My Feathered Friends & The Book of Poems : Part 1 by Sunil Bhatia | Book Reviews

Being the most intelligent race on the planet (of course, may not be the most wise) it is our responsibility to make the upcoming generation more intelligent and wiser. And, the famous Guru, Pundit Vishnu Sharma had shown us a fantastic way to implant qualities into the next generation, through the stories of PanchTantra. It proved then and again many times that when the wisdom is spread using a fun way, it is going to be adapted more effectively by the recipients.

Why are we talking about PanchaTantra and such stuff today?

Well, we came across a book named My Feathered Friends & The Book of Poems : Part 1 by debutante author Sunil Bhatia, which explores interactions of the protagonist with birds though various stories. Of course, these stories are not to be meant to be PanchTantra tales, the intention however seems to be quite similar; Tell the humans something they need to know, to make the earth a better place to live.

The cover page of the book is simple and sober. And it goes with the theme of the book quite well. Sometimes we complicate the things unnecessary while trying to provide more details than required. The cover page could have been more attractive though. Actually, it is quite possible that some readers may find it not much impressive. So we can give the cover page 3 out of 5 stars.

We often talk about the book plot first and then share our views and reviews for the same. However this time, let us make an exception. The reason is, though it is an almost continuous tale, it is actually a set of small tales which are like essays.

The protagonist is living in a metro city where the space is the most precious resource, sometimes even more important than the time! It is obvious that he/she misses the nature. However, in the rat race to earn a lot and do something “remarkable” in our life, we often forget to live it. And once you get into the cycle of incident, you are almost caught in the center of the tornado and it becomes almost impossible to break free.

The author is good at explaining scenes and fill in emotions into the same while describing the surrounding. Let me share an example:

The ran gods decided to go on a short vacation after a few days and I was able to hear some ‘chirrups’ now and then.

We, in our normal lives often follow the monotonous routine and in search of secure financial stability and better family life, we does the things robotically. The author touches the reality in a sarcastic manner though the lines like:

… We have to go through painfully thick manuals, mugging up procedures, take exams to qualify and feel dejected if we don’t do well.
— — — — — —
Are we all any better than these parrots? I guess it’s a trap for us leser mortals, created by those higher up.

And the best way to refresh ourselves is to get out of the routine. The author tells the stuff in quite interesting manner:

I suppose what you say is true, we all need some time to forget what we’ve become, remember who we were and be who we are.

Do you realize that it a communication between a bird and a human being? Doesn’t it feel like a wise man is spreading some life lessons? Well, the book tends to be the same, a messenger. The concept of using various birds as the messengers will remind you the fact that the birds were actually used as messengers in the past. And the practice still exists in some part of the world.

The author explores various chapters where different kind of birds come and participate in the conversation. It is not always a monologue. Each species has its own unique attribute, and the author brilliantly turns that defining characteristic into a life lesson.

I would like to mention an interesting conversation here:

“Life is competitive you know, one has to work hard to make a living.”
The Owl nodded his head in agreement. “That is right but it should not be at the cost of your personal space and desires.”
— — — — — —
We Owls have a principle that even if we have and share information internally, we will never interfere in the personal affairs or lives of other creatures.

Here is one of the bitter truth almost all of us realize at least once in the lifetime.

You all seem to be fine till the time you are children, but once you grow up… I tell you!!!

And even harder truth comes in a punch line like this:

Humans are not very popular amongst humans too!

The weaves a love story of birds which comes to make its presence felt in several chapters. Through that tale the author talks at length about love, sacrifice and realities. I wish I could talk in detail about it, but that will spoil your reading experience, so I need to stop here.

The wise lines about accepting the realities of the life and finding a way to stay away from the rat-race is penned down like:

That is why you people are so insecure at times because you run so much after joy, that even a little decline in it makes you uncomfortable.

The book contains even philosophical lines like:

That’s the funny thing about life, the more you long for something, the more difficult it seems to get. The moment you forget about it, it doesn’t really matter whether you get it or not.

If I had to summarize the message the book want to spread, I will quote:

Yes, life is not always fair, but it never stops giving you chances and taking them is entirely in your hands.

The characters in this book are not quite similar to what we find in the other books. They are not humans, but the author has made sure that the characters grow gradually & deliver something interesting. The author literary skills are already explored though some of the quotes from the book, so you yourself can judge the same. There was a possibility of this book become a boring lecture, the author however prevented it.

The author and publisher both must be appreciated for showing courage to pen down and publish such a book.

Though, I have received the book as a gift to provide honest review about the same, I found it pricey. Most of the readers still has a tendency to find cheap book through various book deals and I will recommend this book to be bought during a promotion.

The poems segment comes as a bonus to the book and it should be enjoyed that way.

Summary:

Definitely a worth reading book which follows the PanchTantra path. I found it quite pricey when I am writing this and I will recommend it to be bought during a book promotion when it is available at attractive rates.

Around 7.5 stars out of 10

Quick Purchase Links:

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