Byculla to Bangkok – Book Review

Byculla to Bangkok 

Mumbai’s Maharashtrian Mobsters

Author – S. Hussain Zaidi

What the Book Says – The High-stakes game of the underworld has new faces working for and against Dawood Ibrahim – the shadowy, manipulative figure that pulls the strings. Dawood’s own deputy turned arch-rival Chhota Rajan, thus-turned-politician Arun Gawli, Amar Naik and his engineer brother Ashwin Naik, and a host of other characters, big and small, walk the pages of this compelling history of the Maharashtrian mobsters who were once dubbed “amchimuley”, “our boys”, by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Equally fascinating are the stories of the famous – and infamous – policemen and “encounter specialists” who took the gangs on with great success and not too many scruples.

Violence and deceit one expects to read of, but the strength of this book is also its ability to capture the mundane- almost naïve- beginning of what very quickly became the organizes crime and brutal vendettas that held Mumbai to ransom through the last decades of the twentieth century.

Meticulously researched and thrillingly told by the acknowledged expert on the underworld, this is faster-faced than Dongri to Dubai, and even more chilling in its implications for India and the subcontinent.

What I feel - As soon as I got to know about this book I went online to get a copy for myself. I quickly checked the online coupons and offers, these guys never disappoint me you should check it out too. As soon as the book arrived I got to reading without wasting a second. If you have read Hussain Zaidi’s books before then you’ll know his writing style, this book follows the same pattern. What I love about his writing is that he makes you feel that you were actually present when the episode happened. I can visualize everything that he writes. Being from Mumbai and living so close to all the areas that are mentioned in the book, I feel a connection on a different level altogether.

The book is fast paced and you won’t feel like keeping the book down. It is a must read if you like reading about underworld.  Interesting, intriguing and engaging are the three words that best describes this book.

PS - Amazon has ongoing great deals on books... So Hurry Up!!

Exit Point – Book Review

                                 Exit Point –  On the Internet no one knows you are dead...

                                                                  Author – Anil Goel

“What lies beneath?”

An Australian intelligence officer wonders, as she sees terrible burn marks on sharks that go berserk off the coast of Bondi Beach.

A super-intelligent teenage girl is found dead with no apparent cause and her father, implicated in another murder in the same house, at the same time, insists he doesn’t know how she died.

The investigating team gets a mysterious tip-off – that the girl was chatting with another teenager on a social networking site at the exact time she died.

 A young reclusive tech genius is contemplating a suicide pact with an online soul mate who suddenly disappears.

What ties these strange incidents together?

Set in a chillingly probable 2016, Exit Point takes us into a dark, mysterious online world where an ancient mystery is unraveling after centuries. A mystery that cuts across Australia, India, China, Hong King, London, America – and ultimately all of mankind.

From Adam and Eve.

To us.

Our only hope of getting to the bottom of it, literally, is Alok – and his quest to find his intimate.

At all of 17 years of age, he saved a country.

At 25, can he save humanity?

            The summary got me hooked and I couldn’t wait to start reading this book. I love reading thrillers. Something that links to ancient mystery is all the more enjoyable to me.  This book has an amazing start and got me hooked almost immediately. I couldn’t keep the book down and I am glad that I chose to read this after I was done with my exams. The book does get a bit slow in the middle because it becomes too descriptive but once you are able to cope with that it is an amazing read.

The book touches upon very interesting topics making it all the more interesting and a good read.  

It is a must read for whoever enjoys thrillers and mysteries and also for those who are just starting with that genre.

Easy Tips To Become An Avid Reader

            Summer is officially here and that means that going out in the day is going to be one task! I personally would love to curl up in the house with a nice cold coffee and a book. Most of the people complain that they don’t have enough time to read books or that they try to read but are never successful. I face that at times as well, it is difficult to find time to sit and read books and that’s why I am listing down a couple of things that I do to motivate myself to keep reading. I hope these tips help you too.

            Your Space -

            First things first, create your book-nook. A small place where you can sit comfortably without any distractions and read. It needn’t be a separate dedicated room or anything just a chair in a corner with a reading lamp should work. Throw in some comfy pillows and snuggle up. You can also set up a table and chair near the window and read away. Make sure there are no distractions around  no Television, no computer not even your cell phone if you can do that (I personally can’t stay away from my phone)

            Scribble-

            This is something that I do very often. Whenever I am reading a book I keep a highlighter handy along with a pencil. If I come across something nice I highlight it.  I also scribble down if a thought comes to my mind while reading. By the end of the book I would have few scribbled notes and highlighted parts making the books all the more personal to me.

            Apps-

            We live in a world which is filled with apps and websites, make good use of them. Apps like GoodReads help log all the books you have read and plan to read, you can also write reviews, track your progress, read reviews by others, share your progress on Facebook and Twitter and basically be book buddies with your friends. This really helps and makes reading a little more fun.

            Reading Challenges-

            Reading Challenges also helps a lot (Although I haven’t really completed any but it did help me read up a lot) reading challenges motivate you read more and helps you cultivate a reading habit. GoodReads has a book challenge where you decide to read a certain number of books every year. While you are at it, add me on GoodReads so that we could inspire each other. To add me click Here.

HTBrunch also conducts a #BrunchBookChallenge , you can follow me on Instagram and checkout books I am reading by clicking Here

There are many other challenges online, Check out the image for one of my favorite challenge.

            Always carry a book-

            Always carry a book with you and whenever you have some free time just start reading. eBooks are great as they don’t take up extra space in your bag, you can just read on your phone.

            Everyday goal-

            Dedicate some time everyday just for reading it could be 5 minutes or half an hour depending on your schedule. This would make sure that you read every day. The other way to do this is to decide number of pages to read every day. Decide to read at least 20 pages every day, you can do more if you have more time.

            Keep a list-

            Make a list of books that you want to read, you can use apps or make a handwritten list. This would make sure you never run out of things to read. There are many lists available online as well, posting some below.

http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/

http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-nonfiction/

http://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2014/02/25-recommendations-for-life-changing-biographies-for-voracious-readers/

http://www.entomologyofabookworm.com/2012/03/telegraphs-110-best-books-list-by-genre.html

http://flavorwire.com/434548/50-essential-mystery-novels-that-everyone-should-read/view-all

            Second hand books shops are your friend-

            This is my favorite, visit old used books shops! You get books at cheaper rate there and often find some good deals. You’ll end up buying more books for lesser money thus making sure that you never run out of books. If you are a regular customer the owner might also give you additional discounts.

            Start with topics and genre you love-

            If you are just starting then it makes sense to start with books on topics and genre you love. This will keep you interested and will make sure that you complete the book.

Hope these tips help J

PS - 23^rdApril is the World Book Day.

Long Distance Relationship Chronicle – Time Difference

             Time difference is another complex thing, although luckily here the difference is just of 1 and a half hour but it still becomes difficult to manage. By the time he is home from work and done with dinner and finally has time to speak to me, it’s already bed time here.

            I really am amazed by people who are able to sustain a relationship where the time difference is more than 5 hours. It just means that one of them has turned into a zombie/vampire and is up at odd hours.

            

YouTube Creator Academy - Vlog

Check out my Vlog at the YouTube Creator Academy.

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YouTube Fan Fest India 2015

            I was devastated and very upset last year when the event first happened in the city. I so wanted to go, I tried everything to get my hands on the tickets but somehow I was just not destined to go there. It was a feeling that something you want is happening so close to your house and still you can’t go. A friend had also suggested gate crashing the event, but that was impossible right?

            A similar fate followed this year, before I knew it the tickets were sold out, didn’t win anything in all the contests that my favorite YouTubers were hosting. It was again so close to my house that it really felt irritating that I was not going. Then one of my friend told me about one contest that this lady was hosting on twitter, it was a lazy afternoon and I decided to try my luck one last time. I even messaged him that I don’t really think I’ll win anything. The contest began, I answered all the questions and at the end of it all I got a tweet from her saying that I won!!!

            I checked, then double checked and then triple checked if this was really happening. Details were exchanged and boom! there was a couple ticket in my inbox.  Upon reaching the venue we realized that we had actually bagged a Special Guests tickets and that we were sitting upfront! It really was a dream come true.

            In all this excitement I had almost missed on one little email sitting right in the bottom; it was an invite to the YouTube Creators Academy which was happening on the day after the Fan Fest. The mail mentioned that all the YouTubers (also the ones I was star struck by) were going to attend this event. The Creators Academy was super good! I’ll do a different post on that.

Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho ... to puri kainath usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai

            Well what can I say? Mr. Shahrukh Khan was indeed right! After a year my wish came true, after a year something that I really wanted was turned into reality.

            The fest was amazing! all the performances and acts were so amazingly planned out and it really was an experience!

I even vlogged at the event, Please check out my video 

The HDMI Chronicle

Every Indian is familiar with the word “Jugaad”

Wikipedia defines Jugaad as - Jugaad (alternatively Juggaar) is a colloquial Hindi-Urdu word that can mean an innovative fix or a simple work-around,^[1] used for solutions that bend rules, or a resource that can be used as such, or a person who can solve a complicated issue. It is used as much to describe enterprising street mechanics as for political fixers. This meaning is often used to signify creativity to make existing things work or to create new things with meagreresources.

One such jugaadhappened to me the other day (unintentionally)  for a few weeks now, my HDMI cable wasn’t working. I tried removing and attaching it again, didn’t work. I checked various YouTube videos and followed the steps to the tee, that too, didn’t work!

Annoyed, I gave up.

Few daysafter that, I again tried using HDMI. The above drill was repeated, then it dawned on me that maybe it is something to do with softwares. There I was, Goggling up various softwares and hack, nothing worked!

Frustrated and tired and annoyed I sat down with the HDMI cable. The first thing that came to my mind was Bajaj Scooter. It is said that back in the day, if your Bajaj Scooter doesn’t start then you should tilt it from side to side and it would work.

As this brought a smile on my face, I without thinking just blew into the HDMI cable. Something told me to try it again after blowing into it. Well, guess what! It worked!

Moral – Sometimes you don’t need all difficult and complicated things, a simple something can do the trick.

As we did talk about Bajaj Ad, I am linking it here. So nostalgic!

Self Defense Tips also Happy Women's Day!

Happy Women’s day!

I however don’t really feel very great about this day now, it gave us a chance to celebrate our womanhood. However, with things that are happening around us, I really don’t think that celebrating it is of any use, not that I am ashamed of being a woman but I, like all other women, hope that things were better.

I was in a conversation few days back about women safety and a friend pointed out that when a woman is being eve teased none of the spectators come to her rescue. Another friend argued that “Why do you need someone else to come rescue you? Rescue yourself girl!”

She continued, “Imagine you are in a bus, and you have a knife in your hand. Do you think anyone who even bother coming close to you?”

Now I know this is a little extreme, but she had a point.

Yesterday, I went to the Indiblogger’s Meet. They had a self defense workshop planned, it was very helpful! I am just mentioning a few pointers that may come to your rescue ( I hope you never have to use them )

Self Defense Tips –

1-     Carry Pepper Spray or other self defense object ( I know this is obvious, but there are still many people who don’t carry it. It could really be of use )

2-    If you don’t have Pepper spray thenuse your deodorant, it would be enough to distract the attacker for a few seconds.

3-    Everyday objects like a Pen, Pencil, Hair Clips, Keys and Comb etc can be used to stab the attacker.

4-    RUN! Yes, just run!

5-    SHOUT! Sometimes the alarm causes the attacker to run away.

6-    Use apps that make a loud noise.

7-    Use your palms to punch his nose, imagine you are throwing something and sit just as hard.

8-    The attacker generally expects you to be scared, attack back.

9-    Use your nails, head, and foot. Keep hitting

10- Kick on the knee, it is one of the delicate part to hit.

11- If the attacker approaches you from behind, use your heels and stamp on his feet, kick him, use your head and push backwards so as to hit his face/nose.

12-  fhe is holding you from behind and you can grab his pinky finger, then grab is and pull it backwards. It would free you immediately.

13-  If is holding you from behind, use your elbows to hit him in the stomach of groin.

14-  If  the attacker is strangling you then hit his adams apple and the hollow between the collar bone, it will immobilize and suffocate him immediately.

15- Keep in mind that the attacker is not expecting resistance, he think he is way powerful than you. Surprise him, attack him.

If you want to do a Self Defense course you can contact Sanjay at 9769950284.

You can also check out my vlog -

PS – if you know any other tips then please comment below so we all learn a few more tips.

Image Source - Google

Fitness Apps that I Use

I think I have spoken about how I have tried and failed and repeatedly kept failing at maintain my body weight. I won’t call myself obese but definitely over weight. So it has been my aim to lose weight and try and get fitter for a long time now. Unfortunately, my love for food and lack of motivation has religiously helped me not achieve my goals.

            I thought that if I had some things to keep myself in check I would do better. So there I was on Google play trying to find the perfect apps that would help me track my progress (or not so great progress) I want to say that this helps. You just need a little bit of motivation and you could really go a long way with these.

            I wanted apps which are not very clattered, which are simple and does its work properly. I am listing down 6 apps below.

Water Your Body

I cannot emphasis enough about how important water is in your weight loss/ fitness routine. You just cannot miss on this. Every fitness video/book focuses on water and its importance. This app remind you to drink water every one hour. I sounds something that you don’t need but trust me guys, there are times when I go an entire day without enough water. This app remind me to keep sipping on water and it really helps.

You can download it here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.northpark.drinkwater&hl=en

My Fitness Pal

This app helps count calories in your food. You can log in all your meals and it would tell you how much nutrients you need. It would also keep a check on your calories obviously. It’s like your personal nutritionist.

You can download it here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android&hl=en

RunKeeper

As the name suggests, it keeps track of your runs, walks, strolls etc. it would calculate your speed, pace and calories burnt. If you are training for marathon or just want to build up your stamina then it also has planned training sessions which helps you achieve your goal.

You can download it here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fitnesskeeper.runkeeper.pro&hl=en

Google Fit

This is a pedometer. Very basic but very useful. It just tracks the number of steps. Very useful for people who don’t have time for actual workout, you can at least try and walk as much possible so that it help you reduce.

You can download it here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.fitness&hl=en

Sleep Better

It’s not always about running about and working out. Making sure that you body gets enough sleep and rest is also important. This app helps you gauge your sleep patterns and how good you sleep was. Just turn it on before going to bed and you will know about your sleep in the morning. It also has a dream diary for all those dreams you keep forgetting about later.

You can download it here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.runtastic.android.sleepbetter.lite&hl=en

7 Minute Workout

Again something for people who don’t have much time to exercise. I wouldn’t say that this is your one stop workout but you can definitely try this when you really have no time for workout. 7 minutes is all you need.  It also has a workout to get rid of that flab.

You can download it here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.popularapp.sevenmins&hl=en

Well that’s all I use. If you want to stay updated with my fitness struggle then you can follow my blog, follow me and share your fitness stories and we can be friends who push and inspire each other to do better at fitness. - http://mumbaigirltriestoloseweight.blogspot.in/

Follow me and share your fitness stories and we can be friends who push and inspire each other to do better at fitness. 

Open Magazine - The Desperation of the Marathi Groom

I read this - http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/the-desperation-of-the-marathi-groom article yesterday and it immediately struck a chord with me as I did breakup with my long term boyfriend so that I could do something with my career first. I am doing my masters and plan on getting a good job etc before I think about getting married. Then there are those times when I wonder if I made a mistake by not getting married and going after my ambitions. You see there are two sides here.

            So the article speaks about how women these days are more career oriented and how they are not in a hurry to get married because they have the stability that marriage offers already thanks to their job and good salary package. The article also touches the topic of female foeticide and how that has affected the men women ratio.

            It’s true that women are getting more career oriented and that has given them the freedom to wisely choose their partner. It’s not how it used to be 10 years back, when the male was calling the shots – the tables have turned mister. This makes the feminist in me very happy. Isn’t this something like the olden times? When Swayamwar was the "in thing". On the other hand, if this is happening because the sex ratio is off charts then that’s something to worry about.

            People usually say that women should be independent and career oriented and should be equal to men etc. but all this goes straight into the dustbin when it comes on to them to support such a woman.

            The article specifically talks about Marathi Groom, and I can understand why. Being a Maharashtrian I have seen those typical men who still believe that men are above women, yes including the well educated people.

            I am not of the opinion that the desperation is justified but I am glad that women are finally getting over the “Need to get married before I am 25” phase and stepping into “I need to do well in my career” phase. This also doesn’t mean marriage is not important but so is your Life, Money, Independence and Career!

Bombay Blue – Phoenix Market City, Kurla

After a hectic week, couple of friends and I decided to unwind with some bowling and good food. After going through the entire list of restaurant available at the Mall we decide that Bombay Blue is going to be the place. It was crowded with no place to sit; we immediately regretted our decision as we were looking for some quite place. After waiting for about five minutes we got one corner table.

We ordered one Carlsberg, Mojito, Corona and a Caprioska for me.

Mojito and Caprioska were good. Perfect for the little buzz that we needed before we start the day.

 

For starters it was Garlic Bread and Fries Mexicana

Garlic bread is my all time favorite and these guys didn’t disappoint me. Although in the menu it was mentioned that Fries Mexicana has cheese!! I expected a lot of cheese but there wasn’t enough.

We settled for sizzlers, Thai sticks and Italian Pasta

Thai Sticks sizzler is vegetarian. I didn’t eat much of that, I did taste some and it was okay as was our Italian Pasta (I think I am writing the name wrong but it was definitely Italian something sizzler). I didn’t find is amazingly delicious but when one has good company all the not so tasty food doesn’t seem to matter.

It turned out that the manager was an old school friend, so well he used his privileges and gave us a discount which all the more added to the happiness. I would like to thank him for that.

I would give it – 3 and a half on 5

Cost for 4 – ₹ 3777/-

I also recently started making YouTube videos, please show some love! :)