Book Review: When the Soul Heals

Now-a-days every person has their own stress and worries due to the busy and demanding schedules they have. So much so, that they miss out the little things in life and are unable to enjoy in the moment. As a result, most people come into a phase where they feel depressed and sad due to the pent up emotions. In this direction, books have been written to help out the people in their times of worry but not every book has the same effect as claimed and expected. Pulkit Sharma's "When the soul heals: explorations in spiritual psychology" is a non fiction self help book. It is less of a book and more of a therapy in this modern and fast-changing time where everyone goes through some kind of depressed state at one time or the other. The book not only explores the healing (which actually means connecting) of the soul from a psychological level but also at the spiritual level.

Owing to his profession, Sharma has a good understanding about how the mind of person works and what are the possible ways in which it can affected. This understanding and meditative aspect is vividly reflected and he has written about it in a very lucid and concise manner. He puts his experience to the best use and this can ensure the book to stand the test of time and many coming generations would continue to read the book and help themselves. This is so because human life can never stop being busy and occupied and people will keep having such problems as emotions do not change. "When the Soul Heals" can be put in the category of books which are good for mental health and well being of a person.

From the very cover itself, the process of therapy begins. The author uses the color which would be relaxing to the mind as a result of which the cover is not too bright nor is it too dark. With an interesting color combination, there is also the presence of butterflies and butterflies themselves are silent creatures making them symbolic of peace and calmness. The very cover has a serene effect on the mind of the reader and his journey in reading the book through becomes a relaxing experience. 

The author guides the readers in the introduction and tells them how they can use the book the theme best manner. This guideline becomes a great help as the book is read further. He uses the technique of telling real-life inspirational stories of the different case studies he writes of and they are basically modelled on a person who can be seen anywhere or perhaps the readers would identify themselves with those characters too. He talks of different negative emotions like stress, anger, grief, depression, anxiety, beauty obsessions, addictions and caregiver burden. He not only discusses them at length but also offers possible solutions to what can be done in such situations. The most graceful aspect about "When The Soul Heals" is the insights it brings from the different religions of the world. This somewhere gives the message that all religions only have one basic message: peace in the mind of humans and peace around them.

The language of the book is friendly to the understanding of the reader. For those who feel the need of a therapist or psychological help, this book is a life saver. For those who do not feel any such need, they can also read the book to understand things better and make themselves a better version of what they are at present. "When the Soul Heals" can be read by people of all backgrounds irrespective of the age group they belong to. The subject that the book explores is universal in nature which altogether makes it a must have in everyone's book shelf.

Book Review: My Happily Ever After

A fresh take on love and passion, Sanjay Sharma's "My Happily Ever After" is, as the title suggests, infused with courtly romance and lively realistic young characters. Alongside love and romance, they also represent the everyday young boy or girl who face the different problems like pressures from family, desire to follow dreams but not being able to, peer pressure, struggle for excellence and yet trying to focus on what they want by heart. The main characters become representatives of the youngsters of perhaps every generation. This kind of makes the appeal universal in those age groups. The story on the surface seems a simple romance but these are some important and serious issues the story faces. Other than that, the other themes brought to the forefront are love, friendship, difference between different relationships and also the psychological effects one relation can have on a person.

The author has well built the two leading characters, Keshav and Aditi and the readers can easily identify themselves with them. The author shows the learning of his experience as he builds up the characters. He shows his understanding of the psychology of the people in that age owing to his profession. Since the narrative is in first person, that only brings the reader closer to the protagonist. The language of "My Happily Ever After" is easy to read and can be recommended to the readers who are beginners in reading. The book can be read by people of all ages but the book is likely to have more appeal among the younger group of readers.

Book Review: चमड़े का लुटेरा

If a new genre of teenage romances in literary writing was to be created, Silisti Karuriya's book, "चमड़े का लुटेरा" would be among the spearheads. The book comes out as a refreshing, lighthearted and relaxing read but on reading closely between the lines, the reader understands that there is a lot more than just a simple story. The issues that the younger generation faces form the centre of the book. The themes include love, friendship, education, society, position of women, tough decisions and their impacts, social pressures, the never giving up spirit and fighting through all times, staying focused and motivated always etc. Since the author herself belongs to the same generation, she may have faced or witnessed the problems herself. She thoroughly manages to reflect them all throughout the book as the plot unfolds.

"चमड़े का लुटेरा" centers around the story of Riya, the protagonist and all the problems, situations and times she faces. The moral decisions, the struggle to follow her principles and the impact of her decisions is how the readers get to see the protagonist. She appears as a representative of her generation. This kind of elevates her to the iconic status for her time.

The language of the book is simple and unlike hindi writing where the language is properly in hindi, the author here takes liberty to write the language which is used in speech. She does so by infusing English words thus intermingling two languages. Hence, it more sounds like it is being spoken and narrated rather than being read. Most part of the book is in first person narrative as a result of which, the characters also appear to be speaking out for themselves like an actual drama being enacted on stage.

The narrator has taken an innovative style while writing the dialogues in "चमड़े का लुटेरा". The dialogues are not written in the traditional style of dialogue writing which has been followed for all the time in literature writing, rather in the author's own manner. This is different and intriguing at the same time as it is a unique approach to dialogue writing.  

The plot structure follows the frame narrative style and the narrator keeps swinging the story among different years to construct the past and present separately. This technique has earlier been followed by Anmol Batra in his "Time Guard: The Awakening". The usage of clear segregation of dates style saves the reader from the complexities of time differences and makes the work better understandable.

The title, "चमड़े का लुटेरा" sounds more like the stories everyone may have heard as children about thieves and their wrongdoings and at the end truth emerging triumphant over evil eventually. Even when the story begins, the narrator teases with the imagination of the readers and creates a good amount of curiosity of the story being somewhat set on the same lines. It is only later that the readers find out something else.

The book can be comfortably read by the younger generations due to the nature of its content. They can easily relate to and understand the things that the author is trying to say and perhaps to a certain extent, also identify with them. But everyone grows older, the situations and challenges they face keep changing. Therefore, the book has less to offer to the grown up and mature age group. Although, for a light refreshing read with emotions reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks, the book can serve the purpose. A light read overall, "चमड़े का लुटेरा" can be read by all irrespective of backgrounds or to the walks of life they belong to.

Book Review: After I died

Most of the writers or perhaps all of them more or less explore life, the problems the characters face,  their stress, worries, their hardwork and thereafter the probable solutions,. They explore social, political issues which every man can think of or woud have come across at some point of time in his life. Sci-Fi has opened a new realm of exploration in fiction. 

However, Anugrah Edmonds in her book “After I Died” goes beyond all these and writes about things which have not been written about so far. She talks of the only imaginable aspect, how things would be for a person who has died. How the person would get to see the world and since psychology is the author’s field of expertise, the book also comes across as a help for those who have thoughts about ending their lives.

The series of events triggers right when the protagnist commits suicide following events which are only revealed later as the plot unfolds. 

As the reader gets to discover the reason of the suicide of the protagonist, he gets to understand that the protagonist is a young girl with problems similar to everyone in today’s youth. The issues may be about looks or love or relationships or loyalty or trust or the depressive state that follows after the breakup. The author lines up a series of stories which the protagonist shows the readers through her eyes which provide insights into different kinds of lives people live and at places the protagonist sees her own self too.

In the initial chapters, the author builds up on how the narrator decides to end her life. She leaves nothing to the imagination of the reader and vividly describes how the narrator reaches her death. Later she talks about the reason of the narrator’s taking the extreme step namely, the seperation and the after reactions. After this the series of stories follow which altogether help to change and provide a new perspective to the author’s way of seeing life. 

Through the stories in the frame narrative and the protagonist’s story in the meta-narrative, the author attempts to say that life is not all about ending it if one thing does not turn out the way it was planned. This is something which is strongly socially applicable and when the protagonist looks back after a few years, she herself admits that there is a lot more to life than letting it revolve around just one person who does not give it the deserved respect.

While the author raises the major issue of depression among the youth through her book, there are other underlying themes also which she highlights. These include the effect of social media and the superfical world of show off it promotes, parenting in an Indian houseold, abuse against children, subjugation of the girl child, homosexual relationships and the problems they face etc.

“After I Died” also fits in the category of psychological study of human beings which places it in the category of modern writing having modern age city people with the issues that they face.

The language of the book is simple and the length is also not too long. For all the people who struggle with the problems of the protagonist, the book may serve as a life changer and since the length is also not too long, the effect on the mind can be felt soon. Irresepective of that, the book can be read by young and grown up readers. The book has mentions of homosexuality and violence against children. Hence it may not appeal to all the readers. But if read from a broad perspective, the book can be read by anyone.

Book Review: The Gorkha's Story

"The Gorkha's Story" by Prayash Gorkha is not a story in true sense rather it is a collection of forty poems having the glimpses of Gorkha history, life in the mountains, conditions of the people of the mountains and most importantly the inspiring landscape of the mountains. All these themes are reflected time and again in the poet's writing.

The style that the poet has taken to write the poems is more story like. This is what is the defining characteristic of his poems and his poetic style. His poems have beauty, grandeur, magnificence, poise and the grace of their own.

The poet at times sings the praises of the Gorkhas and their noble cause. He gives words to his feelings in poems like Martyrs Call, Dream to be a Gorkha Soldier, Sarangi, Zehrensdorf Cemetery, Your Dream is my Dream. At times the poet reminds the readers of Homer who also sang the praises of Greek warriors in "The Iliad". The poet's "1986" reminds the readers of Yeats' "Easter 1916" and "What If" by the poet is more like forming the backdrop of 1986 agitation and how the common people are affected by protests and rebellion. Other poems in this category include "Take if Courage and Valor", "Maun Vrat", "Red, Green and the Soil", "Khukuri" etc.

In some poems the poet refers to the common people when he talks about the population involved in tea plantation. This is amply reflected in poems like "172" which is not only about the pitiable plight of tea plantation workers but also their families, "The Portrait of a Tea Picker" which reminds of Wordsworth's "Solitary Reaper".

In other poems, Prayash Gorkha gets involved in the scenic landscape of Darjeeling and in a Wordsworthian manner, he describes the beauty and landscape of Darjeeling. On reading poems like "Marigold", the reader is immediately reminded of "Daffodils". But again, giving it a modern touch, Prayash Gorkha goes beyond mere description and explores the importance of a simple thing as a marigold flower and writes about the cultural importance it has. "Toy Train" has the theme of journey strongly attached to it as the idea of a day in the life of a train is explored from a third person's perspective. "Tiger Hill","Nineteen Forty", "Darjeeling", "Lali Guras and Oranges", "Dasain", "The Beauty of Darjeeling", all describe the landscape of Darjeeling beautifully, so much so that they make the reader want to visit Darjeeling himself and enjoy the beauty of nature. "104" is a little different from the league as here there is the combination of cold temperature and violence in the poem.

In some poems, the poet attempts to think out of the box and write on serious subjects which affect the present day people. "The Story of Promises" is a comment on the political people who make promises and give people dreams of a better future and comfortable life but nothing actually happens once they come into power. Another poem "Pulbazar" is a nostalgic account of the poet reminiscing his father. "Fragments" is about pre and post independence times and how colonization has casted its effect on both the country and the citizens. "2018" is again a different poem about the present day landscape of Darjeeling and how modernization has affected and at the same time spread its influence on the places located in the lap of nature. "Avalanche" is about the highly risky life in mountains, every second being unpredictable and also the difficult circumstances people live in. 

Other beautiful poems include "Red, Green and the soil" and "Gunshot" which are about the futility of battle that caused nothing but bloodshed and loss of life. These poems also remind the reader of the mortal nature of human life. The universal message of peace forms the hidden theme of the poems.

The language of the poems is simple and easy to read. Every poem in itself is a different kind. They seem simple on the surface level but they explore their respective subjects in depth and also burn the flame of the reader's imagination strongly. The poems are on composite subjects which opens their appeal to readers of possibly all age groups and from all walks of life.

