Sacred Games, by Vikram Chandra

Whew! What a long book! It's been awhile since I've read a 900 pager, and now that I have kids it took a long time to get through.

I bought Sacred Games in India. It's set in Mumbai/Bombay, and it's about a policeman, a crime lord, a guru, and a plot to destroy Bombay with an atomic bomb. It definitely gave me a feeling for what Bombay is like. I also learned a lot of Indian swear words like "gaand", "maderchod", etc. After a while I think I figured out what each meant, but I'll spare you the translation.

It's a melancholy book that conveys a bleak, hopeless outlook on life. Most characters end up dying in tragic ways, many destroyed by the natural consequences of their own ambition, idealism, or plans.

Reading the Mahabharatta gave me quite a bit of background that I needed to understand allusions he made to Arjun and Krishna. The book had a very eastern feel to it. I'm definitely ready to read a Christian book now!

"He allowed himself to think of [his mother's] death, and he shivered suddenly, but he was not sad. Every connection came freighted with loss, every attachment with the possibility of betrayal. There was no avoiding this conundrum, no escape from it, and no profit from complaining about it. Love was duty, and duty was love."

The Prince by Machiavelli

This is a classic I've wanted to read for a long time but never got around to it. In today's atmosphere of political and corporate platitudes and pandering, Machiavelli is an insider strategist who spills the beans, whispering "Now let me tell you what it really takes to hold onto power."

"Therefore, a wise prince must think of a method by which his citizens will need the state and himself at all times and in every circumstance. Then they will always be loyal to him."

Welfare state, anyone?

"For there is such a distance between how one lives and how one ought to live, that anyone who abandons what is done for what ought to be done achieves his downfall rather than his preservation. A man who wishes to profess goodness at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince who wishes to maintain himself to learn how not to be good."

I guess this explains why we end up mistrusting politicians and executives.

"From this one can extract another notable observation: princes must delegate distasteful tasks to others, while pleasant ones they should keep for themselves."

That works until it becomes too obvious.

"Nor should any state ever believe that it can always choose safe courses of action. On the contrary, it should recognize that they will all be risky, for we find this to be in the order of things, that whenever we try to avoid one disadvantage, we run into another."

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

Anyway, he had some perceptive things to say about a leader's duty to be two-faced. A leader's public image must appear to match a people's ideals -- whatever those are -- but if that leader wants to hold onto power, he must be willing to break alliances, kill enemies, double-cross friends, etc. at a moment's notice.

Now that would be an interesting topic at a political debate! "Each candidate will now take five minutes to discuss people they've betrayed to attain power."