Living a meaningful life

Sometimes life doesn't give you second chances. All you have got is one life and what we all do is spend that life in what we think is important.
What all we had sacrificed for it?
Getting up before the sun rises and not a chance to sit down till the sun sets. Life has become one crazy ride and we feel ourselves tied to that roller coaster. We are busy worrying about the downs when it is going up and we are busy getting ready for the ups it will offer soon. But one thing we all fail to do is to catch the view it offers. When you are the peak and before it takes you down, you can look at the world differently than ever before. But how many of us do that? Our eyes are busy zooming in on the impending fall. Even if you don't focus on it, you will go there and ultimately the peak. So, why not enjoy the view?
Our life is one huge roller coaster where we go along the rise and fall in which it had planned.
We are busy creating and enhancing it, that we fail to feel the intricate part of it.
The mechanical life has made us into machines. Soon our souls too will become mechanical. And then there will be no turning back for us.

So before we lose our lives to the daily pressure and the worldly life, let us think. Think about what you want to do before we become robots to work.

Some pleasures. Some activities you had always liked. The act of doing itself makes you energized. When was the last time we immersed ourselves into it?
Long long ago and so long ago.

And when I sat back and gave a thought about what I would like to do, I came up with the following three. It may sound absurd to some. But the passion it gives you when you indulge in your favorite activities, you can never derive it anywhere else. It gives the ultimate satisfaction of having done something in life. It gives you the joy of having achieved the goal in your life which the long hours at the office doesn't give.
Without further ado, let me tell you the activities I have been only dreaming to do.

First

Writing a Novel

I have been wanting to write a novel for a very long time. Many a time I have sat down to pen one. I would write a few pages and then my life would overtake me and the story itself would have been forgotten. This is my first and foremost longing and I have been procrastinating it for a few years now. If given a chance, I would like to become an author first. Sitting among the trees and dreaming about the sky is certainly my cup if tea.

Second

Learning French

I don't remember how I became fond of the French language. I remember asking my parents to join me in a French class during school days. But time never permitted me to explore into a new language. Time has been my greatest enemy and it had me chained and constrained that I was unable to pursue my passions. Passion gives the life a meaning and a direction. Even now I want to learn it and I sure would if I have a chance. So, this is the second in my to-do list.

Third

Exploring the world around - Leading a Nomadic life

Time truly is vengeful. It never gives me time to go on a little adventurous exploration. My exploration I am not painting a picture which involves archaeology or mountain climbing. A simple mind with which I have been blessed never think of such extravaganza.
By exploring, what I really want is to get on a bus or train and go to a new place and to wander around. I want to go wherever the vehicle takes me. I want to get down and explore. Some few clicks wouldn't hurt too.
The world is one beautiful place and by sitting and leading the life in a small four walled room doesn't make any sense. Going to new places, meeting new people will certainly give me the experience of a life time and will lead to a meaningful life.
So given the chance I want the nomadic in me to dominate my life.

The three things I would want to do are the above and certainly I would like to satisfy at least one yearning of mine.

This post is a part of #SecondChance activity by Blogadda in association with MaxLife Insurance.

Book Review - Thar Express by Nagendra Murthi

It is not everyday that you come across a book that makes you want to know what is happening next?
Today I am going to review one such book. I received this eBook as a part of Blogadda's reviewer program and I didn't have any expectations before starting this one.
This book tells you the story of a person who has lost his memory. He doesn't remember who he is nor where he was from. He doesn't even remember his name. He was at an army hospital at Kashmir. He would have been left to his own good except for one glitch. He was found d unconscious at LOC.
Who was he and what was he doing at the line of control?
The army people are curious to know and they are not happy with his answer that he doesn't remember anything from his past.
One day he has a dream of his mom calling him Mano. He then remembers that everyone used to call him Mano. Except for this one minor improvement, he is left in the dark. Try as he might, he couldn't remember.

There had been a bomb blast and the hospital is filled with patients from the blast.
And one day, he gets an unusual visitor at his hospital bed? Who was the visitor?
Mano is then examined by a renowned psychiatrist. He believes that Mano's answer is genuine enough and he is further sent to Nashik for treatment by yet another renowned doctor.
From there, the reader gets to see the journey he takes. The novel takes you to Nashik from Kashmir and then to Trichy in Tamilnadu and next to Hyderabad and to Goa and to Odisha.
Mano is traveling to find about himself.
Who is he? Is he an Indian? Or is he a terrorist? Or is he a person from the Indian army? Is he innocent or guilty?
These are the questions I asked myself throughout the book until I read the end.
This book is what they call a 'page turner'.
I was so curious to find out about him that I was waiting for the answer to show up in every page.
When you read about how Mano gathers clues about himself, it is like a huge puzzle in your head too.
You can't help wonder out aloud along with him whenever he asks him questions. Who was he? Why was he there?
When Mano finds little bits about himself your mind starts playing detective. May be he was this or may be he was that?
And at the end when you get to know everything, I had really read a thriller. I sure didn't expect it and the author had aptly titled it as That Express.
The writing style is simple and neat. He doesn't throw in heavy words. With a great plot the book was easy to read and I completed it in one sitting.
The author must be greatly appreciated for his efforts and keeping the suspense until the end. And also if not for Blogadda I would have missed such a wonderful book.
This book is available only as an eBook.
My Rating: 9/10

This post is a part of The biggest Book Review program by Blogadda for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

I AM DEFINED BY ...

I am defined by ...

When i sat down to write a few words about me, i was struck with writer's block. I guess for me, writing about myself was the toughest job. That makes me one among the masses, as we fail to see what we are, unless told by others.

So, before analyzing myself, i went on a quizzing spree.
My parents are the first persons i turn to for anything and for this too I went to them first.
My dad was busy reading a newspaper, when i asked him the question. His answer was that i was a good daughter.
Next i went to my mother, expecting the same gleeful answer. Her answer was that i was the procrastinating Queen.Not so gleeful.

Next step to my friends. All their answers were unanimous. They said Books define me. For the life of  me, i could not understand it. I may be spending most part of my time with my favourite books, but how does that define me? As a bookworm? I kept that as the answer.

Finally before doing the self psychoanalysis, i turned to my dog. As soon as i asked him the question, Tom's response was to lift his forelimbs. I patted his head and he went back to playing with his tail. He said that i was a good caretaker. Didn't he?

Though the easy method was to ask others about myself, it is never the correct method.

So, what am i defined by?

The little girl looked up at the sky,
She felt it was so high!

She wanted to conquer it all,
As soon as she grew up tall!

At six, she told a story,
With all it's glory!

She never stopped with that,
and she was never a brat!

Writing was her passion,
Soon drawing came into fashion.

Enthusiasm was never at loss,
She also made her first sauce.

A little adamant, but more respectful,
Her glass was always half full!

The girl had green fingers,
And was always envious of singers.

She had no limits for her ambition,
and everything fed into her passion!

She is asked to define herself,
When she always cares less about self.

She lives among many worlds,
And to describe her, she has nothing but a few words!

I have tried my best to define myself in the above few words.
Some might find it arrogantly ego-centric. I have not highlighted the negative part of mine. No one can deny that they are made up of complete positiveness. Both the good and the bad make the world and we human beings, as a part of that world are made up of the same too.
But, psychologically, as a person, we always overlook the fault within us. It is easy to find fault with others. As i said in the beginning, it is always others who find the fault within you. That is also good in a way to retain the optimism within oneself.

Also, a person can never be defined by one quality.
I have innumerable qualities in myself and others define me by what is more pronounced for them.
I see myself as a good daughter, a good student,a good friend, a good writer, a good cook, a good craft maker, a good care taker and i can see myself trying everyday to be a good human being.

No one can be stereotyped. I can define me by any of my qualities and they are never wrong.
No one should refrain themselves to only one stereotype.
If you can be a good cook, you can be a good writer too and as the woman we are, we should never be afraid to come out of the shell that the society is always imposing on us.

It is high time that we start the change in ourselves and the first step is to understand yourself to know your full potential and never be afraid to show it to the world.


This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus
 

Book Review - The Aryavarta Chronicles Book 3 - Kurukshetra

THE ARYAVARTA CHRONICLES
BOOK-3
KURUKSHETRA
by Krishna Udayashankar
- a book review

The popularity of Indian mythological fiction has been rising to newer levels in the past few years. The Indian readers are mystified by this genre and the new age Indian writers are coming up with new fiction dealing with Indian Mythology.

Indian Mythology has an immense and glorious past. The authors are busy in remake of the old to the new.

Now, I am going to review the book, Kurukshetra - The Aryavarta Chronicles Book 3 for you. This is the third book in the trilogy series by Krishna Udayashankar.

First one was Govinda and the second one was Kaurava. Those two dealt with the beginning aspects of the epic Mahabharata. The first one mainly dealt with Govinda Shauri, the name given by the author for Krishna. The second mainly deals with Kauravas.

The third book as the name indicates deals with the final war. Kurukshetra is the place where the war was fought in Mahabharata. Let us go to the book review now.

Whenever I am given a book, I have the habit of reading it from the author's note, if any. This book had one and I read through it. If you have already read the book one - Govinda, you might know it already. The author gives a small introduction to the story. All the finest scholars are gathered in a forest and the story is recited by Ugrashravas Sauti, the keeper of ancient stories. He tells all the scholars gathered there a story. The story about them. And he calls it Jaya. I have read a book by Devdutt Patnaik where he says that Vyasa recited the stories to Ganesha and he called them Jaya. It is really interesting to read different versions of the origins of Jaya. You can read the review of that book in my other post.

As I started reading the book, I felt that I was reading a different story altogether. Not totally different, but from a different perspective.

For eg, the author has portrayed all the characters as mortals. It was different to read about them when you look at the characters as people other than Gods. Though we have seen many authors trying that angle, Krishna Udayashankar deserves cudos for having portrayed them better.

We all must have read or heard about Mahabharata in our lives. Even then, most of us would not be aware of the depth of the story. I came to know about different little stories from this book.
In the beginning, I found it difficult to get to know the characters as I have not read the first two books. So, I took some time reading the synopsis of the first two books from the internet and also the author has given us a brief introduction of the characters and also the family tree. You can find that quite useful if you find yourself struck somewhere.

Overall, I found the book to be interesting and I am already eager to read the two other ones. But you need not have read them before to follow this one, as I found the book to be self explanatory and not necessarily dependent on the previous books.

In this age of mythological fictions, this book is sure to get it's own place.

This review is a part of the Biggest Book Review Program  by Blogadda for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Rating: 8/10

The Adventures of Mr.Shaving Foams

PART 1

The name board deciphering a detective in town was in place. It was a rectangular board and the name Mr.Shervin Formes was neatly written in black letters and it looked striking against the white background.

And the main character in our story, Mr.Shervin Formes was seated inside his office and was shuffling through the morning newspaper. The crime rate was high in this city of Mechir and that is why Mr.Formes chose this place for his new job far away from his hometown.

He had always been an intrusive and curious person in his childhood and his mother had always admonished him for that habit. There had been one incident in his childhood, when he found out the stacks of cigarette boxes of his father stored in the basement. He had found it and the findings were reported to his mother. Something must have happened that day because, there was no more lurking smoke smell around his father thereafter.

And after growing into a handsome young man, he thought of using his abilities to get a job. He was proud of himself when he found that he could be a detective.

Thus the Formes detective agency run by Mr. Shervin Formes was found. But life was not as easy as Mr.Formes had anticipated. He had got menial jobs for the first few weeks. Later as he felt that these menial jobs were not justifiable for his skills, he stopped accepting them.

Mr.Formes was waiting for his big break to happen.

PART 2

He never imagined in his dreams that he would be landing up with the biggest case in the history of Mechir.

It was the month of December and the snow fall had started late at Mechir. The streets were covered with snow that morning when Mr.Formes decided to take a walk.

During his walk, he crossed the mansion of Peter Zaichst. The mansion alone was occupying half of the street and it was no wonder that the city officials decided to name it the Zaichst street.

He could see the statue of Mrs.Zaichst, Peter Zaichst's mother covered with snow and only the poor lady's hat was visible. Even the huge iron gate had it's own share of snow. No one can escape the wraths of the snow and Mr.Formes hated snow. The front door was closed and he could see that the light was on in Mr.Zaichst's room.

Formes was at a dinner party at Zaichst's Mansion one day and Mr.Zaichst saw a younger version of Mr.Zaichst in Formes and they had become good friends.

Even Formes liked the old and quaint Mr.Zaichst, except when he would call him Mr.Shaving Foams instead of Shervin Formes. He had once called him Shaving Foams at a dinner party and the name had stuck with the people of Mechir. They all knew him as Mr.Shaving Foams, the detective.

He disliked Mr.Zaichst calling him by that name but he did not want to make a huge issue, as he felt sorry for the old man. He had lost his only son to a car crash and his wife had passed away years before his son learned to drive that car, which lead to his accident.

He now lived with his faithful servant Martin Berchus. Berchus has joined the household of the Zaichst some ten years ago when Mr.Zaichst was a recluse after his son's death. Peter Zaichst relied on Berchus for everything. Peter Zaichst was a well known man in the society of Mechir and as his Butler, Martin Berchus gained some respect among them.

