Peter Ho Davies opens this tale with a small word origin for "Welsh". It means failing to fulfil one's promise. Much like the minimal doses of caffeine on a Monday morning, the plot's initial pages gradually intoxicate the readers. This slow pleasure prepares us for what is later revealed as a rocky path. Esther is a beautiful name for a woman who is as lost as any woman in this world, irrespective of her time, place or circumstances. For reasons, well-known, the protagonist is tormented by her tumultuous state of mind. When we see/hear the word "war', an image constructed with bleak and dreary details naturally comes to light. Human sufferings are archived in each pixel of that image remaining unnoticeable and microscopic given the scale of damage. Yet, they constitute the bigger picture.  "The Welsh Girl" zooms in on one such pixel, the life of Esther - the daughter of an old shepherd in North Wales set in the 1950s as it's showdown for Worl...

  "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" was the first book of Gabo that I'd read. It happened in haste, unplanned. Our school librarian was doing end-of-the-year stock verification and we were returning all borrowed books. Something with that book's cover caught my attention and convinced my inner voice to read the story. I promised my kind librarian I'd finish the book in one night and return it promptly. And it happened so. I was transported to an unknown world where longing and craving controlled every basic instinct. Gabo has the magical power to enthral his readers by sucking them into a tranced nuanced vortex. You can get into any anu world he has built and see it through the eyes of the protagonist. Reading Anna Magdalena's life built a strange commotion inside my brain.  Is her story my forgotten past? Or a forewarning into my future? August is a special month. I was born and reborn in it. Although the foreword from Gabo's sons warns us about a possibly ...

  Translated into numerous languages and formatted into different versions, "Sapiens" is a book that needs no introduction. From Carl Sagan's, "Cosmos" to David Attenborough's "Planet Earth", we've all tried to grasp the magnificent monstrosity of our world and construct meaning from that learning. Prof. Harari has taken a huge risk by recording humankind's history in a single book. Surprisingly he has done a splendid job. Discounting the endorsements from big shots and great thinkers, this book gets true appreciation from the intensive research behind it. It takes work to pack billion-year-old events in a single paperback and say, "This is us!".  The Universe is ~14 billion years old, earth is ~4 billion years old and we are ~200,000 - 300,000 years old.  Precision and accuracy are debatable when it comes to documenting history. The author beautifully lays out facts, figures and interpretations. Both sides of the coin are clearly...

Legal thrillers, I once believed were plain courtroom dramas. But “Shadow of Power” changed that notion. Paul Madriani seems to be the Sherlock of the legal world as he effortlessly untangles complex judicial knots. Given their compactness and heavily guarded privacy, courtrooms have made the judicial process seem minimalistic. Be it the prosecution or defence, the law is tricky especially because humans and emotions are involved. So, here's the plot. Fighting against time and shoddy police work, Madriani and his partner Harry go above and beyond to acquit an innocent victim who has gotten embroiled in the controversial death of a trouble-making writer Terry Scarborough.  In his afterword, author Steve Martin throws light on the problematic history of the US in the 1700s and 1800s when their constitution was drafted by the founding fathers. Although Jefferson’s letter plays a significant role as a fictional entity in this story, it sparks a sense of wonderment in readers about its ...

This book was gifted to me by one of my colleagues and a good friend Sanghamitra. Our conversations were never trivial or usual. They were always esoteric that mostly touched upon multiverses and meditation practices. Not being a keen believer of a practitioner of mediation myself, I dusted off her opinions on Yoga and Mindfulness. The thought of needing those skills and habits baffled me. In fact it was nothing short of absurdity. But then life has brutal ways of breaking you in order for you to see things and fall in line. Four years later, one fine day, I chanced upon this book that was calmly collecting dust on my cherished bookshelf. Something egged me to give it a try. I reluctantly relented.  This autobiography is the first one I'd read on a Spiritual Guru. Books written about well-known artisits,revolutionary figures, philosophers and politicians showed me how far humans could go to get what they want. I was able to experience a "core connection" with this one. Co...

This book came out in the 1970s. With a brazen confidence to predict the twists and turns,I dove into this suspenseful drama. Even the epic crime stories celebrate family. We’ve seen a celebrated Mafia Don certifying a man’s honour based on his strong familial bonds. However, the stellar storyteller Sidney Sheldon weaves a wild tale in Bloodline. “Do not let the straightforward suits and polished ties fool you” is the gist of this story. Man’s inherent greed is fueled by his insatiable needs. There’s a dirty rat race going on inside the most sophisticated conference rooms of the tallest ivory towers. Competition is a common thread that connects everyone in the social pyramid. When Sam Rolfe, the key board member of a multi-million-dollar pharmaceutical company, dies in a fatal accident, all hell breaks loose. Elizabeth, his daughter and the future president of Rolfe Pharmaceuticals, is a baby in the woods. While being pressurized to sell the company’s shares and bring in private invest...

War is Peace! Ignorance is Strength! Freedom is Slavery! It's an accepted fact that 1984 is the OG of all dystopian thrillers. Long ago, I watched a  dark science fiction movie by the name "Zero Theorem". It certainly gave me an understanding of the world in its advanced age of revolution and technology. That was cataclysmic enough to portray the evils of a power-intoxicated Mankind. This book is a fictional account of how through the eyes of a man called Winston Smith, George Orwell imagines our world's political landscape in the year 1984. Winston is a duty-bound citizen of Oceania immersed in waves of mass cults constantly proclaiming their nationalism and love for a staunch authoritarian saviour,' Big Brother'. Bound by terrifyingly unique ministries and Party protocols, Oceania keeps waging wars against Eurasia and Eastasia in order to maintain the internal social pyramid. After all, Hierarchy yields power and Ingsoc (English Socialism) is fuelled by fear...

Not a day goes by when we don't think of the past at least once. Our thoughts are imprisoned by the sundry choices that still haunt us occasionally. "If only I could go back in time and change things" is a wishful thought we all once had. "Before the coffee gets cold" is as perfect as that piping hot morning coffee blend which offers much-needed mental peace. Every sip gets better as seconds slip away. Stories of 4 strangers connected by their visits to a time-honoured cafe take readers on a caffeine-loaded journey to their past. Nunaced dialogues complement this fascinating experience generously. By accepting the cleverly devised Time Travel protocols, these individuals have sensitively come to terms with the fact that a visit to the past won't alter the course of the present or the future. A glimpse at the familiar before a tragic change took over their lives has brought closure to those who chose to sit on the coveted chair which has transcended obsolesce...

  Every school has an exclusive tree. A tree that wasn't just a provider of shade on sunny afternoons to lunch under but something of a quiet onlooker that stood steady against the backdrop of changes. We had Banyans, Peepals, Neems and Jojobas decorating the school compound like ornate Chandeliers. Flowers rained from the Cassia Fistula a.k.a the Golden Shower tree kept us busy as we created arty arrangements on the muddy ground. Those patterns lasted until the sound of school bells and a dash of cool winds dispersed everything. The Copper Beech set in the beautiful village of Shancarrig invoked my dormant childhood memories. At times, we deliberately lock up good moments in a corner of our brains lest it should arouse tearful nostalgia. Let the good old days stay tucked in because earnestly missing something isn't going to bring it back. It was a painful reminder of how much things have changed and how much we missed cherishing those moments when we had it all for ourselves. ...