Book Review - A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The title of the book comes from a beautiful poem on Kabul, written by the Persian poet Saib-e-Tabrizii. Below is a translation by Dr. Josephine Barry Davis which captures the essence of the poem.

Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust

My song exhalts her dazzling tulips
And at the beauty of her trees, I blush
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Mastaan!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!

Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise
For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven
From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection
Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan

Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls

Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats

And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara
And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures

To describe the beautiful Afghani women who hide behind the walls cloistered in their homes, and yet have the fortitude to overcome life’s agonies, and strive to spread warmth and cheer around them, Khaled Hosseini has used the metaphor of a thousand splendid suns from this poem. The brilliant image this conjures of women as “splendid suns” also ties well with Hosseini’s premise that women’s education, independence and strength are of pivotal importance to the Afghan society.

The book tells a moving story about the power of friendship and love, the bonds that tie or break a family, and people's struggle to survive in war-torn Afghanistan. Underlying this, is a tale of love for one’s country, despite the trails of thorns and the gusts of powdered soil that sting one’s eyes, as mentioned in the poem. The poet’s reference to these travails become allegoric expressions of what the country had to go through during the period that the book is set in. Hosseini describes how beneath the several layers of difficulties and complexities in the lives of Afghani people, lies true beauty of their hearts - like the light from a "thousand splendid suns”. Hosseini’s intimate and at times, graphic account of Afghanistan in turmoil, leaves readers with a deep sense of compassion, especially for the Afghani women, who had to endure oppression and domination in the hands of men around them.

The main story is about two women brought together by a twist of destiny; Mariam, born out of wedlock to a wealthy man who does not give her pride of place in his family, and Laila,  the cherished daughter of an intellectual, who encourages her to pursue education and become independent. The story shows how the two from such varied backgrounds were still "born of this same dust" as they both strive to understand their fates, realize their love for each other, and stand by their heritage and their people. The thorns in their lives did not silence them as they both struggled to help each other and their legacy.

Characters in this book, much like his previous book, the Kite Runner, can be starkly categorized as good and bad, almost as in fairy tales. This seems far removed from reality where most people are neither extremely bad nor extremely good, but fall somewhere in between.

I also felt that while Hosseini’s description of the political events in the country is informative, it is difficult to judge where he exercises a writer’s freedom to stray from real history. I wondered if  through use of melodrama, he has, at times, pushed his point of view, while making the readers believe that as an event in history.

I would still highly recommend this book for it is a story extremely well told and it stays with you for days even after you finish reading it.

For my synopsis of the book, click below:

Book Review - Left to tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza

I would like to give some background on the Rwandan holocaust before delving into the actual book review. Personally, reading about the holocaust again, helped me appreciate the book better.

The civil war in Rwanda was between two major tribes of the country; Hutu and Tutsi. From the mid-eighteenth century, Rwanda was dominated by Tutsi kings, who amassed major power in the country and enacted anti-Hutu policies. Later, when European nations colonized Rwanda, they ruled through Tutsi kings and perpetuated pro-Tutsi policies. The Hutu population revolted in 1959, massacred a large number of Tutsis and established an independent Hutu-dominated state in 1962. At this juncture, several Tutsis fled and took refuge in neighboring Uganda and later formed a rebel group called Rwandan Patriotic front (RPF). Pro-Hutu sentiments prevailed in Rwanda, but the 70s, saw greater economic prosperity within the count and violence against Tutsis had reduced.

In 1990, however, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front launched a civil war in Rwanda. This rekindled the  ongoing conflict between the Hutu led government and the RPF. At this time, the Rwandan president Habyarimana, himself a Hutu, exploited the fear of people to advance an anti-Tutsi agenda, which was named Hutu power. Anti Tutsi propaganda was encouraged, Tutsis were called cockroaches by Hutus, and Hutus who married Tutsis were ostracized.  The anti Tutsi venom was spreading throughout the country. From 1990 to 1993, the French also openly supported the Habyarimana regime against RPF rebels. The French organized and trained Rwandan troops, who subsequently formed the Interahamwe militias, and future militiamen.

In December 1993, however, after seeing the carnage and bloodshed, the French joined the international community in pressuring president Habyarimana to sign a ceasefire treaty with the RPF. The Hutu president’s signing of the peace treaty with the RPF, went against the grain of  the Hutu army and Hutu hardliners, who started plotting against him. Soon after the signing, a plane carrying the Rwandan President Habyarimana and the Burundian president Cyprien Nitaryamira, both Hutus, was shot down, killing all passengers on board.

The assassination set in motion the bloodiest civil war of the 20th century, for Hutus believed that the Tutsis killed their Hutu president.¹ Hatred against Tutsis soared, Hutu extremists campaigned heavily against Tutsis and heartlessly butchered several Tutsis on sight. This prompted RPF to retaliate, which further increased support for Hutu extremists within the country. The youth militia began actively carrying out massacres across the country. The militia and the police started systematically executing all Tutsi and moderate Hutu leaders. Checkpoints were set up to verify people’s tribe from their identity cards. Hutu civilians were recruited and armed with machetes and other weapons to rape, maim and kill all Tutsis and destroy or steal their property. This breach of the peace agreement reignited the RFP offensive, and RFP rapidly seized control of the northern part of the country and by July, captured Kigali, bringing an end to the meaningless genocide.

