Book Review: Delirious Delhi

I always love a book about Delhi – and the market is abuzz with them. I picked up Delirious Delhi solely because the author was co-blogger at a wonderful blog called Our Delhi Struggle. ‘Our Delhi Struggle’ was unique in the sense that it was collection of short, witty, first-hand experience of a couple who had moved from New York to Delhi. Their keenness to have ‘an authentic Dilli experience’ would often lead them to treasure troves and interesting revelations. For example, Dave and Jenny also found an old-style Hindi movie poster painter and had their own Bollywood poster painted that also adorns the book cover of Delirious Delhi. (The painter had his share of limelight in press thanks to Dave and Jenny.)

Delirious Delhi can be easily called a tribute to Delhi, since it is obvious Dave and Jenny genuinely loved the city. The couple lived for two years in Delhi, after which they moved to Singapore.

And they did manage to have that ‘authentic’ experience. Dave, an advertising agency executive in Gurgaon lived in Hauz Khas. He did what millions of Delhites do everyday – travel to work. For more than a decade in Delhi, I too have travelled on an average 3-4 hours to and fro college or work. They zipped around the city in autos, learned various tricks/tips to bargain. Again, this is something I had to do every day (tough job at times) for 2 years when I worked in GK-2 – right in that square that has Nathu’s where Dave had his first meal in India.

The couple  went all round Delhi for the Indian food they would come to love – imagine my surprise when I read in the book ‘best South Indian food in Delhi can be eaten at Saravanna Bhawan’. I thought, how did he know! Since I keep finding people in north who are not so aware about it. Mystery soon unravelled – Dave and Jenny were part of Eating Out in Delhi group – and sample food from all over Delhi, including gastronomic delights of Old Delhi. I smiled when Dave was unimpressed with over-hyped Khan Market – I agreed.

Book Review: Delhi: 14 Historic Walks

They say, you learn more about a city by walking around.  You walk around Florence, Paris, Munich, Edinburgh and even New York! Delhi, a city I call home and one that is 100 years old this year, is another such city that can be appreciated on walks. ‘Delhi – 14 historic walks’ is a delightful guide book that helps you to accomplish that.

Frankly, this book does not need a book review to extol its virtues. Its back cover lists its merits in simple no-nonsense words in the back cover. However, to do the book and Blogadda’s book program justice, I will first air my views for the record.

I jumped to have this book since I have been on Delhi walks (and none by INTACH to which Swapna Liddle belongs to but that I will come to later). Delhi has a fantastic cultural heritage, but most of us even while living in the city sleep-walk through it. I did.

I think I re-visited even the popular monuments Red Fort, Qutab Minar when I was studying at a college in Delhi, at least a decade after when I first visited those in childhood. That too because I had to take an NRI friend of mine around the city. I haven’t forgotten my ignorance and the embarrassing fact that I was enormously proud that I have never cared enough for these ‘cliche’ places to visit myself. And even if we deign to visit these places, we hardly see/know things. We fail to appreciate the beauty and wonder of it.

Book Review: The House of Silk, New Sherlock Holmes Novel

This is a book I would have never ever bought myself simply because I am cynic and did not really believe someone could pull off a Sherlock spinoff with same panache. I am only happy to admit that I was proven wrong.

Just under first 20 pages, I could sense Anthony Horowitz has stepped fairly well into Watson’s shoes. It begins, as did all Doyle stories, with Holmes making his remarks and surprising people with his deductions.

The House of Silk is an investigation conducted by Holmes that was believed to be too horrific in nature to be revealed at the time. Therefore, Watson records this investigation in the twilight years of his life, after the death of Sherlock Holmes, with instruction that it should be published a century after his death.

