The Blog of Small Things

Name : The Doctor and The Saint Author : Arundhati Roy     Year of Publication : 2019     Genre : Non-Fiction, Politics       Rating : **** (4 stars out of 5) The author is at her best as the content involved gives scope for irony and debate. She sums up Ambedkar poignantly thus : "He wore suits,yet. But he died in debt". She does not address Mohandas Gandhi as "Mahatma" and brings up the Mahatmahood only to point out how the halo is not as bright as it is portrayed to be. That a speech written by Ambedkar in 1936 remains relevant even in 2019 points to the inadequacies of the Gandhi way of addressing Dalit issues. But what India needs today is not a "Gandhi vs Ambedkar" debate. Rather , a "Gandhi AND Ambedkar" approach is needed but for those who do not care about Ambedkar yet, this short and sharp book is a good place to begin with.

Name : Ashes 2005- The Greatest Test Series Author : Gideon Haigh     Year of Publication : 2005     Genre : Non-Fiction, Cricket          Rating : **** (4 stars out of 5) A classic day-by-day recounting of an even more classic test series. The thing to note is that the book is a mere collection of pieces written with a deadline in mind through the series. Despite such pressures, the writing output is immortal with a balanced mix of humour, societal analysis , cultural references and cricketing technique. The vocabulary might well be intimidating for a South Asian like me but the author's turn of phrase is so delectable -just like Shane Warne's spells that enthralled the crowds in the summer of 2005.