2024 : The Election That Surprised India

 


Name : 2024 : The election that surprised India
Author : Rajdeep Sardesai
    Year of Publication : 2025
    Genre : Non - Fiction, Politics
    Rating : ** 1/2 ( Two and a half stars out of 5)

Rajdeep Sardesai, the newsman, is in fine form here as he chronicles the travails and moods of every major political player over the 2019-2024 election cycle. A particular highlight is the chapter wherein he profiles 10 MPs who defied odds and money power to emerge as inspirational victors. But the problem with Rajdeep the commentator is his desperation to keep showing that he is neutral with his "On the other hand" narratives. He will do well to remember Desmond Tutu : "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor".


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Man's search for meaning

Image
Name : Man's Search for Meaning Author : Viktor E. Frankl     Year of Publication : 1946     Genre : Non - Fiction, History , Philosophy     Rating : *****  (5 stars out of 5) The author combines experience with erudition to churn out a classic which has impacted lives since its publication in 1946. Anyone who is coming to terms with trouble in life can take lessons from the author who faced death in a Nazi concentration camp and survived by choosing to be "worthy of his suffering". The second part of the book is a masterclass on Logotherapy, the therapeutic doctrine propounded by Frankl. To write and breathe positivity after going through hell is remarkable but as the author says " Man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however,he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayer on his lips".
Read more

Indian Summers

Image
  Name : Indian Summers Author : John Wright     Year of Publication : 2006     Genre : Non - Fiction, Cricket     Rating : ** 1/2  ( Two and a half stars out of 5) Considering the author coached the Indian cricket team during it's most transformative phase, the expectations from the book are high. The sense of humour is a particular highlight but otherwise, John Wright's bemused fascination with India and it's ways make for merely familiar reading. A separate chapter on icons like Ganguly, Sachin and Dravid was warranted but Wright gets content with concise descriptions on clashes and discussions. John Wright's tenure means much more to Indian fans than what is described in the book but at best, the book remains an outsider's account - engaging but aloof.
Read more

Pitchside

Image
  Name : Pitchside : My life in Indian Cricket Authors : Amrit Mathur     Year of Publication : 2023     Genre : Non - Fiction, Cricket     Rating : ** * ( Three stars out of 5) Amrit Mathur, the ultimate insider of Indian cricket who has played multiple roles from administrator to first-class umpire, pens an engaging memoir that covers crucial episodes of Indian cricket such as Natwest 2002, Pakistan 2004, World Cup 2003, IPL, among others. What makes this particular memoir stand out is that the author does not restrict itself to on-field action - it captures the routines before matches, the joyous banter in team lunches, the superstitions which supposedly help the team win etc. Imran Khan's public persona is available for consumption in various other tomes but nothing can match the parent Khan in the pages of this book who is trying to make his kids sleep before making small talk with guests who have come for dinner.
Read more