Reviews & Musings

About the Book Image Source: Amazon.in Ruskin Bond is the most addictive and entertaining writer in modern Indian literature. The author of over a hundred novels and short-story collections, his fiction is especially celebrated for the unforgettable misfits, Dreamers, small-time con artists, rapscallions, thieves and drifters who populate it. For the first time ever, a gallery of rascals brings together the most memorable rogues to feature in Ruskin Bond’s fiction.  A few brand new stories—‘a man called brain’, ‘Sher Singh and the hot-water bottle’, ‘crossing the road’— headline this collection and rub shoulders with much-loved tales like ‘the thief story’, ‘The boy who broke the Bank’, ‘tigers for dinner’ and ‘a case for Inspector Lal’. thrilling and effortlessly readable, the thirty stories in this book show exactly why Ruskin Bond’s fiction is irresistible.

                                           About the Book ISBN: 978-9388292764 Genre: Translations/ Fiction/ Short Stories Price: Rs. 399/- Publisher: Aleph Book Company The Hindi short story is one of the most exciting genres in modern Indian literature. The fifteen stories in this volume, by some of the most prominent writers in the field, provide a unique picture of the country today.  Most of the stories focus on urban middle-class individuals and especially those whose lives are marked by alienation and loneliness. They highlight the disruptions caused in a society that is modernizing at a rapid pace while still being blessed and burdened by a strong sense of traditional morality, duty and family ties. Among the writers included in this volume are Kamleshwar, Nirmal Verma, Phanishwarnath 'Renu, Krishna Baldev Vaid and Mohan Rakesh.

  Title:   The Doctor and Mrs. A.: Ethics and Counter-Ethics in an Indian Dream Analysis Author: Sarah Pinto Publisher: Women Unlimited Year of Publication: 2019   “ How does one remember the future?” Thus, begins  The Doctor and Mrs. A by Sarah Pinto . Based on ethics and counter ethics in an Indian dream analysis, this book is an inspired example of thinking beyond the known. Just before independence, somewhere in early forties, a young Punjabi woman identified only as Mrs. A decided to be a part of an experiment by a psychiatrist, Dev Satya Nanda, for his new method of dream analysis. Unbeknownst to him, she was in an unhappy marriage with a strong urge for freedom from all the bondage. Through this experiment they discovered hidden layers of her personality which included different reflections on sexuality, trauma, ambitions and marriage. Pinto revisits this conversation and explores it in the context of late colonial Indian society. Juxtaposing the past with the...

About the Book: “The Missing Fairy Princess” is the story of a 16-year-old fairy princess pitted against a powerful witch. The witch has stolen a potent new mantra developed by a colleague, ruthlessly snuffing out a brilliantly innovative mind.  She then hatches an elaborate plot to frame an adversary for her misdeed.  Her intention is to exact sweet revenge from her foe and at the same time, get away with the theft.  The victim, caught in her vicious web, is doomed to disgrace and a life sentence on a harsh penal colony. Meanwhile, the witch learns from her crystal ball, about an imminent threat from a fairy princess wearing a pink tiara.  To ward off that threat she kidnaps the fairy princess, wipes her memory clean and then turns her into a two-year-old girl.

As a reader, it is extremely important to read vastly before you finally conclude what you like reading in terms of authors and genres. I started like that too and realised that I love reading. Period. There is no barrier to genres, authors or languages. Even with such a vast option of books to choose from, I had reached a phase where I felt I was getting too mechanical with my reading. I mean read because its a habit, know the story and end of it.

Source: Goodreads About the Book A roller-coaster fantasy horror story with Jinns, demons and nagins Mehran is a handsome young Rajput aristocrat – without a grand title, estate or any wealth. He lives with his widowed mother in a decaying mansion in Pakistan, Remembering his beautiful cousin boyer and his childhood in the glittering estate of his Nawab uncle in India. But hidden behind the grandeur of the old palace is a dreadful curse that strikes every heir to the nawabs line. Tragedy hits when, on a red moon night, a demon arrives and koyel falls victim to the terrifying curse. Little does Mehran know that the curse will soon visit him and he will find himself in a world of demons, monsters and nagins. About the Author Imran Kureshi lives in Pakistan. He is a former employee of the Pakistan State Oil Company Limited and has been a freelance editor of books and PhD theses for over sixteen years. His collection of short stories set in rural Punjab, titled Billa ...

"I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited. " - Jorge Luis Borges Source Every time I start reading a new book I embark on a new journey. Page after page as the magic of words begins too unveil I am transported to a different world. Slowly the characters of the story began to take shape before my eyes. I actually witness them coming alive. Their pain becomes my pain, their smiles begin to appear on my lips and somewhere along with them I fall in love too maybe with them, maybe with all that they love, maybe with the story or maybe simply with the author. 

  Title: Wild Boar in the Cane Field Author’s Name: Anniqua Rana Publisher: Amazon, 2019 ‘My mothers found me a week after I was born.’ And so, begins the poignant story of Tara’s birth, her survival and her death. Anniqua Rana’s  Wild Boar in the Cane Field  is a testimony to the old adage — survival of the fittest .  Her observations of life of women in rural Pakistan combined with her knack of storytelling, ensures a reader is left enthralled. Anniqua Rana lives in California with her husband and two sons. Apart from teaching English to immigrants and international students in community college, she also writes essays on gender and education. Rana’s novel,  Wild Boar in the Cane Field , journeys rural Pakistan where amidst the cane fields and smell of spices, we are introduced to Tara and her mothers. The prose is evocative and lyrical with descriptions that come alive in every passage. “I hurriedly finished the verse, not sure that I had the s...