Complications

I have a favorite quote from Khalil Gibrahan's Prophet - "Thought is the bird of space which in the cage of words can unfold its wings but cannot fly"

Scientifically, thoughts and feelings find their genesis in the human brain and can be used interchangeably in the above statement. My feelings for Kanav are very very complicated. Its a mind boggling mixture of Love, fear, pride and affection. Any number of words cannot suffice to illustrate their battle in the mind.

From a mere loath of flesh, blood and bones, Preet and I have been nurturing this young little kid of ours into this world. Every small step of his into adapting into the world releases that complicated mixture of feeling into my cerebrum.

While my eyes are filled with a lot of Pride & Love, heart with affection, there is always a constant and consistent fear deep somewhere, of what lies in tomorrow. Slowly and steadily, Kanav is learning to learn the world by his own and in some time would need us far too little than today. He would do a lot of mistakes, some of which I must have done myself.

While one part of me (practical one) says that he has to go through that phase to grow into a man, the other part (which is only love and affection) constantly tries to find ways to help him learn everything I have in past 30 years.

This other part is responsible for the genesis of fear in the brain. The fear that if Kanav does not see any particular situation and the world in correct light, then what? This part wants to protect Kanav from making any error of judgement.

I am sure that there will be days when one part dominates the other. And I am sure that as Kanav grows, I have to control my latter part as much as possible else it may lead into confrontations, some which I had with my parents most of the time.

I am really happy not to be in "Randy Pausch's" shoes to teach my kids everything in 6 months which they will take a whole lifetime to learn. God willing, I will be there to laugh when the kido repeats my mistakes.

I just hope that he finds the right path to learn and tries to make the right choices as many times as possible.

Kido, you are my soul!

Manu

My Favourite Lines from Kanav!

Accha!!! Bahut Shaitaan Hai!

Papa Office Jaana! Main School Jaana! Ok! Theek Hai!

Papa aap Kanav ko kahan le ke jaa rahe ho!

Have a Nice Day Papa!

Papa Tartoon chahiye!

Papa mere ko dono dono chahiye!

Papa aeroplane bui paas Jana!

Papa ek Baar dianosoure jungle kaani!

An important turning point

Some time back, I had written that life is too continuous with no Knee jerk reactions and it almost seems that the whole life has been lived in the present.

Every day I have realized the truth of the statement and sincerely today I don’t remember as to how did I live through the day before Preeti was in my life and more interestingly, I find it difficult to recall the days from the one year which Preeti and I had spent together before Kanav was born. It seems like my whole life till date has revolved around Kanav.

Today, 5^th October 2011, I think the day has again come to wash over the memories of the past three years which Kanav, myself and Preeti and write a fresh new present. While I write this, Preeti is preparing herself to go under the Knife (without even a speck of tension) to bring a new life into this world.

I am surely going to look back after another 3 years and would find it really hard to remember as to how life was when Kanav was alone. J God has been really Great to bless me with such a lovely family.

For the past few days Preeti’s real worries have been regarding Kanav. While Kanav is currently quiet a naughty kid and is miles away from the “adult logic” phase, controlling him at times is beyond anyone. But the real issue which Preeti is concerned about is how Kanav will spend his time over the next week as he is not used to even sleep without preeti. Every time Kanav has to sleep, Preeti has to lie down along with him. As soon Preeti is out of the Bed, Kanav can be expected to be out within 10 minutes automatically until and unless I am sleeping beside him.

But I very sincerely believe that Kanav is a very sensitive, sensible and intelligent kid who keeps on improving at the pace of light daily. I remember that a few weeks back, Preeti had an awful toothache and was taking combiflam which induced her to sleep. Unfortunately none of our Parents were with us that time. Amazingly Kanav realized the situation and not even once troubled Preeti throughout the day and neither did he try to make an escape to the park outside when Preeti was asleep. Kanav has been a revelation for us daily and the pleasure he gives us is similar to what a scientist must experience when he discovers something unique to share with the world.

I am sure Kanav unknowingly will rise up Preeti’s unspelt challenge and go beyond our expectations as always.

Manish Saini

The 24 Carrot Manager

Its been almost a year now since I have been thinking of gifting a book as a token of appreciation to each of my team members but have not been able to materialize the idea because –

1. I don’t know what book to gift?

2. I have so many favorites and I am not sure that at what reading maturity is each of the individual.

But I was too pleasantly surprised to receive a book (The 24 Carrot Manager by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton) from Kavish Jain, the CGP sourcing specialist from North, a very dedicated and hardworking individual.

