Book Review: A Well Behaved Woman and other stories by Shweta Thakur

‘A Well Behaved Woman and other stories’

By Shweta Thakur

Mind Melodies

ISBN 13: 978-93-5018-168-3

Any storywriter essentially tells stories which somehow connect with his/her environment. Therefore every great writer has presented a wonderful account of the society and its colors prevalent at his/her lifetime. Shweta Thakur is a young author; trained as a scientist she also worked in a modern workplace. In many ways her book of stories comments on the challenges, dynamics, and varieties present in the modern era, more than anything else. So we get to meet a librarian living in his own world, two young ladies competing fiercely in a competitive system in their own ways, an executive facing ‘mid-life crisis’, and so on. A story titled ‘The Untouchable’ talks about modern women and things like Facebook/Orkut instead of any racist topic. There are human aspects well represented too, like a story titled “Wife of a financial planner”.

As her maiden book, A Well Behaved Woman and Other Stories seems a good starting point. The stories are well developed. With nine stories on variety of topics, the book can connect with young readers very well. The book is also designed beautifully with a stunning cover page and well presented content. We can hope the author to go on her promising writing stint with more variety, depth and then, sky is the limit.

- Rahul

Book Review: Ek Saans Meri by Jyotiparv Prakashan

‘Ek Saans Meri’

Jyotiparv Prakashan

Editors: Rashmi Prabha, Yashwant Mathur

ISBN 978-81-923276-3-1

‘Ek Saans Meri’ is a poetry collection published by Jyotiparv Prakashan, containing representative poems of eight poets including Neelima Sharma. The eight poets are of diverse backgrounds and the reader gets to taste multiple flavors in a single book. Some poems have become very touchy and almost all poets present to us very sensitive poems.

For example here are some lines from Neelima Sharma’s poem titled “Mahakti rasoi” (P94):

Mahakti Rasoi

Mahakta ghar

Woh angithi ke charo taraf

Baith kar khana

Tabhi pakti rotiyan

Woh sarso ka saag

Kundi me kuta hua

Woh ghont ghont kar banai hui kheer

Ek thali me khate sab bachche

Kuchh pake parathe hote kuchh kachche

Aaj haan aaj

Kahan rah gaya hai woh swaad

Another wonderful poem from poetess Anjana Dayal titled “Zara muskura dijiye” (P82):

Hans ke udaasi hara dijiye,

Masle ko na hawa dijiye

Bas, zara muskura dijiye

Yun khafa kya raha kijiye

Kyun sabhi ko saza dijiye

Jee, zara muskura dijiye…

Overall the book is a nice collection of Hindi poetry from contemporary poets and poetesses. A good read and those who love Hindi poems can find this book very interesting.

- Rahul

Book Review: Shiva An Introduction by Devdutt Pattanaik

‘Shiva An Introduction’

By Devdutt Pattanaik

Vakis, Feffer and Simons Pvt. Ltd

ISBN 978-81-8462-013-9

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik is one of India’s most popular present day mythologists. My curiosity to know more about Hinduism and to get real meaning of our mythology or the inherent symbolism found a savior in him. His pen is so powerful, knowledge so deep and expression so simple that I think he is changing the way we look at Hinduism and Hindus, and revitalizing the world’s interest in Hinduism and India.

Shiva, the destroyer among the Hindu Trinity of Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh, is an enigma in himself; a figure who attracts men and women, grownups and children, kings and fakirs alike. Here is a book which presents a very rational and comprehensive picture of the same. The book covers all aspects of Shiva, like his life story, his marriage, family, his different forms and roles, festivals, worship methods, temples and history… The language is uncomplicated and written in such a wonderful encouraging tone that the reader won’t be able to remain without loving the experience of reading this book…

I would also call it a book of revelations. I was able to know about many rather unknown facts from this book that I consider myself lucky to have read it.

The book is full of illustrations and images both colored and B&W. The collection of portraits of ancient temples and images make it such a rare collection to reserve. The book is also printed on very good quality smooth paper and is of a much bigger size. These features make it a book worth collecting and preserving for life…

In my opinion this book is a must read book for all Hindus or anyone interested in understanding Hinduism in general and Shiva in particular.

- Rahul

Book Review: Revved! By Harry Paul and Ross Reck

‘Revved!: An incredible way to rev up your workplace and achieve amazing results’

By: Harry Paul and Ross Reck

Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co Ltd

ISBN: 0-07-061833-X

Revved! is a wonderful book on self-management and motivation. Written in a novel format, it is the story of Katie who loses track of her promising career due to tragedies in personal life… She locks herself into a shell and her team’s performance at the workplace dips to the bottom. Threatened of losing her job, she gets to reach Dr. Allen who guides her to greater successes in her career…

The lessons from this book are universally applicable. The language is simple and there are no heavy philosophies shared. I am sure every reader would feel enriched and enthusiastic at the same time after finishing the book. That’s why the title of the book is very apt.

Highly recommended to everyone…

- Rahul

Book Review: Simple.ology: The simple science of getting what you want by Mark Joyner

‘Simple.ology: The simple science of getting what you want’

By: Mark Joyner

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-470-09522-5

Here is a book which promises to teach you how to go from where you are to where you want to be. And that also in very simple steps… The title and the subject are curious one and I think the job for the author was to live up to the expectations! I think he has fared well. The book does teach, or let us say reiterate the need of following basic secrets of success. These secrets might have been taught or told to you by your parents or grandparents straight from childhood. But that doesn’t mean you should skip this read.

The five laws of Simple.ology come much later in the book. The journey till then is absolutely delightful… Especially the pointers from psychology are amazing. As they say, everything starts in the mind…

It is a very nice read on self-help and self-management… I would recommend it to all.

- Rahul

Book Review: Saadhana by Rabindranath Tagore

‘Sadhna’ (in Hindi)

By: Rabindranath Tagore

Rajpal & Sons

ISBN: 978-81-7028-768-1

‘Saadhna’ is a collection of philosophical pieces of writing by Rabindranath Tagore. I was interested in knowing the inner philosophies of Tagore and when I saw this book, I realized I had got a good opportunity. Within the pages of this book he shares his thinking on many aspects of our life and spirituality. Chapters of this book are “Vyakti ka vishwa se sambandh”, “atmbodh”, “paap ki samasya”, “vyaktitva ki sarthakta”, “prem sadhna se Prabhu prapti”, “karm-sadhna se Prabhu prapti”, “saundarya-sadhna”, and “anant ki sadhna”.

From what I read from this book, I got to realize that Rabindranath’s core ideas were from Hinduism or Vedanta. Since I am reading parallel some books on Hinduism and Vedanta, I could see the exact mapping of ideas. It gave me a good feeling.

Highly recommended to all those who want to understand the philosophies and spiritual forces running within Rabindranath Tagore…

- Rahul