Book Review: Realized Inner Voice

After the  formal launch of the #Blogchatter Ebook Carnival on 13th June 2022, I downloaded quite a few books that I was interested in reading and "Realized Inner Voice" by Richa Newatia  was one of them.  The book interested me in terms of the title and the topics that it promised to touch  namely various aspects of life such as hurt, broken hearts, pretensions, being judgmental etc. It is purely by chance that the book was also chosen by the Blogchatter team for mandatory review. (Each author is expected to review two books- one chosen by the team and another of his/her own choice).   

As a reader, discussion on  various aspects of life and  introspecting on them interests me. Often times  poets are naturally attracted to nature, love  and romance. We also get to read poems on harsh realities like poverty or women's issues. Comparatively, less of poetry is written on the seemingly mundane day to day life or seeking insights about them. Therefore, my curiosity was aroused and I looked forward with anticipation to reading the book. 

At the outset I would like to compliment the author for choosing the topics such as "suffocating love" "simplicity in writing" "Making mistakes and learning from them rather than avoiding mistakes". It is obvious that she has an earnest desire to bring such topics to the table so that they are debated and discussed  for facilitating continuous improvement. Some of the ideas that I liked in the book include (1) Accepting human beings who are dark in colour in the same way you accept and enjoy dark "Chocolate ice cream" (2) While pedaling  your "cycle" to achieve life goals, you also need to check whether it is actually where you want to go lest it involves compromising on your inner peace of mind and (3) Simplicity in writing is to be welcomed and cherished rather than be apologetic about. "A blur of memories" is an insightful poem that exhorts you to not be bogged down by the 'sad', 'empty', 'broken' memories and that with time they will blur and fade away. 

At this stage of the review, it is necessary to appreciate the purpose of a review. while appreciating the good parts of a book , it is also necessary to discuss the areas of improvement so that the author can use the feedback effectively for the journey forward. It is observed that in most poems, prose sentences have been cut and placed as separate lines to give it an appearance of poetry.  As for example the poem "The mistake" would read thus if words were not split : " Is making a mistake right or wrong? No wrong in committing a mistake. But not accepting is wrong.And not trying to make it correct is wrong. Knowing the mistakes and repeating them is wrong."

 I was  also guilty of the above tendency while participating in the A2Z challenge this year when I had  set for myself  five line verse restriction for each topic. I  ended up writing long prosy lines to pack in the maximum possible in few lines.  To my mind,  the author can consider writing a longer book as this short book is barely able to touch the surface of topics that need a deeper understanding and articulation. Further, one could notice grammatical  and spelling errors that could have been avoided with a little more diligence and attention. 

The author would do well to write in prose rather than poetry. Further, perhaps writing in Hindi or a regional language that is more comfortable would enable the author to  more effectively articulate her ideas.  In her poem "Simple Writing" the author Richa Newatia makes some interesting points that I subscribe to completely. She says that "It is difficult to be simple"  and that what is important is expressing your 'unique' self and ideas. A matter of caution though is that  it is necessary  to have a good vocabulary and then choose to write 'simply' drawing appropriate words  from your repertoire . It is not about writing 'simple' because you do not know more words.   

I would like to conclude by wishing the author the very best in her writing journey.  It is clear that she has things to say that are meaningful and worthwhile and has an ardent desire to do so . Choosing the right medium and preparing adequately for the tasks and challenges ahead would stand her in good stead as she blossoms into her full potential as a writer. 

NB: (1) This review is part of the Blogchatter's E book carnival. You can download the book for free here. 

(2) My book " 26 Verses and 26 Prose notes on 26 Lofty Topics" is also part of the carnival: can  Access  here.