Book Review: HAROUN AND THE SEA OF STORIES

This is the first Rushdie book I read - Haroun and the Sea of Stories.
Wikipedia (Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haroun_and_the_Sea_of_Stories) calls this book a phantasmagorical (the word itself sounds magical) story, phantasmagorical meaning characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions. 

The book begins like this - There was once , in the country of Alifbay, a sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. It stood by a mournful sea full of glumfish, so miserable to eat that they made people belch with melancholy...

Though this is the first paragraph of this 12 chapters book, no gloomy clouds descend on the reader thereafter anywhere in this book. Actually meant for young readers, this offers a great read for adults too. In fact, the narration style deployed brings a wide smile as the reader happily sails through the Sea of Stories. 

Brief overview of the plot:

The story is based in India, there is mention of the Town of G (possibly referring to Gulmarg), the Valley of K (referring to Kashmir), the tunnel of I, Dull Lake (pointing to Dal lake). The story is about Haroun Khalifa, a child, who lives cheerfully with his parents - Rashid Khalifa and Soraya in a house that looks more like a cake. Rashid is a great story teller and has credits like the Shah of Blah, the one with Gift of Gab and tells tales, amazing and interesting ones. When Haroun wonders where his father gets this immense talent and multitude of stories from, Rashid quips - from the great Story Sea. There is a nasty turn in their lives that forces Rashid into depression and pale silence; Haroun swears to himself that he will restore the Gift of Gab to his father and bring back cheer in him, at any cost; even if takes a trip to the unknown land of Gup on Kahani - the second satellite of Earth. There he interacts and makes friends with aliens - water genies, eggheads, floating gardeners, many-mouthed fishes and machine like birds. He learns that on Kahani, there are too many Processes too Complicated to Explain (P2C2E). Haroun even finds himself in a war like situation on Kahani where people of Gup city - the Guppies are fighting to save themselves from the Land of Chup, across the border and its inhabitants - the Chupwalas. 

The Wikipedia link given in the blog post contains full synopsis of the book, a complete spoiler, much like the detailed synopsis of movies on IMDB. So if you plan to read this book, steer clear off the link. 

About book and the author, my recommendations: 

I have heard negative reviews of Rushdie's writing style/books more than positive ones, so I was little skeptical before I picked this book from Flipkart. But after reading this, I can state categorically, there is no better story teller than Rushdie; he is an unparalleled master at his job. 

Very few books bring a childlike happiness in the reader and envelopes him/her in magical bliss, Haroun and the Sea of Stories belongs to this smallest subset of books. Being quite possessive about my books, I will surely get cross if someone even marginally displaced this book in my shelf ;) 

IPL 2012 - what will make it interesting for me?

Ahhh ... so April 4 2012, it is, tomorrow! Indian Premier League Season 5 will kick start tomorrow with an inaugural session and a match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram stadium, Chennai. Nine teams battle it out with each team playing against the other - 9x8 = 72 T 20 games in the league session itself barring qualifiers, semis and finals ... that's a whooping big total.

1. With MS Dhoni steering Chennai Super Kings this time too, from the front, no surprises if a repeat of 2010 and 2011 years happens. 

2. I think Sachin really got tired of all media reports, tons of questions and speculation of his calling it quits from cricket, so he decided to pacify press folks by handing over captaincy of Mumbai Indians to  relatively younger Bhajji. 

3. Sehwag will get to make his own rules and run his own empire, no Dhonism to hamper his progress, no injury will now come his way, he will fight like many kings history has seen from times of Hastinapur to Shahjahanabad and conquer it all for the Delhi Daredevils. 

4. What is Kolkata Knight Riders without Dada? Though we are now used to his absence, Gambhir with equal bouts of fiery temper, arrogance and attitude like Dada may work hard and harder to Korbo, Lorbo,  Jeetbho! Still somewhere, the positive passion that emanates from fury and attitude as in case of Dada will go amiss. 

5. Pune Warriors India will miss a true warrior, Yuvraj Singh, who is waging an even more critical battle than cricket itself. To not have the swashbuckler play the format he excels at creates quite a loss. It is a little absurd to see Dada - Saurav Ganguly head Pune Warriors India, even more absurd to learn from the newspaper that he insists on opening. The only Bong connection that is evident is that the team is headed by Subrata Roy. Hope this Poorab Poschim connection works. 

6. Kings X1 Punjab don't have any Chak De Phatte effect. This season, even rumor mills will fall quiet as Preity's pretty guy Brett Lee does not figure in the squad. 

7. Loyalty changes and so does royalty... may not make sense but it does rhyme well. The Wall - Rahul Dravid who recently became more of a Wailing Wall after retiring from cricket will have his hands full as the coach and captain of Rajasthan Royals. 

8. Royal Challengers Bangalore can earn back all fortunes lost, save many a sinking ships or more aptly said save many a drowning planes if two things are tightly adhered to, one keep Deepika Padukone out of all matches and never issue her a ticket and secondly keep Virat Kohli just happy (not too much or too little) and more focused so that centuries rain down heavily without stoppage. 

