It's All About Books!!!

Tuesday, 28 January 2020

The Smart Balance by Ankita Aurora (Book Review: 4.25*/5)

1^st Book of 2020!

There is one thing for sure that awareness does make some impact if not much. I have read many books and articles on various topics where the author/writer has spoken many things on why to do something or not to do something. After some time, I, obviously, don’t remember all that they had said but atleast something from their book or article which stays with me and keeps on enforcing me to do right things. One such topics in recent times on which awareness is necessary is reducing the usage of the digital mediums that we use for our entertainment and I am glad many authors are writing books on the same. One such book which I just completed reading which is also the 1^st book of this year for me is Ankita Aurora’s “The Smart Balance” which is published by BlueRose Publishers in around 225 pages.

Speaking about this book, I am very glad that this book has new offerings than the other books which also speaks on the same topic of teaching readers to ensure that they are not getting too slaved by the digital devices around them but are also trying to be with people and nature around them. Generally, all the books only talk about Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram etc. whereas this book covers all kinds of digital medium which takes away our attention and ends up making us either mentally or physically unhealthy.

Author talks about how obviously social media are taking many of us towards depression considering people projecting themselves as happier than they are and the people consuming these contents feeling that they have nothing around to rejoice. I liked this whole section with which author started the book as author talks about many factors which are so true when we access Social media accounts. Post this, the whole video gaming fantasy has been discussed which made me understand the impact of it. This chapter made me realize that the book is speaking more than just Social media and Mobile phones.

Author also talks about how smart learning through technology is a great thing but how gradual the growing process of children has begun as they are directly given things on plate rather than them searching for the same and learning many other things in the process. Author also talks about the role of technology and its impact in our workplaces and from this chapter, I understood the kind of impact just reading and writing emails can have on us and our breathing. I am in a profile where I only have to scan mails and reply to them regularly and this chapter proved beneficial for me as I understood what I am losing by doing this basic task itself.

The book also talks about the diseases and health issues that we are ending up having just because of our unwanted extreme association with digital world – along with this we also get to know the new diseases that have got introduced in the medical field due to this. It is really scary to know about the consequences of being tech-savvy. And in the end, author talks about how we can balance the technology with our life and ensure that we are not impacting our life due to the inclusion of the same and I really found the section as a great solution provider of this major and dangerous concern. I liked the term “Digital Detox” and found the tools mentioned in this section which really seems easy to follow and you can sense its benefits. The last few pages tells us about the sources which helped author to draft this book.

Overall, this book is a knowledgeable piece of advice which all of us should take for ourselves and our next generation. I give this book 4.25* out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Tuesday, 21 January 2020

Sanchita Ganguly: "Gender Neutrality is as much about men as about women" (Interview)

So, when I read the book named “We-Men@Work”, I was very surprised to know how an author can write about the two genders and about the neutrality that is supposed to be there between them without demeaning any of them. Sachita Ganguly, the author of this book, had conveyed her message very well through her debut book itself which made me think of interviewing her which you can enjoy below…

Hi Sanchita, tell us something about your first book- We-Men@Work.

Hey Abhilash! We-Men@Work is a non-fiction book that is intended to act as a conversation trigger around Gender Neutrality at work places. It travels through my experiences of around fifteen years in agencies and corporate offices to curate instances that look harmless when looked at individually but tell a different story when put together. Though the examples given in the book are of Indian workplaces, the implications are true irrespective of any geography.

The topic is extremely close to my heart and my perspective on it has changed as I have grown in the system. Today I firmly believe that a “with” approach will usher in an era of equal opportunities faster than a “vs”. Although for that to happen we need many open and honest conversations around it and this book is one such catalyst.

Gender Neutrality is as much about men as about women. Biologically the two genders are different, not better or worse, just different – and accepting that makes the race to “Equality” futile. Thus “Neutrality” is the language correction required in our vocab to re-align our actions in the right direction I feel.

Since how long did you want to write books or it is just that the topic discussed in this book made you write your first book?

