Aditya Raj Kaul

Contributing Editor @CNNNews18. National Security, Diplomacy, Conflict. Alum: @acypl Reported for: @cbcnews @ctvnews @timesnow Faculty Internal Security Academy

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Book Recommendations:

AR

Recommended by Aditya Raj Kaul

Watching Shantaram on Apple TV. Years ago read the book twice and I could actually shut my eyes and recreate these scenes of Bombay of 1980s. Always hoped someday someone will make a film/series on it. Mesmerised. So well made and apt characters - Lin and Karla. Must watch folks! https://t.co/iDoOQfzdyF (from X)

Shantaram: A Novel book cover
Gregory David Roberts

Now a major television series from Apple TV+ starring Charlie Hunnam! “It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured.” An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere. As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city’s poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power. Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas―this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart.

AR

Recommended by Aditya Raj Kaul

Thank you, Suresh, for the most special gift in the form of your book ‘Believe: What life and cricket taught me’. It will always have a special place at home and in life. Father just finished reading. Sending his love and blessings. Inspirational journey buddy! Kudos! 🙌 @ImRaina https://t.co/kiqX95YNCP (from X)

Believe, Sachin Tendulkar told him - and he took it to heart, getting the word etched on his arm as a tattoo. In this book, Suresh Raina takes us through the challenges he faced as a young cricketer. He was bullied in school and at cricket camps, but he always punched above his weight, overcoming every adversity life threw at him and never giving up. This is the story of the lessons he learnt and the friendships he built. Peppered with invaluable insights - about the game and about life - that Raina acquired from senior colleagues like M.S. Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, among others, this book will make you believe in the power of hard work, love, luck, hope and camaraderie. It is a journey through the highs and lows in the cricketing career of a man who saw his world fall apart and yet became one of the most influential white-ball cricketers India has ever seen.