Seven

Step by step by your side
a wholesome journey, a joyous ride

Quite apart in our ways,
We've traipsed yet so far
with more ayes than nays

Together we walk the beaten path,
crossing each milestone and some more
doubling happiness as we go
did we calculate the math?

Not without a thorn
thrown callously now and then
to test our grit, perhaps 
or to let us thank the stars
that despite all, we have 'us'

Seven is the year,
Ah! the proverbial itch, do I hear?
I'd rather choose to remember
the seven sacred steps around the fire,
and, hum the song of our life,
Say, aren't the notes too seven in there? 



*An attempt, yet again, to commemorate our anniversary-yes, it's the 7th this year.*

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Book review: Nazaqat by Sasha Singhal

 Naazani, a shy girl with a lonely childhood, was born and brought up in Dehradun. She moves to a metropolitan for further education and gets absorbed. In a series of events, she decides to adopt prostitution and becomes one of the most successful high profile escorts of the city with the help of her manager Sharat. In a quest to be successful, she leaves her friends behind and dedicates more time to her profession. Nazaqat witnesses a police raid at a nearby place and the real scenario of prostitution terrifies her. She decides to take a stand and do something about it. However, Sharat convinces her that she is not powerful enough to make a difference. Nazaqat retires and pool all her money and starts a restaurant Joy foods in partnership with Sharat. The business grows and soon enough they have numerous outlets in various cities and Naazani Singh Shekhawat emerges as a significant entrepreneur of nation. To cherish the old memories, she organizes a group together and calls all her old friends. Next morning, it is found that something drastic happened the night before. Meanwhile, she invites an author Matthews, who is an old acquaintance to pen down her own biography. He visits her each night and in a series of ten nights, her story finds its crescendo. Will prostitution be legalized? Whats her intention with the biography she is planning? What shall be the fate of Naazani Singh Shekhawat aka Nazaqat? Nazaqat is a very detailed and carefully woven story which is a unique blend of thrill and drama. It is a refreshing story about a girl who adopts prostitution on her own will and starts a quest to legalize prostitution in India. While its entertaining because of the commercial voice, it also addresses grave issues of feminism, prostitution and homosexuality in society.

I received a request to review the book from the author. Although I didn't know the author, the premise of the plot seemed off-beat and interesting, hence accepted the request. However, I was quite disappointed. 

The book is full of grammatical errors. The first time I encountered one, I brushed it off as an editing error, but to my dismay, it did remain a constant feature throughout. Frequent use of analogies to convey a message also seemed unwanted.

The book did show some bursts of promise now and then, but that's about it. I expected to feel for the protagonist and understand her moves as the story moved but I was hardly convinced. The story lacked depth as it moved superficially and ended with a dramatic twist. Well, to cut the long story short, it didn't make the cut for me. The book has some good reviews too, so probably its just me.

Rating: 2.5/5 (for the off-beat plot selection)
Number of pages: 204
Price on Flipkart: Rs.125
Publication: Half-baked beans

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It's raining animals and other things too..

Yes, animals completely dominate our house these days. From prehistoric extinct ones to reptiles to mammals to water animals to what not. If these were not enough, I get to hear new invented names like Moon tiger or such-like. I guess that's what happens when your kid gets too absorbed in the Encyclopedia and Animal Planet and Nat Geo. 

There is also a few found fascination for topics about age, planets, fire, death, etc. Some of this can be attributed to his equally imaginative friend who generously shares some of his valuable knowledge and imaginative stories with R :-) 

Thus, we have some funny and weird conversations.

R: Amma, you know I'm a killer whale. I'm 1000 years old and you can't even carry me!

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His friend has a fascination for the number 5 and is eagerly waiting to turn 5. Of course, this fascination is duly passed on and R wants to know when he'd turn 5. 

R: I'm 4 years old and tomorrow I'll become 5 and be very strong. (It's always tomorrow, btw)

In another instance, he asked me my age and then appa's. His reaction?

"So much?! Then you'll die!"

So much for being subtle about things like death. Sigh!

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At any random time, we can hear R saying this or something to this effect:

"I put you fire and then you'll go out of this Earth or I'll throw you into Saturn!"

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Yeah, the last bit did unsettle me a bit the first time I heard it but considering R's age, I'll give him some rope.  I do make it a point to remind him that we should talk nice things rather than violent ones even if imaginative.  

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I did not experience the (in)famous terrible two's and three's with R in the conventional sense. He did throw challenges but it was more to do with me having to deal with his unrestrained energy levels for most part. But as he crossed the 4th year, I can see a change of wind. He's more assertive than ever before, anxious to have his way in every small thing. A child that never cried even when strongly reprimanded now sheds copious amount of tears when faced with disapproval or denial from us parents. He can really drive me up the wall with out-of-blue and ill-timed demands like having a particular drawing done on his hand (just before leaving for school or before bed) or suddenly 'remembering' a particular toy when outside and demanding to have it right away!

On a positive note, though, I'm happy to see a hunger in him for learning something new and reading/watching constructive material. Just hoping that technology (read gadgets) does not ruin his interest as he grows up.

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The Crossover Year by Bhargavi Bhalachandran

I've known Bhargavi through her blog  and liked her-straight-from-the-heart posts laced with a wry humour. So, when she published her book The Crossover Year recently, I wanted to lay my hands on it. While, I'd have liked to changed the end a bit, I did enjoy the book on the whole.

The book is about Anuprabha, who holds a MBA and works in a multinational bank but is dissatisfied at work. She wants to find her true calling before she turns three zero and dreads the consequences of quitting a dream job and treading on paths that are less travelled. 

The course of events where she quits her job and is faced with situations that she'd not accounted for when she dreamt of re-creating her life is laced with good humour and pace.

Whether she truly finds her calling in the end is for you to find out.

What worked: I loved the way the main protagonist was sketched. Her confusion of staying in the rat-race, when her heart is truly not, her being a closet feminist,of not being able to put her foot down despite being pushed to the wall at the work-place, her feeling of being let down when her judgment of people misses the mark, all of these varied emotions have been sketched very well truly making Anu a girl-next-door character; one you can relate to very easily. The other characters in the story also seem to be lifted from real-life situations- neither black or white but having several shades in between. The strong point of the book is that the events in Anu's life, the way she connects with the sub-characters, and her thought process is very rooted to real-life. You can definitely exclaim at many points through the book, 'hey, that's me!' or 'that's my life!'

What didn't quite work: It took me an initial few pages to get me hooked to the book after which the plot gathers momentum. The final phase where you expect a fitting closure somehow left me wanting for more in some ways; the all's well in the end conclusion came a little rushed perhaps? The bit where Anu takes part in a contest definitely had me in splits, but I found the aftermath of the event a tad unrealistic. Probably that's just me and an author is after all allowed to take some liberties with his/her creation. Also I did find some minor loopholes in the narration barring all of which I really liked and enjoyed the book. It's definitely a feel-good-book that has its elements of drama, humour and goodness.


My rating: 3.5/5
Publication: Alchemy publishers
Available on: Amazon: http://bit.ly/1gr302r

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Let's be more aware

“Your son is slow”, complained the teacher.

“Oh, Akash always behaved in a queer way.” remarked a peer.

 “Shh..here comes his mother. Poor thing, it can be difficult.” said many whispers.

They said he died because they wouldn’t accept him.

Let’s hope more awareness spreads and we accept people with autism with ease and kindness.

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For the prompt 'They said he died because they wouldn’t accept him' for marathon bloggers. This is a week long attempt at 55-ers.

 #marathonbloggers #55wordfiction

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Life comes a full circle

Ramya had a new patient waiting for counseling; a mother who had lost her child in an accident.

 She looked deep into her eyes. They looked very familiar. 

A chill rose up Ramya’s spine as she remembered that fateful day.

“Car runs over a toddler. Driver absconding”, reported the papers.

 Ramya was behind the wheel. 

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For the prompt 'She looked deep into her eyes' for marathon bloggers. This is a week long attempt at 55-ers.

 #marathonbloggers #55wordfiction

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Different dreams

Kamala felt nauseated. She dreamed of frocks and pig-tails.

The family was jubilant and also had dreams for the future. 

“It will be a boy for sure.” 

“It better be. Else, we’ll take care of her” said a steely voice.

Kamala threw up. Not out of pregnancy nausea. 

Out of fear for her unborn daughter.

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For the prompt 'dreams' for marathon bloggers. This is a week long attempt at 55-ers.

 #marathonbloggers #55wordfiction

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