My way of painting is to spread paint over the entire canvas in patches reflecting the general layout I want to create and then apply the brushwork and more paint to create the precise shapes I had originally in mind. In the process, the original idea itself may give way to the suggestions made by the canvas as painterly feedback. So, what I create often differs from what I originally had in mind.
My writing also reflects this general behaviour. I dump a lot of material onto the screen and chisel away until something close to my idea of perfection emerges. This may involve multiple rewritings during the process of chiselling away. I prefer this to the process of creating the perfect sentence by choosing the perfect set of words.
I am consoled by the fact that all great writings have been the result of re-writing the original draft many times. Listen to Anne Lamott (1) in Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on the Writing Life: “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper. A friend of mine says that the first draft is the down draft — you just need to get it down. The second draft is the up draft — you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it’s loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy.”
An equally convincing instruction is from Susan Sontag (2) in Directions: “Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed.” New York Times. “And though the rewriting — and the rereading — sound like effort, they are the most pleasurable parts of writing. Sometimes the only pleasurable parts. Setting out to write, if you have the idea of ”literature” in your head, is formidable, and intimidating. A plunge in an icy lake. Then comes the warm part: when you already have something to work with, upgrade, edit… Let’s say it’s a mess. But you have a chance to fix it. You try to be clearer. Or deeper. Or more eloquent. Or more eccentric. You try to be true to the world. You want the book to be more spacious, and more authoritative. You want to winch yourself up from yourself. You want to winch the book out of your balky mind. As the statue is entombed in the block of marble, the novel is inside your head. You try to liberate it. You try to get this wretched stuff on the page closer to what you think your book should be — what you know, in your spasms of elation, it can be. You read the sentences over and over. Is this the book I’m writing? Is this all?”
I was steady in my blog writing in 2023, posting a story every weekend. One post which caught maximum attention and sustained readership is the review of “The Covenant of Water”, a story by Abraham Verghese about a strange affliction of a family which renders the members vulnerable to death by drowning. It received more than 6000 views, which continues to attract readership as revealed by the weekly writer summary. Time magazine categorizes the book among the 100 Must-Read Books of 2023.
The story begins in 1900 with Mariamma, an impoverished 12-year-old girl in the Travancore princely state in southwest India, becoming a bride to a widower 30 years her senior and dedicating herself to her duties as the Mater Familia of the Parambil family. Her husband shows her the Parambil family tree, a catalogue of the malady that has shattered the family. She calls the parchment the Water Tree where each death is marked by a sign of a cross over water. Her granddaughter Mariamma becomes a doctor and along with her neurologist colleague Dr Uma begins investigating the condition. Mariamma’s father Philipose also drowns on his way to meet her in Madras. On examination of his brain, Uma finds that he had a variant of neurofibromatosis called von Recklinghausen’s disease. The signals to locate his orientation and position in space never reach the brain. In water, without firm contact with the ground, he would lose all sense of orientation, leading to drowning.
Covenant also charts the history of diseases and their treatment in India from the pre-independence days to the present. The book explains how medical science and people’s attitudes about medical conditions evolved progressively.
MY Zoom Background” published on August 26, 2023, also attracted some attention. Wanting to create a natural-looking background as a backdrop for my ZOOM meetings and online talks, and after failing to be satisfied with the virtual backgrounds that ZoOOm provides for its lack of authenticity, I decided to create a natural-looking background behind my chair, by painting a mustard field on my wall. The choice of the mustard field was motivated by the predominantly Cadmium yellow background that it needs, which is a pleasant colour. The shimmering mustard fields are part of the Indian ethos. Though physically confined to the north of India, its pan-Indian acceptance has been promoted by Bollywood movies.
A description of The Institute for Plasma Research Campus at Bhat published on February 16, 2023, also elicited much response. In 1982, the Department of Science & Technology (DST), realizing the importance of starting a research programme in Plasma Physics and Thermonuclear Fusion, established the Plasma Physics Programme (PPP) in the Physical Research Laboratory under the Department of Space where a programme on basic Plasma Physics had been nucleated in 1972. DST also provided funds for PPP to move into an independent campus outside PRL.
Adopting the typology of traditional dwellings of western India, the buildings are clustered around a series of interconnecting courtyards. This would affect the form of the building and the introverted nature of the complex. The building encloses six major courts. The entry courtyard originally had a dramatic water body with many fountains. The fountains act as an alternative to the conventional cooling towers required for the air conditioning system. This water court is surrounded by public buildings: a library, administration, cafeteria and a small auditorium. Large wide corridors are more than mere connecting links, they are areas of interaction.
The Bhat campus stands out in a city which is renowned for its architectural gems. Visitors to the campus make interesting comments about the layout. The necessity for the extra wide corridors has been attributed to accommodate the oversized egos of the scientists working at the institute! The building has been called the Taj Mahal. But the most cryptic comment was made by Lech Walesa, the former President of Poland, who after being escorted around the building, said that the building was more convoluted than the science we were doing at the institute!
The blogger’s craft is rather lonely. My fellow blogger Susanna Gebauer has commented (3) on the long lonely workdays that are ahead for a blogger and confirms that one is sure to experience the loneliness of blogging rather sooner than later. He sends out the piece on which he would have spent considerable effort out into the world hoping for some appreciation or a kind word from the stoic reader. Medium is kind enough to keep one informed about how the blogs have fared in the harsh world. There are also claps and comments from the readers to express how they have felt about the blog.
My fervent wish is to continue writing and accumulate more loyal and appreciative followers, who continue to sustain my confidence for which I am deeply grateful to them. I hope that I find interesting events and ideas to write about, which, in my retirement is one process giving substantial sustenance to the spirit. My appeal to my followers is to give me the support that lifts one’s spirit and helps me continue in my task.
(1) Ann Lamont, Bird by Bird, Anchor, Oct 1995
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