JustBooks Connect - August 2011 newsletter

Volume 2 Issue 6
www.justbooksclc.com
blog.justbooksclc.com CONNECT August 2011
For limited circulation
A JustBooks Publication

The changing face of Pg 10
children’s books in India Quiz
their international bestselling adventures.
Monideepa Sahu discovers that chil- Ashita Murgai, Executive Editor, Roli
dren’s books in India are re-inventing Books, sees "a bright future for children's
themselves to capture the imagina- books not just in India, but all over the
tion of the new generation. world."

Pg 14
Children today have more creative
reading choices than ever. Apart from
stories, novels and classic tales, there are
Monideepa Sahu picture books, poetry and songs. Activity Just
related books offer an amazing range of
options for the young. Books with Kids
kid-friendly recipes, how-to do
projects, puzzles, games and
knowledge banks are a sure-fire
way to keep the young ones intelli-
gently entertained. Anita Roy,
Commissioning Editor, Young

Pg 15
Zubaan Books, thinks that, "Indian
children's books are breaking away
from moral tales, traditional comics,
textbooks and classic tales retold. Author
Change is happening and the bar is
being raised on quality." Profile
The most exciting development is
the crop of imaginative, fresh,
beautifully written and illustrated
fiction in English by Indian authors
for Indian children. Publishers and set in today, not in the once upon a time. Its
authors in India agree on one point. focus is on the concerns of the present, not the
“Gone are the days of Enid Blyton, footprints of the past nor the flights of the
Indian children today want books set in future.”
contemporary India. They also want to Indian parents, eager to cram knowl-
read fun books not moralistic stories. edge into their older children, tend to
Attention needs to be paid to the quali- restrict their reading to school textbooks.
ty of writing too, which sadly does not For external reading, they offer children

I
seem to be a priority.” adds author Dheera books on Maths, general knowledge, or
ndian children have never had it so books with some sort of valuable moral
Kitchlu.
good. The tremendous popularity of lesson. Children today have more cre-
Ramendra Kumar, an award winning
the Harry Potter books has opened a ative reading choices than ever. Well-
writer of children’s books, says, “Many
cornucopia of original and imaginative intentioned parents often strait-jacket
established as well as emerging voices have
books for today's children. their children's imagination and intellec-
been making attempts to move away from the
New heroes such as Artemis Fowl, tual growth by not allowing them to
rut of retelling mythological tales, legends
Septimus Heap and Percy Jackson have choose freely for themselves.
and folk tales and carving out a fresh genre of
ensconced themselves into the hearts and
writing. This genre which I would like to
minds of children everywhere through
name ‘Here and Now’ is the writing which is contd on pg 2...

2 JustBooks Connect - August 2011
contd from pg 1... dinosaurs is a cool mix of fact and fiction,
showing how dinosaurs once roamed
From the Editor’s
Desk T he stress should be on the enjoying
and the fun aspect rather than pres-
surizing children to become precocious
free in our very own land.
Join Sankar and Sandhya on their
adventure as they find out about
geniuses. Indosuchus matleyi, Indosuchus rapto-

A
Far from being a waste of time, story rius, Rajasaurus narmadiensis and much
s we celebrate the 65th year of books offer the most enriching reading much more. There is also a map of Dino
our nation's Independence, experience of all, transporting children to finds in India and a timeline of Indian
almost like what has become a other times and places. Dinos.
habit we look back upon the achieve- Children who enjoy reading become History has never been so much fun.
ments and the failures of these 65 independent learners and thinkers, who Don't miss Tales of Historic Delhi by
years. rarely stray towards undesirable compa- Premola Ghose (Young Zubaan).
While not delving into the bigger ny out of loneliness and Join the animals of
scheme of things, one small blessing boredom. Janwar Dosti and all their
that we can talk about here is the However, authors like jungle friends on a magi-
growth of the Indian young readers Dheera Kitchlu believe cal history tour through
genre. that Indian children still Delhi.
Gone are those colonial hangovers don't have enough mate- Teenaged fantasy fic-
and the western influences, now we rial to read and attention tion buffs will love Satin:
have our own Indian publishing hous- needs to be paid to the A Stitch In Time by
es and writers, who are looking quality of writing too, Payal Dhar (Harper
inwards and going native in their sto- which sadly does not
ries. seem to be a priority.
In this edition, we look into what the Here are some fantas-
Indian publishers are predicting about tic new titles by Indian
the new trends in young readers writers:
genre. And some interesting titles that Growing Up In
are entertaining as well as education- Pandupur by Adithi
al. and Chatura Rao (Young
For parents we have two highly Zubaan) is a lovely bou-
debatable books that have come into quet of short stories.
the market recently and what we can Welcome to Pandupur, a
learn and take from them. small but diverse com-
Overall it looks like happy days are munity built around a
here for the young readers. We at hydel project in
JustBooks are doing our part in Karnataka.
expanding our young readers' title Join Pandupur's chil-
collection and would love if our dren from all walks of
young members will write to us regu- life as they share their
larly about what they would like to laughter and tears, inse-
read and contribute to JustBooks curities, small unkind-
Connect. nesses and surprising
Lastly, ever wondered what friendships.
inspired your favourite author to pen Sports enthusiasts will
those bestsellers? Want to find out be thrilled with Howzzat
what and who's new in the world of Butterfingers!, by
books and publishing? Need some Khyrunnisa A. (Puffin).
suggestions for your vacation reading This fun adventure novel
list? It's not so difficult to find answers is about Butterfingers,
to these questions on the internet. around whom nothing
But wouldn't it be nice if you found and no one is safe! Can
answers to all these questions and Butter lead the school
more in one place? A new literary team to victory and save
magazine from JustBooks is going to the day?
do just that. His white trousers are
Stories from the publishing and the at the cleaners on the day
literary world, extensive book of a crucial match; his Collins) This first of an
reviews, author profiles, literary fea- wicketkeeper has the exciting new series is set
tures, games, contests, kids section attention span of a but- in Kuzerazi, a mysterious
and a whole lot more to satisfy the terfly; and arch rivals land where magic is for-
toughest bookworm. Blossoms School do the bidden and where the
Watch out this space for more news unthinkable—they include girls in their lines between magic and technology are
on our upcoming magazine. team. often hard to see.
Do tell us what you think of this edi- Check out Stone Eggs by Helen With such delectable delights in the off-
tion and send us your feedback to edi- Rundgren with vibrant illustrations by ing, what excuse can parents have for
tor@justbooksclc.com.  Soumya Menon from Tulika Books. holding their kids back from having fun
This special book about Indian and learning too? 

