Just Married - Please Excuse by Yashodhara Lal

Just Married – Please Excuse.

 This book is first time attempt by Yashodhara Lal and a wonderful one at that!!

The catchy title of the book does full justice to the fun-filled, roller-coaster journey of life after marriage between two people who are as different as chalk and cheese. Serious yet humorous tale of a couple adjusting into their newly married life enthralls the readers to keep their nose into the book till the ending. The love cum arranged marriage between Yashodhara (Y) and Vijay(V) with an extremely short period of getting-to know-each other of about 3 months is filled with cute and the not-so-cute moments. Y being an uptown, modern delhite while V being a rustic, conservative chap go through a roller-coaster ride in the initial years of their marriage. It is like a story of that next-door couple and you ll be able to relate to many incidents narrated vividly in the book.

The story starts with Y and V trying to adjust with each other in Bangalore where they both are working full time. I loved the incidents where in-laws of Y behave so understanding and supportive. I could almost relate to myself when Y ‘s mom-in-law prepares tea for the guests who meet Y for the first time and then secretly call her to take the tray outside for them behaving as if she prepared it!!! Y searching for “sticky” thing to make rotis with, leaving their cycles without lock, sheer misunderstanding while planning to buy land- all this and more snippets from their life will make you roll in laughter.

The Language of the book flows smoothly and is presented in an easy to comprehend manner. The day-to-day happenings have been elaborated lucidly. The best part is that this book is not just another run-of-the-mill story of boy meets girl and lives happily ever after. A welcome breather from the various chick-lit books that have crowded the market, this book promises not just a nice read but also provides the practical tips useful to married couples as well as couples in a live-in relationship. The journey of how the arrival of a baby can wreak havoc on a relationship is well described and then nicely tackled too. The book encompasses a gamut of emotions ranging from pits of despair to heights of ecstasy. You can actually “feel” and “see” their lives.

However, an incident where V nurses Y when she is ill and tries all sort of home-made concoctions to cure her is a bit too much as I was expecting them to consult a doctor!!! Also, the incident where a rumour spreads in the building where they lived resulting in a small crowd outside is a bit far-fetched. However inspite of these incidents, this book is a must-read. I would recommend it to every male and female as this book has something for both the sexes. 

This book is sure to evoke emotions of a happily ever-after marriage with a few bumps and pits on the journey towards it..After all Life is more about the journey than destinations!! Wishing You all a Magical Life with Magical moments in Your Journey!!!

Book Review - Tea for two and a piece of Cake.

Are Fairy-tale endings of “Lived -happily -

ever-after”--Real???

 Tea for two and a piece of cake – an       unconventional title for a book which    deals with a gamut of human emotions ranging from the peak of ecstasy to the pits of despair. Only Preeti Shenoy’s creative and artistic abilities could have conjured up such a title, it does not allow a peek into the main story-line of the book at all. If you are a person like me who does not believe in reading the summary of the book before sitting down to devour it, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.

Her previous book “Life is what you make it” dealt with bipolar disorder. This made me assume that her current book also would be dealing with some sort of psychological issues because that’s what most authors do. If a certain book/movie hits the popularity chart then that particular author/director would continue in the same genre churning out (sometimes mind-less stuff!!) in the same subject. Repeated stuff on typical light-hearted romantic stories, item songs etc or even churning out sequels of the movie which was declared a blockbuster are all killers of creativity and original thinking. Experts advise to stick to a particular genre (whichever subject being your strength) to ensure a loyal readership base but the true test of creativity and talent lies in experimentation with different subjects.  Hats off to Preeti Shenoy for her courage to write on whichever topic is close to her heart. However, all my notions had been ousted the moment I started reading the book. I actually stayed awake well past midnight just to finish reading the book. (t’was impossible to put it down!!!)

The book started like a story of any other ordinary girl, but then the protagonist embarks on the journey of a fairy tale life and gets married to this rich and handsome guy. Well it was not meant to be a “lived happily ever after” ending. This is where Preeti has dealt with the storyline in a refreshingly bold and unpredictable manner. She has portrayed the blunders made by both the sides (male and female) in dealing with the sacred institution of marriage. I loved the part where the man shares the emotions he had gone through. In our Society, the girl is always projected as a saint while the man is blamed for two-timing, treachery etc. Preeti has done an excellent job in detailing out how the lack of understanding and nonchalant attitude of the female led to destruction of their personal lives. The astonishing part comes when the man gives a cold shoulder to his wife even when his own child was in the hospital. It indeed proved the horrific lack of humanity in him.

This unconventional and enthralling tale of human lives and relationships makes you sit up and question your pre-conceived notions about the ideals set by society. 

The book is complete in itself and it touches a chord with people wanting to move over after a failed relationship or someone wanting to be self-sufficient for her living expenses. It is indeed a source of inspiration for all.

The most striking feature I would like to point out is that in both the books the emphasis is on “Living a magical life”. Ankita and Nisha, both the female protagonists of Preeti’s books manage to fight all odds and carve out a life for themselves which is magical in the true sense. After all, if all is fair and smooth then we don’t realize that our life has also been a magical fairy-tale life. A life well lived ought to have its share of pits and bumps.