Book review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake

It's magical chocolaty world of Willy Wonka..wish I can have a Golden ticket, get a tour of the factory and taste all the fantabulous creations of Mr. Wonka..a must read for children and their parents..

Book review: Pax Indica: India and the World of the Twenty-First Century by Shashi Tharoor

"Informative but badly edited.."

Book review: House for MR Biswas by V S Naipaul

"the quest for roof above one's head..roof of one's own and not rented/borrowed/given for..believe this is one of the biggest quest a man has in his life..ask anyone living in Mumbai..and well, Mohun Biswas is no different..father of four, husband to one and brother-in-law to many, he yearns to break-free..V S Naipaul weaves the story of Mr. Biswas from cradle to grave and redeems him from his nightmares."

My tryst with Hello, Bastar

I did not know (nor had any interest to know) as to where would Bastar figure in the map of India at the time of buying up the book. I knew that such book existed through my subscription of Open Magazine where its author Rahul Pandita's columns are also published. It was at sale of Strand Book Stall at Sunderbhai hall (near ITO, Mumbai), that i picked up the book among many others.

I, a pseudo-intellectual with an MBA degree in tow didn't had any iota of clue about Naxal movement till now. Whenever any news item regarding killings of CRPF or abduction or fake encounters was played in high pitch on TV or being written cursorily reported in the newpapers, I would feign indifference and switch to pink newspapers/ forecast of profits on TV channels.

Two days back, after completing Sons and Lovers (by D H Lawrence) which is an emotionally heavy book, i looked at the stack of pending books to read and thought to myself, which among these would be most easiest to flip through. Hello Bastar with its 190 odd pages stood out in terms of thinness.

Moreover, my recent trip to Bhilai (in Chattisgarh), which is where my wife was born and grew up, a very knowledgable Shamsher Singhji who works with Bhilai Steel Plant, in a chance conversation about places to visit near Bhilai, made me aware that Bastar lies in driving distance from there. I had a twinge of guilt in my heart on hearing that, as I had not read the book and hence didn't knew anything about it.

So above two reasons conjoined me to start reading Hello, Bastar.

Within few pages of book, i was aghast and asked myself, "Is Naxal movement so big and affects so many people? how come I didn't had any idea about it? Shouldn't I, who himself feels that he reads a lot should have known about this affair which appears so frequently in various forms of media."

In short, I was ashamed of myself and my ignorance. This book has shaken me out of my indifference and made me restless. And I thought this book would be easiest of the lot. Makes me feel sick.

Poring over details on how and why the whole Maoist movement started and chronicling the history of last four decades, this book is best FAQ on the whole movement. I am not sure if there are any other such books, but am sure that this Book could serve as entree before anyone wants to get into the complexities of the whole movement.

Naxal movement is much bigger than this book could cover and at some point you feel that Rahul Pandita is trying to write for them. But this would be a natural, as after spending years with them and understanding their travails, one would empathize with them. Actually the opening credit says it all  -- "To Any and her imagined biscuits".

I ask myself, "now what?". After reading and feeling strongly about this issues, will I seek solutions or go back to the drudgery (which pays my bills) life of cubiclist, analyzing companies and their balance sheets, where none of these matters. Would I see whether Monnet or Jindals who are setting up large plants at Angul, have done adequate (what is adequate?) R&R for the lands they have acquired or would it be just glossed over to see the more "meaningful" numbers of their IRR for the project.

Would I wait years before this movement gets its tentacles into the Urban mass or will I like to be a part of the movement. Well, lets accept it, I don't have the balls to join this movement from their side. Yes, I am not motivated enough by the circumstances of my comfortable life.

But would I still not like to help through my own ways the plights of these people to bring them up or fight for their cause. How? I don't know the answer yet. But I am not yet done, for sure.

Epiphany

Story for 22nd April for Epiphany for 55 word story contest being run by Flipkart

His morphogenesis into breast led him go delusional. The Identity crisis fuelled his imagination and the prospect that everyone is watching “it”. 

Living the moments with tragedies, breast had exquisite feelings and explicit demands. And he suddenly realizes that yearning to hear what he wants to hear rather than what is being said is parody.

Words

following was my entry for 55 word story contest by Flipkart today with theme Words 

‘Is it so tough for you to speak two words of love to me” She laments

“Does it really need to be spoken?”, He wrote.

“Yes”

“But what good it would be”

“It will heal me”

“What? Don’t talk non-sense. You can’t even hear. You are DEAF” He scribbles furiously

“No. Not me. You are”

Book review: Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

"a classic tale of how ladies in one's life leave a lasting impression on it. The choice to break-free from one relationship while entering other has a humongous challenge as they try to hold the soul and mind rather than body. The implied possessiveness is so strong that its tough to break the shell and make your own nest. Does it drive one to madness or submissiveness or self-sacrifice is the question. And answer, well find it out yourself.."

Book review: Kanthapura by Raja Rao

"This novel has myriad characters and its excruciating to keep up just with their names in the beginning. However, as the pace of novel sets in, one gets to see the whole village and its various moving parts. Different quarters, the definitive mindsets and all of them being bound by religious festivities. Upheaval happens when they break their cocoon and support the learned Moorthy on Gandhism, the wave, which had swept entire country. Book holds you through its narrative yet keeps throwing you off with its dawdling characters. One needs patience to read this book. "

Book review: The Breast by Philip Roth

"Morphogenesis of a man into the title of the Novel leading him to go delusional. The Identity crisis leads to a new form of imagination and the prospect that everyone is watching him/her. Living the moments with Shakespearean tragedies, the organ has exquisite feelings and explicit demands. The playfulness of words with yearning to hear what he wants to hear rather than what is being said is a parody on all of us. "

Book review: Show Business by Shashi Tharoor

"way Shashi Tharoor combines real-life with fiction seems so effortless.. while reading u realize that u know the characters as daily household names while trying to unravel the mysteries of their real/ reel life names.. although ending is abrupt but a good read for those who like bollywood.."

Book review: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Edith Grossman

"Vintage Amor.. Forever.."