Books and more: The Red Sari - a dramatized biography of Sonia Gan...

Books and more: The Red Sari - a dramatized biography of Sonia Gan...: A beautiful book on love, faith, conviction, politics, struggle for power and more...a story of a young shy girl who now stands in the spotlight unwillingly.

The Red Sari - a dramatized biography of Sonia Gandhi by Javier Moro

Let me start by STATING that I am not Pro-Congress. Let me also Confirm that I am Not Pro-BJP either. Actually, I am Anti-Politics because from the way I see it, my country does not have any worthy statesman. And that is the sad state of political affairs of my beloved country.

I am a believer of destiny, of courage, of conviction, of love and of duty and that is where I am blown away by “The Red Sari – A Dramatized Biography of SONIA GANDHI” by Javier Moro. While I understand that this is a largely and sometimes exaggerative account of the life and story of the lady who has been in the public eye since many years despite her reluctance, it does gain my sympathies.

The narrative starts from 24^th May, 1991 in New Delhi with Sonia unable to accept the fact that the man she loves is dead. It starts with the family and the country preparing for the last rights of Rajiv Gandhi who was killed in a terrorist attack on 22^nd May, 1991. This is the prelude to the story of young love that never even diminished with age or tiring circumstances.

Javier has beautifully described the romance between a young 18-year Sonia and a dashing young Rajiv. The statement by friend Christian von Stieglitz many years later about the budding romance between Sonia and Rajiv during their very first trip to Ely, a town little away from Cambridge sums up the beauty of their relationship. “The love between Rajiv and Sonia began right there, in the cathedral gardens, at that precise moment. It was something immediate. I never saw two people connect like that, and forever. From that moment until the day he died, they became inseparable.” If this isn’t the start to a beautiful love story…what is!!!

The book takes us through the inhibitions of a young Italian girl about meeting her beau’s formidable mother. It mentions the warmth that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi exuded on meeting the girl and how over the years they become a force bound to each other unlike any mother-in-law daughter-in-law relationship we have heard of.

The book talks about the trials and tribulations that come with being a member of the Gandhi family.  It takes about internal family politics, it talks about regional, state and national politics. The book also shows us an insight into Indira Gandhi’s persona, her dilemma, her strengths, her weaknesses, her love for her children, her blinded indulgence towards Sanjay Gandhi, her distaste for her second daughter-in-law, Menaka Gandhi’s antics and political ambitions, her love for her country, her policies - some which worked and many which failed and her deep-rooted sense of duty towards India.  It talks about Sonia and Indira’s relationship and how despite coming from different countries and cultures, they complimented each other like cheese and wine.

The book is a wonderful insight into the First Family of India and somewhere manages to gain our sympathies. Sympathies for the young girl thrown into an unknown world and country, into a family which forever stayed in the Public eye; sympathies for a wife, a daughter-in-law and more importantly for a woman unwilling and reluctant to come into the spotlight.

I recommend this book to all those who are interested in politics and even to those who aren’t; because this book is not just about politics but also about human behaviors.

Five stars to the writer for penning this book down, tracing and documenting every noteworthy incident of Sonia’s life. 

Five stars to Sonia; the lady, the woman, the reluctant politician.

Books and more: The boy in the Striped Payjamas by John Boyne

Books and more: The boy in the Striped Payjamas by John Boyne: Hard hitting, thought provoking and deeply saddening. That’s how I would describe “The boy in the stripped payjamas” by John Boyn...

The boy in the Striped Payjamas by John Boyne

Hard hitting, thought provoking and deeply saddening.

That’s how I would describe “The boy in the striped payjamas” by John Boyne. The book came out in 2006 and was then adapted into a movie in 2008.

I had seen the movie and ever since wanted to read the book. I finally got it from Bookephia last month. The language is simple, straightforward and something even children can read. Unfortunately, the current generation might not understand the gravity and depth of the story because thankfully they have not seen hard times.

The book is a simply told story of a boy – Bruno, who lives with his family in Berlin, in Nazi Germany during World War II. When his father gets promoted and posted in Auschwitz-Birkenau which is an extermination and labour camp in Poland. The family reluctantly leaves behind the comforts and familiar sights and sounds of Berlin and move to Auschwitz.

