Rakshasas: The shadow warriors by Rajiv G. Menon

"Rakshasas: The shadow warriors" by Rajiv G. Menon - Very little Rakshasas!

This book is published by Westland in 2018 and has 442 pages. This is Book 2 of Vedic trilogy. 

Devas have ascended to the status of God and are placed in a different dimension by Manu, the law giver. A Deva was struck by Vratra's fangs while Indra killed Vratra. This one has regained consciousness after months but has acquired blue colour. He promises to help Manu. Asuras are rising. Manu's Aryas are trying to conquer and unify the lands to create one nation Bharata. But they are forbidden to cross Gaggar. Rakshasas are created by Manasa and Kali to protect the forest. They worship the earth spirit Raksha.

What are Daksha's machinations? What course will Emperor Jayanta take? What is destiny of Vidyutkesha? What is Mara's course of action? What are Narakasura's plans? What does the red Dragon want? Will Manu be able to save the young nation, Bharata?

This is Book 2 of the series. Although there are Devas in this story, they aren't central to the theme. Jayanta- son of Indra and Emperor of Bharata, Daksha- the chief of Brahmins, The blue one- mysterious Deva poisoned by dying Vratra, Mara- Nishada queen, Vidyutkesha- the one who survived Vajra and Manu- the law giver are main characters.

While attempting a complex story, author loses reader's interest several times. Things happen without any apparent objective and they happen uninterestingly. I had put the book away several times because it could not retain my interest. Story is very slow and some side stories appear unnecessary. 

There is a twist at the end of this Book. But it comes too late to revive the sagging story. 

Author has introduced a theory of extra terrestrial beings inhibiting earth and becoming Gods. Red Dragon controlling everything. This appears far fetched and comes out of the blue. Moreover, author doesn't care to elaborate why the tribe, made up of people from various tribes is called Rakshasas?

Book 1 was good and I had high expectations from this book. Book 1 was published in 2012 and I checked every year for the sequel. Finally it arrived in 2018. But it did not turn out to be half as good and I was sorely disappointed. 

This book sports Gaudy book cover. Was it done on purpose for Rakshasas?

Why did I read this book? Book 1 was good    

What I didn't like? Slow story, unnecessary side stories, extra terrestrials. 

What did I like? The blue one.

 AVOID

Ghost Flight by Bear Grylls

"Ghost Flight" by Bear Grylls - Nazis?

This book is published by Orton in 2016 and has 480 pages. This is Book 1 of Will Jaeger series. 

Will Jaeger, who lost his wife and child 4 years ago, is at Black beach prison, undergoing unimaginable torture, in African island nation of Bioko. Raff, his friend, extracts him as an assignment is waiting them. Assignment to lead an expedition to Brazil in Amazon rain forest to a downed World War II plane, a mystery air wreck, a plane that has no record, a model that is not known, the plane that never was, a Ghost Flight. Andy Smith, his best friend was to lead this expedition but he died. Was he killed? The Gost Flight is later identified as Junkers Ju 390, Hitler's America bomber. It appears that there is a Dark force at work trying to prevent Will and his team. Reichsadler is it's symbol.

Will Jaeger take the assignment? What is the Ghost Flight? What's in it? What is the dark force? How will the trek through Amazon rain forest turn out? What about Nazis?

The team that will go to search Ghost Flight is formed by Irina Narov, ex-Spetsnaz, smoking hot Russian settled in America. New Zealander Joe James, African American Lewis Alonzo, French Sylvie Clermont, Japanese Hiro Kamishi, Polish German Peter Krakow, Brazilian Letitia Santos and duo of Aussie Mike Dale & Slovak Stefan Karl for filming the mission. 

The story is based on the well known theory that towards end of WW II, allies allowed a number of Nazi's to relocate to their countries to leverage their technical know how. A number of ranking Nazi officials escaped to South America, particularly Argentina, and lived long life. But did they live a peaceful and withdrawn life? Hans Kammler was the plenipotentiary, most powerful man after Hitler in Nazi regime. He plundered everything of value (gold bullion, artworks, diamonds, cash) from europe. When war was over it all disappeared, vanished off the face of earth, one of the greatest mysteries and scandals of second world war. 

The story is good. But it's fluid, thrilling and slow in patches. The trek through Amazon forest slows the story down. But the Amazonian creatures like Poisonous deadly spiders (Phoneutria), Caiman crocodiles, mosquitos, leaches, piranhas, vampire fish etc. make the narrative interesting. The journey through amazon rainforest and battling with nature, insects and creatures is described in convincing details.

The para jump is beautifully described, it gets your adrenaline going. The jump that lasts minutes takes an eternity to finish but the technical details, the thrill and danger is captured beautifully. 

Has the seed of this story, that of Nazi fourth Reich, lost its appeal almost 70 years after the fall of Nazism? To consider a plot to rise again by the defeated force is one thing but such a plot by their children is another. Nevertheless, should it be possible, it makes a compelling idea.

The book ends but story doesn't. The book ends at an interesting turn where the story has two possible important leads. It remains to be seen which one author pursues for the next book or will he chose to pursue both. Next two books are already published and are on my wishlist.

It appears like Author has modelled the character of Will on himself + what he would have liked to be. He informs us in the author's Notre that Will's grandfather is based on his grandfather. 

Why did I read this book? Goodreads rating.

What I didn't like? Why would oneness guys capture someone's family rather than killing?

What did I like? Narration.

Read if you plan to read the series. 

Employees First Customers Second by Vineet Nayar

"Employees First Customers Second" by Vineet Nayar -  Ground-breaking strategy!

This book was published by Harvard business review press in 2010 and has 208 pages. 

Book summary

This book is the story of ground breaking business model that brought about organizational transformation of HCL Tech, an India based global IT company. This book is divided into five sections. 

Mirror - Mirror

Where does one begin change? By looking in the mirror. Look for the things you don't like and create a picture of what could be. When you look into the mirror, ensure that you don't stare into past, but you catch a glimpse of future. It was necessary to establish where we stood. It was necessary to point out the elephant in the room. Author categorizes the employees into Transformers, Lost souls and Fence sitters. Author identifies Gen Y employees who believed in collaboration as key. Invert the traditional organization pyramid with management at top. Change to Employees first, Customer second and Management third. This exercise helps to see reality, creates dissatisfaction with status quo and builds hunger for change. 

Trust through transparency

One reason for gap between intent to change and actual act of changing is lack of trust between employees and management. They should be aligned through transparency. The difference between being convinced by an idea and trusting that it can be executed should be bridged. It's important to build trust in leader and in each other. Trust has 4 dimensions: credibility, reliability, intimacy and self-orientation. Transparency can be the catalyst to drive trust. Transparency keeps the house clean. Share financial data, create open forum where questions posed by employees will be answered by management team. By putting employees first our goal was to create more value for customers.

Inverting the organizational pyramid

Organizational structure did not support people in value zone i.e. interface between customer and employee. So, we turned organization upside down and made management and managers accountable to those who create value. We decided to make Enabling functions (through Smart Service Desk), Management (Through Open 360 degree feedback - Happy Feet) and Influencers (Through Directions meetings) more accountable. 

Recasting the role of CEO

Stop thinking of yourself as only source of change. Start asking questions, seeing others as source of change. This increases speed and quality of innovation and decision making. Transfer much more responsibility for change from CEO to Employees. If CEO asked employees for answers to questions he is struggling with, the responsibility is redistributed, and it will ensure that competitive advantage would remain beyond any CEO's tenure. It will ensure that power lies in value zone, thought- change- implementation is speedy, enables people who do have the knowledge. 

Find understanding in misunderstanding

These practices should be seen as catalyst for positive change. Small ideas can create ocean of change. Author responds to some objections for EFCS approach like: It won't work when times get tough. We don't need it because times are good. Customers will never see the value. Implementation requires large scale initiatives. This has nothing to do with performance. 

End of Book summary

The book essentially tells us to turn conventional management upside down by putting employees first. EFCS is all about empowering the employees and making them responsible and accountable by igniting the passion for working towards integrated solution for client that will bring value to their business. 

Some of the situations, terminologies and positions in this book (e.g. CIO) are specific to IT industry and someone who does not belong to IT industry, like I, had to refer elsewhere to understand them. Also, the issues faced, and solutions found were specific to IT industry. Question that comes to mind is,  this works in service industry and knowledge based economy.  Will it work in others? It needs to be adapted to implement elsewhere. Putting employees first and customers second is not disadvantageous to customers. On the contrary, when employees are empowered they will provide better service to the customer. 

Author collected thousands of suggestions from employees through various feedback initiatives and selected what to implement. However, he does not elaborate how he selected or eliminated the suggestions and how he customized the selected suggestions into action plan. 

For this approach to succeed you need a CEO who is ready to decentralized power, employees who are innovative and an organization that is agile.

EFCS should not be seen as a one time initiative but as a repetitive exercise or a cycle that you may have to implement company wide, department wise or activity based.

It's a first hand account of the author (CEO) who brought about the transformation. Author clarifies at the outset that he has written this book to provoke thought and discussion about concept of Employees First Customer Second (EFCS) rather than to capture all facts about HCLT transformation. Foreword is provided by Management Guru C. K. Prahalad.

Vineet is ex CEO of HCL Tech and Founder of Sampark foundation. This book has sold more than 100,000 copies. 

Why did I read this book? Wanted to understand HCL story. 

What I didn't like? Selection and customization of suggestions missing.  

What did I like? Revolutionary business strategy.

Recommend reading,

Mahanirvan (महानिर्वाण) by Satish Alekar

"Mahanirvan (महानिर्वाण)", a Marathi play, by Satish Alekar - Complex!

This play came in 1974. It has been made into several languages and is in the curriculum of a number of universities. I read this book on my father's recommendation. 

Bhau, passes away, leaving behind a beautiful middle aged wife and young son. Although he dies, his soul remains. The play unfolds in the 13 days from Bhau's death. 

What does his soul want? What will his family do? What would be the reaction of neighbours? Will he pass on?

This play addresses a number of questions. The man is dead, but is he released? Does he leave everything behind? Now that he is dead, he can speak out thoughts that he had buried deep into his mind. Although he is dead has the hold of customs, and what he has learnt during his upbringing, remain? Can he become stoic about his past life?

This is a black comedy (कृष्णसुखात्मिका). The situation is of death but the neighbours can't control their natural tendencies of making fun, provoking and giving practical but uncalled for advise that does not fit the situation. 

Soul of the dead man suffers what the body suffers and he is also hurt by the indifference of neighbours, fascination of his wife, where he is to be cremated etc. How'Re play shows how others turn Bhaurao's Death (मृत्यू) into The dread departure (महानिर्वाण). 

The play is largely symbolic and written for experimental theatre. Some of the references have now become out of date and one can miss them if you are not old enough. I missed a couple of them, until my father enlightened me. 

There is little to no stage property required for this play. The symbolism also requires good acting and excellent direction. I have not watched this play, but understand that it is revived in 2018, more than 40 years after is was first unveiled. 

I think Bhau is the symbol of unfulfilled wishes and dormant wishes. His wife is a symbol of dependence who isn't another person to depend to move on. His son is a symbol of young generation, materialistic but not thoroughly so. Neighbours represent the society. 

Author has a very unique style of narration. He uses poems and music, he uses black comedy, his characters deliver dialogues that tell audience that the characters know they are in a play, he lashes on the hypocrisy of traditions and while doing all of this he also makes a statement in a very abstract manner. 

Satish Alekar is a Marathi playwright, actor, and theatre director and founder member of the Theatre Academy of Pune. He is one of the most influential and progressive playwrights,  not just in modern Marathi theatre, but also larger modern Indian theatre. He has been awarded Sangeet Natak Akadami award and Padmashree.

Why did I read this book? It's a famous play.

What I didn't like? Abstractness, but that's the style. 

What did I like? Unique narrative. 

Don't read it, watch it. 

Brief answers to the big questions by Stephen Hawking

"Brief answers to the big questions" by Stephen Hawking- Everyone should read. 

This book is published by John Murray in 2018 and has 256 pages.

Book starts with authors note titled 'Why we must ask big questions'. This is one of the longest Author's note, as compared to the book size,  I have ever read.

Book summary

Stephen Hawking answers following questions. 

Is there a God?

My work is not proving or disproving existence of God, it's finding a rational framework to understand the universe around us. One could define God as embodiment of laws of nature. Universe was spontaneously created out of nothing, according to the laws of science. Three ingredients are needed to create universe. Matter, Energy and Space. Space is a vast store of negative energy that balances positive energy. So if universe adds up to nothing, you don't need God to create it. Time didn't exist before the Big Bang so there is no time for God to make the universe in. There is no God, so there is no heaven and afterlife either. 

How did it all begin?

Hubble discovered that universe is expanding. From the present rate of expansion we can estimate that universe might have started 10 to 15 billion years ago. Roger Penrose and author proved that universe must have a beginning. Scientists are now working to combine Einstein's general theory of relativity and Feynman's idea of multiple histories into a complete unified theory that will describe everything that happens in the universe. 

Is there other intelligent life in the universe?

Development of language meant that information could be passed on from generation to generation, other than genetically through DNA. There was an exponential rate of growth of knowledge in last 300 years, but human brain is evolving at Darwinian pace. This is beginning to cause problem forcing to focus on specific knowledge area and hence specialization. Next step of evolution will be genetically engineered humans or self designing beings. Machines sent to other planets can produce more machines there. These machines would be new form of life. Probability of life spontaneously appearing is so low that earth may be the only planet on which it happened. Another possibility is that life appeared on another planet but did not evolve intelligence. There may have been intelligent life on other planet and it may have self destroyed. There may be intelligent life out there, but that we have been overlooked. 

Can we predict the future?

French scientist Laplace said if at one time we knew the positions and speeds of all the particles in the universe, then we would be able to calculate their behaviour at any time in the past or future. But Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle comes into play. Quantum mechanics allowed concept of wave function that provides a range of possibilities. So the answer is that in principle, laws allow us to predict the future, but in practice the calculations are often too difficult. 

What is inside a Black hole?

For many billion years any star will support itself against its own gravity by thermal pressure caused by nuclear processes which convert hydrogen to helium. Eventually the star will contract and either become a dwarf star or collapse. This star will contract to a single point of infinite density called singularity and become a black hole. Black hole is a region where gravity is so strong that light cannot escape. Boundary of black hole is called event horizon. Author proved that black hole emits thermal radiation. Author ruminates, on the lighter side, that if mini black holes were found he would have got Nobel Prize. Work is still on to determine if the information is lost in black hole or it can be retrieved.

Is time travel possible?

For Time Travel you need to travel faster than light and Einstein showed that it would take infinite amount of power to accelerate past the speed of light. If time travel will be possible in future, why hasn't someone come back from the future to tell us how to do it. Author thinks that the sum-over-histories idea supports the consistent-histories hypothesis rather than the alternative-histories idea. In conclusion, travel back in time can't be ruled out according to our present understanding.

Will we survive on earth?

Physical resources of Earth are being drained at an alarming rate. We stand on the brink of Second Nuclear Age and a period of unprecedented climate change. A nuclear confrontation or environmental catastrophe will cripple the earth at some point in the next 1000 years. World population has jumped from 1 billion to 7.6 billion in last 200 years. Human genetic engineering is likely to happen in the next Millennium, whether we want it or not. Our present computers are less complex than the brain of an earthworm. It's time to explore other solar systems.

Should we colonise space?

Spreading out into space will completely change the future of the human race, and maybe determine whether we have any future at all. We need to increase the world budget for space. Elon Musk announced SpaceX plans for a lunar base and a Mars mission by 2022. Author fears that the human race is not going to have a future if we don't go into space. The Moon and Mars are the most suitable sites for space colonies in the solar system. Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Titan, a moon of Saturn, are probables. Planet Proxima b in the solar system Alpha Centauri has some similarities to earth. With current Technology interstellar travel is utterly impractical. Cosmos is where our ultimate destiny lies.

Will artificial intelligence (AI) outsmart us?

If computers continue to obey Moore's law, doubling the speed and memory capacity every 18 months, computers are likely to overtake humans in intelligence in the next 100 years. Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history, it might also be the last unless we learn how to avoid the risks. Short term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all. Fortunately a healthy culture of risk assessment and awareness of societal implications is beginning to take root in the AI community. Author and Elon Musk have written an open letter in which they say: we should concentrate research on how we could prevent potential problems while also reaping potential benefits AI offers us. Our future is a race between the growing power of our technology and wisdom with which we use it. Let's make sure that wisdom wins.

How do we shape the future?

If you look behind every exceptional person there is an exceptional teacher. The basis for future of education must lie in schools and inspiring teachers. There are big questions still to answer and much work lies ahead but we know more now and have achieved more in this relatively short space of time. There are two options for the future of humanity, exploration of space and artificial intelligence. So remember to look at the stars and not down at your feet. Be curious. Unleash your imagination. Shape the future.

End of book summary

Author's thoughts about teacher are very similar to the Hindu teachings that gives immense importance to Guru or teacher.

The questions chosen by author are very pertinent, interesting and ones that a common man is interested in. Author does his best to explain the science behind it without entangling into scientific jargon. He also uses analogies from our daily life to explain the scientific phenomenon. However, some readers may still find certain portions hard to understand because of the complexity of subject. Nevertheless, author needs to be applauded for daring to handle these subjects in a popular book rather than a scientific one. 

While answering one question author invariably touches another question (e.g. God, AI, quantum mechanics) due to the commonalities and overlapping science.

This book was incomplete at the time of his death and has been completed based on his personal archives in collaboration with his academic colleagues, his family and Stephen Hawking estate. Foreword of this Book is written by Eddie Redmyne who played the role of author in the film 'The theory of everything'. Introduction to this book is by Kip S. Thorne (Gravitational waves fame Noble laureate), his friend and a accomplished scientist himself. Afterword is by Lucy Hawking, author's daughter. 

Stephen Hawking was a genius who's body was rendered immobile by motor neuron disease. Surpassing his limits and endurance is an epitome of his perseverance. He had a razor sharp mind. Unfortunately he will never receive noble prize as it is not given posthumously. 

Why did I read this book? Author.

What I didn't like? Nil. 

What did I like? His intention to bring science to masses.

Read if you are interested in science and even if you are not. 

The right time by Danielle Steele

"The right time" by Danielle Steele -  A different story. 

This book is published by Pan Macmillan in 2017 and has 336 pages. 

Alex (Alexandra Winslow) has a talent at writing crime fiction. Her mother walks away when she was 9, passes away soon after and her father passes away when she is 14, making her orphan with no relatives to take care of her.  Fate lands her in a convent, the only 14 year old to stay with nuns. Her writing flourishes here. As advised by her father, that readers won't read crime fiction by a female, she writes with a male pen name Alexander Green. Her books are a hit. 

Is she mentally twisted to write bloody and violent crime fiction from tender age of 10? Or is she simply brilliant? Does her writing make her socially challenged? How long can she keep the identity of famous author Alexander Green a secret? Will there be men in her life?

This book is the story of Alexandra (Alex), a young prolific writer, who writes Intricate,  brilliant and violent mysteries under a male pseudonym. Her attempt of leading a normal life, balancing her writing with her relationships and keeping her identity secret is the story. She meets jealous men, men who belittle her, or who want to take advantage of her. It's a tight rope to walk and she has to sacrifice a lot for it. Will there be a right man? Will there be a right time?

Alex has grown up with adults rather than children. Does it have a subconscious influence on her being attracted to older men? She fights a battle within, to be honest to the man she loves and protecting her identity. Well, if there was a lady author who writes with male pseudonym, it's a tough call. Coming out in open may impact readership, not telling the man she loves is a torture and lying to him constantly is bound to end in a slip somewhere. 

Apart from Alex other main character is Burt, a cantankerous old editor who likes and guides Alex. Nuns, Miles and Rose are other characters that carry the story forward. Although Alex is a brilliant writer and is paid huge sums for her books, author suddenly informs us that she has bad financial management. There is no clue or reference to that effect in the book anywhere earlier. So it appears like an afterthought rather than integral part of the story. 

The story goes on at an easy pace for a long time but suddenly accelerates after her acceptance of love. From here on it appears as if author is in a hurry to complete the story. 

Author deserves credit for creating a story away from run of the mill subjects. One of the reasons I like Danielle Steele is because her stories are decent, interesting, likable, about things that happen everyday and nice; all at the same time.

Why did I read this book? Author.  

What did I like?  Subject of the story.

What I didn't like?  Sudden acceleration and financial mismanagement. 

Recommend reading. 

Don't tell the governor by Ravi Subramanian

"Don't tell the governor" by Ravi Subramanian -  Emulsion of fact and fiction!

This book was published by HarperCollins India in 2018 and has 312 pages. 

A beautiful Bollywood starlet wins a reality show in UK. Panama papers are leaked naming many influential persons and firms including British company, Le Da Spire, that is in the business of printing currency for 140 countries. A van that runs off the cliff on Nepal border is found with a chaste full of cash. New government in India chooses an Indian academician working in America Aditya Kesavan for the post of Governor of RBI.

What moves will Aditya make? Will he engage in tussle with government for the autonomy of RBI?  What is the angle of Le Da Spire, cash and Ponzi scheme? 'Don't tell the Governor' what?

Author has developed a complex and intricate plot. He juggles a number of balls in the air without dropping any of them. With so many balls in the air, there is a danger that the book becomes lengthy. But author has done a good job of making it crisp by limiting the pages to around 300+. 

Author uses real events that happened in past (e.g Panama papers,  massive recapitalization of banks, 80:20 scheme for gold imports, PNB LOU fraud, hijacking of Air India flight to Kandahar, note bandi etc.) and blends them with fiction. He strings these events seamlessly into the thread of money, to create this story. If the readers are not aware of the events, they won't be able to separate fact from fiction. I too had to check back once or twice. 

For this intricate plot, characters also must be intricate.Vicky Malhotra and Mehul Modi are the businessmen who worship only money.  Pallavi Soni knows how to survive in Bollywood but has no clue of business dealings. Fixer cum lobbyist Danish Khosla works for many masters, but who is he loyal to? Finance minister Siddharth Pande wants to give directives to RBI. Prime minister is an astute politician who kills many birds with every stone. Aaditya is a genius in his field but also has a weakness for beautiful ladies. 

The real question this book asks is what should be the autonomy of RBI and it's governor? How much should government interfere? This is an iternal battle fought by RBI governors with governments. With the recent resignation of Governor of RBI, after this book was released, this issue has become even more relevant. This book addresses the issue of under reporting of NPA 's (Non performing assets) by the bank thereby giving higher profitability and rosy picture. This is a bomb waiting to explode. 

Although author has a standard disclaimer, a number of characters have an uncanny resemblance with real life characters, their names are also very similar. 

All in all a good book that blends facts with fiction to create an emulsion. 

Why did I read this book? Author. 

What I didn't like? Editing, especially sequencing. 

What did I like? Handling. Fact fiction blend.  

A must read.

Vanara: The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara by Anand Neelakantan

"Vanara: The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara" by Anand Neelakantan - formula continues. 

This book is published by Penguin books in 2018 and has 304 pages. 

Baali and Sugreev were brothers from Van Nara tribe, forest people. Devas and Asuras treated them as untouchables and made them slaves. Baali has a grand dream of a city and kingdom of his people and builds Kishkindha against all odds. Baali and Tara are in love but Sugreev too loves Tara.

Does Sugreev love Tara more than Baali? Does Tara have feelings for Sugreev? How will the entry of Ram and Ravan change the scenario? 

Anand has clearly defined characters in this book. Ahalya is kind Brahmin lady who treats Baali and Sugreev with love but as untouchables. Baali is strongest man on earth, virtuous and wants Van Nara tribe (considered crude,  black,  good for nothing forest dwellers) to be treated as equals and not as Monkeys. Sugreev is a coward and no match for Baali. He loves his brother and is jealous of him. Riksarajas is an eunuch and foster father of Baali and Sugreev. He too fights for upliftment of downtrodden Van Nara tribe but is not taken seriously. Tara is the wisest lady. She loves Baali but also has a soft corner for Sugreev and is torn between them. 

Similar to his previous books, author leverages the Arya-Dravid theory, without naming it. He also exploits the Untouchable- Brahmin spat in the context of Van Nara aka Vanara.

However, the characters have flaws. Baali is a born leader. He is righteous, courageous,  powerful and loves his brother and Tara. He rarely thinks about anyone else and is determined to get what he wants. He builds Kishkindha against all odds with help of Sugreev and Tara. But turns from Progressive to Regressive, suddenly, based on an event of little relevance. Baali's condescending behaviour towards Sugreev, his ordering him around and Tara's affection towards Baali creates and widens the wedge between them over a period of time. But character of Sugreev undergoes transformation from righteous but coward to sly, shrewd and scheming person, who loves Tara whole heartedly, rather abruptly. Character of Hanuman is shallow. Initially he is saintly,  then he is stoic and then he is easily fooled by trickery. If he was an elevated soul, how can he fall for a simple trick? Then he suddenly becomes Ram bhakt. Tara loves Baali. Sugreev loves Tara. Although Tara rejects Sugreev repeatedly, she can't get him out of her mind completely and is secretly confused. Her mixed feelings do not get enough attention of the author. It appears that she really does not care for Sugreev.

