3 Books That Changed Me

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAddaCan books and stories about characters and events that are not real teach us anything useful?
 

Are you kidding me????

Stories and novels are our best teachers! Whether you read them yourself or let your grandma read them aloud to you at bedtime, these little fragments of people’s imagination are full of lessons & wisdom. (Of course I mean kids’ stories, not 50 shades of Grey! Which when you come to think of it, is also helpful in a way)

I’ve not been much of a fan of fairy tales myself. I prefer fiction based on reality as compared to fantasy. Even sci-fi is something I rarely read. Yes I like The Hunger Games, Harry Potter & even Twilight series(hear me out!) but that’s because the authors make it so damn realistic-that’s the whole beauty of it!

As for lessons from novels, here’s my personal list of novels that have inspired me at some time or the other:

1.A Gathering Light also known as A Northern Light: Jennifer Donnelly’s young adult fiction was one of the first books that really touched my heart. I was in 8^th or 9^th when I had read the abridged version of the book. Mathilda with her zeal to be different, her unwillingness to get married & at the same time her helplessness as she found herself falling in love, her disappointment when her fiancé gifts her a book ..of recipes-mirrored the 15yr old me & really made me feel am not alone. This novel taught me, that if you want to be different it’s never going to be easy. You must be prepared to let go of things that you like & muster up all your courage if you really really want something. Not once have I ever given up in life since then. Not once did I feel any despair … no matter what I have to face. And most importantly Mattie & Mrs.Wilcox taught me-if you have to write, you just write.

2. Nothing Lasts Forever: Apart from being an excellent thriller, this novel by Sidney Sheldon talks about the struggles you face when you’re a woman. I know gender inequality & glorifying the female as a sex object is something very common. But the way Sheldon portrays the characters makes you feel their pain & their determination. I learnt not to take anyone for granted because people change, never to trust a guy blindly just because he says he loves me and never to underestimate him either.

3. Dear Father: A rather nondescript book originally written in Assamese by Bhabendranath Saikia & published in English by NBT, it’s quite a sad story. Being a parent isn’t easy. This book just made it more evident to me. A family will always be with you, even if they need to attempt the worst possible methods to hold on to you!

So what book changed you...?

Jab V Met

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

 The above quote just about surmises my friendship with this madcap sardar-Anish. How we met is going to be a good story..
It was the golden age when all school kids didn't own cell phones. I got my first one when I joined +2(11th Std). What I did with my phone is the very reason I'd never allow kids to own one until 18. Yep, I logged into indiatimes.com & set my id as rin92385XXXXX. Trust me that was a HUGE mistake! (I keep wondering if I have more of male hormones....I keep acting like a guy would, also that'd explain the moustache!)
I kept my phone off for a few days owing to the very friendly calls. But there was this one guy who'd send me good morning & good night messages every single day. Not a single vulgar message, damn decent & also of my age. I bearing the wisdom of a 16 year old finally replied to his SMS. And then we became friends :)





We were inseparable..over phone that is. And chatting with him made me what people now-call 'wisecrack'. Being a sardaar he'd crack jokes on them & every other category of people. You wish to see a good example of 'happy-go-lucky'? Meet my best friend Anish!









P.S:

and now :

Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai: a Review

After Chetan Bhagat got famous, there were a lot of IIT-related books. Books on teenage crush, amorous biographies & fictions with really bizarre titles flooded the market. Very few actually made sense & could be termed ‘literature’. Thankfully Indian authors are now breaking free from the Bollywood style writing & attempting their pens at new genres. For example Tantra by Adi (read review here).

Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai falls under this category. Yes there is a love story complete with a hero, a heroine & villain yet Rishi Vohra’s choice of protagonist is what makes it different. This is the story of Babloo, eldest son of a respected clerk at the railways, a shy young man who doesn’t speak much & likes to mind his own business. Very average kind of guy with a small problem- he is autistic, can’t stay attentive for long, may be schizophrenic & probably psychotic. No he is not ‘mad’. He is just unable to express himself as easily as we do. He likes to keep quiet because he hates useless ‘small talk’. Rishi Vohra has provided a first person narrative for his characters & what goes inside Babloo’s head is simply amazing. I loved the clarity of Babloo’s thoughts, the logic and reasons that govern his actions and the very simplicity of them!

Babloo’s family consists of his parents & a younger brother. The term ‘family’ is too elaborate to describe their relationship with Babloo-who’s presence is treated akin to a time bomb about to blow off. His brother couldn’t care less, his condition causing him to a fail a class multiple times means he has no real friends. All he has is a friendly neighbourhood girl Vandana to talk to. She doesn’t seem to mind his awkward silences & behaviour and for Babloo, she is the only one for him. But Vandana has her own problems too. Pursued by the local Romeo, being forced into a marital alliance with a man she can never see eye to eye with, asked to abandon her dream before it even begun, she is stranded between being a good Indian daughter & standing up for her rights.

The characters created by Rishi Vohra are very convincing & real. Babloo’s parents who can’t accept their son because he is ‘different’, Vandana’s orthodox parents who believe getting a good education for their daughter & then handing her off to someone else ends their duty, the teenaged loves-truck gullible Sonal and the villain in this story Sikander- you see these people and know them in real life.

Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai is feel-good story with a happy ending. The story isn’t exactly gripping or a thriller, more like you’re reading the thoughts of the protagonist & watching him everyday. Yet there are many messages hidden inside this rather average tale. The metamorphosis of Babloo into ‘Rail Man’ signifies that it’s never too late to start anew. His dedication for Vandana would make you start believing in love again. This book is different & I think it deserves a chance. If you wish to break free of the romantic-IIT-MBA genre & read something fresh, I recommend Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai.

For more on the book & the author visit www.rishivohra.com