Why Delhi was lost!

The universe has a very unique way of maintaining an equilibrium, and we as small puppets in this vast expanse should at best avoid from disturbing this balance.

From one allegation after another, many BJP spokespeople, including our very great PM and another who's best only at laughing at anything on a very popular comedy show, rode the streets of Delhi to enlighten people on the ills of its ex-CM. Little did they realize that while doing so they forgot to enlighten themselves with a proper manifesto.

For all the mudslinging and defining others as Baazaaru, they won, but just the small fry; which, is worth mentioning, is peanuts and doesn't even qualify to stake claim as the leader of the opposition. More importantly, they lost, with such deafening thunder, that it shook the very pillars of 7 RCR. Once upon a time there was a wave, but it's the tsunami that has made the headlines.

Hence, proving once again, that you shouldn't do unto others what you wouldn't want others to do unto you.

Book Review: God Is A Gamer by Ravi Subramanian

Title: God Is A Gamer

Author: Ravi Subramanian

Genre: Thriller/Fiction

Number of pages: 324

Publisher: Penguin Books India

ISBN-10: 0143421395

ISBN-13: 978-0143421399

Ravi Subramanian always brings to my mind ABBA's famous number which goes like this, "Money, money, money; Must be funny; In the rich man's world." It's this lure of money and the power that comes with it that makes the tales told by Ravi intriguing and engrossing, often leaving the reader at the edge of his/her seat wanting more.

God Is A Gamer, much like his previous four titles is based on the backdrop of banks and all that's associated with it. In this latest edition he taps on the mysterious new form of currency that took everyone by storm early this year, Bitcoins. Being a banker himself, Ravi has been able to explain the finer nuances of how this currency works and its pitfalls, however maintaining the simplistic language making it understandable.

Christian for my own good

Disclaimer: This is a post in jest listing the things that I, as a Christian am accustomed to. It is neither to promote a particular faith nor to condemn another. Now since we are clear I shall now kiss my bride :).

Non-veg on certain days, veg on the other

My non-Christians friends, Hindu’s in particular, follow a regimen where they are vegetarians on most days of the week and non-vegetarians on the unlucky few that are left. While I understand that it’s done in honour of a particular God among the 33 crore Gods, who have among themselves amicably settled for a day of the week each, it’s a challenge to plan a meal together as not only the restaurant and time matter, the day of the week does too. It also means that weekend plans involving chicken do not work. Wednesday, whether one likes it or not, is the best day to be a carnivore. 

Even during festivals the logic is different. For Christians, festivals are a time to celebrate and feast on the fattened calf. But the common trend in non-Christian families is the opposite. While we indulge in the best of meat and seafood, my non-Christian friends are strictly vegans.

Making Every Penny A Pound

In 2002, a few days before the FIFA World Cup and the football frenzy could reach its peak in my tiny little state of Goa, my father, frustrated by the picture quality of the TV at home set his mind on purchasing a brand new one. Very impressed by the advertisement on a local tabloid of a LG make which was shaped like a football, he sought details and thought of how he could fit it in our budgeted monthly expenditure. He had a plan in mind but only needed a plan to execute the plan.

Still undecided, we broke for rosary, our daily prayers.

In 2014, a few days before the FIFA World Cup and the football frenzy could reach its peak in my tiny little state of Goa, my father, frustrated by the picture quality of the TV at home set his mind on purchasing a brand new one. Very impressed by the advertisement on a local tabloid of the latest line of Sony Bravia LED TV’s, asked me to procure the details. After pondering over the information I furnished him with, he thought of how he could fit it in our budgeted monthly expenditure. He had a plan in mind but only needed a plan to execute the plan.

Still undecided, we broke for rosary, our daily prayers.

Why I didn't follow my father's footsteps and join the Merchant Navy

While growing up I was often asked this question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Not sure myself, I would say a computer engineer, a cricketer or some occupation that held my fantasy at that time. Hearing my answer almost everyone would retort “Wouldn’t you want to be an electrical officer or be in the merchant navy like your father?” And I would simply reply in the negative.

The same was true back then and even today. Electrical or electronics never excited me as they always sent shivers down my spine; thanks to the minor shock treatments that I received while fiddling with live wires and appliances. Regarding a job in the merchant navy, given a choice or not I never would take it. And these are my reasons.

