Dear Kaavya,
This is your Akka writing. The fact that you have never met me is immaterial; we are brown and we don’t live in the land our parents were born in—that alone means that you probably have relatives you’ve never met, just like I do, so Akka it easily is.
Paavum Kaavya (letÂ’s call you PK for short), there is something I want you to know, but before I disclose that, I have to admit a fault of which I am rather ashamed, a fault which I hope youÂ’ll forgive your imperfect Akka for.
I was jealous of you.
Just a bissel, but it was enough to make me loathe myself for a few minutes. Green looks fabulous on me, but envy surely does not flatter. Wait, don’t frown—I promise that once I was aware that I was being a twat, I earnestly called myself out on it and owned my jealousy. Long before I admitted that my “unlikely-fantasy-if-wishes-came-true” job was acting, I cherished what to me seemed an even more far-fetched aspiration: to write. Getting a book deal seemed like the greatest thing which could possibly happen to someone. To get paid to write? Wow. And that you did, with a stunning advance, which everyone bandies about ad nauseum, since it makes your “fall” all the more violent.
Sigh. How I wished that my parents had been savvy enough to enroll me in an Ivy-League-Prep-Camp-Thing. Where my counselor, who just happened to be a published author, would discover me as if I were some naïve starlet in a ‘40s era soda shop and then pluck me out of the sweaty, freaked-out ranks of cloned overachievers and marvel at my genuine uniqueness. My parents made me turn down Columbia for U.C. Davis. My parents are SO not your parents. Your parents gave you everything, including an inadvertent star-making opp that made me want to howl. You’re nearly half my age. It’s like watching your little sister get married before you do. It’s a little humiliating to endure, in this obsessed with chronological-milestones culture we share.
So, whenever this group blog of mine did a post about you, I’d look down and notice that my skin suddenly looked wayyy more olive than usual. Then I’d take a deep breath and tell myself that you deserved it. That you had hustled for it, working on your writing when in comparison, 17-year old me probably would’ve been brooding over which Smiths or Ultravox LP to spin next. My skin would go back to the shade my mother calls “irrantharam” and I’d exhale with relief. It felt good to be silently proud of you.
Here’s the thing my little PK: I still am. And I’m a little appalled at how many people are crowing elatedly about your alleged toppling. The first thing I thought of when I read the “Crimson” writing on the blog was that tragically accurate, snarktastic story about the pet shop with international crabs. You’re looking at me blankly. I’m sure you haven’t slept. Tut-tut. That won’t do. You know brown girls are predisposed to developing those nasty under eye circles. Take a benadryl, bachi. Your skin and, well, everything will thank you. Hell, take a nap right now. I’ll dispel your probably non-existent curiosity about crabs for you, like a wee bedtime story.
So, there was this pet store and it was renowned for carrying the most exhaustive selection of crabs aroundÂ…there were specimens from Mexico, Japan, RussiaÂ…almost everywhere, really. Each tank had a very secure looking cover to hold in the precious crab-cargo. All, but one, that is. Perplexed, a customer pointed to the open cage and asked the pet store proprietor why it didnÂ’t have a lid.
“Oh. Those are the crabs from India. A lid isn’t required, because as soon as one of them climbs up, all of the others furiously yank it back down. So they never get out.”
Look at you, almost asleep. And I haven’t even come to my main point yet! No wonder you got the book deal and I didn’t. We hadn’t met, so I have no way of knowing if we have this in common, but something tells me we just might—you see, I have a near photographic memory for all things useless. Didn’t help me with German vocab, but it does help me recall conversations I’ve had almost flawlessly, even if it’s been some time since the words were originally spoken (as you can imagine, this makes me a terrifying girlfriend, since it’s exceptionally easy to destroy my boyfriends in arguments…but we won’t go there, in case your parents are reading. Wha-? OH. Hi Viswanathan Uncle and Auntie! I promise I’m a virgin who’s never conversed with men, even ones I’m related to—I’m totally safe to keep around Kaavya!) Whew, that was close.