The immediate thoughts which crossed my mind (both positive and negatives)

1. Oh Shit! It’s a duplicate book and I don’t read duplicates.

2. By Gosh! Kavish likes to read books and has sent me one which he likes. I was very happy to know that he too shares a similar feeling as I do i.e. to share your knowledge.

What I did immediately was –

1. I read the synopsis of the book and realized that it is about motivating your employees through rewards and recognition. This got me a bit double minded as to did Kavish send me this to make me realize what I was doing wrong? But then I cleared my mind and understood that he was finding the right words to say thanks to me and has found them somewhere in this book and I made sure to read the book completely.

2. Called up Kavish to say Thanks and ask him the question (above) and he started laughing because I think, what he wanted to say was in the book.

3. I scribbled the date or receipt and Kavish’s name on the book to help me remember the gift even years after.

This book is sincerely a great carrot for me and has motivated me harder. Will try to become a better leader tomorrow and even more better the day after.

Manish Saini

Letter toThe School of Barbiana

Dear Sir,
Its been 43 years since you have written your letter and I am sure it has passed through a million hands since. Even people who matter like Edward Boyle have acknowledged and written back to thank you.

43 years on, the world hasn't changed much. I guess it needs more than a Letter to change it. But what your Letter has done and can do cannot be thanked for even by a million letters from Gianni's like me who were a little lucky than you.This letter of mine, am sure will be among the thousands which you have received since your first publication.But what has instigated me to write it is the sorrow of letting 43 years gone waste since you first opened the Pandora's Box.

Your Pyramid is more valid in India today with increasing population and compulsory education laws and teachers still teach 18 hours a day, the young kids are as Timid as in those times, Gianni's are in abundant and Pierino fill the Universities, the Knife has turned into a sword and Rabrindranath has been trapped in the National Anthem and Gandhi in the portraits, Geography has become social studies and mathematics is as dreadful as it was ever, poor still travel miles to reach school and Teachers have left their jobs to create flourishing businesses out of after school tutions, I still pay my full taxes every month with a 2 percent education cess and need Rs 1.5 lac to get my kid admitted in a good school to start his rat race, government has stopped recruiting teachers for primary schools because of abundant supply and still 1 out of every 5 teachers is absent for a full year from schools, geniuses are still BORN and somehow GOD only curses poor with STUPID kids, Even at 32 I have not voted in a single general elections and my kid's history book changes with every change in the government every 5 years, the passing on of the knowledge is the job of only priests or parents while a teachers job is making sure the kid lives are cut down to the lowest denominator with the knife and I still don't know how many flats are there in my Building.

What has really hit me is that some people who have been close to me had been or want to become a part of this filthy system irrespective of thinking how they have suffered at the hands of the same system. By becoming part of it they have or will become the carrier of the same philosophy which you and I hate, sowing what their next generation is going to reap.
If the weakness of the Indian Education system is not rectified, we might loitre The greatest strength of India, its democracy. Also, its this strength itself which needs to be used to overcome the education system's weakness.

While I don't see any dramatic changes happening immediately, I also cannot sit on the boundary line seeing my kids struggling. This letter of your's has very strongly negotiated with my soul to start THE SCHOOL OF BARBIANA in India and which I will start soon. I don't want anyone reading your letter after another 43 years and writing back to you again a similar thank you.

With Deepest Regards,
Manish Saini

Discovery of Life

Kanav turned two and a half years just 2 days back

Every day in the morning, I try to leave for office before Kanav wakes up. But if he is awake, Preeti either takes him for Brushing his teeth or tries to do something innovative to divert his attention from me, for if he witnesses me leaving the house, it would become difficult to control him and he would just cling himself to me.

This sequence started from only couple of months and I don't even remember from when. Life is extremely continuous and with negligible knee jerks which sometimes make me look like the complete lifetime has been lived in present and the past seems to be a different life altogether. I and Preeti often wonder as to what was our life as a couple before Kanav and I am sure after our second kid this October we would be wondering about our current life with Kanav alone.

