Uff Ye Emotions 2 - Book Review

Uff Ye Emotions 2

Edited By Vinit K. Bansal

Review By Ila Garg

The anthology comprising of 11 remarkably beautiful short stories, Uff Ye Emotions 2, has been published by General Press Publishers. All the eleven stories are well written and deal with the various different themes, all knit with the thread of Relationships. 

Let’s start with the cover. One word - Not too gaudy! :D Well, yes the cover of the anthology, Uff Ye Emotions 2, is interesting, and not a mess. The back cover has all the contributors with their story names. Next, let’s talk about the 11 well-knit stories one by one. As I personally feel that without talking about each story individually, the review wouldn’t be complete and it wouldn’t be a justified review of this anthology. I don’t want anyone to feel left out, so here you go:

1. THE CLIENT by Vinit K. Bansal: This is a story of Riva, a prostitute by profession. Though the unexpected ending left me disappointed but I enjoyed the way Vinit Sir has tackled this dark subject. The language is simple, engrossing, clearly a perfect story to start the anthology with. Also, it’s based on a real incident. Quoting from the story, “Prostitution is like a one-way road that can let you in, but later, wriggling out of it becomes virtually impossible. Initially, you accept it reluctantly; later, you do it because you cannot run away, and with time, it ensnares every bit of your entity in such a way that eventually you end up as a mere puppet to the profession.”

2. MOKSHA by Kunal Marathe: This story is mind boggling. A very sombre subject starts with the arrest scene leading the readers to the court. The language is equally serious, though engaging, and it takes you into the character’s past as he speaks in the courtroom. Quoting from the story, “My fucking mind, my fucking conscious mind had the fucking courage to fire a fucking bullet at my wife, but I couldn’t gather the fucking courage to take this fucking ring out of my fucking finger - fuck!” 

3. WHEN DESTINY STRIKES by Mahi Singla: This story moves around the friendship of Gunjan (a rich girl) and Payal (a poor girl). How destiny makes them bump into each other after ages and how it affects both of them is well narrated in this story. This makes me feel sorry. Quoting from the story, “I tried to make my own destiny, but I forgot that when destiny strikes, it makes or breaks the rules we have set for ourselves. It makes or breaks the lives we have defined for ourselves. That’s what happened with me.” 

4. THE WOMAN WHO WAITED by Shalini Katyal: This story is essentially about the the faith on true love. I liked the way Shakespeare has been incorporated in the story. It is a nice read, though the end was slightly predictable. The climax will leave the readers with tears in their eyes and a smile of satisfaction on lips gathered from the firm belief in love. A story written with a deep emotional touch. Quoting from the story, “People will always be reading you on my face because your image will always be reflecting in my eyes.”

5. THE PALE PIGEON by Siddhartha Yadav: Nice story, illustrating a prominent happening in today’s fast paced world. I felt, character of Abhijatya and Asmita were not given ample space. I wished you could have used the title as a symbol of pain, sufferings, aloofness, old age, in your story, but it was not mentioned anywhere. I liked the bond that Mohit and Richa shared. Quoting from the story, “And suddenly, a recorded message pulled the attention of everyone towards the radio. A very familiar voice saying - Honey, it’s your birthday today and I know that you have been waiting for my wishes since morning. I never forgot this day, but, actually, was not able to gather the strength to wish you.” 

6. HICKEY by Heema Shirvaikar: This left me in utter shock. I was tongue - tied and out rightly appalled. I felt really ashamed of the society in which we are living these days. Highly sensitive story line! Brutal reality of our society has been brought to the fore by this story - Marital Rape, which has become so common in India that the discussion which was earlier taboo, is becoming a common place scenario now. I had goose bumps by the time I reached the end. A well written story. Quoting from the story, “Akka had been a victim of marital rape and she had never realised that her husband couldn’t use her body to write his stories on when she did not want them. She didn’t realise that he couldn’t just use her like a scrap paper just because she was married to him and because she belonged to him.”

7. NCERT OF LOVE by Himanshu Appie Chhabra and Udita Pal: Ah! Perhaps this was the cutest story in this anthology and I really enjoyed everything about it. Love is the most wonderful thing that can happen in our life. Class 8th students falling in love and writing those love letters. Haha! Udita and HAC gave you what you expected from them. Two words summarise this one for me - Cute and Romantic! Quoting from one of the letters in the story, “My friend says every guy watches them. Do you? Promise me, you will not do anything like that with me. I hate crying… it destroys my makeup, and you know very well how much I love my make up!”

8. I’LL BE THERE by Ishani Malhotra: An in and out love story! Simple, easy to understand language. Good use of romantic phrases. Even the pace is kept sooth for the readers. A nice and crisp story overall. Quoting from the story, “In the last few hours, Sahil had made up his mind that the stranger, who had refused her him outright and was not intrigued by his fame, was THE ONE, who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.”

9. DILEMMA by Tarang Sinha: One of my favourites. A heart-touching tale of Ashima which left me spell bound. It strengthens your believe in the existence of humanity. It also made me a little sad. And perhaps the element of realism is its USP. Quoting from the story, “At that very moment, her dilemma seemed to melt away and Ashima took a concrete decision - a decision that no one could deter!”

10. 120 MINUTES by Saravana Kumar Muragan: Amm… This story could have been a little better. I browsed through it, because I found it a little lacking in plot. Otherwise it was a good narration. Quoting from the story, “God once tried to test my depth of love, which is what you are going to read now - the one hundred and twenty minutes that made me realise, how much I love my beloved wife, Isha.”

11. LOVE AND SACRIFICES by Meghant Parmar and Heena Ahuja: A perfect ending for this anthology comes in the form of this story! It was an interesting story and laced with manifolds of emotions. Nice read for sure. Keeps the readers hooked, has ample amount of passion, love, sacrifice! Quoting from the story, “Love is a test, and its outcome will always depend on your sacrifices and the unknown bonds formed over time.”

Overall, a nice anthology with all the shining contributors. 

Rating: 3/5