I am not going to talk about the author and his life as the book will tell you all. And by the time you finish the book you will know that this middle aged man strongly believes in how God is not responsible for what is happening with us and how every moment of life is to be cherished.

Conversations- The book is as unique as its title suggest. I prefer to call “Conversations” a book rather than novel for its introspective collection of stories and invigorating poems. Stories that everyone of us can relate to and poems that stirs your thoughts and perspective towards life. Every story has a theme, a lesson for us to learn from the experiences of characters in the story. Every story in “Conversations” tries to challenge the common perspective of every individual which we would have just accepted as a matter of fact by throwing at us the simple but right questions. The book talks about love. relationships. life, ambitions, dreams, GOD and emotions. The powerful impressive quotes and the simple questions Rajeev has used to provide the answers for difficult questions of life, is what I loved the most about the book.

The nuances of life, complexity of relationships, confusions of dreams, prejudices in beliefs and simplicity of truth, Rajeev has tried questioning and searching(giving) an answer for the questions that we all carry in our minds through his stories, through the experience of his life and life of people around. The message conveyed makes us think & analyze our own perspectives. Many a times while reading a story in the book, I got the urge to discuss what is written with my friends and know, what they feel about it. And before moving to the next story I had an introspective discussion with my friend and come to a conclusion mutually.

My favorite story in Conversations is “Four Eulogies”. It talks about dreams, ambitions, society, awakening, value of love & relationships, truth, importance of standing strongly by your beliefs, Role of people in your life, and dying a glorious death. The story is of a successful man, the impression he left on people around him, his family members and friends cz of his values and beliefs. Suzy was the inspiration who made him run the race of life faster at an age where people prefer to slow down and he called his extra marital affair with her as “Awakening”.

I can’t resist sharing some of my favorite quotes from the stories.

-”To be in love is to be inspired.” – Four Eulogies 

-“Remember, dreams are extremely fragile. IF you break one, its splinters will always be in your heart reminding you of the broken promise and betrayal”- Splinters

-“The day we stop expecting more from each other we put a stop to the growth of that relationship.” – Snowstorm

-“Being happy is different from being content. I believe in the progression of life.” – Snowstorm

- “Women have a sixth sense. We not only know who is watching us, we also sense the feelings behind those eyes.” – Snowstorm

- “The closest analogy I can give for marriage is that its a three-legged race in which partner have one leg tied to each other. You need to keep pace with each other.” - Snowstorm

-”Have a brutal and uncompromising attitude towards life” – Four Eulogies 

-“Your body is your soul’s temple and you only share it with someone whom you trust and love deeply. Maintaining the sanctity of this temple is your responsibility.” – Four Eulogies

– “To err is human. But if you run out of the eraser before you run out of the lead in your pencil, you are taking it a little too far” – Four Eulogies

-“The most difficult thing to do is to speak the truth and listen to the truth about oneself.” - The truth Club

There were many more but I will leave with this list.

Also I would like to mention few lines from a poem “Darkness” that touched me the most-

A hearse carries a body
What carries a dead soul?
The world mourns a dead person
Who mourns a dead hope?

A wreath decorates a dead body
What decorates a dead spirit?
If the spirit dies before the body
What carries the Death with it?

Read the book and see what Conversations you have

Note: Well a review cannot be complete without a complete feedback. Some stories like “The Rabbit Hole”, I felt the plot to be very weak and author not sure of how he wanted to end it. May be the confusion of how it should have ended as I found many dialogues for the same character contradicting at many places.
Then the horrible typos at various places which could have been avoided. “The Truth Club”, the story seems to be weak here too with weak character description. Some characters simply disappeared and some had no role at all. Also the end, was too lame and I felt the story was exaggerated to just let the three characters vent their suffering.

Overall, it was a nice read and the book could be read in between your any work without having to feel too addicted to it.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at  BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Filed under: Review Tagged: Book Review, Conversations ]]> http://aaradhnak.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/book-reviewconversations/feed/ 2 aaradhnak http://aaradhnak.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/how-many-goof-ups-did-you-do-today/ http://aaradhnak.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/how-many-goof-ups-did-you-do-today/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:07:38 +0000 aaradhnak http://aaradhnak.wordpress.com/?p=908 ]]> As humans we all tend to do some goof ups. Its perfectly natural. But is there any count on how many are allowed in a day for any “Normal” human being? I sometimes, leave myself amazed with my own acts. You can presume I am shamelessly “complimenting” myself but even you won’t be able to resist yourself after reading the “Quality” of my goof ups for the day below-

1. After breakfast my mom asked to me prepare some ginger tea when I was sincerely reading some post. I also needed a cup of tea badly and thus forced myself to the kitchen half interested. I kept the tea to boil and resumed my task forgetting about the tea. In the meanwhile my mom decided to get a quick nap till the tea gets ready. After some 10 mins my mom inquired if it was ready and I ran to the kitchen realizing my forgetfulness. Thankfully it wasn’t too late and I thanked almighty she woke up to remind me. But hei wait. Why has the tea not developed any color yet? Why does it look so white still?

