Book Review : ‘Till the Clouds Roll By’ by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond’s ‘Till the Clouds Roll By’ is not just another one of his books. This time, it stands different. Of course, it does have the usual odd friends, which he always gets up to. And yes, it does have a little of the books, which are his permanent companions.  But let us look at them, right from the beginning… 

Starting off, we a find ourselves in a train, headed for Dehradun. Little Ruskin, who is only ten years old, is going there for the winter holidays. Unfortunately, his father had passed away, and that is why he is now headed to his mother’s home. She had married elsewhere.

Rusty, who gets in to Dehradun finds himself all alone at the station. His trip to his granny’s house, and then went on to his house, and his meeting with his fellow siblings are all a part of this bit. There is also his mother, stepfather, the daily help at his home and the book store around the corner. 

The movies he went to, the elephants and the deer and all the animals he saw, and even the big hunting trip, that he was made a part of are all a share of the second part.

Agatha Christie : Wikipedia

O Henry: Wikipedia

Then it happens. The books, he finds come into the third part. And of course, this is an exciting bit, because he seems to find them, at all the odd places. MR James, PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, O Henry are only a few of the pretty large collection, he found.  It gets more and more exciting.

But it was only when Rusty sees a leopard, when it got the most exciting. While the tiger hunting party, did not seem to spot a tiger even at a distance. Pakoras, bicycles, cooks, scorpions, vinegar, lichees, Ford V8 are all a part of this book.

Then the young boy, goes into the market, and ends up meeting the first wife of his stepfather, Bibiji. With her, he gets talking and even helps her out with her shop. And Rusty’s pregnant mother gives birth to another boy. Besides that, we also have Mohan, Mela Ram, Regal Cinema, and also a pet parrot to complete the book. 

You can Buy the Book, right here. 

Book Review : 'Kannaki's Anklet' by Utkarsh Patel

In the book, 'Kannaki's Anklet : An Epic from the South of Vindhyas', the author, Utkarsh Patel is looking to do it again, but perhaps with a kind of a twist. His stories are everything to do with women. This time too, it has to do with two women, but with a turn of sorts for one woman. Her courage, her intelligence, and her essence...

It is a simple enough story, where the heroine is Kannaki. She is born to an affluent family, in a port town in the Chola kingdom. The parents find her a groom. Kovalan is his name, and he sings at the temple. The two are shown as two people, so much in love with each other.  

The two of them seem like nothing could separate them, but then suddenly, there is the advent of the courtesan, Madhavi. Now, Madhavi lays down her charms upon Kovalan. He could not resist these, and leaves behind Kannaki. That is where the twist lies.

There is nothing much Kannaki can do, as she watches Kovalan spend all his money on Madhavi and reduce himself and his family to impoverishment. Madhavi’s mother, who was happy all this while, is suddenly against Kovalan, and this she makes clear to Madhavi, which Kovalan overhears. Kovalan leaves, and one can see the heart break of Madhavi too. 

As Kovalan makes his way back home to his wife, Kannaki, I had to feel faintly for Madhavi too. Kannaki now comes into focus again, and I, who had spent all this time feeling bad for her, could not help but become slightly happier. (But of course, our times have changed so much that I am left feeling confused, basically Kovalan, who had left both wife and lover should pay, I felt, but that is not how this story goes.)

Anyway, returning to the story, Kannaki and Kovalan, now want to start off on another journey, this time to Madurai. But Kovalan, ends up meeting a messenger from Madhavi, who tries to lure him back to her. But Kovalan is adamant and refuses to go back to her.  The two of them go off on foot to Madurai. The road seems hard and affected by hazards, but the two of them are lucky as they find Sadhavi Kavunti, a Jain monk to escort them.

On their way, the two of them come into contact with some strange people. They end up meeting quite a few people, a few wise folks, a wood nymph, who tries to entice Kovalan, and some other people. But they always were full of stories and songs, some of which were composed by Kovalan and a few by Kannaki, too. Some were legends and tales of the places and the people, they were with too. 

The two of them reach Madurai and try to start off a new life. They have plans of using an anklet of Kannaki’s to start off with a little money. As Kovalan sets out to sell the anklet, he meets with a goldsmith, who wrongly accuses him of stealing the anklet from the queen.

What happens to Kovalan? Will he get framed? Will Kannaki find out exactly, what went wrong? Will Kannagi manage to prove her husband’s innocence? 

You can Buy the Book, right here. 

Author Interview : Kochery C Shibu, author of ‘Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar' (Part 1)

Kochery C Shibu

Read up, the first part of the Interview with Kochery C Shibu, author of 'Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar'. What I liked about this book, was the author’s love for his characters. As he says in the interview, ‘Every character was dear to me…’ It seems so, as you read this book on and on… Each chapter seems dedicated to a new character.

