A Flight Of Pigeons by Ruskin Bond

Title : A Flight of Pigeons

Author : Ruskin Bond

Publisher : Puffin

ISBN : 0-6700-4927-1

War never has made sense to ordinary individuals

Though a very simple sentence formed using very simple words, yet it is brimming with so much sense. Power changes hands, rulers come and go, boundaries expand and shrink but how do all these things impact an ordinary individual? The common people may not face the bare swords, or the arrows may not be pointed at them directly or they may not be the target of many bullets but they are the ones who get hurt which may not be visible apparently. They end up enduring the loss of their loved ones, their happiness and then getting on with humungous task of rebuilding the lives from ground zero.

I feel 'A Flight of Pigeons' is Ruskin Bond's tribute to these mute sufferers, immaterial of the class, community, religion or nationality they belong to. 

'A Flight of Pigeons' is a historical fiction which may be based on true events, as the writer points out. Set against the backdrop of 1857 uprising in Shahjahanpur, it is actually a narration of how events unfolded from the eyes and through the voice of Ruth Labadoor, a thirteen year old British girl. Perspectives change when sides switch. What Indians call as their first freedom struggle or uprising is termed as revolt in British lexicon.

Ruth witnesses the massacre of British civilians in the church and his father happens to be one of the victims there.  She along with her mother Miriam, grandmother, aunt and cousins take refuge in kind-hearted Lala Ramjilal's house. But besotted by the looks of Ruth, Javed Khan forcibly brings her and her mother to his house with the sole motive of convincing Miriam to make Ruth his second wife.

Javed Khan comes across as a person who is passionate and desperate to make his desires a reality but sensible enough to wait for willing acceptance of the same by Ruth's mother. Miriam being a very intelligent, wise, confident and strong-willed woman, brings Javed Khan around by striking a deal with him that the future of Delhi should decide the future of this alliance. The status quo goes on for almost a year and a few months.

Miriam and Ruth's luxurious locks, polite speech, dexterous needlework and affable nature win them many women admirers and supporters. Though surrounded by some very sympathetic women, they underwent long period of constant fear and dread of being in the midst of danger every single moment of their stay there. As we all know, British ruled over India for almost nine decades more after this uprising was successfully overpowered by them. So the long patient wait of Ruth and her family members did end eventually and they did get to lead a normal life.

Being a Ruskin Bond's creation, 'A Flight of Pigeon' beautifully lives up to the high levels of sensitivity and insightful portrayal that this story demanded. An extraordinary piece of writing bringing out the saga of survival of women who took refuge in hostile situation but their wit, grit and patience led them to the light beyond the dark tunnel.

I began this review with Ruskin Bond's words and would like to end it with another set of his words from the book - In times of conflict and inter-religious or racial hatred, there are always a few (just a few) who are prepared to come to the aid of those unable to defend themselves. 

100

100 is a BIG number.

100 is a lucky number.

100 is an amazing number.

Behold! This is Zealot Readers' 100 blog post!!!

And to mark this special milestone, we plan to celebrate the HARRY POTTER week this August. 

Here we plan to pick up one book of the Harry Potter series each day and try to decode the magic that lies within!

We would appreciate if you could join us and help make this event a grand success. Inviting one and all to send their views, reviews, poems, articles, sketches and anything creative and related to the Harry Potter series @ readers.zealot@gmail.com .

Your entries would be posted here on the blog and on our facebook page: here .

:)

Andy Leelu by B.L.Gautam

Title : Andy Leelu

Author : B.L. Gautam

Publisher : Zorba Publishers

ISBN : 978-81920669-5-0

Andy Leelu is a story of a rebel, a troublemaker, a good-for-nothing boy who has come to his maternal uncle's place - Sehore from his birth place Mohindergarh. This is not a regular pleasure visit to Sehore which he used to indulge in with his mother during every summer vacation. This time he has come to Sehore for good, the reason being his mother not able to bear the abuses and atrocities that her husband meted out to her, any longer. Leelu finds a patron, a comrade, a companion and an obedient follower in his cousin, Radhe(the author). Because of this association, Radhe often finds himself in sticky situations to the disliking of his righteous father - Masterji.

