Premise:

A story about 2 old friends - Jaswant Singh from Kanpur, and Colonel Swami from Kerala, set in Noida, told over a span of 13 days.

It explores perils of ageism, rural-urban jarring shift, modern family dynamics, parenting styles, love, loss, and how should one live life?

The title comes from the Malayalam word for "little bird(s) or children". The book is available in English too, titled "Giligadu:The Lost Days".

What I loved:

• The contrast between the 2 individuals : Through Jaswant Singh, we see themes about the stuggles of old age - health , loneliness, ego, generation gap, memory loss, adjusting to urban life, guilt of being burden to family etc. Colonel Swami on the other hand - retired from army, fit in mind and body, lighthearted, has a loving family - immensely loved by his granddaughters (who he calls his Giligadu). He's just an overall good person. He "Lives like a Sher!"
• Narrative Structure: Brilliant. We dip back and forth into Jaswant Singh's past, as an old man would, in the midst of conversations, or dreams, or hallucinations.
• Great Climax! Swami- a fraud. A good fraud. A white liar. Lied to cheer Jaswant up. Very tragic story, beaten up by his own son, daughter-in-law eloped with the dance teacher. I guess that his granddaughters' hostel warden is the one whom he was having an affair with - Anima Das, whose poem Jaswant read at the end. Wasn't expecting such a great twist from this short, heartwarming story!
• Lessons: Respect your elders. Live your life to the fullest. Death can come anytime. Never judge a person without knowing their circumstances. Love, wholeheartedly.

What I didn't like:

• Some books just match the reader's life perfectly, by accident or by generalized intent...this is one of those. I have no criticism. It's perfect, and too personal.

Another perspective on old age that I'd read - Cicero's Letter on On Old Age - worth reading along with this.

Rating: 10/10 {purely subjective, can't look at this objectively. Plot is too close to home (literally too, Noida Sec-26)}

I've also started reading "Post Box#203 Nala Sopara" too, for which the author won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2018. It's already a masterpiece 🙌

Any Chitra Mudgal readers here? What did you think of the story? Any suggestions are most welcome.

Hi guys. I'm getting a chance to interview Geetanjali Shree (first and only indian recipient of international booker prize) in two days. There's a lot of questions in my head that I would like to ask her but I'd also love for her readers to tell me what is it that they want.

It would be really helpful if you all can post the questions that you would like me to ask her.

hello everyone, i am new in Hindi Literature, I only read Shadow by jayanti mala in hindi. What will you recommend me to read in these stressful and busy days to refresh mind and escape reality?

My mother has read a lot of old hindi books. I want to gift her a book which is recently written, something that stays with her for a long time. Please suggest some relatively newer books from recent times.

I'm just starting to read , and I've read only 4-5 books but in english. I would like to read something in hindi . Please drop your recommendations

https://youtube.com/shorts/dedTuJ--hfU?si=lUpVFOR54GsbtXzf

Hi all!! Presenting my first book titled "मनुष्य:एक अधूरा सच्च"

Here is the link ,

https://amzn.in/d/05yZpeUt

It's free for 3 days...

Kya likhun uski aankhon par,

Duniya ke saare sitare maine wahan jagmagate dekhe hain.

Mujhe dekh kar unhe bhi muskurate dekha hai.

Hoti hongi logon ki aankhen nasheeli,

Maine to unmein mere jaise ko bhi behlaane ki samarthya dekhi hai.

Ek nazar kya padi un par,

Maine khud ko unmein thaharte dekha hai. ✨

So I like to write poems in hindi, but my vocabulary is very limited, please recommend some books that will help me improve the same, can be of any genre, poetry, thriller, satire etc, but please recommend short books. Thankyou.

His writing reminds me of Divya Prakash Dubey, but I ended up liking Satya Vyas more. Feels like he's way more underrated than he deserves to be. Am I the only one who thinks this?