Book Review: Hidden Husband by Shikha Kaul

Title: Hidden Husband 
Author: Shikha Kaul 
ISBN: 9384382078



Blurb:

Aisha is trapped in her own secret which makes her life hell. Her love for Raghav is true. But hailing from two very different cultures is the basis of their continued friction. Aisha is a Punjabi girl from Gurgaon and Raghav a Bihari from Ranchi. Raghav's family will certainly not accept a girl from outside their community. And yet, he continues giving her false hopes through his efforts and promises. And then they take a step which entangles her life further. Will she manage to come out of this quandary or must she continue to live in her self-created web? Explore her journey that makes her realise the atrocities being committed on women in the Indian society and the tough decisions she must take, keeping her most loved ones oblivious to everything happening in her life.

My Take:

 This is one of the best books by an Indian author I've come across recently. Aisha & Raghav fall in love and decide to get married, but there is a hurdle - their different backgrounds. Deviating from that fairy tale notion of love stories, Shikha Kaul presents to us, in Hidden Husband, a real life mishap in romance in a society which prefers caste, religion, and regional association over love in a marriage.The story onwards is nothing less than a thriller. It will captivate you from the first page itself, and hold you so till the last word. And it isn't just a love story; throughout the novel, the author has addressed the need to put an end to many social norms, that are irrelevant in our tines. Simple presentation. Profound narration. Thoroughly beautiful....

Recommendation: 

If you are fed up of all these college romances that flood the market, stop looking further and read this one... Highly recommended.

Rating:

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Style: 4/5

Editing: 4/5

Climax: 4/5

Book Review - She - Ekla Cholo Re by Shayan Haq/Santosh Avvannavar

Title: She - Ekla Cholo Re

Authors: Dr Shayan Haq and Santosh Avvannavar

Edited By: Rajashree Ghosh

ISBN: 9781517762162

Blurb:

Set in the backdrop of 1990 Calcutta, She is a story about finding one’s own identity in spite of all odds. The story spins around the life of Kusum, a brave heart whose identity is often untitled and blurred; it does not belong anywhere, definitely not under the ‘he’ or ‘she’ bracket, thanks to our social conditioning. Will she be successful in her mission?

 Find out in She, an utterly absorbing read that derives inspiration from Tagore’s “Ekla Cholo Re” song, which urges everyone to move on despite the fear of abandonment from others.

My Take:

This is the story of Kusum who meets a stranger, not knowing that he is the writer whom she admires a lot. In this concise book Kusum narrates to him how she has bravely withstood attacks on her 'often untitled and blurred' identity.

The story is simple, easy to follow, and thoroughly emotional. Written in simple words, it successfully captures the readers' attention. Read it in one go. A beautiful tale. 

Recommendation:

Highly recommended. 

Rating: 4/5

Editing needs attention. 

Book Review: S.O.A.R -Success Over Adversity Reigns by Abir Mukherjee

Title: S.O.A.R -Success Over Adversity Reigns

Author: Abir Mukherjee

ISBN: 978-93-52013-24-1

Blurb:

Frustrated with their current jobs, Uday, Adhyayan, and Rajasekaran team up to start an innovative business, non-existent in India until then. Ignoring all pragmatic aspects of life, they chase their dreams with immense pleasure. However, their journey is no cakewalk, as they confront financial crisis and rejections soon. Uday plays a business trick to triumph over that uninfluenced market; it works initially, but soon boomerangs, blowing the team apart. The police arrests Uday accusing him of illegal activity by his organization. 

Were there any blemishes in their plan or was it just a typical Indian market, reluctant to accept an un-experimented concept? Will they be successful in implementing their innovation, staking their hard earned money, stable jobs, relationships, and life.

 'S.O.A.R is the story of chasing a dream, quandary between desire and responsibility, friendship and love. Join the gutsy journey of three young entrepreneurs.

My Take:

It is the story of three friends - Uday, Adhyayan and Rajasekaran- who team up for business but fall apart soon due to their differences with each other. Fate takes a turn and every thing seems to slip away till they team up again to set everything right.The story is good, however the narration is average. It's supposed to be inspirational and the theme of the book is excellent, but the Author has failed to do justice to the story. The story unfolds beautifully in the beginning, however almost in the end, it seems a bit less than the expected. To add to it, there are too many editing mistakes. I might take the liberty to say that this is another good book gone wrong due to lack of thorough editing. 

Recommendations: If you feel connected to  the business world in any way, this book will impress you. 

Rating:

Plot: 3/5

Characters: 4/5

Style: 3/5

Editing: 1/5

Climax: 3/5

Book Review: Heart Of Bullets by Nikhil Kushwaha

Title: Heart of Bullets

Author: Nikhil Kushwaha

ISBN: 9789385440120

Blurb: 

The only way to get close to those glittering stars in heaven is, to look at a soldier with stars on his shoulders’ 

Every time, they’re around, the thing that we see is the bravery awards, medals, the pride, but what we can’t see is their heart that lies inside the iron chest, some untold stories, sacrifices, and the hardship they’ve been through. Every soldier has a story that is unique and extra ordinary. 

A tale of brotherhood & heroism, a tale of love & betrayal, ‘Heart of Bullets’, is about two best friends, Arpan & Sam, and the untold story of their friendship, untold story of their love, Shradha, but what happens when Sam gets hit by the enemy – across the border? 

What will Arpan do to save his friend? Will love prevail over friendship of lifetime? 

There is a decision to be made, is the life without love, and friends, better than dying to save the one we love the most?

