Friends of Books

Okay, a bit of marketing for a service that really caught my eye, mind and now my hands

Friends of books is an online book rental service currently operating in Delhi/ NCR, and from what I have experienced, totally worth trying at least once if you are a fan of books, and they’ll make sure you’re hooked. Go through their marketing mailer below, or browse their site, if you don’t believe me that they have the coolest collection of books that I have seen till date in a library. A library, hell, I have not seen a library in the 3 years that I have been in Gurgaon

Here they go….

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Dear Friend,

We want to take a moment of your time to tell you about our cool book rental service called *FriendsOfBooks* (http://www.friendsofbooks.com)!

No matter what they say, getting a book to read is still not very easy. There is the cost of the books (often prohibitive). Then there is the problem of access. But even if you were to beat the traffic, heat, rain and crowds to get to the few and far between bookstores- how many books can you really browse within the close confines and narrow aisles of the well meaning but space deprived bookstores?…Seriously, reading should be easier than that!

This is where we step in. *Browse, click and you are done*!

You can browse through our current catalogue of over three thousand books (…and *new titles are being added every day*!). Create an online list of books (a.k.a “Your Bookshelf”) that you would like to read. Within the next two working days, two books from your Bookshelf will arrive at your doorstep. Keep them for as long as you like. *No late fees*! When you are done, click on the “Ready for Pickup” button and we will send you two more books and bring back the one’s you have already read. That’s how easy it is!

We offer a *variety of subscription plans* so you can pick one that fits your needs.

We are starting out with Delhi – NCR at the moment. So if you are in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad or Ghaziabad (or anywhere in between!) hop on-board. If not, help spread the word among family and friends who live in the NCR.

 

Impressed!

Was watching TV ‘actively’ after a long time yesterday. And I think I had a good time, because of three things that struck where they should.

One, the new ad of Tata Tea. The set is a crowd of people waiting outside a cinema hall for the show to begin. A group of young men come and start serving tea to everyone asking them to wake up. An irritated lady says – “I am not sleeping, I am wide awake, and waiting for the film to begin!” And the man coolly replies – “Well, if, instead of going to vote on an election day, you are here to watch a movie, you must be sleeping!” Point made very well, I must say, and tied up so wonderfully with the product. I guess the Tatas have realised and taken it up on themselves to create awareness about the farce of democracy that we have in our country, to avoid any more recaps of the Singur saga. As I searched the net a bit more, I found that they have also launched a site Jaago Re, creating awareness about how important your vote is, and giving you reminders etc when you are due to register yourself as a voter, at the time of elections etc.

Second, the Bell Bajao campaign being covered on CNN-IBN. Boman Irani is endorsing this campaign against domestic violence. The clipping of the ad that the news channel broadcasted showed a woman being beaten up by her husband(perhaps). The next door neighbor hears the shrieks of the woman, gets up, and rings their bell. The wife-beater opens the door, and this guy simply says – “Doodh”. Now this guy does not look like a doodhwaala, so the wife-beater asks again, and this guys asks him to lend some milk. So, the violence was stopped for the time being. The message that the campaign wants to send across is don’t be a mute spectator or listener if you know someone being subjected to domestic violence. Go, ring their bell, perhaps they’ll be embarrassed, or perhaps, the heat of the moment will pass, and the poor victim will be saved from further humiliation. A very good initiative, according to me.

Third, and the most impressive – there was a special report on the NDTV on the maintenance (or the lack of it) of the barrages built on Kosi river, that according to the reporters and an expert, was the cause of the catastrophic flood that Bihar faced this year. It brought to the fore the point that the governments or the opposition do absolutely nothing to prevent the floods or the situations, but are only interested in capitalising on the disaster (something that we know all along I guess!), but more than that, the report covered the ground realities of the barrages built on the river, how the nature was manipulated because of human follies, and then, when the disaster happens, it is all blamed on the fury of the river which dared to change its course. The goverment could have averted it, if they had waken up on time, and repaired the barrages in the months before monsoon. The most hard-hitting point of the report was the credits – they said, the reporter and the camera-man do not have any contribution in making this report. It has been made because of the efforts of the current and previous governments of Bihar, and if you like it, don’t send an sms to the news channel, instead write a letter to the Bihar CM. I think if the news channels do make such good use of the media, rather than spreading rumors and superstitions, and sensationalising everything under the sun, perhaps our country will be a better place to live in.

Looking forward to more ‘active TV-watching’ now!

 

A Walk down the Peaceful Lane

Life can be so contrasting. Just the last week, I was cribbing about the weekend being a waste and unsatisfactory, and this weekend was one of the best weekends that I had in recent times.

Well, the reason I am so happy about the weekend is that we managed to take an off on Friday, and go to the quaint and secluded Lansdowne, a tiny hill station in Uttarakhand, 240 kms from Delhi.

Given the short distance, we thought of driving down, but then, decided against it, given the unpredictability of road conditions in the monsoons. Plus, we wanted to have a relaxing weekend, so even the effort of driving was out of question.

We took the Mussourie Express from Old Delhi to Kotdwar on Thursday night, and reached the sleepy little platform of Kotdwar the next morning at 6. We hired a taxi to ferry us to Lansdowne just outside the station, and within 5 minutes, we were out of the little town of Kotdwar, and climbing up the Garhwal hills to reach the military cantonment of Lansdowne.

The first thing that strikes you on the way is the dense greeney and the surreal peace. You can count the proverbial ‘40 shades of green’ as you see the thick forests on the mountains, with the tricklish Khoh river running through it. Temples abound on the way, and the sound of their bells was clearly audible quite far off. After a brief stopover on the way for ‘chai’ and a few pictures, we reached Lansdowne at around 8 in the morning.

The little research on the net before we set off had already warned us about the limited accommodation available in this place. We had booked a hut in the GMVN Tourist Rest House a week before (The Blue Pine Resort and Fairy Dale Resort are the other options, but the reviews were similar, and I found booking GMVN quite convenient, as it was available online). Check-in was over in a couple of minutes, and we settled into our abode of 3 days. The room was quite basic, but the best part was the unobstructed view of the far-away hills along with rows of ‘Cheer’ trees from the window and the balcony.

There is not much for ‘sight-seeing’ in this place, owing to the fact that it is not commercialized as its crowded cousins Nainital and Mussourie, and perhaps that is what sets this place apart from all else, taking you into a world full of peace and bliss. There is a small lake called Bhulla tal, made by the army men, primarily for rain-water harvesting, a couple of temples, a Garhwal Rifles Army Museum, an old church (which was closed when we went there) and a vantage point Tip & Top (or perhaps ‘Tiffin Top’, as I read somewhere that this is the place where the English families living in Lansdowne would come for picnics, carrying their tiffins). We quite comfortably saw these spots, on foot, but what I enjoyed the most were the walks. Just keep on going on a road, taking in the clean air and surroundings, feeling the breeze on your face, sit down whenever you are tired, and the greenery, the beauty, the freshness and the peace will ensure that you are having the time of your life! The weather was really nice, and cool enough to let you walk for hours without sweating at all. In fact, I used to take quilt in the nights to keep myself comfortable.

If you plan to go there, there are two things that I would warn you about – food and mobile signals. The friendly Rest House staff told us that the food has to be ordered in advance (8-ish for breakfast, 10-ish for lunch, 5-ish for dinner), and you better do that, as there is no decent place to have a nice meal in this small town. There is no menu for you to chose from, you just order whatever you fancy (of course north-indian, no chance of getting anything exotic here ), and they’ll be glad to oblige. In fact, the staff was so nice that once when we didn’t order lunch thinking that we could have it outside, and had to come back hungry, they were quite happy to serve us if we gave them half an hour to serve – you can’t ask for more than that! The mobile signals (or the lack of them) were something that I was extremely happy about, as it made sure that there were no pesky marketing calls or sms’s to disturb our peace.

We took Garhwal Express back from Kotdwar, and it was around midnight when we reached home, after braving the heat, humidity, dust and traffic of Delhi – but it was all made quite bearable with the refreshing memories of the heaven that we had just returned from.

One of the reasons that I had given to convince myself for moving to Delhi was that I’ll be able to travel to the whole of North India, adjusted between some long and some regular weekends. ‘52 Weekend Breaks from Delhi‘ was promptly bought, but we haven’t even managed to see 20 places from it. The trip to Lansdowne has just reinforced my resolve to explore more such hidden gems, in the search of peace, far from the maddening crowds!

 

Looooong Weekend!

The weekend gone by was one of those long weekends that you keep looking forward to – 3 days, when you do not have to open your eyes wishing that if it was not for the office, you could sleep a bit longer, when you do not have to start going through the ‘to-do’ list for the day while brushing your teeth, when you do not HAVE to come to office, and see the faces you are simply bored with – in all, 3 days when you can relax!

Unfortunately, I could not accomplish what I wanted to in this long weekend. I had a list of things in my mind that I wanted to do, and I had been waiting for so long for this weekend. In fact, I could not even come close to feeling even a wee bit satisfied. Reasons – I’m not sure – I didnot even relax. Just the circumstances perhaps, but I am not at all feeling good about it.

Learning for the future – start creating a ‘to-do’ list in black and white, even for the household tasks, like the one I do for office. It will keep track of what all I have done, and what else needs to be done. Plus, it makes me feel so happy to strike off an action .

Wondering if I should start creating a ‘to-do’ list for leisure as well – watch a movie, sleep for 10 hrs, go shopping – God, am I obsessed with the idea of being organised

 

It’s raining!

I have always loved watching the raindrops fall on a surface, and making different, interesting patterns. The pitter-patter has such a soothing effect on your mind. And it always brings back fond memories, so much so that I want to recount them all:

1. The scent of the earth – the thing i like best about the pre-monsoon showers. I remember when I was a kid, and started to realise that the intoxicating aroma is to be associated with rain – the nature’s amazing at its ways.

2. The wonderful aroma from the kitchen – of pakoras, atte ka halwa or bhutte ka kees – though ever since I am on my own, it’s not that frequent

3. The cool breeze that my home got with each lashing of the monsoon showers – courtesy the lake in front of our home. The mist that came with it made you stand on the porch for hours.

4. The closing down of the school on a rainy day – the residential colony near our school sent the maximum number of students, and was linked to school through a bridge over a nalla. The rains flooded it, and because the students could not make it – it was RAINY DAY HOLIDAY!!

5. Coming back from college getting drenched in the rain – leaving the college at a strategic time to ensure that we will be drenched by the time we reach home, with a stop-over for a bhutta – what fun!!

6. Listening to the list of favorite rain songs – ‘Rimjhim gire saawan’ by Kishore Kumar topping it – ‘Ab ke saawan’ by Shubha Mudgal not too far behind

 

7. All the romantic walks taken with the love of my life while it’s raining - I know, I know – I am being mushy – but i love it all the same.

Strangely, I love rains only for the first few times every year. Then, you start seeing the flooded/ pot-holed roads, the mosquitoes, the lizards, the dampness all around, and wham! the romance ends!! But do I wait for them to come back again – you bet!

 

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Welcome to my blog. Just an attempt to share my observations, musings, thoughts, opinions about just everything under the sun! Hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I will enjoy writing