Lelobooks Excerpt: Buddha-The Story of Enlightenment

Deepak Chopra, through his book Buddha-The Story of Enlightenment has brought the Buddha back to life in this gripping. This bestselling novel tells a tale of a young prince who deserted his heritage to discover his true calling. This iconic journey of his life changed the world forever and the impact has been so much so that it even today, continues to influence every corner of the globe.

 The author, Deepak Chopra has penned this book out of his forte, but has done his job with excellence. The book has been divided into four part each one describes a different phase of the life of Gautam Buddha, as a prince, his time as Gautama the ascetic monk and the shortest section – Buddha, after enlightenment.

The division of each book has been done so that it looks natural transition from the different phases in his life. The initial pages of the book seem to be blurred with the thoughts of the author as while reading about 100 pages I was confused in figuring out Gautam, the monk and Siddharta, the prince in the first half. However, the latter part of  the book, Gautam has been shown with his journey through struggle to realize Nirvana and where the book reveals the deeds after his enlightenment, which is beautifully described.

Here, Chopra surprises the readers and gives them a boost with his imagination and creative skills, making the readers believe that it is his forte, indeed. Here, the author captures the spirit of Buddha and showcases his sufferings along with a transition in the figure which is today, a God to many, with some memorable prose.

In addition to this, the best part lies in the midst of the story, which deals in the enlightenment of Buddha and the author has here done something which is just inexplicable. The interpretation of the life of this Godlike figure, Buddha and his death struggle has been done in such an emotional way that it will move the readers to read more. There, you will get an insight about his life and his determination, which was just commendable, yet the author has forgotten or I should say missed, to include the climax of the book.

According to Chopra, the famous moment when Buddha took his oath to sit in meditation until he attained the truth, even if his body died and decayed and his bones turned to dust, never happened. Instead, he passed through a period of purposeless emptiness – and his enlightenment dawned on him in a way I found hard to understand.Maybe this is because I’m not enlightened myself, but then I do not think that Deepak Chopra is either – perhaps that is the problem.

In spite of all the flaws which I have pointed out, I found this book really enjoyable. I loved that last section so much that I re-read it straight away.

Mr Chopra has offered us a imperfect treasure, that would intrigue the readers.

Sneak a peek into the man behind pornograhic with “Mastram by Akhilesh Jaiswal”

There was a time, when pornography  was read just in the loo and nobody had an audacity to read it openly on the internet. Over the time, the imagination has been soared out and today one sees penning porn for the drooling generation is a great idea for making money. Unzip that reticence!

In the upcoming film "Mastram", if you are expecting playing peek-a-boo with the porn industry, then you are in for an anti-climax. ‘Mastram’ is a fictional biography of a writer who is ready to exploit his literary skills and persuaded to give porn a chance, just to make ends meet. "Mastram" chronicling the life-story of a man who would be kink (y), is a sad, glum, wistful look at the life of litterateur who was persuaded to give porn a chance, just to make ends meet.

 

The protagonist becomes the hottest name in pornographic pulp fiction. The director, Akhilesh Jaiswal in his 98 minutes movie has attempted to do a task which is both different and daring, baring all the hypocrisies of the society that disgraces, makes numb and devours sex - all in the same breath. He lets the porn writer Rajaram, aka Mastram, played by Rahul Bagga in the movie, grow in the world with the subject of sex, a synonym for survival. He is persuaded to write dirty books in order to earn his livelihood. Rajaram is a product of consumerist culture. With creditors knocking down his door, he chooses a life after debt.

There is a marked dearth of frantic excitement in the narrative. If seen as a mating game, then "Mastram" is a lazy evening of half-hearted copulation. But, here in Mastram you will set to feel the pain behind the porn by meeting the man behind orgasms, taking the movie far above from pornographic. Jaiswal has torn out the layers of titillation and feels the soreness and solitude of an artist, who is obligated to sell sex when all he wants is to write literary works.

The movie is all about the consciousness and the quandary of a writer, who is torn apart between art and erotica. The problem with the movie is its narration, which is hell lot languid and staler about such an exploring subject. The story lacks resilience, as the background music drags the plot. The film otherwise, would have been something different and would have caught a lot more attention, but due to some of its weaknesses, it is missing its X-factor.

Rajaram (Rahul), a M.A in Hindi, quits his bank job in Manali to pursue his dream of being a novelist. He finds support only in his sanskari wife (Tara), and even after desperate attempts, all publishers reject his literary work because his kahanis have the matter but lack the 'meat'. Realizing that sex sells like hot samosas and lust 'whets' hungry minds over literature, the struggling Premchand in him begins churning out porn-packed in-paperbacks, under the pseudonym of 'Mastram'.

Mastram was India's Shakespeare of sleaze, the bard of the bawdy who controlled all the mind-fornication there was, that held all of North India in its 'jerky' grip through the 80s. Emphasized by a sense of tragedy, "Mastram" brings a contemplative, misery to the porn writer's life.

However, the film fails to succeed due to its narration. If you want to dig deep into the hearts of porn writers, who are otherwise looked down by the hyprocrite society.

For more reviews, tune in with lelobooks, an online bookstore in India! 

Book Review: If Its Not Forever Its Not Love by Durjoy Datta and Nikita Singh

These days, the market has been flooded with love sagas and at times, it creates a feeling of nausea to some while looking at the cascade of this genre of books at the stores. However, I would suggest you to not to consider this book ‘If it’s not forever, it’s not love’ by Durjoy Dutta in the category of those stereotypes mushy love stories and has been given a sensitive angle to the story by presenting the protagonist as a bomb blast victim striving to achieve salvation. As the title of the book suggests, the story celebrates true platonic love in the most enchanting form. The book has been penned by young writers and the story has been narrated in such a way that youth relates themselves with it.

When speaking about its performance, I would like to mention that it has been ranked as No. 8 by Hindustan Times in today's edition. The publisher of 5 bestsellers, Durjoy Dutta has an average fan base of 1,50,000 readers and Nikita Singh, the co-writer of the novel has 2 best sellers to her credit and has done an excellent job with her third literary work.

The story and narration of the book puts in the initial pages a sense of tension and trauma of Deb, which will give you a ray of hope, of the arrival of something fresh in the upcoming pages.there has been some funny element in the book which makes it more interesting to read. In addition, there are some jokes, I would rather refer them as PJ’s, which actually wins. This time, the authors have described the love story of Deb and Avantika in a different style and have portrayed the consequences of getting addicted to drugs is perfectly drafted, which interests me the most.  In particular, 202nd page made me jump off my bed.

When talking in detail about the writing style of Durjoy Dutta, he is trademarked for the too much sex elements in his books. However, his last book, You were my crush made me to think and buy this book as it had only story and this time no sex.

The book opens up with a scene of the bomb blast and the narrator of the story encounters it on his way to the office.  This time, the author has put in an emotional story and has related the story to what happens to the people in the picture. The central plot gave me a picture of the Tamil Movie Engeyum Eppothum, which dealt with the lives of people getting stuck in a bus accident.

The protagonist of the story, Deb, one fine morning goes to his office and on his way, he encounters, where he gets stuck with a bomb blast. Though nothing happens to him, he gets disturbed by the scenes around him. After a few days of shock, he again visits the blast site and finds a diary.

He reads the diary and gets engrossed with the story of the dead man and his romantic life. The diary is burnt at the ends and hence the ending is yet to discover. So, he sets out to find the story along with his girlfriend Avantika, friend Shrey and his crazy girlfriend, Tiya. The journey makes them travel all across India and in the process, they learn a lot about human characteristics and behavior. The story is crazy in nature and engrossed me with the word ‘Indirect Expenses’ from his MBA. What they find about the so called dead man and his life forms the rest of the story.

The book is just amazing read and is a good time pass. If you want to make your weekend an enjoyable one, then just place your order at lelobooks, an online bookstore in India and get it at your doorstep, as online book shopping will help you to get your products in the comfort of your home. 

Books to Read Prior to Elections

In India, one of the biggest challenges is conducting of elections at peace. Since, India has adopted a parliamentary democratic form of government, the state assemblies, elections to parliament, and the local bodies are being held and organized at a particular given time, which is decided fixed by the election commission. These days, everyone is talking about elections, as politics this season has acquired a new flavor. This election season, India has seen a different approach towards the election by both adults and youths and the passion and fervor in them is highly appreciated. Everywhere there were discussions about voting, elections and much awaited election results, which has been an invariable characteristic in the past few months. When, everyone is involved in political discussions, why do you take a back seat in this burning issue of discussion, and in order to take you to the frontage and let you involve in these, we have brought you with the latest and the hottest insider accounts along with some of the political biographies introduced in this election season. Just take a look at the compilation of books that will create commotion this election season.

