A Man From Mandu-Manoj V Jain

Book: A Man From Mandu

Author: Manoj V Jain

Publisher: Notion Press

In this hectic age, we all have some belief of a person we turn to when we need advice. It can be a friend, family member, relative or maybe a spiritual leader, but everyone has someone they always turn to.

A Man from Mandu is a book that delves into the concept of Godmen and how behind the scenes action of how the system operates. It is a book of deception, transformation and growth. The protagonist of the book is Dhawal who is discovered by Tarini, a disgraced marketing executive when she goes with her friend to Mandu. As a part of a deal between Tarini and her friend, they create the brand of Avishkar Baba and she promotes him very successfully. He gains a huge traction on social media and uses the #SadhuofStories to get his sayings across. How the journey of Avishkar Baba progresses forms the plot of the story.

A Man From Mandu is a story that basically tells the reader about how people transform during the course of their life due to their experiences and the impacts of other people around them. The protagonist is Dhawal, his transformation into Avishkar Baba and how it changes his life and thoughts is the central plot of the story. Apart from Dhawal, the changes in the life of Tarini are also brought to the fore beautifully, specially the open-ended ending with her tells us how far she has come in the course of the year.

The book also focuses on the fact that we tend to focus and hear what we want to hear rather than what is actually being said. Through the character of Avishkar Baba, Manoj tells the reader that though everyone hears the same story, each one relates to it differently. With no specific endings to the short stories, it further emphasises on this point. This is what makes us relate to the stories of godmen and charlatans at times as well.

The plot is well built and executed. Manoj has given us wonderful food-for-thought through the story of Dhawal, Tarini and the team. The characters are well built with their flaws and strengths coming out beautifully. The past of the characters is revealed in phases as the story requires and this adds to the charm of the book.

A wonderful and a short read, I would give A Man from Mandu 4/5.

The Allegory of Endearment-Zeeshan Haider

Book: The Allegory of Endearment

Author: Zeeshan Haider

Publisher: Bluerose Publishers

Blurb:

The Allegory of Endearment is an anthology of poems which are the outcome of the Author’s world. It expresses the role of a believer, the aspiration of a lover, and the purpose of life. This work talks about the dimensions of the physical and the meta-physical world. In this book, the aspects of love, faith, charity, altruism, deceit, perseverance and mythology has been dealt with.

It is the work of perseverance of the inner voice. It conveys the irrationality in today’s world, propagates the virtue of morality, and throws light on the rudimentary principles of survival and death. This book is the mirror of knowledge.

It is the creation that also talks about self-governance, the virtue of evolution and the description of living. This text has the layers of the fictional realm which dictates about the attributes of hope, courage, affection, and mortality.
This work throws light upon the value of education and the damages caused by anti-social beings.

It is the interpretation of realism and at the same time deciphers the fictitious code of love and conviction"

Review:

A collection of 72 poems, the book deals with multiple subjects as mentioned in the blurb. Some poems in the anthology are good but most of them did not work for me for multiple reasons. There are grammatical mistakes in the book, which cannot be passed off as poetic liberty. Apart from some of the poems, the general mood of the book is that of sadness. There are certain poems where connecting to the theme is difficult as well and, in some poems, a symmetry or a rhyme is missing which makes it a seem like a prose written in disjointed sentences. The editing of the book could have been crisper as well because there are multiple places where double blanks are present.

As this is the first work by the author, I am sure we will see some good works come from him in the future. Some of the poems in the book do show good promise.

I would rate the book 2.5/5.

Tarikshir (The Awakening)-Khyaal Patel

Book: Tarikshir-The Awakening

Author: Khayaal Patel

Publisher: Westland India

A fresh retelling finding in its roots in the Ramayana, Tarikshir (The Awakening) is the story of a boon that could make the holder powerful beyond anyone’s imagination.

The book opens with the plot starting from Lanka, just after the events of Ravana is slain. We see a monkey, Valikesh, roaming around in the Palace, looking for spoils of war, when he comes across a stone that catches his eyes. Instinctively, he picks it up and we get a glance into the powers that stone carries. Cut to the present times, we come to a small princely state in Rajasthan, Devangarh, who is led by Raja Ravindra and is facing a confrontation by the British and their army. Hugely outnumbered, the king maintains his pride and opts for war rather than succumbing to the British rule.

We are also introduced the other prominent characters of the story. Prince Rudra, who is the heir apparent, is not exactly what the king wanted him to become. He is a fierce warrior, but deep down resents killing of a person. Having being influenced by both his father and mother, his conflicting conscience becomes a crucial part of the story. The King’s brother, Shamsher Singh Chauhan is another crucial character of the plot. Being a rebel, he goes into a self-exile and builds his own guerilla army that becomes a pain for the British in India. When the peace talks between Devangarh and the British fail, Shamsher offers his support to the king which he haughtily waves away. We are also shown different characters such as Duryadutta, Rudra’s teacher who plays the voice of reason in his life, Shen-Zou, A Chinese traveler who taught Rudra martial arts, and Rudra’s mother who gives him his conscience.

With the kingdom in turmoil due to the incoming attack, another blow hits the kingdom. King Ravindra dies suddenly. Suspecting the death of the king to be an assassination, he starts digging into the possible causes. One day in the library, he discovers his grandfather’s old diaries and he stumbles upon the legend of Tarikshir. Adding to this, the kingdom sees a spate of murders in which the bodies have been drained of blood.

What is the legend of Tarikshir? 

Is the death of the King really accidental?

What is the significance of the stone Valikesh Found?

The book answers these questions adeptly. The plot of the book is engaging and cohesive. The subplots are properly defined and can be inter-related without much difficulty. The climax of the book is wonderful and interesting with the entire plot coming to focus on one point. The way the plot has been treated is commendable. With just the right amount of mystery, thrill, mystery and science, the book makes for an engaging read.

The epilogue of the book is certainly the cherry atop the cake.

I would give the book 4/5.

Gun Island-Amitav Ghosh

Book: Gun Island-A Novel

Author: Amitav Ghosh

Publisher: Penguin Hamish Hamilton

Has it ever happened to you that a story that you heard as a child have stuck with you, only to resurface years later, triggered by a recent occurrence?

Gun Island is based on one such folk tale based in the region of Bengal, both West Bengal (India) & Bangladesh. Dinanath Chatterjee is a Brooklyn-based rare book dealer and our protagonist. On one of his visits to Calcutta, he comes in contact with the legend of the Bonduki Sadagar or The Gun Merchant accidentally when he is asked about that in a party by an acquaintance, Kanai Dutta. Elaborating further on this, he mentions about a Dhaam, a shrine, in the Sunderbans connected to this legend and dedicated to Manasa Devi, the goddess of snakes. Kanai tells him that his Aunt Nilima had mentioned this and Dinanath meet her to get more information on this purported dhaam. On reaching Nilima’s place the next day, he comes to know that Nilima had come across this legend while she was working in the Sunderbans and had met the caretaker of the shrine and he had told her the first two lines of the legend. Knowing that Dinanath had a keen interest in the folklore, she asked him whether he would like to go and see the shrine since Nilima’s Trust does work in the area and could help him seek that shrine out. Though reluctantly, he decides to take the trip. Deep in the Mangroves of Sunderbans, he goes to the temple and has an encounter with a King Cobra. What follows this incident is an uncanny series of events that cannot be explained easily with rational arguments.

Gun Island is a powerful novel with the plots touching multiple social topics. Amitav Ghosh has taken a folk tale and set it in contemporary times with some very impactful characters. The plot of the book, though seems to untangle the journey of the Bonduki Sadagar and the Gun Island, but infact works with social topics such as Human trafficking, environmental impacts and has a very deep usage of fate as a theme. Amitav has taken examples of animal migration, forest fires, change in seasons to show that we, as humans are impacting environment in a large way. At one point in the beginning we have a discussion between Dinanath and Tipu about passports being a matter of belief, which sets the tone of the parallel theme of the book-illegal migrations and the methods people resort to. With apt examples and occurrings, the entangled plots of environmental impact, human trafficking and the folk tale move smoothly in the book.

The characters are created beautifully with each having a relevant back story, which is introduced at the perfect time. Be it the character of the depressed, rare book dealer Dinanath or the all-knowing professor Cinta to the rational researcher Piya, each character has their role perfectly defined and is related to one theme of the book or another.

The location of the book moves from Kolkata to the swamps of Sunderbans and from Brooklyn to Venice, taking into its arms Egypt, Turkey and Afghanistan. Each location has been chosen with its relation to the folktale of the Gun Merchant that unfolds in the last part of the book, but not before we have experienced a ride of paranoia, sadness, thrill and most of all, hope through the eyes of our protagonist.

For me, the book is a 5/5.

Room No 904-Shivani Singhal

Book: Room No 904?

Author: Shivani Singhal

Publisher: Partridge India

Each of us has that familiar memory of walking into a college for the first time, exhilarated yet nervous, butterflies in the stomach. This becomes more prominent when you stay away from your home for the first time, in a hostel. This is when friends become important, having a support system becomes a necessity.

