Shantaram

This book is a narration by Gregory David Roberts. Initially when I was reading this book, I believed [as I was told] that it is a semi autobiographical book. But then later on I came to know that its more of fiction, & is based on true events & people.

Lin supposedly was an escaped convict from Australia who came to live in Bombay & this book is about his life since then. How he spent nearly 10 years in India [mainly Mumbai], getting accustomed to living in slums, curing the slum people in his little clinic, fighting cholera & firestorms in slum, his visit to an Indian village, learning hindi & marathi to the extent of being fluent, his involvement with the underworld, his tryst in Arthor Road jail, his affairs, his Indian friends, his thoughts, his drug additction. Infact he even narrates being a part of some bollywood movie as some extra. And then experiencing the Afganistan mujahideen fight, from where he barely manages to escape back with his life.

His narration gives a fair picture of life in Mumbai, its various facets. Slums are as much part of Mumbai as is the sophisticated affluent world. Then there is underworld, with its inextricable maze in Mumbai and the horrible life in the Mumbai Jails.

Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance

This is a book by Robert M. Pirsig & unlike its name its neither about Zen Philosophy or Motorcycle maintenance. In this book, the author is on a biking trip across US with his son & couple of friends. Enroute he keeps pondering & explaining his thoughts. So thats what the book is all about. His philosophy.


One concept which this book made me ponder over was the concept of two types of personalities, one those which when observe an object or think about an object can just see the aesthetics of it & can just view the outer aspect of it. This type is termed as Romantic Viewpoint. The second kind are those who when observe or think about an object can see the inner details & are more interested in the workings & intricate details. This type is termed as classical Viewpoint.

Calvin n Hobbes - my all time favorite :)

Philosophical Discussion :)

How very true :)

His take on girls ;-)

The Metamorphosis

This was another book of Franz Kafka I read recently. Again a terrific read. I simply enjoy such philosophical works. This again is a short story which can have different interpretations by readers.

In this story, Gregor Samsa, one fine day wakes up & realizes he has been converted to a vermin & now is incapable of leading a normal life or even communicating with anybody. & then story goes on to describe how he loses his job and how his family tries to cope up with this. His feelings during all this & then his end.

The Trial

This was my first read by Franz Kafka. I had heard a lot about Kafka & so thought will give it a try, & it turned out to be a good & different kind of read.

Its a weird kind of story. Infact I kept reading the book looking for some meaning in the course of events, but no such revelation came. So probably in my attempt to look for overall meaning, I missed the subtle meanings in different chapters of the book. Maybe when I read the next time I shall be more patient with the book.

The Stranger [The Outsider]

This book by Albert Camus was my first by this author. Its a short story, philosophical. I searched on Wiki, & it seems the philosophy stated in this book is termed as "Absurdism". This implies that a mans effort to find the meaning of universe etc ultimately fails & hence is absurd cuz no such meaning exists.

The protagonist Meursault, is a very passive person, he seems to be enjoying life & the pleasures in life, day to day happenings, doesn't give much thought to "why", isn't effected by the harshness in life. He does not believe in God & cannot express remorse. He is kind of person who believes that ultimately the end is same so how does it matter whether he has done this or that, or whether he should believe in something or not, cuz however one behaves, whatever one does, ultimately the end is same, "death".