Book Review - Marry Go Round

Marriages in India are no less than a circus, the bride and groom being the clown of this circus. Sadiqa Peerbhoy's Marry Go Round revolves around this circus. The story is set in Hyderabad where Sartaj, a desperate, orthodox Muslim mother wants to get her son Riyaz (who is working in America) hitched to a nice Indian girl. The son on the other hand is in a live-in relationship with an American girl and at the same time, thanks to his dark skin, enjoys the attention of all the white girls. 

The melodramatic Sartaj fakes a heart attack and calls Riyaz to India to blackmail him into getting married to a girl of her choice. Riyaz comes home and gets caught in the web of looking at girls. While he is juggling from one tea party to another his girlfriend follows him to India making his life messier.

There are some very good cultural references in the writing and the author has described the Nawabi way of living in a funny manner. There are nosy and selfish relatives who get on your nerves but apart from a couple of stereotypes the book is not entirely funny. 

As a reader I couldn't connect to any character especially when they entered and exited the story abruptly. Riyaz's dwindling mind doesn't make him a favourite. Sartaj who is hellbent on getting a daughter-in-law of her choice and is extremely orthodox, suddenly melts which is unbelievable if you know Indian mothers well. The only thing that's constant is Riyaz's father's nonchalance. After a lot of hiding, running around, melodrama and chest beatings the end is a bit surprising and I must add, little immature.

Marry Go Round is a decent light read but if you are looking for a laugh riot I woudn't recommend it.
Book: Marry Go Round
Author: Sadiqa Peerbhoy
Publisher: Leadstart Corp.
Price: Rs 145
Pages: 223

Book Review - Arjuna

Of all the epics that India's rich literary heritage boasts of, Mahabharata is one book which has fascinated filmmakers and authors time and again. There have been innumerable interpretations of this war saga. B R Chopra's Mahabharata,  Shyam Benegal's Kalyug, Nitish Bharadwaj's Gita Rahasya, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's Rashmirathi, Ajay Singh Supahiya's animation short Arjun have been some of the fine examples. There have been some forgettable ones too like Ekta Kapoor's Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki, Prakash Jha's Rajneeti and the recent TV series being telecast on Star TV.

Anuja Rajamouli's Arjuna borderlines on being forgettable. Her story focuses on Arjuna, the third Pandav brother and master archer, his journey, achievements as well as failures. The book borrows heavily from the original Mahagrantha (as it should) and folklores.

Despite being focused on Arjuna's story the book doesn't devote more than two pages to the most significant part of his life which is Geeta Upadesh. Before the war of Mahabharata when Arjuna's courage dwindled seeing his family on the opposite side, Krishna gave him the lesson of life and dharma showing Arjuna his omnipresent form. The author chooses to ignore writing about the effect of that incident on Arjuna's life and character.

Since the story of Mahabharata is so complex it requires a fluidity but Anuja jumps from one incident to another which makes it a difficult read. The language too is a bit heavy which gives it a feel of a translated version rather than a story being told from a different perspective. there are some major proofreading mishaps which I will not delve into. 

However, despite its flaws the book has some very interesting tales to weave the story together. Do not pick Arjuna expecting it to be a different take on Mahabharata, it is a translation of the book and that too a pretty average one.

Book: Arjuna
Author: Anuja Rajamouli
Publisher: Leadstart Corp.
Price: Rs 250
Pages: 368

Book Review - When God Was A Rabbit

 

Two weeks ago I went for a book sale where books were being sold by kilo. These were mostly second hand books. Since all the fiction books were stacked randomly I had to go through each book to pick what I wanted. While going through the books I chanced upon some very interesting titles which I had not heard of. One of them was When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. I read the little summary on the back of the cover and picked it up with other 20 books.

First published in 2011, When God Was a Rabbit is narrated by Eleanor Maud (Elly) who grows up in Essex with her brother Joe and parents who are constantly planning to move out of the village. Eventually the family moves to Cornwall. As Elly grows up in her new home new characters are introduced in the story, all of them bring their own quirks. The story begins in England in 1960-70s and moves on to the post 9/11 New York.

When God Was a Rabbit has all the elements that make childhood. Forever lasting friendships, imaginations, secrets and confusions. At times the events are heartbreaking and at times they give hope to the story in the most beautiful way. Elly's defiance makes her a loner, she asks questions hence is looked upon strangely by her peers. But she finds an eternal friend in strange but intriguing Jenny Penny who lives with her mother and dreams of a hidden world. Even before they set out to find the world of their dreams Elly has to move away with her family. Uprooted and angry slowly Elly and Joe find their way around the new home and new life. Years later Elly reconnects with Jenny Penny under circumstances she could never have imagined.

