South Of Border,West of Sun

“For a long time, she held a special place in my heart. I kept this special place just for her, like a- reserved sign on a quiet corner table in a restaurant. Despite the fact that I was sure I’d never see her”
– South of Border, West of Sun
There is often one exact moment that you can pinpoint when the realization of you being in love with someone hits you. For me, it was this exact quote that made me fall in love with Haruki Murakami’s writing. South of Border, West of Sun is my favorite Murakami, something I keep going back even after 4 years of reading it for the first time.

Titled after a Nat King Cole song, the protagonists Hajime & Shimamoto follow the mold of typical Murakami characters. Hajime is a passive introvert who runs a jazz bar and is somebody who goes on with the daily motions of life. Shimamoto is beautiful but is not perfect as she is affected by polio, like a porcelain doll with a crack.

 

They meet as 12-year olds, friendless because they belong to single child families. Hajime feels attracted to Shimamoto but fails to understand his feelings at such a young age. They grow apart as they start attending different high schools but somewhere Hajime’s heart still aches for her. Hajime’s now 36 and runs a jazz bar which becomes famous and brings him in touch with a lot of old friends. This includes Shimamoto who walks into his bar after more than twenty years since their separation, very Casablanca-ish. Hajime & Shimamoto strike up a conversation and soon embark on an affair. Shimamoto keeps fleeting in and out of his life mysteriously causing problems for Hajime.

What I love about this book is that it tackles so many themes like infidelity, unrequited love, passionless but a secure marriage, mid-life crisis beautifully. The writing hits you and tugs at the romantic in you. The book is full of beautiful quotes that will linger with you even after you are done reading. It also transports you to Tokyo of the late 80’s with gorgeous autumn and rain scenery. At the end of the book, you have this inexplicable feeling of melancholy for these star-crossed lovers.
I would highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to start reading Murkami instead of the usual starter ‘Norwegian Wood’ because it makes you wish you too could fulfill the destiny of your unrequited love.

Trilogy in Focus: Crazy Rich Asians

The life of constant luxury can be often quite boring said no one ever.  Crazy Rich Asians delves into the life of superrich where being a millionaire is considered poor and your ranking on the ‘Forbes Wealthiest Asia List’ determines your social status.

This book popped up on my Facebook feed under the story ‘Book movies we are looking forward to in 2018’ and sure enough, the title definitely intrigued me. A sample chapter later I was sucked into the life of the Young family with its extended branches. The main story circles around the life of the lead couple Nicholas Young and Rachel Chu along with well etched out specimen supporting characters.

Crazy Rich Asians is a trilogy and so let me break it down the key events that happen in the book.

Part 1

Crazy Rich Asians:  The first part of the trilogy deals with Nicholas and Rachel’s love story and opposition they face from Nick’s family because they are extremely wealthy and Rachel is just a regular ABC (American Born Chinese). The story starts with the couple getting ready to spend a summer in Singapore starting with Nick’s best friend Colin’s wedding. However, Nick has hidden one tiny detail from Rachel that he is extremely rich and probably the future heir to his grandmother’s estate Tyersall Park. The book ends with Nick’s and Rachel relationship breaking up and Nick’s grandmother threatening to disinherit him.  This fuelled with the drama of his cousins Alistair who is dating Kitty Pong a soap actress and Astrid who is facing marital problems.

Part 2

China Rich Girlfriend: The location of the second book shifts to from Singapore to China where Rachel thanks to her over interfering mother-in-law Eleanor Young discovers her billionaire politician father and speed racing maniac stepbrother. Her lives get entwined with billionaire heiress Colette Bing who is also dating her stepbrother. Spas on private jets, couture shopping in Paris, paintings going for record-breaking millions man these people make Mukesh Ambani look poor. Astrid’s marital problems continue with her ex Charlie Wu coming into the picture. Kitty Pong tries to climb the ranks of Hong Kong’s high society.

Part 3:

Rich People Problems: The vultures start circling as Nick’s grandmother Su Yi is on her deathbed. A lot of succession drama starts unfolding with Edison Cheng starts playing the villain. Nick is banned from his grandmother’s house Tyersall Park which is worth billions of dollars. The will brings out surprises and the time is ticking for Nick to save his childhood home from being torn down. Astrid and Charlie are battling a bitter divorce and many scandals whereas Kitty Pong is trying to one-up her stepdaughter with help of new consultant Oliver T’sein who has a hidden agenda of his own.

