An open letter to Central & Delhi govts. and to my fellow countrymen/women

Just came back from watching news on tv. I rarely do so nowadays, knowing what all crap these so-called news channels serve us full 24 hrs. But today is no normal a day. The whole country's pulse is beating high with aggression over law & order situation over last few days. A girl in her early twenties is fighting for her life every second in hospital after her brutal gang-rape 6 days ago. And the incident has provided the spark missing to the already built-up explosives of tension in common man's mind over the insecurities of safety for their womenfolk.

News channels, ah, mostly sensationalizing and cheaply appealing most of the days, today seem to have stricken a chord right at the angry nerves of the countrymen. Watching scenes of protests at several parts of Delhi, leading from Vijay Chowk to India Gate to Raisina Hills, first thought that came to my mind was 'Why the hell am I not in Delhi/NCR today?' Well, since being there was out of my control, I decided to join candle march protest going to be held tomorrow in Bangalore, which I was earlier not fully sure of joining (80-20 situation).

Coming over to the scenes in the news I had watched for more than an hour today (which is quite huge compared to the figures of the last few years), I felt a sense of gratification seeing thousands or even lakhs of young protesters there doing their bit. Their only demand - strengthen law & order, and capital punishment for the rape guilty. And suddenly, I was taken aback at the scene where police were shown throwing water cannons, tear gas, even lathi-charging at protesters. 

Water cannons in the chilling December winters of Delhi?!>!/// Where is the humanity, idiots?!

Why! Just because they were trying to break the barricades put up to block their way so that they couldn't reach Raisina Hills or Rashtrapati Bhawan. I agree that proper security has to be maintained as these are sensitive areas w.r.t. national security; but deploying RAF (Rapid Action Force) to beat the protesters like this doesn't come under the name of Democracy. 

First, the govt. can't maintain law & order; there is no details about the patrolmen on duty that night in that area in the police report submitted in the court hearing; and then, the rulers have the guts to control aggression like this?! So many of them, around 100s, have been injured and given first aid and taken to hospital on suspicion of minor fractures / for stitches.

This will only aggravate people's anger. They say they have caught all the accused and case is going on, what else do we want? Madam/Sir, we want Delhi and whole of India to be safe n secure n rape-free. You, bloody hell 'rulers', even after the case, haven't you seen that Aaj Tak reporter's video where on the same road just after a day of the incident, a few passersby in a car passed comment on her, and only drove away when they saw the cameraman taking their video?

Is this your security situation just after a shocking rape incident on the same road after a day of its happening?! 

Ms. Shiela Dixit! What are you doing as Delhi CM for last 15 years, if this is how Delhi operates day and night, where no woman is safe?! And now you order police and RAF to 'control' protesters! Ha! LOL over you.

This was just a trailer today.. you see, what happens tomorrow and the week ahead. If the guily are not punished by Hang Till Death, the Delhi streets are going to be like Libya/Egypt/Syria streets. This is not at all acceptable.

People from all of India! if you are there or could be there in Delhi tomorrow.. go, join the protest with your family, especially womenfolk. This is required not because of only this case, but becausewhat will you answer when your wife/daughter/sister asks you how you make them feel safe n secure!

All is in your hands, males and females, this is your present, it's gonna be your future. Take a step, if you want to feel free in Delhi or wherever. 

Jai Hind!

Book Review for BlogAdda: The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi

Well.. first of all, a big thanks again to Blogadda for providing me this opportunity to review the latest book from the arsenal of Ashwin Sanghi, The Krishna Key.

Background:

Ashwin Sanghi, as it is being referred to for some time now, is the Dan Brown of Indian adventure, and this book puts a stamp on it. :) After two bestselling titles, Rozabal Line (2007) and Chanakya's Chant (2010), The Krishna Key (2012) is his 3rd book, all of them under adventure genre.

Characters:

Prof. and Historian Ravi Mohan Saini is the protagonist of this novel. Juvenile Priya is his associate. History is in their genes. Then comes Inspector Radhika, a toughened-up cop after family loss and her subordinate Rathore. Other characters who play important roles at times are Taarak Vakil, the villian, and a CBI director with grey shades.

Various mini characters (historians and scientists, mainly) have their share too in providing the historical, mystical and mysterious flavor to the story. The reader will like them in regard to the shape their involvement with the protagonists gives to the story.

Not all characters are well-established but such ain't missed as the story has its own pace to follow.

Story: 

In author's own words: "Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age - the Kaliyug. In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar. Only, he is a serial killer."

This pretext is sufficient enough to guess what is the theme of this novel. Yes, it's a Krishna based story but of modern times. Every chapter begins with a small first-person narrative of Krishna, and then the story in our times continues. It is all about discovery of what precious thing did He leave here on earth when he left/shredded his mortal form some time after the Mahabharata war.

There are so many mythological and historical facts embedded and weaved into the story which most of us had no idea earlier (I did, a li'l bit) of their being into existence. Like the Mahabharata war date has been factually calculated based on simulations; then there are the submerged ruins of Dwarka, among various other important sites including Mt. Kailash, Somnath temple, Mathura, Vrindavan, Kalibangan, Taj Mahal, etc.

The chase and the hunt game pursues as Prof. Saini tries to bring together all the pieces of the historical/mythological puzzle (besides running for his life) and put them together as The Krishna Key to open door for the best kept secrets of Lord Krishna for thousands of years, and not let it fall into the wrong hands of self-serving puny humans.

Writing is plain and lucid and chilling. And the end of the story is a welcome conclusion, as much as the journey to the end is thrilling and exciting. :)

Likes:

The amount of research Ashwin has gone into just to make the book authentic and chilling.

Fast paced full-Indian adventure

Twists and turns keep the guessing game at reader's fingertips

Plethora of Indian mythological+factual information for mytho-n-history buffs out there

When history is presented in the form of actual stories and not just plain facts, it adds taste to our reading experience; that's what we get here in this novel most of the times.

Expectations/Dislikes:

The character of the starting villain (one who assumes believing himself to be the final avatar of Vishnu) who starts out as a dreaded antagonist seems to get lost midway taking orders from his spiritual boss, and gets into the role of a mere side-villain towards the end. Could have been avoided or given a better shape. 

Well, nonetheless, the novel is author's treat to us, and I, as a matter of fact, truly loved it, savored it, and devoured it.

Overall, 4.75 out of 5 stars :)

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

Book Review for BlogAdda: The Bankster by Ravi Subramanian

Well, first of all my gratitude towards BlogAdda to provide me the opportunity to review this book.


Background:

Ravi Subramanian, it is said for some time now, is the John Grisham of Banking thriller genre, and not wrongly. He has hands-on experience and has written on the banking sector earlier (although I haven't read any of them till now), and The Bankster conforms to all the banking and thriller standards in its story lineup.


Characters:

The most likable fact of this novel is that all major characters are given their fair share of development and face value. Be it Vikram (Retail Head), Tanuja (HR head), Nikhil (cluster head), Anand (branch head), Indrani (CEO), Harshita and Zinaida (RMs), Raymond (Compliance head), and Karan Panjabi (ex-banker-cum-media person) among others. This thing is evenly visible from the book’s trailer on youtube easily.

Almost all characters get their due time to be established well within the story, most in the first half, step by step.


Story:

The story starts with a normal tell-tale of an international investment bank GB2’s Bandra branch in India and the daily worklife of its employees, RMs, HR, branch heads, cluster head, CEO, etc. It briefly and at a steady pace takes you explaining work culture in any such bank, the politics, minor and major money-launderings, mind games, relationships, etc. in the first half.

The turn in the story comes when in the author’s own words:

Bankers build their careers on trust, or so everyone thinks, till a series of murders threaten to destroy the reputation that the Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) has built over the years. Who is behind these killings, and what is their motive? Is the banker at GB2 fast turning into a bankster? Or he was always one?

In addition to Banking scam coming up, two other minor stories go on being narrated side by side; one dealing with an international arms dealer, and the other one about being a nuclear reactor being commissioned in Devikulam, India. But all the stories begin to merge as the scam starts unravelling under the finance-detective eyes of Karan Panjabi, an ex-banker who works for a national daily now. He comes close to the case only when his best friend is murdered who was getting close to uncovering international money-laundering scam on the basis of fraud accounts getting set-up within GB2 branches.

The second half encompasses Karan’s efforts along with help of a few others in the bank, with only 36 hrs at their disposal, to uncover the grappling truth behind all these murders and the proper reason behind them. The script is very good and narration has imprints of an established writer. The author has done a commanding work from start till the end taking the story at a fine and steady pace, unfolding all events at seemingly right timings.

The reader will always keep wondering after all who is The Bankster! Is it Vikram or Nikhil or Anand or Zinaida or Tanuja or Indrani or Juliana or Jacqueline or Hemant or even Karan?! An intelligent work, if not masterpiece, of mystery webs and speculations (from reader's point of view).

And hey! what a big moment when he/she is brought open at the climax!!!


Likes:

Balanced details of investment banking and other events at right pace

Balanced character development of most characters

Genuine thriller

Author’s successful intent on maintaining mystery at various turning points

Raunchiness not much overplayed


Dislikes:

Few loosing ends of the story (like no further issue taken up on what happened to people who put up fraud accounts initially in GB2 which were later found a part of a global money-laundering scam)


Expectations:

Initial backgrounds of certain RMs who come tainted out of the story could have been provided just briefly somewhere (at the end) of the story, but not a big issue. Everything can’t get covered fully.


Well, nonetheless, likes are much heavier here than dislikes and other expectations. And the epilogue provides a fitting end to the novel. Read it for entertainment and thrilling 2nd half.

Overall, 4 out of 5 stars

Watch the video review here

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

My quotes

I try to make a literary fool and a common genius out of me whenever I compose/write

Copyright act

There is a great need of a forum for all writers and editors in India. I have come to know that many face problems in publishing their books. Writing a books comes under Intellectual
property and our Indian Copy Right Act provides safety to all such writers. Therefore, I appeal to all writers of the country to register their work under copyright act of India. The fees is only Rs.50/= for each work. First get the copyright and then give it to a publisher for publication. In this way you will be protected under Indian Copy Right Act. I have come to know that Publishers in India do not pay royalty in most cases. Some of them do pay but not more than 15% and in most cases less than 10%.
This condition is really pity. The work is created by an author but profit is eaten up by publisher.

I appeal to all authors and prospective authors to be cautious of such publishers. Please remember your work (A story, a poem or a book) is your intellectual property and you should be profited most by your intellectual work.

What I see that there is not a single forum in the country for writers where all of them can exchange their ideas and views. Such a forum is NEED OF THE DAY. Such a forum can o a long way in protecting the needs of writers.

(copied)

Enjoying Life!

Enjoying Life is a necessity.. which has to be taken up as a luxury
--
vps

vps 'breaking faking' views

आज लन्दन ओलिम्पिक्स में भारत के एक स्पर्धी द्वारा तीन-कूद (triple jump) प्रतियोगिता में.. अपने तीनों चांस में फाउल करने के बाद.. एवं बाकी स्पर्धाओं में भी भारत के न्यूनतम अथवा अत्यंत निराशाजनक प्रदर्शन के बाद.. तथा..

भारतीय वैज्ञानिकों के नवीनतम शोध के तर्कानुसार.. ब-खेल मंत्रालय अगले ओलिंपिक्स में कुछ इस तरह स्वर्ण पदक जीतने की योजना बनाने में डूबा हुआ है --> :P

(a) High Jump --> Grasshoppers
(b) Long Jump --< Deer.. uske peechhe 'below poverty Lion'
(c) Triple Jump --~# Frogs
(d) Gymnastics --* Baba Namdev
(e) Pole Vaulting -~- local नट
(f) 100 m sprint --< Indian street dogs v/s Bolt, Blake, Gatlin, Powell
(g) Discus n Hammer Throw --> gali kancha players
(h) Triathlon, Steeplechase, Hurdle races --> tyre tuk-tuk kiddies
(i) all Relay competitions --> Ants and Honeybees
(j) Swimming --< Fish
(k) Archery (ek teer se kayi nishaane) --> all Indigeniouses

Some newly introduced 'India Excelling' fields (among Cricket) on 'dhamki' request by BCCI and personally 'spoken' for by PM MMS -->
---------------------------
(i) Political Scams --< Shoonya Gandhi, Sharad Faraar among others
(ii) Bebaaki ('bakwaas' (ka) competition) --> Kapil Chappal, Pigvijay King, etc.
(iii) Bhookh pratiyogita (anshan) --> Team Anna
(iv) Most Gold --< Bappi Lahiri (jewellery) against Michael Phelps (medals)
(v) Hockey team will get replaced by Gilli-Danda team
(vi) Talks competition --< Indo-Pak Kashmir talks v/s Whole world
(vii) Paparazzi --> 'kamini' Indian media v/s 'mahaan' India TV :P
(viii) Kite flying --< Bollywood celebs
(ix) 'Yenna Rascala, Mind It' chill-thrills <==> none other than 'chitti' Rajinikanth
(x) God too plays sports -- Sachin Tendulkar, Dhyanchand's 'pareshan' bhoot
(xi) Truth n Dare --> Sach ka Samna n SmJ teams
(xii) Reality Shows --< all ghatiya reality shows, including MTV India's all bakwaas ones too
(xiii) Saas v/s Bahu v/s family members --< all daily soaps' characters, mainly Ekta Kapoor ones
(xiv) Vulgarity limits --< Advertising campaigns, plus, music videos n movies alongwid item nos.

......... अब चूंकि भारतीयों को फालतू के 'दिवस' मनाने की बहुत आदत हो गई है.. 14 अंक से आगे जाना ही पड़ेगा......... last but not d least.. baap of all

(xv) Lootmaar --< Congress govt. leaders, special mention to Kalmadi, Kanimozhi, Lalit Modi.... v/s all other world-class thieves

P.S. -- original creative work by.. vps - d warrior.. pun intended in d post above

दिल पत्थर शीशा

और कितना है समझाना तुझे

कितना होगा मनाना तुझे!

दिल दिल कहाँ रहा! पत्थर हो चुका

इतना प्रयास लगा है सनम 

तुझे हर पल रिझाने में मुझे

और अब कितना है रुलाना मुझे 

कितना और तडपाना मुझे!

दिल दिल कहाँ रहा! शीशा हो चुका 

चुभते ही रहते टुकड़े शत-शत  

तेरी हर बात भुलाने में मुझे 

--

विकास प्रताप सिंह 'हितैषी'

my FB poetry page

https://www.facebook.com/VPS.hitaishi

आंकलन

उतरा हूँ सूरज से 

तेरा तेज़ हरने को 

टपका हूँ चाँद से, तेरी 

शीतलता वरने को 

तू है ही इतनी ख़ास!

रातों को निकला हूँ

नीरवता तेरी पढने को

दिवस विचरा हूँ, तेरी 

चंचलता पकड़ने को 

हर पल में तेरा आभास।

शामिल हूँ साँझों में 

तेरी कल्प उड़ानें लिए 

झिलमिल हूँ सितारों में, बन

तेरे ज्वलंत रम्य के दीये

आतिश है मेरा प्रयास।

साथी हूँ वात का, तेरी 

सुगंध के सायों में 

हूँ बन्धु वारि का तेरे

ओष्ठ रसास्वदानों में 

मेरा आवरण है तेरी श्वास।

तेरा मोह समझने को 

हूँ शिष्य जज़्बात का 

प्रेम तेरे में दमकने को 

हूँ अंकुर विश्वास का 

तू मेरा संपूर्ण सत्व सारांश।।

--

विकास प्रताप सिंह 'हितैषी'

--

LIKE me @ --> https://www.facebook.com/VPS.hitaishi

kid

no one is a kid to others..... and..... every1 is a kid to others
u just need d right vision to learn n satify ur thirst for knowledge.. and curiosity for exploration

--
vps.. d royal warrior

My kickstart to d World of Novels

Although, for ever, only syllabus books were prescribed to me by school teachers n parents alike.. but d twist in my story came when one day during our Library period (when most of us used to grab Champak, Balhans, Nandan, or so), our lib. teacher, instead, recommended me d hindi version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.. that time I might had been in 5th or 6th std.

Moreover, around same time I was awarded some novel books in our school Annual Function for standing 1st in my class 5th.. which I read subsequently as n when I found time apart from school homework, tests, playing outdoors, and so many adventure serials (like Mahabharat, Capt. Vyom, Shaktiman, Suraag, Shri Krishna, Chandrakanta, etc. etc.) etc...

Those were d days I developed interest in novels; that too, adventure ones as it's in my blood.. and d saga continues till now ;)

And there was one dream of mine since reading that first novel... I vowed myself to complete its sort-of-incomplete ending.. since then, that dream has grown into writing novel(s) of my own.. I do have some brilliant story-lines.. bt d time reqd. to be devoted for this 'noble' cause is checking it to be fulfilled.... but someday u'll definitely find a copy of mine(s) in ur bookshelves.. ;) :D

P.S. -- apart from that, since writing novel is a huge task, I also developed interest in reading n writing poetry in college days (thnx to a few of my very good 'poet' frnds)... so, have written about 50+ poems till now cumulatively in both languages... :)

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