From Where I See
I have posted this review on my other blog. Reposting it here for the REading challenge...
From Where I See ,a novel by Ajay Yadav is quite a different one from those that I have been reading these days.
It is basically a murder mystery story which is narrated through the voice of Dr. Ajay, the author's namesake.The book starts with Dr. Ajay being questioned at the police station,in typical police style, with regard to the death of Sruthi a.k.a. Nagma. What follows this and up to almost the end of the book is a sort of flashback! And the last four chapters spell out the climax.
So at the beginning when Dr. Ajay is being interrogated,it looks like he is a suspect in the murder case. Then he is asked to wait in the station till Inspector Om Prakash returns to the station after attending to another case. That is when he recollects his childhood times in the village along with his best buddies - Sruthi and Kaniyah.
Sruthi is a sort of a bold girl who is happy and rebellious to try out new tricks ,play hockey with the village boys, hit the Village chieftain's son with a stone coz he teased her.And also a very religious one who never fails to pray or visit the temple everyday...Kaniyah is the person who usually get's caught because of Sruthi's antics!
They grow up and go their separate ways due to family situations and lose touch with each other. Then Dr.Ajay meets Sruthi, becomes friends again and also Sruthi meets Kaniyah in a party hosted by Ajay and his wife...A lot of things happen in between and then Sruthi dies.
This is the story... But, it is not as simple as I have spelt it here..
In between ,in the flashback sessions, the author has expressed his ideas and thoughts about everything from religion,corruption and bribery, history of Indian Freedom struggle, world wars,reasons for extra marital affairs, role of man and women through the ages and a lot more!
After discussions of all these subjects is where he brings into light a lot of things that were not known , and then in the end the murder/suicide mystery is solved.
What I liked about the book:
The author has taken a bold move in discussing some controversial topics and I like the way he has justified his points.In this process he has answered a lot of questions that the people in the society are facing or want to ask but can't find the answer.
There are several lines in the book written in italics that are a sort of message to the community.. Here are a few that impressed me.
'Actually we have failed terribly in utilizing our education to incorporate logical thinking in us;we consider education as only a medium for bread earning'
'There is no doubt that they[social media] have brought the distant ones closer but at the same time they have distanced the closer ones' - How true!!!!
Why we have to bargain with everything in life;why can't we honestly get what we deserve and honestly give others what they deserve.
These are just a few examples of the statements present in the book.
I liked this book because it is something different and deals with the issues of the society and also argues and explains the cause and action for the dysfunction / disharmony in the society.
The only thing that I can say that I was not so fond of is the long, long narrations on various topics that seem to take place as a discussion / conversation between friends / in a convention. But looking it from the author's point of view, that is actually the place where is expresses his thoughts that were intended for this book. So I think the long narrations/ discussions is justified.
It is one of the books that we can read over and over again for the many logical explanations and the messages/ statements in italics [which I really liked]
As the book says - It's not only a book;it's the path to a revolution,it's a journey towards a Utopian world. And it does take an open mind to have the courage to accept the truth. And I also agree with the forward written by Prof.Harish Narang- ...a very interesting read with a serious message.
And about the death of Sruthi, it is for you to read the book and find out if it was a suicide or a murder. I am definitely not breaking the suspense here :)
About the author....
Dr. Ajay Yadav is a consultant anesthetist, intensivist and pain specialist. His textbook of anesthesia is the most sold textbook for medical undergraduates in India, Southeast Asia and Africa. He is a rational, logical and analytical thinker and is fond of reading, traveling and long distance running. It had always been his dream to write a book which can unfurl the other side of curtain.
From Where I See ,a novel by Ajay Yadav is quite a different one from those that I have been reading these days.
It is basically a murder mystery story which is narrated through the voice of Dr. Ajay, the author's namesake.The book starts with Dr. Ajay being questioned at the police station,in typical police style, with regard to the death of Sruthi a.k.a. Nagma. What follows this and up to almost the end of the book is a sort of flashback! And the last four chapters spell out the climax.
So at the beginning when Dr. Ajay is being interrogated,it looks like he is a suspect in the murder case. Then he is asked to wait in the station till Inspector Om Prakash returns to the station after attending to another case. That is when he recollects his childhood times in the village along with his best buddies - Sruthi and Kaniyah.
Sruthi is a sort of a bold girl who is happy and rebellious to try out new tricks ,play hockey with the village boys, hit the Village chieftain's son with a stone coz he teased her.And also a very religious one who never fails to pray or visit the temple everyday...Kaniyah is the person who usually get's caught because of Sruthi's antics!
They grow up and go their separate ways due to family situations and lose touch with each other. Then Dr.Ajay meets Sruthi, becomes friends again and also Sruthi meets Kaniyah in a party hosted by Ajay and his wife...A lot of things happen in between and then Sruthi dies.
This is the story... But, it is not as simple as I have spelt it here..
In between ,in the flashback sessions, the author has expressed his ideas and thoughts about everything from religion,corruption and bribery, history of Indian Freedom struggle, world wars,reasons for extra marital affairs, role of man and women through the ages and a lot more!
After discussions of all these subjects is where he brings into light a lot of things that were not known , and then in the end the murder/suicide mystery is solved.
What I liked about the book:
The author has taken a bold move in discussing some controversial topics and I like the way he has justified his points.In this process he has answered a lot of questions that the people in the society are facing or want to ask but can't find the answer.
There are several lines in the book written in italics that are a sort of message to the community.. Here are a few that impressed me.
'Actually we have failed terribly in utilizing our education to incorporate logical thinking in us;we consider education as only a medium for bread earning'
'There is no doubt that they[social media] have brought the distant ones closer but at the same time they have distanced the closer ones' - How true!!!!
Why we have to bargain with everything in life;why can't we honestly get what we deserve and honestly give others what they deserve.
These are just a few examples of the statements present in the book.
I liked this book because it is something different and deals with the issues of the society and also argues and explains the cause and action for the dysfunction / disharmony in the society.
The only thing that I can say that I was not so fond of is the long, long narrations on various topics that seem to take place as a discussion / conversation between friends / in a convention. But looking it from the author's point of view, that is actually the place where is expresses his thoughts that were intended for this book. So I think the long narrations/ discussions is justified.
It is one of the books that we can read over and over again for the many logical explanations and the messages/ statements in italics [which I really liked]
As the book says - It's not only a book;it's the path to a revolution,it's a journey towards a Utopian world. And it does take an open mind to have the courage to accept the truth. And I also agree with the forward written by Prof.Harish Narang- ...a very interesting read with a serious message.
And about the death of Sruthi, it is for you to read the book and find out if it was a suicide or a murder. I am definitely not breaking the suspense here :)
About the author....
Dr. Ajay Yadav is a consultant anesthetist, intensivist and pain specialist. His textbook of anesthesia is the most sold textbook for medical undergraduates in India, Southeast Asia and Africa. He is a rational, logical and analytical thinker and is fond of reading, traveling and long distance running. It had always been his dream to write a book which can unfurl the other side of curtain.
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sounds an interesting read
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