The Upside-Down King - Sudha Murty (Book).

Book: 35/52
The Upside-Down King - Sudha Murty
My Rating: 5/5

First things first, I don’t believe in God; having said that, I actually don’t mind reading mythological books or stories, especially when they are based on epics like the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. Now this one had both of them in one concise form, that too written by none other than Sudha Murty. My third is from the same new friend who is right now enjoying four of my books :). The first half is based on Maryada Purushottam Ram and his story, whereas the second one is based on Vishnu’s other avatar, Krishna. And I am sure if you have read anything from those two epics, it will be so much easier for you to guess whose life the main story, the upside-down king, was based on. Each new version of Ramayan makes it even more interesting (barring a few by some recent writers, which were a total turn-off, yet they sell like hot cakes; ask me who) for the reader in me to grasp anything and everything they throw my way. I love the way so many rishis and munis keep making an entry in these stories, especially the likes of Rishi Durvasa, who comes only to curse someone and then gives up after he cools down by giving a solution to his own curse, which is so amazing to read, even in this one,e as he leaves no one untouched by his fury. I loved the way Ravan is covered and how his own brother Kumbhakaran gets the best of Narad by making him sleep half of his li;e, how he does it? You’ve got to read the gem of this book to know. There are so many short stories in this one that made me wonder at the creativity of Ms Murty and her incredible collection of stories in her own simple style, yet keeping it captivating to the end.

Then comes one of my favourite characters from the Mahabharata, Krishna and his histrionics. We have already read so many versions of the same, but the way she has covered not only his life story or his kingdom(s), but also the end of his life was simply amazing. We all know how he dies, but what leads him to that end was an amazing read. I haven’t read those details yet in any of the previous books that I have read in this epic; this one was no doubt the best so far. How Krishna handles the great war of the Mahabharata, the dharm yudha, was totally amazing. And the cherry on top was the way Ms Murty has done justice to all and sundry in this little book with hardly 200 pages was simply amazing. There are so many instances in this book where Krishna meets one person or another, and then she goes on to explain the right coordinates of the places in today’s time, and where to find them was so terrific. At one point, I decided to make a list of those places and actually visit them as and when I pass through one or the other location in my upcoming cross-country drive, as those locations are almost all over India from north to south and east to west.

Do let me know if you have read this one and how you liked it. I am definitely going to get a few more from her at the earliest.
 

Khwabon Ke Gaon Mein - Javed Akhtar (Hindi Poetry)

 

Book: 33/52
Khwabon Ke Gaon Mein - Javed Akhtar (Hindi Poetry)
My Rating: 5/5

We recently moved to a new place, and I made a new friend who was delighted to know about my book collection and reading habit, And as I shared few of my favourites with her as well invited her to take as many from me, she returned the favour by offering me four of her favourites too, the first of which was this one. I must confess that I am not much of a poetry guy, till I picked this one up from Javed Saab, which totally worked for me. This was more of a random rambling from him on today’s situation of our society and world at large in his own unique Hindu / Urdu way. The book was hardly 70 odd pages, with beautiful poetry, illustrations and meaningful ramblings from the legend. His words are seriously magical and have so much depth, at times I had to read the verses multiple times to actually understand them and thanks to the publishing team who have done efforts to offer meanings of some tough Urdu words at the bottom of the page which helped a lot. His thoughts on how a book reader is almost as good as a movie director were outstanding; the way he explains the whole process was like an eye-opener. The imagination of a reader is way better than the imagination or delivery of a director; hence, a majority of the time we always say that “The book was so much better”. In his own way, he talks about the Copyright Act that he was fighting for with the govt and also about RTI and equal rights for all. It was totally terrific, the way he wants us Indians to learn foreign language(s) but promote our own proudly too. Couldn’t believe that this gem of a little book had so much in it. 

Do let me know if you have read this one or any other from Javed Saab; I would love to give it a try, and I will keep an eye out for a few of his works in my next book haul. 15 books to go before I go on a book-buying rampage. 

Nineteen Steps - Millie Bobby Brown

Book: 32/52
Nineteen Steps - Millie Bobby Brown. 
My Rating: 3/5

After the grand success of “Stranger Things” on Netflix, I came across this book on Amazon written by Millie Bobby Brown (ghostwritten, at least), which is based on her Grandmother who survived the tube station accident where 173 people died in an attempt to get away from German bombers attacking London during the Second World War. I didn’t know that it was ghostwritten; I only came to know when I Googled the book after finishing it. There is no way one can tell whether it is written by her or not, but that takes nothing away from the book or the story, which was heart-touching, mushy, romantic, but with a pretty predictable plot and ending. No doubt, I enjoyed it and finished it in 4 sittings with around 360 odd pages but written in big letters, making it further easier to read. As I said, it's a story from a London suburb, where Millie’s grandmother lived when she was a teenager; a simple accident changes the lives of so many families from the neighbourhood when so many lives are lost. As the family survives the loss of loved ones, she falls in love with an American pilot, leaving her next-door neighbour heartbroken. Things change as war breaks out properly, and a second setback leaves her in a really bad state. What happens next was again predictable but, no doubt, good to read, and I was able to connect with all three lead characters. And I must say, the epilogue put a smile on my face. 