Anyway, I remember lots of other things as well. I can remember what my very best friend Eileen Perfume was wearing the day Los Angeles exploded in to riots over the Rodney King verdict. (Maroon boucle turtleneck sweater, black crinkle skirt with blood red roses here and there and black knee-high boots, which she had folded down slightly. She had her hair half-up and half-down, eyeliner on the lower lids, ruby lips and no other makeup.) Like you probably are, I’m a devoted bibliophile who can’t bear to be without something to read at all times. My memory kicks in here, too, since as edifying as Gita Mehta or Vikram Seth might be, knowing what either of them wrote at some point ain’t gonna get me an “A” on anything.
So this memory of mine, which I suspect you got too—sometimes, it is almost dangerous, yes? I can remember being in graduate school (has it already been five years since I graduated? Mein Gott.) and being so exhausted, because I worked full-time (as required by my program) AND took all my classes from 7-10 pm each night. I’d read books and articles throughout the entire day and then sit at my computer around 1 am, after the dinner dishes had been washed and my then-boyfriend had been tended to like some entitled Maharajah who keeps asking for “pani!” when he’s supposed to be asleep. Then, exhausted to the point of sleeping mid-keystroke, I would type. And sometimes, I’d go back and see a sentence and think, “weird”.
I’d feel that odd tingle that unmoored recognition evokes. And then slightly horrified and suddenly awake, I’d realize that I had typed, almost verbatim, something I had read earlier in the day. Sometimes, what I had borrowed wasn’t even brilliant. I’d shake my head then. I was terrified of getting caught, since I was certain that one day I’d turn in a paper that contained a sentence that I hadn’t “re-recognized” in time. “Dear Lord, please don’t let it be something craptacular…if I get in trouble, at least let me parrot something genius.” But that’s not how my little universe works, PK. When I was in third grade, my dramatic ascent up the Spelling Bee ladder was destroyed when I misspelled a word so simple, I’m too ashamed to even type it. It’s always the little things that I trip over, in the end.
I donÂ’t believe that you are the torment-deserving fraud that many of my fellow pajamahadeen think you are. I donÂ’t think you copied those words, that youÂ’re a plagiarist. I think that either one of two things occurred, neither of which is really your fault:
1) You pulled an “Akka” and regurgitated something that was playing on your mind. Like the number “170”. Even if this is true, I blame your handlers for not vetting a manuscript that had received sooo much attention, in this post-Frey era. Perhaps I am mistaken, but aren’t they supposed to read, re-read and triple read what they’re hawking? I can’t help but believe that this is quite common in terms of the writing process, this borrowing a phrase or voice. If this public flogging hasn’t happened often to other writers, then I feel like some critical step was missed in this entire process. Even if I’m wrong, and the process allows that manuscripts DON’T get vetted as carefully as a cabinet-level appointment (WTF?) I think you didn’t intend to lift such craptacular writing. If you were pushed over the ethical edge by exhaustion, pressure and your Ivied obligations, I think you would’ve chosen someone better to borrow from.
2) And this one is the more sinister, more galling and I think, most possible. I keep reading that your book was initially quite different. Darker. Truer. Kaavya-er. I heard that THAT manuscript wasn’t “marketable”, not with a pinkish cover and some strappy stilettos. I heard that lots of Kaavya disappeared and in its place, fluff was stuffed in to Opal Mehta. I don’t know if you’re being set up (that would be even MORE sinister! Perish the thought!) but I do think that someone else did that heavy lifting, dear girl. And I think you’re the one who’s getting marched up to Golgotha for it.
Speaking of Golgotha, perhaps the reason I have so much faith in you is because I suddenly have a lot in me, quite literally. I spent enough time in church last week to qualify being religious as a part-time job, potentially with bennies, if itÂ’s like Starbucks. I emerged from my week of holiness, calmer, stronger, fortified with light. Buoyed by hope and a renewed determination to see good everywhere, in everyone, in all things. If I can have faith that bread and wine when consecrated by a priest, become the body and blood of my savior, I can give my PK the benefit of my doubt. Let people trash and thrash you, Kaavya. Blogging has thoroughly taught me that the bile which they spew (my sinful self included, natch) indicates more about them then you, anyway. You deserve to be innocent until proven otherwise. And I believe that you might just be exonerated of these heavy, back-breaking charges which lay now on your similarly irrantharam shoulders. And if you should fall, while on your way, no matter what causes you to stumble, you will have my prayers and support. We are all human, pots and kettles the lot of us and we all deserve a little bit of compassion.
