Posts

Showing posts from August, 2018

Review: Heart Quake

Image
Heart Quake by Ishita Deshmukh My rating: 3 of 5 stars Natural disasters are unfortunate. These cannot be prevented, averted, predicted with certainty. Only thing we can do is minimize the damage or do better post disaster relief work. One of the most devastating earthquake in the history of independent India hit Bhuj, Gujarat in 2001. There was a colossal loss of life and property. Jagrut Samaj, an NGO under Doctor Shah is working tirelessly for relief work. Soanl also joins the camp. Tejas also joins the NGO and relief work. They come close and then…. The book brings to fore the horrors of devastating earthquake of Bhuj. Natural disasters bring the best and worst out of humans. On one hand there is Jarut Samaj which work for relief and on the other hand there is a gang in Rajasthan which deals in spurious drugs. They use this disaster to slip in their fake medicines in relief camps. 3/ 5 stars. View all my reviews

Review: A New Dawn

Image
A New Dawn by Kamini Kusum My rating: 3 of 5 stars “Stop it right away. I will never allow you to marry a rickshaw puller’s son whose father was locked up in a police station. What would you say to the whole world? Your Father in law was a thief, your mother in law cleaned utensils and the whole family lived in our servant quarter. Have you cared about my prestige? Now that you are learning a lot, do you think you can do whatever you like?” The above quote sums up the story of “A New Dawn”. Love doesn’t know the boundaries of caste, creed, society, financial status and religion. Shivaynath is an honest and upright high ranking official in Indian Railways. He has two daughters- Mughda and Vibha. Mugdha is elder one. He gives shelter to Ramlal, a Rickshaw puller in his servant quarters who has two sons- Shravan and Ganesh. Shravan is the elder one. Ramlal worked hard to give his sons the best education. They got admitted to Mughda’s school in EWS categ

Review: Punk Sunk Love

Image
Punk Sunk Love by Dhirendra Tiwari My rating: 3 of 5 stars “feeki syahi se bana na silvet Waqt ka dhoka bana de naa kahin sarhad Bani sarhad to thanadar bana chahat mayoosiyat mein ro dega” This modern-day love story is hip and happening. This has everything from romance, sex, heartache and triangle. Roy is an MBA graduate and in a high profile job of investment banking. Monica is his colleague and love interest. Shammi is a rich spoilt brat who is in and out of relationships. Love doesn’t exist for him and sex is his only goal. That changes when he meets Sona. These four people paths cross and then everything jumbles up. The feel and lingo of the book is very hip. Setting is also posh and modern. There are many Hindi and urdu shayaris written in roman English. Love prevails in the end or is it not? The book is for young generation and will surely appeal to them. However the concept of love is treated very lightly. 3/ 5 stars. View all

Interview of Preetika Mehra author of "Let You Be My Puppet Once"

Image
  A brief Bio of Preetika Mehra: MBA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) Delhi, Economics Graduate from the University of Delhi. Currently working with an MNC. Since childhood, have been passionate about social structures, economic policies and philosophy, analyzing and finding connections in all of them. In free time, love reading and learning about Zodiac signs, practicing yoga, and cooking. Website https://www.facebook.com/letyoubemypuppetonce/ Twitter https://twitter.com/PreetikaMehra Interview 1.    Tell me something about yourself. How does your personality affect your writing? Ans: Being an economics student, I have always been passionate about analysing economic policies and social structures. There are many observations we make on daily basis on these subjects and consciously or sub-consciously we have opinions about them. I felt like writing on these subjects and simultaneously gave it a shape of a story to make it interesting

Review: Work, Workers & Workplaces: Using space as the starting point of innovation.