I do not think I have ever thought of writing a book as an adult and I have definitely never thought of writing a non-fiction book. I actually started off by writing the “About this page” for FB, three years back. I had intended to start a forum on the topic back then on Face Book. I was and am extremely passionate about the topic and just wanted to bring it out in open to discuss and learn together. The “About” section kept running into pages and at the same time many colleagues opined that no one would want to talk about these things openly. That’s when I decided to pivot the conversation on a book instead. With a two years old kid (then, now five years) and couple of job switches it took me three years to finally complete the book and launch it.

I just want to play my part in ensuring freedom of choice (for all genders) to usher in a thriving working environment for all the genders without threatening each other’s progress. Deep seated biases shouldn’t guide our actions and detrimental shortcuts, that undermines merit, shouldn’t lure us. This desire was enough to drive me to pen this book

How did you research for this book as it talks about many concerns when it comes to Gender Neutrality?

To be extremely honest, there was no active research involved. I love to read and a lot of facts and theories that you read somewhere remain with you since they touch you somewhere deeper, so such facts have been reproduced in the book. But more importantly all the instances discussed in it are first hand and fourteen years plus is a long- long time to face gender related concerns in person if you are a working woman. Besides going through life-phases like marriage and maternity, gave dimensions to my experiences of gender issues at workplaces.

So most of the content of the book is pure experience and the inferences are mine which I believe were easy to derive given that the topic is so close to my heart.

How did you ensure that you don’t end up demeaning men while talking about uplifting women in society? How difficult it was?

It wasn’t difficult at all. I believe language is an extremely powerful tool. It plays a critical role in expressing our intent, which in turn drives all the action. I firmly believe that Neutrality is the answer to expedite a word of equal opportunities (which BTW the World Economic Forum has predicted will take another 208 years for USA).

It was very obvious to me that in the universe of workforce, where majority is of men, one cannot ignore them. We need to look at things from their perspective as well since the context of society has changed for both men and women. More importantly being an optimist, I am almost always sure that everyone wants a better life quality so the question to be answered was “how”.

Lastly, my experience tells me that gender biases are gender un-biased so irrespective of we being men or women or any other gender, need to fight those deep seated biases is common. The fact is everyone can prosper together. Unlike the law of energy, good quality of work life is not an either-or game. This belief gives a lot of freedom to act in the right direction.

How did such unique title come to your mind for this book?

Like I said, I love to read. I believe my thoughts have been shaped by the various books I have read from my childhood. The passion to read gave birth to my extreme love for word-play. I love to dissect words and make up stories about how they would have been derived from the sub-words. I know it sounds crazy but I look for stories everywhere.

We-Men@Work name came to my mind three years back, long before the first chapter was written. It was supposed to be the name of my FB forumJ. I always found “Women” an intriguing word since it includes “men” in it. So what better to pitch an inclusive plan of action that this word itself with minor tweaks that brings out the message loud and clear!

What was your state of mind when the Me Too movement was on its high in our country considering it speaks about men-women relationship in our corporate structure?

Sexual abuses are more common than they are talked about. Right from home to crowded stations, it is a disgusting reality we are living with. The corporate structure is not an exception. The fact that POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) was introduced in 2013 (way before Me Too movement) acknowledges this reality. The policy became gender neutral recently though.

So Me Too did not shock me at all. I have been witness to few POSH cases and I know how it can be played both ways. It did frustrate me though. In the more controlled environment of office, it becomes a power game along with a gender game. Someone at a higher hierarchy generally dares to abuse people with an assumed confidence of the victim not reporting it or worse he/she will not face any consequences even if the act is reported.

It is disgusting and it is all around us. Like any other crime, I do not see even this getting eliminated but the perspective of looking at victims in this crime is convoluted. So if by policies, social media support and lifting taboos from subjects that are anyway known to everyone there is hope to make it as shameful a crime as any other for the perpetrator ( and not the victim)

How was your experience in searching the publisher for your book after completing your book?

