Suitable Boy, Mira Nayar, Lalita Sahasranama, and the Power of Understanding
Most people who know me are perfectly aware of my obsession with books. Hence, it should not surprise anyone that I keep a mental list of books on which my ashes should be scattered. I got this idea from the book that cataloged the world’s best bookstores. A lady left a note in one of them saying she had scattered her grandfather’s ashes in her poetry section since that’s where he spent his happiest hours.
One of the books that would host my ashes is “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth. Reading the book is like a long solitary walk where you experience the chill of winter, the warmth of summer, the petrichor of rain, and the nakedness of autumn in a single day. One of my favorite vacations in the future would be sitting on the verandah of a cottage overlooking the Himalayas and rereading this book at leisure.
Hence, when I learned that Mira Nair was directing a TV series of this book, my excitement knew no bounds. She is a fantastic director who can deal with the breadth and depth of this book and do justice to it. I binge-watched it when it dropped on Netflix and found it underwhelming. The second half seemed hurried; the main plot lines had been truncated, and it flattered to deceive.
I wanted to understand why she made specific editing and directorial choices and thus watched a few interviews where she discussed the project. The project was initially supposed to be directed by someone else, and the script was ready. She took over the project and convinced BBC that they needed to add songs and poetry to make it authentic, even if it was meant for a Western audience. She then convinced some of India’s best vocalists and musicians to partner with her for this effort. Since the budget was limited and she wanted to maintain production quality, she decided to cut the number of episodes.
The following statement best summarized her challenge.
“The Suitable Boy in the Crown in Brown, but on a fraction of the budget.”
When I heard her discuss these challenges and her approach, I got a renewed appreciation for the entire series. I watched it again and thoroughly enjoyed the finer details of the production. Since I fell in love with Mira’s work, I heard her talk about how she created the Namesake and watched the movie again. She shared how she lost her mother-in-law and was grieving when she read Jhumpa Lahiri’s book on a flight to India. The book touched her so much that she called Jhumpa when she landed and got the rights to make the movie. The movie focuses far more on the relationship between the protagonist’s parents than the book. Mira poured her grief, her love for Kolkata, her own NRI experience, and so many other emotions into the movie, which turned out to be a masterpiece.
After these experiences, I make it a point to learn more about books or movies I love and then recreate the experience to immerse myself in the author’s world fully.
The 1000 Names of the Devi
The Lalita Saharanama is a text that gives us the 1000 names of the feminine divinity. My Guru Om Swami writes about the origin story of this text in his beautiful book Kundalini. He takes us back to a long time ago when the gods prayed to the divine mother. They wanted her to take from and marry Lord Shiva, who was known as the eternal yogi. When the mother goddess appeared, her beauty and divinity were so sublime that the gods did not know how to propitiate her. Hence, they begged Devi to teach them how to sing her glories. The eight companion energies accompanying her began to sing her praises and thus was born the Lalita Shasranama. This divine text was transmitted by Lord Hayagriva to Sage Agastya, who prayed to Lord Shiva to be initiated into chanting this sacred composition. He then passed it on to Sage Vashistha, who transmitted it to his grandson Sage Parashara, who passed it to his son, the legendary muni Ved Vyasa, who then gave it to the world.
Here is a beautiful video where my Guru Om Swami explains the hidden meaning of the first few verses. After you listen to it and chant the verse, it will completely change your experience.
I don’t want to transcribe a single word because it will taint your experience.
Instead, let me share a small personal experience. I once sat before the divine mother on my altar and told her I didn’t understand why someone should remember 1000 names of one’s mother. A child simply can call her “Ma” or “Mother” and feel the same joy. I told her that if she thought it essential for me to chant the names, she should help me understand the reason behind the action.
A few days later, during Navratri, I wrote the following article about Uber, AI, and Lalita Sahasrnama, where I explored the meaning of a few of her names. That article was a truly divine inspiration because the idea and the conception of that article were far beyond my regular ability. A couple of days later, as I ruminated on the article, I heard a laughing inner voice.
“You just wrote 2500 hundred words about three of my names. It helped you understand so much about the world. Imagine what would happen if you could unlock the power of all my names? The names are simply a way for you to use finite means to understand the infinite. I am infinite, but understanding and reminding yourself about my name helps you understand a fraction of my true nature, which would otherwise evade you.”
That’s why I now try to dive deeper into anything I love. It helps me get a much more immersive understanding of the subject and appreciate its beauty.
