Brajesh's Review : Raja Ravi Varma - Oleographs

This is a collection of Raja Ravi Verma’s lovely Oleographs, which we picked up at the Baroda Museum’s shop. For a small sum of 500 INR, we now have a collection of Ravi Verma’s on which one can spend hours reflecting and picking up nuances of some fairly well known paintings from Indian mythology.

The pick of the collection for me were from the not so popular paintings of Shiva with moustache, Ganesh with his two wives and a lovely rendition of Saraswati. Enjoy a sneak-peak of the collection in the next picture

Rating : (Unrated)

This particular collection was available at the Laxmi Vilas Palace at Baroda and are prints of the Palace Collection. I'm not sure if it is available anywhere other than at this location. However, there are a few other books on this painter that can be easily bought and there are some links below.

Brajesh's Review : A Short History of Myth

The title and size (149 pages) of this book - "A Short History of Myth" by Karen Armstrong, are both misleading. This is not a quick read at all. This is a book which expands horizons, gives perspective, questions history and addresses the issues of post-modern world through the lens of Mythology.

The book is a part of  the "Myth Series" similar to “The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ” written by Phillip Pullman.

This book was published the same day in 33 countries in 28 languages, in what The Washington Post called "the biggest simultaneous publication ever.

The book begins with a simple example of a Neanderthal grave. Using this Karen outlines the 5 core threads of a Myth.
1. It is about DEATH and beyond
2. RITUALS are integral
3. Works at the EDGE of experience
4. TELLS us about living practices and the
5. PERENNIAL Philosophy.

The book then takes us from 20,000 BCE to year 2000AD across 5 section of history. Each section is separated by a significant change in human evolution and corresponds with evolving themes of Myths. It is amazing to see the principles of Myth-making holding true over such a large historical commentary.

While I hate to mark my books, I read this book like a text book and the accompanying picture of my notes will give you an idea on how much there is to absorb in this so called “short history”. I quote from the jacket of her other book “History of God” which has been on my shelf for some-time: the perfect summary for this book. “Karen has the dazzling ability : she can take a long and complex subject and reduce it to its fundamentals without oversimplifying”.

I am filled with total and utter reverence for Karen and her writing. If you are not the reading type, I would still recommend you to spend 20 mins on her TED talk titled “The Charter for Compassion”.

The most amazing section for me in the book was the last chapter corresponding to 1500-2000 AD. In this section Karen laments the death of Mythos at the altar of Logos. Then summarizes beautifully by writing “using reason to discuss the sacred is like trying to eat soup with a fork”. Logos can tell us What & How, but it is only Mythos that can answer the broader bigger and existential question of Why.

The only reason the book doesn’t get a perfect 5, is the sheer weight it demands on ones intellect and can never be recommended, even to a casual reader of non-fiction.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Kim's Review : The Taste of Words - An Introduction to Urdu Poetry

The blurb for Raza Mir's "The Taste of Words - An Introduction to Urdu Poetry" read as "Have you ever been enchanted by the spoken cadence of an Urdu Couplet but wished you could fully ubderstand its nuances? Have you wanted to engage with a ghazal more deeply, but were daunted by its mystifying conventions? Are you confused between a qataa and a rubaai, or a musaddas and a marsiya?"

This book was supposed to help me with all 3, but unfortunately it only helped me understand the answer to the last question.

Don't get me wrong, this is a book that has been researched with a lot of love and passion by Raza Mir and I do appreciate it. The first 26 pages which give an introduction to Urdu poetry and a Note on the Poetic Forms is brilliant and I wanted more of it.

However, the bulk of the book was where I was disappointed, because of my expectations.

I learned Hindi late in life (in my 20's) to be able to converse with people in college, at work and then with my inlaws, so my knowledge of Hindi is restricted to the colloquial. I do understand a fair bit of Sanskrit, because halekannada / the classical Kannada (which I learned academically until my graduation) is deeply rooted in Sanskrit (like most Dravidian languages)

So when it comes to Urdu poetry, I love the lyricism, the cadence, the beautiful descriptions, the rhythm - I love everything about it, except I only understand about 50% of it. I was hoping that this book would help take that percentage up a bit further.

However what this book did, was explain to me the technicalities of how Urdu Poetry is classified, it gave me a bit of insight into the History of Urdu as a language (and the multiple events that were portended to bring about its death), it introduced me to a multitude of Urdu poets - some of whom I had heard of, but most of them were a new discovery. The mini biographies included with each, were enlightening.

What Raza Mir has done is assembled a collection of 47 famous Urdu Poets, chosen certain couplets (around 150 poems) from some of their famed works (or his favourites) and then translated them. However, except for a few free verse translations, he has tried to maintain the rhythm and rhyming. He confesses that he internally debated a lot on this point, before choosing this route.

However, for my understanding, I would have preferred a more literal translation with a little note on the double meanings / play on words etc of individual poems.

Rather than a standard transliteration scheme, Raza Mir has chosen a vernacular format, that is easy to read for those accustomed to reading the Devnagari script in English. However, it would be a difficult read for those unfamiliar with this.

This is not a book that can be read at one sitting. There is so much Philosophy and Mysticism in these poems, that each one warrants some reflection.

I commend the author for the amount of work that he has put in, into this book, however it wasn't suitable to what I was looking for and did not help me too much with nuances, which is why I have given it a lower rating.

Rating : 3 / 5

Kim's Review : The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Art of Purring

"The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Art of Purring" is The Most Touching and Inspiring book I have ever read in my life. My only regret is that I read this second installment before the first and I've promptly ordered the first book too.

I've been recommending it to everyone that I've been speaking to in the last week and will continue to do so for quite some time to come.

This book, as the name suggests, is written in the voice of the Dalai Lama's Cat who is known by many names - Rinpoche, Swami, HHC - His Holiness' Cat amongst others.

The story starts with the Dalai Lama setting off on a long journey and tasking his Little Snow Lion with "investigating the art of purring" or rather finding the source of happiness. HHC wanders around the town in his favourite old haunts and investigates some new ones too. In the course of his wanderings, he is a silent participant in multiple conversations from different perspectives on happiness, contentent and satisfaction.

The insights, the teachings, the perspectives in this book are wide ranging and each one is brilliant fodder for thought.

While the tale itself, compelled me to race through, I had to restrict myself to a chapter a day, so that I could reflect on the ideas expounded.

Nothing I say or write, can even begin to do justice to this book. So I'll just humbly request you to read it and let me know if you agree with my rating.


Rating : 5 / 5

Brajesh's Review : The Alchemist - Graphic Novel

I had read the Alchemist half a decade back and ordered this graphic novel with great expectations as a refresh. This one is a total flop, while the images are cool and using Paulo Coelho as inspiration to draw the King of Salem is smart, nothing else worked for me.

I remember the original book moving me deeply and this graphic version didn't even stir any emotions. AVOID if you are seeking any connect with Coelho.

My fear is that instead to expanding the base for "The Alchemist", this version will actually put people off the philosophy of the original. My advice, keep away from the graphic version, submerge yourself in the original and enjoy the beauty.

Rating : 2 / 5

Brajesh's Review : Manuscript Found in Accra

Manuscript Found in Accra flows like a serene stream in a mountainside and feels the same. Peaceful message in a simple and pleasant voice. The setting is a village in Jerusalem on the brink of destruction in 1000 AD. The villagers ask ordinary and universal questions to a Copt in presence of a Rabbi, Imam and Priest. The answers are lucid , uncomplicated and universal. The books leaves you with a sense of calm, serenity and peace that is signature Coelho.

Rating : 4 / 5