Put your hands together for the winner of Promax Asia Silver Award Winner!
The Promax Asia 2008 awards were announced in Singapore yesterday and Divya has won the Silver award for her promo film for Channel V in the category of BEST IN HOUSE STATION IMAGE PROMO. This category awards those promo films that have been made for promotion of the channel as a whole as against a particular show.
Her promo film was selected and entered into the competition by her company. Each category has at least 10 entries from all over Asia, vying for the top two prizes - Gold and Silver.
You can see the entire list of winners here (her promo film is on the top of the list):
http://www.promaxasia.tv/overview.html
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Bankruptcy explained
Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was
the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars
as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.
1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the
land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.
2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and
C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1
dollar.
* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.
3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the
country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely
go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1
dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.
*A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar
debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.
* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.
4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted
having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then
borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3
dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and
cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C. As a result, A now owned a
piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars,
his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.
(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own
the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is
by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan
to A.
* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His
net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a
debt of 2 dollars with C, his net Asset is 2 dollars.
* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country
has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.
(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.
(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's
mind. "Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay
my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after
all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no
more."
(8) A also thought the same way.
(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.
* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2
dollars.
* B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4
dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his
net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.
(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country? Of course,
before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars.
Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was
6 dollars on paper. B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is
palpitating.
(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish
his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which
is worth 1 dollar now.
* A owns the 2 coins; his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B is bankrupt; his net asset is 0 dollar. (He lost everything)
* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar
* the net asset of the country = 3 dollars.
End of the story; BUT …
There is however a redistribution of wealth.
A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared.
A few points worth noting -
(1) when a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one
another in a country is also building up.
(2) This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no
other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can
only be calculated using the island's own currency. Hence, there is
no net loss.
(3) An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning
the land's value did not go down to below 1 dollar.
(4) When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The
fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers.
The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.
(5) If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another
piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will
neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land
goes up and down like a see saw.
(6) When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.
(7) If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing
bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A) and take part in
the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to
cash.
(8) As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as
well.
(9) The actual worth of land or stocks depends largely on psychology
(or speculation) .
Thanks, Bhu.
the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars
as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.
1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the
land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.
2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and
C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1
dollar.
* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.
3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the
country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely
go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1
dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.
*A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar
debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.
* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.
4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted
having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then
borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3
dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and
cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C. As a result, A now owned a
piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars,
his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.
(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own
the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is
by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan
to A.
* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His
net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a
debt of 2 dollars with C, his net Asset is 2 dollars.
* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country
has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.
(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.
(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's
mind. "Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay
my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after
all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no
more."
(8) A also thought the same way.
(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.
* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2
dollars.
* B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4
dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his
net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.
(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country? Of course,
before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars.
Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was
6 dollars on paper. B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is
palpitating.
(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish
his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which
is worth 1 dollar now.
* A owns the 2 coins; his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B is bankrupt; his net asset is 0 dollar. (He lost everything)
* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar
* the net asset of the country = 3 dollars.
End of the story; BUT …
There is however a redistribution of wealth.
A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared.
A few points worth noting -
(1) when a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one
another in a country is also building up.
(2) This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no
other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can
only be calculated using the island's own currency. Hence, there is
no net loss.
(3) An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning
the land's value did not go down to below 1 dollar.
(4) When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The
fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers.
The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.
(5) If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another
piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will
neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land
goes up and down like a see saw.
(6) When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.
(7) If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing
bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A) and take part in
the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to
cash.
(8) As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as
well.
(9) The actual worth of land or stocks depends largely on psychology
(or speculation) .
Thanks, Bhu.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Message sent to twistntales@yahoogroups.com on 6th Oct'08
Hi all,
Greetings of Navratri, Pooja and best wishes on the festive occasion of Dasera. As we herald the festive season, we in twistntales as usual will be celebrating our Saraswati Pooja on Dasera day (Thursday, 9th October) at 11.30 am. All of you are invited to share with us the joy of this festive occasion.
Lots of new books have been happening in the past few weeks (apart from the much awaited “Brisingr”) and we have been lagging behind in our reviews. Sorry about that and we are putting our best efforts in clearing that backlog. We have listed below lots of new titles that have been recently released. Do drop in and have a look.
Another reason to do so quickly over the next 2 week-ends, is because twistntales will be closed for a while due to some planned renovation work during Diwali. We hope to open with a slightly changed new look, with more space for books, by the 1st of Nov. So, please note that twistntales will be closed from the 21st of October to the 31st. We will re-open for business from the 1st of November. So, please do pick up your books in advance and stock up for the holiday season!
And now on to books:
New Arrivals:
Management:
“The Game- Changer: How Every Leader Can Drive Everyday Innovation” by A. G. Lafley and Ram Charan @ Rs.399/-(305 pgs)
A.G. Lafley and his leadership team have integrated innovation into everything Proctor & Gamble does - creating new customers and new markets. Through eye-opening stories, Lafley and Ram Charan show how P & G and companies such as Nokia, Lego and GE have become today’s game-changers. Through their own learning, they will help you achieve higher growth and higher margins, tap into the abundant creativity outside your business, manage risk and integrate innovation into your decision-making.
“A Sense of Urgency” by John P. Kotter @ Rs.495/-(194 pgs)
You know your organization needs to change. You may even know what the change needs to be: a new strategy, a new IT system or reorganization. But somehow, change comes too slowly, or it feels like you’re pushing a boulder up a hill.
What’s missing?
As change guru John Kotter shows in this eye-opening book, what’s missing in most organizations today is a real sense of urgency – a distinctive feeling and gut-level attitude that lead people to constantly shed low-priority activities to move faster and smarter, now.’ Raising urgency’ is the first step in his enormously successful eight-step-framework, first articulated in Leading Change. Moreover, as we transition into a world where change is continuous – not just episodic –Kotter shows how urgency must become a core, sustained capability.
“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” by Rashmi Bansal @ Rs. 125/- (325pgs)
The inspiring stories of 25 IIM A graduates who chose to tread a path of their own making and chose the rough road of entrepreneurship. They are diverse in age, in outlook and the industries they made a mark in. But they have one thing in common: they believed in the power of their dreams. Published by the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship.
Indian Writing:
“Private Life of an Indian Prince” by Mulk Raj Anand @ Rs.395/-(389 pgs)
Maharaj Ashok Kumar of Sham Pur asserts complete independence for his small hill-station rather than join the Indian Union. A febrile romantic, who has inherited more of the vices than the virtues of his ancestors, he is encouraged by his nymphomaniac mistress Ganga Dasi, a powerful and illiterate hill-woman. To feed his mistress’s greed, he exhorts large sums of money from his starving peasantry; this is enough to provoke a revolt in Sham Pur and incur the extreme displeasure of the Indian Government in Delhi.
Anand’s most profound study of human nature, Private Life of an Indian Prince is the story of one man’s compelling love for a woman. It is at the same time a historical novel of unusual power, showing the demise of the princely states with the birth of a free India.
“You Are Here” by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan @ Rs.199/-(255 pgs)
At twenty-five, life’s innumerable entanglements are getting to Arshi. Her blonde American stepmother is trying too hard, welcoming all guests with a traditional aarti. The gorgeous guy who has Arshi all flushed and dreamy is an Ice Prince who thaws at his own convenience. Her best friend Deeksha is getting married. And her normally unruffled, cocktail-concocting flat mate Topsy is getting testier by the day because her conservative family will never approve of the guy she wants.
A hilarious, sharply observant and surprisingly wise story about dealing with life’s quandaries while keeping your sense of humor intact…and your alcohol consumption just right. So if you’ve ever wondered where the crisis-crossing lines of your life converge, you are here! Maybe.
“The Healing” by Gita Aravamudan @ Rs.295/-(288 pgs)
The Babri Masjid falls on the day Ramanujam, patriarch and freedom fighter, is rushed to hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest. As his wife and children stand vigil by his bedside, a second demolition is about to throw their lives out of gear. Shanti Nivas, their sprawling family property is about to be transformed into modern apartments where all the members of the family will live in different homes, and possibly a different way of life.
Told from the perspective of Ramanujam’s younger daughter Bharati, this evocative novel set in Chennai maps the memories of Shanti Nivas and its residents. Delving deep into the sometimes fractious bonds that make up a family, The Healing is a meshing of stories woven into a gentle narrative.
“My Family and Other Saints” by Kirin Narayan @ Rs.295/-(339 pgs)
In 1969, Kirin Narayan’s older brother Rahoul announced that he was dropping out of school and leaving home to seek spiritual enlightenment with a guru.
Kirin’s sari-wearing American mother Didi enthusiastically embraces ashrams and gurus, adopting her son’s spiritual quest as her own. Her urban Indian father, Narayan, however, coins the term ‘urug’ – guru spelled backward – to mock these seekers.
Young Kirin, bewildered by the departure of the brother she adores, sensing her parents drifting apart, and observing waves of Westerners turning to meditation, Kirin is left to find her own answers. Vivid, sharply farcical and portraying the clash of culture in an Indian-American family with wonderful wit, this is the story of family, growing-up and finding one’s way.
Others:
“Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River” by Alice Albinia @ Rs.550/-(309 pgs) – (History)
In a land where it seldom rains, a river is as precious as gold. Water is potent: it trickles through human dreams, permeates lives, dictates agriculture, religion and warfare…
One of the largest rivers in the world, the Indus rises in the Tibetan mountains, flows west across northern India and south through Pakistan. For millennia it has been worshipped as a god; for centuries used as a tool of imperial expansion; today it is the cement of Pakistan’s fractious union.
Five thousand years ago, a string of sophisticated cities grew and traded on its banks. In the ruins of these elaborate metropolises, Sanskrit-speaking nomads explored the river, extolling its virtues in India’s most ancient text, the Rig-Veda.
Journalist, editor and audacious traveler Alice Albinia follows the river upstream and back in time, taking the reader on a voyage through two thousand miles of geography and more than five millennia of history redolent with contemporary importance.
“Freedom’s Child: Growing Up During Satyagraha” by Chandralekha Mehta @ Rs. 199/- (182 pgs) – (History)
Writing about her growing-up years, author Chandralekha Mehta, Pandit Nehru’s niece, sister to Nayantara Sahgal, gives us a peek into the momentous years of the freedom struggle. This was the age of Satyagraha, when India was awakening to new realities and inching her way towards freedom. The author, and her family, the Nehrus in Allahabad, were prominent participants in the extraordinary events of the time.
Inspiring, personal and filled with intimate stories of birthdays, family vacations, picketing, wearing khadi for weddings and much more, Freedom’s Child is an evocative portrait of the dynamic years of the freedom struggle, suitable for all ages.
“Mike’s Election Guide 2008” by Michael Moore @ Rs.250/-(155 pgs)
Democracy. It’s easily the best system in the world, ever. Which is why so many countries are desperate to have it enforced on them by soldiers!
Michael Moore is back to give you the low-down on the ins and outs of free elections, such as:
Why should I vote? It only encourages them!
Can my vote be bought? (And what’s the starting price?)
And the most pressing question of all – who would Jesus vote for?
If you thought voting was just a load of ballots, this is the no-hold-barred truth about democracy. Enfranchisement has never been so exciting…
“DK Eyewitness Travel: India” @ Rs. 895/- (823 pgs)
It is improbable that a travel guide could live up to its claim of ‘covering everything,’ but DK Eyewitness Travel has come rather close to it. Color coded according to area, covering everything from festivals to wildlife, hotels to trekking routes, this is a beautifully illustrated and diligently organized book. So if you are planning a weekend away, or that long-awaited family vacation, this is a guide that will direct you without taking up too much of your time.
“The Folklore of Discworld” by Terry Pratchett & Jaqueline Simpson @ Rs.905/-(372 pgs)
A child once asked, ‘Why does the Turtle swim?’
A wise man replied, ‘Child, there is no Why. IT…IS…SO.’
And that could be said of many things.
Legends, myths, fairy tales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and we got there. It is the same on Discworld, except that some beings which are imaginary on Earth, such as vampires, trolls, witches and possibly, gods – are real, alive and in some cases kicking on the Disc.
In The Folklore of Discworld Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jaqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libeled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.
Other new books :
“Attila the Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire” by Christopher Kelly @ Rs.540/-(230 pgs)
“Kkrishna’s Konfessions” by Smita Jain @ Rs.250/-(369 pgs)
“Femme Fatale: Love, lies and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari” by Pat Shipman @ Rs.395/-(375 pgs)
“Indignation” by Philip Roth @ Rs.775/-(233 pgs)
“Girls of Riyadh” by Rajaa Alsanea @ Rs.295/- (300 pgs)
“The Snake Stone” by Jason Goodwin @ Rs.295/- (308 pgs)
“Star Wars: Street of Shadows” by Michael Reaves @ Rs. 250/- (308 pgs)
“Alternative Cures” by Bill Gottlieb @ Rs. 250/- (796 pgs)
“White Man Falling” by Mike Stocks @ Rs.250/-(302 pgs)
“Silks” by Dick Francis and Felix Francis @ Rs.395/-(368 pgs)
“The Book of Craft” by Shahnaz Arni @ Rs.199/-(103 pgs)
“Outlook Traveller: New York” @ Rs.445/-(343 pgs)
“The Evil Seed” by Joanne Harris @ Rs.355/-(443 pgs)
“Tales of Wit and Wisdom: Riddles, hilarious escapades and facts for young and old alike”
“Savvy Networking: 118 Fast and Effective Tips for Business Success by Andrea R. Nierenberg @ Rs.195/-(109 pgs)
“The Chase” by Clive Cussler @ Rs.250/-(487 pgs)
“Corporitual” by Raj Bhowmick @ Rs.195/-(138 pgs)
“It’s All In Your Head: Change Your Health” by Mark Pettus, MD, FACP @ Rs.345/-(309 pgs)
“The Exile” by Navtej Sarna @ Rs.450/-(251 pgs)
“Sahibs Who Loved India” Compiled and Edited by Khushwant Singh @ Rs.325/-(191 pgs)
“The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder @ Rs.995/-(838 pgs)
“Kissing the Frog; The Magic that Makes Your Money” by The Brothers Middleton @ Rs.295/-(225 pgs)
“Moving out of the Box: Tools for Team Decision Making by Jana M. Kemp @ Rs.255/-(155 pgs)
“India Express: The Future of a New Superpower” by Daniel Lak @ Rs.499/-(295 pgs)
“Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)” by Tom Vanderbilt @ Rs.395/-(286 pgs)
“The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing Business Plans and Proposals” by K. Dennis Chambers @ Rs.275/-(168 pgs)
“The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Managing Growth and Handling Crises” @ Rs.275/-(154 pgs)
“Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why The World Needs a Green Revolution – And How We Can Renew Our Global Future” by Thomas L. Friedman @ Rs.595/-(412 pgs)
“Chicken Soup for the Shopper’s Soul: Celebrating Bargains, Boutiques & the Perfect Pair of Shoes” @ Rs.275/-(289 pgs)
“Solving Health and Behavioral Health Problems from Birth through Preschool: A Parent’s Guide” by Roy Benaroch, M.D. @ Rs.245/-(181 pgs)
“Looking Through Glass” by Mukul Kesavan @ Rs.325/- (378 pgs)
“Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: A Novel In Cartoons” by Jeff Kinney @ Rs.195/- (217 pgs)
“Captain Cool – The M S Dhoni story” by Gulu Ezekiel @ Rs. 150, (128 pgs)
“The Bourne Sanction” by Robert Ludlum @ Rs.275/- (484 pgs)
“The Weave of my life – a Dalit woman’s memoirs” by Urmila Pawar tr. from Marathi by Maya Pandit @ Rs.375/- (348 pgs)
“Dosa” @ Rs.70/- and “Jalebi Curls” @ Rs.70/- both Tullika bilingual.
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” – novel in cartoons by Jeff Kinney @ Rs. 195/- (217 pgs)
Happy Reading and see you at twistntales on Saraswati Puja (Thurs, 9th Oct’08) @ 11.30 am.
From the team at twistntales
Greetings of Navratri, Pooja and best wishes on the festive occasion of Dasera. As we herald the festive season, we in twistntales as usual will be celebrating our Saraswati Pooja on Dasera day (Thursday, 9th October) at 11.30 am. All of you are invited to share with us the joy of this festive occasion.
Lots of new books have been happening in the past few weeks (apart from the much awaited “Brisingr”) and we have been lagging behind in our reviews. Sorry about that and we are putting our best efforts in clearing that backlog. We have listed below lots of new titles that have been recently released. Do drop in and have a look.
Another reason to do so quickly over the next 2 week-ends, is because twistntales will be closed for a while due to some planned renovation work during Diwali. We hope to open with a slightly changed new look, with more space for books, by the 1st of Nov. So, please note that twistntales will be closed from the 21st of October to the 31st. We will re-open for business from the 1st of November. So, please do pick up your books in advance and stock up for the holiday season!
And now on to books:
New Arrivals:
Management:
“The Game- Changer: How Every Leader Can Drive Everyday Innovation” by A. G. Lafley and Ram Charan @ Rs.399/-(305 pgs)
A.G. Lafley and his leadership team have integrated innovation into everything Proctor & Gamble does - creating new customers and new markets. Through eye-opening stories, Lafley and Ram Charan show how P & G and companies such as Nokia, Lego and GE have become today’s game-changers. Through their own learning, they will help you achieve higher growth and higher margins, tap into the abundant creativity outside your business, manage risk and integrate innovation into your decision-making.
“A Sense of Urgency” by John P. Kotter @ Rs.495/-(194 pgs)
You know your organization needs to change. You may even know what the change needs to be: a new strategy, a new IT system or reorganization. But somehow, change comes too slowly, or it feels like you’re pushing a boulder up a hill.
What’s missing?
As change guru John Kotter shows in this eye-opening book, what’s missing in most organizations today is a real sense of urgency – a distinctive feeling and gut-level attitude that lead people to constantly shed low-priority activities to move faster and smarter, now.’ Raising urgency’ is the first step in his enormously successful eight-step-framework, first articulated in Leading Change. Moreover, as we transition into a world where change is continuous – not just episodic –Kotter shows how urgency must become a core, sustained capability.
