Naga's Ruminations and Reviews

Immortals of Meluha - Amish Tripathi - Review by Naga For the content that has actually been fit into the story, this is an agonizingly long read. The concept is novel with characters pulled from the Indian religious mythologies of Lord Ram and Lord Shiva but the characterizations fall short in matching expectations. For example, the narrative is supposed to belong to the times when human lived in tribes, were ruled by kings  and sort of had a not very modern life style. But the main characters, especially Shiva who is a barbarian confounds  medical experts talking science, uses slang as seen in modern India.  Few concepts have cavities very deep to make for unfixable teeth. Children are taken into government protection at birth and are classified into 4 castes based on qualifications at age of 15(is this Harry Potter? Are the castes four houses in Hogwarts?) - the presumption being all children brought up the same and hence given the same conditions for growth. Do they forg

Your life begins far back before your birth, before your mother's impregnation, further back in your past life's end. That end is the beginning of this life. They can be divided into two categories: one consists of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They believe in only one life. The other category consists of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. They believe in the theory of reincarnation. One is born again and again, eternally—unless one becomes enlightened, and then the wheel stops. Wherever we make permanent relationships, strife is bound to be, for the mind is most impermanent and relationships very permanent. But I think there is no possibility for people to understand each other  except through meditation, because meditation gives you the qualities of silence, awareness, a patient listening, a capacity to put yourself in the other's position. Two persons living together in love should make it a point that their relationship is continuously growing, bringing more f

Disclaimer: the source of this thought is The hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo which is a work of fiction, hence not sure if I can fully attest to the authenticity of the following claims. I have read that when men in past needed a way to communicate their thoughts and ideas, they built monuments. The structure and decorative symbols carved onto the edifices are supposed to convey deep meanings to a careful observer and reader. But it is hard to retain the monument in it's original form through eternity because of climatic impacts, impact of time and attacks from invaders. So slowly men started jotting down their thoughts on leaves, papers and books which held them for posterity in their original form. Also with the abundance of thoughts(books in current world), wouldn't we have run out of space on Earth if each thought is built into a monument? The author therefore argues that the emergence of publishing (books) has proven to be the diminution in interest towards arc

Most of the souls are perpetually in the process of breaking apart and remaking without really being aware of it. The pieces that make up the fabric of the soul fracture when it is subjected to traumatic experiences. Parts of consciousness shuts down as they have no capability of dealing with the experience. These typically come in the form of a shock. The soul being in it's undisturbed and unruffled state wasn't expecting it. Could be something someone  said at random, attempted to violate their beliefs  in someway, subjected them to public humiliation and disgrace, a woman abused and forced to feel helpless against forces more powerful than herself. Each soul has its own distinct flavor for  what constitutes trauma to it. What hurts me may not hurt another. They could brush it off smiling. But what I take for granted might rile them up and trigger them bad. So when these things happen, the soul naturally tries to splinter and pieces of it escape. Float away to somewhere el

Farewell, My Lovely By Raymond Chandler Miss Levin had a beautiful face, lovely complexion, captivating smile and reckless youth to complement. A rich old man proud to hold such a treasure in his possession puts a ring on it. He goes to great lengths to conceal her shady and not so approvable past through money and influence. What was so horrible in a past if she was only born poor? Or she made a living as a singer in bar rooms and such dingy places?  One should not forget that there could be jewels born in the rough. One could come across valuable objects groping in the dirt. But is she one of them? As the story unravels, we learn to what lengths ruthless ambition and survival need takes a girl to. The story starts with Philip Marlowe, a private detective on an errand of restoring a missing husband to his wife. He encounters a man Moose Malloy looking for his old love Velma. He had a relationship with her before he was sent to prison. Released after 8 years, he comes back in searc

                    Saturn the Old Man Saturn is the old man of the zodiac. He is the old devil and draws impregnable fences around everything he touches in a birth chart. He will not allow for those energies to out grow his boundaries bearing a strict hand of control. He is a teacher of self control, suppression of desires, emotions and feelings. He makes it clear that one is not as desirable as one would like. That one doesn't deserve happiness as one would want . Plunging us into Waters of perpetual depression and melancholy, he feasts on the hard work that is done to keep the structure of society going. He cringes and shuns at the thought of change even if it means improvement. He is an old man bent down on his scythe through ages and ages of bearing burden. Not just his own but that of his family and all his neighbors. He got nothing in return but condescension, rebuke and criticism for the work of such profound self sacrifice from his neighbors. In everything he does, there