Book Review - Ramayana: The Game of Life - Book 3 - Stolen Hope

Title: Ramayana - The Game of Life - Book 3 - Stolen Hope

Author : Shubha Vilas

Genre : Mythology

Prequels : Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams and Ramayana – The Game of                       Life - Rise of the Sun Prince

About the Author :

He is an otherworldly seeker and a motivational speaker, holds a degree in Engineering and law with specialization in Patent Law. His leadership classes are well known with top-level administration in corporate houses. He likewise offers people some assistance with applying so as to deal with present day life circumstances the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana and other dharmic customs.   

Blurb from the back :

In the evil labyrinths of Dandakaranya forest, human values are put to test. Rama’s righteousness, Lakshmana’s loyalty and Sita’s endurance reflect our own sense of values and judgment in difficult times. The story unfolds the facets of human life – the conflict and the trickery, the praise and the slander and, above all, the hope and the despair in the eventful forest life of the Exiled Royals.

Stolen Hope is about extreme deception and extreme love. It is about arrogant power and deep devotion. With every twist and turn, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana find themselves robbed of whatever and whoever they value most. 

Exploring the dynamics of human relations – between father and son, husband and wife, teacher and disciple – and the complex game of power and greed, Stolen Hope mirrors our own dilemmas in the modern world and teaches us how we must overcome them.
Seek courage when everything, including hope, is stolen.

Review :

This is third book of the series which I have read and second book of series that I am reviewing as part of blogadda community. (Click here to go through review of the earlier one).  

Please go through my other review to get details about why one should read this book. Because don't want to repeat and plagiarize my own content :p .

The thing I most like about book from these series is because of detailing of minor stuffs. I mean I have read the Ramayana where it was pocket book size and also read one with bulky size but detailing of things in this I have never got anywhere else. I have also read the fictional stories of Ramayana from different character's perspective (i.e.The-Return-of-Ravana-Series by David Hair) but filling content in the original story line is completely different thing and I like to read this series of book for that.

When it comes to digging into Indian Mythology Subha Vilas has mastered the art.  Not only the story line but the very carefully crafted anecdotes at end of chapter are so meaningful as well.

Unlike the other series of books and movies where after successful first two part ...story started getting dull in third part this one has strengthen the grip.  Detailing of war zone and action is something new in this series which I was really wanting to see ( of course expectations are high in that zone after reading Amish's Shiva trilogy )

Spoilers :

No spoilers for this book. Everyone of us knows the story of Ramayana so no suspense and one who has read the first two part might not have waited to read this review.  

But for others who has not read it yet.....go ahead and grab it. 

It's good to have book collection in your shelf...

Part 1 : http://www.amazon.in/Ramayana-Game-Life-Rise-Prince/dp/8184955308/

Part 2 : http://www.amazon.in/Ramayana-Game-Life-Shattered-Dreams/dp/8184955316

Part 3 : http://www.amazon.in/Ramayana-Game-Life-Book-Stolen/dp/8184958242

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Te Amo !

Writing something on "Love" is so down market right now everyone is writing mediocre things about it and selling it. Same thing is going on screen in Bollywood and is being adopted by Tellywood.

Still I am writing something on the same topic.....not for me....not for any competition....not for any novel....not for any movie...this time I am writing for someone special who has recently entered in my life.

Title of the post is from one of my favorite song.....which I have listen 4-5 times in loop before writing this up....Lyrics goes like....

Kisi ke sau joot sun le.....
Kisi ka such bhi ghunah..
Kisi ki bas yadon mein....
Kar halchal sara jahan...
Te amo meeti amo............

She has entered in my life like a fish entering in pond from bowl of glass. She was overjoyed with freedom she got then ....got little disappointed  because I wasn't able to give so much time to her because of all silly stuff I am doing in my life right now. Sometimes ....or let me admit for most of the time I forgot to give that little time to her while being busy with other works....she used complain about it then started understanding it. (May be killing her desire and emotions).

