The 3 mistakes of my life

..is a very easy read, as Chetan Bhagat intends it to be.
This is the story of 3 friends, Govind, Ishaan and Om from Ahmedabad who set up a cricket shop in the premises of a temple. How the business fares when Gujarat is first shaken up by an earthquake and later by the Hindu-Muslim riots form the back drop for the novel. A love-angel and Ishaan's determination for nurturing Ali-a gifted batsmen (and a Muslim to boot) add interesting dimensions to the story. The characters are well etched out and one can easily relate to them.

One of the reasons why this is such a smooth read is the story feels very much like a fast-paced hindi film complete with action, romance, adventure and even a foreign locale. The end with the heroes taking on the villains and a Hindu staking his life to save that of a Muslim, (In most films though it is the Muslim characters that die for the country/friend) cannot be more Hindi-filmish.
One thing I have noted, especially of Chetan Bhagat novels, is that all the female lead characters (heroines?) be it Vidya in this one, or Neha in Five point Someone or Priyanka in One Night at the Call Center, they are always assertive, always take the initiative in their relationships and don't think pre-marital sex is a sin. Quite the 21st centure women these are.

So does this book get you to introspect, philosophize, ask existential questions? Umm..no.
Does this book entertain, bring a smile and an occasional tear? That it most definitely does.

Picking up the challenge....

....to read 20 books in 2009.

This is hosted by Lynn here.

If you intend to participate, leave a comment on the main entry stating so. You will then be added to the participants list.

Considering that I read almost a book a fortnight, some a week and that I have a subscription to www.librarywala.com this should be no big deal. Lets hope it also helps me blog about the books I read.

So this is where I keep track of the books I read for this challenge.

1. Against all odds.
Author: Kishor Shantabai Kale.
Started reading 20 Jan 2009. Finished reading 25 Jan 2009.
Read about it here.

2. The 3 mistakes of my life.
Author: Chetan Bhagat.
Started reading 14 Bef 2009. Finished Reading 16 Feb 2009.

Against All Odds

Once in a while you come across a book that makes you look at your own life and be thankful for everything that you have, almost ashamed of yourself for being dissatisfied with a normal, secure life.
Against all Odds is one such book. Originally written in Marathi as Kolhatyache Por by Kishore Shantabai Kale (yes, Shantabai is his mother) tells the story of the Kishor; a son of a tamasha dancer of the kolhati community. The book was later written in english by the author himself.
An illegitimate child born in a community where literacy is very rare, where men either become dhol players or pimps, Kishor suffers abuse, starvation, humiliation and yet through sheer persevarance and tenacity not only attends school but goes on to become a doctor. What grit, what determination.
This is Kishor's story told simply, straight from the heart. Your heart goes out to this young boy whose mother, due to circumstances had to leave him with his grand parents and the boy's longing for his mother.
You feel disgust for the way the men in this community treat their daughters. You feel rage for the women for quietly accepting their fate and not fight back.
Most of all you feel sheer admiration for the boys hard-work and passion to study.Every once in a while he gets help from some relatives, but mostly it is only hard work that sees him achieve his goal. From cooking, cleaning and other household chores to selling clothes and at times even pimping his aunts, Kishor's is a story of never ending struggles to get the few rupees needed to buy books.
A worthy read that essentially tells us never to give up.

Food blogs.....

Some women are addicted to food shows, some buy cookery books and quite a few like me read food blogs. Mind you, just read. I do not necessarily cook. Oh, I do get some cooking attacks once in a while when I venture into the kitchen and make something....different(its another story that it turns out totally different than what it was meant to be).
Otherwise there is a cook that comes in who is quite good and over the past few years has been trained by my m-i-l in mallu cuisine. Yes, the in-laws are malayalis. And considering that I get all the kalans, olans, avials at home every other day , I find it very amusing that every other random food blog I visit happens to be by a mallu, with recipes for the said dishes.
Is it that there are more mallu food bloggers out there than any other community or is it some law of karma that every other random click takes me to a mallu food blog?