The Edge Of Desire by Tuhin A. Sinha

Tuhin Sinha’s The Edge Of Desire is the story of how Shruti Ranjan, a humiliated woman, enters politics and then has a meteoric rise. Shruti is the wife of an honest IAS officer posted in Bihar. One day, she is raped by the villainous politician-cum-goon, Salim Yadav. Unable to obtain justice, Shruti enters politics in order to avenge the dishonour she suffered. Just as Shruti’s political star goes up, her relationship with her husband breaks down completely. Towards the end of the story, we see Shruti getting divorced, but she never marries charismatic politician Sharad Malviya, the main person responsible for her political ascent.

Just as The Edge Of Desire is the story of a wronged woman, one could also call it a political thriller. Once Shruti wins her election, she is placed in various positions of responsibility, till she becomes the Deputy Minister for Home Affairs. Shrugging off accusations that she is having a relationship with Sharad Malviya though still married to her estranged IAS officer husband, Shruti supports Sharad as he fights the good fight against terrorism and separatism.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Sharad Malviya is right-wing in ideology and impulsive in action. When his only daughter Rhea and Rhea’s American boyfriend are abducted by terrorists, Sharad agrees to swap his daughter for a few jailed terrorists. At the last minute he has a change of heart and orders the accompanying armymen to open fire. Do Rhea and her boyfriend survive? Please read this book to find out.

Since Sharad Malviya is a right winger, one gets the feeling that The Edge Of Desire pushes his ideology, such as when the issue of “love-jihad” waged by Islamic fundamentalists in Kerala crops up. Towards the end we see Sharad the Home Minister getting seven terrorists hanged in quick succession and arranging for the encounter death of under-trial terrorists before Sharad himself dies in a helicopter crash. When the novel begins, Shruti is in jail and one wonders what she could have done to deserve such an end? Did she turn corrupt? No, Shruti is being punished for having arranged the fake encounter in which the under-trial terrorists were killed. In jail, Shruti wishes to be hanged to death, though she believes she saved hundreds of lives by her actions. She thinks ‘our future generations ought to know that seventy-two years after Bhagat Singh was hanged to death, Indian laws and politics are still skewed against those who, in their patriotic zest, dare to tread the extra mile for the country.’

The Edge Of Desire is an interesting read and Sinha keeps his reader gripped till the end. However, I have mixed feelings about this book as a whole and am not sure if I should recommend it.

-Vinod Joseph

Chetan Bhagat’s “What Young India Wants” - Book Review

Chetan Bhagat must be either the most loved and admired or the most hated writer in the Indian sub-continent. Blessed with an amazing ability to connect with India’s youth and excellent marketing and brand-building skills, Bhagat has, to the horror of his detractors, managed to churn out one best-seller after another. An ex-banker who worked in Hong Kong before moving back to India, Bhagat has now come up with his first work of non-fiction, which may be called his ‘take on how to fix India’.

Bhagat’s What Young India Wants is a rambling narrative, totally different from say “The Plan: Twelve months to renew Britain” by Douglas Carswell and Daniel Hannan, two young Conservative politicians, which had a step-by-step plan for lifting Britain up from Labour bogs to a Conservative heaven. However, despite the off-the-cuff sounding discourse, I found quite a few good things in What Young India Wants.

For one, Bhagat doesn’t praise everything about India. Rather, he spends more time picking out India’s faults than highlighting its positives. Why is materialistic USA more law abiding than culture-laden India? Bhagat wonders. Why is India unable to punish anyone for say, insider trading? Why is there so much corruption and nepotism in India? Bhagat doesn’t have much admiration for Indian billionaires who he feels owe their success more to their connections than any innovation. Why doesn’t India have real entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg? Despite his own banking background, Bhagat doesn’t make the slightest attempt to butter up to Indian corporates and takes Kingfisher to task for its profligacy.

Bhagat is very much pro-foreign investment in India. Bhagat argues, rightly in my opinion, for foreign direct investment in the retail sector. However he doesn’t hesitate to call for Union Carbide’s head. Bhagat wants export restrictions on agricultural produce to be lifted. Indian farmers ought to have the right to sell their produce wherever it fetches the highest price. BCCI has to be made transparent and Indian cricket needs to be cleaned up.

Bhagat has a few brave ideas, which are not particularly well-fleshed out. In order to bridge the urban-rural divide, he wants to set up student exchanges, whereby students from cities will spend time in villages and vice-versa. How will this be implemented? Well, like many great thinkers, Bhagat doesn’t sweat out the details. Thus when Bhagat wonders ‘why can’t we successfully ban RDX and all such dangerous compounds?’ he doesn’t spell out how the authorities could go about such a task.

Bhagat doesn’t favour any political party. While dicing the 2G scam, Bhagat has a few severe words for the Congress Party, but he also wants that the opposition ‘should not slam the entire Congress party on every occasion and should move from the slander-fest to a solution.’ Bhagat doesn’t think the problem is entirely with politicians. 'The issue is with the Indian electorate, us.’ At one place, Bhagat refers to the slow-suicide path chosen by the BJP, leaving Indians with no credible alternative. Bhagat wants all expensive real estate occupied by government offices to be sold and the offices relocated to less expensive localities. Bhagat is an Anna Hazare fan and wants a strong Lok Pal. Some of Bhagat’s words are pure rhetoric, such as the chapter addressed to Muslims where he urges ‘the Muslims of India to keep the heat on politicians.’

Bhagat wants India to cut down its defence expenditure and plough the savings into infrastructure and development. He goes to the extent of saying, ‘I want to ask my fellow Indians, how badly do we want Kashmir? At the cost of making colleges for the young generation in the country?…… We want to talk to Pakistan but more to put them in their place and shove our point of view down their throat. Frankly such defiance may win claps from an audience in a cinema hall, but is no attitude for peace. We may think Pakistan is always wrong and we deserve Kashmir, but when we are in a negotiation, we have to give the other party some room.’ All those who till now thought that Bhagat is a populist who plays to the galleys, please start eating your hats.

Just as Bhagat wants India to negotiate with Pakistan in good faith, he also wants India to take the stand that India will never engage with any military government in power in Pakistan.

Bhagat has a number of good ideas for revamping India’s education system and in general, I found myself in agreement. In particular, Bhagat wants all Indian school children to have access to the English language. He wants the government to change the current policy which requires all educational institutions to be run on a no-profit basis.

Bhagat does get a few things totally wrong in my opinion. For example, Bhagat wants India to outsource some of its border security to the United States of America. Now, I am as much a fan of the USA as Bhagat is, but I do think Bhagat’s getting a bit carried away here. Maybe he has something on the lines of the US-Japan security alliance in mind, but even then, I don’t think this is a good idea. There are no free lunches in the business of foreign affairs and defence and if the US were to take responsibility for all or some of India’s borders, it will extract its pound of flesh for such help.

When I reviewed Revolution 2020, I had commented that though Bhagat’s language is not spectacular, the English is good enough to convey the story. Well, the same is the case for this book as well, though I do feel the editing could have been a lot sharper.

As mentioned earlier, this book doesn’t come across as an populist attempt to pander to what India’s youth might want. Bhagat speaks from his heart and he genuinely wants India to change for the better. Somewhere in the middle of this 181-page book, Bhagat gets a bit personal. He talks of a suicide attempt when he was in high school. Please do read this extremely interesting book to find out if Bhagat’s suicide attempt was successful. 

-Winnowed (Read his blog)

158th Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi

158th Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi Ashamsakal ....!!!! On 31st August 2012, world wide followers of Jagathguru Sree Narayana Gurudevan is celebrating 158th birth Anniversary of guru. "One caste, one religion, one God for man" Jagathguru Sree Narayana Gurudevan was a saint, a philosopher, a great social reformer a humanist and a writer who endeavored for religious harmony and world peace. In the galaxy of divine personalities who took birth to redeem man kind from evil. Gurudevan shines as a becon light and guiding star as Lord budha, Jesus Christ, Mohamed Nabi, Sankara, Mahaveera, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and so on. His teachings are straightforward and simple bringing out spiritual, moral and material revolution. 

