|
|
Have Guts...!! - Jaswin Jassi
morals inculcated in me. May your souls rest in peace. My mother-in-law for bringing up my kids with ethics that made us proud parents. And to all the people who've made special appearances in my life, at some stage or the other. Being an honest man, I have to admit that I've never read a book my entire life, so writing one was completely out of question. Or so I thought. It so happened that an ordinary lunch meeting with friends turned into an extraordinary affair. To kill time, I decided to let them in on a few incidents that happened in my life. Kind of like a story telling session, just that the stories they were hearing, were all true. I was talking about my life after all. After some persuasion and a few nudges from friends and a whole lot of liquor, I decided on giving it a shot. On came a man, I have nothing but highest regards and respect for, Mr. S. Balwant. His efforts, Have Guts...!! The
Untiring Truth
A special thanks to Mr. Pradyot Lal and Sant Kumar Sharma. I am grateful to my son Aditya, who polished and edited the book and made it readable. So here I am with my life, part of it, of course. The joy, the sorrow, the hardship, the hard work, all of it, indeed make for a good read. I'm
not anybody so famous that one would be interested in reading about my
life or what I went through, but what I am is an ambitious, self-made,
common man. And no one connects better with the common man, than a commoner.
And that is the idea. It is simple- never bow down to adversity. Face it
head on. Believe me, you will win- the accolades, the fight, but most importantly,
the respect. If I manage to connect with even one of my readers, if I manage
to guide some to a life
|
||
|
Introduction This straight from the heart tale captures the essence of a man who confesses that he has made necessary compromises to reach the level that he has attained; it has been a journey with pitfalls, ideals and idols retained; at the same time, the market forces that have governed the system have taken the better of the man who self-confessedly started with pitfalls galore but the manner in which he has carved his niche in a competitive zone makes for a story, to be retold. Largely anecdotal, the book shows the author's competitive spirit, to succeed, but at the same time, his attempts to protect his progeny from the mistakes, compromises that he may have himself committed. The story will interest all those who believe in the essential strength of a self- made man, who did everything, from being ambitious but at the same time hampered by social circumstances beyond his control. The story, told largely in first person singular, gives the reader a fair idea of how life has progressed for a man who loves the good things in life and is willing to share the occasional swipe at the establishment, but at the same time, retaining a sense of values that has saved him from becoming a mercenary. The articulate intricacies that sustain the narrative may interest all those who are interested in knowing the profile of a man who has avoided being an upstart and has had trysts with destiny. There are narratives that may sound self-deprecatory - details of rail, road travel; the agony and ecstasy of all that has accompanied it. They have been sharply etched out in a strutting narrative which may satisfy even a literary purist. In
the story successful attempts have been made to describe the journey of
an individual overcoming the odds to emerge from the fledglings Have Guts...!
The Untiring Truth into the main arena. This is a story that may drag at
times, in the sense that it has an element of self-indulgence. But that
is essentially a function of an ethos that has been governed by a world
that was already there - you had to accept it, with whatever it brought.
A middle class family, thrown into the tumult of the time, produced this
particular character willing to share his life, warts and all.
|
|
Pictures - Photos |
| Comments
Jaswin Jassi says that no one connects better with the common man than a commoner. By writing his life story, he has not only dared to substantiate his interesting claim but has also hoped to inspire narrative of lives less ordinary. The "ordinary" people of South Asia and especially those with Punjabi backgrounds would find echoes of their lives in this life story. The honesty with which Jassi effortlessly pens down the contradictions of every day life is admirable. How often do we find that some one describes himself as a God fearing person and a devoted husband and simultaneously relishes his numerous extra-marital exploits? This book also gives a rare peep into the world of audio-visual media controlled by the central government in India before the era of liberalisation. The social historian would
find interesting materials in this self-narrative for mapping a story of
upward mobility of Punjabi
---Dr Pritam Singh, Director
Postgraduate Programme in International Management and International Relations,
|
|
Dear Mr. Jassi, I have gone through your book 'Have Guts. .!! the untiring truth'. Your book has all the ingredients of a top entertainer. Biographies are generally not considered readable. Your book is not only readable, it is unputdownable, and that too when I am given to understand that it is your first attempt at writing a book. The narration of 'Have Guts.
.!!' is very readable and occasional Punjabi touch makes it more so as
it adds to the authenticity.
All along I felt I was not
reading a book, I was talking to the author over a drink. It takes an agile
brain and devilish wit to pull off
Further, I have a feeling that the sequel of this book is only a matter of time. Allah kare jore-qalam aur
ziyada.
|
|
Dear Jassi I don't know if its true or false, but to the extent this book made me cry, it made me laugh also. It brings emotion of both anger and love. First of all it was a shock for me that my dear buddy Jassi has written a book, that too in English. First I had a hearty laugh and assumed it to be another of Jassi’s habitual joke. But when Jassi gifted me this book for reviewing purpose, I just couldn't believe my eyes and I kept ogling at the book. No doubt this book made me proud of Jassi. Jassi’s life story reminded me of hit book Godfather - 2 of 80’s, in which Don Veto Corleone surged ahead in life and prepared a path for himself just the same way Jassi did, by portraying display of his guts. It's not a joke to tot up a book about your existence. Jassi has done that and its only Jassi who could have done it. On page number 87 of this book Jassi has pointed out buying a scooter from me. Today I want to catch this opportunity to let him know that I bought that scooter for Rs.2000/- and sold it to Jassi for Rs.1000/-, nevertheless since now its all in open, I anticipate Jassi would return me that money. lol I wont waver even a bit whilst I say whatever jassi is today and wherever he has reached, it has immense involvement and love of his dear wife Kiran. Now Aditya and Pallavi too have emerged as his two sturdy arms. I whole-heartedly suggest
the youth to go through this book to genuinely know what being self made
is.
Love
|
|
Straight from heart Team Viva A successful media personality, an activist and now an author, Jaswin Jassi is a man of myriad emotion and passion. Witty in approach at whatever he does, Jassi or ‘Just-win-Just See’ as he calls self, says that no one connects a common man better than a commoner. His book, titled Have Guts, the untiring truth, chronicles the life of a commoner, who amidst all odds attain success. He says, “Of course, I failed at times but failure was as a lesson in disguise.” By writing of his own life he has not only dared to substantiate his interesting claims but he says, “also motivates to inspire the lives of the less ordinary.” The articulate intricacies that sustain the narrative interests those who are interested in knowing a man who has avoided being an upstart and has had trysts with destiny. The Pioneer |
|
|
|
Pictures - Photos |
| My dear Jassi
Your book penning your experiments
with the rough and tumble of your life from Age 10 to Age 55 is just marvellous:
it is appropriately titled:
I have gone through your book from A to Z and had mised feelings of pain (and some of events in your early life made my eyes moist, partocularly the way you persisted to sell three pieces of the razors/brushes to a Sardarji in Ambala) and pleasure and laughter too while going through the episodes in your life and a salesman of razors and tv anchor and successful producer, pursuiding hard-nut bureacrats in the DAVP, culminating in the well-deserved place in the Limca Book of Records. I have picked up some anecdoes from your book: say like: No Dearth. But None Worth, which sums up life around us like "water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink" The list can go on. I could not believe
that I have been meeting a great person and an admirable author in
your visible self as a jovial co-member in the Press Club crowd.Your vacabulary
is so rich and your ideas are so lofty. I wish you continuous successes
in ife during the years to and me and my wife wish you and your beautiful
and closely-knit and great
Now I venture to make certain suggessions for your next edition: 01 The nineteen chapters must have headings and the book should have its contents page 02 The use of four-letter words can be avoided so that this book can be read by children of impressionable age so as to inspite them for hardwork, hoesty,sincerely and punctuality 03 Vide p.17 ending with words: "lesson learnt". Such summing up can be added to each lesson, wherever possible 04 Chapter 15 relating to your experience in the school at Age 10 yrs about the story of Rana Pratap and Bhama Shah, inserted after your wedding with Kiran ji needs to be narrated before the events which have been narrated in the middle of page 9 when you were aged 12 years. 05 Add either a postscript, a Prologue or as Chapter 20 in the book the events and experiences after the 1990-91 Gulf War, particularly with regard to the onset of Cable TV and the prliferating TV channels 06 And,
do write something about your experiences in the Press Club as these events
are contemporary and will be read with lot of interest and involvement
by those who are so near in time: you cane asily update the
book till 2000, just prior to the new realities after 9/11 tll 26/11 which
of course deserve a separate treatise by you
With best wishes to you and family and with seasons's greetings, I remain, Yours sincerely
|
