Category: English

  • One unfinished pursuit

    One unfinished pursuit

    This has been a long overdue review. I received the review copy from Blogchatter sometimes in 2022. Life happened, I moved houses. Unfortunately, the copy ended up in some wrong box during the move. Recently, I stumbled upon it.

    When you are dialled in for achieving success in your career, your focus on life kind of takes a backseat. Isn’t this a part of the “Career Romance” trope? When you are running behind a successful career, you end up being alone for a longer time. Then suddenly you stumble upon a person who breaks the spell and reveals the joy of life. This is what Pursuit: Drawn by Destiny is in a nutshell.

    Should you read it or not?

    Pooja has written a nice pacy story which hooks you in from the start with a nicely crafted strong female protagonist who is ambitious, courageous and hungry for success. She has developed the story around this character and keeps you interested in the book. On the other hand, the book lacks in the development of other characters. It feels like the author ran out of paint when she reached the portraits of other characters. They feel like abstract forms without much detailing and story arcs of their own.

    Most of the story moves in the expatriot circle of Mumbai. Yet it feels like the story is set in some fictional place. Characteristics of Mumbai are missing from the story. It feels like expats in Mumbai are moving with their own bubble indifferent to their surroundings and dealing with only of their kinds.

    If you are hungry for some romance novel with full Bollywood style masala, this book will grab your attention. A director can see a good movie in this story for sure. As a debut novel, it has done a great job of keeping you engaged enough that you will not put the book down till you finish. Hope Pooja improves leaps and bounds in her upcoming stories.

    About the book

    Title: Pursuit: Drawn by Destiny
    Author: Pooja Poddar Marwah
    Pages: 230
    Publisher: Becomeshakeaspeare.com
    ISBN: 9388573641

    My rating

    Story: 2/5
    Cover Design: 2.5/5

    Overall rating: 2/5

    Where to Buy

    Should you read it?

    If you are in looking for frenemy to lover trope, you will enjoy the book. However, I feel it’s one time casual read.

    This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program and I received this copy of Pursuit in exchange for my honest review. You can read more of my book recommendations here.

    I am participating in blogchatter’s TBRChallenge

  • Good food but not so much detecting – Book Review

    Good food but not so much detecting – Book Review

    My introduction to Japanese literary scene is pretty recent and obviously through the translated works. A few gems came to my way were a couple of short books by Haruki Murakami, Honjin Murder by Seishi Yokomizo and Easy Life in Kamasuri. I enjoyed all of them but, you haven’t heard my thoughts about them here. It’s been a long time I have posted a book review for my lovely blog readers. I hope to restart my blogging journey once again with this one.

    The Kamogawa Food Detectives came on my feed while I was casually browsing windows of labyrinth of Amazon. Being a sucker for crime fiction genre and a foodie, it grabbed my attention right away. Before I knew, I had got it on my kindle and already opened to read.

    What to expect from this?

    The Kamogawa Food Detectives take you on a journey of Japanese cuture, cuisine and short trips to a variety of prefectures across the island country. Though it’s about a father-daughter duo hunting for lost recipes for their clients, the book misses the mark about the “hunting” part. It’s a good book offering culinary and philosophical nuggets spread across its pages. Howeveer, if you are coming in with an expectation to read stories of sleuthing, you will be disappointed.

    From the blurb

    What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

    Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason to stop by . . .

    The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers’ pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to forgotten memories and future happiness.

    From the widower looking for a specific noodle dish that his wife used to cook, to a first love’s beef stew, the restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to the past – and a way to a more contented future.

    About the book

    • Name of Book: The Kamogawa Food Detectives
    • Author: Hisashi Kashiwai
    • Publisher: Mantle
    • Publication date: 5 October 2023
    • Pages: 209
    • ISBN – 10: 0593717716
    • Kindle e-book Price: ₹ 499

    My ratings

    Stories: 3/5
    Writing Style: 3/5
    Cover Design: 4/5

    Overall Rating: 3/5

    Where to get your copy

    Should you read it?

    Overall, it’s a good “one time read” if you are interested in Japanese culture, food and some philosophy!

    For more about my views on books, click here.