Having no friends to play with, Bruno sets about exploring the stark surroundings of his new neighborhood. There beyond the barbed fence separating his house from the concentration camp he comes across Shmuel, a Polish boy who is now housed in the camp with hundreds of other inmates. Over the course of time, the two boys become friends and share stories of their childhood.

To the innocent Bruno, Shmuel seems a little strange and the place he stays in, even stranger. Shmuel is a secret that Bruno cannot disclose to his sister or his parents or just about anybody. Shmuel is a Jew who is housed in a Concentration camp, while Bruno’s father is the Commandant in charge of the camp!

During one family dinner Bruno hears that Bruno, his sister and mother are to return to their Berlin home and he runs over to share the news with his friend. Boys being boys, Bruno wants to see where Shmuel lives and so he changes into the stripped pajamas that everyone in Shmuel’s world wears and enters the camp. What happens next is what questions the very essence of the camps and Hitler’s regime.

John Boyne

John Boyne has touched upon a raw nerve through this book and it is indeed a book I would recommend as reading material in schools. History cannot be taught simply by reading textbooks; such true to life books must be read to understand the magnanimity of the situation.

Books and more: Mum and Princess go spying – by Payel Bhattacharya...

Books and more: Mum and Princess go spying – by Payel Bhattacharya...: A few weeks back, a true-life Warrior asked me to read a book. I agreed and searched all over for the book. Being a hard copy person,...

Mum and Princess go spying – by Payel Bhattacharya

A few weeks back, a true-life Warrior asked me to read a book. I agreed and searched all over for the book. Being a hard copy person, I was disappointed to know that the book is available on Kindle.

Nonetheless, I ordered since I had made her a promise.

Today I am glad I did. The book ‘Mum and Princess go spying’ by Payel Bhattacharya is a sweet, innocent and surprisingly thrilling book. I say surprising because how can a sweet, innocent book also be a spy story and a thriller!

Written by Payel Bhattacharya, the book starts off with a birthday gift that the protagonist Princess receives from her brother who is not in town. She sets it up in her balcony and passes her time looking at people on the road, in the parks and in the buildings opposite her house. Following the lives of her neighbors or the people on the street, princess is able to help the police crack cases and solve mysteries with the help of her ever loving and caring mother.

The book is short and written well. It is filled with innocence and will make for a wonderful book for children to read. I recommend this book for its short narrative.

Payel Bhattacharya

What interests me more is the author Payel Bhattacharya. Payal was struck by a rare disease early on in her life known as VHL or von-Hippel Lindau disease. She underwent countless surgeries which interrupted her studies, despite which she studied and collected her degrees with pride. She has written a book on a long poem “The Warrior Princess” to describe the way she is combating the dire situations. She has also written an autobiography of the same name and has two more books to her credit. 

A true go-getter, she is an epitome of courage and strength and for that I bow down my head to her.  

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

If ever we take things for granted then we must read this book Still Alice by Lisa Genova. 

The book is about Dr. Alice Howland, a Professor of Psychology at Harvard. She is at the prime of her career, is extremely talented, well respected, has three children who are settled in their lives, has a husband who loves her and like her is a Professor; and well she has a perfect life. Or so we think!

When frequent bouts of forgetfulness disrupt her otherwise well scheduled life, she blames it all on menopause; till one day she forgets an out-of-town conference she was to speak at! Doctor visits and multiple tests later she is diagnosed with an early-onset of Alzheimer. Talk about the earth shattering or sky falling down!!

The book is a painful account of how an incredibly intelligent individual slowly forgets all that makes her who she is. From being an independent, opinionated woman she becomes a dependent, desperate and forgetful being. All that she worked for slowly gets erased from her memory and she struggles to keep her salinity intact till it matters no more!

Lisa Genova has very sensitively dealt with the disease and its fallout. As a reader we empathise and then sympathise and finally cry out in despair for this wonderful woman who was dealt a bad deal by her mind.

This is a must read for all those who have friends or family who suffer from the Alzheimer’s decease. It is a must read for all of us who take life, its pleasures and our family for granted.

I rate this book a high five stars because it is worth every star. 

The book has also been adapted into a movie starring Julianne Moore as Alice Daly Howland and Alec Baldwin as John Howland. While I do not really like watching movies adapted from books; this is one movie that I want to see.

Lisa Genova