'Criti....que not Criti....cize'

Basanti by Bhisham Sahni My rating: 4 of 5 stars A tale that makes a mark upon your heart in its utmost simplicity - by way of words, emotions and the description of the lives of the characters. As simple as it may seem, it delves into some of the big problems faced by the poor- the fear of displacement, a sense of security and the feeling of "arriving home" when forced to live a nomadic life. Basanti is the soul of the tale. It's her tale and the tale of many others like her who live their lives with an infectious laughter at the most unlikeliest of hours, even when their lives seem to be doomed to the well-off. It is a startling glimpse into the lives of the ones whose stories often go untold. Their lives may seem shallow at first sight but delve a bit deeper. Often, they are the fighters, the brave warriors who face life boldly, even if it means to life with a 'bad' name, a child with his father having escaped with his wife and child, a shatt...

The Rise of Hastinapur by Sharath Komarraju My rating: 3 of 5 stars Sharath writes and he does a good job with the words. He makes sure that the words are strung beautifully together so that when the reader reads, he gets only the best of what he has to offer. I haven't read the first part of the series. I won a copy of The Rise of Hastinapur as part of Goodreads Giveaway. So I don't know what the first part has to offer, yet. The dimension of looking at the characters offered in this series is worth applause. For example, I always wondered how a mother could just give away a son only to see him years later and claim to have loved him, always. It just didn't register in my brain or heart. But thanks to this book, I can somehow make a bit more sense about the circumstances that may make a woman do what she did, bound by circumstances that often leave no other options for one except for doing something that would only seem unimaginable at that point. Years ...