The Marginalized or the Resilient?         

[ This is my entry for Berkeley Essay Prize Competition for Architectural Design Excellence, 20016]

Kodbanu's Home at present

'Adorsho Gram' at present 

  

Let me tell you a story about some of the most resilient people of Bangladesh. The coastal people, the poor 

people, but mostly we must know them as the people with an exemplary spirit of life, of revival. The people of my story live in a small area called ‘Bainpara’ in a village named ‘Sutarkhali’, Dacope. The tale starts from May 2009.

 

The area Bainpara has about  110 families living in the locality were households are run by the earnings of the men only, who mostly work as honey, wood, leave collectors of the adjacent  ‘Sunderbans’- the largest mangrove forest of the world!  The average monthly income of each family was five to six thousand taka per month (60-75 USD). Most of these people are mostly illiterate, some of the youths have recently graduated from high school.
  So why are these people called the strugglers, the survivors? They live in the extreme south of the delta land- Bangladesh. Here every year the coasts get submerged with water and flooding takes place throughout the entire country.  The humble residents of ‘Sutarkhali’ were still recovering from the devastating cyclone ‘Sidr’ of 2009.  Non-governmental organizations or NGOs like Ulashi, and other professionals were already working for them.  Bangladesh received a significant amount of foreign aid from International community for the revival of the area.

  But, on the 22^nd of May, 2009, there started turbulence in the air again. The water seemed wilder and much more untamable.  But unlike Sidr- the upcoming horror could not been foreseen early on by the authority.
  The warning came early in the morning of the 25th May. Residents were asked to go to the emergency shelters immediately.   

  But the declaration was as good as gibberish for Kodbanu and her family. The small rectangular hut, with the thatched roof is her identity! Kodbanu’s belated fathers in law’s last savings were used to build that small hut. The goat tied to the post was bought the same day her second son was born and the toddler is extremely fond of it. Kodbanu’s mother in law was still stubbornly holding on to the quilt she had sown for her husband.  The widow wakes up every day for these memoirs of her beloved. They can’t leave all that behind, just because a mechanical voice is insisting them to do so. Besides, how can they shift the elders and children within such a short time?

  The formidable Cyclone, ‘Aila’ hit the shores of the western and south western Bangladesh at about 10 am on 25th May, 2009. The storm was responsible for at least 339 deaths across Bangladesh and India; more than 1 million people were left homeless. The storm surge was of about 10 ft, which impacted these regions of Bangladesh, submerging numerous villages. Even many of the embankments broke down, causing widespread inland flooding. In Dacope Upazila alone, more than 50,000 people were left homeless.

  All of KodBanu’s homestead, her clothes, her small wooden chest containing her thin gold chain and her husband’s savings, her son’s goat, the food, the furniture-everything was washed away with the tidal surge. What remained of her thatched hut were broken poles inundated in water. Her mother in law got stuck under the debris and they had almost given up on her, but it was a miracle only, that she was saved.  The tidal surge would come every evening. They had no food or clean water to drink.  Kodbanu would look around in search of food, and when she would come across any person who was eating, she would ask them shamelessly if they can spare the next morsel for her sons.

  Kodbanu along with about 3000 other residents of “Sutarkhali” were uncertain about their tomorrow. They built temporary houses along the single axis of the embanked ‘Wapda Road’ with the help of the little aids they would get now and then. But the tidal surges would gradually break those down as well.

  Soon-but not soon enough,  the government announced a tender for reconstruction of the houses of this area along with the help of professionals, Social workers of Ulashi Sreejony Sangha-USS (the NGO already working for the Sidr affected children of the area) . Architect Hasibul Kabir, the humanitarian architect of Bangladesh came to survey the locality. With his help, the locals diagnosed the area for 15 days.  After this many NGO’s came to the area to try and redevelop but failed to see any prospect of rehabilitation with the limited funding.

  Finally the nonprofit organization ‘Shushilon’ with the help of HBRI (House Building Research Institute) started the design of their sustainability housing from February- 2011-two years after the strike of ‘Aila’!

  Their resolve to live on and struggle was an endowment, grown within the people. This spirit built a natural resilience in them- the kind that only Mother Nature can built in those, who she has repeatedly cursed herself.
  The timeline planned by ‘Shushilon’ estimated a one year long construction plan, but the locals started to move into the half built structure months before the completion.

  The locals proposed the design for their own dwelling units. These plans were further scrutinized and reviewed by HBRI to formulate a revised module. Their plan consisted of a ‘gable roof’ (pitched roof) hut raised on a high platform of 4 feet.
The final construction consisted of a ‘shed roof’ dwelling units, with Ferro-cement ceiling.  Various parts of the unit were built in modules. The unit consisted of a room of 140 square feet, with four structural pillars at four corners placed inside pocket footings. The beams and columns were all screwed together. Instead of foundation piling under the ground, the  pocket footings or rectangular boxes with depth of 4 feet were placed on the ground at the four corners. The pillars were inserted in these boxes. The gaps left were filled in with sand and cement. Everything was built in modules and fixed and screwed together at site, the walls were built afterwards at the site.

