To be honest, I had never ever heard of J D Vance until recently. Only when Donald Trump chose him to be his running mate did I hear his name. The focus of many stories I read here in India were more about his wife Usha. That was because her parents were immigrants from India.
I then found his book, ” Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” (Harper, 2016). You must remember he wrote this long before he became a Senator from Ohio. In 2016, no one would have imagined that Vance would become a candidate for Vice President of the United States! This happened only in July 2024. We should keep this in mind as we read Vance’s book.
This is Vance’s personal account of what it was like to have a deeply troubled family life. I admired his honesty in sketching out the principal characters in his life. These include his drug -addicted much-married mother; his sister, who was his biggest support; and his maternal grandparents. They influenced him deeply as he grew up. Indeed, it was his grandmother who played a huge role in shaping his thinking . She helped him escape out of the poverty- stricken, addiction- oriented life he would otherwise have led.
Many people, especially those outside the US, believe that all white people in the US are very well off. Vance’s book describes the difficulties faced by most poor white families in small towns and mining communities. These were compounded when blue collared jobs became scarce. Manufacturing and mining took a steep dive in profitability. Unemployment grew in leaps and bounds. This phenomenon made large parts of the northeast of the United States being called the Rust Belt. As a consequence of economic downfall, social and family ties were adversely affected. The number of broken marriages, broken homes and domestic turbulence increased substantially. Vance lived through all this as a kid. It was naturally his ambition to break out of the chains of poverty.
Vance explains how his four year spell in the US Marine Corps was a turning point in his life. He then attended Ohio State University -not surprisingly the first from his family to do so. He worked hard to achieve his dream of getting admitted into and graduating from the prestigious Yale Law School.
And no, though his wife Usha is mentioned in the book, not much is written about her. Of course, Vance describes how much she helped him at Yale Law School. That apart readers in India looking for stories about her family would be disappointed. I don’t think he even mentioned that her parents migrated from India!
The book underlines how adversity is a tough teacher. You learn a lot when you are dealt with many knocks in your life. Especially when you face many hardships- financial and emotional- at an early and impressionable age.
Growing up in India in the 1960s and 1970s, for me the Vietnam War was far away. It was distant from our every day lives. Yet it did loom large over the decades and occupied a lot of mind space. To my mind, there were two types of people in those days. A large number of Americans seemed to believe they were true patriots. They believed they were fighting for their country’s values and objectives of defending democracies anywhere in the world. As the war dragged on and the number of dead and wounded increased by the day. A powerful anti war sentiment grew in the US. Books have been written in plenty exhorting both sides of this spectrum. I have read many of them over the decades.
A recent book, published in October 2023 by Blackstone caught my attention. It is titled ” Exit Wounds: A Vietnam Elegy” and is by R Lanny Hunter. Serving with the Special Forces in Vietnam, Dr Hunter is well placed to write about the horrors of war. He saw this for himself as a medical doctor on the battlefield. He distinctly remembers the six-day siege at Plei Me in October 1965. Here, the US Forces directly encountered the Army of North Vietnam for the first time. Dr Hunter then a Captain (Medical Corps) in the Special Forces has described this battle in gory detail. He writes about the men – whom he came to know intimately-who fought that battle. Hunter had to make quick decisions on the battlefield. These decisions saved the lives of many soldiers. Sadly, all were not saved as he worked on the age old principle of triage.
Dr Hunter returned to the United States after his two year tour of duty. He was one of the most decorated medical officers to serve in Vietnam. Amongst other awards, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Given the financial resources and military might of the United States, no one imagined at that time, that this war that would end the way it did. Over time, the North Vietnam Army occupied large tracts of South Vietnam. One picture remains framed to this day in our minds. It is of men desperately scrambling to hang on to the last helicopter to leave the US Embassy in Saigon. The United States exited Vietnam in 1973 when Richard Nixon was the President – after losing over 58,000 men. The long drawn war finally ended in 1975 with a comprehensive victory for North Viet Nam.
Hunter writes that during the Vietnam war – 1965 to 1975- the United States and its allies dropped more than 7.5 million tonnes of bombs in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This was more than double the amount of bombs dropped in Europe and Asia in the Second World War! Still they lost the War – which has many insights to students of modern day warfare and geopolitics.
What sets Hunter’s book apart from most others is not just the description of his meritorious war time duties. It is the story of his return to Vietnam in 1997. He returned -three decades after he left Vietnam -answering a plea for help from Y-Kre Mlo. This was his former Montagnard interpreter of bygone days. All through the book, we see the war through Hunter’s eyes as also through those of Y-Kre. We see how he was treated both during and after the war. As is obvious, he was made to suffer a lot after the war for having helped the Americans.
