Is reading a book that easy? (Blogpost)

Can a person be in love with two people at the same time and still oblige them both? I am kind of doing the same these days, the problem is that the second person in question keeps changing, Why and How? Read on to know.... The first person that I am talking about is ofcourse the love of my life - my wife Mona :) who else? The second person as of now this week, it is Georgette Heyer, you must have heard of her name, if not, you know now.
Scene 1: 12 O Clock (Afternoon)
Mona: Maid is not coming, if you want to have tea, make it yourself. As I enter the kitchen, Prof Snape stares at me from my favorite mug as if saying "After all this time?" I had to make tea myself? and I say "Always". Georgette Heyer: Calling me to finish the chapter 12: Napolean is about to attack Netherlands, Duke has ordered his army to get together, England has sent a huge convoy to help them too. Before even I could finish the Chapter 12, I get a call.
Mona: Can you take out the cloths from dryer and put them on the terrace please or you will have no Hanky and Socks for office in the evening. (I oblige). Gergette Heyer: Calling me to finish chapter 13: The beautiful widow Lady Barbara has taken Charles for a ride, even after getting engaged with him, she is having fun with his own comrade a married man and the whole town of Brussels is talking. Before even I could finish the Chapter 13, I get another call.
Mona: Arre Suno, can you please take out those diwali lights off from the drawing room window please, I keep forgetting it everyday. (I oblige). Georgette Heyer: Calling me to finish chapter 14: Barbara and Charles engagement is broken, culprit is thrown out of the country and is send to England still smitten in love but committed to his wife. Charles going through the tumult as the Duke is happy that his most important Colonel is finally out of love and is ready for the War. Napolean is about to attack and I get a call again :)
Mona: Do eat Maithi ke paranhte in lunch and leave the aloo parantha's for Naina, she wont have Maithi paranthas you know na? and what are you doing? (I oblige) she knows I am reading. Gerogette Heyer: Calling me to finish chapter 15: The gossip of Charles and Barbara is dying its own death but poor Charles goes back to Lady Devenish even surprising her yet her happiness knows no bounds, I so much want Charles to go back to sultry Barbara and door bell rings.
Naina: Dad, you know I am late? You didnt come down to check on me? I was playing with my friends for last half hour. I respond: I know babe but I finished another chapter in the meantime (with a glint in my eyes). She slams her bag down on the sofa and a book falls off her bag with tears in her eyes "You dont love me anymore, you mean I am disturbing you na.....go away dont talk to me" (Now how do I oblige that).
And people think reading a book is such a cake walk.
Whats your story guys? What happens to Charles and Barbara? Watch out for the scene 2 or wait for my review.
PS: The book in question above is "An Infamous Army" by Georgette Heyer.

The Gurukul Chronicles - Radhika Meganathan (Book)

The Gurukul Chronicles - Radhika Meganathan.

Mahabharat is one of the most loved epic (by me for sure) and if someone asked me about who are my three favorite from the epic, the answer will always be Karn, Bhishm Pitamah and Krishna exactly in that order but my mind is always curious to read or know more about two more underrated characters of all times. One was Eklavya and the other was Ashwathama. If my granny were to be believed and also as per the epic he was Immortal, he was last scene some 30 kms from Kathmandu (her village) around the 1940's when while digging an icy hill some people found a ten feet tall guy inside a cave with a broad vertically split forehead as if he had some sort of a third eye. The moment they woke him up, the first question he asked was "Is Mahabharat War over?" (in Sanskrit) and then no one saw him ever again. Now how interesting is that :) but unfortunately I never get to read anything neither on Eklavya nor on Ashwathama till I landed this amazing book giving the two guys what's been long over due to them. I guess I was destined to read this book as I got a copy from the Author herself long ago and unfortunately it got lost inside my Kindle (A black-hole of sorts as of now). Last weekend I had to travel to Mumbai on an urgent call and return by evening, as I was reading a thick paperback that I couldn't take along, this was my filler read and I am glad I read it. Now, Imagine all these three guys together in a story, what if they were friends? or what if they came to each others rescue, even in fiction it was a too good story to tell and Radhika has done a tremendous job with the same.

