Reading: The Waiting Room by Anupa Mehta

Right now I am reading "The Waiting Room" by Anupa Mehta. Considering the limited time I have everyday, I picked up this rather thin book, so that I can complete it in 1-2 days. It gets frustrating to go on reading same book for weeks. It just kills the joy of reading completely.

Review: Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

The vibrant and attractive cover of this book and a good review in one of the magazines, made me decide that I surely wanted to check out this book. It also helped that one of my friends had bought it by chance.

Mr Ali is the main protagonist. After retirement, both he and his wife feels that rather than whiling away his time and interfering in the matters of household, opening a marriage bureau could be a great way to keep oneself engaged. A Marriage Bureau appeared to be a good business option because it hardly requires any investment and does not need too much of physical work or running around either. This book is a slow read. You can read it at your pace because for a long, long time there is no gripping story. The book is based in Vishakhapatnam and paints a beautiful picture of the city and the life there. This book is a clear winner in illustrating the sights and sounds of Vizag or for any small Indian city quite beautifully. More than the story, what stands out is the writer’s eye for detail and the pain he has taken to re-create the place and its life through his masterful words. When I read about this book, what caught my attention was the “marriage bureau” angle. It sounded like a very interesting background for any story. It can present an opportunity to explore the interesting facets of how an Indian marriage takes place.

There is a plethora of characters that walk in and out of the story, and eventually we are led to the story of Aruna, Mr Ali’s assistant, and her marriage. But frankly, there’s no “once upon a time” or “…and then one day” moment. I kept waiting for the “real” story but the characters come and go and they do not become key characters of this book.

The book does not work for me atleast; I don’t like fiction that does not tell a story. I will give it 5.5 or maximum 6 out of 10 only for the writer’s efforts in understanding the nuances of ‘true’ India and crafting the daily life in absolute detail – what with the troubles of a lower class house maid, to the dynamics of a retired couple, to the trials of a lower middle class young girl and the even the ordinariness of daily life in a quaint Indian city. It is also interesting to see the mirror of a person’s prejudices and expectations in the partner one is looking at.

It is not a page-turner but it keeps you interested in a different kind of charm that spells ‘India’. May be you can try this book when you have read a couple of heavy duty books and want a slow read. 

Image credit: Amazon
 
 

New Books on my shelf

I buy books practically every week. So, not having bought any book for a couple of days, I was itching to get some. But can’t just pick up anything, so I visited Smita’s Blog and hunted for my kind of books. Right now, after having read serious stuff like about Mahabharata and Mughal dynasty, I wanted to read some god chiklit or anything refreshingly different.

I finally zeroed in on the following books:

• The Waiting Room by Anupa Mehta
• Time Stops at Shamli by Ruskin Bond (can you believe it, I have never read a Ruskin Bond!)
• The Cradle Snatcher by Tim Stimson
• Faking it by Amrita Chowdhury

I have already lined up the following books for my next binge:

• Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella (‘Twenties Girl’ not available yet)
• Dreams Die Young by C.V.Murali
• Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer

Reading: Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

I first came across this book in one of the magazines, and it definitely aroused curiosity. As luck would have it, one of my friends picked it up. I have just started it, so review will come later but the beginning had that warm, familiar feeling of everything Indian. That is the best thing about Indian English fiction, you totally relate to it - no pan-cakes, no divorces at the drop of the hat, no frivolous dating!

for the PEOPLE

Few months back, I chanced upon PEOPLE magazine. I was completely bowled over by it. In fact, I would go on to say that PEOPLE is the best celebrity magazine in India right now. It does not have trashy celebrity gossip, and unnecessary interviews on crazy hookups that are purely for publicity stunts. All the film magazines have become trashy right now, they do not have any content. Same filmstars, same questions. How much can one read about Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif really. Every time they have a release, they are back on Covers. Agh!

But PEOPLE has exclusive pics, fashion and celebrities from all walks of life. It is surely interesting.

I wanted to subscribe, but the Offer was not that lucrative. My local vendor gave me much better offer and I sort of subscribed it. If you are into celebrity magazines, this is the best on stands. Go Grab it!

People magazine can be subscribed from this link.

Image courtesy: Pinkvilla.com

New Books on my Shelf!

While reading 'The Feast of Roses', I got incredibly interested in reading more about the Mughal era in general and women in particular. Nurjahan's story was fascinating; and her ambition to possess the power to rule the kingdom, considered preposterous at that time, was in fact very courageous for a lady.

So, a little research, led me to 2 books:

The Twentieth Wife

This book is also by Indu Sundaresan and deals with Nurjahan’s life before marrying Jahangir. I have read good reviews about this book too. And after having read 'The Feast of Roses' myself, I can vouch for Indu Sundaresan. I liked her snese of detailing and making every character come alive. Best deal at Indiaplaza for Rs 287 with some shipping charges if this is the only book you are buying.

Taj: A Story Of Mughal India: A Story Of Mughal India

A book on one of the most remarkable architectures of India, not about the building but the story behind building it. It is written by Timeri N. Murari. Best Deal at Flipkart for Rs 275 with free shipping.

I’m itching to complete both at the earliest and will be back for the reviews for sure.

The Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan

Knowing the book-freak I am, one of my friends recommended this book to me. At that time, I had lots of books ordered or on the verge of ordering, so I just made a note and saved the icon of the book (means picture of the cover page for posterity). 

Anyways, I have completed this book in a record 3 weeks. Yup, it is a record of highest time taken to read the book. It has nothing to do with the attention-grabbing quotient of the book.

