One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat

I think I have read all of Chetan Bhagat's novels except One Night at the Call Centre. I have always enjoyed reading his books a lot (except Revolution 2020). I find that they provide a very good entertainment value. I always feel like I am watching a Bollywood masala movie and not really reading a book. No wonder, almost all his books have been made into movies. To be honest, I have not watched every single movie of his books but the ones that I have, do not end in the same way in the book (except for 2 States maybe).

Coming to One Indian Girl. I pre-ordered it on Amazon. It was first of Bhagat's book where he is writing from a perspective of a woman. Now, before the book was released, I heard that it is going to break stereotyping of women. Unfortunately though, he was unable to do it well. I actually thought, he did the exact opposite.

I understand completely that it is not easy for a man to write from a perspective of a woman. While I appreciate his effort, it fell short of my expectation. For example, no woman is going to think- "that is what we women do..". I wonder if men think like this- I doubt it. The book has several such unrealistic dialogues and phrases which are a put off. I thought he was trying way too hard to not leave any speck of doubt in the minds of readers that it was a woman. However, using unrealistic phrases and sentences made it obvious that a man has written it and could not make the necessary connection especially with female readers.

I enjoyed the storyline though and I am sure it would be made into a movie as well. The way the book has been written is also indicative that Chetan Bhagat wrote it with a movie in mind. Trust me when I say this, it does feel like one is watching a movie and not like a book is being read. The plot is quite unique or rare where a highly educated woman doing very well in her career is in a place getting ready for her wedding and the book flashes back into her past where there are 2 exes in 2 different locations and the dilemma that she faces on her wedding day- choosing her past or present. I would not be able to reveal more details as it would be a complete spoiler.

I read this book at a time when I was going through a lot stress and this book definitely helped me unwind. Read this book for pure entertainment- you will not find anything deep or profound in it. I rate this book 3/5.

Impulse Buy: The Adventures of Mr. Pink-Whistle by Enid Blyton

The Adventures of Mr. Pink-Whistle was one of the first books I remember having read...actually my Dad and brother read the book to me and when I was able to read, it was the first book I ever read. I would have never parted with this book but I guess we lost it while moving houses years back.I have been looking for it for quite sometime and I was so overjoyed to find it.

I found this book on Amazon long back but it was really expensive but I continued looking for it on Amazon and book stores, and finally found it at a very reasonable price on Amazon. I have moved on from reading children's books like and thought I would not buy it but just make sure it is around in circulation. However, I just bought is nonetheless without thinking about it too much.

As a child, I read and re-read this book several times. I just loved the book and still do, and it has made a lasting impression on me. Some of my user names of various social media platform have been inspired by the characters in this book.

The book was delivered to me a short while a ago today (earlier than expected) and I "unboxed" it just a short while back. I was happy and a tad bit disappointed but the balance tipped more to the happy side. The only reason I was disappointed was- the cover illustrations of the book that I had as a child was:

The book that I got had a different cover illustrations (see below):

However, the illustrations inside the book (it is not heavy on illustrations) are just the same as the book I had as a child.

This is a perfect book to start reading to children or get children into a habit of reading. It is a book all children are going to love. I do not think I should be rating this precious gem.

The book has 11 extremely short stories. As the name suggests, the story revolves around Mr. Pink-Whistle who does good to people. I know it is not much of review but the stories are really small and I really cannot say much other than the fact that children are going to love it. My favourite story from the book as a child, A Surprise for Dame Gentle. Another reason why I love the book is- the description of food in many of the stories is just yummy!!!

If you ever get your hands on this book, do grab it and enjoy it thoroughly.

It's All in the Planets- by Preeti Shenoy

I pre-ordered this book by Preeti Shenoy on Amazon and to my surprise, I received a personally signed off book by the author after it was released. I have read all the books by Preeti Shenoy except 34 Bubblegums and Candies and Why We Love the Way We Do. I had also reviewed some of her books in the past. Please click here to read those reviews if you are interested.

Coming to this book- I really felt like I was watching a movie. The book is very fast paced and the storyline does keep one hooked. However, some of the things mentioned did not feel very Indian- maybe, I am still living in a completely different time. One example would be someone having a relationship coach. There are a few other things which does make the book feel a work of fiction and unreal.

The title of the book suggests that the planetary movements and the like have an impact on our lives. Though the writer has tried her best to incorporate this element in the book, it is not very obvious or clear and does not even seem like the main theme of the book.

The book is a story of love which Aniket has for Tisha, who are NOT made for each other but they seem to in a relationship for a long time. On a train journey, Aniket meets a relationship blogger- Nidhi, who seems to be the right person for him but is engaged to a man named Manoj. Aniket is madly in love with Tisha. Nidhi and Aniket become the best of friends just after one meeting. When things are not going well between Aniket and Tisha, he asks Nidhi to be his relationship coach. There is a series of events which turn all four lives upside down and how they deal with this.

What I really love about the book is the lovely description of Nidhi's home. I could just picturize how it would be like in my mind. I also loved how she lead her life- the description is amazing and liberating.

There are some other characters in the book as well- Aniket's friend Subbu, Nidhi's family, Aniket's family, an astrologer (sorry, I forget her name) and a few other random characters. Most of these characters just make very brief appearances in the book. While some play an important part in the book (I really cannot reveal as it could be a spoiler) in character building, others just appear to make the story more real.

Though the post may not look like I thought too highly of the book, I actually liked it much better than some of Preeti Shenoy's other books. It is not as good as Life is What You Make It. On a scale of 5, I would rate the book 4/5.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo

I ordered this book on amazon.in last year. I watched a video on youtube on the efforts put into Tidying Up in Japan and this was one of the books that featured in the video. I found the concept, described briefly in the video, to be very interesting and, placed an order for this book.

As the name suggests, this is a self-help guide to tidying. Though the title of the book states, "tidying", it mainly focuses on decluttering and, organizing to an extent. Also, it focuses only on certain categories of items such as- Clothes, books, old photographs etc. However, the concept described in the book should be applicable to other categories as well.

The writing in the book is quite simple and clearly indicates the author's fanaticism, obsession and passion about decluttering and organizing things. The main selling point of the book is that one has to follow the steps she has  mentioned, only once in a life time and would never have to worry again about tidying, for the rest of their lives. She refers to the method described in the book as KonMarie method- obviously derived from her name. 

The book describes about how one can go about decluttering and organizing in a step-wise manner. She has also included some real life experiences while dealing with her clients on decluttering- some of the which are quite hilarious. She has tried her best to inspire and encourage people to tidy up. Sometimes, it does get too repetitive but in my view, she really wanted to drive the message home. Her passion for tidiness is quite evident throughout the book. 

The other thing about the book is- the author personifies all her belongings and treats them like humans. She also encourages people to have conversations with inanimate objects. One can either view this superficially and think of this as something crazy or look deeper and view it as act of gratitude- being thankful for a home, as an example. Several shades of the Japanese mindset are evident throughout the book- mindfulness, gratitude, respect etc. While it looks like I am defending the book, my genuine intention is to highlight that certain writings need to be looked into deeper. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and did feel motivated for days while reading, and also after. This being said, I am a procrastinator when it comes to decluttering and organizing my belongings and I have not yet implemented KonMarie or any other methodology for decluttering or organizing (I am not to disorganized). I hope I will be able to at least give KonMarie a try some day.

I did search for people who have actually implemented what they thought about the effectiveness of the method described in the book. Click here to read more from another blog, which I absolutely loved. I wish I could style my blog that well.

I rate this book a 4/5 for inspiring me, specially in a time in my life when I as a little low on motivation. 

1984 by George Orwell

This book was gifted to me by my uncle several years ago but I got around to reading it only last year. I think my uncle bought this book at Landmark book store in Bengaluru.

When I picked this book up, I really did not know what to expect. The description at the back of the book created a very different image of the story in my mind and when I actually started reading it, I was completely bowled over. It is a rather unusual story.

The story revolves around a different world (really, I mean it, do read it to find out more), in a fictional country called Oceania, where everything is controlled by Big Brother, who maintains a constant watch over every move by every single citizen via telescreens- does this ring any bells? Yes, the British show Big Brother and its Indian variant Big Boss, has been inspired by this very book. People are trained hard to think that Big Brother is their Godfather and that they have to commit absolute loyalty to him in every action they take. Oceania is projected to be in a constant state of war and people in the country are living in extreme austerity where everything is rationed out.

Big Brother, (who comes across as an organization, rather than an individual as there is a constant reference to "the Party") has a force called the "Thought Police" that ensures that every single thought by every single individual conforms to Big Brother's requirement and belief system. For example, if Big Brother calls broad daylight as darkness, people have to accept it without questioning, failing which, they would be subjected to arrest and extreme torture- I think you get the picture, basically no independent thought process. Amidst this, there is a man named Winston, who has a different thought process- a rebellious one but he keeps it suppressed as much as he could, however, he and his lover defy the rules of Big Brother secretly. Their defiance, leads to a series of events which are not pleasant.

It is one of the most creative books I have ever read. It is very obvious that a lot of careful thinking  has gone behind the conceptualization and planning of the plot. It is not the easiest book to read and understand. The reader must be able to read between the lines and sometimes beyond, to really appreciate this book. One is bound to have several questions about various events and characters in the the book. There are a lot of online forums where the book is discussed in detail- I never used any, as I have understood the book (I think). My husband read this book years ago and I discussed some parts of the book with him to gain a better understanding.

I would rate this book 4/5. It would have been a 5/5 if it ended the way I wanted it to, but did not. It is still an amazing book and I highly recommend it. However, this should definitely not be one of your first books if you are only beginning to cultivate reading as a hobby/habit or even if you want switch to this genre of books from your preferred ones.

Landour Days by Ruskin Bond

I am writing after a long time- was suffering from Reader's and Writer's block. This is my attempt to unblock. I realise the only way to get rid of the block is to actively work on whatever you have a block on and eventually, one would get out of it.

Coming to Landour Days- the book was gifted to my husband by his friend and it had a surprise in store for us when it arrived. The book was personally signed off for my husband by Ruskin Bond himself. My husband's friend travelled to Mussourie and the nearby hills during summer vacation and came across this book store which Ruskin Bond frequently visits, and requested the store-keeper if he can get us autographed copies of Ruskin Bond's book by the man himself. The store-keeper kindly agreed and shipped the book to her in Mumbai. It was an amazing surprise for us.

The complete title of the book is, "Landour Days: A Writer's Journal". It is true to its name and is a compilation of excerpts from Ruskin Bond's personal journal (at least it looks like it is from his personal journal) and is organized a little randomly, but has been done beautifully nonetheless. It is a very simple book and easy to read. It is not a bulky book, but rather small with not too many pages and can be read in an afternoon.

The book is a mix of his description of nature in the hills which Mr. Bond has observed, interspersed with several anecdotes, many of which are really hilarious. As I mentioned earlier- a simple book which is easy to read. Some parts of the book might not be appealing to all readers and some might find it boring, but not me- I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Sometimes in our stressful lives, all we need is some simple joys in life and this book provides a complete flavour of the same. Writing anything more about this book here will not give you the experience you deserve while reading.

On a scale of 5, where 5 is the highest, I would rate it a 4/5. If you are having a reader's block, you might want to try reading this one- it will surely pull you out of the slump.

Visit to Numaish- 2017

Every year between 1st of January up until 15th of February, there is a very very large scale All India Industrial exhibition at Nampally Exhibition Grounds, Hyderabad. Most of the stalls put up at the exhibition are related to clothing and bedroom accessories, one can find a lot of other things- packed food, furniture/upholstery, electrical goods, plastic ware and some innovative tools. Apart from this, there are a whole bunch of games and of course- FOOD stalls!!!

People/merchants come from all across India to sell their goods. There are stalls from Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Andra Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa etc.

This year, I happened to visit the place twice- once on a Sunday and once on a weekday. Sundays are extremely crowded and best avoided. Also, heavy crowds arrive between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. On both days, I went to the grounds at about 2:30pm. At this time, the crowd density is low. Also, we have had beautiful weather this year in Hyderabad, so it was not too warm to walk about. Please bear in mind this is a large scale and expansive exhibition and demands a lot of walking around. So, please ensure that you wear very comfortable footwear. Another thing to bear in mind is to not visit using your own vehicle. There is no space to park your vehicles. I highly recommend using public transport (if auto rickshaws are to be used, be prepared to shell out about Rs.20-40 more than required). Using services like Uber and Ola would delay you considerably as the traffic in the area is quite bad as long as the exhibition runs.

The atmosphere is quite colourful and electric and gives you a feeling of being in a fair. My biggest purchases were dry fruits and nuts from Kashmir.

Sharing some glimpses of Numaish shared below. Enjoy!!

Sarees and Dress Material from Bengal

Lemonade Shop and Insect products stall

One of the numerous Cosmetics and Imitation Jewellery stalls

Ittar Fragrance Stall

Games and Rides seen at a distance (Giant Wheel)

One of the several chaat stalls

I had Pav Bhaji at Gokul Chaat Stall

Chocolate Fountain

One of the several Dry Fruit and Nut stalls

Colourful Clothes

Wooden and Clay Toys stall

Lungi Stall

I hope you can visit it in these last few days or definitely make a point to visit next year. You will not be disappointed!

P.S: I know this is not really a post related to travel but I just thought it is the most appropriate of the labels. You may disagree but this is my blog, my mind on paper ;)