Down The Road
"The book is a must read for students who are about to embark on their college days." - The Hindu
College is that time of our life when we are not embarrassed about being clever or even stupid. We do brave things and in the process discover how vulnerable we are. I have always believed that the three years I spent in the University of Delhi while doing my undergrad in Economics were just heady and crazy. Maybe I should add that the two years doing my Masters at XLRI, Jamshedpur were just magical.So when someone thinks of doing a set of short stories that capture those moments, that would make for an interesting book. I have a short story called Strangers in Strange Places tucked away in the compilation called Down the Road. It has stories by several bloggers and authors. I met three of them - Nikhil Rajagopalan, Prateek Gupta and Ahmed Faiyaz a week back during the Bangalore launch of the book.Here is the write up in Life & Style section of The Hindu newspaper dated April 24, 2011. Sravasti Datta says:
The collection of stories, Down The Road, takes readers on a nostalgic tripThe world was your oyster. Friends were the centre of your universe. Love was your opium. And bunking classes was the norm. Those were the best the days of your life. The ones spent in college. So when those days come wrapped in stories, be prepared to be flooded with pleasant memories. “Down The Road” (Grey Oak Publishers, Rs. 195) is an anthology of short stories, articles and essays on campus life.Authors such as Abhijit Bhaduri, Ira Trivedi and Malathi Jaikumar; bloggers Nikhil Rajagopalan and Prateek Gupta and journalist Sonia Safri come together to weave stories on relationships, friendship and the transition from teenage years to adulthood.“Down The Road” was launched at Crossword Bookstore, followed by a panel discussion. Abhijit Bhaduri spoke of his essay “Strangers in strange places”. “I have written about unexpected encounters with acquaintances from college. You may not necessarily have been close to them, but look upon them favourably when you meet them many years later,” he said. Prateek writes on an interesting aspect of college life — elections. He also spoke with fondness about his college days.Nikhil Rajagopalan's “Just a moment” explores the relationship one develops with a personal space, like a hostel room. Nikhil's writing is evocative and his descriptions beautiful. “For me, this book is about looking back on my school days,” says Ahmed Faiyaz, author and founder of Grey Oak publishers. The stories range from the humorous to the nostalgic. The book is a must read for students who are about to embark on their college days.
If you read the book, would love to know what you thought of it. You can leave a comment here or mail me at abhijitbhaduri@live.com-----------Here is a link to the book on the website of Grey Oak Publishers <click here>Review of Down the Road at dfuse.in by Lipi Mehta is hereIndian Express has the book covered hereNow if you are impressed enough and want to buy the book from Flipkart.com, click here