Ravana: The Great King of Lanka - Book Review

This 84 pager by M.S. Purnalingam Pillai is a very different look on Ravana, the legendary king of Lanka.

Anyone with academic interest in Lanka or Ravana should be reading this one. It is though biased in favor of the demon king it provides very valuable and insightful details based on research.

Recommended from an academic point of view. Looking for leisure reading - Please avoid.

iVerdict: Good
Rating: 3/5

The Secret of the Nagas - Book Review

The Secret of the Nagas – one of my most awaited books. Since Harry Potter I have not waited for a book sequel this bad and never for one from an Indian writer. The Immortals of Meluha – the prequel to this book by Amish Tripathi had blown away my mind with a tale within the tale that we all know and so Nagas was completed within two days!

The book starts off exactly from where the prequel ended. Sati is attacked by a Naga and Shiva is in pursuit of the Naga. Shiva and Sati give the Naga a tough chase but he escapes but leaves behind a gold coin that leads Shiva to the kingdom of Branga, situated in eastern India at the confluence of rivers Brahmaputra and Ganga. The kingdom of Branga being somewhat hostile to Ayodhya, Shiva and Sati go to Kashi, which has a reputation of being a patient city to all people and thus houses a colony of Branga’s too.  While they are in Kashi, a mini riot breaks out against the Branga’s and Parvateshwar (Shiva’s army chief from Meluha) is mortally injured trying to pacify the mob. Ayurvati tries her best to revive him fails, as the wounds were deep. Divodas, the chieftain of the Branga’s in Kashi as a thanksgiving for saving his people gives a medicine to Ayurvati, which has miraculous effects, and Parvateshwar is revived and starts recovering well. Ayurvati informs Shiva that the medicine had herbs that are only found in Panchavati, the capital of Nagas. Divodas informs Shiva that the Branga’s are yearlong affected by plague and need medicines that only the Nagas make to keep alive and that is why Branga’s and Nagas are ally’s. In his quest to reach the Nagas, Shiva decides to go to Branga. While Shiva is waiting for the special ships that will take him to Branga (as you cannot enter Branga just like that because of their advanced technological fortifications on the rivers) to be built, his and Sati’s son – Kartik is born. After which Shiva leaves for Branga with his team and Sati stays back in Kashi to help the king fight against lion killings in the kingdom. On reaching Branga, Shiva finds out that the Branga’s are in alliance with the Nagas for the sake of the medicine and till Branga is not able to make that medicine on its own the alliance will have to continue. He also gets to know that apart from the Nagas only one man can make those medicines - a Bandit by the name of Parashuram, who kills anyone who tries to come near his part of the jungle. Shiva’s entourage after much bloodshed wins over Parashuram’s army and he readily surrenders the medicine recipe to Shiva when he learns that HE IS the Neelkanth.  Shiva also learns that Parashuram is a Vasudev pandit (shiva’s guides and philosophers) and his story from a pandit to a bandit is what changes Shiva’s perception about the Nagas. While in Kashi, Sati goes to fight the pride of lions that were killing villagers with a group of soldiers. While there she miscalculates the number of lions in the pride and she is nearly killed under the attack when a group of Nagas come to her rescue. After the rescue operation the leaders of the Nagas a women who looked exactly like sati but with deformations and a man, again deformed claim to be related to her.

Sati related to Nagas while Shiva believes that he will find evil when he reaches the Nagas!

And the man is the one who Shiva believes killed his brother-friend Brahaspati!

Their revelation points out that Meluha after all is not as perfect as it seems!

Author Amish spins another tale of fascination and shifting beliefs. For someone who has grown up on Indian Mythology the Shiva trilogy is a path breaker. Whenever a new character is introduced the story that you grew up on comes to the mind and then the connection between the characters in your mind and the book comes up. The book is racy, intelligent and notion breaker. As an individual book it is excellent but comparison with the prequel will dim its glory. The Nagas lacks the punch of Meluha. You will like it if you are a mythology fiction fan but you will love it only because you are a Shiva Trilogy fan.

p.s.  Though I think it is good as a stand alone book but you will enjoy it fully only if you have read the prequel, else you will find more mysteries than there actually are.

iVerdict: A page turner. Must read for a Mythology Fiction or Historical Fiction fan.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (English) - Movie Review

I have not read the Sisterhood series of books but I definitely loved ‘ The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants’ and when I got the sequel of the movie I just could not help but watch it. The sequel ‘The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2’ retains the original cast of Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, Alexiz Bledel and America Ferrera in lead roles as Lena, Tibby, Bridget and Carmen – the four best gal pals since eternity.