Remember that old movie .....not so old ... "Rab ne bana di jodi...." .... starring King Khan and Anushka. There was one dialogue in movie...where male lead character is saying to his counter part.... "Pyar kya hota hey....muje pata nahi kabhi aisa sochne ka time aaya hi nahi... mere liye to mere sab doston ke samne meri Ijjat rakh di....wohi pyar hey..." .

I think same applies to me.... I have never been like that.....never thought about having someone as part of my life.....also don't believe in saying .....but the way she thinks and take care of my family is the love....and I really respect it.

I have been friends with girls and can communicate without fear ....so it's not like that I feel alien and look like Champu.... but then few things never comes naturally to me and I admit it. I don't have any fear saying that I can't be like any road side guy hovering around girl or any teenager talking on phone for hours.

What I feel is that love is not all about so many words and showing off to world. It's about having that feeling of togetherness..... wanted to attach few dialogues from one of my favorite movie....

"Koi to hona chahiye....jise sirf hum dikhe ....or unhe sirf hum"

 Looks good in movie....not in real life..... So many things to look after in real life....but still one song....or one line makes too much sense....

"Kabhi Kabhi Toh Lage Har Din Mushkil Aur Har Pal Ek Saza.....Aise Me Koi Kaise Muskuraaye, Kaise Has De Khush Hoke........Aur Kaise Koi Sochle Everything's Gonna Be Okay.....................Soch Zara Jaane Ja Tujhko Hum Kitna Chahte Hain.....................Rote Hum Bhi Agar Tere Aankhon Me Aansun Aate Hain..........Gaana Toh Aata Nahi Hai Magar Fir Bhi Gaate Hain....................Hey Aditi Maan Kabhi Kabhi Saare Jahan Me Andhera Hota HaiLekin Raat Ke Baad Hi Toh Savera Hota Hai..............................."

Yeah...that's true....sometimes we feel like something is not going right way....but then before every dawn there has to be dark night...

Ending with one more song of that movie.....she must be feeling like this.... :p

Kahin To.. Kahin To Hogi Wo,
Duniya Jahan Tu Mere Saath Hai..
Jahan Mein, Jahan Tu,
Aur Jahan, Bass Tere Mere Jazbaat Hai,
Hogi Jahan Subah Teri,
Palko Ki, Kirano Mein,
Lori Jahan Chand Ki,
Sune Teri Baahoin Mein..
Jaane Naa Kahan Wo Duniya Hai,
Jaane Naa Wo Hai Bhi Ya Nahi,

Don't worry...... there exists that world....waiting for you.....to accommodate you inside....

Wanted to write something more and give this rough draft a finishing touch.....but got some work....so...I feel like... ( Adding lyrics from one more favroite song.... :p  )

Baatein reh gayi adhoori...
Mere labon pe zaroori.....

Yeah....bahot jaroori bat reh gayi...... I have started this post to wish you a happy birthday.....which is missed...that's how silly writer do.....

Book Review - 'The Bestseller She Wrote' by Ravi Subramanian

Here you go with my typical review for this book.... unlike other reviews with stereotype content and format .... this time I want to write it in very straight forward way "What I liked" ...."Why to read" and "What not to expect".

*******************************************************

Paperback king, Aditya Kapoor’s life is straight out of a modern man’s fantasy. His literary stardom is perfectly balanced by a loving wife and a spectacular career. With everything he touches turning to gold, Aditya is on a winning streak.

Shreya Kaushik is a student with a heart full of ambition. Young, beautiful, and reckless, Shreya speaks her mind and obsessively chases after what she wants. And what she wants is to be a bestselling author.

What happens when their worlds collide? Is it possible to love two people at the same time? Can real ambition come in the way of blind passion? Can trust once broken, be regained?

Master storyteller Ravi Subramanian, delves into the glitzy world of bestsellers and uncovers a risky dalliance between a superstar novelist and his alluring protégé.