“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” by Rashmi Bansal @ Rs. 125/- (325pgs)
The inspiring stories of 25 IIM A graduates who chose to tread a path of their own making and chose the rough road of entrepreneurship. They are diverse in age, in outlook and the industries they made a mark in. But they have one thing in common: they believed in the power of their dreams. Published by the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship.
Indian Writing:
“Private Life of an Indian Prince” by Mulk Raj Anand @ Rs.395/-(389 pgs)
Maharaj Ashok Kumar of Sham Pur asserts complete independence for his small hill-station rather than join the Indian Union. A febrile romantic, who has inherited more of the vices than the virtues of his ancestors, he is encouraged by his nymphomaniac mistress Ganga Dasi, a powerful and illiterate hill-woman. To feed his mistress’s greed, he exhorts large sums of money from his starving peasantry; this is enough to provoke a revolt in Sham Pur and incur the extreme displeasure of the Indian Government in Delhi.
Anand’s most profound study of human nature, Private Life of an Indian Prince is the story of one man’s compelling love for a woman. It is at the same time a historical novel of unusual power, showing the demise of the princely states with the birth of a free India.
“You Are Here” by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan @ Rs.199/-(255 pgs)
At twenty-five, life’s innumerable entanglements are getting to Arshi. Her blonde American stepmother is trying too hard, welcoming all guests with a traditional aarti. The gorgeous guy who has Arshi all flushed and dreamy is an Ice Prince who thaws at his own convenience. Her best friend Deeksha is getting married. And her normally unruffled, cocktail-concocting flat mate Topsy is getting testier by the day because her conservative family will never approve of the guy she wants.
A hilarious, sharply observant and surprisingly wise story about dealing with life’s quandaries while keeping your sense of humor intact…and your alcohol consumption just right. So if you’ve ever wondered where the crisis-crossing lines of your life converge, you are here! Maybe.
“The Healing” by Gita Aravamudan @ Rs.295/-(288 pgs)
The Babri Masjid falls on the day Ramanujam, patriarch and freedom fighter, is rushed to hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest. As his wife and children stand vigil by his bedside, a second demolition is about to throw their lives out of gear. Shanti Nivas, their sprawling family property is about to be transformed into modern apartments where all the members of the family will live in different homes, and possibly a different way of life.
Told from the perspective of Ramanujam’s younger daughter Bharati, this evocative novel set in Chennai maps the memories of Shanti Nivas and its residents. Delving deep into the sometimes fractious bonds that make up a family, The Healing is a meshing of stories woven into a gentle narrative.
“My Family and Other Saints” by Kirin Narayan @ Rs.295/-(339 pgs)
In 1969, Kirin Narayan’s older brother Rahoul announced that he was dropping out of school and leaving home to seek spiritual enlightenment with a guru.
Kirin’s sari-wearing American mother Didi enthusiastically embraces ashrams and gurus, adopting her son’s spiritual quest as her own. Her urban Indian father, Narayan, however, coins the term ‘urug’ – guru spelled backward – to mock these seekers.
Young Kirin, bewildered by the departure of the brother she adores, sensing her parents drifting apart, and observing waves of Westerners turning to meditation, Kirin is left to find her own answers. Vivid, sharply farcical and portraying the clash of culture in an Indian-American family with wonderful wit, this is the story of family, growing-up and finding one’s way.
Others:
“Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River” by Alice Albinia @ Rs.550/-(309 pgs) – (History)
In a land where it seldom rains, a river is as precious as gold. Water is potent: it trickles through human dreams, permeates lives, dictates agriculture, religion and warfare…
One of the largest rivers in the world, the Indus rises in the Tibetan mountains, flows west across northern India and south through Pakistan. For millennia it has been worshipped as a god; for centuries used as a tool of imperial expansion; today it is the cement of Pakistan’s fractious union.
Five thousand years ago, a string of sophisticated cities grew and traded on its banks. In the ruins of these elaborate metropolises, Sanskrit-speaking nomads explored the river, extolling its virtues in India’s most ancient text, the Rig-Veda.
Journalist, editor and audacious traveler Alice Albinia follows the river upstream and back in time, taking the reader on a voyage through two thousand miles of geography and more than five millennia of history redolent with contemporary importance.
“Freedom’s Child: Growing Up During Satyagraha” by Chandralekha Mehta @ Rs. 199/- (182 pgs) – (History)
Writing about her growing-up years, author Chandralekha Mehta, Pandit Nehru’s niece, sister to Nayantara Sahgal, gives us a peek into the momentous years of the freedom struggle. This was the age of Satyagraha, when India was awakening to new realities and inching her way towards freedom. The author, and her family, the Nehrus in Allahabad, were prominent participants in the extraordinary events of the time.
Inspiring, personal and filled with intimate stories of birthdays, family vacations, picketing, wearing khadi for weddings and much more, Freedom’s Child is an evocative portrait of the dynamic years of the freedom struggle, suitable for all ages.
“Mike’s Election Guide 2008” by Michael Moore @ Rs.250/-(155 pgs)
Democracy. It’s easily the best system in the world, ever. Which is why so many countries are desperate to have it enforced on them by soldiers!
Michael Moore is back to give you the low-down on the ins and outs of free elections, such as:
Why should I vote? It only encourages them!
Can my vote be bought? (And what’s the starting price?)
And the most pressing question of all – who would Jesus vote for?
If you thought voting was just a load of ballots, this is the no-hold-barred truth about democracy. Enfranchisement has never been so exciting…
“DK Eyewitness Travel: India” @ Rs. 895/- (823 pgs)
It is improbable that a travel guide could live up to its claim of ‘covering everything,’ but DK Eyewitness Travel has come rather close to it. Color coded according to area, covering everything from festivals to wildlife, hotels to trekking routes, this is a beautifully illustrated and diligently organized book. So if you are planning a weekend away, or that long-awaited family vacation, this is a guide that will direct you without taking up too much of your time.
“The Folklore of Discworld” by Terry Pratchett & Jaqueline Simpson @ Rs.905/-(372 pgs)
A child once asked, ‘Why does the Turtle swim?’
A wise man replied, ‘Child, there is no Why. IT…IS…SO.’
And that could be said of many things.
Legends, myths, fairy tales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and we got there. It is the same on Discworld, except that some beings which are imaginary on Earth, such as vampires, trolls, witches and possibly, gods – are real, alive and in some cases kicking on the Disc.
In The Folklore of Discworld Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jaqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libeled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.
Other new books :
“Attila the Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire” by Christopher Kelly @ Rs.540/-(230 pgs)
“Kkrishna’s Konfessions” by Smita Jain @ Rs.250/-(369 pgs)
“Femme Fatale: Love, lies and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari” by Pat Shipman @ Rs.395/-(375 pgs)
“Indignation” by Philip Roth @ Rs.775/-(233 pgs)
“Girls of Riyadh” by Rajaa Alsanea @ Rs.295/- (300 pgs)
“The Snake Stone” by Jason Goodwin @ Rs.295/- (308 pgs)
“Star Wars: Street of Shadows” by Michael Reaves @ Rs. 250/- (308 pgs)
“Alternative Cures” by Bill Gottlieb @ Rs. 250/- (796 pgs)
“White Man Falling” by Mike Stocks @ Rs.250/-(302 pgs)
“Silks” by Dick Francis and Felix Francis @ Rs.395/-(368 pgs)
“The Book of Craft” by Shahnaz Arni @ Rs.199/-(103 pgs)
“Outlook Traveller: New York” @ Rs.445/-(343 pgs)
“The Evil Seed” by Joanne Harris @ Rs.355/-(443 pgs)
“Tales of Wit and Wisdom: Riddles, hilarious escapades and facts for young and old alike”
“Savvy Networking: 118 Fast and Effective Tips for Business Success by Andrea R. Nierenberg @ Rs.195/-(109 pgs)
“The Chase” by Clive Cussler @ Rs.250/-(487 pgs)
“Corporitual” by Raj Bhowmick @ Rs.195/-(138 pgs)
“It’s All In Your Head: Change Your Health” by Mark Pettus, MD, FACP @ Rs.345/-(309 pgs)
“The Exile” by Navtej Sarna @ Rs.450/-(251 pgs)
“Sahibs Who Loved India” Compiled and Edited by Khushwant Singh @ Rs.325/-(191 pgs)
“The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder @ Rs.995/-(838 pgs)
“Kissing the Frog; The Magic that Makes Your Money” by The Brothers Middleton @ Rs.295/-(225 pgs)
“Moving out of the Box: Tools for Team Decision Making by Jana M. Kemp @ Rs.255/-(155 pgs)
“India Express: The Future of a New Superpower” by Daniel Lak @ Rs.499/-(295 pgs)
“Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)” by Tom Vanderbilt @ Rs.395/-(286 pgs)
“The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing Business Plans and Proposals” by K. Dennis Chambers @ Rs.275/-(168 pgs)
“The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Managing Growth and Handling Crises” @ Rs.275/-(154 pgs)
“Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why The World Needs a Green Revolution – And How We Can Renew Our Global Future” by Thomas L. Friedman @ Rs.595/-(412 pgs)
“Chicken Soup for the Shopper’s Soul: Celebrating Bargains, Boutiques & the Perfect Pair of Shoes” @ Rs.275/-(289 pgs)
“Solving Health and Behavioral Health Problems from Birth through Preschool: A Parent’s Guide” by Roy Benaroch, M.D. @ Rs.245/-(181 pgs)
“Looking Through Glass” by Mukul Kesavan @ Rs.325/- (378 pgs)
“Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: A Novel In Cartoons” by Jeff Kinney @ Rs.195/- (217 pgs)
“Captain Cool – The M S Dhoni story” by Gulu Ezekiel @ Rs. 150, (128 pgs)
“The Bourne Sanction” by Robert Ludlum @ Rs.275/- (484 pgs)
“The Weave of my life – a Dalit woman’s memoirs” by Urmila Pawar tr. from Marathi by Maya Pandit @ Rs.375/- (348 pgs)
“Dosa” @ Rs.70/- and “Jalebi Curls” @ Rs.70/- both Tullika bilingual.
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” – novel in cartoons by Jeff Kinney @ Rs. 195/- (217 pgs)
Happy Reading and see you at twistntales on Saraswati Puja (Thurs, 9th Oct’08) @ 11.30 am.
From the team at twistntales
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Laments of an employer !
When folks are students, their minds are free and uncluttered. They are willing to do anything, work at anything to dirty their hands to get the "experience" of it all !
What happens when they get qualified and educated ? They lose their ability to think, the fear of failure grips them hard, they get into conditioned responses and attitudes and invariably, become unemployable ! No qualification today, bar a CA or an IIM, MBA demands a rigorous grind frm the students. Any other degree is a easy route to the degree itself. If folks have made it with lesser degrees, it is because of the grind that they have put in - in their early years. Folks are increasingly unwilling to work on the grind anymore. They know it all. If at all, then they need to work in "corporate" jobs. In the meantime, they would rather be "umemployed" - small businesses, where you may end up doing a more meaningful role, are not in consideration at all ! And this is happening in "retail" - a complete sunrise industry.
Both my husband and me have been working for almost 22-25 years now, and can hardly remember "non-grind" years. If today we have a surplus both of time and money, its directly attributable to that grind. I do not see others younger do it anymore. Either they have too much money, or they rationalize things for themselves. Its sad.
This is a generation born when India has been booming for a consistent period. They do not know "want"
So, i find as i look around to employ people, that there a whole lot of folks un or underemployed, but not employable anymore.
What happens when they get qualified and educated ? They lose their ability to think, the fear of failure grips them hard, they get into conditioned responses and attitudes and invariably, become unemployable ! No qualification today, bar a CA or an IIM, MBA demands a rigorous grind frm the students. Any other degree is a easy route to the degree itself. If folks have made it with lesser degrees, it is because of the grind that they have put in - in their early years. Folks are increasingly unwilling to work on the grind anymore. They know it all. If at all, then they need to work in "corporate" jobs. In the meantime, they would rather be "umemployed" - small businesses, where you may end up doing a more meaningful role, are not in consideration at all ! And this is happening in "retail" - a complete sunrise industry.
Both my husband and me have been working for almost 22-25 years now, and can hardly remember "non-grind" years. If today we have a surplus both of time and money, its directly attributable to that grind. I do not see others younger do it anymore. Either they have too much money, or they rationalize things for themselves. Its sad.
This is a generation born when India has been booming for a consistent period. They do not know "want"
So, i find as i look around to employ people, that there a whole lot of folks un or underemployed, but not employable anymore.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Message sent to twistntales@yahoogroups.com on 15th Sept'08
Hi all,
We let a whole month go by without sending you a mail on our new books ….. we have been a little understaffed :( …. But lots of books have been happening nevertheless! :). And good books at that !!! :) :) :)
Again we have loving reviews of the new books – yes, Tia is back! Some of these guys never leave us! But thank god for them, else we will be struggling to bring these lovely reviews to you!
New Arrivals:
Fiction:
“The Looters” by Harold Robbins & Junius Podrug @ Rs.250/-(422 pgs)Museum curator Madison Dupre takes a wild ride in the rarefied atmosphere of the lives of the superrich when she buys an ancient mask that has a history of spawning evil and murder. Stalked by killers, betrayed by people she thought were friends, she struggles to stay alive in a growing whirlpool of intrigue as rumours rage that the mask has been looted from the Baghdad museum. Can Madeline protect her own life, prove her innocence and return the fabled death mask to the museum?
“Loose and Easy” by Tara Janzen @ Rs. 250/- (406 pgs)In Denver bookie Franklin Bleak informs art recovery private investigator Esmee Alden that her father Burt owns him over eighty thousand dollars in gambling debts that is due now “or else”. She knows what ‘or else’ means to someone as bleak as this vicious bookie is. So the story of her life repeats itself with “Easy Alex” risking everything to bail her dad out of trouble.
Indian Writing:
“The Homecoming” by Shashi Warrier @ Rs. 299/- (304 pgs)
Javed Sharif returns home to Srinagar for his father’s eighty-fourth birthday. He returns with a sense of well-being, despite troubles, the violence and the bitterly cold weather. Unexpectedly, his dreams of retiring and settling in Kashmir again are shattered by a knock on the door on the day of the birthday party and, as he watches his life unravel, his world will never be the same again. The Homecoming is the story of one family, but also of the many families in Kashmir whose lives have been destroyed by decades of violence and uncertainty. Deeply moving and disturbingly honest, this is a haunting tale that is political yet profoundly personal, and tells of the pain and suffering that is a result of the cruelty – and the ultimately the indifference – of the State.
“When Dreams Travel” by Githa Hariharan @Rs. 299/- (276 pgs)
Night Falls Again. It is a soft night, willing to nurse a wounded soul with memories, fingers, words…
The curtain rises on four figures, two men and two women. There is the sultan who wants a virgin every night; his brother who makes an enemy of darkness and tries to banish it; and there are the ambitious brides, the sisters Shahrzad and Dunyazad, aspiring to be heroines – or martyrs.
With its sharp and lively blend of past and present, its skillful reworking of the historical tradition, Gita Hariharan’s multi-voiced narrative travels in and out of its characters lives in a range of dark, poetic stories, spanning medieval to contemporary times.
“Once Upon a Time in Aparanta” by Sudeep Chakravarti @ Rs. 250/- (220 pgs)
Goa is Aparanta of old – the Land at the Horizon. The tale of Dino Dantas, protestor and self-appointed guardian of Aparanta, and his innkeeper cousin Antonio begins here, in the sleepy village of Socorro Do Mundo by the Sea, where time holds little meaning and the haze of nostalgia is as binding a force as faith in the benevolence of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, ‘Perpet’ to familiars. In prose that is part lyrical, part brutal satire, yet always passionate, Sudeep Chakravarti evokes the essence of a paradise on the verge of losing its soul.
“A Situation in New Delhi” by Nayantara Sahgal @ Rs. 250/-(189 pgs)Shivraj is dead and with him the values with which he had governed the country for over a decade. While his successors destroy the idealistic world he had built, Shivraj’s circle of intimate friends – his sister Devi, the education minister, the vice-chancellor of Delhi University and Michael Calvert, an English writer – struggle to find order in the chaos, even as Rishad, Devi’s son, loses himself in it.
First published in 1977, Nayantara Sahgal’s writing juxtaposes personal relations with the larger canvas of corrupt politics and remains fresh and relevant even today.
Additional titles released recently after a long time.
“The Day in Shadow” by Nayatara Sahgal @Rs. 250/- (236 pgs)
“Storm in Chandigarh” by Nayantara Sahgal @Rs. 250/- (222 pgs)
“Bandicoots in the Moonlight” by Avijit Ghosh @Rs. 250/- (237 pgs)
Teenage boy Anirban Roy grows up in a small town in 70’s Bihar where his policeman father is posted to pick up information on the looming Naxalite menace. Ganesh Nagar possesses neither village simplicity nor urban slick, but observes a line of ethics that defies codification. It takes time for Anirban to learn to juggle adolescent angst and ping-pong hormones, loyal friends and part-time criminals, a bewildering succession of topsy-turvy lessons in life and lust, yet manage to keep them all afloat. Avijit Ghosh’s earthy account of boy-to-manhood in fictional Ganesh Nagar is simple, prosaic and unadorned.
“Nightmare Academy: Charlie’s Monsters” by Dean Lorey @ Rs. 295/- (330 pgs)Charlie’s imagination is so strong that when he has a nightmare, the nightmare creature gets portaled right into the room where he’s sleeping. This caused a lot of problems for Charlie, until he joins the Nightmare Academy, a school that trains children with imagination to fight the monsters from the Netherworld. Charlie is one of the most powerful people at the academy, and he still doesn’t fit in – but he gains a few good friends and starts his training. He ends up having to fight powerful monsters, work to save his family, and deal with bullies. Through this, Charlie finds that he can use his imagination and self-doubt for good – and he can find his own place to fit in, after all. Don’t let the cover fool you – this is a funny, light-hearted fantasy.
Inspiration/ Healing :
“What I Talk about When I Talk about Running” by Haruki Murakami @ Rs.495/-(180 pgs)Haruki Murakami is best-known as the author of books such as Sputnik Sweetheart, Kafka on the Shore and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.
What is less known is that Murakami has been a dedicated runner longer than he has been writing.
In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. Now, after dozens of races and triathlons, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and his writing.
Equal parts travelogue, training log and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 NYC Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens to the Charles River in Boston, among young women who outpace him!
Through this revelatory lens of sport emerge a slew of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his passion for vintage records amongst others.
“Voices in the Family: A Therapist Talks about Listening, Openness and Healing” by Daniel Gottlieb @Rs. 250/- (294 pgs)Author of ‘Letters to Sam’, psychotherapist Gottlieb who is a quadriplegic dedicates this book to the human spirit in all of us. He speaks to us about how to understand the ties that form our family, the different aspects of relationships-as father, mother, sons, daughters and siblings. To each reader he explains the importance of bonding and empathy- through real life anecdotes and thought provoking examples. A book in four parts, this is advice about making peace with ourselves, our parents, children and partners in a no nonsense, amiable, adult manner.
Management:
“HRD Score Card 2500; Based on HRD Audit” by T.V. Rao @ Rs.450/-(293 pgs)Prof. T. V. Rao is one of the early gurus of the scientific HR systems in India. Most of his earlier books have been the first literature on the relevant HR topic in the Indian context. So too, with HRD Score Card 2500.
HRD Scorecard presents for the first time a systematic and scientific way of measuring the maturity level of HR, its systems and strategies, competencies, culture and values, and business impact through a score card.
This book provides a set of easily usable guidelines for converting HR Audit findings into measurable scores and helps provide timely information for interventions as necessary. This is a useful guide for CEO’s and HR managers to evaluate and improve their human resources.
“The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong” by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull @Rs.275/- (179 pgs)‘In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his own level of incompetence.’
This dangerously simple maxim of organizational dysfunction, first spelled out more than 33 years ago, has wormed itself into everyday managerial vocabulary. The Peter Principle is rife wherever hierarchies exist –and is required reading for all those now setting their feet on the first rung of the promotional ladder. Do they really want to scale a peak from which their fate can only be a dismal shunting into oblivion?
A classic masterpiece of management humor, aptly illustrated with wickedly barbed cartoons.
Socio Eco Pol / Current Affairs/ History:
“The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism” by Ron Suskind @Rs. 625/- (415 pgs)In a sweeping, propulsive and multilayered narrative, The Way of the World investigates how the West relinquished the moral leadership it now desperately needs to fight the real threat of our era: a nuclear weapon in the hands of terrorists. Suskind shows where the most neglected dangers lie in the story of ‘The Armageddon Test’ – a desperate gamble to send undercover teams into the world’s nuclear black market to frustrate the efforts of terrorists trying to procure weapons-grade uranium. Finally, he reveals the explosive falsehood underlying the Iraq War and the Blair-Bush coalition.
Simultaneously following an ensemble of characters around the world, including a striving 24-year-old Pakistani émigré́, a fearless UN refugee commissioner, and Benazir Bhutto, who discovers days before her death, how she’s been abandoned by the US, The Way of the World is a test of Western values at a time of peril.
“187 Lives: A Remembrance” by The Indian Express Team @ Rs.395/-(225 pgs)A week after the Mumbai train blasts on July 11, 2006, in which 187 people dies, The Indian Express began a series documenting each of the lives lost, their dreams, their doubts, their hopes and struggles. This volume seeks to consolidate their memory in the form of a book.
Equally, this book is a tribute to the indefatigable spirit of Mumbai and its citizens who worked tirelessly through the night to help the wounded, the stranded and the missing, but for whom it was business as usual the next morning, as sixteen hours later, the Mumbai Locals rolled out again and a grieving city went about its business. In addition, 187 Lives looks at the major leads that helped resolve this case and zero in on the accused. Proceeds from this book will go to The Indian Express Citizen Relief Fund and will be used to aid terror victims.
“The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam’s Holiest Shrine” by Yaroslav Trofimov @Rs.360/- (300 pgs)20 November 1979: As morning prayers began, hundreds of hardline Islamist gunmen, armed with rifles smuggled in coffins, stormed the Grand Mosque in Mecca. With thousands of terrified worshippers trapped inside, the result was a bloody siege that lasted two weeks, caused hundreds of deaths, prompted an international diplomatic crisis and unleashed forces that would eventually lead to the rise of al Qauda.
Journalist Yaraslov Trofimov takes us day-by-day through one of the most momentous – and heavily censored – events in recent history, interviewing many direct participants in the siege and drawing on secret documents to reveal the truth about the first operation of modern global jihad.
Personalities/ Memoirs :
“The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on Power. God and World Affairs” by Madeline Albright @ Rs.360/-(300 pgs)From the bestselling author of Madame Secretary comes a provocative look at the role of religion in world affairs, through the lens of history and of her own personal experiences in office. Does America, as Geroge W. bush has proclaimed, have a special mission derived from God, to bring liberty and democracy to the world? How much influence does the Christian right have over US foreign policy?
Madeline Albright offers a sharp critique of US policy, condemnation for those who exploit religious fervour for violent ends and praise for political, cultural and spiritual leaders who seek to harness the values of faith to bring people together.
“Hugo! The Hugo Chávez Story” by Bart Jones @ Rs.520/-(483 pgs)In December 2006, when Hugo Chávez declared at the UN that ‘the devil came here yesterday…the President of the United States,’ it was clear that one man was taking the most powerful nation on Earth head-on.
The ruling elites in Venezuela and the United States are keen to paint Chávez as the heir to Castro. From Jones’s account however, he emerges as far more complex; a master politician and an inspired improviser, a Bolivarian nationalist and an unashamed socialist.
Jones tells the story of Chávez’s impoverished childhood his military career and the election campaign against a former Miss Universe that finally won him the Presidency.
Dramatic and superbly described, Hugo! brings to life a charismatic leader whose stories extend ‘from mud hut to perpetual revolution.’
“An Outsider in Politics” by Krishna Bose @ Rs.599/-(256 pgs)Writer, educationist and three-time Lok Sabha MP from Kolkata, Kirshna Bose gives a compelling account from the time she was a schoolgirl witnessing some of the tragic scenes that accompanied Partition to her stint as chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs.
Married into the family of Subhas Chandra Bose, Bose’s acute yet sympathetic observations combine to form an elegantly written intimate history as well as a gripping political memoir.
Travel:
“Higher than the Eagle Soars: A Path to Everest” by Stephen Venables @ Rs.495/-(353 pgs)
High, wild places have dominated Stephen Venables’ life and now he has written a full autobiography which explores how and – more importantly – why he became a mountaineer. Venables reveals a series of never-recorded adventures on four continents. At its climax he revisits his dramatic success without oxygen on the Kangshung Face of Everest, described by Reinhold Messner as the most adventurous in Everest’s history. As Venables writes: ‘Although we didn’t go seeking deliberately an epic near-death experience, it did turn out that way – the ultimate endurance test for which all the previous adventures seemed, retrospectively, to be a preparation.’
“Outlook Traveller: 45 Weekend Breaks from Hyderabad” @Rs.295/- (415 pgs)Sail on the Vasishta Godavari in Konaseema, search for the nine Narasimhas in Ahobilam and sample the chepala pulusu of Warangai. Soak your feet in the soothing waters of the Kailashnathakona falls and explore the former capitals of ancient kings that lie in the shadow of Hyderabad.
This book tells you how…and much more.
Others:
“Sarama and her Children: The Dog in Indian Myth” by Bibek Debroy @ Rs. 350/- (243 pgs)
The written proof of an economist and research professor’s love for both-Indology and dogs, this book is a one-of –a- kind narrative of the attitude towards the dog in Indian myth and history. Tracing the Indian attitude towards the dog in a chronological manner with pre-Vedic Indus valley civilization, he incorporates 29 ancient as well as modern short stories to prove his point! He traces how although initially dogs were treated with ‘respect’, their tribe soon had to bear negative connotations by the time of the Mahabharata, only to regain their lost dignity in later times through the Jataka and Hitopadesha tales, as well as the doctrines associated with Shiva. In a light hearted manner, the author ensures that the Indian dog finally has its day!
Other new books at the Store:
DK Eyewitness Travel: India @Rs. 895/- (823 pgs)
The Game- Changer: How Every Leader Can Drive Everyday Innovation by A. G. Lafley and Ram Charan
Mike’s Election Guide 2008 by Michael Moore @ Rs.250/-(155 pgs)
You Are Here by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan @ Rs.199/-(255 pgs)
A Sense of Urgency by John P. Kotter @ Rs.495/-(194 pgs)
Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River by Alice Albinia @ Rs.550/-(309 pgs)
Silks by Dick Francis and Felix Francis @ Rs.395/-(368 pgs)
Outlook Traveller: New York @ Rs.445/-(343 pgs)
The Evil Seed by Joanne Harris @ Rs.355/-(443 pgs)
The Folklore of Discworld by Terry Pratchett & Jaqueline Simpson @ Rs.905/-(372 pgs)
Attila the Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire by Christopher Kelly @ Rs.540/-(230 pgs)
Freedom’s Child: Growing Up During Satyagraha by Chandralekha Mehta @Rs. 199/- (182 pgs)
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea @Rs. 295/- (300 pgs)
The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin @Rs. 295/- (308 pgs)
Star Wars: Street of Shadows by Michael Reaves @Rs. 250/- (308 pgs)
Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb @Rs. 250/- (796 pgs)
White Man Falling by Mike Stocks @ Rs.250/-(302 pgs)
The Healing by Gita Aravamudan @ Rs.295/-(288 pgs)
My Family and Other Saints by Kirin Narayan @ Rs.295/-(339 pgs)
Private Life of an Indian Prince by Mulk Raj Anand @ Rs.395/-(389 pgs)
Tales of Wit and Wisdom: Riddles, hilarious escapades and facts for young and old alike
Enjoy your books and HappyReading,
From the team at,
twistntales
We let a whole month go by without sending you a mail on our new books ….. we have been a little understaffed :( …. But lots of books have been happening nevertheless! :). And good books at that !!! :) :) :)
Again we have loving reviews of the new books – yes, Tia is back! Some of these guys never leave us! But thank god for them, else we will be struggling to bring these lovely reviews to you!
New Arrivals:
Fiction:
“The Looters” by Harold Robbins & Junius Podrug @ Rs.250/-(422 pgs)Museum curator Madison Dupre takes a wild ride in the rarefied atmosphere of the lives of the superrich when she buys an ancient mask that has a history of spawning evil and murder. Stalked by killers, betrayed by people she thought were friends, she struggles to stay alive in a growing whirlpool of intrigue as rumours rage that the mask has been looted from the Baghdad museum. Can Madeline protect her own life, prove her innocence and return the fabled death mask to the museum?
“Loose and Easy” by Tara Janzen @ Rs. 250/- (406 pgs)In Denver bookie Franklin Bleak informs art recovery private investigator Esmee Alden that her father Burt owns him over eighty thousand dollars in gambling debts that is due now “or else”. She knows what ‘or else’ means to someone as bleak as this vicious bookie is. So the story of her life repeats itself with “Easy Alex” risking everything to bail her dad out of trouble.
Indian Writing:
“The Homecoming” by Shashi Warrier @ Rs. 299/- (304 pgs)
Javed Sharif returns home to Srinagar for his father’s eighty-fourth birthday. He returns with a sense of well-being, despite troubles, the violence and the bitterly cold weather. Unexpectedly, his dreams of retiring and settling in Kashmir again are shattered by a knock on the door on the day of the birthday party and, as he watches his life unravel, his world will never be the same again. The Homecoming is the story of one family, but also of the many families in Kashmir whose lives have been destroyed by decades of violence and uncertainty. Deeply moving and disturbingly honest, this is a haunting tale that is political yet profoundly personal, and tells of the pain and suffering that is a result of the cruelty – and the ultimately the indifference – of the State.
“When Dreams Travel” by Githa Hariharan @Rs. 299/- (276 pgs)
Night Falls Again. It is a soft night, willing to nurse a wounded soul with memories, fingers, words…
The curtain rises on four figures, two men and two women. There is the sultan who wants a virgin every night; his brother who makes an enemy of darkness and tries to banish it; and there are the ambitious brides, the sisters Shahrzad and Dunyazad, aspiring to be heroines – or martyrs.
With its sharp and lively blend of past and present, its skillful reworking of the historical tradition, Gita Hariharan’s multi-voiced narrative travels in and out of its characters lives in a range of dark, poetic stories, spanning medieval to contemporary times.
“Once Upon a Time in Aparanta” by Sudeep Chakravarti @ Rs. 250/- (220 pgs)
Goa is Aparanta of old – the Land at the Horizon. The tale of Dino Dantas, protestor and self-appointed guardian of Aparanta, and his innkeeper cousin Antonio begins here, in the sleepy village of Socorro Do Mundo by the Sea, where time holds little meaning and the haze of nostalgia is as binding a force as faith in the benevolence of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, ‘Perpet’ to familiars. In prose that is part lyrical, part brutal satire, yet always passionate, Sudeep Chakravarti evokes the essence of a paradise on the verge of losing its soul.
“A Situation in New Delhi” by Nayantara Sahgal @ Rs. 250/-(189 pgs)Shivraj is dead and with him the values with which he had governed the country for over a decade. While his successors destroy the idealistic world he had built, Shivraj’s circle of intimate friends – his sister Devi, the education minister, the vice-chancellor of Delhi University and Michael Calvert, an English writer – struggle to find order in the chaos, even as Rishad, Devi’s son, loses himself in it.
First published in 1977, Nayantara Sahgal’s writing juxtaposes personal relations with the larger canvas of corrupt politics and remains fresh and relevant even today.
Additional titles released recently after a long time.
“The Day in Shadow” by Nayatara Sahgal @Rs. 250/- (236 pgs)
“Storm in Chandigarh” by Nayantara Sahgal @Rs. 250/- (222 pgs)
“Bandicoots in the Moonlight” by Avijit Ghosh @Rs. 250/- (237 pgs)
Teenage boy Anirban Roy grows up in a small town in 70’s Bihar where his policeman father is posted to pick up information on the looming Naxalite menace. Ganesh Nagar possesses neither village simplicity nor urban slick, but observes a line of ethics that defies codification. It takes time for Anirban to learn to juggle adolescent angst and ping-pong hormones, loyal friends and part-time criminals, a bewildering succession of topsy-turvy lessons in life and lust, yet manage to keep them all afloat. Avijit Ghosh’s earthy account of boy-to-manhood in fictional Ganesh Nagar is simple, prosaic and unadorned.
“Nightmare Academy: Charlie’s Monsters” by Dean Lorey @ Rs. 295/- (330 pgs)Charlie’s imagination is so strong that when he has a nightmare, the nightmare creature gets portaled right into the room where he’s sleeping. This caused a lot of problems for Charlie, until he joins the Nightmare Academy, a school that trains children with imagination to fight the monsters from the Netherworld. Charlie is one of the most powerful people at the academy, and he still doesn’t fit in – but he gains a few good friends and starts his training. He ends up having to fight powerful monsters, work to save his family, and deal with bullies. Through this, Charlie finds that he can use his imagination and self-doubt for good – and he can find his own place to fit in, after all. Don’t let the cover fool you – this is a funny, light-hearted fantasy.
Inspiration/ Healing :
“What I Talk about When I Talk about Running” by Haruki Murakami @ Rs.495/-(180 pgs)Haruki Murakami is best-known as the author of books such as Sputnik Sweetheart, Kafka on the Shore and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.
What is less known is that Murakami has been a dedicated runner longer than he has been writing.
In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. Now, after dozens of races and triathlons, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and his writing.
Equal parts travelogue, training log and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 NYC Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens to the Charles River in Boston, among young women who outpace him!
Through this revelatory lens of sport emerge a slew of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his passion for vintage records amongst others.
“Voices in the Family: A Therapist Talks about Listening, Openness and Healing” by Daniel Gottlieb @Rs. 250/- (294 pgs)Author of ‘Letters to Sam’, psychotherapist Gottlieb who is a quadriplegic dedicates this book to the human spirit in all of us. He speaks to us about how to understand the ties that form our family, the different aspects of relationships-as father, mother, sons, daughters and siblings. To each reader he explains the importance of bonding and empathy- through real life anecdotes and thought provoking examples. A book in four parts, this is advice about making peace with ourselves, our parents, children and partners in a no nonsense, amiable, adult manner.
Management:
“HRD Score Card 2500; Based on HRD Audit” by T.V. Rao @ Rs.450/-(293 pgs)Prof. T. V. Rao is one of the early gurus of the scientific HR systems in India. Most of his earlier books have been the first literature on the relevant HR topic in the Indian context. So too, with HRD Score Card 2500.
HRD Scorecard presents for the first time a systematic and scientific way of measuring the maturity level of HR, its systems and strategies, competencies, culture and values, and business impact through a score card.
This book provides a set of easily usable guidelines for converting HR Audit findings into measurable scores and helps provide timely information for interventions as necessary. This is a useful guide for CEO’s and HR managers to evaluate and improve their human resources.
“The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong” by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull @Rs.275/- (179 pgs)‘In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his own level of incompetence.’
This dangerously simple maxim of organizational dysfunction, first spelled out more than 33 years ago, has wormed itself into everyday managerial vocabulary. The Peter Principle is rife wherever hierarchies exist –and is required reading for all those now setting their feet on the first rung of the promotional ladder. Do they really want to scale a peak from which their fate can only be a dismal shunting into oblivion?
A classic masterpiece of management humor, aptly illustrated with wickedly barbed cartoons.