As the story progresses, mystery behind 'Andy' is revealed - how the unparalleled bravery earned Leelu the epithet of Andy, and how this free-spirited, audacious person went on with his life on his own terms - displaying evident signs of irreverence for people and right conduct, his rebellious attitude, his disinterest in studies and his desperation to explore taboo territories. But his personality cannot be sketched in just a few words, his was truly a layered personality who had his own algorithm for handling the relations in his life. He had a set of people occupying priority concentric circles in his life and he demonstrated on more than one occasions how he could go to any length to show the preference or otherwise for them, though not vocally.

The highlight of the story is the unsolved mystery around Andy Leelu which leaves the readers to exercise their imagination and settle for the solution that makes sense to them.

The high point of Leelu's saga is that his memory would not cease to exist with the turn of the last page, it would keep intriguing the readers for a long time. It is very easy to brand him as a 'bad' boy but sometimes the circumstances do play significant role in stigmatizing a person. So how his personality shaped up has a lot to do with his immature way of making sense of the world around him after getting uprooted from his native place.

The narrative is littered with liberal  potions of sexual fantasies and escapades of teenagers expertly mentored by Leelu. There is realistic presentation of the challenges of growing up and, the push and pull of forces working inside everyone's mind and heart when passing through that phase. This is a semi-autobiographical writing and is evident from the vivid portrayal of Radhe's inner feelings, struggles, apprehensions and fears. Gautam has truly brought his cousin to life in this book, who died young.

The story takes a bigger and broader stage as the writer beautifully develops the backdrop of India in 1960s. On one hand the euphoria of independence had not subsided completely, while on the other there were open wounds of partition still and all this while being forced into wars by hostile neighbours in Pakistan and China. This was a nation  marching ahead though unsurely and ill-equipped for natural calamities, famines and epidemics like cholera.

 The rustic feel in Gautam's writing somehow brought back the memories of Godhan and Gaban by none other than the iconic writer - Mushi Premchand himself. The good thing about 'Andy Leelu' is that though the story is set in 1960's the handling is very contemporary which rules out the chance of it being categorized as outdated. The language is a delight to read especially during these times when good number of substandard stuff is also hitting the shelves. The words just flow unabashedly and no word seems to be out of place or context.

However, there are portions in the narrative when if feels like the story is going nowhere and one after another Leelu is getting involved in some or the other exploits. The proceedings pick some speed up but also slow down at many speed breakers which disrupt the otherwise nice flow. 

Interview with Ravi Venu

Ravi Venu is a debutant author of 'I, Rama' (reviewed here) - the first book of a trilogy on Ramayana. Ravi has keen interest in mythological and legendary subjects, and has done a lot of research on various great heroes and hero worship across multiple civilizations.

Here through this e-interview, he shares his experience of penning down his first book and his views on various other subjects.

           1.  What made you pick mythology as the theme for your first book? 

I am a history and mythology buff and I believe Myths have a starting point in history somewhere. Also, some of the greatest minds have written the epics of Mahabarat and Ramayan foreseeing the future and keeping in line with the past.

I also believe Mythology holds key to some of our critical lost links in evolution and thereby our future and when put together, it makes a fantastic meet for a progressive mind.

Having grown up hearing these great tales, it is essential that these epics be retold for the coming generations to make them associate with their roots. I felt the urge to talk Rama, my most favourite God, who knows what it is to run a life of a human and so it began.

2. What idea inspired you to retell Ramayana? What did you feel was missing in the earlier versions of this great epic?

Rama, is the need of the hour to many of us, although we brush it aside as a simple story with not much of drama enough, to be very dry with a lot of 'gyan', the tale is pregnant with several sequences that bring about the God in him or the lift to eternity by humans. 

Rama, unlike all the other Gods can feel what it is to be a complete human - he was a caring brother, duty bound son,  loving husband and a righteous ruler. He faces very strong road blocks on his way, which are not necessary for him to clear, yet, to uphold a cause, he walks the path, the reasons and consequences are the very core of the concept that pulled me to talk Ramayana.

And, I would not necessarily say missing but they can be arranged to make people relate and read to make some notes to their own lives. For instance, we all know Rama's guru was Vishwamitra, but "why" Vishwamitra is something that the epics don't spell out. Being a Guru, the great brahma rishi disappears after teaching. What happens then? 

Why does Kaikeyi not use the boons and pursue using with her husband whom she fought so keen to save? Knowing Bharata, the righteous one, very well, how did she think Rama's exile will be welcomed by him and the throne usurped? Several questions such as who is Shoorpanaka and so on, we need to connect.

If you read Ramayana as a text, you will understand Rama the Right, but do we comprehend how and why Rama "is" Rama the Right ? That is which we need to understand in today's world.

3. The women characters in your story come across as very strong and confident characters with thinking minds of their own. What was the inspiration behind these characters ?

Well, women are that, aren't they? They are strong and are capable of much larger things than what many believe in.

I always believe that there is definitely a woman behind every man, driving him. My mother of course was an inspiration for me to start appreciating women and they continue to fascinate me.

I have been a fan of several women characters in books, be it Hermione Granger or Kundhavai of Kalki's works. 

And as Rama says in the book "women are more powerful than all the celestial weapons put together" 

4. Are you satisfied with the way - I,Rama has shaped up and the response of readers for the same ?

Yes, for now, the book is just beginning to see the light. 

I am looking at a good number of younger generation reading and enjoying it. Rama's story is of two ways, the 'how to be good' and the 'Cause & Consequence' effect.

I have tried to conceptualize and portray the latter, as per the laws of nature. If you notice the epic well, Rama never judges any one nor does he hold a grudge and mostly takes an action based on a previous action.

He is a fantastic listener and a phenomenal management guru, these are some areas I want the future readers to understand and hence connect with the immortal energy by the name 'Rama'.

5. What all research did you undertake for I, Rama and now for the two subsequent books ?

Research wise - Mostly online and books of Stephen hawking, theories and documentation about human evolution and migration patterns and similar works. I do read Valmiki's version for cross reference. 

I also follow some 14th century works which give pointers into the epic.

6. How much time did the whole process take - from the inception of the idea to the final product in hand?

The inception was some 3 years ago, I penned the first chapter of the aged Rama introspecting, but then I could only write a few lines and more research and other domestic situations came to the front. Rama however, held me through the time and ensured that His book is done.

The book came up as a product in the month of May 2012. 

7. You must have gone through various stages of the process involved in getting a book in the market after you finished writing it. Could you please share with us your experience of this process, how easy or difficult it is for a beginner in this field?

Honestly, it is very difficult being a writer, publisher and distributor. The marketing is another giant, coming from the USA, with Amazon it is not very difficult to market / publish / sell one's product but then India is still developing in that area. I hope people encourage my work and more such authors. Creativity is born in writing, I hope there are a lot of creative writers coming up, especially Indians.

By the way, I am trying to launch a web portal to help people with a platform to show case their books and sell them online via some of the leading shopping companies. 

8. What next after trilogy? Do you plan to work on Mahabharata after Ramayana?

I am working on two stories apart from my next volumes, one is on Skanda and other is a super natural - historical thriller based on the Gajini plunder of Somnath and the Cholas at that time as a Pan-India book.

9. Among the contemporary authors, who inspires you the most? Who is your all time favourite author? Which are your favourite books ?

My favorite would be JK Rowling, Sidney Sheldon and Dan Brown. Among current Indian authors, I have read and enjoyed Mr.Banker's Armies of Hanuman. 

All time favorite and guru of my mind is Kalki R Krishnamurthy. 

Favorite books are a plenty, of course the great Indian epics. 

10. Why do you think so many people are working on retelling/redefining mythology these days? Doesn't every individual redefine a story and its characters in his/her unique manner and that is how it should be?

Depends on the individual, I believe most of the stories across the globe are broken down pieces from our epics, India is a country that wrote epics when the rest of the world was still working on cave drawings. But today, India is developing and most of the west is developed. A young India needs a connect with its roots and more towards the contemporary settings.

For instance, 20 years ago, a person from the west would ridicule an Indian for some beliefs, but if you observe evolution is best explained in these Indian myths, which the west found out with Darwin. By modifying a base gene FoxP2, animals and humans can communicate, today we do not know how it is possible but our epics show that cross species communication and mutation was very much there. Reptiles were born before birds and artificial insemination etc were found in these myths. Space travel and distance between planets etc is again talked about in these epics, which is still in research.

Today, armed with these epics, Indian younger generation has a future to face with massive clues to a highly creative world, all they need to do is look at the clues provided and there will be Steve Jobs and Spielberg in every town. 

My task with I, Rama, at least, was to to help propel the thought process of youth in a progressive way, to see these epics with an eye to the world ahead, after all, imagination is the key to evolution.

Thanks Ravi!! 

I, Rama by Ravi Venu

Title : I, Rama

Author : Ravi Venu

Publisher : Cratus Media

ISBN : 978-0615582504

'I, Rama' by Ravi Venu is retelling of the epic Ramayana in the voice of the central character - Rama, himself. So it is a first person account of how events unfolded, how history got written and how his name Rama became synonymous to that of the perfect being - the almighty. The first volume of this trilogy begins from the time when Rama is in his post-prime years and in his reflective mood begins to  narrate the story of his life to his children, brothers and friends. Rama knows that the time is fast approaching when his act on Earth is coming to an end and he would be reunited with his better half soon.

The story is well known to almost all the readers already so I am not going into the story here. I would rather focus on what is it that this book offers which is unique. Yes, there are some unique points.

Through his writing, Ravi Venu has managed to slice through the awe factor surrounding the character of Rama and has attempted to bring him closer to the readers. It’s a wonderful attempt to bridge the seemingly unfathomable gap between Nara and Narayana, in order to make the character more reachable, relatable and relevant. Rama is portrayed as a human prince experiencing the complex human emotions who does not find it inappropriate verbalizing them too  -  "Clearly, human life was not easy, peppered with bonds of love, laced with a tug of war between trust and vanity."

Some may argue that it is blasphemy meddling with the epic but for me it was reassuring to see God going through similar human emotions as we all humans do every single moment of our lives - apprehensions, self doubts, love, affection and likes of those.

So I would say it is a clever way of approaching an epic and subtly conveying the message that whether it is Nara or Narayana, every one comes on Earth to fulfill some preordained goals in the bigger divine scheme, so must work sincerely towards furnishing those duties while in that role.

There are much more details on the lives of the seers (as the title of the story aptly mentions) - the clan guru Vashista, guru Vishwamitra and guru Parasurama. The author has done serious research on the stories of these sages. There is a significant portion of book devoted to Rishi Vishwamitra's confessions about his own life and the time when he was besotted with Meneka - the celestial dancer. Again a great way to bring home the point that no one, not even the great prophets could be immune to human emotions and perhaps there is no need to be immune to the same when in human form. 

Guru Vishwamitha's teachings on essence of life and universal connect make for an interesting read.

The author has taken the liberty to redefined some of the characters in the book. I specifically liked the way character of Kaikeyi is sketched, not making her to be an evil person, rather she is portrayed as an extremely intelligent warrior queen with fine acumen for politics and warfare. And Sita is not presented as a weak follower either. She is characterized as a multifaceted person who is a brilliant cook, a visionary, a philanthropist, a well read person and well acquainted with the workings of kingdoms. Interestingly Meneka's character takes a completely unique and unimaginable turn too.

Ravi Venu intelligently weaves the contemporary scientific concepts in the narration to arouse the interest of those who look for logic in mythology. The terms like inter-galactic travel, energy conversions, astral world, portals from other galaxies for travelling to Earth and vice versa, find their mention here and there. I would say this is a clever trick to woo the readers with scientific minds to read this book too.

The narrative is fast paced and interesting. Part I ends when Rama accepts his destiny and gets ready to follow his line of duty to take on Ravana in his territory.

I firmly believe that the way any story (epic or otherwise) is understood, analyzed and presented has a lot to do with a myriad of factors - the time, and the mindset, customs and culture of that time. So when we experience metamorphosis of our society with time, perhaps redefining mythology is not wrong either and the manner in which Ravi handles the above mentioned variations in his book is almost like taking a firm step towards that initiative.

Overall, I am enjoying how various thinking minds are working towards appreciating, comprehending, redefining and presenting the grand sagas with their unique fresh perspectives.

However, I would have preferred if there were more of Rama's observations, perceptions and interpretations in the narrative than the story itself which we all are well versed with.

There are a few editing mistakes too, just a few, but sufficient to go unnoticed. 

The Forest of Stories by Ashok K. Banker

Title : The Forest of Stories
Author : Ashok K. Banker
Publisher : Westland
ISBN : 978-93-81626-37-5

I have always enjoyed reading the retellings of one of the greatest epics of the world – the Mahabharata. In keeping with this urge to experience diverse perspectives on the epic, how could I skip reading Ashok Banker’s take on this grand drama? Ashok K Banker has earned a repute of being one of the best in this particular genre with his engaging Ramayana series followed by the Krishna Coriolis Series.

‘The Forest of Stories’ by Ashok Banker is a bit like the groundwork before the actual magnum opus. The way Banker has presented the stories in fine detail makes one guess that this particular series is going to be a long one. In fact, if I have the correct information, there are 17 more books to follow ‘The Forest of Stories’!

Reading through this book, I realised that I am familiar with some of the stories that are narrated in it; however, many are completely new to me. As Banker rightly points out, all these stories interconnect at some point like small tributaries meeting and merging with other tributaries, finally draining into the main river.

This set of stories is narrated by Ugrasrava , son of Lomarsana. Ugrasrava is fondly called ‘Sauti’ because he is a ‘Suta’, the son of a Kshatriya father and a Brahmin mother. The epic begins when, after a long and strenuous journey, Sauti reaches Naimisha-van, where Kulapati  Shaunaka and his many acolytes practice their austere rituals in an ashram. It is the same place where the great historical Kurukshetra battle was actually fought and history was created. It is a pleasure for the ashramites and inhabitants of the forest to listen to the narration of Mahabharata from Sauti, as he had the privilege of listening to the recitation from the creator of the epic, Vyasa, himself. Surprisingly, Sauti’s audience expands every day and it is as though the entire Naimisha-van is listening, each tree representing a dead soul in the Kurukshetra war. They are curious about the events that led to the great war, which led to their demise.

Here Banker very beautifully explains and justifies the presence of these silent listeners by saying,  ”If there is one question that has always haunted the human mind, it is this: What is the point of living? What is our purpose here on earth? Why were we put here on this mortal planet? Is there a larger plan? All humans come back to the same question: Why are we here?

“It was a question that everyone hoped the great epic Mahabharata would answer. After all, it was called the Fifth Veda for good reason. It not only told a great tale, but illuminated the essence of the human condition through the events of that great tale. And no question was more essential to the human condition than knowing why one existed.”

‘The Forest of Stories’ presents an array of seven interesting stories that does not involve any of the main characters of the great battle.  There is the tale of Parashuram and his vow to cleanse the earth of the Kshatriyas not just once but 21 times. The story of Parikshat’s son – Janamajaya, who conducts a great yagna so that all snakes of the world including King Takshaka get engulfed in the flames of the yagna and get wiped off the face of earth, also finds a place. Then there is a story of Sage Bhrigu and his wife Puloma, which leads to the story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala. Except Parashuram’s and Shakuntala’s stories, the rest were completely new to me. And of all the tales presented in this book, the story of Parshuram definitely scores over the rest, riding high on the brilliant descriptive style of the author.

Banker has maintained the authenticity of the facts by adhering to Vyasa’s text very closely and has enhanced the overall effect by his signature flair for making scenes come alive in regal grandeur. Banker not just narrates the stories; rather, he adorns them beautifully with drama and action while keeping it simple and contemporary for the new generation. His linguistic skills are par excellence and it is a delightful experience to just fly on the beautiful words of the author to the enchanting world, unraveling the mysteries of the mythological era that he describes in the pages of this book.

If you ever get overwhelmed while reading various stories and meeting the innumerable characters entering and exiting the stage, do keep this in mind – “As you hear the stories unfold, their connections will become amply clear to your enlightened mind and you will enjoy the beauty of this great narrative of Sage Krishna Dweipayana Vyasa. For it is a masterpiece of itihas, containing all the devices of poetics and aesthetics employed in their finest grain.”

After reading this book, I now look forward to reading the rest of Ashok Banker’s ‘MBA series,’ and I am sure there are many more readers who are committed to do so too. It is also interesting to read how The Mahabharata became Banker’s MBA. So don’t miss it!

I am glad that this review appeared here : http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/?p=4058

The Clue in the Old Album By Carolyn Keene

As a big fan of Nancy Drew books, whenever I start reading one, I can’t stop until the mystery gets solved. I just finished reading another of this author’s interesting mystery, ‘The Clue in the Old Album’. The story starts when Nancy Drew and her father, a renowned lawyer of River Heights, are listening to a famous violinist playing gypsy music in their local Art Museum. People are spell bounded by the gypsy violinist’s excellent performance. Suddenly Nancy witnesses a person from the audience taking away the purse from a sobbing old woman’s lap. She immediately runs after the thief, can’t recover the contents but finds the purse and returns to its owner, Mrs. Struthers, an elderly, well to do woman from River Heights and who’s also a doll collector. Her hobby is to collect rare dolls from all over the world which she mostly collected when she traveled to different places as a part of her interest. As Nancy and her father also notice, Mrs. Struthers admits that the indiscipline and hyper behavior of her twelve years old granddaughter, Rose, might be because of the fact that she’s not under the care of her father.

Enid, Rose’s mom married a Spanish gypsy and a talented violinist against her parents’ wish and later banished by her parents. When Rose was eight years old, her father disappeared and thinking that he deserted them, Enid returned to her parents with her daughter after they pleaded her to come back. But it was too late; she was in a bad health already and died within few months somewhat mysteriously. Mr. Struthers too died after some time leaving her wife alone with her headstrong granddaughter. On her deathbed, worried and concerned about Rose’s future, Enid confided to her mother about some clues in an old album, and about finding the lost bridal source-of-light doll for Rose. Now, Mrs. Struthers want Nancy to find that special doll which her daughter mentioned and also Rose’s father, Romano Pepito. Nancy does find some clues in the form of a note, a picture of Enid with a doll when she was a little girl, and also a picture of Enid as a bride from an old jeweled family album which Mrs. Struthers shows her. Nancy's job is to fit these puzzle pieces together to get the solution.

In her quest of finding the doll and Romano Pepito, Nancy faces a number of challenges dealing with some crooked gypsies like Nitaka, Antonio, and Tony Wassell from the same tribe of Romano, who are behind the theft of Mrs. Struthers purse’s contents, many rare dolls from her home, and also the precious jewels from her family album. They also try to kidnap Rose, and create many hurdles in the path of Nancy so that she gives up her detective work of finding the secrets connected with the gypsy tribe. Not to mention the master mind, the tribe’s leader, Zorus, as everything seems to be under his control.

Will Nancy be able to help the Struthers by finding the lost bridal doll of Enid’s which she desperately wanted her mother to find for Rose for her good fortune? What kind of source of energy substance mentioned in the story it has and who found it first and where? Who stole it later from Enid and for what purpose? Will she be able to reunite the missing gypsy artist Romano Pepito with his family? Read and find out what made him disappear suddenly in the first place?

This mystery is an intriguing read for kids as well as for adults. The main character, Nancy, is portrayed as a very brave, courageous and an intelligent girl of 18. I like her determination and will power to help the Struthers that makes her take so many risks when she was trying to solve the mystery behind the lost doll, Romano, and the gypsy tribe using various clues on her way. I like her caring, supportive friends, Bess, George, and Ned, who are always ready and willing to lend a helping hand. I’m also impressed by the caring and motherly nature of her caregiver, Hannah Gruen who always gives Nancy a timely advice. And her intelligent loving father who’s always there with his advices, suggestions and support!

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone by J.K.Rowling

Title : Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Author : J.K.Rowling

Publisher : Bloomsbury

Reviewed by : Raghav Sharma (10 years)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is one of the most interesting stories that I have read so far. This book is a key to enter the imaginative world of magic.

The story starts when Harry's parents (both wizards) died and Harry was left to live with Aunt Petunia and her husband - Uncle Vernon.  A bad wizard Lord Vodermot killed Harry's parents but a strange thing happened, he could not kill Harry but ended up giving a scar on Harry's forehead.

The story actually starts getting interesting when Harry is taken to Hogwarts - the school for witches and wizards. Harry is lovingly looked after by Hagrid - the gamekeeper at Hogwarts and by Albus Dumbledore - the most amazing and genius wizard in Hogwarts. Harry finds two friends in Ron and Hermione. It is fund to read how Harry and his friends experience the magical world of Hogwarts.

This book is presented in such a way that readers would wish to be in Hogwarts. Now it is your job to read and feel the magic.