इन्वेस्टिंग (निवेश) जैसे पेशे में, लोगों को लगता है कि 'काम' का मतलब सिर्फ खरीदना और बेचना है। काम से घर लौटकर अपने जीवनसाथी के इस सवाल का जवाब देना कि "आज तुमने क्या किया?" बहुत मुश्किल होता है—यह कहना कि "खैर, मैंने बहुत सारा पढ़ा, और थोड़ी सी बातचीत की।" अगर आप खरीद-बेच नहीं रहे हैं, तो आपको लग सकता है कि आप कुछ कर ही नहीं रहे हैं।
With a profession such as investing, people see the 'doing' as the buying and selling. It is difficult to come home from work, and answer your spouse's question, 'what did you do today?' with 'well, I read a lot, and I talked a little.' If you're not buying or selling, you may feel you aren't doing anything.
With a profession such as investing, people see the 'doing' as the buying and selling. It is difficult to come home from work, and answer your spouse's question, 'what did you do today?' with 'well, I read a lot, and I talked a little.' If you're not buying or selling, you may feel you aren't doing anything.
जो लगभग असंभव है। अगर कोई भी असंभव पर यकीन न करे, तो सपने देखने के लिए कुछ नहीं बचेगा
The near impossible. If no one believed in the impossible there would be nothing left to dream about
The near impossible. If no one believed in the impossible there would be nothing left to dream about
मुझे लगता है कि इस युद्ध को लेकर मेरी दुविधा आज भी वैसी ही है जैसी पहले थी। एक तरफ, मैं एक सैनिक था जो अपने कर्तव्य का पालन कर रहा था, अपने देश और सामने आए मिशन के प्रति अपनी निष्ठा निभा रहा था। लेकिन फिर भी, एक बेचैनी हमेशा मुझे अंदर ही अंदर परेशान करती रहती थी। "हम यहाँ क्या कर रहे हैं?" "क्या हम वाकई इस देश को सुधार रहे हैं या भलाई से ज़्यादा नुकसान कर रहे हैं?" और सबसे चुभने वाला सवाल: "हम इस दलदल से खुद को बाहर कैसे निकालें?" मुझे लगता है कि मैं आज भी उस खालीपन में अटका हुआ हूँ जिसके बारे में आपने कहा, और यह साफ-समझने की कोशिश कर रहा हूँ कि इस युद्ध ने एक राष्ट्र के रूप में हमारा क्या हस्र किया।
I think I'm still just as conflicted about the war as I always was. On the one hand, I was a soldier carrying out his duty, following his allegiance to his country and to the mission at hand. But yet, there was always this unease plaguing me. "What are we doing here?" "Are we really fixing this country or are we doing more harm than good?" And the most pressing question: "How do we pull ourselves out of this quicksand?" I think I'm still there in that white space you mentioned, trying to get clarity for myself on what this war did to us as a nation.
I think I'm still just as conflicted about the war as I always was. On the one hand, I was a soldier carrying out his duty, following his allegiance to his country and to the mission at hand. But yet, there was always this unease plaguing me. "What are we doing here?" "Are we really fixing this country or are we doing more harm than good?" And the most pressing question: "How do we pull ourselves out of this quicksand?" I think I'm still there in that white space you mentioned, trying to get clarity for myself on what this war did to us as a nation.
कॉमेडी के चश्मे से किसी भी युद्ध को देखना स्वास्थ्य के लिए अच्छा है। युद्ध के मैदान में इतनी विडंबना और बेतुकी बातें होती हैं कि आप चाहकर भी उनकी अनदेखी नहीं कर सकते। कम से कम मुझे तो ऐसा ही महसूस हुआ; हो सकता है कि दूसरों का युद्ध का अनुभव इससे बिल्कुल अलग रहा हो।
Seeing any war through the distortion of comedy is healthy. There is just too much absurdity and irony at play in a combat zone not to pay attention to it. At least that's how it struck me; others may have had an entirely different war experience.
Seeing any war through the distortion of comedy is healthy. There is just too much absurdity and irony at play in a combat zone not to pay attention to it. At least that's how it struck me; others may have had an entirely different war experience.
अगर 'फॉबिट' पढ़ने के बाद पाठक को ऐसा लगे कि वह किसी वीरान और बेजान सी जगह पर फँस गया है, तो इसका मतलब मैंने अपना काम ठीक से नहीं किया। लेकिन यह सब कहने के बाद भी, मैंने इस किताब को किसी खास नैतिक उद्देश्य के साथ नहीं लिखा था। मैंने जो कुछ अनुभव किया, उसे फिक्शन की चक्की में पीसकर पेश किया। पन्नों पर क्या लिखा है, इसका क्या मतलब निकालना है—यह पाठकों पर निर्भर करता है, जैसा कि हर उपन्यास के साथ होता है।
If Fobbit leaves a reader feeling stranded in some bland in-between territory, then I haven't done my job. But having said all that, I didn't consciously write the book with a particular moral intent. I took what I experienced and processed it through the sausage factory of fiction. It's up to readers to interpret what's on the page - as is the case with any novel.
