InklingsInsight

Book Name: Things My Son Needs to Know About The World Author: Fredrik Backman Publisher: Penguin Genre: Non-Fiction (Fatherhood)  Format: Paperback Print length: 208 pages  Rating: 5/5 Fredrik Backman’s Things My Son Needs To Know About The World is Fredrik’s journey of fatherhood as he tried to navigate his son’s life through the learnings he had in his life and wanted to pass on to his son.   Blurb 'You can be whatever you want to be, but that's nowhere near as important as knowing that you can be exactly who you are' Things My Son Needs to Know About the World is a tender and funny series of letters from a father to his son about one of life's most daunting experiences: parenthood. In between the sleep-obsessed lows and oxytocin-fuelled highs, Backman takes a step back to share his own experience of fatherhood and how he navigates such unchartered territory. Part memoir, part manual, part love letter to his son, this book relays the big and the small lessons ...

Book Name: Girls Who Stray Author: Anisha Lalvani Publisher: Bloomsbury Genre: Crime, Thriller and Suspense Fiction/ Psychological Thriller  Format: Hardcover Print length: 296 pages  Rating: 4/5 Anisha’s debut novel, Girls Who Stray , is a monologue delivered by a narrator who reflects on her journey through the choices she makes, all while confronting the societal expectations placed on women.   Blurb A, 23 and unnamed, returns from an obscure British university armed with a useless degree to her new home in Noida—a home of feeble men—and the breakdown of her parents’ marriage. Serial procrastinator, overthinker, anxious and unhinged, A overcompensates her low self-esteem and sense of alienation with snootiness, even as she so badly wants to belong. Her only saving quality is that she is self-aware. Before long, A finds herself elbow-deep in an affair with a property developer and subsequently in a double murder. Faced with the anxieties of the crime along with pr...

Book Name: Once Upon A Beginning Author: Nalini Ramachandran Publisher: Hachette Genre: Children’s Literature Format: Paperback Print length: 210 pages  Rating: 4.5/5 Once Upon A Beginning by Nalini Ramachandran is a vibrant collection of folklore of the origin and beliefs associated with certain communities across India that will not only turn out educational but will stay with readers for long leaving them in awe of the knowledge it imparts.   Blurb IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS . . . NOTHING! Then, the earth met the sky. The sun married the moon. Birds were gifted the night. Beasts prowled the forests. And people? Well, they just burst out of their dark underground dwelling and came to live on land. They cooked for the gods and ate with the tiger. They fought shape-shifting ogres and honoured the first sorcerer. And oh, they conjured up a trove of astounding tales . . . of the extraordinary origins of the world, its wonders and its vivacious beings. Treasured and passed...

Someone who has been picky about food habits and meals since childhood could not go without the food their mother had made. It is the story of my life. Since childhood, I always relied on potatoes, be it aloo paratha, aloo gravy, aloo curry, you name it, everything made of potato. I remember growing up in a joint family where paneer, dal makhani, and kofte would be the treat for special occasions or when guests would come. I never got fond of these dishes because I was attracted to the potato curry that my mother would make for every lunch I had in school. From class nursery till class 12th whenever I packed a lunch box for school, it had aloo curry with paratha and few times most likely in winter matar pulao. So, aloo curry with paratha had been constant and it was not just my favorite but my friends' favorite too. Even today when I talk to my childhood friends they would mention it, and crave it. Always causing nostalgia. Now it is time to share the special ingredients, and you w...

Monday blues aren't easy to tackle, and so does the morning schedule. After resting for two days straight, I need another holiday, then another, and so on. So, when I woke up today, I found it challenging to get out of bed because there was a long list of chores to accomplish before I left for the office. After much effort to stay in bed, I finally got out of bed at 7:15 a.m. I freshened up and took a cold shower, which was more of a hot bath because of the heat in the NCR region. I watered my plants and went to the kitchen. It was the day when I chose the option for cooking that was in my mind when I slept last night. It was time for potato capsicum curry. I chopped the capsicum and took a bowl with water to keep the peeled potatoes till I kneaded the dough for it to settle when I cooked the curry. There she was, the maid arrived right when I started kneading. The doorbell rang and I had to attend the door. She entered and waited for me to confirm if she should wash the utensils f...

Summers are at their peak in the Delhi-NCR region. When it comes to eating out, I feel hesitant and skeptical due to the fear of food poisoning or a bad stomach. Three weeks back, I started playing badminton in the evening, and it became challenging for me to return home and cook my dinner. I ended up either skipping my dinner or eating outside. It took only a few days for me to come to a realization that I was stuffing junk into my stomach which led to problems like nausea, bad stomach, pukish feeling, and fatigue.  For the first week, I blamed it on the change I was trying to adapt to. But soon, I realized it was a mere excuse, and it was the outside food that was causing health problems. You know every little change takes a few days to let you settle, and so did this change. I decided to manage cooking at home even on days I go for badminton and it did wonders. I understand not everything can be achieved within 24 hours if you have to live a healthy life.  Finally, I starte...