Hi Vedang, needed some advice from you.
My cousin brother is visting India and is married to an Amercian woman. She likes to read fiction, anything other than too much gore and murder is alright. She is keen on trying out some Indian authored books in the fiction space. Anything you recommend?
I'm guessing nothing with myth and mythology since she is not aware of the basics and maybe something that isn't too India context based? What do you have in mind?
This is a list I created based on that question.1
1 I asked some follow-up questions to get a better read (khi khi):
Karan and Parul share their journey across the Northeast in vivid detail, and it's engrossing and tremendously entertaining.
If someone tells you they are going to bike through the North-East, you may think that it's "a big deal". But will you stop to reflect on exactly how difficult such a trip can be? Reading this book, there were so many stories where my mind went "That's completely crazy!" or "They're lucky to be alive!" or "I want to do that!". I don't think I have it in me to undertake such a journey, but I came away wanting to. And that, to me, is success as an author.
Karan's writing flows beautifully through describing the day-to-day and the reflections, the details of the North-East and the details of their personal lives. But there is a special place in my heart for the boxes that Parul has written. They are surprising, poignant, and thoughtful. I wish there were more of them.
I've been reading a lot of fantasy books this year. These are your standard brain-rot, masala-fare, escapist books – no different from binging Netflix. This book, which I happened to pick up because of a recommendation, reminded me of why I read – the joy of picking a book you don't know about, getting lost in the author's world, living their experience, and coming out yearning for a change.
I look forward to buying the hardcover version when it comes out. And now I know the question I must ask at any dhaba when I'm traveling :) – "How's the Road Ahead?"
]]>Cross-posted from my note: Notes and Reading Material on the Mahabharata on Quora
People have shown some interest in reading material for the Mahabharata, this post should save me from repeatedly typing the same things.
These books are straight-forward narrations of the Mahabharata. They introduce the reader to all the major characters and plot turns. In my experience, people are not even aware of the major players in the Mahabharata. To them, it's simply the story of 5 good Pandavas vs 100 evil Kauravas. If you have never read the Mahabharata, or are unsure about what you have read, one of these books is a good place to start.
Now we come to the interesting part of the Mahabharata. If you choose to abandon a Sanjaya-esque all-knowing view of the Mahabharata, and read it from the point of view of a single character as it interacts with the Mahabharata world, you will discover that every character was right in every action they took. This is the real beauty of the Mahabharata. The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. The characters behave as human beings would behave. They make decisions based on incomplete/incorrect knowledge. They are driven by lust, ambition, revenge and other human emotions. Unfortunately, I've come across precious few English books that take this approach. The bulk of the great writing related to the Mahabharata is in regional languages. (In my case, Marathi, my mother-tongue)
We should now turn to books that explain the Mahabharata (or parts of it) in detail.
I've separated these books from those in the previous section because I think they are better books. This is my personal opinion.
These books are utter bunkum. Do yourself a favor and don't read them.
Kisari Mohan Ganguly [1883-1896] translated the Sanskrit texts into English word-for-word. He has done a great service to idiots like me, providing a ready reference that I can look up anytime I want. You can find the translated text here: The Mahabharata
You can also find the entire text of the Mahabharata in Sanskrit here (Note: this is not the critical edition printed by BORI, which is considered the authoritative version): The Mahabharata - Sanskrit
These books are gems in Mahabharata literature (from what I've heard), and they are all inaccessible to me either because they are out of print or because they are in an unknown language. If someone has read one of these books and is willing to explain the salient points to me, I will pay for dinner and drinks.