A(NU) Thought

Image Source Book: My Space My Body – starring Taka Dimi Author: Roopa Pai Illustrator: Archana Sreenivasan Publisher: Fitkids Education and Training Pvt Ltd For: Children above 3 years Books for children is an important responsibility; not just for the publishers and authors, but also for the parents and teachers. It is essential that the books we share with our children should not just be informative and engaging but also educational. My Space My Body (MSMB) is an interesting blend of all the above elements.

Book : The Peshwa:  The Lion and  The Stallion Author : Ram Sivsankaran Publication :  Westland If this is the debut book, I have to admit, it doesn’t read like one. The book is an amazing read. Where was he all these years with this amazing story telling talent?  The book is based on the life of Bajirao Bhat, his learnings, his fights, his experiments, his love and his relationships with his father, wife, his loyal subordinates, et al.  So, here’s what I liked about the book. The cover is extremely fascinating and intriguing. The narration is flawless and so is the characterisation. You can actually picture the person or the scene or the event that is taking place, as it is being described by the author.

Book: Never Gone Author: Anusha Subramanian Publisher: Penguin India Do you remember that feeling, when you had your first crush back in good old school days? Or, the days you spent trying to impress your love interest? This book will transport you back to those wonderful days – school days. At least this is what it did to me. It took me back to the days of learning and comprehending emotions such as feelings, emotions, love, friendship, companionship, sympathy, empathy, trust, happiness, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, revenge and the list is endless. I have completed my education in co-ed school and college and very closely witnessed love stories bloom and relationship break. I could completely identify with the story, plot, the setup and the characters. I loved the way the characterization has been done and the flash backs described.

Image Source Book: The American Indian Dream Author: Pranay Sahu Publisher: Half Baked Beans I received this book from HBB via Goodreads and the first thing that caught my eye was the name of the book. The American (striked out) Indian Dream, something indeed very new. The plot is fresh and I must appreciate the research the author has done be it in terms of the activities in the Guru's ashram, the simple things involved in the lifestyle of different cities mentioned or the entrepreneurship and also the insides of media/journalism.

Book: The Fence Author: Multiple Publisher: Half Baked Beans I won this book in a 'giveaway contest' on Goodreads.  The thing I like the most about an anthology is that it is colourful (not literally), but it is the different thoughts and voices that of various authors. Different genres of stories, different writing styles all of it a result of different experiences and observations. The Fence is a collection of eight such short stories.

Recent developments in the political environment has brought about positive changes in the market and across industries. The industrial corridors are all geared up and ready to be a part of the emerging India. The world is going digital and even India has realised the important of technology adoption. 

"Our eyes met, making our hearts melt... It happened then.. and it happens even today... after 9 years of togetherness and two years of our marriage... and it will happen forever." "Dull, sad, and grey my life would have been without you. You bring the much-needed light, enthusiasm, excitement, and fun to me every day. With you, I know I will live my life and not just survive. Love U."

Picture Source Book: It's All In The Planets Author: Preeti Shenoy Publisher: Westland  A girl meets guy, they gel well, become friends, like each other's company and guess what they are struggling with their respective relationships... making genuine efforts to make it work. So what happens next? They realise that the two of them are compatible and fall in love with each other and get married, right??? (At least that is what I had expected from). Well I will keep you guessing whether they get into a relationship or not, because there's a lot more to the story than this.

Image Source Book : Fool Me Once Author :  Harlan Coben   Publisher : Random House If I have to sum up the story, I would say it in a phrase (from a Bollywood song), 'shikari khud yahan shikar ho gaya'. I had lost the number of count I encountered twists in this tale.  The story begins with the funeral of the protagonist Maya's husband, who was (or is) a rich businessman and one of the heirs to a wealthy and affluent family. His murder, witnessed by Maya alone, is supposedly an unthought-of act by random robbers; however we know that there has to be something more to this death (and the story). It’s all going fine, when one day Maya sees her dead husband in her house, with her daughter in the nanny cam. Now this gets her started (and me too) in search of the truth. In the process we come across plenty of elements that may not be connected to the murder mystery - family secrets, business secrets and Maya's past to name a few. Did I mention that abou...

An old story lost in between the pages of my diary (Fiction) The orangish red sun rise in the early morning; the music of the tiny little creatures getting ready to fly out to work; the sweet smell of my blossoming pink rose; the dancing green trees; the cool breeze that sings when it feels my window. Oh! I am going to miss you all. It's taking me away from you. I do not want to leave you, but it's taking me away. It's AIDS!

Image Source Book: Everyone Has A Story Author: Savi Sharma Publisher: Westland Every one has a story, yes that's a fact, we all have tales to tell; we all have OUR stories to share... those which are unheard and untold, yet waiting to come out of the closets of our soul and be known to the world .  No matter how reserved or secretive one is, the desire to be known rather heard of never fades away. We all want to tell (our) stories to the world. And looks like Savi Sharma strikes the right cord here. The story she narrates resembles lives of today's youth- independent, ambitious, passionate, confident and yet confused when it comes relationships. The story is about two such youngsters, well actually four, about how they fall in love, but the difficulties they face in either accepting the relationship or leading it. The protagonist Meera, who dreams of becoming an author is in search of a story that can touch millions of lives. Well she does find one in form...

Image source Book: She Walks, She Leads Author: Gunjan Jain Publisher: Penguin Random House India Every day, we read about the successful men, who help drive the economies of the world. Plethora of books featuring stories of powerful men fill up the shelves of the bookstores. The debut attempt ‘She Walks, She Leads’ by Gunjan Jain, is an attempt to unearth efforts and achievements of 24 women who have made it to the top in their respective industries. They have not only acted as the backbones for their partners and families, but made critical changes in the society as well. In her book, Gunjan has covered successful women across several fields – media, sports, arts, entertainment, corporate, banking, author, to name a few. The stories about lives of these personalities are carved out in great details. The author has attempted to put forth these inspiring stories to encourage the readers – you and me.

Image Source   Book: The Seeker Author: Karan Bajaj The climax of the book is just unexpected. Well that's not how you would expect me to begin a review, but it's simply not what I had anticipated. In fact with the twists and turns I actually had no idea how the book will end. Had completely given up all my presumptions. I'll be honest, first few pages were a little boring for me. Perhaps, because the beginning is slow or maybe because I thought this packing your stuff and going away is a 'very guy' thing. Alright, the fact is I was jealous of Max, that  he could just walk away from his corporate life towards a different life...... However, I continued to read; I was curious to know   how far does Max go in order to reach that state where he feels detached from the world yet one with every tiny bit of the universe. And boy what a journey that was! I enjoyed it :)

Image source The Stranger Trilogy 1. Marry me, Stranger 2. All yours, Stranger 3. Forget me not, Stranger Author : Novoneel Chakraborty The author, Novoneel Chakraborty almost killed me with the suspense!!! Every time the stranger promises to reveal himself/ herself, I would get as hopeful as the protagonist does... ignoring the fact, if the (secret) identity of the stranger is what holds the readers’ interest and of course the reason behind this chase, that runs into three whole books ;P. The trilogy ensured a good build-up and kept me engaged throughout. The protagonist Rivanah (I call her Rivah) Bannerjee just like any other independent, working, urban girl is leading a normal life, but suddenly this ‘stranger’ enters her life keeping a track of her every breath. The stranger helps Rivah out of her problems, oh he/she is good person… no wait, he/she has strange demands that Rivah needs to fulfil against her wishes … so he/she is a bad person…confusing, isn’t...

This article was also published in  Writers Ezine  in June 2016  :)                                                                     ------------------------- Picture Source It was a regular day at work for Seema, until she read the news online flashed by a national publication. The headline of the report informed about a fire in a villa in Koramangala, Bangalore. She was little scared to click and read the details. What if it was the same building she knew of; what if it was the same villa she had visited once; and what if the members of the house were in critical condition? With a racing heart she clicked the news and gathered that her fears were not true. She breathed a sigh of relief. Seema was surprised by her own reaction. Those worried two minutes were sheer waste of time, or were...

The woman of Kaliyuga…. before the Kaliyuga descended One of the few very clear memories I still have of my childhood is when my mother was feeding me lunch and we were happily chatting about Mahabharata. While talking, I said ‘when I grow up, I want to become Draupadi’. She yelled at me ‘ pagal ho gayi ho kya?, kuch bhi bak bak karti ho. Khana khao chup chap ’. I was taken aback by her sudden anger. Barely 7-8 years of age, I didn’t quite understand the reason for her annoyance, then. Today, after decades I certainly do. Indeed, I do understand, why a mother wouldn’t want her daughter to become Draupadi or even get closer to what she suffered. All said and done, she was the heroine of the one of the only two greatest epics of the country’s history – Mahabharata.

Article is dated: July 2016 This article was also published in  Writers Ezine  in December 2015 Well, December is when we celebrate our marriage anniversary :)    ------------------------- Picture Source It’s been three years since we are married and time just flies...yeah that’s a very clichéd line...perhaps I will say the same thing after 13 years and even after 30 years. 3..13..30 are all numbers modified into years and months and days, what actually counts is how we spend this time.  These 365 x 3 days gone by has left a lot of learning for me. Well, every day brings some sort of learning if one is ready to learn. These three years has not only taught me about our relationship but has also helped me analyze myself and yes understand you better too. :) The striking question

Article is dated: July 2016 The above article was also published in  Writers Ezine  in October 2015 -------------------------- She is God's gift to us, how can He take her away; when she is become the most important part of everybody's lives ...can he really do it?? ? One week and Netra will turn five. My God! Years fly like butterfly. My little princess is smiling in her dreams. But Amish, the brat who is just six years older to her, can't stop being curious on why is Netra being over-pampered by all. The 11-year old mind puked his list of queries before Mom, as the three of us were lying on the bed.

Dated: March 2013 For the first time in two months, the Kannada movie song sounded melodious to my ears. Of course, the Volvo bus drivers love it and that explains their preference for Kannada music over Bollywood songs. The radio stations were playing mushy love songs, as I gather from the lyrics that mentioned the word "preeti" more often. After all, it was Valentine’s Day. Until last year this day just used to be like any other day.