Random thoughts that travel faster than your vehicle..

First and foremost, I need to thank Mumbai's ever growing and bountiful (if you know what I mean) traffic jams. It has helped me write whatever I want. Here's a quote on traffic jams: whenever technology comes up with a compact car, nature immediately comes up with an even narrower road.

The journey begins, you get onto the bus...

What a rush !! I wonder why people always have to travel by bus. Trains are better. I wonder why people always have to travel in this same bus. Why is it always called a 9-5 job?? Why people work in the first place !!

You adjust, pay for the ticket...

Damn, long day at work today.. Lotsa pending stuff.. I should have completed that stuff yesterday itself.. I think I need to concentrate a little more.. hmm.. But then, inflation is anyways moving upwards, we are never going to catch it.. I honestly think I am working hard. I need to slow down a bit, maybe take a vacation or something. After all, last month's trip was more of a health trip than a vacation.

Wow, look at her (these are absolutely random. It can happen multiple times during the journey. Entirely depends on the individual)

You watch someone reading the newspaper, you can only glance through last page - sports column...

Damn these sports people.. they are making so much money.. and people like me still watch it.. The players need to realize that they are popular because of us (sic), because when we watch the game, the TRP increases, when TRP increases, ad rates increase, this flows in more money into the system.. and players eventually benefit.. What is that guy reading? He is not even shifting his eye balls... I bet he is checking out the pic which comes along with the article.. !! Pervert.. By the way, who's in that pic...

Finally you get a seat...

This feels like heaven... No wait, this seat isn't comfortable... Same old story... I pay taxes and this is what they give me... They are all corrupt... Wish I could take leave and support Anna Hazare fighting corruption... Want to teach all the corrupt babus a lesson... Even if we initiate corruption by offering bribe, they take the bribe without questioning us, they deserve to be punished... After all, we are just 'aam aadmis'..

Almost forgot, my wife's birthday is coming up.. I need to buy something for her this time... Can I just tell her that she's the most precious gift and all other gifts won't do justice... No... this won't work every year..

Feeling dizzy...

I think I need to prioritize.. Firstly, maybe a vacation.. Then career, gifts, anti corruption movements... then... then...

Dozes off...

Bottomline: Nothing significant is achieved through all these thoughts.. It is likely to re-appear next day...

PS: The thoughts mentioned above are totally random. This is my perception of what a normal (and-not-so-serious) guy thinks about. Any deviation from this can be strictly personal..

Finally Mr. 'x' speaks up...

The other day I was walking down the street and accidentally met a person I was searching and finding all my life !! He was pretty sad though. I went up to him and introduced myself. I told him I tried everything I could to find him during my school and college days. Even many of my teachers / professors asked me and my classmates to find him !! I couldn't control my happiness. However, I must admit he wasn't too interested in meeting me. I somehow convinced him to at least share his problems with me. He gave up and told me that I have 5 minutes to talk and he will continue to live his sad and misunderstood life !!

Now, before I continue, let me introduce him to you all. In fact everyone knows him, and most of us hate him. Everyone who went through supposed pain known as 'mathematics' in school knows him. He is called 'x'. You might have seen some of the jokes on the internet insulting his identity:

We went to a coffee shop. There I told him that I write blogs and I allow many characters, especially those who are misunderstood and has no voice of their own, write Guest Blogs for me to express their grievances. I forced him to write the next guest post. He declined. He, however, agreed for an interview.

Excerpts from the interview:

Question: So, you want to say anything before we start this discussion?
Mr. 'x': Nothing. But make it quick. 5 minutes max.

Q: Fair enough. First of all, I am really honored to be with you this time. It's a pleasure finding you after all those years of trying to solve your problems...
Mr. x: Sorry to interrupt you, let me make one thing clear once and for all.. No one was solving my problem. You guys included me in your problems and you behaved as if you were trying to solve my problem. And that too without my permission.

Q: OK, I take back my words. Tell me something about yourself.
Mr. x: I am one of the most unfortunate alphabets in the English language. Also, the most hated one. I am one of the main reasons why young kids hate mathematics. Algebra is full of me. I never wanted to be there in the first place. It was not my decision. You people forced me. And look, what has happened to me now !! I can see the pain, sadness and anger at the same time on the faces of poor little students trying to decode my personality during their examinations. Just as all the other alphabets in English, even I want everyone to succeed in life, but not by hating me !! I am really pissed off. Even Xylophone hates me now !!

