Book Rview: The Immortals of Meluha

I was just browsing books in Crossword, when i noticed an attractive book cover, that of a fully hooded Snake on a book which proclaimed to uncover the 'SECRET OF THE NAGAS'.

On probing further, i realised that this was the second book of the 'Shiva' Trilogy. So i decided to lay my hands on the First book' The Immortals of Meluha' by Amish.

Pretty impressed by the reviews on the first page, i started turning the pages. The story is of the journey of a simple Tribal man to 'Mahadev' - God of the Gods.

I have seen it on almost every major bestseller list and figured it’d be a good read over the weekend.

The Plot of The Immortals of Meluha

The Immortals of Meluha is the first book in the Shiva Trilogy series written by Amish Tripathi (who by the way happens to be an IIM pass out and we all know the recent spate of books being churned out by these guys. Am sure at this rate the IIM’s will open a publishing house of their own very soon. One up for 100% placements!).

Like the name suggests, The Immortals of Meluha is set in the imaginary land of Meluha which actually is the Indus Valley that we read so long back in our history course.

All through the Immortals of Meluha, you’ll be visiting places like Harriyappa (yeah, the same Harrappa – Mohenjedaro one) which makes me wonder, no actually quite sure, that Amish would have topped his History course. Meluha, is the land of the legendary Suryavanshi’s (the good folks) who are at constant war with the Chandravanshi’s (the not so good folks).

To make matters worse, the Chandravanshi’s have aligned with the warrior tribe called Nagas (the real mean ass ones) who carry out constant terrorist attacks on the Suryavanshi people. The Immortals of Meluha actually reminded me of India – Pakistan – Taliban somehow!

Well, so what do the Suryavanshi’s do now? It’s simple guys, they need a Hero to save them. You see, all evil things need to be destroyed by a Hero. Superman does it. Batman does it. Hell, even Shaktimaan does it!

The same is done in The Immortals of Meluha by Shiva, the Nomad. He is the would-be-destroyer of evil, the Neelkanth that was prophesied by the Gods lest all hope faded for mankind. Ok, not that dramatic but you get what happens in The Immortals of Meluha.

So does our Hero go out and destroy the evil Chandravanshi’s and the Nagas? Well, I don’t want to play spoilsport for you at this moment but yes, evil is destroyed. Now whether that evil is something within Shiva’s heart or elsewhere is left for you to find out.

And yes, like every Hindi movie,even in The Immortals of Meluha, there’s a pretty girl involved called Sati (C’mon guys, if Superman can have Lois Lane and Spiderman can have Mary Jane and Shaktimaan can have Geeta Bihwas and Ra.One can have Chammak Challo, what makes you think Shiva cant!

The Good Bit on The Immortals of Meluha

The Plot Rocks! The plot is original and I really loved the fact how Amish has gone ahead and interspersed History and Mythology to create one spell-binding plot in The Immortals of Meluha. Some people might complain that the story dragged at times but I actually liked his attention to detail while describing some of the key essential characters and items used in the book.

Another major influencer for me to purchase The Immortals of Meluha was due to it’s amazing cover. So whoever said, never judge a book by it’s cover, must have been wrong or had never thought bout our friend Amish. The portrayal of Shiva against the backdrop of a lake and mountains is straight out of The Lord of the Rings. 5 Stars for That!

I had not seen the teaser video of The Immortals of Meluha before and saw it while writing this review but that’s one impressive trailer. As a marketer, I really appreciate the way the author and his team have gone about promoting the book by creating a buzz around it.

The Not So Good Bit

With the utmost and sincerest apologies to the author, I found the writing in The Immortals of Meluha to be a little below par. Now yes, I’m no Shakespeare myself when it comes to the language but at places, it was downright appalling. You have words like ‘Goddamnit’, ‘bloody hell’, ‘In the name of God what is this nonsense?’ etc, which I guess would be great for an Indian audience but not very English-like!

On the book, I thought I was watching a typical hindi movie where u have everything from a hero to action to drama and ofcourse a lady love!


On the book, I thought I was watching a typical hindi movie where u have everything from a hero to action to drama and ofcourse a lady love!. I mean how else can u define certain narrations as the one where Sati is revived to life from a situation where no one has ever recovered from..and ofcourse she had her hero Shiva by her side  . It probably shows that its the first venture of an immateur writer.

Finished the book in just 2 days. The only part or parts which i thought were a little out of place were the use of modern words like oxidation, Punjab, rajasthan. And off course words like damnit etc makes one lose the feeling of 1900 BC. 

Live Concert review: Sonu Nigam live in concert

Sonu Nigam enthralled the audience on 11th September 2014 at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch , Pune on the occasion of  Dajikaka Gadgil Centenary Celebration with a LIVE musical concert.

The event was also graced by Bollywood hearth throb Madhuri Dixit Nene (Brand Ambassador -PNG)





Here is the list of songs that had the audience grooving..

• Shukran Allah


• Deewana


• Yeh Dil ( Pardes)


• Sandese aate hai ( Border)


• Mai agar kahoo tumsa haseen ( Om Shanti Om)


• Kal ho na ho


• Zoobie Doobie ( 3 Idiots)


• Tik Tik vajte dokyat ( Duniyadari)


• Hirwa Nisarga ha ( Navra maza navsacha)


• Saathiya ( Title song - Saathiya)


• Mujko pehchan lo mai hu Don ( Don)


• Tuje lage na najariya - Bhijuriya


• Phir milenge chalte chalte (Rab ne bana di jodi)


• Abhi mujh me kahi (Agneepath)


• Nach le ve ( Tara rum pum)


• Mahi Ve ( Kal ho na ho)


• Aaja Soniye ( mujse shaadi karogi)


• Aaj ki raat ( Don)


• Aal is Well ( 3 idiots)

A big salute to the man for his unending energy , enthusiasm and passion. Truly, a master entertainer!!!!

Bookj Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

The title of the novel is taken from a line from a seventeenth-century poem called “Kabul,” written by the Persian poet Saib-e-Tabrizi

One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,

Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.

Laila’s father  quotes these lines as the family is about to leave the war-wracked city of Kabul to another land. Through the imagery of suns and moons, the lines evoke a feeling of timelessness and a connection to the mythology of ancient Persia, as well as a heavenly beauty that stands in poignant contrast with the rubble and blood of the city at war.

The moons and suns may be interpreted as the citizens of Kabul, with the male head of each household represented by a shimmering moon on its roof.

The reference to “a thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls” likely refers to the women of Kabul, glowing beauties cloistered in hearth and home, tantalizingly hidden from the outside world but nonetheless providing vital life-giving warmth to Afghan society. The powerful image of women as “splendid suns” ties in with the author's theme of women’s strength and importance to the  Afghan society.

Saturday night 'Euphoria' !! - Dhoom Pichak Dhoom

The sheer energy, the bright throbbing lights, the pulsating songs, the beats, the rhythm, the madness, the crowd screaming and singing along... Saturday night fever had gripped Pune with the band Euphoria performing at the Shaniwarwada for the Times Pune Festival and we were thrilled to be at the second row enjoying this fiesta, thanks to our dear friend Nikhil, who arranged for the VIP Passes.



A large number of people had converged to watch the show which included Pune's young college crowd, Army personnel with their families as well as ToI well wishers. And the band, with its 10 members, was ready to rock the crowd.

Dressed in black, but donning a red Puneri pheta, the lead vocalist Palash sen infused an energy that kept building till it reached a crescendo. It was so infectious that nobody from the audience was left untouched,  in fact all those present were transfixed by the musical magic unfolding in front their eyes, with even the elder people standing all the time.

Shaniwarwada, the centre of all the action, reverberated with mind-numbing applause. The anthem of the heroic Rok Sako Toh Rok Lo' enveloped the audience with in its burning and bold intensity. Then followed, 'Sab Bhoola', a vibrant number on love's bitter partings, followed and the crowd could be seen dancing in the aisles and waving their hands in glee.

 



"Euphoria has completed 12 years of its journey. We began in 1998 with a strange little song," said Sen and before he could even complete his sentence, the crowd shouted out the name of the track that had propelled this wonderful band to stardom. As Dhoom Pichak Dhoom' began, the audience clapped to keep the rhythm and sang along with Sen.

But it was the poetic song Mayari with its Urdu cum Punjabi overtones that lent an inimitable sufi touch to the proceedings. Sen said, "This song is dedicated to my beloved."

As for me Mayari is one of my favorite songs,its depth and meaning is what got me hooked to Euphoria!

'Kabhi Aana Tu Meri Gully', replete with the intoxicating beats of the dholak' and playful lyrics had the audience dancing vigorously.

To end it i would like to say that Euphoria's energy took us all to a state of euphoric ecstasy!!!

The (LOST) DAN BROWN Template

Just finished reading 'THE LOST SYMBOL" last night, one of the most awaited books from one of my favorite authors- DAN BROWN.

Although expectations were sky high with this one, esp. after Angels & Demons (my fav of the lot) and Da Vinci code, this book does not fulfill my expectations.

After so many surprises in his previous books, the reader gets so accustomed to the surprises, that surprises become obvious,which i think in case of Lost Symbol has encouraged such an average response.

