दरवाज़े

तुम लाख दरवाज़े बंद कर लो फिर भी
इश्क़ दीवारों के दरारों से
तुम्हे ढूँढ़ती हुई
एक पुराने खुसबू की तरह
पीले पन्नों में सो जायेगी।

Nostalgia

Events lead you to people.

People lead you to places.

Places and people lead you to experiences.

Experiences in retrospection are memories.

As people fade away, and new ones meet, being nostalgic is the only justice that you can do to different sets of memories.

Time fades away, desires take new shapes. Dreams are redefined, and the individual is only a subset of the past.

New lives are born within the same body every day.

Some of the most nondescript things matter a lot. The smile of a face in the past, as the bus to the future carries you away, expectation of a phone-call although you have nothing to say, are not very significant things, but form an important part of nostalgia.

Life encourages you to improve, it allows you to explore more about yourself, and makes you strive for a unique level of freedom and comfort.

Collecting all experiences, so that maybe, I feel good while recollecting them in the future.

 

Book Review : An Excursion of Insight : Harsh Agarwal

An Excursion of Insight is a bold book. No one these days writes about an Engineering college, unless it is in one of the metros. The story is based on the backdrop of an Engineering college in Assam,  where students from all around the country as well as few international students study.

Quite a rare place, you may say, but definitely not unrealistic. The main story proceeds on the life of a few Engineering students, and the various encounters they face during their collective stay. The perceived love between a simple-thinking Bhutanese guy and a rich girl from India has been depicted, in a rather immature manner. However, this immaturity is not only acceptable, but also beautiful.

As someone who has stayed in surroundings of that sort, I found the book quite absorbing in its descriptions. The flavors of Assam and adjoining areas, and the myths surrounding the place is amazingly explored by the young author. The story does enforce a few stereotypes at some places, but these are formed on the basis of the outlook of students in such a situation. There are indications to show that this depiction is extraneous to the author himself.

The biggest achievement of the book is to bring to the fore the conditions of people who are neither the most privileged, nor are they as so unlucky as people in various other parts of the country. It is all about how modernity as well as an ambitious mindset is gripping this class of youth so fast.

The cultural differences one faces while coming from different backgrounds is well-depicted. The main story is not as strong as the backdrop, and could have been written with a much stronger overtone. It is true that  certain twists and turns are placed rather awkwardly. In other words, the author could have written a bit more about the obvious too, but he chose to trade this aspect off with brevity. Written very colloquially, it is lucid and has a very good flow. I enjoyed reading it, I definitely think you will do as well.

Book Review: Imperium, by Robert Harris

Prior to this, I had not read any book about ancient Rome-fiction or non fiction. Indeed my knowledge of ancient Rome can be credited mainly to discrete random bits of information. So Imperium (Cicero#1) by Robert Harris was probably the first book, and hence the first fictional novel I have read about Rome. My review of the novel should be therefore viewed in that context.

For a lover of politics, this book would come out to be a very good read. Ancient Rome and most importantly a significant period of the life of one of the greatest orators of all time, Marcus Tullius Cicero is presented in a very thought-provoking manner. The various aspects of the character of Cicero may be well delineated, although one might argue that the positive aspect of his character receives much more attention. The author is however not condescending, and brings about the fallacies in the great statesman.

The vivid description of senate sessions, tribune cases and the strategies employed by generals, aristocrats and the common plebs makes the narrative gripping. While it may be argued that the story stops suddenly at the consulship of Cicero rather than coming to an end, it captures the best part of Cicero’s life.

The first part describing the journey of Cicero-the senator to the office the praetor and his trial of Verres is very gripping. Cicero’s opportunism is presented, but is never criticized, nor is it given any strong  justification. The second half is also interesting from the viewpoint of the political career of Cicero, and contains references to people like Crassus and Caesar. It ends with Cicero winning an unlikely citizen for the Consulship, the highest post in Rome.

The character I admired was the narrator Marcus Tullius Tiro, Cicero’s slave (and later freedman) one credited with the discovery of the shorthand system at that time, for his courage and loyalty.

For a person with limited knowledge on Rome, the book was both entertaining and informative. People may find startling anachronisms, but that is why it is a historical fiction not a non-fictional account. (It however claims to represent what happened, and what could have happened, but not anything that did not happen)

Recommended.
My score:-  3.5/5

Unfinished story

 

 

 

He was not used to drama. Indeed, when she claimed the space she needed inside him, he could provide her none. It was not because he had some other woman there. It was because he could not let go of himself. Obsession, he knew was a disadvantage. He thought self-obsession was an exception.

She looked upon real life as a drama. That made her more realistic than he could ever be. Maybe, she found the fault-lines in his thought. Women normally do. Yet, she was trying to occupy the space she believed was duly hers. She knew she had only one opponent. And that was him.

He remembered the first time he met her. It was in a garden full of thorns. She remembered the first time she met him. It was in a garden full of roses. They had spent almost an hour together. She was glad to find him. So was he. But, he missed his solitude.

Her story was over. His was still very much unfinished. 

 

 

 

Book Review: India from Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond by Shashi Tharoor

RATING : 2.5/5

India from Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond by Shashi Tharoor was, in many ways, disappointing. It is not  the overall readability of the book, or of the topics covered or of the beauty of the language used ; but it is the lack of  expected depth of the book which gives that impression. And especially when its title makes one assume that it must cover the whole of Independent India’s history.

No one can deny that Mr. Tharoor remains a narrator without much parallel among the modern political observers of India. However, one could see only a few instances elaborated as the only ones which defined the period under consideration. Plainly speaking, too much of information and anecdotes have been provided on a handful of topics. This gives the book a handsome superficial width, but a depth as thin as a sheet (although not quite the alternate pronunciation).

At one instance he narrates an anecdote to hint at the success of affirmative action for removal of caste disparities in Kerala. The narrative gets almost an entire chapter on caste. Apparently, it happened to be one of national prominence as the all important author was personally involved. A lot of similar issues abound the book.

A good book, if you are fond of one-liners. But for them, I would rather read The Great Indian Novel by the same author.

Recommended: for people with less interest in the depth of political affairs, as they will at least find something in the political discourse which is interesting. It still remains a book, which might invoke some interest in the disinterested.

Not Recommended: There is hardly anything new for people who have been reading books of this genre for a long time. Not an advisable read for those in search of information.

Good one-liners and remarks make the book light and enjoyable. That provides the extra 0.5 in my ratings.