9. Deccan Chargers.. ahha ..there's something in the air of this team, they are like students who prepare extremely well for their exams, so well, yet flunk on d-day. 

Not too many reasons in favor to kindle and sustain interest in this season, yet I am sure I will keep a good eye on most, if not all matches :) After all, for really long, have I waited to break free from endless news debates on NDTV, CNN-IBN and Times Now channels .. so long, so long ....  

Book Review: CHANAKYA'S CHANT - A cornucopia of politics and history

Authored by Ashwin Sanghi, Chanakya's Chant, a work of historical fiction is actually more than a book. The book, the authors' second one, after The Rozabal Line, remained a hotseller last year and was well received, well publicized as well with a website (www.chanakyaschant.com), a video trailer and a free downloadable vedic chant mp3 file. The book, in about 430 pages, sails alternately between 340 BC, times of Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya and the present day political scenario in Uttar Pradesh, India. 

Cold and calculated means to achieve political agenda - larger interests of unifying Bharat under the force of a mighty ruler like Chandragupta Maurya were employed by Kautilya or Vishnugupta, best known as Chanakya. An immaculately planned script in this kingmaker's mind translated into the most brilliantly strategized capture of power over Magadha and with it the advent of a very valorous and prominent Mauryan dynasty, thus saving the country from invasive throes of Alexander the Great and draconian Macedonian forces. All sorts of means - cruel, cunning, deceitful, lecherous and lascivious were deployed to avenge ones' loss, do the needful that the country and its people rightly deserved. 

The book emphasizes the fact that history exults in repeating itself and that is when the focus shifts to present day scenario in India where a simple Brahmin, a history teacher from Uttar Pradesh - Pandit Gangasagar Mishra elevates a simple girl from Kanpur slums - Chandni Gupta to reins of power - the prime minister of the nation. There is one chapter about the past, the scenario about 2300 years ago and the next chapter seamlessly shifts to present Bharat, much more diverse and divisive by class, caste, language, gender and religion. The techniques and tactics employed to get to the pinnacle are roughly the same and this parallel is drawn out fantastically by the author. 

Plot - its pros and cons

Book chapters describe the political moves of past and present in an alternating fashion 

A map in the beginning of the book marking empires of 340 BC times

Pros: Chapters revealing the ascent of Chandragupta Maurya to the throne of Magadha and rule of ancient India are highly intriguing. There are many witty conversations between the teacher - Chanakya at Takshila University and his students - Chandragupta, Sinharan, Sharangrao and Mehir. These conversations abound with ingenious quips/punchlines that reveal a lot on history, human psychology and politics. The author has dedicated a section for some of these quotes, their sources at the end of the book. History personally interests me and I found this section on past highly interesting. 

The book offers an easy read with no complex language thrown in. 

The fiction part dealing with the present political scenario bears nothing new, therefore is banal - magical numbers to attain majority in state or central assembly, playing minority card for vote bank, electoral rigging, venomous nexus between businessmen and political honchos - they are all there. While reading through the chapters that deal with present one cannot refrain from thinking that a thousand NDTV news episodes content were squeezed into them. Scenes from movies like Rajneeti, Apaharan, Gangajal and may be many more of forgotten names also trickle in. Despite all this, there are certain portions that toss you in surprise. 

The prologue gives a nice opening to this well written work and the epilogue ends well answering if the erstwhile Chanakya's chant rendered success, many years later. 

The author deserves immense credit for extensively researching the topic and writing this piece of political and historical fiction. He maintains interest and draws parallel between past and present quite well. To me, he is far better and more adept a kingmaker than both Chanakya and Gangasagar Mishra. 

Cons:  The hackneyed portions dealing with present day politics, the huge array of characters of past and present, remembering their names and connections, what they did and did not do may get taxing at times and make the reading a little cumbersome. You might have to stay up and erect and quit your slouching position on account of this. The book draws its entire life and blood from history and politics - so for folks not interested in how kingdoms and kings rose and fell, what stirred rebellions and revolts, what apart from people's votes brought parties to power, this book is a definite no-no. 

My recommendations 

I enjoyed reading the book, not a racy read, nevertheless delightful. There are moments where one is bewildered by the multitude of political strategies and tactics used. I am not sure if I will re read it as a whole, but I would love to turn its pages some time and revisit some interesting dialogues and quotes, particularly from section dealing with Chanakya and Magadha times.  

Book Review: JOHNNY GONE DOWN - Racy Read, Quite Good

An extended weekend with Ugadi (New Year day celebrated in Karnataka) falling on a Friday fetched me some spare time to complete this book titled - Johnny Gone Down by Karan Bajaj. 

How I landed at this book? 

Casual browsing through books listed on www.flipkart.com - Books - Half price section yielded this find. The write up of the book and the reader reviews seemed promising. So summarily, I did not hunt for a Karan Bajaj book or have any expectations before beginning to read it. Published by Harper Collins and marked at Rs 99, I bought this one for Rs 50 last year. Good buy and good read for the money spent, I would state. 

