Dear Editors…

Dear Editors……

I have just read the 40 years of the Book Review. Wonderful, if you have not read it, well need I say you should! One of the editors is close to me, in many ways. I think she wanted to render homage to the words and books which, nurtured us, accompanied us. We grew up in a home, I say home not house for therein lies the difference, for words meant a lot to us, in a home I was saying, where the walls were lined with books which murmured wherever we moved, whatever we did. This constant presence never did quieten, throughout our lives the ‘emanating words, words from the walls words from the air’. Throughout our lives these words lulled us, accompanied us, defined us, defied us, formulated us and constructed us. Yet, the words and their meanings lead us through many labyrinths, leading us astray, leading us to their mysteries to their secret gardens. Many a contest we had witnessed between the word and its many interpretations. Many a time we had intervened to settle the disputes between the word and need I say its meanings not meaning but meanings with an ‘s’ fortunately not with many ‘s’s’. Sometimes it was the weight of the words which was the problem, sometimes their lightness or even their feather like qualities, which took to their wings and left, leaving behind, nothingness, vacuum, notions so full of meaning! Sometimes words crystallized got weighed down and petrified like Marxism, which promised liberty but which created gulags. Then for the eternal joy of the guardians of The Book Review, there are words, which took to their wings and discoursed on time, space, insouciance, innocence, science, philosophy, morality, and beauty…

To Uma The Book review continued opening up a world that only gets opened up with words, books and then for her with authors. Authors, who explored, imagined, dreamt and who sometimes, were also her reviewers. From my tender days I’ve known her, swimming in words, drowned in them floating in them, and finally with The Book Review flying far places, far in times and in concepts, notions and yes meanings. Even for the special issue brought out to celebrate 40 years of The Book Review, the reviewers have given vent to their views and one and only one has evoked the passion which was his own, his sentiments, wonderful, poignant but not the TBR’s pulsations! Then you come to the looking back section…looking back with tears, looking back with laughter, looking back by leaping forward! The generosity of the editors shines through: to let the books, their authors and their reviewers the full reign, range and liberty. Bravo les Filles! Et ma Sœur above all! Rama Raj, Paris