Maharaja - Blog Reviews

Excited to see the reviews in blogs.

http://abookandawindow.blogspot.in/2012/02/dancing-with-maharaja-sundar.html

http://prakashinmtm.blogspot.in/2012/02/catching-up-with-novels-after-hiatus.html

Thanks a lot Prakash and Zid!

Getting to know more about the book...

Maharaja - Chennai Launch

Lots of thanks to the chief guests and special invitees - Mr.V.Nandakumar IRS, Mr.Prashant M. Wadnere IAS, Shankar Ganesh IRS and Mr.Sargunam, film maker - for their time and talk. Happy that many could make it to the launch. It was in Shankar IAS Academy, Chennai two days back.

Special thanks to Mr.Shankar, Mr.K.Sridhar, Mr.Manimaran and the Shankar Academy team, for organising the event. The launch would not have been possible without them.

Delighted to see the way the book is shaping up...

Some more FlipKart reviews:

Unputdownable! A lovely tale well told! Written in a gripping fashion, the book weaves in a fair bit of suspense with a nice feel good storyline. Particularly liked the bits where the storyline was left hanging, for the reader to figure it out. Not only does this charming book resonate with everyone who has been through the civil service examination grind, bringing back bitter-sweet memories, but it also appeals to any young reader. In short, 'Dancing with the Maharajas' is 'unputdownable'; and an awesome first book!!! Dance on!! - Anup John

Definitely worth a read: A 'coming of age' book set amidst the civil services exams, Dancing with Maharaja is definitely worth a read. Spiced with incidents and anecdotes that sound real (probably from the author's own exam prep experience), it offers an insight into what is perhaps one of the toughest exams in India. - Sivam Sabesan

Smooth as silk: The read through slowly pulls you in to the story and reminds you of your college days. each character in one way or other you would have interacted in your life and you can see that moment whn you read it. - P.Sashikanth

So far, so good.

Thanks all!

Maharaja - Early Reviews

Have been quite happy about the book's run till now.. Looks like I can continue to write. I had got some detailed reviews over the phone; as emails and FB messages. I am grateful to every one of them - firstly for completing the book and mainly for letting me know where I missed. Some of the FlipKart reviews are here:

A Movie! "A feelgood story which is also a potential movie! As a civil servant who has undergone the preparation woes, this book was a gentle reminder from the past. Thanks Sundar! All those who cleared the UPSC,all those who couldn't clear the UPSC and all those who aspire to clear the UPSC need to read this book.....and those who want to know how to run a successful bar should definitely read this. Cheers!" - Prasanth Nair

The Perfect first book "An awesome overnight read.Its got everything in it, the perfect blend of spices. The writing style is so lucid and natural, that we kind of live the story along with the characters when we read. An inspiring thought on " zero to hero" , but at the sametime not making it sound like a miracle or out of the movie scene. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience.Keep it up sir, great work......." - Indumathy Balasubramanian

Exciting! "An Exciting read! Perfect blend of real-time experiences and imagination! First of its kind, this book depicts the life of an IAS aspirant with all its ingredients.For someone who prepared for Civil Service exam, reading this book generates a feeling of âhomecomingâ and for others it would be an exciting read!" - Abdul Hakeem

It Rocks! "Its strange indeed that despite the fact that nearly 3 lakh people sit for this exam every year, theirs is a story largely untold. Dancing with Maharaja captures beautifully, not just the trials & tribulations of UPSC students, but also the cultural synthesis it brings about. In a subtle way, Sundar relates the journey of a tamilian boy into the punjabi heartland of karol bagh - awed by most things Delhi-ites take for normal, which most south-indian readers would easily identify with!

An interesting, racy book which I loved for its unique story, lucid writing and more than anything, for bringing out the lives behind the 'over' bashed and maligned 'IAS'." - Anandhi

Keeps you on the hunt:"A feel free pass time for the coffee time but the story revolves around you till you make some one to join the civil services. The book is pakka commercial with a hero who does engineering in 5 years and later aspiring to join the civil services. well if you want some you get some." - KT Shrinath

And the first review in FB came from Sudhanshu.. (Jan 25, 2012):

"The book is great..will easily become bestseller (speaking matter-of-factly)..finished it in one go..completed at six a.m. today morning!! Good work..keep it up.."

Quite satisfying! But miles to go...

Unbearable

From an article by Rajaji in Young India dated 11.07.1929.

Almost every one of these people is in debt. A couple of rupees borrowed carries so much interest per rupee per month and the people earn so little that the debt can never be discharged but grows and grows. It practically sells the man into slavery. There is no legal process but assault and intimidation and coercion do the work of the courts. The creditor is his own bailiff. If no one lent money to these people they would be in a worse position. A debtor and slave feel more respectable than a mere starving beggar.

Has anything changed?

Yes. Even the debtor-slave relation has turned unbearable; even the mere survival has become a luxury.

In the last 15 years more than 2,50,000 farmers have killed themselves.

Dancing with Maharaja

Ready for the Jan launch - my first fiction.

Ten Down

I was impressed by Dances with Wolves (Eng/Kevin Costner/1990). I was more impressed to realise that Avatar (Eng/James Cameron/2009) shares its central plot with the Costner's movie. The plot: the saga of how our man becomes a part of the other men and ends up siding with them in their justified fight against us. Replace our man with a US soldier and other men with Na'vi or the Native Americans. Bingo! You get Avatar and Dances with Wolves. I do not say Cameron has borrowed from Costner. It would be like saying all the cop movies are the same; all the love movies are the same. It is just that I am surprised to see how the change in "treatment" to the central plot can lead to two very different experiences; Very different, but classics in their own right. When compared to seven, three is not a pretty figure, but when we append "Oscars" to the numbers, three is equally laudable. Avatar had managed three Oscars, while Dances bagged seven.

When we talk about "treatment" I can only awe at the confidence of director Shankar. Here is a man who teaches with examples. Year after year, starting with Gentleman (Tam/1993) and topping with Enthiran (Tam/2010), the director has made us deliver many super hits. But most of them with the same central theme - one man's fight against corruption. I am happy that Hirani is nice enough to give Shankar 3 Idiots for remaking in Tamil. Immaterial of the treatment, I do not have mood to watch any more fight against corruption by the ace director.

Well, coming back to Avatar, I am reminded of Unnal Mudiyum Thambi (Tam/KB/1988) where a radical from the society's upper strata enters the slums to empower the masses. In the process he fights his people. Well, probably the central plot in these movies seems to be "a reformer/activist's story".

I am not sure if this plot has been tried - rather than our man joining hands with them to help them win over us, the movie can be about their own hero winning us. Like, say, one among the Na'vi collects his fellow humanoids to beat us, the homo sapiens, black and blue.

By the way, only two more months left in 2011.

Miramar