Desi Boys, Cricket and The Secret

Desi Boyz banged theatres last week, and we as usual like every week-end were excited to watch any god damn new release. The excitement was doubled with the time clashing of the nail-biting end of the India-Windies final test and our booked show. But actually the truth was something else, we were more thrilled by our upcoming race with time to reach theatre, and to even catch the pre-movie trailer; it is like if you didn’t watch a pre-movie trailer, your money got wasted.

Ashwin’s not-so-convincing performance at the last over, got mine and my friend’s usual dialect and slang beating, and then we left off for our race. It was our other friend’s jumbo AVENGER that gave us the confidence and the self belief of us making there on time. My friend intended to drive, and the race started to reach the 20 km away theatre in 45 min, with the hustling and bustling Sat-evening traffic of Pune. My friend with his smart tactics of bypassing others from the road corners and from the places where even a cycle man would think to cross increased our belief to a level of complacent excitement.

But, did we reach there on time….or did we ever watch that show …….

After 15 min of driving, I experienced some slight bumps but thought of it because of great speed and ignored it, and there came the real Desi-Beat on us; after 500 metre, a sudden wobbling from the back, great reflex from my friend gave our bike a road corner halt. We were there 10 km or 20 min away from theatre with punctured rear tire of Avenger. We still had twenty min, and luckily we got the nearby mechanic shop, and his quick reaction to it increased our excitement. Tire got dismantled, tube deflated, and checked, one puncture, two puncture, three, four, five…..we were stunned, and finally there were ten punctures. Our hopes shattered then and there, and icing on the cake was even the tire at 3 places got holes.

are #($*#(@#, wat had happened yaar, 440 bucks drained plus this extra 800 bucks…wat next………nothing let’s go somewhere, eat, give comfort to your eyes, and buy tickets for the night show….and we did watch the night show of Desi boys ……

After movie, I gave a thought for all that happened. I came to the conclusion, what we wanted was to watch the movie and we watched it no matter how, and we wanted a frenzy and we got it. My friend and me actually earlier also had a similar kind of experience with a match about to end and a movie to start. That time it was a nearby theatre and there were only five minutes to go. We had booked online tickets, and at the ticket counter we were informed that there were no tickets with our transaction number, we cross checked it nothing happened and just before the time when we were about to blast that person he got the actual situation that ours was the different theatre ticket, and by mistake we came here. It gave us such laughter on our stupidity, and I cursed my friend badly for all this non sense as he booked the tickets. We did watch the show that time also at the right theatre but with offbeat lunacy and insanity. Actually with Desi Boys we both had this earlier time on mind, and we expected something similar to happen with us, and it just happened.

As I realized it, I became happy and smiled to myself as it again cemented the  belief that what we think in our heart and mind is what happens with us. This is an inspiration from the book ‘The Secret’, and which changed my life 4 years back when I read it for the first time. But the ball had always been bouncing between surity and uncertainty whether this can really happen, and I kept on testing this belief on myself from time to time. I did get positive results, and also negative sometimes. But this was the first time that I realized its existence after what had happened and that it was the same what I and my friend thought about. Although it would look maniacal, that why would somebody like to have his bike punctured and that too ten, but see if it would have been single it would be a normal condition, and that was what we didn’t expect. We wanted an excitement and we experienced it.

This incident again gelled up a belief in me, that whatever I think will only happen with me. This is the universal truth that I believe, and which keeps on giving me good and strong epiphanies from time to time.

Test it in your life, and you will enjoy it..

Keep smiling……..

Breath,Eyes and Memory

Book Review: Breath,Eyes and Memory
Author: Edwidge Danticat



This Oprah Club’s book is about lives of Haitian women, their pains and suffering, and their brave contemplative struggle to make themselves free of it, to set their breath, eyes and memory free of that agony and pain, and finally to live a better life.


The book is basically concentrated on the life of a protagonist Sophie, and the people associated with her. Her aunt Attie with whom she spent her childhood, her mother , who lives in the States for some reason, and her grandmother who wanted her children’s well being, and utilizes her ability to see past vision to bring peace in their lives. The story starts with Sophie as a 12 year old girl and  Aunt Attie living alone in Haiti, oblivious to the outside world, and for Sophie even to her mother and grandmother. She was brought up and reared up by her Aunt in that Haitian village. It was when she went to her mother, and her life transformed from a child to the puberty period, did she start facing the pain and agony that the women of this family were destined to face. She came to the realization of her mother’s suffering and to the reason of her being brought up by her Aunt and not by her mother. She saw her family every moment getting burnt in that


The book moved on with the description of Sophie’s life from her child hood, to her adolescence, to getting married, and then her after life. Author has very simply descried the events, and has been very direct in describing the pain of the people’s life. The pace of how the situations turn up in the book is a bit slow, but nevertheless one will continue to read the book, because of the simple and the honest portrayal of the characters.

Author at the end has tried to explain the readers in a good preachy way that how can one be free of any past memory or incident. Even while reading it, one incident glowed up in my eyes (from my life), that happened some six years back. It keeps coming to me, and may be while writing this I am trying to be free of it, but don’t know I may also have to do things in other ways to rub it off completely from my breath, eyes and memory.




The book is a good read for people who love to observe things and people around, and obviously if you are new to reading then read it after some time.

As simple as it can be #1

In ‘As simple as it can be’, I will define this nature, this world, their mundane and philosophical interpretations and much more in the simplest way as they can be.

With first post of its kind, I will start with the most beautiful existing thing, i.e love. It's an irony that I have had many posts trying to define love, but this one is a single liner.

LOVE:  Feeling good about anything……

And then we have-

Engineer:  is a person who has the ability to come out from a deeper than the deepest ditch.

Advertisement:   makes you feel that you are connected with and a part of this world.

Physics:  Relative motion study of almost anything.

Wife: Emotional carrier of a man..

Here begins my search to define anything and everything in the simplest way. I welcome the suggestions from you all to make this series really entertaining, and  you are free to comment on and correct  my simplest interpretations.

Keep smiling!!!!!

Life is beautiful...

I am sitting at a restaurant on this colorful and a very light day. Everywhere there are people around me, eating, chatting, smiling, living….everyone is happy in their private companies. I am happy by myself, observing them; observing life…Life is so beautiful.



I ate good food, came out and walked towards my place. There are people around me doing their work, there are plants, animals, birds, around me all living their lives independently. I see their one and only expressions, their urge to live a happy life, their graciousness, their fear, their greed, their satisfaction, their thoughts, and their connection to each other. There is light, there is air, land, water and matter....They all are source of their expressions, reactions and reciprocations. These –ions are bringing the inevitable change at every instant in their lives, in my life.

I can see a man on his bike, brawling with a person walking nearby. It seems as if they are arguing on a trivial matter. A car just passed me, with all its windows open and a little boy, a girl and their pet playing in the car by themselves, where as their parents (a guess) sitting at the front talking to each other. There is a beggar asking for money on the name of God, and a very kind and a courteous woman gave him a ten rupee note. That beggar could not feign his happiness, and prayed to God for that woman’s well being and better life. I sometimes feel myself connected with the creator when I am with a woman, in fact with any female. I had always found them kind, courteous, full of love and care for others. I can see and feel that love and care in my grandmother, mother, sister and every one of them. It is inherent in them to give love and care to others to make them happy. When I realized this fact, I have always been in contact with women.


As I live away from home, from my family, there was a time when I had a lot of work and various pressures and I was kind of disconnected with friends and society; it was also a good time as I enjoy doing work but when I started sharing time and talking frequently to them I found my life a bit light and free of pressure. I have always realized peace and fun with them.

As I walked ahead, a young road side dog started barking, and once or twice showed his tiger-like teeth and snake-like tongue, I just smiled to him briefly and went ahead. It is a nice weather today with a charming light and a comforting breeze. Life has always been a little light or a little heavy. In fact it surprises me that how our lives could be compared with the numbers. We always play with numbers in between 0 and ∞(infinity), and same is our life we always live in between the happiest moment and the most sad moment, and we always with our so-called –ions try to reach on either of them.






I reached home and found my land lady playing with her grandchild, I smiled at them, and they smiled back. LIFE IS SO BEAUTIFUL.







Dedicated to an event organised by http://11elevenproject.com/

An epiphany on the Diwali day........

Diwali, as usual, this year also enlightened every body’s life with love and fun, bliss and peace, better time and prosperity. We all celebrated it with our near and dear ones.



The Diwali day for me, started with early morning special traditional practices. The day on which I myself have to get up early, as mom is always busy in encircling the complete home with red and grey liquid…(sorry I don’t remember its traditional name). I also, as a surprise to myself, supported dad and brother to prepare for the evening puja. From the morning itself, the ambience was of divine nature with aromas of roli, mango leaves, fresh flowers, sweets and what not.


The day before Diwali never seemed so great, but the morning we wake up on Diwali, it always felt like todaaaay is something special.


In the evening, we did puja, and the end of it was the happiest moment of the day when everybody was together, smiling giving blessings to each other, talking and chatting, loving and having fun. We then had a blast, fired some flower pots, fire balls, rockets, sky launch etc. and finally ate yummiest food. I yearn for this time the complete year.


My Diwali has always been like this. Ah..there is one thing that I didn’t share is on each Diwali me and my brothers use to fire crackers till 3 am in the morning, with our group of friends, accompanied with funny pranks and light banter. It had always been fun.

However, this Diwali we didn’t fire so much as the craze is getting down with the time, but I got a realization of the true meaning of Diwali. There is a tradition in my home, that on the night of Diwali before the sun rises, complete home needs to be dusted and the scrap to be burnt. This use to happen every year, but I never gave it a thought or never tried to understand its significance. But, this time when I myself did the dusting work to just let my mother sleep, I saw the chain of thoughts in my mind. I came to the conclusion that Diwali marks the beginning of a new life free of all the bad things, and that is what I did that night. I removed all the old scrap from the house and burnt it to begin a new life free of evils.


