The Equation Of My Love & Its Parameters" by Vikram Rana !!!

592nd BLOG POST -->>

            There was a time period when Srishti Publication was known in the Reader's world that "It publishes only the stories written by IITians or the story written on the life of IITians". And, during that era, many such books came by IITians through Srishti Publication. Now, its different. Now, they concentrate on any debutant writer from any college. :-) But, coming to one of the book that published in that era which I completed just now. "The Equation of my love & its parameters". I'll talk about it later but- I only have this problem with every Indian commercial author that even if the Love story is just a part of their book, they make it sure that they name their book to look as if its a pure love story that will mention only the two characters throughout the book. This is wrong. I know, a debutante looks for all the possible ways to get his first book sold out as soon as possible, but still, stereotyping yourself as one of the Love story writers is not a genuine decision. This book is written by yet another IITian- who graduated from IIT Guwahati in 2008 and did his schooling from St's Xavier's School, Delhi; Currently, he resides in Singapore and works for an oilfield services company- MR. VIKRAM RANA. No, he doesn't look as dangerous as his name suggests. :-) But girls, you'll need to control yourself as he is quite handsome. See his Picture below (exclusively for my Female readers) :-)

             "The Equation of my Love & its Parameters" is the story about Shayan who enters into IIT after clearing JEE exams successfully. No one expected him to enter into India's one of the leading institute but Shayan's fate has something else planned for him. He enters IIT and he meets his new friends. He starts enjoying all the new rules and customs of IIT. He makes good friends and passes his time cheerfully. But he is yet to get away from the memories of Naina who ditched him in Junior college. His IITian friends teases him for that but he is still to get away from those memories of Miss Naina. Finally, the semester passes, the years passes, and he is sent for Internship to America. Here in America, he gets nice roommates. They tells him to break his stupid virginity which is still with him. They tell him to get over someone who is never going to return back in his life. After thinking a lot, he clears his dilemma, and decides to visit a blonde- Elizabeth, an escort. And then a twist takes place, which makes this book different from other stories by IITians. :-) 

              Vikram Rana has a very "sweet" English. The flow in which he writes make you remember each sentence without getting confused. He has used appropriate sentences and words to make the story look as if it's yours. I am impressed about this with Vikram. The book also carries a great sense of humour periodically. The few good moments of Book- The first Flashback of Shayan with Naina is WOW. I went back to my School days after reading that. And, Indian writers, that is how a sweet teenage love is described, not by turning your characters into horny/lusty idiots. Aniket's suicide attempt on the Railway track almost took my breathe away. The tryst of Shayan with Yogi and Bond is interesting; and so is the meeting with Porn movie-makers in America. It excites you to read faster to know what happened next. The moment Shayan is caught by American officials when he goes in desperation of breaking his virginity to Miss Elizabeth gives a big twist to the story which makes the book very very unpredictable. And, the moment when Shayan's intimate moment with Naina is described cherishes your mood. :-) 

             I didn't find any such drawback in this book. You can easily call this book as "Five Point Someone 2.0". :-) If ever, a sequel to 3 Idiots will be made, it should be the adaptation of this very book. Vikram Rana's writing style and story-creating style makes it obvious that he is a Chetan Bhagat's fan. And, once in a book, he brings all those characters with the same name- Hari, Alok and Ryan (of Five Pint Someone) into existence. YES!!! That is one of the most exciting part of the book.  And also, a chapter where Shayan's friend himself describes how is he having fun in Europe is a nice work by the author. In all, this book is a perfect read. If you liked Five Point Someone, there is no chance that you'll hate "The Equation of my love & its parameters". I rate it 4/5. YES!!! And Mr. Vikram, when is your 2nd releasing? 

   Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

GOD is ONLY ONE and RELIGIONS ???

591st BLOG POST -->>

            There are many questions in our mind for which we don't have any answers. And for some, even if we have one, we don't find it indispensable to get confirmed by others; if our interpretation about it is right or wrong. And that's where the real problem arises. When Anna Hazare sat for his fast for the first time in April last year, there were some Delhi citizens who went to Jantar Mantar to support him. They knew nothing about what Anna Hazare is sitting for. They just heard from someone that it's about eradicating Corruption from our well developing country, and they went and started shouting slogans like,"Anna tum aage badho hum tumhare saath hain". And when, a media person asked a group of boys about what Lokbal Bill is, they were like Is this about Electricity bill or the one which we get from Ration shop below our building.  And, when there's debate about such topics, most votes go on the wrong end because of the lack of knowledge people possess. 

            No one is born with wisdom, but one should try to have knowledge about everything to an extent that he doesn't fool himself later when he is being asked to place his views in public. Recently, one of my friend went for MBA's Group Discussion. He was asked to present his views on Politics. This idiot didn't know anything as he never touched newspaper in life. He replied with his head high,"I am not interested in politics so I would like to remain shut on this". And he is not even embarrassed about it. STRANGE!!! And this is not the case of just this friend of mine, but 75% of youth are interested only in things like IPL, Multi-starrer releases, Chetan Bhagat books and Social updates. One should think that if a junior asks him about something of which he has 90% of knowledge about, and wants to clear the rest 10% by his view on it, he should  be able to give an appropriate reply to him. Out of many such issues, the one I think I should bring some light tonight is about the difference between RELIGION and GOD. Yes!!!

             The biggest emotional connect the citizens have with the politicians while the election is on is because of the promises done on the basis of Religion. Many friends that one has is because of the same religion which results in same kind of living style. If a Muslim guys says to a Hindu that I am up for Namaaz, please wait for 10 minutes, the Hindu guy is like What the hell is this Namaaz? Don't they perform Puja? And why did this guy select to perform this so-called Namaaz at this moment when I'm running short of time. Rather than waiting for 10 minutes and let the Muslim guy return, and then make his doubt clear, he will never ask what the "Namaaz" thing is and will part his ways thinking that the guy is ill or there's something wrong with him. Same goes with a Muslim guy when he is told that I may not come tomorrow as I am going for Ganesh Chaturthi where our Lord Ganesha will be finally immersed in that Holy river behind my compound, he throws a big question mark to himself This bloody guy is talking about Idol worshiping..Hahaha..Such a crap person..Let's stay with my Muslim friends itself than getting acquainted with these strange people.

             See, every Religion says the same thing- GOD IS ONLY ONE. GOD IS THE CREATOR OF THIS WORLD AND UNIVERSE. This is what every Religion speaks about. Every religion preaches that Parents are above everyone. Every religion says that there should be a Teacher in your life and you should respect him/her in any case. Every religion speaks about the Protection of Girls and their body. Every religion speaks about the strength and control the Almighty has. So, there's not much difference in the preaching of different religions. The only difference is the name of "GOD". Muslims call "Allah" their God. Hindus call "Lord Shiva" and "Lord Krishna" their God. Christian coins "Jesus Christ" as their God. There are many other religions who name their God with other names. So, why is one so sensitive about someone else's God? Why does someone gets offended when he sees that the person isn't praying Lord Shiva but settling to read Namaaz for someone called Allah. Come on, if GOD IS ONLY ONE, everyone is indirectly landing at the same spot. Right? So, what's a big deal in this? 

            Religion, according to me is something that we fall into once we are born in a specific family. If we are born in a family where our father wears turban, we become Sikh. If we are born in a family where our father has beard and a topi on his head, we become Islamic. If we are born in a family where our father is not seen in any such identifiers, we become Hindus. And, hence, we don't have any control over the religion we fall prey to. But, while deciding the God that we have to pray to, we should go through the holy books of all the religions and then chose the one which we find more logical and sensible. But, even if you don't have time for such research/readings, at least be proud of the one who created this world rather than the name you pray. And, always, respect the other names of God too. Just because you believe that Allah is the one, does not mean that Shiva or Krishna or Jesus or Gautam Buddha does not exist. And this applies to all. If I believe that Ramayana took place on this Earth, I should also respect the feeling of a Christian who claims that Jesus Christ will take birth once again on the Earth when the world will be about to end. And this is how this world should go.

           Fighting with each other to prove that your Religion and your God is great is very very wrong. Religion has nothing to do with God. Religion just teaches you how to pass your lifespan on Earth. It gives you certain rules to live by. It gives you certain limitations and you should keep an eye on your doings accordingly. God has nothing to do with your religion. God will only meet you once you die, if he really exists. So, rather than fighting for proving that your God is better than his, be sincere to your Religion. I know I am confusing you a bit as this topic needs a better writer than me to prove some hidden meanings. :-) For me, the name of the GOD never matters. When, in life, I was being tortured to change the name of my God, I was so fed up of this bloody debate that I started following SAI BABA who is being considered as GOD by many people in many different religion. So, I found this name to be quite safe to be followed and I immersed in the worship of SAI BABA. And about religion, I do write HINDU wherever asked, and I respect my religion, I try to read it as much as I can. I try to follow it as much as I can. And I do read articles about other religions too, I talk with people from different religion too, and when I find something more sensible in their religion than mine, I act on those principles too. But I make it sure that I don't make this topic a debating one. I keep it as simple as it is. Because for me, GOD IS ONLY ONE, the ways of praying him is different which makes us fall into different religion. And if you have thought of following all the Religion, That Almighty who'll meet you after your death will surely pat your back to be one who loved him so much that you prayed him in all the possible ways. :-) 

           That's all. I hope you understood. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Tea-20: Perfect companion for your teatime by Vinod Kumar S !!!

590th BLOG POST -->>

            I don't have a very good experience in writing reviews on anthologies but still, as I am being asked to, I am reviewing the recently read anthology- "Tea-20" which also has a tagline "Perfect companion for your teatime". The author of this book is a 29 year old IT Professional, who lives in Chennai, a fun-loving guy, who loves to write and believes that short stories are a strong medium to convey simple but important messages that go unnoticed in this modern world. His stories are mostly inspired from the incidents of day-to-day life. He is also an ardent fan of Sachin Tendulkar. This is his first book and the name of the GENTLEMAN is VINOD KUMAR S. As the title of the book says that it is a perfect companion for our teatime, it really is a good companion. A short book of just 126 pages makes you laugh at the climax of many stories that ends with a humour. This is a light read and hence, you will enjoy it while traveling in a short journey from Mumbai-Pune or Delhi-Ghaziabad. :-) I completed reading this in just 1.5 hours. And I must say the 90 minutes spent in reading this book bought smile on my face for several times.

          As the blurb of the book promises "a collection of 20 simple fictional short stories, which will serve as a good companion for your teatime. This anthology will not only entertain you, but will also give you a generous dose of laughter; it will make you think and contribute to the society, teach simple things about life which are easily missed in our ever-hectic routine and also take you by surprise. Each story is unique in its way, with the impact it leaves in you being the common feature.", it delivers it properly and does not let you feel unsatisfied in the end. I liked the way all the stories are being ordered so that the interest in you remains alive till the last story. All the stories except one are kept within limited amount of words so that you get excited to reach its end soon and start with a new one without much wait.

            The story "A cup of coffee" gives a deep insight to all the youngsters and parents about how to lead life in family. "Bye" chapter is too emotional. "Frosted Heart" is the best chapter for me. "Great Escape" ends with a big Laugh out Loud. I enjoyed its end like anything. No words to define it. Hahaha. "Happy New Year" is the gem of this book. If any story that has a very deep meaning and motivation into it, then this is the one. "Nowhere to run" is again a big Laugh out Loud in the end. :-)  "Two sides of a one-sided love" is a nice creative side of the author. Else, other chapters are fine according to me. But the ones mentioned above won my heart completely. 

              The only drawback about the book is- THE COST!!! Rs. 125 is too much for an anthology with few short stories. The Frog publishers should cut the price of their anthologies else the author will have to suffer less readership. Else, you can get this book when you are about to have a short journey. You will love reading it in a cool atmosphere.

  Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

Crushes, Careers & Cell phones by Manjiri Gokhale Joshi!!!

589th BLOG POST -->>

            The purpose of my Blogging has changed from time to time. Because, living in the country like India, one gets to know so many things that one gets confused about what is the main priority of this nation. :-) Once, I used to write on Social Awareness. I got many comments saying "We already read newspapers. Don't want to get bored again by your blog posts". I closed it. Now-a-days, I write on Social issues that a Teenager/youth faces in our country. I am also one of them, hence I am one of the most potential people who can talk on this. I feel comfortable writing about these things. Same is this book that I completed reading right now. "Crushes, Careers & Cellphones" is a book written from a perspective of a mother for all the children between 10 to 25 years old. Manjiri Gokhale Joshi is the writer of this book who has impressed me by writing something which is very recommendable for all the children between 10 to 25. And to some extent, even parents can read this book. As, it gives some suggestions to them too, as to how shall a child be handled when he gets on a wrong path. 

           ABOUT AUTHOR:- Founder and CEO, Maya CARE. Manjiri has worked in the media, publishing, information technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries since the last 16 years. She is a recipient of the British High Commission’s Chevening scholarship for Indian professionals. Her past assignments include – National Manager, Marketing at ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Head, Contact Centre and Head, BPO HR, Zensar Technologies, Assistant Editor, Dataquest and a news reporter with The Indian Express. Her first book – Inspired, co-authored with Dr Ganesh Natarajan, was published in 2006.

        This Non-fiction book is divided into many chapters. Let me name some of them alphabetically, yes the same way as they have been organized in the book. :-)- Achievement, Alcohol, Ambition, Anger, Break-up, Boyfriends, Cellphones, Crushes, Drugs, Embarrassment, Exams, Failure, Gossip, Girlfriends and so on. Each chapter is written by keeping a target in mind. That once the Chapter ends, the teenager gets an idea about what the writer wanted to convey as a parent, and this is what our parents expect from us, or this is how our parents think about certain topics. So, this will help a teenager to develop himself in the same way, and treat life accordingly. As, I am 22.5 years old now, even I found some points about which I never thought the way it has been described by the author. Authoress Manjiri has done a very good job by writing a book that is beneficial for both the generations- Parents and Children. :-)

            Right from the Chapter- Alcohol, I got a sense that I am about to complete a very sensible book. The way this chapter is described gives an insight of how a parent does not want a child to consume alcohol, and even if he/she does, parent will not kick him away, but accept; and author has given some tips of how to consume alcohols even if you can't resist yourself. This approach is enough mature to turn the mindset of a child by 180 degree. :-) After each Chapter, there is view of 1 or 2 children between the age of 10-25 speaking about their perspective on the topic. And these children are not just the Indians that are residing in India, but all around the world. So, it helps you to understand the mindset of those who are away from India. And, I don't think that I need to say much about the book which has a Foreword by Sushmita Sen and is being recommended by an inspirational "Kiran Bedi". :-)

            Little drawback of the book is that few topics are not treated as well as it could have been. The major targeted teenagers are girls than boys. The book becomes monotonous after some times because of the same format. And, few examples could have been added to make some topics more effective. END!!! These are the only drawbacks of this book. Else, I will recommend all the parents to gift this book to their child. It'll help them a lot. And, if you are yourself reading it kiddo, go  get this book, at least you will know about your parent's view on certain topics that you think they don't have any idea about. :-) I don't think that I should rate this book. I am just recommending this to all who are between 10 to 25. And even if you are above 25 and live with your parents, go get this book. There are still some loopholes in your life where you can improve yourself. :-)

  Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA- VEERU

Karbo Larbo Jeetbo Re!!! KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS!!!

588th BLOG POST -->>

            Kolkata Knight Riders wins the 76th Game of IPL 5th edition and gets that CUP for which 9 teams fought with each other since 4th April. Who knew that it would be Kolkata in the end? But the kind of Fan Following and the Support that the team had this season was phenomenal. Last year, they lost by Mumbai Indians in the Quarter-finals and had to leave the tournament. But who would have thought that they will return back in this form? Like TIGERS!!! The only two teams that deserved to win this year's tournament were Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. Delhi had to go back in the Semi-finals because of the Captaincy Skills that Sehwag displayed in the Do-or-Die match. But, Gautam Gambhir emerged out to be the Star Captain of this IPL season. He will be remembered for the Captaincy that he has shown in this year's IPL. And, I personally enjoyed watching this year's IPL because I kicked away the fantasy that I had for Mumbai Indians in IPL season 3 & 4. Actually, I started supporting Mumbai Indians after Sachin scored that 200* in International Cricket. Just to support this man, I started supporting the team. But in the start of this season, I made it final that I won't be supporting a particular team anymore. The only guy that I would be supporting will be CHRIS GAYLE. And what he did is TERRIFIC!!! Tonight, in spite of writing a new post on IPL, I would like to post some of the LIVE TWEETS that I did while the match was on(as each one of them got several Retweets by few kind tweeples).

• Both the guys standing at the toss have been the Men of the Match of our WC Final who made World Cup possible for us. Respect for both.
• Gambhir scored 97. Dhoni scored 91*. And that bought the World Cup back in our country after 28 yrs. Let any1 win, I'll b very very happy.
• Dhoni is our Captain today. Gave us 2 World Cups. Gambhir is the most consistent performer v hv. And d one who can b Next Captain. :)
• Neither I hv any special love for Kolkata nor for Chennai. So,I hv nothing to do wid d winner bt I want both d Captains to rock vd decisions
• Looking at only this season, KKR should b d winner. But looking at the whole history of IPL, CSK should b d winner. So, nice Finalists.
• What??? Sunil Narine is playing tonight??? Sehwag, isn't Gambhir an idiot Captain dt he is playing the best bowler in an important match??
• Kolkata Knight Riders, last time u reached Semi-finals. This time, you reached Finals. Next time, u'll surely get the CUP. But, dis tym, NO.
• Suresh Raina becomes the only batsman in IPL to score 400+ runs in each IPL. This is called the real consistency. Salute to this guy.
• Now as Gautam Gambhir has gone, suddenly the batting side of KKR seems to be a VOID. KKR, now prove urself without him.
• Overs: 11.1 Runs: 111 Wickets:1 #KKR #GoingToBeNo1 :)
• Kolkata, v know dat u r desperate for a win. But that does not mean u'll end d game in 18th over. Atleast win it on 120th ball. Please.
• Some KKR fans were calling this match a Fix too? Right? What is their view now? Ok, so it is ur team that fixed again in Innings break? OK.
• So what if RA.ONE couldn't do anything for himself, he distributed all his powers among his Players. :) It's RA.ELEVEN now. :) #KKR
• What a Perfect Finale this is!!! Just Like The Finale of World Cup 2011. The one who was chasing that day won. Same is happening here. :)
• How many of you are shivering?? And getting a feeling of a Heart-attack?? I am.
• Is this match fixed for a Super-over? Then I am with Match Fixing.
• Kolkata Knight Riders kicked all the critics they have. My God. What a Champion team this is. Won all the Respect. Of Each & Every One.
• Bisla and Kallis are the Men of the Match. They are the one because of whom They were able to bring heat in Captain COOL. Magnificent.
• Chennai Super Kings, u haven't lost this one. You r d team who defeated MUMBAI and DELHI. You r not just lucky. But also Hard-working.
• And, Chennai, u didn't let Kolkata win this one easy. They had to struggle. This is enough to prove the power you have in yourself.
• Shah Rukh Khan!!! Finally you got the result for what you were waiting from five years by investing Crores in this business. Congrats!!!
• Just one thing for passionate fans of Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, the moment ur team starts getting fucked, dont call it a FIX
• I had tears in my eyes when India won the World Cup. Today, I have it once again, but bcoz of d tweets that KKR supporters r posting. #Cool
• Kolkata- The City of Joy is really joyous at this midnight hours. Their city has won the Best Domestic Cricket Tournament tonight. Cheers!!!
• And Chennai, u had to lose this one. You had to prove the World that your team isn't BCCI's favorite. So, I liked that u lost. :)
• Wow. SRK apologized everyone for the misbehavior that he did at Wankhede. This man knows how to win hearts. SRK, u r better than him. :)
• Chasing 150 and winning the CUP would have been so cheesy and childish. Chasing 191 and winning this is the Sign of the REAL CHAMPIONS!!!
• Kaash.. KAAASSSHHH ye Eden Gardens mein hota aaj. Seriously. #IPL
• All the KKR Fans who have been with their team right from the First IPL would have cried tonight. For sure. If not, go for a Check-up plz.
• Some where, Virender Sehwag is rubbing his dick and periodically hitting it.
• And, some where in Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar is rubbing balm on Bhajji's ass which is being kicked by MCA Officials secretly.
• By the way, Shibani Dandekar, as u r jobless for next 1 year, can u please work as a Freelancer to me by completing my Assignments till den?
• Leave the last ball matches, but I am going to miss the awesome anchoring of Gaurav Kapoor for next 10 months. This guy is so perfect. #IPL
• And Our Dear Navjot Singh Sidhu, you will be missed more than the "LIVE" that is being displayed below the logo of Set Max. YES !!! #IPL
• And one more, Some where Kirti Azad is eating lots of shit and breaking his fast against IPL. :-) (And Crying like hell).
• The Total Number of Sixes in the IPL5 is less by 1 than the runs that CHRIS GAYLE scored. :-) 732 Sixes in IPL. 733 Runs by Gayle. :-) #IPL5

               So, it's all. And I would really like to applause Mr. Dhoni. He is terrific. Seriously. And, in other news, Arjun Tendulkar has scored the Maiden Hundred of his career yesterday by hitting 124. :-) I know, your heart missed a beat. :-) And, my heart goes to all the Kolkata Knight Riders' fans. Never saw supporters like you. 

   Thanks.

   ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

I Hate YOU, But I still RESPECT You !!!

587th BLOG POST -->>

          Life is unpredictable. This is known to all of us. Today, if we like someone, it is not necessary that we would be fond of the same person tomorrow. Situation changes, so does feelings and hence, our judgement about the person changes. I don't know how fixed Bigg Boss reality show is, but we can see in it, the one who share the best bonding initially, starts back-bitching about the same person once the time passes. And the one whom you hate initially, may turn out to be your best companion later on. So, this is how our relationship changes. But, how many of us still respect the one whom we leave behind? How many of us still points out the good qualities that our previous companion has? We start seeing the negatives in the person, and even if there's something sanguine about the person, we mold it according to our views about him/her now, and share it with others saying that the person is vapid and uninteresting. 

          We see that our friends break up with their long-time partners. But when they were in relationship, you used to hear their long boring description about their partners and what happened when they went to their date last weekend. But as soon as their partner dump them/or they find someone better than their partner, they start talking everything that is ill about him/her. Even if everything is fine about them, he/she will dig the well and find something that's inappropriate about their ex-partner. This is something that I'm unable to tolerate. How can you be such a loser, buddy? Leave this. Once, after the break-up, when they get together after some time, they start the appreciation again. Buddy, are you the same who called your partners with different names some weeks ago? 

