Sands of Time by Neelam Saxena Chandra

Women, in everyday life, accost and confront several challenging situations at home, workplace, during hangouts, etc. And their strength, confidence and valor are spectacular and worth learning from. Sands of Time by Neelam Saxena Chandra is an anthology with several tales of women in a variety of situations.

Author Neelam Saxena Chandra has utilized her experience to shape the stories in a different way. The accuracy of the stories makes one realize that she has perhaps written them keeping in mind the incidents that she has heard, read somewhere or has witnessed with different character and plot of course.

Image: Good Reads

I cannot help but agree with her when she calls time a magician and says that it acts sometimes like a soothing balm. Chandra’s stories have women in multiple situations. In some of her stories women are victims of greed, lust, brutality and barbarism, while in other stories, their heroism and fortitude will win your heart.

The pathetic notions that some carry about females is ridiculous absolutely, and the author, through a couple of stories in this book, sends a strong message out there that females should not be considered as a weaker gender.

However, one thing I prominently felt while reading this book was that some stories are not gripping at all. They are too common and usual, and possess nothing new. I think the author could have made these stories captivating by writing them in a different way, adding up certain things to increase its potency. Also, surprisingly, there are a couple of typographical errors in the book, which further pull down the interest. One simply cannot ignore these errors in the course of reading the book. I strongly feel that the publishing house should have been cautious at the time of publishing.

Over all, I think the stories could have been better. Yes, some stories are interesting, but a few are wearisome. At a time when the literary world is blooming with a massive influx of tales and novels, story-telling has become a little challenging, and to hit the right chords, bringing out stories creatively and cleverly is crucial.

• About the Author

About Suyash Karangutkar

Suyash Karangutkar is a young, dedicated and an enthusiastic journalist who has a deep interest in National and International Affairs. He is an ardent political spectator who finds politics fascinating. At Spectralhues, he heads the Mumbai team and covers National Affairs & Politics. He also occasionally writes columns for Spectralhues. He can be followed on Twitter @columnistsuyash