Books This Week

The answer may lie in another question: why is the military so powerful in Burma despite having reduced what was one of Asia’s wealthiest nations to one of its poorest? Beyond the headlines, how many people in India know or care about what is actually going on in Burma; or whether the military dictatorship is a house of cards, or of steel? Unlike Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, Burma somehow hovers on the fringes of Indian consciousness.

Yet, India and Myanmar once shared much more than a common border Chinese trayeller Huein Tsang had recorded cultural-economic links. For centuries, traders along India’s eastern coast, from Bengalis to Tamils, used to sail to Burma. These interactions had a considerable effect. "By the fourth century, many in the Irrawady Valley had converted to South India’s Buddhism, the single-most important development in Burma’s long history," writes Myint-U. To this day, much of Burma remains devoutly Buddhist, the monks immensely revered. Which is why the current protests have had such an impact.

In India’s North-east, the connections are even greater Parts of the region were under Burmese rule till 1826, when the British obtained Assam and other areas as the spoils of war Indeed, Assam is said to be named after its Ahom rulers, who were originally from the BurmeseThai border

This book was written, says its author, "with an eye to what the past might say about the present." He’s a good person to do so. As the grandson of U-Thant, former UN Secretary-General and a close friend of Burma’s first Prime Ministet: U Nu, Myint-U has had a ringside view of modern Burmese history He writes from the heart, making up with earnestness what he lacks in flair The author’s personal experiences lend special flavour to the book. He recounts his conversation with Aung San Suu Kyi, on a warm and sunny day "in a brick-walled garden full of flowers", when she was a happy wife and mother in Oxford. One gets a sense of the domestic bliss that Suu Kyi sacrificed when destiny beckoned.

He recalls his visit to the Kachin Has during Christmas while writing about the world’s oldest ethnic conflict, between the Kachins and other ethnic minorities on Burma’s eastern borders. His descriptions of a Christmas feast, nativity play and local versions of Christmas carols in a remote hill village and of weary teenaged fighters who only want a better life bring an emotional element to a highly political subject.

Myint-U does a credible job of writing about Burmese history, describing its place in the ancient world, its interaction with foreigners from Malacca to Madrid and the exploits of King Bayinnaung "the generals’ favourite king", credited with uniting fragmented kingdoms into today’s Burma. But it is in his treatment of contemporary themes that the book comes into its own. He writes poignantly about the Burmese fight for national identity and independence from the British as well as from the Japanese.

He also traces the growth of the army The army, he writes, is devoted to, works for and promotes itself. Like in Pakistan perhaps, the army in Burma is more than a military force - it runs every major industry That is why, he feels, it will survive. It’s a sobering thought. The Myer of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma Thant Myint-U Faber Rs 495, pp 384

Romancing With Life

• Published by Penguin Books India • Published: September 2007 • Imprint: Viking • Cover Price: Rs 695.00 • ISBN: 0670081248 • Edition: Hardback • Format: Royal • Extent: 448pp (with 32-page col. insert) • Classification: Memoirs • Rights: World

A charismatic and legenday star is seduced by his own stardom THERE ARE TWO RECURRING MOTIFS IN ALL HIS JOURNEYS: HE ALWAYS MEETS SEXY, BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRLS WHO ARE HIS ARDENT FANS AND WANT TO ACT IN HIS FILMS; AND HE’S ALWAYS FELICITATED WHEREVER HE GOES

Romancing With Life: An Autobiography Dev Anand Penguin Viking Rs 695, pp 438 T HIS IS a book I was looking forward to reading. Dev Anand. The stylish, rakish star of memorable films from the 1950s like Jaal and CID. He had the most wonderful songs picturised on him. He worked with Bollywood legends like Guru Dutt and S.D. Burman. He was paired with stunningly beautiful leading ladies such as Madhubala and Waheeda Rehman. He has been around for more than 50 years and seen the film industry change and grow.

The autobiography of such a man should make for fascinating reading, full of revelations about the movies and legendary figures of Hindi cinema’s golden period. But alas. My overwhelming feeling, when I finished the book, was one of disappointment.

The early years, recounted in the first 150-odd pages, are the most interesting part of the book: growing up in undivided Punjab, running away to Bom- bay to act in films, working in the censor office during the Second World War (the British censored letters by Indian and British army personnel) to make a living, finally getting a break with Prabhat Films, moving on to Bombay Talkies, falling in love with Suraiya.

But that’s about it. The Bollywood greats Dev Anand worked with make frustratingly fleeting appearances. There are some anecdotes around films like Jaal and Taxi Driver. There is an engrossing account of the making of Guide. But otherwise, the spotlight is pretty firmly focused on Dev Anand, the producer-director-mentor Unfortunately, apart from Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Des Pardes and perhaps Prem Pujari, most of the other films aren’t of the remotest interest to the reader Has anyone even seen Main Solah Baras Ki, Censor, Love At Times Square or Mr Prime Minister? His discoveries like Zeenat Aman, Tina Munim and Jackie Shroff went on to become big stars. But there’s too much in the book about the likes of Mink and Ananya and Fatima Sheikh, girls Dev Anand has launched in his recent films.

The latter half of the book could pass of as a travelogue of sorts, as Dev Anand keeps zipping off to dit^ferent parts of the world, with two recurring motifs in all his journeys: he always meets sexy, beautiful young girls who are his ardent fans and want to act in his films; and he’s always felicitated and honoured wherever he goes. There are also many accounts of all the famous people he met over the years - foreign celebrities like Shirley Maclaine, Charlie Chaplin, Gregory Peck, and back home, political leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narain, etc. And we get to read about a11the awards and honours he got over the years, with descriptions of the accompanying media attention and fan adulation.

As to that part of his life (the women, of course), Dev Anand has been selective. There are a few accounts of sexual encounters and affairs with unnamed women; he writes about how he and Suraiya fell in love with each other but couldn’t marry because of her grandmother’s opposition; and he also writes about how he met, fell in love with and then married Mona. Oh yes, he also tells us (very briefly) that he was in love with Zeenat Aman but withdrew from her life when she moved into the Raj Kapoor camp. Beyond that, nothing. What really went wrong with his marriage? We don’t know. Exactly what was his relationship with Zeenat? We don’t know. In the end, you keep thinking of what the book could have been. You are left with the image of a charismatic, restless, energetic movie star seduced by his own stardom. poonamsaxena.

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