The New Dewtas : The Rise of Rudra by Suraj Kothiyal - A Review

I recently got a copy of this book from the writer himself Suraj Kothiyal for a read and review.

On the web you can find him at https://surajkothiyal.com/.

Author - Suraj Kothiyal
Publisher - Leadstart Publishing Services Pvt Ltd (2018)
Pages - 222 pages
Price - 249/- INR

The author, Suraj Kothiyal, hails from Dehradun with his family roots belonging to the Himalya region. He has done his schooling from Dehradun. He has done his mechanical engineering and his MBA in marketing from Maharashtra. The blurb and sample chapters can be found here - https://amzn.to/2AuZmEb. You can also have a look at the book trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVzrBuJzt2I

This book is inspired by a popular folklore in Bali that talks of a Hindu saint namely, Maharishi Markandeya, who came to Bali from India and introduced Hinduism on the scenic island.

Moving on with the review: 

When i first heard of this book, the first thought that I had in my mind was "What!! Another book on Indian Mythology". I must say when I picked this up for a read I was of the opinion that this book may just bore me with things that I already know or donot want to know more about.

Parikrama By Radhika Vyas Sharma a Book Review

I recently got this book for review from Leadstart  Publishing. The link for the same on Leadstarts website is following:

http://www.leadstartcorp.com/short-stories/parikrama/

This book is also available on Amazon - http://amzn.to/2nBm8Ds

and Flipkart - https://www.flipkart.com/parikrama/


Pages: 181
Type: Paperback
Genre: Fiction
Author: Radhika Vyas Sharma
Price: INR 195

Radhika Vyas Sharma is the author of Parikrama. Radhika’s writing credits include The Santa Clara Review, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Jose Mercury News, The SoMa Literary Review, The Times of India, The Economic Times, India Currents, Khabar, Rediff-India Abroad, Little India, In the Fray.com, KQED FM’s Forum, Perspectives and Pacific Time, Curled Up With a Good Book.com among others. Currently at work on a novel, Radhika has volunteered for several nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay area over the past decade. Radhika and her family reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. (source: http://www.radhikavsharma.com/index.php/about-us)

Review - Acer Aspire E5-553-T4PT Notebook (NX.GESSI.003)( APU Quad Core A10/4 GB RAM/1 TB HDD/Windows 10)

I had taken a long pause from blogging and i have been feeling guilty all this while. So here I am back without much ado.

Today I am going to review the following laptop:

Acer Aspire E5-553-T4PT Notebook (NX.GESSI.003) (APU Quad Core A10/4 GB RAM/1 TB HDD/Windows 10)

I bought this from Amazon India at the following url: http://amzn.to/2i7ZSjc. It is also  available on Flipkart at this url: Acer E5-553-T4PT

By the way, I am not associated with either AMD or Acer India. This is my independent, unbiased review.

Why I started with a review of this laptop and the initial few things that prompted me to write this review are:
1) Incorrect Specifications on the product page at Amazon India
2) Lack of the details of this model on Acer website
3) Incredible performance of this laptop (especially at this pricepoint)

The sales package contains the following:
1) Aspire E5-553-T4PT Notebook with Lithium Ion Battery
2) AC Adapter
3) No OS CD (Why Acer could you not have provided a restore OS CD)
4) No Laptop Bag (I dont crave for it as it is anyways at a very economical pricepoint)

This laptop carries the model no - E5-553-T4PT & Part Number: NX.GESSI.003.

So let me address the first things first. I will start with the specifications and for reference the correct Data sheet for this laptop is http://www.acer.com/datasheets/2016/4876/E5-553/NX.GESSI.003.html.

Processor - AMD APU Quad Core A10 9600P (this is a 7th Gen AMD processor, just launched in mid 2016)
RAM - 4 GB DDR4 RAM (yes yes its a DDR4 RAM! Yaay)
OS - 64 bit Windows 10 Operating System (yes legit OS)
HDD - 1 TB HDD (its a 5400 rpm laptop drive)
Optical Drive - Optical drive 8x DVD R/W (provides extra bay to replace the same with an additional HDD)
Graphics - AMD integrated graphics - Radeon R5 Graphics
Display - 15.6 inch Display 1366x768 WXGA resolution (Yes it is nothing to write home about, but still looks good)
USB Type C port -  Yes it is there (i have not seen any laptop at this price point provide this port)
Price - Approximately INR 25000/- (cant think of all the features provided by any brand at this price in India)
Warranty - On registering on Acer India website got an offer to upgrade the existing carry in warranty to the following:
1) New warranty upgrade to Accidental Damage Protection (ADP)
2) Free upgrade to 2nd and 3rd year warranty
All the above at INR 900/- inclusive of all taxes, extra payment by me (this is mind blowing. Anything like this for HP/Dell/Lenovo would have easily costed me INR 5000/- to 10,000/-.

WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Disk (Black) Review

The WD Elements Portable drive offers a large amount of storage space for a low cost. You have to pay extra to use its included backup software after the 30-day trial. The drive has no security features at all and carries a warranty of just one year. Also, on the inside, it houses a low-power standard laptop hard drive that spins at just 5,400rpm. 

Conclusion: This is a fast, easy-to-use and versatile portable drive that can effortlessly add a lot more storage, not just to computers but also game consoles and other types of USB-enabled hosts. If you don't plan on using it to store sensitive data, this is an excellent drive to choose. On the other hand, if keeping your data safe from prying eyes in case of loss or theft is a big concern, then this is not the drive for you.

If you are confused between the various models offered i.e. WD Elements Portable (this model) or the WD My Passport Ultra, then few basic differences are following:

This is a great piece of hardware!


1) My Passport Ultra incorporates a hardware encryption, and WD Elements does not
2) Ultra is thinner and comes with a longer warranty (3 years) vs compared to Elements which as 1 year warranty
3) Elements is entry level hard disk of western digital. My passport ultra is the advance and compact type of hard disk.
Elements  My passport Ultra
Hardware Encryption: No  Hardware Encryption: Yes
Cloud/Dropbox: No  Cloud/Dropbox: Yes
Software Back Up: No  Software Back Up: Yes
Auto Data Synchronization: No  Auto Data Synchronization: Yes

You may buy the WD Elements in India from the following websites:
Amazon-http://amzn.to/2hjZXyY
Flipkart: https://www.flipkart.com/wd-elements-2-5-inch-2-tb-external-hard-drive/p/itmdp6ppvaxaqhch
Snapdeal: https://www.snapdeal.com/product/wd-2tb-elements-usb-30/1457692
Paytm: https://paytm.com/shop/p/wd-elements-2-5-inch-2-tb-external-hard-disk-black-wd_elements_2tb_black_169

Review Half GirlFriend - Chetan Bhagat

Author: Chetan Bhagat V
Language: English
Length: 268 pages
Publisher: Rupa Publication India
Link From Authors website: http://www.chetanbhagat.com/books/half-girlfriend/
Price: INR 176
Teaser Campaign on Youtube:


As far as my knowledge goes, this is the seventh book by Chetan Bhagat. A brief background about him as written on his website.

"Chetan Bhagat is the author of six blockbuster books. These include five novels—Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008), 2 States (2009), Revolution 2020 (2011)—and the non-fiction title What Young India Wants (2012).
Half-Girlfriend, his seventh book and sixth novel, releases in October 2014.

Ajaya: Roll of the Dice (Epic of the Kaurava clan, #1) – Book Review

Author: Anand Neelakantan

Publisher: Leadstart Publications

Year: 2013

So, the next book that I could get both my eyes and hands on to was the “Ajaya: Roll of the Dice (Epic of the Kaurava clan, #1)”. As it so happened this time when I picked up the book, I said to myself that I will not be writing any book review. However, everything about this book, let me call it a piece of art impressed me so much and I just had to write and share about this wonderful work.

Before I begin with the review, let me start by saying that this is the first time I had a book written by Mr. Anand Neelakantan in my hands. He has authored other books like Asura: tale of the Vanquished. It seems like he relishes in exploring the en-explored, bringing the least thought of occurrences into light of his books, questioning the unquestioned and asking the unknown question, seeking answers to the unwelcome. Yes, this seems to be Anand’s forte and he seems to revel in the same with the same gaiety that a young child would do when he opens this first bottle of water.

India in Shambles - Only The Judiciary Can Save Us - Book Review

Book:  India in Shambles - Only The Judiciary Can Save Us
Publishing Year - 2013
Author: K.C. Agrawal
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: BecomeShakespeare.com
Price: INR 370

I recently laid my hands on the the book "India in Shambles - Only The Judiciary Can Save Us" by KC Agarwal. When i laid my hands on the book, i had my doubts, but believe me they were all dispelled by the depth of the research and the simple yet novellness of the ideas presented in this neat book.

The Book is written in two parts. Part one talk about diagnosing the maladies ailing our nation and to determine their tangible cures. Part two of the book talks about Building the nation. Here ther author provides the roadmaps and guidelines to place the nation amongst the most prosperous and powerful nations in the world by making optimum use of our resources.

Nokia Lumia 625 priced in India at 19499 says Flipkart and with some freebies

Flipkart.com now is showing Nokia Lumia 625 as available for pre-order at a price of 19499/- INR. The link to the search is http://www.flipkart.com/search?q=nokia+lumia+625&as=on&as-show=on&otracker=start&as-pos=4_q.