Reflections

The Hidden Children : The Lost Grimoire is a book written by Reshma K Barshikar , and stands as perhaps the only book to render me speechless, or rather wordless as a book reviewer. Penning a review entails giving an opinion – for that, the pre-requisite is that I should have one! And, once I have formed an opinion, I should have idea of what to write, or how to express myself in words. In both, I honestly admit to having faced great difficulty. After much deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that this book rates 3 to 3.5 Stars in my scale; I settle for 3 stars. Why? Read on! THE BOOK The book is about, well, magic. Almost. And, the book is also not about magic. Confused? Good. That will keep you glued -   I hope – to the end of this review. The book blurb at the back doesn’t reveal much, and neither shall I. The book is about a teenaged young lady, 17-ish, avid sportsperson and a good student {rare combination, that} – and her travails as she meets & b...

I opened the morning news site, The Indian Express, my daily first site – to a rather shocking, though unsurprising bit of news. This news, based on a survey of 34,700 organisations is deeply disquieting, and was regarding rampant job losses in some sectors of our economy. Before I continue – the article in question covers primarily the Job Scenario; but also raises points on earnings & profitability – which in my opinion needs a focused and detailed look. And this article was just the latest in a series of articles I have run across that raise the question of the impact of Demonetisation & GST on the MSME and unorganized sectors of our economy. We will look at those aspects in other articles – including a book review on the concerned topic of a latest book – The Big Reverse: How Demonetisation Knocked India Out . { This review will be uploaded sometime next month }. My point – there is plenty of other evidence from a variety of sources, people etc all of which poi...

Mumbai Pune Mumbai – the Marathi Movie Franchise, is now in its 3 rd installment – and is easily the most famous movie franchise in Marathi cinema at least in the first two parts. To top that, the lead pair – Swapnil/Mukta is also probably the most famous and well liked pair in Marathi entertainment, with their pairing being a popular one in several movies.   Thus, extending it to a third part was both an opportunity as well as a risk; as it turned out, it proved to be a risk worth taking! STORY As is by now usual for Marathi Cinema, the story is pretty much unique. The third part of this iconic franchise has iconic lead actors Gauri and Gautam [probably by now household names in a majority of Marathi homes} going the family way. This is the story of the lovers, into the 3 rd year of their marriage, planning a child {or rather, having a child]. And it is the story of the Pregnancy. That, my friends, is the story. They get the good news, 9 months pass, and they becom...

Shillong Times – by Nilanjan P Choudhury Shillong Times – by Nilanjan P Choudhury – is a book that started off its rating in my own mind at 2 stars, but firmly, slowly, clawed its way up through sheer dint of imaginative writing, deep storyline, faultless story progression, meaningful concept, and attention to detail, winding up at 4 stars overall  rating. The many many positives in this book successfully overcame the one or two minor negatives that were evident early on. And even these negatives are subjective in nature, others may not find them negative! THE BOOK This is a story of ethnicity based politics, told through the travails of 3 teenage children, from two communities in the town of Shillong. The backdrop  is Shillong of the 80s, and the two communities are Bengalis & other Non Tribals, and the Khasis, both of whom have very different ideas indeed. This is the story of a good student who undergoes some ragging and worse from the other commu...

Truth : Another Reminder सत्येन वायुरावाति सत्येनादित्यो रोचते दिवि सत्यं वाचः प्रतिष्ठा सत्ये सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितं तस्मात्सत्यं परमं वदन्ति || {Anuvaak 79, Mahanarayan Upanishad} By Truth, the wind blows. By Truth the sun shines in the sky. Truth is the foundation of speech. Everything in practical life depends on truth. Therefore, they say Truth is the supreme means of liberation These words above are from our scriptures; and this verse is just one among many that speaks of truth, its importance and its supremacy. In July this year,   I had shared another, also from the Mahanarayan Upanishad; { Travelling The Path Of Satya In The Professional World }The Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta also lays great emphasis on the importance and irreducible minimal requirement of Satyabhaashan, among other favourable attributes. These are all supportive of the need of being completely truthful in life… something that any number of us, perhaps self included, find ...

Don’t Tell The Governor! Yes – this is the latest Ravi Subramanian thriller… and another yes, it is focused on the Reserve Bank Of India. Salivating prospect, isnt it – reading this? Well, in a nutshell, you wont be disappointed – this book is among his best works, vintage Ravi – the Ravi we saw in the earlier phase. While his recent books were also good, this one is a throwback to his early years. He has excelled in every department in the book. THE BOOK This is a story greed, of crime, of intrigue, of crony capitalism, of political interference, and of money. This is the story of two RBI Governors, a few industrialists, pure chance, and rough business. A no-holds barred story of business intrigue in an atmosphere of crony capitalism. The first Governor is on the way out, and does not see eye to eye with the Government; the second, an academician in the US, brought in for a purpose. Simultaneously, in another storyline, an year later, we have a 300-Cr money haul in cash...

The City of Nine Gates by Pankaj Rajput : by some distance one of the toughest books I have ever reviewed on my blog. No book comes close; it is also a book I do not want to review , a part of my Antahkaran is fiercely against reviewing this, as per my understanding of SBG18/67 , which is precise. {Follow link for my article on it}.   However, I accept that my Aham frequently overpowers this, and I do advocate SBG at least in the odd slip of self-control; secondly, I am committed to reviewing this – ek baar zubaan de di toh de di. Had I not committed to reviewing this, I would not have come across this masterpiece, this wonder of a book . Point is humbly accepted; perhaps I need a deeper understanding of SBG18/67 … and study a little more! THE BOOK To be short & concise – this encapsulates Vedic Knowledge from The Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta , Several Upanishadic Texts , The Bhagvatam and some other lauded texts from our ancient scriptures. I could spot the direct...

The Wonders of Silence… the sheer magic, the simply sublime beauty of total silence is an experience that needs to be felt, so that its compelling hypnotic pull can be understood… a state of mind combined with an external environment that is totally silent, not a sound … fully complemented by an equal silence in your subconscious, and a state when that small voice in your mind says not a single word… oh, the lovely feeling of absolute silence… सगळी कडे फक्त शांतता ... आणि आपणही शांत , आपले मन शांत , ह्यावर अंतःकरण सुद्धा शांत , काही आवाज नाही , ना आपल्या जवळपास आणि ना आपल्या मनात किंहवा अंतर्मनात ... डोक्यात काही विचार सुद्धा नाही ... आपण संपूर्ण शांत , काही विचार नाही - काही इच्छा नाही , फक्त सर्वत्र पसरलेली संपूर्ण शांतता ! ह्या जगात हा एक असा अनुभव आहे   जो कुठेही मिळणार नाही साधारणपणे ! Not a thought in your mind, not an emotion, and certainly no feelings…. A situation when you are situated wholly in yourself, oblivio...