Book Review: The Yogic Manager By Avinash Sharma

Introduction

· ISBN – 8184954700

· Genre: Spirituality / Non fiction

· Publishers: Jaico Publishing House

· Price: Rs. 225/- (I got this book from the publisher for a review)

Having been working since a decade now the next step in my corporate ladder is definitely to lead a team and become a leader. Somehow our ancient scriptures have always fascinated me with reference to the lessons of life. You can read about it here and here. I picked up this book solely for one reason; it said a business novel inspired by the Mahabharata. Needless to say INSEAD’s former Dean’s foreword was an added attraction.

Behind The book

Source: Google Images

About the author

Avinash Sharma is a senior consultant for strategic programs at a large Canadian bank in Toronto. He builds business cases, backed by financial models, and advises executives on investment decisions. He earned his MBA from the Queen’s School of Business (Ontario), his MS in Computer Science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and his BSc in Statistics from Loyola College (University of Madras). He is also a graduate of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Rishi Valley School. He previously worked as an analyst at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC). Read more about him HERE

Me thinks

I took a long time to read this book as I savored each and every chapter for quite some time after I had read it till it had seeped in deeper and I was ready for another one. The book is excellently written in terms of language and explanations. Spirituality, I personally believe is a highly over rated thing in our country. But with books like these I am assured that the sanctity of it still exists. There is still a lot to be learnt and unearthed which is carefully hidden deep within our own realms. I had once read a forward message which said God hid the secret of life in man for He knew he would never look there. This book makes me want to believe it is true. There is a lot of depth and research that reflects in each chapter. You can feel some of the words lingering long after you are done reading.

My favourite line would be:

From thinking the Earth exists for humans, lead me to understand that humans cannot exist without the Earth.

Foodie Verdict

Source: Google Images

This book is like Chocolate Chip cookies - crunchy, chocolatey, yummy and will leave you asking for more!

Book Review: Desiccated Land by David Lepeska

ISBN: 978-9395481205 Genre: Non-fiction Publisher: Vishwakarma Publications Bringing together his experiences as a journalist and a keen observer, David Lepeska writes a raw and gut-wrenching book on Kashmir. Part memoir, part travelogue, and part reportage, Desiccated Land is a page-turner. The book starts by tracing the history of the region along with his own history, as a student who was dimly aware of the history of Kashmir and the turmoil it has been causing for centuries between India and Pakistan. Lepenska takes us to Nilamata Purana ( likely written in the 7th century ) which tells us the story leading to the birth of this region. He also shares an alternate possibility of the word being derived from a lake ‘Mira’ named after Vedic Sage Kashyapa. His first visit to Kashmir closely followed by his second (and much longer) visit as a journalist working for the Kashmir Observer after the 9/11 attacks, make for an interesting read. Lepeska had questions, a lot of them. An

From there to here to where

From this blog in 2011 to Barnes and Noble website, my reviewing journey has been full of surprises. I am working on an essay tracing it and realized that I started reviewing books in 2001 (Yes! I am old) for a small library next to my house. Needless to add, my payment was in the books. The library owner also happened to be the first person who taught me how to write a book review and what to focus on. And that is where I learned why reviews matter. Cut to 2016 when my book review was taught in a Literary Criticism class held by British Library. A relative happened to attend that class and the news spread like wildfire in the family. That is the moment when my family knew this much more than just a hobby.

Book Review: Never Mind Yaar by K Mathur

Introduction · ISBN - 978-0-473-17480-4 · Genre: Fiction · Publishers: Southpac Publishers · Price: Rs. 350/- ( I got this book from Blog Adda for a review ) The title is an attitude - our tendency to feel defeated by the scale and nature of certain problems. Rather than meet them head on, we circumvent them with a sigh and a consoling “never mind, yaar”. When long time friends Binaifer Desai and Louella D’Costa meet Shalini Dayal at Gyan Shakti College, a true friendship that transcends cultural and religious backgrounds is born. Louella is a Christian, Binaifer, a Parsi and Shalini, a Hindu. The novel’s main plotline surrounds Shalini who has fallen for an impetuous student activist, Bhagu. Where does his desire to help the less fortunate lead him? The challenges are many - Shalini’s tradition bound family, the couple’s youth and inexperience and the travails of life in Mumbai, a city the girls love but know, is fraug

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