Top 50 Indian Novels - Hindustan Times

Some days back, I typed  " Top Indian Novels" and as usual Google gave deluge of links. But Hindustan Times list stood out.  But unfortunately no Tamil books in the list. Anyhow some interesting books are there check it out:

1. Cutting For Stone (2009) by Abraham Verghese
2. Twilight In Delhi (1940) by Ahmed Ali
3. An Obedient Father (2000) by Akhil Sharma
4. The Immortals (2009) by Amit Chaudhuri
5. The Hungry Tide (2005) by Amitav Ghosh
6. The Shadow Lines (1988) by Amitav Ghosh
7. Fire On The Mountain (1977) by Anita Desai
8. In Custody (1984) by Anita Desai
9. Baumgartner's Bombay (1988) by Anita Desai
10. The White Tiger (2008) by Aravind Adiga
11. The God Of Small Things (1997) by Arundhati Roy
12. The Fig Tree (1959) by Aubrey Menen
13. Kadambari (in Sanskrit, 7th century CE) by Banabhatta, translated by Padmini Rajappa (2010)
14. Anandamath (in Bengali, 1882) by Bankim Chandra Chatterji, translated by Basanta Kumar Roy (1992 )
15. Trying To Grow (1991) by Firdaus Kanga
16. All About H. Hatterr (1948) by GV Desani
17. The Trotter-Nama: A Chronicle (1988) by Irwin Allan Sealy
18. Em And The Big Hoom (2012) by Jerry Pinto
19. Nectar In A Sieve (1954) by Kamala Markandaya
20. Train To Pakistan (1956) by Khushwant Singh
21. Delhi (1990) by Khushwant Singh
22. The Inheritance Of Loss (2006) by Kiran Desai
23. Cuckold (1997) by Kiran Nagarkar
24. Ravan & Eddie (1994) by Kiran Nagarkar
25. The Death Of Vishnu (2001) by Manil Suri
26. Difficult Daughters (1998) by Manju Kapur
27. Umrao Jan Ada (in Urdu, 1893) by Mirza Hadi 'Ruswa', translated by Khushwant Singh and MA Husaini
28. Coolie (1936) by Mulk Raj Anand
29. Godan (in Hindi, 1936) by Munshi Premchand, translated by Gordon C Roadarmel (1968)
30. Playground (Rangbhoomi in Hindi, 1924) by Munshi Premchand, translated by Manju Jain (2011
31. Paro: Dreams Of Passion (1984) by Namita Gokhale
32. Indulekha (in Malayalam, 1889) by O Chandu Menon, translated by Anitha Devasia
33. The Legends Of Khasak, (Khasakkinte Itihasam in Malayalam, 1969) by OV Vijayan
34. River Of Fire (Aag ka Darya in Udru, 1959) by Qurratulain Hyder
35. The Feuding Families Of Village Gangauli, (Aadha Gaon in Urdu, 1966) by Rahi Masoom Raza
36. Kanthapura (1938) by Raja Rao
37. The Serpent And The Rope (1960) by Raja Rao
38. The English Teacher (1945) by RK Narayan
39. The Financial Expert (1952) by RK Narayan
40. The Guide (1958) by RK Narayan
41. A Fine Balance (1995) by Rohinton Mistry
42. The Room On The Roof (1956) by Ruskin Bond
43. Midnight's Children (1980) by Salman Rushdie
44. The Great Indian Novel (1989) by Shashi Tharoor
45. Raag Darbari (in Hindi, 1968) by Shrilal Shukla
46. English, August (1988) by Upamanyu Chatterjee
47. Weight Loss (2006) by Upamanyu Chatterjee
48. Samskara (in Kannada, 1965) by UR Ananthamurthy
49. Sacred Games (2006) by Vikram Chandra
50. The Golden Gate (1988) by Vikram Seth
51. A Suitable Boy (1995) by Vikram Seth
52. The Enigma Of Arrival (1987) by VS Naipaul
53. The Mahabharata
54. This Is Not That Dawn (Jhootha Sach by Yashpal)

கூள மாதாரி -பெருமாள் முருகன் (Koolamathari - Perumalmurugan)

Some years back I read some where about the book called "Seasons of Palm". At that time I did not know much about the author. Again I saw this book in a book store in Chennai. I asked the shopkeeper about the book he told that the book was good and "you can try". From that time onwards I was searching for this book everywhere. Three years before I did not find this book at Chennai Book Fair  and  last year I searched in two or three bookshops in Madurai I did not find it. I searched in Flipkart , but in vain, I found only "Maathorupagan" another great book by the same author. My luck changed , this year I found this book in Flipkart and I was so happy. Its was a special feeling finding a long searched book.

The book did not disappointed me.Worth a wait. From the start of this book search, without me knowing I started reading authors articles and stories published in various magazines and in author's website.By the time I started reading this book, I was familiar with the author's writing, which really helped a lot in reading this book.

Some points to ponder from this story:

• At very young age these children were taught about their caste which leads them to obey the masters without questioning.
•  Fear plays dramatic role in these children's life. Fear of masters.
• The usage of inhuman language by the masters were pathetic. These words will hurt anyone .
•  Physical intimidation: The harsh physical punishment even for small mistakes made an everlasting impact on the children's mind. 

This is the story of group of slave children (Kulaiyan,Vavuri, Sevidi ,Nedumban and Monti). These are goatherds working under upper-caste Gounder families. The main protagonist of this story is Kulaiyan. He is very hard working and take great care in shepherding his goat. He knew the punishments of Gounder for any wrong doings. So he is very attentive to goats. He was caught red handed for stealing coconuts and was hanged upside down and beaten right and left. That moment when he was hanging , his thoughts changes and he started looking his life in a different manner. He wants to have a complete freedom in his life, the three day stay in his grandmother's place made him realize the sweetness of freedom.

Nedumban's story is very interesting , he escapes from Gounder and started working in a shop in a town but he was caught and return to his old way of life. Did author thinks that there is no escape for these people? The relation between Kulaiyan and Selvan , the gounder's son, was very special , both were of same age and Selvan with his childishness share many moments with him including sharing his bed and his slippers.Though these behaviours made Kulaiyan very happy ,both knew the distance they should maintain.And Selvan was sure to show that whenever possible.The climax is quite chilling and I think an apt one as it relieves Kulaiyan from everything.

The way the author portrays the characters of Vavuri and the goat veeran - simply awesome. One will not forget these two characters easily.Through Vavuri the author brings the life of a little girl but matured who handles her life well in spite of her trouble. Her relationship with Kulaiyan was portrayed realistically.They call each of their goats with particular name and Veeran is one of them. Only Kulain knew Veeran . The death of Veeran was a big loss to Kulain and he was inconsolable.

For modern generation the lives of these kids will be a big shock or may be surprising too. The description of the forest and surrounding places were wonderful and terrifying  at times. The plants , creepers,goats ,insects and birds made the story even better and real.The author also highlights the suffering of these children specially the way they control their hunger, I almost cried! These kids accepts the life as it is. They realizes that they can not do much about their caste but only go with it. Even the selection of name for these slave kids and the rich Gounder kids itself speaks volume. The usage of Kongu slang made this story very real and great to read.

Above everything else this is a wonderful documentation of Kongu people's life and culture.The book will definitely bring back the childhood memories of the reader. Kudos to the author.

A great book by the great author.A must read book.

A Corner Of A Foreign Field by Ramachandra Guha

A great book about Indian circket history. I did not expected this heady mix of politics (colonial and post colonial), religion and sports in this book .But these are the factors which make this book a unique one. I knew Ramachandra Guha's writing style very well. So it was easy for me to follow the flow. Kudos to the author for focusing more on social, religious and political circumstances than the statistics and numbers. The author divides the book into four categories - Race , Caste , Religion and Nation.  But as the book progress those categories criss-cross within.

The author also explain how Lord Harris's name is greatly exaggerated as father of Indian cricket.The book starts with meticulous details of how the first cricket tournament (Quadrangular-Pentangular ) started in Bombay. The tournament slowly and surely moved from secular to communal. The author critically explores the communal issues aroused by the popularity and incursion of cricket among Indians. Among the opposing party was one Mr. M.K Gandhi. But in spite of his opposition the tournament progressed for many numbers of years.Gandhi did not accept anything with communal spirit. The communal nature of the tournament was well documented by the author.Then there were princes and Nawabs who patronized the game in their own unique and authoritative manners.

I was really surprised about how the "Rest of India" team was created to accommodate the players from religions other than Hinduism and Islam. For me creation of this team itself a clear indication of the communal nature of the tournament. And good to know that Vijay Hazare's feats were recognized by others even today.

The story of Palwankar Baloo, according to author the first great cricketer of India, was very interesting. I was not surprised that BCCI never mentioned a word or organized any event in Baloo's honour because Baloo was from low caste community (Untouchables). As I was reading , I related the story  of the Tamil film Jeeva with Baloo's story. In both cases the upper caste (Brahmins) dominates  lower caste people. It was very clear that Indian sports fraternity did not give the due  respect Baloo and his family deserved. Even today modern Indian cricket story starts with C K Nayudu , the flamboyant batsman who scored 153 in two hours with 11 sixes and went  onto became the popular hero . Though BCCI is more inclusive these days in regards to players selection but their attitude towards the players ,the paying public and more importantly to the game is pathetic.

