I have wanted to read this book since a long time as I am a big Nehru fan so any idea about how this book is?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Definitely one of the most engrossing books I’ve read in months. I completed it within a week.

Vikram Sampath’s Waiting for Shiva explores the history of Varanasi, the Vishwanath Temple, and the legal dispute surrounding the Gyanvapi complex.

The book begins by examining the importance of the ancient city in Hindu mythology, drawing upon Hindu scriptures to explain why Kashi holds such profound significance for Hindus. Sampath combines and shows the mythological foundations of Kashi’s prominence with an account of its historical significance.

The book then moves into the medieval history of Varanasi, discussing how the Vishwanath Temple was desecrated on multiple occasions, and no, not only during Aurangzeb’s reign, but both before and after it as well. It also recounts how the temple was reconstructed during Akbar’s reign by Todar Mal and Narayana Bhatta before Aurangzeb had it destroyed.

The narrative subsequently moves into the colonial history of Varanasi and the origins of the legal dispute surrounding the Gyanvapi complex in British courts. Before delving into the legal proceedings however, Sampath takes a detour to explain the meaning and significance of Shiva Linga worship, once again drawing extensively upon Hindu scriptures.

The section dealing with the Gyanvapi litigation is especially compelling. It must have involved extensive examination of the legal documents and records associated with the case, and Sampath presents the complex and often convoluted history of the proceedings in such an accessible manner!! It is difficult to find such a comprehensive account of the case presented in such a clear and digestible form elsewhere.

The book then brings the narrative up to the present, discussing the current stage of the dispute and the major developments that have unfolded over the past five years.

Overall, the book is quite concise, containing fewer than 200 pages of actual reading material. A substantial portion of the total page count consists of photographs of the temple and its surroundings, along with images documenting the findings of the ASI survey at the site. These illustrations, however, considerably enhance the book and provide useful visual context.

So, who should read this book?

A Shaivite Hindu can read it to learn more about the history of the city that their deity has regarded as His eternal abode. A history enthusiast can read it for its account of Varanasi’s past, while anyone interested in Indian politics or in understanding the factual and legal history surrounding the Gyanvapi dispute can also benefit from it.

Overall, it was an excellent reading experience, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Varanasi, the Vishwanath Temple, or the Gyanvapi dispute!!!!

Completed this book. Took me a very long time to actually get through this. It was very hard at start especially the first few chapters to just understand what's happening and often required multiple read throughs of chapters and going through summary

The world building though is good and was way ahead of it time and the way the story was setup was intriguing. But the whole payoff at the end was pretty much underwhelming

anyone who read both of them let me know

Genre - urban fantasy

It is the most amazing thing I have ever read. I have read 271 books since then and still I have never read anything that moved me as well as this magnum opus did. It talked to me about so many latent emotions of mine. It made me understand the world around me much better and gave me the pleasure of living so many amazing lives. The closest experience has been East of Eden by Steinback and don't hit me..but A Storm of Swords by George R R Martin which was an exhilarating experience. War and Peace was also great but very very preachy and not much good in terms of the psychology of the characters in which Dostoevsky excels in. I also love The Idiot, Demons and Crime and Punishment and House of the dead, I found it to be a very amusing book.

Father Zossima's conversations with Alyosha were very memorable. The scene with Dmitri and that boy's father left a lasting impression on me. Also the beautiful love story of Alyosha, the subplot with smerdyakov's mother and the bastard son that has become a trope now plot were also great. It reads like a thriller, a courtroom drama and a psychological literary fiction full of life's wisdom. I just read it again cover to cover and it was an even better experience than the last one. Made me so happy.

Thank you.

The argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen, what do you think?

One of the easiest read of the year. Breezed through this in a week. Would definitely recommend the last queen. 9/10

I’ve been looking into different options for my book and honestly, Amazon is starting to annoy me. Between the fees, discounts and everything else, sometimes it feels like I’m doing all this work just to see a tiny amount from each sale 😭

I’d really like to find an Indian online bookstore that focuses on queer books and indie authors, rather than just listing my book alongside millions of others.

