The 5th Gazal - Su Aane Prem Kahu?

Ek unmaad uthyo che hraday ma, su aane prem kahu?

Fakt ej dekhaay che darrek samay ma, su aane prem kahu?

Madhur sangeet relaai rahyu che charey kor,

Hahakaar machyo che hraday ma, su aane prem kahu?

Shabdo vina pan ena bol saambhali lau chu,

Vichitra rakam che ena pramay ma, su aane prem kahu?

Enu smaran maatra chehra par haasya lai aave che,

E vase che maara geeto na lay ma, su aane prem kahu?

E nikhaalasta ane chanchalta thi mane sparsh kare,

Hu aakho jhan-hani uthu chu sanshay ma, su aane prem kahu?

Aa adbhut premi pankhidaao e kadi prem ni vyakhya banavi nahi,

Ena vagar rahi nathi shakatu 'nirdosh', bas hu aane prem kahu.

Book Review - The Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer

If God would have been a storyteller, he certainly would have looked like Jeffrey Archer. He had perfected the plot in Kane and Abel and now he is back with an excellent sequel - The Prodigal Daughter. And this time, he has orchestrated the crescendo nicely.

The story is about one of the greatest ambitions of a woman - Florentyna Rosnovski, the daughter of Abel Rosnovski. And her father being a Polish immigrant doesn't make the task easy at all.

Florentyna is a girl with extravagant intellect and beauty, but, above all, an indomitable spirit. While studying at Radcliffe, she falls in love with Richard Kane, the son of William Kane. Both of them were shocked to find out that their father were obsessed with destroying each other. Richard is, in a sense, a mirror image of Florentyna, in that he's smart, handsome and very intelligent. They decide to tell their fathers about their love.

The outcome was an expected one. Florentyna was hit by her father and Richard was thrown out. Both of them decide to fly as far as possible. They get married and settle in San Fransisco.

With her intellect and Richard's help, it wasn't much time before Florentyna opens a series of shops by the name "Florentynas". William Kane invites Richard and Florentyna for dinner but does not live long enough to see them. Abel discovers that his unknown benefactor was none other than William Kane. Abel asks for forgiveness from both of them. Things slowly get settled. Florentyna is made the chairman of Baron Group and Richard the President of Lesters Bank.

But Florentyna was born to do something more than that. She asks for Richard's advice and he happily agrees. Finally, with help of Edward, she runs for the election of Congress. And to add to the delight, she sweeps the votes fairly easily. Life becomes tougher for Florentyna and Richard due to the increased responsibilities but neither of them complains.

Florentyna loses a re-election for Congress and decides to run for the office of Senate. While she was giving an impressive speech for Senate, Richard meets with an accident and dies. All hell breaks loose for Florentyna. She thinks about retiring just when she is inspired by a Vietnamese army man. She plunges again into politics with full dedication. She decides to run for the highest office of all, the candidacy for President of United States. Pete Parkin, the Vice President plays a cheap trick and becomes President. He even forgets the deal he had made with Florentyna and does not end his term. Florentyna calls it quits and when she was playing golf with Edward, she is given the news that the President of United States has died and this is how the Baroness gets the crown.

Jeffrey Archer is the most ingenious person when it comes to fiction. His writing style is crisp and his pace is swift. One can rarely criticize such a novel. Though I feel that he should have concentrated more on the Present and Future parts of the story than Past. Nevertheless, all's well that ends well. Hats off to you, Sir.

Book Review - Made in Japan by Akio Morita

The name of the author does ring a bell. He does not require any introduction. Akio Morita, a legend in his lifetime, founded SONY, one of the most powerful multi-national corporations in the world.

Akio Morita starts the book with Post World War II scenario. Everything was devastated. Hope was divided into shreds and was almost lost. But the morrow has to come after the night. History did turn a page. Hope was rekindled.

