“A momentous occasion lay before us, the 25th Edition! An extraordinary memory had to be conjured up, befitting of this jubilee.”
POCKET DIARY BOOK CLUB
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
2023 A.D.(x, y, z, t) = (Akshat Drama Group Studio, 26 November)
ATTENDEES
Jasmeet, Shanker, Yogesh, Ashwathy, Ruchi, Jay, Sambhav, Nikhil, Shwetha, Hardik, Hanil,
Navshin, Nija, Nirali & Bharath
A momentous occassion lay before us, the 25th Edition!
An extraordinary memory had to be conjured up, befitting of this jubilee.
Yogesh Ji, PDBC’s very own activity coordinator, ever ready and enthusiastic with new
plans and things to do, had a wonderfully soul-stirring, introspective journey in mind:
Yeh kaun chitrakaar he?
Who is this Artist?
Yeh kis Kavi ki kalpana ka chamatkar he?
Of which poet’s imagination is this miracle?
(Bharath’s Note: I am also writing while listening to the song central to the activity, to
transport myself back to the mood in the Edition!)
Not to be left behind as (selfish!) moderators, me and Nirali brainstormed quite a bit,
pulling from books and memory lanes of yesterdays… to put together a “Poetry v Prose”
battle of sorts, which was in memoriam of all the words, characters and stories that have
been brought—and will keep coming— to PDBC.
The session began with this “Poetry v Prose” battle to set the mood, and the session was
culminated with (and was interspersed by) Yogesh Ji’s ideas.
“The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury – read by Jay
With the first reading itself, we were all of us whisked away to the Red Planet, where we
took part in the fourth expedition to Mars.
Jay introduces us to the brave new world and its current (and only?) inhabitants, and
without breaking a sweat takes us right into the action. Spender walks into his four
crewmates having a hearty meal … and poses the question that makes us all gasp (along
with the four at the table).
EDITION 25
“What would you say if I said I’d found a Martian prowling around?”
(pause for dramatic effect!)
Cherokee explains exactly how he’d feel, with his Cherokee blood in him, but he is unable
to see the impending doom …
Spender tells us he has found a Martian “up in a dead town”, and how over the past week
has been learning to read the Martian language from … wait for it … a Martian!
The Martian, clever fellow that he is, asks for repayment from Spender in a style that
closely resembles the Terminator’s. As Spender put it:
The M a rtia n a p p ea red b efore m e a n d sa id , ” Giv e m e
your b oots.” … A n d I ga v e him m y b oots a n d he sa id ,
” Giv e m e your un iform a n d a ll the rest of your a p p a rel.”
a n d I ga v e him a ll of tha t, a n d then he sa id , ” Giv e m e
your gun .” a n d I ga v e him m y gun . Then he sa id , ” N ow
com e a lon g a n d w a tch w ha t ha p p en s.”
Remember that impending doom I was talking about? We all said hello to the little friend
that was the twist in the story at this point, and all (except Cherokee) didn’t live to tell the
tale. A blow-by-blow (pun intended) account followed as Jay took us forward without
skipping a breath, as the alien commanded Spender’s body and took him (and poor
Cherokee with the Cherokee blood) around like a marionette, ending with a struggle (and
apparent victory?) for Spender’s body and mind.
“Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway – read by Yogesh Ji
Ah, the Old Man and the Sea returns, this time in the caring hands and masterful voice of
Yogesh Ji! With ocean sounds in the background, and the patient carefreeness found in a
lifelong friendship, Yogesh ji took us to the Old Man’s boat and into his thoughts.
(Nirali notes in this moment, that he is the Young Man, and
we are the sea!)
He talks of the Sun, the Moon, the Stars and the Old Man’s
meandering thoughts interweawing all of these and none
of these together. And darting from there, he expresses
remorse for the big fish he has caught, but knows that it
was necessary.
(Nirali also notes that in reading this, Yogesh ji has given
his answer to the question the song posed… The Creater is
the Painter, and in this way the lyricist was our very own desi Thoreau!)
Yogesh ji finishes with the passage, and fondly recounts how this book is very close to him
… especially so since it reminds him of his fisherman friend, and of his stories of the Sun,
the Moon and the stars.
” It is good tha t w e d o n ot ha v e to try to kill the sun or the m oon or the sta rs. It is en ough to
liv e on the sea a n d kill our true b rothers.”
“Dark Star Safari” by Paul Theroux – read by Sambhav
The Old Man dreams of his trips to the shores of Africa … and of the prides of lions he sees
from the stern of the ship whenever he is taken by sleep.
And so Sambhav took us to Africa, albeit with lesser rose-coloured glasses!
Paul Theroux’s riveting account, and Sambhav’s intriguing recounting, takes us on a rusty,
dusty, musty trip from northern tip to the southern extremes of Africa. And all throughout
the journey, we are a companion to the Author’s discomfort and general disdain for the
state of affairs.
He talks of the corrupt politicians being indistinguishable from witch-doctors, and the
sleight-of-hand which either of them had to master to stay relevant.
” I got sick, I got stra n d ed b ut I w a s n ev er b ored : in fa ct, m y trip w a s a d elight a n d a
rev ela tion ”
At the end, I ask if there is any explanation for why the book was named the way it is … but
that is a mystery that Mr. Theroux leaves unresolved.
“Catch-22” by Joseph Heller – read by Shanker
Shanker shows us all the cover to this classic, and explains as to why this particular edition
was specifically chosen by him (apart from the book being a hilarious read :D).
The aluminium rivets embossed on this cover, were there to evoke the feeling of being in
one of the fighter planes which are so central to the story itself.
(Bharath’s PS: As I write this, I realise that between this special edition of Catch-22, and that
one special edition of Fahrenheit 451 which was made with a flammable strip on the side
(so that one burns that book after reading; IYKYK), physical books offer an infinitely more
visceral reading experience than a Kindle or any
other device could hope to offer!)
Following this, he takes us on a crazy loop-de-
loop exchange between Yossarian and Doc
Daneeka, as the former begs to be let out from
regular flying duty and the latter showcases his
ingenious system for deciding who gets to be
benched, and who does not.
Spoiler Alert: Being sane meant being crazy
meant being sane, which means you fly …
The almost neck-breaking logical gymnastics of Doc Daneeka’s system leaves us all feeling
whiplash, but Shanker’s patient recounting allows us to appreciate the crazy clarity in it,
and laughter breaks out as we realise the “Catch-22”.
(Bharath’s PS: in discussing with Shanker before the edition to zero in on the passage and
the context etc., he mentioned to me that he was going to “wing it”. This, in fact, was not
only an expression of confidence, but also a much intended pun!)
“Mister God, This is Anna” by ‘Fynn’ (Sydney Hopkins) – read by Jasmeet
We, as moderators, knew the passage which was to be read, of course … but we had
forbidden ourselves from delving deeper into the book because we wanted to experience
the precious exchanges between Fynn and Anna, along with the other members.
Jasmeet brought to life the innocent conversation between Fynn and Anna, on Mister God
(as Anna called him) and his wonderful ways. Like any child, Anna’s questions and answers
were simple and loaded with as much (if not more) wisdom than most learned people. I
remember that with each realisation brought on by this passage, smiles broke out on
everyone’s faces and were passed around like they were candy.
” Fyn n , tha t’s the d ifferen ce.
You see, ev eryb od y ha s got a p oin t of v iew , b ut M ister God ha sn ‘t.
M ister God ha s on ly p oin ts to v iew .”
“The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy – read by Ruchi
This book was an instant transmission onboard a KSRTC bus back to Kerala … which is
what Ruchi’s words took us on when she described the setting of the scene with its cozy
rain, trees, frogs, jackfruits and mangoes, moss, creepers and fish.
However, there was trouble in paradise for us all along with the characters, as the
complicated questions of who should be loved … and how much were unravelled. The
tragically poignant tale of Rahel and Estha was lovingly taken off paper and invited into
the room with us by Ruchi, and one could palpably feel how much their “forbidden” love,
and subsequent loss, weighed heavily on all characters fictional and non-fictional.
“Kindred” by Octavia Butler – read by Shwetha
This one was a journey through spacetime, involving (uncontrollable) time-travel back to
one of the darkest hours of human history — the era of Slavery.
Rufus and Dana meet in 1815 Maryland, but the latter doesn’t belong to that timeline. This
first journey back in time leaves us with more questions than answers.
How was this happening? Is there any way back?
Shwetha explains that all these piqued her interest, and the audience
agrees as continues to read with gusto. Eventually, Dana does manage to
make it back to her time, but is whisked away a second time! Shwetha
explains, that Dana is thrown back in time whenever it seems that Rufus
is in danger…
And so we realise this is not only a tale of science-fiction, but more importantly, it is a tale
of two souls linked by belonging, friendship and the unfortunate danger one of them finds
himself in.
“To Infinity and Beyond?” by N. J. Therattil – read by Aswathy
Although Buzz Lightyear does not make an appearance
in this book (or does he?), Aswathy explains that she was
intrigued by the big, imminent questions that this book
raises.
Where does Space begin?
Who, if at all anyone, owns it?
Who decides who else will be at the table?
Aswathy delves into the “Tragedy of the Commons”, the
conundrum associated with property that is held by
many people. She elucidates the intricacies involved in
handling the collective rights of us all, in matters
pertaining to the uses of outer space. Her careful reading,
and frequent contextualisation, bring to light the
enormity of the problem in trying to wrap human
boundaries around something essentially limitless.
“Yaadavri” by Dr. Jitendra Kumar Soni – read by Nikhil
Nikhil began with his book closed. As he effortlessly began to weave the story together
without so much as glancing down at the words, one by one we all fell into a trance.
Were these his words, or were this the words of the author?
Never you mind that, his golden voice seemed to coax, before pulling us along for the ride.
Before long the curtain was pulled and he confessed this was indeed
the story itself, and he was putting a bit of his spin in there too. But
all agreed that much of the mesmerizing immersion came from his
almost lyrical narration and dramatisation.
He brought to life (in all senses of the phrase!), the story of the
author’s tragic love, which was the tale of how a mutually shared love
was expressed in a subtle call to action by the beloved, but was
unfortunately neglected.
Though the message of love had passed into oblivion like tears lost in rain, the tragedy
resonated within us all for far longer than the retelling itself.
“Ikigai” by Hector Garcia, Francesc Miralles & Heather Cleary – read by Hardik
Before he started reading, Hardik took a moment to emphasise his deep connect with
Ikigai. He then took us on a wonderful journey through stress management, and how the
seemingly simple decisions that one makes every day have far reaching impacts on one’s
psyche and levels of stress.
His personal resonance with the book also shone through in every word he read, and this
made for a fabulous listening experience.
(Bharath’s PS: I loved how Hardik passionately said the following lines, and I’m taking the
liberty to paraphase here: Find your purpose, manage your stress, take your time. It is never
too late in life to be exactly where you need to be to do all of these three.)
“A Ride of a Lifetime” by Robert “Bob” Iger – read by Hanil
Q: Why do we read Biographies?
A: Reading about other people’s stories may answer some of the questions in our
personal lives that one is not able to answer so easily.
No, this was not a quote from the book itself, these were Hanil’s own words as she
contextualised her choice of passage + book!
With this ingenious background, Hanil took to the stand and recounted the story of Bob
Iger’s rise.
She emphasised how his attention to detail, and of his ability to pick up even the most
minute of things from as far back as his early career both inspired and awed her. Her
excitement was infectious. Though she said she was feeling nervous in taking us through
the passage, it was us who were left breathless after she finished reading!
We all were extremely fortunate this edition to have had wonderful discussions about
greatly cherished stories, even more so because we also had with us Mrs. Nija, who had so
graciously donated over 170 books to grow the compendium of stories, characters and
words within the PDBC library!
She said that she hadn’t picked out a passage or book to bring to the edition, but
nonetheless left us all awestruck when she recited an impromptu poem about the sheer
pleasure of finding travellers who travel the same path, and cherish stories far beyond they
do life itself.
The evening ended with everyone recalling the song played at the beginning of the session,
and with Yogesh Ji’s direction, everyone penned down their thoughts about the
quintessential concepts of “Art, Artist and Admirer — The Creative, the creation and the
creator” in the form of art, poems, words, doodles … keeping also in mind all the stories
that had washed over us in the past couple of hours.