  • Remind me, It’s a wonderful world…

    Remind me, It’s a wonderful world…

    Remind me, it's a wonderful world...
    Remind me, will you?

    Today, when I sat down to write this, I found it to be a nice coincidence. My last post on my blog is a free verse about finding joy in small things. It seems this thought hasn’t left my mind and I have something more to talk about. Being a poet, I have a habit of distilling thoughts into a concise and crisp form of expression. So, it’s very unusual for me. I haven’t felt an urge to write something more on a topic about which I have already written a poem.

    When I wrote that free verse, I was thinking about the possibilities of stumbling on unexpected happiness. The joy it sparks when you wake up to a beautiful symphony of birds singing from your balcony. As if it’s a private concert just for you! Imagine the happiness when you come home after a tiring day and someone offers you a chilled glass of sharbat in summer or a hot cup of tea or coffee on some cold day. These are the moments of happiness in this wonderful world on which we stumble upon.

    But today, I want to talk about us missing out on the joy of these small moments, which seem insignificant in our race to paint the “big picture”. In today’s day and age, we all live in a very competitive world. Everybody is chasing one goal after the other, trying to reach the next milestone as soon as you reach the earlier one. It’s such a rush that we forget to even take a breath and celebrate the achievement of reaching the milestone itself.

    Some added pressure to spice it up…

    I feel social media has added a layer of new pressure to track the numbers. Especially for the creators like us, who have not yet made it large. Numbers do matter to us, but sometimes, the traction of numbers takes us away from the joy we used to get from being creative. Sometimes, we feel stuck in a place where we can’t create anymore. Some say it’s our mind playing tricks with us. But today, when I read Yashavi’s post on her blog, I felt that I am not alone who thinks that creative block is real. We have to make a conscious effort to find that spark of joy. That too, if we are lucky enough to understand that we have lost it in the first place.

    For the past few days, I had been mulling over these thoughts. It feels that one should revisit his or her reservoirs of joy to get rejuvenated. These reservoirs are very personal springs or fountains of joy, exclusive for themselves. For some it might be a trip to the mountains or a wilderness. One might find his fountain just around the corner in shelves of a local library. A music festival might replenish someone’s canteen while others can get recharged just by an early morning jog. 

    Basically, the point is to remove that blockage and get that water flowing again. Remind yourself that it’s a wonderful world out there. Take a moment, and look out.

    For my other posts, follow this trail…

  • Bhakti – an eternal flow of devotion and surrender

    Bhakti – an eternal flow of devotion and surrender

    I never have been a morning person as far as I remember. And yet today I remember about those dawns. Announcements airing on Akashwani Nashik, FM 101.4 MHz around 6:00 am always disturbed my sleep. Soon after, the station used to air traditional Marathi abhangs penned by saints like Tukaram, Namdev, Ramdas, etc. The Voices of legends like Bharatratna Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar used to fill the atmosphere.

    I used to be reluctant to wake up this early and the noise of the radio irritated me. Yet these tunes and words have formed strong memories. These songs gave me a basic introduction to Bhakti as a feeling. I was very young to understand it of course however, the impact these songs had on me was great.

    My encounter with Alwar literature

    My recent experiences of writings of some unfamiliar saints from other parts of India recalled this memory from my childhood. In the 2024 edition of Pune Kabir Festival, I was fortunate to listen to Priya Purushotamman, a fantastic vocalist of Agra Gharana. She presented renditions of Alwar saints, Akka Mahadevi, Basavanna and Kabir. I was clueless about the vast expanse of works of 12 Alvar saints. She sang a few couplets written by two of them. The meaning, she explained, blew my mind even though it’s Tamil literature. I would like to share a glimpse of the concert in which Priya sings Mirabai’s नाव किनारे लगाव प्रभुजी.

    Priya Purushottaman sings Mirabai’s नाव किनारे लगाव प्रभुजी.
    Moments from a concert of Mandar Karanjkar and Dakshayani Athalye
    Moments from a concert of Mandar Karanjkar and Dakshayani Athalye

    A few months ago, I came across writings of Saint Ravidas and Paltudas. My familiarity of Bhakti tradition from north India was limited to a few Mirabai and Kabir Bhajans. I am thankful to a duo of my favourite vocalists, Mandar Karanjkar and Dakshayani Athalye, for this introduction. One of my favourite couplet which stuck in my mind was

    ना मै किया ना करी सको, साहेब करता मोर,
    करत करावत आप है, पलटू पलटू शोर.

