pen.books.and.scalpel

BOOK NAME: THE CLAY TOY-CART: MRCHCHAKATIKAM AUTHOR NAME: SHUDRAKA (TRANSLATED FROM THE SANSKRIT BY PADMINI RAJAPPA) GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA BOOK REVIEW The Clay Toy-Cart is a beautiful, heart-rending story translated from Shudraka's most famous Sanskrit classical play, Mrchchakatikam. I didn’t know what to expect from the book when I opened it at first, but it took me by surprise from the very beginning. After reading a Shakespearean novel years ago, I have now returned to reading drama. And it felt so good to read something apart from regular fiction. The beautiful and rich courtesan Vasantasena is bewitched by the smart and compassionate Charudatta, even though he is married and very much in love with his wife, Dhuta. While everyone in the town tries their luck pursuing Vasantasena, she rejects every advance, openly displaying her love for Charudatta. Everything seems to unfold well like a fairy tale, until one messes up, which lands both of them ...

BOOK NAME: THE BRIDE AUTHOR NAME: HARIMOHAN JHA TRANSLATED FROM THE MAITHILI BY LALIT KUMAR GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION  PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS INDIA BOOK REVIEW Honestly, it was a chore finding a book translated from the Maithili language because there were hardly any books available in English for me to choose from. But when I found this one, I knew it had to be good.  But little did I expect this book to turn out so great because how good can a book written in the 1930s be? Right?   That is where I was completely wrong. For judging it based on its timeline. But here’s how the book excels. Buchia is a naive 13-year-old who her parents are trying to sell her hard in the marriage market (literally). When they find a groom who is well educated and settled, they find a way to get them both married. But little did C.C. Mishra know that he was deceived into marrying a child bride who didn’t match his expectations at all. And then begins the story and kind of ends there ...

BOOK NAME: THE ANGUISH OF SEPARATION AUTHOR NAME: GOBIND MALHI (TRANSLATED FROM THE SINDHI BY SINDHISHAAN) GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: SHOBHA CHANDNANI BOOK REVIEW This book marked many firsts for me. For instance, it was my first Sindhi-translated book and my first audiobook as well, which I surprisingly loved. The Anguish of Separation is a story of love, desire, faith, heartbreak, and longing set in pre-independent India, written and translated with a nuance that will leave the readers wanting more.  The story begins with Kundan stealing from his own house on Saanwal’s instructions, to return Ebrahim what is rightfully his. Kundan and Saanwal are cousins, yet Kundan has been advised to keep his distance from Saanwal due to his nonchalant behaviour. Saanwal is a free spirit, a vagabond, a non-believer who doesn’t abide by the rules. But he isn’t the one making unfair rules either. Things turn complicated when he falls in love with Haajira, Ebrahim’s cousin, who...

The annual Blogchatter ritual is here and I am so glad to be back here. This year, for the A to Z challenge, I am choosing a theme that is so close to my heart as a literature fanatic and a language enthusiast. I have always been reading and recommending translated books from different languages and so, the last year I started this habit of reading books translated exclusively from Indian languages.    India is a diverse country; I do not know if I can use the word ‘secular’ anymore. But diverse it is with its multicultural, multilingual background with people following different religions, cultures, and even cuisines. One of the most magnificent properties of our country is its varying languages, though they have become a subject of conflict recently. When a nation built on a foundation of secularism and democracy is misled by people who, for their benefit, use languages, religions, and borders to incite violence, this is bound to happen.    To understand the im...

1. MAGIC SQUARE BY SALINI VINEETH Magic Square is a compelling, breezy novella on finding the right purpose at the right time, sometimes even by chance, just like how I stumbled upon this book. The time I took to finish this book since the discovery was hardly an hour—an hour that I am very glad to have spent this way.   This story starts with Amudha’s not-so-interesting PhD life, where her colleague Dheeraj turns out to be the only reason she continues the grind. Pursuing a PhD degree was never Amudha’s dream, but she took it up for lack of better options. One day, while helping Dheeraj with his project, she comes across a book owned by a certain L.V. Sreenivasan decades ago, who turns out to be not just a mathematics genius but also a literary enthusiast and a romantic at heart. A poem on the back of the book addressed to someone else piques her curiosity, and she sets out to do the unthinkable. Thus begins a journey of adventure, mystery, love, loss and more.   What starts ...

1.  FRENCH BRAID BY ANNE TYLER What do you aspire to do every morning when you walk around your house as a 60-year-old with a mug of coffee and a newspaper or Kindle in hand? When I grow old, I imagine myself reading Anne Tyler every single day, sipping my chai, loitering on the lawn, and letting the warmth of the sun penetrate my old, wrinkled skin just like her words do. I would love to read a few pages of her book every day, laugh with her characters, shed tears of joy and sorrow as they disintegrate and unite, hold the book closer to my heart whenever it ends and heave a sigh of relief as I open another.   When you start an Anne Tyler book, you should know what you are getting into. Ritualistically, all her books are set in Baltimore and revolve around a family whose members are all troubled, different, and unique in their own ways. Yet, none of her two books reads the same. It’s the magic Anne Tyler weaves with all the familiar words and unfamiliar territories. ...

1 .  ABSCOND BY ABRAHAM VERGHESE   This short story by Abraham Verghese is gripping, intense and sublime. Ravi’s dream of becoming a tennis star in New Jersey seems achievable with his father’s support, even though his mother wants him to tread in his father’s footsteps of becoming a neurosurgeon, like every Indian mother. But it all flips upside down one fine day, and all of a sudden Ravi must grow up and take charge. He was never prepared for what was coming, but he had no other choice than to accept it. Ravi learns that grief is subjective, taking one of its many forms in everyone. I loved this bittersweet story about loss, grief, and acceptance. With the way it started, I least expected the turn of events, and it really took me by surprise. At this point, I am convinced Abraham Verghese can make 38 pages as interesting as a 500-page novel. He can showcase Indianness in a foreign land with as less words as he is allowed to, and he does so with great finesse. All I can s...