energy solution for a greener earth

Power Shift: From Fossil Energy to Dynamic Solar Power by Robert Arthur Stayton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wheels of progress of human civilization have been moving too fast I for the last two centuries or so. Scientific inventions are added up to the existing knowledge every day like downpour in a black clouded day. In science and technology- species Homo sapiens is making remarkable strides to expand the sphere of human knowledge to its zenith. Newer inventions are making lives easier for them.
But every convenience comes at a price. To achieve the peak of human convenience mother earth has to make too many sacrifices. To make human species cool- coolant gases are increasing the temperature of the earth-in every passing second. To account for increasing energy hunger of electric turbines billions of tones of black gold has to be used. For increasing traffic billions and billions barrels of fossil fuels have to be used. For knowledge thirst of human species-millions of trees are cut each day. As a result the biological balance of the blue planet is facing a crisis of existence. Due to enhancement of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere- global warming is threatening the existence of some of the countries like Bangladesh. Thousands of species of flora and fauna are getting sacrificed at the expense of the human prosperity. It is all because the ecosystems of sensitive vegetation regions are in danger. And like a chain reaction a small gap somewhere can pave out the way for bigger erosions. And it is all due to the increasing energy thirst of human civilization.
Is there any way out? Cleaner-safer energy may be a possible alternative. We keep on talking about renewable energy- but nobody takes it seriously as the popular myth is that renewable energy can never account for the geometrical progression wise population multiplication. Power Shift by Robert Arthur Stayton is a popular science book that depicts the use of solar energy as a viable alternative for the world of tomorrow! In a language that can easily be grasped by even a layman the writer describes how the world of tomorrow will be facing energy crisis in a planet where the reserve of fossil fuel is fast exhausting.
Robert starts with the very definition of energy and how the chariot of mankind is dependent on it. The energy monoester is threatening to pollute our air so badly, making the effect of global warming felt so badly that some environmental measures needs to be taken fast and taken seriously. The second problem is that the reserve of conventional sources of energy like wood, coal, fossil fuel, natural gas is limited and getting exhausted fast. Within a gap of 50-60 years there is every possibility that the global reserve of such energy sources will reach the bottom. Both developed and developing countries are signing treaty after treaty on the control of indiscriminate use of conventional energy- but nothing substantial is getting produced of it. Standing on that crossroad there is need of safer, cleaner and most importantly abundant sources of energy. To the writer solar energy is the answer. In his words-
‘ The good news is that despite the inability of world governments to agree on a path forward, the transition to clean solar energy is already proceeding at a rapid pace. The greatest progress is being made by individuals, business, and organizational deciding for themselves to switch to carbon free energy. You have that choice too. It is actually easier for you for big governments and energy corporations.’
The discussion started as early as the dawn of civilization when human species was yet to muster the art of weapon making or fire production. From that time beyond count- human is closely dependent on energy in his struggle for existence. As time passed-species Homo sapiens or more correctly the predecessors of the species Homo sapiens got acquainted with newer and newer forms of energy like fire from burning of fuels etc. which is nothing but merely a conversion. Tamed animals served the purpose of being the source of mechanical energy to our forefathers. Then wheel was invented and human civilization took a giant leap. With the advancement of chemistry newer forms of energy conversions started to add up to the prosperity of mankind.
But nothing can be compared to the discovery of steam as a source of constant production of mechanical and kinetic energy. It was a revolution- both in the industrial and the transport sector. And then gradually came more and more inventions making life easier for men. But at the same time those inventions accounted for the pollutions of the surface of the earth, threatening the existence of certain sensitive biospheres. At the same time the limited reserve of conventional sources of energy portrays a gloomy picture for the world in the years to come.
Robert has made an in depth analysis of the various uses of solar energy and a sustainable plan that might be able to solve the energy crisis n the years to come. At the same time this may be the answer to the endangered biospheres, effects of global warming and ozone hole. Towards the conclusion he has made a socioeconomic analysis of the hindrances that still holds us back I using solar energy.
Robert does not believe in easier said than done principle. He is the rarest of the rare who believes that it is best to teach the world by doing the same what he preaches and let the world follow him. So he and his wife built up a passive solar home and outfitted it with an off-grid solar photo voltaic system.

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The not so complicated life of Kunal

Just Kidding… Yours, Destiny by Anirban Das
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All the thirty pairs of eyes are spotlighted around him. Even in the uncontrolled chill of the heavily air conditioned conference room inside-he just discovered that he is sweating profusely.
All is for a presentation what he thought is an absolute gem a few minutes back-now he just discovered it is worthless.
All is at stake-his decade old (more than that) to the company-his pride of being a genius of the industry-all!
A king of yesterday is now a mere beggar……what a reversal of fate!
Just kidding….Yours Destiny by Anirban Das is a hilarious account of complex but yet not so complex life of Kunal-the real estate genius. We have termed the fiction as hilarious –but that is mostly due to author’s natural talent of extracting laughter. There are funny moments in our protagonist’s life-no doubt, but his life has followed a sine curve-well, almost it- where a crest has almost immediately followed by a torugh!
We must have all heard about the great American dream. That concept was imported just after recession in America. In every American’s garage-a car and chicken to the dinner table of every American family-it was the brainchild of American president Roosevelt. Small dream-big chase –it was the purpose after all. In the late nineties, the concept of great Indian dream became a part of the chase of young India. Well-it is all due to the economic liberalization. The doors when opened for the world-new concepts are bound to enter. A lad entering the business class sitting area of an international flight with a laptop bag (of course with a laptop) hanging from his shoulder, is all that the dream tells. After all we are poor Indian-how can our dream be as delicious and powerful (it is all about chicken and car after all) as the American one. I am now just unable to recall the person responsible for this idea-it is a sign that I am getting old after all- maybe I need a slice of American dream now.
Now our protagonist Kunal has made a successful stride towards both the dreams. He is the rarest of the rare guys of India who is privileged with driving his own Mercedes-who has an apartment in proper Mumbai (everybody knows now a days what a fortune anybody has to shell out to own a matchbox sized room in proper Mumbai). And we are not sure whether he gets to eat chicken every day-but from the lifestyle he maintains-it is not hard to imagine that the guy is not entirely starved.
If you think Kunal is a don of Mumbai to maintain such a princely lifestyle (India is a land of princes and maharajas)-then I will request you to reconsider your decision once again. Kunalis is not a don of crime-but a don of his field-the real estate. It is another fact thought that real dons from the dark lanes thrive on the real estate field. He is a star attraction of the real estate company where he has worked-or ay least he has that perception. Until his company has been taken over by an aggressive concern and one more aggressive boss and it is the start of the doomsday for our not so young protagonist.
‘I slumped to my chair as defeat was thrust upon me from the jaws of victory. It was checkmate. Harry. If by some miracle, all went well, Harry would be the great leader and if things didn’t fall into place, I would be the fall guy. Harry was pushing me out of the company and ever so subtly.’
If you are a firm believer in the old saying that a smiling dawn replaces a shivering black cold night-then you are bound to fall in love with the story. Simply Kunal has a stumbling luck everywhere- be it is his official life or his personal life. The irony of fate is in spite of his best efforts-his life gets altered-from a high to a low and vice versa. There is where the title seems appropriate-he is a mere puppet at the hand of destiny. Climax and anti climax, twist and turn, future and present-the story is seemingly full of all types of contrasts. Plurals have been used in both the cases-because it is so vivid-that contrast needs to be plural. Take the example of marital life of Kunal. He was happy with his job and office life until he made the blunder of listening to the emotional blackmail of his mother
‘ and what followed was the mother of all emotional punch lines ‘ we have made so many sacrifices to bring you up, and when you ask some happiness, in return, is it such a big demand? We are becoming old……and you don’t even listen to us properly. Will we ever get to see the faces our grandchildren in our lifetime?’ my mother had started shedding copious tears.’
So, started Kunal’s endeavor of finding the girl of her dream.
But it all started with a stumble. The first girl turned out to be an experienced girl-a veteran in the art of love making. Kunal was virtually a novice compared to the truthful lady. And heaven sent him sign to decline the frank, sophisticated, charming…….girl!
For the next girl-Kunal had to fly for a thousand miles, literally. And luckily for him, she turned out to be the perfect bride for him.
Or he had the illusion…….
Life is not the same as we have always envisaged……..it is far more complex than our anticipation. And his marriage did not work well.
Back to office-our hero receives two gifts-one is the troubling boss ready to scoop him out at his slightest mistake and another loving caring colleague who will soon be at resonance with the frequency of his mind
It seems that his new boss will tear him apart like a Bengal tiger. In contrast it also appears that it is a matter of days when the arrow of cupid strikes the target.
Fire and ice combination-is not it?

Where the destiny will put Kunal at the crossroad of life?
Anirban has the ability to plunge into the depth of realities of life. He has presented deep philosophical insights of life in a light way.
I have almost forgotten to mention that Mumbai –the vibrant city is present with all its glory throughout the book. Life of the upper middle class Mumbaikars has became alive through the writing of Anirban.
Life is a mirage.
But that illusion makes the life the most beautiful book to read on and on and on…….

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THICKER THAN BLOOD…..

A Yellow Winged Stranger by Imran Usman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A murder is at the core of the story. If it is a murder that everyday happens in thousands-then it would not have been raised anybody’s interest. But it was brutal, it was cruel, it seems every inch the work of a psychopath, the work of an insane. It has enough elements inside it to raise the interest of the media –and the public attention.
Because the unfortunate victim was tortured before death with a heated rod-red hot –that burnt the skin of the victim on several places.
It was exactly the modus operandi of one of the most infamous blood thirsty serial murderers in the history of the U.S.A crime-the Black Smith. Eighty three victims have died a horrible death-and without a single clue, without a single evidence. His whereabouts remained a mystery for twenty long years. His appearance is mysterious, too. Before the serial murders have started to take place-another serial killer was on the rampage-killing only when there was full moon on the sky. The murderer came into the night of the full moon- like a lone wolf-some ghostly power overriding -to quench the thirst of blood. And one day the full moon killer evaporated like camphor-and the next murder was staged on a no-moon day. And then there was no murder staged again on no moon.
Is it a Mere coincidence? Or there is some other thread to connect the two murderers?
If we classify ‘A yellow winged Stranger’ by Imran Usman as a murder mystery story then it will not identify fully the chilling novel. Rather it is a story that seeks to investigate the roots of the crime diving to the depth of human minds. The dark sides of human minds are exposed to perfection. However there is no detective to expose the crime-a most heinous serial crime that has its roots years ago-the protagonists themselves told their story-exposing us to the chill of fear-fear of a psychopath, a sadist approaching from any corner.
Matt-the lawyer standing for the defense of the alleged Blacksmith-the murder was confused throughout the case for a single reason. The suspect is thirty five –if he has been the murderer then he has to start his journey of murder when he was a boy of fifteen. And that Blacksmith started to copy the operational procedure of the full moon butcher. It implies that the suspect has started observing the murder procedure of the psychopath when he was a boy. Some threads do not add to make a fabric.
The victim was a widow who lived alone. The suspect was identified by an aged lady-who also reported the crime. And when the suspect was arrested on the basis of identification from his residence-he was quite and calm-to much quite and calm for even a great actor to hide his mental state. The method of killing was horrific-
‘The main cause of death in all the victims of both killers was exsanguinations. The killer would cut a shallow slice in the first go, after puncturing the larynx and vocal folds and severing the nerves to keep the victim voiceless by inserting a needle, the blood spilled would be slight and he would initiate the torturing process. He wanted them to suffer. Very sadistic, and then see the life drain out of them. When the victim’s body became tried of the pain and it was no fun to him anymore, he would cut a major slice cutting throughout the trachea and severing the jugular vein across their necks from left to right finally resulting in their death.’
When Matt’s turn came to cross examine the lone witness who had reported the crime and identified the suspect-Ms. Jacob-he emerged as second Daniel in the courtroom. On the face of his logical and brilliant cross examination all her statements went hazy-like the blurred vision with which she had claimed to identify Ethan-the suspect.
But was that merely a clever ploy by an intelligent lawyer? Is Ethan innocent? After all there are other evidences too-DNA sample collected from a burnt glove collected from a waste bin matched that of Ethan and in another turn of events –burnt fiber of the glove matched the sample of fiber found on the kitchen floor of the unfortunate victim. The suspect had burnt his hand.
Does two and two always make four?
If it was crime detection story-then it will be a fairly ordinary story-but at that point of time a flashback from the perspective of the suspect gave a dramatic twist to the total event. The prologue of the story which has initiated with a happy family conversation and ended in a tragic death of the mistress of the house has been linked with the past of the suspect and that made a 180 degree rotation of the entire story. It was his past where he has been raised as an orphan in an adopting family-the family members-emotional attachments with the family members- his quest for his biological father-all started to cross his mind like the slides in a projector.
He was put in a high security prison-waiting his fate to be decided. Here h came across graffiti-on the cold silent cell wall-a silent echo of the grief pain and despair of the inmates-Something that changed the destiny of Ethan-changed it forever. As if the writings were intended for him
‘The yellow butterfly was the one that had shaped my life completely. It was an object, which brought freshness back into me, it was an object which brought freshness back into me, it was an object of freedom, beauty and the best playmate I had during the course of my childhood years. It was my reset-to-default button.’
Life may be fragile-but the writings taught Ethan to rise above the fragility –writings on the wall were songs of life.
But more than every other aspect the quickly changing scenario-the motive-the plot-the twist and turns made this story a successful crime story –albeit the fact that there is no official crime buster. It is the first writing of Usman and it is commendable endeavor of a debut writer. He has analyzed the complex psychological traits of the characters effortlessly.
It is jingle all the way for Usman.

