ramadocblog

The selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

Audio book from Audible

Narrated by Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward

Rating- 4.5/5 for the book as such and 4/5 for the narration which is pretty smooth but when there is a change between the two narrators, there happens a stop in the flow of thoughts for a while!

Running length is around 16 hours which can be reduced to less than 13 hours or so with the narration speed of around 1.2 without any change in clarity or diction. In fact I would suggest you to do this since otherwise the narration is slow and the topic can be dull especially on the long drive home after a meal which has a big chance of putting you to sleep!

Since this is a fairly old book written in 1976, you can imagine the new discoveries which would have happened. This is why we have two narrators who alternate between the original book and the extended second edition and the end notes which tries to incorporate the new discoveries and findings! In that way this is a very challenging and praiseworthy task indeed!

Richard is known as the fact master and how! In a non fiction book there is no place for speculation and half truths! So in every other page, Richard either quotes a paper or a proper discovery to drive his point home.

Now, the one line summary of the book would be that it is an ode to Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution which has been extended t modern times and here the centre point is the replicator which ensures how any species survives or evolves! That replicator is GENE and Richard takes us on a journey between the balance between the survival capabilities or the Selfish nature of the gene and the altruistic nature!

It starts with the story of the primordial soup which finally gives rise to the Gene and then talks about cell division namely Mitosis and Meiosis. The distribution of the genetic matter between the offspring and the sibling is discussed in detail.

The selfish nature of the gene and many animals like the Praying Mantis and seagulls is compared with the altruism of many animal such as the mother and worker bees! He talks about the natural selfish tendency and the true altruism!

Did you know that there are some bad tasting butterflies!? The full deal according to Richard Dawkins and is that these bad tasting butterfly have a specific pattern on the wings! And normally the birds or other predators avoid them! Some other butterflies understand this and though they are tasty (for birds as of now!); They mimic the pattern to match the non tasty butterfly! It’s like potato looking like bitter gourd! Another mimic is how cuckoo birds eggs are so similar to crows eggs! The crow tries to make some marking but the cuckoo does the same! And the general rule for birds such as hen or crow is that if there is an egg like object in its nest then it will be taken care just as it’s own!
Also of how birds like Cuckoo with all the sweet voice and all lay eggs in the nest of other birds and the very first act of the baby cuckoo is to push the other egg down! Or how they blackmail!

Richard Dawkins states how a particularly diabolical form of child blackmail happens! We all know of the saying, the crying child gets the milk. It’s the same for birds! The young bird which screams the loudest gets the worm or food from the mother bird! But some blackmailing birds especially if it’s a cuckoo bird in a crow’s nest, it screams in such a way as to attract predators deliberately to the nest? The child is ‘saying’ ‘Fox, fox, come and get me.’!
The only way the parent can stop it screaming is to feed it! So the child gains more than its fair share of food, but at a cost of some risk to itself. But the mother bird here has more to lose so she will comply!

He talks about penguins standing on the edge of the cliff waiting for someone to jump!

He talks about care givers and helpers which is the broad functional classification of Mother or female and Father or Male of the species.

He mentions about how the essential difference between the gametes of male and females. Then he mentions about Phenotype which is the technical term for the external manifestation of a living being and the genetic make is called the Genotype.

One of the best things which is described in the book is about a very interesting thing called the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The author first explains it and then elaborates it further. Then the game is put to real life situations like the sea bass or the foster bird analogy. He even tries to quantify the contribution of each parent and the offspring. He talks about how antlers of a deer or the birds of a peacock or the fact that there was a bone in the external genitalia and the relevance of these in the modern times!

Then he mentions about Aphids and pack of lions and so many animals and insects thrown in the mix for good measure!

Prisoners dilemma is probably the best thing about this book and the way the author explains it further adding on a game taking about grudges and forgivers is simply super! All backed by research and thus there are multiple interpretations and he accepts that!

A non fiction book without any proper story is such a dull thing to read but books like this which is like a prequel to the Third chimpanzee by Jared Diamond is such a joy to listen! The author has made an earnest attempt to make it as simple as possible and he states that in the introduction.

The audio book also has a summary of his next book called the extended phenotype which is of course my next read (or more accurately; listen!)

Grab it with both hand or ears and listen one of the best audio books in this genre!

