Raghavan Srinivasan > Recent Status Updates

Lucid account of West Asia's recent history

The cover says that the book combines an understanding of the diverse forces shaping the politics and economics of West Asia, and paints a portrait that is at once grim, painful, colourful and exciting.

I am simply addicted to Agatha Christie mysteries. No escape! But then I don't wish to!

I don't know how many lives the Count of Monte Cristo has. But this one's interesting!

Quite rambling. Hope to get the point soon.

Interesting start. Hope to finish the 608 pages soon😅

I am on page 8. Interesting start. I think I will finish the 608 pages soon 😅

Interesting characters. Rustomji the Curmudgeon and Jaakaylee, the ghost-seer.

It is a collection of stories from Greek and Roman mythology. Stories told by Hersiod are simple, sometimes crude. Stories by Ovid are subtle, polished. Going through the stories not in any particular order. Some are imaginative, some very short and simple.

The story is simple, sometimes too simple. The narration of village life of poor fishermen along the coast is interesting. Descriptions of flora and fauna of the region are really good.

I have now more or less done the 4th chapter on 'The tenth to Twelfth centuries: The Emergence of a centralised state'. The papers by Karashima and Mahalakshmi have been useful references for my current book on Rajaraja Chozha. There is a lot of confusion whether the Chozha state was centralised, feudal, segmentary or a combination.