I just finished another epic book. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. As always with his works, I am left in a state of hangover. There is definitely something about this guy which makes me crave for his books. In itself Murakami is a genre of books. If you could refer to something as Shakespearean then probably you can call his books Kafkaseque ( which of course represents his most famous work Kafka on the Shore ) .
The book is a story revolving around a limited number of characters. There is Tengo, a big 30 year old math teacher cum novelist. There is Aomame ( i love her name for some reason ), who is a fitness trainer and then there is Fuka-Eri or Eriko Fukada, a 17 year old girl who wrote a book Air Chrysalis. Somewhere in their lives the usual year of 1984 changes to a differnt time. For convenience sake its called 1Q84.
There are 2 moons in the sky, if you look. One big usual moon and another smaller greenish moon. There is a lady called Kyoko Yasuda ( a married lady ) who meets Tengo once a week for sex. Something during the end gives a distinct feeling that she herself was Tengo’s mother. This is another Murakami trait of time-twisting and incestous relationships.
Somehow while reading 1Q84 I started having a vivid feeling of being in alternate time myself. The feeling is so strong that i sometimes start thinking of 2012 as 2Q12. I sometimes catch myself looking up at the sky to see if there are 2 moons or not? So far there is only one. I ask myself What is happening? Why do I feeling things are not really real? I feel as if I am becoming disconnected with the reality of this world. Its almost as if my 10 day trip changed my own reality.
Before this trip I felt that there was a certain routine to life. Things were predictable. I was comfortable with my work. I used to be on edge at times related to certain topics. There was a seething anger on the system and society that was caused by one specific issue only. I felt disconnected with family, specially the extended one. Did I even have a family I used to think?
Then came this trip. It started with Mumbai, where things were different from what I have so far encountered. Next stop was Jaipur where I attended a first cousin’s wedding. Next I was in Bhopal for another wedding. A couple of days at home and then back to Bangalore. I saw so many people, met many people, heard their voices, felt their thoughts. It felt like this wasn’t my world that I was in. I was in a reality not connected with mine.
When I did finally get back home at Bangalore I couldn’t feel it. I could somehow not make sense of this reality. Reading the book only heightened that feeling. I couldn’t comprehend my life, my work, anything! This life here, made no sense to the one I had seen and even to the one I used to live. I felt disconnected to all realities.
I still felt disconnected with family but not so much. I realized the kind of thoughts that run in general in the world and was surprised. Love, Anger, Hate, Marriage, Emotions running all over. I feel uncomfortable with my work right now. But yet certain something gave me a bearing to this world. The funny part is that it was reading Murakami that gave me this anchor to this world. Things still seem far from old-ish but well maybe new is what is needed.
intriguing 🙂