The Palace of Illusions - Chitra Banerjee Devakaruni (2008)

The book is described as Panchali's Mahabharata. The whole of Mahabharata is described from Draupadi's viewpoint. If you know the stories, you may find them at places biased. Not how it's described in other renditions of Mahabharata. The book has so many details on Karna as if Draupadi was obsessed with him. There are stories of Draupadi's attraction to Karna described in other Mahabharata-related literature but this book stretches it a bit too far. Towards the end, the book moves quite fast and the battlefield gets some mention not too many details. Nor has Bhagavad Gita explained in many details. 

One can think of the book as inclined to the modern feminist viewpoints at places. There are places where Draupadi laments the injustice done to her. There are a bit of MIL and DIL differences. It's well known that Draupadi desired Arjuna, but Bhima loved her most and she was neglected by Yudhishthir by his actions. Krishna was her true friend while Karna remained as an enigma to her. 

Easy read. Great storytelling but has little emphasis on the spiritual aspects of Mahabharata. Should be read like fiction and not for any spiritual upliftment.

Nehru - The Invention of India - Dr. Shashi Tharoor (2003)

 "The major portion of my ashes should … be carried high up into the air in an airplane and scattered from that height over the fields where the peasants of India toil, so that they might mingle with the dust and soil … and become an indistinguishable part of India." - Jawaharlal Nehru.

Those were the last wishes of Pundit Nehru. While the book is a remarkable insight into Nehru's life, it also brings out the contribution of many other people like Motilal Nehru in making Jawaharlal the towering personality he became. The book is written like scholastic work though not as rigorous in terms of references; Dr. Tharoor describes Nehru's life as early rise, him as a freedom fighter, post-independence initial years of success, and later years of failure with war with China. Written when Tharoor had no political affiliation to be associated with Congress, this book has both the positives and negatives on Nehru's life. In short, one can see the appreciation for the person, his towering personality, the institutions he built for India, and even policies, not in the country's interest. 

Overall a must-read for anyone interested in Nehru's life. Though short, it has some liberal usage of Tharoorosaurus. So need some patience than zipping through the passages. 

Origin of the Soul and Purpose of Reincarnation - Walter Semkew (2008)

 Short, Concise, and Easy Read. Yet, not much of actionable from such books. They seem more like science fiction. Here are some takeaways:

1. There are seven personality types in souls. Similar ideas have been reported by other clairvoyants as well. 

2. Every soul has a dual and can have multiple parallel lives in existence. 

3. The essence of a soul gets passed on life-after-life. Souls take 80-100 lives before finally getting out of the cycles of reincarnation. 

4. Reincarnations are like a learning experience for the soul to graduate to higher levels. 

5. Souls need to graduate 12 levels to attain their final spiritual goals. The author discusses with an advanced spiritual soul Ahtun Re to understand the process of reincarnation. 

6. Talks about reincarnations of Picasso, Beethoven, and Michael Angelo

There are references to others' works like Echo Bodine, Judy Goodman, and the likes. Overall an easy read but mostly felt like some science fiction than something actionable. For spiritual upliftment or development, the book has no substance at all. 

The Creation of Wealth - RM Lala (2004)

A swift read. The overall book talks about the history of the Tata Group. The book has three parts. Part-1 the Jamshetji era where audicious visions are undertaken. Part-2 the JRD era which marks development of collaboration and corporate structure. Some extraordinary actions around R &D on various areas. Part-3 redesigning the organisation for rapid growth and expansion with focus on technology with Ratan Tata at the driving seat. The book ends right before the Nano project. The Tatas didn't have a smooth sail with their business. There were many ups and downs they braved through to develop one of the most respected companies in India. The Tatas are as much contributing to philanthropy as much they have developed profit making corporate giants. 

A book worth reading.