Thoughts, reminiscences and more..: Canvas of Dreams

Canvas Of Dreams

Jaya Siva Murty

My Review

Protagonist Riya, a connoisseur of art, is an emotional yet strong woman, who builds a career in art, out of her hobby and interest. Through a series of crests and falls in her life, she makes a life for herself, independent and creates her own identity.

The story begins with Riya’s professional trip to Singapore, where she plans to take it easy and spare some moments for herself. Call it destiny, Riya’s childhood love, Ryan, the banker boy, re-enters her life in a dramatic fashion, throwing her back in yesteryears. Despite Riya’s reluctance, they meet, greet and dine, and spend some time together. The rosy picture as it may seem, had a few dark shades. Reality strikes her when Riya gets to see Sia’s pictures at Ryan’s apartment; not so unusual considering Sia is Ryan’s wife. But Sia was the sole reason of Ryan and Riya’s separation. Riya develops hate feelings for Ryan.

The dreams still haunt her...

Riya comes back to Mumbai, to once again face the unpleasant past with her obnoxious and suspicious husband, Siddharth. He dies an untimely death by falling off a staircase after an altercation with Riya,for which she blames herself, and is undergoing therapy for the same. The spiral staircase forms the background of her dreams.

The dreams still haunt her…

Trying to divert her attention from Ryan, Riya decides live her childhood dream, and plans to convert Siddharth’s ancestral home into an art gallery. She gets support from Shweta, Riya’s college friend, philosopher and guide, who is a level headed professional with a compassionate side. The art and design support comes from Rehaan, the artist with a broken heart. After initial debacles, Riya and Rehaan strike a friendship, and in no time try to find love within each other.

Nightmares lessen a bit, the dreams still haunt her, but in a slightly different format..

“But life is seldom smooth sailing,

And relationships are often disrupted as soon as they start gelling..”

In no time Riya realizes something amiss. Rehaan’s officious effects and inhibiting ways become a hurdle. She wants to paint her canvas of dreams instead of living for someone else’s aspirations. The outcome of her will power is a very successful art exhibition “Women’s weekend” with artists from all over the world pouring over to the opening ceremony of the “Siddh art gallery”. And there the hero re-enters. Ryan graces the occasion, with Sia. Wounds resurface. Riya’s hatred increases.

The intensified dreams still haunt her.

Ryan had moved back to Mumbai, and the proximity within the city lets Riya and Ryan meet again. They realize that the childhood love which emblazed within them had never died. Circumstances and harsh realities, accompanied by physical distance and miscommunication played games separating the lovers.

But there comes a dramatic turn. Will Riya chose one of the men, Rehaan or Ryan? Will the haunted nightmares give way to the colorful canvas of dreams which the young Riya wants top paint. Will there be a priceless picture ever? A picture close to her heart?

“Hate is just a stronger form of love..” – Shweta, Riya’s Friend

The novella, by debutant author Jaya, is a delightful romantic read, where the reader can identify with the characters. The author has justified every character in the book. Riya and Rehaan’s character development deserve a special mention. The language is free flowing and simple. The storyline is crisp. Even though it visits the past, the story doesn’t stray. There is some amount of drama involved, which could be attributed to the romantic beat of the story. This book can be effortlessly turned in to a superhit motion picture.

I could not keep it down, and read it at one go. I recommend the book, and give it 4 stars.

Meet the Author

Jaya Siva Murty is a business writer and social media manager from Visakhapatnam, India. Fascinated with the written word since the age of ten, she would file away her poems and short stories in a secret diary, till some were finally published by ‘Times of India’ and ‘Savvy’. She has written for the Economic Times and now provides India-relevant stories for a Hong Kong based magazine. When she’s not designing content for websites, or writing technical blogs and articles for clients worldwide, she spins yarns with unusual twists and turns through her works of fiction.

Jaya holds a business management degree and has taken creativity lessons at Stanford University. ‘Canvas of Dreams’ is her debut foray into novella writing.

You can stalk her @