Long- Short stories
A fast easy-breezy read – That’s what made me pick up Long-Short Stories by Chetan Soni. Its collection of 5 Romantic stories will catapult you to rosy romance. I want to start with the story I liked the most – What’s in a Name. Two star-crossed lovers, Krish and Lakshmi, find themselves at crossroads with hidden scars. They run from their past in the guise of lies only to finally find the love and peace they were looking for, in each other’s arms! The Chronicles of Raghu Kapoor, to me, was a bit bland among all. It’s dosed with filmy overthinking – lack of courage to say the right words at right time may snub over a flame. Some relationships are just nipped in the buds because we overthink the consequences. The stories are well-spun and all the characters are well- sketched. However, since all are short stories, there was a certain rush towards the moral of the story. There are abrupt dosages of enlightenment in name of “once a wise man said” a few places which fused the flow of the story. If you are looking for a light read and to get over the reading slump, this can be the answer to your woes!
STONED! The Untold Story of CO-Weed-20
STONED! The Untold Story of CO-Weed-20 By Gautam Mayekar is a sci-fi story set in the pandemic scenario. Amar, the self-proclaimed superhero or rather, The Batman along with his Catwoman, Joanna, and best friend Mohit, fall prey to their creation – Co-Weed. The story entails how Amar and Mohit, the creators of CO-Weed, start experimenting further to augment the experience of the users. So certain percentage of increased concentration of weed led to the invention of Co-Weed 5.Riding high on multiple successful orders, they decide to take it further by selling the patent of the drug. The high sale will allow them to take a pause and enjoy an early retirement. Hell breaks loose when the plan goes astray. The book is woven with several television references. The book is also an ode to Nucleya, the author fan-boys all over him – there is a whole chapter dedicated to Nulceya. All the chapters’ names are inspired by Sit-com Friends. There are hilarious references to Bollywood movies like the coin scene from Sholay and the naming helicopter as “Dhanno”.
I did abhor the frequent references to playful substance usage of drugs. Also at times, the “moments of high” left incoherence in the storyline, I had to frequently scroll back to few pages to understand the contexts again. The language is otherwise lucid and easy to understand – however one may have to look up the Hindi song lyrics meaning to get the meaning.
A Train Story
I loved this fast paced story – A Train Story by Himanshu Goel. The plot jumps in right away to the point. However I am intrigued to know if the protagonist had personality disorder. I understand that we are our first rescue responders. We have to help ourselves first. I am not sure how can someone forget their own actions, unless it is probably a disorder? That’s one question which bothered me in the end. Overall I really liked the story and I will try to check out his other stories.
Mountain Mist & Meghalaya
I have never enjoyed a travel book as much as this one! The author is a humble explorer – he visited the same places in Meghalaya in two days. His wanderlust soul was not satisfied with the richness of solitude, the vast expanse land of Meghalaya had provided: Now that’s a heart-warming moment in the book. The author is so modest that he never failed to have meals with his driver, or his hotel staff. That is how stories are spun and memories are etched in the mind.
The language is so lucid that one sets off with the author and Kennedy, his driver in quest for beautiful Meghalaya! We travel to the misty lands of Kongthong and Shnongpdeng; we even have a boat ride on the Wah Umngot river (the bargaining made me laugh out loud!). I was touched by how beautifully the author had portrayed the simple life of the local people who believe and live “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” in true terms. Instead of waiting for others to take the brunt, local people themselves have immense respect for nature and have taken it upon themselves to preserve the sanctity of the places.
Throughout reading the book, I kept searching for images of the places the author has visited. A few photographs would have been a treat for tired, daydreaming eyes! Also, the airport woman and child story was a bit unnecessary from a travel point of view – at places, rather I felt she was piling on and offering unsolicited advice. Anyhow, I think that is how the author had encountered that particular woman.
Looking forward to more books by Urvesh Bhatt and Hanisha Raghunath!
Thank you Team HBB for the review copies.
How was your June reads? Any interesting books you may have read? Do share with me your reading piles in the comments below!
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Cheers to Reading!
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Ordo Ab Chao 