- Book:Fusion - A Mingled Flavour Mocktail.
- Publication House: Dream House.
- Category: Anthology.
- Rating:4/5.
Story-in-Short:
It is an anthology which consists of 25 such stories that
will steal your heart away. It is not just a book but a journey of emotions
that will take you for a roller coaster ride. With every page you turn, words will
strike the chord of feelings and emotions will grip you in a manner that you
wont feel like keeping the book aside till you reach the end.
In My View:
The merging of similar or different elements into a union is
Fusion. And I have completed reading this mingled flavour Mocktail with 25
classic stories – Fusion, an anthology. Here’s my detailed review on the
stories:
1) The Heir by Renuka
Vishwanathan.
A young engineer, working in a reputed company is once
called up by his boss. Boss suddenly forwards a proposal of marrying his
daughter. Several thoughts revolve around him but what he finally decides? His
decision and acts, further affects not just him but his married life too. A
well-narrated story and an interesting one too.
2) Dance of Life by
Shreya Kumar.
This story is about a girl whose life fills up with grief in
the aftermath of an incident. Depressed over this incident, she tries to end
her life but is fortunately saved. A psychiatrist produces hope in her and this
is how the story further proceeds. The story is a very well written story
describing the emotions of the victim. It will surely touch the heart of a
reader. Its beginning is good but I would say that the ending could have been
better.
3) Telephone by Ayan
Basu.
What if you get a call from a stranger on your telephone?
You won’t think twice before labelling it a wrong number and putting the
receiver down. But what happens in this story is the exact opposite. Dialling an arbitrary number connects a boy
and girl, both strangers to each other. This strange feeling disappears soon.
The title sounds simple but it concept is unique. It is exciting in the
beginning but falls loose in the latter part.
4) Strings by Mehek
Bassi.
For a mother, her child is everything in this world.
‘Strings’ is basically a story full of emotions. It is about a girl whose deaf
mother raises her with an appropriate upbringing. The girl is normal but she
too finds special children more interesting than the normal ones. She falls in
love with a similar special boy but will her mother agree to this marriage?
The story is brilliantly written with a satisfying end.
5)) Affair@Online by
Neelam Saxena Chandra.
Everything isn’t the way we perceive it to be. A college
going teenager falls in love with a girl over social networking. He is arrogant
towards his mother and gives more importance to the girl. Exchanges of lovely
talks make him feel the developing approaches. But in the course of this
so-called love what happens further is shocking. The story has a perfect
beginning but takes a reader through something that is expectable. Also, I
think the story could have been extended in the end. Otherwise it is an
exquisite story that sprouts a crucial message for the current generation.
6) Twilight by Purba
Chakraborty.
Life is unpredictable. No one knows what is about to happen
next. This story highlights the same thing. Two lovers are forced to part away
due to the orthodox society. But destiny gets them together through a journey.
But volatility strikes again. For some time, life seems to be glittering but
soon dusk takes over. The story has romanticism and thrill proportionately instilled
in it, making a reader glued till the end.
7) The Red Lahori
Dupatta by Paromita Bardoi.
This story reminds me of a quote by Mother Teresa ‘If you
Judge people then you have no time to love them.’ It is about two lovers from
across the border. Befriending through social networking, their friendship soon
displays symptoms of love. Belonging to two different countries, religion makes
no difference to them and their relationship. But destiny has something weird
in store for them. The story is fascinating and touches the heart of a reader.
8) Love – A vague
Puzzle by Nehali Lalwani.
Devastation at the loss of near and dear ones is common. But
then moving ahead courageously is important. This story is about a boy who
devastated by the losses in his life distances himself from love. But a single
image plays a crucial role! Beginning on a casual note, this story takes an
interesting turn that stimulates a reader in the course of reading it.
9) How to kill boredom
by Arjun Pereira.
This story is about two boys and their attraction towards
girls. While they observe them their heart pounces on one of the girls.
Initially she doesn’t responds seriously but then she makes her decision. It is
a sort of casual story with fine narration. The title of the story too could
have been better.
10) The Unsaid
Words… by Swarupa.
At times we don’t speak out what is there in our heart. Such
things are often buried deep inside and they remain unsaid. Sometimes we don’t
trust the ones we should and then things pile up to mess. This story too is
about a girl and her friend has a crush on her. Despite knowing this she
doesn’t develops any further talks as she falls in love with another boy. But
will this girl be happy in her life? Will things move as she had planned? Along
with a suitable title, the story has been well narrated. It is a blend of
emotions and possesses the ability to attract a reader’s attention.
11) The Housewife and
the Goon by Renu Sethi.
Distinguished people seldom help others. And it is found
that people with not-so-good reputation often run to help others. Here’s a
story of a local gangster, who despite being in a bad company, helps his
society mates, neighbours and others. But in an act of revenge an unlawful
incident gets committed by him. The formation of the story is very well and it
mesmerizes a reader.
12) Slaves of Soul by
Heena Ahuja.
With the arrival of this story, reader’s get a break from
love stories. It is a thriller, portraying bank robbery. In the beginning it
seems to be a simple story of robbery. But the twist that comes in the story
with the disclosure of the intention of robbers amazes a reader. Again, the
narration of this story too is wonderful and it is fully enthrals reader. A
delightful story that satisfies and pleases a reader.
13) The Blind Fold by
Shalini Katyal
Rejection is often followed by depression. This story is
about a banker who loves his college friend but the girl doesn’t have any
feelings for him. His love can be called a ‘one-sided love’ which takes a toll
on him. The banker cannot bear rejection and its effect comes out later. His
friend meanwhile tries to figure out the reason for his absurd behaviour but
realizes only after occurrence of an incident. A good story with a perfect
title!
14) Anaesthesia by
Manshi Bhateja.
When one doesn’t have anyone to share
feelings, one tends to feel crushed. This story is about a girl who loses her
parents at an early age. She feels lonely and crumpled. But then her damaged
soul gets comfort and company which spreads happiness all around her. The short
poems in between the story touch a reader’s heart and the mellow message that
the story forwards is crucial too.
15) The Angel by
Ishita Bhown.
‘World Indeed is a mixture of all breeds.’ On a hand a
patient is on the verge of dying, his little daughter is in tears and on
another hand the doctor enjoys with his family. But when reality dawns and the
patient couldn’t be saved, guilt takes over. And this guilt doesn’t let him
leave the situation unless he accepts someone’s responsibility. Along with the
pain and grief of a little girl, the story highlights humanity. This one is
indeed a heart-rendering story.
16) Cold Stone by
Nikhil Chandwani.
A classic story indeed with beautiful narration. I found
this story really enthralling as it is well composed and hold my attention
perfectly fine. The sentences, dialogues and account of the whole story charms a
reader. Perfect title to the story is a cherry on the cake! Readers are surely
going to enjoy it!
17) That Unexpected
Encounter by Elora Rath.
This story is about two lovers who couldn’t marry. Although
they loved each other, situations at that particular time prevent their plan of
marriage. But destiny has its own plans. And to find exactly what destiny has
in store for them, you need to dive into the story. The title of the story
could have been better. Its narration is really good which makes it an
involving slice.
18) It’s Forever… Its
Love!!! By Vinita Bali.
Love is unconditional. The loss of the one you love more
than your life sometimes becomes unbearable. This is a similar story of two
persons who loved, cajoled, fought with each other but at the end loved each
other. Their feelings for each other were so strong that they couldn’t afford
to live without each other. An emotional story which brings water in eyes.
19) Simplicity by Col
Mahip Chadha.
Simplicity is well appreciated than complexity. It is a
story of a soldier who loses ammunition which enrages his senior. But his
simplicity plays a major role in denying any further action on him. Although
the story contains a meaningful message but it isn’t that powerful to hold a
reader’s attention.
20) Born under bad
sign by Warishree Pant.
Every individual deserves respect. Then let that individual
be a man, woman, gay or lesbian. This story brings to light cruelty done with
those people who have feelings for the same sex. It is basically a story of two
close friends who love each other. But parental pressure creates a barrier in this
friendship. This forces them to take a tough call. The attempt made by the
author is good and the story reflects a worthy message but sequentially the
story becomes equally predictable.
21) Play 4 change by
Roshan Kumar.
Change is the need of the hour, isn’t it? Time to time
change in our thoughts, mind-sets, behaviour, political system, government,
etc. is necessary. Play 4 Change is a story of a movement to swipe out
corruption from our society and to essence patriotism. The story delivers the
message healthily but it doesn’t contain that spirit to hold a reader’s
attention for long. Soon after its beginning, the story proceeds simply and
tends to become slightly monotonous.
22) This was written
by Surabhi Thukral.
Marrying someone you don’t like, will never help you in
forming a good family and can simply make life troublesome. This story is about
a boy who has feelings for a girl but doesn’t acknowledge it at the right time.
He ends up marrying the girl of his parents’ choice. But soon their marriage
becomes a muddle and he feels the desperation of coming out of the mess. The
story though begins appropriately; it proceeds too quickly and ends abruptly.
23) Love, Lust and
Loot by Anjali Vaswani.
This story is something different and revolves around love
and lust. A girl is married off to a rich business man who doesn’t give her
enough of attention. Her feelings for him degenerate and move towards her
lover. But then her lover’s lust puts both of them into a serious problem. It’s
a thrilling story with not much of love factor. The concept of the story and its
appropriate narration will easily captivate a reader’s attention!
24) Will You Cross The Skies For Me? by
Neha Zahir.
It is an account of a woman who was used after her marriage.
She narrates this whole incident to a man who tries to listen and give his
opinion as well. The story possesses an intriguing narration and perfectly contains
emotions of the woman. The narration of the story is such that it feels as if
everything is occurring in front of our eyes. Good and Successful attempt, I
must call it!
25) Menaka-A Lost Apsara by Simson Biswal
How will a married man feel
after seeing his wife with another man? Well, the last story of this anthology
is about a man who catches his wife’s affair but then his wife divorces him. He,
a lonely person, becomes alcoholic and roams around in search for peace. The
story in its initial stages is good enough but then in the finishing stage, it
feels slightly abrupt.
Over-all: I would recommend
Fusion to all my readers as this book is different from all the other
anthologies. The stories in the book are indeed fascinating and I am sure
readers will definitely enjoy reading it!
The cover and the title, both are interesting enough. Some stories in the book are really praise
worthy while a few others require contemplation.
Speaking about the drawback
of the book: In two
stories, I found spacing errors. Also, at places, instead of open quote there
is close quote and vice-versa. These mistakes definitely could have been
avoided. Otherwise, no other drawback and the book truly pleases and
delights a reader. Personally, the stories that I liked were
4,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,15,20 and 23.
Considering everything, I
would rate the book 4/5. Best Wishes to the Publisher, Mr. Simson Biswal,
Editor, Dr. Rachit Bhushan and all the 24 contributors!
NOTE: A review copy of Fusion was sent by the Publication House.
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