The Scion of Ikshavaku

Reading books is was and will be the best way i can possibly spend my time.

Now a days, reading books have had the most profound impact on me. There are some books that I am in such a hurry to finish that even after 4 - 5 readings I barely manage to remember the outline of the plot, and there are some that with just reading a parah it sets me thinking ...

I have just started reading the latest book by Amish Tripati- The Scion of Ikshavaku which is about Lord Ram - supposedly another version of The Ramayana made reachable and readable to laymen.

There are many writers of late who look like they have done a lot of research into the ancient works of Ramayana & Mahabharata, but are out there just to deframe the very God they worship.

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Neelkanth........................... Mahadev

After a really really long time, I read a book that was gripping enough to keep me at the edge of my seat as I turned each page.

Although it was released almost a year and half back, I got to know about it only after one of my colleagues kept raving that it was the book that couldn’t be put down until it was finished. She claimed it was the next ‘Harry Potter series’ only to be written by an Indian author. Now being a hardcore Harry Potter fan, I found it a little unsettling, but nevertheless thought it was a shot worth trying.

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After much an await, I finally laid my hand on – ‘The immortals of Meluha’ – the first of the ‘Shiva Trilogy’ written by yet another IIM pass out. Now, don’t get me wrong.  I have nothing against the IIM’s guys.  But most of the IIM pass-outs who have turned out to become writers have ventured into the already trodden path of - college life, rich dads, poor girl friends, sex, inter-religion/inter-caste marriage, starting their own business and the likes of it. And I thought this guy was no different.

But, for a change, Amish’s writing turned out to be different. His writing was a journey of a lesser known tribesman to become one of the greatest Gods known to the mankind – that of Shiva, Neelkanth or Mahadev as he comes to be identified as! Not only had he done his homework on the subject, but he transcended them into such easy flowing words – that it was impossible to put the book down! The book is definitely a page turner!

Go Kiss the World!!!

Pic Courtey: DNH

One book that changed my life, my thinking and my level of confidence, without any doubt has to be Subroto Bagchi’s “GO KISS THE WORLD”. These were the very words that his dying blind mother told him before her last breath.

He’s perfectly tagged it as Life Lessons for The Young Professional. At the end of each chapter, he summarizes the learning’s from that chapter.

But apart from this what impressed me the most is that he, like many of us, is a small town boy and has fought his way up and achieved his goals.

The ultimate reason for our existance

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“I know how to travel between the present and the past. I know the world of the spirits, and I’ve communed with forces so amazing that no words in any language can describe them. I could perhaps say that I possess the silent knowledge of the journey that has bought the human race to where it is at this moment.

“But because I know all this, and because I am a Teacher, I also know that we will never ever know the ultimate reason for our existence. We might know the how, where and when of being here, but the why will always be a question that remains unanswered. The main objective of the great Architect of the Universe is to know Him alone and to no one else”

A silent fell.

“Right now, while we’re here eating, ninty-nine percent of the people on this planet are, in their own way, struggling with that very question. Why are we here? Many think they’ve found the answer in religion or in materialism. Others despair and spend their lives and their money trying to grasp the meaning of it al.. A few let the question go unanswered and live for the moment, regardless of the results or the consequences.

You want magic???

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Something that always amazes me is the intelligence that the kids are born with now a days. This was until I discovered the joy of reading Calvin & Hobbes. My morning has to start with my cuppa of coffee and the all knowing and ever enthusiastic Calvin’s cartoon strip in the newspaper.

This guy’s just amazing. For a 6 year old kid, he has a damn good imaginative power consisting of Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous Man, Captain Nitro, Transmogrifiers, dinosaurs (Tyrannosaurus rex to be exact) etc, his misadventures, his unique views on a diverse range of political and cultural issues and his polls on his dad.