Sincerely,
Anna-akka
…We are too small a minority in the US to have this ‘paris hilton porgi’ flouting convention….(next she’ll wear a bra over a sport jacket!)i>
Anatomy of a lynching : It begins with “righteous indignation” about the declime of “honesty” (as though dharma and adharma did not exist in every age!), then it laps into sanctimoniousness, with an undertow of (painfully concealed) envy. And just as its building up into a bolus of hate, where all nuance is lost, where compassion is signified as weakness…
Someone will step up and call her a whore.
In the halls of academia plagiarism is a capital crime…..as a former Yalie I can fully recall the hatred and bile…memories..:). but Anna your sympathy here is entirely misplaced on a shrewd profiteer who as a result of her evasiveness will never even get into a third tier investment bank….due diligence would have her outed within hours…so to encourage lying among our own does SAsians a grave disservice…the oj analogy is apt ….in academic terms she committed the capital sin.
Well no one is really BACKING her … but what i think GGK is referring to is how many comments have skewered her (not counting those that are joking?)
in reading THIS POST on THIS BLOG, most of the above comments are 1) let’s wait & see 2) have compassion 3) packaging company’s role 4) ethnicity role 5) misc tangential discussion (shakespeare plagiarized)
Hi neutral, just to clarify, the part of my comment that responded specifically to your posting was:
The first part notes that this news event is not happening in a vacuum. Although the central point is about plagiarism and responsibility, if you look at comments on other sites like Yahoo, you see reactions which are not driven by this central point, but by what people want to believe about Indians (“they take all our jobs,” etc.).
The second part is to dispute your assertion that most of SM is trying to support Kaavya with far-fetched arguments. For example, if you read Abhi’s post “How Kaavya V. got rich, got caught…” you see an SM blogger, as well as commenters, largely holding her responsible. (On that post, I myself made comments #2 and 3. If you read them you see what my basic position is. Don’t worry, they’re short!)
The bit I wrote about whether the packaging co. actually carried out the plagiarism is indeed ancillary to the issue of whether a supposedly creative work attributed to Kaavya V. contained plagiarized material, and whether she should be responsible for it. Again, see my comments #2 and #3 on Abhi’s post (basically, “Regardless of whether she or the packagers did the plagiarism, she is responsible for it. She was taking all the credit for any of the book’s meritorious qualities.”).
When I (and I don’t claim this about others) speculate about the packaging co., I mean to start a discussion tangential to the Kaavya discussion. This discussion questions the market forces behind the publishing industry in a capitalist society.
However, regardless of what we learn or say about the publishing industry, Kaavya and other plagiarisers are still fully responsible for the crimes as well as the merits of works attributed to them.
Exactly. When the James Fry thing happened the whole MSM was all over it like they really got a BIG story.
Jon Stewart had asked then in his show, Why MSMs care about accountability in a book, but not in things that matter like the illegal Iraq war.
But I guess suckers who bought a $20 novel so that they can be busy while they are taking a dump, are not feeling “cheated” is more important then lets say all other issues of the world.
Its easy to name call a 19 year old who may be acting on the advise of the publisher (for all we know) then take on the whole publishing industry culture.
an interveiw, http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12495352/
I dont think its a big deal, she will be fine.
Eddie: relax…it was just a reference to Sue Ellen Mishky…the ‘flouting’ taken from kramer’s words……Seinfeld 🙂
One quote from the Daily show : ” So why do you think James Fry get tougher treatment than our government??? Well he misled us to a book we had no business getting into.”
I’m usually a big fan of your work, Anna, but with all due respect I find the minute details you put into this letter (to someone you don’t know) creepy. I wonder if Kaavya will too.
Eddie: relax…it was just a reference to Sue Ellen Mishky…the ‘flouting’ taken from kramer’s words……Seinfeld 🙂
Ah okay 🙂 Anyway, I’ll take your advice. This whole thing is getting to me. Gotta chill out.
Peace y’all
Bong: Yeah its quite normal for yahoo.
is this debate heading anywhere?i think we shud start voting who is in favor,whos against and whos undecided on the issue..admins can u post a poll? no matter what u can clean your slate …..
Is it a debate? I just see more and more facets to this story as the SM discussions roll on…
Deepa, I agree there are some out there (e.g., the Yahoo and other blogs you refer to) whose responses and comments are less about plagiarism and responsibility and who engage in name-calling and outright denigration of the Indian community. Are you saying that a knee-jerk defense of PK is therefore justified? We have no control over the former; in a country as diverse as the US it would be unnatural to expect an absence of bigots. Why, if this were to break out in India you’d find a fair number there too. Regardless of all that I think we do ourselves a disservice by defending PK on grounds of “one of our own”, “almost looks like me”, “if it can happen to her today it might be me tomorrow”, and so on. I’d wager by such defence we are actually inviting the bigots to spout their venomous bile more and longer…
Abhi’s posting on KV getting cauught has been left by the wayside since Anna’s posting about PK. In any case, my point is that most that support(ed) PK were South Asian women (though, as more evidence surfaces they are distancing themselves ever so slowly). Hence my query whether that defensiveness (knee-jerk, as I see it) can be due to some perceived or real slights women of South Asian origin experience here. And I remain curious whether that is something out there that I missed so far.
PK has the key to solve this mess. She can solve it by taking the high road that will add a lustre to her reputation and leave everyone fulfilled and feeling affirmed. That would include PK, her family, her college, her agent, her publisher, the Hollywood deal, the publishing industry, future writers, even the community that she recently has discovered (which, btw, was hardly a mention in her book). Her supporters will feel vindicated and her detracters defanged. And…Anna can feel whole again. So why is PK engaging in BS still?
This has dragged out longer than it need have. With each passing tick and tock of the clock PK loses credibility and digs herself further into the hole she is in. I only hope she has the maturity to step back and take that high road. It isn’t rocket science and the money she gives up is trivial compared to everything else.
i had written a long (and i mean long) comment about how all i fet for KV now was sympathy. unfortunately my stupid browser crashed on the preview window!!!! i doubt i can repeat the entire comment but i did want to stand up and be counted. i’m right next to you beside that cradle of yours in supporting KV, anna. i still believe that she lifted at least some of those passages verbatim. however, the punishment should always fit the crime. what KV has gone through (and will probably go through for a long time) should be enough to make her realize what a big mistake she made and hopefully learn from it.
at a personal level, if she remains in a state of denial and refuses to take responsibility for her actions, it will only hurt her in the long run and that would be really sad.
i watched the msn clip and she seemed genuinely contrite to me. it’s been said that she comes across as arrogant, brash, priviliged etc in other interviews. if that’s the way she is, i probably wouldn’t be able to stand her if i knew her personally. but all i saw was a young girl in an extremely tough situation who handled herself remarkably well. she seemed genuinely contrite (was her voice quivering?). she did not come out and issue a full blown apology (although it seemed like she inadvertently blurted out “im sorry” before adding “even though it was unintentional”), but to expect that would be a lot from anyone, much less from a 19 year old, especially on national tv. her parents/friends/handlers are probably advising her on what to say right now and if they told her that to accept any wrong doing could ruin her career, you can not expect her to do so of her own accord.
i have forgiven people for much worse than what KV did. KV does not need my forgiveness. she did not wrong me in any way. she did not hurt me. i did not buy her book. i did not read her book. all i did was admire her and blog about her. that is not reason enough to hate her. all i feel for her is sympathy. yes, even if she did plagiarize (and more so if she didn’t).
Definitely not. Read my responses to you again. In full.
I disagree. Responses to both posts are climbing steadily.
It could be. And, FYI, there are real slights people have experienced. The frequency and types of incidents depend on where one lives, probably.
but to expect that would be a lot from anyone,
much lessmore so from a 19 year old, especially on national tv.browser fears made me post without reading. apologies for the above and a couple of other errors in the comment.
Pardon me?
Thanks Kaavya: “Kim Bellings, Croupier “It’s sad when a negative stereotype is reinforced by incidents like these, but I’ve always said: Indians are dirty plagiarizers.”
Just to clariy (since Dari doesn’t) comment 368 is a made-up quote from an article in The Onion.
I’m usually a big fan of comments, but with all due respect I find yours…sad.
The intoxicating cocktail of affection, honorifics and familiarity is a cultural libation I adore– don’t you call strangers, “Uncle?” I do not think it’s odd at all to assume the role of “Akka” or older sister to someone whom I feel like advising. A few of the people who comment on this very blog call me “Akka”, some of whom I’ve never even met. Creepy, right? 😛
If Kakutani can write book reviews in character (Elle Woods? Austin Powers??), I think I can be allowed the literary latitude to publish a post in letter form, to someone whom I want to support during what must be a miserable time.
And if you need further evidence of my right to Akka-dom, when I was 15, my odd little horoscope in seventeen magazine said that my Capricorn self had large, sad eyes, legs up to my chin, the faults of being slightly uptight as well as so aloof or shy that it would be seen as being stuck-up AND that in my heart of hearts, I just wanted to be big sister to the whole world. There you have it. Like I could come at you or this little quibble with ANYMORE authority. 😉
(i’m not going to point out how i internalized something i read at 15 and reproduced the vast majority of it easily, 16 years later. woops. my bad.)
Didn’t read all the comments so i’m not sure if someone already asked/answered this, but does anyone know what part of India her family hails from? With a last name like that, I’m thinking they’re Tamil or Malayalee…
i thought the same…but i’m leaning towards the former, which is why i went with “akka” instead of “chechi”.
From NYT:
I am sorry but will people please stop lauding her for being brave and appearing on the Today show? It was a brillaint PR move and a chance to clean her slate. There is nothing brave about it – if your public image was tarnished, you’d grad every chance you can to repair it. or atleast salvage what remains of it. And btw, if she really was so sorry how come she didn’t come clean when Crimsonite called her. Her response? “No comment. I have no idea what you are talking about.” This is a PR fixup. And until some serious investigation is undertaken, we will never know the truth and people wil continue to speculate her credibility as a writer. And perhaps her integrity as a writer. Besides, whatever said – It is beyond me to believe it is possible to “internalize” 40 passages of a book you read 2-3 years ago.
how does it matter whether she is a tamil or a malyalee?!
it doesn’t matter. it is a matter of wholly understandable and predictable curiousity. i wondered about the same question for a second, i’m sure dozens of others did, too. similar queries have been commented on other posts about the subjects’ names. why does it vex you to the point of multiple punctuation marks? 😉
The funny part is “original” work by meagan is as crappy as it can get.Its like some politician saying his source of inspiration is laloo prasad yadav
irrantharam ??
Anna, I was married at nineteen and if this chic is so smart…come on, there is no excuse for what she did. Copying is copying…Monica Lewinski was in her early twenties…oh the poor thing…yeah right (what about that thong). No excuse, as I see it. You play in the big world you still have to play by the rules.
Many writers have done it all the hard way even with their obvious talent. They did the math and figured out all the equations and put in all the time involved in sweat and research…I have no sympathy for someone who cheats at the game…no matter how old they are.
All this makes wonder what Kaavya’s situation would be in a hypothetical world where most people were sympathetic cradle-providing pacifiers. From her point, not much at all. A normal intelligent person should be able to understand the situation without having to depend on the crutches of sympathy or the onslaught of anger. The public disclosure has happened, and the subsequent sympathy is gentle damnation, but damnation all the same. In many cases the sympathy is also an accusation of immaturity, which is worse. Now, speaking very objectively, unconsious internalization of forty passages from two books just isn’t plausible. Internalization would not produce what are called episodic memories, which is what she exhibits here. Remembering sequences of words is highly indicative of episodic memory and these memories are characterized by the remembrance of MOST things associated with the episode, say the visual setting, the preceding actions by the person and like. Remembered fourteen word sequences are also indicative of chunking, something that the brain is apt to do when confronted by some highly enjoyable and uniquely moving sensory experience. So I can accept her ‘she-spoke-to-me’ explanation for remembering so many passages, but not the fact that she forgot it was her favorite author’s memorable passages that she was regurgitating. You have to be real foolish to plagiarize a contemporary author, and that fool most probably sits behind a desk of her ‘packaging company’.
Anna- I’m with lin on this. I don’t understand the whole “sisterhood” thing or why you feel so close to this brat. The fact that she’s 19 and Indian means little. Just look at all the other truly successful, mature Indian kids out there achieving great things with their own hard work (and not that of others).
