Akra koti gallon pani (अकरा कोटी गँलन पाणी) by Anil Barve

Akra koti gallon pani (अकरा कोटी गँलन पाणी)", by Anil Barve. This Marathi book is published by Urja prakashan and has 134 pages.

This book is a collection of two long stories. First story is called Akra koti gallon pani (110 million water) and second story is called Studfarm.

Bhadrapur is a coal rich area. Seth Jamnadas Mehta is the owner of a mine called 'Shaitani Khadan (Devil's pit)'. Swami is the brilliant mine engineer who has succeeded extracting coal from Shaitani Khadan. Upon greedy Seth Jamnadas' instructions, when coal was removed, instead of filling the pillar by a mixture of sand and water, it's filled by only water and subsidy is obtained for sand. Due to carbon monoxide and methane in the mine, 11 crore gallon water has become poisonous. To hide this misdeed, the mine was set on fire and sealed off. Wrong maps were prepared to show smaller size of excavation than actual.

Now mines are nationalized and Swami has retired. A new coaleary is dug close to Shaitani Khadan. Swami is terrified by the thought of coleary connecting to Shaitani khadan due to wrong maps and 11 crore gallon poisonous water entering mine and killing everyone instantaneously. This terrible disaster is a distinct possibility.

What will Swami do? If he speaks, he may be arrested. Will his good sense prevail? Who will he approach? Seth Jamnadas? Union leaders? Politicians? Newspapers? Manager of coaleary? Will he get any help? Can he avoid the disaster?

Gyaniseth has a number of businesses. However his real hobby and passion is his stud farm. Horses are his life. He thinks about horses, dreams about horses and does not spare any expense on horses. His stud farm is considered the best in India. He spots a pony (Chanda) on the beach of Karnala that is used to ferry children. Gyaniseth's expert eyes recognize the potential future winner. He buys the pony and employs it's owner, Yesu, as the caretaker of horse. He wants to create a history by making a winner out of a pony without pedigree. Chanda is trained by an expert trainer. He is renamed Grand Galloper. Three people love Chanda like a family member. His former owner and now caretaker, Gyani seth and his small daughter. Chanda loves them too.

Racing season begins. No body wants to bet on Chanda. He is called horse good for drawing carriage. Chanda wins first race in a photo finish. No one can believe this. Then Chanda goes on to win every race of the season, setting record on the way. The grand finale will be the race where the award will be given by the queen of England.

The plane carrying Chanda develops engine fault and one of its tyre bursts. Can the plane land? Will Chanda survive? Who does Gyani Seth care for, Chanda or staff on the plane? Will Chanda run the race of his life? Will he win?

Anil Barve is known to present various social issues through his novels and stories. He has a knack of blending the issue with story to create a homogenous tale. He has shown his command in demonstrating various human emotions like love, hate, empathy, ruthlessness without sacrificing the story line. Both the stories are compact and crisp.

I would have preferred the first story to be about ten pages longer. This would have allowed author to create the background and climax better. Since the book is small even those who are not avid readers can read it.

A very good book. Recommend reading.

Aisi kalvalyach jati (ऐसी कळवळ्याची जाती) by Prof. Milind Joshi

"Aisi kalvalyach jati (ऐसी कळवळ्याची जाती)", by Prof. Milind Joshi. This book is published in 2012 by Continental and has 210 pages.

This book is a collection of 17 word sketchs (व्यक्तीचित्रे). First three are author's mother, father and grandmother. These people have played an important role in shaping author's life. Author has described these personalities out of his love for them.

Next 14 are famous and revered personalities and men of letters (साहित्यिक) in Maharashtra. I have seen Principal Shivajirao Bhosle since childhood, but got to know something new about his personality.

Milind informs us that Mrutyunjarkar Shivaji Sawant (शिवाजी सावंत) was not an army man although he wore beret. Mrutyunjay is most sold novel in Marathi and was nominated for Nobel. Prof. Ram Shewalkar (प्रा. राम शेवाळकर) leading light of literature.

He goes on to present Gan.Na. Joglekar (गं.ना. जोगळेकर), an outspoken personality who was criticized but who did a lot of organizational work for Marathi literature. Nirmalkumar Phadkule (निर्मलकुमार फडकुले), man with a sweet tongue. Emotional & pure of heart, Da.Ma.Mirasdar (द. मा. मिरासदार), Dr. Da. Bhi. Kulkarni (द. भि. कुलकर्णी), the critique. Simplicity of Poet Grace (कवी ग्रेस) against perceived unfriendliness.

Chief of Bharti vidyapeeth Shivajirao Kadam (शिवाजीराव कदम). Police investigation story writer and editor Va. Kru. Joshi (व.कृ. जोशी). Radio producer and writer Jyotsna Devdhar (ज्योत्स्ना देवधर). One of the best known Marathi poet and lyricist (जगदीश खेबुडकर).

He has forcefully supported Suneeta Deshpande (सुनिता देशपांडे), wife of the great Pu. La. Deshpande (पु.ल.देशपांडे), who was criticized for her book 'Ahe manohar tari' (आहे मनोहर तरी) and finally poet Data Halasgikar (दत्ता हलसगीकर)

Milind has succeeded in penetrating the veneer of fame and look at the person beneath. Although it is interesting to know things about famous personalities that are not really available in public domain, the narration seems to be unorganized. I know that Milind Joshi writes better than this.

All these articles were individually published earlier in magazines at various times. They are compiled in this book 'as is'. It has caused repetition of a phrases, sentences and references. This might be one of the reasons for the unorganized appearance. Some touch up and editing before publishing should have been done to bring uniformity and continuity.

An OK book. Read if you want to know about these personalities.

The Target by David Baldacci

"The Target", lstest book by David Baldacci. This  is the third book in Will Robie series, is published in 2014 by Pan Macmillan India and has 400 pages.

Will Robie and Jessica Real, both CIA assassins, are now on the same sides, good friends and partner. Director of CIA is still livid at Jessica for killing two CIA employees in last book and makes an elaborate plan to teach them a lesson.

President of America has hatched a plot with General Pak of North Korea to assassinate superme leader and take over the power. But the plot in unearthed by a lady operative of North Korea. General Pak commits suicide.  General Pak's family is sent to labor camp. Robie and Real are sent to rescue them. They succeed. North Koreans device a daredevil plan to teach lesson to the Americans, lead by the lady assassin who unearthed General Pak's betrayal.

What is the plan? Will it succeed? Are Robie and Real involved? How well Americans retaliate? Is there a romance? Who is the target?

This book does not have one story. There are three stories in the book with General Pak's betrayal, neo Nazi gang and North Korean attack. As a result the story appears jack of all trades and a bit unorganized. Baldacci's writing style in this book is not as good as pervious book.

Book ends with a hint of Robie and Real getting together. Seeds of next book are sown in the form of stand off between America and North Korea as well as Jessica's personal issues.

Read if you have spare time otherwise give it a miss.

Robert Ludlum's "The Janus reprisal" by Jamie Freveletti

Robert Ludlum's "The Janus reprisal", by Jamie Freveletti. It's ninth novel in the 'Covert One' series.This book is published by Grand Central publishing and has 480 pages.

Covert one series is marketed under Robert Ludlum's name but it's written by various authors (six authors so far) and is presumed to be based on his ideas. Covert one is a top secret U.S. agency that fights bad guys and deals mainly with bioweapons threat.  It's operatives are single persons, with no family or friends. Lieutenant Colonel Jon Smith, a scientist and under cover operative is the protagonist.

Jon Smith is attending a conference on virology, in a hotel in The Hague, when he is attacked. The killer can not kill him and dies mysteriously. He was carrying photographs of three persons. An MI6 oprative, Jon Smith and a woman. Mutant variant of a bacteria is stolen from hotel safe. A Pakistani terrorist (Dattar) escapes from custody in The Hague.

Randi Russel (CIA) tries to help Jon but is taken ill by an unknown virus. A CIA agent is shot. Randi thinks that there is a mole in CIA and nobody can be trusted. Jon finds the woman in the photo but she is taken by Dattar's men. Jon is left to his own devices to save himself from a terrorist, rescue the woman in photo and thwart the plot by Dattar to destroy American interest in US by using a WMD. Randy is suspected to be the CIA mole.

Who is the lady in the photo? Is she a civilian or a spy? Are all these events related? Is Dattar behind it all? Is the CIA compromised? Will ultra secret agency 'Covert one' deliver? What is Janus?

There is a change in writing style of this series due to various authors and those who read the series can not relate to it. Jon Smith is shot-at multiple times on US soil, is exposed to mustered gas and bacteria. Does the author want to hint that he is getting old and his reflexes are faltering? Normally Covert One operatives are loners. Here they work as a team. Although the title is Janus Reprisal, Janus is mentioned only twice in the book and has no real role. The name of book could have been anything else.

Readers can recognize the CIA mole but the characters can't. The narration is bland. Even the action sequences do not excite the readers. It is not in the same league as earlier Covert One novels.

An insipid novel. Avoid.

Water for elephants by Sara Gruen

"Water for elephants", by Sara Gruen. This book is published in 2011 by Hodder & Stoughton and has 448 pages.

This is the story of Jacob Jankowsky, a second generation Polish-American, narrated in first person. Jacob is studying in final year of an ivy league school to beacome a veterinarian when his parents are killed in an accident. Left with no money and a mortgage to repay, he boards a train while he is sulking. Incidentally the train belongs to Benzini brothers circus.

Jacob is employed by the owner as vet. Here he meets a beautiful artist called Marlena, her equestrian director husband August, kinko the dwarf, Uncle Al the owner and Rosy the elephant among others.

Rosy can not understand commands, can't do any act and becomes a financial liability. Workers are not paid. Useless workers are 'red lighted' that is thrown out of moving train. Jacob discovers that Rosy can not follow English commands but understands Polish. Her training starts. Now she has a show with Marlena. Her show becomes a hit. Money starts coming in. Things are going fine when something happens that changes the equation.

What happens? Is it serious? Who is impacted? Who is red lighted? Do things change for better? What role does Rosy play?

The backdrop of the story is the life in a circus. The performers, animals, supporting staff, the hierarchy, friendship and envy, politics, lust & love. This setting is off beat and readers enjoy it for the novelty. In the days of no cinema, no TV, no internet; a circus was an important event in the town it visited. Circus industry was an important contributor in generating employment and supporting livelihoods of many.

The ruthlessness in non payment of wages, red lighting and physical violence are in stark contrast to the fun, spectacles and illusions of a circus. Loneliness and plight of 90 year old Jacob in old age home, despite having five children and many grandchildren touches reader's heart. Sara's narration is fluid. Although there are not many ups & downs and no major twists, you want to know what happens next. The story is told by 90 year old Jacob. The flash backs are narrated by 23 year old Jacob.

Although elephant is in the title, she actually make an entry almost half way through the book and plays a vital role in shaping the story. The story comes full circle when the book ends with an event  with which it started.

A good  change. Recommend reading.

The Valhalla prophecy Andy McDermott

Mandar's book review (31st April 2014)

Completed "The  Valhalla prophecy" by  Andy McDermott. This is the ninth book of  Nina Wild series. Published by Headline book publishing in 2014, it's 560 pages long.

Nina Wild, director of IHA (International heritage agency), and her husband Eddie Chase embark on a new adventure. This time the legend is from Norse mythology.

A rune stone is stolen from Sweden. It allegedly tells how to reach Valhalla (the hall of glorious dead) and from there clues can be obtained to reach Ragnarok (an event equivalent to world war of today) at the snake pit. The poison of snake pit is worse than chemical agents. It can mutate human genes to create monsters. Bad guys want it and Nina's team wants to prevent it by neutralizing the poison using Thor's hammer (a neutralizing agent created by Unit 201). But they don't know if it will work. Nina has unlikely allies in this mission.

What is this poison? Who wants it? Who is helping Nina to neutralize it? What are their motives? Can Nina save the world again? Is Nina and Eddie's relation strong enough to sustain the blows of incredulity. Will they be poisoned?

In the first half, the story toggles between present and past continuously. The 'past' part is a series of events in Eddy's life before he met Nina. These two stories run in parallel without any  apparent connection for good length till they eventually converge.

In keeping with the tradition of the series this book too is full of action, high speed chases, mercenaries, drama, violence and innumerable deaths. Eddie's smart ass comments and witty one liners serve as garnishing to the actions.

Norse mythology is not as well known as Greek or Roman mythology hence reader does not readily connect to it. The storyline has, however, become predictable. The element of surprise isn't there for the readers who have read previous books.

The actions in the snake pit are tantalizing but sometimes difficult to visualize. In the end Nina and Eddie save the world. Their resignation from IHA at the end has created the setting for the next book.

Read if you have read the previous books of this series.