A Long Forgotten Promise

Something like a spirit has taken over her

She craves the tutti-fruiti ice-cream

One shop after another

She searches for the flavor

Yet without him

It doesn’t taste the same

Part of A Crowd

Her handwriting sparse and her words crisp

I thought she left a note, especially for me

Her jasmine scent marks the corridor

I follow in hope to find her alone, waiting for me

Flocked with wasps and butterflies all kind, she says,

“Welcome! Thanks for coming.” 

Cost of Silk

Since when I don’t know

But I have worked hard

Much to chagrin of others

Only to present to you

The best of birthday gifts

The silk made from 

My body and my soul

A light book on Self-stylized Godmans of India + India/Denmark Travelogue

Holy Smoke It’s a Godman by Satish Georgy Kashyap

Not only India has enough religion/caste divisions to fight over, the self-stylized Godman of India are further distorting the picture by setting up their shops in every nook and corner of India. People fall in their traps either by misfortune, force, or because of their stupidity. The close-knit nexus of Godmans with the politicians, police and other power hungry people further fuels their ego and they started to believe in their god-hood. They modulate people’s opinion (at times creating situations like mild form of civil wars), treat their illness (mental and others, you can imagine), plunder wealth (in form of various fees/gifts), and end up in some court case or another (sex or drugs trafficking, rape, murder, or simply creating nuisance), ultimately distorting the definition of trust, faith, religion, and communal harmony.

Here (Dr., though he hasn’t mentioned it here) Kashyap through his protagonist Redney Yog, a runaway, looks at these problems and drug trade from India/Pakistan to Denmark and other European countries while dabbling in various characters from slums of Bombay to hippie town of Denmark. Written in first person narrative, this is a light read even though its contents are dark. There is so much humor in this book. The way details of places of India and Denmark are depicted in the book, it reads like a travelogue at times. So, if you are going to Denmark (and if people from Denmark are coming to India) this is a must have book for you apart from its fictional narrative.

The book is basically an underdog story which starts off with Redney Yog writing a letter to President Bush. The book reminisces of darkly realistic The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (where protagonist Balram Halwai writes a letter to Chinese President) and The Slumdog Millionaire movie but lacks the urgency of both. At places, this book is overwritten which is a common problem with most first person narratives. Even though problems discussed in the book like murder, drugs, sex, police brutality are serious/heinous crimes, reading this book make all these problems not-so-serious, if not petty. The book is gut-wrenching at places where characters are brutalized by police or sex-slaved by godman but such scenes aren’t many or not depicted to evoke emotions, as if the author chooses not to delve in darkness/too much realism. The climax of the book leaves much to be desired.

Overall, this is a beautiful case study on self-stylized Godman of India and what is going underneath their so-called religious prayers, teachings, yogas, and their special classes. Or is the author mocking at naivety of we Indian who believes and trusts in these Godmans? A breezy, fun read!

Here is the amazon link:

http://www.amazon.in/gp/customer-reviews/R1XHCKVWQAIQ20/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=9382711147

Hate Story Franchise; know the female characters of Mahabharata!

Review of The Rise of Hastinapur by Sharath Komarraju

Re-imagination of the longest epic poem, Mahabharata, in world is a daunting task. Not only the author runs the risk of offending the loyal fan of epic (and the religious fundamentalists) but have to add enough novelty to the story to keep readers interested, always keeping their eyes on big picture of the epic: 18 days war. The author has to view the epic from a previously unused angle (like looking through the prism of female characters), use new plot points (taking threads of epic or use his/her imagination), and build a new world for characters to inhabit in order to push characters to their edge (taking help of geographical location of old world).  This new retelling of epic tale Mahabharata: The Rise of Hastinapur, is a special one because Mr. Sharath Komarraju views the epic (or a part of epic) through matriarchal lens, in contrast to patriarchal lens, which had been used several times overs in TV serials or books written through the point of views of major male characters of epic (Arjuna, Yudhisthar, Bhima, Karana etc). This book is actually a collection of three novellas about three important female characters of Mahabharata: Amba, Kunti (Pritha), and Gandhari. The author reimagines the childhood of these female characters and fuels their adult life with rabid desires to bring out their distinctly grey personalities. Sex or sexual undertone is threaded through these stories, not always as the driving force but as a mean to satisfy wants/desires of female characters. Writers or makers of Hate Story Franchise should take notice of such a rich heritage we have.

The book is hard to put down in first (Amba) and third part (Gandhari). Even though the second part (The Black Stone) is richly imagined and intricately plotted story, it drags because it takes too long to reach to the conclusion. I could give following explanations: the story started out as Devaki/Kamas story and turns into Pritha’s story, the story takes too long to return to Mathuram takes too long time to explain the importance of Black Stone, or  too many characters in this story (Nabha, first priest, and High priest). Also, Durvasa/Surya love angle with Pritha didn’t have enough steam to sustain the story for so long.

Overall, this is a fascinating book on Mahabharata told passionately through female characters. If you have ever wondered while watching/reading Mahabharata what Amba went through after she left hastinapur, if you want to know how Prita (Kunti) gave birth to Karna, and why Gandhari chose to marry Dritrashtra, this book will not only answer your questions but also make you think, “Oh! That’s why they did this.”

Here is the link on Amazon

http://www.amazon.in/gp/customer-reviews/R3ERKOP1WJ2SPM/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=9351773760