Ananya Swaminathan from Mylapore...huh? ..

Its time for Chetan Bhagat fans to cheer. Chetan Bhagat is back to his 'Five Point Someone' Form. I did not like his 'Three Mistakes of My Life.'(I personally thought writing that book was the 'Fourth' Mistake of His Life). Now... Chetan Bhagat offers an happy ending 'Ek Duje Ke Liye'.(and no..this one is not his 'FIFTH' Mistake.)

The Story(There is little story and lots of exaggeration)of Miss Ananya Swaminathan becoming Mrs.Krish Malhotra.

The Girl is pretty and is a Tamil Brahmin from Mylapore. (This was my first motivation to read this book.Somehow 'Prettygirl Mylapore' sounds to me like an oxymoron.).She is Intelligent(Intelligent girl a?.. that too from Mylapore..a!!?.Believe me.. I have stayed in Mylapore for nearly 2 decades ... It happens only in fiction...) and she is in IIM A. The boy is from Punjab and he also gets stuck up in IIM A.

What to expect next...?

They Love.They Make Love.They want to marry.They want their parents to accept & they do not.He opts for a job in Chennai to woo her parents.He takes tuitons for his brother,arranges for a music concert for her mother and prepares power point presentations for her father.

& They Agree...

Now the couple come to Punjab to woo 'His' parents.She solves a marriage crisis in his family in a smart way and wins over HIS relatives.

& His mother Agrees..

Both parents do not like each other due to cultural differences.She feels His mother insulted her parents.She parts ways with him.(How easy..??).

& He gets mentally disturbed.

As expected his Father makes a twist in the end ,& they end up marrying(In Tamil Brahmin Style)

& She Deliver's TWINS two years hence...
...

Nothing new story wise.(We have seen this in all our movies).BTW who wants story in a Chetan Bhagat Book.?

Here is an Indian Novel writer who does not have a 'Story', who is not 'literary' in the real sense of the word.However..HE does have his 'First Person' Narrative ,the
'One Liners' and a huge dose of Raw "'AAAAAAAAdult'erated" humour content to win over the readers.

We were all waiting for the 'One Liners' that he gave us in 'Five Point Someone'.
He does not disappoint this time. In fact some of them are Terrific !.Wow.. Here are some excerpts !

--> "Why wud any guy want to be friends with a girl? It's like agreeing to be near a Chocolate cake & never eat it. It's like sitting in a racing car but not driving it. Only wimps do that."

-->'Baby, I'm sleepy', she said, trying to pull me back into bed.
'My landlord is here', I said. She didn't respond even though i shook her maniacally.
'Your appa is outside', I said.
She sprang up on the bed. 'What?'

--> This is the Introduction of Ananya.

'I stole a sideways glance -- definitely above average. Actually, well above average. In fact, outlier by IIM-A standards. '
'Ananya Swaminathan -- best girl in the fresher batch,' seniors had already anointed her on the dorm board. We had only twenty girls in a batch of two hundred. Good-looking ones were rare; girls don't get selected to IIM for their looks. They get in because they can solve mathematical problems faster than 99.9 percent of India's population and crack the CAT. Girls like Ananya, if and when they arrive by freak chance, become instant pin-ups in our testosterone-charged, estrogen-starved campus.)

-->Krish:My father never smiled through his wedding.
Ananya:How could he?.He was marrying your mother.

--> Conversation between Manju & Krish. (Manju is Ananya's younger brother for whom Krish takes tuitions).

Manju: "Krish Bhai.. Can something bad happen if you watch blue films?'
Krish: 'If you just watch them?'
Manju: 'Just watching....and' hesitantly,'and if you do something else afterwards.'.
Krish: 'Why dont you ask your Appa?'
Manju: 'Aiyo, what are you saying?".
Krish: 'You could become blind'-with a serious face.
Manju: 'Really'?

-->"Its amazing how in love the vulnerability initially lies with the boys and it gets transformed immediately to girls after the moment they had sex".

-->When Ananya says Krish of how she got she rid of Harish(Her to be Fiancee)

Ananya:He hinted at my virginity...
krish: Wat did u say?
Ananya: if there was an entrance for virginity test, u can be sure I would never top it!!

-->
'You are from two different states, right? so, what will be their state?" the nurse said and chuckled."." They'll be from a state called India, " I said.

-->
Krish:'If all young people marry outside their community,it is good for the country.That is the great purpose'.
Ananya: "oh,so the reason you sleep with me is for the sake of your country?"

