“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

This year I am taking part in the Write Tribe Reading Challenge (If you look at my sidebar you would notice the challenge button). Write Tribe has been encouraging bloggers to #writebravely since long, however, this is the first time that they came up with a reading challenge to inspire members to #readbravely.

I used to be a voracious reader but thanks to my smartphone and the allure of social media, these days I find myself easily distracted and end up wasting time looking at stupid #couplegoals photos and reading motivational posts that eventually demotivate me. I wanted to break free from this vicious cycle and this reading challenge was exactly what I needed. I am so proud of myself that I took part and also finished my first book in record three days.

My first book for this challenge was Poonachi: Or the Story of a Black Goat by Perumal Murugan. This book was a gift that I received from my Secret Santa, the beautiful and loving Apeksha Rao. This made the book even more special. This book adhered to five prompts of the challenge:

#1. A book that is a translation

#8. A Book with a name in the title

#11 A book that was a gift

#12. A book with an animal in the title/cover

#19. A Book written by an author who is new to you

Poonachi is a book that was originally written in Tamil by Perumal Murugan and translated in English by N Kalyan Raman. The book is about Poonachi a black goat with untraceable origin. I have never read any work by Perumal Murugan and it was a pleasure to read him for the first time. Hope to read his other books in the near future.

Poonachi: Or the Story of a Black Goat is not only the story about an orphan black goat it actually is much more than that. This book talks about emotions, sentiments, useless rituals, formalities and most importantly the ephemeral nature of our existence. This book talks about how the system has turned us into cowards where the common man has no say and has to oblige to the whims and tantrums of the regime. It also takes on the media when the woman is repeatedly asked how she felt when her goat delivered a litter of seven. Don’t we see journalist asking this stupid question all the time in every situation?

Poonachi is also a story of love and longing. It talks about the perseverance of a small goat to survive against all odds and it talks about the impermanence of life where any moment we can lose a life. Poonachi is also the story of any daughter in our country. This book makes a lot of commentary on our social and political life. The language is lucid and the ambiance of the book is rustic and endearing. The story flows seamlessly and there is not a dull moment when you feel like putting down the book. No wonder, I finished reading it in 3 days. I had read amazing reviews about this book and the book was also recommended by Senior Reading Racoons. The book is worth every review that I read. I am extremely glad to have initiated my reading challenge with such an amazing book. Hope to read more such good books in 2019.