My Take:

This is the story about two friends, Arpan and Sam who grow up together, study at the same school, join the Indian Army to be posted at the same place, and fall ironically in love with the same girl, Shradha. The main plot unfolds when Arpan narrates the story to a doctor while Sam is fighting for life in the Army hospital. What follows is a dramatic chain of events, which leads to an emotionally charged climax. The Author has tried to write about a love story in a different way but weak narration, total lack of editing, and lack of research into the places where the story is set and some events, have miserably failed him. Sincere attempts have been made to make the book interesting by inserting poems and one-liners in between, which although interesting, fail to make up for the damage already done by above mentioned weak points.

Recommendation:

If you like to read patriotic stories with romance in between, do have a look.

Rating:

Plot: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Style: 2/5

Editing: 0/5

Climax: 2/5

Book Review: Voices of the Silent Creek by Vikkas Arun Pareek

Title: Voices of The Silent Creek

Author: Vikkas Arun Pareek

Edited By: Nivedita N

ISBN: 978-81-927944-7-1

A Word From The Author:

The book is about atrocities women face in our society, I have chosen the contentious subject though everyone speaks and writes about it, it is still an issue which haunts millions in our society and one which is pushed so readily under the carpet. The book is set in rural India.

Blurb:

"Shanti is married in a prominent family but her life will never be the same for a life thrusted on her for honour of the family. She accepts her life but will she let the same fate unfold for her younger sister? 

Bhano discovers the horrors of her sister's life. Will she be able bring justice to her sister's life and her sacrifices? 

Arti finds herself strangled with choices. Will she risk her life and her family's life to help Bhano get justice or leave her helpless? 

The story of set in rural India takes us through unimaginable yet common atrocities which a woman faces in today's society. Will they fail to survive? Will they emerge stronger battling the troubles? "

My Take:

It's a story of the common folk; the characters are real life people, and the events so commonplace, yet presented beautifully. The book starts well, manages the flow almost till the end, where it seems to be too fast paced. Elsewhere in between, the events seem to be out of sync at a few places  where there is a bit of jumping & hopping, and the time frame of the occurrences becomes confusing, more so in the closing chapters. Despite having a good plot and right narration, editing mistakes have crept in that should have been taken care of. Overall, it is a nice book to read that tells us about a less known reality of lives of some people.

Recommendations:

Highly recommended.

Rating:

Plot: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Style: 2/5

Editing: 2/5
Climax: 2/5

Book Giveaway: Roses & Rhymes - Where Love Meets Life

 
 

    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

       
   

   

     

          Roses & Rhymes
     
     

          by Waseem A. Malla
     

     

         
            Giveaway ends March 31, 2016.
         
         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         
     
   
   

    Enter Giveaway

Koshur Qalam's Kashmir Anthology: Submission Guidelines

ANTHOLOGY ON KASHMIR 

Poets and writers can only pour out their anguish and angst, and cherish and nourish the hope that the pristine purity and the core values of Kashmiriyat are revived, and rise phoenix-like from the debris of what all Kashmiris have always held dear –peace, harmony, and love.

 Let us save our home - a confluence of Buddhism, Shaivism and Islamic mysticism, a scintillating example of solid resilience and an exemplary social harmony - from the tentacles of corrosive hatred. Let us convert our home land into a heartland, where there is a loving merger of hearts, and peace sings a soothing symphony.

For years, a crooked narrative has been put forward, be it the media or intelligentsia, full of allegations and counter-allegations. The buck has to stop somewhere, let us stop the blame game. Let us suffuse our paradise with sublime hues of peace, once again.

Through this anthology we hope to contribute our mite to the vision of world peace, in general, and peace in Kashmir, in particular. Pen is definitely mightier than the sword. This is an earnest appeal to all peace lovers to sheath your swords, and unleash the power of the pen, for, we staunchly believe that when the mighty pen splashes the hues of peace, it can change the world. Hadn’t Shakespeare said, ‘many wearing rapiers are afraid of goose quills ‘?

 So, let us dip our quills in the colours of peace, and create a peaceful home. Kindly send us your prose and poetry pieces suffused in hues of peace. 

Theme: Home. Your write-up should be strictly based upon this theme in the context of Kashmir. However, let your imagination go wild in case it is a piece of fiction. Don't stick just to blues, try to paint a rainbow of all hues. We have seen a lot of fear. We still have lots of hopes, dreams and aspirations. We have centuries old tradition of humor and wit. Write about anything till it resonantes with the theme. 

Categories:

1. Poetry (any genre)

2. Prose - Fiction/Non-Fiction/Fantasy/Memoirs/Essays 

Submission Guidelines: 

1. Submissions can be mailed to  koshurqalam@gmail.com. Please don't send us previously published works. You are encouraged to submit artworks that have fresh imagery, metaphor, and strong wordplay.

2. You can submit a maximum of one piece of prose or three pieces of poetry. In your email, type the subject as: Category(Prose/Poetry) - Genre( Fiction/Memoir/Sonnet etc) 

3. Contributor must be of Kashmiri origin, no matter where he is based at the time of submission. 

4. All submissions must be made through email and all works must be attached as word documents. 

5. Include a short 50 word bio, and your full name in the body of the email. Your bio must be in third person. Additionally, don't forget to mail us a good quality profile photo of yours. It may be used for promotional purposes, or published with the book.

6. Restrictions: We do not want to see nor will we accept explicit sex or nudity. We will also not consider stuff that depict physical harm to any beings (human or non-human), nor will we tolerate any threatening content. Our aim is not to censor you or your work, but we feel that great art comes from a place of compassion and understanding, not violence and fear. Every piece of art will be considered by our editors, and we reserve the right to reject any work that we feel violates these restrictions.

Line Limit for poems: more than 15 lines/Less than 25 lines.

Word Limit for prose: Minimum - 500 words; Maximum - 3500 words. 

Submission Fee: No fee applies.

Payment: We are not able to pay our contributors at this time. 

Deadline: To Be Decided.