Blake, Powell, Gatlin, Bailey running against Usain Bolt.
Bolt running against History.
Shyam_sundar@twitter
Sothappitten Machi
Author : Ka. Thamiliniyan
Publisher : Kuri Publishers
Purchased : udumalai.com, Chennai
Sothappitten Machi (Tamil) is a collection of poems written by Ka. Thamiliniyan.
The book was recommended by my friend Suresh. Thamiliniyan is a friend of Suresh.
The book is very small and has got around 25 poems, all very little and really no meaning. Once I read a couple of first poems, I started to worry why I ordered the book. The title of the book made me think that it contains some funny poems about love. But nothing of such kind was noticed.
I had earlier purchased Pa. Vijay’s poem books, because Sun TV Weather News reporter H. Monika modelled that book. Per my standards the poems were too bad and had no impacting meaning. Just jumble of words. This book Sothappitten Machi is a lower quality of the same Pa. Vijay genre poems. None of the poem had any meaning that would impact anyone, leave alone a lover. If you allow me, even I could write number of poems like this. Remember the poem by ‘Mirchi’ Siva in “Chennai-28”? [Un kaaladi naai selvi…; un kaalkadi naai…]
When I got the book, I quickly noticed that the writer is from my college, Madras Institute of Technology. A junior. I knew some poets from my college, all smitten by love. But their poems were recited only to their lovers; some actually lost their love just because they recited those poems to their lovers. Frankly, my college was too technical for a poet to blossom and there were very few girls who would arouse a poet in someone. I don’t know who made Thamiliniyan to write poems, maybe someone from nearby Vaishnav College or Vel’s College.
The writer seems to have money to publish his thoughts as a book. Also he seems to have political background. The Foreword is written by a politician Vaigaichelvan. To his part, he too has recited a poem in the Foreword.
I frankly just went through pages because it contains photos of beautiful models, all taken from internet. That’s all.
As a college senior I wish him in publishing a better book next time.
My verdict: No need to read.
Barefoot to Paradise
Author : Soorina Arora
Publisher : Macmillan
Borrowed : Vivek Bhatia, RCP, Mumbai
Barefoot to Paradise is a novel by Soorina Arora.
The book was recommended by my colleague Vivek, who generally do not appreciate books that I feel good. So wished to know what is in this book. The book was not bad; but neither great too.
The book is about a single woman who leads her life towards what she feels is the real purpose of life. She pursues the life the way she likes and not compromising for the society or others. It is just the description of her life. I felt it like the Tamil movie 'Kandukonden Kandukonden'. No villain, no target, but just as saying that this happened to me.
The flow of book is good and the incidents are in order. It does not flow back and forth in time. Best part of the book is it's frankness. Be it about boyfriends, first sex, or anything which we consider taboo. But they are just a little, expressive and in no way sexy. I found this frankness differentiating this book from others. Then the way of writing. It is slightly humour. I had a pleasant feeling reading through the book. As a reader, I never had a depressed feeling while reading, though the main character is in depressed mood. This as author has maintained the humorous way of expressing even the sad moments. Throughout the book I had a feel-good factor. Various encounters with the may-be in-laws are very great. It expresses the foul smell that lies beneath the beautiful outer covers of the beautiful society. Do not miss these encounters.
I did not rush to finish the book, but nonetheless I did not want to discontinue reading too. It is like a flow of river.
My verdict: Just read; need not preserve.
Vinu, I am getting married
Author : Vineet Mishra
Publishers : Alchemy
Borrowed : Vandana Karande, RCP, Mumbai
“Vinu, I am getting married” is a fiction (atleast the author claims so) authored by my friend and colleague Vineet Mishra [the guy on right, in his standard pose] and published by Alchemy Publishers.
I really thought of not blogging on fictions, as the author as the full right on their imaginations and I have no right to comment on the imaginations. But then, Vineet wanted the review. Also, Vineet being my friend, I had to be more careful on not hurting his feelings.
To start with, Vandana one day was too excited about starting a book club in RIL, where like-minded people can share their experiences on various books they come across. While a few were daring to join the club, we identified that Vineet within our organization is already an author. He had written a book and was awaiting publication. Now, Vandana and I went to meet him, found him sipping coffee with his colleagues, pulled him out of the cafeteria in his block and generously allowed him to join the book club.
From Vineet we heard a lot about the intricacies of publication, marketing the book, profits, reviews, proof reading, etc. It is indeed a laborious work. But it is a great feeling to have your book on hand. Kudos to the effort. He has been felicitated within the company and outside too.
The book is dedicated to ‘Friendship’. The story is about a group of college guys. It is a typical college story. There are friends, fights, canteen / mess, drinks, late night parties, fence jumping, suicide, girlfriends, relations and well, a little education / exam too. Our hero is class topper. I felt it like a typical Tamil movie, where however casual the hero is, he gets good marks and best out of life.
Frankly, cannot deny relating it with ‘5.someone’; maybe because we all have read it earlier. The book has similar friends group; four as against 3 in ‘5.s’. Hero has got girlfriend and in this aspect a bit advanced. There is an affair instead of just kissing in ‘5.s’. There is a frantic search of heroine by hero, as against friends searching hero in ‘5.s’. The incidents are different but somehow feel relating to ‘5.s’. Had this book ‘Vinu’ been published before ‘5.s’, we could have had a movie with Aamir as hero Salman aka Vineet and Kareena as heroine Mallika. But, now we have to look for different casting. The book is enjoyable to read and took me in one go. However, the end was abrupt. There was no requirement of convincing the heroine, fight with villain, family feuds, etc. All incidences just fell in place and story ended with ‘happily ever after’.
The book is a small and handy publication with reasonable font; so it was easy to hold in hand and read. It is rightly priced and also available at reasonable rate in Flipkart. It also has got a lot of good reviews from the readers. You could just google and find them. An effort such as this has to be encouraged. Hence, you may please buy a copy.
Post book publication, Vineet has been doing a lot of work to catch further attention on the book. My humble request is that he needs to move ahead with his next book and publish it before people forget him.
All the best!
Dhirubaism
Author : A G Krishnamurthy
Dhirubhaism is authored by A G Krishnamurthy and published by Tata McGraw Hills. Dhirubhai’s son Mukesh D Ambani has written foreword to this book. My colleague Vandana and I participated in an essay competition. She won second prize and was gifted two books, of which one was ‘Dhirubhaism’. It’s a little book for light reading. The font and spacing was great for easy reading. The book claims that it could be read in 90 minutes and yes, I actually read in a single evening. Not only that the content was little, the style of writing was also not boring. The author goes ga-ga about Dhirubhai. No wrong, as Dhirubhai was anyway his boss and mentor. But he repeats more than several times about the company ‘Mudra Communications’ growing from a small firm of Rs. 35,000 to one of the 3 largest advertisement firm in just 9 years. He has used his book to tom-tom his company’s growth and it’s a bit irritating.
The author AGK is obviously a die-hard fan of Dhirubhai. Also AGK has worked personally with Dhirubhai. In 15 chapters, AGK brings out the various virtues / views of Dhirubhai that provides a better picture of Dhirubhai’s characteristics. AGK puts his point with real life cases that he recalls, while he worked with Dhirubhai. Anybody who admires Dhirubhai would love to read this book. But the book will not prompt you for a re-read. Neither there are any great quotes / incidents that you could quote in a writing / speech. Simple, light reading, little book.
My Verdict: Just read; Need not buy.
RAJNI's PUNCHtantra (Front)
RAJNI's PUNCHtantra is a book authored by P C Balasubramanian along with Raja Krishnamoorthy and published by Oxygen Books. It costs INR 125. The book is very simple and small. It has 30 statements delivered by Rajni in his various movies. This is mainly for Rajni's fans. When I found this in the shelves of the book store, I was really hesitant to take and get it billed while others watch, as the Rajni jokes (mostly variants of earlier Chuck Norris jokes) are already in circulation vide sms and emails. But myself being fan, I could not resist. Rajni's punch statements are so famous and rampant that possible punch statements will start emanating in magazines before movie release. And he has his own way of delivering these statements on screen. The book says that Rajni's punch statements are truths that fit all and depicts them as value statements on business and life management. None of the 30 statements or the film from which it has been collected would be new to his fans. The book is drafted as like Bhagavat Geeta. Rajni's punch statement in Tamil, it's meaning in English, a couple of paragraph of its relevance in business and then in life. They end with their own punch statements. Frankly, the book is rubbish. The translations of Rajni’s statement to English are not catchy and the paragraphs on the relevancies are even more incoherent. After reading, I do not recall any of the parts of the book and that is bad. The book has not interested or impacted me. The photos of Rajni are in b&w and the print quality is bad. So there is no great content for a reader or good photos for Rajni's fans. Since I have bought it, I will keep it in my library.
My Verdict: Don't read; Don’t buy.
Today's Google Doodle
16 points in Basketball
Google Doodle
Whats your record?
Mine is 16.6 s
Boss called me in his cabin and asked, "where is my computer?"
I, after a little blink, grandly declared, "its below the table sir"
Now he blinked and said, "that's ok... now find me one on my monitor"
I sheepishly scan his shortcut packed desktop and found 'My Computer'.
Hope he will forget this incident by my appraisal.
Like sepia to photography, power loss adds divinely atmosphere to the temples...
Tired after running behind Soorya preparing him to school, Sasi statemented - The bugger finds the most exciting things only when he goes to school...
I- Err, you mean like his teacher...
The 'bugger' post was transferred to me with an adjective now...
