#vikram chandra

[novlr]

“When you're a writer sometimes you have to spend time poking at part of yourself that normal, sane people leave alone.” — Vikram Chandra

[aldieb]

this book sucks but this owns

“‘The poet is, indeed, comparable to the spectator,’ Abhinavagupta says. ‘The origin of the rasa [emotion experienced by art’s viewer] that emerges within the reader is the generalized consciousness of the poet . . . the rasa which lies within the poet.’ The implication here is that in the moment of creation, the poet must be both creator (the one who is producing or constructing the aestheticized object) and the audience (the subject that is experiencing the generalized consciousness thus produced). That is, you must simultaneously be in multiple cognitive modes: to produce any semblance of rasa you must remove your ego-self or I-self from the narrative that is forming within yourself, you must allow sadharanikarana or generalization to occur. And yet, the ego-self cannot be allowed to slip effortlessly into the continuous dream of the narrative, it must stay alert and conscious of the very language it is deploying to construct the story—the story, that living, moving thing which is a part of itself, is another aspect of the self. Experientially, this results in a hypersensitive self-awareness, the very opposite of flow; the writer’s ego-self knows at every moment the abrading of generalization and the terror of its own ephemerality. It is a slow, continuous suicide, a ‘civilized self-destruction.’”

—Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty by Vikram Chandra

[jeffstern]

Vikram Chandra - Sacred Games

This was a selection for book club, as we’d been thinking about doing another long book, but we didn’t want something as frustrating to read as Gravity’s Rainbow had been. This fit the bill perfectly. It’s a multi-generational gangster story set in India, and it was a pleasure to read. 

This book is the basis for one of Netflix’s first forays into original content for India, and I can see the draw - this is written like a very familiar gangster thriller, and seems ready-made for a film-series adaptation (Netflix is designing it as a 4-season show, the book is around 900 pages). The pacing is great, and even though a lot of the story seems familiar (and therefore can be predictable), it’s told well and has enough twists and surprises (and well-developed characters that you care about) to keep the momentum going. I think that everyone in book club enjoyed it as well, it’s a solid, fun read.

[keepcalmandwritefiction]

When you're a writer sometimes you have to spend time poking at part of yourself that normal, sane people leave alone.

Vikram Chandra

[legalist217]

everyone do y’self a favor and go watch Sacred Games

this show is riveting and has a bumping soundtrack that I’m unable to track back to youtube so hurry up and love it enough that an album gets released

also in complete seriousness, I think there’s something healthy about watching something where the spoken language is (sometimes) English and yet you still need subtitles to catch it. I’m not clear on the anticipatory code-switch cues yet but I’m slowly piecing it together (at least for the cops) and it’s forcing me to reevaluate my own fluency in a way I haven’t done since, like, seventh-grade Spanish class. I’m fascinated. I like that this isn’t specifically For Me. and ideally Mumbai will still be standing at the end of it

anyway the entire series is eight hour-long episodes and it just dropped on Netflix today (yesterday? time is weird at one in the morning) and I’m already 3/8 through it and aaaa dude I was gonna watch a movie but this grabbed my face and I can’t look aWAY

[sandeepadnani]

Sacred Games (2018)

Based on Vikram Chandra’s novel, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane capture gritty Mumbai, the gang culture and political backdrop of the time with brilliant story telling.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui narrates and acts the character of Ganesh Gaitonde with unerring ease, hypnotising audiences with his life story, and leaving us wanting more at the end of the season.

Saif Ali Khan has a role that he can finally sink his teeth into, intense, on edge with a past that is yet to be revealed.

Such a show is an ensemble effort, every actor and location adding to its grim reality. Not one character was average, everyone acted their parts authentically.

Fast paced, full of eye opening moments and well edited back stories, there is a rationale for everything and everyone. Can’t wait for season 2!

4/5

[bookish-thinking]

Merry Christmas, everyone!

[rookiesdays]

Sacred Games Ch1: Policeman's Day

First time reading and it opened with a dog got hurt? well okay bro, that's unexpected I thought it would be like in a calm environment but no straight to the let's hurt anything that's alive in this earth. Oh there's domestic violence not graphic but still make me shocked? Since I never read books with Indian setting kinda hard to remember the character's name.

"There was a promise in the grim arches, in the thickness of the walls and the uncompromising weight of the façades, there was the reassurance of bulky power, and so law and order" (Page 7)

Okaaay as an architecture student? I could visualize this one and I love the quote.

So inspector Sartaj is the main character, he's having some crisis about his own future, on his word 'he is past forty, divorced and barely have achievement like the rest.

Anyway I love it when a writer describe foods the character eat, it will make it more memorable like tengkleng that Laut Biru always eat with his family from the book The Sea Speaks His Name. Now on this chapter Sartaj eat uttapam, I search the recipe looks delish buuuuut bruh I don't understand the ingredients and where to get it. Anywaaaaayyyy back to the topic.

Okayyyyy? I never really read something like this before but I like the writing style, as someone who have a hard time visualizing when I read fiction books this one? this one is kinda different since I can visualize it clearly on my head. Another scene is where a thirteen years old boy doesn't want to go to school, shout at his parents, the mother of this boy take him to the police, she's damn tired of him, now how the scene unfold is easy to understand, easy to visualize it, somehow I could create movies on my head when reading it, even though usually I couldn't imagine anything everytime I read fiction books.

Another interaction. is this will be another character that I like I wonder? a manager of restaurant and bar, Shambhu if I remember correctly he's 24 at the first glance, as if you could glance at a fictional written character, anywayyy the first impression of him is he probably the type of a character that too chill in every situation with his swaggery persona.

I love the humor in this book, match my own, I'm cackling here and there. Some found family trope, Sartaj interaction with Majid family aaaawwww. Then another case, happened someone died after drinking with their friends. I listen to playlist for traveling in empty places by nobody, the vibes match makes me feel somber while reading it.

Aaaan done, I'm done reading the first chapter. It's character driven, I guess? we can see much later is it plot driver on character one. The vibe is immaculate, I feel like watching movies without really doing it, imagination and scenario start to filled my heads up. I love the vibe, this is something that I enjoy reading.