There are some charming vignettes in the book. One is of Hunter taking time off his battlefield duties to answer letters from a kid back in the US. His observations of Vietnam in the ’90s are also interesting. He notices how some things had changed but many others had remained pretty much the same.
I am sure this book will interest readers keen on war and human interest stories. Highly recommended.
If one wants an overview of interesting and impactful happenings from different parts of the world for four decades from 1975 to 2020, one should read, ” Resurgence- A Hyderabadi Miracle” by Ravi Krishnaswamy (aka K Ravi). In this book, published by Enas Publications in 2023 , he covers in considerable detail happenings during this period across various subjects like politics, sports, technology, and movies.
Seeing the litany of books, movies , songs etc described one might well ask: what is so much of information – almost Wikipeadic (to coin a phrase) in scope- doing in a work of fiction? The answer is that the author has used his imagination to good effect to create this story. In this fictional work, the main protagonist is Ram from Hyderabad, now in Telangana State in the South of India. He lives with his parents and siblings in Marredpally an area in Secunderabad which is like a twin city to the larger city of Hyderabad. Ram has a twin brother – who, not surprisingly at all, is called Shyam, like in the famous Hindi movie of that name. Sushila is their elder sister. As a young boy, Ram was an avid and even precocious reader but sadly he met with a bad accident in 1975 when he was hit by a speeding car while cycling with his friends.
Ram falls into a coma -which in this work of fiction eclipses even the record of Elaine Esposito of being in a coma for 37 years- and continues to be in that state till he miraculously recovers 45 years later. It is 2020 by then and the world is in a grip of a new and strange phenomenon which became known as Covid 19. This brought in dramatic changes all over the world. The lockdown in India for a few months helped Ram- in this story- to catch up with events of the decades that had passed him by as he lay in a coma. His parents have passed away so it is up to his sister, brother, and brother-in-law to bring Ram up to speed ( to use a modern idiom) on what has become a fascinating and new world for him. Even physical structures like some of the old landmarks of his locality have been wiped out.
The story weaves in a commentary of present day life where there have been so many advances in technology. These have resulted in developments which would have been considered impossible decades ago. But as with everything else, people too have changed. Ram notices a higher degree of greed for material successes, a hunger for consumption (and probably over consumption), and many other dramatic behavioural changes which reflect a world that would have been considered alien in the 1970s.
I was not at all surprised to hear from Ravi that he wrote this book during the Covid days. This book is very different from his first book called, “Born Smiling: A Father’s Tribute” which was more personal in nature, dealing as it did with the life and passing away of his beloved daughter.
This book is quite different in scope and character from most others. I compliment the author for choosing a difficult approach to tell a story which he assures us is not his- but set in areas very close to his heart.
While it is customary to start with the beginning of the book, let me start my review instead from the end! The book I write about was released on August 15, 2023 and is titled, “Hindus In Hindu Rashtra” by Dr Anand Ranganathan (BluOne Ink, 2023). If you think this book is about how Hindus dominate the narrative and events in our country, primarily because of their numbers, you must see the fuller title of the book, which says, ” Hindus In Hindu Rashtra: Eighth -Class Citizens And Victims of State-Sanctioned Apartheid” !
Dr Vikram Sampath, Historian and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, sums up the situation described by the author by succinctly writing, in his Afterword to the book, ” If, even after reading a scholarly and evocative work like this- a small masterpiece in its own right- the Hindus and the Governments of this country do not wake up to take control and address these issues, the fate of the community will sadly be akin to that of lambs being quietly led to their own slaughter.”
Let’s place this book in context of some important numbers as regards population. Since this book will be of interest to people all over the world, I wish the author had added some key statistics in the Prologue.
India’s population is presently 1.43 billion which adds to the complexities of governing a large and diverse country. Yes, Hindus do form the majority of India’s population – at least as of now. According to Pew Research, between 1951 and 2011, the percentage of Hindu’s in India’s population fell from 84 % to 79% while the population of Muslims grew from 9.8 to 14.2 %. Currently their number is in excess of 204,000,000, which is larger than countries like Russia, UK, Germany, and France. It is estimated by Pew Research that 94 % of Hindus in the world live in india. However, in terms of certain rights, as you will see from Dr Ranganathan’s crisply explained, fact based book, they are far worse off than are the ” minorities” in relation to important aspects of life such as religion, and education, amongst others.
We are nearly two and a half decades into the 21 century and with the power of technology and social media it is clear that the one who sets the “narrative” (to use today’s speak) is the winner. Or at least has the major advantage to start with. We see these days how outrageous allegations and “news items” (mostly exaggerated or even blatantly false) grab all the headlines. If this is challenged, a toned down version or even an apology is rendered- not as a headline but in some obscure corner of the newspaper which no one notices! By then the damage has been done!
Many critics of Prime Minister Modi’s Government like Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi for example, or journalist Rana Ayyub for example, say that Muslims feel attacked in India and/or there is a move to inflame hatred against them. Presenting a very different picture of what is actually going on, Dr Ranganathan explains in his book, how on the contrary for decades after Independence in 1947, the Hindus are being discriminated against. He has eight chapters in his book and each of them deal with one aspect of this discrimination such as State Control of Hindu Temples, The Waqf Act, and so on. This is the reason why he calls Hindus “eighth -class citizens” of India!
It is a must read for every Hindu in India- to make them aware of where they actually stand despite all the noise that suggests a “Fascist Hindu Rashtra.”
It’s unfortunate these days that terms are used so casually. Often people speak of “genocide against minorities in India” but the last genocides in India were against the Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s (which is covered in this book ) and before that, against the Sikhs in 1984.
I found the book to be meticulously researched and informative. I hope this will be translated into many Indian languages so as to increase its reach.
Often books are referred to as labours of love considering the huge amounts of work that go into writing them and the unbridled passion with which they are written. Knowing the author as I do, I can say with certainty that, “A Prince Among The Patriots: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose” by Maj. Gen. M. K. Paul (Retd) is definitely one such book. This “labour of love” has been recently published by Heritage Publishers, New Delhi.
Over the decades since India became a free nation, there have been many books on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whom I consider to be the most heroic Indian of the 20 th century. You might well ask, ” Why then should there be one more?”. To my mind, the advent of social media, the explosion of information available and a renewed interest in knowing how India won freedom from the British are factors that have propelled the writing of this book. I need hardly add that the author’s passion for the subject of the book has been a key driver.
As a keen student of literature in general and biography in particular for the last six decades, I believe a biography rests on two central pillars. The first pillar is about the subject of the biography. This addresses questions like: Who was the person the book is about? What kind of person was he/she? What characteristics and behaviours did he/she exhibit that set them apart from others?
The second pillar is about their achievements and contributions which make them worthy of being written about. How did their actions impact society around them? What were the results of their endeavours? To what extent did they succeed in achieving the outcomes they worked for?
Seen through this prism, “A Prince Amongst The Patriots” elaborates upon Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s personality and character and his stellar contributions towards winning freedom from the British. The latest available literature and accounts point out to how it was the fear of a large scale mutiny by the British Indian Army, The Navy and the Air Force that was the proverbial last nail in the coffin of the British Empire. Towards this end, the valiant actions of Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) which actively battled the British had a big influence on the minds of ordinary Indians serving in the British Indian Forces. It was Bose’s war cry of “Give Me Blood and I will Give you Freedom” that sent a chill down the backs of the British.This was a very different approach from one they had been used to for decades: Gandhiji’s non-violent cry of “Quit India” which they had ignored.
Netaji was an extraordinary leader who led from the front. His exploits in escaping from British India in disguise in 1941 and coming back by German and Japanese submarines to take charge of the INA in 1943 speaks volumes about his personal courage. His is a very different story than that of his more famous contemporaries in Indian history who exhorted crowds to face lathis while they never faced attacks by the police themselves. Even when they were imprisoned, Nehru and Gandhi spent time in relatively comfortable prisons as distinct from the terrible experiences Netaji had to go through when imprisoned by the British in the early years of the Second World War.
Apart from Netaji’s interactions with Gandhi and Nehru in India, the book dwells upon Netaji’s interactions with Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo in Germany, Italy and Japan. His mind was set only on one goal – freedom for his motherland. He was ready to take anybody’s help to achieve his dream. He was a man of principles, with a steadfast commitment to his cause, and a born leader with a flair for being different. Sadly, for decades after India became independent, Netaji did not get the recognition he richly deserved –
Hats off to Gen Paul for his work on Netaji Bose. I think the book could have seen better editing, but considering the author is 91, it is remarkable that he achieved one of his dearest ambitions: to write an interesting and informative book about his hero!
Highly recommended for those – especially amongst our youth – who are interested in Indian history, military history and biography.
To the reader in India, ” The Mountbattens: Their Lives & Loves” published by Blink Publishing in 2019 renews interest in a couple who played a pivotal role in the Partition of India. It is written by Andrew Lownie, a renowned journalist and literary agent. Apart from this comprehensive book on the Mounbattens, Lownie has written books on the former King Edward VIII called “The Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor” and on the Russian spy Guy Burgess, titled, “Stalin’s Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess’.
Whenever I think of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979), I see an imposing figure in sparkling white Naval uniform with rows of medal ribbons on his chest. He did become an Admiral of the Fleet and the First Sea Lord in 1955 thereby fulfilling a childhood vow that he would attain a position held by his father, Prince Louis of Battenberg. Mountbatten’s father was forced to resign as the First Sea Lord following intense public pressure due to his German ancestry when the First World War broke out in 1914.
However, more than his career as an officer of the Royal Navy, we in India know of “Dickie” Mountbatten as the last British Viceroy of India. In five hectic months from March to August 1947, he presided over the dismemberment of India. He was then invited to continue as Governor-General (from August 1947 to June 1948) after India became independent by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. As the last Viceroy of India, he was often seen accompanied by his wife, Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma (1901-1960). She had earned a lot of accolades for her work as the Chief of the St John’s Ambulance Brigade during the Second World War.
As the book’s title suggests, it covers more than just the official roles the Mountbattens played during their long and distinguished careers. It speaks of the innumerable love affairs they had in the course of a long marriage that lasted from 1922 to 1960 when Lady Mounbatten passed away. The author writes that the book is the “portrait of an unusual marriage- one that was loving and mutually supportive, but also beset with infidelities. Mountbatten himself claimed that he and Edwin spent all their married lives getting into other people’s beds!
Dickie Mountbatten was the great grandson of Queen Victoria, through his mother. He was thus the nephew of King George V; a cousin of his successors as Kings of Britain, King Edward VIII and George VI; and uncle of Queen Elizabeth II who married his nephew, Phillip, in November 1947. All his life, Mountbatten had a reputation of being a name dropper who got things done using his closeness to the Royal Family. He may have been a member of the Royal Family but in terms of wealth Edwina was far richer than him. Her grandfather Sir Ernest Cassell was financial advisor to King Edward VII and in his own right one of the richest men in the world. When Edwina got married in 1922, she was the richest heiress in the world!!
Lownie takes us through the different stages of Mountbatten’s career starting from when he was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1916 until he retired with the rank of Admiral of the Feet as the First Sea Lord 1959. In the 1920s and 1930s, Edwina was more known for her love for parties, her many lovers, and the social circuit she thrived in more than for anything else. Her interest in Nursing and volunteering for the War effort came much later in her life. She did commendable work for the St Johns Ambulance Brigade and in nursing troops injured in battle in South East Asia where her husband was the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces.
Of special interest to readers in India will be the relationship between the Viceroy, the Vicerine, and Jawaharlal Nehru which has been described in considerable detail by Lownie. Was Edwina’s influence over Nehru used to get the Indian leader to agree to what Mountbatten wanted? Was their relationship merely a ” spiritual” one as claimed by some or much more than that? Did Mountbatten use Edwina’s love for Nehru and vice versa to his advantage? You should read the book for yourself to get all these answers. To many, this book will come as an eye opener. It describes how the high and mighty, glamorous members of the fabled “high society” lived during the height of the British Empire in England and in the closing days of the British Raj in India. After all for more than 50 years, the Mountbattens were considered close to British Royalty.
If you like history and biographies, this is a well-researched book which gives you new insights into the lives of Lord and Lady Mountbatten and the times they lived in.
My previous post in this blog was about the first day of the XI Bangalore Literature Festival held on December 3 and 4, 2022. Today’s is about some of the sessions I attended and enjoyed on December 4.
Yes, the man we once knew as “Sandokan” looked older, thinner perhaps but he still had his good looks and his voice was as deep as ever. Seeing Kabir Bedi speak about his debut book- “Stories I Must Tell” reminded me that in his prime he was probably the most handsome man in India. To us, he was Sandokan from the Italian TV series of that name based on the books by Emilio Salgari. He was also the guy who acted in a James Bond movie partly shot in India- “Octopussy” in which my college friend Vijay Amrithraj also had a role. His book, published by Westland in April 2021 in keeping with its title seems to be bare it all kind of book. Engaging him in the discussion was V K Karthika a veteran in the Indian publishing industry. The book has received many rave reviews, with Vir Sanghvi saying: “It’s the best memoir by an Indian celebrity that I have read.” That, to my mind, is saying a lot!
