31 July 2007

Beastly tales from here & there

Author: Vikram Seth
Pages: 124
Price: 250
Genre: Verse
Publication :Penguin India
Publishing Date: 1992 (first)

Fun with fables

I've never been much into verse, if you exclude that brilliant satire by Alaxander Pope, The Rape Of The Lock or Milton's Paradise Lost.
Barring these classic works, I haven't really bothered with verse, especially when it comes to modern writers. Which is why, this quite simply escaped me and in any case, I'm yet to really sink my teeth into any of Vikram Seth's works.
But a very heavy recommendation by a friend, who insisted that there was possibly no better writer of verse in India than Seth prompted me to check it out.

The book is a compilation of ten fables, retold and reinterpreted in the author's own inimitable style, lending it a lot wit and some clever twists. While two of the stories come from India, there are other fables taken from China, Ukraine and Greece. (The fact that Vikram Seth learnt Chinese poetry during his stay in the country might have had some bearing here).

Quite obviously, as Seth himself says, his decision to write this Jungle book fable was an impulsive one, prompted by a hot, sleepy day. He says."I decided to write a summer story involving mangoes and a river. By the time I had finished writing 'The Crocodile And the Monkey', another story and other animals had begun stirring in my mind. And so it went on until all ten of these beastly tales were born"

Among all the stories, at least four of them are extremely entertaining and Seth's rhyming scheme is a delight. I especially enjoyed The Hare And The Tortoise, which the author writes with much chutzpah and there's a nice little twist in the end.

Sample this:

"After the announcer’s gun
Had pronounced that he had won,
And the cheering if the crowd
Died at last, the tortoise bowed,
Clasped the cup with quiet pride,
And sat down, self-satisfied.
And he thought:: That silly hare!

So much for her charm and
flair.
So much for her idle boast.
In her cup I’ll raise a toast
To hard work and regularity.
Silly creature! Such vulgarity!
Now she’ll learn that sure and slow
Is the only way to go---
That you can’t rise to the top
With a skip, a jump, a hop


But it was in fact the hare,

With a calm insouciant air
Like an unrepentant bounder,
Who allured the pressmen round her.
“Oh Miss Hare, you’re so appealing
When you’re sweating,” said one, squealing.
“You have tendered gold and booty
To the shrine of sleep and beauty,”


Or check out his verse in The Elephant and the Tragopan, where the animals describe mankind :

He grasps our substance as of right
To quench and spur his appetite,
Nor will he grant us truce or grace
To rest secure in any place.”


Two other wonderfully told stories are, The Frog And The Nightingale and the first one, The Crocodile And the Monkey. I didn't care much for many of the other fables in the middle portion, which I thought were sort of violent and also repetitive. Make no mistake, this is not necessarily a lighthearted, feel-good read. Some of its stories are very much in the vein of George Orwell's Animal Farm, which we know was a hard-hitting political allegory.

Of course, there are fables here which offer plenty of personal lessons. If The Crocodile And The Monkey talks about the ugliness of greed, The Frog And The Nightingale (a personal favourite from the book) is a particularly moving story about a nightingale, who loses her voice and her audience, by heeding to the selfish frog's advice.
Vikram Seth displays mastery in poetry and this is especially a good book to read out aloud to children or anyone, so that the lyrical and rhyming quality of the words are effectively brought out.
So great repeat value.
Keep this for one of those rainy days (literally! if you must!). :-)
-Sandhya Iyer

11 comments:

Qalandar said...

ahh, Paradise Lost-- that contains some of my favorite poetry, and Satan is probably one of my favorite characters, easily the most glamorous and "cool" (i.e. the Satan of the first few books of the epic)...

Anonymous said...

I've read only Book 2 of Paradise Lost but was hooked from start to finish. Terrific read truly.

Anonymous said...

I read Vikram Seth's 'Beastly Tales' long back, around the time it was first published. My young children enjoyed it as much as I did. It's the perfect example of read aloud poetry--funny and intelligent and bouncy--thoroughly enjoyable.In fact the book inspired me to write poetry for children, something I continued to do for the next few years.Seth's poetry actually reminds me of Roald Dahl's fabulously funny verses from his book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Please do read that book,if you have not done so. Try it in any csae.

Have just discovered your blog today and this is my second comment. My first comment is in response to your review of the new Shashi Tharoor book.
Regards, Lalita.S

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recommendation Lalitha....I have seen Charlie and the Chocolate factory, haven't read the book though. Personally, I didn't like the film much and suspect the book is far superior.

Aarkayne said...

there's no one, NOT A SINGLE one among contemporary writers that can match the skill of Vikram Seth when it comes to verse! in my opinion this book should be made a text for school children, especially those in high school...thanks for reviewing it sandy. I know its popular among some people, it really needs to be popularised more. its a gem really and an ideal gift for anyone any age!

sandhya said...

I agree Aarkayne. This was a good read. Though I must tell you I haven't anything of Vikram Seth apart from this. Have you?

Qalandar said...

sandy: do you mean verse by Seth, or that you haven't read anything else by seth? If the latter, I highly recommend A Suitable Boy. It is really very good IMO, and neatly encapsulates not just its protagonists' journey, but post-1947 India's too in a way...

sandy said...

Qalandar: I haven't read ANYTHING by Seth unfortunately. I've been meaning to read A Suitable Boy and An Equal Music but the length of his books sort of intimidates me
:-)

What about Heaven's Lake, have you read that one?

aarkayne said...

sandy - read THE GOLDEN GATE when you find the time. Released in 1983-84. His first full-fledged verse work and its quite brilliant.

I do find the length of his A SUITABLE BOY intimidating. I have not read it. But he does write verse so very well!!!

aarkayne said...

and oh, ALL his poetry is available in one single compilation. Its a must have IMO. I bought it the last time i was in india.

bharat said...

i read the book. it was good. it is in my syllabus. the poems are based on fables. i liked them but the last poem- 'the elephant and the tragopan ' is very long.