Book review : Learned Men and Women of Ancient India

Learned Men and Women in Ancient India
by Sreelata Menon
Genre:Nonfiction

This is an interesting and informative book for children. Though by no means complete, it is a book of and about learned men and women in ancient India as the title says. What is interesting about the book is that each chapter is about one learned man or woman and starts with quotes/shlokas from the works of the men and women covered in the chapter or from rig veda and then goes to into their life and later their contributions to philosophy, aviation, surgery, mathematics, astronomy and other fields.

The learned men include Kanad to Thiruvaluvar while the women include Maitreyi to Gargi. I kind of missed Avvaiyar and other women poets whose contribution as usual is missing though their works are there in some of the oldest literature is recorded in Purananooru and Bhakti literature. That is my only complaint but in a multilingual country like India it is hard to cover so many women and men who composed and contributed to  ancient literatire like Puranooru, Agananooru, Periya Puranam, Tolkapiyam, Shakuntala, Silapathikaram, etc. Maybe the author should plan to write a sequel to this book

The writing is crisp and easy to follow. Some like Charaka, Lopamudra, Bhaskarcharya II were new to me. I didn't know there were two Bhaskaras who had contributed to mathematics and thought there was just one.  

If you wish to buy it, get it by clicking the link below.


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Book review - A cozy, delightful read

A Writer's Deadly Epilogue
by Cynthia Raye
Genre : Cozy Mystery


Molly Simmons is a child prodigy who cannot find a job despite graduating from a top college. So she works for a tabloid magazine writing stories she absolutely hates. Then an author she knows gets murdered. He is the husband of her childhood friend who now works in a TV soap opera. While she quits her job as she is unable to write a scandalous story about the death of her friend's husband, her friend gets arrested. Now Simmons puts her investigative skills to work and ends up ruling the top three suspects. So who shot her friend's husband?

 It is not often authors write about writers and authors as their main characters in a novella.That too especially about the state of journalists and freelance writers are brought out in a very realistic way.In this the protagonist and victim are journalist and an author respectively.

Raye tells a story which is enjoyable page turner. The writing is crisp and the story flows easily making it a very enjoyable read. The characters are totally believable and the story is fast paced and you can probably read it one sitting. 

 

Since the author is giving it away, you might want to download her book from her website by clicking on the link below.

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A fun weekend read

 

 

Killing Valerian Zolotov
by
Jonathan Harries
Genre : Fiction



A motley group pf anti poaching activists discover a member of the Russian mafia has kidnapped an Indian geneticist and is holding him hostage on his estate in Namibia. Why is the question? What is he up to? As the group investigates, we also get to know more about the group itself which includes people of multiple nationalities including a Mossad woman assassin from Columbia.
 

From the crazy traffic ridden roads of India to trophy hunters in Namibia, from the streets of Hong kong to the secret worlds in Russia, Harries tells us an adventurous tale of crime and redemption. Some scenes are funny like the appearance of Vladimir Putin or drinking Putnika to please Putin that it had me laughing.
 

The writing style is clear and the pace is fast.Most authors lack the sense of humor but Harries weaves it in despite desperate situations. The majestic wild life of Africa are right before your very eyes and makes you want to go on a safari.

Not many books are written about poaching and the money behind poachers though most of us know it happens. Well not anymore. You cannot just ignore a news report about a dead elephant as the book stays with you. What I loved about the book apart from the adventure and wild life is the thread of humor that runs through the whole book.If you wish to buy the book,

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Call of the Raven - book review

Call of  the Raven
by
Wilbur Smith and Corban Addison
Genre: Fiction

"And what use is freedom, if it is only the freedom to live
in a slum until you are worked to death? What use is a
wage if it does not buy you enough to eat?"  - Call of the Raven

The book opens with Cambridge Union debate between Fairchild and St. John arguing for and against slavery. But what exactly is freedom? This thread runs through the entire book, what exactly is freedom?

Mungo St. John returns from Britain to America only to find his father murdered and the love of his life, Camilla, a slave on his father's estate  murdered by the militia of his father's trusted banker, Chester Marion.  He has is penniless as his entire fortune has been pledged. While young St. John vows revenge on Chester Marion, he discovers his own family is not entirely innocent and finds himself on a ship to Africa to earn his fortune. He loses his innocence about all that he considers decent and is ready to do anything for revenge but then he discovers that Camilla is alive. He changes again and now all he wants is to rescue his love while destroying his enemy in the process. Will he?  

Reading the book was a revelation. I always thought I knew what freedom was and then began to wonder if I really knew while reading this book. It is amazing how we are all slaves and free at the same time when we think about it. Is the world really free from slavery now? Are we truly free or is our freedom just an illusion while we remain slaves in the hands of the system that controls us? Is selling and buying humans really off the table in this century when you compare it to the years of slave trade? Sure, most of us are not bound physically and dragged out to work in return for three meals a day and a roof over our head but has the system truly changes ?  

The writing is like picturesque and adventurous like any Wilbur Smith novel with heroes. I would recommend everyone to read this.

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The Madras Affair
by Sundari Venkatraman
Genre: Romance/Mystery


Sangita runs an NGO for downtrodden women in Madras. What motivated her to start one? When she is interviewed, the story is narrated in flashback. As we read on, we realise we really don't know Sangita or her family and are taken on a journey of her life. Enter Gautam Sinclair, who is an Indian-American, a Hindu-Christian - the man with hyphenated identities and handsome man who falls for Sangita and speaks Tamil and English with an American accent. If you expect her to be swept off her feet, it is more like he falls flat for her. There is a problem - Sangita refuses to marry him because she is absolutely scared of sex. What is the trauma that makes her flee from a physical relationship with Gautam Sinclair whom she adores and kisses madly but freezes if he tries to take it to the next level? Will they get married at all?

The author allows us a peak into the conservative culture of Madras, the music, the sounds, the people who  dream silently but live differently, the chaotic patriarchal system where the girl is a goddess and a victim to neighbour gossip, the relatives who use connections, etc.  The culture is familiar - everything from aiyo to thayir sadam that it makes you grin. If you are a reader who is looking for a romance with a dash of suspense to curl up with, I would recommend this book.

Move over Daniel Steele and Nora Roberts, we have our own Sundari Venkatraman.

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The Rigveda Code - book review

The Rigveda Code
by Rashmi Chendvankar
Genre: Historical Fiction

 Rikshavi is a talented young girl. An intuitive archer, she is the princess of the ancient and powerful kingdom of Vrij. She grows to be a strategist while she gives up being a princess. What has this got to do with the Rigveda Code and what is it anyway?  Chendvankar manages to keep the reader interested with twists and turns and finally ending it with a surprise which the reader never expects.  

Her writing style is crisp and clear. The pace is unexpected and one wonders why even now, we are unable to follow the system so clearly laid out in the first republic - the Licchavi Republic which according to the ASI dates back to the 6th century BC in Bihar.

It is also a political commentary on issues we face today - justice for the common people and the inequality of power among states-now - the increased centralization of power as states are fast losing their individuality and continuous erosion of powers of states. While India was conceived as a country based on "unity in diversity" and decentralization of power much like the ancient Lichavvi Republic but we are heading towards "One country, one culture."much like the kingdoms that preceded it.  But what has this got to do with the Rigveda Code? Read the book to find out. 

 

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Tell A Thousand Lies - book review

Tell a Thousand Lies
by Rasana Atreya
Genre: Fiction

A widowed grandmother is saddled with three grand daughters -  older one named Malli and her twin sisters -Pullamma and Lata. Her daughter dies giving birth to the twins while her son-in-law runs away from the responsibility of being a father in search of  God to the Himalayas. The strong spirited grandmother raises her grand daughters. There is a problem however. Malli and Lata are the pretty ones but Pullamma is dark skinned like her dead grand father.So according to the grandmother's friends getting Malli and Lata married off won't be tough but what to do with Pullamma ? Some suggest it is just as well she was born dark that she can take care of the grandmother when she grows old as marriage is next to impossible.

Though twins, Pullamma and Lata are completely different. Pullamma is a tall, gawky teenager who doesn't mind being teased though she makes a promise to herself that when she has children,she would give her children, beautiful names. She has no great ambitions but is well aware of her grandmother's hardships and tries her best to help out by doing most of the chores. Her twin, Lata on the other hand is pretty, wants a career and doesn't want to be married or do chores. Malli's bride viewing is to take place. Enter Kondal Rao, a politician and husband of the grandmother's best friend and Pullamma's life is turned upside down.

From a small village in Andra Pradesh to Hyderabad, from Bangalore to all over the place, the story of Pullamma is the story of  many women in India. It is also a story about how Indian women despite all the crap piled on them overcome adversity and remain strong.I noticed many reviewers had stated this could happen only in rural India. Hanh! This happens all over India  even today - in cities, towns and villages. Except they have been given new names - dowry has become gifts, skin colour is now glow/complexion. Sure, girls have made strides in education beating the boys and literacy rate has gone up but they do both work and "homework". As for politics and politicians, to this day it happens in India and across the world - manipulation of people's lives without their knowing it.

This book made me laugh and cry, something no book has done in a long time. It reminded me of so many women who I used to know as a kid and as a teen, made me pause to think what they all might have gone through despite living in villages, towns and cities. At that time, I used to think they were being rude  to someone I knew but considering how a widow had to become a man overnight to take care of the family and even now is not allowed to participate in so called auspicious rituals, the book made me understand why some women behave the way they do  even though they were extremely progressive in their views.

The writing is clear, focused and the turns unexpected. It is one heck of an emotional ride - realistic, warm, sad, shocking, loving and logical. That is a hard feat to pull off. I look forward to the author's next books in 2021.

I suggest all Indians, especially Indian women buy and read it.

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