Ruskin Bond (Ed) - The Penguin Book of Indian Railway Stories

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Ruskin Bond

Indian Railways are a marvel.  They criss-cross across our vast country and take you to nooks and crannies you never thought existed.  They have been transporting people from one point to another ever since 1853, even though the start was a modest run from Bombay to Thane.

I remember traveling with my family from Jamnagar to Delhi during the 60s.  We used to travel unreserved.  Being a large crowd, we would spread durries on the wooden benches and bag a compartment. Our bogie would travel from Jamnagar to Mehsana. At Mehsana we had a longish break and our bogie would go for a shunting and get attached to a train that was traveling to Delhi. We would embark on the train from Jamnagar at around 5 PM, spend two nights in the train and in the morning of the 3rd day, we would be at New Delhi Station.

The steam engine would pump soot into the air and my hair would be coated with it.  There was no chance of a bath, which would come only after we reached my cousin's house in Delhi.  There were high points of the travel we looked forward to. Dahi Bade at Abu Road, Rabri at some other station. We carried water in a small earthenware surahi.  There were no bottles of Bisleri, and we filled up the Surahi at any Railway Station that was handy.

Those days are gone. Now I turn up my nose at stinky poo Railway bathroom, don't drink anything but Bisleri and avoid local food.  If the travel is likely to be more than a day's worth, I look for flights. Yet, on my way to Delhi on the Shatabdi, the train often stops at a small station in Haryana called Diwana, waiting for a signal.  It is not a scheduled stop and I never see a soul there.  It is a single brick building built smack in middle of a farm.  It always brings back memories of sleepy stations that seem almost ghost-like from my childhood train travel.

Being Indians, I am sure almost all of us have traveled by railway, over long distances or short. There are many among us who love the slow chug chug of train travel.

In this collection of Railway stories curated and edited by Ruskin Bond, he brings us the best of the lot.  The first story is culled from Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. In 1875 Phileas Fogg passes through India in his quest to cross the world in eighty days.  He is let down badly by the Railways in India, but manages to hire elephants to continue his journey. There are two stories by Rudyard Kipling, one by Flora Annie Steel and some stories by anonymous authors, and one by J.W, Best. These stories are listed under Part I which are stories from the Pre-Independence era.

In the Post-Independence section, we have stories by Jim Corbett, Khuswant Singh, Ruskin Bond himself, Manoj Das, Intizar Husain, Satyajit Ray, Bill Aitkin, R.K. Laxman, Victor Banerjee and Manojit Mitra.

When I completed the Pre-Independence section, I thought, "There goes the best of it. Surely the Post Independence stories will not be as good."  Happily, I was proved wrong.  All the stories, start to finish are delightful.  I had no idea Victor Banerjee wrote such lovely short stories as well.  Bill Aitken's description of the POW (Palace on Wheels) is hilarious.  Khushwant Singh's story, Mano Majra Station is taken from his chilling novel, Train to Pakistan.

Ruskin Bond's preface to the book called Soot Gets in Your Eyes is alone worth the price of the book. At Rs.250/- so much goodness is a steal.  

Alexander Pushkin - Eugene Onegin

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This is a book that was for a very long time on my to-be-read list.  Decades ago, I saw a beautifully illustrated copy of this book in one of those book stores that sold Russian books.  

I do not remember why I did not pick it up.  I was there to buy some books to gift little children and maybe did not have enough space in my bag (silly excuse). 

Anyway, I was reminded of that beautiful book when I read Vikram Seth's Golden Gate.  He admitted to being heavily influenced by Eugene Onegin while writing his own, a worthy successor, I must say.

The final version of the Eugene Onegin was published in 1837.  Pushkin used the iambic tetrameter for the verse.

Eugene Onegin is a world weary fop in his mid-twenties.  He is done with the society which is a mad repetition of parties, balls, opera, ballets.  He is careless with the feelings of society girls who vie to get close to him.  His father collapsed in debt like many aristocrats in Moscow.  He was fostered by some benevolent friends until, luckily for him, an uncle died leaving him a legacy; wealth and a country house.

He goes to live in the country, not completely appreciative of what it has to offer.  He makes friends with a neighbour Lensky and goes calling on the Larina family with him.  Lensky is engaged to the younger Larina girl, Olga.  Eugene is drawn to the silent and intelligent older sister, Tatiyana.

In her turn, Tatiyana falls absolutely in love with him.  She is a romantic creature, given to reading and spending time in solitude and reflection.  This unspoiled maiden of the country decides to declare her feelings for Eugene through a letter.  

Eugene lectures Tanya (Tatiyana) about not wanting to be tied down.  He is sure that he will be bored if he is married to her and her dreams would come crashing down.  He exhorts her to be more circumspect in her dealings with men in future as someone may take advantage of her innocence.

He leaves Tanya heartbroken to the core.  She weeps silently and mopes for a long time.  After Eugene's departure, she goes to his house and reads Eugene's books in an effort to understand him.

Will the lethargic Eugene ever see sense? Will not the pastoral surroundings help him redeem himself? Will he sink deeper in the mire of ennui? What happens to Tatiyana? Will the Olga-Lensky romance culminate in a wedding?

The poem is a classic of Russian literature.  There are breathtaking descriptions of the countryside and candid portrayal of the true feelings of the characters.

