The Fountainhead

Heylo Guyz! So, here I'm again... Well, these days I'm devourin' The Fountainhead, a you-just-can't-put-it-down kinda novel written by Ayn Rand.{finished half of it already but couldn't stop myself from blogging it!:P} Though I remember reading several quotations on varied topics attributed to Ayn Rand earlier {as am a sponge[sucker:P] for good quotations!}, I never knew{ or rather never tried to find out} that she indeed was a brilliant writer. Not just another writer but the author of several bestsellers; "Atlas Shrugged", "Anthem", "We the Living" being the other ones, {which I intend to read once I finish the current one...}

The book's title is a reference to Rand's statement that "man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress," and is a more specific version of the book's theme, which is in Rand's words, "Individualism and collectivism in man's soul."

The Fountainhead plot revolves around the central character Howard Roark, the genius in architecture who refuses to conform to another man's ideals (or rather the lack of them!)... who refuses to copy the classic {Rennassaince, Romantic, Italian etc.} building styles of the past... who was expelled out of his architecture college coz of to his ultra-modernistic designs which were MILES ahead of his times... But he chose {dared} to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his creative{radical} vision and is constantly opposed by "the hostility of second-hand souls" and those unwilling or afraid to recognize his creative ability. He believed that every building like a person should have its individuality and integrity if has to survive in this tempestuous world.

"You want to stand alone against the whole world?"

If you ask me, I would say that he was a rebel in the true sense of the word. Totally bindaas... DGAF kinda dude! I somehow got reminded of Amitabh Bachchan and his angry young man image while reading the scene in which he was introduced. The dialogues, "main jahan khada hota hun, line wahin se shuru hoti hai", "main aaj bhi phenke huye paise nahin uthata" trully reflect the character of Howard Roark. Something similar happened in the novel... Following is the excerpt{later part of the convo} in which the Dean of the College had called Roark for an exit-meeting where he intended to somehow change his mind and coerce him to renounce his foolish unrealistic idea{l}s and join the humdrum monotony... the crowd... the stale styles in those days... needless to say he failed... utterly...

Dean: "Do you mean to tell me that you're thinking seriously of building that way, when and if you are an architect?"
Roark: "Yes."
Dean: "My dear fellow, who will let you?"
Roark: "That's not the point. The point is, who will stop me?"

He dared to stand alone against the whole world... and won! He is the kind of guy that you would draw inspiration from, whom you would love to emulate... Someone who would cudgel your brains up, wake you up from your ever-wasteful inconsequent slumber and challenge you to strive for the impossible... {coz the impossible CAN and WILL be acheived... coz... IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING! }

Ethics & principles... bestowed genius and courage... indifference & stubbornness... The Fountainhead also reinforces what I've have always believed that its always a lone ranger, a single daring man, a single radical idea that changes the whole world... and never a mob... The mob ALWAYS follows... At first, the mob might oppose{due to inertia}... coz its never comfortable changing for people... even if its to something better... If you wanna rule the world... you gotta care less and less about what the herd thinks of you... They don't matter a dime... not even 2 cents! They are just there to follow the *next* leader... They are just there to watch you rise in awe... They are just there to talk and crib and waste their lives... They are not worthy of your attention... at all!

As it often happens with me, I get reminded of a lot of quotes whenever I read or talk to someone... Someone once said, I guess it was George Bernard Shaw that "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. " Wow! What a thought! You'll find plenty of examples in real life... but sadly you'll find a a hundred{thousand? million?} times more instances where 'the reasonable man' quitted... succumbed... failed the battle of Life and adapted himself to the world. I feel, the greatest tragedy in life are not the earthquakes, the famines, the hurricanes, the tsunamis or the bomb-blasts that take thousands of lives each year but rather a man with unrealized potential{and he knows it!}... the man who dies with dreams still unfulfilled in his heart... the man who didn't dare to believe in his dreams *enough*... who reconciled himself to fate without even a genuine full-hearted attempt at his cherished goal... the countless regrets of 'Had I...', 'If only ...', 'I should have...', 'I thought that idea too ...', 'I wish I could turn back the wheels of time...' gnawing his soul every now and then... These are the real tragedies... !

I'm sure you wouldn't want to die like that... Trully speaking, you aren't living your Life at all if your next step is governed by what's popular with the mob right now...! Dare to stride off the beaten path... leave a trail that'll become a path... a road for many travellors many summers later to follow...!

That reminds me {yet again! :P} of a fantabulous peom by Robert Frost which most of you must have already read... "The Road Not Taken"... Another poem in the same lines is "If" by Rudyard Kipling...

Oops! I've talked only of Howard Roark {and the related philosophies towards Life}, while there are several other characters as well... like Peter Keating his rival architect, Henry Camaron his equivalent several decades back, Catherine who's Keating' beloved, Ellsworth Toohey a critic/writer/humanitarian & Catherines's uncle, Mike Roark's fellow construction worker, Austen Heller a guy who recognizes Roark's greatness, Guy Francon owner of a famous construction firm, Gail Wynand the publisher of The New York Banner and others... But Howard Roark is who *really* matters! ;-)

The only other character I loved is Dominique Francon... Roark's equal! :D

I've purposely not disclosed much of the plot{the theme you know but not the turn of events, which are really interesting!}, as I don't want to spoil the fun for the readers... You gotta read it to know exactly what I mean! {but do share your comments after you read it! :)}

Till next time... Jatinder!

P.S. : Feel free to post your thoughts... and if you've read The Fountainhead as well, do lemme know what you feel... Your comments are appreciated! Thanks in advance!