Tag: Bookblog

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5 must read books on Indian festivals

As much as I love teaching my kids about culture and tradition, there is nothing like a good old book that can help in making them understand much better. We live in a world where kids well at least some of them would not have access to experience the essence of the festivity’s books can help them understand the reason behind the celebration came into place, how to celebrate, and what preparations need to be done.


Here are some books that I came across and I’m sure you would enjoy some of them too.


FESTIVALS OF INDIA from Sonia Mehta’s Discover India series


The book unravels the vibrant tapestry of India’s diverse festivities. The book takes readers on a journey through all the festivities. With vivid descriptions and captivating illustrations, the book brings alive each festival from Holi and Diwali.


The Author weaves fascinating stories and legends associated with each festival. Through this, the children learn customs, traditions, and the joy of coming together to celebrate the festivals.


The book is perfect for little minds to explore the country’s rich cultural heritage. The book strikes a perfect balance between information and entertainment.


FESTIVALS THROUGH THE YEAR by Rachna Chhabria


Through the eyes of twins, Natasha and Nikhil this book helps little minds explore the cultural heritage of the country and celebrate it.


Starting with Lohri in January to Christmas in December, Natasha and Nikhil explore festivals throughout the year.


The book is a treasure to cherish and revisit because of the detailed descriptions and wealth of information it contains about each of the festivals.


Young readers are introduced to rituals and joy associated with each festival along with explaining the significance.


Right from Holi to Diwali the child understands the traditions and customs.


Not only that Natasha and Nikhil record their experiences of the festivities on a blog.
Their observations add depth and authenticity to the storytelling.


AMMA, TELL ME ABOUT FESTIVAL series by Bhakti Mathur


This set is a lovely find for book readers. Fortunate to have had the chance to review these books, what caught my attention was the colorful illustrations, simple text, and engaging story narration.


Holi, Diwali, and Ramayana are the books in this series where the mother tells the children the story of how the festival came into existence.


Klaka and Kiki, the two siblings settle down for a story from Amma where she weaves a charming story on a delightful journey to celebrate Holi and Diwali.


SHE CELEBRATES


This book is an anthology of 21 stories by women across the world who are of Indian origin. Each of these stories has a backdrop of an Indian festival like Lohri, Sankranti, Teej, Onam, and Vishu to name a few. What I loved the most was the recipe at the end of each chapter associated with the festival. The illustrations were good too.


These are some of the books that had a festive background, caught my attention, and remain a favorite to me and my kids though these books were published long ago. But that’s what books are for right? To be remembered for time immemorial and to be revisited often.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘BookishCafeBloghop2024’ hosted by  Rakhi   and Samata Dey Bose .

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Review of written in the stars

Written in the stars
Written in the stars


Blurb

When all her efforts at political maneuvering, sucking up and even doing her job fail to land her that elusive promotion, Sitara decides it’s time to use the new marketing head Abhimanyu’s obsession with his horoscope to her advantage.Soon, she’s rescheduling meetings, pitching ideas and picking launch dates based on his horoscope. Except, Sitara is so focused on manipulating Abhimanyu with the career section of his horoscope that she doesn’t pay attention to the personal section. Hilarity ensues when these star-crossed signals result in Abhimanyu pursuing Sitara romantically, without realizing that the ‘signs’ are engineered coincidences in her quest to get promoted.

Soon, Sitara is faced with choosing what she really wants-a career progression or true love. She must chart her own course even if what she has in mind may not be what the stars ordained. Written in the Stars is a romantic comedy about life, love and whether the biggest things in life are the choices you make or what destiny has in store for you.

My review

Romcom is usually a genre that doesn’t interest me when it comes to reading books. I love watching movies in that genre but not books. The reason being I find them to be too cliched and kind of like too good to be true instances.

But I’ve read Divya’s other two books and when I came to know that her recent release was a romcom I wanted to give a try. Trust me that maybe if she writes more in the same genre I might also think of changing my opinions about reading that genre.

The book according to me was the kind I could finish in one go. One because the plot was intriguing, loved the characterisation and three was the mixture of elements that Divya added to keep the reader engaged.

The dialogues are penned quirky and definitely would leave you with a stomach hurts feel when you actually imagine the scene visually. I would attribute this specifically to the one’s that belong to Abhimanyu.

He is one character who will make you fall head over heels in love. Sitara the heroine is a go better. Her character portrayal is as such she is someone who will see that she gets what she wants.

The way astrology has been brought into this plot and how it’s handled sure is commendable. No sentiments hurt but it sure plays a crucial role in making Sitara manipulate by choosing dates favourable for Abhimanyu. I mean how cool is that huh!..

So does she get what she wants in her career? That definitely needs one to read the book to see where she lands.

The language as in her previous books is pretty simple and easier to comprehend. And totally no blah blah romantic dialogues that are unbelievable, Thank god.

Also love the cover design that equally portrays what should you be expecting when you read the book.

Author bio

Divya, often called ‘ baal ki dukaan’, struggled with unruly, thick, curly hair for over two decades before she realized her hair looks best when it’s left uncombed! She loves using her curls to hold the numerous pens, pencils and paintbrushes she needs while she’s writing, doodling or working. She gets her best creative ides when she’s hanging upside down, doing anti-gravity yoga. If you’re in Bangalore, you might spot her (and her distinctive curls!) with her husband Vivek. Their quest to eat bizarre foods from around the world features in her first book, Dare Eat That. Follow her at: http://www.divyaanand.in

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