Feathered Serpent by Xu Xiaobin

I bought this book in the Popular book expo in Singapore.Initially i thought that this book will be about some sort of magical story but once i started reading the first paragraph, i understood that it will be great read.Again  as happened previously i bought this book by instinct, i never heard of this book before.
This is a story of five generations of women .Yu which means Feathered Serpent is  the the last daughter of Ruomu and Lu Chen i.e the fourth generation grows under her grandmother Xuanming and self-obsessed mother Ruomu.The whole story revolves arounf Yu, who is longing for mother's love.Her mother hate her as she choked her brother(the little boy) to death , from that time onwards no one loved Yu in her family except her father Lu Chen.

"Since childhood she had been longing for love - the love of her parents; later, the love of friends. Only love and friendship would be good medicine; nothing else could bring zest to her life."

That starts her life long quest for love and acceptance by his family and others.As a reader we are taken to a labyrinth of problems faced by this family.The story evolves from the late 19th century under the Empress Dowager Cixi to life under Mao Zedong in Communist China.The political background to the narrative extends from the Taiping Revolution in the 1860's up to the years just after Tiananmen.

Yu's love for Yuanguang,Yadan's love for Yuanguang, Yuanguang's life with Xiato.. the love story(ies) continues till their death.I loved the way the author connects everyone, the story behind them. This book have some similarities with "One hundred years of Solitude" by Garcia.. but the writing style is completely different .

Read to enjoy the love...

Some quotes from the book:

"Age is a strange measure of things"

"A human being is a maze. Soul and body -both are part of the maze.A body is the wall of the maze and the soul is  the little path connecting everything to the center.To enter is to live,to leave is to die" 

 "A detached feather is not soaring, but drifting"

"A woman without love loses her beauty" 

"Every family has its own problem" 

"Straight like a bowstring,death awaits;bent like a hook, noble titles will be rewarded" 

"Debasement is the password of the base,Nobility the epitaph of the noble." 

"The worst thing for a woman is that the body ages but the heart remains young" 

"Everyone looks good in someone's eyes" 

" An ugly wife is worth a thousand gold"

other new things :
Lingchi - death by slow slicing also known as death by thousand cuts
Diantiandeng -death by burning while hung upside down.
Guanyin-Goddess of Mercy
Dr.Sun Yat-sen's three principles :nationalism,democracy and people's welfare

About the Author:
Biography

Top 10 Songs in my iPod in 2010

Another year almost passed, musically it was one of the best year for me , i explored variety of genre from African folks,Country songs,Latin Choir to our own classical instruments like Ghatam. Here are the list of 10 songs i listened more often in 2010.

1."Gangai Nathi engaeyo" - from Kavalar kudiyuriuppu(tamil movie).
One of the great song about friendship, i like this song  very much, the two singers are awesome.

2."Kiss from a Rose" by Seal
One of the all time great romantic song,i fell in love with song instantly i heard it for the first time in February,still listening everyday.Seal's voice is something to cherish ..

3."Hello" by Leonel Richie
Another greatest romantic hit, Leonel Richie , oh my gos! what a voice , the lyrics .. simply the best.

4."I Dreamed A Dream" by Susan Boyle
This youtube sensation changed my perception on western classical.This song is my morning energy booster, almost everyday i listened this song, her voice is God's gift.

5."Kangal Irandal" from Subramaniapuram(tamil movie)
Again , great lyrics& wonderful voice  and beautifully filmed.one of all time great Tamil movie song.

6."Straight Through My Heart" by BackStreetBoys
Wow,wow.. great lyrics, great music and a great song.. wow BSB.

7."Teardrops on my guitar" by Taylor Swift
This Country singer is the best thing happen to music industry in this 2 years.Her lyrics and her voice are awesome.

8."You are not Alone" by Michael Jackson
Whenever i travel for more than 20minutes in bus, this is the song which sooths me.. MJ was simply the best..

 9."The Last Waltz" by Englebert Humperdinck
This guy's voice is  something you can listen at anytime.This song is a proof for it.Amazing song.

10."With You" by Chris Brown
I like his style of singing.This song is very nice specially when you listen this when you are at crowded place, i used to play this song whenever i go to shopping mall.

For the first time i listened to some South East Asian music and some great classical works of Philip Glass.Hope next year will learn more about different music genre from different countries.      

Have a great year... musically too!! Enjoy Music .. Enjoy Life..

10 Unique Words taken from Readers Digest in 2010 issues

I'm a big fan of Readers Digest from my school days,I find RD as one of the best monthly magazine we have now,i like their real life stories and the jokes.Below are the 10 words, which i learnt from the RD during this one year 2010 issues.
1.Seraphim -highest order of angels
           This word means fiery ones, in allusion, as is supposed, to their burning love. They are represented as "standing" above the King as he sat upon his throne, ready at once to minister unto him. Their form appears to have been human, with the addition of wings.        
    Click here fore more 

2.Rapscallion -Mischievous person
    a fanciful elaboration of rascal
      Click here for more

3.Gleaner -Someone who gathers information
                -to collect or gather anything little by little or slowly.
      Click here for more    

4.mal de mer -Seasickness
      Click here for more 
 
5.Kvetch -complain
       Click here for more

6.Sommelier-Wine steward
       Click here for more 

7.trencherman-hearty eater
       Click here for more

8.Fusillade-Series of shots
      Click here for more 

9.Ersatz-Fake
      Click here for more

10.Nudink-bore

Cry,The Beloved Country

I was lucky to buy this book,i never heard of this book before as i was browsing through books in a book exhibition i stumbled on this book which was lying down near the payment queue, i didn't think twice i put it inside by book basket.Now i realized i was really lucky to get this book.This  book one of  the best of all time i read.Alan Paton brings  Africa before our eyes, exclusive usage of words to bring the beauty of Africa.

The story starts with a Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo starting his journey in search of his son Absalom and sister,Gertrude to Johannesberg.He was never went to Johannesberg before, he was helped by Msimangu, a pastor in Johannesberg.The crux of the story was that his son Absalom was convicted of a murder, he killed a whiteman who was a good guy working for the empowerment of blacks and poor people.After a long struggle Stephen meet his son at the jail and asked him about how it happened , he told everything about how they(2 other guys, one is cousin, Stephen Kumalo's brother John's son) tried to rob a whiteman's house and how he fired the gun in fear.Many people show their support to Stephen specially the lawyer ,who work for the Lord,Msimangu in his prayers,Ms.Lithebe in whose house he stayed and young police officer who helped him to find whereabout of his son.

Stephen came to know that a girl is carrying his son's child ,out of marriage.He decided to arrange marriage for them and he took the little girl to stay with him in Ms.Lithebe's house.He also found her sister who has a small boy, he took them to Ms.Lithebe's house.He was happy to found her sister and her daugher-in-law.The story unfolds when Stephen found out that the whiteman his son killed was a son of Jarvis, who is living in the near by farm in his church at Ndotsheni,Natal.The Jarvis are good family, very helpful to their black workers.Stephen have seen them many times passing through the church..The father Jarvis understood his son's interest by reading his writings and the books he had in his room.

The two old men,one's son murdered another's son met first in Johannesberg ,Stephen was scared to meet Jarvis, as he felt immense pain.But Jarvis was good to him.Absalom was sentenced to death and the other two were released.Stephen arranged marriage for his son with the little girl with the help of Msimangu.Her sister left her son alone and went,leaving Stephen to take care of him.Stephen with immense pain left to Ndostsheni with his daughter-in-law and sister's son.The tragedy of Absalom's execution becomes a background for the renewal of the impoverished land. This renewal is made possible by a change in the attitude of a rich white landowner whose son was murdered by Absalom.Back in his village , he gets lot of help from Jarvis, who willingly spent his money on  building dam and teaching farming technique to the people.The mindset of two fathers was brought alive by the author's descriptive words.

This books was written shows love and hope, courage and endurance of a man.'Cry, The Beloved Country' was written around 1947 well before the implementation of apartheid, which shows the social protest against the structure of the society ( ruled and controlled by white people).The book sold over 15 million copies around the world before Paton's death.Two film version released one in 1951, Kumalo was played by Canada Lee, Jarvis by Charles Carson, and Msimangu by Sidney Poitier and the another version in 1995 ,Kumalo was played by James Earl Jones and Jarvis by Richard Harris .
Some quotes from the book:

"I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find that we are turned to hating."

"Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear."

"[W]e do what is in us, and why it is in us, that is also a secret. It is Christ in us, crying that men may be succoured and forgiven, even when He Himself is forsaken."

"It is not permissible to add to one's possesions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation."

"Nothing is ever quiet, except for fools."

"I am a weak and sinful man, but God put His hands on me, that is all."

"But when the dawn will come, of our emancipation, from the fear of bondage and the bondage of fear, why, that is a secret."

About author:
 Alan Paton, i liked his style of writing not too poetic and not dull at all, have to read his other books soon.
Wiki

The Secret Supper

Couple of months back i read a book called " The Secret Supper" by Javier Sierra, i found some interesting fact about , specially how the sculptors and painters assigned zodiac signs to the 12 apostles.
This novel's theme is Leonardo's 'The Last Supper' and the seating arrangements of the apostles,very interesting.Most secret societies in olden days viewed this particular painting as some sort of hidden message,even today people are wondering about the seating arrangement and the way apostles were grouped.

Javier Sierra brings the old Rome in front of our eyes , specially the cities design and church's activities on those times. The novel starts with Father Agostino Leyre, a Dominican Inquisitor and expert on the interpretation of secret messages was sent by Pope Alexander VI to anonymous letters  warning heresy in Milan in 1497.The letter has the following poem as a clue for heresy.How Agostino solves these puzzles is the story of this novel.

" Count its eyes
but look not on its face
The number of my name
you shall find on its side
Observe and give to others
the result of your observation.
Truth."

As Agostino started to understand the hidden meaning behind the above poem, he encountered many things which were unusual at that time like
1)Why were neither Jesus nor any apostles given a sanctifying halo?
2)Why were some of the disciples turning their backs to Jesus?Those three apostles at the right corner.
3)Why is Peter concealing a knife?
4)Why there is a knot at the both end of the table? etc..

Fr.Agostino after solving some part of it , encounters these group of letters "Mut,Nem,A,Los,Noc".
He tried to put these letters for Latin names of Apostles.

Apostle Name	Latin Name	Meaning
Bartholomew	Mirabilis	He who is Miraculous
James the Less	Venustus	He is full of Grace
Andrew	Temperator	He who Prevents
Judos Iscariot	Nefandus	The Abominable One
Peter	Exosus	He who Hates
John	Mysticus	He who knows the Mystery
Thomas	Litator	He who Placates the Gods
James the Elder	Oboediens	He who Obeys
Philip	Sapiens	He who Loves High Matters
Matthew	Navus	He who is Diligent
Judas Thaddeus	Occultator	He who Conceals
Simon	Confector	He who Fulfills

If we take the first letter in the Latin name , it will come as "Mut,Nem,A,Los,Noc", if we reverse it, surprise!!
                         Mut,Nem,A,Los,Noc  = CONSOLAMENTUM

No need to explain that word. Leonardo da vinci haven't followed what other painters did.For e.g Nicola Sementovsky Kurilo attributed zodiac signs for 12 apostles.Below is the last supper with Zodiac signs for apostles.

      

Apostle Name	Zodiac Sign
Bartholomew	Pisces
James the Less	Aquarius
Andrew	Capricon
Judos Iscariot	Scorpio
Peter	Sagittarius
John	Libra
Thomas	Virgo
James the Elder	Leo
Philip	Cancer
Matthew	Gemini
Judas Thaddeus	Taurus
Simon	Aries

This story is gripping , the dialogues between Leonardo da vinci and his disciples were wonderful,the plot is far better than other novels which deals with heresy.The whole takes place while Leonardo was started painting  'The Last Supper' at Santa Maria delle Grazie at Milan.Leonardo used the monks as model for each apostles.
Some interesting information:
Lady Grammar's motto :Praedicatio,applicatio,continentia (Preaching,Dedication&Containment)
Leonardo's motto at the time:"Lege,lege,relege,ora,labora et invenies"(Read,read,reread,pray,work and thou shalt find)
St.Bernard's quote "God is length,width,height and depth"

This book is worth reading, its more interesting than 'Da Vinci Code'.

About author:
Official site
Wiki
this book's official site

Software Tools -1

I found the following tools/sites very interesting and very useful.

What search engine Spiders see

  This is a free service which allows you to see what is going on in your site like search links,word counts, meta tag...etc.. and its free for basic features.

.Fontifier 

This lets you use your own handwriting for the text you write on your computer,it seems to be a very interesting site , i can imagine my own handwriting on a computer screen, even specially in my presentation awesome, try it.

FavIcon

    Another free site to create your own icon, specially the favicons, i tried it, satisfied with its features.

PhoneSpell

    Very interesting site , enter your phone number to get words and phrases related to it.. im wondering how people are thinking  like this, great idea. I tried with my phone number got something very interesing.

Virtual Board

   very very useful site specially if you arrange or attend meeting very often. In this site you can write,draw ..etc and send a link or email to your friend and you can also print it.

Document Maker

  You can create calendars,graph papers ,even sudoku and print it.Very nice site.

Abraham Lincoln's Letter to his Son's Teacher

This is one of the best letter a father can write to his child's teacher.I really liked this, since i too love to write letters(but not like this), its sad that nowadays parents concentrate only on academics when they contact teachers.

Lincoln’s Letter to his Son’s Teacher

He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician,
there is a dedicated leader…
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,

Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick…
Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books…
But also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,
and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail
than to cheat…
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him
they are wrong…
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon…
Teach him to listen to all men…
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.

Teach him if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad…
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness…
Teach him to sell his brawn
and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag
on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob
and to stand and fight
if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently,
but do not cuddle him,
because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage
to be impatient…
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always
to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have
sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,
but see what you can do…
He is such a fine little fellow,
my son!

~ Abraham Lincoln

Source : Licoln's letter to his son's teacher
click here to read in Tamil

The girl who kicked the hornet's nest

The third and the last book of the series "Millennium".Another gripping and thrilling novel by Larsson.The story is about the "section" , a secret group which deals with spies and other national security issues."Zala" was shot dead by old man ,Blomkovist and Salander have to find who he is and whats his intention.Salander was hospitalized and he get help from Blomkovist sister , the doctor and the cleaner so that she will be in contact with outside world specially with Blomkovist.Blomkovist's sister who is a advocate ,appears in court on behalf of Salander.Neidermann was escaped after killing two policemen,now the police is looking for him also with other convicts.Many twists and turns in this story ,atlast Blomkovist able to find the truth and Salander was set free but since Neidermann was still not yet captured, she was little scared ,as she went to check her property she found Neidermann there and somehow she was able to kill him with other gangsters.

Steig Larsson deserves all the praise he is getting now, as this trilogy proves if the story is strong ,it will sell. He had unique way of telling each and every character's thoughts.I felt very sad that this wonderful author is not around to complete his ten book series.

So far "Millennium" is the best trilogy i read.Have to write a full details of these books soon.

Stuxnet

whats this Stuxnet?
Its a sort of computer virus or worm which controls the physical devie, sounds of interesting but very dangerous.

Once within a network -- initially delivered via an infected USB device -- Stuxnet used the EoP vulnerabilities to gain administrative access to other PCs, sought out systems running the WinCC and PCS 7 SCADA management programs, hijacked them by exploiting either the print spooler or MS08-067 bugs, then tried the default Siemens passwords to commandeer the SCADA software.They could then reprogram the so-called PLC (programmable logic control) software to give machinery new instructions.Stuxnet could actually use four zero-day vulnerabilities to gain access to corporate networks. Once it had access to a network, it would seek out and infect the specific machines that managed SCADA systems controlled by software from German electronics giant Siemens.

Liam o'murchu of symantec on his papers explain like this:
Stuxnet is the first publicly known worm to target industrial control systems, often generically referred to as SCADA systems. Not only did Stuxnet include malicious STL (Statement List) code, an assembly-like programming language, which is used to control industrial control systems, it included the first ever PLC (programmable logic controller) rootkit hiding the STL code. It also included a zero-day vulnerability to spread via USB drives, a Windows rootkit to hide its Windows binary components, and it signed its files with certificates stolen from other unrelated third-party companies. All of these characteristics are noteworthy in their own right, however when they all converge within one threat it is clear that there is a special force at work.
Why it is dangerous?
Check out this video:

To prove the possibilities, O Murchu set up a basic air pump, controlled by a Siemens system, on the stage in front of him. The pump delivered a timed burst of air into a balloon, which inflated slowly. O'Murchu then infected the system with Stuxnet, pressed a button. The pump pumped, but did not stop. The balloon went on inflating till it burst.Now the problem is that if the Stuxnet affected computers are used in Nuclear Plant it will cause a huge problem and losses.

who are the targets?
 Probably nuclear plants, in this case as the statistics(nearly 60% of all infected PCs world wide were found in Iran) suggests that Stuxnet was found more in Iran than any other country.The possible aim of the creator of Stuxnet was to stop/destroy/control Iran's nuclear plant.India is also in top of the list of most affected countries along with Indonesia,China and Malaysia.

Conspiracy or just another game ?
The necessary resources, and the money to finance the attack, puts it out the realm of a private hacking team, O Murchu said.

When Stuxnet succeed, it leaves a number imprinted on its new host: 19790509. That number, Mr O Murchu says, seems to be a date – May 9, 1979.That day anything would have happened but search on Wikipedia reveals the following  "On May 9, 1979, Elghanian was executed by a firing squad in Tehran sending shock waves through the closely knit Iranian Jewish community. He was the first Jew and one of the first civilians to be executed by the new Islamic government". Who was the Elghanian?  he was the first Iranian Jew to be hanged for spying by the new Islamic Republic. is this the work of Isreal to undermine Iran's nuclear quest?

There are many reasons to suspect Israel’s involvement in Stuxnet. Intelligence is the single largest section of its military and the unit devoted to signal, electronic and computer network intelligence, known as Unit 8200, is the largest group within intelligence.

Computer security researchers  discovery of a trace of a keyword in Stuxnet's instructions: Myrtus. Myrtus, or Myrtle, in Hebrew becomes Hadassah, and Hadassah was the birth-name of Esther, the Jewish biblical heroine married to a king of Persia. Esther discovered that a courtier was plotting the murder of all of Persia's Jews, and persuaded her husband to allow them to rise up pre-emptively to slaughter their assailants.will it leads to the creator of  Stuxnet?

Cyberwar all around the world

Telegraph website which quoted Forbes blog mentioned that in July a glitch on a satellite used by most of India's satellite television stations blacked them out, forcing operators to turn to a Chinese competitor. The Indian space programme uses Siemens operating systems.During the same time Chinese hackers infiltrated computers of Tibetan government in exile.Russian cyber attack on Georgia and Slovenia etc.. Sooner or latter things will go even worse as the technology grows .Is there a way to control these things? 
Cyberwar and economy 

10 Promises to my dog (Inu to watashi no 10 yakusoku)

I heard lot about Japanese movies but have not watched much, but now i think i have to watch selective Japanese movies. This movie "10 Promises to my dog"  is a wonderful movie, its like reading a poem.The story revolves around Akira and Socks, the Golden Retriever .
Akira is a 14 year old school girl living in Hokkaido,Japan.One day a puppy wanders into her court yard , the puppy looks frightened and lost.Akira is very much interested to keep the puppy as her pet, so she as her mother's consent and she approves.The 10 year journey begins with the death of Akira's mother , then her father leaving his job(as a matter of fact her father is an doctor),the her romance.Before her death Akira's mother gave 10 promises that Akira should make with Socks. I should say each and everyone who has any kind of pet must have some sort of promises like this.

Hoshi is a guitarist,who went to paris music school.They met after 10 years. As years passes Akari  become preoccupied with her job at a zoo and after reuniting with her childhood boyfriend Susumu she stops spending  much time with Socks.However Socks helped Hoshi to overcome his fingers problem ,which happened because of an road accident.This incident reminded Akari  about how much Socks helped her through her hard times and she feels very bad for not spending enough time with Socks during Sock's aging process.Socks dies at the age of 10.Its  a heart warming story.The father and daughter relationship was nicely portrayed .Her father who quit his job and started a clinic on his own explains her about the things he learnt by spending time in his own clinic and with Socks, it was touching.

Directed by Katsuhide Motoki.

Mayuko Fukuda as Akira is cute and brilliant.Etsushi Toyokawa as Akira's father is amazing and his varied expressions are flawless.Ryo Kase  as Hoshi is also good. I must say background music is just amazing,it makes the movie more poetic. The  movie is based on the novel  written by Hare kawaguchi which in turn based on "The 10 Commandments of Dog Ownership".They are

1. My life just lasts for ten to fifteen years. Any separation from you will be painful for me. Remember that before you choose to buy me.

2. Give me time to understand what you want.

3. Please trust me! That's what I'm happy with...

4. Don't be angry at me for a long time or lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your entertainment and your friends. But I only have you.

5. Talk to me sometimes. Eventhough I don't understand your words, but I can still understand your tone when you talk.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I'll never forget.

7. Remember before you hit me that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones of your hand but I chose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being uncooperative, obstinate or lazy, Ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, or I've been out in the sunfor too long, or my heart is getting old and weak.

9. Take care of me when I am getting old...

10.Please be with me on any difficult journeys. Please never say, "I can't bear to watch it" or "Let it happen in my absence." Everything is easier for me if you are here. Remember...I Love you always.

Watch it .. 

The Girl who played with the fire

This is the second book of the series 'Millennium' by Stieg Larsson.Again a great book, the story starts from where the first book ended.Lisabeth Salander ,the hacker had stolen 2 billion euros from wennerstrom and started the company in the name 'Wasp Enterprise' at Gibraltar.This book is about how Salander finds her father 'Zala' and take revenge on him for his behavior towards her mother and her suffering.The story starts with the killing of Dag and Dia , the journalist and researcher who works on trafficking.The journalist is working for 'Millennium' where Mikel Blomkovist is also working.Blomkovist started digging about the murderer by reading the research papers of them , Salander as usual hack the computers of the journalist and found out research result.

Blomkovist and Salander found out that the mention of the name 'Zala' in many places in that research and started formulating ways to find the truth.Gunnar Bjorck , an Immigration police officer , through blackmail by 

Blomkovist gave the report of Salander which was about the incident happened in 1991 where Salander threw  petrol and fired her father 'Zala'.Since that document was considered as 'classified', Salander was put into mental rehab institute for more than one year.That report is important since it shows the existence of 'Zala' .Zala was a Russian agent ,who came as a refugee.While the investigation was undergoing Salander was subjected to sexual harassment by her new guardian Advokat Bjurmann , to take revenge on him, she recorded his sexual behavior in the hidden camera, she used the tape to get rid of him.As Bjurman was a well known guy , he never reported anything to police and he devised a plan to murder Salander, so he hired 'Zala's guys to kill her.Bjorck and Bjurmann worked together in the police department earlier in their carrier, they knew each other well .

As the serious events unfolds,Mirium Wu and Paulo Roberts were also involved and almost beaten to death by the Niedermann.Mirium Wu was a friend of Salander and Paulo was a boxing coach of Salander.To take revenge Salander follows Zala and almost killed him but Niedermann escaped as he was scared of darkness and illusion.Salander was also got fired by the on the head , luckily Blomkovist who followed everything reached the spot on time to call police.
One has to read this book , the story is fast and thrilling as events unfolds with lots of surprise.I really enjoyed reading this book.I have not described many things in this review, but will elaborate more when i write about the third book of this series ' The Girl who kicked the Horner's Nest'.Already finished reading but need time to write .
Heard: Daniel Craig of James Bond fame will be acting  as Mikael Blomkovist in movie version of this series.
More on movie

I Am Nujood Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui

This girl Nujood Ali is living example of courage . This is an autobiography of this girl who had typical yemeni life at Khardji which literally means 'outside'.She is the sixth child born to Ali Mohammad al-Ahdel and Shoya.Her situations were not unique in fact thousands girls all over the world are facing same even more , but it takes a strong will and intelligence to get herself out of it at such a young age that male dominant society. The innocence and childish character comes alive when she explains her life at Khardji specially her relationship with her mother and her siblings.


They were forced to leave Khardji and settled down it relatively new place, the capital city Saana.The life in Saana was very hard as her father was not able to find a permanent job.Her father, disabled and addicted khat, agreed to have her married to a man much older to her. Nujood who does not know anything about marriage listen to her parents and married to Faez Ali Thamel ,an thirty year old businessman from Khardji.To make the matters worse , she is sent back to live in the barren village Khardji where there is no electricity and other amenities.Her world was turned upside down.Her new husband had promised her father not to consummate the marriage until she hit puberty, but broke that promise.He beat her and abused her in many ways and her mother in law was also abusing her forgetting that she is just 10 year old.Nujood is forced to engage in unnatural sexual encounters  by night and  heavy kitchen work by day time.


When her husband took her to visit her family, with the help of mother and  Dowla her father's second wife,she escaped and went straight to Court.There the judges were very helpful and she was taken care of by a well known lawyer Khaleh Shada Nasser.Shada  is a feminist and well known human rights activitist.Hamed Thabet ,reporter of Yemen Times published Nujood's case which caused a great media attention and gave lot of support to Nujood.In the court Nujood's husband denies all accusations of ill-treatment,sexual abuse and swears that she was 13 and he wanted the dowry money back. Nujood was heartbroken and scared that judges will misjudge but Shada donated her money so that Nujood would get divorce.Atlast she was granted divorce by the judges who were very sympathetic .Her life changed after the judgement she became the youngest divorcee  in the world, she set an example other girls to follow what should be called 'great injustice to child'.


Polygamy and child marriage are still common in Yemen.Because of Nujood many small girls are living a new life.Great book to read, infact 64 pages makes it even more interesting..


More about Nujood

Ottran - Ashokamitran

I have never read any of Ashokamitran's book before but i heard and read  a lot about his writings in many tamil blogs, so i decided to try a book by him.As i was browsing the books in the Singapore  Book Expo,this particular book with black cover got my attention, i bought the book and started reading the book in returning back to my home.I started to be with the author once i engaged myself fully in reading.Initially i thought this book is about a mole or a spy or something like espionage but its different kind of mole

This book , is it a travelogue or a memoir or a novel? i dont know .. for me everything together.I think this book is about Ashokamitran's experience at University of Iowa in the United States while attending an International Writing Programme during 1973-1974.All the characters are easily identifiable with the people whom we meet , the way he describes the characters of  the other writers  is really good.His uncanny ability to sense out the essence of people was very useful in writing this book.My father read his short story collections sometimes back and he told  me that Ashokamitran is good at extracting and observing things around him, thats true in this book.


I like the the character Bravo who wrote the entire novel theme and characters in the backside of the shirt and how he betrayed his wife back in home. The book was titled 'Mole' in english and was translated  by K.N Kalyan Raman, have to check this english translation.I have some more books of Ashokamitran back home, have to read those books , as i like his style of writing.

Snail Watching

              
Today morning , as i walked towards the market to buy groceries, i watched a snail moving, i should say it was amazing to see snail moving.I have spent almost 15 minutes watching the snail crossed around 6 inch in 10 minutes, i was fascinated by the way it moved itself over the thin grasses, latter i found that these are Garden snail.

 I read somewhere that in certain parts of Europe people spent lots of time watching snail moving, its fascinating and good passtime, but you must have patience.Took some snaps with my mobile.

 These Garden Snails are considered as pest by farmers around the world as it destroys the crops.
 Another interesting fact is Snails are hermaphrodites; they are equipped as both a male and female.In Some European and ASEAN countries these Garden Snails are cooked and served as delicacy .


More about Garden Snails

India Today

When i was reading today's paper i came across the term 'The World Giving Index(WGI) and was shocked to see India at the 134th position.This index is based on study done by Gallup Wolrdview , the poll is based on three questions (charitable acts undertaken in the past month)

 # donated money to an organisation?
 #volunteered time to an organisation?
 #helped a stranger, or someone they didn’t know who needed help?

It should be noted that giving money or time to an organisation could include political parties /organisations as well as registered charities,community organisations, and places of worship.

Australia and New Zealand shared first place, Canada ranked third and the US tied for fifth, in a first of its kin survey ranking 153 nations. India ranked 134th and China ranked near the bottom in 147th position(both are developing countries).

 In most countries surveyed, 1,000 questionnaires were completed – in telephone and face-to-face interviews– by a representative sample of individuals living in urban centres. Margins of error ranged from plus or minus 5.3 percentage points in Lithuania to plus or minus 2.6 percentage points in India.

Its very pathetic to see India at the bottom half of this index, where are we going? If we don't help our fellow citizen, how are we going to progress as a nation.As this index proved that those who help others are really living their life happily, giving is life whether finance or time .

How India fared:

Giving Money : 14%

Giving Time    : 12%

Helping Stranger: 30%

The important thing to note here is only 12% of Indians spend sometime for others which is very minimal even when compared to our neighbor Sri Lanka (52%). This is how we as Indians specially the youth fared, of course we cant judge everyone by this survey but still they generosity and the helping mind of our people in general are declining.

Another report by Transparency International , the global  anti-graft body, puts India 84th on its corruption perception index with a 3.4 point rating, out of a best possible score of 10. Mr.Pratyush Sinha, retired Central Vigilance Commissioner, told to Mint news paper that 20% of Indians were "honest" regardless of the temptations,because this is how they are.The have a conscience.There would be around 30% who would be utterly corrupt.But the rest are the people who are on the borderline.  He also quoted " if somebody has a lot of money, he is respectable.Nobody questions by what means he has obtained that money" which is true,everyday we are seeing people like them but dared to question them.

There must be a system to control the government employee's power because most of the corruption starts from there only.If the civil servants are corrupted , then everything will collapse that is what happening in India specially in villages where even the Village officers misuses their powers.

One Paragraph that explains life

I received a beautiful mail.Its about Arthur Ashe,tennis player . Below is that paragraph:

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983. From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: "Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"? To this Arthur Ashe replied: The world over -- 5 crore children start playing tennis, 50 lakh learn to play tennis, 5 lakh learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD "Why me?". And today in pain I should not be asking GOD "Why me?

       

What a beautiful words.It really defines how we should handle our suffering and our happiness.
Arthur Ashe  was the greatest  of all Afro-American tennis player ever lived.In fact the above paragraph was taken from wikipedia. 


More about Aruthur :
Click here for Wiki
Nice site

தமிழ் எண் குறிகள்

One week before i got a mail , detailing the numbering in tamil, quite amazing, check it out..

தமிழ்  எண் குறிகள்

தற்காலத்தில் தமிழில் பெரும்பாலும் அனைத்துலக எண் குறியீடுகளே பயன்பாட்டில் உள்ளனவாயினும் சில பத்தாண்டுகளுக்கு முன்வரை தனியான எண் குறியீடுகள் பயன்பட்டுவந்தன. ஒன்று தொடக்கம் ஒன்பது வரையான எண்களுக்கு மட்டுமன்றி, பத்து, நூறு, ஆயிரம் ஆகியவற்றுக்கும் தனிக் குறியீடுகள் இருந்தன.

0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	100	1000
௦	௧	௨	௩	௪	௫	௬	௭	௮	௯	௰	௱	௲

[தொகு] எண் ஒலிப்பு

• ஒன்றிற்குக் கீழான அளவுள்ள எண்களும் அதற்குரிய ஒலிப்புச் சொற்களும் கீழுள்ள அட்டவணையில் தரப்பட்டுள்ளன.

எண்	அளவு	சொல்
1/320	320 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	முந்திரி
1/160	160 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	அரைக்காணி
3/320	320 ல் மூன்று பங்கு	அரைக்காணி முந்திரி
1/80	80 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	காணி
1/64	64 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	கால் வீசம்
1/40	40 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	அரைமா
1/32	32 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	அரை வீசம்
3/80	80 ல் மூன்று பங்கு	முக்காணி
3/64	64 ல் மூன்று பங்கு	முக்கால் வீசம்
1/20	20 ஒரு பங்கு	ஒருமா
1/16	16 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	மாகாணி (வீசம்)
1/10	10 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	இருமா
1/8	8 ல் ஒரு பங்கு	அரைக்கால்
3/20	20 ல் மூன்று பங்கு	மூன்றுமா
3/16	16 ல் மூன்று பங்கு	மூன்று வீசம்
1/5	ஐந்தில் ஒரு பங்கு	நாலுமா
1/4	நான்கில் ஒரு பங்கு	கால்
1/2	இரண்டில் ஒரு பங்கு	அரை
3/4	நான்கில் மூன்று பங்கு	முக்கால்
1	ஒன்று	ஒன்று

• எண் ஒலிப்பு ஒன்றிலிருந்து பிரமகற்பம் எனும் முக்கோடி வரை இருக்கும் அட்டவணை கீழே தரப்பட்டுள்ளது.

எண்	ஒலிப்புச் சொல்
1	ஒன்று (ஏகம்)
10	பத்து (தசம்)
100	நூறு (சதம்)
1000	ஆயிரம்(சகசிரம்)
10,000	பதினாயிரம்(ஆயுதம்)
1,00,000	நூறாயிரம்(லட்சம் - நியுதம்)
10,00,000	பத்து நூறாயிரம்(பிரயுதம்)
1,00,00,000	கோடி
10,00,00,000	அற்புதம்
1,00,00,00,000	நிகற்புதம்
10,00,00,00,000	கும்பம்
1,00,00,00,00,000	கணம்
10,00,00,00,00,000	கற்பம்
1,00,00,00,00,00,000	நிகற்பம்
10,00,00,00,00,00,000	பதுமம்
1,00,00,00,00,00,00,000	சங்கம்
10,00,00,00,00,00,00,000	வெள்ளம்(சமுத்திரம்)
1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000	அந்நியம்
10,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000	மத்தியம்(அர்த்தம்)
1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000	பரார்த்தம்
10,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000	பூரியம்
1,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,000	கோடிக்கோடி-முக்கோடி -பிரமகற்பம்

12 Angry Men

I should say this movies is one of the best i have seen in recent times, i heard lot about this movie and most of things said were true.  This movie is an example of how to make a classic movie with a simple story.The tagline "Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds!" says it all.

 I have never seen any Henry Fonda's movie before, but after watching this movie i planned to watch all his movies, a great actor.This movie is about 12 men who have given the task of finding whether the convicted man is guilty or not guilty, they were put together in a room and was closed, so no one could go out until they come to a unanimous decision.
Hendry Fonda was the only one who voted 'not guilty', he wanted them to talk and propose theories and possibilities of the chain event that happened during the murder of a man.He slowly convinces every one that the convited man was not guilty by reasonable doubt.There was a talk about race and angry father's tale of neglected love.One of the highlight of this movie was that there was no female characters in this.

Directed by Sydney Lumet and story by Reginald Rose.

In 2007, 12 Angry Men was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".The film was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing of Adapted Screenplay.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

when i was reading the saturday paper , i found this book to be number 1 in fiction section, so i decided to read this book.I wont say its a great book but still its a good book to read specially when you are tired and need some energy.I never heard of the author before and the i researched in the net i found he was one of the best novelist in Sweden.For more info about author .

The Story is about the journalist and hacker (i dont know what to call 'Lisabeth Salander').The journalist Mikael Blomkvist was convited for wrong information(defamy) about business man Hans-Erik Wennerstorm.

He is also the editor of the magazine 'Millennium' .He was asked by Hendrik Vanger , an industrialist to write a book about his family and in secret find the whereabouts ,what happened to Harriet Vanger his brother's daughter.Relectantly Blomkvist accept this offer and started investigating about Vanger family.Hendrik Vanger spent all his life to find the truth about Harriet Vanger, he collected all the materials related to enquiry.

Lisabeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tatoo, is  not a good looking and girl and a taciturn personality and she is under a guardianship, so she has to handle all the financial and other details to her guardian.she is working under Dragan Armansky who is a CEO of Milton Security.Her job is to prepare report about the client, and she is very good at it. so Armansky kept her inspite of her initial problems.She prepared a report about Blomkvist for a client .

The story revolves are around Vanger family in Hedestead ,a beautiful village where almost all Vanger clan lived.As Blomkvist start investigating he started to figure out what happened to Harriet Vanger, by his daughter's help he decoded the biblical message hidden in Harriet's dairy.By checking the photographs taken on the day of Harriet's disappearance he was able to find a link between the chain of events.

Magda—32016

Sara—32109

R.J.—30112

R.L.—32027

Mari—32018 

 

(Magda) Leviticus, 20:16

“If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast; they shall

be put to death, their blood is upon them.”

(Sara) Leviticus, 21:9

“And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, profanes her father;
she shall be burned with fire.”
(R.J.) Leviticus, 1:12
“And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall lay them in order upon
the wood that is on the fire upon the altar.”

(R.L.) Leviticus, 20:27
“A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned with
stones, their blood shall be upon them.”
(Mari) Leviticus, 20:18
“If a man lies with a woman having her sickness, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked
her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood; both of them shall be cut off from
among their people.”
 
The above biblical reference gave him the clue about the chain of events. With the help of Salander who found out the details of the events happened as referenced to the bible.she explained everything to Blomkvist that Gottfried i.e Hendrik Vanger's brother was a sex addict and he raped his own son Mark and forced her daughter Harriet to be with him.After Gottfried's death Martin, the current CEO of Vanger corporation continued to have sex and murder them and threw their bodies out in the ocean.Martin through his acquintances found that Blomkvist knew the truth ,so he tried to kill him.Salander saves Blomkvist and Martin was killed in a accident while he was chased by Salander.They also found that Harriet is living in Autralia through Anita Vanger and she is the one who keeps sending flowers every november to Hendrik Vagner .
The author beautifully handles the maze of relationship in Vanger's family.The rest of the novel tells how Blomkvist and Salander finds the truth about Hans-Erik Wennerstorm and exposes his business empire.Good read..to enjoy the minute details read the book!! have to check other books of this author.

Singam,Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam and Kola Kolaya Mundhirika

   Watched 3 movies in 2 weeks, just watched without any expectations.

    Singam

        Cast :Surya , Anoushka, Prakash Raj ,Vivek
        Director:Hari
        Music : Devisri Prasad

     

 Typical cop story,nothing is new same old story.But this movie was better than the other movies came in the recent past specialy police stories.The pacy narration of the story was the biggest strength,again Hari proved his mettle.Surya,he has done what he has asked to do,utilized his role perfectly.Anoushka, nothing to say.Prakash Raj  was irritating with same old acting style,have to change ,i expect a lot from Prakash Raj, as he is a great artist.As for the music is concern i didnt like any songs.Vivek was ok..
Time pass.

Kola Kolaya Mundhirika

cast:Karthik,Jayaram,Ratha Ravi,CJ Bhaskar,Shika
Director:Madhumitha
Music:Selva Ganesh

KKM is something like treasure hunt.Karthik has once again proved his acting skills.Jayaram as usual and others also have done their roles nicely. The story revolves around the hero and heroine searching for the chairs which contains the diamonds.Each chair gives the glues to the other ....   Sarath Kumar as antique collector done has role perfectly.Music is good, Selva Ganesh , another promising upcoming musician. Hats off to Madhumitha who has handle the subject reasonably well .Gracy Mohan's dialogues are witty and humorous. .Even though old story .. still you can watch .
can laugh for sometime..

Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam(IKMS)
cast:Lawrence,Nazar,Padma Priya,Sai Kumar,MS Bhaskar,Sandhya,Lakshmi Rai
Director:Simbudevan
Music:GV Prakash

First hats off to Simbudevan for trying this untouched (atleast for some years) genre.The settings are typically cowboyish.Lots of things to be mentioned like the names of villages (Jayashankarapuram and USApuram,MGR Timesquare,Sholaypuram),names of the different characters Nazar's kelakku kattai(which means Eastwood, director's tribute to the great Clint Eastwood). This is the story of how Singam  saves and frees the people of Jayashankarpuram from the dictatorship of kelakku kattai and his gangs.MS Bhaskar as Athirikesa, the Red India chief was awesome, they created their own language specially for this movie.Sams as Lee the translatoris also equally good.The story starts with Lawrence trying to find a way to help educate 3 poor kids.When he was about to hanged few guys form Irumbu kottai saved him and asked him to act as murattu singam, their greatest hero who looks exactly like him for which he would get a diamond in return. So he accepts for the sake of the children.

Leader - Telugu movie

                                                                     
Director : Shekar Kammula

  I decided to watch this movie for two reasons first its directed by Shekar  Kammula whose films i have enjoyed most in Telugu industry (Godavari and Happy days) ,second  Leader's production house :AVM , the name speaks itself.

  Leader is a story of young man(Arjun Prasad) trying to overcome his father's bad name in politics.Sanjeeviah was a corrupt chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, he was killed in a mine blast.So the search for the next chief minister starts with Dhananjay as a front runner , he has the support of the party supremo.

  Arjun Prasad is back in India from US on hearing the blast ,in death bed Sanjeeviah asks Arjun to become next chief minister.He decides to fulfill the last wish of his father and the only wish of his mother Suhasini: that he succeed his father as the Chief Minister of the state.He came to  realize the path to reach the chair after having seen the party leaders specially Dhananjay and other ministers who are all corrupt.Using the same means i.e bribing he become the Chief Minister.He  vows to bring  one lakh crore rupees black money to government by passing legislation that allows ACP (Anit-Corruption Police) to ride the houses and offices of anyone except MLAs.Then the villain's plan to overthrow him from Chief minister chair and his plans.. usaual track.. predictable..

   Suhasini lends dignity to her role as a mother who has survived her husband’s follies but dies unable to accept that her son is succumbing to the political game.She wants him to be a Leader than a politician this makes Arjun to think and he started to act on his own will instead of succumbing to family politics.He takes own route legal(non violent,non corruptive) route and become the chief minister again.

                                     
  Rana Daggubati as Arjun has done a good job , he carries himself as a Leader but even romantic scenes he keeps his face the same.. (first film na!!) ,hopefully this guy will come good in future and no one film wonder.Kota Srinivasa rao as a party supremo done a wonderful job.Harshavardhan as Ali (chief minister's aide) has enacted his role beautifully.The heroines Richa Gangopadhyay and Priya Anand looks good and given a good performance.

 The movie is about making choice.. its never late to do something good.. in this case the hero decided to fulfill his mothers wish by becoming a Leader and brings changes in the corrupted political system.

 One of the highlights of this movie is music Micky J.Meyer has given wonderful composition.I liked all the songs and background score is also beautiful.Keep it up man..!!

ANURANAN

Directed by :Aniruddha Roy-Chowdhury
Music :Tanmoy Bose

ANURANAN is a bengali word which means resonance.Yes this movie is about resonance between two married couple.Rahul(RahulBose) and Nandita(Rituparna Sengupta)-made for each other couple.From London Rahul who is creative designer arrives in Sikkim to build a resort with his wife.Amit(Rajat Kapoor) and Preet(Raima sen) are the other couple.Amit is a business partner in India for Rahul's company, they developed good rapport when they were in London and they continued their good relation in India as well.

First the husband and wife relationship between Rahul and Nandita was lyrical,now then Tagore's lines and beautiful dialogues.The cinematography was great through out the film.Beautiful country sides of London.. These two are content with their life even though they do not have any kids.They both knew that they can not have kids as doctors told them she can not bear a child.Rahul and Nandita strike a chord at a different level which continues to reverberate. They experience a unique bond and emotionally connect with each other.

Quite opposite is the relation between Amit and Preeti.Amit speaks and do business everywhere.Preeti loves to read and go out.The friendship between the two couples creates way for Preeti to have greater bond with Rahul, as Rahul is very friendly and shares some common interest.The resonance between Rahul and Preeti is the crux of the film.

when Amit to London for a business meeting, Preeti meets Rahul who is in his worksite in Kanchenchunga ,they spent time in enjoying the beauty of the mountains and stays in a same house but in different rooms.Rahul dies of some cardiac problem,everyone started doubting the relation between the two including Amit.But the love between Rahul and Preeti is pure and she believes in her love.The understanding between Nandita and Preeti at the end of the story signifies a new relationship/resonance.Simple story told beautifully..

Rahul Bose is great as Rahul.He is a great actor, very natural.Rituparna Sengupta is has done a commendable job.Raima sen ,her eyes speaks more than her mouth..simply superb.Another feature of this film is music and cinematography.
Nice movie..
cast:
* Rahul Bose as Rahul
* Rituparna Sengupta as Nandita
* Raima Sen as Preeti
* Rajat Kapoor as Amit
* Haradhan Bandopadhaya as Nandita's Father
* Dolly Basu as Preeti's mother
* Mithu Chakraborthy as Nadita's sister
* Barun Chanda as Mr Guha
* Jacqui Dawson as Roda
* Laura Price as Victoria
* Peter Wear as Rahul's boss in London

Awards:

2008 National Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali

Oru Puliamarathin kadhai -- The Story of a Tamarind Tree

Author:Sundara Ramasamy

Great book.Its a story of a tamarind tree.The center of the village was a Tamarind tree,it was a very old tree ,the central bus stand was also nearer,so that place surrounding tamarind tree is always busy with people.The author narrates the story of the village people and their habits with Tamarind tree at the center.
First Damodaran guru's story telling and his ability to keep the attention of everyone to him was told beautifully,specially the story of Chellathai's death.Then the entire story is moves with two main characters Ali and Thaamu.The author really brings the people of that period alive with typical tamil and their way of doing things.Everything is there in this story politics,King,business.These two guys fighting in their business,politics and atlast they both ends up in jail.The plan to cut the tamarind tree was told beautifully and the character Isakki , the journalist was simply superb.Most of the journalist are like him now.. Atlast they cut the tree as it was poisoned by Ali's man.

Overall a great book. In my hometown Pamban ,we too had a tamarind tree at the entrance of our village.That place is called 'Tamarind tree bus stop' or ' Puliamara bus stop',even after the tree was cut and completely destroyed we are still calling the place with the same name. Like in this novel many things happened in those days around the tree, the fruit vendors,the tea stalls ,balloon vendors etc.. when i was child thats our market place.Many meetings were held in that place. Great memory.

This book is a classic on its own.

'Oru Puliamarathin kadhai' is the first Indian book to be translated in Hebrew.

2 States - The story of my marriage

Author :Chetan Bhagat

Another good book by Chetan Bhagat.This is a love story of a boy(Krish) from Delhi(Punjabi family) and a girl(Ananya) from TamilNadu.This is a story about these two and how they are managed to get their parents and relatives approval and blessing.

Two different cultures meets.. the result .. Hilarious .. laugh rite.. Chetan is a master of handling or depicting Indian mindset.. This is not classic but worth reading , i read this book when i was traveling from India to Singapore.. i laughed a lot..

Read it once .. if you like this story telling .. definitely you like Chetan's other books 'Five Point Someone', 'One Night @ Call Center' and '3 mistakes of my life' all these books are worth reading ..

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