T Vijay Kumar, Professor of English at Arts College, Osmania University says that to cultivate the habit of reading, they should start early with reading classics or other great literary books. “Start reading what interests you and once you taste the pleasure of reading you will automatically move to reading better books,” he advises. The 54-year-old shares his top five reads
Hind Swaraj
By Mahatma Gandhi
It is a small book which best analyses the impact of colonialism on India in a broader context. The book is also informative as it is written in question and answer format. Apart from this, the book covers a wide range of subjects related to the present education scenario in India and the role of Indian economy.
Yuganta
By Irawati Karve
Yuganta is a modern interpretation of Mahabharata.
It studies the mythical-heroic figures of Mahabharata from historical, anthropological and secular perspectives. The best part of the book is a retelling of the Mahabharata from the point of marginal characters.
The Shadow Lines
By Amitav Gosh
The novel is set against the backdrop of historical events – the Swadeshi movement, Second world war and Partition of Bengal. It is one of the best novels on memory and history. It captures the perspective of time and events and explains how partitions can only affect the geography but not the memory of people.
The Golden
Gate
By Vikram Seth
This book is written in ‘Sonnets’ (poem written in 14 lines) and that is what inspired me to read it.
I like the poetic tone of the book.
Inscrutable American
By Anurag Mathur
It is a hilarious and poignant novel about a small town Indian boy, going to America and discovering new things. It talks about how he copes with the cultural differences and tries to adjust himself to a completely new environment.