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Madhyabindu
જે સ્ત્રીને પતિ અને પ્રેમીની વચ્ચે બે જિંદગી જીવતાં આવડે છે એવી સ્ત્રીના પ્રણયની સંવેદનશીલ અને છતાં હૃદયમાંથી નીકળતી સાચી વાત. ‘દિવ્ય ભાસ્કર’ના વાચકોને સ્પર્શી ગયેલી પહેલી બોલ્ડ ગુજરાતી નવલકથા.
- GenresNovels
252 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2012
109 people are currently reading
1294 people want to read
About the author
Kaajal Oza Vaidya
75 books363 followersKaajal was born on 29 September 1966 in Mumbai, India. She graduated with a degree in English and Sanskrit from Gujarat University in 1986. She completed her post-graduate certificate in advertising management at Saint Xavier's College in Mumbai.
She debuted in writing with a short story collection, Sambandh.. To Akash in 2005 was followed by a collection of poetry, Sheshyatra. Her popularity grew when her first novel Yog Viyog was serialized in Chitralekha weekly. She worked on plays during her earlier career. She teaches creative writing as a Visiting Faculty in the Master of Developmental Communication Department of Gujarat University.
She worked as a journalist with Sandesh, Gujarat Daily, Loksatta-Jansatta, The Indian Express, Abhiyan magazine and Samkalin, Sambhaav. She writes columns in Divya Bhaskar, Gujarat Mitra, Kutchmitra, Janmabhhomi Pravasi and Culcutta Halchal. She regularly gives speeches on different subjects across Gujarat and beyond. She hosts the radio show Kaajal@9 on 94.3 My FM Ahmedabad.
She debuted in writing with a short story collection, Sambandh.. To Akash in 2005 was followed by a collection of poetry, Sheshyatra. Her popularity grew when her first novel Yog Viyog was serialized in Chitralekha weekly. She worked on plays during her earlier career. She teaches creative writing as a Visiting Faculty in the Master of Developmental Communication Department of Gujarat University.
She worked as a journalist with Sandesh, Gujarat Daily, Loksatta-Jansatta, The Indian Express, Abhiyan magazine and Samkalin, Sambhaav. She writes columns in Divya Bhaskar, Gujarat Mitra, Kutchmitra, Janmabhhomi Pravasi and Culcutta Halchal. She regularly gives speeches on different subjects across Gujarat and beyond. She hosts the radio show Kaajal@9 on 94.3 My FM Ahmedabad.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 12, 2018
It is difficult to digest how a woman can live two different lives, one as a wife and another as a lover. Priyam loved both men passionately and was loyal when with them. Loved the way each situation was described in this book.
Some of the quotes I loved from the book :
“જો એક પુરુષ બે સ્ત્રીને એકસરખી લાગણી આપવાનો-ચાહવાનો દાવો કરી શકે તો એક સ્ત્રી એવું કેમ ન કરી શકે?”
“પુરુષ માટે શરીરસંબંધ બાંધવો પ્રમાણમાં સરળ પણ હોય છે અને રોમાંચક પણ, પુરુષ માટે શરીરસંબંધમાં પ્રેમની ગેરહાજરી બહુ મોટો પ્રોબ્લેમ નથી હોતી...”
“બધાને સ્ત્રી જોઈએ છે.એની સાથેની સંવેદનાઓ નથી જોઈતી. એમને માટે એના સવાલો, એની સલામતી, એની સંવેદના બધું નકામું છે. કામનું માત્ર શરીર છે, જેને ભોગવી શકાય, ચૂંથી શકાય, અનુભવી શકાય, માણી શકાય.”
Some of the quotes I loved from the book :
“જો એક પુરુષ બે સ્ત્રીને એકસરખી લાગણી આપવાનો-ચાહવાનો દાવો કરી શકે તો એક સ્ત્રી એવું કેમ ન કરી શકે?”
“પુરુષ માટે શરીરસંબંધ બાંધવો પ્રમાણમાં સરળ પણ હોય છે અને રોમાંચક પણ, પુરુષ માટે શરીરસંબંધમાં પ્રેમની ગેરહાજરી બહુ મોટો પ્રોબ્લેમ નથી હોતી...”
“બધાને સ્ત્રી જોઈએ છે.એની સાથેની સંવેદનાઓ નથી જોઈતી. એમને માટે એના સવાલો, એની સલામતી, એની સંવેદના બધું નકામું છે. કામનું માત્ર શરીર છે, જેને ભોગવી શકાય, ચૂંથી શકાય, અનુભવી શકાય, માણી શકાય.”
March 26, 2015
Of course, there are the revered Authors like Nicholas sparks, Jhumpa Lahiri and many more who are world famous for taking the readers to an emotional roller coaster ride through their tales. And I must put the name of Kaajal Oza-Vaidya in the same category.
She has been a role model for me for various aspects of life. Her stories have always fascinated me, made me think and re think and impacted like anything.
Madhyabindu is a very mature and daring novel of lead character woman Priyam, her husband Aditya and her love Shailraj. This can sound like a simple love triangle storyline but NO, it is not like that. Author has narrated the mental state of Priyam such beautifully that my respect for her continuously kept gaining till the end of the story.
Priyam is a highly mature woman with a completely different thought process. The entire story is crafted after her death. She made sure that her husband and her lover meet each other after her death and they can jointly understand why she fell into the relationship with Shailraj even after Aditya was a never ending source of happiness and luxury for her.
She proved that she was the centre of the lives of Aditya and Shailraj, that is what the word “Madhyabindu” means.
Hat’s off to this author for bringing us such a daring book which forces the male community to change their mind-sets and definitions of happy living.
She has been a role model for me for various aspects of life. Her stories have always fascinated me, made me think and re think and impacted like anything.
Madhyabindu is a very mature and daring novel of lead character woman Priyam, her husband Aditya and her love Shailraj. This can sound like a simple love triangle storyline but NO, it is not like that. Author has narrated the mental state of Priyam such beautifully that my respect for her continuously kept gaining till the end of the story.
Priyam is a highly mature woman with a completely different thought process. The entire story is crafted after her death. She made sure that her husband and her lover meet each other after her death and they can jointly understand why she fell into the relationship with Shailraj even after Aditya was a never ending source of happiness and luxury for her.
She proved that she was the centre of the lives of Aditya and Shailraj, that is what the word “Madhyabindu” means.
Hat’s off to this author for bringing us such a daring book which forces the male community to change their mind-sets and definitions of happy living.
October 17, 2016
Very bold story. Difficult to believe that an Indian woman can live two different types of lives at the same time; one of a wife and the other of a girlfriend!! Is it so easy to break social boundaries?
March 9, 2020
(પ્રસ્તાવના માંથી) "માણસ માત્રને જે મળ્યું છે તેના કરતાં જે નથી મળ્યું તેનો અભાવ ખૂબ જ તીવ્રતાથી પીડતો હોય છે. માણસને અભાવ અને એકલતા ગળે વળગાડીને જીવવું ગમતું હોય છે." મારા માટે આ વાક્ય આખી નવલકથાનું મધ્યબિંદુ છે. બાકી પ્રસ્તાવના વાંચીએ એટલે કવરપેજ જોઈને આવેલો વિચાર ઠોસ થઈ જાય; કે આ પુસ્તક રૂપી ચતુષ્કોણ પ્રણય-ત્રિકોણ સંઘરીને બેઠું છે. અંત સુધીની યાત્રા ખૂબ જ પ્રેડીકટેબલ છે; જ્યાં વાર્તા એક ટિપિકલ લવ ટ્રાઇએન્ગલની જેમ શરૂ થઈને પતી જાય છે. પણ એક એવું ત્રિકોણ કે જેના ત્રણેય ખૂણા એકસમાન છે. સમબાજુ ત્રિકોણ છે; એકેય લઘુ નહિ અને એકેય ગુરુ નહિ.
મને ગમી હોય તો તે વાર્તા નહિ; પરંતુ સંવાદોની સફરે નીકળેલા વિચારોની પાલખીમાં બેસેલ પ્રિયમ (નાયિકા) છે. પ્રિયમનો પરિચય ટૂંકમાં આપું તો; એકવીસમી સદીની સ્વતંત્ર સ્ત્રી. જે સમયને સલામ કરી સાડી પહેરી જાણે અને શોર્ટ્સ પણ. પ્રિયમના વિચારોની નવીનતા; ચહેરાની મોહકતા અને સ્મિતની માદકતા કાફી છે કોઈ પણ પુરુષને ઘાયલ કરવા માટે. પ્રિયમની એક ખાસિયત છે; તે દરેક અવસરને દિલફાડીને જીવી લે છે; મરતા-મરતા જીવવું તેને પસંદ નથી પણ છત્તા તે મૃત્યુ માટે ખૂબ જ ફેસીનેટેડ છે. પ્રિયમ જેવી વિદુષી સ્ત્રીનો સાથ મળે તે ભાગ્યની વાત છે; પણ આ ભાગ્ય પણ 'શરતો લાગું' -ની ફુદરડી ભેગી લઈને જ આવતું હોય છે. બાકી આ નવલકથા સુરેખ હોત; ત્રિકોણ નહીં.
વચ્ચે થોડીક સ્લો થઈ જાય છે બાકી વાર્તા એકધારી લયમાં આગેકૂચ કરે છે. કાજલબેન પ્રસંગ; સ્થાન અને વ્યક્તિનું વર્ણન કરે એટલે તે પાનેથી ઉડીને આંખે વળગ્યું જ સમજો. ફરી એક વાર; જો વાર્તા વાંચવા માટે પાનાં ફેરવશો તો કદાચ નિરાશ થશો; પરંતુ માણસ શુ વિચારીને કોઈ પગલાં લે છે તે ધ્યાનમાં રાખશો તો વાંચવાની ખૂબ જ મજા આવશે. વૈચારિક પ્રક્રિયાને જો કોઈ ફિઝિકલ રૂપ હોત તો તે આ બુક જેવું લાગતું. "ચલ મન જીતવા જઈએ" મુવી ગમ્યું હોય તો આ બુક બેજીજક થઈ વાંચી નાખજો. મજા જ આવશે.
આ બુકનું ગમી ગયેલું વાક્ય; "જેમ પાણીના ટીપાઓમાંથી સૂર્યના કિરણ પસાર થાય ત્યારે મેઘધનુષ બને છે; એવી જ રીતે ઝંખનાઓ માંથી સપના પસાર થાય ત્યારે એને મેઘધનુષની જેમ જોઈ લેવાના; પકડવાની જીદ નહિ કરવાની."
છેલ્લે; જતાં જતાં-
મારી કલ્પનાના આદિત્ય તરફથી તેની પ્રિયમને..."બંધાવું તો તને કદી પસંદ નહોતું; કદાચ એટલે જ તું હવે યાદોમાં "કેદ" છે."
મને ગમી હોય તો તે વાર્તા નહિ; પરંતુ સંવાદોની સફરે નીકળેલા વિચારોની પાલખીમાં બેસેલ પ્રિયમ (નાયિકા) છે. પ્રિયમનો પરિચય ટૂંકમાં આપું તો; એકવીસમી સદીની સ્વતંત્ર સ્ત્રી. જે સમયને સલામ કરી સાડી પહેરી જાણે અને શોર્ટ્સ પણ. પ્રિયમના વિચારોની નવીનતા; ચહેરાની મોહકતા અને સ્મિતની માદકતા કાફી છે કોઈ પણ પુરુષને ઘાયલ કરવા માટે. પ્રિયમની એક ખાસિયત છે; તે દરેક અવસરને દિલફાડીને જીવી લે છે; મરતા-મરતા જીવવું તેને પસંદ નથી પણ છત્તા તે મૃત્યુ માટે ખૂબ જ ફેસીનેટેડ છે. પ્રિયમ જેવી વિદુષી સ્ત્રીનો સાથ મળે તે ભાગ્યની વાત છે; પણ આ ભાગ્ય પણ 'શરતો લાગું' -ની ફુદરડી ભેગી લઈને જ આવતું હોય છે. બાકી આ નવલકથા સુરેખ હોત; ત્રિકોણ નહીં.
