How far can you walk for name and fame while wearing the Shoes of the Dead?

India as a developing nation has a variety of problems to cope with. But none is greater and more dangerous than farmers killing themselves over the grief of not being able to pay the loans acquired by them. With this premise in mind, Kota Neelima begins the tale of Shoes of the Dead. A story that focuses to dwell deep into the perils of the Indian farmers who have to struggle every day to grow the food that keeps this nation alive.

From the first line itself, the author, Kota Neelima, sets in the exact mood that would make you care about the cause of the book. The story starts with Keyur Kashinath, son of the famous Vasihnav Kashinath, trying to understand the situation of his constituency as he keeps hearing about the problems that just won’t go away. Coming to power as a newly elected MP from the poverty stricken village of Mityala, Keyur’s informal meeting to figure out reasons why farmers are committing suicide sets the tone of the book.

As the story progresses we learn how deep the problem is. Keyur’s character comes out well as a newly elected MP as he makes mistakes due to his arrogance. These mistakes get escalated when the journalist, Nazar Prabhakar, learns how deep the political conspiracy is to silence the true number of farmer’s suicide as it tarnishes the name of Keyur.

Following a lead from one of the associates of Keyur, Nazar tries to help one of the strongest characters in the book, Gangiri Bhadra.

Gangiri Bhadra’s character is fascinating to read as you get to know how much a person can suffer to make something right that has gone terribly wrong. As you read, you get to know how Gangiri’s lifestyle in the city takes a violent 360 degree turn when he gets to know about his brother’s death. The chapter where you learn how he helps farm widows get the justice they deserve is amazing to read.

The story also focuses on the bad guys such as Durga Das and Lambodar Maha Sarpanch. The motives behind Durga Das trying to capitalize on farmer’s death is traditionally clique, but Lambodar’s reasons to nullify as many farmer suicides as possible is as shocking as it can get.

The research done by Neelima is very good as you get to know how farmers struggle to turn the brown of the mud into the lively green of the nature. Some of the aspects of Keyur’s character could have been written better as he makes mistakes that no son whose father has been a cunning politician for more than 30 years should make.

hoes of the Dead starts out strong, but is riddled with uneven storytelling that keeps jumping from one aspect of storytelling to another. Like how after Gangiri makes a big splash by becoming the member of the suicide committee it’s explained how he gains trust of the other members. I felt that part should have been explained before the author makes him seem like such a menace to Keyur.

All in all, it’s a good attempt on part of Neelima as she explains the perils of farmers striving every day to provide food for this great nation of India. I will give 3.5 stars for the solid writing that sometimes surprises you and makes you really care about the situation endured by the life givers of our nation.

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Believe in a new India with Resurgent India Patriots

When I first got to know about the book, it seemed intense. I had been reading YA and a couple of other police thrillers lately and when I saw this book on blogadda for review, I wanted to get my hands on the book as soon as possible. The cover art of the book is a little cluttered, but also beautiful to look at. As soon as I opened the first pages of the book, I got even more excited. Mukul Deva, in his author’s note, tells us about how this book was born out of extreme anger and shame. I was expecting an intense and dramatic view of corrupt India and how Resurgent India Patriots or RIP would set things straight by instilling fear in the hearts of the politicians. And that is exactly what I got, only the power with which the novel starts loses steam along the way and when it finally reaches the end, you feel the ride could have been a bit better.

As I said the story starts really good. Colonel Krishna Athawale has a close knit group of friends from his time served in the Indian Army with the 19^th Para Commando Special Forces unit. Each one in the team has names starting from K and so they call themselves the K-Team. Their bond is stronger than blood and they are ready to give life to their nation, even if they have retired. The latter is the reason why they embark on a dangerous quest of killing corrupt politicians if they don’t stop milking the country for all its worth.

Colonel Krishna Athawale has a plan and that plan will take him and his team all over India as he tries to get rid of the termites that are destroying our country. The story moves at a steady pace, revealing key plot points that affect a variety of characters throughout the book. The action is good, but the story as I said earlier lacks steam. Some of the characters in the book are like Madame Tussauds wax models of our real life politicians. There was nothing new or intriguing about them. Each and every one was more stupid than the other. But that doesn't mean there aren't good characters too.

