Review: The 3 mistakes of my life

While describing ' 3 mistakes... ' on his website Bhagat states ' A book that has : BUSINESS, RELIGION , CRICKET
Well you can hardly ask for a better winning combination for a book that is tailor-made for Indians.
In this semi-autobiographical book Bhagat uses his trademark style to present a narration that is as close to realism as its presentation is to melodramatic cinema.
The plot:
Based in the 'not-so-hip' part of Ahmedabad , Bhagat depicts a story of an individual's(Govind Patel) struggle as an entrepreneur while he tries(unsuccessfully,though) to stay away from any distractions-in the form of love and channelizes his friends' (Omi and Ishan) passions to make profit. The book does justice to all the 3 aspects that it says form its main theme . While Govind is a practical businessman with a strong sense of entrepreneurship, Ish is a cricket enthusiast to the core and Omi, a son of a priest is a person who's decisions are influenced to quite an extent by religious aspects. Bhagat has thrown in the Gujarat earthquake and the Godhra riots to bring it closer to the public's heart. As usual he aces in his depiction of the female protagonist(Vidya) who is a typical small-town girl wanting to 'escape from the cage'. The story is about how Govind makes 3 'mistakes' that cost him a lot more than he can afford to lose.
Where Bhagat scores and earns:

• He once again scores 10 on 10 as far as characterization is concerned. You can identify with each of his characters .
  
• Although it is not the central theme of this book as against FPS , he handle the intricacies of love and friendship really well. If there is one author who can bring out the 'sweet nothings' of love in an Indian scenario with all its sensitivity and the nostalgia of being in love, its gotta be Bhagat .
• His description of Gujarat in general and the people there in particular is impeccable.
  
• Although its not as humorous as the earlier novels-at least its no comparison to FPS(or maybe the novelty has worn off) it is still a gripping tale which coupled with his amazing knack of striking a chord with the narration style, is hard to put down.
• He's cashed on the fact that entrepreneurship is the new buzz word. But has he created the passion that the word evokes? I didn't feel it stirring me.
• Bhagat has always written about topics that are close to the Indian heart, the guy understands Indians' sensibilities very well and that perhaps is his biggest forte.
  

Where Bhagat misses and loses:

• Perhaps the biggest flaw is it's climax. Almost as if the editor thought he'd stressed on one overtly flimsy part too much to include the rest of the important stuff. Maybe he could have said something more about Govind the entrepreneur or Ish the cri-crazy enthusiast. But he chose an end that would rather suit a film's climax.
  
• Some parts of the book are needless as they don't add much to the plot. The Bondi beach chapter seemed to be leading us nowhere, for example.
• There are parts in the novel where he goes overboard with the melodrama. He chooses completely wrong moments for it as well. Consider this attempt at 'preaching' a message of persistence.
  A guy is lying on the hospital bed after taking sleeping pills to commit suicide. His mom says "Life will have its setbacks. People will hurt you. But you don't hurt them back. This something that the whole country needs to learn" ...one patriotic mom i say.
  

• Although the plot builds up well, it isn't as gripping as FPS or 1N@CC.

All in all, a good novel to pass your time with(But not good enough to read it a day before your vivas and get flunked the next day,as I unfortunately discovered). Bhagat fans most certainly won't be dissapointed. Whether he gains new one's or not, I'm sceptical about it. But hey it's just me.

Stray Kitten

Here's an email from a friend of mine.
See if you can help.

Hello,

I found a stray kitten yesterday evening in my building. Its a healthy 2-month old. White and light-brown mix. Very adorable and affectionate. We took it to the vet, who declared it fit. It limps slightly at the moment, but that should get fine in a few days.
I'm attaching a few pictures of the kitten.

If you are interested in adopting it, or you know someone who might be, please let me know.

Just send an email to : sjanani87@gmail.com
If not, please forward this mail to those who you think might be interested.
Do pass on the message.

