THE INDIAN COMMENTATOR

Dear readers and friends, On this mid-October day, I sat down to do what I love more than a lot of other things in life-writing. Although what I was penning down presently was “just” a sales copy, I still enjoyed the music of keys being pressed following the strings of thought in my head. I felt like I was back in an old art gallery where every painting was once familiar in all its beautiful subtlety. Sorry, I just had the realization that this was not how a sales copy should begin. So here is the truth: I have lost some of the techniques of my craft to time. Unused, every craft, every tool, and every intellectual muscle would wear away, sag, and finally rot. It was too painful to acknowledge the fact that I had lost some of my skills to time. That meant I was ageing. It wouldn’t do if I stood where I was. So I decided to move on. Here goes, dragging his feet, a new man with his old soul in a gunny sack on his shoulders. Pain, everywhere I see pain. A hurt ego aches m...

Recently, in Indian literature in English, the riots of 1984 in which the Sikh community was targeted, found its conspicuous expressions. A set of books namely, The Assassinations: A Novel of 1984 by Vikram Kapur, 1984: India’s Guilty Secret by Pav Singh, Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle by Mark Tully, Operation Blue Star: The True Story by K. S. Brar, The Punjab Story by Amarjit Kaur et al., When a Tree Shook Delhi by Manoj Mitta, I Accuse... :The Anti-Sikh Violence of 1984 by Jarnail Singh, and 1984: The Anti-Sikh Riots and After by Sanjay Suri venture to foreground the massacre of Sikhs, the pain of one’s own home territory becoming hostile, the transformation of trust into bigotry, and the political correctness of all that which caused these riots. These books become the shining mirror held against the memory of the fratricides. One may see every shade of the events that took place before and soon after Mrs Indira Gandhi’s death.   Vikram Kapur’s book, The Assas...

Below is the blog of my beloved friend, guide, and one of the companions of my literary life, (if you say all writers are just one big family). She is now retiring from her duties as a professor after forty years in service. It's a great honour to have befriended her.  That's how it is for me.  In this blog post, Hülya N Yılmaz shares, in a very terse, objective, and unromantic language her immediate thoughts on retirement and how important she finds this juncture. Underneath her words, one could also sense a jubilation on the liberation at hand from the pressing concerns of a career, to use time and opportunities as a writer, her deeper calling.  I wish her a good day. May her words bring blossoms to our hearts.  Go Hulya! Thumbs up! And here is her blog post:  https://hulyanyilmaz.com/2018/06/17/retiring-from-academia/ Let me also remind you that she has written a guest post for this blog. Here is the link to that post  http://...

Where is Dhauladhar? The first question anyone might see rising slowly in their mind is this one. If you are missing this question, you are missing the point. You ought to read Men & Dreams in Dhauladhar by Kochery C. Shibu in order to savour the words by the new avatar of Indian literature in English. “The Dhauladhar range (lit. The White Range) is part of a lesser Himalayan chain of mountains,” says Wikipedia. The White Range hides in its shimmering façade, many dark truths of our times. One of these dark truths is the exploitation of nature and men. The story opens through the account of Nanda, the protagonist who elites from an auto rickshaw. He wants to go to the Dhauladhar range to find work. Later, we learn that his intention is also part of a self-crafted exile. An exile has many faces and sources of inspiration. Nanda’s exile is forced by his desire to live. His story starts in a flashback and takes us to the north of Kerala. The Kalari tradition of the north of K...

Ankita Verma Datta A thriller is a distinct genre. It does not work like a regular form of art. A thriller excites the reader by entangling the reader with its tentacles of suspense. It also carries forward a mission to provoke thoughts in the most unexpected occasions. Trust Me Not does everything mentioned above. The success of Trust Me Not is that it’s labelled a thriller and it delivers what it offers. This is unlike what usually happens in the Indian market, whether it’s books or grocery. Delivering what is promised is a unique art. Ankita Verma Datta has done it. Reeva’s life is quite ordinary. Nothing out of the box happens to her. She works in an advertising agency. Her daily affairs mostly linger around the office and home. Reeva’s small family consists of her parents and younger brother. Reeva’s gift is the energy she possesses. She is feisty and creative. She also has fears, many forms of fears. This latter part makes her more adorable and relatable to ordinary ...

This is what I wrote in Facebook this morning. Advertising my author page.  I would like to shift straight to this new page. But I cannot afford to lose my touch with the virtual Colosseum here in this page, where we fight out our peaceful battles, without shedding blood. Gradually, slowly--is the mantra for change. So gradually, slowly, I will shift all my posts to this page  https://www.facebook.com/authoranulal/ .  Perhaps, I may even delete this profile page.  Have a great day. Remember, every day is a new beginning. Here is what I would like to share with you here on my blog: I have been trying several methods to publicize my new books: Those Tales Called Blue, Rani of My Daydreams , BuJi and the Indian edition of You Should Know How I Feel. I have come to my most important platform now, the space of this blog, where it all started. I started out as a writer in the comfort zone of this blog. As my readers, I would like to info...

Yasser Usman’s newly released non-fiction book has a subtitle that marks the essence of the narrative: “The Crazy Untold Story Of Bollywood’s Bad Boy.” Sanjay Dutt, one of the major actors in Hindi Cinema has always been at the centre of many political and personal controversies. Yasser Usman’s book unravels all those elements. Sanjay Dutt is Usman’s third book on Bollywood’s most celebrated personalities. His first one was Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar and the second one, Rekha: The Untold Story. Apparently, Usman is not new to life narratives about glittering stars of Bollywood. We read books for what not they are but for what we see in them. My intention was always to get a kick out of novels, fictional narratives with some drama, action, mystery, and suspense. That is what I always try to achieve as an author as well. Whatever creates these elements within my psyche while reading, that works for me. Being a nonfiction book, at first, I was...

