A book review after ages

Thank to a close friend I think I have started reading again. Or i was reading 1 book a year or something like that. I finished the book in 4 days.. Yay!! and i reviewed it at goodreads; here is the link:

The Illicit Happiness of Other People by Manu Joseph

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a gift from a close friend and I am really thankful. I have been trying to restart my reading and wasn't interested in reading a plain boring fiction neither a complicated non fiction.
The language is easy to read which I loved but the thoughts and ideas presented are anywhere from plain routine to highly twisted.
It is setup in 90s Madras and to me it felt a true reflection of the times from across the country of middle class society. The non stop push from parents towards getting good grades and clearing IIT entrance for boys and the appropriateness guidance or rather mandates for girls.
The story tells a lot about how we perceive that everyone else is routine or normal except us or our families as teenagers but when we inch closer and take a peek almost everyone is delusional about the normalcy and their own unhappiness.
To me the novel beautifully highlights how each of us have our own truths and view of world which we perceive as truth. And also when we are pushed to see that we are not so unique and everyone is prone to faults it can impact us either too loud or we chose to ignore and continue with our individual delusional world.

This was a perfect read and I would definitely recommend this book.



View all my reviews

Am i Smart or can see through?

Survey person - thats what I am .. I always try and do these random suvreys - its fun mostly or I know what answers sound better..
So i randomly was surfing something and came to the BBCsite for science and nature - not to mention did 3-4 surveys to understand self better - yeah now that sounds better than saying random surveys right?
So i was trying to understand myself better and tried the experiment on spotting a fake smile  - and guess what I did brilliant according to me  - I could spot the fake smiles correctly with distinction and a score of 75%!! - So now advice to all - DONT fake in front of me as chances are more likely than not that i will figure it out and that would be more embarrassing as i might ask you ;)

No P(l)eace to write! and a review.

A turmoil is either a source of incessant writing or it brings down the writing capability to none..
For me the second case holds true.
The last few months have had so many changes - still on that I couldn't bring myself to write- that doesn't mean i had nothing to write - infact i added a post on my professional blog after more than a year but to write what I am feeling is completely different.
SO to revamp my blog I will take baby steps- first is to write a review - no book review as I am not even reading right now.
Its a review of the bollywood latest flick - Shudh Desi Romance.
I felt it a worthy (compared to others which are one time watch due to lack of options) one time watch as the story intrigues if you do not know what is happening next. In most of the movies that we see nowadays you can tell the within 10 minutes of beginning of it.
So on that front - keeping the audience guessing a little this movie scores, the plot doesn't really have lose ends which makes the movie good to watch with your mind inside your head.
The actors are good, I really liked Sushant Singh rajput whom i found boring in his TV soap ( I haven't watched Kai Po Che- hated the book).
Parineeti is much better than Priyanka in her second movie itself and the third actress is an average though I will never figure out the reason for why she returned to pursue the guy who ditched her on the marriage stage.
The storyline is good but with some facts away from reality- a casual live-in relation is questioned and refused even in bigger cities like bangalore, chennal,mumbai; how will it be so feasible in Jaipur.
Otherwise the outlook of youth toward marriage and relations is quite refreshing and good to watch.
Overall a good bollywood movie after a long time so Definitely worth watching! My rating 4 of 5.

lost..hopefully will be found soon!!

Have taken a BIGGGGG!!! move decision in life.. and it occupied the entire space called the top floor in my body's building.. Is it the right decision.. .Am i giving in too much... will it prove right...
Well i did need a push to get out of some hell like environment but have I done it too soon...

So the thoughts in my mind are not so great right now except this ONE big THING!!
What do I do to change that or get myself occupied somewhere else!!

Today's thought

today's lesson:
You can not play Temple run properly while standing!

humans are dumb and life is crazy

Practicality of things is so real at times that you are shocked  of the real possibility of it happening and of how life can still be on. .... and then we start playing mind games with self. ..
To deny it all.  To take ourselves back to our make believe world.
Who do we think we are fooling? Life is the bitterest medicine that hopefully
 heals all. ..
.

cribs of recent origins mostly

have been observing and thinking off late a lot about hospitality in travel and tourism industry in saada desh - thanks to the extensive travel i have done over the last 3 months...

- The best hospitality so far - Hotel Sayaji in Indore where you do a check in after getting inside the room instead of waiting outside at the reception for 10 min. However their food doesn't match the expectations set by its old patrons or being the most renowned one in a location like indore[known for food].

- Best room so far - that's a debate and i never understand why hotel rooms have such thin walls!?

- Worst possible tea/coffee - lemon tree at Delhi, And they also win the worst hotel opinion according to me- from food to room everything sucks big time!!

And since i have been mostly travelling Indigo all my comments are related to it in air travel.

- If my company has opted for a complimentary meal plan with Indigo its not my fault or my sleep's fault that the hostess has to come and wake me up every time i fall asleep. Trust me I know when I want to eat something and I don't want them to force feed me!

- The rudeness meter of the hostesses is always on the rise -- to the point as if they have paid me money to travel and are giving me or any other passenger a huge favour

- I really don't give a hoot and cant care less about where the hostesses belong to - all i want is a peaceful flight as much as possible in the little cramped space that i get

- and what's with the hostesses running on the aisle every now and then...?

- and what's with telling "humari swaadisht jalpaan seva" where the only edible item are dried fruits which can't be spoiled really

- Speaking of food has anyone noticed the kind of idiotic descriptions on the packaging - "every sandwich has a story" or "magic rice biryani" - really irritatingly stupid. speaking of stories everyone in every product has a story in the current jargons within advertising space!! i can buy something without a story as well!!
- best flight on time - yeah and the number of people who manage that and make passengers suffer can be a post of its own!!
- and how can i forget - i ensure most of the time to use the washroom in the airports as the flight toilets are so poooorly managed!
- yeah but i will still fly Indigo - because I have no other option :( :(

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