The Chronicles of Narnia
Rebirth, A Novel
CS Lewis
Jahnavi Barua
Rs 599
REVIEW
Rs 250
PUBLISHED BY HARPER COLLINS
PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN
A collection of the entire series, this
paperback includes seven novels written by master storyteller CS Lewis.
Titles include ones that movies have not
been made on, such as The Magician’s
Nephew, The Silver Chair and The Last
Battle, besides the ones we’ve seen
adapted to the big screen.
Rebirth tells the story of Kaberi, who
grapples with an unfaithful husband, a
troubled relationship with her parents
and the death of her childhood friend,
even as she forges a bond with her
unborn child. The novel is set in
Bangaluru and Guwahati.
Cadbury, and the
chocolate factory
The history of chocolate isn’t all sweet and
slick. Much toil, innovation and cunning
went into making the innocuous bean the
world’s most favourite indulgence
DHAMINI RATNAM
[email protected]
(Top) A water tank whose
construction young Bhim’s father
is supervising in Mumbai’s
Goregaon area, appears like a fish,
as does the common village tank in
Satara. The fins make room for
narrative text.
(Left) These pages highlight
Ambedkar’s historic Mahad speech
on the Dalit’s basic right to access
water, which reaches the audience
through sprinklers. Here, we see
one of the most imaginative and
original uses of gutter space in
page design
how to approach the story.
Initially, the look resembled
that of a picture book for children; this was re-visited. We
had to ensure that every page
was a riddle, a challenge with a
new element to discover.
Besides, they aren’t corrupted by our sense on
unilateral thinking. The story
has hundreds of layers of meanings that connect. Sometimes,
creating a page would take up
to six days of work. It was a
labourious effort.
with moving objects. The
Vyams had never worked on a
book in a sequential format
stretching across 106 pages.
How did they absorb the text
and translate it so beautifully,
especially since most of urban
India is selectively aware of
his achievements?
While most of us grew up on
stories about Gandhi’s experiences, Ambedkar’s life wasn’t
well-documented; we’ve only
seen his statues or know that he
drafted the Indian Constitution.
Most Mumbaiites aren’t
aware that he lived in
Goregaon, in a chawl, or that he
edited four newspapers. He was
an authority on issues ranging
from Partition to water solutions; he shaped our policy on
big dams, and he was India’s
first Law Minister.
The Vyams hadn’t heard of
him. Unlike in Maharashtra,
Ambedkar doesn’t find resonance in Madhya Pradesh,
where the artists are based. His
story had to be narrated to the
Vyams. Their daughter played
conduit, throughout.
When they understood his
importance, they were enthusiastic and able to relate to him
since they too faced discrimination (of a different kind) while
in the city. There were not
intimidated that their chief protagonist was a national leader.
I’d say the book is written
between Ambedkar and the
Vyams; Srividya (co-writer)
and I are only facilitators.
How did Srividya (Natarajan)
and you break down
Ambedkar’s story into a fluid,
unconventional storyline?
Srividya is based in Canada.
When I sounded her out, the
concept took her breath away. I
had researched Gond art and
had engaged in an organic
interaction with the artists.
We never told the Vyams
How did the Gandhi vs
Ambedkar debate enter it?
Even Ambedkar doesn’t talk
about this aspect in his autobiography. When I sent the first
draft of this book to respected
comic artist Joe Sacco, he suggested we end the book with
this debate.
Ambedkar didn’t have to go
to South Africa to experience
discrimination; he faced it in
India, as an untouchable.
Gandhi always wondered
whether Ambedkar was a Dalit
or a self-hating Brahmin. There
is a lot of history that we had to
compress into a couple of pages
towards the end — essentially,
the confrontation between
national leaders at the First
Round Table Conference, the
drafting
of
the
Indian
Constitution, and Ambedkar’s
conversion to Buddhism.
CHOCOLATE Wars. From Cadbury to Kraft: 200 Years of
Sweet Success and Bitter Rivalries written by Deborah
Cadbury is both, a personal and an academic work. A member of the famous family whose surname is for many a
synonym for chocolate, Cadbury revisits Bournville Village
— a township created by the founders of the Cadbury empire
for their workers in 1880 — and decides to “uncover the
whole story”.
The book starts from the Quaker grand patriarch, the “far
sighted” Richard Tapper Cadbury, who sends his youngest
born to London to study the wondrous new plant, Cocoa. His
grandsons George and Richard Cadbury make an empire of
the struggling business. How they do it, and the ideals with
which they set up their company, makes for an interestingly
told history lesson. The conflict between the Quaker values
of moderation and the
enormous wealth the
brothers create in their
lifetime, the work ethics
that led the brothers to
fight for the abolition of
slavery in the same
plantations in which
their cocoa beans were
being produced, the
creation of Bournville
Village for their workers who lived in
deplorable 19th century slums, and the true
spirit of competitive
innovation that led the
Cadburys,
Frys,
Hersheys, Nestlés and
Lindts to make super
smooth chocolates after
several failed attempts
at making anything edible out of cocoa beyond
drinking powder — the
book weaves its tale
through various threads.
Many previously unknown facts emerge: Before they
made chocolates, Cadbury was a drinking powder brand.
But the business was in shambles when the grandsons took
over. They poured in money to try and create a technology
that would mix the powder well with milk — till then it
made an odd brownish coagulation that didn’t look or taste
very good — but sales were at an all-time low. It was only a
few decades after they took over that they found a machine
that made their powder super-smooth. Then, they put in the
last of their pounds in what was to be the first advertising
campaign by any chocolatier. In 1867, Cadbury launched
their first slogan: Absolutely Pure, Therefore Best, plastered
across shop windows, newspapers and omnibuses.
The premise of this book is clear: Cadbury draws a distinction between business practices of her forefathers and
present-day businessmen. Perhaps, she’s also referring to
Kraft that took over Cadbury around this time last year, and
the unions who fought the takeover tooth and nail. In the
end, you are left with an author whose awe for the puritanical certitude and moralistic business sense of 18th century
Quakers can’t be mistaken.
Pick this up: Besides the passages describing the making of
chocolate, the cunning and innovation of early chocolate
makers make for an interesting read.
Chuck it: If you really don’t want to read how puritanical
severity is a virtue.
Chocolate Wars. From Cadbury to Kraft: 200 years of Sweet
Success and Bitter Rivalry published by Harper Collins. Priced at
Rs 399. Available online on Flipkart and at all major bookstores