Books I Read

In last few days I have read quite a good number of books. To name a few

6 books of Famous Five series,

Few short story books like Akbar Birbal, Taneli Raman, Seikha Chilli etc..

The Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum

Space Trilogy by Aurther C Clarke

The Time Machine by H G Wells.

Two books are still in progress:

The Universe in a Single Atom by Dalai Lama, &

The Tibetian Book of the Death

Each book pulls.

Famous Five series took me to my childhood.

The novel The Ambler Warning fascinated me with the plot and the depth of research on human psychology.

Space Trilogy took me to Mars, Moon, and International Space Station. Amazing!

Hope to read many more in the coming days....

Abdul Kalam

Today I went to the Book Fare, going on in Pragati Maidan in Delhi. I was in one of the stalls by HACHETTE Publishers browsing through the books. Suddenly, I saw a security personnel in Khaki (with gun) standing by my right. To his right was our former President of India, the Missile man, MR. A.P.J.KALAM.

In the faintest of my dream I had never expected to see him from so close!

He went to all sections browsing thorough the books. I was standing and looking at him... people surrounding him... many running to get his autograph in books written by him... many taking pictures from their camera phones.... :-)

As far as I am concerned... I could hardly do anything except for looking at him... Twice I took out my mobile to take his photo but could not click...Twice I felt like taking his autograph but could not move an inch. I do not know why!!!

May be it was the KALAM EFFECT :-)

Hope to get many more such pleasant surprises and such EFFECTs...

29 Winters!!!

On 17th January, I completed my 29th year of existence on this "beautiful" planet.

29 YEARS have passed.....My God.... the very feeling itself gives goose bumps in my stomach!!!!

Almost 3 decades of existence!!! My birth and growth is synonymous with "new" India's "birth" and growth.

1st decade carried the legacy of licence-raj... an era of science & tech ushering into Indian mind... when companies like Wipro & Infy too have taken birth and were growing... tragedy too mired this decade as the assassination of two eminent national leaders, Indra Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and the communal violence against the Sikhs after death of the former leader.

2nd decade brought into the much needed liberalization in Indian economy... it was freedom from the shackles of license-raj... now many things were bound to change... the biggest being birth of risk-takers, new generation of entrepreneurs... confidence in the market started increasing but not before the famous stock-exchange scam by Harshad Mehta came into fore...

3rd decade saw a revolution in the telecommunication sector in India... Mobile phones which were once privilege of wealthy became commonplace so much so that mobile phone connections have crossed the land line connections and 50% population uses one... :-) Three cheers to Mobile revolution...

Also the service sector has changed the face of middle class... people have become more privileged.... this is evident by mall-multiplex-brand culture making a mark on Indian consumers...

On personal front... I grew from a child to an adolescent to a "fully grown" adult... the journey not being a smooth one...

The fear and cheer and I-do-not-care attitude of childhood...

The confusion of adolescence when things were changing inside me... I did not know whom to ask what is happening.... ;-)

The so called maturity of the adulthood... when I got (delayed) admission into an engineering college... then a software job... and lost it soon... Now back to the same state where I was in the beginning of this decade but with a difference; I am not alone :-)