Kane and Abel....

I must say,reading this book has been long overdue for quite some time now.I daresay,I totally relished my being "Archer-struck" single-mindedly all over again for the last 2 days..And what a pleasure it had been to get acquainted with some of the memorable literary characters to have ever been crafted!!!William Kane,Abel Rosnovski,Florentyna,Kate,Richard...so many of them in a single book.What else could I ask for with such a literary feast on my platter!! Never enjoyed reading a book sooo much for quite some time now.It brought me back the memories of similar experience of Jeffrey's book I last read,the smart tale of con,Not a Penny More,Not a Penny Less...

'Kane and Abel' is arguably the best work of Jeffrey Archer till date and I find myself more than willing in complying with this assumption.It is a gripping tale spanning about 60 years in the life of two people born on the same day under strikingly contrasting circumstances..It traces the lives of William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski so very different from each other in every facet of life.Nevertheless,their paths were destined to cross and when they did,it was to be a curtain raiser to building a new enmity for life time only to be further complicated by political and family tensions. Abel Rasnovski's display of tremendous strength of character in times ranging from blindly optimistic to utterly hopeless is what appealed to me the most.This 'dumb Pole's' search for a new identity in the wake of WW1 destroying everything he ever seemed to possess including his rightful claim to his barony leads him on a trial of journeys which ultimately lead him to America where he starts off as a worker in a butcher shop to owning about 70 hotels before seeing one built on his own homeland.The Chicago Baron as he is called,never had anything easy at any point of his life ,his birth included while I found Kane's life a little more nice to lead all through what with all the opportunities falling right on his lap...I don't mean to imply that his life was sans any struggle or a simple cakewalk..Its just a matter of a sense of security he had as to what will become of his life be it the prep school he would join,the high school he would study at before securing a place at Harvard like everyone in his family ever did.He belonged to too important a family to lose out on any of these..He had had his share of bittersweet memories in life like losing father in Titanic crisis at an early age of 5 or having to put up with a swindling stepfather later or unexpected demise of a doting mother while he was still in teens or facing a major disappointment when he couldn't step into his late father's shoes as the chairman of Kane and Cabot etc...But all this can in no measure match an obscure and impoverished but intellectually well-gifted Abel's having to be a prisoner of war in his own estate seeing his brother murdered,father broken and dead and a sister molested by brutal soldiers right in front of his young eyes..It is the course of history that shaped Abel's life majorly as compared to Kane who always had a predictable,well-planned road to take at every juncture of life...Its through entirely different spectacle they've each seen the world as they grow up to become important flag-bearers of American rise to being a superpower.

Another lovely character that captivates your imagination is that of young and vivacious Florentyna, 'the prodigal daughter' of Abel Rosnovski and the centre of his world..Then there is Richard,another chip off the Kane block whose love for Florentyna and their eventual elopement to get married only widens the rift between Kane and Abel setting into motion an interesting set of events...

A mind-boggling political potboiler with occasional peeps into boardrooms..Truly,a memorable read it has been!!!

Hyderabad Blues....

This is the article I wrote for one of the inter-hostel competitions and is quite closer to my heart as its about my hometown,Hyderabad and more so because I am no longer a regular resident of this beautiful city....

City life-essentially a metaphor for opportunity, quintessential optimism, unbridled imagination, hectic activity and values, modern and bold to the core. It’s a wonderland for many dreamy-eyed Alices with aspirations to make it big. The greater availability of diverse forms of entertainment like theater, cinema, amusement parks etc. never fail to attract more and more immigrants to a city. The most striking feature of a typical city is that it never stagnates and is true to the adage of change being the only constant parameter. Hyderabad-the city I grew up in and with, always occupies a special cozy spot in the heart of my hearts. There is this unmistakable and uncanny Hyderabadi spirit in me which curiously guides me in my day-to-day thought process and it is with nothing less than great pride and joy that I proclaim myself to be a hard-core Hyderabadi.

