Friday 5 July 2019

#BookReview ; The Scent of God by Saikat Majumdar



In an elite all-boys’ boarding school run by a Hindu monastic order in late-twentieth century India, things aren’t what they look like on the surface…
Anirvan, a young student, is fascinated by the music and silence of spiritual life. He dreams of becoming a monk. But as he seeks his dream, he finds himself drawn to a fellow student, and they come together to form an intimate and unspeakable relationship.
The boys sweat at cricket and football, crack science and mathematics in pursuit of golden careers, and meditate to the aroma of incense and flowers. It’s a world of ruthless discipline shaped by monks in flowing saffron. A sceptical teacher mentors Anirvan and reveals his suspicion of this vigilant atmosphere. Does the beating of the boys reveal urges that cannot be named? What is the meaning of monastic celibacy? What, indeed, holds the brotherhood together?
Against himself, Anirvan gets sucked into a whirl of events outside the walls of the monastery, in the midst of prostitutes, scheming politicians and the impoverished Muslims of the villages surrounding the school. When the love of his life returns to him, the boys’ desire for each other push them towards a wild course of action. But will that give them a life together in a world that does not recognize their kind of love?

The Scent of God is a gay Fiction written by Saikat Majumdar & published by Simon & Schuster India. The author has also written two more novels, The Firebird & a non-fiction, College: Pathways of Possibility & a book of literary criticism, Prose of the World. He lives in Delhi & teaches literature and creative writing at Ashoka University.

The story is set in an all-boys’ boarding school which is run by Hindu monastic order, where the children don’t just study & play but also meditate & pray. Anirvan, a young boy with innumerous troubles at home but wants to be a saffron clad monk like his teachers. While he is seeking peace within himself & is on his journey to do so he is also attracted towards his friend Kajol. But things change as he gets involved in a wild range of things as he starts to give speeches for The Party. Does that mean that its the end of his quest for peace & his love for Kajol, get the book here to know,
June is known as the Pride Month & I wanted to read something which is based upon LGBTQ+ story & that’s how I came across this book. There’s already a dearth of Indian LGBTQ+ literature hence I was quite elated to know that after all this time some authors are finally writing in this genre too. The story introduces us to a beautiful scenario of an ashram filled with incense & greenery, the author set the story so well that one can just feel that they are already there. The author in a slow pace introduces us to the different angles of the story so that it kind of pulls you into it. The language used is extremely simple, the cover is gorgeous & so is the title. This surely is a one of a kind read which you shouldn’t miss.


Tuesday 2 July 2019

#Spotlight ; Shiva Stone: Hampi's Hidden Treasure by Ajinkya Bhoite


check out the schedule here

Shiva Stone: Hampi's Hidden Treasure
by 
AJINKYA BHOITE



BLURB

Mithila is a senior archeologist on the Hampi site along with two other UNESCO scientists. They decide to open some secret vaults in the underground Shiva temple. Treasures and artifacts from the 18th century make the headlines but the Shiva Stone was kept a closely guarded secret. 

When a RAW officer hires Mithila on a secret mission to safely transport an ISRO professor and the Shiva Stone to Bangalore, she knows something is up.

Why is the stone called the Shiva Stone? Why are archeologists, UNESCO, ISRO, and RAW interested in a discovery at Hampi? Why is Mithila working for RAW? Is she the only agent on the mission? 

Shiva Stone will take you on a thrilling adventure through the historical site of Hampi. Buy it now!

Grab your copy @


About the author


I am an Electronics and Telecommunication Engineer with an inclination towards reading and writing. Besides, being Engineer, I enjoy running. 

My first novel is Shiva Stone which is self-published on Kindle.

I was born in a small town called Wai, near Panchgani, Maharashtra. Moved to Satara for High School. 

Under-graduation from Pune University and Masters from California State University, Long Beach.

Currently, working as a Cloud Support Engineer for Amazon Web Services.




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