JustBooks Connect - August 2011 3

La’s Orchestra Saves the World A Beautiful Lie
Alexander McCall Smith Irfan Master
Hachette Bloomsbury

Reshmi Chakraborty Geetanjali Singh Chanda

A T
tale of wartime loyalties and toils, La's his debut novel was short listed for the
Orchestra is unlike any other Alexander Waterstone's Children's Book Prize and
McCall Smith books. Lavender Ferguson is set in an India on the verge of inde-
(La for short) falls in love with a handsome and pendence in 1947.
charming man and marries him, only to face Bilal's father is dying of cancer and fears
heartbreak and widowhood soon into her mar- that if his father hears of the communal ten-
riage. She shows rare courage and moves to a cot- sions that are corroding their small town it
tage in Suffolk to lead a quiet life, much unlike will not only break his heart but it will also
her previous one in London. hasten his end. Bilal choses to protect his
As the Second World War breaks, La decides to bring people father from the news of the unrest and
together to form an orchestra of amateur musicians. In the impending partition of the country. When his father begs for a
process, she falls in love with Feliks, a Polish airman who does- newspaper he and his loyal group of intrepid school friends
n't seem to reciprocate her feelings but who may be hiding a 'invent' good news and write and publish a whole newspaper.
secret that forces La to take a difficult decision.  This is the "beautiful lie" of the title. 

Five Plays Dreams for the Dying
Mahasweta Devi C. K. Meena
Translated by Samik Bandyopadhyay Dronequill Publishers
Seagull Books

Pushpa Achanta Aradhana Janga

S T
oul stirring, invigorating, touching - there he vendor on railway platform came to
is no end to the number of adjectives one know that the lady, who read Hrudayam
can use to admire the writings, speeches magazine, took the train to Coimbatore
and activities of Mahasweta Devi, a living leg- almost every Sunday afternoon. And then,
end of Indian literature and champion of abruptly, by end of April, she vanished, and
impoverished, exploited and subjugated peo- reappeared only as an image under a screaming
ple. headline that announced her gruesome murder.
In this short collection of five of her plays, For those who grew up with Agatha Christie's
she exposes the readers to a range of traditional beliefs and Hercule Poirot or with Perry Mason's court scenes, where time
practices that have existed in Bengal through the ages. In fact, was forgotten because you just had to know "Who did it?" this
some of the seemingly regressive customs and notions pertinent book will prove just as riveting. You will be in the middle of all
to caste, gender and occupation that Devi has portrayed in her the action within the first dozen pages and the south-Indian stage
stories are alive in many parts of India, particularly in the rural does add its bit to this engrossing suspense. Time to take that day
areas. She has even won international appreciation and awards off from your usual routine, pick this book and try one of your old
including the Ramon Magsaysay.  marathon reading sessions! 

The Persuasive Manager: Communication Learn to Earn - A Beginner's Guide to the Basics
Strategies for 21st century Manager of Investing and Business
M.M. Monippolly Peter Lynch & John Rothchild
Random House Simon & Schuster

Manjula Sundharam Aradhana Janga

A O
s a manager, how do you persuade ne look at the title Learn to Earn and
peers to adopt what you propose? How you tell yourself "yet another book that
do you influence policies at higher lev- promises to make you rich" and you
els? How do you convince potential customers couldn't be more wrong. It is a must read for
that you can meet their expectations better than anyone who is curious about how the finan-
competitors? cial market or rather how 'capitalism' started.
With illustrations and anecdotes from The best thing going for this book is that it
Aristotle to contemporary Indian companies, doesn't sound like a finance book in the first
author M.M Monippolly shows how. place. Absence of the usual do's and don'ts makes it refreshing.
He persuades managers to build credibility and mutual good Read it because it is one of those rare non-fictions that will keep
will to get things done through others. Written in an easy to fol- you captivated. And if you do want to invest, well, you've
low simple language, the book is an inspiring read for managers, made the right choice by picking this book first. So, get ready
salesmen and entrepreneurs.  to repeat the "Go forth and multiply" mantra to your savings! 
For detailed reviews check out justbooksclc.com


Lost and found

Gone with the wind
must collide terrifyingly with his need to Botox, drugs, pregnant teens and fake
Moonlight Mile protect the present. identities.
While Amanda's mother turns out to be For three years, Patrick has been trying
Dennis Lehane as flaky as ever, all reports about Amanda to "hustle up work". At one point, he tells
herself centre around self-possession, us that Angie and he are getting "numb to
William Morrow
determination, the strange almost uncan- it, the fear, the weight of worry" and he
ny way she has made herself into some- doesn't mean violence. He means being
one despite her upbringing. broke.
Anindita Sengupta Even without meeting Amanda, we This is a world in which money is
begin to feel something of her power, a important and there isn't enough of it.
maturity that belies her years, a sense thatWhich makes it more interesting that he
would take on a case for

P
free, and that his wife
ublished in 2010, Moonlight Mile
would egg him to do so.
harks back to Dennis Lehane's
This is the kind of
earlier novel Gone Baby Gone,
quirkiness that makes
which was part of a series featuring pri-
Lehane's characters sur-
vate investigators Patrick Kenzie and
prising and unpre-
Angie Gennaro.
dictable. We're never
The film version directed by Ben
sure what we're dealing
Affleck became hugely popular like
with because motives
some other Lehane books made into
can be murky and moral-
films, (Mystic River, Shutter Island).
ity confusing.
Gone Baby Gone was a kidnapping
For example,
story with a twist.
Amanda's adoring friend
When four-year-old Amanda
Sophie who is a pivotal
McCready disappears from a Boston
character is taken away
neighbourhood, Patrick and Angie set
from her mother by a
out to find her. They do, only to realise
remote father because he
that things are rather grey. Amanda's
'disapproves' of the
been 'taken' by her uncle and given to a
mother's lifestyle.
loving foster home. (Her own mother is
We later learn that she
a negligent boozard.)
was lesbian and this is an
Gennaro wants to let the child stay
act of utter cruelty mas-
where she is and have a chance at nor-
querading as moral
mal childhood but Kenzie returns her
righteousness. Worse, he
because legally, that's the right thing to
gives his daughter an
do. It is a decision that has haunted him
ultimatum that if she
for twelve years and now, at sixteen,
doesn't go on a diet and
Amanda has disappeared again.
shape up physically,
When her aunt Beatrice contacts
she'll be thrown out of
Patrick, he is working for a big firm,
home.
bored but too broke to rebel. The last
He's a father so deter-
thing he needs is more trouble. “Even without meeting Amanda, we begin mined to lead the whole-
But the tug of conscience is threaten-
ing to become a shriek. "I had done the
to feel something of her power, a maturity some life that he causes
right thing," Kenzie says to us, his face- that belies her years, a sense that here is his daughter to disappear.
"I don't like sordid. There is
less judges. "I knew it. I had no doubt." someone who can do whatever it takes to no place for it in a respectable
And his mulish tone is the give-away.
Of course, he has doubts. Patrick does
get past her surroundings.” life," he says. It is a dark
statement on upper class
not take the case so much as slip into it,
here is someone who can do whatever it American values and the sort of thing
almost as if he is being guided by circum-
takes to get past her surroundings. Lehane weaves in effortlessly.
stances outside his control, by the subcon-
Amanda too is fighting for redemption. But don't get me wrong. The tone is
scious pull of guilt and memory.
Lehane traces this struggle of will in both never preachy. There is a lot of humour
Once in, it becomes obsession and a
characters with great skill and nuance. and some of Patrick and Angie's repartee
chance at redemption. He is bolstered by
Even their most ambiguous actions are is truly witty.
Angie, now his wife, a tough gal who has
defined by this compulsion. And yes, like Unfortunately, it comes off as too
temporarily stopped detecting to finish a
other noir detectives, Patrick is suitably stylised and inspired by television in
degree in sociology.
ambiguous. some places. I found this faintly unnerv-
Ironically, they are the parents of a four-
Lehane's writing captures the gloom of ing but for the most part, it's an enjoyable
year-old. As they get in deeper, Patrick's
modern, post-recession America with its read. 
urge to correct the mistakes of the past


Epic tale

A Princess’s Journey to find her destiny
She is in fact more of a
By the Tungabhadra romantic young girl,
protected from reality
Saradindu Bandopadhyay and nurtured in the
Translated by Arunava Sinha mythic tradition of
Harper Perennial Rama's unswerving
devotion to his only
love, Sita, and it is for
Dr. Rajeshwari Ghose that kind of undivided
attention that she is will-
ing to die for.

I
t is the child in all of us, who has The hero, the object of
grown out of the stage of believing in the princess' love is an
ghosts and goblins and yet when the adolescent, struggling to
old storyteller begins his tale, all disbelief keep himself alive. To
is held in suspension; ghosts shriek and him the princess' love is
goblins begin to dance around the flicker- fraught with danger and
ing flames of the dying embers. he has never allowed
Such is Saradindu Bandopadhyay's himself to live in a world
craft that he holds his audience in his of pure fantasy; it is a
thrall. The story is written in a free flow- luxury that is beyond his
ing oral tradition, lines are repeated, the reach and given his class
friendly ghosts issue timely warnings and position, he cannot
and the good Hindu is there to save his let himself just dream.
Sovereign and his Faith against the infi- So he emerges as some
del Muslim invader from the North. kind of a half-hatched
The novel opens with the Orissan character towed on by
princess setting sail to Vijayanagara, the princess' dreams.
where she will be married to the reigning The only reality for him
monarch Devaraya II. It is a fairy tale and is feudal loyalty and he
told in the manner of fairy tales. understands and feels it
Although Bandopadhyay is a man, he with his blood and writer, it is true, presents a unilineal pic-
writes a lyrically romantic tale about a bones for the king, who employs him in ture of the good Hindu versus the brutal
young princess, who decides that her true his armed forces. But the other emotion Muslim.
love cannot be a much married and hence of romantic love is too strange and sits While readings in history may make the
jaded monarch. uncomfortably with him. power play a lot more complex, for we do
So in her mind she rejects the king, to
whose court she is being sent by her T he hero is cast much in the mode of a
helpless Indian youth, caught
between his newly found and improbable
know that Devaraya II employed two
thousand Muslims in his Turkish
Archery division and their arch enemies,
father. She sees the arrangement as noth-
ing more than a part of a political game. romance on the one hand and his middle the Bahamani Sultans, also employed a
She, like Juliet, is waiting to fall in love class upbringing, his caste aspirations number of Hindus in their forces.
and soon she finds herself in love with a and his religious zeal, which makes him Apart from this, Devaraya kept a copy
man she can have just for herself. It is not adopt Vijayanagara, the last bastion of of the Quran by which to swear one's
an emotionally surcharged story. Hindu rule, as his motherland. allegiance and also built a mosque and a
It is a quiet tale told with great So the hero is unlike the heroes of usual Muslim quarter in the city.
restraint, to resemble the unfolding of an
Indian miniature painting, where emo-
fairy tales. He does not feel noble, in fact
he feels small at having let down his
liege's trust.
H owever, Vijayanagara claimed to be
the great bastion of the Hindu faith
and was seen as such by the people of the
tions are just hinted at. Is the princess a
feminist? That would be reading too As for historical authenticity, one could times. Not that there were no Hindu vil-
much into the tale. nit-pick on whether the princess would lains—the king's own step brother was
ever have been allowed to go out on her one and so the image of the kingdom was
own, leave alone go on a tryst, whether painted simply as the ultimate refuge for
“So the hero is unlike the there were too many coincidences in the Hindus running away from Muslim per-
heroes of usual fairy tales. He story, whether the scene of attempted secution.
assassination sounded phony and The author states that he was moved by
does not feel noble, in fact he whether the descriptions of the sites on Sewell's A Forgotten Empire and he has
feels small at having let down the banks of Tungabhadra were probably captured for us in fiction what the histo-
his liege's trust.” not accurate. rian did in his retelling the tale of the van-
As for being ideologically irksome, the ished glories of an ancient empire. 