Kaavya cheated, then she lied about how it happened. She did not take responsibility for her actions. That’s not handling it well if you ask me. This isn’t about ethnicity or about age, and I don’t see the point in the outpouring of sympathy.
VMN Rao, I don’t see the point of repeating the same cursed thing I’ve already said approximately a dozen times, but I’m going to do it anyway. so, things often happen which we don’t see the point to.
you don’t get the whole “sisterhood” thing? if you mean “sisterhood” in the overarching, solidarity sense, you are mistaken. if you are being a literalist and referring to my “akka”-shtick during this post…well, it’s just that. apparently i am the last desi here who calls people “akka”, “chetan”, “didi” etc. i’m older than kaavya and i was trying to give her counsel. THAT is why i used the “akka” phrasing.
As for calling her a “brat”, do you know her personally? She might be misguided, confused, disappointing and a whole plethora of other adjectives, but unless i meet her, I’m not going to go with “brat” right now.
:+:
Finally, this isn’t aimed at any single person– it’s aimed at those of you who are misunderstanding me.
i wrote this post as a plea for tolerance, as a REQUEST that we WAIT before jumping to conclusions, since we had many unanswered questions when i blogged this.
i NEVER condoned illegal activities or said that i’d defend her no matter what. if she murdered someone, i wouldn’t smooth her hair, got that?
i have tried to be the voice of compassionate reason here, to remind some of you–who seem to think that it is your divinely-given right to condemn her excessively–that while your voicing your opinion is welcome and necessary, going overboard is not. she doesn’t need or deserve to be kicked out of harvard (unless she has done this academically). in fact, she doesn’t need or deserve any sentence other than the emotional-life-sentence she will surely serve after this fiasco. THIS WILL FOLLOW HER TO HER GRAVE.
some of you have said that you’ve made mistakes when you were her age, blah blah blah as if that gives you an extra authority to deny her lenience or sympathy. were YOUR mistakes permanent? do they show up on google? will they be in everything that is ever written about you from this point onwards, including, yes, YOUR OBITUARY? i don’t think so. so please, stop accusing me of things i haven’t done when all i’m doing is asking for maturity and civility while we discuss the case of a girl who stands accused of things she might have done.
THIS was the point of my post, in case you forgot:
to the vast majority of you– thanks for being respectful and reasonable.
I don’t get what all the fuss is…I mean, 600+ comments between the 2 posts when all the girl did was a lil remixing?
If P-diddy can do it, why not Kaavya? maybe it would be better if she renamed herself K-dawg and said the book was a representation of the music culture she grew up on.
hmmmmm
i was just keeding for all those shuper-shensitive, chaddis-in-a-twist type.
Anna, there is one, and only one, relevant fact, here. Kaavya “wrote” a book that has way too many passages and phrases, strikingly similar to another book – far too many for this to be a case of “unintentional internalization”. There are only a few permutations and combinations possible – either she did it herself, or one of her handlers did it for her – none of it looks very good for her. If there is an “innocent until proven otherwise” scenario here, you need to spell it out – I sure cannot see one.
You write “were YOUR mistakes permanent? do they show up on google? will they be in everything that is ever written about you from this point onwards, including, yes, YOUR OBITUARY?”
Well, cry me a river, honey! She got the kind of book advance that older and arguably better authors can only dream of, and now that she has been exposed as a fraud, you expect people to be mature and civil and look the other way. Why? Because she is 19? To excuse her for her age would be insulting to the many 19 year olds I know who act with way more integrity than she has.
I sincerely hope that Harvard takes punitive action against her – otherwise what message are they sending out? That no bad deed will go unrewarded? Besides, do we really need more liars to end up as investment bankers?
Desimom (385#)
Any relation to Desipapa ? (Just asking…..)
To whomsoever it may concern,
This thread has become dreadful, in interest of humanity close the thing OR post something which is bound to raise much more heat. Meanwhile why not diss the rich girls ??
Regards
I can’t believe the bandwagon-jumping analysis & condemnation of the writer is still going on (and on…..and on…..) across multiple threads. Self-righteous ego-trip, much ?
As some commenters have already mentioned, it’s revealing that some far worse, malicious and destructive actions by other people/groups around in the world today have not generated such rigorous, extended attacks on previous discussion topics here on SM. Priorities, anyone ? Or is it just a lot more convenient (and more fun) to attack the “easy target”, especially if she’s regarded as “one of your own” ?
Exactly what do you want the writer to do ? Break down on (inter)national TV, get down on her knees and weepingly scream for everyone’s forgiveness ? How much “remorse” will be enough ?
Or do you just want to bury her up to her neck and hurl stones at her ?
“Shahbaash” is all I can say (clapping hands slowly).
Jai (387#)
What you are saying is basically a non – sequiter. And the reason there is so much heat is because the empathizers refuse to see the reason.
I do not want writer to do anything, I want the empathizers to stop forwarding lame souding excuses for her conduct
Regards
Because maturity and civility are not extraordinary things to ask for, in any situation. You are a “Mom”, is this that unique a concept?
:+:
Gaurav,
Why don’t you have the testicular fortitude to just replace your excessively sarcastic “empathizers” (nice italicizatioln) with my name? Also, if you don’t like this thread, don’t read it or comment on it.
There is ANOTHER thread on THIS very blog which is under an anti-Kaavya post and if that’s not enough, there are a thousand other places where your point of view on Kaavya-gate are welcome and shared. Feel free to find a “lack of excuses” over there. It probably won’t be as fun though, since your views won’t be unique and you won’t be able to pick on “empathizers”. Either be indifferent or admit that my point of view irritates you to the point that you MUST comment…and then ask yourself why you are making comments like this:
Unbelievable. I’m not “forwarding” jack. I am stating my relevant and ALTERNATIVE opinion on MY BLOG. Yet now, according to YOU, I am the wrong/guilty party. You don’t want the writer to do anything, you essentially want ME to shut up. Not fucking likely. And awesome priorities on you, btw. Remember, I didn’t do anything wrong, unless by wrong, you mean standing up and asking for courtesy for a writer, who is quite likely guilty. But you don’t want HER to do anything, just me. Nice.
Anna (389#),
Why so much anger ?
There were quite a few people besides you, who were saying the same thing, so I don’t get how you deduced that my comment is directed towards you personally. Yes it is your blog and it was never my intention to abuse the hospitality extended to me by you and your cobloggers, I apologise for any inadvertent offense or transgression.
Yes, in my view the writer was guilty on two counts, one lifting passages and two trying to wriggle out of it.While I am very sceptical (justifiably if I may say so), it may also be true that the conspiracy theory of how the publishing house “sexed up” the orignal manuscript. I take contracts seriously and therefore I do not take kindly to her conduct, however, ultimately it is a matter between the two authors and publishing house and it will be settled by them, in a court of law or outside it. This is the reason I am not concerned what happens personally to the writers.
However I get concerned when a considerable section of people tries to justify violation of ethics (or law) by emotions, this is a comparitively minor offense, but same arguments get repeated ad nauseam in serious cases also. And it is this tendency to sidetrack the issues which is troubling to me.
Is 17 year a young age? May be ! Is 17 Year a young age to comprehend the seriousness of plagiarism, when you are a aspiring writer and smart enough to merit admission in Harvard AND paid hazaar bucks for your book? No !
I have been civil to best of my knowledge, but if you feel otherwise feel free to delete my comments.
Regards
Gaurav,
I agree with Anna’s post above. Despite the polite little ‘Regards’ at the end of everything you write…The whole passive-aggressive post re: emptathisers is a bit redundant on this thread. There is another post where people clearly support your view, so why make comments such as yours here over and over again when you know that most of the people posting here see things differently?
also most of the people commenting here are NOT plagiarism defenders/excusers who see things in black and white, they’re mostly concerned with grey areas re: memory issues, subconscious copying, the possibility that ghostwriters from her publishing company rewrote those infamous passages in her book and not her, brown-bashing, frustrated Ivy-League curries taking out their bitterness on her etc.
Sorry but I just have to write it now…
Regards
This is probably my fourth attempt to post this comment…
Right. I haven’t read the 391 comments but have skimmed through a few. What I am curious about is the use of the story about Indian crabs. Since her critics aren’t limited to one nationality, I am wondering why the story felt appropriate in this context. Was it because SM seems to be devoted to the Desi crowd and the Desi issues, and there fore the readership is possibly predominantly Indian in origin?
The second question is related to the responses Gaurav’s comments have evoked:
Where in Anna’s original post is it mentioned that only those who agree with her can comment here? Why is Gaurav even being asked to comment on another post? Is it not a public blog? Are dissenting comments not allowed? What’s the deal?
And while we are on the subject, since when is ’empathizers’ a sarcastic word? Or a word with any negative connotation?
I agree w/ RCK …Gaurav should be allowed to comment here and he should be allowed to comment on the other post as well…which is what most commenters have done…gone back & forth…
i left this post for a while b/c i felt i was being an antagonist to the main idea of this post and went to the other post for a while…but its not as if one post contains comments of one view only…so i keep coming back….
i am trying to understand you anna…i really am…
i don’t understand how you can ask for calm for KV, but make disparaging remarks against someone like Ashley “asslee” simpson….what exactly is the fundamental difference b/w the two? You don’t believe she had acid reflux? how will we ever know ? you say ashley’s music is crap b/c you’ve listened to it…but you haven’t read kaavya’s and stand by the darker book she originally intended to write may have been good…will you read “Opal”? what will your stance be if its crap?
anna -you are being too kind to this rascal woman. does your sympathy extend to the lacrosse players of duke? tell me that first and then we will talk.
from guardian article:
I’m a little late to this discussion. Part of me thinks I shouldn’t post this – it doesn’t change anything and I don’t want to be petty in the pulling-down-other-crabs kinda way.
I did read the book. I got an advanced reader’s copy through work a couple of months ago – and yes, upon reading the author bio I did get jealous (published at 17! what am I doing with my life?). And yes, in reading the book, it was hard for me to not get a little annoyed at her/Opal – just the irrational part of me that thinks wealthy kids get the world handed to them on a plate and don’t say thank you.
But even so – the book is not great. It struck me as derivative teen chicklit (with a sprinkling of Indian-ness on top): the “right” boy who turns out to be wrong, the “wrong” boy who turns out to be right, the bitchy popular girls v. the unpopular high school kids, the “be true to yourself” lessons learned, etc etc. The plot elements are a rehash of lots of teen books and movies. I remember at the time thinking that the publisher was a little off to label her a “brilliant new writer” as he does in the forward – I don’t know what the older, rejected, “darker” version of this book was, but evidence here says she’s not a great writer. Her prose is often awkward, shallow, with too much explication. But then, so’s a lot of teen/chick lit out there.
I do remember mentioning to my partner at the time that the book was too generic to be really recommend-able, and that one moment in particular seemed taken directly from the movie Mean Girls. When all this broke, I went back and found it. Here’s the quote from the 2004 movie (as quoted on IMDb.com):
And here’s my 2005 advance copy of HOMGKGWAGAL:
So yeah. I don’t know what this means – they’re not really exactly the same. But it does seem to point to a pattern of borrowing. At the same time, it could suggest that Kaavya’s borrowing is unintentional – I mean, if you were going to plagarize, wouldn’t you at least change the article of clothing being discussed? I don’t know. I want to be compassionate toward her (I was still figuring out who I was at 18), and I don’t know her personally. But I don’t completely buy her explanation either – I had favorite novels in high school that I read over and over, and I couldn’t quote them as closely as she does McCafferty’s. And as a writer, a published writer, you have a responsibility to make sure that you’re not being sloppy.
No real conclusion. It’s an ugly situation all around.
I thought they all did, anyhow. 😉
i think it was in the thread….but to the guy who called desis “dirty wogs” and somehow meant it as a compliment…….what in the world??
indeed, indeed. except perhaps that the fountain of formulaic teenchicklit material has begun to run dry.
it’s time for a new sensation to come out of nowhere, unpackaged and unexpected, make a bunch of money, spawn high-quality emulators and low-grade imitators, and take us through a new cycle.
basically this is how innovation happens. action and reaction. on some level, the rest is noise. maya, as it were.
perhaps you haven’t read enough, if you are asking the questions you did about the author of this post and the right to self-expression. i don’t think there was any ambiguousness to her stance or reaction gaurav’s provoaction.
asking for civility isn’t the same as excusing the guilty.