Dining with bloggers: When pen holders hold a spoon

So, in order to celebrate 3 years of 'Some Bedtime Stories' and many years of writing, I intend to throw a bash. Yes, a Gourmet dinner party in which I intend to invite everyone who is a part of the writing world.

Of course, I would love to include authors like Amitav Ghosh, JK Rowling and even Chetan Bhagat (though I’m not quite fond of him) in the guest list, but since I’m not exactly on back-slapping terms with them, I shall let them pass for the time being.

But thankfully, I am pretty much on intimate terms with my fellow bloggers who won’t be able to say no to my invite. (To quote a movie, “I’m going to make them an offer they can’t refuse!) After all, who doesn’t love free food? Plus, most of the bloggers have been feeding on free goodies from IndiBlogger and hence anything free which comes their way is expected to be lapped up immediately.  :D

On a serious note, we share a healthy camaraderie and since the theme of the party would centre around books & writers, I see no reason for them not to come.

So, without teasing your digestive hormones further, let us jump into the details:

Date of the party: The first Saturday of July, 2013

Location: At home or at a hotel room (I would decide the exact venue later. I may win a stay in an ITC hotel if KitchensOfIndia so desires)

Guests: Every blogger is invited including my personal favorites like Bushra, Meera, Saru, Richa, Kislaya, Jyoti, Tom, Nitesh, Anukriti, Stephen, Jasmeet, Anjan, Ankita, Asteria and ‘you’

Theme: Books and Authors

Dress Code: Everyone must dress up as one of their favorite literary characters. From the saintly Dumbledore to the nefarious Frankeinstein, come as you like J

Topic of discussion for ‘entertainment’: While we chomp and chew over our favorite dishes, the hot topics up for discussion would be random subjects revolving around books viz. “Our favorite books”, “Our favorite authors”, “Our plans for publication”, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Potter, Agatha, Poe

Menu: Yup, now comes the more delectable part of the post. I propose a menu which would bring water to the mouth of any bookworm. (KitchensOfIndia would be supplying me with these items. Of course, I am renaming the items to make them suit my party’s theme)

a.      Baker Street Biryani (This dish is elementary my dear)  [check sample here]

b.      Poirot’s Paneer (Eh bien :O    [check sample here]

c.        Chetan Chicken Curry (for chic lit lovers)   [check sample here]

d.      Mutton of Roger Acroyd (for those who can’t do without Agatha Christie) [check sample here]

e.      Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani Mix (for Classic lovers) [check sample here]

f.        Harry Potter Ka Hazoori Petha Halwa (strictly prohibited for muggles) [check sample here]

g.      Bond with Bukhara….Dal Bukhara….007 Dal Bukhara  [check sample here]

So, what are you waiting for! Check your calendar and mark the date! This ‘Gourmet’ party is going to be something you can’t refuse (remember my last   :O)

[This post has been written for a contest held by KitchensOfIndia in association with IndiBlogger]. 

Uff Ye Emotions Review: A cake for the chic lit lovers, but...

Book: Uff Ye Emotions

Authors: Vinit Bansal, Anjit Sharma, Abhilash Ruhela, Priyanka Dey, Saurabh Arya, C. Suresh, Pankaj Mittal, Rachna Seth, Sanhita Baruah, Stephen Anthony, Himanshu Chhabra, Drishti Dasgupta

Publisher: Mahaveer Publishers

Genre: Romance

Pages: 206

Price: Rs 139

Rating: 3.2 out of 5

Review: ‘Uff Ye Emotions’ is an anthology of 11 short stories, each written by a different author. True to the name, the stories all dabble in emotions albeit of a similar kind. Though, each story is an independent love story and most are readable, some even engaging, there is no story which attempts something fresh. Most stories suffer from cliché and explore the emotional side of young college-goers or the 21^st century MNC employees. No author dares to tell an untold story, nobody shows the audacity, or the imagination, to stitch up a romance unheard of.

The only story that takes a slightly different path and makes the reader sit up and notice is Anjit Sharma’s ‘The Soulmate’. Though it opens up with the hint of yet another boy-girl mushy tale, it soon meanders over to a different genre. A bit thrilling, a tad spooky and a touch mysterious, ‘The Soulmate’ scores because of its convoluted plot and an engaging narration.

‘Love@Platform’, the opening story by Vinit K Bansal, is also absorbing. Its opening pages are heart-tugging, and even though it loses some of its charm in the subsequent pages, its climax is definitely not a hackneyed ‘happy ending’ stuff.

‘A Date with the Fate’ by Abhilash Ruhela is an ‘okay’ type tale. It is good, but not good enough. The writing is amateurish and the story lacks that punch. One can always read it in leisure, but it is not what we call an ‘unputdownable’ story.

Priyanka Dey, a blogger who has made a mark with her poems, authors the next tale titled ‘Reminiscences’. The story has several shades and ends beautifully on a poignant note. However, Dey has inked some truly amazing poems over the years and this story does not do full justice to her talent. She is definitely a far better poet than she is a story-teller.

The book accommodates a few other stories like ‘The Intercity Express’ (by Stephen Anthony), ‘Happily Ever After’ (by Sanhita Baruah) and ‘A Path of Thorns’ (by C. Suresh) amongst others.

Almost all the stories are similar in their theme and settings (incidentally many are set inside/outside a train/railway station). While some stories may touch you, some may just make for a light read. If you feed on chic lit romance, then this book will be a ‘paisa vasool’ (money’s worth). But if you love those chaste love stories portrayed by Austen, Bronte and Mitchell in their classics, then you will be a touch disappointed with this one. With simple and not-so-impactful English and an overdose of chic romance, “Uff Ye Emotions” may not quite elicit a happy “emotion” within you.

~Ritesh Agarwal

Email: ritzy182000@gmail.com

Note: Most of the authors who have contributed in this book are my fellow-bloggers and some are even friends/acquaintances. I congratulate each of you for getting published and reserving a space in literature. The review above may seem a bit harsh to some. But as a genuine reviewer, I need to be honest with my opinions. And the entire world knows, I am a harsh critic. I give a 2-3 star rating to many of my own stories. You guys still got 3.2   ;)

Update, 14th June, 2013 - I later discovered that I had missed out on one story titled 'Happily Ever After' by Sanhita Baruah. I dunno how I missed reading it. But having realized my folly, I read it later and found it to be surprisingly refreshing. With its unpredictable plot and a well-crafted climax, it stood out and, in my opinion, is the best story of the book.
On the light of this new discovery, I allot the rating of 3.4 to 'Uff Ye Emotions'.