Raghav Bhagat, also an ex-19^th Para Commando is a really good character. As you read about him you get to know why he is the way he is and that leads you to Reena Bhagat, his wife. I felt bad for Reena. She could have been an excellent character in the book, but ends up as a TV journalist who just does her job. Even those job moments are less and in far between.

The book also tries to show how family life gets affected with the decisions made by their parents. Things which one seems are good can end up backfiring in a really bad way. The children in the book could also have played an important part, but they end up as candy coated bubble gum which you must chew to move on in the book. The climax is not as surprising as you want it to be. If you’ve read international authors such as Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum, you will be disappointed because the pay off part just doesn’t have that punch which you are looking for. However, I loved the research in the book. That can be because I haven’t touched political thrillers in a long time, but overall I loved the weapons knowledge and how carefully each mission was planned by the team.

If you hate politicians and want to see them drop dead like flies, pick up this book and you will enjoy it because the mission planning and execution is really good. 1 more elements that I didn’t like in the novel were that throughout the novel the author uses same words to explain the same ideas or emotions. I found that annoying at times. He could have written it differently to convey the same message, but didn’t. However, I liked the book. It was very good at times, but bad at times too. So, I will settle for 4 stars out of 5. Yes I complained a lot, but if you like action packed moments where carefully planned military operations help the good guys win, you will not be disappointed.

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Be Afraid of The Bankster

Just like how a rope takes form with several small threads binding together to make it strong, The Bankster by Ravi Subramanian combines several stories to form together a novel that while having its problems is certainly a standout among the brainless love story induced novels that are tumbling out these days.

Staring from the diamond mines in Angola, South Africa, The Bankster gives us a quick peek in what we are in for.  As you turn the first few pages, you learn about a family based in Kerala who are harassed by the police into admitting guilt towards a crime they didn’t commit.

With its first chapter, the book introduces us to Vikram, Head of Retail Banking in Greater  Bostan  Global Bank or GB2 and shows us how a bank of international standards works.  From the start we get to know, that Vikram is a womanizer and is a pro at office politics. Flirting with Tanuja, Head of the HR department in the bank, he gets several things and pulls strings to make employees within the bank dance on his terms.

The other aspect of the story relies upon Krishna Menon trying to address the concerns about the Trikakulam Nuclear Plant, where he feels the government has built something that is unsafe for everyone living within Kerala and the whole country in general. He does this because he lost his son in the terrible Chernobyl accident that happened in Russia. While this should make us care about Krishna Menon more, I didn’t immediately care about the characters. Explaining hurriedly in a few pages, we are thrown into situation where is approached by an NGO named CNRI (Conservation of Natural Resources through Innovative use of Technology). Teaming Together with Jaya, Head of CNRI, Menon kick-starts a massive protest setting the nation ablaze.

On the bank’s side of things, we see a battle between the RM’s and get to know that newcomer Zinaida Gomes is a hot-favourite among everyone as she is not only beautiful, but also very cunning and smart. This makes the veteran RM Harshitha jealous of her and she heads for mental breakdown as she obsesses over her losses turning into Zinaida’s profits. Harshita feeling overworked over things decides to takes a holiday and heads up to Vienna where we get the first irritating product placement in novel. Yes, you read that right; a product placement in a novel.

I don’t know whether it was intentional or part of the story, but I thoroughly hated that fact that the character of Harshitha went on and on and on about the free Wi-fi in Coffee Day in Vienna. I hated that fact in the story. Later on the Author explains about Apple iPad’s cloud technology too. That didn’t feel forced and seemed necessary for the story, but the free Wi-fi thing was irritating to read.

Anyway,  both of these stories move at a steady pace introducing new characters and addressing their concerns. Seemingly unconnected, both stories have a massive impact on one another.  As the novel moves from a simple bank story into a murder mystery and conspiracy of international proportions, we are introduced to the brain child who uncoils every major secret in the story, Mr Karan Panjabi.

Karan Panjabi learns various things and many shocking and dirty secrets tumble out. The climax of the story is good and throughout the novel I wasn’t bored, except those product placement pages where the author went on and on about the products rather than concentrating in the story.

I loved the research in the books and several other things that were related to banking. All were neatly explained and some of the facts actually surprised me. In that way the novel was enjoyable.

I give the novel a solid 3.5 stars and it deserves every star of I give. I want to give it a 4, but that Coffee Day free Wi-fi thing is the reason that snatches the half a star away from it. Pick it up if you are planning a long ride back to home in a train. You won’t be disappointed. 

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It's all about love

“I am going to marry him, no matter WHAT YOU SAY” screamed Priya.

Priya’s father, Mr Abhishek sharma was immune to the screams because he knew his daughter’s temper. But he was really surprised that day as Priya was yelling in front of everyone who had come to see her as a potential bride-to-be.

“You can’t just surprise me like this dad.” She said “I had no idea you were inviting guests over.”

Pradeep and Abhishek were family friends from years. Their son Sheker has just returned from US after securing a job in IBM and due to family pressure had agreed to come see Priya at her home.

The poor chap has no idea that Priya was not informed. He watched in mock horror as Priya who came in giving him a huge smile, turned into a screaming tigress within seconds when she got to know what Shekar had come in for.

Priya looking at her father continued “I have known Manish from 3 years dad. We both were friends for a long time before I said yes to his proposal.”

Everybody was staring at Priya so she continued talking further.

“Sure he doesn’t have a job now, but he will find one really soon. I wanted to tell you about this, but was waiting for a right time.”

Rekha, Riya’s mom, was staring at her daughter and had nothing to say. She could not believe Priya would talk in such a manner with friends at home.

“Just listen to me” said Abhishek.

“I don’t want to listen to anything dad. You should have told me beforehand” barked Priya

“I did tell you that Shekar and his family are coming home today” said Abhishek.

“Yeah… but not for this. You didn’t tell me they were coming to ‘see’ me” said Priya.

Without considering anyone’s emotions Priya stormed out of the room. She was so angry with her family that she went straight into her room and started packing her bags.

Riya, Priya’s twin sister, ran to Priya’s room with her.

“What are you doing di?” she asked looking at her sister pack.

“I am leaving this house once and for all” said Priya.

“No. Don’t do that. Mummy and papa will be devastated” said Riya.

“I don’t care about them, because they never thought about me” snarled Priya and with that held her suitcase and stormed out from the backdoor.

“We have to talk to her” said Abhishek to his wife after he had apologized for the 100^th time with Pradeep.

“Yes” replied Rekha “We have to.” She said.

Riya came running into the hall where her parents were seated and said with impatience “Priya has left and has taken all her luggage with her.”

Stunned, both Abhishek and Rekha ran to the back of their house to stop Priya.

It was too late. She was already in a taxi and would not meet them for the next 12 years.

12 years later

Rekha was on a hospital bed when she got a call back from Priya.

Coughing she answered the phone and asked “Who is this?” as it was new number.

“It’s me ma, Priya” said Priya.

Rekha was surprised beyond belief and sat up bolt upright as she heard her daughter’s voice.

“Where are you? What happened? Why didn’t you call after that day?” Rekha started asking one question after another like a misfired machine gun.

“I’ll tell you everything ma, let me come in” she said and cut to call to enter through the enclosed doors in her hospital room.

The bulb glowing on top of Rekha’s hospital bed gave out a faint yellow glow. Rekha saw her daughter and was about to ask another question when Priya closed her mouth and said “Let me talk.”

“After I ran from home that day I went straight to Manish’s house. He was surprised to see me, but when I explained him the entire situation he understood everything and said it was ok.”

“The first thing he after I had calmed down was that I should go back home, but I said no. I was so angry with you guys that I said if I went back home now he would never see me again”

Rekha just looked at her daughter as she continued talking.

“We stayed together after that day and there isn’t a day when he hasn’t reminded me that I should call you back. But I was stupid and arrogant and I just did what I pleased.”

“Are you awake ma…..?” said Riya as she came through the door and was stunned into a shocked silence as she saw her sister.

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?” roared Riya.

Rekha held back Riya’s hand and said “Let her talk first, we’ll have time for questions later.”

Riya sat down, anger burning in her eyes. She looked like she would jump onto Priya at any second and tear her into pieces.

Priya looked at her mother and started talking again “We got to know each other pretty well after that day. Manish and I used to take walks in the park and laugh merrily and some days we used to fight like we were thieves quarrelling for stolen gold. But I always found comfort with him.”

Priya continued “We both knew we loved each other, so no matter how much we fought we knew we both would be there for each other. He understood my likes and dislikes and we used to spend hours cooking together in the kitchen and then he would feed me with his hands.”

