Book Review #24: Anchu by Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa

This is yet another masterpiece novel by my favorite author, Professor, Thinker, Philosopher Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa sir. It is amazing to think that, how he could possibly be able to capture such thinking and ideologies under a single book. Then it struck me like a jolt, this is the theme of all Dr. SLB sir's books. No wonder, the immense feeling I got while reading this book is beyond explanation.

This is a profound book, making the readers to go beyond the material relationships and arrive at a conclusion. Detractors can always bang their head against the wall, but, they can't deny the fact that, this book makes everyone, literally everyone, to think for a minute or two about their own lives.

This book mainly revolves around only 2 persons. Though there are other filler characters for the sake of the novel, readers are not much bothered about those characters. The protagonists of this novel is enough to carry out the story. This book is certainly unputdownable. It takes the readers on a ride, the psychological ride that anyone could imagine. It takes only a man like Dr. SLB sir to write such books.

The plot of the novel introduces us to the main protagonists of the novel. A well educated woman, Dr. Amrutha, a Ph. D. scholar and a lecturer in a college. Though she had a good job to support her, psychologically she is a woman of suicidal tendencies. She was deceived by her own family members, by her husband and her aunt. By their dubious coup, she lost all her properties and she was thrown on the road along with her two small kids Vijay and Vikas. She and her kids lived alone in the house that was left by her father years back.

Another protagonist of the novel is Somashekar, an Architect by profession, who is well settled and came to Mysore from Mumbai in search of expanding his Architect business. He is good at heart and an honest person, but, he is too weak to express his feelings. That leads him to a bigger mess in his life. Having lost his wife and a daughter, and a failed relationship in his mumbai days, he had no plans of another relationship and was quite happy with his job.

The phase that connects these 2 protagonists is a situation, where Dr. Amrutha calls Somashekar for an urgent repair of her house. He finishes of this repair job and finds himself attracted to this woman. She also had the same feelings towards him. As the story continues further, these two persons were found out that, they love each other and finds a new ray of silver lining in their respective lives. Their love story continues just like any other love stories. But, her suicidal tendencies and mood swings makes both of their lives difficult at many stages.

Author had brilliantly imagined the psychological imbalance state of Amrutha. She is happy at sometimes and in split seconds she gets this immense feeling of loneliness. Everyday she decides to take her life and writes suicide notes and takes her revolver and heads to a hill station and within no time she decides not to do so. These events had made her traumatized everyday. Somashekar feels that, he needs to take care of her and he supports her in every possible way. He changes his timings of work just to be with her. At some point in the novel he was succeeded in changing her mind to concentrate on future rather than taking life.

There are few stages in the novel, where both of them quarrel and decides not to see each other again. Later, they finds their lives are even more empty and dull, which leads them to concile again. As the story further reveals, Amrutha finds out that she is carrying the child of Somashekar. For which, She felt very guilty and again she decides to take her life. But due to the intervention of Somashekar, this plan was failed. Later, she decides to get aborted and still she finds her life pointless, aimless and meaningless.

As the book reaches its climax, Somashekar encourages Amrutha to file a lawsuit against their Aunt and relatives to take back all the properties that was belonging to Amrutha. Also, he gives timely suggestions on how to handle this case. Amrutha slowly recovers from her traumatic stage of her life and finds a new hope for her life. She fights the case with all her might and wins the lawsuit against her aunt and relatives. As the climax approaches, Somashekar feels that, he should marry Amrutha and accept her two kids as his own kids. For which she agreed.!!

The story seems very simple and straightforward. In reality, it is impossible to express how does one feels when someone was deeply wounded psychologically and how their behavior will affect their loved ones and surroundings. This is the crux of the novel and one should read it to experience it. Readers are hard pressed for words to describe the state of Amrutha and her waves of thinking in the book. It is best not to mention in this review. Overall, a must read book, it actually changes one's behavior and thinking.

My Rating: 5/5

Book Review #23: Asura - The Tale of the Vanquished By Anand Neelakantan

As I started reading this book, I was in a hope to understand the Ravana's side of the Ramayana. As the author himself proclaims at the end of the book "And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors, that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence." I was thrilled to read this line and I was all ears to hear the Ravana's version of the Ramayana. What the mightiest Ravana has to offer us, the mere mortals, about his version of events that unfolded in the name of Ramayana.

Well, the book picks up really good, opening up with the soul of Ravana gazing upon the remnants of what is called as an epic battle and was thinking in his mind about what all the events that led to his downfall, the downfall of the mightiest king that India or was it the Lanka ?? has ever produced?.

Later what is I expected of the book all went in vain. I judged this book by the cover of it, literally. This is not Ramayana. Instead, it is Ravana-yana.Let's give the benefit of doubt to the author, who said, this is a work of fiction. So, expected a little damage to the original mythological epic that was revered with at most respect and kept at high regards among Indians ,well, Hindus.

As the book unfolds in subsequent chapters, I realized, wait..., this is not I am expected to read, right ??. I continued, Author had no clue what he was telling in every chapter, with an urgency to finish of this book, author had done great damage to the original version of Ramayana and went a step ahead to give a character certificate to Lord Rama.

Let me get some of the points I thought it is disgusting:

The Writing Style and Editing:
Author had not realized the numerous spelling mistakes and errors in sentences formation. When an author is capable of writing such a huge volume, It is expected to make some grammatical errors. But, not in this case, he doesn't even know the difference between "STRUCK" and "STUCK", "ADVISE" and "ADVICE". This is repeated in various section, and I had to bear the entire novel, correcting the grammar myself and continue to read. I don't even know what sort of proof-reading has been applied for the novel. You would read it anyways. Enough said for this grammatical aspects.

Writing Style:
This must and should be mentioned without fail. As I read through the novel, Author depicted Ravana as a fickle minded person, who is not sure of what was going around him. And, author let Ravana continue in that stage throughout the novel. Poor Ravana, I thought, he is schizophrenic. Later, realized, it is the author, who is not capable of maintaining the order while writing the events. At times Ravana seems to be happy and content, and in split seconds, he is sad or angry. In one of the chapters, Ravana is holding his Prime Minister Prahasta's dead body and utters something "I always loved you and want to scream to the world that, you are one of the nicest persons I have ever met" and in next sentence "But, I didn't liked the advices you were bestowing upon me, hence, I would hate you for that". From love to hatred in just 4 sentences???!!!. What the f***??. Common man, I do not have time for this fickle trail of words from you.


Protagonists:
The story unfolds between 2 main protagonists. Bhadra, the self proclaimed, close aide of Ravana, who sprung into action from nowhere. And, the main protagonist Ravana.

Bhadra a close aide of Ravana, or, that's what he thinks. He comes from nowhere in the novel and declares his unconditional support to Ravana. He declares, Ravana as the king he was looking for all these years and he can vouch for Ravana, who can battle the "BAD" Devas and restores the "GOOD" Asura rule throughout the India.

I never seen a disgusting character as Bhadra's. He is a spineless, jobless, character less, drunkard who always finds himself in ditch. Any story narrated by him has the final ending of seeing him in a nearby ditch. But, why ??. Author had to explain to us. Bhadra's version of story is truly disappointing, he always finds himself in mess, his thoughts runs like a gutter water, he has no clue what was going around him, neither author helps him to regain his lost glory. Bhadra has a wife and daughter, who never appears in the novel, rather he wanders wagging his tails before ravana, he do not have a purpose in life, he was used as a mere pawn by Ravana or he gets this opportunity himself ??. Sometimes he loves Ravana, he does anything to gain Ravana's trust, he kills Ravana's sister Soorpanakhi's lover, he poisons Kubera's entire army, but still he was not recognized by Ravana, why??, Towards the end, he outrages against Ravana, he kicks ravana's dead body and he leaves lanka and settles in Ayodhya??. I mean what the f*** again??. Why we have to bear so much confusion is one single character ??.

