Sunday, August 30, 2015

The Nidhi Kapoor Story by Saurabh Garg

Book 59 Of Tornado Giveaway (Package5)




Name of the Book: THE NIDHI KAPOOR STORY
Author: Saurabh Garg

Read some reviews:

1. Nimue 
2. book r3vi3ws 
3. Namrata Ganti 

The Story:

Two dogs and a cat are butchered at the home of Nidhi Kapoor, a leading Bollywood actress. Left behind is a mysterious letter threatening Nidhi and her family.

Nishant Kapoor, Nidhi’s father and a superstar of the yesteryears is confined to a retirement facility in the hills. Tormenting him are his recurring dreams of someone trying to hurt him and his family.

A film set where Nidhi Kapoor is shooting for her much anticipated film goes up in flames. Trapped inside are Nidhi and her sister, Payal.

ACP Prakash Mohile is forced to take up the investigation. Rujuta Singh, a photojournalist chronicling the lives of policemen in Mumbai and shadowing Prakash, gets embroiled in the case.

Unwarranted incidents continue to happen and in absence of any real clues or motive, Prakash and Rujuta are forced to dig deeper in the past of the Kapoors. They unknowingly stumble onto a violent tale of lies, betrayal, treachery, infidelity and murder.

Time is running out fast and the unknown assailant is adamant on taking away from Nidhi everything that she holds dear - her career, her home, her reputation, her family and her life. With each move, he seems to be getting close. The answers however continue to elude Prakash and Rujuta.

What is it in their past that Kapoors are hiding from the world?

What grudge does the assailant hold against the Kapoors?

And, can they save Nidhi?


You can also buy @

About The Author 


Saurabh Garg 

Curious marketeer by the day, Saurabh Garg is a storyteller by the night. The Nidhi Kapoor story is his first full-length story.

Apart from writing, Saurabh is passionate about startups, travel and poker. When he is not working on creating characters and plots for his upcoming stories, he likes to meet and talk to other interesting people and ask them stupid questions that often don't have answers.

Saurabh maintains a very elaborate bucket list. The item on top of his list is to visit every country in the world. So far, he's been to 15.

Originally from Delhi and based out of Mumbai, he went to Delhi university and MDI Gurgaon for his undergrad and postgrad respectively.
Stalk him @
Website | Twitter | Facebook


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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Book Launch Of "Without You"

Posing with the book with Author Nandita Bose
The official book launch of 'Without You' was held at Atta Galatta, Bangalore on August 2, 2015. I was so caught up in the post release activities and many pent up works that I couldn't post on the blog until now.

'Without You' was launched by eminent Author Nandita Bose who has penned best sellers like Tread Softly, The Perfume of Promise and If Walls could Weep. She was gracious enough to accept my request to launch my book and I am so grateful for her kindness. I had the privilege to interact with her for more than an hour talking about writing, publishing and about the little things that makes writers tick. 

Another photo

Sridevi Nayak conducted the introduction and welcomed Nandita Bose and the audience to the book release function. 
With Sridevi Nayak

There was an interesting discussion about writing and publishing moderated by Nandita Bose, interspersed by me reading out excerpts from the book. There was a Q and A session afterwards which proved exciting and intimidating at the same time.

I was asked about my experience penning down a novel, my inspiration, my favorite authors, my favorite genre and my writing schedule.
 A few photos from the function.


With Varsha Rajeev, my school mate and first beta reader


With blogger friend Sreesha Divakaran



With College mate Sreelakshmi

Yummy snacks were provided by the Cafe. Atta Galatta is the brain child of Laxmi Shankar. Atta Galatta is one of its kind where book and bread come together to tempt all book lovers. Special thanks to all the staff at Atta Galatta for making the function memorable.

My God-daughters with Nandita Bose

The Board Outside

One of the many artworks at Atta Galatta

Books!

The ambiance at Atta Galatta with its dim lighting, comfortable and homely seating arrangements made me feel at home immediately and so did the friendly staff.

Check out Atta Galatta by clicking the below link

http://www.attagalatta.com/

Buy my book HERE
Without You



Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Metro Diaries by Namrata

Book 50 Of Tornado Giveaway (Package5)




Name of the Book: METRO DIARIES
Author: Namrata

Read some reviews:

1. Sundari Venkatraman 
2. Kritika Narula 
3. Sachin Prabhu 

The Story:

Love is one of the most amazing feelings on this earth, one that makes you the most powerful person or the most helpless person in a split second. These stories capture those feelings of despair, longing, love, lust, desire, want, dejection and admiration to createdeja vu. Hold onto your hearts as you flip through these pages and take a walk down the memory lane, as "metro diaries" will revive your innermost feelings and imbibe in you the magic of love. Touching, amusing and deeply moving, metro diaries - love classics are tales that will hold you from start till end.


You can also buy @

About The Author 


Namrata 

Namrata is an investment banker who dreams of making a difference to the world, one word at a time. She romances life through her writings and aspires to make love the universal language. She is a contributor to various anthologies and e-zines along with having recently published her first solo e-book called Metro Diaries: Seventeen LOVE classics. She is also the editor for Writer's Ezine, apart from being a reviewer for leading publishing houses.
Stalk her @
Website | Twitter | Facebook


Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word... Thank you for being a Reader... You keep the Authors motivated... This is our way of saying a Thank you :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Friday, August 21, 2015

Airtel 4G Internet

Slow internet is the biggest headache that we face today. In my household there are multiple users for the broadband Wifi internet that we have and it sucks when all of us are logged onto internet simultaneously.

The videos take forever to load, the facebook, twitter and linkedin pages tests our patience. That is when we wish that there was hi-speed internet on our phones.
With the new 4G connection from internet that promises high-speed 4G internet at the price of 3G, I find it exceedingly tempting to buy a 4G sim. Just a tweet with #GetAirtel4G and the sim will be home delivered. Tempting offer right?

Once I get it, I can start my own video channel of the many videos that I like to make at home. Some drawing tutorials, shading tutorials and some easy writing tips for aspiring authors. I have many personal videos of my son during his toddler years that I want to upload on Google Drive as a backup to the ones on my PC and my external hard disk storage. That way I can even share it with my friends.

I can download and watch many movies from my favorite websites and also connect to my PC using it as Wifi for my PC.

Google map guidance is essential in a city like Bangalore where finding a shop/ store or house can be quite tedious. Using 4G Airtel data I can easily navigate to places and that will be an amazing experience. With the many apps that provide locations for hotels, restaurants and bookstores, my phone is my biggest guide when it comes to finding my favorite haunts in the city. I order food, I find the route and also I book taxis to travel using my phone.

I can use it also while I travel to my native place every vacation, when the fear of getting lost in unfamiliar terrains are often very much cause of trouble for any traveler. With airtel data keeping us connected, we can travel tension free as help is always just a few clicks away.

When there is high speed internet, the quality of the YouTube videos are high and the enjoyment factor too is high. The pleasure of watching my favorite songs with constant buffering of even the initial advertisements if highly irritating.

I binge watch TV shows at times and hi speed internet will ensure that I get to save more time as most shows are minimum 30 minute shows.

There are also the TED videos and motivational videos that I return to watch when I am looking for inspiration. It is often highly essential for me whenever I am in a bad mood that I watch one of my favorite motivational videos. They instantly pep me up.

So all in all, 4G internet from Airtel promises to pep up my life.

For more details click here:


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Equinox by Madhuri Maitra

Book 41 Of Tornado Giveaway (Package5)






Name of the Book: EQUINOX
Author: Madhuri Maitra

Read some reviews:

1. Nikita Jhanglani 
2. Privy Trifles 
3. Nilima Mohite

The Story:

When Indus Publishers announces a short story competition, it affects the lives of the ensemble cast in unexpected ways. A jaded journalist, a bored housewife, a starry-eyed ambitious girl, an army colonel, an impoverished divorcee-all enter the competition for pressing reasons of their own. They emerge with only slightly deeper pockets than they had but far richer in experience. Social issues are explored in an engaging manner, entwined in the lives of the characters-this is indeed the way of life. The novel also promises an enchanting look at the diversity in India; the characters belong to different Indian states and embody the peculiarities of the people of that region. Equinox and its checkered characters step to music of their own; many readers will find that it resonates with their own inner music.

You can also buy @

About The Author 



Madhuri Maitra 

Always an avid reader, dreaming of delighting her own readers someday, Madhuri published her first two books in 2014. Haiku and other Micropoetry is a collection of short verse on nature and on life; while Equinox is a novel dealing with urban realities. While the former is pithy and thought-provoking, the latter is a simple reflection of modern lives.

Madhuri lives and teaches in Pune. Films are as close to her heart as books are; she teaches Film Appreciation in addition to Creative Writing. She enjoys bringing her favourite authors and films to young minds. She also conducts workshops for children and adults. She has also written and published papers on films and on writing.

She is currently enjoying the monsoon, immersing herself in her personal library and nurturing ideas for her third book.
Stalk her @


Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word... Thank you for being a Reader... You keep the Authors motivated... This is our way of saying a Thank you :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Pepper Carrot Macaroni


Pasta from Del monte


Italian food tour, learning from an Italian Nona… that was the temptation! The chef in me was raring to prove herself. I had always fantasized that I had something Italian in me. May be, ages ago, I had incarnated in a picturesque Italian village…

I prodded the sleeping Italian part of my soul a hundred times and still no recipe materialized. The nice little packet of pasta from Del monte was used up in the experiments in search of that elusive dish that would land me the most coveted prize in the competition. But the Italian food memories embedded in my soul continued to sleep; even after receiving umpteen kicks!

Then today, I decided to try one last time before giving up. And this is what I ended up with.

Pepper Carrot Macaroni


Pepper Carrot Macaroni

Ingredients:

·         1 carrot (grated)
·         1 Onion ( Cut into small pieces)
·         Macaroni 1.5 cups
·         Boiled Milk 1/2 cup

·         Pepper and Salt: to taste
·         Cheese: grated

1)      Boil macaroni with enough water and salt to taste and cook it till tender. Drain away the excess water.
2)      Saute the Onion and Carrots in oil in a pan and add the cooked macaroni to it. Sauté for a minute and pour in the boiled milk. Stir and add the pepper powder (I added 1/2 a teaspoon). Spread cheese over it.
3)      Serve hot.


And it was so yummy that my son finished it off within no time.

 This post is a part of 

DEL MONTE: BLOG YOUR WAY TO ITALY.

For more details visit

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Kaleidoscope-The Changing Colors of Love

Book 23 Of Tornado Giveaway (Package5)



Name of the Book : KALEIDOSCOPE: THE CHANGING COLORS OF LOVE
Author: Rachna Gupta

Read some reviews:

1. Kritika Narula
2. Anand
3. Tamanna Naik

The Story:

"Every beating heart will confess that once, at least once in their lifetime they were in love."

The collection of poems in this book talks about an emotion so strong that it has the potential to create and destroy! Love in all its capacity has that aura around it; it needs to be felt and when it resides in your soul you find it giving rise to feelings never experienced before. There is passion and tenderness when being together, estrangement and pain when two souls are apart and then there is joy and relief when bound together again. The 37 poems in this book talk about this amazing feeling as seen through my eyes and felt in my heart!

You can also buy @

About The Author 


Rachna Gupta 

If poetry to you means a quest of meditative solace in the realms of nature's beauty then, inscriptions by Rachna Gupta is your gateway to a mystic appreciation of emotions and individuality.

Being brought up in the picturesque city of Siliguri - a little haven cozily tucked at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas; seeking inspiration from nature came spontaneously to Rachna. Blessed with a childhood that's reminiscent of untouched rural bliss, she would often sit under a mango tree writing in her diary with the wind rustling her hair and whispering sweet nothings in her ears. It is no surprise that her writings depict intense reverence to the power of nature; a divine unifying spirit that runs through everything she pens on paper.

An avid reader and traveler; Rachna breathes a nomad's soul which loves meeting people, understanding new cultures and absorbing the vibrancy in aesthetics that various geographies have to offer. She is also fond of music and cooking. Rachna has spent the last few years writing a variety of articles for Buzzle.com and InfoJug.com. Her poems and short stories can be found on Writing.com and her page on Facebook. Since 2013 her work has begun inviting recognition on well-regarded websites like, Fablery and Wordweavers.com. She has published two of her poems in the December 2013 issue of 'Taj Mahal Review'.

In a novel initiative beginning July 2014, Rachna brought to life her dream of sharing book reviews and personal rendezvous with authors to her readers through her blog. The blog so far has reviews of books written by acclaimed authors such as Paulo Coelho, Khalid Hosseini and Gulzar to name a few. It also invites Guest posts by other authors to add to the novelty of its offerings.

Rachna’s penchant also lies in teaching English language to primary children and draws inspiration in them by inculcating values of literature in budding years. Despite everything that keeps her busy throughout the day, she religiously makes notes about little things that capture her attention. At the end of day when the rest of the world sleeps, these notes are transformed into poems and stories for the world to read!

A doting mother to her son, Rachna now lives in Pune with her husband and son.

Stalk her @


Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word... Thank you for being a Reader... You keep the Authors motivated... This is our way of saying a Thank you :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#TornadoGiveaway is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you :)


Thursday, August 13, 2015

There is Something About You : Yashodhara lal






I received this book as part of the Indiblogger Book Review program. The many promotions online had made me apply for it. So what do I think about the book now that I have completed reading it?


Blurb:

This is not your typical boy-meets-girl story. Okay, they do meet, but there are some complications. 

Trish is twenty-eight. She’s unemployed, overweight, single and snarky. She knows all that. And if one more person – just one more person – tries to fix her, she might explode. Sahil is thirty-five. He has superpowers. Well, kind of. He seems to think so, anyway. He’s also hot (okay, in a geeky kind of way, but still). And he plays the guitar, helps the underprivileged and talks about his feelings. Aren’t guys like that supposed to exist only in fantasies? 

When Trish and Sahil meet, magic happens. Real magic, you know, like fireworks, electricity, that sort of thing. But here’s the problem. Trish doesn’t want anyone in her life. She has enough to deal with – dependent parents, flaky neighbours, bitchy editors, the works. And yet, Sahil is determined to be in her life. 


My Review

To read a book on a rainy afternoon accompanied by a hot cup of tea is one of the best pleasures that life can offer as far as a bibliophile like me is considered. When the book turns out to be a good read, it is an added bonus. Here, I list the things I liked about 'There is Something about You.'

The different storyline:

Trish is a well rounded character (pun intended) and compassionate to the core. She has just been fired from her job and the financial burden of looking after her aging parents, especially her father who is an Alzheimer patient is weighing on her in the beginning on the story. Nothing is rosy in her life. She has a weight issue as well. And everyone wants to fix her, driving her crazy.

 The book talks about her transformation from being a doormat to a completely independent and strong character. Sahil, along with his psychic abilities, comes into her life and changes her perception about many things, in a way giving it a proper direction. 

They are connected by a past deed and this adds more to the depth of their relation. But Sahil comes in with his own set of problems for which he needs the help of Trish. 
Will she be able to handle it all along with the immense burden that life has already thrown on her?


The Letters:My favorite part of the book:

Trish, the protagonist ends up writing a regular column for a newspaper as the anonymous Amy who is famous for employing her tongue-in-cheek humor to solve the agonies of the readers who write in with their problems. She deals with many issues that plague the society and in the process discovers more about herself and life in general. Some letters are silly, some serious and some out and out comical. 

Many themes and a simple language

There is an undercurrent of extra-marital affair, child psychology, dependent parents, weight issues and love in this cleverly written book. 

Language is simple and the narration is lucid, intriguing. The added element of the letters gives spice and sauce to the otherwise normal story of a girl-next-door.This is a book filled with humor and sarcasm that gives giggles, while it tackles serious issues. 

Verdict


All in all a good read for a rainy afternoon. I really enjoyed it. Yashodhara Lal's writing style reminded me of Sophie Kinsella. 

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Will those days ever return?

Flower carpet these days: A scene from home


The flower boy is pushing his cart down our street shouting the names of the flowers. His cart is an amazing riot of colors. The jasmines, chrysanthemums, marigold and roses vie for my attention. 

Instantly, I am transported to a place which is miles away and to a time that is decades ago. Flowers do this to me always. I can hear the laughter, the smell of mouth watering payasam, the fragrance of exotic wild flowers and the chatter of many a happy kid. The visit of a beloved King Mahabali is being awaited by every household and flower carpets are being created in the courtyard to welcome him.

Young maidens are humming the Onam song and are slowly grooving around in a circle doing the Thiruvathira dance.   

Thiruvathira dance Image Source
 
“Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam,
Manusharellarum onnu pole.
Amodathode vasikkum  kalam,
Aapathangaarkum ottilla thanum…”

Yes, they are singing and reminiscing the good old days when King Mahabali or Maveli ruled over Kerala. When there was happiness and prosperity all around, where there was no treachery and when Kerala was a safe haven.

Without fail, a duplicate Maveli would come to every house. A random pot bellied man selected from the village would don the role of Mahabali every year. As Kids, we genuinely revered the thick mustached, pot bellied King with the giant crown and colorful costumes. It didn’t matter that the crown was made of card board, the jewels plastic beads and the costume was on rent from the dance class.

With the arrival of Attham in the month of Chingam (August-September), our school holidays of ten blissful days would begin and so would plenty of fun. We would create flower baskets using leaves of teak and jackfruit tree which would be diligently weaved using the needles of coconut leaves. The hunt for flowers will begin once the intensity of the sunrays will begin to reduce. So after lunch we would set out with friends and foes to gather flowers— friends joined together to thwart the foes at the sight of the first flower bush.

There would be separate baskets for thumbappoo, Arippoo, Chembarathi, Kaakkappoovu, Hanumaan kireedam. 



Hanuman Kireedam: Image Source
Tumbappo : Image Source

There would be strict instructions from elders about the ‘dos’ and ‘donts’ during flower gathering.

The rules:

1)      Do not harm the flower shrubs, pluck only the flowers: (Often obeyed,  as we needed flowers for 10 days at a stretch)

2)      No fights about who gets to pick flowers from which shrub: (Often ignored and the results were bruised knees, bite and nail marks during the bitter fights that erupted during these flower gathering trips. Alliances were made and broken with the hapless flowers as witnesses.)

3)      Do not go to pick flowers from fields which have not been harvested: (Often ignored. Nature often made the prettiest flowers bloom in the greenest paddy fields. Elders who stood guarding the fields would shoo us away and we would return the moment they turned their back. There were special spies employed for this very purpose.)

4)      Return before sunset: (Often obeyed. Most of us were scared cats when it came to wandering after sun set. We believed those tales about banshees, ghosts and man eater tigers. Didn’t want to take any risks)

5)      Create the flower carpets early in the morning: (Most of them obeyed, I was an exception. None of them were fans of the pleasures of a blissful sleep during the early hours on a cool august morning. That too on holidays. My flower carpet would often be the last one made in our locality.)

Those were the days we were closest to nature, when we set out to explore the wilderness and beauty of the country side and bonded over hopscotch and stone games. The size of the flower carpets would increase in size starting from Attham. The largest and prettiest carpet would be made on the Thiruvonam day.

Those were the pre-cable TV era, the pre-internet era. We kids cherished nature and waited for the seasons to change in order to explore the new changes that mother earth orchestrated.

With every passing year, the bonding with nature that Onam symbolized is vanishing. Now it is more about shopping festivals, reduction sales, readymade feasts and flower carpet competitions with purchased flowers. Wild flowers are forgotten, no one even remembers them. Paddy fields are giving way to villa projects, the valleys are all filled with buildings. The myriad hues of flowers imported from neighboring states flood the Onam markets.

Instead of going in search of flowers, kids order their parents to bring the choice of their flowers to arrange the flower carpet.

I wish I could gift an Onam from my own childhood to my son so that he could understand the essence of Onam, the festival which celebrates the blooming earth, prosperity and goodness.

But yes, I can share my memories with him and make him yearn to enjoy the same kind of bonding with nature and experience the beauty of unexplored country sides.

This post is being written for the #BachpanWithFlinto blogger contest.
Flintobox creates award-winning discovery boxes filled with fun exploratory activities and games for children in the age group of 3-7. If you wish to gift Flintobox to your child, niece/nephew, or friend’s child, use the exclusive coupon code WELCOME to avail Rs. 250/- off.