Title: Circle with no centre

Author: Deepak Khurana

Genre: Contemporary fiction

Publisher: Notionpress

Pages: 307

Paperback

Lately, I have been really leaning into contemporary fiction, because they are so relatable! Gone are those ages of fairy tale, die hard romances of the classics (which, believe me, I used to worship). But who has those kind of romances any more? Call me old fashioned, as I found my husband of 14 years in a fairly non dramatic way; he asked me to marry him on our second date, even in that period of casual dating and flings. However, the dating scene had been deteriorating drastically ever since, and with the advent of dating apps and video calls, it has just gotten worse. So, yes, we need more practical love stories and not some mushy fairy tale like tale. 

Circle with no centre is a story about "situationship". For the uninitiated, a situationship is a "relationship" where the status is not clearly defined. The two individuals are romantically (and sexually) involved, but there is no commitment, possessiveness or even exclusivity. 

The male and the female protagonist bump into each other on a dating app, after a decade of being barely known college mates. They belonged to a very big circle in their college, but they had never spoken to each other and only knew each other by face value. The girl was in a steady relationship during her college duration and barely interacted with anyone else in the group. Her breakup with her college boyfriend post college was a news to the alumni of her batch. And hence, absolutely heartbreaking and embarrassing for the girl. 

They instantly recognise each other on the app and decide to meet, and hit off instantly. However, they both are walking on eggshells, very wary of commitment. Both are sceptical of getting hurt again, although they like each other extremely but still wary of getting their guard down. 

The girl is a popular Youtuber, that is so urbane in this era. She had poured her heart and soul into her channel and it had been her escape from heartbreak and realism. 

How the story unfolds is really fascinating, and I love the urban scenario that the story is set in. The writer uses all the Millenial and Gen Z terminologies, which makes it super relatable for readers like us. Our parents on the other hand, might not get it..

It's an easy breezy pleasant read and I loved every bit of it. 

Eating: 5/5

Check it out here. 

This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program

 June is my birthday month. Yes I am a June baby!! I have had a complicated relationship with my birthdays. Yes I am one of those people, who used to get super excited about birthdays! I have celebrated with my friends throughout the school years, at home only, as my birthday falls during summer vacation. 

However the real excitement of birthdays arose during my college years, as there is no vacation in medical college and I had a thick group of friends, who would start countdown as soon as the month of June would start. Those 5 birthdays are my best memories, and then I got married and perspectives shifted. Sometimes birthdays have to revolve around treating in laws, while some years it would be taking the kids out, for their own pleasure. 

The husband often suggested for a quick getaway, but I always turned it down, as I wanted to be "available" to accept everyone's wishes and all. Birthdays have always been a big deal for me, I too celebrate my loved ones' special days with lot of pomp and show, so expected a bit in return too, on my own day. However, every year turned out to be worse than the previous ones. As I turned off my Facebook birthday reminder, even close family members and friends forgot to wish me. I realized how shallow everything is. 

For the first time in 35 years, in 2023. I spent my birthday in Tanzania, holidaying, away from my parents and my younger one. I definitely missed them immensely, but it felt so so so damn good. My phone wasn't reachable and I didn't even care who bothered to wish me. Of course, very significant people in my life remembered after a couple of days, on seeing my post on Instagram. 

I have been a happier person for the past 3 years because I am editing my life, weeding out all the unnecessary family members. This year, I will be in Finland, celebrating my birthday with my husband and elder daughter. Of course I would terribly miss my little one and my parents, but I am ready to be selfish to have the time of my life. I know, barring my close college and school friends, no one is going to remember me. And when I will post on Instagram, my so called friends and fam members would be posting stories and whatsApp statuses. 

I have let go of expectations and of course celebrating others too, who don't make me feel good. It's my day and I don't need anyone else to make me feel good. Thankfully, my husband is taking me on this grand Baltic/ East European trip, so that I can celebrate it my way. I am very grateful for that. No expectations, no disappointment.

What kind of birthday person are you? Are you the one celebrating in a grand way with friends or an intimate one with family? Or, not a birthday person at all, whatsoever? 

 This post was created for the Blogaberry Creative (June) Challenge with theme word (Day).

Long before Instagram was a thing, photography and food enthusiasts had a knack of capturing food on their cameras, without thinking of posting it anywhere. When I was in college, I had a simple mobile camera, but I made sure that I documented all the meals that we are out, the beautifully laid o

This picture was taken on Firangiri beach, the most popular beach town of Penang island, Malaysia. It was a beautiful evening, and this eatery was right on the road. I ordered Tom Yum noodles with shrimps and husband ordered a plate of simple egg noodles.The shrimps on my plate looked absolutely tempting and it tasted better than it looked. Now, shell fish are notorious for triggering allergies in sensitive people, which I am not at all. In my (almost) 37 years of existence, I don't know of a single food item, that is known to evoke any allergy in me. So I am pretty experimental in what I can put inside my tummy. I am willing to try everything and anything. And being a Bengali, shrimps and prawns are far from experimental, they are a staple of anyone's diet. I relished every morsel, oblivious of the fact what my future held for me. 

I couldn't sleep that night because of intense itching all over my body. The husband was deep asleep, and I didn't wake him up. I kept slathering body lotion all over myself, thinking that the pruritus was because of extreme dryness from sea bathing and swimming. I couldn't notice any rashes too, as it was dark and we had only warm white light in out hotel room. 

As soon as dawn cracked, my jaw fell when I started noticing the redness all over my body. The sight was horrendous, something I had seen only in textbooks; not even on any patient of mine. I shook my husband awake in anxiety, and it took him some time to come to his senses and realize the gravity of the situation. We were not carrying an anti histamines, as it was a short trip, the kids were not there and allergy was the least of our concerns. However, this incident proves that you can never be over prepared. 

We rushed to the nearest chemist shop (not so common on a beach side) and got the substitute of whatever we get in our country, after trying to convince the chemist that we are registered medical practitioners from India. 

My redness, swelling and hence itching subsided after 12 hours, but along with it came intense drowsiness. In all, we lost 2 precious days of our trip. I am still not sure what exactly triggered that allergy, I could only pin the shrimps as the culprit. Now, I would be super apprehensive of trying shrimps or prawns, (or would keep an Epi pen with me).. 

It could have been much worse too. I could have gone to an anaphylactic shock and died, if it had been too severe. 

Could you imagine this story while looking at these happy pictures? I bet not! There's usually a long saga behind every picture, and from next time onwards, let's ponder over other possibilities, instead of just drooling on the food!

This post is part of #BlogchatterFoodFest

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
in collaboration with Ratna Prabha.