VANARA Written by Anand Neelkantan

Vanara- The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara by Anand Neelakantan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author is a prolific writer blessed with an immense imaginative capacity. His books are best sellers and popped out into Indian celebrity author’s list through his wonderful book “Asura- The Tale of the Vanquished”, the Hindu epic Ramayana narrated from the defeated angle. He also contributes to many TV serials and newspapers through his extensive writing skills that can be easily understood. Heard that this book Vanara, is soon going to come out as a mini TV series.

Storyline:

The story is an excerpt from Kishkindakanda of the well known epic, Ramayana of the Hindu mythology. Almost every Indian would have grown up listening to this bed time story of how Lord Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu and also the king of Ayodhya killed Bali or Vali, the monkey king of Kishkinda (kingdom of Vana Naras) from a hiding place in a jungle. Though the story sounds heroic from the angle ofLord Rama, the author chose to narrate the same from the other side. It all begins with the two brothers Bali and Sugreeva growing up among the Vanaras (monkey men) in the harsh jungles, south of Vindhya mountain range in India. Bali, the elder brother and the stronger is loved by the beautiful Tara, who in turn is loved by Sugreeva too. This triangular love story, said to be the first of its kind in the ancient world, is all the problem that led to the unlawful murder of Bali in the end. Tara, the iconic wife and lover of both the brothers is emotionally crushed by the sentiments of her husband and lover but ultimately binds herself to the will of her heart by remaining as the legitimate wife of Bali till the end. She never succumbs to Sugreeva even at her weakest moments though she secretly adores him. The whole narration revolves around Bali and Sugreeva, their adventures, love, hatred, leadership, strength and ethics. Over a period of time, Sugreeva gets tired of Bali’s supremacy over him coupled with Tara’s never ending love towards Bali. This frustration leads to his alliance with Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana who were passing by Kishkinda at that time in search of Rama’s abducted wife Sita, in order to kill Bali with an arrow from behind a tree in a false duel instigated by Sugreeva with Bali, in exchange for lending Vanara army to fight the dangerous Asura king of Lanka, Ravana and bring back Rama’s wife Sita . This arrangement is because Lord Rama is no match to Bali in strength and can never win an open physical fight with Bali. This unlawful murder is questioned by Bali to Lord Rama just before dying, for which Rama could not give a befitting reply. Tara curses Lord Rama for this brutal murder of her husband that he will not be able to live happily with his wife Sita, in the future. Tara spends rest of her life as a widow alone in the jungle, far away from Kishkinda, until her death, while Sugreeva becomes the king of Kishkinda.

Pros : The author elicits how horribly these Vanaras were treated by the so-called civilized Brahmins, Kshatriyas and other upper caste rulers and citizens of the country and how they are only used as mere low caste slaves but not as equals. This discrimination is shown even by the great Lord Rama, king of Ayodhya known to be an avatar of Vishnu. The author elevated Bali to be the true dedicated king of the Vanaras who dreamt of giving the best life to his subjects, away from the clutches of other civilized…rather uncivilized kingdoms of the country who treated them as low born creatures. Sugreeva is portrayed as a loyal brother but not more than a passionate lover of his brother’s wife Tara. On the other hand Tara is portrayed as a talented administrator in the absence of her husband, a great lover of her husband and a kind friend to the subjects of Kishkinda. The bravest part is that, the revered Lord Rama, considered to be a God in Hindu religion, is belittled in the story and shown as the one who easily fell prey to the lies of Sugreeva and resorted to Adharma while on the other hand he preached Dharma to his subjects. Rama’s brother Lakshmana too appears to be completely arrogant, unethical and intolerant through his violent behavior towards Vanaras and the woman who lusted for his brother.

Cons: The only thing that I didn’t like in this story is about Tara, as to how she avoided informing Bali about Sugreeva’s romantic advances towards her even when the later knows that Tara loves his brother and a legitimate wife of Bali. She could have avoided Bali’s murder if she explained to her husband about Sugreeva’s love towards her, earlier…. Unless she too secretly loved Sugreeva in return. In that case, even she is equally to be blamed for Bali’s death. Too many open ends for a logical reader to ponder.

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Whose Capital, Amaravathi ? Written by I.Y.R.Krishna Rao

The author was the former Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, worked as Sub Collector - Vijayawada, Collector and District Magistrate – Khammam and Nalgonda Districts, and Ex-Executive Officer, TTD.













This hand book is quite an informative write-up of how the new Capital city of newly formed Andhra Pradesh State in 2014 was decided upon and what were the causes of this flawed decision. The author, one of the senior most Indian Administrative Services passout from the 1979 batch takes the reader through the current location of the proposed capital city Amaravathi, its theoretical background and the process of how the lands to build this ambitious capital were pooled by way of coercion and caste affinity of the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Nara Chandrababu Naidu, ignoring the ill effects of locating the capital city in its present location on the banks of Krishna river, near Vijayawada.

The author has given a very clear picture of how some of the world renowned capital cities were built and also how some of the capital cities were built within India itself, keeping in view the mutual public consensus, development of backward areas and without any hidden agendas. The reader is also taken through the history of origin of Andhra Pradesh state after breaking away from the Madras Presidency owing to the relentless and unselfish motives of the then great leaders Potti Sriramulu, Tanguturi Prakasham Pantulu and Tenneti Viswanatham.

Eventually it is time and again proved by the author that then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Chandrababu Naidu selected this place Amaravathi , as the new Capital of Andhra Pradesh only to benefit his castemen, ignoring the woes of thousands of farmers and other people from other parts of the State and thus remain as a great person in the sands of history. This kind of unscientific decision, ignoring the recommendations of the expert committee (Sivaramakrishnan committee) as per the author, would prove detrimental to the future generations to come and leave the city as a Ghost city, which would never take off in the years to come.

Pros : A very clear path right from the history books of Telugu people has been brought forward to explain the reasons as to how the present location of capital city of Andhra Pradesh should not be there in Amaravathi. Interesting historical facts coupled with live examples of how some capitals across the globe have been successes and failures are clearly elicited.

Cons: The author’s mind seems to have been set one sided only, in order to oppose the decision of the Chief Minister and appears to have a negative image on the community to which Chandrababu belongs to.

My rating is 3 out of 5

ROMAN HOLIDAY (HOLLYWOOD ROMANTIC COMEDY)

Starring Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Directed and Produced by William Wyler, Story and Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, Music by Georges Auric and Victor Young

Storyline: Ann (Audrey Hepburn) is a Princess on visit to Rome having her official stay in the Embassy. She is frustrated with her royal lifestyle and wants a break from her daily official schedules which is not allowed by her authorities. She is seducted by the latter and under the seduction she escapes from the Embassy into the open town. There she encounters Joe (Gregory Peck), a journalist for American News Service, who takes her to his house and shelters her for the night. Joe learns that Ann is the Crown Princess and promises a personal interview with her to his superior for a big pay pack. Ann after revealing her identity denies the interview and leaves on her own to explore Rome as a common lady. Joe follows her and becomes part of her adventure for the day and also assists her wherever necessary when she is in trouble from the public who are unaware of her true identity. In this brief journey they fall in love, but do not admit to each other. Suddenly Ann realizes her responsibility as the responsible representative of her country and returns to the Embassy after thanking him for the wonderful experience for the day and bidding good bye to Joe. Subsequently, Joe cancels his idea of publishing her photographs taken secretly during her outing and prepares to take a plunge in his career. Finally, the movie ends with Ann calling for a special journalist meet when she receives the photographs of the sweet memories of Rome and Joe from his friend and both Ann and Joe walk away in opposite directions, surprising the viewer.

