Title: Scammed: Confessions of a Confused Accountant
Author: Anonymous
Paperback: 182 pages
Publisher: Grey Oak/Westland India (2011)
Genre: Accounting Fiction
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Life is miserable for Hitesh Shah, despite his coveted job in a top accounting firm. Labelled a nerd by colleagues, ignored by women and rebuked by parents, Hitesh cannot resist when offered a lucrative job as the CEO of an off shoot of the failing automobile company, Supreme Motors. So what if the owner Venugopal Reddy, a sleazy businessman with political connections, actually wants Hitesh to fix the company to save his skin? Hitesh’s drive and quest for success helps turn the Company’s fortunes around; he is seen a rising corporate star, he begins dating a model and is pampered by parents.

Championed as the poster boy of emerging India, Hitesh’s fairy tale ends quickly. As his cursed luck would have it, he is soon on the run from the law – allegedly as the perpetrator of a financial scam and accused of defrauding thousands of investors! With his back against the wall, and growing public and media opinion against him, will Hitesh come out of the mess he finds himself in?

My Review:

Cover: So-so!

Paper and font: Smell-Worthy! Would have preferred a bigger font though.

Readability, language: Oh boss, It’s easy yaar!

Why did I choose this book: An anonymous author got me wondering about what was hidden in the book.

A depressed Hitesh who is at a dead-end at work gets a lucrative job offer. He gets to be CEO and set-up a company. But in trying to solve one problem he takes on a host of them. He gets money, car, house and status at a huge price. Caught in a scandal not of his creation, Hitesh is on the run to save his life.

Considering that this is the story of Hitesh who is an accountant who unknowingly is involved in a scam, the title is appropriate. The cover is very ordinary, nothing that makes the book stand out. The blurb though does spark an interest and expectation of action in the book.

I haven’t read a lot of accounting based books so this was a new sector for me. The intelligence and audacity behind scams astounded me. This book was a learning in White Collar crime in India. The plot is well laid out and the perpetrators are known, what’s unknown is how Hitesh will get out of the pickle.

Set in Hyderabad and Vizag the book is full of ‘boss’ and ‘yaar’ to a point where it started to irritate me. But yes, the author is authentic to the places and people in Andhra today. And in a country currently passing through a phase of scams, the story is believable.

The characters in Scammed are quite well chalked out. I don’t know if it was the intention of the author but I came to detest Hitesh. Initially I thought he was naive but you soon realise he’s plain dumb. He gets used by two girls, abused by his parents, walked over by his boss, scammed by his new bosses and in all of this he doesn’t learn. And yet in the end he gets a second chance and the girl. He’s the poor victim!

Like almost all big scams, even this one has a lot of facets and levels to the scam. They are all introduced, matured and tied up in the end by the author. I don’t have any complaints of the story, though the love bits were a bit ‘katcha’, not well written and as I read it I was thinking, is this for real.

The climax wasn’t so bad but the end was disappointing. Why do authors have to write an ‘After __ Years’ at the end.

The language of the book is good except for exceptional mistakes like the lead characters name changing from Hitesh to Aditya suddenly at one place in the book. The dialogues are realistic and you can almost hear the character say it, but if ‘boss’ and ‘yaar’ is actually used so much, I’m glad I don’t live in Hyderabad, I’d go nuts.

After reading the book I’m wondering why the author chose to stay anonymous. There’s definitely nothing in the book to give him or her reason to hide. Looks like the “Anonymous’ is just a sales gimmick.

A good book to read if you have an interest in politics and finance, and love the words ‘boss’ and ‘yaar’.

About the Author:
A little investigation led me to find that the Anonymous author was Ahmed Faiyaz. A BookChums interview said, he was known as “a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant by accident, a civil servant by day and a writer by night. A voracious reader and a lover of cinema. And of course the Managing Director, Grey Oak Publishers.”. You can follow his blog at simplyfiction.wordpress.com

Special Note: Thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Vidya for lending me this book. Head over to Vidya’s blog to read her review of Scammed.

Buy On: FlipKart

This has been a good week, it’s been a long time since I took a break and five days of putting my feet up and not having a to-do list was just awesome.

Che and I decided to take an impromptu holiday and headed out to a friend’s farm near Hassan on Monday. I’d been to the farm a few years back, but I hadn’t ever seen it at the start of the monsoon. It’s green!
The farm is on the banks of the Hemavati Reservoir so there is no shortage of water but the monsoon still transforms the land. Everything becomes an unbelievable lush green and you can’t tear your eyes away.

Hassan has lovely weather, cool through the year but right now it was nippy and refreshing at the same time. The cold winds bring in a drizzle ever so often and showers now and then. It’s almost like a constant drizzle with muted sunshine sometimes and rain otherwise. It was heavenly weather and I spent most of my time outside with a book and umbrella.
The breathtaking views and drizzly weather made for the perfect setting to read, and read I did. Made a significant dent in my reading list; got three books read. Yippee

Sitting outside also meant I saw some interesting fauna. There were these beautiful cranes I saw that hung around the cows, pure white bodies with a golden ruff of feathers starting at the head and running down the back. Also saw this very colourful frog. Do you no their names? Is the frog poisonous?

Che and I took several walks down to the water but somehow I wasn’t destined to reach the water. Every time I reached the ‘Village Gate’ it would start pelting rain and we had to make our way back trying to hide behind our umbrella as there is no cover available on the plains. The village folk say the arch in the middle of the reservoir plains is the gate to an old village that got submerged when the reservoir was created. But around the arch I found stone slabs with engravings that seemed to belong to a temple or place of worship. Wonder what had been here? What did the flourishing village look like before it was relocated?

Among other things… I was really worried about leaving my plants unattended for so long. The Guru Garden guys had recommended using water-soaked gel, so that’s what I did. It worked like a charm, the plants were all alive and well, even though we were a day late to return. To make it more potent, I had added nutrients to the water the gel was soaked in; and there’s been a definite spurt of growth that’s very visible in the tomatoes and mint.

My fruits have increased in number and are getting bigger. I hope it’s not too long a wait until my tomatoes are red and ready.

I’ve been trying to make blog reading a habit, well, for starters atleast follow my blogger friends blogs regularly. So here’s some posts from friends this week that I enjoyed and think you might find interesting.

Farida has a way with words, here’s short story by her that got me smiling. And all that said in 55 words; you should read Gift!

People teach us lessons in some of the most amazing ways. Vidya’s insprirational story is featured this week on Indiblogeshwaris.

Bored of snacks? I get tired of one type of snack quickly and love variety. Seems in the US, I’d have options – Jennifer is a part of a program that gives you goodie boxes for $7. Wonder when we’ll get something like this in India?

People without pets have no clue about how much fun we have even when we are pulling our hair out. Leah’s had an episode of that this week with her cat Rocco.

The week starts again tomorrow with lots of work on the to-do list but there is some travel and fun in it too. I’ve got my fingers crossed for it to turn out as well as it seems. What are you looking forward to next week?
Have a great week ahead!

Title: My Wife and Other Problems, My Husband the Only Problem
Author: Johnnie and Barbara Alves
Paperback: 168 pages
Publisher: Better Yourself Books (2011)
Genre: Autobiography (short stories)
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Printasia
Summary: (Goodreads)
Here the writer-couple is poking fun at each other, making mundane matters laughable and painful confusion bearable.

My Review:

In school every year we would have a book sale organised and run by Christian Nuns and all proceeds would go towards a charitable cause. I used to save money through the year to be able to buy a couple of books. They were Indian prints, not great quality and fairly expensive, not by today’s standards but back then in the 90’s, thirty rupees was a lot of money. I remember reading Heidi, The Little Princess and a few others thanks to the Nuns. Heidi became one of my all time favourites, read so many times that I have lost count and I still have that old copy from childhood.

Last month I had a another sinus attack and off I went to St. John’s Hospital to get it checked before it got really bad like two years ago. The Nun’s had a stall up at the entry and the sight of those books filled me with nostalgia. Feeling all warm and fuzzy I decided the Doctor could wait, I needed to browse. As I skimmed the titles, one book jumped out at me, it would to any married woman

“My Wife and Other Problems, My Husband the Only Problem”

At 100 bucks it wasn’t a big risk and my money would anyway go to charity so I didn’t think much and just picked it up. And it paid off, the book was a laugh riot, well mostly.

Three fourth of the book is written by Johnnie Alves and the rest is finished by Barbara Alves. We women always have the last word don’t we

The Alves’s live in Bombay and the city shines through in Johnnie’s writing. The people and Anglo-culture brought many a smile to my face as I remembered friends and people I know.

Johnnie’s writing is like a breath of fresh air, simple with no fancy words, he tells stories that make you laugh. However he does seem to be giving a sermon in a few stories. Barbara on the other hand; I expected a lot more of her. Don’t get me wrong, she’s good. But after Johnnie’s introduction to her, I had pictured a more potent Barbara.

The book is a collection of short stories in which Johnnie and Barbara recount stories from their married life, the high’s and low’s and up’s and down’s, that any husband or wife will immediately relate too. Of course both of them may interpret it differently and that’s right there in the title – The husband would see sarcasm but a wife sees truth in the title “My Wife and Other Problems, My Husband the Only Problem”.

This is a fun must read for anyone who’s married or been married

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy, and I haven’t been able to blog much. Just getting the book reviews posted was a challenge. But things kind of eased off a bit recently and Che and I have been doing a lot of stuff.

Last Sunday I went to the Microsoft Office 365 Education Indiblogger Meet. This was my second Indiblogger event. I’d felt like such a stranger at my first one, it was nice to look forward to faces this time. A shout out to my friends – Vidya Sury who is such a wonderful bubbly person, Farida an awe-inspiring woman who writes ‘Chapters From My Life’, Priya who writes a Home Living in Style blog, and last but not the least Siddharth, who is so little and yet so much… It was nice catching up with you guys. Special thanks to Vidya for tipping me off about the event and offering me an incentive to attend.

The event itself was so-so – the seating arrangement was non-existent, and so was the food. We had been promised lunch but we only got starters, which also disappeared even before the serving plates were put down. The Microsoft guys spoke for ages, and after a while a lot of people drifted away. I did have fun but more because of the people not the event. Highlight was that I won a Swatch watch in the twitter #Cloudblogathon contest.

This week Che also had a shoot at the KYNKYNY Furniture factory and I tagged along as assistant. Watching the precision they work the wood with was an awesome experience. I love the work and Vivek’s obsession with perfection. I hope to own a lot of KYNKYNY furniture someday

The highlight of my week was seeing fruits on my tomato and chilli plants. This is the first time I’m growing vegetables and herbs and I was so looking forward to this.

Other than all this, just when I thought I had caught up with my reading list and brought it under control, I got flooded with new books. Che gifted me with the Feast of Roses & Shadow Princess, book 2 & 3 of the Taj Mahal series by Indu Sundaresan for our 3rd anniversary. Vidya gave me three books at the Indiblogger event – The Bankster by Ravi Subramanian, Scammed: Confessions of a Confused Accountant by Anonymous, The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. Got Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck from Booksneeze. And there’s two more from authors – Rising of a Dead Moon by Paul Haston and Jacob Hills by Ismita Tandon Dhanker.

I’ve got a packed week ahead with books and a holiday. Che and I are taking a few days off to visit a friends farm. I’m looking forward to some time away from the city, without lists and to-do’s. I so need some quiet time. Have you ever felt like you’ll burst if you don’t get away for a bit?

Title: The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Paperback: 475 pages
Publisher: Westland (August 24th 2012)
Genre: Historical Fiction/Thriller
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age—the Kaliyug.

In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar.
Only, he is a serial killer.

In this heart-stopping tale, the arrival of a murderer who executes his gruesome and brilliantly thought-out schemes in the name of God is the first clue to a sinister conspiracy to expose an ancient secret—Krishna’s priceless legacy to mankind.

Historian Ravi Mohan Saini must breathlessly dash from the submerged remains of Dwarka and the mysterious lingam of Somnath to the icy heights of Mount Kailash, in a quest to discover the cryptic location of Krishna’s most prized possession. From the sand-washed ruins of Kalibangan to a Vrindavan temple destroyed by Aurangzeb, Saini must also delve into antiquity to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice.

My Review:

Cover: Eye-Catchy!

Paper and font: Ebony and Ivory that’s Smell-Worthy!

Readability, language: An easy and fun read.

Why did I choose this book: After reading Chanakya’s Chant that was good and The Rozabal Line that was BAD, I had to read The Krishna Key to see if he gets better. He does.

The story involves a historian Ravi Mohan Saini getting sucked into a web of intrigue when his close friend is killed and he is accused. Prof. Ravi evades the police and is on the run while the assassin who believes he is Vishu’s 8th avatar is killing people and stealing valuable artefacts. The pieces being stolen are supposed to belong to Krishna’s time and when put together unlock a valuable secret.

The title is appropriate and the book has a nice cover that shows a padlocked door that is slightly open so a sliver of light shows, though the embossed book title in gold print wears off as you read and by the end, the book title is unreadable. Almost as if the book wants to hide it self

Sanghi lays out a very intriguing plot through the story, constantly keeping me on my toes. It’s clear he has researched really well (the citations confirm it) for the book as he weaves a web that all ties up in the end. Sometimes it was difficult to believe the same guy who wrote Rozabal Line wrote this book. The Krishna Key is as good as Rozabal Line is bad.

Sanghi starts each chapter with a snippet of Krishna’s history from five thousand years ago and then comes back to today’s day and age as Prof. Saini rushes from Dwaraka to Somnath then Mount Kailash and other places trying to solve the Krishna puzzle. Saini describes the places well so I found it easy to imagine it all and to help he also has a lot of illustrations through the book.

Saini has quite a few characters in the book but they are memorable. He has given them all personality and depth. There’s Inspector Radhika Singh who makes you feel warm and proud even though she is quite a cold woman. Then there’s Priya Ratnani who is the eager student who wants to learn for learning sake and Prof. Ravi Mohan Saini who is intelligent and wise and yet gets swayed by love when it comes to Priya. That’s the first bone of contention I have with Sanghi. Did he really need to build in a love story to sell this book? Even without it the story is tight; the love mish-mash makes it wishy-washy.

The Krishna Key is a well written story in all aspects but one. The story is tight with a good pace, there are no lose ends, the characters are well sketched, the places well described with a good climax and anti-climax. My only complaint is the RSS propaganda. Just as in Rozabal Line, The Krishna Key is also filled with data about how it all started with Hinduism, only here its packaged better.

Of all the three books I have read by Ashwin Sanghi, The Krishna Key is the best. I may have trashed Rozabal Line but with each book Sanghi is getting better. I’m looking forward to his next book, it definitely looks like it’s going to be even better but I’m hoping it won’t be a Hinduism promotion again. You don’t need to be a mythology or folklore buff to enjoy this book, but if you are, you just might enjoy it a wee bit more

About the Author:
Ashwin Sanghi is an entrepreneur by day, novelist by night and has all the usual qualifications of an Indian businessman. ‘The Rozabal Line’ was originally self-published in 2007 under his anagram-pseudonym—Shawn Haigins. In 2008 Westland published the book in India under his own name. Ashwin lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika, and his eight-year old son, Raghuvir. His website is www.ashwinsanghi.com.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

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Title: The Legend of Amrapali
Author: Anurag Anand
Paperback: 214 pages
Publisher: Srishti Publishers (January 2012)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Amrapali – the Nagarvadhu of Vaishali!

The Legend of Amrapali is the story of mayhem and turmoil brought about by the obstinate desires of one man – a man blinded by the intoxication of power. It is a story of sinister plots and political wizardry, of chaste love and unbridled passion, of naked ambitions and dogged loyalties that lead to the transformation of an innocent young girl into one of the most revered, even worshipped, and occasionally feared personalities of her times.

My Review:

Note: Thanks to the guys at MySmartPrice for offering me “The Legend of Amrapali” to review

Cover: Garish, could have been more subtle.

Paper and font: Paper and font is good but I would have preferred a smaller book size.

Readability, language: Reads well with simple language.

Why did I choose this book: Amrapali is one of those women of legend, how could I miss it.

Amrapali is one those women from Indian Legend that stand out because they stood up to men. They were the first women to fight for equality and Amrapali has fascinated me since childhood. I remember reading about her in Amar Chitra Katha as a child and admiring the spunk.

I’ve had The Legend of Amrapali on my reading list for a while now and I’m glad I got down to it. This is the story of Amrapali, the events of her childhood and youth that shape her life, and how she learns to accept life and destiny on her own terms.

The cover is beautiful in choice of colour but the gold leaf around the cover kills it. I could have done with out so much gold. The blurb though is enticing, it kept the book on my to-read list all this time. The title set me up to expect a full story but at the end somehow I felt a little short-changed.

This the story of a baby found in a mango orchard, and brought up by a farmer couple. Amrapali grows up to be not only beautiful but also accomplished at all she does. She has a strength of moral character that is to be admired. Life throws a lot her way, the death of her mother, the killing of her fiancé and the lust of one man who is trying to ruin her world. Her spunk in facing it all head-on leaves you smiling in encouragement.

Set in Vaishali around 500 BC, Anand has done a good job of describing the city, the people, the politics and the life in those times.

This is Amrapali’s story and she takes centre stage but Anand also has a host of other characters that you associate with as you read. I found myself smiling at little Amrapali as she asked direct and baffling questions. As a young girl she broke my heart with the strength she showed. I felt sorry for her father Somdutt when he was helplessness. Anand has done a good job with introducing us to Amrapali – her childhood, her youth and her revenge.

Anand gives us a brief glimpse of Amrapali’s youth before the story starts of her as a baby. We watch her grow, lose the love of her life and then get nominated and voted Nagarvadhu. Finally coming full circle at a good pace back to the start; but here is where Anand disappointed me. I had expected to hear the whole story of Amrapali, not just of how she became Nagarvadhu. I was hoping to know more about her life as a Nagarvadhu. The end of the ‘Legend of Amrapali’ left me feeling incomplete.

At one point Anand introduces an unnamed man into the story who fascinates Amrapali and sparks an interesting her. But at the end Anand just drops that thread, and I was left wondering if Amrapali does find love? Hmm, maybe that’s book two.

The book is well written and has a good pace that keeps you constantly glued to the book. It’s a quick read and great of a rainy evening. If you love Indian Mythology and Folklore this book is definitely worth at least one read.

About the Author:
Anurag is a banker who wrote his first book ‘Pillars of Success’ at the age of 25. He currently has six published titles. See his other books on his website – www.anuraganand.in.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

Title: The Twentieth Wife
Author: Indu Sundaresan
Paperback: 380 pages
Publisher: Washington Square Press (February 18th 2003, first published 2002)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
An enchanting historical epic of grand passion and adventure, this debut novel tells the captivating story of one of India’s most controversial empresses — a woman whose brilliance and determination trumped myriad obstacles, and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal Empire. Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensual imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, The Twentieth Wife sweeps readers up in Mehrunnisa’s embattled love with Prince Salim, and in the bedazzling destiny of a woman — a legend in her own time — who was all but lost to history until now.

My Review:

Note: Thanks to the guys at MySmartPrice for offering me “The Twentieth Wife” to review

Cover: Lovely!

Paper and font: Ebony and Ivory! Smell-Worthy!

Readability, language: An easy read that transports you back in time to the days of the Mughals.

Why did I choose this book: Indian History has always enthralled me and fiction based on fact so much better than our school text books.

I first learned of Nur Jahan in school when we studied Mughal history. I remember there was a photo of her in the text books too. As Jahangir’s favourite wife she had played an important role in Mughal history. This is her story, all that wasn’t said in the text book. Mehrunissa’s life, and her journey to becoming Jahangir’s Nur Jahan.

The Twentieth Wife is an apt title for the story of Jahangir’s twentieth and last wife. There seem to be a lot covers circulating and all seem nice but the one I got, has a photo of Mughal architecture that I quite liked. The blurb is well written, explaining the importance of Nur Jahan, a bit about her background and what to expect. The book doesn’t let the blurb down.

The book is based on historical fact and Indu has used those facts to weave a rich story of Mogul India, the durbar of Akbar, his relationships with his wives and children, Salim’s desire for the throne, his becoming the Emperor Jahangir and between all this is Mehrunissa, slowing making her way towards the title of Nur Jahan.

The story starts in the time of the Mughals when Akbar reigned over India from Fatehpur Sikri. A time when Merunissa along with her family arrive as refugees from Persia. There on Indu takes us on a journey with the imperial court though India as it was then, from Lahore to Bengal. I could almost see all those places in my minds eye. I have always felt the Mughal courts had a lot of romantique and Indu’s book brought it alive for me. After Mughal-E-Azam, this is the next best piece of Mughal work I’ve ever come across.

The Twentieth Wife is brimming with characters, it’s too long a list but the characters stick with you. Somehow through the book I remembered them; some fondly and some with anger. There were a lot of times when Mehrunissa tested my patience, Salim vexed me, Ali Quli had me raging, I felt sad for Abkar and I laughed out loud at Ruqayya’s games. Indu has drawn out and described each character richly; it almost feels as if you know them.

The Twentieth Wife is beautifully structured, it was like a little historical soap opera running in my mind’s eye as I read the book. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Mughal soap on TV, Ekta Kapoor do you hear me? This book holds lots of promise both in richness and length Wonder who’d play Mehrunissa?

I love stories of pre-independence India where Kings ruled and life was filled with intrigue. But I don’t often come across a book that is written so well that it transports me back in time. The last book I remember to do that was ‘Far Pavilions’ by M.M.Kaye and now ‘The Twentieth Wife’. I’m so looking forward to the next two books in the series – The Feast of Roses and Shadow Princess.

If you like me love stories of Kings and Queens, Rajas and Maharajas, The Twentieth Wife is a must read. It promises and delivers evenings filled with imperial grandeur and intrigue.

About the Author:
Indu Sundaresan like most authors today has a Masters degree from the US. Indu’s father was a fighter pilot and an avid storyteller, just like his father and Indu says that where it all started for her. Seems Indu currently lives in the US but there’s nothing about her current life on her website www.indusundaresan.com.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

Title: The Great Indian Love Story
Author: Ira Trivedi
Paperback: 196 pages
Publisher: Penguin Global (May 26th 2010, first published 2009)
Genre: Chick-lit
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
The Great Indian Love Story is set in a world where appearances mean everything and nothing is as it seems. Ira Trivedi weaves together sex, revenge, glitz, friendship and a chilling murder to create a potent cocktail in this gripping novel on the perfidious nature of love and power.

My Review:

Cover: Simple but eye catchy.

Paper and font: Easy on the eyes!

Readability, language: Makes for fast reading.

