Book Review #108: Grasta By Karanam Pavan Prasad

Title: Grasta

Author: Karanam Pavan Prasad

Publishers: Concave Media & Publishers

Genre: Metaphysics/Philosophy/General Fiction

Pages: 143 (Paperback)

Source: Personal Copy

Hindu philosophy also known as “Darshanikas” in Sanskrit reveals us a great deal of information on life, birth, death, love, sex, family, personalities, etc… and, there is Quantum Physics that explores the vast and bounds of universe with relevant experiments and theories. A book that combines the ideas of these two in a story is an attempt that requires a great study in those subjects. At least enough homework should be done before even attempting such a feat.  

Karanam Pavan Prasad, a promising and talented young writer bridges that gap by writing some marvelous stories that even the young generation are much in awe of his talents. Grasta, this is his 3^rd novel. He has surpassed his reader’s expectation by writing an extraordinary novel. This book combines the ideas of Metaphysics, Philosophy, Darshanikas, Quantum Physics, and Electricity etc… But, we definitely cannot term this as a science novel; neither can we term this as a philosophical novel too. This book stands in between. The thin line of separation from Science and Philosophy is what makes this book as a class apart.

The book is gripping from the very first page of the novel. The gamut of emotions expressed by each and every character is a treat to read from the book. The book takes us in a journey of two generations. The main protagonist of the novel is Avinash, an Electronic scholar, more than that a truth seeker. He is a common man by his birth, individual by his attitude and scholar in his own accord. He is engrossed in social, scientific, philosophical and personal aspects of his life. He is kind of a person who doesn’t get excited by the happiness and doesn’t feel a sense of remorse when something bad happens.

This book shows us the life in reality. Life, as in reality is not what we have seen in movies or read in some romantic novels. Life is full of struggles, yet we love the way we live and make the best out of our abilities. The protagonist in this novel expresses his concern, his ambitions, his future plan and how it became the otherwise. Avinash didn’t hail from an affluent family. His family background is one of the hearts wrenching stuff you read from this novel. Growing up in a family where death seems to be easier option that to survive. His parents didn’t had the best life because of the inter caste marriage.

As we read further into the book, we will get to read the tale of Avinash who rose from the ashes. He has built himself an identity by the help of good people that didn’t let him go astray. Now that he has a steady career but to enjoy his success, his parents are not alive. That’s kind of another struggle. Throughout the book we will realize, life is not what we aspired to be, instead life is what happens when you’re busy in making plans for it.

Rekha is another protagonist or I can say antagonist to some extent, enters the life of Avinash in the most unexpected way. This particular event makes Avinash question the life in many perspective, the reason being, should be read from the novel, and I am not going to include it in the review. Cheated by her boyfriend and her impotent husband drew Rekha towards Avinash. But her dubious plans remain intact till the end. Once we will realize what kind of woman is Rekha, we will sure feel pity for Avinash. He has done no fault, but still he agrees to the demand of Rekha and starts to live with her. Their relationship is one of a kind. He became her husband without marrying her. Became father to her child without even realizing. That’s where the novel hits like a storm. What is life? What are relationships? What are life goals? Is family is just a social agreement? Does every faults of a person become zero when living under a family? What is birth? What is death? What is the reason for man’s survival? These are the questions that haunts even after finishing the novel.

Though Avinash had a successful career as an Electronic Scholar, a PhD to his name, and big fat bank balance, he missed something deeply even any kind of relationship wouldn’t fulfill. He longed for the answers beyond the realm of life and death. He tried to find those things in his electronic experiments. He longed to build a system that provides electricity to the instruments without being wired. This is somewhat related to the Nikola Tesla’s futuristic ideas. But deep within, Avinash wasn’t satisfied with his life. He was cheated by his own people. The one person whom he respected throughout his life, at last, cheated him and brought him to a family circle which he legitimately didn’t belong to. All these events made Avinash become more and more introvert and in the end he just stopped looking for answers and took life as it came to him with open hands.

Overall, I feel these kinds of novel needs more traction from the audience. A serious readers like me, would definitely like to see such author reaching new heights. The author has every capability to make a mark in the literature world. His research and the stronghold on the subject have made this novel as an epic read. I would highly recommend this novel to be read by each and every one. The caption of the book put me in a thinking mode, “Birth is not important; the result of the birth is”.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #85: Nanna Bhayaagraphy By Beechi

Title – Nanna Bhayagraphy

Author – Beechi

Genre – Biography

Publishers – Sapna Book House

Pages – 350 (Hardbound)

Source – Personal Copy

Numerous authors and popular personalities engraves their autobiography as soon as they contemplate that they have accomplished something big in their lives. Those books are merely pages about how they have achieved success in their life by fighting against all odds. Though it’s kind of an inspiration to many readers like me, but, the actual bothering point is, they are just human beings like us, and even they have shortcomings. Will they ever dare to pen those inadequacies in their biographies? I certainly doubt it. Beechi a.k.a Bheemasena Rao is an odd man out in such cases. He has written his autobiography in such a way that, the readers would get a sense of feeling that, this man is speaking his heart out or rather he is sitting beside us over a drink and narrating their entire journey without any white lies.

The book is not about how he rose to become a successful author of 57 books or how he achieved his title of veteran writer. He has kept himself to the ground and introduced us to a exhilarating and impressive interpretation of his life. As a writer, Beechi is a comical fiction writer. His ever great works like “Thimmana Tale” or “Thimma rasayana” proves that he has kept his grief-stricken life behind his comedy writings. This book is titled as “Nanna Bhayagraphy” that can be slackly translated to English as “My Scary Life”.

