Books, Life n More

Scammed

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:13:00 PST

Title: SCAMMED Confessions of a Confused Accountant

Author: Anonymous

Price: INR. 175/- (Available for INR. 131/- @ Flipkart)

Publication: Silverfish Westland

Hitesh Shah is one of those employees who have a lot to show as far as work is concerned but when it comes to achievements, they have one thing to show, disappointment. Ridiculed by colleagues for being a nerd, exploited by boss, rebuked by parents & ignored by the fairer sex, Hitesh’s life is at a point where nothing is going good for him.

And then his fortune turns, an assignment here & a chance meeting there and he is facing the biggest opportunity of his life. He gets a job offer to lead a business venture suggested by him to a sleazy businessman with political connections. Grabbing the offer he goes full on to utilise his advantage. He moves out of his parents’ home, buys a pad for himself, manages to hitch on with a beautiful model, succeeds in his venture & gets featured in all major business magazines and then begins the downfall.

He is accused of a financial scam which snowballs into humongous proportions. The police is behind is life, media is against him & he the poster boy of new age businessman is the most convenient scapegoat that the politicians are staring at.

Can he survive the fall?

Or rather is he really innocent?

And if he is, can he prove it?

Or will he become another success story which had gone wary?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

One of those typical contemporary Indian writing, this book is a quick read. The author who wishes to stay anonymous has used enough tricks to keep you glued. The writing is lucid and twists n thrills aplenty. There is no dull moment in the book and makes for an interesting read.

There were questions in my mind about the speed with which an ugly duckling turns into a swan but I ignored them, yes the same Bollywood logic of ignoring logic. The reason why this book works despite this flaw is because there is a bit of reality in the book.

A rare corporate thriller from Indian Contemporary Writing camp surely makes it a must read for people who love the genre of fast paced books.

My Rating 3/5

Home Search Chronicle Part III - This one is for the Brokers

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:35:00 PST

Yes am back with the series, you can read the Part I & Part II here n here

As you all are aware that while we were searching for a flat to buy we were also looking out for a rented apartment. Due to the horror stories that we had heard about & based on our own experience we did not want to go through a broker. A word was passed to all our friends, colleagues & I was keeping an eye on our internal office magazine. My hubby & father in law took on the daunting task of visiting all the societies near our home.

Luckily my FIL’s search struck gold and we were informed of an apartment available in the vicinity and that too through a man who was a neighbour of the owner. We were happy. Negotiations were on and we went to check out the flat. The owner was not there but this guy showed us the flat and towards the end muttered to my FIL, “I will take one month’s rent”. Needless to say my FIL was shocked. See, we were always under the impression that this guy was doing a good deed but the fact that he had interest in the whole affair came as a surprise to us. Anyways the deal finally didn’t work out and our stay also got extended for some months.

Couple of months later when it was again time to move my hubby contacted the same guy. You must be wondering why we contacted him when we knew he was a broker. We thought that at the end of the day the guy looked genuine & was doing his job only. Upon contacting him he showed us as an apartment which was fitting well with all our needs. Rent was reasonable; we would have stayed in the same where we were staying & though there were some compromises which we had to make in the house but we decided to give some advance and seal the deal.

And then began the game of brokerage. This guy demanded 2 months’ rent as unlike the normal practice of one month rent. My husband bargained asking him to settle for 1.5 month’s brokerage & to get the rent reduced accordingly. This guy reverted to us a day later and confirmed that the deal is ok and my hubby promised that next day he will hand over an advance to him.

Next day he went to give him the money but he requested my hubby to come the next day. So next day he goes there again only to find another broker with this broker. Yes, one pe one free types. Now, this guy was a rude one, he again started bargaining over the brokerage but my hubby stuck his ground and asked these two buggers to settle amongst themselves. Needless to say they had a heated argument after which the new broker barged my hubby with things like, “you will have to come tomorrow for police verification (next day was Friday), you need to pay the brokerage in cash only and the same goes about the deposit.”

If I have to sum up his attitude it was as like, “you pay me the brokerage & deposit but the headache of a police verification, agreement signing and all is yours but you should do it as per my convenience and time. And you have to listen to me because I am the one with the keys.” Hubby was agitated and they finally settled to finish the formalities on Saturday afternoon.

Friday morning we get a call from the broker with whom we had been interacting informing us that the deal stands cancelled as the owner has given the flat to someone else. When my hubby protested on the unfairness of the scenario all he said was “I know sir that this is not done but this is how it is and nothing is in my hands.”

To say that we were angry would be an understatement. We were in a happy space that we have found a house and everything is settled but this was a jolt which brought us back to square one. What was more infuriating was the premise of the whole deal. I mean you are at the mercy of the shoddy brokers and you cannot say anything at all. It takes a call for them to cancel deals on their whims & fancy leaving us stranded in the process.

There are many examples of the arrogant attitude that the brokers show. For example my hubby was inquiring about a particular society when this slimy looking guy entered the scene. With gelled & back combed hair this guy looked straight out of a C Grade Bollywood movie but attitude unmatchable. The price he quoted for his flat was 1 crore. Ha! And that was a shoddy society. His justification was “this is what I take & I am not bothered about what facts you present. If you can, take it at this price but don’t expect me to bow down.”

Unfortunately in Mumbai the rent or purchase price is not decided by the condition of the property but three factors

Location
Location &
Location

So if your flat is in an area which is in the vicinity of all amenities (read local train station, nearness to city & malls) you can charge the running rate despite the fact that your flat might be in a dilapidated state and if by good fortune your flat is in a good condition then you have the license to ask for the upper limit of the running bandwidth of rent. Unfair? Read on.

My husband was talking to a colleague who stayed in the same area

Hubby: Do you know any flat in this area? We are interested in buying one.

Colleague: Hmmmm…. Let me think

And he walks off only to come back some 10 mins later.

C: I have a flat there & I was thinking of selling it off.

H: Oh where?

And the colleague tells him the specifics and the society turns out to be one of those old dilapidated ones.

H: What is the price that you are expecting?

C: 80 Lakhs!

H: What? But that is the rate for the big towers with all the amenities.

C: See, this is the rate of the locality. As it is this building will be coming up for redevelopment and you will get a good return.

Husband was left speechless.

I mean WTH! You want to sell what is yours at an inflated price because you feel that the buyer might benefit later so why to leave my pound of flesh???

Totally unfair but this is how the Mumbai real estate functions. Buyers are at the mercy of builder/ broker. The deal can be cancelled by the later if the former fails to pay on time but nobody can say anything to them if they are at fault. Infuriating no? I mean we shell out our hard earned money but have no control over the final product.

Sometimes I feel where has the conscience factor gone?? People have become heartless as far as money is concerned. They are concerned with their profit, nothing more and nothing less than that. This is one sector which is full of crooks and I am yet to meet a broker who I feel I can trust. These cheats sound so convincing and helpful when on phone, they will have JUST the apartment that you want & in your budget but once you meet them ha! The dream apartment was just taken away, why don’t you see this one? Sir, this is the best one, better than what you were wanting, ya price is a little higher but sir see na, the location is fantastic, & the builder is good.

WTH!!!

Will finish this post with this incident

A friend received an SOS call from her broker requesting them to rush to a spot; he had JUST the house for them. My friend dropped everything and went there & her husband came out from work. When they met the broker he was standing in front of the building in question and said, “Ma’am this is the building and see it is in front of Sri Devi’s house.”

My friend said, ok! But can we see the flat now?

Broker: Err! The owner is not there right now so we cannot see the flat, but Madam, see the location it is right in front of Sri Devi’s house.

My friend was about to blow out and asked him, “If the owner was not there why did you call us so urgently?”

Broker says, Ma’am! I wanted you to see the location.

And I rest my case…..

More to follow on the series...

Where the Bulbul Sings

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:27:00 PST

Title: Where the Bulbul Sings

Author: Serena Fairfax

Price: INR. 645/- (Avlbl for 613/- at Flipkart)

Publication: Cinnamonteal Publishing

Set in the last days of British Raj, Where the Bulbul Sings is the story of three generations of an Anglo Indian family. Hermie, a headstrong Anglo Indian girl, feels that the small town of Ajeemkot, where she stays with her parents isn’t enough for her to fulfil her dreams. She decides to move to Delhi in hope to find a rich British man and a way to move to her home, Britain.

Life however isn’t as rosy as it seems from far, she struggles, takes up the job of a nanny to make ends meet. Along the way she meets Edith, a German who was exiled from her country during the world war. Two become friends for life.

Having turned her back from family, Hermie could however not serve her ties from her mother and her illness makes her take a profession which gives her a past that she must hide at any cost. Riding over all the difficulties in her life Hermie manages to woe a Britisher & gets married to him. She keeps her past hidden even hiding the fact that she is an Anglo Indian, not that her husband couldn’t guess it.

Life moves on, her husband passes away, she was leading a tranquil life when past catches upon her. A past which has a love child, a niece & the danger of her carefully crafted image of being a memsahib questioned.

And then there are the side stories of Edith, HH (the Prince of Walipur), his wife, Son Rahul, Hermie’s niece Kay which keep the story going.

What happens further in the story is for you to read.

My Verdict

Covering an era, this book moves at its own pace, detailing the life & times of Hermie. A little slow in the beginning the book catches upon my fancy when it enters the present era. Though I enjoyed the book but when it comes to reviewing it somehow I am unable to writing anything great here, I wonder why.

*Spoiler Alert*

My only issue with the book was the misleading blurb at the back of the book. When you read the blurb you feel some major drama is about to happen or some earth shattering confrontations will happen but the whole opening up of the secret & the wrapup thereafter is is just so lame.

*Alert ends*

That said the book makes an interesting read and gives us a peek into the world & psyche of Anglo Indians. How they felt when they were considered as poor cousins of Brits and how they fared after India became independent. It also gives us a peek into their culture & ways. A well written book without major fuss and drama, worth a read.

My Rating 2.75/5

Overwinter

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:38:00 PST

Title: Overwinter

Author: Ratika Kapur

Price: INR. 495/-

Publisher: Hachette India

Edition: Hardback

Ketaki has had a volatile relationship with men. Ranging from having a solely lustful relationship with a guy called Krishna to a purely platonic one with Adil. Not that she has never been a stable relationship, she was once living-in with a guy called Lara when she was based abroad. But it was one man who dominated her life & relationships, her uncle Deepak and when he meets an accident and slips into coma, her life comes to a halt.

In between trying to get a reaction out of her indifferent Massi (Deepak uncle’s wife), to fielding matrimonial alliances from her Mamaji & handling her own emotional turmoil over the health of her uncle, her hands are full. To make matters worse her father comes down from New York and drops a bomb on her by revealing a well-kept family secret. A secret which not only makes her question her relationship with her uncle but gives her a reason for the indifferent attitude that her Massi has towards her husband.

Will Ketaki be able to break over the wall that her Massi has created around her?

Will she be able to get answers to the questions which keep moving around her mind?

Will manage to get into a stable relationship despite the instability that she has seen around her?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

Set in Delhi this book is a volatile read. Ranging from being dark, contemplative, introspective the book has many emotions. The author doesn’t give too much emphasis on the past but its shadow never leaves the book. Delhi has been portrayed quite well in the book but unlike her contemporaries the author’s portrayal of the city is quite subtle.

I loved the book for the way the emotions & mental trauma has been handled. There is no major confrontation, no hohallah but you can feel the turmoil each character is going through.

A must read book about how human emotions can be manipulated with and how just far man can go to fulfil his/ her whims and desires. The best part about it is that is not judgmental, the author leaves it on the reader to decide what is right or wrong, all she does is narrating a story and I must say well narrated. We need more such writings to take Indian Fiction forward.

My rating 4/5

P.S. The book was Longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2010

Shifting Woes & This n That of Life...

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:08:00 PST

Phew!!!

Have been posting book reviews but have not actually been regular, no? Well, so many things have been happening around me that it is a surprise that I am getting time to breath.

We finally moved out of the old place and into a new rented apartment. We have moved out the locality where we had stayed for past 5 years, were a bit apprehensive about moving out of the comfort zone but we have now moved near the locality where we have booked a flat. Ah! I haven’t shared that information till now na? More on that later. So, as I was saying all our apprehensions about this new place have blown away and we like it. Though my travelling time has increased by 15 mins but I am now travelling by employee bus which is very comfortable.

Travelling by bus means I am getting time to read and to see how many books I have finished reading you should check out this page. But this also means I have stopped going by train and sadly I am missing all the things associated with it. The thing that I am missing the most is my train group, what ruckus we used to create and now when I am travelling in a bus full of middle aged (no offense intended) uncles, I end up yawning half the time.

Shifting reminds me of the nightmare of packing. After much deliberation we had finalised a local mover & packer who by chance was our maid’s husband. Boy did we regret the decisions? While all the other movers & packers had estimated that they would need roughly 30-32 cartons these idiots came in with half a dozen. Before I could even digest that information my hubby told me that they have come with sacks. When asked how they were planning to pack in all the other stuff, they just pointed towards bed sheets. Yes, our stuff was moved & packed in sacks & big potli’s of double bed sheets. Our plans for segregating the stuff that we will open only when we shift to our own place went for toss because these idiots just stuffed everything and pop it went out. We were getting relieved when the rooms were getting cleared but I almost had a heart attack when I saw it dumped in the new place. Imagine a room full of stuff packed in various bed sheets imagine the situation when you untie the knot and out rolls everything. To add to our agony our Made-In-Bought-From-Big-Bazaar-Cupboards-Sold-as-wood-but-actually-scrap-material broke in transit. Imagine we have got stuff in bed sheets which cannot be left unopened but we have no place to keep them. What a sight it was I tell you.

As I recount the whole thing I am getting goose bumps. Imagine these idiots just swarmed in and packed all my clothes before I could even spell the word and I was left wearing a stupid suit which too was spoilt when my L’lle devil decided to protest as I cleaned his potty. Yuck!

I don’t want to remember that day. I just thank God that despite all odds nothing was broken which I must say I a miracle. Though there is still a lot to be done but as soon as my kitchen, washing machine & beds were set, I was happy. This shifting also made us realise that we have managed to collect so much kabada that even the thought give me a headache. We have made a resolution that we will clean up our act before we move in to our place. Say amen! To that please :)

The other knife which was hanging on her heads when we were shifting was the disbursement of loan amount to the builder. This in itself is a long story and I will be writing a post on that but if I have to summarise it then it goes like this. We had applied for a loan with SBI (despite knowing that they are slow), given all the documents that they had asked for and they stretched the whole process for two months only to land us in such a jeopardy that we could have ended up losing a unfathomable sum of money. Thankfully HDFC didn’t fall short of our expectations & and the whole thing was wrapped up yesterday in record 8 days. But till the point it was not done I was fielding calls from the builder & bank and trust me it was giving me jitters. I was so stressed out that I cannot even explain. Will write about the whole episode in detail, hopefully soon.

So that quite sums up my last fortnight which has been a little bitter and a little sweet but I guess these all are a part & parcel of life.

On other fronts my L’lle one is growing up fast, that day when we were busy unpacking he managed to walk out of the apartment and when we rushed out upon realisation, he was caught climbing the stairs. After getting caught he says “park” bole to he was saying I am going to park. I shudder to think what would have happened had he fallen off the stairs. Vaise he is slowly becoming one talkative fellow and it is fun when he repeats the words that we say. Sigh! How time flies no?

BTW did you notice that blogger has started nested commenting? I tried activating it, tweaked the HTML and ended up having the present state when comments are appearing twice and no I did the unthinkable by not taking a backup. Humph! Search for a new template is on.

Besides that have finished reading many books and even managed to keep with my book review commitment. Yay!!

That’s it from my end now, hoping to go blog hopping soon and also will try replying to all the pending comments. Wish me luck!

Vivek & I

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:49:00 PST

Title:         Vivek & I
Author:    Mayur Patel
Price:        INR. 299/- (Available for Rs. 284 at Flipkart)
Publisher: Penguin Books India

Kaushik, a teacher by profession takes up a job in a local school of a sleepy town called Valai in Gujarat. Trying to come to terms with a broken heart, he feels that there could no place better than this small town to nurse himself to normalcy. What he had not bargained for were nosey people, small town gossip, a colleague falling for him & last but not the least falling in love again.

Falling in love again and that too with his own student, Vivek, Kaushik faces a dilemma. He is not sure how Vivek, who in all probability is straight, take his confession in case he decides to make one. He is scared that in the process he might lose on the lovely friendship that has developed between them. He has become a mentor, a role model & a support system for Vivek and he cannot fathom to lose to that trust.

To add to his woes the thoughts of Krishna (his ex) do not leave him. While he is struggling with the demons from his past & present, a colleague, a female teacher falls in love with Kaushik and is not ready to accept his rejection. He loves her friendship but cannot come out in open because he feels that Valai is too small a town to accept the fact that he is gay.

What will Kaushik do?

Will he confess his love to Vivek & risk his friendship?

Or will better instincts prevail and he would let it be?

If yes then can he bear the budding romance Vivek feels towards a classmate of his?

Or will jealousy override his emotions?

Will he ever let go of what happened between him & Krishna?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

I have read a book on lesbian relationship (Manju Kapur’s A Married Woman) but this is a first Gay romance that I have read and to be honest I took some time to get adjusted to the whole premises of a guy lusting for a guy. No, I have nothing against a gay or lesbian relationship. I have been an advocate of each to its own but reading about it is a little more than just talking about an issue.

Initial hiccups aside the book becomes a worthy read and handles a sensitive issue with a maturity which is commendable. I am sure somebody who feels the way the protagonist feel will relate to the book.

The writing is lucid and the way the book moves from present to past to reach to a conclusion is very good. There is no urgency to conclude the book and it works in its favour. Recently I have read so many books which are in such a tearing hurry that no time is spent on characterisation and that is why the change is a welcome relief. You start feeling for the characters and their happiness & sorrow begin to matter to you.

The other thing that I loved was the setting of the book, the way the author has described the small town makes you yearn to live in one. I specially loved the rainy setup of the book.

My only issue with the book was that the protagonist keeps on devising ways to win over his love but towards the end when he let goes and decides to choose a path that will give him peace it happens a bit to suddenly. When the reader has a feeling that how will the author wrap it all up a solution springs suddenly.

But otherwise it is a nice, peaceful book. It shows a small town life in a nice way and handles a taboo topic quite respectfully and the fact that the proatgonist is gay is just another thing in the book, no major ho hallah has been made around it. All in all a book which leaves you tranquil in a way. A good read. A love story with a difference is how I will describe this book!

My Rating 3.5/5

Zero Percentile–2.0, Missed IIT kissed Gurgaon

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:42:00 PST

Sorry for going missing from this space. Been tied up with hundred & ten things which I will share in the coming week. Please bear with me for some time and in the meanwhile here is a book review :-)

Title: Zero Percentile–2.0, Missed IIT kissed Gurgaon

Author: Neeraj Chhibba

Price: 140/- (Available for Rs. 105/- @ Flipkart)

Publisher: Rupa & Co.

A sequel to Zero Percentile Missed IIT Kissed Russia, this book is the story of Motu, Pankaj, Priya, Arjun & Nitin each fighting a battle within.

Motu is trying to save his company from an eminent hostile takeover. For him this company is his bread, butter, heart & soul and he leave no stone unturned to save it. But what is disturbing him is the fact that it might be Pankaj who is behind the takeover.

Priya works with Motu but is in love with Pankaj. She is torn between her two best friends, whom will she chose.

Arjun is a single father bringing up a special child. His wife had left them when she realised that she had given birth to a daughter who was not perfect.

Nitin is fighting the battle of AIDS and the stigma associated with it.

Pankaj is a changed man, betrayal by people whom he had trusted the most makes him a ruthless man. For him it is money which matters the most.

These 5 parallel but interconnected stories form Zero Percentile 2.0, partly written in flashback the book takes us through the lives of the each character and how they build up a software firm merely on the basis of their talent, hard work & perseverance and how few mistakes unravels the finely built partnership. How they build back the burnt bridges forms the crux of the book.

My Verdict

This book is a sequel to Zero Percentile and takes forward the story of Pankaj, Motu & Priya. The first book had the advantage of a new setting, Russia and this book shows us the time when software industry had just begin to thrive and there were success stories all around. This itself is a novelty according to me and sets the book apart.

The book begins slowly and makes you wonder about the lingering past which is discussed continuously but not revealed until later. As soon as the past begins to unravel the book catches a pace and becomes a fast paced roller coaster ride.

The grudge that I have with this book is that it tries to pack in too many issues. Fighting the stigma against AIDS, issues faced by parents (single parents) while seeking admission for a special child in a school, the 26/11 saga, it has all and mind you these are just side stories and have been dealt with very quickly which makes you feel that they have been wrapped up too quickly and given easy solutions.

But all that doesn’t take the fact away from the book that it is immensely readable and the plot keeps you glued in about what will happen next.

A fast paced book about ambitions, friendship, love & life that is how I will sum up this book. Go grab a copy and am sure you will finish it one sitting.

My Rating 3/5

My review of Zero Percentile, Missed IIT Kissed Russia.

Up Next

Book Review of Vivek & I

Gujarati Kitchen - A Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:49:00 PST

Title: Gujarati Kitchen

Author: Bhanu Hajratwala

Price: INR/- 395

Publication: Westland - Cookery

I saw the title of the book & started dreaming.

I had the book in my hands and I started drooling over the pictures.

I read the book and felt like trying each & every recipe.

I tried few and fell in love with them.

If you have been following my blog regularly you will know that I have a very strong Gujarat connection. Have spent some 8-9 years there and albeit slowly but steadily have fallen in love with their cuisine. To be honest I started with being wary of the fact that all that they cook is sweet and then I went on to the phase of hating the food that was supplied by my dubbawala. It was much later that I really started enjoying their food. If you really need to know the taste of Gujarati food you either need to eat at somebody’s home or you need to visit those Gujarati Thali joints. Such is my love for Gujju food that I have searched a Thali joint here as well and keep having my fill of the taste and that is the very reason that when I saw this book up for grabs at Blogadda I decided to nominate myself and boy did I regret? Nah!!!

The book begins with a introduction from the author and states her culinary journey. Having spent her life abroad she struggles to bring up Indian recipes with limited ingredients. How she crosses the hurdles, learns new dishes, experiments, teaches people around her forms the crux of the introduction and trust me it makes for a good read.

What follows next is a delight for people who love to cook or people who wish to learn cooking. The book is divided into sections like, Starters, Main Dishes, Breads, Pickles etc. and goes on detailing on each recipes. The only thing that shocked me was a Non Veg section in the book, I mean Gujarat food & Non veg are not surely not synonymous but when you read the Introduction you will realise where it comes from.

Let me state in bullet points as to what makes this book a great help

The author has taken special care in describing the basics like measurements, translation of names of spices in English/ Hindi. This would be of great help for people who are starting to learn cooking.
Each & every recipe has been described in fine details, in fact in some cases where folding is required the author has taken pains to illustrate it with diagrams.
The pictures with the book are damn good. what makes the pictures work is the fact that though have been taken nicely and the food presented beautifully but still there is something in the presentation of the food that isn’t too polished and makes it look believable. Mind you that makes a huge difference to me because I get assured that even I can make it :)

This review wouldn’t have been honest & complete if I had not tried one of the recipes, thus I decided to cook Methi Thepla. This is one dish that we all love at home and I have been making with hit & trial so when I had an authentic recipe in my hand I decided to try it. And here is the result. (I made Thepla in the laccha paratha fashion ;))

I served it with Tomato chutney and Shreekhand the latter of course was not made at home but the book carries it’s recipe also and I am gonna try it soon. The Thepla's were a hit and everyone over ate.

Thank you Blogadda for such a delicious book.

My Rating 5/5

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Some News & Lots of Challenges ;-)

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:17:00 PST

Happy New Year dear friends :)

Firstly my apologies for disappearing from the blogosphere (I was away for a valid reason but more on that later) and secondly thanks for the lovely feedback on my interview at Blogadda. Each comment there and in the post here is precious for me and I will be replying to each one of them soon.

The reason of my absence was the sickness of L’lle one. He was suffering from throat infection because of which he had high fever, which also resulted in him not eating anything (he is teething also) and which resulted in a severe case of constipation. In few words last few days have been hell, with him having restless nights, not eating anything & having trouble over something as simple as potty. I mean he is a nanhi si jaan and the amount of pain he had gone through gives me Goosebumps. Thankfully now he is on the road of recovery. Here I must say that all said and done I have given birth to a smart L’lle fellow. This isn’t coming from the mouth of a proud mother; let me tell you why I am saying what I am saying.

He has never given us any problem in taking medicines but when he is sick he just refuses to take them. So we go to lengths like holding his arms, legs etc. to give him medicine. But the smart fellow outdid us this time. As soon as we would go near him with a spoon he would start shaking his head from left to right (as if saying no-no) which literally meant that even if we managed to hold onto the rest of his body it would still be difficult to give him medicine and even if we managed, some of it would still spill over. As my hubby said to him, “where do you learn all these tricks from?” I seriously wonder where do kids get these ideas from. Seriously! Thankfully those days are over and I wish he never falls sick again because it tears our heart to see the bundle of energy down.

Besides this, life has been hectic. We are moving out to another rented apartment next week, the move would mean my travelling time will increase but the area we are moving-in is good. Another piece of god news is that hubby’s office is moving to a nearby area which would reduce his commuting time from 2.5 hours to 45 mins. Isn’t that amazing? The whole movement reminds me that I need to come up with Part 3 of my House Hunt series; I have loads of masala to share.

In fact there are many more posts that are brewing in my mind wish I had more time but lack of it is not deterring me from opening a new blog. Yes, very soon I am coming up with a new blog on Cooking. I have always been fond of the same, even had a group blog for it but now have decided to foray in it all alone. The blog has been made, Title given but it needs finishing touches. So may be in a fortnight will share the link here.

That brings me to another love of mine i.e. books. In 2011 I had taken 2 challenges and managed to complete 1 successfully.

The first one was S Krishna’s 2011 South Asian Challenge. Under that challenge I managed reading 32 books and accordingly I can crown myself to be a South Asian Guru ;-), the list of books that I had read can be found here.

This year again I am taking up the challenge again and this is my sign up for that.

Besides that I took the Good reads challenge wherein I had committed to read 50 books but as per their widget I have read only 17 books which is impossible. So I need to go check that and unfortunately I am not getting time to do so at home. One day! And yes I am taking up the Goodreads challenge for 2012 and have committed to read 50 Books!!! Yes that many!!! Wish me luck :)

Besides that I am committing myself to the challenge put up by The Book Vixen and the goal is very simple, I need to outdo myself in the number of books that I had read in 2011. So good luck to me on that.

And to top it all, I pledge that I will review if not more, then at least one book per week. Which simply translates to 48 reviews and if I can review more than that then I will treat myself to a chocolate fantasy at CCD ;-)

I am calling this challenge a “Let’s Review More n More books” Challenge!!! Game for it? If you are then feel free to pick this badge and flaunt it on your blog

Up for the challenge?

Updated on 9th Jan '12

After reading Reema's post I have decided to add 1 more challenge here with a hope that it will overlap with the above challenges and would be an easy go ;)

Off The Shelf Challenge where we are supposed to read those unread books that have been lying neglected in our bookshelf for God Knows how long. You can read the details of the same here. The level that I have chosen is Tempted (5 books to read

The Girl in the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:06:00 PST

Title: The Girl in the Garden

Author: Kamala Nair

Price: INR 495/- (Available for 371/- at Flipkart)

Publisher: Hachette Book Group

Rakhee lives with her fiance in Minnesota but one fine day when he wakes up all he can find is a letter from her. A letter which makes him come face to face with the past of his fiance. In her letter Rakhee narrates to him the story of her life. A story which she feels can make or break her relationship with her fiance. The book unfolds as he reads the letter.

Her mother had left her & her father when she was 10 year old. She remembers her first & only trip to India; a trip that would change their lives forever. In India she meets her mother’s relatives. She freaks out with her three cousins and comes face to face with things which had been hidden from her. Secrets like why her mother had fled from everything she had loved & the fact that her mother could have a guy (who is not her father) in her life shocks Rakhee to the core. And then she finds respite in the mysterious & beautiful garden behind their house a place that is out of bounds for everyone.

The walled up garden behind their house holds a big secret, a secret which shatters Rakhee’s life & her beliefs.

What is the secret & what is behind the wall is best read.

My Verdict

I wish I could have elaborated more on story but trust me it is very difficult. Not that there is no story but the fact is that there is so much that if I let out anything the book will lose its fun. That is why I want you to discover the book by reading it yourself.

Beautifully written this book is a treat to read. The way each layer peels off and the secret is revealed is lovely. In fact I guessed the direction of the book or rather the secret but the way it was narrated, it was charming. The characters are developed well; there is enough suspense to keep you glued in.

The secret though is a little unbelievable but then the there is a magic in the book which makes it like a fable, a fable which you want to believe in despite the fact that you know that it cannot happen in real life. Another thing that stands out is the description of India, it will surely remind you of our own summer vacations & dilemmas we face as kids when thrown in a completely new environment.

Difficult to believe that this is a debut book of the author, she surely has a way with words.

My rating 4/5

Before I forget!!! The thing that made me pick this book above others was the beautiful cover. The textrue of the paper used in cover & the imprint on the cover makes it beautiful.

Reviews to coming up next

The House of Silk
Mumbai Roller Coaster
Zero Percentile 2.0: Missed IIT Kissed Gurgaon
Vivek & I

Interviewed!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:01:00 PST

Announcement time!!!

It takes me immense pleasure to share with you the fact that I was interviewed by Blogadda and the same is now live on their. If you are interested ~~to get bored~~ to know a little about me, hop on there.

Pssst!!! Wish you all a Very Happy New Year!!!

Some Senseless Conversation Over Somebody's B'day!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:24:00 PST

Yesterday Airtel network was down for the full day and getting a call through was a nightmare and despite all odds the following conversation managed to happen between me n hubby

My phone rings

Me: Hello!
Him: You are not baking any cake today?
Me: I want to but the one I had baked for me B’day is still there so let’s finish that first.
Him: I cannot believe that you are not doing anything special today.
Me: I want to, maybe I will get a pastry and we can cut it to celebrate his birthday.
Him: Whatever!

We talk over some inane stuff and disconnect the call.

Sometime later again my phone rings

Me: Hello!
Him: What are the plans for evening?
Me: No plans, you tell. I will cook something special for him.
Him: Let’s go out.
Me (with a grin): Where?
Him: Let’s go for a show of qawwali?
Me: What!!!
Him (with a snicker): There is a show of qawwali at Kurla lets go there.
Me: Baah!!

And I disconnected the call.

Kurla is one of those seedy locations famous for playing all C-Garde, D-Grade movies, all seedy things like a chor bazar etc can be found there. A portion of the locality is such that it is a total no go for me.

2 mins later I call him back.

Him: Hello!
Me: I know where we will go in the evening?

Him: Where?
Me: We will go to his Panvel farmhouse; he is celebrating his birthday there.
Him (with a snicker): They need a maid to clean the farmhouse?
Me: Baah!! Not me, they need a male cleaner that’s why I am taking you.
Him: hehehe…how will you gain entry?
Me: I will get it anyhow.
Him: Gain access by showing L’lle one, say “baccha hai bhaiya jaane do”.
Me: Ya!!! I will say, se he is your biggest fan and then we will play “Dhinka Chikka” and L’lle one will do the rest by dancing on the tunes.
Him: And what will L’lle one say when he sees Salman Khan?
Me: He will say Daddy!!!
Him: Huh!!!
Me (with giggles): He will say “Daddy where have you been????”
Him: Ya! Ya! Ya! Ya!
Me: Ya! Ya! Ya! Ya!

If you haven’t guessed the reason behind the conversation till now, let me throw all the light on it. I was Salman Khan’s birthday yesterday and my hubby was trying to tease me on it ;)

Belated Birthday wishes to the handsomest man on this earth!!!

Cake Time!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:25:00 PST

It's that time of the year when you eat, breath & dream of cakes. So, I thought no time better than today to recap the cakes that we baked & ordered this year. Ya! Ya! I am evil that ways, I love to tempt all you guys, I mean why should I be the only one to drool over things which are out of bounds ;)

My First Vegan Cake

Ah!!! L'lle One ki B'day Cake

I ate a lot of them thanks to Cafe Coffee Day

This was made by me for Hubby's B'day, looks childish no?

This I made for my Parents Anniversary

The images that follow are of the cakes which I wish I could make

Sigh!!!! I wish I could do the icing a little more professionally but practise makes one perfect so am on it :)

And the cake that is being planned to be baked today is Date & Walnut Cake without Walnut because we don't have walnut ;) recipe courtesy Divya's blog

So on this note Wish you a Merry Christmas to all you guys!!!!

When Will We Learn To Value Our Life?

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:25:00 PST

The week that went by was pretty hectic and that’s the very reason that I have not been able to reply to your comments in my last post. As I had share with you, my Mom was visiting us and then there was the omnipresent house search, yes we are back in the market looking for a rented flat. Wish us luck!!

The other thing which dominated my thoughts in the past week was something sad. Let me tell you about it.

As you know I travel by local trains and we are a group of people who work for the same company (but different departments) and travel together. Some of these people are old timers and have been travelling on this route for years, through them I had come to know of a lady named Shruti who used to come in our train to sell some lovely junk jewellery. She was a soft spoken; hardly 23-24 years, had two kids the youngest one must be 2 now. The best thing about the lady was as much you might haggle with her, she never lost her control and would always speak sweetly; she would even get stuff specially requested by us. I myself have taken 4-5 pearl bangles from her, in fact whatever stuff I have bought in train was taken through her only.

So, last Saturday when I was standing at the station waiting for the train a friend of mine walked towards me and said, “Did you hear about Shruti?” when I replied in negative she narrated a story which gives me goose bumps even as I write it down here.

Last to last Tuesday this lady was selling some stuff in the train when her station drew in; though she wanted to get down; a customer was haggling with her over 10 Re and by the time the issue was resolved the train had started moving, unfortunately she still decided to get down. These people are seasoned traveller and are expert in getting in & out of moving trains but apparently it wasn’t her lucky day. As she got down her foot got entangled in her saree and she lost balance and fell down. All her material fell off from her hands and waist down she went under the train. She tried her level best to hold onto something or to gather some balance but if you have seen a moving train then you surely know how next to impossible it is. Her sister-in-law who had gotten down the same train saw all this happening and rushed to help her once the train was gone.

If I go into gory details then it goes like this, she was cut from waist and was alive when rescued. Hospitalised for around 1 day she passed away after requesting her brother to look after her kids. Apparently her husband hadn’t been very good to her while she was alive and she didn’t trust him enough to expect him to take good care of her kids. Last heard the husband was in a state of shock.

So was I.

She was hardly 23-24 for God sake. What a waste of life and for what? The mere thought that she has two little kids makes me sad & angry. Angry because she could have been living today had she not decided to get off a moving train. I am sure she decided to get down because it would have made some business sense to her, she would have earned more money but on hindsight she would have earned more had she been alive. Daily I see so many people rushing to catch train, they run across the highway without seeing left or right with just one thought in mind; I need to catch this local to reach early. To put it lightly, sab jaan hatheli pe rakh ke bhaagte hain.

I wonder do they ever think that if unfortunately their calculations go wrong they might not even reach. You can always get another train, true it might be after 15 mins but at least you will reach home alive. I wonder why can’t people understand this basic fact.

This reminds me of another accident which happened in the same week when four youths were killed in an accident when their car had hit a tree & then crashed into a concrete barrier.Needless to say they were driving at a high speed, were drunk & were involved in racing. How many times do we read about drunk & drive accidents? How many times are we told not to indulge in same? And still we read about one such incident almost daily (I know I have quoted a very small figure).

Why do we do not value our life?

Who do we always take it for granted?

Do people even think of what they leave behind when they take a snap decision?

I agree we all have our destinies written before we even come but why do we indulge in actions which are in our control & can be avoided.

I repeat my question, why don’t we value our life?

Do you have any answers?

Sadly I don’t.

All I can think of the babies of the lady who is no more & parents of the young guys. Imagine what they must be going through.....

This, That & All That!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:06:00 PST

Last week when I was going through my blog I realised that I have either been posting my house hunt woes or a book review so I thought it’s time to add some personal updates! Some tales from my life

Weight Loss Tales

Not that there has been any ~~considerable~~ weight loss but since it is my blog I will give whatever headings I want to. With that in place let me begin.

That day I was standing at the platform waiting for the train to come when my friend approached me

F: Hey! You haven’t lost much weight even after joining the gym na?

Me: Err! I had joined the gym but was regular for only 15 days, took a 2 month break but from today only I resumed gyming.

Ya! Despite all my weight loss drama I wasn’t regular at the gym but I had house hunt worry on my head :P

F: That’s what! J says you have lost weight.

Me: Errr! Few more people have said that but I honestly I don’t know.

F to J: See she hasn’t being going to the gym

J: But she has lost weight!

Needless to say I was on cloud nine and if you are wondering about the lack of enthusiasm that F had towards my losing weight, well, let me elaborate on that. Some 9 months back F had delivered a baby and we both are in the same boat as far as losing weight is concerned, while I have joined gym she hasn’t. So the mere mention that I have lost weight but she hasn’t surely had sent shivers down her back hehehe…

It is as simple as this “I might or might not lose weight but somebody else who is in the same boat SHOULD NOT lose weight.”

In fact when I resumed gym I was looking out for people who were there when I had joined in October and when I saw them I was happy-happy-happy. Wondering why? Well none of them have lost any weight ;) so basically we are still on the same page :D

BTW Do you do the peeking tom thing in gym? Nah! You dirty minds I don’t mean what you are thinking, I am talking about peeking onto the neighbouring Tread Mill to check out the speed at which your neighbour is running. I do it a lot!! Though I have never been competitive in other fields of my life but workout is something where I want to excel, Ya! I am strange that ways.

Oh! I digress. So I peek into my neighbour’s tread mill and if I find him/ her doing better than me than I conclude “they have been doing this for so many months, I have joined just now.” But if I see myself doing better, needless to say I feel proud of myself & pat my back ;)

Life in General

So, we have come to terms with the fact that Dev Anand is no more but when I read about no body from his fraternity attending his funeral, I was sad, he had a very dull send off, so very unlike his personality. I wonder how he must have felt in his last moments, facing death not at home but in some alien country.

Another thing that irked me was how Dilip Kumar’s birthday was celebrated. Guess it is life which is celebrated & death makes people forget you.

Updates from L’lle One

Few weeks back we took L’lle for his 1st Birthday party and man did he freak out? He had his first lollipop there and it was all over him. In fact soon as he started sucking-in the thing I was amazed with the fact that how some things come so naturally to kids. Nobody told him but he knew that pop it goes in. Here is a picture that I managed to click of him

Lollipop!

Besides this the brat has added many new words in his ever increasing vocabulary. He very clearly says mumma office gayi, dubba, ele (for elephant), eep (for sheep), karta hai, aaub naiga (he is taking his name and saying I will take bath) and did I tell you the Kolaveri tale from our household???

Well the thing is we only have to sing first few words of the song & he goes pa-pa-pa-pa :D

Another thing that he has started recently is throwing things out of the balcony. When few of his toys went missing we thought they must be somewhere under the bed or table but one day his sipper went missing. We were perplexed and the mystery was solved when we went downstairs for a walk and found the nipple of the sipper. The only saving grace in here is that before he goes to throw anything out he mutters “gayi” and runs off towards the balcony thus it is entirely on us to understand his warning & to save the thing :D sigh! The latest victim of gayi was his small glass!!!

He is really turning out to be very naughty. What is that saying?? Haan! Whatever you do in this life, you get it back here & now and aren’t I true example of it?

What he did this Saturday is a gem. He has this habit of coming in the kitchen, standing on his toes & exploring the slab. He takes whatever comes in his hands and goes out (which is so dangerous, I cannot even keep a knife on the edge of the slab). So on this particular day my MIL was in the kitchen when he came, to ward him off she gave a spatula & continued with her work. This l’lle devil of mine took the spatula and followed me inside the bathroom where I was mixing water for his bath. So this guy comes and to my utter horror puts the spatula in the commode and goes splash-2. I still cringe when I remember the incident.

Some Happy News

My Mom is in town. Yay!!! Will get to eat some of her delicious stuff, unfortunately she is in only for 4 days :( but as is said something is better than nothing ;)

BTW How was your weekend? Mine was spent with my parents, I baked a cake for their anniversary an even did some icing, pictures of that will come later :)

Now I will leave you with some of the images of L’lle One!! Have fun like him :D

I call it Baoon!

Can you sleep like this? Bolo Bolo Tell Tell!

My Mumma's Wallet!!

Taaaa!!

Up Next: Book Review

Mumbai Rollercoaster – Rajorshi Chakraborti
The House of Silk - Anthony Horowitz

Next Week:

House Hunt Woes, Part 3

Chicklit & Mush Time!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:09:00 PST

Title: My Bollywood Wedding

Author: Rekha Waheed

Price: INR. 295/-

Publisher: Hachette India, A Little Black Dress Book

Maya Malik like any other girl wants a dream life, a loving partner -her perfect man. Fortunately for her, she finds it in Jhanghir Khan. Having proposed to him in front of thousands of people she is living her dream and things get only better with them deciding to tie the knot. Now is the time for her to realise another of her dream i.e. of having a Bollywood style big glamorous wedding.

But can life be as simple & straight forward? She has many things to fight for. To begin with Jhanghir’s father disowns him because he isn’t happy with this alliance. Then she has to deal with Jhanghir’s crooked Sister-In-Law who leaves no opportunity to insult Maya. To add to her woes there are interfering aunties who know nothing but how to complaint.

With her fiance out of city struggling to make a life without his father’s support, Maya starts having her doubts about the whole thing. Is it worth the effort that she is putting? And then there is the worrying matter of Jhanghir’s ex-fiance who is there with him in New York and to make matters more complex enters Zain, Jhanghir’s cousin. He makes Maya’s heart flutter.

Will Maya’s relationship survive all the odds?

Is Jhanghir the perfect man for her?

Will she get her dream Bollywood wedding?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

Set in London this is the story of a Bangladeshi girl and is a true blue chick lit. it has love, betrayal, scheming ladies, shopping, girly talk and all the required ingredients. What makes this book a worthy read is that it is a roller coaster ride which doesn’t give you time to think, you just want to know what will happen next. A very unputdownable book with enough surprises, twists n turns & many chuckles under its belt.

So, if you are chick lit fan and want to brighten your mood with some mush & love this one’s surely for you.

My Rating: 3/5

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

Title: Saris & the City

Author: Rekha Waheed

Price: INR. 295/-

Publisher: Hachette India, A Little Black Dress Book

Yasmin Yusuf has it all planned. A cushy job as analyst, marriage the guy of her dreams; Samuel and happiness ever after. But do things ever go as per plan?

Dead sure that Sam will be proposing to her on this special date, she leaves no stone unturned to be dressed for the occasion and announces the engagement in front of her colleagues (read a dishy boss). But it turns out that the excitement & secrecy in Sam’s voice wasn’t for she what was expecting. In fact her much anticipated this-is-the-day-I-will-get-engaged-dinner-date turns out to be break up date.

While she was nursing her broken heart she gets other devastating news, she was laid off for a small error. Fortunately her boss Zachary Khan moves her into another sister concern and thus begins a new life for Yasmin. New job with some challenges like saving a sinking lingerie firm, fighting heartache & the flutter of her heart which happens whenever she sees Zachary Khan, life is suddenly exciting for Yasmin.

Will she realise her love for her ex-boss, will she manage to fight the ghost of her past love & most importantly will she manage to save her company & prove her mettle in the corporate world?

Read the book to know more!

My Verdict

A spicy chick lit set in a corporate world this is a book with which you can relate. A racy page turner best for a rainy day or as an in flight read. The best part of the book was the balance between mush, intelligence & chick lit stuff. So go pick it up if you need some cheering up :-)

My Rating: 3/5

The Day When I spoke to Dev Anand...

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:33:00 PST

I had talked about speaking to him here and I was always planning to recount the account one of these days but had never imagined that it will be his death which will bring to story here. Sigh! Let me begin with the post.

Thanks Blogadda for picking it up as their Tangy Tuesday Pick

I think it was 2 months back that I had received that mail. We had laughed at it. The subject of the mail said “Contact No.” and the mail said “Film Actors/Actresses in Bollywood address” and instead of addresses it had the mobile/ LL Nos. of some prominent and some not so prominent Indian Actors & Actresses.

Three of us had received this mail of which one is totally not into movies but I & the other one are movie fanatics. In fact we have another common factor between us, we both are die hard Salman Khan fans but that is another story.

We decided to humour the sender of the mail and needless to say the first number that was fished out was that of Salman Khan and dialled. I must confess that despite the fact that we were giggling & not believing the mail I had butterflies in my stomach as I dialled the number. What I was expecting was that the number would be wrong but when I heard “the number you are dialling doesn’t have the facility to receive calls” I was surprised for a second and then the realisation hit us. This could really be his number and he has such a facility activated because he didn’t want fans to disturb him.

So with a little more trust in the list we started randomly dialling numbers when my friend hit a jack pot. She had dialled Anupam Kher’s number and he had taken the call. She had some random & funny conversation (which I am not narrating here because the post is not about him) with him & disconnected the call. My attempts however were not that successful, the only number that I had got through was the land line of Javed Akhtar where I was put on hold by his secretary and for full 5 mins I was privy to a conversation which she was having either with him or Shabana Azmi about some plans of their to go to Delhi.

After that call I scouted through the list and saw Dev Anand’s number and with baited breath dialled it and here’s what happened

Tring-Tring-Tring-Tring and the call gets picked up

Me: Hello!

The person on the other side: Hello! (Mind you it was said stylishly)

I had recognised the voice & thus with millions of butterflies in my tummy I said

Me: Can I speak to Dev Anand?

Him: Speaking.

Me: Is this really Dev Anand as in Dev Anand?
Him: Yes!!

And I disconnected the call.

Yes, you have read it right; I disconnected the call, because I was scared, excited, bewildered & too shocked to say anything. I was sure it was him because you cannot not identify the stylish way in which Dev Anand usually spoke.

Anyways, I excitedly shared the news with a colleague who is also a big Dev Anand fan & she was sad that I had disconnected the call without talking to him properly. So an hour later I gathered my wits & decided to call him again. This time I was prepared, I played down the conversation that I planned to have with him twice or thrice in my mind and then dialled his number, this time from my mobile and he took the call.

Me: Hello!

DA: Hello!
Me: Can I talk to Mr. Dev Anand (I said this despite the fact that I knew it was him because I wanted to sound formal).
DA: Speaking!! (with his stylish accent)
Me: Is it really Dev Anand?
DA: Ya it is

I could hear the amusement in his voice and by this time I had forgotten all that I had rehearsed.
Me: Sir, I am a big fan yours, have watched all your movies. I got your number from somewhere so I thought that I should speak to you.
DA: Thank you & God Bless you.

And with that he disconnected the call and my sigh was audible across the floor. He spoke in such a dignified gentlemanly manner that I fell in love with him all over again. I am sure none of the present gen stars would or can even come close to what he was when he was alive or when he is no more.

Well, that was the conversation that I had with Dev Anand and will cherish till the day I am alive. I had never thought that a day would come that he would die but yesterday when Vimmuuu broke the news to me through an SMS I was shattered for some time but then I started remembering the way Dev Saheb had lived. If you have been following this blog from long then you will know how big a fan I am of Dev Anand. In fact I have written about him here n here.

What I remember most about him is his hair style, his walking style, his drop dead good lucks & his charm. I have a separate folder in my mobile which has just his songs and of all the gems he has produced my favourite is “Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya”…what a song what words. I will not even start with which movie of his I liked the most because the list would be never ending but yes I would surely add that Hare Rama Hare Krishna was one movie which affected me with its inherent sadness.

Today when he is not there what I remember most about him is; his charm, never ending energy, flair & the charisma. Pick up any newspaper today and what you will see is not mourning but celebration of his life. That is probably how he wanted it. To be remembered for what he has done in life and not be thought of as oh! He is no more there.

I would quote from Mumbai Mirror, “he did not want his fans to remember him as a frail old man, dead & cold, But as the hero who always had a song for his love and a passion for his adventure”.

Sir, I will always remember you as someone who gave us songs for life. Your charisma lies in the very simple fact that we are not crying when you are not there but we are smiling by remembering what all you have given to generations. You will forever live with us with your melodies & movies.

Cheers! To my hero! Cheers to an evergreen Life, Cheers to Dev, Dev Anand!!!

The Litigators

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:58:00 PST

Title: The Litigators

Author: John Grisham

Price: INR 350/- (Available for INR. 245/- @ Flipkart)

Publisher: Hachette India

Finley & Figg, a small time downtown law firm in Chicago specialises in injury claims, quick divorces & were famously known as Ambulance Chasers. It had two partners, Oscar Finely & Wally Figg, neither of them had ever done any serious legal work but were surviving on small time cases.

Oscar has been forever dreaming of a retirement & divorce. Previously a beat cop he had become a lawyer by fluke & by the mere charm of his profession gotten married to a lady who only knew how to blow his money.

In & out of rehab Wally is forever fighting alcoholism was waiting for that one elusive case which could change his life. A believer in advertising, you could see his advertising skills on park benches, city transit buses, cabs etc.

An unlikely pair!

To quote from the book, “how the two men came to be partners in a converted house on Preston Avenue was another story. How they survived without choking each other was a daily mystery.”

And then there is David Zinc, a Harvard Law School Graduate, working for one of the most prominent & reputed Legal Firm in Chicago, earning 500 bucks per hour, working day in day out with no personal life and then he cracks up. He realises he has had enough, quits his job, gets drunk & lands in the office of Finely & Figg all in a day. Sounds crazy? Well it gets crazier when David decides to join Finely & Figg for a measly pay and long before he could understand where he is he gets into a soup along with his partners.

Wally feels he has in his hands a case of a life time and decides to take on one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the States and then begins the fun. They dream of a million dollar settlement and start building dream houses on the same basis. But things are never how they look especially when you are up against seasoned lawyers & big corporate firms. To complicate things none of the three lawyers at Finley & Figg had ever faced a real court and they come face to face with Nadine Karros a litigation partner who was yet to lose a jury trial in her 10 year old career.

What happens next or rather how the novel unfolds is best read.

My Verdict

I had given up on John Grisham and then Ford County Stories came, I had loved that book. Then came, Theodre Boone which again I had loved but when The Litigators came to me from Hachette it was kept in the cupboard only to be taken out when a colleague asked for it. In fact if I have to quote her “you have The Litigators with you & you haven’t read it?”

She read the book, gave it back to me with a ho-hum review. According to her when compared to Grisham’s past work, this was no patch. So, I began this book with mixed feelings and I am glad about that. Because….

I loved the book.

I loved the pace of the book.
I loved the way David chucked everything to chase his dreams. He chucks what people dream of because he wanted a better life. Now, how many of us would really love to do that.
I loved the sometimes subtle & sometimes not so subtle humour of the book.
I loved the way the master story teller of legal thrillers takes this book forward. We all know what will happen with the case but still we turn to the next page to see how it will happen.
I loved the way the plot turns. You know that the novel will culminate into something exciting towards end & the author doesn’t disappoint you.

Yes if I compare this book to “The Partner” or “The Firm” or “The Client” or “The Runaway Jury” this is no patch but if I see it as a standalone book then it doesn’t disappoint you. It is fast paced, interesting & highly readable.

Go for it.

My Rating – 4/5

Up next – Book Reviews of “My Bollywood Wedding”, “Saris & the City” & “ A Girl in the Garden”.

House Search Chronicle Part II - The Dream Home & The Bigger Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:43:00 PST

Continued from here.. *Long but hopefully interesting post alert*

Once we returned from the brokers/ builder’s place we were sad, frustrated & in a way depressed as well. In fact if you ask me I almost gave up the search. It was my hubby who continued with the search. Few more weeks went by we found some good houses but had to forgo them either due to budget constraints or the old B Vs W issue or due to the locality of the house.

And then this Saturday happened. I was putting L’lle one to sleep when hubby rushed to me and said get ready we are going to this builder’s office. The builder in question was the one whose house we had liked but was a little over budget & I was not keen on the locality which though was an upcoming posh area but quite forlorn. So quite reluctantly I got ready and then L’lle one woke up, he was diapered, readied, packed & off we went. While we were on our way a broker who had been pestering me for quite some time called us and we decided to meet him as well.

We reached to the builders place and fortunately the flats were sold out. Disappointed hubby & happy me with the naughty L’lle one tottered out and decided to meet the broker who quite surprisingly turned out to be a decent guy. He heard us patiently, showed some good projects in our budget and then started talking about a resale flat in an area which was a dream location for us. After having seen many resale flats my hubby wasn’t keen on it but I was of the feeling that there is no harm in having a look. So off we went.

The broker’s guy, let’s call him “A” accompanied us and started praising the building. It is G+4, very good condition, on main road, well maintained etc. what struck me in his monologue was “G+4”. Usually such buildings do not have elevators & thus I asked him my doubt. Unfortunately he informed us that the building currently has no lift but the plan to have it is in place. I & hubby looked at each other, we decided that though we are not interested in a without Lift building but as we were already half way through we might as well have a look.

We reached the building, realised that it was from a renowned builder & seemed to be in a good condition. As we reached the Wing where the flat was situated a surprise welcomed us, the building had a lift. Fortunately there were many more surprises in store for us and if I have to sum it up, the house was in a very good condition, the owners seemed decent & the reason for selling the house was the uncle had retired and was wanting to move to his hometown. We saw the house, l’lle one explored it, quotes were exchanged & we told them that we will get back by next day. The only black spot in the whole conversation was when the owner told us that there was a slight difficulty in getting a home loan for the building because the society was yet to be formed. The broker however committed to us that he will get us the loan as they themselves were home loan agents. We left the place in high spirits with a promise to get back the next day.

Next day was Sunday, we decided to meet the uncle at the brokers place, we quoted a price, and he asked for time to rethink & decided to get back to us by Monday morning, in the meanwhile even the broker promised to get us the loan from HDFC bank. In-laws saw the house & loved it. Everything seemed to be falling in place. Monday morning came & uncle agreed to our price, we were ecstatic & decided to pay the token money in the evening. What happened next is best put in bullet points

As there were some doubts about home loan I decided to check in the SBI branch that we have in our office. I met the Branch Manager & told her about the whole thing and as soon as I uttered the name of the project she said, “We don’t fund that project because the tripartite agreement of the land is not in place.” I said you mean society is not formed? She said no, society formation is a small thing, the Title of the land is not clear. When I asked her should we invest in such a property she just said that the location is strategic, building is good but if the place has been occupied for last 6 years and still the agreement is not in place something is fishy & it is better to stay out.
My spirits were dampened & I called up the broker asking him about the agreement. “A” said no, ma’am what are you saying the agreement is in place. I had my doubts so I decided to call up the builder’s office. To my horror, they confirmed that the agreement indeed was not in place and they had no timeline as to by when it would be in place.
I called my hubby and updated him and he confronted the broker. He was still super confident and said builder didn’t know. (!!!!!!)
In the evening I went to the broker’s office where my FIL was waiting. We were informed that even HDFC Bank would not give us loan and only NBFC’s will fund us. We decided to discuss the issue at home before committing for such a project. The owner agreed to give us the property papers without the token money.
Next day I showed them to a lawyer who said that though everything seems to be in place there were certain documents which were missing. I asked the broker to get me those & he very willingly got them.
Next day my hubby went to the registrar office of that area to show the papers to a lawyer. He was informed that though everything was in place but there was this issue between the owners & the builders and unless that is clear no bank would give you a loan. He also said that once this thing gets cleared the property price would escalate. So the onus was on us that whether we take the calculated risk or not.
While my hubby was meeting the lawyer I was constantly on phone in conversation with various banks & NBFC’s and the common replies that I got were

We don’t fund that building as Title is not clear.
We don’t fund any building in that area as there is a major issue to village property.
That is a totally illegal area ma’am.
The NBFC’s which we were baking on point blank refused to fund us.

All this was duly informed to hubby who decided to pay visit to the broker who very conveniently told him, sir you will need to take a risk otherwise with this attitude you can never buy a house in Mumbai. Needless to say we were appalled by his attitude. He also refused to believe that Gruh Finance (from where he had promised us to get the loan) could tell me on phone point blank that they do not fund the area on principle. Hubby gave him back the house papers & told him that we will decide by next day & tell him.

We thought over, the house was good, location was perfect (my office was just 15 mins away & even hubby’s travelling time was not increasing), it was on main road, for the price we were to pay we were getting fully done up ready to move house, the kitchen was fully done up as well. Everything thing was good or rather too good to be true?

BUT

No bank was ready to give a loan; we could have surely gone to a co-operative bank but was the tension worth it? Was it worth it to put in our hard earned money in a property that was not clear? We also knew that the real problem would come if we wanted to sell the flat because of the issues prices won’t increase but as is we were going there to stay and had no intentions of selling it the issue was actually a non-issue but was it worth the tension?

After much deliberation we finally we decided against buying the property but I when I went back to give the broker whatever copies of the property papers we had I gave him an earful on

They were selling a property but didn’t even know if there was lift in & then they were boasting of having sold another flat in the same complex?
They were not even aware if the agreement was in place?
They gave us false promises about home loan approvals.
Their interest clearly was towards the interest of the seller not the buyer.

Not that it affected the broker but I felt better after giving him an earful. I mean aren't they a useless bunch? Ever ready to talk about their fee, their money but least bothered about a family which is about to put in all their hard earned money & savings on the basis of trust that we put on them. Later I contacted another broker (through a reference) and he informed me that the building in question has a Conditional OC. I mean WTH my broker didn't even know that? Do they have no shame or rather conscience??

Is this the Reality of Real Estate? Suck out as much possible from a normal middle class just because they are out in the market?

We are till date glad that we decided against buying that property because I strongly feel that it is better to regret not buying that property rather than regretting after buying it.

Thus, we are back to square one, the search is still on, we have burned our hands, we are totally anti brokers & also a little dispirited.

But on the up side, we were saved, am happy that we were cautious. Luckily our stay in the present house has been extended so we have some more time in our hands. So as of now life continues without a house & with just a wish that things turn out better next time. Here I must add that the whole week when we were going to & fro with the decision I really felt is all this worth it? There was so much tension & a process of buying a dream can so very easily become a nightmare!!! All because of human greed!!!

Though this isn’t the concluding part of this series, (it can only conclude after we have found a home) but I needed a feedback before writing the next post in this series. Do you think it would be helpful if I talk about what all to look at before buying a house (at least in Navi Mumbai) and would you be interested to read another broker experience here?

The Reverse Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:14:00 PST

Title: The Reverse Journey
Author: Vivek Kumar Singh

Price: Rs. 95/-

Publisher: Frog Books

The reverse journey is a semi-autobiographical of a young man who is living a dream life. He works his way through college, lands a decent job and takes the obvious step forward by changing jobs. As monotony starts setting in he decides to do what his friends have been doing, i.e. of moving to U.S.A. and then he decides to leave it all to come back to India. His friends discourage his move & so do his parents but he has made his mind and thus begins his reverse journey.

Written in flashback the book takes us through various phases of Vivek’ s life. His college days, new job, movement to US et al. The theme of the book is something which makes the book stand apart. The mere fact that we are reading the story of a guy who has been there & done that and feels disillusioned with the so called glamorous western life is something novel.

My issue with the book was that often it goes into an essay mode. There are passages where he compares Indian Culture with western culture or the airlines etc which becomes boring for me after a point of time. If you see it from another angle the book is something more than a simple story telling. So, though what the author is saying here is true but I didn’t like the preachy or essay kind of tone. Or maybe I could not relate to the angst/ emotions which he felt because I have never left my country & have never gone through that kind of emotions.

To sum it up I would say that it is a thought provoking book about brain drain that is happening in India and the disillusion that many youngsters face post moving out of India. The author puts up a much defined view in front of us, that it is not really rosy out there & though you might live a comfortable life there it can never be your home.

I am sure that people who have settled abroad or have come back will surely relate to the book & emotions. For rest of us I would say if you like the theme of the book this one is for you. As far as I am concerned it is an average book & a bit too slow for my taste.

Rating – 2.5/5

Project - Buying Home In Mumbai - Part 1 (How dreams shatter)

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:24:00 PST

Thank you Blogadda for Picking this Post for Tangy Tuesday, this is one post which surely needs a greater audience

2 Months back when our landlord gave us a notice to vacate the house we decided to take the plunge, i.e. of buying a house. People around us had been expecting us to buy a house long back, err like they were expecting us to have baby immediately after we got married; the great saga of Indian social expectations you see. But I digress, so people around us expected us to buy a house & according to them God only knew why we weren’t taking the plunge. We both were supposedly earning well, supposedly working for good companies and buying for us should have been our first priority i.e. according to them. What they never thought off was a) “affordability” b) they weren’t in our shoes.

I had always felt that I will not compromise in buying my first house, I was clear that it will be a 2 BHK, my hubby however thought differently. He felt, we should buy what we can afford, even if it is a 1 BHK, I was ready to wait, he was not ready to spend much and thus we were stuck. But that was 2 years back, we were actually not earning well to buy a house in Mumbai so we backtracked, or rather we never did really look properly. Cut to present, we decided that it was now or never and thus began the great search and the experiences that we are undergoing can give any one a nightmare.

In my dreamy world, buying a house is a beautiful process, you see some, you fight over others, you run across but at the end you achieve something which is worth your sweat. But as I said that was my dream, the ~~realty~~ reality of Mumbai real estate is not a rosy world at all and this I decided to write a chronicle of the House Search in my blog. Please do follow this series because it can be an eye opener & eye popper as well.

Image Courtesy: Google Images

First let’s place the ground rules of buying a house in Navi Mumbai

If you want to buy a decent house in your budget you should think of moving away from the city.
You will have to change your budget because you will never get anything within it.
It is very difficult to avoid a broker and once you get convinced by him you should be prepared to be fooled.
Did you know that here in Mumbai if you rent a flat through broker he comes to take the brokerage every year? Don’t be shocked, when your agreement expires he will come back after 11 months and ask for fresh brokerage & if you refuse you will be asked to vacate and no, the owners don’t interfere here. I have met many tenants who don’t even know how their landlord looks like.
If you want something in your budget you will have to shell out Black money. Wondering what’s that? Will talk about it in detail later.
If you feel that once you start earning more the prices will be more within your reach then you are dreaming. The prices here are skyrocketing for reasons best known to God knows whom. The situation is like a mirage. You need to take the plunge if you can afford it.
You pay anywhere between 60-80 lakhs for a decent house of 1000+ sq. ft. but when you actually see the house it is too small.
Anything that is near the station will be exorbitantly priced. They go by the saying, “you can’t have the cake & eat it also”.
Gym’s, clubhouses, park etc are provided by everyone but it is only the good builders who provide anything worthy otherwise we have also seen a small room which was supposed to be a gym.
Jo Dikhta hai who kabhi hota nahin hai, aur jo hota hai who to kabhi batatein hi nahin hai!!!

Let me begin with my experience

While scouting through various sites I saw a house for resale which was within our budget, ready to move, near the local station, not very old & if I sum it up in few words “too good to be true” but that was the beginning of our search I was still the girl with rosy glasses. My hubby was a bit reluctant to check out the house but I insisted because I had spoken to the lady who owned the house and she had managed to impress me. I was convinced because she had honestly told me, “I am selling this house for a little more than the market rate because I have done so much in it”, I felt there is no harm in checking out.

My husband tells me that when he went there and asked, how soon can you vacate the house & why are you selling a house in such a condition, he was told that they can vacate it as soon as tomorrow & they wanted to resell it because they wanted a bigger house. My ever wary husband checked out the house and saw that there was MAJOR leakage in the kitchen, major as in water was flowing freely down the wall. Till date I wonder how can someone think of fooling others and that too when the flaw was so openly visible.

Few days later we decided to scout a place building by building hoping that we might find something good. We decided to check out a ready building, the guy who was showing around told us that just 2-3 flats are remaining, we were impressed. The building was fulfilling our very important condition of being ready to move. The layout of the flat was decent and the construction was good but then when we asked him why the building is empty if it is sold out & ready to move? To which we got the reply that the OC is not there, on being asked when will it come, he said anytime, either 2 months or 4 months. Obviously we said Tata bye-bye to the guy and more dream went poof!!

Same day we decided to visit some builders, in fact a guy had been in touch with me over the week and he had categorically told me that he was a builder, so we decided to pay visit to him. To say that his office was plush would be an understatement & it was in this very office I came face to face with the concept of BLACK MONEY. The bugger was a mere broker & he presented to us the plans of many under construction buildings and following conversation happened between us

Broker: Ma’am payment will be 60-40

Us: What’s that?

Broker: 60% white money & 40% black.
Us: What are you saying? We are salaried class people & we have only white money.

Broker: You give us cash that you have, that will lower down the rate; in fact it is beneficial for you also because the agreement value will be less so the stamp duty registration will also be less.

Us: But this is not done.

Broker: But this is how it is

Us: You mean to say that a normal middle class working family cannot buy a house.

Broker: We aren’t saying that.

Us: But you are encouraging that only.

Broker: Ma’am it is the government policies which are forcing us to do that.

Needless to say we came out muttering hazaar gaali’s, the thief’s are just minting money and they try to sound as if they are being forced to take black money. In fact after that we visited another builder whose project we had liked, he clearly told us that of the 4 projects he had, only one was full white & the cost of that project was 20% higher than any other project. What was infuriating was the bugger’s attitude. And to add to it when we were asked if can get our own grills fixed on the balcony (that was before he told us about the black component) he said, no ma’am we won’t allow that. On being asked why & what about the safety of kids he said it will spoil the beauty of the house & as far as kids are concerned we have given a grill door. When I asked him you mean we should lock the child inside he just shrugged it off.

My husband later told me that I was very angry there & he even says that the kind of fury that was visible on my face was something he had also felt when he had for the first time heard the concept of black.

Let me break up the concept to you.

Say you are buying a flat of 55 Lakhs (that’s the minimum for which you will get a decent flat) and you have to go for the deal of 60-40.

40% of 50L is 22 Lakhs.

Now for remaining 33 Lakhs you take a home loan of which you will only get 80% i.e. you have to fund that 20% yourself which translates to 6.6 lakhs.

So effectively you have to arrange 22.66 lakhs which turns out to be 52%of the deal.

Tell me which salaried class will have that kind of money?

And isn’t it infuriating?

Don’t you feel like slapping the people who make such statements?

I almost did.

I regret not actually slapping the guy.

I feel helpless to see that all this is happening openly.

And honestly at that time I felt, we cannot buy a house here.

And I was depressed for quite some time.

P.S. Please share your experience as well.

In part 2 – our first experience with a big builder & finally finding the dream house but is it really what it looks like? The logic & working behind the black component.

The Wedding Wallah

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:18:00 PST

Title: The Wedding Wallah

Author: Farahad Zama

Price: 295/- (Available at Flipkart @ Rs. 251/- )

Publisher: Hachette India

This is the 3rd book in the series, the 1st one being “The Marriage bureau for rich people”, followed by “The Many Conditions of Love”. I have reviewed both the books loved the 1st one & found the 2nd one to be just another book. You can read the reviews here & here.

This book picks where the last one had ended. Mr. Ali’s business is thriving; Aruna has settled down in Family life & has been accepted by everyone. Pari, Mr. Ali’s relative & a widow has settled down in her new job at a call center and is in the process of adopting Vasu, the orphan of Rehman’s friends. Everything seemed to be settling down into a smooth routine for all of them but changes were lurking around the corner.

Pari is in doldrums about accepting a marriage proposal which has come to her from a very affluent family. When she makes up her mind to reject the proposal she loses her job & security which makes her rethink about her decision but then she also realises that what she feels for Rehman is something more than friendship. What will she do?

Dilawar from whose family the propsal has come for Pari is against the marriage because he has a secret which could spoil the girls future but alas! He doesn’t have the guts to come out in open. What will he do? Will he give in to his mothers' emotional blackmailing?

Rehman is still trying to recover from his failed affair but has a soft spot for Pari. Unfortunately for him & Pari he is far from realising that this might be love.

Aruna is on cloud nine when her father in law entrusts her by handing over the responsibilities of their land business. Her first job assignment takes her to the interiors of Kerala. She & her husband were enjoying the solitude & peace of the jungle when tragedy strikes them. Naxalite attack their guest house & take them into captivity. To their immense horror they find Rehman & Dilawar (he is Rehman’s childhood friend) have also been kidnapped by the same group.

Will the group be ever freed?

Do they stand a chance against the Naxalite’s?

Will the danger to his life make Rehman realise his love for Pari?

Will the imminent death make Dilawar realise that life is too short to keep secrets?

Read the book to know more.

My View

This book packs a punch!

My complaint with the last one was that it was a run of the mill book about relationships & love. I had prayed that the author gives us something more in the next part and am glad to say that his latest offering is anything but run of the mill.

The author has very smartly woven the naxalite issue with the story and brought in a novelty in the whole plot. In fact if we see there are many issues which he has spoken about in this book. Widow Remarriage, adoption, Naxals, Gay relationships, farmer suicide to name few.

I have always loved the expertise with which the author describes the small town life; it somehow makes you crave for good old days when everything was done in slowly and with a practised ease. The book is a page turner and the author keeps you glued with enough suspense.

I loved the book for the simple reason that it is readable, entertaining & yet a little different. Go for it is my final word on it :) and yes now I am waiting for the next installment because I so much want to see Rehman & Pari's romance to bloom & would love to read how the orthodox yet adorable & cute Mrs. Ali will react to it.

My Rating 4/5

Snippets from my life

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:08:00 PDT

Last few weeks have been quite hectic, had a 5 day break during Diwali which went poof in no time. The better part of the break went into spending quality time with L’lle one & whatever time was left it went into house searching. Last fortnight also saw me falling sick twice, once with Viral & then UTI which again gave me a very high fever.

The latter also forced me into getting a blood test done. So I went to the lab and the attendant was getting ready to take the blood sample when I said, “I think I have fever”. He touched my wrist and said no ma’am, you don’t. When I made a sad face he said,” are you feeling feverish?”

When I gave nod to that he said, “let me check”, before I could even refuse he went in & brought the thermometer. Though I was in a hurry to give my sample I decided to humour him because of the sweetness & consideration he had shown. So I popped in the thermometer. After about a second the he asks me “Ma’am have you put the thermometer under your tongue?”

Though I wanted to laugh out loud at that question but I couldn’t (I mean with that thing in my mouth I obviously couldn’t laugh na?) so with hand signs I asked him, “do you think I am a kid?” the poor fellow gave an embarrassed laugh & bit his tongue to accept his mistake.

After we were done with the temperature taking he started drawing out the blood sample but failed to find the nerves; finally when he found it he asked me to hold my hand tight & then added “ma’am it will pain a little.” I told him I am ok with it, and then when the needle was inserted instead of flowing out freely the blood started trickling out veeery slowly and this guy was worried. As far as I was concerned it was just a prick and everything was going ok & thus I turned my face, wiped the sweat as it was hot. But as I was wiping away I made a sniff kind of sound and this attendant was on full alert. Poor fellow thought I was crying with pain and started fussing on me, in fact as I was leaving he gave me a list of advices, the point might swell, it might pain etc. it took me some time to make him realise that I am not kid :D but yes I can easily say the guy was sweet.

As far as Diwali is concerned it went of well, I made my first decent rangoli, here is the picture.

We dressed the L’lle one in kurta payjama & I must day he looked dashing *nazar na lage*, here is a pic of him & my hubby.

hehehe! See how conveniently maine hubby ka mooh kala kar diya ;)

As we are talking about L’lle one I must tell you what happened yesterday. I & he were playing post my return from office, I was lying down & this devil was sitting near my head. He loves to play with my bindi and he was onto taking it off my forehead, I was making faces at him & he was giggling and then suddenly I felt something was wrong so I got up. Can you imagine what had happened?? The little devil had done his susu (pissed) sitting on the bed & the position that he was sitting in meant that everything went into my head. My hair was totally wet & the bugger was even unaware of what he had done. Humph! All our potty training has gone hay wire these days as this devil has stopped telling when he feels the need to piss. You old time Mothers, please tell me that the rebellious nature is a phase that all kids go through and this will not go on forever.

To add insult to my injury my dear brother says, “not to worry your hair has been shampooed & conditioned naturally. No, I should say it has only been shampooed; the day he does potty they will be conditioned as well.”

Huh! Not even in his dreams!!!

Besides that the L’lle one has started saying, “star, above, Nahin, gayi, dahi (that btw is something without which he doesn’t finish his meals).” So life is fun on that front.

As far as house hunting is concerned, I am a totally frustrated soul and I need a fullpost to share my experience & horrors. A post coming up on that, soon...

There are many book reviews that are pending from my end. Very soon you can expect me to review

The Wedding Wallah by Farahad Zama
Bollywood Wedding & Sari & the City by Rekha Waheed
Custody By Manju Kapur
Revolution 2020 By Chetan Bhagat
The Reverse Journey by Vivek Kumar Singh
The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair
The Best of Me by Nicholas Spark

Here I must thank Hachette India for sending me some lovely books. And here have a look of the books that have been sent by them, phew!!! I need to read & review them soon.

So how have you guys been? I know you all have been on a posting overdrive & my bestest friend here has returned. So Vimmuuu, though we do not agree with eachother but it is good to know that you are back & around, hoping to revive the rivalry again. Missed fighting with you bugger!!!

A Waiting Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:35:00 PDT

A Waiting Wave

Author: Kulpreet Yadav

Price: INR 125/-

Published: 2011

Publisher: Cedar Books

This is the story of a contemporary couple Harry & Kareena, who meet in office develop a liking for each other but are shy of saying it. There is the necessary mush, jealousy & a third person; before the act of confession happens and the story moves ahead. They get married in a jiffy with a hope that their world will become rosier but that is not to be.

A little professional jealousy and their dreams & life begin unravelling. It is in such a state that Harry leaves for his father’s place at Port Blair to gather the pieces of his life and to give some semblance to his thought process. He leaves with a hope that he will manage to revive the love he had felt for his wife. And then the Tsunami strikes. He gets washed off to an island full of dangerous tribal’s and thus begins a journey of survival and it is during such times he realises his mistakes. He is ready to restart his life with his wife but will life give him another chance? Will he come out of the dangerous situations?

As soon as he goes missing, his wife rushes to Port Blair to search for him. Will the lovers reunite? Will love win over all the circumstances? Will life give them another chance?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

A contemporary love story with usual ingredients is the best way to describe this book. The writing is lucid and tsunami gives the book a twist. In fact the author spends some time in describing the tribes & a little bit of history of Port Blair which makes for an interesting read.

The book is a racy read with enough twists & turns to keep you engaged.

But my problem with the book is with the characterisation. As a reader I should feel the pain & happiness of the protagonists but I didn’t. I felt as if a little more time should have been spent in setting up the characters to make us feel for them. Besides that it is the climax which lets the book down. I was ok with the hide & seek that happens between Harry & Kareena before the impending reunion but the way the author has turned the end would put Bollywood movies to a shame.

Overall it is an average book which starts off well and has something new to offer in the form of setting but loses steam towards the end.

Worth a quick read.

Rating: 2.75/5

All In A Day's Conversation

noreply@blogger.com (Smita) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:25:00 PDT

Remember my friend from this post? Well, her 7 year old son has an inquisitive mind and has no dearth of questions to ask. From simple ones to embarrassing ones, he has a stock of a truck load of questions. Here is a conversation that she narrated to us

Son: Who made Ganeshji?

Mom: His Mom & Dad.

Son: Who made his Mom & Dad?

Mom: His Mom & Dad

Son: And how did they make him?

Mom: I don’t know I wasn’t there na?

After some time…

Son: Who made you?

Mom: My Mom & Dad.

Son: How did they make you?

Mom: How will I know, I wasn’t there na?

After some time…

Son: Who made me?

You know where this smart guy is going no?

Mom: Your mom & dad.

Son: Means, you & dad?

Mom: Yes! (knowing where this is going & hopes that earth opens up to eat her)

Son: So, how did you make me? You were there na so you will know for sure.

Mom: Errrr!!!!! We did loads of efforts (mehnat!!!)

As my friend was narrating this we guffawed and added, yes loads of mehnat during night bole to laborious night shifts!!! :D

Mom: And we went to a doctor who worked with us & after sometime told us that you are ready & thus we got you home.

And with that she heaved a sigh of relief that she had managed to answer him satisfactorily. But she says that since the day his son has seen the delivery incidents in 3 Idiots & Robot he has been asking too many questions. I know it is fair to say that kids will ask questions & it is also a funny incident in a way but isn’t the background that he was asking these questions because he saw something in a movie, worrying? I remember my Mom used to censor whatever movies we saw, I hope that the parents of present generation also start showing some control over what kids watch. I know these days’ even TV shows too much but am sure there are ways to discipline.

Anyway, another incident of the same kiddo

Son: Mom what is Platinum?

Mom: It is a precious metal which more valuable than Gold.

My friend’s husband who overheard the conversation

Father: Son, when you are old enough buy something in platinum for your wife.

Mom: No! First you will have buy something for me.

Son: Don’t worry Mom; I will buy for both of you.

Mom: No beta. You buy for your wife for sure but first you will have to buy for me.

Son: Oho!!! If you haggle like this I won’t buy for either of you.

All my friend could do was laugh out loud & all we could do was to conclude that this guy would is a smarty.

Thankfully my son is still far from asking these many question but the L’lle smarty pants has learned one word along with the fact that where it has to be used and unfortunately the blessed word is NO!!!

Ask him will you Have food? And the bugger imitating my style will shake his head and waggle his finger and say No!

Post the bath he would be sitting inside the bucket submerged in water & I will ask him “chalo your bath is done, shall we move out?" and the bugger turns inside the bucket shows me his back and says nahin!!!

He is in my arms and my MIL will ask him, will you to come to Dadi? And he says nahin!!!

The best is…

He knows I have asked him not to touch the garbage can, he will go near it, waggle is finger, shake his head & say no! no! and would still touch it.

Kids these days I tell you!

How have you guys been? My last one week has been pretty hectic on account of

• A three day meeting at office.

• Our landlord has asked us to vacate the house we were staying in and has given us just a month to do so. Though we are contesting the time but yes I have been having sleepless nights bole to I am unable to sleep for initial few minutes before snores take me away :D but yes now we are looking to buy a space of our own but Mumbai real estate is a scary!!!! In fact let me not start on that. It is a different blog post all together.

• Read Revolution 2020, an average read, dunno if I will review it or not.

That’s it from me will be back to commenting very soon :)

Up next: Book Review of “A Waiting Wave”