I, then the other day asked my grandmother about that grey and red liquid, that why do we encircle or decorate our homes with that; and the reply amazed me, that liquid is actually capable of making land free of all types of insects. In fact this is not all, each and every tradition on this eventful day is related with the cleansing effect of our lives (not homes).


I think that for people like me, who were oblivious to this fact up till now, should understand the significance of old traditions, and follow them. Diwali is there to filter your life from good and evil, and to give you an opportunity to live a better life.


Realize it.


Enjoy it.










Image Courtesy:http://jasmineandtheelephants.wordpress.com/
http://mashedmusings.wordpress.com/page/11/?em_x=22

Happiness in the Festive Season

Festive season is here again. It brings so much relief and happiness in life, for students it’s a time to get energised for their exam preparations, for service class, it is a much-needed break from their hectic schedules , for business class it is a once in a year opportunity to earn good money in a short span of time.


I feel that it is much more than that, and even greater than worshipping Goddess for goodness and well-being. It is about being together, sharing happiness, and expressing love with family, friends, near and dear ones. It is about a moment that brings glow to your face and makes you smile, when you see the people you love.



With the global development, people are free to move to any place in the world to earn money, get a good job and lead a happy life. With this, the so-called joint family tradition prevalent in ancient India is now slowly getting converted to nuclear family. People with a wish to earn money, in a way they want, move to places so far, and get so engaged in their lives that for years even they do not come back. Sometimes it is time, and sometimes a mundane illusion, keeps them away from meeting the people who love them so dearly.

People well settled in their lives away from their first home, always try to look out an excuse to go back, and we are so lucky to have this periodic excuse in the name of a festival. We say that we go to celebrate festival and be a part of the family tradition, but in our hearts we all know that it is a get together with the family that everybody cherishes.

So, just speak out express your love, make them happy give them gifts, eat sweets, enjoy and have fun with your loved ones. Enjoy every moment of it.



P.S: I would like to make a sweet request to all happy and smiling people, to pledge from this festive season, to not waste food and only take that much in a dish that you can eat.

Strong Medicine

Book Review:- Strong Medicine



Authored By: - Arthur Hailey



Strong Medicine is a book of many nuances of a pharmaceutical industry and the people involved in it. It describes in its story a life of a girl Celia Jordan starting her career from a sales woman to the reach of presidency of the company. It unveils good and not so good facets of a pharmaceutical industry, and its impact on the society as a whole. It gives you a chance to live a life in the pharmaceutical industry with Andrew Jordan, a wise doctor, Sam Hawthorne, a mundane corporate man, Vincent Lord, a greedy technical specialist and Martin Peter Smith, a brainy scientist.




The story starts with Celia and her feministic struggle to enter into a male dominated pharmaceutical industry of 1950’s. It speeds up with her bold, gutsy and honest attitude in her professional life that ladders her to the new heights of success with her each move. Andrew Jordan, a very wise doctor and her loving husband supports and protects her from getting illusive by the outside world. He indirectly helps her in taking right decisions at the right time. The story entails with the risky moves of Vincent Lord to compete in this greedy world, with Sam Hawthorne who as a dedicated corporate man tries to do everything right for the so- called pharmaceutical company, Felding- Roth in the book and with Martin Smith, and his genetic research work to make people being able to hold their smartness of brain till a relatively older age. All this in combination makes a complete description of good, bad, happy, sad lives and times of people of the pharmaceutical industry.


The book is written in a way that at the end you will feel like, you just lived a life in the pharmaceutical industry. It is like a description of a small time of that industry, and it ends like a day in your normal non fictional life. The prose’s so methodically written and the arguments so intelligently crafted that you will just love it; and the description and the debate in 160-180 page is the best in the complete book. The thoughts of the characters described in the book are so wise and clear that you will be amazed at some times, wondering that can somebody write it like this…..and Andrew Jordan is a treat to all the women, he is such a lovely husband, I would like to have some part of my attitude to be like him.


At the end I will say that Arthur Hailey always creates magic for me, and I sometimes find myself thinking that not enough books of his are left in my- to-read list. You will only find this book good, if you live with the characters without your presumptions. If you do so, you will find yourself loving all works of Arthur Hailey.






The book is worth grabbing, read it or gift it.

LOVE

When her face comes in front of you at dawn,

When you wake up early only to text her Good Morning,

When at the lunch, you assume her making lunch for you

When you think of her as you listen a romantic song

When you see her in every beautiful girl

You are in love!!!



When you want to share your problems only with her

When you think of her while grooming yourself

When you imagine her watching you all the time,

When you want to like her likes on face book,

When you keep looking at her picture for a longer time

You are in love!!!




When you call your mother, if you miss her

When you secretly see her working

When you think of crazy ideas and create situations to talk to her

When you jump with joy on seeing her message

When you think of her, if you write something about love

You are in Love!!! My dear







Dedicated to an acquaintance....






imagecourtesy:http://www.tech2ride.com

A Change

Amay: Do you remember, that Kachori’s taste ....and tea……




Me: Yeah…………


We coincidently stopped at a shop in front of our college for cell recharge. There was a road, separating us from our alma mater, and we both for a second were lost in those college days, where we use to have so much fun, we use to bunk classes to eat Kachori, and never having that patience to wait till the lunch time. It was so good a feeling, that taste of Kachori, instantly came to my mouth. I saw myself sitting now with my buddies, at a bench which Bhai Jaan use to have for his customers, eating, having fun, laughing on useless things. It was like I just lived that life fully again in that instant.






It is two years now that we have passed out from college, and that lovely picture of us always comes to my mind, whenever I drive from that road. But I sometimes contemplate that, whether I want to return to that time again, or everything is ok as is. It sometimes becomes difficult to come to any conclusion, but if I close my eyes and think deeply, then I always get the answer that I have to move on, and change is important in life.


A change indicates movement, indicates life like a growing flower. If we see around apart from this mundane world, we find, earth, air, water, trees, birds, and even the clouds moving. We all have learnt History lessons in our school days, we have sculptures, arts, from the past, that were built hundreds and thousands years back; they all are examples of a change that has already happened. All these sculptors, arts, buildings, and I should say that purpose of writing History is there to cognizate us to this beautiful law of nature that change is evitable, and we should welcome it with open arms.


We may have in our lives a time, that if we could we would have stopped it. But, have we ever tried to stop a time that might have given us an experience, we may not like to recall. NO..na...... The point here is change has to happen, but it is up to you whether that change will be good or bad. Let us look at this below conversation of a husband and wife to have a deeper look..


Asha: Have you brought salt today??


Avinash: Oh! Yes, it’s there in my bag,


She checked it, and found a 1 Kg packet of local brand ‘Anmol’ shudh namak. She took the packet, and contemplatively went to kitchen for last preparations before dinner. Avinash noticed her thoughtful expression, and then said, “ Tata Salt was double the cost of this one”


Asha remembering his same answer every time, murmured “ God knows, when will my kids eat good and tasty food”, and submissively prepared the dinner.


Avinash: “ I sometimes feel so sorry, that I am unable to give you and kids the necessary comforts of life, if not luxury”


Asha remained silent, and set the dishes for dinner. They ate it silently with the briefest conversation attempt from Avinash and then slept for the next gloomy day.






Asha, by maintaining silence also confirmed to him that Avinash is right, and that they will never have a good time sharing with their kids. I just wanted to tell you that Asha and Avinash both in reality and unknowingly don’t want a good time to come in their life and the proof is their repetitive daily statements. But, the change has to happen, and that will bring more bad times in their life, may be in future they may not have single penny to buy salt, leave for TATA salt.


May be after some time, Asha would think that time with 'Anmol' shudh namak were better, and then the time with no salt but food was better, and then the life will go on like this...


It tells me that if ever you have a time in life that you think should come back that means you are not in your right direction of opinions about life. It is you and your positive attitude that will bring you better and better times in your life, and may be then you may like to bring the change as early as possible.






So, believe and trust yourself and be ready with smiles to welcome the change of a better time in your life……… I am ready, are you????

Greening the World

At first, I’d like to thank Ek Titli and Ginger Chai, for giving this topic to contemplate and write; if not for Ek Titli, I’d have written some other post.




There are innumerable ways of greening the planet, and by this I ‘d like to throw light on ways beyond planting of trees. In fact, one can direct his each move towards greening the planet. An attitude that supports the nature’s cycle of millions of species directly or indirectly contributes in greening the environment. For example, a small behavioral change in lacs of people for throwing litters only in dustbin can create a green revolution after a considerable period of time. However, as suggested by Ek Titli I would like to highlight 10 ways in which how an opinion or a strategy change can contribute significantly towards greening the planet. Here, I have also tried to focus on the driving factor for change for the below mentioned categories.



1) Scientists: There should be an announcement for scientists that whosoever finds out a new natural element in a Periodic Table which can be used to make a recyclable utility similar to polythenes, will be awarded with INR 5 crore, to spend on a research of his choice.





2) Schools: As schools have a PT(Physical Training) schedule in every week (I hope so , it is not daily), likewise there should be an EE (Environmental Exercise) schedule and that may include tree plantation, gardening, bowing of seeds, study of crops and knowledge of vegetables that can be easily grown in home gardens. It may benefit in many ways, the next gen will know how to plant and cure a tree, which this gen or at least I personally do not know.

Assuming that 10 lac students pass each year from school which has EE activity, and if even 1% of them in their later life choose to plant trees, it will number to thousand. Now just imagine how many trees those thousand students will plant in their entire life.



3) Government: Government can do many things in this regard, but the most influencing that I feel is the tax exemption for common people. It goes like, if you own a land and you dedicate 2.5% of that land for growing plants, then you will have a 10% of tax exemption, and more the plantation more the exemption. This has dual benefits, one is the tree plantation and the other is eradicating corruption.



Look at this way to be more clear, everybody I feel forge bills to submit in Income Tax department, as there is no other way to save tax (by this I mean without investing money in any mutual fund or equities). If this is implemented, the latter technique may lose its importance, and people will follow an easy one to save tax, i.e more and more tree plantation.

To be frank, I do not have a tree in my home, and if there is some policy like this, I may be the first one to do the plantation.

4) Business Man: These people rule the world; if you are not a business man then you are driven by them.

We all watch TV, isn’t it? I assume daily there are 4-5 new schemes introduction for getting something free on purchase of that company’s product. I remember one ad, if you purchase a toilet cleaning spray you will get a toilet cleaning brush FREE FREE FREE…….Man this is sick.



If these greedy minds start giving small plants as a free item, then how will that be? Of course, a business man reading this one may think up of his benefit first, and that is genuine.

Where there is a business, there is a government. If any business man gives 10000 plants under a free scheme to customers then that business group can use 1000 lts free petrol for their goods transportation. Now, this can have many better implications effecting inflation to tree plantation.



5) Bollywood: If we dedicate some land to Bollywood in each city……let me complete……. where actors can come in only in that area to promote their films by artistically planting trees say by each name of a movie, or may be trees can be designed as per movies’s theme, and then sold out and exhibitioned in malls. It will again do two things, will stop traffic rush at that time in the area wherever actor goes, and the other is, they (actors) themselves will be happy.



6) Colleges/ Universities: They control youth, and youth of today makes the nation of future. Youth should be engaged to read more books, to watch more movies, documentaries that supports the cause, and should always be kept motivated and inspired to plant trees. It is the most important time, and is the time where one can set the thinking process of a particular person for the entire life. They should come out from a university, with the perspective that always inspires them to support ‘make green’ cause.





7) Doctors: It is a well known fact among many people that sometimes doctors just prescribe medicines to make patient feel comfortable; but actually attitude problem is also the cause of many diseases, and which cannot be cured by any medicines but yourself. Doctors can prescribe patients to be in the vicinity of a particular plant to cure attitude problems, may be the examples of it may form my other post….but as a small one if somebody is feeling dull; prescribe him to be in the vicinity of sunflower.



8) Corporate Houses: They should engage their employees in tree plantation activities, and in fact I have seen some companies doing it and that is appreciable. One thing I would like to suggest is there should be a special tax exemption to corporate houses under the name of Green Tax Free, and money should be given to employees on the basis of their tree plantation activities on Sundays.



9) Media: Media has the biggest responsibility in greening the world and the first thing I would like to tell is to make them realize that they are the only ones who can green the world rapidly, and then see how they create trees out of sand. They have the privilege to educate people of any age, and that is enough to green the world.





10) Common Man: What to say about this creature……he who daily goes to office, and comes evening to his happy family…he who every Sunday takes his kids to malls …..He who loves his wife so much and can eat a tiffin lunch devoid of salt and still praises that to his friends….the above 9 factors will only succeed if he will be with them.

I am ready to support every cause towards greening the world, are YOU????????????









Image Courtesy:http://ayojak.com/blog/tag/go-green/

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The girl with the dragon tattoo

 Book Review: The girl with the dragon tattoo.


Authored by:- Steig Larrson



This is one of those books that I will remember for a long time, and believe me, not for its story but for the characters. They are so intelligently created and aesthetically described that you will just love them. ‘Lisbeth Salander’ and ‘Michael Blomkvist’, the two protagonist of the book have now been added in my favorite character list, and that already includes Robert Langdon of Dan Brown, Forrest Gump of Winston Groom, Kader Bhai and Lin Ford of Gregory David Roberts, The great Veto Corleone of Mario Puzo, and the idealist Howard Roark of Ayn Rand.

The story is about Michael Blomkvist, a dedicated journalist of his own magazine Millenium, co founded with his colleague and part time lover Erica Berger(you will enjoy reading author’s thoughts of a part time lover). In his journey of journalism, he comes across a story about ‘Eric Wennerstrom’,a henchman, who runs his business so smartly that nobody can ever challenge his wrong ways of earning money. Blomkvist in the same attempt fails, and consequently also becomes the reason for his magazine’s downfall. There enter Henrik Vanger in the story, the legend in himself, and the biggest corporate man of his time. He promises Blomkvist to help him in surfacing Wennerstrom, if latter helps him in solving the murder mystery of his niece, happened some three decades ago.

But can Blomkvist solve that mystery, or will he need Lisbeth salander, an investigator who has her own secret skills in doing the investigation on any person? Will Vanger really help him in surfacing Blomkvist, or is it really a trick to allude such a dedicated and brainy journalist to give a last try to search killers of his niece????????



The book sets the pace form the very first page, and on reading it I knew that this is going to be interesting, and so it has. The characters are so vividly and aptly described, that you will just stick to it like an adhesive. The most unlikely thing about this thriller is the ending of the book, which could have been a bit different, and surprisingly I sometimes ponder about all thriller’s authors mind, that the answer to mystery in any of these novel lies only in one thing. I should not tell you more, or may be the avid readers can point out this. However, the book keeps its pace, and is one of the best thrillers I have ever read.

The author I think also studies human behavior, as the title suggests. The title has nothing to do much in the story, but is just created in a way to attract reader in his sticky web of writing. This is usually not seen in other books, or may be the ones who have tried had not done it in a better way. But this title as obvious attracted me to have a look at it, and I couldn’t stop myself grabbing this one from the book store.



The most amazing thing about this book is that it's originally written in Swedish and later translated, and even then uncommonly, this is as captivating and chilling as any of the chart busters.There are sequels to this book also, with the title ‘The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest’ and ‘The girl who played with fire ‘. I will take these ones also for the pacy and the artistic style of the author. It reminds me of Arthur Hailley, who writes a bit differently, but like him expert in weaving the characters in his books.



This can also become a wonderful gift for someone who loves reading.

A day in the life of a road side tree

“Give me two kachoris, brother”

It amazed me, that how can I give him 2 Kachoris, and from where had he come in my family gathering asking for  a Kachori, doesn’t he know that I do not eat kachori and that he should ask Catchy Uncle for that.

“Today is something special in your Kachori, Catchy, it has never tasted like this”

Where is my family, where are mango and guava….man this is ridiculous how can they leave me like this, and .. “Nothing special, it is my wife Gluey, she has magic in her hands”

……..And this is Catchy uncle speaking to that person asking kachori, but why am I not seeing him….

Splash………………What is that, Oh God! I was in a dream, and I will not leave this person, he splashed left over curry on my trunk, and that too made by Gluey Aunty, let me just add a spicy tamarind in his next Kachori.

I as usual woke up late today as the sun has already reached my face, and Catchy uncle is so sweet he never disturbs me, always comes as if a swift breeze and setting up his kiosk for the day. It is a pleasant day, with warm sunlight making it good for uncle. I remember that fateful day, when hurricane hit this place, most of my friends Ashok, coconut, Mango fell down, and worsened the conditions even more for the people here. I could not do anything to save people that day, but to control myself from falling down, and that time I saw one old man with a hunched back and his wife came running to my shed. At first I thought I had to now control myself at any cost from falling down, and having seen it as the only chance I had to support life, I shrank my trunk to save them from air blows. After some time, when the air became swift, I saw them sleeping underneath, and became contended that at least I did something to support nature. The next morning I saw that man and his wife thanking me, and silently left away.

There was honesty in that man’s voice which I still remembers with my each breath. After some days to my surprise and happiness that same man with hunched back returned with his wife, prayed to me and introduced themselves as Catchy and Gluey, and started selling Kachori’s with a kiosk at my shed. I was so happy that an honest man like Catchy Uncle, I always calls him Catchy uncle I just like it that way only, would be there with me daily selling Kachori.

“Uncle, please give me two Kachori” a cute boy with curly hair and hazel eyes asked Catchy Uncle and handed him 10 rupees. Catchy Uncle always becomes so happy whenever he sees that the customers like his Kachoris, and he is always so kind to small children. Sometimes, impatient and mundane people say harsh words to Catchy Uncle and throw down Kachoris at me. These same people when returns back to the pavilion, as the Kachoris are so tempting that they cannot just ignore it always, I give them a sour tamarind in it.

I feel so good that rich, poor, young, old, kids, mates, all come in my shed just because of Catchy Uncle, and sometimes even dogs, cow and cats also come here. If I had let him die that day, I would have also died with him living alone in the after days. In a way, I saved my life that day, and not Catchy uncle’s; after all I am a part of this nature and I also have to contribute like all others.

Its midday and my working time, strong shed is required for uncle to rest till Gluey aunty brings another set of Kachoris. In the noon time, people do decrease but Catchy uncle always smiles and somehow he manages it so well that not a single Kachori did he take back to home. I don’t know how he counts, but at the end all get their share dogs, cows and all other species. However, I do not like one thing, people come here eat Kachoris and throw papers at me and sometimes even Catchy uncle at the end of the day do the same. I know Catchy uncle has become old, and I can handle Catchy uncle, but other people I am unsure.

Uncle cleans it also, but he is weak now, and cannot do much work. This prevents my food, and sometimes I have to be hungry for the whole day as the waste makes me unable to drink water. With Catchy uncle I am also becoming week because of increasing waste, people do come here to eat kachoris, but also throw waste papers. Sometimes, I shout at them to just clean if they want to continue eating Kachori’s.



“Catchy, give me one hot and tasty Kachori”

“I am afraid, brother it’s all over now” said uncle to his last customer. Then, quickly uncle and gluey aunty packed up the things cleaned my shed and left for the day.





“Next day”

To my surprise I wake up even before uncle came, may be because of the waste piling at my shed. Today, is something unique in uncle’s things, he brought one box and kept at the corner for some unknown reason. The very first customer today, after eating ever delicious Kachoris, throw the paper at that box, and I got it…..man….”uncle I love you, you saved my life I know you can understand me better than any other here”. I will now pray to every people here to throw the waste paper in the box only and not at me. They should also realize that, I do have the sourest of tamarinds that can make their digestive systems as crazy as hell.

Excruciating water and merciless rain

I have read it many a times in newspapers and in psychological books that whatever you like to have in your life, just stick it in front of your eyes and you will get it. Yes, I believe this, but I didn’t follow it in what I am now going to share with you. Even this was also not in my mind when I bought Kent 10 liters water purifier, that bore on its box Hema Mailini’s photo from that ad where she and her two daughters Esha and AAhana also featured, some two weeks back. I started using it as it is supposed to be, and in my room I kept that filter on its box itself. I obliviously kept it in such a way, that Hema Malini was in front, and whenever I see that side, I also saw her (don’t take me wrong, I am talking about dream girl Hema Malini).

Well, this is a joke, but it made me think that way on that dreadful night of 23 August, when I was in my dreams with somebody I don’t remember, that filter fell down, and when I wake up at my usual timing of 5 45 am (surprised naa..i have to leave for office at 6 50 am, as it is some 40 km away from where I stay), I found my room filled with water, and filter upside down on the floor, and not a single drop inside it. Keeping my patience, (the trick that I have learned recently), I quickly took my land lord’s wiper, and started draining the water out from a small outlet, and thank god it was not choked. But, it was a mere one inch dia outlet, how much could it contain, so all the water keep coming up again in the room, I then took a mug from bathroom, doing as quickly as I can, as I have very limited time, and started collecting the water and filling it up in the filter. This was somehow useful, and 90% of the water was wither drained out or was in the filter. I left 10% for the maid to clean up in the noon.

As expected she did clean up, and room to my relief was dried out till I came back in the evening. There was some soggy odor in the room, it was like as you enter you could sense that sogginess inside the room, I then looked up on the ceiling as there was nothing above it, meaning it is directly exposed to merciless rain, and even the merciless shades were visible with a small wet area at the corner of the wall. But, I was sure that could not be the actual reason, and then I saw some foam pieces kept at the heighted space in the room (one you usually see in the old style of rooms, I think of 1990’s), and I assured myself, that yes this was the only reason of the smell, and I thought to just throw it out, but didn’t do it. Instead, next day informed my landlord about the smelling issue, and told him to remove that scrap.

Even after removing it, that smell was prevalent in the room, and then on 27th August, I took out a bag kept below my iron bed, and was flabbergasted to find it in a wet condition, and that was not all, there was one suitcase and a bigger size bag, and all of them were completely wet, all my new clothes, designer shirts, jeans, novels, even my check book everything, it was like I was also drenched with them, I again with my new trick, keeping up my patience, emptied all the things, and slowly hanged all the clothes outside in my landlord shed, thanks to them that there is a small area which is not open, and one can keep clothes hanging, even if it rains. But rain, OMG, that merciless rain, it’s 28th August, 4 53 PM, and still not a single thing is completely dried, although I am quite successful in removing that soggy odor, but my mind is now full with these soggy thoughts, even two of my good shirts got color from other clothes, and am not sure what best dry-cleaning can do on them.

I actually spent this week with water, starting with this incident, then almost daily getting drenched while going to office bus stop, and at the end of the week, I don’t know how, it seemed to me that my mobile was gone, as my voice was not audible to the other person, but somehow after shouting loud, it cleared it; and it was not all, my bike’s lock got jammed, water filled inside it.

At the end, I will say that this is good, as I strongly believe that whatever happens with you is because of your thinking, and I also believe that I have very good thoughts, so may be the good is yet to come.

It's raining!!!!

NOTE: This post is written by me some days back, when I was travelling in my office bus from Phaltan to Pune . My office that time was in Phaltan. I for some unknown reason didn’t post this, earlier.

Read enjoy and smile

Phaltan is a taluka in Maharashtra state under Satara district, it has a low population of around 50000, people, of which 99.9% are Marathis, and therefore a person oblivious to Marathi like me will find it a challenge to communicate with the people around.

It’s raining heavily here, and am stuck in midway from Phaltan to Pune; actually, outskirts of Phaltan, as we are some 10-12 km from it only. I think, it’s raining with 4-5 m/sec, and I know it’s pretty absurd and unnatural to estimate the speed, but I am nothing left to do, except typing whatever comes to my mind, and listening to songs. Let’s see, where my wishful thinking will take this post.


The auto just passed my window; it was a six seater auto that runs only in some cities. There is one small stable, in front of me, which I think has 6 cows, oh sorry, I cannot make out from this much distance whether it is a cow or an ox, but I am sure there is no buffalo. I sometimes don’t understand, why this creature always seen as chewing the cud. Finally, bus started after some 20 min, and moved a bit, and there I find one more stable of similar size with almost same number of those creatures, but here sitting silently and watching us creatures passing by, after moving a bit ahead I find a land, filled with water due to a bit slope in it, and that makes me unable to predict its fertility.

And, bus finally started with its original pace only to stop after some 200 metres. One Tamarind (Imli) tree, yes am sure it’s tamarind, has fallen down, and may be that is the reason for this jam. I can not see clearly outside, as there is a mist formation on the bus window, but I can make out one man with shabby ‘dhoti’ wrapped around him ferreting something in land, may be that is his farm land, where he grows sugarcane. This region is actually famous for sugarcane farming, as it tastes all rainy, winter and summer season, and it just suits farming of tropical plant like sugarcane that requires spice of all seasons, and therefore Phaltan has first private sugar factory of Maharashtra known as Sakharwadi . In fact the farming is so widespread , when I sometimes stay in Phaltan due to long working hours, and in that by sheer coincidence if I land up in a hotel in the vicinity of any farm land, then on that pleasant night in dreams, I gift perfumes to my girlfriend, having a sugarcaneous odor. Ah..It is very difficult for the outside people to spend their first night in this way, as it sometimes becomes so nauseating, that you will think to just runway. There is nothing much of farming here in Phaltan except sugarcane. People have small shops of their own; there are no malls or multiplex, just an optimal bazaar, meaning to say that you will find all the necessary things to live your life. But of course that is not all what it takes for a person like me to spend an evening after work, and I therefore prefer daily to travel to Pune.

The bus has now moved way ahead, and the traffic has become smooth, but it’s still raining; the good thing is now the roads are good, and there is no pool of water in the adjoining areas. As we moved ahead in the connecting village Lonand, people just standing outside their houses and watching the rains, may be thinking about the possible eventualities of the rain. Houses are of ancient style, they have uncemented walls, and even from a bus window you can make out the regular rectangular lines as deep as ruts in the roads. Children here play with ‘ balls and tops’ . This always reminds me of Khirkiya, a village, my mother’s home town in Madhya Pradesh some 2 hour journey from Itarsi. My nanaji has a big grain mill; there we use to play these games with my summer friends. I remember them as summer friends, as I have only been there in summers. It was fun there, and I sometimes really miss that.


We entered Bangalore-Pune highway, at around 7 15 PM, 20 min late from the daily timing, and the driver got energetic after landing on a 4 lane broad highway, and started driving wildly surpassing each and every vehicle. He even doesn’t seem to notice any bumps, and is making us nostalgic about our kindergarten days, as we all jump on seats as if we are on a see-saw, on every bump. Nobody is stopping him, as the priority is to reach home after hectic office hours, no matter if your intestines get mixed up inside and all the arteries started playing ‘who pull’s first game’.


This is daily journey, but it is not so pleasant always, as daily travelling sometimes create problems like body ache due to improper posture, or even can result into dull mood due to the monotonic atmosphere of it, but rains like this with cool breeze is always welcome for the people like us, which makes us fresh in our minds by invigorating winds post showers, and the smell of mud, that is pleasant enough and cannot be described in words. I sometimes wonder how would I have liked the same rain, if would be travelling on a bike, however the likeness of anything depends entirely on condition, and looking in this way, I just simply love this breeze and rain.

The Secret Adversary

 

Book Review: The Secret Adversary

Authored By: Agatha Christie

This book by Agatha Christie is a thriller of 60’s, and describes young people solving an investigation case, and tracking down the unbeatable henchman of the story.

It starts with the fresh excitement of Tommy and Tuppuence in life to do anything and everything, and consequently an attempt to make some money in life. Fortunately, they ended up meeting with a government official, who gave them a task so alluring that they find it difficult to deny. There starts a journey so daunting, that they almost come on the verge of losing their life. It actually is all about searching a mysterious girl Jane Finn, who is supposed to have secret documents that can change the complete political scenario of the nation. In the task, they make so called Mr. Brown their enemy, the most wanted  and the dreadful criminal of that time. Mr Brown, on the other hand is also in search of those documents and kills everyone who come in his way. Read the book to find out how the two young people track Mr Brown, jane Finn and those secret documents

This is the first Christie’s book that I have read, and I find it a good thriller, it’s like when you just want a break from those elephant type books, and from the ones, for which you need to keep your sense open. Actually  I was not having any good book to read, and was not in a mood to take thick ones, and then somehow  I got hand of this one, and liked it from the first page. Its happy go lucky nature in each page actually attracted me to complete this book.

I even heard friends commenting, that Christie is for kids, but I don’t seem to understand that how??May be the simplicity with which Christie writes make people feel a lack of sophistication in the story, but I feel only a simple story and not the sophisticated can make you relax and feel good. I may again take some of other Christie’s book, when I will need to refresh my mind for reading.

If you can at anytime love simplicity and energy in any book, then can pull this one.