The Bestseller She Wrote is a combustible cocktail of love, betrayal and redemption.

*******************************************************

What I liked :

So the uncrowned King of corporate thriller is back with another nail biting novel "The Bestseller She Wrote" . 

I have read all the books of this author and as they say and I believe, he is one of the finest Indian English author and when it comes to corporate thrillers he is the only one. One more time books revolves around main character "Aditya" ... (just like his most of the previous novel ). The moment I read that name in his novel one fiction character with strong presence, attitude portraits into my mind. 

Simple language....short chapters and pacy story holds you through out the book. I felt that at some point author has made it like a script which can directly adopted into movie. But what I believe is no screen play can be better than imagination of human mind. When I read something I actually see it like a movie...and that's why I able to finish most of the book in 3-4 hours at one go :p .

What else I like is the quotes....catchy one liners..... that's what people remembers just like "Thapped se dar nahi lagta ....saheb pyar se lagta hey " this novel has so many one liners which gives the punch to story....few examples...

"Cheating is never a mistake. It is a choice..."

"Life is all about choices you make…"

"Relationships with the right people always pay in life..."

"If instead of malls we built libraries, the future generations would be a lot smarter."

"A lottery gives you a better chance at success than getting a book published.""

"Without these bookstores, there will be no books, and without books, there will be no culture"

"Nothing in life is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of his guilt."

"The problem with trust is that if it is broken, then all acts committed by the perpetrator come under the purview of suspicion."

"Life is binary in many ways. There is no way that we can move away from each other slowly and painlessly. There has to be a complete exit"

And the last one...which I liked the most.....

"Books make sense of life...the only problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people's lives....never your own...."  - Julian Barnes

Why to read :

You will like the book if you are frustrate from blast of Indian English author's romantic novel. Just like rest of the his novels by Ravi this one also revolves around corporate world of India....tussle of egos...raise of hero....betrayal.....old friendships.....I mean it has everything that one wants to read into entertaining novel.

If you want to read something different than ordinary Indian English author (excepts Ashwin Sanghi and Amish Tripathi) than you can read this.  Not typical love story ....but this time he has tried to get diverted little bit in that direction.

If you have read his other books ..... "Bankrupt","God is Gamer", "If god was banker", "Devil's pinstripe", "Incredible Banker" than you won't be able to stop your self from going through this. 

Go for it....there are very few Indian author who has reached at the stage which he is right now.

What Not to expect from book :

Unlike other books of this author this book has so many co-relation with one of the other author..so many points in the starting were similar that I was scared that this book is written for that author it self or what :P

Please find funny points and co-relations as below...

Spoiler alerts..... 

Story is about banker turned author Aditya (Just like Chetan Bhagat )  is the reigning 'paperback king' (Just like Chetan Bhagat of 2007-8).... he is from prestigious institute of India for management study IIM ( again like CB ...).... he move back to India after successful career at Hong Kong (CB also has same story)  at one point of time in novel Aditya also get offer to judge the dance reality show ( Just wanted to make a point that CB has recently judge "Nachh Baliye" ) .

See how many co-relation with real life... :p

But rest of the story is not similar to his life so please don't abandon reading in between :p.

(I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program forIndian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books! )

Life - a melody of love !!

Today morning, while heading towards office in my car I had an interesting experience.

Well....before you start running horses of imagination ..... let me tell you I was alone in my car. Now start thinking that what interesting thing one can have alone in a car. :-)

I was going office early than my usual time so it wasn't rush-hour. Usually I go in cab but whenever I drive my self to office .... I try to pick a time where I would not hit rush-hour traffic.

So I was listening to radio and comfortably cruising with speed of 80-90 km with out much interruption. Car going with more than that speed comfortably overtaking from sides...and no body will get blame to do that on a four lane highway...with absence of serious traffic...you generally get tempted to step on the accelerator. 

