Book Review: The Artists of Palkha

Miracle happens in life. If you are a person who believe in miracles then this book is for you. I never thought I would be reading a fairytale love story when I picked up this book. Fairytale story? You might wonder what it is all about. Fine here is a short review of the book. Before that let’s see what the blurb says.

The Artists of Palkha - Three Love Stories and a Miracle is about lives of three artists (Tagged as 'Rule Breakers') from a small imaginary hill town who decide to follow their passions irrespective of what people think. Because they decide to chart out their own paths - which are altogether different - they have to face immense resistance from family, friends and society. But they take a pledge to realise their dreams, come what may! The twist in the story comes when a miracle happens in the life of one of the artists. The book is a mix of prose, poetry, romance, fact, fantasy and fiction. Read to witness the miracle

“The Artists of Palkha” written by Saurabh Kumar Das is a book which talks about three friends and their struggle to achieve their dream in the field of art. The author has discovered an imaginary hill station named Palkha for his story. The whole story is about Palkha and the friends who bring fame to this place. Rana, Raman and Shikha are friends who have their own dream in life. Rana, being a writer, wants to make a life in literature field. Raman, being a photographer, aims to achieve big in that field and Shikha, being a painter, also wishes to make something big with her skill. They decide to go against their family who wanted them to do the regular 9 to 5 job. Thereby they end up in moving in their own dream path and plan to meet once they achieve their dream. Rana who breaks up with his girlfriend experiences a miracle when a fairy enters into his life to help him making his first novel. Raman lives in forest to click the most beautiful pictures and Shikha, with the guidance of a famous painter, finally manages to arrange an exhibition to portray all her paintings. Raman accidently lands up in that exhibition and become closer. Soon they fall in love and start to live in a live-in relation. When Rana’s book is released, Raman and Shikha find him and all three friends meet after years. They plan to set up an art gallery which would be useful for all the teenagers. Will their make it come true? Will their parents support them? Read the book to know more about the story.

The author has tried his best to bring out a message through his story. The characters are given equal weight in the story. The flow in the story was good. The title is well chosen and the cover page is designed well. The poems in the narration brings out the poet in the author.  There are some mistakes which can be rectified. The story could have been more realistic and the narration needs more improvement.

To conclude my review I would say Mr. Saurabh Kumar Das has done good work in his first book. With more focus in the plot and the narration he can come out with even more good books. I recommend this book for all teenagers and would rate 3/5. All the best Mr. Saurabh Das.  

About the Author: Saurabh Kumar Das is a writer, copy writer and photographer. The artists of phalkha is his first novel. He holds a Master degree in English and is specialized in creative writing and literature. To know more about the author visit www.saurabhkumardas.com

You can buy The artist of Phalka from Flipkart.

Happy Reading :-)

Book Review: A Country For Men

If the cover page can say all about the story then “A Country For Men” is on such. I was waiting for this book since its cover revel and I would say it is a bold attempt in recent days by any Indian author. The title and the cover picture ironically synchronise and it’s crushed paper like back ground silently says the situation of Indian females. 

Just as the blurb says this isn’t an entertaining story but it shows the ugly truth of India. I don’t know how many of us know each and every detail mentioned on the book. I hardly knew 20-30% of the incidents mentioned on this book but this ugly truth left me traumatized. Before our independence women were locked inside the home but in last few decades women have started coming out of their homes and achieving in various fields but these acts by few men might take them to the same stage.

The author has done a poignant work in compiling the facts to portray the state of women in India. Every fact leaves the readers shocked and we know how severe the situation takes us to. The author has also brought how many obstacles and difficulties are faced by the victims during their fight to justice. As we turn the pages the author’s hard work and his efforts for the research are clearly visible. While reading there are many questions clouded on my head and puzzled me why these men have become so brutal.

You may be wondering why haven’t I summarized what is written on the book but I would suggest everyone to read the book to know the seriousness. The author has collected all the visual and written details of the incidents and jotted down in a readable manner. Judges were meant like God to many people and there is an incident that is committed by a Judge itself in this book. So where is the country heading to is what anyone who reads this book will ask. Our irresponsible politicians promised us for enough action but are none was put forward. The mob who protested for days have also forgot the unfulfilled promises and only the victims are fighting every day.

Don’t think this book is a collection of news articles from various news papers but it also explains the situations of the victims, their family, their difficulties faced while fighting and also the situation of the perpetrators and their brutal acts. This book can tell anyone the lenient law system in India. Only a strong and immediate action can control these perpetrators to stop their moronic acts.

Books were meant to change people and this book if it reaches to every Indians can clean our society and make a country for both men and women. “An epitome of awareness, excellent research with perfectly portrayed horrific truth” is all I could say about this book in few words. The author has done a commendable job in writing this book and his bold attempt is really appreciable. The language is kept simple making it understandable to anyone and excluding few printing errors I did not find any flaws.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to read rather I would say it is a must read to all women to know about the various incidents and also remember they are not alone in this fight. It is also a must read for all men to protect and respect all the women equally. I am not rating the terrific truth mentioned in the book but I am giving a full score to the author’s effort in bringing out this book. I wish Mr.Rohit all the best for the book and for his future endeavours.

About the Author: Rohit Kumar Singh Jadon (RKSJ) has always taken a keen interest in travelling and the questions about life, which are hard to answer. An engineering by profession and a writer by passion; after being in and out of many jobs his passion have taken over his profession and he is now totally driven towards writing. After the success of his first book, he has written a much bolder book. This book is all about the injustice the women of this country face everyday.

You can get a copy for yourself at Flipkart, Infibeam or Amazon.

Book Review: Teenage Blues Parenting Clues

When young writers make their debut with a formal love story, here is a debutant who has written a guiding manual for parents which I’m sure is very thought provoking.  As always Jaico never fails to wonder me with its choice of books. Thanks to JAICO. The blurb turns out to be very interesting which will easily impress any parents.

UNCOMMUNICATIVE, SELF-INVOLVED,
REBELLIOUS, AND RUDE...
There are many ways to describe your teenager. It is easy to point out the things you’d love to change about them. But the truth is that you are no closer to finding a way to curb that raging house of hormones than you are to finding a solution to the global economic meltdown. It’s there, it’s in your face and you have to deal with it. Wouldn’t you love to know what goes on in that complicated, ever-evolving mind?
Finally, here are some answers for you. Anjaneya Mishra’s Teenage Blues, Parenting Clues is a bold and comprehensive attempt by a teenager to unravel the teen world for parents. From teenage aspirations, sexuality, attractions and distractions to the acrimonious acne and drug abuse, Anjaneya takes you step-by-step through the maze of surging emotions and tantrums so that you can finally make sense of the tumult that is your teenager.

This book, as the blurb says, is an attempt to guide parents in understanding their teenagers from a teen’s perspective. Teenage is a period where a mom’s child makes a move from a dependent life in search of his or her own space. This a phase when a teen tries his or her best to explore the world with their peer group, discover new meaning for relationship and draws a line to create their own space.  Most of the parents go wrong in realizing their teen’s need at a period where a teen longs for more attention from them. There comes a sudden change in their behavior which parents do not fathom why. Here is when parents start worrying about them and make a move to bring their teen under their control only to make it even worse. So what should a parent do to tackle such a situation? Is there any way to befriend their teen in order to know what is happening in their life?

Anjaneya Mishra, the author, with this book on parenting titled ‘Teenage Blues Parenting Clues: Powerful Parenting Principles from a Young Adult’, helps parents to deal with their teen with simple logics and stories. Being a young adult who has just crossed teenage, the author has proven the fact that parenting is no more worrisome job when you starting thinking from a teen’s point of view. Having crossed this period, all parents do know what it is mean to be a teenager. Realizing this simple fact, parents have to just look them from closer but not to interfere in their life. Covering all the changes that a teenage brings, say the influence of peer group, the desire to look hot and also alcoholism, the author directs a way to handle every situation in a way that doesn’t make things worse.

