May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss

By Arnab Ray aka Great Bong

Reviewed by Dipali Taneja

"May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss" is a brilliantly funny book by an author who is immensely observant. To me the book is essentially a sociological treatise on Indian urban life in the last two decades or so, but one written with wit, wisdom and imagination. So many of his observations ring so true- when he speaks of the ultra-slow plot progression of desi soaps, you find yourself in full agreement with the author. When he writes about the travails of the Bengali bridegroom going through a traditional marriage, you cannot help but chuckle. I loved the way he described the seminal influence some Hindi films had on him. One chapter heading is 'Five things that piss me off', which encompasses Human Resource Personnel, First Class In Flights, Polite Conversation, The Flush, and, most frustrating of them all, Calling Customer Service. You cannot help but identify with one or more of these! If you want advice on How To Start Your Own managemnt Institute, look no further. He writes openly, honestly, and political correctness can go take a jump.


If you want a lighthearted insight into modern day urban India, Arnab Ray's 'May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss' is a wonderful read!

Psst, psst: Read our interview with Arnab here
Also read Mamma Mia!! Me a Mamma??'s review here

Karadi's new series 'Will You Read With me?'

Okay people this post is for Mums who have small kids and who wish to introduce the idea of 'reading yourself' in their kids! I came across these Audio book series from Karadi Tales and thought I'd try to get my 7 year old son to read it by himself...till now he depends on me to read out stories to him!Guess what?I was hugely successful but there were a few hitches!

The concept is what I really liked.My son liked the idea of reading stories with their favourite actor/actress/sports personality.The illustrations on the books are also very beautifully done to generate reading interest in the child.The CD that comes along with the book gives them confidence to read the book aloud and read it on their own.

What I thought could be worked upon are the long sentences and big words that turn out to be tricky for the kids to read by themselves.

So Super Hathaman is the story of Hathaman who wishes to become Super Hathaman - he wants to fly in the sky and walk on water! On the advice of the old yogi, he journeys to Tibet to acquire super powers. Does he get them? Read and listen to know that!The story is narrated by Jaaved Jaaferi ,(I realised he has quiet a kiddie fan following..How I still don't know! )... the story is by Kaushik Viswanath and artwork in a hilarious style by Chetan Sharma with mystic music by 3 Brothers & A Violin and a catchy title track by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
Where Super Hathaman loses out are the tough words and the long drawn sentences.Artwork is fabulous and keeps the kids interested till the very end.I could see my son could quiet relate with Hathaman and his desire to fly in the sky!
 
A Hundred Cartloads is a beautiful story of love and friendship between a man and his animal. Ananda the ox cares very deeply about his master and is willing to do anything to help him.He cannot bear to see his master living poorly so he comes up with a plan to make him super rich and happy.

The story is narrated by Soha Ali Khan and written by Devika Rangachari. The title music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, the charming folk music by 3 Brothers & A Violin and the detailed, vivid illustrations by Bindia Thapar make the story come alive.A beautiful story and a must read for kids I loved the illustrations in this one too.I could see my son really enjoyed this one and so did my 2 and a half year old daughter!



There are many more books in the series you could get more information here http://www.karaditales.com/WYRWM.aspx

And here's Sidin....

Columnist, blogger (http://www.whatay.com/) and now, with the publication of Dork:The Incredible Adventures of Robin 'Einstein' Verghese, an author, Sidin Vadukut is undoubtedly the funny man to read when you're in a bit of a funk. Sidin took time out to respond to our questions on his writing, and his book, and yes there will be sequels, so keep your money ready and waiting.

1] When you began blogging, did you imagine that this would lead to a book someday? Or was there always a book at the back of your mind?

Absolutely. When I began blogging, way back in 2002 or so, I was convinced that all this typing and posting was inevitably leading to literary achievements and fame and glory and all that. As was/is everyone else as they fill in that online form to open their Blogger or Wordpress account. At the time, in 2002, I was full of the stupid conviction of youth that I was an amazing writer and all this blogging was a distraction from the book writing and prize winning.

Now when I go back and read what I wrote in 2002... shudder.

But since then priorities changed drastically. Gradually I realized I sucked at fiction, realized perhaps journalism was the way to go, and then plunged into that whole-heartedly. This shift happened sometime in 2005 I think. I did work on a book at the time, and that period saw a slowdown in blogging which I have never really recovered from. And then that manuscript got shelved as I got on with the business of making ends meet, getting married and joining gyms.

I was once again coaxed into the book project by friends and family in 2006. Then a combination of luck, good timing and LinkedIn.com made Dork happen. So no, I was never carrying Dork in my head and waiting for the perfect moment. First I decided I wanted to write a book, Dork was the idea everyone liked best.

