables is the effort to make out the vadams, a dish made out of rice flour and dried in the tropical sun to be fried in oil through the rest of the year as an accompaniment to the meals.

Bhagat's book went a step further in putting two traditional weddings in a single book. One a typical Punjabi one and another a typical Tamilian one. I enjoyed the comedy but did not miss the sub text. Yes do we not think we are more a product of a particular region rather than of a country. In fact, a couple of years back when a host of youngsters joined our organisation, I found the address of one of them to be Kolkata. Assuming that food would be of primary concern and to put the young man at ease, I told him that being from Kolkata he would find the food different here. What mattered for the young man was the fact that his ancestors hailed from a particular region in Bihar rather than the fact that a concern for his food was being communicated. The cosmopolitan nature of Bangalore has rubbed into us and we do not find the need to classify ourselves by our mother regions. In fact my name is a cross of a common name of the southern belt and the second name being a popular surname of Punjab. Bhagat would undoubtedly envy this favour done to me.

Another sub text was that I noticed that the most hilarious pieces were the ones causing the disomfiture to the protoganists involved. Are we not the kind which make merry at another's discomfort? We do take pleasure in sermonising small kids to be broad minded and never indulge in merriment in another's discomfort but as adults the humour itself is best when someone else is in discomfort. A senior colleague of mine normally expects "FINE" in a stenotarian voice when I am asked "How are you?" I have had many discussions on the issue. On the last occasion he told me "Remember, if you laugh the world laughs with you but if you cry or are in sorrow the world laughs at you." I differed but this book made me introspect. Looks like I must admit there is truth in the wise man's saying.

Being a person who does not travel much, the book has inspired me to look at travel as a means for resolution of issues. A revelation indeed. Light reading for all souls but packed sub text for others.

A great favour done my good friend, I thought and called him up to pass on the credit for a wonderful choice of reading material, even as I was half way through the book. As I wrapped up the book and imagined Bhagat in the veshti and the ordeal of merely getting married with the blessings of elders at home, I had my young friend paying a visit. I passed on the credits again to him and imagine him popping another surprise on me - he announced his engagement.

That's what one could call an engaging preamble to a happy engagement