The sequel starts off three years after the first movie ended and all four are perusing their personal interests – One is on the soccer team of her university, one is attending school of design, one is majoring in film making and one is attending college. The four again, as in the first movie, move away from each other for summer and as was the practice of the sisterhood each would keep the jeans for a week and would then pass them off to the next with a note. This summer one finds letters from the past tucked away, confronts the father on those and then goes away to an archeological dig and then to face the facts about the letters. The other finds an ex-flame married, goes away to the design school to get into a relationship but fails to find peace in any other relationship that she has. The third ends up consummating her romantic relationship in sex but things go wrong after that and a pregnancy scare puts her off radar from everyone including the sisterhood. And the fourth ends up as lead actress in a prestigious play rather than an actress’s assistant, as she had intended to be, followed by jealousy, backstabbing and insecurities. Amongst all these developments in the lives of the four protagonists the jeans keep getting exchanged with notes but the notes keep becoming less and less personal; and the sisterhood kept going away from each other. The climax is about how the jeans once again in the most unconventional manner bring the sisterhood back together.

This second part is much more saucier and bolder that the first part as the girls have grown up from high school to college and their problems and concerns are different now.  I loved the way the script remains realistic and grounded even if the pants give it a fairytale-ish twist. Though missed the converging shots in the first part, this one again is a well-shot, well-emoted, brilliantly executed movie.

Like the first part you just cannot get off the couch since the movie begins and I repeat Greece is so beautiful, especially the sea. Loved Shohreh Aghdashloo’s voice and dialogue delivery. A fan mam!

iVerdict: Very Good

Rating: 3.75/5      

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (English) - Movie Review

A celluloid adaptation of the book by the same title of ‘The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants’ – the movie is awesome especially for someone who has not read the book.

The movie starring Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, Alexiz Bledel and America Ferrera in lead roles is the story of four best friends - Lena, Tibby, Bridget and Carmen and how a pair of jeans adds spice to their lives changing it for good or bad. The four girls have always been together in highs and lows till now and when the movie starts are about to depart for summer – one is going to Greece, one to a soccer camp, one to stay with her dad and one at home making a documentary. Before they leave to walk into a store and all three convince Tibby to try on a pair of jeans. Just for fun sakes they keep convincing each other to try the same pair of jeans and they do but surprisingly the jeans fits all of them really well inspite of their range in sizes. All of them are convinced that the pair of Jeans are magical and decide to share it amongst themselves. At their secret hideout it is decided that each of them will keep the jeans for a week and then pass it on to the next person with a letter about their experience with the jeans. So the jeans will became a reason of keeping in touch with each other and hence they named it – The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants.

The movie takes us on a simple yet interesting journey of four young girls. A journey that all of us, especially the girls, can connect to. The film is well shot and well emoted. You do get involved in the joys and agonies of the characters and however tired once the film is rolling you will not leave the couch before the credits roll in the end.

And Greece is so beautiful & vibrant. Want to visit sometime. 

iVerdict: Good

Rating: 3.5/5           

The Backup Plan (English) - Movie Review

The backup plan directed by Alan Poul, starring Jennifer Lopez, Alex o' Loughlin in the lead roles has one of the most vibrant introductions I have seen in recent times, which psychologically puts the viewer into a light, playful mood which is what the movie's tag line suggests too - Fall in Love. Get Married. Have a baby. Not necessarily in that order.  

The movie starts off with Lopez getting an insemination as she wants to have a baby and fears that the Mr. Right may never appear, so she opts for the option which does not require the Mr. at all. And lo & behold the day she gets inseminated Alex appears and the rest of the film deals with the obvious of the leads falling in love and the rest but with a little 'baby' twist in the storyline because the insemination works for Lopez. Though the first time chance of success is rare, the rarest of the rare happens to our leading lady and the rest of the movie is spent in the acceptance of the  baby and the love and the heredity problem of commitment phobia in one of the leads just adds to the woes.

The Backup Plan is definitely a mush movie to the core and does a good job in the genre. It does not boast of any surprises in the story line but is definitely a well presented, well performed movie. The anxieties of a single mother, the helplessness of a lover, the realization of simple true facts make the movie predicable yet adorable. 

A must watch for any mush sucker and Alex looks cute.

iVerdict: Good. 

Rating: 2.5/5 

The Lake of Dreams - Book Review

A bundle of old letters tucked away. A rumbling family house by the lakeside. Cathedral glass windows with a distant and possibly family connection. And a protagonist running away from unpleasant, teary and mysterious memories.

I love mysteries and this one seemed to just have that. The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards, who also wrote the bestseller The Memory Keeper’s daughter, is filled with a lot of twisting mysteries. This is my first Kim book and she is definitely an effortless, free flow writer. The book takes the reader through the journey of Lucy Jarrett – who after trotting the world, secreting running away from a guilt filled incidental death at home, returns to the place that she is running way from – the house by the lake. There is where all the other attachments in her life come alive – the relationship with her brother, her ex-flame’s reappearance, her mother’s love interest, long distance relationship with her boyfriend and missing link in the family which leads to a Nancy Drew styled search and uncovering.

The book is interesting and pregnant with worthy details to a certain extent but does get lengthy towards the end. Why is the book still on is a question that did come to my mind towards the climax of the book. The pace consistency is missing and lags in certain parts of the book.  Interesting twists if you can handle a bit of lag.

iVerdict: Good. Can be read.

Rating: 2.5/5