12 STROKES OF LIFE BY DURGESH SHASTRI

ABOUT BOOK

12 strokes of life is a collection of 12 short stories. From the hilly terrains of Matheran to the IT hub of the country, from the historically rich city of Bidar to one of the fastest growing cities of India, Coimbatore, these stories are set in varied locations. From an

overconfident youth longing for success to a determined old man termed insane by neighbors, from a married lady in search of true love to a young girl fighting against all odds to overcome her worst fears, the characters are very much alive and can be related

to people around us.

The stories belong to different genres and try to send across a message to the reader which is though everyone paints a unique picture of life based on their experiences; it never stops to amaze us. After all, life has infinite strokes. Read the 12 strokes of life to know the hues and shades of the journey of a few.

Paperback: 160 Pages

Publisher: Gargi Publishers

Release Date: 15th May, 2014

ISBN-10: 8192960900

ISBN-13: 978-8192960906

Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 12.8 x 2 cm

ABOUT AUTHOR

Durgesh Shastri is a computer networks engineer currently working as an asst. professor in GNDEC, Bidar. A social worker, his NGO is actively involved in spreading computer and social awareness in rural areas. His first book, 12 strokes of life, has been

critically acclaimed by many professional reviewers and readers alike while his short stories have featured in 5 anthologies in 2014 alone. He also has a poem to his credit, published in an international poetry book when cupid struck its arrow, which was reviewed by the famous Indian actor, Aamir Khan. An alumnus of the prestigious PES university and RV college of engineering, Bangalore, Durgesh has always been a voracious reader and the works of Sidney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer have motivated him as a writer. He has reviewed several books online and continues to try his hand at creative writing during his spare time.

REVIEWS

REVIEW BY PRIYANKA BATRA HARJAI

12 Strokes of Life by Durgesh Shastri is a life bearing soulful collection of inspiring short stories. Indeed, an apt title visualized. One fact that needs to be highlighted before starting a formal review is author’s story telling / story writing skills. I have by now, read a handful of short stories collections but none is close to this one. Be it story telling skills, be it selection of stories, be it its plot or characterization or anything; everything is in perfect sync.

The author sets the mood right from the beginning, keeps you glued with the story till the end and leaves a trail of thoughts behind once you finish. Every single story is a perfect primer for an individual book jacket. Flavors are varied but the combo is vibrant and soothing. The icing on the cake is the tactful restoration of suspense by the end of each of the story.

Every time, I finished reading a story, I craved to read more and could not accept it’s UNTIMELY end. I would definitely like to read more from the author’s desk. Coming to the short story collection:

1. The Anonymous Donor is a story about Kanha Agarwal, a real estate shark who has ambitions to become a politician one day. In his desire, he competes with a neighboring temple’s caretaker to secure more financial assistance. His aspirations shatter as the priest gets a decent donation from a anonymous donor. Who is the donor?

Why did he or she chose to remain anonymous?It was a thrilling read as a totally unexpected climax awaits.

2. A Grave Mistake is about an incident in Kanchan’s life. A grave mistake that we all might be compelled to attempt but only to regret afterwards. But, is falling in love (just what Kanchan did) such a grave mistake OR falling for love (just what Kunal did) should be termed a mistake?Understand how our actions transform into mistake!

3. The Carefree Butterflies is a nerve wrenching story about Charulata and Suhasini. They were a simile of carefree butterflies until a mishappening shatters their life. What was it? Will they be able to restore their carefree attitude? Yes, but sadly, at a cost.

4. Deepak’s Superstitions is a light-hearted and humorous account about Deepak’s superstitions. A young boy entangled in glossy chain of superstitions fights with his destiny one day. Will he succeed to overpower the superstitions or will he once again fall into the dark well?

5. Lazy Sunday is a hard hitting story that has a strong message enveloped in words. An attempt to redefine the logics of ‘REALITY’.

6. The Lost Lady is a sweet close to heart and a heart warming story. It is about an old lady who forgets her way back to home. It is about the events that happen with her all day long. Will she get back to her home or will she fall prey to some trap?

7. Sweet revenge as the name suggests is a sweet story of a small boy taking revenge for his mother. Society is full of unethical social morons who don't give a damn to other living individuals. This story is an attempt to take a stand and fight for justice and earn self respect

8. Communication disasters is a jovial but tricky story. The story highlights the importance of communicating not only the words but emotions as well. You will definitely enjoy the Sumit’s non verbal communications and how he landed a job based on his so called weakness.

9. A Magic Lost is a journey down the lane with the main lead. Kit flying is a easily relate-able emotion for every single Indian. Author has carved a beautiful love story around the theme but it gets stained with blood. Read the story to learn how these blood stains Barr the vision and hence the lead loses his magical skills to play with winds.

10. Romance is Matheran is a heart touching and very emotional romantic story. If you respect love, read the story and you will redefine the eternal feeling once again.

11. The Unanswered Questions is a funny tale of a bus journey. A boy meets someone’s during the journey and opens his heart out to him. He considers him to be his prospective father in law. You definitely gonna enjoy how he gets answers to his unanswered questions.

12. The Unfulfilled Wish is the best of the collection. Ironically a satisfying story for those who love to read and read to love. Yes, I am in my complete senses, as I am phrasing my sentences. A story about identifying and respecting true love irrespective of the glamorous barrier termed – age.

To sum it up, a must read for all those who enjoy relishing short but meaningful stories. A nice pick for gifting someone who loves to read. Printing quality is good. Nice job done

by Ila Garg as the editor.

REVIEW BY INDIANAUTHORS.ORG

12 strokes of life is a collection of 12 short stories. From the hilly terrains of Matheran to the IT hub of the country, from the historically rich city of Bidar to one of the fastest growing cities of India, Coimbatore, these stories are set in varied locations. From an overconfident youth longing for success to a determined old man termed insane by neighbors, from a married lady in search of true love to a young girl fighting against all odds to overcome her worst fears, the characters are very much alive and can be related to people around us. The stories belong to different genres and try to send across a message to the reader which is though everyone paints a unique picture of life based on their experiences; it never stops to amaze us. After all, life has infinite strokes. Read the 12 strokes of life to know the hues and shades of the journey of a few.

REVIEW BY SHARANYA BHATTACHARYA

There are a few books which will drag your attention towards them and before you read it, you will get the feeling that this book is going to be good. The quality, the cover, the color combination and the blurb of the book reflects the same kind of feeling. The first

impression of the 12 stokes of life by Durgesh Shastri is quite remarkable.

According to the back cover: 12 strokes of life is a collection of 12 short stories. From the hilly terrains of Matheran to the IT hub of the country, from the historically rich city of Bihar to one of the fastest growing cities of India, Coimbatore, these stories are set in varied locations. From an overconfident youth longing for success to a determined old man termed insane by neighbors, from a married lady in search of true love to a young girl fighting against all odds to overcome her worst fears, the characters are very much alive and can be related to people around us. The stories belong to different genres and try to send across a message to the reader which is though everyone paints a unique picture of life based on their experiences; it never stops to amaze us. After all, life has infinite strokes. Read the 12 strokes of life to know the hues and shades of the journey of a few.

The author has narrated each story in quite a simple way; no unpronounceable words and no unnecessary usage of phrases. The simple way of the narrating keeps the flow and will engage the readers till the end. I am sure the readers will love the names of the stories. Just like the name of the book, the author has given a similar effort in choosing the appropriate name for each of his stories which will definitely generate curiosity among the readers.

The stories are very different from each other and the readers will close the book with mixed reaction. Where one story will regenerate the faith in god, then another story will make the readers heaved a sigh of relief at the end. The characters are also very different from each other and very much relate-able to the readers in itself. I would be wrong if I say that this book does not have love stories, but those are not the regular clichéd ones.

The most interesting part about this author is, he has tried to install a positive thought among the readers through every story penned down by him. Not that he was successful every time but kudos to the author for choosing such a less traveled path. The stories of this book lack consistency. When the first story will raise the reader’s expectation then the second one isn’t able to maintain the standard set by the first one. Not that every story has flaws and can be written in a better way but most of the stories does.

I felt sometimes the author has lacked patience and without describing the situations has concentrated more on finishing the story which will disappoint the readers. The editing was a bit weak too and could have been done in a better way. After judging all the negative and positive points of the book, I escalate the author for such a brave attempt of writing something out of the box and will encourage him to continue writing unusual stuffs. Overall I would rate this book a 3.75 out of 5.

REVIEW BY TIMID FINGERS

Blurb: 12 strokes of life is a collection of 12 short stories. From the hilly terrains of Matheran to the IT hub of the country, from the historically rich city of Bihar to one of the fastest growing cities of India, Coimbatore, these stories are set in varied locations. From an overconfident youth longing for success to a determined old man termed insane by neighbors, from a married lady in search of true love to a young girl fighting against all odds to overcome her worst fears, the characters are very much alive and can be related to people around us.

The stories belong to different genres and try to send across a message to the reader which is though everyone paints a unique picture of life based on their experiences; it never stops to amaze us. After all, life has infinite strokes.

Read the 12 strokes of life to know the hues and shades of the journey of a few.

Verdict: ’12 Strokes of Life’ is a collection of twelve short stories written by author

Durgesh Shastri. Each every story has a different message to deliver and a different tale to tell which I think is the most interesting fact about the book.

The name sounds very impressive and will definitely drag the reader’s attention. Twelve stories which tell different tales of life can easily be termed as the strokes of life. I appreciate the designer for such a wonderful cover which makes the first impression quiet striking.

This is not regular that an author choosing to write an anthology collection because I think conveying a message through a short story is much tougher that conveying through a full fledged novel but this author has shown the guts and came up with a short story collection which is commendable. Needless to say; the author has a story teller within and also has a fluent narrating style. The easy going words will help the readers to maintain the flow.

Each and every story has a very good message to convey. Not every story ends with a good note but will definitely have something to learn from the story and I believe that is where the author has focused more, on giving a moral. Stories have different scenes, different background and have unfolded in different states of India, which makes this book all the more interesting. All the characters are so real, that one can easily relate them.

At times I felt few stories lack description, few stories feel like they are written in a hurry and there are few which couldn’t connect with the readers. A few editing errors are also spotted here and there. I would appreciate the author for this attempting and would love to read some more in from his in future and would expect that he will keep this things in mind.

There are four or five stories which immensely touched my heart but the best of the series was ‘The Anonymous Donor’

Final Words: A very nice attempt by Durgesh Shastri and I appreciate the author’s effort for penning down wonderful short stories which left lasting effects among the readers.

Rating: 3.5/5

  REVIEW BY SMITA SALINS

'12 strokes of life', is a book written by the talented Durgesh Shastri and published by Gargi Publishers.

The lovely cover has been designed by Amol Karambe. This book is a collection of 12, very interesting stories, from different walks of life. There are loads of surprises, and elements of suspense in stories like ‘The anonymous donor’ and ‘the unanswered question’, while stories like ‘A grave mistake’ and ‘Romance in Matheran’, will surely melt your heart, and bring a tear or two to your eyes. ‘Sweet revenge started off as a sad tale, of a woman beaten by her husband, and sexually exploited by her husband’s boss; but ends with a happy surprise which is sure to make you smile.

‘Deepak’s superstitions’ is a story which talks about the ill-effects of superstitions on a person’s life, and how everything got back on track, once he stopped believing in such nonsense. There’s a lesson to be learnt here for everyone.

‘Carefree butterflies’, ‘a magic lost’ and ‘communication disasters’ are devoid of any strong lessons or morals, but still make for very interesting and intriguing reads.

‘Lazy Sunday’ was quite funny, with a twist in the end. But my favorite story was ‘The lost lady’. It was truly hilarious. It was a heady mix of suspense, drama, tears and laughter. I enjoyed reading it the most.

All in all, ‘12 strokes’ is a goody bag of surprises and mixed emotions. They are beautifully written stories, which are sure to keep you glued to the very end.

Definitely an interesting read.

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