Book Review : What was My FAULT?

BOOK : What was my fault?

Author : Aziz Padiwala

Published : 2015

About the author : 

Aziz is a 29 year old author, from Kuwait. He describes himself as a fun-loving and simple guy.

He start writing merely 3 years ago. One year into writing  he wrote his first novel - WAS IT MY FAULT? He oftens travels to India. His book is doing quite well in Kuwait as well as India.

PLOT :

The story revolves around Farhaan and Zoya.

Farhaan being a rather workoholic guy. He works in the field of Public relations.

At the age of 18, he moved to Kuwait to lend a hand in this father's business, with no interest in the business of garments. Soon after his Father passed away, leaving him and his mother all by themselves. It took him great deal of hardwork to reach to a high position in the field of PR.

Soon, his family gets invited to his cousin's wedding in India. He hadn't been to India since then.

He flew to India with mixed feelings.

On his first day in Kandale, India, he happen to meet a 21 year old beautiful girl named Zoya.

It was love at first site for him. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

The next day on his walk to the nearest garden, he was surprised to see Zoya.
HE mustered the courage to talk to her. Soon it began, their chain of meetings..

Farhaan was in love. He was totally into the girl but something kept burdening him. 

It was something about his past. He wanted to tell Zoya before getting into a relationship with her..
Will he tell her?
what if she leaves? what if she chooses to stay? WHAT If...
He tells her... he tells her everything. He was a divorcee... She accepts him. Their beautiful relationship starts.
Within a few days, Farhaan had to leave for Mumbai and soon after that to Kuwait.
He notices Zoya's changed attitude towards him .. It makes him desperate to see her, something had gone wrong. He leaves from Mumbai to meet Zoya...
And what happens next leaves him heartbroken.... without hope...

What I liked about the story:

The story is about the current situation. It revolves around love, heart break. Reconciliation, rejection and regret. It highlights about the current situation of the divorcees as well as many guys who go through a break up because of reasons as silly as ‘ my friends won’t approve of you’

The story is quite intriguing especially from chapter 9

There were moments when I wanted Farhaan and Zoya to express their love for each other.
It clearly highlights the changes in the attitude of people in  love, how childish and happy they feel at times, how they can’t stop thinking about each other. Its young love!
The Writing language is quite simple and easy to grasp.

Word by me :

Well, I wanted more of the story. I didn't want it to end so soon. I wanted the end to be more of a romantic one. The ending for me was quite abrupt. Farhaan should have taken the leap of faith. Come on, Aren't we humans after all?
As the writer says, The story is not about a Farhaan or a Zoya, its about the current situation, how love is still status symbol and not merely simple as it should be.
What was Farhaan's fault? He was a divorcee hence was misjudged. Does he have to be abide by the tag  society gave him? WHY? Why are there different set of norms for singles and married?
Its sad that the society fails to give importance to things like love. Why should it?
We are never taught to love. We are taught to hate. How? Well, I have heard people say I hate him or I hate her, but love? nah! Love comes at the cost of society's approval. You can't love someone the SOCIETY doesn't approve of.
Well, its important to realize that if love can come with failures, stupid things, bad habits,then it can definitely come with a complicated past. Love doesn't judge.

I would recommend this book to 17 years plus audience. The book clearly makes us question the attitude of the society. It surely makes us put our thinking caps on.

Poetry: The girl who got raped 2.

This is the second episode.

I was 15 then
I am 18 now
And all you say after meeting me is 'I met a rape victim, wow'

Oh society you make me smile
Wanting social awareness and acting like all crimes are fine

You are angered by rapes and offended by murders.
You post is all on social media
And act as supporters

Thousands of pending cases
When questioned, you give us
'I feel sorry for you' faces.

I live in a society
Where its okay to get raped
Its casual to be eve teased
Its random to be thrown acid on
Humanity, where are you? Gone?

What's not okay is
Me,  abusing
Or asking for a condom at a chemist's shop.
For I'm a girl
I should be only busy with self grooming

You think I'm a showpiece to you're eye?
Say that once more
I'll friendzone you and also make you my bhai

They say, she smokes, she drinks, she wears shorts clothes.
Why wudnt she get raped.
Clearly she called for it

You speak stupid
You call for being shot in your head.
Oh wait, I saw you picking up on that woman,
Are you sure, you don't want her in your bed?

