Found Missing - [Book Review]

Book Details:
Title : Found Missing
Author : Linda Slavin
Source: A free publisher copy for review from BookCrash
My Rating: 2/5

When i started reading this book, first thought that crossed my mind is that women face same kind of problems all around the world. This book is about domestic violence and abuse faced by a married woman with 2 kids. The lead character Lisa marries Vincent, who is very possessive in relationship and abuses and beats her often. Even though she doesn't want the relationship, she couldn't leave the marriage and go off in the middle as she doesn't want to abandon her children. Vincent threatens her that he will kill anyone who supports her, if she leaves him. Story is about how her attitude towards life changes after going to church and experiencing God's power. 

Sometimes i feel, the assumption that there is some one supreme who will protect us from problems will itself gives us strength. We may not believe in God, but just the thought that there is some power behind the Universe may give confidence. Here, Iam talking about people who lost hopes of improvement in their life, who lost their whole confidence, who need inner strength or emotional support. The character of Lisa seems to me like that. She lost hopes, happiness in her life, isolated from her parents/ relatives and there is no one to support or guide her correctly. At this stage of life, she believes in God and could transform her life happy with positive attitude.

This book is neither a thriller nor a page turner. I rated it 2, because there is no strange element or different story line that excites you. It is just a plain story with a message. Sometimes, i didn't feel the behavior of Vincent as realistic. Book seems to be boring in the middle, but this is a nice read. I wouldn't say you will enjoy, but you will close the book realizing the power of faith.

Until next time,

Image courtesy: www.bookcrash.com
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com
book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily
positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own

My friendship story

Good friends are like natural pearls, very rare to find and valuable. Here goes my friendship story :)

I saw her in my hostel room as one of my roommates, who is reserved and always in her own world listening to music. Initially, I didn’t like her as it is not easy to talk to her, there was a starting problem. What to talk, even if I talk how she will react, is she good to try a friendship etc., many doubts cropped up. There was a language problem too, she doesn’t know my mother tongue at all and her mother tongue is completely alien to me. Only communication channel available is English.

We slowly started talking to each other, sharing our views, interests etc.. One interest that we had in common was reading books. We used to go to library together, read books, exchange, discuss books etc., Iam more extrovert and outspoken than her, I used to talk a lot. She seemed to be matured in her behavior, always balanced and never let out her emotions so easily. Slowly friendship blossomed, she taught me her language, I used to learn and practice talking to her. She always encouraged me to speak only in her language so that I can learn fast and used to correct my mistakes with more patience. We used to watch movies together, roam places and share personal secrets as well. Once she went to some place for her office trip and then realization hit us harder. I could understand how much I miss her. It was horrible. I messaged her and disturbed her on her complete trip and even cried too. Then, we both realized our bond is strong. We are special to each other.

After 7 years from the day I saw her, we are still continuing the same bond, sharing happy moments and worst days and I cannot say in words how important she is to me in my life.  We crossed distance and language barriers and our friendship too is matured in all these years. May God bless her with happiness always, which is the only wish I can ask for.

This is my story :) Do you have any such friendship story about your best friend? Please do share your opinion in comments. 

The language of friendship is not words but meanings. -- Henry David Thoreau

Until next time,

Image courtesy: zerotips.com, 

Washington DC tour

Princeton, NJ to Washington, DC - 182 miles, 3 hrs 40 mins

Journey to US capital started in the morning 7'o clock, thanks to our colleague for his safe driving :) Entered the GPS address to National mall, Washington DC and started through Route 1 of US highway. It was a fantastic drive with hot hot discussions and debates. Stopped for food for half an hour hour in Maryland and reached Washington DC by 12 o clock.
A tunnel before entering the city.. zoom..

Could reach Union station (Metro train and Bus station), after travelling through number of signals and testing all possible ways to enter parking area. It is very difficult to get parking in any place in the city, so we decided to park car in Union station and start the tour in a bus. Had nice Veg pizza.. Veg to be highlighted, as it is very difficult to get a pure veg pizza without egg. 

Took a tour package by bus(Hop on - Hop off buses). It was a pleasant trip as we were able to get an open air seat on the top of the bus to visit places and take photos. But, don't ask about heat, sun was on the top of the head, horrible! :) I liked this concept of hop-on, hop off bus as we can hop off wherever we like, visit the place and get the next bus to go to next stop. Bus frequency was very good and this way we have more freedom to visit our favorite place for more time and spend less time in other places. Audio commentary inside the bus about the places to visit was also good. Here are some snaps..

 

 

Loved this quote!

I thought it was my duty to risk my life to learn aviating, and to encourage men and women of the Race... Did you know you have never lived until you have flown?

- BESSIE COLEMAN

Last, but not least - The White house

Hope you enjoyed the virtual tour :)

Until next time,

What does freedom mean to you?

Freedom is the condition of being free; the power to act, speak or think without externally imposed restraints as per word web. Then, we are all free, have the power to act, speak and think without constraints in our country. 

Wait.. did I say all? It may not be for all right? We see cases of women forcibly getting married at a young age, taking away their right to education and burdening them with family and health problems. We also see cases of gang rapes, eve teasing which is increasing in numbers year by year. We also see child laborers who don’t have the freedom to choose to study. So, many people don't have the freedom to realize their dreams due to many reasons.

Leaving behind the nation’s problems, what freedom actually mean to you? For me, it’s the power to act without any restrictions imposed like the freedom to pursue my hobbies, freedom to roam wherever I want to, freedom to take decisions of my life on my own.

But, with freedom, comes responsibility. Our responsibility for our nation can be voting in general elections and contributing something to improve living conditions of poor people around us. We can start with helping our servants/ maids to let their children study and help them financially to the extent we can. My maid told me one day that we are so lucky to get everything that we need whereas, it is very difficult for them to make their ends meet with their meager income. I told her - if she makes her children study well, they will also earn good jobs and increase their standard of living. She is making her children study well with that ray of hope. Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom. What do you say?

Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward.   – Patricia Sampson

A very happy Independence day to one and all  :) 

Until next time,

Image courtesy: Free images from pixabay.com 

Linking this to #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne. 

Inspector Singh investigates A curious Indian Cadaver - [Book Review]

Book Details:

Title : Inspector Singh investigates: A curious Indian Cadaver 

Author: Shamini Flint

Publishers: Hachette India, Piaktus
Source: Book lovers book review program

Price: Rs.350

Reading the title you may think that it might be an interesting detective story in India. But, this book is not as curious as the title. For the first few pages, we feel boring and the last half of the book will be fast paced contrary to the first half.  If we have already read famous detective stories like Sherlock holme’s or Agatha Christie’s etc., we may not like this plain detective story much. But if we don’t go with any comparison, second half of the book is somewhat gripping and narration is interesting.  

Plot:

An young scientist ‘Ashu Kaur’ disappears from house suddenly before few days of her marriage. Inspector Singh who is visiting India to attend her marriage agrees to solve the mystery. A dead body is found which is confirmed as Ashu’s by her brother and Mr. Singh investigates the murder case. Mr. Singh finds that the factory in which Ashu is working is responsible for a serious disease in slums and since Ashu knew about that dangerous chemical, she informed her boss on the same day she disappeared. He also finds that Ashu has a lover who is a colleague in her factory ‘Sameer’ who is a muslim, but still Ashu is ready to marry an MBA boy selected by the family as their family cannot accept her to marry a Muslim. Now, what might be the reason for Ashu’s disappearance? Did she she elope with Sameer? OR someone murdered her to suppress the truth that she knows about the factory? OR she suicides to avoid marriage with the boy selected by family?

Writing style:

Shamini’s writing style is simple, but sometimes it gets boring. As she was a lawyer by profession, the investigation discussions seem to be very well written with her experience. Pace of the story becomes very fast at the end with story unfolding layer by layer.

My Rating:

A journey pass time read. I can give 2/5.

Until next time,

Love Ya arranged marriage?

Really, it's the best topic for debate na... No one can say which is better. Even if a person has tried and experienced both these ways of marriage, he/ she cannot give a general opinion on this. Because, it varies for each and every individual. A marriage can work or fail depending on many things, it's not a simple formula, but a complex algorithm to understand :)



A successful marriage needs 3 things - Love, trust and understanding. Forgiving, caring and adjusting are required too. Ignoring misunderstandings, egos and selfishness may help.

Basic difference i see between Love and arranged marriage is - In love marriage, you are solely responsible for choosing your partner and in arranged, your parents may help in this. Whatever is the case, you are part of the process and you are responsible for your decision, right? When someone says, if something goes wrong in arranged marriage you can blame parents, i just can't accept. You are not blind folded while choosing your partner even if it is arranged. It is your responsibility to know, understand her/him and try  to make it a long lasting relationship.

Love Marriage:
Pros: 

• More chance to get to know each other before marriage
• freedom of choice

Cons:

• No guarantee of family support, which might arise problems in future
• Expectations set before marriage which are difficult to meet after marriage due to work/ other stress

Arranged marriage:

Pros:

• Family support
• Since partner is unknown, not much expectations set before marriage

Cons:

• A possibility of incompatible partner
• family/ parents interference, less freedom

At last, it doesn't matter if it is love or arranged, only thing that matters is the person whom you are marrying :) right?
Sharing a funny saying that i found in web, before i end this post :) 

In a love marriage you marry your boyfriend/girlfriend and in an arranged marriage you marry somebody else's boyfriend/girlfriend.  

Please do share your opinion on love and arranged marriage in comments section. 


Until next time,

Image courtesy: 99 likes.com and jmdias.blogspot.com
This post is written for the contest www.facebook.com/LoveYaArrange.

Princeton University photos

I hope you heard about Princeton University.. It is 4th oldest college in USA and ranks 7th position in the world. It has wonderful 500 acre campus.. 
Here are some pics from my camera :)

Albert Einstien - Ex student of university

Liked this very much!

Until next time,

Mahashweta - [Book review]

Book Details
Title : Mahashwetha
Author : Sudha Murthy
Publishers: Penguin books
Price: Rs.175

This is my third book of Sudha Murthy. Other reviews can be found here - Dollar Bahu and Wise and otherwise

Purchase Link: Amazon India

Story
 Anupama is a middle class beautiful looking girl with excellence in both academics and extra curricular activities like acting in plays. A young, handsome and rich doctor Anand loves her on first sight and persuades his mother 'Radhakka' to arrange for marriage, even though her mother gives preference to a rich family bride with status. Anand and Anupama live happily for sometime before he goes to England to pursue higher studies and Anupama is supposed to join him after a few months as Radhakka convinces him that their daughter in law should be in their home for auspicious puja on Deewali. One unfortunate day, Anupama finds a white patch on her foot and finds that she has leukoderma. Her life completely changes after this. Even though that skin disease is not contagious or dangerous, it slowly spreads to other areas even while taking medication. Society around her doesn't understand this and everyone avoids her. Her in laws, her step mother, people in her village humiliate her and at last her husband also stops sending letters to her and cut the relationship. Anupama couldn't bear this as there is no fault of hers, but still she lost her family and everything. She comes out of depression and suicidal tendency and decides to own her life. She leaves to Mumbai, earns a job with the help of her friend Sunitha. The remaining story is about how she gets her dream job of lecturer in a college and starts directing Sanskrit plays and getting awards for them. Will Anand realize his mistake? Did he ever love Anupama or only her beauty? Will Anupama re-marry anyone? You need to read the book to know answers to all these questions.
Leukoderma starts with a white patch and spreads to other areas making Anupama a white woman, a real Mahaswetha. That's how title is very apt and story makes you think about the society we live in and people's attitudes.

What i liked
Story shows how Anupama becomes matured with circumstances and realizes her dreams without losing patience or confidence. I liked the way she thinks and analyzes the outcomes to avoid suicidal tendency even though society ostracizes her.

One excerpt from book

"Of the thousands of flowers that blossom on a tree only a few will bear fruit. And out of those few fruits, insects and squirrels will eat some. The tree does not keep anything for itself. Does that mean that the life of the tree is wasted?"

What i didn't like
There is nothing as such which i didn't like. Just that the story is plain, without any twists. It is much realistic and practical. So, it is not a book which you cannot leave until you finish. 

My Rating
3/5

Until next time,

Image courtesy: Indiaclub.com

Dollar Bahu by Sudha Murthy - [Book review]

This post may contain affiliate links, clicking on those links may earn some commission to us without any additional cost to you.

Book Details:

Name: Dollar Bahu
Author: Sudha Murthy
Price: Rs. 150
Publishers: Penguin India
My rating: 4/5

This is my second book of Sudha Murthy, first one being 'Wise and otherwise', which is a collection of realistic short stories. Read the review here.

Purchase Link:

Amazon India

Amazon 

Writing style of Sudha Murthy's:

Sudha Murthy's writing style is simple and very easy to follow. Her stories may not have big twists or interesting turning points, but still they keep you glued to the book till the end. While we read, we will be transferred to the place mentioned in the book and feel like we are present in that scene as a witness and able to understand the feelings of characters in the story.

Storyline:

Story is about an ideal working woman 'Vinuta' who marries a clerk Girish and starts living in a middle class family in Bangalore. She works as a school teacher and is very satisfied with her life. She becomes an ideal daughter in law  and takes up family responsibilities easily. 

But her mother in law Gouramma and siter in law Surabhi are very greedy and always give importance to the elder son of the family Chandru and his wife Jamuna who is from a rich family. They always sing praises of Jamuna and Chandru who stay in US with green card and send money to the family whenever required. They never understand the importance of Vinuta and always humuliate her by comparing with Jamuna. 

Gauramma dreams of visiting US and stays for an year with Jamuna to take care of her grand child. Her perspective on life and money changes after observing many people's lives in US. She realizes the importance of love over dollars, hates herself for loving the dollar bahu Jamuna and ignoring her good daughter in law Vinuta.

Some excerpts from book:

About US: Though these lines are applicable only many years ago. Now, standards of living improved here too.

this is a funny country. Like a colorful web spun by a spider, an insect walks in and gets trapped. At first we are drawn by the best technology and handsome renumeration. But once we stay here for sometime, it is difficult to go back. We get used to the easy living conditions and the professional work atmosphere. The conditions in our country are far below what we expect. Sometimes I feel there are many good reasons to leave India, and it is much more difficult to go back and settle there after so many years.

When Gouramma returns from US:

She realized that the grass was always greener on the other side. America was no longer a fantasy land for her. There was pain, misery and happiness there, as in any other country. It was no longer the land of mighty dollar, which made magic.

 So, do read the book if possible and share your opinion.


Until next time,

Image courtesy: libraryindia.in

Dreams becoming true - choti ashayein

How do you feel, if all your dreams are becoming true slowly, one after the other? Iam not talking about big dreams like great career, money or something else.

      Iam talking about smallest wishes that we make to God from childhood and dream to make them realize - like drenching in the rain without worrying of getting cold, listening to your favorite song in Walkman without anyone’s disturbance, eating all junk food or eating ice cream in chill weather without worrying about health, dancing as if no one is watching, pursuing your hobby like painting or singing or blogging without worrying about studying or going to work. I hope you got the picture on what iam leading to.

         I have many small wishes from childhood. I wanted to travel in AC first class in train. I couldn’t do that in childhood and it got postponed for a long time. There were many opportunities, but I didn’t get a chance to travel in AC coach until I reached my age of 25. And, when I could travel, I didn’t feel the same happiness or excitement I thought I would feel when I was in childhood. It’s obvious right!

          I wanted to dance in heavy rains, jump on the mud, enjoy the smell of soil before it rains. But, always when I get chance, there will be someone else who would stop me doing so or I, myself stop in the fear of getting cold.

I used to like eating 5 star chocolates in childhood. I used to think I will buy a big bag of chocos when I start earning and I will eat daily one. Isn’t it funny now? I don’t want to do that even when I have enough money for it. It doesn’t seem that interesting now.

          I wanted to get a very good job, support my parents and make them happy. Realized this wish after 6 months out of college, but I didn’t feel anything exciting as I dreamt in childhood. Everyone does that. Getting a good job is not such a great thing, I feel now.

          I wanted to travel to different places, take photos and enjoy nature. I could travel a lot after my marriage and the thirst for travelling doesn’t end. It increased day by day. If you have visited your state, you want to visit other states. If that is also over, you want to visit other countries. It’s never ending.

          I wanted to spend time for myself. Wanted to drench myself in a huge pile of books and read all my favorite books without any disturbance in my room. Wanted to enjoy loneliness, be selfish, cook for myself, eat, do whatever I like and sleep. I got the chance now, but I don’t enjoy it now or feel the same way as I dreamt earlier because iam missing my family and friends now. Enjoying loneliness doesn’t seem interesting now.

I wanted to visit US. But, when iam already here, I don’t feel the excitement. It feels to be a very common wish that anyone can achieve.

As we grow up, gradually we will achieve everything what we want, but circumstances and priorities may change. Dreaming for things and achieving them is first step. Second step is dreaming for some more things and it should go on. Dreams, ambitions, priorities and everything will change day by day. Change is the only constant in this world. 

Until next time,

Image courtesy: Google

One and a half wife - [Book Review]

Title: One and a Half Wife
Author: Meghna Pant
Publisher: Westland Publishers

My take:
         I got a chance to read this book by blog adda book review program. As the title sounds interesting, started reading the immigrant life story of Amara Malhotra whose American big dreams turn to ashes due to several reasons. Even though story line is not very unique, narration is good but it goes with very low pace. 
          First we are introduced to Shimla town , its beauty, the people and their behavior. Amara's parents, especially her mother Biji had big American dreams, their family gets a green card and they want to make her daughter marry a rich Indian immigrant, so that she will spend a happy life. Biji prepares Amara from childhood to adjust with her husband always after marriage and give importance to only his desires, ignoring her own passions/interests completely. So, Amara always thinks that adjustment is the only thing to make a marriage work. But, since her husband Prashanth roy is interested in some modern American and not an Indian wife, their marriage breaks due to compatibility issues and lack of love. Amara feels guilty for her failure in marriage and everyone else from Indian society blame her for breaking the marriage. No one actually try to understand that problem is with her husband and that she has done everything to save her marriage. Her parents see the word 'Divorce' as a big sin and they will return back to Shimla with Amara to avoid embarrassment from Indian immigrants in America.
               Remaining story is about how Amara gains her confidence, thinks about her interests, passions etc., starts a new business on her own and at last finds her true love.


Pros: There are some excerpts from book which i liked a lot:


About woman adjusting in an arranged marriage

A woman began her marriage by behaving like a new born baby who was utterly helpless and whose life depended on care taker, that is, her husband. Slowly, like a growing child, she had to pretend to gain ability as per his rules.Once she won over his loyalitiy and love, she could turn hostile, like a surly teenager, and live under the show of deep offense, mythical and hurtful to those who loved her most. And then, only then, could she come to a level playing field, come into her own, become her own person and lay her own rules.

About how India is a mix of modern and traditional norms 

Modern thought in India was gurgling along a river with two polarised banks. By one bank was an aberrant section of people, who had diverted from conventional norms, and by the other bank were the extremists who wanted to protect society by controlling the aberrant people. The two banks could never meet.

Cons:  Character of Amara doesn't look convincing as she is very much dependent on her family in the complete story until she is guided by Shikha didi to realize her dreams. Narration is good but at the end, it seems to be very much dragging that we lose our interest and everything is predictable at the end. I didn't like the climax especially. 


My Rating: 2/5


This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!


Until next time,

The Monk, the moor and Moses Ben Jalloun - [Book Review]

Book details:
Title: The Monk, the Moor and Moses Ben Jalloun
Author: Saeed Akhtar Mirza

Publisher: Fourth Estate, Harper Collins India
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 247

Reason to pick this book:

I studied to some extent about Hindu religion and Christianity, but didn't get the opportunity to learn about Islam religion. In 'The story of my experiments with truth' by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi mentions that we need to read books and epics on different religions to understand different religions to be able to comment on any religion.   I too feel the same. We should form an opinion on any religion only when we have done a thorough research on it. 

I got this book as part of book lovers book review program. This book is about the glory of Islamic civilization, how it flourished and how ideas on different fields like astronomy, biology, geography etc., passed on to western countries from Arabs. 

The plot/ story line:

There are 2 stories running in parallel in this book. One is from present period where a group of students studying in an American university find an old manuscript about the translations made from Arabic to latin by a christian, a moor and Ben Jalloun. They research on the topics mentioned in manuscripts, try to understand and discuss on great moors or scholars who contributed to different fields like philosophy, astronomy, politics, poetry etc., when Latin America is still in nascent stages of development. They call their meetings as ‘House of wisdom’. Another story from past (AD 1010) is about an Iranian woman ‘Rehana’ , her life, her teacher and scholar ‘Abu Rehan’ and her quest to learn.

Pros:

Storyline of Rehana, research of Abu Rehan, characterization of Rehana and her husband Dilwar khan is nice to read. But, I cannot believe that an Iranian woman was given that much independence at home to learn from her teacher and decide on her own marriage in those old days like AD1010.

Cons:

Novel seems to be in bits and pieces. It is very difficult to correlate the facts and understand. It seems like we are dumped with hell lot of information or facts which doesn’t seem to be true sometimes.

Book is not interesting going forward, as all chapters are alike and story narration is not very impressive.

My rating:

A serious read and i rate it 3/5. 

Here is link from flipkart.com to purchase this book.

Until next time,