Book Review: Breathing Two Worlds by Ruchira Khanna

About the Book:

Neena Arya, a Delhi-born goes abroad for

further studies and decides to settle down there. Determined to be a 'somebody'

from a 'nobody' she blends with the Americans via the accent and their

mannerisms while having a live-in relationship with her European boyfriend,

Adan Somoza.

When illness hits home, Neena rushes to

meet her ailing dad. Tragedy strikes and amidst the mingling with relatives and

friends, she finds herself suffocated with the two different cultures that she

has been breathing since she moved to the United States. How will she strike a

balance between both the cultures as she continues to support her widowed

mother? Will she be able to do justice to her personal and professional life

after the loss?

Amidst the adjusting she bonds with an

ally and learns about ties beyond blood. On what grounds will she be able to

form an invisible thread that she has longed for since childhood?

Breathing Two Worlds ventures into

cultures and ethnicity allowing Neena to ponder upon her foundation and

priorities.

Available

on

Amazon

Book Trailer: 

About the Author

Ruchira Khanna, a biochemist turned

writer, left her homeland of India to study in America, where she obtained her

Master’s degree in Biochemistry from SJSU and a degree in Technical Writing

from UC Berkeley.

After finishing her studies, Ruchira

worked as a biochemist at a Silicon Valley startup for five years. After the

birth of her son, Ruchira took a job as a technical writer, so that she could

work from home. Soon, she began doing freelance writing work as well.

Her love of writing grew and she started

working on her own books. After four years of freelancing, Ruchira published

her first book, a fiction novel for adults called Choices.

Then came the children’s book The

Adventures of Alex and Angelo: The Mystery of the Missing Iguana. She got a

thumb’s up review from Kirkus Reviews

In January 2016, she has published her

second fictional novel Voyagers into the Unknown. It talks about the quest for

happiness as the heavy hearted tourists travel miles from different parts of

the world to Raj Touristry in Agra, India. Return to their respective home with

a healed heart. This book talks about their journey!

In Breathing Two Worlds, Ruchira talks

about ethnicity and cultures, and helps to strike a balance via a fiction-drama

novel as her characters breathe two worlds.

In addition to writing books, she is a

holistic healer associated with Stanford Healing Partners and also maintains a

blog of daily mantras on Blogspot, called Abracabadra. Ruchira currently

resides in California with her family.

Find

her on:

Website Blog

My Review (3.5/5)

The book had me at its idea. The metaphoric title seems just apt, and someone who relocates to another continent/country can very well relate to the conundrum. The story follows the journey of Neena Arya as she adapts to the professional lifestyle and embraces the work culture of a new culture while still keeping herself grounded to her roots.
This dilemma is as old as time, or at least time since travel was invented. But the point is the story was simple, lucid and easy. It is a quick read too, and the occasional quirks of India and the clashes of the culture are an entertaining element.
The millennial generation will have these lives over and over again, in different forms, so the story makes a whole lot of sense. The interactions between the family members of the protagonist and her boyfriend were warm and cordial, which was a welcome departure from the cliche.

At some point I may have thought that this theme has now been beaten to death and something more crispy is worth exploration, but the story, due to its simplicity, made me finish it till the end. If for nothing else, for the metaphor!

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Introducing Yourself With a Tinge of Vulnerability: A Sample

Dear Reader, You Might Not Love Me After This

Hi

I'm Kritika.

I think I like being vulnerable. I'm terrified of it, but I end up befriending vulnerability. Which is part of the reason I've written this and you are reading this- because I decided to put the rawest description of myself out here. 

I think that often, when we introduce ourselves, we use labels. Or relations. That's a great way to identify oneself, granted. But a person is so much more than who all s/he is related to. That, and I abhor labels. 

So,

Here goes:

I wasn't born into a rich (or even a sustainable) family per se. I say this first and foremost not at all because I want your sympathy (REALLY, it isn't what this is about, you'll see) but because a lot of who I am, is a result of this. All my experiences have been influenced by my limited economic resources. 

I wasn't born particularly talented either. The only way I've known to get things done is through hard work. I've come to believe that if you persist long enough and work hard enough, you'll get there. I've reached wherever I have based on this belief.  Inshallah, I might get someplace you can see me better, with the same belief, too. 

What do I do?

