Raathi Poolu – C.Sujatha

This is a novel written in the backdrop of corporate world and cine industry. The story revolves around three women, Samantha, Jamuna and Kinnera who belong to ordinary middle class families. They’ve an urge to develop in their respective careers and become financially sound enough to support their families and get hold of all materialistic possessions in the urban culture. This novel describes the emotional struggle that these three women undergo during the process of their settlement in life. How people now a days get attracted to money and success and in this process how the family,human relations, morals and beliefs tend to vanish are described in a heart-touching manner. Title is aptly chosen.


Nice and quick read. Totally loved it

Penkutillu – Kommuri Venugopala Rao

I heard many good reviews about this book, so started with great expectations.


It’s the story of a middle class family in 1960′s (or may be 70′s)….Chidambaram, a lazy n good for nothing fellow lives with his family of 7 including his 4 children. The novel is all about their day-to-day lives,struggle for existence, adjustments and finally ends with a happy note. It reflects the financial and caste discrimination system prevalent at that time.

Good at parts, nothing so great. Just on OK to read.

Naakoo vundi oka kala – Dr Verghese Kurien

This’s the telugu translated version of the book ‘I too had a dream’ , an auto-biographical novel written by Dr.Varghese Kurien. He’s the father of  the White Revolution in India. For even more clearer picture just think of Amul – The Taste of India. Yes, he’s the man behind this brand.

Dr.Varghese Kurien, after finishing his masters in Engineering in the US of A returned to India in 1949 and started working as a dairy engineer in a govt based milk production company in Anand, a small village in Gujarat. He gets attracted to the local milk co-operative society formed by a group of farmers headed by Mr.Tribhuvandas Patel. Due to inefficient collection and distribution systems and interference of middlemen, milk co-operative societies were not producing any profits to the producers. Dr. Kurien determined to change this picture and started building the co-operative society from scratch. Since then, there was no turning back. He dedicated 50 years of his life to pursue his dream of acheiving empowerment to poor farmers in India. Initially he had to fight with private companies, bureaucrats, politicians and some multinational companies like Nestle, but his efforts and strong determination transformed India into number one milk producer in the world.
This  book describes his work, experiences and acheivements. An inspiring read for people who truly want to contribute something to the society and country.

Telugu translation is done by Dr Tummala Padmini and Dr Atthaluri Narasimha Rao.
For his contribution to dairy industry, Dr Kurien received so many awards in India and overseas. Ramon Magsaysay award (1963), Padmasri(1965), Padmabhushan(1966), Padmavibhushan(1999),  Wateler peace prize (1986) are just few among them.

Gadi Lopali Goda – Palamaneru Balaji

A collection of 19 short stories. The author chose a wide variety of topics like farmers’ suicides, corporate education system, problems related to women and many other issues as subjects to these stories. Each story is unique, most of them reflect our day to day lives and we can identify ourselves in few characters. Loved all of them.

Simple, yet thought provoking.

My most loved stories from around the world – Apple books

This’s a collection of famous folk tales from China, Africa, Norway and few other countires. Reading a folk tale had always been a pleasure to me ‘coz through these stories we get an insight into the culture and traditions of the society from which they originated.

Simple, short and sweet tales. They take you away to strange and distant lands. Recommended for bedtime story telling to kids

Gaalikondapuram railway gate – Vamsee

I’m a huge fan of writer/director Vamsee. I’ve read his 3 short story complilations (Maa Pasalapudi Kathalu,  Aanaati Vaana chinukulu and Aaku pacchani Gnaapakam) earlier, totally totally loved them. Coming to  novels, this’s my first read.


It’s a suspense thriller written in the backdrop of the beautiful Araku valley and Dandakaaranya forests. Like in all other Vamsee’s writings I’ve read so far, there is no focus on the storyline in this book too. The narration, characters in the story and the wonderful description of the scenic beauty of the locations captivate the reader.
Light n quick read, recommended for Vamsy’s fans

The Bachelor of Arts – R.K.Narayan

The is the story of a young man, Chandran who lives with his family in the village of Malgudi during the pre-indepence era. The story describes his journey from adolescence to matured adulthood. It’s a short, simple and thought provoking story. Another delightful read from R.K.Narayan.

