Urban Shots: Bright Lights - Paritosh Uttam (Editor)

Urban Shots: Bright Lights is a collection of stories written by various Indian bloggers and writers like Ahmed Faiyaz, R. Chandrasekar, and Malathi Jaikumar. 
The collection contains a total of 29 stories contributed by 21 authors. 
It has been edited by Paritosh Uttam, a popular writer himself. 
The stories  at once delightful, intense and disturbing, each narrated with an honesty of voice that peels off the layers of contemporary India to reveal colorful and thought-provoking glimpses of the intriguing labyrinth that forms urban India.
The highlights of the stories are the myriad interesting characters that they present - young, old, happy, talkative, infatuated, insecure, secretive, rebellious, and submissive. 
A seven-year-old girl who wishes to get married, a ten-year-old one stalked by painful memories of her mother’s death, a gabby filmmaker-turned-cab-driver, a nosy neighborhood lady, an unsuccessful salesman, a besotted 27-year-old, an ill-tempered retiree, a submissive wife who has suffered enough, a struggling artist, a grumpy literature-loving teacher - the collection features numerous characters, the likes of which readers are sure to have encountered in their own lives at some point of time.
For example in the humorous 'Maami Menace', Sathyavati racks her brains to escape an overbearing elderly lady; the charming 'Good Morning Nikhil' follows a baby's antics around the house; and in the curiously touching 'Hot Masala', Mr Kamath hatches a wicked plan to show his family better days. 
Through narratives that are happy, sad, dreamy, bitter, funny, and magical, the stories cover the entire spectrum of human emotions. From romance to suspense and from drama to comedy, the collection offers a little bit of everything that makes contemporary urban India the colorful complexity that it is.
Filled with compassion, wisdom and gentle humour, the stories in this anthology are as much about urban India as they are about the flawed people who inhabit it.
[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com  and www.flipkart.com] 
Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 3.19 out of 5 (58 Ratings; 6 Reviews)
My Rating:  3 out of 5
My Comments: By and large a decent collection of short stories especially considering the fact that most of them are penned by part-time or first-time authors. Quite a realistic depiction of urban Indian life in these stories. 
Buying Options 
Buy from Amazon.com  Buy from Amazon.in  Buy Kindle Version
(Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the FREE Kindle app for smartphones and tablets.)

A Brigand for a Night and Other Tales - Madhavi N. Gunasheela

The short stories in this book span different genres from sagas to comedy to horror. 
Set in different time frames in both urban and rural settings, it makes for a combination of sorts. 
The author, having experienced an amalgam of cultures, has fashioned a potpourri, infusing the mystical east into the discriminative west. 
Prevailing social concerns and common Indian traditions have been played out to question the readers' views and will empower them to adopt a new mirror for reflection of outdated societal values and ways. 
Women play the lead role in few stories, indicating the author's strong need to highlight issues uniquely known only to women. 
An occasional international backdrop emphasizes the coziness of our global village and shrinking boundaries. 
Humor sprinkled generously as a tasty topping ensures the reader of a perpetual smile. 
Every grim thought uncovered amidst hilarious plots leaves the reader laughing at the otherwise dark circumstance. 
Light and easy to read, this book would be an ideal companion for a rainy afternoon or a lazy Sunday. 
It would transport you to different worlds at a dizzying speed, leaving you wanting to quickly return to relive the journey of the protagonist.

[Book Description Source: www.amazon.com ] 

Ratings
Goodreads Rating - 4.5 out of 5 (2 Ratings, 1 Review)

My Rating:  4 out of 5.  


Buying Options 
  
Buy from Amazon.com  Buy from Amazon.in  Buy Kindle Version
(Anybody can read Kindle books—even without a Kindle device—with the FREE Kindle app for smartphones and tablets.)

Madhouse: True Stories of the Inmates of Hostel 4 IITB

Editors:       Urmilla Deshpande, Bakul Desai
Published:    2010
Publisher:    Westland Ltd.
Paperback: 358 pages



Almost everybody  who has lived in a college hostel  will say that those were the best years in his/her life. We nostalgically remember those days and talk about it when we happen to meet our hostel mates after a long time. But the inmates of Hostel 4 IITB (Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai) have gone beyond just remembering and talking about their tenure in the hostel. They have collaborated to collect their reminiscences and create a book out of it. And they managed to convince a professional author Urmilla Deshpande who happens to be one of the inmate's wife, to edit the book.


The result is a book that is authentic, hilarious and takes you back to the good old days in a student's hostel. The anecdotes in this book are roughly from the period 1975-85, when the life was not gadget driven like the present times. They strike a chord with any hosteler since they touch upon areas like - Ragging, Inter-hostel competitions, Smoking & Boozing sessions, friendly pranks and fights, Hostel Mess, Movies (Clean & Pornos), Music, Girls & Games - which one can easily relate too. I can vouch for it because I myself had been a hostelite (though not in IIT-B) during that era.


There are some unusual and unique stories also - for e.g. a Arun Kaul  riding a horse to go to attend lectures; another one is about  Bakul Desai meeting   the don Vardarajan Mudaliar to organize an elephant for an inter-hostel competition.


Manohar Parriker (ex- CM of Goa), Madhu Pandit Dasa (President, ISKCON-Bangalore) and Subrah Iyar (Founder  & CEO - Webex) are some of the distinguished inmates of the Hostel 4 IITB.  Reading about  their exploits during their hostel life makes an interesting reading, especially the one about Madhu Pandit Dasa's travel in a suburban train.


It would have been better if this book had a short title for every anecdote (some anecdotes do have them) and an index of  names of the persons mentioned in the anecdotes. This would have made locating the portions you want to read much easier. And believe me many of the stories are worth a re-read !


Maybe some enterprising guy can make a movie out of this book too. It might give the blockbuster 3 Idiots a tough competition.


Overall a MUST READ book for anyone who had lived in a student's hostel ! I thoroughly enjoyed it. 


P.S. I only wish I and my batchmates from KREC 1984 batch also get together to write such a book. Surely we will also have lots of similar interesting tales to tell !


Links:

• Madhouse Musings - This blog has some stories which did not make it to the book, but nevertheless gives a you a feel of what to expect in the book

Bat, Ball and Boundary - A Cricketer's Companion

Compiler:   Shelley Klein
Published:   2001
Publisher:    Michael O'Mara Books Limited
Hardcover: 180 Pages


Cricket over the years has become a very fast-paced, hectic and commercialized game. This anthology of  cricket writings takes you back to an era when it was a more leisurely sport. It has over 30 odd pieces spanning nearly 175 years (1807-1982) making a very delightful and interesting read for all the cricket lovers especially those in their 40s and above.


The authors featured in this anthology include  - Lord Byron, Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, E.W. Hornung, P.G. Wodehouse, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Neville Cardus, Don Bradman.


The three of my favorite selections from this book are:


1. A Bowler's Innings - E.W. Hornung (circa 1900) : A moving story about a dying bowler who was the most popular player doing his prime.
2. The Story of Spedegue's Dropper - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1929) : An amusing tale about a Tom Spedegue and his spectacular and unconventional bowling feats.
3. The Cricket Match (An extract from the book England, their England) - A.G. Macdonell (1933) - A hilarious account of a village cricket match.


 Extracts from some other pieces:


1. 'Life is  simply a cricket match - with temptation as bowler. He's the fellow who takes nearly every boy's wicket some time or other. You see every boy has three wickets to defend. The first is Truth, the second Honor, the third Purity.' - (From Baxter's Second Innings- Anonymous, 1892)


2. 'But one beauty of cricket is that, if you cannot play it, you can at least look on and talk very learnedly, and find faults with the captain, showing how you would order matters if you were consulted.' - (From Introduction to Richard Daft's Kings of Cricket, Andrew Lang, 1893).


3. ' Cricket is a very humanizing game. It appeals to the emotions of local patriotism and pride. It is eminently unselfish; the love of it never leaves us, and binds all the brethren together, whatever their politics and rank maybe. There is nothing like it in the sports of mankind.' - - (From Introduction to Richard Daft's Kings of Cricket, Andrew Lang, 1893).


4. 'Sometimes a conflict may arise between the desire to please the public and the need to adopt an unattractive or unpopular policy. It can be most disconcerting if the public is clamoring for action and the captain feels it necessary to instruct his men to 'dig in'.  It isn't always pleasant trying to please 50,000 spectators, fifty journalists and ten other players. Sometimes I think the public would do well to ponder that captains are normal,sensitive human beings, striving so hard to do the right thing. They are not a race apart. Public support is a great tonic when the going is hard.' - (From Farewell to Cricket, Don Bradman, 1950)

Multiple City - Writings on Bangalore

Editor:        Aditi De
Published:   2008
Publisher:    Penguin Books India Ltd.
Paperback: 350 Pages
Buy from Amazon.com
Readers in India


51 short pieces of writings with a common theme - Bangalore, cover the entire life span of the city right from the days of its foundation being laid by Kempe Gowda to its current transformation into IT Capital of India.
Selections (both originals and translations) from a wide variety of literary genre - stories, poems, plays, articles, book extracts, blogs etc. are employed to convey the multi-faceted, multi-cultural nature of Bangalore.


Some of  the notables ones:

• The legend about the origin of the name "Bangalore"; 
• An historical account of Battle of Bangalore fought between British army and Tippu Sultan's forces near what is now Ulsoor Gate; 
• Translation of the Kannada song " Beledide Noda Bengaluru Nagara" from the1966  film 'Manekatti Nodu'.
• Century-old photographs of South Parade Road (Now M.G. Road), Commercial Street; Bull Temple; 
• Several nostalgic memoirs about  life in Cantonment, Gandhi Bazaar, Majestic; 
• An account of Mahatma Gandhi's stay in Bangalore;
• An article about Sir C.V. Raman on the role he played in Bangalore's emergence as a Center of Science; 
• An essay on budget restaurants serving high quality food - Kadambam, MTR, Adigas, Vidhyarthi Bhavan etc.;
• A biographical piece on Veena Doreswamy Iyengar who lived in Malleswaram;
• Articles about the  IT and Call Center business in Bangalore.

The authors  featured in this anthology include - R.K. Narayan, U.R. Ananthamurthy, P. Lankesh, Shashi Deshpande, Geeta Doctor, Winston S. Churchill, Anita Nair, Ramachandra Guha, Rajmohan Gandhi, Mahesh Dattani, William Darlymple and Thomas Friedman.


In short this anthology  is a sumptuous buffet spread of delicious dishes prepared by Master-Chefs to suit every palate. A must read for every  present, past and aspiring  citizens of Bangalore !