The case begins when the client walks into the now familiar house at 221B, Baker Street. The client is Edmund Carstairs, an art gallery co-owner. He has had a brief brush with a gang in past which once destroyed his paintings. He believes he is now being followed by the one of the gang members for vendetta. Mr. Holmes is intrigued but relaxed. Events take an unpredictable course when one of the street urchins – part of Wiggin’s army – assisting him is brutally murdered. Holmes, regretful for unknowingly putting an innocent urchin in the harm’s way, is determined to bring the killer to justice. This leads both Holmes and Watson on a journey where there are several traps, guns and pitfalls. Meanwhile, Edmund Carstairs’ family seems to be disintegrating. Holmes must not only find the killer but save his reputation by stopping what is assailing the Carstairs, who like everybody else seem to be losing their faith in him.

Book Review: Zero Percentile 2.0

Zero Percentile 2.0 (ZP2) is sequel to Zero Percentile written by Neeraj Chibba that was published by Rupa in 2010.  The characters in Zero Percentile have grown up and stepped into big, wild world of corporate business.

ZP2 is set up in Gurgaon, a colossal noveau center of India’s IT hub. This is where two best friends, Motu and Pankaj, set up an IT business together. They begin well, bagging crucial first, big contracts until the past intervenes. Friends separate and businesses are divided. But there’s more. Their closest friends and business associates are forced to choose amongst them. A wife and a mother have to decide the side they are one. ZP2 is story of these friends who strive to survive in cut- throat world of software industry, where a bigger shark is always ready to gobble up the smaller ones. And the lines between friends and foe aren’t always visible.

Each character in ZP2 has his/her unique personal problem – they juggle this beside their demanding jobs where they are fighting against a hostile takeover. The book is divided into three parts – the first where a small but robust IT company is facing a threat from a mysterious source, the second the flashback where all friendship and closely-knit relationships are revealed and third where culmination takes place.

The story in ZP2 moves pretty fast, therefore, you do not mind it when you see blatant filmy moments like a helicopter ride to Haryana and ensuing mutual admiration in the conversation between pilot and the passenger. Or how the husband and wife bond with each other over an anonymous chat online. (I can’t recall but there is a movie like that by Revathy). You are still engaged because so much is always happening. Every time Taj was mentioned, I expected a reminder of past tragedy and I was right it does weave one of ZP2 characters.

And yet you do not mind any of its small predictabilities, because ZP2 has a heart. It is never judgemental of its characters and refuses to pander to traditional righteousness. For example, It doesn’t judge a mother harshly when she is unable to shower her love unconditionally at her offspring who she considers as her failure. Neither does it judge a person for ambition.

It also carries forward the story of Nitin from Zero Percentile; Nitin is the guy with AIDS. It stands up for his right to have privacy and live with dignity. Nitin’s story reminds me of true story of Dr. Tokugha of Nagaland who sued the hospital for making his HIV status public. Ironically, the court case only ensured that his HIV status was a newspaper headline. To me on this story, focus was not how Dr. Toku might have got AIDS, but rather his right to live with dignity and love.  (Believe me, he finds both in real life). I am not aware if Neeraj has read the story of Dr. Toku but that is exactly what he has focussed on in ZP2 – the right of an AIDS patient to live with dignity. Nitin for me is brave, fictional version of Dr. Toku.

I happened to read another book Aftertaste by Nandita Devidayal a day after reading ZP2. Aftertaste is also a story of Marwari family of business class, who run a mithai business. While Aftertaste is so deliciously salacious and wicked, ZP2 manages to retain tenderness and warmth even with such a competitive setting. I suggest reading both the books for their realistic and unique narrative in world of Indian business and subtle differences that both books throw upon.

You may know more about the author Neeraj Chhibba on his Web site and his blog. ZP2 is available on Flipkart for Rs. 105/-.

5 Movies That I Have Loved

(This post is for my friend Meetu who runs a fantastic movie review blog WOGMA – for the uninitiated, USP of this blog  is that all movies are reviewed here Without Giving the Movies Away. This is part of a competition to celebrate WOGMA’s fifth birthday. )

Movies and books bring boundless pleasures in my life. I have already written in past about my movie quirks and movies I have loved.

This time I have spent last 2 days thinking which 3 movies to zero on as my favourites. Every movie in itself has served a purpose in my life. I distinctly remember laughing off all my work stress watching Bheja Fry – not a critically acclaimed movie this one – but it worked for me that day.  At different times, I have watched romantic flicks such as Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Pretty Women, When Harry Met Sally, Roman Holiday, Pearl Harbour, Before Sunset, Before Sunrise, Breakfast at Tiffany’s – and derived a girl’s happy pleasure out of it. Then there were movies such as Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, Waltz with Bashir (fantastic animation) and more recently The Whistleblower – that opened my eyes to genocides, atrocities happening in the world. They struck a chord somewhere deep inside that I did not know existed. I still draw in my breath when I see that gas chamber scene where women suddenly find themselves in Schindler’s List – the relieved sigh is not far when I realise it was only a harmless shower. Adrian Brody’s lonely adventures in The Pianist and ill-fated friendship of two innocent kids – one German and Jew in The Boy in Stripped Pyjamas are etched in my otherwise forgettable memory.  No book on Holocaust (not even Diary of Anne Frank) could ever move me so deeply and eternally like these movies did.

Then there are those inspiring intriguing memoirs/biographies and true events that sometimes inspire/impact you more than written word – The Motorcycle Diaries, A Beautiful Mind, Pursuit of Happyness.  Then, there are hugely entertaining, classy mob movies – Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and mother of all – The Godfather, which must be my most-watched movie with my favourite acting men there!

Then there are Hindi movies I have loved and been proud of – Pyasa, Abhimaan, Maqbool, Satya, Rang De Basanti, Chak De India, Taare Zameen Pe, A Wednesday, Aamir, Ardhasatya…Yet it would be unfair if I pick any of these alone as my favourite movies. So I will pick 5 movies that I thought were unique for a reason – movies I would be proud to make if I could.

BigBooks Library – A Fantastic Online Book Library Service

My obsession with books is not unknown on this blog. I have at times posted yearly updates about the number of books I have read.

This year – my reading was happily boosted by a lovely online library called Bigbooks in Pune. Now that I have moved to Bangalore, I have further realized how sorely I miss it.

BigBooks has fantastic, affordable service is a fact that was further reinforced when I started comparing it with other online book services in different cities. Some other key differences were – 1. Most online rental libraries have plans that have a cap on number of books you can borrow. All the plans in BigBooks library are for unlimited books. 2. Most libraries will charge you a registration fee and a (refundable) security deposit. However, in BigBooks, none of these are required – you just pay for the plan directly – cheapest one starts at 150 bucks a month.  (Try comparing plans and prices here, here and here.)

I learnt from BigBooks FB page and blog –the owner Rahul Maskara had also started this service in the first place because he realized for even a voracious reader as himself that buying so many books was expensive. What does a reader do to quench their appetite of books – thus, a service was borne out of a need.  He quit his corporate job and plunged into getting this start-up (Rashmi Bansal, are you listening?) onboard keeping the affordability in mind.

For just 150 bucks a month, you can read unlimited borrowings of one book at a time (3-month plan is even cheaper). Believe me; I borrowed one book every day, benefitting from their free pick and drop service. Books would be delivered at my house, at my office as per my convenience. I can’t remember an instance when the transaction was dissatisfying. However, greedy to devour their vast collection, I soon graduated to other plans – two books at a time etc.

Most importantly, their collection of books is one of the best. I am a frequent buyer of books – yet I find it hard to spend money on expensive graphic novels. Most libraries’ understanding of graphic novels is restricted to Archie, Tintin and at best, Asterix. Now, BigBooks has graphic novels ranging from manga writer Osamu Tezuka, Neil Gaimon, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison, Alison Bechdel and so on. All these comic books are expensive and most of the online rental libraries do not have such books in their collection.

Not only that, they have a wonderful recommendation/request system – just add your request and it is taken care of as soon as possible. Almost all my recommendations even though I was a very new customer and had not even made the first payment – were heard– I got to read all the books I wanted, just as owner Rahul kept assuring that I will.

