Gently Falls The Bakula

Its been a long time since i wrote a book review and the reason was that i was stuck in the complexity as to which book to write about.In came the surprise and the perfect solution to my confusion - 'Gently falls the bakula' by Sudha Murthy ,the wife of the famous Narayana Murthy of Infosys and one of the board of directors of the organization (well i guess who doesn't know it). Okay now this books isn't about gardening although i wouldn't have minded if it was but then as usual the title of the book was misleading (poor me).

                          The bakula is supposed to be an ancient and sacred flower well known for its fragrance. According to the author it is profound in the northern parts of Karnataka.The story revolves around two people who share a bakula tree since childhood and how it unites them in spite of the odds like family feuds,ego clashes etc.But the story doesn't end there though and that's where the author creates a twist.

                         Shrimathi and Srikanth belong to two different families famous for their feud. Shrimathi being the smarter or rather the intelligent one excels Srikanth not only in the history essay competition but also in the board exams and becomes the state topper and him getting the second rank in the state.She chooses history as the major and he chooses science and since they ended up choosing different paths and wouldn't have to compete with each other anymore they decide to be friends (wonder what would have happened if both of them had chosen the same stream).

                      Time flies and so does the intensity of their relationship and they end up marrying. Shrimathi being portrayed as a calm and down to earth person bears the kind of treatment given by her in laws and sacrificing her love for history for the love she has for her husband she drops the idea of doing a PhD and moves to Mumbai with him.

                Yes the fellow is in the IT field and i don't have to elaborate on that since most of us know how it is to be in this field. Srikanth's focus on career is inversely proportional to that on his wife and soon he becomes the general manager (the author covers 10yrs in 2-3 chapters..not bad though) of the organization.Shrimathi having had enough is tormented and embraces her love for history leaving her workaholic husband behind and him not paying much attention to it.

                     I loved the book for few reasons..one being the fact that the moral is so very oxymoronic - give your ambition the first priority /never compromise on your loved ones for your dreams.The other being the way the author had described the various historical facts of our country (the lady has truly made a great deal of research).Now for the bloopers, the story was so very sober.It had an abrupt end and lagged logic.Of course considering the fact that the book was a translated one maybe it had failed to convey whatever it had wanted to convey.I have mentioned the entire story in the blog unlike my previous ones since i really didn't feel like recommending the book although it isn't that bad or maybe i felt that way since this is the third time I'm reading a book by an Indian author (no offenses meant) and it really wasn't up to the mark.

                  Finally i would like to dedicate this post to that friend of mine who surprised me on my birthday with this book. Thank you Arjun for making my day and also for the silent message which reminded me not to lose out interest on my passions no matter what !!! Gently falls the bakula - not as fragrant as the bakula but worth the read !!!

That awkward moment !!!

             The title of this post is really a famous one,thanks to facebook. But then i really couldnt help but implement it as a title since it is so very apt to the experience i encountered.So i just finished a long vacation and with the effect lingering around i thought of sharing a funny incident that happend to me.

                      Most of us know the cultural differences between that of our country and the others. Although globalization has changed most of the practises there are quite a few which has remaind the same.Well let me stop this boring rationalism.This post is about my travel to Singapore.Now i mentioned about globalisation since the airway in which we commuted offered people complimentary drinks.Not the h2o but the hydroxyl - CH3CH2OH (thanks to organic chemistry).Ahh yes this is such a common thing,especially these days but still it was quite unusual for us(since it was our first trip abroad). 

                   So when the air hostess announced that the passengers would be offered complimentary drinks jubliation arose from most parts of the cabin.Me being busy shooting pics (well yeah even in the cabin too) kept my listening skills at bay and wondered the reason for the hushes that appeared suddenly.The realisation stuck when i saw the air hostess bringing the trolley with peculiar bottles in it.

                           Being a non alcoholic person i didnt show much interest to the stuff that was being brought and i continued with my photo shooting process.Since i was sitting farthest (near the window) i was engrossed in cloud viewing. The air hostess brought the trolley newar our seat and my father who was sitting near the corridor mistook a green coloured Carlsberg tin as sprite and i was explaining him what it actually was and we were having a chat. Suddenly the air hostess asked me if i would like to have a whisky,when i refused her offer she asked me if i needed a Carlsberg and when i refused again she just gave me a smile and moved forward without paying attention to my parents ( not even a glance in their direction) which was when my mum pointed out that i was the only person who was asked the question among the three of us (myself,mum and dad).

                    History repeated itself on my way back to India..since my parents had already encountered the scene all the three of us ended up laughing after the air hostess left. Well that was one memorable flight journey alright !!!!!

Infinitesimally Impossible

The word infinitesimally although is a large one the meaning it conveys is something different. I came across this word while studying quantum physics at school. Quantum physics a subject which has fascinated me to every bits and it never ceases to fascinate me. Now let me stop the train of thoughts on QP since that is not the topic of this post (maybe i should write about it in the near future though).

                 This post is about my disability. Yes i do have one and a very common one. This disability would be shared by many other fellow human beings. It is something that i could find in my palm and unable to let it disintegrate since the absence of it shatters me.Well yes it is my very own phone. I have got so much attached to t that, instead of typing this post it about my disability i had typed this phone is about my disability and had to rewrite it.

                   The world is in our hands,thanks to the mobile phone.It is the second thing to which man gets addicted to (first thing being facebook). The device has helped us in so many instances although originally it was created only for talking now it is created in such a way that we wonder what is it that this thing cannot do. Well let me stop my essay on mobile devices right here. I get carried away way too much don't i ?!!

                  Okay so it's been almost twenty months since i became the owner of my darling phone and i must say am so very proud of owning it.Right from improving my multitasking abilities to making people envious by flaunting about it(laughs) and responding to my official mails in record time i literally grew up with this phone. It has become so very dear to me that am unable to bear the partition (now that's a sad story of mine).

                     I suppose most of the people would have gotten addicted to their phone,who wouldn't with the various features that is available. I fell into the same trap or rather the wormhole.Right from making calls,chatting with people,texting,downloading songs,listening to music i can do whatever i want and do it concurrently.Isn't that cool no wonder my TL calls me the walking wikipeda (i don't know where the connection lies).I hope they include the fastest qwerty typing or the maximum number of times a phone can be dropped contests in the next Olympics,i really have a chance of winning a medal for our country.

 

                      Now that my phone has crashed i really feel the disability to adapt myself with a not so wonderful phone.It is almost impossible to be without my phone.The essence of initiative is taking action and keeping that in mind i have taken steps to revive my long lost love. I hope i tend to be successful.

Bagging IT

Giving a pause to my book reviews am back with another post of mine. Sticking to the thought that i should write atleast one blog post per month is becoming a bit difficult, nevertheless i somehow end up writing one thanks to my saturday work schedule. Ahh yes i work on saturdays too..although most of my friends know about this now i get a chance to let the whole world know about it. 

                 This month july is really special to me. There are quite a few reasons for it but the best one is my relationship with the IT field. It was on the first day of this month exactly two years back, i had begun my career.I still remember the day very clearly(seems as though it was yesterday) and i wonder how time flew.It was and will always be one of the most important and cherished days of my life,the part of my life which helped me in learning more about myself." A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions"

                  As we grow we realise that many things learnt in the childhood becomes meaningless,I'm not quoting about education(ofcourse that's a different issue) but about the other things like the way we treat another person,the way we behave or treat another person due to which sustainability becomes a gruelling race.

                   I still remember the day when a senior at work asked me if i have entered 17th standard (summing up my years at school and college) just because i didnt know something which he knew. Ofcourse he was such a snob and at that instant two things dawned upon me..one that i was put in a barbaric land where any kinds of display of intelligence is stupidity unlimited and the second one being my notion to not treat my juniors in a similar way.Two years down the lane it occurred to me that people behave in such a way when they feel intimidated.They behave in such a way so that they can pull you down. Unfortunately this i realised, is the heart and soul of the IT industry. The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence which ultimately is a mirage.

                             True i really learnt a lot of things and my patience helped me a lot in various instances..i came across different types of people who both amused and annoyed me at the same time. A person once told me that we could never have friends at work place and at that juncture i found some ambiguity in the thing he told. But now there is a role reversal and i have ended up telling the same thing to many people.Period !!

                              Two years and three projects later i realise that i have fallen in love. Yes i mean it..i really am in love and it is so very profound that it brings tears to my eyes. The romance which i encounter makes me speechless at times (most of the time rather).I'm ending the usage of cliches here but i cant help it can i..i'm so very in love with my work, since i spend atleast 54 hours a week with it i'm one step behind addiction.This has crafted me into a workaholic which astounds me at times : who ME ? a Workaholic? since when ? Well it was since the moment i realised that i have fallen in love with the work i do..something that keeps me going on when everything else pulls me behind.

                         So here iam sitting at my workplace on a saturday afternoon not knowing whatever is going on in the outside world as iam binded with work..i understood that i am getting used to it irrespective of the aghast reactions i receive when i tell people that iam working on a saturday. Somehow it gives me a sense of pride since it helps in defining the new 'career-girl' ME.

I've got your number !!!!!

"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all "

 - Oscar Wilde


                          This quote is one of my all time favourite and being an ardent follower of it i thought of beginning this post this way since there is a connection. Many authors weave their magic spell in such a way that the effect of the book doesn't wither off even months after reading it.I felt the same way with 'I've got your number'. Ahh well i didn't get some body's number or whatever but Poppy did and that's how her life changed.

                            Poppy is a physiotherapist who loves her job. She gets engaged to Magnus,a super genius doctorate holder who sweeps her off her feet the minute he sees her, by bestowing her with the family ring thus making her his fiancee. Poppy is highly excited and at the same time worried about spending the rest of her life with the Tavishes.

                           The book begins with Poppy losing her engagement ring in a party. With no luck in finding it and her handbag being mugged along with her most precious possession - her phone and ends up finding one in the bin along with a name tag.Finders keepers !! Instantly she makes herself the owner of the phone only to find that it belongs to Sam Roxton's ex PA.Sam wants the phone back and thus begins the connection between Poppy and Sam.

                            At the course of time Poppy turns out to become Sam's temporary PA and by reading all of his mails(adapting the face that they share the same inbox) she gets to know everybody in his organisation which plays a key role in the end.The twist in the story begins when the number obtains a msg saying that the person's fiance has cheated on them. Whether it mentions that of Poppy's or Sam's is something the readers have to find out!

                                Throughout the book Sophie Kinsella maintains her trademark which is the hilarity. For instance the way Poppy distracts the Japanese delegates or the way she covers her palm with gloves in order to hide the loss of her ring or the way she cheats the Tavishes in scrabble with Sam's help is simply rib tingling (a trace of Becky Bloomwood). The way Sophie has adapted the text messaging concept is a perfect portrait of the reality.Although the book is funny it fails to reach the usual Sophie Kinsella mark.The author sounded a bit like Laura weisberger or Danielle Steel's books.

                               The characters are a bit too many which confuses the reader a bit. The best part of the book is the 'Footnotes', this is something new by the author and it definitely makes it's mark.On the whole this books begins in a very new angle and ends up like a melodrama.Of course the book does have an impact on the readers like the other Sophie Kinsella books with the intensity being a bit less. On the whole this is one entertaining ride, the tag like being the best - 'one ring and he's yours' .

                   This is my third book review on the row and i would like to thank all those people who keep motivating me to write such reviews. So i dedicate this post to all of you people out there who have been a positive influence !!!!!!!

Stupid guy goes to India..

Am back with yet anoter book review. Thanks to all my friends who had given a wonderful response to my previous book review which was a real boostup. There are very few books which triggers the reader to keep thinking about it even after the ending and 'Stupid guy goes to India' is one of them.

The author is a Japanese named Yukichi Yamamatsu and the book is about his experiences in our very own national capital Delhi. I've had my very own experiences in the cithy but Yukichi's book actually baffled me.Not that he wasnt just true but i was surprised that every person receives the same kind of treatment by our fellow country men.
 The beginning of the book shows Yukichi planning to weave the popular comic culture called MANGA is a non Japanese land. The introduction is highly hilarious but at the same time brings down the security level of our country,nowonder the terrorists are able to walk into the country really freely. So Yukichi finally makes it to India with nominal funds in dreams of releasing manga in the country. He is mislead though when he finds out the we arent new to comics.The manner in which he is received by the hotel staff and the way they fool him with the charges is absolutely hilarious but he lets the cat out of the bag. With that Yukichi establishes his base in the country. The next thing he does is begins his quest for apartment,This is really the important part of the book.

    Thus he begins working on the indian version of the famous manga with the help of various assistants who he manages to find. This part shows the sluggish and the carefree nature of the Indiand which is quite opposite to the Japanese who are well known for their rules and orderly way of living. In the end he manages to publish the book and whether he manages to sell it in the streets of Delhi or not is what you will have to find out by reading the book.

    The hilarity of the book is the trait to be cherished and enjoyed by the reader but at the end we could feel that the seriousness has been concealed by humour. The manner in which we Indians have been projected is something to be ashamed of. On the other hand every other country has it's own good and bad. An Indian in Japan would receive the same kind of feeling with the language barrier and maybe a different level of perfidy. The book clearly shows the difficulties a person would face in a foreign land minus the global lingo-english.

    Although the ending was a bit abrupt i really enjoyed reading the book. It made me wonder why Yukichi never tried visiting another city which might have given him a better outlook of our country.The translator has done a very good job in creaing the english version or rather the hinglish version of the book. It is an eye opener to all of us and maybe we could try to improve ourselves in the hospitality section. On the whole the book is a joyous ride and my first ever manga read.

I finally dedicate this post to all those people who are away from home in a foreign land and making the best out of it.
 

"Almost Single" !!!

Sometimes the title would indicate what the content is about, although we wonder how the very few words could summarise something so big. I hope that the above statement would be agreed by most of the people.Perhaps it would be correct with a wild guess, but for how many of us does it click? I suppose that the title of this post might indicate that it is related to me in some way or the other. Till now I have blogged on various subjects...from cycle rickshaws to my travel experiences in chennai,movies,boredom,etc.This time i wanted to write about something different and the moment i laid my eyes on this book i decided that my next post would be about it.

I found this book lying in my friend's rack when I was prying around [the usual ;)]. The cover page was a bit unusual for a book by an Indian author. I have read various chick lit's from all over the world and I was very much surprised to find one from our very own country. The Washington post had declared the book this way - "cheeky new writing breaks shackles". I ran home so that I could begin reading it, somehow I forgot the famous proverb-appearances are deceptive. Well the book wasn’t just cheeky, it was too cheeky.

The lead - Aisha Bhatia is twenty-nine years old and is single, though she is ready to mingle she seems to be very unlucky when it comes to finding her perfect man. Self-actualized people are independent of the good opinion of others. But this female is far more than independent which is a disturbing factor. She works as a guest relations manager at a hotel in New Delhi and is quoted to be an ardent traveller. Yes she is an ardent traveller to the night clubs, pubs and bars of the city. She tolerates her job which requires her to wear a sari everyday which she casually drapes over a jean which is the after effects of a hangover. She hates her boss who is a big time jerk who shuttles between his wife and his girlfriend a.k.a his sister in law(Seriously!!). Aisha bonds really well with her friends, a gang which is an embodiment of friendship comprising of a gay couple-Ric n nic, a divorcee- Anushka and a very hip girl - Misha who is constantly ends up with the wrong man. The hero of course is an NRI who is a perfect package - handsome, ultra rich and loves the leading lady.Like every other chick lit the hero is a guy who is really very rich and the leading lady an ordinary girl next door (sort of) person. 

The book comprises of experiences of all these people which are in the bollywood meets Sophie kinsella style or rather Hollywood meets Advaita Kala..Whatever!!! Aisha who is supposed to be an intelligent and independent woman fails in terms of morales..She is found to be constantly boozing and doing things which could probably be possible but unacceptable. Though such characters might be found in some or many parts of the Indian capital it isn’t acceptable when it is related to Indian women in general.

Although the author tries to be original, globalization has made us to read the chick lit's from the west and the context is found to be more than just similar. There is a very thin line distinguishing the content from that of the popular chicklit's .

Aisha meets Karan in a most embarrassing situation and somehow makes her way into his heart. Various other incidents help the leading couple to get closer and circumstances separate them. The book ends with Aisha getting down at Bhopal from a running train in the middle of the night (déjà vu anybody ??) and catches a flight to Mumbai to meet the man of her dreams and they unite finally.

The book takes desperation to a new level which is supposed to seem real but unfortunately fails. The champagne brunches, gay soirees and the dilemmas of hip young girls (not so young by the way) on the lookout for love and matrimony would work really well in the west but it is too soon to render Indian people this way. The parts of the book like the panditji(dude),a bossy house owner,the stupid boss,the bollywood moment-karva chauth..etc.that are named to be funny are highly pathetic (am still in search of the person who has called the book as the one with a wacky sense of humour).

The only good thing about the book is the depiction of friendship between the lead characters: the only non perturbing part of the book. The author is sensible enough not to tamper it any way, which was the only factor that kept me going till the end. A single afternoon is enough to read the book which was like watching the desi version of the Friends TV show or the inbetweeners or the recent blockbuster how I met your mother. Sadly the new breed of Indian women who are trying to draw a balance between their cosmopolitan life and an orthodox society are exhibited in a very bad way.

"Almost single " by Advaita kala - a book to read when there is no other go and you are stuck up with it !!

'The individual woman is required a thousand times a day to choose either to accept her appointed role and thereby rescue her good disposition out of the wreckage of her self-respect, or else follow an independent line of behaviour and rescue her self-respect out of the wreckage of her good disposition’. I dedicate this post to that special friend of mine - Tiyasha Sinha who has inspired me by being a representation of independency, whose constant encouragement has helped me in continuing this wonderful hobby/passion of mine !!!