    Saint Paltu Das

    Common grounds in Bhakti tradition

    Even though these wise people were from different eras, separated by centuries, they have some common message. What Paltu Das says in पलटू मन मुवा नही, चले जगत को त्याग is very similar to Sant Dnyaneshwar’s कर्म मी करेन। किंवा ते सोडेन। बोलणे हे जाण। अज्ञानाचे।।. While explaining works of these saints, Mandar emphasised on the similar examples, same words used by all the saints like Kabir das, paltu das, Gorakh nath, etc over 8 centuries.

    These two concerts piqued my interest in exploring the writings of various saints from Bhakti tradition of India. Wisdom spread across in those writings in very simple words. If you get a chance to listen to any of these artists, don’t miss it. It’s a treat for ears even if they chose a different subject to present. They are wonderful musicians.

    And if you have any memories about particular bhajan, hymns, and kalam which you cherish, do share them in comments.

    Read more of my blogs here.

    This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Bohemian Bibliophile.

  • Let me go – A love story

    Let me go – A love story

    Samar was trying to get the task done. He has been struggling with this particular task since last morning. He was about to lose his calm if he couldn’t crack this in the next half hour. This was a really unusual thing as he was popular for figuring out the quick solutions about the task which were stuck at a point. But was it really the hard-to-crack solution that was bothering him? Or was it something else? Was it what happened a day before with Sneha? Yeah, it was about her. But exactly what part of their conversation bothered him so much that he couldn’t focus on his work?

    It’s been two years since Sneha and Samar started dating. Some six months before they hunted for a cosy little apartment and moved in together. It was not all lovey-dovey in these two years but they have managed to make it up to each other. They fought, even for the silliest reason but they also knew when to raise a flag for peace. They both have been working in the same company when they started dating. Within a couple of months, Sneha got a good deal at another MNC and she grabbed the opportunity. Samar strongly supported her in arriving at the decision to switch. They adjusted their life around the new change. Spending less time together was really tough. However, they got used to it.

    A day before, Samar finished his work rather early and took Sneha’s favourite flowers just to make her happy after a busy day at her office. She just had started leading a new project. Just like every other new project, initial hick-ups which resulted in stress at the end of the day. So once at home, he tidied the rooms, nicely arranged the flowers in vases Sneha bought when they moved in together. He got up from the sofa and just when he got a message from Sneha “See you in 10, dear”. He knew nothing but strong hot coffee would make Sneha happy. As soon as she smells that aroma, her stress is, Puff!!!! Gone……

    Exactly in 10 minutes the doorbell rang, Samar opened the door. They had set is as rule. “If another person is at home, one will not use the key to open the latch.” Seeing happy, smiling, bubbly Sneha at the door shocked him a bit. She had brought a box full of sweets. She came in, almost pushing Samar out of the way. Opened the box and fed him the sweet. She was surprised to see the flowers. It felt amazing when the aroma of brewing coffee hit her brain. Sneha refused to tell anything before they settled in with the coffee. Samar hurriedly poured their mugs and they settled in the sit out.

    Sneha excitedly pulled the envelope out of her bag and put it in his hands. Samar opened it with excitement. It was a letter from her company. He was thrilled with excitement to know about the content of the letter. His face lit with joy as he read it. Her selection for on-site assignment for the new project got him excited. They decided to hit their favourite club to celebrate the offer in excitement.

    It took a couple of hours for Samar to realise that this was going to be the long assignment. As they were returning from the club, the fact of a 5-6 month long on-site assignment was sinking in Samar’s head. He was quiet when they were getting back. Whenever he is upset, he goes into this introvertive cocoon. He almost stops talking. His replies shorten to one or two words. Sneha had sensed the reason behind his silence, but she chose not to push him. She knew he would take his time to get back.

