Reflections

A chance reference on an internet conversation to this book set me on the path of writing this review. I had not intended to pen a review on this book, as it is a few years old, but when an acquaintance referred to this as a work of fiction, I was genuinely surprised. That is when I thought to do my bit for the book, and try and pen a comprehensive review on this superlative look at Indian History. For that is what it is: a book on history, laced with an even dose of current affairs.  The Great Indian Novel is a one-of-a-kind effort; a book that defies classification. It has been written as a novel, as a work of fiction. But the real topic has  been so thinly disguised - quite deliberately - that it comes across as a work of satire, humour and history. With a little bit of current affairs thrown in. A page turner from the first page to the last, it will have you rolling on the floor in laughter, clutching your sides with its unsurpassed humour. Note - I do not m...

The knight in <i>veshti</i> : 'via Blog this' The mornings usually have a specific ritual for all of us... a cuppa tea or coffee with the newpaper (online or print, what does it matter) to peruse... and it was during this daily ritual that I noticed an article in the Business Standard Weekend section: The Knight In Veshti. ( Link Enclosed ). A remarkable article that showcases just how the critical and laudable decisions were taken leading upto the opening of FDI in Retail as well as the Diesel Price Increase. A blow by blow account such as this one is not easy to come by, so savour it, and read through it thoroughly. I say read through properly because it raises many deeper questions (not about UPA-2; this is not a political blog) but about what passes for democracy in India. In some cases, deeper and disturbing questions; since there is no clear answer in the foreseeable future in sight. I quote: " Dinesh Trivedi, then railways minister, sai...

THE PLOT Fractured Legend is a tale of 3 women, three interconnected tortured souls and their journey through a difficult part of their life. One of the protagonists is a temple slave, one a professional assassin and the third is the daughter of one of the above 2. The slave, (presumably) very early in her experience, decides to leave the drudgery of her life and escape to create something of worth. The second is the professional assassin, whose assignment is to retrieve a manuscript for which a murder has been committed.  A mother herself, she tries to escape the clutches of her reality. The third is the daughter of one of these 2, who grows up hating her mother for what she was, and her internal torment. Her internal strife due to this pressure builds up over time, spills over into her adulthood, threatening her current reality… what is the connection between these three? How are they intertwined? For that, you would have to read the book.  The premise stated abo...

The Holocaust  was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, throughout Nazi-occupied territory We - the people of India, thanks largely to our media and our history books are well aware of this particular bit of unsavoury history of the 1930s and 1940s. We are told that this was an act unparalleled in documented history, and was carried out by Adolf Hitler. That just goes to show how ludicrously poor our knowledge of history - specifically our own history is. The Year: Circa 1942-1943. The Venue of the display of generosity and humanity that lead to the Indian version of the holocaust: Bengal. The Villain? As per the superb research conducted by Madhushree Mukherjee, A certain World War 2 hero known by the name of Winston Churchill, in addition to the entire British Raj. The result? A small matter of an approximated 5.4 Million Indians dea...

By hook or by crook, I am the first in the contest! | | PS: Team Blogadda, kindly DONT correct me in case I am wrong!  Now, where were we? Aah, yes. The HP meet All three of us were invited to the HP meeting held at Fat Cat, Andheri-west organised by HP. Who's the 3, you say? I, Me and Myself of course. Come on! And it was a good thing indeed that all of us - meaning I, Me and Myself were present... had only I attended, leaving Me and Myself in the office attending to business, a good event would have been missed.... in which event, the meeting would have been attended, but not attended.... But more of that later. First a word for the sponsors... I dont like commercial breaks; they interrupt the flow of the story, you see. That, and the fear that by the end of this rather monotonous monologue (tongue-twister, there: monotonous monologue) all of you will be so bored that no one would read about the poor sponsor! (Note my honesty: and remember my intro, Harish. I said I was...

Author : Rituraj Verma Rituraj Verma, born 28th June, 1967,   grew up in Delhi and Mumbai and cleared the IIT-JEE in 1984, in which year, he was also selected as a Special Class Railway Apprentice by the Indian Railways. He was the editor of his college magazine, SAM, when he first started writing the book’s first story ‘A High Like Heaven’ almost twenty three years ago. He later obtained his MBA from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA , and went on to work for several years in the corporate world before striking out on his own  Source:  http://www.riturajverma.com/author/ This is a book that is quite possible one of the most difficult to review, as it is not a story; nor is it prose; and neither is it a collection of short stories! First, it is a genre unto itself - one pioneered by Tamasha In Bandargaon with its interconnected short stories. Second, unlike its predecessor in this genre, it is not a set of sto...