Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry

I picked this up from the library while my casual browsing. The reason I remembered it because of the controversy when it was pulled out of a college syllabus.

Of course curiosity got the better of me even when I was not interested in reading it for the propaganda.

Well this was a quick one (don't let 300 odd pages deter you). It has all that a normal Indian life has to offer. drama, emotion, comedy, tragedy and a lot of hope (even some black magic remedies if you're interested). And of course a lot of Parsi life and rituals in Mumbai. This also was a really thought out novel when a lot of sub plots ended up joining in the larger narration.

I could have avoided a lot of metaphors but then I'm on the other side of writing. 

But if you miss this one you're not going to miss much :) 

Love

Age of Anger : A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra

 A lot of my choices these days are influenced by what is available in the library.

So here is the one which was I saw last week and I picked it up on a whim. Well, this was not the best pick but I don't feel bad about taking it.

The reason why it was not the best because there were a lot of references in the book which are directed from philosophers to revolutionaries to thinkers to political/social commentators. I heard the names of most of them but unfortunately didn't know their larger writings so in the back of my head I was telling myself not to get biased because this might be a one off quote :)

But I did like the overall perspective of the book, and it did give me a lot of references which I would be glad to pick in my future readings.

One thing about the rise of individualism is that it was always there. Those hungry, dissatisfied, hothead revolutionaries and politicians were always a part of the history. The modern technology has just equipped the current generation to move their thoughts and actions faster than their predecessors but that is visible in every field so why this one is expected to remain the same.

Worth a read if not for a new perspective but for a different one.

Peace

Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India by Shashi Tharoor

 I was not looking for it but when I saw it in the library I said "why not?"

As the author mentioned that this came out in the continuation of his speech in Oxford, I could just smile at the irony of it, don't worry if you don't see it.

And like the title suggests it puts a lot of thoughts around the data and other sources from those 200 years and beyond. I will say that anybody who is looking at the positive sides of Raj or bent on showing that this was after all for the welfare of the colonised should look at this book. It summarily gives you all the details about what was wrong with British colonisation.

The worst part is not that this happened but that this was justified later or suppressed from public memory.

Repatriation is not the answer but keeping it alive in memory of people from both side is more important. If we forget it or remember a diluted/altered version of it then that will be the gravest of the injustice.

Peace

Kashmir - Behind The Vale by M J Akbar

 After my last read this was something I wanted to read.

This is a real good account of Kashmir from its history to what it is today. It covers a lot of topics and a larger portion is dedicated to the narrative around what caused its current state.

I'll not go into details but I can see that it has almost the similar causes that has catastrophic results historically irrespective of the event/country/civilisation. These are ego, greed, apathy, indolence and doubt.

I wonder how it would have been if any one of these factors were avoided. A ego won, greed removed, apathy understood, indolence acted upon, and doubts cast aside. Well that would have lead to a completely different book and what an amazing book it would have been to read.

But we can't turn back time and undo things and should look forward to the future.

Peace!

Our Moon Has Blood Clots: The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits by Rahul Pandita

 This a memoir of growing up in Kashmir as a Kashmiri Pandit.

It all goes like a narration which doesn't sound very coherent on a timeline but once you put the book down you realise that the sequence automatically falls in place inside your brain. You've the building blocks thrown at you but you don't need a blueprint to know which one goes where, it always falls into it's place.

It is a bit difficult to put yourself in those shoes when you don't have anything similar of your own. It's easy to connect with a narration which talks about moving out of your place for your job, business, dreams or what not but when you're rooted out of your home and take up a tag of a refugee than it's a different kind of movement. It's not what you wanted to do or destined to do but this was something which was forced upon you.

There can be million opinions why or how this happened and who was responsible for it but in a retrospective this doesn't mean anything. You realise that what is done can't be undone. You can't just put the clock in reverse to wish it away.

However, this gives us the opportunity to contemplate on what we can do or how we can react to it. And if possible what everybody can learn from it.

Peace

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

This one came on my radar recently, and I thought of picking it up.

This was a really good read as it gives a commentary from the author's point who happens to a journalist which I'm mentioning to make a point about her amazing writing skills.

The whole book is full of so many small anecdotes/incidents which are personal or historical but gives us a big picture of how the whole discrimination works. There are a lot of incidents which are from US before or after the civil war but those are true for any discriminating society.

One thing which I kind of disagree is that in today's world the discrimination is still there but the rightfully your's can be delayed but can't be denied which is true for all.

We've made progress and from here on it's going to be way forward only as the new normal settles down.

Another thought which came as an after thought was that the imbalance of power is always going to stay in one form or another. Discrimination is something which we can't just wish away and only the conscience with discipline can deliver the larger goals in the future.

Peace!