Ravana is as confused as Bhadra or rather more. He has no clue what was happening and why was happening. All he wanted was to becomes the king of Asura empire. Author had miraculously wiped off all the values that many people have kept on several mythological characters. Brahma becomes the Asura teacher, Shiva becomes the Asura god and Vishnu is a bad ass. Why??, you won't even find a clue in the book. All his life, Ravana thought Devas as bad, Brahmins are bad. He thought, Brahmins and other North Indians hated the black people. Author's constant use of words "BROWN", "BLACK" and "WHITE" while describing people shows how much hatred that author is imbibing into people's mind. It is better not to mention Ravana's character much, as people will lose all the respect that Ravana has gained all these centuries. It is pointless.

Ravana realized that Sita will not be happy with Rama (with just an assumption!!). Hence, he abducts her. What the f*** again??. Author goes on supporting this claim that, all these white skinned aryans, and brahmins are not good. They will not take of their wives.

Some points worth to be noted:
As per the author,

• Lord Rama commits suicide by realizing that he has done grave injustice to Sita mata.
• Sita mata commits suicide by jumping off to the Sarayu River, when her chastity being questioned by the citizens of Ayodhya. This is such a bad interpretation, I am sick about the author.
• Lakshmana will be executed by the orders of Lord Rama, because people accused Lakshmana for not taking care of Sita mata in the forests.
• Maricha's the close aide of Ravana, disguised himself as a golden deer by wearing a deer skin and jumping around like a mad deer infront of sita!!. OMG!!!
• Sita Mata, is none other than the daughter of Ravana, who had a sexual relationship with Vedavati when he was in a battle against Devas.
• Lord Rama was beheading all the people (of low caste) who was reciting vedas.
• According to the author, entire India spoke Tamil, so if someone seen speaking in Sanskrit, has instantly became an alien language.
• Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, will be abducted and raped by Hanuman, Angada and his troops. (Sick)
• Kumbhakarna is a big time drunkard, who was always high.
• Brahmins always hated the Black skinned people.
• Vibhishana, Varuna are portrayed as a mere traitors, because they joined Rama's army.

At the end of the novel, Author had given some 3 chapters of how the caste system has evolved. He writes that, Rama has pronounced Vibhishana as the king of Lanka. And, Vibhishana has abolished all the asura practices and introduced all the vedic practices. He writes that, vedas are the root cause of Jati and Varna system in the country. He narrates through Bhadra that, all the vedic rituals led the people of lanka to migrate to different parts of the world.

I am so flabbergasted while writing the review of this book. So much to vent out, but not sure where to begin and end. I am sure my central amygdala has gone haywire. Credits to the author.!! :). I can sum up the entire alternate version of the story in few lines:

Ravana: "Hey you, all my supporters, what's up dawgs ??. Well, as you can see, there was nothing under my control, and all happened in quick sessions. I do not even have time to protect y'all. All I wanted is to become just a king. I am not responsible for all your miseries and difficulties. I should've realized this long ago. May be instead of becoming a king, I should've chosen music or teaching or something"


What I liked about the book ??

ENOUGH SAID!!!

My Rating: 1/5

Book Review #22: Bankerupt By Ravi Subramanian

Thrillers, Thrillers and more thrillers. Yes, I love reading books on this genre. I find it really enthralling to read such books, which leaves me with a big sense of satisfaction of achieving or witnessing something in front of my eyes.

I should've read this much before, anyways, now I did. It didn't disappointed me. Ravi Subramanian has again mastered at his creativity by making this book "BANKERUPT" as one of the best thrillers that I have read.

