A book on love, hope & joie de vivre.

While we heartily pursue the habit of reading, it is solely for the joys that it can bring to us by populating our world for whatever brief time, with the lives of others. If you look back that is why the thought of authors of our childhood still bring back such lovely memories. Another matter is the thing about writing well. John Sheffield once said that of all those arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well. We thrill to a well-written book; but only rarely do we associate a sense of pride with it. And its with pride that I approached the counter of the D.C.Stores Cochin last evening, for billing a particular book of which I have had the pleasure and privilege of befriending the author. The wait for this book had been excruciating owing to the fact that it hadn’t been available in Kerala until now whereas it had already hit the stands everywhere else.. and I have since long always preferred buying a book directly from a store rather than from the web. Finally the wait has come to an end and I now have it in hand.

The cover page of the book I’m talking about, runs thus:

34 bubblegums and candies - Preeti Shenoy.


Considering the contents of the book, one is inclined to think that Preeti’s active avocation is to observe people and acknowledge the blessings of life, sitting on her hammock in her home, and recording her observations on her laptop. And her notes have always been sharp, precise and witty which is a joy to the reader. If you look at her blog, you can see the sincere effort to do that. There are accounts from her personal life, and the little things in life which so often go unnoticed. And she narrates it with her distinctive style and humor which is unique.

34 bubblegums and candies, as very rightly mentioned in the back cover page, brings out the essence and flavour of the journey called life. The ‘bubble gums’ implore the reader to sit back and reflect at life and injects the stimuli to live life to the fullest. And if you believe that there have been books in the past which does just the same, let me tell you few areas where Preeti easily wins over any of them. You can read her book while waiting for your cooker to whistle; you can read while your washing machine is churning to its conclusion; and of course you can read while traveling! The book is, to quote a newspaper headline that carries a review, refreshingly simple. Its an anytime pick which would prompt you to reflect at life, urging you to capture the sheer joy of living life to the fullest. The book is not over-theorized, and it gives enough room for the reader to breathe.

And delving into the candy jar in public may be a bit risky! Because when you delve into it, you are sure to go ‘HA HA HA’ thereby letting others see your throat and the entire universe within, like little Lord Krishna’s mother saw, long time ago! Well, sorry for the PJ, but let me tell you something which is not a PJ – reading this book in public is a bit risky because of the sudden guffaw that would have people staring at you. The candies are deliciously hilarious!


I needn’t say the obvious that a lot of effort has gone into the construction of this book. You can read here how few of her well meaning friends including Satish (her husband) have directed their energies towards the fructification of the book. And such a cute gesture from Atul& Purvi, her two lil kids, who so thoughtfully created personalized bookmarks for her blog readers who attended the launch events.


Preeti writes on her website that one day she hopes to land on a rainbow. Well Preeti, you already have. The wave of appreciation which you get from the media and the crowd abounded at the book meets, the smile that lights up on the faces of your friends and fellow bloggers as they pick up their copy of your book from the store – these are the different colors and hues of the rainbow you have just landed on!

Several months ago, last Dec to be precise, I had written Preeti a testimonial in orkut where I had mentioned that I’d definitely get a copy of her book once she intends to publish it. And now as I type this I see a book staring at me, just besides me.

The book titled 34 bubblegums and candies. The author - Preeti Shenoy ! :)

This is just a beginning. Just a beginning of many more to come from a very promising young author.


-Balu