I am not twenty four- A book review

When I first started reading the novel, I was negative already. It started in a way how chetan bhagat starts his novels. Where the author describes how he listens to the story of the character he met and then narrates it. But still, I started reading the novel, where the central character Saumya describes her story to the author.

Saumya is a girl born and brought up in Delhi. She cannot live without her morning coffee and is a girl who would not step out of the house without her favorite pumps. After her completion of MBA, she gets ecstatic when she gets selected to work at the prestigious Lala steel. But surprises start when she gets to know that she actually has to go to a steel plant in karnataka called torangallu.

It all starts going bad when her name is mistaken as a guy's name. Reaching torangullu, she starts hating her job straight away. A girl who has grown with skirts and boys going owl eyed on her, gets thrown into a place which she least expected. Things then change for the better with her hampi trip, where she meets Shubrudeep Shyamchaudhary(Shubru for short). Shubru is a weed addict and with his travels all around the world is an interesting character in the story. She gets drunk with him, gets fascinated by his stories and likes him from the first day itself, but after that first night they don’t meet again

.

Saumya returns back. She gets to know about her job that she is a member of action team in Lala Steel, and things start to go horribly wrong. She is not only emotionally taxed, but a physical wreck too.

One after the other, things start to happen, where she reaches a point when she decides she cant do her job anymore, when along comes back shubru in her life.

He is what every girl dreams. Hot, intriguing and extremely good looking, but still with his discreet aura, he has something special within him and when saumya gets to know that, she is both surprised and awed.

If I have to start, I’d start by saying. When I had finished the novel, I was satisfied. To say the truth, it has been a long time since I have been satisfied by a novel. There were constant surprises going on and as the book says this is one of the stories, where you won’t feel as it’s yours but will still empathize with the character.

Saumya story from the start holds you with utmost interest. Starting with her first move to torangullu from Delhi, where she is thrown into a job she dislikes. She learns how life can be a complete contrast from city to a village.

The characters in the novel are laid out at its best. There are times when you will close the book for a moment and sit back thinking what the hell is happening. For me that is the key to decide whether a book is good or not. It should provide with moments where you feel a shock so strong that makes you close the book, close your eyes and you’re just stunned by its narration.

I must say, I started reading the book in a negative aspect, but as I read along it dint take me 10 pages to turn into a positive state of mind. The book holds your interest throughout and gives you many memorable moments which will stay long with you even after the book has been finished.

Besides the central character, I loved shubru's too. What starts out as almost just another boy toy soon becomes such an integral part of the whole story.

I think in the modern Indian author era where every story is just about some IIT or IIM guy finding true love, I must say this book by sachin garg is one hell of a firecracker.

The story is strong and there are characters for which you would care for. I give it 4 out of 5 stars and I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed by the story and the novel itself. Sachin garg has instantly become my favorite with this one.

I wanna thank blog adda.com for sending me this book. Really guys if it wasn't for you I would have never have found such a talented storyteller. Sincerely, thank you.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Qvendo -The king in International Fashion

What is the one thing that makes you feel good no matter what happens in a day? Be it a day when your boss yells at you, or a day when things just aren’t going as you planned, there is always that one thing which at the end of the day can set things right…..

A pitcher of beer, a night out with friends you might say. But other than these there is one activity where you not only spend, but earn too. You earn confidence, jealous looks and many more and that activity is shopping.

Many may argue that shopping is a boring thing to do and you end up strained and exhausted at the end of the day. But that need not be the case. With advancements in technology come the advancements in convenience. Now with just couple of clicks you can be at your office or home and whatever you desire can be yours and that’s where QVENDO.com comes in.

As unique as the name sounds, QVENDO’s quality and service provide more than any website could. It is not just a website; it’s a place where you can experience the easy, wholesome and awesome experience of shopping. When I first got to know about the website, it said it was a private INVITATION-ONLY shopping club. I was instantly intrigued, and quickly furnished the details to became a member and when a saw what it held inside. I was stunned.

Products from international brands at prices you cant even imagine is what it held inside.

Take your pick: True Religion, Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfigher and many more. To be honest, I dint even know couple of brands existed till I checked it in the website. As I was browsing through I lost the sense of time. It was only when my senior manager came and yelled at me, did I see I had been going checking the site for 3 hours! The layout and the presentation is so attractive and fascinating that I was hooked.

I went back home and I made my list about what I want.

Thousif’s dream Shopping List:

Replay Gents Watch - RH7312NJ1

Replay Gents Watch - RX7307NF

True Religion Longsleeve Bike Seat Rock N

True Religion Shoe Black

True Religion T-Shirt Black

Porsche Design Purse Cognac

Feraud Belt Blue, Red, White Men

Giorgio Armani Shades Black-Brown

The North Face Messenger Red

Pink Poodle Bag Celebrity-Amy-Black

WATCHES

Going through the website, which is eezy breezy by the way, my first stop was the sale ongoing on REPLAY watches.

Being a huge fan of wrist watches, I browsed through the sale and found 2 which I loved.

Replay Gents Watch - RH7312NJ1

I just couldn’t take my eyes of them. Just look at the RH731. The golden yellow color bezel standing out majestically along with the numbers in the same color, I felt like a magnet getting attracted to it. My eyes had moved in so close to the monitor that without my knowledge I was kissing the watch. Yeah it looks so good.

Replay Gents Watch - RX7307NF

Another one is the RX730. This watch is what you called a delight. Strap made out of pure leather again with the yellow contrast setting in so beautifully in the display. Its amazing.

Shirts which make you love religion-True Religion.

Not bad for a tag line I think :P. Anyways, just take a look at those shirts. You can wear them and stand out even if millions are around you. The True Religion Long sleeve biker’s shirt with its design and prints is a treat to watch and one can only imagine how well it feels like when worn. One look and I was completely bowled over. I love t shirts which have a design on the chest as well as the back. But this is just phenomenal. When you wear it and go in your bike or scooter for that matter, you will attract more than just looks ;)

When I shop, I also tend to check the ladies section, and the reason is my girlfriend. I believe any good thing which you have has to be shared with your better half too and QVENDO gave me just that with its true religion sale.

Take look at this t-shirt for example. Black, her favorite color and a majestic print! I mean how can a person not fall in love with just the looks of it. This t-shirt also came in my wish list because she had gifted me a similar one which had a side arm patch and if I can give it to her. It would bring such good memories and would make a beautiful moment for us.

Finally coming to my most favorite item other than watches - SHOES

I am not even gonna say it. Just look at this shoe from True Religion and tell me you don’t love it! I mean, its leather with an awesome horse stitched design and looks like a shoe lover’s dream come true. I just want it, that’s all I can say. I want it like now!

Wallet - Porsche Design Purse Cognac

I saw the name Porsche and I was sold. I then took a look at the specs and I was thoroughly impressed. Leather wallet to hold my money and cards with the name Porsche on it, yeah it would not only be cool, but it would be an epitome of coolness.

Belt- Feraud Belt Blue, Red, White Men

I am a huge fan of T and jeans as I have said and wearing this belt with my fav pair of jeans would be really cool. Look at the color and the make. Leather with such a fine blend of colors. Being fashionable does not get better than this.

Shades, Armani Style. Giorgio Armani Shades Black-Brown

If your stepping out for a lunch, or a long sunny road trip with your friends. These shades will not only look cool but will let your eyes stay cool. Cheesy I know :P. But I can’t help it. These shades look amazing. I remember I had borrowed a pair of Armani glasses from one of my very rich friends, and they were so comfortable. After that day I have always wanted one.

Bag - The North Face Messenger Red

I am and always have been a huge fan of one sided bag, a messenger bag to be precise. Looking at this bag, I was just drawn to it. Look at its features.

Polyester red messenger bag, Secure Velcro and buckle closures, Adjustable shoulder strap and removable hip belt, Large main compartment and internal pockets, Ideal for rugged day to day use

Yeah, I want that one so bad, and it’s in my favorite color. RED!!!

Pink Poodle Hand Bag

No its not for me :P. Again, this for the lovely lady of my life.

To be honest this was the first time I had heard the name of Pink Poodle hand bags. And as I was browsing I took a look into this one and I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I thought of my girlfriend and it’s her birthday next month. She was saying I’d need a nice hand bag and it could not have found a perfect hand bag than this one.

100% leather and a design to kill for! It’s amazing, yes it is, and it would be the perfect gift with that t-shirt I mention above.

QVENDO is not just a website that sells clothes. It’s like a land that provides you with a way to fulfill all your dreams in regard to international fashion, where you can own anything from Armani to Tommy Hilfiger at prices you could have never imagined.

I know my boss is gonna be very happy this year because I am gonna work hard and get myself promoted just to buy all those things in my wish list. Cannot wait!

You can also make your own wish list by visiting this exclusive link and becoming a member to fulfill all your needs in regard to international fashion. Just browse once and you’ll know the difference between normal websites and QVENDO.

This post was written for a contest called ‘Discover Qvendo’ on Indiblogger. If you liked what you read, then vote up, I may win and end up making my friends jealous :P.. Here’s the link J

Disclaimer: ALl images have been taken from QVENDO.com. I don not own any right over them.

The brand new Bangalore kid – part 3

If you are thinking when did part 2 come out… well it will come out… but in the last post one of my fav bloggers suruchi *hugs and kisses her* ;) asked me to talk about a particular incident so I am writing about it now. This incident happened after the incidents which I wanted to reveal earlier, so now part 3…. Now put your finger on your lips (sexily ;)) and read :).

Life experience #43 : Getting thrown into a river(or was it a stream… anybody know the difference? ;)) …40ft deep and feeling awesome :D

To start with I have to tell you, I was always a kid who was his parents fav and they protected me more than how angry birds protected their eggs :P… it was always school and home, college and home. I dint mingle with frenz much and always used to be home more than outside. And I don’t blame them, my mom loves me a lot and she dint want anything to happen to me, so she always insisted to come back home early.

In all these I lost out on many moments. When my frenz used to call me to someplace suddenly, I was always skeptical. Should I go? Shouldn't i? What would mom think, I was such a momma’s boy! :P, anyways coming back to the issue, I never hung out much with frenz, I wanted to but just dint wanna upset my mom too.

But coming to Bangalore, WOW, as I have said I have done a ton of things, and one among them is being thrown into that river.

Arpit and suruchi get angry and say: ‘Ab story shuru kare gab hi, ya sirf back story bolta rahega?, we know u were kind of a wuss :P and u became bolder after coming to bang, start with the near death experience all ready!!’

Ok suruchi ok :P he he. I can imagine her smile and it looks beautiful, (I donno about arpit, coz I don’t imagine him like that ;). Still his smile is cute too, I’ve heard a couple of girls say , don’t ask who arpit :P, it’s a secret).

So back to the story, Chavan is a magician, I donno how is does it. One moment he is suffering with a 104 degree typhoid fever, next moment he is saying: ‘Pack your bags we are going to Goa’ :P… he is so eccentric and lively and I love that fact about him, this time though it was the trip to a nearby place called Dubare forest :) (its famous for elephants)

(Actual Dubare Images :))

Being in kodagu all my life, I still hadn’t visited a lot of places. So for Dussera he said he is going out with his frenz and asked me to come along. I was being lazy again, but he insisted and next thing I know I am in madikeri (my hometown :D) sleeping in the room chavan and his friend rented. Let me now introduce the 3 very interesting frenz of chavan(and mine too :D)

Chandan (this guy is the definition of cool)

Amit Vikram (He the funnest person I have known, when drunk :P)

Mr silent good hearted person (Actually I forgot his name :P, sorry yaar :P)

So all these guys including me and chavan were in madikeri. Chandan is a guy with multiple pluses. He is good with cracking jokes, can hold onto to his liquor like a rock, and knows to make awesome cocktails too. So that day in the room we all sat down and he started preparing cocktails for everyone. I looked at him in awe as he concocted a potion with… hold your horses… Mango ‘Slice’(yes the juice). Nimbooz :P, Teachers brandy, lil lime and Salt on the edges of the glass ;)

I donno what it’s called, but all the guys who drank it, loved it. What started as just one glass turned to 2, 3, almost 4. (They stopped because the salt ran out :P). I was seeing them enjoy and I really wanted to steal a glass and taste it, just dint, couldn’t,( maybe I will cross that barrier one day too :)). But as I saw them enjoy, the same feeling came as the last time. Happy, content, and free (without being drunk ;)) and I loved it.

Amit is THE guy when it comes to laugh. At one time I asked him ‘dude how do you laugh?’ He started and that was the end of it … ha ha ha my god, it was so funny … Its like a combination of Ravan+The joker of batman and its LOUD :d.. We laughed and laughed and Chavan was like, ‘Oh stop you’re gonna make me throw up :P’. Honestly at that moment I saw and felt what I had been missing all these years. Hanging around frenz is fun, drunk frenz is even more fun :P. I have never had so much fun as I had here IN MY LIFE and it was just getting started.

Night grew, we went out outside where everyone was enjoying the festival of dusshera by dancing in front of the temple idols. These guys danced like crazy, I wanted to join in but had the camera in my hand, so I went my back to the room and till I dumped and came back, I saw everyone was exhausted. Still it dint dampen our spirit to roam around in the night.

Actually the thing is, in Madikeri the night is awesome on Dusshera, because the whole city is lighted up and devotees build huge creations of god and demons to tell the story through mock models, which are huge, usually taking up almost 3 to 4 tractors. There are 10 temples who make these models and prizes are distributed for best 3, people finish up celebrating dussera in Mysore and leave to Madikeri for the night, it’s so popular.

We too wanted to see what each temple had done, but Amit vikram was so exhausted and dizzy from the dancing, that we saw him puking at the side of the road … and it was funny. The way he was swaying from side to side, the way he almost got his butt beaten by a cop, while he was sitting on the road, and even after puking multiple times was full of energy to roam the whole city :P.

It was FUN, just being there, it was so fun. Chavan looked at his condition and said ‘Lets go back we are in no position to roam the city with this heavy head feeling, and we’d probably get our asses whooped with Mr crazy Amit here acting as Kistu Mukherjee every 2 mins’. So we saw the intelligence in his decision and went back and crashed on our beds.

To be continued…

(I know you all are boo hoo, where is the real story you cunning fox :P… but the post has grown long, I’ll post the rest soon, till then I hope you had fun reading it. I will post soon promise, see I promised and came back right? ;), so I will be back soon :))

Till then. Take care. I love you all. Happy Diwali BTW :)

Love to each and every one of my reader, I love you all, hope you guys have a grand diwali, be safe and have tons of fun ok :). Love you

A message of love

I am so lazy guys nai? sometimes I am so lazy that I myself am surprised ke MY GOD, how lazy can i be...

EVIL M: is par awards bante hain America may... * laziest kamina award* char pade huwe hai tv ke upar... gadha..

(Rolls eyes) hmm to what I was saying ke… I had been reading one of my old posts...

EVIL M: Ahaha (Enter old 70's style saas blaming bahu voice) karam jali ke karname to dekho... dusroon ke blog nahi padta... khud ke blog post bar bar padte rehta hai... stupid..

Haan dey galiyan de... pura haq hai tujhe...

EVIL M: galiyan nahi... bum pay char laat padegi na... tabhi.. tabhi pata chalega tujhe... kaash arpit or suruchi kahin ass pass hote... itne lagwata tujhe... itne lagwate na... hmph

EVIL M naraz hai... kya aap log bhi naraz ho? (Gum naam hai koi song plays in the background because of all the sanaata as people are nowhere to be found) mere khayal say ho...

The reason for the blog post is solely you guys... every one of you reader out there... I read the Bangalore kid post... and I read the comments and I felt so good... reading all your comments it made me smile so much...

Yes I am busy... yes I don’t have time to even pee sometimes...

EVIL M: Kuch chahiye kya... not peeing problem solve karne ke liye? jaise ki... he he *evil laugh*... diaper mangwadun adult wale.. size 'S' :P ha ha ha... I am laughing so much..

