THE OTHER SIDE: Mumbai

Showing posts with label Mumbai. Show all posts

Bang The Ban

The recent eight day meat ban in Mumbai for a Jain festival is not the first for the city. The city have previously been involved in banning Dance Bar, Bear Bar, Night Life, Beef etc even a facebook post against ban during death of Balasahab Thackerey resulted in jail for a lady and her friend. I wonder how people of such a progressive and modern city live with so much bans.

They say that they want Mumbai to be like Shanghai a city under dictatorial Chinese authority where you don't have any right to stand and speak against the government and If I am not wrong the first step in this direction has been taken by the Maharashtra Government with an order in which any written or verbal statement against the government would be considered as treason or the crime against the State. If they are making Shanghai in this way than I am sure Mumbaikars better prefer Mumbai over it.

We in other parts of India knows Mumbai as a city which never sleeps, which fulfill dreams and which accepts you without judging who you are. This is the city which have emerged victorious from every troubled situation and I think Mumbaikars should raise their voices against any injustice to the free spirit of Mumbai and the right to freedom of our constitution. If you are banning meat for a Jain festival for eight days than you should ban vegetables during four days of Bakri Eid or Eid-ul Zuha.

Every one is free to follow his/her religion in this country and if someone is not happy with someone's else action during practice of their religion then community discussions should be the way out and not the government interference with ban. The city has a bad name for banning and abusing of north Indians by a political group but people there welcomed everybody with open hearts and I am sure they will bang every kind of ban which present city in a bad light.

Book Review : There's Something About You

Book Review : There's Something About You.

There's Something About You is a fictional love story by Yashodhara Lal. I have received this book published by Harper Collins India from Indibloggers. Apart from being the love story this book try to find some common sensical solutions to some nonsensical problems.

Cover : Full marks to the cover. It hints to a love story along with creating a mystery around their characters. Sea beach scene indicts a coastal city which is perfect to refer the city of dreams Mumbai.

Plot : A thirty year old single girl Trishna Saxena aka Trish lived in Mumbai with her Alzheimer suffering father and a nagging mother. She was content with her job in a leading publication which suddenly fired her from her job living her helpless in that big city. Unable to get a new job, she expressed her emotional and mental outburst in a part time assignment which changed her life for ever. Sahil entered her life at that moment and started easing her life situations. She found him connected to an incident happened in her life. How things turned out in between them? How she solves her friend Akansha's problem? The course of event changes to give readers an engrossing read to the relieved climax.

Highs : I like the narrative style of the book. The question and answer part of the book is interesting and really made you think how silly we behave in dealing with some simple problems in our life. The book never bores you even at a single point thanks to the well maintained pace in the narration. The climax is good and satisfactory for me. The characters are believable and you feel a connect with them as story progresses.

Lows : Half of the book revolves around only Trish which I think is an unnecessary stretching of the narrative without any interesting happenings at that time. I also missed some romantic moments between Trish and Sahil. Things are somewhat predictable.

Verdict : Pick your copy soon if you want to read a different kind of love story while discovering a fresh look at life during your book reading journey.

Rating : I would give it 4 out of 5.

Book Review : Hifi In Bollywood

HiFi In Bollywood is written by Rishi Vohra who writes for delWine and is a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). I have received this book published by Jaico Publishing House from the author who can be visited at www.rishivohra.com . His debut novel Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai was a bestseller and awarded a special mention at the Hollywood Book Festival. Hifi In Bollywood is a story which gives you an inside into the Hindi Film Industry or HiFi.

Cover : A boy in front of Mumbai background who looks like a wannabe actor very much give the hint what is waiting inside this book. A slight glimpse of girl at one side of cover points to some love angle. Overall it's a nice cover according to the story.

Plot : Reyhan Arora who wanted to be a filmmaker in Hindi Film Industry found hard to cop with his finance degree and search for a job in California,USA. He was doing it in pressure of his stubborn father who had also planned his marriage to his friend's daughter living in America. He wanted to settle his son in America but Reyhan had some different dreams and in order to pursue them he came to Mumbai without telling his father and rejecting that girl Vanita for a try in HiFi. On his journey in Hindi Film Industry he encountered with different people and fell in love with a girl named Viola working with him in the same movie as assistant directer like him. Would he get success in Hindi Film Industry? Would his father ever discover him in Mumbai? Did Viola also love him ? The story answers these questions with an unexpected ending.

Boiler : The simplicity in narration is the plus point of the story. Interchanging from first person to third person also looks appropriate with the flow of the story. It gives realistic view of the working of Hindi Film Industry. The characters are real and we can connect to them from the people in the film industry. I also liked the simplicity of language and the flow of the narrative. Its a total recipe for a masala entertainer.

Spoiler : The flow of the narrative is good but slow. The story lacks the high points and the twist barring the ultimate twist in the end. At times it becomes boring with some repetitive scenes. Their are missed instances of humorous situations which would if take care of definitely add to the flavors of the story.

Verdict : It tells us to follow our dreams and work hard for their success. You must read it if you are a Bollywood fan and wants to have a glimpse of working of Hindi Film Industry or HiFi as they called it.

Rating : I would give it 3.5/5.

Book Review - Fraudster

Fraudster is a suspense thriller set in the world of corporate finance written by R.V. Raman who was the former head of KPMG's consulting and the co-head of their Risk Advisory Services. He was also partnered with A.T. Kearney and Arthur Andersen, and boasts an experience of over three decades and covering four continents. Currently a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management, Trichy, he teaches Business Strategy. He is based in Chennai and this is his first book. This book is published by Hachette India and I have received this book from reader's cosmos as part of their book review program.

Cover : The cover reminded of Aamir Khan in the poster of Dhoom - 3 but there is no such connection in it. But yes the connection with bank is common in the story but in different way. The man's shadow here at the cover is signifying a fraudster looking at Mumbai as his target. The gun in his hand indicates his intentions of killing anybody who came in between his goals and ambitions to make money.

Plot : A girl named Shruti Mathur who was fired by her bank after she deposes before a commission investigating large - scale financial fraud and found guilty of negligence in duty. Before police gets some clues about her death, one of the member of commission investigating the fraud Mr. Visht also died. Detective Inspector Ranade of Mumbai Police investigates the case as some more deaths, assaults, attacks, bomb explosions were waiting for him. The people related to Visht and his secrets faced danger of their lives as Ranade further investigates to finally grab the fraudster and reveals his plan. A fast paced thriller about illicit finance take you to the world of corporate finance full of money, deceit, corruption, fraud and the fraudster where you will keep on guessing the culprit behind all these scams and murders.

Thriller : Being his first book , R V Raman has kept it simple without confusing the plot with sub plots within the main story. Yet he remained hooked to the thrill and suspense till the end and a reader has so many suspects to doubt before the real revelations. His knowledge of banks and financial corporations gave a touch of reality to the plot. He didn't tried to bring lust and sex unnecessarily in the narrative as most of thriller genre writer practice these days. Also I liked that story is inspired by real frauds happened in political and financial circles recently which make it real and acceptable for the readers.

Spoiler : The financial angle is bit confusing, common reader finds it hard to grasp it in one read. I think details of that level are not necessary for the narrative. There are so many men and women but no romantic angle, no relationships, this lack of love angle appears missing to me.

Rating: This is a real thriller strictly dealing with suspense which you must read. I will give 3/5 to it.

"This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program and Blog Tours. To get free books log on tothereaderscosmos.blogspot.com"

Book Review - Private India

Private India written by Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson is a continuation of James Patterson's world famous Private series( I haven't read any Private series yet ). It is published by Arrow books and I have received this Ashwin Sanghi signed copy as a part of BlogAdda's Book Review program. They both are bestseller writers although I haven't read any of their books as of now but aware of their works such as Chanakya's Chant, The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi and Alex Cross series of James Patterson.

Cover : From the front cover itself one can deduce that it is a thriller based in Mumbai and a race against time for the protagonist looking at the running man in the picture. It tells reader about the intrigue and the mystery they are going to experience.Pictures of Taj Palace Hotel, Gateway of India and Bandra -Worli sea link contemplate your interest. As you read the prologue you got the idea that it has something to do with the terrorist attacks on Mumbai but as you started reading chapter one you realized that many twist and turns are waiting to come your way.

Plot : The story revolves around the head of Private India Santosh Wagh and his team consisting an ex-lady cop, a technology expert and master of forensics. All of them having their stories of past adding interest and suspense to the narrative. They got the charge to investigate and solve the case of killings of women unconnected to each other. They were strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses. Who was the killer? What's the motive of killing ? Why were these women killed ? What were these rituals ? How many more murders? Will they able to stop the killer ? How the Private India is connected to the killings ? What role does head of Private play in the case?Answers to all these questions made them face their dark pasts,broke their trusts,and took them to much bigger conspiracy which staggered the foundation of their organization.

Thriller :A power packed pacy layered plot is the highlight of this book. Each chapter reveals a layer further increasing the suspense and curiosity of the reader. Short chapters maintained the pace, quickly turning pages creates involvement in the story. Each character's entry brings a new twist. There are all flavors of Mumbai in it having covered almost all of Mumbai in it's narrative from Chowpaty to Kamathipura to Churchgate,etc. Excellent portrayal of psychic of each character, reader gets aware what was running in particular character's mind. Fully packed with thrill,action and suspense like a Bollywood movie. It's a kind of book you would like to finish in one go.

Spoiler : I think revelation of killer was in haste. Scene shifting at an important point was sometimes confusing. More closer to a film script than to reality.

Rating : I will give 3.5/5 and would definitely recommend to someone who enjoyed the suspense/thriller genre.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Bollywood Dreams

"No body understands my dream", she said to herself and decided to run away from her home to Mumbai to pursue her childhood dream of being a film star with her friend Dipak. He made her to face couch rather than camera. Her Bollywood dream gets shattered.

Dreams Shattered

An unauthorized building was collapsed in Shil-Phata area of Thane Mumbai killing 74 people,culprits were arrested and it was found that municipal corporation officials were also involved with builders in completing this seven storey building. Unauthorized buildings were made,they got collapsed,inquiry commissions set up,culprits get arrested , sometimes sentenced to few years of jail and get released to do this again thus this vicious circle goes on.

Everybody hopes for a home which one can call his own, builders take advantage of this situation,they provide cheap houses low in quality standards and even get clearance (obviously bu greasing palms of related government officials) thus such incidents happen. Governments are unable to give shelter to each because they themselves wants these builders to flourish as they give huge sum of money in bribes. As far as government housing schemes are concerned which are based on token system usually go to someone related to the official or may be to the officials themselves.

Today we are 66 but still we have people suffering from hunger,having no roofs on there heads and die due to lack of proper medical facilities.Who is responsible? always remains a question. May be we all are responsible in encouraging bribes. We offer bribes to ditch long queues or to make our work done before others,sometimes to get some benefit from that officer and sometimes out of habit. The system will change only when we change ourselves.