My First Title Now As E-Book

My first title ‘The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories’ that was released in April last year is now available as an e-book.

This book is a collection of 11 tales inspired from various shades and areas of life. While some carry a lighter tenor, others show varied side of human psyche and relationships as seen from a different angle.

It can be previewed and purchased online from the following stores-

Kobo

Apple iBooks

Amazon

Inktera

For ratings and reviews, please visit this book’s Goodreads Page.

TWT Review

Thank you dear uncle Ashok Prasad for this review of 

'The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories'  :) 

'Before I embark on reviewing this volume,let me make a declaration. Ankita is known to me and I treat her like a daughter. I have been a witness to her growth in the literary circles and it was a matter of enormous personal satisfaction and pride. to note that her first volume of short stories has been released . If therefore ,to some,if this review is lacking in total objectivity,I humbly plead guilty.

Debutante story tellers often tend to start off with diffidence and it is only with the passage of time they muster requisite confidence to be able to convey their message with elan. One of the strongest aspects of this volume is that Ankita does not suffer from this handicap. She retains a flow through all the stories and I doubt if anyone ,unless so advised, would be able to decipher that this is her first effort. For that attribute alone, she needs to be commended.

The 11 stories in this compilation cover different situations but Ankita has been able to deal with them with equal flourish. By far the most moving of the stories was The Wedding Trousseau -in terms of the plot, the narrative,the flow ,the excellent and eminently readable vocabularic selection and a thoughtful conclusion.

One other story The Site Visit dealing with the issue of  adultery was perhaps the most moving but its conclusion left the reader wanting to know more. Leaves was another very commendable effort dealing with a day to day situation that most can identify with in a deeply analytical manner.Perhaps Ankita should have taken up psychotherapy! My own edited compilation viz Literature and Psychotherapy has one story which deals with a very similar theme but Ankita does it here with more sophistication.

She also has not fallen into a trap that debutantes often do i.e. meticulous concentration of quality in the earlier stories which tapers as the book ends.Her last compilation Just Perfect is an example of an author who has striven for uncompromising quality control throughout.

I can foresee a budding story teller with abundant promise. I wish her the very best!'

A Virtual Cup Of Coffee!

Sometimes having coffee can be such a wonderful experience! However, here I am talking about 'A Virtual Cup Of Coffee' with madam Geetashree Chatterjee that was an interview that we thoroughly enjoyed. 

I am posting the link of our wonderful chit-chat regarding publishing, writing and my book 'The wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories' along with her lovely review. Do check out!

Over A Virtual Cup Of Coffee and  Book Review

Excerpts from 'The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories'

Presented below are two excerpts from my book 'The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories' that has been recently released. I hope you will like them!

1) Her face had acquired a kind of ruddiness and hair too appeared somewhat darker in the drowning evening sun and along with the slight upward slant of her eyebrows, her irritation was evident. “Where to, madam? What is all this? I have been taking this crap for months now. Many times, I notice young boys hovering around our house,” the woman thundered in a tone that clearly intimidated the timid girl who stood there visibly embarrassed. “Show me what this one has given you.” She snatched the paper bag from her thin hands and ripped it open in the manner of a suspecting wife, and started pulling out all the things, one by one.

“Auntyji, I…” Poonam began. Her heart was pounding. She was a pretty young girl of seventeen, clad in a simple blue salwaar-kameez. Nervousness clearly floated in her small kohl-lined eyes, as dark as her neatly plaited hair.

“I knew, you would have a ready answer. Did you tell your father?” said the lady putting all the things on a rusted three-legged stool lying in a corner.

“Because I am …” Poonam said taking a step back, her heart still beating faster.

***

2) However, that young woman came there pretty much regularly and sitting under the shade, would mutter something with a bowed head. She would come sometimes in the lazy afternoons that put the world in a slumber, when trees and birds did not bother to rustle and chirp, or sometimes in the late evenings when retired flocks would fly home and breeze hummed many tunes solemnly.

She used to cry a lot initially, the old watchman would tell those who bothered to listen or ask out of idle curiosity. Stroking the silken cloth whose borders would shimmer in the bright sunlight peeping indiscreetly from the thick mango blossoms, the young woman would lean over it and rested or rubbed her cheek over it a few times. This had become her ritual that she followed religiously, much to the curiosity of many a folk.

One fine morning, when the dew was still fresh on the soft grass and the washed leaves danced in delight with the placid air, she came and sat down in her typical quietness. 

The book can be purchased at a discounted price (with COD) from -

Flipkart 

Buybooksindia

Amazon India 

Happy Reading!