Reading this book was a difficult task. Just because the topic of conversation here is something all of us hate to discuss or even utter. It is not death but something more than that. Something more evil than death itself. It is the culmination of life or sort of the process leading up to death.
When I had heard about the book like many of you might have I thought it to be rather sad and tragic which it was in parts to be fair but not in the manner in which I had imagined.
Where do we come from? Where are we going?
The problem of Caste is not new. But for some reason it seems forgotten, casually slipped under the carpet by the leaders of our nation but most importantly by us.
How do you make a person who is self-centric, outright rude, radical, ruthless, unloving towards his family members, disloyal to his friends and peers, engages in corporate malpractices and is cocky to the core, loved by people all over the world?
Love in the time of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Lately there has been a paucity of such works in the Indian Context and this book has come at a time where things are changing for the better or worse depending on what side of the political spectrum you find yourself. But one thing everyone can agree with is that this change is really unsettling and for all of us.
Aaah shit here we go again. William Dalrymple (WD hereafter) loves Delhi, there's nothing new about it. He travelled around Delhi (and has been living there since), looked at all the important monuments which are desperately in need of some attention and observed the daily events of Delhi which escape the eye of casual observers or citizens of our country.
I had presumed many things about this book. At first, I was absolutely unaware of it being based on the Mahabharata, later I thought it to be a feminist take on the great epic. It felt like a good time to let go of those inhibitions.
On the Subtle Art of Dharma
What a great thing this gift of ‘Life’ is. Every little or huge being has been blessed with this gift though it is not known how many times.
It is difficult for a contemporary affairs book to survive 20 years and that too in country as fast and progressing as India. At first, I didn’t wanna read this book. Just picked it out of curiosity and I was hooked. It has more to do with the manner in which Gurcharan Das writes. India unbound also was similar to this one and many of the arguments were repeated here as well but the motivation to put it down wasn’t strong enough, if not the opposite. He writes in a simplistic and yet provocative manner which frustrates you at first and then the gullible nature of his arguments makes you realize the easiness of the issue at hand. What I most liked about his books is that he has focused primarily on the solutions at hand and uncovering the simple and not so simple problems plaguing our country. It is difficult for many authors to be solution oriented; it is far too easy to complain about things.
I have been overwhelmed by the writings of Jack London for quite some time. The first book I had read was Call of the Wild after which White Fang piqued my interest. They were good books but my experience was limited to that feel good effect that doesn’t last very long. Once the pandemic had set in, I read Martin Eden and since that moment I had become obsessed with Jack London’s writings. The star rover, Smoke Bellew, The Sea wolf and The Cruise of the Snark have certainly lived up to the expectations but none bypassed Martin Eden. Martin Eden resembles him in various ways but still it was a creation of his imagination. But this voyage on the Snark was no fiction. Martin Eden was conceived during this journey. The name martin was also derived from the boy who volunteered to go with the London’s on this journey as a cook.
“True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.”
Going to college on a bus daily was a big headache, that too when the bus used to take one complete hour to travel 5.6 kilometers. After 6 months of travelling in BMTC I decided to buy a cycle and take it to college daily. When I told my classmates about it, they laughed at me, for who comes on a cycle to C.M.S(Center for management Studies)daily. But I wasn’t deterred by those laughs. Few of my friends even helped me in buying the most suitable bicycle.
In today’s social environment talking about politics and getting involved in some kind of protest(we’ll take CAA for a better understanding) can leave you feel depressed and happy depending on which side you’re on. It is a hollow feeling and most of the youth of today’s world or maybe in the past as well has been involved in such activities.