Despite the elements like sexual abuse, homosexuality and even 9/11 the narration never turns melodramatic. Sarah Winman keeps the humour in her writing intact. Her characters react to situations in a way that make them seem more real. Winman picks up a lot of Historical references and blends them in her story like John Lennon's murder or the attack on The World Trade Centre. She also paints a fine picture of that era through her descriptions.

When God Was a Rabbit is not an innocent tale of childhood, it's mature and has shades of grim but the story still stays believable.

Book: When God Was a Rabbit
Author: Sarah Winman
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
Price: Paperback - $10.99, Kindle - $2.82 on Amazon
Pages: 325

The Lunchbox satiates your hunger!

A day after watching the heartwarming film 'The Lunchbox' I read someone trashing it on Twitter. The guy said that he hated the film and walked out halfway. The film is the story of life and it could be anybody's life. It was difficult for me to understand that how can someone hate someone's life. However, there are all sorts of people in the world. Some who are honest about their emotions and some who hide under layers of hatred.

Coming back to the film, I won't say that it's the best film ever made or the best story ever told. But it certainly is the story that you want to be told. A simple love story of people who've never met; we've definitely heard many such stories. But there's more to just romance in The Lunchbox.

Sajan Fernandes (Irrfan Khan) and Ila's (Nimrat Kaur) paths cross when the Dabbawallah delivers the lunchbox to the wrong address. A widower Sajan and neglected by her husband Ila find love through letters and lunch. The characters portray an aching sense of loneliness which this city brings and which everyone of us must have experienced at some point of life.

Ritesh Batra touches a middle class life in Mumbai and portrays the city the way we see it, somewhere between the slums and the high rises. He shows you everyday Mumbai. His characters are beautifully sketched and scenes detailed and well thought out. A scene where Ila answers the door and you can hear Sanjeev Kapoor's voice in the background giving the recipe of paneer tikka masala gives you a glimpse of a lonely housewife's life. For the first time you can understand the bhajan singing dabbawallahs in the local train, probably that's the only thing that keeps them going.

In the midst of all the loneliness and pain there's Aslam Shaikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) whose spontaneity brings humour. And not to forget, Deshpande Aunty who we only know through a voice and a basket hanging from her window.

Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur bring the characters alive, so much so that you can find yourself in those characters. Like any of his previous films, Irrfan Khan's eyes say more than the dialogues do. A lot has been said in the film through poignant silences and empty eyes. There are no Bollywood or Hollywood twists here because life does not have twists, it just goes on. As for the film, it doesn't matter that it's not picked as India's Oscar entry. The Lunchbox stirs your soul.

Kishore for soul

World is not a very happy place to live in. Something or the other or someone or the other is always ready to make it worse for you. Probably the creator knew this and that's the reason he/she created Certain things that work like a balm for the aching heart; a warm hug, Mom's food, a cup of hot tea or a book. And then once in a while he/she creates something that's a combination of all these things, a voice whose name is Kishore Kumar. I am not sure many artists or singers can have that effect on you.

For me His songs are like an arm around my shoulders when I feel low, a warm hug when I feel lonely, comforting when things around me start agitating me. He calms my nerves down instantly.

His sad songs are deep...as deep as an ocean. very sad but still a hope lurking in the corner, reassuring that there's a bright sunrise at the end of the darkness. The happy, peppy songs are bubbling with life but at a distance you can feel some pain...pain buried deep inside but doesn't want to come out; a well guarded wound.

Book Review - The Oath Of The Vayuputras (Shiva Trilogy)

Shiva remembered Lord Manu's words. 'Good and Evil are two sides of the same coin.' 

The Neelkanth's eyes widened. The key question isn't 'What is Evil?' 

The key question is: 'When does Good become Evil? When does the coin flip?'

The third and final edition of Amish's Shiva Trilogy, The Oath Of The Vayuputras is out and while few of us think that he has gone overboard with all the promotions, the book is selling like a hot property. Does the author and his most ambitious work worthy of all adulation? Well, I am about to tell you just that. Those who haven't read a single book of the trilogy please stop reading cause there are few spoilers.