To be honest, I had not heard of Saikat Majumdar but was interested in hearing him speak being told he taught English Literature at Stanford University. His book called, ” The Middle Finger” was published by Simon and Schuster in early 2022. In the course of the conversation with HK Surya, we got to know the book was about the protagonist finding her feet in a new University after she moved to India from the United States. It seems to be an interesting story.
I stayed on in The Red Couch for the next session in which my friend Sumaa Tekur chatted with Rita Chhablani about her three recent books in a session titled, “Relationships Done Different”. I found this conversation to be quite charming, Rita spoke of the differences in the days when she was a youngster and the present day. I could totally relate to all that she said being not just of her age but older! She spoke from her heart and shared what worked for her. After all, as she said, each person has to find out what his/her own style is as a writer. By the way, Sumaa too has blossomed as an author. I am happy that her first book, ” The Inner Light- A Beginner’s Guide to Spirituality and Finding Peace” was published by Hay House Publishers in July 2022.
The next session I attended was by far the most crowded in the Festival. It was a very enjoyable one for all that. For the many who were seated, there were an equal number of standees. This was Sudha Murty ‘s “The Magic Of The Lost Story” with Manu Pillai. The lady is 72s, has written more than 40 books and is as enthusiastic as ever before. She brought an infectious energy to the audience. Full of quips and homely wisdom, she was at her best and didn’t disppoint the large crowd that had gathered to listen to her. For example, she said how a lady is first known as someone’s daughter, then someone’s wife, then someone’s mother, and here after a pause she said, and nowadays as someone’s mother in law. The audience burst into laughter knowing her son in law Rishi Saunak is now the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As always, her talk was replete with personal examples and we heard about her Ajji and her mother and how they influenced her with the stories they told her when she was a small girl. She highlighted the need for good books for kids and how she hoped her books would keep kids away from the addictive computer games.
It was nearly 12.45 by the time I got ready for the next important item on my agenda- lunch. We authors and speakers had been asked to be at the designated lounge for authors half hour before our session. Mine was at 2.00 pm and I didn’t want to be late. This diligency resulted in an unexpected bonus! I was delighted to find myself lunching with Kabir Bedi, whom I had seen at a distance this morning. It was a great experience for me, as we had hero worshipped him during our younger days!
When I told him that I had written a few thrillers, he said he loved thrillers. He told me with considerable pride that his grand daughter Alaya had acted very well with Kartik Aaryan in a recently released thriller on Disney Hotstar called , “Freddy” .
I am happy to say my interview with the Raghu and Pushpa on their latest historical novel, ” Destiny’s Child” published by Penguin Viking in February 2022 was well received by the audience. Raghu and Pushpa bring a lot of passion and hard work to their writing.
Their research has been meticulous .This is evident from the success of their first book- a historical novel on one of Raghu’s ancestors Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, who at one time was the only Indian member of the Viceroy’s Council, no less. This book, ” The Case That Shook The Empire” is being made into a movie by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and has the famous actor Akshay Kumar in a lead role.The Palats’ second book is in the same genre. This is the story of Parukutty Neithyaramma, the consort of Maharaja Rama Varma XVI who ruled Cochin from 1914 to 1932. The thinking and approaches of this formidable lady to social and political issues were far in advance of her times. It was satisfying to start and end on time in keeping with this important tradition of the Bangalore Literature Festival.
A pretty large crowd gathered to hear J Sai Deepak speak about his latest book, ,” India, Bharath and Pakistan: The Constitutional Journey Of A Sandwiched Civilisation” published by Bloomsbury Publishing in August 2022. Sai Deepak describes himself as being an engineer-turned-litigator. He practices as an arguing counsel before the Union in 1947. Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. After getting a degree in Mechanical Engineering Anna University, Sai Deepak went to the Law School of IIT Kharagpur and got a bachelor’s degree in law in 2009. He has since argued in many important civil, commercial and constitutional matters. I have always admired his logic and way of arguing his case in television and can only imagine how effective he must be in the courtroom. I consider him to be one of India’s sharpest legal minds at a relatively young age. He spoke of his latest book and answered a lot of questions from the audience. I thought he was incisive and crisp in his comments. Sai Deepak does not hesitate to call a spade a spade in voicing his opinions on issues like secularism in our country.