When we talk about Mythological Fiction, I must have read a dozen odd books, loved some, hated some but I was mesmerized by the character of Karn, totally loved him in quite a few books. Now this one does the same, although he is a little arrogant in this one but thats alright. Its OK to have some attitude (not when Parshuram is in front of you) but you see its Fiction so lets give it a benefit of doubt, the guy is always struggling for his past and has no future as well. Coming to Eklavya, no one has ever given his story any due and we hardly know anything about his birth, family, clan or what happens to him while the Mahabharat is happening and whats his end? This one was terrific and so was the story of Ashwathama, who never got his due. Yes, he does gets a mention here and a little credit there but never a full fledged story on him ever, this was certainly the best of the stories among the three as per me. What soared my interest was whether these three ever meet in person? and what if they did, that made me sit back and read it back to back without a break. The way story keeps changing the versions was simply awesome, it does takes a little time to realize whose version it is but is done very smartly and totally convincing. A breeze of a book, as I got a Kindle version so not sure about its length but I was able to finish it in two sittings of 3 hours and a little more each.

I just saw its terrific cover to post my review with three heroes on top :), Unfortunately the Kindle copy doesn't even have that :(. If you have read this, do let me know how you like it but if you haven't and you admire any of those characters, you better not miss it. Give it a shot and you will be surprised by the twist and turn of the story(s). I will recommend it big time.

Origin - Dan Brown (Book)

Origin - Dan Brown.

Disclaimer: I love Dan Brown and I totally love Robert Langdon, so if you were thinking this may be a rational or a negative review of his latest outing, please look elsewhere and stop right here. Go back to doing what you were doing.

The moment I came to know a few months ago about Dan Brown's upcoming book "Origin" my heart took half a dozen back flips and I jumped with joy of "Robert Langdon" is coming back :). Crazy that the fan I am of not only the creator but the creation too and another crazy friend of mine (Jazz) went two steps ahead in prebooking the book that too a damn good Hardcover :). All thanks to her, I have developed some biceps and triceps in the last seven days of my reading, loving and finishing it. I am one of those people who will not read nothing about a book or a movie if I plan to read and watch it respectively. I had no idea what all this book is going to be. Going by the name I thought it will give us the Origin of Robert Langdon may be :) but it actually answers the two most important questions for the whole of the mankind "Where do we come from" and "Where are we going" Bravo!! You've got to read the book to know the (convincing) answers that the Author gives through the story and that too before the movie comes out. I hope and pray (I am an atheist) big time that they do make one on this. Dan Brown continues his philosophy from "Inferno" which was not only believable I even loved the solution that he offered in that. This one takes the same philosophy a couple of steps ahead and what an ending, I must say. A book which gives me sleepless nights, is thrilling, suspensive and in the end puts a big smile on my face is a damn good book for sure.

Dan Brown is one of those very few Authors from the current generation who not only keeps the reader hooked throughout the narrative but also keeps them thrilled (almost) to the very end. The way in all his stories his chief character the ever so much loved Harvard Prof. Robert Langdon is on the run saving the mankind from another disaster is simply mind-blowing. I find his books Architecturally too beautiful and this one is no exception in that front either. The way he has captured the beauty of Spain is simply amazing. His magical words made me visualize precisely what he wanted to show me through the story and it always happens in the night that too the secret will be blown before the dawn for sure. Prof does gets (always) a hot side kick and some offsite help too (this time I loved the side kick almost as much as professor himself - Winston). If you have read the book you will agree. What shocked me about this book (to an extent) was religion vs science theory, from Darwin to Steve Jobs, he has left no one untouched and its totally terrific the way he takes real names without any issues. But when you are about to prove that there was/is no God, there will always be forces to stop one from doing that and with a clock ticking to disclose or stop some from doing that, it becomes a terrific cat and mouse chase. With King of Spain to the Prince and his Fiance and supreme religious powers all in the run for the secret - the story just keeps getting better. And since this is 21st Century, can Artificial Intelligence be left behind? no ways. Read it to know how he has pulled it off in a damn good way.

Of-course Dan Brown can never get close to an Agatha Christie book let alone getting better than her but with this one, he was almost not only able to keep me hooked to the ending but also I was able to predict at least half the outcome :). With a 460 page book, till 390 pages, I just couldn't do it but beyond that I was able to guess not only the ending but half the culprit too. That doesn't take away anything from him or the story like I said, its totally convincing and a sort of eye opener too. And I loved the way he answers those two important questions we've been thinking for so long. At-least 3-4 times, I had to stop deliberately and remind myself that I was reading a "Fiction", its that good. I guess this is one of those dozens of books that I have read which refers to Darwin's original theory and book which unfortunately I haven't read so far. Now, I am going to keep everything aside and read the Daddy of them all by the master himself without fail.

If you have read this, do tell me how you like it but if you haven't, you have no idea what a good book you are missing.

PS for those who have read it: Tell me, while reading the last 4-5 pages, did you at all at some point thought that he was going to kill Robert Langdon? or was it only me. For a second I was dreading that. Dunno why. Just need to confirm. 

The Guide - R K Narayan (Book)

The Guide - R K Narayan.

Unfortunately I had't read none of R K Narayan books for some unknown reason (call it availability as they are still not available in stores - not talking about online stores). Which better book to start but with "The Guide", on which a timeless cult classic movie was made which I believe was a super success. I have already seen it multiple times and the visuals are pretty much intact in my brain with those lavish locations where Rosie (Waheeda Rehman) dances to the tunes of the official "Guide" Raju, terrific Dev Anand at his best and Rehman as Marco (in my imagination), Rosie's Husband whose only interest or reason to live is Archaeology. Because I too loved the book I thought to pick up the book which turns out to be way better narrated than the Movie for sure and I realized they did change the movie ending (Of-course for better) in this case too. The best part of reading this book was the faces behind the characters, it was fortunately so good, the story, the characterization, location (Malgudi), locales, people and their own stories, the book was totaly fun to an extent and then it all derails and derails big time. Flow is terrific as it keeps moving from first person account to third person flawlessly that after a certain time I actually stopped noticing.

The very first unfortunate part of reading a classic in todays time is the "Foreword" and "Introduction", trust me on this, YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THEM. Now onward, I am never going to read them ever before reading the book, rather I would love to read them after I am done with the book. In this case too, they have given out everything about the story, its analysis, critical is still fine or explaining the way R K Narayan handled his stories too is alright to an extent but it made me biased towards so many things before even I started the book, that was such a bad start. I so much wished I hadn't read the Introduction, don't even care now whoever wrote it in this particular edition.

R K Narayan's story is simply brilliant, I mean who can forget "Swami" and "Malgudi Days" at least from our part of the world (India) we loved them so much. The simplicity and the real life characters, situations and what not. Totally had me in splits and a permanent smile plastered on face almost throughout the book. Although its a very short book hardly 200 pages but once the story is set, the mood is made unfortunately it just drags mid ways onward and simply refuses to reach the abrupt ending. Totally unbelievable. Like a friend of mine commented "Murakami looks like a cake walk" as RK Narayan has left so much to be interpreted by the reader in the book that it totally made me not like it all (I hate to call hated it). All the love and affection I had for Raju the guide who falls in love with someone's else's wife just because he wasn't giving her her due (as per him) and later on becomes exactly like her own husband in the first place. It all becomes predictable at some point of time to no end. Didn't expect this from R K Narayan. But then the Introduction and Foreword got me thinking, those guys were actually right about him in calling him merciless. Although this was my first book from him, so I will be very keen on starting my journey with the very start and get the earlier books to know how right these guys actually are about the man.

On his prose, writing, story, characters, locations and almost every other thing the stuff is top notch. But it fails to connect with the reader (or may its me only) and refuses to give me a closure which unfortunately movies gives in a very convincing way. If you have read this and liked it, do tell me how you liked it and if you haven't read it, I don't know what to say :) go ahead take a peek, who knows it may work for you. But if you do read, do come back and tell me your interpretation of the ending. 

