An Interview with the Curious : Priyajit Ghosh, contributory author Love; A Sweet Poison 2

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hello I am Priyajit Ghosh, of 23 and live in Durgapur, West Bengal. I am an Electronics engineer and Love ; A Sweet Poison 2 is my first venture as a published author.

2. Define yourself in one word.

Curious.

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?

I started writing since my childhood, when I was around 6 -7 yrs.

4.What motivates you to write?

It’s really difficult to say what exactly motivates me to write, there are so many.  Considering the fact that our world is an infinite array of different different possibilities that can blow your mind, from beauty to intense pain. But If I were to point out one big factor among those many, I would probably say that innovation. Science being my passion, I have always tried to look at incidents in a different way and think out of the box, and trying to give forth to something innovative. And I hope my stories continue to reflect this fact of newness.

5.What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?

Fiction all the way.

6.To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?

For me it’s a film that best expresses everything. As we know, a process of learning becomes complete only when we visualize it through our eyes and ears. A film projects the story in a way such that it becomes complete. In writing a book, words are limited. The author may try to portray a character some way and it might get differently to the readers. This is what is called a ‘semantic gap’, and it might create a real gap between exactly what the author feels and the magic he wants to portray and what the reader visualizes. A video or film reduces that, it clearly portrays what is right from both eyes and ears.

7. What would you like to be reborn as?

A human again will do fine ;-)

8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?

Like every common man, I yearn both, separating the greed for either of them..

9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers?

There is nothing to react, it’s a part and parcel of an author’s life.

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

Three things if you want to be different from the pack— Imagination, newness and self-belief.

*****

An interaction with 'Creative Bro' aka Shriya Gupta - the Bohemian of Love; A Sweet Poison 2

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hey! I am Shriya Gupta a.k.a Bro. My story ‘Sacrifices’ published in Love - A Sweet Poison 2 is my second anthology.

An engineer by fate but a writer by choice. I am studying Automobile Engineering from VNRVJIET, Hyderabad. Art is my love and storytelling is my passion. I aspire to become a writer and a director. I have started a creative organization called The Nation's Rock Beat to bring about an artistic creative revolution.

2. Define yourself in one word.

Creative.

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?

I never knew that I had a knack for writing till my 9th grade.

It came into my life as a fortunate accident and the scars from it are to stay forever.

4. What motivates you to write?

You earn money, you top your exams or you become extremely famous and then you create a piece of an art, the amount of happiness you experience is surreal in the last case.

So, for me each day without any creative work is a day wasted.

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?

Every piece is unique in its own way. You get to learn something new from the above mentioned genre. So, I can go with any genre as long as the piece has a strong and grasping writing style.

6.To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?

For a storyteller, the story is the hero and the medium is just the spot boy. So, every storyteller just hopes that their stories reach out to the maximum audience no matter what medium it is.

7. What would you like to be reborn as?

I am tomboy by nature so would like to be reborn as a boy.

8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?

An adequate mixture of both will work fine for me as long as I am creatively satisfied and being able to bring a change for art in this world.

9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers?

Any kind of rejection means it's time to reanalyze. To sit back and think where have I been going wrong and how should I get back on track.

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

I was and am still scolded by all my English teachers that I don't write as soon as an idea hits me.

I am still trying to work on it. So, to all the new writers, just write without any hesitation. Write your heart out at that very moment. Read that and write again. Keep writing and writing forever.

*****

Interaction with ostentatious and optimist Sagar Garg contributory author Love; A Sweet Poison 2

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hey, I am Sagar Garg. I have been born and bought up in New Delhi, India. My days have nothing more than managing our long established business where I work for ten-twelve hours a day, if that counts. At nights I used to scribble and read. For me, a day without reading is a day less lived. Writing in my life has been adopted from minor infraction of over-thinking which I best shot to turn down in words and make people believe in it. To know more you can visit my Facebook page here’s the link:  https://www.facebook.com/iamsagargarg

2. Define yourself in one word.

Optimistic. I believe in accepting the things the way they are and changing them rather than taking terror and complaining.

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?

To be honest I am yet to start with my professional writing for what I do now is just a side-effect of my over-thinking and insomniac disability combined which I discovered when I turned thirteen.

4. What motivates you to write?

It’s you! I’ve been inspired by the world around me, by people or lives to be precise like how differently amazing things happen in life. I believe every life has a story that too, a different one, so why left it untold.

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?

Biographies interest me the most, though literature always came interesting to me. I also read fictions, especially young adult a lot but biographies because flavor of reading the reality can’t be compared with something else.

6. To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?

That’s a tricky one, for me its prose and poetry for the obvious reason that I love writing. Not that others can’t do justice, they are pretty much equally artistic but I go with it because it gives me better chance to come out as what I really am.

7. What would you like to be reborn as?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a positive personality, I love whatever I have been gifted with so, there’s nothing I know to be reborn as other than what I am today.

8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?

Happiness would have been my answer had there not been two options already. From above I will choose the latter.

9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers?  

Probably disappointed from my own self perhaps there will be a sigh of relief if they reject my bad work before reaching it to readers.   

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

I hope none of you are forcing yourself to write.

*****

Interview with ostentatious optimistic Sagar Garg, contributory author Love; A Sweet Poison 2

Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hey, I am Sagar Garg. I have been born and bought up in Delhi. My days have nothing more than managing our pre-owned business where I work for ten-twelve hours a day, if that counts. At nights I used to scribble and read. For me, a day without reading is a day less lived. Writing in my life has been adopted from minor infraction of over-thinking which I best shot to turn down in words and make people believe in it. To know more you can visit my fb page here’s the link:  https://www.facebook.com/iamsagargarg

               Define yourself in one word.

Optimistic. I believe in accepting the things and changing them rather than taking terror and complaining.

At what stage of your life you started writing?

To be honest I am yet to start with my professional writing for what I do now is just a side-effect of my over-thinking and insomnious disability combined which I discovered when I turned thirteen.

What motivates you to write?

It’s You! I’ve been inspired by the world around me, by people or lives to be precise like how differently amazing things happen in life. I believe every life has a story that too, a different one, so why left it untold.

What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?

       Biographies interests me the most, though literature always came interesting to me. I also read fictions, especially young adult a lot but biographies because flavor of reading the reality can’t compare with something else.

                                                                        

            To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and                   why?

           That’s a tricky one, for me its prose and poetry for the obvious reason that I love writing. Not              that other medium are bad but I go with prose and poetry because it gives me better chance to              come out as what I really am.

What would you like to be reborn as?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a positive personality, I love whatever I have been gifted with and there’s nothing I know to be reborn as other than what I am today.

Which is more important to you; money or fame?

Happiness would have been my answer had there not been two options already. From above I will choose the latter.

 How do you react when rejected by the publishers?

Probably disappointed from my own self perhaps there will be a sigh of relief if they reject my bad work before reaching it to readers.  

Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

I hope none of you are forcing yourself to write.

Review of Adam, Eve And The Apple : Story by Priyajit Ghosh in Love; A Sweet Poison 2

Story:

The day I read this story, I was moved by its theme and my heart selected it for the anthology immediately. This is the story of an Apple tree planted by Adam and Eve. On the very day of their marriage anniversary  when it bears its first apple, a devil plays a dirty game and tries to spoil everything by conspiring to kill them. The tree feels, observes and tries to save them. Whether the tree succeeds in saving the lives of Adam and Eve, read this compelling heart touching story by Priyajit Ghosh.

Merits:
The way the feelings of a tree for Adam, Eve and their son George has been described is commendable. You get mesmerized when you read that tree also loves them as its parents and brother and its pain for them due to the premonition it has about the ill designs of the devil and how helpless it feels in saving their lives. Wonderful! Keep it up with more such different and offbeat stories. The literary world needs a writer like you.

Demerits:
I don't remember if there're any. Yes, a few readers will find a tad difficult to understand the gist of the story in first go. Nothing more.

Quotes I liked:

"That's perhaps the ultimate aim of life - to give back more lives in return."

"Maybe that's what happens when your every bit of soul is happy - you see the world through your soul."

Ratings :
Story: 5/5
Language: 4/5
Literature: 4/5
Overall : 4.5/5

Best of luck and all the best for future.

Rajeev Pundir

Review : ‘Dawn At Dusk’ By Gaurav Sharma Published By Petal Publisher

Story: 

This is a story; albeit I would say a different one, of a boy named Aradhaya. He’s compelled to return to India from Oxford, where he is studying, due to sudden demise of his millionaire parents in a car accident. By nature and by age, he’s naïve, not-so-mature, quite emotional, and vulnerable. Tricked by a game played by one of his relative, he gets married to Devyani, a crook, who manages to escape taking all his cash and jewelry in acquaintance with her leman/husband. Saddened by this betrayal, he tries to seek solace and crave for motherly-love. Circumstances lead him to a woman; Sambhavi Rajgopalan, thirteen years senior to his age and driven by his craving, he falls for her. Then a different story begins.

Merits:

The book can be divided into two parts – First; Language and the literature. Second; the story and the plot.