-Thanks to Gurucharanam Sharanam

Jayaram - Providing Solace

The Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) here will now have a new brand ambassador in cine actor, Jayaram.

Jayaram, who was the chief guest at the ninth anniversary celebrations of Prathyasha, a non-governmental organisation working in RCC for the welfare of cancer-afflicted children on Saturday, was so moved by the young stricken faces around him that he vowed to make it his life’s mission to work for the welfare of these children.

His mission:

“I will carry these faces with me wherever I go and from today, my mission will be to generate as much funds as I can for the care, well-being and rehabilitation of young cancer patients,” Jayaram said.

He promised to set up a foundation for the welfare of child patients at the cancer centre.

The actor also vowed to contribute regularly a part of his earnings from all stage shows and other programmes towards the foundation.

He kicked off this initiative on Saturday itself by contributing Rs. 1 lakh.

Campaigns:

Jayaram, who posed for photographs with the children, said he would lead fund-raising campaigns and solicit donations from all possible sources to promote the cause of cancer-afflicted children.

RCC sources said Jayaram had promised to be part of the cancer awareness programmes led by the RCC and to promote Cancer Care for Life, a medi-claim scheme floated by RCC to help raise funds for the treatment of poor patients.

-Re Published (Thanks to The Hindu)

Love, Peace & Happiness: What more can you want?

Stories surround us. Stories about people like us who make difficult and often complex choices that sometimes astound us. You must have come across some people in your own life who closely resemble the characters in these stories. Maybe you have gone through trying moments in your life too. For instance, have you ever been bugged enough with your partner to want to leave? Have you ever had to choose between love and money? Have you ever had to compete with your partner? Have you ever felt that your family weighs you down when it comes to choosing your partner? At times like these, havent you wished that things happened differently and that you could change how they ended? Now you will control how the stories in this book end.

Each story centres on the life of an urban middle class character caught in a set of circumstances beyond his or her control. A Hindu girl living in with a Muslim boy is suddenly in the glare of global media in a reality TV show, a divorced cynical man faces the prospect of committing himself to a prostitute, a highly talented small town girl must choose between life and death. All must resolve the conflicts within their beliefs. Read the way the stories end in the book, but if you dont agree with the ending, visit the website riturajverma.com for alternate endings. If you dont like the way the stories end there either, write your own, and if your ending is selected, see it in print in the next print run with your name in the acknowledgements. Hoping to change the world, one story at a time

About the Author
Rituraj Verma started his career as a mechanical engineer having cleared the IIT JEE as a fluke. He pushed his luck further and by another fluke, managed to get into Tulane University, New Orleans, for his MBA. Naturally, he switched tracks to FMCG sales, retail, real estate and then finally, consulting. He met his wife, Smriti, at the Indian Railways Staff College in Baroda and has always claimed that she was the lucky one, which of course, is often debated in the family.

His true calling, however, seems to be writing, and this book is an act of subconscious expression, amalgamating real life stories with fantasy in a liberating manner. In his adventurous moments at home, he enjoys being referee to his son and daughter. Sometimes, he manages to sound tuneful when he is playing the electric guitar, though some neighbours disagree. When he is not playing the guitar, he is usually playing with his own hair on his head.

I’ll Do It My Way: The Incredible Journey of Aamir Khan

In contemporary Indian cinema, Aamir Khan has always taken the lesstrodden path, and also delivered box-office hits. Known for his selection of films, he has constantly re-invented himself, and re-defined the approach to filmmaking within the Hindi film industry over the last two decades.

I’ll Do It My Way: The Incredible Journey of Aamir Khan is a filmography that presents Aamir’s evolution as an actor, focusing on 21 landmark films. It retraces Aamir’s rise to stardom as an actor with a difference, who broke new ground as a director and a producer.

Aamir’s story is told through interviews and research of press coverage from the last 20 years, including perspectives from directors, co-stars and other colleagues — Mansoor Khan, Aditya Bhattacharya, Asif Noor, Indra Kumar, Mahesh Bhatt, Dharmesh Darshan, Nandita Das, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ronnie Screwvala, AR Murugadoss, Asin, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raj Kumar Hirani — who have collaborated with him over the last two decades in his landmark films. Together, they have recreated a multi-dimensional cinematic portrait of an unparalleled Indian actor.


About the Author
CHRISTINA DANIELS is a writer, photographer and communications professional. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. She is also involved with print journalism, training, new media, e-learning, corporate communication, developmental communication and research. She holds a Master’s in New Media from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Currently, Christina works as Corporate Communications Advisor for a leading global technology company. She is also a cinema columnist for Citizen Matters in Bangalore.

Dare to Do! For the New Generation - Kiran Bedi

It is about a life truly ‘lived and living’!

The real-life story of India’s first and highest ranked woman officer in the Indian Police Service – who pioneered a Gandhian (inclusive and transparent) model of policing marked by utmost devotion to duty, innovation, compassion and, above all, willpower!

In Dare to Do! For the New Generation, Kiran Bedi enthuses, motivates and inspires today’s youngsters to clearly chalk out and achieve their goals and objectives without fear and without being overwhelmed by circumstances, however adverse they may be. She emphasizes the fact that qualities such as honesty, dedication, diligence and commitment to one’s profession are vital if one wants to succeed in life. She also drives home the point that there are no short cuts to success. Her own track record (as highlighted in this book) provides various examples of how she converted challenges into opportunities and how she refused to buckle under pressure from some of the most influential people in the corridors of power.

For instance:

• When she was in charge of traffic in Delhi in the early 1980s, she forcefully defended her colleague who towed away Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s car for wrong parking and was facing flak from the top brass.
• When, in 1986, members of the legal profession in Delhi and elsewhere demanded that she be dismissed for, again, backing her colleague for doing his duty sincerely (he had arrested and handcuffed a lawyer suspected of theft), she fought back with grit and determination to clear her name and maintain her credibility.
• When she was ‘dumped’ in Tihar Jail (in New Delhi) in May 1993, she transformed this virtual hellhole into an ashram, where the inmates discovered new and meaningful ways of leading their lives by giving up their erstwhile criminal activities. She also set up an institution to take care of the prisoners’ families. She has led from the front all along and has faced all obstacles head-on.

In this volume, she has added a highly relevant chapter on the empowerment of women to explain how, in several situations of their own making, even educated women dis-empower themselves. This is a special and exclusive edition,  for the new generation, of Kiran Bedi’s bestselling and long running autobiography I Dare!

From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia

The Victorian period, viewed in the West as a time of self-confident progress, was experienced by Asians as a catastrophe. Foreign soldiers and merchants tore apart the great empires which had once formed the heart of civilization. As the British gunned down the last heirs to the Mughal Empire, burned down the Summer Palace in Beijing, or humiliated the bankrupt rulers of the Ottoman Empire, it was clear that for Asia to recover a vast intellectual effort would be required.

Pankaj Mishra allows the reader to see the events of two centuries anew, through the eyes of the journalists, poets, radicals and charismatics who criss-crossed Europe and Asia. Sitting in the midst of ruins of the old empires which now seemed doomed to permanent partition by predatory foreigners, these thinkers created the ideas which in turn were to doom the new empires, and which lie behind everything from the Chinese Communist Party to Al Qaeda, from Indian nationalism to the Muslim Brotherhood.

About the Author
Pankaj Mishra is the author of Butter Chicken in Ludiana, The Romantics, An End to Suffering and Temptations of the West. He writes principally for the Guardian, The New York Times, London Review of Books and New York Review of Books. He lives in London, Shimla and New York.

