This book is a compelling account of a Geisha’s life as experienced by a small peasant girl ‘Chiyo Chan’. Her journey from a poor peasant to a very successful Geisha will leave you spellbound.
Published: 1998
Publisher: Vintage Books
Pages: 496
With a backdrop of Japan in 1920s, Memoirs of a Geisha takes you through a range of emotions, and most of the time leaves you wondering whether to feel deeply appalled or hopelessly optimistic. The story is based on the character of a peasant girl named Chiyo Chan. The narrative takes off when two little sisters are sold off by a helpless father in hope of a better future. One of them, ‘Chiyo’, blessed with beautiful eyes, goes on to become a ‘Geisha’ by a bizarre combination of destiny and choice. ‘Gei’ in Japanese means Art; therefore Geisha by corollary is an artist, the one who entertains men in various ways, for a price!
Through ‘Sayuri’, Chiyo’s Geisha name, the book gives a compelling account of her profound feelings during her days in Gion, which is more popularly known as the Geisha district of Japan. It also elaborately covers the intricate details of a Geisha’s life like the notion of geisha’s cultural heritage, the challenging training in music and dance and finesse in traditional Japanese Tea ceremony. The author also beautifully highlights the indispensable elements of a Geisha’s profession such as wearing an opulent make up, dressing up in exquisite Kimonos, finding a man to be her ‘mizuage’ and ‘danna’, keeping the secrets of her customers and veiling a thousand emotions inside her.
Throughout the story, Sayuri’s destiny suffers massive twists influenced by the other characters like the Chairman, Nobu, Mameha, Pumpkin, Mother and Hatsumomo. Sayuri braves these uncertainties, the daily struggles of the life in Okiya and the almost annihilating blow of the Second World War to eventually realize the only ‘dream’ she had.
Recommendation
Prudently enough, the author manages to evade the complexity of either exalting or disparaging the profession of a Geisha. A little dragged in some portions, but overall, Memoirs of a Geisha is an intriguing read which informs and stirs a reader’s mind in more ways than one. Happy Reading!
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The Forty Rules of Love is a intriguing story that oscillates between two entirely different eras and depicts the power of love and companionship that withstands and transcends boundaries.
Author: Elif Shafak
Publisher: Penguin India
Published: First Published in 2010
Pages: 350
Reading The Forty Rules of book is like watching a play. A lot of characters simultaneously participate in or witness the same events but share an entirely different perspective. Through its characters, the book traverses an intricate maze comprised of some very complex issues. The author touches upon the meaning of religion and interpretation of religious doctrines especially in Islam. The concept of Sufism, the compendium of unconditional love and unbearable pain, the splendor of true companionship, the lure of infidelity and the ‘Sweet Blasphemy’.
The story runs parallel in two different eras. One, At Northampton, in the first decade of the 21st century, while the other, at the ancient city of Konya, Turkey in the middle of the 13th century. Ella Rubinstein, a woman in her late thirties, finds herself at the crossroads of life as she desperately tries to make herself and her family perfect. As the turn of events lead her to read an unpublished book titled ‘Sweet Blasphemy’, her life transforms in unprecedented ways. A sweet and teasing romance ensues between Ella and the author of the book, named A.Z. Zahara.
Within the book, the powerful character of a dervish named ‘Shams of Tabriz’ is out on a mission to find a true and a worthy companion. During this journey, he explains the ‘Forty Rules of Love’ as life’s lessons to handle various situations. Shams’ quest leads him to Rumi, the famous preacher and ‘poet’. Through the eyes of Rumi & Shams, the author touches upon a host of sensitive issues in Islam, such as interpretation of Al Nisa in Quran, prohibition of wine, and indulgence in dance and music etc. The author handles the issues with maturity to give a fresh perspective to an uninitiated.
Recommendation
Overall, the story is gripping and fast paced. The book gives you an opportunity to contemplate and reflect on your beliefs. You will enjoy reading it, and who knows, may be some Sufism finds its way to you. Happy Reading!
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This article is a brief summary of a training program facilitated by Prof. TV Rao for a group of HR Managers. Fortunately enough, the author had the privilege of participating in the session.
I wouldn’t exactly call it a dream come true, but I felt a gush of happiness when I saw Prof TV Rao. He looks just like any of us, a normal ‘human resource’ I thought. The title of the article is a give away for anyone related to the field of HR in India or abroad. But for the uninitiated, the man isTV Rao, Founder and Chairman of TVRLS, and more popularly known as, ‘The Father of Indian HRD’. Prof. TV Rao’s accomplishments, his contribution to the field of HRD and his stature is a story worth sharing. But here I’ll share my experience as a participant in a training session facilitated by him for1.5 days i.e. approx. 12 hours. Any reader who wants to read more about Prof. Rao, click here.
Why We Hate HR?
The question he put forward to the participants, in reference to the now famous article, written by Keith H Hammonds back in 2005. An apt beginning for a session titled “HR as an Enabler For Transforming Organization“, attended by around 40 HR managers. Step by step, Prof. Rao delayered the contemporary challenges faced by HR managers.
‘For getting the best out of your people’, he emphasized the role of OCTAPACE values.To build a strong culture and the much needed shift of organizational focus i.e. from IR to HRM to HRD (Culture, Competency). Simultaneously, Prof. Rao used indigenous examples of HR leaders in India, Mr. Santrupt Mishra and Dr. Arvind Agarwal who have made a incredible mark for themselves. As the discussion naturally progressed to identifying an individual’s managerial type, the participants were introduced to the four types of Managers i.e.
Type 1: Doers, those who get things done (Boss driven, Job Description driven)
Type 2: Achievers, those who do more than what they are supposed to (Aspirational, Career Managers)
Type 3: Visionaries and Leaders, those who have long term goals (Restless, Creative)
Type 4: Missionaries, those who are driven by a mission (Social and Community related goals)
What is the Purpose of your Life and, how do you want to make a Difference?
Although some deep questions awaited the participants after a heavy lunch. Each participant jotted down their response aftercareful thought and shared it with the fellow participants. Discussions ensued, some clarifications were sought and a few ‘heavy’ questions asked to Prof. Rao. Certainly, only he could have answered those questions with such ease, using simple language and relevant examples. A sense of optimism, positivity and motivation filled the room, as if, the participants had found or rediscovered their purpose.
Further, Prof. used the concept of Jo-Hari window and Personal Effectiveness Questionnaire. This enabled us to understand ourselves better, identify our blind spots and encouraged us to broaden the Arena.
Several topics were discussed during the day:
The Performance Management System,
HR Metrics,
Intellectual Capital,
Key Role of HR Manager,
Time value of money and most importantly,
the criticality of Intangibles (employee satisfaction, trust etc.)
The focus on functional areas continued the next day with stories, anecdotes and relevant examples. 360° feedback system and its implementation, and the cost benefit aspect of a robust Induction program were highlighted. Characteristics of World Class Organizations and approach of HR managers to handle the resulting opportunities and challenges were also discussed.
A sound advice for positive intent and thinking beyond KPA/KRA(s) from the Prof. laid to rest the participants’ queries about the compulsive transactional and administrative nature of a HR manager’s job.
Summary
Before bringing the session to a close, ‘Think Ahead of your CEO’ is the challenge Prof. Rao gave to all the participants. In conclusion, these 12 hours were informative, thought provoking and inspiring. As the Prof. left amidst a big applause, I, along with many others, felt a little more enabled to transform, within, and without.
Playing It My Way is the autobiography of one of the greatest cricketers to have played the game. Born in Mumbai, India, Sachin Tendulkar dominated world cricket for 24 years at the International level. Sachin made his debut on November 15, 1989 and retired on November 16, 2013, bringing a close to a glorious chapter in cricketing history.
Author: Sachin Tendulkar with Boria Majumdar
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2014
Pages: 486
Content Summary
The book is a perfect account of an illustrious career. It moves from Sachin’s childhood days to his last day on the cricket field in the form of a compelling story. In a lucid language, Sachin Tendulkar recounts his childhood days before cricket. He then describes the time when he laid the foundation of a glorious career under the keen watch of his coach, Ramakant Achrekar. The level of his commitment and hard work during that period is exemplary to say the least.
Playing It My Way is the autobiography of one of the greatest cricketers to have played the game. Born in Mumbai, India, Sachin Tendulkar dominated world cricket for 24 years at the International level. Sachin made his debut on November 15, 1989 and retired on November 16, 2013, bringing a close to a glorious chapter in cricketing history.
In each chapter, Sachin Tendulkar beautifully captures the reflections of his mind into words. The chapter titled ‘Anjali’ is particularly interesting. While he recounts the sweet tales of the beginning of his relationship, he also reveals how he made Anjali talk and convince both their parents to agree for their marriage.
Book Cover
An Inside View
The other chapters present a mesmerizing account of the feelings that he went throughout his career as an individual and a player. The feelings which are otherwise impossible for a fan or a spectator to understand. His anger after the surprising declaration in Multan, Pakistan, when he was 194*, the frustrating period as the captain of the Indian team, the way he cried after locking himself up in a washroom after a series defeat etc. His frank opinion about the Chappell brothers, Greg (as the coach of the Indian team) and Ian (as an erratic critic), and many other such accounts on and off the field help the reader better understand Sachin Tendulkar as a person.
The contribution of his brother Ajit and his close friends such as Samir Dighe, Jatin Paranjpe and his manager Mark Mascarenhas finds a frequent mention. Sachin also shares some lighter moments which involve him and some other Indian cricketers. Additionally, a few instances of on field banter involving foreign players.
The two chapters titled ‘World Cup 2011’ and ‘The Final Test’ are the particularly moving. In these chapters, any reader with even a remote interest in cricket would be able to feel the intensity and enormity of these two occasions. For a die-hard fan though, ‘tears rolling down the cheek’ is only a matter of time.
Recommendation
Overall, this book is a complete experience in itself. However, someone a bit unfamiliar with cricket, might be unable to fully appreciate some situations described in the book. But, if you are looking for a real life story which is inspiring, absorbing and as thrilling as the game of cricket, then, this book is just the right one for you. Happy Reading.
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This article is all about Vegetarian food in Europe. Read this article to know the available food options and recommendations.
I am a ‘Vegetarian’, and a ‘Punjabi’. Yes, this combination exists, period. While Punjabi is self-explanatory, the modern-day complexity around the term Vegetarianism warrants a detailed definition for the sake of clear understanding. The category of vegetarianism you may relate to can be broadly classified as a vegetarian, a pure vegetarian, the purest vegetarian and the PETA vegetarian (Vegan). Frankly, the PETA vegetarian is like a UFO to me. I have heard about it, but haven’t seen or met one.
Based on the principle of elimination, for a vegetarian, eggs and fish are excluded from the realm of vegetarian food but indirect consumption of egg through cakes, pastries, sauces etc. is included. Some would like to call that a pseudo vegetarian, but I’ll stick to the former. The Pure vegetarians avoid indirect consumption of eggs too. Finally, the ‘purest’ of vegetarians are the ones who exclude onion and garlic as well. For the sake of this article, any other food consumption habit is non-vegetarian. Yes, ‘we only eat curry from the chicken curry‘ habit included. Although this article is written from a vegetarian perspective, it will still help you get mentally prepared even if you relate to the other categories.
My first and only travel outside India was last year courtesy a student exchange program with a French University. I stayed in Lille, a small city in north of France. The adventures lasted about 80 days and I travelled to 10 other countries including Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Czech Republic. The subsequent information is based on both personal experience, and the wisdom shared by fellow travellers. To a great extent, the quest for vegetarian food in Europe depends upon mainly three factors.
First, the particular country you are in.
Second, how often do you want variety in your food and third and themost important, the price you are willing to pay for your food.
Ready to Eat Vegetarian Food
As far as the ready to eat food goes, the utopian option available to you across countries is Subway. Just walk in and you are in safe territory. The half-sub will cost around 4-5 euros. McDonald’s (McD) is another trustworthy option. The Veg. burger in McD is available in most countries but there are exceptions like France. The burger will cost around 2 euros and is highly economical if you are a student trying to save money. Another easily available option is Tomato/cheese Mozzarella. It’s a bread bun filled with lettuce, cheese and a couple of tomato slices. It would usually cost around 3-4 euros.
Apart from these, the king of all options available to you is ‘Falafel‘. This word is a colloquial term used for vegetarian food across Europe. ‘Falafel’ is a not only a bun filled with tikkis, sauces and raw vegetables, it’s a way of life for a vegetarian anywhere in Europe. Falafel also has a variant to its credit, the bun is replaced with a wrap which is more like Mexican Tortilla. This variation is loosely called a ‘Doner Wrap‘. The price for falafel can range between 3 to 10 euros depending upon the place you are in. Switzerland and Scandinavian countries are the obvious high cost locations for falafel and any sort of food in general (If repeated use of the word ‘falafel’ caught your attention, consider yourself well prepared!)
‘Falafel’
Eastern Europe definitely has more availability and variety of ready to eat vegetarian food when compared to other parts of Europe. Vegetarian pizzas are in abundance. The normal pizza size is usually 3-4 times the size of a pizza in India. One or two slices can suffice for one-time meal. Mushroom cheese, tomato onion, spinach etc. are some of the options in pizza. The cost per slice is about 2-3 euros. Pizza Hut and other pizza chains also have an option or two in veg. pizza like cheese pizza. The taste and the quality of the bread is nothing compared to what you get at local shops though. An important thing to note is that, the green square with a green dot, usually used to indicate vegetarian, does not guarantee pure vegetarian food.
Pizza Hut is one example (If you noticed repeated use of the word ‘pizza’, you are a very quick learner). Based on my experience, Austria and Italy are the hubs in terms of vegetarian food availability. There are a lot of Indian restaurants in Vienna where a meal would cost you upwards of 12-15 euros. Italy is a paradise, both for its beauty and food. The Indian/Pakistani restaurants in Milan offer you a buffet of Indian food for 6 euros. The buffet usually includes some starters, Daal, 2-3 different curries, tandoori Rotis and sweets. In Florence, I was lucky to find even Samosas, Biryani and Chana Bhatura. So overall, Italy is the country where availability, variety and price fall in place together.
Uncooked Food
I had access to a microwave oven and a French Top Burner in my kitchen at Lille. Therefore, I got plenty of opportunities to cook. ‘My experiments with Cooking’ could be another complete article, but I’ll save it for another time. My roommates were kind enough not to complain often, we all survived though! The availability of options in raw or uncooked food is significantly better than ready to eat food. You can get almost anything ranging from White Chana, Black Chana, Rajmah (Kidney Beans), Yellow, Green and Brown lentils, Rongi/Lobia (Black Eyed Peas), Soya etc.
Tofu is a readily available alternate to Paneer, at least in France (Did you read No Paneer?). All standard vegetables and fruits are also easily available at nominal prices. 5Kg potatoes will cost 2-2.5 euros (That’s cheap, stop converting). RICE was our lifeline at home in Lille, a kilo gram of basmati rice would cost around 2.5-3 euros. Cheaper variants are also available though. The supermarket retailers such as Carrefour, Lidl and the likes are ideal destinations for pocket friendly grocery shopping.
Pre-Preparation: Good to carry Items
Paranthas, you can freeze them and use as per need. My mom was kind enough to make about 70 paranthas for me. That made my breakfasts and travel days easier.
MTR Ready to eat (all that you can carry), the curries were very handy with rice!
Oats/Corn flakes/Muesli (You can get these at nominal prices in Europe too)
Poha/Upma
All Desi Masalas (Thanks to my roommate, I had these in plenty)
Some bitter pills to Swallow:
The bitterness of the below facts is directly proportional to the Sensitivity of your Vegetarian Sentiments (SVS):
The shops as a practice use same oil for frying ‘Falafel’ (Rings a bell?) and chicken/ham Tikkis.
Mayonnaise sauce which is one the most prevalent sauce across dishes, has egg as an integral component (A ‘pure’ vegetarian variant also exists)
Samurai sauce is a close relative of Mayonnaise sauce
Many shops use beef oil for cooking Belgian Frites (French fries) and pizza.
Waffles are also known to contain egg, it’s always better to check before you eat.
Vegetarian Food Recommendations*:
Most of the recommendations are no-brainers, still, a list is handy:
Belgian Frites, in Belgium of course
Dark Chocolate, Belgium
Waffles with cream and fruits, in Belgium if possible
Cheese Mushroom pizza, in Berlin
Hot chocolate, in Switzerland
Indian food buffet, in Milan, Italy
Mushroom Pasta and Thin crust pizza, in Italy
Gelato, Italy and all other countries
Breads and Cheese, in France
*SVS factor to be considered
Final Word
I had an absolutely thrilling time in Europe. Keeping the taste considerations aside, finding vegetarian food was never a big challenge. Many a times the train journeys would be in excess of 6-7 hours considering you will travel across countries. It’s smart to carry enough snacks during those journeys to avoid hunger pangs. Importantly, do not fail to experiment. The more you tickle your taste buds, the more likely you are to find something just right for you. Bon Appétit.
PS: Admittedly, this article is by no means a complete guide. I have tried my best to include whatever I thought could be useful for the first time vegetarian travellers. In case you have any other or related queries, you can write to me or leave a comment. Europe is a traveller’s paradise, I hope you will have a great experience there. Cheers!