-->" It is fascinating to see a sardar-ji speak in Tamil.LIKE SUN TV'S MERGER WITH ALPHA TV"

--> After the Scene at Rathna Stores T Nagar.
Krish:'You shoudn't have kissed me there.why did u do it??
Ananya: Because I couldn't help it,you are irresistible sometimes'.
Alright Mrs swaminathan if your daughter can't resist me,there is no way you can either.

-->Pretty Girls behave best when you ignore them (Of course, they have to know you are ignoring them, for otherwise,they may not even know you exist).

-->She looked at me. "Can you eat this?" she wanted to know. "Try it." I took a spoonful of sambhar. Warm and salty, not gourmet stuff, but edible in a no-choice kind of way. I could eat it for lunch; I had stayed in a hostel for four years.
However, I saw her face, now prettier with a hint of pink. I compared her to the fifty-year-old mess worker. He wore a lungi and had visible grey hair on his chest.
"It's disgusting," I said. When in doubt, the pretty girl is always right.

.....
Chetan Bhagat probably will never win a 'Booker' Prize. However he is making people who do not read novels read them and thats an achievement.

You'll surely enjoy this book if :
-->You are from Chennai (though you have to digest some racist attacks)
&
Even more if :
-->You are from Mylapore.
&
Much more if:
-->You are a Brahmin.

&

I am all Three.

Out of My Comfort Zone - By Stephen Rodger Waugh ( the Autobiography).

This has been the book that I wanted to lay hands on for a long long time and finally did so last month. Wow!.. This 'Never Keep Down' book told me so many intricacies about the game itself and gave an insight into the life of cricketers on and off the field.

It is common known knowledge that Steve Waugh was not one of the 'great talents' on the field but known as the one who maximized his minute talent to the fullest. He is not known for his talent but more for his grit and determination. However this man does not agree!!. One line in his book states 'I was the most talented Batsman in New South Wales.' Does that mean he is more talented than Mark Waugh?? I do not think so.
Here I come across his personality as some one who is an extremely confused and agitated from within constantly trying to prove to himself that being a player of limited abilities , he has made it. However to the outside world , he fakes himself to be extremely talented.

The Most irritating thing in the book is the fact that everything that sounds good is the Australian way and everything else is bad.He claims Aussies lost games only because of bad scheduling , flight delays, poor hotels,lack of facilities for pre-match practice,Curators,hotels situated far away from grounds,Bad umpiring,extreme weather conditions etc etc and NOT BECAUSE THEY PLAYED POOR CRICKET!!

May be Steve needs to understand that all teams face such hardships and Aussies were no exception.The acceptance that they lost because they played bad cricket is never reflected anywhere in this 800 page book.!!On the contrary , he claims that every game that Aussies won was because of the fact that they played extremely good cricket and opponents were no match to them.How silly!!

He has not given great credit to too many opposition players.Often praise comes with an unusual dose of slack!(which I think is due to the jealous of not able to possess the talent of that opposition player and sometimes within his team!).

One of the cheap things he has said is with reference to the famous 2001 Kolkatta test."We were undone by bad umpiring. Venkatesh Prasad , the No 11 Batsman was plumb out but not given. Due to this VVS Laxman who was 35 then , scored a Half century and was able to carry on this form when he came back to bat at No 3 and scored 281". He neither accepts the fact that they were unable to get his wicket nor showers great praise on that flawless innings Laxman played.

Believe me , This is the tone that he takes throughout this book and that is truly irritating.

Some things such as the ACB-ACA duel in this book is boring to the core.However , he makes his point very clear that whatever happened , he stood by his players. One of the revelations that he makes is the relationship with his brother which he claims is not too smooth and I am surprised that there are not too many references to his 'Brother Mark'(copyright Vadivelu) in this book.

I was a great fan of Steve Waugh for his ability to bat with the tailenders and get the best out of them. He says ' Even the bowlers have some talent with the bat .The only thing that makes them to be wary is the number they bat.No Bowler wants to get out cheaply. I understood this and I was successful.'Indeed the best way to get them bat is to give them confidence that they can and allow them to play majority of balls of strike bowlers . By not doing so, they are never going to contribute.


It is surprising that all was not well even within this Aussie team as he openly speaks about his tiff with Michael Slater. Slater gets slack from him on one more occasion for his behaviour on the Dravid catch issue with Umpire Venkat (who is also damaged). Ego issues between Australian players come up in a subtle way very nicely which just goes to show that all is not great in the Aussie team as its made out to be. Waugh’s widening differences with the selectors as he approached the twilight of his career is extremely well written as is his reaction to his sacking from the ODI squad in early 2002 as captain and player.I think his best mate was Ian Healy. He recalls how painful it was for him to announce personally as the captain to Ian that he was being dropped from the ODI squad.