Beechi begins his story from the time of his birth, telling the stories about his orthodox family and how he has grown up in the pre independent India during the early 1930’s. Till adolescence, Beechi was a firm believer of God. By the age of 18 or so, he declared himself as an atheist and lived his life like one. At the same time, he wasn’t contrasting to any of the religious proceedings that used to happen in his house. Neither had he opposed his family members. Having not seen his father at an early age made the author to not to mention a great detail about his father figure in this memoir. His mother, a staunch orthodox, was succumbed to illness and left this world when the author was just 7 years old. Grown up in the house of his uncles, author had faced stark difficulties and persistent mocking by his kinsfolks. Author has an elder brother and a sister, who were world to him during his distressed times.

As the book progresses further, we get to read the author’s ‘not so good’ educational credentials. Studied up to only 10^th standard, he had no choice but to earn his bread and butter himself for the rest of his life from an early age. He made all his determinations to stay well-balanced during all these struggling years and slowly opened himself to the world of literature. Comedy was his forte and since his first publication, he never looked back. He went ahead and wrote 57 bestsellers. Several of his works have been performed as plays in theatres and radio. Being a part time performer, author himself has acted in few of his own plays. His success was soaring to the new heights while his personal life was tumbling down.

Author has no fear in disclosing that he is habituated to smoking and drinking for lifetime. His wife was his greatest admonisher for his habits, but that never daunted him. He continued to be a great writer, great speaker and a fantastic human being.

Elucidating his personal life perspective, author had three children and out of which he has lost a child when there was complications in his wife’s pregnancy. That went even shoddier, when he found out that his wife was mentally ill for almost a couple of years. He made all his efforts to give a good education to his other children and was successful in doing it. But life was not a fairytale for him. At the age 22, his second son, a graduate in commerce and a primary critic of his works, died due to typhoid. This event has made the author to lose his focus for some time, but he bounced back. The only remaining child, his elder son, didn’t disappoint the author, he went ahead and completed his doctor degree. He got married and now they are a happy family with grandchildren.

Amidst all the events, author is firm in calling spade a spade. He recorded some of the prominent events in his life without hesitation that includes, his rendezvous with the prostitute households. He affectionately reminisced many of his colleagues and well-wishers in his life who contributed directly or indirectly to keep him gratified. His literary guru, Aa. Na. Krishnaraya played an important role in the author’s life, which made him to become a better writer. His close friends and his drinking buddies provided him the relaxation and relief that he always longed in his lifetime. His wife, though uneducated, proved to be a worthy partner to him. She held the responsibility of bringing up their children and taking care of the house despite bearing all the lunacy of the author.

Overall, a fantastic narration. This is a different and yet the honest way to write an autobiography. The author never called himself a legend. He just described his life with all the ups and downs and his staunch atheism concept and the greatest love he had for the humanity.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #72: Crime and Punishment By Fyodor Dostoevsky

Title: Crime and Punishment

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Publishing Year: 1866

Genre: Philosophical Fiction/Classics

Pages: 570+

Let me begin my review with two quotes about redemption…

“Redemption is not a favor, it’s a reward!!”

“True redemption is seized when you accept the future consequences for your past mistakes!!”

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a story of redemption and liberation through a rare form of suffering. Extreme form of suffering generated by the protagonist’s destructive thoughts. The heart wrenching novel that explores the human soul’s susceptibility to sin and regret.

This book is brilliant, intelligent, cleverly written and it keeps engaging its readers through the page one till the end. We had to accept the fact that, this book is not a “light” read. It tests your patience like anything else. At times you feel like you had to give up reading this and there is no way you can decide to do that. The theme of this novel seemed like Crime (which is murder) and punishment in the most generally understood terminologies. No, it is not.

Raskolnikov, our protagonist in this novel and his arrogance in placing himself above his other counterparts and thinks he is of the same elite personality as that of Napoleon. His feelings or his opinion on certain matters has taken its toll and he brought himself in the most unimaginable situation in this story, which he regrets, at the same time enjoys, from his own standpoint. Raskolnikov is a conflicted character; he is showing a lot of interest in the classes and thinking he is of a higher class than others believes he has the right to commit murder. Contrary to the title, this novel doesn't really focus on the crime or the punishment but rather the inner turmoil of Raskolnikov as well as the impact on his intellect and emotions. It is not until the very end that the sense of guilt overwhelms him and he confesses and ends his alienation.

This novel is certainly about the psychology of a crime and the punishment it measures. But more than that, the novel features exceedingly contrasting views. These views, contrasting and even paradoxical, can sincerely confuse a man. But, these seemingly contrasting views when scrutinized are really just the product of a struggle inside a man's very being. His final struggle of whether to finally detach himself from society, from life, from his humanity, or to finally succumb to it.

Raskolnikov is one such a man who didn’t care if he died, didn't eat, didn't care about his illness and yet coward enough to commit suicide. He is enjoying this rare form of suffering or we can call it as a delirium? Anyways, he commits two murders without knowing the consequences or was he prepared for everything? That’s least bothering point. At times he was being suspected of the crime and several police officials confronted him and inquired him. But, Raskolnikov was simply denying everything, but deep inside his heart, he knew that he was the one. He knew that, today or tomorrow he had to succumb to his punishments.

The novel begins in two separate tracks, one following the inner turmoil of a murderer and the other chronicling the melancholic destruction of a family due to a flighty, alcoholic patriarch. Dostoevsky deftly weaves together a multitude of unforgettable characters as they interplay through their tangle of plotlines. Each character is carefully balanced with their foil, each character is written with their own unique style of speech and language, and the novel seems to tie every thread together with such perfection and care as it churns forward, raining destruction on the lives of its characters to bring them toward their own personal redemption or demise. 

