Non Fiction: Conspiracy of fools, Shantaram, Ultramarathon Man and Its not about the bike

Conspiracy of Fools: is about the whole Enron fiasco. What really gripped me about this book was that even though it is non fiction, it is set in the form of a fiction book, with dialogues and properly defined characters. It is extremely entertaining to read about how greed combined with a knowledge of esoteric financial instruments can be a recipen for disaster. The only downside of investing a ton of time in reading this book is that fact that it was written before the Enron trial, and therefore the information may be a little dated. Even so, when I read the book, I finished the 700+ page book in one sitting!

Shantaram:  Is this really amazing true story, which makes you marvel at how much one person can go through in one lifetime. This australian guy escapes from prison and finds his way to Mumbai, where he starts living in a slum and quickly becomes the slum doctor. There he meets some mumbai underworld guys and starts peddling drugs for them. Then he has a spat with a powerful pimp who gets him thrown into prison, where he is tortured every day. He finally gets out, and then goes with his underworld friends into afganistan to fight the russians. Out of 30 people that go on that mission, only he comes back. Read this book if you want to look at the underbelly of India through the eyes of a foreigner, who is totally objective.

 Ultramarathon Man — referenced in my previous post  — about this guy thats into running ultramarathons, which are races that are a 100+ miles. This book is a great read and is very inspirational in terms of realizing what the human body is capable of if you really put your mind to it. This is the same dude who is going to attempt running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days.

 Its not about the Bike: Lance Armstongs autobiography — about how he came back from cancer to win all those races. Again, very very inspirational

Life of Pi/100 Years of Solitude/In Cold Blood

I recently read Life of Pi. Maybe some of you have already read it, but for those who haven’t it’s a decent book. It’s about a guy who loses everything in a voyage, but learns how to survive at sea, based on his philosophy. I read it for time pass on a flight. Tariq is right…Somerset Maugham’s books are really good. Also try Gabriel Garcia Marquez if you haven’t, for starters pick up 100 years of solitude…tells the tale of a family over the course 100 years…their hopes/dreams/struggles..etc and how they handle it. It’s a serious tale to some extent…but it has sufficient humor to keep you flipping the pages.

For non-fiction…read in cold blood by Truman Capote…it was recently made into a film…Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Oscar for playing Truman Capote…well written book…about the murder of a family and the trial of the killers. I read it a long time ago…before the movie came out…it’s a good read.

this is inspirational

have posted about this on my blog as well — the guy who is attempting to run 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states in the US to prove how far the human body can go

 http://endurance50.thenorthface.com/

~Pranav

Bomb-hai in Bombay…

Here, Mumbaikers are gathering themselves once again,
and gearing up for a new day clinging onto their
dreams. Though their spirits are beaten and bruised,
they step out once again to travel hours to their work
place not knowing whats in store; to earn a living, to
support their loved ones… Not knowing if they will
ever be able to reach back home… to see the smile,
hear the laugh… feel the touch of the ones they live
for, both young and old.
7/11 was tough on many who took the locals back
home. The light at the end of the tunnel was not a
station name they were waiting for, it was a NO EXIT
sign, simply no escape…
It was dead end for them… It is a dead moment for
us.

We say that it is not fair! But we could do
something… What we can do is be proactive!! not just
reactive to situations / damage that rips through
innocent lives.
Proactive to see that the infrastructure is better
than it is, to see that the roads that lead to the
hospitals (not just to the hospitals… but lets see
that for a start). Proactive to see better facilities
at the municipal hospitals that take in the
casualities, the doctors there that treat them… all
this can be way better only if We the many, pay a few
paisas, that the government needs for a better
tomorrow. Lets pay every rightful paisa to the
government that is the government’s.
Render to Ceasar that which is Ceasar’s and to God,
that which is God’s.
One paisa paid today may take a long while to take
effect, so lets start it right away.

For a start… lets pay our taxes, and lets pay it
right. (yes we all come under TDS… yes we all pay… lets pay completely that which is due! )

cheers!

What the FAQ?

Guys,

By popular demand, the FAQ for contributing to this blog is up at:

Hum yeh Blog kaise use karte hain? – FAQ

You can access it from the side-bar ——————————–>

Please read it and follow the instructions. Get this done as soon as possible, so that we have all profiles up (at least). 

I’ll keep updating it as new questions are asked (frequently).

Wedding Plans

Boys – as hopefully all of you know by now – I am getting married on Aug 5th; The wedding is in the US, and mostly all the group members in the US are coming i.e. Vedi, Guru, Errol. In addition to group members, other notable personalities who are going to show up are Karan Girotra and Vikram Chugh (+ Guest )

 If you’ve been following my blog (lazerlikefocus.blogspot.com – another shameless plug) then you probably know that these days I am knee deep in wedding preps – talking to caterers, decorators, doing seating assignments etc. Admittedly organizing my own wedding was not something I would have necessarily aspired to doing a year ago, its proving to be a lot of fun and most of all a learning expererience esp. in project management  — right up your alley chacha?

Also very excited about my folks coming to the US – will get to show them around D.C. – allthough the jetsetting people that they are, they are not spending much time in D.C – most of their trip will be spent in NY, Toronto, LA, Vegas (where Keya and I will be joining them). Probably wont be able to spend a ton of time with them — but I guess the recent scare with my Dad’s illness has motivated them to live every minute to its fullest, since you never know what may happen next, very similar to Gaur’s message on the group — I think thats a message we can all live up to, especially in this stage of our lives/careers etc.

 Sorry for getting so philosophical and senti – but I guess marriage does that to you!

A day in Delhi…

Well, a little less actually. Was in Delhi for my Visa Interview and had some other work as well. So in the 2 hours or so I had in between, I managed to catch up with Masti for about 15 minutes (would have been more if he had been on time), and, after a long time, have a McChicken in the esteemed company of Monkey, Bapu and Thulls. Baker and Mourya ditched at the last minute…. Dekh loonga Baker!!!

Guys, thodi der hi mil paye but mazaa aa gaya….. Bapu, you should write about your opinion on the handling of the post Bomb-blast scenario and I’m sure we’ll have a decent debate.

Hello world!

Here it is guys!!! Our very own blog!

Now here’s what you have to do:

1. Create an account at www.wordpress.com
2. Tell me the mail ID you have registered with so I can add you to the contributors of this blog.
3. Once 2. is done, create a new page (Write->Pages) and make a profile for yourself.
   (There is a prototype available. Click on Monkey’s name in Profiles.)
4. Start Blogging (Write->Posts)