6th December

6th December. 

This was the day, back in 2006, when I had an important surgery. For some reason, as the day approached this year, I was apprehensive, wondering whether it would bring back memories. Usually, the day passes without one even registering the date but this time, somehow, it was different. 

Well... the day came and went. 

AND, as I tucked self into bed at the end of a very happy day, I realised that 6th December is a milestone, for me to remember how far life has come. How much better it is today than it was on that day in 2006. On that day, I had a lot of faith, and no hope for the future. I had consigned myself to a funeral pyre of being the living dead. To live without happiness, hope, and joy, hanging on to that thing called faith. 

It's not an ideal life. But its much better than it was on 6th December, 2006. 

And so, I ended 6th December, not with bad memories, but a ton of gratitude. 

Book Review: In the Name of God by Ravi Subramaniam

Mystery is a favorite genre, and Ravi Subramaniam used to be a favourite author. After "Bestseller she wrote", here is another book that starts with a lot of promise and delivers at least some of it. 

The plot starts with a temple in Kerala, and the real names and incidents used in the book are a hallmark of RS's books. They make the books interesting and relatable. 

The story telling is rather gripping - gripping enough to keep you up long after bedtime, so if you have not read a book in a long time and you wonder when you will get hooked to books again, if ever, this book is definitely worth a shot. 

BUT, this book should have been at least 200 pages shorter. As a reader, I don't enjoy pointless red herrings and meaningless meandering. 

There aren't too many plotholes, but its not a tightly crafted tale either. In fact, the sheer number of themes that have been put in a single book - from Mumbai blasts and temple vaults to rich Mumbai jewelers and Chennai antiques export - makes for some distraction while reading the book. Its like we live in one world - where the valuers reach the vault every morning and then mysteriously people start getting killed, and suddenly we are moved to Mumbai, then to Chennai, then back again. One plot can and usually does have multiple connections, and the export of antiques is a relevant side thread, but Mumbai most certainly is not. 

The book is well-researched, so one is not likely to find the treatment of any of these real life events flippant or insincere. In fact, it is so well crafted that you wonder whether these events may actually be connected in this way. Most certainly appears to be plausible. 

The end appears rushed, and the connections didn't all make sense. But they were brought forth well. 

Surprisingly, we still don't know if the king was helping himself to temple riches - the question with which the book begins is not answered right till the very end. 

As a reader, I enjoyed the book, but would have enjoyed a shorter, crisper version even more. 

Rebel without cause

कविता, लाल रंग की नहीं होती 

न कागज 

न कलम, न स्याही 

पर खून टपकता है 

कुछ कविताओं से 

क्यूंकि 

हाथ सने थे 

खून में 

कविता लिखने वाले के। 

This poem is about poetry of hate, masquerading as poetry of protest. I have often criticised those who provoke but take no responsibility for the actions caused by their words. Poets, unfortunately, top that list, even above politicians. Because a politician is rarely taken at their word, and a poet is rarely doubted.