2] How easy or difficult is it to make the transition from blogging short posts, to writing a full fledged book, what is the shift in mind required?

The process of writing wasn't difficult. But the substance of the manuscript itself was a challenge.
I was able to cope with the process because of three reasons: Having been a journalist of some kind helps deal with deadlines, editing, correcting and, most importantly, helps you somewhat distinguish good writing from bad. (I've had some amazing editors over the last few years. Touch wood.) Secondly, I'd always written very long blog posts, 2000 words at a time. And I spend a fair amount of time on those posts. So typing into the night on a tight daily word-count wasn't a shock. And finally in Dork I'd chosen a format, the diary entry, which wasn't all that different from a blog format. This was not entirely accidental.

The substance itself was a problem. Thinking and creating a plotline that runs across 65000 words is very difficult. It was only after writing half the book that I developed a system of plot outlines, notes and character descriptions that made things easier. This was the hardest element. Creating a sequence of events that lasts AND sustains interest. Very hard.

3] How do you respond to the criticism that most bloggers turned authors recycle the same stuff from their blogs into their books?

While this is probably true, I don't think there is a problem here per se. This is a little bit like saying William Dalrymple is obsessed with history no? I don't mind blogger-authors sticking to a genre or a topic or a style. The real issue is recycling and originality. But remember that most bloggers get commissioned to write exactly what is on their blog. It is not like publishers will approach a humour blogger and tell them to write the next War And Peace with a gritty Mumbai feel.
And unless the blogger tries something drastically different, frequent readers WILL predict punchlines, plot twists, dialogues et cetera, et cetera. The blog reader can be pretty unforgiving.
Blogger-authors have it tough.

4] Who are your favourite authors and which are your favourite books?
Whatay hard question. Favourite authors: Bill Bryson, Dave Barry, Martin Cruz Smith, William Dalrymple, Sjowall and Wahloo, Anthony Beevor.
Favourite books: Netherland, Stalingrad, D-Day, Red Square, The Laughing Policeman, From the Holy Mountain, Maus, Dave Barry Slept Here, e by Matt Beaumont... so many.

5] Any advice you would give bloggers aspiring to be authors?
Write about sex. Sex and IITs. Or Sex IN an IIM. Five Point Threesome.
Otherwise develop one of two things: style or substance. Develop a style, ala Greatbong, Amit Verma, Krish Ashok, that lets you handle any topic with unique flair. Or specialize in a particular topic in great depth and enthusiasm. Like the Indian National Interest guys, Jai Arjun Singh or Bharadwaj Rangan. I can't think of another way to make it. Newspapers and, I assume, most publishers wants a killer style or an awesome story. You have to have one of those.
Then work at it. Get published. Network heavily so you get bylines everywhere. Indeed we are lucky to be in a country where new magazines still open and newspapers still look for writers. There is a dire need of good writers across all topics. Meet that demand. Caferati and book readings are good places to network.
And please be open to feedback. The earlier you get solid feedback in your career the better.
And once you feel what it means to be edited, to meet deadlines and to really craft nice sentences and tight endings, the book deals will begin to be within reach.
Oh and read lots. Of everything. No output without input.

6] What should readers watch out for, are you working on a next book?
Dork 2 is afoot. Very, very slowly. Due in June. But I am also working on a non-Dork novel outline. Hoping to send out pitches to publishers by June end. I am very excited about this project. A strange and macabre idea. Fingers itch to type. But hush hush for now. Dork 2 first.
And then that magnum opus World War 2 book that someone will have to fund me copiously for. Dream project. Much traveling involved. Unless I kill two birds with one stone and enroll for a PhD in History in 2012.

Would you like to send in a review?

If you would like to review any book written by a blogger turned author for our Blogger Turned Author fortnight, please do mail us at bookwelove@gmail.com, with your review, and a short intro of yourself, and a link to your blog, if you blog. We would be happy to publish it.

An interview with Arnab Ray

 



Arnab Ray, better known as Greatbong, is one of India's most widely read bloggers who blogs at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind (http://greatbong.net). His blog was awarded the "Indiblog of the Year" at Indibloggies in 2006 and 2008. He has written for several media outlets like the Washington Post, Outlook magazine and Live Mint. He graduated from Jadavpur University as a Bachelor in Computer Science and Engineering and went on to finish his PhD in Computer Science from State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is presently employed as a research scientist at the University of Maryland and resides in the suburbs of Washington DC.

He recently finished writing his first book "May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss" which was published by Harper Collins.Here he talks to us about his blog and his latest book

1] When you began blogging, did you imagine that this would lead to a book someday? Or was there always a book at the back of your mind?

No I didn't. I am the kind that does things without deliberating much

as to where the "doing" will lead to.