Tiffany cuts profit outlook less than feared; shares up

Tiffany & Co cut its fiscal-year sales and profit forecasts on Monday for the second straight quarter, citing the tough global economy, weakness in key markets such as New York and Asia, and lower expectations for the holiday season.

But the reduction in the jeweler's profit outlook was not as steep as many on Wall Street had feared. Shares of the company rose more than 5 percent on its expectations that pressure on margins from higher gold and diamond costs will moderate this quarter and that gross margin will rise again in the holiday quarter because of lower costs.

"It's the light at the end of the tunnel," Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand told Reuters. 

The company reduced its global net sales growth forecast by 1 percentage point to range of 6 percent to 7 percent for the year ending in January. 

Tiffany lowered its full-year profit outlook to between $3.55 and $3.70 a share from $3.70 to $3.80, coming in line with Wall Street expectations of $3.64 per share.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Kowalski said in a statement that it was necessary to give a "prudent" forecast given the uncertainty slamming the world economy and its impact on consumer spending.

While other luxury brands such as Saks Inc proved resilient during the quarter, shoppers tend to pull back on buying jewelry more quickly than on fashion.

Also, Tiffany is far more exposed to Europe's and China's slowing growth than other high-end U.S. names are.

Global sales at Tiffany rose 1.6 percent to $886.6 million in the second quarter ended on July 31. 

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 1 percent, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations. Same-store sales dropped 5 percent in the Americas and in the Asia Pacific region, which includes China, which has been the fastest-growing market for Western luxury brands.

Sales in Europe only got a boost because of exchange rates favorable to Tiffany.

Sales at the chain's famous Fifth Avenue flagship store, a favorite of the millions of international tourists in New York, fell 9 percent. That location generates almost 10 percent of revenue.

In many ways, Tiffany's growth was bound to be more modest than the 30 percent pace of a year earlier. 

But it is the second quarter in a row that the company has lowered its forecasts. This time Tiffany did so in large part because it is assuming growth during the holiday season to be slower now.

Tiffany reported net income of $91.8 million, or 72 cents per share, for the quarter, compared with $90 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier. 

The results missed Wall Street estimates by a penny a share.

Analysts had been expecting a smaller profit because of rising precious metal costs.

Shares of Tiffany rose 5.5 percent to $61.70 in premarket trading. 

From Chennai To Munnar

They say “Journey is more important than the destination”
… This is not about any particular city or any specific destination. This is about one such trip where the journey was more vital than the beautiful destination ‘Munnar’. Here it goes like this…

It was October of 2006. And I was left alone in Chennai… with most of my friends leaving the town for some better opportunities elsewhere. I was also bound to leave for Mumbai in December. I had a trip to Kerala in my mind for a long time, but somehow it was getting delayed every time and I wanted to do it before leaving Chennai. This was on 24th Oct ‘06 when I was sitting in my office and it was a holiday on 25th Oct, Wednesday. It was this time when I decided instantly of doing my so long awaited Kerala trip. I thought of taking leave of two days i.e. 26th, Thursday and 27th, Friday and clubbing it with weekend. So, I was effectively having 5 days to explore Kerala. And there I was, all set for solo ride to Kerala. After all, all you need to have is a good camera, willpower and your Beast (ThunderBird 2005 model). And with all the trust in my Beast I started next day.

Day 1 – 25th Oct ’06, Wednesday – I started around 5AM from Chennai to reach Trichy by 10 AM. (320 kms). There I met a fellow member of my motorcycling club ‘Madras Bulls Motorcycling Club’ - Simmrit and had a great lunch at his place. Thanks mate! Started again around 2PM and after a long ride of more than 5 hours, I finally reached Munnar by 7.30 PM. I found a decent guest house and retired for the day. It was a long and tiring day as I covered 620 kms that day, but still it was the simplest day of my four day trip. More was yet to come!!!

By Road: 135 kms from Kochi; 300 kms from Thiruvananthapuram; 150 kms from Coimbatore; 600 kms from Chennai
Nearest Airport: Cochin

Places to See: Top Station (35 kms), Mattupetty Dam (14 kms), Tea Museum, Devikulam (7 kms), Chinnar Wild life Sactuary (60 kms)
Nearby places:
Ernakulam (135 kms), Periyar Wild life Sanctuary, Thekkady (110 kms), Komarokam Backwaters (170 kms)

Day 2 – 26th Oct ’06, Thursday – I decided to look around some places near Munnar, and so after having a light idli-wada breakfast started for a tourist spot known as Top Station. This is a mountain top and is 35kms from Munnar. This mountain lies on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, with one side falling in Tamil Nadu and other in Kerala. As I left Munnar I was mesmerized by the green-all-green tea gardens. The fresh tea gardens and their magical aroma bounds you and you can’t help but to stop there for a while and appreciate nature. As I moved a few kms ahead I spotted a dam and saw a diversion towards the same. I took the diversion and there I was on Mattupetty Dam. I spent some time there and moved ahead towards Top Station. There is said to be a ‘echo point’ on the way to Top Station but I missed that somehow. I must admit that I was in a hurry to reach Top Station. It was because my SIM was not working in Munnar though I had activated the roaming service and I had to make an urgent call. At that time, a weird thought came to my mind out of no where. I thought of reaching the mountain top and walk in a few meters towards Tamil Nadu side and try my Chennai’s connection. Having no other choice I thought of giving it a try atleast. So, I started rushing towards Top Station. As I was about to reach top station, it started raining. In some time I reached the Top station to find it a bit foggy. I parked my bike and moved in to Tamil Nadu side of the hill. Just few meters and ‘beep-beep’ – few messages were delivered to me in no time. Yeah! there was some signal. I made the urgent call after which I felt relieved and was ready to enjoy the trip! I walked back to Kerala :) and had a cup of hot tea at one of the few stalls up there. After spending some time there I started back in pretty relaxed mood. Luckily, it also stopped raining. Now, I was actually enjoying the ride, the curves and the mountains. It was then, when the inevitable happened. On one of the curves I had a fall, I think it was mainly because of the overconfidence that might have crept in after doing around 100kms of ghats. I was doing 60-70 on curves when this happened and I swear, after that my speed reduced to max of 40 throughout on hills. I was not wearing gloves at that time so left palm got badly brushed and bruised. Somehow, I reached back Munnar around 4PM and moved directly to the dispensary. After some dressing & bandage I thought of taking rest. So, I relaxed in my room and planned the next day’s route. For next day, I finalized: Munnar –170kms - Komarokam – 120 kms - Thekkady. Just 290 kms of ride in one day! A cake walk!! * Worst assumption and mistake of my entire trip *

Day 3 – 27th Oct ’06, Friday – I started around 9AM towards Komarokam (170 kms). I underestimated Kerala’s uncertain weather (rather certain rains) and did not provide cushion for Kerala kind of roads (all curves). Well, driving there was all together a different kind of experience but at the same time I was not able to stick to my naïve schedule. I was unable to come out of last day’s trauma and was not able to do 70-80 speed on curves. I took a break for lunch some 70 kms before Komarokam in Kothamangalam around 2.00 PM and it started raining heavily. I was trapped there helpless.. waiting for rain to stop but all in vain. At this time a strange feeling started creeping in. I started feeling lonely and I could feel that emptiness. I started feeling like I have come too far away from home and lost somewhere in some unknown land. With such feeling inside and looking at the heavy rain I decided to skip Komarokam and move on directly to Thekkady. I enquired about the way and distance and understood that Thekkady is around 80 kms from there via Pala. I waited some time for rains to stop, but it did not. So, I thought of continue riding sharing same trust with my Beast which I always had. I finally started from Kothamangalam around 3.30 PM. I kept driving in the suggested direction, crossed Pala and around 5.30 PM I stopped by a road side bakery as it started raining heavily. Here again I enquired the distance to Thekkady and they told me 82 more kms. Damn! I had been driving for last 1.30 hrs and still 82 kms.

