April Giveaway: The Art of War Posted by Drac , Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 8:50 AM, in Labels: giveaway

The Art of War by Sun Tzu 

Conflict is an inevitable part of life, according to this ancient Chinese classic of strategy, but everything necessary to deal with conflict wisely, honorably, victoriously, is already present within us. Compiled more than two thousand years ago by a mysterious warrior-philosopher, The Art of War is still perhaps the most prestigious and influential book of strategy in the world, as eagerly studied in Asia by modern politicians and executives as it has been by military leaders since ancient times. As a study of the anatomy of organizations in conflict, The Art of War applies to competition and conflict in general, on every level from the interpersonal to the international. Its aim is invincibility, victory without battle, and unassailable strength through understanding the physics, politics, and psychology of conflict. 

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Source: Project Gutenberg 

Disclaimer: All the books featured in Giveaway section are free from copyright and falls in public domain. It is completely legal for you to download, print, share or reproduce these books as you please. 

Soldier For Women Posted by Drac , Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 6:46 AM, in

I am really grateful to Gillette and Blogadda team to come up with an initiative to honor the good men amongst us, to salute the soldiers of our daily life who stood up for women. This is not only a great way to spread awareness in these hard times but also an opportunity for me and fellow bloggers to share their experiences. The following post marks my gratitude not only towards my father but for every man who becomes the voice of women and stand with them for their rights. 

As they say, your father is always your first hero. And they are right. I always had immense respect for my dad and never needed any reason for that either. But when this opportunity came up, I recalled an incident I'd never gave a second thought to; and that made me to love and respect my dad even more. 

This tale is about my maternal cousin, Surabhi. She is beautiful, smarty and had always been a topper in her school times. She had just completed her HSC and topped in the merit list too (21st rank I guess, pardon my memory) when she turned 18. Belonging to our average orthodox family, her parents began their search of a groom for her. They were planning to get her married within a year. But Surabhi didn't wanted to get married so soon. Being smart in her academics she wanted to pursue higher education and was interested to work afterwards, understanding how crucial role financial stability plays in withstanding a marriage. She had her reasons. 

'What will society say?' 'Why your daughter is not married yet? Is there something wrong with her?' 'Her elder sister got married when she was 19, isn't she happy?' 'Jay is turning 21 next month, we can't marry him before her.' Again 'what will people say?' My uncle and aunt had their reasons too. 

I was much younger then and didn't stand a say. My dad is a respectable man and my uncle and aunt favors his opinion a lot. They always consult him on their financial investment and other welfare, because of his knowledge and experience. When my mother told him about Surabhi's dilemma, he went straight to their home, called out Surabhi and made the entire family have a heart-to-heart talk. Though Surabhi's frustration was waning, my aunt and uncle were still reluctant to let her study further. My dad has a great sense of humor and knows how to play with words. Though I vaguely remember the entire conversation, some of the things he said are still engraved in memory. He stated the importance of education to them and boldly used sarcasm to let my aunt know how little helpful she was to her kids when it comes to tutoring them. Being from a Hindi medium school, it was really difficult for her to provide competent guidance to her kids; though she was lucky to get children who were passionate towards study and hence never had any trouble. "Do you want your grandchildren to go through same?" my dad asked. 

The ice was thinning, when my uncle protested that they had over expended on their first daughter's marriage and all left is for her marriage, if they spend it all on her education then how will they manage the marriage, as they can't Jay before her. To which, in my mother's surprise, my dad said, "I'm sure she will be able to manage everything after getting a job, if not, I am ready to bear all the expenses of her marriage." I don't have any siblings and dad always considered Surabhi as his daughter. "And forget about dowry, guys will be competing to marry our beautiful and by then, engineer daughter." Somehow, his words did made an effect on them. My dad helped Surabhi to get an education loan, which giving her AIEEE score was not a problem at all. She completed her computer engineering and worked for two years after that before marrying. Now, it has been four years to her marriage, she have a wonderful daughter Anushka with her doctor husband. And unlike her housewife sister and cousins, she is a working woman (IT head at Tech Mahindra) and leading the life she planned. 

Such thing makes me wonder how little conversations can mould the passage of life. All we have to do is say the right thing and stand by it. Love you Dad! 

This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

Tantra Posted by Drac , Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:55 AM, in Labels: book, fiction

Title: Tantra

Author: Adi

Publisher: Apeejay Stya Publishing

Genre: Fiction

Tantra by Adi (no, not Aditya Chopra) is a gripping tale of a vampire hunter's roller coaster ride intertwined with mythical concepts, hunt for the killer and, wait for it, pressure of arrange marriage. 

Anu Aggarwal, a US based Indian who guards New York City against vampires has to come to New Delhi in search of her boyfriend Brian's killer. Back in her homeland she discovers an alternate side of vampires, gets involved in Vedic Tantra and strive her best to expose all dreadful secrets which will lead her to the killer. All this, while tangling the internal politics of her organization and her aunt's persuasion to get married. 

Since Bram Stoker's masterpiece, the concept of vampires has been degraded to many levels. The best example would be the Twilight series; Stephanie Meyers would never get peace for how she insulted such a wonderful concept. Luckily, I didn't expect much from this book and well, it didn't disappoint me. Vampires are, so to speak, just used here to form an unconventional backdrop. As the story proceeds you would find yourself in the midst of a typical Indian writer who want you to believe that secrets are hidden deep in our mythology and the protagonist must fight to stop a catastrophic event. And won't forget to induce some romance, whenever he gets the chance; even amongst all the chaos. 

Author had put everything available in the market of fiction i.e. vampires, mythology, love, family drama, politics, social values, etc. in a mixer and served a dish in the form of this book with a topping of eccentric humor. Now this dish looks quite delicious and will surely win the prize for presentation, but it is tasteless. Methinks, an author fails to realize the true potential of his/her story when he/she tries to focus more on the marketing strategies. Thinking about what the reader would like, I instead of what you want to say will eventually void the purpose. Tantra by Adi is just a mambo-jumbo of all the clichés without any soul. 

Though writing doesn't collaborate with 'about the author' section which claims Harvard and Stanford Universities, it is simple and appropriate with the type of story. The best part of this book is author's bravery; blending supernatural fiction with your go-to-guy characters isn't as easy as it may sound. Stirring eccentric topics (read bisexuality) is also commendable. I wish author have developed more incidents that would have provided a depth to the characters. But as the climax of the book hints towards the beginning of a series, one could always hope. And I hope things will be more sorted out in following novels with clearer characters, clean story flow and… well I could do with the humor. 

Recommended for those who reads all and only Indian authors. Take a shot; it is nescient but not boring. 

Rating: 2.5/5 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Blogadda.com as part of their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”