We belong to a country that has enjoyed a well-fought independence and over six decades of democracy which we pride ourselves on. But there are gaping issues that have been threatening to pull the threads of stability to breaking point and it is high time we addressed them. While as Indians we realize there are problems and we each argue passionately about the possible solutions, Pavan K. Varma rounds them up and stamps a Chanakya mark of approval on them.

Chanakya’s New Manifesto, details the pressing charges that hinder the progress of our country towards becoming a self-sustained global superpower. We got off to a promising start, as Mr. Varma highlights in the chapter 1947 and After, (“Nations seeking to fashion a future cannot do so without objectively interrogating the past”) but the machinery was never foolproof. With time and as Mr. Varma rightly points out, misguided governance, we as a country have fallen prey to the dissection of goals, and democracy is no longer the only pillar that can be expected to hold up our existence.

I particularly appreciate the tone that this book takes, one of calm introspection that chooses to identify the key areas that need to be addressed at the earliest, without being patronizing, guilty, sentimental, or outright accusing; what Chanakaya prescribed as mandatory when drafting a governance plan. Mr. Varma’s analysis of issues, in the chapter Crisis, leave you with no doubt, what numbers we don’t see or hear about in the news. He insists and verifies with Chanakya’s written recommendations that democracy requires the backing of shrewd governance, something we observe lacking in the political setup today. You cannot but agree with him when he points out that multi-coalition structures are not stable and only serve to divert the efforts of politicians towards sustenance in politics and away from the interest of the public that votes them into the setup.

The language that Mr. Varma employs to make his point is clear and reads like a well written report as opposed to a jargonized preamble for the future. This book deserves a thorough read and it is a trifle hard to discuss each point in detail because there’s so much to talk about. Some of the best opinions that I could relate to were with regard to democracy being a factor that helps focus away from religious extremism, the argument that it is ‘diversity’ and not ‘unity’ per se that keeps the nation together and the fact that a politician is not by default a good governor.

Mr. Varma proposes corrective action, in terms of Chanakya’s prescriptions, to bring about a change in governance and take full advantage of the democracy that we claim is the greatest strength we possess as a republic. This book comes across both as a vision and a dream, fleeting yet achievable at the same time. If only.

Authors and photographers Paul Miles and Jason Obrotka went backstage at more than 60 concerts in New York City during 2013 to document what artists do before a rock show these days. What they saw is now released in their long-awaited rock photography book "Before I Hit The Stage: Backstage Rock 'N' Roll Moments in New York City" published by Outskirts Press — and it's the world's first book of rock stars on tour in one city during one year.
This book includes hundreds of candid and insightful images from concert dressing rooms and hallways that capture the artists in the intimate moments before their performance, presented as a unique and compelling collection of pre-show rituals and backstage antics in New York City.

Shades of life is a first person account of Aditya’s struggle and subsequent recovery from Renal Failure that caused him to lose function in both kidneys even before adolescence. While it was the boy who suffered from the clinical implications of the disease, his family – father, mother and elder brother, suffered along with him, emotionally as well. Vasundhara Ramanujan’s moving account, detailing her younger son’s condition and how it affected and changed normal life for the family, is a revelation. Of how, the ring of suffering and recovery is not just restricted to the patient but extends to his loved ones who wish to see him heal and return to life as they once knew it.

The book is a trove of information on renal disease, a more personal account rather than medical, offered from the point of view of Vasundhara and her family. While a text book or encyclopedia might give you all technical details of the condition and case studies to accompany, Aditya’s story includes a different perspective. It gives you, in addition, the reaction of a family, which until a stubborn headache, had a peaceful existence worrying about the result of cricket matches and college admissions. You get to feel and experience the patient side of the story, from the initial shock to coming to grip with the condition and choosing to fight to live and live with better health.

What worked for me:


1. Short chapters with concise accounts of events.
2. Chronological sequencing of experiences and information that make this book more of a journal than a compilation of medical inferences.
3. The physician profiles at the end, detailing the work and achievements of experts in the field that I am sure will be useful to many.
4. The honest tone of the book that does not at any point of time attempt to be overtly dramatic.

Originally posted by https://www.blogger.com/profile/14103024728361258049

Nadirs (Niederungen), a collection of short stories, has finally been translated into English. The stories were originally published in 1984 by Rotbuch Verlag in West Berlin, following Herta Müller's years of struggle with Romanian censors under Ceaucescu's dictatorship. After the uncensored manuscript found its way to the West, Müller won almost immediate recognition and respect for her work in Germany. She holds prestigious prizes, including the Marieluise-Fleisser Prize (1990), the Kleist Prize (1994), and the European Literary Prize "Aristeion" (1995). Born in 1953, the author grew up as part of a German-speaking minority in the Banat region of Romania. She left the country in 1987 after the years of humiliation and persecution that followed her critical writings about life under the dictatorship. She has since lived in Berlin and Hamburg. Müller's debut collection, Nadirs, was followed by numerous other texts, such as Der Mensch ist ein Grosser Fasan auf der Welt (Passport, 1989) and Herztier (The Land of Green Plums, 1994/1996), to name only the few that have been translated into English.
The title story, "Nadirs," is central to the collection and depicts the bleak reality of rural life in Romania under Ceauçescu's regime of horror. The brutality of the regime is reflected in the peasants' cruelty and the absence of humanity in everyday life as witnessed through the eyes of a child. With her individualistic style, the author turns the texts into prose poems. The poetry clashes with details used to describe fear, for example, in suppressed sexuality as a signum for the inability of communication in fascist Romania: "And when they approach the closets they look up to the ceiling so that they won't see themselves naked because in every room of the house anything can happen that you would call shameful or impure" (47). The aestheticized ugliness, which becomes possible through interweaving drastic descriptions of human interaction with beautiful images from nature, captivates the reader, despite the painful content. Grotesque descriptions of peasant life in a small village act as a metaphor for the oppression of dictatorship. The text implies a summary of fascism: the absence of humanism, the absence of communication, in short, the lack of appreciation for life.
Critics of Müller's work often point out its autobiographical aspect. But it would be too narrow to sum up Müller's work as mere autobiography. Memories, whether they are personal or not, appear in the texts as the starting point of aesthetic explorations of oppression and cruelty, scenarios of murderous animal realms, which appear to be permeated with poetic, dreamlike images.
Having read the text in the original German, I found myself wondering who could master a translation that would convey the intricacies of Müller's metonymic metaphors. The sudden appearance of words in unfamiliar semantic contexts turns her texts into sensual landscapes of beauty and pain. The translator, Sieglinde Lug, has accomplished this in a highly convincing manner and is able to give the reader a taste of Müller's unique language, which Müller herself described as mitgebrachte Sprache, "language brought along." Hopefully, more texts by Herta Müller will be translated into English, as she deserves to be widely read.

This is the very first poetry book in urdu what I read in my young age. Mirza Asad Ullah Khan GHALIB is very popular and most influential poet of urdu language. No one couldn't write poetry like ghalib, he is only and very different.

Quite simply the greatest work of Urdu literature bar none. He is one among the world's great literary masterpieces like Shakespeare,Hafiz,Goethe,Pushkin.
No Urdu poetry book could be compared with this masters book, Dewan-e-Ghalib as Ghalib is the father of Urdu Poetry. The "Khayal", imagination on its own peak. The selection of words and phrases with the mixture of Urdu grammar is fantastic. I have read this book almost 20 times. I never got bored.
No bookshelf is complete without the works by Ghalib. Read for inspiration, insights or just to be amazed at the artistry of this master. And to think that he looked down on his Urdu poetry collection, and would have preferred to be known for his Farsi kalaam.
Although most of his poetry surrounds beauty of women. It would so very romantic and elegant.
I always having this book in my home library and strongly recommend to all.

There have been countless books telling of backstage antics and debauchery, often mimicking a press release or depicting an image of what's expected. Before I Hit The Stage... is a photographer's fly-on-the-wall peek at the more accurate reality of a band playing the NYC circuit. The candid moments and pre-show rituals of a wide gamut of artists over the course of a year. As a New Yorker, I might favor the venues featured - and as a photographer, am likely influenced by letting the images tell the story. I love the concept for the collection and the images shared. My only critique is that content would've been done more justice with some heavier stock glossy pages.

Poor Little Rich Slum, the latest from Rashmi Bansal and Deepak Gandhi, begins with the old poem, ‘It was six men of Indostan…Who went to see the Elephant’ Unlike those blind men of Indostan however, the authors of this book, in my opinion have succeeded in painting a picture of the Elephant with better clarity and resolution. Poor Little Rich Slum is an out and out account of Dharavi (dhaa-raa-vi), Asia’s largest slum, as it stands credited and the grounds of Slumdog Millionaire as it was further popularized as.

The book has the feel and effect of a handycam taping a day in Dharavi, with a voiceover by the authors that steps aside occasionally to let the locals talk. Focusing on the Dharavi Redvelopment Project at the outset, the authors proceed to obtain a critical opinion for themselves on what goes into life at Dharavi and why all this fuss about DRP anyway. What follows is a glimpse into the reality that has lingered over Dharavi ever since it all began, one that leaves you amazed, confused, touched and outright speechless in the end.

With my usual judging a book by the cover exercise, I anticipated this account would either be a story of accomplishment – Check it out, we did a study in a well known slum; or a manuscript for one of those documentaries that Social workers come up with – dark, questioning and uncomfortable. The fact is, it was both, but without being cocky and arrogant like the former or depressing and blameful like the latter. This was an honest account of things as they are, from a group of people who chose to venture into the study with as much nervousness as any individual that chooses to do something right because he believes in it.

The account takes us into the lives and existence of Dharavi folk, natives and immigrants alike. It speaks mostly of how, under what we see as grime and slush, are living beings who do not seem to share the same world as us, but sustain in a dynamic world of their own; with the same kind of dreams and aspirations as ours, but deprived of an easy entry ticket. To the urban eye Dharavi sounds and appears lost. Listen to the voices in this book and you’ll know you couldn’t have been more wrong. For Dharavi is a huge pulsating heart, that beats with the spirit of its people, a thousand success stories running through its spine.

Every story presented, reeks of optimism and survival of the human spirit through the toughest of times; hardwork is a habit at Dharavi and it is not considered an imposition, which is what makes its inmates an enigma. What you make out of the stories in this book are entirely up to you because whatever I might conclude would only be subjective. But in the stricter view of a book review:

What worked for me:

1. Tiny chapters with delicious pictures at every turn and spaced out printing.
2. Simplicity of narration that didn’t try to wallow in sorrow, blame urban dwellers or delve into the poetic for effect.
3. The beautiful pictures by Dee Gandhi.

Originally posted by https://www.blogger.com/profile/14103024728361258049

‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ is a wonderful work by Robin S Sharma which attempts a new style of writing in the genre of inspirational writing. When most of the books on motivation and inspiration provide becomes monotonous due to the repetitive nature and the preaching style listing the do’s and don’t do’s, what makes this book different is the story telling style. Mr. Sharma has given the framework of a novel for his work. The Book unravels as a conversation between Julian Mantle and his friend John. The readers can easily identify with John the narrator of the story.

Julian Mantle a reputed lawyer leads a life of luxury with a great mansion, daily parties and the most priced possession, the red Ferrari. John is a friend and colleague of Julian with whom he shares a good rapport. Julian’s life takes a sudden change, suspected to his unbalanced lifestyle and he abandons the place selling all his priced possessions including the Ferrari. Julian goes missing for about three years and is gradually forgotten.

One fine morning Julian arrives back at John’s office as a completely transformed man, both physically and spiritually. John who is gradually into the busy world of law practice gets a new opening into the spiritual world. From Julian he gets to learn the real purpose of life and the path to its fulfillment. The rest of the story comprises the treasure of experiences that Julian had gathered from his days spent in India, in the Himalayan valley, on the beautiful land of Sivana. The teachings of Yogi Raman and the various methods to improved living are narrated to John. Julian reminds John to live in the present and serve others in life, which is the ultimate goal in life.

The book as any other work on spirituality and motivation cannot bring in an instant transformation in the readers. But the captivating power of the story telling opens a new world of revelations before us which can definitely provide new insights into our conscience. Moreover, if practiced, the ten tenets can have magical influence on our lives.
Originally posted on http://bit.ly/2deqzxo