Updated my blog name and the reason for the update
https://nvkarthik.blogspot.com/2012/08/butterfly-walk_6.html
Happy friendship day to all...
Btw, does anyone know why today is friendship day?
After a brief stint in Twitter I'm back in FB... i may breath a little more than 140 here, comfortably... Twitter is different medium and I'm delinking it from my FB...
தமிழருக்கு: தள்ளுபடி இல்லாட்டியும் பரவாயில்ல... pant'ம் வாங்கித் தா மாமா...
#ஆடி தள்ளுபடி
for englishers: fcuk the discount man... lets just buy some trousers...
#recession
(Photo: REUTERS)
Never, ever, ever, ever and ever ask me time when i'm holding coffee...
I not only forget that i'm holding hot coffee but, damn, even forget that i stopped wearing watch since years...
# Oh... too hot... i'm telling about the coffee and not the lady who asked me time...
## BTW, anybody got spare pants???
Chanakya Chant
-Ashwin Sanghi
The Rozabal Line
-Ashwin Sanghi
The DaVinci Code
-Dan Brown
Bush at War
-Bob Woodward
Frost/Nixon
-Sir David Frost, with Bob Zelnick
Bound Together
-Nayan Chanda
கடவுளும் நானும்
-சாரு நிவேதிதா
ஒரு பெண்ணின் அந்தரங்க குறிப்புகள்
The 33 strategies of war
-Robert Greene
Ulaga Cinema - Volume I
Author : Chezhian
Publisher : Vikatan Publication
Purchased : vikatan.com, Navi Mumbai
Ulaga Cinema - Volume II
Author : Chezhian
Publisher : Vikatan Publication
Purchased : vikatan.com, Navi Mumbai
Ulaga Cinema - Volume III
Author : Chezhian
Publisher : Vikatan Publication
Purchased : vikatan.com, Navi Mumbai
booking in IRCTC is easy...
all you need is 2Gpbs Broadestband connectivity with a 64/128 GB RAM system...
plus a strong heart with determination, perseverance and a lot of patience...
mindset to travel in RAC / WL / 'without' is an added advantage...
today's 'Booker Prize' goes to none other than me...
got tatkal confirm from MDU to CSTM...
grandmother cremated peacefully at 85
Q: Anbu M Ch My Deep Condolences....Have you ever asked her the secret of long life
A: Thanks for your concerns... She led a complete life... Anbu M Ch There were many reasons for her long life... She never needed reasons to pre-judge people... She never needed reasons to meet people... Never needed reasons to start a conversation... Her life was simple... She had long life because she knew, not just believed, that life is short...
As a matter of fact, people born before our independence live long...
Hope we all inherit, not just property, but physical abilities and mental strength from our elders...
before you visit in-laws watch a lot of 'just for laugh -gags'...
your time will not go boring...
கோவை சரளா வடிவேலுவை அடிப்பதை காமெடியாய் ரசித்து சிரிக்கும் மனைவியிடம் சற்று ஜாக்கிரதையாகத்தான் இருக்க வேண்டும்...
#உன் உயிர் உன் கையில்
wow...
#inception@HBO
its actually the first time watch for me...
every computer training ad shows the kid typing so fast...
i think they teach typewriting complementary for computer course...
#GNIIT
its very lively here at butcher shop...
#oxymoron
people go to tracks with mug, without the fear of being mugged...
#morning debt
customer care at chai shops are near perfect...
because there are no management guys... and no appraisals, obviously...
people in shops here no more suspect me taking two cuttings...
just that ivory coloured dog is looking at me suspiciously...
the best after the russian drink is the mumbai cutting...
wilbur sargunaraj's next project...
"Water vs. Paper - The morning struggle"
the right cut and quantity, with quality...
#cutting
is it a phase change or phase reversal???
#death
as a matter of fact, wifey knows the number of kids in soorya's school...
and i know the number of teachers...
#interest
religious fanatics - "let them find and prove God particle... we will sit and amicably decide among ourselves on who's God is it anyway..."
scientists - "idiots... we are finding God particle to prove that God does not really exist..."
bachelors / friends - "abe... news suna??? they think they found something... chalo... party party..."
we went to purchase a steel cupboard...
i was quietly watching my wifey bargaining all the technical and financial details with the shopkeeper...
she nudged me to negotiate...
i - "yea bhai... single door wala aata hai kya??? kitne mein aayega???"
woh bhai - "kya saab... yeah fridge thodi'hi hai..."
i had to sit quietly for rest of the negotiation, but outside the shop...
#know thy purchase
in every meeting there is (atleast) one person who believes that the agenda of the meeting is to 'finish the snacks'...
#corporate
i - "do you have a food processor???"
my friend - "yeah..."
he was pointing to his 2 year old kid... without noticing his wifey watching him, he continued - "but i tell you, the output is too bad..."
hope he survives the day... #Amen...