One wonders what the developed nations were doing when Rwanda was bleeding so profusely. France even seemed to aid and abet in the genocide until the peace treaty was written to end the hatred between Hutus and Tutsis.

After the genocide ended, Rwanda’s problems did not disappear. The country was on the brink of economic disaster. Since the mass killings had reduced the population drastically, the work force in the country was not sufficient to begin effective reconstruction. Hutu refugees fled to nearby Zaire, causing yet another set of problems. But, that is another story….

In any society with people from different religions, races or tribes, there are likely to be differences in ways of living and outlooks and also a sense of superiority over others, which can result in conflicts. Conflicts in a society need to be acknowledged and addressed in a fair and timely manner, to prevent it from escalating into violence. Conflicts, when managed well, have served as change agents towards equal treatment, growth and development. Effective leaders, who are interested in the larger good, are able to visualize the path that conflicts might take if left unacknowledged, and deal with it to yield positive results. When leaders and politicians (mis)use conflicts to gain political advantage, conflicts can take an ugly turn towards violence. President Habyarimana, after coming to power, inculcated fear of Tutsis in the Hutu people, in order to advance his personal anti-Tutsi agenda. When the situation turned grossly violent, he was forced into signing a peace treaty, which led the Hutu power itself to kill him. A parallel can be drawn in the Indian political scene when Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s used Binderenwale to help push her agenda and when he realized that motive, he went against her and the enemity culminated in her being assassinated. Unfortunately, such actions by political leaders have resulted in deplorable tragedies, causing thousands of innocent lives to be lost.

Left to tell  is young Immacule’e’s true, traumatic, yet inspirational account of this horrific genocide in Rwanda. It is a story of how her unfailing faith and her inner strength helped her survive the bloody killings that surrounded her. She was sent by her family to hide in their pastor’s house, to save her from rape and killing. The Hutu pastor, in order to protect her from Hutu extremists, hid her along with six other women in a 3 ft x 4 ft bathroom. They huddled together, taking turns even to change position. The killers who had seen them enter, but not leave, were intent upon finding them, and they would rampage into the house every day, with spears and machetes, some even calling her name. She was conspicuous, not only because of her height and beauty, but also was a bright young woman from a well known Tutsi family.  She lived without sleep and food for months together, for the pastor did not want to be seen visiting them often. That would put him as well as them in grave danger. When she peeped out of the little bathroom once in a while, she could see rage in the eyes of Hutu power, in people who were her friends and acquaintances before, slaying Tutsis heartlessly right in front of her eyes. She lived in abject fear, cut out from the rest of the world, except for the radio that the Pastor had left on in the adjacent room. Even if she was not killed by the Tutus, it seemed very likely that she might die of disease or starvation in those unhygienic surroundings.

Her quote “Faith moves mountains, if faith were easy there would be no mountains” speaks volumes about how she survived these horrific three months. It was indeed difficult for her to hold on to her faith, and believe in God or goodness, when her family and friends were getting killed brutally. Her faith was tested many times, but in the end, her faith prevailed like an armor, protecting her, giving her peace in the midst of meaningless massacre engulfing her. After 3 months of suffering in the tiny bathroom, when she heard on the radio about a camp that the French had set up nearby, she and all others hiding in the bathroom risked their lives, escaped the pastor’s bathroom and sought shelter in the camp. She realized that baseless rumors about how her family had instigated the violence were rampant. She found out that all her immediate family members, except one brother who was studying abroad, were killed quite mercilessly in these three months It seemed like the end of her life, at least life as she had known. The way her heart broke upon learning of the death of her charming brother who wanted to save the family come what may, packed an extra punch for me since it hit close to home. What was most inspirational was that she picked herself up above her deep grief and searched for a way to survive and lead a meaningful life. With her positive attitude and determination, she eventually became a writer and a philanthropist, and a messenger against hate crimes.

There was immense spiritual growth in her as she spent months huddled in a tiny bathroom, with the fear of death hanging over her every minute. She experienced betrayal from people who she thought were close to her as well as kindness from strangers, in these extreme situations. She was able to rationalize that hatred and revenge beget more hatred and revenge. She was experiencing the wrath of revenge, taking many innocents in its wake.

Her maturity and strength of character is evident from the following conversation that followed after her family’s murderer was brought in front of her, to take revenge.

"What was that all about, Immaculée? That was the man who murdered your family. I brought him to you to question...to spit on if you wanted to. But you forgave him! How could you do that? Why did you forgive him?"

I (Immacule’e) answered him with the truth: "Forgiveness is all I have to offer."

To get a feel for what Immacule'e went through, you can view an interview her on this video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Od6V6Z3ug

Book Review - The Giver - by Lois Lowry

Jonas lives in a "utopian" world that is bereft of war, diseases, suffering, as well as long term memories. A society where 'sameness' is celebrated, where folks are made unaware of color, music, hills, snow or sunshine – anything that goes against the concept of sameness. The society is also isolated from the rest of the world (referred to as"elsewhere") and all are prohibited from going there. Everything is well structured and well communicated. Life is simple without ambiguities. To protect people from the risks of making poor or wrong decisions in life, the elders of the community make all their decisions, including assignment of spouses, children, and careers. ​Everyone is assigned a spouse after long and deliberate consideration to compatibility. Each couple is assigned at most two children, again after much deliberation, and the "family unit" stays together until the children turn twelve.  Upon turning twelve, every child is assigned a role in the community based on skills and aptitude, by the elders committee.