If Fobbit leaves a reader feeling stranded in some bland in-between territory, then I haven't done my job. But having said all that, I didn't consciously write the book with a particular moral intent. I took what I experienced and processed it through the sausage factory of fiction. It's up to readers to interpret what's on the page - as is the case with any novel.
यह कहना बेईमानी होगी कि मैं एक नैतिक उपन्यास लिखने की कोशिश नहीं कर रहा था। इराक युद्ध पर आधारित उपन्यास होने के नाते, 'फॉबिट' खुद-ब-खुद राजनीतिक बहसों के दायरे में आ जाता है। इससे बचा नहीं जा सकता। मैं समझ सकता हूँ कि पाठक इस उपन्यास को लेकर शायद अलग-अलग ध्रुवों पर खड़े हो जाएंगे। बल्कि, मैं तो यही उम्मीद करता हूँ कि वे इन चरम छोरों पर जाएँ।
It's disingenous for me to say that I wasn't trying to write a moral novel. By its very nature as a novel about the Iraq War, Fobbit steps into the political conversation. There's no way to avoid that. I can appreciate that readers are probably going to line up on one side of the novel or the other. I hope they go to those polar extremes, actually.
It's disingenous for me to say that I wasn't trying to write a moral novel. By its very nature as a novel about the Iraq War, Fobbit steps into the political conversation. There's no way to avoid that. I can appreciate that readers are probably going to line up on one side of the novel or the other. I hope they go to those polar extremes, actually.
मुझे लगता है कि किसी भी युद्ध में कॉमेडी ढूँढना मुमकिन है—और शायद ज़रूरी भी। मेरा मतलब है, जो शानदार काम जोसेफ हेलर, रिचर्ड हूकर (M*A*S*H) और यारोस्लाव हासेक (द गुड सोल्जर श्वेइक—जिसे मैंने पढ़ा नहीं है, पर सुना है कि वह बहुत मज़ेदार है) ने किया है, उसे देखिए।
I think it's possible - perhaps even necessary - to find comedy in any war. I mean, look at the brilliant work which was done by Joseph Heller and Richard Hooker (M*A*S*H) and Jaroslav Hasek (The Good Soldier Svejk - which I haven't read, but have heard was funny).
I think it's possible - perhaps even necessary - to find comedy in any war. I mean, look at the brilliant work which was done by Joseph Heller and Richard Hooker (M*A*S*H) and Jaroslav Hasek (The Good Soldier Svejk - which I haven't read, but have heard was funny).
शब्दों का सावधानी से चुनाव, भाषा को माँजना, बाहरी पाठकों के सामने पेश करने के लिए सोची-समझी छवियाँ गढ़ना—ये सब वहाँ मेरे दैनिक जीवन का एक बहुत बड़ा हिस्सा थे। इसलिए, उनमें से कुछ बातें उपन्यास में आ ही जानी थीं, और उससे भी महत्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि मैंने उन्हें किस तरह से पेश किया।
The careful choice of words, the scrubbing of language, the calculated images we presented to the external audiences - those were all major parts of my daily life over there. So, some of that is going to seep over into what I showed in the novel and - more importantly - how I showed it.
The careful choice of words, the scrubbing of language, the calculated images we presented to the external audiences - those were all major parts of my daily life over there. So, some of that is going to seep over into what I showed in the novel and - more importantly - how I showed it.
मैं कोई उपदेश देने वाला या सुधारवादी उपन्यास लिखने की कोशिश नहीं कर रहा था—वैसी किताब किसी दवा की कड़वी गोली जैसी लगती, और मैंने जहाँ तक हो सके कटु आलोचनाओं से बचने की कोशिश की। अगर कुछ है, तो 'फॉबिट' पाठकों को युद्ध का एक दूसरा पहलू दिखाने का मेरा तरीका है—युद्ध के परदे के पीछे की दुनिया, यदि आप कहें तो। अगर आप अमेरिकियों के साथ शब्द-साहचर्य (वर्ड एसोसिएशन) का कोई खेल खेलें और कहें "युद्ध," तो आपके दिमाग में सबसे पहली बात क्या आती है? गोलियों की बौछार के बीच युद्ध के मैदान में दौड़ते हुए सैनिक, है ना? रैंबो, धुआँ, धमाके। 'फॉबिट' में, मुझे उम्मीद है कि पाठक कुछ अलग ही देख पाएंगे
I wasn't trying to write a corrective novel - that would just end up tasting like medicine, and I tried to stay away from polemics as best I could. I think that, if anything, Fobbit is my way of showing readers there's another side to war - the backstage of combat, if you will. If you play a word association game with Americans and say "war," what's the first thing that comes to mind? Soldiers running across a battlefield through a hail of bullets, right? Rambo, smoke, explosions. In Fobbit, I hope readers will see something a little different
I wasn't trying to write a corrective novel - that would just end up tasting like medicine, and I tried to stay away from polemics as best I could. I think that, if anything, Fobbit is my way of showing readers there's another side to war - the backstage of combat, if you will. If you play a word association game with Americans and say "war," what's the first thing that comes to mind? Soldiers running across a battlefield through a hail of bullets, right? Rambo, smoke, explosions. In Fobbit, I hope readers will see something a little different
असली फर्क तब आता है जब समाचार मीडिया हर चीज़ पर विचारधारा की एक परत चढ़ा देता है। मीडिया जिस तरह से सेना को चित्रित करता है, उसमें एक हद तक झुकाव ज़रूर होता है। मैं यह नहीं कह रहा हूँ कि यह पूरी तरह से गलत है—चौथा स्तंभ (मीडिया) जनरलों और कर्नल उनके कामों और फैसलों के प्रति जवाबदेह ठहराने के लिए ही होता है—लेकिन मौके पर संवाददाताओं का होना और पल-पल की खबरें देना निश्चित रूप से सेना के मिशन को और जटिल बना देता है।
Where the differences came in was the patina of ideology which the news media laid over everything. There's certainly a bias, to some degree, in the way the media portrays the military. I'm not saying that's entirely wrong - the Fourth Estate is there to hold generals and colonels accountable for their actions and decisions - but having reporters on the scene, reporting in real time certainly complicates things for the military mission.
Where the differences came in was the patina of ideology which the news media laid over everything. There's certainly a bias, to some degree, in the way the media portrays the military. I'm not saying that's entirely wrong - the Fourth Estate is there to hold generals and colonels accountable for their actions and decisions - but having reporters on the scene, reporting in real time certainly complicates things for the military mission.
आधुनिक युद्ध हमारे इलेक्ट्रॉनिक मीडिया में भी हर जगह मौजूद हैं—अगर थोड़ी कड़वी बात कहें, तो अब हमारे पास चौबीस घंटे बिना रुके खून-खराबा देखने का विकल्प उपलब्ध है। इराक में इंटरनेट और रियल-टाइम मीडिया रिपोर्टिंग को रोजमर्रा की जिंदगी का हिस्सा बना लिया गया था।
The modern wars are also omnipresent in our electronic media - to be cynical about it, we now have 24 hours of non-stop bloodshed available to us. The internet and real-time media reporting were integrated into daily life in Iraq.
The modern wars are also omnipresent in our electronic media - to be cynical about it, we now have 24 hours of non-stop bloodshed available to us. The internet and real-time media reporting were integrated into daily life in Iraq.
अब ऐसा कोई "मोर्चा" (फ्रंट) या "पिछला हिस्सा" (रियर) नहीं बचा है जहाँ फॉबिट जैसे लोग सुरक्षित ठिकानों पर जाकर छिप सकें। इराक और अफगानिस्तान में, आप एक ऐसे युद्धक्षेत्र में हैं जो हर तरफ से, यानी 360 डिग्री से एक्टिव रहता है।
There is no more "front" and "rear" where Fobbit-types would go to hide out in safer locations. In Iraq and Afghanistan, you engaged in a theater of operations that's 360 degrees at all times.
There is no more "front" and "rear" where Fobbit-types would go to hide out in safer locations. In Iraq and Afghanistan, you engaged in a theater of operations that's 360 degrees at all times.
युद्ध हमेशा समय के साथ बदलते रहते हैं, है ना? इराक/अफगानिस्तान वियतनाम से अलग थे, वियतनाम कोरिया से अलग था, कोरिया प्रथम विश्व युद्ध से अलग था, और इसी तरह आगे भी। बेशक, कुछ चीजें वैसी ही रहती हैं—एक पक्ष का दूसरे पक्ष से विचारधारा या ज़मीन के टुकड़े के लिए लड़ना—लेकिन युद्ध के जीवन के कुछ पहलू अपने से पहले के युद्धों से बिल्कुल अलग होते हैं।
Wars always evolve over time, don't they? Iraq/Afghanistan is different than Vietnam, and Vietnam was different than Korea, and Korea was different than World War One, and so on. Some things remain the same, of course - one side fighting another over ideology or a patch of ground - but there are some aspects of combat life which differ radically than their predecessors.
Wars always evolve over time, don't they? Iraq/Afghanistan is different than Vietnam, and Vietnam was different than Korea, and Korea was different than World War One, and so on. Some things remain the same, of course - one side fighting another over ideology or a patch of ground - but there are some aspects of combat life which differ radically than their predecessors.