  The dwelling units were provided with a RCC water tank with rain water collecting facility, a shaded toilet of GI Sheet, a gardening land and enough space for further extension along with the rectangular rooms,. Each household was provided with 6 decimals of land.


  Talking to the chairman of their union- Mr, Rezaul Mollah, I got to learn that the residents extended their help during the construction process themselves; they consulted planning and architecture educators who according to their demands and their guidance developed a new resilient ‘township’ for the affected population known as ‘The Model Village’ or ‘Adorsho Gram’.

  ‘The Model Village’ consisted of 203 dwelling units, 58 of which constitute the homeless residents of Bainpara, and they form the clustered community. The remaining 145 units were scattered throughout ‘Sutarkhali’.

  The Social worker, Ms Farah Kabir- was their ‘Boro Apa, or ‘Elder Sister’. When foreign donors, International goodwill ambassadors and government agents came to look at their sorry condition- the residents of Bainpara treated them as their household guests.
  But the irony lies in the fact that after talking to other residents of Dacope I discovered, the disaster affected people did not reflect their poverty or distress in front of the donors, rather showed their tenacity and fortitude, the zeal to embrace the change. In fact while their ‘Boro Apa’ was making a documentary to present to the foreign donors, the locals along with the help of ‘Shushilon’ made the entire model of the township with their own hand, with glue and paper!

  This completely impressed the donors. People from the privileged society come to ‘the Model Village’ expecting to go back home with heavy hearts and wet shoulders, but instead they return inspired and intrigued by the marginalized. Instances like these indeed make one wonder, what is the true definition of ‘marginalized’ and who are those in ‘poverty’?

  When I came across the reference photos of the ‘the Model Village’, I saw many cement structures on the barren land flanked with water tanks and shaded temporary looking toilet.  The outlook could be stated to be melancholy to sound impressive, but lifeless to be honest.

  Reaching the site was itself an interesting experience. I had to cross a river on a ferry, cross another on a boat, and then finally go to the village on a motor bike!
   I did not immediately realize I had reached my destination because I had stopped in front of a pond where children were swimming, green trees everywhere, women sweeping their verandas, some other idle lot were gathering around my bike to see what is happening- but nowhere did I see any resemblance of the morose ambiance of the photos!

  The first household I entered had a small mud hut; I understood that that’s the kitchen. A lady was cutting vegetables in front of her hut; the front garden was green with onion leaves, colourful with marigold flowers, chili trees, eggplants, guava trees, carrots, and potatoes, even sugar canes.

“Guests are here!” she announced from inside, “Come on in, I am just preparing lunch. Hey you! Get them some sugar cane.” And she immediately made me feel like her house guest instead of some stranger appearing without any notice at her doorstep one fine noon.
“What’s your name, ma’am?” “Kodbanu” she replied.

  Sustainability indeed is a precarious word. One would think of solar panels and automated parking systems, and green technology when this word is uttered. But one truly finds sustainability in a 140 square feet hut of a village homemaker.
  Kodbanu produces her own vegetables, catches the fish from the community pond of ‘the Model Town’. Her sons go to the community school which is also an emergency shelter. She smiled all along till I mentioned ‘Aila’. She said she never wants to think of those days.

 Looking around I saw glimpses of the cement finished houses of each household with their individual water tanks and G.I sheet toilets. But no two houses looked the same- like it had in the photos. The households had all evolved according to the resident’s needs, some had new mud kitchens, some had extra rooms, and some made an extended veranda in front of the hut with mud. It made me wonder, that this village holds the same group of people who were once diseased, famished and homeless. They were provided with just a minimal space for sleeping and a patch of land for vegetation, only that this exchange was done on their very own terms!
  They created homes out of the brick-cement houses; they created a neighborhood out of a ‘cluster of structures’. Whereas modern amenities and urban facilities often fail to create neighborhoods for the ‘privileged’.

  Which brings us to the question - What is the reason behind the fate of this people? Why are they being a victim of the wrath of the nature, exclusively? Is the wrath indicated at them? What can we do to tame the wrath?

  While I was traveling to reach my destination I observed the livelihood of the entire village of 'Sutarkhali'. As a past time people relax and chat with their neighbors in the local tea stalls. The tea stalls could be compared to the 'Urban cafes'. But in these meager tea stalls, I couldn't find even a small bottle of cola! The logo of modernization is a luxury to them. There is not one motorized vehicle on the streets or on the water. Basically there is no sign of industrialization in the locality.
  Then who are they paying this price for? They are paying the price of our sins and violations we cause to the Mother Earth. Global warming is increasing day by day and igniting the earth. It is caused by our luxurious and convenient modes of life. Global warming is not only rendering the coastal citizens homeless but also destroying the 'Sunder bans', the forest that the people live off.

