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India Unlimited - Stories from a Nation Caught Between Hype and Hope

Kulpreet Yadav (Goodreads Author)

4.48 · Rating details · 242 ratings · 28 reviews

The Indian phenomenon is capturing everyone's attention from businessmen to Hollywood stars. But how real is the Indian story on the ground? INDIA UNLIMITED is an attempt to lay bare the lives of people and their surroundings that define an ambivalent India trapped between hype and hope.

Written over the last decade, these stories are set in villages, towns and metro cities ...more

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Paperback, 198 pages

Published February 2013 by LiFi Publications

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Mar 05, 2014 Abhinav rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014-reading-saga, first-reads, i-own-a-copy, short-stories, the-cj-library, mera-bharat-mahaan

For a book that attempts to capture the 'Indian Phenomenon', it has to deal with divergent themes - after all, this is India we're talking about here. And when the book in consideration is a collection of short stories written over a decade, it has a lot to live up to in that regard given the scope it gives the writer to deal with them.

"India Unlimited" is Kulpreet Yadav's first published book, though his works of short fiction have been published before in literary magazines around the world. T For a book that attempts to capture the 'Indian Phenomenon', it has to deal with divergent themes - after all, this is India we're talking about here. And when the book in consideration is a collection of short stories written over a decade, it has a lot to live up to in that regard given the scope it gives the writer to deal with them.

"India Unlimited" is Kulpreet Yadav's first published book, though his works of short fiction have been published before in literary magazines around the world. There are thirty-one stories in all - inspired by real-life events - which deal with subjects ranging from the lives of street kids and modern-day perceptions on love, sex & relationships to the corrupt minds of godmen and the chaos of urban life.

Things start off quite well - 'Not the Only Peanut Seller Who Hasn't Heard of Osama bin Laden' is easily one of the best stories in the collection, which follows the narrator recounting his interaction with a young boy who sells peanuts on the beach. Stories like 'A Familiar Stranger' & 'A Pocketful of Memories' explore the idiosyncracies of lives in big cities & small towns, while 'The City of Mirrors' is a well-crafted, slick tale with a noir-ish feel to it. 'The Saree Shop at Alwar' revels in the mundane - one can resonate with every bit of how things unfold when a husband takes his wife shopping on a hot summer afternoon. And 'Faking it At the Conference' is probably the funniest tale of the lot, as a young office executive gets the shock of his life ahead of what he anticipates to be a pleasant evening.

If one is to divide this book into two halves, one would notice that most of the stories that merit a read fall in the first half of it. As far as the latter half is concerned, it's hard to point exactly what goes wrong in there. Most of the stories are... well, just ordinary. It's not as if the writer doesn't explore different themes here, but the writing fails miserably to infuse them in a coherent narrative. One would feel the story is not over yet & voila! - you have arrived at the ending. While an abrupt conclusion is often the hallmark of good short fiction, the execution here on most occasions isn't right. It seems that the collection would have made a better impression overall if the lesser works were not included at all, possibly giving it a more compact feel while not losing out much on themes either.

And still there are some moments that light up even the overall disappointments, which must be attributed to Yadav's razor-sharp observations - something which gives the book its earthiness & ensures the reader keeps turning pages even if he has been let down by the previous tale.

Kulpreet Yadav's "India Unlimited" is a credible first effort, though one might wonder if this collection could've been so much more had the editing been slightly better. Recommended for readers who enjoy Indian popular fiction.

P.S. I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway & I solemnly maintain that my review was in no way influenced by the same. ...more

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Nov 18, 2013 Sundeep Supertramp rated it liked it

Shelves: collection-of-stories, contemporary, crime, drama, indian-contemporary, murder, mystery, suspense, thriller, anthology

3.5

Foreword:

When author first contacted us to review his book, I have heard about this quite a lot of times from the other websites. Not to mention, the loads of promotions by the lifi publishers on Facebook.

Although, we are tightly packed with tbr stack, I accepted to review this book, anyway. I couldn't regret the my decision when I turned to the second page of the book, which had four simple words,

Dear Sundeep

Warm regards,

Followed by the author's signature.

I fell further in love with the book ...more

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Oct 03, 2013 Anwesha Bose rated it really liked it

TIF Review - Read here
Verdict - A vividly extraordinary narration of ordinary Indians from various parts of the land. The short stories go beyond fictional storytelling and traverses the boundaries of reality. Just like a picture that astutely paints on a canvas the reality behind the simple and everyday objects of life cannot be unseen, so cannot the stories of India Unlimited be forgotten. The author sails through various themes and the reader is presented with a kaleidoscopic version of India ...more

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Aug 31, 2013 Seema Yadav rated it it was amazing

A great collection of stories which take you on a journey of various emotions and thoughts. The characters are at times very close to you and then, at times, completely unknown, still captivating. The narrative is so strong that you can feel yourself to be a part of the story. The inspirations drawn from real life make the works overwhelmingly interesting. In short, a fresh and welcome change for a reader.

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Dec 07, 2013 Sami Ahmad Khan rated it really liked it

Enjoyed it. Lucid prose, engrossing narrative, masterfully told. Recommended!

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May 21, 2013 Samantak Bhadra rated it liked it

“India Unlimited” is a spontaneous and euphoric celebration of the Indian diaspora so much so that every story in this collection by Kulpreet Yadav feels like a characteristic dollop of colour on the palette of the Indian experience. This book is a collection of short stories which, on certain occasions, attempt to unmask, in a rather entertaining manner, the diverse mysteries of the Indian mind and life and the intersections between these two veritable entities. The reader is slowly drawn into “India Unlimited” is a spontaneous and euphoric celebration of the Indian diaspora so much so that every story in this collection by Kulpreet Yadav feels like a characteristic dollop of colour on the palette of the Indian experience. This book is a collection of short stories which, on certain occasions, attempt to unmask, in a rather entertaining manner, the diverse mysteries of the Indian mind and life and the intersections between these two veritable entities. The reader is slowly drawn into the smell of the words as each flip of the page slowly and fluidly recreates the Indian story.

The book, in itself, can be likened to an elaborate tasting of the Indian cuisine displayed on an ivory table which spreads over the length and breadth of this culturally diverse nation. The book starts off with a sombre reminder of the negative underbelly of the nation through the innocent eyes of a young peanut-seller. This story sets the tone of the book as it paves a rough road filled with sharp bends and, in the process, taking the reader on a roller-coaster ride. The sharp bends can be felt as the reader eases into the second story which brings to light the erroneous societal stigma that has been developed with regard to the outcastes of our cities. The tool of showcasing a mere beggar as the good Samaritan has been used effectively by the author to bring to light the inherent contradiction of our definitions of good and bad. This, in effect, also goes on to showcase the complex veneer that coats the modern Indian society and the machine of urbanization as we know it. The book is dotted with characters that are champion ambassadors of the variety of people that constitute the rugged and, at the same time, compact definition of modern India. We get acquainted with the seedy underbellies of the cities as the author takes on a trip to the world of prostitutes and local gangsters. At the same time, he gives us a window into his own life by describing the Indian male’s traumatic experience in the quintessentially Indian saree shop which, in an inexplicable manner, is able to wield some form of hypnotic power on the Indian wife. In another instance, the reader is treated to a humorous nugget of a story (at the expense of the author) where the author is found to be in a highly sleepy state during an important conference. The extreme loathing for his boss and the job coupled with his propensity to fall asleep quite frequently and the befriending of an attractive lady lead to a rather embarrassing and simultaneously humorous experience for him. The author also takes us on edge-of-the-seat trips through stories like the one that describes the kidnapping of a famous personality and how the story unfolds through the actions of two young boys who run roadside tyre repair and tea shops.

The varying pace of the stories combined with the variety, both in the underlying emotions and the personality of the various characters, has resulted in a book which successfully and homogeneously represents the eclectic concoction that is better known as India. The book never fails to disappoint when it comes to the plots and the delicious dollops of entertainment help to keep the reader engaged at all moments. In short, the author has put together a wonderful collection of stories that truly stretch the boundaries of the perception of our country to unlimited and uncharted territories. In that vein, “India Unlimited” is truly a wonderful representation of the positive and undying enigma called India.

My rating of the book is 7/10.
...more

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May 28, 2013 VaultOfBooks rated it really liked it

By Kulpreet Yadav. Grade: A

Kulpreet Yadav, a New Delhi resident, is the founder and co-editor of Open Road Review, a literary journal. His short stories have appeared in many literary magazines from around the world.

The first thing you see on the book is the bright, colorful and classy cover jacket. The title ”India Unlimited: Stories From A Nation Caught Between Hype And Hope” is intriguing.

India Unlimited is a collection of 31 short stories. I have been quite a fan of short stories myself beca ...more

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May 30, 2013 Anant Prakash rated it really liked it

India Unlimited is a treasure of 31 short stories that introduces you with hype and hopes of this nation that is called India and sometimes “Bharat” or “Hindustan” vice versa. So, it fills you with great joy and mesmerizing stories while you travel to office to come back to home.

On some lazy Sundays, when you wish an escape from your routine life to explore unknown territories, “India Unlimited” grants that momentary escape to you. India Unlimited is a collection of 31 short stories, which bring India Unlimited is a treasure of 31 short stories that introduces you with hype and hopes of this nation that is called India and sometimes “Bharat” or “Hindustan” vice versa. So, it fills you with great joy and mesmerizing stories while you travel to office to come back to home.

On some lazy Sundays, when you wish an escape from your routine life to explore unknown territories, “India Unlimited” grants that momentary escape to you. India Unlimited is a collection of 31 short stories, which brings you in small towns and recites not-so-common short stories about the changing face of India. It is a good book to read while travelling in metro train on your way to office because it does not demand plenty of attention and correlation. The stories are short and crisp so you can easily read one story in just ten to fifteen minutes.

As an Indian English writer, it might have been difficult for “Kulpreet Yadav” as an author, to set the tone of his short stories because all the stories are set in Indian urban cities as well as small towns. Hence, it is important to keep the language simple and interesting to connect with the teenagers & youngsters. Fortunately, all the stories are full of desi crispness and easily connect with desi hearts of the readers.

On turning pages, you will meet with a peanuts seller, talk to a dead fish about your marriage (Kind of Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island experience), and have a chat with familiar strangers. So, you will feel the pulse of the nation in all these 31 stories. Sometimes, you will smile, shed tears, and experience the beauty of India. It is possible that you can feel the freshness of “Janice Pariat”s ‘Boats on Land’, which are set in north-eastern states of India.

My Experience as an Avid Reader: I really liked the stories as they are real and look like the stories, coming from neighborhood. Further, I loved the language because it is very simple and interesting. The conversation between two characters is quite amusing and full of humour. At times, I felt seeing a movie in a theater because the scene at a Saree shop was too good. It was full of entertainment. I liked every bit of narration of a shopping scene from a husband’s point of view. Moreover, I got Shutter Island like experience while reading “The Fish and My Wedding”. Apart from these, I also liked ‘’The City of Mirrors”, “The Delhi Thug”, and “Bringing Sunset Home”. In fact, the latter one was really lovely. ...more

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Sep 09, 2013 Tina rated it liked it

Shelves: free-copies-for-review

About the book: India Unlimited comes with the tag line ‘stories from a nation caught between hype & hope’. It has 31 short stories which range from violence murder, love, sex, to corruption and social problems. As you read it you get the feeling that the stories are inspired from real life incidents and are quite closer to you and earthy.

From children oppressed by the society to complexities of relationships, from corrupt politicians to a simple husband the short stories throw a mixed flavor f ...more

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Jun 10, 2013 Shail Raghuvanshi rated it it was amazing

Kulpreet’s writings always give that realistic appeal to things without becoming cynical. In fact, having read his work before, I could detect the same cozy feel that the author brings to his characters. Here, despite the fact that this book of stories has innumerable characters, the readers are able to slip into the skin of most of them. Due credit must be given to the language, narration and observation skills of the author.

Tales like ‘Not The Only Peanut Seller Who Hasn’t Heard Of Osama Bin L Kulpreet’s writings always give that realistic appeal to things without becoming cynical. In fact, having read his work before, I could detect the same cozy feel that the author brings to his characters. Here, despite the fact that this book of stories has innumerable characters, the readers are able to slip into the skin of most of them. Due credit must be given to the language, narration and observation skills of the author.

Tales like ‘Not The Only Peanut Seller Who Hasn’t Heard Of Osama Bin Laden’ and ‘A Familiar Stranger’ are narrated simply and you know that yes, you have seen people like these in your life too. ‘The Beautiful People’ and ‘Bringing Sunset Home’ are some other stories that are moving and touch the heart within. In between, nature and the environment are described aptly and beautifully.

"The sun looks tired, hanging dopily over the tiny village precariously perched on a mountain slope.”

How often we have seen the sun like that but it takes a Kulpreet to describe it so!

“Water invaded everyone’s lives. Schools were shut down, giving children a chance to splash collected rain water by jumping in the puddles. Traffic crawled on the roads like depressed insects queuing in their long pursuit to their destinations where perhaps food waited, a stinking odour swam around everywhere from the rotting garbage islands like pheromones seeking more garbage. Frogs, centipedes and millipedes and sometimes even snakes began appearing in houses like unwanted guests. And my favourite leather belt and shoe began to grow fungus on it.”

This description of the monsoon season is just so apt. All of what Kulpreet has mentioned we all must have experienced some time or the other in our lives. That’s what makes the connection with the stories in India Unlimited all the more intimate.

Abstract images, natural human fears, poverty, sloth, deceit, desire – all figure in the stories that seem to have been taken from the lives of people all over the country. India Unlimited is a beautiful read. It is representative of the lives of the ‘aam aadmi.’

Don’t miss the book!

...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Amit Gupta rated it liked it

India has become a phenomenon in the contemporary world. It is capturing everyone’s attention from businessmen to Hollywood stars in the West - intriguing them and challenging their notions of what India represents. But how real is the Indian story on the ground? 'India Unlimited' is an attempt to bare the lives of the Indian people and their surroundings that define an ambivalent India trapped between Hype And Hope.

The stories are set In villages, towns and Metro cities of a country under over India has become a phenomenon in the contemporary world. It is capturing everyone’s attention from businessmen to Hollywood stars in the West - intriguing them and challenging their notions of what India represents. But how real is the Indian story on the ground? 'India Unlimited' is an attempt to bare the lives of the Indian people and their surroundings that define an ambivalent India trapped between Hype And Hope.

The stories are set In villages, towns and Metro cities of a country under overhaul. It is an attempt to depict pain, pleasures and prejudices of everyday Indians as they adjust to the change that fate has thrust upon them. Inspired by real life incidents, this collection slides through various themes like appalling lives of street children, new perceptions of love or hate or sex, rampant organized crime, urban disorder, corrupt politicians, Influence of western values, depraved spiritual and Yoga Gurus et. al.

Just like most short stories collections published these days, this one has its own hits and misses, but most of the stories make a mark in dealing with the central theme of portraying the gap between what Indians expect in terms of money, respect and their individual professions. It helps that quite a few of the stories have been previously published in International Journals and online magazines, and to be honest are the best bits in the book.

The stories are told in lucid, easy manner without an hint of sounding preachy which is crucial for such a work because to be honest you don't want another lesson on how one should behave or feel in a developing country like India. The author maintains sensitivity in all his stories and that's the best part of the book. However, this comes at a cost of some stories being bland and a little boring to read. In few of the stories i found focused too much on similar feelings for sex and intimation which became repetitive as the book progressed.

The stories are situated across different strata of society and that's what makes this collection a little unique and does give a feeling of cohesion. Do read if you are a fan of short stories and looking for some quick bursts of self introspection. ...more

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May 29, 2013 Manjul Bajaj rated it liked it

I enjoyed this collection of stories only moderately. Part of the reason is that I don’t really take to the very short, short story (there are 31 stories in the 190 page volume). I have always felt that the form does not allow enough scope to develop characters or elaborate settings sufficiently. To my mind micro-fiction (unless rendered by a rare master) is like a series of ad jingles instead of the full musical composition – there are moments of surprise and delight and a promise of more but i ...more

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Sep 22, 2013 Ritesh Agarwal rated it liked it

‘India Unlimited’ is an anthology of 31 short stories. They are slightly shorter than a conventional short story and slightly longer than a flash fiction. Most of them are around 3-4 pages long and hence make for a 5-10 minute read, depending on your speed. So, those who are looking for a light read can pursue a story during TV ads or between two WWE matches or while sitting on the breakfast table waiting for the steaming coffee to cool down.

Author Kulpreet Yadav is erudite and has got featured ...more

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Oct 25, 2013 Namrota Mazumdar rated it really liked it

India Unlimited, an anthology of 31 short stories, seizes your senses with its simple yet potent writing. The stories capture the reader's attention and wakes up a hunger to read more. Yadav, who has been published in several National and International Literary Journals-the featured stories are part of this compilation, with his penchant for detailing, styles the little elements by lacing the words lavishly.

To give you a glimpse of the author’s crisp artistic use of words, here are a few excerpt ...more

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May 29, 2013 Manjulika Pramod rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-and-reviewed

Each one of us has a story in us and this book captures the perceptions of life differently in a collection of 31 vibrant stories. The collection of these stories have touched upon all the sections of the society, be it the street children, the beggar, a peanut-seller, the long time lovers, the office mates, the husband or the wife etc. The author succeeds in capturing the interest in the first few tales and the reader feels to move on and read the other stories. Also an anthology always comes w ...more

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Oct 17, 2013 Kanupriya rated it liked it

Engrossing & Enjoyable! Even though I’m not very much of a short story person but still managed to finish the whole book over a weekend. Interest in one story led to another and so on. Things that I loved about this book:
- Intense emotions presented in such a simple language.
- Poignant plots, some of the stories never looked like initially could be concluded in a short story, but they did and that too beautifully.
- Variety of themes, I mean this book actually presents gamut of varied emotions in ...more

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Feb 20, 2014 Pratibha rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, first-reads

"India Unlimited" is a collection of 31 short stories, as written "stories from a nation caught between hype and hope". Each story is different with themes such as violence, love, sex, murder, etc. This book will take you on a journey to different aspects of India, some which you had never known. These stories have something new in each of them, with a different twist. Sometimes you feel related to the stories, and sometimes you are taken on a unexpected journey. The book is a must read, and wou ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Readers Cosmos rated it liked it

Shelves: books-indian-authors

Positives: The language is simple, book is well written and stories are good. The best part that I loved about the author is his versatile writing style. Most authors write amazing stories, beyond imagination but when a collection of such stories is published, after first four chapters the reader understands the writers style and pattern of plot. However, Kulpreet Yadav has done an amazing and difficult job of writing plots differently for each story.

Negatives: Some stories are predictable.

The V ...more

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Feb 20, 2014 Mayank Kashyap rated it liked it

Shelves: first-reads

Thank you Kulpreet Yadav for sending me autographed book.
India Unlimited written by Kulpreet Yadav is a collection of 31 short stories. The stories are based on different themes like street children, love & sex, depraved sadhus, urban disorder, etc. and the stories have done justice with the theme. The author has done a decent job. He has a good grip in both narration and story telling.
Read the full review here:
http://mayankkashyap.blogspot.com/201... ...more

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May 19, 2013 Dileep Sankar rated it really liked it

Liked the book. The stories were short and captivating. None of them had any exaggerated content, compared to the daily life events those are encountered in modern India, and hence it is really INDIA UNLIMITED!!

Will certainly recommend this book for light readers.

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Sep 16, 2013 Gurnam Sodhi rated it it was ok

With 4 lovely stories 4 nice and 23 average and below average stories, the book is a disappointment. Had I read these stories in some paper or magazine amongst other things, it would have been ok. But as a book, it is a wastage of time.

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Nov 27, 2013 Nitin Soni rated it it was amazing

I would recommend this book to everyone. This is an amazing book. A wonderful piece of writing and some great stories to read. I loved the flaw of these stories. The words are used very carefully, and effectively.
Simply Awesome! Creative! For Everyone!
Go for it, guys!

Cheers
Nitin Soni

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Mar 07, 2014 Yagya Gera rated it really liked it

Three stars for the book and an additional star for I received an autographed copy.
My personal favorites:
1. Not the Only Peanut Seller Who Hasn’t Heard of Osama Bin Laden.
2. The Fish and My Wedding.
3. The Blind Date.
4. The Family of Stars.
5. The Beautiful People.
6. The Pickle Seller.

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May 30, 2013 Aruna Kumar Gadepalli rated it really liked it

Shelves: indian-writers, storycollection

Good to read a nice collection of short stories. Interesting based on some of the contemporary Indian life. Easy and quick read. This collection of 31 short stories takes the reader to various facets of life.

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Mar 24, 2014 Shashank Pathak rated it liked it

Worth reading once

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May 02, 2013 Yawar rated it it was amazing

Well, I'm not a big fan of short stories. but I really like stories of this book because of nice narrative style. ...more

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Nov 26, 2013 Vinay Leo rated it liked it

3.5 Stars

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About Kulpreet Yadav

Kulpreet Yadav

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One of the leading fiction writers in India, Kulpreet Yadav retired voluntarily from the armed forces to pursue a career in writing in 2014. Also a motivational speaker now, he has spoken at more than two hundred schools, colleges, and global corporate brands during the last four years. Popular for his Andy Karan series, his new spy novel, Murder in Paharganj, was published by Bloomsbury India in ...more