When new books arrive in the genre of your interest, Rahul even calls you to inform and ask – A new book has arrived, do you want to read it? One might be mistaken that I was a special customer, but truth is they were doing that for almost everyone. Most of friends subscribing the service reported that they were informed and provided choice to add that book to their reading list.

BigBooks library is available in two cities – Pune and Bombay. Go ahead and support this wonderful (and extremely useful) start-up. Try out their service and you won’t be disappointed. (They do have a cheap trial plan as well.)

It is very simple to register. Next steps are to create a queue of books you want to read and then select a plan. For any help, you can call Rahul’s number (also, on the BigBooks Website): +919665401232.

P.S – Rahul, you had told me while I was leaving Pune that you plan to take BigBooks to Bangalore. By a quirk of fate, I have landed up in Bangalore instead of Delhi. Please do bring your wonderful library to Bangalore, I promise to be your first customer in the city.

Book Review: The Secret of the Nagas

‘The Secret of the Nagas‘, the second book  in Shiva Trilogy by Amish T takes off exactly where ‘The Immortals of Meluha’ the first book of  ends – Sati-Shiva in engaged in a battle with mysterious Naga. It starts with action and ends with a surprise (that you begin to hope for while you are half-way through this book.)

Shiva trilogy traces the story from 1900 BC, when Shiva migrates from Mount Kailash in Tibet to Suryavanshi land called Meluha. Advent of Shiva unites talented, rule-bound Suryavanshis are united with their arch-rivals – the free-willed, unorganised Chandravanshis since they both believe in the legend of Neelkanth as saviour. (Amish interestingly puts it as masculine vs. feminine behaviour contrast on Pages 49-52.) Even though a legend of Neelkanth exists, Shiva is not a God – rather a wise man, struggling with his own demons, learning to play the role of ‘Mahadev’. Mahadev, to be noted, is a designation, not a reincarnation of a God. In this role, he is aided by Vasudev pundits at various temples, who can ‘radio transmit’ their thoughts and have conversations with him via radio waves (ooh!). 

In The Secret of the Nagas, Shiva realises that Nagas – the deformed creatures believed to be evil – have more role to play than it meets the eye. With the help from both Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis, Shiva is hot on the pursuit of a Naga who he believes has killed his friend Brahaspati – and everywhere he looks, he finds a new trail or connection to secretive Nagas.

Meanwhile, Shiva who had fallen in love and married Sati, daughter of extremely friendly Meluhan king Daksha, in the first book also becomes a father. The story about his first son and his turbulent relationship with his parents is the most poignant part of this book.

This books as its previous one is a page turner – the plot is smooth and all the loose ends connect to a complete pattern. Story as before is fast-paced, you are eager to know what comes next. I had my theories about the book, I am glad to confess that this book was not predictable as I had thought it to be. This I consider as an achievement of the book. Unlike first book, Shiva and his immediate family (his wife and sons) are the primary characters of this book. There are several revelations – the boundaries between good and evil seem to blur. Ganesha, the first son, is my favorite character in this book.

Other old characters such as Nandi, Veerbhadra and Drapaku have smaller roles, instead a Chandravanshi prince Bhagirath is the new character that has his own intriguing sub-plot.  General Parvateshwar, Shiva’s trusted Suryavanshi aide from previous book, a vowed celibate has fallen in love (oops, a spoiler – but now you need to find out who).

The language of the book remains a constant irritant as it was in the last book as well. Several conversations (even those of Sati-Shiva) come across as corny. Language, in a desperate attempt to be contemporary is uninspiring and a turn-off at times. There are editing errors like one on Page 50 (first sentence) – an incorrect usage of ‘it’s’. Amish as before tries to include war strategies. (I clearly remember an indignant reader of the first book who complained that war stratagem was taken off the movie Gladiator!) But, it is the elaborate description of temple layouts and structures in the book that I find incredibly boring.

However, despite its superficial style of writing, the semi-historic retelling of story in the way it weaves mythology still makes the book worth a read.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Also Read: A Book Club Meeting in Pune that had Amish as Chief Guest

Post the Tossed Salad Book Club Meeting (another record of the same book club meet)