A Hundred Little Flames by Preeti Shenoy (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

 1877th BLOG POST -->>

35^th Book of 2020!

 

There are few books about which you are so excited that you get them as soon as they release but never pick them up thinking that you will read them when there should be an ambience as such around you. I think it is just “reader” thing that makes you think weird arrangements like this. Haha! I finally managed to complete Preeti Shenoy’s “A Hundred Little Flames” which released, well, in 2017, by Westland publication in around 360 pages. Yes, it’s a long book and shall take time for one to finish it after picking up but I must say, it is surely an eventful one even when through the synopsis, the premise of the book looks quite dull.

 

I have always respected Preeti Shenoy as someone who expresses women’s emotions perfectly with her books and I always like knowing the other person’s perspective hence I started liking and reading more of her novels. But this book is very different from all the other books she has written – this is majorly about men as protagonist- either it’s Ayan or his grandfather – author goes through their personality so deep that the character formation does wonder to their representation in the book. At any point of time, I didn’t feel that the book is fiction just because the kind of development with characters and their respective flashbacks that author has worked upon. It only keeps going upwards in an upward trend – with each page you will find their characters more mature and powerful than before. That’s the speciality of this book. Even the supporting characters are so involved in the story.

 

Another thing I would like to point out is the ambience of the locality in which the authoress has based her story in. This story needed a serene place rather than a metro set-up and author has done full justice by basing the tale in a village set-up at Kerala. Even the story shifts out from there, it reaches Pondicherry which is again beautifully described. Even when I haven’t travelled to those places, I could imagine the whole nature, climate, sunrise, sunset, delicacies, food, locale people etc. just through the writer’s words. The research has been terrific and it shows in every scene.

 

Preeti has been a next-level philosophical in this book against all the books she wrote before this one. The conversation between both- grandfather and grandson brings many moments where one of the characters are getting enlightened about handling an aspect of life which they had not thought of it the way other character presented. Somewhere, you shall definitely look within and think of your relationships and the depth into them after reading the diary entries of the grandfather – Gopal Shanker.

 

The chemistry between him and Rohini is so beautifully described that I just couldn’t fall in love with it. I wish to believe that it’s true. With that, author also puts light on how the love has been looked upon by the previous generations and the current one where we make into bed without even knowing each other well with minimum emotional exchange. The aesthetics maintained by the authoress while describing those diary entries and the relationship of these two characters are just excellent.

 

Similarly, author also puts light on many other social elements through this book – how a youth suffers when peers are performing well whereas they end up being jobless or how the people in villages accept us wholeheartedly against the people in cities where we have to prove ourselves with our status or how people end up putting their parents in mental asylum or old-age houses just for their lust of owning their property or how parents don’t care about their children’s emotions anymore for their lust of power. Author has also spoken in depth on mental health issues and how fragile a person becomes when dealing with it. Preeti has also spoken about in her previous and latest works but it remains to be a major part in this story too.

 

Talking about the drawbacks – I wished if the climax was little happier than the way it ended. Also, I felt that the pre-climax and climax was abruptly ended – author had chance to make it a beautiful end to the relationship. There are few mistakes in the Date-stamps mentioned in the diary entries – which is avoidable. I also felt that there could have been a good closure on Ayan’s relationship with Shivani – I didn’t feel it as justified. And – the synopsis of the book doesn’t do justice to the beauty of this book which I feel author should have written with more depth and story elements.

 

Overall, this is a very beautiful book which you would love reading if you have been missing someone or looking for understanding relationships and people more. You will also start looking at old-age people differently after reading this. I am seriously missing my grandfather after reading this book. Well done, Preeti Shenoy! I rate this book 4.5* out of 5. It deserves to be read and re-read.

PURCHASE THE BOOK FROM HERE

 

Thanks.

 

WRITING BUDDHA 

World Mental Health Day:- My Experience of fighting with DEPRESSION

 1876th BLOG POST

Today is a very important day. The day about which people don’t feel like talking about or don’t even care some times. I am talking about “World Mental Health Day” which is being celebrated today. Well, it’s not exactly celebrating but more about creating awareness about Mental Health which is given the least importance out of all the health issues that our body suffers. In my first half of life, I wasn’t aware if anything of this sort exists. It was just about being happy or sad which simply meant – if you are doing good in studies and your parents are proud of you – you stay happy whereas if your academic results aren’t as expected, you end up being sad. This was just the basic human reactions. This is what I believed.

 

Now, when I try to recall, I remember there were few classmates who always stayed in a zone where I never saw them smile and their personality was such that they always remained to be someone with whom no one befriended with. I feel so worse now that no one among us understood them. And hence, Mental Health Day is an important day when we should talk about our experiences if we had any or if not, then the experience of someone we know who went through it. So, after I did my 10^th and moved out of my protective home for my Junior college, things started changing for me. I was just unable to concentrate on academics. I didn’t meet my childhood friends much after a while. Later, I stopped attending classes. But all of this also happened because I was in a very toxic environment.

 

Later, when my father came to know about my bunking of classes, I was brought back to home in between the academic year. I finally realized that I have screwed things up. And because before that I stayed in a Colony environment where you are in a race with the classmates who stayed in the same colony in terms of who scored what rank and secured what percentage, I felt that losing a year is such a horrific performance. How will I face the world? I suddenly started feeling worthless. I just started imagining what my parents must be thinking of me – the only child and even he failed in the only job he needs to do- study.