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The eternal love triangle..

Bachelor’s Marriage by Akshat Pradeep Solanki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a basic advantage for the readers reading a story of romance. Ask me-what is the advantage? Since romance has its appeal direct to the heart-there will be a good exercise of heart. Sometimes the heartbeat will run faster-sometimes slower-it is good jogging for heart all the way! In contrast-suppose if you reading a thriller. Thrillers these days are so much researched upon, that it is an excessive taxation for the brain. While reading-sometimes you have to jump to Wikipedia, sometimes to encyclopedias just to know the background of the story. And who does not know excess work by the brain will ruin your health. So, to be in good health always read romance. More so, if these stories are something of the nature of a fluid read like the Bachelor’s marriage.
Jokes apart, the appeal of a story of romance is eternal. Particularly so, when the story ends in a tragedy. The sad tune of the song is always in resonance with the frequency of heart. Sacrifices in love, two hearts unable to be united always have a direct impact on the heart. Romeo Juliet, Heer Ranjha –all are stories of tragedy. But that does not necessarily means Bachelor’s Marriage will end in a tragedy. After all if you know the conclusion-then why are you going to read the story? But the statement that I would like to make –don’t miss the end. It is where the storyline reaches the climax-or in the words of the writer –reaches its beginning.
Bachelor’s Marriage is the debut novel of romance by the writer by Akshat Pradeep Solanki. Simply speaking this is a pure story of love triangle-no adulteration. If you ask what adulteration can be expected in a story of romance- I shall answer there are romance stories where villains with big moustache, red eyes, burly bodes make the life miserable for the protagonists, where the families of the love birds turns against each other, where the life seems to be a game of thrones. This story is not like these one-here the hero gets to love her girl uninterruptedly, even it is the love at first sight for both the sudh desi romances on which the whole story revolves around.
So let us take a little sneak peek at the story. The story starts with a bit of recollecting the flashback events by the protagonist Sujoy, with a bit of nostalgic revolution by future Mr. Ambani-now a proud student of IIM. We will try to make it as secret as possible. After all it is the matter of hearts. Matter of hearts should always be as close as possible. And so did Sujoy Solanki-brilliantly hiding his love affairs from his friends-for so long. However, as the old proverb says truth will emerge-his love affair was finally revealed to his friends. But I think we are a little out of track-so let us return to the mainstream of the story.
Sujoy –the intelligent, handsome boy had never imagined that it could have happened with him. He had a first hand experience of the proverb-bolt from the blue. In an accident involving an insane bus driver-killing and injuring several on the rush hours of the Pune roads-he made a valiant attempt to rescue one of the injured girls. If you ask-why particularly he saved the girl? Why not any boy? Well-then I will tell it is all at the mind of the cupid. Anyway he took her to hospital –and informed her parents –and left without taking his number. But a little technological innovation made him to make contact with her-thanks to social networking sites of today and wondrous apps of android phones. ( I can hardly make a call from my Smartphone-so I am the last person to explain all the tit bits of this technological marvel to you.) . Anyway his heart melts like the ice with the warmth of the beautiful girl-Gunjan!
‘I am’ I took her hands in mine. The scene was already romantic. We looked into each other’s eyes. The garden fell into a hush; even the birds stopped chirping to watch us.
‘Gunjan,I love you.’ I said, I leaned closer to her, holding her with my arms. Our lips locked. I kissed her. It lasted for a whole moment. We kissed again. Her eyes closed.’
Short direct sentences, carefully chosen words had increased the attraction of narration. He has been able to put up a visual illusion with his narrations. As a debut author you need to be exceptionally confident about yourself to make such magical effect with your words.
Now let us get back to the story once again. Jyoti is another girl who has already entered into his life-almost at the same time as Gunjan. Call it a mere coincidence or the irony of fate-she is almost identical to Gunjan-be it appearance or be it behavior. And our smart boy was clever enough to hide his feelings towards the girls from his well wishers. To make things doubly difficult for him-his parents choose Jyoti as their ‘would be daughter in law’. Now Sujoy is in a dilemma. Whom to choose? Whom to reject? Surprisingly bioth the girls proved out to be a committed lover .After all he is a good bargainer and a good businessman. But will his sense of business help him in this matter of hearts?
Where the story will take the three-at the crossroad of life?
The gang of four-Sujoy and his friends who played the pivotal role in the story throughout are also on a business idea from their college days. They started running one mobile accessories shop. Their moments of sharing feelings, standing at each other’s hard times, enlivened up the whole story.
‘I was thinking about the day the four of us became friends. It was like we took an oath to never leave each other for the rest of our lives. Later, I came in contact with their girlfriends, who were my first girl friends. Later Gunjan and Jyoti came into my life. I felt like I didn’t need anything more now. I had everything.’
Another aspect of the story is the near perfect description of Maharashtra and its culture. The story is plotted around Pune-so Maharastra has its place. The landscape and culture of Rajasthan has also come to the story-making the whole story reflecting the diverse culture of India.
However the love affairs of Sujoy have came too bit easily, like a cakewalk. It was all too nice, all too easy. It was jingle all the way. And to me the love affairs were too much platonic. I am not saying this is unnatural-but twenty-first century generation will keep themselves within the periphery of heavenly feeling of platonic love-within any physical advancement-is a bit unexpected for me.
After all spices add taste to cuisine……..

,

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Chronicle of survival……

To the Survivors by Robert Uttaro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can any other individual feel the pain of a people who is burning to death? The flesh is getting charred, through the veins runs the fire-will there be any sharing of such horrific experience of hell can be shared by any other people?
Their worlds have been shattered. He or she-they can be members of either sex. She can be a teen-yet to feel the blossoming of youth in her body and mind, she can be a young lady who has just felt the advent of spring in her life or she can be a middle aged woman-passing through high tides of life-there is one similarity.
She now bears the scar from the claws of the carnivorous animal-masked as human.
She has been raped. She has been tormented. Against her will-she was compelled to crumble mentally and physically.
We will never understand her silent death-her cold shivering-physical and mental turmoil she is subjected to! Because to us-she is a piece of news- meaty entertaining news which can best be relished at the comfort of our dining room- with the warmth of a cup of coffee. She is a statistics.
She is now a living skeleton………a skeleton whose soul has died long ago.
To The Survivors by Robert Uttaro is the chronicle of the first hand experience of the writer working as a counselor for an organization working with the survivors of sexual violence. Being a male-working with the victims of the heinous crime was by no means easy. First of all-victims are sure to develop a mental barrier with the members of the opposite sex. Because you can well understand most of the victims are from the ‘second sex’! It is natural for them to view males with suspicion. Breaking the ice was not easy for Robert, too. But still it was a journey for the writer-making him realize the true meaning of the word courage. Because it takes a lot of grit, determination and courage for anybody to open up her mind-share her story with anybody…….

And face the realities of life-to live her life once again of her own-as if nothing has happened-as if those days were a nightmare, without any reality.
Often we attribute the rate of crime against woman on socioeconomic conditions of the society, the social structure of a region. Where the society is traditionally patriarch, the incidence of crime against woman is naturally found too high. In backward societies of developing countries of the Dark Continent –woman have virtually no say in the family and in the society-and as expected the rate of crime against women is too high compared to other regions. But developed countries are not lagging behind in this dubious distinction. After all crime against woman is a consequence of outlook and mindset.and the most horrible fact is that in most of the cases prey knows the hunter-offenders are previously known to the victims most of the times. And that makes the job doubly difficult for the victim to speak up. So much so that often the crime against woman is dubbed as the fault of the woman concerned-her dress, her body language.
But Robert’s writing is an eye opener-that woman from highly developed societies are vulnerable too.
Sexual violence causes a storm to the mind of the victim. Often for the rest of the life-she forgets to lead a normal life. She will never trust male-she will never be emotionally attached with a male-she will never dream of making a relation again-when she will make a physical relation once again the past experience will haunt as a nightmare! It can cause the individual serious health hazards. And it takes lots of sympathy and good will from the people like Robert to make her feel that nothing has been lost-it is all well. I think I am a bit wrong-actually it takes lots of effort and sincere dedication-because every victim has a different story-and different approach needs to be adopted.
‘A female survivor once said to me-‘I suffer in my soul.’ Another man once said to me-‘you have no idea the anger I have in my soul.’ Given the limited knowledge we have about our brains and souls, I questions why some people think they have all the answers to what survivors should feel and do. It’s great to offer knowledge and support ,but those who may think they have all the answers of what someone should do in a crisis may actually disempower and confuse the person.’
The Healing Place is a charitable organization dedicated to the sufferings of the tormented souls where Robert joined as counselor. The initial days were full of anxiety to our counselors himself-starting from the day 1 of his training when he discovered himself amid all ladies and he was the sole male. But the environment acted as a catalyst to get out of his cocoon. It was an experience for Robert that has changed his notion of life.
The book presents stories of those brave persons who have conquered their shame-shame for which they are no way responsible. They came forward to share with the world with facts of the crimes. In a language that is straight and simple, trustworthy enough as the writer himself-Robert narrated the stories of their torment-how they were able to pass through those dark, pitch black days and were able to see finally the dawn. The book is by no means an easy read-often there are narrations which disturb mind. As I have said at the beginning-it is not possible for anyone to realize what sea of fire the victim has to cross before sitting in front of the counselor, stating what happened with him or her. It is extremely difficult to pen the torment, the pain, the grief, the despair! Robert made a pious attempt to narrate their experience-however experience is too light a word to describe.
It is hard for the writer to win over the heart of the survivors-often at the beginning he stumbled up. One lady mistook him as a person who had raped her-over phone. It is quite understandable-provided the torment she had undergone, it is natural for her to think any male who is interested on her as a person who has committed the heinous crime on her. But it is sheer determination on the part of Robert that made him to win his crusade –winning over the minds of the persons whose lives have been subjected to the physical and mental turmoil.
It is the story where a splash of thought has became the mission of an individual-an individual who was able to ignite the minds of many person.
Again to think that-we will and can overcome!

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The pitch black dawn….

****: The Anatomy of Melancholy by Matthew Selwyn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For years there was not a drop of rain in the desert.
But suddenly one day-clouds gathered over the sky-a cool breeze flows-and suddenly there is a splash of rain…..
How a toad who has lived years in the desert without a shower of water will feel?
****.or the Anatomy of Melancholy by Mathew Selwyn is the story of a modern day youth who is in a desperate bid to seek the meaning of life. He is like the toad-who have waited for years for the shower….
But where is the rain?
The flowing wind, the blue sky, the fragrance of spring, the grassy village roads- still attracts him. But life is not the same wild innocence for our protagonist. A cosmopolitan life has made him breathe in the suffocating environment of the modern day world. Like the hurriedly moving pigs as shown in the Charlie movie-he is one of the pigs among the countless pigs thronging the city every day. He is the hollow man-the stiffed man lost in the smog of the city-but sometimes like a splash of shower-the fresh thought crosses his mind
‘There’s a problem here. You’re not draft, you see it, you understand my plight. Shit, we all feel it-it’s in every atom of the world around us, each breath we take more suffocating than the last. The churning silence that is life-the wonderful tangle, the mess of existence. Step right up for the ride of your life, join the bandwagon, come on board. You, me, we’re all in-there is no opt out. That’s our problem; we’re struck firmly on time, rooted in reality.’
Life has been discovered from different perspectives-the meaningless meaning of life has been attacked with sharp arrows of satire. The satire in the book has not come as a deliberate attempt-but came spontaneously. Our protagonist wants to escape from the messy life hooked with social media sites –devoid of reality. He wants to rebel against a life where virtual reality will make you its slave- a life where virtual kiss will replace a lovely pair of wet lips. After all, window of life can never be the digital windows.
Here is no water but only rocks in this barren land. In the words of the poet
‘Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves
Waited for rain, while the black clouds
Gathered for distant, over Himavant
The jungle crouched, humped in silence.
Then spoke the thunder
Da
Data: what have we given?’

And where does the root of escape lies. To him-the root of escape lies in the sex-the physical intimacy which is his mantra of freedom. It is for him Freedom from boredom of life-freedom from misery of life-freedom from daily grief, despair that at times threatens to attack our basic existence. To him sex is a quest of discovering a piece of his existence. It may sound philosophical-but it is reality. So sex comes in various modes, in various forms throughout the book-be it lesbian intimacy, be it polygamy, be it some other forms of sex that our civil society may dub as highly unethical. But the reality is that sex descriptions never seem vulgar throughout the whole book-it is so spontaneous, so natural-like a nude study of Ruben!
It is the story of the modern age-where the history is all set to repeat itself. A depression-prolonged, silent is creeping into the minds of the human-making them die a thousand times before their death. Or I may be wrong. It is the story of our times when in every passing minute, in every passing hour, in every passing day human feels silent cold jaws of death-erasing their existence-compels to live a life of ghost
‘Most people don’t need to fear absence anymore-we’re blinded, permanently. There’s no need to suck out the light show that protects us either, inoculation precedes the sickness now. Sedation isn’t an option, it’s a shared reality. Most people don’t see the beauty of the system, how perfect our salvation is.’
Mathew has an incredibly powerful pen-it is not easy to catch the attention of the reader in a novel narrated entirely on first person. A confession of a lad who is addicted with the opium of modern world will flow chill down your spine.
Not thinking about the fate of the protagonist-but thinking about the reader’s fate. Because, that protagonist is a mirror reflection of everybody –his story is everybody’s story.
Where we are heading? Where the vortex of modern times will eventually lead us into?

Will the life complete its circle? Will our protagonist be successful in devising a meaning of life out of the Pandora’s Box that the modern world has opened for us?
Or we have opened it for the modern world……..

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To the kingdom of darkness

Jack tried to recollect his memories once again. He was inside a cave-and everything was pitch black around him.
He could not see anything-only his senses are telling him that something horribly unpleasant is going to happen.
What he could think was that he had opened the lid of the trunk-it was a free fall for him through the trunk, like he had fallen for eternity and now he is there –a sensation of chill is passing through his spine. He can feel rattling –a rattle snake? How it could be? Will the end come this way? Away from family-nobody knows where-the venom of poisonous snakes will make him blue.
Soon he realized that not one-but countless baby rattles are crawling-crawling around him. Suddenly he felt that the ground below him trembling. The baby rattles were away from his body. It was a sensation of relief for him-but it was too short lived. Soon in the flickering light he can see a monstrous snake-a rattlesnake of the size of a gigantic python! Its head looked larger than a soccer ball-all he could see that two cruel eyes are looking at him-like two burning coals.
The gaze is hypnotizing-soon he is going to lose his consciousness!
Wishapick (Touched by the Spell) by M.M.Alllen is an absorbing tale of fantasy-a type of tale that have mesmerized the younger generations for thousand of years-classic, timeless. It is a story where reality of rattlesnakes have been merged into fables, where small innocent possums led an uprising …… it has a flavor of its own!
Little Jack’s father has gone to the stars and with his father disappeared from his life the fun, the adventure and the joy! The life is now so boooring! He gets irritated when his mother told them the story of the breath of all god things. Is it possible? Can there be existence of such ridiculous thing? He does never believe and gets more itchy seeing that her little sister do believe it by heart! But he loved the mysterious gigantic black trunk in their house. It is locked and never got opened by their mother. Its contents are shrouded in mystery. What could be inside? Jewels of Cleopatra-sword of Julius Caesar-or the harp of Athena-anything can be inside. He thought and thought-but there should be some limit to imagination. When he got fade up with imagination, he decided to open it up. Secretly-of course, as his mother would have never allowed him to . And what happened is entirely beyond his guess-
‘With a loud creak, the lid opened up. Jack edged away from the trunk. He felt a soft breeze blow over him. He stepped back close to the trunk. The breeze, warm and inviting, was coming from inside. He peered in. nothing to see-it was pitch- black. Then he saw tin lights, little stars, deep in the trunk, but he couldn’t see the bottom. He felt an uncontrollable urge to jump into the trunk. ‘
And eventually heart won over the brain –and he jumped. Is it a fall like the fall through the rabbit hole? Or he fell to another time-the trunk opens the doorway to time travel?
And what has happened to his little sister in the meantime. Well-some strange happenings were around her-which is best enjoyed when read from the original text-so I will not go into details. But after some events and anti-events-just like matter and anti matter-she discovered herself to the edge of the iron trunk-pen and inviting-and a ladder is prepared to take her into the deep of mystery. And she accepted the invitation.
Both have landed to the strange kingdom of Wishapick-but to different locations-after all, it is ‘wish-a-pick.’ Jack –as we already know is in the den of the mighty king –the lord of the rattlesnakes-Sirus, while his little sister has landed to the pathway of little Dr. Tumalum-the possum and the dentist of the kingdom. As both jack and lily went on to discover-that the king is on a dangerous ploy. He is in a mad game to cover the whole kingdom with darkness. A deep melancholy has now covered the entire kingdom. When there is no light-can there is happiness? The only hope to the subjects of the kingdom is the queen-who is a source of light herself and lights the gardens of the subjects when there was no king’s man to look around.
‘When the dark came upon us so quickly, many of us were frightened. We didn’t understand why it had come. Many who lived in Wishapaick all their lives ran away in fear, and we forgot the name. In the beginning of the dark days, some of us remembered. But we thought we had been completely abandoned, and eventually all memory of the name was known was lost to us, and we quickly forgot how to summon the Breath. Some are chosen to always remember the name. even if they can’t recall it in a particular moment, it will come back to them through the Breath.’
But things are getting hot-as the mighty powerful king with his army of hawks and royal guards and legendary toves proves out to be too strong compared to the subjects. But it is existences of life for the residents-either defends or get wiped out! Against the magical might of the king-they too now have a weapon-Jack-whose destiny is to help them out in this magical battle. Here magic will meet magic-as iron cuts iron-with the help of breath of all good things. Now the question is-will Jack believes in himself?
Allen has created some absolutely adorable characters-imposing human characters in their nature has imparted a new dimension in the story telling.
However after finishing the book one idea has crossed my mind. In our minds lives evil intent like the king Sirus. He always wants that our mind to be remained in darkness! And there is a continuous struggle between darkness and light-ignorance and knowledge.
The struggle has probably started from the dawn of civilization-and will probably continue till the holocaust!
And who should win? Well-it is up to you to decide.

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