To spare the​  people from pain, the rules of the society​​ inhibit people's ability to feel ​ any emotion including love. At the first sign of such emotions, people are required to take medication that will suppress those emotions.

It is after reading a few pages that you realize that while the elders of the community set up a structure to establish a secure pain free society, they are, in fact, stifling freedom in all aspects, including natural human instincts. The Community lives only in the present and the people have a narrow perspective of life because they only remember only the happenings of the current generation and only know their community and its way of life. They are naïve for they do not gain knowledge or wisdom from the memories and are made to abdicate all choices.

​​ T​he burden of holding the memories of the past​is designated to a single member of society: the "Giver”. He is given this role for the community requires at least one person to have memories, experience, and wisdom beyond what is available to the community. This is to equip him with the wherewithal to provide the right judgment and advice for really difficult problems. ​In this role, he holds the position of highest honor within the Community.

​​When Jonas turns twelve, ​​because of his intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom, and ​his capacity to see beyond, he is selected to be the Receiver of Memor​ies​, ​a precursor role for his subsequently becoming the Giver. ​​It is when Jonas receives "memories" of experiences beyond what is available to this society that he realizes ​​the shortcomings of his society, like lack of freedom, knowledge, cruelty of infanticide, euthanasia etc. He is convinced that the society is being wronged decides to do something to change the current conditions and enlighten his community. ​The giver tells Jonas that if he escapes the community and goes "elsewhere", all the memories that he has received thus far will be transmitted to the people. Jonas feels this is a good thing and is happy when the Giver tells him that he will help the people assimilate them. Jonas, with the help of the Giver plans his escape to "elsewhere". The final twist in the story is when unbeknownst to all, Jonas decides to take with him little Gabriel, a baby that his family is nurturing. He makes this flash decision when he finds out that the community had decided to release little Gabriel, because he had not adjusted well to the required sleep schedule.

Jonas and Gabriel set out on this arduous and hazardous journey, with determination and hope. They have little to eat on the way and the weather is quite rough as well. Finally, just about when they are close to dying of starvation and the wrath of the weather, they manage to reach “elsewhere", where they find a happy family celebrating Christmas.

 ​The book ends with an optimistic note with the enigmatic sentence "Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But, perhaps, it was only an echo." This perhaps implies that Jonas’s old community has, by now, learned to make music too, after they receive the memories that Jonas left behind him - an unmistakable signal that their plan worked and worked well.

In the Giver, Ms. Lowry ​has crafted an interesting picture of this Community by using unusual terms, to help delineate them from our own​society. ​Here, c​children are categorized by their ages and called "ones", "twos" etc. and children ​ of the same age are ​​​called "group mates”. Putting an end to one's life is referred to as "release". She has made some of their practices extreme, to give us clarity and a definite feeling of antipathy towards the practices. It, however, also drives us to introspect if our own societies suffer from some of the negative practices. Do we pretend that we all are same and should be treated similarly? Do we celebrate diversity enough or prefer to stay with the same kind of people for it is within our comfort zone? Do we go out of the way to protect our children from the feeling of pain? Even if it will make them wiser and prepare them to adjust to life better? Is the family unit temporary even in our society and is it functional only as long as children are young? Are the elderly left to their own devices and left to live by themselves when they become infirm? ​Do we attempt to erase unpleasant memories even if there are things to learn from them?

​ ​​The Giver, a Newberry​ Award Winner,​is quite popular with children and adults alike and has been listed as one of the hundred must-read books. However, it is also a controversial book that has been challenged and even banned from schools for its "mature themes" of euthanasia, infanticide, and suicide. That the book was banned is ironic, given the theme of the book.

Book Review - Oleander Girl by Chitra Divakaruni

I consider the book Oleander Girl (Korobi) by Chitra Divakaruni, one of her best thus far. (I will refer to the book as Korobi from now on, for otherwise, the spirit of the title gets lost in translation.) Korobiis the story of a strong-willed and spirited young woman, who has been named after her mother’s favorite flower korobi (oleander). Korobi, though orphaned at birth has been brought up by her loving, if overprotective, grandparents in their historic ancestral mansion.

The story spans a time period of just about 3 months, but is packed with punch of a lifetime. The story opens with Korobi’s engagement to a rich man’s son, Rajat. Both families are happy with the union – Korobi’s Roy family is happy because she is getting married to a rich and handsome, most eligible bachelor and Rajat’s Bose family, because he is finally showing streaks of responsibility after being an indulgent and flamboyant bachelor for a few years. The Bose family is also delighted to have their son married into a reputable Bengali family of some renown.

The evening when the Boses are celebrating the engagement with great pomp and show, Korobi’s grandfather passes away suddenly after a heart attack. It is in the wake of his death that Korobi finds out from her grandmother that her father, Rob, whom her mother had met in the US, was an American, and that he was not dead before she was born, as she was made to believe.
Upon finding out about her father, Korobi feels compelled to go to America in search of her own identity and to find out the truth about her parents. Braving opposition from both the Roy and Bose families, who fear for her safety and the futility of her mission, she sets out to America with one faded photograph of her mother with a female friend, her father’s abbreviated first name, and the knowledge that he met her mother in the Berkeley area. She promises to return within a month, regardless of the success of her mission. Though this puts a strain on her relationship with a possessive Rajat, she ventures on her personal journey into post-9/11 America, determined to find the truth.

The book weaves together many stories of romance, misunderstanding, loss, discovery, heritage, business, and politics in a lucid, and brilliant manner, that you can feel the drama unfolding in front of your eyes. Chitra describes Korobi’s struggles in a foreign land in a vivid manner, as she brings out all her inner strength to deal with her scheming host Mitra, his sweet-natured wife Seema, who looks up to her for emotional support, the good-hearted detective Desai, and his charismatic nephew Vic. She narrates how in the meantime, back in Kolkata, Rajat struggles against the devious schemes of his old flame, while his family’s business and their very lives are threatened. Chitra, with her Bengali background, has captured the soul of Kolkata with her description of the city’s culture and locales. Having lived in America for several years, she has also been able to paint the vulnerability and the mood of post 9/11 America accurately without melodrama. She has also succinctly brought out the fascinating culture differences between India and America, as seen through a young Indian girl, who arrives on the American soil for the first time.

The book also explores paths to empowerment for several women: young Korobi, who begins to live on her own terms, learning through her mistakes; her grandmother, who feels a sense of liberation and strength after disclosing her husband’s dark secrets; Rajat’s young sister Pia, who fearlessly speaks up for the downtrodden and manages to dissolve difficult situations through her conviction; and Rajat’s mother Mrs. Bose, who struggles to keep up appearances in the interest of her business venture, and then realizes the wastefulness of such living and learns a few life lessons from Pia and Korobi.

Chitra has managed to keep the pace and suspense throughout the book. The language and flow of the book are both commendable. She masterfully ties all loose ends at appropriate times. The one part that I felt could have been better handled was Korobi’s discovery of her father. It was too sudden and serendipitous. But, the good thing is that it did not take away anything from the thrust of the story. In terms of Chitra’s English prose, she uses several metaphors throughout her writing; some bring home the point well, but some go a bit overboard.

Book Review - And the Mountains Echoed - By Khaled Hosseini

“And the mountains echoed” opens with a brilliant parable, which is an allegory for the next chapter to follow.  A poverty stricken father, desperate to provide a good life for his family, lets his young daughter Pari, be adopted by a rich family. Little does he realize how profoundly the loss would affect the family, especially Pari’s elder brother Abdullah. In Adullah’s poignant words, "Pari was like the dust that clung to his shirt. She was in the silences that had become so frequent in the house, silence that welled up between their words, sometimes cold and hollow, sometimes pregnant with things that went unsaid, like a cloud filled with rain that never fell."

Beginning with this story of separation between a brother and sister, Hosseini recounts several stories of love, bonding, and separation. The stories are connected to each other, but the characters are unaware of the connection. This gives a certain level of excitement to the reader who is able to connect the dots, unbeknownst to the protagonist of each story!

The narrative of the novel is anything but linear. Stories in it crisscross over a span of sixty years - stories of disparate characters from around the world, whose lives intersect with the main characters Pari and Abdullah at different times, thereby bringing the story around a full circle. Each story independently explores bonds of family and love, and the devastation that separation and loss can bring. Every broken bond leaves a hole in the heart, which the characters try to fill with other people. Some succeed and some not so much.

Hosseini has developed his characters quite wholesomely. Much of the book is against the backdrop of Afghanistan, starting with pre-Soviet era, then the Mujahuddin rise, the Taliban movement, until after the American invasion post 9/11. The characters evolve over the years, with choices they have made between responsibility and freedom. Each character is vividly different from the other and yet, the author has developed with such maturity that the reader understands each, like one understands friends. I feel he put a lot of soul into developing the character of Nabi, a true and yet fallible gentleman. His good nature is typified in his comment “"One thing I have come to see is that one is well served by a degree of both humility and charity when judging the inner workings of another person's heart."

Hosseini brings out the stark contrast between appearances and reality in several characters; the beautiful are inane, the mutilated are strong and deep, the immoral revered as heroes. He has also shown a certain level of redemption for one’s deeds, karma if you will, through the book.

Resonating with its opening poem by Rumi, the book tries to take us beyond the boundaries of moral and immoral judgments - a realm beyond narrow minded assumptions about good and evil. In every story, he has brought out the conflicting feelings of "good" and "bad" and the greyness in between that almost every human being is made of. He has tried to make us visualize a new field of consciousness - something spiritual beyond the range of human perception, of sorting things into black and white. Also, through his various stories, he has tried to demonstrate how we all are united in ways beyond our imagination. None of us is a separate entity. We are all connected together in this large fabric that has been woven. This reminded of Andy Weir’s short story “The egg”.

Having said that, I must say that while the book’s first chapter gets you hooked and you remain hooked for the most part. But, the book begins to pall a bit towards the end. While Hosseini has kept the intersecting facts charmingly consistent across his various stories, his writing style has not been so consistent. There are sections in the last third of the book, where he hurries through long spans of time, like he were writing an epilogue. The narrative does not always flow smoothly from one story to another, though he has made an effort to cobble the splintered journey back to the main story. The stories crisscross with each other, instead of weaving together well into one tapestry of a story. Also, he did not finish the other stories that he had developed to the point of curiosity. What happened to the young boy Adel, who was beginning to understand that his father was not the hero he once thought he was. And to Iqbal’s son? Idris and Timur?

