My First and Most Favorite Book Till Date ... A Must Read!!!

I've never been much into reading. But from the moment i picked up "Shantaram" my hobbies have kind of changed. They now include reading. This is the effect Shantaram had on me. It is  a novel written by Gregory David Robert, a biography and the most enchanting and gripping novel I have ever come across. 

My friend was reading this novel when we were still studying and she happened to mention a scene from the book where Shantaram single handedly fights against a huge bunch of wild street dogs while protecting a young boy. That was it. I picked it up while travelling back home from Pune. The 26 hour journey in the past used to be a pretty boring and a tiring one. But not this time!

I had Shantaram with me and it kept me captivated all throughout the journey. It is about the life of a convict on the run from an Australian prison who finds refuge in Mumbai. He lives in the slums, opens a free helath clinic, joins the mafia, falls in love, served the most defamous prison in Mumbai - Arthur Road Jail, went for war and what not... 

The way the book unfolds different secrets, the way Shantaram builds relations in the slums, learns how to speak Hindi and Marathi all just keep you mesmerised. At the end, I just wanted to meet Shantaram. That's the effect of this book. A thousand page book is a must read for all those who love reading and even for those who don't. Believe me, you won't leave it till the time you finish it.

Enjoy reading it.

Charu.

Gregory David Robert