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Absolute Khushwant (2011)

by Khushwant Singh(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0143068717 (ISBN13: 9780143068716)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Penguin Books

review 1: Just finished reading 'Absolute Khushwant' - The Low-Down on Life, Death and Most Things In- Between penned by Khushwant Singh with Huma Quraishi. On the cover page of the book it is written, "I would like to be someone who made people smile."Not many people cross 90 today and even if they do, they are not as articulate, clear in thought and expression as Khushwant Singh was when he wrote this book at 95. This book gave me a thorough understanding of the major figures like the Gandhis of Indian Political history. I really loved one of the chapters 'On Happiness' which i read daily as a ritual these days. His frankness, brutal honesty about his relationships with other women is also one comes across in this book. The language is simple and one can finish this book in a read... moreing or two.His references to Ghalib and Urdu poetry also make the articles interesting.On love he quotes Ghalib,"Ishq par zor nahin,hai ye wo atish Ghalibke lagae na lagey, aur bhujaye na bane."While criticizing the fundamentalists he says I will keep on writing about them even if there is no outcome and quotes an Urdu couplet, "Kya poochho ho haal merey karobaar ka,Aaeeney bechta hoon andhon ke sheher mein"
review 2: Khushwant Singh turned 99 on 2 February 2014! This book, Absolute Khuswant was written when he was 95. I know several person who hate him (who have perhaps not read any of his books, but have formed the opinion that he is a dirty old man). I also know a few persons who have been die-hard fans of his writings, his honesty, his forthright devil-may-care attitude, his convictions, and his love for Urdu poetry. I am definitely one of those few who has read his serious works (The History of the Sikhs Volumes I and II) and also his columns. Absolute Khushwant is a set of free-wheeling thoughts on life, death and many other things in between. I just love his simple, direct style of writing. He is opinionated and he expresses his thoughts as candidly as he can. On politics, he believed (at that time) that the Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi combination worked. I am sure that quite a lot of people would not agree with him on that. He also candidly states that it was LK Advani's Rath Yatra that set the forces in motion for the rising Islamophobia and divisive politics. The verdict is till out there on this. On religion, he says that he has always been agnostic but has read the religious texts of the major religions and finds a lot of things in them profound, interesting and meaningful. On sex, he is as direct as ever stating that romance is overrated and that sex always scores over romance. On Urdu poetry, he laments the diminishing interest in the language. In this book he quotes some wonderful couplets. An example...Maangey Allah se bas itni dua hai RashidMain jo Urdu mein vaseeyat likhoon beta parh leOn death, he quotes...Khuda mein shak ho to ho, Maut mein nahin koee shakHe writes on a wide variety of topics - Pakistan, Partition, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Varun Gandhi, Terror, Khalistan, Bindranwale, Secret of Longevity, his wife Kaval, the British, Destiny and Death. It was such a wonderful treat! You can hate him or love him, but you just cannot ignore him. I must read his History of the Sikhs once again. For me, Khushwant Singh is not just about Women, Sex and Scotch. For those of you think that that's about all, read The Train to Pakistan and The History of the Sikhs! I look forward to his being around on 2 Feb 2015 and have his regular Scotch on his 100th birthday! less

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