O- Jeru-Salem! By Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre

Non fictional research book

Narrated by Theodore Bikel

Running length is around 24 hours, but if you increase the speed of narration to around 1.3 times then you can try to finish in around 17 hours or so!
It may seem long but Bengaluru traffic takes care of any time!

The whole story starts in a sublime manner with the vote in the United Nations for the partition of Palestine into Jew and Arab parts with the ancient most important site going to the Jews as per the partition. Before that a brief history of the various times Jews were tortured and prosecuted including by Hitler among others is mentioned.

Then a brief history of Jews and Arab is mentioned and how they have lived for now in a tense state which would surely be uprooted with the partition.

Then the arm twisting on either side for passing or failing the partition is explained rather lucidly and I must say the research is amazing in accordance with most of the books by this duo!

Freedom at midnight was an extensively researched book and that was only one country while this is one partition which has the interest of the whole world and even here the research is vast and so many different stories are presented that you can marvel at their power of assimilation!

The vote leads to lots of surprises and shocks and celebration from the Jewish side which goes on the whole night and then leads to shock waves! This leads to preparation from both the sides that is Jews and Arabs. While Jews want to retain or settle in their historically significant site, the Arabs felt cheated that the partition was trying to take away their property and place.

And then it was a bloody war which goes in some way even now. The book talks a lot about David Ben Gurion, the Jewish leader under whom they put up the Arab Resistance. Talking about john bagot Glubb or Glubb PASHA, the commander of Arab legion from the Arab side. The authors also speak of different leaders from each side.

Then the book describes the long struggle for peace and tranquility in between the shelling and the bombings.

The book talks about Hagana the fighting group of the Jews which finally becomes the Israeli army or defence system. Multiple accounts of Arabs and their bombings of civilian areas and how its carried out. The stories of bombing and death and atrocities are told in detail. It is heartbreaking to listen to the acts done by humans! Similar to the style of Freedom at midnight; the book also takes us into the lives of those who were alive and happy just some time before either being blown to bits or shot or maimed and what not!

How each side smuggled arms and ammunition and their struggles in that and howa ship called SS Borea with Arab weapons caught in Italy was sunk by the Hagana.

How England was both the silent spectator at times and other times interfered only for its reason
The cruel and heartless bombings of one side and the the massacre by the Stern Gang of quasi independent forces

Initially Jews did not have money and the efforts done by men and women alike to raise money has been described very well.

All in all, it was a bloody phase, a violent time and there were multiple attacks and cease fires. Both sides surviving many times only by their will power and hope and by the grit of their leaders. How water and food were the gold during these times.

A must read book to try to understand the Palestine and Israel issue and why it is so sensitive. The narrative is engaging and you would not realise how time flies. The amount of research itself makes you sit back and listen and say; O Jerusalem!

Dramayan a saga of nostalgia by Dr Govind Raj

Genre non fiction romance

Rating 4/5 for its storyline and 5/5 for its simplicity!

The rating may seem biased since the author is my senior and I am a big fan of his blogs and frank comebacks and comments in social media and elsewhere!

Still the rating counts because here he is away from his area of expertise that is politics and politics of religion and he has written a coming of age love story steering clear of any political or religious innuendos which would have been a daunting task indeed for Dr Shenoy!

The story feels semi autobiographical as the author himself states in the introduction but the lead is not a doctor but an engineer!

If you have read Dr G or as we call him GR7 then his sarcasm is amazing! If you did not know better. It is the crux of his write ups and blogs which make them so good! To deviate from that and write a simple story is a monumental achievement indeed!

How the young but well built boy who is the apple of his family and loves to eat Idli among other things; grows up is literally the whole book about!

In a language and setting reminiscent of R K Narayan’s Malgudi Days, the author paints a simple and sweet picture of life in a small place called Karkala which is famous for the huge Bahubali statue for others and for hot idlis!

As a child D Ramu or Dramu has very simple goals and limited things to do! His greatest mission is to reach his house just in time to get food! Or his favourite dish! He has one close friend who is a boy and two friends who are girls! The school days and kid fights are a hoot!
The issues are so kiddish you can actually relate!

From those early episodes of his childhood the book as well as Dramu grows to be a college student and then an engineer and finally in the end a Husband! During this growth the people he meets and his adventures with them forms the rest of the story!

At no point does the story get so complicated or confusing like the dime a dozen soaps in the OTT! A simple story with everything lined up in place even the heartbreaks come with enough support!

Read it to get a feel of the Karkala lanes, of family, of uncles and of foreign married cousins and of puppy love and of Kannada cuisine!
Like a simple RK story, in the end it is a happily ever after story!
Cherry on the cake are amazing snaps of Karkala in the end! Enjoy!

Nine Lives by William Dalrymple

Narrated by Daniel Philpott

Running length around 10 hours which can be reduced to around 8 hours if you increase the speed to 1.2 without any loss of diction or understanding.

Genre- Non Fiction religious book

Rating- negative for the abysmal narration (more on that later!) 3/5 for the intent and 4/5 for the discovery that is india and its religious practices.

William Dalrymple is not an Indian, and once this is fixed to your brain then you can marvel the fact that a non Indian has managed to go to the corners of the country to go into the depth of the different religious practices in our vast nation. But since he is not an Indian, even with the highest dedication he is still a third person who understands the second and first person narrative to the best of his ability.

So it is a commendable fact that his intention is so great and his research is so vast and to take time and try to understand the psyche of the devotee is not a small feat indeed!

When someone who does not understand the local dialect can deliver such a vast treatise then we can very well imagine what an indian with knowledge of the local dialect and rituals could have achieved! Of course there are many novels based on these practices in different languages but none which encompasses so many different practices touching all the ends of the country and how!

Now, I am sure the Book is good to read but the audio version is a big torture to your ears! This is specially so if you are an Indian with a fairly good diction! So while the part of the author is really good especially his own thoughts; the moment the narrator tries to narrate what the indian says or thinks, he gets a creepy accent like the accent of APU in Simpsons! The narrator becomes a cartoonish voice over character who tries to enact how an Indian may sound as if this is a stand up comedy! Even the routine Indian words are mis pronounced and so badly pronounced that you fervently beg for him to stop! You want him to narrate in normal voice just like William’s other novels like Anarchy! Almost every other indian word is killed and then burnt by the narrator and then some!

If you try to move past this horrible torture then you get a view of the religious diversity of India! In fact this book may urge you to search more!

In effect the novel is a sort of travelogue of the author on different practices of India and when he meets such practitioners he tries to get their life story in short and that makes for an interesting read!

He starts with a Jain lady Monk who is actually a Swethambara and describes the trials and tribulations of monks like her to reach this situation. How they try not to harm any living creature and how they give up every attachment one by one! Again if you ignore the ridiculous accent of narration the whole story and their arduous but firm dedication will shock you!

He then talks about the Thayyam dancer of Kannur, about how in two months of the year, a jailor and a manual labourer becomes a dancer who is revered by all. How he became the dancer and how he gets by. It is a great tale indeed but even here the author’s lack of local knowledge and dialects comes to the core in his description of the situation in Kerala.

The next story is of a devadasi Rani Bhai and how they live their life in devotion to god and how what they do is in fact a type of prayer. Of course he did give a glimpse on their difficult life.

The next story is about the Bhopa people, who are the priest-singers of the folk deities in the state of Rajasthan, India. They perform in front of a scroll, known as phad (par in the Rajasthani language) that depicts the episodes of the narrative of the folk deity and functions as a portable temple.
He talks about the most famous Bhopa artist called Mohan Bhopa who used to perform continuously and even over night! He used to remember his lines when in fact he was illiterate!
That was apparently a requisite since then you would just repeat what you heard without your own ‘literate’ mind! Of course the talent is natural and made better with practice! The author knew Mohan Bhopa personally and the way he describes the whole act is almost real and you can imagine it, then of course the horrible accent hits you and its ground zero again!

He then goes to SIndh and talks about Lal Pari or Red Fairy who is a devotee of the local god there. Here also her origin from jungle to Kolkatta to Sindh is described in great detail (if you again ignore the accent!).

The next chapter is of a Tibetian Monk who first became a monk then a soldier and then again renounced everything to become a Monk again. This chapter tells us about the atrocities done by the Chinese over the people of Tibet and how they took over their peaceful country with so much torture and force.

Many of these stories are bigger and spread over two chapters or so and it is very interesting. Of course since it is Tibetian, the accent (as realised by the Narrator that is!) is better and is one of the actually listenable part of the audiobook.

