Book Review: "The Secret of the Nagas" by Amish Tripathi

Segment: Fiction - Indian Mythology

Background: 2nd book of the "Shiva Trilogy", which consists of:
1/ The immortals of Mehula (find review in my earlier posts)
2/ The secret of the Nagas &
3/ The oath of Vayuputras (expected to be released by Dec, 2012)

In Shiva Trilogy, Amish takes a unique approach of looking at "Shiv Puran" or so to say, our entire belief about Hindu Mythology. Whether Gods are super-humans mentioned only in mythological stories or they were humans, known as Gods today, because of the decisions they took and role they played in human history?

I would advise to pick this book up after you finish "The immortals of Mehula". This will help you to appreciate the plot & context better.

Verdict & Feel: A good read and apt sequel to "The immortals of Mehula". As it normally happens in book series, this 2nd book is more intriguing as the story moves at a much faster pace with the plot taking a firm & interesting shape leaving us wanting for more. Again, there is no escape from buying the next (& final) book of the trilogy (this time, I am looking forward to it, though..!!).

After the basic introduction of the concept of "duality" in his last book, Amish does a great job in explaining it in greater detail in this book along with delving deeper into complex phenomenons like "Good" & "Evil".

As I had very little knowledge of Shiv Puran, I feel enriched after reading these 2 books. I feel even more strongly that all Indian scriptures tell us about the same things, by personifying the forces at play in our mind & heart, weaved in grand larger-than-life stories. Ironically, we have become too rigid in our reading of scriptures / mythology to look beyond words and consider them as a read for spiritual flight only to be pursued after we have lived our real life.

Writing Style:
- the language is simple and writing style is straight forward. Story flows on a linear plane at a constant pace. However, there is enough to be told in this book, to keep the reader engaged.

- Amish's ability to go into details and create a visual of the scene in front of our eyes is phenomenal. I continue to believe that this is only a necessity of this series and Amish has more variety to offer in his future writings.

- the key concepts of duality, good, evil etc are explained in decent detail across the book, unlike "Immortals of Mehula" where the story doesn't unfold beyond pure fiction until last few pages.

Time: Took me about 4 days of average reading.

Other observations:
- Would like to emphasize at the cost of repetition (as mentioned in review of "The Immortals of Mehula" too) - the map of India in 1900 BC, provided inside front cover of the book is indispensable to understand the story better!

- Amish has put no efforts (no mention in the preface; absence of any disclaimer/s) to relate the plots, events, locations and names mentioned in the book to today's knowledge of the same in history or mythology. It looks like Amish is capturing the key historical / mythological people, events & understanding, using fiction as a way of narration. I really hope Amish relate the story to present day belief in the last book of the Trilogy.

My Rating: Shiva Trilogy - 7/10; The Secret of Nagas - 7/10

Book Review: "The Immortals of Meluha" by Amish Tripathi

Verdict: Decent read for a reader with patience. Be prepared to buy the next 2 titles of the trilogy, as even after finishing the book, you may feel that this book is just a sub-plot (a critical one, nonetheless) to a bigger story, which is yet to be told.

In its own way, Amish brings forth a intriguing concept of "duality" with an apt story build around it and challenges the way we look at good or evil. I feel all Indian scriptures tell us the same basic things by personifying the forces at play in our mind & heart weaved in grand larger-than-life stories. It is ironic that we have become too rigid in our reading, to look beyond words and consider all our scriptures as a read for spiritual flight only to be pursued after we have lived our real life. The concept could have been elaborated more in the book, though. I hope the same is taken care of in the sequel/s.

Look n feel: The feel of the pages is just fine (not great) unlike the cover which is crisp & inviting but it's not a deal breaker. Expected the book to relate (in between the story) the story in the book with our present day understanding of history or mythology about God Shiva and thus, to provide the real context and reasons thereof, but to my disappointment, it doesn't happen.

Writing Style:
- the language is simple; writing style is straight forward with hardly any suspense plots. Story flows on a linear plane at a constant pace.

- Amish goes into absolute details (No, Shobha Day is still beyond his reach which I feel is good !) and successfully creates a visual of every person, place or event across the entire story. In the hindsight, it is necessary for the plot of this specific book.

