Read the book. Watch the movie. Live the experience. Every bit is worth it!

The Calcutta Chromosome

The first time I started the book, I read a couple of pages and put it away. I am not someone who particularly enjoys science fiction. A few days ago, I thought I would give it another shot (after all, the story is set in Calcutta). I found myself rushing through the pages!

Complex, eerie, witty, imaginative. In one word, mindblowing! Amitav Ghosh takes you through a real roller coaster ride and leaves you wanting more. Who would have thought that Malaria could be turned into something so fascinating? There are still a few questions lingering in my mind... Especially enjoyed the way time travels through the book.

Next on the list: Superfreakonomics/The Time Traveller's Wife.

Dharamsala Diaries

For a long time, I wanted to work in a school in a small village called Gamru, close to McLeodganj. Picking up a travelogue on Dharamsala was the first step. My teaching plans went kaput but the book kept me engrossed.

Dharamsala Diaries by Swati Chopra is a wonderful book. It offers you a glimpse of the Tibetan settlement and daily living in the area, a clear picture of the volatile political situation, an introduction to philosophy and Buddhism and is generously sprinkled with interesting tidbits of trivia. The language is lucid, free flowing and conjures a number of pleasant mental images. Most definitely worth a read.

Visiting Himachal Pradesh is on my bucket list for sure.