Category: Favourites

  • Once was Bombay

    Pinki Virani

    This is the best ‘Bombay’ book i’ve ever read. It shows us a view of Bombay through the images of characters that even non residents will identify as belonging to Bombay – the actor, the bhai, the encounter cop, the politician, and so on. Pinki Virani obviously feels for Bombay, and reflects the myriad range of a Bombayite’s emotions now – anger, frustration, cynicism all stemming from Bombay’s change from then to now
    What’s wonderful about the book is that it stays true to the title and takes you on a journey in time – to how a place or a road came to be called so, and the societal changes that time has brought about there. It also has some incisive takes on the machinations that has transformed Bombay into what it is now.
    Long before Mumbai there was Bombay, and i can identify a lot with the difference it makes to the people who have seen the change, even though i don’t live there. This book easily gets into my all time favourites.

  • An End to Suffering

    Pankaj Mishra

    I’ve always been a fan of Pankaj Mishra’s melancholic way of writing, which just borders on cynicism. This book, while a study on the evolution of Buddhism, is also a travelogue of sorts. It even manages to touch upon the author’s personal growth – material and spiritual, and the gradual growth in his confidence, which was necessary for the book to be written.
    It focuses a lot on Buddha’s teachings, the way it has been transformed in various regions and times in which it has been practised, and also manages an analysis of how it could still be pertinent in a world that has changed much, since the time he lived in. The book simplifies Buddhism to an extent, and while it cannot be a complete guide to the Buddha (that wasn’t the idea anyway), it does manage to chronicle the times that the Buddha lived in, and makes you curious enough not only to read up more on the subject, but also check out the works of David Hume, and Nietzsche, who have been extensively quoted.
    A good start for those who seek to understand themselves.

  • Snow Crash

    Neal Stephenson

    It’s really difficult to write a review of this book, because I’ve never read anything like it before. All I can say is that its extremely engrossing and while a lot of the stuff he has written about like avtars and virtual worlds are real now, it must have been quite original in 1992, when he wrote it. The originality is not so much in the concepts itself , because though not commonly used, they were prevalent then, it is the way in which he weaves it into the story and the detailing.
    The wonderful thing about the book is that it leaves so many thought bubbles in its wake, from Sumeran Myth to the future of the world – real and virtual, neurolinguistic viruses and so on. The other good part is the humour – this guy is pure evil, as far as satire goes. There are puns everywhere, right from the name of the central character – Hiro Protagonist.
    It is a thoroughly enjoyable read, especially for those who enjoy virtual worlds, science fiction, and Stephenson’s unique blend of myth and future