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“The Seeds of War” by Ashok K. Banker

Swathy · February 8, 2013 · 1 Comment

Mahabharata Series Book Two The Seeds of War by Ashok K Banker
love the illustration


Note: I was traveling for the past two weeks and came back only on Monday so I started reading the book only on that day. I am supposed to put up the review within a week after receiving the book but I am not sure when I received it. Thus, I am publishing it today and hoping that it would considered valid. Also, I have not yet been able to finish the book because it is very involved. Thus, my review is based on the part I have read. 


Ashok K. Banker is a famed author of the Ramayana series. All of his previous novels have been quite a hit, apparently! Ok, I have to admit that I did not hear about the author before I got this novel for review. 
But now, I can say that I would definitely want to check out all his previous books.  His previous work includes modern interpretation of Ramayana among others and now he has started on Mahabharata.
I have to say this that among the two great epics, Mahabharata appeals more to me because of the cacophony of emotions. There is love, jealousy, anger, hatred, passion, pride, virtue, misery, loyalty and what not? Each character in the epic is worth a study. And, every book I have read on the subject opens a new perspective. 
The Seeds of War is the second book in the Mahabharata series being written by the author. Since I have not yet read the first one, I can’t comment on the flow of the story but I think you can read the books independently. 

Mahabharata Series Book Two The Seeds of War by Ashok K Banker
click on the pic to read

The author clearly states in the introduction section that he has stuck to the original story and simply narrated it in his own style. This particular book narrates the story of people living way before Bharata who started the line of Pandavas and Kauravas. 
The book is divided into 9 pakshas or parts. I have read only 3 parts yet and am going to start the fourth. This book is about Bhishma and his vow of celibacy and to be a protector of the throne. And, how it leads to Mahabharata.
The goal of the book is to show how did the earlier events culminate into the ultimate war. It depicts The Butterfly Effect – a single event can cause a reaction in the chain of consequent events. When some great event is going to happen, things start falling in place much before the immediate people who affect or get affected by the event are even born.
As I said I have not yet read the entire book, I can only say that I have liked the book so far. The author has an easy way of writing and he mentions the philosophy involved in the dialogs very clearly. But, yes, you would need time to read the book. It is not one of the light and easy reads. 

This review is a part of the biggest <a href="http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank"> Book Reviews Program.</a> for <a href="http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers.</a> Participate now to get free books!

My Hair Diaries – January 2013

Swathy · February 7, 2013 · 10 Comments

New year and new starts and I have again started taking care of my hair. Again the start was fresh and the first thing I did was chop off my hair to get rid of the split ends and damaged hair. I could not take a pic of my hair this time so excuse the missing pic. 
Also, my 10 days travel had affected my routine a bit and the products I carried were not the regular ones. Also, I did not use conditioner for those 10 days. But, there is one important observation I want to share. 

I have been oiling my hair with fingers or using this bottle which applies the oil right on the scalp. But, last year, I had also mentioned another way of oiling the hair using a cotton ball. Now, I am qualified enough to tell the difference between the two methods.
Firstly, the finger nails don’t interfere. Secondly, more pertinent to the hair fall issue, when I use cotton ball method, it does result in many hairs falling the first few times which many people have reported to me but gradually hair fall decreases. And, what I have noticed was after few weeks, only the very fine hairs used to fall, may be due to weaker roots. But, that also stops after a while.
While when I resorted to the less time taking and easy to follow routine of using fingers or the nozzled bottle, I found much hair fall while oiling and even during combing with a wide-toothed comb. This was something which had completely stopped when I was following the cotton ball method.
Products Used
  • Shampoo – Kamini shampoo + Neev Olive Neem Shampoo
  • Conditioner – L’Oreal Total Repair 5 + Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment
  • Leave-in – Dove Nourishing Oil Care Serum
  • Hair Oil – Kamini Oil + Sesa Herbal Oil + Patanjali Coconut Oil
Ok, don’t bother with L’Oreal Total Repair because it turns the hair really dry!! And, I think Sesa herbal oil is a good one. I bought a travel pack of it which had just 2-3 uses but it did impress me a lot 🙂 I am not gonna buy it very soon but if you are on a look out, its a good one to try. 
Oh, you know what, yesterday the Dove oil bottle BROKE! I know I didn’t even get a chance to try it another time but honestly I am relieved. Now, I know the problems with glass packaging 😀 It was really messy! And, yes, I am liking Patanjali coconut oil 🙂

Related Posts:
My Hair Diaries – November 2012
My Hair Diaries – October 2012
My Hair Diaries – August + September 2012

Weekend Gossip Vol. 6 – On turning 27!

Swathy · February 6, 2013 · 11 Comments

Well, I turned 27 few days back. Yeah, that was day when I was in Jim Corbett. The plan was to call tiger and elephant for the birthday party 😀 Ok, jokes aside, back to the post.
But, as we age, our skin and health concerns change. So, I thought it would be a good exercise to catalog what changes are necessary from now on. Hopefully, they would be helpful to you too 🙂

Anti-Aging Skin Care

I have never really cared for the anti-aging skin care yet except being a bit diligent with sunscreen. But, I remember reading about the right time to start anti-aging skin care is in the 20’s and blah blah.
So, that’s something you might see on the blog this year. But, you are forewarned when I say you wouldn’t probably see many anti-aging products! I would still prefer simple and inexpensive ways.
Diet
When I was 18,19,20 or even 21, I used to eat anything and everything without any care. But, now, I have become more or less health conscious. So, less fats and more fruits are the agenda but lets see how much I stick to it 😀
Weight Control
Well, you don’t get younger ever, right? So, health problems become imperative in life. A little control over weight can ward off most of these issues so yup I shall have to make strong resolutions and stick to them.
Active Lifestyle
Diet, Weight Control and Active Lifestyle are all inter-related. One leads to another. And, anyways, I have always aspired to have an active lifestyle but I do love being a couch potato.
Give me a book and hot chocolate and a blanket and I shall love lying all day long in sofa! Btw, I am gonna do the same right now as well 😀
For those interested, I am reading “The Seeds of War” by Ashok Banker. Its his latest and I got it for review. Its another interpretation of Mahabharata and I am loving it.
Related Posts:
Weekend Gossip Vol. 5 – Back to Hyderabad!
Weekend Gossip Vol. 4 – Back from Vacation!
Weekend Gossip Vol 3. – Trips and more Trips
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