I was also a bit confused by Hosseini’s saying that the book’s title was inspired by William Blake’s “Nurse’s song”. The one emotion that this poem fills you with is just happiness, unlike the book which is definitely melancholic.

Yet all in all, I was fascinated by the story and the heartfelt emotion that permeates one’s being upon reading it. It also made me delve into the spiritual metaphors and think deeper about life. I would give the book a rating of 4 on a scale of 1 to 5.

Suniti’s feedback and my response

You have done an excellent job of writing about this book. This book deals with the psychological aspects of a tragic life events and covers so many different kinds of painful life experiences and how people from different social and economic backgrounds deal with realities of life. Every character was put in a very challenging situation and had to make a tough choice. It goes beyond the boundaries of moral and immoral judgements; These are normal people with so called normal lives; Everybody did what they thought was right thing to do at the time. Relationship between Nabi and his master, similarly,relationship between a disfigured girl and the old lady were eyeopeners for me. Author tried to put many different kinds of difficult situations in the story and tried to connect them, but I agree, that he could improve on that part. I think it was more important for him to write about as many difficult situations as possible and how people deal with them in real life, than connecting them together. I think he has done that part well because I these stories are not far from real life.  I think he left those two characters for his next book! Or he did not see much future for these two; Or They were there to explain recent political situation and how it is affecting people. Or .....he just got tired of figuring out what kind of people they would become?

Book Review - The Difficulty of Being Good - By Gurcharan Das

At the centre of the book is Das’s quest to understand the elusive term dharma, a word which means at once duty and religion, justice and righteousness, law and goodness. Dharma lies at the heart of the ethical questions explored in The Mahabharata, and as Das puts it: “The conceptual difficulty is part of the point. Indeed The Mahabharata is in many ways an extended attempt to clarify what dharma is – that is, what exactly should we do, when we are trying to be good in the world.”

Both the strength and weakness of The Difficulty of Being Good lies in the sheer complexity of looking for clear moral teachings in the profoundly ambiguous teachings of an epic that is “about our incomplete lives, about good people acting badly, about how difficult it is to be good in this world”. It is true that the Pandavas’ gentle leader, King Yudhishthira, is admired for his unbreakable commitment to satya (truth), ahimsa(non-violence) and anrishamsya (compassion).

Yet much of the richness of The Mahabharata lies exactly in its Shakespearian refusal to give clear answers or to deal out simplistic rights and wrongs. Characters are constantly faced with competing claims on their sense of duty. The “heroes” of the epic, the five Pandava brothers, are profoundly flawed and fallible: Yudhishthira loses all his kingdoms and even his wife through his feckless addiction to gambling; and the Man-God Krishna, who guides the brothers in the war, brings them to victory through teaching them trickery, deception and the art of guile. Meanwhile the “villains”, the many Kaurava brothers, intermittently display great virtues: bravery, perseverance, generosity and loyalty.

There are, in short, few moral or spiritual certainties advanced in The Mahabharata that are not later profoundly modified and questioned. Most importantly, during the philosophical climax of the epic, The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna persuades the Pandava hero Arjun that it is his duty to wage war on his cousins, arguing that the world is an illusion, and all that one can do is to act with the right motives, according to yourdharma. Yet Arjun’s profound doubts about waging war on this basis are amply borne out by the results of Krishna’s advice: the almost complete destruction of the world and a genocide of 18m that leaves the Kauravas extinct and the Pandavas drifting childless and joyless through a charred landscape of death.

Trying to elicit clear moral guidance for modern politicians, civil servants and businessmen from such a spectacularly complex and ambiguous text, and one that is itself so very full of self-questioning, is a very difficult task, and the result is only a mixed success in terms of Sanskrit self-help. Yet Das’s deeply informed and learned musings on The Mahabharata and its moral dilemmas are invariably so penetrating and full of insight, and the questions he raises so important, that it barely matters. Above all, he draws us back to the text of The Mahabharata itself, one of the greatest of man’s literary achievements and one that, astonishingly, has yet to be translated into English in its entirety: a measure of the degree to which the west still continues to ignore the riches of ancient Indian classical culture.

Thanks to Das, however, I am now deep in the nearest thing we have to a complete English Mahabharata: the nine extant volumes so far translated by the Clay Sanskrit Library, a remarkable American project that aims to give access to the neglected riches of the Sanskrit classics, most of which, shockingly, still remain untranslated into any language. The project is the brainchild of Das’s old Chicago teacher Sheldon Pollock, and there is something appropriately and satisfyingly Indian in the work of the pupil leading readers back to the study of his guru.

The author relies excessively on western sources for translations and for interpretations. This is perhaps because he studied the Mahabharata at Harvard and naturally, more western sources would have been available to him than Indian ones. Apart from that, what struck me most is the critical look that Gurcharan Das takes at Krishna's role in the whole epic, without looking at him as God always. The concept of 'Nishkama Karma' (doing one's duty without thinking of the fruits of it) baffles the author and he concludes that very few people are actually capable of such an existence. Draupadi, Krishna and Yudhishtira are three principal characters that Das analyses in detail, principally because they are the prime movers in the epic and it is refreshing to have an author write about Yudhishtira in a non-simplistic way - that he was a king first and foremost and that he took decisions keeping in mind his 'dharma' to his subjects. 

