My Life Savers

I hate to remember my life back in 2004. They were the worst days of my life, when I was in 11th and 12th Junior College. I completed my schooling in Kalyan, but then dad brought this new big house in Navi-Mumbai and we shifted to our new house as soon as my 10th Board exams got over. All over vacation, waiting for my 10th results to come out, I use to spend my time working in our new garden. Planting new flower plants, cleaning garden and playing with our new pup were my only time pass back then.

 The result came out and I joined Junior college opting for Science stream. Before joining college, I was very nervous (the usual anxiety we all get when we are going to totally new place). This city was clearly new for me. My old school friends were in Kalyan and here I didn’t had any friend so far. I remember calling my best friend from school and wishing her luck for the first day in the college. On the contrary, she was excited and happy because she had our other school mates to go along with her.

To be frank, forget my first day but the rest of the year went boring. I failed to make new friends in this new place. I did try my best to start a conversation with new people, sharing my interest, laughing at their not-so-funny jokes, greeting them good morning and good byes, but that was it. I noticed even before joining college, they had their own group (a close group who clearly said no entry for newcomers). Out of curiosity, I asked few students that how they made such a great group.

They just use to smile and reply “Oh! This is our school group.”

And I knew the answer – I was an outsider. It irritated me to the core and somehow I started blaming this new house for my loneliness.

I started thinking “If dad had not brought this new house, we would have never left Kalyan (the city where I grew and the place where my friends are enjoying their college).”

By 12th, I accepted the fact that all the students around me would only say good morning and good byes, but they would never include me in their group, share their jokes, ask me for trips etc.

Somehow, I accepted my loneliness and started spending lot of time with my dog – Blacky. Ofcourse, she was the only one who didn’t had the so called GROUP and was available for me 24*7.

(Blacky is no more, she died on 28 April 2007 due to Throat Cancer. But this friend stays in my heart for lifetime).

The worst two years of my life ended with HSC(Higher Secondary Board) exams and I was again sitting at home waiting for results. Remembering those days, I only have two words –
1. Loneliness. 2. Depression.

The whole idea of college being a FunZone became myth for me and I somehow accepted the fact that the college life they show in movies and television serials is mere fiction.

I thought I was incapable of making friends back then.

So, my routine was to attend college, come home, study and sleep. Boring, right?

But then something good came out of it. As I got lot of free time for myself (with none of my friends calling me, meeting me), I grabbed a book and started reading it. I remember the first book which I read was Jurassic Park by Micheal Crichton. Slowly, I started developing interest in reading. The next book I read was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and this book was gifted to me by my school on occasion of farewell party. And it was kept in my drawer untouched until my HSC vacations. As the time passed by, I got a habit of reading a book daily and this is how I got my life saver and my best friend.

So, from this day I never felt a need of friend to be specific.

When I joined my degree college (BSC IT), surprisingly I made loads of friends just in one day. And within a month, I had my own group of friends, who are still with me now. Friends who use to call me, plan trips with me, pull my leg, laugh at me and cry with me. But in all this I never forgot my special friend – books. I still use to read books in my degree college and my friends never use to understand why I am so crazy about them. They still call me “book worm”.

So, in all this I know one thing for sure – you have friends or you don’t have, books and animals are always your life savers.

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Introducing - Myra Bose

Hi All,

There is a new book coming in market...  Meet it's character 1, Myra Bose

Have a look at it.




So Stay Tuned for more... the next video will be releasing soon

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Interview with Dr. Banerjee

A pediatrician by profession, Vivek Banerjee lives in Saharanpur with his parents, obstetrician wife and two children. In his own words,  Dr. Vivek Banerjee, the author of ‘The Long Road‘ is a “Full time paediatrician ( by choice) and part time author ( by chance)”

Q: Could you tell us about your debut novel “The Long Road”?

It is a book about five resident doctors. They come to Grant Medical College from different backgrounds and with differing aims. Sarika is a very ambitious, hardworking and driven girl who wants to succeed at any cost. It is her life’s mission to become a neurosurgeon and excel in a field dominated by men. Her ex-boyfriend Rahul, who is a genuinely nice guy but easygoing to a fault, follows her with the hope of engineering reconciliation. Then we have Ranjiv the rebel, whose only aim in life is to chart a path different from the one his famous doctor dad wants him to walk. Hina is a bright and beautiful girl from a conservative and poor background, who finds the lifestyle changes more challenging than the burden of academics. And lastly, there is Sagarika, the girl who finds her American dream going horribly wrong.

The novel is a peek into the life of doctors in the making; it is about little triumphs and defeats, love and friendship and the struggle they have to face in balancing their professional and personal lives. It is an attempt to explore the world of these five individuals and documents their journey to find some meaning in life.

Q: Any character (from your book) that felt was a reflection of you? Something about the character

you would've wanted to change?

You may not believe it, but the book is not autobiographical. I don’t think any character resembles me even remotely. Anyway, it is much more fun to write about interesting fictional characters than base them on real life boring people (like me).

Q: How does it feel to handle two professions simultaneously – being a doctor and recently being an

author?

No problems with that as I have just one profession, that of a pediatrician. I am an author by hobby and writing is more or less a means to escape from the pressures and stresses of my profession. I have no pretensions of being a serious / full-time writer.

Q: Nobel Prize for Literature or the Man Booker? Which one you prefer and Why?

Neither! As I said earlier I am fully aware as my limitations as an author. I just want some audience for my work. If my book brings a smile to your face and finds even a minuscule place in your heart, that is reward enough for me……..

Q: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Not much. I just wanted to give the reader a peek into the world of doctors and talk about the dilemmas, trials and tribulations they face in their day to day life. I wanted to highlight the conflict every doctor has to face in balancing his/her personal and professional life. And above all, I wanted to write a feel good book, something that would leave every reader with a warm feeling in his/ her heart. Whether I have succeeded or not is up-to you all to decide.

Q: Was getting published a difficult task?

Let me just say that it is much easier to write a novel than to find a good publisher.

Q: Which is one thing which you would like to change about Indian Publishing Industry? And Why?

Now that is a loaded question. But I just wish that the industry was not so personality, publicity and commerce driven. Now I have told you what I wish for but I don’t have the foggiest notion of how that can be achieved.

Q: After “The Long Road”, what next?

 My contribution to Chicken Soup for the soul- Indian doctors has been accepted and is under publication. Few short stories are under consideration for various anthologies. And I wish to write a thriller this time, maybe a medical thriller, a genre unexplored in India till now. A collection of stories about paranormal is also on the anvil. So exciting times ahead, at least for me.

And I continue to blog at http://drvbanerjee.blogspot.com/

Thank you Dr. Banerjee for sparing some time out from your busy schedule to share your experience with "Things in Black n White" readers. May you debut novel get a good readership and we get to read more and more from your end.

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My love never faked by Nikhil Mahajan

 
The main protagonist is Abhay, who is notorious guy, pursuing his degree course. He already has an angel like girlfriend named Priya. But Abhay does not value her. He did everything to avoid Priya, may be not on purpose, but Priya was never his first priority. In all this, Abhay’s notorious nature leads him to some escort website and there he meets Ellenor. To add to Abhay’s problem, Ellenor comes to India and then something happens…which changes Abhay’s and Priya’s life. Obviously breakup was on the card. So, will Abhay be able to convince Priya that his love never faked? Or that was end of their relationship?

Well starting with cover page, the white and red combination is always appealing (at least for me)…and so the book cover is interesting from my point of view. Now moving on to the King i.e content. This is not the usual boy meets girl and girl meets boy, they fight and then make up and they live happily ever after kind of book. Here the boy already has a girlfriend, and he is trying his hands on some another girl with whom he met on website(escort website).

The main motive of author is clear in this book. Even though this book is purely based on the author’s personal life and his relationship with his girlfriend, by the end of book he wants to leave a message to the young generation. The book leaves a message which explains what might happen if you do few wrong things. It might destroy your relationship with your loved ones forever and once a trust broken can never be gained back.

The major problem with the book is its grammatical mistakes. There are loads of spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes and formatting errors. (Note: The author has mentioned that he has rectified these mistakes in his upcoming edition.) But as I was reading the book, I could not ignore these mistakes and so I could not link well, no matter how much unique the plot was. Secondly, I thought the book would have been more gripping, if author would have added more emotions and more detailing to the scenes.

Overall, it’s a different read and can be picked up by those who loves reading love stories.

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Book review of Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim

I ordered this book for my sister(a teen), as she was fascinated by the title ‘Skunk Girl’. Well, she read it and kept on saying me that this book rocks. It made me curious and I thought of reading it too. So, here I am writing the review of ‘Skunk Girl’.

Let me start with the basic idea of story.
Nina Khan is a sixteen year old Pakistani girl who was born and brought up in Deer Hook. Coming from conservative Pakistani family, she has many restrictions. No sleepovers, no parties, no talking to boys and many more… While her friends enjoy weekend and parties, Nina has to stay at home and study. And more to her frustration, she is hairy!! A long strip of black hair runs down on her back which resembles ‘Skunk’. And guess who saw it? Her crush ‘Asher Richelli’, a cute new Italian transfer student.
Does she stand any chance to impress Asher?
Will her life be more interesting, even after so many restrictions?
Nina is always compared to her elder sister, who is supernerd, and her parents wish Nina excel in exams just like her supernerd sister.

The book starts on interesting note, with Nina giving introduction about her Parents and their love for Pakistani culture. It grabs the readers interest as we keep on turning the pages. The author has done a wonderful job of keeping the readers hooked to each and every chapter by adding all sort of possible humor. I bet you can’t help yourself but to laugh as you go on reading further.
Author has used some cheesy dialogues which will make you giggle for sure.
“Nina, don’t talk to boys or you will get pregnant.” Says Nina’s mom.
“Sonia is in Harvard, but Nina will go to Yale University.” Nina’s parents keeps on saying everyone, making her life more complicated!
“Why is the watering can kept in bathroom? They don’t use toilet papers in Pakistan?”Nina’s American friend ask and she replies “It is called Lota.”

The clash between two culture – traditional Pakistani culture and Modern American culture is perfectly explained. And the protagonist Nina Khan is the sufferer of this clash.
What I liked about the book is beautiful character developments and beautiful way of telling story. Language used is simple yet catchy.

But the book don’t have a proper plot(if you are looking for any) as it is a series of events put together . Though the book is targeted to Young Adults, I loved reading it. A light read and it definitely refreshes the reader with the humor.I’ll give 3.5/5 to the book.

Details of Book: Skunk Girl

Book: Skunk Girl

Author: Sheba Karim

ISBN:0143331655

ISBN-13:9780143331650,978-0143331650

Binding: Paperback

Publishing Date: 2011

Publisher: Penguin Young Adult

Number of Pages: 240

Language: English

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Interview with Abhishek Bose

Debut Novel of author Abhishek Bose - Legally, Lovingly Yours is now available in Indian Market. He is a  final year law student, still studying and has already a novel published. So, let's here what Abhishek Bose has to say about his journey and his debut novel Legally, Lovingly Yours.
Exclusively for Things and Black and White readers, Abhishek Bose has taken sometime out from his busy schedule (he is busy in marketing the book as of now).

Me: Tell us something about your novel.

Abhishek: My book is a college romance, but unlike the one's written by students of IITs and IIMs...mine is based in a fictitious law school in Dehradun.

The book is titled ‘Legally, Lovingly Yours’ as it's a love story in a law school. So, I wanted the title to be a bit catchy.

Me:   What are the good and bad experiences you had in your journey so far?

Abhishek: Talking about the first journey, it was long, a bit frustrating at times, but overall exciting. I faced some problems while writing such as ‘writer's block’ and ‘invasion of privacy’.

Coming to the second journey, it was tougher than the first one. I got rejected by 4-5 publishers before Mahaveer Publishers accepted it. And the journey is still on :)

Me: How did you get plot idea for ‘Legally, lovingly yours’?

Abhishek: The idea for plot came to me while I was in a bus.

I was in Delhi and was traveling with a friend of mine when we struck up a conversation about the first time authors and increasing number of books of students from IITs, IIMs, etc.

I just mentioned the unavailability of any book by a law school student, to which she replied 'Tum Likhna' (You Write). These two words stuck with me and thus the seeds were sown.

Me: Which character in your novel you can relate yourself to?

Abhishek: Candidly speaking, I can relate myself to the main protagonist of the novel, who goes by the same name as mine – Abhishek. My character and characteristics at times matches with the protagonist. Well, you can say that I based the main lead on myself.

Me: How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

Abhishek: About my personality I can only say that I have somewhat based the main protagonist on myself. So may be it reflects me as I am.

Regarding life experiences… Well, some incidents have been taken from my friends and my life. But overall it's a work of fiction.

Me: Who, if anyone, has influences your writing?

Abhishek: Regarding getting influenced, I can't say that I got influenced by anybody or not. This is because, be it my home or college, nobody till now has attempted such a task. Moreover, I was not in touch with any author previously. It all happened when I started networking to promote my book.

Me: Anything you like to say to your readers?

Abhishek: All I want to say is that please read my book and do give your feedback and criticism both.  Positive and negative comments are welcome. It would help me in the future writings...Happy Reading!! :)

Thank you Abhishek for your valuable time and interview specially for Things in Black and White blog and it's readers. We wish you all the success in your future plans and hope to read more novels by you in the near future.

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Make book reading as activity

“Books are man’s best friend” these wise words are long forgotten by the young generation. With the growing craze of social networking and online games, our young generation is neglecting book and their reading habits. They prefer to browse social networking sites rather than spending their spare time in reading books and novels. Now what can be done to grow their interest in books reading? The school and colleges should give special activities to the students – book reading. They can be asked to read any book of their choice and then a day should be decided where students will discuss about the books they have read recently. This will not only grow reading interest among the young generation but also help them to improve their vocabulary and language. What more? Teachers can provide few points/internal marks to the students if they write a book review of their favorite book.

There are many young adult novels available in market, which are specially targeting to the teenage group. These novels are not only interesting but also has beautiful story plot designed keeping teenage group in mind. But they are not getting proper recognition, as our young adult generation is busy surfing social networking sites and prefer to watch movies rather than reading the original books.

A small attempt by school and colleges can help to divert the young generation’s attention back to book reading. Summer vacations are the best time to explore the new books and novels available in market and I feel students should add book reading as a mandatory activity to their summer schedule. A summer book reading group can be formed, where students can discuss the story plot and characters from their favorite books. This way they can explore large range of books available.

This article was published in DNA Newspaper

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