Teacher's Day Remembrance: How I Became a Reader

The first book I ever read!

This is the story of how I became a reader. And, when you read it, you will understand that it was all so full of co-incidences, a little bit of luck and some pushing- the end result was something I still cherish- being a reader and picking a book after another: the greatest joy only a reader can understand.

A Promise Not Kept

Book Title: Keeping Faith

Author: Jodi Picoult

I picked Jodi Picoult for the first time. All I knew about this author was, that she had a pattern in her novels: protagonists are women, issues concerning women, courtroom drama, and some spice of thrills. I particularly picked "Keeping Faith" due to this tagline: "You believe in God. But your daughter is talking to angels. What would you do?". 

A Thriller with Lots of Twists

Book Title: The Kind Worth Killing

Author: Peter Swanson

I have always loved reading Psychological Thrillers and Mystery genres. I can't help but pick at least one mystery novel between 2-3 reads. This time it was- "The Kind Worth Killing" by Peter Swanson. The novel did satisfy my taste buds and if not the best, certainly it is something that comes in the top 5! 

A Magnum Opus! A Must Read.

Book Title: Age of Frenzy (Translated from original Konkani Novel, Yug Sanwar)

Author: Mahabaleshwar Sail

Translator: Vidhya Pai

Off late, I have read works of some celebrated author's like- Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Neel Mukherjee, Arvind Adiga, and the like. "Age of Frenzy" by a lesser-known regional author Mahabaleshwar Sail, somehow stood apart from all these and it was like finding a precious pearl from an oyster deep in the ocean. This novel is the English translation of the original Konkani novel "Yug Sanwar", and is fiction based on historical facts.

Conformity, Community and Liberty

As I deep-dived into my Sunday afternoon musings today, I was caught up in a spiral of strange thoughts. I realized that for the most part of my life I have dealt with 2 major taboos, as a result, was told by people the prescribed way of doing the “right” things and as a result, ended up being a conformist all along. At 6, I realized that I didn’t talk like other kids in the school. I had involuntary repetitions and blocks in my speech which I later discovered was called stammering. I was told to talk slowly, not to be nervous, and that I needed to consult a Speech Therapist who equipped me with loads of techniques on how to talk fluently. In other words, how not to be “me”. I tried and failed. 

Mythology, Serial Killings and History Lectures

Title: The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi

After reading the Shiva Trilogy, my first from the genre of Mythological Fiction, I began to like it and explore more authors like Amish Tripathi. Thanks to Google, I found Ashwin Sanghi. He has a series of novel called the "Bharat Series" which is based on a common theme- an amalgamation of mythology with contemporary thrillers. I thought it was an interesting combination. The first book in the series, The Rozabal Line was based on a premise on which I have already read another novel (The Scroll, by our very own Dr. Sachin) and I didn't want to sour the taste by reading another novel on the same premise. The second one, Chanakya's Chant is award-winning, but I skipped it because I don't enjoy political thrillers and tussle to power. Hence, I zeroed down on the third- The Krishna Key. Here's my review of the experience and what I think about the author.

Painful Stories with Writing Genius

Book Title: A State of Freedom

Author: Neel Mukherjee

I bumped into this novel called “A State of Freedom” by Neel Mukherjee when I was looking for offbeat novels to read. Since many readers recommended it on the internet and the author seemed to have a good track-record of awards for his past novels, I thought of grabbing a copy and getting a first hand experience. Here is what I think about this novel. 

Shiva Trilogy: My Review

After a lot of procrastination, I finally completed all the 3 parts of the Shiva Trilogy, written by Amish Tripathi. Here is my brief review of what I thought about this series and how was my reading experience. 

The story is based on an interesting premise. It is a fictional imagination of the story of Lord Shiva, portraying him (and all the other characters / gods) as humans living during the Indus Valley civilization. It’s a story of his transformation from a tribal barbarian to the Mahadev worshiped by the people. The series consists of 3 books and you have to read it all serially to understand the sequence of the story. The story begins somewhere near the Mansarovar Lake, the home of this tribal leader called Shiva who leads his tribe called “Gunas”.

Pure, Real and Unconventional

Book Title: A Mythical Bird
Author: Dr. Satyendra Srivastava

What do we think when we think of love stories? Whatever thoughts have come to your mind, this book will change the way you think about love stories. This is a story about pure relations between two hearts. A relation that doesn't need to be expressed, conveyed, or declared- it just silently resides within the hearts.

20 Years of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

A couple of weeks back, I bumped into a news item on a news website whose title read- "20 years of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai". In a jiffy, my mind traveled back in time- in the year 1998! At the back of my mind, it was getting difficult for me to believe that KKHH was now considered as nostalgia! For me, nostalgia was Amar Prem, Zanjeer, Sholay and the likes. No, I am not talking about getting older. It's about the time and crazy memories still stuck in my mind as the 'cool thing' of today is now a nostalgia. What changed it? Time of course! So here's a blog post dedicated to my fond memories that flashed my mind in a short span of 15 seconds after reading that news item.

I'm an Awakened Goan Common Man

The other day I had to attend a function at the MCC hall near the Margao Railway station. I decided to ride to the venue on my Honda Activa. I took the route via Arlem going through the Power House (Electricity Dept). As I was passing from Arlem, I had to ride my way dodging through the potholes, and some of them really dangerous. As I was trying to avoid one huge pothole, I almost reached the other side of the lane and blocked the way of a truck coming along the opposite direction. The honking sound brought me back to my senses. What was I thinking?

Best Wishes to AAP

General elections are round the corner, and I have never been as excited before the elections as I am this year. What is the cause of this interest? Well the answer I guess is the confused incumbent Government, the exponentially growing popularity of Modi, and the suspense created by the overnight emergence of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. The political scene is much more interesting than the love triangles of Bollywood.

In 2012, Anna Hazare started a protest against corruption which soon turned into a nationwide revolution. I was happy to see such a revolution taking place. It was a sign that the people had had it enough.

Ideas !!!

For me, watching TED talks on youtube has always been fun and fascinating. This Sunday, (19^th Jan 2014), BITS Pilani Goa organized TEDxBITSGoa - an independently organized TED event. The organizers sent a special invite to the Toastmasters International, and I being a part of this wonderful organization, grabbed the opportunity.

Taking the Plunge

It was on this Saturday afternoon that I saw my fear right into it’s eyes. I had read and heard umpteen times about the phrase “Darr ke aage jeet hai” (Beyond fear lies victory). On this day, at Malvan, I experienced it..!

Being Persistent

The founder of Persistent Systems, Mr. Anand Deshpande addressed the IT Professionals of Goa on 9^th August 2012 at the GITIC. I had the privilege to attend this inspiring session. Mr. Deshpande spoke on his entrepreneurial journey since 1990. While talking about his story, with each story he gave a lesson. He concluded by summarizing each of the lesson at the end- which can be the best advice to have, if you are an aspiring entrepreneur.

Anand Never Dies

“Zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath hai jahanpana, jise na aap badal sakte hai na mein. Hum sab toh rangmanch ki katputlia hai, jiski door uparwale ke haath bandhi hai. Kab, Kaun, kaise uthega, yeh koi Nahi janta” – The famous dialog from the 1970 film Anand echoed in my ears when I heard about Kakaji’s demise. The super star of the 70s breathed his last on 18^th July 2012… but the footprints that he has left behind will be inscribed eternally.

Can we make ‘IT’ happen in India?

This Saturday night, I was casually browsing and searching about Ashank Desai, one of the co-founders of the IT giant Mastek. I was particularly inspired about Ashank Desai because of the fact that he belonged to Goa. As I was digging into the internet, I stumbled upon a video about one of the largest project executed by Mastek, which became a milestone in the company’s road to success. The project was titled- “London Congestion Charging”. Puzzled by the name, I continued watching the video, and got inspired by the idea.

Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan

“Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan, Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan…” goes the verse of the famous Hindi movie song. Mumbai city is portrayed as a city with a difficult life. Goons, quacks, pick-pockets… Is humanity the most difficult thing to find in Mumbai? I used to think so, until that day…

Monday Blues & The Ice Cream Vendor

After a lazy weekend, it was yet another Monday morning, and the daunting ‘Monday blues’! To add to the woes, because of the heavy traffic on NH17, I had to take a detour through the narrow lanes of Majorda village. This meant that I was to reach the office a few minutes late. Not really a comfortable situation when I knew that I had a pretty hectic schedule for the next two days and that the tight deadlines would keep me belted on my chair in the cubicle. 

Kaun Banega Crorepati...?

Watching ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ on television has always been entertaining and fun. But it can inspire too! Today’s episode of KBC was one such episode- which really inspired, taught and reminded me of a few fundamentals which we often forget or don’t bother to remember.