Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Bharat’s Quest for Ram-Rajya by Swadesh Singh (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

 

1^st Book of 2024

 

I remember reading about Ram Mandir in 2011 descriptively in the newspapers when one of the prominent hearings in the court was going on. That was the first time when I understood the prominence and controversy around Ram Mandir and why it has become so important for certain section of our society – surprisingly the section which counts as majority in our nation. 4 years back, I turned into a Vishnu devotee. At this point of time while I was reading about Lord Vishnu and his avatars and the most famous one – Lord Ram, I realized the importance of Ram Mandir which was due to be built at his birthplace. Luckily, the Bhoomi Pujan happened just after.

 

Since then, I wanted to know all about its history etc. which I got a great opportunity to finally learn when Swadesh Singh released his latest book this January named “Ayodhya Ram Mandir”. I must applaud Rupa Publication as well for publishing this book as it might have turned into a controversy and despite howsoever secular our nation is, whenever it comes to such sensitive topic, it is objected by certain section of audience whatsoever might be the case. Anyway, talking about the book, it helps us understand the whole history of the establishment of Ram Mandir and its multiple destruction by different rulers of India. It helps us get into the past and know about the psychology of people towards this temple and why it is so prominent even after centuries for the Indian civilization.

 

The 1^st chapter discusses the significance of the land of Ayodhya. Author delves into explaining us about the Ikshvaku dynasty and all its respective kings. It tells how Ayodhya has always been a major part in the history of India. Along with it, author discusses about the different set of rules under which temple and its existence suffered right from Mauryan, Gupta, Mughals and finally, Britishers. The 2^nd chapter finally brings us to the modern India where the first case gets filed in the Indian judiciary in the year 1822 and how it kept on struggling in court until 2019. I was surprised to learn how intellectually and smartly Supreme Court rejected the judgment of High court which gave three different parties equal land at the birthplace. It is also a proud moment to learn how Indians accepted the Supreme Court judgment and there was no major case of any violence across India.

 

In the latter part of the book, author moves towards the current scenario where the construction of Ram temple has begun in Ayodhya and is ready to be open for its devotees to worship Lord Ram in his childhood avatar proudly standing at its rightful location – Lord Ram’s birthplace. Author gets into details and gives an overview on the design, architecture and the whole insight on how the whole temple and the premises will look like. The way author has written the whole part actually makes you visualize the whole temple in front of your eyes. It will make you impatient as the construction of whole temple premises will take some more years for us to view what it is actually planned and aspired to be.

 

Swadesh also discusses how the development of modern Ayodhya is being planned along with the temple because it becomes very necessary for the whole locality to have different tourist spots for the devotees to enjoy as people come from faraway places and expect every lane to give an essence of Lord Ram’s presence. I am glad the way author narrated about all the existing attractions around Ayodhya such as Sarayu River, Hanumangarhi, Kanak Bhawan, Shri Nageshwarnath temple, Sita ki rasoi etc. Along with this, author also talks about how these attractions shall be further beautified after the temple gets opened for its devotees.

 

Along with the importance of Ayodhya for Sanatan Dharm, Swadesh speaks about how it is also equally worshipped by other religions such as Jains and Buddhists as well. I wasn’t aware about Ayodhya’s relevance as a spiritual fabric of the nation for multiple religions which the book made me decipher in very easy language. Swadesh has divided the chapters in a manner where each of them talks about a topic specifically which makes the interest alive for the readers and keep them focused towards the subject.

 

His research and efforts are visible in every sentence as author has deep dived into the subject. He could have made this book difficult for all of us by getting into the legal aspects in the language of our Indian law but he keeps it simple for all the audience to understand and learn from an overview aspect as to how the whole phenomena around Ram temple kept disturbing the emotions of the people aspiring to pray their Lord on his birthplace itself. Also, the book is of around 160 pages hence it becomes easy to go through it in few sittings itself.

 

Overall, this book is an excellent read specially at this point of time when Ram Temple is already open for all of us. It is going to be a very different experience while visiting Ayodhya after reading this book hence I would recommend everyone to read this one before planning an Ayodhya visit. It will also help you understand when is the best time to be there on the spiritual land based on the development that has been planned by Government along with its timelines. I rate this book 4.5* out of 5.

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WRITING BUDDHA

Questions You Always Wanted to Ask by Swami Mukundananda (Book Review: 4.25*/5) !!!

  

36^th Book of 2023!

 

I always get excited whenever I get to know that a spiritual leader/personality has written a book because their perspective of seeing things is always very optimistic and calm than how we look at things. I wanted to finish my reading target of 36 books for the Year 2023 with one such book. Hence, I picked up recently released book written by Swami Mukundananda named “Questions you always wanted to ask”. The book is published by Rupa Publications in around 190 pages. One can easily finish the book within a single sitting itself but the kind of spiritual and insightful gems author keeps on sharing with us doesn’t allow us to read it in speed but give each chapter its own time and reflect upon the same.

 

As the title of the book says, it is about the questions we generally have in our mind about life which we wish to ask to a spiritual guru and learn from them on how to handle our issues. Author has cumulated all such basic questions and tried giving answers from his perspective unapologetically. Author doesn’t shy away from writing solutions which might sound quite biased in terms of spiritual process but he assures that he only responds back to a question with an answer as experienced by him rather than giving some random templated answer. The book starts with talking about faith on how can one classify between blind and true faith. This chapter itself gives a solid foundation to the book as it clarifies how people generally falls into the cycle of blind faith without understanding what devotion actually is.

 

Swamiji is very crisp in his responses to every question and doesn’t end up writing long generic pieces which we have already read in some newspaper articles or Facebook/WhatsApp post. He gives short answers but with a very effective tone. Even while reading the answers, you start feeling some positive changes in your mindset and attitude. It is understandable the kind of impact it would make to us if we start following those advises and suggestions. In one of the chapters, author clarifies how all of us have misunderstood the concept of visualization and we believe that just by visualizing some ideal situations, we would manifest it into truth. He throws upon the light on how equal amount of effort is also required from our end in order to make our visualizations turn into true events.

 

Author doesn’t confine the book in either – spiritual or practical world but tries providing modern solutions even to the old-school questions. His intention is evident in every word that he wants to help readers in receiving the answer they’re looking forward by investing their time in this book. He has written every page with responsibility and ensures that the reader gets the maximum benefit out of the book and mostly, he has been successful in his endeavour.

 

There are topics where author has provided insights on the subjects such as reincarnation, past lives, destiny, life’s purpose, spirituality, religion, meditation etc. On the other hand, author has widely discussed about modern topics such as work-life balance, finding time for devotion, searching for a spiritual guru, self-confidence, enthusiasm, family life etc. Similarly, author also speaks about practical implementations for several topics such as reading scriptures and from where to start it – why Ekadashi fasting is necessary and how should one initiate it – how can one perform daily sadhana and meditation and for how long – the benefits of providing Seva – adopting vegetarian lifestyle etc.

 

Reading this book is like sitting in a breeze and enjoying pleasant flow of wind. The tough conditions and situations of our lives are also being talked of so easily that we don’t feel uncomfortable while reading them. For anyone who has never read spiritual books or didn’t perform spiritual practices, this book will be a good start to enter into the world of spirituality. The topics are nicely divided into different chapters. Every topic is then beautifully segregated in terms of several questions which helps us understand the direction in which the answer is being drafted.

 

Talking about the drawbacks, I must say that the author has provided very basic answers in certain sections which people keep on hearing anyway in their life. People expect something extra when they pick up a book from a spiritual personality like Swami Mukundananda. Secondly, author has promoted his belief right in our face without realizing that this book could be picked by anyone – either an atheist or people belonging to other religions as well. It felt very immature from the author’s end. Thirdly, author regularly gives reference of his own initiative and markets it while giving few answers. I think it should have been avoided.

 

Overall, this is a good read and can be gifted to anyone falling above the age of 12. I give this book 4.25* out of 5.

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WRITING BUDDHA

Tara's Truce by Kavita Kane (Book Review: 4*/5) !!!

  

35^th Book of 2023

Well, I am almost on the last leg of my reading target of this year 2023 and I am grateful to have picked Kavita Kane’s “Tara’s Truce” in the last week of December. As all of us know, Kavita is a great mythological author and she loves penning story from the point of view of women who aren’t given much significance in our ancient texts. She picks such characters and write descriptively on them which turns out to be an exciting read for us as we don’t know much about them and wish to learn more.

 

This 300-pages book published by Rupa Publications is based on Tara, who is married to King Vali of Kishkindha and serves as the queen of the kingdom. Some events happen and she has to unhappily marry Vali’s brother, Sugriv. The book talks about the kind of trauma she has to go through to survive the ego clashes between both the brothers. She is also shown as a wife who is regularly trying to control her aggressive husband’s behaviour throughout her life. The story speaks of all the pre-events that happens before the main event where Lord Ram kills Vali – something that all of us have heard. Kavita takes us deeply into the world of Kishkindha and basically, the Kishkindha palace and makes us understand the dynamics of how the Vanara leaders were caught in their own turmoil before joining Lord Ram’s force in search of Sita Mata.

 

Kavita Kane had a very complex task while writing this book which is clearly evident as she had to convey and handle the complexities and dynamics between a lot of characters as every individual had direct relationship with another and none of them were either white or black. The gray shade in the personality of both the brothers- Vali and Sugriv has been beautifully portrayed. Throughout the story, as a reader, one ends up being confused if either of the two brothers can be called righteous and supported against the another. Both had their flaws but their backstory makes you support each of them at different instances. Kavita has been able to play this game beautifully with words and series of events narrated powerfully to display the best and worst in both of them.

 

Talking about Tara’s character on whom the book is based, I, frankly, didn’t know anything about her even though I am someone who reads about my religion regularly. Thankfully, this book has made me understand the plight and power of Tara. Her role in managing the kingdom in tough situations tells us how women played equal and major role in not only managing the bureaucracy but also go through the tantrums their King husband starts showing out of their ego, power, money and what not. All the conversations where Tara stood up against Vali and make him realize about his wrongs were such courageous scenes to read as any other woman must have got scared of even putting her opinion. Every time she ended up failing in stopping Vali from going the wrong path, her reactions and responses are just too inspirational for us with respect to how to behave when we are at our most hopeless and helpless state.

 

Though the book is named after Tara, but it gives equal justice not only to Sugriv and Vali but also to Rumi, who is Sugriv’s wife. She is not as courageous as Tara but the way she keeps herself up emotionally against everything that happens around her without her approval or validation tells us about the inner strength of a lady. A conversation between herself and Tara where they discuss how both of them didn’t get an ideal husband is such a phenomenal piece to read. I was in awe while reading what even Rumi had to say about her expectations from Sugriv and how she has not received much love from him.

 

In the pre-climax, the interest level goes on another stage as finally, Ram enters the storyline and it’s just mesmerizing to read how he talks with Tara after killing Vali maintaining his Godliness and stability. His conduct with Tara even after she curses him teaches us so much about humility, acceptance and forgiveness. Tara’s character again sees an upsurge after she handles Lakshman’s anger against Sugriv for not being available for Ram in search for his wife despite promising the same. Even Lakshman gets confused how she could play so beautifully with words and assure him of support after being cheated for months by her husband. The epilogue comes as a surprise where Ram’s words are being kept by him even in his next birth as Krishna. Kavita Kane’s research and effort can be seen in every twists and turns that makes this story so interesting and powerful.

 

Now, talking about the drawbacks, I must say that Kavita ends up writing few things very descriptively which ends up lengthening the story. It becomes boring at many places where the story becomes stagnant and we read the same thing repeatedly. Even some conversations between the main characters seems similar multiple times and we wish if author could have shortened it by just mentioning what conversation they had in just 2-3 sentences. The book could have been easily short by 70-80 pages for sure. Other characters such as of Hanuman, Jamvant, Angad etc. should have been given a little more visibility as all of us know about them and wished to read how they were participant in Kishkindha’s work affairs.

 

Overall, this is a nice read as we get to know about one of the characters in Ramayan who has to offer so much. I give this book 4 stars out of 5. This is my 2^nd book by Kavita Kane and I am looking forward to reading all her other works as well.

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WRITING BUDDHA

The Nigerian Mafia- Mumbai by Onyeka Nwelue (Book Review: 3.75*/5) !!!

  

34^th Book of 2023

 

Living in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai, there has been multiple times I have spotted Nigerian citizens in local train and other public places. There’re always some assumptions about them and we don’t take a second to pass judgments against them. Secretly, everyone of us wish to know how they are in India and what do they exactly do to survive or live in our city. Thankfully, I got my hands upon this book named “The Nigerian Mafia- Mumbai” written by Onyeka Nwelue who is a Nigerian filmmaker, publisher, talk-show host, bookseller, author and an Academic Visitor and founder of the James Currey Society, at the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford.

 

As the author is himself from Nigeria, he has been able to provide us specific details on the life of a Nigerian who has left his home to be in a new country and start from zero amidst all the struggles and chaos he has to go through. Onyeka has used the character of Uche to describe why the protagonist left his country and how he is trying to survive in India in its most fancy city- Mumbai.

 

The book is written in a very easy language which can be understood even by the beginners. I was quite unsure about the language initially as the author belongs to a foreign land where English is not prominently spoken hence the citizens lack the fluency. Surprisingly, Onyeka does great justice to the primary language he chose to write his story. He has also tried to maintain the flavor of Nigerian accent by ensuring that the same is scribbled in the conversations where certain characters are involved. Initially, I found difficult reading and understanding it but once I understood the purpose, it became easy to read the same.

 

Nwelue’s has a great potential in narrating the story as he is able to convince us about multiple sub plots and the kind of situations the characters have to go through. We are able to comprehend the arc of the characters and their changing priorities with the passing time in a city like Bandra where they get the difficult opportunities to survive but on the risk of getting caught at any point of time. How a local actor moves to Mumbai for becoming a Bollywood actor but ends up becoming a drug dealer – even a pimp – and indulges in other criminal activities as well. While reading the whole scenario from the perspective of a Nigerian, a reader is able to empathize with them completely.

 

In the pre-climax, author brings a twist and reveals what exactly happened with Uche before leaving for India. I read that part twice. The convincing factor in the author’s writing makes you believe even those sections where the possibility of it seems very fictional. Obviously, the book is a fictional attempt but the way it’s written makes it sound like an autobiography. I liked how author has justified the rawness of all the locales he has based his story in such as Bandra, Mumbai, Nigerian cities etc. One can easily imagine the whole ambience of the place where the character is regularly on a run for survival.

 

The romantic angle in the story is given a small place which gives a different perspective of the character but the confusion and uncertainty of the same makes it a separate but integral part of the tale. The book also takes us through how even fellow Nigerians doesn’t support each other due to their own caste system where there’s a lot of superiority complex in the ones who belong to the higher community. It speaks of other aspects of Nigeria as well.

 

Overall, the book is a compelling read which makes you keep turning pages until you finish it. It tempts you in believing that there’s something more sensational about to happen in the next chapter. Author has made the reading experience very easy and interesting. I give the book 3.75* out of 5. I am looking forward to read more work from the author in future.

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WRITING BUDDHA

The Protected Rakshasa: KAAL by Pranay Bhalerao (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

 

33^rd Book of 2023

 

I remember reading around 3-4 books written by Pranay last year in 2022 and I was surprised with his scale of imagination while creating a universe in which he weaves his stories. The latest book I read by him was the 1^st part of a new trilogy (“Kavaach Trilogy”) he had introduced reading which I was amazed by the world he had created. The series became promising with the 1^st book itself and I am glad that within a year, Pranay has managed to draft the 2^nd book and released the same recently. This 362-pages book is named “Kaal: The Protected Rakshasa” which is typically based on one of the two prominent characters of the book – Kaal.

 

Even though the book is part of a series and the last book was read by me a year back, the way Pranay has given start to this book makes the reader comfortable without getting confused with the multiple groups and characters. Just as we read the life of Krishna separately apart from his massive involvement in Mahabharata, author has given almost the same touch to the story of Kaal where we get to read about his whole life right from his birth to a phase where he finally gets involved in the Kavaach saga. I am surprised with respect to how Pranay made it possible to make it an easy-read without even giving a brief of what happened in the 1^st book as a recap or something. This tells about the writing prowess he holds.

 

Pranay has managed to give a great shape to the development of Kaal’s character where he is a very innocent boy in childhood – then gets into a training module where he starts analyzing about the extra-ordinary events happening with him – later, as a lover boy who starts getting involved in a relationship fearlessly – as an intellectual youth - and finally into a warrior who is ready to take on anyone. The story around all these events progresses smoothly making us enjoy each of the phases and rooting for Kaal – even at the instances where we know he is not completely right.

 

His chemistry with his parents in his childhood is very nicely projected which shapes up his future regarding how and why he turns so evil over a period of time. His life in ashram is portrayed along with other themes of nepotism, favoritism and the struggle one has to go through when one tries to push himself up in the status ladder created by the society. I liked how Pranay was able to describe the whole tantric and other mantra-level hawans etc. very clearly that as a reader, we can imagine how the whole ceremonies are being carried out. A book that belongs to a genre where the ancient Indian history or mythology is touched upon needs description of such processes widely so that readers are aware of all that goes into developing a culture which is so vast and popular. Pranay just utilizes this specialty well and doesn’t leave a chance anywhere of not making us go through such events deeply.

 

Like the 1^st book, even here the story keeps moving to and fro in two different eras- the ancient 600 BC and the modern world. Yet again, author has been able to make the transition happen very organically without making it sound complex and difficult. He has been successful in implementing this form of story-telling where there is link between two different time-periods and how to shuffle between both of them in order to narrate the happenings. It generally sounds as if both the stories are happening parallelly which makes it exciting and mysterious for the reader to know about both the worlds and its respective characters at every point of time.

 

In the 1^st book, I had felt that Pranay has narrated the story as if it’s a pitch for a screenplay adaptation rather than a novel. Thankfully, this time Pranay has drafted the story well where it gives the literary feeling in every sentence. Similarly, there weren’t much philosophical aspect in the 1^st part whereas this time, he has been able to provide such insights in between wherever there was a scope to describe any response with the element of life.

 

Personally, talking about few scenes – I liked the chemistry between Kaal and Nandini a lot. I liked the whole relationship arc of Kaal and King Nandak. I liked the last confrontational scene between him, King and the secretary. All those moments where the dark figures keep returning back to Kaal are nicely planned in the story. It gives a great push to the story – the twists and turns just after that makes the book reach another level. The insecurity of Adhiram and Radha throughout the story regarding losing their son hits the emotional nerves every time they have a conversation between themselves.

 

Not taking anything away from the other characters, Rudra is given enough scenes in this book as well in the present timeline. What happens after all the devastation (mentioned in 1^st book) is discussed and his chemistry with his folks and realization of his superpowers keeps up the excitement in the story. I am excited to know how Rudra is going to rule over the next parts of this series. Similarly, Shaurya, his group and his world are also discussed regularly to build the base for the clash that’ll happen in the present timeline – somewhere in the next book.

 

Overall, the book is a perfect page-turner. Pranay is a brilliant story-teller who knows how to keep you hooked. He is capable of converting a complex storyline into a smooth-read with his writing abilities. I gave the 1^st book 4.25*; as this one is a notch better than it; I will give 4.5* to Kaal – the 2^nd book in the series. And now I wait for the conclusion to be released as soon as possible.

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WRITING BUDDHA

The Perfect Us by Durjoy Datta (Book Review: 1.5*/5) !!!

  

32^nd Book of 2023

There are days when you want to spend time with your bookshelf – and during one of these special moments, you find a book you ordered online years back but couldn’t read it due to other books piling up in the To-Be-Read list. A month back, I found Durjoy Datta’s book named “The Perfect Us” in my bookshelf which was released 5 years back. I had pre-ordered it so that I could read it before anyone else and see, here I am, talking about it after more than 5 years when the world has already read it. Haha! The book was released by Penguin in around 350-pages.

 

We know how public figures are socially available for us these days due to which we know when they get into relationship, marry and have kids. We also know their social circle through Insta stories etc. Durjoy has this very cool implementation of writing fiction where he tries to draft it in a way which represents his personal life due to which his readers always feel that it’s his own story. It has been more than a decade now – I have read all his books – and yet, I get confused if the story written by him is his own or a fictional attempt. “The Perfect Us” also falls in the same category.

 

Secondly, Durjoy ensures that as he is aging, he must write books for the people belonging to his age group itself. Hence, the life and challenges that he portrays directly resonates with the people in the same age-category as him. “The Perfect Us” speaks about the couple – Deb and Avantika (on whom Durjoy has already penned many books earlier) – who have finally considered becoming parents but unfortunately, due to physical and emotional reasons, they face a lot of challenges and hurdles in the process. Author tries to shed a light upon the life and lifestyle of such couples and parents who are going through a tough medical procedure which don’t only challenge them physically but their whole life starts revolving around the subject.

 

Author ensures that he talks about the modern facilities such as IVF, abortion and other practices which helps parents fight through difficult pregnancies. He beautifully describes the relationship that gets developed between parents and doctor in the process where the latter starts considering the parents’ success as their own personal milestone. Similarly, author has been able to reflect upon parents’ emotions right from the phase where they plan to have a child in their life. How they get attached to this non-existent baby to a phase where they first experience them in scan and eventually during last pregnancy months.

 

I would always ask my mother how do mothers get attached to the baby even before their birth and how do they miss them in case something unfortunate happens – This book has given all those answers to me. Along with this primary plot, Durjoy has also tried to prioritize the importance of having siblings and friends close to us in tough moments as they are the ones who makes it easier for us to move ahead in challenging moments. Similarly, there’s another plot with Deb and Avantika’s parents where we get to know the changing dimensions in the way this relationship is changing where at places- parents are like pillars whereas in few cases, they are enough toxic to not even make you feel as if you need them. Through the dialogues and conversations between them, Durjoy has tried to send the message to the new generation on how to manage them and when not to.

 

Well, as mentioned above, the book speaks about a lot of events which also provides messaging with it but the real problem lies with the length of the book. This 350-pages book could have been easily summed up within 150-pages itself making it more impactful and without losing any of the elements I mentioned in the review. Unfortunately, author keeps the whole book focused upon the parents’ challenge with no chemistry between both the main protagonists which makes it tough for the readers to go through the whole story with interest. It took me a month to finish this book because the plot is dragged so much with over-explanation and unnecessary irrelevant talks in between.

 

Yes, there are entertaining sections with the scripts Deb and Shrey are working over and their interactions with their colleagues. Similarly, there are few instances where the book really makes you smile reading about the thought process of characters in some situations. But these are not enough to keep us interested and excited. The twists and turns are definitely shocking and astonishing but they are not able to generate the same emotions within us. It sounds too plain. Even in the emotional moments of the story, we are not able to find ourselves controlling our tears. I am quite surprised how Durjoy couldn’t create even 1/10^th part of the magic that he is capable of. Something has surely gone wrong. I give this book 1.5 stars out of 5 – Unfortunately!

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WRITING BUDDHA

Didi by Nirupama Devi/Alo Shome (Book Review: 3.5*/5) !!!

 

31^st Book of 2023

I recently got an opportunity to read a book which was written more than 100 years back in 1915 by Nirupama Devi named “Didi”. It was originally written in Bengali language and is known to be one of its modern classics. I have read its English translation currently which has been translated by Alo Shome. This 232-pages book published by Rupa Publications speaks about the society during that era when there weren’t many legal parameters for the society to maintain good balance with all the parties/genders/people.

 

In this book, Didi, Nirupama Devi talks about the kind of life few women had to lead due to the issues such as polygamy, widowhood etc. She also speaks about how boys were themselves confused about their personalities as most of them were governed by their father and did what was asked them to do. Author has used three major characters – Surama, Amar and Charu to make us go through the societal dilemma as well as the different state of mind that a human being goes through when they get stuck in a life which is not of their choice.

 

There are several other supporting characters also who gives story a nice push whenever it moves slow. The plot doesn’t have much but it is still unique as the circumstances keeps changing for all the characters due to unforeseen happenings around them in family and beyond. I liked the shades in the character of Surama – who is basically the protagonist in the story. The way she stays calm even after knowing that her husband is about to bring second wife at home gives you inner strength. Her rebellious nature once she finds another woman under the same roof makes you uncomfortable to see change in her demeanor. Then, the chemistry between both- Surama and Charu, the 2^nd wife of Amar, is written so magically that it is what also gives the name to the title of the book- DIDI. I was surprised to read their conversations where Surama regularly guided and helped her on day-to-day basis.

 

The character of Amar is also dynamic as he ends up getting married for both the times due to pressure and circumstances. He has to deal with the changed attitude of Surama due to his decision of 2^nd marriage but he continues to handle the situation without anyone’s support. He loses control on his emotions in between but realizes that he is doing wrong with people in his life. Similarly, the chemistry between Surama and her father-in-law is so beautiful that every girl would want to get married in a home with such an impartial and understanding guardian.

 

Author has also used the locales and aesthetics of the era beautifully. All those letter scenes are so nostalgic as someone who’s born in 90s, I was able to relate with the curiosity of sending and receiving letters. The temple scenes are nicely described which makes us imagine the whole scenario easily.

 

Overall, the book helps us understand the challenges of human beings when they are thrown into circumstances they weren’t prepared to handle. I feel that the translation might have taken away a bit of the essence from the story but still, it helps you understand the intent behind the creation of the tale. I give this book 3.5* out of 5.

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WRITING BUDDHA