Review - Digital Fortress

Its a fast going novel with small chapters , some if it even for just one or two pages but the pace makes you glued to it.. I finished it in just 3 days.. Though its all about network security and cryptography, Brown gives enough information, so that people who know nothing of the above two would also understand..

The 'invincible' code-breaking machine ran by the National Security Agency, encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls in its head cryptographer, a brillant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage - not by guns or bombs, but by a code so complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence.. Through the central character, we come to see how cryptography has evolved in today’s time and also something about the NSA, its functions, capabilities and awesome power. With an ingenious plot whose exciting premise is further bolstered by a rapid pace, lots of suspense, interesting characterizations and a romantic entanglement thrown in for good measure, Digital Fortress is a cutting-edge techno-thriller that compels the readers to wonder how much the government is concealing from the public, and whether big brother is really watching everything everywhere. Dan Brown’s laudable detailed research makes this book so realistic it’s scary. Moreover, it will provoke readers to think and wonder if this loss of privacy and violation of human rights is justified by the number of horrific terrorist plots foiled and lives spared daily -- an interesting dilemma.

A good novel with lot of information and thought provoking as well..

Review - The 3 mistakes of my life..

A typical Indian novel be it for the name,character,context,beliefs and what not. . This novel is a mix of friendship, business, cricket, love and religion.

It begins with Chetan recieveing a mail from one of his fans that he has taken sleeping pills, writing a mail to Chetan waiting for the eternal sleep..Chetan traces this guy and comes to know whatever had happened and he straightens things out.. Its a very realistic story.. The story is about 3 friends Govind, Ish and Omi.. Govind a Maths geek with very big dreams, Ish for whom cricket is everything and Omi a very loyal friend who would do anything for his friends.. The other important characters are Bitoo mama(Omi's uncle)who contributes for the "religion" portion of the plot, Vidya (Ish's sister) who contributes to the "love" portion and Ali who is born with a hyper reflex talent that makes him hit a six of every ball he faces contributing to the "cricket" portion.

There were several instances that portrayed the friendship b/w the three, but the last few pages left me in tears.. A simple narration with far deeper meaning.. Being a very small novel, you will surely feel relaxed after reading it.. Truly a worth read...

Here are some glimpses of the plot..

Govind, Ish and Omi start a business by setting up a sports shop and they progress drastically within a short period of time suddenly there is an earthquake that leaves them in debt...

Govind,Ish Omi and Ali get a chance to go to Australia to get Ali trained in the Australian Cricket Academy..

Govind and Vidya are in love, of which Ish isn't aware..

Bitoo Mama wants to kill Ali..

Omi dies..

Tempted to know what happens.. Go get the book and read it...

Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan

The perfect artiste in every sense.. Am a die-hard fan of this Legend.. Of course his demise is a great loss for the Tamil industry, but his talents will certainly be remembered and revered forever..

He started acting on stage at the age of seven, made his debut in the Tamil film, "Parasakthi" at 24.. Super added to "voice" and "face" was Sivaji's singular gift of mesmerizing bodily postures and gestures that he aesthetically used with inventive embellishment in his art of characterization. Be it happiness, joy, anxiety, fear,sadness, pain or whatever feel possible on this earth, no one can bring us the feel as this great man does... His majestic gait in certain movies(Raaja - nadai), no one can ever match that.. Some of his fans dont' understand tamil but still they admire him a lot.. For admiring something it isn't necessary that you need to understand it, such is his acting.. His actions conveys as much as his words and the dialogues just adds more to the performance.. He doesn't act but lives the role, that makes each and every role of him all the more naturalistic..

Awards :

• Best Actor Award, Afro-Asian Film Festival,Cairo - 1960
  
• Padma Shri Title - 1966
• Padma Bhushan Title, 1984
• Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
  
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award - 1996
  
• Kalaimamani
  
• NTR National Award 1998
• He was awarded the title of Chevalier, the Order of Arts and Literature by the Ministry of Culture, Government of France. This is one of the main decorations of the French Republic which is conferred to honor the most original and talented personalities, for their remarkable contributions in the field of Arts and Literature in France and all over the world.
• In 1962, Ganesan toured the U.S, where he was given the honor of being the mayor of Niagara City New York. He along with the former Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru were the only two Indians to be honored this way.
• During a visit to the United States in June 1995, Sivaji Ganesan found himself in Columbus, Ohio,. Mayor Greg Lashutka named him honorary citizen of Columbus at a special dinner.
• The South Indian Film Artistes' Association President Vijaykanth declared that October 1, the birth day of Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day in Kollywood
• Actor Marlon Brando visited India and was shown movie clips of Sivaji Ganesan . From then on Brando has admired Sivaji Ganesan for his acting style. He also said that Sivaji Ganesan can act like him but he cannot act like Sivaji Ganesan . This was something special as it has not been said to any other Indian actors from a popular American actor.
• A statue was erected in Chennai to honour this legendary actor in 2006. It was unveiled by the then Chief Minister

People who haven't watched any of his movies, really are missing something in life...

Review : The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

This is my first Ayn Rand book and I was so intrigued by it that, any free time I get , even if its just two min, I would be with this book only... The novel revolves around the four main characters Howard Roark, Dominique Francon, Gail Wynand, Peter Keating and Ellsworth Toohey.. It stands as a perpetual monument to what a human being is capable of..

Roark (the hero) is expelled in his third year of graduation because of his individualistic thoughts which doesn't allow him to replicate anything that have been done in the past.. He lives by his own rules, which are based on reason and individualism.. The book speaks about his style of work and how he goes against all conventional and classical schools, the problems he faces, pain he had to bear and finally how he merges a winner with his rational thinking irrespective of the masses.. Not only this, but thorugh the relationship of Roark & Dominique it conveys what love is and from Gail & Roark's relationship it personifies what friendship is.. Roark's testimony at the final trial, the crux of this final speech has a loooooooooooooooooot to convey to the readers... Its not something that words can explain, just read it and you will know...

One of the most beautiful things in this book is its reinvention of the meaning of the word ‘selfish’ from ’being completely self-centered’ to that of ’having a sense of the SELF’ and ‘selfless’ from ’doing for others without thinking about one’s benefit’ to that of the ’complete absence of the sense of the SELF’. This is a way of life I completely agree with and trying to lead my life this way..

To put it in a more easier context , the message the novel evinces is "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Truly a "MUST READ"....

Time Management

Time management is nothing but managing the priorities of your day to day activities and allocating time for them accordingly.. Once you master this skill, everything else will automatically fit in as you want it to be..

There is a general notion that " Time is money"( the pic also portrays the same), this is because in today's world money is considered more important and powerful than anything but the truth is that," Time is more valuable than money", because u can get more money, but you can never ever get more time. Perhaps the watches are also so named as a reminder - if we don't watch carefully what we do with our time, it will slip away from us.. So do your best thing at this moment & time will put you at the best place for the next moment.

You can do anything, but you can’t do everything, at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.. The more earlier you develop this skill in you the more easier you will achieve all you dreams.. When you allow yourself to begin to dream big dreams, creatively abandon the activities that are taking up too much of your time, and focus your inward energies on alleviating your main constraints, you start to feel an incredible sense of power and confidence. Master time,then you will understand how true it is that most of us underestimate what we can attain.Always remember "You are what you are only because of what you do"

As usual some quotes to give the final touch....

Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use

Success is more than a good idea. . It is timing too..

The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it.

Attitude

Attitude

The perspective in which we look at things..
Our most priceless possession..

There are umpteen things in the world that are beyond our control, so instead of brooding over the inevitable changes it would be best to analyze our characteristics, traits, specialists and limits and change our attitude accordingly to build us up. Every second, every moment and every breath of our life is nurtured by attitude

The picture at the right, this can be taken as an example of two
extreme attitudes. I don't mean to say that, the cat has an attitude,But if you think so then it means you are not looking at the post with the right attitude. :P. I just wanna emphasis on the fact that, this is how people's attitude differ. Our living is determined not so much by what life brings to us, but by the attitude with which we comprehend it . We cant control what happens to us, but we can control the attitude towards what happens to us and by doing so we will be mastering the change rather than allowing it to master us.

Positive attitude may not solve every problem but it makes solving any problem in a pleasant way.. Its a little thing that makes a big difference.. So develop a positive attitude and see the change it brings in your life..

Review : By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Paulo Coehlo's books do have the power to transform life and gives us a different perspective of looking at things. This book sure is no exception to that.

The two main characters in this small story are Pilar and her childhood friend. Time separates them both. It has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman who has learnt how to bury her feelings, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader who chooses religion in order to seek refuge from his raging inner conflicts and to find meaning of life.. What happens when both of them meet after 11 yrs.. This is what the story is about..

The Concept of the "Other" which we should oust form our life is one important message this book gives us.. "The Other is the one which teaches us what we should be like, but not what we are. The Other believes that it is our obligation to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money as possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old.So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it's too late". Each and every word has a deeper meaning which when understood gives us a different insight about love and life..

Some of the lines that I wish to quote..

• We have to listen to the child we once were, the child who still exists inside us.If we are not reborn— if we cannot learn to look at life with the innocence and the enthusiasm of childhood—it makes no sense to go on living.
• It's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you're fighting for.

Just feel the book to sense the profoundness in it and to know what happened to the adolescent love between Pilar and her childhood friend..