There are many characters in the book which is equally important as Raskolnikov. Especially Mr. Razumihin. He is a man of good heart and he is deeply interested in helping Raskolnikov and his family. He often went and arranged everything to defend his dear friend Rodya a.k.a. Raskolnikov. He eventually marries Dounia. That’s sort of a relief from this novel. The character Sonia Sofya Semyonovna is also a role to be remembered for. She has suffered equally as that of Raskolnikov. Only thing is, she didn't commit any murder. Rather, she has sacrificed herself for her family and her siblings. Raskolnikov was deeply moved by the affection that Sonia had expressed for him. He felt, at last that, he had loved her. Sonia took all those pains and sufferings and moved to Siberia in order to be with him, visiting him during those punishment years, eagerly waiting to start her life with Rodya altogether anew.

Over a century has passed since its initial publication, yet Dostoevsky’s message is still as poignant today as it was when it was first inked onto paper. Crime and Punishment features an immensely engaging blend of intrigue; philosophy; political, social, moral and religious commentary, that all thread together to create a masterpiece of literature that captures the deep, raw core of the human condition when it is at its most gruesome and vulnerable. The exquisite literary genius of the novel evoked a strong emotional resonance in me and the timing of my reading was just right to forever wed me to my love of books.

Conclusively, a fantastic book and it is highly recommended from my side. If you are a true reader and have an adjective as voracious, you must read this book once in your life time.

As I end my review, I have some excerpts from the book which I think it is worth mentioning in my review:

"Go now, this minute, stand in the crossroads, bow down, first kiss the Earth you've defiled, then bow down to the whole world, on all four sides, then say aloud to everyone: 'I have killed!' "

"Accept suffering and redeem yourself by it, that's what you must do."

"He went on down the stairs and came out in the courtyard. There in the courtyard, not far from the entrance, stood Sonya, pale, numb all over, and she gave him a wild, wild look. He stopped before her. Something painted and tormented something desperate, showed in her face. She clasped her hands. A hideous, lost smile forced itself in his lips. He stood a while, grinned, and turned back upstairs to the office."

"But all at once, in the same moment, she understood everything. Infinite happiness lit up in her eyes; she understood, and for her there was no longer any doubt that he loved her, lover her infinitely, and at last the moment had come... " 

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #71: Being Different by Rajiv Malhotra

Title: Being Different – An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism

Author: Rajiv Malhotra

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publishers: Harpercollins Publishers

Pages: 450+

Source: Personal Copy

Swami Vivekananda said it right… “Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true!!”

Having finished reading Breaking India by the same author an year ago, I was impressed by the sheer magnitude of information that this Rajiv Malhotra possess when it comes to Hinduism, Indian thoughts, our sacred scriptures, Indian Philosophy and so on. This book “Being Different” as cool as it sounds sets the benchmark even higher in exposing the western attacks on Indians in a more detailed and sophisticated manner. This book is not like a regular telltale of India’s glorious past or our vast knowledge of philosophy or the mastery of the language Sanskrit and so on. This book mainly focuses on the western view of India and how it has become wrong on so many levels, leave alone injecting the false doctrines. This book authoritatively asks the westerners to see the real Indian side from an Indian point of view, rather than a typical western.

This book is written really well on so many aspects – that includes details regarding monotheism vs polytheism, one sacred book vs hundreds of religious books, history-centric religion vs timeless Sanathana Dharma, Prophetic religion vs Free-to-chose type of religion i.e. Hinduism, etc… For each type of problem, Rajiv had written his argument brilliantly in order to state what is true and what is believed to be true. Several anecdotes from famous philosophers, famous theologians, and thinkers and religious scholars were discussed in details and a correct way of counter argument was given exactly that it “fits” perfectly and disqualifies those writers who wrote a western-thinking ideas about India and Hinduism.

He quotes in one of the chapters about how the western minds have been indoctrinated over several aspects and beliefs… “Dharma traditions resemble Silicon Valley innovation and freedom (whereas) Judeo-Christian religions come across like controlled, state-supplied, monopolistic products. Like the Soviets who believed in allowing only one airline, one brand of car, and one toothpaste, (…) most Christians believe in allowing only one approach to religion.”

In western Judeo-Christian traditions, revelation is initiated by one God, with the individual being a passive and submissive recipient (read it as a born sinner, whose salvation happens only when he dies). This process is highly history-centric, relies upon authority that is frozen in time, and allows for no direct experience. But this salvation does not transform man into something sublime. God always remains an external agency and that entire salvation means is that one escapes eternal condemnation to hell. These history-centric beliefs of Judeo-Christian systems also fail scientific scrutiny.

Dhārmic traditions provide a refreshing contrast. The individual is free from the guilt complexes that characterize a Christian. History has no metaphysical significance in dharma. Hindu narratives, as Śri Aurobindo states, are ever present in nature because one can experience those out of one’s own efforts. The Hindu initiate is an active participant in his quest for adhyātma vidya (knowledge of the self). Unlike Judeo-Christian systems which are fossilized, dhārmic systems dynamically evolve. As a result, the teachings of a guru are as valid as the words in a sacred text. This is precisely why one finds welcome diversity in dhārmic traditions. Most importantly, mökṣa (self-realization) is something one can actively experience here and now and is not a chimera called heaven a baptized Christian must be content with chasing post-mortem.

