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Monday, August 15, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Book Review - Chanakya's Chant
"In statecraft, as in medicine, words are sometimes the most powerful drugs we can use.The power of propaganda should never be discounted" - Chanakya
"Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead" - Pandit Gangasagar Mishra
Ashwin Sanghi, in his book Chanakya's Chant, takes you on a page-turning ride alternating between 320 BCE and the 'present day'. The Machiavellian efforts of Chanakya to unify the Indian sub-continent under Chandragupta is described in fictionally authentic detail, blurring the difference between fact and imagination in the reader's mind. Chanakya's dedication to the cause of unifying the sub-continent lead him to using his sweet-heart as a pawn on his chessboard. Even as a concubine to his enemies, Suvasini prayed to Shiva for his success but later cursed him a future without a lineage and his knowledge of crafty statesmanship without any application - unless thousands of years later someone meditated on a mantra to be able to apply this knowledge.
A stone tablet containing the mantra, to revive Chanakya's statesmanship, is discovered by Gangasagar.The Chanakya-esque Pandit Gangasagar Mishra attempts to unify India under the Prime Minister-ship of Chandini Gupta. Chankya's crafty statesmanship is revived by Gangasagar Mishra to attain his objective at any cost.
The racy 'present day' narrative has the hijack of flight IC-617 which closely tallies with that of the hijack of IC-814 on the 24th December,1999. Ashwin Sanghi has blended fact and fiction so well that it makes one wonder if the rest of the fiction of the hijack has its moorings in real life. The Goebbelsian fixing of opinion polls by Gangasagar Mishra makes you wonder how much of what you are told, hear or read, everyday, is part of propaganda. The realistically fictionalized description of the functioning of RAW, the Intelligence Bureau and allied government agencies shows the ill-intentions of the elected representatives of the people. The author insight-fully covers present day business, bureaucracy and politics showing how servile, sinister and self-seeking the business of governance is.
Statecraft, about 2,300 years back, it appears, was even more sinister and dangerous when kingdoms battled without much thought about death and destruction. Honey traps in Chanakya's era were not just about pretty women. These women (Vishkanyas) were raised on deadly poisons which made them immune to even snake bites. Even the smallest exchange of bodily fluids with another lead to instant death - which was used, by Chanakya, to eliminate powerful kings in order to bring the subcontinent under the unified rule of Chandragupta.
History tell us the Chanakya succeeded in uniting most of the sub-continent under Chandragupta Maurya. Chandragupta was the first unifier of India and its first real emperor. He achieved this when he was only about 20 years old - which would not have been possible without the crafty guidance of Chanakya.
Pandit Gangasagar Mishra seeks to achieve the same with Chandini Gupta -without venomous Vishkanyas or wars. If only Pandit Gangasagar Mishra were as real as Chanakya.
Perhaps, he is.
Chanakya's Chant by Ashwin Sanghi.
Westland - Rs.195 - 448 pages
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!
"Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead" - Pandit Gangasagar Mishra
Ashwin Sanghi, in his book Chanakya's Chant, takes you on a page-turning ride alternating between 320 BCE and the 'present day'. The Machiavellian efforts of Chanakya to unify the Indian sub-continent under Chandragupta is described in fictionally authentic detail, blurring the difference between fact and imagination in the reader's mind. Chanakya's dedication to the cause of unifying the sub-continent lead him to using his sweet-heart as a pawn on his chessboard. Even as a concubine to his enemies, Suvasini prayed to Shiva for his success but later cursed him a future without a lineage and his knowledge of crafty statesmanship without any application - unless thousands of years later someone meditated on a mantra to be able to apply this knowledge.
A stone tablet containing the mantra, to revive Chanakya's statesmanship, is discovered by Gangasagar.The Chanakya-esque Pandit Gangasagar Mishra attempts to unify India under the Prime Minister-ship of Chandini Gupta. Chankya's crafty statesmanship is revived by Gangasagar Mishra to attain his objective at any cost.
The racy 'present day' narrative has the hijack of flight IC-617 which closely tallies with that of the hijack of IC-814 on the 24th December,1999. Ashwin Sanghi has blended fact and fiction so well that it makes one wonder if the rest of the fiction of the hijack has its moorings in real life. The Goebbelsian fixing of opinion polls by Gangasagar Mishra makes you wonder how much of what you are told, hear or read, everyday, is part of propaganda. The realistically fictionalized description of the functioning of RAW, the Intelligence Bureau and allied government agencies shows the ill-intentions of the elected representatives of the people. The author insight-fully covers present day business, bureaucracy and politics showing how servile, sinister and self-seeking the business of governance is.
Statecraft, about 2,300 years back, it appears, was even more sinister and dangerous when kingdoms battled without much thought about death and destruction. Honey traps in Chanakya's era were not just about pretty women. These women (Vishkanyas) were raised on deadly poisons which made them immune to even snake bites. Even the smallest exchange of bodily fluids with another lead to instant death - which was used, by Chanakya, to eliminate powerful kings in order to bring the subcontinent under the unified rule of Chandragupta.
History tell us the Chanakya succeeded in uniting most of the sub-continent under Chandragupta Maurya. Chandragupta was the first unifier of India and its first real emperor. He achieved this when he was only about 20 years old - which would not have been possible without the crafty guidance of Chanakya.