Musings

Reading Fiction vs. Reading Non-Fiction
Ram Mohan Susarla

S
hould one read fiction or non-fic-
tion? This is an existential dilemma
that is faced by all book lovers as
they go about acquiring books (buying or
borrowing). In this column I share my
experiences in this regard and I do hope
that my thoughts on this topic would help
clear some cobwebs of doubt in the minds
of book lovers.
For starters, reading any book ought to
be a pleasurable experience. It should not
matter if one reads fiction or non-fiction
as long as the basic intention behind read-
ing a book, which is to partake of the
munificent pleasures that accompany
reading books, is realized.
Having said that, it needs to be men-
tioned that people who read either of
these genres and prefer one over the other
do so as a matter of individual choice
based on taste and preference as well as
the need to read these genres that ani- In fact, this is the joy of reading fiction. fiction, it needs to be remembered that
mates the purpose. The books cannot be put down once start- books are essentially works of art and
For instance, many students of liberal ed and the thrill of following the protago- hence deserve the same respect and treat-
arts programs have to read literary fiction nist through his or her escapades is some- ment irrespective of the genre.
and non-fiction because their courses pre- thing that is indescribable. The "Eureka" moment is something that
scribe these books. As I grew up, I read literary fiction by both fiction and non-fiction deliver to the
On the other hand, there are those who the likes of Vikram Seth, Salman Rushdie readers and life seems complete when
read pulp fiction because they are looking and V.S. Naipaul. Though I enjoyed these that brilliant flash of inspiration strikes
for "fillers" when they are travelling, hol- authors immensely, I should confess that when reading a book which more than
idaying or waiting for their turn in hospi- classics by Shakespeare and the writers of compensates for the time and money
tals etc. Hence the need dictates the act of his time were a bit too much for me. spent on reading.
reading in these cases. However, I did compensate by getting In fact, I would go as far as to say that
Further, reading literary fiction can be a hooked up on the "Victorian Era" writers reading books is to be pursued for these
matter of preference like it is with the act and the early 20th century writers like moments of quiet beauty when we are
of reading non-fiction for keeping abreast James Joyce and John Steinbeck. subsumed by the awe inspiring feeling of
of the trends in politics, business and
society. There is nothing to say that read- I have always believed that reading peri-
od fiction is an excellent way to get
introduced to the authors of the particular
oneness and the insights that strike when
reading books that make us a better per-
son.
ing either genre is preferable over the
other and my personal take on this topic era that we want to explore. Reading is a creative process and as
is that as long as one enjoys the book, My personal recommendation for any- with all creative pursuits, both the "aha"
nothing should stop people from reading one starting to read books would be to moments and the depth of thought that
either genre. start slow and climb steadily. complement and supplement each other
To be honest, I did start with fiction and Pick up a fiction book, or take a non-fic- need to be savoured.
graduated to non-fiction with the passage
of time. My earliest memories of reading
tion piece that is a biography or a narra-
tive of history and then work one's way
through these before taking on weighty
T o take an analogy from cricket, read-
ing fiction is like watching T20 or One
Day matches whereas reading literary fic-
consist of picking up the latest bestseller
by Fredrick Forsyth or Sidney Sheldon and serious tomes by philosophers and tion and non-fiction is like watching test
and "gulping" them down continously. sociologists. cricket.
In fact, if you are pursuing a liberal arts So the purists would like us to watch
“To take an analogy from program, chances are that you would be test cricket for its sonorous elegance
initiated into these topics as part of your whereas the marketers like to highlight
cricket, reading fiction is like
curriculum. However, given the fact that the shorter versions for the thrills and
watching T20 or One Day the "in-thing" these days is to study engi- spills. Ultimately, it is up to us to decide
matches whereas reading lit- neering or science, reading as a way of life what we want to read and whether we
is something that needs to be pursued on choose fiction over non-fiction or vice
erary fiction and non-fiction
an individual basis. versa, the bottom line is that we benefit
is like watching test cricket. “ Whether one is reading fiction or non- from the very act of reading. 


Talking books

"Never judge a book by its movie"
English while the movie was in Hindi). thanks to translations, subtitles, etc.
Pushpa Achanta Of course, a novel's fame does not guar- Even though the Asterix and Batman
antee that it can be converted into a good comics were a rage worldwide, it is no
exaggeration to state that their
film versions (animated and fea-

W
riter J W Eagan’s quote ture) added to their universal
"Never judge a book by its appeal.
movie" has stuck with me This is true of children's clas-
ever since I first read it on a bookmark. sics like The Jungle Book by
In fact, I picked up the reading aid as Rudyard Kipling and Lewis
soon as I spotted these thought provok- Carroll's Alice in Wonderland
ing words. and modern titles such as the
One may choose to agree or disagree comical romance Bridget Jones
with the viewpoint conveyed by the Diary by Helen Fielding,
saying depending upon whether one is Upamanyu Chatterjee's English
a book lover or a movie fan. However, August and Sylvia Nasar's
an avid reader who also enjoys films acclaimed work A Beautiful
may perhaps be prudent and unbiased Mind (biography of Nobel Prize
in his or her opinion. (The wisest winning economist John Nash
would probably not participate in a who struggled with schizophre-
discussion on this subject but that is a nia).
different story altogether!). On the other hand, the
Of some of the well known books renowned Laurel and Hardy
that have inspired successful movies and The Flintstones movie and
are The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, animation series saw the charac-
Alistair Maclean's wartime adventure ters and their adventures being
The Guns of Navarone, Murder on portrayed in comic books which
the Orient Express, Death on the Nile were also sought after.
and other works of detective fiction by Apart from a possible alter-
Agatha Christie, Bibhutibhushan and ation to the narrative, a film
Bhopadhyay's autobiographical novel maker typically needs to com-
Pather Panchali and its sequel press the original story simply
Aparajito, many of Tagore's novels and because it is impossible to
Shakespeare's plays. include and transform every lit-
And, there are titles with fantasy tle detail onto the screen.
characters and themes and fictional Therefore, even the best
heroes that have caught the fancy of movie with minimal changes
people of all age groups around the spun out of a book may not do
world. justice to the latter.
These include the series of Harry This is evident from the films
Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, the that were adapted from
Lord of the Rings and Sherlock Parineeta by Sarat Chandra
Holmes. The last continues to interest Chattopadhyay, Jane Austen's
readers and film producers although it movie. Also, one must remember that Pride and Prejudice and Illango Adigal's
was initially written about a century ago. mere high sales of a book or multiple and Silapathikaram (considered one of the
It is noteworthy that films have been long runs of a film do not represent their five greatest ancient Tamil epics).
made from non-fiction works too, such as greatness although they may have cap- One can safely assume that things may
Joel Bakan's The Corporation although tured the fascination of many book lovers not have been very different even if these
this particular one is a documentary. or film viewers. legendary writers directly contributed to
The main factors responsible for a book Film makers often employ their artistic the production of films influenced by
of any genre being considered for a licence to drift from the original story line their novels and stories.
movie are the popularity of the title and of a novel even if it is based on real life. A close member of my family thinks
or the author and the uniqueness or For this, they usually seek the permis- that, "The book is much better" on many
strength of the story. sion of the author, publisher and other occasions when I have appreciated the
These would have been the reasons for relevant stakeholders. celluloid interpretation. Honestly, he is a
choosing Chetan Bhagat's One Night @ Actually, the approval of the novelist is voracious reader and not much of a
the Call Centre for mainstream cinema. required even to create the film. Quite movie fan while I enjoy books and some
But, despite the book becoming a best often, the author of the book is involved films. Nevertheless, I cannot help agree-
seller, the corresponding movie Hello in writing the screenplay for its movie. ing with him especially in the case of
was not a hit. The portrayal on screen sometimes play masterpieces such as The Count of
This might be due to the difference in a major role in increasing the popularity Monte Cristo where the movie departs
languages (the tome was penned in and reach of writers and their books from the original story line a lot. 


Reader’s Reader’s contribution

She stands tall among the crowd
Voice Anirudha Padagi She charms herself,
With a violin in her hand
Every penny dropped by me,
It may stop her hunger

S
ince my arrival to BSK 3rd stage, I But it's just not enough to
was on the lookout for a library. To fill her empty heart
But to my disappointment I found
none in our locality and my thirst for
The broken bow, in her hand
books remained unquenched.
After three long years, my desire has
Are like her broken dreams
been fulfilled, when I found out about The tunes are in harmony
JustBooks through leaflets. They are the songs of her memory
Having spent two months of my holi- But I know it ain't her
days waiting for weekends (my father Violin Song
used to buy me books on those days), I
could not have wished for more: As I hear closely
JustBooks at a walk-able distance from With its high notes and low
my home and a wonderful collection of
Spaced between each note
books.
My joy knew no bounds. From the day
Are the sounds of love and pain
I obtained the membership card, I am a But I know it ain’t her
regular visitor to the library. Violin song
Thank you, JustBooks for opening a
branch in our locality. I observe closely
Tear drops filling her eye
R. Shruthi, 19 years Make for the loss in my voice
Banashankari, Bangalore  The mist surrounding her eyes
Makes the violin sound nice

I pass by her,
among the passers by
Cheat myself of not seeing her
Not able to take away her pain
Like a helpless child
All I do, is drop a penny,
But I know,

Every penny dropped by me,
It may stop her hunger
It's just not enough to
To fill her empty heart.

Anirudha is a working professional, writer and freelancer. Inspired by
life, he is currently chasing his deepest desire to be a full time author.
He is a member of JustBooks, Whitefield. 


Readers’s Contribution

The skill is in the weave
Sine Curves Kamlu, till the very end. for the publisher's demands or financial
Their travails, the deep understanding considerations, the book could have easi-
K.A. Chinoy between two dissimilarly similar indi- ly boasted of a thousand plus page offer-
Harper Perennial Modern Classics viduals and the disarming relationship, ing.
are what this book is all about. Mr. Chinoy has smoothly skirted the
The book presents tradition, values, question, on the autobiographical nature
culture, spirituality, all laced with subtle of the book.
humour, making it "engrossing". He prefers to say instead that it is
Suresh Warrier Language has been used appropriately about life's experiences. He goes spiritu-
and powerfully too. The author's mas- al and drifts into the unknown towards
tery over words and the apt usage makes the end, but then, good books should
reading the book enjoyable. have nice endings, nah?

