It is a wonderful treatise on the mind and how it can be trained to free from stress of today's life. There is little doubt that modern age has brought comfort in life. With development of science, life has become more demanding than ever. Struggle to meet the expectations, ones own and of the near-dear ones, brings stress into our lives. Mind plays an important role in our lives and much of the stress and pain can be attributed to mind's never ceasing activity.

Religion has provided some answers but most of it stays buried in the pages of sacred books. Reading scriptures is not a common Man's answer to problems. Common Man's answer is to struggle, live through the pain. Most organized religions are investing their time in spread of their religious institution. While practice of religion is limited to symbolic gathering and referring such texts as holy rather than an effort to explain and make it a public knowledge. This leaves such knowledge pleasure of few, only scholars.

For most people, like me, this book is a guide on how mind works and how it can be trained to relieve oneself from pain. Even though this book is a commentary on a Hindu Scripture - The Bhagavad Gita, it can be approached in different ways. For those who are seeking a religion, this book is an insight to what Bhagavat Gita preaches. Interesting of all is the fact that the Bhagavad Gita was written thousands (more than five thousand) of years ago and it applies to life thousands of years later, even today.

Life is not a bed of roses, but it can be. This book helps change the whole world of perception!

I'm getting ready to go to India in a few months. Before reading Snakes and Ladders, I didn't know much about India's history or current and was intimidated at the thought of trying to digest it all. Snakes and Ladders was a fabulous 1st read on India - it's very short essays provided lots of information and color in a conversational, easy to read manner.

I knew next to nothing about modern India, so I learned a lot from these breezy essays. Sure they wonder all over the place -- chapters jump from political topics to the draught to Indian yuppies, but for the casual reader, the essays are very entertaining and informatative. The effect is that of reading several short travelogues about India all in a row. Mehta writes well and makes some sharp observations about India's political development. I wanted to see more description of the various parts of India (the desert like areas versus the huge cities and vast fertile plains) because it is a land of such great contrasts. Most of the essays left me wanting to know more. I enjoyed the personal anecdotes from the author's childhood. Not a history book, but a good and easy to read overview for the Indian novice.

I have trashed this writer in the past so trust me when I say this is one of her finest works. It's emotive, beautiful, descriptive (without being overt), and a wonderfully written feature about India. This book both instructs and entertains. I was engrossed from the start to the finish. As someone who recently moved to India I would not hesitate to reccomend it to anyone who wants to visit or has an interest in India.

The style of Gita Mehta in describing the powers of the holy River of Narmada is just so simple that it makes you live the miracles that the river offers to whoever visits seeking purity. The great secrets of India, the diversity in the traditions, the beliefs of the people and their total commitment, the beauty in the small things, the power of silence, and the better understanding of a different culture.

Each story Gita includes has its unique theme; they involve the search for serenity, purity, and perfection. The flow of the ideas and inspirations makes you live each story to the maximum, forces you to start making assumptions about the ending of the stories. The words used are so vivid; the description of the details is so rare and yet does not cause any confusion.

Great concepts to learn from, a very enlightening book to read, reading "A River Sutra" made me realize more the hidden beauty in the details, it made me reflect on our daily life, and never taking things for granted.

A must read book, and once you start it will be hard to put the book down until the last page.

The heart holds many secrets, the capacity to love, to hate, to be selfish, altruistic. In order to understand the world, one must be exposed to all the experiences the world offers. The secrets of the heart are a main theme throughout the novel. Mehta expertly weaves together stories of the heart with vivid imagery and captivating characters. Readers from any background will be able to find a deep connection with at least one character. Being Indian myself, I found the book quite enjoyable. I could connect with numerous characters and understand the customs of the people. Mehta explains the customs so someone without an Indian background could understand somewhat, but it's a little confusing. An understanding of Indian culture and religion enhances some aspects of the novel, while an understanding of Buddhism or Jainism enhances others. Musicians and artists will also find deeper understanding in certain aspects, as will mothers, daughters, teachers, sons, and many other people. Any reader will learn something about themselves, love, death, and life. This is a novel well suited for readers of any ages and background. I strongly recommend it.