Pros: A pure sentimental romantic comedy wherein a Crown Princess is shown to mingle with the common people of Rome as a common lady. Her small adventures in the city are quite witty and entertaining. For a film made in the 1950’s, the story was quite novel. Audrey’s simple physique and her mannerisms take the viewer to falling in love with her if he/she were in Gregory’s position. Audrey’s facial expressions always scintillate the viewer because of the simplicity she shows in every expression whatever may be the emotion. Her Diana cut hairstyle truly reveals her Cinderellan look. A revisit of Rome in 1950s is a feast to the eye in every frame. Music by Georges and Victor keep the audience involved in the movie throughout. Reality of the Princess parting away from the man she loved, for her country’s pride, is truly inspiring unlike other regular love stories.

Cons: I somehow felt that Gregory Peck was looking a bit little old or elder in his looks to Audrey as a lover. Should have given him a younger look. Roman Government’s inability to find out where the missing Princess until the official Royal spies entered Rome, in order to find her, seems to have degraded Roman Government security. It could be shown as a joint operation at least.

My rating is 4 out of 5

The Rise of Sivagami By Anand Neelkantan

The Rise of Sivagami by Anand Neelakantan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author is a best selling author from Kerala state of India. Known for his previous super hits like Asura- The Tale of the Vanquished and Ajaya Series of books, he ventured into this ambitious prequel to recent historic Indian blockbuster movie “Bahubali” directed by SS Rajamouli of Andhra Pradesh. Known for his fiction writing skills, the author remains as the darling of epic fiction lovers of the country.

Storyline:
The story begins with the woes of the downtrodden in the mighty kingdom of Maahishmati, somewhere in the central part of India, near the Mahishi river, protected by their revered sacred mountain called Gauri Parvat. Sivagami, a young lady in her teens , whose father has been killed by the orders of the king for treason and treachery, is admitted into the royal orphanage, by her Uncle. She under immense pressure and vengeance to destroy the royal lineage of Maahishmati patiently waits in the orphanage, only to be unexpectedly be courted by the Prince Mahadeva, younger brother of the aggressive and cruel crown prince Bijjala Deva. The later being an arrogant, tyrant, evil and a womanizer, always treats his subjects as slaves and is highly feared and hated amongst his peer groups. His slave Kattappa, a die-hard duty bound and loyal servant always protects Bijjala Deva from many threats and dangers that the later faces in his day to day life, but is never respected in return. Meanwhile, some of the evil noblemen of the kingdom like Pattaraya wants to profit by smuggling the secret Gauri dhooli, a strange powder extracted from the self glowing blue and rare Gauri Kanta stones, mined from the womb of Gauri Parvat, to the enemy vassal states of Maahishmati. The generations old secret of Maahishmati’s undefeated victory saga in wars is attributed to its weapons moulded with mixture of Gauridhooli and metal. Sivagami, the highly committed and talented girl accidentally saves the life of the king Somadeva from a sudden coup attempt by the rebel Vaithalikas, on the auspicious Mahamaakam festival day, just at the time when she attempts to recover the secret book of her father, written in a strange ancient language, from the chambers of the Prime Minister, Skandadasa. The story ends here with Sivagami rewarded with the title of a Bhoomipathi and her father’s treachery forgiven for her act, surprising her totally and giving her a chance to be in the governing system and thus plot to destroy the kingdom in the future.

Pros : The book is cleverly plotted with umpteen number of characters in a series of events right from the beginning till the end. The author’s skill to manoeuvre the reading is well maintained. The way in which lower castes and peasants were treated in the ancient kingdoms wherein only the upper castes and royal family reaped the benefits while the former always suffered and forced to a life full of sheer poverty, slavery, insults, homicide, genocide, child trafficking and forced prostitution is well elicited. The author was successful in portraying that such blind dictatorship rule of any country would lead to revolt and coups somewhere or the other. The effect of Bahubali movie on the book seemed to be very high as the reader , if already watched the movie, would correlate each and every character of the book with the real movie characters as long as he/she is reading, in the back of his/her mind.

Cons: The story started with a bang but somehow there is some loss of lustre in the first half with some boredom masking the story but picked up pace after the middle and maintained the tempo till the end. Since it is the Book One of the series, many characters in the story have been left unfinished. I find that there are too many characters introduced but hope that they will find their life in the next book. Somehow, the actual historic movie Bahubali 1 and 2 seem to have shielded the overall effect of the book. Slightly felt that the book would have had a greater punch if it was written and released even before the movie.

