Book Review - The Winner's Curse

A couple of weeks back, I read The Winner's Curse by Dee Walker. The author was kind enough to sign my copy for me! :-)

Cover Page

Signed by the author

Fast Facts:-

Title: The Winner's Curse 

Author: Dee Walker

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Srishti Publishers and Distributors

Pages: 277

Price: Rs.195 (Paperback)

Key Characters:-

1. Harsh Mittal: A flamboyant business tycoon who has risen to his current heights through sheer hard work, his genius and the alliance of his "Master"
2. The Master: The Prime Minister of India
3. Raghav Badhwar: A successful bureaucrat and Harsh's nemesis since their days in IIT.
4. Khosla: Harsh's adversary in the Telecom business
5. Robbie: The Master's son in law, a dimwit but very attractive
6. Kamal Pandey: Harsh's best friend from IIT and a righteous and austere personality.
7. Savita Bhambi: A political and corporate lobbyist who hails from a scheduled caste family in a small town.

The Review:-

The Winner's Curse is a novel that explores the dark side of success. The author maintains that as people grow more successful, they fall prey to greed. This "greed" is the curse that always chases the "winner". This is essentially the story of Harsh, a business magnate who was born an orphan. Harsh is discovered by an IITian and the founder of FIITJEE who bring him up an watch as the genius makes it to IIT himself. The book explores the stories and characters of a batch of IITians who study together and grow to be very successful in each of their chosen domains - business, politics, technology, corporate lobbying and social activism.

Harsh is asked by his Master to develop a technology that will uniquely identify all Indians and give powers to the government to directly disburse benefits and subsidies without any middlemen. And thus, Jan Shakti is born. Jan Shakti has the power to unearth corruption and make India clean. But in the shadow of Jan Shakti, there is a sinister program that will impeach on the privacy of people and lead to espionage.

In a parallel world, Arvind Pandey, an honest civil engineer, fights corruption and makes it difficult for Raghav and his corrupt politician friend to carry out their illegal mining and transportation jobs. But Arvind's foes are brutal. Kamal, Arvind's brother, takes up his case as a social activist and seeks some help from his best friend, Harsh. Only the book can tell you whether Harsh will listen to his conscience or let his promise to his Master compel him to do what he shouldn't.

Dee Walker sketches his characters really well. They are all well fleshed out, and the common thread of IIT is woven very well into the story. The story is fast paced and very interesting. The best thing about this story is the fact that you can relate the characters to many real world people. I could draw similarities to Manmohan Singh, Robert Vadra and Nira Radia [the (in)famous lobbyist from the Radia tapes fame]. Many of the incidents also bear resemblance to real life scandals.

My Verdict:-

Walker's grip on the story is very good. His dialogues are impactful and fresh. The book still needs another round of proof reading, but is entertaining nevertheless.

This book gets an overall rating of 9.5 on 10 from me for keeping the book so engrossing throughout. Dee Walker's novel has all the trappings of a classic corporate fiction. You must pick this book up wherever your can!

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This book review is part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program and Blog Tours. To get free books, reach out to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com.

The Secret to Babies' Happiness

Lately, I have been hearing news of many babies turning one. Every other day, a colleague invites me over for her / his child's first birthday. While I love to see the cute and happy face on the invitation mail, I wonder how those little babies stay so cheerful all the time.

I have seen some very loud and leaky babies who wail uncontrollably and bring the whole house down. On the other hand, some babies just cackle with laughter even when they are not tickled. I wanted answers to this confusing observation. So, I decided to go on a secret investigative mission and attended six birthday parties of toddlers over the past few months.

At the Sakpal family's birthday bash, baby Anushka jumped incessantly on her carpeted floor. I picked her up and planted a huge kiss on her forehead. She exploded in peals of laughter and started playing with my stone necklace. I noticed two clues to happiness here - plaything (my necklace) and dancing. These two activities kept baby Anushka occupied and she was a happy angel on her first birthday.

A week later, I was at baby Piyush's christening ceremony. He was only a few months old and could not crawl yet. When I held his delicate form in my arms, he gurgled and blew spit bubbles. After a few minutes, he wriggled on my lap and made a crying face. I thought he was hungry. I looked at my friend, Shalu. She gestured that she had already nursed him. This could only mean one thing - Piyush was going to pee!!! I held the little boy carefully, worried his diaper would leak and soil my dress. After a few seconds, Piyush's cherubic face burst into a smile. He was done peeing! :-) Looking at my dazed self, Shalu chortled and explained to me that her baby boy wore Pampers Baby Dry Pants which were easy to wear and and easy to dispose. The gel lock technology would also keep little Piyush dry from the inside. This is why that boy did not cry. He was happy and dry!

I knew then that little children needed to stay dry to be comfortable in their skin. What most of us do wrong is avoid diapers and keep changing the panties over and over again. This not only takes up a lot time, but also has chances of infecting the baby with the bacteria in his own puddle of urine. A good diaper is the first trick to keeping your baby happy! And of course, you must indulge your baby with a lot of love and care. Make sure you talk to her / him and take the baby all around the house to expose her / him to new views. New things give little kids a lot of joy. Kids also love rhythmic music. I always try to make little babies dance to children's songs. They find happiness in clapping their hands and wobbling on their pudgy feet.

The Pampers Video Ad

Now you know many secrets to babies' happiness! Share some of your own with me by commenting below!

My Ray of Hope

Until last year, I used think new year resolutions were only a bunch of points that were supposed to be jotted down for motivation, and at the end of the day (the first month, rather), chucked into the trashcan. But last year, I did something that changed my perception for good.

Just like in the beginning of every other year, I started 2014 by penning down a slightly long and ambitious list of resolutions. I would have to accomplish each and everyone of those by 31st December, 2014. "Ha!", I thought to myself, "That's never happening!". "I'll be lucky to achieve even one of those eight resolutions on that over-ambitious list."

My resolutions ranged from "Get eight hours of sleep a day" (easy) to "Go on a sponsored trip abroad" (crazy!). I would have given up on my dreams by February if not for a traumatic experience in the beginning of the year. I was so broken during that phase, that it took me tremendous effort to regain my old state of calm and happiness. It was then that a close friend said to me, "Your confidence and strength lie in you! Don't look toward others to pump yourself up."

His words worked like magic on me. I stopped thinking about the past and focused only on how I could achieve my future... my dreams. I started following my first resolution - getting eight hours of sleep. Irrespective of the time I slept at night, I would clock eight hours. I put in new energy into my travel articles. I got quite a few published, and some won me awards! I had succeeded in winning return flights to an Indian city and I even won the stay for free, albeit through separate contests. I had ticked off almost all of the milestones from my list of resolutions.

However, I still hadn't earned a foreign trip by October. While I continued multitasking and bettering my writing, I was surprised to hear that I won return tickets to Moscow! And the news came on my birthday. I was so happy, I had tears in my eyes! I knew I had kept all of my resolutions for 2014. The confidence and the strength were mine. My friend's words had been my ray of hope. I had achieved every little dream of mine by persevering with my hard work. I took time after work to hone my writing skills. I saved up money and leaves for interesting trips across India. In the end, it was all worth it. I had gifted myself a lot of positive reinforcement to become the strong individual I wanted to be.

Today, as I pack my bags for Russia, I look back at last year with pride at my perseverance. I made another list of resolutions for 2015. And I hope to tell you another story next year.

A Whole New World

I look at this world from various perspectives every new day, and a million thoughts rush to my mind at once. I am awed by many miracles brought about by science and technology. Then again, I am ashamed of the destruction the same scientific and technological knowledge brings into this world. I am amazed at the depth of philosophy and the beauty of fine arts and performing arts. On the other hand, I condemn the narrow mindedness of our people who set books ablaze and organize riots in the name of religion and God.

My heart shatters into a million pieces as I take in the sight of all the goodness struggling to escape the dark forces of the world. But my brain urges me to think. And I smile as I slowly comprehend the simple truth. The good and the bad in this world are products of our minds. They are all our creations. The natural elements are mere spectators in this land where humans have the power to either prosper or perish. It is with these thoughts in my head that I wonder what I would build if I could recreate this world... make a whole new world...

I would start with the very beginning. My first priority would be to sensitize toddlers and school children to the environment and their fellow beings. I would ensure that "Tolerance" is a subject taught in every school. When the same kids grow up into adults, politicians, businessmen and farmers, we would have a world that respects nature and all life forms. With increasing tolerance, the need to restrict travel would reduce. This would obviate the need for visas to travel across countries. Imagine the kind of freedom we would have if we could take a plane to anywhere and learn about the indigenous people there! The world would live as a giant family. Perhaps we would then understand the true meaning of "vasudhaiva kutumbakam".

I know my world is utopian. But what is utopia today, may just be reality tomorrow! That is the power of thought. But the power sustains only if implemented.

I am participating in the #TheWorldRemade activity at BlogAdda in association with India Today #Conclave15.

My Father - My Strength

It is not Father's Day today, but I'm still going to go ahead tell you how wonderful my father is. He has been my pillar of strength and source of wisdom since the day I was born.

When I was a toddler, my dad would carry me in his arms and take me to street bazaars and children's parks. He would never tire of picking me up and propping me atop the slide so I could enjoy sliding down numerous times. It was my dad who would see me and my sister off to the school bus every morning. He would always hold our hands when we crossed roads. I asked him one day why he held our hands, and he told me that he would not get to hold our hands and help us cross once we grew up. He wanted to cherish these moments as long as he could.

My father taught me how to draw and paint. He is a talented artist himself! Whichever drawing competition I have won until now (and I have won many), I have won because of my dad. He would spend many hours each day before the drawing competitions and teach me how to draw, what to draw, and how to paint well. My father always encouraged me to participate in all sorts of competitions, be it debate, painting, extempore, math or science. He would go the extra mile to show us how and why we should go the extra mile. All the medals I have won, the exams I have topped, and the accolades I have received are thanks to my father's guidance. My dad taught me how to have a balance in life. He would encourage us to play after we studied for a few hours.

My father also taught me to be self reliant. He would give me pocket money in school so I could learn to manage my own finances. I bought my first big bicycle - a magenta Atlas Ladybird, with the money I had saved up in my piggy bank. His teachings have been very valuable to me all through my life! I would never run out of cash in college when my classmates were perpetually broke. I see the biggest result now - I have a seven-figure bank balance in less than three years of being in the corporate world. I have learnt that savings is not a factor of your income, but of your attitude towards money. Many of my better paid friends have negligible net worth due to  lack of money management skills.

My father has also taught me the value of humility. The thought that my parents are well heeled never entered my mind as my upbringing has been simple. My father has always provided me for my needs. And for everything else, he has given me the education and skillset that will help me fulfill all my desires.

The #MyFamilyMyPride ad film

I owe everything I am to my father. And, I love him more than everything else in the world.