Write of Passage

Review of Being Good Enough by Rohini Paranjpe Sathe

Sat, 24 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Being Good Enough - Book Cover

Being Good Enough is the journey of Jyoti, who stays in a chawl in Mumbai trying to leave behind her troubled past and working hard to give her son a bright future, hiding from him all the curses and abuses she faced. However, the past has a penchant for catching up with the present, and Jyoti’s life would not be any different. Rohini Paranjpe Sathe's debut novel 'Being Good Enough' is a tale of human flaws and beliefs of a patriarchal society and how experiencing them and fighting them make us stronger and more humane.

Will Jyoti be able to handle the surprising challenges which life has in store for her? Will she be able to find peace and secure her son’s future? Will she be able to hide whatever she was trying to hide or will those wreck havoc in her life? To know the answers to all those queries, become a companion of Jyoti in her adventurous journey.

The story puts forth many mysteries and unravels them in a very fluid manner. The story shuttles between Mumbai and Delhi – the present residing place and the home of the past. The story, set up in Delhi talks about Jyoti’s family, her childhood, her promiscuous youth, the mistakes she committed, her trap marriage with a gay person, her friendship with her gay husband, and finally giving birth to her son to run away from the place. The description of her tenure in Delhi highlighted a lot of societal stigmas and contraptions like patriarchal dictates and religious divides and how they mingle to make life harder for females. It also shows the hypocrisy of the people in power – how they shun any religion other than their own. However, they do not think twice before joining hands with people of another religion to fulfill their vested interests.

Jyoti’s present takes place mostly in a “chawl’’ in Mumbai and is visually evocative. Aspects like space constraint, people sharing walls, yards even bathrooms to the strong bonding shared between the neighbors are all depicted crisply. Jyoti’s story begins in a crowded Mumbai market, it gradually unfolds amidst the differing societal and religious beliefs in Delhi and finds a climax back again in Mumbai.

What I loved most about the novel is its characterization. The characters are all shades of grey which makes them more believable and relatable. They all are an integral part of the story and have a story tell. A noteworthy point is the ease with which the narration was done - jumping from the present to the past and again back to the past. Another aspect which I loved was the usage of lyrics of Bollywoood Hindi songs. They have been all throughout, from the past till the present to portray not only emotions but the passing of time as well. The book cover with the picture of a mother holding the hand of her son with the city skyline as backdrop deserves special mention. It was able to perfectly give us an idea of what the novel is about.

If you want to embark on a modern and realistic journey via a book, I would definitely recommend reading Being Good Enough. For Rohini Paranjpe Sathe I can only say that her debut novel is ‘really good enough’. It is a light read, but with an emotionally and intellectually enriching storyline, and poignant storytelling.

So don't wait anymore and buy the book from here now.

The Beauty of Realization and Acceptance

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Pratibha was running all across the house. It is a busy day for her – Anaya, her only daughter is getting married today. The Covid 19 has marred the celebration to a great extent, but the excitement of the mother-daughter duo remains intact!

For Anaya, it has been a long, arduous wait. She has been in LOVE only once – she has been in LOVE for the last 10 years – she is madly in LOVE with Riya. They met on the first day of their college. She was looking for her classroom when Riya came to her and asked “Do you need any help?” That was the start of their friendship - seems like an eternity now! They became friends, then BFFs, and then lovers.

But hey, this is not the story of Anaya. It is the story of Pratibha. Going back to the current time, Pratibha was looking for Anaya.

“Have you seen Anaya anywhere? Whenever I need her, she is nowhere to be found!” She asked one of her relatives.

“I think I saw her going to her room.”

“Okay. Thanks a ton.”

She hurried towards Anaya’s room. As she was about to enter the room, she saw Anaya was sitting and crying in front of the mirror. A concerned Pratibha ran towards her “Hey what happened Sona? Are you doing fine? Are you having pre-wedding jitters?” she asked Anaya while gently wiping her tears.

“No no I am fine Mamma,” Anaya said as she tried to compose herself. “I was just thinking of the day I told you about Riya and what happened after that! I never thought I’ll be able to witness this day! Thank you so much Mamma for giving me so much joy by accepting Riya. I love you to the moon and back. You will always remain my everything!”

Those words took Pratibha around 5 – 6 years back to the day which she still remembers vividly. She came back from her office and was having the first sip of her beloved tea when Anaya gave her the news, with a lot of pride! She is in love with Riya. Pratibha was about to keep her cup on the table, but her hand became stagnant! She was shocked - her eyes were still, devoid of any expressions.

Pratibha hails from a ‘normal’ family where everything was ‘normal’. While growing up she never heard terms like ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’. Never heard the word ‘transgender’, only knew about ‘hijras’ and looked at them with amusement as well as awe! Everyone in the family studied the way they were supposed to and got married the way they were supposed to.

It was around 15 years back that she became familiar with the terms gay and lesbian. She was an educated lady working for the last 15 years. She was smart, she was intelligent and she was quite a non-judgemental person. But, for reasons even unknown to her, she detested gays and lesbians.

“There is a decorum to everything. I seriously don’t understand the gay and lesbian thing! How can you marry someone of the same gender? You can love them as a friend not otherwise. All these first World concepts are creeping and ruining the very fabric of our society” she once blabbered those sentences to one of her friends, in utter disgust!

She loathed such relationships so much so that she ended her friendship with one of her very good friends when she came out to her. Her friend tried her best to make her understand that love is love and that everyone does not feel love the same way we have been taught to and habituated with. But nothing was able to change her mind.

When Anaya revealed to her about Riya, the first thing that came to Pratibha’s mind was her long-lost friend. Over time and with more information, Pratibha’s aversion towards the LGBTQ+ community has decreased. She has accepted the fact that such people exist at different corners of the world, some out of the closet and some not. She has become non-judgemental about those people.

This time, however, it was different. She, never in her wildest imaginations thought that this will hit so close to her heart! She found it difficult to gather her thoughts and ideas. Anaya was able to gauge the situation. “Mamma I know you are shocked and presently you are at a loss of everything. You know Riya, you know what she means to me and you know there can be no one better for me than her. You take your time, give our love some thought and some love and let me know about your decision. I will wait for it because you know what that means to me,”

The next few weeks went by too fast. Pratibha remained preoccupied – her mind and her heart were not in sync. She was tormented and was not able to decide. She was looking for a sign – a sign from somewhere that will give her the positive vibes she was so badly hunting for.

It was finally her love for her daughter and her understanding about how love can be ‘different’ from what she has known thus far, that gave her the strength to accept Anaya and Riya as a couple. Before bestowing her blessings to those two beautiful young women, one day Pratibha was sitting with her friend whom she shunned away, ruminating about the thoughts that engulfed her mind for the last few weeks. She was pleasantly surprised by her actions and concluded that getting old is making her wiser.

She said to her friend “Beauty is everywhere, but maybe as I started getting older, I began to see beauty where I least expected it before." Hearing that her friend came close to her and gave her the tightest and the warmest hug she ever received. That delightful moment was sweetened when Anaya and Riya joined to give her more ‘tight and warm’ hugs.

Celebrating the Bewildering Celestial Beauty

Sat, 31 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Today was a stressful day, a tiring day to say the least
I kept on thinking when will I get over with this day?
My mind was longing for some beauty, for some pleasure
My eyes were hovering and wishing for some soothing balm.

A lookup onto the Sky
There lies everything I was looking for
Everything that can make my imperfect day perfect
Everything that can provide solace to mind, body, and soul!

The vastness of the incredibly clear sky
The cool silvery moon shining bright
The plethora of twinkling stars
All in unison creating and celebrating the perfect celestial beauty!

The bewildering beauty of the Moon
Peeping through the branches and leaves of the trees
A hide and seek game to behold
Casting a spell to wean off all the darkness surrounding us.

“I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter‘s My Friend Alexa 2020″ campaign. This was my last post for the campaign. I would like to thank the entire Blogchatter team for such a wonderful campaign. It kept me busy and my creative juices flowing the whole month of October.

Borisho Dhora Majhe - A Musical Call for Peace

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT

I was always fascinated and amazed by Rabindranath Tagore. His stories, short stories, and his poetries were not just creations of a genius, they were creations of a person who was way ahead of his times. Or it can also be said that his writings, which he wrote at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are meant for eternity. Sometimes I wonder how could he paint every emotion of a human being, every action of humanity with such ease, and could also foresee the glory and the despair of the future of mankind! Borisho Dhora Majhe Shantiro Bari is one such song, which though written in 1884 yet remains relevant in 2020. Such is the relevance of the wordings that they will resonate with us during these trying times.

The eternal optimist that I am, the lyrics of this song struck the emotional chords of my heart. This song is a prayer song and begins with the urge that the Earth be showered with the rain of peace. It talks about a world where there will be no jealousy, no deceits, no darkness, no unwanted attractions, no violence, no sorrow, no repentance, no misunderstandings, and no pretense. In the end, it implores that the stone-hearted be showered with LOVE.

The whole world today is reeling with hatred and violence, egos are running high, organized religions are fighting for their supremacy and misplaced blame game and whataboutery are ruining the very fabric of the society. When will people understand the futility of it all? People admonish you, people mock you - they say you are living in la-la land if you talk about equality, dignity, and peace! It's high time everyone should pause for some moments and listen to Bhorisho Dhora Majhe Shantiro Bari. I am hopeful people will find comfort and get drenched in the deep and earnest call for peace.

The earnest plea for peace that the song Bhorisho Dhora Majhe prays has found the perfect voice in Timir Biswas. He is a known face in the Bengali singing scene. He is the lead singer of the Fakira, a Bengali folk-fusion band. Timir has finely reproduced the essence of this prayer song with his exceptional performance. His voice is mellifluous, his expressions sincere and heartfelt and the music arrangement spot on. You will be easily transported to a whole different world of dream and positivity with his rendition. He sang the song with the same emotion, passion, and sincerity with which it was written. Let victory be in peace and not in wars.

“I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter‘s My Friend Alexa 2020″ campaign.

Oslo to Bergen - A Magical Train Journey

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Lush greenery, beautiful lakes, and quite a lot of snow – have you ever been on a train ride that encompasses all these delightful landscapes in a matter of a few hours? Yes, I am happy to say I have been fortunate enough to witness that. The marvelous 6 hours 30 minutes journey from Oslo to Bergen left an indelible impression on me, one which I will cherish forever.

It was a misty day with some drizzle here and there. The weather not being on our side, I thought we have to relinquish the excitement of enjoying the beauty of Europe we have seen only in calendars! On the contrary, just as we settled inside the train and seated ourselves comfortably, I went on an obsessive spree of clicking pictures. For me everything was picturesque and it would be a sacrilege to waste any chance of capturing them to enjoy them in the future.