Image
Work, Workers & Workplaces: Using space as the starting point of innovation. by Parthajeet Sarma My rating: 3 of 5 stars “Mark Twain is credited to have written his books while pacing around and dictating. Charles Dickens went for walks in the middle of his work to distract his mind, and the most brilliant ideas came to him during walks. Even if the conscious mind stops working the sub conscious mind keeps working on it.” With the IT revolution everything changed. Now instead of manufacturing and agricultural society the focus has shifted to knowledge society. Traditional system of work and workplace has to give way to new systems. New workplace should be a blend of workspace, infotainment zone and recreational/ play area. Humans seeks constant gratification in this age of materials and constant information overload. There is a sense of FOMO (Fear of missing out). Hence the workspace and HR has to accommodate the changed paradigm. The book is val

Review: The Last Attractor Of Chaos

Image
The Last Attractor Of Chaos by Abhinav Singh My rating: 4 of 5 stars “It had been two years since India had conducted its second nuclear tests in Pokhran and one year since the Kargil war. The Indian leadership had declared that its weapons were a deterrent, a way to avert a nuclear war instead f starting one. The Indian government had stated repeatedly on various international platforms that it was following a policy of “NO first Use”. A spy thriller with supernatural elements is called “The last attractor of Chaos”. India, China and Pakistan and neighbour for forever and enemies too. All three are nuclear powers and the situation is tense all the time. Pakistan is a rogue state and China uses it to its advantage. Pak leverage the situation by taking arms from China and money from USA. A weapon is stolen and it can cripple an entire city. Shruti is an retired agent. She marries Ashwin Rathore, a civilian and settles for a domestic life. She become

Review: Let You Be My Puppet Once

Image
Let You Be My Puppet Once by Preetika Mehra My rating: 3 of 5 stars I am your elder brother, but I have no problems in working as your junior, trust me. Having the elder brother take the throne has caused many younger one’s plan and kill them. Our Indian history is full of such examples. So, I am making it clear to you. I know you are smarter than me. You work harder, and you are more ambitious. I am completely okay being your right-hand man provided we stick together. I love you and my wife much more than any powerful position in the party. If you don’t believe me, then I can resign tomorrow. But, please don’t repeat the bad Indian history in this house and this is my earnest request to you. Politics is a dirty game. Brothers killed brothers for the crown. Can four persons can do something about it? Karan, Saima, Josh and Vedica takes up new job in Mumbai. They live together. Saima and Josh are dating and Karan likes Vedica. Saima is sister of Meghn

Interview of Neena H. Brar, author of Tied to deceit by

Image
A brief introduction of Mrs Neena Brar Neena H. Brar lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, two children, a highly energetic German Shepherd, and a lifetime collection of her favorite books.  A hermit at heart, she's a permissive mother, a reluctant housekeeper, a superb cook, and a hard-core reader. Tied to Deceit is her debut novel. Website http://neenabrar.com 1.        Tell me something about yourself. How does your personality affect your writing? Answer: I was born and brought up in a small town in Punjab and moved to Canada after marrying a second generation Canadian Punjabi. I’ve two children: 11 and 9 and live in Edmonton, Alberta. I’ve a Masters in Business Administration. Nature-wise, I’m more of a feeler and that enables me to put myself in characters’ head and do the thinking.   Also, as a feeler, I can easily grasp the context of big picture without being aware of its various details. That helped me work out various detai

Review: The Ray of Asha

Image
The Ray of Asha by Jisha Rajesh My rating: 3 of 5 stars Is allopathy only system of medicine which can sure? India has rich medicine heritage. Charak and Sushruta are few names. Ashwini brothers are god of medicine. Sanjeevani booti of Ramayan can give life. This book tells story of one such person who shifted from Allopathy to Naturopathy. Gayatri an ace reporter goes to Kaivalya Ashram to meet Swamiji. She is sceptical in the beginning. Swami Siddharatha is young and handsome. She eggs her friend to do a story on him. Then they come to know that he is an ex convict. He was jailed for murder. He was a medical student and by mistake during ragging one junior dies. He is sentenced for ten years and after getting released he goes to an Ashram and start practicing new treatment system. What happens next? The book is written in a simple and elegant language. The flow of story is good and there is some sensible writing. The accident which happened can hap