Why you should read this:  Big Money Bigger the problems and better the drama. This trilogy is unputdownable I was glued to the books and finished all 3 books super fast.  The books never get boring there is a lot of humor and amazingly even the smallest character is well etched out. This series is perfect when you want to de-stress from those serious books or take a light read to on a holiday.

 

P.S. The family tree gets confusing but if you have grown-up on a steady diet of K-soaps or have an extended family then following through will not be a problem.

Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hoon

“Lyrics are important but they’re just not as important as melody.” – Alex Fletcher Music and Lyrics (2007)

The above quote is from one of my favorite movie ‘Music and Lyrics’ while the main lead argues with the lyricist that his melody is more important than her lyrics. One of the best books I have read recently has been ‘Sahir- People’s Poet written by Akshay Manwani.

Sahir Ludhianvi’s genius is probably not known to my generation who has grown up in the 90’s and the only lyricist names that they are familiar with are Gulzar and Javed Akthar. Sahir has perhaps written some of the best songs in Hindi cinema which have become immortal gems. Its only while reading this book that I came to know that some of my favorite classic songs were written by him e.g. ‘Abhi na Jao Chodkar’ or Chalo ek baar phir sey or the evergreen ‘Kabhi Kabhi’.

Sahir mingled his political and social ideology through his songs like ‘Jinhe Naaz hai Hind’ par or ‘Tu Insaan hai’. A whimsical genius by nature his scuffles with music directors and singers are well highlighted. The man always felt the role of the lyricist is more important than a music director and fought for equal and higher credit for lyricists. The chapter on his romance with Amrita Pritam is just melancholic because you really wish these beautiful creative souls deserved a happy ending.

Sahir was a man who felt everything deeply and as written needed some real-life situation, to act as his muse whether it was the nation’s political situation or his personal life tragedies. He was a man who made a name for himself on his own terms and believed in his skill and worked with everyone possible.  The special bond that he shared with both the Chopra brothers is extremely well detailed with quotes from the Late Yash Chopra.

The book makes one wonder that only a genius can write such a self-aware song on the life a poet i.e. ‘Main Pal do Pal ka shayar hoon’.  I highly recommend this book for all those who love old Bollywood songs from its golden musical period of 50-60’s. In conclusion, one should read this book to truly understand Sahir’s magical musical legacy just like his pen name.

30 Second Thrillers: Book Review

We have always seen some commercial at one point and gone OMG! I love that ad but do you know what went behind in creating that 30 seconds of magic. 30 Second Thrillers by K.V Shridhar more popularly known as Pops in the advertising world has just managed to capture some pure magic on Indian Advertising in his book. It was the wonderful illustration of Pop’s  on the cover that lead to me pick up this book.

As the title aptly suggests the book is on, much loved Indian commercials and the sheer hard work and creativity that goes behind in creating these 30 second stories. The book chronicles the growth of Indian Advertising from DoorDarshan days to the current digital era. It makes you love the behind the scene action of your favourite ads.  The book is neatly divided into a number of sections like ‘The Black and White connection’ which speaks of the classic Doordarshan ads like the ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ or the scandalous Kamasutra condom ad.  ‘The Catchy Connection’ which makes you realize the importance of having a great jingle or music score.

The Hutch pug, Flipkart kids, Liril, Rasna and many more brands are mentioned in this book.  The book was unputdownable for an advertising junkie like me ever since I was kid I was more interested in the commercials than the main show. My favorite ad mentioned here was the ‘Khass’ ad by Cadbury which was written on the back of boarding pass by Piyush Pandey. The 5-year-old me loved this commercial and tried dancing like the girl on the field when it came on TV.  It was this ad many years later that once again inspired me to take up a degree in mass media and advertising.

This book is a must read if you have always gone ‘Hmm! I wonder what went behind making that.  As Barney Stinson would say “ITS GOING TO BE LEGENDARY”. This book is definitely that and one for your collection.

My rating: 5 Stars

The Brunch Book Challenge 2015

Happy New Year! 2015 was awesome in terms of books in totality I read 50 book all thanks to the Brunch Book Challenge by HT Brunch who had given a target of 30 books by year end. I managed to surpass that target and am super thrilled about it. Sharing a list of books that made 2015 a fantastic year.

