Archive for 2013

Every parent plays a role of Santa, fulfilling their kids need, be it, a toddler, teenager or an adult. No matter how old the children grow, to parents we are "still" kids even at 20 or 60. Money comes and goes, but it is the unconditional parental love that they try to provide their best to their offsprings in terms of education, good health, courage-respect-values, follow your ambitions.

"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." ~Aristotle

Education not only teaches English, History, Science, Mathematics, it also teaches discipline. The best gift any parent could give their child would be education: the path to lead the life. When they grow as an adult, they contribute to the society as better citizens.

"The first wealth is health." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A healthy child who is fed well and active sportsman remains fit and great immunity from diseases. Without good health, a billion dollar would make no sense.

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." ~Winston Churchill
"There is no principle worth the name if it is not wholly good." ~Mahatma Gandhi
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high... _ Tagore
Any who is able to commute the needs without fear and respect others irrespective of caste, gender... We often come across the situate where a child is afraid of speaking up uncomfortable things bothering him/her. It is the values, their principle that build a man which in turn earns respect from family, friends and the society.

"Big results require big ambitions." ~Heraclitus
Like a bird set free out of the cage, let the children follow their dreams.

Last but not the least, the habit of saving for future. All days are not same. Save for a rainy day. When you don't work, savings will work for you.
"A penny saved is a penny earned." - Benjamin Franklin

This post is a part of the 1001 Gifts Activity by HDFC Life in association with BlogAdda

I have been blogging and traveling a lot this year...and I have become "more" organized. I would call it a boon that I was able to do both with the help of my sincere "personal assistant" whom I do not pay any fees or salary except feed some food everyday.

My tablet has been my personal assistant (PA) or call an all time companion, which I take along with me during the daily commute to office,, during long flights, waiting at the airport lounge or even for bus or train. I even use it at home than switching on my laptop. I would say that it is the wonderful invention post smart phones. My everyday routine has been a way simpler and have been able to complete tasks and relax.

I wake up as the Alarm clock ticks in the morning playing aloud the Suprabhata. As I open my eyes slowly, I check the Daily Weather forecast for the day. I brush my teeth and exercise, sometimes referring to the youtube videos on tablet, placed on the chair with pillows. I bath and get ready and offer prayers to the almighty reciting the hymns and mantras like Hanuman Chalisa and Vishnu Sahasranama apps.

Resting the tablet on lap and reading the e-newspaper on Flipboard, check the stock market, as I sip the coffee. In the kitchen, I take my tablet and place it against the wall, worrying it might fall, and browse recipes for lunch. Having prepared the lunch, I click the pictures of the food and make the notes of the recipe using Evernote app.

When I am bored, I turn on the music on my tablet and listen to it while I can still multitask: reading ebooks, click,edit and browse pictures, browse internet, draw doodles, even watch movies and TV serials. I also download and play games like Angry Birds and Temple Run. Enroll to a Mass Open Online Course from the top universities and watch the lectures.

When I have to commute within the city, I look up the Google maps for directions and the bus timings and transit. And when I have to catch up for coffee , lunch or dinner, I check on Foursquare for nearby restaurants and malls.

In the year 2001, one of the Chemistry faculty was appreciating the wonders of a cell phone. During early advent of the cellular phone, Motorola had dominated among the other handset manufacturers like Siemens, Alcatel or even Nokia. Those who owned cell phones would pay hefty amount for both incoming and outgoing calls. These cell phones had an antenna, type and send the SMS, make and receive calls. The introduction of these phones had made the pagers obsolete.

In 2005, I never imagined that I would own a cell phone which had a 1.3 mega pixel camera, the brand new Nokia 3220, on 25th November. It had lights on either sides that would flash during the incoming calls and SMS. My friends at college would tease saying that it looked too childish comparing it to a kid’s shoe with would generate a sound or flash lights.

Having used Nokia 3220 for 2 years 6 months, I switched to Nokia E51 Business series phone in 2008. It was a hard luck that the phone fell into the water after 7 months and I had to buy a new one again in 2009.

This time I chose to buy a Nokia again. Yes, I was a Nokia fan and would buy only Nokia and never even look at its competition Sony Ericsson which was the competition then. Express Music Edition 5130, an attractive red, with buttons on its side to stop and start the music. It is a simple to use and a great phone which I still own. This phone has travelled overseas with me and I have used it as a backup phone. My father, too, likes this phone.

In Jan 2011, the mobile phones were blooming with Samsung and LG touch screens which would run on Android 2.1 version. Having used a basic phone, I decided to upgrade the phone to an Android and bought an LG Optimus One.

Unfortunately, this phone’s mic and speaker conked off after 2 months I arrived in Melbourne. The cost of repair would be the same as buying a new phone. I had no other choice than buying another phone and I chose an iPhone 4.

It has been more than 2 years that I have been using it and have never thought of upgrading yet. iPhone magic you say? How many phones have you upgraded so far?

It scares most young women to commute alone during the late hours, reading the shocking and scary news of how women are raped or eve teased, be it the lonely places and the crowded areas when people keep watching the tamasha don't bother to come for help.

Nisha got down the company bus at 8 PM and headed towards a mall. It was a Friday and the mall was few distance away from the bus stop. As she walked on the crowded foot path looking around the street, a biker hit her hard with the helmet on her head behind and snatched away her handbag. She fell there unconscious until a colleague who was walking the same path saw her a few hours later and took her to a hospital. Unfortunately, the mobile phone which she had in her palm, was stolen when she fell on the ground. It was indeed sad note that none of the un/educated even bothered to help her. Nisha was shocked by that incident and dared not to walk alone even in the crowded places. She wished she had Smart Suraksha with her.

The above is a true incident of my colleague who wished someone could have come to her rescue immediately.

Dark Matter India has introduced an Android app Smart Suraksha that sends the alert to the 5 pre-listed contacts and the police, at the press of a button.

What the app claims?

Install Smart Suraksha, a mobile application, that can track your whereabouts and at a single touch will send an sms to the pre-listed 5 simultaneously and also the police. An additional feature of this app, is that if you are in a situation where you are able to give details of the would-be offender, you can even record info like model of the car or clothes he is wearing, in your sms.

Yes, use this app as a weapon that can prevent you from becoming an unfortunate victim. Stay safe with Smart Suraksha.

Smart Suraksha will be the rescue angel providing safety to women and protect when the need arises.

I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.

Drafted 26-Jul-2013

The Homing Pigeons
Author: Sid Bahri

Title: The Homing Pigeons
Author: Sid Bahri
Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors
Pages: 328
Price: 150/-

Blurb:

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar, little does he know that his life will change forever…..

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom that she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it…..

They say Homing Pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

My review:

When I flipped through the pages of the book, I noticed that the book is about the two characters, Aditya and Radhika. When I began to read the book, I felt that there are two different stories, of Aditya and Radhika.

The story starts with Aditya Sharma, banker from Citibank, losing his job due to the recession and how much he relies on his wife's income. Though legally married, love has vanished between the couple. He meets a young lady at a bar that twists his life forever. Who could imagine, he would take up a profession of a gigolo and become famous among the young women.

Radhika is a young widow, earlier a divorcee who is bored in life after the death of her rich husband and marrying off her step daughter.

As the story proceeds, Sid explains how Aditya and Radhika met during the school days, how love blossomed, how they were separated due to the misunderstandings that forced them to make wrong decisions and both their families opposing their wedding. It makes an interesting juicy read and Sid has well woven the two stories together, as a climax. I know most readers might dislike this.

I liked the punch line printed on the cover page of the book:

Not all love stories are perfect, but then, neither are people.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

A hotelier by education, an ex-banker and a senior executive in the outsourcing industry, Sid gave up a plush career in the outsourcing industry to follow his passions. Based out of Ranikhet, he is now a struggling entrepreneur and a happy writer. A self- proclaimed eccentric, he is an avid blogger who loves to read and cook. Cooking stories, however, is his passion. The Homing Pigeons is his debut novel.

He can be reached at sidd.bahri@gmail.com

This book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program". To get free books log on to www.thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com.

XOXO
~manasa~

Title: The Guardian Angels
Author: Rohit Gore
Publisher: Grapevine India Publishers Pvt Ltd
Pages: 328
Price: INR 125

The Guardian Angels cover page

Blurb

The Guardian Angels is the epic and tumultuous story of two star-crossed lovers who werent just soul-mates but were also each others protectors.

The fates of Adi Mehta and Radha Deodhar are deeply entwined when within days of their first rendezvous they save each others lives.