 

After this incident, my personality changed completely. I, who was always very naughty and mischievous, went into my cocoon. I didn’t want to come out of my room whenever anyone came at my home. I stopped being in touch with my childhood friends and all the acquaintances that I had developed a little bit of relationship with. I stopped watching movies and listening songs. I started having different kind of suicidal thoughts. I always felt that the world is not meant for me as someone can’t fail and lose so much. I used to cry for no reasons at times. I tried to build myself again by doing some Computer classes but unfortunately, nothing could bring me up.

 

And this continued for next 2 years…

 

I also went to a psychiatrist – I had multiple sessions. I goofed up even there. I was given a tablet to relax in night so that I could have proper sleep whereas another tablet to stay alert throughout the day. I don’t know what I heard when doctor prescribed but I started taking them the other way around which made the case more vulnerable – I started staying up whole night overthinking and crying for no reason and then when the time came to attend college, I would start feeling sleepy. Post that, I tried various things to get out of this zone- wearing clothes of only one colour, wearing gems, going to several temples, chanting mantras etc. but it didn’t work out. But the only positive thing was that I accepted that things were wrong with me because I was myself missing my old version as it was such a fun character whereas this one was so gloomy.

 

And then I landed upon a book named “Who will cry when you die” by Robin Sharma which opened a different perspective and horizon of life for me. I, then, started self-improvement and adopting things that the book suggested and I immediately found myself enough motivated that nothing could stop me from doing whatever I planned for the day. There was still a depressive worm inside me which took another 6 months to completely leave me. These 3 years always stays to be the learning year for me as I can see all the versions of myself during the phase- the most vulnerable self and later, the fighter who beat that zone and moved out.

 

It’s not that I changed like magic and never went back to that phase. You never get the key to be away from depression forever after fighting against it once. It can hit you every time in a new way and you have to deal with it. The same happened again since last year and I think I am still fighting it. Unfortunately, again lockdown happened and I became all alone to fight against it but I think things are on my way currently.

 

These days we use the word “Depression” just like that for anything that does not go our way. As soon as we feel anything that’s not happiness or satisfaction, we term it “Depression”. And that is why Mental health is losing its importance because everyone starts calling themselves depressed for small reasons hence the person who is actually suffering with it doesn’t get the attention he needs to fight with it. On this very day, as I have tried and managed to speak about my days, I want all of you reading this to share as and whenever this happens to you. Being mentally weak doesn’t mean that you are psycho. It only means that either you are facing it due to medical reasons or because you have lost the spirit to live. This is treatable and curable. You just need to accept it and try different things – you will finally get that one reason which shall start throwing depression away from your life. My best wishes are with everyone who is fighting with this. I am sure you will win.

 

Thanks.

 

WRITING BUDDHA 

Dozen Pebbles Washed Ashore by Life by Aura Bhattacharjee (Book Review: 3*/5)

1875th BLOG POST 

34^th Book of 2020..

 

Well, recently I have ended up reading couple of anthologies so this time I thought of reading something which isn’t the usual stuff and talks about something that is really motivated towards some commonalities in all the stories. Hence, I picked up Aura Bhattacharjee’s “Dozen Pebbles Washed Ashore by Life” which comprises of 12 different stories – all talking mainly about women and their lifestyles and thoughts. All of us know the kind of sacrifices a woman makes to keep everyone happy around her and hence reading about how a woman feels herself of this is always a curiosity.

 

An anthology makes sense if all the stories are somewhere tied up with each other otherwise it just looks like compilation of several unrelated stuffs bought together just for the sake of publishing a book. Authoress have kept a good care of this and all the story somewhere seems connected – either by the warmth that all of them carry or the set-up in which they are scripted. Though the stories are short of around 7-9 pages – still, they have so much to say and deliver that you shall be able to relate it with your life or situations that you have been in.

 

Aura has used very simple language while writing this book which makes its target audience wider – it can be read by anyone right from an 8 years old kid to 80 years old grandma. I appreciate how authoress hasn’t used any kind of abusive or sexual elements to make the story exciting but kept things natural and sober which makes it a light read. I liked how even with short stories authoress has managed to make her characters powerful and relatable. It’s tough to develop the characters in short stories due to which readers don’t generally pick it up but I am glad Aura has shown how it can still be done. I liked how she has written stories as both - a third person and first person as it has helped in giving diversity to the narration of each story.

 

In the 3^rd story itself, the mention of Mumbai made me happier as I have been living here for more than a decade now and the set-up of monsoon made it more nostalgic – the way the protagonist is fighting with it after a bad day – but watching a passenger with smile and steadiness even with a larger difficulty in life than her gives a life lesson to both- the protagonist and the readers. “The Vows” is about a divorced lady, a mother of 15 years old daughter finding the beauty of relationship with a new man in her life who appreciates her flaws as much as her good qualities.

 

“Didis” is another insightful chapter which conveys a beautiful message so aptly about how the housemaids deal with their life and its challenges – which is generally ignored by us but it is what white-collared ladies talk in their presentations while discussing Women empowerment in big conference halls. “Chicago” is very nicely written. The whole chapter seems like a cold breeze that you love to feel and experience. The way the city, its winter and the friendly people are defined makes you want to be at the protagonist’s place to be there once on a small trip. “Krishnokoli” is another deep chapter where the protagonist realizes how travelling can develop perspective which wasn’t an angle in which she looked at her lifestyle before. She immediately takes decision which shall make her life easier once she returns back to her workaholic and social life.

 

Now, talking about the drawbacks- I must say the grammar and typos are let-down for this book as you definitely don’t expect that in anthologies where taking care of these elements is very easy. There are few stories which doesn’t deliver great message nor the stories leave any kind of mark hence it would have been great if all the stories would have been strengthened by the author.

 

Overall, this is a fine attempt and I give it 3 stars out of 5.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE

 

Thanks.

 

WRITING BUDDHA