In conversation with Shatrujeet Nath on his Vikramaditya Veergatha serie...

Million Memories - Pallavi Kodan -Book Review

I was pleasantly surprised to recieve this cute little package from the author Pallavi Kodan.

I loved the cute little powder pink bag that it came in and the book itself appeared chic with pastel sand colour cover with the black seagulls and the female character with an umbrella. 

It gives a bit of a sad look and I thought this must be another heart breaker. 

Author–  Pallavi Kodan

Book- Million Memories

Publishers– Partridge Publishing

Number Of Pages- 210

Format– Paperback

Genre - Young Adult 

Well the blurb reads - 

 Follow Ashima and her friends through their roller coaster ride from teenage to adulthood, to being actual adults. A story about growing up together, crushes...love..fights..doubting and realizing self worth...failing and standing up for one self...struggles and challenges. A story, which is an amalgamation of many experiences and emotions.

Review - 

This is an honest book written by Pallavi Kodan it dwelves into childhood memories of coming up of age along with your friends. One can relate with it on every aspect. Kudos to the author for getting it so right in her first book itself.

The book is about the main three characters Ashima, Siddhant and Karishma. These three are best friends since childhood. Childhood friendships are most cherished ones and hold a special place in life. This book depicts exactly that.

Right from the start when all three of them come from different families and backgrounds, upbringing and social norms. How that affects their friendship and shapes them as individuals. How the struggle is real with them to keep the friendship alive being different personalities and growing up differently with a different outlook towards life in general. You actually hate Karishma and get irked when her character arrives, wish Ashima could be less sweet and it was time she gave it back. Or for that matter you want Siddhant to enjoy and forget his love. 

You relate with them, have your favourite too. Sometimes you even go back to your childhood menories. 

From first crushes, exams, goof ups, dates, love, highs and lows and life in general - this book follows it all from their separate point of view and what effect it has on each one as well as their friendship. 

The language the author has used is simple and easy to relate however the book is a bit slow at places. It wavers in engaging the reader, material is predictable and you know what is gonna happen every time.

There are lot of errors especially towards the end which require editing. 

All in all this book is a simple fast nice read. 

Thanks again to the author for sending this pretty little package and congrats on the first book. 

My verdict - 3 / 5 

Happy Reading folks !! 

xoxo

Bhakti 

The Guardians Of Halahala - Shatrujeet Nath - Book Review

Title: The Vikramaditya Trilogy:

Book 1 - The Guardians of the Halahala

Authors: Shatrujeet Nath

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Publication Year: 2014

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

Genre: Fiction, Historical, Alternative History

No. of Pages: 428

Price: Rs 350

My Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Shatrujeet Nath has sold ice creams, peddled computer training courses, written ad copy and reported on business as a journalist and assistant editor at The Economic Times. His first book, The Karachi Deception, was published in 2013. He divides his time between writing fiction and poetry, reading, playing with his daughter, and dreaming of buying a small castle in Scotland. Till that happens, he plans to continue living in Mumbai.

Mythology and History is loved by all. We have grown up listening to stories about our heroes, of grandeur, of demigods, Asuras, Gods, wars, palaces, princesses, magic and much more all through our childhood. I Sure am a fan of this genre.

So when I get my hands on such a book which weaves spell through all these ancient fictions, magic, power, love, Gods, humans and more I just chance on the opportunity.

Retelling stories, Filming old folk lore's, history and mythology with liberties are trending now a days and everyone loves a good story.

The Guardians Of Halahala is just that written by Shatrujeet Nath its the first book in the series of Vikramaditya Veergatha and it sure makes an impact. This book right from its cover is captivating.

The cover depicts the action, storm raging within as well as all over. The mighty Vikramaditya amidst everything standing tall with fearless stride and his hell fire swords in hands is like the entire book summarised in one picture.

As soon as you open the book, an ancient kingdom map draws you in and just after you manage to read it you are taken by the glossary of names of characters from every kingdom with their short description.

The plot is laid and you are already in it, anticipation riding high all excited ready to lose yourself in the book and find new characters. No sooner than I started reading I couldn't stop, the narration is fast, captivating and the author builds suspense and entails you in it.

I found myself also wondering on the lines of Game Of Thrones (cant help, serious fan ) but the book does that to you.

The story is set in the middle of many kingdoms and all stories or happening are interwoven in one big plot. Be it the kings, their alliance, kingdoms, wars, devas, asura, enemies, relationships, loyalty, love, plotting, ghouls, magic and more - the crux the finality of it all is but one and that is power - supreme power.

Remember this book is not facts but fiction taking in from mythological stories and all the important characters and traits, happenings that we know of.

So the story revolves round Halahala - the poison that Lord Shiva consumed which made him blue in order to save the world from annihilation. So in this book a small portion of this poison - Halahala was stolen by a demon Veeshada and stored in his dagger.

Now after ages Lord Shiva himself entrusts the responsibility of this Veeshadas dagger to King Vikramaditya to keep it safe from the demons, the Gods and any other entity to safeguard the balance of power in the universe.

What follows is assaults on Vikramaditya's Kingdom from the Gods as well as Demons led by Indra and Shukracharya respectively in every form to attain the Halahala and achieve supremacy. On the other hand the book even follows the threats from Huna and Saka tribes, the disturbance of equilibrium in the Kingdoms. The ailing wife of Vikramaditya whom he loves dearly and can do anything for her but will he pay the price for her well being and in what way. Will she ever wake up from her deep slumber and recognise and love the king ever again.

The book revolves round the mighty Vikramaditya and his council of 9 and how they deal with this mayhem and emerge victorious on all accounts or not and at what price. The characters that the author has played with right from Betaal to the devas and asuras makes me want to get myself other books on them and relive these old characters and their stories (growing up on Vikram and Betaal series and tv serial too - what do you expect).

This is one of the good traits of a successful book - makes you want to read more and more about it and the characters involved in it.

The book ends on one of the battles- with lots of questions to be answered in the second part - The conspiracy at Meru.

Why and how did the Maruts disappear? What happened to Vishakha ? What will be the next step? What about Huna and Saka attack ? What price will this war incur? So many question - 2 more books.

I can hardly wait.

The book is a perfection in every way the author has been successful in involving, sketching and bringing to life so many characters with in depth research visible. There are no lose plots. The stories are interwoven beautifully. The author leaves you wanting for more with his immaculate descriptions of every scene. The grandeur, the seriousness, love, the war fare, mayhem, loyalty- every relationship is felt by the reader and every scene depicted and imagined to the hilt - such is the writing.

Must Read - Amazing book.

I was sent this personally signed book from the aurhor himself to review it however the views are completely mine and in no way influenced.
You can buy the book on Amazon for Rs 298 over here.

Check out the book review vlog 

Thanks To Jaico Books and the Author himself Shatrujeeth Nath enjoyed the book completely.

Cant wait to read The Conspiracy at Meru.

Until we meet again.

Happy Reading!

xoxo

Bhakti

Metro Diaries - 2

About the Book:

Give life another chance. Laugh a little longer. Let go of your past. Hold onto what you love. In short LIVE rather than just exist!

Some told, some untold, some heard and some unheard - this collection of stories will make you look at life in a different light and make you ponder over its definition of it till now.


Goodreads I Amazon






Reviews for Metro Diaries 1:

After touching your hearts with 'Metro Diaries - Love Classics' she is back now with stories that will redefine life for you!

The stories in Metro Diaries - Love Classics are free from any trappings of youthful slang and fashionable language stunts. These young adults are speaking to the readers with Namrata’s maturity shining through, and Namrata’s ideas of love. - Sakshi Nanda 

The language is fairly pleasant to read and the elaborate discussions between characters in each story must have taken a lot of work – because the most difficult job of all authors is to bring out human emotions in proper words. Thankfully, Namrata has concentrated upon it very well! - Dhivya Balaji


About the Author:

Namrata is A Lost Wanderer who loves travelling the length and breadth of the world. A published author in various anthologies and magazines she enjoys capturing the magic of life in her words. She is forever in pursuit of a new country and a new story.




Contact the Author:
Website * Facebook * Twitter

The Conspiracy at Meru (Vikramaditya Veergatha # 2)

VICTORY IS TEMPORARY. THE BATTLE IS ETERNAL.

Vikramaditya and his Council of Nine have fought valiantly to repel the rampaging hordes from Devaloka and Patala – but Avanti has been brought to its knees. Ujjayini lies battered its citizens are scared and morale is badly shaken. Meanwhile, the barbaric Hunas and Sakas are gathering on the horizon and cracks are emerging between the allied kingdoms of Sindhuvarta.

The only silver lining is that the deadly Halahala is safe. For now.

Bent on vengeance, Indra is already scheming to destroy Vikramaditya, while Shukracharya has a plan that can spell the doom for the Guardians of the Halahala. How long can the human army hold out against the ferocity and cunning of the devas and asuras? And will Vikramaditya’s love for his queen come in the way of his promise to Shiva?

Goodreads * Amazon

The deadly Halahala, the all-devouring poison churned from the depths of the White Lake by the devas and asuras, was swallowed by Shiva to save the universe from extinction.

But was the Halahala truly destroyed?

A small portion still remains – a weapon powerful enough to guarantee victory to whoever possesses it. And both asuras and devas, locked in battle for supremacy, will stop at nothing to claim it.

As the forces of Devaloka and Patala, led by Indra and Shukracharya, plot to possess the Halahala, Shiva turns to mankind to guard it from their murderous clutches. It is now up to Samrat Vikramaditya and his Council of Nine to quell the supernatural hordes – and prevent the universe from tumbling into chaos!

A sweeping tale of honour and courage in the face of infinite danger, greed and deceit, The Guardians of the Halahala is a fantastical journey into a time of myth and legend.

Goodreads * Amazon 

About the Author

Door-to-door salesman, copywriter, business journalist & assistant editor at The Economic Times; Shatrujeet Nath was all this before he took to writing fiction full-time. He debuted with The Karachi Deception in 2013, followed by The Guardians of the Halahala and The Conspiracy at Meru, the first two books in the Vikramaditya Veergatha series. At present, he is writing volume three of the series. Shatrujeet lives in Mumbai, but spends much of his time in the fantasy worlds of his stories.

Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Also by the Author:

(Click On the Cover for More Details)

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Ambushed - Nayanika Mahtani

Check out the complete book review video above.

The author sent me the book Ambushed and I am so glad she did and I got to read this gem. 

Rooted very much in the real world. 

So suited for today's world, the story is so real, so true it tugs at your heart deep down. 

Especially for me, it just my kind of book. As you all know I am a complete nature lover. I believe in balanced living having said that my inclination is still towards the jungles, the mountains, nature, wild life. I want to live with the nature away from city hassles and enjoy the simplicity of life leaving behind the chaos and fast paced race. 

Human beings are evolved and they use this knowledge, technology to destroy what is so pure, so natural. We should be using our technology to help the nature, protect the wild animals and our universe instead by all means we are destroying them completely. Forests are being cut, animals poached. So many species extinct and we are to be blamed for most of them. We humans for bringing life to extinction. Where we should be the ones to safeguard all. 

The younger generation is getting so addicted to technology they don't know the joy of being in nature or being one with it.

We need to inculcate in them the love for nature, the outdoors, animals and fresh air. 

This book just touches the right chords. 

The book is such a breezy read I completed it in one sitting. It's fast paced and the characters are sketched beautifully. The author had managed to pen down the emotion of each character thoroughly yet simply, you can connect with each one of them. 

There are no lose plots, everything is precisely written and well conceptualised with reasoning and background. 

The book follows Tara a 10 yrs old smart and toity city girl. She belongs to a well to do small family having all luxuries and a complete gadget freak. 

The story then takes us with Tara on an unexpected and unwanted holiday to a Himalayan Forest. The twist and turns that the story takes. This is where Tara experiences an adventure of her lifetime. Meeting a tribal boy, living in nature, finding her strengths, experiencing the real beauty, finding herself amidst poachers, rescue mission, saving tigers all this and more on a holiday which she thought was the most boring and enforced one. 

The author takes up the issue of Toger poaching and declining population of the species. 

This is the dire need of the hour and like the tiger many animals in the world are on the brink of extinction. The nature, forest are all declining in statistics snd it's a sorry state that the human beings are to be blamed for. 

It's high time that we need to teach our kids our generation, everybody needs to take steps to stop this. 

We need to take pride in our universe and nature and safeguard and inculcate the same feeling amongst the children, others. 

I think this book is beautifully written and covers the gist in a nutshell of the present scenario. It's a must read for anyone and everyone. 

All children must must read this book. 

All royalties from Ambushed go to Tiger Watch, an NGO in Ranthambhore, for a school set up for the children of tribal (ex) poachers, to give them a window to alternate livelihoods (short video clip below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahB17NYuysw 

You can buy this book over here at Amazon for Rs 146.

Hope you liked the post, do watch my YouTube review video at the starting of this post. Comment, like, share and let me know what are your thoughts. 

Do let me know must read books, I am looking for good reads. 

Until we meet next time

Stay happy and cheerful !! 

Lots of love ❤️❤️

xoxo

Bhakti 

Gestures of Love and Raindrops.

Small random gestures out of the blue, without a reason, without an occasion, without any expectations - just pure love touch the heart more than expected gifts on anniversaries, birthdays or festivals. They are so special because without a reason you know you are missed and loved and thought about a lot. They are cherished forever. 

These random small gifts by hubby dear pamper me silly and I so love them like crazy. 

I love books and I love to receive my kinda books. I just love the feel of paper in my hand, the colourful cover and the world inside these pages waiting for me to lose myself completely to its magic. 

Fragrances make me go weak in my knees I just love them especially floral ones. Natural fragrances have their own charm and I just love their relaxing and soothing effect and the whole Auroshikha range from Auroville products which are awesome and so difficult to get in Pune. 

The fragrance oil is of lavender and it's really calming and rejuvenating I just love it. I am still to read the book so will keep you updated on the same. The incense sticks are so cute and they are of opium. 

They are nice but I am more of a floral, woody person. 

I am in love with these cute bottles holding natural drink, they taste awesome. These wonders are from Kokm  Juicery and they are excellent. I am hooked on to them.

The bottle is so cute and honestly I picked up the drink for the bottle the first time I laid

my eyes on it and it turned out really yummy. This one is jeera and its really good on the tummy. They have other flavours in it too and I have tried almost all and they sure are liked by me.

Since the time I have tried Black Forest ice cream from Havmor I am hooked to it. 

I love Havmor ice creams, they are delicious and super vfm. This ice cream actually has cake layered and it's s treat. Give it a try. I love their entire range, its pretty good.

This is my all time favorite movie- Under The Tuscan Sun - feel good at any time. 

I love the way it is directed, the cast, location, positivity, romance , love and life. 

That's my dream Tuscan villa. I just love the journey that Diana Lane makes within herself to find herself. Her vacation in Italy, her struggles all so real and captured beautifully. In the desire for our wants, we stop looking what life is giving us. Life grants our wants too but we are just so busy wanting more, we stop appreciating it.

Colours just work their magic on me and I am left enchanted and mesmerised by their beauty. Give me colours any time of the day and let me paint my dreams. Complete Stress Buster.

Nothing like the first drops of rain on the hot soil. Rains leave everything so pretty. They wash the soul and everything around. Beauty in and out. The smell of the wet earth after the first rain drops drives me crazy. I am a complete pluviophile and a petrichor lover. 

Hope monsoons arrive with much aplomb soon. 

Meet my new friend 🤓

Just monkeying around or should I say dinosauring around 🙈😜. 

Hope you liked my snippets of the week gone by. 

How was your week. 

Let me know in comments. 

Until we meet again.

Stay happy and cheerful.

Lots of love ❤️❤️

xoxo

Bhakti 

Now

March Favorites 2016

The march heat hit us with a jolt and before we could get comfortable and say 'Hello March' t's already over. 

Just a few favorites and my March in little snippets and pictures. 

I love potpourri, fragrances, candles, wood, flowers and some soothing natural herbal tea. 

A perfect evening is an amalgamation of these senses. Here I am on such an evening enjoying my cup of cinnamon tea. Zen. Perfect! 

Summer is here and the love of flowers and the joy to be in the open grass and enjoy the greenery. Sadly it's very hot to even venture out during the day time. So here I am with my never ending love for nature. In the garden of my own mind- healing all my senses with my favorite hobby. Ever calming, ever favorite of mine. Paint like there is no tomorrow. Paint your heart out. The joy that it brings. 

Try it out. 

The love for floral designs over white bedspreads just soothes my senses in the hot months of summer.

A perfect summer day enjoying a nice read. If you wish to read the review of the book it's right here. Bhakti Diaries : The Monk who Sold his Ferrari

The days are so hot you crave for a liquid diet rather than food. But who could say no to a hot steaming plate of chicken momos with spicy chutney from the local Himalayan momos Cafe Milano. I just love this. So light yet so filling. Comfort food at its best and surprisingly not so unhealthy as well. 

Keeping myself hydrated with these infused concoctions. Infused water is super healthy, yummy and oh so hydrating. Best thing is it is so easy to make and super quick. I am having my dose of cucumber, mint, ginger and lime infused water. The health benefits of these drinks are so many to even count. For a list of these super drinks and their health benefits check out the post here -Bhakti Diaries : Summer Detox Drinks

No sooner than summer arrives it's time to greet the King of fruits and what better way than to welcome him at Falahaar with a tall glass of Mango blast. Sinful indulgence is this. Mango thick shake rather pulp with dollops of rich cream, smooth ice cream topped up with fresh cut mango. I am already in heaven. You must try it. 

I have a weak spot for a hot plate of creamy white pasta. I can gobble it any time and lick the plate clean as you all know by now. Every month there has to be one pasta favorite. This one is from cafe Milano. A veg Alfredo pasta which was super yummy and an absolute treat. Filled with veggies and mushrooms I can sheepishly say it was healthy too (grinning widely) . 

The love for Kolhapuris continue, this one is right from Kolhapur, the Mecca of magic for kolhapuris. A beautiful present and I sure loved it. Check out my nails cutely painted with summer colours. Totally summer ready feet. Ting !! 

I am wearing Colorama 29.

And just before March ended this baby arrived sitting snugly in the mail courtesy Paperboat. They sure know the way to a heart full of memories and just like that opened a bag full of sweet memories that will linger forever. I was transferred to the time when watching jungle book on Sunday was the biggest P.O.A ( plan of action ) and excitement mounted in every living room with TV blasting the tunes of jungle book on high volume. Cheering for Mowgli while gorging on Sunday breakfast. Sigh. Those simple things and simple happiness. Thanks Paper boat for giving me a peep into the innocent era gone by and rekindling old memories. Their timing couldn't be more perfect what with Mowgli the movie larger than ever coming up. 

How i love this song, Its coming in theaters on 8th of April people so be ready. yay ( a little jungle dance )

My Sunday is set with big plans of reading Jungle Book with yummy treats. 

So here did March end on a very happy note. 

How was March for you all ? Do let me know in the comments below. 

Until we meet next time. 

Stay happy and cheerful !

xoxo

Bhakti 

The Monk who Sold his Ferrari

I love reading books on life, lessons on simple living, slow living, living fully. I myself believe in these concepts.

Life is an art and the more one hones this skill it's more beautiful. 

This book 'The Monk who sold his Ferrari' by Robin Sharma does exactly that in the most simple and direct ways.
More know about Robin Sharma and his books over here and here. 

The language is kept really easy and simple and the author directly comes to the point of living life to the best of our abilities. 

This book is an old Treasure box to which I just got the key to and I dived in it to lap it all. I sure not only enjoyed it but actually enriched my mind and am trying to do the same with my life. 

Nourishing my body and soul ❤️

The author tells a story which is a crafted fable by him with a few characters and the whole plot revolving mostly around the interaction of Julian Mantle (a cut throat, high profile lawyer changed into a monk by his encounter with the monks of Himalayas) and his colleague and how his entire life changed with the help of these easy principles and how he finally found happiness and enriched fulfilment.

The fable that the Author built is loosely based on his own life and teachings that he came to learn and were useful for him. 

The book is more or less fast paced. 

The teachings are written and divided into chapters. What I love most is the short synopsis of the whole chapter at the end with tools to utilise the teaching and everything the chapter tells on one page. This really helps. It's like quick revision. 

The philosophies to live a blissful life in this book are nothing new but the teaching of the past masters which are written and presented to us in simple ways using simple tools to enhance and fulfil our life further. 

Simple teachings and wisdom which was always there, present but we always overlooked.

He presents to us tools to make our life and time more effective and fruitful. 

It's a small DIY manual for life and it is really good at that.

One may not be able to use each and every tool every day, the way the author tells us. However the beauty of the book lies in moulding these teaching to suit yourself and your life. As the author says you don't have to give away your jewels and ferarris (example) you just have to mould the teaching to suit your life and make it better in the best possible manner just as a well fitting suit.

The small stories shared, examples given and especially the quotes are very inspirational and motivating. 

One really relates to this book and the need to change our lifestyle, to get ourself out of the rat race living that we call life. 

I recommend this book to be read strongly if you haven't read it as yet (like me ). 

It's worth a read and reread. Truly belongs in your library or book collection. 

It's a true gem. 

I give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4stars out of 5 for its sheer brilliance. 

That one star gets lost due to the slow pace at times and the tools which are kind of a little difficult to apply everyday all together. But this is just a very small blip. 

This book is a classic. Please do read. 

You can also follow Robin Sharma on Facebook or at www.Robinsharma.com for his inspirational anecdotes. He is an author of 11 international bestseller. This book being his first. 

I hope this review was of some help. 

Until we meet next time. 

Stay happy and cheerful. 

Do let me know what are your views on this book through comments below. 

Also do let me know your recommendation for books in the same genre or any other, I would love to read them. 

xoxo

Bhakti 

Sunday Reads

I love to enjoy my Sunday in a laid back way.❤️

Being Ganapati Visarjan in this part of the world ( Pune, Maharshtra, India ). 

We are stuck at home due to huge Ganapati processions and blocked roads outside. So what more reason do I need to immerse myself in the world of books, while hubby loves to explore the new gadgets and his tech things.

Curled up in bed I enjoyed Reading Mrs Funnybones -- true to all the accolades it's getting, this books deserves every bit of praises and compliments and fan fare coming it's way .
I completely enjoyed reading this book thoroughly, after a long time the most entertaining book I have read.

I laughed loudly on most of the jokes, I related to it on many levels. 

Incidents narrated by celebrity author Twinkle Khanna are hilarious.
The way she  narrates the story of her house, making it real and normal like ours in the most amusing sort of ways. She presents her views on daily matters in the most entertaining non traditional ways and some age old things which never change. She does have a bright point of view in her kitty which she perfects, just like her easy fashion which comes naturally to her.
 I enjoyed her humour completely, it's not forced it just comes spontaneously and naturally.

Just taking a break for lunch, I finished the entire book at one go. It's a feel good book which is an enjoyable read from start to finish. I loved the writing style of Twinkle Khanna. 

Must read, go grab your copies now . I even gifted it to couple of friends (they loved it too) and the book sure make a great gift. 

Perfect score from my end. 👍👍 📖

This makes it more than perfect an acknowledgement by the author herself ☺️

 

Catch the equally funny launch of the book here, i am sure you wont be disappointed.

How's your Sunday going? 

What's your current favourite read? 

Do let us know, would love to know. 

Hope you are having a great weekend.. 

xoxo

Bhakti

 

Mrs Funnybones

by Twinkle Khanna

4.2 out of 5 stars   (130)

Publication Date: 18 August 2015

Paperback

  Rs. 234.00   Rs. 187.00

Sita's Sister - A Mytholigical Journey book reading at Tertulia

Tertulia hosted a book reading for Sita's Sister - a mytholigical journey written by Kavita Kane.

Yadu sankalia and Ritu Nathani read excerpts from the book and Kavita herself put light on the characters in the book, her research and answered all questions the audience had. 

Kavita Kane a name well known as the author for the best selling Karnas wife.

Kavita indeed loves mythology and it's like the unsung characters from the era gone by call to her to tell their story and she successfully does exactly that with great penchant. 

Sitas sister is a book written on Urmila better known as Laxmans wife whom he left behind for 14 years in the palace when he took exile with Ram and Sita. 

It's astonishing how characters, plots, dilemma, questions and the story which took place thousands of years ago still rings true today also. 

The questions raised by Urmila, her thinking, her life, relationships, sisterhood, love, responsibilities are beautifully sketched by Kavita. With her research as well as her prowess to write, she has given life to Urmilas character. 

I am definitely very eager to read this book. 

  

Photo credits - Tertulia and Kavita Kane page 

It was an enjoyable afternoon listening to the experts in the comforts of the cozy resto and enjoying healthy Raw Pressery  juices thanks to Carpe Diem and everyone involved. 

Do let me know how you find the book . 

xoxo 

Bhakti 

Read India - Book in every childs hand

On a regular morning there was this email sitting cozily in my inbox titled 'The Idea Caravan' contest from indibloggers as a result of their partnership with-
Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012.
for a very important cause- brilliant ideas painting a beautiful tomorrow.
This hooked me to my computer for a long time watching contestants and their ideas. The actions which were taken to bring in a change.

Ideas are the gateway to the future, umpteen possibilities, to an interesting, unimagined otherwise, beautiful and better life.

Although I was greatly inspired and admired all the other contestants, the ideology of one  
Rohini Nilekani truly resonated through me.
Rohini Nilekani is a founder and chairperson of Pratham books ( a non profit publishing house) with a motto of a book in every child's hand.

India being a country with a huge population where literacy campaigns are gaining strength due to low literacy owing to poor economic conditions in different strata's of society.
Literacy campaigns will be successful when children don't drop out of school due to lack of interest or not being able to read and therefore cant learn.
This will only develop through interesting reading material which will captivate a young readers mind motivating him/her to learn to read fluently.
People like Rohini have realized this and are acting towards the same through the Read India Movement.
There is a dearth of books available for such a vast population of children in India in so many languages. Pratham Books is working towards this.
Pratham Books has published 215 titles in English and 10 other Indian languages approximately 1500 books. Having printed over 8.5 million books, 10 million story cards and a readership of over 25 million. Most of their books are priced well below Rs 25 and hence are easy on the pocket. The books are available easily in villages and rural areas through partnering with different means and agencies, government, schools and innovative marketing. They have also got  books on creative commons, which can be read, shared, distributed, printed, saved hence helping children to read even in the areas having no access. They believe in creative collaboration and hence believe that every one can be a part of a solution and not a problem. With this mindset they invite everybody to create, retell, recreate, remix more stories on their site and help the children to read. Their vision is to reach 200 million children in India, to put 'a book in every child's hand' and believe this is possible with collaboration.

Every child has the right to that sparkle in the eye on seeing a new story book. Every child has the right to cuddle up with a book and be lost in the fantasy land. To dream, to let their imagination fly.
Every child has a right to a treasure house of memories. The joy of reading a story and its memory is sustained with one throughout the life. Living through the characters, fighting the villain, being the hero in our own fantasy land through our favorite book does make one of the most important part of childhood.
Lets do our bit in upholding this cause with Rohini and protect the childhood and its memories.
Lets give wings to little ideas and imagination which will build a beautiful future.




To know more visit on the link below ---

Rohini Nilekani http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BHqFGA78sEU

Pratham Books http://www.prathambooks.org/ We are the change, we are the solution. xoxo Bhakti