Review of She- Ekla Cholo Re by Santhosh Avannavar

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Book Name
– She-Ekla Cholo Re

Author
– Santhosh Avannavar

Publisher
– Hoffen

Number of
Pages – 58

Publishing
Year – 2015

Edition
–
Paperback

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Rating : 3.5

Blurb

Set in the backdrop of 1990 Calcutta, She is a story about
finding one’s own identity in spite of all odds. The story spins around the
life of Kusum, a brave heart whose identity is often untitled and blurred; it
does not belong anywhere, definitely not under the ‘he’ or ‘she’ bracket,
thanks to our social conditioning. Will she be successful in her mission? Find
out in She, an utterly absorbing read that derives inspiration from Tagore’s
“Ekla Cholo Re” song, which urges everyone to move on despite the fear of
abandonment from others.

“She is one of the finest book to read” – Sujeeth Kumar, Project
Manager, MNC Bengaluru

“A story often untold. Appreciate the team for presenting She in the best
possible harmonious way!” – N K Narasimhan, CEO and Co-Founder, Nascor
Technologies, Bengaluru

“Don’t miss the ending!” – Raghunath Babu Are, Employee at Microsoft,
Bengaluru

My Review

She is an inspirational story. The story is an eye opener bringing forth the issues of a mass of people who could not place themselves in the Male- Female category. LGBT as we call them. Authors tried to bring a lot of issues faced by them like difficulty in societal acceptance, recognition, finding a job, and even filling up a form where is there is no provision to include themselves.
The story is set in the backdrop of 1990 Calcutta but it is applicable till now. Except some cities and villages, rest of our nation still is a taboo for them.

Love, loss, heartbreak, self respect
everything is same for them as well since they are also human beings. The storyline begins with Rajender’s (Male Protagonist) coincidental encounter with Kusum (She-male protagonist). Raj gives a lift to Kusum and during the trip she opens up about her personal life.

Citing Rabindranth Tagore’s peoms in between is an added bonus

The story is short but with a great message. The book cover is not appealing at all. If I had seen the book in a book stall, I would not have picked it up since the cover doesn’t speak anything about the book. It is said that we should not judge a book from it’s cover but sadly that is what we do generally. There were a few grammatical errors. For a book as short as this, the errors could have been avoided

Reviewed for the publisher

Disclosure of Material Connection: I
received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I
was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are
my own.

About the author

Santosh Avvannavar: Santosh started his career as a
consultant and Soft Skills Trainer. After his college education from NITK,
Surathkal, he worked as a researcher at University of Eindhoven, University of
Twente, and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He was also the Placement
President while working at IISC, Bangalore. He has over twenty-five
publications of mostly research documents in national and international
journals. He has also authored sixteen conference papers and regularly written
articles for a national and worldwide daily paper. He also works as an advisor
for different organisations.

He also dabbles in fiction writing and is the
author of Adhuri Prem Kahaniya; Dear Wife, Your Husband is not a Superhero,
Second Heart and Get a Job WITHOUT an Interview; Be A B.A.; Surrogate Author;
Title is Untitled; Black, Grey and White; The Departing Point; God’s Table and
Umbilical Cord.

He likes to devote his personal time in writing
for a website, namely the Amrita Foundation for HRD (www.amritafoundation.wordpress.com).
He has conducted seminars and training sessions for more than 45,000 people in
India and abroad over the last seven years.