My rating of this book is 3.25 out of 5


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The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author is a well known star writer from South India, also known as John Grisham of India, who spent most of his professional life in senior positions of Indian national banks, after his management degree from IIM, Bangalore. His previous books have National award winning status. His fans and film producers eagerly wait for his next creation always.

Storyline:

Aditya Kapoor, Director of Branch Banking of National Bank in India, is a successful banker and also a successful writer, as his favourite past time. In one of the Alumni guest lectures of IIM Bangalore, he encounters a young beautiful student, Shreya, in the audience, who aspires to be a star author herself. Their unsolicited frequent encounters later, evolve into a passion filled romance, surpassing all limits from both sides. Shreya, cleverly uses Aditya’s lusty love and stature in getting a job in National Bank, simultaneously paving her way to achieve stardom with her debut novel. Ignorant of this plot from the innocent looking Shreya, Aditya goes all out in helping her achieve her goal even by cheating her faithful wife and son. One day, his wife Maya discovers Aditya’s amour with his colleague and confronts him by evicting him out of her house. Just at that time, she accidentally, gets infected with Ebola virus in France while attending an international training program. Aditya, soon realizes his blunder and pleads Maya to forgive him, while she is on her death bed. He now also realizes how Shreya used him to achieve her goal and also discovers another shocking fact how his close friend and colleague, Sanjay used Shreya to distance Aditya from Maya, out of the former’s teenage love on Maya, before Aditya met her. Aditya waits for a right chance and strategically makes all the plots against him public, in front of the Police, thus ending the careers of all his opponents. He re-unites with Maya and quits banking to lead a peaceful life by joining Maya in educating poor slum dwelling children and also pursuing his dream profession of writing.

Pros: As usual, the mind twisting imagination of the author awes the reader in this book also. The author brought out this bold story in times when such situations like lusting for beautiful and sexy colleagues in the office, by seniors, has become a norm in the professional world. It is also true many times, that young women like Shreya, use their sensuality to seduce their seniors in achieving their goals in the organization or personal lives, destroying the values and ethics of marriage, friendship and camaraderie. On the other hand, we still have faithful wives like Maya who break emotionally and lead pathetic lives even after their husband come back to them, as the trust once broken is always broken. The author is successful in highlighting the pristine purity of love in trust filled marriage and dirty ambitions of lust filled temporary extra marital affairs.
I seriously recommend this book to all professionals in today’s world, just as an effort to save the last remaining traditions and cultures that bind two people and later, families on a larger scale. I bet that there are many such victims of such extra marital adulterous affairs in the professional world who are living their remaining lives in hiding or in utter shame, after having lost, all their name and fame. This book is a lesson to many out there who choose wavering girl friends over conscientious wives.
Lastly, one gets to know the nitty gritties of publishing industry in India

Cons: Though the author brought the best of his abilities in using technology (mostly I Phones) to solve the plots in many of his books, I somehow feel that it is becoming routine. There is no notable emotion or wild hatred shown by Aditya, in the literature, after he discovers Shreya’s motive behind using him, like the same shown in the words of Maya, after she finds out Aditya’s affair. It should have been harder, at least after the book launch session, for better result. The author might have felt that the book has a happy-ending but I felt that it has bitter ending as it is a Lose-Lose situation to all the characters though its presentation appears as Win-Win to all.

The best quotes in the book:

“In relationships, particularly those that are adulterous in nature, the first time is always the most difficult. That’s the point in time when one’s conscience makes its presence felt the most and people are consumed by regret. Once that bridge is crossed regret is often forgotten.”

“The instincts of the wife, when it comes to issues that concern her husband are stronger than those of even the best astrologers”

“The problem with trust is that if it is broken, then all acts committed by the perpetrator come under the purview of suspicion”

“Nothing in life can put you in an inextricable position unless you yourself want to be in such a position”

“There is more strength in forgiveness than in walking away”


My rating is 3.75 out of 5


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