Luka and The Fire of Life - Salman Rushdie

Once upon a time, I started reading Rushdie's Midnight Children and got stuck in page 4. Long long time ago, I tried to get a copy of his Satanic Verses but failed. So, this is my first Rushdie book. And Oh! I'm stupefied n delighted.

This fantastic fantasy has been written as a b'day gift for his second son. And this is a sort of  sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories which was a gift to his first son. Perfect.

Luka Khalifa lives in the city of Kahani in Alifbay with his father, the Shah of Blah, mother Soraya, brother Haroun, pets- Bear the dog n Dog the bear. The book depicts his adventures in the Magical World created by his father , to steal The Fire of Life, in order to save his father from eternal sleep. Lyrical, rich with word-play, the quest is funny, thrilling and very much chichi n mod. 

Relish.

Train to Pakistan - Kushwant Singh

Set in a small village in Punjab, this grim n gripping historical tale illustrates the aftermath of partition, communal riots, massacres, exodus n plight of refugees. Was it this easy to round up and dump a herd of people to Pakistan? Was it this easy to murder n parcel out a trainload of people to India? Gross.

A must read for the proud patriots who celebrate the freedom struggle saga of India.

The Color Purple - Alice Walker

A very painful and touching saga novel. It tells the sad n pathetic story of an African American woman, Celie. The novel is in epistolary form - a collection of 90 letters, most of them addressed to God. The theme is incest, mental n physical abuse, racism, sexism, religion, homosexuality and women empowerment. The 90th letter addressed to God, stars, trees, sky, people n everything puts a happy end to the heartrending story. Some relief. The language is extremely crude n raw, so  are the characters.

Did you see what I saw? Black/colored/purple, fat/skinny/svelte, the womenfolk support each other n stick together throughout the novel. It's so very important, so wonderful.

'epic'

Epic? You mean 'epic'? Yes, that's the new word of the kalari. Awesome. Hey, awesome is past.  I'm so relieved about 'awesome'. But epic? Perhaps we should do some dictionary digging.
Here we go-

1. epic

   ˈɛpɪk/

   noun

   1. 1.

      a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation.

      synonyms:

      heroic poem, long poem, long story;

      • 
        
   2. 2.

      informal

      an exceptionally long and arduous task or activity.

      "the business of getting hospital treatment soon became an epic"

   adjective

   1. 1.

      relating to or characteristic of an epic or epics.

      "our national epic poem Beowulf"

      synonyms:

      heroic, long, grand, monumental, vast, Homeric, Miltonian;
   2. 2.

      heroic or grand in scale or character.

      "his epic journey around the world"

      synonyms:

      ambitious, heroic, grand, arduous, extraordinary, Herculean;

Yes. Epic the adjective. This is what you call - word power. Pretty impressive. The usage is the only concern.

" He has re-test in all the subjects. E-p-i-c.'' 

Aleph - Paulo Coelho

I'm a fat fan of Paulo Coelho's novels, not of his memoirs/ journeys esp that of 'his magical traditions'. This book depicts the cause n effects of the author's long tedious journey undertaken to escape from his spiritual ennui. He meets the girl he had loved n betrayed 500 years ago and they enter The Aleph n get a clear vision of their past. The girl condones all his sins - of past n present - and he returns home a brand new man. The first half of the narration is simply exhausting and the rest is quite racy n thrilling.

This autobiographical account can be valuable n beneficial for those who believe in signs, reincarnations n Aleph. 

Aleph is the universe; we are the universe; therefore we are The Aleph. Why search somewhere else?

Mandala - A novel of India - Pearl S Buck

Mrs Buck is one of my favorite writers because of her book - The Good Earth. But Mandala is a total faux pas. It's like a beautiful but odorless flower. The book paints the tradition and culture of post-colonial India beautifully but not of its people.

One of the main female characters tries to follow her grandmother's advice throughout the  novel:- ''Follow your sympathies, not antipathies''. I don't understand.

Let me quote the brave Prince:- ''Life is too precious to spend with lovelessness.''

An Autobiography or The Story of my experiments with truth - M.K.Gandhi

I wanted very much to like this book and there by the author too but failed miserably. The autobiography presents lots of surprises - Gandhiji's meekness, weaknesses, habits, voracious reading, personal contacts, philanthropy, dietary obsessions, weird notions on celibacy, dogged interior, conflicts n contradictions and so is a far cry from the Mahatma portrayed in the state curriculum, movies, articles n biographies.

Experiments with truth?! No, he devoted almost all of his life in perusal of The Truth and struggled   hard to follow the ones he believed in. Poor Bapuji, he punished his body n spirit mercilessly for the same. The truth is that his truths are too bitter to swallow.

So, what is The Truth?