Taking the first part first, I would say that Gaurav Sharma has an absolute mastery over English language. In this novel also he’s used his best narrating the story inculcating almost everything – emotions of love, crush, infatuation, betrayal and sacrifice by using adequate and proper metaphors, adjectives etc. Inclusion of heart touching poetry at different intervals has made the book quite different in terms of language and literature. Kudos to him.

Now the second part – the story and the plot. The story is different, distinctive and unconventional. Dealing with such a subject is difficult and I congratulate him to dare in taking up such an offbeat tale.

Demerits and areas of improvement:

The story is also plotted into two distinctive parts. Whereas the first half deals with Aradhaya’s search for love in Sambhavi and in Meera both, the second half is dedicated to his project he’s taken to prove his mettle as challenged by Sambhavi. Since there’s no mention of Sambhavi and Meera in later half but last two chapters, the story seems to lag behind from its course and this is where a disinterest develops in the reader.

The protagonist is yet to mature mentally, as his feelings swing between Sambhavi and Meera, who’s supposed to be the adopted daughter of Sambhavi. Falling for an older woman is fine but falling for her daughter at the same time is somewhat I found awkward (Page No.52).

Aradhaya joins the college at Pune to do research in English literature under Sambhavi where she’s HOD in English department. Taking the subject of Meghdoota written by Kalidasa for research in English literature didn’t fit well into the plot. Had he taken Sanskrit subject for research and had she been HOD of Sanskrit department would have been appropriate. The writer has not clarified whether he completes his research or moves from there without it.

When challenged by Sambhavi to prove himself on his own, Aradhaya goes to Shyamal Taal where he decides to do something for the welfare of local poor people. And, he does that by investing the money earned and left by his father. He almost does nothing to earn even a single penny by putting his own efforts. His contribution is limited to taking a decision to invest his inherited money. Subjecting him to vigorous daunting tasks showing him starting from a scratch would have justified the theme.

The cover of the book needs to be reworked. The body language of the boy looking at the lady doesn’t express that he’s in love with her. On the contrary he seems annoyed and to attack her anytime.

Quotes I liked:

‘The ceiling was neat but I was toiling to recognize figures in the marks left by brush strokes.’

‘The sunshine is invisible. It can only be felt. You can’t grab it. Love is like sunshine. Just feel it. Attempting to capture it will only sadden you.’

‘Sex is not evil until it remains under the reins of love.’        

My take:

The subject of love and sacrifice in love has been unfolded well in this book. Keeping in view that no book is perfect, I recommend this book for upgrading one’s vocabulary and English as a subject. It’s an unconventional story and not a cup of everyone. Only serious readers will enjoy it. I, certainly would like to read more from Gaurav Sharma’s pen.

Rating:

Story : 2.5/5

Plotting: 2.5/5

Language:  5/5

Literature: 5/5

Overall : 3/5

All the best Gaurav for your future endeavors.

Rajeev Pundir

Interview with an ebullient eclectic writer Bhumika Khatri from Love; A Sweet Poison 2

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

     Hello readers. I am Bhumika, a journalist at 21, and work for a news website in Delhi. My heart and  soul is in a small town of MP, but my career keeps moving, hopefully soon across the globe. I have  been writing across different platforms for a few years now, and this was my second venture of  getting published. I am an ambivert with knack for words. I say words because I listen to music which  speaks to me through the words, I read books over movie and I write over talking. I am gladly a weird  girl, fun girl, talk-to-in-emergency girl, and what not, because tags stopped bothering me long back. 

 2. Define yourself in one word.

    Eclectic

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?

     I was more of a scribbler since the time I lost my first best friend and I was just 16 then. It was a  way to let out things I didn't realize I had in me, and even today what I write comes as a surprise to  even me. 

4. What motivates you to write?

   Emotions, Thoughts, Actions, People, actually anything and everything motivate me to jot down. In  complete honesty, my thoughts are in a whirlwind most of the times, and I write. Truly speaking,  anything that crosses me, finds a way in my words. 

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?   

    I enjoy fiction as well as travelogue the most. But in the past year with my career choice nonfiction is  my way of life, and therefore, biographies help me find perspectives to things.

6.To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?

     Every medium of art is an amazing way to express, but to me prose is my haven.  There are so many  amazing works which have been reiterated in different ways, but to me the originality of words out  there on pages is the only way I feel everything in my bones.  

7. What would you like to be reborn as?

    When I was a kid, my answer would have always been as a boy, but since I'm old enough to  understand gender issues, I have never thought about this. 

 8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?     

     This is tough. I would be stupid to just deny the importance of money or even fame, because both  keep you moving to achieve higher, be better. And, I believe both complement each other fairly good,  but what’s fame in rags or what’s money in defamation? So, these can’t be supplements to me, but always complimentary.

9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers? 

   Honestly speaking, I don’t know about this because this is just my second try which was successful,  but I have written some bad stories or works and of course, I felt bad. But I have this sense of taking up  my accountability, so usually I go after the person to explain my errors and work on it. Be it criticism  or review, I need to understand the reason to improve it and that’s my way to deal with rejection.  

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?

    Even though I am fairly new to this field, I can speak only on the basis of my experience. Open your  ears, eyes, mind and of course, your heart. Keep the doors for ideas open, and jot down your idea as  soon as possible. And always write in the flow. Write rubbish, but write at the moment. And always  and I emphasize ‘always’ edit, re-edit and re-re-edit your work. Plus, what my teacher has always advised, Read-Read-Read.

*****

Interview with the gem of a writer the Jimmy : Komal Raichandani

1. Introduce yourself to the audience.

Hello, myself  Komal Raichandani, an M.phil in English literature, working  as a writer in Kutch. Have authored a book named ‘Literary Riaz!’ along with ‘Let There Be You!’ and various other stories. I’m an ardent reader, interacting, and deeply in love with life and  its beings.  Love to travel, write, surf and watch movies. Cult cinema and food interests me. I barely skip a movie. My area of study is post modern literature. Love to watch and read interviews leading to learn something new everyday. I wish to be a cinema maker very soon. Love to love people.

2. Define yourself in one word.
Jimmy.

3. At what stage of your life you started writing?
I started scribbling at a very tender age of 4, but I started poetry at an age of 10.

4. What motivates you to write?
I feel writing is a very personal process, one takes everything from life and its beings, but while writing I always prefer sitting in a locked room and reproduce whatever has remained with me with utmost intricacy and simplicity. Love of all kinds motivates me to write and be at my creative best.

5. What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?
Yes, I have a taste for aesthetics, ecstasy and sublimity, all weaved into one, hence adult or young adult genuinely interests me the most.

6.To you, which is a better medium to express; prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why?
Personally I prefer poetry and words with taste, belonging to any genre, but I also feel that words are perhaps the hardest medium of all the material art. One must simultaneously express visual beauty, beauty of sound, which I feel films are the greatest medium to transform and encapsulate the whole idea of expression into one.

7. What would you like to be reborn as?
Once a film-maker with one’s spouse, always a film-maker with one’s spouse.

8. Which is more important to you; money or fame?
Both. It’s a rare combination, but yes I aspire for both.
9. How do you react when rejected by the publishers?

Yes, rejections are something no one would like to have in their baskets of destiny, but I feel there is always some force or magical power which is aware of my being, who knows me better personally and helps me taking the right decisions . Also, somehow I’m blessed with a fearless persona and have this innate inner faith that something or the other always works in my favor, yielding me the best results, letting me do and actualize whatever I have always dreamt of doing. 

10. Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers?
Keep writing and expressing, be it in any medium or genre. Even if they are two lines, one must write, everyday, and strive for finer self, with every passing creative work, an artist not only raises up the scale for oneself but also pushes the general audience’s acceptability limits. Importantly, stick to your conviction of articulating a point or an emotion which maybe not so well received initially, but, if true and seasoned with love, it will be accepted and loved by all. J

*****

Review of 'Sacrifices' -- story by Shriya Gupta

I happened to read this story by Shriya as a part of submission material for the anthology Love: A Sweet Poison 2 of which I'm the editor. Selection of the story speaks itself that it's the story of substance and merit.

'Sacrifices' is the story of a married couple Vipin and Meera. Where Vipin is highly ambitious, Meera is quite submissive and tries to compromise with the situations prevailing between them due to Vipin's overindulgence in his job to the extent that Meera has to bear solitude for a long time quite often. When the things go beyond her endurance, she takes a bold decision and breaches the threshold to fulfill her own dreams. What does she do and what transpires between them due to her agitation, read the full story in the anthology.

Merits: The story is written with so much clarity that the tension between the husband and wife overwhelms the reader right from its tagline. The story tells everything so beautifully -- like the life of the couple has become so tense and mechanical that they hesitate to share their achievements and happiness with each other and they had to sleep without almost congratulating each other by heart. Really amazing!

Demerits: I tried to find some flaws in the story and read it a couple of times. The biggest flaw of this story is that it has none.

 Punchlines: 1. "I have succeeded as a husband but I have failed as a soulmate."
                   2. "We talk but we don't speak. We smile but we don't laugh. We do sex but we don't                                  love..."

Shriya, I congratulate you to write such a wonderful story with such a mature mind that the reader will find hard to believe that you're an undergraduate student. I think you have an amazing talent of seeing life as it is truthfully. Keep it up! I look forward to read more and more from your heart and pen, and to learn a lot from you my friend.

Rating: 5/5 which is first time from me given to a writer.

I hope you'll not spoil my hopes in future.

Best of luck!

An interview with a perfectionist : Rashi Shrivastava

Introduce yourself to the audience.
My name is Rashi Shrivastava, 23 years old and a student of English Literature at the University of Delhi, currently pursuing a Masters degree from Hans Raj College. Reared in a convent school, I have always been an avid reader and writer by default. Writing fiction is something that came naturally to me, and I hope to make it big as a bestselling novelist one day. For now I am waiting for the pen to coincide with my thoughts and animate them into a beautiful book. I am also a regular blogger and write about numerous aspects of life ranging from Books, Love, Writing and Beliefs. My blog address is as follows: www.temptationofwords.wordpress.com Besides, I also run pages on Facebook and Instagram  Temptations of Words.

Define yourself in one word.
Perfectionist. Without sounding over the top, let me clear that it pertains only to the fact that I like being perfect in everything I do and I also know that I have a long way to go.
At what stage of your life you started writing?
As far as I remember, and that memory is intact because I still have that first piece of my writing in my possession. It was when I was in 7th grade and I wrote a poem for my school magazine. I named it The Element and it was about how each one of us are unique in certain ways and that each one us have an element inside us which makes us special.  There has been no looking back after that.
What motivates you to write?
Well, that's a tough one to tackle because I don't believe in motivation for writing, for me its more of an instinct. I feel every writer has an instinct to write and that is the only motivation, if you would like to call it.
What interests you most; fiction, nonfiction, travelogue, biography, horror, adult or young adult?
For me, the bias shall always be towards Romance, be it fiction or non-fiction. Though I read all sorts of books, being in a Literature course I have to deal with all genres but Romance shall be my favourite.
To you, which is a better medium to express: prose, poetry, art, film, play or any other and why? 
Prose has a wider range of amalgamating emotions and that is why I think it is more preferred but poetry is I think is a better medium, though it requires an elevated sense of intellect in order to be understood. Its hard to decide on any one, each genre has its own attributes and something that can be expressed explicitly in poetry may not enjoy the same in a film and likewise.

What would you like to be reborn as?
Maybe a Panda! That's because inherently I am a very lazy person.
Which is more important to you: money or fame? 
Fame. Money shall follow thereafter.
How do you react when rejected by the publishers?
I won't say that I don't feel bad about facing rejections in this profession but then I also believe in a simple rule of life; the universe is the best judge and one gets what one deserves. Though at first a rejection does incite a tinge of sadness in me, it is easily overcome as well.
Your valuable suggestions to the prospective writers? 
Barely a writer myself, I am nobody to suggest anything to others because I don't have that kind of experience as of now. But because it is asked and from what I have learned, I think all writers must try and write about what lies inside them. Writing about what is in fashion or what will appeal to the readers is, I think, artificial writing. This act must be natural and what you spill on paper must come straight from your heart. For me the rule is simple, when you write something the pen must not stop and the point when it does, you must not strive further.
                                                                 
                                                                             *****

REVIEW OF S.O.A.R BY Abir Mukherjee

This is the story of three young men; Adhyayan, Uday and Rajsekaran working in a software firm based at Bengaluru. This is the story of their friendship and frustrations, love and longings, ambitions and aspirations, success and failure, love-life and married-life and much more.

Soon, stereotype and monotony of their job force them to seek another alternatives to fulfill their ambitions of doing something unique in their life. Boredom takes its first toll and Uday resigns from his job to start his own venture Schoolyard; a website providing almost every information regarding schools. Adhyayan is married to Shristi and soon he also joins Uday. Due to overindulgence, firstly in the job and later in nurturing their own website, he fails to provide enough time to his wife Shristi who reminds him time and again about his duties and responsibilities towards their family. Later, Rajsekaran also joins them. In realizing their dream Schoolyard, they end up with all their savings. When Shristi is planning to buy a flat and is going through pregnancy, Adhyayan asks her to handover all her savings too including her LIC policy's accrued money. Suddenly, as their website is supposed to hit in a big way, something very grave happens and eventually a misunderstanding and difference of opinion crops up, mainly between Adhyayan and Uday.

What happens next! Read S.O.A.R ( Success Over Adversity Reigns) by Abir Mukherjee, published by Frog Books.

Merits: Abir has woven an interesting story highlighting the frustration of today's workaholic and career oriented young generation. The plot, the flow and the character development and their compulsions and emotions are perfectly narrated. Nowhere you'll feel that the story is being dragged.

Demerits: The subplot describing the mystery behind Uday's arrest and its unfolding could've been more tight as in today's world you cannot expect a businessman not keeping a track of his bank account without the facility of internet banking and sms facility. Moreover, getting a fake website registered is far more complex than creating a fake email id. Here it involved both. Some minor issues of editing are also there but they don't spoil the reading. The one thing I noticed is the area of its cover which has to be improved. I would suggest to reverse the cover page and you may feel the boys dreaming to soar. Or, a new cover is strongly recommended for the next edition.

Quotes I liked most:
"In spite of the unrelenting effort of human beings to win over nature, he is left defeated every time by nature."
"Adi, we will talk about it tomorrow. Anyway, there is no point talking to a drunken person who can't realize anything even in full consciousness," she answered through the closed door.

My Take:
Abir Mukherjee has done a wonderful job by writing this book. It may be an eye opener for the restive younger generation who jump over new ventures without going deep into the all the nuances pertaining to the start-up, without going through a detailed project report, without keeping a fine balance between their duties and responsibilities towards their family and business together. I wish him all the best for the success of this book and would like to read more from his pen.

Overall Rating : 3.5/5

Rajeev Pundir

कौन हूँ मैं -

https://storymirror.com/poem/56364dfb2086f7ea06c5b503

 

कभी मुझे पैदा होने से पहले ही !

मौत के घाट उतार दिया जाता है !!

कभी दहेज़ के नाम पर !

आग लगा कर मार दिया जाता है !!

कभी प्रेम की आड़ में तेजाब फेंक कर !

मेरा चेहरा बिगाड़ दिया जाता है !!

कभी गोद में लेकर खिलाने के बहाने !

मुझसे बलात्कार किया जाता है !!

कभी झूठी प्रतिष्ठा के लिए !

मेरा गला रेत दिया जाता है !!

जिन पेड़ों पर झूलना चाहती थी मैं !

उन्हीं की शाखों पर मुझे उसी रस्सी से

फांसी पर लटका दिया जाता है !!

कौन हो तुम ?

मेरे भाई, चाचा, ताऊ, पिता, प्रेमी, या संरक्षक...?

कौन हूँ मैं ?

तुम्हारी बहन, बेटी, माँ, पत्नी, प्रेमिका या दोस्त ...?

इन्सान नहीं, हैवान हो तुम !

धिक्कार है,

थूकती हूँ मैं तुम पर !!

जा रही हूँ मैं !

क्योंकि,

जब तक ये तय नहीं होता,

जब तक ये सत्य नहीं होता,

कौन हूँ मैं और कौन हो तुम ??

जा रही हूँ मैं,

कभी न लौटने के लिए,

छोड़ कर तुम्हें इस धरा पर,

अकेला...हमेशा के लिए !!

और,

एक भयानक अट्टहास की गूँज के साथ

संसार से सब स्त्रियाँ ग़ायब हो जाती हैं....

और,

कुछ ही दिनों में संसार के सारे पुरुष

विक्षिप्त होकर समाप्त हो जाते हैं!!

सृष्टि का विध्वंस हो जाता है !!!!

लेखक- राजीव पुंडीर

My Best Friend's Boyfriend- Story by Kajal N Lalwani in Crush 2 published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW:

A triangular story of crush! This is the last story but not the least than anyone. A sea of emotions of two best friends; Riya and Soumya who die for the same boy Rohan. To solve the puzzle, unlock the eighteenth box and find the answer contained into it.

Merits:
As the whole book revolves around the teenage-crush, so as this story. Facebook friendship changing into crush and the crush changes into the love so naturally that the reader identifies with the story instantly. Whatever happens, happens in sheer innocence without designs or malicious intentions. And that's the strength of this story.

Lines I liked:
"In the war of friendship and crush, it's always friendship that wins over crush."
Incidentally this is the tagline of the story which says more than what meets the eye--the sacrifice in friendship.

Demerits:
Kajal has to work upon sentence formation as right now it's too mechanical in nature. Moreover, stories should have some turns and twists which are missing. Yes, there're stories like this- linear and straight, they do not arouse much interest in the reader to read more. The subplot of assignment submission is unnecessarily long and creates disinterest.
Hence, I would like to suggest--Try to say more in less words.

Ratings: 3/5

There's no doubt that Kajal has tried her best in bringing out this story. Certainly, she's talented and has great potential to be an accomplished writer in future. Moreover, one can not please all the readers and reviewers, so keep going honing your craft to excellence.

Rajeev Pundir

Love? Story by Zeenath Zaveri in Crush 2 Published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW:

What happens when all of a sudden you find that the person you love has actually played a game with you? This story is about three characters-Kiara, Karan and Sid. To know who tricked whom, read this story by Zeenath Zaveri.

Merits:
It is a simple story straight out of school life. It flows like a river--serene with a slow pace initially which suddenly changes its course flooding and damaging the nearby fields. The opening of the story is unique and quite catchy. Good efforts have been put by the writer in developing the characters of the story.

Lines I liked:
"Before life gets boring and hair starts greying, I need to date. I should find some excitement. How about having a boyfriend?"

Demerits:
The plot of the story is not new and  has been oft repeated in a couple of films. So it seems not more than an old wine in new bottle. Paragraphs are longer and the narration and conversation are off balance. A crispy and shorter version with powerful dialogues in between should have made it more interesting.
Yet, I can understand the compulsion of the writer--being the story of  teenagers and what more you can expect from these characters when they don't have much experience of life except having innocent crush and falling for the guys inadvertently.

Ratings: 3/5

I have noticed a unique style of writing in the story. Congratulations! Keep inventing. I'm sure about the story-telling ability of Zeenath Zaveri and wish her all the best in life and reading more mind- blowing stories from her.

Rajeev Pundir

Memoirs of Mr. Perfect : Story by Shagun Kesar in Crush 2 published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW

When the age of adolescence is overwhelmed by sex hormones, either in a male or in a female, they are supposed to be attracted towards their opposites. And that is so natural that we all had had an experience of this during our teenage while in school. Yet, not all of us are capable to describe our crush in the form of a story. And I would like to congratulate Shagun Kesar for penning a story which the reader will find relating to one and all.

Merits:
The feelings of a shy and introvert teenage girl which she endures for a senior student of her college have been put forward in an unabated flow.

Lines I liked:
"She was my treasure box in which I could endure all my secrets knowing that they will remain safe."

Demerits:

However the flow of the story is smooth, long paragraphs and lack of dialogues kill the enjoyment of reading. Enough work is required on maintaining the narration-conversation-balance. Moreover, the story is so simple without nil twists and turns that the reader develops an apathy towards the end.

Anyways, some stories are really so simple!

The tag line of the story suggests some flaw in the boy, the title suggests that he's flawless. Both are antagonizing to each other. And even after reading the story a couple of times I failed to spot the flaw in the boy. Perhaps the flaw was in the girl as I could understand from the tagline which has become quite ambiguous while trying to write a catchy one. I, with due apology, would like to suggest the writer to refrain from making such ambiguous headings.
The story is all about the memoirs of the girl, in the first person, not of the boy. It needs to be corrected as at present it is confusing.

Ratings : 2.5/5
Shagun Kesar is quite a young writer and expecting a flawless write-up from her will not be justified. Moreover, nobody is perfect either. She has great potential and has to go a long way.
Best of luck!

Rajeev Pundir

REVIEW OF MY NOVEL - SONG OF A FLYING SPARROW- IN HINDUSTAN TIMES HT-CITY DATED 27/02/2016

A GREAT MOMENT FOR ME:


CHECK IT OUT:

Way Beyond Just Memories: Story by Bhumika Khatri in Crush 2 Published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW:

When she opened her accounts text book, a paper contained in between the pages fell from it. She lifted it with trembling hands and unfolded with mighty heart--pounding and scared! What would have happened before and after that, read the painful story Beyond Just Memories by Bhumika Khatri in Crush 2.

Merits:
The story explores the dark side of human inter-personal relations right from teenage. It tells us that sometimes what we see and form an opinion about a person may be wrong. The person seeming to be happy-go-lucky on face-value may actually be a victim of his bad circumstances at home and quite sad within. Hence we should take utmost care in understanding others. The writer has been successful in portraying the theme of the story.

Lines I liked:

"You are the most beautiful thing that has happened to me, and I am blessed to have known you and be loved by you."

Demerits:
Yes it's true that teenage is the most sensitive and vulnerable to extreme steps like committing suicide, yet it's never been an easy option for anyone to take such a hard decision like embracing death so early that too when Ritik had found his love as depicted in the above lines. It seems that the writer wanted to glorify the darkest aspect of life that too at a stage when one doesn't have enough experience of life. We as a writer have some responsibility towards our society and should refrain from highlighting such extreme emotions which may influence other young ones to imitate the same; courtesy the fickleness of their mind, until and unless it's not only hundred percent but two hundred percent justified and required by the story. I'm afraid, here in this story it was not justified.

Since the date and time of the story is not mentioned, the readers may find the reference of Orkut obsolete.

Sorry for my adverse comments.

Ratings: 2/5

Bhumika, you're the second one I have found proclaiming a vagabond for oneself. First one is me. I liked it. You're doing a course of journalism and some how seemed to be influenced by the sensationalism of this profession. Please don't mix the two and as I've found, you have a great potential as a writer, I suggest you to write your heart, not your mind.
Without malice, I've given my honest review and I wish you all the best as a story-teller.

Rajeev Pundir 

Star Crossed : Story by Akash Rumade in Crush 2 Published by Authors' Ink Publication

REVIEW:

Sometimes when somebody wants to correct us, we take it otherwise. But after years are gone, when we realize that the person was right in correcting our wrongdoings, selflessly, we repent and develop a respect and liking for her/him. This is an excellent story you must read to know more written by Akash Rumade.

Merits: The story is successfully told in present and the past in flashbacks. The mistakes made by the boy, Karan, his brazenness, the girl's rebukes and her bold steps to correct him, all have been narrated in the author's unique style. You'll love it.

Lines I liked:

"Yet again, he lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling like some artist mulling over a blank canvas."

New words I learnt: Solipsistic, Maquillage

Demerits: The subject of this story is different from the theme of the book and people having a penchant for romantic love stories, crush, hard and soft feelings and emotions etc.will find it dry and may turn the pages.

Ratings: 3.5/5
Akash, I congratulate you  to put down such a hard-hitting fable fabulously comprising repentance and introspection by the protagonist in your unique style. Keep it up!
I wish you all the best and would love to read more from your desk.

Rajeev Pundir

Resonance Of Love: Story by Pooja Khurana in Crush 2 published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW:

This story is about the innocent love of a girl for a boy who's not as perfect as we find in other stories. The girl develops soft feelings for that boy when he's admitted to her school in her class. And the story compels you to read further to know the future of this childhood crush.

Merits:
People are known to fall for the most beautiful, deserving, successful, intelligent and extra-ordinary human beings. That's natural. But here's a story, straight from the innocence of childhood, so different and so pure at heart that you start loving the writer for writing such a wonderful story where an innocent girl, as young as in seventh grade, develops tender feelings for a boy who's very good at heart but imperfect. Seldom we see such stories. Bold and brave attempt by the writer and I congratulate her for the same.

Lines I liked: "I was on the verge of crying. Ominous clouds have gathered and tears were lurking nearby. I could sense it"

Demerits: The balance of narration and conversation is to be looked upon. Nothing much.
Ratings: 4/5

The brief bio of the writer discloses her to be multi-talented. I wish good luck for her waiting for more from her creative mind.

Rajeev Pundir

Crush= Life-Story by Anuj Singhal in Crush 2 Published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW:

When Hunar Aggarwal falls for the most sought after beauty of his college Amira, his attendance in his class increases to almost never-miss and as a result something interesting happens in his life. To know more how does his crush for Amira affected his life as a whole, read this all-good story by Anuj Singhal which will oblige you to trust in your love.

Merits:
The story runs in a simple linear fashion like a river flows in winters; slow and steadily. The incidents from initiation of the session to the farewell have been narrated step-by-step laced with the emotions of the boy for his crush gradually changing into more and more intense with the passage of time. Good work. The end of the story surprises the readers making them happy for both the characters.

Lines I liked: "Stories never end, Antara. They continue for life long."

Demerits:
The simplicity of the story. Would have been better to include some other colors, some bitter sweet memories for making it more compelling.
However, we see that certain stories are like that only.

Ratings: 3/5
Anuj is a writer and published a novel already-Was It A Murder?
I look forward for a lot from his creative mind and I wish all the best for his literary endeavor he's capable of.
Rajeev Pundir

School Crush- Story by Chandra Kant Jaisansaria in Crush 2

REVIEW

She entered the class with heavenly smile and dimples on her soft rosy cheeks.
These compelling lines tells the story of a boy, as young as a seventh-class student, who instantly falls for the girl, a new admission in his class. What happens next, read the story School Crush in Crush 2 by C K.

Merits:
The way the story has been narrated is so natural and flows into the pages so silently with intermittent intoxicating humming melody, that the reader is lost into it sheerly, as if it's his/her own story. Actually, such a crush happens with all of us--either agree or disagree and I give full marks to CK for penning it so beautifully, specially the boy's waiting outside her house to have a glimpse of his crush Priya.

Lines caught my heart:
"Her handwriting was something like a masterpiece or you can say her pen was a butterfly which spread the colors in her notebook."
Fantastic!

Demerits:
The title of this story is grammatically confusing. To make it clear, it should have been, "School-time Crush". Nothing more except a few typos.

Ratings: 4/5

The writer has a great potential of becoming a compelling writer. I look forward for more interesting stories from his heart spilling over the pages through his pen.  All the best!

Rajeev Pundir