Book review: World Full of Needles by Bhawna Monga

A reminder how little pricks can become huge lessons, this book can be a great self-help tool for those who are going through rough patches.

Words: Ambica Gulati

Simply written, the book is reminder that the pinch we feel in our relationships is a pinch that we create in our own minds. Not that Bhawna Monga claims relationships to be easy, but calling the needle an itch, she cites it a self created state of mind. Which is true as our reactions depend on our inner states. Adopting a holistic harmonious approach to life and people around you is important for our own well being, she states again and again.

The book has no drama but lots of short stories where the needle stands out in the form of a possessive lover, dictator wife and rumours and images clouding our thinking. Needles could be anything, our own blocks, our own experiences and maybe our own perceptions. For relationships to be healthy we need to make mature and wiser choices and we need to become balanced individuals, such is the theory behind this book.

Monga begins by explaining that the book is a play of short stories, each with a thought behind it. You could read it page by page or just story by story. And I think you could read it anytime and many times. As you grow emotionally, you also learn a different leasson from each story. The characters are simple, home-grown people, with names most of can relate to for instance Lokesh.

All in all, it’s a tool that you could keep and wherever there’s a wound to heal, read a story to find how you can turn your needle into a feather. I think the book is really suited to the Indian audience as this country has too many dichotomies at work.

Available at: notoionpress.com, www.bhawnamonga.com