Radio was on but I was hardly listening to words ....and was lost in thoughts. Suddenly I was rudely awakened by my senses that traffic ahead of me was halted suddenly. A few meters away drivers of 3rd and 4th lane were coming to 2nd lane and 4 lane road was converted in two lane. Must be accident some place ahead. Obvious result of this was slowing down of traffic.

I was hopping for quick clearance but instead of clearing it become bumper to bumper and door to door....and just like a grinding halt... long distance drivers on highways recognize all these situations.....how messy situation can be... I had one experience on that famous golden bridge of "Bharuch" for such traffic for more than 7 hours... nothing can be worst than that.

And every time in such situation the lane in which we stand always would be slowest one. After 5-10 minutes I found that since last 10 minutes NOTHING really moved in my lane. For a moment I have toyed with idea of trying to move to another lane but need to stop....as there wasn't any space and that stunt can be proved dangerous for me.

So I stayed in my lane – and just waited for the traffic to move.....It took a while....actually much longer than I expected. Which sort of surprised me because we still had two active lanes. And this was non-peak. So what was the big deal ?

Well...that big deal came.... little bit later.... I realize only when 2-lane had become 1-lane.... yeah the single one.

I still do not know why all these lanes had been progressively shut off. There was absolutely no sign of any accident or road repair work. But it did make sense to me that if you convert a 5-lane motorway to a 2-lane one (that too not very far from the airport), the chance that traffic will build up is not entirely unrealistic.

I was shuffling the radio channels and halted at one stations where this song was being played.....

"Kuchh paakar khonaa hai

Kuchh khokar paanaa hai

Jeevan ka matlab to

Aanaa aur jaanaa hai

Do pal ke jeevan se

Ek umr churaani hai

Zindagi aur kuchh bhi nahin

Teri meri kahaani hai...."

                                                       (Translated version)

"Life is about finding and then losing

It is about losing and then finding

It is about coming and going

From the few moments called life,

we need to steal a lifetime

Life is nothing more than your and my story

Life is a melody of love"

and so on....

"Toofaan ko aanaa hai
Aakar chale jaanaa hai
Baadal hai ye kuchh pal kaa
Chhaakar dhal jaana hai
Parchhaiyaan reh jaateen
Reh jaati nishaani hai
Zindagi aur kuchh bhi nahin
Teri meri kahaani hai"

                                                      (Translated version)

"The storm HAS to come

But after coming, it has to go too

These are but transient clouds

They have to fade away after hanging over us briefly

Only shadows remain

Only marks (signs) remain

Life is nothing more than your and my story

Life is a melody of love"

I never listen any song with more intensity than this....traffic was still on halt.....song ended with a note .... Santosh Anand Ji ka likha hua geet and bol diye hey.....someone someone ne....

Traffic was still on halt and I have googled about him.....just out of curiosity to find his other song....

I have got few more lines.... which are not there in the original song....and these are my favorite lines....as well

"Jo bit gaya hey wo..

Ab daur na aayega...

Is dil me ...siva tere ...

Koi aur na aayega....

Ghar phunk diya hamne..

Ab rakh uthani hey...

Zindagi aur kuchh bhi nahin
Teri meri kahaani hai"

"Tum sath na do mera..

Chalana muje aata hey

Har Aag se wakif hu...

Jalna muje aata hey..

Tadbir ke hathon se..

Taqdir banani hey...

Zindagi aur kuchh bhi nahin

Teri meri kahaani hai"

P.S.  Since morning this song is keep on buzzing in my head....hoping to add few more lines....if you have please add as comments...

Mahabharata revisited !!!!

Unlike one of my own creation this one is just re-framed and somewhat extended version of one the forwarded message!

Again not all of the readers will be able to understand this but....few who are in the zone of "Office goers" will certainly relate....

********************Ctrl + C , Ctrl + V *********************

Dronacharya: 

The Mentor. The employee who doesn't like working himself but is always ready to guide and train new joiners.

Bhishma: 

The Loyal. The employee in a relatively senior position who happily assists the boss in spite of knowing his incompetence (because of some strange oath maybe)

Dhritarashtra: 

The blind boss. He knows that everything is wrong with his project but will still let it function, without making any changes to the current processes.

Gandhari: 

The Yesmen/Women. Boss's immediate juniors who know that they are a part of an evil plan but will stay blindfolded and pretend as if nothing is happening.

Yuddhisthira: 

The ethical guy. Poor chap would never fudge timesheets and call in sick only when he is dying.

Bheema: 

The angry resource. Always ready to pick up a fight with his peers, subordinates or even the bosses.

Arjuna:

The cool dude. The star performer who also knows how to sell his skills. A natural charmer, very famous among the ladies.

Nakul & Sahdev: 

The good average resource. No one notices them. They keep doing their work and get average appraisals.

Duryodhana:

The Bully. Knows how to get work done, by hook or by crook. Doesn't mind threatening the likes of Nakul and Sahdev to get his work done.

Karna: 

The unsung hero. The best performer in the office but never claims credit for his work. Stays an unsung hero for all his life. Girls take him for a snobbish nerd.

Shakuni: 

The evil plotter. Copies management in every mail. Escalates every trivial issue, sometimes to take credits and sometimes purely for fun.

Dhristadyumna: 

The One inning wonder. The one who performs an extraordinary feat, and then basks in the glory of it for the rest of his life.

Draupadi: 

The shared resource. Keeps hopping projects on boss's advice.

Krishna: 

The Ultimate Boss (MD/CEO) who knows that it is his game while he makes everyone believe that they are playing important roles too.

*************************************************

Who says history never repeats itself? It does, everyday.....in the office.

Something interesting !!!

Here I come up with another post on songs.... After writing last post about my favorite songs and lyrics..... something happened and I have started listening each and every song from my playlist more carefully. 

Some of them made sense and some of them were just crappy but I had it in my play list. Don't worry I won't make you bore by writing lyrics and translating them here....

Instead I suggest you to do some activity along with reading this article....

1. Put your iTunes, music player , Windows Media Player, Ipod or whatever medium you use for listening song and keep it on random / shuffle mode.

2. Now for each question you read below, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST NOTE DOWN THAT SONG NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS...

I have done the same and got my list as below..... :P

1. If someone asks you, “How are you ? ?” you say:

    Tanha Dil...tanha safar ...

2. How would you describe yourself ? 

    Char bottle vodka... kam mera roj ka...

He he... don't judge me here... :P

3. What do you like in a guy/girl ? 

Bin kuch kahe...bin kuch sune...Haathon mein haath liye...Chaar kadam bas chaar

4. How do you feel today ? 

Chalni Kar De Seena Mera....Chalni Kar De Seena Mera

5. What is your life’s purpose ? 

Main dhoondhne ko jamane main khuda nikla....pata chala ki galat le ke me pata nikla....

6. What do your friends think of you ? 

Aksar is duniya main...anjane milte hey....anjani raho me...milke kho jate hey...

7. What do your parents think of you?

Main tenu samjawa ki....

 8. What do you think of often ? 

Main to superman...Salman ka fan...koi le le panga ..... 

9. What do you think of your best friend ? 

Matlabi...ho ja jara matlabi...sooraj dooba hey yaaro... 

10. What is your life story ? 

Aahatain....aa rahi teri...Dil ke dar pe mere,. Tu yahin hai

11. What do you think when you see the person you like ? 

Tu hatho main to hey mere.....kyo nahi lakeero main...

To be continued..... => 

My Fav Songs - Music touches to mind but lyrics touches to heart !

It's almost 3 a.m. of the night and sitting in shabby corner of my room with laptop and glass of whiskey mixed with lots feelings. This is something strange topic to write on..... but I was discussing this with my best buddy and I have promised that I will write something on this... so ...here I go....

Have you heard the song "Sajana" from movie "I , me aur main".... a little bit old song...but seriously...I really liked this song...actually I had liked many songs...alright but never paid much attention to meaning of the songs. Each and every lines has got so much depth. I realize this before month and so when I have listened it while travelling to Ahmedabad from Rajkot. I liked this song earlier but i think i have understood the lyrics recently. My favorite stanza :

Ek tujhko hi bas dekh kar
Bhooli mujhko hi meri nazar
Tujhko shayad nahi hai khabar
Tujhko jeete hain hum kis kadar

Jude jo tere khawab se
Toh toote hum neend se
Yeh kaisa tera ishq hai Saajna
Tu haathon mein toh hai mere...
Hai kyun nahi laqeeron mein....

Most meaningful lines at the moment as per me is the highlighted one... which means

"You are in my hand(with me right now)..but why are you not in lines(my destiny)"

Let's talk about one more my fav song of mine.... Have you heard the song "Ya Ali" from movie gangster... ??

Again bit older than the previous one....and again I have liked this song earlier because of music but now I like it because of lyrics...earlier I have never paid much attention to the meanings....but nowI can see the depth in Each and every line!!! I think...I just realized it yesterday only when I was not able to sleep at night and playing some online songs on you tube. My favorite santaza :

'Bina tere na ek pal ho,
Na bin tere kabhi kal ho,
Yeh dil ban jaaye patthar ka,
na isme koi hulchul ho
Sanam Pe Haan, Ishq pe haan,
luta doon, mita doon,
main apni khudi'

Again not word to word translation.....but it means something like....
"Let there not be... a single moment without you.... nor should tomorrow ever arrive without you....
  Let this heart turn into a stone....and hence not have any emotions/feelings any more...
 I am ready to lose my identity for my loved one and my love!"

Beautiful ....isn't it!!! Someone from you would call me crazy and let me remind you I am not in love with anyone.... I am in love with my self.....in love with my happiness at the moment. No body will agree to this but....it hardly matters :p

List of other favorite songs due to lyrics are...

=> Tanha dil  ( Shaan)

Ankho me sapne liye, 

ghar se hum chal to diye...

 Jane ye rahe ab le jayegi kahan...

Mitti ki khushbhu aaye,

Palko me aansu laye,

Palkon pe reh jaayega yaadon ka jahan,

Manzil nayi hai anjaana hai kaarvaan,

Chalna akele hai yahan

=> Allah wariyan ( Yarriyan)

Apne roothein, paraaye roothein

Yaar roothe naa

Khwaab tootein, waade tootein

Dil ye toote naa

Roothe to khuda bhi roothe

Saath chhoote naa 

.

.

Udte patangon mein

Holi waale rangon mein

Jhoomenge phir se dono yaar 

Waapas to aaja yaar

Seene se laga ja yaar

Dil to huey hain zaar-zaar

.

.

Then....again...my favorite one

Reh bhi na paayein yaar

Seh bhi na paayein yaar

Behti hi jaaye dastaan 

Umr bhar ka intezaar

Ik pal bhi na qaraar

Ungli pe nachaaye dastaan

Just Loved it ....yaar....

Actually...there are many more songs which at the moment I just cant remember...

Why don't you tell me...which one is your favorite..may be it is mine toooo..:))

Book Review -> Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams

Title - Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams

Author - Shubha Vilas

Prequel - Ramayana – The Game of Life 

                 - Rise of the Sun Prince

Rating - ****1/2

Review - 

Let's not follow the traditional way of reviewing book this time. This book it self is something different from all normal books we do read. I won't add any spoilers or give any sneak peeks about the story line. Because I never really like to read that kind of reviews so how can I do something like that. Instead I will point out the reasons why I liked the book , the reasons behind it and what you should expect while reading this book. 

The Game of Life: Shattered Dreams, is the second book in this re-telling of the Ramayana. The first book of this series is Ramayana – The Game of Life - Rise of the Sun Prince . Shattered Dreams starts with the nightmare of the King Dasratha, where he faces the dark side of his past and the turmoil of deciding who should succeed him. Then the author has re-written the same story of Ramayana which most of us have read in his unique way. 

No it's not something like what David hair has written in the Return of ravana series . Where he has used the story line of Ramayana to create his fictional story.

No it's not something like what Ashwin Sanghi has done with Chanakya's chant and The Krishna Key , where he has used reference of ancient story line to promote his fictional story of current age. 

No it's not even like what Amish Tripathi has done with his Shiva Trilogy where he has used characters of the mythology to create his own story where he has portrait Lord Shiva as the ultimate hero.

Shattered dream has the original story line of the epic Ramayana written by the Valmiki  but author has just used the different language and way of narrating the same story line. He has narrated some incident in depth by exploring the hidden meaning between the lines of the epic which was never explored till date. 

The second thing I have noticed was the little footnote added by the author for the incident which was continued for entire book. The way he has used the notes to elucidate the principles put forth by the great ruler of history Lord Rama are indeed helpful. When I say helpful not because it teaches something but it gives an interesting perspective when you are reading the story.

Honestly speaking , I am always been fan of reading Indian Mythology. I am always been the fan of the strategies used by different rulers and the heroism they have shown in various phases of history. However when it comes to the Dharma and blind following of tradition my mind stops working. Sometimes I can't really accept something which is quite illogical. 

I don't really wanna criticize it but we all have been witnessed the story of  Ramayana , if not in form of book then may be in form of TV series . Many of the incidents can raise eye brows if one start thinking from the other perspective. Just for an example from the perspective of Bali the brother of Sugriv or from the perspective of Vibikshana or from the point of view of anti hero The Ravana him self. 

The author has tried to explain details behind most of the actions (also those which seems to be illogical when we have witnessed the epic in any form ). It worked to resolve some of my questions about the illogical actions of the characters from epic but few of them are still there. 

Verdict -  I would say if you are fan of Indian Mythology then it's must read. I would say if you have read any of the above book I have mentioned above and liked them then you should have read this as well. I would say if you can read books of Chetan bhagat and Durjoy datta where fat average looking boy gets the damsel beauty  and like it then you should at least give this book a try. :p

You can buy it from here ...

Trek to Polo Forest - Prologue

Huhh... It's just ending of winter and starting of summer and we had one more trekking event. Just like we have 3 different seasons winter, summer and monsoon in my company we have 3 fixed place for one day trekking trip - Jessore , Taranga hills and Polo forest.

This time it was polo forest ... there is something about this place. I have been there to polo forest for 5 time before this trip and each time I had hell lot of fun. How can I forget that road trip on bike with gang of friends during monsoon or camp fire in chilly winter night. It's been time...since I have visited it last time. 

None of my close friend were coming to the event and one friend was also only 50% sure but I have so much of memory associated with the place that I couldn't even refuse to join the trek. Talking about me before I talk about trek ... I don't really make so many friends neither I do make it very fast. I take my own sweet time before I open up with them. 

It was scheduled to start at 5:30 A.M. and I played counter strike with friends till 4:00 AM. Instead of taking quick nap for hour I have decided to getting ready and roam around city for a while. Soft music and cold breeze of late winter freshened up my mind.

                                        

Surprisingly all were on time and bus driver was also on time... It was the first time we have started actual journey only 20 minutes late. Otherwise we have always followed the standard Indian time. All were going good and then something happened and I have lost my mind. I played counter strike  for whole night and I was sure that I would have took head shot of him with single bullet if given chance.

I have experienced the trekking I have started getting bored and wondering what I will do for next 7-8 hours. Then there comes the savior of my life... friend popped up novel .. I didn't even knowing it but then she asked for review of book and I was like......wow... after little war of words.... and puppy faces... I got the hold of book. At very first look it was looking like similar story which I have read in past The Krishna Key . However, interesting enough to hold my attention for next couple of hours.

People were playing games in the bus and having fun. I had mixed time till then and was hoping to have little different time after that.........

********************************************************************************

Just for easiness let me create separate post for the actual Polo forest details.

Visit - Trip to Polo Forest

********************************************************************************

It was amazing experience for me to visit it for 6th time but then .... I felt most isolated this time....I never missed my friend this much before....at each and every places reminded me that I was almost alone.....Alone in the crowd.... so not so good sign.....but there were few who made me little bit comfortable.

But then this time I have enjoyed the beauty of place more than any other time....even I have drafted the both of my posts during this trip it self.....

Blog to make difference #BlogToFeedAChild

First let me tell you honestly that this is my personal experience and  I was never going to write about this here on blog or on anyother platform. I never felt like penning it down in words....I don't have reason but I didn't want to write this.

But when I saw this feed on BlogAdda , I thought of sharing this incident....not because this incident is so much important for me to share (in fact it's reverse I never wanted it to share here) .....But than I am also feeling that.... if spending 15 minutes makes difference for one child than ...it would be best 15 minutes spent by me.

• I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda.

It was not so good day for me and had little bit tiff with friends and I was sitting at open air food joint near by my home. I like the Food of that place and I have made it customize it for me, But that day the boy who generally prepare it for me was not there and someone else has prepared and messed up with taste. So I just gave up eating after taking two bites and got busy in chatting with friends over phone. After few minutes a little boy came up....he has posters and charts in his hand.....he must be selling it on the signal during daytime.... I thought.

The boy asked me if he can take that food plate if I don't want to eat. Then as it was already cold and was there for sometime ... I asked the cafe guy to give him other plate instead of mine ( Don't know why I have done that ...may be because I wasn't happy with day ... and just wanted to cheer up my mood ). The boy has started eating food and I got busy with chatting again.

The thing surprised me was that after completing that fresh plate of food....boy came up and asked me if I can still take that old plate of food with me. I just asked ....if he is still hungry I can order one more plate but the reply I got was shocking.

Boy said... No I am not taking it for me. I want it for my friend who is selling such stuff across other signal. May be food is not so good for you but then it is so much better than what we have daily. He will be happy having it even though it is cold. He collected it and left the place....and I left sitting there dumb struck.

It was the same place where that "Pizza incident" (click there to read) I have came across that gang of "Shoe Polish" guys... who refused to take money. I kept on recalling each and every incidents where I have left food or not ate it with vague reasons. I shared the incident with my friend and one time room mate, he is journalist and working with local news channel.

He told me that there are more than 100 NGOs are listed to work on this  for our city and all are getting huge grants from organizations and wealthy families but issue is not resolved and it's never going to resolve. We have done detailed research as well and found that many of those were fake and just used for converting black money or for saving taxes. Hardly one or two of them were doing some amount of work but no one were there to monitor their work and nothing was transparent in their system.

So we thought instead of giving in some trust or temple and monitor let's just keep it simple. We will make arrangement for food for these two kids. Next day when that boy came ... we took him to near by dining hall and made a deal with Kaka who is owner of that place that provide food to both boy everyday and we will pay for them, Kaka too is generous enough to agreed with that and reduce the charge little bit as well.

See from our point of view it was very simple....we don't have lot's of bucks to splash across. What we are thinking is very much simple.... first we don't have that extra bucks inherited from our elders... second we are not going to cut something from our budget of entertainment. We will just try to save something from our extra expense which we are doing just for our self..... not out of necessity but sheered out of laziness. We have tried it for one month and saving was little less than what we had to pay for food but then adding that little extra is worth spending something from my luxury budget.

What I personally feel is that ... if you are donating something ...don't just do it for sake of doing it. Make sure that you are doing it the right way.

• 
  
• P.S. Our BlogAdda team is doing great job with this initiative and I am sure that Akshay Patra will keep on getting good response to continue this work.