Priya had tears in her eyes, yet she continued “Knowing him from a long time I became so comfortable with him that I forgot you guys.”

Riya let out a sharp gasp at Priya’s revelation.

“Yes” said Priya “I did forget all of you. I only talked once with dad and he said he’d be ok with Manish once he finds job. I knew it would be difficult because Manish wanted to work in an architect firm in Malaysia and they were hiring only after a year.”

“Living with less to almost no money was very difficult. Manish’s uncle Sameer came to our help and helped us out as Manish didn’t have any parents.”

“I helped Manish in any way I can and even joined an advertising firm. It got better after that and I didn’t feel bad even for a second because I was living with Manish.”

“You could have had a better life” said Riya.

“Let her finish” said Rekha.

Priya continued “We were very happy with each other and after one year Manish found the job he wanted and I never looked back. I flew to Malaysia and had been living there for the past 11 years.”

“Why are you here then?” asked Rekha.

Priya took a long time to answer the question and finally said “Because Manish is dead.”

Both Rekha and Riya huddled together and took Priya in their arms.

“You should have listened to us and married Shekar” said Rekha stroking Priya’s hair.

“and end up like Riya?” asked Priya.

Riya snapped back from the embrace and said “You don’t have to be so mean.” said Riya.

Riya said “After you left, dad was devastated as he had lost all his respect. First you ran away and then all his friends at office looked at him as he was some sort of a criminal because of the Shekar fiasco at home.”

Riya continued “One day after coming back from work he asked me would I consider marrying Shekar?”

“Seeing his sad face every day was driving me insane and I said yes, I would. I just wanted to see him happy.”

“He was very happy marrying me and Shekar, but I was wrong in my decision.” Said Riya

“I didn’t know Shekar. Growing up with an army retired grandfather Shekar was very strict about things. I could not go out with friends, listen to music loud and do many other things.”

Priya looked at her sister with sad eyes “It was good that you didn’t marry him. He never compromised on things even if I tried very hard.”
“I constantly tried doing things that would please him, but he never reciprocated. It was all about him and it was not because he couldn’t marry you, Arathi, my mother-in-law told me that he was always like this: never compromising to anything.”

“Dad was furious when I said I wanna divorce him, but one day he finally saw Shekar’s true colors when he slapped me in front of everyone for talking loudly.”

Priya got up and hugged her sister. She then turned to her mother and said “This is the exact reason why I left home ma.” She continued “For a marriage to work you first have to know a person. His good habits, bad habits everything should be out in the open, because that allows you to take a proper decision”

Rekha looked at Priya and nodded as Priya continued ahead “Even if the decision is wrong it would be our own decision. There would be no one to blame. Not knowing a person completely and committing to a big thing such as marriage can always lead to problems.”

“Even if I am not with Manish anymore I will always cherish the memories, because we made them together” said Priya “Love always kept us together and I am glad for that, while in Riya’s case things didn’t work out because she never got to know who Shekar really was.”

“I had known Shekar was like this from his X girlfriend” said Priya

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” yelled Riya.

“I was in Malaysia by then and didn’t know what was happening with you guys. If I had known I would have never agreed to it and would make you come with me” said Priya to Riya.

“I should have been there for you” said Priya and started crying.

“You will be now” said Rekha and hugged her daughter.

Riya slowly joined in and she swiped away the image of her dead father from her mobile phone.

In that moment they were a family again and would always be. Priya would make sure of it.

To participate on the discussion whether love marriage is best or arranged visit: www.facebook.com/LoveYaArrange.

A future beyond tomorrow

 I feel nothing when I land in the year 3000. I am lying flat on the ground as I open my eyes to a sky that is filled with dust. The dust is of a heavy glowing kind and it is settling on me with rapid force. I am asking myself what is this, when suddenly I feel sharp pain behind my ear and my eyes open up with the flood of information that gets pushed into my brain. I am trying to make sense of what I am seeing when I black out.

The first thing I notice after opening my eyes is that I am breathing differently. A mechanical voice speaks with a very soft voice inside my head.

“Hi, I am Increima. Please don’t freak out listening to this voice in your head as I am a super computer designed just for you.”

I freak out nonetheless and I can’t stop screaming. I scream, scream and then scream some more.

“Stop screaming Thousif. It will get you nowhere. I have answers to all your questions. Just ask me patiently.” The voice says

“Who are you?” I ask in panic.

“I told you. I am Increima”

I hear the cool voice and finally register that I indeed have super computer affixed to my brain.

I notice my irregular breathing and ask “Why is my breathing different?”

“Because you are breathing out oxygen with every alternate breath” says Increima.

“What?” I say

“See..” says Increima “I can make out that you are a human belonging to species known as Homo Sapien. I don’t know where you were from the past 723 years. So let me explain you in-detail”

She starts “Global warming killed every living thing on earth expect humans. The reason humans survived was because of a scientist named Insre agre. He created a chemical that would mimic photosynthesis in humans, allowing humans to breath out oxygen into the atmosphere”

My jaw drops down as she keeps explaining.

“Humans were not able to stop climatic changes. So this idea helped, but it’s not perfect as you should breathe in oxygen with every alternate breath”

“The idea was to maintain the level of oxygen in the atmosphere. If you haven’t known already, Earth is actually a tourist planet now”

I have lost words, seeing this Increima continues “Before I continue just take a look around you.”

I see that I am on top of a balcony. I look down and see people walking on streets. The streets have a highly reflective material and I can't seem to take my eyes off it.

‘Solar panels that create electricity, using photovoltaic's’ Increima says.

I look into the sky as I see vehicles that are shaped as triangles, hexagons and some other designs which I can’t explain.

‘Anti-mater powered solarcrafts’ adds Increima.

My eyes adjust automatically as I see people almost 1000 metre away like they are in front of me.

‘Auto-adjustable optical lenses with focus power upto 1000000000X’ says Increima.

I see that people are talking and have weird carvings on their skin.

‘Visual representation of a planet they are visiting from’ adds Increima.

‘Where do humans live now?’ I ask

“I think you would better know it as Kepplar 22b” she says

I gasp as I see robots sweep across the sky with superman like ability. “It’s a nanobot powered with a blood type known as Electidel. It thinks like a human, acts like a nanobot and has body tissue made out of Tardigrade microbe.”

All my mind registers is What? What and what?

Increima laughs and says “Let me start with Tardigrades. They are amazing microbes which humans were able to culture and commercialize in 2203”

She continues “These microbes can withstand a temperature upto -272 degree C, withstand upto 1,200 times atmospheric pressure, take in up 5,000 Gy of gamma radiation and  can even undergo chemobiosis”

“OH MY GOD!” I say

“Yes. Humans made body suits out of them and with the help of nano bots started space mining and exploration, allowing humans to terraform different planets.”

I raise my eyes and I see the world around me changing every second. Once which was a building is a space dock now. Once what was radio telescope is a satellite communication system e. It keeps changing with such a rapid intensity that my eye hurts registering the change.

“Communication through Tachyonic antitelephone” add Increima.

“Whats that?” I ask

“It’s the ability communicate faster than the speed of light, allowing you to send messages into the past. This ability helps humans to correct their mistakes in past, thus creating a new future in the present” she adds coolly.

My eyes do the eye popping dance again as they register surprise after surprise.

“Humans were able to harness the power of exotic matter in the year 2435. A travelling meteorite deposited huge amounts of matter on the moon, giving humans yet another breakthrough”

“What? I ask.

“Power to travel through wormholes and black holes”

“HOW?” I scream.

“Wormholes open up at random times in our universe. By using exotic matter, you can extend their lifespan. Humans travelled through it to reach other planets faster. We built a coat of Tardigrade on our ships and travelled through black holes to collect more exotic matter as the vacuum fluctuations near a black hole are exotic.”

I am just registering this when I see large meteor coming directly into the earth atmosphere at rapid pace.

I let out a shocked cry and see as the rock the size of maybe a 1000 football field keeps rolling into earth’s sky.

I ask “Wha….” and I am cut off as I see my entire body disintegrate and I feel a distant movement that pulls me back to the year 2012.

I see the eyes of Professor Sarchin - The mastermind who was able to tele-transport me into the future. I look into his eyes and I know the answer.

I ask “Tachyonic communication?-” and he just smiles.

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Disclaimer: all photos have been taken from google: i am NOT an owner of any of the photos used in this post.