रविवार

अब तो हर वार है सोमवार,

सुबह से करते हैं शाम का इंतज़ार,

लड़कपन के वो दिन थे ख़ुशगवार,

आता था एक दिन कहते थे उसे रविवार,

साईकल पे पीछे बैठने का आनंद था अपार,

सुबह उठ के हो जाते थे हम तैयार,

मोगली, रंगोली और देखते चित्रहार,

चंद्रकांता, तरंग और कृष्णा लगते त्योहार,

चंपक और चाचा चौधरी थे मज़ेदार,

मिट्टी की गुल्लक तोड़ने का इंतज़ार,

होमवर्क देख कर आ जाता बुख़ार,

लगता अब जल्दी बड़े हो जायें यार,

बरसात में कागज़ की नाव बनाना,

सितोलिया और साँप सीढ़ी से मन बहलाना,

दोस्तों संग लुका छुपी खेलना,

कट्टी करना फिर एक हो जाना,

गली में क्रिकेट खेलना,

आउट हो जाने पर नोंक झोंक करना,

रविवार कहो या संडे उसे कहना,

बचपन चला जाए बचपना नहीं खोना।

Read more

Book Review: Faqeera Chal Chala Chal

"Faqeera Chal Chala Chal" is a book by debut author Sunil Sapra. I thank the author for sending across his book in exchange of an honest review.

This book is a collection of 84 poems in Hindi. It is a quick read. Upon reading, one can relate to some or the other poem. It is written in simple language, but at many junctures plants an urge to read certain poems over and over. There are some poems which let you meet yourself. They make you think twice about you and your life. The writer aptly says in the foreword, every person has a faqeera hidden within them. Discovering that faqeera is all you have to do.

I was not able to relate to each of the poems, but I won't comment by saying that I disliked them. It is just that the mood of those poems don't match my frequency. There are however, some poems which are worth reading. I especially bookmarked them to read and re-read in future.

The poems are set in various moods, or various aspects of one's life. For instance, हसरते, meaning desires. In this section, I specially loved चाहते and पंछी. These poems depict the desires of a human mind, and how each individual has different desires and expectations from life. And even after getting everything, how one remains dissatisfied at times.

I liked some lines from a poem -

चुप रहने वाले को,
दुनिया है भूल जाती,
अरे, रोये बिना तो,
माँ भी बच्चे को दुध नही पिलाती |

To me, these lines mean a lot. I have practically experienced such situations in life where it is not always about being good and pretending that everything is well, or waiting for situations to turn in your favor. Sometimes it is you who has to stand for thyself and express your will. It works!

I have read all the poems in the section मैं many times. Simply speaking, all that is penned in the poems is known and obvious, but the words in these poems are perfectly woven to reiterate the existence of these emotions in you.

If I mention further, it would be a spoiler for other readers :)

I give this book 4 on 5 and recommend it for those who have a different perspective on their life, the surroundings, their present, past, their family and often get nostalgic. I also recommend it for those who are fond of writing poetries. This bunch of poems is a motivator for writing.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

Read more

मोबाइल

झुके रहते है सर आजकल हर पल,

लगता है सबका ख़ुदा बदल गया है,

हाथ जोड़े है हर कोई शान से,

प्रार्थना का ये नया ज़रिया निकल गया है,

बातें अब होती कहाँ है आपस में जनाब,

कमरे में हर व्यक्ति चैटिंग से बहल गया है,

मिल आये दुनिया से ऑनलाइन अभी अभी,

अपनों से मिलने का वक़्त बंट गया है,

गिल्ली डंडा खेलना ना जाने ये पीढ़ी,

बचपन अब सेल्फी स्टिक में जो अटक गया है,

कागज़ की कश्ती कहाँ तैरती अब बरसात में,

मोबाइल पर उंगलियां दौड़ाने में जो मन भटक गया है |

(Disclaimer: This post does not intend to harm, defame, or hurt the sentiments of any person, gender, religion, political party, news channel, religious belief, god or to whomsoever it may concern. I sincerely apologize in advance if it is so.)

Read more

Book Review: Train to Pakistan

Train to Pakistan is a bestseller by well known author Khushwant Singh. It was written back in 1956.

This book is a fiction based on the time when India got independence along with the curse of partition. 

Even though its a fiction, it is very much inspired by reality. For a reader like me who has shallow knowledge of what had happened at that time, this book is informative too. The crude truths were never detailed out in our textbooks and we had no clue of the after effects of this political game. This book led me to think upon the unknown sacrifices that had been given willingly or unwillingly on the both the sides, before present day India and Pakistan stabilized. And how the innocent had to lose their lives in the process.

The story revolves around one of the villages called Mano Majra, near the border of India and Pakistan, and the surrounding areas. Mano Majra is a fictional village located in Punjab. Sikhs and Muslims lived peacefully and with brotherhood in the village irrespective of the ongoing riots between the two religions. This novel depicts the daily activities of the people in the said rural area.

It shows how after partition, Hindus and Muslims both faced atrocities while travelling in trains to the land they were supposed, to as per their religion. How both the sides were killed, all the passengers of trains massacred, raped, tortured. Revenge took over humanity and Kalyug had started in literal sense. But also showcases how humanity still exists, and how a robber Jugga saves the train sacrificing his own life. He does it for the sake of his lover Nooran who is on a train going to Pakistan. Humanity prevailed when morals and love inside Jugga took over his bad character and hatred for the other religion. Iqbal, who had been against the killings throughout, did not take part in stopping it when he actually should, all because of his overthinking

Overall, it is a depressing story. You may hardly find any entertainment or cheerfulness throughout. 

The characterization is perfect, the story telling is such that it feels like a movie is being played in front of you, the narration is descriptive yet concise. The dialogues are flawless. It is free of biasness towards religion (Hindu and Sikh or Muslim) and country (Hindustan or Pakistan, as they say)

There is a movie from year 1998 based on the book. I watched the movie soon after finishing the book, and again the reader in me justified being a reader! The movie misses out a lot that can be read in the book.

I rate it 3.5 on 5 and recommend it for those of my age who are untouched of the partition time tales, and are interested in fiction.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

Read more

Book Review: Phases of Moon

This book is a collection of poems by the debut author Neha Jindal. I received a paperback copy from the author for review.

A thin book, a quick read with light hearted poetries and good choice of words are perks of this collection. I read it in one go. The poetries are based on different phases of a girl's life from teenage to motherhood and of course, mother-in-law-hood. The diverse emotions communicated in the book are well sequenced and depict much of a woman's life. I especially liked the part of poems on kids.

Indeed the first half of the book kept me glued, but the second half seemed to be diverged from womanhood to a different genre. But overall, its a good read. There are less people in the world of internet, who believe in penning down their original thoughts.

Although, as a reader I had expected some more poems describing and defining the strength and feminine powers of women, something that gives power to the pink gang!

I rate this book 3 on 5 and recommend it for those who wish to relive (women readers) or understand (male readers) the "Being woman" province.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

Read more

The Facebook Faces

Sitting in office cab? Waiting for food at restaurant? On the potty seat? At every other place you bow your head these days. I mean, stooping towards your mobile device.

There are only two places where you have to survive without a phone - on a flight and while you bathe.

The other day I was walking up the stairs of a plush skin clinic of our locality and texting at the same time, I actually bumped into the glass door at the entrance and hurt my forehead. The female attendees were aghast and amused at the same time. Eventually, they had to control their laughter, since I was their customer!  

Warning: You may get offended on reading this post, please refrain yourself from reading further if it happens.

Disclaimer:  This is a satire and aims only to create some fun and is entirely my way of looking at the social media universe, esp. Facebook.

Ques: What is Facebook to me?
Ans: Seeing hundreds of friends doing data entry jobs for free!

Ques: What are Facebook faces?
Ans: Simple, the one that they show you on their profile.

They range from being selectively social, social, excessively social, horribly social, entirely unsocial.

Variety of Activities on Facebook-

1) Posting photos, unlimited photos..
They post an album containing 32 cheesy couple photos behind the tree and in front of the tree. One from this side, other from that side.

Tourism has increased exponentially ever since social media came into picture. Most people go on holidays only to post updates and pictures on social media. This increases pressure on others to plan their vacation better than them, so that they can also broadcast their updates. And the vicious cycle goes on...

Posting photos of a new born baby who was in the mother's womb an hour back, unable to open eyes, syringes stung on its body, still in the incubator. This fellow has already grabbed 148 likes and 56 comments of being cute and innocent and adorable, looks like mom or dad. I wonder if it can ever be otherwise? Does a new born ever look horrible or cunning or hate-able?

2) The DP game -Forgive me girls, but the next big thing is the duck face DP which you finalized after clicking some 20 selfie snaps. No matter what, your face will remain the same.

3) The DSLR guy.. And every person who buys a DSLR assumes himself to be a PHOTOGRAPHER and then creates a photography page, uploads photos of poor hungry people, flowers, clouds, sunset and sunrise. 

4) Quotables -Most annoying is the bombardment of quotes on how they want us to live our life. It feels more like they are pacifying themselves or justifying their being.

5) The FB story of a spy- And then there are people with guest appearances, or call them spy. They come, view your posts, hit like and run away. They do not pain their fingers by typing or posting something.

6) Angels and princesses - Some girls are self proclaimed princess and angels which they show by appending or prepending these words with their Facebook Face's name. For example Angel Pooja, Priya Princess.

7) Facebook groups- If you are not the fortunate one, you will be forcibly added to one of the "all women" group or a community's group. They might sell leggings with matching dupatta or baking classes in the town at discounted price, or performing their daily ritual of wishing good morning with the image of a god at 4:00 AM in the morning.

8) The Marriage Magic -Facebook has this new feature wherein every time I open it, either one of my friend is married, or attending a marriage, has been blessed with a baby or is engaged.

9) The Twitterati Influence- And lately, the non-twitter facebook users have found that posting hash tags will help them appear witty or trendy. Some samples-  #chaiWithFriend  #bestTimeEver #feelingBlessed #blessed  #funTime #fun #happyMe #enjoyedAlot #dreamComeTrue #lyf #mylyf #hubby #bestHubbyEver...
My response- #doYouKnowTheMeaningOfHashTags
#doYouUseThemBecauseEveryoneElseDoes
#bringingTwitterOnFacebookKya
#whoCares.

10) World's Bestest Husband -One amusing kind of stuff I see on birthdays and wedding anniversaries is to read how that friend's kuchiku-swthrt-mmuaah-supporting husband is the "world's bestest husband", on her first birthday with her, and as if she had a dozen more best husbands.

11) Autoplay feature- One horrible feature of facebook is autoplay for videos. Imagine you are secretly peeping into your phone in the office and while you are scrolling, suddenly the audio gets played for one of the videos which is about how to reduce belly fat, or a recipe video on how to prepare besan barfi. You might want to bury your face below the table then!

As they say, social media connects you to folks at a distance from you but distances you from those around you. There has to be a phone-life-balance.

Read more

Book Review: Kuch Wo Pal

Kuch Wo Pal is a collection of Hindi poems by the debut author Subrat Saurabh. The author is an Engineer and works with an MNC in Bangalore. I can very much relate to him being an Engineer working in Bangalore. He is very popular on twitter and facebook.

Thanks to Blogadda for sending across a review copy of this book.

This is a 75 page book which can be finished in one go. However, reading a collection of poems is unlike reading fiction. When you read fiction, once you finish it, you have no fixation to read it again. This book, demands reading it over and over to understand the essence of it. Every time you browse through the pages of this book, you get to dive deep into the ecstatic world of words woven so beautifully. It is like a web from which you would deny to escape.

The poems are mostly about the author's experiences of staying away from home and working in a distant city and some exhibiting a broken heart's pain. All of these are penned in contemporary style of writing. One good part is that none of these seem to be inspired by any other poet's work, they are all afresh. The poems are all composed in different writing styles. I especially liked the ones that are based on nostalgia, the ones that depict the pain of being away from home and family, the remembrance of childhood and the fragrance of memories of one's native place.

One thing that I expected from this book is something more than a lover's pain and sadness. The poems could have been set in vivid moods. Although, every poet has a genre, a way of writing and thinking. However, I am anticipating all this in the subsequent books from the author.

I underlined a few lines from many poems, which I liked very much and read again and again. I was willing to add them to this post but that would have been a spoiler :) Hence, I refrained from doing that! The shayari at the end is like cherry on the cake, quite mesmerizing.

I myself am fond of reading and writing poems, and hence, can sense the immense efforts put on to write what is apparently a thin book. In the world where you have easy access to poems and prose online, it is a endearing experience to hold one such book. These days, when you can easily type in your thoughts on the web, it is hard to find one such collection as a book. You cannot replace the feel of holding a book over any other digital media.

Overall its a quick read, recommended for those who understand and admire poetry rather than SMS and Whatsapp jokes. Those who are into writing poems can also get a lot of inspiration from this collection. I rate this book 3.5 on 5.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Read more

Book Review: And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None, a murder mystery by Agatha Christie. I had been going through reader's block since long and the review I am writing is breaking my writer's block.

First things first. Agatha Christie who is dead long back, as Wikipedia says. I have started admiring her writing skills after reading this book. The kind of reader I am, I generally despise all that is archaic, written long back and has pale pages. But this one has changed my perspective to some extent. I am going to get another Agatha Christie book now.

About the book, its a murder mystery. Ten people are invited by the murderer on an abandoned island for a house party and are murdered one after another. The only clue for every consecutive murder is a childhood prose. As and as the plot unfolds, reader's curiosity to know the murderer grows. The end is unexpected. The mystery unfolds itself unpredictably. The end will amaze you.

If I write any further, it would be a spoiler!

I rate this book 4 on 5 and recommend it to those who want a shift of genre from fiction to mystery. This is my first mystery novel but not the last one for sure.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

Read more

"If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying?
If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying?"
-Anonymous

Read more

“If you understand others you are smart. If you understand yourself you are illuminated. If you overcome others you are powerful. If you overcome yourself you have strength. If you know how to be satisfied you are rich. If you can act with vigor, you have a will. If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting. If you die without loss, you are eternal.”

- Lao Tzu

Read more