The story of the ordinary

 Story of the ordinary- Deepika Bhalla

Though the book is titled Story of the Ordinary but its not ordinary in any sense. The book comprises of three short stories but had subtle details of surrounding. But this is not what makes this book different and unique but blank illustrations that require coloring and identifying the vivid moods of characters. Books target audience is parents who would end up reading bed time stories that has nuances about our society and in a way we end up introducing our tiny torts to the world around.
This book is specifically meant for hyper active kids and my 5 year old absolutely loved it. Every alternate page has blank illustrations waiting for kids to intercept perceive and show there imagination. The illustrations are artistic rendition of the story and contains objects and articles briefed in the course of stories telling. The book is must have for Kids to explore the unexplored and try something new.

LOVE STORYWALLAH

 

Some book finds a permanent place in your bookshelf and undoubtedly” STORYWALLAH by Kumar Ganesan was one such book. The simplicity and rawness of Storywallah left me wanting for more and when I laid my eyes upon LOVE Storywallah I had to read it.  Ganesan is a writer who has made sure that the language of the book is simple and yet he leaves and everlasting impression. Chapter wise representation makes it super easy to read. Unlike the first book where the characters were influenced by Ganeshan’s character this book is a work of fiction but a thoroughly entertaining one. Ganesan has been eloquent in describing the love stories and all his stories have humor vitality and a connect with changing times.  Every story for me either represented a social value, a social stigma or a human behavior and it was cynically and humorously written. The odyssey on which Ganesan took the readers was enthralling and exuberating. Every story had wit and quirkiness and was serious when required. Kumar Ganesan’s work in Love STORYWALLLAH is humorous and breezy read that can give you a company over tea.

The book comprises of eight small chapter on love stories, some tragical some funny and some quirky but they all have one thing in common Kumar Ganesan’s humor. Out of all the stories I likes particularly three of them. Mehandi rang layi, ek ajib si prem kahani and lockdown love.

Read the book to get a different love vibe and specially these three books.  

Death is My Only Beloved

 Death is My Only Beloved 

#poem 

To weep

as if there is no tomorrow,

to sob in happiness, 

to blubber in sadness, 

to snivel for a reason, 

and to whimper for no reason. 

To shed tears in one’s own pain, 

to bawl in someone else’s pain, 

and to wet one’s garment 

with tears of blood. 

Death is My Only Beloved is a book of poems penned by Laudeep Singh. The books is 270 odd pages long and has some half sketches that are quite relevant with the poems. I liked the feel and the vibe of the book. Though it usually talks about some of the most difficult phase of life we hardly tend to accept. I liked Laudeep's approach and his deep rooted meaning in all these verses. Death is certainly a forbidden topic which we usually choose not to discuss but our fate is inevitable.  This book and it's poems vividly cover various other complicated and simple life nuances like love loss and companionship and how one can overcome these setbacks. Laudeep's reference to his father is touching and I can easily relate to the loss he talks about. The language is simple yet they leave a profound experience. 270 odd pages look too much but believe me you would end up this book in a ziffy and would not complain a bit. I you have lived a life you would certainly come across these life phases and had his share of struggle. A few poems can be considered as dark but yet this is how life is.

This book is a definite read and Laudeep's courage is laudable. More power to you and may you end you writing many more books.

To end with this is how he dedicated the book 

"  ‘Everyone who has a heart that bleeds and eyes that weep.’" 

The Chronicler of the Hooghly

 The Chronicler of the Hooghly 

This book is a short but a crisp read. Book has four short stories all fast paced and leave you satisfied. The stories spann through different era and the description is vivid lively and quite realistic. He amount of detailing and plot speaks for the tumultuous research and hardwork writer would have gone through. Few of the story oscillate between the present and past timelines with outmost ease and relevance, it is nearly impossible to find a flaw in the stories. 

The highlight of the stories are intricate human relations and convoluted human psyche resulting in the chaos. 

Ashtami

Ashtami is the 8th day of durga puja festival. The story is set in pre independence India and post independence India. On the auspicious day of Ashtami a boy was born, born with physical and mental disabilities but with high human values and the story end with death of the mother.  Life comes full circle in this story and beautifully narrates the life of a Bengali family settled in Delhi. 

Pandemic 

Centuries apart how two different Pandemic shaped the life of a family and it's decedent's and how they cope with the loss and challenges. It also signifies the venerability of a man when he is alone broken or careless. 

Fault lines 

This is my favourite story among the lots. Reading this reminded me of Mitch Albom's Five People You Meet in Heaven. Anjan is battling life after an unfortunate accident but bed ridden he had visions of the beautiful time he has spent with his family and wife and then these visions are interrupted by an old school friend Savio who reminds his of his miss deeds. How selfish Anjan had been for smaller victories in life and how he altered the lives of his friends and ruining a few. The story highlights the importance of karma and past catches up no matter how successful you are. 

