Bitten by the reading bug

So, there's something I'm happy about-my reading quotient has gone up in the last couple of weeks. The Flipkart guy has been a regular visitor. Although, I order in bunches, the delivery sometimes gets pushed to different dates depending on the availability. I feel bad that the person delivering has to travel the same distance, at times, on consecutive days to deliver just one book. 

That apart, it does feel nice to have that parcel in your hands with new, crisp books to delve into, to lose the world by drowning into them. The books I've read so far have also not let me down.

My current loot:

Additions have been made to the above, but they are mainly books for R- The Eric Carle collection I mentioned earlier, so there is one more person happy in the household.

So, what have you been reading? Will be happy to get some recos.

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A musical delight

Anyone here who is tuned in to the Indian Idol Juniors this season? If not, and if even remotely interested in music, then I strongly recommend listening to these wonder kids. However, even if you can't understand music, it is a treat to see/listen to kids as young as 8 yrs perform with such elan, ease and most importantly finesse.

The last episode where Shankar,Ehsaan and Loy had come as guests was in particular a spectacular one when these musical stalwarts were so overawed by each of the 10 performances that they gave a standing ovation to every one of these kids. And, it was clearly not just a gesture of encouragement. It was a genuine and natural response to the outstanding singing talent. The songs sung by the contestants were to be a tribute to the musician-trio and had some of their best songs rendered to perfection. Every nuance, note and emotion was bang on and in certain instances surpassing even the original. Clearly the little contestants seem to have a divine connection with the Almighty, for I doubt if they even understand what it takes to sing flawlessly at such a young age. It does seem to come very naturally.


The kids on the show for this season have taken Indian Idol, for the first time, to a new and prestigious level in musical reality shows- something that the adults could not do so in the last 4-5 seasons. I've always viewed this show as one that is staged with a lot of drama and very less of music. The melodrama involving the social background of certain contestants, the tears and emotional outbursts before/after a performance or (especially) when eliminated have always scored above the music factor as far as this show is concerned so far, IMO. While there is a lot of melodrama in reality shows even where kids are concerned, the Junior Indian Idol has so far steered clear from these. The judges are people I personally admire for their talent in their respective fields ( Vishal-Shekar and Shreya Ghoshal). Their comments are encouraging even when the rendition has been a little off the mark.

My observation with the talent shows is that kids definitely score more on the talent chart as compared to the adult folk. Senior contestants have a lot to learn from these little champs- be it in the choice of the songs, or handling of complex notes or the easy demeanor with which they carry themselves, not letting either praise or criticism affect their being. I sometimes wonder if these virtues are because they are children and not yet affected by the dynamics of growing up in a tough and competitive world. Whatever the reason, this is a musical treat that is not to be missed. 

A video of one of my favourites here:

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Chanakya's Chant

Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Pages: 448
Publisher: Westland
Price: Rs. 125 on Flipkart (on a discount)
My rating: 4/5

Oh, what a book!I never thought a combination of history and politics could be so mesmerizing. I'd never been a fan of history in my school days, so attribute all my ignorance in that subject to the bland manner in which we were dished out history lessons. And, politics is a sphere I started to take interest in only recently. This book however kept me hooked on both levels.

The novel is actually two stories set in two eras ( one set about 2300 years ago and the other in the present) but connected wonderfully by a single thread-'Chanakya neeti' that is used to achieve a desirable consequence in the given set of political mish-mash. The parallel narration does more than fine justice to the stories from both eras, without compromising on the pace which is fast and gripping. I eased my way in and out of the two worlds without any jerk (in terms of waning interest or losing the thread in the flow of the story)-a proof of sound writing, IMO.


An insight into the blurb:

"The book begins in the year 340 BC, and shows how a young Brahmin boy is traumatized by the murder of his father. He decides to take revenge, and uses his calculating brain to plan it. Slowly, he becomes an expert political strategist and is known as Chanakya. He uses his skills to unify the country Bharat (ancient India). This unity, teamed up with his expertise, ensures that the army of Alexander the Great is defeated, and Chandragupta is crowned the king of the Mauryan empire. With time, Chanakya gets bored and decides to use his intelligence to pen down the Arthashastra.

Chanakya's Chant then shifts into modern India, two and a half millennium later. It focuses on Gangasagar Mishra, a poor Brahmin teacher. It turns out that this man becomes a puppeteer to people. He witnesses how contemporary India is riddled with corruption, greed, treachery, and hatred. He realizes that in order to succeed in this society he too must indulge is such malpractices. However, Chanakya's Chant highlights the possibility that this man could be a reincarnation of Chanakya. Gangasagar plans to make a slum girl the Prime Minister of India."

Interesting enough to grab a copy? Go ahead and you'll not be disappointed in all likelihood. And, do share your views if you've already read this one.

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar

By: Eric Carle
Picture book for 3-5 yr olds
Price: on discount at Flipkart for Rs. 175
My rating: 4.5/5

I got this book through Flipkart last week and it is currently the hot favourite in our house with R demanding to read the book at every meal each day. Eric Carle has beautifully put together different learning elements in one simple yet captivating story, which is nothing but the life-cycle of a butterfly.

And, what an interesting way for 3-5 yr olds to imbibe such knowledge! The journey of the caterpillar has been captured with bright, colourful pictures and simple narration. Not only that, a child can learn the days of a week, counting, get introduced to different variety of fruits, and other types of food, all of this packed together in a great read.

I loved the book as much as R. I highly recommend this book to all parents with kids in this age bracket. Do grab a copy, if you haven't done so already. As for me, I'm planning to buy the other books in the series by the same author :-)

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The Spinning Wheel-a store tour

Falling in line with my intention to bring to light exclusive Home Decor stores around Whitefield area, here's another store tour. I had come across The Spinning Wheel many times- in the flea market and other exhibitions- and always thought to myself that I'd go back to them someday. And, boy! am I glad that finally I made to their store? You can bet a million bucks here.

The unique part about this store is that not only do they house exquisite art items procured from various places in India, but they also specialize in refurbishing old furniture. They add lovely embellishments like tile-work or painted art- and convert a drab looking piece into a style statement. So, if you are bored of your old dining table but do not want to spend a fortune on another or have sentiments attached to the current one, you know where to head.

The Store owner, Rakhi Mutreja, is a very enterprising lady with a lot of passion for the work she does and it really comes across when she talks about each of her piece in the store. When every art piece is handpicked, it becomes a lot more interesting because of the story and history attached to it, says Rakhi. They completed their first anniversary recently but are already running short of store space-something that is not surprising considering the kind of response/orders they are getting not only from Bangalore but other parts of the country as well.

Now, for the tour:

Aren't the camel ones unique?

Pretty door knobs

The weaved bottle collection-so pretty!

The tile collection

Collectibles that will add depth

A customized upholstered teak chair with beautiful tile work

Signature items

The click does not do justice to the beauty of this lovely painting

Pretty vases

These will adorn my house-thanks to a lovely person!

Isn't everything drool-worthy? Its no wonder that I'm so addicted to their FB page. I'm getting a few lovely stuff done from them and it makes me happy that there is an excuse to keep visiting their store often in the next few months.

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Asura-The tale of the vanquished

Author: Anand Neelakantan

Publisher: Platinum Press
Pages: 500 
Price on Flipkart: Rs. 190


Ramayana re-told by the vanquished seemed like an interesting premise and I picked it up with a lot of expectations. However, I was disappointed.The book begins well, then drags, then picks up in bits and parts but finally drags so much that you want to just quit reading. 

The story unravels through the voices of two persons- Ravana and a commoner Bhadra. The concept of having a third-point view of the story, told through a common man, seems novel and keeps you engaged. Some of the parts where he (Bhadra) brings out the voice of an ordinary citizen in the backdrop of an unjust life, braving against the odds and his grouses with the government of the country seems very relevant and realistic. Yet, Bhadra sometimes assumes a profile than is even larger than the main protagonist and you just want him to mind his own business after a while.

Ravana, according to the original mythology, although portrayed as a demon-God, was known to have shades of goodness in him. He was an intelligent ruler and a Shiva-devotee with a great love for arts. However, in Asura, these very qualities are just mentioned in some parts and that too sketchily. Ravana comes across as a very confused person, always with conflicting thoughts, even though he has a fierce and strong ambition to succeed. His goodness rarely comes across except in his thoughts. His decisions, action and their results seem quite accidental. You don't really feel any sympathy towards this Asura who is telling his side of the story. The plot seems far-fetched in many areas and the parts where the final battle is depicted is quite outrageous. I can understand that since it is Ravana's story, Rama has to come out as an evil person. Yet, it is difficult to stomach the twisted details towards the end.

I couldn't help comparing this book with The Shiva Trilogy, also a mythological fiction. Although, the third book was a let down, the book overall had a well-rounded effect with the plot flowing out naturally. 

The twists and plot of Asura seemed contrived and laborious in comparison. The book also was found wanting in the editing part with quite a few grammatical errors.

There are quite a number of good reviews for this book and I seem to be on the minority side. So, probably this is just me and you may like it.

Have you read this one? What are your thoughts?

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Sangreh- a store tour

Since the time I nose-dived into planning the decor for my home, I've been on the look out for interesting home decor stores on the net and within my locality. To my delight, I discovered a few stores around the area I live, that sell some exclusive stuff. 

I plan to feature the stores here for the benefit of people like me, who are eager to set up their homes, live in and around Whitefield area, but are loathe to venture into the city traffic to buy great looking stuff despite best intentions and keep wishing for such stores to come up in the vicinity.The first among them is a store called Sangreh that has been recently launched at AECS layout, close to ITPL junction, Kundalahalli and Marathahalli areas.  

Now, a good blogger always roams about with a handy camera to click away interesting finds, add lovely captions and tidbits, to make a story on their blogs. Sadly, I don't fall in that category. I'm always rushing out of home and only manage to stuff in the water-bottle and snack box for the young chap. Only after I landed at the store, did I realize that I had missed an opportunity to capture the store and its products. However, upon request, the store owner, Priyanka Mehra, was kind enough to not only permit me to feature her store but also use her photos.  

A little more about the store in Priyanka's own words:

"Sangreh, as the name suggests, is a collection of artifacts. An art for us is any item where a creative mind has worked to provide craftsmanship with hand or machine.  We believe that we can get  good artifacts for our customers and can work to provide a unique shopping experience. Our store-we ventured into this business about 5 years ago- is an experiment of our beliefs. After holding exhibitions at various places in the past 5 years we began to understand what the market wants and how quality artifacts can be made available for them. Setting up our own store was thus a natural progression of our venture and here we are at AECS layout now. Our intention is to provide a personal touch in our services and enhance the shopping experience for our customers. This, we hope to achieve by providing a home-like ambience to the store, personally attending to our customers, setting up a play area for our little customers, and providing unique and eco-friendly shopping bags"


Now, for the tour:

A view of the entire store

I'm in love with this antique clock-might buy this in the next visit ;-)

An eye catching attractive lamp

Musician figurines

Won't your books look even more lovely with these bookends?

Nested tables and unique elephant trunks

Attractive pottery drawers to hold your jewellery and knick-knacks

What bright colours!!!

Isn't this pretty?

The artifacts are directly outsourced from Rajasthan, which makes the pricing too quite economical. Apart from Home decor stuff, Sangreh also houses some lovely women's wear (kurtis, leggings, skirts,etc), chunky jewellery and soft furnishings. That's not all.  They also undertake orders for Solid wood furniture ( like coffee table, side tables, dinning table, bed, etc…)

I have to add another interesting thing that happened. As mentioned, the store had a small play area in their backyard and I heaved a sigh of relief that R could entertain himself which meant the husband also could join me in shopping which is a very rare occurrence. As I got talking with Priyanka, a little lad, about R's age, pottered in. Turned out that he and R are almost of the same age, go to the same school, albeit different classes, and also take the same bus route!

Not only this, but the apartment they stay in and the place we are about to move into are constructed by the same builder. Now, isn't this a LOT of coincidence?! Now, I can tell the husband that I share some karmic relation with this place and use the excuse to frequent it ;-)

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