So much has been recited about living life in present that anything what I say about discovering life seems to be completely Bourgeois. But what happened today morning just cuts through this bourgeios from the surface and shows me as to what we call "the real discovery of life".

As usual I was about to leave office and was late. Suddenly Kanav came through his room, half awake and seeing me, he ran to occupy my lap. I winked at Preeti to do the obvious and Preeti on the pretext of playing with him took him to the kitchen. He saw me packing my office bag and suddenly said - "BYE PAPA". The moments of discovery are just Eureka and this was nothing less.

I and Preeti were just zapped and momentarily looked at each other with astonishment. While preeti sent Kanav along with his nani into the ground, I just can't stop myself exclaming that my kid has grown intelligent. WHY IS IT NOT A WEEKEND? I so much want to play with Kanav.

Manish

Taxation and Social Justice!!! How it Works

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for lassi and the bill for all ten comes to Rs.100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay Rs.1.
The sixth would pay Rs.3.
The seventh would pay Rs.7.
The eighth would pay Rs.12.
The ninth would pay Rs.18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay Rs.59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the lassi shop every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily lassi by Rs.20.' Lassis for the ten now cost just Rs.80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free, but what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the Rs.20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that Rs.20 divided by six is Rs.3.33. But if they subtracted that from everyone's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his lassi. So, the shop owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid Rs.2 instead of Rs.3 (33%savings) .
The seventh now pay Rs.5 instead of Rs.7 (28%savings) .
The eighth now paid Rs.9 instead of Rs.12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid Rs.14 instead of Rs.18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid Rs.49 instead of Rs.59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a rupee out of the Rs.20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got Rs.10!'
'Yes, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man.
'I only saved a rupee, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I did'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get Rs.10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks'

Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for lassi, so the nine sat down and had lassis without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking lassis overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.


For those who understand, no explanation is needed :
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible ;)

Project House @ Mumbai

When my search for a house in Mumbai began on 17th January 2010 I always knew that it is not going to be easy. With Mumbai property market being controlled by a closely knit network of brokers, it almost became a nightmare. After a thorough combing of the Mumbai market for 4 days, I short listed Borivalli-Kandiwalli strech to focus my energies on as the area fitted my budget as well as my requirements.

After searching the area in vain for a day, Vishal suggested a broker to me. I checked 4 houses which were finalized by Dad through him.

But before going to have a look at the houses, my father took me for a reccee of the societies where I was going to check out the flats.

The brokers in Mumbai share the flats which they possess with other brokers and split the brokerage for the shared flats. Out of the 4 flats which I was going to check out, 2 were shared flats (which I came to know only after visiting all the 4). Of these my broker strongly recommended against the one whose society, Gagan Towers, I had liked the most; for the broker who possessed the keys was not trustworthy. He pushed a little harder for the 2 flats which were not shared. Harder enough to raise my eyebrows.

Fortunately, I didn’t like the flat in the Gagan Tower. I even turned down the 2 flats possessed by my Broker and instead, I liked the flat which was earlier not on the list in Gundecha Towers. But It turned out to fulfill my entire criterion.

Though I had only one final single choice (which the broker didn’t knew), I designed an on the spot negotiation game which I explained my dad to help me with -
1. We would start to negotiate for the flat of Gagan Towers, for which the broker is going to stall us as he was not in good terms with his actual broker (I had sensed this when he wanted me to avoid the flat even before I had seen it).
2. We would present Gundecha as our second and final choice. This will make the broker feel that he has made way with us thus making a sort of bond (relationship). I wanted to exploit this bond which actually existed only in his mind.

15 minutes after we had declared Gagan Towers as our preferred choice to our broker, he turned his speaker phone on while in conversation with the flat’s broker trying to prove us that we will not be in safe hands if we didn’t revise our choice. And as per the plan we did.
But the adamant broker of the Gundecha towers was fixated on a rent of Rs 18000 per month with a deposit of Rs 125000. And now it was our turn to roll the dice and so did we by asking our broker to get us a deal with a rent of Rs 16000 and deposit of Rs 80,000 to be paid in 3 installments spread over 2 months.
With deliberations for over an hour and few anxious moments the deal was pulled through with our demands being accepted. The only change being that the deposit was to be paid in 2 installments.
Now came the most difficult part and that was of the brokerage. Unlike any other city, there are 2 clauses to the brokerage in Mumbai –
1. If it’s the broker’s flat, the brokerage is the rent of 1 month and if it’s a flat shared by another broker, the brokerage is of 2 months.
2. The brokerage is repaid whenever the agreement is to be revised at the end of the year.
More importantly, though the deposit was recoverable, the brokerage was not.

Negotiating down the brokerage to one and a half month rent was not very tough. But that was where the buck stopped. The broker having an upper hand with the deal cut as per our demands for a flat of our choice. I was waiting for one wrong move from the broker which he did after almost half an hour into the discussion. He asked us to take the deal or leave it as it couldn’t be pushed further. (I didn’t believe him as I still saw scope).

The very precisely developed ”Bond” came into play and I asked the broker that if this does not get through he needs to give me a better deal for a similar flat available directly with him as I am not going to any other broker. In this way he also does not need to split his brokerage.
In brief, I presented him the image of a gullible customer with a cavernous dilemma.
The deal was in a very advance stage with even the landlord giving his consent to his broker. If the deal broke here for a meager sum of 5-8 thousand, the flat’s broker would have blamed my broker of sabotaging it and pulling the customer in for his own flats thus eating his brokerage. He could not have afforded this in his closely knit circle.
Though I could have pushed him a little more to 18,000, but I decided to settle in for Rs 20,000.
I believe, I paid him an extra Rs2000 for the fun I had with him in maneuvering and molding him.

Mumbai Meri Jaan.............NIkaal Di

2:50 am and the train was entering Mumbai, which was going to be my home for next couple of months/years!!! Dad woke me up to get ready for the new adventure.

By 5am we were settled inside the Movie Time guest house which I had thought would be fun for its name suggested of being a movie hub. I was close enough. It was in a building very near to a popular theater called Movie Time 

By 12pm, I and dad had left for a Mumbai survey to find a (affordable) residence for me somewhere in the vicinity of my office (which was in Mumbai central). We had taken instructions from the caretaker and another temporary resident of the guest house who was searching a flat for the last 15 days. We planned to do a combing operation (I like the army like feel of the words) starting from Bandra and moving towards Borivilli. Between these 2 ends there were 7 more stations; Bandra being the closest affordable place to my office; this was suggested.

“This is Manish over here for an enquiry of a property for rent” was my opening line of the first call to a broker as soon as we landed in Bandra.
“1 BHK or 2”.
“Of course 2.”
“What is your Budget?”
“Between 10 to 15K”. I immediately thought shit…..should have said 12K to keep the negotiation margin.
“Haa….Uwon’t get that in Bandra”
“I am sorry”
“The rate here is 35K to 40K for a 2BHK”
Dad was buying a cigarette and just missed my expressions.
A sleeping cell in my brain suddenly awoke and said – Sorry! I was sleeping. By the way, Mumbai is among the top 5 costliest cities in the world as far as the real estate rates go. You read this fact a couple of years back and I stored it and went to sleep. I didn’t know you were in Mumbai
Okay!! Thanks!

I called a couple of more Bandra realtors who corroborated the fact and then some small time agent’s trainee outside a pan shop suggested me to check out in Andheri.

But I wanted something close to my office and got off at SANTA(‘s) CRUIZ(S)E.
But Preeti didn’t want a house without a cupboard and wood work (which I later came to know was a fantasy in Mumbai) and I didn’t want a house with a kitchen having standing space enough only for Kareena with a size zero. So me and dad did a on the foot survey of the Santa’s cruze only to finally understand that the rates here are 25K+.

Andheri was no better. Rat houses with crumbling buildings and no natural lighting. I had a booking till 30th in the guest house so planned to give another shot to Andheri for the next 2 days and called it a day at 7pm.
By this time I had called 12 real estate agents, met 5 and had seen total of 5 houses.
It was a Sunday and the local trains seemed to me quiet a convenient way to commute.

Monday the 18th was the real experience of Mumbai Local trains. Though it was a 1st class, a misnomer, anyone lesser than 5.5 ft would have died of suffocation in the armpits of the people riding on one another’s foot. Amazingly enough some were still managing to catch a reading.
Luckily the office was closer to the station but by the time I reached office, I had spent more than 24 hours in Mumbai and the experience was no where closer to satisfying; forget gratifying.
I just wondered what lay ahead.

Aal Izz Well

We were quiet elated when 3 of us (me, Preeti and Kanav) came out of the theatre after watching 3 Idiots. The movie was simply heart warming. Indian cinema had improved.

All izz well…..the theme ATTITUDE of the movie had already become a hit. But there was something wrong with ALL IZZ WELL; But What? I was not able to make out. Because I was not sure, I also persuaded myself to fall for it, when Preeti came to the rescue.

Yesterday, in some other context Preeti pointed out a unique ingredient of what we call “The Punjabi Attitude” – KOI GALL NAHI …. (Nothing to worry at all). If anything goes wrong we have only one answer to it – koi gall nahi yaar followed by – sabb kuch theek ho jaooga (everything will be ok) most of the times.

Though both the approaches towards a problem are quiet similar, I suddenly realized the stark difference in approach. While Aal izz well makes you cheat your heart (as aAamir explains in 3 idiots) that the problem would get solved…..somehow, Koi Gall Nahin is an attitude which motivates you to look into the eye of the problem and tackle it as if it was a very minor issue.

When my kid falls down while he is learning to walk, we tell him…koi gall nahin beta…stand up…chalo chalo….aggey chalo (nothing has happened son, stand up and move forward).

When I didn’t make to XLRI in 2003, my Dad told me beta….koi gall nahin….you were left behind just by a whisker. You need to work a little harder and sabb kuch theek ho jaaoga.

When I was under severe back pain in 2007 and had consulted dozens of doctors without any relief, Piyush Sir used to tell me….koi gall nahin…..if I am able to walk today…..you will start running soon.

Its not that Koi Gall Nahin… gives you the solution of the problem but it motivates you to solve it.

Though I might be a little biased but I strongly believe that this Koi Gall Nahin attitude is the result of a deeply ingrained devotion of the people of Punjab. They strongly believe that everything is predecided by the Almighty and the not so pleasant situations are important in the scheme of God for us. Sabb theek ho jaaoga…. emanates from that belief.

So even if Aal izz not well……still Koi Gall Nahin….Sabb Theek Ho Jaaooga.

Happy New Year

In the beginning of the year 2009, I made 4 resolutions to myself –

1. I would be more disciplined with my physical health – I would agree that I am not disciplined but have become more and more conscious of not only my health but of everyone who affect me. “One positive out of Papu which I have genuinely gathered.”
2. I would make my family financially more secure – I would not say I have made them fully secure but am better off than the last year and would take the resolution forward.
3. I would spend "atleast", 5 valuable hours every day with my Kid – This is one resolution, I have completed in its spirit too.
4. I would professionally orient myself on a quarter to quarter operational mode – Tried to do it and unearthed the secret to do it successful and would be able to implement it from this January onwards. Thanks eYantra.

And for this year the resolutions are –

1. Would be regular with my exercises and would try to bring my weight in the range of 87-90 kgs. Will make Kanav a regular too.
2. Will donate blood atleast 3 times this year. Will convince at least 1 person to donate his/her or his/her relative’s eyes.
3. Will grow the savings and investments to twice as much is today. Would finish 75% of the education loan.
4. Will do my dad proud once again this year (I am not sue of what but will definitely do it).
5. My Blog posts count will exceed 100 this year.
   

Manu

Random Thoughts

God’s been kind and has put my career on the right path thwarting me from creating a monster out of my thoughts during these days of solitude.

A slight void which absence of Preeti and Kanu has created has suddenly pushed my thoughts into a vortex. My mind has started debating and analyzing anything interesting which I see or hear by taking a plunge into my knowledge of myself.

For instance yesterday I nearly overanalyzed Toffler who explained us in an economic sense the planet has seen a Powershift in this millennium towards the one with knowledge/information. To the categories of power of Brawn (muscle, gun etc), wealth, Knowledge/information by Toffler I added a power of fame also.

Interestingly enough there is another form of Powershift which happens within each form of Power if the beholder is not able to handle it coz “Power Corrupts and absolute Power corrupts absolutely”. One just needs to open up his mind and to see it in play all around him.

Kambli scored 349 not out in the famous school match at the age of 13 in which Tendulkar scored 326 not out. Over the years as the money and fame started trickling in not both of them were able to handle it in the same way. The one who was able to keep himself focused and head grounded is the one who has raised the bar today.

Tyson is a classic case of Power corruption. Unfortunately God was kind enough to give him all the Toffler’s power of which he could handle none.

Of my numerous blunders in the past 30 years, my recent one was to oversee and misjudge what money can do to someone which has made me suffer to a considerable extent. Will talk about it whenever I can….soon enough.

Anne Frank – The Diary of a Young Girl

Paper is more patient than man

Frankly….when I picked up Anne’s diary, my expectations were –
1. It is going to be a very interesting thriller story. 8 people living in a hidden apartment for over 2 years hiding from the German’s with only 1 coming out alive (as per the theme). I sincerely expected a Stephen King.
2. It would tell me more about those horrific times of Hitler’s regime.
Least had I expected to be a “DIARY of a young girl”. A classic case of over(mis)expectation.
50 pages into the diary, I realized that it was Anne’s only friend with whom she shared her thoughts during those hard times. I was not too convinced that the sentences, phrases and the words used are those of a 13 year old kid. They were pretty refined and mature. As it was a translation in English, the translator took the liberty of doing it so. But can’t say the same about the thoughts expressed through them. They were definitely 13.
Ranting about food, hating her mother, growling about anything coming her way, jumping at slightest joy; she was a typical, totally confused kid trying to come to the new reality.
One thing which I really appreciated of Anne’s parents and other grown ups was to support the kids to continuously read and write which made all the difference.
I do believe that when you verbalize your thoughts and listen to yourself, your thoughts become more refined and you start choosing the right words to communicate. It’s like rehearsing in front of the mirror before the actor is to take the final shot.
I think the same started happening with Anne and by the November of 1943, she had grown into a mature young lady with more condensed and clear ideas.
She writes that the most striking part of her personality was that she can watch herself as an outsider and analyze her actions. Her analysis of the relationship with Peter, her change of attitude towards her mother, the letter she wrote to her father, all corroborate the purity of her soul and her honesty.
By the second half of the book, I was screaming at the back of my mind – God let the fact that she didn’t live through be wrong and wanted to jump to the last section to find out.
By the time I reached there, Anne’s undying spirit had taken over and taught me, that it’s not important to live a hundred years cheating your own soul.
If someone wants’ to read Anne’s diary, I would strongly recommend, not reading it for the content for it is the mistake I had made. The diary should be read for the unwritten. For understanding the fact that society is not important, important is one’s own honesty to oneself.
As I am still in the quest to find the truth in the ideas of Hell and heaven, karma, rebirth etc., but I am sure that all of them emerge from the same thought of honesty towards oneself.
While reading Anne’s description of the quarrels in the Secret Annexe, I realized that the concept writers of the popular TV shows – Big Brother and Big Boss must have read this book and tried to create situations closer to the ones in the book to incite the human mind. Two conclusions I derived was –
1. They can never be even closer to what Anne and the other 7 went through for 2 years as the times were horrific and were devoid of any leisure.
2. Winner of any of these shows have to be a strong spirited soul like Anne.
I really wished Anne would have lived longer for her thoughts would definitely have given us much more than what is left of her. At the same time I also wonder that had we found a diary of Peter, we would have got a real view into a boy’s life too.

May Your Soul rest in Peace.

The Hard Way

Choosing the next Jack Reacher novel from Lee Child was not tough. Logically I picked up the novel next to One Shot (the first one I read; courtesy Don) – The Hard Way for my journey from Hoshiarpur to Hyderabad, possibly the last journey on this track :-).

Contradictory to my guess, it did not start from where One Shot left. Jack Reacher finds himself in a new puzzle this time in New York; a kidnap mystery in which he gets involved by a shear stroke of luck. As magnet attracts the metal, any nearby complicated crime finds Reacher.

The complication was really tightly knit by Lee. While helping a military contractor find his wife, he stumbles upon an unsolved mystery of his previous while. Solving the mysteries he realizes that was a Catch 22 situation for Reacher where he seemed to be surrounded by Bad Guys on all sides. By the time we reach the climax, he is ready to take all of them down one by one. This is when the mystery turns into an action thriller and the Sherlock dons the of Bond….James Bond.

Interestingly enough, Lee has characterized Reacher in such a way that whatever he wants, he gets it done from him. This makes the reader difficult to find a pattern in Reacher’s approach making the story less predictable.

On my next journey am planning to pick up Lee’s 1^st Reacher novel. Hope it is as interesting as The Hard Way.