City of Joy- Dominique Lapierre

Is a book on Calcutta, a city on the banks of river Hoogly in West Bengal, India. Lapierre successfully captures the spirit of Calcutta in descriptive yet pleasing language. Written in little more than 500 pages, the book tries to answer the mystery of happiness that overflows the lives of ordinary people living in severely deplorable conditions in the slums of Calcutta.

The City is presented as seen through the lives of Stephen Kovalski, the polish priest who dedicated his life to the service of lepers and other dwellers of ‘Anathnager’ as Calcutta is otherwise known. Other important characters in the book are Hasari Pal and Max Leob. Hasari Pal, is a peasant who migrated to the streets of Calcutta with his wife and kids to earn a living for his family awaiting the amount that he sends back home every month. The hardships that follows Hasari who manages his livelihood pulling rickshaws is heart rending. Max Leob , is an American doctor that Kovalski gets to treat the slum dwellers. Leob’s perception of life and happiness undergoes a dramatic change after his life in the slums .

Hats off to the effort, dedication and research that has gone into creating such a masterpiece…!!!

Discovery Of India - Jawaharlal Nehru

( Here is the review of a book ....which I've not yet completed. Shall add on to it once I complete )

With passionate and erudite narration of the rich and diverse cultural heritage and stabilised civilisation of India, Discovery Of India , by Jawaharlal Nehru , stands out as a must read for anyone who is genuinely interested in India. The book gives a clear picture of the cultural,religious and philosophical tradition of India.With the description of Hinduism more as a culture , than a religion and how it absorbed other religions ;history of India's relationship with China ,Iran and Europe the book elucidates the glorious past of Indian art, architecture,sculpture mathematics,trade and a lot more.

Background
The book was written in five months in 1944 , while Nehru was imprisoned in Ahmednagar Fort for participating in the Quit India movement.First published in 1946 , a year before independence, the book is widely regarded as a Classic by most historians. As Nehru says in the Preface to the first edition of the book , his stay in the prison brought him close to people speaking different languages from the length and breadth of India , like Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad . The contents of book took shape largely from the long discussions that he had with them and was spell checked and reviewed by his daughter Indira .