The Old Man and his God, by Sudha Murty — a review

Travel brings us experiences. Experiences bring observations on life. And we realize that life may not be as simple as we thought, or maybe it is. Sudha Murty, on her travels, records what people say to her. Their accounts on life and its meaning are put in this book for us to savor.

What she does so wonderfully well as usual is that she narrates without making things complicated. It’s simple in language and style, and very direct. It feels even like they are diary entries, and in a way, they are. The title story, The Old Man and his God looks to bring out the simple needs of an old, blind priest who Sudha Murty finds at a small temple. It brings out that money might not be everything to everyone. The Way You Look at It, the story brings about a look at perspectives. What one person found useful, the other didn’t. The Tale of Two Brothers touched a chord. It showed being related by blood isn’t important as long as you are intrigued by the heart, by love. These were some of my favorites from the book.

Do I agree with how she interprets the observations? Not always, no. But then again, she looks at it one way, and the way I look at the incident would be different after all.

The book is not just enjoyable to read, but also, inspiring with some of the stories in it. I rate it 3.5 or 4 stars.

Rated: 4 stars

Source: Library Copy

Reviewed by: Vinay Leo R.

Illicit by Dibyendu Palit

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Author: Dibyendu Palit
Translator: Arunava Sinha
Binding Type - Paperback
ISBN 13: 9780143067726
Publisher: Penguin Books India
No. of Pages:128
RATING: 3.5/5

What's that they say about great things coming in small packages? Dibyendu Palit's 'Illicit', translated into English by Arunava Sinha, is just that. With an artistically designed cover and a title like that, the book is a pick-me-up, and thankfully it doesn't disappoint.. ahem... even between the covers. One wouldn't expect any less from Palit, who is a renowned short story writer.

The plot spans just three days and is a slice of the protagonists' illicit life. Jeena, an attractive young housewife is bored of her 'wooden relationship' with much older husband, Ashim. Partha, her neighbour, is married, a father of two, and equally bored in his marital life. We are introduced to them in the high point of their illicit relationship when the two are planning a secret sojourn to Puri. Quelling her self doubts and pangs of guilt, Jeena takes the bold step to be with Partha.

In the next three days that Jeena spends with Partha, she discovers that all is not as it seems. Partha's lust takes an aggressive turn and Jeena feels violated. Beguiled by shame, self pity and doubt, she decides to head back home and put to an end everything illicit.

Illicit is a deliberate and intense book. The author takes his time to build upon his Jeena's guilt, purposefully punctuating it with the mundane. We see her squirm uncomfortably under the weight of her feelings one moment and pondering upon a cup of tea the next. Now she is losing sleep calculating her risks and now she is flowing with the moment. Palit's skill is apparent in the way he juxtaposes these contrasting elements, much like real life. He takes no moral stance and simply tells the story of the greatest kind of conflict - one that a person has with himself.

The language is simple and accessible; at least the translator, Arunava Sinha, makes it seem so. The lucid prose makes for easy yet thought-provoking reading. Palit is a gifted writer for he leaves you sighing at love's (sometimes) futile cause at the end of its 128 pages.

Wise and Otherwise, by Sudha Murty

About the author:

Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon in north Karnataka. A prolific writer in English and Kannada, she has written nine novels, four technical books, three travelogues, one collection of short stories, three collections of non-fiction pieces and two books for children. Her books have been translated into all the major Indian languages and have sold over three lakh copies around the country. She was the recipient of the R.K. Narayan’s Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006.

My thoughts on the book:

Life is a strange package at times. It is not strange because of its failures or successes, tears or smiles but because of people. In life’s journey, we come across different kinds of people, who make us stop and think about that strangeness. This book shows us some of these people, the incidents that Sudha has experienced in her trips as a social worker and brings to us fifty short vignettes of such witty and sometimes thought provoking incidents.

Human foibles like boasting of things we haven’t done when we have things to actually boast about, sticking to rules that were advised to us by those who have had experience of the same, or honesty from a heart that is innocent and grateful for things that have gone it’s way, each of these vignettes have something to say, something to make us wonder, and even sometimes touch our heart. There’s a tale of a girl who was sold by the boy he adored the most, her brother, and a tale of an uneducated woman being more sensible than an educated man. She brings out wit with an incident where a telegram worded the wrong way became a funny trouble and poignancy with the tale of a family who moved on after a death because the death made their life easier.

Read this book for it is a passage through human behavior, and infinite wisdom in thought and experience.

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My rating: 4 stars

Book details:
Title: Wise and Otherwise
Author: Sudha Murty
Genre: Non-Fiction/Inspirational
ISBN: 9780143062226
Publishers: Penguin Books
Price: INR. 250

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Reviewed by Leo

Shared with Indian Quills Reading Challenge at The Tales Pensieve.

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Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

Title : Outliers

Author : Malcolm Gladwell

Publisher : Penguin Books

Pages : 309

Genre : Philosophy

ISBN : 978-0-14103-625-0

Outliers happened to me out of nowhere. I never intended to read this book and also psychology is something that gets over my head, but still I thought lets give it a try. The book was given to me by my friend Tarun and I am so thankful to him. It is an international bestseller and the feedback given by the top notch editorials is something impeccable. I picked it up this morning and finished it in the evening. The book is divided into two parts, Opportunity and Legacy. Some 309 pages spread over 9 chapters that are further sub divided into smaller sections overall giving a very balanced structure to the book. 

Outliers opens up with The Roseto Mystery, the introduction of the book, explaining the term Outlier with an real life example. The book is written in such a way that it attacks your psychology in an unusual way. The stuff is not boring and keeps you hooked. I would definitely want to say something here, if you are an impatient reader, this book is definitely not for you. 

Part 1, Opportunity, deals with success stories where people have turned a small opportunity into something big and have left a mark on the society. The 5 chapters in this part are dedicated to Canadian Hockey, IT, two chapters on education and law. This part of the book tells you a simple fact that there is nothing called big or small in the society. The line which has been drawn between these two sections of the society is all imaginary. The examples given in this part would definitely make you think about various things and  would boost your morale too. 

Part 2, Legacy  is all about people and examples where people have inherited their stuff from their ancestors. It is extremely tough to keep up with legacy. It tests your guts and patience from time to time and the challenges you encounter frequently makes sure that you are always on your toes. There are four chapters in these parts and all of them are super interesting. This part of the book counter balances Part 1 really well and covers almost all aspects one can think of.

All and all, reading outliers was a pleasant experience. Gladwell has surely impressed me with his writing. The language is simple and captivating and once you get the hang of the book it is a complete page turner. Give it a try if you want some food for thought. 

Book Source - Personal Copy                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Publisher : Penguin Books

Spring Fever 2012 by Penguin books India in Delhi

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