#Book Review: Days of Longing by Nirmal Verma Translated by Krishna Baldev Vaid

The beauty of my country is its colourful culture and diverse language which makes it so rich yet so different. I have always regretted not knowing to read all our languages and hence indulge in reading a lot of translations. This pick was one of them and I am glad I made a wise choice.

This book is timeless and quintessential. You can finish it in one sitting and would not even realise, that you have completed a novel. The translation is brilliant and very lyrical. The wonderful facet of this book is its multiple layers of emotions, which adds to its lushness.

This is a book by Padma Bhushan recipient Nirmal Verma, translated by Krishna Baldev Vaid about an Indian student who lives in Prague for over two years and is spending the Christmas holidays in the city, instead of returning home, with a few friends who are still around. A Burmese student Than Thun (TT), a restless German cinematography student Franz and his girlfriend Maria are his points of salvation in this frigid city. Much of their time is spent visiting pubs, lolling about in their gloomy hostel and spending the whole day drinking vodka or beer according to their capability to spend; not just for the sake of getting drunk but to keep themselves warm.

Life takes a turn for this unnamed India student, when he is assigned an interpreter’s job for an Austrian lady named Raina who comes for a holiday in Prague. The professional meeting explodes into an intense, passionate relationship. Prague in winter with its beautiful and moody setting makes this love-affair more viral.

This could be an essentially sad story disguised as something brighter; or the converse, a breezy, slice –of-life tale narrating a tragic love story. The complicated and inevitably short-lived romance is poignant and deeply moving.

This is one of the most moving novels I have read in a while and among the most unusual.

Genre : Fiction

Publisher – Penguin Modern Classics

#Book Review: Tales of Fosterganj by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond can never let you down. He tops my chart as my most favourite writer. Tales of Fosterganj is his latest bestseller. Set in a fictional hamlet near Mussoorie, this book reads like you are in a holiday in a bizarre place yet very happy. Bond has once again shown his creative brilliance in creating a host of characters who are quirky in their own supernatural way yet few characteristics lend association with the real world.

The story chronicles the adventure of a of writer from Delhi, who while exploring the beauty and serenity of Mussoorie passes through the quaint hamlet of Fosterganj and after liking the calmness of the place, he decides to spend some time here while working on his next book project. He finds himself a small place to stay which is not a very luxurious one, yet takes it up for the magnificent bathroom view. Slowly during his solitary walks he gets to know people living in Fosterganj and that each one has a story to tell.

He comes across Mr. Foster, a drunkard who always has sorry stories to rope in money from people to fulfill his alcoholic needs. Hassan, a hardworking baker, who rents out his place to the writer. Vishaal, a bank manager, who resides in a place considered to be haunted by the denizens of Fosterganj. A mother and son living in an old haunted palace; a pick-pocket who is trying to make it big but too bogged down by the habit of his picking pockets. Being part of their lives, the writer discover new stories and explores lot more being part of the unusual adventures which the people of Fosterganj get into; such as close encounters with a leopard, a night spent in a disheveled haunted palace only to add to his bizarre adventure list. Then, going after monster lizards and getting trapped in the horrors of an unpredicted earthquake.

 Another attraction point of this book is its jacket with the beautiful illustration of Fosterganj. I was more attracted by this colourful cover even before peeking into the book.This book is timeless, witty and charming.The beauty of this book is in its simplicity and once, you are done reading it, you would surely want to take the next bus in search of such a place. Who knows you might get lucky in finding your own Fosterganj.

Publisher : Aleph Book Company

Genre : Fiction

#Book Review: It’s Geek 2 Me by Francis Cleetus

This graphic novel definitely wasn’t my pick after browsing through the popular online shopping portals. Thanks, to my friend R who always gives me good suggestions and asked me to pick up this book. This book is surely the funniest, wittiest and craziest one, which I have come across in long time.

It’s Geek 2 Me is a collection of comic strips by Francis Cleetus revolving around the techie lives of some of the wackiest employees of a software company named Paradox Software. What makes it humorous and yet gives the sense of the bogged down lives of the techies is that Francis has coined them after famous programs, applications, et all and provided brief sketches of their profiles and glimpses of their characters. Linux Cooper, Mona Das, Emily Facebrook, Loginder Singh and Robert Cobolobo are some of the lovable characters who try to walk through their busy life and try to keep up with the ever-changing and advanced tech-savy industry.

The comics are short, mostly three panels long and drawn in traditional fashion, which are easy to the eyes. I still would have enjoyed it more, if they would have been made colouful. The interesting aspect of his comics are that they have been infused with the happenings of contemporary world of social media,  the programming sector , or just the tech world in general.

Overall, it’s an extremely entertaining book. The cartoons are well- crafted, brilliant, intelligent and funny. The situations are not exaggerated but are lame, which we face in our everyday life but often fail to laugh at them. This is one book, which one would be proud and satisfied to have in his/her collection.

It has been numbered as Volume 1, so I hope there are many more interesting ones in the pipeline.

Genre : Graphic Novel

Publisher: Hachette

# Book Review: An Atlas of Love – The Rupa Romance Anthology

Can love be everlasting, timeless and magical as featured in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaynege ? Sounds cliché , I know. Has love found you when you did not go looking for it? Have you tasted the bitterness of innocent love?

Not being a big fan of love stories, I had still picked up this book considering it a light read and had loads of faith in Anuja Chauhan’s judgement. I am quite happy, that I have been proved right and indeed it was an excellent read.

This book is a compilation of 16 love stories in myriad forms which gives a very refreshing perspective of love and celebrates romance. Edited by the bestselling author Anuja Chauhan, boldly explores the various facets of love from its purest form to its darkest depths.

Though most of the stories end in the lived-happily- mode, there are some which have striking twists and leave you thinking. The variety in the themes makes it an engaging read.

Aurodeep Nandi’s Phoenix Mills, which won the first prize in The Rupa Romance Contest 2013, takes you through a young man’s anguished quest for love. There are multiple instances where the protagonists, once bitten in love, refuse to surrender to the same old torments; in fact couple of times, they avenge themselves with panache.

I was floored away by Unseen Boundaries of Love by Debosmita Nandi. It did give me quite a kick and kept me wondering though out the day. The brutalities of unconventional love and the innocence of the same were quite stark.

I loved the space in time which you feel while reading through all these stories. As it is a compilation of stories written by writers from different states, you get to experience the nuances of the different cultures and how love is dealt in their frame of situations.

Pick it up as this this heart-warming collection of stories urges you to believe that love is eternal and forever.

Genre : Romance

Publisher : Rupa