I'm both a student and a working professional. I had to defer my education not because it was cool, or practical or wise to do (as I may have told you because I was scared of being judged for the truth) but because I couldn't afford it. 

I'm working multiple jobs and freelancing assignments to be able to afford the education I know I deserve. Whenever you're in doubt, ask me and I will tell you: every penny counts. I've had to compromise my belief systems, but you shouldn't think for one moment that my loyalties have been shaken. Loyalties are built on the same ground as my mettle is- it is a deserted land that even volcanoes stay away from. 

I read. A lot. Books are a great escape, even though momentary on most days, from the tough life that beckons me. It's a cliché, but I'd buy a book even if it's a cliché so there's that. 

I can get really clumsy and a magnet for trouble, falling off on stairs, getting electric shocks, getting hit by stationery vehicles. But try me, and I can run in heels. 

I love an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed, and my pun game is mediocre, but I give the best responses that make you go , "What a burn"

But,

I get offended and hurt by some jokes. Like when you innocuously ask me to treat you thrice because I have 3 jobs, defying all logic. I retire with a heart a little more broken than before. 

I get offended and hurt by some jokes.

Like when you told me I should stop being so chirpy and warm all the time. What do you know? I've been cold and it isn't pleasant. I retire with a heart a little more broken than before. 

I get offended and hurt by some jokes.

Like when you mocked my dream of owning something that was beyond my means. I will have enough money to buy it one day, okay? I retire with a heart a little more broken than before. 

Coming from my position, I've to remind myself everyday that I'm no less deserving of what I'm trying to own. I have to convince myself it is not an entitlement. I have to convince myself that all the stakes are worth it. 

I think a lot of you care, but very few care enough to graduate your care into action. I do know a few people who keep reminding me I'm stronger than I think. And that keeps making me stronger. Having the right people in your life is important. 

I haven't achieved anything mind-blowing, except that I'm decent at what I do- I'm not a revered slam poet, nor am I an accomplished published author. I'm not famous and accomplished like many mini-celebrities my age (or younger to me) are. So you have no reason to be awestruck by me.

Maybe I haven't reached the pinnacle that others with a head-start have, maybe I never will - but I've been told that it inspires people to think that someone can live off hope for a better tomorrow, that someone can work 20 hours a day and yet with a smile on her face, look forward to the next day. So I shared this. 

You might stop loving me after this because who can like a girl who rants about the flaws and inadequacies in her life. You might stop loving me after this because who can love the girl whose only superpower is that she can work hard, day in and day out? You might stop liking me because "why is she spoiling my mood it's a Saturday night." You might stop liking me because it isn't glamorous to write stuff like this and I seem, in all likelihood an attention-seeker to you. 

I will understand if you don't like me anymore, but please don't judge me

Book Review: Minced Bits by Maneevak

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Author's Ink Publications (2017)
• Language: English

My Review: 

Precision is the order of the day. Brevity is a trait to be revered. Succinct descriptions and crisp endings are attractive to a reader pressed for time.
Haikus are all the rage.
It is the era of nano tales and micro tales and flash fiction.

And with that point in mind, as the book blurb says too, "In this fast paced world where no one seems to have time to read a book with a precious tale, here's an anthology of micro tales for all types of readers. In a few words these tales will feed your soul in the modern way.", the book acts like a Social media page on paper: A Terribly Tiny Tale, or a Scribbled Stories.

A lot of the micro tales have been laced with that wit that makes it endearing to the reader. For instance, the book begins and ends with these tales, respectively:

My mind suffered from indigestion, writing was the only antacid available for me. And thus began my pen, spilling ink...

and

And my pen pauses, the indigestion I talked about is cured. 

It is this sort of attention to words and thoughtful messages that make such a book worth reading. There are many tales that have a surprising twist, leaving the reader emotionally evoked.
That said, there are an equal number of stories that are predictable too. There's an equal number of witticisms that seem forced as there are the ones that appear fluid.

The best micro-tales are the ones that end in a cliffhanger. But even the ones with a natural conclusion are sweet and palatable.

She told everybody, except me, that she loved me 

I told everybody except her that I loved her.

Both spent sleepless nights thinking about each other,

Until a cupid helped us.

What makes this a good read, is the fact that after an overdose of this genre on social media, it was surprisingly refreshing to read this on paper.