Life and Lies of M R Maiti

   Normally, I abstain from political talks but it has become harder to do so these days. Whenever I log in to my Facebook account, my news feed is filled with what’s going on in the country these days and more often than not, those posts seem ludicrous to me; mostly about the ones that the people, these days, have come to call ‘intolerance’. One party says that the country is intolerant; in reply, the other party says it isn’t. Some return awards while a few notable ones are asked to leave the country. The talks of ‘intolerance’ have unbelievably left the talks about Cricket behind.    A widow returns her husband’s medal ‘coz a terrorist goes unpunished, that I can understand. I can empathise with her rage and disappointment. But this I don’t understand; so many learned people returning their own awards. It’s no less than an insult to return the honour they have been given.    People ask: why our PM is silent? The answer would be: ‘coz he’s bu...

       A moonless night it was, although one could hardly sense the lunar absence. All around shimmered lights of different colours. Now and then, the sky erupted with bursts of various hues. Also, the night was noisy. Sudden blasts of sound, a boom here and a boom there echoed the surroundings. Each boom accompanied a puff of smoke which rose higher and higher and then melted into nothingness. For night gazers across the country, apparently, the night sky was overwhelmingly full of meteor showers; some of these just raced across the sky and exploded while the others broke into streaks of light that pattered the sky and faded away. These, however, differed from the usual ones in one regard; these meteors originated from the ground, not the sky. And not so surprisingly, a few gave away miniature parachutes after exploding.    The night lengthened. The lady was on a tight schedule; visiting millions of houses across the country in a single night was...

Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi My rating: 3 of 5 stars    Having their hopes spurned by Chetan Bhagat, Ravinder Singh and others, the Indian readers turn to Amish. His advantage is the genre in which he writes, it's way different than those of the authors I mentioned. He has an open field and nobody to compete with (none that I know).    That deer hunting scene reminded me of a similar scene from the movie 'Avatar', apologising to the animal after killing it.    Dashrath: good man but a bad king. Raavan: bad man but a good king. Nice analogy to start with but it would fail eventually.    The narrative was hasty at times, the mythological facts were relentlessly bombarded, not in a way people would find convincing.    The entire Roshini episode should have been left out (especially those gory details). The only purpose it served was to rally Manthara against Ram, which didn't seem a strong enough reason as compared to ...

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell My rating: 3 of 5 stars One of those latest and popular American novels. Sounded like a love story, I gave it a try. Narrative was good, keeping things interesting, as should happen in a romance book. Double POVs are great for a love story. Even though it cuts on the thrill part where one is oblivious to the inner feelings of the other guy or girl, this one gives insight into what people on the either side are feeling. A stupid Asian boy, in spite of his inner disapproval of how the girl looked, eventually ends up falling in love with the troubled red haired girl. Together, they experience their first love. They fear their time together is short. Still they give it a shot. Even if first love seldom lasts, it's still worth it. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, it's my favourite poem. I liked Eleanor's theory that Shakespeare is only making fun of Romeo and Juliet. I know the story but haven't yet read the or...

The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore My rating: 4 of 5 stars I got lucky again. I love torrent!!    This series keeps getting better and better, going back to when and how it all started. One of the Elders (Setralus Ra) while experimenting crosses a line, big time. He's digging into the core of Lorien to harness its power. And so he's been ordered to be executed but ends up being only exiled, courtesy of his best friend Pittacus. So much for an act of mercy! Setrakus Ra, ungrateful bastard that he is, finds sanctuary with the Mogs, becomes their Beloved Leader and returns for the annihilation of Lorien.    This book is by far more action-packed than all the other books. Interestingly, people of Earth have started developing legacies too. They together with the Garde have to take the fight against Ra and avenge Earth.    Meanwhile, John somehow inherits the Ximic legacy of Pittacus, which is most powerful and rarest of all legacies, usin...

The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore My rating: 4 of 5 stars    Back a year and a half, after completing The Fall of Five, I was great deal disappointed that the next book in the series wasn't out yet. I was so mad.    So today, while going through my Read books I realized that I haven't completed this series yet. I checked on the internet. and wow!! The Revenge of Seven is here.    I think most of the story had already escaped my brain. All I recall is Eight dying at the hands of Five, an angry Seven if I remember the numbers correctly, Four having visions of some disastrous future which is somehow related to Ten.    My copy arrived or more appropriately been downloaded. It's 4AM already. Not going to get much sleep, am I? Never mind. Time to read on.    The Title is a bit misleading since there is hardly any revenge for Seven.    The thing that always kept bugging me was how could enmity between...