It’s just about 160 pages, a quick read

The Other Side of Midnight – Sidney Sheldon

The story is about the lives of two women, Noelle Page and Catherine, both from two different parts of the world. Both of them fall in love with the same man, Larry Douglas. Larry betrays Noelle and settles down with Catherine. Noelle plans to take a revenge and in the process she becomes the mistress of Constantin Demeris, a greek business tycoon. The story revolves around these four characters. Very much entertaining and the title is very well chosen. Good timepass read.

But, strictly not for readers under 18 as it has too many steamy lovemaking scenes.

Gattu thegina cheruvu – Aari Seetharamayya

Collection of 14 short stories. Most of the stories are based on NRI lives. One story which I liked the most is ‘Avachaaram’ – a grandmom’s struggle to say no to babystitting responsibilities. Heart-touching one. Rest others are just average. I’ve read so many stories based on the same concepts, nothing new.

The book I got has a misprint. So I missed some connections in few stories.

Ditavu Gundelu – Dmitry Medvedev – Uppala Lakshama Rao

I don’t  know the English title of this original version, this book is written by Russian author Dmitry Medvedev (not sure whether he is the one who’s the current President of Russia) and the telugu translation from English was done by Uppala Lakshmana Rao.


Soviet Russia has a great history for its fight aganist the Naazees. This’s the story of Russian Gourilla war fighters during the second world war. It gives you an insight of the events in the gourilla war that took place in the Saarni forest areas and Ukranian towns during the years 1942-1948.

I am not very good at reading and memorizing the Russian names and this book has too many characters, so it was a tough read for me memorizing the names,places and events and reading further. Otherwise the transalation is good.

Tribal Women in development – Dr Lipi Mukhopadhyay

My interest in the life-style of tribal women began when I was reading some case-studies/fact finding reports published by the Human Rights Commission, regarding the attrocities against the tribal people. I personally feel that tribal women are far more efficient, confident and independent when compared to the women in urban/rural areas. They play a siginificant role in the socio-economic structure of their society. They enjoy more freedom regarding their marriage/personal lives than their counterparts in non-tribal regions.


This book is an analytical study of cultural,social, economic and political life of tribal women in India. Their role in agriculture, forestry, industrial areas, arts and crafts are discussed. Various case studies of tribal women across different regions of India are presented.Their beliefs, traditions and life-styles are detailed. Enviromental degradation and exploitation of non-tribal people are making lives of tribal women difficult now a days. The author finally discussed some measures to be taken for the upliftment of tribal women.

Not a casual,timepass read. Go for it only if you are interested in this particular subject.

Asthaminchani Ravi – Khader Mohiuddin

‘Asthaminchani Ravi’ is the biography of Paritaala Ravi written by Khader Mohiuddin.

This book gives you an insight of Ravi’s life. His father Paritaala Sreeramulu’s involvement in Peoples War Naxalite group, how’s he’s assassinated, Ravi’s interest in agriculture, his undesired entry into naxalite movement and then to politics, his political career, his rivalry with Maddela Cheruvu Suri etc are discussed. The author tried to present Ravi as a revolutionist and not a hardcore factionist as known to the world.
An interesting read for people who love political biographies.

Eeyana gurinchi telusukovaalanna interest naaku Januarylo Guntur vellinappudu kaligindi. Buslo Tenali to Guntur travel cheseppudu daarlo boldanni oorlosthaayi kadaa..konni oorlallo Paritaala Ravi statues, aayana vardhanthi ki pettina cut-outs, banners etc choosaanu…Ekkado Anantapurlo faction godavallo baagaa famous ayina oka politican ki kosthaa jillallo intha fan following enti anukunnaa..ade maata pakkanunna ammulakkani adigithe appudu aayana gurinchi kontha cheppindi…Okappudu Teja koodaa ‘Paritaala yuva sena’ antoo edo antundevaadu, adee gurthocchindi…Ohooo, idedo thelsukovaalsina matter anukuni bookshops lo vethukuthoo vunte ee book dorikindi.

Ee book lo bhooporaataala gurinchi, naxals udyamamlo Ravi vaalla nannagaaru poshinchina paatra gurinchi cheppaaru..prapanchamanthaa oka factionistgaa mudra vesina Paritaala Ravi mentality, aayana aasayaalu, balaheenathalu, satruthvaalu ilaa anni konaalanu visleshinchaaru. Aayanni oka udyamakaarudi laa aavishkarinchaaru. Manchi pusthakam.

