Why am I turning into an obituary writer? I never write anything now unless someone has died. Perhaps the most number of posts in this blog are obituaries.
But then again maybe it is because some people deserve our words. There are some people who taught us to love words and believe in their magical powers. And perhaps these words are sometimes the best and the only gift that common people like me can offer them.
Many years ago I read 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' and fell ill. I had fever for three days after reading it. Some writers and some books leave such an everlasting impression in your minds.The world of magical realism till then had existed only in my dreams. Marques wrote what we dreamed of and could only dream of writing.
One important turning point in my life was the two months I spent in Sabarimala as a reporter and as a stringent 'brahmachari'. The book I carried with me then was 'Love in the Time of Cholera' - a book that was deservedly not for a monk who was seeking penance for his sins. But it was a beautiful book. It made me write love letters, and dream of a spring that would last forever. It also made me believe that I would find my redemption, no matter however late in life.
Marques introduced me to the literature of magical realism. He was also my gateway to Latin American authors. Even now, any Latin American writer I read I subconsciously compare with him.
Gabriel Garcia Marques has passed away today.
Dear Marques, please continue writing for the gods and make mortals out of them as you made gods of us. Thank you and Rest In Peace.