He then goes down south in Tamil Nadu and talks about the Bronze and other idol maker of a famous temple who is a descendant of a long line of makers and how it is a big process with lots of intricacies and how only they make the original idols. How it is passed from generation to generation and how it may be lost soon.

The next stories move on the Kolkatta and the tantrik funeral site and how their Tantrik rituals are done. How the two tantrik practitioners came there and a short introduction to the rituals. It is scary sometimes when they describe animal sacrifice and drinking blood and other gross liquids and I must say that being an Indian, even I (am sure many are with me in this!) did not know about this!

The final story is about a blind man and his friend and how they came to be the Bauls of Bengal and how they sing and do not stay in a place and how they transcend the barrier of caste and just believe in living!

What the book does is makes you realise just like Paul Coelho in Alchemist, that the treasure you seek is in your backyard!
A similar book called ‘An entirely New History of India’ by Francois Gautier is also very much recommended.

Enjoy, the never ending spirituality and the rich history of India!

Titan EYEX- India’s first prescription glasses with Bluetooth audio!

For the past couple of years I have been using some good Bluetooth sunglasses starting with one of the best ones by Bose which had amazing sound and features but unfortunately could not keep up with my rough use!

I use to use it everyday and since the charger was not specified, I used my best ones to charge the same and apparently that spiked the battery! I got it changed under warranty couple of times and I must say that Bose does not play around! They replaced my Sunglasses two times, no questions asked, only adding that I use the laptop USB port as the charging source! The third set I got, I used to treat it with so much care and limited use since the sound output was simply amazing!

But even that stopped working after some time! And by this time the warranty got over and I was told to buy a new one since they could not repair the old one! I left it at that since by that time I got myself a Bluetooth sunglass by Titan subsidiary Fasttrack called the Fast Track Vibe and two years on, it still holds charge and gets connected immediately. I use it worse that my own glasses and it has fallen down (ok, I have dropped it!) so many times that I have lost count! But it still gives me A grade performance with amazing battery life!

It handles calls so well and the reception is really clear! Of course it is no Bose when it comes to listening to music for long intervals since the speaker is not that great but it comes at almost a tenth of the price of a Bose so it really is no comparison!

The only major problem with both Bose and Fast Track was that they were sunglasses and not prescription glasses. In fact if you take it to your local spectacle vendor and change the glasses to prescription (they may not do it mostly), then you lose the warranty and most probably a damaged product. Bose had realised this and were apparently coming up with the prescription glasses also.

But Tata beat them to this at least in India with the first prescription audio sunglasses. They are regular frames with open speakers which do not work with the bone conduction tech. The chief problem with the bone conduction technology (I have two such headphones, one wired and one sunglasses with bone conduction tech.), is that you need to keep it very close to the skin and if it is not very tight then the clarity is lost. The wired headphone I have is still good though but the sunglasses with bone conduction tech is not a deal breaker since the sound is too feeble and unclear and the motor takes lots of battery which makes long term operation less likely.

But Titan EYEX has taken care of most of these problems by doing major research in terms of durability and ruggedness.

The prescription glasses I have are the blue computer glasses and factory fitted so the fitting is perfect! You need to upload your prescription when you place the order and it’s done. I would recommend to download the app so that you can place and track the order properly.

Make sure that in android you first Pair it with your phone Bluetooth and not the app since then it will not work! (I did this mistake and had to reset them!). In iPhone this is not required but the sound reception and pairing is better in android and since I use my android phone more I stuck with that only!
Now the box and package was really good and the charger is custom to the spectacles. While the Bose charger is a cable with USB and a magnetic plug which used to charge it fully in about an hour. While both Fast Track vibes and EyemyEye (the brand of bone conduction Sun Glasses which I have) use the regular USB charger which is really fast and charges in about an hour. The EYEX comes with dual split USB charger and each speaker is charged individually is about 1-2 hours.

By default since there are two speakers, one is the master and that’s why the first paring is very important. Of course the manual tells you how to reset and troubleshoot which is a breeze.

Coming to the sound per say, it follows the rate! While Bose with a price tag of 22k is the best, EYEX with 10k comes real close! While Fast Track Vibe with 3k is much better than the EyemyEYE bone conduction sun glasses which is around 5k.

Bose had a single button for all control including the increase and reduce volume, next track and so many functions which was really cool since the software used to get updated and add new features every now and then. While EYEX has touch sensitive panels which is plastic so feels a little hard though it is quite sensitive once you get used to. Since there are no physical buttons the advantage is that it is more rugged. But the absence of this makes the operation little complicated but once you get the hang of it there are really cool functions. Like finding each battery level, volume and track control and even taking snap shots with your camera. It also measures your step apparently and the app is good though its in its basic version. I am sure the later updates will make it better.

So after two weeks of usage, this has become an inseparable part of my face! While doing the online consultation and the calls are so clear! Since the speakers are open ear, you get the ambient environment and its really safe. The sound stays focused to you and does not disturb others. All in all one of the best audio spectacles ever and if you are a music lover who wears spectacles then this one is for you!

Have fun!!

Khullam Khulla by Rishi Kapoor and Meena Iyer

Audiobook

Narrated by Salmin Sheriff

Non fiction autobiography

Rating- 3/5 in parts 2/5 in parts and 4/5 in couple of chapters

Long post beware!

Listening time is around 6 hours which can be reduced to 4 hours or so by increasing the narration speed to 1.2 without any loss in diction or understanding.

The first thing which is a glaring omission of sorts is that the narration is not by Rishi which is sad since his voice is good and very recognisable. In fact in some places if it was his voice then the effect would have been amazing! Also the narrator lacks the energy and enthusiasm to narrate, it is obvious that he is just reading a book without any emotions whatsoever! Another irksome issue with the audio book is that the recording has been done in parts with different sound settings that in some places the voice is loud and blaring while in some it is bland. Suddenly the emotion and timbre increases jolting you without any reason! Having listened to so many audio book I must say that the narration on this is the worst I have ever heard. It would have been better if a text reader read the text! To top it all, the last chapter is supposed to be from the heart by Nitu SIngh! But even that was narrated by the same narrator which made the whole experience alien to say that least!

I was planning to rip or burst against Rishi after listening to the book which unfortunately I did not read when he was alive! There are umpteen things in which I had a big difference of opinion and would have ripped the book apart! But to write or say something against someone who cannot reply or defend himself or herself (of course even when he was alive, I may not expect any retort from him!) is not ethical as far as I am concerned.

This review is simply a summary of the book and not my point of view.

Rishi is the only Kapoor my Mom and me used to like so a little bias will creep in though the things he says in the book may have changed my mother’s opinion!

Rishi starts with a big thanks to everyone! Though the book starts with a Forward by Ranbhir Kapoor (again in the narrators voice which starts getting irritating even at that time!); how much time it takes to record a narration of a single forward? Does the son not have even this much time?

Rishi talks about so many things which you must listen to enjoy! Narration apart in line with the title, it is frank and open! Some chief revelations were

• How he was cast in Mera Naam Joker and his experience in shooting those scenes and how he got the national award for his acting.
• How that movie almost destroyed RK films and Raj Kapoor and how then Raj made Bobby
• A brief about Rishi Kapoor’s grand father and great grand father and how they were also very romantic and adventurous! Even those escapades are fun to listen!
• How Bobby changed everything! His life and how he arrived with a bang!
• His first girlfriend and how he broke up with her
• His equation with Dimple and subsequently Rajesh Khanna and how Rajesh was actually scared that Rishi and Not Amitabh may have been the successor of super star Rajesh!
• How he bought the award for Bobby almost stealing from Zanjeer and this may have been a point of contention between him and Amitabh
• How his subsequent movies flopped and how he slipped into depression and how he recovered with the help of his family
• How even Karz was a flop but then his other movies were big hits like Laila Majnu and how he finally established himself as a romantic star!
• How his characteristic Jersey and moves were a thing in all his movies
• His close friendship and fights with both Jeetendra and Rakesh Roshan
• How music played an important part in his movies and how he actually did not have the flair of recognising good music!
• A major chapter on RaJ Kapoor, his drunken episodes and his fear and respect. His affairs and how one almost wrecked the family including both Nargis and Vyjayantimala. (The above incidents have been narrated with very open and frank demeanour and that’s praiseworthy!)
• His meeting with Dawood and him subsequently playing his role!
• How he used to miss the music meeting and how music and films are so essential since we are Bollywood! How the music of today is crap and how there is no relation of music to movie! How singers and actors are independent to each other! How auto tune and other synthetic music has robbed the Industry of its creativity! It was a big chapter in the lines of “in our days…”
• Then he talks about his second innings and that was like a challenge to his friend and how he did many different movies!
• He also talks about how he was responsible for the introduction of many heroines and leading ladies because or with him!
• He talks about Randhir Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor, Prem Nath and Rajendra Nath who are all related to him! He talks about Pran and many other actors
• He talks about positives of modern shooting methods and also the negatives!

All in all it is a very entertaining, gossip filled and frank book in the life of an actor who openly accepts that he drinks and smokes and eats meat of every kind like there is no tomorrow! How he was a very possessive boyfriend and how he was true to his wife though they do have fights and times of silence running to months!
In the end of course you realise that he is a mortal and the son of a famous father and subsequently famous son while being quite famous himself!

In terms of Autobiography the one written and Narrated by Kabir Bedi is much better and deep with so much more revelations and it helped that Kabir did the narration is his amazing voice! So that’s the point of reference and this pales in comparison to that but then sometimes it is better not to compare!

For movie buffs, this is a must read or listen and for others if you want to just listen without thinking too much! You will like it if you are open or Khullam Khulla!

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Audio book from Audible; Narrated by Chris Hill

Running time is around 5 hours 48 minutes which can be reduced to around 3 hours or so by increasing the speed to 1.2 or even 1.3 without any compromise on the understanding.

This is a non fiction reference book which actually chronicles many people who have either got wealth or saved wealth or in some cases lost wealth. There are twenty or so chapters and as the author mentions in the introduction, each chapter can be read as a separated chapter while you can read the whole book as a whole.

Without being preachy Morgan takes us into the basics of investment constantly stating that what works for one may not work for another while narrating so many stories!

Introduction was of an amazing person called Ronald James Reed who is like that unknown super star of investment! This example is what the whole book is all about, a simple man with limited resources who consistently and constantly saved a little over a period of 30 to 40 years and finally when he died he had a net worth of around 8 million dollars!

Morgan talks about the role of luck in getting your investment back or getting multiplied. He talks about two people, one who luckily saved his stock from collapsing in the nick of time (though he lost it again many years back) and one who lost everything.

He talks about the difference between being rich and being wealthy; how having a big car or something similar may not mean that the person is wealthy but just under rich by credit!

He talks about Warren Buffet and his simple policies! I am sure there cannot be any book on investment without mentioning about Warren and his story and his investment advice.

He also tells about Bill Gates and about how his dreams were big and how! How the fact that only his college luckily had computer and that changed his life!

In most places Morgan places lots of emphasis on luck and he states that even if you make a hundred investments you need luck on your side.

He also states how the most famous book on investment in different editions keep on changing its suggestions or things that work in every edition!

He talks about my favourite author Daniel Kahneman in so many places whenever an emotional issue is involved!

Then again he states that you do not have to be successful in each and every investment or decision you make! In fact even Warren Buffet would have made many dud investments, even hundreds and all you need is for just some of them to work which would take care of any negatives!
Here he tells about even Walt Disney who made several costly movies which were big disasters but one Snow White movie took care of all the failures!

He talks about patience which is required in this field, to stay when others drop and drop and the nick of time!

In the end he gives an interesting story on how after world war, US was facing imminent collapse due to high home rates and low job! How federal home loans were invented with low prepayment and long pay back times! That changed the whole ecosystem. People were encouraged to spend and to make credit purchases. And lot more interesting trivia which must be read to understand.

He also finally tells about his own investments and in the lines of Reed, he makes simple investments with almost frugal lifestyle with a good and consistent plan.

Anyone who is interested in investment knows that this is a must read book. This is not a story book but a reference manual you must listen or read once in a while during your investment journey!

Have fun! Reading and investing!

Narrated by Sid Sagar

Audiobook

Running length around 16 hours but if you increase the speed to 1.2 it becomes to around 13 hours without any loss of clarity of diction.

Rating- 4/5 for the research 4/5 for the diction 3/5 for neutrality

Genre- Non fiction historical account as a review from various sources

The research is extensive and fairly comprehensive but like most Englishmen who write about history of india, it is based on their own history and on works of many Persian and Mughal historians which the author has quoted extensively in the book.
So the author gets it spot on when narrating or describing events of the company and of the Mughals and of the French and even of the Persian but when it comes to any other description like say of the Marathas the view point is skewed and predictable.

Having said that I am sure that no account of history can ever be neutral or accurate. You can never be sure of what happened in a particular time especially since it happened so long ago and since the accounts are vague and biased.

The book is a narrative of the East India Company based in England and not of the British Colonisation of India which was incomplete for me since I expected the time from 1800 and the final independence of India.

The way a small trading company with constant losses and defeats all over especially to the Dutch and French East India Company initially to finally become one of the biggest corporations in the world is the whole book about. But in narrating that, the book becomes about the Mughals and the Afghans and the Marathas and the Nizams and also of Tipu Sultan.

How the first East Indian company officer who presented himself to the court of Jahangir was not even given any attention to finally decades later the same Mughal clan became a puppet under the hold of the company.

Credit must be given for giving a vivid portrayal of Robert Clive the Governor General who in his two postings in India made himself wealthy beyond means! Even when the whole country is struggling under poverty and even when the Company stocks were under loss, he had become rich beyond means though the ghosts of his deed never left him. He never liked India and in the end he did not like life also!

The next Governor General Warren Hasting and Cornwallis and finally Marquess Wellesley have been described in details and if you read the East India company details you would realise that there were more but the book describes in detail only them.

With a sympathy towards Hastings where he has been shown to be a better Governor than Clive and the complains against him were actually due to Robert Clive.

Slowly and steadily starting from a small post in Madrassipattinum or Madras to the office in Calcutta to finally establishing rule all over the country is being described like a story which is engrossing to say the least.

When the author talks about the money being squeezed out of India and when he coverts it into the current value you are reminded of Shashi Tharoor’s book in similar lines which is a better book on how the company looted india and made it from one of the richest companies in the world to the state it is now. Every time the author converts the money you feel a cringe and then some…

In spite of this when the author states how the company is always in debt is when you actually realise that it just does not make sense!

He talks about Jahangir, about Shah Allam, Mir Quasim, and many other Mughals. About how they feel that ruling india is probably the best thing that happened and how many would have continued to be under them if not for the EIC.

He talks about so many battles and credit must be given in that they have been described so well including famous battle like the Plassey. The way he describes each siege, each army, each attack makes you feel that you are witnessing the battle first hand!

The way he narrates about the atrocities of the victors and how they torture people whom they have vanquished is simply blood curdling. Especially cruel was the way Shah Alaam enemy’s son treats him and his people even though he had taken care of the kid as his own son! It was too cruel to listen.

He then proceeds to narrate about Tipu and Hyder Ali and this account is the one which makes me feel that his narration was only one sided since he tends to skip his atrocities in a fine mention while trying to portray him as a freedom fighter and not as a crude king as even his own historians opined.
There appears to be a bias when it comes to Tipu though its open to debate.

The author though must be commended for having a firm opinion about Britishers and his company officers and he has not put them in a pedestal but on the ground and lower where they belong. He consistently makes note of their high handedness, the way the generals manipulate two kings against each other, how they in guise of giving protection make the kings their virtual puppet or slave!
But the chief reason why this small company took over the company is that many kings or leaders were not united; they thought only about themselves, they were not attached to the country and that’s why when you do not own something, you would not protect it.

All in all an enriching experience like the Freedom at Midnight which was also a very extensive narration! Read it to know about how a company became a corporate to how it made England one of the most powerful nations. All because of Anarchy!

Walk with the weary by M R Rajagopal

Book Review

Genre- Non Fictional semi autobiography

Rating- 4.5/5

Biased review because Dr Rajagopal is my Alma Mater and for us the Pain and Palliative posting is a matter of great pride and it was one of our best postings as house surgeons! But to be Frank many times turned out to be one of the most depressing postings.

But the amount of suffering we see in the pain and palliative clinic would be an eye opener on the smallness of our own problems!
The whole book is a veritable proof of this very fact. If you feel you have some big problem then one read of this book will make your problems or issues minute in comparison!

Sir begins with his childhood in a semi autobiographical fashion and take some chapters to come to the actual point! But even the early chapters are like the stepping stones to his ultimate aim of pain and palliation. From the start even if his interest was different and so the opportunity; you can make sure from his experiences that pain and palliation was his dream.

His sojourn to Middle East and first major experience with pain relief of a burns patient and the sudden jolt at the patient’s frank outburst inflating his own bubble was a revelation!

One this is evident that sir pays so much attention to the Patient, he is not someone who can ignore anyone in pain even if he or she has not come to him for the same.
The way he remembers each and every one of his patient is nothing sort of a miracle when as a doctor you would realise that you would remember the special ones, your major success and your major failures! You would never forget these patients! Then it is understood that Sir would have treated countless forgotten patients who would have been happy and palliated so to speak but it would have become a routine affair!

If you have read the book when breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi then you can understand the direction in which the book moves. If that is one story then this is numerous such stories and the way Sir narrates them is like living at the moment. Some stories make you feel so low while some others give you some glimmer of hope.

He talks about his inspirations primarily his patients and also how Mahatma Gandhi’s book had a big impact on him.

His fight against red tape and government and his friends and his well wishers and his support staff is an eye opener that if you have to do something great and be a pioneer then you need to be wholly committed and nothing short of that will do. How he set up one of the best WHO recognised pain and palliative care centre in Calicut is a satisfactory ending to his genuine efforts!

In between the stories of pain and palliation and the use of Morphine and his training and his mentors ; sir gives a glimpse of his life and family with couple of chapters on his grand parent and then about his wife Chandrika (a love story there!) and his father with some information on his brothers. This intermittently makes us realise that Sir is also human but of course a very unique and special!

Every chapter has some character or a patient with his or her story and every story can be a complete Novel or even a touching movie!
His experiences in UK and America also shows how much he has travelled in an endeavour to give pain relief and palliation to as many as possible.

During our education and postings, pain relief and palliation was just a small topic and posting though now because of Sir’s efforts and the effort of many, it has become an integral and important part of the curriculum. Sir also describes the way his original centre gave rise to many others and how they train others in this noble deed.

He has not failed to mention even the support staff or the nursing staff and his friends who stood with him and helped him in his quest,

This is a must read for everyone, to understand what’s humanity and how to be humane! If you are happy you must read this and if you are sad then you definitely must read this! If anything else, just read it anyway!

Since we were prepared very well by everyone and the reviews; the amount of violence shown even though was gruesome, we were able to see albeit with teary eyes…

You cannot turn away from the truth and though the movie shows truth as close to possible on screen, it also gives you indications in many scenes on how it would have been more gruesome in reality.

The whole movie shows beautiful sceneries of the valley and for once you just have to marvel at one of the most beautiful place on earth and totally understand that it is heaven on earth.

The local dialect is used in most places and the music is also local Kashmiri, with Kashmiri cuisines and their customs is used throughout the movie which adds authenticity in a subtle but effective manner.

So many times there are no dialogues spoken and no one says anything, one of the best examples of actions speaks louder than words.

The helplessness of police and administration and the risks army takes are shown in passing which is so effective.

Pallavi Joshi’s character which is an amalgamation of many instantly makes you dislike her which goes to show how effortlessly she manages this!

Darshan changing from a confused student to the one who realises the truth is a revelation though his ending speech could have been more effective but he does the job and how.

Basha Sumbli as the mother is the one who has the least lines but suffers the maximum and she has done a splendid job with just her eyes, face and expression.

Chinmay Madlekar was born to play this role; his entrance gives you terror and his eye movements make you hate his gut!

Mithun da is a national award winner for acting and though he does not reveal this talents in many movies, in this one you will realise why he got the national award.

The serene Kashmir, the sound effects, the melancholy, the fear that you know something very bad and tragic is going to happen and the supporting staff make sure you are riveted to the seat and you just cannot get up. Even after the movie is done, you need some time to control yourself and may be a life time to process the movie.

The last and the best is Anupam Kher who has given a performance of his lifetime even better than Saaransh in many places. Many times you just want to hug him and lie to him saying that it will be fine. The trauma has done a number on his mind and his character does that job so well that he will be called Pushkar Nath from now on.

This is a brave attempt from a director who has been Frank and open on his views and his interviews reveal the amount of research which has gone into this movie. But the amount of injustice shown in the movie is so ghastly that you will find it hard to believe on how a human can treat another human like this.

This movie will trouble you emotionally; I was expecting an emotional roller coaster, it turned out to a tsunami and then some…

What’s the photo I shared you ask? Just a black screen symbolising one of the darkest exodus; or more accurately Genocide…