Book Review: ENGLISH BITES! My Fullproof English Learning Formula by Manish Gupta

Book Details. . .

Title: English Bites! My Fullproof English Learning Formula

Author: Manish Gupta

Genre: Self Help (English Improvement), Non Fiction

Publisher: Penguin (2012)

Pages: 344 Pages

Price: INR 125

Rating: 3.75/5

Book Review. . .

This review was done for The Tales Pensieve (TTP) under their reviewer program.

Are you one of those wandering souls longing to have proficiency in English language but the ghost of which continue to scare you away…then English Bites is the book for you. It is surely for all those who swear to have been smitten and bitten by English – smitten as being sincerely wanting to conquer the phobia of the language and bitten by being lost in the vicious circle of making an attempt  to overcome the phobia & becoming more intrigued by its manner. Before going further into the synopsis of the book, it would be worthwhile for me to make a confession…I was not really motivated to read this book as I have never found those self help books my cup of tea. But before choosing this book for review I had limited choices, as it was my 1st month as a Book Critic at TTP, so I opted for this one. But now I think, opting for this one was indeed a blessing in disguise.

Book Review: THE HOMING PIGEONS by Sid Bahri

Book Details. . .

Title: The Homing Pigeons

Author: Sid Bahri

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors (2013)

Pages: 328 Pages

Price: INR 98

Rating: 3.75/5

Book Synopsis. . .

The greatest irony of being in love is loving the right person at wrong time without confession; having the wrong person at right time again without confession and finally realizing the love for right person at right time with due confession.

The Homing Pigeons comes across as a heart touching story encompassing the aforesaid ironies of not so perfect love between the two imperfect souls – Aditya and Radhika. Love, at times, comes across as a puzzle to solve with the head and the heart voicing their opinion in different directions often making us commit acts we don’t want, landing us in the situation we don’t foresee.

~ Nearer My God to Thee, Nearer to Thee. . . ~

My initial experience of this magical hymn dates back to the release of original soundtrack of the movie Titanic by James Horner which is often considered as the last piece of music played by the musicians on the Titanic. However, did the band actually played this song before the final plunge of Titanic, still remains an uncertain fact, the reality of which (perhaps) lay buried inside the heart of the ocean. At that point of time it was nothing more than a compilation of fewer musical notes rendered just perfectly on a violin making it an apt example of musical brilliance to soothe and relax your mind & soul. In fact, it dint even occurred to me that there can be something more to this magical piece which, just like the above fact (whether the hymn was actually played last on Titanic) remained buried deep inside my heap of ignorance. It was just few days’ back the realization unearthed upon me that this is actually a hymn whose verses turned out to be even more soulful than the music itself.

Book Review: SWAMI AND FRIENDS by R K Narayan

Book Details. . .

Title: Swami and Friends

Author: R K Narayan

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Productivity And Quality Publishing (Originally published in 1935 by Hamish Hamilton)

Pages: 184 Pages

Price: INR 63

Rating: 5/5

Book Synopsis. . .

The relevance of Swami and Friends in the history of Indian literature stands in synonymous with the position of R K Narayan. The novel which got published sometime in 1935, actually sprouted from author’s imagination in the autumn of 1930 when during celebration of vijayadashmi, he visualized the first glimpse of his fictional world, Malgudi. The first novel of the literary genius provides the backdrop for all his later works by introducing the world of Malgudi to the readers. Later did he knew and realized, that this fictional creation of his would change the course of Indian literature paving its way amongst the who’s who of world literary geniuses. It all started with a glimpse of a Railway Station in his mental imagery, followed by secondary Albert Mission school, Market Road, the River Sarayu, its typical inhabitants & lo and behold, Malgudi was born!!

A Trip to Sai Dhaam SHIRDI. . .(PART II)

I had concluded the first part of my trip to Sai Dhaam Shirdi with some of the experiences shared by one of my co-traveler about Baba that really filled me with thrill and pleasure. Hearing about fellow devotees’ experience of Baba’s grace gives so much pleasure & assurance to the hearing soul that someone is indeed there taking care of you!!

With an assured and pleased heart, I rambled my way to my booked accommodation wondering about Baba’s assurance to HIS children. . .

“If you take one step towards Me, I will take ten steps towards you.”

Book Review: THE RACE OF MY LIFE by Milkha Singh

Book Details. . .

Title: The Race of My Life

Author: Milkha Singh with Sonia Sanwalka

Genre: Autobiography

Publisher: Rupa Publications (2013)

Pages: 150 Pages

Price: INR 173

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Synopsis. . .

Iqbal’s couplet given on the first page of the book aptly spells out the gist of the autobiography of / by India’s finest athlete ‘The Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh. The couplet reads as “Mita de apni hasti ko agar koi martaba chahe, ki dana khak may mil kar gul-e-gulzaar hota hai” meaning destroy your entire existence to be at the pinnacle as to blossom into a fragrant flower, a simple seed has to surrender itself to the soil.

A Trip to Sai Dhaam SHIRDI. . .(PART I)

Baba is indeed a karuna-avtaar, always taking that extra step to bless HIS children. As a kind benefactor, HE bestowed upon me many chances to have HIS darshan and feel HIS divine bliss in Sai Dhaam Shirdi. Of lately, it just occurred to me that I should share brief account about my Shirdi trip with my bigger Sai Family so that people (especially those who haven’t yet visited Sai Dhaam) can also enjoy the panorama thereof. I’m reserving the full description of Sai Dhaam Shirdi for some other occasion  And with a prostration to HIS lotus feet, I humbly try to make an attempt to weave the magic of the place called Shirdi in my simple words. . .