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Humorously Yours : Tales From The Gymkhana
PG Wodehouse meets India A mistake of elephantine proportions! An arranged marriage mission with an unpredictable twist! A tennis legend to the rescue! Moo shades of characters trapped in a city square! An overweight genius makes a big splash! A royal clash between two false kings! A screwup that leads to the biggest career break! Enter the world of Barkhurdar, the garrulous raconteur of a legendary sports club, based in the heart of the burgeoning Indian city. Let his narration of real-life stories take you to a world where mischief, mistakes and mirth abound in comic glory! Grab a drink, a plate of your favorite snacks and relax in your lounge chair! PG Wodehouse has returned with an Indian curry dish!! Early praise for ‘Humorously Yours – Tales from the Gymkhana’: “One of the sweetest and the funniest books that I have read. The old school humor takes you back to the PG Wodehouse universe and era. No pretensions, no fancy forced uber-cool plots and twists, just simple great storytelling that will bring a smile on your face” – Anirban Bhattacharyya, best selling author of the Deadly Dozen “It is amazing! I especially liked the brilliant plotting of each story and the situational humor” – Jas Kohli, author of Lights, Scalpel, Romance “Amitabh has done more than enough in this book to make his own mark as an Indian humorist” “Refreshingly fresh and highly entertaining!” “Charming yet evocative”
136 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2020
11 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 1, 2020
In the past few months, I have rarely given a 5 star rating to any of the books I've read, but this one deserves it hands-down. The satirical and relatable humour in this book give you ample chuckle worthy and laugh-out-loud moments, making this a recommended read for people of all ages, and lovers of all genres.
What I liked about this book:
--> The fact that all the characters are people we either know or have heard about.
--> It made me want a Barkhurdar type friend in my life. His character is so colorful and his tactics plus his storytelling skills make him an instant favorite as well as completely worthy of being the protagonist (despite having no typical hero type physical attributes, which makes him all the more relatable and endearing)
--> Each chapter throws light on our thinking and actions as a society, and questions it too, without making it obvious.
--> It helped build up some vocabulary (words like raconteur, sartorial, onerous, nubile, akimbo, etc, were new for me)
--> My favorite chapter/story is Swami's Padukas, because I too am dubious about the whole concept of faith and the source of faith. This story helped me understand it a little better.
Quotable and chuckle worthy quotes:
-->If God wants all of us to realize him, why will he make things so difficult?
-->I am sure your effort will win you an empty chair in heaven.
-->It's the question that's often more intriguing than the answer because good questions often come from a deep place.
-->Please spare me the big words. They are better left to the pages of a dictionary.
-->Like every respectable traffic constable, he carries a pot belly that's as much a part of his uniform as his leather belt that clumsily checks the descent of his pants.
-->Attempting to convince a naked man oblivious to his nakedness to cover himself up is like convincing and Indian not to steal free packets of ketchup from a fast food place.
-->They say think global, act local. In elections, you think local, act local.
-->To beat a crook, you cannot go by the book. You must beat a crook by hook or by crook.
--> If a little lie accomplishes something big than it's better than a truth that accomplishes nothing.
--> It has to take some genius to attach a plausible but utterly false story to another plausible yet utterly false story.
-->An Indian can leave des but desi-giri can't leave an Indian.
What I liked about this book:
--> The fact that all the characters are people we either know or have heard about.
--> It made me want a Barkhurdar type friend in my life. His character is so colorful and his tactics plus his storytelling skills make him an instant favorite as well as completely worthy of being the protagonist (despite having no typical hero type physical attributes, which makes him all the more relatable and endearing)
--> Each chapter throws light on our thinking and actions as a society, and questions it too, without making it obvious.
--> It helped build up some vocabulary (words like raconteur, sartorial, onerous, nubile, akimbo, etc, were new for me)
--> My favorite chapter/story is Swami's Padukas, because I too am dubious about the whole concept of faith and the source of faith. This story helped me understand it a little better.
Quotable and chuckle worthy quotes:
-->If God wants all of us to realize him, why will he make things so difficult?
-->I am sure your effort will win you an empty chair in heaven.
-->It's the question that's often more intriguing than the answer because good questions often come from a deep place.
-->Please spare me the big words. They are better left to the pages of a dictionary.
-->Like every respectable traffic constable, he carries a pot belly that's as much a part of his uniform as his leather belt that clumsily checks the descent of his pants.
-->Attempting to convince a naked man oblivious to his nakedness to cover himself up is like convincing and Indian not to steal free packets of ketchup from a fast food place.
-->They say think global, act local. In elections, you think local, act local.
-->To beat a crook, you cannot go by the book. You must beat a crook by hook or by crook.
--> If a little lie accomplishes something big than it's better than a truth that accomplishes nothing.
--> It has to take some genius to attach a plausible but utterly false story to another plausible yet utterly false story.
-->An Indian can leave des but desi-giri can't leave an Indian.
April 18, 2021
If you are a fan of subtle and wry wit laced with a bit of life lessons, this is the book for you. A desi Mulliner, Barkhurdar, takes you on a delightful ride. Barkhurdar is the core character who is also the sutradhar, the man with the stories. As and when he meets multiple personalities at the Deccan Gymkhana or DG, stories come to life. Throw in sumptuous treats of Tandoori tikkas, your weekend reading is sorted. Grab a lemon soda before you begin. 😉
11 stories - The Elephant, Federer, Arranged Marriage, Swami's Padukas, Lottery, Parvati, Tagore's Thief, Operation Ulta, The Butka, The False Kings, and Goofball, each with a flavor different from the rest. Animals, anecdotes, spirituality, greed, corruption, love, self-realization and many more. I loved the wry humor and the beautiful writing.
📚 The character arcs are very well written and each story leaves you wondering or chuckling. I loved Swami's Padukas, The Elephant, False Kings, and Lottery the most.
📚The cover is very Wodehouse-y and makes you stop and admire the illustration.
📚Devika Chitale's illustrations are heart warming and add a very cozy touch to the whole reading experience.
Do pick it up if you like to read humor. A lovely read, had me rolling and chuckling most of the time.
11 stories - The Elephant, Federer, Arranged Marriage, Swami's Padukas, Lottery, Parvati, Tagore's Thief, Operation Ulta, The Butka, The False Kings, and Goofball, each with a flavor different from the rest. Animals, anecdotes, spirituality, greed, corruption, love, self-realization and many more. I loved the wry humor and the beautiful writing.
📚 The character arcs are very well written and each story leaves you wondering or chuckling. I loved Swami's Padukas, The Elephant, False Kings, and Lottery the most.
📚The cover is very Wodehouse-y and makes you stop and admire the illustration.
📚Devika Chitale's illustrations are heart warming and add a very cozy touch to the whole reading experience.
Do pick it up if you like to read humor. A lovely read, had me rolling and chuckling most of the time.
August 4, 2021
This book is a collection of short stories that make you giggle and laugh out Loud!
Here is Barkhurdar the storyteller for whom the Gymkhana is a second home. He narrates all these stories again which are inspired by Wodehouse character Mr. Mulliner, and based on real life events. They are based on diffrent contrasting amiable characters, crazy out of the blue twists and relatable funny characters, personalities that bring laughters in our lives and things that instantly grip your attention and lightens up your mood. The punches are made quite aptly at time.
Now everyone's taste in humour is different. I found few very giggle worthy. Few came out to be enjoyable.
They are quite interesting. The story about a twisted marriage and the duet between two kinds who actually were glfake were enjoyable. Other than these the remaining tales are humourous too.
If you are into short stories collection or if you are a newbie as well, give it a go. You will enjoy.
Here is Barkhurdar the storyteller for whom the Gymkhana is a second home. He narrates all these stories again which are inspired by Wodehouse character Mr. Mulliner, and based on real life events. They are based on diffrent contrasting amiable characters, crazy out of the blue twists and relatable funny characters, personalities that bring laughters in our lives and things that instantly grip your attention and lightens up your mood. The punches are made quite aptly at time.
Now everyone's taste in humour is different. I found few very giggle worthy. Few came out to be enjoyable.
They are quite interesting. The story about a twisted marriage and the duet between two kinds who actually were glfake were enjoyable. Other than these the remaining tales are humourous too.
If you are into short stories collection or if you are a newbie as well, give it a go. You will enjoy.
July 11, 2020
A collection of short stories in the style of PG Wodehouse or Peter Tinniswood. Set in the Gymkhana Club of Pune they recount the tales of various members and visitors. An enjoyable diversion. Had to Google some of the Hindi phrases but fully accessible to anyone who revels in the variety of human interaction.
July 24, 2020
Humorously yours is a collection of true accounts from various walks of life centered around the Deccan gymkhana located in heart of Pune. All the tales have a recurring character Bharkhurdar who is a cool, witty, larger than life person, and are funny enough to tickle your bones for one reason or another. There were a few that made me ecstatic especially 'Parvati' that revolves around a cow sitting in the middle of a busy street and a traffic police man, 'The Butka' where an unusual game becomes a national craze, 'Federer' which also teaches us the importance of not giving up during rough times, 'The Elephant' in which an extreme kind of welcome ceremony goes wrong, and 'Arranged Marriage' in which the quest of searching of a perfect bride leads to a perfect career.
The writing style of the author is really commendable and classy. The narration reflects the fact as how closely the author has viewed the day to day events happening in his life and absorbed the humour out of them.
Humorously yours is a much needed read especially in these times of pandemic. Apart from making one smile, it also teaches us that fun and joy lies in small things around us and one hasn't to look far away.
I would also aknowledge the author for using Hindi phrases whenever necessary like 'Sharab hai kharab! Yeh gulab hai julab', 'daaru ki tanki', 'sher ke muh se' which provide an indigenious flavour to the book.
Overall, the book rightfully claims its place in one's heart and says -'Humorously Yours! '
The writing style of the author is really commendable and classy. The narration reflects the fact as how closely the author has viewed the day to day events happening in his life and absorbed the humour out of them.
Humorously yours is a much needed read especially in these times of pandemic. Apart from making one smile, it also teaches us that fun and joy lies in small things around us and one hasn't to look far away.
I would also aknowledge the author for using Hindi phrases whenever necessary like 'Sharab hai kharab! Yeh gulab hai julab', 'daaru ki tanki', 'sher ke muh se' which provide an indigenious flavour to the book.
Overall, the book rightfully claims its place in one's heart and says -'Humorously Yours! '
August 9, 2021
Humorously yours! is a collection of eleven immensely funny stories with the central character of Barkhurdar, an amazing story teller of the famous sportsclub, Deccan Gymkhana in Pune. I myself have lived in Pune for two years and some of the stories featuring some famous locations around the city took me down the memory lane.
Each story starts with a fun illustration on it's subject. The stories cover a range of topics from religion, greed, sports, ambition, marriage, politics etc. The characters depicted in them are quite colourful and amusing who create comical ruckus with their mischief, mistakes and mirth.
My favorite story from amongst the eleven is false kings, which features a man who swaps his mango orchard in Ratnagiri for a remote land on the outskirts of Pune. He discovers three abandoned forts from Sambhaji Raje's time in the same land and starts weaving a detailed plan that can bring him immediate fame. An extremely funny set of events unfolds and you can't help but laugh out loud!
This book was a refreshing read and quite a change from the heavy books I've been reading. Every story is unique and apart from making the reader laugh, it conveys an authentic message too. Various human traits have been written about in a remarkably well and simple manner. This book will sure guarantee you a glimpse at the comical side of life!
Each story starts with a fun illustration on it's subject. The stories cover a range of topics from religion, greed, sports, ambition, marriage, politics etc. The characters depicted in them are quite colourful and amusing who create comical ruckus with their mischief, mistakes and mirth.
My favorite story from amongst the eleven is false kings, which features a man who swaps his mango orchard in Ratnagiri for a remote land on the outskirts of Pune. He discovers three abandoned forts from Sambhaji Raje's time in the same land and starts weaving a detailed plan that can bring him immediate fame. An extremely funny set of events unfolds and you can't help but laugh out loud!
This book was a refreshing read and quite a change from the heavy books I've been reading. Every story is unique and apart from making the reader laugh, it conveys an authentic message too. Various human traits have been written about in a remarkably well and simple manner. This book will sure guarantee you a glimpse at the comical side of life!
April 4, 2021
An avid P.G. Wodehouse and humour fan, I had to pickup "Humorously yours," and hugely enjoyed the rollicking stories. Barkhurdar is an Indian Mr. Mulliner, the resident storyteller of the Gymkhana club. The very desi plot lines, characters that include colourful people and even some animals, are like a series of appetising tikkas that gets Barkhurdar's tongue rolling. Savour them, a story at a time, and lighten up your mood instantly.
August 7, 2020
Something of a Wodehouse homage. Decent read.
September 8, 2020
Heartwarming short stories set in urban Pune with humorous twists and interesting characters, make this a compelling and entertaining read!
April 10, 2021
An easy and fun read. But my rating for the publisher is just one *. I hate books that start on the left page.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews