Book Review – The Courtesan’s Keeper, Kshemendra

Contrary to what the imposed pseudo-morals of Victorian era have made us Indians believe in and pretend to be, the ancient India was not just a land of naked ascetics and spiritual seekers. The ancient ‘Bharat Varsha’ was a land that remained unabashed in its carnal pursuits too. In fact, we Indians treated Pleasure as one of the worthy pursuits of life, as every treatise on politics and philosophy stands testimony to, with its listing of the four-fold pursuits - ‘Dharma’ (Righteousness), ‘Artha’ (Wealth), ‘Kama (Pleasure) and ‘Moksha’ (Salvation).

While there have been treatises purely on physical pleasure, like the Kama Sutra and the Kokkoka, there are also spiritual works soaked in eroticism, like the famed ‘Geet Govind’ of Jayadeva. This work neither belongs to the literary class nor is its content on par with any of the aforementioned works, but still it demands attention on its own right. What else can you say about a book that acts as both a manual for courtesans as well as a warning to the gentle folk against their guiles?

Kalavati is a courtesan with a waning clientele in a ‘competitive’ market. Worried about her future, she seeks advice from barber Kanka. Kanka in turn makes her avail the help of Kankali, a wily courtesan in her golden days but now a loathsome hag. Kankali helps Kalavati settle her future by seducing and scamming the gullible young son of a greedy, wealthy merchant. The book starts with Kalavati expressing her concerns to the friendly barber, the barber elaborating the exploits of Kankali and ends with Kankali helping Kalavati by imparting her ‘wisdom’ and ensnaring a young prey, exploiting his wealth.

A breezy little read that attempts to protect the good men from the clutches of such crooked courtesans. If only men would listen!

Book Review - What On Earth Evolved?, Christopher Lloyd

Somebody give me a medal, please!

For, the very act of reading through this book and finishing it demands a lot of attention and feels like an achievement by itself. Not that it is boring or poorly written. It is just that amount of facts contained in this book, the unbelievable amount of research that would have taken to compile them all, are both factors that can make one go limp with astonishment.

In this book, the famed world history author Christopher Lloyd tries to reproduce the magic of his other renowned work ‘What On Earth Happened’ and has succeeded in his quest to a large extent. Identifying 100 species out of the millions of creatures, listing them one by one in the order of importance - in terms of their contribution to the evolution of our planet – Lloyd has done a stupendous job. From ‘lowly’ life-forms like viruses and bacteria – only in terms of size – to the now-extinct species of dinosaurs, from the species that we can reconstruct in our mind’s eye only with the help of fossils to the pleasingly beautiful roses and lotuses, this book deals with a wide array of species.

With the book being divided into a hundred chapters, one per species, this book can be used as a reference material or a relaxed read. If you’re a person interested in evolution, history of the planet, the plant/animal lives or, simply in general science, then this is a book that you must have in your shelf. Amazing work!

Book Review - To The Brink And Back, Jairam Ramesh

The year was 2011. It was the final match of the Cricket World Cup. India were in trouble, chasing a steep target. The Indian captain, first bailed the team out with a calm, calculated performance and then sent the ball sailing across the ropes, sealing a victory that gladdened the hearts of a billion Indians.

Now, imagine one of the support staff from the team deciding to write a book about that emphatic win. Also imagine the 'support staff' claiming that the captain was unsure about what he was doing and just happened to be in the middle at that moment to simply partake in the glory which was already in India's grasp. AND, imagine this too - the 'support staff' claiming that it was only because he, the 'support staff', went to the middle often and supplied the players with drinks, gloves and suggestions, that the team won the cup. Whatever your reaction is, please ensure to make Mr. Jairam Ramesh the subject of your reaction, because that is exactly what he has tried to do in this book.

The year wasn't 2011 but 1991. It wasn't the high-glam arena of Cricket but the volatile world of politics. The captain was none other than Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao. India were facing much worse, real troubles, two decades before that high-voltage evening. Indian economy was in shambles. There was no political stability. Her creditworthiness was at an all-time low. Her credibility was to be lost forever. It was in such a critical juncture that 'captain' Narasimha Rao stepped in and changed the pace of the game and face of Indian economy.

Jairam Ramesh, who went on to occupy some senior ministerial positions himself later on, was one of the members in Mr.PV's team at that time. I hoped that that alone was reason enough to buy this book, since Mr.Jairam Ramesh promised a 'ringside' view, having had access to private conversations, notes and documents pertaining to the 1991 liberalisation of Indian economy. Being a politician, Jairam just promises a lot only to deceive.

To begin with, the author does not think of PV as someone who made decisions that mattered. According to him, PV was indecisive and uncertain. All the good work was done by Dr.Manmohan Singh and PV just happened to be the PM that shared the credit. That's all. You might wonder whether Jairam had any grudges against PV to write such things. Seems he really did have. Getting almost all his drafts ignored by PV and finally having been 'ignominiously' transferred out of the team, both seem to be grouses that Jairam carries against PV to write in such a manner.

His loyalty to Rajiv and Indira is clearly reflecting in his biased writing. He credits Rajiv Gandhi with many of the measures implemented by PV and Dr.Manmohan Singh. According to him Rajiv himself would have undertaken all those measures were he alive in 1991. Honest historians and economists have different takes though. Also, he squarely blames the previous two PMs - VP Singh and Chandrashekar - for the disastrous state of economy. Somebody should remind Mr. Jairam that the 'license-permit-raj' was protected, and even nurtured, to a large extent by Mrs. Indira Gandhi and her coterie, leading to large scale corruption and red-tape that had choked Indian industry for a long time.

Another annoying, and even immature, aspect is how Jairam projects himself as the mastermind to whom the bigwigs often turned for suggestions and ideas. 'He asked my guidance for this', 'I suggested him this', 'he took my advice', 'I made this joke' - these are all things you expect some self-centred imbecile to write. Not someone who occupied some top positions in the country!

Just by having put together superfluous footnotes, flurry of 'official documents', interviews and quotes - that only hamper the flow - Mr. Jairam may think that he has produced a masterpiece. But this work is simply incoherent and immature, faring no better than a dull-witted political student's patchy project report.

Book Review – 1991 – How P.V. Narasimha Rao Made History, Sanjaya Baru

1991!

It was a watershed year in the history of India, as well as of the world. Chaos prevailed both inside and outside India. At the beginning of the year, the country on her West, Iraq, was brought to its knees by America and its allies, on a six-month long war to free Kuwait. This brought a deep strain on the pockets by raising the price of oil. On her East, USSR, one of her own long-term allies, was teetering on a period of political uncertainty. And, this caused a lot of trouble to the exports, which mainly depended on USSR. The situation at home was not much heartwarming either. Two prime-ministers came and went in what can reasonably termed ‘quick succession’. There was no political certainty in the country.

What was even more alarming was the balance-of-payments crisis, with India having the foreign exchange reserves that could afford for only two-week’s worth of imports. Even if India had decided to curb all the other imports and spend the scarce reserves only on crucial commodities of food and oil, this situation would only have worsened. With the credit rating of the country suffering a serious blow, raising credit in the global markets was becoming next to impossible. There was the ignominy of having pledged gold with the banks of Europe and Japan to raise foreign-exchange. IMF was acting like a big brother advising India to mend her ways and show some financial prudence.

There were two options ahead of India – either to become a defaulter, lose credibility and creditworthiness for a long, long time to come OR to implement some tough but timely measures to steady the ship. In a populous country like India, implementing any idea or policy that is going to usher in changes, especially some bitter ones, was never going to be easy. But the cat HAD to be belled.

The unfortunate assassination of Rajiv Gandhi won for Congress a mandate that was barely enough to claim the right to rule the country for the next five years. Amidst all that uncertainty arose an unlikely hero – P.V.Narasimha Rao. This diminutive persona proved himself worthy by overcoming all those challenges. Apart from recruiting Dr.Manmohan Singh, who went on to become the Prime Minister himself, and giving him a free hand to implement the necessary changes in the country’s fiscal policy, Rao did also open up the Indian industry by doing away with all the cobwebs of ‘License Raj’. Also, at a time when the Congressmen were en masse falling at the feet of Nehru’s descendants, Rao gave hope by proving that in the ranks of Congress were capable leaders that could still hold their own when it came to leading the country.

But, there are quite some ironies in the tale of this memorable Prime Minister. Though a polyglot, who could converse in nearly two dozen languages, he was known more for his silence than for his eloquence. A man that was secular and sensible, it was under his regime that the shameful demolition of Babri Masjid took place, though he had played a vital role during the struggles against the Hyderabad Nizam in the 1940s. Though he had achieved many things in the five years with his minority government, the credit for many of his good initiatives went to his successors. Whether he deserves a Bharat Ratna or not is a topic worthy of debate and decision.

About the book, well, Sanjaya Baru has done an amazing work with his research and writing. Many of the books that I have read about History and Economy have all sounded so dry and dull. But this book feels more like a political thriller than like a work of non-fiction. The fluent style of Sanjaya Baru, reinforced by his impartial assessment of the prevailing scenario of that time, makes for interesting reading, though occasionally one gets the feeling that he tries to depict Narasimha Rao as a man without any faults. Baru makes up for it by not pulling any punches when it comes to criticizing the dynastic behavior of the current descendants of the Nehru clan.

This is a book that extensively recounts the economic and political changes in India during 1991. Changes that turned the tide in India’s favor and placed her on the path of economic progress. Changes that were brought about by an unsung hero that went from being respected to reviled in a life full of ironies.

Book Review - Carnatic Music (Tamizh), by Mahadevan Ramesh

When I first saw this book in Amazon recommendations, I grabbed the offer with both hands, thinking that it would be an ideal introduction into the Carnatic part of the Indian Classical Music. But the book turned out to be a big disappointment in two aspects though.

1. It's the Tamizh translation of a book originally written in English. While it is nothing wrong by itself, the translation of Maths and Science jargon into Tamizh makes for difficult reading. Also, what's the point in reading a translated work when one can very well read the book in the original language in which it was written!

2. Though the book claims to be an introduction to Carnatic music, aimed at informing the laymen on the basics of this classical form of music, the book fails to live up to that promise. Within the first couple of pages, the author shifts gear and gets into technicalities and nuances that will be discernible only to the amateurs and those who already have a basic understanding of Carnatic music.

If you're a novice looking for a book that will initiate you into the world of Indian Classical Music, well, there are much better ones out there.