Those who pay the prices for our sins, show us every day how life can be led without luxuries. But we are too stubborn and indifferent to learn from them.

Post Aila Condition of Bainpara

'Adorsho Gram' during construction

  It is very important to understand the people living near the embankments, their lifestyles and their techniques of abode. These people tend be emotional and possessive about their belongings. Rightfully so, as the little they have, they have earned it with their sweat and blood. Hence not a lot of them are willing to shift to a safer location leaving their belongings. On top of it this, emergency shelters tend to become extremely unhygienic.
   As a solution to further homelessness, instead of building more shelters, it is crucial to make more resilient homesteads. And it's also imminent that the homesteads have storage spaces for cattle’s and high storage spaces for belongings. So that even if the houses need to be vacated, the residents can come back for their belongings later. In order to prevent wind surge, more tall and sturdy trees are needed along the shoreline, there also needs to be more soak able grounds, and more reservoirs. As the lives of the people depend on the mangrove forest, embankments should be built not only to protect the islands but also the forest.

    Temporary houses along Wapda Embanked raod at present

   The locals also need to get basic training of preparedness during a natural calamity- a concept, which is still an under rated thought at this part of the world. This Preparedness should include pre disaster and post disaster drills. 

  Designated individuals from groups should be taught the resilient building techniques along with emergency actions to protect the homestead and material goods during the disaster. Priority should be given to local materials and vernacular deigning techniques for highest cost efficiency and affordability. Architects, social workers, engineers can take workshops and give them practical training by mingling and interacting with them.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

"Only the hardest of hearts could fail to be moved" Glamour

It’s a classic tragedy which portrays the war affected, devastated Afghanistan through the eyes of two ladies whose paths of life cross each other. It tells us about the political context of Afghanistan starting from the Soviet Union domination to the fall of the Taliban and the beginning of the Hamid Karzai reign. In this book, Khaled Hosseini creates magic with his writing, with his amazing power of providing intricate details…which probably is the reason why the seemingly repetitive war descriptions didn't strike as monotonous. But in all fairness the book was too long for its own good!

This is the second book by the writer. I have been especially excited to read this one after reading his first book, the masterpiece-the kite runner.
Both the books give us a sneak peek into the lives of the Afghans during the extended, horrific aggression period. I read about the distress of the people in newspapers…followed it on tv,  but nothing gave me such a comprehensible perspective of what it was actually like-being an Afghan, living, growing up, enduring death, loss, massacre and hopelessness-as this one single fiction did.  The poignancy behind the misfortunes of their lives is what characterizes this book. It got me shaken and sometimes restless with the despair, the grief.

The plot is based on the lives of two women.
 One, Mariam, born illegitimate, living alone with her mother in a secluded shack in Herat , plucked out of the society to veil the father’s disgrace.  The girl, inspite of all her inhibitions and bindings-dreams; looks up to her regular adoring visitor-her father. Till all her aspirations come crashing down, when the father declines to let her in his house, in his company. And later marries her off. Thus commences the beginning of her harsh fate filled with violence, intolerance and the lack of any warmth or sense of belonging.
Meanwhile little Laila loses her brothers in the name of jihad which lives her mother almost lifeless, disinterested in the daily affairs of life or even her. Laila grows up motivated by her father’s vision for Afghanistan and her father’s belief in her.
Fate brings these two women together. They look out for each other, loving selflessly. They face the cruelties of the war and the war prone, prejudiced society which becomes especially unbearable for the women.

Why should you read this book-because one rarely gets to read such a soul wrenching fiction these days, one rarely gets such an accurate and lucid picture of a crumbling society.

Is it as good as ‘the Kite Runner’? - In terms of the plot and story-line  not so much. But in terms of giving a true and moving picture of the afghan crisis, this is the book! 

The Notebook

Nicholas Sparks

Simplicity is what this book is all about.For me the naivete's, The sweetness of the book is what makes it so special.and thank god at least in this one, the guy is not that typical macho man!

The hero is Noah,he is from a small town who is built in and out with the morals and ethics instilled in him by his father, that could not be broken even by a devastating war.Luck favours him, and again it doesn't.When the love of his life, his childhood sweetheart-Allie leaves him, after spending a beautiful summer with him and never looks back,the barriers of wealth,status,family and career stands between them and fate smirks at him .But, then again, his belated-boss leaves quite an amount of his fortune in his them.Thus he becomes able to fulfill his dreams,rebuild his dream house.And then--and then after 14 years, Allie returns to the town.
Noah and Allie are both two heart full people,close to nature.Noah likes poetry and Allie is a painter.Creation always needs inspiration, for them it's one another.At certain places i got drowned in the beauty of those verses,the poetries are an appeal to this story.
And there are times i wondered how can two people ever feel something like this for each other.The writer gave an eternity to the story,something that truly touched me.Just by those simple words,i think any one will get convinced that true love is unending,its infinite, its unconditional.and he made some fantasy seem real,he made the illogical seem the most possible, he made the impractical seem practical.It was as if Noah and Allie were defining love all over again, the abstract thing called 'affection' suddenly bounced out in full form in front of me,as if, love is exactly that, not any less!
Probably the story might not sound that interesting, but trust me it has got much more to it. Here Nicholas Sparks gives you that 'perfect' ending that you were always looking for!

The Broker - John Grisham

Former power broker and hotshot DC attorney, Joel Backman, is serving a 20 year jail sentence for selling military secrets. He found himself in possession of a sophisticated satellite software program, and tried to sell it to various countries. As an inept and unpopular president gets ready to leave office, corrupt CIA director, Teddy Maynard, bribes the president to pardon Joel Backman (only 6 years into his jail term). He plans to plop Backman down into a foreign country under CIA watch, and then leak his whereabouts to those countries wishing Backman dead. It is here that The Broker becomes the Italian travelogue and coffee diary. Backman is relocated to Bologna. With the help of a private tutor, he starts learning the language. He learns nouns...he learns adjectives...he learns adverbs...he learns verbs...he learns verb tenses, etc. You get the picture. Then he goes out for sumptuous meals, which are described in great detail (all at government expense, of course). Then he starts seeing the sites. He tours churches, cathedrals, towers, etc. and we get the history and description of each. And finally, he stops for a cup of coffee, cappuccino or espresso at least 5-6 times a day. Without all this the book would have been atleast 70 page shorter.

The climax to The Broker is very unsatisfying and the ending rather weak. Grisham leaves things a bit open-ended and we can only hope that it's not because we'll be seeing these characters again. There weren't many that were very likable. Hopefully Grisham will let them rest in peace. So read The Broker if you're a Grisham fan, but don't expect one of his better works.

A Time to Kill: John Grisham

Carl Lee Hailey-a black vet- finds himself helpless after his 10yr old daughter, Tanya gets raped and beaten up by two rednecks.Tanya identifies the two and with the help of a local sheriff they are arrested.But Carl does not have faith in the Clanton justice.He would not and does not accept the verdict based on who has the better lawyer.The town reacts with horror until the girl's father takes justice into his own hands.As he gets his hands on M-16 he shoots the two, and by this process the two rapists gets killed and a deputy, severely injured.He then goes straight to his brother's lawyer Jake Brigance,to get him off.For Jake, this is the case of his career. A young lawyer, out on his own and barely making ends meet, winning this one would set he and his family up for life. And with the assistance of his old friend Lucien, a dirty smart divorce lawyer named Harry, and a surprise godsend of a paralegal nick-named “Ro-Ark”, he might just be able to see this one through.
Jake fights his way through but in this process he puts Carl's,his and his family's life at stake.Eventually the Klan gets involved so does other racist and a chaos situation is created.Burning cross,threats,slogans and banners saying "set Carl lee free" is all over the city.For days the nation sits spellbound as the defence lawyer struggles to save his client's life and then his own.The city takes a different face that no one has ever seen before.The national guard are called into the small southern town to keep the peace, and the clashes with protesters and Klan are heightening by the day. And, of course, the unavoidable problem... which way will the jury go? Can Jake maintain his sanity, his life, AND win the biggest case in his career?

This is one among the other court room dramas of Grisham.But this particular one is action packed,full of drama and suspense.You will feel your heart hammering fast along with that of Carl and Jake.Of course, you could tell where his sympathies lay, but for a first novel his ability to write impartially was very impressive.

Emma - Jane Austen

A departure from the subsequent thriller-review series underneath, this book I'm reviewing is an all-time favourite Social Comedy (the reason behind it being that this reviewer has never laid her hands on a thriller book, shame on her). Yes, yet another Jane Austen Classic, but unlike any of her other books. The heroine of this book is an exact opposite of P&P's Elizabeth Bennet. Unlike any of her other heroines, Emma Woodhouse is NOT polite, sincere, sensible or thoughtful. Tricky, huh? Well, it must've been so for Austen, because she has deemed Emma as her greatest and most favourite creation.

Getting right down to the story of the novel, Emma Woodhouse is a rich, elegant, beautiful and witty young lady of 19, who is the stereotypical "Popular Girl" of the Victorian age. She gets everything she wants, everybody loves her, and she rules. After her elder sister gets married and moves out of the house, she is the mistress of everybody, and she rather likes to think herself smarter than all other mortals, so she decided to bestow her kindness on her earthly neighbours through her best social skill:- Matchmaking! She makes all kinds of ironic and disastrous matches, creating a sort of havoc in her perfectly prim and proper society. But of course, no one can refuse her. No one except, the 38-year-old handsome, dashing, thoughtful and conveniently rich Mr. Knightley , Emma's sister's brother-in-law. He is like Emma's conscience, while Emma will only pay any heed to Mr. Knightley alone. But nothing stops her from her matchmaking, and she goes on and on trying to make other people fall in love, remaining blissfully clueless about her own true love.

This book is light, funny, witty and nothing else. It's not romance, it's obvious from the first chapter who is destined to end up with who, it's not a character in-depth analysis book, and doesn't pretend to be! It's the ultimate ancestor to romantic comedies. Those of you like that genre will love this book. But I suggest you pick up an abridged version. Because Emma in it's original classic Victorian English? Trust me, the first chapter will put you to sleep.....like it did with me!

Misery - Stephen King

Paul Sheldon is a famous writer who has been made famous by his character Misery, a young girl who has stolen the hearts of Sheldon's devoted readers. However Paul grew to hate his Misery novels and so he kills her.

The novel opens with Paul in the care of his number one fan Annie Wilkes. She's eccentric, neurotic and quite frankly, insane. Paul had been in a car wreck while driving home from finishing his latest novel, a departure, drastic departure from his Misery series. Annie happened to find him trapped beneath his car on the side of the road and took it upon herself to rescue him. Upon realizing who he was, her all time favorite writer in the world, she took it upon herself to hold him hostage. When crazy Annie finds out what Paul has done to her beloved Misery she takes matters into her own hands to resurrect her from the dead. What follows is one of the most bone chilling accounts ever put to paper.

There are scenes within this novel that will outright horrify you. This isn't the type of scare one gets when reading about evil spirits or terrifying zombies. It is the type which will get you thoroughly surprised when reading about the scary side of human psychology. So if you want to be terrified this is the book for you.

Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

I would have to argue with samia here a bit since according to me this is Dan Browns best work. No offence dear but the plot which he puts forward in this book surpasses everything.

Brown's famous character Robert Langdon (Da Vinci Code) is introduced in this book. A professor of symbology finds himself in the worlds largest nuclear research facility CERN where a scientist has been brutally murdered. His final discovery antimatter, a powerful energy source, has disappeared only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Who did it? An ancient legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism.

Langdon joins the scientist's daughter, Vittoria, on a mad dash through some of Rome's most famous landmarks, in an effort to find the anti-matter before the Vatican is leveled. As Langdon and Vittoria set off on their investigation, they follow a trail of multiple ritualistic murders, the threatened obliteration of an entire country, the potential death of a major world religion, secret societies that go back 500 years, new scientific discoveries that will change the world, and much more. This is one page-turner which is definitely worth a read.

Digital fortress:one amazing sci-fi!!

'Digital fortress' is one among the few writings of the controversial writer of the Da Vinci Code 'Dan Brown'.It is one book which will make you flip like through the pages like a nutcase and will give you goosebumps.Indeed it is a true thriller.The suspense that slowly builds up through out the book,comes to a thrashing end at the ending.And i think this is what makes this book so much more exciting.It is one of the best books i have ever read and in my opinion it is even better than all other books of Dan Brown,even better than the controversial two.
The plot is created surrounding NSA and its finest decrypting machine.The problem arises when this machine fails to decrypt a message from the Japanese guy Ensei Tankado.Then NSA puts Susan Fletcher to look through the problem,as it becomes a vital one:Ensei Tankado threatens to make the code public by selling it to the highest bidder. David Becker, a professor and Susan's boyfriend is sent to locate the key to Spain when Ensei Tankado dies.Thus the story rolls on.Finally the worst fears of the NSA becomes true as they figure out that the message is actually a dangerous virus which entered the machine as the firewall was switched off to let the message in.
Though the context is complex one does not need to be an expert in those sectors to enjoy the book, that's the beauty of it.
It is a marvelous novel and if you haven't read this yet you have truly missed out on a lot.Happy Reading! Thrillers.

To kill a Mocking bird - Harper Lee

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child (Scout). The result is a novel dealing with issues like race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale. The begining might get a bit boring but it does show the gradual character build-up. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." Lee won the prestigious Pulitzer Award for this book.

The God Of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

An award winning book in all its right, The God Of Small Things will take you to a different realm entirely. But it's up to you whether or not you may like that realm. The novel delves into a the lives of two young siblings in the heart of South India as they go through happiness and tragedies alike. The narrative of this novel is the most unique thing I have ever read. Hard to believe this is Arundhati Roy's first novel, and to this day remains her only novel.

We read the novel through the mindset of the two children; this takes us through very serious subject matters, but in the innocent view-point of two children, bringing a unique and almost disturbing quality to it. Also extraordinary are the nature of its central characters, Estha and Rahel, the two twin siblings who are said to be Siamese twins; but joined not at the body, but said to have "shared a single soul". If you don't read closely, this book will seem only strange and weird to you. But this book is in reality, an in-depth study of the human nature, and its primal instincts and behavior. Yet, strangely enough, this book is centered mostly on the socio-political circumstances of a post-war, communist South India. But this is only expected out of the most famous columnist in the Indian-Subcontinent, as social commentary must be a second nature to her, if not a duty.

A word of caution: this is not a light read. In fact, this is the hardest book I've ever had to read and even more so, to understand. This book deals with racism, child abuse, and at one point, incest. But you have to read through that to find out why this book enchants every adult who reads it, and is Award-Winning to say the least. No wonder readers are demanding a follow-up of this novel. After all, how many times do we come across a classic in this side of the twentieth century?

Ami topu:Md jafar Iqbal

Some claim its childish. Well, for them-of course it is! It is after all a children's fiction and who doesn't love the kind when its written by Jafar Iqbal?
This story is about an unfortunate teenaged boy,who lost his father and has a mother who blames him for it.But the injustice does not end with this misjudgment only,his mother also abandons and declines him. Thus he stays at his own home like a parasite.But then, his life takes a new turn, this happens with the new talent he discovers in himself.

It is a simple book,with a plain language, but i m sure all of you'll enjoy reading it.

Love Story ~Erich Segal

This is one of my very favorites. It is written in the most simple form a book could be possibly written but holds you on to it which few books can. Love Story" is a romantic,funny, and yet tragic story, that over 35 years ago had an entire generation in love, in tears, and spouting "Love means never having to say you're sorry".

Jennifer Cavilleri and Oliver Barrett IV are two very different people and come from very different backgrounds, but their chemistry and their conversations will bring a smile to your face. They meet and fall in love in college at a library.As time passes we get to see how their love blossoms and matures as they continue dating. Oliver turns his back to his super rich family to marry Jenny. Jenny gives up her dreams of going to Paris and becoming a musician inorder to marry Oliver.They go through many hardships, and just when they feel that they have reached a point where their hard work has paid off, tragedy strikes.This book is the sappy love story that is perfect for reading anytime. When the book finally ends you will have laughed and cried. By 'cried' I means serious crying here.

Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes

A Spanish classic--Don Quixote by Cervantes is often called the first modern novel and many rate it as one of the best novels ever written in any language. This book reigns the first spot of most of the 'Best novels of the world'--lists. That itself stirs enough interest and curiosity for readers.

After reading a great many chivalric tales—having sold much of his land to obtain the volumes—a 50-year-old gentleman of La Mancha loses his reason. The plot and sub-plots are primarily guided by Don Quixote's obsession with knight-errants, forming acts to chivalry and participating in adventures in a manner he read in such books. Sancho serves as his squire and complements and supplements his master in every possible way. Quixote is kind at heart, his every act is inspired by a good intention, a dreamer trapped in a body that prompts him to be called the "knight of rueful countenance", a loyal lover whose never set eye on her who he so praises and desires in a chaste way! Yet he is so full of imaginary tales and characters that he lives in a make-believe world, where he mistakes windmills for monsters, herds of sheep for armies, and so on, attacks them, defends them, and Cerventes manages to weave a saga of such events in a form that identifies with allegory, fable, epic and comic drama at the same time. The dialogue between Quixote and Sancho is excellent comedy, creating a duo that will make you laugh till your tummy hurts.

However I must warn you this is a big book and the story starts in a slow pace which can easily bore a reader. Since this is a classic one must endure the fact that
they would have to read 100 pages for the establishment of the characters.

Doctors by Erich Segal

Gentlemen, I urge you to engrave this on the template of your memories: there are thousands of diseases in this world, but Medical Science only has an empirical cure for twenty six of them. The rest is...guesswork.’ Erich Segal in Doctors.
Graduating from Harvard himself this is one of the best works of Erich Segal centering around the lives of Harvard medical students. This is one of my all time favourite books. The story is based on the two central characters Barney Livingstone and Laura Castellano. It has Kenneth who rises above racial discrimination to excel in his field.. It has Seth who is a mad genius.. All in all it is a book about doctors who lead such a glamorous yet unglamorous life.......
The book is written in a simple and lucid language. You don't need the oxford dictionary by your side. All you Sidney Sheldon readers will be pleasantly surprised by the lack of 'you know what!' The book says that doctors have higher suicide and drug addiction rates than the rest of the population due to the rigorous demands of their profession. We learn that many wannabe doctors give up their lives (or end up demented), as they are unable to cope with the intense pressure of their work. We learn the inner secrets of what happens when doctors goof up in their practice and the politics that affects even this profession. Concepts like euthanasia and doctor’s ethics are touched upon, not to mention the adrenaline of the operating room. There is a lot of medical knowledge to be found here and many exciting hospital room scenes.
All in all 'Doctors' is one of the great master pieces written by none other than a legend himself. It is one of the best books I have read . And when you do close the book you are going to have the fuzzy feeling you have after you finish reading a book with a great plot and story-line. So enjoy!

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

By Jules Verne

Whatever any one might say,but I absolutely loved this book.Indeed,it is famous for a reason. It is a rather simple story,something that might remind you of Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl.But of course in a mature way.
It is a very informative,knowledgeable and an extremely well written book.You will find yourself traveling through out the world along with Phileas Fogg.We get to see Fogg passing through different cultures and also saving a young women from being burned alive. And you also get to learn a lot of geography and history,while being quite unaware of that fact,and i think that is what makes this book so cool.

If you find it child like, then i bet you find Agatha Christie,Rowling,R.L. Stevenson extremely child like as well.And so I'd suggest you not to read the book.
Otherwise, i think you should rush and grab a copy,because this book totally rocks!

Sense & Sensibility-Jane Austen

Her first book ever published, Sense & Sensibility greatly reflects upon the true writing style of Austen. Like Pride & Prejudice, the meaning of this novel too, lies in its title. This story is about the conflict between Sense and Sensibility. The two main characters in the novel are Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, two beautiful sisters of elegant birth but of little fortune. Elinor, extremely mannered and reserved, portrays Sense while Marianne, lively and passionate portrays Sensibility.

Elinor deeply loves Edward Ferarrs, the brother of her sister-in-law; a man who is equally reserved and shy as Elinor herself. Elinor never quite manages to tell Edward about her feelings. This brings a high price, for one day she finds out that Edward has become engaged to another girl.

Marianne, who lives for passion, finds exactly what she wants. John Willoughby, a handsome and dashing bachelor, has almost everything in common with Marianne. The two are open and ardent in their love until their behavior becomes too scandalous and arrogant. They despise the 35-year-old bachelor Colonel Brandon, a man who has neither youth nor passion. Colonel Brandon forms an intimate and deep friendship with Elinor, and at the same time is enchanted with Marianne, who resembles his long lost love. Marianne's dreams are torn away from her as Willoughby betrays her shockingly and marries another girl for money.

So who wins in the end in terms of a happy ending? Sense or Sensibility? The answer is the same as almost all of Austen's other books: A balance between the two. Both the sisters come to terms with their own selves and realize their mistakes and finally, repair the rift between the two of them to help each other through their miseries. And both of them find true love and happiness in the end, in a way none of them had ever imagined. And thus Austen concludes with the fact that while both reserve and passion are important, too much of one can destroy any kind of relationship.

As far as personal opinion goes, I don't like this novel all too much. Though it has a great moral and storyline, the ending almost destroys the whole point of the novel. In my opinion the characters in the novel had a lot more room for development and the ending did none of them justice, especially Elinor and Marianne. Also, if you're looking for a romantic read like Pride and Prejudice, this book is not for you, because the book is more about the analysis of the characters of the two sisters than their love stories. Nonetheless it's a good read if you already like Jane Austen's style and aren't afraid of a somewhat disappointing ending.

Mansfield Park

Though not one of the most remarkable works of Austen,Mansfield Park is a novel which rose much interest among the mass

Yes,those of you who like to read classics, this probably is not one of the best of e kind but what the hell,Austen is Austen!

Fanny Price,the goody good young girl from a poor family starts living with her aunt and her family,the Bertrams. From the beginning she grows this soft corner for her Cousin Edmund.
Fanny is not the gossip raising beauty, and nor much of an outspoken girl,but since she is the heroin at the end of the day every one and evhingeryt goes in her favour.
When the new hotshot brother and sister-Mary and Henry Crawford arrive in her neighbourhood,every one gets drugged by their charm,and steps towards derailment.But obviously none of this affected our Fanny.
Henry Crawford at last becomes aware of the unconventional beauty in Fanny and proposes marriage to her.But our righteous and shy fanny,gave her heart to Edmund who gave his to Mary Crawford.Being refused by Fanny,frustrated Henry Crawford elopes and has a one night stand with Edmund's married sister Maria
Reality dawns on everyone and the spotlight again returns to Fanny

This is supposed to be a love story,but the mutual love is caged in only Chap 5b of a book containing 58 chapters.And it is in this Chapter that Edmund like everyone else figures out that no none suits him better than Fanny Price.And they live happily ever after.

The Shining---Stephen King

The King of Horror brings another book which makes you want to peer out from your blanket to see if there are any spooky strangers looming over you! Some people might not find it as scary as I did but it did make me keep my lights on before I went to sleep for an entire fortnight!!