An inner voice shouted from somewhere- “Idiot!! who will add the tea leaf?”

2. Again I simply logged in to my official mails to check if there is anything important. I saw a mail addressed to me whose content said “Please check my latest post”. I immediately clicked on the link, read the post, left a comment and sent the reply to the same mail only to receive an undeliverable message. I then checked the name of the sender and it read “Admin Blogs”. I felt thankful that the mail reply to this address doesn’t get delivered to the entire admin team. Had it been…. uff I don’t even want to imagine the embarrassment.

Again the inner voice shouted- “Idiot!! who will check the sender name when you receive a mail?”

3. Time to cook dinner. And I was so confused about what to cook. After a lot of battle between options available I decided to try something new as my eyes fell over some paneer lying in fridge. I cut the onions, tomato, boiled potatoes, fried onion-ginger-bla bla, and… added the potato/tomato/paneer/what ever lay in front of my eyes, not following what I should do first and what is supposed to be added next.

And the outcome… It was the most horrible panner-butter-masala I have ever had.

And the voice screamed again and this time I knew from where- ” There is less tomato is this.. It doesn’t tastes too good. Didi what did you try making actually? Why is it so horrible?”

And I quietly replied- “I goofed up the whole procedure absent minded.”

Well that was the last goof up for the day. At least I think so as I have decided to retire to bed before I goof up something else. But its perfectly normal. Isn’t it?

The boggie was unlikely crowded. Though it was a Women compartment, I could see few men, sitting authoritatively. Thanks to their wives. My gaze slipped to a middle aged man smoking near the door. He looked at me and suddenly I could feel my body shiver under his gaze. Thankfully a lady cop came to rescue and she charged all the men out of compartment.

Next to me sat a Muslim gal in Burqa.She wore a heavy make up and was little plump. I was surprised to know that she was hardly 19 and has 2 kids. She got married after she completed her 10th.

The train halted in some station. A lady, challenged with one leg, entered the compartment with her son. He sat opposite to me. His innocence was clearly seen on his face. He asked something to his mom and she refused. In anger he abused her, calling her bad names. Everyone else in the compartment shocked at this behavior said looking at his mom, “It’s better not to have a child than having one of this kind.” She broke into tears. He asked her again and she refused. Finally threatening her he said, “If you don’t give me, I will sit in the same platform and beg.”  The lady gave up and handed him some coins from a small purse.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. The kid hardly seemed to be 10 or 12 years old. He read my mental status and asked-

“Where are you going?”
“Kota”- I said still in shock.
“For the training right?”
“500Km more” he said peeping out of the window.
“I have heard about the institutes there. Which one are you joining?”
“Which standard are you in?”
“I am studying in 5th standard.”- he replied with a childish smile.
“You must be a bright student.” I said smiling at his innocent face.
“Yeah, but what’s the use? I will quit after 10th to earn bread for my family.”

I didn’t have to ask anything else. The reason was understood. I suddenly felt my heart heavy. Not knowing how to respond, I just gave him a meek smile and shifted my gaze outside the window. I suddenly felt so fortunate enough to be able to pursue my dreams, and thanked my parents inside my mind, for letting me walk towards it.

I tore a paper from my diary and scribbled my email id on it.
“Hei, keep this. Today I can’t help you. But when you are in 10th I definitely will be able to. Drop me a mail.”

There are many students in our country who quit their studies as their parents can’t afford it anymore and besides it seems time for them to be the earning hand. Help them in what ever way you can.

Here I go- Below ingredients will be more than sufficient for  2 members.

Ingredients-
Cucumber- 1
Capsicum-1
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Carrot- 1
Chili- 2
Fresh Cream/Malai- 50 gms
(Boil the milk and store it in fridge over night. Morning remove the thick creamy layer and keep it separately.)
Tomato Sauce- 2 big Teaspoons
Raisins- 1 big Teaspoon
Curd- 1 bowl
Salt- 1/3rd teaspoon
Maida- 100 gms
Cashew- chopped, 1 big Teaspoon
and Coriander Leaf

1. Kneed the maida in night using ONLY the curd. Add pinch of salt as per taste. You can add black seeds(Mangrela) & thymol seeds(Ajwain) while kneeding for taste. Wrap it in a polythene cover and store in fridge.

2. Morning, chop the Cucumber/Tomato/Onion/Carrot/Chili in very small pieces. Mix everything together, add the chopped cashew and resins to it.

3. Mix the fresh cream and sauce together.

4. Make small balls of the maida and roll it very thin.

5. Put it on tava and cook for sometime. Then turn it and add oil over it. Let the other side get cooked. Then turn it again and put a layer of the cream-sauce nicely.

Sprinkle the vegetable mixture over it just at the center, as shown below-

And then fold it like dosa and cook for sometime to make it crispy. It will look like show below-

Now the Shahi Paratha is ready to to feed your growling tummy

MEME time again.   And this time it has been kick started by Megz in an attempt to get to know the ABCs of our lives. I was tagged by Sree and here I go with the ABCs of my LIFE.

A – Age: I refused to grow up after 16 (mentally ).

B – Books: Just finished reading “The (In)eligible Bachelors”.  And this is my 1st book that I read in one day at one stretch

C – Current crush:  Would have named Farhan but then I don’t think he is a crush. It’s just sort of liking.

D – Dance form: Free Jump Style

E – Essential start your day item: Tying my hair. I can’t do anything untill I have tied my hair.

F - Favorite color: Red, Blue.

G – Gold or Silver: Gold for earring and Silver for LegChain(Anklet)

H – Height: 5’3” almost

I – I am: I am a good gal.  

J – Job: Testing.

K – Kids: I love to talk to the kids between 3-9 months when they talk just with their eyes and actions. Bigger kids… I love to play with them. And yeah love it when they kiss me.

L – Latest Addiction: Disturbing People.

M – Memorable Moment: My promotion. Morning the moment I reached office many of my batch mates pinged asking if I too got the promotion. That is when I came to know I am actually eligible for one. I was boiling with anger and already scolding my manager inside my mind for not informing about the same and infact pinged him saying I want to talk to him and its urgent. LUCKILY he was held up and said he will get back to me in some time. In another half an hour I received the mail that I have been promoted. Then i sang praises of him, this time not inside my mind.

N – Nicknames: I think now I have a name starting with all the alphabets from A to Z. Ok this was little exagerating but I have too many nick-names which  I definitely can’t list out here. And the count being high for the names with letter “C”.

O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Nope..  I hate the smell of hospitals. The medicinal smell of doctors.

P – Pet Peeve: LIES… How so ever bad/blunt/rude i prefer THE TRUTH. And I hate it when I see people lying to me.

Q – Quote from a movie: Can’t think of one right now.

R – Right or left handed: I can try writing with both the hands but Right handed.

S – Sports - I love to play anything and everything.   Don’t ask me how good I am at any of it.

T – Time you wake up: 6:30/7/7:30/ and finally leave the bed at 7:45

U- Ugliness meter - Ask the mirror.

V – Vegetable you dislike: Nothing…

W – Ways you run late: I don’t need ways to run late. I have now understood that how so ever hard I try to be on time, I am destined to be late. Always.

X – X-rays you’ve had: Hmm I don’t think I have ever had a X-ray.

Y – Yummy food you make: Anything I make turns out Yummyyy.

Z – Zzzzz times -Mostly between 12 AM to 1 AM.

So this is the ABC of my life…. Quite simple I guess. I here by tag Bikram to take the meme forward

It’s been long but I still remember
Our last meet in the month of September
I had thought I will never see you again
And walking towards you now is such a pain

Looking at you standing at the door
I see you where I left you before
The sleepless nights we spent together
Lying beside looking at each other

My fiddling with your perfect contour
Now everything seems like the days of yore
Sitting together under dim lamp light
Working hard before we kiss good night
Embracing you tight between the brawn
And falling asleep only at the break of dawn

After all efforts I still stand a loser
Clueless again and everything’s bouncer
My heart pleads just for one last favor
Wake me up when exams are over

for reviewing it.

Warning: I am not a poet and this is a poem. Atleast I call it one. I started it with full enthusiasm but mid way got lost somewhere and couldn’t finish properly. Some may say its a scary story like they told about my previous poems-

1. Ways and She

2. Aberrant thoughts

But like my all other poems even this isn’t a scary one . Just a simple yet tragic love story of A  Vampire and an Angel. Weak Hearted MUST read the poem. Strong Hearted will anyway have to read it.

A vampire, An Angel & a Love Story

Dark wood and the blue sea
Crescent moon shining above dimly
Fluttering white pearl like feathers
Clad in red bedizen came down an angel

In welcome hooted the owls in unison
“Welcome O Angel, Welcome O Angel”

She walked from a tree to another
Her dainty smile spreading lavender
Enticed by the aromatic smell
Followed the fragrance, a Vampire

As she walked and neared the sea
Approaching waves surged in glee
Taking promenade along the shore
Angelic foot print made the sand lure

She paused and turned,
With every step heading close to her
He realized 24 hours been like years
Holding her hand he then whispered
“Love you Angel”!!

Flashed like a dagger, lightning
Still turned the waves and wind
Instantly blue changed her wings
And then,
Roared a voice from the sky
Trembling in fear the clouds passing by
Pulling the vampire into darkness above
Spelled a curse on the Angel

As Dark swallowed his last presence
He said, don’t shed tears my angel,
We will meet again!!

Dark wood and the blue sea
Crescent moon shining above dimly
Taking promenade along the shore
People still hear cries of Angel & Vampire!!

This is the latest Meme running in our internal blogsphere where we talk about our  OCDs(Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), the lil imperfections in us that defines our natural-insanity level.

Following the tradition of CCP(Cut-Copy-Paste) let me also copy the definition of OCD from Raji’s blog itself -

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (compulsions) – (wiki)

In short something that is so unavoidable for you and how hard you try you just can’t avoid it.

I am sure for the below mentioned OCD’s many of my “Lucky-Victims” will vouch in excitement of having experienced it but dare you exaggerate it.

Here it goes-

1. I am the BEST typo queen- No human/alien/animal/whatever can make the typos I make. Not embarrassment but you can imagine a look of pride on my face when I say that . After all making typos is not in everybody’s fingers . I have tried typing slowly or working on the way my fingers work on keyboard but I just can’t correct it and thus the misplacing of letters. I have cursed many alphabets like I/O, B/V, N/M, and some more for their adjacent existence on the keyboard and the blunder it has made me do. I am not going to give any examples for obvious reasons .

 
But the good thing is how bad I type and how so ever miserable typos I make, people talking to me get used to it in no time and start understanding it pretty soon . I make sure they do. How many typos after all can I keep correcting?

2. Clap- Jump- Clap- Sounds strange even to me but I just can’t resist clapping & jumping when I am at the top floor of excitement . And the worst is realization strikes that I have been doing something foolish like that only after the process is completed and the damage is done . I remember reading my 1st appreciation mail & I almost jumped out of my seat clapping for self. I realized it only when my colleague who sits next to me interrupted the trance asking what happened. .

3. Reflex Smiling- This is funniest of all mentioned above. I just can’t control smiling or laughing in response if someone smiles looking at me. Even with strangers. Even when I am angry and talking something very serious, if the other smiles I immediately smile back in reflex & forget the talk then. It concludes there itself.

I think this much is enough to prove my insanity level.

For the next five minutes do not blink, do not move from your seat  as I along with the Photographer Kiddhesh take you to the spot where we spotted the first victim of the “OCGD “ of the “Millennial Man”.  What is OCGD? From where did it come? Who is the 1st victim? For all these questions just keep reading BlogTak and we promise all your questions will be answered. We assure you after knowing the whole story even you will be biting your nails in fear and “what–the-hell-is-wrong-with-youth these days look.

Educated, Beautiful, Responsible, City bred, Working, Modern, if you think this is how men describe the women they want to get married to, you are probably living in stone age.

Yes, you read it right. Now the Millennial generation no longer falls for the tall-fair-charming beauty rather their jaws fall open for any sleeky-shining-10.1 inches metallic device and their heart melts faster than the ice-cream kept in room-temperature when they get to touch it.

For the first time ONLY on BlogTak you will see the 1st victim of this “OCGD(Obsessive Compulsive Gadget Disorder)” of the Millennial man. The term was coined by Dr. Megzie who during  her research on the Millennial men found the 1st man suffering from the disease. For privacy reasons we won’t be disclosing his name.

For those of you who aren’t aware of OCGD, it’s a disorder in the brain that makes the sufferer get attracted towards the gadgets in a way they should be attracted towards a woman.

Now a look at the 1st victim.

 Look at this girl. How old does she look to you? What condition do you think she is in? What you think is going on in her mind? Why is she sitting this way?

As per our sources,  she has been sitting the same way since her boyfriend ditched her for a sleeky Ipad 2.  At first she thought it’s just his “little” liking towards the gadgets that he is preferring to spend more time with the device than with her. But later when she discovered that he had introduced the device to his mom saying he wants to “Marry it” which he was supposed to do with her as per promises, she collapsed on the ground and is on the ground the same way since then hoping her love will understand how much she misses him.  But will he ever realize it? Will she succeed in disentangling him from the love-net of damn IPAD?

Even his mom was taken for a shock followed by worries for the son who is hardly 23 and is confessing his  love not for any woman rather a device. Knowing not what to do they approached Dr. Megzie who in her research found the strange disease and thus became the 1st Doctor to address the 1st victim of OCGD.

We have Dr. Megzie here with us who will tell us more about the disease-

Me: Dr. Megzie first of all welcome to the show.

Dr: Thank you for the honor.

Me: Dr. first of all is OCGD a male specific disease?

Dr: No it’s not male specific and could be found in many Millennial Women too who are tech savvy but the count is more among men.

Me: Is it only with IPAD?

Dr: No it could be any gadget. Ipad/Iphone/Any damn mobile phone/Mac/Ipod or anything.

Me: Dr. Could you please enlighten us on how can we know a man/Woman is suffering from OCGD?

Dr: If you see anyone spending more time with the gadgets, looking at it with a twinkle in the eyes, touching it like long lost lovers, talking to it as if it’s a second person(this is all i know for now), to anyone and everyone even with Mom all they speak about is devices and apps, and often smile at it pointlessly, you can be sure he/she is suffering from OCGD.

Me: Thank you for all the informations Dr.

Have you seen any such person around you? Does your friend behave the same way? Do you think one among you is suffering from a similar disorder? Write to us in the comment section below.
With photographer Kiddhesh this is Anuradha Kumari signing off.

She sat in a corner of her room, staring at the clock and then her blog. She thought to herself- “It’s been 3 days now. And with the clock striking 00:00 the count will reach 4.” Tears welled up in the corner of her “small” eyes with the realization that days were passing in a jiffy & still there was nothing in her mind that could cure her suffering.

Once while crossing through the cafeteria, her colleagues spotted her writing something vigorously in the diary she always carried along. And then she ripped the page off ruthlessly, threw it inside her hand bag and began writing again. She did the same with nearly 10 pages. It was a scary sight for them.

She was acting different. Very different. Suddenly she would look into the sky and click something, then stare at her mobile for several minutes, suddenly sit staring at nothing on the table for minutes, or click the pics of the juices and salads she has ordered. She would walk along the corridors of the office as if she had been possessed, and if at her desk, she would blankly stare at the monitor, physically present but mentally nobody knew where.

That Saturday morning while she was busy staring at the pages of her diary, clock and her blog, her cell phone rang. It was him. The love of her life, Sree. She smiled after 4 days. He reminded her about the date they have planned in “Mash”. She loved the place for its romantic ambience and sea facing bistro. Her eyes were still fixed on her blog while she dressed up to meet him.

He was already there, waiting for her. Finally she arrived and their “small” eyes met. They sat in trance for some brief moments and his eyes fell upon her dress. He took her hand in his and asked- “Princess, you didn’t have any washed dress? You could have told me. I would have helped you reduce that pile of unwashed clothes. Why wear the already worn dress ulta?”

Her “small” eyes opened wide and she looked at herself, shocked. I am……. Sree…… I don’t know how…. but it’s not what…… I really don’t know…… Words seemed to defy her and she couldn’t say anything.

He held her close and calming her down, asked- “What happened Princu?”

Wiping off the tears she said-”I think I will lose my mind if it continues for one more day. You won’t marry some Konkani-speaking lady chosen by your mom na then? Moi tumak bhal pao a lot Sree.” Saying so she hugged him.

He couldn’t understand what was happening but replied “I vada pao you too Raji. Vada pao you too.”

Those words echoed in her ears like the magical spell. Her eyes lit up suddenly and pulling him close she kissed him on the cheeks(Indian Culture) and said “You are just the best my dear Froggie.”

Before he could even blink, she took her laptop that she carried along, logged into her blog and wrote-

” Across the wild velvet moor, when delicate bluebells yawn
They Stood under a Lemon Tree, relishing the “vada pao” brown
With Zephyr inkling the tickling sensation in both
The lovely couple pledged the Love troth!! “

As she clicked on “Post” button her joy knew no bounds. She has now recovered from the Bloggers block .

Note: Moi tumak bhal pao = I love you in Assameese.

PS: Though the names might sound familiar, but the characters are purely fictious. Trust me