[Blog a Prompt] Day 4 Prompt - Disaster

Written for 'Blog - A - Prompt'. Today's prompt is 'Disaster' :)

Thinking of disaster, i remember 2 things. One is a natural disaster and another is one of my performances that went terribly wrong :)

My experience on cyclone Sandy which has hit North eastern part of USA last year was terrible. Here is my post on that :) We spent around 4 days without electricity, water, food etc., 

As a classical dancer, i used to give performances regularly in my childhood. There is one specific song/ item 'Tharangam' in Kuchipudi which is slightly difficult to perform. It needs more practice, focus and concentration than other items. Dancer enacts the childhood mischief's of Lord Krishna in first part of the song and dances on a plate, with small vessel filled with water on head and balancing with candles in both the hands in the second part of the song. It was my 2
nd or 3rd performance where iam presenting tharangam and i was very nervous. I have practiced a lot before performance at home by keeping vessel/ small pot with water on head, but nervousness on D day spoils all our concentration na.. While performing, some water spilled from the vessel and i somehow managed that pot didn't fall on the stage. This was my first and last performance that went terribly wrong. I performed all other items well, but disappointed on this and cried a lot on that day. One good thing is - my teacher didn't say/ scold anything about the glitch. She told its common to be nervous and told me to relax and practice well for the next time. 

After this incident, i always practice a lot before performing this item again.  

Until next time,

Image courtesy: Google images

Monday - Start of a fresh week

Written for Blog a prompt. Today's prompt is 'Monday' :)

People say many negative things about Monday. It is the start of daily routine, breaking the fun of weekend. It doesn't motivate you in any way, as you have whole week ahead with loads of work and new responsibilities. I agree all and even i would like to enjoy all weekends and would be happy if Monday is skipped out of calendar.. err.. that cannot happen. This is as if praying there shouldn't be last coach in a train :) 

If not Monday, there will be Tuesday which will become start of week :( 

So, there is no way we can avoid you dear Monday.. only way is to think something positive about you  and adjust :)

I usually complete all important tasks on Saturday and take enough rest on Sundays. So, will start Monday afresh. I don't know if the coming week will be good or bad, but want to welcome it happily. My son (2 yrs old) doesn't know difference between week days, because he plays and enjoys well on all days equally.  No  holidays and also no work for him. From next month, he will be joining school(nursery), and he will now know for sure in what way weekend is special. 

Whatever, avoid Monday blues and be hopeful of good things that may happen in the week. As it is said in movie Forrest Grump, 

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get"

What do you say?

Until next time,

Image courtesy: www.mdjunction.com, www.thefocusedfilmographer.com

Once upon the tracks of Mumbai - [Book review]

Reading books and writing reviews is becoming my daily routine now :) How good it will be, if my job is only to read books and review them :p (of course i should get paid for it :))

Book details:
Title : Once upon the tracks of Mumbai
Author : Rishi Vohra
Publisher : Jaico
Source: Review copy from author

I have been reading many books in recent times and this particular one is like a fresh sea breeze :) Have been reading lot of fiction and thrillers. But, this is a casual story with mumbai backdrop. Babloo is autistic and so, has difficulty in understanding few things, he is slow in learning things, but very good at heart. Because of his autistic characterstic, his family (father, a clerk in railway office, mother, a house wife and brother Raghu, working in a stock broker office) always ignore him and never make him feel like a family member. Babloo has a split personality too, the other person always encourage and give confidence to Babloo in all matters. Babloo loves Vandana, who also stays in railway colony and doesn't treat babloo like a retarded person, but talks to him like a normal friend. There comes a twist in the story when Babloo decides to do something to save people in need of help in the form of 'Railman'. Rail man is like an another split personality of Babloo whose purpose is only to provide justice by fighting with bad people. What happens to Babloo at the end? Will the Railman be acquitted from court ? Will he marry Vandana? All these questions will be answered in the climax.
Pretty simple story, isn't it? Characterization is good, especially typical middle class bride groom mentality shown through Raghu, cunning Sikander who takes advantage of women, Responsible father Sekhar gupta, typical gossipy house wife Sudha etc., Writing style is simple and it is as if someone is telling story sitting before you.. I didn't feel bored anywhere while reading this book. As i don't know much about Mumbai, this book gave me a real point of view on Mumbai as if i went there and saw with my eyes.

What is not good?
At some places, descriptions about surroundings are lengthy and boring. Climax is not very convincing and realistic. I feel, connection points are missing at few places like how Babloo changed to Railman very quick and how a smart girl like Vandana fell for Sikander even after he lost her trust once. 

My stars :)
It is simple easy going novel, good for reading during journeys. If you like Mumbai and know it very well, you may love this book. My rating is 3/5.
Refer the below site for more info on book and the author
http://rishivohra.com/

Until next time,

Salvation of a Saint - [Book Review]

Book Details:
Title: Salvation of a Saint
Author: Keigo Higashino
Source: Blogadda book review program

This book is a kind of crime thriller, from a Japanese author. You might have heard about best seller novel 'Devotion of suspect X'. This is from the same author. I haven't read the other book, but i think, now iam interested to read that too. :)

Story starts with the death of a rich married person Mr. Mashiba. His wife Ayena Mashiba goes to her mother's place just 2 days before the murder, posing a strong alibi. Mr. Mashiba is found dead by Hiromi who is a student in the patchwork class conducted by Ayena. It will be found by homicide department that death was caused by poisoned coffee, but no one knows how someone entered into the house which is locked from inside and escaped. Detectives Kusangi, Utsumi and professor Yukawa play a main role in investigating the perfectly planned murder of Mr Mashiba. There is not much suspense about the killer as all investigations and interrogations point to Ayena as killer, but only thing that police wait is for a clue to prove that she is the murderer.

Detectives find poison 'arsenic acid' residuals in water filter system attached to tap. Another interesting find is that this poison is added through filter one year ago and it was never used. Who can plan a murder that advance and wait for such a long time to execute? Even if they do, how can they take care that no one else use this tap water and die instead of Mr.Mashiba? This makes the crime a perfectly planned one without leaving any traces. This plot and timing seems un-believable. 

I don't want to reveal much about the story line as it may spoil the interest of new readers. Overall, this is a page turner and i couldn't leave this book in the middle. I don't feel it is a perfect crime thriller, as the way murder is planned is un-believable without leaving any clue/ trace.

Characterization is very good and writing style is simple and excellent. Mrs. Ayena Mashiba is shown as a brave and confident individual, she never shows her regret or fear about the murder during investigation until last minute. Character of Mr.Mashiba is also very peculiar. Professor Yukawa is excellent with his power of reasoning and driving the other detectives to the point. We love Kusangi's character by the end of the book as he continues his investigation in different angles and provides important evidence, even though he has a soft corner on Ayena. Utsumi is another such interesting character who is very sharp in observing the feelings of the person they are investigating. She brings out women thinking perspective for the investigation, which helps Kusangi a lot. Book is interesting throughout. Logical reasoning of the detectives and their investigation is very good. Since it's on Japanese background, remembering character names is quite difficult. One negative point is that i didn't feel title is very apt for the book, even though they gave some explanation, it is not very convincing. I would surely recommend this book for crime thriller lovers.

My rating: 3/5

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

Until next time,