S
ome times the avid reader will You would rarely come across a more
come across a good book, hidden reader-friendly book as Sine Curves.
away in a dark corner of a book- The different regional vernacular vocab-
shop. Written purely, for the joy of writ- ulary has been put to good use to bring
ing, these are usually first-time authors out the right flavour. About the Author
writing from their experience and want- To make matters easy for the reader, a
ing to share it with others.
Their eyes are neither set
on film rights, nor a sequel. Mr. K.A. Chinoy, is an
These serendipitous gems active septuagenarian,
rarely get acclaimed, pro-
moted or talked about in
born in Bangalore. His
any kind of forum. They work took him all over
bloom only by word of India and he has featured
mouth. Sine Curves, is
one such gem.
many of those locations in
As the author puts it, the his book.
skill (of writing & present- He resides in
ing) is in the weave (of the
story) and what a superb
Rajarajeshwari Nagar,
weave it is. The story Bangalore surrounded by
meanders through tens of his children & grandchil-
years, smoothly unravel-
ling the thread of the tale
dren.
that he wants to share with He is an active blogger and
the readers. his new, sometimes satiri-
Life for many is very
similar to the archetypical
cal, sometimes direct and
film or serial, the events many times opinionated
probably more accented in piece, is usually available
the soaps. Who can say
that life has been and will
weekly on
continue to be smooth-sail- chinoyka.blogspot.com
ing: only nice things hap-
pening always?
In life itself, there is
learning, romance, tragedy and if you thoughtful glossary of such words is From an avid Archer-Brown-
throw in the mother-in-law factor, you there at the end of each chapter.
Higgins-Ludlum type reader, Suresh
have the story. As you get used to the writing style,
Sine Curves takes you through a simi- your curiosity to see the further twists in Warrier has recently migrated to
lar journey, albeit somewhat autobio- the story gets tickled. exploring the plethora of Indian
graphical in its presentation and portray- But, the chapters or pages jump gener- Writers and their offerings.
al. ations. You wonder why those middle His previous literary experience is
It starts slowly, and builds momentum years have not been given the detailed limited to writing business propos-
as the pages turn. treatment that the previous pages had als, employment offers and emails.
As you proceed, you start getting painted so fondly. He also happens to be the franchise
increasingly eager to know what hap- One wishes that, the author could owner of JustBooks Banashankari
pens next to the protagonists, Seeni & have just gone on. If it weren't perhaps
and Rajarajeshwari Nagar. 


1. Name the author of The Keys 4. Recently Rafiki, the theatre group performed a play based
to the Kingdom series: on this book :
Philip Pullman Adventures of Aditi and Friends
Garth Nix Taranauts
Rick Riordan The Blue Umbrella

5. Akimbo owes his adventures to:
Cornelia Funke
Roald Dahl
2. John Grisham created this character Alexander McCall Smith
for Young Readers:
Theodore Boone
Percy Jackson
Captain Underpants

3. The Feluda Mysteries first appeared in:
Tinkle
Amar Chitra Katha
Sandesh
Garth Nix, Theodore Boone, Sandesh, Adventures of Aditi and Friends, Alexander McCall Smith

JUSTBOOKS What we’re upto!
TOP 5
T
his seems to
be a season
of firsts.
N EW A RRIVALS We've been fea-
1. Last Man In Tower by tured, for the first
Aravind Adiga time on Forbes,
2. River Of Smoke by then Outlook
Amitav Ghosh Money, then
3. The Lotus Queen by Deccan Herald,
Rikin Khamar and now we have
4. Geek Nation by Angela opened our first
Saini branch in proper
5. On China by Henry Kissinger Mumbai (see previous post!) and so on and so forth. I tell ya, there's
no stopping us!
R ECOMMENDED In a first again, we shot some questions last Friday to a wide-eyed,
1. The Yacoubian Building enthusiastic, eager bunch of children of ZeeSchool, Kudlu Gate,
by Alaa Al Aswany Bommanahalli, Bangalore. And boy, did they answer well? Here are
2. The Bad Girl by Mario all the winners:
Vargas Llosa
3. Major Pettigrew’s Last
Stand by Helen Simonson
4. Empires Of The Indus by
Alice Albinia
5. The Indian Clerk by Leavitt
David

R ENTALS
1. Only Time Will Tell by Jeffery
Archer
2. 2 States: The Story Of My
Marriage by Chetan Bhagat
3. And Thereby Hangs A Tale
by Jeffery Archer
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog
Days by Jeff Kinney
5. The Throne of Fire (The
Kane Chronicles) by Rick
Riordan From JustBooks blog - http://blog.justbooksclc.com 


Quest for truth

On the edge of discovery
The Edge of Reason: Dispatches gravity have not yet been explained by a ing'! Access to massive resources and
unified theory. human ingenuity to overcome resource
from the Frontiers of Though these forces were presumably constraints both contribute to carrying
Cosmology unified for a brief epoch called the Planck out these experiments.
epoch after the Big Bang, there are sever- We learn how the Russians are using
Anil Ananthaswamy al alternative theories on how they parted Lake Baikal when it is frozen during the
ways, each with their predictions and Siberian winter to save on need for ships
prognosis for our universe. and submersibles; how an Indian scien-
Though each chapter has a black and tist has designed and built a series of
Dr. Rajagopalan
white photograph as the visual backdrop, radio telescopes at a fraction of the cost of
alternative designs; or how rich
countries are spending enor-

