The Color Purple

What an incredibly beautiful book!
When N handed me this book after the conversation about how her writing got impacted a bit because of reading this book, I was intrigued. Wanted to know what it was about this book.
Only when I started reading it, did I know its beauty. Its not just the simple style of writing, its also about the simple narration, serious issues described from a innocent woman's point of view and the style of book in all. Awesome writing! Awesome concept!

The first chapter is a good enough prelude to make one ready to the mood in the book, but the rest of the book is not anyway like it. There is a certain playfulness even while describing the saddest of emotions!

Such atrocities caused on women in the name of race, gender, age, sex - that I could feel my eyes well up with tears at some points.
Such pain one woman had to see because of her innocence, her color and her gender. Not ever knowing how it is to have a real Mom and a real Dad, being molested by someone whom she called Pa, not even knowing what happened to her children, being married off to someone just so that he can have someone at home to clean it and his kids, and then use her for the night, falling in love with a woman, yearning for her sister and coming out of all this emerging a strong lady - Celie is a strong character, though she starts off as an innocent 14 year old kid.
She somehow made me think about the women born in early 50s in India. More or less, most of them had similar lives, saving of course, the incest! Though it is still prevalent in India, Indian women do not have to bear the children out of incest! Or so I think, and I wish to think!

Sofia is another character I loved from the book. Her brashen attitude of being proud of herself, not giving in to Harpo, living her life the way she wanted to, and lying afloat in spite of facing the toughest of times - She is someone every woman should become. Independent, Individualistic and taking pride in being who you are!

Shug though very unconservative is also a very practical character. She starts off as a young, arrogant woman, but over the years mellows into someone who sees people for what they are, and takes interest in their lives. She effortlessly leads Celie into her new world, and gives her a direction making Celie strong enough to live her life without Shug herself.

Nettie is a perfect example of patience. It takes a lot to keep writing to someone without an idea if that person is reading the letters or not - thats what I would call perseverance. The thought of two sisters meeting each other after 30 years is also heartening!

Nothing to write home about the men in this book - all of them including Samuel fade in character and are typical as compared to the women. Alphonso is an animal in a man's garb, Albert though started off as an animal, earned his place among humans by being nice to Sofia and from the stories Shug tells Celie. Harpo shows that he loves Sofia in many ways, but fails to stand up to her when she wanted it. Only Adam proves himself to be a man when he scars his face so that he can make Tashi feel included. A very profound proclamation of love!


The book ended beautifully when Albert and Celie become friends, and they nurture their friendship so slowly, that Albert actually values Celie for the woman she is, and Celie comes to terms and settles her head abuot Shug returning to her, and Sofia staying in with Harpo again.

I have always been aware of the problems colored people had to face because of their color, but knowing that colored women had to face hardships because of their gender from the men of their own color, that moved me! Its just a slice of all the hardships women around the world have had to face because of their gender - incest, molestation, rape, physical pain, separation from kids - all these, and the worst of all - mental torture.

Apart from just talking about women's problems, this book also subtly points out the atrocities white man does to black men, not only in America but also in Africa. starting from Africans selling their people to how their land, lives and people were snatched away from them by the outsiders. Goes on to prove that man himself is man's enemy. Cutting down trees, pulling people out of their native lands, wars on countries, and atrocities on women! Sigh!

But what surprised me the most in this book is how the characters accept woman love - Celie's and Shug's love for one another. Considering the time this book was written, this is a very good development to show that love does not need gender to prosper!

All in all, a very beautiful book whose memories I shall treasure forever!

One search on the author led me to the Wiki page. And my respect on her grew ten fold!

Kand.ukonden!

The Telugu version of Jeans was on TV, and I happened to switch to that channel exactly when the song Hayre Hayre was on. That freshened up some old memories and I went searching for the video of Ajooba on Youtube.
More surfing and I landed at my then-fave-song Enna solla poraai from Kanduk.onden Kan.dukonden.

I fell in love with the lyrics of the song the first time I heard them in Telugu. Only when I heard and understood the Tamil ones did I realize that the Telugu ones were word to word translation, nevertheless great one at that. The song did not lose its original flavor, and it stuck to my heart. I then became a huge fan of the movie too. My friends would never understand what it was that I loved so much about that movie. And this movie and me were subject to many jokes. They all obviously loved Aishwarya Rai in the movie, but Tabu's was my fave character. And I loved the movie for totally different reasons.
I think it was the phase I was going through in my life at that time that made me identify myself with that movie so much.

I loved the fact that a guy could love a girl older to him(which was a taboo) so much, I loved the fact that he wanted to be independent before he married her. I wanted to be like the girl who was so independent that she took care of her mother and sisters when tragedy struck. I loved her strength, resilience and individuality. She defined what I wanted to be. Be in love with someone but not so much that you lose yourself. And even in heartbreak, do not lose yourself.
I also loved the character played by Ma.mmooty. It was so realistically practical.

This movie was with me through some very defining phases of my life.
When I was a innocent teenager living life as it came, when I was happy in love, when I was beaten down by life and finally when I came out of it and handled my responsibility and career... Never once did I forget that I had to be strong and resilient like that girl from the movie!
Handle life, love, career, responsibility, heartbreak and also tears with dignity like she did.

So here's to that movie, which gave me the first ever idea of how I should be!
Like the meaning of the name of the movie - Kandukon.den.. I also found out who I am! :)

Life..

Read these lines somewhere... Found it to be so awesome that I did not want to forget them ever!

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride