Book Review : Sorting Out Sid

Image Courtesy: Flipkart

Blurb View:

Siddharth Agarwal a.k.a. Sid has it all a fifteen-year-long marriage, a bunch of devoted friends, and the chance to be the companys youngest-ever VP, all at the age of thirty-six
But, behind the scenes, his life is slowly falling apart, what with his marriage on the rocks, parents who treat him like a delinquent child, and overly-interfering, backstabbing friends. And thats not even counting the manipulative HR vixen and the obnoxious boss he must tackle in office.
So, when lovely, spunky single mom Neha materializes in his life, she brings into it a ray of hope. But will she cause the brewing storm to finally erupt?
Who said it would be easy sorting out Sid?

Review:

Came Valentine’s Day and I picked up this book for review. Not really a ‘Romantic’ novel per se, it has it’s own sauce of romance. Well, life is not only about traditional romance, is it?

The book is about Sid. It is his story. But it is as much a story of people cocooned around him – Mandira, Neha, Aditi – the women! Sid is someone most of us would be able to connect with – he’s not happy with his marriage, his job, his shortcomings and his love life. Sid has multiple persona, just like most of us – ‘Work Sid’, ‘Party Sid’,’Sid Uncle’, ‘Best friend Sid’, ‘Ex husband Sid.’ I particularly loved the way the author has explored each such persona and their different shades. A few people would find Sid repulsive with his beer-and-beanbag (Brownie) sessions, his unkempt ways and his fumbles at specific moments. But Sid is as normal as one can get. He laughs, he cries, he lies, he whines and he loves. He doesn’t hate, and that’s what I liked about him.

Continue reading →

Book Review : I am Life

Image Courtesy: Flipkart

Blurb View:

An edgy modern-day fable that takes you on a mystical journey with life.

You are from India the land of three hundred and thirty million Gods and you say you dont believe in even one of them? I think its time to go home, Sid. Andreas words have been echoing in my head since last night when she poured another round of scotch. I entered God in the Google search bar and of all the places, it directed me to India a place where I had buried my childhood dream eleven years ago and moved to New York. I waived God away when I got to New York and to be honest, I didnt need Him either. Until now.

Lifes always been a bitch but this time its gone too far. I want my money and my company back and I will find God one way or the other to get my answers. Ive boarded the flight. Hop on and yes, carry some scotch along.

See you on the other side.

Cheers,

Sid: Siddharth Khanna

Review:

There aren’t many Indian books in this genre yet, hence the comparisons have adhered to Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. In case you haven’t noticed, this book is a ‘Philosophical/Spiritual’ Fiction. The genre should have been popular considering the vast spiritual resources in India, but it hasn’t. Perhaps because it is quite difficult to write about life in a simple manner. Shraddha Soni has performed the task pretty well in her debut book, I am Life.

Titled simply with a beautiful cover (which explains itself later), the book is set at a slim less-than-200 pages. It might seem an easy read from the blurb and volume, but it isn’t. Shraddha raises questions, provides problems and long-drawn solutions at the climax with an earnest seriousness. The book begins with Siddharth Khanna, a successful businessman from New York suddenly discovering his world upside down with an impending divorce and loss of everything he assumed to own. The beginning is in a casual way that draws the readers’ attention without sounding too heavy.

Continue reading →

CalcuttaScape : Krishna Udayasankar

Presenting a new section to the readers : CalcuttaScape. It would be a guest column on One and a Half Minutes, in which published authors will write about their experiences on visits to Calcutta. I will be approaching non-resident authors who have visited for a vacation or stayed in Calcutta for a short while.

I know, dear readers, the first question cropping in your mind would be, why Calcutta? I’m not sure if I have a satisfactory answer for this one. It is my city, at times it has been my muse, it has been a companion in my early adult years, it has been a witness to a major part of my life. This is probably my way of paying a tribute to Calcutta, by bringing to you words flown from famous authors, on a city that never ceases to amaze.

The fifth article in this column is from Krishna Udayasankar, author of Govinda & Kaurava in The Aryavarta Chronicles series.

——————–

Calcutta

Calcutta – I knew it before it became Kolkata, as temporary resident, then as frequent visitor and now as permanent admirer. ‘Cal’ does that to more than one person, I know. It’s a city that’s easy to fall in love with, a place that makes one feel at home. Perhaps that is why I remember the city as a sum of sensations and stimuli, sights and sounds that not only stir fond memories, but also come together in the present as a story that must be told, full of emotions, drama, intrigue, suspense and love.

Image Courtesy: Google

Say “Calcutta” and I think of samosas emerging from the depths of a lightless, soot-stained shop in Kidderpore, to be eaten while walking over cobbled streets, sighted feet avoiding open man-holes and the washed remains of yesterday’s downpour. I also think of rasgullas (and its pronounced roshogolla, not roshogullo, as I’ve been oft reminded) from that piece of paradise on earth – KC Das on Esplanade. The informed visitor consumes the delicacy while showering many blessings on the father-son inventor duo of Nobin Chandra and Krishna Chandra Das. The less historically-inclined show as much relish, but affirm that both rasgullas and rasmalai from the decades old main store taste much better than what comes out a high-tech vacuum-sealed tin. Alternatively, one could indulge in street-fare phuchkas and jhal-muri, followed by dessert that would literally seem a world apart: melt-in-your mouth pastries at that unforgettable Calcutta institution –Kookie Jar.

Continue reading →