Review of Take 2 by Ruchi Singh

Take 2

by Ruchi Singh 

Priya’s idyllic world turns upside down when she realizes her husband considers her dead weight after stripping her off her inheritance for his ambitions and lavish lifestyle.

Instantly attracted to Priya, Abhimanyu knows getting involved with a married woman is inviting trouble. But despite common sense, cautions and hesitations, he is drawn to help her.

Happily ever after has become a myth for Priya and trying to keep the relationship platonic is becoming more and more difficult for Abhimanyu.

In the tussle between ethics, fears and desires... will Priya embrace a second chance at happiness?

My Review

Take 2 is a story that revolves around happiness, peace of mind, and satisfaction that there is someone out there for oneself. Even though man could redefine the planet Pluto from a star to a dwarf planet, he still wants a body to lean onto whether it be during sickness or in good health. This story tries to capture that essence via a young lady named Priya. 

This story revolves around this young girl who wants stability in her life especially after losing her family at a young age. Her attitude was commendable since she was emotionally down after the death of her parent, but could get up, and wipe her tears.  When she found, affection being showered on her by a young man named  Sameer who eventually tied the knot with her. The marriage had its set of problems more so since she was vulnerable at that junction of her life thus, making her fall not only emotionally with loads of tears, and sobs but even her physical self, took the brunt of bruises, black marks, and blemishes. Eventually, these turned into her strength as she got the help of a couple of friends namely Komal, Abhimanyu, Aditi, and Rahul. They helped her get up and walk the path while helping her overcome her failed marriage. Along the way, she fell in love for Abhimanyu who then continued to hold her hand forever after!

The story had some twists and turns with respect to her husband, Sameer and her landlady thus bringing out the ugliness of Indian Society that keeps preaching gullible women to stand by their adulterous husbands. At some point, as a reader I wanted the topic to change since I felt the main character had suffered enough. But, glad the author could bring along a happy ending without losing the elasticity of the rubber band.

The author, Ruchi Singh brought out the happy ending for her central character, Priya while continuing to keep the readers engrossed in the plot. Take 2 a debut novel from the author, and she has done a fantastic job in bringing out the morally revolting and unpleasantness of the rules of the society thus, making it a recommended read.

the author, and she has done a fantastic job in bringing out the morally revolting and unpleasantness of the rules of the society thus, making it a recommended read.

Review and Spotlight of And We Remained by Asad Ali Junaid

And We Remained 

by 

Asad Ali Junaid

The Blurb

It is Bangalore in the late 1990’s. There are tremendous socio-economic and cultural transformations taking place as a result of liberalization. How would these changes impact a group of friends in their late teens? How would they cope, find opportunities and what of their original identities would they be left with, after western ideologies are brought in and bombarded into their awareness by cable TV and new media? 

Told through emails and first person account of events, And We Remained is a light and entertaining read of these friends as they experience love, heartbreak, prison, politics, drunken binges, strip clubs, sexcapades, US and Europe during their journey into adulthood

My Review

And We Remained, by Asad Ali Junaid is a story that is guaranteed to give you goosebumps as it takes you down memory lane of college life in India. Those precious days when most of the youth have big dreams to become either an engineer, a business tycoon or a doctor and want to touch the sky; just like that song in QSQT, "Papa kehte hein" Although being smitten by love is another path that most pave upon along with their academics. This book said it all!

This is mainly a tale of five college mates namely Sahir, Sandip, Gopal, Anand, and David. These five batch mates go through thick and thin during their academic years thus making them stick together even once they graduate. Their college lives are narrated by these individuals giving them a complete chapter to themselves.  The author would take us back n forth from their present to the future where they would be interacting with each other via texts, messages, and emails thus, giving the reader a glimpse of what kind of life these characters could carve out for themselves. 

Although it was good to reminisce about the past as college students and that life, but as a reader I kept waiting for a story to erupt. Wanted some climax to make me sit up and take notice on the characters mentioned above. Although the part where the boys were put in the jail for ragging was astonishing, and the atrocities they went through was chilling and horrifying. But, was surprised that even though they were falsely accused, they were accepted back into the college and eventually embraced by all their co-students. The author could have put some twist along with the ongoing good, bad, funny experiences and their aimless lives to keep the readers interested in a "What next" saga. The story was more about crushes with Wardha and the interactions the three young boys, Sahir, Sandeep and Gopal had with respect to her. 

And We Remained is a bunch of good, and funny experiences during college times and how these five young men could carve a niche in spite of the above. It definitely is a recommended read since it takes us all to those lovely carefree yet anxious days when we were younger and enjoyed life yet feared of what our future would be? 