Why did I choose this book: The cover and blurb caught my eye…

A disappointed Riya comes back to India after failing to get a job in America and finds herself in a changed Delhi. While she is trying to make sense of it all she meets Serena, a wild party animal who lives life one night at a time. Serena introduces her to the night life of Delhi, filled with parties, ecstasy, cocaine and sex. And then there is Parmeet, Serena’s mother who just wants to be loved but her simple want leads to an illicit affair that breaks her family.

‘The Great Indian Love Story’ is a story of love in modern Delhi where there are dark undertones and complications galore to the simple emotion called love. If you are expecting a warm fuzzy love story, this isn’t it. This is love and life on Page 3.

The plot involves two families with quite a few sub-plots. Ira tells the story of three women – Riya, Serena, and Parmeet, who are just trying to find happiness, each in their own way.

Set in present day Delhi, Ira takes us into the party scene where the page 3 crowd live their lives. They may have all the money but they crave the rest, and drown themselves in cocaine, alcohol and sex.

Ira has a fair number of characters in her book. There’s Riya who is trying to make peace with being in India; she isn’t happy about coming back from America. Serena who’s mother has married again but Serena doesn’t fit into the new family. She craves love and finds it in Amar who is a rich married serial adulterer and cocaine addict. Then there is Parmeet, Serena’s Mother who craves romance. When it fizzles out in her marriage she has an affair that leads to violence, murder and a new marriage and baby for her.

‘The Great Indian Love Story’ is a story that has you shaking your head and wondering how life can become so convoluted and complicated for some people. The rich have it all yet their lives are so empty and incomplete.

The story is told by Riya, Serena and Parmeet with bits from Parmeet’s first husband S.P. Sharma to tie it all together. We get to hear from the protagonists about just what’s running in their minds as life unfolds for them.

The book is a fast read that leaves you thinking and contemplating the lives of the page 3 crowd. Worth reading once if you want an insight into the pseudo lives of Page 3 people.

About the Author:
Ira’s wrote her first book when she was 19 years old. Apart for being an author, Ira is also a yoga teacher and teaches at Sivananda yoga centers across the country. She holds a MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics from Wellesley College, USA. She can be found at iratrivedi.in.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

Title: The Rozabal Line
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Paperback: 346 pages
Publisher: Westland Limited (2010, first published October 1st 2007)
Genre: Historical Fiction / Thriller
Read: Paperback
Stars: */5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
A cardboard box is found on a shelf of a London library where a copy of Mahabharata should have been. When the mystified librarian opens it, she screams before she falls unconscious to the floor. An elite group calling itself the Lashkar-e-Talatashar has scattered around the globe, the fate of its members curiously resembling that of Christ and his Apostles. Their agenda is Armageddon. In the labyrinthine recesses of the Vatican, a beautiful assassin swears she will eliminate all who do not believe in her twisted credo. In Tibet, Buddhist monks search for a reincarnation while in strife-torn Kashmir, a tomb called Rozabal holds the key to an ancient riddle. Father Vincent Sinclair, has disturbing visions of himself and of people familiar to him, except that they seem located in other ages. He goes to India to piece together the violent images burnt onto his mind. Shadowing his every move is a clandestine society, which would rather wipe out creation than allow an ancient secret to be disclosed.

My Review:

Cover: Dark and not really compelling.

Paper and font: Easy on the eyes!

Readability, language: Simple language but a taxing book to read.

Why did I choose this book: After reading Chanakya’s chant, I wanted to read Sanghi’s other books.

Jesus lived to old age and didn’t die on the crucifix. That’s the core of Sanghi’s story as he takes us across the world and across time as he tries to rewrite another ‘Da Vinci Code’.

The blurb mentions London, the Vatican, Afghanistan, India, Tibet, and America. It sounds interesting and action packed but the number of cities mentioned should have tipped me off on the complexity of the book.

The book is definitely inspired by the Da Vinci Code but doesn’t come close to it at all in quality. There are plots and subplots and sub-subplots in the book that leaves you all screwed up in your head. Sanghi has so many religious groups, characters, cities and times that you start to lose track of it all almost as soon as you start the book. If I wasn’t such a stickler for finishing books I would have dropped this one like a hot potato 50 pages into the book.

Where is the book set? This question is just too stressful to answer. Sanghi shuttles between Jerusalem, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Pakistan, America, Tibet, and almost every other country in the world. And it doesn’t end here because he also shuttles through time going back and forth between BC and AD so often that sometimes you are no sure where you are.

As for characters, well he has so many that I’m not sure which ones to talk about. There is Vincent Sinclair a priest who is exploring beyond Christianity. Martha his aunt who knows yoga, Reki, hypnosis and many other things; can one human know and do so much. Then there’s Alissa the American president who also heads the Illuminati, Galib who heads Lashkar-e-Talatashar, the Sheikh and his master Osama who lead the Al-Qaeda, Dawood Omar an important member of Jamaat Islami, Valerio who heads Crux Decussata Permuta, Swakilki a Japanese assassin, among many more characters. Just keeping track of all the characters is tiring.

As a story I think its a good concept but it feels like a thesis written by the RSS trying to prove Hinduism is the beginning and end of all religions in the world. If there was a structure to the book, I didn’t see it. Sanghi starts off and then just keeping going all over trying to connect the dots and bring it all together.

The Rozabal Line is Sanghi’s first book self-published by him and that is the only reason I could find to forgive this piece of work. I can relate with every publisher/editor who rejected his work; I would too.

Gawd, I don’t want to write any more about The Rozabal Line. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this book. You’re better off re-reading the Da Vinci Code.

About the Author:
Ashwin Sanghi is an entrepreneur by day, novelist by night and has all the usual qualifications of an Indian businessman. ‘The Rozabal Line’ was originally self-published in 2007 under his anagram-pseudonym—Shawn Haigins. In 2008 Westland published the book in India under his own name. Ashwin lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika, and his eight-year old son, Raghuvir. His website is www.ashwinsanghi.com.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

Title: Mukti
Author: A. Dharma
Paperback: 28 pages
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (December 31st 2012)
Genre: Short Story
Read: e-book
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon
Summary: (Goodreads)
mu·kti [moo k-tee] — the final extrication of the soul (purusha) from samsara; an end to human suffering and liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Sanskrit: मुक्ति; release — from the root muc “to let loose, let go”

Mukti is a working girl, fresh out of college, living a sheltered upper middle class life in Mumbai, a city booming with call-centers and consumerism. But her parents have a plan that takes her by surprise. When their well meaning decisions clash against her view of the world; the issue is approached by both sides in a manner that is commonplace in their society. With an outcome that is just as common.

But unforeseen events unfold that drive Mukti’s relationship with her life over to the dark side.

My Review:

Kindle Freebie: Thanks A. Dharma for giving your book away and letting me know about it

Cover: Bright and pretty, it made me feel all bright and smiley.

Paper and font: Easy on the eyes!

Readability, language: : An easy read with simple language used delightfully!

Why did I choose this book: The blurb sounded promising.

Mukti is the story of a girl in the India of today, striving for freedom. She does try to stand up for herself; fight for what she wants but a lot of times just gives in to the pressure. She makes her choices and the sheer accidental nature of life leads her down paths she hadn’t meant to walk.
The story is about 23 year old Mukti who has just finished her studies and started working. Giving in to parental and societal pressure she agrees to an arranged marriage. And what follows is the short story.

Mukti simply means freedom but that word holds so much in it. There are so many freedoms we fight for everyday. The freedom of choice, the freedom to marry who and when we like, the freedom to work, the freedom to speak, the freedom to live and freedom from it all. A. Dharma explores the freedoms we have and the choices we make in his short story appropriately named Mukti.

Mukti’s story is not a new story, it can happen to anyone of us if our stars are misaligned, that said the story is still heart-breaking. A. Dharma takes a couple of sharp turns in the story, just when you’re starting to think you’ve grasped the storyline. And when he ended it, I couldn’t believe it was over. I went back a page to see if I missed something; the end was like falling of a cliff. And like falling of a cliff where the impact is delayed, it all hit me with a few seconds delay.

A. Dharma has based his story in the cities of Mumbai and Delhi with Mukti’s family living in Mumbai and the boy’s family in based in Delhi. He has done a good job of describing Delhi nights as I knew them – at night the streets are quiet with a silent sort-of beauty, India Gate looks beautiful in the night, but just a little away you can see corruption and violence, the people here are pushy with power and so are the cops. It feels like this struggle between beauty and evil.

How can you not associate and sympathise with Mukti, as women we’ve all been through some part of her life. The dilemma of what we want to do with our lives, societal pressures, parental blackmail, arranged marriages and the lot. Mukti’s parents are the typical parents who want to be done with a daughters wedding. It takes a great responsibility off their shoulders and they can breathe easy. And yet they love their daughter and want to see her happy.

The story is narrated by Mukti as she looks back at her life and contemplates what went wrong. A. Dharma uses simple language but spins an enjoyable tale that makes you smile at times as you remember a similar situation.

Like I was saying earlier the story took some abrupt turns. Not that it a bad thing, A. Dharma has done a good job with the story. But the story holds a lot of potential and a lot that’s left unsaid could be written. I’d love to have read about Mukti’s various debacles in the arranged marriage world. On another line, I would have liked to know more about Mukti’s inner struggle and her fight against what happens too. But there’s no taking away the unexpected end that A. Dharma throws in without a warning; it left me gasping.

All said and done I enjoyed reading Mukti and am looking forward to A. Dharma’s next book.

About the Author:
A. Dharma is an online marketing consultant who live in Mumbai and dreams of living in the heartland of India some day. He can be found on Twitter as @adharma.

Buy On: Amazon

Over the years I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve fallen in love. The first man I can actually remember falling in love with was Big Ears, he was just so adorable, then of course came along Rhett Butler who swept me off my feet and after him, well… the list goes on.

Last year we went to Thailand and landed up watching ‘Law and Order: Criminal Intent’ there on late night TV. It was the first time I saw Detective Goren. It was love at first sight even though I didn’t realise it. Back here in India Law and Order is aired on FoxCrime and I haven’t missed an episode.

There’s something about Robert Goren that makes him a man of intrigue to me. He’s complex with a mind that is constantly surprising me, he’s unpredictable, obessive, intelligent, has these strange cute quirks like cocking his head when interrogating a suspect and he’s good looking too! What more could I ask for

If you’re asking who’s Detective Goren, here’s a little bit about him.
Detective Robert ‘Bobby’ Goren is played by Vincent D’Onofrio in the television series Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The show ran from 2001 to 2011 with Goren in 141 episodes of the 10 seasons aired. Goren is a detective investigator first grade for the Major Case Squad of NYPD and his partner is Det. Alexandra Eames.

I figured I should get to know the man better, so, here’s 13 things I didn’t know about Detective Goren…

1. Robert O. Goren was born on August 20, 1961, and grew up in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn.
2. His mother Frances (one-me librarian) first started showing symptoms of schizophrenia when Goren was seven years old. She eventually dies of lymphoma.
3. Goren’s estranged older brother, Frank, is a drug addict with a gambling problem.
4. His legal father William Goren was an alcoholic and serial adulterer and his biological father Mark Ford Brady was a serial rapist and murderer.
5. Goren served in the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division after college. He was stationed in Germany in 1987, and did a six-month tour in South Korea.
6. While stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army he learned to speak German and also read the Koran in a youthful attempt to impress a German-Turkish girl.
7. Goren joined the NYPD after leaving the army and spent four years in the Narcotics Division. He was responsible for three sting operations that resulted in 27 arrests and 27 convictions.
8. His Badge Number is 4376 and Social Security number is 845-67-3906.
9. Eames has a higher rank than Goren; he is junior prtner and she’s senior partner.
10. One of Goren’s favorite magazines is the Smithsonian Magazine. He subscribes to it because fits well on his treadmill.
11. Goren enjoys dancing and hates beaches however he does go to one while on a case.
12. He is unmarried and pro-choice.
13. Goren is left-handed and wears size 13 shoes.

Alright thats it. I’m off to watch some more Law and Order and make eyes at Det. Goren

Have you fallen in love with charaters from books and movies? Who’s your current character love?

Credits and Further Reading:
Robert Goren on Wikipedia
Law & Order Wiki
Biography for Detective Robert Goren on IMDb
Character Bio: Detective Robert Goren

Title: Truly, Madly, Deeply
Author: Faraaz Kazi
Paperback: 258 pages
Publisher: Mahaveer Publishers (November 10th 2010)
Genre: Romance
Read: Paperback
Stars: **/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
What happens when the most popular guy in school falls in love with his beautiful female equivalent?

A pompous Rahul is head over heels in love with Seema, a shy lady from the same school. After a whirlwind of innocent encounters, their teenage romance blossoms but the two never confess their love for each other. Friends and even a few teachers approve of their relationship which is no secret to anyone thanks to Rahul’s flaunting nature.

Seema, on the other hand, finds it difficult to handle the unnecessary attention she gets due to Rahul’s ostentatiousness. What follows is a series of misunderstandings and ego clashes causing them to drift apart.

Rahul loses his popularity, his numero uno status, his sanity and ultimately his love. By the time he realizes what he has lost, it’s too late. He takes desperate measures to woo her back and win back her love. But will Rahul ever get back Seema? And will Seema ever realize how much Rahul loved her and all the misunderstandings that transpired between them? Is there really any room for misunderstandings in love? In today’s world, can a person’s first love ever be his last?

My Review:

I won this book on Freado.com; Thanks Faraaz Kazi for offering your book as a prize.

Cover: Dark and sad.

Paper and font: Smelt like a textbook! And the print was readable even on the next page.

Readability, language: : Simple language but be warned its draggy with lots of philosophy.

Why did I choose this book: Had to read the book that claims to be “The only book written by an Indian author to be nominated in the ‘Top 100 YA Global Fiction List’.”

Truly, Madly, Deeply is a story of young love. Of Rahul and Seema who fall in love in school. What follows is the joys of teenage love but also misunderstandings and heart-break as two people learn to understand each other and withstand peer pressure.

The title is appropriate for a teenage romance for it is only at that age that we use the words truly, madly and deeply to describe love. With age and maturity we realise love is much more than that but as a teen we believe true love to be mad and deep.
Purple and blue make for a dark cover; I would have preferred a more upbeat cover but Kazi is trying to tell a dark story and that may have been his reasoning behind the cover. However a more warm cover would have been a better choice if you ask me. The cover reminds me of SRK sitting on a bench in KKKG but without the bright sunshine and green grass.
The blurb does spark an interest in the story though the testimonials and announcements about the books nominations could have been placed after the blurb rather than before. It’s as if Kazi thinks I would require convincing to read the book (after reading the book, I think he’s right).

It’s not often that a teenage romance gets written by an Indian author set in India, so Kudos Kazi for doing the unconventional. The story of the chain of misunderstandings between Seema and Rahul is entertaining and I found myself reading the whole book just to figure out if they managed to work out their differences and have a happily ever after.

Kazi switches between the U.S. and India as a morose Rahul has flashbacks to his love-story. Studying in the U.S. Rahul is a quiet to-himself chap who mops about and avoids making friends. But incidents there set-off the playback of his life and he drifts to India in his mind, reliving his romance. Kazi inserts a poem just before every flashback. The poems he has chosen are beautiful but it was irritating to have them pop up in the middle of chapters with no real connection to the story. Next time Kazi maybe you could put these poems at the start of the chapter? Also I couldn’t understand the necessity for flashbacks from the U.S. of A., a straight story would have been better.

The two main characters in the story Rahul and Seema, are typical teenagers except for the philosophy they keep spouting. Theirs is the typical teenage love story with it highs and lows, jealousies, scheming, back-biting, egos, one-up-man-ships and such. That said it is a rather true and cute lovestory that took me back to my school days. Rahul and Seema’s friends who make up the support structure of the story are just that – supports – they add little to the story. I wish there had been more of a role for Sahil, Rahul’s one friend in the U.S., as he made for an interesting character.

The storyline by itself is fine and even interesting but Kazi could have written the story in half the number of pages he has used. There are long descriptions that are not required along with philosophical discourses that make the book a drag. And the end is too abrupt and hazy. A more crisp story-telling would have does wonders. Also the book could have been formatted better and some language errors avoided with a better edit.

Truly, Madly, Deeply is a test of patience for a reader. I wouldn’t say its a bad book, rather its just fair with a lot of scope to have been better. Pick it up only if you are someone who likes lots of life and love philosophy. Definitely not worth a second read.

About the Author:
Truly, Madly, Deeply is Faraaz Lazi’s first book. He is a certified soft skills trainer and three-time post graduate! He runs a social media agency, Digi Imprint Solutions and lives in Mumbai. You can find him online at www.faraazkazi.com.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

Title: Just Married, Please Excuse
Author: Yashodhara Lal
Paperback: 258 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (July 1st 2012)
Genre: Romance
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Caution! Marriage Ahead-

Yashodhara, a quick-tempered gal from the big city is hitched to Vijay, a laidback desi boy from a small town – in one word – Trouble!
The young couple must learn to adjust to married life and to each other – whether it is Yashodhara’s ‘temper tantrums’ or Vijay’s foot-in-mouth syndrome – with a little help from their idiosyncratic staff, Zarreena and Vinod, their nutty friend Vivi and, of course, their respective families.

With the unexpected arrival of baby Anoushka a.k.a. Peanut, the battles escalate, fuelled by their vastly divergent views on raising a child. Will their many differences – so endearing at the start of their romance – actually turn out to mean that they are just incompatible? Will they ever manage to agree on anything? Or have they just bitten off more than they can chew?

My Review:

Cover: The cover reminded me of the posters of movies like Bombay to Goa (old); simple and bright. Could have done without the hand showing fingers crossed though, that looks a bit out of place.

Paper and font: Easy on the eyes!

Readability, language: : Simple language makes for a fast read.

Why did I choose this book: The title and blurb had me looking forward to a lot of marital drama. Being married myself, how could I not want to hear someone-else’s.

A quick and short romance leads Yashodhara to the doors of marriage and before she knows it, she has been carried over the threshold. And there starts the drama of two people living under the same roof. Marriage is like a tug-of-war, only here the objective is to keep the marker dead-centre. It takes a while for each side to figure out just how much to pull and how much to let go. Just Married, Please Excuse is a retelling of Yashodhara’s first three years of marriage; her trying to find equilibrium with surprises like a relocation and a child thrown in.

The title and cover had me expecting a lot of Just Married drama but the honeymoon period of marriage turned out to be just one part of the book. The blurb also let me believe there would crazy-ass fireworks in the story but alas, there were more sparklers than rockets.

The initial years of marriage is an age-old plot that doesn’t age as long as you have a good storyteller and Yashodhara is that. She weaves the story of two people of different minds and backgrounds coming together and finding the peace such that there is rarely a dull moment. The conflicts between Yashodhara and Vijay are things any married woman would associate with and had me chuckling often through the book.

Set in Bangalore and Mumbai the book took me down memory lane to the days when the Old Bangalore Airport was still on Airport Road and at a walk-able distance and in Mumbai there was a possibility of wrangling a flat at Bandstand with a sea view and claiming you had Shah Rukh Khan as your neighbour even if you never really visited or saw him.

Yashodhara does justice to each character in her just married story, describing them well not only in looks but also mannerisms. I laughed along as Vijay the quirky guy with foot-in-the-mouth syndrome learns to navigate the choppy waters of marriage and pregnancy. He has an awesome sense of timing and humour that brings out many a chuckle as long as you are not the wife at the receiving end. Zareena is the quintessential bossy Bombay maid. Kajal the fifty something maid from her mothers house makes for some hilarious moments of misunderstanding. Not to forget the families of both Yashodhara and Vijay that hold true to the saying “In India you don’t marry the boy/girl, you marry his/her family”.

The story has three parts – getting married and the honeymoon period, realising that wow, you’re really married, pregnancy and early baby days, and what follows the introduction of a third character in a two person equation. Yashodhara and Vijay share moments of bliss alongside some nasty friction as through the three years they slowly learn the art of being happily married. Yashodhara ties it all up well to end on a high note.

Written in the first person, Yashodhara uses simple language that keeps you engaged through the book. Her usage of languages and accents along with her sense of humour and wit add to the the comic timing to make the book an enjoyable read.

If you are in a relationship, just married, or ‘plain’ married, this is a book to pick up for an entertaining evening filled with nods of ‘having being there’ and many a laugh.

About the Author:
An IIM Bangalore graduate with over 10 years of work-ex, Yashodhara Lal started out as a writer with her blog – www.yashodharalal.com. Just Married, Please Excuse is her first book and I’m definitely looking forward to more books from her with similar wit and humour. She currently lives in Gurgaon with her husband Vijay and three children – Peanut, Pickle and Papad.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

I’ve not been to a lot of sadhya’s and until recently I didn’t even know what a sadhya meant but I do appreciate good food. So on Saturday when Che suggested we go out to lunch for a Vishu Sadhya there was no way I’d say no. A meal with 27 varieties of dishes is a treat for the tongue, especially when it’s an all-vegetarian fare!

The Sanjeevanam Restaurant in Koramangala (owned by the same guys who make the Medimix soap) was offering a special Vishu Sadya on 13th and 14th April, and we figured we’d beat the crowd and go on 13th. We’d never been to this restaurant before and this seemed like a good opportunity.

So what’s Vishu?
Vishu is a Hindu festival celebrated in Kerala usually in the second week of April. The occasion signifies the sun’s transit into the Meda Raasi (first zodiac sign) according to Indian astrological calculations, and represents the vernal equinox. “Vishu” in Sanskrit means “equal”. It is the start of the new year.
“Vishu” is celebrated with much fanfare and vigour. People wear new clothes, elders give money to youngsters and childern set off firecrackers as part of the celebration.It is also a day of feasting and the foods consist of equal proportions of salty, sweet, sour and bitter items.

And what does Sadhya mean?
Sadhya means banquet in Malayalam and is typically a feast of the people of Kerala. It is traditionally a vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf and can have about 24-28 dishes served as a single course.
The main dish is plain boiled rice, served along with other dishes collectively called Kootan which include curries like Parippu, Sambar, Rasam, Pulisseri and others like Kaalan, Avial, Thoran, Olan, Pachadi, Mango pickle, Naranga curry, as well as Papadum, Banana, plain Yogurt or Buttermilk, and plantain chips. The traditional dessert called Payasam served at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. The meal may be followed by vettila murukkan, chewing of betel leaf with lime and arecanut. This helps digestion of the meal and also cleanses the palate.
The dishes are served on specific places on the banana leaf in specific order. For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and the banana on the bottom left corner, which helps the waiters to easily identify and decide on offering additional servings. Some say the reason for including so many dishes in the Sadhya is to ensure that the diners will like at least two or three dishes.