As there is a saying by famous short story writer Henry Van Dyke , “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.”  Every characters of this book seems like racing against the time. It holds the readers with a firm grip that, one would not really wish to put this book for a second day reading. Expectedly, I finished this book reading in 2 sessions. You always feel that, what would happen next, who is the culprit, who is the hero, who is plotting for a coup, etc.. etc.. That's the Crux of this novel. 

This novel has everything in it. As the caption of this novel goes, "DESIRE. GREED. MURDER". The story tactfully captures all these essence and leaves the readers with much awe. 

The book has 3 tracks of story. First protagonist of the novel, Aditya Raisinghania, an investment banker at Greater Boston Global Bank (Shortly called as GB2), who has dreams to make it to league of big-wigs and believes in achieving something in any means, by hook or crook.

Another Protagonist of the story, is Cirisha Narayanan, a tenure assistant professor and a research student in social psychology at Massachusetts University of Boston (MIT), who is known for her integrity, honesty and living the life in a right way. 

The Third track of the novel is about the Gun lobbying in USA, by some hard core groups that influences many universities in doing a research programs.

Intertwined with all these stories at the right time and in right place, author has left his readers with no time to think. The plot introduces us to the various incidents of the protagonists with their ups and downs in their respective lives. Aditya's crooked plan for selling a shoe company that was under nominal profit, for a higher valuation price, by tweaking the records of that company, that showed it as running in higher profit. What he thought was a small mistake led to a bigger scam which he never expected, this incident reminds me of the famous corporate scandal that happened in India, Satyam Scandal. What can be achieved by manipulating the accounts, will certainly leads into a bigger mess later. Later incidents in the story that leads Aditya to get terminated by his company.

In another track, Cirisha Narayanan wife of Aditya, was stuck between her much anticipated academic life and her personal marriage life. The incidents at MIT, and fight between two high positioned professors who was fighting to get the highest chair of MIT, is an awesome read from the book. 

Meanwhile, the Gun lobbying in USA is an altogether different story in the book. Certain lobbyists influences and sponsors few people at MIT to get a research report on why banning Guns is not a good idea. This section of the novel feels like it is for real after witnessing several shooting incidents in past few years. 

Overall, a must read book for thriller lovers. Somehow, I was bit disappointed at some of the incidents in the novel, regular murders of someone or the other in the novel, the gay relationship of professors at MIT, the role of police is kept bare minimum, no rigorous investigation chronicles by police which was expected out of every thriller novels, etc... I felt this section of the book would've been narrated in a different way. Anyways, as a 3 books older of  Ravi Subramanian and considering myself a fan of him. I give full points to the author for bringing such a speed and engrossing novel.

My Rating: 5/5

Book Review #21: Breaking India: Western Intervention in Dravidian and Dailt Faultlines By Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan

There are few books that leaves its readers with dismay. Readers feel a sense of lost after reading this massively researched book. Spread across a mammoth 650+ odd pages, having end notes and glossary worth 80 pages and its bibliography extending to more than 50 pages, makes this book a massively researched book.

Breaking India, penned by the authors Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan is a myth shattering book. It exposes various facades of cultural malice veiled as a humanitarian agenda. This book documents 'what is known', 'what is unknown' and 'what is known and neglected by mass Indians over the centuries' about the danger that western interventions poses threat to our very cultural, spiritual and religious foundations of great Bharat. With majority of Indians (read as Hindus) believed that, their culture, heritage and great history and their SANATANA DHARMA will be preserved throughout many centuries undisturbed, must read this book in order to learn about the various atrocities and ill-motivated propagations that western offices carry out in India in the name of Social Service, Poor Upliftment and what not.

Breaking India is not about political rabble rousing; it records the misery of a deeply aggrieved civilization of India that may in the future die a slow poisonous death. The ongoing christian evangelical missionary activities and its stronghold campaignings across the country has callously devalued and eventually devastated other ancient cultures and people. This book sparks an honest debate on the extent of human rights and other "DALIT EMPOWERMENT" projects.

This book constantly unmasks the various missionaries, US funded evangelical organizations and other internal rabid hindu haters. One such example I must have to mention, is about a person called Kancha Ilaiah an activist and a writer who wrote a book titled "Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Sudra critique of Hindutva philosophy, culture and political economy", where he goes on ranting about Hindu cultures, and with a single sweep, he rejects all our ancient scriptures as the scriptures that propagates the violence.

Authors goes onto expose some of the grave realities of the western cooked-up stories of our India and its ancient culture. One such incident, where they try to separate the Dravidians a.k.a South Indians in the name of Myth Aryan invasion theory. They try to bring up the Tirukkuraal and try to portray the author of the Thirukkuraal Thiruvalluvar as a christian!!. Several evangelical organizations and its representatives have argued over many years on this issue, especially, Deivanayagam, a former Hindu and a converted christian who wrote many articles, books and so called research papers on these topics.

Authors has also exposed some of the evangelical organization's idea of depicting our ancient Indians dance forms such as Bharata Natyam by christianizing it. A well put up blog about this can be found here Christian Denigration of Indian. An art form of Bharat Natyam is depicted as a Yavoha dance form in the following LINK.

Authors had left no stone unturned in demasking these two faced chameleons. One more such example, which is happening in our very own kerala is "JESUS NAMASKAR". A lifted phenomenon from our ancient Yogic practice of Surya Namaskara. Several converted Christians have undoubtedly contributed to such stupid false stories. This section of the book leaves readers with much disappointment. How low one can go to propagate their religion in the name of Human Rights.? God Knows. Our Indians must not fall prey for these thugs and accept whatever they say. India is a land of sages, land of the divine. If this propagation continues, there is no option left but, to wait and watch as India Breaks.

Dravidian Christianity

In a blog written for Huffington Post religion section, Rajiv Malhotra stated various facts about this age old myth called Dravidians were the descendents of Christians. Rajiv emphasized in one of his blog about the european mischievous acts of making Sanskrit as an european originated language, showing Aryan's race have born and prospered in Europe first. On a similar note, Rajiv exposed this Dravidian Christianity. He writes that, 

"Dravidian race theory originated in 19th century European scholarship when colonial and evangelical interests used linguistics and ethnic studies to formulate imaginary histories and races. While European scholars were busy appropriating the Sanskrit classics as the heritage of Europeans, British linguists Francis Ellis and Alexander Campbell worked in India to theorize that the south Indian languages belong to a different family than the north Indian ones. Meanwhile, another colonial scholar, Brian Houghton Hodgson, was promoting the term "Tamulian" as a racial construct, describing the so-called aborigines of India as primitive and uncivilized compared to the "foreign Aryans." 

The narrative that author used is that St. Thomas, the apostle, visited south India and taught Christianity to the great sage, Thiruvalluvar, who was inspired by Christianity, but did not capture St. Thomas' message accurately. This is often portrayed in recently published paintings showing the sage sitting at the feet of St. Thomas, taking notes. Sanskrit is downgraded as a language created by St. Thomas to spread the Christian message to the uncivilized north Indian races.

At the "International Conference on the History of Early Christianity in India." The then senator, Hillary Clinton says:  

"I am confident that the breadth of resources presented during the conference will shed light on the impact of Christianity on medieval and classical India and its effects on the cultural and political climate of India..."

Overall, as far as I can see, the important message of Breaking India is: Do believe in your country, be a patriot, respect your dharmic values. Don't go behind westerners in the name of modern values. You must love India as a country, that has greater values than what most of us knew till date. 

This book sure its a wake up call for every Indian to think deeply and maturely about the future of India and stand up to these western threats, within and outside, so that we may allow our future generations to benefit from the foundation of our eternal sanatana dharma. As the famous Sanskrit verse goes, "Dharmo Rakshati; Rakshitaha" which means, "Protect Your Dharma; Dharma will protect you in-turn". Period.

My Rating:

5/5 (This book is beyond rating!!)