Book Review: Crimes against Women

About the book:

As 2012 came to a close, news of the gang rape of a young woman in India’s capital generated headlines around the world. Her assault on a moving bus with a metal rod, and her death two weeks later from her injuries, focused attention on the dark side of the world’s largest democracy: the struggle that faces many Indian women in a country where chauvinistic and misogynistic attitudes prevail. The Wall Street Journal’s India bureau explored this horrendous crime and others that explore the experience of Indian women in the 21st century. The reporting in all the stories stands out for its gripping detail and its emotional pull. In many cases, central figures involved in these everyday dramas were speaking for the first time.
The book begins with the story of a Catholic nun murdered in rural India as she tried to preserve ancient tribal ways in the face of mining expansion, while also coming to the aid of a woman who had allegedly been raped.
Next is a riveting account of a young woman from rural Bihar who was duped into moving to Delhi, where she was forced to marry or go into prostitution -- and the disaster for her and her family that ensued. The woman broke her long-held silence to speak to the WSJ about what happened.
The book ends with the WSJ’s world-beating coverage of the New Delhi rape case, including intimate portraits of the victim and her friend who tried to save her but couldn’t. He granted the WSJ intimate and exclusive access to tell his side of the story.

About the author:

Paul Beckett is Asia Editor of The Wall Street Journal. From 2007 until April, he ran the WSJ's South Asia Bureau.

Krishna Pokharel is a New Delhi-based reporter with the WSJ. He writes on social issues.

My review:

We've all been acutely aware of the rising graph of crimes against women. This compilation from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) assimilates three of the most gruesome, horrifyingly horrendous cases of barbaric bestiality shown against the fairer sex.

WSJ has done a commendable job by exposing some grim facts about the three cases: The Murder of Sister Valsa, Falak: the true story of India's baby, and the achingly unfortunate case of the Delhi Bus Rape.

The whole outcome of reading these accounts is that these are so sensitively reported that one cannot help but feel moved, even shocked to one's heart's core. These have been terrible tragedies, and sadly we have made them a part of our history, a despicable abhorrent history nevertheless. Gender-bias has always been embedded in the matrix of Indian society which may superficially wear the cloak of modernity, but still remains a highly son-worshiping land and son-worshiping people.

The case of the murder of sister Valsa is not just an account of how the ruthless demise and departure of Sister Valsa left a girl crippled for life, but also a sad commentary of the brutality which “influential” people exercise, the apathy of those in power.

The case of Baby Falak is yet another horrendous account of possibly all kinds and dimensions of oppression those females, of all ages, may be subjected to. It depicts how women can be deceived by promises of a bright life, which ironically translates into hell the moment they enter the trap, and the depiction is raw, uncut. The fate of Baby Falak shook the entire nation.

Then is an account of the December 16 Rape case. The case which actually gripped the entire nation, bringing life to a standstill, it counts each moment: when we were praying for the girl to get well, the media was having endless discourse on women's issues, social media was inundated with countless prayers for the victim, curses for the accused.

The book harbours a photo gallery too, which apart from its functional act of capturing the eerie effervescence, also adds to the overall poignancy.

From an objective point of view, it would only be justified to demand another, more comprehensive volume from WSJ on the unfortunate cases of 2013, giving their opinions on it too.

While on one hand this is a factual account, no alterations or modifications, thereby laying bare reality in its harsh form, there is a space for including the heated deliberations and debates that ensued so as to better bring to the fore the horrendous crimes, the misogynistic attitudes and the chauvinistic bent of mind.

Book review: The Homing Pigeons By Sid Bahri

About the book:

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar, little does he know that his life will change forever

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom that she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it.

They say Homing Pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

About the Author: 

A hotelier by education, an ex-banker and a senior executive in the outsourcing industry, Sid gave up a plush career in the outsourcing industry to follow his passions. Based out of Ranikhet, he is now a struggling entrepreneur and a happy writer. A self- proclaimed eccentric, he is an avid blogger who loves to read and cook. Cooking stories, however, is his passion. The Homing Pigeons is his debut novel. He can be reached at sidd.bahri@gmail.com

Book Trailer:

My Review:

“It is always difficult for a person with a job to empathize with someone who doesn't.” Clearly, the author reads the minds of humans adeptly. Though not unusual, a debut author having a deep insight into human psychology is a welcome change, specially when this insight deploys itself to use not just over the hardihood and impudence of youth, but also a meaningless, hollow adulthood.

As the product of this insight, the author presents to you two  identifiable, fallible characters: Radhika and Aditya.

Since in the deep dungeons of a debt-ridden life, there is little respite, our male protagonist turns out to be a typical professional-out-of-job-spending-fortune-drowning-sorrow in pegs of alcohol, thereby clouding his thinking while ironically seeking to cleanse it. Then we have the other imperfect protagonist Radhika, who seems to fallen in every possible misfortune, not on account of ill-fate, but by virtue of indecision.

