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Sunday 21 August 2016

How did I fulfill my dreams?? #AdviceThatMattered

1428th  Day

148th  Blog post

2nd  Blog post on 1428th Day (21st Aug. 2016)


Former President of India Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam once quotes that “Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.” He says in another quote “Dream is not what you see in sleep, the dream is something that doesn’t let you sleep.” Why am I quoting these quotes today? Today, I am going to share the story of my dreams which I had seen in different stages of my life and how did I fulfill my dreams. I want to thank all those people who helped me to rich my goals in a direct or indirect way. I want to acknowledge my thank and tribute them for their support and guidance.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Is a question that every child is asked. This question is enough to spark dreams among kids and put them on the path of fulfilling their aspirations. As we grow up, some of us forget the lofty dreams we had and look for more sensible options. On the other hand, the once who get the right guidance fly high and achieve what they set out to do.

I remember that I too was asked the same question by many in my childhood. I answered them ‘a teacher’ without thinking even for a second. My father was and is my inspiration. He is a government servant.  There is a saying that “Coming events cast their shadows before.” (means “Baalache Paay Paalanyaat distat” in Marathi). I was good in teaching from my childhood. Do not wonder! I remember that I was taking a stick in one hand, and chalk in another and assuming myself that my students are seated on the floor. I was behaving like I am teaching my students. Once, my father took a chalk and wrote A,B,C,D,……,X,Y,Z.  I learned whole chart within an hour (that was more than enough in that period for a child studying in govt. Marathi medium school). Everyone was wondering about my grasping power. Today, I am a diploma holder in Education. I have practiced teaching as an assistant teacher in 3 schools and as a Principal in one school. Teaching came to me from my father. Thank you Babuji for keeping me assisted whenever required and supporting me to develop my teaching skills.

I am a good orator today. No! I am not praising myselfJ.  I grew up hearing speeches delivered by my maternal grandfather. His speeches developed an interest to become an orator. And yes! Today I can say that I am a good orator.

I had never dreamt of becoming a writer or poet. But I was really fascinated to write essays. Reading was my hobby from the beginning. While reading any author/poet’s short bio in the beginning of chapter’s in languages, I wished to see my name someday in that column. I didn’t know how? But I write well. I like to introduce myself as a writer and a poet. I have written so many articles and poems on various themes. An event happened with me in 2009-2011 inspired me to scribble a novel and I wrote ‘Maazi Tai:Ek Athwan.’ Some of my articles are already published on this blog. I recited some of my poems on popular stages in Maharashtra. I was invited to recite Hindi poems in Kota, Rajasthan. Some organizations thought my short literary career appreciable and honored me by several awards. I don’t mean to praise myself again, but I thank all those organizers who appreciate my work and give me strength to fulfill my dreams in this field.

I even didn’t know about blogging. But I am fond of reading online blogs. I was a fan of my favorite blogger Abhilash Ruhela. His blog lets me dream to start an own blog and I had written my first blog post for fun on 24th September 2012. After receiving a tremendous response from you- my readers. Having an own domain and earning from a blog were my two dreams. Then I got to know about ShoutMeLoud and his successful founder Harsh Agrawal. ShoutMeLoud inspired me to purchase an own domain which I did and parked to this blog in April 2016. By inspiring from Harsh Agrawal and ShoutMeLoud, I have registered as an associate for some affiliate programs. Though I have not succeeded yet to achieve my goal of earning enough amount through my blog, I know that my dream will come true very soon.

Today this literary industry knows me as a book reviewer. I and my blog are popular for detailed book analysis which I call ‘BookLysis’. As I said in my earlier blog posts, I didn’t even imagine to become a book reviewer. I had asked Shikha Kaul for a free copy of her debut novel Hidden Husband in return for an honest review. I didn’t know that my honest efforts to write the review of that book will make me popular as a book reviewer. Author Shikha Kaul’s words of appreciation created a dream of becoming a successful book reviewer in my eyes. And today, so many authors showed trust on me and appreciated my reviewing style. I thank all my authors, reviewers, and readers for fulfilling my dream of becoming a popular book reviewer within a short span of time.

So, this is a story of my dreams and the #AdviceThatMattered to fulfill my dreams. I thanked all those people who helped, guided and supported me just like Stoodnt, which makes your American dream come true with perfect guidance and counseling.

Note: “I am blogging about my dreams and the people who helped make them true for the #AdviceThatMattered activity at BlogAdda in association with Stoodnt.”



Previous Blogpost: Presenting the #BestZapStore to be a #BestZapCurator (120 visits in 3 hours.)

Last Visitor Counter: 479346

Presenting the #BestZapStore to be a #BestZapCurator

Blog Post: 147th  

Day: 1428th



Hello readers!

I was really fascinated to create my own online store!! No! No! I am not selling any product!! But I wanted to create my store where I wished to give the products information available on other e-commerce websites like Amazon  and Flipkart. Then I found this amazing website called Zapstore. Before introducing my Zapstore to you, let me tell you something about this amazing platform.

Zapstore  is a one-stop shop for all your e-commerce needs, and will get you the world of online shopping at your fingertips. Zapstore lets you shop products of your choices from various categories like clothing, accessories, interior décor and everything else.


Visit my Zapstore and buy following products worth Rs. 50000/-

Dell Inspiron 3537 15.6-inch Laptop (Core i3-4010U/2GB/500GB HDD/Linux/1 GB Graphics/with Bag), Black

41bpqNHcrgL._SX450_.jpg

Specifications

Brand

Dell

Series

Inspiron 3537/4th Gen/i3-4010U

Hard Drive Size

500 GB

Operating System

Linux

Colour

Black

 

Technical Details

Brand

Dell

Series

Inspiron 3537/4th Gen/i3-4010U

Colour

Black

Item Height

25.9 Centimeters

Item Width

34 Millimeters

Screen Size

15.6 Inches

Notebook Display Technology

HD WLED Display

Maximum Display Resolution

1366 x 768

Item Weight

2.2 Kg

Product Dimensions

37.6 x 3.4 x 25.9 cm

Item model number

N3537_3537

Processor Brand

Intel

Processor Type

Core i3 4010U

Processor Speed

1.7 GHz

RAM Size

2 GB

Memory Technology

DDR3

Maximum Memory Supported

8 GB

Hard Drive Size

500 GB

Hard Disk Technology

Mechanical Hard Drive

Speaker Description

Stereo Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 4

Graphics Coprocessor

ATI Radeon

Graphics Card Description

ATI Radeon Graphics

Graphics Card Ram Size

1

Connectivity Type

Wireless LAN Dell Wireless 1705 802.11, Bluetooth v4.0

Optical Drive Type

SuperMulti DVD burner

Hardware Platform

PC

Operating System

Linux

Average Battery Life (in hours)

4

Number of Lithium Ion Cells

4

Included Components

Laptop, Battery, AC Adapter, User Guide and Manuals

 

 

Buy @ Rs 35000 from my Zapstore


Panasonic Eluga A2 Gold 4000 mAh 3GB RAM

71B4G8sdprL._SL1500_.jpg

 

Specifications

Brand

Panosonic

Series

Eluga

Model

A2 Gold

OS

Android

RAM

3 GB

Internal Memory

16 GB

Expandable Memory

128 GB

Item Weight

499 g

Product Dimensions

14.4 x 7.2 x 0.9 cm

Item model number

A2

Connectivity technologies

Bluetooth

Special features

E-Mail|Internet|Music Player|Radio|Touchscreen

Other camera features

5

Form factor

Touchscreen

Weight

500 Grams

Colour

Gold

Buy @ Rs 8770/- from my Zapstore


All-New Kindle E-Reader – Black, 6” Glare-Free Touchscreen Display, Wi-Fi

61378K4DOmL._SL1000_.jpg

Specifications:

 

Price

  5,999.00

Screen Size

6"

Glare-Free Screen

Yes

Built-in Light

No

Page Turns

Touchscreen

Resolution

167 ppi

Connectivity

Wi-Fi

Battery Life

Battery lasts weeks on a single
charge

Storage

Holds thousands of books

Weight

161g

Dimensions

160 x 115 x 9.1 mm

Buy from @ 5999/- from my zapstore


It Doesn’t Hurt To Be Nice: Rediscover Life with a Pinch of Salt and Humour

41U0tzQPKHL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg 

About the Author

Amisha Sethi is an executive scholar from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago, and holds an MBA degree in Marketing from Amity Business School. She was awarded the "Young women rising star" at World Women Leadership Congress 2014 and has won numerous awards and recognition in her corporate life. Along with holding top notch positions in leading companies in the past thirteen years, she has also done extensive research in ancient scriptures. In this book, she uses certain hilarious, dramatic and enthralling experiences of a young girl to understand the ultimate purpose of life — to be a better human with each passing day.

Blurb of the Book

Kiara is a dynamic, thirty-something girl who has reached great heights professionally, and is the apple of the eye for almost everyone who knows her. But she never took any short cuts to become happier, wiser, healthier and more compassionate. She had to find rays of hope where the dark tunnel seemed unending, and identify shade in life's burning path. She found little pearls of wisdom in chasing her dreams, in spreading laughter, in learning from scriptures and philosophers, and even at one point in almost ending her life. More than Kiara's story and the wisdom she achieves through the various dramatic and hilarious experiences, this book is a motion picture with you in the lead role. You as the 'hero' who can beat the most stubborn of villains — most of which lie deep within us…our fear, unkindness, selfish interests, negative thoughts and jealousy. You as the 'heroine' who is sharp and witty in talking, selfless and caring in love, and charming and beautiful inside out, like none other (perhaps a 2.0 version of you). Walk with Kiara to find a better you, because It Doesn't Hurt to be Nice.Product details

Read My Review of It Doesn’t Hurt To Be Nice:

“It Doesn't Hurt To Be Nice is the fabulous book authored by Amisha Sethi. The book It Doesn't Hurt To Be Nice is a perfect entertainer with an interesting plot which doesn't let you put down the book. I would recommend this book to every human being living on this planet who think that he or she is nice or want to be nice. So… are you NICE? Or would you like to be NICE? Then just go for it. Because IT DOESN'T HURT TO BE NICE. I will give 4.15 out of 5 stars to this really nice book IT DOESN'T HURT TO BE NICE”- RDH Sir.

Product Details

·            Title: It Doesn’t Hurt To Be Nice: Rediscover Life with a Pinch of Salt and Humour

·            Author: Amisha Sethi

·            Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors (16 September 2015)

·            Paperback: 144 pages

·            Language: English

·            ISBN-10: 938266548X

·            ISBN-13: 978-9382665489

·            Product Dimensions: 13 x 0.8 x 19.7 cm

Buy @ Rs 122 from my zapstore


Just the Way You Are

51wZYBABKEL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg 

About the Author

Sanjeev Ranjan is an ardent lover of western classical and instrumental music.He enjoys reading and has a keen interest in understanding human behavior and relationships. He is currently pursuing his MBA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Kolkata. He is the author of It’s No Longer a Dream (2014) and In Course of True Love! (2012). This is his third novel.

Blurb of the Book

Love happens when you least expect it…

Sameer is a Steve Jobs fan, a consultant at an investment bank, and a confused soul looking for love. As he moves cities to study and work, he falls in and out of love,but fails to find the one person who belongs with him. In comes Shagun, whom he marries. But he leaves the very next day for Switzerland…to start a dream Job. In the meantime, Shagun starts reading his diary! What does she find in there?

Will this spell the end of their marriage? With Sameer not around to defend himself,what is the future of their relationship?

Just the Way You Are is a humorous, heart-warming story about one man’s quest for true love.

 

Product Details

·         Title: Just the Way You Are

·         Author: Sanjeev Ranjan

·         Publisher: Random House India (21 December 2014)

·         Paperback: 224 pages

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 8184006349

·         ISBN-13: 978-8184006346

·         Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2 cm

Buy @Rs 109 from my zapstore


 Visit my Zapstore to buy above products

Register on Zapstore

Important Note: I am making my own store for the #BestZapStore activity at BlogAdda in association with Zapstore. ”

Tags: Zapstore, BestZapStore, BestZapCurator, BlogAdda



Previous blog post: Review of Swachchhandi (390 visits within a day)

Latest Visitor Counter: 479226

Saturday 20 August 2016

#BookLysis: स्वच्छंदी - Its all about LIFE... (Pranav Joshi) 3.5/5*

१४२७ वा दिवस
१४६ वी अनुदिनी
२३ वी पुस्तक समिक्षा
द्वितीय (मराठी) पुस्तक समिक्षा
प्रथम काव्यसंग्रह समिक्षा

