I have recently became a John updike fan. I discovered his work when I found, that he had written a poem about my surname.
First a short aside: My surname has often been the cause of much mirth. My english teacher in the 8th standard once told a story to our class of how arjun once met james bond. The conversation went as follows
Bond : The names Bond , James bond
Arjun : the names Narayananan, AnanthaNaryaanan, Subramaniam AnanthaNarayanan, Arjun Subramaniam Ananthanarayanan.
in my defense she on the school roles my name has always been the much simpler "arjun narayanan"
Apparently, another unfortunate soul, who fell victim to the dreaded south indian naming dyslexia , a certain M. Ananthanarayanan, wrote a book called 'the silver pilgrimage', back in 1932. The Times ran a review and it caught John Updikes eye. He was so moved by it that he put pen to paper and came up with this.
"I Missed His Book, But I Read His Name" by
Updike, John (1932-)
Though authors are a dreadful clan
To be avoided if you can,
I'd like to meet the Indian,
M. Anantanarayanan.
I picture him as short and tan.
We'd meet, perhaps, in Hindustan.
I'd say, with admirable elan ,
"Ah, Anantanarayanan --
I've heard of you. The Times once ran
A notice on your novel, an
Unusual tale of God and Man."
And Anantanarayanan
Would seat me on a lush divan
And read his name -- that sumptuous span
Of "a's" and "n's" more lovely than
"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan" --
Aloud to me all day. I plan
Henceforth to be an ardent fan
of Anantanarayanan --
M . Anantanarayanan.
