Private India

                                               "It's the season for murder in Mumbai"

                                                          Author:Ashwin Sanghi

                                                          Published By: Random House

                                                          ISBN:978-0099-586-39-5

About The Author(s):

Ashwin Sanghi is an entrepreneur by profession but writing historical fiction is his passion and hobby. He self-published his first novel, The Rozabal Line in 2007 under his pseudonym, Shawn Haigins. It was subsequently acquired by Westland in 2009 and went on to become a national bestseller. His second novel, Chanakya's Chant remained on AC Nielsen's indiaTop 10 for over two years, won the Vodafone Crossword Popular Choice Award and UTV acquired movie rights. His latest thriller, The Krishna Key, was released in August 2012 and went straight to number 1 in the charts. 

James Patterson is one of the best-known and biggest-selling writers of all time. He is the author of some of the most popular series of the past decade - the Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Detective Michael Bennett novels and he has written many other number one bestsellers including romance novels and stand-alone thrillers. He lives in Florida with his wife and son. James is passionate about encouraging children to read. Inspired by his own son who was a reluctant reader, he also writes a range of books specifically for young readers. James is a founding partner of Booktrust's Children's Reading Fund in the UK. In 2010, he was voted Author of the Year at the Children's Choice Book Awards in New York.

Book Blurb:

In Mumbai seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses.

For Santosh Wagh, head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it's a race against time to stop the killer striking again. In a city of over thirteen million, hed have his work cut out at the best of times but this case has him battling Mumbai's biggest ganglord and a godman who isn't all he seems and then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing Private India.

Hidden in the shadows is someone who could destroy the whole organisation along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

My Review:

As we all know, ‘Ashwin Sanghi’ is referred as ‘Dan Brown’ of India and when he comes with a book co-authored by the great ‘James Patterson’, it has to be awesome.

The story starts up with a prologue narrating about the bomb blasts in Mumbai which killed hundred of peoples. So the first thought that will captivate your mind would be, ‘this story must be something about the terrorists attack’. But when you turn the next page you will find an entire different plot. Though the terrorist attack is a side plot to this book, its actual plot speaks about a serial killer who is on a killing spree.

So when a Thai surgeon was found dead in a hotel, Private India (Mumbai’s branch of the world’s finest investigation agency) under the leadership of Santosh Wagh gets the charge to investigate the murder. He along with his team mate, Nisha, Mubeen and Hari arrives at the murder place and starts their searching.

But that’s not where the story ends. While they are on their 1^st investigation, they heard about another murder followed by a series of murder. All the murders were connected; as the victims were strangled to death by a yellow dyed scarf. They had another thing in common; all were woman.

So who’s the murderer ?? Why is he or she killing everyone ?? Does he/she has any reason ?? Well to know the entire story you do need to read the book. If I disclose everything here, the book will lose all its beauty and that would certainly be unfair to the Authors.

All the chapters are of 2-3 pages which makes the book an easy read. I bet you, you will crave to know who the real murderer is. The Author has beautifully maintained the suspense till the very last.

Likings: Easy fast-paced story, Beautiful way of writing keeping the suspense intact till the very last, small chapters makes the book easier to read.

Disliking: Have quite resemblance to Ashwin’s previous book ‘The Krishna Key’, serial killing in both and Lord Krishna being replaced by Goddess Durga.

My Rating: 4.5/5

(In India, such Authors and such books are hard to find. If you love reading book which gives goosebumps, then this is the one you shouldn't miss)

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The Promise

             "Some Promises are worth keeping !! "




Author: Nikita Singh

Published By: Grapevine Publishers

ISBN: 978-9381-841-16-7

About The Author:

Nikita Singh is a famous Indian author and editor from Patna. She graduated in Pharmacy, only to pursue her writing career later. She is the editor at Grapevine Publishers. Singh also speaks regularly in TEDx conferences. 

She has written other books like the Unreasonable Fellows, Love @ Face Book and Accidentally In Love. Singh also wrote the Backbencher Series under the pen name, Sidharth Oberoi.

Book Blurb:

‘The Promise’ is a romantic novel which describes the tragic love story between the two main characters, Arjun and Shambhavi. 

Shambhavi has a tough life, but she doesn't frown about it. Her passion to explore the creative arena leads her to pursue interior designing regularly. She tries to get the best out of her life by not bothering about money. She works to be happy. 

One fine day, Shambhavi meets Arjun, who is rich. Being a businessman, making money is always on his mind. Having lost his family and after having been betrayed by his lover, Arjun doesn't believe in love. But when Arjun meets Shambhavi, he falls for her head over heels. He appreciates the happiness, joy and cheer she gets in his dull, empty life. 

But then one day, Shambhavi reveals a disconcerting prospect to Arjun, which brings a sudden twist in the story. He is reminded of a similar situation in his previous relationship which led to their separation. The way he reacts to these circumstances will decide the course their lives will take. Because of Shambhavi's love for art, she bonds more with her father gradually. 

But then a terrible accident traumatizes them emotionally and physically. Life just gets tougher for Shambhavi's family with another hardship on their plate. But these events showcase things about her to Arjun that he didn't notice the first time. The Promise portrays how the story goes ahead considering Arjun's negligence and Shambhavi's rough times.

My Review:

Where should I start from?? Even while writing this, my eyes are almost moist. I love reading love stories and when the author is “Nikita Singh”, I don’t need to think twice before picking it up.

The book is about the love between two characters, Sambhavi Sen and Arjun Datta. Sambhavi, a cheerful girl chooses an unconventional career for her. Irrespective of many recent trends, she tries her hand in Interior Designing. While working for a project, she meets Arjun Datta, owner of Datta Enterprise. She gets amused when she finds that Arjun is just 29.

For both of them it was more or less, love at first sight. The simple yet attractive looks of Sambhavi attracted Arjun, meanwhile, the rocking personality of Arjun attracted Sambhavi.

Things were almost in its place, until Sambhavi confronted him that she is bearing his child. Hearing this, Arjun wasn’t excited but frustrated. His past haunts him back and he leaves Sambhavi referring her as slut and doing such for money. Rather than aborting, a rejected and dejected Sambhavi decides to raise her child single handedly.

Well, that’s not the end!!! Many things are yet to take place in Sambhavi’s life. To know the entire story you have to read the book. It would be completely unfair for the author if I disclose everything here.

P.S. Trust me when I say, I had to skip a few pages because I am not that strong to read such emotional stuffs.

My Rating: 5/5

(Oh! there wasn't any second thought after completing the book.. This is definitely one of the best I have ever read..)

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To read my Review for another book of Nikita Singh, do click here : 25 Strokes of Kindness

The Secret Wish List

       "A racy tale about passion, courage that defines
                    the true meaning of friendship"




Author: Preeti Shenoy

Published: Westland Ltd.

ISBN: 978-9382-618-18-8

About the Author:

The author of the book “The One You Cannot Have”, Preeti Shenoy is a well-known, bestselling author and artist. Even though she has several academic qualifications to her credit, she believes in the fact that life is the best teacher that you can ever have.

Preeti believes in spending quality time with her family, including her dog. She is also a keen blogger, yoga enthusiast and nature lover as well. She enjoys travelling to various new places too. Preeti Shenoy resides in Bangalore, India, at present.

Book Blurb:

The Secret Wish List revolves around the life of the protagonist Diksha at the time when she was in her teens and a striking disparity in her life 18 years later. At the tender age of 16, Diksha is like just another typical teenager juggling with school, boys, gossip and fun with her best friend until one day when everything changes. An innocent teenage crush invites a string of irreversible events that change her life forever.

18 years later, Diksha who once was a happy-go-lucky and carefree teenager is now a woman with entirely opposite traits. Married to a successful professional and a mother to a young boy, she is a bored housewife wearing the mask of being happily married. An unexpected incident opens up avenues for Diksha to give her life a second chance. And thus, she creates a secret wish list in the hope to fulfill her desires.

Will she be able to brave through this journey while dealing with the complexity of an extramarital affair? Will she be able to succeed in the quest for rediscovering herself? The Secret Wish List is about the journey of a woman towards getting her happy life back. It is about her dreams and aspirations and the quest for finding out whether true love exists or not.

My Review:

When the author is “Preeti Shenoy”, I don’t think there is any need to tell about the style of writing. Like her other books, this book has a gripping story which will certainly keep you hooked till the last page.

Diksha (protagonist of the story) is a mother to a nine years old kid, Abhay. Her marriage to Sandeep is basically an arranged marriage. Sandeep being the only earner from the family earns well to satisfy his wife and child’s demands. But the insensitive nature of Sandeep leaves Diksha all alone whenever she tries to share her feelings. It won’t be wrong if I call Sandeep, a male chauvinist.

Vibha, her cousin, only person to whom Diksha turns whenever needed, encourages her to make a Wish List; a list of wishes which she always wanted to do before dying. While trying to accomplish the wish list, Diksha meets Ankit, her childhood crush whom she had kissed when she was 16.

Will Diksha be able to fulfill her wish list?? What will happen when she meets with her old crush?? To know the entire story, you need to read the book. It would be highly unfair to the author if I write everything here.

You shouldn’t miss reading this book!!

While I was reading this book, all I had in my mind was an image of woman who is struggling with her personal desire and the life she is practically living in. If being a boy I could connect so well to the protagonist then just imagine how a girl(female) would feel while reading this book. In short, you just cannot afford to miss this book..

My Rating: 4/5

Have I read this book before I might have rated it a bit higher.. Irrespective of that, definitely a worthy pick)

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To Read my Reviews for other books of Preeti Shenoy, do click here:

1. "Life is what you make it" by Preeti Shenoy

2. The One You Cannot Have by Preeti Shenoy

Oops! I Fell In Love

                              

                                   "Just by chance"

Author: Harsh Snehanshu

Published By: Srishti Publishers and Distributors

ISBN: 978-8188-575-79-4

About The Author:

Harsh is a third-year student of IIT Delhi pursuing a B.Tech degree in engineering physics. Being a prolific blogger, he has written over a hundred articles, poems and short stories.

He wrote his debut novel, “Oops! ‘I’ fell in love!” in 2009, while he was in his second year engineering. His second book, “Ouch! That ‘hearts’..”came out in 2011, while “She is single I’m taken”, being the third part of the trilogy, got printed in 2012.

He is a professional traveler and currently, he is hitchhiking across India working on his fifth book: Route to Roots. Before travel, he was an internet entrepreneur. He has keen interest in public speaking, photography and music.

Book Blurb:

Oops! ‘I' Fell In Love is an Indian college love story set in IIT-Delhi. This modern time love story was written by Harsh Snehanshu.

The story is about how love is possible between not only people of different cities but of different personalities as well. In this story, Kanav Bajaj is a new hopeful engineering student at IIT-Delhi from a small town in Indore. Since he was from a small town, the big metropolitan city was intimidating him and he struggles to fit in. He being a shy and studious boy falls in love with the unlikely Tanya, who is completely opposite in nature compared to him. She is a cheerful girl from LSR, Delhi.

Snehanshu also includes a few more interesting characters such as Kanav's friends Aryan, Anuj and Sameer, who add life to the story. Will Kanav and Tanya have a beautiful love story in IIT-Delhi amidst the social, college and parental pressures or will their differences keep them apart?

My Review:

I love reading love stories and whenever I see any such books with some good reviews on Amazon, I order it in no time. I picked this book only for the good reviews it had got on Amazon and by some bloggers but I end up disappointed.

This book, ‘OOPS! I Fell In Love’ is about the love between ‘Kanav’ and ‘Tanya’. Set in the backdrop of IIT-D the book takes you into the world of IIT and IITians. Kanav meets Tanya at the birthday party of his best friend, Richa. The beauty of Tanya makes him spellbound and his eyes got struck to her leaving everything around. More or less for both of them it was a kind of love at first sight. As the story goes on, Kanav confronts his feelings to Tanya and 2 months later she accepts his love. On their very first date, Tanya’s mother catches them kissing, she slaps Kanav and sends Tanya to U.S.  

And that’s the end. Yeah, that is the story of this book. There is nothing interesting to read or write about. The Author tried to make the climax interesting but I personally feel he messed up everything making the book a NO, NO!!

The only plus point of this book is its writing style. With a very simple and easy language the author has portrayed the story quite well to which you could easily connect to. Apart from that there is nothing great about this book. If you are looking for some quality love story novels then you should never think of picking this.

My Ratings: 2.5/5

(If you have bucks to spend on anything and everything then you might pick this book or else a big NO)

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The Krishna Key

         "A furiously paced riveting Thriller that explores the

                                 secrets of Vedic age... "

Author: Ashwin Sanghi

Published By: Westland ltd.

ISBN: 978-9381-626-68-9

About The Author:

Ashwin Sanghi entrepreneur by day, novelist by night has all the usual qualifications of an Indian businessman. Schooling at the Cathedral and JohnConnon School, a B.A. (Economics) from St. Xavier's College and an M.B.A. (Finance) from the Yale Schoolof Management. Ashwin is a director of the M.K. Sanghi Group of Companies, which has business interests in real estate development, automobiles, manufacturing and engineering. Besides being a businessman, Ashwin manages a parallel career as writer of fiction.

Ashwin's first novel, The Rozabal Line was originally self-published in 2007 under his anagram-pseudonym Shawn Haigins. The book was subsequently published by Westland in 2008 and 2010 in India under his own name and went on to become a national bestseller. Chanakya s Chant is his second novel in the historical fiction genre. The book has remained on AC Nielsen's India Bookscan Top-10 for all of 2011. It won the 2010 Crossword-Vodafone Popular Choice Award in September 2011.

UTV has purchased the movie rights to the book and a film based upon the story is expected soon. Dr. Shashi Tharoor released the novel in Mumbai calling it an enthralling, delightfully interesting and gripping read with historical research that is impressive. The Hindustan Times has called it a cracker of a page-turner. Ashwin is also working towards a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Bangor Universityin Wales. Ashwin lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika and his eight-year old son, Raghuvir.

Book Blurb:

Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age - the Kaliyug.

In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar. Only, he is a serial killer.

In this heart stopping tale, the arrival of a murderer who executes his gruesome and brilliantly thought-out schemes in the name of God is the first clue to a sinister conspiracy to expose an ancient secret - Krishna’s priceless legacy to mankind.

Historian Ravi Mohan Saini must breathlessly dash from the submerged remains of Dwarka and the mysterious lingam of Somnath to the icy heights of MountKailash, in a quest to discover the cryptic location of Krishna’s most prized possession. From the sand washed ruins of Kalibangan to a Vrindavan temple destroyed by Aurangzeb, Saini must also delve into antiquity to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice.

Ashwin Sanghi, bestselling author of ‘The Rozabal Line’ and ‘Chanakya’s Chant’, brings you yet another exhaustively researched whopper of a plot, while providing an incredible alternative interpretation of the Vedic Age that will be relished by conspiracy buffs and thriller addicts alike.

My Review:

Before I write anything about this book, let me confront the truth. This was the first book of ‘Thriller’ genre that I have ever picked and after reading it I can surely say, this is one of the best book I have ever read. I don’t think any of the suspense serials that we do watch on television can compete with the plot of this book.

The entire story cannot be disclosed here or else the book will lose all its beauty. You may read the book blurb written to know what the plot is but you can never guess the awesomeness of this book until reading it. You have to read the book to know what lies inside.

Apart from the plot, the inclusion of Lord Krishna’s tale, from his birth to his death makes this book unique. Not only will you enjoy reading this book, you will somewhat also brush up your mythology knowledge. The book is of 464 pages but even for once you won’t feel like dropping it down. The Author’s way of writing is simply superb. 

My Ratings: 5/5

(You can't afford to miss this book, order it now)

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The so-called 'Society'

I feel very sad when I look at the people who say a lot of things but follow none in their real life. Everyone around us is ready to give free advices, sometimes I feel as if we all are living by just fooling around everybody else. Here, through this post I would like to speak about our so-called Society and the status of Women in our country.

In a male dominating society that we are living in the status of our female counterparts aren’t any good. Day by day we feel as if our country is being developed and the modernity is being inherited from western countries. But are we really modernized?? 
In my view, the kind of society that we are living in, the mindsets of the people are still orthodox; narrow and cheap. Whenever they find a girl talking to a boy they would spare no second thought in calling her a Slut. Now just tell me a simple thing, what’s their problem if she talks or sleeps around. It’s shouldn’t be any of their concern.

Now speaking of the boys or the male counterparts, according to them it’s the girls who are solely responsible for getting raped. Their short attire attracts a male’s hormones and he ultimately ends up raping her. How cheap and third grade mindset that really is.. They would never realize that it is their mind, their nature which is only responsible for such crimes. I feel very sad to say, but even after 68 years of Independence, women are still not able to live freely.

Now here is a small incident that I would like to share with all of you. Some days back I was chatting with a friend of mine on Whatsapp where the conversation between us followed some what like this:

Me: You can wear salwar suits, jeans or anything you want to. You should least care about what other people will think or say.

She: Yeah! It’s true but as we too are a part of this society we need to follow the rules to which we are confined to.

Me: Rules?? What rules are you speaking about?? Who are they to make rules for you?? If however there is any such rule, it’s us who had to change it or else in near future girls will only be confined to perform household duties.

She: Still to live respectfully in this society we can’t overrule the rules which are followed since ages.

Me: Fine! But look at the English medium school girls or look the engineering girls. They never care for anything around. They do what they want to. They are enjoying their life unlike you who give silly excuses of society and its rules.

She: That’s the reason why they are least respected and more raped.

Me: It’s not their fault my dear. It’s us who are responsible for such thing. If we (boys/males) can put control on our hormones and evil wishes rape could be stopped in not time. You can never hold a girl responsible for all this.

She: I understand what you are saying, but don’t you thing getting drunk and going to pubs wearing shorts is good for any girl? Such way, they are asking for trouble. They should always stick to the limits of the society.

Me: But what the problem if she drinks, If she is mature enough and like to drink, who are we to stop her from doing. The problem is our mindset which needed to be changed.

She: Such an excellent thought you have.. Now just tell me a thing, 10-20 years later you will be a father so will you allow your daughter to drink??

Now this question of her made me shut up my mouth completely. I had never thought someone will ever ask me this question and that too so soon. Thinking for some time I replied back,

I really have no problem if she drinks after a legal age. With the kind of generation she will be living in drinking perhaps would be very common. Being a father I will always take care of her. I will ask her to share each and everything to me.

But still I am unsure how would I feel if my daughter returns back home late after partying. Would I scold her or would I ask her to go and sleep. The future has its answer.

Now tell me what would you have done if you were in my place ??

Day Of Independence

Before I write anything, can I ask you a favor? Before you start reading this post of mine, I would kindly request you to close your eyes and feel the day of Independence. (Hope you are not cheating; I again request you to close your eyes and feel the moment.)

Felt something different? I hope you had. If not then I’m sorry to say you can’t call yourself a true Indian.

On August 15, 1947, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru raised the tri-colored national flag above the Lahore gate of Red Fort in Delhi and marked the beginning of Independent India. After 347 year of British rule, India finally got it’s independence on 1947 following many rebellions starting from 1857. Million of India soldiers were killed while achieving this Independence. (I’m not going to write the entire history here. For that you may check the history books or wikipedia.)

Coming back to 2014, it’s the 68^thyear of Independencebut let me ask you all a question, Are we really Independent? Do you guys think Indiais completely an Independent country?

The very first thing that came to my mind while writing this post was the status of women. Even after 25,000 days of Independencewomen don’t feel safe even in their own hometown. The cases of rape don’t look like stopping. Men still hold an upper hand over women. Do you still think we are Independent???

Some days before I had updated a status on my Facebook page which reads, “Teach your daughter how to dress but before that teach your son not to rape”. 

A friend of mine commented within a few minutes of my posting, “Bro, boys don’t have any fault. Their hormones are responsible not them. So it’s a girl duty to wear ethnic dresses, precisely salwar and chudidars.”

This is the mindset of our fellow countrymen. They think they can wear or do whatever they want but while it comes to women they don’t have the liberty to wear even a dress of their own choice. How cheap, isn’t it???

So the conclusion from this is; “In India Male is Independent but Female personas are not”.

Considering the next fact, before 1947 we were ruled by the Britishers and after that our so-called ministers started ruling all us. I am not saying all the ministers are corrupt but most of them are. In every five years we elect them in a hope that they will work for us but instead of that they work for their own selfishness.

Now you guys must be thinking what can be done to rectify this. The answer is simple, take the initiative and be the change. 

Heard of the proverb, “boond boond se sagar banta hai” ?? 

Imply it in real life. I bet if we all could follow some simple things in our live, someday in near future, if not us our younger generation will surely feel proud to say he/she is an Indian. 

Through this post I request all of you to respect every human being. On this Independence Day, let us promise that we will respect every fellow human being and most importantly, we would respect, love and care every women.

Last but certainly not the least, a very happy Independence Day to all of you.. Jai Hind !!!

When Only Love Remains

           

              "From the bestselling Author comes another

                             Heart-Stopping Love story"

Author: Durjoy Dutta

Published By: Penguin Metro Reads

ISBN: 978-0143-422-64-8

About the Author:

Durjoy Dutta was born in New Delhi, India, and completed a degree in engineering and business management before embarking on a writing career. 

His first book- Of Course I Love You was published when he was twenty one year old and was an instant bestseller. 

His successive novels- Now That You’re Rich; She Broke Up, I Didn’t; Oh Yes, I Am Single, Till The Last Breath and others have also found prominence on various bestseller lists, making him one of the highest-selling authors in India.

Durjoy also has to his credit two television shows, Sadda Haq (Channel V) and Veera (Star Plus), both of which have done exceedingly well on Indian television.

Connect the Author:

Facebook          Twitter

Book Blurb:

She’s a flight attendant—young, bright and living her dream. He’s a heartbroken singer on his way to becoming big.

She’s an ardent fan of his. He can’t imagine why and yet seems to find comfort in her words.

It’s the first time they are together and in their hearts both are wishing, hoping and praying that the night would never end. That the time they are spending together lasts and lasts…

My Review:

‘Durjoy Dutta’, the name itself is enough to describe the awesomeness. I was eagerly waiting for the release of this book and the moment I saw it in Amazon, without any second thought I hit the buy button. I read it on the same day it got delivered.

This story, “When Only Love Remains” revolves around two characters;; Avanti, the female protagonist is a young girl who has big dreams but a simple way of living. No matter how much sad she is, only one voice is enough to bring back smile on her face. And that voice is of none but Devrat’s youtube songs/videos. Devrat, a passionate guitarist left out engineering so that he could make a career in music world. A break-up in the past made him even more passionate toward his only love; Guitar. Now in every girl he tries to search his lost love; Arundhanti.

Avanti being one of the fans of Devrat was desperately waiting to meet him. She was very much attracted towards his music and towards the person too. Finally when destiny brings them closer and they fall in love with each other. And when everything was going perfect for them, fate changed the track.

You might be wanting to know more but I am sorry to say it would be completely unfair to the Author if I write the entire story here. To know Avanti and Devrat’s story you need to read the book. Up to page.193 the story is full of love and would surely bring smile on your face but when you will turn the next pages, I bet you will have tears on your eye.

My Rating: 4.5/5

(If you love reading love stories and cry your heart out then this is the book you could never afford to miss. Go buy it now.)

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Unplanned Destiny

"A Story of Love and Passion"

Author: Paulami DuttaGupta

Published By: Shree Books

ISBN: 978-93-504-9761-6

About the Author:

Born in Shillong, many moons ago, with schooling at Loreto Convent, and an English Honors from St. Edmunds College, Paulami Duttagupta started her career with All India Radio Shillong. She had written and also given her voice to a few shows there. Later she came down to Kolkata and got a post graduate degree in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University.  She had also taken up a fancy to learning Spanish, but today confesses that she has forgotten most of it.

She has written for ‘The Times of India’ in the ‘Guwahati-Shillong plus Edition’ and also ‘The Shillong Times’. Television had always attracted her and was connected to the Bangla TV industry for about 6 years. She was associated with ETV- Bangla, Akash Bangla and Sony Aath in this period.

Having left her day job in 2012, Paulami took up full time writing. Her first novel, “Pinjar” released in early 2012. Her second novel “Unplanned Destinty” released in 2014. She is also the screenplay writer of the national award winning Khasi film – “Ri Homeland of Uncertainty”.

“Ri” has been adapted into a novel and is releasing in August ’14.

She is currently working on her next project, “After a Decade of Solitude” which will be released in November’14 and writing the script of her second movie as script writer.

Apart from writing full length novels, she has written several short stories and articles. She has also contributed to the “Minds@work Anthology” and the “Family Matters International Anthology” in 2013. Recently she has contributed to the “Learning and Creativity Anthology” and “Her Story Anthology”, a part of Change India Initiative.

When she is not writing or watching movies, Paulami is either reading biographies or classic pieces of literature. Cricket, food, cinema, books and music are an integral part of her life.

Author Interview:

I would have surely asked the Author to share a cup of coffee while asking this question. Since we both stay at different cities I took the help of technology and interviewed the Author online. Let’s go and see what Paulami has to say about her book.

1. Before I ask anything else, could you enlighten us a bit about your book and the characters?

A. Unplanned Destiny was written almost 3.5 years back. The manuscript is actually longer but I had to tweak it as the word count was way more than what the publishing house wanted. Unplanned Destiny was written at the earlier days of my career as a writer and today I am actually surprised to have written this. Romance is actually not my forte and I’ll cherish this book for a long time.

2. “Unplanned Destiny” is obviously a fictional book but do the characters have any resemblance in real life?

A. No. They are just a figment of a crazy imagination.

3. If I’m not wrong, this is your first book, so what made you to step up into the creative world of writing.

A. Unplanned Destiny is not my first book. My first book is Pinjar published back in 2012. I have been writing for a while and wrote articles for The Times of India – Guwahati Shillong Plus and The Shillong Times. I have also written plays and youth shows for AIR Shillong and was student editor of my college magazine. So yes I have done nonfiction for a while. But fiction writing did just happen. Had a laid back job and lot of time, put pen to paper and the stories just happened.

4. Are you a writer by ‘choice’ or by ‘chance’?

A. I would say both. Writing with manic energy happened by ‘chance’. And leaving my job to write film scripts happened by ‘choice.’ I had a television job and had been in the industry for close to 6 years but then the world of movies and books was just irresistible.

5. How does it feel to be an Author? Tell us something about your Pre-Author life and Post-Author life?

A. There wasn’t much thrill in a stable job! Now that I am working from home I feel the thrill and frustration of writing all at the same time. Writing has brought my life from a slow track to a much faster track. Two books and a film all releasing in the same year is actually satisfying. Also seeing my name peep out from a few anthologies is also a reason to smile.  Writing needs a lot of discipline and I am actually in quest of that. My pre-author life was more of schedules and stability. Now it is like the London weather. You never know when it is sunny and when it is gonna rain.

6. What are your favorite books and who is your favorite Author?

A. The list of favorite books is too tall. So I’ll name my favorite authors. Jane Austen, Kate Chopin, Bronte Sisters, Hardy, Dickens, O Henry, Tolstoy, Sheldon, Sparks, Coelho. And then back home Tagore, Sharatchandra, Premchand, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K.Narayan.

I also read a lot of Mills and Boon. And among the contemporary writers’ books Boats On Land, Our Moon has Blood Clots and Edge of Desire are keepsakes.

In film writing of course Gulzaar Saab is an absolute favorite. And Richard Curtis’ romantic comedy scripts can be read over and over again.

7. Apart from writing, what are your other hobbies?

A. I am rather a lazy person and have little time after my daily session of reading, writing and movie watching. But I do listen to music a lot. Cricket is a good sport to watch for me and of course long walks, good food and shopping. 

8. There are many aspiring writers trying to get their story published, any advice for them?

A. There will be rejection slips and more rejection slips in the start. Just keep writing. That angst these slips give you will only improve your writing and get you your first contract.

9. Lastly, any words for me and my blog???

A. You are indeed doing a great job. Reviewing books is not a mean feat. Thanks for featuring my book and interviewing me. Cheers. God Bless. Rise and Shine.

It was really a great experience talking to Paulami and again thanks to her for honoring me with this opportunity.

Book Blurb:

Headstrong and independent Mahi has turned her back on her parents and moved to Mumbai to avoid an arranged marriage. She is finally living life on her own terms and loving every minute of it when she receives that fateful phone call that is to change her life. Her beloved cousin Rasika has been despicably used and abandoned by media tycoon Veer Khurana. Spurred by an urge for revenge, Mahi moves to a new job and a new city to get close to Veer, and plans to destroy him just as he destroyed Rasika, whom he deserted by leaving her pregnant, unmarried and alone. But things don't go as planned. Things grow awry when she finds herself forced into marriage with the very man she despises. Her carefully drawn plans are turned upside down when she finds herself falling in love with the enemy.

Who is the real Veer? And what of Rasika now? Mahi realizes she has no choice in the matter but to give in to her unplanned destiny.

My Review:

Before I began to write my views on the book, I thank the Author for giving me an opportunity to read and review the book. With that I would also add, though this book is sent to me by the Author as a reviewer’s copy, I was completely unbiased while writing this review.

The male protagonist of the story, ‘Veer Khurana’ is a thirty two year rich media guy and owner of the channel Bharat Live. Not only is he rich but arrogant too. The female protagonist, ‘Mahi’ is a girl who fled away from home as her parents tried to tie her knot to some NRI Engineer. She didn’t want to hurt her parents but having no other way she decided to leave her hometown and move to Mumbai to live her dreams. The other important character of this story is ‘Rasika’. Set in the backdrop of cities like ‘Mumbai’ and ‘Delhi’ this book will take you into a world of love, emotions, revenge and betrayal.

As the story moves on, the Casanova Veer falls in love with Mahi as they met for the first time in an Annual channel meet at Mumbai. As Veer’s character was known to Mahi, she first hesitated. But with the kind of personality he has, it’s impossible for a girl to ignore. Ultimately Mahi accepts his proposal and then begin their love story. When both realized that they are perfectly made for each other they decided to get marry.

On the day of their marriage Veer mobile beeped. It was a message from Mahi. Excitedly he pressed the read button considering it might be a romantic message from Mahi but the message was, “I was in Delhi to finish you, I was never going to marry you”.

Want to know what happened next?? Then you have to read the book. It would be completely unfair to the Author if I write the entire story here. To know more about Veer, Mahi and the most important, Rasika you have to read the book.

On a personal note, even for a once I didn’t felt like putting the book down. The book has a gripping story which will make you crave to turn the pages until it’s completely done.

My Rating: 4/5 

( This is a book you should definitely read. I can't promise you will cry but I am sure you would enjoy reading it )

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