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Meet the Author

Asad Ali Junaid is a design professional in Bangalore working in the area of Human-Machine Interaction. He aims to resolve problems to enable humans interact and use technology efficiently.
Junaid writes whenever there is a compelling story inside him bursting to get out.  Junaid’s first fiction novel –And We Remained – started as a story which needed to be told… and one which needed to be told differently. He joined a three week in residence ‘Just Write’ fiction writing workshop where he got a chance to learn the nuances of and hone his story telling skills from authors Anil Menon, Anjum Hasan and Rimi Chatterjee. And We Remained then turned into a 52,000 word novel with an absorbing storyline and a unique narration style – the story is set in the 1990’s India and is told through emails and first person accounts of events.  Junaid is getting great feedback for the story depicting the mindset of engineering students in that era and the unique narration style it follows.
Junaid is married and his wife is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore working in the area of Molecular Biophysics. Their toddler completes their home while keeping them on their toes.

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Review of Charlene the Star and Bentley Bulldog by Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Description

Charlene the Star makes new friends in this exciting adventure. She wants to win a special award for jumpers. She must learn important things if she wants to reach her goal. Does she succeed? How does Hattie react when she sees the headline in The Gazette? Why is Cherish so afraid? Your child will be fascinated with the amusing adventures of Charlene and her friends. Children will be entertained and learn important life lessons.

My Review

This story is primarily about Charlene, the horse and Bentley the bulldog who share the same stable. 

Charlene is an accomplished horse decorated with ribbons and her master; Mary Harris is very proud of her. Charlene is a grounded horse and enjoys the company of her mates.

Bentley is a bully, and this story is about how Charlene and the chicken Hattie help bring out the best quality in Bentley. This is followed by success to a fair that is organized by them along with animals of other farms. 

This story has a moral ending thus allowing children to ponder over nouns like unity, friendship, happiness followed by a happy ending! Thus, making it a highly recommended story for elementary children.  

This is the author Deanie's third series of Charlene the Star books, and she continues to deliver a beautiful story telling with the same characters.

Review and Spotlight of Lucifer's Lungi by Nitin Sawant

"Lucifer's Lungi"

Author: Nitin Sawant

Lucifer's Lungi

by 

Nitin Sawant

The Blurb

 An atheist city-slicker unleashed on a medieval holy village...

A simpleton village priest's boy who blindly worships and guards a pantheon of Gods and Their traditions...

Strange things happen when their worlds collide!

This is a tale of that turmoil on a lonely night in a jungle, when the ghosts you never knew till a few hours ago are let loose on the ghosts that you always carried within, unknowingly.

Welcome to the unholy clash of beliefs, fears and frailties with unknown Gods and demons. A clash that will test your convictions. A clash that will rabidly claw and unmask your subconscious, leaving you naked and paralyzed in front of your demons - in a climax that is as ambiguous as it is certain...

My Review

The name of the book, Lucifer's Lungi drew my attention since it symbolizes humor, and I assumed it to be a light read.

No regrets since it gave me some space and time to ponder over some issues (when the plot became a little redundant) that we had taken some myths for granted in our lives. Thus, making me help evaluate from the perspective of the protagonist and the priest's boy.

Lucifer's Lungi is a story about a man who is a software professional working in the city and tries to escape the boring and monotonous life by making weekend trips to new places. On one such trip, he ends up in a small village where the holiday becomes an adventure. Here he is exposed to the religious myths and being a man from the city that embraces science and facts, the story revolves on how he deals with the situation.

This is the author's debutant novel, and he has done a fine job in keeping his readers glued while touching a topic in a non-judgemental way!

The narration is crisp and kept me on the edge. Although what I really admired about the author was that he presented a serious matter that has been nagging our society for years; to deliver in such a prudent yet light manner that is not offensive to people favoring either sides.

Thus, making it a book as a must-read who would aye or nay on the religious beliefs presented.

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Meet the Publisher 

Fablery Publications is a contemporary publishing start-up based in Bangalore. At Fablery, our focus is on bringing out books that are more in tune with the current reading habits. Our present portfolio includes a psycho-thriller novella “Lucifer’sLungi”, two graphic novels “Subbu’s Code” and “Ka Kaa” to be launched at Bangalore Comic Con, along with a book adaptation of a National Award winning movie “Ri” and an anthology of historical fiction “Once Upon A Time”.

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Spotlight and Review of The Helpline by Uday Mane

The Blurb

Samir is suicidal. Rachael works for a suicide helpline. Fate connects them through a phone call. And so begins Samir’s story of love, longing, errors, regret and a girl who changed his life. As his story reaches its conclusion, Rachael will know the true reason behind his suicidal tendencies. But this suicide helpline is not any ordinary service. There is more to the mysterious and yet so convincing voice of Rachael. As this new mystery begins to unfold, Samir is going to discover three things: 

What is The Helpline? 

Who is Rachael? 

What is Samir’s own identity? 

Every year, several teenagers in India attempt suicide because of failing relationships, dwindling careers, parental pressure or the competitive world. This story is about one such teenager, his early problems and the hurdles to cope with them. This story is about finding hope in the struggle. This story is about fighting for what you believe in and discovering your true identity. This is not a story about falling in love. This is a story of rising from a failed love story.

My Review

The Helpline is a book that deals with many topics that touch all souls in this lifetime. 

Samir is one such individual who is undergoing a brawl within and is about to take a big plunge anytime cause he has seen it all at the tender age of 20 years. He is fighting the anger within and suppressing his desires while trying to please his family. During this bout, he meets some good friends who actually try to put some sensibility into his insane and restless mind. This keeps him hanging by a thread until time takes a toll, and he finally gets a grip on himself and avoids the thought of suicide. 

The Helpline is the author's first book, and I am impressed with the amount of issues he could touch in a persuasive manner without burdening the minds of the reader by the facts of life.

 Disabilities, Indian Parents, Society, Education, Love, Expectations and Career are some of the subtle topics that he could discuss well in his book.  As a reader, I was in unison with the facts laid out by the author.

His stories within this book were very moving emotionally. He could keep me in the grips of his novella. His flow was compatible until the end, which happened quite rapidly, and as a reader I had to pause and re-read to understand "The End", which no doubt is quite fascinating and riveting. There were quite a few editorial glitches, which the author/publisher should review.

The Helpline has a fine, gripping, and thought-provoking storyline, and I would recommend it to any reader who wants a powerful punch with regards to today's scenario, thus giving the tenacity to fight it!

Meet the Author

Uday Mane was born in Pune and raised in Mumbai. He works as a marketing professional during the day and a storyteller during the night. He is an avid reader, and loves to collect classic books. 

The Helpline is his debut novel that was launched in March 2014 at the hands of Padma Shri Paresh Rawal.

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Review and Spotlight on Where Even Present is Ancient: Benaras

BOOK REVIEW - WHERE EVEN PRESENT IS ANCIENT: BENARAS.

The Blurb

Where Even the Present is Ancient: Benaras is a book that seeks to tell the little stories that make us who we are. The author believes that Benaras resides in all of us Indians, in some beautiful often-unknown way. The author is the Sutradhar, in that she attempts to connect an India that many do not realize exists, in that it is everybody’s story. Radha, Krishna, Ganga, Benaras and Me are all characters in this deluge of poems. This attempt at telling the story of the ancient, of love and of faith is to instil the confidence that poetry exists in all of us, everywhere, all that is needed is to smell its fragrance. To those outside India, the book does not seek to be a representation of what India is or was, but a whiff of what it also can be. It is an attempt to ask people to see the little stories that govern all of our lives, stories that we often don’t see, but those that are important. The audience for this book might be strewn across the globe, for faith is not religion-centric, it is people- centric and often without dimensions. In poetry there is no beginning, no middle, nor no end. Like faith it is everywhere, it is omnipresent. The book affords no answers, nor no questions, but if you listen and read carefully you will see new things, a new beauty perhaps, one that has been silent so long.

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My Review

The poetess, Maitreyee discovers Banaras in all forms, which transcends the reader into bliss while importing thoughts from various streams where life touches all living souls. 

Her book encircles around, Discovering Baneras, which has been photographed and talked about. It narrates the journey of every soul that goes to visit this city thus, taking the reader on a roller coaster ride from the good times where praises and eulogies to deities are sung, and such moments are appreciated, cherished and conserved as a child. 

She can say so much in such few words in A Hurriedly Etched Divinity where emotions of all kinds are sketched beautifully that stretches from the silent crying out loud to the power to see faith in spite.

Ganga is introduced to the reader in such an exquisite way by the poetess. 
Meeting Ganga where the holy river conveys all her emotions from being complex, terrifying to melancholic at times and revealing its myths and history in a poignant way that is the truth. 

The Beads of Rudraksha is a touching tribute to those beads that are used every day in prayer and the cries of Hare Ram that a person agonizes over with hope. 

Life is practical, and Maitreyee is clear to explain her thoughts even though it is ancient cause it is still the present for many. The lull amidst the pragmatic words tries to create a balance as she gives the reader a moment to peep inside what they have experienced so far from this city, and thus help channel it accordingly.

Wishing the poetess, Maitreyee many more wonderful moments of rhythm and beauty ahead.

About the Author

Maitreyee B Chowdhury is a web columnist and creative writer. She is author of Reflections on My India, a book of Indian traditions and spirituality in parts. Maitreyee is also author of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen- Bengali Cinema’s First Couple and Ichhe Holo Tai, a bilingual muti media presentation of poetry. Maitreyee is featured amongst other Indian writers such as Gulzar, Shashi Tharoor and Deepti Naval in an anthology of Indian writers Celebrating India.

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