Ravi Paranjape is a veteran artist. He has also penned books, collections of short essays and articles in Marathi, revolving around issues in art, culture and his own artistic journey. The World of my Illustrations, Brush Mileage and Shikhare Rang Reshanchi are a few of them. 

I really do not read much. So I am not very updated about the recent books in the literary world. The one classic I remember reading is Godfather, by Mario Puzo. Not because of any personal liking for the author, but I loved the book because of the way it exposed the  criminal underbelly of politics.

The novel highlighted the functioning of the underworld in the United States. It emphasises how the government mechanism works. A good read for anyone, to know the truth about the powerful country and the way it goes about its power games.

It’s a crime fiction narrated very well, with good use of language. A must-read for every youngster, who wishes to develop a certain command over the language. The book was also released as a movie under the same name. It tells us how the society structures itself around, reacts to the American government mechanism. The other novel that I liked is, As Modernism Failed by Suzi Gaplik. The author here identifies the reasons why modernism failed in  United States. It’s quite impressive.

(AS TOLD TO POULAMI CHAKRABORTY)