Sisterhood and A Book Give Away of Once Upon A Crush

It is 4 am and you notice your friend is online. You don't think twice and message her, "why up so early?" conveniently forgetting that you are also up and about so early.
She replies and you two get talking first through messages and then you or she can't resist  calling up the other and gossiping merrily until morning arrives. You start off from where you had left perhaps a day ago or a few years ago, it does not matter. But the very fact that she is there online at the same time as you are is enough to get the two if you started. May be you talk everyday, may be you don't but you are in sync with what is happening in each other's life, through mails, through social media or the occasional phone call or message.

You suddenly come across something funny which you can share with only one person. And that is your best female friend. The two of you message each other or talk and giggle about it to glory. The conversation veers to common topics and in no time the short call morphs into a good old heart to heart chat.

You are bored and the only way to pep you up is a coffee or lunch meeting with your friend.

Not even a day passes without the two of you meeting and getting a rundown of each other's day.

She is your bitch buddy, coffee buddy, lunch buddy, shopping buddy, salon buddy, book buddy, exercise buddy. She could be one, she could be one for each activity.

She could be your classmate, college friend or office colleague or neighbour. She is the one with whom you vent your problems. She knows you well, she is your sounding board and she is your agony aunt and vice versa. You talk about your pet peeves, your crushes and your problems  together. You talk, you argue and most importantly, you connect.

In short, life without a best friend would be incomplete. Sisterhood so to speak. What would one do without them?

Do you have a best female friend with whom you do some or all of the above ? Give us your funniest or most touching or most dramatic experience with sorority.  Kiran Manral, whose next book Once Upon a Crush is out on the stands this April will be choosing that one person who impresses her most with her sisterhood story and send her an author signed copy of the book. India address only.

And here we have a hello from Kiran Manral 

My protagonist Rayna De, is a confused soul, who gets by, as I do, with a little help from her friends. College friends, work friends, school friends. 

This book is a tribute to the sisterhoods, the friendships, both online and offline, that sustain us, keep us going, prop us up, take us through dark days, share our good days. Sisterhoods that begin as giggling backbenchers in class, that survive crushes on the same hunk through college, that see each other through the diaper change phase, the seven year itch, the empty nest syndrome. In the blogworld, I would like to doff a hat to my sorority of blogging mom friends, friends who have gone beyond the virtual and become closer than friends in the real world.

You could pre order the much awaited book here

http://www.crossword.in/books/-once-upon-crush/p-books-9789382473916.html

So get started, tell us your goofy/ fun/ touching moments of sisterhood!

Listening to a Story

For a nation where oral story telling is a way of preserving history, and where epics are every growing in size and chapters and where every child loves a good story that is read out to him, audio books are still nascent and untapped.

What are your memories of being read out or being told a story?

How easy do you find to understand and follow an audio book?

Which is your favourite audio book?

Read on a bit about audio books at the Reading Corner

Our Bodies - Taking Care of the Private Parts

It should be the easiest thing in the world to talk to our children. About various things under the sun. Perhaps as parents, we are able to satisfactorily answer most of the questions that he children throw our way. But the most crucial and the most important aspect that a parent must cover for the children are the basics of our bodies. And parents postpone is as much as possible. 

I have seen a lot of books on children's safety and how to behave in dangerous situations but I was yet to see a compete, well illustrated book on good touch and bad touch, explaining how the bodies of girls and boys are different.

It is important to introduce children slowly and surely to the concept of safety and the basic differences between boys and girls.  And it is important for parents to be matter of fact and direct about the entire process and perhaps that requires a good deal of preparation on the part of the parent to be ready to impart sex education without feeling shifty or embarrassed about it.

Also it is important to not make a big deal about it and make it a topic which can be spoken in as generic manner as perhaps asking the children about how was their day.

Has anyone touched your bum or tried to kiss you on the lips?

What shuld you do if you do not like someone touching you? 

Whom should you tell? 

Simple and straightforward.

Shruti Singhal's book Our Bodies is a well illustrated book about teaching children about their private parts and the fundamental difference between a girl's body and a boy's. It goes on to talk about good touches and bad touches and how they make the children feel. Whether it makes them feel uncomfortable, dirty or happy and loved. 

It talks of saying Stop, No, I will tell the moment one feels uncomfortable. 

The narrative leads the readers to understand that while some aspects of the bodies are same, their are some parts are different and it is important to know why and what purpose they serve. 

I took the children through the book and I agree that some of the illustrations made me a shade bit uncomfortable and perhaps it could have been done in a better way.  It was perhaps a new thing for the children too and perhaps we did a little growing up together while going through he book because with the second and third reading, after the initial discomfort was taken care of, it became easier. For it was the first time I was using a book to take them through this. 

Title- Our Bodies Taking Care of The Private Parts

Author and Illustrator- Shruti Singhal

Age Group- 5 upwards

Publisher- XYZ Publications

www.xyxp.india.com

Ranganna The Elephant Who Loved Colours

Ranganna is a cute blue coloured baby elephant who lives on the dhobi ghat.

He loves colours in all forms, colours of the rainbow, the colourful clothes laid out to dry on the dhobi ghat and the colorful flowers around him.

Two little girls often come to play with him and he is fascinated by their colourful clothes and also their pretty painted nails.

On a whim, he decided that he wished to apply nailpolish too and this seemed too strange for the little girls, however not impossible.

Did Ranganna get to apply nailpolish on his nails?
What colour did he choose among the array of pretty colours?

The book, true to its subject is a riot of colours. A small town diaspora complete with dhobi ghat, temple and the populace is recreated in the illustrations and the story.

Arthi in her unique style churns out this delightful and simple tale of colours and their vibrancy through the loving elephant Ranganna. The language is simple and lucid.

Kavita Singh Kale's illustrations are magical and well defined as usual.

The expressions are well captured from ecstasy of Ranganna upon seeing the delightful colours and shy yet covet looks when he spoke his heart's desire to get his toes painted.

I happened to read both the English and Hindi versions and found that the translation did not affect the flow of the story at all.

Title- Ranganna
Author- Arthi Anand Navaneeth
Illustrator- Kavita Singh Kale
Translated in Hindi by- Sushma Ahuja
Price- Rs 135
Publisher- Tulika

The Elephant's Friend and other tales from Ancient India

A richly illustrated, colourful comic book that brings alive the various moral tales from Ancient India that delights children of age group above 6 years.

Stories like the scrawny old tiger, the three large fish, the foolish lion, the talkative tortoise, the monkey and he crocodile etc are given a fresh perspective through these vivid and colourful illustrations that depict the stories in an almost humorous manner. 

I loved the illustrations more than the stories. And the added dialogues that give a funny touch. Like the Elephant's keeper commenting on the grieving elephant... He is rather smelly.

Or the host of the animals drawn inside the lion's tummy to depict how much he had eaten.

Title- The Elephant's Friend and other tales from Ancient India

Retold & Illustrated by - Marcia Williams

Publisher- Walker, panmacmillan

Paris, Hong Kong and Macau

A delightful three dimensional expanding city skyline that takes the readers through a city tour in the most memorable manner. Both the Paris souvenir and the Hong Kong, Macau feature 12 sites from the city, including Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Peninsula Hotel, Tai O, Victoria Harbour and the Statue Square.

Both booklets fit neatly into the box provided for this purpose.

Title- Paris, Hong Kong and Macau

Illustrated by- Sarah Mc Menemy, Kristyna Litten

Publisher- Walker, panmacmillan

Excuses Excuses

The children have forced me to buy an alarm clock that will help them wake up early and reach school on time. However, the only person who wakes up is their Mom. So much so the alarm has been permanently switched off.

Well, here is a book that expresses my emotions truly, only difference being the boy in question offers excuses compared to my kids who do not care to respond.

On Monday Neel decided
He’d be in time for school
On Tuesday he decided
He’d obey every rule...
Neel, has every intention of doing all the assigned tasks on time, however somehow, by some twist of fate or design, things go wrong.
This Dr Seuss style book combines a slice of life happening into a rhyme and converts the entire book into a very enjoyable read.
Sometimes he comes to school with just shoes as he has given his socks to the elephant or he gets mesmerised by something and forgets his errands and his homework has the strange quality of hopping away.
But there is always a tomorrow or a next week when things will be definitely better.

Title- Excuses Excuses
Author- Anushka Ravishankar
Illustrator- Gabrielle Manglou
Price- Rs 375
Publisher- Tara

The Great Race

What happens when Kanchil the deer challenges the animals of the jungle for a race?

Well, the only animal who agrees to accdept is Pelan, the snail.

How do you think Pelan plans to race Kanchil who is so very fast? When all theanimals of the jungle refused to accept the challenged, obviously there is a plan if Pelan is the only animal who agrees to race.

The Great Race is an exciting retelling of an Indonesian folktale featuring the popular trickster Kanchil. Illustrated in the exquisite mata ni Pachedi style of ritual textile painting from Gujarat, this is the very first time that this rare form of traditional art has been used to tell a story.

I simply loved the artistic illustrations, a departure from the usual Indian illustrations.

There is of course a lesson out here for children- a lesson in not being arrogant, but that's just one part of it. The rest is all fun.

A tidbit from the book-

Jagdish Chitara, the artist who painted the illustrations for this book, belongs to a traditional group of artisans known as Waghari. The Waghari people are a particularly poor and marginalised community. Originally nomads, they would roam around the banks of the Sabarmati river in Gujarat, creating a special ritual cloth for the Mother Goddess the Cloth of the Mother – this fabric was washed in the river waters, block printed and painted, then painstakingly dyed with natural pigments. The beautiful swathes of cloth were used not only as offerings, but also draped to form a temporary shrine for the Goddess

Title- The Great Race

Author- Nathan Kumar Scott, Jagadish Chitara

Price - Rs 375

Publisher- Tara Books

The Reluctant Detective Review

Last evening I received my copy of The Reluctant Detective. In my eagerness to reach the end of the book,
- I did not make dinner
- I ignored the kids completely
- I let them play for as long as they could and then they fell on the bed exhausted, one on each side of me
-I read till my eyes drooped and picked myself up, pushed the kids a little away from me and read again, this time to the finish
I slept with vivid dreams of cops sleeping on duty and goondas on 2 wheeler knocking on my car window and me scared to start the car because I knew that the battery was dead and didn't want the potential murderers to realize that.

Even a whiff of bad news or out of the ordinary event affects an individual no matter how unrelated the affected party is to that individual. While normal life does not stop, one continues with one's usual routine, but somewhere in the back of the mind, there remains a nagging discomfort/ sadness/ empathy with the person affected by the event. Sometimes one gets over involved to the point of obsession and tries to work out what happened, and sometimes one just maintain a mild interest without getting affected by it.
And for some, like me or the Kay in question get nightmares or other manifestations to plague them for a long time.

This is what happens to Kay Mehra. She has a morbid curiosity about everything. She is a self declared "gossip queen" and nothing passes by without going through her watchful eyes or ears.
But, a corpse is discovered near her complex and Kay is the last person who had seen her alive that day. Yet, she hears about it only at the end of the day from none other than the police.
Furthermore, she and her husband chance upon another dead body in the same spot further into the night.

Kay is more than mildly interested in this case. It is not just another piece of local gossip for her but she wants to solve it. She is involved simply by virtue of being in contact with the body before or after they became bodies from persons. Even though she did not really know either of the bodies personally.

I thought she will play the Sherlock Holmes and that's what I asked Kiran in the interview. But as she mentioned, Kay is the Watson here who sets about using her common sense and tries to go back to the crime scene and work out the possibilities.

While the murders do keep her mind occuppied, her life with her son Kabir, the spouse and her friends goes on as usual.

What I liked about the book is that it could be anyone's story. There is a lot of urban speak that one can identify with.
I loved the line in context of longterm married spouses- one is allowed to grumble without the other taking said grumbling seriously enough to actually alter the behaviour pattern that sets off the aforementioned grumbling.

For those who know Kiran well, shades of Kiran are vividly felt in Kay's fashion consciousness and weight consciousness. Even the voice is her patented style which has delighted blog readers for sometime.

She has put a piece of herself in this book and that is evident.

And no, this is not a complicated detective case. If I were to identify it with an existing style, it is more in line with the Ladies Detective Agency series, simple everyday sort cases unlike the dark, intrigues of regular mystery novels.

A light and refreshing read overall.

Plus I love the cover and feel of the outline of the shoe.

Title- The Reluctant Detective
Author- Kiran Manral
Price- Rs 195
Publisher- Westland

Meet The Reluctant Detective- Kiran Manral

Journalist, blogger, sharp businesswoman, twitter personality, mother to a brat, an efficient homemaker to boot, and a social service person- her India Helps gives help and hope to many.

That is Kiran Manral in a nutshell and now she is a published author and her first book - The Reluctant Detective that has hit the stands. Check out the book blog. (http://www.thereluctantdetectivebook.blogspot.com/)

This is a detective novel. Not a tearjerker romance or a chiklit or a spicy bitch fest about everything under the sun.

Well, Kiran is the first author whom I can claim to know very well even though I have never met her. So it is very difficult to do a standard run of the mill interview with her. It would be more interesting to ask her what really makes her what she is today.

So here is a spicy, whacky tete-a-tete with Kiran that reveals her innermost desires and thoughts.

1. Women are designed to be observant, have eyes at the back of their head and have that insane urge to get to the bottom of the most insignificant matter. Give me one example of your superior piece of elementary detection in your everyday life that gave you immense satisfaction.

I am, actually, the most scatty person around. I don't notice things unless they're standing right in front of me with a banner and bold capital letters spelling out what it is. Sleuthing skills? Oh I'm super sleuth in figuring out when my brat is pulling a fast one on me or lying about something. But that would be mother's instinct I think and no particular sleuthing skills.

2. What is your darkest side.

I am a big fan of horror--movies, books. I like anything and everything to do with the paranormal. I'm not a buff of slasher movies, but anything that is based on real life incidents I like to investigate, read up, view thoroughly.

3. Your most delightfully wicked deed so far

...Ah. I'm a goody two shoes. I swear I am. I am a good girl. I don't do wicked things. Or at least not for public consumption. But I guess it would do no harm to me now to confess I was the one who put chalk powder on my French teacher's chair the day she was wearing a dark skirt. Yes. That is the wickedest I have been.

4. Your most fantastic yet believable excuse for a job not done.

I had a blankout and wandered around the streets for hours forgetting who I was and what I was doing.

5. You hear a suspicious noise in the middle of the night. What will you do.

Go right up ahead to investigate, keeping the husband in front of me of course for protection.

6. Your biggest regret so far.

That I didn't start writing earlier. I got too caught up in the mundanities of everyday life to take time out and be disciplined enough to write seriously.

7. Who would play you in the movie of your life

Angelina Jolie? No. Maybe Monica Belluci. Yup. We share them womanly curves

8. Are you a Coffee or a tea person

Coffee but I drink more tea than coffee

9. Is your cupboard the Nightgown on the hanger types or treasure hunt for lost and found a garment types

Somewhere in between and the nightgown in colour coded stacks and two racks reserved for black tee shirts types.

10. Tell us about the book. Does the reluctant detective operate alone or is there a Watson with her or perhaps more relevant for India, a Daya who breaks doors or brings in the laash.

LOL. The protagonist is actually the Watson, the sidekick. She is least interested in detective work, but just has a morbid curiousity about things.

11. Short fiction or epic novel. Whats more up your alley.

Depends on the author. Some authors are better in short fiction, and others, you enjoy as a long leisurely read.

12. Your most embarrassing faux paus

Oh so many. Most recently, had a long conversation with a lady at a society function, ended the conversation and for the life of me couldn't remember who she was when another lady I was with asked me who that was.

13. One item you could kill for

A thinner body

14. Shopaholic or Undomestic Goddess. Who are you more likely to identify with
Both actually, although current rate of inflation has ensured that the shopaholism is under control

15. One word that is the essence of Kiran Manral.

Scatty

16. Any one incident or reason that shaped you or was the turning point for your life or career

My father's death when I was nine. I think it was then that I realised that we are all truly responsible for ourselves and everything can change at any moment. So make the best of what one has, and count your blessings everyday.

You could your copy of the book here.

The Dance of Govinda

This is the second book in the series The Krishna Coriolis and is yet to be released. yes I am among the lucky few who got a pre launch copy!!!

The first book, The Slayer of Kansa is the tales of what happens before Vishnu takes the form of Krishna. While Vasudeva and King Ugrasen sign the peace treaty, The evil Kamsa is causing terror among the people and belittling the treaty by challenging Vasudev time and again. He has become more powerful after alliance with Jarasandha the evil king of Magadha. Soon he returns to Mathura after getting trained by Jarasandha and thereon begins his rise to power. He disrupts the marriage of his sister Devaki to Vasudeva. An akashvani at that moment predicts that the eight child of his sister would be his nemesis. the Slayer of Kamsa.

Kamsa, on hearing this, subjects them to a dreadful fate by keeping them imprisoned until the eight children are born.

One by one, Kamsa murders the children as they are born except the seventh child who gets transported to the womb of Vasudeva's first wife Rohini. However, when the eight child, the Lord Krishna is born, the city falls asleep and Vasudeva manages to take the baby Krishna to Nanda's and Yashoda's house.

The second book begins at this point where Kamsa, more powerful than ever is still reeling from he shock of totally failing to capture and kill the eight child of Devaki, his slayer.

He dispatches his forces everywhere to kill all male children born in the last few days, months and even years.

Meanwhile, the namkaran ceremony of both Krishna and the secret child Balrama take place and post this Kamsa's strength and powers seem to deteriorate. His kingdom, his army, his forces and he himself no longer seem to be under his control on the face of it. He seems to be having periods of memory lapses and incoherence. However, in a brief introduction to Krishna's aunt, Pritha and her family, the readers are told that Kamsa's cruelty is a direct result of he control that Jarasandha carries over him.

Kamsa struggles to regain his lost powers and cognisance until he hits upon an idea. He regains his strength after drinking an overdose of poison and becomes all powerful yet again.

With renewed vigour he sets about searching for his nephew and fortunately doesn't have to search long. The ever helpful Narada tells him the exact location of baby Krishna and Kamsa sets about trying to kill Krishna yet again.

In between the tales of the cruelty of Kamsa, the readers are treated to many joyful exchanges that go on in the minds of mother and child ... Yashoda and Krishna. His playful talk with his mother conjures and image of his being an innocent child and completely belies the fact that He is the Lord Almighty incarnate. Baby Krishna also goes to meet his real parents in a totally out of body experience and predicts that his confrontation with his Kamsa Mama is not due for a few more years.

However, Kamsa does not display so much restraint. He sends Putana to kill Krishna. She comes disguised as a lady truly against her true nature. She puts the entire family into a deep sleep and proceeds to suckle the baby Krishna to death through the potent poison that flows in her body.

However, does she manage to succeed in her mission?

Of course she does not.

And the Gokuls are treated to a sight worth watching, the dance of the Govinda t the rhythm of their clapping. The Govinda, the baby who could not walk, was dancing a merry dance.

'He clapped his hands in glee, leapt in the air, landed on both feet, tottered briefly for a moment and began to move in a way that could be interpreted as only one action...He was dancing...'

Title- The Dance of Govinda

Author- Ashoka K. Banker

Price- Rs 199

Publisher- Harper Collins

The House of Silk

With pipe in hand, he turns to me and smiles...The game is afoot.

And thus begins another Sherlock Holmes adventure written by Dr Watson, the great detective's companion whose mission is to bring to life the great adventures of Holmes.

Edmund Carstairs approaches Holmes in a state of fright. He is being pursued by the dreaded flat cap gang and his life according to him is in great danger. The curious tale that Edmund relates about his misadventure in trying to find punish the gang that caused the destruction of his valuable paintings, sets Holmes into an adventure that is darker than he thought and more complicated that he imagined. It involves gruesome murders and crooked plots that twist darkly all over making it more horrendous than Dr Watson realised before setting out to become a part of it. While everyone believes that the members of the flat cap gang have been wiped out, Carstairs believes that one member is still after him to take revenge for the killing of his twin. What he does not know that the truth is more devious and deadlier than he thought. But hang on, there is more to it than the truth from his perspective that Holmes is determined to find out.

As any Sherlock Holmes adventure, the powers of detection and logic is more exciting than the story itself. On hindsight the entire puzzle looks simple enough but the way Holmes thinks ahead and predicts what will happen lends more excitement than the mystery itself.

And the best part, the story is longer than the other Holmes stories that we have read. It is like a complete novel, a treat to Sherlock Holmes fans delivered in the original style by teh author Antony Horowitz.

Title- The House of Silk

Author- Antony Horowitz

Price - Rs 499

Publisher- Hachette

Family Fables and Hidden Heresies

A Memoir of Mothers and More

I have heard of a family tree...but your family...that's no tree...it's a jungle...

This one sentence describes perfectly the Indian family and it's significance especially during the most important events of one's life.

In the words of the author...the numbers that tumble out of every nook and corner during an important function clearly epitomises the Great or Grand Indian family.

But how much do we really know our family? What motivates them, what goes towards the making of the people they are in their present life? These are typically mysteries that those lower down in the family tree often wonder. A bunch of Sepia toned images help them form an impression of the past of the older ones.

In is book, the author demystifies the women of her family and is truly exemplary. She does it not with just a bunch of old pictures but has numerous journal entries and letter written to each other to support the making of this book.

This story is written straight from the heart but has facts to support. As she goes over the memoirs and collected letters of her mother, she realises the history that shaped her mother and grandmother.

She writes about her holidays in the small village of Kamshet and describes it as an experience that was totally afar from the quaint Enid Blyton villages. Or a holiday that was unique when compared to the holidays spent in hill stations and so called destinations.

This book is not just a story but a discovery of sorts. It could be the author's story. It could be my story. It could be your story. It also traces the effects of key historical events and social structures and rules on the lives of these women. What did widowhood mean in different points of time. A haldi kumkum routine was so important to the author's mother but why was it not so important to the author. Was it just a social context or did it have deep rooted emotional reasons. Writing it all out from her mother's perspective makes the author see it all in a different light.

'Denuded of her woman's identity through sudden widowhood, she would have fallen back on her daughter, wanting her above everyone else to acknowledge her personhood, not just her motherhood...while for the daughter, from being the mother, the dependable rock, she becomes just a person, fallible, weak and vulnerable.'

So beautifully written sentence that makes us give a thought on how we take our own mother's for granted forgetting hat she is a person before she is a mother. Or perhaps, as our mothers, we are also built to be like that when our time comes.

A very though provoking book.

Title - Family Fables and Hidden Heresies

Author- Vrinda Nabar

Price- Rs 299

Publisher- Harper Collins

A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys

Imagine yourself in Tanglewood, the magical place where a tangled web of tales are woven. The children to whom the tales a told are named evocatively after flowers like Periwinkle, Dandelion, Milkweed etc. Imagine yourself as one of these lucky children who have tales narrated to them by an indulgent adult who sources these stories from a never ending supply.

The author compiles ancient myths and retells them in an imaginative fashion. This collection of six tales have the story of the Gorgon's Head which is the story of he brave adventurer who goes on the mission to bring back the Gorgon's head and free the people of the land from the cruel king. A story of wit and intellect more than just bravery.

The Golden Touch is the story of the King Midas who loved his gold more than anything else. But is gold really the most important thing? This story teaches us about the simple pleasures of life that cannot be measured against gold, like a rose and it's sweet smell.

The Paradise of Children is the story of Pandora's Box which essentially tells us that hope in the midst of despair is like a light at the end of the tunnel.

Apart from the wonderfully told magical tales, I love the additional pages that give interesting tidbits like the story of the story which is the reality behind the myth, an exercise on collective nouns and a reference list of Greek Gods.

A lovely book for young readers this book is not written in the usual English but has an ancient and lyrical flavour to it.

Title- A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys

Author- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Price - Rs 195

Publisher- Hachette

The Tulleho Book of Cocktails

This the first cocktail book with an India focus giving recipes with accessible desi ingredients.

Along with recipes there are trivia, facts and bar tending techniques. I personally loved the barman says section on the recipe pages. These are truly the pearls of wisdom that garnish the cocktails making it a totally fun book to read.

The colourful menu style content pages are as exciting as what is inside for the home bartender.

The book starts with a starter kit section which tells you what to stock in a home bar including various bar ware and types of glassware.

The mixology section teaches one the basics of the types of cocktails.

Vodka, tequila, gin, rum, Diwali special, holi special... You name it and they have a detailed section of cocktail recipes. To a teetotaller like me, it is a perfect collection to refer to if you want to understand the various categories of beverages and their drinking etiquette.

So can vodka be taken from the skull of a siberian wolf?

Which was the most expensive tequila ever sold?

Mind it, the Boyle of that tequila was made of gold and platinum,

Want the recipe for the beautiful, seductive silk panties?

What about monsoon specials served with hot pakoras?

Do you want to know your rums?

How do you say cheers in different languages?

Want to know how to fix the high?

And of course the recipe book cannot be complete without the section on liqueurs.

So go high on this collector's edition of recipes.

Title- The Tulleho Book of Cocktails

Price - Rs 395

Publisher-Westland

The Third Elephant

The little wooden elephant who is the hero of this book is found by a little girl Sara who calls him her lucky elephant. Does this elephant bring luck to the three children meet him? Of course he does but apart from that he has his own dream to fulfil. He wishes to see the great big palace in India. His luck and dreams take him to India along with Sara's sister who is participating in a cycle race. There he meets Jack who takes him to see the princess and also the white palace. But will the lucky elephant be home in time to help Sara perform in the concert? And most importantly what exactly is the white palace the elephant wants to see? Find out as you read this exciting tale woven for children.

Title- The Third elephant

Author - Penny Dolan

Price - Rs 199

Publisher-Walker (Panmacmillan)

I am Feeling Lucky- The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59

After Google, I find myself impatient with the way the world works.

Says Doug about problems that are solvable yet are not getting solved.

Douglas was the first Dough in Google- employee number 59 who joined this small start up as a big-company guy. When he left Google, he left a big company as a small-startup guy.

The story of Doug’s journey begins at his lively interview with the founders. Sergey was known to give a task to all those he interviewed- tell me something that I do not know yet. It was his way of getting a spark of an idea, or eliciting thoughts from people talking of subjects that he did not know of.

Doug’s first task was to get a thorough grounding in search technology including complicated terms like page rank, crawling and indexing.

In his first week, Doug asked for Google’s strategic plan. But much to his surprise- it all existed in the heads of Larry and Sergey who were never in a mood to discuss it.
The first important lesson that Doug learnt was on the day of his proposal presentation. He started off saying- our competitors are approaching Google’s level of quality, so we need to rely on branding to differentiate us from others.

Larry said quietly- if we can’t win on quality, we shouldn’t win at all.

That was the moment when unlearning for Dough perhaps began.

Sergey insisted against Doug’s arguments that Google logo could be dynamic and not a constant. So whether there was turkey logo for Thanksgiving or a bouncing heart applet for Valentine’s Day Google Doodles became a big hit. If Doug had his way, there would be no Google Doodles!

In this story written by an insider, Douglas takes us through the journey of Google from a start up in a garage to a formidable organization that floated IPO’s in a span of 6 short years.

He talks of everything including the seemingly minor clean up of the search page and not allowing pop ups to the very important hosting of news content in the wake of 9/11.

Reading an insider’s perspective does give a different feel to the story that I know already. To that extent, there was nothing new or different in the story. But like an epic that gets retold several times, this story also takes a different form each time it is narrated.

Title- I am Feeling Lucky

Author- Douglas Edwards

Price- Rs 550

Publisher- Penguin

Scarlett

Alexandra Ripley’s story Scarlett begins at the “Tomorrow” that Margaret Mitchell left the book “Gone with the Wind“ at.

Scarlett now newly in love with her husband, is determined to win him back by all means. She travels to her husband’s home and attempts to win him back by gaining his mother’s affection.

One day, Scarlett convinces Rhett to take her for sailing. The boat capsizes in a storm and they take refuge in a hollow of sand dunes.

While Rhett utters- Oh My darling, I thought I’d lost you, he retracts his words then eventually confesses that he does not want to “lose himself” over her again.

Scarlett leaves Rhett and his home yet again and goes to live with her paternal family. She is pregnant with Rhett’s child but hides the fact from him.

Scarlett receives a divorce notice from Rhett who eventually remarries.

Scarlett gives birth to Katie O’ Hara or “cat” because of her green eyes like Scarlett’s and she settles in Ballyhara and becomes the undisputed O’ Hara- the leader of the clan.

Scarlett announces her engagement to Lord Fenton. However, The English who came to arrest a group of Irish terrorists burn her house down. Rhett comes to her rescue and during the entire episode, Rhett learns of Cat- his daughter.

The family reunites in the most romantic fashion towards the very end of the book.

While Alexandra retains the original voice and spirit of Gone with the Wind, Scarlette is definitely a mellowed down version than the first book. The characters have grown and matured with age and have become less fiery and more matter of fact- sometimes managing to see humour in adverse settings.

The characters are less regal and more realistic more so because slavery has ended and the earlier masters have softened their stance in the entire equations.

There are more of melodrama and romantic notions and family politics that keep the star crossed lovers apart and one feels frustrated at some points when the lovers refuse to reconcile.

Title- Scarlett

Author- Alexandra Ripley

Publisher- Pan (celebrating 75 years)

Gone with the Wind

Tomorrow I will think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.

When Margaret Mitchell ended her book with these words, she intended them to become famous last words in the true sense. She intended to keep the readers guessing and tearing their hair out in trying to reconcile within themselves as to what became of the lovers after the hero left the scene.

This epic novel tells the tale of the coming of age of Scarlett O’ Hara the girl who was not beautiful but had an effect on men when she took notice of them.

The story is written in the backdrop of war in South America. On one hand there are soldiers enlisting to save their country, on the other hand we have speculators like Rhett making a fortune out other’s misfortune. Scarlett is the girl who despite all odds continues to fight her way to survive. From a little girl of sixteen when everything can become all right with a nice dress and some make up, she becomes a woman of purpose. She saves her family from death; she survives by fair means and foul and emerges the strongest of all. The story is long, vivid and poignant and a definite page-turner. This anniversary edition brought back memories of the first time when I read it many years ago, in a very vivid and nostalgic fashion.

Scarlett is fiery, she is annoying, she is foolish, she is an oddity and she is a girl after my own heart. Why me? Remove me from here and put yourself in this place and you will feel the same way.

She misses the obvious. She is in love with an idea or a habit and she doesn’t see what we readers can see. And the most foolish act of hers- she refuses to fall in love with the handsome, suave, dependable rouge- Rhett Butler- the stuff dreams are made of.

Scarlett believes she loves Ashley Wilkes and she continues to love him inspite of the fact that he loves Melanie, marries her and becomes a father and is very very boring as far as Scarlett is concerned.

Scarlett marries twice, becomes a widow twice and ultimately; Rhett who intended to have her one way or another marries her. They have a baby named Bonnie. Rhett dotes on Bonnie and spoils her silly.

Under unfortunate circumstances, baby Bonnie dies. A great rift form between Scarlett and Rhett that widens further following Melanie’s death. Rhett believes that Scarlett would no longer want him now that Ashley is available, leaves his home.

The book ends with Scarlett dreaming of love that eluded her for so long and promises to herself that she will find a way to get Rhett back tomorrow.

The ending left readers wondering what would happen to Scarlett and Rhett.

Title- Gone with the Wind

Author- Margaret Mitchell

Publisher- Pan (celebrating 75 years)

Myth Quest Series

The main characters in our myths are bigger and better than most of the modern superheroes! Hachette India aims to make a Mythmaster of the young readers through their wonderful myth quest series.

Garuda- Devourer of Serpents

Garuda the magnificent bird king with the head of an eagle and body of a man was the vahana of Lord Vishnu.

In a span of nine small chapters the young readers get to understand the entire story of Garuda starting from the story of his birth to Vinata who was cursed to a lifetime of slavery.

How did Garuda become the mount of Lord Vishnu? There are two tales that tell of the possibilities behind this.

The legendary battles between Garuda and the Nagas form exciting sections in the book.

Airavata- Elephant of the Clouds

This divine king of elephants was the mount of Lord Indra . Interestingly this elephant was hatched from the same broken set of eggshells from which Garuda was hatched.

The milky white Airavat had the unique ability of creating rain. Being the mount of Lord Indra, he had been part of many battles and through this book we learn of his splendid feats from carrying Indra back to safety from battlefield or leading the gods back to heaven after churning of the ocean which gave them back their immortality. While most of the stories do not touch upon the tale of Airavat, this book is unique as it tells of rare tales of this divine elephant.

Sheshanaga- The Endless Serpent

This is the story of the serpent king also known as Ananta-Shesha (endless snake) or Adi Shesha (first snake)

Sheshanaga is the powerful snake on whose heads the heavenly bodies rest including Vaikuntha- the abode of Lord Vishnu.

Being a devout follower of Vishnu, Shesha is a constant companion to Him even during his many avatars- the hotheaded Lakshman and Balrama.

Sheshanaga was the firstborn to Kadru the wife of Sage Kashyapa. In time left his abode, Nagalok to escape from his quarrelsome brothers and went to Vishnu’s abode.

The book describes in detail the story of Lakshmana and Balrama- the two important avatars of Sheshnaga.

A must read for children especially they love animal stories.

Book- Mythquest series- Garuda, Airavata, Sheshanaga

Author- Anu Lumar

Price- Rs 99 (special offer- Rs 75)

Publisher- Hachette