Klishmaklaver

 Book Title: Stories From the City Called Kolkata Author: Ishita Ganguly Publishers: Evincepub Publishing My Rating: ***1/2 About the Author: Ishita Ganguly has worked in the corporate and also the academic sector having double master’s degree, MSc and MBA. But finally, her childhood passion for writing turned her towards a profession she had never planned. She believes this profession chose her! Till now her published work includes articles on multiple niches, short stories, and poems. She is the co-author of 3 popular anthologies and winner of multiple writing contests.  'Stories From the City Called Kolkata' is a collection of 10 short stories telling the realistic tales of the humble and simple middle class life in Kolkata. Beginning with the beautiful Black & White book cover, that captures the iconic look and feel of the city, every story reminded me of my personal experience of the city, and the lifestyle seen in old Bengali movies. It transported me to that wo...

  Book Title: You Will Sail Through Author: Abhishek Bhargava Publishers: BlueRose Publishers My Ratings: ***  About the Author:  Abhishek Bhargava is an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune, Batch of 2015-17 and currently works with a Consulting organization based in Bengaluru, India.  Along with an MBA, Abhishek holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering.  Hailing from Vidisha, a town near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Abhishek has a knack of storytelling and writing since his school and college days where he won numerous accolades in the likes of debate competitions. Nobody's journey of life is devoid of hardships and hurdles, but very few take lessons from experiences. Leave alone thinking of writing a book that can guide peers at sailing through smoothly. This book by a Millenial for the Millenials is in fact a treasury that we can enrich ourselves by reading.  A non-fiction book in the garb of storytelling, Abhishek Bhargava-t...

  The VIKRAMADITYA VEERGATHA Book Series will be complete with the release of the 4th book- The Wrath Of The Hellfires in December. The book is available for pre-order on Amazon now! Book Review of Book 1- The Guardians of Halahala can be read HERE Book Title: Book 2- The Conspiracy at Meru Author: Shaturjeet Nath Publisher: Jaico Books My Rating: ***** VICTORY IS TEMPORARY. THE BATTLE IS ETERNAL.- The Logline of the book itself told me that Vikramaditya and his Council of Nine would have many hurdles to face as the Guardians of the Halahala. The story was getting more interesting! The author has successfully created a world that was much beyond my imagination and far more layered than any Indian mytho- fantasy fiction I've ever read. I won't be exaggerating if I say that the book is worth reading for the most elaborate, and well-articulated battle scenes. The attack of the Vyalas- mythical creatures is one of the most gripping passages, the Maruts fighting back valiantly with ...

  Book Title: Tuesdays With Morrie Author: Mitch Albom Publishers: Hachette India My Rating: ***** About the Author:  Mitchell David Albom  is an author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. Mitch Albom the author begins visiting his aged college professor, Morrie Schwartz who is terminally ill. Every Tuesday he flies to meet the dying sociology professor and records all that the old man has to share. I am so thankful to the young man and to the old man for sharing life's greatest lessons through this memoir. This is one non-fictional book that I found greatly inspirational.  One would think that a dying man's memoir would be greatly melancholic and depressing. The topic of death is always scary and causes anxiety to most of us, but this book is anything but that! Morrie is a cheery professor, greatly energetic despite his failing health and so intent on proving that 'dying' doesn't mean 'useless'. Impending ...

  Book Title: Subtle Echoes (Kindle Edition) Author/Poet: Tehmeena Salam Publishers: Fanatixx Publication My Rating: **** About the Author: Tehmeena Salam is the Co-Author in five anthologies which hold a World Record, published by FanatiXx Publication. She has also published her poetries in more than 15 anthologies. The beauty of the UT Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has seen this flower blossom through her days. A post kidney transplant patient and survivor of graft rejection, she is pursuing her ambition as an MBBS student in Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences (ANIIMS). A big thankyou to Tehmeena Salaam for giving me her book for reading and reviewing. However I assure my readers that my opinions of the work remain unbiased.  Subtle Echoes is a mixed collection of 48 pieces of poems and letters, each unique, each beautifully expressed. There are many aspects about this book that sets it apart from the books of its genre. Firstly, it's the poet's cr...

Book Title: Yakshini (Kindle Edition) Author: Neil D'Silva Publishers: Rupa Publications My Rating: ***** About the Author: Neil D'Silva is an author of 12 horror novels and Yakshini is yet another of his books that has been acquired for screen adaptation. He is the President of the Indian Chapter of the Horror Writers Association, and is also a TEDx Speaker.  Let me make a disclaimer before I begin to talk about this book. Even though I am in the author's circle of virtual friends and I've been a fan of his writing since his very first book, this particular book review has not been solicited by the author and neither is my impression of the book biased.  Like I've said many times before, I pick a book by it's cover, quite literally. It has got to be love at first sight! And then a little knowledge about the author and his style helps. Sometimes I veer towards books via recommendations by like-minded friends but I stopped reading back blurbs long ago. As soo...

  Book Title:  A Fool's Errand ( Kindle Edition ) Author:  Vanita Bodke Publisher:  Self Published  My Rating:  *** About the Author:  Vanita Bodke started writing when she realized she did not just prefer marching to the tune of a different drummer, but that she rather liked being that drummer herself. This is her second published novella, following Fault of 2018. Her short story "Winds of Change" was published in the Unbound e-magazine.  Vanita lives in Navi Mumbai with her husband and son.  The Fool's Errand is a 566 pages Novella that made for an easy breezy read. A long narrative for a short story, which I think the author could have easily expanded into a full length novel if she wished to, because she was onto something of a good tale. As one begins to read, one would imagine that the  protagonist Revati Kadam is in a love triangle, torn between her present husband Ritwik and her ex-boyfriend Vijendra Singh who is trying to make a...

  I'd be lying, If I said, I don't care About what I wear! I am honest, When I say, I notice your shoe, Before I see you! What I expect, Is bigger than your gift, Valued in money, Not your love honey! It's the truth, Nobody can deny, This world is materialistic, Judgemental and plastic. Am I wrong, In blaming society, For the twisted and fake, Facades that we make. Isn't it true, The real self, We don't ever show, Nobody will know! The tongue speaks sweet, But the eyes don't smile, The friends we make, Are for company's sake. A thousand secrets and a million lies, To live one life, How terribly brave, To carry it all in our heart to our grave!

Some souls were blessed to have a higher sense of purpose in life. I simply had a heightened sense of smell. The citrus aroma wafting in from our yard that morning, was so strong that it worked like an instant pick-me-up. I’d rushed out through the back door, and plonked myself down in front of my lemon tree. Sitting there in the Padmasana , my humble Gandharaj Lebu appeared like the Bodhi tree to me . I listened intently to all that it had to teach me. I felt one with my sunlight-loving citrus. Watering the soil to keep it moist, and pruning the bush was an act of love, never a mundane chore. Sometimes I’d be sitting so still before it, undistracted, besotted by its yellow-green colour palette, interspersed by the white of the fragrant blossoms. At other times, I would hum a song to it. That day too, I could have continued sitting there for hours on end, wet earth or not! If it wasn’t for Granny Mori, off to Sunday Church, dressed in black. Ever since the demise ...

This post comes a little late to make it a Mother's Day post but for me, storytelling and my mother are two very closely linked memories of childhood. My mother was a great storyteller. I have beautiful memories of her telling me bedtime stories, which eventually metamorphosed into her telling me real life experiences at bed time, as I grew older.  She introduced me to the world of books by subscribing to a local library when I was just a preschooler. I remember the very first book that I could actually read on my own was Thumbelina. I have always loved to listen to stories, and my favourite pastime on those lazy afternoons of my Summer holidays was to lose myself in the fantastic world of stories. So when my own little babies came along, I always wanted them to grow up in a similar book-loving manner. And I also wanted to see them grow into good listeners. I slowly inculcated the love for bedtime stories in them, but my only grievance was not having access to a great ...