Love A Little Stronger - Review

Life is a collection of moments, some memorable and some mundane. Often it is the tiniest things that bring the greatest joy, even though at that time, we have no idea that what we are witnessing may be magical, something that we will talk about and laugh over after many years.
Packed with her hilarious narratives, poignant observations and a writing style loved by millions across the world, this book is certain to strike a chord with anybody who has children or who has been a child, themselves!
For those who have read 34 Bubblegums and Candies, this is a new version, with many additional stories. For others, it is a heart-warming, hilarious, and inspiring collection of true anecdotes from the author’s life, telling us to Love A Little Stronger, no matter what happens.

About The Author
Preeti Shenoy is the bestselling author of Life is What You Make It and nine other titles. Her books have been translated into several Indian and foreign languages. She is among the highest selling authors in India. She is also a speaker, columnist, and artist. Preeti has been featured on BBC, Conde Nast, Verve, India Today and all other major media.

There is something pleasant about this book that grabs your attention straightaway, nudging you to turn the pages with a glass of cold water, and cupcakes by the side. Do you know what that ‘something’ is? The title, of course! ‘Love A Little Stronger’ – so aptly said. In a world that is currently in doldrums owing to commotion and disturbances from all quarters, people tend to stick towards negativity, not realizing that there are positive aspects in our lives too. What we all need is our share of love, as well as sharing of love, the best place to start being, of course, our homes.

We live in a busy world filled with goals and ambitions. We have, unknowingly, become part of a rat race driven by technology. When was the last time we had a hearty dinner with our family, close relatives and friends without the interruptions of television and mobile phones? We have surely had memories of those days, but they have receded somewhere in the far corners of our minds. Preeti Shenoy digs in deep through those memories and brings them down to our heart. She narrates her own life incidents, and we, the readers, seek our own slices of déjà vu embossed in them.

The book is divided into five sections. ‘The Parent Trap’ illustrates the close bonding between Preeti and her parents, as well her own tale of parenthood. Being a proud mother of two lovely kids, Preeti narrates the ordeal that goes on in her house, daily. ‘Life, Love And Laughter’ comprises anecdotes that are funny, humorous and at times plain embarrassing. There are moments of her life that might have looked awkward when they had happened, but now invite laughter.

We have all fought with our siblings when young, but again, the love and bonding that is shared between siblings is unparalleled. ‘Hey Brother!’ narrates incidents involving Preeti’s son and daughter. The innocence of children, and how well the siblings protect each other during times of need, makes a happy reading.

Love in all form should be welcomed, ‘cause it’s a blessing and a precious gift to have. Love can come from any direction; we only need to embrace it with arms wide open. The fourth section of the book, ‘Love A Little Stronger’ speaks about love and acts of kindness, and how they stand against all odds. In the concluding section of the book – ‘Be The Best You Can Be’, Preeti Shenoy shares tips on life and parenting, and also advices for aspiring writers.

‘Love A Little Stronger’ is a light read, and can be completed in a few hours. However, the message that it imparts is deep. It makes us think about our childhood, adolescence, and the stages thereafter. It creates a sense of nostalgia in us, so much that we would instantly have the urge to call our loved ones and speak our hearts out with them.

This book comprises of real-life incidents not only of Preeti Shenoy, but of all of us. We find ourselves in the pages, and we are drawn towards it. What works best is the lucidity of the language, and the way emotions have been dealt with. Preeti Shenoy is a master story teller, her words coming to life with every paragraph. ‘Love A Little Stronger’ is a must – read book. After all, love is what creates the bonds between us humans, making us live in stories, scripted out of reality.

Title: Love A Little Stronger
Authors: Preeti Shenoy 
Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors
Publication Year: 2018
Language: English
Binding: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
No. of Pages: 178
Price: Rs 175
My Rating: 4/5

Little Maryam - Review

While giving an acceptance speech for his Nobel Prize nomination, Dr. Saadiq Haider, a renowned gene therapist and professor at Stanford University, receives a phone call that changes his life. Abandoning his duties and responsibilities, Saadiq hurriedly boards a flight bound for India, embarking on a journey that spans thousands of miles and pulls him back into a past Saadiq thought long-buried. Seated next to him on the flight, Anne Miller-an intrepid journalist with a nose for headline news-senses the reclusive genius has a story to tell. During the flight, Anne manages to break through Saadiq's hard exterior and listens, rapt, as he unfurls a tale fraught with love and heartbreak. His story transports Anne back in time to a small, sleepy town nestled in the mountains of northern India, where Saadiq spent his childhood. Through Saadiq's narrative, Anne meets Maryam and witnesses the friendship between Maryam and Saadiq mature into an intense love; a love that is tested when tragedy strikes and the lovers are separated. Try as they might, their devotion is no match against the workings of fate, and the tighter Saadiq and Maryam cling to one another, the faster they slip apart. Now, after two decades of trying to forget his past with alcohol and drug abuse, Saadiq tells Anne that fate has acted again; Maryam is in the hospital, her condition critical. When their plane lands in India, the newfound friends part ways and while Saadiq rushes to Maryam's side, Anne returns to her life, grateful to have met the enigmatic man. Months later, Anne learns that after wrenching Maryam from the indomitable grip of death, Saadiq took her back to America, where they finally married. But, her assumption that the greatest love story she had ever known would end happily is shattered.

About the Author
Hamid runs a successful market research company, providing customer insights to some of biggest names in the industry. He is a voracious reader and has been one for as long as he can remember. He started penning short stories at a very young age, but never thought of writing a full length novel until the idea for Little Maryam popped into his head. He writes as fast as he reads, which is sometimes just a little too fast. Apart from enjoying good books, Hamid is passionate about travel and food. He is sometimes called "the culture connoisseur" by his friends because he loves having long conversations about different cuisines, exotic travel locations, and of course, books. Hamid lives in New Delhi with his wife and two wonderful kids.

When one sees the front cover, with the silhouette of a little girl swinging by a tree, a pre-conceived notion can be formed about the novel. A story of a girl named Maryam, who is playful and fun-loving, and his association with the tree to which the swing is attached, is what I guessed the backdrop to be when I first glanced at this book. This is true in a way, the only addition being the other protagonist of the novel – Saadiq Haider.

Saadiq and Maryam have been in love since the time they first met each other, during their childhood. Maryam was the daughter of Colonel, while Saadiq’s father, Haji, was his gardener. However, the Colonel treated both Haji and Saadiq with dignity, not allowing their different lifestyles affect their bond. When Colonel had gone away for work, Haji had introduced Maryam to Saadiq, so that she could get a companion in her father’s absence. Little had he known that this companionship of childhood would churn out a bond so strong and unforgettable.

Hamid Baig, the author, does a commendable job on his debut. He highlights the friendship between Saadiq and Maryam in vivid colours, as they grow up, remaining loyal and attached to each other. The fact that Maryam belonged to the echelons of higher class didn’t deter Saadiq, who had a modest livelihood. It only instilled in him the desire to work harder and get into the good books of Colonel so that some day he could seek his permission to marry his daughter.

 Saadiq loved Maryam, and cared for her. He grabbed ice-cream from other boys for her, and hit those who teased her. Saadiq and Maryam’s favourite hang out was swinging by the Kalpavriksha (the same tree that is displayed in the cover). They spent hours together, basking in each other’s company, happy and contented.

However, love stories seldom have a smooth path. The story takes a sharp twist, a rather harsh one, and we, the readers are left gasping for breath. We feel pity for Saadiq, and Maryam, but we do believe that things would again be fine for them. The rest of the story is a progression from darkness to the desperate search of light, draped in the hardships and struggle of the lovers, their successes and failures, and Saadiq’s everlasting devotion to the first and only love of his life.

Saadiq as a character develops through each page of the story. He is everywhere, in the stanzas, chapters and even in the readers’ minds. Saadiq isn’t the perfect hero. He has flaws, and there have been instances when I have hated him for his behavior. His successes made him arrogant, and he is rude with others. He hit people due to his own obsession with Maryam, and also tried to play a few tricks using his power. However, when we re-analyze his actions, we find them to be a mere expression of human emotions. Are we not selfish towards our wants and desires? Don’t we like to protect our love and grant all the wishes that he or she might have? Saadiq actually behaved like any of us would, placed in those circumstances, and that’s when we realize that he is a character which isn’t just the author’s figment of imagination, but also could be a real person. Beneath his tough outlook, he has a heart that beats only for Maryam. He is both a lover and a guardian to Maryam, protecting her and her interests. And by the time I reached the last chapter, I realized that Saadiq has a heart of gold, winning us over with his act to safeguard his love’s happiness.

Hamid Baig is fluent in his narrative. He has painted the visuals beautifully, and the chapters flow seamlessly one after the other. None of the events seem stretched or unnecessary. However, there are  a few grammatical glitches which could have been avoided. Also, none of the characters, apart from Saadiq and Maryam leave a lasting impression. Nevertheless, ‘Little Maryam’ by Hamid Baig should be your go-to book this spring. It will reach out to you, enthrall you, and gradually seep within you, so that the characters, Saadiq and Maryam, will keep beating inside you, even after days.

Title: Little Maryam
Authors: Hamid Baig
Publisher: Notion Press, Inc.
Publication Year: 2018
Language: English
Binding: Paperback
Genre: Fiction, Romance
No. of Pages: 296
Price: Rs 225
My Rating: 4/5

Watermelon Diaries - Episode Four

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Click To Read Episode Three

Story Ahead

A husky wail erupted from a distance, slowly reverberating into a loud alarm, and I identified it to be the siren of police jeep. The same siren that had blared in our colony when the fat old man of the red house had stolen Kitty and Litty from their mother, the whiskered Mrs. Meow. Or the same siren that woke me up from sleep when the short grumpy fellow had robbed munchies of all neighborhood pets. It was the same siren, now disturbing the silence of the vault, the noise echoing in the darkness.

And emptiness.

Robbery! The bank was robbed! Someone had already planned for it. Someone other than me. Someone quicker than me. And all of a sudden I felt inferior. My confidence hit a rocky low, and wanted to cry. I, in a daze, mixed with disappointment (how can I pay for the watermelons now?), was suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of approaching footsteps.I quickly marched towards a dark corner, behind a shoe rack (it was smelly, and I love playing with smelly shoes), trying to focus. I could hear people talking, four or five, standing in front of the vault, trying to analyze the situation.

The lights were turned on. This was the Police, investigating the crime scene. I stuck to my corner, a mute spectator. A sad spectator. I wished I had executed my plan a bit earlier. I blamed myself, and my fate, and the stars, and planets. I blamed the universe for conspiring against me.

And then, as if the heavens were in a mood to apologize, my attention was diverted to the opposite window, a window that I had not noticed till now. It was open, and a shadow loomed over it. In a moment, it disappeared. Was it the robber? Did he carry the key to my delicious fate?

Without thinking twice, I jumped towards the window. I had to get hold of the robber. I had to get hold of the money.

And the yummy watermelons!

Woof ! Woof !


Click To Read Episode Five

03:02 - Review

At 03:02 on a Sunday morning, the world as we knew it came to an end. Mumbai suddenly went black - no electricity, no phones, no internet and no working cars. It was as if someone had turned off the master switch of our civilization, turning us back hundreds of years overnight. We learned that it was not just Mumbai, but much of the world that had been impacted. We also learned that it was no accident. A deadly enemy was behind it. An enemy that was now in our midst, seeking to conquer us and destroy our way of life. This is how our war for freedom began. A war that was to be waged not on the borders or by the Army, but in our homes and streets, with us as the soldiers. This is our story. '03:02 celebrates fictional heroes who fight for our freedom, but to give back to the real heroes who do so every day, for every copy sold, a contribution from author royalties will be made to the National Defence Fund, which takes voluntary contributions to help armed forces service members and their families.'

About the Author

"After finishing his schooling at Modern School, Barakhamba Road and his under-graduation at Hindu College, Delhi, Mainak Dhar graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He has spent two decades in the corporate sector - starting with Procter & Gamble in India. He spent eighteen years with P&G, fifteen of them outside India across the Asia Pacific region. In 2014, he moved back to India as the CEO of the India operations of a major consumer products multinational. A self-described cubicle dweller by day and writer by night, Mainak is also the author of over a dozen books, some of which have been bestsellers in India and abroad. These books have been translated into Turkish, Vietnamese, Japanese, French, German and Portuguese. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Puja, and their son, Aaditya. When not at work or with his family, he can usually be found working on, or thinking about his next book.

When I received the book, I was instantly drawn towards its mysterious cover - smoke soaring over high rise buildings, and a man holding a gun. Could this be an action packed novel revolving around bullets and war? I quickly turned to the back cover, and the first line of the blurb, bold and in large font, caught hold of my attention -   “At 03:02 on a Sunday morning, the world as we knew it came to an end.”

The first few pages revolves around corporate policies, ambitions, dreams and designations. Aadi is happy, he is ecstatic, celebrating his promotion with colleagues. He realizes he has come a long way in his career, stepping up the corporate ladder, and possessing a respectable position in his organization. Little did he know that the next morning would render all these meaningless. Every target he had tried to achieve, the spreadsheets which kept him awake long nights, and the innumerable meetings conducted to finalize business deals, would no longer hold an essence the following day.

’03:02’ by Mainak Dhar jolts you, shakes you, and makes you sit up and think. This book is an eye-opener for most of us. In fact, the blurb stands true when it states ‘This is our story’.  How many of us use electricity and electronics gadgets on a daily basis? Most of us would raise our hands, isn’t it? Again, how many of us can survive without these means for even a single day? The thought itself is scary, something we would never imagine even in our worst nightmare. Mainak Dhar brings this fear to us through this paperback. The city of Mumbai all of a sudden faces the worst outage when electricity, mobiles, cars and other gadgets stop operating at 3:02 am on a Sunday, and nobody has any clue as to how this happened. Lives threaten to come to a standstill, and people have no idea when their devices will start working again. Food and water become the primary concern, and matters take a darker turn when goons start causing disturbances in the neighborhood. However, the worst is yet to come. Through sources, people get to know that this is a terror attack, and the terrorists have already set foot on their city.

This is when Aadi steps in. He analyzes the problems in hand, and with his sharp mind, and help from others in the society, he chips in with able solutions. He even confronts the goons and terrorists, and knocks them off on a few occasions. It is good to see him take crucial decisions at times of need, and the society hailing him as their leader. However, I would have preferred if the author had focused more on the plot instead of Aadi’s heroics. Aadi turns out to be almost flawless, which dilutes the realistic tone of the novel to a certain extent.

However, full credits to Mainak Dhar for the brilliant and unique concept and making us realize how much we have become dependent on technology. It’s as if the technological gadgets are controlling our lives, a thought we wouldn’t like to believe, and yet, is definitely true. '03:02' is a fiction, and we hope it remains so. It is a mirror of the modern times, and for all enthusiastic book lovers, comes packed with its own buffet of thoughts.

Title: 03:02

Authors: Mainak Dhar

Publisher: Westland

Publication Year: 2016

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Action

No. of Pages: 342

Price: Rs 295

My Rating: 4/5