THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE---By Madhumita Banerjee

I, the ghost writer, having been the avid reader that I have become over the ages, have come to postulate a theory about the extraordinary relationship some readers share with their dust jacketed companions. This theory states that there are very randomly thrown lucky instances in every reader's life, when a book chooses you instead of you choosing it.

Madhumita Mukherjee 'The other side of the table' was another of those rare defining moments that reconfirms the validity of this theory, for me.

It was just a few days back that I was browsing through FlipKart to order the much marketed hype-of-a-book 'The Other Side' by one Mr Faraaz Kazi, when Google guided me to accidentally discover this gem, sitting quietly in a silent corner of the screen. Now contrary to the high profile marketing strategy applied by the former, this book by Madhumita caught my intrigue mainly because it had a beautifully written synopsis to its credit. 

End Result: I ended up ordering "The other side of the table" and that is one choice I am not regretting.

Lines from the book blurb that managed to pique my interest:

A world drawn and woven with words...

a bond punctuated by absence and distance...

Two continents, two cities, two people...

and letters...hundreds of them...

...

................

.......................

Cut to present moment, I have finished reading the book and believe you me, I am so proud of my decision to have picked it up or like I said earlier, I have come to believe it was the book that picked me.

 Title: The other side of the table.

Author: Madhumita Mukherjee

Publisher: Fingerprint Publishers

Genre: Fiction (contemporary)

Price: Rs 195/-

Much indeed, 'The other side of the table' is a wonderfully crafted epistolary between two beautiful people that creates an equally magnificient world of heart felt emotions we all experience in the mundane affairs of life. It is a portrayal of the chastity of the platonic relation between two childhood friends separated over time and distance; Abhi, a neurosurgeon in London and Uma, who is just entering the world of medicine, back in Kolkata.
As Abhi and Uma travel their journeys together (yet apart), it is only this stamp ink communication that help them maintain their sanity in an insane world of chagrin and chaos---hand written letters to each other in which they express their dreams, desires, professional dilemmas, expatriate loneliness, personal tragedies and longings. As Uma struggles through the disappointing marriage and professional politics, it is only Abhi's experience and advice that helps her shine through. Just like Uma's non biased opinions and sturdy support help him tide many a personal crises. However, despite the incapacitating interdependence, there is an unwritten code---a line of personal space and self respect that is never crossed or allowed to be crossed. It is the dignified and mature quality of their relationship that makes you love them all the more.

As the story proceeds, you  find yourself waiting for the next letter (just like the protagonists), traveling their journey as a silent spectator--sometimes laughing at ABhi's dead pan sense of humor and comic details, while other times smiling at the mysterious fragility of their unnamed relation (which leaves you guessing...re-guessing...and finally just smiling), biting your fingernails at the intensity of the crossroads they are at, and even shedding a silent tear at some unforseen circumstances (which are best left undiscussed for fear of revealing TMI)

 Madhumita Mukherjee's writing is crisp and each letter has an air of freshness about it. The poignancy in the plot is maintained without making it seem monotonous. The subtlety of a sensitive relationship is depicted in a manner that makes the reader want to label it as a bond much larger than friendship...and yet stop reminding himself of the pristine selflessness the two have shared time and again--two people separated by miles and times...never knowing of the future of their relationship except for the silent promise that they will be there for one another whenever needed, as critics, confidantes, chroniclers, story-tellers...as witnesses to each other's life...two friends who mean everything to each other...two soul mates who help each other grow through their words and experiences, unable to define what they mean to one another for fear that no one name can suffice.

...and yet, as I put down the book, I could not help but hum a song from long ago...
"Its only words and words are all I have...to take your heart away..."

Well written Madhumita!!! :)

About the author: Madhumita Mukherjee spent her childhood in Delhi. She studied medicine from Calcutta National Medical College. She has been living in England since 2001, and is currently working as a Paediatrician there. The Other Side Of The Table is her debut novel.

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5

Signing off with love,
The Ghost Writer...

THE BAKER'S DAUGHTER

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy is a heart-wrenching story narrated in a beautiful manner.It is historical fiction set during the Nazi regime.It tells us the story of Elsie Schmidt ,a baker's daughter in Nazi germany and her life during this bleak time.We watch Elsie as she faces her life with strength and poise and how she takes some very hard decisions along the way,when her life unexpectedly changes one night.Running parallel to this story set back in time, is Reba's story set in the modern day, in the year 2000 in El Paso ,Texas.

My Views:

I loved this book.Reading about the Nazi regime always leaves me with a sense of loss.It always helps to brings things in perspective,it reminds me never to take things for granted,however trivial they might be.I loved Elsie's character in the story.The story tells us about the helplessness of the Germans and how they were blindly led to believe in the rules of the third reich.How even they come to realise the foolishness and brutality of it all.How even they feel oppressed and long for the Americans to come and capture Germany so that the war ends .I had never heard about the Lebensborn program and how they enlisted german women for the sole purpose of breeding and creating a superior Aryan race and how the children who were weak were mercilessly killed. Elsie and Reba are two different women but both follow their hearts.How Reba comes to terms with ghosts of her past and how they both march forward in life.How they learn that "the past was a blurry mosaic of right and wrong. You had to recognize your part in each of those and remember. If you tried to forget, to run from the fears, the regrets and transgressions, they’d eventually hunt you down and consume your life."
The message that is at the heart of this story is that ,"No one is good or bad by birth or nation or religion.Inside,we are all masters and slaves,rich and poor,perfect and flawed".

The only grouse I have about this book is that there is a lot of german language interspersed between and it is frustrating when you dont understand and cannot guess.
However to sum it all up,this book is a real page-turner.The real McCoy ;)(pun intended)

The Ghostwriter introduces herself...

Greetings book lovers of myriad kinds,
and wordsmiths of varied sorts...
Scrunch not your noses, twitch not your ears,
pay heed onto my thoughts...

For I am 'The Ghostwriter' here,
who travels far and wide,
on wings of fantasy in the land of words,
to which our dreams abide...

I slip away to this beautiful world,
that helps me travel light,
I run, I grow, I fly, I soar,
it offers me new insight...

I have met you there, found you dreaming,
albeit clueless of my stare,
We've gazed and sighed at printed pages,
to those ideas, our souls we've bared...

and there are those days we love to scribble,
inspired by things mundane,
a tiny bubble of happiness,
a stinging memory of pain...

and now I'm here, a humble ghost writer,
wanting to share her view,
on anecdotes loved and stories spited,
on tomes both old and new...

For I see a familiar pattern,
and we share a reader's psyche,
spending rainy days and silent nights,cuddled up with books we like...

You know where to find me, my lovelies,
so do keep visiting this nook,
and when I'm not, 'The Bibliophile',
will definitely be reviewing a book...

P.S: Thanks to The Bibliophile for sharing her nook with me. Its not everyday that people welcome me to haunt them ;)
My first book review for 2014 will be coming shortly---"The other side of the table" By Madhumita Mukherjee...
So watch the space.

Signing off with love,
The Ghost Writer...

THE DALAI LAMA'S CAT AND THE ART OF PURRING.

This is the second book in The Dalai Lama's cat series.The first being 'The Dalai Lama's' cat which was awesome to say the least.In the art of purring we see HHC's(His Holiness's Cat)  journey to self awakening and self-realisation and we too learn and grow with her.The book is simply narrated and Buddhist teachings are put forth across in a way that they are easily absorbed and understood.The story follows the life of Rinpoche (the cat)and how when the Dalai Lama goes away for a few days he asks her to investigate the art of purring and thus begins the cats journey of self discovery.There are several characters we are familiar with if we have read the first book and a few new ones are introduced.There is a simple story involving each character and you definitely learn a thing or two along the way.
My views:

I loved this book maybe even more than the first one,if that's possible.I normally don't pick up non-fiction off the shelf as easily.I am also not a cat lover but somehow this book made me feel like I was in the midst of it all.I longed to go to McLeodGanj and visit Francs cafe and meet Rinpoche. 

Serena,Sam,Franc,Chogyal were familiar to me and it was heartening to see what was happening in their lives.Rinpoche learns so much from each person ,learns that happiness is to be found in the here and now,to experience each day as a miracle,the way food affects our mood,the importance of meditation and why it is essential to cultivate equanimity.And how we are capable of a panoramic understanding and so we should do away with thinking that we have limited scope at attaining happiness.

At the end the Dalai Lama whispers the secret of happiness to Rinpoche and us with whom she has a karmic connection.

All in all this was something I will be rereading at some point in time.I had already made a mental note of that while I was reading the first book and this one is no different.

There was one tiny little thing which made me think harder though.It said that according to conventional Buddhist teaching the law of cause and effect or karma spans many lifetimes and the reason why good things happen to bad beings and bad things to good beings doesn't necessarily arise from causes they have created in this particular lifetime.That was a bit disconcerting to read.Apart from that this book was enjoyable and simple and lucid.

I thought cats were just mangy,creepy creatures but Rinpoche is definitely not that kind of a cat.

But this book is definitely the kind of book everyone should pick up.

HOW READING CHANGED MY LIFE.

This is the first book I picked up in 2014.Anna Quindlen talks about her passion for books and how she fell in love with them even as a child.She tells us about the books she has read and enjoyed and how they transported her to different places and cultures.It is a paean dedicated to the love of books.

There are several quotes in this book which really stay with you long after you have finished reading it.To quote a few:

"A book--the book that was for some reason,THE book--can be reread unchanged.Only we have changed.And that makes all the difference"


"It is like the rubbing of two sticks together to make a fire,the act of reading,an improbably pedestrian task that leads to heat and light"

"There was waking,and there was sleeping.And then there were books,a kind of parallel universe in which anything might happen and frequently did,a universe in which I might be a newcomer but was never really a stranger.My real,true world.My perfect island."

This resonates with the way I feel about books.In a nutshell ,this is a book about books and which goes on to tell us how reading can change lives.There is also a small cache of reading lists at the end of the book.

MY views:

It is an interesting book and I could relate to most of what she said.However she talks about not being comfortable with the electronic transmission of books.This was something I did not agree with but considering that the book was written way before the advent of any e-book readers I let it slide.Incidentally I read the e-book and not the actual hard copy.I liked the book as I always like to read about what other peoples personal journeys in the world of books is like.I realized that people over the world might have completely different reading choices.I did not agree when she says that some books are to be read at a particular age and no one can read them later.I don't believe that is true.Any book can be read at any point in time.Maybe you enjoy it more if it is read at that particular age but that really does not mean you cannot savor it later.

However this book lends an insight into reading.It is something which one would pick if one enjoys reading a lot.

I loved one quote in particular and the one I could relate easily to:
"Perhaps it is true that at base we readers are dissatisfied people, yearning to be elsewhere, to live vicariously through words in a way we cannot live directly through life. Perhaps we are the world’s great nomads, if only in our minds. I travel today in the way I once dreamed of traveling as a child. And the irony is that I don’t care for it very much. I am the sort of person who prefers to stay at home, surrounded by family, friends, familiarity, books. This is what I like about traveling: the time on airplanes spent reading, solitary, happy. It turns out that when my younger self thought of taking wing, she wanted only to let her spirit soar. Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home."