The erstwhile kingdom of Mysore was always considered one of the best ruled princely states as they were called during the British Raj. Mysore was far ahead of most others when it came to education and welfare measures for the people. It was natural therefore for me to eagerly wait for Deepti Navaratana to talk about her new book ” The Maverick Maharajah : The Life and Times of His Highness Maharajah Sri Jayachamrajendra Wadiyar” , published by Harper Collins India in July 2022. Deepti’s book is about HH Sri Jayachamrajendra Wadiyar who ruled the properous kingdom of Mysore from 1940 to 1950. He was the first prince to sign the declaration to join the newly formed Indian Union in 1947. A major patron of the arts and a skilled musician himself, he was known all over the world fas a connoisseur of both Indian and Western classical music. Talking to Deepti about his illustrious ancestor and lineage was the young, suave His Highness Sri Yaduveer Wadiyar of Mysore. Yes, I know the privy purse was abolished by Mrs Indira Gandhi in 1971 and the princes and their titles don’t exist any longer in law in India, but for many of us and his subjects in the old Mysore state, the Mysore Maharajah will always remain His Highness in our minds. I enjoyed this session immensely.
The next session had Anupama Bijur in conversation with Shobhaa De, who needs no introduction and Gayatri Gill about ” Love In The Lockdown.” The two writers spoke of their experiences during the Covid 19 pandemic particularly during the darkest days when no one had a clue what was going on and how long it would last. Both of them wrote extensively during their forced confinement indoors during the pandemic. They described what they went through and how their experiences as also what they heard and saw influenced their writing. The writers left us echoing the sentiment that human relationships did undergo a big shift due to the pandemic. Indeed, we have so much to be grateful for coming out of the pandemic as we did.
In my last podcast I had mentioned meeting some interesting people. If Kabir Bedi and Damodar Mauzo were well into their 70s, Zac Sangeeth is not even in his teens! At lunch on Day 1, when I met Festival Director Shinie Antony at lunch at my table was a young boy with his parents. I thought he was accompanying his parents one or both of whom were writers. I almost fell out of my chair when I came to know he was a published author at 10 and now at 11 had written a sequel to his book! Zac Sangeeth -had a session ” The World’s Youngest Historian” which i missed because I was elsewhere in another session. I came to know that his books ” World History in 3 Points’ and “ More World History in 3 Points” have been published in 2022 by Hachette India. What is admirable is his innovative – and shall I say very contemporary – approach to writing about what is often termed a boring and dry subject. This is a remarkable feat for one so young. His writing has made world history more readable and hence more appealing to both young and old alike.
Thanks to Shinie Antony, Festival Director and her team ; to the organisers who did some meticulous planning; to the galaxy of authors who spoke of their work; to the volunteers who were so dedicated and committed; and to the audiences who were most interested and knowledgeable.
I throughly enjoyed the XI Bangalore Literature Festival and am already looking forward to the XII edition to be held on November 25 and 26, 2023.
Here’s where you can listen to the podcastversion of this post,
In today’s post, I shall share my thoughts on some of the sessions that I attended and enjoyed on December 3, 2022- Day 1 of the two day Bangalore Literature Festival.
To start the day’s proceedings, for me it was a toss up between Pico Iyer and Bachi Karkaria. I chose to attend Bachi’s session as I have admired her writing for years and I could catch Pico at another session. Being a history and biography buff, the topic too interested me: It was about her book “Capture the Dream: The Many Lives of Capt C P Krishnan Nair” published by Juggernaut books in Jan 2022. She was in conversation with the erudite and articulate business and brand strategy expert, Harish Bijoor. To jog your memory, if indeed it need some jogging, Capt Krishnan Nair was the person who founded the Leela Group of luxury hotels. Bachi briefly touched upon some of the highlights of Captain’s life. She spoke of his humble origins, his wide exposure to life in many countries due to the various jobs he did and his ambition which fuelled his most daring ventures. Once he made up his mind about something, nothing would stop him. He opened his luxury chain of hotels in his 60s, braving the established reputed players like the Taj, Oberoi, ITC etc. in the pre- liberalisation era in india. The hotel chain was named after – not too difficult to imagine why- his wife. He was described as being a bon vivant who lived life to the fill till he passed away aged 92 in 2014. Bachi and Harish carried off the session with charm and a touch of humour which I am sure Captain Nair would have heartily approved of.
I first met Saaz Aggarwal, like me an alumnus of The Lawrence School, Lovedale in 2012 when Mathew Antony had this brilliant idea of having a Book Reading by Old Lawrencian Authors during Founder’s . She has since written many more books, especially about
Sindh to which she has an emotional connect as her mother belonged to that area, now in Pakistan. In today’s session at the BLF, she was in conversation with Senthil Chengalvarayan on her latest book, ” Losing Home, Finding Home” which, like her previous book, is once again about Sindh and the displaced people from there. They suffered a lot but perhaps faced less horrors as compared to those that took place in Punjab. As a result, their stories did not feature so prominently. Her passion for the subject comes out clearly , as does the enormous amount of painstaking research she has done on a subject not known to many. We of course know Senthil Chengalvarayan as a renowned business journalist. He was the founding editor of CNBC TV 18 and Editor in Chief of Network 18’s Business news room. ‘Losing Home, Finding Home” the poignant story of the displaced people of Sindh was published on August 15, 2022 by Black and White Fountain. I am sure this particular date was chosen with a purpose. This is one book I am keen on reading!
“It’s A Punderful World” by Vaidehi Murthy in conversation with Sriram Sullia, one of the most popular RJs in Bengaluru. I was very much looking forward to this session as I thought it had a most appealing title. A pun is fascinating for anyone who loves a play of words. As Vaidehi told us there are many, many different types of puns. She then gave examples of each of them to bring out the differences. Obviously, she had done a lot of work in this field and done a deep dive, as they say these days, in the world of puns. Videhi is super active with her puns on Twitter. To catch her latest, check out her Twitter handle, @ButVai. Now please don’t ask me But why? Just go ahead and enjoy her latest tweet and pun! Emceeing this session with elan was Bengaluru’s own favourite RJ- Sriram Sullia. As Vaidehi would admit, this radio jock was key to the success of her session.
After this session I had to race off to another venue to catch the session by a veteran writer I have long admired. This is Damodar Mauzo from Goa and I rate him to be one of India’s best short story writers. Today he was talking to another talented writer, novelist and playwright – the very successful Vivek Shanbhag. Indeed a proud moment for me to be with these distinguished writers.
The topic was Mauzo’s new book , “Tales From Another Goa”. Discerning readers will remember that he won the Sahitya Akademi award for his 1983 book “Karmaelin” and in 2014 he wrote another highly rated collection of short stories, called”‘ Teresa’s Man & Other Short Stories from Goa” which I much enjoyed. In 2022 he was awarded the prestigious 57th Jnanpith AwIt was a great pleasure listening to this fine writer who is full of humility and grace. He narrated how he wrote his very first story when he was just 18. If there is one writer who is today what he was like 50 years ago that is Damodar Mauzo. . Here I must mention how heart warming it is to see the strides made by literature in Konkani, which also happens to be my mother tongue, thanks in the main to people like Damodar Mauzo.
Rohini Nilekani needs no introduction to the people of Bengaluru. Though she is perhaps better known as a major philanthropist, she is a writer in her own right. I remember her debut novel – a medical thriller called, ” Stillborn”. Today’s session was on her recent book- published in August 2022 called, “ Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar” . This has a series of articles written by her on the interplay between these three powerful entities in our world- Samaaj, the society we live in; Sarkaar; the Government we elect which administers the State, and Bazaar, the market place which determines what is in and what is out and how much it should cost. She was in conversation with one of India’s most famous young historians, Manu Pillai. Advocating a citizen first approach, Rohini says citizens should be conscious of their rights and responsibilities, and not be passively dependent on the Government to provide them with things to lead a better life. She obviously lays great importance to the power of collective action by members of the society. This session evoked thoughts in the audience of just how much philanthropy can and can not do .
After sessions on a successful entrepreneur ; the displaced people of Sindh; on the funny side of life; stories from sunny Goa, and what we can do as citizens in today’s world, the next session I attended was on a totally different subject. This was “The Essentials of Hinduism: An Introduction to all the Sacred Texts” ” by Prof Trilochan Sastry, which was published in October 2022. This book is designed for those who have never had the time, inclination or ability to read the ancient Hindu scriptures which date back to thousands of years. In the course of this 30 minute session, Prof Sastry instilled in me and I am sure many in the audience -a desire to know more- to read more about a subject which many consider forbidding not because of its content but because it is written in Sanskrit, an age old language which not many know these days. Prof Sastry’s translation of the major parts of the important texts will, I am sure be most illuminating to people approaching this intense, thought provoking subject for the first time. Prof Sastry is a Professor in IIM Bangalore and is a graduate of IIT Delhi, and IIM Ahmedabad. He holds a doctorate from MIT. I liked the way Prof Sastry placed his points to the audience. Never judgemental, never persuasive but giving you things as they are- it is, as he said, upto you to take it, leave it or make the best of it . All in all, I thought it was an educative session.
With this we come to an end of my observations of the sessions I attended on the first day of the Bangalore Literature festival . In my next post, I shall cover some of the sessions of the second day and also some interesting people I met during the Festival.
Here’s where you can listen to the podcast version of this post,
My love for Goa stems from the fact that our ancestral deity is Shri Mangesh at Mangeshi, near Ponda in South Goa. We have therefore been visiting Goa for over 50 years if not longer. I loved the book I write about because most of the stories are set in Goa. The book is written by Damodar Mauzo, one of the finest writers in Konkani- which happens to be my mother tongue- and translated to English by the well-known translator, Xavier Cota.
“Teresa’s Man & Other Short Stories From Goa” is not a recently published book. It was published by Rupa in 2014 but I happened to read it only recently. Interestingly, the translator in his note informs us that this collection of 14 short stories have amongst them some written by Mauzo decades ago- but they still hold relevance to this day.
The characters are always sharply drawn in these stories. Be they Rajesh and Mithila of Goan origin hoping for a better future in Saudi Arabia; or of Halsid’du hoping for a better future in Goa! All the stories tug at your emotions as you are able to relate so strongly with the characters and the situations they find themselves in.
Over the decades, Goa, in the minds of many Indians has been typecast as THE tourist destination. Apart from the scenic beauty, tourists associate Goa with booze, beaches, and partying. I must tell you that the characters painted by Mauzo in these stories are nowhere like the typical Goan in the minds of many people. Mauzo depicts the way most of them are- simple, God fearing, hard working folk who strive to lead better lives in a tough world. Catholics and Hindus live check by jowl in total harmony in Mauzo’s stories. As I said, all the stories are interesting but my favourite was “A Writer’s Tale”.
Damodar Mauzo is a famous novelist, scriptwriter, and literary critic. He was awarded the prestigious Jnanpith Award – India’s highest literary honour in 2021. Earlier, his novel “Karmelin” won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983.
If India is reckoned to be a growing economic power house, one of the key contributors to this transformation has been the Information Technology industry. “How TCS Built An Industry For India” authored by R Gopalakrishnan and Tulsi Jayakumar, published by Rupa Publications in 2019 details the pioneering role and subsequent leadership provided to the industry by TCS, a jewel in the Tata crown.
To begin with a word about the authors; Mr Gopalakrishnan is a reputed Corporate Executive who was the Vice Chairman of Hindustan Levers and later Director in Tata Sons while Tulsi Jayakumar is a Professor of Economics at the S P Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) in Mumbai. This book is the first in a series to be called The Shapers of Business Institutions building on the authors’ theme that Shapers of Institutions are institution builders in the true sense of the term. They are several notches above the conventional leaders of organisations. The book lays considerable emphasis on the role of Shapers in organisational building, instilling values, and shaping careers of employees in them for the long term sustainability and growth of the institution.
Two shapers described in this book- who made TCS what it is today- are Mr F C Kohli and Mr S Ramadorai. Mr Kohli became General Manager of TCS in 1969 and led the company till he retired in 1996. He was the first CEO of TCS and is rightly called the “Father of the IT Industry in India”. He passed away in 2020 aged 96. His handpicked successor was Mr S Ramadorai who joined TCS in 1969 and held many important positions over the decades. He was responsible for setting up TCS operations in the US in 1979 . He was at the helm of affairs of the Company from 1996 till 2009.
Today all of us know TCS as a giant- with revenues of $25 billion, operating in 150 locations in 46 countries with over 600,000 employees world wide. The book traces the journey of this institution since it began in a very small scale as a division of Tata Sons in 1969. We read of the foresight shown by Mr Kohli and his team and the bold decisions they took in the initial years in an environment often hostile to private businesses. Interestingly, Mr Ramadorai had a very different management style as compared to Mr Kohli. Naturally, the challenges he faced as the head of TCS were more complex and quite different from the ones that Mr Kohli had faced years earlier.
The book would have been significantly more absorbing had there been much more insight into the personalities of Mr Kohli and Mr Ramadorai. After all, one’s management style is pretty much based on one’s personality. What made them tick? What were their strengths and weaknesses- and they would have had them being human after all? Many in India, if not in different parts of the world – would have course heard of these gentlemen. Some quotes and an assessment about them from people who worked with them and observed them at close quarters would have vastly enhanced the value of the book.
Whether you are in the IT industry or not, I think this will be an educative and interesting book for all professional managers and business leaders. It will inspire them as they learn lessons from the experiences of the pioneers and builders of the IT Industry in India.
Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller 