Spicy Bites Of Biryani....Because Life needs a little masala

by Ashwina Garg

Studied hard? Got the perfect job? Found the perfect mate? And Still Screwed up your life? Is it possible to do everything right in your life and still not be happy? Meet Sanjay, Aditi, Mayank and Jayshree.

Sanjay is US-returned software millionaire determined to have an arranged marriage aftr slling his company and braking up with his two-timing girlfriends.

Aditi is a commitment-phobic writer who cant figure out what her next book is about but has perfected the art of break-ups Manyank and Jayshree are the perfect couple. If only they werent dealing with rude relatives, killing deadlines, procreation pressures and those ultimate romance-killers... monotoy and boredom!

This light-hearted story traces the lives of these four successful, thirty-something friends who all come to the same conclusion...

The hardest thing about having the perfect life is keeping it that way!

225 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Rohit Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘SPICY BITES OF BIRYANI’ IS REALLY SPICY,BUT IN PARTS!

Genre: Romance/Fiction

Publisher: Srishti


‘Spicy Bites of Biryani’ is the first novel by Mrs. AshwinaGarg. It is the sweet and spicy tale of four completely different characters – Sanjay, Aditi, Mayank and Jayshree. Sanjay is a US returned software millionaire, who has returned to India, after selling his company, tolook for a perfect bride. He is already into his thirties and feels that his life has reached a point, where he should have a wife. Moreover, he recentlyhad a breakup, when his girlfriend, Sheetal, ditched him. Aditi is a young, beautiful, but a commitment-phobic writer, who has switched boyfriends constantly, and has perfected the art of breakups. She is chirpy, fun loving, outspoken,a typical girl next door, who is going through a horrendous writer’s block. Mayank and Jayshree are married to each other, a picture perfect couple, at least in pictures. Their wedding is marred by the expectations of the relatives and families, monotonous work and hectic schedule, which leaves them with no time to enjoy their togetherness. They work. They fight. They love, and they fight again, and they work!

Now, when Sanjay lands up in India, after selling his software company, he meets Mayank, Jayshree and, their friend Aditi. Sanjay was senior to Mayank in their college days, and he was senior to both Mayank and Jayshree when they worked for Apache. Sanjay befriends with Aditi, and the latter takes up the responsibility to find the perfect match for Sanjay. She even fixes his date with one of her friends, Sujaya. But Sanjay finds the calorie conscious Sujaya completely opposite to his choice. Meanwhile, the relatives are too excited to see an eligible bachelor, and they all get busy in the match-making. But, Sanjay slowly gets attracted towards the bubbly Aditi, who is afraid of any sort of commitment. They both then decides to enter in a contractual-based relationship, where there will be love, commitment, but no future. They all then go on a vacation to Phuket, and the relationship between Sanjay and Aditi, and Mayank and Jayshree goes through all sorts of ups and downs. Aditi tries her best to prove the perfect companion to Sanjay, shedding her change-boyfriend-everyday image. She takes care of him perfectly, and also tries to change herself, just for him. Sanjay, jolted by a breakup, tries his best to keep Aditi happy, but his over-possessive nature results into constant fights. Mayank and Jayshree’s marital life goes through a lot of ups and downs. Mayank wants to have a baby, where Jayshree is not ready. Moreover, their hectic work schedule leaves them with less time for each other.And, the constant nagging from the relatives adds icing on the cake of their marital woes. Now the question is – Will Aditi overcome her phobia, and agree to marry Sanjay? Will Sanjay be able to shed his over-possessiveness and accept Aditi, as she is? And, will Mayank and Jayshree solve their marital issues, and will truly be a perfect wedded couple? To find out, savour the spicy Biryani of their lives, by reading this book.

Now, the REVIEW...

‘Spicy Bites of Biryani’ is a well-written fiction, a bit different from the usual college romances. It is matured, it is humorous, it is witty, and it will definitely make you laugh. I loved the extent of detailing Ashwina has done. Be it the clothes, or the food, or the surroundings or the mood, the authoress has detailed them to the perfection. I also loved the way she has portrayed Aditi's character, showing various layers. She is sweet, she is bubbly, she is outspoken, she is adorable, she is bold, she is innocent, she is caring, she is dumb at times, she is protective, she is cooperative, she is friendly, and she has shades of fragility too. Without a doubt, she is my favorite character in the book. The narration is another highlight of the book. Ashwina has a very good control on the language, and I congratulate her for this. The book is lighthearted, and some of the scenes (and lines) will definitely make you smile, or even laugh. There is a scene when Aditi asks Sanjay if he will wear anything she buys for him, and conducts marriage as per her own choice. To this, Sanjay agrees, with a fear that she might buy a green colored Shervani, with belly dancers shaking their hip at the wedding mandap. And then there is a scene, when Aditi is afraid that someone will rape her, but she thinks that she is not even dressed for the occasion to provoke anyone to rape her! And one of my favorites was –when Sanjay tells Aditi that he was imagining her in a monster truck(because Aditi owns a small car). To this, Aditi sadly mutters, “Most men imagine women in lingerie!”

I can assure these situations will look much better when you will read this book. Apart from humor, the romance and the drama has been highlighted and expressed decently well. As a first time writer, Mrs. Ashwina Garg has done a good job. It is a decent read, a quick read, and will definitely make you smile. Aditi’s character stays with you, even after you are done with the book.


A few negatives...

The book starts off very slowly, with too many characters thrown-off instantly, and a reader may feel confused. The book takes time to grow, and picks up after Aditi and Sanjay decides their relationship rules. Apart from Aditi, I personally felt that rest of the characters were under-developed, especially Mayank and Jayshree. There are moments when the reader misses them in the story. Continuous reference to sex was also a put-off, and reminded me of earlier days of Durjoy Datta. The first kiss scene between the lead couple is always important. Somehow, the first kiss scene in this book failed to ignite any spark, though the romance scenes in the later part of the book are much better. Although, the authoress has successfully thrown the humorous quotient; the story somehow fails to grow in the reader’s mind. The story moves at a single pace, which is neither too exciting, and nor too boring. But, the major negative, which I personally felt,was the predictable story line and uninteresting climax.

On the whole, Ashwina Garg’s ‘Spicy Bitesof Biryani’ is a good and impressive debut attempt. It is well written, well narrated story (ignoring a few editing flaws), and is humorous in parts. It is different from the usual college romances, but still remains predictable. I had actually planned to give it a bit higher rating, but the climax spoiled the fun, for me.I am going with 3.25 out of 5 stars for Ashwina Garg’s ‘Spicy Bites of Biryani.’ When most debut authors are writing college-love-breakup-boring stories, Ashwina has delivered something different - a lighthearted, humorous and witty story. I will definitely buy her next book, for sure!

Verdict: It is Spicy! It is Humorous! But,in parts! Recommended for chiclit lovers.

You can order the book by clicking this link

[Crestless Wave · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's halfway to the January, first month of the year, and 'Spicy Bites of Biryani' by Ms. Ashwina Garg is the first New book I’ve read this year. This is the first book of Ms. Garg, an Enterprenure and German Translator. She is a technical writer as well, and lives in Hyderabad, India, with her husband and two kids.
Usually I’m a little biased towards romantic fiction, because I often find them stories of a few hopeless creatures. But back blurb of the book is interesting enough to say “It’s not a Regular Love Story.”
Studied hard? Got the perfect job? Found the perfect mate? And Still Screwed up your life? Is it possible to do everything right in your life and still not be happy? Meet Sanjay, Aditi, Mayank and Jayshree.
Sanjay is US-returned software millionaire determined to have an arranged marriage after selling his company and breaking up with his two-timing girlfriends.
Aditi is a commitment-phobic writer who can't figure out what her next book is about but has perfected the art of break-ups Manyank and Jayshree are the perfect couple. If only they weren't dealing with rude relatives, killing deadlines, procreation pressures and those ultimate romance-killers... monotony and boredom!
This light-hearted story traces the lives of these four successful, thirty-something friends who all come to the same conclusion...
The hardest thing about having the perfect life is keeping it that way!
Cover Jacket is designed beautifully. White background, and catchy title in the big red calligraphy font is able to draw attention of readers to the shelves of any bookstore. However, I must admit that it doesn’t go well with the maturity of the story. Precisely written back blurb is the key to attract potential readers, and Ms. Garg hit the right chord by writing almost all aspects of the story on the back cover. There is a line at back blurb that says
“The hardest thing about having the perfect life is keeping it that way!”
It is completely true. And probably that’s what everyone around is trying to do.

I noticed a few changes in this book that sets it apart from Srishti’s books.This is first time in a Srishti book that author’s bio is given on the back cover, and price has increased to 150 Rs. from usual 100 Rs. Former change is welcome, but latter is hard to figure out. When number of pages and page quality is same, what justifies the price hike? If it’s a case with this particular book, then it's an injustice to the debutante author. I know there is a lot of hidden costs behind publishing that we, the readers, don’t know at all, but still Sristi is known for reasonable pricing and matchless content. Another new thing I’ve seen in this novel. First 16 pages, including title pages and dedication page; are repeated! Probably it was the case with my review copy only, but if its the same with all copies, its biggest blunder of any publisher! Srishti, anyone?

Anyways, coming back to the story. Spicy Bites of Biryani is a story of four ambitious people, who are in their thirties, facing the mid-life crisis (not actually, but symbolically), and trying to figure out what they want from life, and what their life wants from them. They are too grown-up to look up to their parents for help, and too confused to handle relationships without having conflicts. Sanjay, a US returned software millionaire, is searching for his soul mate, and when he finds one, Aditi, a writer of two bestseller novels, she denied to get married. One the other side, Mayank and Jayshree are perfect couple by any definition, but they are not sure to have a baby or not.
Ms. Garg has used very simple language, but kept the ample amount of witty one liners and anecdotes to keep the narration alive. And I found a few of them deeper than the context they were used. Simple language makes it easy to read, and even shorter considering its two-two-five page length. There are a few editing mistakes, such as ‘You’re’ instead of ‘your‘, and few missing punctuations, but it’s a common case with almost all books nowadays. Ms. Garg’s flowing narration compensates for such mistakes. There is a conversation on page 63, where a line has been written. It says,
“This is how it was when people had arranged marriages. You could both be reading the same book, but still not be on the same page. Eventually they would catch up with each other.”
This is one of the best lines I’ve read about arranged marriages.
The characters are perfectly crafted to fit in the story, and Ms. Garg won’t let me forget anyone. Each character is equally weighted and has given equal attention. However, I personally feel that Aditi’s character has given a little more space than others. I particularly liked her character except the way she is portrayed way too bold than usual. I found her a bit stupid, confused and immature for her age. And she is described as a desperate woman, who is getting hooked with every next guy she came across. Independence doesn’t mean hanging out with random guys and having sex with them. Or is it?
While writing a romantic fiction, it’s a common case to have intimate scenes of love making, but I must say they way Ms. Garg has written these moments, is really appreciable. She knows the thin line between being intimate and being vulgar, and even after having a few intimate situations, none of them are vulgarly described. I’ve heard that many publishers ask writers to stuff the erotica in their novels, but there is no such ‘minutely-described-scenes’ in this novel. Some of you might be disappointed to hear this, but many of you will be happy with that. And that’s the biggest reason why I can recommend it to ANYONE!
To sum up the the review, I would say, Ms. Garg has done a commendable job as a debutante authoress. Spicy Bites of Biryani is a good book to read in journeys or at evening, sipping coffee, or in late night listening to your favorite music, practically anywhere, anytime. And is not much complicated. However, a better climax is what I expected, something that could have gone well with the rest of the story (Sorry, I can’t spoil the fun by telling you the climax). Nonetheless, a decent read with a promising plot. I wish to see more books from Ms. Garg, maybe a woman-centric novel. I wish her very best of luck for life and her work.

Happy Reading :)

[Jasmine Bookholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spicy Bites of Biryani is a Debut Novel by Ashwina
Garg. The story is set in Hyderabad. The story
revolves around four main characters Sanjay, Aditi,
Mayank and Jayshree . Its story about their
ambitious and pleasant journey of life. All the
characters have been portrayed very well. The language used is very simple and straightforward.
‘Because life needs a little masala’ the intriguing
tagline of the book arouses the interest in the
book. This light-hearted story traces the lives of
these four successful, thirty-something friends
who all come to the same conclusion… “The hardest thing about having the perfect life is
keeping it that way!” Mayank and Jayashree are married couples for six
years. Mayank belonged from a typical Punjabi
family who married Jayashree who was from
Tamil Brahmin family.
Mayank and jayashree faces various hurdles of
married life…rude relatives, killing deadlines, procreation pressures and those uttimate romance
killers. Ashwina have described well their problem
of having a child which is probably a common
problem between present day couples.
Aditi and Sanjay are their closest friends who were
destined to get married together. Sanjay Bolisetti is a US- returned software
millionaire who comes back to his hometown
Hyderabad to find a girl for him to settle with. He is
rich smart, nerdy, good looking, friendly, adorable,
socialite, sophisticated telegu speaking boy,
somewhere in his 30’s. Sanjay determined to have an arranged marriage after selling his company
and breaking up with his two-timing girlfriend.
Mayank and Jayashree met Sanjay in California,
where they both worked for Apache systems.
Aditi Patil, the independent modern day girl who
believes living her life to the fullest and live her life the way she want. Aditi’s character was
beautifully described. She is open-hearted,
sensitive, smart, delightful, bold, beautiful, attractive
commitment-phobic writer of two best sellers but
could’nt figure out 3rd book. Aditi keeps
constantly changing her boyfriends and has perfected the art of break-ups. Sanjay develops
special liking for Aditi when they meet each other
and falls for her, he decides to get married to her
even after about her all affairs. I loved the part
when sanjay proposes Aditi . The rape scence at
the last part created a suspense. Some parts were very thought-provoking illustrating the different
aspects of life, loved reading those. I loved the part
where sanjay visits his the institute where his
father taught and he goes through his memories of
childhood days, it reminds him how strived hard
for a perfect life. The entire story illustrates that the perfect life is full of different spices. As a debutant author Ashwina has narrated the
book quite well. Its quite different from other
chick-lit books. I loved reading it. She have done
good justice with the book and beautifully
expressed. Overall it is quite entertaining,
fascinating and enjoyable.The entire story have been nicely framed with gracious characters, well
presented and well balanced. I would rate the
book 4/5. Awesome book, full of fun. I would
suggest you to read it. Grab your copies now.Spicy Bites Of Biryani....Because Life needs a little masala

[Pushpendra Kumar]

Spicy Bites of Biryani..because life needs little 'Masala' by Ashwina Garg.Starting with title its catchy and spicy.Moving towards Cover it has attractive white background with title suitable pic and Tag Line contain Masala.'The hardest thing about having the perfect life is keeping it that way' its true.There is a mixed masala in the story to make it Spicy.Its very well written with healthy and hygenic fiction,different from college romance and school story.Its quite intresting story plot,well balanced words with emotions,laugh,feelings and sentiments.Its well developed mutured,humurous and quite witty story.Starting is bit slow in first 2-3 chapters which gets accelerated with exictement and intrest,after that the pace is slight up and down but in the end complete finishing touch is given to wrap up the story.Ashwina research alot in adding up places,foods names and clothings.Everything mentioned correctly on right time and right place.She tried hard for perfection and its somewhere around perfection.The lead characters of story well defined and well portrayed.Sanjay is a US returned India,who is software millionare who come to India to have an Arranged marriage with Indian girl and settled in India.I like the Sanjay alot,he is cool,calm,quite and smart who didnt get attracted with after getting many proposal and dates but he is lil possive and serious about the girl Aditi who is sweet,adorable,bubbly,senstive,protective,bold and hot and sometimes crazy and dumb too.She is imaginative who believes writing and want to make career in it.She believe living life in King Size,doesnt believe in Marriage and not want to get settled down.Sanjay and Aditi both are opposite to each other.She mostly do funny stuffs with her friend Mayank and Jayshree.Mayank and Jayshree both are married couple who had been together since past 6 years,Mayank is from Punjab the Punjabi Munda and Jayshree is from Tamil the Telgu Girl.They both worked together and living well settled lives and trying to make their life happy and different by adding up Masala everyday.They both are friends of Aditi and Sanjay.They helped Sanjay in finding a perfect combo for him.The Biryani's taste changes time to time,scene are placed very well with appropreiate measurement of expression and feeling with every word.The rape scene creates little suspense,thrill and scary,the wine game scenes makes story romantic and there is a scene where Mayank arguing with Jayshree for having baby discussion in office infront of co-workers.In one of scene I get sad and emotional when Sanjay and Aditi went to place where Sanjays father used to teach.The Agreement of Relationship between Sanjay and Aditi is something seen different in story.Ashwina used normal well balanced language and having good grip on words and used good connectives to make flow.Indegridents are used in good way to present 'Spice Bites of Briyani' so that no one cant resist and control himself/herself without eating this finger lingering Briyani.Every bite has it different taste.I would like to suggest all reader to read it if they are finding 'Masala' and experience the difference.Its really spicy 'Biryani'.I rate it 4 out of 5.

[Meghant Parmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a lazily elegant story. It has an unexpected charm to it and will enthrall the readers.The end is not in sync with the story which might be a turn off for the readers but otherwise the unusual pairing of Aditi & Sanjay in the story will leave readers mesmerized and baffled for sometime.


It's a novel for die hard romantics and it has enough masala in it to hold its own among so many other love stories. :)

It's spicy, it's masaledar and it's elegant enough to make it an interesting read for the readers. :)

Kudos!!

[Abhilash Ruhela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third book of this year is also been read. This book was a short read because of its simple language and narration. I am talking about newly released book “Spicy Bites of Biryani” which also has the tagline “because life needs a little masala”. This 225-pages book is published by Srishti Publications.[And Yes, this is the first review of this book on InternetThe cover page is beautifully done. The title of the book is too creative to go with the content of the book. It has been for the first time when I have seen that Srishti hasn’t given the biography of an author on the other side of front cover but it is scribbled at the back cover just like Rupa publications does. Suddenly, I am seeing a good change in Srishti through this book but I am too disappointed to see the price of the book rising from 100 to 150 Rs. While the books of Srishti are available at 60 to 70 rs on E-commerce websites, this one is available for more than 100 rs. When the number of pages is the same that the Publication has been publishing since years, why this hike in price? Isn’t it injustice to this debutant author? This is my serious request to the Publisher to please not to hike the price of your books because readers have been attached to Srishti because of its reasonable pricing in market when compared to books by other Publications.

Spicy Bites of Biryani is written by the debutant authoress- Mrs. Ashwina Garg- who lives in Hyderabad with her husband and two kids. She studied accountancy and has worked as an entrepreneur, a German translator and a technical writer. Coming to her writing style, I would say that she has handled her first book with utmost care and concern which readers will surely love to read. The successful female authors in our country who writes in this genre are famous because of the way they have been writing by portraying what a female thinks about men- married and unmarried. Ashwina Garg has just categorized her in this classic group which includes great names like Preeti Shenoy, Varsha Dixit, Komal Mehta etc. She has kept the book funny at times while too thoughtful in some other parts of it. She has given a perfect shape to each character that made me imagine all of them as someone whom I know from a long time. In short, I would say that she has excelled in her first book and I would love to read more books from her which is women-centric.



The book is about four characters. The synopsis of the book is perfectly done hence I would not try to define the story in my language. It’s here- “Sanjay is a US- returned software millionaire determined to have an arranged marriage after selling his company and breaking up with his two-timing girlfriend. Aditi is a commitment-phobic writer who can’t figure out what her next book is about but has perfected the art of break-ups. Mayank and Jayshree are the perfect couple. If only they weren’t dealing with rude relatives, killing deadlines, procreation pressures and those ultimate romance-killers..Monotony and boredom! This light-hearted story traces the lives of these four successful, thirty-something friends who all come to the same conclusion… The hardest thing about having the perfect life is keeping it that way!”

Coming to the review- It’s a typical stuff that one would expect from a married female author. And that’s the good part about it. Mayank and Jayshree’s relationship makes us think about how we would be after our marriage. Sometimes, it makes us feel good about it while sometimes, it scares. She has portrayed their married relationship very well. The complications that they meet when it comes to giving birth to baby is also handled respectfully. Author has made it sure that she is not letting anyone’s sentiments towards marriage and having baby hurt. The confusion that is shown in the relationship of unmarried Sanjay and Aditi is the USP of this book. I just loved reading their parts. And wonderfully, they are given the whole coverage in the book. Aditi has turned out to be my favorite character. Beautifully portrayed! Even when the authoress is the first time author, she has managed to narrate Aditi’s writing journey perfectly. I related with her Writer’s character very easily. Even Sanjay’s character is given full justice.

I loved the scene when Aditi goes to Sanjay’s new flat and the scene of both of them sitting together with both their knees touching each other with scraps all around. Then, the marriage proposal is also another beautiful scenario. Also, all the reasons why Aditi does not want to get married are also done perfectly. Sanjay’s rich life and middle-class relatives scenario is something I would say I loved authoress for. The flat thing between Sanjay and Sheetal is too cheap to be discussed and I seriously enjoyed and laughed like anything in all those parts. Also, the climax of the book isn’t ended with marrying of the couples but by something unpredictable that I didn’t think book would end like. In all, everything that the author wanted to put into the book has been done without stretching the story for a single page. Yes!

Coming to the drawbacks, initially the book does not pick up nicely nor does it make you confident that you might like it in future. The sub-plots in the first half does irritates as the story does not move forward. It seems to be boring. Though the book had one-liners, it would have been better with more humor. Mayank and Jayshree ‘s part should have been little more in the book, at least by 10 pages. And I didn’t like Aditi’s character’s assassination by mentioning again and again about her innumerable ex-boyfriends. Yes, I am little emotional and sentimental when it comes to this.  In all, I would rate the first attempt of the debut authoress- 3.75/5. If you have loved reading any of the top 3 authoresses I have mentioned, you can definitely pick up Mrs Ashwina Garg.

Thanks.


ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

[Supriya Tawde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a nice simple read.
The story keeps you hooked on to until protagonist says yes to the guy for marriage.
But all of a sudden she agrees to something she never ever wanted in life. The shift is sudden and seems like the story is raced quickly due to lack of time. Could have made it a little better in that area. I guess I was expecting too much from the protagonist. Even the ending I felt was rushed.

[Amith Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, a decent novel to read. If you're looking to kill your time by reading something romantic, chances are you will love it. But I've to warn you that it's full of clichés. And I always hate it when it's all about rich people. But, maybe it's just me.

[Sia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story had missing pieces and it ran rapidly. Aditi was written as a strong, opinionated and bit of toxic feminist in the begging and she changed into emotional, attention seeker kind of personality once she was with Sanjay, which didn’t compliment her. Mayank and Shree were totally sidelined.

[Anjan Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction:
Sometimes in life when everything is set up, everything seems full and serene suddenly a whip sound crackles through your ear which forces you to step back and face the rather somber realistic music which is far from the dreamy world you were dreaming…realists would say, welcome to the factious reality. There are two moments in a person’s life when one feels he/she has everything in life but yet something is missing, it’s the time when one wakes up from a beautiful dream and the other when one tries to cover the lacunas of love life crossing vehemently a blistering career, suddenly finds oneself at the wrong foot as far as age and youth is concerned. This story is about the second phase

And this light hearted romantic fiction will let you know about everything which a rich, single and prior senescence youth can bring forth and yes it goes with the quote-“The hardest thing about having the perfect life is keeping it that way”


Cover Page:
The nonchalant and blithesome story is very well depicted from the carefree outlook of the cover page. A car parked near a beach and a couple having a casual talk. By the looks you can call it a stress buster while you go through the book clichés may take up the toll and you may be subdued by the plain mockery of things .you may recall the taste buds partly tangy partly spicy while devouring a Biryani.


Compositional Report:
Spicy Bites of Biryani is all about the hiccups of life and the main two characters of the story Aditi Patil and Sanjay Bolisetti are certainly not any exception.
Aditi Patil, Writer by profession has written 2 best sellers but is struggling to find words for her 3rd book for more than a year. She is facing a writer’s block as people may say but there are no blockages of moving over to one boyfriend after the other. She lives life on her own terms, doesn’t want to give any heed to what others think or feel about her. An obedient student of Anti marriage syndrome and her blogs are the sole realistic link to her rather oblivious lifestyle. It’s only after she meets Sanjay Bolisetti that she felt of changing up with her modus Vivendi.


Sanjay Bolisetti, An US returned Telugu speaking tall, nerdy, rich guy with middle class roots in his mid 30’s came up to India after getting betrayed, selling off his company in a view to get settled in India after marrying a suitable alliance. Aditi made her views crystal clear from the first day itself that she is no mood to get married but Sanjay like a tyrant lost in a battle came back to her after all his relatives and friends failed in their attempt of match making. This story is a journey Sanjay forged to tame the wild tigress which will remind you of rather entertaining and tiresome journey.


Mayank Arora and Jayashree Arora are two important characters of the story.
Mayank belonged from a typical Punjabi family who married Jayashree Sastri from a conservative Tamilian culture while they were both working in US along with Sanjay. Back in India Mayank and Jayashree was compliance of Aditi. Though their roles were of minuscule importance as far as the main theme is concerned and were only efficacious when Sanjay and Aditi needed a social grouping as both Mayank and Jayashree were too occupied with their office deadlines, conservative families and their own problem of having a child.
As far as the shortcomings is concerned which I felt is very ominous is abbreviating the roles of Mayank and Jayashree while it concentrated mainly on Sanjay and Aditi leaving the other two characters almost aloof. Though the tone was set on Aditi and Sanjay…yet at times it seemed as they ceased to flow and the final climax seemed incomplete as it wasn’t shown what was inevitable and the attempt of unnecessary twist of kidnapping Aditi flunked somewhat as it proved to be rather numb and vague ending. A bit more humor would have given an ideal touch.

The main throbbing points would be the justification done with the role of Aditi and her unwillingness to marry and Sanjay’s overwhelming response of mingling his high class status with that of his middle class roots. The minor subplots were held firm and it added wings to main storyline. Author though a first timer held a grip on the storyline through a typical chick lit sensation throughout. Over all, an eminent
story, gracious characters and felicitous theme, this is a typical stress buster and 3.5 star rating makes it meriting read.

For more visit- http://anjan5.blogspot.com/2013/02/bo...

[Dipali · Rating 4 out of 5]

AN AMAZING LOVE STORY OF AN INTELLECTUAL GIRL WHO LOVED TO LIVE HER LIFE TO THE FULLEST WITH NO COMMMITMENTS TO IT….. THEN DESTINY HAS SOMETHING ELSE STORED FOR HER….

This is the novel by Ashwina Garg… This is a story about love, relationships, dreams, passion, destiny and most importantly a girl’s (Aditi) prospect towards relationships, life partners and her views about marriage. She is sweet, adorable, bubbly, sensitive, protective, bold, hot crazy and dumb as well; on the other hand Sanjay is a US- returned software millionaire determined to have an arranged marriage with an Indian girl and settle down in India. He is cool, calm, quite and smart. This story revolves around the life and difficulties of the four main characters - Aditi, Sanjay, Jayshree and Mayank and their views about love, relationship, expectation and determination for each other. While reading this story reader feels like part of the story, as the perception, expectation, commitment that we give to our relations have been portrayed in it.

The story starts with Aditi and Sanjay; how they become friends, how they both feel the inclination for each other but are not ready to accept the fact. Subsequently how they both realise their love for each other. The story also revolves around Mayank and Jayshree’s relationship which make one think and realise about how things change after marriage. Both the aspects are shown, the good aspects and the rough ones as well, this may leave the unwed a little unnerved. The understanding, care, concern, commitment and complications that are faced by each couple during child birth are handled with dignity and grace. The overall marriage relationship has been portrayed very well.


Now my Positive viewpoints:
This is the debut novel by Ashwina Garg. He has done an awe-inspiring job and rationalisation to this story.

While reading this story at some places I felt as if Aditi is portraying my very own thoughts only, as every female faces same fears, have same expectations from life and her life partner and face same fights.

Aditi’s mental state and her dilemma has been expressed and written very well, when she has to decide to get into to relation with Sanjay. When she take her final call for her future with Sanjay

Sanjay’s mature & balance behavior his care and concern for Aditi is something which is every girl looks for in her partner.

Aditi & Sanjay’s exclusive moments together are a delight. Their small squabble and the chivalry shown by Sanjay is something to be idealised. The way Aditi & Sanjay spend time together at Sanjay’s home has been depicted very well.

The love, commitment, maturity& understanding between the two is idealistic. Aditi’s advice to Sanjay for work and his girlfriend is written very well.

As the destiny plays its role and the end takes an unexpected turn things work out differently. In order to know how and what happens in end one has to travel this journey with Sanjay & Aditi.
Some suggestive points:
Overall story is superior indeed and very well written and expressed, but just as a suggestion some places story seems being stretched a bit, which can best be reduced.
Final words:

Overall if asked I would say...this is a superior job done by the Author - Ashwina Garg.

[Moments Magzine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today’s generation has diversified views over the topic of marriage. Gone are the days when marriage was decided by the families alone. Today people need a lot more than just matching horoscopes. People do not just depend on stars for compatibility, but prefer to decide it for themselves.

The author has done justice to all the characters involved in this masaledaar novel. Aditi Patil, the modern day strong woman who is living her dream of being a writer, without giving in to the herd mentality and standing up to do what she believes in. Having experienced a bad marriage incident, she now has only flings with men and does not believe in the sacred bond of marriage anymore. But then enters the US return Telugu guy who changes the way she sees her future.

Sanjay Bolisetti comes back to India from the US to find a girl for himself to settle with. Having had a bad break up after a long term relationship, he has trust issues, which soon disappears as he falls in for the beautiful Aditi and her charming lifestyle, in spite of having to deal with her innumerable ex-boyfriends.

Mayank and Jayshree Arora, the perfect Punjabi-Tamiliam couple who are friends with Sanjay and Aditi have their own company they work in, day and night! Hence having trouble finding time to enjoy, apart from Mayank’s conservative family always complaining about it. With Jayshree missing the life she had with Mayank in US, she thinks twice before giving in to her husband’s wish to have a baby.

The dilemma a person faces today in deciding his/her life partner is so well portrayed by the author. The confusions messing up the minds of people with the pressure of families and the society is aptly described. Scattered throughout the novel is the chemistry between a happy couple, their disagreements, the hurdles they cross, their attempts to revive the lost passion in their marriage.The mental transformations of Sanjay and Aditi is very interesting and sends the readers a message as to how when the right person comes along, anything is possible.

Over all, a fine book with quite a few spicy bites, but not enough to have you craving for more. The biryani bites were pretty yummy, but the last bite could have been better so that people could recommend the restaurant to more people. A better ending by the author would have done more justice to the novel instead of the abrupt climax. The highlights are however the inclusion of issues that most ‘about-to’ and ‘married-for-a-few-years’ couples face in real life. The solutions and the maturity with which it is to be handled is beautifully expressed.

For a light entertaining read, i would say – Go For It…!

[Priyaanka Batra Harjai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spicy bites of Biryani, is a creation of Ms. Ashwina Garg which has been well received by the reading community. I feel happy that I was not too behind and was fast enough to catch up with them all. This story is about marriage and married life. Life as confusing as this statement is and it becomes yet more confusing after marriage. To be or not to be…married, remains the question.

I personally liked the concept of comparing the life / marriage with Biryani such as how something cooks between the two lead characters of the story. The two stories running parallel to each other in their own distinct ways were useful in painting a holistic view of every situation. Ashwina has done proper justice in characterising the roles and maintaining balance in different personalities, just in a similar way as we balance proper proportions of ingredients and spices in Biryani receipe. If we fail to maintain this balance then biryani might be tasteless similarly if we do not maintain balance in our emotions and actions then we might make our life tasteless, as well.

A highly recommended read – married, to-be married and love-birds all are welcome

Source: http://booksnewsindia.wordpress.com/2...

[Ammu Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5
Characters: aditi sanjay mayank jayshree
Description: the story revolves around what happens when aditi meets sanjay who are completely different from each other will there love sustain and jayashree and mayank who are completely in love but what happens when others gets to nosy on their relationship. The book completely revolves around how aditi and sanjay met fell in love and after math. The second half of the book carries immense amount of love and emotion which completely binds the user.
Negative aspects:
the book is dull in first half.
Jayashree and mayank though there problem are highlighted which were pretty good and valid points are not seen in the later part of the book which was the important part of book
And few(negligible) spelling mistakes
Overall The book has all the masala to make it a spicy biryani

[Bharathi Devi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spicy Bites Of Biryani !..... After a very very long time i finished reading a book at one go !! There was a smooth flow throughout . Justifying the tag line Ashwina did add a small twist and 'Masala' towards the end :-)

The Author's maturity and clarity was evident in the characters she created.The grip she exhibited over the story line ,laced with romance, is commendable !

Loved reading the book !

Good Luck Ashwina !

[Arijit Shobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book matured, witty and humourous. I sat and read it in one go in about 5 hours which is unusual for me because I do not read much fiction. It's exactly what fiction should be...light, relaxing, fun. Something that takes you away from your own life for a while. Loved Aditi's character, though I found her a little dumb sometimes. On the whole a good read.

[Akshatha Chakkodubail Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good book but mostly reminded me of a book by Nisha Minhas, cause if the ending. But otherwise a great read!

[Mohit Goyal]

Excellent Book...Its a must read !!!

[Deepa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book.... Liked it.... Not much Masala or spiciness in the story...Story Predictable.... But Writing is quite good...Keeps reader engaged...