Socio Eco Pol / Current Affairs/ History:
“The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism” by Ron Suskind @Rs. 625/- (415 pgs)In a sweeping, propulsive and multilayered narrative, The Way of the World investigates how the West relinquished the moral leadership it now desperately needs to fight the real threat of our era: a nuclear weapon in the hands of terrorists. Suskind shows where the most neglected dangers lie in the story of ‘The Armageddon Test’ – a desperate gamble to send undercover teams into the world’s nuclear black market to frustrate the efforts of terrorists trying to procure weapons-grade uranium. Finally, he reveals the explosive falsehood underlying the Iraq War and the Blair-Bush coalition.
Simultaneously following an ensemble of characters around the world, including a striving 24-year-old Pakistani émigré́, a fearless UN refugee commissioner, and Benazir Bhutto, who discovers days before her death, how she’s been abandoned by the US, The Way of the World is a test of Western values at a time of peril.
“187 Lives: A Remembrance” by The Indian Express Team @ Rs.395/-(225 pgs)A week after the Mumbai train blasts on July 11, 2006, in which 187 people dies, The Indian Express began a series documenting each of the lives lost, their dreams, their doubts, their hopes and struggles. This volume seeks to consolidate their memory in the form of a book.
Equally, this book is a tribute to the indefatigable spirit of Mumbai and its citizens who worked tirelessly through the night to help the wounded, the stranded and the missing, but for whom it was business as usual the next morning, as sixteen hours later, the Mumbai Locals rolled out again and a grieving city went about its business. In addition, 187 Lives looks at the major leads that helped resolve this case and zero in on the accused. Proceeds from this book will go to The Indian Express Citizen Relief Fund and will be used to aid terror victims.
“The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam’s Holiest Shrine” by Yaroslav Trofimov @Rs.360/- (300 pgs)20 November 1979: As morning prayers began, hundreds of hardline Islamist gunmen, armed with rifles smuggled in coffins, stormed the Grand Mosque in Mecca. With thousands of terrified worshippers trapped inside, the result was a bloody siege that lasted two weeks, caused hundreds of deaths, prompted an international diplomatic crisis and unleashed forces that would eventually lead to the rise of al Qauda.
Journalist Yaraslov Trofimov takes us day-by-day through one of the most momentous – and heavily censored – events in recent history, interviewing many direct participants in the siege and drawing on secret documents to reveal the truth about the first operation of modern global jihad.
Personalities/ Memoirs :
“The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on Power. God and World Affairs” by Madeline Albright @ Rs.360/-(300 pgs)From the bestselling author of Madame Secretary comes a provocative look at the role of religion in world affairs, through the lens of history and of her own personal experiences in office. Does America, as Geroge W. bush has proclaimed, have a special mission derived from God, to bring liberty and democracy to the world? How much influence does the Christian right have over US foreign policy?
Madeline Albright offers a sharp critique of US policy, condemnation for those who exploit religious fervour for violent ends and praise for political, cultural and spiritual leaders who seek to harness the values of faith to bring people together.
“Hugo! The Hugo Chávez Story” by Bart Jones @ Rs.520/-(483 pgs)In December 2006, when Hugo Chávez declared at the UN that ‘the devil came here yesterday…the President of the United States,’ it was clear that one man was taking the most powerful nation on Earth head-on.
The ruling elites in Venezuela and the United States are keen to paint Chávez as the heir to Castro. From Jones’s account however, he emerges as far more complex; a master politician and an inspired improviser, a Bolivarian nationalist and an unashamed socialist.
Jones tells the story of Chávez’s impoverished childhood his military career and the election campaign against a former Miss Universe that finally won him the Presidency.
Dramatic and superbly described, Hugo! brings to life a charismatic leader whose stories extend ‘from mud hut to perpetual revolution.’
“An Outsider in Politics” by Krishna Bose @ Rs.599/-(256 pgs)Writer, educationist and three-time Lok Sabha MP from Kolkata, Kirshna Bose gives a compelling account from the time she was a schoolgirl witnessing some of the tragic scenes that accompanied Partition to her stint as chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs.
Married into the family of Subhas Chandra Bose, Bose’s acute yet sympathetic observations combine to form an elegantly written intimate history as well as a gripping political memoir.
Travel:
“Higher than the Eagle Soars: A Path to Everest” by Stephen Venables @ Rs.495/-(353 pgs)
High, wild places have dominated Stephen Venables’ life and now he has written a full autobiography which explores how and – more importantly – why he became a mountaineer. Venables reveals a series of never-recorded adventures on four continents. At its climax he revisits his dramatic success without oxygen on the Kangshung Face of Everest, described by Reinhold Messner as the most adventurous in Everest’s history. As Venables writes: ‘Although we didn’t go seeking deliberately an epic near-death experience, it did turn out that way – the ultimate endurance test for which all the previous adventures seemed, retrospectively, to be a preparation.’
“Outlook Traveller: 45 Weekend Breaks from Hyderabad” @Rs.295/- (415 pgs)Sail on the Vasishta Godavari in Konaseema, search for the nine Narasimhas in Ahobilam and sample the chepala pulusu of Warangai. Soak your feet in the soothing waters of the Kailashnathakona falls and explore the former capitals of ancient kings that lie in the shadow of Hyderabad.
This book tells you how…and much more.
Others:
“Sarama and her Children: The Dog in Indian Myth” by Bibek Debroy @ Rs. 350/- (243 pgs)
The written proof of an economist and research professor’s love for both-Indology and dogs, this book is a one-of –a- kind narrative of the attitude towards the dog in Indian myth and history. Tracing the Indian attitude towards the dog in a chronological manner with pre-Vedic Indus valley civilization, he incorporates 29 ancient as well as modern short stories to prove his point! He traces how although initially dogs were treated with ‘respect’, their tribe soon had to bear negative connotations by the time of the Mahabharata, only to regain their lost dignity in later times through the Jataka and Hitopadesha tales, as well as the doctrines associated with Shiva. In a light hearted manner, the author ensures that the Indian dog finally has its day!
Other new books at the Store:
DK Eyewitness Travel: India @Rs. 895/- (823 pgs)
The Game- Changer: How Every Leader Can Drive Everyday Innovation by A. G. Lafley and Ram Charan
Mike’s Election Guide 2008 by Michael Moore @ Rs.250/-(155 pgs)
You Are Here by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan @ Rs.199/-(255 pgs)
A Sense of Urgency by John P. Kotter @ Rs.495/-(194 pgs)
Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River by Alice Albinia @ Rs.550/-(309 pgs)
Silks by Dick Francis and Felix Francis @ Rs.395/-(368 pgs)
Outlook Traveller: New York @ Rs.445/-(343 pgs)
The Evil Seed by Joanne Harris @ Rs.355/-(443 pgs)
The Folklore of Discworld by Terry Pratchett & Jaqueline Simpson @ Rs.905/-(372 pgs)
Attila the Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire by Christopher Kelly @ Rs.540/-(230 pgs)
Freedom’s Child: Growing Up During Satyagraha by Chandralekha Mehta @Rs. 199/- (182 pgs)
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea @Rs. 295/- (300 pgs)
The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin @Rs. 295/- (308 pgs)
Star Wars: Street of Shadows by Michael Reaves @Rs. 250/- (308 pgs)
Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb @Rs. 250/- (796 pgs)
White Man Falling by Mike Stocks @ Rs.250/-(302 pgs)
The Healing by Gita Aravamudan @ Rs.295/-(288 pgs)
My Family and Other Saints by Kirin Narayan @ Rs.295/-(339 pgs)
Private Life of an Indian Prince by Mulk Raj Anand @ Rs.395/-(389 pgs)
Tales of Wit and Wisdom: Riddles, hilarious escapades and facts for young and old alike
Enjoy your books and HappyReading,
From the team at,
twistntales
Monday, September 8, 2008
Bihar Flood Relief
An appeal sent by my cousin, Chandra Vishwanath, who heads AID India in Chennai
Bihar has been hit by a terrible flood. It is one of the worst disasters to strike the country. It is worse than the Tsunami, worse than the Gujarat Earthquake. Several million people have been affected. Entire districts - villages and towns - have been washed away. The number of people dead is not even known.
There are over 6 lakh people living in 200 relief camps. In Saharsa district alone there are 2 Lakh people in 68 relief camps. Similar numbers are living in camps in Madhepura, Supaul, Araria, Purnia and Katihar districts. And many more (those who are better off and have relatives and friends outside) have fled these districts.
This is NOT the usual Bihar flooding.
Usually the Kosi river overflows its banks and floods the villages nearby. The people in these villages are prepared for it.
This year, the Kosi completely changed course - sweeping across several districts. Thousands of villages that never had experienced flooding before are now submerged in water. The people living there were completely taken by surprise. Many have died. Others have lost everything - they are without clothes, food, homes, money.
The scale of the disaster is much bigger than the Tsunami. But because it is Bihar and people think this is like the usual annual flooding, there has been very little coverage of the flooding and very little support pouring in for relief. There is an urgent need to inform people about the nature of this disaster and to mobilize support.
For a week now, AID INDIA’s Bihar team has been on the field organizing rescue and relief efforts in the affected districts. So far we have been able to organize some rescue operations and have provided food, milk for children, and medical support for children in several camps.
But this is not enough - the scale of the disaster is very large and the need is a lot more. Pratham teams in Bihar have also started working with us and we will now be scaling up the relief efforts significantly.
After the initial shock, the government has been taking a lot of steps to organize rescue and relief operations. The army has rescued people from most of the places. The immediate focus needs to be on food, clothing and health needs of the people in relief camps. Some food is being provided at the camps - but there is a severe shortage and lot of rioting to get at the food.
Children are the most affected.
Our immediate focus is on children - there are about 2 lakh children in all the camps. Milk, biscuits and food for children is the first priority now. We are trying to ensure that milk and food reaches all the children in all the relief camps.
The second need is clothes. Most people left their homes with what they were wearing.
We need children’s clothes, saris for women, undergarments, lungis and lots of blankets. Disease outbreaks are becoming a serious threat and we need medicines.
After the immediate phase, the need will be to focus on health, education, shelter and livelihood needs.
But at present, given the scale of the problem, getting past the immediate relief and survival needs are the most critical issues to address.
AID INDIA and Pratham field teams need a lot of support at this time. We need:
1. Funds: You can donate online at www.eurekachild.org/biharflood or you can send a check payable to AID INDIA (mention Bihar Flood Relief) to:
AID INDIA
Post Box No: 4903, Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600086, India.
Phone: +91-44-42636125/ 28350403
2. Food: Milk Powder and Biscuits
3. Clothes: Children’s clothes, saris, lungis and blankets
4. Volunteers: To raise awareness and mobilize support, help with collection and packaging. We also need volunteers to work with our relief teams at the field (but for that you must spend at least 10 days in the affected areas and must be very healthy and ready to work in difficult circumstances.)
To keep everyone updated on what’s happening at the field level, we have set up a separate website for the relief efforts:
www.eurekachild.org/biharflood
Please direct your friends and others you know to this site. We will keep posting new updates, reports, photos and other information from the field at this site.
For more information please contact: eurekachild@gmail.com or
Chandra: +91-97909-20752(chanvish@yahoo.com)
Prabha: +91-98403-51132 (prabha.balaraman@gmail.com)
REACH OUT FRIENDS, SHOW THAT YOU CARE.
Bihar has been hit by a terrible flood. It is one of the worst disasters to strike the country. It is worse than the Tsunami, worse than the Gujarat Earthquake. Several million people have been affected. Entire districts - villages and towns - have been washed away. The number of people dead is not even known.
There are over 6 lakh people living in 200 relief camps. In Saharsa district alone there are 2 Lakh people in 68 relief camps. Similar numbers are living in camps in Madhepura, Supaul, Araria, Purnia and Katihar districts. And many more (those who are better off and have relatives and friends outside) have fled these districts.
This is NOT the usual Bihar flooding.
Usually the Kosi river overflows its banks and floods the villages nearby. The people in these villages are prepared for it.
This year, the Kosi completely changed course - sweeping across several districts. Thousands of villages that never had experienced flooding before are now submerged in water. The people living there were completely taken by surprise. Many have died. Others have lost everything - they are without clothes, food, homes, money.
The scale of the disaster is much bigger than the Tsunami. But because it is Bihar and people think this is like the usual annual flooding, there has been very little coverage of the flooding and very little support pouring in for relief. There is an urgent need to inform people about the nature of this disaster and to mobilize support.
For a week now, AID INDIA’s Bihar team has been on the field organizing rescue and relief efforts in the affected districts. So far we have been able to organize some rescue operations and have provided food, milk for children, and medical support for children in several camps.
But this is not enough - the scale of the disaster is very large and the need is a lot more. Pratham teams in Bihar have also started working with us and we will now be scaling up the relief efforts significantly.
After the initial shock, the government has been taking a lot of steps to organize rescue and relief operations. The army has rescued people from most of the places. The immediate focus needs to be on food, clothing and health needs of the people in relief camps. Some food is being provided at the camps - but there is a severe shortage and lot of rioting to get at the food.
Children are the most affected.
Our immediate focus is on children - there are about 2 lakh children in all the camps. Milk, biscuits and food for children is the first priority now. We are trying to ensure that milk and food reaches all the children in all the relief camps.
The second need is clothes. Most people left their homes with what they were wearing.
We need children’s clothes, saris for women, undergarments, lungis and lots of blankets. Disease outbreaks are becoming a serious threat and we need medicines.
After the immediate phase, the need will be to focus on health, education, shelter and livelihood needs.
But at present, given the scale of the problem, getting past the immediate relief and survival needs are the most critical issues to address.
AID INDIA and Pratham field teams need a lot of support at this time. We need:
1. Funds: You can donate online at www.eurekachild.org/biharflood or you can send a check payable to AID INDIA (mention Bihar Flood Relief) to:
AID INDIA
Post Box No: 4903, Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600086, India.
Phone: +91-44-42636125/ 28350403
2. Food: Milk Powder and Biscuits
3. Clothes: Children’s clothes, saris, lungis and blankets
4. Volunteers: To raise awareness and mobilize support, help with collection and packaging. We also need volunteers to work with our relief teams at the field (but for that you must spend at least 10 days in the affected areas and must be very healthy and ready to work in difficult circumstances.)
To keep everyone updated on what’s happening at the field level, we have set up a separate website for the relief efforts:
www.eurekachild.org/biharflood
Please direct your friends and others you know to this site. We will keep posting new updates, reports, photos and other information from the field at this site.
For more information please contact: eurekachild@gmail.com or
Chandra: +91-97909-20752(chanvish@yahoo.com)
Prabha: +91-98403-51132 (prabha.balaraman@gmail.com)
REACH OUT FRIENDS, SHOW THAT YOU CARE.
As a retailer/ customer !
I write this as a consumer and retailer.
Many are our needs and requirements as customers. But the way we get serviced is pathetic. But the problem is we are beginning to accept shoddy service - if this is from small kirana merchants, it may still be ok.... But our/my experience shows they are damn good in service. Its the large format Store that's the issue. And this inspite of big Corporates with advanced systems running it. And they get away becoz we let them do it.
I have not got my card slip printout at "Bombay Store" because the machine ran out of paper. Its such a simple thing to load/ chk paper in card machine before a transanction. "Pulse" has misplaced my membership form 3 times. Now i am too tired to fill another form. I would rather pay a little more. Ditto with the big branded bookstore ! At "Reliance fresh", yesterday i was told, you get 1 kg sugar free, but we are out of sugar. In "More", when my husband didn't have membership number, coolly the points got added to some other member. We have the bills, and my husband has written to Aditya Birla Group, highlighting the corruption.... but no response.
My f-in law passed away in April, still my mom-in law is not receiving her pension (6 months), because "SBI" has misplaced papers TWICE ! Ditto with "ICICI bank" for demat. The less said about "Airtel" and "Reliance telecom", the better. And i'm not talking about the Subikshas and Big Bazaars of the world, where u are told clearly that this is a bargain hunt, do not expect service !
Phew, the list is endless ! I have got good service at Pankaj Varieties. And at Hanuman. And at Dhanashri. Everywhere else, i think we can teach a thing or two. I like to believe that we give good service. And that's why i am happier taking enthusiastic students rather tan "regular" employees.
Comments ?
Many are our needs and requirements as customers. But the way we get serviced is pathetic. But the problem is we are beginning to accept shoddy service - if this is from small kirana merchants, it may still be ok.... But our/my experience shows they are damn good in service. Its the large format Store that's the issue. And this inspite of big Corporates with advanced systems running it. And they get away becoz we let them do it.
I have not got my card slip printout at "Bombay Store" because the machine ran out of paper. Its such a simple thing to load/ chk paper in card machine before a transanction. "Pulse" has misplaced my membership form 3 times. Now i am too tired to fill another form. I would rather pay a little more. Ditto with the big branded bookstore ! At "Reliance fresh", yesterday i was told, you get 1 kg sugar free, but we are out of sugar. In "More", when my husband didn't have membership number, coolly the points got added to some other member. We have the bills, and my husband has written to Aditya Birla Group, highlighting the corruption.... but no response.
My f-in law passed away in April, still my mom-in law is not receiving her pension (6 months), because "SBI" has misplaced papers TWICE ! Ditto with "ICICI bank" for demat. The less said about "Airtel" and "Reliance telecom", the better. And i'm not talking about the Subikshas and Big Bazaars of the world, where u are told clearly that this is a bargain hunt, do not expect service !
Phew, the list is endless ! I have got good service at Pankaj Varieties. And at Hanuman. And at Dhanashri. Everywhere else, i think we can teach a thing or two. I like to believe that we give good service. And that's why i am happier taking enthusiastic students rather tan "regular" employees.
Comments ?
That's my book !!!
"NONFICTION: McMurtry recounts life as reader, writer, bookseller
Sunday, Aug 03, 2008 - 12:02 AM
By JAY STRAFFORD
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
NONFICTION
For the true bibliophile, books are as essential to life as air. No book-lover would be caught in a doctor's waiting room, or an airport lounge, or even a traffic standstill, without something substantial to read. Pruning a collection that threatens to overflow one's home can be as painful as watching a child leave the nest, but spending hours in a bookstore -- new, used or specialty -- can be blissful (and never mind the coffee).
