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Showing posts from September, 2021

Book Review: Yuddh Ki Sanstuti (Hindi Edition) by Arvind Kumar Srivastava

Yuddh Ki Sanstuti (Hindi Edition) by Arvind Kumar Srivastava is an interesting novel whose story emanates from some hidden artery of Mahabharata in a very sharp and detailed way. It’s a Hindi novel of around 300 pages. It’s not a retelling of Mahabharata. Rather the story is one part from Mahabharata. As we all are familiar with epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. But only a handful of people are aware that there are many sub stories that existed in these two epic sagas. This novel is part one and the author may come up with some more parts in future. This story is set in the timeline of when Pandavas were hiding for one year i.e. in Hindi we call it Agyat Vaas – anonymous period of one year. When Pandavas were sent to forest on an exile of 12 years, they also had the term to remain anonymous for 1 year. And if they got caught in that 1 year of being an anonymous, they will be sent for exile once again and will not get anything from their state Hastinapur which is being ruled by m

Book Review: Intragalactic Frontier Crossed by A. R. Felcita

Intragalactic Frontier Crossed by A. R. Felcita is the second book in the series. The first one was 'Intragalactic Frontier' which narrated the tale of some aliens called ‘Reans’ that stuck on the earth, living in secrecy for thousands of years. Well, the second book is all about Reans landed in some exo planet and there they have to start everything from scratch. They were used to Earth's water, fire, air, environment, and so on. But once they land on Arda (that is their world) they are startled to note everything queer about that planet. This time with Reans community Richard also comes to help them. After travelling for 16 days in the space, Richard is fine and takes charge to help settle Reans on the new planet. However, nobody knows anything about the new planet, thus, at every step there is suspense and strange things happen with them for a long time. A few pages inside the book and you will get the hunch that the story is built from scratch, it has very less to d

Book Review: And the Night Rolls Over by Avneesh Mahajan Madhur

And the Night Rolls Over ( रात फिर निकल गई ) by Avneesh Mahajan Madhur is a splendid bold collection of poems on a gamut of topics that range from contemporary to nostalgic moments to many more. The poet confesses right at the beginning that this collection is a result of bouts of insomnia that he endured…but later on it proved fruitful as he began penning down poems while the rest of the world slept in the comfort of their epochs. The collection commences with a very apt yet realistic poem on sleep concern. The poet struggles to get a good sleep but he is unable to get that as he thinks of various things pertaining to his life. This poem suggests that we should not procrastinate on the things that we want to achieve or desire. The poet thinks about many things but the night roles over…as time and tide waits for none. The stance of the book troughs and crests with its subjects. As you chug ahead with the book and gets under its skin, you will feel the anguish and optimism of the

Book Review: Kab Ayegee Nayi Subah by Prafulla Kumar Tripathi

Kab Ayegi Nayee Subah by Prafulla Kumar Tripathi is a riveting collection of short stories in Hindi. These are not mere imaginative stories; rather they depict the vagaries and vicissitudes of our lives and societies. Prafull Kumar Tripathi writes with subtle charm, yet his penning skills dig deep into the chasm of characters and bring about the change and truth that these people have to deal with in accordance to life. The book offers 35 brilliant stories whose themes range from peer pressure to social norms to marriage and love and other aspects. The titular story ‘Kab Ayegi Nayi Subah’ is based on a notorious village named Misir Pura famous for gang wars. The intensity of gang wars based on revenge and lust and greed was so much that the village devoured all men population and whenever passerby go through the village they only hear the weeping wails of widows left to grapple with misery. The stories are engaging and engrossing. The author along with Hindi also used other colloqu

Book Review: Rise from Your Ashes by Sangeeta Gupta

Usually when I read books of poetry, I skip around, but I as began reading Sangeeta's book at the beginning and read straight through to the last poem. The title ‘Rise from Your Ashes’ by Sangeeta Gupta is a daring collection of poems that are highly inspirational and motivational. Its vista of wisdom spans across many evident themes like rise up, never give up, courage, agility, temerity, boldness, and much more. This is a great book for someone who loves to get inspired or motivated by the work of poetry. Just look at the title, ‘Rise from your Ashes’. It makes so much sense and instills a freshness of positivity in mind and heart.   As I tried getting under the skin of the poems to understand their hidden meaning, I found that the author put emphasis on twin soul or twin spark concept. In most of the poems the poetess was speaking to her soul, she was fostering it, embracing it amid adverse circumstances and so on. Bursting with elegance, heartache, and harsh truth, the coll

Poem Summary: Dirge of Dehradun by Ruskin Bond

  From the vault of great Ruskin Bond, Dirge of Dehradun is the latest poem on offer. Like his other work, this too is a simple one with concerns over nature. Through this poem Ruskin lays emphasis on the commercialization of two beautiful cities where he spent all his life and still lives there. He is talking about Dehradun and Mussoorie.     Poem: I wonder where the green grass went, All buried under the new cement. I wonder where the birds have flown, They have gone to find another home. I wonder where the footpath’s gone, Right underneath your car, my son. I wonder where the old folks go, The nursing homes GB surely know. What grows so fast before my eyes? A garbage dump, a million flies. Is this the place you celebrate? In prose you made it sound so great! It was……..before I knew it was fate.   Summary:   The author is wondering as the verdant grassland among which he grew is no longer in the sight. It is rather converted into cement building an

Book Review: Chal Nangi Hoja by Anuj Tikku

This is the latest offering by Bollywood actor turned writer Anuj Tikku. He is known for writing head-turning titles on various sensitive topics. Well, this novella is based on the latest media news circulation which is about Raj Kundra and his misadventure in the pornography industry. The book is not obscene or erotic by nature, its content is good and straightforward. But still the book is strictly for adult people because Anuj unnecessarily put objectionable pictures in the book. The story starts with the family history of Raj Sundar that lives in the UK. Raj’s father drives a cab but wants him to study in a grammar school so that their family lineage gets access to more than basic living standard. However, Raj is hardly interested in studies; he tries odd business ideas with his Pakistani friend Saba. The author showed the grim reality of Indian immigrants struggling for good life abroad. There is a lot of family drama that ensues in between, but Raj sticks to his one dream that

Book Review: Ole Biyer Rupnagar Fredericksnagore by Prof. Asoke Bhattacharya

The novel ‘Ole Biyer Rupnagar Fredericksnagore’ (Fredericksnagore, the Dream City of Ole Bie) is written by Prof. Asoke Bhattacharya. It’s an outstanding Bengali novel. This book deals with the story behind the formation of Serampore which the Danes used to call Fredericksnagore. The book is divided into three parts but these are connected. The historical importance of this place is prominently presented in this book. Serampore is a town in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. It is situated on the bank of the river Hooghly. Colonisation by the Danes brought about a remarkable change in the character of the township. They founded their ‘Kuthi’ there.  When the city was under the Danish rule, it was called ‘Fredericksnagore’, after Frederick the Fifth (1723-1766). The story begins in the 1770s when Ole Bie first stepped into Serampore. He was mesmerized by the beautiful scenario of this place though he was surprised that this place was far removed from modernization. He took a pledge to

Book Review: Witness to a Wandering Mind by Triloknath

Witness to a Wandering Mind by Triloknath is a work of fiction about some families living in the pre-independence time in Punjab of undivided India. The story spirals from the author’s life. He, in fact, narrated a lot about his ancestors with the help of history, religion, caste, creed and much more. The author subtly brushes aside the fantastical themes and takes pride in narrating the impeccable achievement of life of his ancestors, which also includes his wanderings as a kid and child and young man. The book is full of family events, and at every corner there are characters that the author doesn’t forget to introduce to readers. Reading this book is like living with some family, going through the streets and neighborhood, feeling the blend of customs and lineage right before the eyes – all in an epoch that this generation might have forgotten. As the author grows through turmoil and chaos amidst the independence and other events, he realizes the value of family and finally gets t