Book Review: The Missed beat

G.V. Subba Rao's "The Missed beat", on reading the title sounds like some romantic love story with a happy or sad ending. But as soon as the reader begins to read, the plotline has him in it's grip. 

A novel full of twists and turns and with suspense at almost every step, it becomes an interesting and entertaining at the same time. As the plotline begins with the planning of kidnapping, the reader presumes the novel to end with the person kidnapped being released and reaching his/her loved ones safely. But that's where the author plays with the mind of the reader because the person is released too soon and the supposed villain dies in the very early part of the novel. Rest of the story revolves around unravelling all that the assumed villain took with him to his grave. 

The novel is packed with suspense, mystery, thriller and above everything, close to life and well developed characters. From the very beginning they appear to speak for themselves and the reader kind of forgets that it is the author who is pulling the strings of his characters and making them do what they do. The well knit chapters ensure a smooth progress of the plot and as it further unravels, the reader also keeps wondering why things happen to Dr. Sheela and Dr. R.K and what would be the end results. The language of the book is friendly to the understanding of the reader and the plot progress is just accurate and as per the requirement of the reader's understanding. The initial phase of the novel makes sure that the reader's mind is filled up with all possible questions arousing curiosity which makes him flip through the pages at a greater sleep and not letting him close the book unless it is completed. Since the book is based on real life events, it becomes even more closer to life than any fiction work could be.

This may be the second book of the author but the skill and craftsmanship he shows are remarkable and more such great work or perhaps even beyond this can be expected of the author. The book is a recommended read for all age groups and must have in personal collections.

Book Review: Aham

Most of the present day writers prefer writing about their lives and experiences or whatever observations they have made of the world around them or perhaps the everyday issues that bother a person which makes the readers feel strongly connected to the characters created by the author as they leave a lasting impression on their minds. 

Then there are a different stream of writers who try their hand at a completely different category of books. They try to write about wars, battles, combats, Gods, demons and humans. In the gadget free era when brute force and strength of body and soul were main focus, Gods and demons actually appear as characters. This is visible in Nihar Sharma's "The Dark Lord", Vivek Kumar's "Arthala" and now also in Sarabh Thakur's "Aham". Aham comes across as one of the most interesting books due to it's highly provocative imagination and ability to ignite the creative brain of the reader. The book has elements of mythology and fantasy. It is more like an introduction to the fertile imagination of the author which brings him to the A-List of contemporary writers. Thakur has artistically narrated and built up a good number of characters in one book which in itself makes it a landmark in Indian literature writing.

The reader can begin reading the story from the inception of human beings which is captivating enough to invite the reader to flip through the pages and staying glued to the book till the end. There are strong and well developed characters of Vanee and Rekhyt who appear to be lively and realistic to the core. The other characters make their share of contribution and make their mark. 

The language of the book is friendly to the vocabulary of the reader and the plotline moves at a fine pace without leaving any scope for the reader to get bored or compel him to leave the book in between. Mythological fiction is one genre that has possibilities of being explored at length in the future and to have "Aham" in the bookshelf is kind of necessary for the lovers of this genre.

Book Review: Canvas of Life

Rabjot Singh Isher's compilation of short stories, "Canvas of Life" is one work of fine art and a true mark of a craftsman trying his hand at different styles of writing through the medium of short story writing. Every story that Isher has written has its own beauty and a different level of possibility and imagination that an artist can explore. Every story impresses the reader more than the earlier one and the author ensures to write every story with such skill that it becomes difficult to make one of them a favorite. 

The author has a flavor of using the flashback technique in his stories as it keeps appearing off ad on in his stories now and then. Also, the element of mystery and suspense remains in the background most of the time. Isher takes time to build his characters and create an aura of uniqueness in them. Even though he has not written a novel but he totally shows the potential of trying his hand at novel writing. He shows his scientific bent of mind in almost all the stories and at the same time also explores how human psychology works and also the message of spirituality is given in one story or the other.

The best part about the book is that it remains an inviting read to people of all ages, backgrounds and from all walks of life.