सफ़रनामा

A computer does not smell…if a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better…And it stays with you forever. But the computer doesn’t do that for you. I’m sorry.” – Ray Bradbury Yeh sab toh thik hai Mr. Bradbury, but what else can be done when lockdowns are imposed one after other AND your craving to read is so lusty that all you want is a book, no matter in what form . So, I here's the first of those few... The author has two fathers (one being the father of his dear friend) : one rich  and a poor one. The rich man was not rich yet and the poor man was not yet poor.  Both of them had very different points of view about money. For ex., one dad would  say, " The love of money is the root of all evil." The other said, "The lack of money is the root of all evil.” You could say the rich one was of "Risk hai toh Ishq hai" type.  Schools do not teach money, focusing more on scholastic and professional skills but not on financial skills...

  Do not look at Agni As an entity directed upward To deter the ominous Or exhibit your might. It is fire In the heart of an Indian. Do not even give it The form of a missile As it clings to the burning pride of this nation and thus is bright. The missile man , the people's president -  This is the story of a boy from a humble background who went on to become a key player in the Indian space research and later became the 11 th president of India.  His journey from the Mosque street in Rameshwaram to the Rashtrapati Bhawan has been intensively sketched. The story of his life is unfolded in sections presented one after : Orientation , Creation , Propitiation and Contemplation.   Well for me, it contained just 2 sections : The first half that I could read swiftly not caring about the page count. The second one, which turned out to be tedious to continue. Had to drag till the end. (No offense please) . The reason being the sophisticated t...

  “Array, yeh ladki jaisa dikhne wala, dhabhe me khane wala, cricket kya khelega?” said the chief selector of the MECON colony team when he first encountered Dhoni and rejected him. And the book starts with this ‘wise’ comment. This 200 page book contains 10 chapters starting from ‘the hair-raising tale of Mahi’ to ‘The Man Emerges’ with a highly persuasive Foreword by Ravi Shastri .  Closing of the foreword by Shastri It’s the journey of the man who, in less than a decade ended up putting Ranchi on the world cricket map. The man you know, the journey you (still) don’t!! It’s a tale of a cricketer as a young boy from nowhere to holding one of the most nerve racking responsibilities in the Indian cricket. You’ll get to know how he creates scenarios, using his presence of mind to manipulate or influence the opposition. You’ll understand his ability to read the pulse of a batsman from behind the stumps. The wicketkeeping Pythagoras! ‘Ice bhi pighal jayega, lekin Dhoni na...

What's the best thing that you do when the world comes to a halt? When you can't go out, go IN!!   Fill your mind with limitless thoughts and wisdom deriving from Netflix and prime, or else let the universe of words suck you up . Let yourself be trapped between the lines. For the first 4-5 months, I filled my hours, days and months with only these two aforesaid. I had already made up my mind in 11th std. that I'll read novels once I get to a college since I lacked time then (or time management skills maybe). All thanks to the annual Book fair held in Raipur back in Feb, where I got a chance to grab some random much-heard-of writings.  I had already started reading Wings of Fire , before the 'to-be-holi' vacation . When I came seven months ago for seven days, I brought it to finish, leaving the other one, 'the Alchemist' rest in my hostel room cupboard. There was this another one I granted to my buddy, only to discover that she's too lazy to e...