Of love and bonding with nature (IANS Books This Weekend)

Is loving someone an act of stupidity? Here's a story of a boy and a girl who are extreme opposites when it comes to love; then a tale of a bond between an elephant, a monkey and a nine-year-old boy.

Then, there a hunter's journey across the Himalayas with his shimmery throat pigeon and an author's account on how his life changed after he decided to write a book with the silliest title. Here's this weekend's dose of IANS books. Read on!

Book: Logically Stupid, That's Love; Author: Shikha Kumar; Publisher: Srishti Publisher; Price: Rs. 250; Pages: 292

Karthik and Sahana are two extremes with different approaches towards love. While Karthik is ambitious, Sahana deeply believes in love. Karthik flirted with Sahana for five days and in return, Sahana waited for Karthik for five long years only to be shattered irrecoverably one day.

But fate had written something else in their destiny that again brings them face-to-face again. Will they unite or fall apart? A love story dedicated to the present generation that values what comes easy.

Book: Kari the Elephant, Hari the Jungle Lad; Author: Dhan Gopal Mukerji; Publisher: Hachette; Price: Rs. 250; Pages: 195

The book is a special edition that brings together two classics. First, an unusual tale of three friends growing up together - Kari the elephant, Kopee the monkey, their nine-year-old master Hari and their adventurous journey.

Second, a young boy's survival in a jungle after a flood washes away his home that leaves him with deadly carnivores, friendly monkeys and his saviour, the elephant Kari. The book takes readers to a place where feral meets the tame and man meets nature.

Book: Gay-Neck the Story of a Pigeon, Ghond the Hunter; Author: Dhan Gopal Mukerji; Publisher: Hachette; Price: Rs. 399; Pages: 329

Again, in a collection of two classics, the first is a story of a pigeon with a shimmery throat, his kind young master Ghond and their adventurous journey across the Himalayas and to a battlefield in France.

The second is a prequel, which carries the story of the young master Ghond, his initiation into forest life, understanding of dangerous animals and experiences with a pet panther that makes for a riveting tale. The book is all about the law of jungle.

Book: The Silliest Autobiography in the World; Author: P.G. Bhaskar; Publisher: Harper Collins; Price: Rs. 350; Pages: 266

Living an ordinary life happily, the author one day decides to write a book and plans to approach a few publishers. This decision changes his life.

The book is an account of what follows thereafter. Publishers are enigmatic creatures, notorious for conducting midnight sacrifices with small time authors; but even in his wildest dreams, Bhaskar did not expect such a journey. Read on to know his journey with an honest title!