EVIL nai sudharega... I have no time... but I so wanna write. I did some amazing things ... and amazing things happened to me... like I was caught by the police one time and also where I was thrown into a 40 feet deep water hole even when I said to a guy that I donno swimming... and those incidents are true... unlike the other fancy ones i mention sometimes... and I so wanna write... but am not able to find time.. I will write... I am making a promise now... that I will write about all those times... :)

Any way this is just a update to tell you.. I miss you guys and yeah I am alive... I miss all you guys who read my blog and love me so much... I love you all for coming here.. reading whatever I put out (EVIL M: which is mostly crap :P) and loving me so much..

It felt really great to read those comments... I read them at least 10 times ... so guys thank you so much... you guys always make me smile with your comments... :)

I will be back soon... promise :)... this time real promise... not the promise tooth paste wala promise... (Is that toothpaste even in production rgt now ?:P)

LOVE U :)

the awesome Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

10th august 2011, that is the day when my dream came true, when Samsung launched the fastest, sleekest and the most intelligent tab in the world in India. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1(known as the Samsung Galaxy 750 in india)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not an ordinary tab; it has more features than any of its competitors, which lets you do things faster, easier and better and I got a chance to personally lay my hands on one in the Indiblogger meet held on 10 September 2011.

Before dwelling into the detailed features of this tab, let’s take a look at what it has to offer.

If words like ‘OH MY GOD’ or ‘Wow’ have escaped from your lips without your notice, well it’s a common occurrence when one first sees this tab, so it’s ok. Now let’s dig deep and see what this tab is made of and what it can do for you

.

Let’s start with its OS –The Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)

Made for big tablets like these, the Android 3.1 honeycomb OS is a genius in itself. Stepping over its predecessor, this OS has more features to offer, like:

Resizable Widgets

If you like widgets, then you would love this feature that comes with the Samsung galaxy tab 10.1. Resize any widget to make them bigger or smaller according to your wish, by which you can or reduce or increase the number of widgets on your home screen. You can do this by holding your finger down over the widget until a blue frame appears over it, then drag the corners to resize the said widget as you see fit. Works like a charm every time.

Supports USB devices

Android users can now use USB devices like thumb drives etc and also different pointer devices, like mice, trackpads and trackballs with the use of an adapter (provided with the tab). You can also connect your device through Bluetooth. If u want to work quickly, where you want to edit or copy content, then this feature will come in very handy. The support for connecting thumb drives etc come in handy, as they can be used to save files downloaded from the internet and transfer it to other computers. It effectively transfers data on 8 GB drives, while also providing support for larger drives. You can also use game controllers like gamepads which are accessible on Xoom where you can access files, play games and transfer photos or videos anytime.

Better Apps

The apps with this version of OS have got that much better. Access for multiple folders, and searching for contacts is that much faster and better as the new search feature looks for more than just a name and a number. The calendar app has been redesigned for easy readability and better touch controls. The browser is fast, which lets you open tabs and access settings with the help of hardware acceleration.

Faster flash

The new version of Adobe Flash 10.2 is a huge improvement as it effective;y makes use of hardware acceleration on the Xoom, which makes viewing videos on a flash websites look that much good. Being an avid youtube fan, I went through some videos and this tab played 360p videos as smooth as butter cutting through the knife, 720p videos lagged a bit but it may have been due to a higher bandwidth. You can just use the YouTube app, optimized just for this android version, but for sites without any apps, flash still runs smoother as it brilliantly uses the feature of hardware acceleration

Easier Multitasking

If you multi task a lot with many open tabs on your browser, while listening to music and copying content at the same time, this tab is a dream to work with. While working with one app, hit the home screen anytime you want for the apps of your choice and you can continue doing your work without any hassle or obstructions. You can flick around the apps and use apps that overlap on the ones which you are working with, like the notepad app, without having to switch between the 2 making it that much easy to copy content or do anything you want.

That’s about the OS. Now let’s see what the hardware can do for you

Fast Processor

Packing in a Dual core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, You can not only zoom through your office documents faster,watch movies and play games and multitask as much as you want without this tablet breaking a sweat. It handles even the most hardware hungry applications, like gaming softwares with very much of ease

Bigger screen. Better movies and videos

Just like its name, the Samsung galaxy tab 10.1 has a 10.1" HD TFT display with a 1280 X 800 screen resolution in the size dimensions of 256.7 X 175.3 X 8.6 mm .

Watching movies or videos is like the treat for eyes with Samsung’s high definition screen. You would love watching everything you have in your movie collection to videos on youtube or viddler etc and keep coming back for more.

Listen to your audio and dance to your videos

Supported audio formats are MP3, AAC, WMA, AAC+ RA

Supported video formats are DivX, VidX, WMV9, WMV7, WMV8, MPEG4 video codecs.

Having the most popular audio jacks of all time ‘the 3.5 mm universal jack’, Samsung Galaxy Tab provides awesome multimedia features. It’s like a divine gift from Samsung for music listeners, As it supports all the popular formats. The dual speakers on either side of the screen are very small, but powerful and provide a surround sound effect delivering crystal clear music. I listened to some songs and the effects were awesome, with an equalizer to your favorite type of music, it offers so much for a music lovers. And you can watch your favorite videos without the need for a video converter as it supports all popular formats here too.

Hubs

Well hub is a place where you can go do your favorite things and this is the same feature applied here in the Samsung galaxy 10.1. Currently only 2 are available in India

Social Hub

Reader Hub

Social Hub gives you access to all your social networking websites at one place where you can watch updates you made and that of your friends, and reply at anytime you want. It is a live feed so you are connected with all your friends all the time.

Reader hub is for all the bookworms out there like me, where you can access all the popular e books and the newer ones which you can buy and read right on your tab without having to move an inch, and for lazy buggers like me it’s like a god send. It’s one of the most exciting features I loved about the tab.

Mobile office suite for mobile blogging.

With an integrated mobile office, you can now edit and blog from anywhere you can access internet. Editing documents or pictures can be done with the ease of touchscreen and a virtual keyboard, which is very touch friendly. For bloggers who are always travelling this device will be very worthy as you can type fast with its fast responsive keyboard and for students, well all your projects can even be done while you are late for them at night or day as you can carry it anywhere, even inside your principal’s office.

Megapixel Cameras

Having a rear end camera of 8 megapixels and a front end camera of 2 megapixels, this tab is very useful for video bloggers, and as it is light weight you can carry it around without any hassle. The quality of camera is very good compared to the other models.

Space for your every need

Space is one thing we all adore in our entertainment devices. The Samsung galaxy tab offers this and more. It comes in 16 GB and 64 GB versions giving you ample space to store your music, or movies or anything you want from photos to softwares etc

Huge Battery

Packing in all these if a device like this is less on the battery power; it could be a huge letdown. Samsung galaxy tab takes care of this need with a hugely powered 7000 mAH battery which packs in a massive 9 hours of battery backup. You can watch 9 hours of movies or listen to music for a continuous 71 hours, if there was ever a case of a ear drum transplant, well i guess i am gonna get one soon if i buy this tab.

So light weight, you’ll get addicted to juggling it.

With an approximate weight of just 565 grams, this is the thinnest tab in the world. You can carry it around like a small notebook and with one of those baggy pants probably slip it in your pocket. Its so light weight you’ll get into the habit of juggling it with your other devices and see how far up you can throw it up in the air. i've tried and i got it up pretty far :P.

Samsung galaxy tab also has additional features such as Google maps, which is very helpful to a lot of people even me , as I get lost like almost the other day. One touch and you can access maps from India to USA to Madagascar. It also has features such as Accelerometer sensors, Gyroscope and complete set of Google services such as Google talk, Google maps, Google latitude, Google places.

Samsung Galaxy tab is not just a tablet; it provides so many features to everyone, whatever your need. Be it entertainment or work productivity. It is an able companion for all your entertainment needs and lets you stay connected with all your friends. Samsun galaxy is the hottest, and the best tab in the market right now and at the price point of almost Rs. 34,000 I would say it is worth it. If you are thinking of opting for a tab but waiting because you have to buy a anniversary gift for your girlfriend, I would say… anniversary can wait, but not the tab, because only when you hold the Samsung galaxy tab in hand you’d know, how awesome this device is.

This post is for a Contest called IndiBlogger, Samsung Mobilers’ Contest. Thank you Indiblogger and, Samsung for giving me a chance to express my views about this fantastic gadget. :J

(All images were taken from google, I do not claim to have any rights on any of the pictures),