Storizen Magazine September 2020 | Amish Tripathi by Storizen Magazine

HOME TO YOUR STORIES

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN

BETWEEN HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY

AMISH TRIPATHI Exclusive Feature on PAGE 8

Now Available on:

Cover Story

Book Reviews

Between History and Mythology Amish Tripathi

Swapna Peri

Brand Partners Bloomsbury India

Editors Pria Raiyani Saurabh Chawla

Fingerprint Publishing Hachette India HarperCollinsIndia

For Advertising, Contact us attalktous@storizen.com

Pan Macmillan India Penguin India Roli Books Rupa Publications Westland (An Amazon Company)

WHAT'S INSIDE 7

EDITOR'S NOTE

COVER STORY Pioneering Mythology Anand Neelakantan - Pria

- Penguin India

HOT OFF THE PRESS The Next Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy by Tim Harford

HOT OFF THE PRESS

- Hachette India

HOT OFF THE PRESS How To Raise a Tech Genius by Shahneila Saeed - Hachette India

HOT OFF THE PRESS Parveen Babi: A Life by Karishma Upadhyay - Hachette India

- Penguin India HOT OFF THE PRESS The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton

HOT OFF THE PRESS All The Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy - Hachette India

The Phoenix by Bilal Siddiqui

HOT OFF THE PRESS Cricket Drona by Jatin Paranjape and Anand Vasu - Penguin India

- Hachette India

HOT OFF THE PRESS Gangster on the Run by Puja Changoiwala - HarperCollins India

HOT OFF THE PRESS Funding Your Startup and Other Nightmares by Dhruv Nath and Sushanto Mitra

STORIZEN INTERVIEW Olivier Lafont, Author: Oop and Lila: Lost in the Scarabean Sea - Swapna Peri

STORIZEN INTERVIEW Shravya Bhinder, Author: To you with love - Swapna Peri

WHAT'S INSIDE 49

STORIZEN INTERVIEW Shubha Vilas, Author: Magic of Friendships

Kintsugi by Madhulika Ra Chauhan - Swapna Peri

- Swapna Peri

STORIZEN CONTRIBUTE BElieve in YOUrself

- Swapna Peri BOOK REVIEW The Demons of Jaitraya by Shubira Prasad

- Hema Ravi BOOK REVIEW Estuary by Perumal Murugan

- Swapna Peri

STORIZEN POETRY Footsteps - Vidya Shankaral

BOOK REVIEW Gunpoint Groom by Kamini Kusum - Swapna Peri

STORIZEN POETRY Tiger Widow

- Swapna Peri

BOOK REVIEW It All Happened in a School by Gaurav Sharma

- Riya Gulati

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK REVIEW Pokhran - Novel by Uday Singh - Swapna Peri

STORIZEN POETRY Believe - Partth Jaain

To read Storizen on the web, visit storizen.com. Follow Storizen on Instagram @storizenmagazine.

BOOKMARKED Storizen August 2020

Books we are loving this month

CLICK HERE TO READ NOW!

HASHTAG: #STORIZENMAGAZINE

from the editor

calling all writers!

DO YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF STORIZEN FAMILY? You can also be a contributor. Mail us your entries at talktous@storizen.com. Your smart ideas and inputs help us create our informative issues.

We all started reading books at an early age. I remember the first

short story I wrote when I was nine. In all, I can say that literature was in me since my childhood. If it is to believe, some skills you learn from your surroundings, some you inherit by birth. It is on the "Believe" that all the focus is to be put. Do you think history and the myths are to be believed? For some, it was just time, for others, it has given the shape to the present the world we are living in. We take immense pleasure to feature one of the most loved authors, the one who entered the world of books with his book on Lord Shiva, the one who is painstakingly telling us the story of our own history and our roots from his works, who is now back with his book on the forgotten warrior, The Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India, Amish Tripathi. He shares his journey and his love for history with us in an exclusive interview. Do check it out on page 8. We have taken an oath to provide our readers with the latest book releases. This issue features nine hot new releases to keep you busy this month. An additional tip, do check out the book on the sensational Bollywood beauty, Parveen Babi by Karishma Upadhyay! Also in this issue, we had an awesome time interviewing three authors, French author, screenplay writer and actor, Olivier Lafont (you remember Suhas Tandon from the film 3 idiots?), Shubha Vilas, and Shravya Bhinder. I am sure you all will also enjoy reading the interview as much as we did! Packed with six book reviews and wonderful poetry, this issue is surely going to make you come back again and again to read it. I truly hope you enjoy this issue and spread the love by liking, commenting, and sharing. Before signing off, I believe that you all are safe and sound and taking all the necessary precautions in these unprecedented times! Happy Reading!

editor@storizen.com Saurabh Chawla, Editor in Chief

COVER STORY

BETWEEN HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY

AMISH TRIPATHI A Storizen Exclusive Feature After six mythological works & one non fiction, Director of the Nehru Centre in London and a columnist, and author, Amish Tripathi is back with his book "The Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India". How this journey unfolded for him, Amish tells us in an exclusive interview.

by Pria

I've always preferred mythology to history. History is truth that becomes an illusion. Mythology is an illusion that becomes reality, French artist Jean Cocteau wrote. This is something that has been on the mind of Amish when he chose to write on a king this time: The Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India. He heard the story first time from his scholar friends Abhinav Prakash and Sajeev Sanyal during 8

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

a conference in Goa. It was that time when he got inspired and decided to write his next book on the great king. "I think King Suheldev is the most consequential hero in Indian history that most modern Indians haven’t heard of. He defeated the invading Turkic army who were the military superpowers of the world from the 11th to the 17th century. And he inflicted such a devastating defeat on the Ghaznavid Turks that no Turkic army, from any of the various Turkic tribes, dare to come back to India for SEPTEMBER 2020

This word mythology is from the English language, and comes with its own baggage

COVER STORY

nearly 150-160 years. Such a hero needs to be talked about & celebrated!" Mythology: A Baggage? We all know that mythology genre has picked up pace during the recent times and many untold stories have been told by our eminent authors. This makes an enticing read that picking up a king from our own history as the protagonist who had saved India that time! "This word mythology is from the English language, and comes with its own baggage. The Westerners believe that History is “truth” and Mythology is “untruth”. Which is silly." Finding the truth Books are the pathways to find the truth. They are a reflection of something that actually happened

in history. But, manipulators have kept us refrained from knowing the truth. "And frankly, we all know how much “truth” is there in the version of history taught to us by our establishment historians, who were inspired primarily by the British Raj. The word we use in Sanskrit, or any Indian language, for mythology or history is the same: itihasa, thus it happened. I would like to make the point that even though Legend of Suheldev is classified by the industry as different from my earlier books in terms of genre, in my mind there is no difference from my earlier books." "All the books I have written till now are written with the perspective of plausibility, without any fantasy or magical elements. For example, the descriptions of Meluha (the IndusSarasvati Civilisation) and its cities are all historically accurate. So, in a sense, writing Legend of Suheldev

This word mythology is from the English language, and comes with its own baggage. The Westerners believe that History is “truth” and Mythology is “untruth”. Which is silly.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

COVER STORY

follows the same genre as my earlier books," says Amish." Serving the purpose His latest book introduces a character named Aslan, who didn't have any actual existence. But he was created by Amish to serve a purpose in the story. "There is no evidence of a real character called Aslan, I must be honest on that. It is based on my imagination and he is a= character who emerged to help carry the story forward in a certain direction. And I think characters emerge in a story to serve a purpose. So, perhaps that’s why he emerged as a character. But I will say once again that there is no historical evidence of a character called Aslan, that character is imaginary."

A hero is a hero ultimately It's natural to showcase your protagonist which in this case is an honored king as a hero. SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

COVER STORY

It wasn't a surprise though this question kept on popping up that whether it's a strategy to show the protagonist as a hero or it was something else. For Amish, it's something that drives him. He strongly believes that we as modern Indians should know about the heroes and heroines who kept our culture alive. "Most modern Indians believe that our ancestors were weak and cowardly. When the truth is the exact opposite. Our ancestors were among the toughest people among all the ancients. Our ancestors were the only ones among prebronze age pagan cultures who kept alive that which is most precious: their way of

life. Every other ancient civilization surrendered, and was hence wiped out, usually violently. But our ancestors never surrendered and kept fighting against brutal, horrific invaders. We should know their stories, right?" This holds valid for the present day soldiers who fight for their country on the borders. They also wish to be remembered. "Heroes even today - those who fight on the battlefield and on our borders - don’t expect us to be as brave as they are and fight alongside them. But they expect us to at least remember their stories and honor them. That’s what one must do for the heroes and heroines of the past as well. They don’t expect us to be as brave as they were, but we can at least remember and

Most modern Indians believe that our ancestors were weak and cowardly.

When the truth is the exact opposite.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

COVER STORY

honor their stories. That is what I am trying to do," said Amish.

Amish to bring the characters to life. It was an inspiration that drove Amish to write about Suheldev.

Discovering the story It's pretty much an obvious thought that most of the famous writers have their own unique ways of writing the story. In case of Amish, it's quite the opposite. "I actually am a completely instinctive writer; I discover the story while writing as much as the reader discovers it while reading. I truly enjoy that process because while doing so, even I experience unexpected twists & turns in the story. So obviously, writing is a pleasurable, almost spiritual process for me," he explains. Building up the character of Suheldev It becomes sometimes difficult to draw the characters of the story. As an experienced writer, it seemed a bit easy for SEPTEMBER 2020

"Not just his journey as a hero, but also his dharmic qualities, his leadership style, the way he is able to get so many different people from vastly different backgrounds and forge them together into a united army. The fact that he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his land and his people - his Lord Krishna approach to battle; he is ruthless when he has to be but always with a code of dharma; doing things which may be ruthless, but only for the greater good of his people not for his own selfish interest." But in his past books, he had his pains developing two of the most crucial characters Ganesh in the book Immortals of Meluha. "He was originally supposed to be a very happygo-lucky, jovial character, but in the story, he was emerging as a very noble but tormented and unhappy soul. So, I struggled STORIZEN MAGAZINE

COVER STORY

with his pain," he elaborated. "Another character that I struggled with was Raavan. Raavan as a character was defined by his rage and ego. Writing Raavan made me understand the essence of anger in some ways. It was unfortunate that I was writing the story of Raavan at a particularly difficult phase of my personal life. I know some authors say that writing of pain and anger can be cathartic, but in my case, it just pulled me deeper down. Writing the story of a grief-stricken and angry man like Raavan made me even more angry and griefstricken," Amish continued. Support matters a lot For Amish, he says that the support of the family and friends played a pivotal role. It gave him a real boost. "The fact that they encouraged me and never tried to stop me, their views would have obviously mattered a lot but all 14

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

COVER STORY

of them, my ex-wife (who was my wife at that time), my siblings, my in-laws encouraged me. I think people just encouraging and accepting your ideas is such a fantastic boost,"he added. Music to the rescue Music is loved by everybody. For Amish, it's his companion while writing his books. Also, he loves to have cream biscuits by his side while writing. He prefers that the music he is listening to should be in rhythm with the mood of story he is writing. They should match. "That matters a lot more because it gets me into the mood of the stories. So whatever mood that part of the story is supposed to be in, music should match that mood, which then kind of works like a SEPTEMBER 2020

key for me. Of course, the cream biscuits help a lot too!" He even has been presented by many of his readers on the events with the cream biscuits so that he can write quickly. Addressing Philosophy

the

Core

Amish truly believes that all his books should be and are based on a core philosophy. "The core philosophy at the heart of The Shiva Trilogy is an answer to this question - What is evil? The core philosophy at the heart of the Ram Chandra Series is an answer to this question - What is an ideal society? The core philosophy at the heart of Legend of Suheldev is essentially drawing inspiration from our great heroes and the lesson that if we Indians are united, we are undefeatable." "I am the happiest when they discuss my philosophies. I am not saying that they have to agree with my philosophies. STORIZEN MAGAZINE

I am the happiest when people discuss my philosophies.

COVER STORY

They could agree or disagree and that’s ok. But as long as they think and ponder on these philosophies, I am happy," he added. On his future plans He has many projects ongoing and for him, work never stops. "I want to assure my readers that I am working on the fourth book of the Ram Chandra series and I am around a onefifth of the way through. You know it takes me a year and half to two years between books and I hope to stick to that deadline. I plan to release the fourth book of the Ram Chandra series, tentatively titled War of Lanka, in the 2nd half of 2021, and I hope you guys will like it. There are many other projects that I am working on. Three fiction and two non-fiction projects are being worked upon in the Writers Centre. This is in addition to the books that I will write by myself alone. So, hopefully you will see many more books from me in the future, coming out in quick succession." SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

COVER STORY

And the Story Continues... With "Legend of Suheldev", the story is not going to end here and we would be seeing the story of Rajendra Chola, the Tamil Chola emperor of South India and North India and he Captured South Asia Countries present day of India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar islands and Southeast Asia present day of who succeeded his father Rajaraja Chola I to the throne in 1016 CE, hints Amish. As he stepped out, the sky lit up with a beautiful rainbow. Follow @storizenmagazine on Instagram Connect with us facebook.com/StorizenTV

About Pria - Young mesmerizing freelance blogger, social enthusiast, an economics graduate from Jharkhand University with Master in Child Psychology. She is hardworking yet crazy, a passionate reader, an ardent music fanatic, an avid caffeine lover, and a maniacal animal lover too. She has been a part of numerous anthologies, articles, and write-ups for newspapers and magazines which are multilinguistic. She has also written screenplays for YouTube series.

pria@storizen.com

(As told to Pria) (Full coverage on storizen.com)

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

A Forgotten Hero. An Unforgettable Battle. India, 1025 AD. King Suheldev. The ruler of a small kingdom, he sees what must be done for his motherland, and is willing to sacrifice his all for it.A fierce rebel. A charismatic leader. An inclusive patriot.Read this blockbuster epic adventure of courage and heroism, a fictional tale based on true events, that recounts the story of that lionhearted warrior and the magnificent Battle of Bahraich.

HOTthe OFFpress Are you finding it tough to fund your startup? Especially in the post ‘Corona Virus’ world, where money is scarce? Well then, this book is for you.

The authors also interview some of the most successful founders in the business such as Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri, Deep Kalra of MakeMyTrip, Yashish Dahiya of Policybazaar, and Dinesh Agarwal of Indiamart. It all comes together in a very useful framework called PERSISTENT which helps make your startup investment ready. 20

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

HOTthe OFFpress In Fifty Things that Made the Mod ern Economy, the revolutionary, acclaimed book, radio series and podcast, bestselling economist Tim Harford introduce d us to a selection of fifty radical inventions that changed the world. Now, in this new book, Harford once again brings us an array of remarkable, memorable, curious and often unexpected 'things' - inventions that teach us lessons by turns intimate and sweeping about the complex world economy we live in today. From the brick, blockchain and the bicycle to fire, the factory and fundraising, and from solar PV and the pencil to the postage stamp, this brilliant and enlightening collection resonates, fascinates and stimulates. It is a wonderful blend of insight and inspiration from one of Britain's finest non-fiction storytellers.

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

The Phoenix by Bilal Siddiqui

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZENEVENTS

The Phoenix tells a dystopian tale of espionage and global terror, of sleeper cells and double agents, of biological warfare and suicide attacks. But at its heart there's a message of hope and one man's love for his family and country.Bilal Siddiqi is a novelist and screenwriter based in Mumbai.

ABOUT THE BOOK The Phoenix tells a dystopian tale of espionage and global terror, of sleeper cells and double agents, of biological warfare and suicide attacks. But at its heart there's a message of hope and one man's love for his family and country.Bilal Siddiqi is a novelist and screenwriter based in Mumbai. He is the author of The Stardust Affair, The Kiss of Life (co-written with actor Emraan Hashmi) and The Bard of Blood, a spy novel which he wrote when he was nineteen and which was adapted by Red Chillies Entertainment into a Netflix show. Siddiqi was

SEPTEMBER 2020

also the creator of this show and worked on the screenplay. The Phoenix is his fourth book.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

HOTthe OFFpress

Any ambitious proposal - ranging from fixing crumbling infrastructure to Medicare for all or preventing the coming climate apocalypse - inevitably sparks questions: how can we afford it? How can we pay for it? Stephanie Kelton points out how misguided those questions really are by using the bold ideas of modern monetary theory (MMT), a fundamentally different approach to using our resources to maximize our potential as a society.

HOTtheOFF press We live in a digital world one in which our children are surrounded by technology. It's a part of their lives in a way that even the most techsavvy adults aren't fully able to comprehend. What we do know is that the workplace of tomorrow will require our children to harness the power behind the technology, to be able to understand key concepts and apply them.

How can we best prepare our children to enter this world?

STORIZENEVENTS

We live in a digital world - one in which our children are surrounded by technology. It's a part of their lives in a way that even the most tech-savvy adults aren't fully able to comprehend. What we do know is that the workplace of tomorrow will require our children to harness the power behind the technology, to be able to understand key concepts and apply them. Logical reasoning, creativity and problem solving are skills that are becoming increasingly essential in the world of work.How can we best prepare our children to enter this world? How to Raise a Tech Genius is a practical book that assumes no prior knowledge or understanding of computing and enables parents to learn skills and concepts alongside their children. The quick, easy and fun fifteen-minute activities within the book have been developed using firsthand teaching expertise and are fully mapped to the computing curriculum taught in schools.From a deck of playing cards to the story books on your bookshelf or even the contents of your fridge, How to Raise a Tech Genius uses everyday objects that can be found around your home to illustrate core computer science concepts. Children SEPTEMBER 2020

and adults alike will enjoying playing games while developing their algorithmic thinking and logical reasoning skills. This book demystifies the computing curriculum for adults, showing parents a whole new side of computing, coding and technology so that they can help their child become a computing genius!

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Gangster on the Run The True Story of a Reformed Criminal

Rahul Jadhav took the name ‘Bhiku’ after a character from the 1998 cult classic Satya — a gangster who was everything Rahul once wanted to be. Capturing his don’s attention as a tech-literate criminal, running his extortion ring over Skype, Rahul found himself shouting threats down the barrel of his gun and became one of the most wanted gangsters of his time. 27

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZENEVENTS

Puja Changoiwala is an award-winning journalist, and author of the critically acclaimed true crime book, The Front Page Murders: Inside the Serial Killings that Shocked India.As a journalist, Changoiwala writes about the intersections of gender, crime, social justice, human rights and technology. Her work has featured across the likes of BBC, CNN, The Hindu, The Guardian, MIT’s Undark, Al Jazeera, Stanford Social Innovation Review and The British Medical Journal, among other esteemed publications in Asia, UK, and North America.

ABOUT THE BOOK Rahul Jadhav took the name ‘Bhiku’ after a character from the 1998 cult classic Satya — a gangster who was everything Rahul once wanted to be. Capturing his don’s attention as a techliterate criminal, running his extortion ring over Skype, Rahul found himself shouting threats down the barrel of his gun and became one of the most wanted gangsters of his time. After his arrest in 2007, the extortionist and hitman was left a shadow of his former self, ravaged by alcoholism and drug abuse — which twisted his mind into a near schizophrenic state. That was only part of his journey. Today, the gunrunner is an ultra-marathoner who has covered nearly 10,000 kilometres

SEPTEMBER 2020

— including a 2019 run from Gateway of India to India Gate — and aims to shatter the national stadium run record. Written by awardwinning journalist Puja Changoiwala, this is the extraordinary story of a hitman who became a de-addiction counselor and outran his demons, leaving them far behind in the murky shadows of gangland.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

HOTthe OFFpress

Cricket Drona takes us through the life of cricketing genius Vasoo Paranjape, who left a defining impact on the game, shaping the careers of some of Indian cricket's greatest figures, from Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar, from Rahul Dravid to Rohit Sharma. This book is a first-hand chronicle of stories, life lessons and game-changing experiences, written in the words of those who were lucky enough to have crossed paths with Paranjape at just the right time in their careers. For generations of cricketers across India, and even for some in other parts of the world, Paranjape has been an inspiration, a mentor, friend and guide. Peel back the layers and get to the core of a life that nurtured and nourished generations of India's best cricketing talent.

HOTthe OFFpress War, nationalism, and trees shape lives in unforeseeable ways in this novel about a family and a country struggling with enormous transformations.‘In my childhood, I was known as the boy whose mother had run off with an Englishman’ – so begins the story of Myshkin and his mother, Gayatri, who is driven to rebel against tradition and follow her artist’s instinct for freedom. The International Dublin Literary Award 2020, formerly the IMPAC award, is sponsored by Dublin City Council award. The award is presented annually for a novel written in English or translated into English. All the Lives We Never Live d has been selected from a long list of 156 novels submitted by library systems in 119 cities in 40 countries.

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Parveen Babi: A Life by Karishma Upadhyay

Raat baaki, baat baaki… Hona hai jo, ho jaane do…

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZENEVENTS

A well-known film journalist, Karishma Upadhyay is considered to be a specialist on Bollywood. Working across media, she has led editorial teams at several prominent media houses. She has been the entertainment editor at Times Now, the celebrity editor at People magazine, and has contributed articles for several publications, including India Today, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Telegraph, The Hindu and Forbes magazine.

ABOUT THE BOOK Raat baaki, baat baaki… Hona hai jo, ho jaane do… 'Sensuous, glamorous and bold, Parveen Babi set the Hindi cinema screen ablaze during the 1970s and ’80s, breaking the ‘pious, nice girl’ mould of the film heroine and redefining it after her own style. On screen, she sizzled in unforgettable roles in blockbusters like Deewaar, Shaan, Kaalia and Amar Akbar Anthony – while, off-screen, her bohemian and unabashed lifestyle lit up gossip columns, and her appearance on the cover of Time magazine, a first for an Indian, created a stir nationwide. Yet, for all the sensational rumours and films her life inspired, Parveen has remained something of an enigma to SEPTEMBER 2020

generations of fans. In Parveen Babi: A Life, Karishma Upadhyay traces the journey of a shy but ambitious girl from an aristocratic family in Junagadh, Gujarat, to a life of merciless scrutiny that comes with being in the Bollywood spotlight. Exploring with depth and sensitivity the myriad facets of the actress’s life, she lays bare little-known details about Parveen’s doomed romances, her obsession with the spiritual guide who advised her to quit films, the tumultuous years of battling mental illness and her tragic, untimely demise. Rich with insights from the star’s friends, former lovers and colleagues, this compelling narrative captures the nuances of an extraordinary life – the highs and lows of finding fame, love and solace, and then, in the end, losing it all. STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZENINTERVIEW

Olivier Lafont Author, Oop and Lila: Lost in the Scarabean Sea

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

Tell us about Oop & Lila. How did the idea of the adventurous book happen? ‘Oop & Lila’ came together from three different ideas : a bag of 99 wish candies; adventures based on magical snow globes, with each snow globe having different scenes that lead to different magical worlds ; and the desire to have a brother-sister pairing as my main characters. The wish candies and the magical snow globes actually were on my ideas list, an ongoing list where I jot down any idea that comes to me. The idea could be a film or a book, a whole plot or theme, or just bits of dialogue or titles that I like. Over time some ideas come together quite spontaneously and bloom into a story - which is what happened with ‘Oop & Lila’. I had wanted to explore the brother-sister dynamic in more detail for some time, and it fit with my other two elements perfectly. With these main three elements together all I needed was an epic

SEPTEMBER 2020

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS setting for a snow globe adventure, and the Golden Age of Piracy was perfect for that, with my own personal twist, of course. How different are the plotsetting and story mapping in Oop & Lila from your previous book ‘Warrior’ as it is based on traces of stories from mythology? They are quite different, despite some similarities. ‘Warrior’ is an adult fantasy novel, while ‘Oop & Lila’ is a children’s book, so there’s an immediate divergence of the rules and expectations in terms of themes, plot and tone. The mythological aspect of ‘Warrior’ also inspires a respectful approach in how I write about the gods and other figures involved, while with ‘Oop & Lila’ I gave myself a free rein to play with the different elements as much as I wanted. In that respect, in terms of pure creativity, ‘Warrior’ is more restrained while ‘Oop & Lila’ is more fantastical. In ‘Warrior’, STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS which has Indian gods and monsters hiding in our modern world, I wanted the fictional microcosm I created to cleave as close as possible to our sense of reality so that the reader would feel that all these extraordinary events and people could truly exist. Whereas in ‘Oop & Lila’ the world that our little heroes land in is meant to be an absolute fantasy and feels broadly unreal ( at least until they realize it’s an alternate version of our world, geography and history ). The names of Oop and Scarabean are quite unique. What is the idea behind this?

I wanted titular names that would have a particular ring, and also a certain musicality. Oop is short for Upendra, and fit as a childhood nickname between siblings, while also having a nice sound pairing with his sister’s name Lila for the title of the book. The Scarabean evolved from the Arabian Sea as the geographic and historic inspiration, but was also influenced by the Caribbean Sea. Both have incredible pirating histories, although the Caribbean pirates are far more known. I was also looking for a multilayered name, and the name Scarabean immediately evoked the idea of the sea scarabs as these mammoth marine insects that are masters of the ocean.

Over time some ideas come together quite spontaneously and bloom into a story - which is what happened with ‘Oop & Lila’

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

The audience of your books is mostly young readers. Is there any particular reason for this? There’s no reason in particular. ‘Oop & Lila’ and my last book ‘Rise of the Midnight King’ were more middle grade fiction, but my first novel ‘Warrior’ was adult fantasy fiction, and I have also written a contemporary romance novel ‘Sweet Revenge’ and an international young adult fantasy adventure ‘Snowbound’ — so I actually have a varied audience. It depends on the story that evolves. ‘Oop & Lila’ and ‘Rise of the Midnight King’ were naturally books for younger readers, whereas as I created ‘Warrior’ it very clearly was for a slightly older readership onwards. How much time did you take to write the story of Oop & Lila? Which was the most difficult chapter to write?

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS wrote a little bit here and there over time, and finally sat down seriously to complete it after I had moved to France. Even then it took a while, since I was simultaneously completing ‘Rise of the Midnight King’ and settling back in France after thirty years in India. The most relatively difficult chapter to write was, I think, the first chapter. Not story wise, since the opening event was clear, but to craft and balance it in a way that I thought was simple but immediately engaging and would move the reader quickly into the adventure.

I wanted titular names that would have a particular ring, and also a certain musicality.

The creation happened in a few stages. I initially created the story and first chapter several years ago, but became busy at that point with the release of ‘Warrior’ so it stayed on the backburner for some time. I

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Who can forget Suhas Tandon from 3 Idiots? Now read a smashing children's book by the French actor, screenplay writer and critically acclaimed authorOlivier Lafont. Oop and Lila: Lost in the Scarabean Sea is a middle-grade fantasy novel perfect for the fans for Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl. Featuring a cast of colourful characters, this pirate tale, woven with delicious morsels of history and written with plenty of humour and heart, will soon have you longingfor life on the high seas!

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

What is the major difference you found between Hollywood and Bollywood? Hollywood has bigger budgets, and a more structured and dedicated focus on screenplay development before shooting. That said, one of the mysterious strengths and qualities of the Indian film industry is the type of pressured creativity that comes from smaller budgets and spontaneously shooting a scene because the script isn’t as developed… While these are rather generalized differences, the practical functioning of both industries didn’t seem to differ much more to me. People in both are as passionate, as dedicated, and as willing to go the extra mile.

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Are you working in or for any new movies? I acted most recently in Le Bureau des légendes, a spy thriller which is widely considered one of the best French TV shows ever, and has been a popular and critical success internationally. It was nice to play a deadly serious spy, especially after having done so much comedy in India. Right now I’m quite busy with writing, but there are some interesting projects on the horizon, we’ll have to see!

Hollywood has bigger budgets, and a more structured and dedicated focus on screenplay development before shooting.

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS How do you rate the myth-fiction books that are making rounds in today’s literature in the country? I can’t answer this question because I haven’t read any of the mythological fiction books, I don’t have any basis on which to venture an opinion. But I love that writers are giving fiction-life to our mythologies and histories! Writing a fantasy & adventure story is a tiresome job. How do u deal with the pressure you face when you encounter a writer's block? I don’t find it tiresome at all, to me every aspect of it is exciting, engrossing and energizing! The truth is I’ve never experienced writer’s block. I’ve heard other writers describe it, so I know what it is and what it feels like, but fortunately it hasn’t happened to me.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Olivier Lafont is a French author, screenplay writer and actor living in Paris. His other works include Warrior (shortlisted for the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize), The Kumaon Secret Society: The Rise of the Midnight King (shortlisted for the Neev Book Award 2020), Sweet Revenge, Snowbound and Purgatory: The Gun of God. He has written an Indo-French feature film that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and went on to win seven awards internationally. He has acted in Hollywood and Indian films, including 3 Idiots and Guzaarish. He graduated with degrees in English Literature and in theatre from Colgate University, USA, with academic distinction.

(Interviewed by Swapna Peri) (Tune into Storizen.com for full coverage)

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZENINTERVIEW

Shravya Bhinder Author, To You With Love

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

Firstly, tell us about the beautiful cover design of your new book 'To You, With Love' A book’s cover is like the soul of the book. It should capture the essence of the book and should narrate the story without revealing much. The cover designed by the talented team at Penguin Random House for To You, With Love does exactly that. It summarizes the book, seizing it’s essence. After all, half of the time do pick books based on their covers! Your first book, Something I never told you also happens to be romantic fiction. I really liked the character of Ronak. Why did you choose the same genre for your second book also? My last book Something I Never Told You is a story of Love and so is To You, With Love. Even though both the books are unrelated the base of both the stories is the emotion -love because for me it is the essence of life. Every story has love in it, SEPTEMBER 2020

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS maybe in a different context but love is omnipresent. Some stories are centered around sibling's love others revolve around the love for parents, some talk about love for the country or family, and some are based on self-love. So, writing a story without this basic human emotion is impossible as per me. You will find Love in each of my writings. In the book 'To You, With Love', the characters of Sahir and Ayra are very realistic and relatable. Are those characters inspired by someone you know? I draw inspiration for not just the story but all my characters from life around me. I believe that God is an amazing storyteller and all of his stories deserve a lot of attention. So yes, not just these two characters but all the characters in the book are inspired by real people around me.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

What is Love to you? Or What makes Love special?

There are poems, letters, quotes, etc. in the book. How difficult was it to incorporate all these elements to showcase the emotions? When I started writing To You, With Love I had a diary full of my notes and scribbles. It took me years to write them and these writings are very close to my heart. I knew that it was time to share them with my readers. Much before the book was conceptualized, the notes, quotes, etc were already there in my life and I knew that they had to be a part of this book. So, it is more of a case where I incorporated the story around my notes rather than it being the other way round.

Love is a very basic emotion that is not limited to just humans. So for me, love is what life is made of. It is the most natural thing to happen to anyone. It is the essence of life, love is what makes the world go around and keeps us alive. Our love for ourselves makes us grow, our love for others makes us better individuals. Love is what life is made up of.

I draw inspiration for not just the story but all my characters from life around me.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

'To You, With Love' is all about understanding each other who have different priorities and aims towards life. How far is it feasible for two different personalities to stay together sharing an emotion called ‘Love'? When two people are in love with their differences do not impact their feelings for each other, that is when the couple reaches the point of real understanding. Mostly, we try and love a person for the qualities that we like thinking that the ones we do not like enough will either vanish over time or we would mold the other person our way. That is not loving but manipulation. When you love a person for all the good and bad in them, when you love every bit of them as they are- that is true love and it is very easy to strike any sort of understanding when such is the case. What kind of story writing techniques do you use? Do you make a plot in your mind or is it instinct-based?

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS I always put the plot together before I begin writing chapters. Having said that, not every time the story goes as per the plot you originally decide for it. Most stories write themselves and they take their course. Still, I feel more in control when I write down the plot first and then start working on 'the beginning' of the novel. Choosing the right point to begin my story is what takes most of my time. Once that is decided, I go on a mad writing spree.

When two people are in love with their differences do not impact their feelings for each other, that is when the couple reaches the point of real understanding.

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Right from their childhood, Sahil and Arya have been very different from each other. While Sahil is careless, carefree, 'new money' and 'the brat', Arya is too sensitive, reserved, shy and not easy to talk to. And that is probably what attracts Sahil to her. Slowly and very delicately their story progresses, and in comes love and things begin to take on a golden hue. However, soon their life begins to unravel. Sahil learns why Arya is so private when the most damning truth about her life is revealed.

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

What change as a writer did you see in yourself from your first book till now? I am more organized is all that I can say because my base writing style stays the same. I did do a course in writing post Something I Never Told You. It has made me a better critic of my work. Which was the most difficult character for you to develop in 'To You, With Love‘? The characters of Bhanu and Pathak were tricky for me as I wanted to do justice to the samesex couple while also ensuring that I do not get sucked into it. I wanted to bring out the challenges gay couples face without seeking pity for them. They had to come out as the winners.

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Do you have any writing rituals? I am a lazy writer per se. I can keep the plot in my head for months at a stretch and wait for inspiration to strike me. When it does, I write all awake hours until I have poured all the months of thoughts on the paper. What is that one question you find very interesting during your interviews? Because my characters are very relatable- I am asked if they are based on someone in real life. It is interesting because most of the time they are based on people around me. Sometimes one character is a blend of two or three different people I know and it is very amusing to explain.

I am a lazy writer per se. I can keep the plot in my head for months at a stretch and wait for inspiration to strike me. SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS How do you deal with your critics? Who is our best critic? Critics have a job and they try and do it to their best abilities. I try and not overthink about criticism. It does more harm than good. I write in my happy place and let my readers decide. I think my editor, Vaishali Mathur is my best critic. She has been in the business for long and she knows exactly what she is talking about. She gives me my creative space while also ensuring that I do not sidetrack. She makes my books a lot better.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Shravya loves to keep an eye out for stories she feels are hidden all around her and then write them down. Formerly a corporate employee, she managed to flee the corporate madness after a few years of boredom, to become a full-time writer. She is a sucker for romance and strives to pen down exciting stories. When she is not reading and writing, she is out enjoying nature, playing with her dogs or cooking for her family.She lives in Melbourne with her family, in a house with a barren backyard and a lifetime's collection of books. She is the bestselling author of Something I Never Told You. (Interviewed by Swapna Peri) (Tune into Storizen.com for full coverage)

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZENINTERVIEW

Shubha Vilas Author, Magic of Friendships

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

This time you chose 'Friendship' as the muse in your book 'Magic of Friendships'.What is the reason behind this? There’s nothing more important in life than relationships. And no other relationship as important as friendship. Friends hold the crown position of all relationships. Friendship for me personally is what makes life special. Most of your titles have the words magic, miracle, etc. Is it intentional? If yes, why? It’s definitely not intentional. In fact I’ve noticed it only now…after you pointed it out. I guess when you believe in God’s magic and miracles, a part of it enters your life as well.

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Principles of friendship are the same in every era. What changes is the context. You can pick any friendship story from any yuga… any century…any country…any culture…the principles will never change. Friendship as a concept is eternal. What is the fondest memory you had been a child with your friends? The fondest memories of my childhood are that of playing football in the heavy rains in an empty field with my friends. People generally make statements like ' I can do anything for my friend ' or ' I can give my life to my friend '. Do these statements really prove the feeling of friendship?

In this book, you have taken many tales on friendship from the epics and ancient texts. Do you think the concept of friendship has taken a model shift from past to present?

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Proof of the pudding is in the eating. So statements by themselves are not proof of friendship. In my book I mention 4 levels of friendship. A Bandhu or Sakha will neither make such statements and even if they do, they will not mean it. On the other hand,PriyaSakhas and Suhrits will never shirk away from doing everything they can. One needs to know which friend is at which level.

Inner voice is definitely a powerful guide. For those who have the constant company of the inner voice one may not feel the need for an external friend but it seldom is the case. Most often than not what we think of as the inner voice is the voice of the restless mind that distracts us rather than directing us. Thus its best to have external friends till we mature and fine-tune the connection to our inner voice.

Is it necessary to have a friend other than oneself or the inner voice? How does an external friend help?

You can pick any friendship story from any yuga…any century…any country…any culture…the principles will never change. Friendship as a concept is eternal.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

What are some of the important things that you would like to tell the present generation of young adults and retired elders about friendship? I had to mention these two sets of people as I see many people from these age groups without any friends. Today’s generation has replaced friends with gadgets. The retired generation had replaced friends with an obsession for work. But whichever generation you belong to, friends make life worth living. My advice is to take time out and look around. The gift of friendship is waiting for you. Friendship and loyalty along with trust are often showcased in books, movies, or several other media. which is the best story or book or movie on the friendship that you like? In my childhood I was fascinated by Hardy boys and Tintin. But as I grew up I found much greater depth in wisdom books like Ramayana, Panchatantra and the Mahabharata.

SEPTEMBER 2020

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS As the book's title says, there is definitely magic in having a great friendship. Personally, when did you feel you need a friend? Did you experience magic? The irony is that we never really realize that we are missing a friend in life till one comes along and adds sparkle to it. Like I mentioned in the book, had it not been for two special friends I made, I was well on my way to becoming a problem child who hated school and hated everyone else too. But once I found deep friendship, my personality changed. I blossomed into a sensible and smart boy, even topping in class. I have experienced the magic of friendship first-hand.

Inner voice is definitely a powerful guide. For those who have the constant company of the inner voice one may not feel the need for an external friend but it seldom is the case.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Do you have numerous friends on social media, but hardly any in real life?Do you find that your relationships don't last?These and similar questions have now become the part and parcel of our lives. Today, more than ever, friendship has become more important than any other relationship. The warmth and companionship that a good friend can provide is unmatched and each one of us craves for that special friend to whom we can unburden our heart or seek help from in troubled times. But not all of us are that lucky!In his book, Shubha Vilas discusses, in a simple and straight-forward manner, what is missing in our friendships today and the various scenarios that prevent people from making and maintaining good friends.

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

Among all the books that you have written, which according to you is your best works? You’re asking a mother to choose her favorite child? For a mother too, the youngest one is always special. So by that analogy, ‘Magic of Friendship’ is my current best. Why is it that we have more friends in childhood and as we age, we become choosy? As children, we are joyous at heart by default.A joyful heart attracts friends. With age, the fun, the carefree attitude gives way to responsibility and gravity. Time becomes money and friendships get sidelined. Lack of time and changed priorities spell nemesis for most friendships. From another perspective choosing is good in fact. It helps us discriminate and invest in those friends that are like minded and those that genuinely care for our growth.

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS This is not related to your book. What change did you find in yourself by choosing spirituality as a path? The most important way in which spirituality helped me is to discover myself and accept myself. The second most important contribution of spirituality in my life is that it made me realize that there is greater joy in giving than in taking. Who do you like the most? Lawyer Shubha Vilas or Ted X speaker Shubha Vilas? And why?

In my childhood I was fascinated by Hardy boys and Tintin. But as I grew up I found much greater depth in wisdom books like Ramayana, Panchatantra and the Mahabharata.

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

I actually like Author Shubha Vilas because as an author I draw upon all my skills and experiences as a lawyer and a speaker to make my books not merely time pass reading but books that can transform hearts and lives. Few words to your readers. Cherish books as your only treasure in life. For if you do that you will never lack any other treasure in life.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN INTERVIEW

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS Shubha Vilas is a TEDx speaker, lifestyle coach, storyteller and author. He studied patent law after completing his engineering degree. But, finally, he chose the path of a spiritual seeker. Ramayana:The Game of Life is his bestselling series. (Interviewed by Swapna Peri)

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZENCONTRIBUTE

BElieve in YOUrself by Riya Gulati

We live in a society where we need a constant approval from others for selfacceptance- for which social media is a perfect exemplar. We tend to believe others immediately than we believe ourselves. If someone says stupendous about you, you might (for a sec) question yourself- is that veracious? But at the same time, if some says substandard thing about you, you are inclined to believe it instantly. Certainly, those who judge you don’t even know themselves properly. To anyone who ever told that you are not good, they are no better.Always remember to never overestimate others and underestimate yourself. Anything in excess or meagre is 57

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

not good, hence, balance is the key. Stay grounded and things will work for you. We as an individual evolve (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually) over the years. Hence, nothing remains stagnant. What you have been earlier, won’t be the same (whether it was good or bad). Never blame others for your gremlins- be a GREAT person and forgive them (even if they have not asked for an apology). Your life is radically in your hands, ergo, inculpating others for your blunders is futile. Competition/ comparison/ jealousy is another root cause which occupies an unnecessary space in your mind. You are not here to compete with anyone except yourself so make sure to accept yourself. You are unique in your own way and that adds beauty to your life.What you need in your life is to respect and love yourself and others around you. Be a hope for others and make others believe in the magic of love, kindness, uprightness, gallantry, integrity, decency, probity, civility and goodness.

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZENCONTRIBUTE

Bad days do come in everyone’s life where we veer to hate ourselves. Albeit, the truth is good or bad, nothing lasts forever. You might have got someone special in your life who can help you out to come of the vicious circle,but you need to first learn to fix yourself. You should act prudently and try to curb your emotions at the earliest. Sometimes, not reacting to your emotions save you from committing zillions of sins. Be a person of high values and good conscience and nothing would go against you. The pith is if you don’t respect, love or believe in yourself- no one else would. Ups and downs, both are pivotal part as they provide you with a clear glimpse of life. How we react to the situation, deduce our emotion, intelligence, nature and real personality. Whether you get the best or worst from the life, acknowledge it and keep on moving forwards. The road is pulchritudinous, and the journey is fascinating and worth walking. If you notice, the extraordinary achievers, wellestablished entrepreneurs, the richest and the noble persons, acclaimed sports SEPTEMBER 2020

stars, politicians, journalists, an alluring personality, celebutante or anyone to whom you consider your paragonyou will discover that they have the spirit to fight against the odds and therefore, they have developed the art of living aesthetically. You may call them lucky or blessed beings, but the fact is that they have conditioned and vaccinated themselves against all the prevailing pessimism. The confident people are just like you who have mastered themselves to be different in their minds, spirits and bodies. Be courageous to accept yourself, despite being unacceptable by others. Give yourself the same amount of love, care, positivity, blessings, motivation and respect as you have been giving to others and contrariwise- life would become magical!

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZENCONTRIBUTE

Every coin has two sides so does your life which might work in favour or against you. It is not important which side you get but what matter is the good you make out of that. You should never get arrogant when you have everything and disappointed when you have nothing as the other side is waiting for its turn. BElievein YOUrself and you will be unstoppable! “When you get what you want, it’s God’s direction and when you don’t get what you want, it’s God’s protection.”

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Riya Gulati is a Paralegal at Law Offices of Caro Kinsella, Ireland. She is LL.M (Intellectual Property & Information Technology) from University College Dublin & BA.LLB from Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University.

SEPTEMBER 2020

WE DON'T SELL BOOKS

We help you increase your book sales.

talktous@storizen.com

STORIZEN REVIEW

MAGICAL, COLORFUL, AND THRILLING The book, "The Demons of Jaitraya" is a myth-fiction of all the elements like past lives, karma, spirituality, demons, evil forces. war sagas etc.

Reviewed by Swapna Peri

As the blurb already states that the epics say, in the great War of Ramayana, several rakshasas escaped. They hid in the bowels of the Earth, in the water and space, and remained dormant for eons. In the 20th century of the Christian era, however, some of them reappeared in different forms to plague the Earth with Wars and illnesses. At the end of his war with Ravana, Rama had asked Hanuman to raise and train a contingent of warriors who would take birth multiple times on Earth, to contain the demons. This being the central idea of the story, with the characters of Aishani and Adheesh who are warriors in their past lives and now in this life still possess the

STORIZENREVIEW

The description of places, sceneries, people, and situations create an imaginary and magical place in a reader's mind. The author's imagination when gets replicated in a reader's mind can be said that the story is just awesome. It is the same here. Right from the prologue till the last chapter where Guruji, the other most important character in the story, reveals that in the coming days most of the Gurukuls will b under attack and the thoughts that cross over Aishani's mind is brilliant. The last chapter hinted to me that there will be the next part of the story too. The book has good explanations of the different philosophies that collectively make up the beautiful mosaic of Indian culture. The concept and explanation of 8 Sthanas

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

BOOK REVIEW

blessed weapons and magical powers to fight the demons and evil powers that exist in the world, the author Shubira Prasad has woven an interesting tale.

Book Title: Interesting and Riveting

Book Cover: Colorful and Captivating

The Story The book is a perfect combination of traditional values of wisdom and strength and mythological aspects. There is war, there is love and there is a fight.

A Must Read The book is a feast to mythfiction lovers.

Book Review

STORIZEN REVIEW

intrigued me very much also the concepts of universal energy, karma, and dharma are put forth interestingly. The author uses the mythological stories and the legends of Ramayana as the basis for her novel. The narrative technique she used is from a third-person point of view that also makes a reader an integral part of the story. Impartial writing gives the readers enough space to study the plot and form their own opinions about the virtues and evils mentioned. My Final Verdict The book is a feast to mythfiction lovers.

Rating

Swapna worked as SAP Consultant for 10 years in Major IT companies. Reading has always been her passion and occasional painting her hobby. She decided to quit her job, look after the family and pursue her hobby of reading and painting in a larger way. Thus, her big leap into book reviewing has paved a way and has been successful to date. Reading challenges interest her a lot and visiting book fairs is her favorite thing. She believes that there is no good back or bad book, but only books. Writing unbiased reviews is her strength and she is appreciated by fellow reviewers and readers for the same. An anthology of musings with her paintings is her pending dream!

@swapna.peri

Final Rating: 4/5 @sappy_dreamz_unlimited @swapna508

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Exploring The Urban World Estuary explores the human condition Reviewed by Swapna Peri

The Story is of Simple People Caught Up in the Web of Urban Life

Murugan’s first novel in an urban setting, it is also a razorsharp parody of everything from e-commerce to the fitness industry, art appreciation to political manipulation, grind schools to social networks, plagiarism to moral policing, religion to legalese.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

Book Title:

A Must Read:

Thoughtful & Philosophical

A fantastic work of fiction that will make the reader sit and think once the book is completed. This thinking quotient will grow gradually as every word in the story starts sinking in.

Book Cover: The cover image of the book is a mirrored reflection of two men in the water.

BOOK REVIEW

STORIZEN REVIEW

This story though is a work of fiction, can be categorized into realistic fiction which showcases the present lives. With a competition that is a burden to many parents, children often are made to stud in great academic colleges which enables the kids from rich families to lead an easy student life. A person coming from a small town or a lesser economical strata family often faces many problems. Due to which the kids face mental turmoil and end up their lives. This also prevails in some of the esteemed corporate companies where because failing in an assessment test their jobs are at risk and many young engineers and management professionals have killed themselves.

due to principles.

deep-rooted

outdated

3. Ill effects of disparity in economical statuses 4. A fear of molding oneself towards the cultural differences

In this book, Murugan has pointed out many other social issues present in society even today. I have listed some of them below: 1. Male dominance and absurd way of showing authority on children and women. 2. Rigidness towards changes around concerning technology and living standards 67

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

Book Review

STORIZEN REVIEW

My Final Verdict A fantastic work of fiction that will make the reader sit and think once the book is completed. This thinking quotient will grow gradually as every word in the story starts sinking in.

Rating Final Rating: 5/5

@swapna.peri @sappy_dreamz_unlimited @swapna508

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

A Realistic Story

Photo by Amish Thakkar

Reviewed by Swapna Peri

STORIZENREVIEW

into the story is somewhere missing. Else, the book is a good entertainer. What to expect

BOOK REVIEW

This is my fourth book from Kamini Kusum. In her previous book, the drama quotient that existed is carried onto this book also. At some places, the events happen so quickly that the readers fail to cope up with the pace. Her books target the Indian audience and people who like the soap operas of Indian television. Her books also are a treat to beginner readers who lookout for books written in simple and colloquial language.

The book is a love story with twists. This book is a story with families having trouble accepting decisions. This story is a realistic story that can be seen in every house. Thus, expect a good tea-time story.

She in this book has given an insight into the groom kidnapping that happens in some parts of India. When deeply thought, it focuses on marriages that are confined to a certain caste, economical background, political background, and society around. To not being embarrassed by those outsiders, often young people succumb to forced marriages. Here, the author has touched such subjects at a basic level. A more deep inclusion of this subject would have given the story a mature look. Though the story was good, somewhere there is a disjunction with the emotional level. The events happen so fast that the time taken by the readers to understand and sink SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

Book Title Mysterious and Different Book Cover The cover image of the book is a picture of the traditional turban that usually Indian grooms put during weddings. What to Expect The book is a love story with twists. This book is a story with families having trouble accepting decisions. This story is a realistic story that can be seen in every house. Thus, expect a good teatime story.

Book Review

STORIZEN REVIEW

Who can read the book The book is written in a basic language with no complex vocabulary. The simple conversations and incidents are dramatic and can be received well with beginners. The readers who like bling, Bollywood kind of fantasy, and hustle-bustle storylines and drama can read the book.

Rating Final Rating: 3/5

@swapna.peri @sappy_dreamz_unlimited @swapna508

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN REVIEW

THE NUCLEAR FALLOUT This is the story of a young kid Chaitanya, who was a victim of the Nuclear experiment named ' Smiling Buddha' in the year 1974.

Reviewed by Swapna Peri

Of late I have been reading books that are either fantasy fiction or non-fiction. This book came as a surprise. It is derived from real events and if drilled deeper, can also be the real story of any person who is either a victim or a survivor of Nuclear Tests. We often keep reading about the ill effects such R&D tests result in. Such is the story that author Uday has picked up. Many similar incidents came to my mind and for some time I have been thinking about people like Chaitanya, who are born with disabilities for no fault of them. It is impossible to even imagine life with such physical challenges.

STORIZENREVIEW

But, the best part of the story is the positive and zealous attitude the protagonist illustrates.

I also liked the author's extreme research, details about the places mentioned, known, and unknown facts of the project Smiling Buddha.

Vijyant Thapar

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

BOOK REVIEW

The book is a good combination of details, facts, and emotions. The missing feeling is we lose someone we love or the humanity aspects or love or relationship or friendship or revenge is shown coherently and strongly.

Book Title: Proud remembrance & nostalgic too

Book Cover: This image is hypothetical and argumentative.

The Story This is the story of a young kid Chaitanya, who was a victim of the Nuclear experiment named 'Smiling Buddha' in the year 1974.

Expect an actionpacked emotional story that has all the elements.

Photo by Alexandra Gorn

A Must Read

Book Review

STORIZEN REVIEW

My Final Verdict Expect an action-packed emotional story that has all the elements. The best part of the book is it has lots of twists that will surprise and entertain the reader. The narration is so nice that a screen-play for a movie or a short film can be easily made of it.

Rating Final Rating: 4/5

@swapna.peri @sappy_dreamz_unlimited @swapna508

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

A Nice and Gripping Short Story Kintsugi, the Japanese art and its connection with wrecked human feelings and broken relations Reviewed by Swapna Peri

A Taste of the Emotions

Usually,\ short stories or flash fiction stories are written in a colloquial language or the language which is not so complex. But here, in this story, the author Madhulika has picked up a language that is extremely rich in vocabulary and fantastic in grammar. 77

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

Book Title:

What To Expect:

Mysterious

The best things come in compact packages is what I feel about this story.

Book Cover: The cover image of the book is of a Japanese statue which promptly suits the title because Kintsugi is a Japanese art of restructuring broken statues or anything made up of porcelain material.

The story is available for free on the Juggernaut app and Author Madhulika has scored brownie points for her narration.

BOOK REVIEW

STORIZEN REVIEW

Not every story is long or not every story is too dramatic. I consider this short story as a crown amongst the many short stories I read in recent times. Be it the language or the setup or the characters or the feelings portrayed or the thrill the narration gave is wonderful. The best things come in compact packages is what I feel about this story. The story is available for free on the Juggernaut app and Author Madhulika has scored brownie points for her narration. Characters: This is another interesting aspect of the story. Though there are more than two characters, the readers get to know only one character's name Mayra, who is the central character too. The story revolves around her life. The metamorphosis of this character physically and mentally is very well etched in the story. The scope of her father's character though very small is yet significant. In the later part of the story, another man and his interest in Kintsugi also become the characters. 79

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

Book Review

STORIZEN REVIEW

My Final Verdict A nice and gripping short story!

Rating Book Title: 4/5 Book Cover: 4/5 Inside the book: 4/5 Characters: 4/5 Narration: 4.5/5 Language & Grammar: 4/5 Final Rating: 4/5

@swapna.peri @sappy_dreamz_unlimited @swapna508

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

It All Happened in a School by Gaurav Sharma

Our Love for

READING Reviewed by Swapna Peri

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZENREVIEW

When it comes to realistic fiction, this genre portrays the world as it is. It contains no fantasy, no supernatural elements, and it usually depicts ordinary people going about the business of daily living, with all its joys, sorrow, successes, and failures. Generally in good realistic fiction, the characters are engaging, the dialogue is believable, the plot is fresh and original, the story setting is true to life, the problems faced by the characters are honestly portrayed.

which are hardcore fiction but the agenda of the management in the story is well described. Likewise, there are certain scenes where unruly kids and their behaviors with teachers are mentioned. This seems to be true because I have heard such incidents. Well, it is all from the home where a kid learns the initial steps. In this connection, the author also pinpoints the parents to be careful in their ways.

BOOK REVIEW

Of late, New-age Indian authors have written books on either myth-fiction or complete fiction with the romance genre as the backdrop. But, sometimes readers get to read books that fall under the Realistic Fiction category. Fortunately, I have happened to read such books in this year. But, again to be precise I haven't read a story like 'It all happened in a school'.

With the characters of Harjeet and Soubhagya, the book 'It All Happened In A School' is a good gripping story. I noticed, the title says 'IN A SCHOOL', which can be redirected to many such schools that have been facing these incidents.

In this book, Author Gaurav Sharma has done with the plot something similar that I have stated above. Because, when there is so much chaos in the society regarding religions, here in the story the school is run by two different belief systems SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORY This is a story about teachers learning to connect with students, fellow teachers, and administrators. CHARACTERS Dynamic, strong, and sometimes hateful WRITING STYLE As the saying goes, Literature changes the face of society, this book surely does its job.

Book Review

STORIZEN REVIEW

My Final Verdict Reality and recent events are explained clearly.

Rating Final Rating - 4/5 Swapna worked as SAP Consultant for 10 years in Major IT companies. Reading has always been her passion and occasional painting her hobby. She decided to quit her job, look after the family and pursue her hobby of reading and painting in a larger way. Thus, her big leap into book reviewing has paved a way and has been successful to date. Reading challenges interest her a lot and visiting book fairs is her favorite thing. She believes that there is no good back or bad book, but only books. Writing unbiased reviews is her strength and she is appreciated by fellow reviewers and readers for the same. An anthology of musings with her paintings is her pending dream!

@swapna.peri @sappy_dreamz_unlimited @swapna508

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN POETRY

Tiger Widow by Hema Ravi She leads a life of shame day after day Ostracized by the members of the town Pitiable existence, what to say? Sans partner, in utter poverty drown(ed) Friends until the previous day now let down In superstitions they lie submersed Witch! Tiger Widow! Depressing comedown! They consider her unlucky, accursed.

Out one day, her man met Death on the way Left with no choice as drought brought the clampdown Waded far through the mangroves, lost his sway Searching for honey, far from his hometown To fetch his fortunes, avoid a crackdown Took the road not taken, unaware, unversed. Encountered a man-eater at sundown. They consider her unlucky, accursed! Camouflaged, motionless the feline lay Till it spotted the man going downtown A sudden mist appeared, then all turned grey Up to the waterway, it soon dragged down Screams grew louder, then a sudden die-down Gratifying days of hunger and thirst While bloodied water flowed past woods, deep-down They consider her unlucky, accursed. 85 |

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN POETRY

With taunts they flay, even as they turn down Such a life in century twenty-first She moves on with life zombie-like, cast down They consider her unlucky, accursed!

(**This poem was written to bring out the plight of the widows of rural Bangladesh who face abandonment after their husbands are killed by tigers. They are often viewed as the cause of their partner’s ill-fate…. In response to a newspaper article) SEPTEMBER 2020

Hema Ravi is a poet, author, reviewer, and editor of Efflorescence (published by the Chennai Poets’ Circle). Her verses and write ups have been featured in several online and international print journals, noteworthy among them being the International Writers Journal, Amaravati Poetic Prism, the Hindu, the new Indian Express. Her short story won the first prize in the Pratilipi competition in 2020. She is the author of ‘Everyday English,’ ‘Write Right Handwriting Series1,2,3,’ co-author of Sing Along Indian Rhymes’ and ‘Everyday Hindi.’ In July 2020, she organized “Connecting Across Borders” -an international Webinar of women poets from India and overseas. She was a participant in the multilingual international poetry reading organized by the Inkdew Publications, India. She is a freelancer for IELTS and Communicative English.

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZEN POETRY

Footsteps by Vidya Shankar My prana vibrating beyond the body consciousness, From the Mooladhara through the Anahata to the Ajna, The reverberation caused by a cascading Rhythmic cadence of salutational chants, I awaited the presence of my Guru, To guide me through the mental delusion of limitedness, And embrace the Akandam, the whole! Rise He did, a picture of celestial charm, Exalted in pearly splendour, a nightly solar, His compelling pristine aura Exuding a welcoming calm, He patterned me in geometry—a mandala, The myriad pieces He adjoined With strands of patient repeated penning, Which, though an illusory incompleteness they seemed, Were prettily perfect in the Now. With Time, I grew, circle by layering circle, My diverse multi-hued cells coming together With forgiving loving-kindness. Inebriated I became with the awareness of joyous purpose, And the wisdom to move on from the expectations Of a transient trophy, To the fulfilling pedestal of Divine Grace.

87 |

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN POETRY

But Life doesn’t end here ever, For, every dawn brings with it A new circle of transit within the old tale, Or new patterns to be traced upon a fresh page, The routines of repeated penning Sometimes splendid surprises, And other times dreary doldrums, Yet I go on in the happiness of belief That the Guru Tatwa has already connected the dots To light up the way, And I only follow the Footsteps that I hear Ever so clearly, In the silence of my undisturbed mind.

Vidya Shankar is a widely published Indian poet, writer, editor, yoga practitioner, mindful mandala artist, a “book” with the Human Library, and English teacher. She is the author of two poetry books The Flautist of Brindaranyam, in collaboration with her photographer husband, Shankar Ramakrishnan, and The Rise of Yogamaya. A recipient of literary awards and recognitions, Vidya is the chief admin of the Facebook group KavyaAdisakritand one of the editors of Kavya-Adisakrit, an imprint of Adisakrit Publishing House. She is also a member of the poetry group India Poetry Circle, or IPC.

@shanvidwinsalways @vidya.shankar.author

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

STORIZENPOETRY

Believe by Partth Jaain

What you think you achieve, That's what I started to believe. Just the thought gets a smile, Feels content and alive. Learnt means to love me, And not depend on thee. Find myself in a better space, Taking breaks, living at my pace.

Nothing to hold back, live freely, Take a pause and think deeply, Raise questions and ask the child, Whatever he says is the best guide.

Partth Jaain, A masters student from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore is currently pursuing MA Visual Communication. He is loves to get creative and think out of the box to find solutions to design problems. He has always been a fan of art, all the way from aesthetics to raw and rugged.

No regret, guilt, criticism and conscience. Trust the inner child, it's wiser than science. Be patient, loving and positive, All you need to do is believe.

SEPTEMBER 2020

STORIZEN MAGAZINE

We are Sure You got a brilliant idea for a story Let us know when you write it and publish it. We'll help you spread the good word.

talktous@storizen.com

Rekindle your love for books and literature. We bring you the latest releases, interviews and much more from the writing world in our every issue.

Get Storizen Magazine delivered to your inbox the moment the issue is released, subscribe now!

Enjoyed reading STORIZEN?