BOOK TITLE: Black,
Grey and White
AUTHORS: Santosh
Avvannavar, Santosh Biradar
ISBN:
9789383701117
FORMAT:
Ebook and Paperback
BOOK SUMMARY:
This book gifts its readers five
fantastic short stories that has a common aim-to spread awareness about AIDS. It
is an opportunity for people to unite in the fight against AIDS and show their
solidarity for HIV positive people. The book is an eye opener for anyone who
wish to see the wave of positive change in society. Everyone including the
brave hearts Savita, Chintu, Mithali has the right to live with their head held
high without fear of social ostracization. Life does not have to be like this.
The time is ripe to act now with ones sense and sensibility. Break the myths.
Come, be the change!
BOOK REVIEW:
‘Black, Grey, White’
The title, the first thing you notice
about the book, is in itself a brooding, meaningful word play, (if you want to
take it that way). Not everything in life is either black or white.
Unfortunately, a majority of thoughts, actions, characters, behaviours of human
beings centre on the ‘Grey’ area – a mixture of this black and white, sometimes
good, sometimes bad, a tad too selfish, a tad too greedy, lusty – the list is
endless.
From the opening line of the note,
‘Life would have been beautiful if there weren’t problems’ – this is not a
quote, but a sore wish everyone has thought of at some point in their lives –
the book attracts you on some primal level. If the disclaimer hadn’t convinced
me otherwise, I would have had many reasons to believe that all the stories
here were based on real, human characters.
Story one is in the drama format. It
is a dialog prose that shows in very few scenes the reaction of men towards
that one precious entity, life. How do they react to save their lives? This one
has some pretty memorable scene settings and one line in particular stood out.
‘Dear diary, a myth is like a religion, and it’s addictive’. Whether or not
this line is part of the story, I will let you decide!
The second story is short, way too
short. In the words of the author himself, when two people join to make a
mistake, and the third one makes amends – twisted to the core. Is this a
Rom-Com? A bittersweet tale of harsh realities? Yes, it happens to be so. One
line that stood out, again, is ‘Changing the system for our own need is
difficult, but adapting to an existing system is appropriate’. Not a ‘quotable
quote’, but surely a ‘relatable quote’.
By the time we reach the third story,
we know what to expect from this book. This one is a very touching story about
a very much alive social cause. Just how many people dare to talk about this
taboo topic? It is not easy. Even if people who once did a mistake try to make
amends and come out, they are still drawn into the quagmire. The ignorant
social stigma still ostracizes them.
Story four makes you turn your head
sideways to check if someone else is peeping in (obviously if you read this
book in a very public place – like the reviewer here did). The title is simply
that explosive. This is again a dialog prose that contains bits of the story in
explanatory paragraphs and the rest as conversation and dialogs. This is a
unique attempt but a much needed eye opener. One ‘relatable quote’ here : ‘One
can think of sacrificing their life by helping others but not take away
someone’s life by discriminating’
There is a very small defining line
between innocence and ignorance. Most people do not consciously make an effort
to come out of the ignorance that is blissful.
The last, longest story in this book,
divided into parts / chapters is about the prodigal son. With lots of bible
references, though initially Greek and Latin if you don’t understand the stuff,
this is one enjoyable read. This is, in the author’s own words, a ‘found and
lost’ story. (yes, you read that right. It is not the other way round) of
loneliness (a very adolescent trait) and seeking some comfort.
SPECIAL MENTION:
The author has explicitly stated that
a part of earning through this book will be funded for a girl’s education. His
scrawled message on the last page of the book -‘Thank you for joining hands to
bring awareness’ was what finally bowled me over. It is very rare for authors
to do this, and this was a pleasant surprise.
Adherence to summary – yes, it
does, in a quirkier way.
Plot – existent and very
relatable.
Language – smooth, without much
jargon
Verdict – reading this will
change your outlook on a lot of issues.
RATING: 4/5
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Santosh Avvannavar:
Santosh started his career as a
consultant and Soft Skills Trainer. After his college education from NITK,
Surathkal, he worked as a researcher at University of Eindhoven, University of Twente,
and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He was also the Placement President
while working at IISC, Bangalore. He has over twenty-five publications of
mostly research documents in national and international journals. He has also
authored sixteen conference papers and regularly writes articles for a national
and worldwide daily paper. He also works as an advisor for different
organisations. He also dabbles in fiction writing and is the author of Adhuri
Prem Kahaniya; Dear Wife, Your Husband is not a Superhero, Second Heart and Get
a Job WITHOUT an Interview; Be A B.A.; Surrogate Author; Title is Untitled. He
likes to devote his personal time in writing for a website, namely the Amrita
Foundation for HRD (www.amritafoundation.wordpress.com). He has conducted seminars
and training sessions for more than 40,000 people in India and abroad over the
last seven years.
Santosh I. Biradar:
Santosh is presently pursuing
Bachelor’s in Social Work from J.G.College of Social Work, Bijapur affiliated
to Rani Chennamma University. He is also the founder secretary of Chaitanya Organisation,
Bijapur. He is also associated with Deshpande Foundation as a lead ambassador.
He won ‘Best Reporter’ award in Youth for Development Program’s and ‘Best Education
award’ from Deshpande Foundation for providing free computer training to the
orphan children. He also volunteered various activities such as Google
Inktalks, NSS (A special camp for Leprosy people), life skills for orphan
children. He participated and evolved many school development programs for drop
out children as well.
BOOK LINKS:
Kindle
Rs
145 for Kindle
Paperback
Rs
225 for Paperback