Written in a simple way, this book is surely a meaningful and thought provoking parenting tool which makes parents to fathom the nature of teenage phase and the simple logics to gain the trust of the teens. With few short stories, which are more of the author’s experience, it makes it easier to imagine a situation and find the solution for it. More than seeing it as a book, parents can consider it as their own teen’s request to direct them in a meaningful path.

To conclude my review, Mr. Anjaneya Mishra, has done an appreciable job in taking a step to help the parents out there who are finding it difficult to handle their teenagers. It is surely a bold work for a young adult to guide parents which is not alone for the welfare of parents but also for the bright future of the teenagers. I very strongly recommend this book for all the parents and also teenagers and I would rate it a 4/5. Thank you Mr. Anjaneya Mishra for this wonderful book and I’m looking forward with lots of expectations to read your next book.  

About the Author:

ANJANEYA MISHRA is a commerce student at HR College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. He did his schooling in Mumbai and Delhi and graduated from St. Xaviers School, Jaipur. Anjaneya is a voracious reader and loves to participate in debates. He is also an avid sportsman, having played national-level squash for several years. He loves surfing, travelling, adventure sports and meeting new people. He currently lives in Mumbai with his mother, brother and a dog named Taurus.

You can get your copy from Flipkart.

Happy reading and Parenting :-)

Book Review: Life's like that

Some debut authors are strangers to us until we complete their novel but Mr. Prashant, author of “Life’s like that” is not a stranger to me, not to many, if you are a subscriber of TOI. I have read almost all of his articles in TOI and I know how he writes the articles but I wanted to know how his novel would be. The book’s jacket says

Set in the beautiful city of Udaipur, this love story is filled with everything, jealousy, one sided love and betrayal. Amit gets approval of Preeti, his love and Ishita, who unknowingly helped Amit gets involved with Sankalp. The story moves on with ups and down of college life.A nicely flowing story takes turn when opulent guy Shekar comes into the picture who is not only rich but intelligent. Unlike fairy tales, the love starts to take a backseat and money takes the charge.Do dreams shatter when they meet the harsh reality? can waves of love survive having hit by the shore of wealth? can love still be based on fairy tales where money cannot distract?Remember its money that is running the world, love is only a part of life. So what wins and what should win?

With the synopsis on the jacket and its design we can easily conclude that the story deals with college life. Thanks to RKSJ for the good cover design.

Coming to the story, as mentioned in the back cover, it is based on Udaipur. The story starts on the 3^rd semester of the protagonists when a hot girl, Ishita joins the university in Udaipur, transferred from Jaipur. She gets every guys attention on her first visit and sits next to Amit who was deeply in love with Preeti. Preeti stays next to Ishita’s house and eventually they become close friends. Nandini, one of their class mates was getting married and the whole class was present on that occasion. That was when every guy got a chance to see the girls of their class in Saree. Amit on the other hand was astonished by Preeti’s beauty and Sankalp, Amit’s best friend couldn’t take his eyes off from Ishita. In a few minutes Amit and Ishita were left alone and Amit had to help Ishita in driving her to home. Reaching her home, both of their touches makes them to make love. From the next day Amit and Ishita gets close and the sudden closeness cause Preeti to envy, who so far was not bothered about Amit. For the first time she talks to Amit and both falls in love. Sankalp on the other hand love Ishita. All the four gets close during the project time and two more Rahul and Niharika also joins the gang. A trip to Kumbhalgarh makes the three pairs intimate and the bonding grows stronger. When everything goes on the track, the gang leaves to Jaipur for a job fair where only Preethi gets selected. The gang parties for Preethi’s victory and meets Shekar who is one among the five who was selected along with Preethi. What has Shekar got to do with the story? Does it affect them in any way? What happened to Ishita and Sankalp? Do Amit and Preethi marry at last? What does money got to do with the story? Who betrays who? Read the book to know more about the story.

It is a light read and fun filled story that could give entertainment throughout the read. The first few pages were simple but it gets the readers hooked from page 40. The author has kept the language simple and I could see few mistakes then and there which could be rectified on a little rework. The story covers almost all the ups and downs of a regular college life including friendship, love and betrayal. Author has portrayed every scene well and brought out the emotions properly. Climax is what I liked the most in the story as the emotion has brought out clearly and conveyed perfectly.

At few places the conversation was not that clear. I mean the delivery part. Proper spacing between the conversations would have made it clearer.

The author has done a commendable job with his debut novel. The characterisation is strong and the author has made enough roles for all the character. Only after reading the whole book I could understand why the author has titled the story ‘Life’s like that’, as the story has more situations that which conveys “life’s like that”. The writing style of the author has many changes when compared to his articles in TOI and I hope it helped him in producing this novel. I would give 4 out of 5 for this book. I recommend this light read entertaining book to all. I’m looking forward to read his second book soon and I wish all the best for the author’s future endeavours.

You can get the books from Infibeam or Flipkart.

Happy Reading :-)

About the author:

Born and brought up in Udaipur, Prashant wrote his first poetry in 1998 and since then he has been a creative writer. Later in 2007 he added English article writing to his skill set and started penning articles for The Times of India. In order to pursue his writing passion, he opted to be a Technical Writer in his IT job.Being a post graduate in computer application, he uses his technical prowess in creating and maintaining several websites. Life’s like that is his first novel published by Blackbuck Publication.

Book review: Chapter 11

Here I sit to review this book after a very long time since I received it. Reviewing when you have no time might spoil not alone review but also the hard work of the author. So I waited for the best time to read this worthy book. The blurb which shortly briefs about the whole story says,

Feeling suffocated within the confines of Udaipur, his past and inconsequential job, Virendra Vikram Singh aspires to be a part ofan MNC. However, with dreams having a nasty habit of going haywire, the day he joins his dream company, it files for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy. First of its kind, Chapter Eleven is a bold and honest portrayal of corporate sleaze, dejection, love and self-discovery.

After reading his ‘love is vodka’ which was more about a modern girl, this book “Chapter 11” with the tag line Kissa Corporate Bankruptcy Ka is completely different from that. Only very few books come out with an undeniable fact and this book is one among them. Though the corporate world has become the major part for income nowadays, the clumsy realities of that world that probably no one talks much about is what the author has very boldly written with a good narration. The book starts with how the protagonist VVS enters into the corporate world with his own dreams of going to live a classy life. The day he starts a new life in a very big firm brings a bad news when the company fails for Chapter 11 in which they might have to throw few employees out of the organization. The whole book travels with his fear of being thrown out of the firm. Knowing the readers well, the author has well managed to bring in humor into the story without which the book would have dragged the readers into boredom. His wife’s complicated character is addressed nicely. His family and religious belief is well described. The entry of Ambica changes everything and his relation with her is also narrated beautifully because I thought it would be too sensuous to handle but author kept it very light and real. The author has honestly portrayed a common man’s life who works in corporate world.

Reading two of his novels, I would surely say that he is one among the very few authors who are talented to bring up honest facts of the society into an excellent book. The cover page is well designed which clearly relates with the corporate world. The 353-pages story is published by his home publisher- Vitasta. Though the whole book is all about a serious topic, I found no portion to drag with the narration. The protagonist VVS is neatly portrayed where one can easily imagine him accurately. The only disappointing part was when something related to Ambica became quite obvious at a point of time hence the story became predictable for me since then.

To conclude my review, I would say Mr. Amit Shankar has again done a fabulous job with this book. This is with no doubt a bold and honest portrayal of corporate sleaze. For his brilliant narration and plot I would rate this book with 3.5 stars out of 5. Strongly recommended book for those who work and who are likely to work in corporate world. 

