Venus
Bytes is a collection of short stories peppered with anecdotes and
real life incidents relating to the hospitality industry. With wit
and humour and written in a racy style the first time author Mr. Venu
Rao's effort is commendable. His vast experience in the hotel industry
in India and abroad enables the reader to get a first hand insight
into the myriads of happenings in a hotel. His encounters with cobras,
elephants, rats are amusingly brought out and the reader is able to
relate to these situations. It is a pleasure reading these stories
some of which have a twist in the tale that brings out an involuntary
smile and a chuckle.
Royal
Abode is a story full of pathos with a sad ending. It has truthfully
demonstrated the saying that man proposes but God disposes.
In the story of the Guitar Man the incident of singing and dancing
at the traffic junction has been interestingly brought out. Did it
make headlines the next day? Maybe the concept of 24 hour TV Channels
was still a novelty. The ecstasy of little Aabana as the unexpected
happy birthday strains coming from Allen's guitar is very touching.
Who does not like pleasant surprises?
Shatrange
is an Arabic usage for the game of dice-Shatranj. Chaturanga is the
Samskrit word for the game that turned the fortunes in Mahabharata
and it is ironic that a foreign word should be used to denote a game
of Indian origin. Chetna ki DORI- of love and friendship is what life
is all about and makes it worthwhile.
I nearly
held my breath while reading the Second Chance. When the hunter becomes
the hunted who gave up hunting for a green earth in Second Chance
is indeed a soul stirring experience. Kumar Shetty must still be thanking
his stars that he is able to see the dawn of many wonderful days.
The way the Sheikh spoke English was droll in Just a sign away. The
irony of signing a death warrant in one moment and in the next attending
to the nitty gritty of a business transaction brings out what responsibility
entails the head of the State.
Maharaja's Ruby is mirthful. The dog Ruby aptly named preferred the
Merc to the van and traveled in style from the Sandur hills to the
plains of Bangalore. This story brings out the idiosyncrasy of dog
owners.
In Lambkin's lost, the child in Venu is discernable when he went gaga
over a lamb- his African buana or friend in Mombassa and the great
sense of loss when it was roasted on the pit and came on a meat platter
is poignantly captured.
To witness
a young happy go lucky life snuffed out with one slip and the melting
of what could be a life long friendship can make one scarred for life.
One has to get into the author's shoes to empathize with this experience.
The dark ending of this story, the intrigues of life is heartrending.
The last
three stories more like a Venus Trilogy fails to hold one's interest.
However Venu is at his best when telling the stories centering on
true incidents of life. The stories reiterate that he has trawled
in the rich waters of the industry and the waves of frothiness that
he brings into the stories in indeed refreshing. They give an insight
into the challenging world of the hotel industry which seems glamorous
but apparently the grass is always greener on the other side.
The cover
page design is excellent as also the line drawings that convey what
the pages will unfold. This slim book is reader friendly and can be
a good travel companion.
Book Review by Githa U Badikillaya.
Book Cover design by Gapu and Anton V
