It's All About Books!!!: June 2015

Monday, 22 June 2015

The Seeker by Karan Bajaj (Book Review- 3.75*/5) !!!

I have been a great fan of Karan Bajaj's books. He writes story based upon some unusual protagonists who urges you to think about your boring life and makes you think something exciting for yourself. He has taken 5 years to release his 3rd book for which many were waiting just like me. "The Seeker" have released just last week and it's already at No. 8 in Bestselling list. That's what Karan Bajaj is even when he has not been in much limelight even after writing some seriously good books. "The Seeker" seems to be his ambitious project and after completing this book, I am happy that I have read something of this kind. Though the story is not as dramatic as his first two books but still, it's no less. It takes you on the path that you might never travel and therefore urges you to go that way and experience what every human being should.

Karan Bajaj's writing style is wonderful which makes you turn pages every minute. He writes in a way that makes his book a definite page-turner. The narration is wonderful even when book is based upon spirituality and enlightenment. Generally, such books are boring and you leave it in between but that's where Karan Bajaj have weaved magic in his writing. He have assured that you will not be preached by anything that can bore you and make you feel that you are in a yoga class or something. He keeps everything simple and yet speaks a story that was very essential to be told in today's world where stress have overcome everything else.

Though the book is not very interesting initially when Max, the protagonist, is living in a very stressed situation in overseas. But as soon as he decides to go to Himalayas to find the peace that he have been eyeing for in the situation, the book takes a wonderful turnover and starts delivering a journey to you on which you find yourself walking along side Max. Every geographical location is so beautifully described that you feel you are actually finding a Yogi yourself through the way that Max is traveling. Even protagonist's adventure isn't taken in an over-the-top description where everything starts seeming to be some fantasy world. You can relate with him as you have heard such stories before.

The whole struggle of Max in an avalanche is wonderfully narrated. You can feel for the protagonist. The real fun of the book starts when Max reaches where he wanted to and his routine starts from as early as 3.30 AM. How he starts getting physically fit is an inspiration and you want to leave the book then and there and start performing those Asanas yourself. Another great scene is when Max starts performing Yoga and feels that he is flying in the air in between. It is beautifully written. And the summer scene when Max gets attracted to a woman and makes love with her even when their body didn't have any energy is memorable. In all, Karan Bajaj have written a good book which will compel you to follow the path of Yoga, meditation, spirituality and enlightenment. I give the book 3.75*/5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Never Kiss Your Best Friend by Sumrit Shahi (Book Review-3*/5) !!!

Sumrit Shahi made his fans wait for 4 long years to read his next novel after writing 2 books. He became more popular after writing two super hit shows for Channel V- Sadda Haq and Million Dollar Girl. Since then, he is living life of his dreams at a very young age. I had read one of his 2 books that he released in 2010 and 2011 respectively but I cannot recall anything about it. It's Sumrit himself who made me remember that I had reviewed his book "Just Friends". I have just completed reading its sequel named "Never Kiss Your Best Friend". These days books with the word "friend" are doing very good. E.g. Half Girlfriend, World's Best Boyfriend. :-) Considering the cover page of this book and the title, it became quite evident what the whole book would be about. Both these factors are enough interesting to make you pick up the book if you like reading chick-lit fictions written by Indian authors.

Sumrit have used a very simple and good English language to narrate this story. The best part about the book is that author tried to speak everything in just 200 pages and didn't stretch the story. The ups and downs in the story are beautifully projected. His characters are surely realistic in terms of lifestyle that these cool class of people in metros live. I felt somewhere in between that Sumrit have written this book like a screenplay of the kind of series he writes. It's quite obvious as after writing a show for a long time, your writing style might change or you would like to experiment something new. I liked the humour and sarcasm that Sumrit have used as filler every now and then.

A special kind of friendship is presented between Tanie and Sumer. It's unusual and you'll wish to have such friend in your life. Whenever they fight, you know that they will patch up soon as books are generally a fairy-tale world but still reading about how they deal with the issue and try to remain unaffected by it is nicely written. The initial pages of the book are very interesting as its written in a fast pace. Also the climax is fine. The little suspense kept by the author also plays a big role in the formation of the anti-climax.

Coming to the drawbacks, I didn't like the characters having alcohols, boozing and going out of control in almost every page. I wanted the story to move ahead through real emotions and not by what the characters displayed in the shadow of alcohol. Also "Fuck" and similar type of words are used repeatedly just to show how cool the language is for teenagers of metro-cities. It becomes irritating after a point of time. Similarly, I didn't like the usage of "He Smiled. She smiled. Problem solved." in the cases where it wasn't even relevant.

Rest, I liked how the father-son tensed relationship is presented. I liked how two friends these days share even kisses so casually that it becomes hard even for themselves to give a name to their relationship. I liked how diary discloses few facts in the climax. There are many things in this book to appreciate and many that you will want to ask author "Why?" because you know he could have done wonderful even without writing those scenes. In all, I would give the book 3 stars out of 5. You can surely gift this one to your best friend of opposite sex and get your life changed withing 3 hours. Haha! And Hey, Sumrit, please do not take 4 years again to release your next. :-)

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Friday, 5 June 2015

Satyapal Chandra: "Chick lit writers have forced me to do something very different from them" (Interview)

Satyapal Chandra is an Indian Author, Director, Screenwriter, Lyricist and Motivational Speaker. He has penned novels of various genres including Romance, Crime, Suspense, Mystery, Social, Supernatural and young adult fiction.A man of many hats with having a fiery passion to make a difference. Born and raised up in a small farming family situated in Bihar Satyapal Chandra has created a buzz through his different works. Having a very rough childhood and facing various kinds of problems like Poverty to violence, he has given a new dimension to his work. A staunch believer of Liberal humanism and peaceful coexistence of everyone, he has initially studied Hindi and Urdu.

1. How do you feel after writing 10 novels now? Not many authors achieve this in such short duration and at such young age?

First of all thank you for your appreciation for “When Heaven Falls Down”. I really appreciate your efforts and review of my most ambitious novel. Now coming to your question, as you know I belong to a lower class family. I have seen all sorts of violence, pain, and torture in my life. These things all together always motivated me to do something out of the box. Obviously, after seeing my dreams coming true is cheerful feeling for me. I never compare myself to other writers and look at what they are doing. This motivates me to work limitlessly without caring about what real scenario in industry is. And this is the only reason I have my ten novels in the market.

2. How is the feeling of achieving fame and success after coming from a small village of Bihar where people do not even imagine doing something of this sort?

No matter how hard we try to run from the reality, but the fact is Bihar is really a far cry from other states in negative way. Being the son of a farmer, I always wanted to achieve big in life. I had dreams, ambitions and talent and I wanted to make full of it. Though I had support of no one but when I look back I realize to achieve big, you need to start with a belief. Things haven’t changed though. I am still struggling to live my life with happiness but still seeing myself standing at this position makes me happy for initiating my steps towards my dream.

3. Tell us something about your latest book “When Heaven Falls down”?

“When Heaven Falls Down” is my personal favourite. Out of the ten books I will put previous nine novels at one side and this one at other. I wanted to step out of stereotypes and write something mature. And that was when I started writing it. I have tried to show many dark hidden secrets of India with a mature perspective. Not only this but even in the romance section of the book, as you would have seen, I have tried to present something very different from what other chick lit writers are writing about. Ever since the launch I am yet to get any negative review (apart from those who are offended) and this proves that my attempt did not go in vain.

4. Why did you chose a sad title?

My core really aches when I see teenage writers increasing the bulk in the market. Literature is a global heritage and the scenario these days really scares me of where our literature would go. This was the reason I wanted to put forward something mature which could do justice with literature. Calling it sad is your personal opinion. All I have tried to put forward the reality and we all know how it is.

5. Is WHFD just a love story or more than that?

From my perspective this novel is far more than romance. I can proudly say it has mature romance with a comment on many social aspects like communal conflagrations, medical negligence, love-jihad, prostitution and many more. Though it has good amount of romance but I, even proudly, say it’s not a love story. But I leave the final judgement on the readers.

6. How did you find enough courage to take upon issues like religious communities, godmen, love-jihad, medical system, education system, condition of women etc so frankly?

The real courage i got to put forward so many controversial realities in front of our nation was from my background. I have seen worst days in my life and that forces me to reveal why people like me has to bear so much pain in this secular country. I would also thank Vivaksh Singh for giving me regular support and strength. After reading Arvind Adiga sir’s ‘The White Tiger’ I was really inspired to write something transperantly and I cannot forget to mention his name for giving me courage too. Last but not the least the real heroes for making me brave enough to write it are the same chick lit writers who forced me to do something very different from them.

7. We heard about a recent controversy that took place in Gaya, Bihar. Can you please throw a light upon that and what’s your take on it?

As our real motto while writing this novel was to depict the real India that exists in roots of our country. We just want to transparent the satire or hypocrisy prevailing in the society . Although in our efforts I really did not downgrade any religion or society as I personally respect all of them but some offended people are just following a blunder which misleads others too. But I did not give up presenting my views about real India to all people and I again want people to judge the book by their own not just blindly influenced by few bunch of misguided men. I have started getting death threats but I have believe in my readers that they would stand with me.

8. You have specially thanked Chandan Kumar Chandhan and Vivaksh Singh in your book. Can you let us know their role in this book?

Vivaksh Singh was no doubt the backbone of this novel. Without this guy this novel could not have been done. His creative mind and brilliant ideas are what reflects in the whole novel. You can understand his passion for this novel by imagining that a boy suffers the greatest loss of his life as his father to whom he was eternally close left him in the morning, and by evening he was still worried about this novel’s promotions. I mean to say which 17 year old boy endures such passion and commitment towards literature. I think knowing this you can yourself estimate his involvement and sheer presence in making of this novel. Even when I asked him to see his home for his loss he told me one thing which blew my mind, “ Sir please don’t come here by getting into emotions and just focus on our dream by not compromising. My loss cant get undone but you must carry my father’s vision that he used to have about us”. This boy has got something different in him.

Chandan Kumar Chandan, on the other hand, has always been a source of motivation for me. His help in my research work and motivation when I thought nothing would work was something which made everything possible. His practical approach towards reality proved to be very helpful to me. In the end all I would say is this particular book doesn’t just belong to me but three of us.

9. How has been your association with Mahaveer Publication till date?

Well Mahaveer Publications have been really good and supportful during our journey of making this book. Even my first novel ‘The Most Eligible Bachelor’ was published by them. All the staff members are genuinely active and offers a hand whenever required. The most effective thing about Mahaveer Publications is that they don’t put any hard obligations on the content of the book. They respect our views and support us which most of the publication house lacks in the respective of controversial theme.

10. Any word for your fans who love reading your books back to back?

First of all I thank my readers who always stand by my side no matter what the situation appears. At this time too I thoroughly need their support. One thing I can assure is taht now we have moved on from those stereotypes and now we are putting our core to bring some matured stuff which really conveys a strong message. All our work is based on a tight research and from now we would set the parameters for our quality of content internationally.

When Heaven Falls Down by Satyapal Chandra (Book Review-4.25*/5) !!!

It has been a long time since I picked up a book by Mahaveer Publications. They are known for giving an opportunity to first time authors. But this time they have published Satyapal Chandra's 10th book (they had also published his 1st) who is very well known for his record of writing most number of books in a very short duration. "When Heaven Falls Down" is his most ambitious project and it shows in the way this book is written and the whole packaging of it is done. I think this is the thickest book published by Mahaveer of 400+ pages. Kudos for taking this opportunity.

Talking about the author's writing style, he knows how to write which will make him popular among youth. The language he have used is very easy to read and you will love the conversations that he have beautifully written without making it look like an Indian author's writing. Though this is a pulp fiction, Satyapal have tried his best to give a serious tone to his story as he is wanting to speak a lot of things through this story of his. This book openly talks about the ill mindset and hatred of Hindus and Muslims towards each other. It also talks about the so-called religious god-men indulging themselves in sexual crimes, corruption in our medical system, education system, real face of glamour industry, love-jihad etc. This has also lead him in a controversy where Maulvis of Gaya, Bihar, have started protesting against him.

All the characters developed by Satyapal in this book are given justice throughout the story. He haven't forgotten anyone until the end except Aakash. I wished if he could have got more coverage in the story. The narration used by him is very easy and you will love when author discusses the diary part of Akshada periodically in between the story told to us by the protagonist, Ayaan. That is something which very less authors try.

"When Heaven Falls Down" is a book basically meant for romantic lovers but author have assured that anyone else reading it will also love it because of multiple elements been discussed in this book along with the love tale. Book starts on a very tensed note and I had started expecting incredible story since then and therefore the expectations were very high. But the way author emerges out in anti-climax, I wished that could have come when the story was in the middle. That could have made 2nd half an epic attempt as the anti-climax is in itself a moment to remember whenever you'll discuss this book with someone.

WHFD deserves to be read as it talks about many issues frankly and discussed it with courage and bravery. Not many authors write such challenging truths but Satyapal Chandra have proved various points with this book. The intention behind writing this book is very clear through the words used by the author. Author is well-researched about the topics he have picked up is also evident in the few situations that he creates. You can easily understand how hard he have hit the truth.

Coming to the drawbacks, I must say that the book could have been easily done in 50 pages less as love tale is stretched more than stipulated. There are few spelling and grammatical mistakes which I am hoping would be eliminated in the next print itself. Similarly, I felt that just because author wanted to justify the title of the book, he have killed many characters in few pages itself. This could have been easily avoided. Similarly, the fight of Akshada against medical system is also given an abrupt end. It was disappointing. Because of such reasons, the rating meter had to drop down a bit low but still the book manages to score 4.25* out of 5. So you can assume how nicely it would have been written. It's a light read which can be completed in 2-3 sittings. Go Get It!

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

Tuesday, 2 June 2015

Maulvis in Gaya protest against Satyapal Chandra's "When Heaven Falls Down"

Satyapal Chandra is an author who is well-known for his records in writing books with the speed at which many of us would fail. He had 9 books in his name until last year. He released his 10th book and his most ambitious project just recently under Mahaveer Publications. He has been working upon it after sacrificing a lot many personal feats which he could have achieved easily. He comes from a place where there's not even proper electricity. Managing to make his name nationally is a very proud moment for him and the place he comes from. I am currently reading his 10th book which he claims is better than many best selling novels in India. I am done with 100 pages out of 400. I was very excited to write its review as early as possible but I read a news regarding a controversy that have taken place because of the aggressive contents written in this book.

Well, its one of the parts in the first 100 pages itself and while reading it, I was very much sure that if this novel turns out to be a bestseller or even moves towards becoming one, author can not get away without any remarks over this. This content speaks the harsh reality of India today where Hindus and Muslims keep arguing and fighting against each other to prove whose religion is better. Similarly, in this book, there's a section where the people of two communities are abusing each others' religion and thus, few offensive words are used which have brought the author into trouble. A Maulvi and a Muslim group in Gaya have protested against the author and have asked the book to be banned. They say if they find the author, they will kill them on the spot. It has also been heard that they have issued a price money of Rs. 2,00,000 if someone gets him killed.

In the democracy, it's very sad to hear something of this kind happening to an author who was trying to show only the truth of our society. He may have written something which was never written by anyone in such a transparent manner but that does not mean he should be banned and scared in this way. Satyapal Chandra says that he didn't have any intention to hurt the Maulvis but it happened to be a Maulvi in his story who raped a girl and he didn't want to project any generalization towards the whole religion through it. The novel has just released and it seems to be the first controversy in the series to come. He is also been called next Salman Rushdie of India. I hope that Satyapal Chandra has pulled his socks to take all the criticisms that are about to come his way.

I am sharing the content on which the Maulvis in Gaya are disturbed and wants the author to be banned:

A-“Just come out. I want to deep my sword into your blood. We need to get rid of this cancer. Just come out you blind follower of so called holy Quran.”

B-“You all are the cruel monsters. You only want your Allah to be followed by everyone and you don’t even hesitate to kill others who don’t comply you.”

C-“You Muslims pigs, you have been slaughtering us, the Hindus for centuries. You are the real cancer of this country and we need to eliminate you. So long as you will be on the earth, we can’t take a breath in relax.”

D- “Islam and peace-this is the best joke you cunt. You religion is only meant to murder, rape and loot. We have always respected you all like our own brothers but in return what all you have done to us. Look in Kashmir what you all have been doing with our Hindu brothers. Wherever you are in majority, you all people don’t even hesitate to crush us. That’s the true colour of yours and your religion.

There are many more contents which are mentioned by the accusers but our website does not allow us to post it. Let's see what more happens in the coming days with the book "When Heaven Falls Down" and its author, Satyapal Chandra. We will have his interview very soon.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!