2 States–Chetan Bhagat

I had read this book when it was published. Read it again after seeing the movie last week. Needless to say liked the book more than the movie…after all we are always HOOKED ON BOOKS.

Love marriages are very common nowadays, and anyone who reads this book will identify with it at some point or another. Inter caste marriages come with culture matching instead of horoscope matching. This book has everything, the cultural differences while the affair is going on, the cultural difference when the parents meet, the cultural differences when the marriage takes place, there is something which every person who has gone thru inter caste marriage will identify with. The only point missing in the book is the cultural difference after the marriage… but then that is another story altogether.

Till then .. read the book and enjoy .

Chanakya's Chant - Ashwin Sanghi - A Review

Image: Google

Chanakya's Chant by Indian author Ashwin Sanghi gives its readers a look into two parallel worlds that are tied together by the intelligence of the main protagonists.

Chanakya's Chant is a racy and gripping account on Chanakya, one of the greatest political strategists India has every know, seen or heard of. The story changes track as it narrates the tale of Gangasagar Mishra, the reincarnation of Chanakya, in parallel. Will he be the next kingmaker? 

Modern times, welcome, Gangasagar Mishra, a denizen of a quaint old Indian town, is no ordinary man. Society sees him as a Brahmin teacher who can barely make ends meet, but is he the reincarnation of the man who brought the fragmented subcontinent together under a single empire? Chanakya. . 

The first story is set in 340 BC, when a young Brahmin man, fueled by the death of his father, vows revenge against the king and overthrows his rule by bringing in Chandragupta Maurya, the first emperor of the Maurya Dynasty. The goal not only to bring about a new king to avenge an insult, but also at the same time, unifying a divided country against the impending invasion by Alexander, the Great

The scene then shifts to modern day India, where Gangasagar Mishra leads his life as a nonentity until he decides to groom an ambitious girl from Kanpur into India's prime minister by manipulating her life and directing it the way he wants it to go. Shades of political brilliance, manipulation to achieve one's own goals, a vision, unify a divided India under a single unified rule, or simply to show what can be done if done the right (?) way.

Strategy, politics at its best, Ashwin Sanghi takes readers on a joyride through Chanakya's and Gangasagar Mishra's cold and calculating moves, showing what can(not) be done if done the right (?) way.

A Must read.

Review by Sheetal Bhatia (Shirley Gajria)

Many Lives, Many Masters - By Dr. Brian Weiss - A Review

Google Images

The classic bestseller based on a true case of past-life trauma and past-life therapy from author and psychotherapist Dr. Brian Weiss.

As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss was astonished and skeptical when one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks.  Dr. Weiss’s skepticism was eroded, however, when she began to channel messages from “the space between lives”. 

Many Lives, Many Masters is a brilliant modern parable of humanism—it clearly wants to guide people down a path that will help society gain understanding, peace and harmony.

Dr. Weiss’s experience coupled with Catherine’s transcendental knowledge might be awe inspiring to the Occidental, but to a Hindu, who is ingrained in the cycle of life and death, with a firm belief in the concept of rebirth, this knowledge is natural. 

For the Hindu's the Bhagavad Gita along with the ancient Vedic scriptures impart this wisdom; and these teachings form the primary tenets of Hinduism. Therefore, Dr. Weiss’s mention of Hindus in the last chapter of the book comes as a wonderful acknowledgement to a religion that since time immemorial, already established all of his new-found experience.

You may feel cynical or critical of what you read, but one needs to keep an open mind. You can't just completely accept or reject what he has to say. But then, every wonder why, many a time, you meet some one you hardly know and yet you feel connected? It is as if you have known the person for years. Weird?

His and Catherine's experiences about past lives are truly fascinating, and no matter how you feel about reincarnation, the lessons from the Masters about how to live are quite universal. In the end, it all comes down to love, patience, and forgiveness, and again, an open and a critical mind.

Without doubt, very interesting and one that maintained a tempo of a fast read keeping me up late two nights in a row. Highly recommend for a good read, if you have nothing on hand currently. Feel free to share your thoughts.

Review by Mala Mahesh Bhatia.

Note: A part of the introductory review portion is from the Web.

Dahanu Road...By Anosh Irani - A Review

A fascinating insight into Dahanu's Irani and Warli communities, written with warmth, honesty, and a great deal of humour by a skilled storyteller,Anosh Irani.

He moves back and forth through the generations skillfully. His writing is visual and intense, and he creates his flawed characters with humour and compassion as they struggle with changing times and culture, while trying to survive the ghosts of the past.A beautiful novel, Dahanu Road is big with love and infused with passion

The author gently explores the story of three generations of Persians, a family who are now landowners in Dahanu, a farm and market town just outside Bombay. Grandfather Shapur, oppressed as a Zoroastrian in Persia, moved with his father to India.

After his father's death, he prospered as a merchant who branched into liquor sales, which in turn led to seizing land from his debtor customers. The oppressed Irani family in its turn became an oppressor — in the present time of the novel, Shapur is on his last legs, his son Aspi is haunted by images of past repression of the Warlis who now work the family estate in slave-like conditions, and his grandson Zairos is the young adult who will soon inherit the land (and all its tainted history and the conflict that has left as its product).

The novel is told from the point of view of those with power  and explore the tension part of the story. That comes in the form of a Warli family that parallels the three generations of Iranis. The first present day incident in the book is the sudden suicide of Ganpat, a tribal worker on the estate, whose body is discovered by Zairos.

It is claimed by Ganpat’s daughter, Kusum; as the story proceeds, we discover that the three generations of both families have interacted with each other, usually in classic oppressor-oppressed form. It is hardly a surprise that the new generation will be experiencing it in a way that is much different from their grandfather or father.

"Dahanu  Road" an  unputdownable book.

Review by Sheetal Bhatia Shirley Gajria

For the Love of books

Was invited to contribute for this blog, started wondering where to start. Yes I love reading...but read what??

Decided to write about which according to me is the most funniest book I have ever read. Some P G Wodehouse fans might take offence if I say I rate this book more funny than Wodehouse books.

Here I am talking of Jeffery Archers 'Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less'. The book starts with typical Jeffery style, indepth details about the stock makers and stuff...but once it gets on to the conning part it is hilarious!

The cons are not over the top...believeable and have their downs as the the characters are not professional cons.

Would highly recommend it for the love of books:)