Rain Drops and Caterpillars by Anuradha Prasad (Book Review: 3.75*/5) !!!

These days it’s tough for an anthology or the book with short stories to match with the count of audience that a full-fledged novel is able to attract. But if an anthology is good, it gets taker as much as a bestselling novel gets. I just completed reading the 3^rd book written by Anuradha Prasad named “Rain Drops and Caterpillars” which is a compilation of six short stories. The first 2 books were full-fledged stories by the authoress but this time she chose to showcase her skills in writing strong and powerful short stories and let me tell you, she manages to impress her readers as much as she did it with her one-story books.

Author has kept name of each story on an action or emotion dealt by a human being and every story justifies its respective title. Each story even after being short of around 30-50 pages each makes you feel that you have read a complete book in the end of every story. The characters are developed very neatly as you can relate with most of them even when author had less time to talk about their background and make them familiar to you. The best part is that along with the movement of the story, the characters are developed which doesn’t stretch the story for this reason as many authors end up developing characters only for some time before introducing us to the theme of the story.

Author has talked about so many things through her stories that even after having quite social topics in few of them, you won’t find them preachy even for once. The topic varies from parents supporting a deaf child with all the possible love – to -  a homosexual person searching and finding acceptance for himself in the society – to - a housewife facing physical abuse in one marriage to verbal abuse in second  - to -  the relationship between human beings and dogs – to -  a widow of an Army officer trying to move on the same steps  - to -  a man fighting the trauma of realizing that he has been fooled by someone in love and left alone to fight with his loneliness in a lone country.

Author has tried very well to put up the compilation of the stories such that you don’t find any two stories sound or based on the similar concept or background. The way author narrates each story in a slow pace makes you raise your brows initially as to how will the story bring twists and turns within the span of 30-40 pages but still, author manages to bring varieties in each story. The end of every story is appropriate except the one which is based on verbal abuse as it ends suddenly without the masala climax that the reader was expecting throughout. My personal favourite has been the last story as its emotions are too intense and passionate. The way the story ends also gives the book a befitting ending.

Talking about the drawbacks, I felt author ended up describing few places in the story so much that you want to skip those segments and move to the next paragraph. The conversations that are handled between characters are not exactly how people communicate which makes some parts look artificial. The stories could have been edited well with more twists and turns rather than over description of emotions – the way it has been done with the chapter on human-animal love. Overall, the book is a nice light read which you can read while traveling or before sleeping or gift to your loved ones on special occasions as the cover page of the book is also very beautiful and attractive. Just as I scored the author 3.75* out of 5 each for her last two books, this one also gets the same rating. After Novoneel Chakraborty, Anuradha Prasad is the only author whom I have found consistent with each book. I am again waiting for Anuradha’s full-fledged novel again.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA 

Flowers on the Path by Sadhguru (Book Review: 3.25*/5) !!!

Sadhguru’s books are always enlightening and carries something which stays with you for life and becomes useful in keeping you calm in tough times. Recently, I read his latest release named “Flowers on the Path” which is a short book of just 170 pages. The book is more on general stuffs than being out and out a spiritual book. This one is quite different than what I have read till now by the modern world guru. The book is written in three different segments- Everyday Flowers, Flowers on the Path and Flowers of the Beyond.

As in Sadhguru’s own profound style, he calmly explains us how we have made our daily lifestyle troublesome due to the small races we become a part of. How people are confused among themselves and keep on establishing small happiness’s out of someone else’ loss is what Sadhguru tries to focus upon. Sadhguru talks about the importance of health, aligning the energies, being secular and sacred, how to keep children afresh and energized and free of any biases, the importance of women in society etc.

Later on, in the book, Sadhguru starts establishing the spiritual logic gradually in the minds of his readers. He starts mentioning the importance of Yoga, sitting at one place silently, the power of concentration, the role of a Guru in your life, the Genuity of prayer, how human has accumulated everything from this Earth and how we are nothing except the soul within us etc.

Sadhguru’s style of writing helps the reader to understand the concepts and logic at their own pace. Every chapter is not of more than 3-4 pages. He doesn’t use touch vocabulary to sound very intellectual or philosophical but keeps things simple. This is his specialty which has also made his videos and blogs popular. He starts any book describing the small acts we keep ourselves engaged in and then leaves a small conceptual benefit of yoga and meditation and ends the book there for you to think about yourself and life thereafter and think about being in peace rather than messing up your mind with unwanted stuffs. I give Flowers on the Path 3.25 stars out of 5 as it is just a normal book with not that much of an insight which can bring extreme changes in your life. But it shall surely sow the seeds of spirituality somewhere in the way you think.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA 

Life In The Sunshine by T. Sathish (Book Review- 3.5*/5) !!!

The IPL season is going on and everyone who loves Cricket is in frenzy of the Cricketing updates daily regarding who won and lost and how much everyone earned on their respective Dreams 11 contest. It is always exciting to be associated with this Sport as the connection with it begins right since our childhood and stays until we die. Let how much Football, Kabaddi or WWE innovate with their stuffs but nothing can beat Cricket in India. Being a reader, it is always an exciting experience to read any book on Cricket. This time I got my hands upon a fiction book named “Life In The Sunshine” which is written by the author, T. Sathish. The book has the tagline which says “Autobiography of an Unknown Cricketer”. The cover page of the book is very beautiful where a local boy is shown hitting a ball on a beach side where the Sun can be seen rising.

The book is about how not everyone who loves Cricket or wishes to be a Cricketer in their childhood just because they want to be like their childhood hero- Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dhoni, Kapil Dev etc. ends up becoming a National or renowned Cricketer. There are many stories in this country which has ended up on other side where the person never got an opportunity to play on a respectable stage and scale. Such people end up ruining their life as after a certain age, they can’t even get back to their basic academics again due to lack of motivation and commitment.

In a very lighter note, Author has discussed the passion which Indian youth carries with them throughout their age to be a Cricketer and even if they get back to their 9 to 5 job, a part of their heart keeps beating for an opportunity to get associated with Cricket some or the other way. The 1^st half of the book is more on the commentary on the real Cricket matches played by Indian Cricket Team since 1983 World Cup tournament and you are impressed with the author’s narration but there’s a doubt about how this book is a fictional story when author is regularly describing real matches. But then the book takes shift in the middle and talks about the characters and it is when you start relating with them and their struggle.

I liked the maturity with which Author has portrayed Cricket in this book. There is worshiping of every remarkable Cricketer evenly rather than focusing only on Sachin or Gavaskar prominently as many authors end up doing to impress the readers. Author has taken the efforts to mention the players and Team’s total for the matches which are mentioned in the story. The India vs Pakistan tales are written in a totally different perspective where the Author projects how Pakistan keeps on winning against India and making the protagonists of the story feel humiliated against an anti-national character.

Author has also taken a philosophical path in the book where the protagonists learns from the Sports and implements those lessons in his life to moot his mindset and performance. There is also a small romantic touch given in the story which keeps you interested. The last segment of the book is more about the protagonist himself being involved in a small Cricket tournament out of which he learns a lot which stays with his life long after even when he is a 9 to 5 slave now. Author has talked about many social issues related with Cricket in the book about how not everyone can proceed ahead getting selected on every level and should have a back-up plan or realize their potential after a point of time and switch the way they wish to be associated with Cricket or start focusing on what can bring bread and butter in their life along with being a Cricket fan not missing a single match.

Overall, the book is a light read which shall make you excited for the journey of the protagonist and climax is just very well narrated that shall ensure you turn the last page with a smile on your face and energy in your body. The final match of the tournament is described so aptly that I could imagine the whole thing happening in front of my eyes.  I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. This book is recommended mainly to people in age group 10-30.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA