Valentine's Day Anthem -Liquor Fikar (By: Gaurav Dagaonkar)

Recently heard this incredible video dedicated to Valentine's Day. Do listen.

The Bankster – A Review

Book: The Bankster
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publishing Year: 2012
Number of Pages: 364

Language: English

List Price: Rs. 250 INR

Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, has spent two decades working his way up the ladder of power in the amazingly exciting and adrenaline-pumping world of global banks in India. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Dharini and daughter Anusha.

Ravi Subramanian maintains his online presence at the following addresses: 

·         Website: http://www.ravisubramanian.in

·         Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Authorravisubramanian

·         Twitter: https://twitter.com/SubramanianRavi

·         Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/AuthorRavi

Other Books written by Ravi Subramanian (not necessarily in the same order):

1.  If God was a Banker 
2. Devil in Pinstripes 
3. The Incredible Banker 
4.  I bought the Monk's Ferrari

This is the third book written by Ravi Subramanian that I have now read. I started reading Ravi Subramanian  with “If God was a Banker”, then moved on to “The Incredible Banker” and now finally onto “The Bankster”. The reason I stuck with Ravi Subramaniam was because in each of the two predecessors he brought out the schemes and scams of the Indian Banking sector in the most remarkable way. 

Theme and the Plot have always been the strength of all Ravi Subramanian novels. This is again somewhere he does not disappoint. The way he has done that is through an incredible exposure of India’s banking sector. India is touted as one of the world’s safest places to bank and the plot of this book with its potential & possibilities is a revelation, if not startling. I am sure for people working in the Banking sector in India would get nostalgic going through this piece of fiction.  Also, corporate employees from any background will be able to relate in one way or the other to the story. And at one point everyone reading will ask himself/herself ‘how much of this is fiction’. But that is up to the reader again.  The overall ‘Plot’ of the book and the tight suspense seem very convincing. The way the plot deepens, darkens and destroys the seekers is remarkable and must’ve taken a lot of effort from Ravi. My 5on 5 for it.

The narration and storytelling is typical Ravi Subramanian style and it is not bad at all, infact it goes very well. The very first thing that captured my imagination was the first few paragraphs. The mention of an Indian CIA agent operating deep within enemy lines caught my mind’s eye.  It is an unlikely area that not too many Indian fiction authors explore. The genre that has sadly caught the fancy of Indian authors is ‘love, romance’ and this book comes as a great overall package breaking that monotony and moving away from the conventional to the unchartered. Ravi has yet again done a great job at this. My 5on 5 for it.

Character has never been Ravi’s forte. He unfortunately does not do much here. I would agree that at most times you would feel that the characters are underdeveloped. The characters apart from one or two of them will never grow on you. You will feel a lack of depth and flatness of characters which is unwelcome and definitely could have been better. My 2.5 on 5 for it.  

The Good news: The book still cruises through because of the thick plot and despite the shortcoming of the characters. The suspense is well-balanced. This and the overall pace of things picks up steam as we keep reading making this a compelling read.

To sum up, this book is a good read. As always, you read and decide! My final verdict: 4 on 5.

You may read the first five chapters as a free preview at http://slidesha.re/MDC5iT

You may order 'The Bankster’ at any of these online retailers:

Indiatimes: http://shopping.indiatimes.com/books/miscellaneous/the-bankster/UMISC/p_U9788129120489
Flipkart: http://www.flipkart.com/the-bankster-8129120488/p/itmddehgcsy2bydc?pid=9788129120489
Infibeam: http://www.infibeam.com/Books/bankster-ravi-subramanian/9788129120489.html?track=india_bookstore
Crossword: http://www.crossword.in/books/bankster/p-books-9788129120489.html

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'If' by Rudyard Kipling dedicated to Sales

These are the immortal lines penned by Rudyard Kipling and they in one way or other point to the qualities, temperament, virtues, vices of sales and salesman. Definitely one of the most inspiring poems out there. It makes the perfect guide to become a better person, no matter age, sex, or nationality of the reader.

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

The Krishna Key – A Review

Book: The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Publishing Year: 2012
Number of Pages: 475

Language: English

List Price: Rs. 250 INR

Ashwin Sanghi is an entrepreneur by day, novelist by night. Ashwin lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika, and his eight-year old son, Raghuvir.

This is the third book written by Ashwin Sanghi that I have now read. I started reading Ashwin Sanghi with “The Rozabal Line”, then moved on to “Chanakya's Chant” and now finally onto “The Krishna Key”.  Needless to say that the reason I continued to read Ashwin Sanghi’s work was because I liked what he wrote and the overall scripting, narration, storytelling and suspense were binders. This is what made me eagerly await his works. 

Right from his book 1 - “The Rozabal Line”, I’ve felt that he has in one way or the other adopted, refined, tweaked Dan Brown’s way of writing especially from ‘The DaVinci Code’. There are heavy parallels that may be drawn here, of course with the caveat that these are my thoughts and have no ill intention.

Coming back to “The Krishna Key “, the very first thought that crossed my mind was how much if this is facts and  fiction. This is a remarkable way of writing and presents a superb way of storytelling. I for starters was completley engrossed in the facts that were presented in a straight ‘matter of fact’ manner that I was spell bound. Three pages more of reading and I was searching on the internet for the mentioned facts. This did two things; one: kept my mind completely occupied with the book; two: made me aware of our rich cultural heritage which most Indians (at least the younger generation) either discredits as fantasy or not even acknowledges. With books like the ones written by “Amish Tripathi” and “Ashiwin Sanghi” becoming popular, we never know one day most of us Indians might just start becoming proud of being who we are rather than aping the west. A lot of bloggers have mentioned Aswin Sanghi as copying other popular authors works. I on my part would not write anything to take the credit away from Ashwin who has done a superb job again with this latest book. 

This book talks about Krishna – the God, a young man who thinks himself as the reincarnation of Krishna and a professor. Here is the synopsis of the book:

Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age—the Kaliyug.

In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar. Only, he is a serial killer.

The overall ‘Plot’ of the book seems very convincing. Yes, there are parallels to other works, but, the way the book grows on you is remarkable and call for a lot of effort. My 5on 5 for it.

The narration and storytelling is typical Ashwin style and it is not bad at all, infact it goes very well. With its un-complicated terminology/Sanskrit phrases, the book never felt like a burden or a history lesson. One can also clearly visualize things happening. This and the overall pace of things picks up steam as we keep reading making this a compelling read. The suspense is well-balanced, and character development efficient and effective.

To sum up, this book is a good read. As always, you read and decide! My final verdict: 4 on 5.

You may read the first five chapters as a free preview at http://slidesha.re/MDC5iT.

Also you may watch the trailer here:

http://youtu.be/Yyiz7okQx8I

You may order 'The Krishna Key' at any of these online retailers:
Indiatimes: http://bit.ly/PsDifu
Flipkart: http://bit.ly/NSB1ah
Infibeam: http://bit.ly/M6R71O
Crossword: http://bit.ly/PRAedG
Indiaplaza: http://bit.ly/Leu2Gt
Landmark: http://bit.ly/N5mkEj
HomeShop18: http://bit.ly/ShQlzX
uRead: http://bit.ly/M6RedT
Amazon: http://amzn.to/MqvUMa
Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/OiHBol
Junglee: http://bit.ly/MlR5VP
BookAdda: http://bit.ly/LUpVAN
MySmartPrice: http://bit.ly/PRB4r0
Dial-a-book: http://bit.ly/P64dgI
SapnaOnline: http://bit.ly/N7Rw5U
Om Books: http://bit.ly/NsmqU0
SimplyBooks: http://bit.ly/SnIpxk

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The Devotion of Suspect X – A Review

Book: The Devotion of Suspect X
Author: Keigo Higashino
Publishing Year: 2011
Number of Pages: 305

Language: English (original Japanese)

List Price: Rs. 350 INR

This is a book that comes with a lot of baggage. Everywhere you would look on the web, you would see only positive reviews and positive superlative praise for this book. Also, claims of 2 million plus readers, etc etc. had made this one of the most backed up book. Add numerous awards and the fact that since its first publication (in Japanese language) in 2005 it has already been adopted into two films.

Infact, to be honest, what really attracted me to this book was the quote on its cover "The Japanese Stieg Larsson - The Times". I am a self proclaimed fan of the writing of Steig Larsson and finished his last series on the trot. This is why I was very very apprehensive before I laid my hands on this book. I had too many questions like “whether it would be able to do justice to the tag”, “if it would be half as good as Steig Larsoon, that’s goona be great” and then some more.  I also harbored certain doubts on a Japanese author being able to produce a thriller that will appeal to the global audience and not just to Japanese people.

To summarize my thoughts and feelings, I would say, that Keigo Higashino laid all my apprehensions to rest and in what a way! After I was through the first 50 pages, I could just not put the book down and take a break. I finished the book pronto (less than 4 hours for a 300+page book, my fastest so far :-) ).

I am usually a stickler for thrillers, military, action, suspense kinds of books. Hence, I lapped this straight up. Reading this book was like riding a Roller Coaster. The initial few pages are slow paced and a challenge to read probably because of new names, places etc. But, once the first 50 pages are read, there is no turning back. There is going to be no way by which one can get oneself to stop reading this book.

Coming back to the book, it opens with an amazingly crisp yet ‘full’ description of the life of a teacher – Ishigami, a divorced, single mother- Yasuko, her errant husband – Togashi, and a brilliant ‘Professor’ - Yukawa. A classic tale with a femme fatale, a genius mathematician, a brilliant physicist and his detective friend.

If you think on, then you would understand how the story might proceed. The single mother would be working very hard and supporting her daughter. The single mother is troubled by her ex-husband and the professor saves day. If this is what you thought then you are only partially correct. The best part of this book is that it is a crime thriller where we – readers are already aware of who the killer is and yet it had enough to lead readers on.

In doing so Keigo in a subtle manner introduced us to a extremely graphic style of writing. One can clearly visualize things happening. This and the overall pace of things picks up steam as we keep reading making this a compelling read. The suspense is well-balanced, and character development efficient and effective.

To sum up, this book is a good read. As always, you read and decide! My final verdict: 4.5 on 5.

This book can be bought from the following:

 

Indiaplaza
Flipkart
Homeshop18

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