I don’t know why I even got around to reading this short story (and not the whole book of short stories), but I’m glad I did.

Kunal Basu has weaved a very simple yet beautiful story of love and loss. I haven’t read better in quite a while, and it leaves me with a sense of both loss and hope.

Telling you anything about the story would take away a lot from it, so I would urge you to read it for yourself. It has to be one of the better love stories ever told.

While I have never been a fan of self-help books, this particular book has been an absolute jewel to read!

The book is a treasure trove of very interesting anecdotes about how to deal with all kinds of people, and how to get what you want from them without being totally selfish (much less sounding selfish). Ofcourse there is more to the book than just that, but if I had to have one takeaway, that would be it.

I must thank Maulik Doshi who was responsible for encouraging me (almost to the point of persisting) to read the book.

I feel every individual should read this book, at different times in his or her life. It has to be the one book I would definitely recommend to my friends. I will ensure that Ninaad and Shruti too read this book, hopefully many times over.

I was quite excited to read all about Jef Bezos and Amazon.com, after some off handed discussions with Punit on his style of entrepreneurship.

Unfortunately the book is simply a wikipedia + Google Finance research paper on Bezos + Amazon.com. A really bad book, lacking both depth and breadth.

Fairly readable, but not worth writing home (or anywhere) about.

Rating: 1.5/5

Status: Owned

I laid my hands on this book a few days ago, as I’d pre-ordered it as it was announced.

The plot is essentially about Robin being deputed to London on a project with the Lederman Bank. The CEO of Lederman is disinterested with the Dufresne (the consulting firm that employs Robin) and wishes to completely shut down the project. Robin steps up to the challenge of ensuring Lederman retains Dufresne in order to take care of “transition revolutionary action-items” [used the bullshit generator]. Will Robin succeed in bringing the engagement to a fruitful close (for Dufresne and himself) or will he fail this time around?

While Sidin continues in the same awesome style with protagonist Robin Varghese, something is missing here that existed in the first book.

The humour is there, the thrill (of craziness) is there and of course, there is Robin. But something was missing. Or rather nothing was, and that was the problem. Everything fit and fell into place way too well.

It’s like Robin Einstein Varghese is so awesome it was bound to all work out, way too neatly than I imagined.

All in all a good and fast read.

Rating: 3 / 5

Status: Owned

I bought this book on a whim, and while it was slightly boring in it’s writing style and also looked like an information mashup (instead of a well flowing read), I liked it for various reasons. It is the first book that I’ve read on Tendulkar, having never followed him seriously yet having always been a fan.

Somethings I learnt about Tendulkar from the book:

• He is a cricking God. Period. [Bradman comes a close second.. not a close first, the way I see it]
• He doesn’t believe in gift(s). He believes in hard work, day in and day out. Practice makes perfect, and more practice makes more perfect.
• He follows the principle of silence is golden, words are silver. Hence he prefers to keep his words to himself, than to be embroiled in controversy and name-calling.
• He lets his bat do the talking on the field, and his silence and calm demeanor do the talking off the field.
• He keeps his friends really close.
• Everyone respects him, even his enemies (that is a feat).
• He has the ability to concentrate beyond concentration itself!
• He has the backing of a billion people. Hard to see someone else make that claim!
• He is a cricking God. Period.

Finished reading the book Seven years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer today.

My original thoughts on the book (and the movie which I’d seen years ago) was that the fellow just wanted to capitalize on his friendship with the Dalai Lama and his unique experiences in Tibet.

It is only after reading the book that I realize how wrong I was in making that assumption.

This is no common story of a privileged European making an expedition into exotic Asian lands with ample aid. This is the story of a European making a courageous endeavor when faced with prison in India (for no fault of his) to escape to China via Tibet.

A big chunk of the book focuses on his escape and travails through Tibet before reaching Lhasa (the Forbidden City). It is no small feat in itself, and then again, he perseveres to make friends and help Tibet in any way that he can through his Western education.

His meeting and subsequent friendship with the Dalai Lama is something that is part happenstance and part fate. It evolves into something special, and is something he can be proud of.

It is in the end that I understood the true purpose of writing the book. It was raise awareness in the world not only for the mysterious and secretive Tibetan people, but also towards the atrocities committed by China and it’s subsequent invasion of Tibet in 1951.

The book is not only a great travelogue, but holds merit in shaping and influencing the Tibetan and Asian politics of the time (1950s).

Harrer has since then been an active proponent of Tibet’s freedom, which unfortunately till date has eluded the country and it’s people.

Rating: 4/5

Finished reading this book recently, and it opened my eyes to the world of Tatas. My respect has gone up multiple folds for the family, and their dedication to the service of the nation.

Jamsetji was a gem of a person, and a visionary like no other.

He was the singular force behind the following:

• Envisioning, getting permissions and setting up India’s first premiere science research facility (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore). He pledged and gave away a third of his total wealth for this.
• Brought the Industrial Revolution to India by starting Tata Steel, again single handedly and without much support.
• Reviving the south Indian silk industry.
• Dreaming and executing the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, when no other hotel in it’s class existed in India.
• Understanding the value and benefits of clean energy and setting up Hydel power plants at Lonavala and other places.
• Improved the state of cotton good trading and getting favourable and fair tax rates for Indian manufacturers.
• Tried and failed (thanks to unfair means adopted by the competition) to start a shipping line of his own.

There is a lot more to the man that his achievements alone. I feel every Indian must read the book.

Rating: 5/5
Ownership: Owned

After seeing this book many times and hearing a lot of rave reviews about the ensuing movie, I decided to get the book.

‘Che’, as Ernesto was popularly and lovingly know, was one hell of a personality. At such a young age, he had some really perceptive and socialist commentaries on what he observed around him. The book’s journey is probably what made him what he was in his later years.

The Motorcycle Diaries is essentially a travelogue, of Che and Alberto Granado, through Latin America. The initial part of the journey is on Alberto’s beat up motorcylce, the La Poderosa. After the bike gives up on them, they continue their travails on foot, hitching rides and telling sob stories (refined over the course of the journey to the extent that they had their act down pat!) to get food and lodging.

The book is not only about visiting lesser known, exotic and beautiful places in South America, but also a socialist commentary of the life and times of Latin Americans. Che is alternatively touched by and angered at the pathetic state of miners in Chile, descendants of Incan Civilization, and lepers across the South Americas.

Throughout the journey, Che (a doctor to be) and Alberto (a biochemist) make pit stops at leper colonies and hospitals to offer advice and study conditions of patients as well. This also allows them to secure lodging and food with ease, while helping the patients.

Che describes places and people with such apt words, that one cannot but visualize the scenery and situation in great detail.

I would recommend it as a must read for those who wish to understand the South American scene in the 1950s, and to those traveling to the South Americas even today. It has not only a history lesson, but also tells us that history repeats it self. The situation in South America today seems not much better than 50 years ago, at least in the rural areas.

If you are a travelogue lover, this book is simply amazing. One of the most heart-to-heart travelogues I’ve ever read.

Rating: 4.5/5

I read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Hated it. Wasted 4 days of reading bandwidth. Never expected religious propoganda and preaching in such a book. The end.

I had my misgivings about a “sequel” to one of the best comedies in recent times, since sequels have the tendency to do that to you. Every misgiving was blown away with a fantastic script, crazy one liners, crisp cinematography, and a solid direction.

They have done what many cinema houses have probably never even attempted: to keep the characters and write a new story for them, not a sequel in any sense.

I do not wish to get too much into what I liked or did not for at-least another week, as I would like all of you to go see the movie. Som bhai, miss not, miss not yaar!