Magic Moments

Firstly, great book cover. Almost alluring. I just had to read this book. After reading Then She Was Gone , I was enamored by her narrative style. It is very fast paced, doesn't give you time to breathe before throwing one after another surprise. And before long you realize your eyes are bulging out, you have goosebumps and your heart is racing. Yes, it's that gooood! Believe me when I say this, because I am a rather slow reader, yet I managed to finish this one in 2 days. The fastest read by far in months. But I would say that the explanations for a few characters' story towards the end was a bit unreasonable and a tad boring for me. But that can be excused, of course. It is difficult to come across thrillers these days that actually do thrill. Being able to predict and just waiting for the story to go in that direction isn't thrilling. This book, we wait with bated breathes so as to know what happens next. The family, the people that come into their lives, the power s

  Vikram Seth’s  1993 mega novel has finally been adapted on screen. Mira Nair has created a post partition India, that’s believable but also is right from the dreams. The background is 1950’s India, in the cities of Banares, Brahmpur and Calcutta. We see the political parties fight to abolish the zamindari law, and give the lands back to the poor farmers, as the opposition fights against it. We see India gearing up for its first public election, for people to exercise their right to vote. We come across characters who aim high for the society at large, and contribute their own part to the making of progressive India. And we see women going to the university, aiming high and wishing to marry a man of their choice. The setting draws the audience in, completely into the story. The first episode starts with the marriage of Lata’s elder sister and her realizing that she is the next in line. Her mother wouldn’t give up until she finds a suitable boy for Lata. She meets prospective grooms

  Mike Rognlien has derived from his 15 years of experience of working with people at Facebook and other companies in the Silicon Valley and has shared practical knowledge on developing a better employee-employer relationship that results in the coveted growth trajectory of the individual career as well as the organisation as a whole. He shares information on what all constitutes a company's culture. It is indeed the sum total of each of its employees behaviour. For example, Facebook as a company leverages the individual uniqueness of each of its employees. The radical thought of being the owner of your company, as the title of the book suggests, implies owning complete responsibility of the impact of one's behavior on the organisation's culture and overall growth. Some of the radical yet useful ideas presented in the book are as follows. Neutrality or just living under the radar, without raising your voice for or against a certain practice that needs attention in the com

  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundhati Katju

The first movie 'The Invisible Guardian' begins with the killings of several teenage girls and elaborate staging of their bodies by the river in the damp valley of Elizondo. Amaia Salazar, our protagonist, returns there, her hometown, as the Chief Investigator for the case. She heads the homicide department. The serial killings seem aimed at young girls who don't uphold the traditional norms and have begun exploring their sexuality. Through the case, Amaia grapples with her own demons, her relationship issues and traumatic memories of abuse from her past. We get to know that her mother had abused her, being seemingly senile herself, and was then admitted to a facility. The setting of the damp valley where it rains all hours of the day, the cloudy scenery, the fog covered thick forest maintain a sinister vibe throughout the movie. It is an apt backdrop for a crime thriller, with supernatural undertones. The mythical beast  basajaun , the big hairy beast of the forest, seems

It was towards the end of the book that I realized that this is almost an unfinished manuscript. But still it feels complete in itself. I was constantly wondering throughout why this book is so short. He is an amazing writer and you know that when you hear his thoughts while reading the book - his narrative - his writing style just reveal his love for poetry, literature, philosophy and spirituality. It was striking that he had persistently wondered about death- the meaning of life- its purpose throughout his growing up years, even while choosing a career. And even after he was first diagnosed with lung cancer, he did the same.   "Literature not only illuminated another's experience, it provided, I believed, the richest material for moral reflection." - on the love for literature.   Paul draws the difference between a job and a calling, something you are meant to do for the world in the limited span of your mortal life, in the first few chapters as a Doctor, before h

  There is a certain allure to a foreign land, a foreign culture, a different language, unchartered territories and a promise of romantic adventure. The latest offering from Netflix ‘Emily in Paris’ gives us all of these and more. It is all of 10 episodes of 25 or so minutes each, and is worth a binge-watch. It’s about a social media content strategist, Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins, who moves to Paris from Chicago to work for a marketing firm, a big career opportunity, dreaming of a wonderful life. It’s about her adventures both in career and romantic front, as she learns French, making hilarious mistakes and feeding her Instagram with all-things-Paris. We watch the beauty of Paris in its culture of life-first-work-second, all things luxurious- from fashion to perfume to wine, the spiraling staircase of a hundred-year old building where Emily stays, the ornate architecture, the old-world charm mingling effortlessly with the new, the elaborate office dinners, the picturesque w

I had expected to be bored thinking it to be some over-the-top comedy and quit watching this midway. I had not expected to be sucked into their lives, in upstate Manhattan, and feel their life change over the ten seasons so personally. Ten years in the lives of these characters. And this attachment to that apartment. I had not expected that this sitcom that had been airing globally for ten long years, to not at all be ‘over-hyped’. I wish I had set aside my judgement and for once watched this during my college days. It would have been such a cherished experience. It would have validated all the emotions of those days. Watching the six friends’ personal trajectory from Season 1 to 10, over the ten years, through ten Thanksgivings and Christmases and Hanukah, was such a pleasure. I never knew I could enjoy comedy, and in comes Chandler. I remember how in the first few episodes, I couldn’t even remember their names, and now they feel as real and relatable as any other person. We all h