BRAToSPHERE

Category: Review

  • The Krishna Key – Book Review

    I was an avid book buyer till recently. Yes, a book buyer. At any point of time, there would be at least five unread books on my table. And none of my travel packing was complete without stuffing in two – three books at least. Even if it is a two day trip.

    This was about six months back. Then I got the IPAD and things never remained the same. A majority of books I have read this year are in the e format.

    But then, The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi had to be an exception. The e format book was not released alongside the main book, and I wanted to lay my hands upon it as soon as possible.

    I had read Ashwin’s previous book Chanakya’s Chant sometime last year, and had loved it. Ashwin has this unique style to blend history and draw parallelism with present day life in an efficient manner making it an entertaining read.

    The book is very well researched, and the footnotes at the end of the book just prove it. There is a lot of information, and every conspiracy theory ever heard of finds it way in the book.

    The Mahabharatha story has very nicely been integrated into the beginning of each chapter in a brief and concise manner.

    Anagrams, coders, decoders, word puzzle – are all plenty in this book and have been used very intelligently. (No Wonder Ashwin Sanghi chose to use the pseudonym Shawn Haggins for his first book!)

    In the initial parts of the book, it is very fast paced and prompts you to turn to the next chapter by building a good suspense every now and then. As the book progresses, the data becomes so tedious, and everything seems to be placed so conveniently that you lose track of the main story.

    The convoluted screenplay adds to the woes. Characters enter and leave without a purpose, and it all seems like a set play narration in front of you, with the belief factor decreasing with every chapter.

    I know it is a fiction story, and is not supposed to be focusing a lot on believability, but then random happenings and planned heists, cannot be passed off as coincidences so many a times.

    Ashwin has used all the conspiracy theories ever to have surfaced in this realm, and mixed them all into a story. He seems to have ensured that he uses all the mail forwards ever done.

    The story in a nutshell – a young man, is led to believe that he is the Kalki – the final avatar of Krishna (also known as Vishnu in Indian mythology) and is on a murderous rampage to seek the secret.  Professors get murdered, bike and car chases Ensue, deceitful dealings occur, and it all ends like any popular Hindi Movie ending.

    The high point of the book is the teachings by Lord Krishna to Arjuna during the war. The gist of the Bhagwad Gita is explained in a very succinct, to the point format.

    This has actually now provoked me to read the Bhagwad Gita from the beginning.

    Overall, the verdict is, if you have read Chankya’s Chant or the Rozabal line and liked it, there are chances you might like this book as it follows the same pattern of story telling.

    For those of you who have not read any of the author’s two earlier books, you should definitely give this book a try just for the way the story is treated.

  • STEVE JOBS – Book Review

    I like reading, and biographies/ Autobiographies are one of my favorite genre.

    Last year, sometime in October, I laid my hands on “STEVE JOBS”, by Walter Issacson, but like every other book, it was just gathering dust on my rather overcrowded desk.

    Looking at the massive book itself, intimidated me. 800 odd Pages! I need to prepare myself to read this I thought. This is going to take time.

    June first week, my eyes fell on this book, and I just could not hold the temptation to read it full. So what if it weighs a ton, and so what if it appears to be a massive brick. I am going to read it. And wait, if I get bogged down by the size of the book, I can always read it digitally.

    Starting from Jobs birth, and adoption, his young years, Hippie teenager days, Play with electronics, Founding Apple with Wozniac, Apple 1, Apple II, Macintosh, Ouster from Apple, Next, Pixar, back to Apple, Digital revolution, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and iCloud and Cancer.

    56 years of illustrious life.

    One thing that was truly remarkable about Jobs, and very well captured by the author in various instances, is the reality distortion theory.

    “The reality distortion field was a confounding mélange of a charismatic rhetorical style, indomitable will, and eagerness to bend any fact to fit the purpose at hand”

    The author is at his best not when probing Jobs’ personal psyche, but when describing his rather grandeur vision for Apple. “Simplify”, “friendly,” “intuitive,” and “seamless”, these were not options, but the core necessity of any Apple product. Steve Jobs was more of a design and creative guy than an engineer. He did not do much on the technical side, but was micro involved in the look and feel of the product.

    For Jobs, design was not surface or facade, but a penetrating, complete aesthetic: one that expressed the very essence of the product at hand. As would befit this totalizing view, Jobs was deeply concerned with the appearance of the inside of his products. Interiors that few customers would ever see( Jobs used specialized screws unresponsive to commercially available tools, Jobs ensured that the case does not open to anyone)

    Open and closed is another war that Steve fought with complete passion till his end. First it was Microsoft, and then it was Google. Steve always believed that hardware and Software should be totally integrated, and should be kept in a closed vault, to give the user a seamless experience. While, the other camp believed in making it more open, and allowing it to be run on various platforms, and different machines. Each of the approaches had their own pros and cons, and each worked for the one who was making it.

    Jobs always believed that the aesthetic, the technical, and the corporate were seamlessly joined. As Jobs affirmed at the iPad’s 2010 unveiling, “technology alone is not enough”: “it’s technology married with the humanities that yields us the results that make our heart sing.”

    Many a times, while reading the book, Mark Zucherberg seemed so much like Jobs. A rebel, anti-establishment, and embodiment of all the values that Jobs lived for. So, is the desktop war of 80-90’s between Jobs and Gates, moved to the network, between Google and Facebook. Wait and Watch, the story just seems to be repeating itslf.

    Coming back to Jobs, his design successes are legendary, but he was no Einstein. Rather than inventing outright, Jobs capitalized on the innovations of others, manufacturing not only products, but desire and obsolescence.

    Jobs Legacy would be established, looking at how Apple would turn out eventually. How would it fare, without him at the helm. Whether he has been successful at building a company that lasts, or a company that depends on one person, still remains to be seen.

    But one this, the guy was a visionary, and thought  much ahead of anyone else, and beautifully with the liberal arts, and created an irresistible desire for his products.

    (Trivia: Ended up reading the major part of the book on my IPAD2, and to say the least, it could not have been better. My first book on the IPAD, and it is about the person who made it!)

  • Transganization – Book Review

    “The process of changing the organizational genetics at the time of changing market scenario or changing business model or during the phase-shift from one state to another is called TransGanization”. This is how the author defines the word transganization.

    The book, recently published by times books, makes it for an easy read. It is a relatively small book and finish-in-one-go kind of book. The additional disc given along with the book is a welcome add-on to listen to the authors views on the same. it probably could have been better if it could be more engaging than the monologue approach that it takes.

    The book succintly captures the operational issues cropping in during the trajectory of the growth of an organization. It very well explains the strategic approach to ensure the vitals are kept in place while the transition from a free spirited entrepreneurial start-up kind of a setup to a professionally run company. The interesting part of the book is where the author begins by explaining scenes from the movie Avatar, and links it to the main topic.

    The only disconnect with the book is – who is the target audience? Obviously not the big companies looking for a change!

    The entrepreneur who is ready to take off, and wants to build a perspective on organizatoinal change? Then why have all the copy-paste material from government sites as the the entire procedure and detail rules and processes involved?

    The book starts off well, but somewhere in the middle of the book it loses steam, and the large monotonous excerpts from the websites detailing the processes just tests your patience. You are here looking for live examples and stories of such changes in other companies. One would obviously go to the websites before taking the plunge. ( probably hire the author himself, to execute such a change in the company!)

    Overall, a good book to get a perspective on the concept, but it falls somewhere in between being an academic book and an engaging read.

    About the author, he is an engineer from IIT, and has done his management studies at ISB, Hyderabad. With more than 11 years of experience in the field of organizational change leadership he is probably the most apt person to write a book on this niche topic.

    Funny: Why was an ad of Jawed Habib’s pasted in the backside inside cover of the book? How is he involved with the book? Or have we reached the stage where even the covers are book are up for sale by the advertisers?

    (Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book, to review it)

  • Bol – Movie Review

    Of late, I have not watched many movies on my laptop. Well, Mumbai does not leave you with much time for such activites. Yesterday, I got free from office quite early and started walking back home. On the way back, I just chanced upon the DVD of this Pakistani movie Bol. I remember watching khuda ke liye, the first movie by this director, and was pretty impressed by it.

    I immediately picked it up, and started watching it last evening. Boy! Was I impressed? Very! So much that I now actually want to read more about life in Pakistan and the culture and people there.

    Coming to the movie – It is a thought-provoking and a compelling film, bringing the subject to light without getting too preachy or forcing the view on the audience. It brings to light the problems faced by contemporary Pakistan, and etches out the characters beautifully without disturbing the flow of the story.

    The story is told from the lens of a girl, on the verge of being hanged. The story begins with Hakim saab, the father who sires one daughter after another in search of that one elusive male child. His character is the one you would find very commonly as the strict dad, brought up with the strict principles of religion in black or white. He believes that a son would bring prosperity to the family and ends up with seven daughters and a hermaphrodite. He still does not give up and believes that women are just meant to bear children and not voice their opinions.

    The mother, and the daughters are all helpless, till the eldest daughter decides to BOL ( talk!). She goes to the extent of sending her hermaphrodite sibling to work, and actually getting one of her sisters marrying the boy ( Atif Aslam) she loves.

    The story shows contrasts very well. For example, the neighboring family who inspite of having the same economic strata have more open views and gets his son and daughter to study medicine. The pimp, who very neatly brings out the point that his kinds would love to have a girl child, and boys are a curse there.

    The message that the sex of the child is dependant on the father and has nothing to do with the mother is also very well brought out.

    On the whole, the movie touches a chord, and most of it would hold very much true for any hindu indian family too. Interiors of india too faces similar problems, female infanticide being the primary among them, and it is time we make some serious attempt to rectify it.

    A must watch. Shoaib Mansoor , the director of the movie, knows the art of story telling very well, and he again shows his brilliance in this movie.

  • Revolution 2020 – Book Review

    Chetan Bhagat is still the rockstar of Indian writing, and his fifth book just reaffirms the same. A modest story set in a small town, with typical elements of love, Ambition, Corruption, system and YOUTH, laden with a liberal dose of sex. A total potboiler.

    The setting is again in a college, though in a different way this time. With a slogan like “Love. Corruption. Ambition.” , and a title like “Revolution 2020”, there was a fear that Chetan would tread the preachy path and come up with a boring book. But no, this book is a very much chetan bhagat book, full of masala.

    Of course, this time over, there is a subtle message intertwined in the book. The best part of chetan’s writing is the reflection of the keen observer that he is. Like, “ A girl replies back with a 🙂 🙂 🙂 when she has nothing better to text”. There are many girlies like this in the book, making it quite insightful into the psyche.

    The story of revolution 2020 is set in the small town of Varanasi, and it does strike a chord with the semi-urban aspirations and ambitions. It could be any similar town in India, and the story would not have changed much. Of course, Chetan does manage to internalize the town as much as possible to make the character building more strong.

    The book is about a poor boy called Gopal, who struggles all his life with money, family and the brutal entrance education system that we have in india. IIT, AIEEE, KOTA Coaching factory, he goes through everything making him what he eventualy becomes.

    It is about Raghav, Gopal’s friend and classmate who is a good friend till he cracks the JEE, and the distances start appearing.

    It is about a sweet girl called Aarti, who is torn between the two. A totally confused girl, who wants to fly.

    So is this is a story about the entrance exams? No? is it a love story? To an extent yes, but not completely. It is more a story about corruption and the system which forces you to do what you do. The expose of the corrupt education system and the archaic laws that exist in the country are very well highlighted, and it completely shows Chetan’s research on the subject.

    Though chetan was recently lashing out at Narayana Murthy for saying that coaching classes have led to the deterioration of the quality of IIT- and IIM-produced students, his book suggests exactly the same thing. The whole industry in kota is mocked at and is very well described.

    In Spite of  the book was filled with clichés, the ending was a decent surprise, and completes the whole drama very well. ( As they say, “agar sab theek nahi hai.. to picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!”).

    I hope this book is read by parents as much as it is read by the youth, to show the parents that getting an engineering degree is not the final respite to everything.

    Overall, I liked reading Revolution 2020 – an interesting and an easy read, and a page turner. Once I started reading the book at about 11:30PM last night, could not sleep till I was completely done with it.

    Note: To avoid being a spoil sport, i would like to withhold the story details