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‘Much later she thought, I could have phoned and thanked him. No. Let this remain unsaid. I'm feeling special. I've just received the flowers of narcissus for a gift. These bloom on the mountains where silence swims in the air.’ Having sat on the review for almost a month and thinking and rethinking about the novel, I don’t find a more apt and lyrical paragraph in the entire book like the one above… Translated by #VasudhaDalmia as #TheMusicOfSolitude, #KrishnaSobti’s #SamaySargam is the story of Aranya and Ishan – neighbours in a Delhi complex but diametrically opposite to each other. Aranya is a feisty writer, living life on her own terms, vocal, impulsive and rebellious while Ishan is calm, disciplined, respect social norms and believes in the family institution despite having no one who calls on him. The #novel revolves around their daily lives and their little interactions. How each one is content in their own cocoon yet dependant on the other for emotional comfort. The beauty of the novel is that at no moment do you feel pity for these two for being alone or ‘deserted’. They are alone but they are definitely not lonely. They enjoy their space and solitude, they even need it to sail them through the last years of their lives. To truly understand this, you need to see Aranya and Ishan in contrast to the elderly friends they visit regularly – the old widow, the former charismatic writer or the old man who was having an affair. Each saddened, bound by social norms and restricted by their children in contrast to these two highly functional emotional beings. It’s at that moment you decide how you want to grow old. Do you want to be like Aranya or Ishan, independent, happy or do you want to die worrying what the world thinks of you or what your family has reduced you to? The sense of dignity in old age is what I admire about the novel and I believe that every young person who lives with or has ageing parents should read this once. #hindiliterature #hindinovels #indianfiction #indiathroughstories #indianwriter #readindianliterature #litwithindianlit #lovetoread #livetoread #readerslife #readerforlife

A few days back I received a warm message in my instagram messages asking to review ‘Bestseller’. Yes, I had heard of the book and yes I wanted to read it. But right now? Maybe not. Not being able to say no, I picked it up immediately as I had just finished reading something which gave me a lot to think about. Bestseller arrived promptly the next day from Amazon and being a weekend I finished reading it in a jiffy. In one word, it’s unputdownable. You have to, have to, read it cover to cover in one go. Tightly written and cautiously edited, it has all the elements of a popular fiction novel in place – humour, relationships, intrigue and most importantly a keep you on the edge plot line. You would really have to dig deep to find an out of place strand in this one. I liked the style of introducing the main protagonist’s thoughts in between what he is saying in italics as well as the sense of urgency by naming the title chapters according to days lapsed. The way the women characters are written you would never think the author is male – bold, vivacious and outgoing, his characters are as everyday and normal like any working woman you would meet in a city like Mumbai. Though not literary in its descriptions, Ahmed has painted a beautiful picture of Colaba in his book. If anyone of you have read Anurag Mathur while growing up and miss his brand of humour, Bestseller is a must read. #bestseller #popularfiction #mustread #putitonyourtbr #review #unitedbookstagram #indianfiction #readmorebooks #lovetoread #livetoread #readerslife #readerforlife - @ahmedfaiyazofficial

At times inane things catch your interest... #kalaghoda #mumbaidiaries #justanothersunday #walkingaround #spotted

THE COVER IS OUT! THE COVER IS OUT! 💕 #Repost from @vintagebooks - Remember all that green at the end of last year? Well, it’s back! Today we can show you the cover for #MargaretAtwood’s #TheTestaments, designed by Noma Bar and coming 10 September 2019. Here’s what Atwood has to say about the cover: ‘I am so pleased that Noma Bar – who did such a brilliant job with the hardcover reissue of The Handmaid’s Tale – took on the challenge of designing The Testaments cover. It can’t have been easy, but he came through with a cover that is fresh and intriguing: within an apparently simple double image, there are hidden figures to be discovered – just as in the book. I hope you like it as much as I do.’ #TheTestaments #margaretatwood #handmaidstale #booknews #bookcover #bookstagram #bookshelf #bookworm

I get paranoid when I can’t find a book. I lend many books and borrow an equal number. I like to return the book if I remember the name of the person I borrowed it from. I often buy the same book repeatedly at second hand book sales, forgetting that I have a copy in my unread pile somewhere. Walk in @libib Thanks to this fantastic app recommended by a fellow reader two years ago, I’ve been able to classify my #library lists according to the places where I’ve kept my books. There is a special list for #borrowed books tagging the names and numbers of those who I’ve taken it from and similarly for the #books I l#end. I’m grateful to this app for saving me the heartburn and many anxious hours. I can now find the location of my books with a quick search on the app. Further, if I buy a new book, all I need to do is scan the ISBN code to save it on the library of my choice. Now when I go to second book sales, I scan the bar code and check if I have a copy of the book or not. All this and more for free. #Libib is not only #free but #advertisementfree! I think it is the smoothest and fastest library management app around. I hate scanning books into #GoodReads. It doesn’t give me half the flexibility. However, this app now needs our support. They are looking for donations for sustenance. If you can, please do. I wish I could... The Libib link for donations is on the bio! #librarymanagementapp #readerforlife #readerslife #notapaidpost #readersbuddy #linkinbio #booksarebae #readersapp #bookish #bookstagram #unitedbookstagram #lovetoread #livetoread #readers #igreads #bibliophile #thankyou #grateful #thankfulthursday

And here comes the biggest literary announcement this year via @vintagebooks! 😍🤩 . . #Repost - The wait is over. The sequel to The #HandmaidsTale by @therealmargaretatwood is coming. #TheTestaments will be published in Sept 2019. Hop across to their handle for more! #cantwait #wontwait #sequel #vintagebooks #margaretatwood #readerslife #readerforlife #lovetoread #livetoread #literary #bookworm #bookstruck #bookgram #booklove #booktag #bookgram

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Random thoughts

July 22, 2014Mansi Dhanraj Shettyage, growing up, marriage, settle 3 Comments Aside

By the time you hit the 28th year the heat is already on. You will be 30 soon or you are almost 30. Marriage, settled in life and the usual rant.

One day later on the other side of 30, I’m still unmarried and yet settled in life. Settled in my thoughts, settled in the way I live my life, settled in what I do. I’m responsible for what I do. Have the power to say no and the humility to accept that I’m so so very wrong. Have the acceptance of defeat and the ability to bounce back.

On the other hand, when it comes to the other kind of settling, age is just a number waiting to be experimented with each year…

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On turning 30

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3 thoughts on “On turning 30”

Anusia says:

Turning 30 means entering in to the veteran’s world. I wish my each birthday comes every after 5 yrs.

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October 6, 2014 at 15:39 Reply
- Mansi says:
  
  🙂 well 30’s is the new 20’s
  
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  October 25, 2014 at 12:00 Reply
Riju says:

Oh, and 22nd July is my birthday too.

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December 2, 2014 at 14:44 Reply

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