The author, in my opinion wrongly calls Chanakya as the Indian 'Machiavelli'. Chanakya's Arthashastra was the Indian counterpart of Machiavelli's 'The Prince', but the objectives of the two works are worlds apart in nature. Chanakya says that the Sovereign must become powerful for the welfare of his subjects whereas Machiavelli recommends a king to the pursuit of power for power alone.

Another bone that I have to pick with Das is his lack of familiarity with Indian languages other than those of North India. He says outright in the preface that 'modern' Indian languages do not say Arjuna, but Arjun and that Dharma is pronounced as 'Dharam'. Frankly, I find it appalling that someone who has read so much about Indian epics hasn't made the effort to know more about India itself.

This book, as it is faithful to the epic, raises more questions than answer them, leaving the reader like me to conclude that this epic is essentially a clash between two mafia groups (Pandavas and Kauravas) over land, while including deep concerns (expressed by the characters) for the pursuit of an absolute universal dharma.

As we gradually realize that the epic is far from the simplistic good vs evil story that we had learnt in our childhood, it leads us into the realms of moral philosophy, discussing the merits of consequential-ist ethics (Utilitarianism) and the contradictions between the different moral duties laid down in the earlier moral texts like Vedas, Manusmriti etc; all of which come into conversations between its characters.

This book throws light on many uncomfortable truths that had been hitherto censored out during Television/Cinema adaptations.The author discusses prominent characters of the Indian Epic and the moral dilemmas, behaviours that they exhibit as the story of mahabharata progresses. The tone of the narrative is neutral. The author does not favour any one side or any particular character of the epic. In every chapter, the author compares the mahabharata situations with current day scenarios. He provides a thorough analysis of what can be argued as righteous and why is it so difficult to be righteous. As per hindu philosophy a human life(purushartha) consists of four phases – Dharma(righteousness), Arth(career,goals,commercial activities), Kama(pleasures), Moksha(renunciation). Without experiencing all four a person remains incomplete. Out of the four this book stresses on Dharma and why is it difficult to follow Dharma. The book is deeply introspective. A person who connects with mahabharata and is looking to derive the meaning of life hidden in the story will enjoy reading this excellent narrative/debate on Mahabharata. The author is fascinated(not biased towards) with Yudhishtira’s character and hence the title – “The subtle art of DHARMA” (Yudhishtira being the son of Dharma). The central theme of the book is Dharma.

What I liked about it -

1. The author has done good research of the epic. If you don’t give the prologue a miss, you will see how much the author has put in on this subject. His detailed analysis of the Indian epic is commendable.

2. Some of the chapters got me hooked to the book. Like Duryodhana’s envy, where the author discusses the emotion of envy – its merits and demerits (good envy vs bad envy) and how it affects the moral conduct of a person. Bhishma’s selflessness addresses the famous “Do your deeds without expecting the results” doctrine. This chapter argues if it’s really possible for a person to act without thinking of the results. In Karna’s status anxiety, the author debates the present day issue of reservations in Indian society.

3. The tone of the narrative – This book isn’t preachy at all. I like reading something wherein the author leaves it to the reader to come to a conclusion. When describing his point of view, the author uses “I think…” which keeps the tone open to argument.

4. “The difficulty of being good” – the title summarizes the essence so beautifully. When introspective on life and moral/ethical issues, this book will provide a whole new perspective to a reader.

5. The modern-day examples that the author discusses – Ambani brothers (Duryodhana’s envy), Ramalinga Raju (Dhritarshtra’s bias for his son), etc are engaging.

What I didn’t like -

1. The chapters sometimes become lengthy. For a reader, the topics that he is less interested in, those chapters will prove to lengthy and you start getting restless reading the same subtle argument again and again through different examples.

2. Every Mahabharata fan, who has known the story and admired his/her favourite character, would disagree at one point or the other with the author’s view. For me, the chapter on Karna and Arjuna were a let down. But when you complete the book you understand that the purpose is to discuss Dharma and hence whatever the author has written about these characters is in relation to moral righteousness.

3. The bibliography – it’s so huge that you cannot follow it throughout the book. I gave up after the first chapter. It is a result of the author’s excellent research so can’t blame him for it. It’s just that it was too heavy for a reader like me to go back and forth at every reference.

Read it if -

1. You like The Mahabharata and are game for a healthy introspective debate on the epic.

2. You have felt while reading the epic that it has more to offer than only the story

Here's an interesting perspective on the moral dilemmas faced by the principle characters of Mahabharata, the great Indian classic. The author explores Duryodhana's envy, Draupadi's courage, Yudhistir's duty, Arjuna's despair, Bhishma's selflessness, Karna's status anxiety, Ashwatthama's revenge and beautifully connects it to the social, political, economic and cultural challenges of current times. Indeed, all these characters exist in us too as we face life's challenges by struggling to answer the question - what is the right thing to do and why (or how to) be good?

This book reads a little bit like Gurucharan Das's freshman Intro to Philosophy essay. There's a lot of I feel and I agree with .. which seems a tad sophomoric. 

