The Books Which Shaped me!

I used to read a lot when I was growing up.  That’s why most of the books I have mentioned below are ….er…. kiddie novels and story-books.

I stopped reading around the age I stopped growing (say around the age of 14).…….

…And I stopped growing when I stopped reading……

1. Calvin and Hobbes

 By Bill Waterson

Image Courtesy Wikia

The Book still brings the kid in me out!

2. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

 By Jeff Kinney

Image courtesy Wikimedia

Whenever I read this graphic novel I feel that the 11 year old main character –Greg- is none but me. And sometimes I find myself living the character of Greg’s father….

3. Baal Bharati बाल भारती

 Hindi Textbook for primary school

Image courtesy Winztech

This book held my hand as I toddled my way into the world of learning at the age of 5.

4. The Three Fat Men

  By Yuri Olesha

Image Courtsey assets.com

An engaging tale written for children.  The book made me know what is Capitalism and what is Communism, at a tender age of 8. I must have read it a hundred times.

5. Raag Darbari राग दरबारी

By Srilal Shukla

Image Courtesy- Bookganga

One of the greatest book of Hindi literature. A satirical tale of reality prevailing in Indian society.

I read it in my teens and was overpowered by it!

6.  Don’t Say Yes When You Want To  Say No!

 By Herbert Fensterheim and Jean Baer

This book shook me, then punched on my nose.....

Then it changed my life!

7.   16 Personal Finance Principles Every Investor Should Know

By Manish Chauhan (Jagoinvestor.com)

Image courtesy Jagoinvestor.com

A shiver went down my spine as I started to read this book. I realized ‘This is how little I know about money….,  This is how I treat my money…., This is how I have been getting conned by so called financial advisors’.

However, with shaking hands I kept on turning the pages, knowing fully that I must not escape reading this till end.

The book shattered my wrong leanings about money and uncovered my common sense which had got buried beneath the scrupulous mal-advices about money and mis-learnings gathered over time.

Thanks Manish! For the a couple of hundred rupees I paid you for this book, you saved me thousands... or maybe more.

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This post is written for Indispire in Indiblogger.in

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The Candle-in-hand Protester!

Give me a candle, give me a place out,
Give me a reason to shout aloud!

Give me a poster, give me a banner,
And I am ready to protest in any manner!

What if a girl gets harassed on road,
She's not my sis, nor my miss.
But tell me when the protests erupt.
I'll be there with a candle in hand,
Posing for the media cam!

Accident victim on the way? I prefer to look away.
He is in a pool of blood, I watch from afar.
But don't take him in, Can't spoil my car.
But tell me when its time to protest,
I'll be there with a candle, looking my best!

A candle in one hand and a selfie cam in the other
Marching my way to Jantar Mantar!

Give me a candle, show me a place out,
Give me a reason to shout about!

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The Tirupati Laddu-An epitome of Faith and Beauty!

I come out from the sanctum sanctorum and join the queue for the Prasadam. I spread my palm in front of the person serving the Prasadam. With lightning speed, he places a small Laddu on my palm.

I look at the sacred piece of spherical beauty. Fresh from the Kadai, it feels warm on my palm. I want to bask in its beauty before it I savor it with devotion.

I wonder what, apart from the grace of God, makes the Tirupati Laddu so famous and revered? What is it that which makes it so unique?

I have only a few moments to think about this before I savor it completely.

The small Tirupati Laddu placed on my palm appears to emanate beauty and grace. It’s perfectly round in shape. Its impeccable shape appears to resemble the Godliness it carries by virtue of its being a Prasadam of the all-powerful God presiding there.

I balance the Laddu in my palm without taking my eyes off even for a second. We get various types of eatables as Prasadam in various temples- Fruits, Halwa, Flavoured Rice, sweet Rice, Kheer and many more. But how is it that none of them has acquired such fame as the Tirupati Laddu?.... I wonder.

The warm soft skin of the Laddu feels good in my palm. Its brownish yellow colour and matte texture makes it look like some artwork. I close my palm securing the Laddu surrounding with my fingers. I can feel a few embedded nuts feeling to my sensitive palm. As I close my palm, I can feel its softness. The warmth of Laddu flows faster into my palm. Small quantities of the pure ghee seep-out from the porous surface of Laddu and spreads on my palm.

I hold the Laddu nearer to me. The aroma coming from it feels divine. The colour looks brighter and lovelier from close. I think about the deft hands which gave the Laddu such flawless round shape.

The look and flavor of the Laddu promise sweetness, apart from the recognition of having accomplished the feat of having darshan of Lord Balaji, one of the toughest things to get. I was just wandering……  -This Laddu serves as a prize, as  recognition for thousands of people who travel thousands of kilometers to Tirupati braving all inconveniences, climb the hill, walk, stand in queue for hours, sometimes  with infants in arms, just for a glimpse of Lord for a few seconds. Although the time they get to see the Lard may be only a few seconds, the taste of Laddus lasts  much longer…… sometimes a lifetime.