Bhooporaatam ane padaanni englishlo emantaaro evarikayinaa thelisthe cheppandi…ekkado vinnatte, chadivinatte vundi..kaanee gurthu raavatamledu

2 States – Chetan Bhagat

I haven’t read Chetan Bhagat’s books so far and ’2 States’ is the first one.

It’s the love story of two IIMA graduates, Krish from Punjab and Ananya from Tamilnadu. It’s all about how they convince each other’s parents to get them married. The cross-state cultural differences lead to some hilarious incidents. I’m impressed with CB’s simple writing style. Though the plot is much predictable with no surprise elements, the narration is pretty good. It’s an enjoyable one time read.

I’ve read in yesterday’s newspaper that this script is going to the Bollywood sets with Shahrukh and Asin as the main leads Would love to watch it on big screen.

Anuhya – Balabhadhrapaathruni Ramani

Anuhya is a smart, beautiful and innocent girl born and brought up in an orthodox family in a village. She’s her grandmom’s pet. She gets married to a foreign returned doctor,Vivek. . This novel deals with Anuhya’s post marriage adjustment blues and her exploration of life to realise what freedom,self-respect and individuality means to a woman. Takes you back to memoirs of your newly married life. Simple and easy to read. I’ve finished it in one go.

Ramani novels lo naaku baagaa nachhindi “Aalinganam”. Appudeppudo Swathi magazinelo anukuntaa serialgaa vacchindi. Aa book kosam vethukuthunte adi kanipinchaledu kaanee ee “Anuhya” kanipinchindi. Aavida writing style naaku nacchuthundi kadaa ani konukkochhaa…maa cousin sister daggara Ramani short stories book vunte adi koodaa chadivaanu. Avi koodaa chaalaa baagaa raasaaru eevida.

Nirnayaaniki atoo itoo – Indraganti Janaki Bala

This book is a collection of 26 short stories written by Mrs.Indraganti Janaki Bala (Film director Indraganti Mohana Krishna’s mom). Most of the stories focus on various aspects like dowry, family relations, independence, domination etc concerning women in middle class families of our generation. Each story is unique and is a master piece. I cannot select one or two favourites among these. Liked all the stories. Simple, yet thought provoking.

Few years back I’ve read an award winning novel ‘Kanipinche gatham’ written by the same author. It’s one of my favourites.

Papillon – Rekkalu chaachina panjaram (Part 1)

Papillon is a french autobiographic novel written by Henry Charriere. It has been translated to telugu in two parts by Dr M.V.Ramana Reddy.

Henry, at the age of 25, is sentenced wrongly for a murder he didn’t commit. He plans to take revenge on the people responsible for his imprisonment, the judge, prosecutor and the police officers involved. He’s moved to a prison in French Guiana from where he escapes with a couple of his friends. They travel across the Atlantic to Trinidad and Cuaraco seeking asylum. But the immigration authorities deny their request and advise them to go to either Columbia or Venezuela. They get sighted near Columbian coastline by the coastal police and land in the prison once again. He escapes from this prison again and reaches an island in Guajira Peninsula where he meets the local native americans. They provide him shelter and he lives there for about 6 months regaining his mental and physical health.  During his stay, he gets married to two native american women Laali and Joraija.
But his plan for revenge remains unexecuted. So he leaves the island and soon gets caught and imprisoned in Santa Marta and from there he’s moved to Baranquilla where he meets his former friends. He makes nurmerous attempts to escape, but fails. He’s finally taken back to French Guiana and handed over to the authorities. Here ends the first part.

The brutal French penal system during 1930s, Henry’s suffering and anguish during his period of captivation are narrated very well. You’ll get impressed by Henry’s will power to secure freedom and his courage to fight against the odds. In short, this book can be described as a struggle of a wrongly convicted innocent victim for freedom. And the French, Spanish and native american backdrop is refreshing.

I was told that the second part describes how Henry gets free from prison and settle down in Venezuela.Did not find it in local book shops. Have to search in online stores.

