Book Review : 'Ready... Steady... Exit’ by PC Balasubramanian

Ready.. Steady.. Exit by PC Balasubramanian is a humorous adventure of two CAs, who want to make it big in their field. And they are not waiting for anyone... Gautam completed Chartered Accountancy after a few attempts and ended up with Anand, a close friend, who had managed to clear the dreaded CA exam, in the first attempt itself. 

Gautam and Anand set up FAB, which is an accounting services company. They provide services to companies, which prefer outsourcing their work. Then walk in Vimal and Ruchi, a brother-sister duo, who provide an additional revenue source. The company begins to grow, with the addition of these two.

Meanwhile, both Anand gets married and Gautam finds the person, who he has loved for a long time. 

Back to business, as the four have a problem when they notice that there are certain things, which are not going the right way. Would problems at work with the other two develop, and would the resolution of which, bring about the intangible end?

The book is an entrepreneurial venture, with a dash of romance. It also touches upon the family and friends factors, which are ever so important in today’s scenarios. The family factor also makes up for the funny bits, in the book. It is definitely a must read for most entrepreneurs and financiers, with its drama and humour.

The first fiction, for PC Balasubramanian, who had written two non-fiction bestsellers, ‘Rajini’s Punchatantra’ and ‘Grand Brand Rajini’. As one can see actor, Rajinikant is a major influence, and it showed throughout this fiction piece too. PC Bala has a dry sense of humour, which carried into his book, as well. 

Only two small things, were the spelling of Aamir Khan, which was written as Amir Khan, otherwise there were no grammatical errors, at all. But, people never look for mistakes in proper nouns, but I cannot help it. After all, even I get upset when people do not write my name correctly. :) There are a couple of others, as well. Otherwise, it was absoutely brilliant, grammatically.

Author : PC Balasubramanian

Publisher : Srishti Publishers and Distributors

ISBN : 9789382665403

Price : Rs 120/-

Book Review : '50 Miles : A Reverse Journey’ by Jaydeep Khot

‘50 Miles : A Reverse Journey’ was an experiment. And what a poignant experiment, it was. It spoke of a 50 year old man, waking up one night at 3.15 am and realising that he does not remember anything at all. He has amnesia!

From this page on, you are put through 60 odd pages of one man’s life. But this one goes, backwards. It took the best of the author to think and write backwards. But there it was…

The person goes through his life’s journey in reverse order. He discovers that his name is Haria and the circumstances that follow it, can make it surprisingly interesting! The reader discovers his girlfriends, wife and even his children. There is also his business, his jobs, and even the cases, against him.  The page turner goes on to understand the person’s life, but in inverse order.

As he attempts to understand more, Haria finds certain smidgeons and hints of his life, which occur in reverse sequential order. So the journey, which began at age 50, ends at age 0. It seemed a tragic, but an oddly adventurous life. 

The author, Jaydeep Khot does a good job, but of course it did get a little confusing in the middle, but the overall mystery made it a good read, for the hour it took to finish it. 

Author Interview : Abhishek Krishnan, author of ‘Clouds Don't Pass' (Part 2)

Read up, the second part of the Interview with Abhishek Krishnan, author of  'Clouds Don't Pass'. 

In this section, he talks of the most fulfilling parts in the book, the character he felt most close to, his next book, and also his favourite authors, and then a little more, Folks...

 

What are the most fulfilling parts in your book? 

The book as a whole, is fulfilling. However, I wanted to create awareness to all film aspirants about the frauds in cinema. I wanted to bring all those fraudsters to light. 

Although, I have changed the names of those people, I am sure they would recollect these incidents if they read it. And I am glad I did this.

Which particular character did you feel most close to? Why?

Sushmitaaaa. I really did not know, how I was going to go about writing the Bangalore portions. And then, I created Sushmita. Initially, I just wanted to write a tiny chapter on Abi’s life in Bangalore and get to the climax.

