So I read this lovely book for a change, because I was bored by reading ‘Romantic Novels’ 😛 and of course, I love to read Short-Stories. 🙂 Anyways, today I am going to share my views on this book “Something Happened On The Way To Heaven” edited by Sudha Murty. Firstly I loved its title and the ‘South-Indian’ touch in it, isn’t it looking beautiful? 🙂 And the same ‘South-Indian Touch’ I’ve tried to put in my captured image (the 1st one) 😛 Okay okay I know it is not perfect but at least I tried! 😀
Anyways, I ordered it on Amazon.in and got it in 2-3 days. It is a collection of 20 such beautiful true life stories, selected & edited by Sudha Murty from a contest run by Penguin (Yes, the stories in the book are not written by Sudha Murthy herself, but still they are beautifully described) they capture the hope, faith, kindness, pain, struggles and joy that life is full of, even as we make our way through the daily grind.
Stories are about various subjects related to society or daily life, the different types of issues or incidents faced by the people in the society. Some of the stories really touch your heart and does change your perceived view towards things. Its an interesting read though! 🙂 I loved how heart warming the stories are, I am not exactly sure how real they are because in some stories the authors are different from the protagonists in the story. It would have been nice to see a small summary of how the author was related to the protagonist in such cases. Nevertheless, the stories are nice and touching to the heart. This is a book with many good messages, where at one point some stories has the sad, emotional touch so at the other side they have some good and positive, loving features that will force you to believe in humanity, kindness which we have started doubting about. Really it is a very nice book with lovely messages. All the stories follow a very simple and formal way of writing, the language was also simple because the stories are written by various ‘common-people’ so there was no literary touch in the language that’s why the language is very simple and easy which I think a plus point of this book, because everyone can read and understand it easily. 🙂 So yes, it is a nice book and you should definitely read it. A few of the stories are heart touching, so its a must read for those who are interested in real life stories.
There are 20 stories in the book and My personal favourites from the book are:-
1. Acceptance by Bhaswar Mukherjee (An emotional and touching story of a eunuch maid, it describes the condition of eunuchs in the society, but at the end the story left you with a smile.)
2. The Dhaka Girl by Dhrishti Dasgupta ( I liked this one very much. It is a story of a girl and it is about the partition time of India and Bangladesh, it’s a touching story which showcased glimpses of India in 1947, which was proof enough that humanity is still there and is exceeds all barriers. It will show you how a little girl’s gesture of giving a man food despite being faced by harsh and rough times, brought her goodness even in her darkest hours. I don’t know it is a real one or not but I liked it and trust me, it will make you believe in humanity again.) 🙂
3. Aagneya by Rajesh Pooppotte (It is a wonderful story with a very serious message. It is a story of a daughter, of a little girl, how she dealt with a shamed situation in her school at the very young age. Through this story the little girl taught us an important lesson of girl’s ‘Self-Respect’. These days we see or hear about so many cases of girl abuse or rapes. No matter what their age women were abused in different ways- right from the time they were their mother’s womb till the time they went to their graves. But time has changed now. Nowadays women are more powerful than men. We women knows what is good and wrong for us, and we know how to fight against bad. So this is the story of a girl’s fight against bad. I loved the innocent yet strong message of this story.)
4. A New Beginning by Swaha Bhattacharya ( It is the story of a young girl. Who wants to adopt a child before marriage. Her family does not allow her, So she goes against her family’s permission. But unfortunately destiny plays a game and she met with her death. I liked this story very much because somehow I can easily relate it with myself. It is a heart-touching story for me.) ❤
5. Savita’s Story by Subhobrata (It is a story of a house maid. But I liked this story because of its very kind social message. It is a beautiful story but in the end it left you with a sad, emotional feeling.)
6. Acid by Pushkar Pande ( When I read this story, it literally left me speechless. ‘Acid Attack’ a unbelievable, painful and most horrible thing for anyone, and for a girl it is the end of her life, we always think like that no? well, that’s why this story is different and comes up with a great social message. It is the story of a girl who becomes the victim of Acid attack, in the end she’s got the justice by the court and now she’s decided to lead her life with her own respect and dignity. I think we all have the right to take our decision, and you can’t let somebody to control you or your life. No matter if you’re victim or criminal or a normal human being. How you see the situation, it’s always different for the one living through it. So take your own decision and if you can’t help others, let them help themselves and support them rather being a bystander.)
7. It Fell In A Storm by Shantanu Bhowmick ( I just loved this one. It is about three little children 2 boys and 1 girl, they wants to give their mother a birthday gift so they collect the fruits that have fallen in the storm and sell them to earn money. This a lovely story and the narrator narrate it very nicely.) 🙂
So This book is for someone who is keen on exploring different faces of human life. the book is very nice with so many good messages. It’s simple yet conveys complicated messages which man often fails to realize. The selection of the stories are nice, and seem to be doing their job right in sending out motivational messages to the readers. It’s light hearted yet is an eye-opener to man’s cynicism. This book is for someone who wants to learn, understand and see how different others’ lives can be, and yet so same. So I loved reading these 20 stories. 🙂 Some made me cry at the end, while some helped me appreciate what I actually have in my life and do not bother to cherish it often. Characters resembling people in my life whom I can proudly support and pamper no matter their caste, bank balance, their standard of living just because they are ‘Important’ and play a vital part in my life.
Overall, this a beautiful book with 20 different and great stories/messages. It explains the simple human concepts and the basic thinking of society. So, if you love extremely simple and quick reads and if it doesn’t matter to you who writes as long as it is worthy then go for it. I liked it and for me Its a must read. So, go ahead and give it a try, am sure you’ll love it as well. 😉