Still lost in my thoughts, I take a bite on the Laddu. It melts into my mouth easily. I feel blessed by divinity.

Having finished my share of Prasadam, I am again standing in the queue, this time for the bigger Laddus, which my family, extended family, friends, colleagues, friends’ family, and colleagues’ friends have requested me to bring from them.

I know that these Tirupati Laddus issued at a price at various Laddu counters in Tirupati would be bigger than the one I got after the darshan. These come in sizes ranging from that of an orange to a muskmelon. To me these sacred objects in varying sizes resemble the celestial bodies, in various sizes- from Mercury to Jupiter and carrying the same divinity around them as the planets of solar system.

I handover the Laddu tokens to the gentleman across the counter and wait for the Laddus. The person behind the small window, picks-up six large Laddus in a tray and proceeds to handover to me. Ready with a paperbag in my hand, I slip-in four of them through the gap to the person. He places one Laddu in each and slides the dishes back to me.

Cong out, I open the paperbag to have a glimse of the Laddus. The Sunrays fall on their surface making them shine more. I had never seen Laddus of such large size. Their large size spells grace and magnanimity to me. Placed inside the container, they carry the promise to carry the God’s blessings to them who could not come to Tirupati.

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The Tirupati Laddu- An epitome of Faith and Beauty!

The Tirupati Laddu-An epitome of Faith and Beauty!

I come out from the sanctum sanctorum and join the queue for the Prasadam. I spread my palm in front of the person serving the Prasadam. With lightning speed, he places a small Laddu on my palm.

I look at the sacred piece of spherical beauty. Fresh from the Kadai, it feels warm on my palm. I want to bask in its beauty before it I savor it with devotion.

I wonder what, apart from the grace of God, makes the Tirupati Laddu so famous and revered? What is it that which makes it so unique?

I have only a few moments to think about this before I savor it completely.

The small Tirupati Laddu placed on my palm appears to emanate beauty and grace. It’s perfectly round in shape. Its impeccable shape appears to resemble the Godliness it carries by virtue of its being a Prasadam of the all-powerful God presiding there.

I balance the Laddu in my palm without taking my eyes off even for a second. We get various types of eatables as Prasadam in various temples- Fruits, Halwa, Flavoured Rice, sweet Rice, Kheer and many more. But how is it that none of them has acquired such fame as the Tirupati Laddu?.... I wonder.

The warm soft skin of the Laddu feels good in my palm. Its brownish yellow colour and matte texture makes it look like some artwork. I close my palm securing the Laddu surrounding with my fingers. I can feel a few embedded nuts feeling to my sensitive palm. As I close my palm, I can feel its softness. The warmth of Laddu flows faster into my palm. Small quantities of the pure ghee seep-out from the porous surface of Laddu and spreads on my palm.

I hold the Laddu nearer to me. The aroma coming from it feels divine. The colour looks brighter and lovelier from close. I think about the deft hands which gave the Laddu such flawless round shape.

The look and flavor of the Laddu promise sweetness, apart from the recognition of having accomplished the feat of having darshan of Lord Balaji, one of the toughest things to get. I was just wandering……  -This Laddu serves as a prize, as  recognition for thousands of people who travel thousands of kilometers to Tirupati braving all inconveniences, climb the hill, walk, stand in queue for hours, sometimes  with infants in arms, just for a glimpse of Lord for a few seconds. Although the time they get to see the Lard may be only a few seconds, the taste of Laddus lasts  much longer…… sometimes a lifetime.

Still lost in my thoughts, I take a bite on the Laddu. It melts into my mouth easily. I feel blessed by divinity.

Having finished my share of Prasadam, I am again standing in the queue, this time for the bigger Laddus, which my family, extended family, friends, colleagues, friends’ family, and colleagues’ friends have requested me to bring from them.

I know that these Tirupati Laddus issued at a price at various Laddu counters in Tirupati would be bigger than the one I got after the darshan. These come in sizes ranging from that of an orange to a muskmelon. To me these sacred objects in varying sizes resemble the celestial bodies, in various sizes- from Mercury to Jupiter and carrying the same divinity around them as the planets of solar system.

I handover the Laddu tokens to the gentleman across the counter and wait for the Laddus. The person behind the small window, picks-up six large Laddus in a tray and proceeds to handover to me. Ready with my Borosil Smart Lid Dishes, I slip-in four of them through the gap to the person. He places one Laddu in each and slides the dishes back to me.

I close the lids. The Tirupati Laddus are now secured in Airtight containers.

I look at the Laddus. The Sunrays passing through the transparent walls of container fall on their surface making them shine more. I had never seen Laddus of such large size. Their large size spells grace and magnanimity to me. Placed inside the container, they carry the promise to carry the God’s blessings to them who could not come to Tirupati.

Visit http://www.myborosil.com/ and know how beautiful and soul sweetening the food could be.

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This post is written for the My Beautiful Food! contest by Borosil in IndiBlogger.

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