Book Review: Kavi Rendalkar's Poetic World by Mr. Moreshwar Hari Kulkarni

Kavi Rendalkar's Poetic World by Mr. Moreshwar Hari Kulkarni is a Marathi title. The book is a study on the famous poet of Maharashtra Kavi Rendalkar. The book tells the extraordinary life story of the poet who was born in a poor family in a village called Rendal in Kolhapur. This book is edited and forwarded by Mr. Moreshwar Hari Kulkarni, who is the grandson of the poet. The poet's life was full of social, financial and family problems. However, nothing stopped him. He rose to being an eminent personality in the world of Marathi poetry and got love and affection of people. The poet was short lived i.e. 1887 to 1920. His famous work involves Mandar Manzil in 1910, Mohini in 1913, Volume-I of poems was published in 1924, and volume-II in 1928. He pioneered the art of blank verses in Marathi literature. He was a social conscious poet. The book highlights many aspects of this poet. Kavi Rendalkar also worked with magazines and newspapers in 1912 in Bombay, and in 1915 in Pune

Book Review – Reflection: A Collection of Short Stories by Adam Ostaszewski

Reflection: A collection of short stories by Adam Ostaszewski is a gripping book right since the first page. It’s a book with unconventional science and historical stories. It merges illusion, imagination, and future reality into one to deliver a power-packed performance. The book houses 6 long stories that will take you to different worlds which are way different from our contemporary ones. You must have seen such ones either in Hollywood or Netflix dystopian movies and series where people are effortlessly traveling between the countries, in the space and galaxies, and much more. The book's major setting is scientific environment i.e. highly advanced technology where people are leveraging the same with no guilt. For the current generation, accepting this book into TBR will take a bit of courage and prudence. As if you can imagine the world of tomorrow, you will resonate well with this book. Otherwise, there will be reading struggle. The stories are good but the collection is

Book Review: Trafficked Innocence by Sandesh Raj

Trafficked Innocence by Sandesh Raj is another masterpiece that explores the shadowed side of our society: human trafficking. His books are easy-to-read but they carry intense message for the society, putting in another words, he writes about those subjects that are often kept ignored from the masses. His previous novel ‘The Burning School’ exposes the socio-economic and military conflict in Kashmir. Trafficked Innocence features the story of Abhishek, a proud father of two daughters. Well, one fateful day when the family was about to travel, his toddler kid Munni was abducted. By the time they could realize anything, it was too late. The police are helpless as usual. With no clue in hand, Abhishek decides to take things in hand. He begins the chase. First, he goes to Sonagachi, a famous red-light area in Kolkata. By luck, there he gets acquainted with Bijoy Dada who runs an organization named Mukti that works to set women and girls free from red-light areas. Bijoy Dada is willing to

Book Review: Time's Up by Velamur Vasu

Time's Up by Velamur Vasu is an engrossing fantasy thriller with elements of sci-fi and time travel. The story commences with three college friends roaming and trekking the hills of Munnar in South India. Suddenly, they come across a helicopter crash in the jungles. They chase the location and find an enigmatic device. Thereafter, the story revolves around this device. They try to control the device and think of playing around it but it happens the other way. The device shows what the person is thinking who holds it. For much time, these people i.e. Ranga, Vindhya, and Vashist try to overpower each other for the sake of controlling this device. Also the device keeps them in a loop of solving puzzles by showing them random sets of numbers. Right since the beginning it is clear that the novel is about puzzles as these characters are from engineering background and once the device shuts down they had to do a lot calculation to bring it back alive with its password. Author’s technica