Coming from a debut author, this is a remarkable, if not stellar piece of work, in that he manages to somehow create people out of those characters, and not just hollow puppets compelled to perform as the writer has suggested. That is the gem in this work: It has been written so convincingly that it just skips your mind that it has an extremely contemporary plot, which has all the cons of having an overdose of three quirks: lust, greed and indecision.

Alternating between narrations by the two of them, the reader is transported through the various stages in their lives at an immaculately panoramic mode. However, the fact that the fallibility and imperfection is every now and then highlighted only by the breach of moral conduct, lack of a moral conscience and indecision as regards their physical relationships is a bit of a put-off.

Nevertheless, it has many such heart-rending instances whereby the reader earnestly wishes to sympathize with the characters who have for long been living a life of compromise. Because, “this is the reward for leading a loveless life”. Indeed, the author weaves expressive, analeptic soliloquy and assuaging monologues much to the reader's fulfillment.

There are moments when the reader is compelled to put down the book and, wearing a toothy smirk, contemplate; for instance when the male lead says, “Many complications in my life occurred when I enhanced my vocabulary to include words like guilt, morals and cheating. Ignorance is definitely more blissful.” or “I guess God is a little convoluted. He does not always favor good people.” It is only later that the whole relevance of these confessions is perceptible to the reader.

With a cathexis in all acts of protagonists, it makes even the ugly bearable.

Amidst countless revelations of the reality of (read: sham) NGOs, of the fickle-mindedness of human beings, of the agony and mirth of re-starting one's life et al, is a far momentous sequence of emotions: love, followed by practicality, quandary, repentance and finally atonement for the follies.

Best line: If that wasn't love, then maybe love didn't exist.

I wondered how simple life would be if there was no currency. No notes made of paper or plastic that differentiated between people. Or if there had to be a currency, then why it couldn't just be love?

The ending is abrupt, somehow the plot appears predictable and repetitive, but the presentation is so raw, jacose, amusing, and umbriferous of dingy realities, that a reader cannot help but feel a “book hangover” upon parting with it.

"This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program. To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com"

Book Review: How I braved Anu aunty and co-founded a million-dollar company by Varun Aggarwal

Guest Reviewer: Geetika Ahuja

About the Book:

Varun is a recent engineering graduate. His hours are filled with friends, pub hopping, and 'stalking' his love interest on Facebook. Through it all though, Varun harbours ambitions of becoming a successful entrepreneur. Meanwhile, Varun's mother, who is disturbed by her son’s lack of focus on life, enlists her good friend Anu Aunty to put him on 'track'. The meddling Anu Aunty is more than willing to take up this assignment. How Varun dodges Anu Aunty's nosey, irksome ways, en route to realizing his entrepreneurial dreams, makes for a story worth reading.

About the author:

Varun Agarwal is a filmmaker, entrepreneur and a bestselling author. He is 25 years old and has three companies to his credit - Alma Mater , Reticular And Last Minute Films. His comapny Alma Mater is India's largest provider of merchandise and memorabilia to schools and colleges. He has directed the likes of Preity Zinta and AR Rahman in music videos and his films have over a million views on Youtube.He has been featured on the cover of India Today and numerous other periodicals as well as on the CNBC Young Turks Show.

Review: 

A 22-year old guy, jobless, whiles away his time at home by Facebook stalking girls. What do you picture him doing a year down the line? Definitely not heading a million dollar company.

Meet Varun Agarwal, our very own Steve Jobs in the making. His story is similar to thousands of unemployed youngsters in the country, yet different. Why, you ask? Because unlike others, he didn’t wait for opportunity to knock on his door. He, instead, went on to create opportunities.

Varun and his encounters with Anu Aunty present the saga of a typical Indian household. Anu Aunty is a metaphor for the mindset characteristic of most Indians. She could be a neighbour, a relative or anyone adept at nipping all mushrooming ideas in the bud, gracing households with their ominous ever-taunting presence, forever ready to lay roadblocks to hinder you from chasing your dreams.

Varun is comfortable leading a mediocre life, that is until Anu Aunty and her kitty party minions enter his life, taking it upon themselves to set him right. And how do they plan to do that? By coercing him to land a techie job. But, instead of simply bowing down to their pressure, he decides to tread the unconventional path.

Thunder. Lightening. Rain. Old Hindi movie soundtrack. Cue drama.

In a society which swears my work culture, any defiance of social expectations is hailed as rebellion. Varun Aggarwal gives a beacon of hope to those souls who have silently tucked away their dream to make it big as an entrepreneur under the mounting load of family expectations.

Varun gives a practical guide to entrepreneurship suited to the Indian context, bearing in mind kahani ghar ghar ki.

 Don’t shun the book just because you think it’s not your thing. The book isn’t just another MBA lesson. It is much more. Hidden in Varun’s tale is the reflection of a life many of us are leading, or are being forced to lead.

Peppered with interesting anecdotes, it makes for a good read. He has a knack for presenting everything á la Bollywood style- with a hint of exaggeration. At many points, you actually feel as if you’re watching a movie.

Though Varun claims to be a storyteller and not a writer, I’d suggest you still pick up the book, for his storytelling skills still outscore the writing skills of numerous Indian authors on Flipkart falsely claiming to have written national bestsellers. Sigh.

So, that idea that your mind has been hinting at, that lingering dream you’ve been stashing away, go reclaim it and make it big. And when you do, thank Varun Agarwal for inspiring a love for entrepreneurship in you and re-igniting that spark.

In the end, I’ll you with two words-Carpe Diem-seize the day.

Book Review: A Wild Rose by Uzma Zafri

About the Book:

Ritu Anand. Vivacious television anchor envied by many, makes the biggest mistake of her life. A man is at the center of it all. Who is he? And why is he after her?
Ritu Anand is a strikingly beautiful and wealthy divorcee, all of 25 years. None but her parents and best friend in life, Sumbul, know the truth of her divorce. Her career too, had gone to dust thanks to her failed marriage and traumatic ill-health. To the rest of the world, Ritu maintains a façade of still being married. In an effort to piece her life together again, she goes back to being an anchorperson after 3 long year.
And a very important part of this new life becomes the enigmatic Anshuman Sinha. Not very tall and with an average physique, deep hazel eyes and sharp intense features, Anshuman is dangerous and irresistible – he is the very picture of 'Ritu's Man'. The devastatingly dashing ‘casanova’ soon has the ‘love starved- Ritu’ eating from the palm of his hand and dreaming of a picture perfect life with him. The gullible Ritu is soon weaving the tapestry of a picture perfect life, of a happily ever after with her lover. But there is her hidden past to deal with. What was the truth behind her sordid marriage? And coming to the present, what did she know about Anshuman at all?
264 pages

Published September 20th 2013 by Mahaveer Publisher

About the author:

Though she belongs to an affluent Muslim family, Uzma Jafri has been brought up in the most cosmopolitan way. A commerce graduate from Delhi University with a keen interest and active participation in public speaking helped her to chisel a career in the media world. A television Anchor by profession, she glows as a human being due to the unconditional support and love of her husband and child.

'A Wild Rose' is her debut humble attempt. Being a feminist at heart and in her actions, Uzma wrote this woman-centred fiction so that she could share her views with her readers. She is also a patron of the Non Profit ‘Serve Humanity Foundation, NGO’ which solely aims at serving humanity irrespective of colour, religion and culture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UsX4B15sI

My Review:

 The lasting impression that the novel makes is that it does not appear to be a tyro's work, so furnished is the expression of emotions. However, it is a lugubrious tale of a woman who is left emotionally crippled for a lifetime because of the games people play.

Usually the expectation from a first time author is to create a refreshing story, with a refreshing perspective, set in the contemporary times. Given that the plethora of love stories inundating the market only adds to the expectations, the mysteriously captivating cover and title and blurb of the book worked wonders to compel a reader to read with captivation, engrossed in the story.

Gripping, the novel surely was. The characters have a tale to narrate

The ending is harshly disappointing and the elements governing it are highly regressive, not to say, to an extent, anti-feminist. At the risk of sounding too acrimonious, tears refuse to come even at the misfortune that befell the gullible, credulous, naive Ritu because we certainly expect a better substance of character. The author crafts a character which is utterly impossible, because for one she is a successful woman, talented and in possession of all one could aspire for, yet somehow it seems highly improbable that after having faced so much deception in a farce marriage before, she could so easily be guiled into yet another vicious deception, a snare that she willingly let herself into. It was so explicit to even a restless reader-spectator that Anshuman had done all acts to raise suspicion, and that he should have been raided by the girl for a test of fidelity. However, the author had anything else in mind. The better part is that it has been written convincingly, though. Her friend Sumbul has been an endearing character and also lends a great deal of conviction to the plot.

The language is both simple and adorned with some enjoyable phrases. It is an easy read, and one is satiated for the desire to read because it finishes within a couple of hours and yet leaves you exhausted if you venture under the skin of the characters. That is something commendable, which not many authors can do.

The Urdu poetry is another icing on the cake, but the icing has been used with miserliness, we crave for more, so that it can have its desired effect.

The book, on the whole is not a masterpiece, but a good read, nevertheless.

Best line: Cappuccino tasted better that day as it was brewed with a cosy tete-a-tete between two best friends.

And of course, the metaphor of love and a wild rose is impeccably impressive.

Liebster Award

My Victory Tour

A big thank you out there to Veturi @ Neither here, nor There, for deeming my blog worthy of nomination, and more so, for keeping the questions as close to blogging as possible.

Here are my answers:

1. Which character from any work of fiction you can identify yourself the most with?

It is funny how I always find myself identifying with different characters of all the books that I read, albeit to varying degrees. If I have to name one, it would be Katniss Everdeen a.k.a. The Girl on Fire from The Hunger games Trilogy, which I read recently

2. What is your most favorite movie and why?

My Favorite movie has to be Silver linings Playbook, because of the aura of optimism that it creates, because the characters are realistic and fallible, and they reaffirm my belief in happy endings.

3. What is your reading frequency?

30 books a year, I guess, I am not used to keeping a count.

4. What is the greatest challenge you face in writing?

Maybe, The constant urge to refer a dictionary!

5. What makes you want to read a book? It’s blurb? Review from a person you like? Cover Page? Author’s previous works?

No wonder, all these components are crucial. A bibliophile such as me chooses just any way.

6. What are your reading patterns?

Repetitive, definitely not chronological.

7. How do you fight blogger’s block?

Seeking inspiration from friends/nature/books. :D

8. Do you think setting yourself a target works in writing?

Never tried !!!!!

9. How important do you think grammar is in writing? Especially in English?

I deem it very important. However, as long as sentences convey meaning, or suggest informal conversation, I don't mind non-adherence to grammar rules. Else, I am a Grammar Nazi!

10. What time of the day is the most conducive for you to write?

I don't have a fixed time as such. It happens when it happens.

What is the Liebster Award all about?

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming/new bloggers or who have less than 200 followers. The 'Liebster' word is of German origin and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

How does it work?

1. Link back to the persons blog who has nominated you and convey thanks for giving the award.
2. Answer all questions posted by the nominator.
3. Nominate 7 more bloggers whom you feel are deserving of more subscribers; you pass the award on to them.
4. Create 7 questions for the nominees.
5. Contact the nominees and let them know that they have been nominated for the Liebster.

My Nominations

1) Shaivi @ http://shaivikafunda.blogspot.in/

2) An Indian Writer @ http://writerletters.blogspot.in/

3) Tarang @ http://tarangsinha.blogspot.in/

4) Acrimonious Snob @ http://walkintomyweb.blogspot.in/

5) Aparajita @ http://colorsofmylife13.blogspot.in/

6)  Aditya Tibrewala @ http://adityasmoviereviews.blogspot.in/

7) Meghant @ http://booksallaroundme.blogspot.in/

My questions for Nominees

• How did you start blogging?
• If you were stuck alone on earth, what would you do?
• If you were to star in a movie, who would you be?
• If you were to star in a book, what character and book would it be?
• childhood or adulthood?
• Complete the sentence: Words are...
• If I could change one thing about my country, it would have been...?
• I would like to thank.....for this award!(Name at least 5)

Pandora's Box is here !!!

                                                                                                                                                             December is a month of happiness. Everyone's preparing for christmas, holidays, fun and frolic.

And we all love gifts!

How about you get a chance to win a book?

Here's presenting the first ever contest on So many Books, So Little Time...(SMBSLT)

The Vampire-Fetish Diaries

The Vampire Diaries.

Twilight.

Dracula.

Interview with the vampire.

The charm of the vampires,those blood-sucking, nocturnal monstrous creatures does not seem to subside. They continue to enthrall and captivate us. Let us decipher the aura of enigma around vampires and our attraction to them . 

What we are looking for?

1) As far as the format goes, we provide you with creative freedom: you can submit articles, poetry, prose....

2) Many of you might ask: How many words? We do not wish to limit you, because if you write interesting stuff, we would love to read as much as we can, but then if you have succinct views, you may as well opt for a smaller post. We recommend, you write anywhere between 400-1500 words.

3)The last date for submission is 28th December 2013, and don't worry if you are having a mid-night crisis, you can send in your entries at 1 a.m. on 29th too. ;)

4) Evaluation parameters: We love a rich use of words, succinct thoughts, puns, alliteration, metaphors... embellish your entry with these...just don't overdo it. Be creative. Be optimistic. Be humorous.

5) This contest is open to Indian residents only.

6) For every fifteen entries received there will be a winner, so to multiply your chances of winning, encourage friends to participate!

Who knows, participation might also bring a gift! ;)

Submission guidelines:

Last date: 28th December

Submit as an attachment named _.docx (yes microsoft word document)

and just to make sure, paste the text in the body of the email as well.

Submit the article with your name, address, contact # to aaykaynarula5@gmail.com

Contact us for any queries on the same id.

Or fill in the form below:

What are you waiting for? Let the creative juices flow...