The Chronicler of the Hooghly 

This story is based around the myth of cursed pearl necklace and how it altered the fate of Bengal kingdoms and zamindari and how it resulted in the British dominance and rule in India.  The story starts in the present era and mark tragedy sicken family and how there I'll fate was result of an old curse. The story takes us back into the Bengal zamabdari era and narrates 250 years of ordeal and how the 

It shaped the political dominance. This story is particularly well researched and it's intelligent of the writer how the entire story is based on a folklore of cursed pearl necklace.

Chasing Sunset

 

Chasing Sunsets 

#poem

A Coffin is not always made from

wood and nails 

but sometimes from

doors, windows and concrete walls 

other times, flesh and bones. 

No escape from this loop 

until there lives an urge to run away 

from one place to another. 

Reading Chasing Sunsets set is a profound experience, the poems reflects someone's life which he lives or aspire to live. The language is simple yet the poems convey a deeper understanding of the phenomenon life. Vaibhav's understanding of life is unapologetically true. Some of his poems are going to resonate with every individual at some point of time. His poems on love loss and Life choices. I could easily correlate to Vaibhav's poems on more than one occasion. The poem are lyrical the words written are metamorphic and unwraps deep-rooted meaning of the verses. When the reader let himself soak in these poems without any prejudice the real meaning become visible. Chasing Sunsets is like a rainbow encompassing of vivid emotions and thoughts. A few of the verses are stuck with me and are definitely going to be in my diary for future reference. 

A good book to read which hardly takes an hour of your time. I am leaving you with one of the verses from the book to read and rejuvenate. 

that causes a dark thick cloud 

hovering in the sky to not rain. 

Why is it that the dearest thing  

you always wanted to do becomes meaningless 

when there comes an opportunity to do it? This is the numbness 

that starts to feel like home. 

This is what depression does to you. 

Mountain Mist & Meghalaya

 #quote , “Nobody can manage time. It's time that manages us. It flows like a flowing river where you cannot touch the same water as it is never constant. Once we flow with it, things are smooth, but when we try to rule over it, we fail miserably.”-- 

I have traveled to Meghalaya in 2016 and was awestruck with the sheer beauty of nature and humbleness of the people. When I came around this book title I instantly had to pick this one up. 

Why you should read this book 

1. If you like travelogue this book is definitely for you

2. If you like a book on intricate human relations and interaction this book is for you

3. If you believe in legends myths and folklores then it is a must read. 

Narration of this book is crisp and gives a new take to travelogues. Our writer duo has narrated an enticing story woven around travel, local believe and humane nature. Our protagonist lives a typical Mumbai life and a mundane job that keeps him busy. But apart from his regular life he is a completely different person while traveling. He likes to travel slow indulge in the surrounding and absorb the maximum. Travel is his refuge from a monotonous job.   I really liked the description of the surrounding nature and miniscule details taken into account while writing the book. I was amazed to see the seer grandeur of mystic Meghalaya but reading this book made me realize what all I have missed visiting. The book serves as an ideal itinerary for someone planning to visit Meghalaya. The book gives us an insight of the people the tribe there cuisine and there holistic approach towards living a simple life. How there life value are based around nature and there way of life based out of folklores. Yes folklores are the real highlight of the book, the chapters of the book is based around folklores and how they have shaped the life of these indigenous tribes. These folklores are interesting entertaining and relevant even in these modern times. 

Life Version 2

#quote You determine how you want to spend your moments, which ultimately shape your life. Every moment brings in front of you new challenges, and opens up new opportunities. You have total control over your future and you can mould it the way you want. You can build on your strengths and improvise on your weaknesses, enabling you to conquer unattained heights. Remember, the end will come whenever it has to come. No one has ever escaped the clutches of death. So, why be afraid of death?

Review Life Version 2

Have you ever read a story that is multi layered. A story that has individual tales that later converge to form a bigger story. Reading Life Version 2 was a different yet overwhelming experience. It's just not a story but it has some important life lessons and theology through which one can simplify the life complexities. The story starts with a business tycoon in epicenter of a successful business empire. Mr. Deshmukh a person with sheer conviction and extraordinary hardwork created an empire with around 4500 crores annual turnover. His story is from rags to riches and yet he has maintained a balance and humble personality. He has a great family and who understands his life choices and abide by his principles. The story has all the possible elements that can make it intricate and appealing from larger than life characters to business rivalry to unprecedented future revelation that has the potential to alter the courses of Mr. Deshmukh's life. From a astrological prediction that jeopardies Deshmukh's life and we're he comes to terms with his death and beautiful description of dilemma of a person who is aware of his time on earth. Suhas Imandar's storytelling is relevant and compelling, tells us how a person should lead his life fruitful and live with utmost dignity. Loved this one for its plot and beautiful characterization. Also the contrast and depth in Mr. Deshmukh's character, his transition and acceptance of death is amazingly described. If I write any more I would be a spoilsport.