Though the author acknowledges some parsis and muslim cricketers , it was Baloo and Nayudu who stood out in his portrayal of Indian Cricket history. It was very sad to know how the players were separated from their teams by partition. The author also highlights the politics played out by both India and Pakistan government through cricket matches.  The author also explores how the audience changed from appreciating good cricket to nationalistic one expecting their team wins every game. He gave examples of crowd behaviour in calcutta and one involved Inzamam.

The book contains so many wonderful description of events that followed before,during and after those big matches .An educative,interesting and thoroughly entertaining account of Indian cricket history.

A must read for each and every Indian cricket fan.

Peter's Temptation on the Water - St.John Vianney

I knew St. John Vianney is the patron of priests , thats it. I don't know anything about his life and works.  I happened to read  "Magnificat" ,a wonderful monthly magazine, in that I read the below homily by St.John Vianney. Stuck by the simplicity and a very clear message in it.

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"If you have no temptations" says St.Gregory, "then the devil is your friend, your guide, and your shepherd. If he now permits your life to flow on in peace, he will at the end your life draw your down into the abyss". St.Augustine says that the greatest of all temptations is not to be tempted; for such a one is abandoned by God , and delivered over to his passions and will be lost.

I have said that temptation is necessary for us, to preserve us, in humility and distrust of self, and to oblige us to take refuge with God. We read in history that a superior said to a hermit who was violently tempted by the devil, " My friend, do you wish me to ask God to deliver you from these temptations?" "No , father," answered the hermit; " for they have the effect of keeping me continually in the presence of God, because it constantly necessitates my taking refuge with God, that he may stand by me in my struggles."

Meantime, my brethren, we can say that it is one of the surest signs that we are on the path to heaven, if we are tempted, no matter how humiliating the temptation may be. There remains only one thing for us to do, and that is to fight courageously , for temptation is the time of harvest, as the following example will prove.We read in the lives of the saints that a certain saint was so trouble by the devil during a long term of years that she looked upon herself as lost. God appeared to her for consolation, and disclosed to her that she had gained more in these particular years than at any other time in her life. Saint Augustine teaches that everything which we do without overcoming temptation is of very little value. Instead of being discouraged, therefore , we must on the contrary, thank Almighty God, and fight courageously, because we are sure of the victory, and because we are certain that God will not give way to the devil, and that he will prepare for us the crown of glory which I wish you all.

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Singapore Writers Festival - 2014 (My Experience)

Day 1:

 I was posted at National Museum Of Singapore for three sessions.  I was at the front of the seminar room checking the tickets. The first session was a panel discussion on Critical Thinking moderated by Sellakrishnan. I have to admit that I never heard of neither the panellists nor their works except the writer Kamaldevi Aravindhan, I read her short stories in Tamilmurasu and met her last year in the same event. Since I was posted outside I did not listen much .But for the second session I sat inside the room and listened the talk. The topic for that session was "The Beauty Myth", The panellists had some familiar faces like Leena Manimekalai and moderator Azhagiya Pandiyan (seen him in Vasantham programmes) . The session was lively as each one present their view on beauty.  Leena Manimekalai talked more about women and how our society (upper caste) defined beauty. A very strong statements but sadly very true. Everyone agreed that beauty is subjective and it will keep changing. A question asked about Indian women following western tradition blindly I did not understand why they raised this question even after discussing about beauty for almost an hour!! 

The last session of the day was an English session titled "Finding My Voice" , as the name indicates the session was about first time authors and their experience in writing and publish their work in Singapore. More people participated specially young ones . The authors shared their writing habits and importance of having a mentor.  I heard only one author talking, he was good and straight forward.

Day 2:

The last day of the festival. Like last year , this year too the Singapore Tamil Writers Association  organized event to celebrate the life of a writer. This year the chosen author was SV Shanmugam. Again I have to admit that I never heard of this writer before same like last year's one. But as the session progressed I got time to read 3 short stories of this author in a book published at the event. I should say I really enjoyed reading it. Mostly the same people who attended the day 1 were there.  There was food too but I was appalled to see the wastage of so much food.

I think to improve Tamil events , the organizers need to advertise more in Vasantham, not just in news. Also need to bring some well known writers, I can understand the difficulties with schedules but to attract more crowd there is no other alternative.

As usual the NAC did great job with its clear planning and arrangements. Most of the visitors I spoke to told me that they enjoyed the event. Another important factor for the success of this years festival was the volunteers. I met some wonderful volunteers specially a guy from India . He wanted to become a writer. Very interesting and he really enjoyed the event.Well done every one.

Looking forward to 2015.