The plot - its pros and cons 

The protagonist is Nikhil Arya, an ambitious graduate from MIT who is all set to begin a successful career at NASA, with dreams and abilities to make it really huge. But a completely unplanned vacation with friend Sameer to Cambodia post convocation starts the downfall for Nikhil. Caught in 1975 Khmer Rouge sponsored genocide just as their flight touches down at Phnom Penh, dramatic events unfold at a unbelievably fast pace. Nikhil makes decisions and acts in a way for reasons unknown and incomprehensible, even to him; lands himself in captivity, loses it all in two years, a seemingly eternal period of pain and anguish.  

There are different avatars he assumes, he turns a Buddhist monk from a genocide survivor in Thailand. For eight years, he meditates, tries to come to terms with his bitter past. But quite unsuccessful in accomplishing it, he travels across the globe to Rio, Brazil and renounces all tenets of Buddhism he slowly imbibed in one go. He turns a drug peddler, runs an empire, starts a family, hits everything right when the world turns topsy turvy again and lands him homeless in Minnesota. There, he works wonders as a software lord in one moment and in another, quite conveniently transforms into nothing but a deadly game fighter. The last leg of Nikhil's  roller coaster journey which is more of a steep, head straight plunge, ends in India. 

The pros of this book are - it is readable, fast paced and easy prose that requires undivided attention of only 6-8 hours for completion. The book offers quite a thrilling journey and authors' ideas are conveyed quite crisply without undue mess or confusion.  

Its cons are - though Nikhil's journey spans for 25 years of his life and is meant to be riveting, words used or style of writing employed does not convey that hard hitting, lasting effect. That's the primary reason why one can finish this book fast. In the end, the book appears a perfect material for a Bollywood flick. 

My Recommendations

This book is suitable for a train journey or say during an extended weekend stay at home. I would rate the book average and  okay. Karan Bajaj is definitely good in spanning great distances across the globe in about 300 pages and covering a myriad events that stand alone appear like unraveled threads but actually weave into a meaningful mosaic pattern in entirety towards the end. I am quite possessive about my books but I would not mind if some one borrowed this book from me and failed to return it. Pardon granted :) 

Mere Symbolism

Happy Holi to one and all reading this blog! 

I hit my blog space today after a break, thoughts run in my head but they are all quite muddled up, not sure if I actually need to put them down here because over years these have become trite following redundant and ineffectual expression. 

There's been some brouhaha in newspapers since Mar 1 about International Women's Day celebrated today - Mar 8, 2012. Exclusive columns are dedicated in newspapers for entries on women, their achievements, their daily hassles and probable solutions. Bigwigs like Nita Ambani, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chanda Kocchar and  Shahnaz Hussain wrote over the last week on what they sowed in their young days to reap the success share they witness today. 

Advertisements are tucked into today's newspaper stating offers in Big Bazaar Supermarket and like places. Online portals shower cash credits and marvelous discounts on ladies clothes, cosmetics, jewelry and all accessories that a woman requires.

Supplements along with newspapers have featured articles on all topics like - 10 healthy foods for women, 10 ways to stop ageing in women, 10 most essential nutrients for women, 10 ways to fight acne, 10 ways for a lady to look good. 

A circle with a + sign at its bottom has become too familiar over the last few days. 
All of it just constitutes mere symbolism. 

By now, one reading this post would have inferred I am sort of a feminist, may be concluded I am going to speak of social evils and atrocities inflicted on women from birth to death. Strong NO!! 

Our society has functioned in a certain way over many decades, elders over generations have fashioned thought process in a meticulous manner. All this conditioning cannot be reversed/changed by observing a single day or a week full of merry. We had/have a varna or caste system which assigns a certain occupation to a certain community, likewise we also have clearly assigned some daily chores, probable ambitions, best suited hobbies, best suited educational degrees for women. Even certain character attributes like cleanliness, organization and neatness at work, multi-tasking and parallel processing abilities, foolproof memory to remember what lies where in the house are expected in stronger doses from women. 

Expectations from women folk are different, there are many reasons to it - while there may be limitations her  own physique poses, bigger responsibilities beckon her due to her greater mental endurance, patience and tolerance that only grows exponentially with age. 

I am not urging the world to celebrate women's day when women too drive equal number of buses and airplanes as men do or when women too participate in combat and trench warfare. That is absolutely ridiculous. But in a country, where a half-half probability of a girl child being born to a couple is rashly dismissed by heinous methods, aggrandizing  womenfolk for only a week or a day seems too much of trash to take. Many say, times are changing and literacy helps in reconditioning opinions. But even from the most literate folks of our grand parents and parents generation or from the most urbanized class, I am sure many of you would have heard overt wishes or seen covert expressions that favor a male child over a female one. No generalizations that all literate folks think alike, all women suffer and men are spared. Generalizations don't help and don't work in any walk of life. But why this symbolism and empty celebrations when man still tries hard to interfere with natural probabilistic mechanisms lies beyond my comprehension.