Books I read

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini’s debut novel, it is a brilliant piece of reading exploring into human relationships. Friendships, love, life, understanding – it has it all! Its about a young boy Amir, living in Afghanistan and his varied experiences in life that go about making the person that he is. It is in fact, a heart-rendering story of Amir’s friendship with his father’s servant’s son set in the country which in the process of getting destroyed. This epic tale speaks about the relationship between fathers and sons, between friends, betrayal, and finally, redemption.

Daddy-Long-Legs – Jean Webster
I picked up this book wholly on a friend’s suggestion and needless to say that I loved it. Its is charming story of a girl, Jerusha Abott and her life at school and college. Very unseemingly though, it is sweet love story and that’s certainly revealed only at the end of the story. The letter format makes it simple and an interesting read. These are the letters of the young girl, on the brink of womanhood to her benefactor who in the end, we get to know, is the person she is in love with.

The Mayor of Casterbridge – Thomas Hardy
A tragic story of a simple farmer, Michael Henchard, and his relationship with his daughter, I loved the emotions brought to the forth by Hardy. Once again, he displays his literary genius with this novel. I had picked up this novel solely for the author and was very impressed with his style of writing as well as the story. Rightly regarded as Thomas Hardy’s best tragic novel ever.

Q & A – Vikas Swarup
Again , it’s a book which I picked up on my friend’s suggestion. The story is very well written and has a touch of sarcasm and tongue in the cheek humour. It has all the elements that can go in the making of a typical Bollywood flick – love, revenge, betrayal, action, violence, suspense, thrill et all. The use of technical jargon and sophisticated language makes the story more gripping and somewhat melodramatic. Inspite of this, its is one of the most touching stories that I have ever read.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach
It is a fable presented in a novel style. About a seagull learning about life and its different faces like self-perfection and self-sacrifice. It has a very philosophical and metaphysical touch. Basically, it makes you exemplify your talents and then reduce the shortcomings to a miniscule dot to achieve more and more in life.

The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
Another fable in the novel form, the old man and the sea has had many interpretations by critics. It is a sort of battle between an old, experienced fisherman and a giant marlin said to be the biggest catch of his life. One can also see the relationship between the teacher and student i.e. the old man and Santiago.

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
No specific reasons why I chose to read this book except for the fact that it was in the best seller list for quite a long time. That’s how I chose to read this fable which urges a person to follow his dreams and is guided by the Alchemist in his journey to find the treasure. A nice read!

Five Point Someone: What not to do at an IIT – Chetan Bhagat
An amazing story of three friends and their lives at IIT. Fantabulously told and made comic to the very end. Again, a must read!

The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
This book is what I would say, a little too hyped up. Its about the perpetual identity hassles faced by immigrants. They try to maintain as well as get rid of their identities from their roots and in the process, they end up leading a life of internal and societal conflicts. Such is the character, Gogol in the novel. I personally enjoyed the bitter-sweet relation between Gogol and his father. A very poighnant depiction of Indians in the US.

Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
I had heard a lot about this book before I actually read it. Refreshingly fresh and original, Albom has succeeding in creating an endearing novel which strikes a chord in the hearts of all who read it. Again about Albom’s relationship with his teacher and mentor, Morrie.

In the Name of Honour – Mukhtar Mai
I was aware of the media buzz involving the gang rape of a Pakistani woman named Mukhtar Main and that’s the sole reason I picked up this book once this came on the stands. After having read this book, I feel that this lady deserves all the respect and admiration one can ever get. IT shows Pakistan as a barabaric country where women are assaulted, beaten, burnt, and raped just to settle down scores. I liked the book inspite of the fact that it was not so well written as Mukhtar Mai’s unsophisticated words were translated and this book was a result of that.

Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
Essentially a narration by the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, this novel is a scandalous depiction of teenage frustration and sexuality. It was surrounded by controversies all the time for its overt use of issues like prostitution, alcohol, indecent language etc. Overall, a good but a very depressing read!

The Indian Youth of Today

The youth of today is not what we would expect them to be.They arent the types who would loiter around squandering away their parents' money. For them, getting settled is of utmost priority. No longer are Engineering and Medicine the only preferred careers. Career options like law, journalism, management etc are the more sought after than ever before. The youth unabashedly accepts of not being caught up in the vagaries of smoking, drinking and other ill habits. It has absolutely no qualms for accepting that it believes in the existence of a Supreme Power and fate. We have a majority of the youth agreeing to their parents' choices as regards to everything, be it a career option or the person to get married to. No longer does the youth wants to escape the responsibilities of the family or should I say the joint family. Doesnt all this seem so very different from the previous generation. It sure does! The youth is not carried away by superfluous things and wants to rethink the very essence of its life with its family.

Not just this, the aspirations of the youth has jumped by leaps and bounds. They are no longer satisfied with the simple pleasures attached with the 9 to 5 job (Its almost non-existent these days). The youth doesnt mind stretching himself/herself beyond what he/she can sustain as long he is making it well in the performance appraisals and also swap companies without attaching any emotions to any company. He wants to do a lot of social and developmental work alongwith the day-to-day job. At the same time, he doesnt mind leaving abroad for higher studies or for better options. In fact, I myself, know quite some people who have or are in the process of immigrating for the sake of better options. A lucrative career is the thing that is most coveted for by today's youth.

We see that the youth of India is today is making it big as far as the carrer is concerned but the sorry state of affairs is that India is still one of the poorest of nations and doesnt have much to offer in terms of the conditions of living. Can that be changed? Well, it would surely need a lot of revamping to be done to the existing systems.

All CEOs should blog

Blogging is a new fad in India..gaining immense popularity among the youth. People enjoy reading blogs and more often than not, regard of them as something meant only for entertainment. The general perception still remains that blogging is an activity done by morons (read jobless people) or the IIT-IIM deadly duo nerds. Seldom do people realise that there is more to blogging than just entertainment. I would say its a right mix of infotainment. Yes ..thats what I am talking about...using blogging to popularize business and perform other important work.

Business blogging is something which is creating news in the States and Europe. The companies use blogging not just to fetch customers but also to retain them by improving their brand image. This is the power of blogging which Indian companies havent seemed to realise as yet. There are hardly a few blog-savvy companies and corporate people in India. And even a lesser few who are of the view that blogs can be used by any business, big or small, to reap benefits from them. The CEO of a very famous website in India firmly believes that all CEOs should blog because it not only brings in customers but also helps in building up or strengthening an already existing image of the company. Indian companies have to change their mindset towards blog and thats going to help in bringing in a lot of good to the Indian business scenario.

My trysts with Vikrant and the AC

Vikrant and his unfaltering love for the AC is an important ingredient of my office life. One might wonder whats the connection? Well.. its like whenever Vikrant is, so is the AC or should I say the other way round (with no offence to the brain behind the Hutch ad saying "wherever you go, our network follows"). There are at least 11 occasions (dont really know why I have that number) each working day where there is a tussle (a smiling one though, thanks to the Vikku Bhai's cheerful and radiant face). Such incidents add humour and spice to our otherwise boring and dull life at the office. Not that we dont enjoy our work or something like that, its just that things are so very different from my previous company that it has actually taken me some time to adjust to the newer surroundings. But such titbits do make the time at the office a little laughter filled and days-go-by...