Yashwantwho

Read a book which was in my booklist for a long time, "Why I assassinated Gandhi"- Nathuram Godse. It's not a book by Shri Godse but an account of aftermath of the vadh(वध) , predominantly the court hearing and Shri Godse's address to the court. I never respected Gandhi but before reading this book I definitely thought godse was a fanatic without reason but when a man replies to the chargesheet with 25 reasons THOROUGHLY explaining why he did what he did one can understand his decision was well thought of and not a caprice, impulse decision. Godse must be condemned he himself said so, but saying he was not a man of intellect and was only a tool is unjust. You can judge him all you want but after giving him a read. When I read Gandhi's Experiment with truth (time waste.), Ambedkar's what congress and Gandhi have done to the untouchables (meh!) And Ambedkar's comment on Gandhi's death, I lost whatever scintilla (if I had any) of respect I had for Gandhi...

लोग यात्रा plan करने के पश्चात किताब खरीदते है, मेरा थोड़ा उल्टा रहता है। पहले किताब आई, नही, पहले आई प्रातः स्मरणीय श्री अजीत भारती जी ब्रो को पढ़ने की तीव्र इच्छा फिर किताब और फिर यात्रा। दिल्ली की। ट्रेन का डिब्बा, upper berth, जूते उतारे पंखे पर रखे और पढ़ना शुरू। परंतु दो पृष्ठ पलटते ही ऐसा लगा मानो प्रातः स्मरणीय श्री अजीत भारती जी ब्रो आपके सामने प्रकट हो चुके है और आप बस एकटक उन्हे सुन रहे हो, उनकी johnny depp नुमा भाव भंगिमाओं को निहार रहे हो, उनकी तंज कसने के बाद दी जाने वाली "कैसी रही, दिया न लप्पड़ गजभ" वाली मुस्कान देख रहे हो। हालांकि मेरी हास्य व्यंग genre कि ये पहली किताब थी तो compare करने को तो ज्यादा कुछ न था। भाषा सहज, सरल और nostalgic feels देने लिए सर्वथा उपयुक्त थी। अश्लीलता, फुहड़ता के बगैर कैसे 17-25 वर्ष की आयु में हुए किस्सों को समझाया जाए और कैसे इसी उम्र वालों को पढ़वाया जाए का code दादा ने crack कर लिया है। Personal favourite section बत्रा सिनेमा रहा क्योंकि वहां के लोहे के दरवाजे पर धक्का, निरंकारी कैंटीन का भटूरा, ढका गांव का चिकन, मुखर्जी नगर...

Okay, so let's start with my incompetency to write about the absolutely stunning book Ami Ganatra wrote. I can't do justice to the book even if I try my hardest, so I'll not review or try to do the व्याख्या of the book, I'll just talk about the points I liked more. First of all we all need to acknowledge the FACT that Mahabharata is our इतिहास (iti + ha+ āsa: thus it has been) and not mythology (stories that are myth/मिथ्या) and the figures involved are obviously our पूर्वज and the author does a fantastic job of reminding readers time and again about the same. The author rightly HUMANISED the people's involved. We must give them the respect they deserve but must not make them शिव. The author, in the preface itself, declares that this publication is not a retelling and she stays true to her words for the next 373 pages. Unlike the recent literary retelling of the people involved in the great war, this book does not contain any politically motivated perspective base...

मेरे लिए एक किताब पढ़ते पढ़ते दूसरी शुरू कर देना पाप है पर जब किताब प्रातः स्मरणीय दोपहर पूज्यनीय सांध्य वंदनीय श्री अजीत भारती जी ब्रो की हो तो पाप का बोझा कम लगता है। घर वापसी , यह किताब का title काफी deceptive है दो प्रकार से, एक तो यह उस घर वापसी के बारे में बात नही करती जिसके बारे में त्योहार स्वरूप चर्चा होनी चाहिए (मलेच्छ वंश त्याग सनातन स्वीकारने की प्रक्रिया) दूसरा ना ही यह विस्थापन पर ज्यादा चर्चा करती है। विस्थापन यानी की displacement, migration, ' देशाटन ' हमारी भाषा में। यह विस्थापन वही है जिसे मीठे शब्दों और दिखावटी कृतज्ञता पहनाए जाकिर खान जैसे बेच रहे है, उन्हें जिन्हे ये नही पता कि इंदौर छोटा नही है और वहां से दिल्ली जाने में cultural shock नहीं लग जाता। बहरहाल, जैसा मैं कह रहा था किताब विस्थापन, जोकि इसका मुख्य विषय है पर भी बहुत deep बाते नही करती, अपितु protagonist जब वापसी करता है किसी कारणवश अपने घर, तब उसे जो यादें आती है उसका संस्मरण है। Characters भी बहुत नए नही है, उन लोगों के लिए जो tier 1 cities के अलावा कही भी रहते या रहे है। जैसे मैं personally क...

" RSS is not SANGHI enough! " "Sanghi who never went to a shakha", similar to the title the book is also lengthy, but in a good way, the other way of putting it might be, it is very well explained. But this is what happens when a person who likes talking writes a book. Author often digresses from the original story arc and starts explaining facts, figures and details, though it doesn't make the book boring because the author certainly has interesting stories and experiences to share in his ' चिर परिचित अंदाज़ '. The book is all about Rahul Roushan's journey from being a 'Congressi hindu' to a 'Sanghi'. Author also very vividly explains the two terms and I can't fathom how 'Congressi hindu' is not a गाली already. I mean most of the Hindus I know are unknowingly Congressi Hindus. This book is a must read for those who want to understand how print and broadcast journalism work. Rahul Roushan has the authority as well as the e...

First of all I am not the right person to write/review anything remotely related to Sanjeev Sanyal sir. I mean, i absolutely, whole heartedly love the guy. My maiden encounter with the brilliance that is Sanjeev sir was surprisingly through a whatsapp forward video in which he was speaking about the ancient Maharajas of Bharatvarsha and I was immediately starstruck and awestruck. Unfortunately, the video did not have any information about the speaker, so I was left with no choice but to search him with vague, made up terms such as "white kurta guy speaks about Maharaja Suheldev" and what not. Finally my thirst quenched when I came across another one of his video on one of my favourite YouTube channels, Sangam Talks and there he was The Sanjeev Sanyal, in his bit "loose cordoury jacket loved by the academics world over". I haven't since stopped reading, watching and following his content. अब जब मैं इतना बड़ा fanboy हूं तो अगर किताब अच्छी नहीं भी होती तो मैं नही...