PLOT: 3/5 CHARACTERS: 2.5/5 WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5 CLIMAX: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5 The contribution of ancient Indians to the development of various sciences is substantial. Aryabhatta invented zero and gave us the modern number system. Over 2600 years ago, Sushruta conducted surgeries like cataract, fractures, and brain surgeries. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by earth […]
The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science | Will Storr | Book Review
SUBJECT: 4/5 RESEARCH: 4/5 WRITING STYLE: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4/5 The world is never short of alternate sciences or theories or remedies or any other thing. If there is a correct way to do a thing, many alternate ways, some good and some farce, always find a way into existence. Allopathy, homoeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, etc. Psychotherapy […]
The Winds of Hastinapur | Sharath Komarraju | Book Review
PLOT: 3/5 CHARACTERS: 3/5 WRITING STYLE: 4/5 CLIMAX: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5 With more than 74,000 verses and about 1.8 million words, Mahabharata is the longest epic in the world. It has been widely translated, simplified, retold and fictionalised over the centuries. But most of them do not give you the total picture of the […]
Who Wrote the Bhagavadgita – A Secular Enquiry Into a Sacred Text | Meghnad Desai | Book Review
SUBJECT: 5/5 RELEVANCE: 5/5 RESEARCH: 3.5/5 WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5 The Bhagavad-Gita, along with the Vedas and the Upanishads, constitutes a basic triad (prasthanatrayi) of the Hindu religion. It is by far one of the most sacred among Hindu religious texts. It forms the foundation for most of the ideologies of the Hindu […]
Losing My Religion | Vishwas Mudagal | Book Review
PLOT: 5/5 CHARACTERS: 4/5 WRITING STYLE: 4/5 CLIMAX: 5/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 5/5 Entrepreneurship is the “in” thing now; it is the buzz word. Everybody wants to be their own boss; they want to revolutionize the world with their ideas. But being an entrepreneur is not an easy task, and every entrepreneur worth his salt knows […]
Boats on Land – A Collection of Short Stories | Janice Pariat | Book Review
STORIES: 3/5 CHARACTERS: 5/5 WRITING STYLE: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5 The beauty of the north-east lies in its culture, its people and its landscapes. The seven sisters, as these seven states are called, have their own culture, beliefs and language, and each one is more beautiful than the other. But these are in jeopardy due […]
Private India | Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson | Book Review
PLOT: 3/5 CHARACTERS: 3/5 WRITING STYLE: 3/5 CLIMAX: 2/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 2.5/5 It is a dream collaboration – James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi. One is a master of crime writing, and the other is a master in weaving mystery. So when they co-author a book, it ought to be a classic; it ought to be […]
Servants of the Goddess: The Modern-day Devadasis | Catherine Rubin Kermorgant | Book Review
SUBJECT: 5/5 RESEARCH: 4/5 WRITING STYLE: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4/5 Wendy Doniger’s book ‘The Hindus: An Alternative History’ was recently recalled and pulped by Penguin India because it “hurt the feelings of the Hindus.” More specifically, the connections between sex and religion were the main concerns the opponents had about “The Hindus”. I am in […]
The Namesake | Jhumpa Lahiri | Book Review
PLOT: 5/5 CHARACTERS: 5/5 WRITING STYLE: 5/5 CLIMAX: 5/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 5/5 I am particularly hesitant about reading books by renowned authors; authors who bag Nobels and Pulitzers and Man Bookers. It is not that I haven’t tried. Most of what they write, though beautiful, go way over my head. I would rather prefer reading […]
Newton’s Law Reversed | Howard Roark | Book Review
PLOT: 3/5 CHARACTERS: 3.5/5 WRITING STYLE: 4.5/5 CLIMAX: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5 The basic premise of most love stories, either it is a tragedy or a happy one, is the same. There are certain indispensable fundamentals which, at their core, do not change much; two people in love, cheesy romantic scenes, fights and quarrels, certain […]
Lajja: Shame | Taslima Nasrin | Book Review
PLOT: 5/5 RESEARCH: 5/5 CHARACTERS: 5/5 CLIMAX: 4/5 WRITING STYLE: 4/5 History teaches us that religion has been one of the most compelling reasons behind many of the great wars, and a consequence of most religious wars is an exodus of natives who have been conquered. The exodus of Israelis from Egypt as mentioned in […]
Just Kidding… Yours, Destiny | Anirban Das | Book Review
PLOT: 4/5 CHARACTERS: 4/5 WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5 CLIMAX: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4.5/5 The greatest prankster in the world is destiny or fate or karma. It always teases us, and never lets anything go according to plan; it is the greatest devotee of Murphy’s Law. When things seem to be going smooth and comfortably, destiny gets […]