Known Turf - Annie Zaidi

I first came to hear the name when she won a poetry competition, later at the local library, the name again caught my eye and since there was nothing else interesting I could pick, I picked up Known Turf.

Thank god for that. I am not a big fan of non fiction and prefer flights of fantasy that good fiction offers, but this book kept me spell bound. I even read the statistics avidly. It brought the news you hear everyday onto a more personal level. The authors dilemma's and soul searching included along with the stories flow without the usual rankle of preachiness and morality that looks down on the reader.

Empathy, frustration and sometimes a small smile for those tiny happy pauses.From Dacoits to Bonded labour and malnutrition. From eve teasing to women panchayats, each page rang true and you could almost smell the blood, sweat, tears and even the fear that went into the words. No highbrow language. Just personal tales framed by the bigger picture.Though most of these have been beaten to death, it did not sound  too stale. It felt more like a dialogue between two people, the author and the reader. (I have no other way of describing it) I closed the book with a strange feeling that I was listening to a close friend for a few hours.
Albeit one who waxes on a little too much about tea.

Joan Rivers - A piece of work

I knew little about Joan Rivers until she started appearing on bad plastic surgery lists. And even then I thought little of her until snaps of her acid comments started appearing.
Then this documentary came along and I was curious.
She was with Johnny Carson for 20 years as a co host! Black and white clips show a daring, caustic tongued, witty woman. With jokes that would have been shocking in those times. And the fun part is, she shocks you today too! From Vagina farts to Michelle Obama termed as Blackie O for her style. (From the previous stylish first lady Jackie O) everything is fodder for her jokes. But apart from the comic timing its the enthusiasm at 74 (when the doc was filmed) and her untiring scramble to the top even after getting knocked down more than a few times. Itsy bitsy spider, in human terms.

7/10