But, the more I wrote about her, the more I liked her. It may sound crazy, but it took me about a week to get over her, after I finished the book.

Who was it that told you that you could become the author, you are today?

Abhishek Krishnan

Mydhili Mithra and Khushboo Mundhra. I have to mention their names. They are my good buddies. They travelled with me throughout the writing process. 

I guess it is the encouragement, which I received from them that pushed me into completing the book.

When will your next book be out?

I have started writing my next book. It’s called ‘Loser-in-law’. This is will also have a lot from my personal experiences. However, I am not sure when I will be able to finish it. I don’t want to work with a deadline. I want to enjoy the process of writing this book.

There are a few glaring mistakes in ‘Clouds Don’t Pass’. I should have edited it better. I don’t want to repeat those mistakes in my next book.

 

Which book are you currently reading?

Frankly, I don’t read much. All my life, I would not have read anything more than 25 books. At the moment, I am reading ‘The White Tiger’ by Arvind Adiga.

Who are your favourite authors and why?

As mentioned I do not fall anywhere under the criteria for being called a reader. However, I really enjoyed reading Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Midnight Children’. However, after reading a couple of books of Chetan Bhagat, I realized that a good story with simple English can also make a great book.

What else do you do on a daily basis?

I think a lot. There are so many conversations that happen in my head at once. 

So much, that sometimes I feel I have an alter ego. Now that I am not working, it is more of thinking, writing and attempting to read.

What advice do you have for the young writers of today?

I am a young writer, myself. If not by age, at least by experience. If I were to advice someone like myself, I would just ask them to enjoy what they write.  

Because when you write it is like you have a parallel life. You live in a whole new world. You know what to anticipate. You know the solution to your problems. You also have the liberty to design your fate there. And it’s beautiful. 

You can catch the first part of this Interview here, and the Review, right here. 

You can also Buy the Book, 'Clouds Don't Pass', here.

Book Review : 'Kalki Evian : The Ring of Khaoriphea’ by Malay Upadhyay

‘Kalki Evian : The Ring of Khaoriphea’ by Malay A Upadhyay is an oddly interesting work. Why I say, odd is because if you are opening it as, just another book, then you could be in trouble. But, it is very thought-provoking and how much, is something I cannot explain, but will try.

It all began as a time travel story, but it never tends to cease there. It just gets odder. Firstly, with its theme of ‘what you put out there, you will get back’. So, the story or stories run their course, based on this theme. 

(The best thing, I felt was the entire future evolution. I mean there are certain parts, which I had imagined and it was amazing to read that very thought of mine in this book. But of course, Upadhyay’s imagination is way past mine.)

Since, the part about how evolution does not just happen to us, but to the entire generation itself. I mean everything is suddenly in a futuristic era. Only this time, of course, you would be in the futuristic Milano in Italy and go to Etna and land up in the Himalayas, following the central character who, lives through two completely different generations. 

Also, anything you do, would not have the same result and every decision you make, would probably have a result in the distant future, if at all. So, the central idea is that we must all break free from our presumptions of time and space. So, whatever and however it is, it is okay.

The advances made by the society, the different results which the characters could land up in, whether it is Qin or Kanha Evian or Friuli or Fridgeon, are all central characters, which it all happens to. Through all these themes are running these characters, and their adventures. How their lives are, how they could be and how they could possibly end up, are all various themes of the book.

The two separate stories which, eventually join, is definitely made for a good, solid read. Of course, the whole thing can get a little confusing but of the 2-3 reads, some parts took, Upadhyay’s second book, am sure would make it all clear?

I am definitely recommending it, because I definitely want to give it another read, soon. Beam me up, Malay Upadhyay because I am looking forward to the second one, too.

If you all want a link to the book, its right here... http://www.amazon.in/Kalki-Evian-Khaoriphea-Malay-Upadhyay/dp/1625261888/  or you can look for the book, here as well, Kalki Evian : The Ring of Khaoriphea.