Book Review: The seed who got his farmer

Today's time is such that everyone is busy preparing, competing, evaluating and improving. Yet, in the race of getting better and better, many people become demoralized, demotivated and lost midway. Hence were born the "self help books" and brilliant authors like Brian Tracy and Mark Manson have written books that actually are known to help people and make people's lives better and more improved. Prayash Pal's book, "The seed who got his farmer: a survival guide for young adults" is written in the light of serving the purpose. The book is not just about motivating the readers to accomplish their incomplete tasks but also gives insights into how things are to be done in life and how tough challenges can be handled at different junctures of life.

At the beginning of "The seed who got his farmer ", the author himself gives an advisory to the readers with a set of instructions of how the book is to b read. He gives his suggestion of how to read the book when the reader has shortage of time. He advices to keep a pen or pencil handy to mark or note the things he is to mention in the following pages. Reading the book is no task but keeping the valuable points the author shares in mind is the tough task. The author imparts wisdom from his experience. With the narrative of a story, he simultaneously lists the ideas to make people, their choices and their lives better. There are a total of 16 chapters with an introduction and a conclusion. Every chapter discusses different aspects that confront any person in his/her life where decisionmaking is a tough task. Through the frame narrative of a story involving two major characters, Akash and Rohit, Pal talks about how to deal with situations and how to handle them. The two belong to different social levels thus representing the members of their groups. One is the well-to-do group and the other is the struggling group. Their story also has reflections of the social aspects of Indian families which are not mentioned directly but the reader can easily read between the lines and understand. How people have to suffer owing to economical reasons is explored in the book along with the self help narrative. In the midst of all this, the author also manages to explore a few themes which include social status, friendship, betrayal, family and education. In between all this, the author also shows his understanding of human psychology by building up strong and powerful characters. 

At the end of every chapter in "The seed who got his farmer", there is a section of "Lessons and deep insights" which is almost like the summing up of all the points the writer has made throughout the chapter in case the reader may have missed while being engrossed in story reading.

One observable fact about the book is how the author manages to club the genres of fiction and self help together thus facilitating the book making it a captivating read. He also closely exhibits his flair of writing prose which, if he tries, would turn out equally exceptional. His characters are very lively and realistic and so are the lessons the author gives at the end of each chapter. 

While putting forward lessons to be read, the author also creates interesting and applicable quotes which will always remain valid. Since the author has studied psychology, a fair application of that is visible on observing how the book can cast its effects on the lives of the people. His focus on self education is thoroughly reflected in his work. "The seed who got hi farmer" is one book which should always be in everyone's bookshelf not just for keeping sake but also among must reads. For all those who are looking for a unique plotline to entertain and valuable life lessons to learn, this book is a must have. The language of the book is friendly to the understanding of the reader.

Pal's book not only changes the perspective of thinking of any person but also has positive impact on their lives. The book is for people who want to help themselves and hence it can be read by people from almost all backgrounds including students, working generation and even old population. 

Book Review: Arthala

http://www.merrybrains.com/book-reviews/book-reviewarthla-sangram-sindhu-gatha-part-1-by-vivek-kumar/

Book Review: The Rhythm of the Butterfly

In the modern times, generally poetry does not seem to be following the poetic conventions set by literary giants of earlier times who followed them and wrote marvellous works. In the present day of poetry writing, Santosh Kumar Biswa's collection of poetry, "The Rhythm of the Butterfly" is beautiful work comprising of 131 poems having the artistic showcase of the exceptional skills and ability of the poet and his effortlessly creative style of writing poetry. The poet appears to be a deeply rooted person of literature and particularly well read in the classical, canonical, well-known and renowned texts of literature and the influence appears clearly in his writing. This deep knowledge and thorough study of the classics makes his work very rich and beautiful. He writes with flair and the smart usage of literary devices only does the work of ornamentation and adds beauty, grace and charm to his writing. The writing is definitely on contemporary subjects and issues but the influence of the classics is very much visible in his work and that is what differentiates him from his mainstream counterparts.

For a person having fine knowledge of poetry writing, metric style, figures of speech, various literary devices and verse pattern, it is easily noticeable how the poet follows the conventions of poetry by following a standard stanza size or even writing in different forms of verse. 

He uses the definitions of poetry as given by William Wordsworth and T.S.Eliot and stylistically fits in his own definition of poetry in between them in the beginning of the collection. Apparently, his definition of poetry makes equal sense too. 

