The Beauty of the Moment – Book Review

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book, book review

I read Tanaz Bhathena’s debut book A Girl Like That a month or so ago, and that book is still so sharp in my mind. Everything about that book was sharp and soulful, angry and sprinkled with little, barely-there joys. That book made me feel.

Unfortunately, her latest book, The Beauty of the Moment that I read approx 48 hours ago, has already faded into hazy phrases and colorless images. I guess comparisons shouldn’t be a thing and I should review the book as a standalone. But when the first book made us readers happy and craving for more, the second book is, frankly, a disappointment.

And I feel confused about this book. Its like the book isn’t even by the same author. Sure, we have mentions of Qala Academy in Saudi, and hints of life there, and little bits about Parsis. We have dystopian family lives and missing parents. And we have a love story. We even have the hero save the girl, yet again.

But it doesn’t have the fire, the boldness that was there previously. The characters aren’t as fleshed out, even with their exhaustive background stories.

Its a story about two teenagers, Susan Thomas and Malcolm Vakil. In the beginning, they both seem completely different. But as the story progresses, we realise they are quite the same. Susan is a (Malayali) girl who gets the best grades and doesn’t put a toe outside the line to keep her parents happy. Her family has just moved from Jeddah to Canada, though her father hasn’t moved yet which leads to its own complications. Malcolm is a “born-and-brought-up-in-Canada” Parsi boy (yay for much needed diversity) who is supposed to be the bad boy. But other than the superficial forcedness of this trope, its clear to even the most inattentive reader that he is just your boy-next-door, and has long ago given up on the rebel phase. They both become friends, albeit slowly, and then the friendship blossoms into romance, albeit slowly. The characters go through the usual teenage angst, rebelling against parents, trying to get over broken hearts and tragically broken homes all the while studying as hard as possible. There’s constant action in The Beauty of The Moment and I think that makes it lengthier and stilting than necessary.

Verdict: Okay-ish

Memories of Fire: Book Review

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book review

Memories of Fire by Ashok Chopra is a book which is about five childhood friends and their lives, entwined even when they are far apart.

After going through some of the rave reviews about the author’s previous works, I picked up this book with much hope. Unfortunately, I was in for disappointment. A novel that is ostentatiously about five friends, does little to shed light on their friendship. We know it began as they attended the same school, St Edwards. Radhey Shyam and Balbir Singh, two of the friends of the aforementioned five, were as close as families (or so we are told – we hardly see an example of this) as their fathers were best friends. The other three were Syed Ahmed Reza Khan (from Pakistan), Deepak Kumar from Chandigarh and Vijay Thakur. We barely get to know how they became such good friends, what they talked about when they were children and what bonded them together.

Among all the characters in the book, Vijay Thakur is the only one who seems to be the favorite one of the author. He’e the one character who’s most believable, most fleshed out. The rest are like paper cut-outs. We are informed of the life they lived and the careers they followed. But we never get to peep inside the real-world turmoil if any of them, other than Vijay Thakur. I felt as if the author is trying really hard to show how intellectual the characters are. Reza, Deepak and Radhey Shyam correspond via letters, and discuss philosophy, poetry, politics, and books. It could have been brilliant and witty, but instead its tedious and slows the pace of the book.

Verdict: Not worth it.

The Nine-Chambered Heart : Book Review

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book review, review, the nine-chambered heart

Let me start this review with a confession – I am not sure how I feel about this book. I love parts of it, yet parts of it leave me disturbed and angry.  I started the book on a happy note and finished reading it with a sense of emptiness in my heart.

Essentially a love story, The Nine-Chambered Heart by Janice Pariat is a book for people who like falling in love and revel in nostalgia. The book is in 10 parts with 9 different narrators. Yet all these narrators are bound together by one thing : The Girl they fall in love with, and whose story they tell us. The unnamed Girl whom we begin to love, whom we want to hug and protect. All the stories by the 9 people are like puzzle pieces to The Girl’s life – scattered among time. You get to know a bit about her childhood through narrator 1 (The Saint), while another reminiscences about The Girl’s solo trip to a beautiful country. Every narration adds color to her, fills in blanks left by another and brings us as close as possible to a truer picture of The Girl.

She is not perfection, though. Like so many other dream girls flashing on our screens and peeping from within her books, she is a typical, tortured artistic soul looking for love and stability. Quite frustrating.

I love the explanation of love in this book. Or rather, the exploration. Too many lives have been destroyed looking for a soulmate, believing in Bollywood kind of love. This is more apt. More flesh and blood. More true to our feelings.

But it also gets ugly. Because that’s how life and love are.

It is not love, though, what most of them feel for her. It is often lust, confused with love.  Sometimes, she was an antidote to their loneliness. To one, she was youth personified. To another, she was a beautiful promise of a better, brighter future. And like all stories, the beginnings are beautiful, poetic even. Until the love morphs into something perfunctory and brings a messy end. Until the headiness of new love subsides and we see the narrators for who they really are. One lover takes a nude picture of The Girl without consent, without her knowledge. And most of these men become friendly with her with pure lascivious intentions,  breaking her heart in the process.

Yet there were a few who did love her, who gave her hope and the security she needed. The teacher helped her when she was most vulnerable, giving her a life-long skill – a gift. Her husband – of the quick and probably brief marriage, scarified a lot for her, just to see her smile, just to see her happy.

What I disliked the most, however, was the attitude of The Girl towards all this. She is shown as an intelligent and independent girl who takes solo trip to another country and defies her parents in her wish to follow her dreams. And yet, she never shows the door to those who mistreated her, to whose who didn’t love her enough. She doesn’t get angry, just sad, and even when she walks out – she comes back. Love is her biggest strength, but its also her greatest weakness.

Verdict: Strangely disappointing. Still, worth a read.

The Boys Who Fought by Devdutt Patnaik: Book Review

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book, book review, devdutt patnaik, fiction, indian mythology, mahabharta, mythology

Devdutt Pattanaik, called “India’s favorite mythologist” brings out yet another take on Mahabharata (the first one was Jaya) – but this one is exclusively for kids.

The Boys Who Fought – The Mahabharata for Children is the compressed version of the classic Indian epic, Mahabharata.  Beautifully illustrated by the author, it is a budget friendly version that has just 107 pages. Perfect for children and for their parents (because seriously, children’s book have become so expensive!).

The original epic is choked full of characters (more than thousand) and covers incidents ranging from adultery to polyandry,  murders to fratricide. The author has touched on all this, yet has kept it very matter-of-fact and has quietly moved on, keeping in mind the age of the readers. The numbers of characters has also been kept to a bare minimum to avoid confusion (and probably frustration).

Written succinctly, The Boys Who Fought is a tale of two group of brothers who fought with each other in the name of dharma.

When you can fight for the meek without hating the mighty, you follow dharma.

In the forest, the mighty eat the meek. In human society, the mighty should take care of the meek. This is dharma. 

The Pandavas, five orphan brothers ask their rich cousins, The Kauravas for their right on the kingdom of Hastinapur. The Kauravs, one hundred brothers, refuse and burn their house, try to kill them on multiple occasions, insult their wife and steal their kingdom through devious means. This leads to the great battle between Pandavas and Kauravas that lasts for 18 days and causes immeasurable bloodshed, loss and pain on both sides.

Children get to know not only dharma and adharma, but also realize that sometimes even good people end up doing wrong things. They learn to question the acts of not just villains but also the heroes.

It’s a great way to get children to know about our classics – in a language and style they are comfortable with. And hopefully, this could create an interest in our culture and classics in them.

 

*Disclaimer: I got this book as part of  Flipkart Blogger Review Program. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie : Book Review

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book, book review, fiction, novel, salman rushdie, the golden house

The Golden House, the thirteenth novel by Sir Salman Rushdie, is yet another fable of dark, twisting realities, profuse with tales of love and loss sprinkled with a bit of the zeitgeist of present day America. It is a plethora of film noir, of Greek mythology, of crime capers and of mad Roman rulers. Rushdie delivers wonderfully as is expected from him by now – poetical prose, peppered with quirkiness and just a bit of black humor.

The plot follows closely the lives of the Goldens through the eyes of their resident spy / neighbor / filmmaker René. Set against the backdrop of  the Obama era years, from his first inauguration up to the election that brought Trump to power, we see their lives transmogrify, from glory to defeat, from identity crisis to death, from omnipotence to feebleness and from naivety to realizing the immorality within.

The novel begins with the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States and the arrival of the Goldens in Gardens, a secluded Eden in Manhattan. Nero Golden, his three sons, Petronius, or Petya, Lucius Apuleius, or Apu and Dionysius, or D. These were the names they picked for themselves when fleeing a personal tragedy from a country that could not be named (but could be guessed, easily). The names itself are haughty and powerful and speak of richness and authority . The Goldens in their golden house – honest to the point of vulgarity. Everything is grand and glittery. (Almost) Everyone is larger than life. The parties are the classiest, the people are the crème de la crème; even the ladies of the night are classy in their own way. It echoes slightly of The Great Gatsby, though there’s no Daisy and no Nick Carraway. (We do have René, but he’s no Nick).

The sons aren’t content with just changing their names, however. Petya struggles with overcoming agoraphobia and invents immensely successful computer games; Apu finds his artistic side and turns out to be really good at what he does; and D goes on a journey of gender identity and self-realization. To add a sense of fatality, in walks a scheming Russian beauty, making the cast complete. And we have René, our young, innocent, sheltered dreamer who despite the best of his intentions gets irrevocably tangled up in his subject matter. The method of his entanglement was the one thing that I found sorely disappointing. It was as cliche as it gets, something so mundane and common that to find it within the pages of The Golden House was absurd.

There’s a mystery about the departure of the Goldens which even though was supposed to be a huge plot reveal, didn’t feel like so because of the constant foreshadowing. But it isn’t the plot here that is the hero, though it does have its sublime moments. Just as well because magicians like Rushdie aren’t known for their plots, but for their way with words. Its the words that delight us, “intelligently amuse” us, and even when the world within the Gardens erupts, and plunges us into despair – its the words that are our savior. The suicide letter of one tormented character, the resignation letter of another have the capability of moving us much more than hundreds of other novels.

“I need to think and the city is full of noise.”

I cannot think of a more perfect quote that reduces our lives to nothing but a quest for inner peace. Its amazing how Rushdie lets his words flow so smoothly from the lyrical to the practical, throughout these 380 pages.

Some of the best passages in the book, however, are not about the Goldens or René . They are about the city that can not be named, with its imposing hotel that cannot be named, within which thrive the beautiful unknown people that somehow seem more real than other characters in the novel. They are about the Joker (real name Gary “Green” Gwynplaine, based on Donald Trump) in the White House, the one whose very presence in the power seat of America shows us the truth of this country. They are about a country being torn apart by its own treachery.

“America’s secret identity wasn’t a superhero. Turns out it was a super villain.”

Never have truer words been written before.

Think of this not as a novel but as a journey with a nihilistic destination.

*Disclaimer: I got this book as part of  Flipkart Blogger Review Program. All opinions expressed are my own.

Skyfire : A Review

Disclaimer: I got this book as part of Flipkart Blogger Review Program.

It’s been long since I’ve read a thriller so this one was much anticipated. Skyfire by Aroon Raman isn’t your typical thriller. (or maybe it is- depends on the kind you’ve been reading).

The beginning of Skyfire seemed too Dan Brown-ish and then some. And then it seemed like a cliche out of all the “change society” movies. But then, the book picked up its pace. And the plot got better, if a bit too twisty -though sometimes the author took way too much in building up a scene. Though the plot does neatly moves from acid rain to missing orphans to Dharma Initiative.

I do wish, however, that guessing the identity of the main antagonist wasn’t so easy. I liked how the author didn’t whitewash the reality of how life really is for a lot of street kids in India (and probably all over the world). The three main characters were really well written, and that to me is just as important as a good plot. And a plot that consists of reformed street kids, strange kidnappings, a mysterious robot, acid rains and elite government initiatives is a pretty damn good plot in my book!

I wish I could write further, but I don’t want to spoil the plot anymore for everyone. Lets just say that if you love reading thrillers and rooting for the good guys, no matter what the odds, you’ll love it.

Fiction/Thriller | Rs. 299 | 240 pages | Available on Flipkart IN

When Love Finds You : A Book Review

Disclaimer: I got this book as part of Flipkart Blogger Review Program.

A brief synopsis first.

When Love Finds You by Yashodhara Lal is a book mainly about Natasha, a career woman who takes pride in her work and doesn’t let anything stop her from achieving her professional goals. So obviously, she’s shown without a family or any other loving relationship. (Because clearly one cannot exist with the other). She’s sometimes portrayed as rude and obnoxious, though truth be told, she’s simply being honest and forthright. She doesn’t bullshit around and doesn’t appreciate it either. She works hard, harder than others in fact but it seems that she doesn’t get duly rewarded for her diligence. Or sometimes even acknowledged.

I liked how the author dared to include sexual harassment and the existence of glass ceiling in our polite, educated office environments. How a work place should be about sensible, mature adults striving to achieve success but instead it gets murky with greed, patriarchy and pettiness.

The book had a few other things going right. It felt good to read a book about an unapologetic career woman who’s not in fashion or cooking industry. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s nice to read books that don’t portray women as interested only in shopping or cooking or falling in love. And these were the much appreciated points in this book.

Lets talk about the cons now. Most of the first half of the book is about her power struggles at her work place, especially after two new male bosses are hired. It was slow and boring in-between, what with going too much in depth about their sales and products and targets etc. It was totally unnecessary and made the book tedious to read. The first and second part were stretched out too much, with a lot of situations and characters feeling completely unnecessary by the third part of the book.

To keep things interesting, we have a nagging neighbor (obviously to show us eventually that our girl does have a heart), an arrogant male boss with the requisite posse of girls fawning all over his superficial charm, a fitness instructor to provide comic relief – but failing miserably, and a love interest. I just wish that this was true, that they kept things interesting. But unfortunately it was not the case. The plot line, the development (or lack of) of the characters – everything was almost predictable.

My final verdict of this book is that its not worth it.

Fiction/Romance | Rs. 175 | 304 pages | Available on Flipkart IN

Of Inspiration Boards & Freebies

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blog, colors, contest, decor, home, inspiration, interior, pinterest, tlight

I have some news for you. The good kind. And the other, grey-area-kind. Which means this will be a long post. You have been warned. But it also means there will lots and lots of beautiful photos to ogle. The decor porn kind. I know you are hooked now, aren’t you?

First of all, the other news. Not sure if it’s good or bad. There’s a slight chance that we will be moving house someday soon. Maybe the next month, or maybe the next year. And of course, instead of worrying about the logistics and the hurdles and the general headache such moves ensure, all I can think of is, “How will I do up my next house?”

I know, crazy, right? I’m worried about being allowed to paint walls (if it’s a rental) and what sofa to buy and how to make a budget so I don’t go overboard….you get the drift. To reign in the craziness (just a bit) and to keep calm in the chaos, I have put up an inspiration post. It is the done thing, after all. Right after creating a Pinterest board and calling up all your closest friends to whine and scream about it. Just to calm down.

The Living Room:

I love the casual setting. The choice of colors. The simple prints.

Now, I don’t love the entire look. I doubt I have ever come across a photo of any room that I love completely, and which is doable. Or livable. Here, that rug is just the right hint of modern. And how adorable is the sofa? Its just begging you to jump on it! And that wallpapered nook? Sweet surprise.

The Kitchen:

Such soft, happy colors. Sigh!

If anyone ever said “glamorous” and “kitchen” in one sentence, I wouldn’t believe them. Till, this. Its more glamorous than my best outfit. Better than my sexiest heels. The tiled walls. The bar stools. The chandelier! I would probably change the chair, but that’s it.

Not that I own tons of beautiful white crockery, but if I did, this will be the perfect display. Getting giddy over all those colors!

The Bedroom:

This is pure sex. The play of the deep purple and dark grey against the metal. This will be great for handcuff-lovers (all puns intended). I would much rather have a tufted headboard though.

Ooo! The colors! This just makes me smile! The beautiful sky blue wall, the cheery floral-patterned lantern, the pom-pom lined bedding, and the colorful Indian/Moroccan(?) stools masquerading as bedside tables. So inviting, especially in hot Indian summers.

The Bathroom:

I swear I swoon every time I look at this. Those beautiful mirrors, the copper washbasin, the pendants, the marbled walls and counter top. Luxury. Eye candy. Perfect.

All images from: here.

And now for the good news.

(I am a bit late with this announcement but I was waiting for a certain package to arrive. Now that its here, let me holler).

The fabulous people at The Keybunch in association with The Purple Turtles sent me this gorgeous set of t-light holders. I won them in their Diwali Décor contest, where we had to share our home décor photographs and they picked up three winners. Here’s the photo that got me the prize: (yes you have seen it before here but let me shamelessly replug, please?)

Do check to their post announcing the winners – the décor photos of the other two winners are very inspiring! And while you are at it, browse through The Keybunch site. Looking at all those brilliant, beautiful posts makes me want to get up and do up a house or two.

And here are the beautiful t-light holders. Aren’t they pretty?! Sigh! I can’t wait to find a place for them in my home.

Love the brushed metal texture. As you can see, they are NOT teeny-weeny. Quite big, actually. Also, be a dear, and ignore the wrinkles in the fabric, okay? Many many thanks to the wonderful people at The Keybunch and The Purple Turtles.

What are you favourite inspirational home decor photos? Do you have a Pinterest board you love? Share! Comment.

Till next time, stay safe. Be awesome. 

Diwali Decor

Tags

colors, decor, Diwali, Diwali decor, DIY, diyas, fabrics, festival, festive decor, home decor, Indian, interiors, lights, rangoli

There’s something about the constant bombardment of sales and festive offers and “Flat 80%” that puts me off nowadays. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I am against festivals or shopping (or discounts!). Nothing like that!

It’s just that, sometimes when I look around the house, and see all the stuff we have, it overwhelms me. Yes, a lot of it is necessary. Yes, there are times that I want to wear a brand new, dazzling saree with the latest in blouses and jewellery and what not. There are times that I want to deck up my house in beautiful bright curtains, to buy that precious blue and white pottery, that fabulous wooden chopping board. And I do end up buying a lot of things. Over some period of time, though, I’ve started trying consciously to buy fewer products. Less is more, after all. I want my house to breathe. I want to have breathing space, in my house, in my cupboard, in my life. The more we accumulate, the more stuff we have to take care of – stuff to be dusted and cleaned and repaired and stored. Every single thing we own takes away some of our precious time. I’m not saying that a Spartan lifestyle is what I am looking for. I love beautiful stuff way too much to ever give up completely on it, but if I can stop myself from buying everything that appeals to me, I know that the future me will thank me for keeping it simple.

This Diwali, despite the discounts in the air, and the emails and advertisements temptingly displaying new flashy, snazzy stuff, I tried to buy as little as possible. Instead, I focused on “recycling” and DIYing stuff.

We did buy a few new décor items – these beautiful tea light holders. They were slightly expensive, but they look fabulous with the lights and their lovely bright jewel tones add a wonderful color to the entire table vignettes.

I went the usual way with the decoration – beautiful silk and brocade fabrics – the richer the better. I bought fabrics so I could make tablecloths and cushion covers out of them. It kept the cost down and I can easily recycle the fabric in the future. They work great as a base, like a table cloth, and you can add contrast (but in harmony) by adding another layer of fabric as a table runner. I simply folded and stapled/safety pinned whatever rich fabrics I had to use as table runners.

Then its simply a matter of adding candles and diyas and flowers in beautiful colorful containers. Be it bowls or tea light holders or vases.

My amazingly talented husband (he also took these beautiful photographs) painted this paper lamp – from bland white to brilliant rainbow hues. The transformation is to be seen to be believed. The colors are so vivid and mesmerizing, I don’t think I will ever keep it away. Its too beautiful to be locked up post Diwali.

Don’t you just love how happy and bright and festive all those colors are together?

How did you decorate your house this year? Do share in the comments below! And, Happy Diwali to all you gorgeous people!

Fabric Haul

Tags

cotton, fabric, patterns, polka

September will be over in a matter of weeks, yet the sky here is still overcast. Not that I mind. If I could, I would let it remain cloudy and rainy forever (very bad for the farmers, I know – I already feel guilty). But this beautiful overcast sky causes issues with photography.

I recently got these beautiful fabrics as a gift from a very thoughtful friend (my love and squishy-whishy hugs to you!). I was having trouble trying to find decent fabric shops here in Bombay, so she brought some for me.

Here they are, in all their (overcast) glory:

Beautiful blue Warli art cotton fabric. I am already making something wonderful with this, which means there will be a tutorial post here soon.

Sigh! Beautiful, no? I am falling in love with all the prints and the possibilities of creating something out of them are endless. Saree blouses, cushion covers, skirts and dresses… so many choices! Hopefully, this will keep me busy for the next few weeks.

I would love to know, have you brought any fabrics recently? Plain or printed? What do you plan to do with it? Do share!