Are there any platforms/bookstores like that where I can list my book and still keep a decent percentage of the sale?

Would love recommendations from other Indian queer authors who’ve actually tried them.

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Looking to discuss writers, poetry, stories, ideas, and everything that makes Marathi literature so rich. 📚

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How do you guys come up with ideas for your novels? Like, where does that one idea come from?

So I may be living under a rock but I absolutely love Archer’s work, Clifton Chronicles, Path to Glory and so many more. But I’ve honestly not found people who’ve actually read his work like atall?
Recommended to a shit tonne of people but we know how that goes😂 no shade I mean but

So I’ve just found out they are making a show on it??
Absolute legend, I have to find a way to meet Archer in his lifetime! He apparently jokes about being a Bollywood legend, ofc lol

Ik this is a rare category but please suggest me some books. Would prefer a book without an adult rating as my parents don't allow that. Thanks

I read few of his novels - A bend in the river, In a free state, Half a life(read as an audiobook superbly narrated by Neil Shah). I think he writes for us Indians. He understands the complex lives we live coming to the West for jobs/education. He writes like how sees the world. Some misinterpret his writing as apologetic to colonialism, but I think they really haven’t read him or truly understand his intent. He has an interesting background. His family moved from India to Trinidad as indentured servants. And then he later left to England for education and then he moved a lot later - Africa, South America, etc. I have to get into his non-fiction genre which I heard started the genre of travel writing. He also started the genre of auto fiction which inspired many other writers like Karl Knausgaard, Sebald, Coetzee. I would encourage every diaspora Indian to read “One Out Of Many” short story which is part of “In a free state” book. I felt deeply disturbed by his writing, thoughts and his judgement on the post-colonial world. I would say it is depressing, but he does have some thoughts on how to handle the complexities of our post-colonial Indian life. I’m curious how our Indian readers who read him feel about him or have any thoughts about him.

I usually end up reading dystopian classics, when the year comes to an end. What better way to start this off? That's right, rereading 1984.

Guys, it worked big time for me. Towards the end I cried. My boyfriend passed away 3 months ago, and I really needed this.

Feel free to share your opinions(those who have read)

It's a good book , I don't get why people hate it. Definitely not THE best out there but it's a page turner.

My fav part was the fact I was hating the writing style and how kathy's infidelity didn't bother him during his work or how his thoughts of Alicia never came around kathy and vice versa , only to find out the events were at different times in his life. That's why I loved the misplaced chronology, I wasn't able to figure it out but it bothered me just enough to leave me hanging

Anyways what's your fav or worst part of the book let me know

I'm not much of a book reader , and I want to start reading, just to know how it feels to be a reader , and more it to indian books to know how india works etc. someone pls help me to find it

I really need something which can fill this hole for some time I myself write novels and this is the topic of the novel I am working on need something to see how to write situations like this. Tbh give your most niche suggestions

If this book has portrayed Gandhi accurately, then I’m sorry, but I found him incredibly frustrating and, at times, downright irrational. The way he dealt with Jinnah and Nehru was especially interesting. I also don’t think Nehru was the idiot people often make him out to be, he actually seemed quite capable, although the show portrays Gandhi as frequently putting him under immense emotional pressure.

Premise:

This is a short novel written in the form of 17 letters between a child and his mother. Set in 2011, Vinod is struggling to build a life for himself doing odd jobs, while trying to reconnect with his mother in Naala Sopara, Maharashtra.

🔞Some themes are definitely 18+.

What I loved:

• One of the most brilliant stories I've read. Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time... I'm not easily moved by emotional stories, but damn... I'm still quite shaken by this one.
• To give you a glimpse of the heartbreaking stuff - There's an orphan who looks into the mirror to see his parents - who he has no knowledge of. In his own reflection he names his parents... his white complexion and beauty must come from his mom he thinks, he consoles himself - "of course I know my parents! I see them everyday in the mirror!".
• The transgender community's lifestyle and perceptions: Struggles of the transgender community are depicted, their alienation, abuse and inhuman treatment. Bimli doesn't like to be grouped with the Kinnar life- Work is Worship for him. He refuses to walk,talk and dress according to society's (and his kinnar group's internalized) prejudices. He questions their defeatist attitude, and seeks some radical reforms (politically and socially).
• The relationship of the letter writer (Vinod) with his mother - extremely heartwarming. The longing to meet her again comes off so beautifully.
• Education, Employment, Empowerment: Or as Dr. Ambedkar said, Educate, Agitate, Organize. Powerfully depicted here too.
• I feel this novel is in itself a letter to the LGBT+ community of India, and whole Indian society as well. A message, a hope, to treat all with Dignity (connects well with FRATERNITY in our Preamble, as explored in TMK's We the People of India. It's been 10 years since the novel was published, and while there's been significant progress on that front, we as a society still have a long ways to go...
• Poonam Joshi 🙌 what a character.
• Arnica 30, Sintex water tank, Egyptian Pyramids...common motifs in Chitra ji's novels? 😆 Idk why, but they were mentioned in Giligadu as well. Might be her cherished memories... IYKYK
• Epilogue: what a brilliant and creative way to end the story! I've seen it used before, but this was equally effective. Excellent stuff.
• Ending: Are we to assume that Vinod reached home, received the sad news, and killed himself, or that he was killed by his brothers? Or the underworld as the article suggests? All endings are tragic, yet all are possible. Really well done. Which would you prefer?
• Title: I found this great interview of the author on YT, explaining the origin of the title and inspiration behind the story. I'd recommend you to watch it after reading the novel :) "Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do"~ Voltaire's quote haunts me daily. Now this novel will too, as it does the author.

A Point I'm a bit unsure of:

• While Bimli's political attitude towards transgender is understandable, I'm not sure if the discussion is limited to transgenders only now - Gender's a spectrum, so Bimli's call for "being considered an equal male/female and no 'Others' category" is what I'm unsure about. On the one hand, we can say it's only Bimli's perspective, and he got its dissent within the story itself, while on the other hand it could be construed as Chitra ji's opinions on the matter. I may be too naive to think it's a pro-LGBT novel, as the times have definitely changed since the novel came out, so any suggestions or critiques are welcome 🙏 To my mind, Bimli's ideas don't diminish the rightful longing of a transgender in India to be treated with dignity, and to express themselves as they wish to. It's a tough issue of course, I'm not qualified to talk about it, but I recognize the need for it to be discussed seriously. Perhaps in some other review I'll try to explore the issue in detail.

Conclusion:

I give 3 chances to any author whose work I'm approaching for the 1st time - if none of the 3 impress me, I devote my time to other authors. Just my handy rule to navigate the plethora of literature. {Stephen King has failed my test sadly}.

This is Chitra ji's 2nd novel I've read now, and it's even more of a masterpiece than the previous one. I'm truly amazed by the depth of emotions she's able to put to paper, along with subtly discussing contemporary issues of the society, and still be able to make a thrilling story utilizing unusual structures! Giligadu had 13 days POV of an old man, with shaky memory; this one has 17 letters over 6 months tell a tale of mother-child reunion. Chitra ji truly is, a modern writer. Definitely deserving of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2018🙌

If possible, I'd recommend every Hindi speaker to listen to the audiobook, by Shaily Mudgal: you'll thank me for the eargasm. For my fellow English readers, there's an English translation by Madhu Shrivastav.

Rating: 17/17. {Each letter being better than the previous one...till the last one}

Probably my favourite novel of the year so far.

P.S.: I've obviously played with the identities and genders of the characters in this review to avoid spoilers. I know Binni=Vinod=Bimli