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Book Review: "Hamsa Geethe" by Ta.Ra.Su

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  I was recently exploring Kannada authors who I haven't read before, and I came across Ta.Ra.Su. I had heard of his writings but never read any yet. So, I looked up his books and finally found a book that was highly recommended by many users and had a musical theme which attracted me towards it. Hamsa geethe is a 200-page novel about the life of a great musician Venkata Subbayya. This fictional memoir explores the conflict between true devotion to music and the pressures of performing for fame or royal command. I liked the beautiful descriptions of classical music and devotion. This book was not only a piece of beautiful literature but also a great work of philosophy. Following the musician's life, this book also gives great insights on the connection between music and spirituality. I did feel that the book was slow paced and it does take a lot of patience to relish every moment in this book. As a musician and flautist myself, I truly connected with the depth that Ta.Ra.Su ha...

Rangashankara: An experience to behold

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This is a memoir of my visit to Rangashankara Theatre on February 26th of 2025 on the occasion of Mahashivaratri. Few weeks before, I had randomly scrolled through the bookmyshow website scouting for any WPL tickets available when my eyes got caught in a play that was supposed to be performed in Rangashankara two days after my final exams would end.I thought this would be a perfect oppurtunity to take a break from my studies and enjoy a visit to the well known Rangashankara theatre. I was even more intrigued that the play was based on the story Jokumaraswamy writtten by Chandrashekhara Kambara directed by B.V.Karanth. It was the shows 599th performance and was conducted by Benaka groups. Even though I had very little knowledge on plays, I had heard of the name Jokumaraswamy. I remembered that Jokumarswamy was the story that Shankar Nag was working on for his movie just before his unfortunate demise in 1990 due to a car accident. So, I decided to book a ticket for the play Jokumaraswamy...
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  Book Review: The Murder of Roger  Ackroyd by Agatha Christie So starting with the review, I shall give you a small, spoiler-free summary of the story. The story is written from the perspective of Dr. James Sheppard. It takes place in Kings Abbot, where a rich and wealthy man named Roger Ackroyd has been murdered and his adopted son Ralph Paton has run away. The story revolves around how Mr. Hercule Poirot, with the help of Dr. James Sheppard, solves the murder. Coming to the go-through, Agatha Christie has done a quite good job concealing the murderer and dividing our suspicions into various suspects. The story is neither slow-paced nor fast. It is quite thrilling to read the various twists and turns in the stories. The climax, the motive of the murder, and the murderer are so unpredictable that I just stared at the wall and started thinking of the fool I made of myself from the start of the read. The various suspects all have their own stories, the mismatching alibis. I can...

Book Review:"Folk Tales from India" by A.K. Ramanujan

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  Book Review:"Folk Tales from  India" by A.K. Ramanujan This book is a collection of 110 folk stories translated from 22 Indian languages by A.K.Ramanujan.The compilation and translation of stories really amazed me.The book and it's stories did not bore me at all due to the unique and different plots it contained. Since the time I was a young boy,I loved to genre of short stories, one was fairy tales for their adventurous tales filled with fantasy and the other was folk tales due to the unique and creative writing of such tales....Over the years,I had stopped reading such tales and shifted to novels but this book just brought me back to those days! The stories are a good mix of humour, moral and adventure.In this book, we can see different writing styles from Kashmiri to Tamil and from Gujarati to Assamese. My favourite Tales were: The Brahmin who swallowed a god(Bengali)- Story of a Brahmin who swallowed a god who was troubling him. •The Ogress Queen(Kashmiri)-Story of ...

Book review: Sereyalli Kaleda Hadinalku Dinagalu by Krupakar and Senani

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  Book review: Sereyalli Kaleda Hadinalku  Dinagalu by Krupakar and Senani Did you know that once, the notorious bandit Veerappan had kidnapped two wildlife photographers Krupakar and Senani for fourteen days?As scary and thrilling as it sounds, Krupakar and Senani were finally released after 14 days along with some other hostages by Veerappan.Those fourteen days in the forests of Bandipur have been beautifully described by Krupakar and Senani in their travelogue of adventures "Sereyalli Kaleda Hadinalku Dinagalu". I would first like to appreciate Krupakar-Senani for such a detailed description of incidents which occurred during those fourteen days.The wild and exquisite nature and it's bond with the Veerappan gang has been displayed very well.I also loved the humour of the gang members and Krupakar Senani in the book which makes the story even more fun! Veerappan's mentality has been vividly showcased in this book.It describes him as a religious, strong man who is in...

Book review: Chomana Dudi by Dr. K Shivarama Karantha

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  Book review: Chomana Dudi    by Dr. K Shivarama Karantha This was the first book I read written by K Shivarama Karantha and OMG! I was blown away by the character detailing in this book. What make this book a masterpiece is that even thought it is a tragic story, it builts an indescribable connection with the reader and almost makes us feel that we are suffering too! In this story,Choma, an untouchable bonded labourer, dreams of tilling his own land but is denied the right to do so due to his caste. He continues to face other challenges and tragedies because of the same issue. Dr K Shivarama Karantha has highlighted the problems in the lives of Holeyas,a scheduled caste of India, mainly belonging to present day Karnataka State, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and also Madhya Pradesh. He targets and brings to light the problems that they had to face due to their caste such as bonded labour, caste discrimination, restrictions on performing certain occupations, povert...

Book Review: "Karvaloo" by "K Poornachandra Tejaswi"

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  Book Review: "Karvaloo" by  "K Poornachandra Tejaswi " Recently read his book "Karvaloo"....was mesmerized by his vivid descriptions and writing.....It is a must read book, a hidden gem in other words... It's a story of a village which is in western ghats , narration of the novel is crystal clear. It's a compilation of science and biological evaluation and the persons who are directly and indirectly contribute to paleontology , philosophy , rationality . It changed my perception of insects and that they are not just organisms but that every creature has its own unique characteristics that are not visible from a normal perspective.... This book added K Poornachandra Tejaswi to my favourite authors list! I recommend this adventure packed book to anybody who wants to explore the undiscovered,mystical and beautiful side of Malnad from their houses itself! -Milind S Suvarna   Class 10