2] How easy or difficult is it to make the transition from blogging  short posts, to writing a full fledged book, what is the shift in mind required?

I don't think there is any specific shift that is needed. My book

resembles very closely the style of a blog and so for me personally it

has been even less of a shift than it has been for others.

Content wise , there is of course a consistent focus away from current

events and "hot" news to themes that are more universally relevant

since books have shelf lives of years. Unlike a blog post.

3] How do you respond to the criticism that most bloggers turned & authors recycle the same stuff from their blogs into their books?

First of all they don't. Speaking specific to my case, while my book

does has certain popular posts rewritten, there is a lot of new

material in the book that has never been covered on the blog. Also I

don't see where the problem is even in "recycling". A blog is an

open-for-all repository of writing whose copyright is owned by the

blogger. It has not been commercially released and every blogger

deserves the right to make money from the content he has produced. If

someone was re-cycling previously published material then yes it

warrants criticism. But what is written on a blog is not "published"

in the accepted sense of the term since nobody has paid to read it.

Blog posts are analogous to draft papers that academics circulate in

research communities to warrant feedback before publishing it at a

research venue. Nobody considers its final publication as a "recycling"

do they? Another analogy is to open-source software. If a company has

their code-base online for public review and offers it as free

software package and then builds a product that takes the

"open-source" code and extends it with custom code implementing

premium features in a "paid" release, nobody criticizes them for

building their commercial product on their own open-source code base.

Right?

4] Who are your favourite authors and which are your favourite books?

Too many to mention. Orhan Pamuk, Vedvyas, J D Salinger, Salman

Rushdie, Rabindranath Tagore, Arun Shourie...and let me not even get

into books !

 5] Any advice you would give bloggers aspiring to be authors?

None at all except write on topics you are passionate about and don't

even have the "What do I need to write so as to get the attention of

publishers?" question at the back of your mind.

 6] What should readers watch out for, are you working on a next book?

Yes I am. Mainstream fiction with a humorous undertone.

Author Interviews!

We have been reviewing books for sometime and thought we should take this blog a step further and increase interaction of authors with book lovers and readers.Since our medium of interaction with book lovers is through blogs we thought its absolutely apt to kick off the series with 'Bloggers turned Authors'

We plan to carry interviews with bloggers who are now published authors.

Kicking off our series with Arnab Ray of greatbong.net who answers some questions for us. He talks about his recently published book,'May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss' published by Harper-Collins India,his blog,his favourite writers etc...

Enjoy!

A Disobedient Girl

A Disobedient Girl
By Ru Freeman
Reviewed by Kiran Manral

What do you do when you are thrown into a life situation that delegates you to be perenially subordinate? This powerful debut novel by Ru Freeman poses just that question. Set in Sri Lanka, through the era of the LTTE strife, the protagonist is Latha, who is the maid in a genteel Colombo household and the playmate to Thara. The parallel track is that of Biso, who is escaping an alcoholic husband, and has got onto a train to the north of Sri Lanka, to her maternal aunt's home, with her three children. Her husband has killed her lover, and her third child is the product of her illicit dalliance. Latha grows up in the shadow of Thara, who gets all the clothes, the shoes, the attention. The narrative is powerfully written, we see Latha yearn for the luxuries that Thara takes for granted, unable to understand why she must be deprived of what Thara takes as a right. Her anger at being denied a new pair of sandals drives her to seduce Thara's crush, and she consequently gets pregnant. In disgrace, she is sent off to a convent in the mountains where she bears her child who is taken away by the nuns and given up for adoption. And Biso, on the train to the north, in another time, is touched by the kindness of strangers, is kind to a pregnant girl also being sent off to a convent, encounters a bomb blast on the train she is travelling, and tragically is seperated from her two older children who become the prey of foreign paedophiles. Latha comes back from the convent, to manage the household for Thara, who is now married to Gehan, who was Latha's love before she set about seducing Ajith, Thara's crush. Latha gets into a casual relationship with a foreigner, ends up pregnant with Gehan's baby and is banished yet again, in disgrace, going back to the convent, which we now realise, is where she came from, and why her life had destined her to take on the subservient role, which was not in her genes.
At the end of the novel, the two narratives come together and you realise, what you had been suspecting in the course of the novel, is two, and that the lives of Biso and Latha are intertwined, in the cruel, exacting way karma has. Powerfully poignant, the author sketches the character of Latha exactingly, letting us see her in her flaws and her weaknesses, in her refusal to kowtow to the demand that she remain content with her lot, which leads her into further trouble. As an anthropological insight into Sri Lankan Sinhalese society, the novel is rich in detail, which is woven in unobstrusively into the narrative without hindering the flow of the story in anyway or necessitating a translation for the reader. An impressive must read debut.