Kratu - Samarpan - reivew

 I had a fantasy of doing time travel and meeting with great soul from the past like Buddha, Jesus Christ etc. 

It seems Kratu was the answer to my fanatasy so started reading this novel. 

A very tough read since there are too many disjointed characters. I should say first half of the book was relatively ok with good flashback on the previous life of a Kratu but as he begins to grow to be a young man the story's steam is getting lost. 
First the premise of an eternal memory because of a curse seems to be too much and also looking for a person in one of his earlier life for ever and forever and not actually trying to search but just showing up in every life and  hoping to meet that person is childish. 

If you have lived several lives and have been to different realm of existence and your memory is intact you are supposed to be sophisticated. 

There are too many character who comes just once and they are simply stereotypic  and then you forget and then the author tries to bring that character back for the climax seems once again very ineffective. 

Also on the last chapter of the book there is an unnamed guy  =and a girl  and we have no idea who those people are. 

If you go to amazon you will see positive reviews those people could be the disciple of the authors or well wishers who just type good things about the book. 

I had similar experience reading a self help from a guru and it looks utterly hopeless but people are heaving praise on it. 

Its a dangerous terrain trying to read an Indian contemporary gurus book so please be wary. 

Its not surrender but trust

In spiritual vocabulary there is this word called Surrender. 

Surrender to God! Let thy will be done etc

I think Surrender is a wrong word. 

You have your intellect, emotion and have this physical body and also a Will. You don't have to surrender these things and be passive. 

You need to Trust that there is a benevolent universe. Trust that it cares about you (and also cares about bigger things also)

You have to play the game with this universe not competition but cooperation. Since you know the Universe is on your side.

Play the game with gusto. If result is not what you anticipated, see if you get the signal from universe. 

Try to understand and trust the universe, either change your goal post or your strategy and play again with gusto. 

Since what matters is how we respond to life, how we show up everyday, how we grow and contribute. 

Let your brief stay here be a good experience for you and people near you. Play courageously and with trust. If you do that the play itself will be very fulfilling   

Con Law - Mark Gimenez - Review

 One joy of going to a lending library is you can pick a book don't do any research in internet since the cost is less and you are just lending it and will give it back. 

I love legal thrillers "John Grisham" fan. 

I saw this book "Con Law - Mark Gimenez" looked like Jai Bhim, but anyway I like legal thrillers. 

I was expecting a court room drama but no court scene here in this novel. 

The positives

1. witty dialogue
2. a course on Fracking
3. a course on Marfa
4. very good Con Law discussion between Law students. only 2 scenes one each in the beginning and the end
5. politics related to tenureship election for professors

Professor John Bookman does not fear dying but fears about not living. He travels in a Hardley and appears on TV debate shows (would have enjoyed if there is a scene). He helps the needy who writes letters to him. 

He receives a letter from one of his ex-intern and thats how the story started. 

Story has twist and turns and its not black and white many characters have grey shades. 

There is a revelation on why the Professor does these things.. what is his motivation. 

Few things are cinematic like 

1. an intern towing with him wherever he goes. 
2. The Professor sometimes is just hot headed and assumes things and is trying to pick some fights. We expect him to be little bit more intelligent. Few things were obvious but he thinks otherwise and goes in wrong direction 

Anyway its a good read

Ukulele self learning

I had to  stop my Ukulele class due to various reasons...

I decided to continue Ukulele on my own with youtube. 

Found the youtube channel Uke Bajao and enjoying learning at my own pace. 

I am not good in hindi but able to follow the instructions. 

Also even though I am not good in Hindi I love hearing Hindi songs and would like to play some. 

Let's see how it goes 

Why I am learning Ukulele

 I read an article in Hindu about people turning to low cost music instrument to ward off  the lockdown blues. 

I came across one instrument in that article which was Ukulele. 

It doesn't cost much so I went to a music shop and I bought it. 

Later I tried youtube videos and that did not help in my learning. So I searched and found a teacher nearby and he teaches both online and offline and its been a month now. 

Its fantastic!! every time I go he teaches something which seems overwhelming and then I practice it for a week and then go back  with confidence only to return with some other new overwhelming things.

But why Ukulele? or why a music instrument and why learn from a teacher and not online 

I have been trying my hand on many things over the years. 

I am a software guy by profession and I absolutely love it but I don't want  to do coding in my free time. 

I tried pencil sketching I absolutely love painting and sketching but have no talent for them though!

I bought a cheap Udemy course but never progressed on it and later enrolled to a painting class but had to stop it after COVID lockdown 

But what I like about playing music instrument as a hobby over something solitary like drawing or writing is it may open up me socially

And I dont know anything about music and its a ocean learning an instrument is a life long process. But even though its life long we get tangible returns in every training. There is always some improvement which is visible. 

Once when I was in US my client asked what do you do in the free time. He plays guitar and has a small armature band. I have nothing else to say other than watching movie 

Nothing wrong in watching movie though. But we need 2 kinds of entertainment one of them is passive like listening to music or watching movie but other thing is active like playing sports etc

Active engagement will make us feel more fulfilling. Even if you just watch a movie all alone, if you discuss about the movie with your friends its deemed as an active engagement since it has a social angle  

What if the active engagement has both fun and learning like learning music

Another example of active engagement is sports -> competitive, healthy, social, fun 

There is a nuanced ice break question 

"What would you like to do after doing what you have to do?"

And you don't have to answer the person who asks this question. You need to live consciously and make your choices deliberately. 

Don't be a commentator be a strategist

 If you are saying things are not going good. You are just saying what is happening now. Like a commentator or a newsreader. You reading out the news aloud does not going to change the situation. 

Accept that the situation is not helping your highest vision but then don't blabber about it on and on blaming yourself or others. 

Try becoming a strategist what is good right now, is this is a lesson to learn, at least you know that this is not serving you. 

Paint a vision on what you want to be or how you want the situation to be in the future. Be a strategist and not a commentator. 

And as soon as you have a vague steps to take. Immediately take the first step

I dont even understand what you are speaking about -JOMO its the coolest thing

 From Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) to Joy of Missing Out (JOMO )

There was a Tamil movie called Viswasam in which there is a scene where the Villain tells the Hero his designation and his business etc for say 2 minutes non-stop just to make the Hero realize how big the Villain was. The hero who is a simpleton from a Village says I am paraphrasing , "Do you know who I am. I don't even understand what you are speaking about. That's me".  

People in the theater erupt with applause for this dialogue since there is a coolness in JOMO. 

Lets embrace it, no more herd mentality, no compulsion to do the things everyone does. 

Lets do JOMO