There was a time when I used to dream about being published. And then Writersmelon happened. They came up with a contest of short stories; I sent in my entry; and I got published. And it seemed wonderful.
And then they cam back with another contest. This time I sent in a last minute entry, without any hope. (Okay some hope, because I had really liked the story I submitted.) (Yeah okay, eye-roll as much as you like. I do enjoy my writing. Hmph!) So, well, this one got selected too and that is how... here I present... JUKEBOX paparaparaaaaa!
Isn't it a lovely cover?!
Jukebox has a collection of some wonderful stories. Stories that will make you laugh, and cry, and scared, and feel silly, and whole lot of other emotions. It has stories written by some of the best writers I know of. And I know that because all of them write with passion and not with the aim of their writing being included a school textbook.
All the wonderful authors
So now I want you wonderful people to CLICK HERE. and go buy a copy of Jukebox. Buy it for yourself, buy it for gifting, or buy it because you like to buy books as home decor. JUST GO BUY IT!
And enjoy my story. And others too. But mainly mine. And let me know how you like it. :)
While I have enjoyed reading short stories for children by
Shirsendu Mukhopadhyay, I have never read any of his thrillers. And so when Bee
Books (the publisher) approached me to review this book. I decided to take it up as a chance to
try out the thrillers by the author. I would like to clarify here that I cannot
read Bengali fluently and the books I have read are all English translations.
Eloger Chokh (Eye of the Eagle)
The Characters….
Three Women and Bishan
Wife Shivangi, wife's friend Nandini and Jahnavi
The turn of events...
Nandini is brutally murdered!
Shivangi is found in the bedroom, lying half naked and fatally injured.
All evidences are pointing at Bishan. But, is it that simple?
And the truth…
Eye of the Eagle delves into the complications of relationships and world of
complicated characters where mystery unfolds only through the eyes of Detective
Shobor!
***
I found this to be a quick and good read. Very urban and
revolving around complex relationships. The books had interesting characters
and I particularly like detective Shobor’s characterisation. The suspense,
although predictable, was well maintained till the end.
Ri and I are sitting at the dinner table, talking.
Ri: Mama, Mucky mucky
is brown and seres is white, right?
Me: Umm, Who are these guys, some characters in a cartoon
you have been watching?
Ri: (pause) (hard stare) Mama, they are the other planets in
the Solar System!
Me: No, baby. Remember the Sun and the eight planets are
what makes the solar system.
Ri: Na, Ma. There are five dorf planets in the solar system, Muckymucky, Seres, Eris, Pluto
and Hameya. Also, Mama, It was because of Muckymucky that Pluto had to go out of
the solar system.
And also there asteroids between Mars and Jupiter.
He had my attention now. This was new. I had no idea what he
was talking about.
Me: Okay, let’s google it. (yeah, kick me hard for not believing him)
I googled for five dorf (turned out to be dwarf) planets,
and there they were – Eris, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Ceres. And a proud mama I was!
That boy sure makes a wonderful teacher J
<3 o:p="">
***
Another time... another conversation...
Ri: Mama, I can't wait to be an astronaut
Me: Well, That is great. Remember, you will have to study a lot to become an astronaut.
Ri: A lot of science?
Me: Yep, a whole lot of science.
Ri: As much as what Baba studies?
Me: Umm... Much more than what Baba studies.
(Pause)
Ri: As much as what Robi Dadu (Rabindranath Tagore) studied.
Me: (smiling) I guess so.
That boy sure has some parameters. :D
SSM was happy when he heard this - He said he feels 'arrived' in life if his son is placing him just below Robi Dadu. (rolls eyes)
***
And yet another time and another conversation.
Ri: Mama, I know what I want to be in life...
Me: And what is it?
Ri: A phuchka wala.
Me: That is lovely, Ri. You can be whatever you want. But I thought you wanted to be an Astronaut.
Ri: Yes.
Me: Then?
Ri: I will be an astronaut. I will go and find Pluto. I will get Pluto back into the Solar System. And then I will sell phuchkas on Pluto.
And that boy sure does have his priorities set right!
First look at: The Conspiracy at Meru (Vikramaditya Veergatha # 2)
Guardians of the Halahala (Vikramaditya Veergatha # 1) has a new look as well!
The deadly Halahala, the all-devouring poison churned from the depths of the White Lake by the devas and asuras, was swallowed by Shiva to save the universe from extinction. But was the Halahala truly destroyed? A small portion still remains – a weapon powerful enough to guarantee victory to whoever possesses it. And both asuras and devas, locked in battle for supremacy, will stop at nothing to claim it. As the forces of Devaloka and Patala, led by Indra and Shukracharya, plot to possess the Halahala, Shiva turns to mankind to guard it from their murderous clutches. It is now up to Samrat Vikramaditya and his Council of Nine to quell the supernatural hordes – and prevent the universe from tumbling into chaos! A sweeping tale of honour and courage in the face of infinite danger, greed and deceit, The Guardians of the Halahala is a fantastical journey into a time of myth and legend.
The
story is interknitted with action, brilliant storytelling, and insightful of
mythological and legendary elements that get under your skin and challenge the
way you perceive history, as only few of the talented authors can. ~ Shreya Ganguly @ The Notepad
Reviews
I
am intoxicated, drugged, and floating in a world that has come to conquer my
senses since the last few days. The world of Vikramaditya. The world carved by
author Shatrujeet Nath. ~ Amrit Sinha on Goodreads
In
fact the only disappointing thing about this book was that the second part
isn't ready yet. ~ Srikanth Sarathy on Amazon
About the Author
Door-to-door salesman, copywriter, business journalist & assistant editor at The Economic Times; Shatrujeet Nath was all this before he took to writing fiction full-time. He debuted with The Karachi Deception in 2013, followed by The Guardians of the Halahala and The Conspiracy at Meru, the first two books in the Vikramaditya Veergatha series. At present, he is writing volume three of the series. Shatrujeet lives in Mumbai, but spends much of his time in the fantasy worlds of his stories.
Me: Oh, good. Finished reading an awesome book. I'll tell you about it.
SSM: Alright. And did you eat something good on the flight.
Me: Well, thanks to you, I had to have upma and masala tea.
SSM: Thanks to me? What do you mean, thanks to me?
Me: I asked you to web check me in on seat no 6A!
SSM: So? It wasn't available! What has that got to do anything with you eating upma.
Me: If I was on 6A I would have eaten the grilled chicken with rosemary and caramelised onion sandwich, and a manchow soup.
SSM: So that got over by the time the tray reached you?
Me: No, they still had it!
SSM: So??? Okay, I know where this is going. This is not gonna make any sense. I know it. But tell me anyway.
Me: As a rule I only have the grilled chicken with rosemary and caramelised onion sandwich, and the manchow soup when I am on 6A. Any other seat and I will eat upma and drink masala chai.
SSM: ????
Me: It is a rule. My rule. I live by that rule.
SSM: So even if you feel like not eating upma, you still will?
Me: Yes! That is what rules are for. You follow them.
SSM: Nonsense!
Me: No wonder you are so undisciplined.
SSM: I am sorry we even had this conversation. Lets stop talking for a while.
These guys literally sweep me off my feet. Well, okay, not
literally. They would end up with a broken back if they did that. And that wouldn’t
be nice because I will not get any more goodies from them. Oh. My. God. They have
spoilt me and I don’t want the goodies to stop coming.
It is nothing but sheer joy when at the end of a tiring day
the security guard rings your doorbell and hands you a brown paper package tied
up with string. You just know that it has to be one of your favourite things
inside.
And out comes a note that fills you with warmth and
nostalgia along with a book. A favourite book. A book you lapped up when you
were a kid and had been meaning to read again for years now.
Oh Happiness!
Thank you, Paper Boat people. Just don’t stop being awesome.
Ever.
Wow! That seemed way better than what it seemed
when I said it in my head!
The cover of our book.
First brush on the canvas. How lovely does that sound. Seriously, people. I am on seventh heaven.
Although it is one little story in a book of fourteen
stories, just the thought of my story, in print, in a book, in a bookstore.... OMG, I am hyperventilating again.
Seriously, it is like a dream come true.
And I really want you all to be a part of this dream with me.
So please click on this link right now and pre order it. Now. Buy it for yourself, buy it as a gift for someone, and buy it
because it means a lot to me and to all the other wonderful writers who are a
part of this book. You are not going to regret reading this amazing mix of Romance,
Comedy and Thrill.
And guess what. Be kind and pre order now to get a
lifetime of dreams involving unicorns and cute kittens. Now, who does not want that!?
Though I do not know all the writers personally, I do know one - Abhishek Mukherjee is a very dear friend and a mentor. He was kind enough to
proof read my story. Thank you. He is one awesome writer and his story in the book is
splendid.
The book has been edited by Priyanka Roy Banerjee and trust me
that would have been one hell of a job. Thank you so much, PRB, you are a great friend. She is easily
one of the best editors we know of, a great writer and book reviewer too.
But above all, thanks to SSM and RI. They are the ones who don't just bear with my madness but they add on to it. They are the ones who give me my stories. :)
Sixteen year old Rhea Shah never thought that she would find herself falling for her brother’s best friend, Joy Fernandez, when they come home from college. Because she never thought that the dork who used to go to school with them would suddenly reinvent himself in college.
The only people she’s able to talk to about her absurd crush, are her best friends, Sophie and Arjav. Both of whom at first encourage, and then almost blackmail, Rhea to confess her feelings, which leaves the poor girl more muddled than ever!
Plagued with upcoming Board Examinations along with her friends’ suggestions, Rhea finds it difficult to concentrate, because she’s fallen for Joy, hook, line and sinker. In an attempt to vent to her feelings, she begins a blog, where she publishes all her songs and poems, dedicated to Joy, keeping her identity a secret.
But things do not go quite how she planned when a certain blogger named J. Fern begins to read her blog, and wishes to work with her…
Will Rhea ever confess her feelings to Joy? And will Joy find out the real identity of The Guitar Girl?
The Guitar Girl is a story of Rhea Shah. Rhea Shah falls in
love with her brother’s best friend, Joy and her only confidants about her
crush are her best friends, Sophie and Arnav. The author has portrayed a
beautiful friendship between the trios as they help each other sort out their
lives
The book takes you to your pre- teen/teen days and makes you
smile. Yes, definitely makes you smile. It is sure to remind you of your school
time romances, crushes and heartbreaks.
You will love the book. The author has a brilliant style of
writing and keeping you hooked on to the book. What is interesting about this
book is that the entire book is narrated through Gtalk, Emails, Facebook chats,
blogs, journal entries etc.
Go ahead and read the book. You will not regret it.
Meet the Characters of The Guitar Girl
Rhea Shah: 16-year-old Rhea Shah develops a crush on her brother, Robbie's, best friend, Joy Fernandez. She adopts the alias The Guitar Girl in a misguided way to keep a hold on her feelings. Rhea cares about her two best friends, Sophie and Arjav, although the latter knows how to push her buttons. She is pretty awful at hiding her feelings.
Joy Fernandez: 18-year-old Joy is Rhea's brother's best friend, as well as Arjav's cousin. He takes on Rhea as his student, teaching her how to play the guitar, unaware that she harbours feelings for him. He can be pretty dense at times - refusing to see what is really happening right in front of his eyes. He dates a rather crazy girl in college, Rosetta, who later becomes Robbie's girlfriend.
Sophie Ghosh: Rhea's best friend in school, who discovers her secret at the beginning of the novel and keeps encouraging her to confess to Joy about it. Initially united with Rhea on the front by finding Arjav, she begins liking him more than a friend. Both she and Arjav believe in meddling with 'destiny'.
Robbie Shah: Rhea's older brother who has no idea has his sister has fallen for his best friend. He is too preoccupied with his band and his girlfriend, Rosetta, who Joy had dated before him.
Arjav: Rhea's oldest friend, who knows her secret and wants her to tell Joy as well. He and Sophie like each other and likes to meddle with 'Fate'.
About the Author:
Aniesha Brahma has loved writing since the age of six. She was schooled in Dolna Day School, and then pursued BA honors in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University, where she went on to complete her MA in the same. Currently, she’s pursuing MPhil in Comparative Literature from the same place. Her hobbies include reading, writing, playing with her favorite pet, Pippo the cat, (and other kittens too), traveling and blogging.She has written innumerable short stories and poems, most of which can be found on her blog and in various magazines and newsletters. Her debut novel was, The Secret Proposal, published by General Press in September 2012. She won the Editor’s Pick for Romance genre in the IndiReads Second Short Story Competition, and her story The Difference, was subsequently published in the anthology, Voices, Old & New. She has interned with www.womanistan.com and www.zapondo.com, as their content writer. She has volunteered at Hope Foundation, Kolkata, teaching the children who attend the Chetla Lock Gate Coaching Center. Aniesha also had a brief stint as a writer for the Kolkata-based travel magazine, Touriosity.
I enjoy reading horror and I love a horror book that
leaves me in a cold sweat. The
Puppeteers of Palem is one such book.
Horror, as we are aware is a very difficult genre to write, and the author, Sharath Komarraju has done a brilliant job with this book. He
has a great narrating style and a strong grip on the language. He really makes
you go through a real chilling experience. I loved the author's lucid writing. It really keeps you hooked on to this chilling book till the end.
The book goes back and forth between incidents 1984 and 2001 and
yet, you do not feel lost. Rather the author has woven it so well that it makes you feel uneasy and unsettled. It is like a jigsaw puzzle that you will enjoy fitting in while being scared. It is very difficult to get the book out of your head while you are reading it.
Though you will find a similarity with other horror tales
that you would have heard/read (Hotel California kept playing in my mind most
of the time while I was reading the book) But that is okay because the author
does have his own ways of twisting the tale and giving you the perfect horror experience.
***
About the book – (Goodreads Summary)
The village of Rudrakshapalem awakens and tells her tale.
Five friends return to the village of their childhood to find that nothing
seems to have changed and at the same time everything has. Whose voice is it
that called them back and whose hand is it that now hunts them down, one by
one?
Palem's grand old man, a Brahmin landlord, their childhood storyteller, makes
one last ditch attempt to save his village from ruin at her hands. Will he
succeed or will his past catch up with him and demand fair price?
Two boys, one blind and the other lame, skirt the village borders at the old
Shivalayam, listening, staring. On their faces they wear smiles of contentment.
They sleep well. They see happy dreams.
A TV reporter arrives to study the village, only to sink deeper into the
mystery with each passing day. And hovering above all of these is the shadow of
Lachi, who is believed to haunt the old Shivalayam on full moon nights. Some
say she's consumed by lust, others call it madness, but all catch the red glint
in her eye and the icy calm in her voice as she croons a sad, lonely song. The
one thing she hungers for, that will satisfy her soul, is the fire that will
burn Palem down to ashes.
The village of Rudrakshapalem awakens and tells her tale. Listen closely. It
will chill you to the bone.
Don't ask me why I have black ink on my thumbs. It will not make any sense.
This is my 100th post and I don’t know what to
write. 100 is huge; I wanted it to be super and then I have
been at a loss about what to write.
My initial thought was to write a quilting post.
The first
time ever that I heard about blogging was when I started searching the internet
for quilting and sewing project, so it kind of seemed fair.
And then last month my Aunt (mother's sister), who made me fall in love with quilting, (I called her Mummy, everyone
called her Mummy) passed away. Mummy was 86 and no, she was not old. She was a
quilter and the best I have known. While I was probably her most pampered niece, the best gift that she ever gave me was quilting.
Yes, she was my inspiration for quilting. Seeing her quilt
and seeing her quilts as a child was what drew me to this wonderful art of
quilting. She was the only one in the family, I could discuss quilts with. Our
last conversation too had been about the beauty of traditional Log Cabin quilts
and how it was her favourite pattern.
And so, her death
brought in a huge void into my life. Until… Untill I realised that a quilter
never dies.
I open Ri’s cupboard to get him dressed and there is the
quilted organiser that she gave me when Ri was born.
I get into the car and there is the lovely Log Cabin quilt
she made that I use as a lap quilt every time the car gets cold. (That is
almost all the time.)
Yes, a quilter never
dies. She lives through her art and the love that she has gifted you all the
while. I know it is surreal, but she does live on.
This is the last wall hanging she made.
The beautiful trapunto quilting
***
Talking of surreal, I realised that I haven’t updated you
guys about this story:
Remember the kitchen ghost, well, he seems to have moved in
to my bathroom. And he has got friendlier and actually says “Hello” to me
every time I am done peeing.
The first time I heard that deep hollow ‘hello’, almost in
my ear, I must admit, I was pretty startled. I was brushing my teeth and I almost swallowed the toothpaste when I heard it.
The second time I heard him, it was past mid night. I opened
the door; woke SSM up and asked if he heard anyone say ‘hello’. He grunted
something which sounded like ‘Oh you are so kind’ and I felt really
happy. I said thank you and went of to sleep. When I reminded him the next morning about how kind I was, he said that he had asked ‘are you out of your
mind?’ (I don’t think he remembers. people usually do not remember what they say in their sleep.)
The next time, I was quite sure that it was my kitchen ghost
because I hadn't felt his presence around the kitchen for a long time. And so, I started diligently replying to his greeting.
And then one day this
happened.
Me: (walking out of the bathroom, turning back toward the
bathroom) Hey there, hello to you too!
SSM: Erm… What was that?
Me: What?
SSM: I just heard you talk to… no one… in the bathroom.
Me: Oh, that. That is not no one. I was exchanging pleasantries
with the bathroom ghost.
SSM: (after taking a deep breath and a long pause) You might
want to explain.
Me: There is nothing to explain. There is this really nice
ghost in the bathroom who, I think is in love with me, and says hello to me in
a really sexy baritone. So I just think it is polite to reply.
SSM: Oh my God, you have completely lost it this time.
Me: What? No! Serious! He does. It is true.
A few days later SSM and I were in the bathroom together.
(Groan, No! You perverts! He had done peeing and I had entered the bathroom to
brush) And that is when the ghost greeted me again.
Me: (all excited) There! There! Did you hear that. Did you
hear the ghost say ‘hello’.
SSM: Yes. Yes. I did. That… your ghost…is not a ghost. There is a problem in the cistern. It makes that sound few seconds after you've flushed. Did you not realise that all
this while.
Me: That is a lie! Oh dear. The poor ghost lives in the cistern.
SSM: NO! There is no ghost. It is the sound the cistern
makes. STOP IMAGINING THINGS!
Me: YOU ARE JUST JEALOUS THAT THE GHOST HAS A CRUSH ON ME!
DAMN YOU!
SSM sighed and left. I am at peace with my ghost. I have
kept this ghost stories book in the bathroom for him to read. Staying in the
cistern can be quite boring. I also read it aloud to him some times. I think
that makes him happy. His ‘hello’ definitely seems happier.
***
And talking about ghosts, I have to tell you guys that I have been extremely
impressed by Facebook. Ever since I realised that Facebook can sense the
presence of ghosts and spirits, my respect for Facebook has gone up
drastically.
I mean who could have
thought that while I was trying to upload this picture on Facebook, it would
actually ask me to tag a ghost in a banyan tree. Super impressed! I only wish it had done a
face recognition and identified the ghost for me too. Tagging would have been
easier. So I just ended up tagging it as Gechho Bhoot.
***
And so, since this is supposed to be my 100th
post, and I really had nothing much to write, I will just post this video of Ri singing a song from the movie 'Patalghar'. I wish my blog a happy 100th post.
And thank you, all my readers for loyally reading this
crappy blog and showering so much love. I really love you all, much more than I
love ghosts. (Okay, that last bit is a lie, but I do love you a
lot)
A spine-chilling ninety-six hour hunt through the world’s most dangerous
terrain where history collides with gunfire - will Mehrunisa get out of this
one alive?
One morning on her way to work, Mehrunisa gets a
call that will change her life forever. The truth about her missing father is
at her fingertips - but it will take her on the most desperate chase of her
lifetime.
A chase that will pit her against hardened Jihadis
plotting the deadliest terror attack on India, that will test her mettle
against history’s deep secrets, that will teach her that the price of love can
mean bloodied hands ...
The Hunt for Kohinoor hurtles from from icy
Kashmir to snow-clad Hindukush, from the sinister corridors of a military
hospital to the warrens of Peshawar, even as the clock counts down to the
impending catastrophe.
The Review
I am glad I took it up to review 'The Hunt for Kohinoor' by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar when Westlandapproached me to do it. I would have otherwise missed out on this fast paced,
breath taking book.
The book has been a pleasure to read. The second book in the Mehrunisa trilogy
(I need to read the first one) has been an enthralling one - an extremely well
researched book indeed.
I liked the way the author has worked on creating the characters. They
are very realistic. The chapters are nice, short and crisp. This makes it a
pretty fast read. The language is simple and of decent standard. The book is breathtaking
and the plot flows well.
Overall the book keeps you hooked on till the end.