In this first part of the Interview, he tells us how the story first happened, the kind of research, which was put into this book, and how he relates the characters to day to day live and most importantly, which character he feels most close to, Folks...

How did ‘Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar’ happen?  Could you describe the journey? 

The novel was written, whilst I was working on a hydroelectric project in that region. I had been planning on writing a novel since the late 70s. Many novels have died their own death after a few pages. 

It was finally whilst working on this project that I could find the time during the taxing project work to write this novel. A long cherished dream was breathed into life during this writing.

What kind of research was put into the writing of this book?

The novel was written over a period of four years spending an average of three hours per day for 25 days a month and about 3,600 man hours. Any and every character, situation and subject is researched extensively and further refined during the editing.

What according to you is different about your book?

The novel is first of its kind in Indian English to write about the life of workers, in a project of this kind capturing the very minute details of their life.

The book also, is the first of its kind to give researched data on the life of people in the sub Himalayan region; it is also a racy thriller, written in the back drop of literary fiction. It is also first in Indian English writing to have the technical content of a dam, building built into the main story line.

How did you come up with the main plot line and develop it?

The novel and the plot went through much iteration in the process of writing, and it was a deliberate attempt to develop a new genre of sorts called literary fiction-thriller.

How would you relate the book and its main characters to our day to day lives?

The novel was written with an effort to make the characters, as real as possible for the readers to identify with. That the events are built in the backdrop of a hydroelectric project with near realistic settings, make it as close as it can get.

Which particular character did you feel most close to? Why?

Every character was dear to me…

You can Read the Review here and Buy the Book right here, as well.

Book Review : 'Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar' by Kochery C Shibu

In the book, ‘Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar’, Kochery C Shibu’s characters arrive with a bang, and then weirdly settle in. And then, they go off for the romantic beat, and then come up again for another round of violence, and finally crawl towards the end. It is all about the characters, starting off with the main one.

Nanda who is an engineer, with the mastery in Kalari, (Kalaripayattu is a martial art, which originated as a style in Kerala). Forever, suspicious and incredibly careful is Nanda.

He would never talk too much to his fellow workers around him. He wakes up early, starts off with the Surya Namaskara, and begins his Kalari routine. His roommates and he must get to the site on time. The AM Hydro project is the biggest in Dhauladhar. As night comes on, sleep keeps away from him, and the range of mountains around him seems to talk to him.

Earlier, he goes and is suddenly struck with marriage because his brother had died and his wife was left without a husband. So, the two of them are put through marriage and another of his enemy’s incredible killing, which puts him straight in the north, in Dhauladhar.

We find the beginnings of Nanda and therefore we have to travel back in time our way across to Indumati, his mother. She comes in to the family, through marriage to Prabhakaran. Luckily for her, she has an understanding husband, who though lived under menacing circumstances, allowed her to study further. She found herself, travelling to Finland and studying there. She also had a life, quite different from the life in Kerala. She found herself studying, dating, speaking the Finnish language, and also eating the comparatively bland foods and also found herself in jail.

After all this, she managed to get out and now, that she was counted days when she would finish up her course and make her way back to India. Back home, she then gave birth to Nanda. She wanted her family to be safe, but he husband was killed and she blamed herself. But she knew that, his son would pay the price and that is why she was glad, when her son went off to the north.

Khusro, born in Kashmir is recruited by a Pakistani terrorist group. Rekha, a dancer cum doctor finds herself trekking in Kashmir when she is suddenly captured by terrorists, and actually one terrorist, Khusro falls for her.

The love story is kind of foolish in its own way. You do wonder why an incredibly intelligent and talented woman would firstly fall for a terrorist. Then you do wonder about the terrorist himself, who has been asked to kill is just looking confused and lost in love himself. But of course, there was always his main plot. To kill so many people by blowing up the dam being built by Nanda, who does not have a clue of this till now.

Plus, you have so many other characters within the story, and you have the author giving you so much, in terms of characterisation.The research was extraordinary, but the plot kind of gets lost in the middle of all these. The plot travels from Kerala to Finland to Kashmir to Pakistan, without any glitches. From the Kalari to the mountains, to the countries and to the states in India, itself, it is truly magnificent.

Kochery C Shibu

Yet, there is always the plot making its way towards the end. Would it all work out? Would Nanda manage to do away with his enemies in Kerala? Would he save his dam in the Dhauladhar? Would Rekha manage to find her love? Would she and Khusro live together in love as she hoped?

Overall, the plot begins and does find an end. But the characters are simply superb and went in so many ways. One of course, one wishes that all these had a single end and they found it, but how would it end?

You can Buy the Book, right here.