Now, looking at the light in Mr.Zaichst's room, Mr.Formes wanted to call upon him. But considering that it was just nearing six in the morning and the sun is yet to rise, he thought that he will meet him later that day.

He continued on his journey.

PART 3

After his morning stroll, he went to his office and ameet his friend, the Barber Bobson. 

Mr.Bobson had his own shop, Bobson's Hairdo. He had many regular customers and since he did his job remarkably, his business was flourishing. Bobson became Shervin Formes friend when Formes went to have a hair cut. The friendship developed over many hair cuts and it was a strong bond.

When Mr.Formes entered Bobson's Hairdo that fine day, he noticed that there was a huge rush and his friend was busy managing a customer who wanted the four hairs on his head to be trimmed.
Formes decided to wait.

He was waiting for an hour when Bobson gave instructions to his assistant, the tall and lanky, George Markgen and came towards him.

'Hey there Foams!'

Formes really couldn't stop people calling him Foams and his Barber friend always had enough jokes in store with that name.

'Hello Bobson. Your place seems busy today.'

'Yes Foams. Not everyone has Shaving Foams as their name, you know. We have to do the shaving manually.' said Bobson and laughed at his own joke.

At that time, Martin Berchus, the butler came in and sat next to him on the sofa.

'Busy Mr.Bobson? I guess I should ask George to trim my beard?'

'Yes. You can. Anyway you always like him to service you Mr.Berchus. '

'You are always busy for me Mr.Bobson. OK. See you later gentlemen.'

He then retreated to the adjacent room, where George worked.

The friends then chatted about the climate, about the news, about the upcoming election and much more.
There was no one with huge gossips than Bobson and Shervin Formes were all ears.

Formes then returned to his office, had his lunch and was expecting a dry day. Bobson returned to his job and seeing that George Markgen has not done his job properly, started scolding him for his misgivings. But Martin Berchus was kind enough and tipped the lad generously.

PART 4

Shervin Formes was dozing off in his office and his head was about to hit the wooden table, when his phone rang.
He picked it up and was surprised to hear Bobson.

'Detective Shaving Foams! come immediately to Peter Zaichst's mansion.'
Saying this he cut the call.

Formes went to the mansion and found a huge crowd standing there.

He approached the front and there he saw the Butler, Martin Berchus standing there and talking to someone who looked like a Police Inspector.

On seeing him, the Butler came towards him. 

'Mr.Zaichst has committed suicide Sir'
Formes was shocked.

'Sir, I had been out of town for a day and when I returned I went to Mr.Bobson's place before I came here. I found him dead in his room. He had done it with his Gun. Straight to the head. I called the police immediately'

Martin Berchus was looking at Formes and Formes could not decipher his emotions. Though the society treated him with some respect, he personally found him to be repulsive. Who would want to keep a Butler with such a huge beard? His beard was thick and bushy and it looked like he had not shaved in years.

On seeing Formes speechless, the butler patted his back and went to speak to someone else, probably to repeat the news. Berchus was called everywhere and he patiently repeated it to everyone.

Shervin Formes approached the Police Inspector who was investigating it.

Formes said, 'Hello Inspector. This is Private detective Shervin Formes.' And he  extended his hand.

He took his hand and said, 'Yes Mr.Foams. I have heard about you'

I asked him, 'Have you confirmed it as suicide?'

'The Medical Examiner is yet to arrive. After that we will know for sure.'

'Then, are you suspecting foul play?'

'No. It is just a formality. The old man had been on antidepressants for some time now. It is not surprising that a depressed man committed suicide.'

The antidepressants was a news to Formes.

He usually confided everything with him, but, he never mentioned about his depression. Formes wondered whether he was embarrassed about his illness? Then how did the police know?

'How did you know that he was on antidepressants?'  Formes asked enquired the inspector.

'The old butler there informed me' replied the inspector with caution. He usually didn't like detectives interfering with his work.

Formes returned to his home around ten. He wanted to know the autopsy report.
He called the Police Inspector and asked about the results of the Medical Examiner. The inspector said the time of death to be  at ten to six in the morning.
Also, the reports had said that the antidepressants were seen at high levels in his blood. The Inspector even added that he never took Peter Zaichst to be a suicide person.

That night Shervin Formes could not sleep. He tossed and turned and he had a nightmarish sleep that day.

PART 5

The next day morning he met with the inspector at his office and spoke with him for an hour. The Inspector was not very happy with Mr.Shaving Foams questioning him regarding his work.

And Shervin Formes met the inspector again in the evening and this time the inspector was mystified with Shaving Foams has to say. They parted on the note that they both would meet at the Zaichst mansion, at 8 in the morning the next day.

The Inspector was waiting for Shervin Formes when the detective entered. The Inspector's curiosity was at a life time high. He liked the adventurous passion of the young detective. He had started liking him. He thought that the young detective must be after something and decides to help him.

Martin Berchus still lived at the mansion and he was surprised when the inspector and Formes came there.

'What can I do for you two gentlemen?' asked Berchus politely.

'We want you to come with us to a place.'

Berchus was surprised.

'May I know where and why Inspector?'

'We are taking you to a place regarding the investigation of Mr.Zaichst suicide. I take that you will not have any objection?'

'No Sir. I am ready to cooperate.'

The three men entered the Bobson's Hairdo and found Mr.Bobson waiting for them at the entrance.

Bobson lead them inside and asked Berchus to take a seat. Berchus still had that surprised look in his face and he went forward and sat on the indicated chair.

Bobson started the tedious process of shaving the thick and bushy beard of Berchus, as Shervin Formes and Inspector looked on. Bobson then placed the shaved beard in a cover handed to him and gave it to the inspector who gave a nod in the direction of Formes and disappeared.
Formes followed suit.

PART 6

That evening the inspector and Formes returned to the Bobson's place. Berchus looked tired as he was made to stay at Bobson's place the whole day. Even George Markgen was made to wait.

Everyone looked at Formes eagerly including the inspector.

'Mr.Zaichst was a well known man in the society and he was also a good person. When I first came to know that he committed suicide, my first reaction was surprise rather than grief. He was such a strong person and a person of such nature committing suicide was rather rare, but not unheard off.'

'I was also surprised when I heard from the Inspector, who heard it from Mr.Berchus that Peter Zaichst was on medication for depression. But as far as I knew he was not under any medication. We both were more closer that what appeared to you people superficially. And when the toxicology report showed high amounts of the antidepressant drug in his report, it took me by surprise. I had a notion that someone wanted Zaichst to be dead. Who would want him dead?'

'Another thing which led me towards the concept of murder was the suicide note. It was found in his room and it was handwritten and it cemented the idea of suicide. I have to say this now, but Peter Zaichst never learned to read or write. He always asked me to read for him. Evidently, someone killed him and made it look like a suicide. But the fault was that the murderer didn't know that Zaichst couldn't write a word. So, it pointed towards murder.'

Everyone were looking at him with their face ashen. The Inspector was listening with his mouth wide open.

Shervin Formes continued, ' Also on that particular day when he was murdered, his room light was on at ten to six, which later was declared to be his time of death. I was looking at his room from the road and I think I saw Berchus there. Zaichst was a late riser and Berchus cannot be at fault here. He could have been there for any reason, except for the fact that he was supposed to be out of town and return only later that day, which he himself told me'

'Because of these, Berchus looked the murderer. But what was the motive? That is where my dear friend Barber Bobson helped me. He told me how the young assistant George Markgen was preferred over him by Berchus always and how Mr.Berchus always came to trim his beard.'

'He also passed me a very important point. Bobson has a keen eye for everything. He also told me that recently Berchus would come for a trim but will leave before he had one. If a person is not going to use the Barber's services, then it must be to meet him. I found out that Berchus goes to meet the young Markgen.'

'Berchus looks a little young now with his beard removed. Can anyone of you note the same long sharp nose, high forehead and the piercing dark black eyes they both have?'

'George Markgen is Martin Berchus's son. His real name is Gregory Jonoes Berchus. He is a convicted drug peddler and he is now eye deep in debt. He had sought his father's help and they both planned to murder Zaichst. Berchus knew about the old man's will and he planned to gain on his death. Berchus will get the drug from Markgen when he visited him at Bobson's place.'

Looking at Berchus, who was looking paler every second he said, 'Now, whatever I had said could very well be a theory, only if you have shaved Berchus. Yes. Only if you could have shaved! We found the gun residue in his beard. And it is with beardy evidence that I concluded that Berchus was the murderer.'

'Markgen has been supplying the drugs his father needed with his old contacts and they both succeeded except for the beard. Only if you had shaven Berchus!'

George Markgen exploded, ' You crappy old man! I planned everything for you to do and you make me fall down with just a beard?'

Martin Berchus came forward and looking at Formes and said, ' I accept my crime Mr.Foams.'

Both the father and the son were taken to prison and they were later convicted.

PART 7

Mr.Shaving Foams rose to a new high in the society, and he told no one that his idea came from his own nick name, and from then on he had started liking his nick name, Shaving Foams.
Thus Shaving Foams saved the day by shaving the beard.

The End.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at Blogadda in association with Gillete.

I would like to tag
Almaaz at Iamaveryfreethinker
Biswanth Banerjee at Eokhardahreviews
Jaysree at Jaysreesown

You have to write a blog post by accepting the challenge tag #WillYouShave and you have to mention the link to this post.

Here are the themes for your blog post-

Opportunities – Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a ungroomed look.

Luck or Confidence? Will you leave your fate in the hands of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well- groomed face to be at your best everyday? #WillYouShave?

For Ladies:
An instance when a stubble came in the way of a man’s chance to make a good impression.

An instance when a well groomed look ensured that they struck gold on an opportunity given to them.

Click here to know more about this contest and the prizes.

Book Review - God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramanian

GOD IS A GAMER by Ravi Subramanian
Is revenge a crime?

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CROSS GAMER, BANKER, POLITICIAN AND TERRORIST WITH VIRTUAL MONEY?

From the backcover:
From the bestselling author of If God was a Banker comes the first ever bitcoin thriller. God is a Gamer is a world where money means nothing, martyrs are villains, predators are prey, assassination is taught by ancient Greeks, and nothing is as it seems.

Book Title: God is a Gamer
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 310
Price: Rs.299/-

Plot:
First of all, the reader might be wondering about the word 'bitcoin'. ( If you are familiar with it, pardon me and proceed to the next paragraph) I was ignorant about the word and immediately googled it. Of course! Gained some knowledge from it. But not entirety crystal clear. You too can try it.
But don't worry if you can't get the meaning of the word before looking at the first page of the novel.
The author has explained about it in the beginning pages and it made me understand better. Kudos to the author for that. Because without explaining about Bitcoin, you cannot write a thriller out of it.
Now about the story. The story starts in New York. It then goes to New Delhi and Mumbai. It then goes to Goa. Then to Washington.
In the beginning few pages, the readers might wonder how they are all connected. But in a few pages, you get to know the links.
An Assassination, a riot, a death follows. Also occurring is the million dollar spams occurring in an International Bank. Is there a  problem with the Bank or the outsource?
Also the virtual money involved makes the story still more captivating. It is really better than all the occult bank accounts offshore in all the crime novels. This, the virtual money is far better to be involved in a plot. A new genre in thriller and it goes smoothly along the story rather than being rendered to the reader in between the pages. You will feel its presence throughout.
And also this book deals with the banking details without any difficult banking terms and I was able to read the novel without seeking help from the google for it. So the total plot was good and I was hooked.
What could be happening? Who could be doing it? And there is also the bitcoin factor about undetectability.
Who will find about who is doing and what is happening?
Read it to find out! Saying more will spoil it and it will be worth reading it from the book itself.

Characters;
The story is filled with intriguing characters. They are all mysterious in their own way.
The author, in the beginning introduces new characters in every chapter. And they gradually form a chain of characters and you would be amazed to find them interlinked. But in no way they were confusing. Every character looked like they had something to hide from others. If to say it better, they were all a mysterious bunch of people involved in an even more mysterious world.
Some of the main characters are Swami, Aditya, Sundeep, Varun, Tanya, Malavika, FBI chief, Josh Connelly.

Overall, the story was gripping and it turned out to be a page - turner for me. Somewhere in the middle for some ten pages or so, I was lost. But the story soon lured me enough to complete the book in one sitting.

Author: The author of this book is Ravi Subramanian. He is a banker and also an author. And no prizes for guessing his favorite genre in thrillers. I have read two of his previous books like, If God was a Banker and Bankerupt and I liked them. They were in the genre of banking thrillers . The author has written this book in the same genre and no wonder these make an interesting read. Involving huge amounts of money with geniuses, innocent ones, murders and murderers always make an interesting read.

Finally...
What I liked about this novel is it was fast paced, involving multiple characters and more than one plot which meets at a point.
What I didn't like about it is some few dull pages.. 10 pages or so. And nothing else.

One word: A page turner! And I absolutely liked it!

Rating: 9.5/10

Thanks to Blogadda for sending me this signed copy.
This review is a part of the Book review program by Blogadda.
This review is a part of the biggest <a href="http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank"> Book Review Program </a> for <a href="http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers.</a> Participate now to get free books!