Do let me know if you have read this one or any other celebrity (ghostwritten) book that worked for you. I would love to give it a try. 

 

Kitne Pakistan - Kamleshwar (Hindi Book)

Book: 31/52

Kitne Pakistan - Kamleshwar (Hindi)

My Rating: 5/5

A few years back, I decided to read at least 30% of my books in Hindi from a full year’s quota of 52 (minimum). And I am super glad that I did that, all thanks to legends like Kamleshwar, who have written such beautiful, heart-touching, engrossing and time-relevant stories like “Kitne Pakistan”. Incredible book that was first published in 2000, which takes a dig not only at the current scheme of things but also at the Mughal and British invasion too. It starts like a simple love story of sorts, but the reality hits the reader hard when we realise the time period of the story, as it starts a month before the partition of India and when the first Pakistan is made. Trust me, my post does no justice to this gem of a book, which was hardly 350+ pages but covers at least a good 400 years of our own history in an angry young man’s style. Kamleshwar’s words and language are fierce and show his anger towards all the wrongs we humans have done to each other. The way Aryan’s came to India in so many forms, sizes and from different cultures, we embraced them back in the day, but the way they changed it all was totally unbelievable, and see where we stand today on the cusp of a civil or, say, religious war, which now seems inevitable. 

Imagine there is a court of law and all the culprits from our history are summoned to tell their own truth and stories, including but not limited to people like Gandhi, Mountbatten, Nehru, Hitler, Spanish adventurer Hernando Cortez, Saddam Hussein, Babar, Aurangzeb, Humayun, Shahjahan; even Dara Shikoh has nice detailed chapter(s) dedicated to him, his siblings and father too. Now imagine the situation of the unnamed Judge who mulls over the casualties of Kurukshetra, Kargil, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Nazi Germany, East Timor, the Aztec civilisation and mythological Greece to Bosnia. The most interesting is the case of the Babri masjid demolition to the start of the making of Ram temple is covered in great detail. How Babar covers his ground and pleads innocence was an eye-opener. I am sure Kamleshwar has done his own research on the claims that he has made in this book; I am sure of that, as this one is pretty famous and so far, I haven’t heard anyone criticising his claims or shooting them down. I love the way he uses Pakistan as something two warring countries create, especially the way things are going globally; there are so many Pakistans being made because of neighbours fighting each other or because of civil unrest in so many countries. Millions of innocents are not only losing their lives in the situation but also going homeless and struggling to survive was so true. The painful journey of leaving everything behind, starting their lives in an alien country from scratch, was so heart-touching. Especially the way that love story in the initial chapter comes to an end on the last page of the book; I just simply couldn’t predict that, and it was such a huge shock to me. 

Do let me know if you have read this one from Kamleshwar or any other work from him that you loved big time. I have read a few, but certainly looking forward to so much more from him now. 

Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak (Book).

Book: 30/52.

Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak.

My Rating: 2/5 (Let me explain).

Now, this book became a legend for me; the longest ever I stretched a book was Ulysses (Guess almost 45 days plus), but this one broke all my previous records and settled it in 60-odd days. With that, for the first time in years the month of July became the only month when I didn't post about a book at all, as I just couldn't finish this one. Thanks to the drag it was and partial no thanks to FIFA for having this edition in the US of A, making us go back in time when I used to work graveyard shift. My dad still swears by two movies that he says are the best made; first is, you guessed it right, "Doctor Zhivago", and the second one is "Where Eagles Dare". I might get the first one now to make sure we both are talking about the same story, as the second one, anyway, I loved- an amazing action thriller from the days of yore.

One thing I am sure you will agree with me (at least partially) when it comes to Russian literature of writers: they are either a hit or a total miss. This one fell in the second category; of course, the translator justified his shortcomings right in the introduction, saying he believes he hasn't done justice to the original Russian classic, which got banned right away when it was first published. Second, it got Boris a Nobel prize in literature, which the then Russian regime forced him to denounce. On top of that, the story of the great Doctor Zhivago almost goes nowhere from the very start; of course, it had all the Russian things, the deadly weather, no man's land everywhere you look, gone-to-the-dogs life back in the early 20th century till the Second World War, no value of life and whatnot. On top of that, Boris leaves no stone unturned in giving all important characters three names each, starts with one, goes on with another and finishes with the third name; by the time you realise that he is talking about the same guy, you are solidly confused and scratching your head. But still it had some heart in it and emotions that kept me going on a snail's pace of say 10-12 pages a day with a few office travels in between, World Cup matches and life taking its toll on me, I somehow finished it last night and said goodbye, good riddance to Boris.

I am sure my Dad must have shown me the movie when I was a teenager; I have no memory whatsoever of it now, hence I will be catching up on a much-loved classic (going by the Wikipedia page) and actually looking forward to it, now that I have finished the book, which was hardly 550+ pages to my shock and surprise. Do let me know if you have read Doctor Zhivago, and forgive me if you have liked it any better