Pandit Gangasagar Mishra seeks to achieve the same with Chandini Gupta -without venomous Vishkanyas or wars. If only Pandit Gangasagar Mishra were as real as Chanakya.
Perhaps, he is.
Chanakya's Chant by Ashwin Sanghi.
Westland - Rs.195 - 448 pages
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Do-worry Subbarao - Battling inflation with Interest
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Facebook Holiday
"The place has to be dainty,difficult and dangerous", said my wife as I frantically Googled for suitable holiday on the eve prior to an unexpected seven days break from work. Of course, my idea of a dainty holiday is not having to step out of home. Difficult, for me, is to do grocery shopping during holidays. Crossing the road,in Bangalore, to do this shopping is not without its dangers.
But, this time she was quite certain with the definitions. Dainty was exquisite. My idea of an exquisite location did not go beyond Ooty. The 36 hair-pin bends en-route Ooty was as dangerous and difficult as it got for me. However, influenced by Facebook photos of friends vacationing in Machu Picchu and Mongolia, she would have none of my pleadings that we spend our unexpected vacation in Ooty, Yercaud or Kodai.She was not even okay to my extending the geography to Munnar.
I reminded her that we had been to several places, on vacation, which were dainty, dangerous and difficult. The vacation in 2002, in Sri Lanka - for example - when I fell of the elephant's back and just managed to grab its tail to break my fall - from from a height of 12 feet - was certainly difficult.
Just prior to falling off the elephant's back
Just after falling off the elephant's back
Travelling across Sri Lanka was, then, undoubtedly dangerous. The speed-boat ride from the Male airport to Lohi Fushi resort,across the choppy sea, in the Maldives, was equally dangerous.
However, she would have none of it - for this was the era before Facebook. " How can I post the 2002 photos now?" she queried. "Those photo's were taken from your Kodak camera, not from a digital SLR".
I logged on to makemytrip.com where holiday's were neatly categorized into:
a) Hills
b) Safaris
c) Spiritual
d) Seaside
I wish they had some categorized as "Facebook Holiday" packages (little known places,not far, with a good back drop for photos which could impress friends and garner likes and comments) with DSLR images of the holiday built into the cost of the holiday. That would save me the cost of changing my camera - which was also my wife's pre-condition for the holiday. I was not averse to changing the camera but being the photographer, always, meant I featured in very few frames.
Suggestions like the Andamans,Lakshadweep,Kulu and Manali were all brushed away with a "not like-worthy" comment. "What about Srinagar?" I suggested, in jest, completely sure it would be pooh-poohed. "Srinagar!" she exclaimed in excitement."Perfect!" "Srinagar is dainty, difficult and dangerous".
After scrounging travel websites for a reasonable fare, I knew that planning this travel was going to be difficult. That the Srinagar airport did not have a functional Instrumental Landing System (ILS) made it quite dangerous. Whether Shalimar Bagh and the rest of Srinagar would be dainty remained to be seen.
(to be continued)
But, this time she was quite certain with the definitions. Dainty was exquisite. My idea of an exquisite location did not go beyond Ooty. The 36 hair-pin bends en-route Ooty was as dangerous and difficult as it got for me. However, influenced by Facebook photos of friends vacationing in Machu Picchu and Mongolia, she would have none of my pleadings that we spend our unexpected vacation in Ooty, Yercaud or Kodai.She was not even okay to my extending the geography to Munnar.
I reminded her that we had been to several places, on vacation, which were dainty, dangerous and difficult. The vacation in 2002, in Sri Lanka - for example - when I fell of the elephant's back and just managed to grab its tail to break my fall - from from a height of 12 feet - was certainly difficult.
Just prior to falling off the elephant's back
Just after falling off the elephant's back
Travelling across Sri Lanka was, then, undoubtedly dangerous. The speed-boat ride from the Male airport to Lohi Fushi resort,across the choppy sea, in the Maldives, was equally dangerous.
However, she would have none of it - for this was the era before Facebook. " How can I post the 2002 photos now?" she queried. "Those photo's were taken from your Kodak camera, not from a digital SLR".
I logged on to makemytrip.com where holiday's were neatly categorized into:
a) Hills
b) Safaris
c) Spiritual
d) Seaside
I wish they had some categorized as "Facebook Holiday" packages (little known places,not far, with a good back drop for photos which could impress friends and garner likes and comments) with DSLR images of the holiday built into the cost of the holiday. That would save me the cost of changing my camera - which was also my wife's pre-condition for the holiday. I was not averse to changing the camera but being the photographer, always, meant I featured in very few frames.
Suggestions like the Andamans,Lakshadweep,Kulu and Manali were all brushed away with a "not like-worthy" comment. "What about Srinagar?" I suggested, in jest, completely sure it would be pooh-poohed. "Srinagar!" she exclaimed in excitement."Perfect!" "Srinagar is dainty, difficult and dangerous".
After scrounging travel websites for a reasonable fare, I knew that planning this travel was going to be difficult. That the Srinagar airport did not have a functional Instrumental Landing System (ILS) made it quite dangerous. Whether Shalimar Bagh and the rest of Srinagar would be dainty remained to be seen.
(to be continued)
Saturday, July 9, 2011
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