Why is Batman angry these days?

God And Me

Emile Durkheim explains religion on the basis of concepts of sacred and profane and presents a neat analysis of the same showing how certain things turn to be sacred due to their utility and the others remain profane. It does explain why cows are such a big deal in India. It makes sense because God does seem to be a convenient concept. What remains beyond my comprehension is the reverence shown by man to an entity which hasn't ever revealed itself to him in recorded history. All fragmants that support God's existence are grabbed and held close while anything that doubts it turns to an element of a subculture, as opposed to the mainstream culture. God according to Marx, (well, religion actually) is the opiate of the masses. Is it really a mass hysteria which is continued so long. The doubt in His existence makes sense in a scientific setup yet, people would still treat it as deviance.

The concept of prayer, too, is beyond me as to someone who is in constant need to be praised and acknowledged doesn't seem to be God. The purpose of prayer, is according to its supporters, to be one with God, feel closer to Him. It's not Him but us who need Him. That does make sense except, what if I do not want to pray. What about the times when I am not in a crisis? I might pray only it remains the last option. Does that make me selfish? Isn't God, by nature, transcendental and hence, would appreciate me praying only when I feel like. When I am enjoying good food, am in great company; why would I stop and thank God for it? Wouldn't He want me to take Him for granted? If I am His design, why would He want me to stop playing the role that He assigned to me and acknowledge His presence? Would a movie director like it if the actors stopped acting and looked at the camera and thanked him for the wonderful direction?

The origin of religion is more convenience-based than divine. You can realize that with the multiplicity of religions existing and the differences in their preachings. Origin of new cults, sects and even religions shows that it is a human created concept. How did religion emerge then? Did the power-hungry ones create it? Or was it due to fear and awe of nature? (Naturalism) Or did the seekers of those times- the intrigued ones (animaism) design it? Sacredness and Profanity do explain the reverence but yet, the perpetuation of that reverence; why no one would ever question the 'faith' throughout the history of mankind until the modern days is something to ponder upon; or am I overestimating human intellect?

I do not think the seekers of power created religion. That is something a conspiracy-theorist would argue but in Indian context, I think the Brahmins did believe in what they preached and the power its corruptions came later. The "varna system" was uniform in terms of status at the outset and later turned to be hierachy-based. Fear does seem to play a role in emergence of believers but then, the non-believers should have also continued to exist since the very beginnning. Because, where there is fear, we also have courage and bravery; rejecting a proposition and forming own hypothesis is a very human trait. The "mass hysteria" nature of relgion still demands some explanation, Mr Max Mueller.

Now, as all these questions remain unanswered, and to sleep well, every human needs to know what really happened, I too have my own theory to believe in. I think the non-believers always existed and there were varying degrees of penetration of religion in different societies and among different individuals. But as crowd has an IQ of zero and all the voices of dissent had no other, better option to explain natural phenomena; plus religion had the advantage of solidarity and control, it perpetuated and percolated through generations.

Through decades of such reaffirmation, now it has clear-cut norms and a definite following. I am sure, I am not stating anything novel and it might already have been a discussed theory, it is my official viewpoint. As to whether God exists or not, I don't know but even if he does, he loves randomness and chaos over order. So, I prefer to be random. Microwave!

Book Review- The Other Side... Dare to Visit Alone?

Title- The Other Side... Dare to Visit Alone?

Authors- Faraaz Kazi, Vivek Banerjee

Publishers- Mahaveer Publishers

ISBN- 9789350880760

Genre- Fiction/ Horror

Price- Rs 150/-

Pages- 320

Ok, what I have in my hands right now is an author-signed copy of "The Other Side" all thanks to The Readers' Cosmos's Book Review Program and Nimi Vashi.

Let's talk about the cover first- We have a graveyard, silhouttes walking, hand rising from the graves, a haunted mansion in the background in a full moon night, bats flying, and two eyes lurking in the corner, looking to pounce on you and tear you apart... ok you get my point. The Hindu review reads (on the cover itself)- "Engrossing in ways more than one, it surprises, it shocks, it holds you in vice-like grip!" Well, the "in ways more than one" part might be because it is not one story but a collection of short stories- 13 (Ooo... the cursed number) short stories of pure evil to be specific.