The book is about Emperor Jahangir’s ‘Twentieth Wife’ Noorjahan. Noorjahan is one of the most distinguished and illustrious of Mughal women. During those days, women had very little role in public life but Noorjahan dreams of such power – unheard of and unprecedented for any women - and accomplishes her goal. Noorjahan comes across as a shrewd, ambitious and gutsy woman who makes a lot of enemies along the way but no friends.

This intriguing and fascinating story of Noorjahan holds quite a few revelations (atleast for me):

• Noorjahan was actually the 20^th wife of the emperor
• She got married to Jahangir when she was 34 years old – quite old for the years of yore
• Jahangir was Noorjahan’s second husband. She was married earlier to someone else earlier and had a daughter from her first marriage
• Shahjahan (prince Khurram) was not Noorjahan’s son
• Shahjahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal was Noorjahan’s niece and Noorjahan was instrumental in getting her niece married to Prince Khurram, who was later known as Shahjahan
• Noorjahan’s real name was Mehrunnisa
• In her pursuit of power, possessing the title of ‘Begam Padshah’ and authority to command the kingdom, Noorjahan makes and breaks several collaborations within the palace – with different sons of Jahangir in different times since she did not have a son of her own.

I think I have already blurted out half the book. But in any case, this book is not a thriller. It is the quest of a woman to become the most powerful lady of the kingdom.

The stories surrounding Mughal princesses are intriguing. We have often heard the love stories of Jahangir-Noorjahan and Shahjahan –Mumtaz Mahal. There is a prequel to the book called “The Twentieth Wife”. 


‘The Feast of Roses’ starts from the time when Noorjahan is already the wife of Jahangir. It is also a glimpse into the inner dynamics of harems (harem = living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household) of kingdoms – how a king used to have several queens (mostly to form alliances), and were also allowed to have several concubines and slave girls; how women could just be spectators of court proceeding, never the participants and how there was a hierarchy inside the harems.

This book is an captivating story of how Noorjahan dreams and gets the role much powerful than any Mughal queen had ever dreamt of. I absolutely loved this book, more so because the narrative was quite illustrative – the prevalent social norms and the mannerisms. Must read!

P.S. It also has a very user-friendly family tree at the beginning for people like me who keep forgetting who was whose wife and who was whose son!

And by the way, my "The Twentieth Wife" is already on the way from India Plaza, and I have also bought this book called "Taj: A Story of Mughal India By Timeri N. Murari"

A very Good Offer for All Book Lovers

I came across this offer while going through my most preferred site for book-shopping – Indiaplaza. They have an offer called Indiplaza Book Club Membership Offer. For all the people who buy a lot of books throughout the year, it is a boon. Read all the details here.

My take on this is:
- You buy this Membership for Rs 500 and immediately when the Membership is activated, you get a free voucher worth Rs 500 for buying books. So you are not really paying anything for this Membership.
- Through this, you will get assured 25% discount on all the books throughout one year.
- My extensive research has shown me that most of the books are cheapest on Indiaplaza despite paying the shipping for the first book.

I have already taken the Membership and today I start my first purchase of free books worth Rs 500.

It can’t get better than this!

Good Books

Some books which I am itching to Own:

The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 (Paperback) by Ramesh Menon (Author)

Noorjahan, empress of Mughal India by by Ellison Banks

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

Rethinking the Mahabharata by Alf Hiltebeitel

Next Door stories by Jahnavi Barua

The Immortals by Amit Chaudhari

Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The Mahabharata by Meera Uberoi

The women of the Mahabharata by Badrinath Chaturvedi

Radheya (Hindi): Period Novel on Mahabharata's Karna by Ranjit Desai

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

Reading Lolita In Tehran by Azar Nafisi

The Wet Nurse by Mahasweta Devi

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Dreams Die Young By C.V. Murali

Why I assassinated Mahatma Gandhi

Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

A Princess Remembers: The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur

Review: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

‘The Kite Runner’ is a fabulous book and also a wonderful movie.

I read the book about 3 years back. I was member of this library from where you could borrow a couple of books, read and then return for some other books. When I read the back cover, I found it intriguing. So, I just picked it up.

It was a ‘difficult’ book to read – not in language or expression but in content, in the emotions that it evoked. It left me with a heavy heart. It was like Shashi Deshpande’s books. When you are done, you would feel as if you have lived the book. Just like in Deshpande’s books, the feelings are described so clearly that you end up living those yourself; and eventually you end up ‘living’ the book. So, when the book gets over, you feel empty for sometime.

The basic plot is that of two friends - Amir and Hassan but beyond the surface, this book addresses a lot of political, sociological and emotional issues. Amir’s dad is a rich guy and Hassan’s father works at Amir’s home. But there is deep friendship between the two. Hassan – from supposedly a low caste - is so devoted to Amir that he would do anything for his sake. The book is about how he puts himself at stake and faces deep humiliation, for Amir. 

Amir is not so brave. He carries the guilt of knowing what Hassan goes through and not doing anything about it. 

Both get separated due to political turmoil and family situations, but eventually Amir risks his life to save Hassan’s son and pays the dues of friendship, at the end.

Don’t want to be a spoiler, so no matter how much I want to write the story here, I would control myself.

The movie was beautiful. There is an effortless translation of book into the movie. I could not stop myself from crying for Hassan and feeling deep sense of injustice in knowing that he only did the right thing, yet he lost his life. 

The movie also reminded how an Afghan used to be reminiscent of “Kabulliwalah” – the big-hearted pathan; unlike today, where people look at an Afghan with suspicion. It is also sad to look at the deteriorated condition of life there, abject injustice in the name of religion. When the world is progressing toward growth and development, Talibans support regressive culture and clearly favour stone age! It is even difficult to imagine life for them. 

Watch the movie (and read the book) for its sensitivity and beautiful portrayal of human emotions and friendship. It is every bit worth it.