The Man who Never was

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy My rating: 5 of 5 stars I got interested in reading this book, after a reference to it, in a memoir by a lesser-known author. He himself was dealing with crippling poverty, mental health issues, as well as from the general indifference that the world had to his life. On his second or third suicide attempt in Kanyakumari, after preparing to swallow a bottle of pills, he read the book that he had brought along on the journey. Reading it was a life-changing experience; quite literally. Driving him away from the embrace of death, and giving him the hope to keep living, no matter how difficult life might present itself as. Not that I think about it, I should sit down and write my thoughts on that book, before this one. The book is Visappu Pranayam Unmadam വിശപ്പ് പ്രണയം ഉന്മാദം by Muhammed Abbas, for those of you who are able to read it in the original language. Ivan Ilyich is a quintessential Tolstoy character; a...

Kabuliwallah: Stories by Rabindranath Tagore My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews Perhaps there is no other name which the Indians can instantly associate with the most beloved and acclaimed literary master Rabindranath Tagore, than the phrase Kabuliwallah. Even those who haven't read the story know of its premise, as it's one of those works that is deeply ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist. Like many of his other stories, such as  Mashi ,  ചാരുലത Charulatha , and  Chokher Bali , there is this underlying sense of melancholy and feeling of loss which pervades much of Tagore's works. The simple story of the innocent bond between the young girl and the Kabuliwallah is touching to say the least. A man who is living thousands of kilometers away from his own family and young daughter for his livelihood, finds some comfort in the innocent love of this stranger girl. In just a few scenes, Tagore is able to weave for u...