Book Review: Gem of Filth

 

Book: Gem of Filth

Author: Srijoy Mitra

Genre: Dystopia/ Fiction/ Young-Adult

Review:

The novella is a  continuation of the author’s previous book Golden Wings. Having read the first book, I was expecting more from the second part of the series. The first half of the book is a bit slow but it gradually speeds up as the story moves forward. Though it is a piece of fiction the incidents depicted in the book closely resembles the struggle of surviving in the harsh world by a lone child.

The author has beautifully represented a man’s need for belongingness to a group. For Ani, the boy from the concrete world, survival is difficult as he doesn’t know the rules of the slum. He is mocked, made fun of, beaten but he learns and survives. He learns about the basics of gardening (yes he is from the concrete world and doesn’t know what seeds are and how to grow a plant) and when he realizes that he needs his green zone for comfort and food he started clearing the river, and later many other join him in this endeavour.

Though the author has not revealed several things like why few people started helping Ani, the boy from the concrete world, in creating his garden, why his parents didn’t raise questions when he comes home bruised, etc. I guess there might be another part in the series which will answer all questions which are left unanswered in “Gem of Filth”.

Can a boy from the concrete world live beyond the wall? Can he create a gem in the filth or he is the gem in filth? It depends on how you chose to see after reading the book!

Overall Rating: 3/5

Book review: Reasons to Smile

Book: Reasons to Smile

Author: Yastika Jha
Genre: FictionReview: Just one word: marvellous. It's hard to believe that this novella “Reasons To Smile” is written by 15 years old. A short and sweet read that revolves around the friendship of four successful musicians who broke up and went on following their life journey after one of them succumbs to cancer. After 7 years of break, one of the band member, Kiran, now the best-selling author decides to find their lost friend Sharmin and revive their band “Indigo Colours”. Yastika Jha, the author, has beautifully webbed the timeline and the events. Each character has his/her own temperament which can be seen as you move along the story. If you like friendship and chick-lit then I would strongly suggest you read this “Reasons To Smile”.
Overall rating: 4.5/5

Book Review of "Urmilla by Devi Raghuvanshi"

Genre: Mythology/Religion
Pages: 160

Every epic glorifies the main character hiding the valour and sacrifice of secondary characters. The author, Devi Raghuvanshi, has tried to bring up another side of Ramanaya. Sita and Rama are venerated for being ideal spouse and suffering so much for each-other. But this book suggests otherwise. It was Urmilla who suffered the most in the mythological epic Ramayana as she was not only separated from his beloved husband Lukshamana but also she has to look after the kingdom of Ayodhya in absence of prince Rama and Lakshamana. She confronted Rama when she sensed that he would be casting his wife Sita out of the place. Urmilla is portrait as a lady of strong character and expert in various arts.

I personally never thought that Ramanaya is more than just a story of Rama and Sita. This is the 12th book by the author and I was expecting more information about the life of Urmilla. However, it is a short and sweet read; a micro Ramanaya I would say.

My overall rating: 3*/5*

Book review of " Musings of a Romantic: a mini compendium of poetry by Shankar Kashyap"

Genre: poetry / literature

“Musings of a Romantic” is not just another poetry book or anthology. I would say it is the mini-encyclopedia of poetry. I have read many books on poetry but this book stands out of all. Why? Because of the lucid explanation of different kinds of poetry. It’s unbelievable that an orthopaedic surgeon,

Dr Shankar Kashyap, wrote this book and not a PhD (English literature) scholar. The book begins with a brief introduction to the history of poetry and a few famous world renowned poetic works across the globe since the beginning of human civilization. There are over 200 forms of poetry, I was not aware this fact till I read this book, but the author has assimilated approximately 44 most popular forms which I believe not many people will be acquainted with. Every chapter of the book begins with a brief introduction to the history and the structure of that poetic form followed by examples penned by the author himself and a few by most famous poets in the history English literature. The poems written by Dr Kashyap in this book are truly mindgasmic.

The electric feeling at the first smile, shared

Holding hands for the first time, the touch

The first kiss, tender and hesitant

Are they just memories of a dream, I dreamt?

Another thing that caught my eye was the way the book is structured. It begins with the sonnet and ends with epistle and epilogue which resembles the life-cycle of humans. There are numerous poems related to river Sarasvati which follow a similar pattern of birth, praise, dissatisfaction and the death (ode, palinode, eulogy and epitah).

The Sages tell me you raced from the mountains to the sea

And that you were mightier than the oceans

You carved the hard granite of the Shivalik’s

Into cavernous gorges, valleys deeper than the oceans.

The poet has beautifully described the beauty of the river in those poems.

It’s a perfect handy reference book for those who wish to study about different forms of poetry and its history; doesn’t matter if you are just a poetry lover or a student of literature or want to learn about poetry forms in general. If you write poems this book might help you in improving your skills. A must-have for every poetry lover’s shelf.