I started immediately without wasting time any further and then the tough time began. It was raining heavily and I was able to match 30-40.. By 6 PM it was complete dark and I was drenched to the soul. Shivering in cold but still driving. Previous day’s wound completely wet and paining, but still driving. Some time later I entered into the ‘zero-visibility zone’. Thick fog, drizzling, complete dark, freezing cold, shivering and speedometer showing 15kph. I was not moving.. I was indeed crawling. But, I decided not to stop and I kept moving.. I was on bike and drove non stop for more than 2 hours with all the perseverance to reach Thekkady the same day. I checked the time and it was around 8 PM and I was still driving. I looked around. It was complete dark, constantly raining, no vehicles, no sign of life on road and among all that one drenched soul. That was it! Somewhere around 15kms before Thekkady I gave up. Even my bones were freezed at that time and as soon as I saw ‘Hotel, Restaurant & Bar’ neon signboard I moved in. First question – Is there any room available?.. Second – Do rooms have geyser/hot water?.. All affirmative and I checked in. I don’t even know name of the place.

Guest house/ Hotel Accommodation available in all ranges from economical to star stays.
For good south Indian food one can try out Hotel Sarvana Bhavan
Try authentic south Indian snacks (on banana leaves) at any local roadside snacks shop.

Day 4 – 28th Oct ’06, Saturday – I started from whatever that place was to Thekkady around 8AM. Thought of covering Periyar and touching plains before 2PM as somebody told me that every day it rains heavily after noon and riding in rain was last thing that I could have considered after having enough of it the last day. I reached Thekkady/Periyar around 8.30 AM. Next boat ride on Periyar lake was scheduled at 9.30 AM and after that 11.30. I checked and came to know that 9.30 boat was full. Frustration that started to build up last day, now was becoming dominant and prominent. I sat there on a rock for few minutes, with my head down and trying to compose myself. Then I gave it some serious thinking. 11.30 boat ride will get over by 1.30 PM, implying no way of touching home the same day, that in turn leads to one extra day of frustration. Damn it! Then I remember seeing a milestone reading out loud ‘Theni – 70 kms’. So, may be there is a way to touch Theni in time without facing Kerala rains, and once I reach Theni I was sure that I could reach Chennai the same day. I took just two snaps of Periyar lake and decided to explore it some other time. Anyway, even if I would have stayed I would not have enjoyed it much with that feeling of frustration and emptiness which by that time crept deep inside me. So, I decided to move on with only one target in mind – to reach home ASAP. I started from Periyar around 9.30 AM and was in Theni around 11 AM. Had my brunch there and again started at 11.30AM. Now the road looked familiar and I ripped. I touched Trichy around 2.30 when I saw clouds building up. So, decided not to stopover at Trichy and so I kept moving. And 50 kms after Trichy IT started again - Rain (no! not again). I did not stop, thinking that atleast after 10-20 kms it will not be raining. It was 3.15 PM at that time. I kept moving and moving and moving trying to cover as much as possible during day time itself. I did not stop anywhere for lunch. I was not able to catch speed, but I kept moving. Two and a half hours of continuous driving, again in non stop Rain, and 5.45 PM, it was dark when I reached Villipuram. I stopped there to treat my rain soaked and empty stomach. Some breather to stomach, but, no respite from Rain! I waited for some time and finally gave up. To hell with Rain! And I was on the road again. Now it was even more difficult. It was raining heavily, with no street lights, road with unexpected potholes and above all I was unable to use visor of my helmet. It was a real tough ride throughout but atleast after Tindivanam four lane toll road till Chennai helped a bit and on this road I was able to maintain speed of 60 kph. Stopped only once for tea and was at home around 10 PM.

Overall it was a tough and hence a GREAT ride! I was not able to take many photographs due to rains, as I had to double pack my camera.

