[book review] Rainbow in my clouds- Radhika Lee

 

Book name: Rainbow in my clouds

Author: Radhika Lee

Print Length: 332 pages

Publisher: Notion Press; 1 edition (12 November 2015)

This year has been quite good, have been reading  more than ever. Am on my 40^th Book now and it is only April..

The latest book I breezed through was Rainbow in My Clouds by Radhika Lee. It is not fiction, heck it is far from that. It is a book about Radhika’s journey through life, the twists and turns she has been through, her turmoils and  traumas, and how she overcame it all to become what she is today.

Radhika Muraleedharan, aka ‘Mrs. Lee’ hails from Kochi and is the founder and director of Nairobi International School (NIS), in Nairobi. This is about 30 years of her struggle…one that seems unending, daunting and certainly makes us wonder how she went through what she did and did not give up ever.. She overcame an abusive marriage, dealt with a drunk husband, a sick child, family troubles and work as well.

After moving to a foreign land at a young age, she works at different schools, helps children beyond just what a teacher would do going on establish three schools of repute in Kenya, not just any school but e-schools. She had to deal with red tapes, banks, cranky colleagues and personal issues all the while. Her tale is inspiring, in some parts I was in awe of how persisted…The moment where she meets John Couch, the Vice President of Education, Apple, who asks her to narrate her story [to conclude the conference in Vienna, with 700 present] is truly a wow moment for anyone!

Her story gives other women going through troubled lives the hope that they too can make something of themselves, achieve something and go on to create a name for themselves in this world. 

If you are looking for something to get you going, give you the motivation you need to push the envelope, then this is the book for you. She has written in simple language, and there are parts you will choke, gasp and smile, so be prepared for a roller coaster ride~ 

An article in The Hindu

[Book review] Love, That Shit by Chandru Bhojwani

Title- Love, That shit

Author- Chandru Bhojwani

Pages- 143

Cost - Rs 195/-

One day, I received an email from Chandru asking if I would like to review his book. Since I enjoy reading and have no qualms about reading across genre, I replied with a confirmation. Within a few days an Amazon parcel arrived at home with the book in it. All of 143 pages, this is a light read indeed. 

The book opens with a note about how being in Romance is such a euphoria while breaking up is quite depressing, it is a book that goes on to explain why we feel what we feel. Every single person who has ever been in a relationship will be able to relate with this book with ease. 

Extract from the book: Like a rollercoaster, relationships have their nauseating ups, downs, twists and turns... Sure, like a rollercoaster, relationships are also fun and exciting but what happens when the ride isn’t as smooth as you thought it would be?..... 

Now those of us who have been in love know that it is no cat walk, far from it. We go through crazy range of emotions, feelings, mood swings and our entire life goes for a toss.. The pages take us through the journey called "being in love" " the aftermath of a broken relationship" and all that happens in between.  Spread across 23 chapters, each one starting with a witty quote, there are instances where the author has used anecdotes to explain the whole concept to us. The one thing that the author mentions every now and then is that we are not alone, there are quite a few others going through something similar.  

Unlike other self- help books, this book is not preachy, not does it judge you for doing what you do. He has stuck to being general, while making sure the readers connect with all that he says.  There were instances where I was left wondering if it is the author's lessons from being in love, but then shrug that thought away as I move on to the section about single men/women and their attitudes, the different circumstances and situations in a relationship and much more. Oh and he has also spoken in length about matrimony woes, arranged and love marriages, the In law factor and why marriages fail a lot more these days.  Going beyond just romance, he teaches us how to deal with LIFE... 

It was a breezy read, I think I was done with it in a few hours. Quite liked his simple style of writing. But if asked about how the book stood out or was it wow, I would have to say No. For all of us who has been thorugh atleast one relationship, we know what we went through and how we dealt with it. Apart from this, we do have friend/family circle from where we have learnt about different experiences as well.  Do give it a read if you are into the whole Men are from Mars -Women are from Venus or other such books..