There is much to like about Ruskin Bond’s Roads to Mussorie. It is like a warm cup of tea on a cold winter morning, something you’d love to have when you are on a hill station. One of the finest Indian authors takes us through his personal memory lanes as he talks about Mussorie, Dehradun (Dehra), Landour, and nearby places,
Read moreAgni Sreedhar’s bio on wikipedia reads as former gangster, writer, critic and artist. His book Daadagiriya Dinagalu (Kannada), winner of Karnataka State Sahitya Akademi Award, has been translated into My Days In The Underworld – Rise of the Bangalore Mafia. The translation, by Sreedhar himself, stays colloquial and the tone of the book is naturally street side. What an exciting
Read moreI am quite ambivalent about my opinion on this book. It usually does not happen. I know whether I like it or not. It is a different matter that I may not be brutally honest in my review for a bad book, or superfluously glowing for a good book. But I know. Not this time. Because, Palm’s Foster Home For
Read moreWhile the Indian Government over the years can be credited with many controversial, idiotic, pointless acts and decisions, a stand-out achievement of theirs is the tenure of Late Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam as the President of India. It was a choice that the entire nation approved of, even as most don’t care much about the figurehead Presidential post.
Read moreThis is Yashodhara Lal’s third book, after her first two successes Just Married, Please Excuse and Sorting Out Sid. The lady is firmly establishing herself as one to watch out for in the Young Rom-Com space. Her protagonists are career folks sweating out their love stories. Their work, personal and social spaces and the balance (or the lack thereof) in them,
Read more“The Paradox of Vantage Point is the journey of Anwesha Nair, Raghubir Kishor and Vikram Madane from being compassion-deficient to acquiring a deeper analysis of life. It is their story of surviving the battle and ultimately painting the canvas of life with positivity and gleefulness.” Couple of corrections, and then I will say – Raghubir Kishor does not come across
Read moreRang Leela is a collection of poems (mostly in Hindi) by Piyush ‘Jayant’ Arora. Jayant is Piyush’s takhallus (pen name), like Dinkar, Nirala, etc. The collection is not of a particular form of poetry, that is, Hindi Kavita or Urdu Ghazal, or Nazm or Sher. Rather it is all of these. And none of these. The collection moves between Hindi, Urdu
Read moreAjit wrote One Life To Ride quite some time back. The actual road trip happened much earlier. My guess – 2003 or so. That explained some of my discomfort with the context, as things have changed dramatically in the last few years, and more and more people are doing these road trips. Now, for a true travelogue/ journey book, should this
Read moreKismetwali is a collection of short stories, woven around the –walas and –walis that we are so used to in India. Just to set the context right, we are not talking about the Parsis such as Shenaz Treasurywala, or my good friend Perseus Patrawala or his wife Pinaaz Pagdiwaala. We are talking more about the chaiwala, taxiwala, malishwali, kaamwali, phoolwali
Read moreModelled on self-help/ mentorship books, Jiyo Dil Se is written by Harish M. Bhatia, CEO of 94.3 MyFM, and draws inspirations from his life and professional journey. Picking on the central theme of living your life to your heart’s fill, the book quotes examples liberally from the lives of celebrities to further emphasize on the theme. One cannot help but
Read moreOne of the defining things about growing up in a small town in early 90s was Superhit Muqabla. Those in the metros had access to DD-Metro. Those growing in smaller towns, waited for DD-Metro to reach their cities. Or, they waited for the cable TV revolution and channels like Zee TV, Prime Sports, and so on. Tara with her Ta,
Read moreIf you’ve followed some of the Zen Garden articles (in Forbes India) by Subroto Bagchi, a rather fine business person and a good storyteller, you would know what to expect from the book. You’re getting something a little better than that, by the way, in this compilation of his articles. Is there something new in the articles? No. Is there
Read moreSeveral weeks back, I was sitting as an audience member on an ET Now show – Starting Up With Ronnie Screwvala. Every episode featured three shortlisted start-ups, their journey, and a chance for these startups to ask Ronnie questions that are bothering them at this stage. Premise being – you can learn a lot from an industry veteran who has
Read moreDo you know Jose? VJ Jose? RJ Jose? Have you heard of his podcast (along with Suresh Menon) Kaanmasti? You should. The dude has a sense of humour. And in a world full of outrages, you should find people who have a sense of humour. You need to. And keep them close. Ladies, Please! is a no-holds barred take on dating
Read moreAbhisar Sharma has written two thrillers before this book, which I haven’t read. This one, however, is all about people and relationships, and it takes montages from three decades of Abhimanyu’s life. A media man with a penchant for reporting, Abhisar seems to have gotten down to writing a deeply personal book, or so it seems as you flip the
Read moreThe book is a collection of biographical sketches of seven entrepreneurs from across a variety of industries in India. In bringing them together, Riddhima successfully weaves a four decade long view of entrepreneurship in India. The choice of entrepreneurs is interesting – across gaming and technology (Vishal Gondal of Indiagames and Goqii), hospitality (Patu Keswani of Lemon Tree Hotels), logistics
Read more“What has, however, clearly happened in my case is the discovery that in all probability there is a vital defect in my technique of the working of non-violence. There was no real appreciation of non-violence in the thirty years’ struggle against British Raj. Therefore, the peace that masses maintained during that struggle of a generation with exemplary patience, had not
Read moreFiercely independent and free flowing spirits finding anchors has been a long written about narrative. Two soul-mates over-analyzing their overtly obvious connection, eventually coming of age, and finally, defining their relationship is a script that Ranbir Kapoor has made a career out of. Yet, to dismiss the book as just such a story would be a disservice to it. Siddharth
Read moreDamodar Mauzo is a Sahitya Akademi awardee, and a highly respected figure in Konkani Literature. And so, picking this book as one I really wanted to read and review was a no-brainer. “Short stories do not say this happened and this happened and this happened. They are a microcosm and a magnification rather than a linear progression.” ― Isobelle Carmody
Read moreWarning: Mild Spoiler Alert Let us assume that you have no idea who Amrapali was and what the various re-tellings of her story have been. Let us assume that you have not seen the movie starring Vyjayanthimala, read Acharya Chatursen’s Vaishali Ki Nagarvadhu, seen Hema Malini’s TV series. Lets just take this book as a piece of fiction loosely based
Read moreDo you like short stories? What do you like about them? The fact that they are short? That they are stories? Not novellas? Or big giant novels? That more often than not, they just deliver a knockout punch smack on your face and disappear? Or, that they are like the cup of coffee early in the morning that makes your day
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