English Bites!

Having studied in institutes that taught in English all through, I held high opinions about my grip on the language. That is, until I read "English Bites!" by Manish Gupta. 

Some of my classmates in college did not know English well, and I have seen them struggle with the language. I can identify the difficulty in studying and conversing when you do not know the language. This book starts from a similar background - it is the author's own journey from not knowing English at all to knowing the language inside out?

As children, you too may have wondered how strange a language English is - Why is CUT and PUT pronounced differently? Why is the P silent in PSYCHOLOGY? Where is the vowel in RHYTHM? Similar questions may have come to your young mind, but you had to accept these idiosyncracies and move on in life.

Manish, however, is not someone who would let go. While he learnt the language, he would dig up the etymology of each word, forms sentences or phrases to remember their meanings, finds out different ways one can use a word, what its synonyms and acronyms were, and whatever possible was there about a word!

He has compiled all his findings in this book, and narrated it in the form of a hilarious tale. There are notes and sometimes exercises for those who want to learn more. Read the book slowly, and you would enjoy it immensely. If you try to rush through it, it'll appear like an English word book. 

Unless you are a facuty or student of English, you would find in this book words you had learnt once upon a time but have forgotten due to unuse, words whose exact meaning you dont know but have guessed from the usage and words you absolutely haven't come across. Even if you are someone whose life revolves around English, there would be something in this book for you to discover!

In my childhood, my Granny used to advice me to note down new words in a copy whenever I learnt one. Needless to say, I did not do any such thing. This book appeared like a job done to me!

I will give full five stars to this book, for it achieves its purpose to the hilt. My Dad also read this book, and loved it much more than I did!

Aisle Be Damned

Are you a frequent flyer? Even if you aren't, you must have flown by any airlines from one place to another some time in your life? If you belong to any of these categories, you'd enjoy this book. And just in case you are yet to step in an aircraft, this book will get you looking forward to an airborne experience.

Rishi Piparaiya, the author, as he puts it, has a "1000 plus - flight career" across both international and national boundaries. And he is utterly bored of it. See, I may fly a couple of times in a year, and I find plane journeys predictable and don't think much about them. For a person who has flown so many times, you can imagine that he'd go crazy. And that's when he starts noticing finer details - and a compilation of his take on various aspects has evolved into this book.

For example, he advices that a passenger hopeful of being upgraded to business class from economy should be wearing an expensive jacket and look very polished waist upwards - and may even opt for shorts below, because the attendant at the check-in desk would just glance at your upper half. Rishi gives you tips about whether you should opt for a window or aisle seat, whether you should rush while getting in the airport bus, or what to say lest you be seated against celebrities.

There are some really funny parts in the book. You may have witnessed the in-flight demonstration of security aspects, but have you given a second thought to the language used? Rishi wonders why the Hindi version seems so out dated - using terms like "nishedh", "vilambh" - words no one uses in spoken language.

Read this book to learn about Rishi's experiences, and you'd find yourself grinning for most part of the book!

Bon Voyage!

Look out for "The Reckless Engineer" !

A murder takes place on the very first page. The main accused, Jack Connor, fervently denies his charges, since he was in a romantic relationship with the victim, and was expecting a child as well. But what to do, if all evidences seem to point at him?

His friend, Jeremy Stone and attorney, Harry Stavers, embark on a challenging task to unveil the true murderer. What they find unravels the reader - everyone seems to have had the opportunity and motive for this heinous act. What is more, there's some hired criminals on the loose who can kill unblinkingly if required. Relationships come in loops, loyalties and personal interests arise and seem to make the situation very complex.

This is a crime thriller that keeps you hooked till the very end. Its been in front of your eyes all the time, but you cannot pinpoint the killer. The language is gripping, and the characters are very real. Jac Wright has come with a best seller, and possession of it is an absolute must!

Unpublished at present, the book is likely to become available very soon. Look out for it!

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I had received an advance copy from the author. I was lucky!

Wise Enough to be Foolish

If you havent read a good book for some time, this one is for you.

Its a light read; but written in a stylish manner.

The introduction tells you that this is an autobiography, and you'll love the journey right from her childhood.

I felt its a bit bold and requires guts if all of it is true - telling the world that includes your relatives and friends about how you felt about your parents, siblings, friends, crushes and more. But on second thoughts, why not?

You will identify with Gauri or her friends as she narrates her life, and how they see the world. Its not a hilarious book, but it'll bring a smile to your face.

I'll give this book a 3.99 out of 5... not exactly a 4. Somewhere I felt there are too many men - there is a portion where she meets a person named 'Kamal' - I closed the book after that sentence, for I needed a break. But Kamal turned out to be a woman, and although her role is small, it is critical. 

The ending is nice, albeit a bit sudden.

AmreekanDesi: Masters of America

Atulya Mahajan, in his debut book, has written quite a hilarious account of experiences of two boys: Akhil Arora from Delhi and Jaspreet (Jassi or Jazz) from Punjab. The two protagonists are diametrically opposite of each other, and as fate would have it, they end up as room mates. There's little bit of romance and fun, to add spice to this chronicle of Akhil and Jassi's lives. 

Mahajan himself had studied in the same university and this appears to be a first hand account of his experiences, the people he interacted with, accommodation, food, studies, recreation and more. The book also portrays human tendencies and cultures of the races very well - the Punjabi mother sobbing over her son's decision to go to Amreeka (America), the Bengali father of Akhil's girl friend being obsessed about fish and literature, the showing off by parents who think their son is doing well abroad. You may be either Punjabi or Bengali, or seen one from close distance - you would be able to relate immediately!

Amidst all the fun, Mahajan also clarifies some of the impressions we tend to have about life in America.

Overall, its a good and light read. 3 out of 5 stars from me. 

Chilli, Chicks & Heart Attacks : Book Review

Here is a book you shall absolutely love. Chilli, Chicks & Heart Attacks is about a young doctor, freshly out of medical school, who joins the prestigious institution, St. Ivanhoe Hospital as an intern. And this book revolves around him, it narrates the adventures (and misadventures) of him and his six colleagues.

When I first read the back of the book, I was a bit confused whether the central character was male or female. See, his name is Manjula, fondly called as Manju by his relatives and friends. Now, I know people with both those names, and all of them are female. But that apart, once I started reading the book, I just fell in love.

It is written in the form of a diary – which means that there are dates instead of chapter numbers. It’s a narration that takes you round the year of internship of Dr. Manjula Mendis and his friends, with occasional insights into his personal life. What is more, there are notes from the Editors (written by the author himself, of course) wherever there is a need to explain something.  

The author, Sanjaya Senanayake, is a doctor himself. And he is a Sri Lankan, as his name suggests. It is hardly surprising because unless you are a doctor yourself and have gone through the grind first hand, you would not know the various ups and downs one has to face during internship. Plus, there is a lot of medical knowledge that has been shared with the readers –so effortlessly have they been used that they seem normal – it comes so easily because Sanjaya is in the profession himself. But Sanjaya is a great story teller. This book is his first novel – and nowhere does it appear to be written by a novice. The English is simple and lucid – you can read it anytime.  Actually, you’ll get so hooked to it that you would devour it as soon as possible! And its simply hilarious - I read most of the book giggling!!!

The characterization is very good, and subtle details have been portrayed as if it’s a real life story.

Young Manjula comes across as a simple individual, full of South Asian values, who lives with his parents. He matures as various challenges come his way during his life as an intern in the hospital. Well, not all is fine with the noble profession we all look up to – and Manju comes face to face with number of incidents that take him, and the readers by surprise. The story is set in Australia, and the poor Mendis has to go through racism as well. Top specialists seem to be complete frauds, a colleague wishes to shun off her roots – can it get any worse?

It can. When his parents want to set up an arranged marriage for Manjula with a “nice Sri Lankan girl from a nice family”.  Or when he almost married his own sister in a messy situation!

The book highlights number of social issues that we must ponder about and rise above: Racism, Unethical practices, Prostitution, difficult admission procedures in schools, etc.

So, Chilli, Chicks & Heart Attacks gets a 4/5 from me straightaway!

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This review is has been cross posted from Volatile Spirits

Once upon the Tracks of Mumbai : Book Review

This book narrates the story of Balwant Srivastav, better known as Babloo. His father is an employee of the Indian Railways, and they stay in a railway colony in Mumbai.

Babloo is a bit different from the most of us - he is little slow in grasping things, but has few strong traits as well. He feels, but is  terrible when it comes to emoting. He speaks half sentences, and has little control over his anger. He has shadows of us in him, and you identify with him while he narrates the story.

Needless to say, his poor performance in academics, his weird conduct and likewise have distanced him from everyone - his parents, brother, neighbours; he has no friends, except Vandana, who speaks to him caringly. She stays in the same colony as Babloo, only her father is at a much higher designation than Babloo's.

The story is ideal for a Bollywood film - it is a tale of love, friendship, misuse of simplicity, chain of events going on without the protagonist knowing an inkling about them and the reader is completely involved. As a reader you know who is cheating whom, who is the bad guy and you would almost curse out aloud when Babloo comes on the verge of truth, but floats very far away from it.

Babloo has his heart in the right place - he cannot tolerate something if he deems it wrong. He finds a new identity as Rail Man when he fearlessly helps a channel reporter; and stops another crime after that. He also agrees to take up a lowly job to earn himself respect from Vandana. There's drama and then, slowly things fall into place. And the story ends on a positive note.

It writing style is lucid, and you can read it easily, even while commuting. Babloo will keep you hooked to the book and you would not be able to let go off the book until you have found out what happens next. Rishi Vohra's portrayal of Babloo is amazing - its very difficult to put yourself in the shoes of someone with problems, not exactly dyslexic or autistic. The friendless boy seeks refuge in his inner soul - it is something we all do. Rishi has also captured the mindsets of middle class families and all the other characters of the story very well.

To find out more about the book, what others said about it and the author himself, do visit www.rishivohra.com.

This book review is special. The author had written to me to find out if I would like to review his first book, making me feel equally special. 

This post has been cross posted from Volatile Spirits