Benaami - Anish Sarkar





Finished reading it a few minutes ago. A rich tale, constructed with great precision and detail. An intelligent, masterful effort to the end. It's easy to forget that this is a debut novel.

Great stuff Anish ... I can see the signs of a big budget movie embedded in this story.

JOHNNY GONE DOWN - Karan Bajaj



Heard about this from a friend. Pretty fast read. Pulp fiction - completely implausible plot, with the first person narrative relying on scene changes, danger and typical thriller genre plotmaking to keep you turning the pages over.

Monk Who Sold His Ferrari meets The Shawshank Redemption.


The protagonist lives by the mantra of altruism, which while worthy in itself, leads him to lose and arm and approach death several times.

Karan Bajaj is being hailed as the 'thinking man's Chetan Bhagat'. Not sure if the moniker sticks, or if another is required. Karan's writing is certainly better, but the theme of repeated altruism leading to repeated pathos is disturbing and keeps your allegory focussed on the 'pulp' in the fiction.

That said Harper Collins printed 100K copies, so there must be a market for these disturbing stories.

The transition is always so jarring. My brain has aligned with the order of Sunnyvale, no matter how boring and has begun to generate some alpha waves that are enobling to the soul of my well being.

I can ignore the noise, but what is to be said of the guy who has some labourers and carpenters working in the house behind mine for the last year who now insist on working well into the night. I scream at them at 1230, they stop. Only to begin again at 130. Whats to be done. When confronted the next day, there is no remorse, only defence. They couldn't care less. They know the law is too weak and the implementation is even more mortal ... and was, many years ago.

Location is everything, and hyperlocal location is even more. Karma be damned.

YAMAHA FG 700S

Superb guitar ... bought it on this trip and cabinned it all the way back.