All said and done.. I always did think that the Mahabharata was a fun story and I am grateful that Gurucharan introduced me to the more subtler nuances of this epic. I really enjoyed Das' discussions on personal dharma versus societal dharma and unmotivated karma. Das does a great job of explaining why the concept of dharma in the context of the epic is complicated. However, he doesn't do a good job of explaining how subtle dharma can be in the 20th century. There is also the problem of Das' very evident America and free markets solve all problems bias. Case in point - he makes the claim that critics of America are more motivated by jealousy rather than logic. I paraphrase, but that was the argument in essence. 

Book Review - The Yellow Emperor's Cure By Kunal Basu

I bought the book, mainly because the stall keepers at the book fair in Kolkata highly recommended this book. Had I read the synopsis on the book sleeve, I might not have purchased it. That said, I decided to give Kunal Basu a try, for I had heard good reviews about his Japanese wife.

The book is set in late 19^th century. The protagonist is a brilliant, handsome, and flamboyant Portugese doctor, Doctor Antonio Maria, who lives in Lisbon. The book starts with a good depiction of his lifestyle, his deep friendship with Ricardo, and his unfaltering love for his father. Kunal Basu describes the lives and colors of Lisbon quite well and the first few chapters went quite quickly for me.  

Dr. Maria discovers that his dearest father, also a doctor, is afflicted with syphilis and he sees him wasting away in the last stages of the disease. Completely distraught and feeling helpless without a cure, he is dismayed with the lack of cure for this horrible disease. In his anguish, he finds out that this disease is not usually seen in China and hopes that the Chinese must have a cure. He sets off to China, in search of a cure, even if it may not be in time to cure his father.

The novel still sounded promising, as this young bachelor doctor sets sail to China, to start his long and arduous search for the cure. Basu describes well how the doctor adjusts to this entirely foreign world of strange customs, peculiar foods and eating habits, invisible royalty, and eunuchs. In his quest for a cure, the doctor finds himself in the middle of the boxer rebellion, the cultural movement that rose from the ashes of the Opium Wars. The rebels waged a war against foreigners and their assistants as well as Chinese converts (to Christianity). Basu interlaces the story with history, mystery, overt love, and violent culture clashes. He has certainly done his research, for we learn a bit about history of China in late 19^th century, the food, eating styles, ways of the royalty etc.. The style of writing and handling of the language also make for easy reading.

But, somewhere in the last third of the book, the book begins to pall. I felt that the author lost interest and focus and was meandering quite a bit. The protagonist himself seemed to have lost his focus on his mission of finding a cure. (That perhaps could be explained away with the emotional turmoils he was put through.) The author carries until the very last few pages the mystery of the cure, the secrets behind his lovely Nei-Ching teacher Fumi ,who the doctor falls hopelessly in love with, and the truth behind the murder of her first mentor. The reader is made to fully believe that the three are somehow connected. While the reader’s curiosity peaked for there are but a few pages left, the author seemed have to run out of steam, said “meh” and just wanted to end the book regardless of how insipid the ending might be. The ending was certainly a big let-down for me.

All in all, I felt the author’s focus, energy level, even his delving into history were not consistent through the book. His weaving in and out between the doctor’s nightmares and real events were also confusing in some places.

Book Review - The Immortals of Meluah by Amish Tripathi

The Immortals of Meluah is certainly a page-turner. I could hardly put the book down. This first book in the the Shiva trilogy is about Lord Shiva depicted as man. I admire Amish’s confidence in beginning his debut book writing venture with a trilogy!

The novel chronicles the journey of Shiva, an extraordinary man, from his home at Mansarovar to the Meluhan Empire and the transformation in him that the move wrought. Shiva is portrayed as a chillum wielding, foul-mouthed man, with all human vulnerabilities, including fear of the unknown. He is, however, described as a man endowed with many skills, including warriorship, leadership, not to mention dancing.

Meluha, the land of the Suryavanshis, is depicted as Ramrajya, a utopian society that was established by Lord Ram himself. The laws laid down by Ram are sacrosanct in this society and all follow the laws devoutly. One overpowering tenet is that everyone be treated fairly and that all should work for the common good of the people. Simplicity and austerity is emphasized. Even the king’s palace is quite ordinary. The only places that seem magnificent and have striking architecture were the temples and other special common areas. Shiva, who comes from a land surrounded by hostile and greedy people, the Prakatis, is quite taken with the Meluhans for their honesty, their sincerity and their simple and congenial ways of living.

Shiva points out, however, that though it is an admirable society, it is not a perfect one. For instance, he is appalled by their treatment of vikramas. Vikramas were those on whom some terrible misfortune befell, like a dreadful disease or bearing a still born child etc. It was considered a result of their sins from past lives. They were kept secluded like untouchables, for it was believed that their ways decisions would be colored by the adversity that they were facing. Shiva wants to abolish this law, for he felt it was unfair to punish people who were already grief-stricken. That the love of his life, Sati, is also labeled a vikarma, sticks in his craw.

Shiva realizes that the Meluhans had invited him and his tribesmen to their land in their quest for Neelkanth, the savior who would lead them to victory against the Chandravanshis, their evil neighbors. The Meluhans find that Shiva passes all the tests for a savior,  and revere him as God. One of the key tests was that after they administered somras, the elixir of life, his throat had turned a bright blue. Shiva is uncomfortable with people putting him on a pedestal for reason that seemed illogical and is skeptical about his ability to fulfill the task that the Meluhans had assigned to him.

