Three Thousand Stitches: There’s Still Good in the World

Sudha Murty is amazing. If you’re someone who likes to read a simple tale without the complications of long sentences and difficult words, then she is the author for you. Her book Three Thousand Stitches is another example of exemplary writing in the not-so-long a list of books this philanthropist has authored.

An introduction to the lady is a must… Murty is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, which is known for all the work they do for the development of the downtrodden and the outcast. Murty sits on top of that or rather walks the extra mile to bring comfort to the lives of the underprivileged. She is a strong woman, if being a chairperson wasn’t enough, hear this: Sudha Murty was the only girl in her engineering college B.V.B. College of Engineering and Technology, and instead of being ‘scared’, as the society would expect, Murty topped the college and was awarded a medal from the then chief minister of Karnataka.

Three Thousand Stitches is aptly shown in the cover image that will become clear to the reader once s/he reads the very first story of the same name. The colours on the cover probably depict the colourful life led by Murty and the different wonderful colours she has filled in the lives of the people around her.

The book of 256 fast-paced pages contains stories of some of the experiences in Murty’s life. Professional and personal. Some of them will warm your heart and moisten your eyes, while some others will bring a great smile. But all of the eleven tales will remind you of the good in the world.

Sudha Murty (Source: Indian Express)

While you read this book, the simplicity of Murty cannot be ignored, owing to her simplistic writing style and the ease with which she explains situations and people. For instance, the story ‘Cattle Class’, which is the fifth story, describes two women who are not good. They are mean and think of ‘class’ as an entity of the rich. But these are my words… Murty in her book just described the whole incident with such honesty, you will end up feeling angry by their ‘cattle class mentality’.

“Class does not mean possession of a huge amount of money…There are plenty of wrong ways to earn money in this world. You may be rich enough to buy comfort and luxuries, but the same money does not define class… Mother Teresa was a classy woman… The concept that you automatically gain class by acquiring money is an outdated thought process.”

In another story, Murty narrates the story of her father, an incident that happened about 75 years ago. Murty has picked up many such stories, from when she was a child to now when she is a grandmother and each story has something to give.

The stories are fast paced and can be read in a single sitting. Each story takes about 15-20 minutes to read, and that’s for someone who reads in an okay speed.

If you want to buy the book, hit a bookstore​ near you. Stop them from closing down. 🙃

Title: Three Thousand Stitches
Author: Sudha Murty
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 256 (Paperback)
Cost: 250 INR

हटा दो

तो फिर हटा दो वो झूठे लाज का घूंघट
वो तौर तरीकों के जाले
वो नज़ाखत वो अदाएं …
फिर ही तो मिल पाओगे मुझसे तुम
बेबाक , बेशरम, बिना झूठ बिना सच
बिना खुद के , बिना मेरे ।

फिर हटा देना वो सोच के दायरे
मैं क्या देखूंगा
क्या सोचूंगा
क्या कहूँगा
जब आना मुझसे मिलने
तो बस अपनी रूह लाना…
नंगी, अनछुई,
ना साफ़ ना मैली।

Lone Fox Dancing: A smiling tale

This book was not bought by me, though I’d have loved to buy it. The Lone Fox Dancing was won in a Goodreads giveaway. I saw ‘Ruskin Bond’, ‘IN’ and the next thing I did was sign up for the giveaway. Frankly, I never even went back to check if I had won. Until one day, I received a courier which was a neatly wrapped hardcover ‘Lone Fox Dancing’ (LFD now onwards). I told my mum I hadn’t ordered the book. It was only when I read the letter inside from the publishers (Speaking Tiger) that I found out that I had won the giveaway.

I was elated… ‘A free book. A FREE Ruskin Bond book. Oh my God… This is Ruskin Bond’s Autobiography!!!’ Yup, exactly what I thought. 🤯
The moment I opened the book, I knew this was a book I’d enjoy, and righly so.

If you’ve read any of Ruskin Bond’s stories, you’d know of his simplicity in writing. By using the most simple words and even simpler sentences, Bond can take you down memory lanes. And that’s exaclty what he has done in his autobiography.

The book will transport you to the Delhi and Mussourie of 40s and 50s. It is an age which most of us millenials have only heard of. But thanks to the amazing writing skill of Mr Bond, you’d feel you’re walking down the streets with him and sipping on the Keventers’ shake. As most autobiographies, LFD also focuses on the childhood and youth of Ruskin Bond. And for some, this would be disappointing because very little has been written about his later years.

The book is divided into four clear parts. And if you go by my advice, I’d say look at the amazing collection of pictures in the book before beginning. That’ll give a face to the many incidents I’m sure will run in your minds like a film. Each page of the book is a heart warming tale of love and friendship. The childhood and coming of age is described with immense beauty. Specially when he describes the loss of his father, I couldn’t stop my eyes from welling up. The book shows us just what kind of a person the author is. Even the most bitter parts of the story are written about with such matter-of-factly tone that you’d feel as if he had forgiven the people who did him wrong even at the young age, and holds absolutely no grudges against anybody. At a point when he lost the letters of his father (read book to know how), I was so angry I called my husband up and asked him ‘How the hell can Ruskin Bond write about it so calmly. I don’t feel anger in his writing. Why is he not angry?’ And trust you me, I was really angry.

If you’re someone who cannot help noticing ‘people’ and their ways… this book has so many characteristics of different people hidden, it’ll make your heart cry. You could really see through the people.

What’s awesome is that the book is so brutally candid that you’d sometimes feel like he himself is narrating the story to you over a cup of tea in Dehradun. Well, that’s the simplicity of his writing. Read it for a not-so-thrilling but yet amazing story of one of the most read authors in India.

This is book is a no-no for people who want too much thrill in an autobiography. There is no drama, just simple truths of Bond’s life. Truth’s that’ll touch you inside and leave you contemplating about the simplicity of it all.

Publisher: Speaking Tiger
Cost: ₹599 (Hardcover). Buy it here for ₹454. 🙂
Pages: 277
Awards: 2017 Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize in the non-fiction category

It Is So Hard For Me To Read Non-Fiction. Help!

A new year is here and I am absolutely glad that I am entering this year loaded with books to read. I have on my list four Man Booker awardees, namely, The Underground Railroad , Lincoln in the Bardo, A Horse Walks Into A Bar and The Sellout. These books will take about two months to finish. So yeah, I’m sorted for the beginning of the year.

What I am sad about and want to change in the year 2018, is that my shelves are loaded with fictions. If you go through my Goodreads, you’d see a variety of fiction novels. But alas, I have not read one non-fiction. It is so very difficult for me to read a non-fiction. Why, you ask?

Consider this. I really wanted to know about the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. And I have an absolutely amazing book, The Siege: The Attack on Taj by Adrian Levy, sitting on my bookshelf (my husband’s actually). I picked that book up. The author starts with the names of all the real people in the attack. After the list, he starts telling us about a father-daughter duo who worked at the Taj. A real father-daughter duo. And that was it. I couldn’t read further. I knew that either one of them was going to die, or rather all the people on the list. Yes, characters die in fiction, but fictional characters. Not real people!! Do you understand? I cannot live with the idea that all the people who suffered in the book suffered for real. Their pain was real, their losses were real.

GIF source- giphy

My eyes welled up when I realised that the father-daughter duo would either die or get separated for life. And I couldn’t take it anymore. This is the reason I cannot read non-fiction. I get too attached to the people. So I need your help here.
I really want to read all the lovely books out there, but what is it that I am doing wrong? Am I picking the wrong books for the start? Am I reading it wrong? Or what is it?

Do you have some tricks or tips under your sleeve that can help me read better without crying a river?

Help!