'Criti....que not Criti....cize'

Prayers: When stories are thankfully honest Name of the book: Altars of Yearning: How India Prays Name of the author: Shripriya Dalmia Thirani Publisher: Rupa Publications Price: Rs. 3000 Number of pages: 152 ISBN 978-93-5333-280-8 “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” ― Corrie Ten Boom Whatever it be, it definitely has found a reason to exist amidst most of us (even for atheists, secretly?) The power of prayer is something that people grow up listening to, especially if there are god-fearing, deeply ‘religious’ parents in the household. Now the question arises – is prayer a way to propagate a specific religion via young minds the moment they can comprehend things? Or is prayer simply a way to express the inner yearning of the human soul? Are prayers answered? Is there a time and place for a prayer to be answered? How can one know if their prayer has been answered or no? What if it isn’t? Before heading into a volley of such questions ...

Obsessed by Ruchi Kokcha My rating: 2 of 5 stars Publisher: Harper Black Price: Rs. 199 Pages: 232 Genre: Fiction Also available as an e-book ISBN: 9789352779178 The review has also appeared in The Free Press Journal: http://epaper.freepressjournal.in/c/2... Imagine a seed planted with love. With proper water and sunlight, it slowly pops its head out and looks at the huge and seemingly vast world that greets it. There starts its growth story. Now imagine the sprout from the seed going back and joining the seed again. It’s a kind of suicide. Isn’t it? Why? Why not? Obsessed by Ruchi Kokcha, a new author on the block, is both impressive and lacking. Impressive because she has delved into an area that Indians would rather not tread into. Parental love is considered to be supreme and the purest of emotions. There is nothing that can compete with it. However, who decides what love is? Also, who decides love’s kinds? Is love not love, after all? Or, is it...

Saffron and Pearls: A Memoir of Family, Friendship Heirloom HyderabadiRecipes by Doreen Hassan My rating: 4 of 5 stars The review has also appeared in the Free Press Journal: https://www.freepressjournal.in/book-reviews/saffron-and-pearls-a-memoir-of-family-friendship-heirloom-hyderabadi-recipes-by-doreen-hassan-review Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Photographs by: Cyrus Dalal P-ISBN: 9789352770328 E-ISBN: 9789352770335 Genre: Cookery/Memoir Pages: 220 Price: Rs.1199 Saffron and Pearls is aptly titled for it has both – Saffron symbolizing the rich and mouth-watering recipes adorning the pages of the book with the essence of each recipe captured beautifully thanks to the photographer and Pearls symbolizing the rich family history along with the age-old traditional bits transferred from one generation to the other over the years. The book has an aura, probably reflecting the author’s. It is not one of those books, which my father calls ‘over-the-t...

I Was the Wind Last Night by Ruskin Bond Find the review here too: https://www.freepressjournal.in/book-reviews/i-was-the-wind-last-night-new-and-collected-poems-by-ruskin-bond Name of the book: I Was the Wind Last Night: New and Collected Poems Author: Ruskin Bond Publisher: Speaking Tiger Price: Rs. 399 Category: Poetry ‘Out of the city and over the hill, Into the spaces where Time stands still’ Be rest assured that in no time, the lyricism in his verses will transport the reader from all her woes in connection with the vagaries of the weather, the umpteen troubles that grip her in everyday life into a world of Ruskin’s making where ‘peach and pear are still the sweetest of fruits.’ It is a timeless collection of more than a hundred of his poems written over the years grouped under ‘A Peepul Tree I Knew’, ‘Remember the Old Road’, ‘Friends, Far and Near’, ‘We Must Keep Loving, All Our Days’, ‘I’ll Take the Road Alone’, ‘If Mice Could Roar’, ‘Odds a...

All those who crave to write but do not know where the "inspiration" or the "words" come from, probably this is your chance to get a hang of it. A creative writing course by Preeti Shenoy, bestselling author, keynote speaker and artist -- here is more from the author's own blog. Click here . She was “just a mother of two” (her blog’s name) when she started her blog in 2006 shortly after losing her dad all of a sudden. And in 2008 came her first book. There has been no looking back since then for PREETI SHENOY. https://critiquedontcriticize.blogspot.in/2018/01/giving-youngsters-their-time-under-sun.htmlShe features among the top five bestselling authors in India and finds a place on the Forbes list of the most influential celebrities in the country.                                    ...

NEW DELHI LOVE SONGS by Michael Creighton My rating: 4 of 5 stars Name of the book: New Delhi Love Songs Name of the Author: Michael Creighton Name of the publisher: Speaking Tiger Price: Rs. 299 Pages: 122 ISBN: 978-93-86702-78-4 e- book available The review can also be found here: https://www.freepressjournal.in/book-reviews/new-delhi-love-songs-poems-by-michael-creighton A quaint piece of art that subtly dances in the reader’s mind and makes a place in her heart, refusing to let the charms of Delhi, the gentle scent of loss, the gust of summer wind, the sense of longing and so much more fade, for a long time. A middle school teacher and library movement activist in New Delhi, this is Michael Creighton’s first book. As a reader, it looked to the reviewer like an evolving poet’s work. There were some poems that left the reviewer aghast. But so addictive were some others that it did not let the reviewer put the book down. Little surprise then that...

Preeti Shenoy She was “just a mother of two” (her blog’s name) when she started her blog in 2006 shortly after losing her dad all of a sudden. And in 2008 came her first book. There has been no looking back since then for PREETI SHENOY . She features among the top five bestselling authors in India and finds a place on the  Forbes  list of the most influential celebrities in the country. Here, she opens up about her latest book, growing as an author, bridging the generation gap and of course about blogging to DIVYA NAMBIAR . Down to earth, pleasant and downright honest, here’s Preeti at her candid best. We share the tidbits of the interview here:   A Hundred Little Flames (AHLF) seems to have generated brightness and cheer, yet again. With it topping charts and the signing spree over, how are you spending your time now? Thanks so much. Haha—I am writing my next book! 9 books since 2008. You are unstoppable, aren’t you?  Tell us how you would define ‘...