Once I finished the book and started to figure out things I felt like writing the book was the easier part. It was in my control. I had no clue that there is a full-fledged industry out there related to book publishing. There is editing, book designing, cover designing and tons of other things involved. I was lucky that a dear friend offered to design the book for me so I did not have to explore much on that bit.

Coming to publishers, I had sent the first draft to few publishers early last year but did not hear back from them. Patience is one virtue that I lack. Once the book was completed (editing, design), I reasoned that the topic is non-fiction and controversial , additionally it was my debut work and my designation still doesn’t fall in the CXO category so I skipped approaching publishers and decided to self-publish. Reading that publishers did not take up “Immortals of Meluha” and Amish had to self-publish initially further convinced me to go for self-publishing rather than trying again. I was in a hurry to bring the topic out. I chose to self-publish on Notion Press (hard copy) and Amazon (E-copy). I have not taken any additional packages so far so publishing was zero cost for me.

Even through existing self-publishing platform one hardly earns anything but Amazon can change this game like they did for e-books. I am really happy with Amazon KDP and I wish they soon extend their services for hard copy books. That will make life a lot easier for new writers like me.

What would you like to tell your readers why should they pick this book of yours?

If someone is planning to enter the professional world or are in the professional world (at any level) , this book is for them. Secondly it is for all the parents who are crafting the society of tomorrow because like everything else practicing gender neutrality starts from home.

This book will take 4-5 hrs of your time but what I can promise them is that it will definitely open up avenues for them to talk about or act so that they can be the catalyst in turning the workplace into an equal opportunities playfield. Practicing mindful behaviour is easy, if only one knows what can hurt whom.

As parents don’t we try our best to ensure a better quality of living for our next generation then why not extrapolate that mentality at workplaces?

They might agree or disagree with me but that will trigger conversations. I believe change will be brought in one conversation at a time, one instance at a time and we all need to work together for the same

What is the next book that you are writing upon? Can we get a sneak peek on the same?

It’s just been a little more than a month that We-Men@Work is released so currently I want to focus on this book and more importantly on the cause. I am writing articles on the topic at various digital platforms, speaking to colleges to arrange for a talk to sensitize young minds on Gender Neutrality and running the LinkedIn forum on the topic https://lnkd.in/fNcpZvS to spread the word and trigger as many conversations as possible.

Having said that, I had a fiction book in mind next when I was approaching the end of authoring this book. I wanted to write short stories of few women loosely based on people I know and their experiences. But once We-Men@Work was released, I got messages from a lot of people expressing that though the instances in the book are all personal, they would love a sequel where the span of book spreads wider and covers multiple related experiences of other people. So frankly I am undecided yet about my next book.

Monday, 30 December 2019

Pebbles of Wisdom by Sadhguru (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

For me, Spirituality means Sadhguru as he is the one who has made me understand it better than anyone else. He speaks bigger things in such easier language that it becomes a possibility for you. Other Yogi Gurus that I have tried following either speak too basic that we already know through our parents or grandparents or speak in such difficult philosophies that it becomes a thing for old and not for us. This has made me read many books written by Sadhguru regularly since last few years and in each one of them, even if there are few repetitive things, I have managed to find out something new which excited me to learn more. This made me go for a small book named “Pebbles of Wisdom” published by Jaico which consists of around 108 quotes or one-liners said by Sadhguru in some or the other instances.

I have never spent money on any such books as I always feel that why would one pay anything above Rs. 50 for something that can be completed or finished within an hour of reading in times where we already have abundant knowledge available for free on Internet. But somehow, I had purchased this book in the initial period of me getting into Spirituality because of excitement which I actually read now after years of having it in my shelf. I just wanted it to be my last book of the Year 2019 so that I could end the year spiritually in terms of my reading journey. I also didn’t want to rush into a book hence needed a shorter format but an insightful one. And this book has been just that.

To begin with, one should go for this book only if one has followed Sadhguru and learnt basics otherwise everything shall just be words without meaning for you which shall irritate you more and take you away from Spirituality. If you have gone through the concepts that Sadhguru endorses, this book shall work like caffeine for you where you would get answers for so many confusions in life through the quotes that has been collated in this book and feel energized and positive suddenly.

Every quote is unique which makes your perspective about every topic have some viewpoint to keep into analysis for some days before changing yourself completely for good. The catalyst that each page and quote is, I must say, that 108 seemed to be very less at the end of the book, it should have been around 500 such quotes as with every page, I felt I was getting wiser and learning to feel gratitude more and more with many of my perspectives getting changed gradually too.

The quotes talk about everything – your mind, your life, your body, what you eat, how you eat, your responsibility towards planet, how you should treat the nature, your relationship with trees, your attitude towards other people, your mortality, meditation, yoga, patriotism, joy, peace, happiness, power of breathing, yogis, money, humility, ego etc. This book covers every nature of human being and every relationship that he maintains. It helps you to understand things from spiritual perspective and go for self-introspection and gradually towards self-realization and then, self-improvisation.

This is one of the best short reads for people into Spirituality. It is just that you need to be spiritual before picking this one. It shall finish within 30-40 minutes itself. To gain more from it, you shall have to keep re-reading it whenever you have time. The only drawback that I found in this book is that there are certain contradictions as some quotes speak something and then another one speaks almost opposite about the same topic. This is because the whole explanation of the same is not provided and just the quote is shared which might create confusion. Except that, I feel that there should have been more quotes in the book.

Overall, I loved it. I give the book 4.5* out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Sunday, 29 December 2019

We-Men@Work by Sanchita Ganguly (Book Review: 4.25*/5) !!!

This year the number of books that I read on gender equality or on how girls should be empowered enough so that they have equal rights as boys is commendable. When society changes, such small steps such as a column in a newspaper or a blog post or a book plays a big part in spreading it in people’s mind. But then it also becomes equally important to ensure that the subject is treated with care in order to assure that wrong messages or ideology is not being spread that it ends up doing more damage than any kind of good for the society. One book that I recently completed reading on the same topic is written by a woman herself, Sanchita Ganguly, with the title “We-Men@Work” which comes with the tagline “A Conversation Starter for Practicing Gender Neutrality at Indian Workplaces”. The book is published by Notion Press publication in around 150 odd pages.

Sanchita’s motive behind writing this book is so pure and apt that you can feel the intention in each and every sentence. As I mentioned above, writing books on such topics becomes a big responsibility and I must say Sanchita has owned it very perfectly. This is one of the rare books I have gone through where it is not about demeaning men for the sake of proving that women are being pulled down from opportunities etc. Generally, it becomes very easy for any writer or columnist to write on how men are favoured over women and thus prove that both the genders are not at par with each other and women needs to be worked on. But here, Sanchita speaks without any bias being a woman herself, which is very commendable. Her 1^st sentence itself in defining the book is that both the genders are biologically different and she carries this very well throughout the book on how both of them should be dealt with respectively.

The 1^st chapter talks about how Gender Neutrality is different from Gender Equality which gives the book a great start as we are able to understand what actually is needed to be done to ensure both the gender feels that rules are meant specifically for them which has not been made by keeping them out of picture. Author then talks about how the shift in approaching gender starts early while we are growing up as kids, while searching for suitable match for marriage, pregnancy time and other many occasions. Author also covers how in workplace, the rules and regulations doesn’t do justice to both the genders always which creates very tough environment for both of them to prove their excellence and loyalty.

I am glad author also covers the dilemma of men’s work-life balance thing as this is something which no one speaks about but the way author has discussed in this book reassures my faith in authors speaking on this topic. The book also mentions the important question that who can help to beat this concern and bring the change and this being the last chapter is also a nice closure to this book which creates high expectations in you that if you try, there shall be change, also, things shall be changed accordingly by others too.

The book can be finished in a single sitting because of the way it has been published plus the division of chapters etc. The book has only positive vibes even after being on such complex topic. Few drawbacks that I would like to mention in the end of this review are:- The cover page should have been brilliant for this well-written book. Also, the title of the book is written in such a manner that you might not be able to understand what exactly it is. The book should also have discussed the recent Me Too movement and how it impacts the genders specifically. The way IKEA is given as an example occasionally, author should have come up with more such real-life examples to show how the things are already in place and these can be replicated easily. There should have been little more research.

Except the above few points mentioned, I must say, this book can be a catalyst at least in those minds who shall go through it. I give this book 4.25 stars out of 5. Please do read it if you believe in starting the change by being the change yourself.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

The Heart of Success by Om Swami (Book Review: 4*/5) !!!

Just as in movies, we appreciate the combination of few Actor-Director and ensure that we watch their movies always without missing any of them, for readers, there are similar successful combination of Author-Publisher where we ensure that we don’t miss reading the book of an author if published by a specific publisher. One such combination I always love is of Jaico Publication and Author Om Swami. As I had begun reading spiritual books few years ago, there were many books of Om Swami that I went through and understood complex terms and philosophies easily with the help of his beautiful writing.

This time, Om Swami has done something different and come up with a book more on Business Principles than Spirituality which is something refreshing and exciting. To start with, the cover page of the book is so beautiful that I picked the book because of it and later got to know that it’s by one of my favorite authors. The name of the book is “The Heart Of Success” with the tagline of “6 Business Principles To Up Your Game”. As the author was once into the corporate world before he took up spirituality, he has practical experiences of the game and that is what he shares in this great book.

Author shares the six sacred principle where the initials of each alphabet in the word “SACRED” are used to define each point such as to implement the pointers in life- S for Self, A for Approach, C for Competence, R for Resources, E for Efforts and D for Destiny. Similarly, to implement in Business, the pointers are as follows: - S for Sales, A for Accounting, C for Customers, R for Returns, E for Energy and D for Determination. I will not discuss what author has described within each of these points but I must say it’s a distinct approach towards how we handle ourselves in life and business and how we can bring great change by applying a different process and approach.

Reading about how author himself dealt with challenges in getting few things accepted at the management level plus other stories and funny scenarios that are mentioned in the book makes it an interesting read rather than just pointers and bulleted points within them. Author makes you walk with him in his own journey and learn from the applications he made in his process. The book not only ends with this but also discusses “The Insanely Epic Model” where again a word is identified from the alphabets in the word “EPIC” to derive the pointers which can help us in becoming brave and epic such as E for Enthusiastic, P for Persistent, I for Independent and C for Clear.

Overall, the book teaches you in how to excel in your working style and life which is of great help with easier implementation. I give this book 4 stars out of 5. Looking forward from more such books from Om Swami.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Saturday, 30 November 2019

Lute of the Nightingale by Khosrul Hossain (Book Review: 4.25*/5) !!!

As my reading target for this year is nearing its closure, I am always looking for the books that I have not heard much about and are written from the new Indian authors. This made me pick up my next book which is not the usual stuff that we get to read- the book named “Lute of the Nightingale” written by Khosrul Hossain with the tagline that says “The girl who spoke with her ink”. The cover page and the overall texture of the book gives you an intimation that the story is very dark and shall need your emotional cells to be strong while reading it. And it is exactly the same.

It’s not very easy to write on a protagonist who is of an opposite gender and it becomes more difficult when the character also has a physical issue which, as a writer, one doesn’t suffer. And this is where I would like to mention that Khosrul has done a wonderful job of describing a girl’s heart and with the same protagonist, a patient’s heart as well. We understand the challenges such people face in the real life through this character.

Saying this, the book is not only about how this girl is suffering with her physical issues but also about her relationship with her mother, Taslima, and Keshob, who stays with them. The chemistry that is discussed and the kind of evolution in the relationship of Reshmi- the protagonist and Taslima goes through is what makes this book a deep acknowledgment of the author’s work. The girl who cannot speak and has a physical disability which is only making her weak day by day ends up falling in love with a boy named Himaloy who is a poet already suffering with a heartbreak. The way their meeting is described makes you imagine the beautiful movies where characters speak with each other through minds and souls. The graph of their relationship is also a turmoil which makes Reshmi suffer more than before.

While the protagonist’s story in itself is so messy, author still manages to talk about each and every character so well that at a time, you feel that every character is the protagonist of the book and not only Reshmi. The way flashbacks are narrated in the form of letters makes the book interesting and makes you excited to know what all has happened with Reshmi’s mother and how Taslima is still alive and so well around her. Also, there are several stories which are separate stories and are not sub-plots to this one are also very beautiful and exciting to read- mostly the last one made me really scared.

Overall, the book is insightful and tells you about imperfect characters who have taken decisions or have fallen into darkness due to destiny and how it impacts other people around their life. The book speaks so much about emotions, love, betrayal, pain, hope, bravery, heart-breaking incidents that you just can’t be grateful about your life which is so well given by the grace of God.

Talking about the drawbacks of the book – Firstly, I believe the book is quite slow which makes it little hard to go through it at times and it could have easily been 30-40 pages short. There are few grammatical concerns but those are really few otherwise the language that author has used for narration is something which I really liked.

Except this, the book shall be surely treated as a distinct book by the matured readers and as per my personal opinion, I give this book 4.25* out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

Saturday, 23 November 2019

The Soul Of Truth by Shaji Madathil/Jessy Skaria-Translator (Book Review: 4.5*/5) !!!

If you are interested in spiritual contents then it really becomes difficult in finding it because not all of them are written or portrayed in a way which shall connect with you. Hence, if we specifically talk about books, it is really difficult finding a book that is written in a way as you think and process your thoughts about spirituality. And fiction books which are based on the theme of spirituality is very tough to enjoy these days because people end up writing a very boring projection which is hard to grasp or enjoy. I find myself lucky that I got to read this book named “The Soul of Truth” by the author- Shaji Madathil which really entertained me for almost two weeks with its 350-odd pages of wonderful story of a character who is no more but speaks his thoughts on his life and death for 41 nights until his spirit completely leaves us.

The book is originally written by the author in Malayalam but it has been translated into English by Dr. Jessy Skaria. It is generally said that when the translation happens, the same soul of the author can’t be delivered in another language but I am just thinking, if I felt the story so much in a translated language, how wonderfully it must have been written in the original voice in Malayalam itself. Incredible! The book is about a protagonist who has lost his life and now he is narrating his story with us and his thoughts about life, death, philosophies etc. from his perspective and making us aware about things we don’t generally feel gratitude towards.

The book is divided into 41 different chapters where each night after the death, the protagonist, Uthaman, is remembering some of his memories when he was alive and connecting it with his current condition where every day, his spirit is getting little away from his family, friends, home etc. Uthaman, through his character, teaches us about how everything in our life comes to teach us something but it is upon us to take action and better our life. If we don’t, we shall end up having the nature of self-pitiness and lose everything one by one.

The way the life story of Uthaman is narrated by the author is very beautiful. The book flows slowly where in every chapter, only one part or scenario of Uthaman’s life is discussed but the way the chapter starts describing the current state of the spirit, what he is watching his family is doing in his absence, and on basis of both of these, a moment of his life is remembered by him at the end of which we are given a philosophical, spiritual or moral message on the same which makes us think about us and our approach towards our life and people. How people who loves us so much forgets us slowly is also discussed with the lasting chapters.

The book also tries to give us advice regarding how we aren’t celebrating our Planet Earth and killing it slowly. It also talks about other social messages as to how society doesn’t allow two people to fall in love even when they are comfortable with each other and can lead a good life. Similarly, how women’s period can be celebrated rather than making it a taboo is another good sequence. The life of an individual in village, city and even out of India is described very vividly which tells us the state of mind who can be in at different points in life. There are many such topics which are discussed with such an ease by marinating it with a fiction story that you never find them preachy but brings positive change in you and your thoughts. I give this book and narration 4.5 stars out of 5.

I recommend it to everyone who loves reading slow books which helps you evaluate deep inside you and search for answers for the questions you never asked yourself.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA