Heritage Capital Hyderabad Picture Book - The Express Group

Mukthyar, who has a great love for Hyderabad's heritage and history and has transitioned from being an onlooker like me to being a full time heritage tour leader with his organisation 'Tareekh-e-Dakshin' gifted me this lovely picture book, a ready referencer for all the monuments and building of heritage value in Hyderabad. Its about 150 pages, produced beautifully by the Express Group, showing the history of the city with pictures. The book has pictures of protected archaeological monuments, heritage buildings and even heritage precincts, dating from the Qutb Shahi period and the Asaf Jahi period. Each monument is given a short bio, a lovely picture and its location in case one needs to go see it. There is a section of buildings that have disappeared too!

Protected Monuments

The protected heritage monuments include - Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Golconda fort, Qutb Shahi Tombs, Paigah Tombs, Akkanna Sarai, Badshahi Ashurkhana, Purani Idgah, Dabirpura Gate, Saidanima Tomb, Shah Raju Tomb, Raymond's Tomb, Patancheru Tombs, Toli Masjid, Khairath Khair Tomb, Hayath Bakshi Begum Mosque, Taramati Baradari, Mushirabad Mosque, Premamati Mosque, Miyan Mushk Mosque, Puranapul Darwaza, Khairath Begum's Mosque, Khairath Begum's Tomb, Uppal Mosque, Hakim's Tomb and Mosque, Shamsheer Kotha, Shaikpet Mosque and Sarai, Armenian Cemetery, Gunfoundry, Kulsum Begum Mosque and Khazana building. Of 

I have not visited Akkanna Sarai, Purani Idgah, Patancheru Tombs, Hayath Bakshi Begum Mosque, Mushirabad Mosque, Uppal Mosque, Hakim's Mosque, Shamsheer Kotha, Armenian Cemetery and Kulsum Begum mosque.

Heritage Buildings 

The heritage buildings list is way longer and includes  (the ones that I have seen) Falaknuma Palace, Chowmahalla Palace, Osmania General Hospital, Arts College, British Residency, High Court, City College, Hyderabad Public School, Central Library, Char Kaman, Clock Tower, Amberpet Burj, Parsi Dharamshala, Sultan Bazar Clock Tower, Dewan Deodi Gate, Nizamia Observatory, Chatta Bazaar Kaman, Shahi Jillu Khana, Aliabad Sarai, Puranapul bridge, Deodi iqbal Ud Dowlah, Alladin Building, Golden Threshold, Gandhi Medical College, Spanish Mosque, St John's Church, Jamay Masjid, Darul Shifa and Mosque, Dargah Yousufain, Afzal Gunj Mosque, St Mary's Church, Moghulpura Tombs, James Street, Paigah Plaza, Vikhar Manzil, Errum Manzil, Chiran Fort Palace, King Kothi Palace, Mahboob Mansion, Asmangarh Palace, Purani Haveli, Greenlands Guesthouse, Dhanrajgir Palace, Bella Vista, Nawab Muquarrrab Jung palace (Directorate of Industries), Nizam College, Monty's, Princess Esra Women's Education Centre, Lady Hydari Club, State Archaeological Museum, Moazzam Jahi Market, Victoria Maternity Hospital, Andhra Patrika building, Homeopathic Hospital, Nizam Club, Sardar Mahal, Kishen Pershad Deodi, Fakhr Ul Mulk Tomb, Mehboob Chowk and Mosque, Chandulal Temple, Fatehmaidan Clock Tower, Jawahar Bal Bhavan, Mohanlal Malani's Residence, Goshamahal Baradari, Yousuf Tekri, Dilkusha Guest House, Mahboobia Girls School, Aliya School, Reddy hostel, Nursing College, Raj Bhavan, Bal Bhavan, Taj Mahal Hotel, Kurshid Jah Deodi, Unani Hospital, ENT Hospital, Jubilee Hall, Old MCH Office, Victoria Memorial Orphanage, Prem Chand Residence.  

The heritage buildings I have not yet seen are - Dargah Nooruddin Shah, Deodi Shamsheer Ganj, Bhagwan Das Kamaan, Baquer Bagh, Mahal Wanaparthi, Central Coop Trianing College, Panj Mahalla, Parwarish Bagh, Baitul Ashraf, Imaad Jung Bahadur Deodi,  Bansilal Deodi, Asman Mahal, Shyam Rao Chungi Residence, Khusro Manzil, Raza ALi Bungalow, Lakshmi Paper Mart, Malwala Palace, Shamraj Bahadur Gate, Kishan Bagh Temple, Puranmal Tombs, Vilayat Manzil, Darga Syed Shah, Mir Mahmood Wali, Qila Kohra and mosque, Jham Singh temple, Sitaram Bagh temple, Ameen Mahal, Mehdi Nawaz Jung Deodi, Mushk Mahal, Manjhli Begum Haveli, Roshan Mahal, Deodi Akram Ali Khan, Dargah Hazrath Shujauddin, Aliabad Sarai.

Heritage Precincts

Heritage Precincts include rocks estimated to be some 2500 million years old, amongst the oldest and hardest rocks in the world. They include hillocks around Durgam Cheruvu, 'Bear's Nose' in Shilparamam, 'Obelisk' on Road no 66 Jubilee Hills, 'Cliff Rock' between Road no 45 and 46 in Jubilee Hills, 'Toadstool' next to Blue Cross, Jubilee Hills, 'Tortoise Rock' in Nandi Hills, Jubilee Hills, 'Mushroom Rock' in University of Hyderabad, 'Monster Rock' near Film Nagar, 

Brilliant guide book for me. Thanks a ton Mukthyar!

   

Vinod Bhai and the Abids Second Hand Book Market

Vinod Bhai is the senior pro of the Abids Second Hand market. In the past four decades I suspect he has missed very few Sunday visits to his beloved market. To get an idea of his love for books and through them this beautiful market one must visit his blog vinodekbote@blogspot.com

Books, authors...my world expanded many times thanks to Vinod. He has gifted me several books, many I have borrowed from him, helped me buy or find some particular book I was searching for, takes my friends and guests for a tour of the market and every once in a while gives me these wonderful surprises - pictures of my books among many others.

One doesn't know if one should feel good about seeing your book in the second hand market - wondering who has discarded your masterpiece - or just feel good to see your book next to a Sydney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer, Edward de Bono, Paulo Coelho and others. 

I think I will feel both and enjoy the moment. Thanks Vinod Bhai for spotting both 'If You Love Someone...' and 'This Way is Easier Dad' and sending me the pics.

List of Books Read in 2020

 The number dropped sharply to 63 from 80, mainly because I picked some massive tomes. Overall not as satisfactory as I would like it because I am still behind in the perfect choice of books to read. I read many that didn't want to. I did read some that I wanted to and am glad I ticked off 'The Story of Philosophy' and 'I Am That'.

Here's the list

1. Around the world in 80 days - Jules Verne

2, Desi Modern Love - Ranjani Rao

3. The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

4. Wanted! The 100 Mile per Hour Dog - Jeremy Strong

5. I'm Possible - K Hariprasad

6. Johnny Got His Gun - Dalton Trumbo

7. Dangling Gandhi - Jayanti Sankar

8. Garden of the Snake - Appupen

9. All the Lives We Never Had - Anuradha Roy

10. Girls of Mumbaistan - Piyush Jha

11. An Equal Music - Vikram Seth

12, Summers Will Never be the Same - 

13. The Outsider - Frederick Forsyth

14. The Malevolent Republic - KS Komireddi

15. Conscious Leadership - Gary Douglas and Others

16. The Song of Life and Other Stories - Vijaya Rajadhyaksha

17. No Spin - Shane Warne

18. The Nigger of Narcissus - Joseph Conrad

19. Being you - Changing the World - Dan Heer

20. Bruce Lee - A Life - Mathew Polly

21. Home to Roost - Teresa Hainsworth

22. ABBA - Andrew Oldham

23. I am That - Nisargadutt Maharaj

24. Dongri to Dubai - S Hussain Zaidi

25. Tell Tale - Jeffrey Archer

26. Kargil - The Inside Story - Harinder Baweja

27. Eat the Rich - PJ Rourke

28. Change Anything - Kerry Patterson, Joseph Greeny

29. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers - Sean Covey

30. Diamond Dust - Anita Desai

31. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Steven Covey

32. Only When I Larf - Len Deighton

33. Mother Pious Lady - Santosh Desai

34. Peak - Anders Ericcson and Robert Pool

35. Jack Patel's Dubai Dreams - PG Bhaskar

36. 10 Secrets of Success and Inner Peace - Dr Wayne Dwyer

37. The Power of Full Engagement - Jim Loehr and Tony Shwartz

38. The Wanderer - Kahlil Gibran

39. Breath of Gold - Sathya Saran

40. Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goldman

41. The Art of Breathing - Sri Rudrabhayananda

42. One World; A Symphony of Drabbles - Ruchi Ranjan

43. Lucky Luke, Cowboy Adventures

44. Essays in Love - Alain de Botton

45. The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz

46. Courage, Conviction, Controversy and Cricket - Vedam Jaishankar

47. Furiously Happy - Jenny Lawson

48. The Untethered Soul - Michael A Singer

49. Born to Run - Christopher McDougall

50. The Art of Choosing - Sheena Iyengar

51. How to think like DaVinci - Daniel Smith

52. Lord Edgware Dies - Agatha Christie

53. Dark Star - Rajesh Khanna - Gautam Chintamani

54. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 

55. Hayavadana - Girish Karnad

56. The Virgin and the Gipsy - DH Lawrence

57. Something Childish but Very Natural - Katherine Mansfield

58. The Pakistani Bride - Bapsi Sidhwa

59. The Moaning of Life - Karl Pinkerton

60. The Story of Philosophy - Will Durant

61. The Goal - Eliyahu Goldratt

62. The Portable MAD

63. All the Light We Cannot See

Glad I read 'The God Delusion', 'I am That', 'The Outsider', 'Bruce Lee's Biography', 'Benjamin Franklin's autobiography', 'Born to Run' among others. In business books I enjoyed reading 'The Goal', 'How to Change Anything', 'Conscious leadership'. In self-help I enjoyed reading '7 habits', 'Emotional Intelligence', 'Furiously Happy'. In fiction 'Johnny Got a Gun', 'All the Lives We Never Had', 'The Pakistani Bride', 'The Virgin and the Gipsy', 'Jack Patel's Dubai Dreams', 'Hayavadana'. In non-fiction I loved reading 'Born to Run' which will remain one of my favorite books of all time.  Not a bad year with books.

Book launch of 'The Renaissance Man - Doc MV Sridhar' at Uppal Stadium

The book launch of 'The Renaissance Man - Doc MV Sridhar' was held fittingly at the Uppal stadium Hyderabad which provided a fabulous backdrop to the event. The clubhouse overlooks the lush, green ground to the side and it was a superb setting for the book. Dr Pushpa, Sridhar's mother said this was Sridhar's favourite ground - it was where she wanted to host the launch. VVS Laxman, Doc Sridhar's unabashed fan was there to launch the book as the Chief Guest, with Venkatapathi Raju, CV Anand, G. Vinod, Dr. Neeraj and me as Guests of Honour. Dr Pushpa joined us on the stage. The event was at 11 am.

The launch of 'The Renaissance Man' by (from left) G Vinod, CV Anand, Dr Pushpa Maturi, Md. Azharuddin, VVS Laxman, Venkatapathi Raju and me

Suresh offered to pick me up and that was a huge relief for me. Shobha and Anjali joined in and off we went to the stadium - a little earlier than we thought - we were there at 10 am. As we entered we saw Sagarika's parents Shankar and Rama Melkote arrive at the same time. Uncle gave me a big hug and said he loved the book. 'Unputdownable' he said. Aunty said she liked it too. That was a good start.

Anjali outside the clubhouse

Sagarika, Bobby, Narsing Rao, Ravinder Singh and others were working at getting the venue right. Lakshmi of Akshara Book Store had deputed her man Vijay to ensure smooth sale of the books. Mahendra was overseeing things. One could sense the moment growing bigger.

The All Saints gang - Venkatapathi Raju, Masood Ahmed, Joseph Fernandes, Brother Joseph, Azhar, Denzil Balm and Noel David

Soon the cricketers trailed in - Noel, Kanwal, NP Singh, Yuvraj, Venkatapathi, Chamundi, Ramesh, Parth Satwalker, Nanda Kishore, Ramesh Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Akshat Reddy. From All Saints there were Joel, Joseph Fernandes, Bro Joseph, Denzil Balm, Masood (who came from the US), Madgusudhan Suri and others. CV came dressed nattily, VVS arrived, Vinod arrived. Neeraj came with his recording equipment.

Joe, Bro Joseph, Azhar, Raju, Denzil and Kanwal

I saw Das who gave me the project, VV Subramanyam who had thoughtfully and kindly put up a pre-event article in the Hindu that day. There was Ramaraju, Benhur. Dr Pushpa and several of her relatives.

Lamp lighting - CV Anand, G Vinod, VVS Laxman, Dr Pushpa, Venkatapathi Raju, me and Dr Neeraj

Veena Kondapalli who wrote a poem for Sridhar. Yogesh, Ajitha, their son Yash, Eunice who was compering the show.

On stage with Doc

Chandu, Sanjay, Vardha. Pankaj came. Mythily and Chanti my sisters, Shrinjay and Shashank my nephews, and Mythily's friend Nagalakshmi came as well.

A view of the audience from left - Kanwaljeet Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Narsing Rao, Noel David, Dilip, Bro Joseph 

As the guests were being called on stage there was a quiet presence in the audience and we saw Md Azharuddin quietly make his way and sit in the second row. We invited him to the dais. All it needed was a call from Dr Pushpa inviting him and he came - beautiful. were all invited on the stage, lamp lit, a prayer song sung and the proceedings were on.

Azhar speaking

The book was released up front and the media took pictures.

Me at the mike

Dr Neeraj opened the proceedings with a short speech and a fantastic video that he had made a year ago 'Sridhar we miss you' - a tribute by the OMC batch of 1982 to their dear friend Sridhar. It was the perfect set up for the morning as everyone turned emotional as they saw Doc smiling, laughing, singing and were wiping away tears.

VVS Laxman speaking

Dr Pushpa who sat next to me was in tears. You can watch it here. It set the mood perfectly as everyone could see snippets of Sridhar's life, pictures, videos, voice overs, singing...it was like he was in the room. Many got emotional and I could see them drying their tears.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Niu1SjK8E&feature=youtu.be

Me and Laxman - nice pic

After that emotional video, CV Anand, who was Vice President when Doc was part of the HCA administration spoke about Doc and his contribution first. He spoke about how he first met Sridhar, how Sridhar invited him to the HCA, how they worked on the ground, the relationship he shared with Sridhar. G Vinod, former Labour Minister and President of HCA, who was a great friend of Sridhar spoke about how Sridhar had some wonderful qualities and was a great friend and professional. Venkatapathi Raju, former Test player and a great friend of Doc spoke and recalled how Sridhar pushed them to do better, the camaraderie in the team.

Reading excerpts from the book

Azhar, who was senior to Sridhar at our school All Saints High School, spoke about how he knew Sridhar from the time he was 10, how his father and Sridhar's grandfather worked in the same department and how he just came because Sridhar's mother invited him, Dr Pushpa spoke after Azhar and thanked everyone and gave us mementos.

I spoke next - mainly bout why the book came to me, the reasons why I was the best person to write it, the process of writing it and my discoveries along the way.

With the family - Sagarika, Andy and Arnav to the right

VVS Laxman spoke last and spoke with lots of emotion and passion for a full 25 minutes as he reminisced his early days with Sridhar, how Sridhar mentored him, pushed him to grow, made life more bearable for him, kept them all in good space, how Sridhar had advised his father when they asked him whether Laxman could pursue both cricket and medicine at the same time. The entire two hour video can be watched here with all the speehes etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN5oekYEiOw&feature=youtu.be

The proceedings lasted over 2 hours.

Ms Rama Melkote, me and Shankar Melkote

Then we signed copies - Laxman was as usual very obliging and spent a lot of time with people, signing copies, taking selfies and so on.

Bro Joseph, Clement Michael, Noel, Joseph Fernandes

I signed several copies myself. We all enjoyed a fabulous lunch hosted by Dr Pushpa after that. It was a morning full of great vibes.

Ramesh, Vijay, Parth, me, Laxman, Yuvraj, Nanda, NP Singh

The book is available at Akshara Book Store, Jubilee Hills. It is also available at amazon at this link
https://www.amazon.in/Renaissance-Man-Doc-MV-Sridhar/dp/8194191319/ref=mp_s_a_1_153?m=A3MS3B1JTYCGA6&marketplaceID=A21TJRUUN4KGV&qid=1564388987&s=merchant-items&sr=1-153

Shashank, Anjali, Shrinjay, Chanti and Mythily at the Uppal stadium

You could also write to the following email or address to obtain copies
- Global News  - globalnews.hyd@gmail.com
or
- Dr Maturi Pushpa, Plot No 29, BN Reddy Colony, Road No 14, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad - 500 034
Ph 98495 65000, email maturipushpa@yahoo.co.in

Book Launch of VVS Laxman's '281 and Beyond'

Yesterday we attended the launch of Laxman's autobiography '281 and Beyond'. The book has been authored by Laxman and Kaushik and promises to give lots of insights into the mind of a top class sportsperson. The event was very well conducted at the Gardenia lawns, Taj Krishna and was attended by a lot of familiar faces from the cricketing fraternity.

The family launching the book!

The event was conducted in five segments. Hosted by Harsha Bhogle, the first segment was a panel consisting of Laxman's parents Dr. Shantaram and Dr. Satyabhama, his uncle Baba Krishna Mohan and wife Sailaja. It was a free-flowing discussion with Harsha moderating the conversation. Dr. Shantaram was in his element and quoted from slokas, sang popular Hindi songs and regaled the audience. Baba Krishna Mohan gave some poignant insights into Laxman's early years and how the decision was taken to choose cricket over medicine.

Harsha, VVS, Arshad and Venkatapathi Raju

 The second segment consisted of Harsha in conversation with VVS Laxman, Arshad Ayub and Venkatapathi Raju. It was an entertaining session that covered his initial years as a junior cricketer, in the Ranji Trophy and then in the Test arena. They recalled episodes when Laxman was noticed by Arshad who was recruiting talent for his Ensconce team and picked him straight off the nets -helped by John Manoj of course who made sure that Laxman got the right break. John has been a huge influence on VVS's growth and it might not be wrong to say that the reverse is also true. Also VVS recalled how Venkatpathi advised him on the South Africa tour to make his own preparations and not depend on the coach and even threw down balls to him. Venkat recalled how VVS owes him a pair of shoes and how his 281 came off his bat - one given to him by MV Sridhar.

Harsha, VVS, KTR and Gopichand

The third session consisted of Minister KTR and Pullela Gopichand joining VVS on stage. Harsha asked VVS and Gopi why they were so philosophical about life and seem to be quoting off the Bhagawad Gita and KTR quipped who this Gita was that these two were talking about. He recalled reading accounts of the Kolkata match in Rediff and exulting. 'It's fantastic to be sitting here between two legends,' he said. Gopi, when asked about his advise to children picking up sports said, in his calm and measured manner - 'My advise to them would be that they should all take up sport because it will help them in so many ways.'

Harsha, VVS and Kaushik

The fourth was with Kaushik who wrote the book with Laxman and the final session was with VVS on a one on one with Harsha. Laxman spoke in detail about loneliness on tours and how we don't seem to be taking depression seriously in our society. He also spoke of how difficult it was to let go of the opening slot, of retirement and of giving up a career in medicine for cricket. He recalled one incident with Jaisimha when he was their coach. Laxman was not finding his touch, not happy with the way things were going and it showed while he was batting in the nets. Uncle Jai asked him to come out of the nets and spoke to him. Something on the lines of 'Cricket is not as much about technique as it is about enjoying it. It is what goes on between your ears. You must enjoy meeting ball with bat to do well. Now just forget about technique and all that and enjoy meeting the ball with your bat.' Laxman says the net session was pure bliss after that and his timing came back and he got a big score the next day.

Harsha and VVS in a one-on-one

Familiar faces included Viyuth, Noel, Jyothiprasad, Wahab, Anil Mittal, John Manoj, Kiran Kumar, Srini, Fayaz Baig, Parth Satwalker, Abdul Azeem, Zaki, Shivaji Yadav and others from the cricketing fraternity, Mrs. Jaisimha, Vijay Kumar from HLF and some others.

Some Business Books - Ratna

Ratna asked me for a list of books I could suggest for their office library and I could come up with this list.

Some Business Books

The Mindset – Carol Dweck

One Minute Manager – Ken Blanchard

Whale done – Ken Blanchard

High five – Ken Blanchard

Good to great – Jim Collins

Who Says Elephants Can Dance – Louis Gerstner

How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

Work rules – Lazlo Bock

How Google Works - Rosenberg

Good Strategy Bad Strategy – Richard Rumelt

7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey

Think and Grow Rich – Napolean Hill

The Art of War – Sun Tzu

In Search of Excellence – Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman

The Blue Ocean Strategy – W. Chan Kim

The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg

Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

The Richest Man in Babylon  - George Samuel Clayson

The Tao of Abundance – Laurence Boldt

The Tao of Leadership – John Heider

The Tao of Motivation – Max Landberg

The Tao of Coaching – Max Landberg

The Goal – Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Start With Why – Simon Sinek

Who Moved my Cheese – Spencer Johnson

Straight from the Gut – jack Welch

The Dip – Seth Godin

The Greatest Salesman in the World – Og Mandino

The Black Swan – Nasssim Nicholas Taleb

Liar’s poker – Michael Lewis

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach

The Art of Thinking Clearly – Rolf Dobelli

The Art of Creative Thinking – Rod Judkins

The Art of Decision Making – Morton Davis

The Fifth Discipline – Peter Senge

Maverick – Ricardo Semler

The Inner Game of Tennis – Timothy Galloway

The Innovator’s Dilemma – Clayton Christiansen

Management – Tasks, Responsibilities and Practices – Peter Drucker

Strength Finder – Tom Rath

Competitive Advantage – Michael Porter

The Six Sigma Way – Peter Pande

The Essential Drucker – Peter Drucker

First Break All the Rules – Marcus Buckingham

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni

Six Thinking Hats –E dward De Bono

Turn the Ship Around – David Marquet

Getting Things Done – David Allen

The First 90 Days – Michael Watkins

Getting to Yes – Fisher, Ury, Patton

The Checklist Manifesto – Atul Gawande

The Prince – Noccolo Machiavelli

The Prophet – Omar Khayyam

The Power of Vulnerability – Brene Brown

The Hyderabad Literary Festival - Moderating Rajdeep Sardesai's Session on Democracy's XI

It's been a while since the HLF came into being. From the first edition at Hotel Green Park where Prof Shiv K. Kumar was the Chief Guest the festival moved to Taramati Baradari where I met Krishna Sastri Devulapally and Chitra. Krishna and I were part of a panel of Hyderabadi writing with Vamsee Juluri. Then it had an edition at the Maulana Azad Urdu University where I moderated a session for Anita Nair. And one at a place in Banjara Hills near Saptaparini where I moderated a session on Indian cinema for Vamsee Juluri. Then it moved to the Hyderabad Public School where I moderated a session with Ramnarayan and Vijay Mohan Raj on cricket writing and did one workshop for school kids on cricket and lessons from it. And now, this year Vijay Kumar asked me if I could moderate a session with Rajdeep Sardesai on his new book 'Democracy's XI'.

What I found interesting is that we (moderators) are expected to buy our own copy of the book and moderate the session. I asked Vijay if he had a copy and he said no. Which probably means buy your copy or come without reading the book. Maybe the publishers should think about this and lend us a copy. Thankfully Vinod saved me once again and got me a copy which I read, but seriously. I was all set to walk in minus reading the book if Vinod did not have the copy. Rajdeep was capable enough to handle the show himself.

On the D day I went in at 1230 to catch up with Rajdeep and share my line of thought. I spotted Rajdeep heading to lunch and walked up to him. He was not unduly worried about my line of thought and said we could catch up in the author's lounge before the 2 pm session of ours. In the lunch area I met one of the officials who invited me to have lunch and generously gave me a couple of coupons which I was eligible for as a delegate anyway. But since I had eaten a bit of lunch and also did not want to eat right then I said I already ate. 'You ate lunch already,' he said and grabbed the coupons out of my hand. I just could not get it. I don't think there was any food shortage. I don't see what two coupons that may go unused for lunch would do. Maybe there was something I missed!

While waiting in the author's lounge I met two young romantic novel writers - Ravinder Singh and Sudeep Nagarkar, who were having a session at 2 just like we were. Sudeep was quiet and modest. Ravinder was the star. Rajdeep came in some ten minutes before and we spoke a bit before we headed out to the venue. The young lady who led us to the venue recognised me and said she saw me at VNR VJIET when I had gone to give a TEDx talk. She asked me if I would come this time again. I said I would if they invited me.

I thought  too many people may not know Rajdeep's connection with the game I made sure the audience knew where he came from - his father Dilip Sardesai was a famous Test cricketer and a member of the 1971 West Indies and England tours that India won overseas for the first time, Rajdeep himself played first class cricket for Oxford and Combined Universities and as a writer he had already written a book. Of course every knew him well as an award winning TV personality. Again, i am not sure if too many people are aware that he is married to another famous TV personality, Sagarika Ghose.

That said, I asked him to set the context of Indian cricket's history and India as a country by leading us through the period of cricket right up to 1971. So he spoke about the Pentangulars when the teams were drawn on communal lines (Parsi, Hindu, Muslim etc), about the royal influence on selection, about untouchable players etc. Then I asked him to lead us through the first of the four periods he mentions in his book - the 1971 tour and how it affected India, the World Cup win in 1983, the liberalisation and then the IPL. Rajdeep spoke with increasing passion and the crowd simply loved it. He spoke well of Jaisimha and of Azharuddin.

There were many questions and answers. Lots of energy. Session well done. Rajdeep was warm in his thanks. I was glad it went well. Shobha bought a copy of the book and Rajdeep signed it for us. I gave him copies of 50 Not out and TWIED. That ended HLF 2018 for me. But I suddenly realised that I am moderating more sessions than being a panelist on. Especially at the HLF!   

This Way Is Easier Dad - The Bangalore Launch

This was completely Keerti's show. I broached the topic to her and told her that I was contemplating a book event in Bangalore in December and could she think of a suitable guest. We looked around at some celebrity guests and decided against it (too stressful). Keerti came up with Prof. Malavika Kapur, eminent child psychologist and an author to boot. Also daughter of the famous Kannada novelist Shivrama Karanth for those interested. I asked Keerti to moderate - she knows me, my writing, has edited TWIED, knows writing and editing - what else. Sheetal helped by booking Sapna Book Store. All was set for the 16th of December, Sapna Book Store, Residency Road, Bangalore.

The all important pic

Anjali and Shobha were free and said they would come. Anjali wanted to travel by bus so we booked ourselves on a bus on the return journey. Jabbar Travels! We got adventurous and booked ourselves in the Rajdhani on the way to Bangalore. I started delving into my phone book to invite all those whom I knew. Some were around. Some were not. Some promised to come. Some did not reply. For a chance I invited many of my friends on Linkedin, a medium I hardly use thanks to its clunky ways.

The audience - an appreciative Gazala who was the MC in the foregorund

We actually got even more adventurous after we got off the Rajdhani in the 15ht.Vandana suggested we take the Metro from Majestic and we were suitably fired by the idea and took it. Its packed like crazy but it was worth it.

Ramesh, me and Diwakar sharing a light moment after the event

What would have been an hours journey was done in 20. We got off at Vivekananda Marg and took an auto to her house.

Making some point

A late breakfast and I attended a first - a ladies book club meeting I was invited to. I was the only guy there. Mansee of Lahe Lahe hosted the meeting and the lunch thereafter. I tried the desserts which were yummy.

Anjali reading 'Crime and Punishment' 

That evening we headed to Nisha's place. The next day went in the usual - chatting with Rajesh, reading books. Kaushik had invited me to the SWAB awards function but I could not go. In the evening Rajesh, Nisha, Akshar, Shobhs, Anjali and I headed to Sapna.

Pooja, me, Anjali, Rao and Mrs Rao

Prof Malavika Kapur was already there. Keerti joined us in a bit. Soumyashree, a keen blogger, came with a friend. PV's daughter Sriya came with her friends Chetana and Trisha came from Mount Carmel and interviewed me before the event started. Dev Prasad, author of three books came with his son Sanjay.

Dev Prasad and me with the book - writers do stick together

Rao, came with his wife and eleven year old Pooja. Indira came with Parvati and her mother.

Dev Prasad me and Preeti

Diya came with her father and younger brother and I think Sapna joined later. Prajwal Hegde of ToI came - very sweet. She left before I could meet her. Sunil came with his SLR and a cousin. Diwakar came.

Diwakar - So good to meet, Babu in the background

Priya Mhatre came - again so very sweet - despite Laya not being too well. Giri came with Rahel. Murli came with three IDBI colleagues - Abhishek was one. Vandana, Ramesh, Seshu, Ratna and Madhu aunty came. Babu and Puppy came.

Puppy saying something nice - as always

Unnathi came with her friend Preeti.

Naveen Arigapudi came - again very sweet indeed. Overall a crowd of almost 50. I missed a few surely. SR Mohan of Jaico was there and even bought a copy for himself - very sweet! No cricketers.

The discussion was wonderful Keerti came well prepared with her questions. Prof Malavika was a delight with her insights into children and their psychology. She spoke about the book 'Scientist in the Crib' and shared many relevant examples. I plan to buy some of her books.

Anjali read 'Crime and Punishment' and I almost cried at the injustice of it all.

Anjali reading 'Crime and Punishment'

Diya read about Michael Jackson and Black and White wonderfully. Vandana read a chapter and very well too.

Vandana reading

We signed a few copies, met all my old pals and hung about a bit.

Signing copies

It was by far the longest book event I had done at close to 90 minutes before we ended the discussion - the discussion was excellent and everyone liked it. I loved it.

Diya reading - lovely job!

Fabulous event. Thanks Jaico. Thanks Sapna. Thanks Keerti.. Thanks Prof Malavika Kapur. Thanks everyone for coming and supporting me. Completely humbled and thrilled.

On the way back we stopped at this heavenly joint called Mangalore Pearl and ate what goes down in my life as one of the top 5 meals - superb fish, sol kadi, cghee roast chicken, neer dosa and stuff. Ah heaven.

Some more pics of the event.

The Free Book Stall - A New Initiative

Inspired by the VNR VJIET TEDx Event where they had a stall with a bunch of new books - all book suggestions by various people - to give away for free. People could go, pick up a book they liked, read it and pass it on. I found it incredible that someone would do stuff like this  and remember I actually asked the boys 'For free?' How difficult is it for us to accept the good that comes to us. But I can expect nothing less from the lads and lasses especially under the stewardship of Abhinay who comes up with some wonderful ideas and pulls them off. The boy at the counter suggested I read "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne and I was glad I picked it up.

This is a bunch of books that Sagar gifted to me - what goes around comes around

I suggested the idea to our colony committee members - that I would like to give some books away for free for anyone to take away and read if they gave me some space in the committee hall. They took a lot of time to understand the idea.
'You will sell second hand books?'
'No, I will give them away for free.'
'You want to give books for the library?'
'No I want to give books away for free.'
'You want people to read and return to you?'
'No I want to give books away for free. Anyone who likes any book can take it away - no questions asked - and read it and pass it on. No obligation to return.'

That is when one of the gentlemen seemed to get the idea.
'Wonderful,' he said. 'I will give you space next function.'

So I was glad when I bumped into him recently and he said there was a function coming up on Sunday and he would give me a table. I said that's wonderful and we picked up some 25-30 books to give away. 'My Experiments with Truth' by M.K. Gandhi, 'Siddhartha' by Herman Hesse, a couple of Enid Blytons, Fit for life, A book on Yoga, 'Don't lose your mind, lose your weight' by Rijuta Diwekar, some National Geographics and several other books for all ages. Contributions came from my shelf, Shobha's and Anjali's.

Anjali then made a small poster that went like 'Books for Free' - Take any books you like, Read it and Pass it on. There was a trademark smiley at the end. We stuck it up on a pole near the table and spread all the books out.

A small boy came immediately and picked up the Enid Blyton. His mother came and told him to put it down. He put it back. I stepped in and told the mother that the idea is to take the books away for free and read and share. He could take ti if he liked it. She looked a bit stunned and surely was wondering what the catch was. The boy got his hands on the book and I hoped he would take it home.

Anjali and I got back home and went back to the function after an hour. Most books were still there. People were still wary if there was a catch. They would see the books and put them back on the table. I let them figure it out - I could see some young kids reading the poster and pick up books. But they put them back.

But suddenly one old lady went and picked up a couple and then someone else did and within a few minutes most books got taken. I was surprised that Gandhi's autobiography and Siddhartha were not taken. I suggested them to the young lady who stays in the flats opposite my house - it would have been appropriate because she was Abhinay's junior and is from VNR VJIET where I first saw this experiment.

Hopefully she picked them up. I told the committee members they could give the books away or put them in the library or do whatever they want to do with them. Nice!  

100 Novels Everyone Should Read - Nice Link

Enough for 5 years!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/100-novels-everyone-should-read/

Nice Lists - Books for the 10-12 Year Olds

I like this list best of all.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/the-50-books-every-child-should-read-2250138.html

And then this one
http://www.readbrightly.com/50-best-books-11-12-year-olds/

A Nice Gift - The Perfect Bookshelf

For many years I have been dreaming of this perfect book shelf that can take some of the books we are cramming all over the place. We never got down to doing it. The other day my sister Mythily (whose husband Harsha is a voracious reader and who had this fine book shelf made for his home) asked me if I wanted their huge 7 feet by 5 feet book shelf since they were moving and did not have place for it. Did I want it? Of course.

Cherished gift!

I got it home and it looks so lovely to have all the books sitting on it, regally, comfortably and not in some stuffed away corner. Now they can breathe, and I can look at them properly. Thanks Mythily and Harsha. This will be one of my most cherished gifts!

This Way Is Easier Dad - Pune Launch

I was heading to Pune on some personal work (Shobha's mother's 88th birthday) and I told Gouri Dange, writer and family counsellor, and a wonderful person, that I would like to meet her. I had sent a copy of 'This Way Is Easier Dad' because I thought she would be the one who would have a balanced perspective on it. I value what had to say about the book a lot. Gouri, ever-so-thoughtful, suggested that since I was in Pune we could as well do an event around the book. She suggested 'Pagdandi (which they say means a path that is created by the repeated fall of footsteps), and said it was a wonderful place with a lovely ambience. We could do an event there.

Me. Gouri and Anjali at Pagdandi

My nieces who live in Pune quickly endorsed the view. I put the idea across to Sonal, Jaico's Marketing Manager, and she was more than happy to give a go-ahead with the program. Vishal of Pagdandi was open to hosting the event. Gouri was the obvious choice for me to be in conversation with. Since we had Anjali along, we decided it would be a fun event to do. Another factor was that since a lot of relatives from Shobha's side would be in Pune for the function, they could also attend the launch event including Raja and Satish, her brothers, one from Indore and another from the USA..

A dramatic pic by Sonal - with TWIED in the foreground

Pagdandi is a lovely little books, chai cafe with books to browse through and to buy. It has a distinct character, tables and chairs outside to eat and munch and talk and a space inside that could fit 30. I was looking forward for a crowd of about 20 of which a major portion would be made up of the family. Gouri said she would bring along four people with her and we hoped Pagdandi might get a couple of their regulars interested.

Suhita, Anjali and Me

I reached the venue early with Raja and Anu. We met Meera, Vijay, Babu mama, Manik maushi walking in. Nice. Then came Shobha, Anjali, Miskil, Suhita, Gauri, Medha. Milind came with Satish, Marla, Nikhil and Aai. Gouri walked in with three of her friends and a couple of her writer friends, Swathi, who is also being published by Jaico soon.

Lovely book collection and display

Gouri's sister Mini came. Sanjay came with Neeru and a friend of theirs. Vaishali Kulkarni came from the Story Station and Neel, came from Vorbicon. Sonal came from Jaico. There were a few more who joined the event whose names I fail to recollect. After a bit of coffee (sponsored by Shobha) and a quick chat with Gouri about how we are going about the event, we were ready to get the show going.

In progress

This was as informal as it could get. Being a small place with mattresses inside, we take off our shoes before we go in. There are few chairs and we got them for the over 70s and all else sat on the floor. Gouri, Anjali and me were given chairs to sit. Sometime about 1110 am we started the program with Gouri giving a short introduction about the book and then she directly asked a question to me and Anjali - how did it start?

The audience just before the event started

Anjali remembered that a lot of this would happen in the car when I dropped her to school. I explained how it happened for me - writing a blog, looking for content for the blog, finding interesting actions and words from Anjali and then finding that the Anjali series of blogs have some followership.

Shobha, Sanjay and Sonal

This time I was in no hurry so I placed on record my thanks to all concerned - Shobha for letting it happen, the time I have, the people who helped us all through this journey - Krishna Shastri Devulapalli, Chitra Viraraghavan, Sagar Rachakonda, Chacha Surendra (whose illustrations got enormous praise from every reader), Jaico, Akash, Sandhya, Sonal and well the readers themselves. I spoke of the process, the editorial dilemmas, how I approached the format etc.

In conversation

Anjali read the first part 'I'll beat Yaswantt Someday', Gouri read the 'You're not the buying kind', I read 'Let them do their job and you do yours', then Miskil read the part about the 'Putting Smiles on Strangers content', then Marla spoke a bit about what she thought the book was.

Anjali reading a chapter

She said she felt that the book was a bit of spiritual parenting book and dwelt some about what Gouri has earlier said about the book being the action end of the book 'How to Listen so A Child Talks and How to Talk So A Child Listens'. Then she read a chapter from the book and then we asked Medha to read as well and she read very well.

An eclectic crowd - Anu, Nikhil, Manik maushi, Babu mama, Marla, Vaishali, Aai, Suhita, Milind, Vishal

After the reading there were a few questions, mostly to Anjali about how the book might have changed her. She was pretty nonchalant about it. I said I was still blogging about her and once again with no ideas of making it into a book.

Manik maushi

To whether the book had changed me I said yes, the process did change me for the better (made me more trusting and a better listener) and I figured it would show up in my writing as well. A question by Swathi about the editorial process, one by Mini about how I kept it honest.

Signing a copy for Vaishali

We hung around the place for another 45 minutes chatting. I caught up with Sonal, signed  a few copies and was pleasantly surprised to find that all 30 copies that Vishal had ordered had been sold. Wow!

Shobha's mom with Miskil

Of course it helps to have family around and everyone bought one - despite the fact that some already had a copy. Miskil picked up 5, Satish and Marla picked up five and the near and dear picked up one of two signed copies.

Signing for Medha - a talented writer, singer and a wonderful young lady

Anjali signed a couple.

Anjali signing a copy for Marla

Sanjay bought two, his friend bought one and well - 30 books sold in that little joint is a huge achievement.

Shobha, Neeru and Gauri

I teased Sonal about how they always leave me high and dry with a shortage of books on sale. I met a few new people - Vaishali, Mini,  Swathi, Neel and others.

Sonal and Me in conversation

Vishal was a great host and sought me out and offered me coffee and offered Anjali a plate of sandwiches. 'Nanna,' she came running. 'I got a plate of cheese sandwiches free with hot chocolate'.

Nikhil posing like he wants an autographed copy - just posing

A job well done and I am so glad we did the event at Pagdandi. Lovely warm vibe.

Thanks Gouri, Vishal and Sonal for making it happen.

A view of the venue - Anu, Raja, Nikhil and Marla on the left

A huge thanks to Satish for capturing the pictures on his camera and an even bigger thanks for everyone who made it. Am so glad we could do a Pune event when the family was around. Thanks all who were there in thought and spirit!