Books and such

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi

2007-12-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

By: William Dalrymple

City of Djinns is a book about Delhi and its impressions left on young Mr Dalrymple. Djinns being, spirits of fire that inhabit the world with us, humans. In this book he traces the remains of the eight cities that were built on land known as Delhi. From Indraprastha to Lutyens Delhi, he peels back the layers from the most recent to the ancient. The narrative is an engaging mix of the day to day debacles of existence of a white man in Delhi (the landlady, the taxi driver, the maid --) interspersed with the historical and archeological findings. The book is livened by the interviews. The batty old British ladies-- living relics of the British occupation of India; The professor who teaches about the days of Mughals and their art; the folks who inhabit the periphery of the society - the Hijras, being most notable.
The book includes delightful illustrations of scenes from Delhi by Mr Dalrymple's wife. My Dalrymple’s pre-occupation with the Mughal period and the twilight (the period between fall of Mughals after Aurangzeb’s accession and British supremacy following 1857 revolt), leads to him spending more time on these periods than the other phases of Delhi. The older periods receive mere mentions, one seems to feel the running out of steam :).
They say, to be able to write well, you need an objective view of the subject. William Dalrymple defies that wisdom-- he loves Delhi and is no objective bystander. Perhaps it is this connection, this love for the city that makes this volume much closer to the city and elicits such emotion from the reader than the tomes published by learned researchers.

Wind up bird chronicles

2007-10-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

by :Haruki Murakami
This was a completely surreal journey – the woman in the red vinyl hat defies imagination. After a long day at work this book truly takes you to a strange land. A land with blurry edges—the moves from reality, to dream, to reality, with your body as the sole evidence is the pinnacle of suspense, or is it? Did it happen or did he dream it? You, as a reader ask this again and again. It is true that in story telling( in books and movies) what is not said is just as important as what is—but there is far too much left to the reader interpretation to be a satisfying read – the book ends and you are not quite sure what hit you.
The characters are endearingly crazy- Malta Kano to the ginger cat who starts all this trouble J
It is well written with a somewhat unusual combination of detailed description and inspired insight. It is frustrating read for someone who wants a story well told. For this is a story, with characters well imagined.

Never Let Me Go

2007-10-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

By: Kazuo Ishiguro

This seemingly simple book starts with a description of a daily life, like any other contemporary mainstream novel. The first thing that strikes me as I read thru the book was the almost obsessive-compulsive use of certain generic words ( like carer and donor) -- as if they meant something specific. At this point I turned to the back to see if the book was a translation that would explain this, maybe. But it was not. And this is where I think the genius of the book lies, somehow in the repetition, slowly but surely ( almost Pavlovian) Ishiguro changes the world as we know it—now the words and nuances are not just paranoid interpretation, they are significant as you learn more about guardians and possible.
By the time it comes to you, you are prepared, but it does n’t dilute the impact. It is chilling in Orwellian way.
It is a love story – coming of age tale in a twisted time. Maybe we will live to see this day—I hope not.
One of the best stories I have read in a long while.

The Dogs of Babel

2007-10-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

By: Carolyn Parkhurst

"Had I known but yesterday what I know today, I'd have taken out your two grey eyes and put in eyes of clay.And had I known but yesterday you'd be no more my own, I'd have taken out your heart of flesh and put in one of Stone." Says the Elf queen to Tam Lin, when Janet brings him back to the mortal land, or so the myth goes.

Carolyn Parkhurst has written an amazing story, delving into the lives of Paul and Lexy and Lorelei, the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Understanding how the words of elf queen were said in love and not revenge is perhaps a clue to the understanding Lexy and her strange but touching love story. It is a tale of love and despair and imperfections of the mortal being and his demons. The two characters are depicted with such tenderness, empathy and honesty ( without stooping to soppy sentimentality)that they will forever be etched in my mind.
Beautifully written, it reminds how the story is told matters as much as the story.

Serving Crazy with Curry

2007-10-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

By: Amulya Malladi

This is Ms Malladi's second book I read. I found it a major improvement over the 'A Breath of Fresh Air', her first novel. The protagonist is an American born Desi, Devi, who tries to commit suicide in the first few pages-- after she is saved from death ( much to her chagrin) by her mom, she stops talking and starts cooking.
The book interspersed with fusion recipes and letters (that characters of the book write to each other but never send ). It is an un-impassioned depiction of the lives of the women from three generations; grandmother, mother and daughters -- how they influence each other and how despite the incompatible values and incomprehension of motives ( and sometimes hatred) there is an undercurrent of love. The book is well written with compassion and wit. There are no neatly tied ends only a glimpse into the lives and minds of these women, their fears, their hopes and dreams. Nicely done!

Inspite of the Gods: strange rise of Modern India

2007-10-23T11:43:00.001-07:00

By: Edward Luce

10 pages into the book I was in tears. This is a description of the modern India. The bundle of contradictions that is India. The conflict between the potential and slow moving reality brings you to tears. Ed Luce focuses on the 2004 -2006 as the present but traces back the influence of British and Mughals and the rise of the Hindu nationalism. It is written with compassion and understanding. It is not another one of the many books that go into a trance about ancient Hindu culture and its spiritual heritage. He calls out all the problems- illiteracy, poverty, lack of infrastructure, inadequate health care, callus attitude towards the environment, high unemployment , rampant corruption the great dichotomy in the society as presented by the urban and rural segment to the political influence from Nehru and Bapu to Lallu and Manmohan.
Perhaps the most comprehensive and deeply felt descriptions of Modern India and the challenges facing it!

Sacred Games

2007-10-10T13:51:00.001-07:00

By: Vikram Chandra

A tome of war and peace proportions... it is not a hurried read; it is very dense-- replete with philosophy and the very detailed Hindi epithets :)Sartaj singh and ganesh gaitonde pieces of the story reads like a Hindi movie -- the insets (small stories in stories - about peripheral characters) are amazing in their details -- I can justify the seven years it took to write this book.Vikram chandra , despite the cops and robbers story writes with great compassion and lack of judgment about characters ranging from black to light gray.Not for the faint of heart though -- it is long (almost 1000 pages) and sometimes hard to read, book with it many many characters and connections. It is unparalleled in its depiction of the seedy underbelly of the Filmi duniya- the ‘ religious affiliations’ of the politicians, more depth and details of a world that I have never known but now seem to understand— a very satisfying journey.

Darjeeling

2007-10-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

By: Bharti Kirchner

The name drew me to the book, and the fact the author was a Seattle resident, prize winner author of Cookbooks, a immigrant Indian ( a Bengali no less) and in a previous life had been software consultant.
The book is a story of two sisters, Aloka and Sujata, stretched over a decade, and two continents.
It starts with Aloka's marriage disintegrating in New York and with flash backs and fast forwards entwines the story of the two sisters and a man both of them loved.
Other dramatis personae include Thakurma, the eighty one year old matriarch; Bir, the father; Pranab, the husband and the lover and Mreenal, the suitor. It is a feministic tale to some degree, the 'loyal and true' Aloka who after eight years with a man, learns that she can not only live, but flourish without him, and the ' dark rebellious' Sujata, who learns that the passion of the youth is not enough to satisfy the woman she had grown to become.
The story is engaging enough but --- How is that Aloka the perceptive 'Seva' never realizes that the man she is married to is unhappy pining away for someone else? The very black and white descriptions of the two sisters one a beauty and social success and the 'good' girl as opposed to the dark, defiant and difficult little sister are very hard to stomach, given the ‘liberal’ end of the story. The descriptions of New York are from a 'tourist' – clichés. Darjeeling seems closer -- Jahar, is a 'strange' character, strange name and absolutely no background--- which is at odds with the depths of description of the 'Bengali' characters – even Eva. Dale Chihuly reference is one of the few times she gives herself away as the narrator in the story--a very northwest touch, as is calling chickpea curry Gughni( a very Bengali touch).
This is a felt story-- the opinions and ideals and the depictions, including the death of the past experienced by the immigrants seem, to come from her heart.
As I read the book, I compared it to another book set in similar environs 'Inheritance of a Loss'. Though both stories contained somewhat eccentric characters, what made Kiran Desai's book a tight narrative-- no gratuitous references, no lengthy explanations of seemingly strange behavior and dialog, plague this book by Ms Kirchner. The details on tea and tea estates are a great education. Read it, however, if you are hungry for authentic Bangla references—and possibly some cooking tips , you won't be sorry.

The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857

2007-10-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

By : William Dalrymple

This books is third of a four book series by the author. Although I have not read 'City of Djinns' or the 'White Mughals' I found it easy to follow. Years of force fed history lessons about the Muhgal dynasty did help in setting the context.
It is a wordy book, and somewhat tedious to read, interspersed with 'quotes' which, though lend it an air of authenticity -- become an impediment to the reading process.
The book is titled - 'Last Mughal', but really it is about the last decade of Zafar's life with a blow by blow description of the 1857 rising in and around Delhi. The authors ambivalence about who to make the centerpiece of the book ( the mutiny or Zafar) makes it a somewhat rambly.
It is full of detailed depictions of the people around the Emperor, the City ( Delhi) and the siege and the fall of the city to the the 'Sepoy's' and ultimately the British. The description of the city and the culture before 1857 destroyed the city is amazing in the quality of research and attention to detail.
The book provides a different view into the cause of the mutiny, the rising 'evangelical' element of the British occupation which stoked the religious ire of Hindu's and Muslim's alike. What happened after in the next century with the widening chasm between Hindu's and Muslims in the country leading to partition and creation of Pakistan is there for all to see.

Nothing threatens the liberal and modern aspect of Islam so much as aggressive
Western Intrusion and interference in the East, Just as nothing so
dramatically radicalises the ordinary Muslim and feeds the power of the extremists: the
histories of Islamic fundamentalism and Western imperialism have,
after all , often been closely and dangerously, intertwined..

It is a new look into the battle, and an interesting insight into a society where Muslims ruled the predominantly Hindu Indian sub-continent.

Today, West and East again face each other uneasily across a divide that many
see as religious war ... Against this bleak dualism , there is much to value in
Zafar's peaceful and tolerant attitude to life; there is so much to regret in
the way that the British swept away and rooted out the late Mughal's Pluralistic
and philosophically composite civilization.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City

2007-10-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

By : Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Interesting and a somewhat chilling account of what happened in Iraq. The book is written very well, reads like a story, author's wry sense of humor permeates the narrative. The details take over the tale, but the overall picture if one takes a step back to consider - is scary-- it really happened!
Reminds me of the adage- ' good intentions do not sanitize bad impact' and this was terrible impact!