વચ્ચે થોડીક સ્લો થઈ જાય છે બાકી વાર્તા એકધારી લયમાં આગેકૂચ કરે છે. કાજલબેન પ્રસંગ; સ્થાન અને વ્યક્તિનું વર્ણન કરે એટલે તે પાનેથી ઉડીને આંખે વળગ્યું જ સમજો. ફરી એક વાર; જો વાર્તા વાંચવા માટે પાનાં ફેરવશો તો કદાચ નિરાશ થશો; પરંતુ માણસ શુ વિચારીને કોઈ પગલાં લે છે તે ધ્યાનમાં રાખશો તો વાંચવાની ખૂબ જ મજા આવશે. વૈચારિક પ્રક્રિયાને જો કોઈ ફિઝિકલ રૂપ હોત તો તે આ બુક જેવું લાગતું. "ચલ મન જીતવા જઈએ" મુવી ગમ્યું હોય તો આ બુક બેજીજક થઈ વાંચી નાખજો. મજા જ આવશે.
આ બુકનું ગમી ગયેલું વાક્ય; "જેમ પાણીના ટીપાઓમાંથી સૂર્યના કિરણ પસાર થાય ત્યારે મેઘધનુષ બને છે; એવી જ રીતે ઝંખનાઓ માંથી સપના પસાર થાય ત્યારે એને મેઘધનુષની જેમ જોઈ લેવાના; પકડવાની જીદ નહિ કરવાની."
છેલ્લે; જતાં જતાં-
મારી કલ્પનાના આદિત્ય તરફથી તેની પ્રિયમને..."બંધાવું તો તને કદી પસંદ નહોતું; કદાચ એટલે જ તું હવે યાદોમાં "કેદ" છે."
July 18, 2017
Hmmm smthing new but hard to find
January 29, 2024
A neutral view of any circumstance. Worth reading for the new point of view of situation and depth of feelings.
August 15, 2020
Would have been somewhat enjoyable, had this 250-page novel been 200 pages shorter with significant deletions of useless information and cringeworthy content.
Background
Released in 2007, the book is marketed as the first bold novel in Gujarati literature. It's about a woman who needs more than one man in her life- a theme that struck me as intriguing coming from a Gujarati writer more than a decade ago. KOV is also a best selling author in Gujarati, so have always been curious about what makes her books so popular
Good parts
- For Gujarati literature in 2007, it was probably bold with (some) new ideas for a certain set of readers (a group I'm not part of).
-Some conversations (those not cringeworthy) were actually enjoyable
-The end was quite a twist!
Bad parts
Pretty much everything else
-Regressive content: There were many parts in the book that made me go wtf. Like Priyam believes it's a woman duty to deliver babies for her husband (Page 159), she also offers her body to her husband for sex as a form of atonement (प्रायश्चित) (Page 185)
-No new idea: For her target audience, it's possible this book would have earth shattering insight. Personally though, I learnt nothing new. In fact, found many parts cringeworthy
-Too melodramatic (think old Bollywood). E.g., The protagonost is about to run over a woman with his car but stops 2 inches short of hitting her. Then they marry!
-Too much useless information. KOV spends pages and pages pointlessly describing unnecessary details about the setting or inanimate things like paintings and clothes which add nothing to the plot or the characters. I mean I get the characters are ultra-rich, but I don't need a PHD on every single object in their house
-I took up reading this book to learn new ideas but it ended up being a masala book (which took a whole new level in the finale)
-The cover: While i like the concept, the cover really fails in execution on many level. The pair of blue eyes are notably ill-placed for a book where no characters have blue eyes. An ironic choice from an Indian culture enthusiast.
Bottomline
- I do not recommend this book
Background
Released in 2007, the book is marketed as the first bold novel in Gujarati literature. It's about a woman who needs more than one man in her life- a theme that struck me as intriguing coming from a Gujarati writer more than a decade ago. KOV is also a best selling author in Gujarati, so have always been curious about what makes her books so popular
Good parts
- For Gujarati literature in 2007, it was probably bold with (some) new ideas for a certain set of readers (a group I'm not part of).
-Some conversations (those not cringeworthy) were actually enjoyable
-The end was quite a twist!
Bad parts
Pretty much everything else
-Regressive content: There were many parts in the book that made me go wtf. Like Priyam believes it's a woman duty to deliver babies for her husband (Page 159), she also offers her body to her husband for sex as a form of atonement (प्रायश्चित) (Page 185)
-No new idea: For her target audience, it's possible this book would have earth shattering insight. Personally though, I learnt nothing new. In fact, found many parts cringeworthy
-Too melodramatic (think old Bollywood). E.g., The protagonost is about to run over a woman with his car but stops 2 inches short of hitting her. Then they marry!
-Too much useless information. KOV spends pages and pages pointlessly describing unnecessary details about the setting or inanimate things like paintings and clothes which add nothing to the plot or the characters. I mean I get the characters are ultra-rich, but I don't need a PHD on every single object in their house
-I took up reading this book to learn new ideas but it ended up being a masala book (which took a whole new level in the finale)
-The cover: While i like the concept, the cover really fails in execution on many level. The pair of blue eyes are notably ill-placed for a book where no characters have blue eyes. An ironic choice from an Indian culture enthusiast.
Bottomline
- I do not recommend this book
October 5, 2017
Its my view
I thaught something is missing in the story, nowhere it is mentioned how shail & priyam get closer, why priyam got physically attached with shail if she love aditya (mental love & physical love are two different things) , if there is nothing wrong in relationship with shail then why priyam has not disclosed the thing with Aditya, if she is not ready to marry with Aditya or live with Aditya why she hasn't refused his proposal for marriage and many more........
I thaught something is missing in the story, nowhere it is mentioned how shail & priyam get closer, why priyam got physically attached with shail if she love aditya (mental love & physical love are two different things) , if there is nothing wrong in relationship with shail then why priyam has not disclosed the thing with Aditya, if she is not ready to marry with Aditya or live with Aditya why she hasn't refused his proposal for marriage and many more........
Currently reading
March 7, 2020NICE BOOK
March 9, 2020
You can't accept dt one gujarati woman can write this kind of bold love (kind of triangle) story
July 3, 2020
બુકની શરૂઆત ખુબ જ સારી હતી
July 7, 2020
Exhilarating love triangle where everyone is correct in their own way.
June 8, 2023
So where do i start with. KOV's writing is beautiful and specially this book makes you think, i think it will stick with me for a long time. But especially this book is very deep, for its time (published in 2007) it was way ahead and sometimes i had to put it down nd let it sink in. It really is beautifully written book however i think some details were missing which if provided would make this book so much better for the readers to understand priyam.
I can also see how this book can be with hit or miss for you, either you like it very much or u might not like it even a bit , for just a few its an ok book in my opinion but would i still recommend it? I think if you wanna read gujarati books and specially of KOV's novels in particular i would suggest to start with either 'potpotani pankhar' or 'tara vinana sheher ma' , given that i would yes totally recommend this book. Priyam's character is very interesting , how she thinks nd what she thinks. Sometimes i didn't understand her thinking , sometimes i didn't agree with her (priyam) but sometimes she made me think so KOV has written this character so amazingly i loved it and hated it at the same time.
It really is fascinating to me how she writes her books. She is an amazing writer.
I can also see how this book can be with hit or miss for you, either you like it very much or u might not like it even a bit , for just a few its an ok book in my opinion but would i still recommend it? I think if you wanna read gujarati books and specially of KOV's novels in particular i would suggest to start with either 'potpotani pankhar' or 'tara vinana sheher ma' , given that i would yes totally recommend this book. Priyam's character is very interesting , how she thinks nd what she thinks. Sometimes i didn't understand her thinking , sometimes i didn't agree with her (priyam) but sometimes she made me think so KOV has written this character so amazingly i loved it and hated it at the same time.
It really is fascinating to me how she writes her books. She is an amazing writer.
June 16, 2022
Mostly two things are common in her novels one there is family of urban hi-fi society n very intence love... So passionate love that sometimes I keep thinking that in reality such type of love is possible or what?
But so strong flow of emotions that led to complete book as soon as possible
But so strong flow of emotions that led to complete book as soon as possible
August 24, 2021
વાંચવી ગમી ,પણ પચાવવી અઘરી પડી ,. બાકી લેખન શૈલી હંમેશા ની જેમ જોરદાર .
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February 11, 2022Kajal O. Vaidya writes in such a defining manners!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 4, 2025I would like to read this book
March 7, 2025
Mind blowing, must read. Talks about relationships that are not valid from a general perspective but are important for self.
March 21, 2017
one of the best books i have read so far. this book just took me to another world. i felt so connected with the characters of this book
March 10, 2017
Its a awesome book
Read
June 15, 2017Kay nay
Want to read
July 22, 2018Impressed by this review.
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