let’s talk books

What I liked the most about the book is its intriguing title.

The book is divided into 4 sections dealing extensively with Muslim identity, culture, literature and religion. However, to be very honest the last two sections do not hold much interest for me.

The stereotypes, prejudices and deliberate othering of the community which gives way to violence is very powerfully voiced out in the first two sections.

I’ve always wanted to know how a preconceived notion based on generations of conditioning affects a community. As a PhD researcher studying about the Islamic community , I came across various literary sources like Tarikh-i-Asham and Baharistan-i-Ghaibi that talks about how religious distinctions weren’t very rigid and stringent in Assam compared to the rest of the empire in the 17th century. This is why the steady infiltration of misconceptions and piling up of images and ideas that Dr. Jalil talks about never affected the most of us in our state.

An Axomiya speaking, rice eating, mekhela chador wearing woman can be a Hindu or a Muslim in our state. Wonder how one looks like one’s religion?

The struggle against ghettoisation that the author talks about shook my core. I really want people to read it to understand the complicated web of politics that attempts to feed us a narrative of ‘othering’. What the author could have avoided in the text is the last few chapters with extensive detailing of medieval literature and religion. A reader picking it up to understand Identity and things associated with it may find it hard to relate. I survived, because most of the things written were covered in our CHS lectures. Felt like I was sitting in Prof. Najaf Haider’s class again.

Not a fast-paced reading. A serious non-fiction which requires a deep engagement. Happy reading 📖 .

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Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award, ‘That Long Silence’ is a fictional account of the conditions of women in 20th century India, reflecting the lives of women from different social classes. What remains common to all of them is patriarchal oppression. Be it the protagonist Jaya, who is an ‘educated’, middle class writer, or the various women Jaya talks about , her mother, her aunts, her maids, all of them are victims of a long silence, shut by conditioning, unjust dictates, assigned gender roles and most importantly the belief that things were meant to be just like the way it was. .

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Ironically women of 21st century India are still enslaved by ideas of bondage, dependence and blind compliance. Pre-marital lifestyle dictated by blood relations and post marital by in-laws. The idea of a modern independent woman fighting for her individuality is still not acceptable to the traditionalists. This makes Deshpande’s book relatable to women readers in present times too.

Jaya’s experience as a woman is the main plot of the story. Jaya’s narrative also connected to the experiences of the minor characters in the story which makes it a bit complex. It is not a very simple, easy flowing read, but one needs to understand the emotions behind every line. .

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The author focused on the minute aspects of daily life which otherwise appears very ordinary but it reflects the complex patterns of thoughts that have influenced women since forever. The mother-daughter conversations, the dependence on the male members of the household, the references to practices like fasting for one’s husband, expecting women to know the art of handling a kitchen, working hard to fight ageing in order to please their husbands and not get abandoned in the long run are a few things which didn’t fade into darkness in the 70s. We are still carrying forward these ideas directly or indirectly. The least we can do is stop being agents of patriarchy.

Popuri Lalita Kumari, better known as Volga is one of my favourite feminist writers ever since I read “The Liberation of Sita”. The protagonist of this book Yashodhara was the wife of Siddhartha Gautama until he set out on his spiritual journey to attain enlightenment. But this journey to spiritual learning was open to men only. Challenging this makes Volga’s Yashodhara the hero. The rational and compassionate woman challenges the established ideas and all she wanted to achieve was that same spiritual journey to be open to women as equals. What I liked the most about the book is that it showed how difficult it was to achieve something as a woman in a world where their intellectual aptitude was considered madness. Yashodhara’s mind was no less inquisitive than Siddhartha, but she lamented over the fact that it was easy to challenge the system, existing prejudices, Varna injustices, class divisions etc as men but a simple question regarding the identity of women was enough to label them as ‘insane’.

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The journey of Siddhartha and Yashodhara is portrayed so beautifully. The narrative focused on the spiritual influence of Siddhartha over Yashodhara and her presence affecting his way of understanding the world around him. The first quarter of the book deals with challenging the idea of a ‘syayamvara’. Siddhartha being a non-conformist didn’t like the idea of considering women as objects to be won in a competition. But he wanted Yashodhara to fight for herself, so he refrained from taking the responsibility to fight on her behalf. The next part of the narrative is very obvious. Yashodhara’s father doubted her sanity just because she questioned Kshatriya traditions.

