Review: Those Magnificent Women and their Flying Machines: ISRO’S Mission to Mars

Those Magnificent Women and their Flying Machines: ISRO’S Mission to Mars by Minnie Vaid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Collection of profiles and interviews of some of the senior women in ISRO especially around the MOM mission.

Whilst the bulk of the book focuses on the key women involved with Mars Orbiter Mission, the author compiles interviews and conversations with numerous other senior women in ISRO who have been making a difference. There is very little in written literature on Indian women in the Sciences and this book does justice to highlighting a few of them. From their anecdotes of solving a specific challenge, the family support system, balancing home and work and the slow and steady march towards gender equity in ISRO , the women provide a very relatable backgrounds to a number of Indian women across different white collar industries and their lifestyles and ambitions often working perpendicular to each other.

That said, the book does get repetitive after a while since the book is organised by the different profiles who may have similar stories but in different domains of ISRO from the few women in the spotlight to many more behind the scenes. The book also tries to throw light on how in the pursuit of space, ISRO has been solving a lot of terra challenges that impact the common man - in the farms and in the cities.

Some of the household names such as Dr. Ritu Karidhal, Dr. M. Vanitha, Dr. TK Anuradha and Dr. Nandini Harinath and their journeys from simple homes in towns and villages to where no man has gone before make for inspiring stories.

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Review: The Bangalore Detectives Club

The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: A murder mystery set in 1920s Bengaluru part of the Mysore state

In the backdrop of whispers of civil disobedience in the quest of freedom, Harini sets up the environment of 1920s Bangalore at the juncture of British colonialism and a newly awakening India. Leveraging her expertise in Indian history specifically around Bengaluru , she does delve into the social, geographical and political context of those times. Kaveri as the protagonist has to deal with the social construct of the times whilst she yearns for more - something as simple as finishing off her studies so she can work outside her home - a concept we seemingly find alien as society opens up slow and steady to celebrate the individual - irrespective of their background.

Though those are the frills because the main storyline is supposed to be a whodunnit where an infamous pimp is murdered in the lawns of a prestigious Century club that allows non-whites. The character development seems a lighter touch and you go through the drills of a murder mystery to land up with the eventual suspect with a lot of clues just simply landing into the hands of our detective who is steps ahead of the sympathetic police. With contemporaries like Sujata Massey, this becomes a tough comparison where the character development has been deeper, the BDC makes for a light reading- probably better suited for young adult fiction audiences.

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Review: Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hooter: Retelling of Greek Mythology in Stephen Fry's style

When is an audiobook better than a book - here is an example. I loved my 5th grade Greek history textbook but if we had complementary audiobooks like this, I am sure my class at Ibn Seena Sharjah would have pushed our history scores a notch higher. Stephen Fry with his dry wit and humor takes us through the varied stories of Greek Mythology - happy endings, tragic endings (more of these) and adds a breath of life to all the characters we have heard of in varying forms but ironically makes them human.

From the famous Zeus in his good naturedness, mischief and roving eye mode to Prometheus wanting to give fire to his creation of mankind , the Titans sitting uneasy to stories of unrequited love, Midas gold , jealousy and the whole mix. Each story is pretty much stand alone with repeating characters and makes it an easy audiobook listen over a duration.


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Review: Coromandel: A Personal History of South India

Coromandel: A Personal History of South India by Charles Allen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: The author's walk down history lane of aspects of Southern Indian that intrigued him

Wanted to put that out up front that this isn't a comprehensive history of Southern India but aspects that intrigued the author. That said, he has done reasonable research in those areas and provides a picture from his outsider's perspective of the setup.

From the detailed overview of the Nairs and Cholamandalam to the heavy Buddhist and Jain influences all over before hinduism replaced them makes for fascinating shift in culture and also the origins of varying concepts in today's era. Along with those, there are so many aspects missing that you couldn't call this a lesson in history and overpowering subjective narration that he continues to add often revelling in things that could stir up a storm.

Take this as a fact book on some of the unexplored and ignore the rest.

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