Books and Musings

  📙 BOOK : Ayodhya Ram Mandir 📘 AUTHOR : Swadesh Singh 📗 GENRE : Non-Fiction, Mythological History 📝 RATING : 4/5 ✒️MY TAKE: 📙On the historic day of 22nd Jan, the Hindus all over the world celebrated the homecoming of their favourite son, Shri Ram, in Ayodhya Ram Mandir while the people from other community joined in the fervour of euphoria. 📙Ayodhya Ram Mandir written by Swadesh Singh makes for an apt read to understand the inception of Ramayana and its adaptations across various parts of the globe, tailor-made basis their cultures. 📙This book sheds light on the spiritual and cultural importance of Ayodhya, which foms the epicentre of the Ikshvaku dynasty, of which Ram was the 81st scion. Ayodhya has been historically identified as a flourishing city across various accounts of travellers including the famous Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang, who visited India during the 7th century.  📙Apart from the significance of Ayodhya being the birth place of Lord Ram, the author h...

  📘BOOK: Her One True Love 📘AUTHOR: Ruchita Mishra 📘GENRE: Contemporary Love Story 📝RATING: ⚡️Storyline: 4/5 ⚡️Literature: 4/5 📖PLOT:  When Ikadashi Kumar a.k.a Ika came face to face with her company head, Fredrick Heisenberg, sparks flew and the emotional connection was unmissable. This intense love came at a time when Ika was going through a verbally abusive marriage. Fredrick found his soulmate in Ika with whom he could share his terrible past. ✒️MY TAKE: The storyline of Her One True Love by Ruchita Misra felt like a warm blanket which enveloped me in its myriad journey of unrequited love, passionate relationships, and the pain of loveless marriage spanning across two generations. 📚I was entranced by Ika's character which is very relatable as a careeristic woman who is also a mother. When we are young and full of energy for our future, we promise to treat ourselves well and not allow anybody to disrespect us, let alone our partner. We often forget this promise once ...

  BOOK: Tara's Truce AUTHOR: Kavita Kane GENRE: Indian Mythological Fiction 📝RATING: ⚡️Storyline: 4.2/5 ⚡️Literature: 4/5 📖PLOT:  We are all familiar with the revered history and folklore of Ramayana. Anyone who is familiar with Ramayana is cognizant of the important role played by the 'Vanara' tribe led by Sugriv to aid Lord Ram in rescuing Lady Sita from Ravan. Tara's Truce by Kavita Kane is a story from the perspective of the eponymous character who is the Queen of the Vanara tribe, ruling the Kingdom of Kishkindh. ✒️MY TAKE:  Inspiring, Enchanting, Heart-wrenching! These 3 words sum up my experience of reading this book through the eyes of Tara. Inspiring because of Tara's perspicacity, leadership abilities, and adroit statesmanship that ensured the rise, prosperity, and protection of Kishkindh while the men were busy fighting their ego battles. Enchanting because of the author's ability of weave a beautiful and evocative story highlighting the concept of ...

  📘 BOOK : The Mystery Guest 📘 AUTHOR : Nita Prose 📘 GENRE : Fiction, Murder Mystery Thriller  📝 RATING ⚡️ Storyline : 3.5/5 ⚡️ Literature : 4/5 📖 PLOT: The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is a whodunit murder thriller of a high-profile personality which sends the literary world into a tizzy. A world renowned author, J.D. Grimthorpe, about to deliver a sensational press conference, drops dead in the tearoom floor of the Regency Grand Hotel before he could deliver his revelation.  All eyes are on Molly Gray, the Head Maid, who was responsible for overseeing the entire preparation of the press conference.  But Molly does hold the key to a lot of mystery regarding the author.... ✒️ VERDICT : 🥇 Pros: 🔑The author did a commendable job in developing the connection between Molly and Grimthorpe which kept me thinking till the end whether she actually had a role to play in the murder. The build-up was good as the author left crumbs of twists in each chapter which ensured ...