Book Reviews

Do you want to read stories that will take you to places all over this country and to faraway lands? Do you also want to read stories that will take you back in time—decades, even centuries? Then you must taste the fruit of The People Tree. Here are fourteen stories for you, a veritable potpourri of tales, each different from the other in style and substance. From the Khalistan insurgency in Punjab to a glimpse of the Mumbai underworld. From a doomed love affair in Hyderabad to a mature gay relationship. From a lifelong friendship formed in unusual circumstances to the pangs of a schoolboy crush to robbing an art museum there is something in this collection for everybody. And more. Love, loss, survival, lust, deception, greed Beetashok Chatterjee has covered them all. And more.

The book starts off as a light read but then delves into series legal issues such as – ‘is a brain dead person really dead’, ‘the right to die with dignity’ , ‘making a will – facts, myths, mistakes and remedies’, etc. In some of these articles, the author proposes some new ideas to legal challenges faced by our judiciary – ‘community service as punishment’, ‘the rights of animals’, etc.

Some things you do just to survive in this world and to pay your bills. While some other things you do because they have to be done, if you want to feel alive from within. Raining drops of Rainbow verses is a collection of free verses that Indrani Chowdhury has composed as a simple and pure release to her emotions, with the thought that her readers will be able to resonate with the feelings.

1667 AD, Assam. After a plunderous invasion of the Mughal Subedar Mir Jumla, the Ahom kingdom is reeling under loss, treachery and internal conflicts. The Ahom Monarch Chakradhwaj Singha and his ministers are serving the vassalage of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb under the terms of a disgraceful treaty and the morale of the Assamese people is reduced to its lowest ebb. However, a valiant commander of the Ahom army rises to the occasion. With his unflinching grit and determination, he leads the Ahoms to face the Mighty Mughals in one of the largest naval wars in the history of India. Will the fewer number of Ahoms be able to vanquish the invincible Imperial Army? Will Emperor Aurangzeb have a trick under his sleeve to thwart the Ahom expedition? In a well researched, action packed and a form never told before, this is the legend of an unsung war hero-Lachit Borphukan. The action, the twists and turns and the emotions in the saga will keep you hooked for sure.

If you are fond of reading only fiction or non-fiction, then this is not a book for you. I would recommend this book to those who carry a love for theology, mythology or philosophy. Anyone who is spiritually inclined or likes dabbling in body restorative techniques would be able to decipher the deeper meaning of this book. As I said earlier, this is not just another book. It is a realization of the way of life. And, unless you are willing to introspect, realise and adopt the teachings, you would not be doing this book justice.

Written in a reflective tone, ‘Our moon has blood clots – a memoir of a lost home in Kashmir’ is a gut-wrenching chronicle of the events that led to the slaughter of hundreds of Pandits in the Kashmir Valley in barbaric events that unfolded after 1990. Driven out of their ancestral homes and lands and not welcomed warmly by any other countrymen, this is the story of those of ‘nobody’s people’ (page 89).

From the poem ‘Sands of Time’ //They trickled slowly down the funnel, no sound of bells or chime, quietly, through the glass tunnel ran out the sands of time. The mighty mountain stood its ground, foreboding, all alone. The waves would all come and pound their fists onto its stones….//

Between the pages of this book are lovingly cradled a plethora of emotions. As you read, Nisha takes you through pages that invite you to enjoy nature and its elements and gently nudge you to sit, relax and introspect about yourself, about those around you and about life. However, the shift in mood in the book is not sudden. Like a day bright with sunshine and warmth gently sighs into the embrace of the cool, bedecked night; Nisha’s poems lead you down the path of self-discovery and love. Each nugget is presented with such transparent candour that you cannot miss their relevance to your life.

Even though the suspense unfolds early in the book, it is a story backed by some wonderful research and crisp writing. For that alone, I recommend it.

Somehow as I read through this book, I was reminded of the jaltarang. Each individual glass of water has a distinct sound and yet, together put all the glasses create a melodious resonance.