Book starts with a bang when little Sugreev discovers Ahalya and Indra cheating on Goutama. The story is interesting. It has a flow for most of the time but slows down occasionally. Baali is the hero and Ram, Lakshman and Sugreev are shown in negative light. 

Like other books by the author, this too is a one sided account from the point of view of the protagonists. As a result others are dark characters. I would have liked if author had added another dimension to the narrative and made it more balanced. 

Anand's books always have a title and subtitle. Here it is 'The legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara'. Amish has done it in his Ram Chandra series. Vineet Bajpai has done it in his Harappa series. It appears that subtitles are in fashion. 

Why did I read this book? Author.  

What did I like?  Other point of view. 

What I didn't like?  Uni dimensional. 

Recommend reading. 

Murder at The Grand Raj Palace by Vaseem Khan

"Murder at The Grand Raj Palace" by Vaseem Khan -  Finally a murder mystery!

This book was published by Redhook in 2018 and has 384 pages. This is Book 4 of 'Baby Ganesh agency' series.

An American billionaire, Hollis Burbank, buys a painting called 'Scourge of Goa',  at a record price for Indian artist, at the auction at The Grand Raj Palace hotel in Mumbai. The same night he dies. Investigating CBI officer declares it suicide. Lisa Taylor, director of auction house, engages Ashwin Chopra. Chopra's investigations lead to unexpected revelations. 

Was Burbank murdered? What does Chopra unearth? What do Ganesh the elephant, Irfan, Poppy and Rangwala do during this time? What is the truth?

Chopra's investigation takes him in the past to something that happened more than 30 years ago. But he deducts Burbank's identity rather easily. Several suspects are added to the list based on the investigated past. 

Chopra is the honest, meticulous, gentleman investigator with attention to detail. Poppy is his wife and love of life. But she is cross with him in this book. Baby Ganesh and Irfan are their usual self. Agnihotri - an Indian businessman and Burbank's rival,  Adam Padamsee - an art critic, Shiva Swaroop - an artist,  Dasputra - hotel manager are all suspected. 

The story follows the trend seen in previous three books. Chopra patiently investigates,  he leverages his old contacts and his power of reasoning. He investigates relentlessly till he reaches the truth. The story is slow but not boring. It gives readers a good insight about life in Mumbai. The revelation is abrupt. Some more pages would have helped.

As usual there is a side mystery solved by someone other than Chopra. This time Poppy solves the case of a missing bride at a royal wedding in same hotel.

Generally elephant calf Ganesh helps Chopra solve the case with a vital contribution. Here Ganesh has a vital contribution, not to the mystery Chopra solves but to the one Poppy solves. End of the book is dragged a lot, unnecessarily. 

Author has modelled Grand Raj Palace on Hotel Taj to the very detail and history. He also makes use of Bhopal tragedy in this book. The biggest flaw in this murder mystery is that the hotel appears not to have CCTV cameras in the lobby of each floor. If they were there, murderer could have been easily apprehended. Even decent hotels have CCTV cameras in India,  then how come one of the best doesn't?

Author's lack of intimate knowledge of Maharashtra and India's demography is again evident. Villages in Maharashtra are called Ramgadh and Shamgadh (A typical Hindi name), family that lives here are Sen's (A typical Bengali surname) and Dasputra's (Not a Marathi name). Tejwa-Patwardhan is not a Marathi surname. Some improvement is in order. 

Although Ashwin Chopra is a detective,  none of the first three mysteries were murder mysteries. One was about human trafficking,  one was about theft and one was about kidnapping. So a murder mystery was in order and here it is!

Vaseem Khan is a British author who stayed in India for 10 years and met his wife in Mumbai. His idea of the series is to let the readers know what India looks like, feels like, sounds like, smells like, even tastes like. 

Why did I read this book? First 3 were good. 

What I didn't like? Lack of knowledge of Maharashtra.  

What did I like? Slow yet interesting story. 

Recommend reading, if you have read the series.