नमस्कार मित्रहो! १ डिसेंबर २०१४ अर्थात जवळपास दीड वर्षाहून अधिक काळानंतर मी मराठीत अनुदिनी (ब्लॉग) लिहितोय. संगणक आल्यानंतर खरच मराठी अनुदिनी लिहिणं खूप कमी झालंय आणि अलीकडे या अनुदिनीवर इंग्रजी समिक्षा सुरु झाल्यानंतर तर मराठी भाषा नाहीसीच झाली होती. पण असो... शेवटी मराठी भाषेचा मी छोटासा सेवक पुन्हा मराठी भाषेकडेच वळलोय. ही अनुदिनी लिहिताना खरंच मातृभाषेत पुनश्च वळल्याचा वेगळाच आनंद होतोय. तर असो... मी आज पुन्हा सवयीप्रमाणे भाषण देणार नाही. (तसंही वर जे काही लिहिलंय हे भाषणाहून कमी आहे का? हाहाहा... :) ! या अनुदिनीच्या जुन्या वाचकांना आठवत असेल की मी तीन वर्षापूर्वी २७ नोव्हेंबर २०१३ रोजी टू द लास्ट बुलेट या मुंबई वर झालेल्या २६/११ दहशतवादी हल्ल्यातील शहीद ‘आयपीएस’ अधिकारी श्री अशोक कामटे यांच्या जीवनचरित्राची मराठी भाषेत समिक्षा प्रसिद्ध केली होती. त्यानंतरही बरीच मराठी पुस्तके वाचून काढली पण समिक्षा लिहिण्याचा योग आला नाही. गतवर्षी ‘रोजगार नोकरी संदर्भ’ या साप्ताहिकातून परिचय झालेले सेवानिवृत्त पोलीस निरीक्षक श्री नामदेव राठोड यांचे आत्मचरित्र ‘वादळवाट’ वाचून समिक्षा कागदावर लिहून ठेवली, मात्र अद्याप वर्ष उलटून देखील ती समिक्षा येथे प्रसिद्ध न करू शकल्याचा खेद आहे. पण ती समीक्षाही आता लवकरच या अनुदिनीवर प्रसिद्ध करण्याचा माझा प्रयत्न असेल. तर असो... या अनुदिनीच्या प्रारंभी हे सर्व नमूद करण्याचे कारण हेच की आज मी पुन्हा मराठीत एका मराठी पुस्तकाची समिक्षा प्रसिद्ध करत आहे. वर नमूद केल्याप्रमाणे ही माझी दुसरी (खरंतर पहिलीच) मराठी समिक्षा आहे कारण यापूर्वीची मराठी समिक्षा केलेले पुस्तक हे इंग्रजीतून मराठीत भाषांतरीत होते. यापूर्वी मी विविध प्रकारच्या पुस्तकांचे समीक्षण केले पण त्यात कोणतेही काव्यसंग्रह नव्हते. अर्थात ‘स्वच्छंदी’  हे पुस्तक प्रथमच काव्यसंग्रह आहे जे मी समीक्षण करतोय.

Saturday 13 August 2016

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Sister in the world

Blogpost: 145th

Day: 1420th


This is the 13th August! One of the most memorable dates of my life. What’s special about this date? This is the 25th birthday of my sister. You know my unfortunate in this brother-sister relationship. I know that I don’t need to share the story again but I have been never successful to greet my lovely sister on her birthday even being in the same college or same mohalla for first two years in 2010-11. After 2011, I didn’t even dare to greet my sister though I have her home’s landline telephone number. Today I have one number which is saved in my phone by the name of Tai (Sister) since the time we were in the same college but still, I am not sure whether the particular number really belongs to my sister or someone else and I am consoling myself about having her number. I am really not sure how come that number saved in my mobile but I know that someone of my the then friend circle would have been saved that number by the name of my Sister. After finding that number in my contacts list, I was just shocked with surprise but I can’t deny that someone would have played a prank with me. Possibly, he might have done this as a joke? Joke? Yes! My entire life has been a joke since I get to know that my sister doesn’t acknowledge me her brother. I could not win her heart. Though she said that she has excused me and she doesn’t have any misunderstanding about me, I can’t stop blaming myself for not clearing her misunderstandings personally! I can’t excuse myself for not showing a confidence to greet her on her birthday. I can’t excuse myself. I know how much I love. Yes! I love her… My heart knows what did I acknowledge her and what did her image, name and entire SHE means to me. She is my SISTER. I acknowledged her my sister on the very first day I saw her in 2009 when I didn't even know that we were going to learn In the same college. But one misconception spoiled my entire feelings for her. I didn’t get even a single chance to confess her my feelings. However, I let her know my feelings through our mutual friends somehow. I wrote a full Marathi novel MAAZI TAI: Ek Athvan on our relationship. I shared my each and every feeling in my full fledged 4 big diaries and consoled myself life talking her.

