Welcome to the first ever video review of the book reviews here at rsenthilkumar.com
Thanks to Blogadda.com for this opportunity…
The audio let me down, perhaps will have to work on this next time..
Thanks
Senthilkumar
Category: Book Reviews
| Publisher | Westland |
| ISBN-10 | 9385152602 |
| Number of Pages | 168 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9789385152603 |
| Binding | Paperback |
These are fast times and when you have ancient and modern in one single sentence you have a challenge. Here in this book Ancient Chants for Modern Living the author Aatmanika Ram takes us through a thoroughly and easy to digest research of Sholkas of the Ancient times and how we can leverage the same in modern day.
Personally for me, it was a memory down the lane, esp of the shlokas the ‘sahanavavathu’ as we chanted them at the start of every class in school, to the ‘thrayambagam yajamahe’ whenever we had someone have health issues.
It is to the credit of the author that she has deftly wielded the subject with finesse and clearly marked them as topics that would have an immediate connect with the readers.
The shlokas are from the ancient texts to the C Rajagopalachari’s Kurai Ondrum illai, all that have an impact even just by listening and the experience is elevated by having them chanted with proper pronunciation and at the right times.
You also have the yoga postures that you could add to your way of life to maximise the impact of these chants. The suggestion on the audio or video makes for a practical aspect of the book, but I think as a suggestion those should have been added as a reference in the chapters for the readers so it’s easy to follow. You never know our modern habits of skipping things for want of time.
These experiences as I see it has to be tested by individuals by following it very diligently so that they have a real healing effect, since these are always about the faith and the result will be there for all to see.
The challenge of the book is in its ability to cover a wide range of issues and presenting it succinctly, since I am sure the vastness of the ancient text given to its interpretations and commentaries are so huge. A great attempt has actually crystallised into a nice readable form and presented in a manner that its easy to read and easy to implement.
The temple visits could also be generalised since the same form of the God and Godesses are present across the terrain of our country though I am sure those mentioned will have more of spiritual benefit too.
A very concise presentation in what is supposed to be a big set of texts and easy to digest form, the chants should work magic in whatever endeavour you are trying to master or get in.
All in all a nice effort to introduce the importance of chants and the purpose led definitions for the common man who otherwise would be just looking at it from a third man’s perspective as an alien Sanskrit shloka.
For starters this is a very inspiring book that has the magic of healing in truest sense.
Senthilkumar
Welcome to the land of stories, the land which presented the Mahabharata the longest epic ever written. It has so many stories that we know of and so many stories that we don’t know of. Quite incidentally the book that we now are reviewing is of Ganesh.
Ganesh the son of Shiva and Parvathy is the celebrated God in Indian mythology and has expressions in being the remover of all obstacles and we know how grand is the celebration of Ganesh in Maharashtra which has come to symbolise the way Ganesh is celebrated.
The best facet of our Indian storytelling is you could have many an interpretation and many a twist and take in the way the story is presented. That’s the reason we have so many interpretations of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
In this book the story of how Ganesh lost his head is an endearing one. In south it was believed that Shiva was not allowed entry to see Parvathy by Ganesh since he was keeping a watch firmly doing what his mother told him to do. Never let anyone inside till I am done with my bath. Ganesh took this seriously and Shiva has no inkling that the child was Parvathy’s making and he when obstructed to see his own wife, cuts the lad’s head off in anger, only to be told by Parvathy that it her kid and he has done total injustice to the boy.
Now the elephant with its head towards the north was the alternative that we have as common. In this narrative we do have a big ceremony to celebrate and then there is the Shani coming and looking at Ganesh and he gets the head burnt. Therein lies the interpretation of Shani being a part of the story.
A classical story for night read for the kids and the way its has been illustrated makes for interesting read aloud stuff for the kids.
A new story and a new interpretation is always welcome. The kids I am sure will relish this illustrations and storytelling through the pictures.
Each of the four stories are embedded with nice instances that are easily assimilated by the young audience. The illustrations deserve a great appreciation that has the comic effect and also a story telling way.
The story of Mahabharata is also a nice one wherein Ganesh decides to pull off his tusk to keep writing on the palm leaves.
The illustration by Tapas Gupta add a very nice touch to the already fascinating story of Ganesh.
I enjoyed this book for kids and i tried keeping this book around kids and saw they were pretty involved because of the format.
The author and the illustrator deserve every praise for the work that they have done and it sure will be a great way to introduce them to Ganesh with stories that make for fun reading.
| BOOK DETAILS | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Speaking Tiger |
| ISBN-10 | 9385755684 |
| Edition | 1 |
| Number of Pages | 480 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9789385755682 |
| Binding | Paperback |
Beauty is a wound is a fantastic novel which revolves around a character who we would not even take it our stride for her profession. But the way the author has woven a satire of life and history of nation as much as you can think about it. There is an eerie sense of humour that best describes the way the characters are presented by the author.
There is a way to describe things of the nation if you think about a narration of the history from the characters. The story is also about how you can mix the history and fiction in a classic way to get you the best of storytelling.
There is a rawness in the language and that translates to making it more authentic in a way and the author turns no stones to get you smell the land and get you close to the environment.
There is a momentum with the characters and also the story and it has all the ingredients to make you laugh within. Sometimes there are big sarcastic statements blurted out as if nothing has happened. The weight of the argument is to be seen within the context, there are social messages some modern take on the long customs and then radicalism presented with a simplicity that exudes charm.
I am also in awe of the translator who I am sure has held the story in its entirety and we can see the way the words being explicitly used or abused (you can choose them). A book of this calibre is enhanced when it reaches out to the world population and the stories gets told in multiple languages.
This is the second time in recent days getting to read a translated work with a charm that you can easily identify with the original language and how impactful it would be.
I could see a Salman Rushidique narrative with the history as a backdrop and the characters being woven around the events that shaped the country. Quite possible a history – story best woven with a dose of fiction added to it.
I am sure you will be left with the stories of Dewi Ayu for quite a while after you keep the book down.
Go here to buy the book: http://www.flipkart.com/beauty-wound-english/p/itmegfg5xwburhwy?pid=9789385755682
This is a part of Flipkart Sponsored Book Review Program.
Senthilkumar
| Publisher | Jaico Books |
| ISBN-10 | 8184958242 |
| Edition | 1 |
| Publication Year | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9788184958249 |
| Binding | Paperback |
This is indeed a great pleasure personally for me to be reviewing the book. As usual the book is replete with lot of insights in ways of stories from all the versions and make for a great read.
The best part is we get to see a lot of folk tales also very well embedded and weaved in to the story and the rhythm of the story goes one step notch more with those inclusions.
On the other side its reflection of our way of getting our life organised in a way that is harmonic with ourselves, the family , the society and more so the nature around us.
This is the third in the series of Ramayana – Game of Life by Shubha Vilas, a retelling of the epic with life lessons that it gives in every page that you read through. Continuing his work of getting the meaning out of the words to get them close to reality, the author gives an insight into how the epics actually gives a taste of the real life.
The reading of this Series had evoked a great interest into the original works of Ramayana – Valmiki Ramayan, Tulsi Ramayana, the tamil original Kamba Ramayana etc. The gathering of stories and the life lessons that it offers to us in real time is what Shubha Vilas brings to the table in a easy to underst
and and appreciate format with references in case you want to look up.
In fact on a personal level I have been lucky to be reviewing these books and I am sure this is a part of the design if I may call it that. This is a must read and I am sure this will help us understand life and its mystical nature and also make us more proactive individual than a reactive individual that we are.
Stories can be just stories just that, but here the author elevates the story to a life transformation mode for those who seek it, and Ramayana and the story of Lord Ram is in full glow and the way his relationship to Lakshmana, Sita and his brothers are all so beautifully engraved in words for us to enjoy.
The world out there is a bit of deception the maya at work. The way we look at it and how we react makes our life success or failure. Life is about relationships, those relationships that are sometimes ephemeral to the core and yet we need to preserve the aura and work to keep it live.
Even in business relationship we tend to have the loyalties and ethics close to the heart and work it accordingly. It is also a test of managing our conflicts within and come to solutions.
Inner Peace is guaranteed for sure. Pick this up and unravel the Ramayana in a new way, the easy to digest way and also help yourself with some tips to implement the learnings on the go.
Thanks to the author for sending me a nice autographed copy with a message. Will cherish them Shubha ji.
Go here to order this book : Flipkart | Amazon
Senthilkumar
| BOOK DETAILS | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| ISBN-10 | 0670088897 |
| Imprint | Hamish Hamilton |
| Number of Pages | 224 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9780670088898 |
| Binding | Hardcover |
A translation by Ann Goldstein of the original Italian work by Jhumpa Lahiri.
One of the most personal relationship books I have ever come across, simply the best since it outlines the way the relationship is taken forward, quite a few times it looks as if this is the way love works, may be courtship too.
It’s the growing of the bonds between the seeker and the one which is sought perhaps, here its the language which is being learnt by the author, the language is Italian!
