Ajeya

Biography of Chandrashekhar Azad, very nicely written by Babu Krishnamurty. Took two months to read, but did not miss the thread in between. Indian freedom struggle has always been my favourite subject, and this one is just awesome. Lived every moment of it.
And for every kannadiga this is a must read.

Winners

Took almost three months to finish reading, though started off during my long train journey to Gwalior.
Liked it. My first from Danielle Steel, would love to read more of her. Though story's centre point is Lily, every other character makes you love them.

Can Love Happen Twice?

Once again a beautiful novel though not fully Ravinder's true story. Now I know why his novels are such a hit. For those who wish to read this, please read 'I too had a Love Story' first as 'Can Love Happen Twice?' is like the continuation of it.

I too had a love story

I too had a Love Story, novel by Ravinder Singh, infact his true story is heart touching. Cannot wait to read his second one.

Half girlfriend

Had a good time reading this. Am sure you would like too. Waiting for your next one Mr. Chetan Bhagat :)

The Secret Wish List

 Read this in few hours on my way back to Bangalore from Jhansi. What else you need when you have to do a train journey all alone. Completely loved it. Well done Preeti!

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Khaled is a perfect story teller. Am sure one would be glued to the book till the last page.

Afghanistan's history, culture is beautifully portrayed. Most interesting part is when the story takes a sudden twist with Amir meeting Rahim Khan. The one character that everyone would look up to is Hassan. If you haven't read, I would suggest you to.

Life is What You Make it

A beautiful book by Preeti Shenoy.
Am sure one can finish reading it in one go like i did.

Its a story built around early 80's about Ankita Sharma, a regular college going girl from a middle class Indian family. All is well until her life takes a sudden U-turn when diagnosed with a mental illness.
Rest is how she fights back even the destiny.

Truly inspiring!  

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಂಧೀ

'ಗಾಂಧೀ ಮತ್ತು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ' ಎಂಬ ಗ್ರಂಥದ ಆಧಾರದ ಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರೊ. ಎನ್. ಕೃಷ್ಣಸ್ವಾಮಿಯವರು 'ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಾಂಧೀ' ಎಂಬ ಲೇಖನವನ್ನು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಈ ಪ್ರಬಂಧದ ಸಾರಾಂಶವನ್ನು ಕೆಳಗೆ ಬರೆಯಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ :

• ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೆ ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ೧೯೧೫ ರಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ.
• ೧೯೨೪ ರಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ಸ್ ಅಧಿವೇಶನದ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾಗಿದ್ದರು.
• ೧೯೨೭ ರಲ್ಲಿ ಖಾದಿ ಪ್ರಚಾರ ಪ್ರವಾಸ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ಅವರ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಹದಗೆಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರಿಂದ, ನಂದಿ ಬೆಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ಪಡೆಯಲು ಮೈಸೂರು ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಅವರನ್ನು ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರ ದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನೂರಾರು ಶಾಲಾ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೂ, ಜನರಿಗೂ, ಖಾದಿಯ ಮಹತ್ವವನ್ನು ತಿಳಿಸುವ ಅವಕಾಶ ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿಗೆ ದೊರೆಯಿತು.
• ಶಿವಮೊಗ್ಗದ ತುಂಗೆಯ ತೀರದಲ್ಲೂ ಅವರು ವಿಹರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನನಗೆ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಖುಷಿ ತಂದಿದೆ.
• ಗುಂಡುಕುಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಗೌರಮ್ಮನ ಉಪವಾಸ ಸತ್ಯಾಗ್ರಹ, ಸಿದ್ದಾಪುರದ ಮಹಾದೇವಿಯ ಕಥೆ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಮೆಚ್ಚುವಂಥದ್ದು. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಹೆಣ್ಣುಮಕ್ಕಳ ತ್ಯಾಗ ಬುದ್ಧಿಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ 'ಈ ಜನರ ಔದಾರ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರತಿಯಾಗಿ ನಾನೇನು ಕೊಡಬಲ್ಲೆ?' ಎಂದು ಪದೇ ಪದೇ ಹೇಳುತ್ತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.
• ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿಯವರ ಸಹಾಯದಿಂದ ವಿಧವೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದ ಮಹಾದೇವಿಯು ವರ್ಧಾ ಆಶ್ರಮ ಸೇರಿ ಸೇವೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಮುಂದೆ ವಿನೋಬಾಜಿ ಅವರ ಸಾಕುಮಗಳಾಗಿ, ಅವರ ಭೂದಾನ ಯಾತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಹತ್ವದ ಪಾತ್ರವಹಿಸುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅವರ ಚಿತೆಗೆ ಅಗ್ನಿಸ್ಪರ್ಶ ಮಾಡಿದವಳೂ ಆಕೆಯೇ.
• ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿಯವರ ಕಡೆಯ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಪ್ರವಾಸ ಹುದಲಿಗೆ, ಗಾಂಧೀ ಸೇವಾ ಸಂಘದ ಸಮ್ಮೇಳನಕ್ಕಾಗಿ.

ಇದೆಲ್ಲದರಿಂದ ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿಗೂ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೂ ಒಂದು ವಿಶೇಷ ನಂಟು ಇತ್ತೆಂದು ತಿಳಿದುಬರುತ್ತದೆ.

ಭಾರತದ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ

ಭಾರತದ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಹೋರಾಟ ಮತ್ತು ಹೋರಾಟಗಾರರ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಈ ಎರಡು ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ತುಂಬ ಖುಷಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿವೆ.
ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಳವಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪಮಟ್ಟಿಗಾದರೂ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಹಳ ಸಹಾಯಕಾರಿ. ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು ಜ್ಞಾನಿ.

Johny Gone Down

Johny gone down is an excellent novel by Karan Bajaj. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
This is about Nikhil Arya, an MIT graduate whose vacation to Cambodia turns out to be a nightmare. The different episodes of his life thereafter, is beautifully narrated.

I suggest everyone to read this one.

ಚಿತ್ರಲೇಖಾ

ನಾನು ಓದಿದ ಮೊದಲ ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಇದು ಎಂದರೆ ತಪ್ಪಾಗಲಾರದು. ವಿ.ಮ್. ಇನಾಂದಾರ್ ಅವರ 'ಚಿತ್ರಲೇಖಾ'.
ಓದುವುದಕ್ಕೂ ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣ ಇದೆ. ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಸ್ಪೇಸ್ ನ ಸ್ಪರ್ಶ ದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆಕ್ವಿಜ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿ ಉತ್ತರ ಕಳಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಸುಮಾರು ೫-೬ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು ಬಹುಮಾನವಾಗಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೊಂದು.

ಬಹಳ ದಿನಗಳ ನಂತರ ಕನ್ನಡ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಓದುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಒಂದು ಕಡೆಯಾದರೆ, ಮೊದಲ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಇನ್ನೊಂದೆಡೆ.
ಹೇಗೋ ಶುರು ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಓದುತ್ತಾ ಹೋದಂತೆಲ್ಲ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚುತ್ತ, ಕೇವಲ ಮೂರು ದಿನದಲ್ಲೇ ಮುಕ್ತಾಯವಾಯಿತು ಪುಸ್ತಕ .

೩ ಭಾಗಗಳು, ಕುಸುಮಾ, ಪ್ರತಿಭಾ, ಮತ್ತು ಚಿತ್ರಲೇಖಾ. ರಮೇಶನ ಪಾತ್ರ ತುಂಬಾ ಹಿಡಿಸಿತು. ಕಥೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿದಂತೆ ಕುಸುಮಾಳು ನಿಜವಾಗಿಯೂ ಪರಮಾತ್ಮಳೆನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಬಾ ಖುಷಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದೆ ಕಥೆ. ಇಂತಹ ಇನ್ನೂ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಲೇಖನಗಳನ್ನು ಓದುವ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿದೆ ನನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗ.

The Alchemist

The Alchemist- A magical fable about following your dream.

It is the story of everyone of us who dream of following our destiny. Hence it inspires one to keep up the dream and follow it. So a must read story i would say.

"When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true" is the core of the novel.

One night @ the call cetre

This is the second book i read after 2 States written by Chetan Bhagat.

Though it was little boring in the middle, overall i enjoyed it.
What is interesting is the fact that in spite of the regular story portraying the lives of six colleagues at the call centre, it is giving some positive message.

Cultural History of India

The illustrated Cultural History of India edited by A.L.Basham is quite interesting, unlike political, economic history which is rather boring. This has covered almost the entire culture India has witnessed (in art, architecture,philosophy, religion, music and literature) since the Indus civilization till the Nationalist Movement and Modern Literature. Everything in a concised form. What a great way to explore our own culture!

2 states

Finished reading this book. Though one can feel cultural shock in differentiating north with the south, the story is interesting and a happy ending.

Though it has a common topic of today, Chetan Bhagat has beautifully portrayed it. After i finished reading, i was curious to see how Ananya looks. So here is their photo.


Chetan Bhagat and wife Anusha

Mahashweta

This is the third book i read by Sudha Murty, the other two being 'Wise and Otherwise' and 'Dollar Bahu'. I have started loving her works.

'Mahashweta' is yet another wonderful novel by Sudha Murty. Its about a beautiful girl Anupama who just after marriage suffers from Leukoderma, how things change with that, and how she struggles almost single handedly without anybody's support.

The title is related to Anupama in way that she plays the role of Mahashweta in a college drama, which is the love story of Mahashweta, who is an extremely beautiful princess,the daughter of King of Gandhara who fell in love with Pundarika,the handome son of a rishi.In the same way Dr. Anand fell in love at first sight with Anupama after watching her performance in that drama.

The novel is so heart touching, which tries to portray various aspects of society. It infact has influenced many lives. The author herself illustrates one at the end.

A story teller's world

This is the first time i read R.K.Narayanan's work. I loved it so much. One can sit and finish the book at a stretch. It seems like its the feeling of each one of us. Wanting to read more of his. Can you suggest me few...

Dollar Bahu

Good book. Beautifully narrated by the author Sudha Murty in a simple way in simple English. Can finish reading in few hours. All characters, places are our very own Bengaluru, Dharwad. So one feels very familiar as if all this is happening in our neighbourhood.Overall liked it.

Samanyaralli Asamanayaru

Swabhimani by Lakshmana S. Ballolli


Chitralekha by P.M.Inamdar


Agni mattu Male by Girish Karnad


Nadia teerada nadige by Dr. Ranganatha Kantanakunte


Kalpana by R.Savitha

These are the books i won in a competition in Sudhamurthy's Samanyaralli Asamanayaru contest.
The question was which district is called 'Kavigala Nadu', and the right answer if Dharwad.