Book Vue

Today we have Rahul Mitra, the author of The Boy From Pataliputra , with us for a casual interview. Love the cheeky photograph he sent! So, without further ado, let's get started. Book Vue : Welcome to Book Vue, Rahul and congratulations on your book. Please tell us a little something about The  Boy From Pataliputra . Rahul Mitra : Thank you. The Boy from Pataliputra is the story of Aditya Vikram, a young boy from an aristocratic family of Pataliputra  who is forced to escape from Magadha under dramatic circumstances. It’s basically about his life in exile, his  journey and experiences, the friends he makes and his gradual transformation from a brash, selfish spoilt  brat into a balanced and mature person. At least, that’s the story on the surface. Underneath this basic narrative, it’s also a powerful story about India and the formation of a nation. You  must remember that the Mauryan empire, which came into being under Chandragupt...

  Buy from Amazon.in Title:  The Boy From Pataliputra Author: Rahul Mitra Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 384 Publisher: Fingerprint! Publishing Rating: 4/5 *** Spoiler Alert! *** The Boy From Pataliputra by Rahul Mitra is a book set in the 4th century BC. It is about the journey of one boy, from Pataliputra, and his personal transformation through new experiences and affiliations that he comes across. The story is adventurous and straight, and at many places thought provoking. The book begins with the introduction of two brothers, Ajeet and Aditya. Being the elder of the duo, Ajeet is the responsible one, pushing the care free Aditya to steady up and make something out of himself.  But Aditya learns it the hard way when Ajeet is framed and executed for a crime he did not commit. Shocked and resentful, Aditya is sent away to Takshashila under the guidance of Pandi, a merchant with excellent swordsmanship. Takshashila opens up a n...

Title:  Sita - Warrior of Mithila Author: Amish Tripathi Genre: Fiction, Mythology Pages: 376 Publisher: Westland The second book in the Ramachandra series by Amish Tripathi is up for pre-order. It is expected to release somewhere towards the end of May, 2017. Although the first book was a tad bit disappointing, I do hope this one makes up for it. Pre-order your copy from Amazon.in   here . Book Blurb She is the warrior we need. The Goddess we await. She will defend Dharma. She will protect us. India, 3400 BCE. India is beset with divisions, resentment and poverty. The people hate their rulers. They despise their corrupt and selfish elite. Chaos is just one spark away. Outsiders exploit these divisions. Raavan, the demon king of Lanka, grows increasingly powerful, sinking his fangs deeper into the hapless Sapt Sindhu.  Two powerful tribes, the protectors of the divine land of India, decide that enough is enough. A saviour is needed. They begin their sea...

Buy from Amazon.in Title:  Half Pants Full Pants: Real-Life Tales from Shimoga Author: Anand Suspi Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Pages: 221 Publisher: Hector Beverages India Private Limited Rating: 4.5/5 Paperboat always sends books and stuff, but what I look forward to are the cute little notes that come along! It adds a personal touch and is truly humbling. Thank you Paperboat for sending me this treasure of a book! I'll get to the review and you'll know what I'm talking about. Half Pants Full Pants   is a collection of childhood reminisces by Anand Suspi (the author), set in the town of Shimoga in Karnataka. The book begins with a short introduction of Shimoga before getting along with the stories. The author shares some unique experiences from his childhood such as inventing capris, making magnets, kung fu with mosquitoes and eating blades. I do not wish to indulge you in detail as it will take away the fun out of it. All I would...

Image Courtesy: Mukul Kumar Q. Hello Mukul and congratulations on publishing your second book 'Don't Believe in God Till You Experience Him' . Please tell us what the book is about. Mukul: Thank you Chitra. All of us in our own way make some choices around our belief systems. The search for supreme, spiritual quest and faith in supernatural have a lot to do with our life events, conditioning that we receive from the society and early influences. In the end, we also reach a stage when we have to decide on our own. We do not have a guide, a role model left. The book narrates the life of an ordinary person who also reaches that state where he needs to reflect on his life learning. Q. The protagonist's name is Mukul in the book. Is the story based on your personal life experience? Mukul: The story has inspirations from real life. Q. How did you begin writing? Mukul: Writing for me is a means of distressing and expressin...

Prashant Yadav The Jeera Packer , a recently released contemporary fiction, is gathering great responses by its readers. Here is Prashant Yadav, the author, shedding some light about his debut novel. Q1. Congratulations on your debut novel, Prashant! How does it feel to have your work published and received with raving reviews? A: It feels great. Seeing the book in print is a high - something that was just a warm idea in your head in a form people can touch, smell and read it. The reviews have been great and it’s been an awesome feeling. It gives me a a lot of strength to dig deeper for my future works and have crazier fun because unless you have fun creating something, your readers won’t have fun reading it. Q2. Absolutely. So, what is The Jeera Packer all about? A: It is a layered story operating at several levels. At one level, it is about all of us who want to do cool, exciting stuff but have to stick to our boring routine and unfulfilling jobs just t...

Download this book from Juggernaut here Title:  Ice : A Farooq Reshi Investigation Author: Praveen Swami Genre: Fiction, Short Stories, Crime Rating: 3.5/5 Ice by Praveen Swami was sent to me by Juggernaut . It is one of their December 2016 releases. The author is an expert on Islamic terrorism and a senior editor at the Indian Express. The book is set in the Kargil mountains where Superintendent Farooq Reshi is stationed. Two bodies are found in a cave in the mountains and, as is the case with every murder in the valley, the needle points towards the Lashkar terrorists. But when Farooq tries to get to the bottom of the case, he stumbles on something that reveals a lot more. The book is a very short read, all of 63 pages. The narrative is casual, to the point and blunt. The author has bared the simple, stark reality of the beautiful but disturbed valley. He, candidly, explains the life of the locals, their mentality and also of the army personnel...

Buy From Amazon.in Title:  Open Eyed Meditations Author: Shubha Vilas Genre: Non Fiction, Self Help Pages: 280 Publisher: Fingerprint! Publishing ISBN-13:  978-8175993907 Rating: 4/5 The author, Shubha Vilas, graciously sent me a copy of this book and I feel so privileged and honored for the same. He is a spiritual and a motivational speaker and through this book, he shares a part of his vast knowledge with us to help improve our lives. I guess it is safe to say that this book is a self help book. It is a unique module that teaches us how to cope with our situations and come to terms with the mystery, that is life.  Open Eyed Meditations  talks about various vices and issues faced by us and relevant examples borrowed from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata help the readers to relate to their current situations. The book contains practical tips that can be applied to our day to day lives and different aspects, both personal and professional....

Buy From Amazon.in Title:  The Cosmic Clues Author: Manjiri Prabhu Genre: Fiction, Crime, Mystery Pages: 324 Publisher: Jaico Publishing House ISBN-13:  978-8184954791 Rating: 3.8/5 The Cosmic Clues  is the first book of an astro detective series. The author, Manjiri Prabhu, has tried her hands at a new approach to solving crimes and I quite like that. I was curious and excited to find out what it was all about. So, here's the summary. Sonia Samarth opens an investigation venture named Stellar Investigations in Pune. But what sets her apart from other detectives is that she uses her astrological skills to help solve cases. She and her assistant, Jatin, are successful and soon gather attention. When the popular (and good looking) TV anchor, Mohnish, befriends Sonia, they develop more than just a friendship bond. Mohnish and Sonia together discuss about catching the ever so sly criminal, known to the world only as The Owl . In the mean time, Sonia ke...

Buy From Amazon.in Title:  One Indian Girl Author: Chetan Bhagat Genre: Fiction, Romance Pages: 280 Publisher: Rupa Publications India ISBN-13:  978-8129142146 Rating: 3.8/5 One Indian Girl   is the latest book by Chetan Bhagat. I pre ordered it from Amazon.in as the summary spiked enough interest in me and I was certainly curious. Here's what the book is about. The story begins with a wedding setup in Goa. Radhika Mehta is getting married to Brijesh Gulati and the entire clan from both the bride's and the groom's side has arrived. While Radhika is gearing up for her massive destination wedding, she surprisingly finds her two ex boyfriends, Debu and Neel at the venue, each one wanting to marry her. Debu was her boyfriend in New York, where she had first started her banking career. Radhika's hard work and diligence paid off and she began earning more than what Debu could imagine. Or handle. Due to her career oriented nature, Debu breaks ...

Buy From Amazon.in Title:  Open_Eyed Meditations Author: Shubha Vilas Genre: Non Fiction, Meditation, Self help Pages: 362 Publisher: FingerPrints ISBN- 13:    978-8175993907 Meditation essentially means perceiving deeper truths from within. For those who thought that meditation is a closed- eyed phenomenon, I beg to differ. And offer them Open- eyed Meditations, a book that shows another perspective to meditation. When you are open to life, life opens up to you. The upper limit of your ability to learn is determined by the upper limit of your desire to learn. Nature is actually a school that happily teaches eager students the secret lessons of life. Open-eyed Meditations is a collection of thoughts about various aspects of life that is purely inspired by observing the world through the lenses of the Vedic epics. Each meditation in the book deals with a modern problem that each one of us encounters in life and is accompanied b...