I don’t know, what my readers (means you) are thinking about me and this blog post right now.  I have a doubt that even you are understanding what I am writing about… My readers matter a lot for me. You are my strength to keep this blog on. But today I really don’t care about you. (Please note the word ‘today’)! Because Today is the special day. And by the way, today I am not writing for you. I am writing for my sister even I am aware that she doesn’t exist in this virtual world of internet as far as I know. I know that she might have forgotten me- her rejected brother. But I didn’t acknowledge her my sister to forget her! I don’t build relationships to forget. But still, I didn’t lose my hopes. My brain knows that I can’t meet her in this birth but my heart always denies this fact and let me hope that we will meet somewhere somehow and she will accept me her brother like a melodrama. I am still hoping for such miracle… Who knows that she might have existed in this virtual world by other name or surname? Who knows that she would be reading my blog posts? Who know somehow my feelings would reach to her? Who knows she might be reading this blog post right now…

“I tried to forget her but I failed

I tried to replace her but I was deceived”

I never forced her to accept me her brother. But I can’t simply forget or replace my sister. She is my sister from the bottom of my heart. Her place is reserved in a special corner of my heart. I know just one thing, she will remain my sister until my last breath. I have been praying for her every day since 2010 and I will keep praying for my sister’s happiness until the last day of my life. It doesn’t matter for me that how far she lives or she loves me or hates me.

I just want to say her that please forgive me for what I didn’t. Please accept me your brother. Because I am still waiting for you to pick your phone up and greet me on two occasions of my birthday and Rakshabandhan. I just want me to call you on your birthday and greet you first than anyone, but all my wishes are just my hopes or (dreams) which I am still hoping to come true. Finally, I would say that I miss her. I still love her. I still care for her.

Oh, Allah! Please bless my sister a happy, successful, prosperous and healthy life. Cherish her with the utmost respect, happiness, and satisfaction with your blessings and love. Greet her from her innocent brother on her birthday.

happy-birthday-sister.jpg


उधान फुटलं या भावाच्या सुखाला

आज प्रतीक्षेनंतर हा दिन आला

उधान फुटलं या भावाच्या सुखाला

 

माझ्या मनी राहील तुझी आठवण

भाऊ - बहिणीच्या प्रेमाची साठवण

कधी न पाहो तू गं जीवनी दुःखाला

 

सदा गं जीवनी तू हसती राहो

अल्लाह तुला सदा सुखातच ठेवो

हिच प्रार्थना ईश्वर चरणी देवाला

 

पुर्या हो ताई सर्व तुझ्या ईच्छा

वाढदिवसाच्या तुला गं हार्दिक शुभेच्छा

भिडू दे ताई नाव तुझं या गगनाला

कवी- राजेश डी. हजारे (RDH) 


Gush Has Grown To The Happiness Of This Brother

This day has arisen after so long awaited today

Gush has grown to the happiness of this brother

 

Your memories will alive in my heart

Storage of love between brother and sister

May you never see sorrow

 

May you always keep smiling in life

May Allah always keep you in happiness

This is my only wish to the God

 

May your all wishes come true sister

I wish you a very Happy Birthday

May spread your name to the sky sister.

Poet – Rajesh D. Hajare (RDH)


 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAI (SISTER)


From,

A brother (Rajesh)



Previous Blogpost: Detailed #BookLysis of the novel 'The Story of A Suicide' (3450 Visits and 5 Comments)

Visitor Counter: 473976

Sunday 7 August 2016

Detailed #BookLysis of the novel 'The Story of A Suicide'

1414th Day

144th Blogpost

22nd Book Review (BookLysis)


I am back with one more book review today. I avoid reading books online, but I got to know about a book which is published only on internet. Topic and the title attracted me to open the website and go through some chapters. I browsed the website and started reading. I must mention that when I did finish all 31 chapters of the book in one seating, I myself did not understand. I know that your curiosity to know the title is being increased now. So, let me tell you that I am sharing the detailed book review of THE STORY OF A SUICIDE by Sriram Ayer. This is my first review of any novel I have read online.

mainbanner.jpg

Cover of ‘The Story of a Suicide’ (Illustrations by Ghana | Image Courtesy: Indiblogger)

Title: ‘The Story of a Suicide’  is a catchy and interesting title. ‘O’ in the ‘Story’ is illustrated by the noose which attracts readers to read the novel.

Language: The language of the novel is lucid so one does not need to refer dictionary while reading ‘The Story of a Suicide’. The author uses some bold words in the novel which suits in particular scenes. Use of a French slang in the novel shows author’s knowledge of various languages.

Writing Style: Author uses the first person narrative style in the novel. The narration of dialogues has been done brilliantly. Scenes are described in detail. Tweets and Facebook posts are highlighted in italic fonts. Overall, author Sriram Ayer’s writing style impressed me a lot.

Unique Feature: The scenes are portrayed by the amazing Illustrations illustrated by Ghana in the novel ‘The Story of a Suicide’.

Characterization: ‘The Story of a Suicide’ is a gripping novel that tells the stories of Hari, Charu, Sam and Mani, whose lives are interconnected in a web of love, passion, revenge and deceit.

Author portrays all the characters in a fabulous way. Hari aka Hariprasad Hegde is a shy boy. Charu is a straight-forward and fearless girl. Sam is a student of computer and technology. Readers meet other characters like Aditya, Alex, Anwar, Mr. and Mrs. Hegde who leads the story to the climax.

Plot and Story:  ‘The Story of a Suicide’ is narrated into 31 chapters on the website.

‘The Story of a Suicide’ begins with the celebration of Theyyam festival . The speaker tells that Theyyam festival is celebrated by performing Theyyam Dance and worshipping goddess ‘Bhagavathy’ in northern Kerala. Hari’s father explains Theyyam in the chapter ‘Dance of Death’- “’Theyyam’ derived from the word ‘Deivam’ or ‘God’ is a popular ritual in the North Malabar regions of Kerala. It is a confluence of art, music, dance, worship and story-telling by dancers who narrated stories of local legends and from Hindu mythology.”  The novel gives information about Suicide by Hanging. Sam reads two ways of performing suicide by hanging (suspension hanging and drop hanging) from Wikipedia. Suspension hanging is described in brief in the novel. The novel tells an importance of the tenth day of the holy month of Moharram in the chapter ‘All About Burning’- “The 10th day of the month of Moharram is the day of Ashoora, a day of mourning for all Muslims. It is a ritual to mourn the brutal murder of Hussein Ali who was the grandson of Prophet ‘say All’’hu ‘alay-hi wa-sallam’. He sacrificed his life for the Prophet’s sake; he stands as a role model for all Muslims. Thus, they keep Islam before even their life.”  I believe that author appeals readers to support Hindu-Muslim unity with the reference of Theyyam from Hinduism and Moharram from Islamism. The fourteenth chapter comments on the personal life of an American singer Frank Sinatra. ‘The Sting’ remarks beautiful ‘warli’ tribal designs painted on pots.

Sam explains some words related to computer and technology. He tells about JARVIS (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) which helps Tony Stark to transform into a superhero Iron Man. He defines Android system- “Android is an operating system for mobile phones, like Microsoft Windows is for personal computers. It’s developed by Google.” He defines Cloud- “Cloud computing means running an application or storing data in a network of computers connected virtually through the Internet.” Sam also introduces another technical term like ‘Trojan’ and ‘dick pick’.

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Illustrations by Ghana | Image Courtesy: Chapter 10 of ‘The Story of a Suicide

The conversation between Charu and a teenage African stranger on video chatting website is more than amazing. All tweets and Facebook chatting between Aditya and Sam are enough to turn your organs on hahaha :lol:! Author has beautifully portrayed the intimacy scene in the chapter ‘High and Dry’.

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Illustrations by Ghana | Image Courtesy: Chapter 29 of ‘The Story of a Suicide

The novel comments on sensitive topic like Sexuality and Homosexuality. I would like to quote a paragraph on sexuality- “I always wonder, for thousands of years, why is man afraid of sex? What makes him insecure? Why does he get angry? What makes him violent? These questions have always puzzled me. Thousands and millions of pages in our history books are full of our obsession with sex. We either like it, loathe it or condemn it. Probably if we all spent less time worrying about other’s sex lives, maybe this world would have been a better place.” The story remarks on bad sexual habits like masturbation due to lack of knowledge in younghood. The book raises a serious question of girls and women’s right to privacy.

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Illustrations by Ghana | Image Courtesy: Chapter 17 of ‘The Story of a Suicide

Charu’s Facebook post in which she writes a letter on behalf of a female organ and asks few straight forward questions to a male organ thrills me with goosebumps. Thouh I do not appreciate Charu’s language used in the letter, I must say that author Sriram Ayer deserves applauds for raising such unsaid but really sensitive questions in the community through such proclaiming way. The novel comments on psychopath who take pleasure in humiliating a victim as an act of revenge. Hari’s remark- “Believers always gave money to either gods in stone or someone dressed like one. Perhaps to see a god in fellow beings wearing plain clothes would have been rather frightful.”  is hundred percent true. Alex introduces the character of Julius Caesar from the comparative western English literature by William Shakespeare. He tells about the main plot of the epic, Mahabharatha. Charu’s dress and wardrobe in a role of Draupadi is described gracefully. Draupadi shares the sad part of her married life. Caesar (Dhruv) describes himself as general, avenger, warrior, thinker and lover. A drama ‘Caesar Meets Draupadi’ comments on Julius Caesar’s unfamiliar character. I agree with Mani’s quotation “Let us not forget the purpose, which is to live. It is important to fight (against injustice) but peace and a purposeful life is the goal. Sometimes giving up the fight is also a solution.”

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Illustrations by Ghana | Image Courtesy: Chapter 30 of ‘The Story of a Suicide

The Story of a Suicide’ touches on the various challenges that we face in life and ways to overcome them. A scene in which Sam surfs Priya’s facebook profile to view her pictures after break up relates to me. This happens when we miss someone closed. I liked the meaning of the mellifluous Kannada song ‘Jagodoharana adisidale yasode’, means- “Krishna might be master of the universe, but he was still a child to Yashoda. She knew that her son was the Lord himself: still, she was anxious if he might fall, helpless, when she could not comprehend his mumblings, worried when he would not eat, but cried when he smiled.”  This is a character sketch of every mother because a son always remains a little kid for his mother. I like Alex’s point of view when he allows Charu to stay in his apartment on her request despite thinking that what other people would say. Conversation between Charu and Sam entertains me in the first half of the chapter ‘I love you’. A father’s emotions after hearing a son confessing he is ‘gay’ are realistic but I don’t think that parent’s shouting can be a reason to commit suicide.

Reviewer’s Opinion: The Story of a Suicide by Sriram Ayer comments on frustration, depression, failure, pain, humiliation, regret, rejection, betrayal, defeat, loss, heartbreak, insult and so many other reasons of a suicide. I think that “a suicide can not be a solution of any problem, it doesn’t matter how big your problem is!” the life is too big and has lot of opportunities. One should never give up after facing challenges. God never does wrong with anyone, who knows that God might have decided a better plan for you instead of incidents you are considering as your failure today. Negative thoughts demotivate us and encourage to take such negative steps like committing suicide. We should discuss our problems with our friends and family to overcome from such negative thoughts and to find a solution of our problems. We should think in a positive way and defeat negativity like doing such coward acts. At the end, I would like to conclude my opinion with the final quotation by the Charu in ‘The End’- “If everyone who has a problem decided to commit suicide, this world will be filled with only dead people.”

I would rate 4.3 on the scale of 5 stars to the novel ‘The Story of a Suicide.’”

Watch this amazing video trailer of the novel The Story of a Suicide

Summary of “The Story of a Suicide”:

Today’s youngsters are expressive, self-absorbed, independent, afraid, hurried, fearless, fame hungry, but surprisingly resilient. In a world that makes unreasonable demands of them, many are disillusioned about their education, relationships, jobs, sexuality, bullying, and abuse. In the backdrop of a powerful story and visuals, this project aims to reach out to young people, by verbalizing their struggles through the story, informing the do’s and don’ts when they face challenges, and providing a platform to share their experience.

“The Story of a Suicide” is available to read online for free at http://www.storyofasuicide.com/


Notes:

  • Some quotations are used in this review from the novel ‘The Story of a Suicide’ for the reference. Reviewer does not claim any rights on any quotation used here as it is or with modification from the novel.
  • This book review is a part of #IndiChange topic “The Story of a Suicide in association with NalandaWay Foundation and IndiBlogger.
  • © Rajesh D. Hajare (RDH) reserves all rights to be identified as the reviewer of this review of The Story of a Suicide.

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