It is quite a revelation at a very personal level for the author the way Italian language grasps her attention and how she wants to live the language like no other. It becomes all the more interesting that Italian has never been a part of her upbringing in a way as to experience this kind of approach to language.
Over the years she feels an intimate connection as if this was the call the soul has been waiting for. The way she takes it up learning and the travails and travels in literary world is an nice journey that she takes the readers with.
And when you know this is a translated masterpiece, it makes it all the more alluring and when you read the explanation I think she has put the right perspective. And when we complete the book we know what she meant and she meant every word of it. Probably that is the relationship that she has been nurturing with the language.
There is an air of romance in the way the language is treated as a person, trying to know him or her, the fulfilment of having achieved the goal of possessing the other person or seeing yourself in the other.
Kudos to the translator, we can feel that the justice has been done the way the book progresses in short but sure steps, sometimes looking back to stories that will augment the theory that she holds forth, and sometimes stop to listen to the inner rumblings and sometimes to the practical difficulty in getting to know the perfect grammar and the translator has the pulse and does an excellent job of giving us the feel.
Its a nice book and well its a non fiction and that makes it a must read title. If you are interested in literature this will surely give you an idea of how language can be looked at as an extension of you.
Pick it up in case you see it at the book store or click here.
This was a part of Flipkart Book Review Program! Thanks Flipkart for the book.
Senthilkumar R
| Publisher | Rupa Publications India |
| ISBN-10 | 8129139766 |
| Number of Pages | 200 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9788129139764 |
| Binding | Hardcover |
Sometimes the cover of the book says it all. The photograph on the cover gives you an idea of the title in a way. But the content in this book will leave you in dark for some time.
Travelling through the negative mind as we have known or being portrayed is a genre by itself, but Sanil Sachar takes it to a whole new level. Sometimes I think how he has been able to think through the thought of the thought.
The climax that he weaves at the end of the story is a sheer brilliance in prose and in such short captivating mastery of language and narration, he holds the attention span till the end of ever story.
That darkness can be celebrated is not often that you come across, but herein lies the trick and ofcourse you will sometimes think how it could be possible to be thinking exactly like the character you just met.
The best part is his taking us through the stories, the poetic prose and the real poetry with ease and keeping you mesmerized till you put the book down.
There are stories and there are poems that characterizes darkness explained like never before. The author / poet in Sanil Sachar seems to be at ease navigating the dark and traverses seamlessly across the prose and poetry with ease that’s probably only he can take pride in.
The words in poetry and prose leaves you with a visual imagery blended in the darkness of mind’s remotest corner. It would not be an understatement if I said he had a a bit of O Henry’s twist to the tales even thought they were dark. I refrain from using the word negative for the fact that I realised you could have it dark the way the author has woven stories after stories.
I think you take time to read sometimes break and then continue even as you let the words sink in.
Not to mention there are play scripts too to take time off from those serious words.
So that’s the book for you, pick it up for listening to some voices you thought would never speak or you would want to hear.
Now that you think you should take a read go over here to buy the book.
Senthilkumar
This is a part of Flipkart Book Review Program, and thanks Flipkart for sending the book.
| Publisher | Speaking Tiger |
| ISBN-10 | 9385288350 |
| Edition | 1 |
| Number of Pages | 256 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9789385288357 |
| Binding | Hardcover |
The title is as intriguing as the story that unfolds in the pages of this book, Mother, Where’s My Country? by Anubha Bhonsle.
The very affable TV anchor and the champion of Citizen Journalist, Anubha makes this book a compelling read with graphic imagery of what Manipur is all about. That the tyranny of distance has been shortened in this book is a very great attempt in bringing the stories from Manipur to the masses or even take them to the TV studios because of the way it has been written.
The imagery presented in this book is not just the lush green forest cover but uncovers the militant and the govt, the life and times of Irom Sharmila. An mammoth effort spread over long years of journalistic work, this book is a testament to true inquiring journalistic reporting of a story especially of the North East that comes into news only when there is an election or a riot. The everyday trespasses that the army or the naxal make against the dutiful citizens get mired in local press not much coverage again.
Heart rending stories, and anecdotes from first person account and trailing the Irom Sharmila’s fast all make for an intense storytelling. At time makes me wonder how we take our life for granted. We cant even adjust to some bad roads and some municipal issues, whereas there is a part of the country where rules are not rules nor laws are enforced.
Like P Sainath says in his quote this is perhaps a reflection of the North East and ofcourse the topic happens to be Manipur. This I am sure would be one of the best non fiction books to come in a long time. The context of North East makes it more compelling and the way it has been presented to the audience is note worthy.
