My Review: The Secret Of The Nagas

This book tells us a lot about good and evil. Since Daksha, Now Shiva's father in law has been saying how Neelkanth is the destroyer of evil, so that makes him curious about who to blame and kill. Shiva's anger is so engaging in this book, how his emotions dominate him when his loved ones get hurt. You can tell he plays an ideal role, every woman would love to have. Shiva and Sati have some more delighful moments together, followed by Parvateshwer playing the "hard to get" towards Anandmayi. And how mysterious the Nagas were in the first book are more exposed in this, so your questions will be answered.

I found it very amusing how Shiva goes to a temple and could talk to any Vasudev in his head. Found it a bit annoying though how they never give a straight answer :P But its later understandable how Shiva himself finds the answers and not assume. Then comes a new character who is Karthik, Shiva and Sati's son, who grows up in no time and is always to excited to fight. This book brings a lot of twists and turns which we wouldnt even imagine, holding that as the best part. One being who the hooded figure is who does the surprise attacks on Sati and the second being the secret of the Nagas itself. 

Few quotes I loved are as follows: 

"That the opposite of love isnt hate. Hate is just love gone bad, the actual opposite of love is apathy. When you dont care a damn as what happens to the other person"-Veerabhadra.

"A good man rebelled against an injustice in a foreign land more than 250 years ago. Today that very rebellious is causing me injustice", says who? Who else, Anandmayi! :) And in this, her charm successfully works and Parvateshwar breaks his vow of celibacy to marry her. So basically, this book just ends with your mouth open with its final immense twist and make you literally jump to the final book. After youre done reading, youll have a whole new respect for Sati, for her bravery! :)

 

"Remember there is no good or bad. They are either strong or weak"-Shiva. 

My review: The Immortals of Meluha

A story about a man,
Who was more human,
And less of a God.
Yet had all the power,
To deduct evil,
And create a better place to live in.
He, who fell in love,
With her beauty and pride,
Was the only man who made her feel vulnerable.
He, who became the Neelkanth,
Had the anger to destroy an empire,
And a heart to reunite one.
Known as the God of the Gods,
For his heart of gold,
For his possessive love,
And his powerful aura.
He's the Shiva we all know,
Who doesn't expect to be prayed to,
But someone we all would love to follow.

I wasn't much of a Shiva's fan, but after I read Immortals of Meluha, My thoughts have changed, grew rather. I loved the way Amish, the writer, wrote the romance between Shiva and Sati, nothing seemed silly nor lovey-dovey. It was beautiful and innocent. The way his thoughts within are written in Italic font in the book tell the way he is, especially during his moments with Sati. There are a few quotes which I loved so much, few are the following:
"I don't believe in symbolic Gods. I believe that God exists all around us. He speaks to us all the time. All we have to do is listen"-Shiva.
One friendship i enjoyed reading about was what Shiva and Brahaspati shared, something so casual and we could all relate to. How Shiva once says, "I wish Brahaspati was here, I would so take his advice and listen to his quick wit".
All the characters in the first book have been explained about, with great effort. But, the most interesting I found was Sati, who at first, makes an impression which is very easy to guess that she's a princess. So much pride in the first scene when they meet, but gets so apprehensive when Shiva shows his dance to her.
"He continued to stare at the dust with intense jealousy. It had been fortunate enough to have touched her"-Shiva's thoughts within. (After the first meeting).
Another interesting character has been Anandmayi, who yes, has a milk shower with petals :P. Her personality reminds me of Vidya Balan, i dont know why, her boldness and the guts to argue. (Hope they cast her in that role). The way she argues, especially with Parwateshwar.
Yesterday, I heard Hrithik and Kareena Kapoor are going to play the roles of Shiva and Sati, and is directed by Karan Johar. I don't know why Kareena is chosen for the role (Hope its a rumour), atleast Hrithik is fine but sigh, for the way Shiva's personality is, I was imagining Arjun Rampal through out the book.. :(

So basically, this book isn't the kind you would choose to read to go to sleep. Its a book which will wake you up, and make you read until its done. So go to your nearest bookstore and get this knowledgeable mythological story! :)

My TED experience :)

To begin with, I'd still need some time for this fact to sink in. TED's been an experience I'd never forget. Such inspiring people and what presence! The speakers confidence on stage to make sense every second, looked so difficult. if given a chance, it seemed like they would talk for hours. Like TED says, 'Ideas Worth Spreading', Every speaker literally came with an idea and was determined enough to share it. Id like to go into detail about a few of my favorite speakers:

