Tales From the Road... - Aniket Ketkar

Tales from the Road... by Aniket Ketkar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was during the period that I was waiting to implement the change of lifestyle that I had decided on that this book was recommended to me. The recommendation came from a friend of a friend, whose friend had done something of the sort that he thought I was about to do. I looked up the book and was a little surprised at finding only a Kindle edition. At that time I did not own a Kindle and was, as I still am, a paperback fan. But once I did get a Kindle, it was not long before I went back to the book and ordered it.

The book is a memoir of the experiences of the author while he was on the road. There is a disclaimer right in the beginning of the book which warns the reader not to nitpick grammatical errors. Ketkar gives a brief introduction of himself in the opening pages and tells us that he is (or was) a charted accountant by profession and his aim in the book is to tell the story, rather than aim at establishing himself as a master of the language. But language contributes as much to making a book engaging as it's story. And the fact that Aniket Ketkar managed to write such an engaging book with such a simple language makes his story-telling all the more laudable. What appeals most in this travelogue is the personal touch that the author has added to it, but it's a right balance of personal emotions and travel information.

Aniket was a charted accountant in a big multi national firm but he always had a penchant to travel. And travel he did, but in a way that most of us Indians do : on a limited leash. On one such vacation, in Mongolia, he was reminded of his childhood dream to be a traveller. He then decided to take up travelling more seriously, quit his job and hit the road. The book is a product of the eight months he spent exploring various parts of south-east Asia.

I quite liked the book. It was thoroughly enjoyable and quite a light read. I read it slowly, a morsel at a time. There were many points on which I could relate to the author, there were many incidents where I was amused at how his experiences matched mine. There was quite a lot of information in the book that I explored further. I will definitely look forward to Ketkar's next set of experiences.

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The Masque of Africa - V.S. Naipaul

The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief by V.S. Naipaul
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was in Manali, on my way back from an exhausting road trip. I had taken a break for a couple of days and, quite strangely, found myself without a book. So I went to the friendly neighbourhood bookstore near my hotel and started browsing the shelves. I had thought of picking up a book on Mahayana Buddhism but I failed to find any that offered an interesting back page teaser. The next best thing was a Murakami book which picked up with the intention to buy. But I had not yet scanned all the shelves. Driven by compulsion, I went through the ones that remain and found a beautiful hard bound book with the name of Naipaul on it. It said : "The Masque of Africa - Glimpses of African Belief". Going by the storekeeper's recommendation, I ended up ditching Murakami for Naipaul.

I had never read Naipaul before, but I had heard his name in passing quite a few times. The bookshop's owner, Piyush, had recommended the book strongly. In his opinion, Naipaul had a power of observation that gave him his edge over the other writers. This sense of observation gave his writing a very personal touch and made it opinionated. Piyush was appalled at how people had started criticizing Naipaul for his opinions. According to him Naipaul was entitled to them like anyone else, the reader had a choice to agree or disagree. This discussion had got me curious about Naipaul and his writing. I immediately went to a cafe and read a few pages. What Piyush had said became quite evident. Naipaul gives a very personal touch to his writing. It is his perspective and some research added on to it, but it is more of the former than the latter.

In "The Masque of Africa" Naipaul has tried to explore the beliefs and religious systems of Africa. He travels in six countries across the continent : Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Gabon and South Africa, and tries to dig into the local culture and traditions of these countries. All the African countries had faced colonization and as a result had had Christianity and Islam forced upon them. But the cultural undercurrents were still strong. There is magic and spirituality, mixed with the vastness of forest and its bounties, ancestors and witchdoctors. Some condemn the old African beliefs and some crawl back to it despite generations of disconnect. The book provides (true to it's title) mere glimpses of what was the traditional African system of beliefs, with each tribe still holding on to the ghosts of its roots.

What I liked most about this book was Naipaul's writing. It was easy to see why Piyush was so fascinated by him. However, as I had read in another review about this book, Naipaul's research left a lot to be desired. He travelled as a VIP and received such treatment. His hotels were lavish and his company political and powerful. Though it is easily understandable given his age, it is difficult to see how he could have gotten close to the real deal in such a simulated environment. Perhaps the project would have been done more justice in the hands of a younger and more daring researcher. But Naipaul wins me over with his writing. His "A House for Mr. Biswas" goes on my list.

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