Palace of Illusions

I have always been fascinated by the epic Mahabharata and its characters. And each time I read any literature related to it I get overwhelmed by the depth of the epic. Be it Sivaji Savanta's Mrityunjay (though very well written but still in awe of the tome) or Rashmirathi (veer rasa rendition by the great Ramdhari Singh Dinkar) - both coincidentally taking a broader look at Karna, the doomed warrior - the stories and sub-plots of Mahabharata never bore you.

And as I was contemplating of getting a copy (they say you shouldn't have a copy of Mahabharata, as it can lead to mayhem in your personal life) my good friend S handed me this book to read. Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerji Divakaruni, is very different from all the Mahabharata related books I have read. The idea of Draupadi's (or Panchali's, as she would prefer) viewpoint of the tale and the war was something which only a lady could have thought of. And before I infuriate the feminists around let me clarify that this book is so well written that it feels like you are reading Draupadi's autobiography.

The book treats each of the event that shaped the persona of Panchali in a very human manner, without any superficiality. That is what would attract any avid reader and mind you once you start the book it becomes really difficult to put it down, even though you might be aware of the events ahead. Panchali's longing to be accepted in a patriarchal world where one was identified by only the accompanying male (husband, brother, father, et al.) is painted beautifully in the book. Her special relationship with the enigmatic Krishna and her brother, Dhrishtadyumna, her secret desires for Karna and what she thinks of her mother-in-law Kunti, are some of the things which make this book special. 

Everyone who has read/heard Mahabharata stories (or probably even seen the TV series) revisits this great tale of human desires, envy and egoism. This book gives an entirely new paradigm to all those events and takes the concept of story telling to a new-level.  

India Unbound : A book for every Indian

Book: India Unbound

Author: Gurcharan Das

Publisher: Penguin Books

India Unbound is an amazing book written by Gurcharan Das. Das has an interesting style of interweaving his personal experiences with the Indian economic scene. Though not autobiographical, the book delves in his growing up years and his tryst with Simla high society.

The book is on India's economic struggle and the liberation of our markets from the Nehruvian socialism. Das says that he has grown with India and has seen her rise in the global world. Starting his life with socialism and appreciating Nehru's ideologies, Das changes camp after the economic liberalization of 1991. In his words, India attained true freedom only after 1991. Das also talks about his personal experiences of selling "Vicks" to the common Indian people, where he learnt about marketing strategies and his future growth - seeds of which were sown when he joined the Mumbai (then Bombay) office.

India Unbound is a book full of facts. Not eating up words while criticizing Nehru's ideas and loading up all praise on the new democratic capitalism (nice term), introduced by Dr Manmohan Singh in 1991. Though Das also points out that there was little choice at the time since India's economy was in dire straits.

The book also has a new chapter added in its latest edition which talks about the new India and further rise of the economy. Das seems pretty optimistic about our growth and foresees democratic capitalism as the new way for major economies of the world. As the title of the blog says this is one book which every Indian should read. In a nutshell the book is on the economic history of India, which arouses your interest in economics.

Dog-eared

I find it very difficult to categorize myself in terms of my reading habits. I can not be an avid reader, though initially when this affair with books had started I was under the impression that I can read any book under the sun. Then one day my friend L sent me a book on Istanbul.

I started the book with all gusto but then slowly, I believe, it was my lack of travel which caught up with me and I stopped after having read a few chapters of the book. This event changed the perspective of my reading habits. It was then that I thought about writing a new set of blogs under the label "Dog-eared". This label will have blogs dedicated to books I have read. In the recent past the books which have made great impression upon me are - India Unbound, The Difficulty of Being Good (both by Gurcharan Das) and iCon. So hopefully my next dog-eared labelled blogs would have renderings on these books.

I have two more books on my shelf (not a shelf per se but why would one talk about a shabby looking table top when a shelf would sound more neat), which look impressive. Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and "Start-up Nation" by Dan Stenor and Saul Singer. I guess I will start the books simultaneously. So long...