THE CODE OF MANAVAS

Book Name: The Code of Manavas

Author Name: Arpit Bakshi

Publisher: Rupa Publications

My Opinion:

Year 2050. The earth and the humans are in a fix. A few thousand humans who survived call themselves Manavas and they have taken an oath. These Manavas survived million of years but there is a problem arising. The young scientist Krishna is there only ray of hope.
But saviour of previous pralay is in dilemma himself. Someone was attacking them and he embarks on a journey to the restricted area.
Why you should read this book? It’s a perfect mix of Indian mythology and Science Fiction. There are many scientific things which have been given its Sanskrit or Hindi equivalent. I felt that was a fresh take.
In quest of explaining the series of event, I think the author hasn’t given much importance to descriptions. If the Manavas have survived for thousands of years, how do they look. The fact that they are technologically so advanced, do they look similar to us or are there any modifications? There is less description about city or the place they live and work. There are a few descriptions about Krishna but still it doesn’t build his complete character sketch.

THE DOWRY BRIDE

Book Name: The Dowry Bride

Author Name: Shobhan Bantwal

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

My Opinion:
Megha is a dowry bride and one night she overheard her mother-in-law and her husband talking to burn her. Apparently her mother-in-law is not happy with her and she hasn’t given birth to any child. She runs away.
There is a perfect Kiran who always wants to protect Megha. He is so perfect that sometimes you feel he is fake. When she runs away, he takes care of her and eventually they fall in love.
Then there are series of twists and turns. Yet the characterisation is weak. The characters are either wonderfully kind and fair skinned or they are evil ugly and dark skinned. This skin colour obsession of author has defined the traits of character.
On the whole it was an average read.

THE SARI SHOP WIDOW

Book Name: The Sari Shop Widow

Author Name: Shobhan Bantwal

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

My Opinion:

Honestly, it was the title that caught my attention. Anjali, the sari shop widow, owns a boutique in the USA along with her parents. Her husband had died due to brain aneurysm, a decade ago.
She is described as an attractive woman who has a thing to prove that women can run business. Also, her brother Nilesh has no interest in it so she practically has no competition.

They hit financial crisis and then it is decided that her uncle Jeevan along with a man named Rishi Shah would help them out. Rishi sprouted a new kind of feeling in Anjali gradually and for the second time in her life she started falling in love with this man. He was already having live-in relationship and never gave any indications to her. Then there was a moment in their lives where they found that a they had developed feelings for each other.

When I say the book was a good soap opera type read, it means the plotline is the same old story. It’s a good read for those who like to Bollywood types.

THE FORBIDDEN DAUGHTER

Book Name: The Forbidden Daughter

Author Name: Shobhan Bantwal

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

My Opinion:

Isha Tilak is happily married to Nikhil, has a small daughter and pregnant with her second child. She lives with her family and his parents in Palgaum, Karnataka. Her life changes when she visits to her doctor for an ultrasound. The doctor tells them, in a cool tone that the baby Isha is carrying is a girl which could be fixed. This is followed by death of Nikhil and a series of tragedies. Since Isha refuses to abort the unborn child, she is thrown out of the house.
She surprises herself with the courage she has to nurture her daughters, find what had exactly happened with Nikhil and find herself the means to make living.

I feel the story is beautiful because it is a slice of reality. Isha is not a strong willed woman since start. She develops her strength and presence of mind eventually. This process is beautiful. She is supported by Dr. Salvi. He is not a person who gives her sympathy talks rather he empathizes and empowers her. He lets her grow but helps her only when the situation is worst.

The only problem was the story gives you a Bollywood feel.

BETRAYALS AND PAYBACKS

Book Name: Betrayals and Paybacks

Author: Sana Shetty

Publisher: Write India Publishers

My Opinion:

Eight years ago Vedant Birajdar fled Tamara, a small nondescript village on the banks of the river Kaveri, after a wild night out with his best friend Jay Varma, turned disastrous.

Now he is back and Jay is dead, Misha, the love of his life is engaged to another man and his older brother, Tarun, is missing. All he is left with is a strange message Jay leaves on his answering machine, before his death.

Misha does not believe her brother, Jay, committed suicide. Yet, she has no reason to believe otherwise. Not until Vedant turns up at her doorstep, bleeding and seeking her help.

But Misha can’t trust Vedant as he had already betrayed her trust once.

The book caught my interest because it is set in Tamara, a village in northern Karnataka. This village holds a lot of secrets. The story is mix of mystery, thriller, romance, use of Mahabharata verse to decode a message and action in good amounts. The author cleverly builds up the suspense until pre-climax after which I felt that there was sudden rush of incidents and secrets revealed. The narration is good and the language is simple.

THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK

Book Name: The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck

Author: Mark Manson

Publisher: Harperone

This book will turn your pain
into a tool, your trauma into power, and your problems into slightly better problems. That is real progress.

My Opinion:

The only reason I bought this book was to read and understand the hype around it. The start of the book was very good and I found the narrative style was different. But as I started reading next chapters, the book became more like a self help book. The author makes the reader feels like they are… worthless. Yes that’s what I felt after reading the book. Though I wanted to stop reading it when I had reached around 150 pages but I continued to read because I had bought the book.

Also the book lacked originality. There are many self-help books out there and how do you make it different? By adding f*ck in probably each sentence. Even though you do that, you don’t offer your readers something new to read. Most importantly, the author is not sure of what he exactly wants to tell. He writes about an idea and after a few pages, he is contradicting the same thing.

VANARA THE LEGEND OF BAALI, SUGREEVA AND TARA

Book Name: Vanara The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara

Author: Anand Neelakantan

Publisher: Penguin Random House India

ISBN: 9780143442837

My Opinion:

The author clearly mentions in the Introduction that panchakanyas are five independent women who take their decisions. First chapter makes it clear that Ahalya has made her choice.

Baali and Sugreeva are two orphan brothers who were living in the ashram of Rishi Gautama. They are members of Vanaras Tribe which is a low cast tribe and are treated as untouchables. They have to take shelter at Sushena’s humble hut where they encounter Tara. Thus begins the story of love and lust.

But the story is not only about them but it is much more than that. It about having a rebel Baali amongst the meek Vanaras. He wants to build an empire that is above any discrimination. There is a bit of Brahmin discrimination issues but one needs to remember that the story is narrated from the oppressed point of view.

Initially, the characters were plain having white shades. But as the story progresses we see grey streaks in each character.
Very few authors can interpret woman’s mind; state of mind of Tara and Ruma are examples of that.

To assert the humiliation Vanaras had to go through, the author describes their stories of description quite often which was the only lag.

It’s a must read book for all the Indian history lovers and above all for Anand Neelakantan Sir’s fans.

TABLE FOR ONE

Book Name: Table For One

Author: Neha Bindal

Publisher: Half Baked Beans

ASIN: B07FTT1CJK

My Opinion:

They say, don’t judge a book by its cover. That’s exactly the problem with the book. The blurb, the cover and the idea of a single girl going for a solo trip- they are the topics writers don’t explore. Though the language was simple, at the middle, the story lost it’s essence. The focus shifted to Taara and Fred.

The whole sequence of finding love is portrayed through love-making scenes which I feel isn’t the only way. The end was abrupt leaving behind many questions in reader’s mind. One can easily draw comparisons with Bollywood movie, Queen.

I would suggest it as a one time read.

LOST WITHOUT HER

Book Name: Lost Without Her

Author: Pournima Navani

Publisher: Srishti Publishers and Distributors

ISBN: 9789387022331

My Opinion:

The story is about a father whose daughter is raped and murdered in the most brutal manner. In quest of searching the person responsible, Anthony searches in Chennai, Bangalore and Tiruchirappalli where similar murders have taken place.

As they say when the child faces sexual abuse, it is usually the person whom the family knows and trusts. Though the story is gripping, it takes little time for the reader to build the curiosity of what happens next. The last twenty pages leaves you shaken of the brutality of how child abuse can affect a person. I found myself in tears reading these pages. The epilogue was a fitting end to this story.

RASIA THE DANCE OF DESIRE

Book Name: Rasia The Dance of Desire

Author: Koral Dasgupta

Publisher: Rupa Publications

ISBN: 8129149486

Plot Summary:

Two women wait for him at two different ends of the crossroads. He knows which path is his, but he can’t walk that path till he has attended to the other.

My Opinion:

A man passionate about his dance like Shiva. His wife who has stood with him in thick and thin like Gauri. She is his first and best student. They are couple made for each other. A girl who is stubborn and passionate about Bharatanatayam wishes to be his disciple. But she is ignored at first. She swears to become his first student in Manhattan and feels to have been ridiculed. She feels rage in her body like Kali.

The story blurb might mislead you thinking that it is about a love triangle. But it is not. The central theme of the story is Bharatanatayam and it explores the relation of Shiva, Gauri and Kali. While depicting any dance movement is difficult, the author easily describes the dance parts.

The story is narrated from different point of views and these narrations are cleverly used to build the cliffhangers. The story is about dance, passion and obsession.

The dance academy is being set up in Manhattan. The opening dance has to be choreographed. The stage is set where his first student in India and first student in Manhattan dance. While Manasi dances, Vatsala realises that she was wrong in all aspects.