Engrossing read is probably an understatement, makes you immerse yourself and think where’s my country, this book is a classic attempt by a journalist who knows what she is doing – going after truth at all cost.
You will thank me for this reco, I m sure! Check out the book and buy it here
Thanks Flipkart for sending in the book for review as a part of Flipkart Book review program!
Senthilkumar
| Publisher | Speaking Tiger |
| ISBN-10 | 9385755587 |
| Edition | 1 |
| Number of Pages | 272 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9789385755583 |
| Binding | Paperback |
When I got a mail from Vivek Flipkart on two different books for review, it appealed to me in a way that this has got to be different probably, changing the way I would start looking at society.
I replied stating this must be a different perspective given the topic and how they have been seen in the way the society draws a line. So when the Sunny Leone interview happened the same time, it showed how deep those lines run in our mind rather than on the roads where these unprivileged women make the ends meet.
And to put together some of the most acclaimed writers in a collection must have been a task and getting to the topic on hand must have been a great decision by itself. I see this as a big and bold step simply because that was what ultimately got me to read this book. And the editor Ruchira Gupta has done a fabulous job on this front.
And when you read those stories you get to read those innocence writ on their lives and how those innocence has been tarnished and trampled to a state of prostitution.
It took sometime to realise the gravity of the context in each of these stories which come to life with words from some of the classic writers as Kamla Das, Indira Goswami to Mushi Premchand.
Poignant sometimes, rebellious sometimes, meek and mild and varied the expressions are myriad in more ways than one.
This book also opens up to the regional intricacies and the thoughts that pervade through the countryside. Some the endings are sure to give you goose pumps and some make you sit up and almost have a stuck throat. Quite often the end is a dark twist of fate if you may call that. How would you rationalise the woman going to bed with another man in the darkness to feed a hungry, ailing husband a mouth full of gruel.
The characters will live with you for sometime and sometimes you will feel the bitterness of the words. I am amazed by the fact that some of the works are recreated in the sense translated and I could sense the emotion when I could connect with the original language and the author. (eg. Ponnagaram)
It’s not just the woman’s plight that is portrayed here but the whole of the society which gets the whiplashes from the authors through the characters.
Pick this book and you will be led to a neighborhood you didn’t want to walk through. Gripping stories narrated so intensely and with appeal that makes you think.
Check out and buy the book here
Senthilkumar
| BOOK DETAILS | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Westland |
| ISBN-10 | 9385152386 |
| Imprint | Westland |
| Number of Pages | 392 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2015 October |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9789385152382 |
| Binding | Paperback |
The best seller she wrote by Ravi Subramanian makes you sit through till you have turned the last pages. Gripping drama spiced with love interest, sex, vaulting professional ambition and betrayal in equal measure.
The settings are simply awesome and the earnestness and ambitiousness of the young generation and how they take the means to the end and sometimes the way they take the road never travelled to make it happen are all highlights of this novel. I did find it a bit philosophical in a way that your family is bound to be the last place you can be yourself and there is nothing like your family to go back to.
Aditya’s character is a wonderfully woven one with a sub text how fame and money can make you lose your composure and how a bit of waywardness is going to cost as much as everything in life, is a character who will remain in your memory long after you have turned the last page.
A friend’s characterisation in Sanjay and the machinations are a revealing aspect of human emotion of jealousy and envy that pervades today under the guise of friendship, and other relationship.
The pace set by the author is brilliant and the way things happen and connecting the dots is something only Ravi Subramanian can pull it off. The techie in him and the Apple cloud is a delight to read. I remember a line where they said things were different when apple and blackberry were real fruits, you know what I mean.
The ‘I want in now’ generation and its remorse less way to famedom and ethereal affinity to money is characterized in an engrossing way.
A fast paced read and will make you realise the futility at times on what we are doing 24/7 in the name of work and everything else we call it work. Knowing it is going to be a Bollywood reproduction its got ample dose of explicit scenes for the reader. It was a little extra if you ask me.
All in all a great read for a novel in this genre, keeps your attention solid till it gets out. Probably doesn’t have those Ravi Subramanian’s signature of the Financial world stuff, nevertheless he holds your attention.
I took 2 sessions to finish this book. I loved the way the author chose to thank Bloggers and some of his little circle of creative people through this novel.
The marketing aspect of a publication is a lesson that every author would need and if you read this book then possible that you would end up with some insights on what goes behind the marketing of the book and definitely you would understand that writing is not the toughest part.
A page turner by any other name will be called the Best Seller She Wrote.
Here’s one trailer of the book 🙂
I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!
Senthilkumar Rajappan