The Inscrutable Americans – Anurag Mathur

Gopal, son of a hair oil tycoon in MP lands in the US of A to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering. He’s a rural boy and is totally unaware of the American culture, slang etc. His ignorance leads to many hilarious incidents during his stay in America. This novel is a description of America through Gopal’s eyes. It’s out n out a comical entertainer. Quick and easy read.

I couldn’t stop remembering the book ‘Baristaru Paarvatheesam’ in Telugu while reading this.

Vanaseemalalo – Maheedhara Nalini Mohan (telugu translator)

‘Vanaseemalalo’ is the telugu translated version of the book ‘Bambi – A Life in woods’ written by Felix Jalten in 1924.

Bambi is the story of a roe deer who lives in the forest with his mom. It’s all about his exploration of life in woods. It’s an animal story told in the perspective of animals. All the animals in this story can speak and in one chapter, two leaves speak too before their peril. Of all the animal stories I read so far, this one is a total contrast. The description is so real and there’s no silly talking at all. The relationship between man, animals and nature told from the perspective of a deer is very well written.

This book seems to be a child’s read from its look, but it is not just for children. So many issues like life,death,relationships etc are dealt in a truly inspiring manner.

It’s a delightful read for me

Pather Paanchaali – Bibhuthibhushan Bandhopaadhyaaya

‘Pather Paanchaali’ which means ‘Song of the Road’ is a Bengaali novel written by Bibhuthibhushan Bandhopaadhyaaya during 1928-1929. This novel has been picturized by Sathyajithray in 1955 with the same name, which will always remain as a classic in the Indian film industry.

The story revolves around a poor Brahmin family in the village of Nischindapur in Bengal state. Harihara Roy, a priest lives in his ancestral home with his wife Sarbojaya, daugther Durga, son Apu(the main character in this novel) and a distant relative Indira. Sarbojaya and Indira doesn’t get along well and Indira faces a tragic death. Apu and Durga share an affectionate brother-sister relationship. Despite of their poverty the children derive joy from simple treasures in their village life.

Most of the story is about Apu. His growth from an infant to a young man discovering the world around him is narrated in a heart-touching way. The rural Bengal life is depicted wonderfully and this book takes you back to your childhood memories.

I’ve also read a couple of other books written by this author – Vanavaasi and Chander Pahaar. This book Pather Paanchaali has been transalated to telugu by Maddipatla Suri.

State & Welfare – Speeches by Dr.K.Balagopal

This book is a compilation of speeches delivered by Late Dr.K.Balagopal, who’s a well known human rights activist in AP. There are totally 9 topics including the Aalmetti dam issue, Naxalite movement, SEZs in AP, Economic development in China, US war policy in Afghanisthan and Iraq.

This book provides an insight into the AP state/Indian polit(r)ics relating to the above topics. The author has an extensive knowledge of the social, economic and political scenarios in AP. He analyzed each and every topic after thorough investigation through his fact finding programmes in the respective areas.

If you are interested in politics, national and international affairs, then this book is a must read.

BG pedanaanna gaari book gurinchi review raase saahasam chesthe naa kallu pelipothaayani naaku thelsu, kaanee reading marathon kosam aa rendu mukkalu rayaka thappaledu.

Indulo YSR gaaru chesina Jala raajakeeyala gurinchi, SEZ kumbhakonaala gurinchi  naa laanti common personki ardhamayyelaa chaalaa baagaa cheppaaru. America war policy gurinchi chepthoo oka maata annaaru.
‘Prapanchamlo ye desamlo ayinaa votu hakku manishiki oka laage vuntundi. Bicchagaadiki okate votu, lakshaadhikaariki okate votu, Pradhaanamantriki okate votu. Mari United Nations lo votes vishayaanikosthe agraraajyaalaki enduku Veto power kalpinchaali. Balaheenamayina desaaniki elaanti votu hakku vuntundo alaane agraraajyaanikee vudaali kadaa. Chinna chinna desaale prapancha santhi patla ekkuva badhyathagaa vyavaharisthunnappudu vaallaki enduku thakkuva praadhaanaytha isthunnaaru’ ani.

Ilaantive enno vishayaalu discuss chesaaru. Aayana cheppina prathi vishyam manalni alochimpachesthundi. Thappaka chadavaalsina pusthakam.