OK, so we're a bit obsessive. But as Virginia's own Renaissance man, Thomas Jefferson, once said, "I cannot live without books."
Neither can the distinguished American author Larry McMurtry, whose "Books: A Memoir" is the captivating story of his nearly lifelong devotion.
McMurtry's story, which begins on the ranch in northern Texas where he spent his early years (he was born in 1936), does not start with promise: "I don't remember either of my parents ever reading me a story." On the ranch, he writes: "Of books, there were none."
But one day in 1942, a cousin on the way to enlist in the military for World War II "stopped by the ranch house and gave me the gift that changed my life. The gift was a box containing nineteen books."
And the rest, as they say, is history -- and fiction, and screenwriting, and the eventual accumulation of a personal library of 28,000 volumes, and a sideline (although the word may not convey the depth of McMurtry's passion) as an antiquarian bookseller.
The focus of "Books: A Memoir" is on McMurtry's life as a bookman, but he gives us some insights into the worlds of reading and writing, too.
Reading, he says, gave him a window onto the larger world: "The reason is that, in our country isolation, I came to reading before I came to American popular culture generally."
And reading led to writing. His first book, 1961's "Horseman, Pass By," became the revered movie "Hud" with Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas and Brandon De Wilde. But the prolific McMurtry (28 novels, two collections of essays, three memoirs and more than 30 screenplays) is probably best known for 1985's "Lonesone Dove" -- a book he rightly calls the "Gone With the Wind" of the American West -- and its successors, both sequel and prequels.
Still, the heart of this latest memoir is bookselling, complete with descriptions of the eccentric scouts who keep the antiquarian business alive. His main store is now in his hometown of Archer City, Texas, but he owned Booked Up in Georgetown with Marcia Carter for more than 20 years. The stories he tells of some of Washington's swells are priceless:
Janet Auchincloss, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' snobbish mother, wanted to sell some of the library of her late husband, Hugh D. Auchincloss. But she knew Carter and her mother socially, and she was horrified to find Carter "in trade" and couldn't bear the thought of doing business with her. It was left to the grande dame's latest fiancé to deal with the buyers.
Diplomat David K.E. Bruce owned substantial libraries at his Georgetown house and his family estate, Staunton Hill, in Virginia's Charlotte County. McMurtry's account of acquiring Bruce books in fits and starts is a lesson in diplomacy itself. But mediation was unnecessary in dealing with Bruce's widow, a social lioness in her own right. "Evangeline Bruce could not have cared less that we were in trade. She happily took our check, and banked it."
Despite Washington being a book-lover's dream town, only once, McMurtry writes, did he and Carter sell a book to a member of Congress: then-Sen. Charles McC. Mathias, R-Md. Then-Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., browsed from time to time but, to McMurtry's recollection, never bought.
As entertaining as "Books: A Memoir" is, though, at its heart lies sadness -- an elegy for the many independent bookstores that have closed, as well as a lament for reading: "Today the sight that discourages book people most is to walk into a public library and see computers where books used to be. . . . Computers now literally drive out books from the place that should, by definition, be books' own home: the library."
But as long as writers such as McMurtry can string together words such as those, reading will not die, and books will live on. Put this engaging memoir on your summer-reading list, and revel in the stories McMurtry tells of the lovable eccentrics known as bibliophiles."
Am looking for this book ? anyone ?
Sunday, Aug 03, 2008 - 12:02 AM
By JAY STRAFFORD
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
NONFICTION
For the true bibliophile, books are as essential to life as air. No book-lover would be caught in a doctor's waiting room, or an airport lounge, or even a traffic standstill, without something substantial to read. Pruning a collection that threatens to overflow one's home can be as painful as watching a child leave the nest, but spending hours in a bookstore -- new, used or specialty -- can be blissful (and never mind the coffee).
OK, so we're a bit obsessive. But as Virginia's own Renaissance man, Thomas Jefferson, once said, "I cannot live without books."
Neither can the distinguished American author Larry McMurtry, whose "Books: A Memoir" is the captivating story of his nearly lifelong devotion.
McMurtry's story, which begins on the ranch in northern Texas where he spent his early years (he was born in 1936), does not start with promise: "I don't remember either of my parents ever reading me a story." On the ranch, he writes: "Of books, there were none."
But one day in 1942, a cousin on the way to enlist in the military for World War II "stopped by the ranch house and gave me the gift that changed my life. The gift was a box containing nineteen books."
And the rest, as they say, is history -- and fiction, and screenwriting, and the eventual accumulation of a personal library of 28,000 volumes, and a sideline (although the word may not convey the depth of McMurtry's passion) as an antiquarian bookseller.
The focus of "Books: A Memoir" is on McMurtry's life as a bookman, but he gives us some insights into the worlds of reading and writing, too.
Reading, he says, gave him a window onto the larger world: "The reason is that, in our country isolation, I came to reading before I came to American popular culture generally."
And reading led to writing. His first book, 1961's "Horseman, Pass By," became the revered movie "Hud" with Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas and Brandon De Wilde. But the prolific McMurtry (28 novels, two collections of essays, three memoirs and more than 30 screenplays) is probably best known for 1985's "Lonesone Dove" -- a book he rightly calls the "Gone With the Wind" of the American West -- and its successors, both sequel and prequels.
Still, the heart of this latest memoir is bookselling, complete with descriptions of the eccentric scouts who keep the antiquarian business alive. His main store is now in his hometown of Archer City, Texas, but he owned Booked Up in Georgetown with Marcia Carter for more than 20 years. The stories he tells of some of Washington's swells are priceless:
Janet Auchincloss, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' snobbish mother, wanted to sell some of the library of her late husband, Hugh D. Auchincloss. But she knew Carter and her mother socially, and she was horrified to find Carter "in trade" and couldn't bear the thought of doing business with her. It was left to the grande dame's latest fiancé to deal with the buyers.
Diplomat David K.E. Bruce owned substantial libraries at his Georgetown house and his family estate, Staunton Hill, in Virginia's Charlotte County. McMurtry's account of acquiring Bruce books in fits and starts is a lesson in diplomacy itself. But mediation was unnecessary in dealing with Bruce's widow, a social lioness in her own right. "Evangeline Bruce could not have cared less that we were in trade. She happily took our check, and banked it."
Despite Washington being a book-lover's dream town, only once, McMurtry writes, did he and Carter sell a book to a member of Congress: then-Sen. Charles McC. Mathias, R-Md. Then-Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., browsed from time to time but, to McMurtry's recollection, never bought.
As entertaining as "Books: A Memoir" is, though, at its heart lies sadness -- an elegy for the many independent bookstores that have closed, as well as a lament for reading: "Today the sight that discourages book people most is to walk into a public library and see computers where books used to be. . . . Computers now literally drive out books from the place that should, by definition, be books' own home: the library."
But as long as writers such as McMurtry can string together words such as those, reading will not die, and books will live on. Put this engaging memoir on your summer-reading list, and revel in the stories McMurtry tells of the lovable eccentrics known as bibliophiles."
Am looking for this book ? anyone ?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Me me me me
My article on Indian Writing in English is up on Chillibreeze. Tis but a sample, but it's there...and has bee rated pretty well.
I'm excited :) :) :)
And of course Boss....twas all the Store that did it!
Go see.
I'm excited :) :) :)
And of course Boss....twas all the Store that did it!
Go see.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Akash, Our head stands tall
Often I write about our girls who have done us proud. But the boys ?
For one, there have not been many. But the few who have been there have made us proud. Very Proud indeed.
Akash Dopeshwarkar, who has been with us in many stints and different avtaars.... has truly shone. Working with Nishikant Kamath in Dombivili Fast was his first break. But the big break has happened and the film has opened on Friday to rave reviews. "Mumbai Meri Jaan" is a good film. And our Akash is the Assistant Director of the film. Need i say more ? Congratulations Akash. We are truly proud. Like Dombivili Fast which made it to Cannes, we hope "Mumbai Meri Jaan" will make it to the Oscars.
Of course, there are others who are also well known personalities and stars in their own right. They all started right here, in twistntales. Like RJ Shrikant - who roped in Akash later !
We need more boys in our team. Bright Sparks all !
For one, there have not been many. But the few who have been there have made us proud. Very Proud indeed.
Akash Dopeshwarkar, who has been with us in many stints and different avtaars.... has truly shone. Working with Nishikant Kamath in Dombivili Fast was his first break. But the big break has happened and the film has opened on Friday to rave reviews. "Mumbai Meri Jaan" is a good film. And our Akash is the Assistant Director of the film. Need i say more ? Congratulations Akash. We are truly proud. Like Dombivili Fast which made it to Cannes, we hope "Mumbai Meri Jaan" will make it to the Oscars.
Of course, there are others who are also well known personalities and stars in their own right. They all started right here, in twistntales. Like RJ Shrikant - who roped in Akash later !
We need more boys in our team. Bright Sparks all !
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I cannot ask for more !
Our Infy exhibition finished yesterday. I could not have asked for more ... met our targets and more.
And that's thanks to the wonderful team that i had with me. Tia, Shama and kshitija were outstanding in their effort. To see some of these kids come out with such superlative effort testing physical and mental endurance, stamina time and again and coming out tops is extremely satisfying. I am extremely proud of them. Extremely proud is an understatement. Tia and Shama have done this before. To have these kids move from that experience to another level of experience, and though we were one hand short, we managed very well because of their previous experience.
Thankyou girls. I am really going to miss working with you.
Ofcourse, there was shradha and jahnavi who backed up very well. Rupali who dropped in in early stages to help with coding. Every bit helps.
But Tia, Shama and Kshitija - you were truly outstanding. I could not have asked for more !
And that's thanks to the wonderful team that i had with me. Tia, Shama and kshitija were outstanding in their effort. To see some of these kids come out with such superlative effort testing physical and mental endurance, stamina time and again and coming out tops is extremely satisfying. I am extremely proud of them. Extremely proud is an understatement. Tia and Shama have done this before. To have these kids move from that experience to another level of experience, and though we were one hand short, we managed very well because of their previous experience.
Thankyou girls. I am really going to miss working with you.
Ofcourse, there was shradha and jahnavi who backed up very well. Rupali who dropped in in early stages to help with coding. Every bit helps.
But Tia, Shama and Kshitija - you were truly outstanding. I could not have asked for more !
Monday, August 11, 2008
The School of Life
I'm a big fan of whacky educational spaces. I loved the classrooms in college mainly because of the totally inane graffiti that covered the walls, the high, high ceilings, the etchings on the desks....
Last night, while surfing for some information on philosopher and author Alain de Botton, I chanced upon a little line that stated that he had helped to found a university called 'The School of Life.'
Classes are held in an underground classroom in the back of a bookshop. The shop is part of the university and has shelves for 'those who want to change the world,' 'those who have recently fallen in love,' 'those with a short attention span' and so on. The five taught courses are family, work, play, love and politics.
How I would love to nonchalantly tell people I study in the School of Life, majoring in Love!!!
Aaaaaand....they have Bibliotherapy! Actual sessions where you outline your requirements and get a reading prescription. Doesn't that sound like us????
Go explore for yourselves!
Tis all very exciting!
Last night, while surfing for some information on philosopher and author Alain de Botton, I chanced upon a little line that stated that he had helped to found a university called 'The School of Life.'
Classes are held in an underground classroom in the back of a bookshop. The shop is part of the university and has shelves for 'those who want to change the world,' 'those who have recently fallen in love,' 'those with a short attention span' and so on. The five taught courses are family, work, play, love and politics.
How I would love to nonchalantly tell people I study in the School of Life, majoring in Love!!!
Aaaaaand....they have Bibliotherapy! Actual sessions where you outline your requirements and get a reading prescription. Doesn't that sound like us????
Go explore for yourselves!
Tis all very exciting!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The non-mistakes of his life !
Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program, Pune - 23rd June, 2008 – Chetan Bhagat Writer of 3 Mistakes of my life
Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.
Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.
I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?
Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.
To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.
Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good.If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.
Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.
One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.
I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge.And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.
Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India . From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result– at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.
Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India , so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.
There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.
I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.
Thank You.
Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.
Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.
I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?
Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.
To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.
Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good.If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.
Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.
One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.
I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge.And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.
Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India . From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result– at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.
Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India , so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.
There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.
I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.
Thank You.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Farewell Shama !
Shama walked in one day, knocking over a pen stand !
She asked about vacancies... she looked imploringly at Tia and Jahnavi, "don't you guys want to leave?".......
She waited patiently till it was time for Tia to go... I gave her a call. She was excited, but painfully shy. After a few days of "Punishment corner" (in tnt, all newcomers have a mandatory week long stint in the kids corner, so that they learn about kids books first), Shama needed goading. One customer a day, she had to walk up to and talk !
Today, we have to ask her to shut up ! Shama started "People love us" .... This is one activity that all tntians do. Look out for that one or two customers who have made that special effort to get here ... from bby, from nasik ... or those who remark on why they love to shop for books at our store.... everyday we have our "wow" moments .... record them in our notes .... and then, "people love us"
Shama hated notes. And she hated me writing them. Boss was banned from writing notes ! Shama loved the extra attention that her hair got in the Store !
But most of all, Shama was a willing worker, excited, full of energy. Shama has been our "Star of the Month" on atleast 3 to 4 occasions, but has steadfastly refused to allow me to announce it to the world. She has chipped in time and again when we have been short staffed. And anything was too complicated, everything else was COOL
As Shama goes back home intially, and then maybe bby, for us, memories remain. Shama @ Infy -"I have packed and shifted boxes all my life", @ tnt - writing reminders in her hand, her jokes, some of them on a very tiring day ... like in the truck back from Hinjewadi - her jokes helping us release stress !, lip balm, with animals, and most of all, illegible handwriting !
Shama, that we are going to miss you is known. But maybe now, your friends and family will find you more acceptable, you won't talk about the Store all the time !
She asked about vacancies... she looked imploringly at Tia and Jahnavi, "don't you guys want to leave?".......
She waited patiently till it was time for Tia to go... I gave her a call. She was excited, but painfully shy. After a few days of "Punishment corner" (in tnt, all newcomers have a mandatory week long stint in the kids corner, so that they learn about kids books first), Shama needed goading. One customer a day, she had to walk up to and talk !
Today, we have to ask her to shut up ! Shama started "People love us" .... This is one activity that all tntians do. Look out for that one or two customers who have made that special effort to get here ... from bby, from nasik ... or those who remark on why they love to shop for books at our store.... everyday we have our "wow" moments .... record them in our notes .... and then, "people love us"
Shama hated notes. And she hated me writing them. Boss was banned from writing notes ! Shama loved the extra attention that her hair got in the Store !
But most of all, Shama was a willing worker, excited, full of energy. Shama has been our "Star of the Month" on atleast 3 to 4 occasions, but has steadfastly refused to allow me to announce it to the world. She has chipped in time and again when we have been short staffed. And anything was too complicated, everything else was COOL
As Shama goes back home intially, and then maybe bby, for us, memories remain. Shama @ Infy -"I have packed and shifted boxes all my life", @ tnt - writing reminders in her hand, her jokes, some of them on a very tiring day ... like in the truck back from Hinjewadi - her jokes helping us release stress !, lip balm, with animals, and most of all, illegible handwriting !
Shama, that we are going to miss you is known. But maybe now, your friends and family will find you more acceptable, you won't talk about the Store all the time !
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Fantastic books for you !
Message sent to twistntales@yahoogroups.com on 16th July, 2008Welcome to another round of some very inspirational, hardly known books. Again, lovingly reviewed.
Just a word here about our reviewers. We have a few young folks, some students, all of them who work part-time at the Store, all of whom come from different disciplines of study.
Sonali, who works weekends is a science and math person, but with an insatiable curiosity for everything! From gardening to cuisines, she is the person who thinks up the quips for the blackboard outside. She writes with flair and élan.
Tia, who loves to read and write! Though she’s finished with us almost a year back, she keeps coming back to add love and flavour to our reviews! Jahnavi, who too finished with us last year, is back again for another short stint. While both love chick lit, and all genres of fiction, Tia particularly excels and writes with great sensitivity on femininst, hope, healing and nurturing books.
The others Shama, Shradha, Kshitija and yours truly, add our two bits when it comes to books of our choice. This month will also see a send-off to Shama (standing red hair? remember?), as she leaves Pune to go home after her graduation. We are going to miss Shama (and all her jokes), who has now been with us for little over a year. Good luck, Shama, we hope you do “the coming back” stints like the others as well! All these youngsters add a lot of joy and charm to our bookstore, and we hate to see them move away!!
Now we go to the main purpose of this mail!
New Arrivals:
Personalities:
“Unbowed: One Woman’s Journey” by Wangari Maathai @ Rs.360/-(295 pgs)
‘How I longed to able to write something and rub it out. When I finally learnt to read and write, I never stopped, because I could read, I could write and I could rub.’
Born in the Kenyan Highlands, Wangari Maathai was educated in the United States and became the first woman in East and Central Africa to gain a Doctorate, in 1971. Later, she founded the Green Belt Movement, Kenya’s famous environment and human rights campaigning group. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
“Unbowed” is the story of the woman behind the degree, the individual behind the organization. Maathai writes lovingly of her native Kenya, of listening to the birds around her home and a stream named Kanungu where she would gather firewood for the house. She writes of ‘taking America back to Kenya with her’:
‘There is a persistence, a seriousness, and a vision to America: It seems to know where it is going, and it will go in that direction, whether you like it or not.’
This perseverance and direction would be her backbone through a tenuous future.
Filled with fertility and charisma, spanning different worlds and changing times, Maathai’s writing is the story of planting and nurturing, in every way we can.
“The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” by Barack Obama @ Rs.250/-(362 pgs)
Barack Obama is known in his public life as a US Senator and now as a Presidential hopeful. In “The Audacity of Hope,” Obama brings his personal to American politics. Writing on issues such as faith, opportunity, values and of course hope, Obama’s prose is frank and filled with humility.
He writes, not simply as a man of politics, but as a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic. He defines himself as ‘pro-choice’ above all else, and his writing is mostly shorn of ‘political language.’ His ‘hope’ is backed up by solid, humane solutions and a clear vision.
Perhaps the most striking factor of Obama’s writing is its empathy:
‘One thing about being a U.S. Senator – you fly a lot.
…but there are things you can’t see at 40,000 feet.’A dreamer, a doer, a man whose diplomacy is balanced with sincerity, one who is unabashedly in touch with his feelings, “The Audacity of Hope” is filled with Obama’s hope of what he might bring to his country.
“Barack Obama: In His Own Words edited by Lisa Rogak @ Rs.425/-(166 pgs)
‘I’m certainly black enough to have trouble catching a cab in New York City.’
Since delivering his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama has been hailed as the clear saviour of not only the Democratic Party but also the integrity of American politics.
This book of quotes from the presidential candidate allows those who aren’t as familiar with his politics to learn quickly where he stands on a range of issues facing America, from abortion, Afghanistan, immigration and nuclear weapons to religion and the ‘war on terror.’
SocioEcoPol:
“Descent into Chaos: How the War against Islamic extremism is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia” by Ahmed Rashid @ Rs.495/-(404 pgs)
Since 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, the West has been fighting a ‘War on Terror’, through force, and through the building of new societies in the region. Having reported from Central Asia for a quarter of a century, Ahmed Rashid shows clearly why the war in Iraq is just a sideshow to the main event. Rather, it is Pakistan, Afghanistan and the five Central Asian states that make up the crisis zone, for it is here that terrorism and Islamic extremism is growing stronger. Rashid brings into focus the role of many regional issues in supporting extremism, from nuclear programmes to local rivalries, ineffectual peace-keeping to tyrannical rulers.
With unparalleled access and intimate knowledge of the political players, “Descent into Chaos” chronicles with chilling accuracy why Islamic extremism is now stronger than ever
“A Journey Interrupted: Being Indian in Pakistan” by Farzana Versey @ Rs.295/- (279 pgs)
‘You need not be deported,’ said the retired army general.
What follows is not deportation, but the beginning of an exploration that is nuanced by the identity of the narrator: an Indian Muslim woman travelling alone in a space notoriously difficult to negotiate vis-Ã -vis its history and politics.
In the course of her journey, at times interrupted, through the cities of Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, Farzana Versey finds herself struggling with her own identity.
‘When I was on the soil of the land of the pure, my impurity struck me. I was the emotional mulatto,’ she writes.
The author weaves together vignettes of living and travelling in a complex society where the personal becomes the political, eventually painting a picture of a changing nation with a unique mix of religious tradition and barely-in-check liberalism.
“The Post-American World” by Fareed Zakaria @ Rs.499/-(259 pgs)
For Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, the great story of our times is ‘the rise of the rest’ – the growth of countries like India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Kenya, which is generating a new global landscape. Global power is shifting, and wealth and innovation are bubbling up in unexpected places: the tallest buildings, biggest dams and top-selling movies are all being built or made outside the United States.
The current political debate in much of the first world is utterly out of touch with this broad development, obsessed with issues like terrorism, immigration and economic panics.
Zakaria draws on lessons from the two great power-shifts of the past 500 years – the rise of the Western world and the rise of the United States – to tell us what we can expect from the third shift.
As the political role of the US shrinks, Washington needs to move towards sharing power, building legitimacy and creating coalitions – for the future the world faces is the post-American world.
“Seeking Begumpura: The Social Vision of Anti-Caste Intellectuals” by Gail Omvedt @ Rs.400/-(275 pgs)
Emphasizing the continued relevance of the anti-caste intellectuals in the era of globalization, the author compacts the product of five years of research and writing in this book .With extensive studies on the subject of ‘Utopia’ as imagined by the visionaries spanning five centuries, the book unfolds the simplistic ideals that these visionaries earmarked for a society that would be a level playing field for one and all. With Dnyan and Bhaktibhav (reason and ecstasy) as the underlying themes in this book, the author packs in some wonderful translations of significant literary works of Chokhamela, Janabai, Kabir, Tukaram, Periyar Pandita Ramabai and Ambedkar.
Inspiration:
“The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea” by Bob Burg and John David Mann @ Rs.225/-(127 pgs)
“The Go-Giver” tells the story of Joe, a true go-getter. Joe yearns for success, but feels as though the harder he works, the further he gets away from his goals. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from a legendary consultant known simply as the ‘Chairman.’
Over the next week, the Chairman introduces Joe to a series of ‘go-givers’: a CEO, a financial adviser, a real estate broker, and the ‘Connector’ who brought them together.
With them, Joe learns the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success, and how to open himself up to the power of giving.
Imparted with wit and grace, “The Go-Giver” is a tale about putting others interests first and continually adding value to their lives.
“Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons for the Young Professional” by Subroto Bagchi @ Rs.399/-(237 pgs)
‘Go, kiss the world’ were Subroto Bagchi’s blind mother’s last words to him. They were to become to guiding principle of his life.
On the strength of these words, he went from humble origins to extraordinary professional success. In “Go Kiss the World” he writes of the ‘personal-ness’ of his success. He attributes his sense of wonder, his desire for connectedness to a larger whole to his simple upbringing. He urges us to remember that it is the ability to include, and not merely intellect that makes a leader.
‘You build ingenuity in order to survive,’ writes Bagchi.
‘You trust strangers and, hence, strangers trust you.
You become an interesting person, because you have lots of stories to tell.
Finally, you learn to move on…’
With the simplicity and gentle teaching that characterized “The High Performance Entrepreneur,” Subroto Bagchi shares the warmth that he has put into each moment of his work.
Management :
“Butterflies Be Gone: A Hands-On Approach to Sweat-Proof Public Speaking” by Arthur H. Bell @ Rs.250/-(122 pgs)
Speaker’s nerves!
For many of us, those words spell disaster. Whether it’s giving a speech to a conference room full of colleagues or socializing at a party, speaker’s nerves can be uncomfortable at best, and career-damaging at worst.
An accomplished speech coach to thousands, Dr. Arthur Bell uses tested techniques, probing quizzes and real-life anecdotes from fellow sufferers to teach you how to get over that churning stomach and those sweaty palms.
“Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron Mcmillan and Al Switzler @ Rs.275/-(228 pgs)
“Crucial Conversations” gives you the tools to handle life’s most difficult and important conversations, say what’s on your mind and achieve positive outcomes.
You’ll learn how to:
• Make it safe to talk about almost anything
• Be persuasive, not abrasive
• Turn crucial conversations into the action and results you want
So pick a relationship, a crucial conversation today, and put your best into it.
“Redefining Global Strategy: Crossing Borders in a World Where Differences Still Matter” by Pankaj Ghemawat @ Rs.695/-(230 pgs)
In our supposedly globalized economy, businesses are advised to charge across borders as if the whole world were one seamless, flat marketplace. Ghemawat argues that the world is ‘semiglobalized.’ Through accessible, fact-driven analysis, he explains how the global business environment is defined by the differences that arise at borders.
“Redefining Global Strategy” offers a reality-based view of globalization – and practical tools to help your business cross borders profitably.
“The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders At All Levels” by Michael D. Watkins @ Rs.695/-(240 pgs)
You’ve just been promoted to a new leadership position. You’re not sure of the challenges or how you will meet them. All you know that you have three months to get on top of the job – or fail.
This book is your road map for taking charge quickly and effectively during critical career transition periods.
Written by noted leadership transition expert Michael Watkins, “The First 90 Days” outlines proven strategies that will dramatically shorten the time it takes to reach what Watkins calls ‘breakeven point’: the point at which your organization needs you as much as you need the job.
Whether you are charged with launching a start-up or sustaining a high-performing unit, this book will help you to develop a transition acceleration plan that is tailored to your situation.
“The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage” by Robert Kaplan and David Norton @ Rs.1810/- (320pgs)
Tackling the issue of developing a system to manage and execute important strategies bang on, this book ,by its six step process aims to teach us how to (a)Develop a strategy by clarifying goals and conducting strategic analysis,(b) Plan your strategy by selecting theme based measures, targets and initiatives, (c) Align organizational units and employees to your strategy, (d)Plan operations through priority setting and resource allocation,(e) Monitor and learn from operations and strategy and (f) test and adapt your strategy.
To oversee all these processes, the authors introduce the ‘Office of Strategy management’-which serves as a sort of a orchestra leader to result in an organization that gains a real execution premium by being able to quickly and reliably execute its strategy.
“Financial Planning: A Ready Reckoner” by Madhu Sinha @ Rs.345/- (270pgs)
“Financial Planning” is meant for lay investors, financial planners and students pursuing courses on financial planning. The book includes solved problems on retirement planning and over 350 questions and answers of the time value of money. Besides these, it dwells on mutual funds and other investment products currently available.
Madhu Sinha has been counselling numerous investors on financial planning and brings to her book a distillate of her ‘rich’ experience.
“Cases in Entrepreneurship: The Venture Creation Process” by Eric Morse and Ronald Mitchell @ Rs.495/- (427pgs)
“Cases in Entrepreneurship” is the first book to be based on a cognitive framework of entrepreneurship. From searching for venture opportunities to financing to harvesting the value created in the business, this is a canny and systematic study of the steps towards a successful venture creation.
Fiction:
“Chasing Harry Winston” by Lauren Weisberger @ Rs.195/-(278 pgs)
From the author of “The Devil Wears Prada” comes the story of three best friends and their pact to change their lives over the course of a year. Over raspberry mojitos one night, Emmy vows to find a man on every continent for some no-strings fun while Adriana is determined to secure a five-carat Harry Winston diamond on her fourth finger. Leigh on the other hand, has a gorgeous boyfriend and a great job. So what needs to change? Maybe literary bad boy Jesse Chapman can help her to figure it out. Sassy and insightful, this is the perfect pick-me-up for blue days.
“A House in the Old Style” by Ananda Mukerji @ Rs.295/-(311 pgs)
‘Caught between tradition and the new ideas from the West, our behaviour could be quite unpredictable, the queer, tangential outcome of the pulls and pushes of our inner tensions.’
Youngest-uncle, octogenarian and master-storyteller, is the cherished eldest member of his deceased brother’s family, and lives with his large extended family in an old colonial mansion in Allahabad. The stories of his youth are a great hit with the children of the house.
Then Swapan, his corporate son, comes home for the Durga Puja festivities and feels duty-bound to take his father away with him, into the tightly nuclear confines of his own family.
But can stories survive away from the comfort and courtesies of a traditional Prabashi household?
“A House in the Old Style” is a gently humorous novel about the pleasures and disappointments of an old-fashioned family with old-world values. Most of all, it is about stories and storytelling, and how the stories within us grow with every human life that touches our own.
Young Adults:
“Teen Ink: Our Voices, Our Visions” edited by Stephanie H. Meyer and John Meyer @ Rs.250/-(323 pgs)
Edited by the founders of The Young Author’s Foundation, “Teen Ink” has been showcasing the work of more than 25,000 teens since 1989. This collection of poetry, prose and artwork brims with the enthusiasm, anxieties and challenges that the teenage years bring. From first love to first loss to highest achievement, this book celebrates teenager-hood in the tradition of the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul books.
“Double Click: A Foxy 4 Adventure” by Subhadra Sen Gupta @ Rs.195/-(169 pgs)
At St. Teresa convent, in the bustling heart of NewDelhi, reign the foxy four. Mandy –with fashion as her passion, Padma-the computer nerd, Jahan-the mobike loving racing queen and Charu-who considers her presence in the group is totally essential because they’re all so crazy! The favourite extra curricular activity of this daring foursome is solving mysteries and in this book they’re bang on the trail of the cruel schemers who have abducted their classmate Simran. Weird phone calls, cryptic entries in a diary, searches in the bylanes of Old Delhi, run –ins with different sort of people add adventure to this read…catch up gals!
Other new books at the Store:
“A Bear for Felicia” by Jerry Pinto @ Rs.150/-
“A Blue Hand: The Beats in India” by Deborah Baker @ Rs.499/-
“The Words of Gandhi” Selected and with an introduction by Richard Attenborough @ Rs.175/-
“Ping: A Frog in Search of a New Pond” by Stuart Avery Gold @ Rs.95/-
“Self Portrait Che Guevara” by Ernesto Che Guevara @ Rs.695/-
“Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth” by Rick Riordan @ Rs.350/-
“Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving and Listening” by Daniel Gottlieb @ Rs.395/-
“A Golfer’s Logbook” by Lee Pearce @ Rs.750/-
“Stage Directions: Writing on Theatre 1970-2008” by Michael Frayn @ Rs.1335/-
“Why is God Laughing?” by Deepak Chopra @ Rs.445/-
“The Five Rules of Thought: How to Use the Power of Your Mind to Get What You Want” by Mary T. Browne @ Rs.520/-
“Diamonds, Gold and War: The Making of South Africa” by Martin Meredith @ Rs.600/-
“Tree of Smoke” by Dennis Johnson @ Rs.535/-
“Inheritor Industrialists: Secrets of their Success” by Raghu Palat @ Rs.175/-
“The Star Principle: How It Can Make You Rich” Richard Koch @ Rs.595/-
“Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be) Longing In Contemporary India” by Parmesh Shahani @ Rs.395/-
“Bombay Rains, Bombay Girls” by Anirban Bose @ Rs.195/-
“The Zoya Factor” by Anuja Chauhan @ Rs. 295/-
Happy Reading, and see you at the Store,
From the team at,
twistntales
Just a word here about our reviewers. We have a few young folks, some students, all of them who work part-time at the Store, all of whom come from different disciplines of study.
Sonali, who works weekends is a science and math person, but with an insatiable curiosity for everything! From gardening to cuisines, she is the person who thinks up the quips for the blackboard outside. She writes with flair and élan.
Tia, who loves to read and write! Though she’s finished with us almost a year back, she keeps coming back to add love and flavour to our reviews! Jahnavi, who too finished with us last year, is back again for another short stint. While both love chick lit, and all genres of fiction, Tia particularly excels and writes with great sensitivity on femininst, hope, healing and nurturing books.
The others Shama, Shradha, Kshitija and yours truly, add our two bits when it comes to books of our choice. This month will also see a send-off to Shama (standing red hair? remember?), as she leaves Pune to go home after her graduation. We are going to miss Shama (and all her jokes), who has now been with us for little over a year. Good luck, Shama, we hope you do “the coming back” stints like the others as well! All these youngsters add a lot of joy and charm to our bookstore, and we hate to see them move away!!
Now we go to the main purpose of this mail!
New Arrivals:
Personalities:
“Unbowed: One Woman’s Journey” by Wangari Maathai @ Rs.360/-(295 pgs)
‘How I longed to able to write something and rub it out. When I finally learnt to read and write, I never stopped, because I could read, I could write and I could rub.’
Born in the Kenyan Highlands, Wangari Maathai was educated in the United States and became the first woman in East and Central Africa to gain a Doctorate, in 1971. Later, she founded the Green Belt Movement, Kenya’s famous environment and human rights campaigning group. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
“Unbowed” is the story of the woman behind the degree, the individual behind the organization. Maathai writes lovingly of her native Kenya, of listening to the birds around her home and a stream named Kanungu where she would gather firewood for the house. She writes of ‘taking America back to Kenya with her’:
‘There is a persistence, a seriousness, and a vision to America: It seems to know where it is going, and it will go in that direction, whether you like it or not.’
This perseverance and direction would be her backbone through a tenuous future.
Filled with fertility and charisma, spanning different worlds and changing times, Maathai’s writing is the story of planting and nurturing, in every way we can.
“The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” by Barack Obama @ Rs.250/-(362 pgs)
Barack Obama is known in his public life as a US Senator and now as a Presidential hopeful. In “The Audacity of Hope,” Obama brings his personal to American politics. Writing on issues such as faith, opportunity, values and of course hope, Obama’s prose is frank and filled with humility.
He writes, not simply as a man of politics, but as a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic. He defines himself as ‘pro-choice’ above all else, and his writing is mostly shorn of ‘political language.’ His ‘hope’ is backed up by solid, humane solutions and a clear vision.
Perhaps the most striking factor of Obama’s writing is its empathy:
‘One thing about being a U.S. Senator – you fly a lot.
…but there are things you can’t see at 40,000 feet.’A dreamer, a doer, a man whose diplomacy is balanced with sincerity, one who is unabashedly in touch with his feelings, “The Audacity of Hope” is filled with Obama’s hope of what he might bring to his country.
“Barack Obama: In His Own Words edited by Lisa Rogak @ Rs.425/-(166 pgs)
‘I’m certainly black enough to have trouble catching a cab in New York City.’
Since delivering his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama has been hailed as the clear saviour of not only the Democratic Party but also the integrity of American politics.
This book of quotes from the presidential candidate allows those who aren’t as familiar with his politics to learn quickly where he stands on a range of issues facing America, from abortion, Afghanistan, immigration and nuclear weapons to religion and the ‘war on terror.’
SocioEcoPol:
“Descent into Chaos: How the War against Islamic extremism is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia” by Ahmed Rashid @ Rs.495/-(404 pgs)
Since 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, the West has been fighting a ‘War on Terror’, through force, and through the building of new societies in the region. Having reported from Central Asia for a quarter of a century, Ahmed Rashid shows clearly why the war in Iraq is just a sideshow to the main event. Rather, it is Pakistan, Afghanistan and the five Central Asian states that make up the crisis zone, for it is here that terrorism and Islamic extremism is growing stronger. Rashid brings into focus the role of many regional issues in supporting extremism, from nuclear programmes to local rivalries, ineffectual peace-keeping to tyrannical rulers.
With unparalleled access and intimate knowledge of the political players, “Descent into Chaos” chronicles with chilling accuracy why Islamic extremism is now stronger than ever
“A Journey Interrupted: Being Indian in Pakistan” by Farzana Versey @ Rs.295/- (279 pgs)
‘You need not be deported,’ said the retired army general.
What follows is not deportation, but the beginning of an exploration that is nuanced by the identity of the narrator: an Indian Muslim woman travelling alone in a space notoriously difficult to negotiate vis-Ã -vis its history and politics.
In the course of her journey, at times interrupted, through the cities of Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, Farzana Versey finds herself struggling with her own identity.
‘When I was on the soil of the land of the pure, my impurity struck me. I was the emotional mulatto,’ she writes.
The author weaves together vignettes of living and travelling in a complex society where the personal becomes the political, eventually painting a picture of a changing nation with a unique mix of religious tradition and barely-in-check liberalism.
“The Post-American World” by Fareed Zakaria @ Rs.499/-(259 pgs)
For Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, the great story of our times is ‘the rise of the rest’ – the growth of countries like India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Kenya, which is generating a new global landscape. Global power is shifting, and wealth and innovation are bubbling up in unexpected places: the tallest buildings, biggest dams and top-selling movies are all being built or made outside the United States.
The current political debate in much of the first world is utterly out of touch with this broad development, obsessed with issues like terrorism, immigration and economic panics.
Zakaria draws on lessons from the two great power-shifts of the past 500 years – the rise of the Western world and the rise of the United States – to tell us what we can expect from the third shift.
As the political role of the US shrinks, Washington needs to move towards sharing power, building legitimacy and creating coalitions – for the future the world faces is the post-American world.
“Seeking Begumpura: The Social Vision of Anti-Caste Intellectuals” by Gail Omvedt @ Rs.400/-(275 pgs)
Emphasizing the continued relevance of the anti-caste intellectuals in the era of globalization, the author compacts the product of five years of research and writing in this book .With extensive studies on the subject of ‘Utopia’ as imagined by the visionaries spanning five centuries, the book unfolds the simplistic ideals that these visionaries earmarked for a society that would be a level playing field for one and all. With Dnyan and Bhaktibhav (reason and ecstasy) as the underlying themes in this book, the author packs in some wonderful translations of significant literary works of Chokhamela, Janabai, Kabir, Tukaram, Periyar Pandita Ramabai and Ambedkar.
Inspiration:
“The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea” by Bob Burg and John David Mann @ Rs.225/-(127 pgs)
“The Go-Giver” tells the story of Joe, a true go-getter. Joe yearns for success, but feels as though the harder he works, the further he gets away from his goals. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from a legendary consultant known simply as the ‘Chairman.’
Over the next week, the Chairman introduces Joe to a series of ‘go-givers’: a CEO, a financial adviser, a real estate broker, and the ‘Connector’ who brought them together.
With them, Joe learns the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success, and how to open himself up to the power of giving.
Imparted with wit and grace, “The Go-Giver” is a tale about putting others interests first and continually adding value to their lives.
“Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons for the Young Professional” by Subroto Bagchi @ Rs.399/-(237 pgs)
‘Go, kiss the world’ were Subroto Bagchi’s blind mother’s last words to him. They were to become to guiding principle of his life.
On the strength of these words, he went from humble origins to extraordinary professional success. In “Go Kiss the World” he writes of the ‘personal-ness’ of his success. He attributes his sense of wonder, his desire for connectedness to a larger whole to his simple upbringing. He urges us to remember that it is the ability to include, and not merely intellect that makes a leader.
‘You build ingenuity in order to survive,’ writes Bagchi.
‘You trust strangers and, hence, strangers trust you.
You become an interesting person, because you have lots of stories to tell.
Finally, you learn to move on…’
With the simplicity and gentle teaching that characterized “The High Performance Entrepreneur,” Subroto Bagchi shares the warmth that he has put into each moment of his work.
Management :
“Butterflies Be Gone: A Hands-On Approach to Sweat-Proof Public Speaking” by Arthur H. Bell @ Rs.250/-(122 pgs)
Speaker’s nerves!
For many of us, those words spell disaster. Whether it’s giving a speech to a conference room full of colleagues or socializing at a party, speaker’s nerves can be uncomfortable at best, and career-damaging at worst.
An accomplished speech coach to thousands, Dr. Arthur Bell uses tested techniques, probing quizzes and real-life anecdotes from fellow sufferers to teach you how to get over that churning stomach and those sweaty palms.
“Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron Mcmillan and Al Switzler @ Rs.275/-(228 pgs)
“Crucial Conversations” gives you the tools to handle life’s most difficult and important conversations, say what’s on your mind and achieve positive outcomes.
You’ll learn how to:
• Make it safe to talk about almost anything
• Be persuasive, not abrasive
• Turn crucial conversations into the action and results you want
So pick a relationship, a crucial conversation today, and put your best into it.
“Redefining Global Strategy: Crossing Borders in a World Where Differences Still Matter” by Pankaj Ghemawat @ Rs.695/-(230 pgs)
In our supposedly globalized economy, businesses are advised to charge across borders as if the whole world were one seamless, flat marketplace. Ghemawat argues that the world is ‘semiglobalized.’ Through accessible, fact-driven analysis, he explains how the global business environment is defined by the differences that arise at borders.
“Redefining Global Strategy” offers a reality-based view of globalization – and practical tools to help your business cross borders profitably.
“The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders At All Levels” by Michael D. Watkins @ Rs.695/-(240 pgs)
You’ve just been promoted to a new leadership position. You’re not sure of the challenges or how you will meet them. All you know that you have three months to get on top of the job – or fail.
This book is your road map for taking charge quickly and effectively during critical career transition periods.
Written by noted leadership transition expert Michael Watkins, “The First 90 Days” outlines proven strategies that will dramatically shorten the time it takes to reach what Watkins calls ‘breakeven point’: the point at which your organization needs you as much as you need the job.
Whether you are charged with launching a start-up or sustaining a high-performing unit, this book will help you to develop a transition acceleration plan that is tailored to your situation.
“The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage” by Robert Kaplan and David Norton @ Rs.1810/- (320pgs)
Tackling the issue of developing a system to manage and execute important strategies bang on, this book ,by its six step process aims to teach us how to (a)Develop a strategy by clarifying goals and conducting strategic analysis,(b) Plan your strategy by selecting theme based measures, targets and initiatives, (c) Align organizational units and employees to your strategy, (d)Plan operations through priority setting and resource allocation,(e) Monitor and learn from operations and strategy and (f) test and adapt your strategy.
To oversee all these processes, the authors introduce the ‘Office of Strategy management’-which serves as a sort of a orchestra leader to result in an organization that gains a real execution premium by being able to quickly and reliably execute its strategy.
“Financial Planning: A Ready Reckoner” by Madhu Sinha @ Rs.345/- (270pgs)
“Financial Planning” is meant for lay investors, financial planners and students pursuing courses on financial planning. The book includes solved problems on retirement planning and over 350 questions and answers of the time value of money. Besides these, it dwells on mutual funds and other investment products currently available.
Madhu Sinha has been counselling numerous investors on financial planning and brings to her book a distillate of her ‘rich’ experience.
“Cases in Entrepreneurship: The Venture Creation Process” by Eric Morse and Ronald Mitchell @ Rs.495/- (427pgs)
“Cases in Entrepreneurship” is the first book to be based on a cognitive framework of entrepreneurship. From searching for venture opportunities to financing to harvesting the value created in the business, this is a canny and systematic study of the steps towards a successful venture creation.
Fiction:
“Chasing Harry Winston” by Lauren Weisberger @ Rs.195/-(278 pgs)
From the author of “The Devil Wears Prada” comes the story of three best friends and their pact to change their lives over the course of a year. Over raspberry mojitos one night, Emmy vows to find a man on every continent for some no-strings fun while Adriana is determined to secure a five-carat Harry Winston diamond on her fourth finger. Leigh on the other hand, has a gorgeous boyfriend and a great job. So what needs to change? Maybe literary bad boy Jesse Chapman can help her to figure it out. Sassy and insightful, this is the perfect pick-me-up for blue days.
“A House in the Old Style” by Ananda Mukerji @ Rs.295/-(311 pgs)
‘Caught between tradition and the new ideas from the West, our behaviour could be quite unpredictable, the queer, tangential outcome of the pulls and pushes of our inner tensions.’
Youngest-uncle, octogenarian and master-storyteller, is the cherished eldest member of his deceased brother’s family, and lives with his large extended family in an old colonial mansion in Allahabad. The stories of his youth are a great hit with the children of the house.
Then Swapan, his corporate son, comes home for the Durga Puja festivities and feels duty-bound to take his father away with him, into the tightly nuclear confines of his own family.
But can stories survive away from the comfort and courtesies of a traditional Prabashi household?
“A House in the Old Style” is a gently humorous novel about the pleasures and disappointments of an old-fashioned family with old-world values. Most of all, it is about stories and storytelling, and how the stories within us grow with every human life that touches our own.
Young Adults:
“Teen Ink: Our Voices, Our Visions” edited by Stephanie H. Meyer and John Meyer @ Rs.250/-(323 pgs)
Edited by the founders of The Young Author’s Foundation, “Teen Ink” has been showcasing the work of more than 25,000 teens since 1989. This collection of poetry, prose and artwork brims with the enthusiasm, anxieties and challenges that the teenage years bring. From first love to first loss to highest achievement, this book celebrates teenager-hood in the tradition of the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul books.
“Double Click: A Foxy 4 Adventure” by Subhadra Sen Gupta @ Rs.195/-(169 pgs)
At St. Teresa convent, in the bustling heart of NewDelhi, reign the foxy four. Mandy –with fashion as her passion, Padma-the computer nerd, Jahan-the mobike loving racing queen and Charu-who considers her presence in the group is totally essential because they’re all so crazy! The favourite extra curricular activity of this daring foursome is solving mysteries and in this book they’re bang on the trail of the cruel schemers who have abducted their classmate Simran. Weird phone calls, cryptic entries in a diary, searches in the bylanes of Old Delhi, run –ins with different sort of people add adventure to this read…catch up gals!
Other new books at the Store:
“A Bear for Felicia” by Jerry Pinto @ Rs.150/-
“A Blue Hand: The Beats in India” by Deborah Baker @ Rs.499/-
“The Words of Gandhi” Selected and with an introduction by Richard Attenborough @ Rs.175/-
“Ping: A Frog in Search of a New Pond” by Stuart Avery Gold @ Rs.95/-
“Self Portrait Che Guevara” by Ernesto Che Guevara @ Rs.695/-
“Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth” by Rick Riordan @ Rs.350/-
“Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving and Listening” by Daniel Gottlieb @ Rs.395/-
“A Golfer’s Logbook” by Lee Pearce @ Rs.750/-
“Stage Directions: Writing on Theatre 1970-2008” by Michael Frayn @ Rs.1335/-
“Why is God Laughing?” by Deepak Chopra @ Rs.445/-
“The Five Rules of Thought: How to Use the Power of Your Mind to Get What You Want” by Mary T. Browne @ Rs.520/-
“Diamonds, Gold and War: The Making of South Africa” by Martin Meredith @ Rs.600/-
“Tree of Smoke” by Dennis Johnson @ Rs.535/-
“Inheritor Industrialists: Secrets of their Success” by Raghu Palat @ Rs.175/-
“The Star Principle: How It Can Make You Rich” Richard Koch @ Rs.595/-
“Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be) Longing In Contemporary India” by Parmesh Shahani @ Rs.395/-
“Bombay Rains, Bombay Girls” by Anirban Bose @ Rs.195/-
“The Zoya Factor” by Anuja Chauhan @ Rs. 295/-
Happy Reading, and see you at the Store,
From the team at,
twistntales
Friday, July 4, 2008
Lively exciting lovely books !
Message sent to twistntales@yahoogroups.com on 4th July, 2008
Hi all,
Welcome to another round of lively exciting books, all lovingly reviewed for your reading pleasure. These and more at the Store!
We have added quite a few business books, especially in the areas of HR, business biographies and case studies. A few are listed below, but drop in for a wider selection.
New Arrivals:
Fiction:
“The Gravedigger’s Daughter” by Joyce Carol Oates @ Rs.295/- (582 pgs)
Hazel Jones and her young son Zacharias are liked and admired by all they meet – but they inspire curiosity too. Why is Zach forbidden to mention his father, and how did Hazel get the scars on her forehead which she takes such pains to hide? Why do they roam from place to place, settling nowhere and confiding in no one?
Because Hazel Jones wasn’t always Hazel Jones. Once she was Rebecca Schwart, daughter of German asylum seekers who fled to the US to escape the Nazis. Her father, hampered by language and chained to poverty, could only find work as a gravedigger. “The Gravedigger’s Daughter” explores the darkness that lurked on the other side of the American dream and the desperation that follows daily destitution. It is the story of one woman’s struggle to re-build herself against the crushing pressures of her past and to survive the aftermath of a life once lived.
“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker @ Rs.295/- (262 pgs)
Set in the deep American South between the wars, this is the tale of Celie, a young black woman born into poverty and segregation.
Raped repeatedly by the man she calls ‘father,’ she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Netty and trapped in an ugly marriage. Then she meets Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker – a woman in charge of her own destiny.
“The Colour Purple” is a salute to the human spirit, to the joy of discovering the beauty that comes with courage and living intensely. Celie, her pain, her discoveries, the resurrection of her spirit are magnified in their intensity. Black, poor and abused, she is the victim of a world where males and white skin are in power. Celie’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes of her past make for a gritty, achingly beautiful narrative, a celebration of the senses and the soul.
“Wolf Totem” by Jiang Rong @ Rs.505/- (524 pgs)
Beijing intellectual Chen Zhen volunteers to live in a remote, nomadic settlement on the borders of Inner and Outer Mongolia. There, he discovers an apparently idyllic, simple life based on the struggle between humans and the wild wolves who roam the plains. Chen learns about the rich, spiritual relationship that exists between these two adversaries, and what each might learn from the other. But when members of the People’s Republic swarm in from the cities to bring modernity and productivity to the grasslands, the peace of Chen’s solitary existence is shattered and the delicate balance between wolves and humans is destroyed. Set in the 1960’s, the heyday for the people of the Inner Mongolian grasslands, “Wolf Totem” celebrates a time when an age-old balance based on culture and tradition was maintained between man and animal. It is at once an evocative portrayal of a land and culture that no longer exists and a powerful insight into modern China, its history and its people.
“Rubbish Boyfriends (for anyone who’s kissed a lot of frogs)” by Jessie Jones @ Rs.225/- (436 pgs)
Everyone’s had rubbish boyfriends, but Dayna Harris has had enough to fill a skip. Now, in the throes of labour, she reflects on boyfriends past.
There’s…
Chris: Intelligent and sensitive. An aspiring rock star. As if…
Archie: Brimming with rough-diamond charm. Until Dayna discovers his true colours.
Mark: Kind to kittens and children. But what’s he hiding?
Cristian: A prince among men. Surely he’s The One? He even gives Dayna the ring to prove it!
This is a fun, frothy romp about navigating your way through relationships while trying to live life on your own terms.
“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Mohammed Hanif @ Rs.395/- (295 pgs)
I know I am saluting a bunch of dead men. But if you are in uniform, you salute. That’s all there is to it.
June 1988, Pakistan
General Zia is convinced there is a plot to kill him and barricades himself within the Army House, his official residence. There are plenty of people who might want him dead.
There are three army generals growing old waiting for their promotions.There is the CIA, the ISI and the RAW.And there is Ali Shigri, a junior officer at the military academy whose father has been murdered by the army.
Two months later, Zia gets into the presidential plane, Pak One, which explodes midway. Which of the plotters have succeeded?
Mohammed Hanif delivers a sharp, gripping debut, inventive and filled with suspense.
“Bone China” by Roma Tearne @ Rs.295/- (400 pgs)
Grace de Silva, wife of the shiftless but charming Aloysius, has five children and a crumbling marriage. Outside her family, civil unrest is stirring in Sri Lanka, and soon, the tensions begin to seep into each other as four of Grace’s children make the decision to leave home. But once in London, the de Silvas are all homesick in their own ways for life is not what they expected. It is only Anna-Meeka, Grace’s granddaughter, who embraces life’s possibilities, but even she must weather heartbreak and mistakes before she can acknowledge the place she has come from, and the person she has become.
A story of displacement and human development, of personal history and migration “Bone China” moves gently amongst three generations of de Silvas, carrying their struggles to preserve the old and imbibe the new, and the frailty of the idea of ‘home.’
“Happiness and Other Disorders” by Ahmad Saidullah @ Rs.299/- (255pgs)
Born in Ottawa, with a childhood spent in India and now living in Canada, The author was named a’ New Voice in Fiction’ by New York’s L Magazine. With many an award winning short stories in his repertoire, this book holds one of his finest collections of ten short stories. With a sensitivity that goes straight to heart, his narrations empathize with characters torn apart by violence and oppression. They are about a caste cursed old man devoted to his ‘holy’ cow, a simple man waylaid by mercenaries to commit a murder –with fatal consequences, a young girl with a split personality and more varying subjects. The last story also the title of the book is a witty, six paged single paragraph essaying an editors back problem.
“Keep off the Grass” by Karan Bajaj @ Rs.195/- (259 pgs) (Indian Writing)What do you do when you are a twenty-five year old Yale graduate making half a million dollars a year as a hotshot investment banker on Wall Street?
If you are Samrat Ratan, born in the USA to immigrant Indian parents, you quit and enroll in business school in India instead.
Samrat’s journey begins at IIM Bangalore where he spends his time getting high on marijuana while his grades – and his self confidence – plummet. Soon Samrat’s quest for identity turns increasingly bizarre as he ends up ‘meditating’ stoned with a Danish hippie, hanging out with a cannibal on the banks of the Ganga, and peddling soap to the formidable Raja Bhaiyya in Benares.
Does Samrat – Yale valedictorian, investment banker, convict, pothead - survive his fall from grace?
Read Karan Bajaj’s hilarious debut novel to find out.
Management:
“Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource” by Jeffrey Gitomer @ Rs.1005/- (287 pgs)
What does it take to be the best, most creative salesperson? Is it the attitude? Is it asking flawless, compelling questions? Maybe it’s about being creatively different. Based on the principles of sales education with real-world, proven results, “The Sales Bible” gives you cutting-edge information and answers you can take into the street and turn into money the same day.
“Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future” by Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran @ Rs.395/- (320 pgs)
“Zoom” visits the boardrooms of car executives and shows how some are fearlessly exploring new energy sources and designs to leave their competitors millions of dollars behind. Elsewhere, the authors examine the alliances that are forming tend our addiction to oil in both the West and the growing markets of India, China and Russia. We are also introduced to the Thomas Edison of the 21st century, a legendary inventor whose work with hydrogen-powered vehicles on a pure water loop is already having a huge impact on the international market.
The global race to discover cleaner energy sources is on – and “Zoom” demonstrates just how cars could be the driving force to a better and cleaner future.
“Divide or Conquer: How Great Teams Turn Conflict Into Strength” by Diana McLain Smith @ Rs.935/- (289pgs)
Ever been on a team where people can’t get along to save their lives? Maybe the VP’s of Sales and Manufacturing bicker at every meeting. Or a seasoned veteran and rising young star jockey for position every time. According to Diana McLain Smith, great teams don’t assume that everyone will get along. They anticipate conflict and use it to strengthen their relationships. Every team is only as strong as its weakest relationship and “Divide and Conquer” provides a powerful, step-by-step approach to building a team that is flexible and strong enough to master its toughest challenges.
“A New Beginning: The Turnaround Story of Indian Bank” by Ranjana Kumar @ Rs.675/- (301pgs)
The first lady officer to become Chairman and Managing Director of a bank, she was instrumental in the successful turnaround of the Indian Bank –from barely surviving to flourishing and which earned her the sobriquet-‘India’s Turnaround Queen’ by the Economist. The book records her journey from scratch... the status of Indian Bank when she took over its reigns to its rise like the proverbial Phoenix. Her dedication, concern for every employee’s motivational needs shine through each page and her smart strategies amaze the reader. With a foreword by Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam , in which he suggests that this book be used as teaching tool for students, the twelve succinct chapters not only recount the arduous journey to success but also encapsulate the lessons learnt from the turnaround.
Others:
“Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights” by Frits Staal @ Rs.495/- (347 pgs) (Philosophy)For Fritz Staal, originally a logician, the discovery of the Vedas is a voyage without the certainty of reaching an end. Even so, his book shows that the Vedas have a logic all their own. He puts Vedic civilization into a global perspective through a wide ranging comparison with other Indian philosophical texts and religions, primarily Buddhism. Accessible, finely argued, and with a wealth of information and insight, “Discovering the Vedas” combines scholarly research with the intimacy of story-telling, making it an interesting read for the curious mind.
“Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China” by Pallavi Aiyar @ Rs.395/- (266 pgs) (Travel)‘But what did I know of China? An alien and seemingly impenetrable language; an inscrutable people; an exotic cuisine…’
Following her heart and the man she would eventually marry, Pallavi Aiyer arrives in Beijing unsure and full of questions. ‘All I knew,’ she writes ‘was that we were in love and that my moving to China would give us a future.’
What begins as a purely personal exploration expands into a journey through the many prisms and dichotomies that is China.
As a professor of news writing at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, the author is confronted with some of the brightest minds in China, and some of the most surprising. While most of them were uncomfortable with political thought and commentary, they were made to attend compulsory classes on Marxist thought. Aiyer writes of the ‘schizophrenia’ of some her students who spewed venom on American foreign policy while simultaneously asking her if she preferred McDonalds or KFC.
Aiyer’s slowly ripening relationship with a country where she is both spectator and player, where tradition and modernity are of equal importance, is heartfelt, humorous and filled with intimate insight.
“Super Crunchers: How Anything Can Be Predicted” by Ian Ayres @ Rs.350/- (260pgs)
Columnist for the Forbes magazine , contributor to the New York Times , author of eight books, Ian Ayres explore the psyche of the ‘Super Crunchers’-pioneers who ‘think by numbers ‘ to find patterns in human behavior and predict the future with staggeringly accurate results. This book exposes the hidden patterns all around us and utilizing examples from real time cases; he explains this new way - to be smart, savvy and statistically superior.
Other new books at twistntales:
“The Competencies Handbook” by Steve Whiddett and Sarah Hollyforde @ Rs.375/- (196pgs)
“Beyond Training and Development” by JW Rothwell @ 495/-
“Handbook of Reward Strategies: From Intent to Impact” by Duncan Brown @ Rs.975/- (278pgs)
“Handbook of Training Evaluation and Measurement Methods” by Jack Phillips @ Rs.450/- (420pgs)
“Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler @ Rs.275/-(228 pgs)
“The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” by Barack Obama @Rs. 250/- (375 pgs)
“Unbowed: One Woman’s Story” by Wangari Maathai @Rs. 360/- (314 pgs)
“Teen Ink: Our Voices, Our Visions” Ed. By Stephanie H. Meyer and John Meyer @Rs. 250/- (361 pgs)
“Chasing Harry Winston” by Lauren Weisberger @ Rs.195/-(278 pgs)
“The Innovator’s Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work” by Scott D. Anthony, Mark W .Johnson, Joseph V. Sinfield and Elizabeth J. Altman @ Rs.1585/-(272 pgs)
“Descent into Chaos: How the War against Islamic extremism is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia” by Ahmed Rashid @ Rs.495/-(404 pgs)
“Barack Obama: In His Own Words” edited by Lisa Rogak @ Rs.425/-(166 pgs)
“Butterflies Be Gone: A Hands-On approach to Sweat-Proof Public Speaking” by Arthur H. Bell @ Rs.250/-(122 pgs)
Also, we now have an entire selection of self-help books available in Hindi. ‘The Alchemist,’ ‘Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul’ etc are now available in translation.
Books, books books and more books. Drop into the store and make your own selection,
From the team at
twistntales,
Hi all,
Welcome to another round of lively exciting books, all lovingly reviewed for your reading pleasure. These and more at the Store!
We have added quite a few business books, especially in the areas of HR, business biographies and case studies. A few are listed below, but drop in for a wider selection.
New Arrivals:
Fiction:
“The Gravedigger’s Daughter” by Joyce Carol Oates @ Rs.295/- (582 pgs)
Hazel Jones and her young son Zacharias are liked and admired by all they meet – but they inspire curiosity too. Why is Zach forbidden to mention his father, and how did Hazel get the scars on her forehead which she takes such pains to hide? Why do they roam from place to place, settling nowhere and confiding in no one?
Because Hazel Jones wasn’t always Hazel Jones. Once she was Rebecca Schwart, daughter of German asylum seekers who fled to the US to escape the Nazis. Her father, hampered by language and chained to poverty, could only find work as a gravedigger. “The Gravedigger’s Daughter” explores the darkness that lurked on the other side of the American dream and the desperation that follows daily destitution. It is the story of one woman’s struggle to re-build herself against the crushing pressures of her past and to survive the aftermath of a life once lived.
“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker @ Rs.295/- (262 pgs)
Set in the deep American South between the wars, this is the tale of Celie, a young black woman born into poverty and segregation.
Raped repeatedly by the man she calls ‘father,’ she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Netty and trapped in an ugly marriage. Then she meets Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker – a woman in charge of her own destiny.
“The Colour Purple” is a salute to the human spirit, to the joy of discovering the beauty that comes with courage and living intensely. Celie, her pain, her discoveries, the resurrection of her spirit are magnified in their intensity. Black, poor and abused, she is the victim of a world where males and white skin are in power. Celie’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes of her past make for a gritty, achingly beautiful narrative, a celebration of the senses and the soul.
“Wolf Totem” by Jiang Rong @ Rs.505/- (524 pgs)
Beijing intellectual Chen Zhen volunteers to live in a remote, nomadic settlement on the borders of Inner and Outer Mongolia. There, he discovers an apparently idyllic, simple life based on the struggle between humans and the wild wolves who roam the plains. Chen learns about the rich, spiritual relationship that exists between these two adversaries, and what each might learn from the other. But when members of the People’s Republic swarm in from the cities to bring modernity and productivity to the grasslands, the peace of Chen’s solitary existence is shattered and the delicate balance between wolves and humans is destroyed. Set in the 1960’s, the heyday for the people of the Inner Mongolian grasslands, “Wolf Totem” celebrates a time when an age-old balance based on culture and tradition was maintained between man and animal. It is at once an evocative portrayal of a land and culture that no longer exists and a powerful insight into modern China, its history and its people.
“Rubbish Boyfriends (for anyone who’s kissed a lot of frogs)” by Jessie Jones @ Rs.225/- (436 pgs)
Everyone’s had rubbish boyfriends, but Dayna Harris has had enough to fill a skip. Now, in the throes of labour, she reflects on boyfriends past.
There’s…
Chris: Intelligent and sensitive. An aspiring rock star. As if…
Archie: Brimming with rough-diamond charm. Until Dayna discovers his true colours.
Mark: Kind to kittens and children. But what’s he hiding?
Cristian: A prince among men. Surely he’s The One? He even gives Dayna the ring to prove it!
This is a fun, frothy romp about navigating your way through relationships while trying to live life on your own terms.
“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Mohammed Hanif @ Rs.395/- (295 pgs)
I know I am saluting a bunch of dead men. But if you are in uniform, you salute. That’s all there is to it.
June 1988, Pakistan
General Zia is convinced there is a plot to kill him and barricades himself within the Army House, his official residence. There are plenty of people who might want him dead.
There are three army generals growing old waiting for their promotions.There is the CIA, the ISI and the RAW.And there is Ali Shigri, a junior officer at the military academy whose father has been murdered by the army.
Two months later, Zia gets into the presidential plane, Pak One, which explodes midway. Which of the plotters have succeeded?
Mohammed Hanif delivers a sharp, gripping debut, inventive and filled with suspense.
“Bone China” by Roma Tearne @ Rs.295/- (400 pgs)
Grace de Silva, wife of the shiftless but charming Aloysius, has five children and a crumbling marriage. Outside her family, civil unrest is stirring in Sri Lanka, and soon, the tensions begin to seep into each other as four of Grace’s children make the decision to leave home. But once in London, the de Silvas are all homesick in their own ways for life is not what they expected. It is only Anna-Meeka, Grace’s granddaughter, who embraces life’s possibilities, but even she must weather heartbreak and mistakes before she can acknowledge the place she has come from, and the person she has become.
A story of displacement and human development, of personal history and migration “Bone China” moves gently amongst three generations of de Silvas, carrying their struggles to preserve the old and imbibe the new, and the frailty of the idea of ‘home.’
“Happiness and Other Disorders” by Ahmad Saidullah @ Rs.299/- (255pgs)
Born in Ottawa, with a childhood spent in India and now living in Canada, The author was named a’ New Voice in Fiction’ by New York’s L Magazine. With many an award winning short stories in his repertoire, this book holds one of his finest collections of ten short stories. With a sensitivity that goes straight to heart, his narrations empathize with characters torn apart by violence and oppression. They are about a caste cursed old man devoted to his ‘holy’ cow, a simple man waylaid by mercenaries to commit a murder –with fatal consequences, a young girl with a split personality and more varying subjects. The last story also the title of the book is a witty, six paged single paragraph essaying an editors back problem.
“Keep off the Grass” by Karan Bajaj @ Rs.195/- (259 pgs) (Indian Writing)What do you do when you are a twenty-five year old Yale graduate making half a million dollars a year as a hotshot investment banker on Wall Street?
If you are Samrat Ratan, born in the USA to immigrant Indian parents, you quit and enroll in business school in India instead.
Samrat’s journey begins at IIM Bangalore where he spends his time getting high on marijuana while his grades – and his self confidence – plummet. Soon Samrat’s quest for identity turns increasingly bizarre as he ends up ‘meditating’ stoned with a Danish hippie, hanging out with a cannibal on the banks of the Ganga, and peddling soap to the formidable Raja Bhaiyya in Benares.
Does Samrat – Yale valedictorian, investment banker, convict, pothead - survive his fall from grace?
Read Karan Bajaj’s hilarious debut novel to find out.
Management:
“Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource” by Jeffrey Gitomer @ Rs.1005/- (287 pgs)
What does it take to be the best, most creative salesperson? Is it the attitude? Is it asking flawless, compelling questions? Maybe it’s about being creatively different. Based on the principles of sales education with real-world, proven results, “The Sales Bible” gives you cutting-edge information and answers you can take into the street and turn into money the same day.
“Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future” by Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran @ Rs.395/- (320 pgs)
“Zoom” visits the boardrooms of car executives and shows how some are fearlessly exploring new energy sources and designs to leave their competitors millions of dollars behind. Elsewhere, the authors examine the alliances that are forming tend our addiction to oil in both the West and the growing markets of India, China and Russia. We are also introduced to the Thomas Edison of the 21st century, a legendary inventor whose work with hydrogen-powered vehicles on a pure water loop is already having a huge impact on the international market.
The global race to discover cleaner energy sources is on – and “Zoom” demonstrates just how cars could be the driving force to a better and cleaner future.
“Divide or Conquer: How Great Teams Turn Conflict Into Strength” by Diana McLain Smith @ Rs.935/- (289pgs)
Ever been on a team where people can’t get along to save their lives? Maybe the VP’s of Sales and Manufacturing bicker at every meeting. Or a seasoned veteran and rising young star jockey for position every time. According to Diana McLain Smith, great teams don’t assume that everyone will get along. They anticipate conflict and use it to strengthen their relationships. Every team is only as strong as its weakest relationship and “Divide and Conquer” provides a powerful, step-by-step approach to building a team that is flexible and strong enough to master its toughest challenges.
“A New Beginning: The Turnaround Story of Indian Bank” by Ranjana Kumar @ Rs.675/- (301pgs)
The first lady officer to become Chairman and Managing Director of a bank, she was instrumental in the successful turnaround of the Indian Bank –from barely surviving to flourishing and which earned her the sobriquet-‘India’s Turnaround Queen’ by the Economist. The book records her journey from scratch... the status of Indian Bank when she took over its reigns to its rise like the proverbial Phoenix. Her dedication, concern for every employee’s motivational needs shine through each page and her smart strategies amaze the reader. With a foreword by Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam , in which he suggests that this book be used as teaching tool for students, the twelve succinct chapters not only recount the arduous journey to success but also encapsulate the lessons learnt from the turnaround.
Others:
“Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights” by Frits Staal @ Rs.495/- (347 pgs) (Philosophy)For Fritz Staal, originally a logician, the discovery of the Vedas is a voyage without the certainty of reaching an end. Even so, his book shows that the Vedas have a logic all their own. He puts Vedic civilization into a global perspective through a wide ranging comparison with other Indian philosophical texts and religions, primarily Buddhism. Accessible, finely argued, and with a wealth of information and insight, “Discovering the Vedas” combines scholarly research with the intimacy of story-telling, making it an interesting read for the curious mind.
“Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China” by Pallavi Aiyar @ Rs.395/- (266 pgs) (Travel)‘But what did I know of China? An alien and seemingly impenetrable language; an inscrutable people; an exotic cuisine…’
Following her heart and the man she would eventually marry, Pallavi Aiyer arrives in Beijing unsure and full of questions. ‘All I knew,’ she writes ‘was that we were in love and that my moving to China would give us a future.’
What begins as a purely personal exploration expands into a journey through the many prisms and dichotomies that is China.
As a professor of news writing at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, the author is confronted with some of the brightest minds in China, and some of the most surprising. While most of them were uncomfortable with political thought and commentary, they were made to attend compulsory classes on Marxist thought. Aiyer writes of the ‘schizophrenia’ of some her students who spewed venom on American foreign policy while simultaneously asking her if she preferred McDonalds or KFC.
Aiyer’s slowly ripening relationship with a country where she is both spectator and player, where tradition and modernity are of equal importance, is heartfelt, humorous and filled with intimate insight.
“Super Crunchers: How Anything Can Be Predicted” by Ian Ayres @ Rs.350/- (260pgs)
Columnist for the Forbes magazine , contributor to the New York Times , author of eight books, Ian Ayres explore the psyche of the ‘Super Crunchers’-pioneers who ‘think by numbers ‘ to find patterns in human behavior and predict the future with staggeringly accurate results. This book exposes the hidden patterns all around us and utilizing examples from real time cases; he explains this new way - to be smart, savvy and statistically superior.
Other new books at twistntales:
“The Competencies Handbook” by Steve Whiddett and Sarah Hollyforde @ Rs.375/- (196pgs)
“Beyond Training and Development” by JW Rothwell @ 495/-
“Handbook of Reward Strategies: From Intent to Impact” by Duncan Brown @ Rs.975/- (278pgs)
“Handbook of Training Evaluation and Measurement Methods” by Jack Phillips @ Rs.450/- (420pgs)
“Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler @ Rs.275/-(228 pgs)
“The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” by Barack Obama @Rs. 250/- (375 pgs)
“Unbowed: One Woman’s Story” by Wangari Maathai @Rs. 360/- (314 pgs)
“Teen Ink: Our Voices, Our Visions” Ed. By Stephanie H. Meyer and John Meyer @Rs. 250/- (361 pgs)
“Chasing Harry Winston” by Lauren Weisberger @ Rs.195/-(278 pgs)
“The Innovator’s Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work” by Scott D. Anthony, Mark W .Johnson, Joseph V. Sinfield and Elizabeth J. Altman @ Rs.1585/-(272 pgs)
“Descent into Chaos: How the War against Islamic extremism is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia” by Ahmed Rashid @ Rs.495/-(404 pgs)
“Barack Obama: In His Own Words” edited by Lisa Rogak @ Rs.425/-(166 pgs)
“Butterflies Be Gone: A Hands-On approach to Sweat-Proof Public Speaking” by Arthur H. Bell @ Rs.250/-(122 pgs)
Also, we now have an entire selection of self-help books available in Hindi. ‘The Alchemist,’ ‘Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul’ etc are now available in translation.
Books, books books and more books. Drop into the store and make your own selection,
From the team at
twistntales,
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