Monday, February 26, 2018

The Rise of Sivagami At An Incredible Discount Price! A Book by Anand Neelakantan

The Rise of Sivagami: Book 1 of Baahubali - Before the Beginning
Anand Neelakantan is an Indo-Anglian author. His books Jaya, Rise of Kali and Asura had become very successful in the Indian book market. 

Image Courtesy: The Hindu
The quality of his writing, hold on language, and the craft of his writing is commendable. The reason for his success is not just marketing, as many authors attest to when the question is asked in interviews.

The definition of success in Indian popular writing, set by Anand Neelakantan is a standard that many would have to strive hard to achieve. His talents also lie in the creation of scripts for television series.

Now, his book The Rise of Sivagami, Book 1 in the prequel to Baahubali storyline is available at an unbelievable offer price at Amazon.in. You could purchase this book for just 74 Rupees in India. The book's MRP is Rs. 299. This means almost 75 % discount is offered now. 

You can purchase your copy through the link given below. Please use the associated link below to make your purchase.

Enjoy reading a page-turning fantasy thriller.

Happy reading, everyone.  http://amzn.to/2Cll6EJ

SRIDEVI DIES OF ACCIDENTAL DROWNING? New Reports Shock the Fan World

Sridevi Accidentally Drowned In Dubai Bathtub, Says Report
Image Courtesy: NDTV

    In my previous blog post, I mentioned what is new about the news. My post was about actor Sridevi’s death. Media had reported that she died of cardiac arrest.

    Today, according to the latest information on various news media such as the ones given in the reference below, actor Sridevi died of accidental drowning. As per the news, she slipped into a hotel bath.

    This latest news is more saddening to all her fans. This incident even morbidly resembles the plot of many of those tragedies in Bollywood films.
May God rest her soul in peace.

Reference:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-43196902

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sridevis-funeral-likely-today-grieving-bollywood-gathers-at-family-home-1817219

Sunday, February 25, 2018

ACTOR SRIDEVI HAD A CARDIAC ARREST: She passed away


What’s new about the news. I think it’s our response to it that gives each news the space it deserves.

When the news came; I could not believe it.

I first saw the news on Youtube. Recently, I had also heard reports of the death of Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone. That was a hoax, and Sly Stallone himself released a video announcing that he was back from death. Considering this experience, my first response was to impose the sense of disbelief over the deluge of today’s morbid news.

I was finding it hard to cope with the news. The best way to cope with the situation was to find the truth out. So I googled it up. What else could I do? I do not have any personal access to her family members. I do not know their phone numbers of email ids. I am like the million or billion other Indians who have nothing to do on the face of this news but to pray for the health of their beloved film superstar. So we devour the news channels and online media.

Then I discovered that indeed, actress Sridevi passed away.

She seemed eternally young. Her recent movie, English Vinglish took the industry by storm, so to speak. This movie celebrated her return to the arena of Bollywood after a long absence. I was even expecting to watch her in some upcoming films.

She was fifty-four at the time of death. The cause of death is reported to be cardiac arrest. Her husband is Bonny Kapoor, the renowned Bollywood filmmaker.

Her debut film in Bollywood was Solva Sawan. Her pre-Bollywood career was very active with a number of south Indian movies.

One of her all-time favourite Bollywood classics is the film Mr India, which I watched in my teen years.

The news of Sridevi’s demise would be a dark one for all of us in India, especially for her fans and the admirers of Indian cinema.

The response that I have to the news is prayer. I pray for her soul. May her soul traverse to the stream of eternal consciousness and pass over to the next mission it has. 

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Family-Business



THE INHERITORS BY SONU BHASIN: A REVIEW

The Inheritors dawned on my radar as I was browsing through Amazon. The book written by Sonu Bhasin with a Forward by Anand Mahindra appeared to be a unique product about the Indian entrepreneurial setup. The term ‘Indianness’ arises often in the Indo-Anglian literature. Certain writers attempt to describe the term too. I doubt that anyone of those critics or writers ever defined the term properly. The Indian way of writing, along with the Indian way of performing various other cultural, political, and sociological activities is unique. It cannot be seen as a copy of or a direct oppositional force set against a Eurocentric system. The Indian way incorporates the best in every culture and social system. It also distinguishes itself from all those streams from which it drew inspiration. Sonu Bhasin’s attempt is to delineate the major Indian way of doing business. She does that by telling the stories of many family-owned businesses in India.

Sonu Bhasin introduces a unique project in the form of The Inheritors.  In six readable, lucidly written narrative chapters span a story that makes up the six pillars of the Indian market space. These businesses are family-owned. However, Sonu Bhasin sets a working angle to the story through the eyes of the decedents of these families.

The first chapter is titled “Dabur Group and Lit Bite Foods: Amit Burman”. This chapter moves through the life of Amit Burman the young entrepreneur from the Dabur family that took the charge as Vice Chairman at Dabur India. After his higher education abroad, Amit returns to India to work at Dabur, his family business.  After working in several departments with his company, he realizes that his calling lay somewhere else. So he ventures into the world of startups. This is the story of a young man who finally finds harmony with his family business, by adorning the space of its Vice President while at the same time initiates a path-breaking set of ventures in the food industry of India.

The second chapter is “Marico: Harsh Mariwala.” As the title suggests,  the second chapter of The Inheritors deals with the journey of Harsh Mariwala who feels at one point that he is in control of his future. He founded the company named Marico and you read about that journey too.

The third chapter “Berger Paints: Kuldip Singh Dhingra and Gurbachan Singh Dhingra” and the fourth chapter “Motilal Oswal Group: Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal recount the tales of family-owned businesses that made it big even beyond the previous two entities in the Indian market. “Berger Paints is the second-largest paint company in India today” (113), Attests Sonu Bhasin.  In the hands of the fourth generation of the Rangwala family, Kuldip and Gurbachan keep on delivering their best in continuing the legacy of their brother Sohan Singh Dhingra who is the progenitor of the business. This chapter also focuses on how the interpersonal relations between the two brothers, Kuldip and Gurbachan help them grow the company.

The key players in the Motilal Oswal Group, Motilal and Raamdeo are not families but friends taking their friendship to new levels of productive meaning. Other chapters include “Keventers: Agastya Dalmia”, “Max Group: Tara Singh Vachani”, “Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas: Rishabh and Saloni Shroff”, “Luxor: Pooja Jain”, and the “Select Group: Arjun Sharma”. Author Sonu Bhasin has effectively tied the chapters into this volume. The Inheritors will leave a deep impression on the reader, for sure. This deep impression would make the reader picture himself or herself to be the inheritors of the spirit of entrepreneurship.


Portfolio Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Random House published The Inheritors. This book is sure to reflect what every budding entrepreneur of India expects.  It’s clearly a good package full of practical lessons and stories that could serve the launch pad for inspiration in the lives of wanna-be entrepreneurs.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

THIRTY-FOUR


Things have not been the same for me ever since my 34th birthday. On my 34th birthday, my wife, Dhanya gifted me with 34 books. Thirty-four print books, a backpack, and a brand new smartphone with facilities one could only imagine in a sci-fi story.
Today, on 4 February 2018, I must acknowledge how differently my life has changed. Although I cannot bring my complete feelings into words, I could at least node my head at the change of scenario. It’s difficult sometimes, to give words to deepest thoughts. That was one of the reasons why I always shied away from reviewing author Paulo Coelho’s books; also Richard Back, Brian Weiss, and many others. I could not bring myself to the point where I could talk about these people’s works objectively. There was not even the case of subjective bias. I was just spellbound after reading these authors. Same is the case with that wonderful moment when Dhanya gave a big box weighing a ton. I remember myself thinking how would I be able to express myself fully while I was taking the books out of the box one by one- one after the other; thirty-four different stories, thirty-four different lifetimes.
Imagine a flame that shines in front of you in the darkness. That moment when she gifted those books was like looking at a flame. The difference was that this flame set ablaze not just the darkness of lethargy surrounding me but the inner consciousness of my spirit. 
This event coincided with the publication of my new book Those Tales Called Blue. My publisher also discussed at the same time about bringing out a paperback version of the book. Initially, we were discussing only an eBook version. That was mostly because  Those Tales Called Blue includes selections from my first book Wall of Colours and Other Stories. We wanted our readers to have affordable copies of the book in their hands.
The idea of a print book initiated within me a new hope regarding the future of my books. Although I was not perturbed by the idea of the eBook, print version always captivated me. I felt fulfilled and satiated when I held the print version in my hands. The eBook version filled me with discontent. A feeling overwhelms me that the book does not have an existence. Perhaps, I was wired in an old-fashioned way.
I am hopeful that readers, old and new, would find my new book quite interesting. With Those Tales Called Blue my intention is to reach a new audience also who hadn’t come across my works.
Those who bought and read Wall of Colors and Other Stories might ask why haven’t I released the new book, the second book in the Hope, Vengeance, and History trilogy yet.
The second book in the Hope, Vengeance, and History trilogy is getting ready in the kitchen, by the way. The fruit of waiting would be sweeter. My dear readers have to wait for some more time.
I must reveal one thing. I am compelled to do so actually.
The book, the second one in the Hope, Vengeance and History Trilogy, is titled (as many of you already know) Clenched Hands, Bloody Nails. This book, even before its birth, has surprised me. In many ways, I was surprised. Mostly, I was caught by the way it evolved itself.
The final volume that will come to you would be a great new collection of short stories full of surprises.
What I want to reveal is that Clenched Hands, Bloody Nails changed in many ways from the initial way that I conceived it. All for the better, I could say.
But you have to wait for some more time. I will update the details on the Facebook page dedicated to Clenched Hands, Bloody Nails.
With my new book Those Tales Called Blue my attempt is to break up the big volume, Wall of Colours and take those little parts to new readers at affordable prices in both eBook and print form. As I mentioned, the idea for the print form (that too at an affordable price) came later.
Those Tales Called Blue will be followed by another selection from Wall Of Colours And Other Stories. This new collection will be titled Those Tales Called Red. This will be followed by another, titled Those Tales Called Yellow.
    My existing readers might ask me what is new about these collections.
I would say that these collections also include my “Reflections” on the various stories spearing therein, their origin, the process of writing, etc. For this reason, I have the firm faith that even those who bought and read Wall of Colours and Other Stories would find these little volumes full of new insights and useful tips for storytelling.
Eight books will come out of this new venture.
An important message that I would like this post to share with you is that books do not lose their significance. The concern is not about a particular format. Perhaps, my personal preferences could bias you towards print books. Let me warn you, these are personal choices. However, the pleasure, pain, and light that come through to us while engaging in the reading activity are irreplaceable. When someone replaces those ‘things’ that particular culture in which it happens become hostile places to live, a wasteland.

That is why I am still searching for a way to say thank you to Dhanya for she kindled in me the spirit that had yearned to shine through the darkness of the age.