Looking back I think the best part of this ride was the trust that I shared with my Beast and it surely lived upto that. It gave me confidence to move on and on… 4 days of rough terrain and bad climatic conditions & 1545 kms without any break down or hold up. Hats off!! Even after the fall, when I got bruised the person who helped me with first aid (a gentleman cab driver) asked me whether I will be able to ride? I said yes, then he asked is your bike okay? I said ‘it MUST be okay’. He asked me to check it… and single kick… Vrooooom!!! There I was… on the road again…

Overall Trip – 4 days/ 1545 kms.
Experience – Regression testing / Spine chilling
Learnings - Do not be overconfident on your riding. Do not underestimate ghats, hills and curves. Do not make overoptimistic plans. Do not ever underestimate Nature (Rains), pay respect and always provide cushion for it.

An Interview With Abhishek Agarwal

Firstly, I would like to begin with the most basic question, how did your journey with the pen begin?

I had written many articles, dramas and other stuffs at school level but never went professionally. It was probably what destiny had for me and blessings of my lord that I am an Author today. I had been reading many Novels and am a Novel addict, but never planned to write as such. But it’s true “Behind every creation there is an accident” and so happened with me. So, this is where my journey with pen begins.

When did you first consider yourself a writer, far from a blogger?

When nobody was there with me to fill my emptiness then the only thing which I saw was my blog. It’s the only thing which removes my loneliness and it happens that when our writing sometimes acts as a supportive and advisory part for some peoples. I mean when they read my blogs they insist me to write some more and then this revolution takes place to an unknown journey which begins from a Blogger to an Author.

What inspired you to write your first book?

Writing a book is really a very tough job if the legends like Mr Bachchan and Mr. Robin Sharma would not have been there then I could not be able to start with my pen. They really inspired me a lot.

What books have highly influenced your life?

All the books of Mr. Robin Sharma and Mr. Ravinder Singh have highly influenced my life. In fact it would also not be wrong if I consider my own story. It too motivated me a lot to write a piece of love.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

As a mentor of course I would consider Mr. Robin Sharma as I was adored by his writings ability. His writing skills, his magic with words has highly influenced me a lot. I have read all his books.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

Well, I read many books of the new comer but differentiating among them is a tough job as once I also used to be a debutant in the Writing Industry. 

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

My every book is improved in all sense, I guess. I have worked very hard on this book and I am happy as how it has turned out.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

This time my readers will get disappointed as my readers demand a sequel of “Sorry For Loving You”. But I promise to give it in a very short period of time but intervening that I want to tell that my second Novel “For Getting The Unforgettable” is about to welcome this winters and it deals with the struggles in Love and youth life. This book is also a dedication for all those peoples who have lost their near and dear ones in Mumbai Bomb Blast. That’s all I can tell about my upcoming Novel. I also want to share that soon my readers will get a surprise in the form of a Hindi translation of my debut Novel “Sorry For Loving You”.

Do you have to travel much concerning your books?

Yes I travelled to Delhi, Bangalore, Bhopal, Pune for my book events. I will be travelling to Mumbai and Bhubaneswar soon. As, I have been invited to speak at some college and an institution. So, I did a lot of travelling for my books.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Just writing a book is itself is a toughest job but then also these novels are much attached to me, whatever I had written I have given my everything, I have embedded equal amount of emotions in each and every part of this Novel. So, it’s really very difficult for me to select the one. Each and every chapters of my Novel is like my own child & I cannot select any one among them.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

I think I am not that much experienced to advise any other Author but then also I will say keep faith in you and move ahead in the right direction. One day success will be yours.

Finally, Do you have anything specific that you want to say to our readers (The TeenMag)?

I would like to tell my readers that try to take out a new lesson from your daily life as it has a lesson to teach and a story to tell. Don’t shed your tears and don’t even cry who was not yours but always cure in Love. I wish you luck and success for your future.

Abhishek Agrawal can be contacted at:-

E-mail:

Sorry.fly@gmail.com

contact@sorryforlovingyou.com

Facebook Pages.

http://www.facebook.com/sorry.fly

http://www.facebook.com/ForGettingTheUnforgettable

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Abhishek-Agrawal/108331469219106

-Akhil Ramesh