    Since then, Samar was struggling to accept and get himself ready for such a long period of staying away from her. He knew it was going to be the toughest patch in their relationship. He was not sure about how he was going to handle it. From yesterday morning, Samar was trying to figure out how to make these six months liveable. Sneha knew that he was not going to stop her from taking this assignment. Just when Samar was about to call it a day and head home, his phone beeped. He checked the notification. It was a video message from Sneha. With his finger tap, Sneha appeared on screen with a perfect puppy face, saying “Let me go, dear.” 

    Samar had found his answer…

    “This post is a part of Remembering Love Blog Hop hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed“.

    Along with this,

    This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Bohemian Bibliophile.

    For more stories, click here.

  • A trip down the memory lane…

    A trip down the memory lane…

    Imagine a room of a kid who’s barely out of his teens. For the sake of the story, let’s call him Bandya. Ohh, you think it’s out of fashion name? So, shall it be Sunny? Good! So, imagine Sunny’s room. What do you see? A single bed towards a wall, flooding with all sorts of thing that you would wonder if it has a mattress on it or not. A clutter of headphones, charger cables, iPad, heap of cloths and Sunny himself. How can you even expect to see a piece of mattress with all this? This is just a one side of the room.

    On the other side, a corner specially designed for ‘studying’ which has not seen much of the use. A stack of course books which would be touched only a couple of days before exams is on the table and a huge paper pile gathered over the years. Another corner is for the sporting equipment for cricket or badminton. A room is incomplete without a special nook carved for a computer desk where you would find sunny if he’s not on his bed.

    The reason for which I am telling you all these details is, so that you can enjoy the story I am going to narrate. Just like us, Sunny’s mum had taken all the clutter in from her vantage point at the door. Sunny had really tested her limits this time. She sprang into action and without giving Sunny a chance to escape, she pulled him out of the bed.

    “If I don’t see this cleared and tidied you are not getting lunch today. So Mr. Sunny, better get going.”, she issued an ultimatum. “Then, I’ll go out for lunch.” He tried acting smart. After giving him a cold stare for a moment, she just left the room. At the door, she turned, closed it and just bolted it from outside. Sunny was so dumbstruck with this mood that he couldn’t even comprehend what has transpired. “Want to head out for lunch? Go if you can!” she roared. “Clean it up and I will open the door.”

    Top post on Blogchatter

    In a fit of anger, he too bolted the door from inside, as if he was trying to keep the whole family locked up in other rooms. He even tried throwing stuff around. Understanding the futility of the situation, he decided to clean the room at last. Even the room almost gave out a sigh with a thought of getting a much-awaited tidying up.

    Sunny started pulling all the clutter down on the floor. Once everything was on the floor, he sat in the middle and started going through it. If you would have looked at the scene, you would feel like standing in a stall selling second hand things in a weekly bazaar. When he started sorting a pile of papers from the table, he wasn’t sure from when the pile was growing. It had papers almost from his first grade. While looking at all those bits and bobs, he was forgetting that he has to tidy all of this. He was losing himself in a maze of memories associated with all those things.

    He could see all of his friends, and the fun they had during his school days. The pile had bunch of photos taken during birthdays, festivals. Tickets of the movies they watched; class photos taken for every year. A box of greeting cards given by friends collected which he had collected over the years. He was so engrossed in this that he lost the track of time.

    His mum, oblivious to Sunny’s trip in memory land, was waiting for him to plead for lunch. When he didn’t turn up even their usual lunch time passed, she came to check up on him. She tried calling him, but no response. Sunny was so lost that he didn’t hear the calls. She opened the bolt just to find it locked from the inside. This ticked her off again and she gave up on him and bolted the door again. She went on to have her lunch and keep working according to her own schedule.

    When Sunny came back from his long stroll of memory lanes, clock was showing 5PM. A growling tymmy made him realised the hunger. He just tidied everything quickly and went to the door to go to the kitchen for food. When he tried opening it but it didn’t budge. He tried again and then remembered the whole episode which had put him in this space at the first place.

    He called out to his mother to open the door. She was waiting for his calls already so she rushed to his room and opened the door from outside. She started firing all sorts of questions. “What were you doing so far? why didn’t you answered when I came to call him for lun…” She almost froze in mid-sentence as she took a tidied room in. It was a shocking transformation. She just pulled him into her arms and took him to the kitchen for his much-delayed lunch. She was looking at him eating silently with teary eyes…

    This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop. Read more stories like this here.