Thanks Manorama and Samidha for tagging me into the Book Bucket Challenge. The list of books that have inspired, enthralled me over the last 33 years is massive. Ill try and get in a few. And Ill make an effort to bring in books which I havent so far seen on my friends lists. 1. Mahabharat (Konkani) by Ravindra Kelekar I have read several versions of Mahabharat and read this one during the days when the serial was being aired. The daring refusal of the writer to acknowledge any sort of divinity to the characters struck me back then, as an example of willingness to stick to your beliefs no matter how big or opinion-ridden the subject you are dealing with is. 2. Johnathon Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach The cry of the seagull..Johnathon Livingstone Seagull rang in my ears back then, still does. 3. Citadel by AJ Cronin All about following the principles of your profession. I remember this as being the book my father held dear in his practice of the medical profession. Serves my profession and any other profession too, when their practice becomes doubt riddled. 4. Black Holes and Baby Universes by Stephen Hawking A series of essays / lectures on complex topics in Astrophysics. I lost a borrowed copy of this. I dont recall being much happier than the time when I found a copy on the streets of Delhi. 5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho An epitome of the beauty of simplicity.. Enough said. 6. Immortality by Milan Kundera So so beautiful.. Cant recall having marvelled at any book for the sheer poetry of its prose. 7. The Stone Raft by Jose Saramago This one lets your imagination run wild. And wilder. Later I discovered that the movie Blindness was also based on the eponymous novel by Jose Saramago. Its on my bucket list. 8. Crabwalk by Gunter Grass Having read The Diary of a Snail, I found reading Crabwalk a cause to celebrate the triumph of an author straddling nearly a century from the days of the Holocaust to the cyber age. As a child Id made a habit of reading with a dictionary by my side through the 80s and 90s. By the turn of the century, Gunter Grass is only the second writer to send me scuttling for the dictionary every few pages. The first was Justice VR Krishna Iyer, but he does that every few words. 9. Wise and Otherwise by Sudha Murthy A selection of simple short stories which lend a tremendous insight into the myriad emotions of Indians. Could be written only with experience. 10. Wheels by Arthur Hailey A fascinating journey through the high revving, skidding, sliding world of the automobile industry. I have read many books by Arthur Hailey since, but this one remains my favourite. My father prefers Hospital and The Final Diagnosis, but thats because he relates to those. 11. Future Shock by Alvin Tofler This prepared me for the age of liberalisation before it swept India in the mid 90s. Those that are still confused, can still read it. 12. Old Devils by Kingsley Amis This one is about old, I mean really old love. Only once youth starts fading, does one begin to understand this one. 13. Great Men of India I cant recall the author or authors who made this compilation, but this ore independence compilation looks at a lot of our heroes in the harsh light of objectivity. Of course, that was long before we started worshipping them. And yes, insights gleaned from the biographies in this book often gave my school assignments shock value. 14. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga This symbolises the stark and unapologetic rise of the new India, whether good or bad is for us to judge. 15. The Diary of Anne Frank Ah, the sheer positivity this book exudes, page after page. Made me believe the best time to live was the world war. And I just cant get over little Annes eyes. 15. The Rock Garden by Nikos Kazantzakis A mind bending journey into the strange world and ways of the east. 16. The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan Why, sometimes in our sleep, do we feel we are falling? Its because we evolved from monkeys who lived in the fear of falling off trees. If this book cant change the way you see your world, nothing else will. 17. India Unbound by Gurcharan Das Whether or not you are Indian, you have to read this one. Perhaps the India story will achieve its true potential under the current government. 18. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand This is a classic ideological satire on the rise of socialism. At the risk of passing off millions of Ayn Rand fans, I felt it was a little too simplistic. 19. The Old man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway How interesting can an old fishermans life get? The answer is it neednt get interesting at all. Its just to be lived. 20. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Yes, I have read it. Overwhelming. 21. To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Funnily this is the only book about lawyers on this list. That too because its from the perspective of a child. 22. Catch22 by Joseph Heller If I have to explain this one to you, you wouldnt understand it. 23. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger A textbook to rebellion. This is one book I wish Id read in my preteens. 24. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells Futuristic, even today. I want to read it again 20 years later and im sure it still will be futuristic. 25. Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll The one thing that can keep you young forever is a child like imagination. And it simply doesnt get better than this. I knew, once I got started I wouldnt stop. But this is enough for now. Over to you, Dhruv Usgaonkar, Ameya Ashok Kamat, Chellappanpillai S. Radhakrishnan, Soma Bhattacharya, Pravin K Sabnis, Vividh Pawaskar, Priyanka Naik, Roque Fernandes, Rajiv Sharma, Shefali Vaidya.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 19:17:46 +0000
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