Tag: HarperCollins

Posted on

Why is Chidanand Rajghatta’s Book Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman a Must Read?

Kamala Devi Harris or simply Kamala Harris was a name that rang in almost every household in India right from the moment the elections were announced in the United States. Forget that she won, even before that the Indian subcontinent saw a magnitude of social media mentions involving her Indian Origin.


The journey to becoming the Vice President of one of the Supreme powers in the World being an immigrant is not an easy feat. The struggles, the path that held challenges all shaped her personality as a daughter of recent immigrants and becoming a woman of higher authority in the United States.


Donning multiple hats, taking care of the family and being a rigid Vice President Kamala Harris manages the role quite remarkably. Her path to winning the election was not an easy one especially with her coming from a non-traditional background.
The phenomenal woman that she is, her story is truly inspirational to all women out there letting them know that they can be bold, fearless and ambitious.


In her own words as she says,


‘We not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon … We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome; that we will rise up.’


This was part of her inauguration night address. These are not just words from speech but a positive affirmation that every woman can not only dream but can also do wonders. We will rise up should be the daily mantra that would work and make miracles in every life.


The biography describes her struggles on her path to success, the challenges she faced to see her rise on a Land that was not her native. The book Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman describes her Indian and Jamaican connect, but a deeper introspection in her Indian relativity. Being a woman of colour her ascent to occupy one of the highest positions has been explained with attention to all details involving her expedition to become a superwoman.

Why is this book by Chidanand Rajghatta a must read?

Lessons to learn from her Biography

  • Kamala’s single-minded focus and determination is a lesson to all women that they can be independent when it comes to carving their career path. Kamala not only secured admission to UC Berkley but was also capable of taking care of her studying expenses.
  • Her unshakeable confidence and zeal were proven when she owned the stage upon her winning the elections. Her speech wherein she mentioned that Women sacrificed so much for equality, liberty and justice when they are overlooked but in fact, they are the backbone of the democracy.
  • The United States had a surrogate to the President which was not seen in all these years. Joe Biden chose to make her an equal powerhouse with authority and importance by his own design and his consent. His confidence in her depicted her importance to him. It isn’t easy to achieve that. And for the First time the TIMES magazine which published the person of the year as only the President, in 2020 published the picture of the Vice president alongside the President. Such a prestigious moment to celebrate.
  • The White house communications can now never be seen without Kamala’s name or comments in each dispatch depicting her influence which is seen significantly.
  • Breaking what has long been a male preserve, Kamala went first and followed up with remarks at the Pentagon during Biden’s first foreign policy speech.
  • Kamala is clearly seen wading into foreign policy deeply with Biden’s guidance and can be evident to the world when she spoke with the Canadian and the French Presidents in her first outreach with foreign leaders. This was considered as an exclusive domain of the President until Kamala changed that she could do it too.
  • Leadership came to her as easily, and once she said, ‘Lawyers have a profound ability and responsibility to be a voice for the vulnerable and the voiceless.’” Which was the reason she chose to pursue a legal career.
  • Her decision to become the prosecutor rather than the defender raised many eyebrows including that of her mother’s. It became a much sterner test than passing her bar exam for her to convince the family and friends that her decision was wise.
  • ‘I knew quite well that equal justice was an aspiration, I knew that the force of the law was applied unevenly, sometimes by design. But I also knew that what was wrong with the system didn’t need to be an immutable fact. And I wanted to be part of changing that,’ she writes. ‘When activists came marching and banging on the doors, I wanted to be on the other side to let them in.’ Her reading about brave prosecutors opened her eyes to possibilities of working from the inside. She gained a lot of courage to fight from within and help people too.


The book quotes a lot of life instances that can serve to be a sense of inspiration that to make a change one always does not need to be on the opponent’s end but could also fight from within. One needn’t be quiet just because it is a male preserve but can serve to be the change and show that women aren’t incapable.

Posted on

Review of the secret keeper of Jaipur

The secret keeper of Jaipur
The secret keeper of Jaipur

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Alka Joshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist. Born in India and raised in the United States since the age of nine, she has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of the Arts. She lives in Pacific Grove, California, with her husband. This is her second novel.

BLURB:


Will the secret-keeper of Jaipur reveal what has remained buried for so long?
It is the spring of 1969. Lakshmi, now married to Dr Jay Kumar, is working at the Shimla community clinic. Malik has finished his private school education. At twenty, he has just met a young tribal woman, Nimmi, when he leaves to begin an apprenticeship at the Jaipur Palace. The royals’ latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema.
Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy, and favors flow from Jaipur’s royal palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema’s balcony tragically collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. Malik suspects something far darker and sets out to uncover the truth. As a young street urchin, he always knew to keep his own counsel; it’s a lesson that still serves him well. But it is only when Lakshmi, the real keeper of Jaipur’s secrets, intervenes, that things can truly right themselves

Review

A delicious engaging and a book that can get you glued is how I’d like to describe ‘ The secret keeper of jaipur’. First things first when I got my hands on this book in exchange for an honest review I was drowning in guilt because I knew this was a sequel and I hadn’t read the first book though it had great reviews. But I’d totally love to let out that the author had set the book as a standalone so it doesn’t matter if you didn’t read the first book she’s given all that you need to know who’s who. How cool is that?

Mmmm..Yes finally I had to give in to my guilt which is why it took me a long time to come up with this review. I took the plunge to read ‘The Henna artist’ and then get back to this book.

A fine transition to the second book and the perfect sequel I’d call it , I was happy that we encounter Lakshmi again here. Whoa boy, I did love how her character was sketched then and now here.

The natural healer , Lakshmi as how she is known gets married to Dr.Jay. Her helperMalik the one we all would definitely adore is all grown up and completes his education all set to step on foot to embark his journey into career. The mother and son encounter an acquaintance who is Nimmi a tribal woman, a widow and a mother of two children. She gathers flowers from Himalayan foothills and sells them . He falls in love with Nimmi, , Lakshmi is initially unhappy about the choice made by her son ,

He is sent as an apprentice to the facilities firm in Rajasthan. The cinema hall of, th the Royals is all set to open for the launch wherein a tragedy strikes on the D day, the balcony collapses and kills two people. Malik finds that the incident is due to poor quality materials used in construction and also uncovers political connections.

His mother Lakshmi on the other hand uncovers gold smuggling and knowing the dangers that would surround her close members she decides to deal it herself. Malik being in the center of the scandal becomes the keeper of secrets.

How do they get out of all this ?

The author known for her descriptive writing does not fail to create the visual imageries be it the foothills of himalayas or the sandy deserts. But what stands out to me in both books is how she portrayed Lakshmi.

That teeny tiny bit of romance between Malik and Nimmi which makes you think is it there or no..But yes can sense that but its sweet.

I’m really awaiting the release of the sequel that I surely know is going to supercede the two books.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with VoxBox and Journey Matters.

Posted on

Club you to death – Book review


BLURB:


When a hunky personal trainer is found asphyxiated to death under an overloaded barbell at the posh Delhi Turf Club, on the eve of the club elections, it is first thought to be a freak accident. But soon, it becomes clear that one of the members of the DTC – all pickled-in-privilege Dilliwallahs – is a cold-blooded killer.
As the capital bristles with speculation and conspiracy theories, Crime Branch veteran ACP Bhavani Singh is appointed to investigate the case. Together with his able deputies – ex-lovers Akash ‘Kashi’ Dogra, hottie crusader for human rights, and Bambi Todi, wealthy girl-about-town – ACP Bhavani sets out to solve a crime that seems simple enough at the surface, but turns out to have roots as deep and spreading as those of New Delhi’s famous Neem trees…
Anuja Chauhan returns with a bloody good romance set in the pulsating heart of Lutyen’s Delhi.



AUTHOR BIO:


Anuja Chauhan went to school in Meerut, Delhi and Australia. She has worked in advertising for over fourteen years and has created many popular ad campaigns, including ‘Nothing Official About it’, ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ and ‘Oye Bubbly’ for brand Pepsi. She is currently Executive Creative Director and Vice-President at J. Walter Thompson Advertising.



REVIEW:



Having read Anuja’s earlier works and a fan of ‘ The pricey Thakur girls’ having read two times, I was very eager for this book being something new that she attempted. Who said Romance authors couldn’t handle other genres. For a maiden attempt at a mystery thriller I feel this was pretty good.


An ardent fan of whodunits I was excited when I read the blurb eagerly awaiting the time to read the book. Though I couldn’t finish it at one go, yes the book is a bit lengthy say about 400 and odd pages, I finished reading in two days taking ample time.



A line up of many characters, her usual magic of rom-com thrown in as snippets keeps you glued. Though the mystery can be cracked initially, because you could zero in on the suspect, the end definitely helps in making the loose ends meet. It makes much more sense when you understand the who and whys at the end.



Leo Mathew a personal trainer is found dead in the DTC(Delhi Turf Club) on the morning following Annual Bumper tambola on a Sunday morning. The place comes under media scrutiny when the death is suspected to be a murder.



A fit, nearing sixty ACP Bhavani Singh,is appointed by the Police Chief to handle the case and sets his temporary camp at DTC. He is assisted by Padam Kumar who is on the lookout for a perfect wife. Urvashi Khurana is a first time candidate for the club President is said to have an affair with Leo who is now dead. Her husband Mukesh Mukki is the prime suspect ever since he comes to blow Leo, make his motive even more clearer.



The ACP who is deemed calm is an analytical investigator as well. His interactions with the assistant PK makes the book entertaining. Kashi and Bambi with an interesting past behind them give the investigation team access to the club to resolve the mystery. A friendly romance of the kind will they or will they not makes an interesting light moments in between the serious investigations. A love triangle to be precise would make it sound better.



A puzzle that is multi layered weaved around multiple suspects blackmail tales take you to a convincing conclusion. Anuja makes her statement subtle just like how she always does. Loved the sprinkling of hilarious Laugh out louds at many places. Also loved the Hinglish or the english-hindi accents almost throughout the book.


The hypocrisy of the society we live in also has mentions that seem like sly pokes. The cover design totally adds beauty to this thriller mystery. I could possibly give this book a visit in case I’d want to read a mystery thriller that is also light with romance sprinkles.

Thank you writer’s melon for the review copy.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE –
@Sindhu Vinod Narayan. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sindhu Vinod Narayan (Thatmadrasmom) with the right and specific direction to the original content.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.