The poet puts great thought and effort when he writes of diverse themes which include peace, family, women, nature, people, culture and cultural differences. Other than that he explores abstract themes like time, love, teaching as a profession (since the poet himself is a teacher) and beauty not just being limited to the external side. He even explores subjects as simple as a smile, saying no to things, desires, children and dreams. 

Often, his poems appear to have literary references now and then. His poem, "My dark lady" reminds the reader of Shakespeare's sonnets addressed to a dark lady. His other poem "The Road to be Taken" reminds of Robert Frost's "The Road not taken" and somewhere appears to be a post modern take on Frost's thought. For a person who has a good literature background, poems of these kinds in his collection offer an interesting insight into the mind of the poet and the changed context with the same subjects years later. Other poems in this regard include, "Let us sing oh! Nightingale" which appears to have the Keatsian influence from "Ode to Nightingale", "Hell" which reminds of Dante's "Inferno" and John Milton's "Paradise Lost" and another poem "Beauty" having a direct Shakespearean allusion etc. Other beautiful poems in the collection include, "The song of my childhood's happiness", "Inside my mother's womb", "O friend of mine! All's friend", "The Rhythm of my Heart", "An interview with my Granny". In these poems and in many more, the poet's genius and flair appropriately comes to life and somewhere the potential of his poems to stand the test of time is also worth noticing.  

He has successfully experimented with the Japanese form of poetry writing, Haiku and includes interesting poems in that verse form in the collection. 

The poet also tries to write from the point of view of women despite being a man and tries his best to understand and gives words to the feelings and emotions he can not feel exactly owing to the gender differences. Poems in this category include, "Women" and "I am a prostitute".

Despite the poems being highly rich with literary allusions and techniques, the poems remain friendly to the language of the reader and almost all age groups can try reading them. For a person who does not have a literature background, "The Rhythm of the Butterfly" can be one gateway to learning the technicalities involved in the art of poetry writing. Reading this collection can also change people's mindsets regarding poetry being merely all about rhyming of the last words.

Book Review: Muskuraya Karo

https://criticspace.com/2019/12/02/book-review-muskuraya-karo/

Book Review: There's a poet in everyone

https://criticspace.com/2020/01/12/book-review-theres-a-poet-in-everyone-criticspace/

Book Review: The lute of the Nightingale

https://criticspace.com/2019/11/17/book-review-lute-of-the-nightingale-criticspace/

Book Review: Mirrro

https://criticspace.com/2019/12/09/book-review-mi%D1%8F%D1%8F%D1%8Fo-at-th%C7%9D-w%C7%9Di%D1%8F%C9%91-waywa%D1%8F%C9%91-criticpsace/

Book review: The life and times of a common man

https://criticspace.com/2020/01/19/book-review-the-life-and-times-of-a-common-man-criticspace/

Book Review: Perspective in visuals

Most of the writings in today's time are about people writing about what they think and feel. Few give others that kind of an opportunity. Aditya Jain's anthology, "Perspective in Visuals, Tripod Stories" is a brilliant collection of works of 100 budding artists. In the brief introduction he gives before the series of writings start, he clearly states that it is injustice if a story by any writer is left untold. He follows this strongly and does absolute justice when he selected and added the 100 writers in his book. 

An observable fact about this book is the how author has used the power of words, the magic of literature in showing how it can connect people and it also enforces the fact that everyone is an equal. The way the author brings together so many different writers from different corners of the country and also from different parts of the globe shows that literature knows no borders, and does not discriminate on any possible basis. If a person knows using a pen to give words to what he/she feels, that is enough to connect him/her to any person in any part of the world. The writers put together here belong to different fields of work and diverse professions but all of them share one thing in common which most of them have stated when they shared about themselves which is, their passion for writing. This passion for writing, this ability in them to express themselves is what adds to the beauty, appeal and distinguishes this anthology from others written.

Undisputedly, the author has taken great pains and made a lot of efforts in selecting and putting 100 worthy writers together. He has elected all of them very carefully and with the best of his prudence which has added quality to his anthology. He makes sure all of the artists follow the central theme of the work "imagination" by either writing prose or poetry or taking pictures, but at the same time ensures that their creative side does not get overshadowed. 

Most of the writers in the anthology are of the younger age group, students to be specific or the ones who have just finished their studies. But the maturity of thought they have displayed through their works is a rare combination. They give insights like a wise person. This is where the genius of Jain deserves more praise for having found 100 of such artists.

At times this collection of budding writers and artists reminds of the University wits like Christopher Marlowe and at the same time of the promising English romantic poets like Keats, Byron or Shelly. The anthology writers are younger ofcourse but the exhibit traits of recklessness, carefree attitude and daring spirit of taking challenges at any step of life and these characteristics were found only in University wits and the romantics.

The author has not just taken poems in his collection but also added short prose and at times, simply photographs taken by the artists. Hence categorizing this anthology as a poetry anthology would not be fair. Even if artists have contributed a photograph, they are such which can be explained and interpreted at length like artwork. He has included different themes of writing which include nature, women, emotions, loneliness, darkness, nostalgia, motivation, issues of social relevance etc.

There is some information about the artist before his/her work. This is from where the reader can get a little idea about the life of the artists and also the circumstances which contributed in their writing.

The cover has been kept simple and less shady implying that life is also beautiful when there are a few colors. It could also mean most people may have experienced a few common shades of life which makes them connect more easily. The language is simple and easy to understand but some poems have a lot of depth and at times, the subjects tend to get quite serious and thought-provoking. So even though the appeal of the book will definitely be among the age groups of the artists themselves but at the same time also among people of older ages due to the nature of content.

Book Review: Dincharya

In his "Elegy Writen in a country churchyard", Thomas Gray wrote the famous line, "Far Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, Their sober wishes never learned to stray.." which talks about the simple life of the village people which is free of stress and worries and is more peaceful and healthy due to the life conditions they have. This later became the title of one of Thomas Hardy's novels where he showed the wrong effects of industrialization on humanity which were the result of the shifting of people from the simple village to complex and demanding city life which eventually affects their health. In modern contemporary writing, Kshitij Dabhade's "Dincharya, science of daily routine" is one such attempt to remind the reader of Gray's line. 

In his short but beautifully written book, Dabhade has attempted to take an Indian to his/her roots and strongly and appropriately attempts to remind every person of the forgotten rich culture and heritage of his country in general and hindu religion in particular. Without politicizing the religious aspects, he takes up the task of explaining religion in terms of science or as he states it himself, the religion which evolved from science. 

Through his writing, the author has attempted to raise concerns over the unhealthy life style of human beings due to the demanding nature of their respective fields and also their own lethargy and negligence. He keeps the narrator unnamed in order to make any person identify with him and relate himself/herself to him and trace his or her unhealthy habits through him. The habits and lifestyle he follows are more or less the same which an average city individual follows. The narrator lives in the busy city and follows a mundane routine. He has achieved success in terms of running a successesful business and earning good money. But he lacks the peace of mind which actually is the key to happiness which anyone feels from inside. Thereafter, on visiting his village the actual turn of events happens.

The author attempts to practically explain the effects and importance of following the "Dincharya" which was followed by ancient people but has been discarded and ignored by most of the people owing to the powerful effect of western culture and also years of colonization. He explains it through the words of a guru who is an emblem of knowledge and has answers to every possible question the narrator could ask.

The reader is reminded of the irony of the situation that the same western society people who have casted their effect and marginalized the original Indian culture are adopting and practicing ancient Indian ways of living by studying Indian culture and scriptures.

Undoubtedly, the author himself has done commendable research work before writing the book and has written it almost flawlessly and effortlessly. He artistically uses the guru-shishya (teacher- disciple) narrative to convey his thought. He achieves two targets by using this narrative style.On the one hand he takes the reader to the roots of Indian culture and heritage and on the other hand he reminds the reader about the forgotten relationship which was most regarded and respectable at one point of time. 

The book contains some very important secrets to a healthy and peaceful life which every person irrespective of religion should follow. Dabhade does begin with the idea of a hindu learning about his tradition but explains how Hinduism is less of a religion and more of a science as every act done has a scientific explanation. Other than that, later the guru takes his shishya beyond the realms of religion to understand how a few practices will only promote a healthy lifestyle for him, peace to his mind and a better, smoother life ahead. 

For all the people who do not know the cultural values of Indian culture, this book is more like a guide to a better life. For those who have some idea, perhaps this book can add on to their knowledge further. This book is not a conventional story but a practical book with systems that can be followed and scientific explanations of why things are done the way the are. One simple example in this regard is waking up in the morning. The language that the author has used is keeping in mind all age groups and their ability to understand things. Since the present generation is scientific in thought, he takes the task of relating everything with science and the universe to make the meanings more clear  and convincing. The author has given appropriate and good explanation to even a minute thing like this by putting words into the mouth of the guru. Keeping this idea in mind, this book serves to guide and enlighten people of all age groups from young to adult to even the older generations.