Two years ago when I finished The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret Of The Nagas back to back I didn't know that I will be waiting for the third one so impatiently. The concept was simple, Shiva as a real human being in the real world. A tribal who is an exceptional fighter, loves to dance, sing and smokes chillam with his friend. He abuses too.

Fate takes Shiva to Meluha, a perfect city in search of its Neelkanth. The Meluhans live for hundreds and hundreds of years thanks to the world's greatest invention, the Somras. Somras' existence is under constant threat by Chandravanshis and Nagas who have planned attacks on Mount Mandar, the place where Somras is created. To rescue them from the vile chandravanshis and terrorist Nagas, the Meluhans turn to their Neelkanth, their Shiva. But does something that brings the greatest good can be the cause of the biggest evil too? Good and evil are two sides of the same coin and while there's good there's evil too. But it is only a matter of time when the coin completely flips and evil takes over the good. That is when the good needs to be destroyed, that is when Shiva - the destroyer, the Neelkanth steps in. The trilogy is Shiva's journey from being a tribal leader to the Mahadev, the Superhuman.


What is beautiful about Amish's writing is that he has woven a Mythological tale into a believable story. He introduces Nagas as monsters who can fight like Ninjas and are the enemies of humanity. But in reality they are just normal humans born with deformities; a pair of extra hands and nose like elephant. The Nagas are the babies born to the Meluhans who were abandoned because of their deformed bodies. But are they really evil? There's more than meets the eyes. Is Shiva being fooled by the Meluhans? Or are the Chandravanshis and Nagas taking him for a ride? Or is it just the powerful people who are letting the evil rise for their own good? I can't answer all these questions for you cause these very curiosities make the story work. All I can say is that the research that has been put in to write this trilogy is worth all the applause.


Book: The Oath Of The Vayuputras
Author: Amish
Publisher: Westland Ltd.
Price: Rs 350
Pages: 565

Book Review: Once upon the tracks of Mumbai

There are films inspired by or based on a book and then there are books which take a lot of their masala from Bollywood. Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai by Rishi Vohra takes a lot of inspiration from masala Hindi movies. An autistic hero like SRK's Rizwan Khan in My Name is Khan who has enormous body strength like Salman Khan in any of his movie, turns into a superhero like Hritik Roshan's Krrish.

The book is a first person narration by Babloo who in his own words is autistic and suffers from split personality disorder. Technically speaking he suffers from Asperger Syndrome "that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests". Babloo, elder of the two brothers is neglected by his family and while he dreams of achieving something big his parents are busy finding him a job as an office boy. The only thing that keeps Babloo sane is thinking about Vandana, a head strong independent girl who stays in the same colony. 

Babloo is fascinated by Vandana's simplicity and beauty and secretly loves her while Vandana is busy dreaming of her own independent life in the USA. Trouble brews when Vandana is engaged to Babloo's self centered chauvinistic younger brother Raghu. In order to break free from the burden of losing her independence Vandana gets involved with Sikander, the local cable guy whose sole aim is to sleep with as many women as he can. 

Oblivious from all the going-ons around him, Babloo is busy finding his purpose in life when he suddenly finds himself in the spotlight. In an attempt to save a woman from goons Babloo is made into a super hero 'Railman'...because the woman was saved near the railway tracks. He walks on Mumbai's railway tracks dressed as a superhero in the night and moonlights as a peon in his father's office in the morning. While media and the people support the Railman police hates him and wants him behind bars. Babloo's tryst as the superhero ends soon and he gets caught by the police. The court trial leads him to the mental asylum where he finally finds some people who he can relate to. From here, the story took an unrealistic turn for me. Babloo's parents' sudden change of heart, Vandana's realization that she loves Babloo, Babloo finding a job and settling down with Vandana...all happens in the last 4-5 pages of the book.

Happily ever afters are good but only when they happen under realistic circumstances. However, despite not agreeing with the end I like the fact that Rishi Vohra has command over the language and has used the most important element of Mumbai, it's railway tracks, to weave the story. Once Upon The Tracks Of Mumbai is a decent read if not a must read.

Book: Once Upon The Tracks Of Mumbai
Author: Rishi Vohra
Publisher: Jaico Books
Price: Rs 175
Pages: 266

Of books, films and blogs: The year that was

2012 was the year of a lot of learning and meeting new people on twitter and in person. It also included a lot of reading thanks to Blogadda's book review program I signed up for. Here's a post dedicated to the year that was with a list of my 3 fav films I watched, books and blogs I read in 2012 (in no particular order).