Akio then moves on to discuss his life. Being the eldest son of a family of sake brewers, he was expected to join his family business. But Akio, from his early days, had developed a keen interest in physics and electronics. And his father knew that when Akio was at this stuff, he was a man in his element. His father gave them the green signal and Masaru Ibuka, the co-founder, and Akio Morita went on to give the world what we today better know by the name SONY.

Akio also talks of the problems faced by Japan after the war, such as unemployment, extreme poverty, recession and then the reconstruction and weakening of Zaibatsu which encouraged the egalitarian and democratic style in Japan. Yes, phoenix was rising again from the ashes.

Akio then shows an impeccable contrast between the Eastern and Western styles of management and beautifully explains the elements of Japanese and SONY's style of management, the importance of competition, the creativity needed in three aspects : marketing, product planning and distribution system. He also stresses on the fact that everyone is treated like a family at SONY and is given equal opportunity to grow and foster.

The book is a sort of an autobiography. It tells us about how Akio Morita is as a man. How he led his life, his family and SONY. He firmly believes in "mottainai" philosophy which emphasizes on being skilled and efficient and using the available resources judiciously. Perhaps the same reason Japan is successful despite having little natural resources.

The book definitely is a door to understand the Japanese style of working, management and a glass through which we can see the things innate to SONY. It is so enchanting that once you finish it, you might yourself want to work with such a man and such a company.

Well, this book is just another thing which SONY and Akio Morita can tag with those three words, "Made in Japan".

Book Review - Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robet Kiyosaki

A nice and exciting name for a book, isn't it? The book, the plot, the theme and the concepts explained in this book are all the more exciting. Robert Kiyosaki, with the help of this book, stresses on the need of financial education, the need of having values assets, the need of making money work for you and the need of being an employer than an employee.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a story of how Robert grew up learning from his real father (Poor Dad) and his friend Micheal's father (his Rich Dad). Robert has shown excellent contrast between the manner of thinking of both the Dads. One worked for money (Poor Dad, the one who was well educated) and the other made money work for him (Rich Dad, who wasn't academically well educated).

Robert then proceeds to share how the Rich Dad taught him some fundamental concepts of business, money making and investment, when he was still very young, in a plain, simple and a lucid but effective way. Robert explains about important things such as assets, liabilities and cashflow.

Robert has also developed a game to explain the concepts of CASHFLOW and RAT-RACE.

The book is more of an educational tool than a step-by-step guide to wealth. It can be a first step for those who haven't yet trodden on the financial paths. If you are already well along that path, this book will probably provide very little knowledge to you. But if you are a newbie, go ahead and purchase this book and enjoy your financial freedom.

Robert Kiyosaki may not be a good writer but he certainly is a great businessman. His book will help you in learning everything you need to know about money.

Book Review - Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

If i say Freakonomics was dazzling, amazing, sensational, phenomenal, etc., then that would be an understatement. A question surely arises in our minds that what is Freakonomics?

Perhaps asking a simpler question would help. What is economics? In Levitt's view, economics is a science with excellent tools for gaining answers with a serious shortage of interesting questions. His particular gift is the ability to ask such questions. Getting back to the original question, Levitt says that there is no single or unique theme behind writing this book. Its about asking "freakish" questions which sound intriguing and the solutions are surprising.

Many economists would hardly find Levitt's work as economics at all. But Levitt has profoundly distilled the so-called dismal science down to its most primal aim : explaining how people get what they want or need. He devises a way to measure an effect that veteran economists had declared unmeasurable.

Throughout this book, Levitt stresses upon the importance of data. He understands and explains the raw power of information. He says that given the data, if right questions are asked, the solutions are either surprising or shocking.

There is one thing that is consistent in Freakonomics : Anecdotes. And these anecdotes keep you gripped to the book; they help keep the pages turning; they keep the brain working and above all; they keep the reader euphoric.

Some questions that he asked and the explanation he provided has been in the controversy. But as the data suggests, they are nonetheless true. He was called an ideolouge, a eugenicist, a racist and downright evil. But he is none of those.

I can be certain of one thing after reading Freakonomics : I have started to ask random and weird questions. Well, Mr. Levitt has perhaps put a "thinking hat" on my head.

Book Review - If God Was A Banker by Ravi Subramanian

'If God Was A Banker' is a debut novel by Ravi Subramanian and certainly is an engaging story of two young management graduates with totally opposite family backgrounds. He has thrown the spotlight on the entry of foreign banks in India and the radical metamorphosis through which the life of average middle class Indian has undergone.

Sundeep Srivastava, who is agressive and flamboyant, and Swaminathan, who is stern, clear-minded and sensible, join the New York International Bank (NYIB) on the same day. Their carrers take off at breakneck speed; though there is a clear contrast between the rise of the two lads. Swami always adheres to his ethics and Sundeep's overzealous nature makes him do every unethical thing humanly possible.

Sundeep falls into the wrong company of Ram Naresh, an outsider with high contacts inside the bank, and is taken deep into the rabbit-hole. Deceit, women and such other things become an intrinsic part of Sundeep's life. And it affects both his personal and professional life. Both Swami and Sundeep have to reluctantly live a transcontinental life. Natasha, Sundeep's wife, is torn apart by the demeanor of Sundeep and shares her secrets with Kalpana, Swami's wife, instead of Sundeep. Sundeep simply hates Swami for he has stolen Kalpana from her.

Sundeep is later exposed and grilled by the top management of NYIB. Aditya, an ex-NYIB banker, and a mentor to Sundeep and Swami, decides to fly down to New York and be present at that meeting. As Sundeep is divided into shreds, Aditya extends his helping hand to Sundeep. Aditya tells Sundeep that it is all because of Swami that he is present there. Tears start flowing from Sundeep's face since he, in his wildest dreams, have never thought that Swami and Aditya would do such an act of altruism.

Now, Swami and Sundeep admire each other and Sundeep holds Swami in high esteem. Swami takes care that Naresh is swiped away and does not get any business. And Aditya, the God for both Swami and Sundeep lives a contented life. An excellent time to say 'All's well that ends well'. And perhaps it should end well, since Mr. God is playing banker's role.

Book Review - "Love Story" by Erich Segal

Neither the author requires any introduction nor does his novel. "Erich Segal" has now become synonymous with "love story". And like all the love stories, this one also has a boy, a girl and their love as major ingredients.

The story revolves around Oliver Barrett, who is from an affluent family and is pursuing a Harvard degree in Law, and Jenifer Cavilleri, a very bright and beautiful girl, who is studying music at Radcliffe.

Oliver Barrett, although from a rich family and a Harvard student, is not at all snobbish. But he has to be a champion at everything since so has been in the heritage of the Barretts.

On the other hand, totally contrasting with Oliver Barrett, Jenifer Cavilleri comes from a poor family. She is a very wise and beautiful girl who has been raised solely by her father.

So what happens when opposites meet? They attract each other, that's what happens. Oliver and Jenifer soon fall in ever-lasting love with each other. They even plan to get married, yet in a very unusual way. But someone has to play a villain. Oliver's father takes care of that role (or so it seems). There is a heated disagreement and Oliver abandons his house. But Philip Cavilleri, Jenifer's father, is not against their marriage. Thus results an "impeccable" marriage.

Everything is perfect in their married life, both of them makes the ends meet, Jenifer works and Oliver Studies. But since they lack a baby, they go to the doctor for his advice. Oliver is told, and Jenifer comes to know, that her days are numbered. Oliver, who madly loves Jenifer, makes sure that she gets the best treatment, he even borrows money from his not-so-beloved father. She finally dies in Oliver's arms. Oliver, who thinks that a man should never cry, forget about crying in his father's arms, does just that.

Erich Segal again touches our hearts through his exquisite witticism and writing style. But he lacks descriptive ability (or that's what i think). The description of the story and its characters could have been better. The language used is chiefly North American, informal and profane at times. But that's what makes him Erich Segal.