The author Faraaz Kazi is recipient of the YCOF National Excellence Award and the winner of the National Debut Youth Fiction Award 2013. He owns his own academy and is a fellow member of the the 'Film Writers Association of India'. The other guy- Vivek Banerjee is a pediatrician by profession and has written stuff for Westland's Chicken Soup for Indian Doctor's Soul and other well-known publishers.

The book begins with a prelude with the authors sharing horror stories in a horror movie like set-up and we just know that something ominous is in the offing. Soon the idea snowballs and they decide to write a book together and that's how we have the book in our hands. The thing with reviewing a short stories' book is that you cannot judge the book as a whole. Every story is a living, breathing tale here and should be used for haunting the nights, one story at a time. Anyway, horror thrives on the element of tension. Just like surprise is the tool of thrillers, tensed heavy air with the characters seemingly walking into a trap is the typical horror fiction structure. Very few are the gifted ones who can write short stories on horror without rushing the plot and doing the plot justice by the patient build-up to the eventual unleashing of the demon, ghost or whatever. Also, since we have only a few stereotypes of ghosts in our mind, the author runs the risk of overusing the cliches like backward-feet, white floating figures, blood-dripping, eyes rolling back in the skull etc., I think with the limited tools, the authors have done justice to the stories and kudos to them for that.

As someone who's not spooked easily, I deliberately chose to read these stories at midnight hours just so that I could get into the mood and yes, the mood was created and how! I'd be lying if I say I didn't wonder if someone was hiding under my bed before sleeping after reading the book.

Coming to individual stories, some of the stories have been written exquisitely with the execution of a professional where the author grips you and you cannot but turn the pages to find out more. But a few of them, in my view, fall in the trap of too much detailing. The thing with ghosts is that we are scared of them because we know nothing about them, if they were to live next door, we'd actually kind of grow friendly to them. That happens only once or twice, but in the rest of the stories, the narrative is spot on!

Talking about the language, I think it's a bit difficult to judge Indian writers on the basis of language because most of them are trying to make their books more appealing to the masses and sometimes that happens at the cost of the language. I could have done with some grotesque detalings but then I think about the teenage girls reading the novel and then finding themselves unable to sleep the whole night so, maybe it's for them that the authors have gone a bit easy. I'd like to mention here that there is no such thing as an awful horror story. If told in the right mood, even the story of the rabbit and the tortoise can spook you out; and I think Faraaz and Vivek have the tools.

Another art that seems to be of particular importance for short stories in general and horror ones in particular is the art of landing a perfect climax. Anton Chekhov's short stories used to end abruptly sometimes making you want to go up to the author and demand explanations, sometimes feeling a bit cheated but the purpose of the story ie to make you restless and worried about the characters was served. Of course, Chekhov is Chekhov and Faraaz and Vivek are no where close but in terms of the art of ending the story with a bang, these guys nail it almost everytime. The 'almost' is because of the occasional lingering when the plot has already ended but then that's just my view.

"Short stories" is a genre close to my heart because of my early tryst with Chekhov, Ruskin Bond and also every Indian kid's favourite- Malgudi days by R K Narayan which is why maybe I had high expectations from this book. It does live up to them for a certain extent. I'm looking forward to a sequel where the "The Other Side" gets spookier and the ghosts get deadlier. I'd not mind if the stories were longer. We actually need the authors to take the ghosts more seriously, crank it up a notch, you know!

The book needs to be appreciated for the sheer novelty of the ideas though. In a market ridden with thrillers and love-stories, this genre comes as a fresh change. It's about time the Indian reader grew up and woke up to newer themes and genres. It's very reasonably priced and the book will place the authors in a slot where the audience would expect them to experiment and innovate more. I hope they continue the good work.

I'd rate it 3 out of 5 stars!

Book Review- Baramulla Bomber- Svastik Triology- Eka

Title: Baramulla Bomber

Author: Clark Prasad

Publisher: Niyogi Books

ISBN code: 978-93-81523-97-1

Price- Rs 395

Genre- Sci-fi Espionage Thriller

Pages- 313

As the back cover introduction reads "An ancient weapon from the Vedas and Bible once hunted by the Nazis, powered by the sound of the universe, reborn with the help of quantum physics going to be unleashed onto the World and Kashmir holds its secret.", I cannot help but get intrigued. This book sells itself through its very description. Science fiction meets espionage and a fast-paced, action-packed saga is born. The book is only the first "Eka" of the Svastik Triology and leaves one wondering what else has the author in store for us in the coming sequels.

A word about the author Suraj Prasad aka Clark Prasad- "a healthcare management consultant who had dreamt of being an archeologist or an astronaut." it says in his bio. Well, when you read the book you'd come to know how the novel is actually an extension of his own self. Currently based in Bengaluru, the author has lived in Lagos (Nigeria), Delhi, Mangalore and Kozhikode and is deeply influenced by Carl Sagan's "Cosmos". I see definitely influences of Jeffery Archer and Dan Brown in his writing and also a bit of Tolkien. You'd understand what I am talking about once you read the book.

Now, the book starts with a 'Warning' in bold letters not to flip through pages lest the suspense will evaporate and a request to the bloggers not to reveal the plot. I sense a deep attachment of the author with his story and I'd like to talk as less about the plot and characters as possible. Then science and religion are brought to a confluence on the next two pages where Albert Einstein, Rig Veda and the Bible are quoted hinting toward a cosmic religion. The book has graphic illustrations at different places which make the story come alive and give it an eerie realness. The main characters are Mansur Haider- A Kashmiri and his girlfriend Ahana Yajurvedi. We also have Swedish intelligence officer Adolf Silfverskiold who is a non-believer. These are the pawns being played on a chessboard much larger than they can imagine. Let's leave it at that.

Every chapter begins with a World map and a target focus sign above the area where the event is about to transpire, that gives the novel the feel of an action movie. The novel has broad spatio-temporal horizons and at one juncture we're talking about the ancient times, suddenly we're in medieval era and the next moment we're in present day World. The book is bigger than its characters and they all come to life in a World where conspiracies run deep and high. The chapters are also designed to serve as a countdown to the climax which makes the book to be read in a single sitting with zero distractions.

The language used in the book caters to an average Indian reader who is just starting out with Indian fiction. The author tries not to be fanciful with the wordplay and is probably because he has already given the reader too much to munch on already in terms of drama and suspense. Personally, I could have gone for a language that suits with the intricacy of the plot but maybe to the author, the thickness of the plot was enough codification already. The pages are crisp and the novel is a definite page-turner. At 313 pages, the novel is fast-paced read and ideal for journeys and long waiting hours. To be very honest, Clark does not try to do an H G Wells or a Tolkien with the theme, he takes the story and slowly weaves it around with tools that he finds fit.

One more thing is the clear lack of intellectual snobbery in the book. The book is not about turning non-believers into believers. When you go to the movies, you don't reason with the director about the themes and theology of the plot, similarly, this book requires you to indulge yourself without any pre-conceived notions and simply enjoy the read. There are books that are for niche audience and there are ones for everyone. This one is somewhere in between.

I'd give the book 2.75 out of five stars.

Happy reading.

This review is a part of the Readers' Cosmos Book Review Program. Thank you Nimi Vashi for these amazing opportunities. :-)

Letters From Earth- Part 2

Book Review: The Hunt For Kohinoor- Manreet Sodhi Someshwar

http://abhyudayatoons.blogspot.in

Title: The Hunt For Kohinoor
Author: Manreet Sodhi Someshwar
Published by: Westland Books
ISBN- 978-93-83260-60-7
Price: Rs. 295
Genre: Thriller (Fiction)
Ebook- Available
Pages- 425

As you might have noticed above, I actually took the pains to create an artwork of sorts for this book. It hasn't happened before and it is just because the character descriptions in the book were so vivid and it'd have been utter injustice to my own creativity if I hadn't put them to canvas. I'd first like to thank Westland books for this amazing book. It was one of the quickest 400+ pages' read of my reading-reviewing career.

A quick word about the author- Manreet Singh Someshwar is an engineer by training and she has worked in marketing, advertising and consulting. An award winning author (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association), she is a popular blogger as well. (Link to her blog- http://the-long-walk-home.blospot.com.) The book in my hand is Book 2 of the Thriller series featuring Mehrunisa Khosa. Book 1 was "The Taj Conspiracy" which I have to get my hands on, now specially after reading this gem of a work.

The story is about Mehrunisa Khosa- An art historian with a knack of keen observation and her tryst with destiny. As is evident by the name, she is part Sikh and part Muslim with an Iranian Muslim mother who is no more and an Indian Sikh father who is estranged. The story revolves around her relationship with her father, and then there are those gun-trotting, blood-thirsty, warmonger Talibani jihadis headed by the dreaded Babur Khan who have nothing but trouble cooking in their kitchens. The character of Babur Khan stands out for its pure evil demeanours and recklessness. The author has put in a lot of research and thinking behind the multi-layered plot where emotions run high as the thrill deepens and the plot thickens. The details of Indo-Af-Pak region's politics and the geographical features of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region in particular, in the novel, have been well described. It actually makes you feel the snowy wind of the valley in your face as Harinder Singh Khosa aka Harry aka The Snow Leopard makes his way through the mountains. The unsaid bond of love between Mehr and RP Singh aka Pratap is the stuff good love stories are made of. The unconditional nature of their love sends oodles of warmth gushing down your heart and you cannot help but smile at the mysterious ways of love. Then we have Raghav, Mehr's aid in distress, I feel this character can be further developed in the forthcoming novels of this series. As a fan, I can sense a love triangle but it's not that simple and can only be understood when you get to know the characters yourself. The complexity of these relations makes the novel, though surreal in its theme, closer to reality.

The sense of regional pride is visible in the description of people of various regions. The author is well aware of the cultural values of Sikhism, Islam in general and Pathans in particular. Her description of a typical Pathan who could die for a promise is endearing. Equally endearing is how as an Indian reader, I could not feel any sense of alienation with the cultures of Pakistan and Afghanistan. We need more such stories to actually understand the subaltern approach in studying things; and that's why this novel could be of interest to an acadmecian or a student of history and sociology. In sharp contrast to these emotionally motivated brushstrokes, the character of Jag Mishra has been sketched as a cold calculating "Chanakya" who puts his duty and profession above friendship and suchlike emotions.

The plot moves at a steady pace and there are no dull moments. The format of beginning different events with place and time stamps gives the novel the feel of a thriller movie. A movie should be made on it in my view as it does contain all the elements of a good thriller. The language is simple but not at the cost of elegance. Other contemporaries should actually learn from Manreet Sodhi's choice of words and the how to effectively use the right words to create the right kind of effect. The action sequences are particularly energetic and the hard work that goes behind putting thoughts to words actually shows. The reading is effortless and it's hard to put the book down once you pick it up.
The only downside I can think of is that the build up for a deeper conspiracy is in the plot but then the author plays safe a little. But then, it's subject to individual taste. If you like simpler stories, you wouldn't even notice what I am talking about.

A word on the feminist undertones in the book. I did scurry back to the last page like a bad reader and instead of revealing the ending, I was face to face with the author as her delightful photograph is what's on the last page.

 I couldn't help but notice how the female protagonist subtly went on unshackling the female soul from the burdens imposed by society as she went about her mission. I do feel that a part of the author's personal thoughts have been lent to her protagonist Mehr; and ever since I felt that, the read became even more interesting. Unlike radical feminists like Firestone et al, Someshwar drives home the point without slamming her fist on the table which is a fresh thing to notice. I do hope that her clan grows in number so that we have more such books which are wonderful on so many levels to read.

I would rate the book as-
4.5 out of 5.

Perfect for a late night read.

Toon On Kejriwal and A Good News!

Guys, so happy to announce that my blog has been chosen as one of the top blogs in Humour And Satire category by Blogadda. Please click the following link and register your vote for me if you haven't already... of course IF you like my work. :D

Here's the link-

http://win.blogadda.com/view-blogs-voting/humor_satire/Creaky_noises_doors_make/