First up was Narendra Luther, as known as the 'Rock man',an honorable writer, civil servant, and the most simple person which I suppose is his trademark. He's written books on Hyderabad's history and its changes. Since TED is supposed to have global based topics, He was given to talk about how cities change by the course of time. What I liked most was how he compared cities to human beings;  the way they change, grow, rot and rebuild. It was such a pleasure listening to him because his research and the way he spoke seemed so real. After his speech, I had the chance to talk to him, so I went up to him and greeted him. I introduced myself and mentioned that his grand daughter is a good friend of mine. It was great meeting him and I hope he'll remember me the next time I see him! :)

Next was Karthik Kumar: Founder of Evam, an actor, an engineer, an entrepreneur who turned art into business! My love for theatre grew when i first watched an Evam's play. I was a teenager with no passion for anything back then so I'm glad it happened. Anyway coming back to TED, when I heard he was invited to speak at TED, I literally jumped (well figuratively, cuz it was in my head). At the end of each play, they would let us meet the actors backstage and talk to them about the play. I never knew what to say to him, and besides, I never had the courage to go up to him and speak. But yesterday, I was supposed to accompany him throughout the event and this made my heart skip several beats. Coming to his speech, what I loved the most was what he said about personal and professional life not being placed together according to the society but practically, they should be. It is so true how the inner feelings and the gut feelings we have, should be put into our career based decisions. That would actually give us a terrific result. Loved his dramatic way of speaking, thought that's how a true actor speaks when he is given a mic and an idea to share. When I spoke to him without any hesitation, I told him that Evam's been my favorite since long and discussed how Bangalore and Chennai have plays going on all the time. More than feeling good about the meeting, I am glad that i could have a full fledged conversation with a person like him. :)

Then came Sai Gollapudi, an electrical engineer from Purdue, now pursuing his PhD in Cognitive Science. I was standing near the stage, so he was beside me and said ''Wish me luck'', and i laughed it over and said ''Sir, you'll anyway do well!" He seemed like those intelligent people with a good sense of humor (:D) I was so amazed to hear how he moved back to India to become aware of our country. He's been to hundreds of villages to take up village development projects. He chose the topic of development itself, our ethics and how we live in India. It was funny when he showed a picture of a glass door which read "Please close the door'', yet nobody closed it. Point being everybody reads that but nobody follows, especially when its a public place. Coming to my favorite part, It was when he said "If you have a rupee and a dollar, and If i have a rupee and a dollar and if we both exchange it, then we both will have a rupee and a dollar, nothing changes. But if you have an idea, I have an idea and when we share it, then we have two ideas".I really liked that. I didn't get to talk to him but we had a group picture which comes out well, I hope. But it was great hearing him speak and see that people ARE making efforts to make our country a better place.

Another speaker who was equally impressive was Vilas Nayak, a great painter who went to the finals of India's Got Talent. He walked in and started to paint for like ten minutes, while the audience was busy trying to guess what it might is. "Heal The World" by Micheal Jackson filled up the silence and everyone wondered why that song was even played? As he was done, he turned his canvas around and we saw a beautiful painting of Mother Teresa holding a child, for which he received a standing ovation. He then took the mic and said "I don't think i need to give a speech, my painting says a thousand words". The combination of his painting and the song was a great one. Hats off to his talent!! Then there was Akram Feroze, a college drop out who was hell bent on living his dream. At the age of 22, he picked up a cycle and decided to ride to other cities to give a progress to theatre in villages. His speech was entirely about his journey and how his parents reacted when he told them (which was obviously not supportive), and how he survived. His determination and love for theatre literally made him go places! :) Up next was Hussain Zaidi, a Mumbai based journalist who writes about crime and mafia. Hes been an acclaimed journalist, who has interviewed Dawood Ibrahim. He's written books on many such controversial issues. I admire his bravery for having the courage to write about nothing but the truth.

With Karthik Kumar 

The invite

On stage

Vilas Nayak's painting 

So these were my favorites and my experience at TED. The day went by quickly as it stands as a memorable day for me. If I were to pick their best qualities in all these people, then it has to be their simplicity and their never ending learning skills. I can just say I'm honored to be a part of this!! :)