Your Dreams Are Mine Now by Ravinder Singh My rating: 4 of 5 stars The girl died few days later. But did she? Wasn't she already dead, save for her body breathing. Being a male, somehow, makes me guilty, for all those crimes against women. And not for a moment will I consider myself or any other male for that matter innocent enough, that he is not capable of committing this heinous crime. It should be etched in every man's mind: He's always beastly enough to consider doing it, but human enough to never do it. Accept the beast that is you, and also tame it. I'm not a big fan of the author. Nor is this book a literary genius. The first 100 pages are just to make the book look thick enough for a novel. Only the last 60 pages was worth something. It's as if the author wrote a draft and divided it into a gripping prologue and the last 60 pages. The in-between portion was only printed pages. Reading the prologue, I thought the book was about Nirbhay...

   I don't know if anyone of you has ever faced this situation in your life. But I have. And I am being nothing but truthful.    The old man was trailing me for some time now. It was getting awkward. So, I quickened my steps, trying to loose him. I finally did.    I stopped at a vendor for a glass of juice. While I waited, to my surprise, the old man appeared out of nowhere, bearded and wearing shabby clothes and holding a walking stick in his hand. He started gesturing with his right hand, wanting something to eat. I ignored him, but kept looking at him through the corner of my eye.  It was a public place. People were miling around. A few more people stopped by the juice stall. All this time, the old man stood there,  repeatedly pointing his joined fingers towards his mouth and kept bobbing his head.  It was getting so uncomfortable for me. I just wanted to finish my juice and get out of there. At last, my glass of juice arrived....

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini My rating: 5 of 5 stars "I found a sad little fairy Beneath the shade of a paper tree. I know a sad little fairy Who was blown away by the wind one night." When it comes to storytelling, nobody does it better than Khaled Hosseini. View all my reviews

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens My rating: 5 of 5 stars Much more challenging and enriching than the abridged version I read in high school! View all my reviews

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens My rating: 5 of 5 stars Never had a book taken so long and demanded so much concentration!! Liberty.Equality. Fraternity. Or Death. The entire time I wondered who the protagonist was. I discovered my answer in the last lines of the book. "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." View all my reviews

The Death Cure by James Dashner My rating: 3 of 5 stars I really liked the ending: the humans giving up and letting the nature take its course. Is it worthwhile to save the human race only to loose the very thing that makes us humans, our humanity? Submission to the Mother Nature is a thing we humans have yet to learn. The ending made up for all the flaws in the trilogy. View all my reviews

    Aug 14, 2015     11:00 PM    Shandaar. Jabarjast. Jindabaad.    While everyone’s Facebook and WhatsApp updates flooded the Internet and everyone got their profile and cover pics turned into shades of Saffron, White and Green, I was busy watching this wonderful movie – Manjhi, The Mountain Man – on my laptop. Yeah, yeah, it’s not released yet, but some guys get lucky on Torrent. I know piracy is illegal, but so is watching porn. Haha. Bad luck for the movie-makers, though. But I don’t share their gloom. Actually, I’m not even a little bit sorry. Watching a movie a week before its official release is a treat, whatsoever.        Being from Bihar, I’ve been to Gaya once or twice. And I grew up listening to my parents’ taunts – pahad tod rahe the kya (You were busy breaking some mountain, or what?) – whenever I didn’t finish my homework on time. I did have some knowledge about some man who cut a path through a p...

   Retrospection, one of the innumerable gifts we humans have been blessed with. We often find ourselves looking back in our past, poring over the memories, cherishing the good ones and sighing over the bitter ones. Diving into the sea of memories serves as a coping mechanism whenever we feel low or lonely.    Among these, a giant urn of memories belongs to our schooldays. Don’t know much about other schools but leading a hostel life of Sainik School is way different than others; Waking up at 5, cursing our stars; hesitantly dragging our feet to the ground, half-awake; the whistle of the P.T.I echoing the field; seniors ruthlessly exercising their juniors and if you are lucky indeed you don’t have to jump like a frog all the way back to the hostel. And if the workout in the fields wasn't enough, well, the seniors are always there at your service in the hostel corridor. Such a fine way to start the day!    It has been four years and st...

   The monument stands tall, in its full glory, held together not just by mortar but by the souls of those thousands of immortal soldiers and warriors who lost their lives in numerous battles on lands, foreign and home alike. Below it stands a reversed rifle capped by a war helmet and the Amar Jawan Jyoti blazing in the morning light, sways with the wind, fearless and confident. The All India War Memorial maintains a silent vigil as the procession, showcasing the strength, culture and diversity of this great country passes on. The tanks, the missiles and the soldiers in arms, the monument dwarfs everything.    A person came from across the seven seas, looks on as the parade unfolds.    Welcome, Mr Obama!    The intricately customised Boeing 747 landed the previous day. I wonder if it really is as sophisticated as Mr Dan Brown described the United States Air Force One; the very name intimidates you, doesn’t it? The im...