Its your move, Wordfreak! by Falguni Kothari

The title of the book "It's your move, wordfreak" really intrigued me and I assumed the book would be flirtatious talks with quick wit and intelligence. However, that formed a very small part of the book and the book mostly focussed on the heart-throbbing romance between the wordfreak and worddiva. Wordfreak alias Aryan Rajaram Chawla is a handsome hunk who is pretty good at his work and is a Page 3 celeb. On the other hand, worddiva alias Alisha Menon is a successful divorce lawyer who is a workaholic and gives importance to brains over beauty.

However, their online scrabble games change their view towards life and how they embrace the change with great willingness. Reading romance between the protagonists was interesting up to a point, but the romance extended for more than half part of the book which seemed redundant after a point and left me wondering where is the plot leading to?

The characterization of Alisha as a tall, dark and beautiful girl who is very successful and quick-witted is very appealing to me. What interests more is how Aryan, the male protagonist views Alisha. His opinion of Alisha as a lovely, stubborn-headed, easy going and intelligent lady made me like Aryan a lot more than him possessing a ravishing body. The picturization of both the characters looked very realistic and modern, which appeals to the readers of this generation. The mention of Alisha unable to sympathize with a lady who is scared of her husband and is undergoing divorce shows Alisha’s indepence. This particular character is significant and resembles the attitude of most modern educated girls in the society.

Towards the second half, the plot picks up speed and introduces the complications involved in Aryan's and Alisha's relationship. It craftily shows how men deal with relationships when things go wrong and how women deal with things. Alisha with all her strong traits in her personality dealt with Aryan in a perfect manner (atleast I believe so ;) ). Diya's character was well-etched. Aryan Rajaram Chawla and his family were described in a well respected manner and would make one dwell in thoughts of such a handsome prince charming. One particular train of thoughts of Alisha’s minds is that she thinks of Aryan and Diya as two peas in a pod as they think very much alike about fashion, life,etc. This particular thought seems very realistic as if taken from an experience. It is of common experience that an unlike friend is the glue to the friendship of other like characters.

For a first book, Falguni Kothari started out well and kept her readers wanting to go till the end. She has a knack of keeping things in place while weaving the plot. It was a good time pass and fast read for the holidays. If you are interested in a fairy-tale kind of romance, you will enjoy reading this book. I am hoping to see Falguni evolve her writing skills into an engrossing read. I recommend this book to all the romantic people out there. ;)

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The Incredible Banker by Ravi Subramanian

This is the third book written by Mr. Ravi and it definitely shows that it is not his first book. This book is more focussed and more direct in its objectives than his debut novel. I personally liked how he introduced many characters in the first half of the book and kept the reader engrossed and trying to guess what plot is he going to unfold  as they keep on reading. Also, the reduction of adulteration in the corporate world also was a relief.

Towards the end of the book, all the loose ends are tied perfectly and it truely follows the lines of thriller mystery genre. What is thrilling about this book is that, the mystery part of this is not murder or robbery as it is commonly known to us through the books and films; but the mystery part of it is in the financial books and accounting. How money can be laundered through the financial system is slowly revealed depicting the vulnerability of the financial system we are building upon.

It is a bollywood flick in writing and it sure does not disappoint its readers. This book is a good read for the first time and it also educates the reader the risks of the financial system. Read it if you are interested in the financial system.

Attitude...What is it?

People say that attitude is a small thing which makes a big difference. It is also said that our attitude defines us. Attitude...Attitude...Attitude...

We come across this term often than we think about it. Everybody out there is preaching what it takes to be a winner and the first thing to possess in a winner's character is a winning attitude. A confident person takes on things without hesitation. Has a positive outlook even in failure.

The winning person treats both success and failure the same. That is his attitude.

All these sounds very nice to hear and when we hear all these, we are really inspired to think that way and we are also convinced that we have the best attitude that is out there. But, how truly awesome is our attitude?

Are we courageous enough to face who we are?

Can we take a look in the mirror and see ourselves as who we are, rather than who we think ourselves to be? That is really difficult to do and it takes a lot of courage to do that.

Well, I might sound very philosophical to you. However, I just feel like writing on. Of late, I have realized that I had completely different notions of who I was. When in reality, I was a completely different person. Even to accept what kind of a person I was, it took a great deal of struggle. Its not necessarily wrong that you are a different person. We might think of ourselves as a completely utterless and useless person, and in reality we might be the most useful person on the job. We might think of ourselves as a coward, but we might be a very brave person. And it can be the other way round as well. Whatever it is, the first step to progess is to realize who we are!

Getting to know oneself is the best journey one can get onto. The more we discover ourselves, the more we fall in love with ourselves. I found the courage to face myself and I am continously working on improving myself. It is true that people want to give advice to us. There are loads of people out there who want to point out our mistakes and make jibes at us. But, true friends are those who insist on correcting us everytime they think we are doing something wrong. They are the people who love us who help us during the lowest of times and share our joy in all times.

Treat success and failure alike, then you are truly successful. This is a great saying, and to be frank I was never able to treat success and failure alike. When I failed, I was sullen. When I was successful, I was on top of the world. To develop this kind of attitude, I figured out that I would never be able to treat success and failure the same if I succeeded. However, due to continous failure, it was hard to stay dull for a long time. And I finally started seeing what attitude those people who quoted those great sayings talked about. Once, I was able to look past things as accomplishments/ trophies, I was able to understand the objective of each mission. Taking the outcome into consideration will never help me be a perfectionist and possess a right attitude. Hardwork never goes in vain. Every failure is taking me one step closer to success. Every failure is making me a stronger person. Every step I take will be with more objectivity and passion. Thus, every moment in our life is a teaching moment if we are willing to learn.
Learn everyday. Learn everywhere. Learn everytime.

What is attitude?
It is your outlook to life.

What is attitude?
It is your will to succeed.

What is attitude?
It is how you take your failure to be your stepping stone to success.

What is attitude?
It is how you define your next move based on your current success.

What is attitude?
It is the path to self-discovery.

Vicky Donor

This movie is funny and wierd right from its name. As soon as the titles credits roll in, the movie starts off with Annu Kapoor portraying as the fertility doctor and gives us a glimpse of the sperm industry and what a huge industry it is. The underlying message of "STRASS" and effecting the family life is very subtly showcased in the movie along with humour and great performances by the actors. 

The dialogues, most of them are in Punjabi. The script is well written and I could not stop laughing at the reactions given by actors and their dialogues. Dr. Chaddha's (Annu Kapoor) talking in sperm language - "Confused sperm, greedy sperm, etc." was unexpected and very hilarious. Ayushmaan Khurana as Vicky donor performed well and chose a very good script for his debut as a hero. 

The lead actress, Yami Gautam was refreshingly beautiful and talented. All the actors looked very natural and the chemistry between the lead actors was good to watch. The music also blended in with the theme of the movie and looked as the puzzles which fit in together. Some small things of the movie which was very good to watch and made the audience feel good are: 1) the widowed mother of Vicky and his grandmom drinking together 2) Vicky giving pedicure to ladies in his mom's parlour 3) The way Dr. Chaddha says "sperm" with his fingers 4) The "Aryaputhra" and the history of macedonians as explained by Dr. Chaddha 5) The marriage and the bonding scene of the "Punjabis" and the "Bongs". There are many other scenes which flow in with the script of the movie and are good to watch.

Towards the second half, the emotional content becomes too high and it looks to the audience as if this part is a little boring. However, The script, the actors, the music, the director everybody fit right in as the pieces of a puzzle and everything clicked. This is a fun movie to watch which is very entertaining and also has a hidden message in it (:wink). Do go watch it for a 2 and half hour break from  your hectic lives. 

The MOSES Legacy by Adam Palmer

I took up this book with great enthusiasm and I expected it to be on the lines of DaVinci code revealing some conspiracy about Moses legacy. The book started off on a very interesting note and keeps the reader engrossed. But towards the later half when the plot is supposed to thicken, the audience is left wondering with questions like "Where actually is the book headed to? What conspiracy is the book going to unfold?".

This book might be really interesting and intriguing for people who know a great deal of the moses mythology and the history before Christ's time. But, for a normal person who wants to immerse oneself in interesting controversial read, this book might be an overhead transmission in some pages. Overall, it is a good read and I got to learn a lot about the Moses legacy, Joseph or Yehovah as the book calls it.

One thing which still troubles me is, if Dr.Cusack made that stuff up or she was disgusted by the controversies which arose and she turned against the evil. This question was not left out intentionally, but the writing was obscure at times. However, this is my personal opinion. It really might be that way or I might have to improve my reading skills. Please do let me know what you think of this book.

Regards,
An Amateur at Work

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This book starts of on a very interesting note. Reading the title "Life of Pi", I thought the book would be about the irrational number -Pi. But, it turned out to be about the life of a boy named "Piscine Molitor Patel' who preferred being called "Pi Patel" as opposed to "Pissing Patel". This book was a wonderful read from the very beginning. It talks about the life of a zookeeper and his family. It starts off about how zookeeping is not very different from the grooming of a human. 

The book also deals heavily with religion. The young boy falls deeply in love with all three religions and follows the practices of the the three religions- Hinduism, Islamism and Christianity with the greatest devotion and passion. The description of the religions makes one want to believe in one religion which does not talk about any prohibitions but just about the love towards god when the boy was asked to follow just one religion. The description of religions would make one wonder about the current system in place.

The Life of Pi mainly deals with the life of the cast-away boy and how he learns to survive despite facing the toughest of situations that life has thrown at him. "Life teaches us everything" is depicted through the episodes of survival of Pi Patel. In spite of left on a boat with a tiger, the boy learns to use his dad's teachings of zookeeping and adapt himself to the situation in order to survive. The book takes us through a fascinating journey of Pi Patel. 

And when you think everything is over, the author presents us with a choice of two stories- one that dominates most of the book and the other presented right at the ending to believe in. The first story which is the main content of the book depicts humanity in the wild beast and when the inspectors ask Pi, he comes up with a different version in which even humans turn into wild animals when faced with dire situations. The author leaves the story in an open end and asks the reader to choose which story would they rather believe in. The story is left to our imagination whether to believe in the worst situations humanity exists in animals or wildness exists in humans. 

Overall, I recommend this book for anyone who wishes to let their imaginations run wild. 

The Immortals of Meluha by Amish

This is my first attempt at book review. I have always wanted to give book reviews and finally i am breaking my shackles and proceeding towards what I have wanted to do. Here goes the review about "Immortals of Meluha".

The Immortals of Meluha is a perfect blend of mythological facts with fiction which makes it a very interesting read. Though it is set in the backdrop of 1000 years ago, the way it is spread out is very much of a contemporary style. The portrayal of a tribal man turning into a God, a Legend due to the expectations of grief-stricken Meluhans and in the journey establishing himself as a person of character is very appealing and raises hopes even for a reader of a saviour on his way.

The story sets off on an adventure right from the beginnining which intrigues the audience and makes them to ruffle through the pages with intent curiosity. The take of Ancient India from the perspective of Lord Shiva makes it very real. The perfect law-abiding Meluhans continue to amaze Shiva. Their methodical system to each and every way of life set down by Lord Shri Ram makes us admire the administrative system of Lord Ram and understand the roots of our present government system.

The later course of the book leading Shiva on a path to victory, the speech given by Shiva calling everyone Mahadev- "Har Har Mahadev" inspires the reader to believe in themselves. Amish has a way of weaving the mythology with fiction and also inspiring the reader to believe in their Indian cultural system. But, the treat to the reader comes through the later half of the book when the Chandravanshis are introduced and their way of life- "not set by rules but by their own wishes" is explained, the content which the author wishes to express comes into light.

The intention of the author that what is right to one may not be right to the other person i.e. perspectives matter a lot was well portrayed. The Meluhans considered Chandravanshis evil and the Chandravanshis considered the Meluhans evil. The mention of a Neelkanth as a myth who would come and help out the clans portrays that a neutral party would be able to see both perspectives and bring peace to both the clans. The whole story conspired in a way to get this theme out was brilliantly constructed. I might have given away the ending, but I recommend this book to know more about Indian culture, fall in love with SHIVA and to be passionate about what you believe in.