The 27 Dishes Served
Below is the list of the different dishes on my leaf (/the ones I ate). I’ve tried to remember the order of serving and have even tried to find the traditional names. Please let me know if I’ve got it wrong, so I can correct it

1. Salt
2. Banana Chips (salty)
3. Banana Chunks (sweet)
4. Achaar – Mango Pickle
5. Achaar – Ginger Pickle
6. Achaar – Lime Pickle
7. Olan – Sliced pumpkin in coconut milk
8. Kaalan – Yam cooked with yogurt and coconut
9. Bittergourd Thoran – Sliced bittergourd cooked in a sauce
10. Aviyal – Mixed vegtables cooked in a coconut sauce
11. Vegetable Thoran – Sauted beans and carrots with grated coconut
12. Vegetable Thoran – Sauted cabbage with grated coconut
13. Pachadi – Pineapple and pumpkin
14. Kichadi – Yogurt and cucumber
15. Koottukari – banana or jackfruit in a coconut sauce
16. Pappadam
17. Boiled Rice
18. Parippu – A simple dal
19. More Kuzhambu – a curry made from yogurt
20. Buttermilk
21. Ada Pradhaman – Milk-cream payasam
22. Palada Pradhaman – Milk and rice payasam
23. Banana – as a finishing fruit
24. Vettila Murukkan – betel leaf/paan

There was also Sambhar, Rasam and Yogurt to be had with rice, but it was all too much and I had to skip these.

My Thoughts
I enjoyed the food. I am a non-vegetarian but being South Indian at heart I love good vegetarian food and this was a large spread of the good stuff. Tasty and cooked well the food was stored and served in simple clean home-style manner and the servers were attentive hosts always somewhere in the background ready to replenish the food on my leaf before I could ask. I had to stop them after a while, saying no-more with a sigh.

I’m looking forward to more sadhyas at the Sanjeevanam Restaurant. I hope that next time along with lunch they’ll offer a bed too; I’d like to complete the meal with a siesta!

Information Credit: Wikipedia

Title: Under The Hawthorn Tree
Author: Ai Mi
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: House of Anansi Press (January 1st 2011)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon
Summary: (Goodreads)
Yichang municipality, Hubei province, China, early 1970s. High-school student Jingqiu is one of many educated urban youth sent to the countryside to be “re-educated” under a dictate from Chairman Mao. Jing’s father is a political prisoner somewhere in China, and her mother, a former teacher branded as a “capitalist,” is now reduced to menial work to support Jing and her two younger siblings.

When Jing arrives with a group at Xiping village in the Yangtze River’s Three Gorges region, she meets geology student Jianxin, nicknamed “Old Three,” who is the son of a high-ranking military officer, but whose mother committed suicide after being branded a “rightist.” Despite their disparate social backgrounds and a political atmosphere that forbids the relationship, Jingqiu and Jianxin fall desperately in love. But their budding romance is cut short by fate…

My Review:

Cover: The book I got had a cute still from the movie. Not great but not so bad either.

Paper and font: Ivory and Ebony!

Readability, language: : The language is simple but it’s an easier read if you know some of the history of China.

Why did I choose this book: I impulsively picked this up at the library since the book has been a sensation in China since 2007 when Ai Mi shared it on her website and is now even a movie.

Set during the Cultural Revolution in China this is a quaint love story of Jingqui a poor city girl. Jingqui is selected along with a small group of students to go to the countryside for an educational project. The students live the rural life and interact with the farmers while writing stories that will become a part of the education system to further the cultural revolution.

Jingqui who comes from a politically questionable family knows she must be careful about what she says, writes and does to stay safe politically. Her life is already mapped out for her; after her schooling she will be sent to work in the fields somewhere in rural China where she will get a meagre wage. Love isn’t on the cards for her but fall in love she does with Sun Jianxin, the son of an army general.

Sun Jianxin or Old Third is an intelligent and kind boy but way out of Jingqui’s league. And there starts Jingqui’s lessons in love. A naive girl Jingqui has feelings for Old Third that she doesn’t understand. She struggles with her emotions and tries hard to avoid slipping. Her mother has always told her that one slip could cause much harm but Jingqui doesn’t know what her mother means by a slip. As her relationship with Old Third progresses, so does her internal struggles as she tries to figure out if she has slipped.

Completing her stint at the village Jingqui returns to the city and her life where she hopes time will help her forget Old Third but she finds that she cannot. And when Old Third starts to visit her in the city, her love is rekindled. She embarks on the journey of love, learning to accept and embrace it while discovering the meaning of true love.

Being ignorant as I’m about world history, Under the Hawthorn Tree took me a long time to read. Initially I found the story difficult to understand and it took me a while to grasp the history and setting of the book. It would have helped I think if I knew a little of China’s history before I read the book.

The characters are easy to associate with and feel for though. Jingqui’s naiveness brought a smile to my face as she struggles with her heart. Old Third’s love makes for the magic in love stories. The big heartedness of people who shared what little they had was touching. The societal structure of China in the 60’s and 70’s was an eye-opener.

Overall a simple love story, Under the Hawthorn Tree was an education in the lives of the people of China and their trials and struggles during the Cultural Revolution.

I did enjoy reading this book even though I had to push myself sometimes to read on. If you like touching love stories or have an interest in the history of China this is a book to read.

Buy On: Amazon

Last Saturday as I was leaving to go on my walk I saw a few men of the colony/area cleaning up the garbage. It was a real nice and heart-warming site to see people getting together and solving problems. Until now I haven’t seen people do anything together. Here it’s usually the ‘every man to himself’ rule that applies. Over the last couple of weeks the people have bonded over the dog issue and it seems the dogs have broken barriers between people. Finally maybe some good will be done in the colony. I only wish they would show some of this unity and vigour towards our apartment activities and issues too.

Anyway, the garbage outside our apartment had become an eye-sore. ‘Become’ nah its always been an eye-sore. Earlier we had a dustbin designed so dogs cant get at the garbage but people still threw their garbage outside the bin on the ground. We’d have stripped sanitary pads and torn diapers strewn all over the place. After all a pad and diaper are great playthings for dogs.

Then BBMP made segregation mandatory. Its another matter that our garbage collector doesn’t keep waste segregated, all wastes are thrown into the same mix at the back of the van. We did a drive back then and also gave pamphlets so those who slept through the talk could read later. But its too much work for most people so segregation happens only in some houses. Some don’t have time to put their garbage out for collection on time, so its simpler to walk out late at night and throw the garbage in the empty field where the old dustbin was. People would look at it everyday as the mound built but just walk away, then the maids were asked, even the BBMP guy was asked.  No one wanted the clean-up job.

So, its good to see people take actual action together rather then just have meetings and keep talking.

The men were gathering all leaves and waste into a heap and setting it alight. I stopped by to pass on a message about BBMP wanting to send a representative volunteer to speak to the despiser group and ask if I could help with the cleaning. As expected it became a heat discussion on the demand that dogs have to go. In our talk Mr.M also told me about how there was so much plastic and they had to collect so many dry leaves to burn them. I looked at him aghast… ‘You burned the plastic?’. To which Mr.M shrugged and said, ‘If you burn it along with the leaves, its not toxic. I know all about it.’ Imagine… What do you say to someone who reasons like this. And while this conversation is happening there is a little toddler playing in the smoke along side Dad who’s also standing in the discussion group.

So I figured I’ll write about it after reading a little bit.

The fact sheet by WECF (Women in Europe for a Common Future) says

“How does home plasticwaste burning affect people’s health?
Most people who burn their plastic domestic waste do not realize how harmful this practice is to their health and to the environment. Current research indicates that backyard-burning of waste is far more harmful to our health than previously thought. It can increase the risk of heart disease, aggravate respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema, and cause rashes, nausea,or headaches, damages in the nervous system, kidney or liver, in the reproducti- ve and development system. The burning of polystyrene polymers – such as foam cups, meat trays, egg containers, yogurt and deli containers – releases styrene. Styrene gas can readily be absorbed through the skin and lungs. At high levels styrene vapor can damage the eyes and mucous membranes.Long term exposure to styrene can affect the central nervous system,causing headaches, fatigue, weakness, and depression. Not only these people who are burning the trash are exposed to these pollutants, but also their neighbours, children and families.

Dioxin emissions from plastic burning
The most dangerous emissions can be caused by burning plastics containing organoch- lor-based substances like PVC. When such plastics are burned, harmful quantities of dioxins, a group of highly toxic chemicals are emitted. Dioxins are the most toxic to the human organisms. They are carcinogenic and a hormone disruptor and persistent,
and they accumulate in our body-fat and thus mothers give it directly to their babies via the placenta. Dioxins also settle on crops and in our waterways where they eventu- ally wind up in our food, accumulate in our bodies and are passed on to our children.”

Here are a few other sites with more info -
Project Green Bag – Plastic bags must never be burned
Plastic is Rubbish – Burning Bins
Daily Kos – Burning Plastic can Kill You

I always thought that burning leaves was fine, but the Breathe Campaign site says even burning leaves is bad! I didn’t know that.

So now its confirmed, burning plastic is bad. So where then did Mr.M learn about this burning leaves and plastic recipe? And why the hell do parents not care about the health of their child? We all learned in school that burning plastic fumes are bad. So why don’t we give a damn about our health? Its cancerous fumes we are talking about here. Why did no one else stop Mr.M from burning plastic? Mr.M is turning out to be a good brain-washing politician after all.

Is there a way I can complain about this? Any authority I can complain to? I hadn’t recorded the conversation but I do have photos. It’s not ok to burn plastic. They’re putting me, my family and people at risk!

Buddha is my 9 year old wire-hair dachshund. He’s simply adorable, looks cute and has a great temperament. Keeps to himself most of the time. In almost all confrontational situations he walks away and rather than fight. He’s timid and takes a long time to get friendly with most people (both Che and My Mom were exceptions, he took to them right away), so is loved even by non-doggy people. All in all he’s all buddha, saint-like, wise and almost always meditating.

Around New Year’s Buddha broke his front-right-lower canine. He didn’t seem to be in a lot of pain or discomfort at that point in time so we let him be to see how things would progress. Things seemed fine for a while and we left for TfN. In the middle of the tour Preeti who runs Windward Kennels where my dogs board, called to say she was concerned about his tooth and wanted to take him to the vet. He was becoming finicky about his food, not using the right side of his mouth, losing weight and seemed to be in some pain.

So, off Buddha went to the vet. The Doctors at Cessna looked at it and realised Buddha was in a fair bit of discomfort as there was a lot of sensitivity. Also canine’s are important teeth for dogs. Buddha has already lost some of his front teeth due to age so losing this one would make things difficult for him. They decided to try and save the tooth by doing a root canal and restructuring the tooth.

When Preeti called me with this news, I had a mini panic attack. My dog was doing into the OT and I wouldn’t be there for him (also a little bit miffed that I would get to watch a one of a kind procedure ). There was no question of not doing the procedure; if it would help Buddha, we had to get it done but we’d rather have been there. This is where Preeti comes in, she’s someone I trust, I know her and with her I don’t need to worry. Buddha couldn’t be in better hands.

The guys at Cessna did the procedure and it was a success. Within a few days Buddha got less cranky, started eating on the right side and put on some weight too. And I became the proud Mum of a dog with a root canal and restructured tooth!

Here’s are photos of before and after. Check out more photos taken by the Cessna guys on Buddha’s first of a kind root canal.

Before

After

Of course it doesn’t all end with the root canal. We now need to take care of the tooth to make sure he doesn’t break it. At his age a repeat procedure is just traumatic and best avoided. The cost of doing it again is also a great deterrent.

Taking care of his tooth isn’t as much work as it sounds. Buddha doesn’t like toys much so there isn’t much random chewing that he does. Most chewing only happens with food. So we have to watch what he eats and while he eats. Chicken bones are just fine and don’t hamper his teeth. It’s beef bones that we have to be careful about. Initially we stopped giving him beef bones completely but Buddha loves bones and not getting any upset him and he started to try an steal bones from the other two.

Over time I also started getting a bit confident so we started with very small pieces of bones. I now give him larger bones but still not big enough to have contact with the canine. He grinds most bones with his molars at the back, so as long as the bone size is such that it doesn’t touch the canine in his chewing, all’s well. This took some time and learning but I think I’ve got a grasp of what bones he likes and what is safe for him so, both he and me are happy.

Buddha also has a heart condition and arthritis which means a controlled diet and exercise to keep the weight down along with medication. But he seems to be dealing with it all in his usual Buddhaisque manner and no one looking at him would know his secrets.

Now why did I make this post? Just. I wanted to tell the world about Buddha and his Root Canal. Also this is a thank you and recommendation of Cessna. The Docs there do such good work! Thanks Doc

This review has been long over due. Initially I put it off because I wanted to try out the products for a while but then it just became simple procrastination. Sorry Neeta, I know this was promised a long time back.

I have straight hair so, like a lot of other people with straight hair I adore curly hair and perm my hair every chance I get. I know what you’re saying, it’ll cause damage to my hair and I’ll lose it all. Yeah, I know but I don’t mind being bald, I think it looks cool on me.

Anyway, so we’ve established that I love and want curly hair and will do anything for it. But the perming does cause dry frizzy hair and after a while my permed hair becomes unmanageable. I also start to have a lot of hair fall. Some years back I remember using some L’Oreal product but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was now. So, I’ve been on a hunt for a while to find something that would work for my hair. Enter Neeta.

I met Neeta at a Social Media Workshop. When I complained about the trauma my hair was causing to my life she recommended her herbal conditioner and hair oil along with recipes to work magic on my hair at home. Since I was already trying out other products I figured I had nothing to lose.

I started out with just two of her products – the Herbal Hair-oil and the Jojoba Alerovera Conditioner. But over time I’ve tried her other products one at a time and now I use quite a few. Here are the products I currently use and my thoughts on them…

Herbal Hair-oil - I’ve used a lot of oils and I hate most of them for their greasy feel. But this one doesn’t feel heavy and is required in very small amounts. Works like a charm on my hair. The oil has Amla, Brahmi, Bhringraj, Triphala, Fenugreek & Hibiscus leaves to help control dandruff and hairfall, and nourish the hair, preventing split ends and dryness. I think it works!

Jojoba Aloevera Conditioner - This product took some learning. I was so used to using large amounts of conditioner that it took a while to get use to using small amounts. The conditioner makes my hair smooth, soft and NOT heavy and flat like before. And it takes so little that it lasts really long and is easy to carry on travels.

Aleovera Cucumber Gel - This gel is great for a lot of purposes. Works well on burns as it cools the skin (I’ve tried it), is great as a moisturiser and night pack and works well on hair too. I use it the most in Neeta’s Papaya Hairmask, you should try it… I love the feel of my hair afterwards.

Strawberry Aloevera Arnica Face Wash - Most facewashes don’t work on my skin, I break out into pimples soon after using them. But this facewash from Prakriti Herbals worked for me and I love it. It smells lovely and I love to go to sleep with my face smelling of it. Leaves me feel all nice and refreshed. Again brownie points for only needing a drop at each use, which means a small bottle in my handbag goes a long way and its always handy!

Lemon Handwash - This is one of the most recent products I’ve tried and I like it. Leaves my hands smelling all lemony and clean. Bought it three months ago and finally it ran out only last week. It’s time to take a trip to the Prakriti Herbals store near home I think.

Hibiscus Shampoo - Choosing a shampoo took me a while, I tried all the shampoos Neeta had to offer before I settled for the Hibicus one which suited my hair best. Like all her other products this one also doesn’t need to be used in huge amounts and yet it lathers well and cleans the hair sweaky-clean too. Brownie points for customer service and patience is helping me find my perfect shampoo.

I know I already use a lot of products but I’m looking forward to trying out new products from Neeta’s stable. They work as she says they would (as of now) and I’m happy with the results I’ve got. Her products aren’t all that expensive either, especially when you take into consideration the small quantities required.

If you’re looking for herbal products to use at home, you should check out Prakriti Herbals products. They are now available on Flipkart.com too. That said don’t take my praise to heart, I can only vouch for the products I use and how they work for me; please try them out for yourselves and do tell me what you thought of them and what products you’re using. I’ve love to hear of other great and not too expensive products I can use.

You should follow Neeta’s blog if you want more home remedies and herbals recipes.

“Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.”

There is a war brewing and I’d like to make my stand.

***Warning: Long and slightly ranty road ahead.***

There are two types of people in the area I live in. The prodoggers wo like stray dogs and the other the despisers who despise them. The first is a minority but even in that small group there are varying degrees of passion towards stay dogs. Some will go all the way in a fight, while others feed and treat the dogs well but avoid confrontation with the despisers.

Now the despisers are a special people but even they have the varying degrees of passion. There are some who are willing to try and live together with the dogs, then there are those who think there should be only three dogs per lane and others who love pedigree dogs but hate mongrels so want a dog free zone.

For the sake of anonymity and saving my ass (and the despicers faces) from lawsuits I’m not going to use names. But let me tell you a little about these people.

Ms.L moved in about a year ago and passionately took up the doggy care. She lives down my street and feeds the dogs twice a day. She started with four and now feeds 8 to 10. She’s got so comfortable with them that the dogs allow her to medicate them and so she can keep them healthy. She has even vaccinated all of them. All the dogs she feeds have been neutered/spayed over time with the last one being done just a few days ago after she had weaned off her pups. Of course Ms.L also takes care of the pups and is actively looking for homes to adopt them.

Please Adopt Them!

She is fighting like crazy against the despisers who harass her quite a bit. The harassment is never one-on-one but rather a group of men who corner a women alone on the street. One time it even happened at night and some of the men were already down a few pegs. Drunk men and one woman – watta story!

The despisers is a big group that as a general rule avoids me, so I don’t know all of them or all that’s happening. But there is a Mr.B who is open to looking into ways to live and let live though doesn’t think there is much hope in convincing others about it and hence rather support them than fight them. Then there’s Mr.O, who in a short while will look quite ‘O’. He has been kicking and hitting the dogs for a couple of years now but expects the dogs to treat him well. Mr.C is a professor but his education falls short when it comes to dogs. He is adamant about the dogs being taken away, he just doesn’t want them here. Last but definitely not the least of our problems is Mr.M, who has 30 dalmatians in his home-town and loves them but hates mongrels. He believes as a race they should be exterminated. Sounds Nazi, no? And he’s a full politician, putting his finger into everything, screaming and calling the MLA at the drop of a hat.

Then there’s me. I have dogs of my own and love dogs – simple as that. When I moved to live here about 4 years ago, Che and I started feeding the dogs off and on. There was a dog with mange in the pack outside our apartment and one day we decided that she had to be caught and treated. I made a lot of calls but no one helped. Finally CUPA agreed to come and help as an exception though they don’t have jurisdiction here. We caught a couple of dogs but I can tell you it was a hell of a run around.

Then Che and I put together a plan; we started feeding regularly and spending time with the dogs. Over a couple of months we managed to get the dogs comfortable and put collars on them. At this point Mr.M made entry and helped us contact Sarvodaya (he switches sides like a politician too). We worked out a method to leash the dogs before the van came in and got a big batch of 5-6 dogs neutered in one go. That took care of most of the dogs at my end of the lane outside the apartment.

Blue and Jumpy who live outside our apartment

We continued feeding but over time we started to notice that the dogs were getting too friendly with us and hence assuming everyone who lived in the apartment were friendly too. This led to them getting hit and chased more, people complaining and dogs becoming dependent on us. After speaking to a couple of dog behaviourists we came to the conclusion that we had to get rid of the dependency and stop being over friendly to solve the problem.

We started feeding randomly (not every alternate day) when we got the mood. What happened was that after a few days the dogs went back to hunting rats and scavenging in the dustbins. This meant they weren’t around standing and waiting for food and spread out when hunting. It was easier for non-doggy people as they didn’t have to deal with a pack outside the gate. We also started distancing from the dogs. We stopped excessive play, we’d still give them a rub when going or coming in the gate but not too much. This over time led them to back away from people and their friendly overtures towards people stopped. This meant that they get hit with sticks and stones less as they stay away.

I love the dogs we have on our street and would do almost anything for them. Each one of the dogs here is amazing in behaviour and temperament (My Cuckoo’s mother lives on our street and I see so much of her in Cuckoo). But a balance has to be met when it comes to strays. We doggy eccentrics go overboard in caring for them and forget that nature has meant them to be a certain way. Hunting and scavenging is their way of life. If asked they most probably enjoy it so is it right for us to mollycoddle them or make them dependant on us. We have to help and support them but we shouldn’t be taking away their life skills or way of life on the street. They live full lives as strays, hunting, running and playing in the the little space they have after we have encroached with our fancy houses. We have to find a balance if we want to avoid human-dog conflict. That’s my stand – to find a balance where the humans are not in constant conflict with the dogs and the dogs are healthy and safe.

My Cuckoo

This of course puts me in a weird place. The doggy party thinks I’m switching sides and the despisers see me as the enemy So while I belong nowhere, I guess I’ll just continue doing what I can for the dogs as I watch the drama unfold.

And what a drama it is. Here’s the lowdown until now – Earlier I said Ms.L was being harassed so we did some searching and found that we could apply for Govt. Issued cards that authorise us to feed the dogs. We’ve sent in our applications and are currently waiting for the cards. Ms.L filed a harassment complaint at the local police station to keep them posted on the abuse. And we continued our feeding and neutering drive.

A couple of weeks back Mr.M made calls to the MLA and such and pressurised BBMP to take the dogs away. The only ones the Sarvodaya van managed to catch and take were three timid ones (one was a mother with her pups) who were petrified and hence didn’t run away when the van came. Ms.L then made some calls of her own and got to know that BBMP and Sarvodaya had no choice as some big shots had called them. However now that she had called they would observe the dogs for a few days and if they were not aggressive they would be sent back. At the end of the week the dogs were back and all were happy or at least all the of the non-despiser group. The dogs and the prodoggers had won round one.

This led to an accidental chat I had with them a few days later on the street. Mr.B I think understood what I was saying however Mr.C refused to budge from his stand that the dogs had to go. After a lot of trying and explaining, I gave up. Didn’t look like they’d understand any time soon that the dogs were a part of our eco-system and can’t be removed just like that. So I told them the process of filing a proper complaint with BBMP and warned them that if they tried anything underhand I’d file a case against them.

Last weekend the colony seem to descend for a meeting as one (this is they only thing I’ve seen the people unite over in the last 5 years) and 200 people signed a petition that was submitted to the BBMP. I didn’t even know 200 families lived here, gawd where are all these people when we call for meetings over the garbage issue.

On Wednesday Mr.M along with two BBMP officials went to meet Ms.L. The officials told Ms.L that she should stop feeding the dogs but if she still wanted to feed them, she should feed them inside her compound and keep the dogs inside. They can’t be put back on the street. Now Ms.L has two dogs of her own, she can’t just adopt 8 dogs into her house. So, of course she told them she would do no such thing and if the dogs were a problem BBMP should take them away to the shelter. The BBMP guys baulked at the suggestion and promptly told her that they can’t do that. However they would send a van the next day to pick up the mother and get her neutered.

Ms.L in the heat of the moment forgot to take names and designations of the BBMP officials but were they really from BBMP and the Canine Care division. I have my doubts because they didn’t know anything about dogs, the Govt. Issued feeding cards and other stuff. Wonder who Mr.M pressurised to get someone from BBMP to turn up.

Anyway the van came yesterday morning and picked up the mother for neutering. In the evening they were back with the mother and a pup we had caught and sent earlier who had mange but had been treated and was now healthy. I was sceptical about the pup getting back as it’s been over three months since she’s been away and when we sent her she was just over 3 months old. But good news, she has settled in just fine. A few skirmishes still but mostly all good though it’ll take a while I guess before she gets all friendly with us.

The despiser group as always are late to react and only came out of their homes as the van was leaving. But I must give credit for their show of fitness in times of their need. They chased the van down and caught up with it a street away. Ms.L and I went to investigate just in case the driver needed help. He had no need for our help; he must deal with people like this all the time. He listened to Mr.M and Mr.O scream and shout about how they weren’t informed that the van was coming, etc. The van driver though calmly asked for their numbers, took them down and told Mr.M and Mr.O that he’d “inform” them next time and left.

The crowd of women onlookers(grudgingly: and a few men) and Mr.M and Mr.O formed a tight circle to discuss further plan of action while Ms.L and I slowly ambled back home. This is the way things stand as of now. No clue on what they’ll do next but looks like round two goes to the prodoggers too – not only did they not take any dogs away but rather brought one back to add to our numbers

Like I said this is a fultu fun drama and I’m looking forward to the next chapter. Will keep you posted.

Have you got such drama in your area? Any suggestions for us on our next steps? Please do leave a comment if you support stay dogs. If not, do comment on that too. I’d love to hear your reasons for their extermination.

Title: Shiva Trilogy (The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas, The Oath of the Vayuputras)
Author: Amish Tripathy
Paperback: 1. 436 pages, 2. 396 pages, 3. 565 pages
Publisher: Westland (April 1st 2010, August 12th 2011, February 27th 2013)
Genre: Indian Mythology
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On:
The Immortals of Meluha:Amazon | FlipKart
The Secrets of the Nagas: Amazon | FlipKart
The Oath of the Vayuputras: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)

1900 BC. In what modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived. This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils.
The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.
Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at all? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?
Today, He is a God.
4000 years ago, He was just a man.
In a journey that will take him across the length and breadth of ancient India, Shiva searches for the truth in a land of deadly mysteries only to find that nothing is what it seems.
Only A God Can Stop It.
Shiva is gathering his forces. He reaches the Naga capital, Panchavati, and Evil is finally revealed. The Neelkanth prepares for a holy war against his true enemy, a man whose name instils dread in the fiercest of warriors.
Will he succeed? And what will be the real cost of battling Evil? To India? And to Shiva’s soul?

My Review:

Note: Thanks to the guys at MySmartPrice for offering me “The Oath of the Vayuputras” to review

Cover: All three covers have been beautifully designed with vibrant colours and textures.

Paper and font: The font was fine but I felt the paper and print quality kept varying through the books. I may have got a bad bind but my copy of the first book was a pain to hold up and read with one hand.

Readability, language: : Not a lot of big words that I didn’t already know, the books are quick reads even though the are big.

Why did I choose this book: I’ve been hearing a lot about the series and with my interest in mythology, there’s no way I’d have missed this series.

I have waited a long time to read this series. Yeah yeah I know book 1 and 2 were available but after seeing Che’s reaction to book 1, I decided to wait until 3 came out. I didn’t want to wait between books. That of course meant I heard a lot of opinions on the books and that did leave me a bit worried. Most people said the first book was good but two was a drag and three was quite a drag. With all that I heard I wondered if I would get to book three or would I give up midway.

Amish makes the premise that Shiva is a man and that there are no magical gods when writing his trilogy. The story starts off with Shiva coming to the plains from the banks of the Mansarovar to fulfil his destiny of ridding the world of evil. On drinking somras, the elixir of those times, his throat turns blue and people bow to the Neelkanth who has come to save them. Only the Neelkanth is reluctant to believe he is the saviour of the people and there starts the story of Shiva, who from a mere man becomes the Mahadev.

Evil is not a person, it is an idea or belief. This is something Shiva has to learn on his journey through the three books.

In “The Immortals of Meluha” Shiva meets the Meluhans who have found immortality. They are Suryavanshis who follow the path set out by Ram. They have order and discipline in their lives and believe in the betterment of the community rather than that of the individual. He fights the Chandravanshis who are the descendants of Ram too and have different beliefs and lifestyles to the Suryavanshis only to realise they aren’t evil.

This realisation leads him to the Nagas in “The Secret of the Nagas”. It’s in meeting them that he learns of Kali, the other half of his wife Sati and has to make peace with Ganesh, the other son of Sati. It is in this book that Karthik makes his appearance growing up faster than a normal boy. The Nagas take him to their city – Panchvati where Shiva again has to confront and revise his idea and understanding of evil.

“The Oath of the Vayuputras” is about Shiva’s confrontation with evil and his fighting the righteous fight. He teams up with the Vasudevs who are the guides of the Rudra avatar to take on evil and meets and understands the previous Mahadev Rudra through his tribe the Vayuputras who are sworn to support the Neelkanth in his war against evil. The book isn’t about whether Shiva will win, that’s a given but rather about how a man becomes so loveable that we still love, fear and worship him to this day.

The characters of the books are the ones we all grew up hearing about in our grandma’s stories – Shiva, Sati, Kali, Ganesh, Karthik…, they are all there in human believable form. Not gods but human beings like you and me who are flawed and yet loved. And there were some I’d never heard of before like Badhra, Shiva’s best friend, Krittika, Sati best friend, Parvateshwar the amy general after whom Sati is also called Parvati, among others. The characters are well sketched and memorable; each one of them.

Set in the Sapt Sindu or land of seven rivers the trilogy stays largely towards North India. Guess Amish’s next series will be on the South That said he has done a great job describing the terrain through the book. In my minds eye it was a movie playing out as I read the book. I could imagine the cities, the rivers and the wars so vividly through the book.

I enjoyed the trilogy and was hooked until the end. Didn’t like the last couple of line though On one count I agree with all other reviews that the first book had pace but two and three are a drag. There is a lot of description rather than action. But I quite enjoyed that. One of the best parts of the book for me was the scientific reasoning behind all that magical technology of those times. It was interesting to read about the magic behind the divya astras, the bhramastra, and such (Amish has definitely done his research). I had seen too much magic in the Ramayan and Mahabharata on TV growing up.

I love stories and mythology is nothing but that, add to this the number of Gods we have in Hinduism and the two Epics and you have never ending stories. How can I not love Indian mythology. This trilogy is great if you like Indian mythology; well written it is an enjoyable read but be warned it does get draggy as you progress through the books.

Photo Credit: GoodReads and Dilip Singh Parmar

Buy On:
The Immortals of Meluha:Amazon | FlipKart
The Secrets of the Nagas: Amazon | FlipKart
The Oath of the Vayuputras: Amazon | FlipKart

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

It’s been a while now since I cooked from the Samaithu Par. The last couple of weeks I’ve been cooking a lot of Mom’s recipes which being curries aren’t as simple as South Indian cooking so I’m still working on mastering the proportions. I’ll share the recipes here as soon as I have that down to pat.

Anyway as I was saying I haven’t tried something from the Samaithu Par in a while so I thought I better get back to it else I’ll never finish all the recipes. I had planned to make another dish along with the lemon rice but we impulsively decided to go watch Life of Pi in IMAX 3D, and so I stuck to a simple chutney with the rice. The chutney and rice made for a good combo and we didn’t really miss the dish I didn’t make.  

Both the the lemon rice and chutney were very easy to make and didn’t take much time either after the rice had been made. Here’s the recipe I followed and note it’s a bit different from the book.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients -
(Serves 2)
1 cup rice
2tbsp of lime juice
1 tbsp bengal gram dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp roasted chick peas
4 red chillies split into two
4 green chillies
1/4 tsp asafoetida
A few curry leaves
 A handful of finely chopped coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp gingelly oil
Salt to taste

Method -
1. Wash and cook the rice with 1 and 3/4 cup water and a little salt.

2. Cool the rice, add 1 tbsp of ghee and separate the grains so there are no lumps. 

3. In a cup mix the lime juice, a little salt and turmeric.

4. Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of ghee in a wok.

5. To hot oil add the mustard, chick peas, bengal gram, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, and asafoetida. 

6. When the mustard starts to splutter and the bengal gram and chick peas are golden brown start adding rice.

7. Add the rice a little at a time while mixing continously so that the rice and seasoning is mixed homogeneously. 

8. Add half the lime juice to this homogeneous mixture and mix well before adding the second part.

9. Check for salt and add more if required.

10. Sprinkle the finely chopped coriander and serve. 

Green Coconut Chutney

Ingredients -
150gms coconut
Fist full of coriander
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp black salt
Salt to taste
3 dry red chillies split into two
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp bengal gram dal
A few curry leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida
2 tsp oil

Method -
1. Grind the coconut, green chillies, coriander and black salt into a fine paste with just as much water as required. Add salt to taste.

2. Heat the oil and add the red chillies, mustard, bengal gram, curry leaves and asafoetida.

3. When the mustard starts to splutter and the bengal gram is golden brown, remove from flame and add to the ground coconut mix.

4. Mix it well and serve.

Note: If you don’t want a lot of crispness, avoid adding the chick peas and reduce quantity of bengal gram.

Other than chutney or pickle is there anything else that goes well with lemon rice? Should I try something else next time?

This week has been a fun week but has been busy too. We went to see a friend at the farm he staying at and had such a good time that we decided to take the dogs for a day to have a picnic. No prizes for guessing whether the dogs had fun. They went all out running, sniffing, playing and marking areas They played so much that they came back a slept most of that evening and the next day!

Cuckoo being cuckoo of course tasted all plants in sight so next morning we found her broken out in rashes. It was nothing a good bath and some antihistamines couldn’t sort out, so now she’s all Tide white and cuddly cute.

I’ve been trying out the neem and apple cider vinegar mix on the dogs to keep ticks and fleas away and it seem to be working. I had sprayed the dogs down well before we went to the farm and they haven’t picked up anything. So, either the spray worked or the farm and dogs there didn’t have any fleas or ticks.

After two days out on the farm we were all tired, so yesterday was rest day with us lazing around catching up with friends. We watched a movie too! ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ was just the right movie for yesterday. When I got to know it had Emma Watson in it, I was looking forward to see what I thought of her as not being ‘Hermione’ and I wasn’t disappointed. She is a good actress and the movie is definitely a must watch (not just because of her)! The movie is based on a book of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, should add this book to my to-read list for sure…

Other than that its life as usual Oh yeah, the one thing I haven’t talked about on the blog (I wanted to avoid it getting jinxed ) was my attempt at growing a kitchen garden. Since the first few plants I bought were doing well I figured I should try and set up a mini garden. My first attempt at germinating chillies, tomatoes and the like was a disaster. Most plants died and just a couple survived. But I’ve just started out again trying to germinate a new batch and things seem to be looking up A big thanks is due to the guys at Garden Guru, a store near home that is run by three guys trying to promote home gardening. They have been helpful guides, answering my many questions and encouraging me to not give up. Do check out the store – Garden Guru – and stop by if you need help And you can follow my journey on Greening My Fingers here.

I also spent a lot of time on Feedly yesterday. I’ve been a bit shaken after Google’s news of removing Google Reader. All my feeds are on GR and I was quite upset about how I would move them away without losing out on my RSS feeds. Google seems to be making these crazy announcements, a while back they said they would remove FeedBurner too, and I’m yet to find a replacement. Hrrummph… Wish Google wouldn’t make such crazy-ass announcements. That said maybe it’s a good thing, since all such things will over time reduce my dependency on Google and that in the long run saves me for the dangers of monopoly.

Now Feedly is an excellent app to use when following and reading blogs. It does a good job of layout and also integrates with my various social media channels. That means I can post or mark to read later as I browse. Feedly also works on all platforms and syncs beautifully across all of them. So, I can move between devices without skipping a beat. As of now they are still depended on Google Reader to save RSS feeds but are actively working towards setting something up before GR shuts down so users can move to Feedly from GR seamlessly. This is one move I’m glad to make and looking forward to it too! (Down Google, Bad Boy!)

Ok that was a long update post. Onto some interesting articles I came across yesterday…

Jeff Bullas blog has an infographic on the 9 Reasons Why Facebook needs a ‘I Don’t Care’ Button that I associated with and laughed along as I saw them. There are just so many times I’ve thought ‘who care’s’ when scrolling on Facebook.

For all readers out there, Book Riot has 6 Bookish Cartoons you are sure to enjoy. I did!

Facebook has announced Lookalike Audiences, which sounds great from a marketers perspective as it gives more targeting control but I’m not so sure about how I feel about my facebook profile information becoming a statistic in their data. Also have to wait and see just how well the targeting works considering the spam audiences I’ve seen while promoting posts on pages.

In other Social Media News Pinterest is rolling out a new look to improve user experience. This is something I’m looking to get my hands on, but not sure if it’ll roll out for apps simultaneously. Hope I don’t have to wait to see it on the iPad.

Also found a new cool blog All About Ami through a post on Chris’s blog about a Chinese New Year Snake she made with crochet. All About Ami has some lovely ideas and designs that I’d like to crochet sometime soon

Wow! That’s a long post! Word says 931 words until now. So I’m gonna wind up here. If you’ve read until now, thank you if, you haven’t then guess it doesn’t matter coz you’re not gonna read it anyway

See ya laters…

Title: The Other Side of the Table
Author: Madhumita Mukherjee
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Fingerprint (January 18th 2013)
Genre: Epistolary
Read: Paperback
Stars: **/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Circa 1990.
A world drawn and woven with words.
A bond punctuated by absence and distance…
Two continents. Two cities. Two people.
And letters. Hundreds of them.
Over years. Across oceans. Between hearts.
Between Abhi, who is training to be a neurosurgeon in London, and Uma, who is just stepping into the world of medicine in Kolkata.
As they ink their emotions onto paper, their lives get chronicled in this subtly nuanced conversation through letters … letters about dreams, desires, heartbreaks, and longings… about a proverbial good life falling apart, about a failed marriage, a visceral loss, and about a dream that threatens social expectations…
Letters that talk. And don’t. Letters about this and that. Letters about everything…
Letters with a story you would never expect.

My Review:

Note: Thanks to the guys at MySmartPrice for offering me this book to review

Cover: Simple and soothing on the eyes.

Paper and font: White paper and smelt like a text book!

Readability, language: : The language was simple but the font and print could have been much better.

Why did I choose this book: The blurb had sounded interesting…

Some books you wonder why you read but then are happy you read it. This was one of those. When I picked up the book I had very different expectations of it. The blurb had set me up to expect some action, drama or mystery and I kept looking for it all through the book, didn’t find it at all and that did have me disappointed. That said the story kept me engaged through the book.

The Other Side of the Table is a collection of letters between Abhi in London who is training to be a neurosurgeon and Uma who is studying to be a doctor in Kolkata. Living in different worlds they have very different experiences in the field of medicine. They share their experiences, joys, disappointments, challenges and more through letters as the years roll by.

Uma as a girl trying to follow her dream in India can be related to easily. The challenges she faces at home, in society and at work are things most women experience in India at sometime or another. Her fighting spirit is something I associated with and felt for as she fought for what she wanted.

Abhi on the other hand is recognisable as the guy who leaves India with nothing to come back to but still misses his birth country and makes up the deficit by having more Indian friends around him. When he has trouble they help him out the most, though Abhi does have one non-Indian friend who also helps, so maybe he has mixed into new culture a fair bit.

Taking place in two countries far away from each other, the setting is perfect as a comparison between the lives of doctors and the study of medicine in both countries. The things that are common and so different too. Mukherjee makes all the appropriate references to seasons, festivals and holidays in both countries.

The book is written as letters and that helps overall but the letters were a bit dry and weirdly formal. I also think there were too many happy new years…

I enjoyed the medicine and doctor speak in the book. The peek into the lives of medical students and doctors was revealing enough to keep me reading the entire book. However I think for someone who isn’t very into medicine this might get a bit boring.

Given an option I would have added more drama and maybe even a sinister twist to the story. This was too tame and slow.

If you are looking for a slow, simple, not very complicated medical read, this book would be good as a one time read…

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything other than book reviews and my culinary experiences so I thought it was time I wrote about something else. This one’s been on my list a long time…

As a person I been prone to palpitations and mild panic attacks for as long as I can remember. Of course I’m not a doctor so it actually may not be palpitations or panic attacks. What I feel when these episodes happen though is a wildly beating heart, breathlessness, sweating and extreme discomfort. It’s most likely to happen just after I’ve had an encounter with a cockroach. I am terrified of these creatures, no other creepy crawly does this to me. 

Back when I lived with Mom and Dad, they came to the rescue and helped me regain my composure with lots of hugs and love. Then when I lived alone for a few years a shot of brandy or rum did the trick. All friends know just how petrified I am of roaches, and they usually jump in to help but they can’t always be there and over the years I’ve learned to deal with roaches the best I can but the after effects haven’t gone away and I try to deal with them too.

These episodes don’t just happen because of roaches, sometimes it’s when I’m really hurt or upset. Controlling emotions becomes tough, the tears start and then the breathlessness et all. Over the years I’ve noticed that hugs helped, they calmed me down faster and I got back control quicker, but I never really knew that there was a medical reason to this. Recently while watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, one of the doctors explained it in these words as she was getting a much needed squeeze – “Cows are squeezed tightly in a chute before they are slaughtered. The chute applies intense pressure resulting in decreased pluse rate, metabolic rate and muscle tone. It calms them down. Hugging relaxes the sympathetic nervous system, slows the heart, calms you down.”

That got me reading, I wanted to know more about it and if there were other ways to replicate a hug without needing another human being. 

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say – “A hug is a near universal form of physical intimacy, in which two people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. Hugging has been proven to have health benefits. One study has shown that hugs increase levels of oxytocin, and reduce blood pressure.’

Reading further I found that Hugging or being hugged by someone you trust releases the hormone oxytocin into the bloodstream. Oxytocin helps reduce stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure and is even supposed to improve memory! The hormone oxytocin, produced by the pituitary gland is known to increase bonding, and closeness between people. An excellent example are mothers who produce oxytocin during childbirth and breastfeeding as it increases their bond with the child. Of course hugging only works between people who trust each other, and mutually want to hug; with strangers or people who make you uncomfortable the stress hormone cortisone is produced, and hence the positive effects of a hug are lost.

Recently at CeBIT, a high-tech fair in Germany a Singapore based firm unveiled their ‘cuddle jacket’. The jacket simulates the feeling of a cuddle by inflating small air bubbles in the normal looking fleece. The jacket can be controlled by a smartphone and the type of cuddle can varied between light pressure and a bear hug. Trials have shown it is immensely helpful with children who have learning disabilities. An autistic child who gets distraught by loud noises and new faces can be calmed down faster with the soothing effects of the jacket. James Teh the founder of the company hopes to make the jacket more widely available soon not only for children with learning disabilities but also adults who want a good hug from time to time. He definitely has one buyer in me.  

Marcus Julian Felicetti a Yoga Therapist lists out 10 Reasons for why we need more than 8 hugs everyday. He says hugs build trust and a sense of safely. They remove feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger and help with open and honest communication. Extended hugs elevate mood and create happiness by lifting serotonin levels.  Hugs strengthen the immune system, boost self-esteem, and relax muscles. They teach us how to give and receive. In his words ‘Hugging therapy is definitely a powerful way of healing.”  

On December 1, 2004 Juan Mann started what we all know as the Free Hugs Campaign.  He stood in the PittStreet Mall in central Sydney with a board that read Free Hugs. He had gone though some difficult times and was rather depressed and lonely. A hug from a stranger at a party had made him feel enormously better and he wanted to pass on the feeling. Initially people were distrustful and he stood there for 15 minutes before an elderly lady walked up to him for a hug. Gradually people started to come up to him for free hugs. Today the first Saturday following June 30 each year is celebrated as Free Hugs Day in remembrance of the first day Juan offered free hugs in Sydney in 2004. International Free Hugs Month is celebrated on the first Saturday of July and continues until August first.  

Apparently hugs aren’t the only things that make us feel better, a good cuddle with the one you love increases the bond in your relationship and increases your chances of sticking it out together. Then there are also the benefits of kisses and sex

So, have you hugged someone today?

Photo Credit: Jo Marshall, on Flickr

Title: My Husband and Other Animals
Author: Janaki Lenin
Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Westland(2012)
Genre: Biography (Short-Life-Stories)
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Rom felt that all the trappings of the human world interfered with his ability to find king cobras. So he discarded his watch and shoes, and stripped down to a loin cloth. Not the best attire for his first brush with the devil nettle!

Whats it like being married to Rom Whitaker herpetologist, wildlife conservationist, and founder of the Madras Snake Park and Madras Crocodile Bank? Janaki Lenin, his wife, tells us, Theres never a dull moment.

In this compilation of stories, Janaki also an animal enthusiast gives us a peek into the zany and unpredictable world that Rom and she have built together, deep in southern India. They battle tree frogs that insist on colonising their house, travel to the wilds of the world pursuing venomous snakes and monster crocodiles, devote precious hours to befriending Gila monsters, playing with porcupines, and taming opinionated shrews.

Entertaining, playful, and downright amusing, the essays shed light on the kingdoms of beasts and plants. They provide flashes of insight into animal disposition relate human stories about the world and our place in it, and demystify natures secret code. Most of all, they highlight Rom and Janakis wide-eyed wonder at sharing this diverse planet with all creatures, large and small.

My Review:

Cover: Earthy and pleasing to the eye!

Paper and font: The kind you want to smell again and again with an easy on the eye font.

Readability, language: Simple no-nonsense language that you want to keep reading.

Why did I choose this book: I wanted to learn what it would take to move out.

Janaki Lenin’s ‘My Husband and Other Animals’ did not meet expectations…

Che and I hope to move out of Bangalore soon for a lot of reasons, some of them will make our lives better and some of them will be excellent for our dogs. But moving out isn’t just that simple, there are so many things that worry me – how will I deal with leopards, I’m not scared of creepy crawlies but neither do I want to play host to tons of them, can I really grow enough to sustain my family, and many other such thoughts are on the list. With all this running in my head I grabbed at ‘My Husband and Other Animals’ when I came across it hoping for answers. After all Janaki had also made the move from a city to a farm.

As I started reading I was disappointed, where were the solutions I was looking for. Not being someone who gives up easily I stuck with the book as Janaki recounted her and Rom’s adventures with snakes, frogs, crocs and leopards.

A quarter of my way though the book my disappointment was replaced by a soft smile as I travelled dusty paths with Janaki. She isn’t the standard storyteller who has a punchline at the end of each story; she is more like our grandmothers who tells a story for the telling. The story is everywhere not just at the end of the tale.

As I continued listening to Janaki’s stories of Rom’s childhood, how he setup the croc bank, the initial challenges they faced, their adventures in the wild across India and the settling down hiccups at the farm, I couldn’t help but notice a shift in how I saw life outside the city. Gone was the worry-wart who jumped out of her skin at every boo, instead I found myself making peace with all that was disturbing me. Life on a farm would be challenging and some things would be out of my control but that was all a part to living on or off the land.

Janaki lost one of her dogs to a leopard and almost lost a second too. It must have hurt to lose a dog but she learnt some invaluable lessons. And it wasn’t just leopards, there were the snakes to account for too. Being over protective isn’t the answer I learned, I had to think smart and plan ahead.

As the book came to an end I was wishing pages would add themselves, I wanted to hear more about Janaki and Rom’s life. But I guess for now I have to settle for keeping her book within arms reach and re-reading it. That is until I can meet this couple whose lives are a fairytale albeit not the fairy kind, and I’m looking forward to it. (As a kid I think I must have met Rom since Dad took us often to the Croc Bank but I guess I was too little to remember him.) Time to make a trip to Madras and the Croc Bank again.

Let me reinstate and revise what I started this review with –  Janaki Lenin’s ‘My Husband and Other Animals’ did not meet expectations… It exceeded them!

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

A couple of weeks back I made Mysore Rasam with Drumsticks and we enjoyed it. Che especially since he likes the flavour of drumsticks but not the vegetable. So when Vidya commented and told me to try out the brinjal version, I thought why not. After all, brinjal is another vegetable Che doesn’t like

Mysore Rasam with Brinjal

Ingredients -
(Serves 4 cups)
1/2 cup red gram dhal
1 lime size ball of tamarind
2 cups water
2 small size brinjals
1/8 teaspoon of asafoetida
salt to taste
curry leaves
coriander leaves
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoon bengal gram dhal
6 red chillies pinched into two
6-8 raw peppers (green or dried)
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon ghee
3 teaspoon gingelly oil

Method -
1. Wash and cut brinjals into medium size cubes.

2. Wash and cook dal in a cooker with a little salt and turmeric until very soft.

3. Soak tamarind in warm water. Strain out pulp.

4. Heat 2 tsp oil and fry brinjals until golden brown. Remove from oil and keep aside.

5. In the remaining oil fry coriander seeds, bengal gram and 4 red chillies. Remove from oil and powder fine along with pepper.

6. Drain water from dhal and keep aside. Mash the dhal.

7. In a vessel add the tamarind pulp to two cups of water. Add asafoetida, salt to taste, the fried brinjals and a few bruised curry leaves. Cover and allow the mixture to boil.

8. Add mashed dhal to boiling tamarind water and stir well. Cover and boil for a few minutes before adding the dhal water. Add more water if needed to make it 4 cups quantity. 

9. Bring to a boil again and after a couple of minutes remove from fire.

10. Add the chilli and coriander powder and mix well.

11. Heat 1 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of ghee and fry mustard, 2 red chillies and curry leaves.

12. Pour over the rasam.

13. Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

What other veggies have you tried for rasams? Any recommendations?

Title: Govinda
Author: Krishna Udayasankar
Paperback: 458 pages
Publisher: Hachette India (July 2012)
Genre: Mythology
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Aryavarta – the ancient realm of the noble.
For generations, the Firstborn dynasty of scholar-sages, descendants of Vasishta Varuni and protectors of the Divine Order on earth, has dominated here. For just as long, the Angirasa family of Firewrights, weapon-makers to the kings and master inventors, has defied them. In the aftermath of the centuries-long conflict between the two orders, the once-united empire of Aryavarta lies splintered, a shadow of its former glorious self.

Now, the last Secret Keeper of the Firewrights is dead, killed by a violent hand, and the battle for supreme power in the empire is about to begin.

As mighty powers hurtle towards a bloody conflict, Govinda Shauri, cowherd-turned-prince and now Commander of the armies of Dwaraka, must use all his cunning to counter deception and treachery if he is to protect his people and those whom he loves.

But who holds the key to the fantastic and startling knowledge of the Firewrights, which in the wrong hands will bring doom upon the empire? And does Govinda have it in him to confront the dark secrets of his past and discover the true meaning of being Arya, of being noble?

My Review:

Cover: Nothing great but not so bad either.

Paper and font: Smell-Worthy with a print that is easy on the eyes.

Readability, language: Reads well and language is easy on the mind.

Why did I choose this book: I couldn’t let another perspective to the Mahabharata pass me by.

I grew up to the Mahabharata on TV but as time went by I started to question the epic as I knew it. Then last year I read ‘The Palace of Illusions’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and saw the epic in new light from Panchaali’s perspective. When I came across Krishna Udayasankar’s ‘Govinda’ I couldn’t give another perspective a miss. A story about a Govinda who does not have any super powers was very compelling.

The main characters are the usual Mahabharata ones, only here Krishna is more predominant in ‘Govinda’. Krishna Udayasankar’s book gives a deeper inside into the enigma of Krishna, a more real and practical perspective compared to the usual magical one. Seeing him as a man and understanding the reasons behind his magic made the Mahabharata so much more believable as an epic.

Udayasankar also has some very thought provoking takes on incidents and people of the Mahabharata – the man Panchaali truly loved, how she landed up with Dharma even though she had been won by Partha, the kind of man Dharma really was and the truth behind Dhulyodhana’s intentions and motivations, and the lead up to Dharma becoming Emperor and real people and reasons behind why he became emperor.

Even though it is the same old Mahabharata with the same core story, Udayasankar couldn’t have made it more different with her explanations and reasoning behind plots and situations. Krishna, his intentions, his mind , his heart and just why he did certain things are finally explained in a light and a world I could believe.

Udayasankar has done a good job of describing the kingdoms of those times, the terrain, the places, the people and their lives. Dwaraka does feel like utopia where everyone is happy and content. Indraprastha the mirror of Indra’s palace as it is supposed to be in the epic.

What I loved best was the premise that these men were not Gods but only human in all they did. Udayasankar knows her history well and her research shows. It was an enjoyable retelling of the great epic of India the Mahabharata and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series, I just the author doesn’t take too long.

Definitely a book to read if you want a different perspective to the epic we all grew up too!

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

Title: The Accidental Apprentice
Author: Vikas Swarup
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 31st 2013)
Genre: Mystery
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
Life pivots on a few key moments. This is one of them.

Sapna Sinha works in an electronics store in downtown Delhi. She hates her job, but she is ambitious and determined to succeed, and she knows without the money she brings in, her family won’t be able to survive. Little does she know it but her life is about to change forever.

As she leaves the shop on her lunch break one day, she is approached by a man who claims to be CEO of one of India’s biggest companies. He tells her he is looking for an heir for his business empire. And that he has decided it should be her.

There are just seven tests she must pass. And then the biggest lottery ticket of all time will be hers.

My Review:

Note: Thanks to the guys at MySmartPrice for offering me this book to review

Cover: Decent…

Paper and font: Smell-Worthy! And font is easy on the eyes.

Readability, language: : The font size and print is great with just the right tint of ivory to make it an easy, fun read.

Why did I choose this book: Missed the first, couldn’t miss this one ;P

Like a lot of other people I have seen Slumdog Millionaire the movie but have not read Q&A, the book it was based on. Somehow after the movie I never got down to reading the book even though Che recommended it and said it was way better than the movie. So, when I came across Vikas Swarup’s new book The Accidental Apprentice I figured I better read it before it becomes a movie.

Sinha is a middle class salesgirl working hard to make ends meet. Being the bread winner of the family she tries hard to fulfill her mothers needs and sisters demands without losing her sanity. Then one day she meets Mr. Vinay Mohan Acharya who wants to make her his company’s CEO, the only condition is that she pass 7 life tests. Initially Sapna shrugs him off, after all who approaches a random stranger and makes this kind of offer. But life’s cruelly dealt hand has Sapna go back to him within days to give his tests a try and the rest is the story.

The Accidental Apprentice has a host of characters that are recognisable from our daily lives. The hard working elder sister, the pretty petty younger sister, the next door sweetheart, the quaint quirky neighbour Aunt, and last but not the least the business brothers who remind me of the Ambanis. I found myself smiling, egging on, rejoicing and sympathising with most characters through the book.

Set in Delhi, it’s only fitting that there is a hunger strike with flavours of Anna Hazare that goes viral on social media, among other situations Sapna finds herself in, as Swarup talks about some of the current issues and news in India as the life tests promised unravel.

I enjoyed the pace and speed of the book. It reads easy and fast with being difficult to put down. I was constantly wondering what would come next and was regularly surprised through the book.

Suitable for YA and upwards, it’s a must read. An adventure and thriller combined, it’s a fun one time read that surprises at many a moment.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

On Pongal day I was looking to make a nice simple traditional meal that wasn’t the usual sambar rice. Flipping pages I noticed the recipe of buttermilk sambar. As I glanced though it I thought it would be a more kuzhambu, but it wasn’t. It did seem like a sambar recipe, so decided to try it. It surprised me by tasting really good; when you think buttermilk sambar, you don’t think it’d be this tasty. (Sorry about the picture, I forgot to click before eating and that’s what the leftovers looked like )

Buttermilk Sambar

Ingredients -
(Serves 4)
3/4th cup red gram dhal
1 cup sour buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
4-6 red chillies pinched into two (based in spiciness)
4 green chillies
1/2 inch piece ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
few curry leaves
some coriander leaves
gingelly oil 3 teaspoons
salt to taste
3 medium size potatoes for seasonings*

*seasonings – I used potato but you could also use drumstick, brinjal, lady’s finger, chow chow and ash-gourds. Most other vegetables don’t go well with curd/buttermilk. Make sure to either boil or fry the vegetables before you add them to the sambar.

Method -

1. Boil the dhal in a cooker with a pinch of salt until it’s very soft. You can boil the potatoes along with the dhal.

2. Heat oil in a vessel. When the oil is hot add mustard, fenugreek, red chillies and green chillies. Add ginger and curry leaves when mustard starts to splutter and green chillies are scalded.

3. Sort the curry leaves quickly and add the buttermilk.

4. Add the seasonings. If you are using potatoes though, don’t add them just yet.

5. Drain the water from the dhal and add it to the buttermilk in the vessel. Mash the cooked dhal partially.

6. When the buttermilk boils add the dhal mash and salt to taste, mix well and let it come to a boil again while occasionally stirring.

7. Let it boil for a couple of moments, then remove from fire.

8. Chop some coriander and keep aside for garnishing.

9. Peel boiled potatoes and chop into medium sized cubes. You can also cut them smaller or larger based on what you prefer.

10. Deep fry the potatoes until they are golden brown. Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Keep aside.

11. Garnish the buttermilk sambar with potatoes and coriander before serving.

Have you made buttermilk sambar before? Have a different recipe or any tips for me?

Title: A Degree In Death
Author: Ruby Gupta
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Alchemy Publishers (2012)
Genre: Mystery
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
The midnight murder of a student in the sleepy town of Dehradun rouses everyone with suspicion and alarm. Violence is incomprehensible in this institute located at the foothills of the Himalayas. With no clues or suspects, the police are unable to catch the killer.

Professor Shantanu Bose, an eminent nano-expert and Dean of Research and Development is deeply troubled at this havoc caused to his institute. Determined to bring back the peaceful academic environment of the campus, he begins his own investigation.

Fear increases as another dead body turns up. Soon the professor finds himself in grave danger. Yet, he persists with his inquiry; and discovers that the truth is more startling than what anyone could have imagined…

My Review:

Note: Thanks to the guys at MySmartPrice for offering me this book to review

Cover: So so!

Paper and font: The font was eye-friendly but the paper is ordinary. Nothing great.

Readability, language: : The language is easy in the mind and the book reads fast.

Why did I choose this book: I had found the blurb interesting and since I’ve been to Dehradun the location had me interested too.

MIST is an engineering college in Dehradun where life is rolling along as normal with the usual skirmishes of students and teachers. That is until there is a sucide in the boys hostel. On investigation it is revealed that the boy hadn’t committed suicide, he had been murdered. While the management is scrambling to maintain order among students and reduce bad publicity, Professor Shantanu Bose who considers himself a bit of a detective starts to investigate the murder. Soon more deaths follow and it becomes imperative to find the culprit soon.

Professor Shantanu reminded me of Bomkesh Bakshi, a detective I grew up watching on TV. A simple man who has an objective and logical mind-set, Professor Shantanu follows each lead in the case trying to fill in the blanks and complete the big picture. He is helped by students and faculty who also believe they have the answer to the case.

There is the usual mix of people who are scared and don’t want to have anything to do with the murders and there are also those who believe they will be the ones to solve the case and catch the murderer. But as they get closer to the answer they get eliminated and the answer continues to elude the Professor.

Set in Dehradun, a quite retirement town, the furor caused by the murder is understandable. The city is shocked and shaken as the murders continue. Gupta captures the essence of the city and its landscapes well and I could see it all in my minds-eye as the story unfolded.

A lot of research has gone into the book as Gupta talks about Tibet, the Dalai Lama and Tibetans taking refuge in Dehradun. I got a better understanding of the political and world situation in regard to Tibet as I read the book.

The layout of the book could have been better though, the paragraphs flowed into each other and the breaks between situations and locations was not distinct. I had a lot of confusing moments in the book as I tried to figure where one act ended and the next started.

If you are into mysteries and thrillers this is definitely a good book to read.

Buy On: FlipKart

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

I wanted to make sambar but the only sambar powders I have at home are the ready made ones we don’t like much and I didn’t have the time to make a new batch of powder so I was looking for a sambar that didn’t need sambhar powder.

Seasoned Sambar

Ingredients -
(Serves 4)
3/4 cup red gram dhal
1 lime size ball of tamarind
2 carrots sliced*
5 french beans chopped in inch size pieces
6 red chillies pinched into two
1/4 teaspoon fenugeek seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard
one pinch asafoetida
2 green chillies
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons gingelly oil
curry leaves
coriander leaves
salt to taste

*Seasonings – Instead of carrot and beans, you can also use – brinjal, drumstick, lady’s finger, chow chow, pumpkin, runner beans, etc.

Method -

1. Cook the dhal in a cooker with a pinch of salt, turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon gingelly oil until soft.

2. Soak tamarind in warm water. Strain the pulp.

3. Heat the rest of the oil in a vessel and fry the mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves and red chillies until brown but not burned.

4. Add the asafoetida and green chillies. (If you like green chilly spice make a slit in the chillies.) Add a few bruised curry leaves.

5. Add carrots and beans and sort before adding tamarind water to the fried spices.

6. Add salt.

7. When vegetables are cooked, mash the dhal and add it into the vessel. Mix well and bring to a boil.

8. Boil for a few minutes and remove from fire.

9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Do you know any other recipes to make sambar without sambar powder?

Title: Black Hills
Author: Nora Roberts
Paperback: 472 pages
Publisher: Putnam (July 7th 2009)
Genre: Romance
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
A summer at his grandparents’ South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan’s idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he’s discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn’t as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, with Coop’s annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker’s body.

As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her aspiration of becoming a wildlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father’s demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most.

Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. Now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey.

My Review:

I’ve been reading a lot of Indian authors lately hence thought I’d take a break and read a Nora Roberts. Looking around at the library I came across one of her recent books – Black Hills. The premise sounded interesting, and it was about the big cats so I picked it up. The story is about Lillian and Cooper who become friends as children and grow up together over the years. Teenage love blossoms but slides away as they both follow their dreams and part ways. Years later, Cooper finds his way back to his grandparents farm and his life in South Dakota while Lillian has fulfilled her dream of setting up a refuge for wild animals where she cares and rehabilitates them. The plot thickens as animals get killed and people go missing in the hills. Pretty soon it becomes clear that Lillian is the target and all of this is being done to threaten her.

The characters were believable enough but nothing really stood out for me about them. There is of course the hero and heroine – Cooper and Lillian. But aside from them there are a lot of other characters – Joe and Jenna (Lillian’s parents), Sam and Lucy (Coopers Grandparents), Farley, Tansy, Brad, Matt, Eric and a few others who are friends of Coop and Lil or work with them. Not to forget the villian – Ethan Howe. There are moments when you can immediately associate with the characters but its off and on through the book.

It was the setting of the book that drew me to it and that has been done well. Roberts describes the hills, it’s trails, the farms and the land well and I could see it all in my minds eye as the book progressed. I’ve never been to South Dakota but if the book is true it must be beautiful. Roberts has done a good job of describing forests and the trails through it.

Lillian is in love with the cougar who she sees as her spirit guide and the book has lots of anecdotes and information about the various big cats. I did learn a few things about them and the differences between them too. From the cat perspective the book does seem well researched. The book also raises questions about how natural a refuge can be, after-all an enclosure is a cage even though it is a large natural enclosure. But then again nothing can replace the wild and in a refuge you can only do so much. Roberts talks about all that the animals need to keep them safe and healthy and why sometimes enclosures are needed to be able to do that.

The best bit of the book for me (if you haven’t realised it already) were the animals. But that was also its drawback, as everything else seemed lost in it. The story plays out well almost until the last 50-100 pages. The villian is depicted well and you keep wondering about the showdown at the end. Towards the latter half of the book you can almost guess the end but when it does come it’s quick and short.

If I had to change one thing in the book, I’d make the showdown longer and more dramatic. As it is, it’s almost as if the witer after 400 pages got tired and just tied it all up to finish the book. The end was disappointing!

Considering the language I’d say this is a book for young adults and above but worth only one read. Definitely not worth a re-read.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

I big drawback I stumbled upon was that Part one of Samaithu Par does not have a recipe to make rasam powder. This recipe is in book two and most recipes in book one for rasam need rasam powder. So I had to find a rasam that did not need rasam powder. Hence Mysore Rasam and to add the twist – drumstick.

Drumstick Mysore Rasam

Ingredients -
(Serves 4 cups)
1/2 cup red gram dhal
1 lime size ball of tamarind
2 cups water
2-3 drumsticks
a pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
curry leaves
coriander leaves
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoon bengal gram dhal
8 red chillies pinched into two
5-6 raw peppers (green or dried)
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon ghee
2 teaspoon gingelly oil

Method -

1. Wash and cut drumsticks into long pieces and cook along with the dhal and a pinch of salt in a cooker until soft.

2. Soak tamarind in warm water. Strain out pulp.

3. Heat the oil and fry coriander seeds, bengal gram and 6 red chillies. Remove from oil and powder fine along with pepper.

4. Remove drumsticks from dhal and scrape out the pulp from the boiled drumsticks and keep aside.

5. Drain water from dhal and keep aside. Mash the dhal.

6. In a vessel add the tamarind pulp to two cups of water. Add asafoetida, salt to taste, the drumstick pulp and a few bruised curry leaves. Allow the mixture to boil.

7. Add mashed dhal to boiling tamarind water and stir well. When it boils again add the dhal water.

8. Bring to a boil again and after a couple of minutes remove from fire.

9. Add the chilli and coriander powder and mix well.

10. To the oil remaining from the first time, add ghee and fry mustard, 2 red chillies and curry leaves.

11. Pour over the rasam to garnish along with chopped coriander leaves.

Note: I hadn’t mashed the drumstick and also had used just one. You need more than one to have a prominent flavour and mashing the pulp will help.

What is the major difference between the usual rasam and the Mysore rasam? I don’t see a big difference… Do you know?

Thanks to the tick problem I had (or rather the dogs had) and the research I did to find home remedies I came across alot of remedies for fleas too. Actually a lot more on fleas than ticks. I don’t have a flea problem right now and I live in an apartment but we won’t be here forever and with a yard may come problems so I thought I’d put them together here for future reference.

Please note that I haven’t tried any of the below solutions for fleas and don’t vouch for any as of now. If and when I use them, I’ll update the post. All these remedies are not my invention and have been collated from the internet. I don’t take any responsibilty for their correctness or safety.

I have categorised the tips into methods used on dogs, doggy areas, house and yard. Hope you find it helpful.

Tips and Tricks for Fleas

Dogs -

1. Mix approximately 2 tablespoons of neem oil and 4 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in 500ml water. Shake well and long to emulsify the oil. Spray dogs with the mix to deter/kill fleas. You can also spray the walls, carpets and curtains with the mixture so there is no place for fleas to hide. There may be a strong smell of neem in the room after use but airing out the room should sort that out.
2. Shampoo your dog with any shampoo (dog or human) and lather well. Let the shampoo stay on the dog for 5 mins. The water and shampoo suffocates the fleas and kills any visible fleas. Repeat 2 times a week if fleas are very bad until they are gone because this method does not kill flea eggs.
3. Alot of people seem to be recommending a dish detergent called Dawn. Not sure what the Indian equivalent is. However if detergent is used you’ll need to use a moisturizer afterwards to replenish the skin.
4. Baby oil is a natural anti-bug application that can also be used on humans for same purpose. Rub LITTLE baby oil all over the coat, mainly center and back. Its great for the skin too if done in small quantities (too much would burn them in the sun).
5. Lavender is a natural insect repellent & killer. You could use a lavender scented spray or lavender oil and water mixture to keep fleas away.
6. You need 8 oz apple cider vinegar, 4 oz warm water, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Mix dry ingredients first, then slowly add to the wet as the vinegar and baking soda will react slightly. Spay on the dog but be careful not to get it in the dogs eyes. You can also spray the dog’s area and bedding.
7. Add as much apple cider vinegar to pets water as you can without them noticing the taste. It makes the dogs body slightly acidic and the fleas don’t like it.
8. In a small spray bottle mix 2 capfuls of tea tree oil, 2 capfuls of lemongrass oil and fill it with water. Spay the dogs with it. The Fleas should die almost immediately.
9. Cut 2 lemons in to 4ths and boil in a pan with about 3 -4 cups of water for 30 min. Let cool, then strain. Use a clean sponge to lightly cover your dog in the lemon juice. Do this every 12 hours.
10. Several lemons boiled in water with a few teaspoons of salt. Once cooled, add vinegar to this and sprayed dogs coats as solidly as they allow, then leave to dry before bathing. Use the peels of the lemons from the presoak to put under their bedding to help keep the fleas out.
11. You can dip(or sponge) your dog in a Permethrin-10 mixture. This is found on Amazon for about $8.00. One application will last about 3-4 weeks. Will keep fleas and ticks off the animal.

Doggy Things -

1. Dog beds can be thrown into the washer with normal soap and in the rinse cycle add in 1 cup of pure white vinegar then dry like normal.
2. A solution of 1/2 cup white vinegar with a 1/2 cup lemon juice can be sprayed on furniture and the dog kennel making sure that you lift up the cushions and get it into the cracks because the fleas hide there. If can make a full bottle if you like just remember to use the same proportions as you fill up the bottle and don’t use water to top it off, as it just dilutes the solution.

In the House –

1. The number one tip is vacuuming. Vacuum consistently and regularly making sure to empty out the bag every time after you are done to get rid of all the fleas you’ve caught. All corners are important as thats where ticks and fleas hide so lift all cushions and beds and go into every corner. Before putting the bag back spray it down with a fipronil spray or apple cider vinegar to kill any fleas or larvae left behind.
2. You can use dry citrus peals, of any kind, break them up and scatter them all over the house and yard over a few day’s time. Take some more citrus peel and put into the blender, filling it with water and making a spray liquid. (You can also boil a pot of water, then turn off heat and put in a whole sliced lemon and cover it. Let sit over night to seep.) Bottle it and spray the dogs, (not good to spray cats directly), the carpet, the dogs’ bedding, and the yard where the dogs hang out. Remember to do a test area first as some dogs are allergic to citrus. The fleas hate citrus and disappear within a week. If done in the beginning of summer if should keep the house in the clear for the year.
3. After vacuuming the house, mop the floors with a gallon warm water, 20 drops of citronella oil, 10 drops of tea tree oil, 10 drops of lemongrass oil and 5 drops of geranium oil. It seems to work on fleas, ticks and mosquitoes too and the house smells amazingly fresh. You can use this solution for mopping once a week.
4. Take fresh sprigs of lavender, add some water and heat to a boil then cool. Put it in a spray bottle with lemon juice and spray everywhere.
5. In a spray bottle make a solution containing 5 teaspoons salt, ¼ cup vinegar and the rest water to spray under sofa cushions. Remember to let the treated area dry before replacing the cushions. Works on fleas and other crawlers like ticks.
6. Put out some night lights and plug them in close to the floor. Then take a bowl with warm water and a bit of dish soap (to break the surface tension of the water) and place it under the lights. The fleas get attracted to the light and jump right in to the water and drown. Plus it is safe to leave out at all times. You can also use cheap solor paneled garden lights that can be immersed in the tray of water or replace the water tray with a sticky pad (not so great with dogs around though).
7. To remove fleas from clothes and bedding, bag the clothes and bedding in storage vacuum bags and take out all the air, then in time submerge the clothes in water and hot wash them, put them back in bags till you are sure all the fleas have gone.
8. For the carpet take regular table salt and sprinkle a good amount all over the floor. Don’t be stingy, for a 15′/15′ bedroom you’ll need about one kg of salt. Leave it there for at least 24 hours for a heavy infestation. Then vacuum it off. Repeat it at least 3 times a month for the first 3 months and then after that once a month works great.
9. Mix 1 cup borax, 1 cup baking soda, and 1 cup table salt. Sprinkle evenly as possible on carpet, area rugs, etc. Leave overnight and vacuum well the next day. Repeat within 30 days, then as needed. Maybe twice in warm/hot months. You can even mix a large equal batch and save in plastic container, large salt shaker, or what is best for you. Its Non toxic and best done early in flea season.
10. Shampoo the carpet with a mix of 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup white vinegar in the carpet cleaner. Vinegar will neutralize any accidental urine accidents and the salt dehydrates any creepy crawler including ticks & fleas.
11. Getting rid of fleas is a two step process: vacuuming and spraying. Use a fresh vacuum bag so that air flow will not be restricted by debris collected by earlier vacuuming. Fill a small home & garden sprayer with 1 gallon vinegar, ½ gallon water, 16 oz lemon juice and 8 oz of witch hazel. After vacuuming, spray vinegar mixture using a heavy spray (not a stream however). Spray carpets, sofas, chairs, human and pet bedding, window sills, and bare floors. If you have a bad infestation, repeat every 12 hours for two days. When fleas are barely noticeably, repeat every 3 days. After fleas are gone, repeat once every week until flea season is over. If you start treatment at beginning of flea season, you will probably not need to do this more than once a week for the whole season.
12. Food grade Diatomaceous Earth is what you need for ticks and fleas. It is safe and is used in silos as an insect treatment for food storage. Sprinkle generously on the carpet and let it stay several days since nothing kills fleas in its cocoon and a new hatching occurs only every 3 to 5 days. Vaccum it off and repeat for bad infestations.
13. Another remedy for indoor fleas is borax. Get a box of cheap laundry borax and sprinkle it evenly on carpet and leave for a few days then vacuum. For a bad infestation sprinkle again and leave for a few days then vacuum again, then sprinkle again and leave for a week then vacuum, and repeat until you are satisfied the fleas are gone. Borax dries out the fleas, and there’s no poison involved. It is effective on a lot of other bugs.
14. Spay the house lightly with Ultracide IGR (found on Amazon for about $20) The IGR is a growth inhibitor which will kill fleas instantly and cause mutations in the eggs, so they won’t hatch. It lasts for nearly 120 days. Do it in the spring, once and it’s good for the year. It’s very bad to inhale, so have your family leave for a day when you do this.
15. Boric acid is not poisonous and is mined from the Mojave Desert. It is the most economical and effective pest control on earth. It kills everything from ants to termites and everything in between! It is safe to use around children. It is used for diaper rash, eye wash and salves, etc.

In The Yard –

1. Sprinkle dry washing powders around the yard to deter fleas. The kind of powder does not matter.
2. Spread food grade “Diatomaceous Earth in all different areas of the lawn on a non-windy day, and within 48 hours you have no more ticks or fleas. Wear a mask to prevent breathing the dust while spreading. You can even fill it in an old sock and pat it around the house. You can also mix 1/2 cup of DE, with 1 tablespoon of dish washing soap, into a gallon of water. Use a pump sprayer and spray the lawn.
3. You could use beneficial nematodes that you can get from a garden center, that eat flea larvae. You have to mix the package in water and let that sit for awhile, then pour it out in the yard, and keep wet for awhile. Best done when a large rain is expected, so you don’t have to keep wetting it. It may not show results immediately but the next flea season there should be no fleas.
4. Buy a quart of Permethrin SFR for about $30 on Amazon. Mix 2-3 tablespoons per gallon of water in a yard sprayer and spray the grass and plants around your house. (note that this is the same spray that they use for an ‘eve and perimeter’ spray that usually costs approx. $300) you can also spray the permethrin on your house eves and windows, it will kill wasps, spiders, roaches, and basically anything that crawls. Just keep your kids and animals out of it till it dries.
5. You can use left over tobacco ‘dust’ from a tobacco plant. All you need is a spreader (grass, fertilizer) and a vehicle/trailer to haul the dust home. You’ll have to do it about once a month, but if you start noticing the bugs again, spread more. Don’t spread it too thick, as the tobacco is ‘hot’ and will burn the grass. If you don’t spread it too thick, it fertilizes the grass. The the little creatures disappear, because it ‘burns’ them, it doesn’t necessarily kill them, but it deters them from coming into your yard. Works on most creepy crawlies.

Have you had a problem with fleas? Any recommendations and home remedies I can add to this list?

Photo credit: St. Ives Veterinary Surgery

[I also came across a lot of home remedies on fleas. You can see the list here.]

In the last three years with the dogs I’ve noticed that every time there is a peak in heat there is a sudden spurt in ticks. When they live indoors this isn’t a factor to worry about as they aren’t exposed to the ticks much. They don’t pick them up as the ticks aren’t in their environment. My dogs don’t walk on the roads much, they get most of their exercise on the terrace as we have a large pack of strays outside. But they do pick them up when walked outside as we have a lot of empty grass filled plots around our apartment and that’s where the blaady ticks hangout.

The other place they pick them up is at the boarding where they live outdoors with all the other dogs. In the first week of January this year there was mild heat wave in Bangalore and as always there was the spike in ticks. Only this time it wasn’t the spidery type but the small dot type that is painful to spot and hell to get rid off. Usually they get bathed and treated before they leave the boarding but this time, we couldn’t do the usual and I had a fight on my hands.

The most common ticks found in urban India is the genus Rhipicephalus sanguineus also called brown dog tick followed by the more rural Haemaphysalis. Ticks are very difficult to identify and differentiate with the naked eye. The best method is to see their mandibles (mouths) under a microscope. I did a lot of reading to try and identify the tick we had found but it seems almost impossible with out expert help. So let me just describe them. There are two types of ticks I’ve seen until now. One is a spider looking kind with the legs kindof spread away from the body and then this one which looks like a small mustard seed with the legs almost invisible under it.

This was the first time I had seen these small guys, I usually come across the spider kind and the fipronil spray works just fine to get rid of them. Also I’ve never seen them in large numbers on the dogs. But these small guys are like dots in their larva stage (I guess) and almost impossible to see. Then when they start falling they are just a bit bigger than a mustard seed and still difficult to spot, especially on a dark coat dogs. I’ve saved a few specimens just in case it’s need for reference ever again.

This tick issue happening about the same time as the really bad migraines was a real uphill fight. One sure-shot method to get rid of ticks is neem oil but its a messy business and takes a fair bit of time. And with three dogs its a lot of time, so I was looking for other solutions. Here’s what I did with the dogs and at home and it has helped so far. Its been three weeks and no sign of ticks yet but I guess I’ll have to wait a couple of cycles before I’ll know for sure.

We sprayed them down with Fipronil 0.25% spray as soon as we got home. I then combed them down with a tick/flea comb and checked ears and paws carefully. Senti my 3 year old wire-dach had loads of them on his ears. I then started combing and checking twice a day for the next week, once in the morning and once in the evening, removing as many ticks as I could. We have some lavender beeswax at home and since lavender repels ticks, I rubbed the dogs down with it after combing for two days. The house also got swept twice a day with special attention to corners and cupboards. Garbage was thrown out immediately after cleaning to get rid of any ticks in the dust.

Three days later I was still seeing a fair number of ticks, so we mixed equal proportions of neem oil and coconut oil and soaked the dogs coats with it. Neem oil is quite thick so we thinned it down to ease in application. We did this on the terrace to avoid getting the house all messy and the ticks dropping inside the house. After about 15-30 minutes we took each dog separately and gave them a bath with a mix of mild olive shampoo, ketochlor and savlon lathered well. Usually neem oil is a pain to wash off but I think the mixing helped us get it off their coats easily. Some traces of oil will remain and since the oils are good for the dogs coats, we left it be. In combing it will spread out in the coat and will help in keeping the ticks off. Only after the bath were they allowed to roam the house again.

I also vacuumed the entire house making sure to go into every nook and cranny, doing one room at a time thoroughly. We have tile edging along our walls so I made sure to vacuum the edges all along the house floors too. Ticks love corners so those have to be done carefully to get them out. I then emptied the dust bag immediately, away from the house and sprayed some fipronil spray on it before putting the bag back in.

Two days later I saw a big tick again so we sprayed the dogs well with Fipronil 0.25% spray. Haven’t seen any ticks since then in a week. They are due for a another spraying down in a couple of days to match the two week tick cycle.

I have been very careful about the house too. The bed in the hall got sunned and kept away, we have only bean bags in the hall where the dogs are now. Makes it easier to clean and spot ticks. My maid has clear instructions to clean diligently but to make sure I do some extra sweeping myself. I vacuum once a week. Initially I did a mop of 2 capfuls of synthetic vinegar, 2 tablespoons of crystal salt and a capful of savlon in 3/4 bucket of water regularly. I alternated this with the regular everyday mop I was doing from before. Over time I am now doing a vinegar, salt and savlon mop only once in 5 days. The vinegar and salt is supposed to kill ticks. In the initial days I did find a number of dead ticks on the floor.

All seems good as of now but I’m being vigilant. I’ve seen infestations before and I definitely don’t want one on my dogs or in my house. I’ll keep you posted on how things go.

Here are a few tips I came across on the internet while searching for home remedies. I haven’t tried any of them so am just listing it here for future reference. I can’t vouch of any of them as of now.

1. Mix approximately 2 tablespoons of neem oil and 4 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in 500ml water. Shake well and long to emulsify the oil. Spray dogs with the mix to deter/kill ticks and fleas. You can also spray the walls, carpets and curtains with the mixture so there is no place for ticks/fleas to hide. There may be a strong smell of neem in the room after use but airing out the room should sort that out.
2. Use a cedar oil spray. Spray once a day if you go out into tick areas regularly. Spray them directly or on palm to rub around the face and tummy area. They should pick up less ticks.
3. Mix 10 parts witch hazel and 1 part lemon eucalyptus oil in a spray bottle. Spray your pet and you down.It is a deterrant to ticks.
4. Mix 10 drops of rose geranium oil, 15 drops tea tree essential oil, 15 drops lavender essential oil, 10 drops cedarwood essential oil, 10 drops lemon eucalyptus oil and 4 oz. Distilled or filtered water” in a spray bottle and spray the dogs regualrly to avoid ticks.
5. A mix of 1 cup Avon Skin-So-Soft, 1 cup Water, 1 tablespoon Lemon Eucalyptus oil and 2-3 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar sprayed on dogs repelling ticks. It lasts only a couple hours though so you have to keep spraying.
6. You can dip(or sponge) your dog in a Permethrin-10 mixture or a product containing Permethrin. This is found on Amazon for about $8.00. One application will last about 3-4 weeks. Will keep ticks off the animal.
7. For horses and cattle mix 2 oz 10% Permethrin Concentrate ( available at countrysupply.com or any tack store), 1 oz Citronella Oil ( cheap on ebay but can be found at any natural/organic store), 4 oz Apple Cider Vinegar (any grocery store), a few drops of rosemary oil and fill a 1 Quart sprayer the rest of the way up with water along with the above. Be sure to always shake sprayer before applying as this activates the Permethrin.

Do you have any remedies for ticks? Ways and tricks to keep them out of the house and off dogs? Please do let me know in the comments.

I also came across a lot of home remedies on fleas. You can see the list here.

Photo Credit: The Outdoor Type

A couple of days before we were leaving for Tour of Nilgiris I heard from Sakina the Digital Marketing Manager at The Four Fountains Spa. She offered me an hour’s free package at the spa to experience it and review it on my blog. The deal sounded good to me but I still asked her if the offer holds in the case of a truthful review. She wanted nothing else so, of course I said yes, I’d do it.

I haven’t been to a lot of spas and know zilch about them. My first spa experience was at Angsana in UB City a few years back and I came away worse than I went in. Had a actual visible muscle lump in my shoulder for a week and I paid a bomb for it! That experience put me off spas and until we went to Thailand last year I hadn’t been near any spa. But after TfN the idea of a spa was really tempting and then Che agreed to come along so there I found myself talking to Sakina and booking a slot.

We went to the branch of the Four Fountains Spa in Jayanagar in the morning on a weekday. There was just one person waiting so we sat down and started to browse through the list of therapies they had. We weren’t waiting long before Dr. Devishri came to greet us and asked us to fill up some information forms. She followed that up by asking us questions about our life and lifestyle to assess our stress levels. Turns out I’m more stressed than Che

Based on our stress levels and type of lifestyle Dr. Devishri recommended a Swedish Massage for Che and the Head-Neck-Shoulder Massage and Foot Reflexology for me. But after the battering of the sun and mountains on my face through TfN I felt a facial was due so, I added a Healing Facial to my list of treatments.

I was introduced to Arunli my masseuse who led me to my room. At the Four Fountains Spa the massages are gender specific, i.e. men will only have male masseuses and women will have female masseuses. Arunli asked me to change into disposable undergarments that were provided and locked my valuables away into a locker. Then the massage started.

I don’t remember much after this other than a feeling of bliss as Arunli worked my scalp, head, neck and shoulders. The right pressure and fluid movements had me in a zone of peace in no time. By the time she was ready to work my feet, I was ready to fall into a soft calming sleep. After a hot bath where I washed off all the oil (atleast most of it), she got started on my face slowing cleaning and rubbing away all the smudges made by the sun. My face felt my own after a long time.

An hour and a half later I walked out into the reception feeling all shiny and new. I could feel all my muscles now but in a nice way. I looked across at Che and we shared that smile that says, oh baby, that was good! I hadn’t had this good a spa experience ever. But it didn’t end here, we still had the bill for Che to come.

But before the bill Dr. Devishri sat us down and gave us individual prescription booklets where she marked specific diets, lifestyle changes and exercises she recommended for us to reduce stress in our lives. She also told us how often she thought we needed massage therapy. With the booklet we also got a guide to stress-free living. I must say I was amazed by the extra mile they were going for customers.

Finally we got the bill. And it wasn’t much. I ain’t saying its cheap but it not as expensive as most other spas. Che’s Swedish Massage with an upgrade of oil and steam for over an hour and a half cost us less than 2K. That’s cost effective and great value for money!

I definitely recommend the Four Fountains Spa if you are looking for some massage therapy.

Now here’s the bonus. You can also get a free massage, just read on for details to take part in the contest and a chance to win that free massage.

The guys at Four Fountains Spa have offered free spa vouchers to three winners here on my blog. The contest starts on 04/02/2013 and closes on 17/02/2013.
To participate all you have to do is answer a question for the first prize which is a Gift Voucher for a 1 hour full-body massage. There are also two half hour partial-body massages to be won through a raffle draw that you can enter through twitter and facebook. You can make additional entries everyday for the raffle i.e. you can make upto a total of 20 entries!

Remember you are NOT limited to one entry!

A little bit about The Four Fountains Spa. They are India’s largest chain of affordable day spas with 17 conveniently located spas across 8 cities of India where therapies include over 20 body massages, body polishes, body wraps and facials. They are currently located in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Goa, and Manali.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This was my first ever contest and I think it did well. Thank you everyone who took part and helped me spread the word. Now for the winners –
1 hour of free massage therapy was won by Greeshma CV
1/2 hour of free massage therapy won by Sushesh S Mallya
1/2 hour of free massage therapy won by Meeta Panicker
Congrats Greeshma, Sushesh and Meeta. Hope you enjoy your massages as much as I did.

To everyone who participated, better luck next time. I’ll be having more contests and giveaways soon, so don’t miss them.

Over the years I’ve come across a lot of books that have been made into movies, and since I read a fair bit I usually land up reading the book before the movie. Asked off my head I can’t think of even one movie that out-shine’s the book (Life of Pi might be the exception when I see it, since I gave up on the book after 3 pages); though maybe if I give it some thought some book might just pop up.

With the thought of comparison on my head last week I came across ‘The Help‘, a book I read in 2011 and then watched as a movie last year. It’s a movie I liked so I’d watched it a few times and now I couldn’t remember what were the differences between the movie and the book. There’s no better way to sort this out then to read the book and watch the movie, again. That got me started on reading the book again last week.

Growing up when I got to the age of idolizing romance, there was no better ideal than Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. I read the book repeatedly until in my dreams I was Scarlett and there stood Rhett before me. But as I grew up the book became more than a romance and one of my favourite characters became Mammy. She was loving, caring, the perfect mother alternate. She loved Scarlett truly knowing all along just who Scarlett really was. At that age of course I didn’t have any understanding of colour and being brown myself helped.

In college I took up a 100 hours course on American Literature and there discovered Afro-American writers, musicians, speakers and more. (I wish I could have just said Black Writers, I know its politically incorrect and all that but I love my colour and am all patches and colours of brown; however that’s a topic for another day). I read about life as a slave, the fight for freedom, for equality, apartheid and more and I saw Mammy in a very different light suddenly.

Kathryn Stockett’s book ‘The Help‘ is just that, the voice of Mammy telling what life was on the other side of the fence. I love the book and at some places I tear-up every time reading about how inhumane we can be to people who are also human. The book’s a wonderful read just the way it is, I just wish it had really been written by an Afro-American. If you haven’t read the book yet, this book is a must read!

The Help isn’t a small or thin book and considering this time I wanted to compare the book to the movie I was reading quite slowly and mentally making notes. I finally finished the book a few days back, after a whole week (the migraines did not help). It was time to watch the movie and with Che being away, it was the perfect day to concentrate and watch a movie. I switched on the the computer, opened up notepad to make notes through the movie and settled-in to watch.

But I didn’t land up using the notepad at all and not because there were no differences. There were tons of differences. Shortening a long story like the Help into two and a half hours isn’t easy, and to still keep the core of the story I guess things have to change a bit or rather quite a bit. But I must say none of the changes take away from the story. The core and crux remains and the changes only add to the telling. The movie is also a must watch! It makes you sit up and realise that life isn’t all Gone With the Wind.

But I have to stick with what I set out to do. I have to chose between the movie and the book. Well my choice is…, the award goes too… Yeah, alright, ok, I’m cutting it out. I would still choose the book over the movie. The book has so much more in terms of the story and drama but if you aren’t a reader, watch the movie you’ll definitely appreciate it.

Have you read the book and watched the movie? Which did you prefer?

Buy the Book: Amazon | FlipKart
Buy the Movie: Amazon | FlipKart

I’ve already started with my reading for this year but thanks to being ill I haven’t done any major reading (I’ve been reading Harry Potter, the Enid Blyton of today) yet. Now before I start reading my lists for this year I thought I’d take a quick look at my book stats for 2012 and compare them to 2011 and see how I did fare in two years.

Here’s what I found –

Top Rated Books
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Books that stood-out for me in 2012
I experimented quite a bit in 2012 with books, genres and authors, especially since a lot of authors started to give away their ebooks on Amazon for free through the KDP program. Here are the books and series that were interesting finds for me in 2012.

Books –
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Indian Maidens Bust Loose by Vidya Samson
Sikander by M. Salahuddin Khan
The Loom by Shella Gillus
Bitch Goddess for Dummies by Maya Sharma Sriram

Series –
Little Blue Envelope Series by Maureen Johnson
A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin
Ghost-in-Law Series by Jana Deleon
An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Series by Chanda Hahn
Chronicles of the Kings Series by Lynn Austin

Most Read Authors
George R.R. Martin – 5
J.K. Rowling – 7
Chanda Hahn – 2
Maureen Johnson - 2

Books Read each Month
May – 13
August – 12
January – 10
February and June – 6
March, July and September – 5
April and November – 3
December – 2

Last year I read the most number of books in February (11). This year in October I didn’t read even one book :O

Out of the 70 books I read 59 were eBooks! The Kindle has completely paid off; it’s officially the best gift I’ve got in a while. Another significant number is 11 – the number of books I read by Indian Authors. I’m hoping this will be a higher number in 2013.

Looking back my choice of books says so much about the year. I’ve read a large variety of authors this year and alot of Indian authors that I made a concsious effort to find. I didn’t always find good books but mostly the books I’ve read I enjoyed and would recommend. Indian Authors have gotten better over the years and so has publishing. I’ve seen some very nice book covers this year, specially the ones from Rupa Publishing.

I found some great books by chance trolling through Amazon. Don’t miss out on Indian Maidens Bust Loose and Sikander. If you are looking for something different yet enjoyable then read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and The Palace of Illusions.

What have you noticed in your reading in 2012? Which books stood-out for you? What would you recommend I read in 2013?

2011 was the first year I took part in the GoodReads reading challenge. I decided to read 50 books in the year and exceeded that target by reading 66. Feeling all motivated by my success I set my target in 2012 at 100 books. Sadly I didn’t achieve it and read only 70 books but it is still more than 2011. Sticking to my guns I’ve set this years target at 100 again, I’m gonna try my best to beat it this year.

At the start of 2012 I looked at GoodReads and reviewed my year in books. Not breaking away from tradition I’m doing it again this year to see what did I do in terms of books through 2012.

So here’s the stats in comparison to last year (2011).

Unlike 2011, in 2012 all the books I read were published after 1995 and not earlier than that.

Last year I read 25,397 pages, thats 751 less than 2011.

I gave 6 books 5 stars!! (10 in 2011)
And 32 books got 4 stars. (32 in 2011)
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin was the longest book I read with 1,177 pages. (Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, 985 pages in 2011)
And there were no books that I did not finish! (1 in 2011)

How many books did you read in 2012? Notice any trends in your reading?

I grew up to a saying that if you stole a piece of money plant and it grew and flourished in your house you would prosper and get rich. So its a plant most houses had and its a hardy plant so we had a few of them at home too.

Some months back in an attempt to add some green to my house, Mom got me a cutting to grow in a bottle. Now that the plant has grown at bit and has settled into the bottle, I got down to do some reading about it.

Some things I didn’t know about the money plant –

• The scientific name for the Money Plant is Epipremnum aureum or Scindapsus aureus.
• It is found from Northern Australia through Malaysia and Indonesia into China, Japan and India.
• It flowers in the wild.
• The sap of the money plant is poisonous if consumed. The presence of insoluble raphides make it toxic to dogs, cats and children. Symptoms may include oral irritation, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing. I need to keep it out of reach of the dogs.
• It has even caused enough ecological damage to be listed on the USDA Florida Exotic Pest Control Council list 1999 as an invasive species.
• Other names of the money plant are – Australian native monstera, centipede tongavine, devil’s ivy, golden pothos, hunter’s robe, ivy arum, silver vine, Solomon Islands ivy and taro vine.
• Money Plant is efficient at removing indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde, xylene, and benzene.
• It can be used in aquariums, by placing it on top of the aquarium and allowing the roots to grow in the water. The plant absorbs many nitrates and uses them for growth.

Some I didn’t know but had figured out over time –

• The money plant is a hardy plant and its leaves last longer that most other plants.
• It grows in both soil and water but once planted the medium can’t be changed.
• The simplest way to get a new plant is to take a cutting off an existing plant and planting it into soil or water.
• Water grown money plants are smaller and more slender that soil ones.
• The first couple of weeks require constant changing of water. As the plant settles-in the die-off causes a lot of foul smell.
• The water tends to stay clear longer after the roots have settled in.

Notes to myself from around the internet to help me keep my plant healthy –

Temperature - Requires temperatures between 15-30deg C, below 10deg the leaves develop spots and turn yellow.

Sunlight - Leaves turning yellow and shedding  is a sign of excessive sunlight. Money plants don’t like too much heavy sunlight so in summer you could place a wet cloth above it and put some ice cubes in the plant in the afternoon.

Watering - It is advised to change water every 2-3 days. (I did this in the initial weeks but now the plant has settled so have reduced the change to once in a week or two based on water quality.)

Gel - I have to try gel out for my bottled money plant. Theoretically the gel should absorb the water and the plant can take from it as and when required.  I’ll have to top up water every week or so but it solves any mosquito problems. That said  I’m not sure if this would work for a water grown plant.

Trimming - New leaves grow out from the tips of the creeper. Trimming side shoots will give a  single long stem or cutting off the tip will encourage side growth to give a more fuller plant. Also as the plant is growing I keeping pushing it back into the bottle a little off and on. That way the nodes that touch the water will give out roots and over time I will be able to snip off the bottom roots as they start to rot without affecting the plant much.

Fertiliser - It can survive on naturally found salts in water and does not require addition of nutrients to the water. But any nitrate base fertiliser can be used. A weak solution of liquid fertiliser to be added into the water keeping in mind to add it late evening because in strong sunlight the fertiliser can cause root burn. (Don’t add fertiliser to newly cut or trimmed plants as fertiliser can damage the plant. Roots and leaves have different types of fertilisers.)

Pesticide - The money plant does not attract a lot of pests however it sees its fair share of ants and mosquitoes. A water based household insect spray like Sheltox would get rid of the ants and mosquitoes. ( I tend to use narrow necked and clear bottles so I can keep an eye on water quality. )

Do you have a money plant at home? Do you have any advise for me? What can I do to make my plant flourish and hence get rich?

My Review:

Note: Thanks to the guys at MySmartPrice for offering me this book to review

Cover: Eye-Candy! The cover is true to the book!

Paper and font: The paper’s ok, though I would have liked a slightly bigger and spacier font. It’s a tad bit small and tight.

Readability, language: The book reads well, with mostly simple language (there are words like solecism) and a subject every working girl knows about.

Why did I choose this book: Something about the name said ‘You must read this!’.

A racy chick-lit, I couldn’t keep the book down once I started. Mira the heroine is a simple Tam-Bram girl who has been brought up to do things properly. She doesn’t know the twisted ways of the world today and ends up being walked over constantly by Sanya in office. Sanya is the epitome of the girl we all called the ‘Bitch’ in office, the one who with her coy ways always gets her way. Mira tired of being a wimp and a pushover decides to take a leaf from Sanya’s book and become the bitch goddess. What results is an account of Mira’s conflicts between being her and a bitch goddress, the confusion for her close friend Vinay who can’t seem to understand what’s got into her and the upheavel caused by the entry of the hero Rohan in the midst of things as Mira finds the right balance of things in her life.

Mira is that girl each one of us was when we first stepped into the corporate world of today, stumbling along and learning the rules of the game. Sanya like I said before is the epitome of the ‘Bitch’, the one each one of us hated but secretly wanted to be. Vinay is a loveable charater and so remined my of my close buddies at work and how they were my family away from home. All Sriram’s characters are well sketched out and easily recogniseable with someone in our lives.

The book is set in Singapore and India and true to Indians working abroad Sriram brings out the Indian’isms’ displayed by them. Mira’s mother is the typical Tamil Brahmin parent back home trying hard to get her daughter married.

The book is a fast-paced read and I couldn’t keep it down once I started, I wanted to know all that happened to Mira. Sriram has mostly used simple language but there are some big words like ‘Solecism’ thrown in that made me reach out for the dictitionary. Not that am complaining

I loved the Bitch Goddess Rules that popped up in-between as I was reading the book. Also Mira’s new avatar made me smile big and wide everytime she whooped Sanya. I don’t have any complaints as such of the book. As a to-read-once-chick-lit it’s great.

I’d recommend this book to all those in the corporate world. Most women will associate with it and men like Vinay (who have ‘proper’ women friends) will have a good laugh. Definitely worth a read!

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

It’s been a while since a Tamil movie’s songs have struck and stuck with me. Not since Roja and Alai Payude have I hummed a song without understanding a word of what was being sung. But over the last couple of weeks I’ve repeatedly found myself humming Chithirai Nela from the movie Kadal. The song’s just stuck in my head, so I decided today to look up the meaning of the words and my choice couldn’t have been more perfect.

Music by AR Rahman, Lyrics by Vairamuthu and Sung by Vijay Yesudas, Chithirai Nela is a beautiful lullaby about the first moon of the New Year, about rising from the ashes and reaching to the sky. A father sings to his child to try walking, to stand tall and walk to the sky. He sings about the good in everything that happens, the silver-lining; from affliction come deep poems and from losses knowledge. He sings to his child to be strong and face tomorrow with self-confidence. There is only one New Year’s Moon, just as there is only one of everything else, everyone is standing alone but he exhorts his child to walk, to walk towards the sky.

I love the song even more now that I know what it means, it just resonates with my soul and so reminds me of the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling. I remember reading ‘If…’ for the first time years ago; I could so see Rudyard Kipling swinging in a hammock with his son and giving him life advice. ‘If…’ has been a poem I had tried to live by and I love going back to it over the years for a bit of motivation. Chithirai Nela touches that spot. It’s ‘If…’ set to music.

Kadal is a Mani Rathman movie with Arvind Swamy set to release on 1st of February 2013 and I’m looking forward to it. A romantic thriller the movie is about the life of Christian fisherman and the role faith plays in their lives. This should be an interesting watch, definitely worth first-day-first-show

BTW Chithirai Nela isn’t the only stand out song. Almost all the songs in this movie are awesome. A.R. Rahman spinning his magic again finally. His work hasn’t shaken me up so much lately but this one has that thing that Rahman is known for. Don’t miss ‘Adiye’ in the list, it has this absolutely surprising jazz influence that will make you sit up and listen. A fisherman song set to jazz; you rock Rahman!

Have you heard any stunning sit-up-straight music lately?

Sometime about the time we returned from TfN I had an allergic attack, by New Year’s it was a full blown sinus cold & cough and last week despite precautions and medications it moved to becoming a migraine. I hate migraines, I wouldn’t wish them on my enemies and sinus migraines are the worst.

My sinus migraine follows a wave, it goes away for a while and I rejoice, then suddenly when I least expect its back in full force. It’s like someone hammering a nail into my head. Only in one little spot in my head. I feel hot and in hell, my eyes feel red and I literally see red. Oh!, it’s horrible. After a while I don’t even enjoy the time when the pain is gone because I know its going to be back and I’m dreading the moment. On a scale on 1 to 10 I’d say the pain fluctuates between 7 and 10. I not yet screaming only because I have a higher pain threshold than normal.

Ah! That felt good. Thank you for listening. I’m in so much pain that I really wanted to tell someone, so I wrote it down

I’ve managed the last few days to do the physical non-thinking work but all mental stuff like my blog posts are just beyond me (it took me four days to slowly complete this post). I can’t; I’m unable to think and its blaady frustrating. I’ve been quite a burden these past few days, mopping around holding my head and moaning at the weirdest of times. I refuse to let a migraine stop my life but it’s horrible and frustrating.

Since medication hadn’t worked and I needed some serious sinus relief, Che did some research on YouTube (hurray for the internet). Here’s a couple of things we watched and tried.

Dr. Veera Gupta’s massage technique works and it did help. It did drain my sinuses a bit and gave me some relief but I guess my sinuses are really clogged and this isn’t enough by itself. Maybe if I did this massage regularly or when the cold starts it’ll help a lot more and I won’t get to this situation. The other drawback to this is that its not easy to do on yourself, it’s better done by someone else on you.

I tried doing these yoga positions but with an all-out migraine bending over caused excruciating pain and I couldn’t do most of the steps Chaz Rough shows. But I guess doing this yoga routine regularly will help stay away from the migraine situation. The breathing step is great and easy to do just after a stream session though.

I also found this video with Michelle Ebbin on ModernMom talking about how to use reflexology to reduce migraines. I don’t really know how well reflexology works but at this point in time I’m happy to try almost anything.

The other thing I’ve been doing a lot is steaming. I’m doing at least two rounds of 10 min. each everyday for the last few days and that has helped too. The steam relieves the nasal block and clears the head at least for a while.

All said and done, I’m trying everything to help me deal with my allergies and migraines, especially since Bangalore isn’t the best of cities for someone with allergies. I’m off to the Doctor again tomorrow to see to the migraines; I can’t live with it anymore.

If you have any tips or advise for me, please let me know. I need all the help I can get.

Update asof 12th Jan ‘13: Been to the the Doc and he says it definitely looks like a sinus induced migraine however before we do any further investigation, I need to get out of the pain I’m in and the migraines and sinus build-up has to reduce. I’m on a course of medication for now. After the course and once I’ve got some relief I need to get a CT-scan done to see that’s constantly causing the sinus to flare up and not drain. Based on the scan further action can then be planned to resolve the issue fully.

I come from a family of good cooks, a place where almost all the men cook a mean meal and the women are just oh-la-la! Growing up in good food meant I never saw a need to learn to cook, I just ate And since cooking runs in the family, when I did need to cook, I didn’t burn stuff often.

Now 32 years later I’m learning to cook!

As a Diwali gift this year I got a copy of Samaithu Par by S. Meenakshi Ammal. This is the quintessential South Indian cooking guide that has been passed from mother to daughter at marriage for the last few decades. Its even available in 5 languages.

My south indian cooking being limited and average I thought this would be a good challenge for 2013. I am going to learn south indian cooking from Master M. Ammal. (Like that Julia and Julia thing remember, only Freya and Ammal don’t sound as good)

The book’s great but it has two short-comings. It doesn’t have photos so you don’t know what your dish will look like and the layout is confusing if you’re not well-versed in south indian cuisine. The latter I overcame thanks to a friend who patiently talked me through the book. But I still need to make visuals of the dishes listed.

Though this year I’m going to try and cook the dishes M. Ammal has listed in book one and take pictures of them. I’ll post photos and my version of the recipe here on the blog as I go along It’s fully Samaithu Par – Cook and See…

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

Venn or White Pongal
(Pongal is that soulful dish what can make any day and tummy better. Not spicy, but warm, soft and soothing, it’s easy and perfect for those days when you’re not up to it.)

Ingredients -
1 cup rice
1/2 cup green gram dal (the yellow kind called masoor)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh or preserved green pepper
4 cups water
Salt to taste
4 teaspoon of ghee
1 1/2 teaspoon of oil
10-12 curry leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 inch piece of ginger

Method -
1. Check the dal for stones and dirt, then fry it lightly in a pan.

2. Clean the rice and add the fried dal to it before washing them together.

3. Cook the rice and dal in a cooker with 3 cups of water, salt and peppers. I usually cook it on full flame until the first whistle and then on sim for 10 minutes.

4. Bruise the cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle and finely chop the ginger.

5. Heat the oil in a vessel and add the cumin, ginger and curry leaves.

6. When the cumin starts to splutter add a portion of the cooked rice and dal mix. Add the ghee and mix well. Add a bit of water if needed. Keep mixing and adding the rice mix and water until it all mixes and has a slightly sticky texture. Make sure not to over mash it.

7. Serve hot.

Coconut Thuvaiyal
(This is a sour textured chutney that I think would go well with something that needs a hit of flavour and feel)

Ingredients -
150 gms fresh coconut
6 dried red chillies
1 lime size ball of tamarind
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3 teaspoons black gram dal
1/4 or less teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
5-6 curry leaves
3 teaspoons oil

Method -
1. Soak the tamarind in a little warm water, then mash and strain to get smooth pulp.

2. Fry 4 chillies and remove from oil.

3. Grind the chillies to small flakes before adding coconut and tamarind pulp. Grind the coconut to a fine paste. Add water if necessary. When done empty into a bowl.

4. Heat the oil again and add mustard seeds, black gram dal, remaining chillies broken in two and curry leaves. When the mustard splutters add asafoetida.

5. Pour the oil and spices into the bowl and mix with the coconut.

6. Mix and add salt to taste.

If you try out these recipes do let me know how it turned out.

It seems like yesterday that it was New Year and here we are with a new year starting again. The years seem to be flying past as life slips by me and I watch it all unfold in slow motion. Ok, enough moroseness; switching topics – Happy New Year to you. May 2013 bring exciting times in your life.

This is the only 13th year in our lifetimes. 2013 for those who are triskaidekaphobic, must not be something to look forward to but I think 13’s lucky for me so, bring it on But before I start the new year I thought I’d look back at what I had planned for 2012, and just what came of all my grand plans.

So here’s some of what I’d listed out on January 1st, 2012. Warning: the following may get introspecty and boring, so skip to the end if you like

Learn to use the Mac well - I did try to do this and succeeded to a comfort level but not maybe an expert level. However as things turned out the Mac become more Che’s travel computer and I got the iPad that I seem to be using more and more these days. (I’m typing this post on the iPad. )

Learn a new craft - I didn’t get started on this for a long time but in the last quarter I put it together and bought three potted plants. I’ve learnt a lot already and I still have a lot of learning ahead but plants are still alive right now. I did a bit baking through the year though and tried a new recipe every time. Most of it turned out well, but my breads still need some rising

Blog regularly - I wasn’t very regular but I did write the highest number of blog posts ever this year, 103! And there were a couple of cool high-points for my blog this year – a few authors got in touch with me for reviews (I’m still smiling about that one); I’m not all that bad a book reviewer after all. I also got to blog the Tour of Nilgiris as their official blogger – TfN is this cool hip must-do tour in cycling circles and having seen it I heartily agree.

Mission Cuckoo - I didn’t get much done on this front. I had hoped to teach Cuckoo some new tricks but I just didn’t get down it. I did experiment with new toys though and surprise of surprises I found a toy that Buddha finally showed an interest in.

Read 50 books and watch 50 movies - This is one section where I excelled. I read 70 books and I’ve definitely watched over 50 movies though I can’t remember all of them. I really wish someone would make a GoodReads kindof site for movies.

In retrospect its been a good year. I didn’t really follow the plan but I did get most of what I had planned done, or at least somewhat done I hadn’t thought of 2012 as a gret year but it was, with lots of travel packed in too.

Looks like this plan and review thing works, well it did make me feel good this year. So, here’s a few things I’d like to do in 2013.

• I’d like to spend more interactive time with Cuckoo. Senti needs more exercise and so do I so, that’s on my list too. Then there’s Buddha who’s getting older and needs more attention and care. And last but not least is William and Max, the new additions to my brood, who will take a while to settle in.
• I need to learn a lot more about gardening, and set up a small veggies garden. I also intend to start composting at home.
• Last year I tried my hand at baking and came away fairly successful. This year I want to learn some of the finer nuances. I want to try my hand at icing and fondant.
• Start cycling. Yeah, yeah, ok, ok, TfN did inspire me. Not to cycle TfN but to take up cycling and explore the area I live in.
• I have a jigsaw that has been incomplete for a while now, I intend to complete it and start a new one.
• Last year I set a target of 50, this year I think I’ll up it to a 100 books.
• And of course it goes without saying – more blog posts than last year.

Phew! that seems like a long list. Wonder how much I’ll get done. Well, either ways looking back next year will be fun.
Have you done this? Does this review thing work for you?

My Review:

Note: Thanks to Varsha Dixit for offering me her book to review

Cover: Eye-ok! The cover has colours that are pleasing to the eye and there is even some texture in the print. I liked the cover however there was something in it that made me feel it could have been better.

Paper and font: Smell-Worthy! This book had good paper quality and font size.

Readability, language: Light, simple and quick to read, with language that is quite the modern India Metro.

This book is an out and out chick-lit. A modern Mills and Boons set in Mumbai. Nandini who has found true love with Aditya now wants the same for her best friend Sneha. While trying to evade Nandini’s constant setups Sneha meets Nikhil – a man from her past and gets to know that Gayathri, Aditya’s ex-fiancé is back in town with the intention of getting Aditya back. Sneha is forced into working along with Nikhil to stop Gayathri, where both of them can’t help but notice the chemistry. The story is about how Sneha and Nikhil find each other.

Sneha and Nandini’s friendship reminded of the closeness I share with my besties. They way they talked, understood, misunderstood and stood by each other was so real. Aditya, Nandini’s husband is the typical sweet best friends husband who becomes your friend too. And Nikhil is that man most of us women dream of – the chiseled face, killer looks and suave manner, and not to mention ‘rich’. Varsha Dixit has done a great job with relationships in ‘Wrong Means Right End’ and I could identify with almost all of them as I read the story.

I haven’t read a Mills and Boons in a while now but I do enjoy an occasional one. When I accepted ‘Wrong Means Right End’ I wasn’t expecting an M&B and the book surprised me; pleasantly. While reading I associated with so much in the book – the playful name calling, the closeness of friends, the protective instinct, the marital insecurities, the romance – Dixit describes the emotions and feelings of the characters well and you feel for them. The characters and relationships are believable and situations possible. I enjoyed most parts of this book.

I wish though that there had been more to the Gayathri plot as it felt too short and without punch. I would have like more action and drama there. I had picked up the book expecting an all out third woman drama but the book was more about Nikhil and Sneha’s romance. Not that I’m complaining but I would have liked the third woman plot to have lasted longer than halfway through the book.

All in all I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it, I hope to read more of Varsha Dixit’s work in future.

Any one who likes chick-lit and M&B romances will enjoy this book. Its a quick and fun read that leaves you feeling all good and glowy inside. Almost every womans book but maybe not every mans

Buy On: FlipKart

Route Name: Finish Line
From: Mettupalayam
To: Chamarajanagara
Distance (km.): 109
Elevation Gain(m.): +1796 m / -1410 m

It may have been the last day of the tour but it still was an early start. Breakfast was served at 6:30 and by 7:30 cyclists were all geared up, standing with their cycles, itching to start. Today’s road led home and everyone was eager to get going I guess, it’s been a great tour but home was calling. Or maybe it was the route we were to travel today – a mostly flat and fast competitive followed by the Sathyamangalam forest ghats.

Standing by watching the cyclists gather I noticed Naveen doing a pre-ride check of his cycle and moved towards him. This is a joy to watch, especially the part where he adjusts his rear derailer. He lifts the bike, gets the rear wheel spinning and listens to the gears shift. Then he tweaks a nob and listens again and repeats until he is satisfied. When he’s done the gears switch soundlessly. It’s like watching a musician tune his guitar!

Flagged off the cyclists headed out towards the competitive section start 12 km away at a comfortable pace. Everyone was conserving energy for today’s last and final CS. A 21 km long, relatively flat section, passing through three villages that would be a blast to ride. For those seriously competing, today’s timing would affect their overall standing so it was a ride hard, ride fast day.

Chasing the riders, we set a fast pace to out race them to the CS finish. It was a day to capture dramatic finishes. Passing the CS start we saw Peter start off on the section and gunned the engine some more to cover the 21 km quickly. We managed to get a good lead and bought ourselves enough time to comfortably set up shop before the cyclists started to arrive. And boy did they arrive! After the first cyclist crossed the finish line, the rest followed quickly and by 9:30 all 70 cyclists had completed the CS section. This was probably the fastest CS section completed by all riders.

The CS complete everyone was now on a relaxed ride. The Satyamangalam ghats lay a little way ahead but our first stop was an eatery at Bannari where we had chai and the cyclists ate pre-lunch Energy recharged we started off on the climb up to Dhimbam through 27 picturesque hair-pin bends. The cyclists stopped quite a few times on the way up, some to take a moment to soak in the views and others to catch a breath. Not that we were complaining, after all we got more photo opportunities.

The Satuamangalam forest is famous among other things for Veerapan the Bandit who was lived and looted here. Starting out as an elephant tusk poacher, he soon became a sandalwood smuggler, a most wanted man and even a celebrity kidnapper. While he lived and was at large here, this road had been closed for years. But now we can climb through this green dense forest gaining about 1100mts. over 14km to reach the lush green Dhimbam ghat. And so, we climbed.

Right at the top of the ghats just before you start to descend is a chai shop. I remember stopping here a few times for a chai and pakoda. It’s a perfect mid point stop in the forest. But this time we stopped just a little ahead at SS3. Since this is a narrow down hill road we didn’t stay long and headed on to SS4 where we would get lunch. Every one seemed hungry this morning.

This was the last of the hills we would see for now. Here on it would be flats all the way to Bangalore and we all wanted to enjoy what was left as much as we could. The cyclists stopped often and we descended slowly. But no matter how much you stretch it, there is only that much that you can stretch and before long we were at SS4.

SS4 is just round the corner after crossing into Karnataka. From the moment we saw the Welcome to Karnataka board we braced for impact, we were expecting huge craters. Karnataka roads are legendary for their badness, especially at borders when you’ve been driving on kilometers of good road in another state. 100 meters into Karnataka we were still holding on, only now we were peering ahead to see when the potholes would start. And we were still waiting a while later. Surprise of surprises there were no bad roads. When did this happen here?

Reaching SS4 really hungry at 12:45 we headed straight for the food. There was pulaiogare rice and curd rice, wasn’t exotic but it was simple and soulful and we ate like pigs. Walking around after lunch I turned suddenly when I heard a thud and people cry out to find Venky sitting on the ground and a bull standing in front of him. The close face to face encounter came about when Venky startled the bull and tripped over when trying to step back. The stand off was long enough and strong enough to have had Venky hidding behind a tree for quite a while surrounded by peals of laughter.

Leaving the last support station of TfN 2012 reluctantly, we continued on towards Chamarajanagar which is named after Chamaraja Wodeyar, King of Mysooru who was born here. From here we head back to Bangalore; for the cyclists the ride ends and so does most the suffering but here on the bragging begins!

But it all didn’t end so soon. Cyclists had already started arriving when we reached our destination in Chamarajanagar at 2:30. There was a lot to do before we left for Bangalore, cycles had to be packed, cyclists to be freshened up with food and bath, results to announced and prizes to be given. So everyone got to doing something. By 4:30 everyone settled down to hear the results. But before that, it was time to put names to faces we had all seen through the last 8 days (even I didn’t know all the volunteers by name). There loud cheers and whistles as Francis introduced all the different teams and it’s members that made TfN 2012 possible. Cyclists were asked if they had any suggestions for the next year and every cyclist was univocal saying “It was already the best.” Two suggestions did emerge though – Ulhas Joshi who had come from Pune requested for more mountains less plains and Dr. Nishith Shah asked that the next time flats be explained better since in the South flats are more rolling flats but in Gujarath flats are flat.

Finally it was time for the results. Here are the Winners for Tour of Nilgiris 2012.

Masters:
1 Bjorn Suetens
2 Prashanth Tidke
3 Gautam Raja

Open:
1 Lokesh Narsimhachar
2 Naveen John
3 Richard McDowell

Womens:
1 Shailja Singh Sridhar
2 Anjali Bhalinge
3 Deepali Nitin Joshi

After all the hurrahs, cheers, email exchanges, facebook connections, and sad goodbyes we boarded the buses at 6 pm heading to Bangalore. It didn’t take too long for everyone to fall asleep only to wake up at the dinner stop. Bangalore wasn’t very far away now and I was so looking forward to my body-shaped bed. Che and I ate a light dinner and after much contemplation gave up on the dessert idea, we figured we should be good at least on one day of the tour. We made good time and reached Bangalore at 10:30. But this was not the final goodbye, there is still the TfN cool-off party tomorrow!

If you haven’t seen Venky’s rider reports of TfN 2012, you should. Here is the Day 8 report.

Dialogues of the Day
Locals overheard at CS end – Husband: Looks like people from all aver the world have come to cycle.
Wife: See, and how many times I’ve told you to buy the kids a cycle.

Cyclist overheard at CS – “He’s got aero-bars but I’ve got aero-balls.”

TfN Top 3 Winners and Timings

Two Wheeled Trivia Of The Day

The first ever French cyclosportive was La Marmotte, which was first run in 1982 on a route starting in Bourg d’Oisans and finishing at the top of one the most famous Tour de France climbs at Alpe d’Huez. It is one of the most popular cyclosportive events today and is often considered to be the hardest cyclosportive.

Door Prize is a term used when a rider collides with the open door of a parked car while cycling.

Sponsor Spotlight

Associate Sponsor

Started way back in 1930 in Dehradun The Himalaya Drug Company today serves the health and personal care needs of consumers in 82 countries and is endorsed by over 300,000 doctors around the globe.

Here are the other days posts from the Tour of Nilgiris 2012 -
Day 1: It’s not cold, it’s just a breeze
Day 2: To Get Into the Cool Hills, You Have to Climb
Day 3: The Unniappam and The Elephant
Day 4: Even A Trickle Piss Counts
Day 5: An Entrée and A Proposal
Day 6: Loopy Loops
Day 7: It’s All Downhill From Here

Route Name: Gravity Sucks You
From: Ooty
To: Mettupalayam
Distance (km.): 51
Elevation Gain(m.): +1853 m / -3763 m

Today we bid goodbye to the Blue Mountains and head down to Mettupalayam a fast developing town that has established itself as a hub for trading fruits and vegetables from the hills. But that is not it’s only claim to fame, the Ooty steam train build during the British period (the only rack and pinion railway in Asia) starts from here and runs to Ooty through 16 tunnels, over 250 bridges and 46km of forests and tea plantations.

Since we didn’t have much distance to cover, just 60 km and most of it downhill, we were starting late. That would have been a wonderful thing if only breakfast had been early After a late breakfast we lazed around talking to cyclists as we waited for the volunteers to find a free moment for a group photo.

Getting all the volunteers together took a while and even then some of them kept running in and out of photos. This bunch of volunteers are a hard working lot and they are almost always busy. From the marker team that leaves at 3am every morning to the support station and sweep staff who are the last to arrive at night; they create the magic, they make it happen. TfN has been a well oiled machine and credit for that goes to the organisers and volunteers. Not forgetting the cyclists ofcourse who did turn up on time, every time. With all that hard work these guys also have fun…

At about 11 the first cyclists started to leave and we headed to our room to quickly grab our bags and follow them. That was supposed to be a simple enough thing to do but it landed me in a mini heart in my mouth situation. Just by the stairs we ran into Kiran who asked Che to click a photo of him riding down the stairs. Che said ok and walked down to position himself while I just stood there with my mouth open, only recovering just in time to fumble and capture this video.

Leaving Sterling Fern Hill we headed into Ooty town towards Kotagiri. Around here every place has two or more routes to get there so we were following the road markers carefully but Jayalalitha seemed to be visiting today so the town was a mela of sorts and we must have made a wrong turn because before we knew it we had gone a very long way without seeing a TfN marker. Back tracking we alerted two cyclists also on the wrong route and headed back into a traffic crawling town to get onto the right path.

Finally on the right route we took off towards Kotagiri hoping to catch up with riders. Last night over dinner Venky and Siva had said that the route doesn’t take more than 45 minutes non-stop. 60 kilometers in 45 minutes was fast, we thought we’d never catch up with them but that wasn’t how it turned out. The views were so spectacular that the cyclists stopped at just about every corner. We met them just around the bend and then again and again down the hill.

Stopping a few times for photos we reached Kotagiri and drove through it. I remember Kotagiri from 10 years ago when it was a large village, now it seemed to have grown larger, expanding at its seams. Time doesn’t stand still even in the mountains.

Dropping Chethan off at one of the bends we moved ahead to a spot 2 km further down where Che and I settle down to wait for cyclists. It was a long wait, the cyclists were taking a slow pace and stopping often today so we waited almost 2 hours. But it wasn’t boring at all, we had landed at the time of tea leaf collection so all the workers from the estate came onto the road with their load of leaves and weighed in. Watching this motley crew ranging from young to quite old crack jokes and laugh as they worked, I couldn’t help but smile along.

The waiting two hours paid off, we did see a few cyclists and got delayed enough to catch up with a batch that had taken a detour to Kodunadu View Point too. The KYNKYNY team made our day by coming round a bend in top form, watching these guys ride in a pack is almost like watching a ballet performance, they don’t cycle, they dance.

Hungry we headed towards SS3 to grab lunch but even in our hurry we took time to enjoy the mountains. We were leaving them today and as if in a final flourish the mountains were throwing views and bends at us that made want to never leave. As a final parting gift just a bit before SS3 we spotted a bison, remember the ones we missed capturing yesterday? Well this one stood eating a little about the road for a long time and didn’t give two hoots about us.

Cyclists were doing good time today. Most of them had reached SS3 by the time we reached for lunch. I thought the pulao was good yesterday but today topped that with yummy pasta and gulab jamun. By 4:30 SS3 started to wind down, there were only 4 cyclists left.

We headed out to Mettalayam bidding goodbye to the Nilgiris for now. [We'd get a glimpse of the hills again tomorrow at Satyamangalam though ] Among the last to arrive at the hotel at 5:30 we were ready to knock off but the day didn’t end there, at 8 we watched the TfN 2011 video and relived our journey again. And that a tour it’s been, I’ve made some friends, been inspired and learned so much. We head to Chamarajanagar tomorrow to complete TfN 2012 and I so wish I could turn back time to the start of the tour again, especially since I am not cycling it

There was no Competitive Section today so the top 3 are the same as yesterday.

Venky and the cyclists had a ball coming down the hills today. You can read his side of the story.

Dialogue of the Day

“Its very soft, it takes everything off.” – Vivek when asked about the Johnson’s baby wipes he uses to wipe down his bike.

Two Wheeled Trivia Of The Day

The London Ambulance Service has recently introduced bicycling paramedics, who can often get to the scene of an incident in Central London more quickly than a motorized ambulance.

Marks of road rash on a cyclist’s body are called ‘Bacon’. ‘Brick’ is a rider who is a slow climber but an efficient descender and ‘Kite’ is a rider who climbs very well but is a poor descender. ‘Squirrel’ is cyclist who has a tendency to swerve unexpectedly and maintain inconsistent speed and ‘Vultures’ are race spectators who garther at a technical point of the course where a crash is more likely to occur.

Sponsor Spotlight

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Here are the other days posts from the Tour of Nilgiris 2012 -
Day 1: It’s not cold, it’s just a breeze
Day 2: To Get Into the Cool Hills, You Have to Climb
Day 3: The Unniappam and The Elephant
Day 4: Even A Trickle Piss Counts
Day 5: An Entrée and A Proposal
Day 6: Loopy Loops

Day 8: And On The 8th Day It Was Done!

Route Name: Suffering
From: Ooty
To: Ooty (Out and back via Upper Bhavani)
Distance (km.): 129
Elevation Gain(m.): +4675 m / -4675 m

Tonight also we stay in Ooty but today’s day take us to Upper Bhavani into the Korakonda Estates before we return to Fern Hill Resort. The ride planned for today is one of the most gruelling routes on TfN this year, especially since the downhill hair-pins that the riders enjoy on their way to Upper Bhavani, will be the same ones they will have to climb on the return in the competitive section today.

Upper Bhavani and the route to it is a treat to the eyes with pristine tea estates along secluded winding roads. Forests are usually shrouded in mist and they take you back to those spine tingling horror flicks with things around hidden foggy bends. But today we had no fog, no mist and largely clear skies. When we did see mist on mountain tops ahead of us and chased them, we were never successful. The mist eluded us today but it did make for some beautiful sky shots.

Leaving after the riders we started our day on the road at 7:45 and headed toward Emerald Bazaar. I settled down into the front of the jeep with Satish looking forward to the 68 hair-pin bends I had been promised while Che and Chethan geared up in the back to begin shooting. I didn’t stay settled for very long though; chasing the cyclists a few kilometers out of the resort we ran into three huge bison walking along the road. We jumped or rather I jumped as they were right by my window. My feathers ruffled I watched as we in turn startled the last bison in the line who took an animated little startled hop without thinking but still landed goat like on the culvert. You remember the size of a full grown bison don’t you? Gawd that was nimble!

In our worry for the cyclists right behind us we forgot all about taking a photo of the bison. And by the time the cyclists passed and we turned around to take a photo they were gone. But our and the cyclists affair with animals didn’t end here, we ran into a herd of cow and then into a herd of buffaloes that spooked when they saw the cyclists and started running ahead of them. It was a sight!

And then ahead into the hair-pin bends we met our first rider on the way back. We stopped in shock and then stopped her too! We wanted answers how had this happened, where had all the other riders gone, we hadn’t seen them; was the route so short as to be done in 2 hours. Only after Anuja removed her earphones did she realise she had got turned around somewhere and that she had been telling riders she passed earlier that yes, she had finished. Oh poor riders, they must have been so psyched!

Moving on we headed past Manjoor and on towards the end of the loop so that we could catch the riders on the return in the competitive section. We dropped Che off in the middle of the Thaishola Estate to take some pictures and moved on towards SS3. These were dream roads with very little traffic but ofcourse oncoming traffic thought so too and that’s the perfect recipe for a tricky situation. And to make it more tricky, nature had placed some very eye-catching waterfalls by the road.

Just day before yesterday the markers team had given me a mini heart attack about the bad roads and today they did it again. We came across a road marker that said ‘Bad Road’ and just ahead were some bad potholes with a message ‘No Kidding’. I breathed a sigh of relief, that was the end of the bad road but alas, just ahead was another message – ‘Seriously’, that was followed by 4-5 km of bad road. Just you wait Markers, Just you wait!

Having finished the 34 hair-pin bends and the bad roads with a few more bends we entered Korakonda Estate and reached SS3. We were running low on diesel and were hoping to find some here but there was no diesel here and the only other place was Manjoor all the way back we had come. Time and fuel being of essence we headed back stopping for a bit at the waterfall hoping a cyclist would come by but no one did, so we continued on until we spied Che crouched by the road side taking photos.

Che wanted to take some more photos in the area so Satish and Chethan headed down to Manjoor to fuel up while I hopped off the ride to walk by Che. (Cheesy I know but I couldn’t resist) We had a ball – a warm sun, a cool wind and views to give-up everything for; what more could we ask for. We walked along the road looking for possible photos and framed cyclists in them without noticing time or distance. Before we knew it an hour had passed and so had 2 kilometers before we spied a volunteer vehicle and hitched a ride.

Passing SS4 we headed on quickly to the CS start at Kundah Bridge to grab lunch and regroup with Satish. Kundah Bridge is just ahead of the 21st hair-pin on return and the CS today was a 4.2km uphill through 11 bends ending just after the 10th. We had a good packed lunch (one of he best until now) of pulao as we watched cyclists take off on the CS [sorry cyclists ] Entree riders also joined us today but they had the option of doing the CS section without competing. This CS was a tough one but even then Naveen clocked the fasted time of 13 something minutes.

Taking pictures from the jeep we continued our journey back to the resort to catch up with riders who had already reached. Man, some guys were really fast today, the first batch of riders reached SS3 (the turn around point) at 10:30 this morning! I wonder if SS3 was even set-up yet.

I had a memorable day today, not only did I spend a day roaming the hills that I love doing 68 hair-pin bends and more (you should see it, I have Rudolph’s nose right now) but I also saw riders fall, only to stand right back up again and ride, I saw riders stop to help the fallen, riders who were doctors practice their art by the road and the cherry-on-top was riders using newspaper inside their jerseys to keep out the wind! It works, I know, I’ve used that trick for years.

Tomorrow we head out of the hills into the plains again as we go to Mettupalyam. It’s an easy day on the legs but the traffic here is tricky and everyone’s gonna have to be on their guard.

As before the top 3 results are -

And before you go, don’t forget to read Venky’s rider version of the climb today.

Two Wheeled Trivia Of The Day

In the United States, Americans spend over $81 billion a year on cycling gear and trips.

Today’s Pedaled Patois

The situation where a mechanic in a support vehicle will appear to be making adjustments to the bike but in reality they are giving fatigued riders a break by holding onto the car and getting a massive push-off when the commissaires get too close is called a ‘magic spanner’. A ’sticky bottle’ is when a rider holds on longer than necessary while taking food and water from the team car during a race to give himself a moment to relax.

Sponsor Spotlight

TfN Brought to You by

The Ride a Cycle foundation aims to create more cyclists and bring more cycles on the road through various programs. TfN is one of them!

Photo Credit: Che Photo and Chethan Ram Photography

Here are the other days posts from the Tour of Nilgiris 2012 -
Day 1: It’s not cold, it’s just a breeze
Day 2: To Get Into the Cool Hills, You Have to Climb
Day 3: The Unniappam and The Elephant
Day 4: Even A Trickle Piss Counts
Day 5: An Entrée and A Proposal

Day 7: It’s All Downhill From Here
Day 8: And On The 8th Day It Was Done!

It’s been a quite day today on the TfN tour. Some cyclists had gone into Ooty while others were resting or catching up with friends. It’s been quiet on all fronts. The only highlights of the day being Ashwin’s proposal to Usha just before the TfN group photo and the Entrée ride.

Here are a few photos from both and since pictures speak louder than words, I’m going to shut up

Remember the Timing Turk who stuck that camera in my face on day 2. Well, Vasu’s done a quick write up about cycles seen through the years at TfN. Now with my theoretical knowledge of cycles this is something I cannot do or atleast not anytime soon so, go on, read the Timing Turk’s take on it.

In the first year of TFN we had the beautiful Colnago bikes.  Of course the star of the tour was Rajesh’s red bike. I am forgetting whether he was riding the Colnago – Ferrari or whether it was the Pinarello. That year most other bikes were either Trek or Merida MTBs. Then there was a Specialized – Seema Tiwari and Vivek’s (Kynkyny) Mongoose. He rides a Specialized these days though In the first year the spare bikes were donated by community members too – those were either Merida or Trek MTBs again. Then there was the Moulton, made famous by Georg Leuzinger. I still remember the stares that little bike got. There was Ravi Ranjan’s Orbea and I think that one was the only Orbea that year. Nelly was on his Specialized Allez and I think Dickie Saluja was riding a Bianchi. Not sure which bike was Siva riding that year.

The second year of TFN saw more road bikes than MTBs. There were Trek and Merida road bikes this time. The couple of interesting bikes were Suma’s Motobecane, Shay Mandel’s bike – I think it was a Israeli make. Chivas Regal was probably on his Lemond that year (Siva got upgraded from Siva to Chivas Regal on that ride) Dr. Bhateja was on his Merida road bike, Sridhar on a Cervelo, a couple of Bianchi’s, Colnago again – Mr. Bhaskar Rao and Anand Mulky, and there was a Surly too – that lady from Hyd. It was a nice black Surly with bar end shifters and a leather bar tape (?). Then there was Mr. Alex on his Trek 4300, Muthu on that full carbon Giant. I think that Giant is on its 4th TFN now – 1st with Muthu and 3 more times with Arun. There was that classic Italian Fanini bike, a steel beauty. I still remember the cranks on that bike.. they were pieces of art, in steel. If you meet one Mr. Arun D’Silva you should ask him about it. That year we had several hybrids as well – Trek 7100, Cannondale Quick 5 (Anita, Nischal, Reena, Yogesh), Venkat (CW founder) on his blue Giant.

Third TFN – couldn’t go. Didn’t have enough leaves from office. The B’Twin Sport 1 bikes were available in the market by then so I am guessing a few of those would have made it to TFN as well.

In the fourth year of TFN we had Rajesh’s Pinarello, Mark’s Neuvation, Sreekanth’s Specialized S Works, a Litespeed with Mavic R Sys rims and carbon spokes – yeah they were carbon spokes and super light, Venky’s Bulldog, Chivas Regal’s Scott, Dr. Bhateja’s Look (with Psimet wheels?), Akshay’s Pinarello, Jeff’s steel bike, Hari on his Italian steed - Willier, a bunch of Cannondale’s, Bianchi’s and Sport 1’s, one or two Orbea bikes and the usual mix of MTB’s and Hybrids. We had Specialized again – Erik and I think Sumit Pal too. I’m forgetting what was Guadzilla’s bike.. I think it was a Ridley. Then there was Cycle India’s blue color bike too. Again, I am forgetting what it was. Chacko Cherian had that carbon Scattante. Last but not the least we had Sandeep’s all steel Bianche Volpe.

This year we have a few interesting bikes on the TFN - Gazelle (the owner now wants a Van Nicholas though), Guru, Focus, Scattante, LeMond, few Scott bikes, Pinarello, Lapierre, Bergamont, Specialized Roubaix, Trek 1.5 (white and green – this is the 2nd Trek white and green to do a TFN. The first was in 2009 and the rider was Anand Avati. I know this because this one is a very rare model to find in these parts. There are only a handful of these). Trek Domane and Trek Madone, both. There is a Kuota on tour as well. Manish’s Look is doing its second TFN (first time it was ridden by Muthu Kumar).

To conclude let me share my personal feeling about a bike…. when you buy a bike… get a great bike. Save up for the bike and buy the best you can afford. With my experience I have seen a great bike can do much more to you than you can do to the bike. This is very much unlike a car or any other expensive purchase. A bike changes you as a person. Always get the best.

Dialogue of the Day

Overheard over Lunch: Cycling is suffering, some suffer at 50 and some at 20 km/hour, but all are suffering.

It may have been quite but it definitely wasn’t quiet on the inside of the rider camp. For more rider inside stories don’t forget to read Venky’s Monkey Musings Day 5.

Two Wheeled Trivia Of The Day

The British Royal Mail first started using bicycles in 1880; now bicycle delivery fleets include 37,000 in the UK, 25,700 in Germany, 10,500 in Hungary and 7000 in Sweden.

Today’s Pedaled Patois

A rider is said to have ‘Bonked’, ‘Cracked’ or ‘Hit the Wall’ when he completely runs out of strength or energy on a long ride.

Sponsor Spotlight

GPS Tracking Partner

The Beacon sponsored GPS Trackers will help guide the cyclists along the proper route and help organisers identify cyclist locations through out the Tour of Nilgiris Cycling Event.

Here are the other days posts from the Tour of Nilgiris 2012 -
Day 1: It’s not cold, it’s just a breeze
Day 2: To Get Into the Cool Hills, You Have to Climb
Day 3: The Unniappam and The Elephant
Day 4: Even A Trickle Piss Counts

Day 6: Loopy Loops
Day 7: It’s All Downhill From Here
Day 8: And On The 8th Day It Was Done!