The Complete Adventures of FeluDa (Part 2) - Satyajit Ray (Book)

The Complete Adventures of FeluDa (Part 2) - Satyajit Ray.

I have read a lot of books from a lot of writers from all over the world but no one comes any closer to the way Satyajit Ray writes. Yes, call me a biased Indian, I am one but my love for the man and his art just keeps growing by the day and by every book that I come across by him and even "on him" too. There are books, there are writers and then there is "The Legend called Ray". Hats off to him and the way he wrote. Every-time I come across a book by him I get totally excited but by the time it comes to an end it starts making me sad to have finished the fantastic book and will have to wait till the next one come in my kitty. But the journey is simply amazing, never fails to keep a permanent smile plastered on my face and at times his anecdotes, jokes and comments on his own team by him make me laugh out loud totally. He is almost as good as PG Wodehouse, If I may say that in making me laugh while reading a book, no other author other than these two have that magic on me so far. And this one was special as it actually made my dream come true of seeing FeluDa go to Holmes land and pay a tribute. Just imagine how amazing it is when you see one of your fictional character visit his own fictional character's birth place and pay a tribute. The scene as written by Ray in the story "FeluDa in London" brought tears of joy to my eyes and made me totally breathless as he steps At 220 Baker Street and says "Guru, you showed us the way. If I am an Investigator today, it is only because of you. Now I can say coming to London was truly worthwhile". Very few writers, books and stories have that impact on a reader what this one did to me.

This is the second book of the FeluDa series which he started writing in 1965 and wrote a story each till 1992 (34 in total). Later all these stories got printed in form of two books called "The Complete Adventures of Feluda" Part 1 and 2. He was a huge fan of Sir Doyle and had read all Sherlock Holmes stories before leaving school :). The best part about the success of his stories and his characters was that they were all normal human beings like you and me and no superman. But look at the impact it had on his fans especially children for whom he initially wrote and later realized that even parents too weren't untouched with the stories. I totally loved the way almost all the stories are told in a simple way, no way they made me feel that it was actually Ray who has written them and no Topshe his teenage cousin (to start) was writing them. FeluDa the detective is such a nice warm character that one just couldn't help but fall in love with him. Loved his lopsided smile, the way he will get up in the morning before everyone and finished off with his yoga, shave and dress up, almost in all the stories is simply unbelievable. His acute power of observation and a razor sharp brain on top of that the plethora of knowledge that he had on all the subjects under the sun from history to hypnotism is simply outstanding. Imagine he was not only good in sports, he could actually write with both hands, he could even write in Greek too as its mentioned all over the stories about his "Blue Diaries" that he kept his secrets written so no one could read them.

What I love almost equally well the way I loved FeluDa was his side kicks. Topshe (his Watson) and Jatayu (Lalmohan Ganguli) the ever so comical cheap thrillers writer, always at his service with his green Ambassador. Hilarious I tell you. Just thinking of his name makes me grin from ear to ear, what a man, what a character, he was actually as good as Jeeves (PGW Character) at the service of his master FeluDa :), if you ask me. This part gives him some much deserved footage where FeluDa actually let him fill in his shoes a couple of times to a hilarious outcome. But Ray's love and affection to his other characters was simply superb. Not only these two there is another third character, the Google of then era for FeluDa, Uncle Sidhu, who knows anything and everything about everything but to know more about his character you've got to read the book. The knowledge that Uncle Sidhu possessed is simply out of this world, just one word and he will open up the details without batting an eyelid. Terrific it is. I just fail to understand one thing though that I had so much fun reading the "Translation", I just cant imagine how much fun the original will be only if I knew "Bangla" to really enjoy it. Still I fell I haven't missed much (hope so) and have no idea as what to look forward to now since I am done with this.

One question I have especially from the people from that part of India who have read the FeluDa stories. Is this character "Jatayu" Lalmohan Ganguli actually based on some real life Author? If yes, I would seriously loved to read one of his translated works too. Do let me know if you know anything about that. I will be on the lookout for Ray's other works now, any recommendations will be very highly appreciated.