- request you to practice patience and read till the last page before forming an opinion about the book :) . after sometime, i had started giving up the hope for the story to unfold beyond pure fiction, which doesn't happen until last few pages.

Time: Finished it in 4 days as I had some spare time early last week.

Other observations:
- A map of India in 1900 BC is provided inside front cover of the book. This is a welcome (very concise & crisp) piece of information which helped me to 'see' the book through!

- While, I was tempted to know several times, Amish has put no attempts whatsoever (no mention in the preface; absence of any disclaimer/s) to relate the plots, events, locations and names mentioned in the book to today's knowledge of the same in history or mythology. It remains a mystery whether Amish is telling a pure fiction (I really don't hope and feel so) or explaining a historical / mythological understanding based on research using fiction. I really hope Amish captures this in the sequels (Yes... I've already ordered the next title !!!).

My Rating: Shiva Trilogy - 7/10; The Immortals of Mehula - 6/10

Will public sector banks become mainstream banks again?

Firm, effective & a REAL response within 2 hours of sending a mail to email ids mentioned on Bank's website, plus a call directly on your mobile (while you are travelling out of town) from the Zonal Officer... wonder which Bank is this? 

Settings: A real life incidence in Indian Banking Industry (retail business)

Hint: Try your wildest guess!

Even a child in India would tell you with confidence that this is possible only from a really good private sector bank, if at all, and can, at best, be someone's dream to even expect such a response from any public sector bank in India.

But to my own surprise, time and again, several public sector banks have made me feel otherwise... Bank of India, point in case above, sets a wonderful example of service standards as early as today morning. While, a bank manager in a remotely located retail branch acted Godly for a small problem faced by one of my family members, the bank did convert a sour experience into a moment of delight with swift and effective response. 

Another intriguing experience I had was with State Bank of India some time ago, at a retail branch while I wanted to close a bank account. The branch manager spend half an hour to convince me not to close the account. By the way, I closed that account not for any problem in services but to consolidate my banking transactions to my salary account (which happened to be a private bank). The conviction with which the branch manager spoke and interest shown to keep a normal customer with the bank was phenomenal.

There is no doubt that public sector banks still have a long road to travel for providing a robust and reliable infrastructure, facilities and allied services (e.g. 24x7 customer care help, online services, credit cards, insurance, D-mat account etc.) which banks in private sectors boast of, especially for a retail customer. But I am talking about the change in the intend and conduct, which is noticeable over the last few years. I have been banking with private sector banks for over 10 years now and don't remember a single incidence where a request was catered to in less than a day. Another biggest problem I face with a private bank is that all employees consider themselves a party other than bank and feel proud to convey this in every 3rd sentence (whether it is the customer care representative or the so-called personal banker allocated to you!).

While, some may argue that these are sparingly seen cases of little or no expectations met unexpectedly (and probably, I agree to them to some extend), I want to draw the attention to the fact that in these cases, public sector banks are providing more effective and concrete services at much personal level. 

While, a lot has to change at grass root operations of a public sector bank like branches located in remote / small areas where, employees still consider themselves God and the zeal to serve its customer is still amiss, I have to admit, in all fare-ness, that a Branch Manager of a public sector bank in a city will treat you better than any of its counterparts in the private sector. He will not try to sell you D-mat account when you are looking for fixed deposits. :)

With such incidents happening more often the question keeps coming back to my mind - will public sector banks regain their lost sheen? Will public sector banks become mainstream banks again???

Book review: "The Krishna Key" by Ashwin Sanghi

Verdict: A must read for anyone interested in exploring the truth (and context, more so) of Hindu Mythology & History. Mind you, the book is not boring or impractical just because it talks about history or mythology.

Look n feel: Thought that it will run for a month or even more, when I picked it up, but finished it in about a week just because it is difficult to keep it down.

Writing Style:
- Felt like I was reading a Dan Brown book (Da vinci Code, Angels n Demons, The Lost Key) written for Indian settings from the moment I picked up the book till the very end.

- Characters asking questions just to ensure that all details may be provided by author (sometimes at the cost of repetition) was too obvious. Reminded me of what CID does to murder mysteries! Meanwhile, this only resulted in me flipping pages at greater pace. Plot & the story remains gripping at all times.

- Interestingly, the book can be made into a movie, as is, scene by scene.! Looks like, Ashwin is already expecting bollywood producers to buy its movie rights just like Chanakya's Chant! BTW, I might still go for that movie :)

Other observations:
- The disclaimer in the beginning is a spoiler, as I expected Ashwin to own up some of the research work and facts. (Dan brown claims all details and facts to be true in his books!!!)

- While I advise to take specific details with a pinch of salt (but that's true for any book), it may be an interesting read (may be even an eye opener) for anyone who feels that our ancestors were uneducated dumb guys and that it's high time that we take our history also seriously and stop re-inventing the wheel..!

When I ran 10K...!

“Should I or should I not? Actually, why should I or for that matter, why shouldn’t I? I don’t even know why do people actually do it?” So many thoughts came rushing to my mind in a jiffy, sitting in that meeting discussing usual business, while the voice on the other side waited patiently after having tried its best to convince me to participate in the Hyderabad 10K… and the reasoning given was neither social nor health banter. But, the one which, to my own surprise, worked well in that split second - “We are all going, you also come…it’ll be fun…” I bet all of us would have succumbed to this atleast once in our lifetime, if not several times..!

Thinking that I still have some days left to decide to actually go or not and that this way, I’ll have the option open, if I decide to go… or probably, it was simply the desire sitting inside me for several months to break free of the routine… Whatever, I said okay… no, I think I said okees :) Yes, the meeting went on well too!

After having the never lasting, but interesting, discussion with colleagues around my cubicle about the goodies received in the running kit, having decided the meeting time and place with my curious colleagues, who had pushed me into this (curious, as I feel they were equally lost about the reason of us doing this as I was :)) (I did do some office work too, by the way!!!), here I was, lying in my bed the night before, setting a really early morning alarm in my mobile… and thinking constantly – “why am I doing this?... that too on a precious Sunday!”

After initial usual logistics hicupps, by the grace of God, I, along with couple of team members, reached the venue, near Eat Street at Necklace Road, at around 7.30am (Yes, 7.30am on a Sunday!). During the first half an hour, I was sure that this will not last more than 2-3 kms… probably, we’ll enjoy a early morning tea somewhere and go back home, and thus, I may still get to catch up to my dear sleep….!

But, then suddenly, we found many more office colleagues, not far, till now hidden in the sea of about 10,000 people who had gathered there. Soon, all of us, with a surprisingly natural smile on our faces, warmly greeted each other, got ourselves clicked (read - got our attendance registered!). Kritika & Santu, my fellow colleagues, had already started planning to put these pics on facebook (in the order of occurrence!), as soon as they reach back home!

And then we all started, around 15-20 of us, and soon disappeared amongst thousands of such groups from various companies (Well… we were in the Corporate Run timing)…. I was still imagining 2-3 kms of fun and I later came to know many of us were thinking the same at that time!!! Apart from the usual run and walk routine (okay… walkkkkkkkkkkkkk – run – walkkkkkkkkkkkkkk routine), scenic beauty around Hussain Sagar lake & the cool breeze, I still can’t forget, those visibly not so distinct moments – to keep running beyond our running capacity just to run along the friend ahead of us or to gasp for breath while showing that we are waiting for the fellow colleagues, undying desire to capture everything in our cams, discussing, nope - criticizing the use of plastic bottles and numerous others. And suddenly, I was surprised, when I saw people clicking pics beside the 5 km mark…! For the first time, I felt that I might run entire 10km…!

And then it just happened… we actually did finish 10km in just about 2 hrs of time…to meet Mr. Sudhakar, who was waiting anxiously for us near the finishing line. And trust me, all of us were on the top of the world at that moment… and it makes sense too, as one might need wings more than legs to be up there… you know! (well, even after continuous walking, the legs do pain!)

When I look back today, the first thoughts which come to my mind are, of the smiling faces around, the small jokes shared on the way, a sumptuous nice breakfast at Vaishnav’s, a small restaurant nearby, after the run… and most importantly, how, during this run I started talking to so many of new colleagues and got new friends!... I now know why I’ll run another 10K too..!!!

Actually, I should have said, “when we ran 10k…!!!”