Panorama: A Collection of Short Stories

by Shilpi Chaklanobis

An alternate cover for this isbn can be found here.

A turbulent relationship between a mother and a daughter takes a sudden turn when the daughter stumbles across a past that she never knew.....

The golden period of a professor’s life is tainted by questions about his purpose until one night gives him all the answers he needs........

Desperate times test us all but when hunger drives a girl to do the unthinkable, her life changes forever..........

Woven around the lives of the people around us – the shy girl on the metro, your domestic help, your neighbors and perhaps even you – this collection of short stories will take you on a bittersweet journey that explores the spectrum that is part of any human relationship and all the complexity and chaos that secretly dwell within the homes and hearts of India.

Often laced with an element of introspection, the stories are sure to change the way you see the world around you…

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2016

About the author

Shilpi Chaklanobis hails from the beautiful city of Kanpur and has spent the majority of her adult life in Delhi. She currently heads the Digital Marketing division at an MNC. The amalgamation of her years spent amongst the quite, calm streets of a small city and the hustle and bustle of a metropolitan like Delhi has lent her a unique perspective towards life. She aims to translate her experiences and understanding of human relationships into stories that not only move people but also resonate with them. She believes that the beauty of a story lies within its ability to be interpreted by the reader in the way they desire as is evident from her writing. Apart from writing, she spends her time devouring books by the dozen.Her writing not only shows promise, but also has a sense of sensitivity that compels you to think about the lives you touch every day.

Reviews

[Vinay Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review at The Tales Pensieve

I had seen the cover of the book earlier, shared by one of my friends on social media, and admired it. That made me eager to pick the book to read as well. The blurb promised stories that might change the way we see the world around us. I feel that it lived up to that.

Favorite stories: Mirage, The Meeting, Selective Secularism.

This is a collection of stories I loved reading, a debut I would be happy to devour once again soon.

[Aman Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Panorama:- A Collection of Short Stories by Shilpi Chaklnobis in one of the wonderful collection of stories full of human emotions.. All the stories are related with human sentiments, emotions and human relationship. The all 15 stories are based on comman life issues.
out of the 15 stories the one that is most amazing is The Meeting, Mirage and Bribe. While going through the Stories tears autimatically rolled out from my eye.. Human's Responsibilties are beautifully illustrated. Adjustment, Compromise, Sentiments, ill effect of dirty politics, poor mindset, Ironies, Hunger and tears all are there in the stories..

All the 15 stories are Unique in its own way. A must read... Shilpi mam.. this one is full of lots of messages to the humans..

[Enakshi J.]

Life is a continuous process but dare you say that everything works like clockwork. It is very difficult (sometimes) to get the ducks in a row and sail smoothly through the floods and tempests. ‘Panorama’ is one such book that offers an insight into different stories that have emotions and morals attached to them. The cover of the book is catchy. The title is well suited. The blurb is fine but the incorrect use of grammar leaves an overall negative impact. The font (style, size) is fine. I would like to compliment the author’s ability to finely tune all the stories and achieve a specific objective with every climax. For an instance, after reading ‘Wok’, I was instantly reminded of the TV commercial in which a child buys tongs for the mother. I had almost left the book on the table and had already made up my mind to read it after some time when the climax hit me hard. It touched my heart. The ending was fabulous- so creative and heartwarming. My special favourites include:

Wok- story that speaks volumes, strong plot and superb climax

The Thrist- beautifully executed, title could have been better.
Mirage- average story but superb modeling with the title.

The book lacks proofreading and editing. Time and again you can spot grammatical errors, typos and other errors for which I account the author responsible. This is because some of the errors are merely due to ignorance. There are missing commas and incorrect use of tenses as well. The use of vocabulary is also erroneous. For an instance: Ensuring not a single drop of tea in left into it; sari plates, etc. The correct expression for ‘raising the speed’ can be increased her pace or paced hurriedly. Frequently, the semi colon has been substituted with a comma and that makes the sentence ambiguous.

Overall, the book is a compilation of heart touching stories, with nice plot and a twisted climax (in some of them).

Best wishes to the author!

[Anmol Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like it is said in about the book, it will surely change the way you see the world around you... triggering an introspection. Panorama is such a collection of beautiful stories about people around you or maybe yourself that you could easily relate to.

The emotions, feelings, relations, shades of characters are described and sketched brilliantly. The story 'Wok' is my personal favorite which is also the first story in the book, the best start! It carried on with a cute and emotional story; Peanut exploring the bond of dog with a family; Simply amazing! Each story with its fine plot and deep thoughts and concept will touch your heart for sure, you will feel the essence of each character in it and form a deep connection. There are several lines from the book that will strike your mind like- "Poverty is like a leech. It doesn't kill you, but sucks your blood to the extent that you stop living." from Wok or " The beauty of life lies in its motion" from The Untimely Death.

The writing style is detailed and expressive which felt a little too much in some places and efficient and just right in some; maybe the writing style could have been changed according to the plot to be presented giving a fresh outlook to read on. The book cover design could have been better as it is what that creates the first impression; admit it or not ... people do judge a book by its cover!

I would rate this book 4.25/5 :) and recommend it to all .

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poverty is like a leech. It doesn't kill you, but sucks your blood to the extent that you stop living.

I do not know where exactly to start or even what to say without spoiling the book. The book consists of short stories, each of them awaking a different emotion. But in the midst of the different emotions there is also an important life lesson that you will learn, story after story. This book will teach you about poverty, depression, loss of a loved one or even a friend. It will tell you the story, it will get your feelings into the mix, but it will not cleanse you from them. If you are feeling sad at the end of one story, you will be feeling dread after another. This makes the book quite hard to read if you are not ready for the harsh reality. I highly recommend it if you are looking to find more about the aspect of life that you have never been through before.
I have rated the book 4 stars out of 5 only because a story or two did not hit as hard as the others and it ruined the momentum.
I must also thank the author, Shilpi Chaklanobis, for providing me with a review book. Thank you for showing me that a simple book can give you such a flurry of emotions.

[Kaushal Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please visit http://www.guptakaushal.in/2016/07/bo... to read the complete review of the book.

The short stories in the book are as diverse as their characters, though it is taken for granted that every character has to tell a story, but the characters developed by Shilpi Chaklanobis in her short stories are in the prime of their affinity with the readers and the connect that they will develop with you, while you read the short stories, will take you through a journey that you have seen people around you sail through.

Panorama - A Collection of Short Stories is an anthology of 15 different stories which are a collection of observations from the common day to day, but the writings make them uncommon and the simplicity of the characters and narration make the stories unique to read.

All other stories are good, they revolve around the darker side of humans, simplicity and their emotions but are appealing. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading fiction and short stories.

[Chittajit Mitra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Panorama A Collection of Short Stories is the debut work of Shilpi Chaklanobis. Originally from Kanpur but has spent the majority of her adult life in Delhi & currently heads the Digital Marketing division at an MNC. The author is also is an ardent reader which makes her writing even better.

This book contains 15 short stories & covers diverse topics. Each story depicts a story of a complex human life. From the struggles of a poor family of mother & daughter for whom having curry is even a dream, to waiting for your true love to come back even after several years & many such stories which will move readers to their core.

The language used is simple & automatically connects with the reader. The writing is quite refreshing, title is good but the cover could’ve been better. Readers shouldn’t miss this one..

http://itsgoingtobeobvious.blogspot.i...

[Chintan Mistry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What a book this is!
***I received this book as a giveaway from the author***
And I must say that I am lucky to get the signed copy from the author.

'PANORAMA' is a really lovely read.
Each an every story in this book is like a precious pearl adding its value to the beautiful necklace. This is Shilpi's first published book; and I must say that she has woven these pearls so awesomely in the necklace. From a heart-touching story of widow maid Vimala's little girl Rani, betrayal of a politician mother to her daughter; to the life of a professor who's seeking the answers which he gets in a very unique way on one fortunate night and other so many beautiful stories. These 15 stories are really well prepared and forming the real sense of PANORAMA.

Kudos to the author for this wonderful book.

[Nilakanta Siva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got into this after swimming in Mona Mohanty's "Betwixt Twists and Turns"and the contrast was stark. I for one am most comfortable with a book by a stranger when the characters and/or locations are those that one is familiar with. And when this hits you repeatedly the author has hit the nail on the head. Yet again, if it is all of the “been there, done it” type, boredom sets in. The need for prompting you to think differently of the same things you wallowed in all these years has been well recognized and dealt with aptly by Shilpi. However, there seems to be some turmoil disrupting the writing style, giving us a bumpy ride. And this same uncertainty is carried to a rather mundane cover. I wish it was a little more lively. A lot of hard work has, undoubtedly, been put in by the author, but much of it in vain. Our blessings, as always.

[Sangeetha Ramachandran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for recommending and lending this book Veda.
It was amazingly light read!! Author has turned every simple situation into a great story. Writing was good. Could be better! Could have shown some variations in the style of writing.
One of the stories which I found very disturbing that made me crying and decided not to read more of it! Yeah it brought back something of my past.
Overall it was a good read. These simple yet charming stories inspired me to try a few short stories. :)

[Madhuri Varma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect blend of emotions and genres (4/5)
Full review- http://wp.me/p2vbKI-MR

[Diptendu Mandal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often the neverending size of the novels turn up to be painstaking to non conventional readers,who seek for an instant breakthrough to the climax of the plot.However,this attribute being completely antonymous in case of novels results in the gradual disinterest of the reader,which ultimately leads to the forfeiture of the novel,without its completion.For,such stratum of people who intends to cherish the essence of literature within limited amount of time as well as apprehend the climax of the plot without loosing out their patience,"Short Stories" turn up to be the most appropriate remedies as per their requirements.A collection of short stories provides its readers to go through the diverse works from various authors under the cover of a common paperback.However,a collection might also comprise of diverse works from the same author.
" Panorama - a collection of short stories" by Shilpi Chaklanobis comprises of fifteen heartwarming Short Stories from different walks of life.A prominent reflection of the typical Indian society along with bittersweet realities,regarding life and relationships has been magnificently portrayed by the author through her creation.Though being simple and straightforward in approach the stories fosters some of the gruesome realities of life as well as provides its readers with a rare vision of realisation regarding various circumstances life puts you in.

About the Author : Shilpi Chaklanobis hails from the beautiful city of Kanpur and has spent majority of her adult life in Delhi.The amalgamation of her years spent amongst the quiet,calm streets of a small city and the hustle and bustle of a metropolitan like Delhi has lent her a unique perspective towards life.She aims to translate her experiences and understandings of human relationships to stories that not only move people,but also resonate with them.She believes that the beauty of a story lies within its ability to be interpreted by the reader in the way they desire as is evident from her writing.This is her first endeavour as a writer and her writing not only shows promise but also has a sense of sensitivity that compels you to think about the lives you touch everyday.

Cover : The cover design is absolutely spectacular,featuring a soothing landscape of the setting sun at horizon,where a crystal clear reflection of the above scenario comes to life through the static waters of the lake.The whole scenery is cloaked with a shadowy tinge,which conceals the golden radiance of the setting sun.The title of the book is inscribed in bold fonts through slits cut into the shadowy plane,which emanates the culminating beauty of the setting sun.The subtitle of the book along with the author's name is highlighted in pearl white,in between the gaps of the title and on the right extremity of the front cover respectively.Synonymous to the title of the book the cover is well designed and is quite eye-catching,thus compelling the visual stimuli of the readers to peek into the creation.

Title : The title is apt to the content of the book.A compilation of short stories inspired by the lives of the people around us is core theme of the book.The author has taken into consideration about mentioning the nitty gritty details regarding each story and nurtured them sufficiently with her literary elements to endeavour this final masterpiece.Not only does "Panorama" furnishes it's readers with a panoramic view of the events that often takes place in the society but also widens our angle of visualisation towards a matter, from the perspective of the characters in the stories,considering the circumstances they presently lie in.Hence,it can be tagged as a charismatic attempt from the author to uphold the sublime contortions of life.

My verdict : "Panorama - A collection of short stories" is highly recommended to the people who intend to extricate themselves momentarily from the mundane convolutions of their daily schedules and endeavour the essence of literature and reading,within limited intervals.The innovative and appealing nature of the stories is cent percent successful in teleporting it's readers to a 'panoramic' world of varied realisations.This commendable piece of work from the author, entangled in emotions and realities of life do hit the dormant intangible notes of the inner self, of its readers.One of the most alluring features of the book is its non monotonic nature.Not even a single instant could be found when the stories appear to loose it's pace or sink in its plot.Moreover,the discrete attributes of short stories provides it with an additional advantage of a logical overview regarding real life situations,which is relatable to every individual.
Fifteen heartwarming short stories surrounding the lives of fifteen varied individuals belonging to different status,age and positions in the society is the what "Panorama" primarily consists of.A crescendo of emotions and realisations that life brings in has been very skillfully woven into a systematic piece of literature,through the perpetual efforts of the author.The titles given to the respective stories has a deep link with the content of the plot and fully justifies the core meaning associated with them.From the story of an adorable little girl Rani who unaware of her economic status, craves for a little potato curry at her meals everyday to the story of the most loyal companion 'peanut' who saved his master at the stake of his own life;from the story of a turbulent relationship between a mother and her daughter to tale of an orthodox hindu woman whose life was saved by a Muslim;from the equation of love between the parents and their child to the culmination of an everlasting feeling love,for someone which Supriya nourished within her heart,for more than a decade;from the pathetic reality of an eunuch cloaked with belief to return to his dedicated wife,Kamla to the monstrous urge of hunger of mere child of ten that breaks all emotional connections to finally survive by engulfing her own sibling;from the story of search for unknown answers,regarding the purpose of a professor's life to the tale of inevitable differences in a friendship due to economic barriers;from a mirage of fake affection towards your ward to the undesirable surrender against prevalent conspiracies of fate;from the incident of a sudden downfall of a victim due to circumstances to the amalgamation of personal and professional life in upper middle class society and finally the story of the sealed urn that ultimately unlocks to return Martha what belonged to her.Each and every story is overwhelming with ineffable emotions concealed in it,which will make you laugh and cry at moments.
For certain, this book is a spotless attempt on part of the author.The simple language along with the extensive vocabulary of the creation is one of the plus points for which it is readily accessible to a wide range of readers,from child to adult.Overall the book gets a thumbs up from my side and is worth a read to everyone who are a genuine admirer of good works of literature.

- Diptendu Mandal.

[Swapna Peri ( Book Reviews Cafe ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Title: Panorama
Author: Shilpi Chaklanobis
Format: Kindle

Book Title:
The title of the book, ' Panorama ', hints the reader that the opinions expressed in the book must be viewed with an open mind and wide eye.

Book Cover:
The image of the book cover is a digital photograph of a young girl holding her pet dog very compassionately, depicting the book is all about unconditional love.

Plot:
The book is a collection of 15 stories where the main protagonists are from varied cultures, professions, and living habitats. Every story is unique in terms of the plot, narration, mood, tone, and expression. Some stories make the readers aware about the compassion whereas others remind us of the humanitarian virtues of humans that we should inculcate. In the same manner, few stories act as eye opener towards a rational way of thinking towards religion and castes.

From a stringent grandmother to a Tarot reader, the author has tried beautifully to introduce various types of people from different walks of life. The book is a good read.

What I like:
1. The stories are short, sweet and straight to the point without much drama.
2. A distinct style yet simple narration is observed
3. The stories are simple but contain very effective content

What I didn't like:
1. I am not a big fan of pets and especially dogs, therefore I found it some difficulty in reading 'Peanut'
2. After reading the book I felt bad that I was reading a Kindle book. Some books are to be read using a paperback.

Other than this there is nothing absolutely that I haven't liked in the book.

Characters:
A number of characters that are inspired from real life are portrayed very well in each of the stories. No artificiality is found.

Narration:
A very smooth and neat narration can be observed.

Language & Grammar:
A good and simple English with some common and nice vocabulary is used.

My Final Verdict: A nice evening time read with a mug of coffee!

Book Title: 4/5
Book Cover: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Narration: 4/5
Language & Grammar: 4/5

Final Rating: 4/5

[Aayesha Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author says, “This book might not change your life, but it is sure to change the way you look at it.” It surely does! It changes the way you see the world around you, post reading it.

It contains 15 short stories, each covering a diverse topic. Each story depicts a story of a complex human life. Stories which will move the readers to their core.

Each story will show you or teach you something. The stories are set in Indian context so that you can connect with them perfectly. I appreciate the author on how she has portrayed the stories with the help of characters that we see in our day to day life.

The language used is simple & the writing style is fresh.

Almost every story in the book starts beautifully. I kept turning the pages quickly, and finished the book in one go. I liked so many of them, but Wok and The Second Tsunami are my favorites.

Read this book and know the values of relationship, emotions and learn about the people around. A short and light read on a rainy day!

Full review here: https://intheclassroomoflife.blogspot...

[Jenny Arora · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of the book is gorgeous. And the Title 'Panorama' is very apt keeping in mind the stories that it constitutes.
Here's a brief review about all the 15 stories in the book -

Story 1: Wok - is about Poverty. The Protagonist Vimala is a poor lady who works as a domestic help at Shanta's house who is very soft hearted and keeps helping her by showering kindness every once in a while. She has a daughter Rani who is missing on much because of their poverty. The story comes to an end at a very gleeful point and leaves you to pity over the poor ones.

Story 2: Peanut - is about Pet Love. The story is about the bond of love that protagonist shares with his pet dog. This story portrays a beautiful relationship between a pet and an owner, showing simple yet special things which halts at a sad end that'll leave you wanting more.

Story 3: The Thirst - is about a fatherless daughter Roma who is mostly ignore by her greedy mother and is hence leads a life in the deficit of Motherly love. Story throws a light on the harsh principles of Political Arena. Another story that ends at a sad note and leaves your eyes moist and heart heavy.

Story 4: Selective Secularism - is about an old lady who is secular, but only selectively. Grandma who avoids all non-Brahman throughout her life, surprisingly, comes in terms with a Muslim Blood running through her veins.

Story 5: Bribe - is about the family of a PA who is a father of a four year old girl Mini. The story reveals the unconditional love that her Mother - Prabha has for her.

Story 6: Forever - is a story about the eternal and unforgettable love between two people, who, even after staying away from each other for two long decades yearn to meet or see each other. But as they say, one can't go back to what they've left behind under the covers of the past.

Story 7: The Wait - is about a poor young girl Kamla who is waiting for her husband to return. As the story unfolds, something very astonishing is revealed that will crumble your heart into little pieces.

Story 8: The Second Tsunami - is about the power of Hunger. The story is an after scenario of Tsunami involving a 10 year old who is left alone with the responsibility of her younger brother as victims. As hunger overpowers her, she does something that shatters your heart and makes your stomach churn. The second Tsunami of Hunger engulfs the love of a girl for her own brother.

Story 9: The Example - is about a teacher who's celebrating his retirement day, but is left with dissatisfaction and hollowness contemplating his life. All the darkness is soon driven away and his life is illuminated again when one of his students, Abhilasha meets him. The story portrays the importance and involvement of a teacher in a student's life.

Story 10: The Meeting - is based over Branding and Fake Wealthy life changing mindsets and perception of people at very fast rate in modern times. Payal, when meets her childhood friend Ria, after 25 long years, finds her a totally changed person grown into a show off and a fake world where wealth is valued more than feelings.

Story 11: Mirage - is about a girl Khushi whose father leaves her at a very young age. She spends her life cursing her mother thinking that she had drawn him away from her. But the truth is revealed to her when, one day, accidentally, she finds her Mom's personal Diary.

Story 12: Destiny - is a story about some people who travel together in the same coach of a train. One of them claims to predict future, and when he does, everyone is left astonished and horrified.

Story 13: The Untimely Death - is based on the communal Riots that took place after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Story portrays the effect of these riots on the lives of residents and throws a light on the widespread inhumanity and Brutal Killings that took place post assassination.

Story 14: Before It's Too Late - is about Arnab who is a businessman working hard to earn a bounty for his Family but fails to spend time with them. But when he finally finds some times off of work, he is disheartened to see that he's too late as his family has already learnt to live without him and grown far apart.

Story 15: The Sealed Wish - is about a Chef Martha who lost her daughter Christine in a tragedy five years ago. She is constantly amused and curios about the sealed copper urn that she bought from a boot sale which has no keys. When she finally finds the keys, what she finds inside leaves her completely dumbstruck. She sets out to find more about the belongings of the urn.

About the Narration style, it is paced perfectly and the language is easy to understand yet with extensive vocabulary. There are very minor editing errors, but the stories are so engrossing that you would hardly notice them.

About the quality of the paperback, the cover and paper quality is very good and totally satisfying.

Overall, it's a good read, fit for a short and light read.
As the author says, "This book might not change your life, but it is sure to change the way you look at it."
It is worth all the time and money.

I would give this book 4/5 stars.

And would recommend it to anyone who likes to read stories with valuable messages.

[Parikshit Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is collection of fifteen short stories in 134 pages. The stories looks highly inspired from lives of common people. It is surely a page-turner with ability to leave an impression in reader’s mind. Every story has its own message and it is definitely worth reading, not once but twice or thrice.

https://imparixit.wordpress.com/2016/...

1. Wok: The story of a family suffering from economic backwardness. Heart melting story of a six years old girl and a single mother who is working as domestic help. The way author has narrated the story will touch the hearts for sure.

2. Peanut: Beautiful story of human and a dog. Loyalty and love towards your loved ones is not a human-nature only. This a story about how far a man will go save a puppy and how far that dog will go to save those who treated him like a family.

3. The Thirst: A girl who never got loved by her mother the way she wanted but the empty space was somehow filled by her grandmother’s love. Will the girl become obstacle in the way of her mother’s political ambitions? A thrilling story.

4. Selective Secularism: Religion and caste, does any of that matter when your own life is at stake? Will a woman who always treated people belonging to other castes and religions as untouchables leave his conservative mindset one day? This story tells how selfish human can be when he is in need.

5. Bribe: The story about a family. A father who thinks that he can express his love for her daughter only by buying things for her whereas a mother cares for her daughter, loves her daughter unconditionally and that too without expressing it. Can money overpower pure love?

6. Forever: The simple story of love where one person’s ambition to live in US breaks the string of love. Short but touching story of how destiny brings them close again, too close but too far. Can time heal every wound or it just teaches you to live with them?

7. The Wait: A story of a woman who is waiting for her husband to return even if she knows that he has cheated her. Heart breaking story of never ending wait of wife. Will she ever know the complete truth?

8. The Second Tsunami: Story based on tsunami of 2004 which destroys millions of lives and left thousands to live a life which is more deadly than the death. Can the ten years old girl survive with fulfill basic needs of her and her younger brother? Will the second tsunami, hunger, kill the love between the siblings?

9. The Example: Story of a professor who is thinking of what he has done in his long career and why everyone around is congratulating him on his day of retirement? Has he made any difference to anyone’s life? Then the answer knocks on his door and we read a story of an idol teacher.

10. The Meeting: The meeting of two friends who were once called ‘twins’ by everyone. Will the time gap of twenty-five years end up with a bitter note? Can the excess of money kill relations? A story with deep message and very relevant to the time we’re living in.

11. Mirage: Story of a daughter who hated her mother throughout the years and blamed her for her and her father’s problems. What will happen when she’ll face the truth? Can the hate of years be eliminated by newfound love?

12. Destiny: A very shocking story though… A journey by train which looked like any other journey leaves everyone in horror. What happens when predictions by a man becomes reality?

13. The Untimely Death: A story based on 1984 Sikh riots and aftermaths of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The story tells how such incidents changes lives of people living in such areas. It shows what happens when human turns inhuman. Sacking story.

14. Before it’s Too Late: Story of a man who spent his entire life in earning money and thought that this is the only way of living life. One day he decides to stop the run for money and spend rest of the life peacefully with his family. But does his family have time for him now?

15. The Sealed Wish: Probably the best story of the book and it comes at the end. Story about a woman who lost her daughter few years ago and when she comes to know about her, it was nothing less than a nightmare. The story with little touch of mystery and full of emotions.
The book is nice and I am satisfied with the time I spent with it. I must mention that the paperback quality is very bad and it started bending within a day. With the price of Rs.150 on Amazon, it is worth buying.

I will give this book 4.5 starts, out of 5.

[Padma Bhamidipati · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a very light read but some of the stories have had a deep impact. Wok and Tsunami were two which kept bothering me. Shilpi has woven very interesting stories and they kept me hooked to finish the book in two sittings, something I have done in a long time. I may not want to re read them in a hurry because they are still with me. But it makes for a starter book to get someone to experiment with new genre.

Writing is an art and I am no great reviewer of books. I love what I read and read what I love. Kudos Shilpi, you have a range of emotions covered in the pages.

[Madhulika Mitra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subject: Interesting to read but some stories are similar to writings by famous authors.
Read more at: www.mindpickles.wordpress.com

If you are looking for a delightful read as well as an enlightening one, then Panorama is your best bet. In current times where contemporary authors are obsessed with chick lit themes, Shilpi brings a fresh approach and writes about themes in this anthology which incorporate different strata of society. Move over the glossy world and you have more relatable and realistic stories to read.

‘Wok’ is a commentary on hardships faced by people due to unequal distributions of wealth and how untainted innocence of kids brought up in such hardships reflect like a lotus against mud.

Family isn’t about only blood relations. It’s about connection of heart that can blossom between anyone who’s willing to share that kind of bond. ‘Peanut’ is a story just about that which will easily melt your heart.

‘The Thirst’ is about a story of prickling greed and ambition corroding the bond even with the most unexpected people. Would a mother poison her own daughter for the sake of her career? Would the daughter accept the poison laden tea despite knowing the betrayal simply because it’s the only gesture of her mother’s love in her entire life? Read this story to find out.
‘Selective Secularism’ is a story of the everyday society which is so bounded by the illusionary limitations of religious identity. But do these barriers extend to when you’re so vulnerable that you can’t even look up to see if the extended hand of help is of a Muslim or a Hindu?

Patriarchy plagues society enough already and the rising crime rates are a testimony to that. But can this virus which plagues mindless heads corrupt the sweet, selfless services of an noble human with a small bribe? ‘Bribe’ will answer this question for you.
‘Forever’ is a heartbreaking story of two lovers who separated due to the limitations of time and situations. But though they move on with their lives, do they move on actually? Does distance really separate two hearts who’ve committed to each other their souls?

These are just some of the myriad stories in this collection which mirror the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. If only we are willing to see beyond the seas of everyday faces, can we uncover the musings of their hearts.

Talking about complex human relations is not an easy task. But this book deals with it so delicately and leaves so much room for the reader to introspect, that these stories really give you a food for thought.
My favorite story in this entire collection was ‘Bribe’. It stands as a testimony that how much we take for granted insurmountable devotion we receive from our loved ones. Unconditional love need not happen only in Titanic. The courage to keep loving even when there is no acknowledgement shows the true strength of the person.
The writing style was simple and engaging. However the only flaw that this book has is that some of its stories is very similar to Premchand and other author’s writings. Take for eg. ‘Wok’ where even the 18th century setting was similar to the original version of Premchand’s story.
Voracious readers who have read the likes of R.K Narayan and Premchand will be quick to find these similarities with their original stories. This is the only disappointing feature of this book.

So lastly I would say that though the author (Shilpi Chaklanobis) has good storytelling capabilities as compared to many (young) contemporary authors, she needs to work more on originality.
Read more at: www.mindpickles.wordpress.com

[Book Reviews & Promotion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Panorama is an anthology of 15 short stories.Its a blend of emotions, feelings, society, love,romance. All the story are engaging and will grab the attention of readers.
These stories will really touch your heart .

Story 1 Wok :- is beautiful story written by the author.The story is named after wok.
When a daughter asked her mother that why dont she makes delicious dishes like others ,then she said that she dont have wok .

Story 2 Peanut :- This is an interesting story, the love of pets .In this story the puppy dog is named after peanut.Cute and adorable loved by everyone.Life was smooth and cheerful with Ma,Baa and peanut when a sudden storm blew away everything,when one day a baking dog came by,Peanut without loosing a moment jumped to stop him, due to that he got Rabies.Peanut kept his promise to safe their lives.Several year passed by ,but his memories are still alive in their heart.

Story 3 The Thirst :- Story of mother and daughter, as usual her mother is always busy in attending parties,meeting ,tickets,election and has no time for her daughter.


Story 4 Selective Secularism :- Story of secularism ,the condition of Indian society, differentiates between Hindu, Muslim, Christian ,etc. Every religion has their own rituals and duties.

Story 5 Bribe :- portrays the relationship between father and his daughter.

Story 6 Forever :- very touchy. I liked this story much.

Story 7 The Wait :- This is the story of maid and the housewife.Gita was the maid,who needs holidays as she as some work,Gita was a good cook, so what will happen when Gita will leave them?

Story 8 The Second Tsunami :- The story shows how disaster like tsunami can cause destruction , chaos , huge loss of life and property.

Story 9 The Example :- the story is well written , I really was sucked right into the story.

Story 10 The Memory :- Story of two friends , Payal and Ria.Payal had always believed that the happiness of life lies in the small pleasures that all of us are blessed with.But Ria was just the opposite and had always dream large.Aspiring for a lavish lifestyle,she was never interested in the simple,tiny yet beautiful memories of life.

Story 11 Mirage:- The story shows us the real face of life, we don't value things which we have.Relationships are precious.Sometimes it is in front of our eyes, and we never realize it and running after the mirage which never existed.

Story 12 Destiny:- Sometimes the destiny can change your life.We often think that it was our destiny that this happened.We blame everything on it.

Story 13 The Untimely Death :- A beautiful relationship had died an untimely death.

Story 14 Before it’s too late :- As it is clear from the title of the story , Before Arnab could realize something, life had changed for him.

Story 15 The sealed wish:- The last story ,the perfect one to end this book.The story will bring tears into your eyes.When we see pictures ,it reminds us of past,how time has passed away.Its emotional and you will surely like it.

The best part of these stories are its simplicity
I WOULD RATE THIS BOOK FULL 5 OUT OF 5 STARS.

[Pavitr Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reviewing the short story collection for the first time and I have written one liner about each and every story of the collection and then a detailed review of the book in the end. Hope you will enjoy reading my review.
Story 1: Wok
“A common story but with a very big message.” Rating- 4/5
Story 2: Peanut
“A nice touchy story. A loyal friend, Peanut.” Rating- 5/5
Story 3: The Thirst
“It happens when your work holds a greater part of your life and it is more like a real story where people exploit their relationship, just to gain a higher ranking.” Rating- 4/5
Story 4: Selective Secularism
“Haha… We are so selfish sometimes and this story nicely depicts the same.” Rating- 4/5
Story 5: Bribe
“Though, a daughter is known as daddy’s girl always but in this story the unconditional beautiful love of Mom-Daughter, one can see.” Rating- 4.5/5
Story 6: Forever
“A love story.” Rating- 3.5/5
Story 7: The Wait
“Seems like an incomplete story.” Rating- 3.5/5
Story 8: The Second Tsunami
Rating- 2.5/5
Story 9: The Example
“No gift for teacher except seeing their student at the top can make them happy.” Rating- 4/5
Story 10: The Mirage
“An average story. Almost all the incident could be found in previous stories too and the feeling could not be attached.” Rating- 3/5
Story 11: Mirage
“The best till now. Fully packed with emotions, love and depicts the selfless love of mother.” Rating- 4.5/5
Story 12: Destiny
“Destiny is a very short nice story and shows the beautiful truth of the life.” Rating- 4/5
Story 13: The Untimely Death
“The riots.” Rating- 3.5/5
Story 14: Before It’s Too Late
“It is one again a similar story where the father realizes that he is keeping himself away from his family and think of going back, but the time already left him behind.” Rating- 2.5/5
Story 15: The Sealed Wish
“The longest story of the book. And it ends the novel well.” Rating- 4/5
Overall, it was a nice read. Every story takes maximum of 15-20 minutes to get completed. Every story has something new in it, but some are repetitive and in some stories, author tried to attach the feelings but could not. Title Panorama, which means wide angle views and as the title, the stories are written from wide angles. Every story seems to be realistic and that is the best part of the book. Some are inspiring, some are emotional, some are filled with love and some are filled with hatred. If we see this collection from an inspiring view, all the stories will inspire you. All the stories have something which will provoke you to make a new beginning of your life (if you are leading towards a bad path). Narration was good and the plus point of this collection is that, it hardly had any grammatical mistake or a spelling mistake. And the language was written in an easy way and anybody could enjoy it. Kudos to the author and many congratulations. It inspires a lot. *smile*

Ratings

Book Cover - 3.5/5
Editing - 4.5/5
Blurb - 4/5
Book Quality (Typing, Word Setting, Fonts) - 4/5
Story - 3.5/5

Overall - 3.9/5

Read Full Review- http://pavitrasinghwrites.blogspot.in...

[Dipanshu Rawal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Panorama: A collection of short stories

This is an anthology of total fifteen short stories, written by Shilpi Chaklanobis.

The stories cover various moments of a person's life. Different themes, ranging from love for an animal, poverty or natural climatic disasters, are covered by the author. Every story offers a pinch of personal touch to everyone. That’s the specialty of anthologies.

The writing is free style, which becomes a bit monotonous. The writing style should have been changed for every story, as that's exactly what anthologies are beneficial for. Author failed a bit at that. But the way she describes different relations, it was awesome.

There were a few instances in the book, where the dialogues were simply amazing. Consider this,

"Poverty is like a leech. It doesn't kill you, but sucks your blood to the extent that you stop living."


The stories are metaphorically captivating. While, the character Bhabhi is a sensible person in story 'Wait', a similar character like the mother from story 'Thirst' is a stone hearten person. Both have the money and the facilities, but their jobs matter and are the reason of their unique behavior.


The book starts with the story 'Wok' which lays off the ground for cuteness, that is successfully followed by the story 'Peanut'. The story 'Wok' is really touching and can be narrated to kids as well.

The twist offered by the story 'Example' is awesome, inspiring one, not to judge anyone without knowing the reason behind their anomaly.

The ending of story 'Pseudo secularism' is right at the spot. You have to look at the title back, simply for to the ending. It is abrupt, but meaningful. One of my favorite endings. Another story, 'Thirst' provides a connecting and emotional ending. All stars to these intriguing endings.
While we have stories with crispy ends, we also have stories like 'Bribe' and 'Forever', that have explained endings. And, they do justify the explanation.

The story 'Wait' has an interesting theme, but something significant is missing in the story. There's a bit of scope of improvement in few of the stories like this.


Cover and title

This part disappointed me the most. While the title is completely okay, there could have been a better cover for this.

Panorama means a distant view of a wide area and this book proposes different views of human life conditions and the way people deal them. Hence, the title is well picked.


The language author offers, is simple and connecting. So, this is an interesting book for starters as well. So, anyone who wants to get into reading, starting with this book will be a wise decision.

I'll be waiting for more stories from the author. Cheers!

[Jaideep Khanduja · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://pebbleinthestillwaters.com/ind...

Shilpi Chaklanobis: Panorama Book Review – Stories That Detox Mind

Shilpi Chaklanobis is from Kanpur and has spent ample matured time in Delhi. Her writing has enough flavor of Lucknow and Kanpur that announces her connection with these cities. So even if you didn't know this, you can take a clue from her stories. She has been a keen observer of life, people, and relationships. This is evidently clear once you read her stories. She has a superb art of translating these in-depth realities of life into mesmerizing words. She seems to have a promising journey in writing. There is a lot more you can expect from her in her forthcoming writings.

Panorama – A Collection of Short Stories is a compilation of 15 strong, powerful, and touching stories. These stories are short, crisp, and hard hitting. They hit straight on your heart, mind and conscious. Average of each story is around 6-8 pages. Overall, the book is 134 pages. The stories are engaging and powerfully woven around our normal life routines. Shilpi Chaklanobis has created a good collection of these 15 stories.

If I have to pick the best story out of these 15, I would pick story number 11. Mirage is the story of a young girl who hates her mother all her life for a reason. And one fine day she comes to know the reality behind the reason that was installed in her mind by her father for a selfish reason of his own. And this brings a transformation in the life of both – the mother and her daughter. This story is so well crafted to wet the corners of your eyes. Each story will create a connect with you – a close one or a distant one.

Each story is so natural and simple, but so close to yours and my life. Though all stories may not match every reader's lifestyle, but still, you find yourself a part of each story. As if the things are happening in front of you. As if something you are witnessing quite closely. Panorama – A Collection of Short Stories by Shilpi Chaklanobis is, that way, a must read for everyone who loves to watch life and relationships closely.

If I have to rate this book on a scale of 5, I would give it a full. There is no scope of rating even marginally less than that. You will find childhood friendship, ongoing or past relationships, hard-hitting and compelling realities of life, and personal bonds that will keep surfacing in each story.

[Aditi Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Panorama A Collection of Short Stories by Shilpi Chaklanobis is a book consisting of series of emotions penned by author . A book which we will make you realize your ignorance, it will make you reflect your own reflection and the book which is fiction but written in a such a manner that you’ll feel it’s someone’s life. Book deals with wonderful stories from everyone’s life and it will leave you content once you are done with it. After a long time I read really good short stories book.

Narration- The narration of book was simple, it was completely page turner and was completed in a single sitting. The initial chapter was a kick start of the book which makes me enjoy the book till last.

Language- Author has penned down each story in a lucid way, which makes it readable to everyone. Simple yet catchy.

Stories I enjoyed the most –

The Thirst- Love can fill us with complete sense of contentment as well as it can create a void in us but what if you realize that all the vacant feeling comes from your own parents only better say mother , yes it will leave you all shattered and makes you apathetic. The thirst is a story of a girl who remain untouched by love of her own mother and one fine day it comes true as a doomsday of her own life.

Bribe- Bribe, the story which was very close to me because I have seen and observed it in my own house, how our parents behave when we start getting inclined more towards either mom or dad, and how they behave to get child’s love and attention. A heart warming story.

The Wait- Poverty can compel you to walk on any path and hence the story. The Wait is a story of a poverty ridden family, who was devastated completely. A loving wife who longed for her husband to return but she wasn’t aware that he had gone so long that he cant return.

Negative Punch – There were few stories which I found could have been better way. Apart from it, book requires a bit of editing.

Book Recommendation – Book is recommended to everyone because it contains stories which you might close to your own life.

Overall Rating - I would love to rate this book for penning down perfect blend of emotions 4/5.

Reviewed by Aditi Srivastava

[Kriti Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

“PANORAMA: A Collection of Short Stories” – written by Shilpi Chaklanobis is a collection of short stories, justifying the book title to its core. The book consists of around 15 short stories covering almost each and every aspect of human relationship and bonding like mother – daughter, father – daughter, teacher – student , husband-wife, owner – domestic help/pet, lovers, friendship. Not only it is panoramic with respect to the human relationship, it also touches different aspects of society through each story – poverty , corruption, our patriarchal society etc. The stories have been written in different backgrounds ranging between different cities in India and abroad. The author has very beautifully picked up how the characters will behave and call each other in those backgrounds.

I have enjoyed reading this book. What I loved about the book was the simple yet matured language used by the author. The writing style was fresh and very much like a seasoned writer. Although this was author’s debut novel but the way she has written, I was overwhelmed. She has done justice to each and every character. The stories were really nice, hard to pick a favorite but if I have to I will go with The Thirst. Every story had a message in it for the reader. She has no where tried to spoon feed the reader with what should happen next but the reader is left to think and decide the future. The core issues like poverty , corruption have been addressed so beautifully yet making a significant effect on the reader. Although the book comes in the genre of fiction but the stories were very close to real life and can be very well related to the present world. At the end of the book it seemed that in the world , all these stories may be happening somewhere in real.

What could have been better in the book may be : was to do away with few editing errors in the book and the last story – The Sealed Wish had a too long beginning focusing on the way Martha was curious about the sealed urn. I wanted to read more on how Martha actually found the secret of urn in little detail.

This is a light read book for any generation of reader. I will eagerly wait for the next part of “Panorama”.

[Ishan Agrawal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard this in my childhood which I still remember : Relationships have different layers . They are just like a piece of glass which needs to be dealt with utmost care and sensitivity and can be moulded into any shape and size as per requirement. It can prove to be very useful if treated properly but has full potential to kill a person when used destructively. Similar things can be said about relationships as well.
Through Panorama , the author has shown the various intricacies of relationships and many instances that a person encounters in his own life. The best part about the story is the ease with which the reader is able to connect with the characters of this light-hearted yet mature read.
The book actually forces you to introspect at certain level and the depth of such flurry of emotions and sentiments which it boasts of through its diverse stories is phenomenal. It sends us to a roller coaster ride where one is smitten by so many variety of feelings simultaneously which are even sometimes hard to swallow and digest. It awakens one to the stark realities of life and instills a sense of maturity which is invaluable.
However, no book is without its flaws. Hers, the stories are indeed quite diverse in terms of emotions and plot but it would have been really splendid had the author shown the same variety in her writing style as well. Sometimes, Shilpi seems a bit disturbed in penning down a few of her stories which are consequently not as impactful and dont hit as hard as others. This inner turmoil reflects in the cover of novel as well which is unique but not as lively as it should have.
A few stories like 'Wok', 'Peanut', and 'The Mirage' are my personal favourites where the author has done full justice in delivering the message she intended to . However , the stories like 'The second tsunami' and a couple of others were not as effective and could have been better. Having said that as it was the first published novel of the author , she has actually succeeded in in inspiring people and with the awesome title 'Panorama' , she has made a perfect start.
Looking forward to read more from her......

[Rajat Dixit · Rating 4 out of 5]

PANORAMA - Collection of Short Stories

About the author:
Shilpi Chaklanobis is leading Marketing division of an MNC. She has lived her life in Kanpur and in Delhi too. She has put all her experience to create her debut work named panorama.

COVER:
As the book is from Notion Press publishers, it ought to have a good shining cover. There is a setting sun in the background and beautiful sunset is there describing the end is always beautiful. Also showing subtly that experienced person , one becomes at the end of life.

Plot and Characterisation:
Author has done quite a work on delivering the message in all her stories. I have no doubt that all stories came up with messages we need to take but the strength of characters was lacking in some stories. There are some good ones which are worth mentioning:
Wok
The meeting
Mirage
The Wait
The example

These works of Shilpi transported me to some other world making me think of what we do amd what really needs to be done.
She has been quite successful at delivering the core idea and explaining various atrocities being inflicted on the weaker and poorer sections of the society.
The roles of mother in 'wok', daughter in 'mirage' and principal in 'the example' are worth mentioning.

EDITING & PROOF-READING:
The editing has been done well throughout as no such error came like a sore in the eye. The author as well as publisher paid a good heed to this error free work.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:
The language used in the short stories is reader friendly and make reading a joy. They are generally all understandable in one go and no more sc4tching of the head needs to be done by the reader.

Verdict:
It has been a good attempt the debutante story writer, Shilpi Ji. I liked all those 15 stories that she has put them in there but only thing made me feel uneasy was the sadness throughout them. None of those stories ended without sadness being there. Thus it might make you feel little heavy after you get over with this.
Overall, a nice work. A must read.

Ratings:
Cover-2/2
Plot & Charaterisation-3/4
Editing & Proof-reading-1.5/2
Language skills-1.5/2

RATOMETER- 4stars(on scale of 5)

[Banaja Prakashini · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of 15 short stories, Panorama reflects what we may call life.
The stories are heart touching and touch every aspect of truth.
Each story has a different person to know and a different life to express.
Story 1, Wok , reflects the clutches of poverty on the life of a widow and her innocent child.
Story 2, Peanut, explains the pure love from the heart of an animal for his human friend.
Story 3, The Thirst, tells about a daughter and her pain .
Story 4, Selective Secularism, tells about the way our lives changes from a close encounter of death.
Story 5, Bribe, A man who realises that a child is more dear to her mother than anyone else.
Story 6, Forever, The story explains that "forever" is just a word, living the word is a to formidable task.
Story 7, The Wait, It's about a woman with hopes and the game that fate plays with her.
Story 8, The Second Tsunami, A story about two scattered little lives . This happens to be personal favourite story in the entire book.
Story 9, The Example, it says that all our achievements are fruitless and bear no satisfaction if it never did any well to anyone except us.
Story 10, The Meeting, tells how people change over the course of time.
Story 11, Mirage, a little girl's hero, her father, turns out to be a mirage after which she had been running her whole life.
Story 12, Destiny, when you witness death with your owns eyes, you start believing in it.
Story 13, The Untimely Death, it's about how times changes leading to change in situations.
Story 14, Before it's too Late, another story about change, just wrote in another set with another circumstance.
Story 15, The Sealed Wish, it's a truth that life provides us with what we yearn, but in quite an unpleasant way and that's what the story is about.

The stories will be relatable to those who have ever felt the same. The book might not change your life but it will change the way you look at it.
The book is written in good language and can be read with ease.
Ratings- 3.8 out of 5 stars.
The book has minor errors in editing but the stories are worth the gamble.

[Anushka Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This extrinsic work ‘Panorama’, by Shilpi Chaklanobis is the collection of short stories inspired by us. Yes, the events are perfectly laced with human relationships. You will find yourself surrounding with unusual questions at the end of every story. The answers to which mock us every time we neglect our doubts. Or we deviate from them intentionally?

These events will form a mirror before you and will create an exact replica of a society you are dwelling in. This cantaloupe journey will give you a chance to face yourself, to self-introspect your inner dilemmas.

The servants of your houses have a story of their own. Are you well aware of their daily problems and their hard work to join all the loose ends they need to meet their needs?

Do you know what kind of people your neighbors are? Did you notice love blossoming somewhere? Well, it happens every day. Every one of us, who are leading simple lives, poor or rich, has a story. Things which will leave you speechless, which will make your eyes wet, which will force you to dance and which will, sometimes surround you with strange questions.

Shilpi Chaklanobis has so beautifully described such small events that will create a mesmeric attachment to you with the characters. Today humans are running after humans, busy in their own worlds which seem to be endless. While she decides to take an effort to make us aware of our surroundings. Isn’t it funny that we have to read stories like a newspaper to know what’s happening around us, in our lives??

This idea of her has made me quote few lines of my one of my favorite poem by Pablo Neruda:

“Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of earth,
let’s not speak in any language;
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

…

We would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

…

perhaps a huge silence might interrupt

this sadness of never understanding ourselves.”

[Anushka Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This extrinsic work ‘Panorama’, by Shilpi Chaklanobis is the collection of short stories inspired by us. Yes, the events are perfectly laced with human relationships. You will find yourself surrounding with unusual questions at the end of every story. The answers to which mock us every time we neglect our doubts. Or we deviate from them intentionally?

These events will form a mirror before you and will create an exact replica of a society you are dwelling in. This cantaloupe journey will give you a chance to face yourself, to self-introspect your inner dilemmas.

The servants of your houses have a story of their own. Are you well aware of their daily problems and their hard work to join all the loose ends they need to meet their needs?

Do you know what kind of people your neighbors are? Did you notice love blossoming somewhere? Well, it happens every day. Every one of us, who are leading simple lives, poor or rich, has a story. Things which will leave you speechless, which will make your eyes wet, which will force you to dance and which will, sometimes surround you with strange questions.

Shilpi Chaklanobis has so beautifully described such small events that will create a mesmeric attachment to you with the characters. Today humans are running after humans, busy in their own worlds which seem to be endless. While she decides to take an effort to make us aware of our surroundings. Isn’t it funny that we have to read stories like a newspaper to know what’s happening around us, in our lives??

This idea of her has made me quote few lines of my one of my favorite poem by Pablo Neruda:

“Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of earth,
let’s not speak in any language;
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

…

We would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

…

perhaps a huge silence might interrupt

this sadness of never understanding ourselves.”

[Ritu Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful’ is the word, I’d like to use, to describe this book , which I lately received for reviewing purpose. And must I say, I do not feel disappointed at all.

image

ABOUT THE BOOK :

‘Panorama’ – as the name suggests, gives a whole new perspective of people around us. It is a collection of fifteen short stories; a tinge of reality in them , with various emotions and feelings , which can successfully motivate one.

Each of the story being unique in one or other way , hitting right chord of one’s heart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Shilpi Chaklanobis hails from the beautiful city of Kanpur and has spent the majority of her adult life in Delhi.
This is her first endeavor as a writer and her writing not only shows promise, but also has a sense of sensitivity that compels you to think about the lives you touch every day.

BOOK TITLE AND COVER :

The title is apt as well as impressive with respect to the content of the book, while the cover may or may not be able to attract a whole crowd of readers to it.

LANGUAGE :

The language is flow-y as well as catch-y. One can read all the stories in one go with an ease.

NARRATION :

Narration of all the stories is done rather simply yet the readers can easily find themselves engrossed in these beautifully woven tales.

DISLIKES :

1. Despite of the amazing narration of most of the stories , few of the stories are not amazing till the very end.

2. The cover of the book could’ve been created more beautifully.

3. Minor grammatical mistakes.

LIKES :

1. The title is impressive and eye- catching.

2. Despite of minor editing mistakes , all the stories are worth a read.

3. Simply a light read.

RATINGS : 4/5