It happens – stories of human relationships

Book title – It happens – stories of human relationships

Publisher – Readomania Pages – 140    Language – English

Author – Bhaswar Mukherjee

Price – ₹ 206.50/- for the Kindle edition and ₹ 265/- for the paperback

Available on – Amazon.in

————————————————————————-

What is it that a human being seeks in life? What is it that connects one human being to another? What is it without which life becomes unbearable?

In a word the answer is – relationships.

We human beings are social creatures. Even if we are reclusive or introverted in nature, our subconscious tends to form associations with things around us. We tend to relate to people, events and things that unfold around us. Wouldn’t you agree?

‘It happens’ succinctly captures this dynamic as it unfolds in the lives of ordinary people, people who sometimes got caught up in things that were not of their making. Bhaswar has taken snippets from life, perhaps even news reports and woven realistic tales around them. Backed by brilliant language, the stories take you with them on mini-journeys. To me this book came across as a wonderfully aromatic broth, chock full of fragrant ingredients, which when eaten contained flavours that literally exploded in my mouth.

The book opens to a karmic dose of reality. That makes you sit up and take note. But, the very next story whisks you away to the Hindu Kush hills. Just as you visualize yourself sipping a hot cuppa there, reality strikes again and you are reminded of the brutality of life. You are reminded that for the people of Kashmir War is an everyday reality.

Bhaswar’s stories are compelling narratives with structured sentences that he has dunked in beautiful vocabulary and interspersed with powerful adjectives. As you read through the sentences you are reminded of a delicious cookie which when dunked into tea, ends up getting moistened with more sweetness.

I know, I know…I am a sucker for good language and vocabulary. But, who isn’t? There is nothing more irritating than to read through a book with poor syntax and shoddy grammar. This book held my attention from the first page and I took my time to read through the stories and savour them. The fifteen stories in the book explore the various facets of relationships such as – love, betrayal, adultery, loss, revenge, compassion, etc, by incorporating them into settings and plotlines that we can relate to.

My recommendation – if you like reading drama as a genre, this book is a must read.