Films:

Gangs of Wasseypur I & II
I don't need to talk much about this film. GoW gave a new wave of storytelling, actors and film making to Hindi cinema and despite people accusing Anurag Kashyap of indulgence I think that this was one of the best works of Indian Cinema. Read my review Here

Paan Singh Tomar
The film has it's flaws but Irrfan Khan makes up for them. It is impossible to not love an actor who can give you goose bumps with just an expression of his eye. Read my review Here

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro
Of-course I didn't see Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro for the first time but watching it in the theatre for the first time was a different experience altogether. The satire is as relevant today as it was when the film released. Here's my post that I had written after watching the film in the theatre thanks to PVR.


Books:

The Secret Of The Nagas by Amish
While I finished the first part The Immortals of Meluha in 2011, the second part got over in Jan 2012. I find The Secret Of The Nagas more fast paced than the first book. It is darker and keeps you on the edge. Of course some overly melodramatic sections can be easily edited out but apart from that the book tells a brilliant story. I am now waiting for the third part of the Shiva Trilogy, Oath Of The Vayuputras slated to release in March.

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro by Jai Arjun Singh
I picked up this book after a movie buff friend recommended it on twitter and it's a gem for those in love with the cult film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. I will not say much about the book in this post and will take you to an earlier post that I wrote after reading it. Here

Raag Darbari by Srilal Shukla
Raag Darbari was on my to-read list since a long time and finally I picked it off my brother-in-law's shelf who swears by it. The book doesn't have a set story and is in fact a description of life in a small village in the post Independence India. The language is full of sarcasm and Awadhi slangs and will keep you in splits.

Blogs:

Calcutta Chromosome
I came to know about this blog through a book I reviewed for blogadda.com. Diptakirti Chaudhury, the author of Kitnay Aadmi Thay, the book and Calcutta Chromosome is a Hindi film buff and it is a lot of fun to read through his lists, agree and disagree with them and add your own favourites.

Sumthinz Cooking
A food blogger, baker and a friend Reema Prasanna who I met this year thanks to my profession. I love reading her blog for the simple recipes she shares and all the stories she weaves around food. Reading her posts are more fun if you know her personally because then you can picture her expressions and mannerisms in your head. And yes, we share a common hatred for khatti jalebis. Follow her on twitter @ScrollsNInk to learn from her #BakingGyaan

Going Bananas
The 17 year old Paloma Sharma writes about issues on her blog that we so called adults try to shun. She is bold, atheist and is ready to take flak from the so called protectors of religion. Follow her on twitter @PalomaSharma and @GoinBananasBlog to discuss all the issues that in her words "plague us all".

I refuse to be a victim!

So once again a brutal rape has left the country and its capital enraged. There are protest, marches and discussions in the assembly. And as I write this post I receive an e-mail which says, "Sign the petition to tell the President to stop rape NOW!"

Now, I am sure that the honorary President of India has never raped or even thought of doing something like that. So how do I tell him to stop something which he never started in the first place. I have signed many such petitions and to be honest I have never seen any change. A sign will not change the mindset of the rapist because he hasn't been a rapist all his life. It's that one moment of madness that turns him into an animal, at that very moment he forgets all the reason and logic. He forgets that the person in front of him is not just a walking talking vagina but in fact is a human. And if you keep that in mind every man is a potential rapist.

I know I will be called a feminist, a man hater for making this statement but I honestly believe that every man is a potential rapist. Some men have successfully suppressed the ferocious animal in them and some are still trying. Most of them haven't tried at all hence we hear about rapes so often. If you do not believe me try walking on a road full of men, out of 15 12 will stare at you or rather your boobs and at least 5 will walk close to you so that their hand brushes against some part of your body. And these are not uneducated, rowdy men, they are well dressed family guys working in a corporate house, raping you with just their eyes.

So how do we tell them to stop raping us? We sign petitions, hold protests, tweet incessantly about how sad this whole situation is and then we go back to our business as the news die down? No, we won't do the same old bullshit this time. This time we will decide to fight it on our own. We will carry our protection with us in a form of a sharp object. And we'll attack the oppressor where it'll hurt him the most. Yes, I mean physically.

Let's plan a direct attack where every woman protects herself. Let's stop rape. Let's refuse to be a victim!

Nothing

I am writing this note sitting beside a lake in Bhandardara, a sleepy Hamlet set in the midst of Sahyadri mountains in Maharashtra. It's so quiet in here that I can hear the sound of silence, the sound of wind passing through the branches, the sound of birds, the sound of oar (chappu) cutting through the water; I can hear all that. The continuous traffic snarls and construction sounds have not made my ears insensitive yet. I can listen to the sound of life.

I am sitting here away from the busy city, away from Bombay, away from the world of chaos, the world of FB and Twitter to make sure that somebody else's thoughts do not fog my mind.

I am sitting here listening to myself, listening to the sound of crickets, listening to the silence of the night.

I am sitting here looking at the single light bulb glowing in the distance, throwing its reflection on the shimmering lake.

I am sitting here in a boat in the middle of the lake, looking at the Sun rising behind a hill.

I am sitting here looking at the village slowly waking up and rising while I do nothing

I am sitting here in a tiny village thinking, why can't we take some time out from our daily life and do nothing. No site seeing, no games, no TV and no books; just nothing.

I am sitting here, thinking, scribbling on my notepad and doing nothing.

Jaane Bhi (mat) Do Yaaro

A month and a half before the 1983s cult classic was re-released by PVR, I laid my hands over Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, the book written by Jai Arjun Singh. And, as I've said before the only thing as interesting as watching movies is to read about them. So, I bought the book to read about what went behind making this classic and I found out that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is a labour of love, passion and a lot of madness.

As I was reading the book the re-release was announced and it only made sense that I watch it, again but this time on a bigger screen. And I am writing this post just after watching the film, the madness, the satire and the message which is still as relevant as it was back then. This post is not a review. It's about my experiences with the film clubbed with a little trivia from Jai Arjun Singh's book. I would like to thank him for writing it and taking me closer to the film I've loved and lived.

I don't exactly remember how old I was when I first watched Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, around 10-11 maybe. Not too old to understand the darkness of it but old enough to understand that there was something more behind that laughter and insanity. Growing up watching my dad's plays (he is a theatre actor and director in Gorakhpur) helped in a way to develop that kind of understanding. I remember when I watched the last scene I asked my dad if Sudhir and Vinod died. His explanation was that it's just metaphorical, to explain in one scene that "phansta common man he hai." I wasn't too convinced and was taken aback by the sinister hand movement of slitting throat. It was a direct, in your face statement telling us that this is the reality. The laughter and comedy is just a mask. Dad wanted an ending inspired by this for a play he was directing called  'Wey Hi'. As I remember the play, he managed to do that pretty well.

Then came a time when the film was watched multiple times and some of the dialogues became a part of our conversations. We still say "shant gadadhari Bheem shant" when someone is worked up or "CIA, humko bahar tak chod aiye" when we are seeing each other off. "Adharmi, paapi, bhrashtachari, durachari, bol sorry!" is our favourite line to abuse. According to Satish Kaushik who wrote the dialogues, the most loved Mahabharat scene was the easiest to write. A trip to a road-side comic vendor was all it took for them to figure out a befitting scene to conclude the madness.

Surprisingly, Kundan Shah didn't imagine the final product the way we see it now. A lot of scenes that were close to his heart were mercilessly chopped off. Reason was that it needed to be shorter than 2 hours 25 minutes to reduce the taxation. A little known fact that Anupam Kher too was a part of the film took me by surprise when I read the book. He played a mad Disco Killer and was envied by everyone for bagging the craziest role. But the whole footage was chopped off to shorten the length of the film. Sadly, there's no record of Anupam Kher's first ever film since the footage was lost. Imagine if we had that character in the movie it could've beaten Crime Master Gogo in creating that genre of villains. There are more such scenes which were edited out much to Kundan Shah and Ranjit Kapoor's (co writer) grief.

A couple of scenes were inspired from Kundan Shah's real life experiences one of them was the whole satire built around 'gutter'. In today's time of Aquaguard and Kent Water Purifier we might not understand the irony behind the dialogue, "America mein gutter ka pani alag aur peene ka pani alag" but it was and still is the reality for many people who still get drinking water as bad as the water in their sewers.

Kundan Shah is honest in accepting that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro could've been much better but with the limitations they had it's hard to do even now what he and his team did back then. Their were a lot of patchworks to hide the continuity disasters and shooting mishaps. And still we know that a better movie in this genre has not been made again.

The madness is only enhanced by the brilliant actors who despite thinking that whatever was happening was insane kept playing along. While shooting 'Albert Pinto' scene Naseeruddin Shah thought that two people standing in the same room and talking over phone with each other was plain stupid but he still enacted the scene with full conviction. Every actor added his/her two bits in the character and made it his own. Om Puri's exaggerated Punjabi accent, dead DeMello's changing expressions according to what's happening in the scene, Pankaj Kapoor's dead pan and sinister Tarneja and to top it all Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Vaswani's innocence and buffoonery was par excellence.

A film like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro can not be made again and that is why we go and watch it in theatres 30 years after it was first released; cheering, clapping and mouthing the dialogues along the scenes, "aisi sati ki jai ho...jai ho!"

The Bankster - Book Review

It's very complex to write a novel with one main plot woven with many sub plots. Because of this very complexity there are chances of the writer going completely wrong. Despite a strong main story the novel can crumble if the sub plots are not in sync with the main one. Somehow, this is the case with Ravi Subramanian's The Bankster which looks good in the beginning but gets too confusing trying to include or rather comment on too many issues.

Greater Boston Global Bank is a well known bank with high level of trust and ambitious employees. But the bank's reputation is threatened  when a series of murders happen. A couple of employees are killed to hide a secret that could threaten the whole world. Karan Panjabi, a banker turned journalist steps in to investigate these murders and finds out that the scam is bigger than they thought.

The story begins with the trading of blood diamond in Angola and soon drifts away to banking in Mumbai. Nothing much happens even after 1/3rd of the book is over and the author tends to get too descriptive about things as small as functioning of an iPad. These unnecessary descriptions slow the pace of the story. Jumping in and out of the main plot also causes distraction and stops the flow. Too many characters and not even a single well defined one is another reason why the book fails to impress. In an attempt to tell too many stories the writer forgets that connecting the readers to characters is also an aspect of writing. A couple of key characters remain neglected and you cringe when they turn out to be really important in the end.

There is an effort to squeeze in issues like illegal trading of blood diamond, corruption in banking, money laundering, nuclear power and arms dealing. Out of all the author does maximum justice to banking since it's his home turf.

The end is treated like those investigative TV series where the whole case is solved sitting in a room and talking on the phone. As far as the suspense is concerned it's there and have been protected well and you really want to know what happens in the end only if too many stories don't hinder the flow.

The Bankster is a mish-mash of many issues. I think it's too early to call Ravi Subramanian 'John Grisham of banking'.

Book: The Bankster

Author: Ravi Subramanian

Publisher: Rupa

Price: Rs 250

Pages: 358

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Yeh qutiyapa kyun?

For the past few days I am reading/listening about all the shit being vomited out by worthless  ministers or members of this self proclaimed Goverment called Khap. And everytime I read about it my head starts questioning...yeh kya qutiyapa hai? (yes, I am trying to replace a bad word with a more popular similar sounding word so that my post does not get censored).

I want to get inside the brains of the people who get ideas like "chowmein causes rape" or "women shouldn't be allowed mobile phones". They are God's wonderful creations and should be assessed thoroughly. But on a serious note I really want to find out their motive behind these statements. Are they so afraid of women empowerment? Women getting out of the house and demanding an equal position makes them so insecure that they use the only tool they can on them? Their penises, however small or peanut sized they are? I guess the answer to that would be a unanimous yes. So what will happen if women will stand equal to men? If they decide how the world, the society works?

I recently watched a French film and would like to quote a dialogue from it, "God created this world and wanted to share it with someone hence he created Eve. God and Eve had a son Adam. God forbade him to come close to Eve but caught them red handed one day. That day his trust from humanity ended and he abandoned them. So, woman was God's original creation, the first being. Man was just an accident." Yes, we have been hearing the twisted version of the story which men have modified to suit their needs. The need to be superior, the need to rule the world.

Now coming back to my previous question, if women decide how society will work, the world will be a much better place. Less egos, less wars and lesser problems which I am sure we'll be able to solve without much blood shed. I expect a lot of sexist jokes as comment but I am open to them.

So if the world can be a better place toh yeh qutiyapa kyun?

JFK - Book Review

According to me the biggest challenge for an investigative novelist is to keep the readers' curiosity going while sticking to the plot. 

Jhangir Kerawala's JFK starts on an interesting note with back to back murders happening on the streets of Kolkata. Two people are shot dead with the same gun but are completely unrelated to each other; Ram Prasad Yadav, an old man from UP and Manish, an honest man with a loving family and a fulfilling job. Manish's best friend Jatin gets involved in the investigation to find out the truth behind these murders. What he comes across is shocking and inhuman.

While the story in interesting it's the writing that goes haywire and loses its grip. Their are one too many twists like a Bollywood film or you can say a typical Abbas-Mastan genre. The writer tries to put in too many shocks but fails a couple of times. He begins a subplot and ends it abruptly without taking it to its proper conclusion.

The good part is the honesty of the story and the characterization. Neither there's any glitter or gloss thrown in to create a make-belief world nor the writer tries to play on the rural and poor India too much. The problem is that he tries to comment on a lot of issues and ends up making JFK a mish-mash of Hindi movies+western crime thrillers. Given that JFK is Jhangir Kerawala's debut book I hope that the next one will be better than this.

Book: JFK
Author: Jhangir Kerawala
Publisher: Westland BooksPrice: Pages: 225

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Love, Peace & Happiness: Book Review

Before starting this review I want to thank Blogadda for inspiring me to start writing book reviews. I was sold on the idea of getting free books to read and review them on my blog. Initially it was a bit of a challenge to finish the book in 7 days (one has to finish the book and post the review within 7 days) but after the first two I got used to it. Within a span of 7 months I have reviewed 4 books for Blogadda and will continue doing so.

Coming back to the review, I received a comment on my latest review of The Krishna Key. It was posted by the Author of Love, Peace & Happiness, Rituraj Verma who liked my blog and wanted me to review his creation. Quite flattered I was more than happy to do it.

Love, Peace & Happiness: What more can you want? is a compilation of 9 short stories by Rituraj Verma. The special touch to these stories comes in the form of alternate endings on the web. Every story has two or more endings on the website. While it could be tedious to go on the web every time you finish the story it is a great idea nevertheless. And, if you don't agree with those endings either post your own and they'll feature in the next print. Great way of keeping the readers engaged, isn't it?

The stories mostly revolve around the young/middle aged urbanites, their lives, struggles, dilemmas and relationships. The same characters keep moving in and out of all the stories. Writing keeps you engaged but at times is slow and drags a bit.

My personal favourites are

A high, like heaven; Story of Ashish and Sneha who are on a vacation to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. While Sneha is upset with Ashish's indifference, he is not sure if he loves Sneha and if marriage is such a good idea.

The soul mate theorist; Story of a middle aged divorcee who could not decide whether to commit to a prostitute or not.

The pursuit of perfection; A married man obsessed with the flawless beauty of an actress which drives him crazy and on the verge of killing.

These stories have a slight darker edge to them and I liked the bright as well as dark endings. If not the best among what is available, Love, Peace & Happiness is a good coffee table book and is worth a try for its novel idea.

Book: Love, Peace & Happiness: What more can you want?
Author: Rituraj Verma
Publisher: Jufic Books
Price: Rs 145
Pages: 223

The Krishna Key: Book Review

The challenge of reviewing a thriller book is to not give out the plot and still let readers know that you enjoyed it to the core. The Krishna Key is one of those books that put you through that challenge which I bravely accept.

Last month I picked up Ashwin Sanghi's Chanakya's Chants and was quite impressed by his writing style. I was keen on reading more from this author when Blogadda came out with his new book to review.

The Krishna Key starts as a thriller and murder mystery and progresses towards a more philosophical end. A young guy who grows up to believe that he is Vishnu's 10th Avatar aka Kalki Avatar commits murders in order to find Krishna's hidden secret. Does that secret exist? Does the Krishna key lead to a hidden treasure? A treasure that has the power to create or to destroy? The answers are there in the book; drawing a thin line between truth and fiction, History and mythology.

Sanghi also delves into a lot of philosophies that question what God is? Is he a super power or an energy that just changes form? The same questions trouble Archaeologist Varshney and his Historian friend Saini who along with his student Priya goes on a quest to find answers. To get to the secret he has to beat the cruel murderer Tarak Vakil and escape the sharp cop Radhika Singh.

At times the book might get a little overwhelming with the mentions of Vedas, Upnishads, shlokas and ancient mathematics. This leads to re-reading the same para a couple of times. But at the same time its fascinating to know the amount of research that has been put into the writing of this book.

The plot is multi-layered and the pace takes its natural course as you keep reading it. The Krishna Key is definitely worthy of your shelf space and is a good answer to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code.

Book: The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Publisher: Westland
Price: Rs 250
Pages: 464

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!