Hyderabad is a true testimony of resilience and co-existence which makes it stand out among the galaxy of other cities in the country. She is a truly enchanting beauty perched on the top of Deccan plateau epitomizing the phenomenon of evolving cities. She has come a long way from being an abode of Indo-Persian culture to being the most happening metropolis in India. It is a rare blend of traditional and ultra-modern values. Though it is slowly turning into the proverbial concrete jungle( which is ought to happen) people are still more than willing to walk that extra mile to strike an amazing balance between their family and professional lives. The spirit of Hyderabadis which drives them to bounce back every time they stumble is highly infectious. They work with verve and walk with a spring in the step. There are clustered apartments, congested traffic, irritating pollution all over. Yet, there is a certain degree of old world charm and openness in transactions among the people. This is the most endearing trait of the city which makes visitors go gaga over. You need to be a visitor to get the flavor of the city’s hospitality.

The city owes its ethnic and rustic beauty to the Nizams who ruled over it for a long time and added most of the beautiful buildings and monuments to this jewel. Juxtaposed bylanes of old city, the roadside paanwalas and chaiwalas stood the trying tests of time and urbanization but never gave up. The rustic charm of Hyderabad never fails to enchant you. This is a city of great artistic connoisseurs. My nostalgic memories of the city are entangled in the curves of jalebi and folds in the stony cloak of Buddha on theTank Bund . Haunting stink ofMusi , multitude of bangle stores that dazzle your eyes, unique and ethnic scents which never fail to tingle your nasal buds near Charminar (400 not out),piled-up match box like book stores in Koti etc., are very strange landmarks that evolved over course of time. Its charm is instead increasing by the day .Ancient monuments like Golconda , Qutb Shahi tombs , Salarjung museum etc. add that touch of royalty to this city patronized by Asif Jahi Nawabs. The sober milieu of the Secretariat of Andhra Pradesh doesn’t intimidate the frolic mood at neighbouring Lumbini park . Gokul chat-a one-stand stop to all the golguppa lovers to unwind from the tiring day at work still reminiscent of the scary bomb blast which did leave an ugly scar on its face yet duly up and about with the solidarity displayed by the city dwellers. An evening whiled away at the Tank Bund is always well-spent but never complete without the roadside bhelpuri and palli or sugar candy and sweet fried corn. You are always left craving for more. The marble marvel, Birla Mandir is another big crowd puller.

Hyderabadis are great patrons of art, literature, theatre and cinema (not only Tollywood which time and again managed to churn out unabashed scripts with larger-than-life heroes.Believe me, I am no big fan of them). Taramati Biradari, revived recently is hosting jewels of theatre plays and music concerts on a regular basis catering to the tastes of connoisseurs. This is a city cosmopolitan to its core thanks to world class companies like Microsoft, Dell, Infosys, Infotech, IBM, Novotel, HSBC etc. setting their regional offices up here increased the Hyderabadi soft power all over the globe. It is tipped to be the most happening software hub in India next only to Bangalore. It is a hub of sports which produced gem of players who made India proud on a host of occasions like tennis ace,Sania mirza,baddy champs Pullela Gopichand,Saina Nehwal, cricketing wizardsV.V.S.Laxman ,Mohd.Azharuddin , hockey pro,Mukesh Kumar etc.

Hyderabad, shaped up by rich history has been an inspiration for many a literary masterpieces. Be it William Dalrymple’s White Mughals which brilliantly captured the scintillating romance between East India company’s official James Kirkpatrick and Nizam princess Khair-un-Nisa or The Jewels of Nizam which accounts for the incalculable wealth of Hyderabadi emperors, they did manage to strike a right chord with the readers around the world. Summing it all up, Hyderabad is such a tantalizing blend of ironically contrasting features which makes it come across as a fully decked up bride making it all the more irresistible to the insiders and outsiders alike.

Art of lying...

Well....I'm not going to write a treatise on the art of lying but just sharing the one I came across by a certain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Wondering who this guy is ??) I tell you its a completely enlightening account (rather appalling)coming from this wise man lamenting over those good olden days when people lied virtuously...Yes,he calls a LIE,
the man's tenth Muse, his best and surest friend
The benefits of judicious lying,how injurious can unconditional truth-mongering be and well...how to perfect the art of scientific lying are all penned down by the same pen that gave us the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn...

Unsolicited guests in the city....

Of late,Hyderabad has witnessed the arrival of some utterly unwanted guests.....First, it was the terrorists who sneaked into the city to disturb the peaceful status quo...Then,it is the deadly swine flu..Out of blue,it steeped into the city from Texas and is now fast multiplying ...Beware ye all fellow Hyderabadis...