With his alertness, sharp intellect, and his elan, he saves the life of the Meluhan princess Sati a  couple of times, beats a bunch of terrorists for the first time in Meluhan history. Ultimately with his strategy and keen sense of warriorship, he fulfills the hopes of the Meluhans by winning the war against the “evil” Chandravanshis who were equipped with a much larger army.

He soon realizes that the Chandravanshis are not evil at all, just different. They value independent thinking and creativity and hence have a much less restrictive set of laws. They are a passionate about what they say and do and encourage individuals to grow and become free spirited. Though he sees abject poverty and squalor in their land, he is deeply touched by an unexpected show of kindness and humanity by an extremely poor and sick person. He is subsumed with the guilt for killing thousands of Chandravanshis, with the belief that they were evil, just because the Meluhans had told him so. At the Ram temple in Ayodhya, a holy man tells Shiva that everyone makes mistakes unknowingly and he should not wallow in the past. But, it is his duty to rise to be a Mahadev and recognize that which is really evil and lead men against it, before evil raises its ugly head and extinguishes all life. The first of the trilogy ends with this mission assigned to Shiva.

Now, about the author and some nuggets from the book -------------------

Amish Tripathi, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, who worked in the financial industry for fourteen years, seems to have found his ultimate calling. The book reads like it was written by a well versed consummate author. His intelligence and his humor shone all through the book. By making it contemporary, it helped current generation relate to the mythology of yore. Though the book may be perceived as irreverent by some, the underlying story is compelling and is filled with freshness and sparkle.

Here are some highlights that I specially appreciated:

1.      The first and foremost is the concept of Har har Mahadev. I burst out laughing when I read this piece, for I found the play on words humorous. Shiva, quite unsure of his role as a Mahadev, is all set to lead the war against the Chandravanshis. He decides to take advantage of the appellation “Mahadev” and give a rousing speech  to the warriors, as they set out to fight the war. “A man becomes a Mahadev, only when he fights for good” he says. “A Mahadev is not born from his mother's womb. He is forged in the heat of battle, when he wages a war to destroy evil. Har Har Mahadev - All of us are Mahadev.” It took a few moments for the depth of this speech to strike me. He had asked each one to look for the God within himself! Indeed a clever play on words. I know I will be smiling every time I hear the chant “Har Har Mahadeva”.

2.      Each of Shiva’s meetings with the temple priests was a nugget in itself. They were steeped in philosophy and profundity. For example, the priest asking Shiva to ponder over the color of a leaf from the perspective of the leaf itself. What color does the leaf absorb and which one does it reject? Is its color green? Or is it every single color in the world, except green?’ This illustration underscored that depending on perspectives, perceptions could be diametrically opposite.

In another instance, when Shiva despaired over Sati’s cold shoulder, the priest asked him to drop the supercilious attitude towards Sati. He advised him to understand her better from the way she deals with people around her. He makes Shiva realize that what she expects from people around her, is respect.

In yet another meeting, a priest tells him that the difference of opinion between two dissimilar ways of life get portrayed as a fight between good and evil. Just because the Chandravanshis are different from the Suryavanshis doesn’t mean that they are evil. Though steeped in simplicity, this statement exemplifies a fundamental truth that is so relevant even for the current times.

In another incident, in response to Shiva calling the temple God “your” God, the priest says “All godliness comes from the same source. Just the manifestations are different.” Again, words of wisdom - these.

In one of the meetings, the priest explains the reason for observing vikarma saying that if a maladjusted victim is allowed a position of influence, it may lead to destruction. He quoted the influence that Manthara, who suffered physical deformities, was accorded in the Ramayana and the outcome of her ill-placed advice. This one got me thinking, but I cannot buy this argument.

3.      I found the logical exchanges between Shiva and the chief scientist Brahaspati quite inspiring. In particular, I found the theory behind somras interesting. Brahaspati explains that though oxygen is essential for life, as it converts food into energy, it releases oxidants that cause harm to the body, much like oxygen causes iron to rust. Brahaspati also theorizes that the body is aware of this and that is why it does not store extra amounts of oxygen, while it stores other life essentials like food and water.

To inhibit the oxidation within the body, the Suryavanshis had concocted an elixir called somras. By preventing oxidation, it enabled its consumers to stay younger and free of diseases. We know that mythology talks about somras and its properties. Equating it to an antioxidant was an interesting theory.

Current day article about the oxidation process in humans states that it is an important cause and consequence of many diseases. Hence, the use of antioxidants is intensely studied, to minimize diseases and extend life. Furthermore, somras is often equated to wine in current days. Again, it has been scientifically established that red wine contains antioxidants that may help prevent heart disease by increasing levels of "good" cholesterol and protecting against artery damage, thereby extending life.

4.      The love story of Shiva and Sati is also very well narrated, the palpable reality of which moves the reader to tears in some instances. The unrelenting resolve by Shiva to make Sati his life partner and Sati’s struggle with even considering such a proposition, given her vikrama status, the ultimate victory of love over all adversities, and the union of these two in a happy marriage is a highlight of the novel.

Doubt?? I thought Daksha disliked Shiva and was not in favor of his daughter Sati marrying him at all. He had deliberately not invited Shiva to a great sacrifice that he had planned etc.? Amish’s story talks about Daksha wishing the union of Sati and Shiva from the beginning. I do not understand that aspect.