pen.books.and.scalpel

Ever since I moved to Bhubaneswar for my higher studies, I have started appreciating everything I took for granted at home. Back then, I was so bored with the routine I was living, and I couldn't see how blessed I was with all those who made my life easier. Of all the things I miss the most, my home and family come first, followed by the beach walks we used to take every now and then. While Odisha is a coastal state, a visit to the beach from Bhubaneswar takes anywhere between 2 to 3 hours by road. I wouldn't say it's tiring, but spending the only off day mostly on travel is not what I wish for.  Though I miss home, I have started appreciating things in my new place, too, because that's what I have learnt now from moving cities. The one thing I love the most about this place is its greenery. The town is merged in greens everywhere, and one can see plenty of birds taking a walk by their balcony. The noise level is very low unless the speakers go berserk during festivals,...

BOOK NAME: JAMES AUTHOR NAME: PERCIVAL EVERETT GENRE: HISTORICAL/ LITERARY FICTION PUBLISHER: PANMACMILLAN  BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/James-Novel-Percival-Everett/dp/0385550367 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW If nostalgia ever had a face, it would look exactly like this book. This retelling of one of the earliest and finest classics I have read - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - has managed to keep the essence of the original work intact throughout. Though I don't essentially remember the events exactly from the original book, I could place the characters and places precisely from my remote memory. Unlike the original work, the protagonist and narrator of this book is the runaway slave, Jim, who calls himself James. James and Huck meet on an estranged island as the latter is trying to escape his abusive father after faking his own death. James, who was born a slave and has been traded more than twice, will bear no more of it as it risks him bein...

How ironic is it that in the wake of our 78th Independence Day, there began a nationwide protest by doctors condemning the rape and murder of a young resident doctor on duty and were dealt with mob vandalism and moral policing? Whose independence are we celebrating exactly? And how very conveniently this issue has been singled out as a doctor's issue rather than a women's safety issue by the media and others so that the outrage is restricted within the community got me thinking. I am shocked that a lot of people out of the medical field still aren't even aware of the gruesome incident. I spoke to many of my non-medico friends and neighbours about their non-participation, and their responses were appalling, to say the least. But I don't blame them. Some of the comments on the internet and the administration circulars issued were much worse. "Isn't she a doctor on duty? Why was she taking a nap at night in the seminar room?", "Aren't they doctors? T...

BOOK NAME: THE FABULOUS MUMS OF CHAMPION VALLEY AUTHOR NAME: ZARREEN KHAN GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS INDIA   BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Fabulous-Mums-Champion-Valley-ebook/dp/B0D6C3L21J BOOK COVER IMAGE BLURB: The trick to keeping a secret is: don't write it down. Ambika. S thinks being a teacher at Champion Valley is tough until she meets Riddhi, Giselle, Pareeta, Kainaz and Jia - the ridiculously demanding, impatient and unreasonable mums of her young students! From the boardroom to the classroom where they want their kids to shine, these women mean business. Fed up with the mums' behaviour, and caught in her own charade of trying to fit in, Ambika accidentally sets off a chain of events that shocks the mums and threatens to unravel explosive secrets. will Ambika survive this onslaught of the massive mummy egos? Will the truth set Ambika free or make her pay a greater price? Follow the lives of the Ambika and the fabulous mums as th...