Room No 904? Is based in a similar setting. Tamanna moves from Srinagar to Delhi to pursue a degree in law. Luckily, she gets a room in the hostel, but from the beginning, she starts getting a feeling that something is not right. Like every college, this one also has its secrets hidden inside the walls of the college. Allotted room 904 in the Narmada Hostel, she gets a nightmare on the very first night in the hostel. Coupled with the warden behaving weirdly during the room allocation and the hostel mates treating it like a taboo, things start becoming difficult for Tamanna. On top of the mysterious room, she has a run in with a senior, Tanya, who is bossy and vengeful. As a silver lining to this cloud, she befriends a girl opposite to her hostel room, Smera, who is 4 years senior to her but acts an anchor to her. She also gets involved with Tanya’s classmate, Surya. We are also introduced to Nandini, Tamanna’s paternal aunt, who is her guardian after the tragic death of Tamanna’s parents.

As the book moves ahead, we get to understand the reason why Room no 904 is central to the plot. We also get to move along the psyche of the characters and how they change as the time progresses. Why is Room No 904 such a taboo in the college? Why is Tamanna feeling uneasy in the college life? Are Surya & Smera truly helping her in the college?

Room No 904? explores different themes in the plot. Though the mail plot is a mystery, the subplots explore topics such as depression, teenage bullying, ragging in colleges and teenage love. It expertly weaves all the subplots into a coherent narrative that has equal amounts of mystery, thrill and emotions. Shivani has described the characters in detail and the scenes are believable. The theme of depression and bullying by peers has been handled extremely well by her. The plot of romance in the book has been shown with multiple perspectives and has a mature writing on the theme.

The climax of the book is quite unexpected and deserves due credit for its proper execution and planning. Guessing the ending is a bit difficult and that has earned this story another half-star.

For me, the book deserves a 4/5.

The Reason is You-Nikita Singh

Book: The Reason is You

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India

Author: Nikita Singh

Telling the tale of Siddhant and Maahi after the events of Like a Love Song, Nikita Singh’s latest offering The Reason is You is a tale of how certain events in life affect us and those around us.

Siddhant and Akriti meet during their medical residency in Delhi. The book opens with Siddhant going out for a date with Akriti. A tad bit nervous, the date begins with Siddhant fumbling but slowly easing into his date when he and Akriti move to familiar turf of discussing their common turf-medicine. It is towards this date that events of the book unfold. Akriti faces a loss that she has to recover from and she leans on Siddhant for support.  In this emotionally charged moment, they assume the feelings to be that of love and the tale unfolds through the pages. Everything seems to be going just fine, when Maahi, Sid’s ex-girlfriend bumps into them one evening.

It is not just a simple story of how emotions play with our behavior, it delves deep into human psyche and brings out the raw emotions of us, of what makes us human. The story deals with the concept of mental health and depression, of how certain events in our lives have the power to completely alter our lives as we know them. It is also a story of how important it is to have a support system-family & friends and how asking for help is a better option. However, it also touches upon the fact that people who need professional help should not shy away from it. 

Another topic it touches upon is the fragile concept of second chances. The story of Siddhant, Akriti and Maahi, all are based on second chances that they gave to life and to the people they love.

The characters are tightly woven and convey the message very sharply. While reading the book, you can imagine Siddhant talking to Akriti, assuring her, dealing with different emotions, fighting emotions. You can almost feel the pain of Akriti, her pang of sadness and her change of behavior through out the story. Last but not the least, Maahi and Priyesh are the characters that bring the story home. It is them who make the story truly life like.

P.S. the character of Akriti’s mother is a complete surprise.

All in all, a wonderful read.

The Prisoner of Yakutsk-The Subhash Chandra Bose Mystery Final Chapter

Book: The Prisoner of Yakutsk-The Subhash Chandra Bose Mystery Final Chapter

Publisher: Leadstart Publishing

Author: Shreyas Bhave

Taking the often-retold story of the disappearance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Shreyas has beautifully woven a storyline around it, moving across countries. It is a pacing story with multiple twists and with an even amazing climax. The story moves between the past and the present where Shreyas has taken seemingly unrelated events and given a plot to the timelines. 

The characters are constructed in detail and the individual stories of the characters move in sync with the complete plotline.

It has a gripping plot that keeps you engaged and waiting for the next chapter to start and no wonder, I finished the book in one sitting.

It is a definite must read for anyone who has read or researched the history of Netaji’s disappearance.

The plus point in the book is the discussion in the beginning where Shreyas details the background the work that went in. it is definitely something different that I saw for the first time in a fiction that is inspired from historical events.

Recommendation: A Definite Read