Vikram Chandra’s masterwork and now a leading series on Netflix, Sacred Games is an epic of exceptional richness and power. Drawing readers deep into the lives of Inspector Sartaj Singh and the infamous criminal Ganesh Gaitonde, Chandra’s years of first-hand research on the streets of Mumbai, Sacred Games reads like a potboiling page-turner but resonates with the intelligence and emotional depth of the best of literature.
Meet the main characters from the book:
1. Sartaj Singh
2. Ganesh Gaitonde
3. Parulkar
4. Anjali Mathur
5. Bunty
Category: Specials
Sangeetha Sreenivasan on Exploring the World of Acid
Acid by Sangeetha Sreenivasan is a gripping and powerful story about two women and their journeys of discovering their lives and the struggles that come with it. Kamala and Shaly, pose as two distinctive women living in an unusual household. Kamala’s twins, from her former marriage, take care of each other and are a part of the same household. The characters in the book make for a dynamic storyline as the plot is driven by their spirited characters.
Here, Sangeetha Sreenivasan, talks about the psychological and behavioral anatomy of her characters and her road to a final realization of the mould of her characters in the book. Dwelling in the deep crevices of the psyche of women, sexuality, and a unique understanding of relationships, Sreenivasan also explains as to what drove her to write this book, which highlights a quintessential meaning of womanhood and places it in the current state of the world.
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Imaginary as they are, I first came into contact with my characters in the year 2007. Extending in curves and turns, instantly I was allowed to participate in their private lives—their kinesics, their voices and tacit manners, their odors, and their screaming meemies. “A dark and private weather settled down on everything,” to borrow a line from Mark Strand. In a certain sense they started interfering with the course of my regular life. I found myself in a world that really has been turned on its head.
Before they started blurring my mind there was a sort of emptiness within me which I wanted to flush out. I started writing the story of Kamala. But the emptiness I mentioned was not separable from the idleness which was stronger and kept reminding me of the banality of the improbable relationships I wanted to work on. I quit writing at this stage even though I had an offer from a publisher. Years later when I wanted to write a second novel in Malayalam the book in the slush pile came to my mind. There was no literature or no music in it but there was this skeleton I knew would help me work. For me, writing Acid was a nerve-racking business of tampering my inner self with the everydayness I rarely got along with on a daily basis. What I wanted for writing was absolute silence and an exaggerated mindscape where I could find myself emotionally unsettled and strangely lost, where it was easy to toy with certain uncertain situations. I spent three or four intensive months on writing this piece. In the end I sobbed, but like a small wonder that happens once in a while, the emptiness didn’t return.
I am a listener (not always) and definitely not a judge. I don’t believe in judging people, particularly the fictitious ones. Everything is connected here in the inextricably complex and intricate meshes of the Universe. Everything emerges out of chaos and individual existence is fragile like a bubble on the surface of water. Who are we to judge or decide? I don’t care about people’s sexual preferences as long as they do not hurt or harm another living being. It was not my aim to shock the readers by writing a story on homosexuality. I think it is time we forget the divisions. We do not call Manon Lescaut a heterosexual novel though it is one of the most enigmatic and challenging love stories that happened between a man and an amoral courtesan. We call Call Me by Your Name a gay story even though the intention of André Aciman was to depict the intimate bond between two individuals. It is time we accept sexuality in its multiplicity and stop attributing titles and divisions, it is time we stop seeing the strangeness of relationships in the name of sex. I don’t care if a woman loves a man or a woman or a man loves many as in the monogatari of the ‘Shining Prince’.
I remember the story ‘The End of the Party’ by Graham Greene and the way I got carried away after reading it. I couldn’t find a way out of the intense inner worlds of the identical twins and maybe that is the reason why the twins stayed in my mind longer than what the characters in a short story demanded of its reader forcing me to unravel the psycho-behavioral patterns of the twins and pondering over creating fictitious twins of my own. As a reader I always have this kind of troublesome connections with the books I love dearly. My writing is just an extension of what I had read so far, twice or thrice removed from the original text, a faint recreation or an imitation in its weakest form. I was never a detached reader; I applied emotions and shunned my intelligence and ended up an imbecile ready to get carried away at a mere beckoning. The issue of copyright and plagiarism is a different story. I think the books I have read and loved are mine, my books, my words, my worlds—this totally private joy; reading becomes an extended conversation. As Yiyun Li says “To read is to be with people who, unlike those around one, do not notice one’s existence.”
The woman in my story is also an amalgamation of all the women I have loved so far. I believe the strength of a woman lies in her delicate curves and powerful sexuality. I always cherish the images of beautiful women/nymphs from the epics and wanted to create a woman as tender and sexually enticing as one of those magnificent creatures we come across in literature. But when the sexuality of such a powerful being remains unanswered everything turns upside down demanding total devastation. I named her Kamala; the lotus flower, graceful yet susceptible. I gave her twins; I made her marry her brother; I made her long for the same sex; I gave her burdens of every kind; I even placed her in a society that has still not come to terms with accepting or appreciating the power of sexuality. I wanted her to scale the ill-fated mountain.
My associations with the lovely self-taught women from North Eastern regions of India enabled me to experience the cultural differences helping me to develop the character of Shaly. The graveyard I had described in the book is a place I had visited more than a couple of times and its premises are far more beautiful than described in the book. All these were ingredients or separate entities designed to float on the surface of a lotus leaf, the disoriented heroine of my book. The leaf of the lotus absorbs nothing, invites nothing into its inner sanctum. Those who move on the surface may sometimes fall down losing grip. This was the idea around which I started working initially. I wanted to see the beautiful leaf torn and shattered and I worked for the accomplishment of the most probable devastation possible.
Acid is not so much of a story on homosexuality and I don’t consider myself presumptuous in writing on same-sex relationships or psychedelic ups and downs as my book was not meant to shock the reader. But it pains me to think that the society has not come to terms with homosexuality even today. This is indeed a lamentable situation.
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Acid unravels the secrets that lurk beneath the surface of our lives, and marks the entry of a searing new voice in the Indian literary landscape.
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4 stark differences between the ideologies of Aurangzeb and Shivaji
Aurangzeb was the last of great Mughal emperors and ruled India from 1658 to 1707. He was a staunch Muslim and his policies abandoned religious tolerance.
On the other hand, Shivaji, the Maratha King, was expected to follow the footsteps of his forefathers and become a jagirdar. But he spurned the life he was born into. He picked up his sword and chose to fight for the freedom of his people, for a free Maratha nation.
During the Maratha war of independence, Shivaji and Aurangzeb were at daggers drawn with each other and so were their philosophies on religion, war and humanity:
1. Religion
Though Aurangzeb was the ruler of a mixed Hindu-Muslim kingdom, he was an orthodox Muslim who was compelled to embrace the philosophies of his perception of Islam.
Shivaji was inclusive and respected all communities and religions. Being a pluralist helped him gain respect in all communities.
2. Governance
Rajaji Shivaji was a brilliant and courageous general who wanted Swaraj – self-governance.
Relentless and rebellious, Aurangzeb was a monarch who wanted to oppress everyone and wanted them under ‘sunni’ – the rule of the Mughal empire.
3. War strategies
Aurangzeb fought his wars with brute force irrespective of what the consequences would be.
On the contrary, Shivaji tried to avoid wars with excessive blood shed, and instead deployed his masterful strategies. He used Guerrilla tactics very shrewdly.
4. Humanity
Shivaji followed principles of humanity. He had an unshakeable faith in the inherent decency of humankind; it was a thread that ran through his life and connected his disparate actions.
While Aurangzeb was ruthless in his actions and was hungry for power and victory, even if it meant killing his own blood.
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Meet the two enthralling protagonists from The House Swap
Married with a young son, Caroline and Francis want to take a break from their humdrum lives and rekindle their relationship. They swap houses with strangers, for a week – going from their city flat to a townhouse in upscale London. Little do they know of the series of strange events that are yet to unravel.
Here’s a look inside the lives of these two self-destructive characters.
Meet Caroline
With her marriage in shambles, Caroline longs for a do-over in life. She often feels a sense of claustrophobia around her husband.
This makes her go down the dark memory lane of her past, one she’s been trying hard to leave behind.
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Meet Francis
His addiction to prescription pills worsens his behaviour towards his wife and son, thereby exacerbating the problems in his marriage.
He’s enthusiastic about the idea of a house swap and appreciates his wife for taking an initiative to work on their marriage, not anticipating how things could take a dark turn.
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5 Things you Need to Know about the Author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Robert T. Kiyosaki is best known as the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and Why the Rich Are Getting Richer. In Rich Dad Poor Dad, he has challenged and changed the way tens of millions of people around the world think about money. The book talks about Kiyosaki’s background, his business ventures and investments and variation between possessions and liabilities and what importance they both have in terms of starting and owning a business. It also sheds light on the teachings given by rich to their kids, which is usually missed by poor as well as the middle class parents and why it is important to have financial literacy over and above all.
Here are 4 more things you need to know about the author.
Five dialogues from Forever And A Day that make us love James Bond even more
When the previous 007 dies in the waters of the French Riviera, it’s time for a new agent to step up and take charge. Enter James Bond, still learning the ropes of the spy world.
This is the story of the birth of a legend, in the brutal underworld of the French Riviera.
With its elaborate action sequences and a plot that will keep you interested from the opening chapters and never let go, Forever and A Day will leave you wanting more…of Bond, of course.
Five dialogues that will leave you wanting more….of Bond, of course:
A Chat with the Author of Goodbye Freddie Mercury – Nadia Akbar
What is the story behind the title of your book?
Originally, Goodbye Freddie Mercury was a short story idea about a girl from a village in Pakistan writing a fan letter to Freddie Mercury, her connection to this star byond place, time, and culture. But once I started writing Bugsy and Nida, I realized that the title was really meant for them. It just made sense. Bugsy understood Freddie Mercury, he understood all that Freddie means and stands for as a celebrity and as a desi.
Name your all-time favorite song by Freddie Mercury.
Oh that’s difficult, there are so many amazing Queen songs. I think the one that I love best, though, the one that transcends, is You Don’t Fool Me. I made sure to incorporate it into the novel. It’s in the chapter where Bugsy drives Nida in his car. It’s a great metaphor for the politics of Pakistan. It’s a later song, constructed when he was sick, but it has all the classic elements and some new ones. It is a promise of what could have been.
Who is your favorite character from your book?
All of them are my favourites for their own reasons, it’s impossible to choose. I created them based on people that interest me—even Omer, if you can believe it. So I think I don’t have a favorite, but rather characters with diverse personalities who offer different things at different times.
If we have 2 hours to spend in Lahore- what is the ONE thing we have to do?
Lahore Fort in the Old City. It’s incredible. Along with that you’ll see the Badshahi Mosque, and eat the best food in the world.
Name the one person you would want as your neighbor?
Freddie Mercury (isn’t it obvious). I think he’d be tons of fun. And I could cuss at him in Urdu and he’d understand. I also love his vulnerability and his heart. I think he would have been a doll. In a lot of ways the novel is for him. Thanks Freddie.
What was the last gift you gave someone?
An eyeshadow palette. Urban Decay’s Naked2.
Coffee or tea? And how do you like to take it?
I like coffee in my ice cream and Bubbles in my tea.
Words you live by…
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” –Toni Morrison
The one destination you are currently crushing about?
China
Describe your book, Goodbye Freddie Mercury in one word.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Ravinder Singh on Road Safety
Ravinder Singh is a bestselling author. In his books I Too Had Love Story and Will You Still Love Me? he passionately advocates the need for road safety. In our new release, Your Happiness was Hacked authors Vivek Wadhwa and Alex Salkever talk about the importance of detaching from technology in order to lead more enriching lives and one of the issues that they deal with is the use of electronic devices while driving, which have led to increasing cases of accidents
Writing in a similar vein, Ravinder Singh addresses the dangers of using smart phones and how we can use smart devices under checked measures:
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Research says that an average smartphone user checks his phone every six and a half minutes. Pretty consistent, isn’t it? But is this consistency something that we should be proud of?
Let us look at the bigger picture for a moment. Smartphones are the product of technology, something that was meant to save our time, make us efficient, and simplify our lives; but we know anything in excess is way more harmful than not having it in the first place. Nothing demonstrates this better than the perils of technology. In fact there is evidence that excessive use of technology can begin to actually rewire our brains to make us less adept at dealing with real human connections.
Linda Stone, who worked on emerging technologies at both Apple and Microsoft, coined the term “continuous partial attention”. This is the state of always being partly tuned into everything, and never being completely tuned into anything. In simple and millennial language: FOMO (Fear of missing out).
And this FOMO is exactly the reason why an average smartphone user checks his phone every six and a half minutes! Of course, there is science behind technology rewiring our mind in way that FOMO becomes our constant state of being, but that’s a different discussion altogether.
In 2016, using mobile phones while driving led to 2100 deaths in India. And these are just the reported figures, released by Ministry of Transport.
It’s not that we are not aware of the fatal risks involved in using mobile phones while driving, but we are so anxious about missing out on calls or social media updates, that we completely ignore the fact that this could cost us our life! By using mobile phones while driving, we not only put our lives in danger, but also the lives of others on the road.
This is not the not the first article that talks about the importance of using technology consciously to ensure road safety. It won’t be the last either. Enough has been said about the dangers, the accident figures, and risks involved. Let us discuss what each one of us can do, to ensure that we don’t fall victim to “distracted driving”, a concise term for falling prey to FOMO while driving:
On the surface:
- Find a safe spot:
Should it be urgent to attend to that call/text, find a safe spot, stop the car/bike, and then attend to it. Period. No alternate option here.
And this is not just for the time when you are driving, but also for the moments when someone else is driving the car, and they receive a phone call. Agreed, not every person would take that nudge positively, but how about leveraging the power of reverse psychology here? For instance, when my cab driver receives a call while driving, I don’t question or snap at him, instead, I very patiently tell him – I understand your call is important, but please stop the car on the side, and then attend to it. And voila! In most cases, the driver then chooses to not attend to the call at that moment. This simple nudge, in a positive way, triggers an awareness in the driver’s mind, which leads to him feeling not-so-good about wanting to attend an unnecessary call while driving, and he is then able to better prioritize the importance of attending or not attending to that call, in that instance.
- Judicious use of time at the traffic signal:
Agreed, more often than not, traffic signals can be boring and long, and a quick call or response to a text can be accommodated. But again, a ‘quick’ call or ‘a’ text. Getting into a long conversation, while waiting at the traffic signal and not disconnecting the call when the signal turns green, brings you back to square one.
- Connect with yourself:
In her widely acclaimed book Thrive, Arianna Huffington says, “Technology allows us to be so hyperconnected to the outside world that we can lose connection to our inner world”. With corporates and societal pressure pushing people to be connected and available all the time, this couldn’t be more true.
And what does this result in? An anxious mind, a stressed body, and a robotic lost soul, functioning on auto-pilot! How about using your driving time to connect with yourself? How about utilizing this driving time, as your “me” time? Isn’t that something we all need, but just can’t seem to have time for?
So, start by turning your phone on silent, no vibration, and not synced with the car audio system. And then, choose what you want to do with your “me” time. It could be anything: listening to the music you love, practising mindfulness (ways to do this while driving are widely available) or just enjoying the journey!
- Use Post-its!
Sounds cliched, but extremely effective! Nobody gets up every morning and says to themselves, “Today I am going on have an adventure by talking on phone while driving, because although fatally risky, it gives me the thrill!”. We do what we do, out of habits of convenience that we formed over the years.
Naturally, when you try to change them now, your mind will resist the change. You might turn your phone on silent one day, and then forget from the next. Isn’t this what that happens every time we try to change a habit? The mind loves to be rigid and can trick you into giving up.
A simple reminder, put on your dashboard in a visible spot, can centre you back, remind you the purpose of what you are doing, and hence help you sustain the activity, till it becomes a habit.
Remember, your life is precious. You are precious, for this world, for the people around you, and the people waiting for you back home!
Your Happiness was Hacked turns personal observation into a handy guide to adapting to our new reality of omnipresent technology.
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Nine Facts About Author Sangeetha Sreenivasan That Will Intrigue You
Sangeetha Sreenivasan’s descriptive book Acid, set in the rapidly evolving city of Bangalore, deals with the convoluted lives of two fascinating women and marks the entry of a fierce and bold new voice in the Indian literary landscape.
Here are nine facts about her that you should know:
Shivaji and his Idea of Swaraj
After Aurangzeb ascended the throne in the North, he moved ahead with the aim to conquer the Deccan kingdoms. He is ruthless in his quest and would leave no stones unturned.
Raja Shivaji, a jagirdar from the hills of western Deccan, wants Swaraj in its truest sense. He cherishes his freedom and has raised his sword against those who stand between him and his goal to gain Swaraj. With his unrivalled courage and a drive to liberate all the Deccan kingdoms from the oppressive rule of Aurangzeb, Shivaji and Aurangzeb’s power struggle makes for an epic saga.
Frontiers, a historical saga by Medha Deshmukh Bhaskaran, brings to life the complex and ever-shifting dynamics between these two arch nemeses.
Let’s take a look at few ideas of swaraj as understood by Shivaji:
Shivaji’s idea of Swaraj
According to Shivaji, Swaraj is the birthright of every human. He longed for a world which was no longer entangled in the clutches of biases, cruelty, religious conflicts and discrimination of any kind. Thus, he fought for the freedom of the Marathas from the oppressive rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He wanted to establish a Hindavi Swaraj.
Take a look at few ideas of swaraj as understood by Shivaji:
