Chic-lit (1)

After work or on weekends when I just want to unwind it is nice to pick up something to read which is light in its content, easy on the mind, straightforward and simple in its storyline, and ideally having some elements of romance. Normally what I choose tends to fall in the chic-lit category. Here are two such examples of entertaining books.

Which one of you girls hasn’t felt compelled to compare yourself to your boyfriend’s ex?

Which one of you has never feared your lover’s past coming back to haunt you? 

Which one you have not felt uncomfortable at the continued friendship between those who broke up?

In Laura Zigman’s "HER" Elise goes through the whole juggernaut. Elise first meets Donald on a flight. They continue to see each other even after landing. It is not long before they fall in love and Donald proposes. All along though Elise feels ill at ease with his frank admission about his still being friends with ex-fiance Adrienne. The one relief is that Adrienne lives in New York while they are based in Washington. But just when it seems that everything is well, comes a phone call from Adrienne announcing that she is moving to their city and into their lives. Elise has misgivings about this sudden detour and is sure that Adrienne has ulterior motives. 

What happens next is narrated in the wittiest manner. Elise’s exaggerated antics to take control make you laugh. At the same time you worry for her and wish for a happy turn of events in her favor. 

Like the title on the book cover you question “Every man comes with baggage. But does it have to be HER.”

In short the story of Stilletos in the Boardroom by Shruti Saxena is all about “girl power”. 

The setting is a BPO called BankPro. A US based company CBS has outsourced a prime business (DCP) to BankPro instead of its own Indian branch. The transition needs to be completed within three months with support from CBS-India. But all is not as clean and simple as it seems. 

A ploy is being made to see that BankPro fails in delivering so that the project ultimately goes to CBS-India at a time it is capable of handling it. In the midst of this are three central characters Arya, Shivaa and Sara.

Arya has been recently brought in to lead the DCP transition. Shivaa, the Manager-Operations, has to oversee the smooth running of the program. Sara is one of the newly hired candidates to be trained. Apart from the obstacles at work these women must also sort out their personal affairs: a broken heart, a relationship growing apart and an impending marriage.

Stilletos in the Boardroom is an interesting read which gives us a peek into the working environment of a BPO. Within the realm of corporate world, through the three leading ladies you experience ambition, drive, anger, frustration, and love.







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PS: Have read any such light books lately? Which one is your favorite? 

Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries (1)

Growing up I gave Agatha Christie’s detective novels a miss somehow. But as the English book section at the library I go to is not very extensive it has encouraged me to pick up books I which normally don’t. To be honest I have read only two stories so far but I will definitely try to get my hand at more of them. They are short reads and take little of your time. The plots are intriguing, the deductive process interesting and thought provoking, and the endings a surprise.

Here are a couple of examples for you.

In Murder on the Orient Express Hercule Poirot is on a train journey amidst a sea of all kinds of people. A co-passenger Simon Ratchett approaches him to help protect against an enemy wanting to kill him but the detective refuses the case. Then in the morning Simon Ratchett’s dead body is discovered in his compartment. But the train caught in heavy snowfall has been standing on the tracks since midnight. The open window and the door closed from inside in the victim’s compartment suggests the killer escaped but the absence of footprints in the snow tells otherwise. The murderer is still on the train and Herecule Poirot’s job is to find who it is.

In The A.B.C. Murders, the famous Hercule Poirot is put to a challenge when he receives anonymous letters at regular intervals. The writer, who signs off as ABC, gives hints about each murder that is going to be committed in advance. The victims’ names follow the alphabetical order: Mrs. Ascher from Andover, Miss Betty Barnard from Bexhill, and Sir Carmichael Clarke from Churston. Beside each body is left an ABC train guide. There appears to be no connection between the murders as those killed belong to totally different walk of life. It is left to the detective to find the hidden link between them and figure out who the murderer is.

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 PS: Which are the Agatha Christie novels you have read? Any suggestions for me? 

Beautiful words in English (2)

I recently re-posted an old blog of mine titled Beautiful words in English on my Facebook page for My Scribbling Space. My father left a comment there saying that "in today's sms world where is the place or time for beauty?" We are so caught up in our busy lives that we fail to recognize the meaning some words until and unless we are they actually come and hit us. So I thought it would be nice to write more such posts from time to time.

Here is then the second one in this series:

1. Perseverance

the recipe for a sure-shot win

2. Patience

hoping for the best even when the going is the worst

3. Longing

what distance brings with it

4. Presence

who makes all the difference to your life

5. Togetherness

a harmony of two

6. Home

where your heart returns to wherever you may go

7. Trust

what lies behind a leap of faith

8. Perfection

... is not an accident

(motto of Eagle Electric Manufacturing Co., INC., NY)

9. Memories

timeless treasures that you carry forth

10. Dawn

the wonderfulness that awaits at the end of your period of struggle

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P.S: Any beautiful words you would like to suggest to add to the collection?

Skarholmen, Uppsala

A while ago we had a long four day weekend in Sweden. Wanting to finish some work I went to the university. Two of my friends had also come. It was a glorious sunny day. On the spur of the moment a plan was made to go for a walk post lunch. The walk eventually turned into a short bus ride to Sunnersta Skarholmen.

I had been under the belief that Uppsala is a city surrounded by land. So finding a huge waterbody was a big surprise. Skarholmen is a harbor. A part of it meanders and actually connects to Stockholm.













There was a long stretch of water. The water itself was glistening in the summer sun. We saw many private boats parked there. Closeby was also a mini beach. Many people were sunbathing. Girls and boys were swimming. Kids were playing under the watchful eyes of their parents. Couples were strolling with babies in prams.

Watching the beauty relaxed me. That there was such a place so easily accessible made me feel wonderful. To me suddenly Uppsala stopped seeming small.

Skarholmen gave a form to the phrase of "expanding your horizon."

Here are some photos that I took that day.


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PS: Like it was for me, did something surprise you about the city you are living in and made it more likeable for you?

In your dreams

99.9% of times I see dreams when I sleep. My constant complaint is that on waking up in the morning I feel as if I have been working all night.

The usual setting for my dreams is my school building or playground, my IIT Bombay hostel and home in India. Those making appearances in my dreams include family, friends, colleagues from work, people I haven't seen or thought about for years, random unknown faces, and even film or soap actors. The latter invariably happens over weekends as a result of my being glued to the tv for too long.

I had one of my scariest dreams just a few days before the Class X Board Exams were going to take place. I saw all my teeth crumbling into tiny pieces and when I covered my mouth they fell into my palms! One early morning in January 2009 in a rare happening I woke up crying continuing the flow of tears from the dream. Months after I had successfully given my Ph.D. viva I found myself floundering at answering the questions posed by the committee in my nightmare.

Such visions can easily be attributed to my fears and insecurities during those periods. But what about the cases when I see myself doing things I am incapable of doing (as of this moment) in life. For example, I do not know how to cycle. I do not know how to ride a scooty. I had learnt driving a car once up on a time but lost the confidence on Pune roads and no longer remember now even the order of accelerator, brake and clutch. I do not know how to swim. I definitely am no Krrish.

Yet in my nightly illusions I just pick up a cycle or get on a bike and am able to balance it without any issues. I find myself having fun floating in those Waterworld kind of pools. On other occasions I see myself riding on huge waves. Once I got inside what was in the beginning a plane and later turned into a spherical capsule but really enormous. The way it traveled was very much like this scene in the animation movie Robots when Rodney arrives in Robot City and goes to meet his idol Bigweld. A few days back I was flying around from one part of the school field to another. It was as if I had gained some superpowers.

As much as I'd like to have a relaxed slumber, these particular action packed specters of the mind-boggling type tell me that if only we believe then like in our dreams in our daily affairs too we would be able to do things above and beyond what me may normally percieve ourselves to be capable of.

So dream on.

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PS: What kind of dreams do you have?