3 books of joy !

The last 2 weeks have been amazing... suddenly after a pause, i have read 3 brilliant books in a row ! And i have not even started with "Sea of Poppies" ... i need to breathe before i begin that.

First off the block was "Limping to the centre of the Earth" by Timeri Murari. This is an account of Murari's account of his Kailash parikrama and the walk to Tibet through the Indian Government ITBP route. The book is very good, extremely well documented, and one can actually live the journey. For those of us who have been through this journey before (I have in May, 2006), it is a re - living of every step. The Kailash yatra is easily one of the most ardous of all journeys. But its a journey also into the unknown, of cultures, of languages, of unpredictable weather and all this combined with the raw elements of nature make this a completely spiritual experience. Murari, though not religious has also felt and described the spiritual aspects of this journey. Its a brilliant book, if you enjoy mountains, cultures and Kailash. I do, and i loved the book. Highly recommended. This is a true twistntales bestseller.

Without a pause, i started on the Narmada book. This is another journey that i have been wanting to make, ever since i read "The Sacred Virgin" many many years ago. That was a journey done by Ambassador car. This one is Brilliant ! "The Narmada" by Amrit Lal Vegad is a recent translation, of a book originally written in Hindi.
The account of a journey by foot done 8 years back, in bits and parts (2 weeks at a time) all along the Narmada, is brilliant. I love rivers. Amrit Lal Vegad is an accomplished artist. His take on nature, on the river, on the peoples that inhabit by the banks, the cultural nuances are refreshing and are a delight to read. Another tnt bestseller !

The next is an international bestseller, making it to India now. "Three Cups of tea" has been eagerly awaited, and yes i picked the first copy in my store ! Greedy me ! But guys, it is truly a brilliant book. Books like Kite Runner and 3 cups of tea happen once in a while.

Greg Mortenson is a high altitude climber trying to summit K2. That's what drew me to this book in the first place. After 2 unsuccessful summit attempts, Mortenson finds purpose in life. Working with nothing but gut feel, energy and raw courage, this book shows us Mortenson's journey from being a dreamer to successfully setting up series of schools in inhospitable high altitude zones of karokarram. Through areas of complete civil non governance, inhospitable terrain, tribal codes, and high anti american feelings, Mortenson has successfully ploughed his way through innumerable obstacles, and it is a complete triumph for the human spirit. It reminded me a little of the Alchemist. Solo and self driven, it shows that one person can really move mountains. Brilliant book. Highly recommended. Don't borrow, buy it. It helps Mortenson's cause !

twistntales has often highlighted some lost but brilliantly written books, and these books come highly recommended at the Store. This post is a wider effort to do just that. Some of these books never show up in any bestseller list, but are honestly far far better than many that appear on the list. In the past, twistntales (tnt) has recommended "Book of Rachel" by Esther David, "Diddi" by Ira Pande, "The legends of Pensam" by Mamang Dai, "Moin and the monster" by Anoushka Ravishankar and so on... None of these made it to any list, but believe me, if you haven't read them yet, you have lost out.