The best book I ever read

I had never heard of Rohinton Mistry or A Fine Balance when a friend insisted that I read the book. Its been a long time since I read it, over 2 years, but even now just thinking of the book can give me goose bumps. The book is a graphic description of India under the reign of Indira Gandhi during the emergency, and leaves an indelible mark on your conscience as a constant reminder of the unfair treatment that the masses constantly have to suffer.

The Indian and Global media and attention is focused on the lives of the outlaws of late. I find it surprising that movies like "Slumdog Millionaire" that reprimand private enterprise as the perpetrator of unequal treatment resonate with the sympathies of the world, while shocking movies that shed light on the monstrous forced family planning programme during the tenure of the Indira Gandhi government remain mere documentaries gathering dust in academic institutions.

I was fortunate that our professor of "Business Government and Society" in the first term of the PGP programme at IIM Bangalore exposed us to the reality of emergency. I believe getting ones hands on that movie will be very difficult, but A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is easily available in the market, and is not only a literary masterpiece nominated for the Booker, but also a log of reality that every Indian must be aware of before we let the glamorized nexus of underworld with poverty stricken Indians corrupt our understanding of oppression and inequality.

So click on the image of the book and order it now, and do post your comments here after you are done reading it.

Labels: Books, Emergency, Novel, Society