Our Beloved Summer

 This series 'Our Beloved Summer' has my heart. The lead pair share amazing chemistry and the story line is really interesting and unpredictable. This is not just about the lead pair, we also get to see the involvement of the others around them with respect to the bond they share. Their family and friends and the circumstances leading to where they stand at present play an important role in the way the story progresses.

To tell you the truth, in the beginning I thought that this is probably an over hyped series and just wanted to watch a few episodes and find out whether it is really that great. I was pleasantly surprised as this series is full of heart. They have shown so many emotions and the viewer is kept guessing as to what happens next.

We feel for the characters and want to root for them. The lead pair and the others have shown controlled acting and there is no way they can be faulted. The houses shown, the lanes, the offices and the other locations are all so apt that we get totally involved in the story and feel we are a part of it.

Another exceptional thing about this series are the amazing songs and the background music. I just cannot have enough of The Christmas Tree song V of BTS. What a soulful rendition of the song! I keep listening to it and it has such a romantic feel to it that it makes my heart flutter. All the other songs are also good but it is a pity that the lyrics of the Korean songs are not written in the subtitles so it is not possible to understand or feel the emotions they portray.

This series is promoted as a romantic comedy and it stars Choi Woo-shik, Kim Da-mi, Kim Sung-Choel and Ron Jeong-eui. This series is about a documentary shot of two high school students and it follows their life when they grow older too to find how they have changed. They are a lot of make ups and break ups and also love and heart break among the characters. It is interesting to see the characters develop as the episodes move forward. I have got addicted to this series. It has 16 episodes in all and after watching it I am already missing these two lovers. I am glad it had a 'Happy Ever After' ending to this series. Choi Woo-shik (Choi Ung) is simply adorable and we just can't stop loving him. Even Kim D-Mi (Kook Yeong-Soo) does an excellent job as a realistic PR expert who is fiercely independent and does not allow her feelings to be seen by others. Kim Sung-Choel as Kim Ji-Ung also steals the show with his amazing and effortless acting skills. He is the silent admirer of Kook Yeong-Soo and he loves her but cannot show it as his best friend loves her too. Thankfully, he too gets his romantic partner towards the end.

Do watch this beautiful romantic series that will bring a smile on your face and also make you cry with them. Some really amazing moments captured in the episodes. Do listen to the Christmas Tree song by V from BTS. This series is a must watch as it has some really emotional and romantic scenes. We wish we had such a romance in our lives watching it.

Train to Pakistan

Book Review

Title- Train to Pakistan

Author- Khushwant Singh

Genre- Historical Novel

I read this book during the Republic Day fortnight and I was truly impressed with the storyline and style. This was the first book I read by Khushwant Singh and I still get goosebumps when I remember some of the scenes depicted in the book. The storyline is drawn from the horrors of the partition so the brutality of it all hits hard. It is a gripping book right from the start to the end. The descriptions of the village and the inhabitants of Mano Majra is vivid and makes us become a part of their story. 

The Sikhs  and Muslims of Mano Majra are torn due to the changing circumstances that took place in the country in the year 1947. How the equation between the inhabitants and also the nearby villages change gradually forms the crux of the story. Who is right  and who are the wronged is difficult to decipher. Though not everyone is thirsting for blood, there are many who want to sit on the fence and save themselves instead of taking action to stop the wrongdoing. 

The characters in the story are well defined and the story moves forward at a steady pace. Our curiosity is piqued as we wonder about the turn of events. The climax is the scene stealer. There are some scenes that give us goosebumps and we can actually picturize the horror penned. It is painful to realize that this similar events took place in the country and they are a dark part of History that cannot be forgotten. The pain and the struggles people went through during those times is unfathomable and this book relives that dark side of our freedom struggle. 

This is a must read for all those who would like to walk through the pages of history and relive the horrors of the partition. After reading the book we realize that even after what happened in history we have not learnt our lessons. We still keep fighting out own brothers under different pretexts and there is still disharmony around. This book makes us wonder whether there will ever be hope for peace to reign in our country. This book leaves us with many uncomfortable questions in our minds and for some it will be difficult to erase the scenes of the horrors of partition that were vividly described in the book.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

Title- The Travelling Cat Chronicles

Author- Hiro Arikawa

Translated from the Japanese by - Philip Gabriel

Genre- Fiction

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a best seller and has also been made into a live action Japanese film. This was my first read for this year and I am glad I chose this one. I am a lover of travel and I carried this book along on my tour to the North-east. I cannot express how blissful it was to sit by the gurgling riverside and read this with the mountains behind me. This book brought a smile on my face at the very beginning when I was introduced to Nana the cat. It is amazing how the cat carries the story forward and tells us about his wonderful escapades with his master Satoru.

The book gives us a glimpse into the life of Satoru and his cat Nana and Satoru's childhood friends. It is a look at the travels and explorations of the master and his cat as they move from place to place and as they do that we the readers are delighted with the beauty of the places they visit and we are acquainted with the people they meet. The description of the places is such that we are literally transported there. The cat Nana tells us about his meeting with different animals and people in an interesting manner we feel it is the most normal thing a cat can do.

Though the book is written in simple language it gives us a deep insight about the life of Satoru and the other characters in the book. We meet his childhood friends and learn how their friendship developed. We learn about the bond he shares with them and his cats Nana and Hachi. The cat Nana also makes us delve deep into the thought processes of a cat. How Nana feels about Satoru's friends and family is revealed to us. The storyline is engaging and we cannot help feeling in love with the loyal Nana and we learn to appreciate Satoru's mission to find the right house for Nana.

'The Travelling Cat Chronicles' is a must read for lovers of animals and travel enthusiasts. It takes us on an interesting journey that explores people and places in a unique and simplistic manner. This is a story about loyalty , gratitude and friendship. This story about a stray cat who becomes family really tugs at your heartstrings. 

This is story that is full of heart. There are so many beautiful moments in it. I was surprised to see my tears flow as I neared the end of the book, the climax is an emotional one. It is not only the story but also the cover page of the book that catches your attention. As a reader we would expect the cat on the cover page to resemble Nana the cat in the story but it is an original brush painting entitled ' Man and the World' which is painted by Shuai Liu, a Chinese painter with cerebral palsy whose work is supported by Chilture.com, a studio of disabled artists. Learning about the artist of the cover page was another plus for me  about this book. 

I am glad this was my first read for this year. I too would like to learn to express my gratitude towards people I meet and those who touch my life and appreciate the good things life has to offer instead of focussing only on the the challenges I face. Life is really beautiful if we find the time to look at the beauty around us- the beauty in the places and the people around us. Waiting eagerly to watch the Japanese movie of the same name as the trailor looks really interesting. 

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