Eugene is not completely a fop, though he behaves like one.  He likes to read and ruminate.  He is charming.  If he had been just a fop, he would have lived like any other aristocrat.  He would have sown his wild oats, married, had children and spent his life gathering wealth and settling his children.

It is his restless mind that makes him seek more than what his life has to offer him.  But lack of self-awareness makes him fall between the two stools of being flippant and being serious. All the experiences of life, good or bad, do not seem to teach him anything.

Tatiyana, by contrast, grows immensely as a person.  She retains a sense of self and does not get mired in the commonness of the society around her.

At the heart of this book is, of course, Pushkin's brilliant verse.  This book is translated by Stanley Mitchell, about whom I quote from wikipedia:

His life's work was a translation into English verse of Pushkin's Russian verse novel Eugene Onegin, commenced in 1966 and published in 2008. In this he has been praised for capturing not only the precise meaning, but also the wit, the grace and the constantly varying intonations of Pushkin's voice.

Here is a sample of the verse, this is when Tatiyana finds herself in love. 

"I am in love," again she whispered

In sadness to the old above.

"My dearest, 'tis only illness" -

"Leave me alone: I'm in love."

Meanwhile, the moon in skies was shining

And with a languorous light was lightning

All Tanya's features, pale and fair,

Her splendid, loosely falling hair,

Her tears, and the old woman here,

With a kerchief on her gray head,

In her old, warm, too long jacket,

Sitting before our maiden, dear.

And all was sunk in silence soon

Under the pale inspiring moon.

Here is one about Eugene, the star of the Moscow Society:

They would bring him the morning letters,

When he's still lying in his bed.

What? Invitations? Yes, the matter's:

Three evening parties in a set.

There’ll be a ball, an evening children's.

Where will he go, this lad mischievous?

Who will be first? That's all the same:

It's simple to visit all of them.

But now in the morn's attire -

A wide hat, a la Bolivar,

Onegin rides to the boulevard,

And walks there, calm and free entire,

Until the watchful watch's alarm

Will advertise the dinnertime.

My copy of Eugene Onegin is plain.  I will keep looking for a better illustrated one, something that will showcase his beautiful verse better.

Perumal Murugan - One Part Woman

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This is the novel that drew fire from Hindutva outfits. An exasperated Perumal Murugan then declared that he would write no more and decided to withdraw his books. The original Tamil title of the book was Madhurobhagan.

The book was translated into English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan. He has done a laudable job of it. The book manages to retain a colloquial feel without losing a grip on English language.

Kali and Ponnan have been married to each other for the past twelve years. It was a love match. Kali was friends with Ponnan's brother, Muthu. He had an eye on Ponnan since long. One night, after a bout of drinking and hanging around, Kali asked Muthu if he would like him as a brother-in-law. Muthu agreed instantly and even spoke to his parents and fixed the match.

Kali and Ponnan are blissfully happy together. The only thorn in their side is the lack of children. This lack is not just for themselves, it is an eyesore for the entire community. Anyone feels free to comment upon it, taunt Ponnan about her barrenness, Kali about his impotency. The couple tries to redress the wrong by doing everything in their power. They go to temples, take vows, make offerings, undertake difficult tasks. All their efforts to waste as Ponnan continues to menstruate each month, much to her sorrow.

Ponnan is willing to do everything, but she draws a line at the suggestion that her husband marry again. Luckily for her, Kali is as unwilling to marry again. He is deeply in love with his wife, but there are other factors that are behind this decision as well.

They are willing to live as they are. They are a loving couple and are happy in their life. But the societal pressures are too much for them. They are made to strive continuously. The constant barrage of insults and taunts threatens to tear apart their peace and harmony.

One day Ponnan's mother decides to spend a night at their place. Instead to sleeping with her daughter, the lady decides to draw her cot over to where Kali's mother sleeps. The ladies spend the entire night whispering to each other. Ponnan's mother has a scheme for making Ponna pregnant. What remains to be seen is whether the couple will agree to it.

The novel is full of a wealth of detail about the life of a young farming couple somewhere in the pre-independence era. We are used to extolling the virtues of our society and how it gives us a sense of security. Here we see its destructive side too. As long as you are going according to the general plan, marry, be productive, have children, everyone is happy. But if your life deviates from the plan, you are lambasted roundly, and anyone can take potshots at you.

This is the mean face of the society. Feuds over property are just around the corner. Your relatives are nice to you only because they have an eye on what you can give them. Even though it is nobody's business, everybody reserves the right to comment on how you conduct yourself. Such interference can not only be annoying, it can be downright destructive.

The story is set in a pre-independence era, but many of these ills are still pervasive.. Women still bear the stigma of being childless. Our neighbors and relatives still think our business is theirs to merrily comment upon.

The novel is not entirely without flaws. The story tackles some parts in a very compartmentalized manner. For instance, the details about the couple's attempts at appeasing the Gods are all put in one long stretch. Later, we are treated to long passages about how the couple deals with the suggestion of a second marriage for Kali. It reads more like a documentary instead of a story.

Towards the end, as the story moves towards a tantalizing climax, we are suddenly diverted by digressions in the story.

These flaws do not hinder the value of the story, however. We are given a very incisive look at how a narrow-minded society does not hesitate in riding roughshod over a happy couple. For this, and for a very detailed look at the way of life in those times, this book excels.