Book Review: Aisle Be Damned by Rishi Piparaiya

Title: Aisle Be Damned

Author: Rishi Piparaiya

Publisher: Jaico Books

Pages: 216
Price: Rs 250

Genre: Non Fiction / Humour

Rating: 9/10

Format: Paperback

The moment I saw this book, I was immediately taken in by its unusual cover page and the title. Both do justice to the theme of this book. ‘Aisle Be Damned’ is a work of non-fiction that finds humour in every aspect of air travel. The humour is not forced. What really works in this book is that the author has pulled out some common observations which anyone with air travel experience can relate to. I finished this book in one sitting and laughed a lot till the end. Every person who has done a bit of air travel will get the humour in this book.  

By virtue of being a frequent traveler, the author offers loads of wisdom and suggestions on how to make the most of your air travel, peppered with plenty of humour. He has thought of everything, right from the baggage trolleys to airport, the boarding strategies to seats one must opt for, trivia and funny anecdotes related to air travel from around the world, and several such pieces that will tickle your funny bone. He tells you stuff like when are the business tycoons likely to travel, how can you get your economy class ticket upgraded to business class, how to choose your seat well, how to handle immigration officer, etc.

The author confesses at one point that several publishers found this book niche, but air travel has become so common that I am certain there is a huge target audience for this book.

It was a fun book to read, except perhaps the last chapter [Commerce, Literature and Zen] which looks a little forced. The book is perfect without that extra chapter. You must pick it up if you are feeling a little down or feeling stressed, this book will instantly perk you up. This can also make a nice gift. The only prerequisite for enjoying this book is a little experience of air travel. It is one of those books which you can pick any time [even after you have read it], read random lines again; and it will still give you a few laughs.

Here are few funny lines from the book:

[During Immigration] He will languidly open your passport, look at the photograph, look at you, then look back at the photograph. You can see the nuts and bolts in his brain rasping, straining to draw some correlation to the grotesque face in the photograph and the pasted smile standing in front of him, but there is none…….He lets it go though – it’s not the right time or place to empathize with you on the shortcomings of your gene pool.”

 “I am always on a first name basis with anyone from Sri Lanka, neither of us being able to pronounce the other’s last name.”

“There is a sign above the basin that says the water is not for drinking. Okay, thanks for letting me know. Because I usually love to drink water from bathrooms.”

“An experienced pilot earns well over $100,000 and flies about 800 hours a year. That’s $125 an hour for essentially playing Flight Stimulator. He has no monthly goals, no boss and all his colleagues are hot. The job calls for some travel yes, but stay is at luxury hotels, meals are included and life is one long MTV Grind party.”

Note: The text in italics have been quoted from the book.

Review Book courtesy: Jaico Books 

Image source: Jaico Books 

Book Review: Wise Enough To Be Foolish by Gauri Jayaram

Title: Wise Enough To Be Foolish

Author: Gauri Jayaram

Publisher: Jaico Books

Pages: 216  

Price: Rs 225

Genre: Fiction / Contemporary Fiction

Rating: 7/10

Format: Paperback

‘Wise Enough To Be Foolish’ is a ‘fictionalized memoir’ of its author Gauri Jayaram. Frankly speaking, almost always the first books are drawn from the author’s life experiences but this word ‘fictionalized memoir’ is a new one for me, and I am not complaining. She has altered a few details here and there to protect identities and make the story more interesting.

The tone of the story is personal, as if the author is narrating to you the 28 years of her life, making you privy to her secrets, thoughts and experiences. Her openness and honesty are refreshing for an autobiographical work that does not aspire to be sensational. She talks about her failures as well as her successes with equal ease and acceptance. She tells you about her many failed relationships and relationships that failed her.

Gauri takes us through her life right from the time she was born [in fact even before]. She tells us how her parents got married when her mother hadn’t even completed her degree. This line really tickled me: “a well-settled Punjabi boy from the armed forces (fauj) in hand was better than a degree in the bush.” From being an aimless teenager to a goal-oriented youth, from an insecure child to a confident young woman; Gauri’s life has several inspiring, coming-of-age moments.

Her story may not be overtly extraordinary but there are many things which will resonate with you if you are an Indian girl from middle class background. Gauri is a victim of ‘the Middle Child Syndrome’. Being the middle child among three siblings, she always craves for unconditional love from her parents. Aimless about her life in her teens, she finds inspiration to turn it around at the right time. Living on her own in Mumbai and Bangalore for higher education and career, combined with the exposure that big cities and travelling offers, helps her grow into a confident woman of the world. Sports always played an important role in her life and continues to do so. But there were too many relationships which did not work [I got confused after a while]. Gauri mentions at some point the alternative title for the book was ‘finding love’ [if I am not wrong] because eventually at the centre of everything was her unfulfilled need for unconditional love and acceptance, where she does not need to be anyone else but herself.

All these years, Gauri lets her heart decide the course of her life and not head. For the multi-faceted woman that she is now, she certainly achieved what she sought out for, with a bit of luck and faith in herself. I was thrilled how eventually everything fell into place and she found a perfect partner.

It was a light-hearted read. There are enough twists and turns which keeps the story going at a good pace, and the fact that it is autobiographical makes it more fascinating. I really liked the way she has added updates about people where she writes about them because in an autobiographical account, the reader wants to know what those people are doing now. It is unusual that she decides to do it at that point because it is usually done at the end of the book. But I liked it this way because the character is more relevant at that point. The author has also discussed social issues every now and then, which was relevant to the story like female infanticide, preference of boy child, stigma related to divorce, inter caste / religion marriage, child abuse, etc.

Moreover, the cover page is charming and perfect for the story. The title is also interesting and captures the essence of the story well.

So, the fact of the matter is it may not be a literary masterpiece but there are enough reasons to read it, if you like contemporary women fiction.

Here are a few lines quoted from the book:

 “But no day is like any other, no people are alike, and no lesson the same.”

 “And as time goes by, I’m becoming a bit like him, and he is becoming like me. It is a crazy type of love. Yet it is like a candle – that gives warmth and lasts longer..”

Note: Text in italics has been quoted from the book.

Review Book courtesy: Jaico Books

Image source: Jaico Books