Monday, August 11, 2008

Keep off the grass, Karan Bajaj

I picked up this book reluctantly because the previous book i read about IIM - Mediocre But Arrogant - was a let down. Two pages in and i was hooked. This is the third debut novel i've read back to back - the other two being 'Almost Single'(desi Sex and the City) and 'A Piece of Cake'(this one was actually about cake) - and i liked this one the best. It's a light read and more importantly it resonated the confusion/ discomfort i went through when i had to make a choice between relocating to US vs. staying in Bangalore and my reasons for staying in Bangalore were the same - This is where i belong. I feel happy and at peace here.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The 3 mistakes of my life, Chetan Bhagat

This one is a delightful read. His best so far. It has all the ingredients that make it a must read - simple but interesting story line, realistic characters, humor, drama, thrill/ action, facts, insights into political situation in India, romance, suspense... It's wholesome entertainment. This one would make a great movie. I've already figured out the cast: Shahid Kapur as business-minded, mathematics genius Govind, Kunal Kemu as Ish who is hot-headed, passionate about cricket and bravely fights to save Ali's life and Tushar Kapoor as gullible and kind-hearted Omi. I absolutely loved it.

One of the events this book touches upon is the burning of the train carrying kar-sevaks in Godhra and the subsequent riots in Gurajat. This brought back the fear i felt when i read about similar events in The Source. It's scary how 'normal' people could turn into cold-blooded mass-murderers when provoked.

What i like most about his style is he writes in simple English, unlike some of the other Indian authors who use such 'heavy' words and metaphors that you have to keep reaching out for the dictionary/ read a sentence multiple times to comprehend it's meaning. E.g., Arundati Roy's 'God of small things'

I wonder why his books are priced so low though... this one is priced at Rs.95 only

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Brida, Paulo Coelho

In Brida, Coelho establishes that God exists, we can experience him in all things around us, we are all born for a purpose and only God knows what that purpose is. We just have to keep faith in Him and follow His lead. Tradition of the Sun & Moon teach you how to know God's will & live your destiny. Tradition of the Sun advocates conscious living & meditation (concept discussed in The Alchemist) to connect with the universe/ invisible world. Tradition of the Moon (witchcraft, discussed in Brida) is about communing with the invisible world thru' rituals, time & space travel, talking to spirits and so on. All that is fine. But there's one part that didn't make sense to me...

It says that everyone has a soulmate (sometimes you may meet more than one soulmate in a lifetime) and we are all looking for our soulmate coz only then can we experience true happiness. Further it goes on to say that people with higher level of consciousness can recognize their soulmate by special light in the other person's eye or light on the left shoulder. Rest of us ordinary people have to rely on intuition. So far so good. In Brida's story, The Magus (teacher of the Tradition of the Sun) breaks up with his girl friend whom he loves very much because she's not his soulmate (no light in eyes/ left shoulder). He spends many years waiting for his soulmate and finally when she (Brida) comes along and both of them recognize that they are soulmates, he lets her go because she's in not in love with him but with another man who's not her soulmate. And then he consoles himself saying that he'll meet someone else and fall in love again. Duh!

Anyways, it was a interesting read...

Friday, June 06, 2008

Sex And The City

It was a bad bad movie... complete let down. I had expected it to be like the TV series - lot of fun girl talk, dating mishaps and a touch of emotions. But what i got was whole lot of emotional crap... it was tiring to watch Carrie mope around half the time... Imagine Samantha controlling her libido and being stuck in a relationship in which she's not getting enough of 'it'... that's so not her... There was very little city and no sex at all... Oh, wait a second... Actually, there was sex - a puppy humping stuffed toys and pillows... You get the idea... The only bright spot was the charming Mr.Big... He hasn't aged as much as the others.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Zoya, Danielle Steel

It's a interesting read. The story starts off very well with Russian Revolution and First World War as the backdrop. But then it fizzles out. The problem is it tries too hard to capture the impact of all the major events of 20th century (the Russian Revolution, World Wars and the Great Depression) on the protagonist's life, as a result of which the story moves in high-low-high-low pattern. You've got a heroine who finds 'true' love with one too many men and gets a lucky break every time her life hits rock bottom. You don't fall in love with Zoya like you do with Scarlett O Hara of Gone with the wind.

High point of the story is the sneak peek into the life of Russian nobility before and after the Russian Revolution - apparently those who managed to escape alive emigrated to Europe and made a living by driving taxis and doing other menial jobs - and the sad execution of the Tsar and his family. Depressing.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Animal Farm, George Orwell

I finally got around to reading this book and honestly i couldn't appreciate it. I quit after about 100 pages. I guess it has lost it's relevance now or maybe you need an understanding of Soviet Union's history to appreciate it. The only part that made sense to me was it's analogy to the corporate structure as my friend and colleague Kartikeya put it: You've got the Pigs at the top of the hierarchy who are the thinkers/ decision makers, then come the Dogs who's agenda is to do Pigs' bidding and get the job done and at the bottom of the pyramid are the Sheep, the doers.

Where do i fit in my organization's hierarchy? As a Product Manager I think i'am versatile and switch hats depending on situation... sometimes am a pig, sometimes a dog and sometimes a sheep... however for the past six month i think i've mostly been a sheep.

Passport Renewal

My passport renewal experience...

When i reached the passport office at 8:30AM I was surprised to see a mile long queue. There were 150+ people ahead of me. I wasn't prepared for the long wait - no umbrella (sun was already sharp), no book. At around 9:05AM i experienced a 'stepping into God's favor moment' (in Joel Osteen's words) - a teenaged boy approached me and said he had reserved two spots up front and now one spot was open as his friend wasn't coming. He asked if i wanted it. No prize for guessing what my response was :). In moments i went from 150+ to 22nd position. Apparently people at the front had been waiting since 5:30AM...

Passport Office opened at 9:30AM and they started issuing tokens - they do preliminary check of the documents before issuing the token. After that comes the more detailed review and then form submission.

When my turn came to submit the form, they wouldn't accept the form because i didn't have address proof. I had to got to Citibank Suvidha Customer Care Center on MG Road for the letter. God bless Citibank! Within an hour i was back at the Passport Office and thereon flow was smooth - submitted the form, met the Deputy Passport Officer which is an additional step for Tatkaal applications, paid the fee (Rs. 3000 for Jumbo booklet with 50 pages) and was out at 12:40PM. Am supposed to receive the new passport by post on Thursday.

About the meeting with Deputy Passport Officer, Mr. Ramesh Bhat. He was extremely nice - polite, professional with human touch. At the end of the interview he said, 'Best of luck Beta. God Bless You!' How often do you meet government officials who are that pleasant?

List of documents required for passport reissue/ renewal if you already have the ECNR seal:
(a) Application Form # 1 - can be downloaded from http://kar.nic.in/passport
(b) Two copies of the first and last four pages of the passport PLUS valid/ active visa pages
(c) Address proof like voter id, BSNL phone bill or letter from the bank (see website for complete list) is required if current residential address entered in the app form is different from the address in the passport. New passport will be delivered to the current residential address and that address will appear in the new passport as well
(d) For Tatkaal applications (delivery within 3 days) you need to submit couple other documents: Annexure I on stamp paper and attested by Notary (i got this from BCD Travel. Ph: 080 4040 6720). And a hand written request letter addressed to the passport officer

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

What do actors mean when they talk about 'baring their soul' on screen?

I've heard this phrase twice in less than a week. Shefali in her thank you speech after receiving the Zee Cine Award for best supporting actor in Gandhi my father said something to the effect of, '... am happy they acknowledged that it's hard work baring one's soul...' and then Nandana Sen talking about skin show in the forthcoming Rang Rasia goes '... baring the body is easier than baring the soul...' Now, what's this soul baring they are talking about? How could an actor who is playing some fictitious character on screen be baring his/ her soul? I wonder...

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Books I read recently

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
Another tear-jerking tale about Afghanistan. This time the story is about women and their struggle for survival in a country where war & death is common place and there's no escape from domestic violence. It's a good read with some new insights about Afghanistan's history and lovable characters. I hope his next book will be more upbeat and he won't kill the protagonist.

World Without End, Ken Follet
Sequel of "Pillars of the Earth" and just as enjoyable as the first book with unexpected twists and turns. I loved this one.

The Source, James Michener
First Michener book i managed to read end to end and with pleasure. It's a history book about Israel & Judaism written in the form of short-stories set at different points of time - it starts at the beginning of Agriculture Age and ends in 1964. It's a excellent book but am glad it's over it was making me very depressed and spiritual :) I have new found respect for the oldest religion and the resilient spirit of the people who have kept it alive for 5000 yrs now.

One common thread between these three books is religion - A Thousand Splendid Suns is about Islam in 1900s. World Without End is about Christianity in 130os and The Source about Judaism. To me the underlying message is 'Religion provides laws for living in this world... without these laws life would be chaotic... So Religion is good but only as long as it doesn't start repressing the human spirit by making the laws too restrictive/ hard to follow...'

Thats a lot of heavy reading, now i want to read something light and fun like 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, God Wild and Got a Life'... Plagiarized or not, it was a fun book...

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Return to VividhBharti

Couple years ago there was influx of FM stations playing Hindi music in Bangalore. That was a blessing as my commute to work would vary between 45-90 mins each way. Things started to change slowly... i think it started with 98.3 FM which started playing more regional music and everyone followed suit and now when you turn on the radio all you here is regional music with some Hindi music peppered around. I find it hard to believe that there are no takers for Hindi only music stations with so much immigrant population from North.

So now i tune into VividhBharti (102.9 FM) when i'am in the mood for Hindi music. It seems like nothing has in the past 30 yrs. They still play 'Mann chahe geet' at 1:30pm and 'Fauji bhaiyon ki pasand' at 7:00pm... and their sponsors haven't changed either. You still hear the good old 'Vicco vajradanti, tooth powder, tooth paste' jingle... It's nostalgic.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Quote of the Day

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are - Mason Cooley