- Janani

Clean-up Mumbai

'Kachara mat pheko varna....'
Jurmana Rs. 200

You see these huge hoardings put up across the city nowadays. Its true we all know that our drains are getting clogged by all the filth that we produce . We also know how important urgent action is in this regard. Well, so we do have a 'purpose' clear in our heads. Great!! But its the 'implementation' of the whole 'drive' that troubles one. I mean, I've never seen a BMC mama fine someone 200 bucks for littering around . Neither have you guys, I bet. But if the rule has been brought in order then there must be measures taken to see to it that people abide by it. The ban on plastics for example is mocked at each time a kirana store gives a thaili to you. And its the authority of the court that is being mocked at. Without the 'enforcing-of-the-law' bit , the campaign is nothing but a fake warning , very similar to moms telling their kids 'Doodh peelo varna ... bhootuncle aa jaayenge'
If the BMC is really concerned about the cleanliness of this city, then certain things like these need to be looked after immediately.
Anyways the monsoons are coming. And so, I'm sure are overflowing drains... The BMC is sure to get a rude awakening;
Cleanup Karo Varna....

THE UnderPerformer RANT

Ever since I was born,I knew I am an underperformer. In fact the only time I felt I was better than anybody else was before I was born .I was 'The Chosen One' to be brought into this world. I desperately wanted to show the middle finger to those other sperms racing with me . Then I didn't have the finger, now I dont have the opportunity(Coz those losers were never born).
When I was born, I was really eager to gain some attention. I feigned a 'cardiac arrest'. But since I wasn't such a good actor then ,half the people thought I was sleeping. The other half didn't even bother, they'd already given up on me being of any use.And when I got a KT in pre-school ,my parents were elated. They said they were expecting a year 'drop'. It was not as if I was bad at everything. I once survived a swimming class for 2 straight days.But I hated swimming. On the third day,I feigned 'cardiac arrest'. Only this time I forgot I was in the water and nobody noticed me. But it worked. Dad came to the hospital and yelled at me, said something really gibberish but I made out it had the words 'no', 'more' , '$#%#' and 'swimming'.
High school was worse. Although my first crush brought in some really happy memories, that didn't last long. She didnt think a new pair of 'waterproof' kolhapuri chappals were cool. I wonder why. They looked really great on her right leg. I couldn't find out about how it would look on the other leg though. Because she never brought it to school. Came with crutches instead. I always wondered why until she used them to whack my butt.
When I went to college, I knew things would improve. The Law of Averages said so. However I had forgotten the YeschRaij law of UnderPerformer that contradicted the Law of Averages
Popularity is:
1)directly propotional to how many affairs you have at the present moment
(affairs with members of opposite sex fetch more points)
2) directly proportional to how dumb you are
(measured in terms of SRK)
3) directly propotional to close you are to your 'mitti'
(whatever that means)

Since I didn't score in any of the above criteria I knew life would be mediocre.
I tried to setup a company . But nobody thought much of using airplanes as explosives on Diwali then. Until a chap name Osama stole my idea . Smart guy, I say.
My luck with girls did change though. A good looking girl asked me out once. And then we dated for the next one year. Then somebody told me that ' asking out ' is not the same as ' get out' and 'dating' is not 'meeting me in the staffroom' and ' Mrs. Kichupulianapillai' was not exactly what one would call 'good-looking'.
Tired of the humiliation, I decided I had had enough. Then I switched on the TV and saw what i was made for ....
====CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST====

Humorous sign ads!!

I came across this one on the net recently ...
Damn witty!!

Advertisement In A Long Island Shop: Guitar, for sale....... Cheap...........no strings attached .


Ad.. In Hospital Waiting Room: Smoking Helps You Lose Weight ... One Lung At A Time!


Seen on a bulletin board: Success Is Relative. More The Success, More The Relatives.

When I Read About The Evils Of Drinking...I Gave Up Reading.


My Grandfather Is Eighty And Still Doesn't Need Glasses... He Drinks Straight Out Of The Bottle.


You Know Your kids Have Grown Up When: Your Daughter Begins To Put On Lipstick.. Or Your Son Starts To Wipe It Off .


Sign In A Bar: "Those Of You Who Are Drinking To Forget, Please Pay In Advance."


Sign In Driving School: If Your Wife Wants To Learn To Drive, Don't Stand In Her Way.


Behind Every Great Man, There Is A Surprised Woman.
The Reason Men Lie Is Because Women Ask So Many Questions.


Getting Caught Is The Mother Of Invention.


Laugh And The World Laughs With You, Snore And You sleep Alone.


The Surest Sign That Intelligent Life Exists Elsewhere In The Universe Is The Fact That It Has Never Tried To Contact Us.


Sign At A Barber's Saloon In Detroit: We Need Your Heads To Run Our Business.


A Traffic Slogan: Don't Let Your Kids Drive If They are Not Old Enough Or Else They Will Never Be.


Sign In A Restaurant: All Drinking Water In This Establishment Has Been Personally Passed By The Manager.


Sign On A Famous Beauty Parlor Window: Don't Whistle At The Girls Going Out From Here. She May Be Your Grandmother !


******

The BCCI scores...

The BCCI 'slapped' a ban on off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for reportedly slapping Indian Team colleague Sreesanth on-field after the former's team(Mumbai Indians) faced defeat at the hands of the latter's(King's XI Punjab).
What happened was totally uncalled for. And the BCCI would feel the sting more than anybody else. The BCCI has left no stone unturned to make the inaugural edition of the IPL successful. Moreover it has even declared awards for the players who play in the ' Spirit of the Game ' . No wonder than that it went for such a harsh penalty for Bhajji .
A lot has been written already about what happened on the field was a result of the BCCI's unwavering support for the offie in particular and youngsters in general when it came to the indisciplined display on the ground on previous occasion. And that it has acted like a nanny that is too forgiving of a child's follies . And now the toddler's grown big enough and so have his follies.
But by banning Bhajji it has made a strong statement here . That it means business . The board that claims to be even richer than the governing body of world cricket had taken a huge step when it announced the IPL. IT drew a lot of critisism and apprehensions along with the expected 'wows' and 'ooohs'. And then somewhere between the cheerleaders at the fences to the celeb performances in the middle, the simplicity of the game was lost . And if the BCCI had one chance to prove to the fans and the franchisee owners that it was not blinded by the glitter, this was it.
Kudos to the board for playing on the front foot and avoiding the perils accompanying a back foot defence.

Word of caution for Bhajji: Dude, if you've hit the guy,then just say it. Because for me if the video evidence contradicts what you're saying, which implies that you're lying , there's no reason why you wouldn't be lying on previous occasions where similar discipline related questions have been raised against you!!! You're integrity is under the microscope ,mate ... and believe me, that worse than being slapped or being called a monkey!!!

SFE-Helping me P.T.O

S.F.E.-Students' Forum for Electronics
The name that has become a passion in the past year. I don’t know what I’m going to write about it. But since this is MY blog and it has things that concern me, it’s but natural that SFE is typed into it sooner or later.

I've reached a stage where my relationship with SFE has probably come to an end. And it is now that it strikes me how much I owe to SFE for making me realize my own worth!!
Frankly speaking, the 2 years prior to VESIT were perhaps the worst of my life. I was in the middle of nowhere... one hand clinched the past as tightly as it could not wanting to let go lest I’d falter & fall and the other circumspectly reaching to the next step & timidly withdrawing it too afraid of breaching horizons. I'd lost the spark that once people said characterized me.
Even when I became an SFE co-coordinator my apprehensions did not abandon me immediately, having being fueled with years of cynicism and negativity they were bound to 'cling' to me. Then gradually without me realizing it... I started viewing things differently... Each challenge that SFE put up to me... each seeming so exciting that I never thought of quitting for a single second. And in times I wavered from my grit, I had colleagues who although like me were exploring themselves showed that it was not a lone battle for me.

The transformation was not sudden nor was it anything miraculous. I didn’t change myself. No. Did I find a new person within me? No. I didn’t reinvent myself. Rather, I’d say that I discovered myself. I always had the skill sets hidden in me , somewhere , but never being tested , they just lay there , rusting , until the rust spread to my mind and I was blinded of who I am. SFE provided me with opportunities to see beyond the veil and find myself.

There is a tale I’d like to narrate at this point,

There were once two old men who were on a long journey. To their misfortune, they came across a valley which could only be crossed by walking on a thin piece of log put across the two opposing edges. One of them thought of the painful death he’d face if he’d fall and dreading every step he put forward. Suddenly it came to his mind that the long journey had caused terrible pain in his legs and that he would be totally incapable of going across the valley. In a few moments, the valley resounded with a ‘thud’. When the other man stepped onto the log he noticed that the wind was too mild to cause him any hindrance… but pleasant enough to keep him at peace. He thanked the Lord that the valley was to be encountered early in the journey when he still had fresh pair of legs. Not miraculously then, the man crossed the valley and went ahead on his journey.

Today when I walk through the road or the college corridor, I don’t notice the reasons why a guy next to me is better than me, I seek qualities in me that differentiate me from him.

I am unique. I am special. And I will always be grateful to SFE for making me realize such a simple thing.