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The author also gives voice to questions like household confinement of women, pressure of motherhood and how these obligations hinders intellectual growth. However, Yashodhara couldn’t challenge the system all by herself. Before reading the book, I was just wondering if Siddhartha abandoned her against her wishes. But all she wanted was his help to establish a new path to deliverance open for all irrespective of gender disparities.It was because of the collective effort of Yashodhara and the Budhdha that the path to spiritual enlightenment is open for all.

“The Boon… Waiting to be discovered” is one of the most promising novels I’ve recently read, especially by a debutant author. Coming up with such deep ideas isn’t that simple and he deserves our attention for introducing a very relatable work of fiction.

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The introduction of the protagonist Anusha Maheshwari is very unusual. In the first chapter titled “The End”, she gives up on life and commits suicide because of various traumatic episodes that occurred in her life. All the abstract range of thoughts that pre-occupied her mind before she decides to end her life is so beautifully presented that it leaves the readers in anticipation. Concepts like life after death and a spiritual guide giving us the opportunity to go back to the living realm is something we must have seen via pop culture, or read in other works of fiction. But what makes this book special? I feel the subtle nature of the book does. 〰️

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The simple plot makes it easier to grasp the deeper philosophical and spiritual ideas of life. The author’s perceptions reflect the influence of Indian philosophical traditions on him. Righteous living, mastering the art of dealing with Maya(temptations), the liberation of the soul after death and most importantly finding the purpose of one’s life is very precisely talked about as a part of the main plot connecting these key philosophical concepts to the protagonist and the side characters.

We all have experienced the loss of our loved ones at some point of our lives. Some of them must have chosen to end their lives on their own. Maybe this is why I feel, that reading a book like this will help one adopt a positive approach towards life, understanding the meaning of life through these simple yet powerful words.

In the fictional world, an encounter with an advisor after death seems possible, but this is real life 😭. Let this book guide you spiritually and help you realise the purpose of your existence. 〰️

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I loved reading and reviewing the book and highly recommend it to readers.

Happy reading peeps.

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Thankful to @mayur_author .

Best wishes.

I picked this book a few hours back and I just couldn’t put it down. Finished it in a single sitting.

I am so happy to see such pieces of writing focusing on how transpeople are struggling everyday to define their identity despite many upheavals.

It’s really sad to look into the lives of the transgenders who do not have access to education, and a quality life because they are shunned by their dear ones as soon as they exhibit “non acceptable” personality and behavioural traits. This is again influenced by our social constructs encouraging sub human treatment and categorisations.

But we can also hope to see more Manobis if we treat them as humans, because they are no less. It’s only because of her family’s support and the education she received, that she recognised her rights and fought hard to break the stereotypes. Look where she is now.

I loved the narrative. Very strong . I was struggling very hard to understand what it felt like to have conflicting issues while dealing with one’s own gender. Must be really painful. .

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I am recommending this book to anyone who believes in equality and humanity above anything.

Happy reading.

Leave similar recommendations in comments. .

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Mehboob Murderer is one of the most fascinating murder mysteries I’ve read so far. Not like I’ve read hundreds of mysteries. But I’m sure this is one of my favourites now.

The plot is so proficiently designed that it will succeed in captivating the attention of any reader and touch that inquisitive wire in one’s head.

The way the author builds the characters is really commendable. Apart from an excellent portrayal of the physical characteristics of the characters, she also focused on giving the readers a better access to their emotional complexes. This is really important I feel, because the characters stay with you forever, only if they are built strong. Anand has also done a marvellous job while framing the subplots of the book. The dynamics of the behavioural peculiarities of all the major and minor characters is so beautifully written that I’m not sure if this actually is her debut.

What I also liked is how she tried to focus on concepts like abuse, flesh trade, poverty and adultery. She’s not just connected Mumbai city to the lives of the characters in the book, but the ones who’ve been there and still lives in the city can also relate to the city, the people, the fast lives, the metro, the traffic, the food.

I totally enjoyed reading the book. It deserves all the praise.

Grab your copy peeps ♥️ you’ll have a great time.

What do you think of the plot if you were to guess from the title?

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton