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Title: The Sceptical Patriot
Authors: Sidin Vadukut
Publisher: Rupa Publications India
Publication Year: 2014
Language: English
Binding: Paperback
Genre: Non-Fiction, Essays Humor
No. of Pages: 218
Price: Rs 250
My Rating: 4/5
the premise of the book is interesting...the questioning of our history is dangerous
ReplyDeletebut necessary
True :-)
DeleteYou have a creative blog here. And the book sounds interesting too. Not many non fiction books are light hearted.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alka :-)
DeleteWell, well, well. What a fantastic piece of pop-history, non-fiction this is!
ReplyDeleteIn short - Sidin goes on an adventurous (and potentially life-threatening, if you take extreme nationalists into account) journey to look at popular 'India myths' that do the rounds on email and Whatsapp, and proceeds to verify them using research.
ACTUAL research, not just a quick check on Wikipedia! There are around 7-8 myths he looks at and gives each of them a score.
It's obviously a lot more 'serious' than his Dork or Cricinfo stuff, but at the same time, it has smatterings of Sidinisms throughout. Hardcore fans will be happy to know Blossom Babykutty gets a mention ;)
Should you pick this up? Definitely! It's a wonderful, eye-opening read. It's cheap. It's a light read (you should be able to get done with it in a train journey from Bangalore to Kochi... Or an auto ride from Andheri East to Versova).
I'll be honest - Sidin's Dork trilogy wasn't his finest writing (especially Book 2, though 1 was a riot!). But with TSP, he's produced some of his best, and something that all Indians should read, and importantly, use it to develop a healthy sense of cynicism about myths, religion and everything you see and read in this internet age which could have a lot of bunkum floating around.
Very well said :-)
DeleteI would love to read this... !!!
ReplyDeleteLemme order soon!
Let me know your feedback :-)
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