Book Review: Skyrocket Teams to Incredible Heights by Gita Ramachandran

Skyrocket Teams to Incredible Heights by Gita Ramachandran is a wonderful self-help book for building great teams and effective leaders and much more. The book is truly a gem as it comes from the industry expert who not only gives stats, facts, strategies, but also case studies. The basic idea of the book is to lay difference between two types of teams. One is full of star performers but it is unable to give glorious results. While on the other hand, there is an ordinary team that achieves great results with its consistency and cohesiveness. Reading this book means getting to know whether you need futile and egoistic star performers or a simple team that is incredible and delivers exceptional values. In total there are 7 chapters brimming with a fountain of knowledge. Let’s see some of them briefly. Common Purpose: It talks that a team having common purpose and interest towards a common/shared goal or mission performs better than a fragmented team of superstars. Be it any time

Book Review: Intragalactic Frontier by A. R. Felcita

Intragalactic Frontier by A. R. Felcita is a riveting fantasy thriller with some elements of sci-fi in it. It is very rare to find a novel with aliens living on earth. Well, Intragalactic Frontier is about survival of Re, Ro, Zo and many other alien species like him. The novel features Frank as a protagonist from the human side, to his company are his doctor girlfriend Redim, and Richard. Though there are some other auxiliary characters also from both sides which cannot be ignored. Frank is the only son of a wealthy business man Francis Timothy. They have a business kingdom…but the guy Frank is so down-to-earth that he lives in rural area somewhere 700 kilometers away from Chennai. During one torrential rain and heavy cyclone, Frank comes across a strange species. It is an alien, from some other place, certainly not from earth. He is asking for help from Frank. Reluctantly, Frank goes along with Re (the name of the alien). They are small in size and live in an underground colony. A

Book Review: Myriad Manifestations of the Mind by Tanvi

Myriad means many. Manifestations deals with emotions and feelings of the author. Thus, the title is apt: Myriad Manifestations of the Mind. The author brings out the various facets of her emotions and feelings through this book. Though the book is written by a very young student named Tanvi, but by reading it looks as she is writing since ages. Undoubtedly, it is evident that she keenly and closely observes the world around her. The book is divided into three sections: Poetry, Quotation, and Short story. The book traverses from one end to another and in between it seeks a gamut of emotions that a human mind can go on a wandering. Sometimes she writes about rain, her city, her brother who is far, but in most of the work ‘nature themes’ are prevalent. Through nature she expresses a lot. The poetess posses a good amount of literary flair. The book is short and easy to read. It’s such a collection that you can use on social media for better profiling. This is a collection that falls b

Book Review: Emotional Mastery (Toolkit for Success) by Navana Kundu

Emotional Mastery (Toolkit for Success) by Navana Kundu is a well-researched and well-executed book on emotional intelligence. Yes, it is a self-help book that aims to take you towards emotional mastery through tips, tricks, and strategies and much more. But before anyone heads up for emotional mastery, it is imperative to know what emotions can do for us or in our life. Emotions are powerful, they attract, they repel, they build, and they destroy. It is the emotions that control our overall life from judgment to perspective to decision making and in between everything. “No man is free who is not master of himself.” Navana not only presents the journey of emotional mastery lucidly but also breaks down the each layer in a layman term. The biggest USP of the book is that it is easy to read and sounds applicable to all. In total there are 8 chapters, the author begins the journey with her life that is covered in first two chapters. In these two chapters she narrates her life’s crests

Book Review: Drizzle of Love by Sangeeta Tomar

In life we come across strangers at some point of time. Whether we believe in them or not, there are many instances that they inevitably change our life. Meeting and getting affected by a stranger is nothing but a part of our destiny. But there are some people that are highly skeptical about strangers. They just run away or ignore them like anything. It is their rigid belief – don’t trust them. Why? They have no plausible reason to justify their stance. But be it anything…stranger is a captivating word. It sways hearts of many. So, on the similar lines, debutante author Sangeeta Tomar presents Drizzle of Love, a light soft romance novel. It’s a simple novel with lucid language usage. It throws no difficulties to its readers. It’s as receptive as it should be for a compulsive to a naïve romance reader. The story of the novel is self-paced; it’s neither sophisticated nor ostentatious. There is something fresh and natural about it. At the façade of the story, we see Sia is the protago