I did get lucky the fourth time and how! After three
disappointing books, the universe conspired to bring me the Best of Quest through Blogadda’s book
review program, and I haven’t stopped reveling in the 660 odd pages of sheer
brilliance in the last 10 days. I knew when I applied to review it, that if I got
the book, I’d be laying my hands on a minor treasure. Perhaps these parallels
are not apt, but when researching Quest, I was most strongly reminded of Tehelka
and Open, the magazine – two extraordinary periodicals of our times. It has everything, from articles on political
reform, history, the arts, psychology and education to a most wonderful section
of poetry to a fantastic collection of short stories. Not to forget the enigma
attached to it because of a mysterious CIA connection!
Because the book is an anthology, I decided to be random
with my reading. The introduction had one of the editors talking about the erstwhile
editor of Quest, Dilip Chitre, who was also apparently the mysterious
columnist, D. I was immediately drawn to the last sections, where Mr. Chitre
himself makes the admission, and also talks about his life and times and
contemporaries at Quest. I, then, scurried to gobble up a few pieces written by
D. While most were amusing, witty and even incisive, my favourite was the very
tongue-in-cheek ‘Marriage & Morals: Updating the Pavitra Prostitute’. True
that Chitre had to hide behind a pseudonym (a lone acronym really) to mention
the unmentionables in a not-so-grown-up nation, but his take on issues such as
sex, religion and women are refreshingly real. Writing as Dilip Chitre, he is a
little more serious, a little more guarded, albeit equally insightful. His
piece ‘Aspects of Pornophobia’, for example, deals with a hush-hush matter in a
matter-of-fact manner.
The introductions and endnotes also pointed me towards another
one of the enigmatic editors of Quest, Nissim Ezekiel. The In Memoriam section,
comprising letters of people reminiscing about Nissim, the person and the poet,
is heartwarming. Some of his poems in the poetry section, ‘Poet, Lover,
Birdwatcher’ being my favourite, show just why the man earned the place that he
did in the line of Indian poets.
Then there are many more pieces of social, political and cultural commentary by several authors, but I will remember very distinctly the following pieces because they are as relevant today as they were in the 70s India:
1. ‘The Persistence of
the Caste System: Vested Interests in Backwardness’ by Subhash Chandra Mehta –
We all know too well what the race to be backward is all about, and what its
consequences are.
2. ‘Am I a Muslim? Islam and Bangladesh’ by Mahbubul Hok – A
bold piece by any measure questioning the validity of Islamic states and
practices.
3. ‘Autobiography of Violence’ by Mihir Sinha – Though set
in Calcutta, this account of how violence has seeped into our collective minds
and lives is true of all of India.
4. ‘The Married Woman and Our Sex Morality’ by Sudhir
Chandra – A piece way ahead of its times (even so now), discussing the
possibilities of polygamy/polyandry within marriage and its acceptance.
And finally,
5. ‘The Coffee-Brown Boy looks at the Black Boy’ by J.S.
Saxena – An insightful article exploring the deep racial biases that pervade
nearly all humanity.
Some other articles/essays also found favour with me,
because I have personal inclinations towards the topics. Among them are the
point and counterpoint essays by Jyotirmoy Datta and P. Lal respectively on
Indian English writing, ‘Konarak’ by Marie Seton – a detailed analysis of the
erotic art of Konarak, ‘Sadhus and Hippies’ by Roderick Neill – where he is
mainly showing off his knowledge of the holy men in India but pretends to draw
a comparison between those mentioned in the title, ‘ An Interview with V.S.
Naipaul’ by Adrian Rowe-Evans – A wondrous journey into the career and mind of
the writer that is Sir V.S. Naipaul and ‘The City as Antagonist: Three Recent
Films’ by Saleem Peeradina – the most detailed and ruthless film reviews I ever
saw.
And while I did cheat through the Essays and Opinions
section, often skipping a paragraph or two when the gravity of it all got too
much for my frivolous mind, I was most agog when it came to the poetry and
fiction sections. I lapped up every last turn of phrase, every dainty word,
down to the last comma. And while most pieces were indeed masterpieces, I’d easily
hand over the ‘Most haunting piece’ awards to the poem, ‘3 Cups of Tea’ by Arun
Kolatkar and the short stories ‘The Discovery of Telenapota’ by Premendra Mitra
and ‘The Moon Had to be Mended’ by Kiran Nagarkar. Other memorable works in this compilation are ‘The
Accompanist’ by Anita Desai, ‘Sword and Abyss’ by Keki N. Daruwalla, ‘Tangents’
by Abraham Eraly, ‘Love’ by Adil Jussawala and ‘Madurai: Two Movements’ by A.K.
Ramanujan.
There is so much more meat, so much covered ground and so
many perspectives for those who will care to plunge themselves into The Best of Quest.
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