Ashok, who once lived a rich, comfortable life, becomes an ascetic. A music teacher, who finds a talented disciple, only to lead to misery. A Naga, who renounced the materialistic world, only to reenter as a prominent archaeologist. These characters (and others in the book) are unified by the single thread of love, a profound issue into which Mehta probes. Ashok lacked a love for life and decided to renounce the world. The Naga was in the same predicament. The music teacher found love which lead to misery. Thus, Mehta suggests that love leads to misery or is it that misery leads to finding love? This is an exemplary example of how Metha offers a set of stories that has a number of different interpretations. The reader decides which way to lean, fostering individualism which again is a theme in the text. This highly subjective text provides a great satisfaction for the reader. The concepts and tales addressed in the text relate to the reader, for Mehta deals with issues common to all but handled differently by each. Whether for a pleasurable read or a strict criticism, Mehta's A River Sutra provides the best of both worlds.

I enjoyed reading the "Raj". It is an impressive price of historical fiction that covers a very eventful period of Indian history. Mehta did an execellent job of painting a vivid and entertaining picture of Rajput kingdoms during the British rule in India. I was however, disappointed by the one dimentionality of the characters. The kings by and large seemed to fall into the stereotypical pleasure loving, wealth squandering lot that were obsessed with somehow hanging onto thier thrones. While this may be an accurate description of most of them, it would have been good to depict one or two positive aspects of the royals, if any! Jaya Devi's long suffering Indian princess character also sadly lacked dimentionality and did not evoke much sympathy or respect. I was also a little bit disappointed with the later part of the book that dealt with events leading upto the Indian indenpendence. It seemed a little rushed and I wish the author spent more time in describing the characters of the freedom fighters better. However, given the complexity of highly eventful period with the British, the Indian royalty and the freedom fighters, the author did a good job telling a compelling and educative narrative. On the whole, a recommended read.

This novel reads as a chronicle, not only of Princess Jaya's life, but also of an India in transformation from the late 1800s up through the early years following Independence in 1947.

I enjoyed reading this book and found Princess Jaya to be a remarkable woman. She weathers a lot of trying experiences and shows herself to be resilient.

The only fault I found with the novel, however, was in the sequencing of historical events. For instance, some of what the author stated about the placing of some events during the First World War were not accurate. When I read a historical novel, I get a better appreciation for the novel when the historical events it describes are true and placed in the proper sequences. Perhaps for some other readers, that matters little. But for me, that took away from me giving this novel 5 stars.

I was drawn to this book by the period of time it covered, and because I am very interested in British history. I was further drawn by its historical depth, covering many events that very few Westerners outside of Britain have any knowledge of. I found little bias because it seemed there were two groups of main characters: those who were in support of royal India and those Indians and Angrez (British) who were in support of the Raj.

I somewhat agree with the prevailing criticism that the characterisation is a bit thin, but if you are reading this for its historical significance (as I did) as opposed to its literary worth, then it really shouldn't matter very much.

Overall, it is very well written book that examines the relationship between the maharajahs of royal India and the British Raj through the eyes of an Indian princess. In the vein of Rutherfurd's "Sarum" and "London," but not as broad and long-winded.

I've come to this book a little late in its publishing history, and though the story is dated in terms of the mass of seekers who descended on India in the 60's and 70's westerners still seek the "wisdom of the east," and this Karma Cola has not lost its fizz. This is an angry, critical, sarcastic look at the rage for inner peace that has driven many seekers to psychiatric care, and many gurus to the bank. It's also a book filled with sadness as Gita Mehta both castigates and mourns - for her country's spiritual traditions stacked into the supermarket of the latest craze; and for the naive who believe hard won self-knowledge can be had with the touch of a teacher's hand - or a certain less visible appendage. It's finally true that if you can't find peace and love at home you probably won't find it in India either. Besides, six thousand years of spiritual and cultural history just shouldn't be toyed with.