Q: You mentioned that you are the most hated one. But people celebrate Xmas on 25th December and it is the most important festival of Christians worldwide.
Mr. x: I beg to differ. It's Christmas, not Xmas. You can't remove Christ from Christmas.

Q: Point noted.
Mr. x: hmm..

Q: Since we don't have much time left, is there anything you want to tell our readers?
Mr. x: Yes I do. I have a request. I want everyone to know that I am one of important alphabets and would like to be treated with respect. I also want the text-book publishers to use other characters too other than me. Look at the Greek alphabets. Almost all are used somewhere, and hence there's equal respect / hatred among them. Equality prevails there. Its only in English we have a problem. I just want the world of mathematics to treat my with dignity. That's it.

And he left. Hoping that someday everyone will recognize his side of the story and will start accepting him in their lives. For now though, he remains sad and lonely in a secluded place hearing the choicest of abuses students hurl at him year after year, sum after sum.

Book Review: Chanakya's Chant

Chanakya’s Chant is one of those awe-inspiring novels I have read so far. It depicts the strategist in Chanakya and how he dethrones an entire kingdom, partly based on personal enmity and partly for the greater good of his country, Bharat. The author, Ashwin Sanghi, also weaves a story similar to that of Chanakya but this happens in the new Bharat. Chanakya’s Chant is fast paced and very intuitive. The strategies remain the same, the situations differ.

Target Audience: Historians, Political Analysts, Novel lovers – especially those who like thrillers – will love reading Chanakya’s Chant. However, the difference here is that the ‘end’ is already mentioned in the Prologue. The thrill lies in knowing the ‘means’. Since, for Chanakya and Pandit Gangasagar Mishra (the present day Chanakya in the novel) – ‘the end justifies the means’.

Plot: There are 2 plots in this novel running parallel to each other, one 2300 years ago (story of Chanakya) and the other happening in today's world (story of Pandit Gangasagar Mishra). Chanakya was the son of a learned Brahmin Chanak who was brutally killed by the king of Magadha, Dhanananda. He vows revenge, leaves Magadha for studies and comes back to Magadha. Though the enemy remains the same, the situation has changed dramatically especially with Alexander preparing to invade Bharat. The story revolves around how he ‘manipulates’ the situation and the people around him to achieve what he wants – a united Bharat. History repeats itself in the form of Gangasagar, who is the son of a teacher and is a bright student. He loses his father at an early age. He goes on to learn the art of politics and economics while working with a wily businessman – Agrawalji. To serve the country and remove the corrupt government, first in the state and eventually in the centre, he gets into politics and ‘manipulates’ the situation and the people around him (recollect the striking resemblance to Chanakya's story) to serve the country. However, in both the cases, the protagonist doesn’t rule himself but rules through their trusted (and extremely talented) pupils – Chandragupta Maurya and Chandini Gupta.

Writing: The author has used a peculiar way of penning down both the stories. We start with Chanakya’s story in chapter 1, the next chapter is dedicated to Gangasagar and it continues alternately. Such a style of writing is important to depict the similarities in both the plots. And he has pulled it off quite well.  It is evident that the author has researched extensively on the topic of Chanakya, Indian Politics among other things. He deserves due credit and the hard work seems to be paying off. I found one loophole though – which ironically is his writing style again (my personal opinion). While reading Chanakya’s Chant, one has to be aware as to how the last part of the same plot ended to be in sync with the new part. It may not be an issue for the regular reader, but will definitely come in the way of some new-comers. Shashi Tharoor, while launching the book, mentioned that the book is a ‘page-turner’, but I am sure some will be the turning the page front and back too.

Relevance in today’s times: The novel, especially the strategies mentioned in the book (both plots), is very much relevant in today’s day and age. Dynasty rule of ancient Bharat has replaced democracy of modern India. The stage has changed, the characters are different; strategies, nevertheless, remains the same. Chanakya was a master strategist and a wily manipulator and there’s no denying this fact. Personally, I don’t support / advocate his ways of reach one's eventual destination. But don’t be surprised if today’s politicians use similar strategies to achieve their goals – selfish or otherwise.

All in all, Chanakya’s Chant takes you through a plethora of strategies, some – or most – of which will leave you spell-bound. Read it mainly to understand the strategies, especially those of the leaders / politicians across the world. Read it for the war and politics involved – and their symbiotic relationship as mentioned in the book, “War is Politics with bloodshed; Politics is war without bloodshed”.

My Rating: 4/5

PS: This review is part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda. A special thanks to the BlogAdda team for selecting me for the review process.