A
s per the current under- mous amounts to build under-
standing among physi- ground tunnels and experimen-
cists, what we call nor- tal stations in the Antarctic.
mal matter accounts for only Why should India spend
about 4% of our known universe. resources on Antarctic expedi-
The rest consists of what we tions, and join multilateral con-
don't know: 'dark' energy (73%) sortia for projects like CERN or
and 'dark' matter (23%). Why the Square Kilometer Array
can't these physicists throw (SKA) instead of more pressing
some light on such dark energy problems? Part of it is of course
and matter? for staking a claim for resources
This book tells you how and yet to be assessed and accessed.
why they go to all kinds of But a part of it also has to do with
extreme places and do extraordi- our common quest to understand
nary experiments, risking life our universe.
and limb, to get a glimpse of a People have often wondered
zoo of elusive particles, includ- why physicists often turn
ing the so-called 'God particle'. philosophers. The author adds a
The cat and mouse games possible practical reason for this
between theorists, who create link: both needs an 'environment
particles out of thin air to 'pre- of silence' free of pollution of the
serve' their equations, and mankind.
experimenters, who attempt to Monks need it to probe their
trap such elusive particles, is as inner selves. Physicists need it to
exciting as a murder thriller. probe for messages from our cos-
It beats any James Bond movie mos.
hands down for exotic loca- One is left wondering whether
tions—South Pole, Himalayas, the current difficulties in devel-
Baikal Lake, Atacama Desert, oping a unified theory of all four
satellites, and a 27-km-long tun- fundamental forces have an echo
nel spanning the Swiss-French in our difficulties in understand-
border. ing ourselves and our role in the
After all these, still the jury is out, mak- they hardly do justice to the exotic sites of cosmos. After all, the book starts with the
ing us all feel humble and wonder at our these experiments. following quote from the Rig Veda:
marvelous universe—or, is it really a I would recommend that the reader
'multi'verse? starts with this lecture by the author at But, after all, who knows, and who
First of all, I would like to emphasize http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/a can say
that this book can be enjoyed by every- nil_ananthaswamy.html. This includes a whence it all came, and how creation
one, including those who may not have video of a launch of an enormous balloon happened?
heard of 'modern physics'. in Antarctica, a sight to behold. The gods themselves are later than cre-
Start with the two appendices of two The locations are indeed exotic, but ation,
pages each: 'The Standard Model of why? It is to ensure an 'environment of so who knows truly whence it has
Particle Physics' and 'The Standard silence'—free from air and light pollu- arisen?
Model of Cosmology'. These lay down tion; dry weather and clear skies to suit Whence all creation had its origin,
the background to the mysteries motivat- some enormous telescopes; rocks, clean he, whether he fashioned it or whether
ing the extraordinary experiments ice or water, more than a kilometer deep, he did not,
described in this book. to trap elusive neutrinos without being he, who surveys it all from highest
The four known fundamental forces of swamped by cosmic ray particles. heaven,
nature, namely, electromagnetism, the The author charmingly calls one of he knows- or maybe even he does not
weak and the strong nuclear forces and these 'An experiment that detects noth- know. 


Parent Trap

Battle hymn of the sleepless father
Anindita Sengupta I'm no expert on parenting. The only people entranced at parties and on panel
experience I have is with a very barky, discussions. The Battle Hymn of the
very furry dog and he has never Tiger Mother by Amy Chua espouses
asked for bedtime stories. I can the Chinese mother's rules of parenting
only try to imagine what it is to as a surefire way to churn out achievers.
be a sleep-deprived parent and I An extract in the Wall Street Journal
go with Jill Filipovic at outlines how Chua did not allow her
Feministe.com who points out, children several liberties including
"sometimes, frustration at a child is sleepovers, play dates, school plays,
not actually being misdirected from complaints, computer games, and any
all other aspects of your miserable grade less than A. They had to play the
life. Sometimes, children are just piano and violin. They were not allowed
frustrating." This is where I think to play anything other than the piano or
Go the F*** to Sleep—for all its violin. As hymns go, this one has me
simplistic content and childish shivering inside my armour and grateful
rhyming—scores. It has forced I wasn't born anywhere near Chua.
people to talk about parenting But whether I agree with her brand of
parenting or not,
Chua's book does
offer a shiny sliver
of discussion.
More and more,
we're given to
agreeing blindly
with homogenous
ideals of parenting
promoted by the

A
few weeks ago, there was engag- media. Modern
ing banter between two friends ideals. Often, west-
who have babies. They were ern ideals.
talking about a book. "If you're not too Whether these are
prudish," one said, "I'll send you the e- the correct, univer-
version." "How would I survive parenting sal or best ideals is
without a sense of humour?" said the something that
other. should be ques-
The book in question was Go the F*** tioned.
to Sleep, a "children's book for adults" While I'm fairly
written by Adam Mansbach and illus- more honestly. clear on corporal punishment (against),
trated by Ricardo Cortés. I don't remember my grandmother or I'm less certain about extracurricular
The slim, 32-page book which relies on mother pretending that bringing chil- activities. Are children always the wisest
rhymed prose and pictures was picked dren up was a bagful of laughs untaint- judges of how they should spend their
up by an indie press and it quickly ed by frustration. Terror stories of tod- free time? Do they have the requisite
plonked onto the New York Times best- dler antics were recounted until they will power and patience to last out the
seller list. became the stuff of legend. My mother initial toughness of singing, or learning
Actor Samuel L Jackson did a reading did not sail euphoric through my early a musical instrument? Chua seems to
of it, which is now available on years, jiggling me with one hand while think not. From what I remember of my
youtube.com. The howling, hilarious serving up dad's fave mutton curry with childhood, I tend to agree.
rant bemoans the tedium that parenting the other. Kerosene ovens, tears, snot; On the other hand, she also seems to
can sometimes be. It is a father's long baby hands in food, detergent, dog suggest that abuse is okay. She tells of
and tortured plea to his daughter to go mouth; constipation, fevers, disappear- how she did not let her daughter go to
to sleep. Cynical, at times rageful and ing maids; broke-ness and some more the bathroom until she got a piece right.
full of expletives. brokeness is more like it. Okay, so my This I find wildly sadistic.
Predictably, it has raised some eye- family clearly didn't take any tips from Either way, there's lots of matter for
brows. The argument against it is that Mary Poppins. But I'm guessing a lot of debate here. For those who read Dr.
children are, well, children. other families are similarly chaotic. Spock, mommy blogs and the Times of
Manipulative perhaps. Demanding. Sleepless nights are the clean and inno- India, it can start to seem like there is
Frustrating. But is it fair to write a book cent tip of the iceberg. Where's the only one way of doing things, one uni-
in complaint? Some have asked. Modern harm—or shame—in talking about versal truth. In reality, many different
parenting is at fault with its demands of them? stories add up to the truth. More power
24/7 perfection, flawless nurturing and This reminds me of another book to Mansbach and Chua for telling two of
perpetual sunshiny smiles. which incited gasps and gabbing, had them. 


On Second Thought

An entrepreneurship dream come true
Smitha and Suresh Warrier

S
mitha, my wife nearly fell off the
chair when I asked her, “How would
you like to own a library?” Another
one of her dreams coming true? You see,
at home, we call Smitha "the prophecy
queen", a sobriquet that sits very well on
her shoulders. She has this uncanny
knack of wishing for something and it
happens.
Take the ICC World Cup for example.
Passing by the TV at a crucial moment,
she says, "A wicket is going to fall", and it
does. Our son Parikshith and I believe
Smitha single-handedly won the World
Cup for us. But then, that is another story.
We are fairly avid readers, gobble up
books in one night, renounce food and
sleep to devour an interesting book,
Reliance Time Out & Crossword are our branches. When those
favourite hangouts in any mall, you get it seemed a bit far off, due
don't you? We had run through most to the demographics of
books that are available with the "hole in the immediate area, we
the wall" type dingy libraries, and that's actively started thinking
when Kirana, a mutual acquaintance of adding another full-
mentioned JustBooks. How appropriate fledged store. It was
was that? but logical to start
We applied to be considered as a thinking 'vicinity'.
JustBooks franchisee for a lark as the
nearest JustBooks library was quite far.
The rest is history with a lot of geography
F inancials were duly
considered, but a
JustBooks franchisee is
thrown in. A lot of soul searching, check- fully aware that cost
ing up on available finances and not to recovery happens even-
forget, the immediate response from tually and a small profit
JustBooks later, we felt we could make it can follow, if the opera-
happen. tions are managed
And so, our life partnership extended properly. understanding the IT systems than we
easily into a business partnership and Big Google Maps were pored over for con- are.
Fish was born. An anxiety-ridden and nectivity, satellite maps were explored in Needless to say, the team at both loca-
exhilarating roller-coaster ride later, we great detail for population, newspaper tions has wonderfully capable people
opened our first library in Rajarajeshwari agents were talked to for English paper and have shouldered a tremendous
Nagar, Bangalore. circulation numbers and innumerable amount of responsibility.
We are very selfish as far as books are
concerned, and we mentioned this to
two-wheeler rides were taken into pro-
posed areas, to identify suitable locations. E ntrepreneurship is always a big risk
and for us who are neo-business peo-
ple, we decided to embrace it with the
quite a few of our early members - "The We did eventually open the second one at
library is essentially for us to read, but you Banashankari. knowledge that a sensible team, fair poli-
are welcome too". Now, we truly appreciate the art of jug- cies, equitable revenue sharing, and solid
Slowly the thrill of business became an glery. Smitha is most times ‘hands on’ (at support are the premise on which the
exhilarating cause. The joy of seeing a all other times ‘phones on’) with both foundation of JustBooks rests!
small child dragging their parents along locations, thriving in instructing the staff, If two is company, will three make us
for membership; the senior citizen who putting policies and procedures, task lists proud?
found her calling in life in reading books; and systems in to place. She is at both Smitha & Suresh Warrier, reside in
neo and nouveau bibliophiles; changed locations everyday and is at best when
Rajarajeshwari Nagar and in a
the cause and perception of a library as a purposefully engaging both new and
existing members. short span of less than three months
business. Entrepreneurship was disguis-
ing itself with a social cause. Parikshith chips in quite regularly as of opening their first JustBooks
With this overriding thought, it was but and when the need arises, and as store, took the decision to start
natural to think of pockets or satellite teenagers are these days, is much faster in their next. 


Just Kids
The Circle of Gold to their advantage, changing the course impossible mission of rescuing his
of time itself for their own personal ben- mother - even more strange and improb-
efit. able things happen.
Guillaume Prevost The story follows the tale of Sam However, with the procession of the
Age group: 12-18 yrs Faulkner, a 14-year old boy who learns adventure, things become increasingly
Pages: 288 the use of the statues by accident and complex; it all culminates in Sam going
Scholastic sets out exploring time. First, just out of to the worst of all places - the future.
curiosity, then in search for his father, Where even more magnificent and
who had mysteriously vanished to a invaluable treasures appear over the
medieval era. Sam manages to rescue his course of Sam's time quest, one of them
Jayanthi Harsha father, along the way he finds one of the being none other than the Eternity ring.
two Golden Circles. This book was written and published
He soon finds that his father was in 2008. The author, Guillaume Prevost

M
any, many years ago in is a history teacher, who has written
ancient Egypt, there was a several other historical thrillers in the
king, named Merigrave, he past. The Book of Time series is his
had a daughter who suffered from a first for children - in his words, he cre-
strange illness which no medicine ated the series "for the purpose of mak-
could treat. As time passed, her condi- ing children like history better". The
tion worsened and she was left with other books in the series (apart from
just a day to live. As the story goes, The Golden Circle) are The Book Of
there was a priest who petitioned the Time and The Gate of Days. He cur-
Egyptian god of time, Thoth for help. rently lives near Versailles, France.
Thoth taught the priest how to make The story of The Golden Circle puts
stone statues which would make trav- into force the basic elements of writing
elling through time possible. In addi- such as romance, adventure, fantasy.
tion, Thoth made a bracelet, known as The emotional element in particular is
The Golden Circle which would enable quite strong with the author employ-
King Merigrave to travel easily ing it in all the right areas, converting
through time using the stone statues. the story into a rather emotionally
Spending seven days in different time compelling one, with the reader feel-
eras equaled one day in the traveler's ing just like the main character as the
present. This enables King Merigrave story goes along.
to visit seven different eras, spending a Though there are certain places
day in each era to look for a cure for where the reader winds up confused
his daughter. Finally, in the modern- at certain events that take place in the
day era, he finds the cure for his daugh- story. The plot has enormous potential
ter in antibiotics. hunting for the Golden Circle to try and to be converted into a much bigger and
However, it wasn't to be the end of the save his mother who died in a car crash more compelling story provided that
story, with the passage of time, the some years ago. With his father sinking sufficient planning was done. All the
knowledge of the stone statues and the in a coma when they return to the pres- same, the book is an incredibly good
method of using them spread rapidly ent, Sam is left on his own. read for people looking for a different
and people started exploiting the statues As he thinks about this seemingly type of romantic-fantasy story. 

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Bond The Merry Mischief of Gopal Bhand
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JustBooks Connect - August 2011 newsletter

JustBooks Connect - August 2011 newsletter

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JustBooks Connect - August 2011 newsletter