If there is one thing I can not stand and hate being around, then that has got to be the hospitals. No, I have nothing against doctors or hospitals in particular, I just can’t stand that nauseating smell that emanates from spirit, medicines and equipment. Also, I just can’t stand the sight of surgical equipment such as razor, scissors, knives etc., as I feel giddy as I instantly begin to visualize how they would be used and that mental-picture makes me overcome with dizziness.

Also, I’m a person who is very weak at heart. I can’t stand the sight of sobbing relatives, injured patients, patients waiting to be operated upon, people overcoming with sadness at the exorbitant costs of operation and/or their ability to meet those expenses. All these things make me feel that hospitals are a wretched place to be in.

Now, I know that hospitals do a lot of good, treating and curing patients and giving them a new lease of life. I also know that Doctors are the only people we would look upon, when we are in need. I am not being irrational in my hatred towards hospitals, it is just because of my being a weakling.

Now imagine my horror, when I was told that I was supposed to witness a live surgery! Not only will I have to endure the sight of the surgical instruments – that make me feel giddy only at the sight of them – but also be present when the doctors use them to operate a patient in the Operation Theater!
Yeah, I gasped and even the thought of witnessing a surgery was shit scary and beat the living daylights out of me.
Well, eventually, I had to attend and am glad to say, I was able to witness it without fainting! 😛
What helped me was that I did witness the surgery, but from the glass in the door of the operation theater. I could see everything, unfortunately, but at least, I was out of the room and that gave me solace and strength that I could run anytime if the sight was unbearable.

I witnessed a bilateral knee replacement surgery. Doctors and medical people, pardon my terminology, as I would be using layman terms to explain the surgery.

So, the patient was given local anesthesia and both his legs, from thighs to ankle, were wrapped by two layers of white tape to reduce the blood flow. Then, they tore off the tape covering the knee area and spread a yellow-colored knee drape across both the knees. And the doctor took a knife (gasp!) and cut a straight line right in the middle of the knee as if it were a rubber ball. (It actually resembled one.) And, casually, with his two hands, pulled at the two sides of the ball  knee, tearing it further and revealing the tissues inside. Horror!

Yesterday, I actually thought that I wouldn’t last long and I would faint at the first use of the knife. But, I somehow managed to stand-still. This was the most horrible part, the cutting, post that, it was manageable. Although, I am sure I lasted this long just because I was standing outside the O.T. If I were inside, the experience today would have been completely different.

Post that, the doctor used shaver blades, drill machines, hammers and nails and what not to clear the tissues until the white bone inside was clearly visible. Post that, using various equipment, he cut the upper part of the knee-bone that was affected and replaced it by an artificial implant which was attached to the bone with the help of cement. Later, they stitched the tear with the help of a needle and a thread.

So, yes, that was my first surgery that I witnessed live. Hopefully, the next time I have to go, I will muster enough courage in my heart to go inside the operation theater! And not faint! 😀

Moral : God has a really funny way of making us do the very things that we hate fervently and wish that we never have to do them!

Hats off to all those doctors, surgeons, assistants and hospital staff who endure this on a daily basis. And hats off to all the medical students aspiring to become one of these.

P.S : To those who want to know what I actually witnessed, check-out this video.. (at your own risk!) (graphic)

(This video is that of the surgery performed in a foreign location. So, there are many differences in the instruments used, but the overall procedure of the surgery is same in India as well.)

source : goodreads.com

Against All Odds is another wonderful romance novella, which is penned by JazzSingh and published by Indireads.

Sanjana, a small-town girl from Kasauli, has just passed and is on her first interior designing project in Delhi. She doesn’t have much experience but is determined, hard-working, talented and very creative. On a rainy day, she happens to slip on a wet road in front of a rich man’s car. The guy thinks she’s a con and is trying to fish money out of him and admonishes her. A self-respecting woman that she is, she doesn’t reply anything but hires an auto and goes to hospital on her own even when he insists that he would drop her. She has a hairline fracture is advised to take complete bed-rest. She hates that arrogant rich man.

But a hardworking woman that she is, she is determined to meet her deadline in the present project and works from home while her associate Mohanty takes care of all the on-site work and also checks on her everyday. When she finally is able to walk with the help of a stick, she goes to the site only to overhear a conversation between her employer and another guy who was saying that it was stupid of him to employ someone with virtually no experience for the job. Needless to say, it was the same arrogant guy, Abhimanyu, a real estate agent, who happens to be her employer’s friend.

When her employer learns that it was Abhi who had caused Sanjana the pain, albeit unintentionally, he reprimands him saying that the least he could have done was to take her to a hospital.

She again bumps into Abhi in a meeting with a prospective new client who also happens to be his friend. Although she gives much importance to her self-respect, she’s also frank with her new client and tells her that she has no experience on her very first meeting and looks at Abhi directly. The new client hires her anyway. Abhi tries to be good to her now, but she simply ignores him and doesn’t take his help.

Slowly, they keep bumping into each other at various places and both begin to change their opinions of each-other. Both grow fond of each other and soon Sanjana is in love with Abhi. Although Abhi also shows special interest towards Sanjana, she thinks he’s just sympathizing with her and wants to make up for being rude to her on their very first meet.

Although she loves him, she’s sure that they can never be together. Her lifestyle is different to that of his and so are their circles. She believes she can never fit into his lifestyle and his people would never accept her. He, well-dressed, impeccable, suave, rich and metro-man and she, a small-town girl with middle-class values. Another thing that nags her is that she isn’t sure whether he is really interested in her or if he’s simply playing her.

Once, when Abhi’s mom meets her, her doubts become clearer as she not only accuses her of trying to fish money out of his son, she also calls her names. She doesn’t say anything, just disappears from the scene without leaving a trace.

Where did she disappear? Does Abhi ever learn about this incident? Was he simply playing with her or was he genuinely interested in her? Do they meet again? Read Against All Odds to learn more.

Jazz Singh’s writing is fresh and simple. She makes the situations feel real and believable. She has nicely described the contrasting lifestyles and attitudes of Sanjana and Abhimanyu. Sanjana’s traditions, values, feelings, cheerful-nature, her life in Delhi and her life in Kasauli are also nicely expressed. She’s frank, cheery, realistic and knows her limitations. She doesn’t hold a grudge against Abhi in the beginning or his mom later in the story.

In one scene, Sanjana says that she has lived in Delhi enough to know how it goes there. That she and Abhi are just playing each-other and nothing serious is going on between them. This, when they’ve become physically intimate with each-other. So, a small-town girl from Kasauli who once stops Abhi from going beyond kissing with, “In our place, we don’t do this out of marriage,” doesn’t have qualms about sleeping with him because she wants him and is really attracted towards him even when she knows that they aren’t going to be together.

This has got to be the best description of love, attraction and the need to get closer physically in love. Although, so not like Sanjana and her small-town character, that is what love makes her do.

A very nice, romantic yet realistic read. Makes you fall in love with Sanjana instantly and Abhimanyu later on.

Connect with the author here : Jazz Singh 

The novella is published by Toronto-based publishing house Indireads, which exclusively publishes e-books and was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia.

source : goodreads.com

Girl From Fatehpur penned by Sarita Varma and published by Indireads is a short and sweet novella which falls under the genres of chick-lit and rom-com.

Sana is from small-town Fatehpur, currently residing at Mumbai. She works at a company and Krish is her colleague who is not only besotted with her but also has just proposed her. Although he’s complete marriage material and she has no particular reason to reject his proposal, she’s wary of accepting it. Unable to decide what to do, she shares her dilemma with Zoya, her flatmate. Zoya gives her the perfect idea of thinking it over a few days of break from Krish and Mumbai.

Her cousin, Renee, is getting married in Fatehpur and that becomes the perfect excuse for Sana to take a holiday. Although she has a large family waiting for her at Fatehpur, she has never been to the village ever since her parents passed away. She’s everyone’s darling and everybody’s more than happy to see her and shower her with immense love.

She also bumps into Rajan, her childhood crush, who had no interest in her when they were kids. Rajan now lives in Seattle and is wary of the institution of marriage because of his own parents’ marriage ending on a sad note. He is that ultra-modern guy who prefers to be in a relationship without having to be arrested by customs and traditions.

They keep bumping into each-other for marriage preparations and become really close that she again fancies him. This time, Rajan is also enchanted by her and really enjoys her company. Just when things seem to be headed at a concrete level, Krish jumps into the picture. He happens to be one of the cousins of the groom and he sticks to her like glue. She’s exasperated, terrified and frustrated.

Thus forms the love triangle between Rajan, Sana and Krish and both men vying to woo her and outdo each other.

Is Sana in love with Rajan or is it just infatuation? Is Rajan also in love with Sana or is it just her disillusion? Who does she finally agree to marry, Rajan or Krish? Read Girl From Fatehpur to know.

Although she’s a freelance writer and has contributed short stories for the Chicken Soup series and has written numerous articles for magazines and web sites on history, travel, health and a host of diverse topics, Girl From Fatehpur is author Sarita Varma’s debut work under fiction.

Her writing is simple, smooth-flowing and conversant. The conversations between Sana and Zoya or her cousin Devika are hilarious, whereas those between her and Rajan are sweet and romantic. The novella showcases the hustle and bustle and the chaos that follows in the house of wedding. It also showcases the transformation of a small-town girl into a fierce and mature professional. It is an ordinary story (in a good way) and so one can relate to it and it could be anybody’s story. What makes it extra-ordinary is the author’s capacity to emote to the readers through the characters. The author has very nicely described the confusion in Sana’s heart and her varied feelings at the various developments around her.

It is a sweet read. The happy ending will leave you brimming with a smile.

Connect with the author here : Sarita Varma 

The novella is published by Toronto-based publishing house Indireads, which exclusively publishes e-books and was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia.

Haveli is a romance novella set in Pakistan in 1971 where Chandni, who detests that name and stresses on being called as C, is a descendant of a rich heirloom. As her mother passed away soon after giving birth and her father abandoned her even before, she was raised by her grandmother, Bi-Amma, whom she preferred to refer as The Broad because of her strictness. C has tons of attitude, but is sharp, intelligent, sarcastic, well-read, happy-go-lucky, energetic and an eclectic woman, who loves to keep giving pet-names to people around her based on literary characters.

source: goodreads.com

She is home-schooled and so she has very few friends. Her true friends are Baba, a family friend and Zafar, her half-brother whom she really likes. She has always longed for her father, whom she calls Nameless, to return and beg for forgiveness.

As a kid, she had a huge crush on Kunwar Rohail Khanzada who’s already married and has a daughter. Now, a young and beautiful C, wants to enthrall him and tries everything in her capacity to lure him, including dressing provocatively for him. Unfortunately, Kunwar neither has any idea about this nor has any interest in her.

But what she’s more frustrated with is that Taimur, who is Baba’s son and is christened as Alpha-Male by C, can see through all her ploys and makes fun of her for being so naive. Nobody has ever made fun of her and nobody has ever make her look foolish. So, she instantly hates Taimur whom she keeps rechristening every now and then, from Heathcliff to Moriarty to Mr.Darcy.

She doesn’t hate him for nothing. Taimur is equally intelligent, very handsome, although not well-read, he can not only understand C’s sarcasm, but also reply her in same vein and more often than not, get a strong hold over her. Taimur calls her Medusa in return to the names that she has given him. Their sparkling chemistry, razor-sharp tongues’ induced verbal duels forms the highlight of the novella as they are really hilarious and make you smile.

While Bi-Amma wants C married to Taimur, she hates him even more. Never has she disobeyed The Broad, but this one time she does and immediately declines to get married to Taimur.

Her father makes a sudden entry into her life and he hasn’t come alone. He has come with a suitor. Now she’s struck between her grandmother and her father and between two guys who are vying for her love.

Why has her father suddenly appeared again? Has he any dubious intentions or is it just the fatherly love that has brought him back? Who’s the better suitor for C among the two guys? Who does C select among the two? Read Haveli to find out.

Haveli is Zeenat Mahal’s first novella but she writes like a veteran. She has a strong hold on literature and has nicely sufficed so many sub-stories within a short novella. All the characters are well-etched and the woman characters are strong and fierce. Especially Bi-Amma and C. The immaturity of C, her longing for her father, her strong attachment to her father and her immense desire to please her father once he resurfaces are nicely portrayed. Baba is another wonderful character in the novella. He loves C from all his heart and doesn’t hate her even when she rejects his son, Taimur, but supports her. While the whole novella is fast-paced and well-balanced, it has an abrupt climax which leaves the reader desiring for more.

Romance, humor, emotions and battle-of-wits. A perfect read.

She has already published her second novella, The Contract.
Connect with the author here : Zeenat Mahal

The novella is published by Toronto-based publishing house Indireads, which exclusively publishes e-books and was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia.

A Scandalous Proposition is penned by Mimmy Jain under the pen name of M.M.George and distinctly falls in the category of Indian Mills & Boons. Yes, it has got the template, a rich obnoxious guy, a middle-class girl, sparks fly when they meet, lust overpowers love in the beginning where love wins over everything in the end.

Mira Talwar has just moved to Delhi with her sister and an ailing mother after the death of her father. She’s already late for her interview and when she thinks nothing could go wrong, she ends up in wrong floor of the building. She ends up in Ranbir Dewan’s office and immediately sparks begin to fly between the two. Unfortunately for her, he’s the kind of guy who believes in bedding the girl and moving on. In less than a week, he asks her to be his mistress for 6 months. Yeah, he was obnoxious, arrogant and a rich asshole, but instead of slapping him, she refuses and gets out. Not before getting kissed and baring her bosom for him. Yes, she couldn’t stop him (and herself) when he made his move.

Next day, he calls her and says that his cousin, Tarun, is in love with her sister, Reema, but his aunt would certainly be against this alliance and that they will have to hatch a plan to include Reema in the family and for that he says that Reema should join his ailing grand-mother as her 24/7 companion. While Mira was still contemplating, Ranbir insisted that both Mira and Reema stayed at their home and that is what makes Mira suspicious about Ranbir’s intentions.

Was Ranbir genuinely concerned about his cousin? Or was he pushing for his own carnal desires to be fulfilled? Was he really that arrogant, rich, obnoxious womaniser that he appeared to be or was there more to him? What happens of Tarun-Reema and more importantly, of Ranbir-Mira? Read the novella to find out.

The writing is excellent and enjoyable. The setting is wonderful, rich guy who appears to be obnoxious womaniser, a middle-class girl who’s headstrong and traditional yet modern. It’s a racy-plot with lots of nitpicking and loads of fireworks, both verbal and romantic, between Ranbir and Mira. The relation between Ranbir and his family members is nicely depicted where slowly Mira learns about Ranbir who’s not obnoxious asshole. The conversations and battle-of-wits of Ranbir and Mira are filled with loads of hilarity and fun. The best part of the novella is the sizzling chemistry between Ranbir and Mira. The attraction that they feel for each-other is just too strong but not so strong that Mira would forget her traditional values (and society) and give in to his scandalous proposition even though she’s very much tempted to accept it. And almost does. Twice.

A spicy read. Perfect (spicy) mix of romance, humor, relationships and love. Romance fanatics and chick-lit lovers would totally love reading it.

Connect with the author here : M.M George

The novella is published by Toronto-based publishing house Indireads, which exclusively publishes e-books and was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia.

The Perfect Groom is a short and simple story set in a Tamil household and the situations described in it are daily happenings in most of the middle-class households in most parts of India. It’s the story of the various struggles of women in various roles, that of a wife, a daughter, a sister, a childhood friend etc., and their sacrifices just to keep their family happy and appease the ‘charitable’ relatives.

source : goodreads.com

Nithya, her mother and her small sister live with her uncle and aunt since her father passed away leaving behind nothing for them. Her uncle and aunt were cunning, selfish and cruel to the three but always maintained that they were a family in front of the society and world. The uncle and aunt never did anything for them without desiring a return favor/gift and always ruled over their lives and never allowing them to grow and be independent.

One fine day, they bring a  NRI proposal for Nithya and her mother is over the moon with happiness that finally her brother and sister-in-law have had a change of heart. Although Nithya refuses to get married so soon, her mother forces her to get married lest she upset the ‘kind’ uncle and aunt. Of course, there is a catch. What is it? Why are they suddenly so ‘kind’ towards her? Read the novella to find out.

Sumeetha Manikandan has a knack of observation and she has so easily incorporated situations and conversations from real life into the novella that it gnaws at your heart and instantly makes you feel for Nithya. The character of Nithya is a strong one who is optimistic, looking forward to a bright future even when her present is nothing short of hell, she adjusts to her surroundings without complaining and is willing to undergo the torture for a few more years just so that her sister doesn’t face any problems in getting a match. A divorcee in the family is not only a bad name, but it also becomes difficult for the siblings to get matches even today in most parts of India.

Sometimes you hate Nithya and some other characters like her mother and sister for being quiet for so long and being martyrs instead of fighting back. But then, given the story, you do understand that they had no other option but bear everything that their uncle and aunt made them to bear.

Her childhood friend Vasu who happens to meet her accidentally in US and then their encounters that follow are the only parts that are really feel good and make you smile. But once their relationship goes to the next level, he acts like a big a**hole which seemed unreal and so uncharacteristic of him.

Nithya’s uncle-aunt and her MIL-DIL are the real antagonists of the novella and they try everything that they can to make her life difficult but she bears everything silently.
Nithya’s husband is another abusive rascal who abuses her and his own parents for no reason.
The only good person in her life in US is a restaurant owner who becomes her employer and also a good friend.

The Perfect Groom is a read that will leave you sad for most part but make you feel good with the perfect happy ending.

Connect with the author here : Sumeetha Manikandan

The novella is published by Toronto-based publishing house Indireads, which exclusively publishes e-books and was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia.

The Contract is a novella penned by a Pakistani author, Zeenat Mahal. I have read many authors outside of India, but seldom something interesting had come my way across the border except ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ a long time ago. And I didn’t know this was penned by a Pakistani author until Lahore was mentioned in the novella and I was genuinely surprised. Yes, I had started reading the novella without going through the author bio.

source : goodreads.com

Natasha lives with her grand-mother, Aunt Salma, as her mother Rutaba has passed away and her father Hussain is busy conquering corporate battles in a distant foreign land. Shahira is a divorcee, has a 7 years old son and is a teacher to Natasha. Aunt Salma plays cupid and wants Shahira and Hussain to get married. Both have had bad marriages and weren’t ready to get into a relationship but both understand the situation and enter into a contract that is mutually benefiting.

More than marriage, it is an employment for her where she gets paid to take care of the daughter and ailing mother and he never comes to visit them. She finds it outrageous and ridiculous when he first makes the offer, but later acquiesces. So, they get married over telephone and things are going smooth until Aunt Salma forces Hussain to visit home once and when he does, he no longer wishes to abide by the contract.

Rest of the novella is all about their battle of wits, how they go from being hostile towards each-other to finally becoming friends and ultimately falling in love.

The writing is wonderful. All the characters are strong and instantly lovable. You begin to identify with both the protagonists and their aversion to new relationships because of their tragic past. The relationships between Shahira and Aunt Salma is nothing like a normal MIL-DIL, but is all lovey-dovey. Shahira is intelligent, adorable, sweet, understanding, caring yet vulnerable, scared and immensely lovable. Hussain is charming, witty, slightly arrogant but is caring and understanding. Their chemistry is perfect.

The best part of the novella was the battle of wits and that fight to put each other in their place even before they actually met. Once they meet, the fight only gets even more funnier, wittier, hilarious and the replies, especially Shahira’s, even more scathingly sharper. Ultimately, their brickbats turn to normal talks and finally into love. It is a feel-good novella and you’ll find smiling more-so-often and it’ll leave you yearning for more.

A must-read for all romance fanatics.

Connect with the author here : Zeenat Mahal

The novella is published by Toronto-based publishing house Indireads, which exclusively publishes e-books and was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia.

source : santabanta.com

First of all, let me clarify, I am no Sajid Khan fan. And I am not writing this review of Humshakals to defend him or the movie or anything, I am writing the review just because I enjoyed it and I felt, I need to write about it, more so because everybody was thrashing the movie left and right without even watching it. Just because it was a Sajid Khan movie, a man whom everybody loves to hate.

Ashok (Saif Ali Khan) is the billionaire heir of the Singhania empire that K.A.N.S Mamaji (Ram Kapoor) wants to steal. Kumar (Riteish Deshmukh) is Ashok’s best-friend and always supports him. Mamaji hatches a plan that sends the duo to a mental asylum that already has an another set of duo, two lookalikes or Humshakals of Ashok and Kumar with the same names. The rest of the story is not hard to guess. The lookalikes get out and the real ones are trapped inside the asylum. Rest of the story is about how the real ones get out and all the confusion that unfolds, before stopping Mamaji in his evil plans.

Among the female leads, the movie features the Tamannaah Bhatia as Shanaya, a reality show host and Ashok’s love interest., Bipasha Basu as Mishti, estate manager of Ashok and Kumar’s love interest., and Esha Gupta as Dr. Shivani Gupta, a doctor at the mental asylum. The girls don’t have much to do except look glamorous, sing and dance.

There are 3 pairs of Ashok, Kumar and Mamaji and one of the pairs is of drag where Saif romances Riteish, Riteish romances Saif and Ram romances his own female version. While it is hard to digest, it is fun and laughter-evoking. The drag seems dragged after a bit, but it is hilarious nevertheless.

Satish Shah, Darshan Jariwala and Chunky Pandey are the other characters in the movie. Even Prince Charles makes his Bollywood debut and gets to speak a few words of Marathi and Hindi, which I think was really funny.

In the drag and gay versions, Riteish is the boss as he has already played them before in his career. Saif is great as the rich billionaire, but falls short in all other characters. Saif can do witty comedy perfectly, but he is not the one for gay or drag kind of comedy. Ram Kapoor is wonderful as the evil mamaji, maniac OCD patient who gets mad when someone sneezes around him and gets calm only when someone offers him a lollipop, but is really scary in the drag version. [I know I’m being mean here :P]

The movie is mad, senseless, mindless, illogical and stupid. Yes, it is. Some portions are exaggerated, irritating and annoying, as well. But the movie is nothing close to painful or torturous or a work of sadism or an insult to audience, as most critics made it out to be. It is funny and hilarious and entertaining.

There were many scenes that were cringe-worthy as well, dialogues made of SMS forwards, some bad emulation of yesteryear greats from Bollywood, but all the negatives put aside, over-all the movie was enjoyable.

If you keep your prejudices against Sajid Khan and his arrogance aside, don’t go by the scathing reviews by the critics, and watch the movie, I think you’d enjoy it as well.

P.S : I didn’t find anything ‘disturbing’ about the movie. I am not really sure why Bipasha felt sore about the movie after doing it that she didn’t want to promote it.

This is to put an end to all the discussions around my absence for Humshakals promotions. I take full (cont) http://t.co/faCxwAO0Xn

— Bipasha Basu (@thejigardoshi.combipsluvurself) June 17, 2014

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAh, that role tweet explains everything.

Movies are our life.They are made by efforts of lots of ppl!I can never be against a film!As an actor ur role can disappoint u at times.

— Bipasha Basu (@thejigardoshi.combipsluvurself) June 17, 2014

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Shweta Ganesh Kumar is the bestselling author of two novels on the Indian Broadcast news industry, titled ‘Coming Up On The Show’ and ‘Between The Headlines’. In the past, she has been a news trainee, desk editor, TV news correspondent with CNN-IBN and a communications officer at Greenpeace India. And now this talented multi-tasker’s penned A Newlywed’s Adventures In Married Land.

source : goodreads.com

Mythili, a crime reporter was in a long distance relationship with Siddharth, a call center employee in Manila, Philippines, for over 5 years before they take their relationship to the next level and decide to get married. She leaves everything for him and shifts to Manila with him and the first few months of being unemployed/jobless/dependent were very frustrating and infuriating for the workaholic that she was.

Siddharth takes her to the Desi Gang, the group of Indians living there and who would meet regularly in the pretext of tea parties and dinners. Mythili finds them shallow, mean and selfish. They were the ones living off their husbands’ and always complained and bi*ched about MsIL, expensive groceries and vegetables.

The rest of the story is about how initially she rants and rants and how it gets difficult for both Siddharth and her and how eventually things fall in place when she lands a job and things change. 

The author has based this novella on Alice In Wonderland and every chapter starts with an anecdote from the novel which resonates with the story that is building in the novella. The story in the novella follows Mythili (author’s Alice) in her adventures in the married land (wonderland).

The writing is simple and the adventure is worth taking. But the initial few chapters were a pain for me, as a guy to go through, as they dealt with all the frustrations of a newly married unemployed workaholic woman. Although it was enlightening to see things from a woman’s perspective, I often agreed with Siddharth’s POV when he felt, “So what if she doesn’t have a job? Why can’t she just enjoy her time by reading books, watching movies/sitcoms and shopping?”

Another good thing about the novella is that, although it was Mythili’s story, often, Siddharth’s POV was also discussed and how the husband interprets a wife’s rants was aptly shown. That how when she’s ranting, she’s just relieving herself of the stress but he considers it that she’s unhappy with him and he has to do something to make her happy.

More than the story, most of the novella is happening in the protagonist’s head. This could be a hindrance for some as many like more conversation and less narrative. But the narrative is enlightening mixed with a slight humor.

Not entertaining exactly, but makes for a nice read.

The novella is published by Toronto-based publishing house Indireads, which exclusively publishes e-books and was started with the aim to revolutionizing the popular fiction genre in South Asia.

Connect with the author here : Shweta Ganesh Kumar