This book contains the success stories of 17 renowned doctors, namely Virendra Sarwal, Ashok Khurana, Lingam Vijaya, Muralidhar V. Pai, Krishna R. Murthy, Suresh K. Pandey, Jyotirmay Biswas, Barnali Das, Mahipal S. Sachdev, Praveen R. Murthy, Anita Panda, Jas Kohli, Dhanashree Ratra, Sarbjit Singh, Vidushi Sharma, Vinay R. Murthy and Sundaram Natarajan.

It is indeed a must read for all those young people aspiring to become doctors.

It also restores the general public’s faith that all the doctors are not corrupt and insensitive.

The book is also a reminder that doctors are humans too and so often they sacrifice their personal lives to attend to ailing patients.

The book talks about 17 doctors who had their fair share of struggle and went through ups and downs.

Their lives posed myriad barriers as they worked hard to reach their goals but one thing that was common to them was that they did not give up. They continued to fight through the worst of situations. Even when the world was against them, they kept holding on to their dream.

And they all worked hard and put in a lot of effort to get where they are today. Nothing in life comes without a price.

They paid the price through immense hard work and now life is paying them back with success and happiness.

I feel that the book is not only an inspiration for to-be-doctors but also for other students from any stream and subject.

Because the point of the book is the struggle behind every success, not just the struggle to become doctor.

The book also contains quotes and advice for the medical students. It warns them of the pros and cons.

It is the best feeling in the world to give someone a life but then there js sacrificing of personal time, family time, vacations, and yes again, there’s a lot of dedication and hard work required.

It’s a full package and a complete punch of knowledge and motivation.

The stories are bound to stir hearts and motivate souls. Every journey is aspiring in its own way.

For the doctors, the hurdles were strong, but the will power and self motivation was stronger.

Overall I’d like to rate this book 9/10. It was a  good and satisfying read after a long time.

(Reviewed by Soumashree Mukherjee)

It’s a book of undeniable depth and knowledge.

The author has gone into candid and minute details. It is like a mirror showing the truth.

Some of the details in the book will even shock the most sturdy.

Usually, history is taught in our schools in a very generalized manner, often a glorification of people. But rarely are we told about the dark side of history.

This book is like an eye opener, a rude awakening. A book that makes you question Gandhiji’s work as a ‘freedom fighter’, a book  that shakes your faith from its very foundation.

Although the book focuses on the Barak valley, the narration links the region with the happenings around the country before and after independence.

The book touches upon topics such as the Sepoy Mutiny, formation of the Indian National Congress, role of Gandhiji in Hindu-Muslim riots and the Partition of India, the dark side of the leaders, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and the aftermath of British rule in India – especially on Assam, the Barak Valley.

The book also throws light on the origin of Muslim religion in Bengal, the effect of China and the greater India’s relation with Bengali people.

It winds up with the story of how Barak Valley, such a tiny region of such a big country, played a major role in bringing back Hindu-Muslim unity after the Partition of India.

A must read for people who are interested in history and want to know more about the Barak region.

Overall I’d rate this book 9.5/10.

(Reviewed by Soumashree Mukherjee)

It’s commonly said that Bengali is the sweetest language on earth. This statement is proven when you read poems like these.

All the poems in this book churn your emotions and make you re-live your own memories and experiences. It’s like having a friend who is reading your heart out to you.

As I sit to write this review, I can’t really find words to describe how I am feeling about this particular book.

My mind and my heart are so caught up with my own memories and my feelings that I can’t really focus on my job.

I am really upset with the poet for making me feel like this.

Such amazing poems that they just made me cry, each one of them. I don’t know how poets do this. I don’t know how they make their words reflect the human heart in such a piercing manner.

Life is bittersweet yes, and so are the poems in this book.

There are some poems in particular that hit home more than the others.

The book begins with a poem called, “Anubhuti”. The moment I was done reading the first few lines I was struck by its exprression because it felt like the poet was writing about my life.

Actually, all the poems give you that feeling.

This made me realise that, may be, human emotions are the same. All of us are going through the same feelings and the same kind of experiences. And, it is literature like this that ties humanity together, that brings oneness in the scattered society.

But reading poems like these feels like we are sharing our experiences with each other and telling each other that we are not alone in the struggle of life.

The world is becoming a very intolerant place, people are drifting farther and farther away from each other. And, literature will play a vital role in holding the world together, in healing wounded hearts.

So poets like these and books like these are going to play a vital role in sustaining this world and taking us forward in a holistic way.

All the poems together make an amalgamation of human life, of human heart in the modern times.

All I want to tell the readers would be this, do not pick up this book when you are busy, or when you are in the middle of something. Read this book at your leisure time and let a few drops of tears fall from your eyes as you savour the nostalgia.

(Reviewed by Priya Das)