The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C Doyle: A Book Review      The Mahabharata Secret is a thriller that affirms the fundamentalist notion that sophisticated electronic, aviation and scientific technology existed during the times of the Mahabharata, in ancient India. That said, The Mahabharata Secret deserved to be appreciated for the lengthy unfurling of suspenseful events in present-day India that foregrounds its history. Tradition and modernity coexist in Christopher C Doyle’s thriller. This book could be categorized as a historical thriller because Emperor Ashoka and his stone edicts appear as crucial characters in the story. They are part of the quest to unlock the mystery surrounding the cryptic emails from Vikram Singh, a north Indian aristocrat to his nephew Vijay who works abroad.  Christopher C Doyle brings home a highly effective landscape with his narrative strategy based on detailed descriptions and adeptness in creating suspenseful moments. T...

Tomorrow, on 8 March and day after, on 9 March my new book, Those Tales Called Blue will be available for readers across the world for free download from Amazon. The eBook is presently available in Kindle format as well as print. Follow the link for a FREE Kindle EBook. http://amzn.to/2G5BmJ6 Please leave a review once you read the book.  The eBook revolution caught on as the prices of eBooks dropped to an unimaginably low point. Those Tales Called Blue is available in print format at a price that is almost that of a kindle eBook. Check it out here: http://a.co/iv3awcx Yours lovingly, Anu Lal         Review from Amazon "The stories of Anu Lal remind me of Jorge Luis Borges," Prof. C. Tharanathan Author, Literary Critic, Thinker. "Anu Lal's stories have the breath of ancient storytellers, the wisdom of old days, and the immediacy of our contemporary age. The intricacies of the human nature are delicatel...

Anand Neelakantan is an Indo-Anglian author. His books Jaya, Rise of Kali and Asura had become very successful in the Indian book market.  Image Courtesy: The Hindu The quality of his writing, hold on language, and the craft of his writing is commendable. The reason for his success is not just marketing, as many authors attest to when the question is asked in interviews. The definition of success in Indian popular writing, set by Anand Neelakantan is a standard that many would have to strive hard to achieve. His talents also lie in the creation of scripts for television series. Now, his book The Rise of Sivagami, Book 1 in the prequel to Baahubali storyline is available at an unbelievable offer price at Amazon.in. You could purchase this book for just 74 Rupees in India. The book's MRP is Rs. 299. This means almost 75 % discount is offered now.  You can purchase your copy through the link given below. Please use the associated link below to make your pu...

Image Courtesy: NDTV     In my previous blog post, I mentioned what is new about the news. My post was about actor Sridevi’s death. Media had reported that she died of cardiac arrest.     Today, according to the latest information on various news media such as the ones given in the reference below, actor Sridevi died of accidental drowning. As per the news, she slipped into a hotel bath.     This latest news is more saddening to all her fans. This incident even morbidly resembles the plot of many of those tragedies in Bollywood films. May God rest her soul in peace. Reference: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-43196902 https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sridevis-funeral-likely-today-grieving-bollywood-gathers-at-family-home-1817219

What’s new about the news. I think it’s our response to it that gives each news the space it deserves. When the news came; I could not believe it. I first saw the news on Youtube. Recently, I had also heard reports of the death of Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone. That was a hoax, and Sly Stallone himself released a video announcing that he was back from death. Considering this experience, my first response was to impose the sense of disbelief over the deluge of today’s morbid news. I was finding it hard to cope with the news. The best way to cope with the situation was to find the truth out. So I googled it up. What else could I do? I do not have any personal access to her family members. I do not know their phone numbers of email ids. I am like the million or billion other Indians who have nothing to do on the face of this news but to pray for the health of their beloved film superstar. So we devour the news channels and online media. Then I discovered that ...

THE INHERITORS BY SONU BHASIN: A REVIEW The Inheritors dawned on my radar as I was browsing through Amazon. The book written by Sonu Bhasin with a Forward by Anand Mahindra appeared to be a unique product about the Indian entrepreneurial setup. The term ‘Indianness’ arises often in the Indo-Anglian literature. Certain writers attempt to describe the term too. I doubt that anyone of those critics or writers ever defined the term properly. The Indian way of writing, along with the Indian way of performing various other cultural, political, and sociological activities is unique. It cannot be seen as a copy of or a direct oppositional force set against a Eurocentric system. The Indian way incorporates the best in every culture and social system. It also distinguishes itself from all those streams from which it drew inspiration. Sonu Bhasin’s attempt is to delineate the major Indian way of doing business. She does that by telling the stories of many family-owned businesses in I...

Things have not been the same for me ever since my 34th birthday. On my 34th birthday, my wife, Dhanya gifted me with 34 books. Thirty-four print books, a backpack, and a brand new smartphone with facilities one could only imagine in a sci-fi story. Today, on 4 February 2018, I must acknowledge how differently my life has changed. Although I cannot bring my complete feelings into words, I could at least node my head at the change of scenario. It’s difficult sometimes, to give words to deepest thoughts. That was one of the reasons why I always shied away from reviewing author Paulo Coelho’s books; also Richard Back, Brian Weiss, and many others. I could not bring myself to the point where I could talk about these people’s works objectively. There was not even the case of subjective bias. I was just spellbound after reading these authors. Same is the case with that wonderful moment when Dhanya gave a big box weighing a ton. I remember myself thinking how would I be able to expre...