Book Review: The Little Hearts by Ravi Kumar

Introduction

• Genre: Fiction / Romance
• Publishers: Biblica Publications
• Price: Rs. 195/- ( P.S: I got the book from the author for a review)

The crux of the novel is the awakening of a young innocent boy’s mind, intellect and body. His budding senses and intellect which go through a turbulent phase as he matures is brought out. This apart, some serious valid questions which troubled everyone at some point in their life are highlighted.

Behind The book

Source: Google Images

About the author

Ravi Kumar R, a graduate from IIT Kharagpur was born and brought up in Hyderabad where he resides now. His first book ‘Unrecognized Potential’ is the story of four young friends focusing on one of them whose hope, inspiration and courage laid a road of success and opportunities for the ignorant people of a village. A thought-provoking book, grounded in breathtaking surprise realities about India, it stirred the soul of its readers.Read him HERE

Me thinks

I loved the innocence is this book that reflects throughout the story. The author has attempted to bring out the emotions at the right places in terms of what youngsters face mainly as teenagers when they are barely trying to decipher the meaning of love and life.

As I flipped through the pages I saw myself in some places and am sure many of us would connect for what we have been and where we have been at some point in our lives.

I lived the simple narrative keeping in mind the target audience making it a very light read. The author has handled the emotions part very well and yet there was something in me that kept asking for me. At some places you feel it all left loose whilst suddenly thereafter the author grabs the narrative not letting it go even for a moment. The author surely has potential and this book just reaffirms that.

Over all a decent read, which could have been more engrossing!

Foodie Verdict

Source: Google Images

This book is like cabbage rolls - Crunchy and delicious!

Movie Review: If by Tathagata Ghosh – A Tender Portrait of Love, Loss, and Possibility

If , a 26-minute short film by acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Tathagata Ghosh, is a sensitive, evocative piece of storytelling that lingers long after the credits roll. Set against the everyday rhythm of life in Kolkata, the film delicately unpacks the story of a lesbian couple torn apart by the weight of societal expectations and dares to imagine a different future, one where a mother's love might just change everything. What struck me first was the film’s raw, grounded realism. The characters feel like people we know, middle-class families navigating a complex world with quiet resilience. The world of If is filled with silences, glances, and stills, rather than heavy dialogue. Ghosh masterfully uses these moments to speak volumes, allowing viewers to sit with discomfort, interpret the unspoken, and feel deeply.

Book Review: The Story of Eve: Selected Poems by Zehra Nigah

Few voices in Urdu poetry have carried the weight of history, resistance, and deep personal introspection quite like Zehra Nigah. One of the first women to break into the traditionally male-dominated world of Urdu poetry, Nigah’s work stands as a testament to the power of words to illuminate, question, and challenge. The Story of Eve: Selected Poems, translated by Rakshanda Jalil, brings together some of her most powerful nazms and ghazals, showcasing both her literary elegance and her unflinching gaze at the human condition, particularly through the lens of gender, social injustice, and political turmoil.

The Urban Gaze : Reimagining the Village in Contemporary Indian Cinema

Indian cinema has long been fascinated with the village. From the earthy, socialist realism of Do Bigha Zamin (1953) to the melodramatic lament of Mother India (1957), the village once stood as both heartland and hinterland — a space of moral clarity, rustic struggle, and often unyielding fate. But as the urban middle class began to dominate cinematic production and consumption, the depiction of the village increasingly came to reflect an urban gaze, that is, a perspective shaped by distance, nostalgia, condescension, or even outright fantasy. In recent years, this urban gaze has taken on new shades, evident in the way mainstream and indie filmmakers alike have re-engaged with rural India. While some have tried to explore the village as a site of resistance, authenticity, or even horror, others continue to reproduce sanitized or exaggerated versions of village life that serve urban sensibilities more than rural realities.

Reviews & Musings

Search This Blog