Happy Reading :-)

Book review: The Mountain of Light

I had always thought writing books under the genre fiction is far easier than writing a non-fiction book. But this very book proves me wrong. A brilliant historical fiction which took my breath with the author’s power of creativity. Though this is my first book of the author’s, I have already become a fan of her writing.

As empires rose and fell and mighty kings jostled for power, its glittering radiance never dimmed. It is the “Mountain of Light”—the Kohinoor diamond—and its facets reflect a sweeping story of love, adventure, conquest and betrayal. Its origins are the stuff of myth, but for centuries this spectacular gem changes hands from one ruler to another in India, Persia, and Afghanistan. In 1850, the ancient stone is sent halfway around the world where it will play a pivotal role in the intertwined destinies of a boy-king of India and a young queen of England—a queen who claims the Mountain of Light and India itself for her own burgeoning empire, the most brilliant jewels in her imperial crown. 

The Mountain of Light is a magnificent story of loss and recovery, sweeping change and enduring truth, wrapped around the glowing heart of one of the world’s most famous diamonds.

The review:

“The Mountain of Light” is the story of Kohinoor diamond for which people were once fighting the world to own it. The book travels along the way the diamond moves from hand to hand say from India to England. This 186 carat diamond drives people crazy with its glittering beauty. Though the Kohinoor is the main protagonist in this book, the characters around the diamond are well portrayed with very rich setting which seems to be beyond one’s imagination.

The story starts with the emperor of Afghanistan, Shah Shuja, who turns to the ruler of the Punjab, Maharajah Ranjit Singh, when he is dethroned by his brother. Maharajah helps him to regain his throne and gets the Kohinoor diamond from Shah Shuja. When Ranjit Singh disagrees to help British embassy in invading Afghanistan, it turns into a war where he dies. Soon his four sons are killed in wars of succession, leaving his last six year old son Dalip Singh to heir the throne and the precious diamond. Though Dalip Singh was considered as Maharajah, the title was empty with no meaning. Eventually he loses Punjab and the Kohinoor soon to British which travel to London to decorate the arms of Queen Victoria. Dalip Singh follows the path of Kohinoor and reaches London only to realize that nothing can replace the diamond.

This book helps to explore the history and know more about the Kohinoor diamond which had once been the treasure of the world. It also talks about the richness of Indian emperors. The best part of the book was the writing style which mesmerizes the readers. Though the story was little complex to follow the settings and the background makes it clear. This book is going to be awesome read for those who love historic stories. With her words, the author takes us back to the past and live that majestic life along with the book.  

To conclude my review, I would say Mrs. Indu Sundaresan has done an appreciable work with this splendid historical fiction. This plot will surely impress film directors to make movie about the Kohinoor diamond. I very strongly recommend this book for all book lovers and would rate 4/5. 

Author’s Note:

Indu Sundaresan was born in India and came to the US for graduate school at 
the University of Delaware. She is the author of two acclaimed novels, The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses.

You can buy the book from Amazon and Homeshop18.

Happy Reading :-)

Book Review: "Where the Rainbow Ends"

Narration can crave, intrigue and shove the reader to finish the book in one go and this particular book is the perfect example for the same. Though the story is predictable at few places, the way author has narrated is something marvelous and to be talked. I have never read works of any Indian author with such a narrating style and I bow my head to Anurag Anand. The first thing that I read as soon as I received the book is reading it back blurb. It said-

Even the most artistic of imaginings can sometimes seem callow in the face of truth. That which appears may not be and that which lies hidden might just be the stark, naked face of reality.

Rahul had everything going his way – a soaring career, a happy family and all else a man his age could yearn for. And then suddenly his life began to crumble all around him, disintegrating element after precious element, leaving him to watch in helpless horror.

Where had he gone wrong? Was there still hope for redemption, even a solitary ray that he could cling on to?

Avantika, a pretty, vivacious girl who had come into Rahul’s life by pure accident, literally, has suddenly gone missing. Just like that, without as much as a trace.

Where is Avantika? Will Rahul be able to find her? Is it her own past that has come back to consume her or is it something even more vicious and sinister?

Shalini, Rahul’s first love and a girl accustomed to leading life on her own terms. Hailing from a family that exerts considerable influence in the galleries of politics and power, she certainly has the wherewithal to impact a lot of things. Even lives.

Is Shalini fostering a grudge that could displace not one but many lives? Could she be the one behind Avantika’s mysterious disappearance?

Where The RAINBOW Ends is a racy page-turner that promises to take you on a tempestuous and soul-stirring journey which shall remain with you long after you have put the book down put the book down.

Coming to the review, “Where the Rainbow ends” by Anurag Anand turns out to be a well crafted story that gives no hard feeling when your are done with the book. The story telling style of the author makes it a page turner as the cover page says. The title, though has nothing to do with the story, is good and has synchronized well with them cover page. I should definitely talk about the cover page of the book as it has a perfect blend of colours in a most artistic way and is easily spot in any book store. Reading this book, I wonder how I missed reading the author’s previous books which I’m sure would have been talked for its narration.

To the story, it starts with an airport scene where the protagonist Rahul heads to Delhi in search of Avantika. The journey brings him the memory of his first meet with Avantika who happens to be an airhostess. Soon he meets her again in a mall and finds her to be friendly with his daughter. She makes a point to visit his place each time she lands in Mumbai. Rahul opens up his heart to her saying about his past life. When he finds their relation to grow stronger, Avantika goes missing. Thus he travels to Delhi to find her. Doing his best to get some clue, he lands up in police station to file a complaint. The cop turns out to be his old friend and he tells him about Shalini, his ex-wife. Shalini who comes from a political background is introduced to Rahul by his friend and soon they both fall in love. With the influence of her dad’s position, he manages to get a well paying job and soon they get married. Being married, Rahul expects Shalini to take some responsibilities but she still remains to live in a fantasy world. Soon after Myra, their daughter, enters their life, they end up in divorce. This life turns topssy turvy when he is made jobless but he succeeds in taking Myra under his custody. During this hard phase of his life, Avantika shows up and brings joy to Myra. But his life worsens when Myra becomes ill due to Aplastic anaemia. Avantika, who lends her help to support him financially for Myra’s treatment, goes missing soon. The climax is so unexpected and the last few pages make the read more intriguing.

Where did she go? Does Shalini have something to do with Avantika’s disappearance? What is that unexpected ending?

To know what happens next, walk up to the nearby bookshop and get your copy soon.

The author has managed to move the story with great suspense hooking throughout the story. The protagonist is shown simple yet common man who handles love, friendship and fatherhood in a balanced ratio. Though Shalini doesn’t travel throughout the book, her character was very realistic, portraying the modern age girls. Avantika’s letter makes the best part in the story which was unexpected. Not bringing Rahul’s family into the story was the only unsettling thing I felt. Though the letter part was good as I said before, I think the author could have done something more realistic to handle that portion. Nevertheless, the story gets its attention through its narration. 

On the language front, the author has kept it simple yet captivating. The narration is the heart beat of the story that hooks the reader which is also captivating.  

To sum up my review, I would say Mr. Anurag Anand has done a phenomenal job in giving life to this book. Through his best story-telling and simple language, this is an un-put-down-able book that I would strongly recommend. I would like to give 4.5 out of 5 for this wonderfully narrated story. I’m surely looking forward to read his next work soon. All the best Mr. Anurag Anand for your future endeavors.

About The Author:

Anurag Anand is the bestselling author of titles like The Legend of Amrapali and The Quest for Nothing. In his writing career panning seven titles, he has been lauded by several national publications and prominent personalities including Mahesh Bhatt, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, PrahaladKakkar and Sudhir Mishra. Where The Rainbow Ends, Anurag’s latest offering is a work of contemporary fiction based around four principal characters. In the words of Ken Ghosh, acclaimed Bollywood Director, “A refreshingly poignant plot that keeps its readers engrossed till the very end.

You can buy the book from Flipkart, Amazon or Homeshop18.

Happy Reading :-)