You want to fuck a woman
But marry a virgin
You throw acid on her,
Clearly you can't face rejection
You call her a slut
Because she wouldn't sleep with you
You desire only her
Oh yeah She's out of the blue

I looked up the dictionary's to find words equivalent to 'slut' for a man
There are none
Oh patriarchal society
You think women are objects of fun?

Its happened to a saree
Its happened to a burqa
It was fixed by their parents
Under the concept of arranged marriage
A dignified way for a life of prestige.

My sisters are getting raped too
No full time coverage of it on media
Rather a small line moving at the end of the screen
What's being covered above is
Its mandatory to give protection to cows

The rapist didn't rape my body
He raped my mind too
He didn't fuck my vagina
He fucked my soul too
Yet I forgave him
For he is gone.
What about this society
The society that violates me everyday,
For I'm forged of steel too
I am here to stay.

Poetry: The girl who got raped.

Hey guys. This is an episodic poetry.
The first episode is a story of a girl who gets raped, the changes she faces and how the society labels her.
The second episode is the rant of the girl speaking about the ills of the society and coming to the conclusion that she'll fight back.
Here's the first one:

I walked down the street evryday
To school it was the shortest way.

I went on foot to save my pocket money
For I could buy myself a stuffed bunny.

I walked down the street with my friends
They were amazing I must commend.

It was our usual way back from school
Unless we wanted to roam around and break some rules

That day I took the street alone
We had a fight last night over the phone

Little did I know I was being followed
All my carefree attitude, I quickly swallowed.

I walked fast, I walked faster
The footsteps came close
They came closer

They very next thing I remember is waking up in a dumpster
Alive. Sadly
My body, it was paining badly
I bleeded from places, I shouldn't be openly talking about
I understood what had happened.
I understood it without a doubt

I couldn't move
So I lay down there
Till somebody found me
How will I face anyone?
They will judge me
Oh! I should've died but I survived.

Unfortunately! We get only a single life
Now I'll never be someone's daughter or someone's wife

They found me after many hours of searching
My condition, soul crushing

An FIR was launched.
They took me to the hospital
Where they again had me naked for a medical examination
Again I went through humiliation.

I hadn't seen my parents yet
They'd still love me
It wasn't my fault, I know they'll get

When I saw them
There faces were filled with fret
'Why did we send her to school?' Being their only regret

My family didn't see me and neither did my friends
Everything changed that moment
I couldn't apprehend

For days I got blamed
For days I couldn't look at my body
Facing it all , it felt like hell
Every moment I wanted to yell
It wasn't my fault I wanted to tell

After months of searching
They found my culprit
He was no familiar face
When I asked him 'why'
He had no reason but lust
His actions shattered my soul into dust

We were not rich
We couldn't fight the case
He got out on bail
What had happened, from his mind he had erased
He even got married and lived with grace.

I had to cover my body full
And my face with a veil
I bet even dead people got treated with respect.
In his lie, I was forced to live
Having a soul yet dead
Acquaintance was all I craved.
Soon the society named me 'the girl who got raped'
The girl who got raped.

Poem: It does'nt matter

You felt broken
You felt lost
You felt unworthy
Guess what ?
It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter to people
It doesn't matter to life.
All that matters is what you did to end that ongoing strife

You felt like a failure
You felt lost
You felt without hope
Afterall at every point  life isn't so dope.

But you stood there anyways,
Confused, lost and alone.
With the sole purpose of finding your home.
Days went by and so did the nights
You hung in there.
I know it wasn't a delight.

It didn't matter what you had lost
It didn't matter what you previously were
It didn't matter what you felt
All that mattered was what you had become and  with new situations how you dealt.

New level of life.
Next level of you.
I know Time flew.
All that ever matters is what you are;
What you choose to do
Your actions speak volumes of you.

You stood there, with anxiety
You stood there with fear
You stood there without knowing if the end was near.
I couldn't be more proud
That's what separates you from the crowd.

