Voices of the heart

Finished reading the last page of the book ‘Those were the days’ a while ago. Before I give my views about the book, let us introduce ourselves with the author of the book. About the author: N.S. Ravi holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Delhi and has had a distinguished and chequered career in senior positions in public and private sector enterprises dealing in jewellery, infrastructure, and textiles and apparel in Europe, Africa and India. He speaks Tamil, Hindi, English and French. Ravi is married and has two children. Those were the days is his debut non-fiction work. He can be reached at nuranisravi@yahoo.co.uk. The book: When a book is introduced, the first thing we come to know about it, is the title. The book that we are looking into, contains the history of many things that are a part of our day-to-day life. The content under each and every topic focuses mainly on the topic’s past and the author’s experience with the same. So, goin...

Finished reading the story ‘I will not regret losing you’ by Abhishek Agrawal a few hours ago. Before I come to the main plot of this piece, let us know the author. About the author: Abhishek Agrawal is among the new generation of authors who has created his mark as a writer even before completing his first book. Born in the city of dreams, Kota, Abhishek completed his schooling from Saint Paul School, Kota. Since the beginning of his life, he had a keen interest in writing and reading. Other than being a prolific writer, Abhishek is an anchor and has anchored in a number of book launches, including the likes of Sudeep Nagarkar and Durjoy Datta. At present, he is pursuing his management degree from Kota University and aims to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the nation. He strongly believes in human values and his debut novel “I will not regret losing you” is a glimpse of his effort to serve the mankind. The book: The first thing we see in any book is ...

Finished reading the book ‘3 @ a time’ by Diptendu Sekhar Chakraborty and published by M/s Omji publishing house a while ago. Before we come to the book, let us know about the person who penned it down. About the author: Diptendu Sekhar Chakraborty is an engineering graduate and had a post graduation degree in management from Pune. He currently works with an automobile company based in Muscat, Oman. In his five year old professional career, he has worked with automobile, advertising and entertainment sector. His work has taken him to many parts across the country and abroad. He finds his experience very relevant while giving shape to his stories. This is his first attempt at writing a full-fledged novel. Diptendu is currently based at Muscat, Oman. You can catch him watching movies or reading anything near the sea shores of Muscat when he is not working. Diptendu can be reached at Diptendusekhar.dsc@gmail.com . About the book: The idea that was forme...

Finished reading the last remaining story of the book- ‘Pluck out the heart’ a while ago. It is an anthology of horror stories featuring five different authors, edited by Shail Raghuvanshi and published by Airavat Publishing House . A successful horror story is something that is able to give goosebumps and ripples even to the ones who do not believe in any paranormal activity. Going by the theme of the book, the title seems thrilling as well as attractive, where ‘Pluck out the heart’ seems to symbolize that once you read the stories, you will feel as if your heart has been plucked out of your body. Similarly, the cover page also, I feel, goes with the theme. While the front cover shows dark buildings, silhouettes of trees and a dead man in a full-moon night- the time when the supernatural energies are said to be in its extreme, the back cover shows an open door with huge stains of blood and some human-like face bearing red eyes with a face as if it is going to attack someon...

Finished reading the novel- ‘Paradise Lost & Regained’ by Mr. Ratnadip Acharya a while ago. Before we come to the main part of the story, let us first look into the life of the author- and what made him write the book. About the author: Ratnadip is a well-trained street magician and has demonstrated his skill to many across the country. A NIT Jamshedpur Graduate, Ratnadip lives in Mumbai where he works as an Electrical Engineer. He contributed many inspirational write-ups in different collections of Chicken Soup for the Soul. In December 2012 his first novel, ‘Life is always aimless ….Unless you Love it’ was published and was received well by the readers across the country. Being deeply interested in life, Nature and its mysteries, this time Ratnadip has come up with a storyline the like of which has hitherto not been told. It is about a little deer growing up in a far-flung deep forest, teeming with its fellow deer, other animals, trees and rocks. Yet we can all find...

Finished reading ‘Child/God’- a novel by Mr. Ketan Bhagat a while ago. Before I give my views regarding the story, let us first know about the author and what led him to write the book. About the author: From the outside, Ketan is a typical 37-year-old middle-class common man living in Mumbai. Other than being the brother of India’s most influential writer, and receiving an occasional compliment for his sense of humor, Ketan’s persona is so common that one doesn’t even need to describe it. Just look around, and you will see someone like him… saturated salary, protruding waistline, receding hairline, old marriage, rented house and a car which is on EMI. Often seen bribing police constables, watching television debates against corruption, passing time at the bar… the kind of person who sends more Facebook requests than he receives. His Twitter Account has more tweets than followers. That’s Ketan Bhagat! Present everywhere, noticed nowhere. Yet, scratch the surface, and insi...

Just finished reading the poems of the anthology- ‘Singing Soul- a garland of captivating poems’ by Shalini Samuel and published by Omji Publishing House. Before I give my feedback, let me introduce you with the author. About the author: Shalini Samuel from the southern tip of India, Kanyakumari, started her writing journey as a blogger. Poetry was her unfulfilled dream then. She explored poetry and slowly started learning the nuances of it. Her poems got published in print and online journals. She is currently editing e-magazine ‘Fragrance’. She also has edited various novels and short stories. She tells- "All light beams cast shadow; All green leaves withers someday- But hope never dies With the hope of charming your hearts My pen moves on." My review: It is said that poetry is a sudden outburst of strong emotions. The poems of Shalini (whom I endearingly call ‘Akka’) in the anthology can prove this statement to the fullest. The poetess, throug...