Reviews & Musings

What happens when you don't know what do you want in life? You get what you don't want in life in large helping! Always be clear - if not about what you want then at least about what you don't want helps clear a lot of mess. ~N

The extent to which you are taken for granted has got nothing to do with your allowing it, it has got everything to on how much they think they are allowed to. ~N

Lakeerein hain to rehne do, kisi ne rooth kar gusse mein shayad kheech di thi. Unhi ko ab banao paala aur aao kabaddi khelte hain. Lakeerein hain to rehne do -Gulzar   These words captivated my attention to the television screen and stayed with me long after the teaser promo of Kya Dilli Kya Lahore was over.   Source: Google Images Every time I think of Pakistan the only thought that comes to my mind is how similar we are, yet so distinct and the biggest line of demarcation that defines who we are is the line drawn between our countries. Partition as an issue is very close to my heard for unknown reasons. I have read a lot about it in books like Train to Pakistan and of course movies like Gadar, Waqt... the only question that used to haunt me every time was who gave them the right to divide us like this, creating an irrevocable barrier in hearts of people leading to a gap which just keeps getting wider with the passage of time.   Perhaps these lines by Gulzar were

  The Perfect Groom by SumeethaManikandan The Blurb Very little has gone right in Nithya’s young life. So, when a proposal from a young, handsome NRI comes along, her mother jumps at the opportunity and packs her daughter off to the US with her perfect groom. Nithya seems to have settled in with Ashok, ostensibly happy, if as yet childless, in her new life. When an old flame comes back into her life, however, the cracks in her perfect marriage begin to show…

Introduction   • ISBN – 978-93-83562-85-5 • Genre: Fiction • Publishers: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltdc • Price: Rs. 125/- ( P.S : I received the book from the author for a review )   Everyone in this world has to wait; be it waiting in a physical sense or be it waiting in a philosophical form. Waiting often results in remorse about the unchangeable past or anxiety about the indefinite future. While waiting can be all this, it can also be a silent, carefree dialogue with the self, a moment of oneness with the present, listening quietly to the stories of hidden existence, reading history from an invisible book of time, being an unasked judge to the oblivious characters as they perform on the stage called life and the list goes on... The world has many stories to tell and I have got all the time...because, I am waiting!   Behind The book   Source: Google Images  

By the time life answers few questions for you - you forget all that you wanted to ask ~ N  

To be able to see what is, from all that seems to be that is  - is an art that can be mastered only after being blinded for long ~ N

Good people in our lives are like incense sticks, they leave our lives fragrant long after they are gone. ~ N

Most of the times we are unable to see how much we are loved; simply because we are too busy comparing it with how much we want to be loved. ~ N

The unsaid hurts more than the said. ~ N

    It is not always about what you need, it is all about how badly you need it. ~N

Some dreams are meant to be broken, so that new ones can be built. ~N

Some of the most unforgettable don’ts teach us the most important dos of life. ~N P.S: After a break of more than a year Thought for today ( Daily Inspirations) is back on this blog in a new form with a new name - Lessons of Life, for at the end of the day that is what they are - lessons! Expanding the horizons as my teacher LIFE has increased the curriculum this segment will have pictures, quotes, photographs, one liner quotes and random posts on things that leave a footprint on my life. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! <3

I am an eternal dreamer, that's how I like to call myself. For I dream a lot. I dream small, I dream big, I dream about laughter and I dream about tears too. But it is these dreams that somewhere tell me what my heart wishes for as it is said " Dreams are wishes made by your hearts!" Source: Google Images

Introduction • ISBN – 978-9383562305 • Genre : Fiction • Publishers : Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltdc • Price: Rs. 153/- (P.S: I received the book from the publisher as a gift !) Oscillating between the families of Imroz Agha Khan, who resents his prosperous Afghan forefathers and his perennial outsider status in his own homeland and Danielle Anderson, who returns to seek refuge in the truth and dreams she had so abruptly fled from twelve years ago. A story spanning three generations with malleability of rules as people try to break the bondage they have created all on their own. Rohini Lall s debut novel, THE SOUR FACED MOON is the saga of intertwining cultures and generations. Behind The book You can check out its video here Source: Google Images

Introduction   • ISBN – 9789383306060 • Genre: Poetry • Publishers: First Step Publishing • Price: Rs. 180/- ( P.S: I got this book from two wonderful poet friends – Thank you Janaki Nagaraj and Rohan Kachalia for this!)   An Anthology of poems. Literature and literary books are very hardto find these days but First Step Publishing has gathered some interestingtalent. This book had a tough time assembling writers selecting 25 Poets out ofthe 300+ entries received. The Selected writers truly deserve an applause andare deserving enough to be a part of Minds @ Work 2 . Poets coming from allwalks of life, Doctors, Engineers, Bankers, Students, Homemakers, Previouslypublished poets and many to be published for the first time. Minds@Work is anannual Behind The book Source: Google Images

Harsh is not only a wonderful author, editor and mentor but is an amazing person to know in person as well. Having worked with him for Time's Lost Atlas I have admired his writing abilities to a very great extent. So when he asked to be a guest blogger on my blog I was more than happy. You can read more about him HERE where he has graced my blog with an interview previously. Without much ado, presenting the blogpost by Harsh on something very close to my heart - LOVE :   * * *   When I asked Namrata if I can write a guest blog for her and she can do the same for me and inquired about any particular topic she wanted me to write about, she said   ‘Love – something that you hate so much’ those were her exact words!   I was baffled and I questioned myself do I really hate this stupid four letter word LOVE which equates to other crucial four letter word – LIFE, for a lot of people on this planet? I am not really sure about it and this blog post has perhaps given me an

Introduction   • ISBN – 9789381836781 • Genre: Mythological / Fiction • Publishers: Leadstart Publishing Pvt.Ltd. • Price: Rs. 299/- ( P.S: This book was sent to be for review by the publisher !)   In this cauldron of great illusion, with the sun as fire, day-night as fuel; using months and seasons as stirrer, Time is cooking all beings that is the message. ~Yudhishthira, in the Mahabharata s Vana-parva313.118 The Mahabharatha never ceases to fascinate. By far the longest of the world s epics, it transcends the limitations of genre. History, encyclopaedia, philosophy, scripture, warrior saga, it encapsulates all these in one exalting epic tragedy underscoring the truth in the ancient adage that the whole knowable world is Vyasa s leftover. The Great Epic of India encompasses an awesome interplay of human effort and destiny, set against the backdrop of inexorable Time. Marvels and Mysteries, with its lucid and engaging narrative, seeks to unravel some of its e

Introduction • Genre : Fiction / Anthology • Publishers: Nivasini Publishers • Price : Rs. 275/- (Note: I won the book in a Giveaway HERE !) Source: Google Images

Introduction   • ISBN – 9780143065111 • Genre: Non Fiction/ Entertainment • Publishers : Penguin Books India • Price: Rs. 299/- (Note: I won the book in a Goodreads Giveaway !)   Bollywood Nation charts the evolution of Indian cinema from its mythological films in the early 20th century to its world-class gangster and terrorist melodramas of today. In doing so, the book investigates why and how our films have become so deeply embedded in the nation’s popular imagination. Is it merely that cinema is the only common form of mass national culture in a country that does not have either a common language or a common religion—or is it entwined with greater social, cultural and spiritual aspirations?   By narrating the story of India through the stories that our films tell us, Vamsee Juluri posits cinema as the voice of the nation and examines how it has shaped our understanding of our place in the world. Behind The book   Source: Google Images

Source: Google Images They say writers are not created, they are born, with a zeal to write, to create, to dream, to envisage and to make it all seem true!   Just like all of us I am also a writer, who dreams of creating things which are perhaps beyond the realms of imagination.   Today I present to you a part of me which was hidden amidst all the chaos, hidden yet concrete.   

The Prophecy of Trivine  By  TnahsinGarg,  SrivatsanSridharan and  Pulkit Gupta

  A Silent Saturday after a long time - I somehow love this flower and if I had to name it it would be HOPE :)

Introduction • ISBN : 9789350880760 • Genre: Fiction / Horror/ Paranormal/ Supernatural • Publishers: Mahaveer Publications • Price: Rs. 160/- ( P.S: I got the book from one of the authors for a review ) "A slow rasping sound made me turn. I jumped back, the cell phone leaving my hands and smashing against the concrete floor. Someone was seated on the chair, rocking back and forth. Through the fallen light, I could see those hands placed on the arms of the chair, two gruesome wrinkled limbs with ugly boils plastered over the black skin. The red bangles on its wrists shone in my eyes, momentarily blinding me. That thing and I call it a thing because I could sense it wasn't human as no human could have such a hideous form, as vile an existence as the one seated opposite to my horrified self." From a honeymoon in the hill that goes horribly wrong to an obsessed lover who wants his first love in life and in death; From a mentally deranged man who collects bod

Introduction • ISBN : 9789383202331 • Genre: Non Fiction / Self help • Publishers: Om Books International • Price: Rs. 195/- ( P.S: I got the book from the author for a review ) Like a roller-coaster, relationships have their nauseating ups, downs, twists and turns... Sure, like a roller-coaster, relationships are also fun and exciting but what happens when the ride isn’t as smooth as you thought it would be? What do you do when you want to get off the ride but disengaging the safety harness is a lot harder than you thought? Or simply, what if you’re finding it difficult to get on a ride in the first place, especially when there isn’t a height restriction? Unfortunately, relationships don’t come with perforated edges and Love, That Shit! (LTS) hopes to help you through the process of getting into, dealing with and even the aftermath of relationships. What sets LTS apart is its contemporary approach, aimed at enlightening while simultaneously, entertaining.' Behin

Introduction • ISBN – 9788192816609 • Genre: Novella / Non Fiction/ Inspirational • Publishers: Become Shakespeare.com • Price: Rs. 95/- ( Note: I received a copy of book from Pooja Iyer [ BecomeShakespeare.com ] and I would like to thank her for sending across such an amazing novel .) "...Hello," I said, “Can’t say I've seen you around here before.” She smiled again…and my heart melted. “No, you haven’t,” she giggled. “For I have come especially to meet you today. I am Death, and it is time.”What happens when Death comes for you...and you start arguing over coffee ?... a quirky tale that offers a whole new perspective into one of life's deepest mysteries… Behind The book Source: Google Images

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