Also,after building up super suspense and with all that hush hush about lost word,ancient mysteries etc. etc..........finally just reveals its JUST the XXXX.(Sorry,No spoilers here!)


Now, what does Dan brown have for us here?
Having read all of Brown's earlier works ,now, if i may say , the STANDARD DAN BROWN TEMPLATE goes something like this:

The stereotypical Dan Brown Template-


All this happening in a day's time...

‘Random’ologist summoned by (Dr/Father) XYZ to embark on mission to save (Earth/Religion/God) from ‘till recently dormant’ enemies….


An impossibly ‘Brainy Beauty’ enters scene….

Random + Brainy Beauty set off for wild adrenalin filled goose chase ….


While on the run Solve a couple of puzzles that baffled men for centuries ...


A hidden treasure/secret that no one will find..


A weirdo assasin communicating with Random.....


Secret rituals combined with a new scientific technology...


Get betrayed by XYZ….

Enter a "i am always strict and maintain a ginger eaten face" officer


Sudden flashes of seminars while running for life...


Miraculously escape…..

Random n Brain Beauty make out…..


and Dan Brown lives happily ever after on royalties received from the next Tom Hanks dud.


Having said all this, i m still a DB fan and hope that DB trusts us, his avid fans,who will not ditch him IF he writes a novel,which,just for sake of argument,does NOT hold at stake USA's national security,or so to say end of the world !!

Ye hai Gadhagiri

Let me take the honor of introducing the term ‘Gadhagiri’. It means stupidity coupled with stubbornness. I guess since the inception of Humans and Asses (Donkeys) in this world, we have been making remarks at fellow humans with the analogy of Asses.

‘You smart ass’, ‘Gadha kahin ka’, ‘Ass*o**’,etc.

A lot of outrageous and even obscene remarks have long been associated with this poor animal. So much so that the fleshy part of the human bottom that we sit on have become a synonym appearing in all dictionaries. Today the ass-word is so common that one may find its usage in all age groups from Kids to Grannies and Grandpas. Such is its popularity despite the tag of taboo and vulgarity still hanging with it. But who cares, at times we take a deliberate pride in using against others as a satirical remark.

The big question still remains unanswered. Why did we choose the beast of burden- the donkey (Gadha) for such derogatory remarks? In spite of the fact that it helps people especially rural forks and Dhobis (Washer-men) in day to day activities like carrying baggage and burdens. Since time immemorial we have been distorting the image of this innocent animal. But since the damage has been already done nothing much can be done to restore the pride of donkeys by merely writing a blog on this subject. Rather I have now started perceiving the whole idea of the ‘Gadhagiri’ in a different context. With Sigmund Freud’s evolutionary theory working out to be true and thereby donkeys attaining more capability to exercise its brain, I am sure this animal should take this as a matter of pride of being compared with superior animal – the humans!!! Also they would have to accept the fact that their stubbornness is also the cause of their notoriety. After all humans are not stupid enough to blindly use anything or anyone as an analogy or simile. The donkeys shouldn't be much offended and ought to realise that ass-words are hardly used in the context of extreme evil or bad as social or domestic animals like dog, bitch, etc. Think about any movie and dialogues, one may rarely find the actors, in a high emotional frenzy roaring like ‘Gadhe main tera khoon pee jaunga’, ‘Maa Kasam main ek ek gadhe ko chun chun ke maroonga’. A goon or gunda is never treated in equivalence with donkeys.

Let me elaborate more on the special term which I have coined “Gadhagiri”. Its usage and meaning is more close to “Dadagiri’ than ‘Gandhigiri’. The former is used highly with negative connotations while the latter is used with the ‘Gandhian ideology’ which is very positive, sometimes too idealistic to be followed by many in today’s world. On the other hand, Gadhagiri is like being obstinate to take a stand on some foolish idea and stupid enough to fight for a petty cause with an air of arrogance. Displaying bossism like a dada and being firm or stubborn (like Gandhigiri) but for an irrational cause. Irrationality becomes the principle and ego takes the prime front in one’s personality for people who are inflicted with ‘Gadhagiri’- syndrome. Some are born with this syndrome, some acquire it and few just excel in this without ever realizing that they are suffering from this syndrome. One may find such people in all walks of life. It seems it is so prevalent that sometimes we resort to ‘Gadhagiri’ without even realizing it. This behavioral pattern can be found in streets, busses, trains, homes, schools, etc. – almost everywhere.

But as I said, most of us display this behavior occasionally. And for those with this innate quality in them, just can’t help it. It gets pretty difficult to deal with them and only option left for us is to defend ourselves with ‘Gandhigiri’- a weapon to make the person realize that he has become more of an ass than a human.