The three mistakes of my life by Chetan Bhagat

After my last Chetan Bhagat read (2 States – The story of my marriage), I had sworn off his books for sometime. Okay, sworn off buying them inspite of not being as heavily priced as some of the other non-authors. Quite coincidentally, I got an e-copy of the 3 mistakes of my life last week.

A thin plot around the true story of a state coming of age, the trademark masala mix of love, hate, religion, girls, egos, ambitions and Chetan has managed to produce 150 pages of it.Sometimes I wonder if many authors are languishing in us without being published, as we fail to see the obvious in making a best seller.

Post reading this, I am sure this and the next is not the last we will see of him. The business mind in him has realized it is not tough writing half baked storylines, mish mashing it with whatever is the flavour of the season (maybe swine flu or terrorism this time) to have a reasonably good seller of a book in his hands.

No wonder, he “gave up” working to write.

In awe,
Me

Chetan Bhagat’s latest – 2 States(The story of my marriage)

Read this over a 4 hour journey. I have now begun to wonder if he writes books as a teaser to buy himself movie deals. It was a complete Hindi/Tamil movie flick, maybe as the author himself points out, Ek Duje Ke Liye with a different ending. There was too much stereotyping, and as filmmakers do these days, has put a disclaimer that the story is real. It sure adds curiosity value to the book as he is one handsome author(inspite of a receding hairline). He also apologises and conveniently excuses himself if the sensibilities of any community is hurt because of the way he has portrayed them.As a (female)reader I could feel a definite positive tilt towards the male ego and his views. Ananya’s (the female lead in the plot) views are not elaborated as much as that of Krish’s, as it is a narrative from Krish’s point of view. What were the reactions of Ananya’s relatives when the marriage was being arranged, or does he mean to say that they have no views besides academics and on the Hindu.

All said and done, the fact remains that he has survived 4 books, is able to convert each of them to a movie, keep his family life private, and quit a boring desk job. Given the Punjabi generalizations he has made, this is over achievement that should be rightfully honoured by some Government (!), or maybe he will soon become an MP to be able to say no to these awards. (For those of you who missed the last jibe. go read Shashi Tharoor and his tweets)

Kiran Bedi…Yours, I remain

I am not the kinds to be inspired by random people, even if their biography boasted of great achievements. This is not because I doubt them, but I place more emphasis on the circumstances and the opportunities that led to them. Given the right setting, many more could have shone brighter than them is what I have always thought. Sheer talent is one, but that alone cannot make one an achiever. I had the opportunity to listen to several such prominent people at IIT/IISc and my corporate life, yet they failed to move me – on second thoughts, maybe they were not as great orators as they were achievers.

And then there came Kiran Bedi. One whom I had grown up wanting to emulate since the day I saw Udaan, but I lacked the physical stamina or mental dexterity. What passion and energy she combines, and packs a powerful punch. Her one hour speech was nothing short of stating the obvious, but what made it for me was the way she spoke. Dimunitive in size that the podium almost blocked her out, but she made up for it with her vigour. Here was one who was destined to be an achiever. I came away convinced, that if you have the mettle, even circumstances mould themselves to suit you.

It is not even a classic filmy case of facing the odds and then overcoming it that convinced me about this. After all, most great men and women have this story behind them and it somewhat glorifies further their status.

It is perhaps something unexplainable, it is maybe an extra dose of Horlicks, or  it may even be mass hypnotism by her . But then, I remain her fan.

The Orissan Odyssey

A week’s holiday in Orissa confirmed that India is the best tourist country in the whole world, which can boast of natural beauty, superior man made architecture, and untouched simplicity of the folks out there.

 

Our trip began at Bhubaneshwar, the capital city of the state, over the Good Friday weekend. Bhubaneshwar is such a planned city that one began wondering that is Orissa a developed state already, and the media only shows us places of diametrically the opposite type to evoke sympathy. The stay at Ginger hotel was memorable – clean, efficient though a tad overpriced for the meals that are on offer.

We had hired a car earlier, to take us to the sights of Orissa. The OTDC (Orissa Tourism and Development Corporation) is helpful, and reasonable. The prices on offer are the best. We came to this conclusion after having scoured several tourism agencies, and asked acquaintances from that part of the country.

 So off we went first to the Dauli caves, the Lingaraja temple, …I am not going to describe what is there in these places. You will find a dozen other sites explaining this. But what I should mention is the magnificient structures leaves you spell bound for atleast the first 5 minutes. The lack of proper maintenance, and the argument by the local agents that you will be blessed only if you pay what they demand as parking charge for the car was daylight fleecing. It brought out in me the urge to argue with them in an unknown tongue about how the same Gods will curse them for charging dishonestly, but then I am not that adventurous either  Inspite of all this, if you keep your ears and eyes open, you are not likely to be taken for a ride in this place.

 

Any trip is incomplete without some shopping. And just to annoy my folks, I embarked on one the very first day. The sambalpur prints, and the handicrafts are way too expensive and did not particularly appeal to me. Nevertheless, bought some for fond memories.

 

The next morning was a relaxed morning at Ginger. Then we set out to Satpur, around 10 am to the Chilka lake. The heat roasted us until we melted, but what greeted us on arrival requires a poet’s description. The beautiful lake was nested amidst mountains, and one doesn’t get to see it, until one reaches the far end of the road. The stay at the OTDC resort here was not a pleasant one though, but then this seemed to be the best resort on display. The people here are scrupulously honest, and they believe in earning their living through devoted hard physical labour. Our boat ride towards the mouth of the sea is one I would cherish, amd I would not be doing justice in describing the serene waters, the sunrise, the dolphins ducking away from the boats, the sea gulls, and then vast stretches of sand suddenly out of nowhere, before we could catch sight of the blissfully clean, untouched sea waves. At that moment, God’s magnificence strikes you in all its glory. Thoughts go back to how tsunami would have raged havoc here, and thankfully how nobody was there to talk about it.

 

From there to Puri was a relaxing drive. The abode of Lord Jagannath is the quintessential tourist hub. More than once people tried to con us, and what miffed me more was that even the sacred place(temple) is not free of these conmen. To get a good glimpse of the God, you need to stuff them with money like a Christmas turkey. It left me feeling that God is much more beautiful and sacred in one’s own heart and mind, than at his worldly home. Somebody had remarked before we left on this trip, that we should be prepared to lose all the money on us when we enter the temple. And the naïve me had thought that it would be the pick pocketeers that are ubiquitous in crowded places, and I need to hold on to my valuables. It was only later that I realized this:- inside the shrine, the locals  demanded money and persisted until you parted with it for fear of them ganging up and manhandling you. No wonder the God there needs to die every 12 years and be accorded with a funeral..to relieve himself of the sins people around him commit. If you are not really religious, skip this.

 

The Chandrabagha beach and the Konark temple are different delights…one natural and the other historically engaging.

 

The entire trip lasted only a week, but left me proud on several fronts :- that I managed to plan this trip, that it was a good family holiday, that I belong to this rich, diverse country.

Crazy things that I love to do on vacations

1.  Check into a beautiful room with a great bed with all cushions, and comforters etc. and sleep on the wrong side, so that i can block the tv out.
2.  Fill the jacuzzi and watch it while it froths with the perfumed salts, hot water etc. and then let it grow cold as I am too lazy to have a bath.
3. Go to Japan and ask for aloo paratha, while in Italy ask for noodles.
4. Go with a plan to shop, but dont buy anything. On the other hand go with a plan not to shop and come back loaded with goodies.
5. Buy desserts, especially pastries and carry it back to the room to have at night, this after a nice long dinner which included desserts. 
6.  Check the view through the window in the dead of night, and then complain that they charged you heftily for things that are not visible.
7. Wander aimlessly for nearly half a day and then crib that haven’t seen the sights while time is running out.
8. Promise to self to get the conversion math right in foreign countries, but absolutely detest any country whose conversion rate is multiples of 13, 27, 37 and the likes; why cant they all be nice round numbers like 10,20, 50 etc..actually 1/10, 2/10…

The Sentosa Land

I can now claim the unique distinction of having been to Singapore and not done any shopping, that too on a leisure trip. In this trip I discovered what can be aptly named the lazy shopping genes. Suddenly I found every shop worth its salt stocking the same stuff as you would find elsewhere. Nothing seemed to appeal to the avid shopper in me, that I was wondering if I was fed some mysterious potion en route the flight. For all this, this time I had gone with a plan to just splurge, and splurge only on myself because I was cross with the world for not having treated me well in the last few months. I found everything about the place artificial, no good deals anywhere, and not even as clean as it is famed to be. But I did love the trip to the bird park, though for a moment I felt sad for the birds bred in captivity inspite of the best efforts to keep them fed and clean.

Sudukobese

I recently read somewhere that playing sudoko makes you fat. It further reasons that playing such mind boggling games uses will power and that will power is no longer available to do any other form of exercise. Weird logic! By this, everybody who is intelligent or for that matter, uses their mind should be fat. I seem to like the obese club better now.

Family Matters by Rohington Mistry

Read this book a while ago. It is quite an engaging family drama, engaging because the happenings are so pedestrian. The voluminous book captures quite well the varied hues of family emotion, that ever so ethereal family bonding, and the constant cribbing over money. It gets a little too boring somewhere halfway due to the unending misery, and how life revolves around just one character in the plot. But then isn’t real life by itself a glorification of how man overcomes misery. I don’t think I will pick up the book again for a second read, however I liked the ease with which the author has moved from 1 chapter to another, and kept 2 sets of stories interwined, with all the human drama intact. It also introduced me to another set of interesting characters besides the Bengalis..the Parsis. Henceforth, I shall watch out for them.

Didn’t the annual tax season just pass by?

The key proposals of the radical tax reform draft code sounds too good to be true. Someone said long ago that the only way to cut down on taxes is to take a pay cut. I agreed only because I knew of no other legal way to pay lesser taxes!

Now that they have made public the new tax proposals, I hope the government does not renege on it, and gets the Bill tabled and passed before tax time 2010.

Key proposals for individuals
(Source: http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/12/new-direct-taxes-code-released.htm)

• Rates of tax to be uniform
• Tax deduction limit on savings to be hiked to Rs 3 lakh (Rs 300,000)
• Income tax slabs proposed to be changed; highest tax rate of 30% for individuals to be applicable for income over Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million)
• Security transaction tax to be abolished
• Effective corporate tax rate at 25 %
• To scrap long, short-term capital gains distinction
• Business losses can be carried forward indefinitely
• No tax deduction on interest payable on any govt security
• Base year for calculation of cap gains tax moved to April 2000
• Wealth tax liability to be discharged by payment of pre-paid taxes
• Income from certain transfers not be treated as capital gains

Meanwhile, I am taking off to la la land on the virtual savings I have made basis these tax reforms.

Phoney behavior

Cell phones have become an integral part of our lives today. We need to hang on to it irrespective of whether we are expecting calls or we are scheduled to make one. It is so much necessary for us to have it in ready to use mode, for it started off as a tool that would be very handy during emergency and that aspect refuses to leave our psyche.

In such a scenario, when it has become an indispensable part of our lives, it would be interesting to know whether the payment behaviour of cell phone users in the country has changed. It is quite common for many users to vanish without paying their last cell phone bill, especially when they are about to change cities/countries, for it is difficult to trace them then. The only other scenario when I can imagine that somebody would wilfully default on the bill payment, is when they are switching to a different network due to bad service or better service plan on the alternative. With service providers being highly competitive today, and even in cases where they do not have innovative plans that benefit a particularly unique user, they can still force payment through collection efforts if people default on their payments while switching networks.

Sloppy users are no longer tolerated. Delay in payment is adequately rewarded with disconnection of services. So tell me, if the regulators were not in place today, would we be seeing high handed behavior from these service providers.

 For there is no such thing as a free market.