Review - Boots, Belts, Berets
Hi Friends,
A couple of people have given me a feedback that they can't read the reviews, I am re-posting them. The book was reviewed by The Telegraph, The Hindu, Business India, Financial Express, Business World and HT but I could lay my hands only on the ones I am posting. As and when I come across the others, I'll be posting them...
Since quite a few people have asked me where they can buy the book, they are available at all leading book stores across the country as well as online.
Try www.rolibooks.com for online buying.
Hindustan Times - 25 May 2008
Business World, 19 May, 2008
Selection 1
From Boys To Men
Boots, Belts, Berets
By Tanushree Podder, IndiaInk/Roli Books,
Pages: 223; Price: Rs 295
A couple of people have given me a feedback that they can't read the reviews, I am re-posting them. The book was reviewed by The Telegraph, The Hindu, Business India, Financial Express, Business World and HT but I could lay my hands only on the ones I am posting. As and when I come across the others, I'll be posting them...
Since quite a few people have asked me where they can buy the book, they are available at all leading book stores across the country as well as online.
Try www.rolibooks.com for online buying.
Hindustan Times - 25 May 2008
Business World, 19 May, 2008
Selection 1
From Boys To Men
Boots, Belts, Berets
By Tanushree Podder, IndiaInk/Roli Books,
Pages: 223; Price: Rs 295
This is a charming coming of age tale in a unique setting. A bunch of disparate boys at India’s National Defence Academy (NDA) find themselves pitted against a brutally disciplined system and sadistic seniors. There is the lover boy, Bertie, the stately Randy, the boringly earnest Pessi (short for pessimist), and Maachh, who is a genius at coming up with stupid plans. They grow from gawky adolescents into assertive adults on the sidelines of the draining drills and mortifying punishments. Boots, Belts, Berets is an autobiographical tale, written in first person by the author from the perspective of her husband, Pessi, who spent three years at NDA in the 1970s. The author has restrained from making her husband the hero and has kept it about the band of boys who grew into men at NDA.—Feroz Ahmed
Business Today - June 1, 2008
The Financial Express
New Delhi, 11 May 2008
The Hindu 4 May, 2008
First Impression
SUCHITRA BEHAL
Boots Belts Berets; Tanushree Podder; IndiaInk; Rs.295.
We have to thank Chetan Bhagat for popularising a genre of writing that most Indian book editors would dump into without skipping a beat. After chick lit and college sagas comes Tanushree Podder’s Boots Belts Berets delves in to the lives of the freshers at India’s premier defence academy, NDA.
We have to thank Chetan Bhagat for popularising a genre of writing that most Indian book editors would dump into without skipping a beat. After chick lit and college sagas comes Tanushree Podder’s Boots Belts Berets delves in to the lives of the freshers at India’s premier defence academy, NDA.
The book starts off with a batch of freshers undergoing training at the NDA. Most are greenhorns but soon fall into line when they realise that there’s hell to pay if they don’t. There are unforgiving seniors whose only joy in life is to bug the freshers, bark orders and make their lives even more miserable. The teachers are as varied and while most spell doom for the poor freshers, the man behind the breakfast counter is the most loved. Even those with fastidious tastes develop a respect for food of any kind.
A motley crowd of freshers is thrown together here, most sticking with each other due to the proximity of their rooms. But that’s another thing about hostels — they teach you to be more tolerant and to live with most people. While there are pranks galore there is also an element of seriousness. But mostly it confirms that life at the academy can be a riot if taken in the right spirit. The NDA is not a place for the faint-hearted. Read it if you’re planning on joining the forces and otherwise too. It helps pass a few hours
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