INDRADHANUSH:

Indradhanush is an amazing brief read, the book has some really good stories drawn out of life and realistic character by Gainandra Kumar Bhagel. The highlight of this book is its language written in hindi that is largely spoken by the masses in India. The title of the book Indradhanush is appropriate given as it contains 7 vivid stories and they converge together to form a rainbow. Gainandra Kumar Bhagel’s narration is realistic but very engaging and humorous. Bhagel’s storytelling is different entertaining and has some life lessons and values plus plenty of imagination incorporated in his stories. Gainandra’s observation helps him draw parallel from real life scenario and make stories of them.

FIRST- if u feel defeated deflated turn to your parents become a child again and you would regain confidence and feel like a champion again. A child never fails in the eyes of his parents. This story is full of family values and parenting technique.

Kabra and Jackie- This story is born out of observation and writer find 2 dogs from his locality as an inspiration. Writer outlines traits of personality and character of these 2 dogs and frame 2 basic rules of friendship. this story is humorous and entertaining.

Shapit Katha- This story resembles as if it is an inception through which a character from story takes place of a person from real life and the real-life character gets trapped in the book.

Comics and Bhikari- This short story is based on a railway platform and its chaos where a young boy eager to buy a comics find a boy helpless and begging. Boy donates rs 10 and let go of his desire to buy the book later finds out the beggar purchasing tobacco through the donated money.

Makan no. 401- Describes a supernatural occurrence and the reaction of the fellow flat mates.

Generations gap- Generation gap narrates the difference and fallout between a father and son and later both of them reuniting and sorting out their differences.

Sunsaiba sun: this story talks about a boy who acquires the power to understand the language to different creatures and animals for a brief time and this brings utter chaos and amusement in his life.

Indradhanush is assorted collection of vivid stories.

Bahir

Bahir is a convoluted tale narrating the ordeal of Sawera. Sawera born in a conservative Muslim family in Pakistan and is adopted and separated from her mother by birth. The child was named Sawera as she was considered as dawn for her new family and her father moved to Saudi Arabia for better future prospect and later rest of the family joined him in his quest for prosperous future. This book is brutal and honest effort to narrate Sawera’s struggle for survival. Monisha K’s storytelling is crisp and she moves you with her poignant and persuasive retelling of plight of a migrant family. Sawera is let down by almost every people around her and always find herself in middle of a crisis. 1^st being neglected and physically abused by her mother as escape to her frustration and anger. Sawera has been brought up in an orthodox Muslim family and had to abide by tough rules and regulation. Sawera has grown up to a beautiful 17 year with sexual desires. She has always regretted her life choices 1^st being expelled from a prestigious school because of a love letter and later caught red-handed trying to sneak a male accomplice in her room. Her life takes a complete turnaround when she is married to a distant cousin in Pakistan who is heart broken and suicidal. He exploits her for his sexual needs and results in a marriage with no emotion and feelings. Sawera is left gasping for some air and belongingness and gives birth to 3 children while suffering physical and sexual abuse. She moves to Saudi to take care of her ailing mother while being pregnant and a bleeding heart. Bahir is an earnest effort by Monisha to bring the plight of a migrant lady who is sexually exploited multiple times, who is physically and mentally tormented for mere survival and existence.  It also let us mull on the difficulties and challenges a honest migrant faces just to survive with some dignity. Though Sawera’s never ending struggle and hardship makes the story emotionally exhausting yet Sawera’s positivity and hope will guide you through the story. An unputdownable and crisp story will satisfy your desire as a reader. Monisha has definitely a winner in Bahir.

https://www.amazon.in/BAHIR-MONISHA-K-GUMBER/dp/B07CHKDPK4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BXL8T3U9LO7M&dchild=1&keywords=bahir&qid=1590859251&s=books&sprefix=bahir%2Caps%2C439&sr=1-1

Sick of Being Healthy

Sick of being healthy is a story of a teenage girl and her insecurities and challenges she faces growing up. Protagonist Tara is brought up in an army family and is schooled in army influence. It is expected of her to be in an ideal punctual and disciplined kid. But Tara is a regular girl with her own share of problems and being overweight lies on top of the list of problems.  Monisha K’s book Sick of Being Healthy narrates the story of every other teenage girl and gives us an insight of the challenges and they all have some story to tell. Monisha has diligently about some of the biggest and less talked about teenage insecurities prevailing in Indian society. This book is humorous and has its share of serious moments. When the book talks about challenges it also provides with solution which are not only relevant but also realistic. Through Tara Kapoor Monisha touches almost all the circumstances and incidents a young girl faces either Tara facing them or her friends or her sister. Tara is overweight and an average student who is expected to perform at par with other meritorious students. She fancies a young lad but he is in relationship with her BFF. The humor in this book is subtle yet prominent and so is Tata’s personality a vibrant young girl with thought of her own. She gets obsessed in shedding some weight quick before farewell so that she can cast an aura and spell with her new curvy lean figure but fails miserably and fells sick. The story touches various aspects such as sex education, teenage crush and infatuation, depression, expectation and inferiority, cyber identity and bullying and last but not least loneliness.

The book is super easy and fun to read the language is simple and clipart and diary entries make it more interesting but the highlights are Tara’s passage for school newsletter. A good book and some valuable life lesson for growing teenagers.

A humorous read which will leave you in splits.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B01KA6ZIXW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Oath of The Vayuputras

Book II ended with Shiva and Kali reaching Panchavati tactfully crossing treacherous Dandak forest and they take refuge in a school. The biggest reveal of the trilogy unravels when they discover Brahspati alive and teaching students.

Book III- Shiva is elated to see Brahspati at the Naga capital of Panchavati. Brahspati narrates the truth behind explosion at mount Mandar and the ordeal related to soamras and the ill effect it causes on people. Somras is the reason of depleting river Saraswathi and the birth of Naga babies. Somras causes cell multiplication and genetic mutation that leads to deformation and outgrowth. Shiva travels to hidden city of Ujjain to meet Gopal the chief of Vasudev pandit. It is here he is made aware of the Vayuputra Council an ancient tribe left by previous Mahadev lord Rudra where they train members of the tribe as Neelkantha to oppress the evil whenever it rises. And Shiva is also made aware of his genetic linage routing to the sacred tribe and how his uncle has been training hm since childhood for this role. A war on Meluha is declared and people are urged not to intake somras. The loyalties are decided the allies changed and the battle strategies are drawn. Shiva loses a battle and postpone the attack on Meluha and leave for Pariha to seek forbidden Brahmastra to threaten the Meluhan’s for peace.  With much persuasion and convincing the vayuputra council that Shiva is the real Neelkantha they give him Pashupatiastra that destroy a specific target rather than annihilating everything. In a bid to assassinate Shiva a peace treaty is organized by Daksha which is attended by Sati in Shiva’s absence and gets assassinated in confusion.

Though the book disappointed me with its end. Immortals of Meluha and Secret of Naga built a great prologue for the Third instalment yet Tripathi some how failed to capitalized and conceptualized he end. There were few loose ends all over the 1^st two instalments and he did try and fix majority of it but doing so the charisma faded. He tried to immortalize the legend but sought scientific reason for every phenomenon and attribute nothing to supernatural possibility.

The Secret of the Nagas

The 1^st book Immortals of Meluha built an atmosphere for an epic tale. A story unravelling truth that are beyond expectation and conflicts that could have been averted. Book I ended with tribal Shiva aka Neelkanth declaring and winning war on Chandravanshi to avenge the death of his friend Brahspati. The chandravanshi princess Anandmayi explaining the legend of Neelkanth and his act of liberating Chandravansi’s from cruel and evil Suryavanshi’s. this revelation perplexed Shiva and is utterly distressed.

Book II begins with Shiva rushing to save Sati from a Naga attack where the Naga manages to escape leaving behind coins with strange engravings. Further investigation reveals the coin belongs to king Chandraketu the ruler of land of Branga. Shiva and Sati travel to Kashi to discover more of Naga people. The description of Kashi in this book is magnificent and it is here when 1^st time the reference of lord Rudra takes place. Shiva is accompanied by chief Parvateshwar who get mortally injured trying to pacify a riot, he is cured by a miracle medicine that is found only in Panchavati. As the journey of Shiva continues towards the forbidden land and forest the story intensifies and takes readers by surprise. The story revealing friends as foes and foes are true alliance and accomplice. The gripping revelation of Naga people and story from their perspective is a delight to read. I was happy sad angry all at same time. The truth ok Kali and Ganesh is surreal and outlines Amish’s craft of blending mythology and imagination with ease. Shiva travels to Panchavati under the guidance of Kali, who knows how to reach the capital through the treacherous Dandak Forest. The end of the book has a surprise that will change the course of story.

 Myths are nothing but jumbled memories of a true past. A past buried under mounds of earth and ignorance

The Immortals of Meluha

Having grown up reading and watching the likes of LOR, HP and various other series there was always a void and a temptation to read some original series written in India. Read something that is grand and builds an edifice for bigger better and mammoth of books for future. I wouldn’t compare The Immortals of Meluha with LOR or HP yet it is path breaking in numerous ways for Indian publishing industry and generations of writers to come. Amish has intelligently crafted a story blending the great Indian mythology history and his imagination to conceptualize an absolute page turner.

This is a story of a simple man becoming the destroyer of evils. The story begins at mount Kailash where Shiva resided with his tribe in peace from generations yet in near future, they have been threatened by continuous conflict with pakratis. Shiva is forced to take refuge and to migrate to Meluha for the sake of his people the Gunas. Meluha is a perfect empire created by Lord Ram. Meluha is a suryavanshi kingdom governed by the principles of lord Ram. Meluhan’s are anxiously waiting for the fulfillment of a prophecy were Neelkantha would rise and liberate them and guide them to overcome the constant conflict with chandravanshi’s and Naga’s. Shiva reaches Meluha with his gunas to find Meluha fascinating and near perfect and are administered with a dose of standard medicine. Gunas woke up with high fever and sweating but Shiva with a blue throat. Meluhan’s pronounce Shiva as Neelkantha the saviour and is taken to the capital city of Devagiri. It is here were the plot intensifies and create a platform for an elaborate towards a greater conspiracy and complexities.

Immortals of Meluha is fast paced and narrates Indian mythology in a completely unique way.

Into the Wild

Oh, how one wishes sometimes to escape from the meaning less dullness of human eloquence. From all the sublime phrases to take refuge in nature, apparently so inarticulate, or in the wordlessness of long, grinding labor, of sound sleep, of true music, or of a human understanding rendered speechless by emotion!

Like everyone else I came to know about Chris McCandless through 2007 Sean Penn Movie Into the Wild. Movie left me amazed and baffled for multiple reasons and the urge to know more about Chris (Alex Supertramp) was obvious. Research landed me to Jon Krakauer’s book of the same name- Into the wild. The major difference between the movie and book was Jon trying to draw parallel between his and Chris’s life, the book also includes some travel anecdote from few other travelers. One good thing that came out of book was establishing Chris’s character and convinced reader that he was not some stupid kid arrogantly seeking adventure in difficult places.

Now I can’t review Into the Wild without comparing it from our usual life choices. Chris is well educated from a privileged background and intellectually and morally superior than many individuals. There was occasion in college and early 20’s when I felt like leaving everything and go on a journey to discover myself and learn new things. Chris’s journey is more of self-realization discovery and learning the art of survival. Two years of his journey through picturesque America is delight to read and watch. It takes humongous courage and some foolishness to denounce all kinds of material possession in search of spiritual peace.