An interesting look at what draws "spiritually starved" westerners to India and the consequential fallout. The author assumes a lot from the reader, particularly a working knowledge of spoken French and a rudimentary understanding of Hindu mythology. I'm lacking on both accounts so a lot of the book went over my head. One particular passage that sounds to me like it's important but I didn't fully appreciate, was the one where she is talking about the meaning of Karma and its perverted meaning by westerners. She relates the story, from the Bhagavad Gita, of Arjuna asking Krishna why he needs to go to war when understanding is superior to action in this case. Krishna answers that one is bound by action and that only by acting can one be free of the bondage of action. "That is exactly Karma" says the author. Now, here is where I have a problem, probably because of my limited understanding of Hinduism. *I* thought that Karma had to do with the totallity of ones actions and is *the* factor determining your next level of reincarnation. What the author seems to be implying is that Karma is, instead, the bondage of action, i.e. fate. That is, karma is the thing which predefines our actions rather than the measure of our actions. I am confused ..... On the other hand, her very pragmatic telling of the western approach to "instant nirvana" and the "distressed westerner" abdicating to the nearest Guru is actually quite refreshing and devoid of the mythical. :-) However,not quite so overtly there is the implication that the invasion of confused westerners has had a very destructive impact of the lives of ordinary Indians. When relating the story of the westerners who figured out a illegal route into India from Pakistan by taking advantage of the hospitality of Indians, the protaganist of the story is said to have said "One cannot make an omelet without breaking some eggs". The author continues by saying, "and from where I stand the ground is covered with broken egg shells". This I found quite sad .... the narcissistic westerners completely lacking in self-restraint and enough appreciation to understand that the path of "enlightenment" requires endurance and cannot be delivered at will. Mind you that's what Christianity preaches; just give your faith to god and you will be saved. Where is the prerequisite toil and self-sacrifice?

Ms. Mehta is undoubtedly the best Indian author alive!

I dothink the person who wrote the two sentence review probably does not know the meaning of 'trash'. 'Trash' is the heaps and heaps of books that get published every year in the US and somehow make it to the NY Times best seller list just beacuse Oprah thinks it is a good book or because it can be made into a tv movie.

This book is a classic. Her use of the language is extra-ordinary. She touches on the most 'Indian' of values with a great sense of humor and almost trivialises them. She makes you really think about issues that matter and drove(still drive) thousands of Westerners to India. She has also done a great job of contrasting the Eastern and Western view of life, death and everything spiritual.

Interesting book by the author of the much better `Karma Kola'. A nice presentation of the India of the Western educated elites. Alas it doesn't tell us what the `natives' think, what moves them.

The author has not taken time to see things as they are. India's pristine past and poor present stands further aggravated with such a hotch potch of facts as the author has projected.The book does not captutre the real spirit of its time and theme

The book 'snakes and Ladders' is indeed a very nice book which introduces reader to various facets of Indian politics over the last fifty years. The choice of title is very appropriate as author tries to take a stalk of progress of India over the years and the factors that hinder the growth. It is not an easy job to write an objective book almost free of personal bias. The book can be said to be an outsider's view and yet the author understands India being an insider. Her discussions about dynasty in India- Late Pt. Nehru electing (or rather imposing) Indira Gandhi as Congress President and Indira's rule in later years are particularly appealing. She also discusses the incident of Nehru dismissing elected communist government in Kerala which showed the glimpses of dictatorship which followed a decade and half later. However, I feel the twentyone month emergency rule deserved a little more space in the book. Also the author could have included discussions about state formation process based on linguistics which still has some unresolved issues. In my view this would have made the book more comprehensive. I would strongly recommend this book to Indians or non-Indians who wish to understand today's India.