Finally The Namesake is behind me - the book and the film, in rapid succession. The book, as always, is better. Apart from the several ways in which the book scores over the film, the story succeeds in moving its focus from Ashima-Ashoke to Gogol. The film, on the other hand, keeps Ashima as the protagonist, not even Ashoke. Gogol's angst with his name happens to be incidental, a crucial departure from the book. Now whether that is the consequence of somebody of Tabu's stature playing Ashima, or Mira Nair's interpretation of the book, is something that I am not in a position to comment on. And, of course, the glaring continuity error in the beginning is just not expected in Nair's work...

Jhumpa Lahiri's writing as such is not among my favourite. It lacks an universal appeal, with immigrant Bengali (or Indian ) families being the content and target at the same time, as was the case with Interpreter of Maladies. The film being set in a time frame which is more than a decade later than the book is also perhaps telling of the effort to make the film more contemporary and the fact that the dilemmas of Ashima and Ashoke belong more to a past generation, rather the average NRI in Silicon Valley.

On a more Leedsian level, life is suddenly devoid (however momentarily) of studies. Invigilation duty of course has added a rather interesting shade to life! It's definitely a feast if you like observing people - the morning grogginess still in their eyes, you can say who knows his stuff and who is faffing, who is just itching to get out, who is trying, who is despairing and who has just succumbed. It reminds me of all those teachers who walked the aisles with supplementary sheets and graph papers while I sat for all those innumerable exams through school and college.

I just got a whole pile of X-Files! Have rarely felt so lucky in life... Thanks to a darling, N. Fox Mulder still makes me flip!!

Ah, I almost forgot - these pictures along the side. Quite like the way they look. Wish had snapshots of New Alipore and Dada... but digital cameras had not happened back then! Also, started shooting with my SLR again - felt really good. The sheer weight of the camera in my hand, the view finder, the light metre, the focusing, the sharp crack of the shutter, winding the reel... brings back the thrill. The dark room comes after this...