1. Honor – Elif Shafak
2. Forty Rules of Love – Elif Shafak
3. Train to Pakistan- Khuswant Singh
4. In the Company of Women- Khuswant Singh
5. Best Indian Short Stories Vol 1- Khuswant Sigh
6. Best Indian Short Stories Vol 2- Khuswant Sigh
7. Norwegian Wood- Haruki Murkami
8. Rajesh Khanna The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar- Yusuf Usman
9. Princess More Tears to cry – Jean Sasson
10. Sita’s Sister- Kavita Kane
11. Something Happened on the way to heaven- Sudha Murthy
12. 13 Steps to Bloody Goodluck- Aswhin Sanghi
13. Animal Farm – George Orwell
14. 1984- George Orwell
15. Mumbai Avengers- S. Hussain Zaidi
16. Bossy Pants – Tina Fey
17. Yes Please- Amy Poehler
18. Yes My Accent is Real- Kunal Nayyar
19. Under Delhi- Sorabh Pant
20. Mirza Ghalib A biography- Gulzar
21. Shopaholic to the Stars- Sophie Kinsella
22. Sleeping Arrangements- Madeline Wickham
23. Cocktails for three- Madeline Wickham
24. Wedding Girl- Madeline Wickham
25. Molted Dawn- Saddat Hussain Manton
26. To Kill a Mocking Bird- Harper Lee
27. The Bestseller She Wrote- Ravi Subramanian
28. The House that BJ Built- Anuja Chauhan
29. Flash Point- Farhad Samar
30. The Election That Changed India- Rajdeep Sardesai
31. Not Just An Accountant- Vinod Rai
32. Scion of Iksvaku- Amish
33. Ravan & Eddie- Kiran Nagarkar
34. The Extras – Kiran Nagarkar
35. Rest In Peace- Kiran Nagarkar
36. Cuckold- Kiran Nagarkar
37. A Bedtime Story & Black Tulip- Kiran Nagarkar
38. Maharani- Ruskin Bond
39. Mistress of Honor- Bhavana Arora
40. Mrs- Funnybones- Twinkle Khanna
41. Ajaya Rise of Kali- Anand Neelakanth
42. Amul’s India- GCMMF & Da Cunha Communications
43. Happy Birthday Stories- Meghana Pant
44. A world of Ice and Fire- George RR Martin
45. Pandeymonium- Piyush Pandey
46. The Great Indian Novel- Shashi Tharoor
47. The Sanjay Story- Vinod Mehta
48. The Grown-up – Gillian Flynn
49. Aarushi- Avirook Sen
50. Play with me- Ananth

Trilogy in Focus: Ravan & Eddie

 

Hello everyone sorry have been in M.I.A due to work and health related issues. I am back now and promise to post more regularly.

Sometimes while eating cake you eat the first piece of cake you want more then you go for the second piece and it’s still not enough but the third one just satisfies your craving and you’re blissful and happy. Good book trilogies are something like that cake you keep going for more. One of my newly discovered favourite author this year thanks to a Twitter follower’s recommendation is Kiran Nagarkar.  I shall be talking about his Ravana & Eddie trilogy completed this year with the release of ‘Rest in Peace’ the last book in the series.  The trilogy is a post-colonial work with the focus on two boys Ravana & Eddie born in 1948 against the backdrop of Mumbai’s chawl and mill culture. It starts off with death of Eddie’s father and baby Ram being blamed for it, hell even his name is changed to Ravana.  The two boys grow up to unlikeliest of companions with their fair bit of emotional and religious tensions. They have absentee fathers and strong pushy mothers who wear the pants and earn the bread for the family. Adding to the drama and colour are neighbours, priests and a forbidden love for Pieta which tugs Ravan’s heart. The series shows not only the evolution of the two boys but also the changing landscape of the city and the chawl they are the other two heroes of the books.  The 3 books divide their life like a three act play the below timeline with the book title will give you a fair idea without spoilers, hence not disclosing much.

Timeline of the series:-

Book 1 – Ravan & Eddie starts with their birth in 1948 and ends with their adolescent adventures

Book 2- The Extras Ravan & Eddie try to make a small living while struggling to make it big in Bollywood, along with an unlikely companion and fellow extra Aasman.

Book 3- Rest in peace Ravan & Eddie make it big Bollywood but just one the going is good life punches them again.

Since this a trilogy I am going to list 3 reason on why I loved the series

1. The satire and humour along with bold and brazen style of story telling
2. Strong cast of supporting characters my favourite being Parvati bai Ravan’s mom she has some gumption
3. An ode to a forgotten Mumbai characterised by mills, auntie joints, builder frenzy of 80’s. A special mention of the movie madness with trademarked features like silver and golden jubilee hits and movie tickets being black marketed.

Scion of Ikshvaku

Scion of Iksvaku is the latest book by Amish who has authored the famous Shiva trilogy and made millions. Scion as book was widely hyped and publicised by Amazon and various other sources. It was ‘’THE BOOK “of the year but for me it was disappointment of the year . I pre-ordered the book on Amazon after a sample chapter read and because of the attractive book mark they were giving with it.

Book Cover

The book starts off with the war between the forces of Lanka and Ayodhya and birth of Ram. Once again Amish has done what he had done in the Shiva trilogy basically humanize god and with their flaws. However while reading the book I really felt like I re-reading the Shiv trilogy. The book repeats a lot of concepts like usage of Somras, nagas etc. The book lacks freshness even if we discount the fact that that the Ramayana has been given a fresh shot at interpretation. We all the story by now of 4 brothers, abducted daughter in law and monkey god however Amish’s story doesn’t bring the X appeal like the Shiva trilogy did.

 

Bookmark from Amazon for pre-orders

I agree that most authors try and write on similar topics as their launch books like politics, law or love but there is some sort of hook in the story. However this book didn’t have the hook and I didn’t enjoy reading it. This book is advisable only for those who are loyal Amish fans

Final Analysis: Disappointed read it only if you’re a hard chore Amish fan

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

Availability: It’s available at all leading book stores including online stores Amazon & Flipkart

 

The House That BJ Built Book Review

The House That BJ Built Cover

Two years back in 2013 Anuja Chauhan introduced us to charm of the late eighties/early nineties the era of Doordarshan or Deshdarpan as she puts it and the era of alphabetically named Thakur girls on Hailey Road and since then we have been waiting for them to once again bring Hailey road down. In fact I literally ran to the nearest crossword in my pyjama’s for the book.
This year Thakur girls are back though post liberalized India they older but definitely not wiser and an addition a new half Thakur who gives the girls a run for their money meet Bonita Singh aka Binodini’s daughter whose first words were balls. How can we forget the quintessential Chauhan hero is charming, successful, and funny and loves his family say hello Samar Vir Singh (Anjini’s step son). There is also good mix of new and old characters like wily chachaji and chachiji along their wrestler son Gulgul and north East Indian tenants, Samar’s Bollywood friends are also part of this new screwball rom-com which has its share of each romance, comedy, emotions, sibling rivalry and bonding along with Delhi culture.
The book is set almost 20 years later to the events of the Thakur Girls where the grand house of Hailey Road is in ruins like the patriarch L.N. Thakur’s health and his orphan grand-daughter Bonita Singh has a flourishing garment fabrication unit read original fake with turnover of 2crs and is also taking care of him. The real story starts post his death and how Samar has to equally divide the property among the four and half Thakur sisters. The property dispute becomes the heart of the book along with all the screwball characters romance between the leads as every hissa counts.
Chauhan’s trademark humour and Hinglish is present through and through and that what makes it enjoyable to the tee e.g. Chachaji describing L.N Thakur like bijli that sometimes he is bright and sometimes dim or usage of words like mega kaand. Another funny set of characters in the book are Trings who are cute old north eastern Indian tenants who party and bring some laughs.
The Thakur girls maybe older but they not lost their spark Anjini continues to the flirt, Chandralekha is spiritual and the Vibhishan of the family, Debanjini is a successful anchor on a national channel and Eshwari too is an NRI. The slimy builder in this case Eshwari’s old flame Sathessh and we have one couple called Satheswari. Their bonding just continues to show how sibling relationships can never change and no matter how old you are you will love and hate your siblings at the same time
Final Analysis: Chauhan once again gives a brilliant rom-com true to her style with a lot chutzpah read it if you loved Thakur girls in the first book or another of Chauhan’s books. My favourite character is Chachiji because she is extremely funny as she bring maximum laughs and is the typical ever suffering Bhartiya Nari who can love her husband un-conditionally and beat the shit out of him too. If you have favourite leave it comment box below

Final Rating : 3.5 out of 5
Availability: The book is available on Amazon & Flipkart for Rs. 228 along with Crossword stores for Rs.350