Bibek Debroy

Needless to say that this review concerns only the translation and not the content.

While I expect one day to learn Sanskrit to read the original manuscript used for this translation, this present effort is a great sit-in. Just a note, this is not recommended for first-time readers of the Ramayana.

To just focus on the criticism, it would be the verbosity. Some is unavoidable, and there's no finger-pointing for that. I can't count on all my fingers and toes the number of time the phrase "bull among men", "he who knows dharma"and such are peppered in, and it's a necessary burden for translators who strive to stick to the source minutely and don't summarise preferentially, though there are some succinct descriptors for some which could have been employed for the benefit of all(though in all likelihood I'd have been here complaining about the overuse of "goosebumps" rather than "the hairs on the arms rose up")

Bal and Uttara Kand (first and last) are commonly believed to be later additions to the core Ramayana, with a noticeably lower quality, and that shows for the Bal Kand at least. It's almost like novellas created later to provide the backstory to the characters which were eventually copied to the front. So the pacing is off, the jumps are jarring, and it is difficult to muddle through. It took me a month to get past that and only a couple of days for the second half, so yeah.

Another potential source of concern is in the footnotes, which while immensely helpful, can be seen as potential sources for introducing a "non-Critical Edition" bias by borrowing from future texts that may not be canon. I only suspect this because of some differences in how something is written and how it is interpreted in the footnotes, and there's no clear guide to how they are sourced.

But still it's a wonderful wonderful work.… (meer)

Evolution theory poses many questions for rational minds across the globe. Little things like who invented the wheel, carts, machines, the computer, and other devices and how fire, hunger, continents, and other things were discovered always linger in the minds. Many studies, thesis, documented proofs and facts have always reigned the world to understand the theory of evolution. The theory not only deals with humans, animals, flora and fauna but also the basic sense of communication. Communication is a great place in anyone's life, whether humans, animals, birds, or even plants! The medium differs, but the concept of communication differs. In this connection, drawing and sketching were initially the modes of communication among early humans.

According to internet sources, 'The oldest-known forms of writing were primarily logographic in nature, based on pictographic and ideographic elements. Most writing systems can be broadly divided into three categories: logographic, syllabic and alphabetic (or segmental); however, all three may be found in any given writing system in varying proportions, often making it difficult to categorise a system uniquely. The invention of the first writing systems is roughly contemporary with the beginning of the Bronze Age in the late Neolithic of the late 5th millennium BC.' Without much digressing and getting lost in the history of writing, in this book – Inked in India by Bibek Debroy with Sovan Roy, a beautiful sentence - As is only to be expected, ink is older than pens, not to speak of fountain pens, caught my attention. Thus, I read the book with much interest and enthusiasm.

The book is divided into seven chapters, and each chapter has wonderful information. The amount of research the authors have done will reflect on every page and stage. The first chapter introduces the readers to the 2003's National Mission for manuscripts, which is further explained and links for reference are mentioned in the book's footnotes. The chapter explains how and when the ink was made, the many ways it was used and such fascinating things along with quills and other ways of writing. The second chapter dates back to India in the 1920s, and the usage of ink, pens and letters that mark historical events are discussed here. The very exhilarating history of the Indian fountain ink pen is talked about in detail in this chapter.

In the further chapters, the book gives extremely interesting details of the history of the fountain pen in India that is linked with India's freedom. The book is written in an easy language with an apt vocabulary. The font and the page setting with the necessary footnotes make the book more readable. This is a must-read book and recommended to every reader!!!

… (meer)

The book is a combination of ancient spirituality compared to the present times. The intertwining is well presented. As the title goes, Devi for millennials, author Bibek Debroy tried explaining the importance of Devi and her worship. I happened to read author Bibek Debroy’s recent book – Inked in India, which explained the advent and history of ink pens in India. His research and presentation are absolutely engaging. Even in this book, without going into religion, the concepts are explained on a superior level of spirituality that help humans attain peace of mind through worship. A good read!… (meer)