Creation - Gore Vidal

I read 'Creation' the first time a long time back in a public library in the Poconos. It is where I started reading Vidal as well. 'Burr' got me hooked and 'Creation' along with 'Julian' made sure he remains one of my favorite authors of all time.

Gore Vidal is considered a revisionist historical fiction writer. What it means is that he tries to look at history in a different way than the convention dictates. For example, convention dictates that the Greeks stopped the Persian empire in its tracks. Instead, Vidal says given the Persian empire's size and priorities, the Greeks played only a minor part and it is exaggerated by their written historical evidences. That seems fine to me.

But what is really interesting about 'Creation' is that it is not only history (fictionalized to an extent, of course) but it is also a philosophical treatise on the initial thoughts of many philosophies as it exist today. Vidal chooses a time period in history when a lot many of the great minds the world will produce were all alive - including the Buddha, Gosala, Zoroaster, Lao Tzu, Master Kung (a.k.a Confusius), Mahavira, Socrates - and of course a lot of name-dropping happens with the kings and such as well.

What makes it different - also interesting - is the fact that the story is also a discussion of a lot of life philosophies and we come across the early Aryan religion and the stories - as well as a little snippet of Indian history around the succession of Ajatasatru and all. The fact that none of these seem forced or unbelievable is the thing that is good about the book.

The book is history as perceived by the Persians - as it should be. The Achaemenids (preceded by the Assyrians and followed by the Sassanids) built the largest empire on Earth in their day and held it till the Medieval times. The art they inspired remains an inspiration today and the codification of rights in the Cyrus cylinder still is an inspiration for liberty of the people. They left enormous amounts of written records on their daily transactions and ruins that exist from the Near East till the Indus valley. Their history though is barely told anywhere.

Vidal constructs the story from the eyes of Cyrus Spitama - a fictional grandson of the Prophet Zoroaster - and his life in the Achaemenid court of Darius I and Xerxus the great. He also travels from Greece to Cathay (the Known world in the 4th century BC when the story happens) and encounter the various personalities and discuss philosophy and politics with them. Vidal also provides a perspective on the administration as it existed in the Achaemenid empire - the clay tablets of Persepolis and Babylon must've helped richly - building a picture of life in the Persian empire as close to what we can perceive now with the time lapsed between.

How was the universe created? is the central question of the book. Cyrus Spitama narrates and asks the questions to all the celebrities of his day - he goes out to meet with them and discuss and record - so we hear about the rejection of desire by Buddha, the importance of tradition from Confucius and the philosophies of life from everyone from Anaxogores to Lao Tzu. Cyrus records everything and compares against the tenets of his own religion - Zoroastrianism. Thus we get to learn a bit on everything and seek out any that interests.

The writing is cynical, at times bitter and Cyrus, in his assessment of everyone is harsh. Vidal is merciless in his criticism of religions and is full of witty one liners about them. Here is one I liked.

"Hereditary priests usually tend to atheism. They know too much."

However, the book somehow feels to end suddenly. May be the vast canvas that Vidal takes on becomes a little too much and the intertwining of political and philosophical history must've been tiring as well.

Overall, a very good book with a lot of insights and needs multiple reading to fully grasp and understand everything that is said.

Music and Morbidity

When you are stuck in bed for days with a fever which is not going away and a cold which literally sucks your energy out and the medicines make you so drowsy, getting a simple sentence assembled in your mind becomes a challenge, there is little one can do.

I am not going to go on about this any further than what I try to do in the time I am spending in the bed. One of the constant companion during this time is Music. There is nothing that puts your mind at ease than music. What I am listening to is what I am going to write about.

Today started with this fantastic article in NY times about the royal family of Oudh. It was a fantastic story with a lots of turns and twists and a lot of sadness tinged into it as well. It was fantastic journalism and the fact that I am reading about it in NY times just tells me the state of journalism here.

One of the things I kept not writing about is 'Game of Thrones'. For the way it killed off the interest to see it in the season eight, basically made me piss off the whole thing. But one of the amazing thing about the whole series is the music that come along with it.

One of the consistent themes of 'Game of Thrones' as a story is the grimness of fate. Nothing lasts forever and everyone dies. Some die when on top and some die unnoticed. But for sure, everyone dies.

Such a morbidness is what is brought out in the music of 'GoT' and what a score it is. This version by the Danish orchestra is mind blowing not just because the guy who starts off by singing the 'Rains of Castamere' looks eerily like a younger version of Tywin Lannister but has the same intensity of his evilness as well. The song has a eerie quality to it as it is sung at every moment of Lannister treachery and bloodiness.

One of the iconic scenes of the entire series - which basically sets the tone of things to come (that is, till the eighth season came along!) - when Daenerys becomes the Mhysa - mother- to her people by freeing them from slavery. The corresponding soundtrack probably is the next favorite.

 

But then, there are only a few moments of elation in the series itself - it is a tale of treachery and a lot of killing and that leaves one with mothers without sons, wives without husbands, lovers torn apart and that is a plenty of sad moments to go about. 

However, Cersei Lannister is no ordinary mother. She can literally light up anything that she thinks is stopping her progeny from getting what they want. The piano score which plays around mostly in almost silent scene where Cersei just waits for her triumph at Red Keep is just plainly haunting.

With all that music flowing between the times, the grimness of the life is in full view of us. There are moments when life gets its bright spots but it is full of grim realities which basically grinds one down.

Lying in the bed, there is nothing but to introspect a lot and I was thinking of Buddha and Mahavira and the way they describe death. Like a candle being blown away or like Gosala says like a ball of string unfurls itself to the end and about crossing the river and also about getting stranded in one bank - what is not attempted, can it be considered done?

Sariputra says somewhere - ‘Life itself is a contradiction because birth is the direct cause , in every single case, of death’

With that cheerful note, enjoy the music..