Tag Archives: book

Islands in the stream is my first paperback that is a compilation of a few selected poems. This book is divided into two sections and contains 48 poems in total. The first part is titled ‘nature’s rhapsody’ and it contains poems that sing odes to nature in its many forms. The last two poems of this section pay homage to the peace that descended once the streets went silent due to the pandemic (covid-19). The second section is titled ‘Life’s foibles’ and represents life, its desires, its follies and human nature.

This is the kind of book you should pick up as a late night read when you are sleep deprived. You pick it up thinking – I am just going to read a few stories and then fall asleep - but, you end up staying up longer than intended to finish the book because your fingers are itching to turn over the page to see what the next sheet with unravel.

The book is set in Ooty or Ootacamund as the hill station was known at that time and explores the life of four friends who band together and choose to call themselves the Zenana. This is one part that I am sure most of us will identify with – friendships and coating ourselves in a faux sense of security by giving the relationship a name. Haven’t we all done that, at one time or the other, in our school lives? But, does that faux sense extend to envelop us in security, in reality? Well, that is what the book explores via tragedy and helplessness over that one tragic incident.

The stories are like a large bouquet, tastefully decorated with myriad hues and encompassing in their bosom the fragrance of emotions that leave us with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

The book is a compilation of fifteen brilliant short stories. The stories encompass multiple genres.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word - 'shattered'? Do you think of glass shattering? Or, perhaps the word brings to mind the shattering of lives? Well, if its the latter than you are not far out in your assessment of the theme of this book. But, that is where the similarity ends. This is not a book about sadness, despair or emotional angst. No! This is a book about silver linings and vanquishing your demons after picking up the shattered pieces of your life.

HIRAETH is neither a book nor a compilation of short stories. NO! HIRAETH is a river of emotions that gently flows into the crevices of your heart. It seeps in through the open pores of your skin and it envelopes you like a gossamer veil. It stays with you like a haunting melody that keeps niggling. It is an avalanche of warmth that cascades down to deluge you.