You wanted to give up
You wanted to light yourself on fire
Instead you revoked your soul with your inner desire.
You started slow but stayed long.
You felt weak at first but came out strong.
You continued without any second thoughts
With full strength you fought.

You won.
Oh you won!
Finally proving you are not a zero
For you decided to become your own Hero.

Book review : Half girlfriend

Book : Half girlfriend.
Author : Chetan Bhagat


Half girlfriend is a modern age romantic novel based on

 the unclear nature of relationship between a boy and a girl,

something more than friends but not in a relationship.

Modern age is strange because people find someone they like , fall in love but won't consider it a relationship. People need time to figure out what type their relation is. I am sure all of us has been here.


Chetan Bhagat commented, "Half girlfriend, to me, is a unique Indian phenomenon, where boys and girls are not clear about their relationship status with each other. A boy may think he is more than friends with the girl, but the girl is still not his girlfriend. Hence, I thought we needed a term like

 'Half girlfriend'. Because, in India, that is what most men get."

PLOT :

This is a story of a boy Madhav Jha coming from a rural background, taking admission in St Stephens and falling in love with a modern, rich delhi girl, Riya Somani. 

Both Riya and Madhav entered the college through sports quota. 

Both were good at basketball. They get to know each because of their game and in the process Madhav falls in love with Riya. However, He demands to get physical and Riya decides to leave. She later marries her best friend meanwhile Madhav decides to go back to Bihar and help his mother to run a school. He then happens to run into Riya and she helps him get the Bill Gates fund for his school.

She leaves faking that she has lung cancer and has about 3 months to live.

After three years,  through the revelations in her journal Madhav sets out on his journey to new New York to find the love of his life.

What I like about this book?

Well this book is quite FILMY. There is a lot of drama. There are a lot of emotions. There is a Friendzone. There are lies.There are Truth. There is 'judaai'.  There is the search for someone you love. There is the hope of finding them. There is fighting for someone you love and ofcourse a happy ending 

Well, The novel is slow at the start, the problems of coming from a rural background to a high class school are highlighted. However when he uses the words " deti hi toh de varna cut le" makes me feel a little disgusted and question the  mentality of rural people or even men.

Anyways, the books picks up its graph after the fight, it actually re-intrigues us when Riya and Madhav meet again. Also the climax is amazing. I wish real lives had such endings too.

However I find it too melodramatic at some points. I'm sure a lot of people might not.

Word by me :

Well, if romance is your genre then must read. An 'okay' story I would say.

I personally did not want to read it till I read the first half of the book.

Try your luck with it. I find the title that over hypes the book.

I would suggest an audience of 18 years up for this book.

Well, enjoy reading it.

Book Review: The Alchemist

Book : The Alchemist
Author : Paulo Coelho

Plot :

Its the story of a young shepherd, Santiago, who is disturbed by the same recurring dream. One day he decides to see a fortune teller. She interprets the dream as a prophecy and suggests him to find the treasure.
Santiago sets out on his journey to find a treasure in the pyramids of the Egypt. On his way, he meets The king of Salem, the love of his life- Fatima, an englishman and an alchemist.
Each imparting various lessons for him to learn.
The story revolves around the saying, "what you desire passionately, the universe conspires for it".

What I liked about this book ?

This book is quite thrilling. Once you are intrigued, you won't get up to do anything else.
I personally was so intrigued, I finished reading the book in 4 hours straight.
So the plot is written Allegorically. It revolves around various life lessons.

l. The law of attraction - if you desire something, the universe conspires to make it into reality.

2. Leave your comfort zone
The shepherd leaving his town to travel places to find the riches, gives us a fair idea about the risks one needs to take to achieve something.

3. Change is good
 It also gives us a fair idea about CHANGE.
Change is difficult, change is scary but finally it leads to something better, all we need to do is persevere.

4. Never give up
  Santiago hangs in there. He gets back up after facing all the downfalls.

5. Keep moving forward
 There were times when Santiago had nothing to look forward to, he was sad, he didn't know where he would end up, with all the mixed emotions He kept moving forward.

6. Have faith in your journey


There are a whole bunch of life lessons to take up from this book.

Word by me : 

Well, I would suggest an audience of 17 years and above to read this book.
It really sends chills down my spine with its thrill.
Also, it has a lot of lessons to take. Being brave,courageous, fearless, being a few of them.
 This book surely motivates you to leave your comfort zone and strive to be something better, someone better.

The day I fell.

The day I fell, I wish I could yell,
I didn't know how to get up
I didn't know how to move
Everything went numb.
I got stuck.
Stuck Into what I call 'The zone' where you have to travel alone..
The more I stayed there, the more I sunk,

I sunk into memories,
memories of me,
Of what I was, what I wanted and what I had become.
It filled me with fear and resentment
It hurt,
it was lonely as hell,
oh I wish I could yell..
The more I stayed there,
the more I sunk.

I lost my smile;
I lost my dignity and  my worth ,
Everyday It took a part of me,
everyday I lost something new,
The 'me' I thought I was, was no longer there,
I searched for myself everywhere..
In places I most visited, in sites I most loved, in books I most read,
I was meant to be no where..
I stayed there longer, with no soul, unhealthy body and mind
To everything else, I had turned blind.

My ship sank.
So I learnt to swim,
found the shore.
Explored new lands, wishing everything was in my hands.
I felt hollow,
Many new truths I still couldn't swallow.

Until one day,
I don't know what changed. I asked myself;
How long was I going to be stuck here?
Forever? Hopeless and desolated?
Is this what I was?
Suddenly, I felt empowered.
I found myself filled with willpower.
I found my confidence,
I found my purpose,
I laughed, life - aren't you a circus?

I built a new ship, set the sails high.
It was time I bid the zone a goodbye.
On my last walk there,
I found my soul, resting near a river,
The river of hope.
My body as healthy as new, no wonder time flew.
Estacy filled my veins.
Indeed a medicine to all my pain.
I asked my soul, "where had she been?"
"I never left," she replied,
"I was waiting for you to find me,
besides hope I reside."

I was built anew.
With pieces of a new puzzle.
Oh they made my soul dance, waiting for the new 'me' to be given a chance.
The loss I felt earlier were the parts of me I longer needed.
I laughed on remembering, back then how I pleaded.
I looked for myself everywhere
I forgot to look within.
Funny how It's true,
Salvation lies within.
Salvation lies within.

Book review: The secret

Book : The Secret.

Author : Rhonda Byrne

What this book is about?

Who doesn't want to be successful?
you do, don't you?
Well if you dream big you need to act big.

THIS BOOK IS THE REAL DEAL FOR YOU.
This book gives you techniques to properly channelize your energy towards your goals.

It covers various aspects such as attracting money, relationships. health and the most important - you.

It basically revolves around the limitless power of our mind - The law of attraction.

How to use it for our personal gains.

What I liked about this book?

First of all its quite REAL, nothing from a different world.

The writing is precise and impacting. It was so impacting that I didn't wanna stop reading it.

The book is motivation in itself. This book also enumerates a lot of real life examples which makes it quite legit. The techniques it shares are easy to follow. It reminds us time and again about the endless power of our mind. 

Word by me :
This book is the MOTHER of all other motivating books.

Well, if you are an ambitious person or someone who is constantly low because of the ups and downs in life, you need to read this book. You'll learn to direct your energy towards the positive. I myself have followed these techniques as I am someone who feels lost time and again and needs a push every now and then. I would urge you to read it and most importantly USE it. If I can change my life, so can you.

What is it about writing..

I don't know what is it about writing that I keep coming back to it.
I first started writing, ofcourse writing 'seriously' if you would call it, around 3 years ago. I was depressed I had so many emotions running in my mind. I was a moderately expressive person back then.
Depression because I had started taking everything too seriously.
So depression first started the addiction.
Then It moved on to writing for magazines, or even writing my hosting scripts.
I wrote when I was heartbroken
I wrote when I was in love
I wrote for the person I loved
I wrote for my family.
And now I am back at square one. Starting again from the stratch,
With my addiction - writing.
I know it's going to be my let out.
What's yours?