The story begins with the Torrance family embarking on a month-long retreat into complete isolation when Jack Torrance signs on to be the winter custodian of the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Jack takes some personal demons with him to a hotel full of malevolent, ghostly spirits. A recovering alcoholic who, in the last couple of years, lost his job and broke his little boy's arm in a state of drunken fury. He thinks the time alone with his wife and son will allow him to find peace.The only person really clued into the dreadful possibilities is his son Danny. Danny has "the shine," a gift which allows him to see and know things he cannot possibly know; it is a powerful gift which the Overlook jealously desires for itself. As the days pass, the Overlook exerts more and more of an influence on Jack, exploiting his weaknesses, increasing his paranoia and basically turning him into a murderous new tool at the hotel's disposal.

Even after 30 years after its publication The shining still remains one of the most popular works by King. Its vivid and gruesome descriptions about the horrors of the hotel is sure to make anyone grip the book a little bit tighter.

As the crow flies---Jeffrey Archer

Jeffrey Archer's amazing storytelling ability, completely enchanting characters, and surprising twists all combine to make a totally enjoyable novel. AS THE CROW FLIES is no exception.Archer uses his rags-to-riches theme with Charlie Trumper, young barrow boy from the Whitechapel area of London's East End. Charlie masters the fine craft of becoming the best fruit and vegetable man in all of the East End, a talent he gets from his grandfather and one that stays with him for life and gives him his greatest thrill.The reader watches Charlie grow from eight-year-old urchin to World War I soldier and chairman of his own London department store. Along the way both triumph and tragedy are his companions, but it is his bitter and hate-filled feud with the Trentham family that will leave you aghast and shocked, but always mesmerized and turning the pages.
An interesting part is Archer narrates the entire story from the direct point-of-view from all the major characters.Having 800 pages, though the book might turn a bit boring at parts but that will not deter a reader to put the book down.

A subduction of enthusiasm:Almost Heaven

Yes you guessed it right! This book of Mcnaught was not very impressive.

As it was one of the '19Th century Britain' based writing of hers and as it contained the widely appreciated characters of her book- 'something wonderful'- the readers were obviously expecting more..but alas it was a disappointment!
Elizabeth Cameron's undeserving fate,her barbaric uncle tries to marry her off with any other hardly acceptable bachelor eligible or not, after her half brother disappears suddenly leaving Elizabeth half drowned in his debts.2years earlier,Elizabeth, a ravishing young beauty had a very successful debut and also got offers from most eligible suitors of England but her reputation got destroyed as soon as her name got linked with Ian Thornton.Unable to accept this, her half brother Robert tries to kill Ian and after being humiliated continuously,flees.
Due to some flaws by his secretary,Ian suddenly finds himself serving Elizabeth as a house guest when she appears at his door step at his Scot home, claiming Ian to be her agreeable suitor.This is were the romance actually starts off,at least from Elizabeth's side. Then before you can settle with this idea,or even before Elizabeth falls in love with Ian,they are married!Here starts Mcnaught's famous and obvious twists,we find that Ian was the reason for Robert's disappearance.
As expected the story ends happily,ever after.
It might not be that bad as i am claiming it to be,it could just be me who is extremely tired of the same kind of plot and the same sorts of heroes and heroines of Mcnaught's books.

Tell Me Your Dreams--Sydney Sheldon

The book is based on one of the most bizarre murder trials where three women are suspects. Ashley, Toni Prescott and Alette---three women who have nothing in common are shown as co-workers in a Global Computer Graphics. As one goes deeper into the book we get introduced to the controversial multiple personality disorder(MPD) syndrome which shows us that the three characters are more connected then we can possibly imagine. After some confusing chapters in the beginning we get to see some high paced court room drama. However towards the end the excitement dies down a bit and one might feel a bit disappointed. Some readers might notice that Sheldon took a new turn in his writing in this book.

Nevertheless it is a psychological thriller which is worth a read.For everyone who doesn't know what MPD is, TELL ME YOUR DREAMS will surely be a surprise.

The Master of the Game--Sydney Sheldon

We all know Sydney Sheldon for his page-turning and twisted plots. Sheldon keeps his signature style and brings us MASTER OF THE GAME which will surely keep you at the edge of your seat making you want to know what exactly happens next!! The story begins in 1883 where we meet the young and ambitious Jamie McGregor on his way to Africa to make his fortune in diamonds. Overcoming duplicity and hardships he finally makes it rich and starts the Kruger-Brent company. Enters Kate McGregor, his daughter, whose entire life spans around how to make this company one of the worlds largest conglomerates. Her thriving ambition doesnt get deterred by any of the thorns in her path. Kate -the master of the game- manupulates her kins and competitions alike to see her company thrive in the corporate world.

Sheldon takes us on an amazing journey told in an enticing and binding manner.You might not like all the characters but that surely would not stop you from liking the book. The twists and turns of each character and how one is connected to the other by improbable forces create a book that is not only entertaining but spellbinding.