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नमस्कार!

काफी दिन से आप सब मेरे ब्लॉग पर केवल book reviews ही पढ़ रहे होंगे। नयापन लाने के लिए मैंने अपने ब्लॉग पर एक नए उपक्रम- Guest Post की शुरुआत की है। इसके चलते मैं यथावसर नए-नए कवि मित्रों की कविताएँ मेरे ब्लॉग रूपी मंच से प्रेषित करती रहूँगी।

मेरे ब्लॉग पर आज नीरज कुमार महंत जी की दो कविताएँ- इज़हार व

एक खत माँ के नाम

प्रस्तुत हैं-

इज़हार

तुम्हें प्यार करने को जी चाहता है,

क्या कहें तुम कितनी खास हो,

तुम्हारी मुस्कान से हम भी खिल उठते हैं,

मेरे लिए तुम खुशी का एहसास हो

।

हर रात तब भी आ कर गुज़र रही थी,

जब तुम मुझसे मीलों दूर थी,

तुम्हारा आना जाना तो लगा ही रहता है ख्यालों में मगर,

मेरे होठों पर भी तुम उतनी ही मशहूर थी

।

तारिफ मैं कर दूं कुछ, दिल में तमन्ना हमेशा रहती है,

तुम्हारा ही हूँ मैं, मेरी चाहत मुझसे ये हमेशा कहती है,

याद होगा तो याद कर लेना,

आज भी दिल के किसी किसी शहर में,

मेरे नाम की फ़िकर आज भी तेरे अंदर रहती है

।

तुझपे सारी दुनिया हार जाने का दिल करता है,

एक बदनसीब आशिक है जो तेरी मुस्कान के लिए मरता है,

तेरे लिए तो उस चांद का भी कोई मोल नहीं,

जो हर रात अपनी खूबसूरती दिखाने को सँवरता है

।

सच तो ये है कि मैं जानता हूँ कि,

तुम मेरी वो चाहत हो,जो पूरी नहीं हो पाएगी,

फिर भी मेरी आँखों की नमी तुझसे हो कर हमेशा ही जायेगी,

खुश रहना हमेशा तुम बस यही दुआ करता हूँ,

अपनी तमन्ना को बाजू रखकर,

तुम्हारी मुस्कान के लिए मरता हूँ।

एक खत माँ के नाम

तेरे चेहरे से ये मुस्कान कभी ना जाये,

चाहा हमेशा है कि मेरी भी उमर तुझको लग जाये,

खुद के लिए अब बस यही दुआ करती हूँ,

हमारे सर से तू कभी अपना हाथ ना हटाये।

अपने आँचल में छुपा लेना माँ,

अगर मुझसे कोई गलती हो जाये

।

अपनी गोद में ही सुला देना

,

जब मुझको कहीं भी नींद ना आये।

तुमने मुझको जनम दिया है माँ,

कुछ भी कर दूं तेरे लिए कम ही पड़ जाये

।

अपनी ममता बरसाते रहना माँ,

चाहे तेरी बेटी कितनी भी बड़ी हो जाये।

मुझसे कभी नाराज़ मत होना माँ,

कभी तकलीफ नहीं दूंगी, चाहे कुछ भी हो जाये

।

प्यार से समझाना या माफ़ कर देना,

जब भी मेरा मन तुझको समझ ना पाये ।

–

तुम्हारी बेटी।

-नीरज कुमार महंत

परिचय: नीरज मूलतः झारखंड से है। वे कहते हैं कि वे गलती से अभियंता हुए हैं, रुचि तो उनकी लेखन में रही है। लघुकथाओं तथा कविताओं के अतिरिक्त वे Two Letters नामक पुस्तक भी लिख चुके हैं।

आप भी अपनी कविताएँ मुझे निम्न पते पर भेज सकते हैं-

artimanekararti@gmail.com

धन्यवाद!

-आरती मानेकर

Book Review: My True Angel

Author: Irshad Thalakala

Blurb: This is a sweet tale of finding true love. Iqbal, who works in IT company meets a beautiful girl Rubina. Iqbal falls in love with her, but Rubina does not reciprocate the same. When he is trying to overcome from Rubina, he finds his true love from Payal. Were these meant to be together?

Whether they could be able to crack the religion barrier? Does destiny has other plans for Iqbal and Payal?

My View: I like the way author has written the introduction chapter of the book. Iqbal is the protagonist of the story, who is a common man with ambitious heart. His character is well developed. Also it felt good to know his family through author’s pen. The story is written in Iqbal’s perception, it was like an autobiography of himself as the story is based on true story. Kerala state is in background and based on Muslim culture. It’s a usual love story. One side love, got ignored, found someone else, got true love, faced ups and downs, finally succeed. Besides this what caught my attention was that what one has to bear due to the religious walls made in people’s mind everywhere in India. This is something which I myself don’t like. The motto of the author is to try to break the walls of casts through this love story and he’s successful in doing so. The characters are well portrayed as they seems to be real life people.
The burning issue of a time ‘love jihad’ is mentioned there. There were some scenes, which made me laugh, where some scenes made me think. So I can say it’s a perfect mixture of emotions. Some grammatical/editing errors are there, which could be taken care of. At middle of the book, it couldn’t catch my attention much, but the end made the book worthy.

Book cover and title are simply good, suits story. True love always comes back.

Conclusion: A very strong message is given in the book through the love story. I want every reader to read the book being a human and not a Hindu/Muslim.

Star Rating: 4/5

Book Link: Here is the link you can find your book at- My True Angel .

Stay connected.

-Arti Manekar

Book Review: Crazy Vazy 4-Love

Either you self-destroy like Devdas or become immortal like Radha.

Author: Devayu

Blurb: When Keyur and Mitul were looking for someone to fill their proxy (fake class attendance), a smart and gorgeous girl of their class agreed to do so in exchange of tennis sessions. Mitul fell in her love while teaching tennis but she chose Keyur (a star player).
The heartbroken Mitul was asked not to self-destruct but to transform his pain into dedication and fight for a position in a Davis Cup team. Keyur, unaware of his friend’s feeling, guided him to achieve his dream while fighting with his inner demon of jealousy.
The story took a major turn when Navya realised her love for Mitul. Will Mitul go against his bestfriend and accept her? Who, between Mitul and Keyur, will be in a Davis Cup team?
The story will redefine friendship, longing for true love and passion for excelling in life.

My View: The book title suggested me to hold my laughter as there may be many funny scenes. The book cover also tells that how crazy can one be in love that one can even climb the mountain. When I read the blurb, I already started creating the story in my mind and I was unable to find an end to the story.
It’s a story of college life, friendship, love and passion. Surat City of Gujarat state is in background. I found many comedy scenes in the story, which made me laugh. The crazy fights between friends on silly things, buttering to friend’s mother are some incidents, which happen in everyone’s life. Fantastic characters created by the author, every single character is giving it’s best in development of the story. Keyur, Mitul and Navya are the protagonists of the story. Thrice of them are one of their kind and all are really impressive. There is a love triangle among them, which makes the story different from others. It’s actually the craziness about something which later turns into passion. I saw the extreme high level of craziness cum passion in the story. There are many shayaries in the story, which I loved. Also there are many useful teachings in the story. The story is going to be famous amongst all the Tennis lovers, as there is very detailed description of the game. Language and narration is as usual good.
The ending of the story is very weird. I was amazed if the story could take a different turn then it could fill some more pages. There are many things similar in this book to that the first book of Devayu. I want him to write every story with different essence.

Conclusion: It’s a short read book yet interesting. You can easily and happily spend your weekend reading this.

Star Rating: 4/5

Book Link: Find the book here- Crazy Vazy 4-Love .

Stay connected.

-Arti Manekar

Book Review: The Blue Moon Day

Five Men’s Magical Discovery Enroute Life

Author: Santhosh Sivaraj

About the Author: Santhosh Sivaraj is a banker based out of Chennai who had worn many hats in life- sailor, teacher, trainer and entrepreneur. He considers the journey of life to be the destination in itself and that pushes him to seek newer avenues in life. Absurd Economics interests him and he loves doing standup comedy. He laughs at his own mistakes and loves life unconditionally.

Blurb: Things were never the same for five ordinary individuals who got struck at cross roads and there was no way they can run back. They had no other choice but to take a plunge into their deepest fear and leave the rest to destiny. Their characters was tested out of their comfort zone and it witnessed abstruse results; a PhD scholar fights to win a pizza making contest and a tennis prodigy running for his life in a war torn, bloodied Island. Extreme circumstances and their consequences made these ordinary individuals extraordinary . Was the test imposed on them by someone? Or did they invite it on themselves. The Blue Moon Day is that Once in a Blue Moon day story which questions an individual’s priorities, ridicules the worldly routines and finally redefines happiness.

My View: It’s really a tough book to write review for. On the cover, there is a silhouette of a man, who is carving himself from a stone, while there is a big blue moon in the background. Very meaningful book cover and book title, Both attracted me. I was amazed at why did the author gave this title to the book, but at the end, it got very clear to me. There are five stories in the book, totally different from each other, but all are the true glimpse of reality. You will relate any story with your own life, for sure.

The first story, The Pizza Engineer, has two characters, one is Abhinav, a man of versatility in his career and hence totally messed up, I could easily relate him with myself. Another character is Mr. Pillai, his would be boss, a man of solutions for every problem. This story taught me a lot in just 44 pages and I even adopted its teachings in my own life and I must say, life is getting less messy now. After completing story of Abhinav, I was amazed at from where did Mr. Pillai came and where did he get disappeared! Many lil noticeable things are there, which if adopted by us, can make a big change in our lives.
The second story is The Messenger. I had first connected the title with God and magic and later I realized there was indeed a God in the face of man. Deepak loved Priya and loved her forever, but somehow couldn’t give his 100% to his love. Ajay, his friend, encouraged him and let him get his love. This story teaches us to try till the last for the thing you love. I’m still amazed about Ajay. He’s the God in this story and true friend indeed.
Not Today is another story in this sequence. Vivi, a man who loved his family a lot, but couldn’t make balance between family and job, hence messed up and fell in a big life trouble. An old man , became his God in the story. The story teaches to have a balance in life and to come out of comfort zone to be happy.
Next one is The Storyteller. A story of an old man named Sankaran, who lost all the hopes of living life, after death of his wife and ignored by his only son. An old man of his age became his friend and changed his life with his words and thoughts. Discover your true self, give time to what your heart wants you to do and be happy, this is the teaching of the story. Sankaran’s friend also disappeared at the end like miracle.

The last story is The Heaven. Story of a small town boy Prabhakaran, who has a talent and big dreams but destiny played its brutal game, when he came to know about his death, he got totally depressed. An old man helped him to understand the true meaning of life. Death is the ultimate truth and happiness is the ultimate goal. He died and got the happiness.
All these five stories are different, but at the end they all got connected because of the same old man, who changed their lives in some way or other. All the stories, all the characters are very interesting. Magical is the character of that old man, who had been mystery in everyone’s life and also for me. Even till the last sentence of the book, the old man became a mystery and remained the same. Language, narration, events, background, emotions, character description everything is just too good. Author recommended to read the book slowly, so I read it slowly and felt every story. I also recommend you all to read the story, it will definitely make a change in your life. Though I have written a very long review, but still I feel, the emotions I got from the book can’t be described in words.

Conclusion: The best English story book, I have read till date. Many things to learn from and a never ending impact on mind. Perfect book in every aspect.

Star Rating: 5/5 ( If there were more stars, I would have given them all.)

Book Link: You must buy the book here- The Blue Moon Day . A book, worth spending money on.

Stay connected.

-Arti Manekar

Book Review: Flying without Wings

Author: Rishabh Puri

About the Author:

RISHABH PURI is an entrepreneur of Indian origin with business in Nigeria, Dubai, and China. Despite his demanding day job, he finds time to indulge in his passion for writing fiction, and his first book, Inside the Heart of Hope was published in 2017. Diagnosed with a life-threatening heart disease at the age of 1, Rishabh’s early life was mostly limited to talking to doctors and visiting hospitals for several major surgeries and regular checkups. Now, armed with the resilience and experience his fierce battles with the disease brought him, Rishabh has taught himself to live life to the fullest against all odds. His writings too, are mostly centered on the beauty of hope, love and life. Rishabh is also an avid traveller and a supercar enthusiast. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria but visits India regularly, returning to his birthplace, Chandigarh, which remains immensely close to his heart.

Blurb:

For Milli Bajwa, life is at a stand-still. Grounded in the Chandigarh airport where she works day after day, she watches flights leaving for destinations she knows she’ll never visit. Loveless and luckless, she would rather bury her nose in a book than face her grim reality. And then, on a whim, she swipes right on a new dating app, and finds the man of her dreams – someone who can sweep her off her feet and teach her how to fly. But the mysterious and charming Karan Singhania has secrets of his own, and a heart damaged in more ways than one. This is the story of two people about to find out how far they’re willing to go for the promise of true love.

My View: I must say, Rishabh’s choice in the title of the books is good. Like his first book “Inside the Heart of Hope”, this book’s title also have hope with it. The book cover is equally inspiring.
The beautiful city of Chandigarh is in background and also some scenes from Paris. I am glad to know a lil about Chandigarh. Mili and Karan are the main characters, but I liked some other characters more. Rahull, seems a good guy, he never wants to give up on someone, whom he loves since childhood, but when he realized that that someone loves some other one, he didn’t do anything wrong, despite he helped that someone and proved to be the best friend at last. Amit, who didn’t have blood relation with Karan, but did his duty in a very good manner. I guess Amit and Rahull helped the author to develop the story. But I’m a bit confused for why did author add an extra l in Rahull’s name. I liked that Mili and Karan both shared the same interests and hence fell in love with each other. Nowadays, love is found online. The story let this line come true. The plot is low, as it doesn’t give goosebumps, but this is quite a good read. Love is pure and it can even happen without seeing each other. When someone’s pain touches your soul, you become the part of that person’s life.
Language is simple and narration is good too. The sequence of the scenes is well planned, which didn’t let me feel bore. End is beautiful, which every story must have.
One thing I want Rishabh to do it that, write something with less pain in the character’s life.

Conclusion: Love gives the hope and courage to live the life with new energy.

Star Rating: 5/5

Book Link: Get your book from the link given- Flying Without Wings .

Stay connected…

-Arti Manekar