Our country needs to wake up, not just get up every morning!

The 8 Monkeys

(This is reportedly based on an actual experiment conducted in the U.K.)

Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling.

Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.

The nice guys at Writers Ezine took me to the top of the world with their July Issue

The nice guys at Writers Ezine took me to the top of the world with their July Issue.
http://ow.ly/z911Q

A look at how World Cup 2014 can help us learn a thing or two

Within a few hours we shall have 2 teams sweating it out against each other for one last time for the coveted trophy in Brazil, with the final match being played out at the historic Estádio Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.

While some may face terrible withdrawal symptoms after this month-long tournament has concluded, I can't help but think of what this tournament in particular has taught me and all of us.

My Path To Get Published

Once upon a time there was a young man called Nelton D’Souza. Nelton believed he had a very special gift of writing stories that moved one and all. This craving to write didn’t let him sleep at night. Every time and everywhere, be it on the bus or while doing mundane things or when he was by himself, his mind would wander to lands unknown where he would meet people unseen. Those people were like any other, but beyond their faces lay immense pain from the battles they fought on a daily basis. When Nelton didn’t write he would be enveloped by sadness but whenever he did, inspite of a tiring twelve hour workday and another four hours of travel, he would find a new sense of joy and vigour. Nothing made him happier than writing. After all it was writing which allowed him to escape into a world which was not judgemental and where he could be the hero slaying beasts, demons and fire-spitting dragons alike.

Would anyone be interested in knowing how to write a book and get it published and marketed?

If yes, please leave a comment.

Remembering Mai Mai (My Mother’s Mother)

My grandmother visited me yesterday. Having passed away nine years ago she chose to pay me a visit in my dreams. Her visits, being few and far in between are always pleasant. Even though I knew her to a far lesser degree compared to my siblings, there was something about her that always caught my attention and has ever since stayed with me.

Relationship advice from my column on Cosmopolitan

1. We're having great sex but it seems that every time we see each other, we're naked. Have I just become this physical thing for him?

Depends. Making love is great but only making out is not. If along it with you spend quality time talking about everything under the sky then it’s not bad at all. No place can be better than being in the arms of your loved one. But do make it a point to indulge in other activities as well. Limiting yourself to only one thing makes it boring. 

Praise for State of the Heart

#1 Best Seller in Short Stories on Amazon (February 2014). Some of the stories will drive you to tears! The writing does justice to the little things in life that add to its beauty and mystery – Goodreads, Average Rating: 4.

State of the Heart app for Windows Phone

I created a mobile app for my bestseller book 'State of the Heart' for #windowsphone. Through the app one can read 3 of the best stories from the book and have access to exclusive content as well. The app is free and can be downloaded from the Windows Phone Store at http://bit.ly/1iq7wKf

It's time for congratulations and celebrations

It's time for congratulations and celebrations. State of the Heart is now available on every major eBook in the world including Barnes & Noble, Apple, Amazon, Page Foundry, Baker & Taylor, Oyster & Scribd. For all those in India, we're coming soon to Flipkart as well.

The correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity

Namibie femme himba (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is a tribe in Africa called the Himba tribe, where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they were born, nor from when they are conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. And when a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches it to him. And then, when they make love to physically conceive the child, some of that time they sing the song of the child, as a way to invite it.

One mistake almost every Christian makes while saying the Angelus

19th century painting of Our Lady. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It's very common for a Christian to say the Angelus - the Christian devotional prayer in memory of the incarnation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at 7 PM everyday. But there's something wrong we do here. Nothing wrong with praying or the prayer. Neither how we say it. The problem is what we say. That too we go wrong in the very first response. 

Below is what should be said:

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. 

R. And she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And here's what we often land up saying:

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. 

R. And she WAS conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mary was not conceived, but she conceived. Mary was born of natural causes, but the fact that she was able to bear a child still being a virgin makes it 'she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.'

I hope we realize the mistake we make on a daily basis and correct ourselves. I have often corrected people on this and been a witness to their facepalm moment. The irony with the world is that we hardly pay attention to what we say, but are critical of what others say.

Book Review: The Hunt For Kohinoor by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar

The joys of reading a book are manifold. The fact that language could be used in such a variety of ways to describe the same old mundane thing is refreshing. This is the feeling I got while reviewing The Hunt For Kohinoor by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, an opportunity I was given by Westland Publishers.

The Hunt For Kohinoor is a book that revolves around its main character – art historian and fresco specialist Mehrunisa Khosa. The half Sikh half Muslim girl, who played a pivotal role in cracking the first book of this series, The Taj Conspiracy, is pushed into war ravaged and ever hostile plains and places on the AfPak border where war can break out just at the fall of a match, to crack a case that hardly has got anything to do with her trade. 

Reconciling with the disappearance of her father, who she later realizes is a an Indian Intelligence agent, while she was just five, she comes face to face with him after sixteen years as he is being treated for injuries from a blast that killed the President of Pakistan just as he was to seal a treaty of peace with India by sharing the Kohinoor - confidential information abiut the location of a 26/11 type attack in India by the Taliban within the next 96 hours. Unable to send in his most trusted spy – Mehrunisa’s father, commonly referred as Snow Leopard, Harinder Singh Khosa or Harry, Jag Mishra – The Chanakya of the Indian Intelligence Pakistan Desk sends in his daughter as the bait to get Harry back into the field in no time. It’s the same Chanakya that Mehrunisa learns who kept her father away from her while he suffered a memory loss in one of the operations.

While Mehrunisa goes from pillar to post trying to decode the clues she finds on the way she finds herself in the constant battle with herself over the sudden disappearance and appearance of her lost and found father. But the case doesn’t give her luxury to ponder further as she and her close aides encounter ghastly attacks carried out both by the enemy and from within. Constantly fighting and losing accomplices on the way, she is kidnapped by the infamous Babur Khan, an American soldier who switched to the other side to connect to his roots. Well versed in American tactics he galvanises the Pathan’s and Taliban of the region, imposes strict Islamic laws where girls are buried alive if they speak to any unknown males, and becomes their supreme commander. 

If you haven’t read a book in a long time, then this book is a good place to develop the lost reading habit. Its language is good and keeps you in the midst of what’s happening. At some places you will find pearls of wisdom just thrown in which could make for a collector’s edition.

"Peace is a bloody business, wherein the seeds of war are sowed; terror is then reaped in abundance."

"Trust no one, not even mirrors."

“What the mullahs forget is that when a woman wears a burqa, it hides her looks, not her brain.”

“The only time a snow leopard might become aggressive if its cubs are threatened or it is.”

“The Americans have a chronic weakness: they believe they are the centre of the world.”

“The biggest enemy of this country were its leaders”

"With love you could persuade a Pathan to go to hell, but by force you couln’t even take him to heaven."

“Because Naxals wore police uniforms.”

However, it would have been better if the title was changed to something more appropriate. Half way through the book the Kohinoor has been hunted, which is sort of disappointing if you have a Da Vinci code at the back of your mind. What’s left is averting the attack on India and rescuing Mehrunisa from the clutches of Babur Khan hidden in the lawless and rugged area of North West Afghanistan. Certain parts could have been done with to make the book shorter. However certain parts could have been extended to give a more gripping feel. I couldn’t focus at the climax, more so because I lost interest by the time I reached there.

The Perfect Match

“Excuse me, I’m here to meet Nisha”, Mahesh Shah said with a slight flutter in his voice. Used to making and breaking deals with total suave, control and assertiveness, he wasn’t his usual self today. This was probably the first time that the ball was not in his court. In fact, this tennis match was a two-sided game where a rejection from the other could lead to a game set match in a single go.

“Mr Shah, you may go in now” the receptionist said, pointing towards a door that read Miss. Nisha Karamchandani. 

Mahesh walked towards the door and stopped just before opening it. Adjusting his coat and tie he checked himself in the vague reflection off the door. Using his fingers as the teeth of a comb he put the few strands of hair in place that had violated their Line of Control and disrupted the parting of his hair. Clearing his throat, he turned the door knob and spoke, “Nisha, may I come in?” 

With a smile on her face, Nisha replied, “Mr Shah, please come in.” 

Extending her hand forward, she welcomed him and asked him to be comfortable by pointing to the seat that lay before her. After the exchange of pleasantries she said, “Mr Shah, welcome to IndiaMatrimony.com”. 

“Thanks, but please call me Mahesh.” Nisha smiled in acknowledgement. 

“So Mr Shah, I’m sorry Mahesh, let’s get started.” 

“Yup, let’s start”.

Going through the file that contained the set of questionnaires Mahesh had filled and brought along, Nisha gauged the person Mahesh Shah was, and the kind of girl he would be interested in. When she was almost done, she realized one thing. In all the cases she had handled, this would be, if not the toughest, one of the toughest.

Mahesh was not a usual client. He was different, better said, very different. He had topped every exam he took, went only to the best schools and institutions and stood out from the rest in every way. He was tall, smart, good looking; a fabulous singer and loved horse-riding. He had his own business, and that too, just like his academics was among the best. In other words, Mahesh was perfect in every way.

Getting a girl that matched all these qualities would be a find. Still, hoping for something different Nisha asked, “Mahesh, what kind of girl would you want?” 

She held her breath as Mahesh opened his mouth to speak. “Just like me, perfect in every way.” Mahesh said with pride and a smile on his face. “We should be able to connect. She should understand me, even without any exchange of words. No matter what the topic of discussion, she should be able to contribute. She should love only the best of things and places and be a class apart. She should be able to do everything and be the best at it. In short, perfect.” 

Nisha waited patiently for Mahesh’s impromptu speech to end. At one point, she wondered why she had asked the question. 

Read the complete story in State of the Heart.

Diamonds Are Forever

The city of Bombay woke up to a news that sent shivers down the spine of everyone who read it. Super cop Surjan Singh, one of the best police officers to lead the police force of the maximum city was caught red-handed with diamonds worth crores of rupees in the wee hours of the morning. Newspapers and tabloids, having no other bones to chew on, didn’t relent and shot every spade they could in delivering the news. No matter which paper you picked up or wherever you went, it was the same news that was the talk of the town. 

‘President Award recipient Surjan Singh caught red-handed with diamonds’.

“Nowadays you can’t trust anyone. If people in the police force itself act like this then who is the common man supposed to turn to?” “This country is going to the dogs; only God can save it” was the gist of discussions at every street corner across every section of society. Scams and other news of corruption had always given their daily attendance, but this news was different as it was about an officer whom people looked up to and regarded highly. It was about Surjan Singh – a man you could bank upon.

News channels leaving no stone unturned broadcasted the live happenings as and when they happened. “Surjan Singh has been taken to the Bandra Police Station where he will be questioned. The police will file for a fourteen day custody to investigate the matter further” a middle-aged, suitably well-dressed but with an unkempt beard correspondent reported.

“Surjan Singh has shamed the entire police force. It’s a sad day for all of us serving this city with honesty and pride”, a senior police officer replied on being questioned. 

“Such people should be flogged to death, only then will they understand” was the reaction of a few commoners.

‘BREAKING NEWS: Surjan Singh to be presented in court’ flashed across the TV screen. Though the courtroom proceedings wouldn’t be covered live, this news made sure that the interest of the audience was kept intact and would prevent them from shifting focus to other topics or channels. However, in the courtroom, things were different.

In the midst of the tsunami of people, a simple maroon tee-shirt clad man wearing loose fitting jeans made his way or rather was pushed to the front section. Unless seen carefully, you wouldn’t be able to recognize him as the Surjan Singh everyone knew. Always seen in his uniform, with an upright posture and no-nonsense demeanour he carried out his duties to the very best of his abilities. Be it any case and of any complexity he was always there with his force, even putting himself in the line of fire. It was always service before self and not vice versa. So much so that even his own family life was in peril with his wife feeling ignored and no kids, even on the anvil. However, today was different. The aura around him was missing; his face was pale and eyes droopy. You could easily see that he was lost in thought with anxiety, irritation and worry causing multiple lines to appear on his forehead. The crisscrossed nature of those lines somehow reflected the state that he was in - nowhere to go and no solution in sight. Things had happened too fast for him to react.

Read the complete story in State of the Heart.