The Tantric Curse by Anupama Garg: Book Review

This review is also published at my Personal Blog, Pages from Serendipity.

I could not have written this review on a better day for it's Gurupurnima tonight!

As the cover image and book title reveals, the tantric curse is about tantra, one of the spiritual  practices originating from India. The word 'Tantra' is most often associated with the fear of an unknown realm of mysticism. Another common mis-association with tantric rituals is sex. 

Author Anupama, a tantric herself, writes with deliberate sincerity the reality behind the concept, practices and rituals of tantra, in her debut fiction, the tantric curse. At the end of the book, one can certainly attain a clarity on the subject, not by enforcement or judgement but by acceptance of the truthfulness in the author's words.

Irrespective of whether a reader has an inclination towards tantra or not, this book can offer profound knowledge about the basics of spirituality. 

300 Days by Bragadeesh Prasanna

300 Days is a simple love story of Jai and Sravani. While Sravani is struggling within a confined relationship with Sai, Jai hopes to win Sravani's love. In contrary to the usual, complicated triangular love stories, 300 days sets off  with a smooth sail between the two main characters. Following cycles of love and separation, whether Jai finally wins her love is the rest of the story. 

The book stands out in realistically depicting the emotions beneath seven gradual stages of love as enumerated in Arabic literature, namely,

Hub - Attraction

Uns - Infatuation

Ishq - Love

Aqeedat - Reverence

Ibaadat - Worship

Junoon - Obsession

Maut - Death

(Though the course of the novel is subtitled according to the seven stages, one cannot find a brief explanation about the same in the book. However, the author, in his blog, shares his inspiration behind adapting the concept). 

300 Days is author Bragadeesh Prasanna's first book. As a debut author, he has proved his stand as a writer and as an earnest narrator. 

KLASS by Prita Yadav: Book Review

KLASS is a sports school in Pune where our protagonist, Jolene Jordan, is forced to join, by her father. Jo is determined to behave as bad as she could at her new school, hoping she will be soon expelled by the school authorities. However, the events that follow bring unexpected turns in her life and the book temporarily ends at the end of the first year of her schooling, making the readers curious for the next in the KLASS series. 

Halfway through the book, without the reader’s realization, she/he would be watching a vivid movie about KLASS. The narration is so full of life that the reading experience surpasses beyond words to render an in-depth visualization of the scenes. Friendship, rivalry, hatred, love, passion – human emotions have been well-placed throughout the plot. 

Most part of the book is in the form of conversation between the n number of characters of students and teachers at KLASS. Yet, each character is marked as a unique personality. And that’s where author Prita stands out as an extraordinary debut author.