Despite their vast sociopolitical differences, they are drawn to an uncertain future fraught with contrasting ambitions, personas and ideologies.

he is the son of a billionaire, she is the daughter of a socialist.
he is quiet and unassuming, she is a firebrand and spirited.

However, the unexplained phenomena ties them forever whenever they are in peril, they are each others only saviors.

Over the following two decades Adi and Radha live through hope and despair, joy and sadness, and try to decipher their relationship. As the truth of their bond is revealed, they must confront the true nature of love, and ultimately, their destinies.

My Review:

The story dates back to early 1990s from Radha's daily journal. The story has been narrated with third person (author) and from Radha's. Adi hails from an affluent family of four who lives in a twenty storeyed house. Radha comes from a simple middle class family with high moral values. Radha saves Adi from getting beaten up at school and friendship turns into love.

I liked the flow at which the author narrates the lives of Adi and Radha, how they communicate via emails, long to see each others reply. There is lot of emotions expressed though both are hundreds and thousands miles apart.

The language is simple and easy to understand, but the vocabulary is bland and could have been much better. I felt the narration of the book is very similar to The Homing Pigeons, written on the similar lines.

Rohit Gore, the author of this book has written bestselling novels, Circle of Three, A Darker Dawn and Focus, Sam. I haven't read any of these and plan to pick them.

Verdict: 3/5

About the Author

Rohit Gore grew up in a number of towns in India. At various times in his childhood, he wanted to be a theatre actor, an architect and a bookshop owner.

After his engineering degree, he was based in Mumbai. An MBA from S P Jain Institute followed and since then he is in the IT industry.

He loves sports, specifically the discussing and watching part of it, since the playing days are long gone. He has travelled a lot a consequence of living in Mumbai and London. His greatest passion is reading and it inspired him to write. He is a frequent contributor to many online writing forums and wishes there were more writing groups.

He has a keen interest in history, especially the history of music and arts. One of the things he would like to get better at is photography.

He currently lives in Pune, a wonderfully vibrant city with his wife Pranita and son Sahil.

This book review is a part of "The Tales Pensive Review Program".

XOXO
~manasa~

Drafted 26th Jul 2013

Title : A Maverick Heart : Between Love and LifeA Maverick Heart

Author : Ravindra Shukla

Publisher : Frog Books

Pages : 383

Price : Rs 195

Genre: Fiction/Drama

Blurb

Resonance – We often use the term, “frequency matching” in our daily life to define compatibility. Our frequency does not match, we do not get along? We are not in sync? We are not on the same page etc.?

When people of similar frequencies (wavelengths or within the same range) come together – output is not a simple sum of individual work, but exponential. In science we term this phenomenon as resonance. Output at this stage is beyond any logical limit.

Three young kids, with different family backgrounds and outlook meet during their graduation days at IIT-Bombay campus and become close friends. Although, individually they are in sync, but the same is not true for their interaction with the world.

How will their relation withstand the conflict of family and society pressure?

How do their characters shape out, as they traverse from an educational environment through the corporate world to the realm of the socio-political world?

Inspired by the real events across the globe from the last decade, Ravindra Shukla brings you the characters based story – struggle and triumphs of a young generation and their relevance in the current socio-eco-political era.

My Review:

The story is about three friends Rahul, Richita and Neerav which revolves at IIT and IIM. Richita hails from an affluent family but values the Indian values who has been brought up listening to the brave stories of Shivaji and other great warriors. Rahul wants to do something for the society and is ready to sacrifice his love, Richita. Neerav is Rahul's good friend who also hails from a rich family.

I found the stories is much beyond the their lives at IIT and IIM. The author has included incidents about recession, corruption. The vocabulary is simple, would've been much better. If you are a first time reader, it is extremely easy to follow without looking up the dictionary. I felt the book lacked editing and has too many long dialogues which is unnecessarily. The author should have focused on the editing.

Follow what your heart says and not what mind wants, is the message, thus A Maverick Heart

Verdict: 3/5.

About the Author

Ravindra Shukla is an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He has been working in emerging technology and business analytics in IT software technology. His professional experience includes working with consulting firms – PWC and IBM in USA for 15+ years. He is a member of the Film Writers Association, Mumbai. His interest includes – writing fiction, literature and movie scripts apart from sports, movie and travelling across the globe.

Author can be contacted at ravindra.shukla@gmail.com or www.ravindrashukla.com

This book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program".

XOXO
~manasa~