Book Reviews: 2019

The Feast of Roses: Book Review

The Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan

It’s the second book in the trilogy. The first one was ‘The twentieth wife’ which focussed upon how Jahangir (aka Salim) became the emperor and Nurjahan(aka Mehrunissa) became his twentieth and last wife. Though it’s a trilogy, the way books are written they have their existence. It’s not a mandate to read ‘The Twentieth Wife’ before reading ‘Feast of Roses’. You won’t feel any disconnection or lost while reading ‘Feast of Roses’. Even I read ‘Feast of Roses’ two years later after reading ‘The Twentieth Wife’.
Being a lover of history, this book is no less than a gift as it has served the dish of history with the right quantity of fiction.

Feast of Roses is about Mehrunissa, how she ruled the heart of Jahangir and thus ruled the empire behind the veil for 16 years which no other Empress could do. She was envied not only by other wives and concubines in Jahangir’s harem but by the men of Jahangir’s court.
Mehrunissa was a woman of substance, strength, and pillar. She ruled behind the veil during the era when women were no more than a pricey possession. She was unlike other women of her era who were considered as one without a voice or one with a void of opinion.

Though history remembers Mumtaz through ‘Taj Mahal’ which was constructed by Shahjahan in the loving memory of Mumtaz, however, love between Jahangir and Mehrunissa was much above that. Jahangir's marriage to Mehrunissa was only for love and this was supported by the fact that this was his last marriage and the only marriage done for love, and not for a political or administrative reason. Jahangir was the only Emperor who did not care about any filthy insinuations upon his manhood in allowing a woman to run an empire. He was man enough not to care about it and acknowledged Mehrunissa as the Empress in true sense.

This book not only tells how Mehrunissa ruled the empire from behind the veil and how she stood strong and fierce amongst men of the empire but also tells the love story of Jahangir and Mehrunissa and how nothing could set them apart.

In parallel, the story also touched upon the fact how England started trading with India and what happened to Portuguese, how Jahangir and Mehrunissa handled Britishers tactfully.

Shout out to all the history lovers out there please read this historic tale which Indu has penned down in the most imaginative way possible. The book is enthralling and I assure you won’t regret reading it.

Plot of the Story

Jahangir instituted twelve rules of conduct for the empire. And imposed the ritual of ‘jhoraka’, which was a special balcony where Jahangir gave audience to the people three times a day: early morning, noon and evening, and Jahangir considered this as his most important responsibility as it was here commoners came to petition him and he listened to their appeals, important or not. And then one fine day, Mehrunnisa asked Jahangir to accompany to jharoka and stand in front of the nobles and commoners. This was her first step taken towards becoming the Empress who ruled behind the veil. Thereafter, Mehrunnisa never looked back and soon got the power equivalent to Emperor Jahangir. And during this, she raised many enemies for her and many men in Jahangir’s court turned against her.

Jahangir bestowed all power on Empress Nurjahan which was no less than the feast of roses in literal terms. But to make it real, Emperor Jahangir actually laid down entire imperial garden ‘Anguri Bagh’ with ‘Isaphans’(pink rose petals) and Mehrunissa walked over that when Mehrunnisa and Jahangir had a tiff. Mehrunnisa and Jahangir stood side by side letting the whole world see them together and this is to restore Menhrunnisa’s name and to let everyone know that there is and there would be no one as important to him as her.
There were three badges of sovereignty in Mughal India- the ability to sign on Farmans, imprinting of coins with a name or likeness, and the khutba. Mehrunnisa had the first two. She was a sovereign too. She sat at the jharoka; she had coins with her imprint upon them; she was the Emperor in all but name. The empire soon began to see Jahangir and she was one entity. Jahangir could trust no one but Mehrunnisa, and he let his couriers, commanders, and nobles know of this.

Other than Jahangir and Mehrunissa, mainstay characters in the story are:

Mahabat Khan and Mohd. Sharif who were two main players at court and were powerful, in both, position and influence over the Emperor. During Mehrunissa’s first visit to jharoka, Mahabat Khan’s cousin came as a petitioner and Mehrunnisa asked Emperor to look on other petitions first as they were more needy, and thus Mahabat Khan’s cousin was dismissed, which anguished Mahabat Khan’s and thereafter, every other instance increased Mahabat Khan’s enmity towards Mehrunnisa. And when Mehrunnisa was pregnant with Jahangir’s child, Mahabat had a role to play in getting that child died before birth.

Another important character Jagat Gosini, who gave birth to Khurram, was holding the title of Padshah Begum, but she envied Mehrunnisa for all the power she had and how Jahangir’s complete time was devoted to Mehrunissa. After marrying Mehrunissa, he never took another wife nor visited any of his other wives. Jagat Gosini had even tried to stop the marriage of Jahangir and Mehrunnisa by plotting a plan along with Mahabat Khan.

And then there is Mehrunissa’s niece Anjumand (aka Mumtaz) whose marriage to Khurram (aka Shahjahan) was possible only because of Mehrunnisa envied her. Shahjahan, who was also fond of Mehrunnisa turned against her and even plotted to get his father Emperor Jahangir killed once.

Last but not least there is Dowager Empress Ruqayya, who was Akbar’s favourite wife and played an important role in getting Jahangir and Mehrunnisa hitched.

There were other characters too: Mehrunissa’s personal eunuch Hoshiyar Khan, Mehrunnisa’s brother Abul Hasan and father Mirza Ghias Beg, Ladli (Mehrunnisa’s daughter from her earlier husband).

Now, to know about what happened to Mahabat as all these events unfolded to Mehrunnisa, what happened to Khurram and other sons of Jahangir, how Khurram became the Emperor and what happened to Mehrunnisa and Ladli after the death of Jahangir, I would strongly recommend reading the book.

Lines I liked the most:

‘When you command, do so with authority. Never think you will be ignored, and you will not be ignored.’
‘It is better to want than to have a desire fulfilled. Once it is…it has little importance.’
‘In knowledge lay true power.’
‘Envy lends courage to even the weakest enemy.’
‘Once an accusation has been made. However damning it may be, doubt begins to blot the hearer.’
‘Austerity is only for those who have been sated by sensual pleasures.’
‘No man can be moved against his will. It is his determination that dictates his decision.’
‘Bad news travels fast.’
‘Peace comes from a lack of want.’
‘Acting on every change is futile without pausing to reflect and analyse if it should take its course. Without wondering whether the change could be of one’s advantage.’

Rating: 3.5/5

Hippie : Book Review

Hippie by Paulo Coelho

As per the dictionary meaning, ’Hippie’ is a person of unconventional appearance, typically having long hair, associated with a subculture involving a rejection of conventional values and the taking of hallucinogenic drugs.
And that's how Paulo led his life, as a 'Hippie' before he met Karla and started-off his journey on 'Magic Bus'.
In this book, Paulo tells his own life stories, his own experience, in a third-person style of writing.

Plot of the Story: Paulo, a Brazilian boy, who wanted to become a writer started his journey to explore himself and his life. He reached Dam Square in Amsterdam after he had done several Hippie trails in the past. Paulo was headed towards Piccadilly Circus in London from Amsterdam where he met a girl named Karla who was looking for a companion in her journey to Nepal via Magic Bus. Karla got successful in convincing Paulo to come along with her on the journey to Nepal. Other than Karla and Paulo, Magic Bus consisted of two drivers: one with British accent named Michael and other an Indian, named Rahul; and other passengers were: a group of Australians, two underage girls, a French man and his daughter, an Irish couple(Rayan and Mirthe).
Rayan, French father and a daughter, Michael, Rahul all had their fair part of stories to share in the book and how and why they landed up in the Magic Bus. And as the story moves forward, Magic Bus came to a stopover in Istanbul for a week, where both Paulo and Karla explored the true meaning of their lives and also a man with no name came into the picture. A week in Istanbul awakened Karla and Paul, and both of them made choices and decisions which set the course for their lives thereafter.

In my opinion, it is not the best work of Paulo. At certain points, the story lost the track, there was disconnectivity and it needed me to read it twice to understand the flow. Moreover, I found some irrelevant detailing at certain points for instance, ‘Death Train’ and ‘Gate of Sun’ are a bit stretched out and could have been combined together.
This book gave an insight into Paulo’s life what all he had gone through in his life: imprisonment when he was not at fault and how this incident haunted him, drugs especially LSD he wanted to try and then his transformation as a person as he reached Istanbul and met a man with no name.

Extracts:

When Rayan explained about parallel reality, where everything is possible: ‘There is not one but many parallel realities. The one is that spiritual state that takes over your body and soul when you feel happy, your heart filled with love… And the other when the tiny details of our daily life transform into problems out of nothing.’
When Paulo distanced himself from everyone after the incident of encountering the police and Rahul came to him and talked him through: ‘…You have moments of bravery and moments of cowardice. In moments of cowardice, you are gripped by fear. And fear, contrary to what most people say, has its roots in the past. Each time you take a step forward, you will feel fear at what you’ll find. And how can I fear what’ll find if I haven’t already experienced pain, separation, internal and external torture?’’
In his search of dancing dervishes, when Paulo met a man with no name to understand Rumi, Sufism, in search of knowledge, a man said: ‘… Books bring us opinions and study, analyses and comparisons, while the sacred flame of madness brings us to the truth. Knowledge is an illusion, ecstasy is the true reality. Knowledge fills us with guilt, ecstasy allows us to be one with He who is the Universe before it existed and after it has been destroyed. The search for knowledge is an attempt to wash oneself with sand when a well of clean water can be found right next to us…’
Paulo when asked the man with no name to be his teacher in order to learn the ways of the Sufi, a man replied: ‘…Then seek the truth. Seek always to be on its side, even when it brings you pain. There are times when the Truth goes quiet for stretches, or when it doesn’t tell you what you want to hear. Truth is not that gives us certainty. It is not that which gives us profound thoughts. It is not that which makes us better than others. It is not that which makes us prisoners to our own prejudices…’
When Paulo asked the man with no name about who taught him Sufism and the man, in turn, responded that how he learned it from three teachers: a thief, a dog, and a child. Read the book to know that.

Lines:

‘When we try to dismiss negative thoughts, it only attracts more diabolic energy.’
‘We don’t choose the things that happen to us, but we can choose how we react to them.’
‘When things happen without planning or expectations they are that much more enjoyable and worthwhile.’
‘Life is all about figuring it out.’
‘The Truth is what makes us free. You will know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.’
‘You won’t learn anything more than what your heart wishes to teach you.’
‘There is no suffering worse than the dark, grey room where pain cannot reach.’

Rating: 2.5/5

The Forest of Enchantments : Book Review

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Someone has very well said
‘Only a woman can understand a woman better.’
That’s the reason Chitra never fails in expressing the women side of the story and once again she proved this. She has re-written India’s epic saga, previously Mahabharata and now Ramayana, from a woman's perspective. In the patriarchal society, very few bother about writing emotional turmoil a woman goes through when she is being wronged.
Her writing style portrays a visual in front of the reader’s eyes. It’s always a delight to read her books, they have never disappointed me, and this one has taken a special place in my heart and is one of my favorites now.
When I was reading this book I was so mesmerised, I felt as if I am in that era. And all this is happening in front of my eyes. This is one of the very few books where I was waiting for the end but at the same time sad when it's ended.

Now I am eagerly waiting when Chitra will write about Radha who couldn’t marry her love Krishna, and what all women (Radha, Yashodha, Deveki, Rukmani) involved in this saga went through.
(Formatted this line, in the hope, someday this request reaches Chitra :) )

Plot
Now, Ramayana is a well known ancient saga, is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It’s being taught to a child from its pre-school days in India. Everyone in India is well versed with this epic tale of Hindu deities: Ram and Sita, a human reincarnation of God Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. Not only in India, but it's also very well popular outside too as it lays the Ithasa of Bharatvarsh. So no need for me to tell the plot of the story over here.

Rather you must be thinking what’s different in this book, Ramayana has been re-written and re-told so many times so what is left out to tell.
And here comes this book, which retells this epic tale from the voice of women of this story: Sita, Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari, Urmila and other not less important women: Vibhishan’s wife, Sita’s mother, Sita’s sister. Chitra has penned down the emotional turmoil they went through, what they were feeling when events were taking place. In this book, the main attentions have been given to the women of the story and that’s what made it looked completely different from what we had known about Ramayana until now.

As we all know, both Ram and Sita have taken on mortal bodies in Ramayana so they also have human failings like others human beings. They love, they grow angry, confused, they weep, they miss each other, they go through heartbreaks. Sita like us says things she later regrets deeply. At the other end, Ram cares too much what his subjects think of him and thus he becomes hostage to his desire to be the perfect king, which leads him into an action that will break his heart as well as his beloved’s.

Book started off in a correct tone. Valmiki shared the manuscript of Ramayan with Sita while she was living in her ashram after being exiled by her husband, Ram. Sita while going through the Ramayana was satisfied how each detail has been captured correctly by Valmiki, but was agitated and told Valmiki that he didn’t capture what she went through when she was alone in the darkness under the sorrow tree. Valmiki doesn’t know how she felt, her despair, he hasn’t understood a woman’s life, her desires, her negotiations wherein hope of keeping one treasure safe she must give another.
And it’s that when Valmiki asked her to pen down her part of the story which she named as ‘Sitayan.’

Instances:

While Sita went with Ram and Lakshman to exile, Urmila (Lakshman's wife and Sita’s sister) was insisted to stay in the palace so as to take care of mothers. Sita thought of her sister as the unsung heroine of this tale who played the tougher role: 'to wait and to worry'.
Ahalya’s story how she was wronged by sage Vashishtha, and to make him realize his mistake, she took a pledge never to say a word again.
Even in today’s times, it holds true what Sita’s mother said to her while Sita was leaving Mithila : ‘..Be kind and courageous, not to tolerate wrongdoing are good qualities but, unfortunately, not the one's society values most in a woman. If you want to stand up against wrongdoing if you want to bring about change, do it in a way that doesn’t bruise a man’s pride…’
When Sita dreamt of Kaikeyi banished to her anger chamber, she realised where Kaikeyi failed: ‘…It’s not enough to merely love someone. Even if we love someone with our entire being, even if we are willing to commit the most hideous sin for their well being, we must understand and respect the values that drive them. We must want what they want, not what we want from them..’
When Mandodari revealed her dark secret and her suspicion, a mere chance which could be even true, to Sita which moved her as well me as a reader, to the core. As that dark secret brought a new angle to the story.
And then a twist in the tale that how Mandodari got a blessing from Ram to never become a widow. What happened to Mandodari when Ravaan died or did Ravaan ever die. Read the book to know the twist.
And also Mandodari cursed Ram to go through same heartbreak that he caused her to go through and may his life becomes ash at his most joyous moment.
After saving Sita from Ravan, Ram rejected Sita for dharma and asked Sita to prove her innocence and Sita for her dignity decided to throw herself in fire then Fire God himself came and proved her innocence to everyone. And later Ram said to Sita what ever he did was for the virtue of the queen of Ayodhya and it’s not that he doubted her love and loyalty for him.
It’s an interesting story of how Ram, Sita, and Ravaan were connected. Why did Ravaan grasp Sita’s foot while dying and what vision Sita got at that time.
Urmila prays to Lord Yama for her death when Lakshman went to exile and Lord Yama impressed by her meditation came to her and gave her a boon which saved her from this misery of living alone in the palace as well helped her husband during his exile. Now to know what was that boon, read the book.
What happened when Surpanakha took the face of Shanta, Ram’s sister, who came to meet Ram and Sita after they have come from their fortune years of exile was a new revelation for me.
When Ram planned for another Agni Pariksha for Sita in his court, Sita refused the same and stood up for the dignity of complete womanhood, to save other women from the burden of proving their innocence even when they aren’t guilty. That’s the most touching part, what all she said to Ram in the court is an answer for every husband every man who questions or judges the woman even when she is not guilty.

In this. book, Chitra has brought upon Nature Of Love which can be summarised as below:

‘In a moment, it can fulfill the cravings of a lifetime, like a light that someone may shine into a cavern that has been dark for a million years.’
‘Even the strongest intellect may be weakened by love.’
‘The more love we distribute, the more it grows, coming back to us from unexpected sources.’
‘When we demand love, believing it to be our right, it shrivels, leaving only resentment behind.’
‘Love’s magic- the giver gains more than the receiver.’
‘Love can make us forget our own needs. It can make us strong even when the world is collapsing around us.’
‘Love can kill. Sometimes, it can kill instantaneously.’
‘Once mistrust has wounded the love, it can’t be fully healed again.’
Love makes you not want to think too much. It makes you unwilling to question the one you love.’
‘Love makes us back down from protesting as we are afraid of displeasing our loved ones.’
‘Love is entangled with expectation. The stronger the expectation, the more our anger towards the loved one if it’s not fulfilled- and the less our control over ourselves.’
‘Love clouds our eyes and doesn’t allow us to see what’s right in front of us.’
‘When we love someone, it doesn’t matter what we discuss; it is all fascinating.’
‘Love is the strongest intoxicant, the drink of deepest oblivion.’
‘Love-no matter how deep- isn’t enough to transform another person: how they think, what they believe. At best, we can only change ourselves.’

Lines I liked the most:

‘All will be clarified at the right time.’
‘Remain true to yourself- and to your heart. Be courageous and remember, even the blackest night must end in dawn.’
‘Anything that makes us forget our true selves is a trap.’
‘It’s important to speak your mind to the person you are going to marry.’
‘Sometimes our ill-luck has consequences that bless others.’
‘Choose your battles.’
‘What you can’t change, you must endure.’
‘Where love and sorrow bind people together, goodbyes are not so easy.’
‘Bad news is like an infection, needing only air to carry it everywhere.’
‘How ironic that the joyous times we like to hold on to are the most fleeting while the saddest ones clutch at us, refusing to let go.’
‘Paradoxical power of mind: When we control it, it’s our best friend, but when we allow it to control us, it becomes our worst enemy.’
‘Forgiveness is more difficult when love is involved.’
‘Guilt exudes negative energy.’
‘No one can take your dignity away from you. You lose it only by your own actions.’
‘Endure as we do. Endure your challenges. Endure - It means taking the challenges thrown at us and dealing with them as intelligently as we know until we grow stronger than them.’
‘Every darkness is edged with light.’
‘Guilt keeps us from seeing things that are otherwise as clear as a cloudless sky.’
‘Balance duty with love. It can be done.’

Rating: 4.5/5

Elephant Prince: Book Review

Elephant Prince By Amy Novesky

Once I was randomly going through the books recommended by Goodreads, I encountered Elephant Prince and seeing it was related to Ganesh about whom I was already looking for a book to read, so I added this one in my reading list. Neither did I read the synopsis nor any review. It’s the title and the book cover which made me excited to read it. Then and there, I searched this book on Amazon and added it in my wishlist. I didn’t order though, it stayed in my wishlist for almost a year. It’s recently I bought it and read. And realized its a folklore and not the kinda I was actually looking for. :D
I know it sounds silly but the truth is I was not aware that Amy is a children’s book editor based out of America, and even by the book cover on good reads I couldn’t figure it out that it’s a children book. But after reading the book, I didn’t regret buying it as I enjoyed it.
Its the illustrations (by Belgin) in the book which further added to my happy feeling throughout. And what surprised me the most that an American author showed a keen interest in writing about Hindu God to make children aware of traditional Indian story.

There are many traditional stories behind the birth of Ganesh and how he got an elephant head. This book is about one of these traditional stories but what is special about this story is the writing style, it’s lyrical, imaginative. And to add on to this, the page quality and the illustrations make the book pleasing to eyes.
At last, I am pretty sure it's a page-turner for any pre-schooler or a child.

Rating: 4/5

Famous Stories of Akbar Birbal : Book Review

Famous Stories of Akbar Birbal
By Shanti Publications

Akbar Birbal folk tales are very well known, especially in India, so they don’t need an introduction. They are liked by all. Even today, if we have to teach kids how to deal with difficult situations we land up citing the tale from this collection.

So here I am excited
not mainly to review but to tell you briefly how I landed up buying this classic.
I went to the World book fair’19 held in Delhi. And while exploring, I came across the kids' section and was curious to explore what kind of books are there for children nowadays. And there when I saw this book, I was overwhelmed as this gem is still loved by. And that very moment I put it in my cart. I realized how much I missed reading these books. And not only this, I ended up buying two other classics from this section. Blog posts about them will soon come.

Those who are not aware, who was Akbar and Birbal. Here’s the brief:
Akbar was the Mughal Emperor who ruled over India from 1156 to 1605. He was a successful general who adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy. Although he never renounced Islam, he took an active interest in other religions, persuading Hindus, Parsis, and Christians, as well as Muslims, to engage in religious discussion before him. Illiterate himself, he encouraged scholars, poets, painters, and musicians, making his court a center of culture. And this influenced the choices of his courtiers for the royal court. Thus, Akbar’s nine gems (Navaratnas or Nauratan) were made up of artists, musicians, writers, finance ministers, warriors, and poets.
And, Birbal was one of them. He was a Hindu Brahmin advisor and main commander of the army in the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. He was the foreign minister of Akbar’s court. He and Akbar became very close, a fact that made other fellow courtiers jealous of him. Birbal was very witty and intelligent who never gave up in a difficult situation and this brought Birbal very close to Akbar. Birbal’s wisdom was unparalleled in that era. His intelligence was renowned worldwide and emperors across different kingdoms admired him. He was Akbar’s favorites and was his main advisor in any difficult situation.

Needless to say, I finished the book in two nights. It took me to the childhood lanes where these tales used to be the moral lessons for us.
Today, Akbar Birbal tales are available in different languages to be it English, Hindi or other regional languages, and across different medium: books, e-books, youtube, etc.

The one I read is published by Shanti Publications. It has good paper quality, clear printing, good font size and supporting colorful illustrations. It’s a good read for kids. Adults should also give it a try as it will refresh your mind. It will leave you smiling. You will feel rejuvenated after reading this book for sure.

In the end, I would strongly recommend Akbar-Birbal stories to be read by all age groups as it will not only make you laugh but will teach you ways to deal with difficult situations in a humorous and smart way. Kids will have learning with fun, and adults can relive their childhood through it.

Rating: 4/5

Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2) : Book Review

Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2) By Colleen Hoover

‘Losing hope’ is a continuation of Hopeless Series. Where ‘Hopeless’ is written from the point of view of Sky, Losing Hope is written from the point of view of Dean Holder. This series as mentioned in my review of ‘Hopeless’ is much more than a love story.

Here’s the link to the review of Hopeless:

https://bookreviewsbyricha.blogspot.com/2018/06/hopeless-book-review.html

‘Losing Hope’ lay opens the emotional turmoil your loved ones go through when you commit suicide. It’s not only you who dies but the part within your loved ones die along with you. Your loved ones blame themselves, consider themselves as a failure as they couldn’t recognize what you were going through. Your parents, your siblings, your close friends never remain the same as they were. Something break within them which can’t be mended, which can’t be healed. They remain in the denial state for whatever happened. But after reading ‘Losing Hope’, I changed my perception that it’s not always the person who commits suicide is the weaker one. It’s not always that to hide one’s mistakes and failure to face the society makes the person commits suicide.

The essence of Colleen is retained in this book also. At one moment you will all be lost in love and then in another moment you will be all anguished while another one makes you upset, I believe that’s what the good writing is about.

‘Honest. That’s all I ever be.’ this statement still has the same effect on me as it had when I read it in ‘Hopeless’. Honesty is what I believe is the base of any healthy relationship and this had been the base of Hope and Holder’s relationship, that’s why in spite of so many ups and downs they stayed together.

Plot of the Story:

Though, storyline, lead characters all remain the same as in ‘Hopeless’ (Please go through the ‘Hopeless’ review to get a jest of story.) ,still ‘Losing Hope’ differs from ‘Hopeless’ in a way the story took shape from Holder’s point of view whose sister, Lesslie, committed suicide and who lost his dearest friend, Hope, in his childhood. And how he blamed himself for both of these incidents and what all he went through until the truth is revealed. The story came out as completely different when seen from Holder’s perspective.

But as a reader, you won’t find any disconnection if you haven’t read ‘Hopeless’ and are reading ‘Losing Hope’ first as these books are not like typical sequels which are to be read in a particular order. The books are independent of each other but still connected as they share the same storyline, and that’s the beauty of this series.

Also, I liked the way Colleen divided chapters into half and quarters without changing the chapter numbers, if they are the extended version of the same track. Also, it gives the reader a chapter break but at the same time maintains integrity.

Extracts which deeply moved my heart:

It was heart-wrenching when Holder found her sister lying dead on a bed:

‘You would think a person could only die once. You would think you would only find your sister’s lifeless body once. Once is far more than accurate. It happens repeatedly. Every time I take a breath or speak, I experience her death all over again. I don’t sit here and wonder if the fact that she’s dead will ever sink in. I sit here and wonder when I’ll stop having to watch her die.’

When Sky recalled everything about her past and remembered she was Hope, it’s at that moment Holder expressed his love for Hope and said what melted my heart to the core:

‘I’ve loved you for so long but I just couldn’t tell you. It didn’t feel right letting you love me back when I was keeping so much from you.’

Letter which Lesslie wrote for Holder before committing suicide would move you; few lines from that letter:

‘I’ve lost the ability to care anymore, so it’s hard to empathize with what you’ll experience after I’m gone. I don’t remember what it’s like to care enough about life that the thought of death could destroy me. I’m tired of losing hope.’

Lines I liked the most:

‘Vague is the same thing as dishonesty.’

‘She is the only thing in the world that can help me breathe again.’

‘The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.’

Rating: 3.5/5

Calling Sehmat : Book Review

Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka

‘Calling Sehmat’ was gifted to me by a friend who doubted whether I am going to like this book or not. But let me tell you I liked this book a lot so keep gifting me books like these :)

Most of you may not be aware, ‘Calling Sehmat’ is based on a true story and a Bollywood movie ‘Raazi’ is an adaptation of this book.

This book gave me goosebumps at several points. This story instilled more respect and gratitude in me for all those men and women (be it spies; navy, army or air personnel) who sacrifice not only comforts of their homes but leave behind their families, their loved ones to serve their country. It made me realized where we civilians are worried over petty issues be like family disputes, tensions with the boss, relationship issues, these men and women are striving and sacrificing their lives for our safety without expecting anything in return from us. And what we are giving them in return is the country where there is corruption, where communal violence happens due to petty reasons, regional and religious conflicts. We are not even capable of maintaining law and order internally and no it’s not solely the duty of government or police but every civilian has a role to play in maintaining law and order of the nation.

And here I am not talking about India only but it’s the duty of civilian of every country to maintain peace within his country as it's the least we can return to these men and women whose lives are always at stake for the safety of their respective countrymen.

The book is worth a read to experience the journey of a spy whose only mission in life is to save his or her country. The book can be read in one go itself without any breaks or disconnect.

Plot of the Story:

P.S.: Please take it as a story of every spy. What Sehmat did for India, every spy would have done the same for his or her country. For every spy and every soldier the only motto is ‘Country comes first.’

‘Calling Sehmat’ is a story of a girl named Sehmat, who was half Hindu (maternal) and half Muslim (paternal). Her mother name was Tej (Tejashwari Singh) and father name was Hidayat Khan. Hidayat was a rich Kashmiri businessman who was always easing tensions between Hindus and Muslims and spread harmony between the communities. His enterprise and large-heartedness catapulted him and his business to the other side, called Pakistan. He was soon approached by senior officials of RAW who sought his help in establishing an information-gathering network inside Pakistan. He had been very loyal and dedicated to his duty towards his motherland and his network became a major source of information gathering which saved the lives of hundreds of Indian soldiers.

All was going fine until that dark day when Hidayat was diagnosed with incurable cancer and due to his medical ailment, he was forced to call off his duty. It was not that dreaded disease but who could replace him and gather information from across the border bothered him to the core. After pondering over his thoughts, he came to a decision that only Sehmat, his only daughter and only child could take this baton from him and carry on the good work for the nation. Sehmat, a young college going Kashmiri girl studying in Delhi University was shaken and heartbroken as she learned about her father’s medical condition. She couldn’t even get over when very next moment, Hidayat talked his heart out with her and asked her to take the responsibility from him and asked her to continue doing what he had been doing until now for his country and countrymen.

Understanding the gravity of what he had handed over to her, Sehmat agreed to her father’s last wish. Within a short span of time, her world changed completely. It etched her to the core, she lost the only two men she had ever loved dearly: her father who soon left the mortal world, and Abhinav (the love of her life) whom she met in college as she was soon married off to Captain Iqbal Sayeed, son of Brigadier Sheikh Sayeed. (Sheikh Sayeed and Hidayat Khan had studied together at Lahore College and were close friends. Post partition, Sayeed had helped Hidayat expand his business.)
Before her marriage to Iqbal, Sehmat underwent one month of intensive training at the hands of intelligence officers.

Thereafter, the journey started displaying the heroic act and courageous fearless efforts put by Sehmat how Sehmat in carrying out the spy activities. She sent vital information to her country on a frequent basis which helped India in winning the war with Pakistan in 1972.

This book is a must-read for several reasons:

The turmoil of emotions that Sehmat went through is nerve-wracking
The number of times she risked her own life with only a single motto in her mind: ‘Country first’.
How she overcame the trauma and accepted her past after returning to India.
This book not only tells the story of Sehmat but few chapters are completely dedicated to the heroic tales of our naval force. Be it how Lt. Commander Sunderjeet Singh and his team protected INS Vikrant (first aircraft carrier of India) from getting destroyed, which was one of the major goals of Pakistan forces, or the act of bravery put forward by Captain Jitendra Kumar and Lt. Commander Rana at Arabian Sea coast of India.

Lines I liked the most:

‘There is no greater reward than to live and die for your country.’
‘Fish is caught not with the hook but with the power of one’s mind.’
‘Whenever you suspect that your cover is exposed, assume it is so and act accordingly.’
‘Some issues should be best left forgotten.’
‘We know when we have accomplished what we were sent down here to accomplish. We know when the time is up and will accept death when it comes.’
‘Fear is a waste of energy. It stifles you from fulfilling what you were sent here to fulfil. Fear can’t reach your soul. And that is where we must strive to reach.’
‘The most natural state of being is being in a spiritual state. People don’t stay in the spiritual state because they are pulled by maya. They think that is the only truth. They don’t realize the physical world is only an instrument to get to the spiritual state.'

Rating: 3.5/5