            I read it many-a-times in Newspapers/magazines that after Sonu Nigam broke up with his wife for a short time, he was the only celebrity at that point of time who didn't speak anything ill about her. Else, every celebrity was busy maligning their Ex-partner or Ex-husband/wife. And the same was the case with his wife. Once when Sonu Nigam met with an accident, her wife was the first one to call him and be at hospital even when they were not together. And therefore, I respected the couple more than anyone else in industry. And see, they are back in relation. :-) So, this is how everyone of us should be. Even if we break up with the partner, we should ignore talking bad about them. It's better to speak nothing than talking bad. Even I do this, but I'm trying to improve myself and hence I'm suggesting everyone of you so that I can get a company with which I can improve myself easily. :-)

             Secondly, if you have a problem with a person or the person becomes bad to you, how come other factors relating to him/her turns stupid? This is really strange. Suppose you broke up with a friend who's in a different college, and someone asks you "Hey, what about that friend of your's who studies in that particular college?" and you reply,"Ohh, you call that stupid building and campus a COLLEGE? Are you fucking joking with me? That's not a college. That's a Dagdi shala(as we call it in Maharashtra :-))". Now, this is really sick. Anything associated with that person becomes a VOID for you. Come on, be matured and grow up. Still, I haven't abused the city, college or anything that is associated with my EX. :-) 

           Like, you would have seen that some people don't like the things that Chetan Bhagat speaks on nation and his solutions on how the problems can be tackled. But, as they started hating Chetan Bhagat for this, they even term his books as "Toilet-papers". Come on, you are a fan of Five Point Someone, don't try to over-act. :-) Same with Aamir Khan. If you hate his falseness, abuse him. Not the show- Satyameva Jayate. So, why does your hatred targets the product, intellectual property or a creation developed by the person you hate? Be specific, at least to yourself. Keep your hatred up to the person who ditched you or dumped you or broke the relationship with you, not with anything that he has produced or he is related to. See Salman Khan in this context. He hates Shah Rukh Khan like anything, but whenever he is asked about his children, he is there to talk sweet about them. He says that he is ready to do anything for his children, but for Shah Rukh, he don't even want to see his face again. Keep your approach exactly like Salman has for the things that is associated with SRK.

             So remember, the relationship has not worked. The person is wrong. But, that does not turn him/her into a complete different personality. He/she is still the same. Keep your peripatetic mind in a stable position. Think with a focus on your thoughts, not with an atrocious attitude of being nefarious with the person who is left behind in your life. THINK !!! Even I am trying to get better in this. :-) 

       Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

It's Always been You by Kritika Malhotra !!!

586th BLOG POST -->>

             Ended up with another Romance Fiction this evening. After reading Arpita Sarkar's book, I thought let's read one more by a female author and then move towards male again. :-) And for a change, I liked the book. Kritika Malhotra is a Final year student of Hindu college, pursuing Honors in Physics. But as she has a passion to write, she worked as an intern with Viewspaper and kept publishing her articles on various different portals too. And the final result of her love for literature came out in the form of her debut novel which got released some months ago named- "It's Always Been You" which is being published by Mahaveer Publishers. The book carries a tag line too- "Can you be in live with two guys at the same time...?" Reading this, I thought that I am going to get bored with another typical triangle love story, but to my rescue, it wasn't that cheesy. :-)

              IT's ALWAYS BEEN YOU is not just a love story. In fact, it's not even a typical love story that everyone writes now-a-days. To be precise, Indian authors who get published in their college days itself. :-) It's the book about the thinking and approach towards life of the boys and girls studying in elite colleges of metro cities like Delhi. It's about how they see Love and how they fall into relationships. How they experience several break-ups but still manages to find a new partner for them within days. Because, for them what matters is a relationship, not the person. But, even they have that middle-standards feeling for LOVE which keep them in the airs of their ex-es and they don't find pleasure in their new partners like the last one. So, this is the story of this girl- Maully, studying in Hindu college, getting into an affair with Viraj (after her last break up with Rohan in junior college) and still loving Keyur whom she met before Viraj. So, for knowing the kinds of emotions that Maully had about both the guys, go get the book. :-)

           Kritika Malhotra- When I came to know about the release of her book, I was sure that she would have attempted a love story with a simple English language which most authors prefer to do now-a-days. But fortunately, the kind of vocabulary she has used throughout the book is the best part of it. I learnt lots of new words through this book. Kritika also knows how to carry the same emotion throughout the book, and how to write them in several ways, such that it does not turn monotonous and a reader can enjoy the read till the end of the book. She knows that the story demands some humor statements and funny scenarios, hence, she has added them excessively in the book, which I liked. :-) The Sabreen-Maully's chemistry in the initial part of the book is fun to read. I liked the part where Maully goes for dating with Keyur. It's so unpredictable. The description after having the First sex is cool rather than being vulgar like the attempt of some other authors. The frustration after Maully gets a bad result is another good part of the book. That's exactly how a student feels. Even, the way how author has connected the initials of the book with the climax gives you a good feeling about it. 

            I would rate this book- 3/5. That's average. Yes, because the story is not new. Only treatment is.

   Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

A Walk Down The Lane by Arpita Ghosh Sarkar !!!

585th BLOG POST -->>

             Completed one more book written by a female Indian author- "A Walk Down The Lane". In India, we have very few female authors as most of them are either flirting before marriage or looking after their husband after the marriage. :-) There are very few of them who are interested in trying something new. And, seeing any book by a female writer fascinates me. The reason behind this is that the whole family is depended on a girl/wife/mother, so its very hard for them to write a book after fulfilling all the demands of their family. And, just writing a book is not a compliment, but if the book is nice, the girl/woman earns all my respect. And the latest in this list after Preeti Shenoy, Rashmi Bansal and Sneha Gupta is Arpita Ghosh Sarkar. She is an ex-banker and has worked with Citigroup and HSBC Bank. She left her job as she is a mother of a toddler now. And, now she is up with her debut novel- A Walk Down The Lane published by Srishti Publishers. 

            The book is a story of Shuvika who is frustrated with her job and wants a leave for some days. Finally, she gets one by screwing her colleague who wanted to go himself in spite of sanctioning her a leave. She goes to Westland, the jungle resort. There she meets her old neighbour's son who is quite older than her. She wanted to be alone but as he approaches her with politeness and friendliness, she allows him to be with her. And the friendship starts growing. Shuvika is 28 and this man-Joyneel is 40, almost 12 years elder to her. And, they meet other characters in the resort too. And, then the way this mature amicable relationship grows day by day, and the way Shuvika realizes that may be she is in love with Joyneel after other characters of the book pings her, she starts worrying. She has a dark past and she does not want to get in any relationship, nor is she interested in marrying any time in future. And the same happens with Joyneel, as even he has been through worst times after his wife ran away with her boyfriend. How, the story unfolds, how this mature book travels from Page No. 1 to 198, go get the book.

             The best part about the author is- She knows the length of her story and hence, she kept it of some 30,000 words only; rather than adding useless scenarios and making it a novel of 50,000 words. She has used only those scenes that are really useful in the story. She has passed many emotional statements and scenarios without making them lengthy and assuming that people would remember it if it will be carried in 10-12 pages. She has just included the main part which keeps you happy as you see that you are about to complete the book in just 2 hours after few pages. She has used short sentences, hence making it easy for readers to fasten their speed of reading as they won't get confused in any sentence. I can't state one or two best part of the book as the story is like a short piece of fiction. So, the whole book is very sweet. The one part that really makes you emotional is when Shuvika leaves the resort before everyone even when they asks her to stay back. And the climax is mid-blowing. After 140th page, the story goes up by a level. And as Author herself is matured, she has stated the emotions of a 28 years old-woman and 40-years old-man up to the mark. And, she has slapped all the writers who think that Love story can be written only by adding love elements to it. Ghanta!!! She has not even used the word- "Kiss" in the book. That's the power of a Good Author. Seekh lo kuch. And yes, the cover page is perfectly designed according to the theme of the story.. and so is the title.. 

               There's no drawback according to me. I rate this book 4/5. YES!!! You can go for it without any doubt. 

 Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

A Splash of Love by Rajeev Ranjan !!!

584th BLOG POST -->>

        It has become so common in the Indian fiction market to have the word "Love" in their titles. I don't know what's so interesting about the word but I am fed up of it. Even when some books that does not have the theme of love also prefers to have this word in their title or tagline so that the first time readers will get attracted to it. But, for me, this word doesn't interests me anymore in terms of reading a book. I want some other stories. There's one more book that I have just completed with the same word in the title- "A Splash of Love- A Kiss of Infatuation". When I started it, I was prepared to read the same kind of story that everyone is writing now-a-days but to my surprise, this book turned out to be more articulate and distinct from them. It's the first work by Rajeev Ranjan who is a Graduate in Physics from University of Delhi in 1996, then he pursued Post Graduation again in Physics and turned into an Indian Coast Guard. No, he is not a young author like others who are on the board these days. :-) So girls, chill. 

              A SPLASH OF LOVE is the story of a boy- Arunoday who is very sentimental in every situation. Right from the death of his childhood friend/cousin and the break up with his girlfriend, he remains a person who keeps asking the same questions to himself just to stop his attraction towards other useless things. But, he fails. Every time, he knows that he is getting attracted towards a wrong thing, even when he tries to stop him, his fate and his addiction magnetizes him to move towards the same direction. Because of this, he loses his friends, his girl-friend and many other consequences take place in his life. But, in the end, when he does some thing extra-ordinary in his life after getting mislead through out his youth days, he finds himself back in the position where he can smile without thinking of anything that he lost. And, the whole journey of this boy is what the book delivers to its readers. :-)

               Rajeev Ranjan has attempted a very interesting story which can be made into a Bollywood movie with great stars. The story has the power to keep the interest in a reader alive. Rajeev knows the basic of writing a fiction story that if something is described in the initial chapters, it should have some correspondence or statement in the ending chapters too. And this is what, I liked the most about this author. 

            In 1st 100 pages, the best part is the way the story started with the first chapter, and the way author took the story forward in every chapter makes you read it more faster to know what happened in future years with the protagonist and his career. The part when Arunodaya runs behind the auto-rickshaw is also a very beautiful part of the book. The campus recruitment part is damn funny. I enjoyed it. The moment when Anjali's father rings the bell, shivers you. You want the protagonist to be safe. Another heart-breaking part is when Sanjana commits that the crime is being done by her when even Arunodaya remains a major part of it. Last 100 pages is the real skill of the author. With every page, the story unfolds a new twist and you get the feeling that this book is going to be your favorite. Climax of the book, initially, is unpredictable but later on, becomes predictable but still excites you, that is what I liked about it. To climax, 5/5. And, the USP of the author is the first paragraph of every new chapter that he has started with his views/doubts on certain issues of love, life and dreams etc.

            The major drawback of this book is its publisher. No editing done. The book gets ruined because of several grammatical mistakes and spelling errors. At least, one proof-reading is required. Diamond Publishers also chose a very unattractive font for this book. They will have to work on this in future. They spoil the content of the book because of their carelessness. That is where this book disappoints you. And Rajeev sir, its good that you have kept only 5% of the conversations in the book with 95% of story in it, but at some places a reader wants to know what kind of conversation the couple or friends used to have among them. So, you could have added much of it too. Else, you have done a terrific job. Looking forward to your next book. 

            I rate this book- 3.5/5. 

  Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

The Suicide Banker by Puneet Gupta !!!

               583rd BLOG POST -->>

             It has been a long time since I have read a book which does not have Love story as its theme. In fact, this book does not have any equation of love in it. I never ever expected myself to read a book that would be purely based on Banking and how the internal system operates under the banking sector of India. Every time, I was about to read it, Puneet sir nudged me that "It's the book that is purely based on Banking so take care that you don't get exhausted while reading it". :-) Finally, I started it and the book kept me hook to it. Puneet Gupta is a banker himself with 15 years of experience. He is currently working in Middle East. Very middle-class by nature, very amicable and very soft-spoken. These are the traits of Mr. Puneet Gupta who is the author of this book "The Suicide Banker" published by Rupa Publications. Indian writers complain that the Reputed publication houses never let us even stand in front of them, hence how can one dream of getting published in India with a secure future in writing. My dear authors, first learn how to write on a topic from Puneet Gupta. Love stories are not something that avid readers are looking for in book stores now.

               The Suicide Banker is the story of a banker- Sumit who is maintaining and trying to balance both- Personal and Professional life together. As he is very ambitious towards his Professional life, his personal life faces an uncouth period of time seeing Sumit always busy in his banking career. In his current organization- Ind-credit bank, he finds that there are lots of fraudster involved in Agri-business. Now, he starts spying on them. He thinks of changing everything by himself even when he knows that almost everyone in the hierarchical structure of the organization is involved in it. And, THE SUICIDE BANKER is all about the journey of this man- Sumit fighting with the unorganized Banking staffs and maintaining his marital life with Shalini. :-) 

              Puneet Gupta has a very good command on English language. I am pretty impressed with the kind of words and sentences that he has used throughout the book. I have a complain with the Indian authors that they don't use Idioms, phrases and awesome one-liners as the USP ingredient in their book, but Puneet Gupta has managed to impress me by applying all of these in his debut book. The book is quite lengthy but the funny sentences that keep popping in periodically keeps you interested in the further pages. The story that is wholly based on a Banker's life could have become wearisome but Puneet Gupta has managed to eliminate all the factors that may typecast this book as the one with repetitive scenarios. Very creatively, author has managed to depict how the whole Banking stuff takes place in their sector. 


              Initially, Sumit-Anupam's clash is very interesting. In Kashmir, when those Afghani-kind-of-men checks Sumit and Shalini, dithers you. Shibu asking about Independence Day is so funny that I got an instance that how a kid irritates his father in his childhood days by rapid-fire questions. Shalini's first news show is perfectly described. I liked that part too much. Later on, Annie's entrance in the story as Sumit's interest makes the book little masaledaar. The jokes written in Italic font are the USP of this book. I don't think that anyone else could have written better about this topic. I have heard that Ravi Subramaniam writes on the same topic but as I haven't read him still, I rate Puneet Gupta as one of the best writers in this section.


               I would recommend everyone of you to read this book if you have killed yourself by reading Love stories recently. One of the best book to have with you. I rate it 3.75/5.


   Thanks.


   ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

When your life becomes an IPL Tournament !!!

            582nd BLOG POST -->>

             IPL Season 5 is about to end. Yes, many of you have started feeling sick and dry. I know. The irony is that "Cricket is Religion in our country" but IPL is above Religion as per TRP reports. :-) Chris Gayle's batting, Dale Steyn's bowling and Delhi Daredevils' all-round performance excites a vigour within us. We don't want to be left behind after seeing such performances. We wish if we were these Cricketers and we got a chance to explode the field by our magnificence. All of us want to be the reason for those noise that is being created by the people dancing in the stadium. While watching IPL, something came into my mind. It happened some 1 week ago and since then I'm observing the matches carefully and trying to relate it with my thoughts. I feel that IPL matches are similar to the way we live our Life. And the observations are pretty interesting. 

            Every time we are about to enter into a new phase of our life, like the first day of college, first day of Office, the day we are about to get married, we are as nervous as the Opening batsman is. And like the first bowl of the match, when the events start coming towards us, we, as a batsman try to face it as intellectually as we can so that we don't get clean bowled in the beginning itself. And sometimes, when we see that the situations are in our control, we try to dominate others just as the fast bowlers like Dale Steyn and Malinga does. And when we see that we have won in taking someone's wicket i.e. we turned out to be successful in making someone do what we wanted him to do, we celebrate it. And we don't celebrate it alone but we do it with everyone who had the same target for that person. :-) 

           When you win an Award or Appreciation from the person you admire, the moment is no less than a DLF Maximum. And some times, when you know that what you dreamed is coming towards you but its too far, you run towards it to catch it and be the Karbonn Kamaal Catch winner. Example: If you have a crush on a girl who's very popular in your class, and when you see that she is alone for some minutes, you run quickly towards her so that no one reaches before you. And when you succeed doing it, you become a Karbonn Kamaal Catch winner. :-) In life you require friends because all the situations of your life is not in your hands. You can bowl the best swinger to your life, but if it plays a big shot, then you have no control over it, only your friend who is standing on the boundary can catch it and give you a wicket. :-) So, friends are important in life. At least, your circle should have 11 good friends. :-) 

           And you always need a girlfriend and 2-3 other girls in your mobile's contact list to flirt just because you want your success to be celebrated by someone of the opposite gender. Hence, these girls play the part of Cheerleaders in the IPL of your life. And, you can't play with your life until and unless you don't have money right from the first stage when you were no one. Your parents are your owner just as every IPL team is owned by some or the other billionaire. The auction which God hosted, your parents bid for you and got you in their team. Now, it's your responsibility to give them the worth of the money that they are investing in a Debut player like you. :-) After working hard, when you see that things are not happening as you planned it, you take a short break to re-think about your goals and future plans. Like, sitting at home for one year after Graduation to judge what you are good in and in which subject should you do your Post-Graduation in. That's the Innings Break of your life. And when you get vacation between your semesters, that's Strategic Time-Out. :-)

         Some times, you want to be good with people but people judge you incorrectly. It's as similar as the judgment of Umpire when he gives Not Out to the bowler who clearly dismisses the batsman by making his ball touch the batsman's pad before his bat. :-) So, rather than over-reacting like Munaf Patel, you will have to take those wrong judgment against you positively and work hard the next time you are going to bowl the next over of your life. :-)

             Some people take all their life to achieve their childhood dream. They have a very good average that makes it possible. But, as life is very short like a Twenty20 game, you will have to keep your Strike Rate striking. :-) Some times people may under-estimate you and they may not give you chance to do something that only you deserved. Example: I was never made Prefect or Captain in my school. :-) But that does not mean that you will lose the hopes. As Chris Gayle wasn't taken up by any owner in IPL4's auction, but later when he returned as a part of RCB's team, he scored 2 Hundreds in that season. :-) So that is how you need to show your performance quality when you get an opportunity after the black days of your life. 

             Some times the whole concept that was being established by you may get into someone else's hands and he may enjoy the fruits instead of you. So, rather than getting depressed by it, you should still behave like Lalit Modi and be as powerful as those people enjoying fruition on your hard work. :-) And age makes no different in the performance of an individual. You may have heard your parents saying that they have grown old just at the age of 40-50. No, you don't get weak with the age. Sachin Tendulkar was the Orange Cap holder in IPL Season 3. Rahul Dravid has been in the Top 10 Batsmen who have scored Highest Runs in this season. So, never get demotivated by seeing more energetic and young people preparing for the same race that you are about to run. You are as good as those youngsters.

             So, these are some of the similarities that our life has with the game of IPL. There are many more but I don't want to make this Blog lengthy that none of you read it. Now, just as Bangalore recovered in the last season after 3 continuous defeats and won Seven Consecutive matches after that, you will have to keep performing with the same attitude in your life. You will have to try to win all the three medals of DLF Maximum Sixes, Karbon Kamaal Catch and Man of the Match in the short-term goals of your life. In the long-term goals, you will have to assure yourself that you will get Orange Cap, Purple Cap and the Trophy even when you join the race of life at any point of time. And remember, when you die, make it sure that people sitting to talk about lives of many people make sure that they talk only about you as some players confine Shibani, Archana, Sidhu, Sameer and Gaurav Kapoor to talk only about them in the Extraaa Innings. :-)

                That's all about my observation how our life is similar to the IPL Tournament.

   Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU I hope you will not ban me for 5 years as MCA officials has banned SRK from entering in Wankhede. :-) 

And Then It Rained by Gaurav Dashputra !!!

               581st BLOG POST -->>

             Every time I have a Srishti Publisher's book in my hand, I have a different kind of expectation with it because the first time when I picked an unknown Indian fiction writer- it was from Srishti publication. And the 10 writers whom I picked after him was again from Srishti. So, I started loving the general thoughts that these writers from Srishti wrote. And once again, I picked up this book from the same publication- "And then it rained" which also has a tagline- "coz life ain't always a fairytale". This is the debut novel of a student of last year MBBS in D.Y. Patil college, Navi Mumbai (Yes, the same city I live in :-)), basically from Nagpur, a national gold medalist in swimming and a great fan of SRK- Mr. Gaurav Dashputra. I have been in touch with this guy even before he selected his publisher, so I have a kind of attachment with this book which got developed in front of me. And as I gave some free advise to Gaurav Dashputra every time I met him online, I got my name reserved in the Acknowledgement section. :-) Thanks Mr. Author for it. And, as I have been the most lucky reviewer to review many good books for the first time on Internet, I am getting a chance to review even this too because no one has reviewed it still. :-)

              Coming to the story, AND THEN IT RAINED is about Aman who is very jolly by nature, helpful, friendly, flirty, emotional, sarcastic, humor-filled, ambitious and possessed almost every quality that a girl sees in her ideal boyfriend and a boy sees in his ideal best friend. This helped him achieve friends like Krish and Madhur as he landed in Mumbai for his further studies. He just lost a girl friend in his home town- Nagpur which made him little depressed. But the entry of Riya in his life gives him one more chance to be a passionate lover. But life wasn't a positive story for him. He had to bear the consequences of few wrong decisions that made him lose almost all the close people he had around him. He submerged himself into loneliness and alcohol. But, was that the end of the story? No. Because, the traits that he had in him were not ordinary. So, to know what happens with this guy after taking wrong decisions which made him lose all the emotional connected people, go and get the novel. :-)

             Coming to my review, Gaurav Dashputra has made it sure that he makes no mistake in his debut. He hadn't done any foolishness while selecting the cities where his story is to be based because he picked up Nagpur and Navi Mumbai where he lives.  He has used his own style of narration by including lot of scenarios in just 209 pages of the book. He has kept the narration fast so that a reader don't get bored on any single page. This is the best part of AND THEN IT RAINED. He has expressed his love and excitement for the city of Mumbai and its monsoon appropriately. The continuous humor statements in the book keeps you interested. Every relation is described properly so that, when the story takes a twist, you can feel the pain of the protagonist while he isolated himself from each of them. This book is not a love story. It is about how a young boy takes wrong decisions while handling lot of relationships(interconnected with each other) at the same time. This book has an emotional touch in it. 

             The best part of this book in the first 100 pages is the date with Riya. The scene where the trip to Goa is being planned makes me laugh out loud. The description of expression of each of the three friends is enormous during the Goa trip deciding scene. The part when Aman runs between the movie just to get rid from Preeti's proposal in the theater is another funny scene of this book. The moment Aman tells about his first result of Medical to his father, and the way his father expresses happiness makes you emotional. And, all those parts of loneliness and the way Aman punished himself is something for which you will remember AND THEN IT RAINED always. The climax of the book is perfect and yes, it's unpredictable. 

            Coming to the drawbacks, there aren't much. The major drawback that I managed to find out is the way story ran quicker sometimes when you wanted to know more about the current situation of the main character and other supporting characters of the story. Else, using the real entities' name like of D. Y. Patil college and then associating it with bribery to get the question paper out can make some readers feel that the college is associated with such acts of corruption. So, in a Fiction, one has to concentrate on these little things to avoid the controversies. But in all, AND THEN IT RAINED is a good experience as I didn't feel any part of the book unwanted or dragged. I give it 3.25/5. This book is worth reading as it ends with a moral which is very rare to see in today's fictions. :-) Go, GET IT. 

            Thanks.

  ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU