Aavarana: The Veil

I have never found it so difficult to categorize a book as a particular genre as Aavarana. This book is an amalgamation of contemporary fiction, history, philosophy and commentary on the so called secularism followed in this country. The ending did not satisfy me enough but the novel inside the novel was well written. This book makes me want to dig deep through the history of this country to find out more about the forgotten lands, kings and heroes and not be limited by the history taught in our school books. Though I completely disagree with the characters' assertion that religion itself is bad, the book reinforces my belief that religious tolerance is the need of the hour but it only works when all sides share the same feeling and every single person is ready to ready to respect another's faith without forcing their own superiority.

On the whole, a very thought provoking read after a long time which left me with more questions than answers.