The Accidental Prime Minister by Sanjaya Baru

 The book needs no introduction! Released on 11th of April this year, the novel has already taken the country by a tornado. Sanjay Baru, the author of this book has worked as a Media Advisor to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for 4 long years. This insider account unravels the stressed, tensed and complicated temperament of Manmohan Singh’s relations with Sonia Gandhi. The novel fairly dictates about the condition and position of Mr. Singh, which was entirely in control of his cabinet. The books reveal the actuality, which was hidden behind the political doors of the government. Being an associate of Manmohan Singh, the author has thrown light upon the truth during his 4 long serving years to him and puts into words in this novel. The book states that the Prime Minister of India was completely in control of the president of Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi.

 “There cannot be two centers of power. That creates confusion. I have to accept that the party president is the centre of power. The government is answerable to the party”, Manmohan Singh alleges to the author, his ex-media advisor and states that he has penned down this novel in order to gather ‘empathy’ for the besieged and stressed out PM. The timing of the launch of this book has further  has enhanced its value and could not have been better, making it a hot topic and sensation courting controversy, this election as is an insightful, accurate and full of tittle-tattle of what happens in the political corridors.

Narendra Modi – A Political Biography by Andy Marino

The novel describes about the leading Prime Ministerial candidate race of India, Narendra Modia, who today is considered as one of the most powerful  and controversial leaders in the recent time. The decision made by BJP Party of having electoral campaign, exclusively focuses on giving the nation “Modi Sarkar”, a real testament to the growing impact and influence of the mentioned candidate, Narendra Modi.  The novel throws light on the complementary models of domination in Gujarat together with comprehensive statistical inputs. The book describes the journey of Modi’s life, right from his childhood to his meteoric political rise. The content of the novel has some of the scenes and has been derived from his exclusive meetings with Narendra Modi and his supporters, opponents and other political leaders.

This election season, take part in the political discussion and know more about the politics of India by reading these political books and thereafter decide the right candidate to vote. Get your political books which are available in abundance at lelobooks. Order now and get your book at the doorstep. Also avail huge discounts and various exciting gift hampers with online book shopping.

A Delightful Treat for Food Lovers

Food is one of the three most imperative things that guzzle our waking moments. As a brazen foodie, I have only one word – the F word, Indeed the term ‘Food’. I am overwhelmed with  almost everything which has to do something with food. Food fantasy  is a term, which was certainly invented for people like me  who gaze at food pictures and dribble and watch food shows like they have been cast off on a secluded island with only a coconut shell for accompanying me.

Food is IN and in case you have not heard its big time you all should know about it. We all have friends and family persons who are food lovers and like to do experiments in order to create something new out of it. From journals, history, paeans to food porn, there are no vertically lined cookbooks on this list, however you can find here a perfect pairing for every flavor of foodie.

There is almost everything as delightful in this world as tempting and delicious dish that takes into consideration your personal likes and preferences and particularly if you are hungry, then guys it’s a double hit and is straight to the gut. The funniest part is that the definition of food varies all across the world, in fact, sometimes we need to look at our kitchen shelves to know about the various ingredients and their combinations, which can create wonders

The books I have compiled here below are not just confined to cookery books, some of them showcases a scrutiny of what food means to humans and how to be a part in its making and showing our own creativity with it, which is an imperative part of our daily lives and making our way to celebrate with this blessing every day.

50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi

An ultimate compilation of the great Indian curries! The book simply explicates the tempting Indian curries with clear and lucid procedures and instructions to make it these a real hit in your very own Indian kitchen with various ingredients. The instruction and guideline in the book have been stated  by a woman, who has helped to build and maintain the culinary reputation of the Taj Hotel chain.  Guys out there, if you are a lover of these Indian curries, go read out this book as it is worth of its each page. Each and every recipe inscribed in the book has been explained without any kind of jargon so as to make it simple to understand and follow. Indeed, one of my favorite cookbooks!

In Defense of Food  by Michael Pollan

Without a scent of doubt, this one is my most favorite book by food writers ever, Michael Pollan has jotted down food along with the exact place where it belongs to – cartons and packets, out of tins, Kitchen gardens, right into fields, gardens and kitchen patches. He has made the way to eat real food with passion, which would be yet in a rational manner. ‘In Defense of Food’ is a must read cookery book dedicated to a foodie.

 Eat Your Heart Out by Felicity Lawrence

It is truly an eye opener book as it is incorporated with full of facts about food and the food industry. The book has in it all about how the commercialization of the production of food, which has given rise to the practices that are distressing on the earth and where food is grown and how we eat it. Even the book details about the certain kinds of food that come about and why do we need to be acutely aware of these things in the name of food. Then, the book also tells the solutions to combat food giants in order to be sure about the food quality of each meal that we consume in our daily lives. Really a wonderful book, just buy it and read it out to enlighten yourself all about food or present it to your foodie friend, she will definitely bless you for this blissful gift.

I am sure after reading out all these three wonderful reads which is truly a delightful treat for the food lovers, your palm must be scratching hard to spend out some pennies in order to get this book and indulge in different experiment with your favorite ingredients. So, what are you waiting for? Hurry now and place an order to get your favorite cookbook. You can also get your desired cookbook at your doorstep by buying online books from an online bookstore. Hurry now and avail huge discounts at lelobooks and can also win great gift hampers with cookery books.

Creating a brand identity for your entity with Logo designs and Brand names

The competition level in the market has grown up with the employment of fast emerging technologies. Thereby, it becomes a necessity for every business entrepreneur for maintaining their brand identity at a higher level in relative fields of work. One of the most important an element that I want to introduce you with is the logo, which not only will help you to gain popularity and making your brand but also will result in generating you with more and more profits.

Prior to my explanation regarding  the peculiarities of logo designs and brand names, let me introduce you with its brief description. The term, brand deal with creating a particular identification in general  as to categorize and recognize products and services  of an organization. In this modern world, the online trade also deals in plenty of brand names like Blackberry, I Phone, LG, KFC etc. Logo, actually is a symbol which will create your identity and will help the visitors to recognize your organization or your brand name. Logo depends upon various aspects  including beliefs, ideologies and themes to which an organization lays stress on.

Crafting out and developing logos and thus brand names require high end creativity for the fact that it will lead your target audience to reach out to you and will help in creating an impression upon the companies as making it your face value. The process of creating and developing logo requires intelligence, latest technologies and of course creativity, which is the basic element of making your brand name.

Logo designing and branding, both are done at the initial stages, wherein an entrepreneur sets a company, striking to an individual or grade of comrades, showcasing various ideals of professionalism, trustworthiness, and a source of inspiration to customers as well as employees.

A logo should be unique and message conveying. The process of logo crafting is a play of graphics along with creativity as it is not just a blend of colors, but it should also represent the purpose of association to a particular realm. Eg. A company dealing in online books should choose those colors and symbols that will go with its profession, then only visitors will feel the sense of credibility in its affairs

Further, font and color of a website and the content available on it play a vital role in completing it and making it a complete corporate logo. These aspects when are considered, gives a perfect shape to a website as these are quite important features of a logo.

While designing a logo, you need to know that there is an immense difference between designing logo for special events, and for institutions. Like an institutional logo should be informative and share the beliefs and principles of the company, which is apparent to viewers. Conceptual symbolism should be avoided in logos, then only it can develop trust and impact in viewers.

Logos and brand names are a booster dose for the growth of an institution’s identity. The technicalities involve in designing of logos and brand names fasten the call for hiring of professionals. You can also get books and take help from them. You can also place an order at some authentic online book stores in India and can avail attractive offers of discounts and win great gift hampers. Order now!

Book review: No Looking Back A True Story by Shivani Gupta

No Looking Back by Shivani Gupta is an autobiographical novel in which the author has tried to pour her heart out, as in her deepest hearts she is struggling with a plethora of emotions while deciding upon whether she should attend her reunion or not. The author is presently confined to a wheelchair and she does not want to portray a sorry picture towards her friends for once she used to be a girl with full of verve.

The story is from the horse's mouth as the author directory shares her first hand experience with the readers, about her life after this disability. Moreover, in her due process of thinking and she is left with string of thoughts.

The author has penned down this touching story of her life which touches the hearts of its readers with her gripping tale of tragedy, extraordinary courage, medical negligence, human weaknesses and of course the eternal and everlasting love that helps in making her normal with conventional understanding.

Stating her tale ‘right in your face’ manner without adulterating it and has mentioned all her details, which increases the quantum of tragedy.

In her journey she decides to take up a new path where she decides to look over her past and gears up for the new beginning. The novel is truly an inspirational one and motivates and will give you a practical face of life, showing that the conventional stories do not even contain the L of love.

The protagonist is shown as a tetraplegic learns how to deal with things with her disability and the story has been given a backdrop of a love story.

This multi talented author has acquired degrees in hotel management, architecture and inclusive environments, is considered as one of Indias best-known open consultants. Shivani’s motto is Access = Ability.

The story is a deeply moving one will leave you in tears at first, but with the turning of pages you will be inspired by the courage of the author. Definitely a must read novel. Available at Lelobooks!

An expedition of saga from black and white to the Oscars

Since the inception of the film industry, the most imperative element of its product has always been the script and the storyline. The story has always been the basic constituent which has always been looked for by the production houses and directors that in return would earn them the crown of glory and of course the riches for what they have seek for. When hunting for good script, no place can offer a better script to be told than an authentic book store, which would be filled with various lives. With just getting over with the Oscar Awards this year, I am here again singing the glory of the script thing that made the presenting you with some of the novels that were adapted as movies, which went on to be in the Oscar nominations and stole the hearts of millions.

The Descendants :

The Descendants” by Kaui Hart Hemmings is a tragicomedy style, rendering its readers swirls of emotions. The novel tells a tale of a man from king family, descendants of Hawaiian royalty whose fortunes have been changed now. The daughters of Matthew King are recovering from drug addiction and he is trying to repair his relationship with two of them. In the painful depths of his crisis where he is falling out of money and his wife lying in hospital in a vegetative state, a new discovery is found with his wife, Joanie’s lover and the story moves with ahead with the journey of Matt to find his wife’s ex-lover. The movie is filled with unexpected humor, growth and thoughtful revelations. This American movie released in 2011 and was directed by Alexander Payne.

Extremely loud and incredibly close :

Extremely loud and incredibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer came out in the year 2005. The narrator of the book is an amateur nine year old boy named Oskar Schell. He discovers a key in a vase, left by his father, Thomas Schell, who died in 9/11 attack at the World Trade Center and go ahead in the search of lock for that mystery key. As the envelop which had this key was addressed with name ‘Black’, so he goes in new York and tries to meet every person with the last name ‘Black’. The story proceeds with a series of letters written by Oscar's grandfather to Oskar's father and by Oskar's grandmother to Oskar himself based on real life events. He meets a forty-eight year old lady who after a series of discussion tells him about his ex-husband William Black, the Oskar meets Black and the latter tells him how he sold of the vase to Thomas Schell and that the key belongs to him. The climax of the story reveals when his mother tells him every Black was contacted by her before his visits only.

The Help :

The Help is a novel by American author Kathryn Stockett, who through the novel throws a light on the African-American maids, working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi. The story will take you to the 1960’s where a 22 year old returns home after completing her graduation. The story is about the three women Aibileen, a black maid of regal woman, raising her child and the former’s own soon has been died. Minny is Aibileen’s best friend and does not have control over her tongue, due to which she recently lost her yet another job. She finally gets a job in a house and her boss also has her own secrets. The story reveals the determination of these women and suffocating within the lines drawn. These three women determine to start a movement for having forever changes in their lives by changing their towns. Truly a deeply moving story and is filled with poise, humor and a ray of hope. Help is a timeless and a universal story which makes it a must-watch one!

Ben Hur:

Ben Hur A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace which came out in the 1880. Published by Harper & Brothers on 12th November the novel tells the tale of a Jewish Man named as Judah Ben-Hur. Considered as the most influential Christian book which bring out a revolution in the nineteenth century, tells how the protagonist’s life changes from being a prince to becoming a slave and ultimately turning out to be a soldier. The story is about how he seeks revenge to punish the wrong doers and in his journey; he meets Jesus which again brings changes in his life. The author has put in great efforts by the author and brings a parallel line to the story of Ben Hur while unfolding the story of Jesus, reflecting the themes of betrayal, conviction and redemption. The novel was turned out to be onscreen in 1959 and was a big hit at the box office.
The movies have always been the greatest source of entertainment and when movies which take story lines from such bestselling novels, then it surely become a big hit at the box office. With all twist and turns which surprises audience along with element that connects audience to particular movie renders chance to earn huge money in the industry.