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NASHA: From the Land of Kamasutra

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It's common knowledge that Kamasutra originated from India - the “how-to” guide of how to pleasure each other. Many centuries ago they thought deeply into the subject of erotic love. Though in modern India sex is always a hushed subject, something happens behind the closed doors, something never almost never publicly spoken. What can you expect from a society where now also most marriages are arranged by family, where most people have their first sex after marriage, where so many people never even see the naked bodies of their partners?
There are a plethora of stories to be told from every nook and corner of this big country. Stories around love, lust, frustration, despair, loathing - stories around real man and woman and the complications of life.

Nasha is the first compilation of Maya Balsi`s stories . The stories include are :

Red Earth , Blue Sky, Green Sea

The light I see Through Darkness

Never Deny Me Your Laughter

Have A Nice Journey!

We walked in the woods

101 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2019

2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read

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Maya Balsi

8 books34 followers

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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Adv. Vandana Choudhary.
205 reviews33 followers
December 5, 2019
Nasha is a collection of five short stories that the author describes as belonging to erotica genre. Looking at the book cover, the reference to Kamasutra and erotica as a theme described by the author might mislead the reader. But unlike the erotic stories we generally come across, these stories are written touching a multitude of emotions like love, lust, desire, frustration and especially fascination we feel. The backdrops of each of the stories is also varied and even with a common theme running through them, they are very different for each other.
The first story with an interesting title – Red Earth, Blue Sky, Green Sea is about Steffi a bride-to-be who goes on a bachelorette of sorts, with her only close friend Sitara and how the shy Steffi with an orthodox upbringing gets ready emotionally and physically for marital relationship is interesting. We walked in the woods is about a newly married bride Pritha who finds herself suffocating in her new house and her new relationship. Never Deny me your laughter is about long-lost love which may be misunderstood often.
The main highlight of the book is, though belonging to erotica genre, the content is not sleazy. The characters are realistic and flawed to make them real and not too fictional. These character traits also help the reader connect with these characters especially in an Indian society context. Each story starts in a normal way and slowly builds upon suspense before revealing what protagonist fancies or the situations they come across. This narration style helps to hook the user to the story, making them curious and wait for the main twist to show up.

If you always wanted to read books from the erotica genre but was skeptical, then this can be chosen as the first pick in this genre.

RATING: 5/5 STARS
Profile Image for Abhijeet Patil.
123 reviews2 followers
October 1, 2019
Insights
The title itself will tell you about the content. Yes, its book of some erotic stories. The stories of some people filled with emotions and lack of their sexual life. This book has five stories from very different perspectives. Each story brings you the new experiences of some untouched factors into the sexual pleasures.
If you are thinking this book is just full of lust stories and sexual pleasures, you're wrong. You will find this stories as someone's deep down secrets of their pleasures. This stories do content the erotic scenes which you won't regret reading.
What author has to express through this stories?
How the author delicately showcases the part of life?
And for short and effective erotic stories, pick this book up.

Reviews
The contents are not disappointing. The title tells you all which kind of book is this. And the author have expressed the emotion in right manner.
The sensuality, erotic touch, the detailing, everything is good. The stories are not just for lust and sexual pleasures. The author have brought some fantasise into the bright light.
There's nothing to complain about in this book, even if its there I probably have missed the mistake.

5 stars for everything.
Profile Image for Sindhu Bala.
Author 65 books50 followers
September 18, 2019
Im not a great fan of Indian erotica. I have just attempted a few Indian ones but hardly completed any of those. But I should say Nasha was my only piece of interest, the only thing on my mind until I finished reading the same. Nasha has so much to offer than erotic ecstasy- elements evoking mystery, fun, empathy and excitement

Why I enjoyed the book is primarily because every story depicts very normal characters that we can easily relate to. This can be anyone-you or me. This book has 5 stories that differ in mood, background and theme. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and totally happy that I bought this.

Looking forward to seeing more books, Maya.
Profile Image for Pretty Little Bibliophile.
843 reviews128 followers
October 2, 2019
The last time I read erotica was when I tried reading Fifty Shades of Gray. Keyword : Tried. And I couldn’t do it. The details were sort of too explicit for me – it’s not that I am uncomfortable reading about sex, but rather the sex in the book made m so. So for quite some time, I stayed away from them. But then, I also came across books by Alexa Riley and Penny Wylder, and I was quite happy.
A few days ago, the author approached me and asked if I would be willing to review her book. Since I have not read any erotica by an Indian before, and since the synopses of the stories seemed quite good, I decided to say yes. I thought I would pick this book up for some leisurely weekend reading but when I read the acknowledgement, I knew I had to dive right in. Sex is surely a paradox in India because like the author says, and is corroborated by statistical data, there is a huge market revolving around it. And with a rapidly growing population, we know it is not cranes that drop off brand new babies into the arms of eager parents.

In the first story, Red earth, Blue Sky, Green Sea, there was a good buildup of the story and it was quite atmospheric. It is about the sexual awakening of two girls, a silent rebellion against society’s rules, norms and the taboos. Although short, the characters in this story are well fleshed out.

The second story The Light I See Through Darkness, is one told through the point of view of a prostitute. Her helplessness in well shown here and in a few words, the author has described her mental agony. At 42, the protagonist says that she feels and looks like a grandmother, which in itself shows how difficult her life has been. As she scouts for potential customers, we understand that her main aim is to collect enough money for her daughter’s education. There was one remarkable line said here, and I quote, “Little do they know, we are keeping them safe from the clutches of rogues who would do anything to satisfy their lusts”. This is more of a magical story with a very unexpected, yet nice, ending.

The third story, Never Deny Me Your laughter, aptly showed the restlessness of our modern lives. Apart from the obvious, there are a lot of human emotions and feelings contained in all of these stories. Very dynamic in its entirety.

The fourth story is Have A Nice Journey. It featured infidelity so I am not sure how comfortable I am with that because cheating is a big NO for me. This was an okay story, and not one that I enjoyed much, unlike the others.

The last story was We Walked in the Woods. This story did focus a bit on mental health, I felt. It was apt in depicting the moral dilemmas we often face because of our own feelings. Pritha is one such person. There is such an underlying connection between sex and the multitude of emotions that come with it. the ending was open-ended and I was thought of various ways it could have ended.

Nasha was a good read overall. I do think that a bit more editing can be done regarding the typing errors, and some grammatical refining. I also did find certain discrepancies. Nonetheless, this is a book I can easily recommend to you all. If you want to explore the erotica genre more, then this is also a book you can pick up.

I rate this book a 4/5 stars.
Profile Image for Gayatri Saikia   | per_fictionist .
717 reviews81 followers
October 11, 2019
I have had my own initial clumsiness when it comes to erotic novels, because it is quite clear how thin the line is between erotica and obscenity. But when I came across NASHA- it got me intrigued mainly because it is written by an Indian author and that too a woman. And that my reader, is the rarest of combination. Because first of all, sex is a taboo in our country and writing about the act itself isn't anything less than an anathema. 

So first things first, the introduction that greeted me upon my start of the book felt like a breath of fresh air and straight out from the author's heart. The author derives her inspiration from the book of erotic love - KAMASUTRA, and each story has the element of fantasy sex imbibed in them. What made me love the book was that the author tries to capture the lives of ordinary people rather than portraying them as fictional characters. The stories also flaunt a tone of suspense and each story somehow manages to keep you hooked. Every mini tale is different from one another and through this Balsi manages to keep the variance alive.

The first story Red Earth, Blue Sky, Green Sea is an account of a bride-to-be exploring her sexual side before marriage. I personally felt that the tale somehow could be generalized for what most of the Indian girls go through before marriage. Considering the fact that sex and anything related to it including sex education and discussing about sex with parents is a paradox in India, girls/women most of time hang on to this clinging fear to what is expected from her after her marriage.

The second tale, The Light I see through darkness chronicles the life of a prostitute and what goes through her/his mind. It also talks about miracles and the fact that everyone deserves happiness in their lives. This story definitely warmed my heart and had dialogues that also unnerved me.

“Little do they know, we are keeping them safe from the clutches of rogues who would do anything to satisfy their lusts”

The third story, Never Deny Me your laughter, is about finding a long lost love and how sometimes we tend to overlook true love when it was just infront of our eyes. The story was subtle and captured the essence of marriage. The plot felt familiar and almost domestic to what happens in some real life marriages.

Have a Nice Journey, was the fourth story and it somewhat didn't meet with the expectations, its companion stories established. It had the element of infidelity, mild incest and I somehow couldn't enjoy it as much as I did with the others. It also talked about the desires and expectations of a woman.

The last tale We walked in the woods happens to be my favorite because wow it ended with a cliffhanger and I also loved the subtle tone of mystery in it. It has an open end and I have been thinking about it ever since I finished reading the book. 

All in all, "Nasha" felt like a whiff of fresh air from the extremely monotonous and repetitive mainstream love stories. The language is subtle without any vulgarism so you can pick it up without any hesitation.However I would also pinpoint that there were some grammatical errors, spelling mistakes etc and they are a little bit bothersome.

THANK YOU AUTHOR FOR THE REVIEW COPY. ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.
Profile Image for Simran Bhatia.
224 reviews54 followers
October 3, 2019
#review
Book: Nasha
Author: Maya Balsi
Format: Kindle

Central Sneak: The book is the amalgamation of five erotic and sensual stories inclusive of not only lust as an emotion but also other subtle sentimental aspects. Our country is oblivious of the darkness and expressions that surrounds intimate relationships, and yet, in the world somewhere away from reality, some fantasies do exist and these warm feelings takes away the apparent innocence of the society we live in. Author has given an initial note in the book, which I feel is a must read for everyone especially when sex is hushed and the sentiments are buried in the impenetrable depth.

My Take: I found the stories to be heart warming yet sensuous simultaneously. The narration is beautiful and mysterious in nature. Each story creates a new grip and the book there by becomes a page turner for the reader.

Critical Perspective: The cover and title of the book should have involved certainty which I felt was missing. Also, at some of the places, ten content is bland and requires a hasty retreat to it. I've read many erotic books but on comparing, I found that this book is much subtle and sometimes too much subtleties are not real and can only exist in fantasy. The one such book which I remember is "The passion to survive by Dana L. Elgord". It was an amazing read honestly.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟.3/5

P.S. Erotic literature has involved lately to a new perspectives and I've been so interested to form insights!
Profile Image for Priyanshi Borad.
141 reviews3 followers
October 5, 2019
BOOK-- Nasha- stories from the land of Kamasutra vol.-1
AUTHOR-- Maya balsi
PRICE-- 69/-
PAGES-- 121
FORMAT-- kindle
GENRE-- Erotica

ABOUT BOOK:-
This is compilation of stories around love, lust, frustration, despair, loathing- stories around real man and woman and the complications of life.the stories in compilation includes
The light I see through darkness.
Have a nice journey.
Red earth, blue sky, green sea.
We walked in the woods.
Never deny me your laughter.
All chapter includes stories...one includes about hunger that was what got her into the streets when she was left stranded in this world with tiny baby also to feed....other includes about bus journey, usually all overnight bus journey is boring but how this bus journey turns interesting into midnight!
Other chapter includes it was pact they made on half drunk night on their University days ...to go a backpack tour before one of them gets married....other one includes pritha lives in hiten's palace of illusion- a palace that resonates her deep sigh, walls drenched in tears and moans.epitome of grief and loneliness...last chapter includes life is a race or so you think when you are young he tries to rejuvenate his life with the love he feels towards her.life is strange when you think life gives you hard blow you get a helping hand from the least expected one.
MY REVIEW:-⭐⭐⭐⭐
I like the cover of book but you could have made it more attractive...title is apt. As it reveals the idea of story content.i found stories to be heart warming💕 yet sensous simultaneously 🙈...the erotic touch and very minute detailing of story is very good....ignoring some typing error the overall book is good read...and I can easily recommend this book to all of you...
Thank you♥️♥️
Profile Image for Audriza Banerjee.
625 reviews10 followers
October 8, 2019
This isn’t the first erotica I have read so my opinion is totally based on the experience that I have gathered from the previous ones. I am sure many will be thinking why am I asserting this, it is only because many don’t understand that erotica is also an important genre of literature and is extremely difficult to write.
The title is on point and cover is beautiful. The blurb is very perplexing and I think could have been improved and made much more concise. In the book no vulgar language is used so it is safe for light hearted readers. I would not suggest it to a beginner though. Out of all the stories, Never deny me your laughter, did not strike a chord with me at all.
All the stories talk about desires and needs the characters have which in reality we all have but are too shy to Express. The characters like Steffi from the first story Red Earth, Blue sky, Green sea are well developed. The vocabulary ornamentation is well executed. Each story has a new turn, a new crisp and one may easily see it isn’t just a bunch of descriptions of arousal or orgasmic sex.
Nevertheless I think another array of editing would do no harm as there are spelling and grammatical errors which might make the read a bumpy one. This is a breezy read and I think sometimes too much savoir faire has made the rawness of desire to be lost somewhere.
Profile Image for ANMOL JAUHER.
470 reviews8 followers
October 5, 2019
This book by Maya Balsi, is from a debatable and Judgemental genre, Erotica, especially in the lands of India.
The book perfectly expresses the hidden desires and feelings of the characters of every short story covered in the book.
The choice of words is sophisticated and not vulgar, as a reader, the fine line was drawn between sophistication and vulgarity in the stories which makes the book a worthy read.

The narration is perfect, but there are a lot of grammatical and editing errors which break the flow of reading and is a major drawback, but surely can be improved upon.

I liked the stories, each of their plots are different, describing different scenarios. There are stories about a bride to be, a hooker, a man who almost cheats his wife etc. each story contains a hidden lesson which the reader needs to figure out and if not, the book is good for a light read too.
Profile Image for Quiline Kakoty.
85 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2019
I never interested for erotica. But when this book came to me I couldn't deny because the author is an Indian and most importantly a female author. How many people talk about sex openly in India? Although India is the land of Kamasutra, Khajurahoo and Ajanta Ellora but still talking about sex openly is still a taboo in this country. In such a scenario, an erotica by a female Indian author attracted me like anything.
This is a collection of some short stories about sex, love and lust. All stories have different plot and concepts but main thing is the hidden desire of a person.

There are many editing errors which I couldn't ignore. But as a whole the concept and narration is good. Description of the subject is clear. I salute the author's courage to choose a bold genre like erotica. She broke the glass ceiling by her own way.
Profile Image for Pavithraa Swaminathan.
33 reviews21 followers
October 29, 2019
The last time I read a erotica, it was the fifty shades of grey! But this book was completely different. Right from the starting page, the book doesn't disappoint! It is filled with interesting facts about our human emotions and other facts about our lives.

So Nasha is a collection of different stories which has crafted artfully by the author. The stories are written well through the contents could have been edited well! It was overall a good read crafted up an up and coming author :) I would definitely recommend this book to people who are interested in trying a new genre without being influenced by other eroticas in general!
74 reviews2 followers
October 5, 2019
****book review****

Title - Nasha from the land of Kamasutra
Genre - Erotica
Format - kindle
Ratings - 3.5/5


*This book's genre is a little sensitive, not for kids. Specially not under 16(at least).*


Review

The book is consist of five chapters which are not inter-related to each other. Each chapter has it's own story. I liked every chapter as it comes along a lesson if we understand deeply which I liked the most. But if we talk in context of this genre then that could be better.... But all n all if you read erotica, then you will not be much disappointed after reading this.
17 reviews
October 20, 2019
Nasha is a collection of short stories that depict love, intimacy, fantasies and human needs and emotions. All the stories are different from each other with interdependence. The emotions and fantasies have been openly brought up but the language of the book maintained the line. The genre though sensitive in India has been properly put up by the Indian author. Also, each story gives you some food for thought.

Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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