~ Doctor. Author. Mahabharata fanatic. Yoga enthusiast. Sanskrit learner. Chiku's (my doggie) adopted hooman. Love to unfurl with pencil sketching, Kishore Kumar & black coffee laced with Hazelnut syrup. Curious about the Mystique.
Category Archives: Constructive Criticism: Book reviews
Book Reviews – Anybody can criticize; but Constructive criticism is an arrow well-targeted at bettering the author.
Translations of folk songs and re tellings of folk tales across generations
A children’s book should satisfy 3 criteria.
Easy, fluid language
Suspension of disbelief aka rich imagination
A moral of the story (or even 4 as in Bala Nagamma)
This collection of tales from the South India aka Dakshin Bharat ticks all the above. It’s a world where animals are often wiser than humans, where magic happens at the snap of a finger, and where each tale offers food for thought, much like our Sanskrit epic Panchtantra.
Remember Panch Tantra? The ancient Indian Sanskrit story book (by Vishnu Sharma) where birds and animals spouted wisdom, showcased personality, spoke with elan and were cooler dudes than humans?
Well, our ancestors weren’t hallucinating. Animals do speak and how!
When Chiku my 4.5 female Indie stormed into my life, I was initiated into the world of saucy tantrums, snooty grandma airs and unbearable cuteness. When Chiku spoke to Sudha aunty (an animal communicator), I was bowled over by how accurate & detailed her readings were.
Is it magic? Is it an art? is it a gift? Is it a science?
Thats’s how I got into yearning to learn this skill. A 5-day beginner’s course with the author consolidated my fascination with the topic…and that’s how I got hold of this book.
Topics: title says it all. Telepathy to communicate with ‘so-called’ animals. Akshaya covers conversations with pets, those with lost/missing/runaway pets and even pets who passed away from the physical form into the soul world.
My take – 22 short stories with a strong autobiographical leaning. Tales are relatable, touching and thought provoking. Writing style is fresh and original. Characters are well etched and remain in memory even after the page has turned. Tears, smiles, chills, thrills, pining, yearning – get a dose of what appeals to you.
Author: D.K Powell
Here’s how the author himself describes his work – ‘
“Twenty-two short fiction stories and semi-fictional essays which individually stand alone but together takes the reader on an imaginary journey from childhood in 1980s Britain to adulthood as a teacher, to life in Bangladesh and finally to old age (and beyond) in contemporary Britain.
Separate characters, narrators and scenarios present different fictional ideas yet hidden within each is a kernel of truth, deliberately masked, about the author behind them all. Here we meet schoolboys hiding from witches, terrified teachers, dangerous school Heads, magical instruments, mysterious prisons and (extra)ordinary women – yet everything has some basis in reality. The stories explore difficult themes such as childhood innocence, abuse, sex, love, religion and death.
Some stories and essays connect together to form a chronological thread while others contradict each other or imagine alternative lives. All of them are intended to amuse or challenge the reader’s understanding of life and, if they take the time to look closely, to reveal pencil marks hidden behind the paint.”
I always nurtured a soft spot for Indra, him being Arjun’s Dad. I was left puzzled by how casually Indra is laughed off, – and yet multiple passages in Mahabharat cite him as a benchmark of excellence, by describing a great warrior as ‘ fierce as Indra himself.’
This glaring contradiction indicated a vast abyss where his aura got diluted/distorted- whether due to time or by design. This book finally vindicates the real Indra in all his gut and glory.
Mr Utkarsh delves deep and wide, deftly interweaving folk tales with fiction into a coherent sequence of Indra’s life. He highlights the merits of Indra – his power games, his war strategies, his ambition, his friendships. As also his weakness for soma and stree. His constant tussles with the brahmin cadre, some whom he comes to admire (Dadhichi) while some others who use, abuse & dispose him at will.
His love-hate relation with the wily Vishnu (ahem!). A sequel in the making?
A neat read. A much-needed analysis of Indra.
Author: Utkarsh Patel (A lecturer of comparative mythology at the University of Mumbai and is a guest faculty in many other academic institutions across the country. He is an author of mythological fiction. He is also a founder member of ‘The Mythology Project’ (www.themythologyproject.com), which explores our rich cultural heritage through archival collections and by researching living myths and traditions.
Utkarsh regularly conducts workshops on various world mythologies—Greek, Mesopotamian and Norse—in addition to the epics of India, particularly the Ramayana and its myriad versions. Utkarsh is a TEDx speaker. He is also regularly invited to speak on various mythological subjects, with an emphasis on the interpretation of mythological characters and incidents, feminism, management and other topics, at various literary forums and festivals, organizations, etc.
In Pretty Woman, he simplifies his complex job by saying ‘I buy big companies, then break them into smaller companies and sell them” She asks, “And that’s all it takes to make you a millionaire??” (or somewhere along these lines)
Jason simplifies his life as a voracious appetite for diving into troubled waters (read businesses or startups) and getting a kick out of smoothening the choppy waves. He makes it sound simple , magical and ‘Heck, I can do it too’ Continue reading →
Impractical Dreamer: Sweety Shinde 