BRAToSPHERE

Tag: book

  • Revolution 2020 – Book Review

    Chetan Bhagat is still the rockstar of Indian writing, and his fifth book just reaffirms the same. A modest story set in a small town, with typical elements of love, Ambition, Corruption, system and YOUTH, laden with a liberal dose of sex. A total potboiler.

    The setting is again in a college, though in a different way this time. With a slogan like “Love. Corruption. Ambition.” , and a title like “Revolution 2020”, there was a fear that Chetan would tread the preachy path and come up with a boring book. But no, this book is a very much chetan bhagat book, full of masala.

    Of course, this time over, there is a subtle message intertwined in the book. The best part of chetan’s writing is the reflection of the keen observer that he is. Like, “ A girl replies back with a 🙂 🙂 🙂 when she has nothing better to text”. There are many girlies like this in the book, making it quite insightful into the psyche.

    The story of revolution 2020 is set in the small town of Varanasi, and it does strike a chord with the semi-urban aspirations and ambitions. It could be any similar town in India, and the story would not have changed much. Of course, Chetan does manage to internalize the town as much as possible to make the character building more strong.

    The book is about a poor boy called Gopal, who struggles all his life with money, family and the brutal entrance education system that we have in india. IIT, AIEEE, KOTA Coaching factory, he goes through everything making him what he eventualy becomes.

    It is about Raghav, Gopal’s friend and classmate who is a good friend till he cracks the JEE, and the distances start appearing.

    It is about a sweet girl called Aarti, who is torn between the two. A totally confused girl, who wants to fly.

    So is this is a story about the entrance exams? No? is it a love story? To an extent yes, but not completely. It is more a story about corruption and the system which forces you to do what you do. The expose of the corrupt education system and the archaic laws that exist in the country are very well highlighted, and it completely shows Chetan’s research on the subject.

    Though chetan was recently lashing out at Narayana Murthy for saying that coaching classes have led to the deterioration of the quality of IIT- and IIM-produced students, his book suggests exactly the same thing. The whole industry in kota is mocked at and is very well described.

    In Spite of  the book was filled with clichés, the ending was a decent surprise, and completes the whole drama very well. ( As they say, “agar sab theek nahi hai.. to picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!”).

    I hope this book is read by parents as much as it is read by the youth, to show the parents that getting an engineering degree is not the final respite to everything.

    Overall, I liked reading Revolution 2020 – an interesting and an easy read, and a page turner. Once I started reading the book at about 11:30PM last night, could not sleep till I was completely done with it.

    Note: To avoid being a spoil sport, i would like to withhold the story details

  • Chanakya’s Chant – Book Review (rating : 7/10)

    On a rainy evening here in Bangalore, me and Naveen were sipping beer and having chicken tikka at the oasis mall, when we realized that we need to rush. I had a bus to catch at 8:30, and it was already 7:45. It would take me more than half an hour to get to the bus stand.

    In spite of the rush, I could not resist getting into Shankar’s book store in the mall, for a magazine to aid while travelling. My eyes fell upon a golden color interesting looking book, and I could not help but buy it in a hurry and rush out to the bus station.

    CHANAKYA’S CHANT – ASHWIN SANGHI

    Very well researched. Creative. And catching.

    The book runs alternatively between 2300 years ago and the present day. One chapter speaks about the legend chanakya who helped unify India and bring in the golden rule of Chandra Gupta Maurya as the emperor of India, while the other is the present day account about GangaSagar Mishra, Chanakya’s modern avatar, with the same narrative, where his protégé is the oxford educated slum child Chandini, who becomes the eventual prime minister of india.

    The book narrates excellently the parallel stories of both Chanakya and Gangasagar, who with their cunning intellects, and manipulative techniques, twist their respective surroundings and political environments without an iota of self doubt or remorse.

    The writing style of the author ( Ashwin Sanghi, his first book the Rozabal line now commands a read!) is captivating,  especially the frequent use of proverbs, and quotations. The protagonist’s observations, and the dialogues are witty and sharp. Also, each of the episodes seems well planned out and executed to be fitting in the overall scheme of things.

    There are times when you feel that it is Chanakya (or gangaSagar) running the show, and their respective proteges are mere puppets in their hands. But I guess, this much was important to highlight the character of the shrewdest Brahmin india has known.

    Sanghi demonstrates very convincingly that the core of politics and strategy has not changed much with time, and the basics still apply. Information is still wealth. The parallels drawn between the two eras are also quite interesting – Chankya’s Vishkanyas versus Gangasagar dancer-whores and B-grade film starlets, Chanakya’s tantric versus the present day pavement astrologer.

    Twisting the facts, gossip, blackmail and removing of obstacles are all part and parcel of this dirty job, and very well depicted here. The book shows us that politics is not about only pulling each other’s hair, but involves much more and requires the understand of a lot of varied fields. Also the present day story hints at the present day happenings around us and gets the reader thinking.

    For example, R & S is shown as a business house bestowed by political favours. It is shown that the two partners display a public fight just to attract more political favours, and expedite their business growth. ( Ambani’s anyone?)

    In the last chapter, it is written that the husband dies in an air crash suspiciously. ( Sanjay Gandhi anyone?)

    The book fails on predictability, with the ending being anyone’s guess.  But the way to go about it is quite interesting. The book manages to keep the reader engaged and compelled to read through to the very end. Overall, this should be a must read book in your shelf this summer.

    Rating: 7/10