Monday, November 5, 2012

November surprises



November always takes me by surprises, like these tiny lilac flowers cascading down from the otherwise plain, undemanding basil. I had never seen one flower, or in fact knew it did, before this. With the winter on her way to making an elegant comeback, the days have begun to shrunk. That strange yet delicious coming together of torpor and restlessness is back, and nothing like these quiet little awakenings to kindle the winter woes.

Then, there's a tiny yet overwhelmingly mulish part of me, that takes almost a century to finally acknowledge greatness that has long surpassed its peak. Of course, it's not the first time I'm regretting this, but with The Kite Runner the regret almost leaves me gasping. After two days of sleepless reading punctuated by stifled whimpers (yes, I do that), I am yet to come out of Khaled Hosseini's stunningly devastating world, a world that is so tenderly painted with love, hopelessness, and loss. Loss of everything, almost. What tugs at my heart is the one line - "There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood" - and perhaps there, in those heartrending, resigned words, lies the soul of the novel.
I won't say much about my afterthoughts, mostly because I realize I don't have words that would express the deluge of emotions pirouetting inside me, and also because I don't want to say goodbye yet. I can still see Hassan's carefree smile, the one sugared with unwavering love for 'Amir agha'; I can still smell the warm naans that Ali brings from the bazaar; I can still feel the cold crunch of snow under the zealous feet of the kite runners; I can still see Baba and Rahim Khan enjoying their black tea amid swirls of smoke rising from their cigarettes; I can still imagine the colours of Kabul before its war-torn, harrowing doom; I can still see Amir endeavoring all his life 'to be good again'. And I can still hear Hassan's heartbeat humming the only song of his life...

"For you, a thousand times over."



16 comments:

  1. Hello Suman:
    And, what untold delights we have in store as we have yet to read 'The Kite Runner', but read it we surely will!!

    It is both satisfying and yet strangely unsettling to be so moved by a novel we find. We can identify so well with what you write here about a novel which one has finished reading but yet in many other ways remains unfinished with its reader.

    The sentence you quote is devastating in both its simplicity and its power to encapsulate the terrible situation in that country.

    We have grown, in recent years, to love these days which are now drawing measurably in and we withdraw into warm and cosy corners of coffee houses to endure the chill of winter. Hot chocolates have replaced chilled white wines....until Spring!!!

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    1. Oh read it you must! Very few novels have moved me the way this one has, and such an overpowering presence it has, that one feels continuously at odds yet evolving along with its characters and their unfortunate fates. Also, it is a classic example of how something can be so heartrendingly devastating and still manage to mesmerize in its quiet, compelling style.

      We haven't reached the hot chocolate time yet; ginger tea, and in mug-fulls now, is pretty much the way.

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  2. This is a book that I have resisted reading, being careful of my emotions for the past eighteen month having become second nature. I have found that when life is nearly too much to handle, reading something like The Kite Runner might just put me over the edge. Home after a wonderful holiday, sleeping again and with The Great Dane's health stabilized, perhaps I am ready for this book to pull at my heart too. You have offered a view of it that I haven't read anywhere else.

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    1. I couldn't agree less, dear friend, and yes, it sure has pushed me to that frightful edge from where it takes a while to get back to one's drab reality. I would recommend the novel to you any day, but yes do take time if you don't feel up to it yet. It does manage to shake you, shake you real hard.

      I am glad The Great Dane is doing well and reading your European diaries has been such a joy. Wishing more such days to you and your family.

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  3. I love this, Suman. Lovely, lovely post. :")

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  4. Dear Suman. It’s a touching post!! A simple quote can describe the terrible situation of a country. Words can be so powerful!!

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    1. Yes, dear Celine, words do have that power. They can move you and mould you, and always in the most unassuming of ways, and that's what I love about them. Glad you liked the post.

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  5. Dear Suman, You bring back to me very fond memories of my university where I read The Kite Runner... Before I read your post, I scrolled down to see the picture and I read the script on it. It seemed so familliar and as soon I was struck with the line "For you a thousand time over" the joy that I felt is not expressable. IT brought everything in front of me; all the feelings in the novel and my own feelings when I had read the book. And about this post I would say beautifuly done.

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    1. Dear Zahir, thank you for the lovely comment. I agree, that one small expression describes a thousand intense sentiments throughout the novel, and what an enjoyable experience it must have been for you, to read it as a course book. I'm glad we share the same feelings about this great novel.

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  6. Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping by! You have a wonderful blog.

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  7. I loved The Kite Runner and your post brought it rushing back to me. I do know what Pondside means. I have been careful too with what I read over the last year or so as family problems stretched me very thin. But this book is uplifting as well as heartbreaking. Thank you for reminding me.

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    1. I'm glad this post made you revisit 'The Kite Runner'. True, one must be careful regarding one's choice of books; they have the power to do so much.

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  8. Some books just never leave you, the Kite Runner is one of them. Often I look for escapism, something to soothe the troubled mind or let the aching muscles rest, but very soon I grow tired of pap and reach for something more nourishing

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    1. I so agree with that first sentence, dear Friko. And yes, nothing like a good read to escape from the droll banalities of life.

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