His Views on Captaincy is the one thing in this in this book which I subscribe to. He says -- ’’Captaincy is about empowerment,about making players responsible for their actions and ,in turn,accountable.It’s about treating everyone equally but differently by recognising there are varied characters and personalities who need to express their individual flair and instincts inside the ultimate team vision.It’s about setting an example and not expecting anything of your players that you aren’t willing to do yourself.It’s about mentoring and at times protecting individuals,and taking on their problems so that the team will benefit.You must swallow your pride in order to move on.Crucially,it’s about seeing the good in people and focusing on the positives and the things you can control.It’s making sure your time management is spot on and that you continue to earn your place in the side.At times for me it was being an advisor,psychologist,mate,mentor,mediator,selector,mouthpiece and politician.Above all,it was about being me and doing it my way.’’

Other Highlights of this book:-
a) Foreword by Rahul Dravid.
b) The Photographs.( Truly Photographs are great!)
c) His views on Match fixing.
d) His praising of Little known Sameer Dighe ( for his heroics on the last day of 2001 Chennai test)
e) His tips on how to face a ball. His mode of on and off concentration technique with his favorite 'NOW' word.
f) His duels with Curlty Ambrose ,Allan Donald etc etc.
g) The Famous Gibbs Dropcatch. (It is surprising to know that it was actually advised in their team meeting by Shane Warne not to hurry if gibbs takes a catch because he has that 'throwing away' tendency)
h) His 'Udayan' Work.
i) Fielding skills of another little known Roger Harper.
i) The Rapport with his wife - Lynette.(Who has written the last chapter in this book)
j) His on field Sledges (Paarthiv Patel's is the best)
k) Dressing room habits
and many more....

Truly the book is exceptional.However Stephen Rodger Waugh is unfortunately an Aussie & therefore exaggerates way too much( like saying chennai is 50*c) and also is Very arrogant ( says MA Chidambaram Stadium is a poor man's MCG)and Cocky (although he may not accept ).



A must read... A cricket lover's dream book.

' Veronica decides to die ' - A Review

Book :- Veronica decides to die.
Author :- Paulo Coehlo

Story

A girl named Veronica decides to die and swallows sleeping pills. She decided to die because of monotony and boredom in her life. She is then rescued and gets admitted into a 'Mental' hospital.She is been told that she would die in few days time.

The book then revolves around the life of other 'MAD' people in the hospital and the interaction of Veronica with them.

Eventually , Veronica wants to live longer when she herself knows she would die sooner.In the End ,The awareness of death makes her to live life more.

Best parts of the book :

--> This book gives a whole new meaning to the concept of madness.
A story in the book defines madness.

" A Sorcerer curses the main well of a Village.So anyone who drinks water from that well turns MAD.All the Villagers drink water from that well and become MAD except the King and his Family . The Villagers think that the King is MAD. Unable to control the Villagers uprising , the King and his family too Drink water from that well. SO everyone became MAD and they all lived happily ever after."

---> The Great lines
The book has some wonderful lines which makes us to think .

a) People talked more freely to a psychiatrist than they did to a priest because a doctor couldn't threaten them with Hell.

b)Each human being is unique, each with his own qualities, instincts, forms of pleasure and desire for adventure. However society always imposes on us a collective way of behaving, and people never stop to wonder why they behave like that.

c)Fear. Veronika might feel insecurity, shyness, shame, constraint, but why fear? That was only justifiable when confronted by a real threat: ferocious animals, armed attackers, earthquakes, but not a group of people gathered. But human beings are like that we have replaced all our emotions with fear.

d)Fantasies are electrical impulses in brain which if not realized will release their energy elsewhere.

e) Other than grave pathological reasons people go mad only when they try to escape from routine.

f)Have you ever thought why alphabets are arranged in a hapazard manner in a typewriter ?

g) You could cry, get worried or angry like any other normal human being, as long as you remembered that, up above, your spirit was laughing out loud at all those thorny situations.

h) 'Is wanting to be different a serious illness?'
'It is if you force yourself to be the same as everyone else: it causes neuroses, psychoses and paranoia. It's a distortion of nature, it goes against God's laws, for in all the world's woods and forests, He did not create a single leaf the same as another.

I)Stay mad, but behave like normal people. Run the risk of being different, but do so without attracting attention.


Bad Parts of the book

NONE

VERDICT

A book par excellence .

Kamal Haasan was once asked by a reporter " How come you are able to come up with sterling performances in each of your films , Is it because you perform thinking that every film is your First ?"

Kamal Replied " NO , I perform in every film as if its my LAST "

The essence of this book is very similar. It says " Live your life as if it is the last day in your life".

I am trying...