Rajiv Malhotra carefully puts his arguments about why these Judeo-Christian concepts fail at large and a big hindrance to the freedom. This is mainly due to the concept of sin followed in these prophetic religions. As is the case in every prophetic religion, a man/woman born is a sinner by birth, his entire life is a way towards salvation and that salvation is achieved only when you submit yourself to the God [Judgment Day]. Whereas, in Dharmic traditions, the concept of experiencing one’s false deeds and good deeds in the same birth and carry over these traits to the next birth (Punarjanma). This next birth may not be in human form, it can be either an animal, or a bird or a tree or an insect. This allows us to celebrate our individual souls, individual birth and makes us to believe that, we can make the better of ourselves in the same birth, as simply called as SAT-CHIT-ANANDA. 

Rajiv Malhotra also discusses about the ORDER AND CHAOS between Dharmic traditions and western dualism brilliantly. For instance, when it comes to the fields of music, or literature or neuroscience – good and evil are always interconnected to each other, like the Samudra Manthan (Ocean Churning), there is always good in bad and bad in good [Nectar and Poison].  This is quite opposite in the western religion, where good and evil is something which doesn’t gets connected, which results in the artificial order which is bewildered by a permanent chaos. In the Dharmic concept, this has balanced with proper Order and Chaos. The author goes on explaining this concept by taking the Indian classical music as an example. Indian classical music is a non-linear and non-normative, and as a result possesses not only the musical note but also a melodic ecosystem complexity called swara followed by the raga (which is using the swara to create a non-linear pattern of ups and downs) and this is again followed by Tala (the rhythm) which is adjusted to the ongoing raga. This concept has no equivalent in the western classical music. 

What I really liked about the book is the chapter about “Non-translatable Sanskrit Words”. There are quite a number of words or letters or phrases from Sanskrit which cannot be translated to English. For example: AUM in Sanskrit cannot be translated to AMEN as westerners tried to portray. The AUM is in itself a special word. Each letter in AUM, the A, U and M represents a different meaning altogether. He gives us the example of a dictionary called “Ekakshara Kosha” (Mono-syllable dictionary), where each letter possesses an exhaustive meaning and it simply cannot be translated. Also, from a scientific background, he explains that chanting few Sanskrit mantras at the right frequency has some desired results on the human mind.  He gives us the examples of “Bija Mantras” where each verse from the mantra should be chanted at exact frequency and tonal quality for the expected results to come. And, by this, it is certainly not possible to translate everything to English.

He further clarifies his points of reversing the gaze of westerners by pointing out the similarities and differences between the offshoot Hindu religions like Buddhism and Jainism. He goes on explaining the details from several books of Buddhism juxtaposed with the Hinduism and why it is ok to be “Being Different” in every area.

Overall he calls for a debate on the basis of Purva Mimamsa (an Indian philosophical aspect of churning for answers based on the earlier parts of Vedas than the later parts of Vedangas). He didn’t in any way belittle any western religions or ideas or beliefs. He just pointed out that, what the west thought about India is not true and he proved from this book, the reality. This sure, calls for a healthy debate among the learned scholars from among the world. He expressed his deep fear of non-availability of many Indian scholars who can actually understand and provide debatable ideas of Indian thoughts, Indian Philosophy (Darshanas), Indian Dharmic traditions and beliefs, etc…

In conclusion, none of the disagreements from the book dismisses the importance of Being Different. The most important aspects of the book are, as it reverses the gaze towards the west and evaluates it using the Dharmic paradigm. This is a well-researched, well-organized and well-documented book. It is a collector’s gem. I recommend this book to be read by everyone and must read for every Indians, which actually makes them proud of Being Different and Being Indian.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #57: The Second Coming: A Love Story By Scott Pinsker

Title: The Second Coming - A Love Story
Author: Scott Pinsker
Publisher: Scott Pinsker Publishing
ISBN: 1500167215
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 238
Source: Review Copy


I was approached by the author Scott Pinsker to review his new book - The Second Coming - A love story.

My initial thought about this book is "This is a strange book!!” Yet, it keeps you hooked till the end. The language is simple and the writing style is more lucid and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I was also skeptical when I saw the cover image of book, it resembles Jesus Christ. And, I thought, is this a religion based story? Since, I really didn't want to read and review a religion based book and throw in my feedback that could actually upset or offend somebody. But, I was proved wrong. :-D

This book actually speaks off 2 demigods (I use the term demigods, since; both of the protagonists are claiming to be the second coming of Jesus himself). I am quite not sure why the author had decided to name his protagonists as "Israel" and "Joe"!! Anyways, these 2 demigods claim that they are the second coming of Jesus Christ and they would try their best reasons to back it and win the hearts of the people of United States of America.

While doing so, both Joe and Israel wins some serious believers. Joe gets his true follower, a lawyer, Ms. Margareta Magdala. And, Israel gets his loyal follower, an ex-speechwriter, a gay man, David Shepherd. Followers in both the groups try to win the hearts of people by campaigning for their respective second coming of Jesus Christ. This sort of becomes a cult system, where half of the country on Joe's side and other half following Israel's side.

As the book progresses, both sides campaign restlessly and struggles to pass on the message to the masses. In this due course, Margaret Magdala finds many big shots that least interested in her campaign and more interested in the beauty and charm. As expected, this resulted in the negative publicizing of Margaret. Even her own people started doubting her. She was getting enough monetary support from some of the bigwigs in exchange of bodily pleasures with her. This includes a famous radio broadcaster, an industrialist, etc… On the other side, David, the true campaigner of Israel, wins the monetary benefits of a big Arab business tycoon at the cost of his boyfriend Michael. Michael and David were in a gay relationship for quite a long time. Their relationship were short lived in this novel due to the differences between them in this cult worshipping.

As the novel approaches towards a logical end, a stage will be set up in public for both of these second comings claimers. Both Joe and Israel were well prepared to woo their followers. The entire debate was headed by a third person who devised a calculated time frame for each of them to talk which was followed by a QA session.

Well, the real crux of the novel is in the last chapter. Author had written some exceptional arguments about what is god, who is god etc... In a more matured philosophical way. It is indeed the philosophical thoughts that Joe and Israel exchange between them whilst they're proving themselves. I did really enjoy this part of the book.

The burning question of who was actually the second coming of Jesus Christ? Is it Joe or was it Israel? Were they able to prove to their followers? The answer lies in the book. It’s a very great attempt by the author to write this kind of fiction. For sure, those who read the book will find themselves witnessing some answers that they are searching for all their lives!!

Conclusively, it’s a different book. It is thought provoking and with full of amazing quotes. I would definitely ask the readers to read more such books and encourage the author.

My Rating:
4/5

Book Review #55: Jalapatha By Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa

This is a short book with full of wisdom and full of philosophical thoughts. This book “Jalapatha” by my favorite author, philosopher and a great human being Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa has created a much debatable platform of the subjects like birth, marriage and procreation. The protagonists from this novel are a mere representation of the current society. The thought that runs in these minds is way beyond imagination and it gives us the right amount of information to ponder over and makes us to churn for answers. Jalapatha can be translated to English as “Water Falls”.

As a philosophical buff, I adored this book very much. Though this book might not be one of the popular novels of SLB sir, but, it doesn’t mean that, it lacks the USP of SLB. It has everything that one is looking out through a philosophical mind. This book mainly explores the idea of marriage, explores the idea of having kids and also explores the idea of creating an art that stands on a platform of morals. After all, who doesn’t like to debate about the right time to having kids or when will be the right time to get married? 

These are considered to be taboo among the conservative orthodox Indians. For them, these kinds of debates or discussions must confine to the 4 walls of their bedroom.

The protagonist of this novel is a freelance artist named Sripati. He had his own set of ideologies about life and its oddities. He was living with his wife who is a graduate. They were living in a small town like area in Bombay. They both had a son who was going to school. They often wondered about their respective lives. Sripati always used to wonder, whether his wife should work to support his family or she should stick to take care of the household chores and help in bringing up their son in the right way. They often used to discuss about extending their family with one more child, but, with an instant, their idea itself seems very dirty and ambiguous. Sripati had a colleague where he used to submit his art works. She was attracted towards Sripati and often expressed her interest in him. Initially Sirpati was not so interested to go for this extra marital affair. But, later, he gets attracted towards this lady and he begins to go her house every alternate days.

In another track of the novel, the neighbor family of Sripati, a doctor by the name Nadagowda living with his wife. He is more of a scientist than a doctor; he was specialized in animal science. This doctor had a special notion and belief within himself that, whoever is bound to have children whether its humans or animals, will have to adhere to the best of breeds. He used to explain in his own terms that, only a strong male and female must have sex in order to conceive children. If anyone of them is weak or their ancestral background seems to be weak, they must abandon having kids, because, this will get resulted in the birth of weak children. This is the reason that the doctor had never indulged in sexual intercourse with his wife. He believed that, his diabetic background will result in a child that is prone to diabetic diseases. He discussed this topic with Sripati on various occasions. Having a weird feeling towards this thought, Sripati used to ignore him.

During one fortunate or unfortunate incident, Sripati decides to break the vow of celibacy with his wife and invites her to have sex with him. This resulted in Mrs. Sripati to become pregnant for the 2^nd time. During this time, both Sripati and his wife decide to visit a water falls and there they encounter something which is beyond the explanation for both of them. They thought their act of having one more kid is not only a noble cause but it’s a natural phenomenon. They both visits the same water falls on numerous occasions. Sripati decides to draw an epic piece of art that captures the pregnancy of his wife every month. He draws a piece of art that not only makes them both happy but also made them realize the secret of birth. Sripati dedicated this painting to his wife and said that they must not get feared for having another child. This philosophical dialogue exchange between both of them is a treat to read from the book.

In another track of the novel, the doctor who was living next to Sripati’s house will commit suicide. The cause of the suicide is never known. But, this doctor leaves his personal diary with notes about his thoughts of marriage and birth. Sripati reads this script from start to end and feels awe for the doctor who just died. The doctor’s wife will also commit suicide by jumping off from train. This has deeply moved both Sripati and his wife. They decided to cease their city life and heads back to their ancestral village. There Sripati will face the hardships like never before. He even starts to sell his belongings to make the ends meet. Having no money to treat his newborn daughter from a rare fever resulted in the death of his daughter.

Deeply disturbed by all these events, Sripati decides to head back to his former job as an artist. But, what he realizes by witnessing the events in his life is beyond the imagination. After reading the novel, I was left with numerous questions than answers. Is sex and marriage are both linked together? Or is it altogether a separate decision of the husband and the wife? Is having kids is the only aim of a successful marriage?  

I recommend this novel to everyone.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #53: Doora Saridaru By Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa

After all, when it comes to philosophy based books, I will not be able to put down that. This book "Doora Saridaru" of Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa sir is a bundle of philosophical thoughts. Each character that the author created is a mountain of philosophical thinking. This novel mainly explores the idea of marriage, or we can put it as inter caste marriage and it also explores the requirement of right thinking or we can say as bonding between a girl and a boy before getting married, how this will affect a marriage etc... We can call this book as philosophy of marriage or literally philosophy of life. 

 

I really liked the philosophical ideas that the author has imbibed in all the characters. “Doora Saridaru” will be translated to English as “Moved Away”. Yes, this novel speaks about the couples who are yet to be married, but they decided they would get married. However, some unfortunate events will make it not happen. Reasons look very trivial for a normal novel reader. For a philosophy student this novel looks like an absolute profound experience. The thought that runs between each protagonist and the dialogue exchange between him and her is an awesome thought process.

The plot of the novel seems like a regular college love story. Sachidananda a studious young man who was studying English (Hons) degree finds a girl called Vinithakumari from his class who was very good looking and like him; she was pursuing her interests in literature and poetry. Soon, they will find interest in one another and expresses their love interest and it goes on like regular love stories. 

In another parallel story, a student called Vasantha a philosophy pursuing graduate and senior to Sachidananda. This Vasantha is a very introverted person. However, when it comes to debates and argument about philosophical subjects there is no one in the college who can match him except for a girl called Uma. She is Vasantha’s junior in the philosophy degree course and she was the one who can match to the qualities of Vasantha. As expected, some favourable incidents will make Vasantha and Uma to be another couple in the college.

As the story further progresses, there is a regular parental opposition to this marriage, there is disappointment, there are resentments etc... However, what I really liked about the novel is the after effects of the incident where their respective parents will oppose to these marriages. Vinitha’s mother rejected Sachindananda and Vinitha was not strong enough to oppose her mother. Sachidananda tried to convince Vinitha for a registered marriage. Even here, Vinitha was not strong enough to make a decision. She believed in philosophy of pain. She often told Sachidananda about how her suffering and pain will help to change her mother’s mind. Dejected by Vinitha’s decisions, Sachidananda will become a maniac, he loses his interest in life, he wanted to become a hermit, so, he leaves his house and goes to some hill station and tries to find solace for his burning soul. There he meets a sage or a person who renounced his life. This person has an important story in later stages of the novel. There he learns something better and decides to stay strong and he heads back to his home and concentrates more on his studies.

In another parallel story, Vasantha and Uma will participate in a debate about philosophy of truth and philosophy of marriage. There in one occasion, Uma humiliated Vasantha. She made his every argument very trivial and stupid. Vasantha decides immediately that this idea will not work in his life. He tries to convince Uma that, she would never argue with him once they get married. For which, Uma slowly said that, it is not possible but she will try her best. Therefore, Vasantha decides to postpone their marriage for about a year.

The real magic of the novel appears now, the huge philosophical thoughts of each protagonist comes into picture. Sachidananda decides to study like there is no tomorrow. He starts to pursue his master’s degree. Whereas Vinithakumari decides to drop out of college and she starts to work as a schoolteacher. Vasantha decides to pursue his PhD and Uma decides to work for an NGO. Will these couples get married or what role the fate will play in these lives? I stop at this point and let the readers go through the book and find out the answer! 

I recommend this book to everyone and for those who are students of philosophy or interested in learning about philosophy. It is a classic attempt by my favourite author. 

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #51: Gruhabhanga By Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa

A book that is full of tragic events. A book that is full of emotions. A book that is full of family problems. A book that is full of foul language. Yet, this is a book that speaks about a woman. This is a book that speaks about the hurdles overcome by a strong woman. This is a book that speaks about what it takes to live life. Finally, this is a book that speaks about strong will.

Gruhabhanga is a stirring, emotional and tragic novel from my favorite author Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa. The title “Gruhabhanga” can be fairly translated to English as “Destruction of a house”. Well, this is a literal translation. The real meaning or the crux of the novel speaks about a household. It speaks about various people from this household and their little stories. This is one of the epitomes of Indian Novels. This novel has been made into a daily serial or popularly called as sitcoms. It was such a huge hit at that time and even today this book marks as the only few books that got translated into all Indian official languages. This novel was originally published in Kannada language.

The entire story of the novel takes place in somewhere between 1920’s till 1950’s spanning close to 30 to 35 years. Due to the backdrop of village in this story, this novel strikes a chord with its readers. The main theme of the novel can be considered as a mere family story. But, the stirring images of each and every character are what make it as a class apart.

The main protagonist of the novel is a woman called Nanjavva.  She was fairly educated girl and her father Kanthijoyeesa is a well learned Brahman. In one of the unfortunate events, Nanjavva will get married to a person called Chennigaraya. Chennigaraya had a mother Gangavva (A widow) and a younger brother Appannayya. Chennigaraya was a village revenue collector. His job was to collect the revenue from the farmers, counting the number of acres that each farmer is cultivating, and type of the crop they are cultivating and amount of the crops that they grow each year. He has to sum up all these calculations from across 40 other villages and should submit these records to a nearby government office. He will be given commission based on this records collection.

During Nanjavva’s initial marriage days, everything was going smooth and happy. In just few months, her mother-in-law Gangavva, a bad mouthed woman will unnecessarily interfere with the affairs of Nanajvva and Chennigaraya. This intrusion has become worse day by day as such, one day, Chennigaraya who is a momma’s boy, will start beating Nanjavva and he even stopped going to revenue collection. This was the turning point in this novel.

Having learnt all these things, Nanjavva decides to take care of her family. Now she is a mother of 3 children. She begins herself to go for revenue collection and she starts to write all the records and only she would get the signature from her husband. Few learned members from the village will be aiding Nanjavva in her quest towards raising her children. During all these years, Gangavva, the mother-in-law of Nanjavva will be badmouthing her and often tries to link up illicit relationship with other men in the village. These events made Chennigaraya to abandon Nanjavva forever.

Later part of the novel is simply mind blowing. Author SLB has made this Nanjavva a role model for all the working women out there. Nanajvva slowly build her identity in the village. She often begged for few days in order to feed her children. She stayed in racks of an old abandoned house and making leaf plates to make the meets end. By this time, her elder son Ramanna was about to finish his school and his elder daughter is the age of marriage. Due to the help of few kind hearted villagers, Nanjavva was able to conduct her daughter’s marriage in a simple ceremony to a school teacher Surya Narayana. Surya Narayana, who is a school teacher in a neighbor village, will inform Nanjavva that, he will find a house and then he will take his wife there. Till that time, Nanjavva’s elder daughter will stay at her mother’s house.

Here, the fate plays an unfortunate incident in Nanjavva’s life thorough the author’s imagination. The entire village was attacked by plague epidemic starting with her house. Unfortunately, both her elder son and elder daughter passed away on the same day in a span of 3 hours who was suffering from plague. This incident made Nanjavva to lose faith in god. Fearing the same death for her younger son, she sends him off to her brother’s house and starts to live alone.

Nanjavva had always dreamt of her own house in the village. She works very hard to save the required amount of money and buys an old house and she starts to reconstruct the house. But fate was planning something else for her. As soon as she finished the construction of her house, there was another tragedy that struck in this household through the death of Nanjavva herself. She was attacked by the same plague epidemic and now the entire novel takes it turn towards climax.

In all these events, Chennigaraya the good for nothing husband of Nanjavva was seen with no emotions at all. Brainwashed by his mom, he expresses no grief over the death of his wife or children. He didn’t even bother to check on his younger son who is staying at Nanjavva’s borther’s house. He ended up visiting prostitutes on a daily basis.

What happened to Nanjavva’s younger son? Was he living peacefully in his uncle’s house? To know the answer, one must read the book. I think there was no better climax given to this book than this.

The above synopsis seems very simple. But, the vivid story described in this book will make anyone weep while reading this novel. The choice of words seems very daring. Since, no other novelist was dared enough to write such foul language in any novel. These words include Bastard, Son of a Bitch, Fuck You; Fuck your mom, Slut, etc... Etc… as I said, this is a village backdrop story, hence, the foul words is an apt choice of expressing one’s anger or resentment.

Overall, I feel this novel will stand tall as one of the greatest novel ever written in the history of Indian literature. At the same time, this novel will make the readers understand about the cultural practices, traditions, caste systems of a 1930’s India. I recommend this book to be read by everyone. It’s like a once in a lifetime.

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #47: Bhitti - An Autobiography by Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa

I was not at all ready to write up a review for this book. This book, Bhitti is the autobiography of Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa, the ace novelist, the philosopher and a great human being. Bhitti is a Kannada language word. It can be translated to English as a WALL or a PORTRAIT, where one can post their picture. Evidently, this is an apt title for this book. He has written his life story as a picture on the wall. It is so thrilling and one will feel profound whilst reading this book. I am quite inspired by this book, at the same time; I was saddened by reading his life journey. For sure, Bhitti is a masterpiece narration and it stands as a lesson for those who are writing their autobiographies.

What made it more special about this book? It was the sheer brilliance of SLB sir and the way he narrated his account of life in this book. He has not crossed the limits of boundaries while describing events and not derided anyone who directly or indirectly was the cause of sabotaging his earlier childhood and his teen years.

He started his book by describing his childhood when he was aged 4. He went on describing the social status, surroundings, events, the neighbors, his family members, his relatives and most importantly his mother who played a crucial role in bringing up him in the righteous way. He also writes about his father who was good for nothing and describes him as an aloof. His father was directly responsible for all his miseries that he went through as a child. His mother was the sole responsible person in his family who was taking care of the daily needs of all the family members. He has grown up in a situation where there were not even proper meals to eat. His family often slept without eating anything except for his father who happened to be the revenue collector from the farmers around the village and he used to spend most of his earnings for his amusements like eating in hotels, travelling for days, etc…

He has written in detail about his early childhood, his teen years and his college days and till his retirement age that spanning over 70 years. He tells us a riveting story.  His great shock came in when his elder brother and sister who died on the same day in a span of 3 hours due to plague epidemic. This was literally a shock to young SLB. After this incident, his mother sent him to his brother’s house so that he can get a proper education. SLB describes his stay at his uncle’s house as one of the devastating years of his life. He literally became a slave for his uncle doing cattle work, temple cleaning during the day with little or no food till noon. Even here, life was cruel to him, he received a message from one of his villagers that, his mother too died of plague. He was barely 11 years old at that time.

He has given an account of his childhood and his young teen years in 2 of his novels “Grihabhanga” and “Anveshana”. The stirring images and characters from both of these novels is a true incident happened in the life of SLB. He had faced some of the brutal tortures by his uncle, his aunt and importantly from his father. So, he decides to run away from home and goes to a different town where he literally begged every day for food. In those times there was a concept called “VAARANNA” that means “WEEKLY FOOD”. This concept is not existed in recent times. But, this is a concept where a student that begs in each house will come to an agreement with them that, he will be given a day’s food. Like this, he arranged in 7 different houses that agreed him to provide food.

He was not agreeing with himself for begging during his teen years. So he does odd jobs during his school breaks to make the ends meet. He works in a small hotel as a cleaner and waiter, he sells incense sticks during evening, he even worked as a gatekeeper for a cinema hall, and he went to every village as a story teller and amuses the villagers by his story and accepts whatever the gifts the villagers will offer. By all this means he manages to complete his schooling. While describing these events, SLB never forgets to remember all those kind hearted teachers that helped him a lot in his education.

SLB has struggled in every walk of his life by managing to keep him alive and educated. With a “vagabond” father, his life should’ve been finished long ago. But, some divine force was keeping him alive all these years so that he can win the hearts of millions of people that he has won today.

Despite undergoing such hardships in his life, his quench for reading never stopped. He was reading almost anything. By the time he reached his 20’s, he might have read at least 200 odd books. That’s what made him a good story teller. With all the blessings from every good person that he met in his life, he went on to complete his M.A (Honors) in Philosophy and managed to stand out as a gold medalist in his final years. He has written his first novel Bheemakaaya when was just 18 years old!!

Very early in life he realizes the correctness of defeating an opposing view by logical and knowledgeable argument rather that brow beating it by raising the voice. This comes through in his books which are very well researched. We see his views on religion and rituals evolving, his philosophy of life taking root and the awakening and evolution of his creative genius. Tips for new writers are strewn throughout the book.

SLB has seen life from very close quarters and is very well travelled. He has travelled all across the globe (may be 3 times overall) not to mention large swathes of India. SLB writes as he preaches with a detached air but is forthright. He never hesitates in calling a spade a spade; we see this in him even as a young boy.  He has always stood up for truth and justice and is a fighter and a survivor. A survivor because all the bitterness, the pain and betrayal he has seen  would have broken the spirit of an ordinary human being but it has not made SLB cynical. He has internalized it all to reach great heights. The success and heights that SLB has attained is testimony to the triumph of the human spirit. The autobiography is written in a linear chronological manner. The language is succinct and the book gripping and not able to put it back.

What I feel is the childhood and his student days of SLB sir’s autobiography must be made mandatory for all the new generation kids for reading. They will realize the importance of education. They will get a new perspective in life and will develop a respect for their life, their education.

I feel very underage to judge the autobiography of a great human being. At the same time, I made a point clear in my mind that, whatever happens in life, I will fight it till the end. The silver lining is a birth right of every human being on this planet. I recommend this book to be read by everyone. I prostrate my head at the feet of SLB sir for giving me a lifetime treasure of books. What one can only imagine in their life is a fact from SLB sir’s books.  

My Rating:

5/5

Buy this Book from Flipkart.com:
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Book Review #43: The Fountainhead By Ayn Rand

There are books that are hard to read. There are also few books that are hard to review. And, there are books, which fall under both of these categories. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is one of such important books to the mankind. I may be exaggerating a bit here, but, let’s give it to the author for writing this magnum opus. It is a treat to read this book. It can be easily declared as a must read book before you die!!

The summary as given in the back page of the book goes like this:

“This instant classic is the story of an intransigent young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who struggles to defeat him.”

What I really liked about this book? Is it the philosophical thoughts? Or is it the fight of a relentless stubborn architect? Or is it the unusual romance between the protagonists? Or is it the life lessons? It is extremely difficult to come up with the answers. I liked all these thoughts that bundled up in this book. It seems very difficult to understand it at the beginning, but, as the book flows through the pages, it is overwhelmingly awesome. It covers everything. The Architect, The Press, The Love story, The betrayals, The deceiving characters, The forgiving characters, etc…

At times you may feel like you are not able to continue to read. But, reading this book requires a lot of patience according to me. It takes at least 2 weeks to finish reading it, if you are reading few pages a day.

The book mainly talks about 4 main characters. Peter Keating (A confused Architect), Ellsworth M. Toohey (Guy who wants to control everything but wants to remain as a shadow), Gail Waynand (A conglomerate tycoon) and our hero of the novel Howard Roark. 

The book starts very slowly and takes time to sync in the readers mind. Slowly it occupies your mind and crumbles up into your dreams when you read it. The ideology presented in this book requires a great deal of concentration to read it and understand it. Each dialogue, each prose, each verse is heavily loaded with philosophical thoughts. Every character seems like a mountain of philosophical aspects.

The Fountainhead is written with great eloquence. It is lucid and engaging. It is loaded with the power of wisdom. It you can read it carefully, you will slowly realize the meaning of the all those 4 different characters, developing them with the intense clarity, so much so that, you are left feeling pity for everyone but the hero.

Howard Roark is an unbelievable character. His ruthless yet calm nature fascinates anyone. His tranquilizing demeanor and the aura which he carries around himself is seldom unnoticed. Even after fighting for his existence, he never allowed himself to be robbed by anyone intellectually. He constantly reminds us of the nature “My way or Highway”. He is adamant, fickle minded yet he is a hero. He takes his fight against the world that is still not out of conservative orthodox thinking. When the whole world is against his modern viewpoints, he stood for his convictions and proved what he is capable off. It is such a joy to read the dialogues of Howard Roark. He reminds every one of us on how to live life on own terms. If we all look back into our lives, we lived all of our life living for others, working for others, satisfying others. Howard Roark conveys his message clearly that, live your life that way you want it to be. “Those who mind, don't matter and those who matter, don't mind” kind of attitude is the take away from the book.

Overall, The Fountainhead speaks of one main thing throughout the novel. It is “Individualism”. No matter what happens tomorrow, if you can prove your individualism then it’s the greatest achievement one can achieve in his lifetime. I recommend this book to everyone. It is once in a life time opportunity to get lost in the philosophical thoughts. You would certainly enjoy each page.

Rating this book is beyond my abilities. Anyways, 

My Rating:

5/5