A very emotional song, sung by Diljan in Sur Kshetra. I watched it with my father and thus a very memorable moment.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
A very nice song by Diljan on Surkshetra
A very emotional song, sung by Diljan in Sur Kshetra. I watched it with my father and thus a very memorable moment.
Monday, December 3, 2012
राजकुमार वीरवर्धन और तालाब का राक्षस
बहुत दिन पहले की एक कहानी है। इन ऊँचे पहारों के पीछे एक देश था। उस देश
का राजा बहुत ही दयालु था। वहां की प्रजा अपने राजा का बहुत ही मान सम्मान
करती थी और अपने राजकुमार वीरवर्धन पर जान छिरकति थी। आखिर कार राजकुमार भी बहुत ही साहसी और निडर था। उसके वीरता और बुद्धिमता का उसके मित्र और दुश्मन दोनों ही लोहा मानते थे।
फिर उस राज्य के एक गाँव में एक विचित्र राक्षस आ गया। वह राक्षस उस गाँव के एकलौते तालाब के अन्दर छुप कर बैठ गया था। और जब भी उसे भूख लगती थी तो वो वहां पर मौजूद जानवर या मनुष्य को खा लेता था। उस गाँव के सभी लोग उस राक्षस से तंग आ गए थे। तालाब भी एक ही था। इसलिए पानी के लिए तालाब जाना ही पड़ता था। बहुत लोगों ने उस राक्षस से विनती की, लेकिन वह वहां से जाने के लिए तैयार नहीं हुआ। किसी में उससे लड़ने की हिम्मत नहीं थी। और वह पानी के अन्दर छुपा हुआ रहता था। फिर लोगों ने विचार किया की राजकुमार वीरवर्धन से ही विनती की जाए की उस राक्षस को भागाओ और हमारी जान बचाओ।
राजकुमार ने जब यह सुना तो तुरंत अपने घोड़े पर चढ़ कर निकल पड़ा। लेकिन वह चिंता में था की पानी में छिपे राक्षस से कैसे मुकाबला किया जाये। बीच रास्ते में उसे एक छोटी चिरिया दिखाई दी। बेचारी चिरिया सड़क पर गिरी हुई थी और उसके पंख भी टूटे हुए थे। राजकुमार को बहुत दया आइ। उसने अपने पीने का पानी चिरिया को पिला दिया। तभी चमत्कार हो गया। वो चिरिया एक परी बन गयी। परी बोली - "राजकुमार मैं तुम्हारी परीक्षा ले रही थी। तुमने अपने पीने का पानी एक चिरिया को पिला दिया। तुम बहुत ही दयालु हो। मेरी तरफ से एक चमत्कारी तलवार ले लो। इस तलवार से तुम अवश्य ही उस राक्षस से जीत जाओगे।" राजकुमार ने परी का बहुत ही आभार प्रकट किया।
वह अब दूने उत्साह के साथ राक्षस से मुकाबले के लिए निकल परा। जब राक्षस ने देखा की राजकुमार के पास जादुई तलवार है तो वह समझ गया की अब उसकी खैर नहीं है। उसने राजकुमार और गाँव वालों से माफ़ी मांगी और चुप चाप वहां से भाग गया। सभी गाँव वालों ने राजकुमार का जोर से जय जयकार किया।
(c) Anup Mayank
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फिर उस राज्य के एक गाँव में एक विचित्र राक्षस आ गया। वह राक्षस उस गाँव के एकलौते तालाब के अन्दर छुप कर बैठ गया था। और जब भी उसे भूख लगती थी तो वो वहां पर मौजूद जानवर या मनुष्य को खा लेता था। उस गाँव के सभी लोग उस राक्षस से तंग आ गए थे। तालाब भी एक ही था। इसलिए पानी के लिए तालाब जाना ही पड़ता था। बहुत लोगों ने उस राक्षस से विनती की, लेकिन वह वहां से जाने के लिए तैयार नहीं हुआ। किसी में उससे लड़ने की हिम्मत नहीं थी। और वह पानी के अन्दर छुपा हुआ रहता था। फिर लोगों ने विचार किया की राजकुमार वीरवर्धन से ही विनती की जाए की उस राक्षस को भागाओ और हमारी जान बचाओ।
राजकुमार ने जब यह सुना तो तुरंत अपने घोड़े पर चढ़ कर निकल पड़ा। लेकिन वह चिंता में था की पानी में छिपे राक्षस से कैसे मुकाबला किया जाये। बीच रास्ते में उसे एक छोटी चिरिया दिखाई दी। बेचारी चिरिया सड़क पर गिरी हुई थी और उसके पंख भी टूटे हुए थे। राजकुमार को बहुत दया आइ। उसने अपने पीने का पानी चिरिया को पिला दिया। तभी चमत्कार हो गया। वो चिरिया एक परी बन गयी। परी बोली - "राजकुमार मैं तुम्हारी परीक्षा ले रही थी। तुमने अपने पीने का पानी एक चिरिया को पिला दिया। तुम बहुत ही दयालु हो। मेरी तरफ से एक चमत्कारी तलवार ले लो। इस तलवार से तुम अवश्य ही उस राक्षस से जीत जाओगे।" राजकुमार ने परी का बहुत ही आभार प्रकट किया।
वह अब दूने उत्साह के साथ राक्षस से मुकाबले के लिए निकल परा। जब राक्षस ने देखा की राजकुमार के पास जादुई तलवार है तो वह समझ गया की अब उसकी खैर नहीं है। उसने राजकुमार और गाँव वालों से माफ़ी मांगी और चुप चाप वहां से भाग गया। सभी गाँव वालों ने राजकुमार का जोर से जय जयकार किया।
(c) Anup Mayank
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Thursday, November 1, 2012
A Trip to Matheran
It has been over two years since we came back to India. We have been trying to cover the places around Pune and Matheran was something in my mind for past one year.
Details about Matheran can be found from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matheran
It is about 120 KMs from Pune. We took the Mumbai Pune Expressway for this trip. This was the first time i was driving on this highway. The experience was truly amazing. I have been constantly complaining on the driving woes. But here is the road where i was able to reach upto 120 Km/hour (Just for the sake of readers, speed limit is 80 Km/hour). We reached Lonavala in about 45 minutes and from there we had to take NH4 (old mumbai pune highway). The road towards Karjat and Neral is not good. Road patches are very damaged and you cannot go over 25 K/hr. From Neral it is uphill drive. You will have to drive in 1st gear and there are about 6-7 hair pin bends. Although it is not very difficult to drive but one must be careful to avoid any accident.
It took us to the Dasturi gate. Here you have to park your car. Being it a weekend, it was crowded and finding a decent place to park turned out to be little difficult given that we were trying to find parking along mountain side. Beyond Dasturi, vehicles are not allowed. Most of the hotels are located in Market Peth which is about 2 KM from Dasturi. So either you have to walk or take horse or you can catch the toy train from there, but its frequency is not guaranteed. Since we have already made our mind to go for a horse ride, we bargained with a fellow and got 2 horses. I am glad that we did that as it was almost 12 in the afternoon and was hot.
We had booked a room in Hotel Kumar Plaza. This hotel has 2 kinds of room. AC Deluxe (B) and Super AC Deluxe (A). Since we had booked little late and it was weekend so most of the good hotels (Verandah, Usha Ascot) were already booked. If you have to stay in Kumar Plaza then go for super AC Deluxe. Other room was not of good quality. In my next visit i will try to stay in Verandah or Gujrat Bhavan.
Matheran is all about walking and enjoying the beautiful scenic points. We visited Lake Charlotte, Echo Point, Honeymoon point that evening. It was so relaxing to sit at the canyon edge and watch valley below.
We were very tired after all this walk, had dinner and then explored the market area. Matheran has lots of shops for leather accessories. I had purchased a leather belt. It seemed of good quality and for Rs 450 seems a decent price if it survives more than a year.
Next morning, for some reason i was wide awake at 5 in the morning. I went out of the room. It was dark outside. But there were few people offering horse rides for the points. I too stepped out when it was clear morning. I again reached lake charlotte. In the morning it was so peaceful and different than the evening before. I was one of the only few. Stayed there for about an hour, soaked the fresh morning air.
In the end we decided to take a horse ride to Panorama point. I had read that the view is very beautiful from there. It is closer from Dasturi. But the path towards Panorama point is not very good. For a good portion of the journey i was guiding one horse while my wife and kid were in other horse with the owner of horse. We had to abandon reaching the point as there were thick bushes on the way and its better to be safe than be sorry and be bitten by snake etc.
Thus overall it was a very memorable trip and can't wait to go there soon again. Here are some pictures from the trip.
Details about Matheran can be found from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matheran
It is about 120 KMs from Pune. We took the Mumbai Pune Expressway for this trip. This was the first time i was driving on this highway. The experience was truly amazing. I have been constantly complaining on the driving woes. But here is the road where i was able to reach upto 120 Km/hour (Just for the sake of readers, speed limit is 80 Km/hour). We reached Lonavala in about 45 minutes and from there we had to take NH4 (old mumbai pune highway). The road towards Karjat and Neral is not good. Road patches are very damaged and you cannot go over 25 K/hr. From Neral it is uphill drive. You will have to drive in 1st gear and there are about 6-7 hair pin bends. Although it is not very difficult to drive but one must be careful to avoid any accident.
It took us to the Dasturi gate. Here you have to park your car. Being it a weekend, it was crowded and finding a decent place to park turned out to be little difficult given that we were trying to find parking along mountain side. Beyond Dasturi, vehicles are not allowed. Most of the hotels are located in Market Peth which is about 2 KM from Dasturi. So either you have to walk or take horse or you can catch the toy train from there, but its frequency is not guaranteed. Since we have already made our mind to go for a horse ride, we bargained with a fellow and got 2 horses. I am glad that we did that as it was almost 12 in the afternoon and was hot.
We had booked a room in Hotel Kumar Plaza. This hotel has 2 kinds of room. AC Deluxe (B) and Super AC Deluxe (A). Since we had booked little late and it was weekend so most of the good hotels (Verandah, Usha Ascot) were already booked. If you have to stay in Kumar Plaza then go for super AC Deluxe. Other room was not of good quality. In my next visit i will try to stay in Verandah or Gujrat Bhavan.
Matheran is all about walking and enjoying the beautiful scenic points. We visited Lake Charlotte, Echo Point, Honeymoon point that evening. It was so relaxing to sit at the canyon edge and watch valley below.
We were very tired after all this walk, had dinner and then explored the market area. Matheran has lots of shops for leather accessories. I had purchased a leather belt. It seemed of good quality and for Rs 450 seems a decent price if it survives more than a year.
Next morning, for some reason i was wide awake at 5 in the morning. I went out of the room. It was dark outside. But there were few people offering horse rides for the points. I too stepped out when it was clear morning. I again reached lake charlotte. In the morning it was so peaceful and different than the evening before. I was one of the only few. Stayed there for about an hour, soaked the fresh morning air.
In the end we decided to take a horse ride to Panorama point. I had read that the view is very beautiful from there. It is closer from Dasturi. But the path towards Panorama point is not very good. For a good portion of the journey i was guiding one horse while my wife and kid were in other horse with the owner of horse. We had to abandon reaching the point as there were thick bushes on the way and its better to be safe than be sorry and be bitten by snake etc.
Thus overall it was a very memorable trip and can't wait to go there soon again. Here are some pictures from the trip.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Book Reading vs Writing
My son is about 4 years old now. So as a responsible parent we decided to increase his general knowledge by introducing him to famous people around the world and what they did. So we had compiled a ppt of famous people and started explaining their work to him.
WE: He is Mahatma Gandhi. The great freedom fighter of india.
This my son immediately recognizes as he has seen his pic in school so often.
WE: He is Abraham Lincoln. A famous president of USA.
He tries to repeat the name, but doesn't seem so interested.
He was very interested in the picture of Niel Armstrong, as he has recently read a book on moon and astronauts.
Next we went through some of the famous authors. William Shakespeare, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Munshi Premchand, Leo Tolstoy.
WE: They have written great books. You will get to read them when you grow old.
He listens to us for some time then simply corrects us by saying "We read books, we don't write them".
Now this is a very genuine question coming from him, as we have been explaining to him not to write on his books.
WE: He is Mahatma Gandhi. The great freedom fighter of india.
This my son immediately recognizes as he has seen his pic in school so often.
WE: He is Abraham Lincoln. A famous president of USA.
He tries to repeat the name, but doesn't seem so interested.
He was very interested in the picture of Niel Armstrong, as he has recently read a book on moon and astronauts.
Next we went through some of the famous authors. William Shakespeare, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Munshi Premchand, Leo Tolstoy.
WE: They have written great books. You will get to read them when you grow old.
He listens to us for some time then simply corrects us by saying "We read books, we don't write them".
Now this is a very genuine question coming from him, as we have been explaining to him not to write on his books.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Phone, Facebook and a Kid
I have an Android phone. So obviously i have enabled data synch with all the popular applications like Gmail and Facebook. So all my contacts get automatically synched and linked from various sources (phone, google, facebook etc). It is a very great thing when the end user is me.
Now come into picture my 4 year old son. He of course understands that this phone is something interesting that's why dad is avoiding to give it to him. So he will always be in a lookout for a chance to grab my phone. And how many times you can deny a cute kid's plea. And further when he is just exploring his photography skills and occasionally takes few good pics of mine. So now he is getting my phone and spend some unsupervised time with my phone.
Here comes the inconvenient part. He likes the touch screen so will keep on moving from one screen to another. He will explore all the applications. He is adept at changing wallpapers (with all his recent photoshoot). So far its okay. But now he also goes to the phonebook and starts making call. And now of course he doesn't have decency to say hello, so he simply ends the call either some one answers or just after few rings. Well if its his grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt etc its okay. But sometimes he makes call to some people whom i didn't know i had the phone number (thanks to the synch feature). Worst when they call back, i have to pick up the phone and then explain to them what happened. It can be very discomforting at times, because i haven't talked to that person for so long and suddenly i am talking to him/her, not knowing what to talk about. But at least it gives me an opportunity to talk to that person, whom i should have been in touch.
Well if you are one of those persons who have been troubled by that mysterious call from me, please accept my apologies in advance.
Now come into picture my 4 year old son. He of course understands that this phone is something interesting that's why dad is avoiding to give it to him. So he will always be in a lookout for a chance to grab my phone. And how many times you can deny a cute kid's plea. And further when he is just exploring his photography skills and occasionally takes few good pics of mine. So now he is getting my phone and spend some unsupervised time with my phone.
Here comes the inconvenient part. He likes the touch screen so will keep on moving from one screen to another. He will explore all the applications. He is adept at changing wallpapers (with all his recent photoshoot). So far its okay. But now he also goes to the phonebook and starts making call. And now of course he doesn't have decency to say hello, so he simply ends the call either some one answers or just after few rings. Well if its his grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt etc its okay. But sometimes he makes call to some people whom i didn't know i had the phone number (thanks to the synch feature). Worst when they call back, i have to pick up the phone and then explain to them what happened. It can be very discomforting at times, because i haven't talked to that person for so long and suddenly i am talking to him/her, not knowing what to talk about. But at least it gives me an opportunity to talk to that person, whom i should have been in touch.
Well if you are one of those persons who have been troubled by that mysterious call from me, please accept my apologies in advance.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Quotes from Shantaram (Novel)
Author : Gregory David Roberts
These days i am reading the novel "Shantaram". Wonderfully written so far. I have found some interesting conversation pieces from the characters of this novel, which have given me immense pleasure as a reader. I am quoting them here. My commentary is in italics after each quote
These days i am reading the novel "Shantaram". Wonderfully written so far. I have found some interesting conversation pieces from the characters of this novel, which have given me immense pleasure as a reader. I am quoting them here. My commentary is in italics after each quote
- Being listened to -- really listened to -- is the second best thing in the world. (Interpretations are open about the first best thing.)
- The only force more ruthless and cynical than the business of big politics is the politics of big business. (Not any personal experience so far but i guess it is true)
- Civilization, after all, is defined by what we forbid, more than what we permit. (In Egyptian civilization it was norm for brother to marry sister in royal family)
- Friendship is something that gets harder to understand, every damn year of my life. Friendship is like a kind of algebra test that nobody passes. In my worst moods, I think the best you can say is that a friend is anyone you don't despise. (Ah there goes my friend list)
- The facts of life are very simple. In the beginning we feared everything -- animals, the weather, the trees, the night sky -- everything except each other. Now we fear each other, and almost nothing else.
- It's good to know what's wrong with the world. But it's just as important to know that sometimes, no matter how wrong it is, you can't change it. A lot of bad stuff in the world wasn't really that bad until someone tried to change it.
- I think wisdom is very over-rated. Wisdom is just cleverness, with all the guts kicked out of it. I'd rather be clever than wise, any day.
- Poverty and pride are devoted blood brothers until one, always and inevitably, kills the other.
- The people showed thanks, rather than saying it, and I'd come to accept that.
- I take everything personally -- that's what being a person is all about.
- I can't stand politicians. A politician is someone who promises you a bridge, even when there is no river.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Bhaja and Karla Caves
Last weekend we went to explore the Bhaja and Karla caves. They are near Lonavala almost 50 Km from Pune. Both are located on top of hills, so you should be ready to do a little bit of climbing up the stairs. You can read more about their history below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaja_Caves
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Caves
Both caves were made by Buddhists and are almost similar in architecture. However now Karla is more commercialized and is very crowded in comparison to Bhaja. I am posting few pics of the place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaja_Caves
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Caves
Both caves were made by Buddhists and are almost similar in architecture. However now Karla is more commercialized and is very crowded in comparison to Bhaja. I am posting few pics of the place.
Me and Kundan on the way to Karla Caves
Anshu and Kundan on the way to Bhaja Caves
Outside Bhaja Cave
Sculpture in Karla Cave
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Ganesh Puja
India is a country of million gods and goddesses. Among the many gods and goddesses each state/region has one which is most revered in that region. In Maharashtra that is most definitely Lord Ganesha. Every year during this time, you can hear loud slogans of "Ganpati Bappa Morya" (Lord Ganesha is mine). This festivity is celebrated for 11 days. Many Ganpati idols will be put in homes and public places. And at the end of worship days (some do for 5 whereas others for 7, 9 or 11 day) Ganpati idols are immersed in river/sea with loud requests to Ganesha for coming early next year. Immersion is preceded by a procession in which trained people will play many musical instruments in a very coordinated way. The beats of drums are very splendid to hear. Here is one such procession video which happened near my home
Pandit Vishweshwar Sharma
Today while watching a new show (Waah Waah Kya Baat Hai) on SAB TV i came across some very beautiful lyrics and poems from veteran poet Pandit Vishweshwar Sharma. So here i am sharing one political satire by him which i found on Youtube.
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Friday, September 28, 2012
Book Review : The New Collected Short Stories
Author : Jeffrey Archer
This is a collection of short stories, 41 in total. The book is divided into three parts
This is a collection of short stories, 41 in total. The book is divided into three parts
- To cut a long story short
- Cat O' Nine Tales
- And there by hangs a tale
- The expert witness
- The endgame
- Too many coincidences
- The grass is always greener...
- Maestro
- The wisdom of Solomon
- The Commissioner
- The Queen's birthday telegram
- Members only
- The undiplomatic diplomat
Monday, September 24, 2012
Circle vs Straight Line
A Circle represents "Completeness". You can start from any point on the circle and if you keep traveling along other points you will reach to same point. So any point on the circle is both the beginning and end.
Whereas a Straight Line is never complete. You can start from one point and if you keep moving with other points on the line you will never reach your origin state. Thus there is no beginning and no end.
Human efforts also fall under these two categories. Circular category will refer to the daily chore done by us, to sustain ourselves. Cooking our food, Going to work etc. You can keep on doing this circular work today, tomorrow or any other day. It is very important but nonetheless it doesn't advance you much in life.
Whereas acquiring new skill, learning how to improve your productivity, learning new ways of doing thing is an effort of Straight line category. It will bring you from point 1 to point 2. You will feel more fulfilled, more energized.
So in my view we should keep moving in circles and on frequent intervals move in straight line.
Whereas a Straight Line is never complete. You can start from one point and if you keep moving with other points on the line you will never reach your origin state. Thus there is no beginning and no end.
Human efforts also fall under these two categories. Circular category will refer to the daily chore done by us, to sustain ourselves. Cooking our food, Going to work etc. You can keep on doing this circular work today, tomorrow or any other day. It is very important but nonetheless it doesn't advance you much in life.
Whereas acquiring new skill, learning how to improve your productivity, learning new ways of doing thing is an effort of Straight line category. It will bring you from point 1 to point 2. You will feel more fulfilled, more energized.
So in my view we should keep moving in circles and on frequent intervals move in straight line.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Movie Review : Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Yesterday i got a chance to watch "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (starring James Franco directed by Rupert Wyatt), which was premiered on Star Movies as Movie of the Month.
I had seen the 2001 movie "Planet of the Apess" (starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Tim Burton). Now this is a true entertaining movie. The movie is fast paced and keeps you thoroughly entertained.
In this sequel, i was hoping that they will continue from the point where Mark crashed in the distant future of planet of apes, where apes had become sophisticated and had simply replaced humans in the modern world.
But in this movie it has no correlation with the previous movie. Rather it starts with current world where a scientist is trying to discover high potential cure for brain diseases (which incidentally his father is also suffering). The drugs get tested on a chimpanzee who was pregnant at that time and gives birth to a very smart chimpanzee whom he had to bring home due to unavoidable circumstances.
Well now rest of the story is not too brilliantly new. You keep such pet at home and trouble will arise. So this smart chimpanzee gets transferred to a government facility where he is mistreated and kept with many other chimpanzees. Now you can imagine what will happen. Of course he will hate the bad behavior of humans and organize his chimpanzee army. So that was the rise of the apes.
The actors have done an OK job, neither too great nor too shabby. The movie lacks in speed. Sometimes it get little boring when they try to push the emotions of the apes to a little extreme.
My overall rating is 3/5
I had seen the 2001 movie "Planet of the Apess" (starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Tim Burton). Now this is a true entertaining movie. The movie is fast paced and keeps you thoroughly entertained.
In this sequel, i was hoping that they will continue from the point where Mark crashed in the distant future of planet of apes, where apes had become sophisticated and had simply replaced humans in the modern world.
But in this movie it has no correlation with the previous movie. Rather it starts with current world where a scientist is trying to discover high potential cure for brain diseases (which incidentally his father is also suffering). The drugs get tested on a chimpanzee who was pregnant at that time and gives birth to a very smart chimpanzee whom he had to bring home due to unavoidable circumstances.
Well now rest of the story is not too brilliantly new. You keep such pet at home and trouble will arise. So this smart chimpanzee gets transferred to a government facility where he is mistreated and kept with many other chimpanzees. Now you can imagine what will happen. Of course he will hate the bad behavior of humans and organize his chimpanzee army. So that was the rise of the apes.
The actors have done an OK job, neither too great nor too shabby. The movie lacks in speed. Sometimes it get little boring when they try to push the emotions of the apes to a little extreme.
My overall rating is 3/5
Friday, September 14, 2012
Book Review : The Sins of the Father
Author : Jeffrey Archer
This book is in continuation of "Only Time Will Tell". I am wondering what made author to choose this title. For me an apt title would have been "Love Never Fails". As this is the tale of Emma Barrington who painstakingly searches for her fiance and father of her child.
Story is again well written. However it doesn't keep the suspense and excitement to a level which was found in first book. But i guess that is always with the problem with subsequent parts of a great series. Twists and turns of the events in life of Harry, Giles and Hugo has been described in fascinating details. I couldn't stop reading it and finished it in one go. Author ends this installment at a very exciting end where we are waiting for final verdict on the fate of Harry and Emma.
I am sure that people will have to read this installment when they have read the first one, as one cannot hold himself back from a gripping story.
My rating is 4/5
Other reviews in this series
Only Time Will Tell
This book is in continuation of "Only Time Will Tell". I am wondering what made author to choose this title. For me an apt title would have been "Love Never Fails". As this is the tale of Emma Barrington who painstakingly searches for her fiance and father of her child.
Story is again well written. However it doesn't keep the suspense and excitement to a level which was found in first book. But i guess that is always with the problem with subsequent parts of a great series. Twists and turns of the events in life of Harry, Giles and Hugo has been described in fascinating details. I couldn't stop reading it and finished it in one go. Author ends this installment at a very exciting end where we are waiting for final verdict on the fate of Harry and Emma.
I am sure that people will have to read this installment when they have read the first one, as one cannot hold himself back from a gripping story.
My rating is 4/5
Other reviews in this series
Only Time Will Tell
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Book Review : Rich Dad's guide to investing
Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki
A few years back i had read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". It has been a very popular book. It talked what is the basic philosophical attitude difference does exist between a rich and successful man vs a common man who is dependent on job.
I got my hands on "Rich Dad's guide to investing" from the same author. So my curiosity picked up. I am now working in an organization and as per the previous book, i stand in the category of not so financially successful person. So i thought, lets learn how can i or some one in similar position like me can benefit from this book.
Although the start of the book seems very promising. Starting with the author who is just about to retire from military and has very little savings. Now the conversation with author and his rich dad begins as was in the previous book.
However the interest soon starts waning out when author keeps on repeating the same thing over and over which is what is the difference between his poor dad and his rich dad. Common man we get it.
Give me the good stuff. How do i take it to next level.
Some useful tips are provided. As one should be aware of tax laws, invest in business, don't gamble. But it is not something earth shattering new.
My rating is 2/5. You can skip it if you have read the first book.
A few years back i had read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". It has been a very popular book. It talked what is the basic philosophical attitude difference does exist between a rich and successful man vs a common man who is dependent on job.
I got my hands on "Rich Dad's guide to investing" from the same author. So my curiosity picked up. I am now working in an organization and as per the previous book, i stand in the category of not so financially successful person. So i thought, lets learn how can i or some one in similar position like me can benefit from this book.
Although the start of the book seems very promising. Starting with the author who is just about to retire from military and has very little savings. Now the conversation with author and his rich dad begins as was in the previous book.
However the interest soon starts waning out when author keeps on repeating the same thing over and over which is what is the difference between his poor dad and his rich dad. Common man we get it.
Give me the good stuff. How do i take it to next level.
Some useful tips are provided. As one should be aware of tax laws, invest in business, don't gamble. But it is not something earth shattering new.
My rating is 2/5. You can skip it if you have read the first book.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Moral Policing by Police
We Indians never lose a chance of talking about high morals and values. We are always clinging to our glorious past and of the achievement that we invented zero. However things are not improving upon that zero.
Recently read a news that Police in Pune raided a so called high class party. There were pictures of man and women drinking and smoking in the newspaper, as if it was crime. Police used sticks and other means of physical force on man. Even women were slapped on being questioned of their crime. What is this. A moral policing. But why is police doing it. Has a law been broken? Has a crime been conducted? Has the police a right to beat innocent people? These are the questions no one either bothers or dares to ask.
I have heard that young couples are always harassed by Police on the beaches and in the park. I am sure that there will be few who are using this opportunity to do what should have been done in the privacy of a room. But most of the couples are not there to cause embarrassment and they are just having a nice time which is most probably being paid by their tax money. So why do Police or other vigilante of moral police torture and harass them.
I will like to change the term "Moral Policing" to another vulgar term "Sexual Policing" which is more apt to what these people are trying to do and should be aptly reported as that. And does our society need "Sexual Policing" to control whom and how we are supposed to live our lives.
Thoughts and feedback are welcome.
Recently read a news that Police in Pune raided a so called high class party. There were pictures of man and women drinking and smoking in the newspaper, as if it was crime. Police used sticks and other means of physical force on man. Even women were slapped on being questioned of their crime. What is this. A moral policing. But why is police doing it. Has a law been broken? Has a crime been conducted? Has the police a right to beat innocent people? These are the questions no one either bothers or dares to ask.
I have heard that young couples are always harassed by Police on the beaches and in the park. I am sure that there will be few who are using this opportunity to do what should have been done in the privacy of a room. But most of the couples are not there to cause embarrassment and they are just having a nice time which is most probably being paid by their tax money. So why do Police or other vigilante of moral police torture and harass them.
I will like to change the term "Moral Policing" to another vulgar term "Sexual Policing" which is more apt to what these people are trying to do and should be aptly reported as that. And does our society need "Sexual Policing" to control whom and how we are supposed to live our lives.
Thoughts and feedback are welcome.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Road Rage : Sad Ending
We rushed into the emergency room. A doctor immediately started looking at him. He was unconcious but alive. Maybe a few broken bones. I had a very sinking feeling. My heart was telling me "Its your fault. Only if you had a little less ego." But how could i have known that a perfect day would have ended like this.
Today was very quiet in office. In first half i was working on the prototype application which i have been trying to build for past couple of weeks. Then in afternoon one defect got assigned to me. Grudgingly i had to stop my prototype work and start working at this defect, as we are very close to the release date and thus makes it urgent. By 7:30 PM i have figured out the root cause of the problem, found a solution and sent my code for review. Tomorrow it will be checked in the accurev (place where programmers keep their code).
I packed my bag and started my 20 km drive from office to my house. It typically takes about an hour to reach home during normal traffic. India is a developing nation. Further Pune is a growing city in India. A sleepy pensioner's paradise has suddenly emerged as a major IT hub. Thus Pune has seen lot of growth in last one decade. However development of infrastructure has not kept its pace with growing population. Further people are always in a rush. So driving during peak hours can be very challenging. It gets worse if you are on a car, as 2 wheelers will try to overtake you from left and right. And if you escape them, then you have pedestrians coming from every direction. Sometimes your driving experience will be rewarded with presence of a herd of cows and buffalos.
If it is not raining or too cold i too prefer to commute on my motorcycle, but today it was both rainy and cold. So i was driving back home in my car minding all the usual hurdles along the way. I will say that my driving skills in India have improved a lot in past one year. Truly practice makes a man perfect or near perfect. To make this journey enjoyable i typically listen to songs or play some audio books. Today i was listening to Atlas Shrugged. Right now it has come to a very interesting turn. There is a stretch of two way one lane each side road along the way. So here i was minding my own way and listening to the audio book. Suddenly I heard an irritating sound of horn. I looked ahead. There was a car in front of me. I looked in rearview mirror. There was a person driving a scooter and honking continuously. As nothing i could do i ignored him. Then again "Peep Peep" and again and again. Now it was getting irritating. What did he want from me? Can my car fly? Of course not. He kept on doing this for next 5 minutes. Now i had decided that i must give him a taste of his own medicine.
A narrow space emerged and this guy overtook me. Now i was behind his scooter. And here it comes. A big "Pop Pop" and then another one. He raced his scooter. I speeded my car. And then another honking and another. He looks behind and i press horn hard. And then another horn. Ah it was so pleasing. By now we have reached the Khadki over bridge. And suddenly that happened. A truck was coming from the other side of the road. Probably he couldn't make out the difference between truck's horn and my horn. It hit his scooter. Truck driver tried to stop but not before pushing his scooter for next 100 yards. People came from all sides. I had to stop and see. People said that we need to take him to hospital. I too followed the auto in which he was taken.
I hope he get well soon. This event has certainly taught me a lesson.
(c) 2012 Anup Mayank
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An alternate ending of this story is available at
Road Rage : Happy Ending
Today was very quiet in office. In first half i was working on the prototype application which i have been trying to build for past couple of weeks. Then in afternoon one defect got assigned to me. Grudgingly i had to stop my prototype work and start working at this defect, as we are very close to the release date and thus makes it urgent. By 7:30 PM i have figured out the root cause of the problem, found a solution and sent my code for review. Tomorrow it will be checked in the accurev (place where programmers keep their code).
I packed my bag and started my 20 km drive from office to my house. It typically takes about an hour to reach home during normal traffic. India is a developing nation. Further Pune is a growing city in India. A sleepy pensioner's paradise has suddenly emerged as a major IT hub. Thus Pune has seen lot of growth in last one decade. However development of infrastructure has not kept its pace with growing population. Further people are always in a rush. So driving during peak hours can be very challenging. It gets worse if you are on a car, as 2 wheelers will try to overtake you from left and right. And if you escape them, then you have pedestrians coming from every direction. Sometimes your driving experience will be rewarded with presence of a herd of cows and buffalos.
If it is not raining or too cold i too prefer to commute on my motorcycle, but today it was both rainy and cold. So i was driving back home in my car minding all the usual hurdles along the way. I will say that my driving skills in India have improved a lot in past one year. Truly practice makes a man perfect or near perfect. To make this journey enjoyable i typically listen to songs or play some audio books. Today i was listening to Atlas Shrugged. Right now it has come to a very interesting turn. There is a stretch of two way one lane each side road along the way. So here i was minding my own way and listening to the audio book. Suddenly I heard an irritating sound of horn. I looked ahead. There was a car in front of me. I looked in rearview mirror. There was a person driving a scooter and honking continuously. As nothing i could do i ignored him. Then again "Peep Peep" and again and again. Now it was getting irritating. What did he want from me? Can my car fly? Of course not. He kept on doing this for next 5 minutes. Now i had decided that i must give him a taste of his own medicine.
A narrow space emerged and this guy overtook me. Now i was behind his scooter. And here it comes. A big "Pop Pop" and then another one. He raced his scooter. I speeded my car. And then another honking and another. He looks behind and i press horn hard. And then another horn. Ah it was so pleasing. By now we have reached the Khadki over bridge. And suddenly that happened. A truck was coming from the other side of the road. Probably he couldn't make out the difference between truck's horn and my horn. It hit his scooter. Truck driver tried to stop but not before pushing his scooter for next 100 yards. People came from all sides. I had to stop and see. People said that we need to take him to hospital. I too followed the auto in which he was taken.
I hope he get well soon. This event has certainly taught me a lesson.
(c) 2012 Anup Mayank
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An alternate ending of this story is available at
Road Rage : Happy Ending
Google App Engine and Java Session
In JEE web application, we are used to keeping objects required in session, so that it can be retrieved in some other call flow.
But by default GAE doesn't support session management.
To enable it you have to do following.
Open WEB-INF/appengine-web.xml
Enable session by uncommenting
true
But to make it work on hosted app engine, all the objects which you are planning to put in session must implement Serializable interface.
Now app engine will put your session data into storage system (Bigtable). You can see it by viewing your datastore viewer. Search by kind _ah_SESSION
To enable it you have to do following.
Open WEB-INF/appengine-web.xml
Enable session by uncommenting
But to make it work on hosted app engine, all the objects which you are planning to put in session must implement Serializable interface.
Now app engine will put your session data into storage system (Bigtable). You can see it by viewing your datastore viewer. Search by kind _ah_SESSION
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Happy Teacher's Day
Today is teachers day. My son's school had been off today. Today morning when i switched on TV, there were reports of all the famous Gurus of famous pupils. The latest addition in this list is Saina Nehwal and Phulela Gopichand.
All this has brought my memories back to one teacher who holds special place in my heart. He is Binod Sir. I was in Samastipur Bihar in my class 8-10th. He was instrumental in my studies during that period. His patience and faith is remarkable. He has the true ingredients of a good teacher. After 10th we moved to Darbhanga. He visited couple of times in Darbhanga. But when i went to Varanasi for studies, i lost touch with him.
So today i want to say Happy Teacher's day to my Binod Sir. I hope you are doing well sir.
All this has brought my memories back to one teacher who holds special place in my heart. He is Binod Sir. I was in Samastipur Bihar in my class 8-10th. He was instrumental in my studies during that period. His patience and faith is remarkable. He has the true ingredients of a good teacher. After 10th we moved to Darbhanga. He visited couple of times in Darbhanga. But when i went to Varanasi for studies, i lost touch with him.
So today i want to say Happy Teacher's day to my Binod Sir. I hope you are doing well sir.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Book Review : Only Time Will Tell
This weekend i got an opportunity to catch up on fiction. This time it is the first book on Clifton Chronicles by Jeffery Archer. The book is titled 'Only Time Will Tell.'
On the art of story telling in english fiction, Jeffery Archer and Frederick Forsyth are my favorites. I was introduced to Jeffery Archer by 'The Fourth Estate' in my engineering college days.
Then i read 'Honour Among Thieves'. Both had been a delight.
Now coming back to this current book 'Only Time Will Tell'. This is a story of a family in England during the backdrop of second world war. Although the story is focused on main character 'Harry Clifton', but it is a story containing many stories as is the style of any great book. Ex. 'Godaan' by Premchand. As we progress through the book, the story is being narrated from the viewpoint of all characters starting with 'Harry Clifton' and ending again with 'Harry Clifton' and all other important characters (for example his mother, uncle etc) introduced and described in between. The plot is so gripping that it will be hard for you to put the book down and do anything else as it was with me.
My recommendation is to go for it. Now i am eagerly waiting for the next book in this series ('The Sins of the Father').
Other reviews in this series
The Sins of the Father
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Flipkart vs Homeshop18
I like to read books and thus occasionally buy books. Now with so many good websites catering to my need, i have almost stopped going to a bookstore. The last bookstore i visited was in Aundh about 6 months ago just to kill some time.
So far i have been using the services of Flipkart . I have been thoroughly impressed with the ease of usage of this website and their prompt delivery. Within 2-3 days of ordering book is in my hand. And they had free shipping on orders above Rs 200. So whenever i needed to buy a book, i just did some comparative analysis and most of the time flipkart was my choice, however sometimes crossword also took the prize. But recently flipkart has changed their policies and they have bumped up the free shipping to orders above Rs 300. Now it hurts me, since most of my book orders are below Rs300.
So i had to research for other useful website, and www.homeshop18.com came very highly recommended by a source. The price on homeshop18 are comparatively cheaper than flipkart and they have free shipping above Rs 200. So now i have used it to order my last 2 purchases. But i am not satisfied. Their delivery system is nowhere comparable to flipkart. It takes 7-8 days. If only they can speed up their delivery process, otherwise i will be forced to club my book purchases and get back to flipkart.
So far i have been using the services of Flipkart . I have been thoroughly impressed with the ease of usage of this website and their prompt delivery. Within 2-3 days of ordering book is in my hand. And they had free shipping on orders above Rs 200. So whenever i needed to buy a book, i just did some comparative analysis and most of the time flipkart was my choice, however sometimes crossword also took the prize. But recently flipkart has changed their policies and they have bumped up the free shipping to orders above Rs 300. Now it hurts me, since most of my book orders are below Rs300.
So i had to research for other useful website, and www.homeshop18.com came very highly recommended by a source. The price on homeshop18 are comparatively cheaper than flipkart and they have free shipping above Rs 200. So now i have used it to order my last 2 purchases. But i am not satisfied. Their delivery system is nowhere comparable to flipkart. It takes 7-8 days. If only they can speed up their delivery process, otherwise i will be forced to club my book purchases and get back to flipkart.
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