I have been reading quite a number of Indian authors more from the perspective of trying to understand what audience are they trying to address; what makes them tick; would they be really consistent or it is more of a fad they are trying to ride.

This book is a kind of chicalit story, on the BPO industry obviously something the writer is working with and has undergone; probably as the main character the upheavals. However, the book could have been woven much tighter especially on the relationship front. It sort of just flits over the relationship vs client vs operations. But, overall it makes a nice “flight” reading.

I am sure it would be read by the BPO industry and the requisite 500-1000 copies would be sold. My other Indian author reviews (if you could call it that) can be found here, here and here.

A working day, but my wife surprised me by taking me out for dinner, something that must have happened after ages.

She offered me an option between Mainland China (which we have been to earlier - together/individually) and Caravan Sarai that she’s never been to.

Opting for the latter we reached there quickly, found it sparsely occupied, but nicely chilled and good ambiance.

Ordering a drink each, perusing the menu decided to try Subz kabab (tandoor) and Kokri kabab ( shallow fried). Both tasted lovely accompanied with some nice mint chutney.

Moved on directly to the main course - Veg kolhapuri - nice, spicy but more capsicum and carrots then I normally prefer Dum aloo punjabi - which was pretty good, with thick gravy and just the right consistency.

We decided to try the phudina paratha - excellent; laccha paratha - good; roomali roti (wrapped in silver foil) - cold and have definitely tasted much better.

The chilled veg raita went well with the food, as did the tokri of complimentary papads.

Just as we were finishing, the restaurant started filling up and a large group came next to us, upon which the service went completely downhill, with the waiters too busy to take our dessert order or get the bill.

Finally in exasperation, we got up and paid at the door.

Overall food was worth a visit, however a TV spoils the ambiance and the staff is busy looking at it.

Dabaang touted as this year’s biggest release seems well on it’s way to be exactly that as I write this.

Before I get down to the movie bit, some consumer facts to support the hit theory. Even during 3 Idiots the front 2 rows in an multiplex - Cinemax Versova - were empty, whilst they were completely full yesterday. The samosas were sold out, with age group of 5-65 watching the movie.

As for the movie, this takes me back to the Amitabh heydays when his movies used to create a craze like this.

It’s Sallu through and through, far better than Wanted. Vinod Khanna, Dimple, Arbaaz, Anupam could have been played by anyone else.

Sonakshi had less scenes than Vinod/Arbaaz but can be proud that she was a part of the solo hit of the year. Sonu was OK with the chance of being better soon.

Munni aka Malaika was just so so - the song rocked, whilst she did not. The song needed some one more earthy and voluptuous to carry it off.

Give me a Dabaang anyday compared to your 3Idiots or KKKG.

But the way to see this movie would be in a single screen, with whistles and people dancing in the aisles.

I wish to do so, my friends and family is mortified, worried about reputation, so who is ready to come with me.

A book by a doctor from Ranchi…most likely autobiographical, nothing to write about, more like a B minus bollywood movie.

Begins well and then loses its plot, meandering towards it’s closure of 450 pages.

The only reason I ordered was the deal on flipkart and my enthusiasm to see if Indian authors are making the cut.

In the past year or more, I have received more then 100+ mails/requests from different sources (excluding of course the Linkedin ones) asking for assistance to either find a job, provide an introduction to get a job. Except some freshers, most of them were from people who were looking for a job in desperation or had been laid off.

Whilst I tried my best, not being in the placement/executive search was not able to do justice to all of them. Observing some of them directly, through friends, on social network, made me realize that it is an social embarrassment in India (though that seems to be changing) which in turn leads to fair amount of negativity and even depression.

I do not profess to be a doctor or adviser, however thanks to experience over the years one can think of the following:

Don’t take a trip into self pity One of the easiest thing to do and which people hate to listen to, leading to your being avoided.

Don’t take things out on your family or kids A fall out from the first point, at times due to expectations from the family, but it is important that you remain calm, seeking their support rather than taking it out on them.

Put things in perspective Take time to introspect, you cannot be right always, see where you were wrong, how that affected your career & carry those learnings forward. Also evaluate if there is an entrepreneur lurking inside you?

Read/Renew Hobbies/check out with NGO’s Join a library, borrow books read; check your hobbies, something that you have forgotten or left aside in your rat race. See if you can contribute positively in an NGO’s - this would keep you grounded when you see people less fortunate than you.

Look after your health This is of paramount importance and should not be compromised at any point of time.

Lastly, Network with friends, acquaintances, your extended family. This ideally should be an ongoing exercise, however in the rat race and whilst in a ‘position’ we normally tend to forget. Keep your ego aside, listen to some advice and move forward.

Do you have points to add, do let me know & would like to add them.

Oh! Don’t forget to keep networked.

A novel by Karan Bajaj who had earlier written Keep off the grass.

It is a decent attempt to refresh your memory of the great Chase novels, but falls flat most of the time, with time, geography taking a beating.

The hero is ‘IIT’ which makes him invincible enough to escape, run a retail empire carved from drugs, become a IT millionaire and keep giving it all up.

It ends up as a mish mash but at Rs. 100/- makes a decent airport timepass.

A place on my agenda particularly during the month of Shravan, but something or the other kept delaying the visit.

Rain decided to play spoil sport, so had to order in. The phone was picked up in just two rings and order taken down with recommendations thrown in.

Aloo methi was our choice and the voice on the phone suggested that we try out their speciality Pizza parantha and Pav Bhaji Parantha; accompanied by curd & pickle besides their famous chole.

It was delivered piping hot promptly within 20 minutes as committed.

The only comment after demolishing - Complete value - price, quality, service and definitely worth trying and repeating.

Address: Nandu’s Paratha House, 19 Sonawala Building, Green Street, Fort, Mumbai Tel: 22702265

After passing by the store number of times, I decided to finally check it out.

Walked in around 8 pm on a rainy Thursday and was attended by a friendly staff who shared some taste and knowledge freely with me.

Tasted bite sized Chocobons etc found them extremely succulent, sinful and can give an instant sugar high.Decided to go ahead with the most popular (by way of requirement) Chocobon which was actually a bribe for my colleagues at work the next day.

They come in a box of 4 (unfortunately only one flavor) or a box of 9 (three flavors).

Also picked up a packet of Cinnabon stix 8pc which were kind of bread twisty with sugar coating.

All in all a worth adversary to Mad over Donuts though not as much variety.

Address: Cinnabon, Shop No. 1; Sagarika Hsg Society, Opp. Ramada, Juhu, Tel: 66716789/66716784