Overall rating: 5*/5*

Book Review: "Joy Maa Durga by Atul Chandra Sarkar"

Genre: poetry / religion / spiritual / translation

What happens when religion meets the literature? Well, it gives birth to the finest work of the writer or possibly his magnum opus. “Joy Maa Durga” is a perfect example of such work. Poet Atul Chandra Sarkar has done a wonderful job of translating the shlokas of Sage Markandeya’s “Durga Saptasati” in poetic structure. I can only fathom how much effort and energy he might had to put to do so. There are English translations available in the market but I have not come across any work that is purely in the form of poems. This volume stands apart from other translation I have read. This collection of 700 shlokas is more than just story of the battle, valour and power of incarnations of Goddess Durga. Goddess Durga is believed to be the creator and the destructor of the Universe(Chapter 1). She is the protector of all things in spiritual and material form. She is the ruling power of the universe(chapter 11).  It is believed the one who recites these shlokas regularly will be provided with all material benefits of the mortal world. He will be fearless, courageous and ready to face any kind of challenge. In the preface, Mr Atul Chander Sarkar has also provided information about when to recite which chapter and to gain maximum benefits out of it which zodiac sign should read which chapter. It is very close to the original Sanskrit text. There are thousands of people out there, across the globe, who wish to read the Saptasati in a structured poetic way. This work will not only prove a boon to those people but it might also help people of the entire world to know more about rich cultural and spiritual heritage Indians have. The beauty of the book lies in the fact that the poet has tried to keep the meaning of the translated text as close as possible to the original Sanskrit text. Call it the grace of the Goddess or the psychological effect but I did feel the positive vibes and aura around me which reading this text. I believe regular recitation of these shlokas will help in to rise above existential sufferings.

Overall rating: 5*/5*

Love at first sight.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Neither do I. It’s simply impossible, isn’t it? I mean how can you fall in love with someone whom you barely know? Or can you?

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Sitting in the empty classroom I was having a chit-chat with my friend discussing a  weird French expression “coup de foudre” which I saw yesterday; it roughly translates to “Love at first sight”.

And at that precise moment, she entered with an aura so intense that my soul could feel its energy and vibes. Believe me, it never ever happened with me ever before. I can see the energy of other persons but feeling someone’s energy to the core of my soul that was unlikely but it happened. It felt like her aura is going to engulf the emptiness invading my heart. The demons residing in dark alleys of my heart, who usually drive me mad, calmed and smiled. They bowed before her. I liked everything about her. The way she adjusts the strands of her hair, the confidence with which she carries herself with, the way she talks, the softness in her voice, the elegance which she carries with her, the spark in her eyes, and the hues of her vibes which took over the core of my soul. It felt like our souls are vibrating on the same frequency. I could feel the resonance of her voice and her vivacious energy in my heart and soul. It might be cliché but it feels like she is the one I have been longing for so long, since the beginning of time since the birth of the universe. Maybe, gradually she might realize that we are two fragments of the same soul. Perhaps, we were together even before there was God. Maybe, we created the entire universe in own image. Maybe, she is my twin flame.

But in this lifetime SHE IS THE GODDESS AND I AM THE PRIEST.

Like me, she carries darkness inside her. I can see those places inside her heart where no one has ever stepped before because they might be too afraid of getting lost. Maybe, she has befriended her demons which is evident by the invisible emotional wall she has created around her to keep others out. She is strong, way too strong than any girl I have ever met but I am sure she would melt like ice if touched at right places at her heart. One thing I sure about is that the monsters and demons walking in abyss our hearts will play well with each other. And how I know this? Because I know the dark side of these creatures well enough; I have spent eternity with them. These are not to be dreaded but to be loved after all they are our unexpressed emotions that died in depth of our hearts transforming themselves as demons that we fear.
Maybe this is the reason my demons smile in her presence because they know they can be revived into something they were once meant to be.

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Do you believe in love at first sight? I don’t know about you but yes I do now.

Book Review of "Lady in Red by Shankar Kashyap"

Genre: Romance
Type: Poetry

Throughout the world, in all cultures, the colour RED is associated with joy, life, romance, love, fire, lust, desire, passion, seduction, energy, danger, strength, valour and sacrifice. The book LADY IN RED, which is a collection of 45 love poems, is filled with all these emotions that a human enjoys in his lifetime. The book is an amalgamation of different styles of poetry like villanelle, ode, ballads, acrostics, triolet, sonnets etc originated in different parts of worlds. There are several poems in the form of ghazals and rubaiyat which are Persian form of poetry; surprisingly I didn’t know that one can write ghazals in the English language too.

The poet, Shankar Kashyap, has exquisitely described the beauty of a muse and artist’s feelings towards her:
Two love birds watching us, jealous
As we cuddled and kissed under the oak tree.
 
 His vivid imagination and thoughtful play with words and nature give sweet and serene texture to the poems:
The moon tries to hide behind the dark clouds, cannot compete
With unparalleled beauty of the dusky eyed maiden of the dale.

The poems are written from the vantage point from where a person can describe the beauty and his feelings for the muse. Most of the poems are breezy and vivacious bustled with tenderness but in poems like “My Girl” and “My Soulmate” one can find traces of heartache, agony and grief:
I used to drink the wine off her lips,
 take me to heaven.
I drink wine from a jar now; I have lost
 my soulmate.
 I used to drink wine to lift my spirits up to see her
The wine dulls the mind and the pain;
 I have lost my soulmate

No doubt the poems are beautifully written but few verses are repeated in couple of poems; however, it does not take away the beauty of this book.
Overall Rating:3.5*/5*