Chanakya Speaks

New Moon is a fantasy-romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer. It is Meyer’s second novel in the Twilight saga. It is advised to read Twilight first. This book, unlike the previous entry, is about losing true love. It was originally published in hardcover in 2006.

The book begins with Bella turning 18, older than Edward and still human. At her birthday party she gets a paper cut while opening her gifts and her one drop of blood triggers Jasper (Edward’s brother) to attack her inspite of attempting to have a non-human diet. Edward tries to protect her; resulting in Bella crashing into glass and getting a bigger wound, gushing blood and finding herself in the midst of 6 hungry vampires. Edward is extremely sad and absolutely convinced that he and his family is not suitable for Bella. Edward convinces Bella he does not love her anymore, making her promise that she will not do anything stupid or rash and continue her life without Edward; he and his family leave Forks.

Bella is heartbroken, devastated and totally lost. She survives, tries to get on with her life and realizes in the event of things that if she does something rash she can hear Edwards’s voice in her head; cautioning her or scolding her. The hunger to hear the voice which she so deeply loves she decides to do these rash things like riding bikes, diving cliffs eventually leading her to her childhood friend Jacob Black. She finds comfort and warmth with him. Jacob is head over heels in love with Bella but knowing about her loss of love provides a shoulder to Bella hoping that some day she will get over Edward and love him in return.

Things change when Jacob transforms into a werewolf and Bella is being hunted down by vampires. Alice (Edwards’s sister) turns up at Forks when she sees Bella jump from a cliff in her vision. There are a series of misunderstandings and Edward tries to commit suicide but Bella saves him and they are reunited with Edward promising never to leave Bella again.

The book is well written with the loss of love very well expressed. With this book Jacob Black’s character is further etched. Jacob loves Bella, inspite of knowing of her deep love for his most lethal enemy; vampire. His struggles with his new found identity, jealousy, love, friendship and loyalty.

Now Bella is torn between friendship and love and the eternal enmity of werewolf and vampire. Will she be able to find a right balance? Let’s wait and find out in the next book - Eclipse.

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

Twilight is a vampire/romance novel written by author Stephenie Meyer. 

Twilight series consists of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and yet unfinished Midnight Sun.

 I read in the news about this series after ‘Breaking Dawn’ was released and was a worldwide bestseller. It was a long wait in the public library and after I saw the trailer of Twilight which is releasing on 21’st November 2008; I said to myself “I have to read this book before the movie releases”.

 The books pivotal point is the excellent chemistry between it’s the lead characters - Edward Cullen and Isabella (Bella) Swan. The author exposes Edwards’s anger, anguish, love through his eyes and his body language which is so compelling you can’t help but fall in love with the character or just falling in love all over again.

 The story begins with Bella moving to Forks, a small town in the state of Washington, USA which receives the highest amount of rainfall and hardly any sunshine. Here she meets Edward Cullen who is a veggie vampire (does not drink human blood). Edward tries to keep away from Bella as she is his ultimate desire, the best heroin a drug addict can get. He can smell her blood and her body as the fragrance of lavender. As much as Edward tries to keep away, Bella is drawn more and more towards her in spite of his warnings that he is the bad guy and dangerous to her. She learns that he is from a vampire family but still her love for Edward is so empowering that she is not afraid of him at all.

 Edward is deeply in love with Bella, but he has to restrain himself from attacking her. He has to fight constantly with himself. It’s the ultimate sacrifice of a predator falling in love with his prey. He has to have an extremely strong will power and furthermore protect Bella from his clan of vampires who still hunt humans.

 The love between them is so strong that each one wants to protect the other. By the end of the book Bella states her wish to become a vampire herself to be with Edward to which she is vehemently refused. I am waiting to dig my teeth into the next part to read what challenges this couple faces next.

 Find out more on: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

With this post, I welcome aboard Zainab as a part of ChanakyaSpeaks. She is a vivacious reader and has diverse reading interests. ChanakyaSpeaks is fortunate to have her on board.

A Prisoner of Birth is a mystery novel by English author Jeffery Archer.

Having read many books by Jeffery Archer when I chanced upon this brand new murder mystery, I just dived into it without any second thoughts.

It is by all means a page turner but a very predictable book where we all know that towards the end; good prevails over evil.

It could very well be adapted into a movie sometime soon with romance, murder, courtroom drama, revenge, faith and redemption being the crux of this storyline.

The book revolves around the murder of the protagonist’s best friend, he being wrongly accused and his freedom from prison and revenge. As the book’s main catch is the murder, I feel that the motive of the murder is not at all justified and seems that it was put there just to build the storyline. Till the very end of the book I was hoping for a more meaningful justification which I never got.

With some genuinely touching moments it is a good read for those who like murder mysteries; though the pace gets a bit slow at times. It has the familiar touch of Jeffery Archer but lacks the finesse like his previous works.

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

This book review is been done by Zainab Mantri. I thank her for giving us a glimpse into such a sensitive topic.

Being an avid & picky fiction reader I do not have a particular liking for autobiographies & I had not heard about this book or its author, so I was a bit apprehensive to begin this book. But as it was gifted to me by a friend and surfing the internet for reviews about the book; I decided to give it a try.

As I read further, I realized it does not talk only about the protagonist but it also talks about his failure which he channels in the right direction to achieve one of the toughest tasks: Providing non extremist education to children of rural Afghanistan and Pakistan which its own government fails to provide. The book throws light on the patience of the people, their hopes and hard ships of that area.

The book focuses on Pakistan & Afghanistan but being from India, where people face similar issues of poverty, corruption etc we can relate to the story. So you might ask what is unique about this story. Greg Mortenson’s mission to promote peace is very unique; to promote basic education so that the young minds in Pakistan & Afghanistan are not brain washed into ‘jihad’ which will thus put an end to global terrorism. Being an American; not having hatred for those who bombed his country and also trying to put an end to the root cause are the pivotal factors of the book. I do hope he succeeds in his mission so that some day the world can be free of religious hatred.

You can find out more about the book and the author on: threecupsoftea

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

We all relate very easily to entrepreneurial ecosystem where favourable conditions are present to foster entrepreneurship. Then what is this Impotency ecosystem? And why is this included in Entrepreneurship and Innovation category?

Let me explain first what impotency ecosystem is and then the answer to second question will automatically be clear.

Impotency ecosystem is an environment which today’s organizations try to create to curtail entrepreneurial spirits in its people. Every person has certain amount of entrepreneurship in him which if nurtured can bloom into a flower. Therefore there so called dream companies leave no stone unturned to kill that flower.  So what all methods do they employ to create such an ecosystem?

For starters, the exorbitant salary. The easiest and the safest hook is fat pay check which would ensure that people are their hostages for some time. Others would include fancy stay in 5 star hotels, exotic bonuses, occasional holiday packages and what not!

The result of all these frills is that a person who had the germ of entrepreneurship becomes impotent and fails to conceive an entrepreneur who would have open his eyes in the world and made his mark. And that’s what an impotency ecosystem is all about.

I hope second question would have been answered now.

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

Currency futures are finally allowed in India which would give depth to Indian financial markets. Although currently there are many restrictions but the good thing is that atleast it has started. For many like me who didn’t know about currency futures until I joined MBA programme, here is a quick glance at the concept.

Currency futures allow an investor to hedge against any currency fluctuations. Through these instruments, an investor exchanges one currency for another at a specified time and rate. For example, as an Indian investor I may transact Indian Rs with American Dollars at a later date for a pre-specified rate. For more details, click here.

But what is the use of such instruments? Such financial products were introduced primarily for hedging purposes though are used for speculation as well.

To understand hedging, suppose there is an exporter whose payment (which is in Dollars) is going to come after 2 months. Currently Dollar/INR rate is say 42. Therefore the exporter stands a chance to lose money if the rate goes down to 40 (a loss of Rs 2 on every Dollar).

Financial instruments like Currency futures come in handy at such instances where exporter could enter into a contract after 2 months for a specified rate. After entering the contract, the investor need not worry about the fluctuation of exchange rate as his losses are hedged.

Now regarding the ruling by the RBI which has allowed currency futures in India, the market witnessed trade of the order of $60 million which is not huge but given the kind of restrictions which are been put can be termed as decent. Some of the restrictions are -

1)      Trade to be carried out at NSE (National stock exchange) which would give it a competitive advantage of the only exchange to host such instruments.

2)      The Minimum contract size is $1000 which would see much greater participation from retail investors since the size is small.

3)      The maximum open position could be $25 million which is aimed more for small and medium enterprises rather than large players.

Though it is a good start, many things are to be ironed out -

1)      Under whom jurisdiction would such instruments come?

2)      Who would be the final authority in matters related to these products?

3)      Why is NSE given the only responsibility to host these instruments?

4)      What further steps would be taken to involve institutional investors?

5)      When would other instruments be introduced to add depth to the market?

From previous experiences (the most recent one of huge losses in derivatives even by bigger clients), we (retail investors) have learnt the trick of the game the hard way. Therefore it is advisable to try your hand at forex software first and then coming down to the real game. It assumes all the more importance in Indian market which is in learning phase and is still not mature.

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

Although I had learnt that Ramanujan was a genius yet I couldn’t appreciate his discoveries or inventions but as I read the book it compelled me to finish reading my very first autobiography.

The sub title of the book entirely captures his work.

The man who knew infinity

Yes, he was the man who knew infinity, who could see where infinite series would converge. He was a sheer genius who is born once in a while (probably centuries) and engulfs the whole community in his aura and brilliance.

Ramanujan was born in Kumbakonam, 160 miles south of Chennai. He had no education to boast about. He would flunk in his exams thrice and his work wouldn’t be understood by anyone. Yet he goes on to become the biggest mathematician of his times, or probably of all times. Some of his works kept other mathematicians busy for another 50-60 years after his demise and made them famous.

In the book “Introduction to the history of Mathematics“, the author Howard Eves mentions that Ramanujan and Hardy end a long dry spell of 9 years in 1917 with their work on analytical number theory.

Few lines from the book in appreciation or should I say awe for Ramanujan which caught my fancy are:-

After reading Ramanujan’s letter, Littlewood said to Hardy- “I would believe he is atleast Euler (considered to be the greatest mathematician of all times).”

It’s (The Lost Notebook (Ramanujan’s notebook)) discovery was comparable to the discovery of a complete sketch of the tenth symphony of Beethoven.

“The best seem to appreciate Ramanujan early” says Richard Askey of university of Wisconsin. “The rest of us have to need some of his work before really appreciating it. “

It is also mentioned in the book that had India appreciated his work a bit earlier he would have been the biggest and best mathematician of all times, undoubtedly. Wonder why does it always happen in India that we fail recognize the extra-ordinary talent!

The book is written in a free flowing manner and primarily responsible for my completion of the book; though it could have been a bit shorter. But still hats off to the author Mr. Robert Kanigel for such a marvellous piece. The more one reads; the more one gets mesmerized by Ramanujan’s genius and his super normal powers.

A must read for all those who want to know about one of the most precious yet not fully discovered gems of India.

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

Ok! I am not saying that everyone should go for entrepreneurship or it is the only way to Nirvana.  Every person is different and has different qualities which may or may not make him suitable for entrepreneurship. Besides if everyone will become an entrepreneur, then who would work for them!

That’s been said, there are several reasons for a person to go the entrepreneurial way.  One reason which I gained from one of the sessions in CEO talk Series organized by IAMAI is the following.

If I am employed by an organization and is paying me Re. 1, then surely it would be making atleast Rs. 2 out of me. Hence I am losing out on that extra Re. 1 which I could have made for myself if I was working for myself.

Moreover everyone of us is familiar with 80-20 rule which could be interpreted in many ways. One variation of the rule could be that 20% of the people in an organization are doing the work for rest 80%. Now if we go by that interpretation, then the company would be funding those 80% of the personnel by generating profits out of those 20% who does all the work. Now if we assume ourselves to be good enough to belong to that 20% bracket, then essentially we are the guys who are funding the whole organization. Therefore the minimum, the organization is making out of us is Rs. 6 (4 for 80%, 1 for itself and 1 for us).

One doesn’t need any super mathematical skills to see it through.  If anyone of us were to be an entrepreneur then we would be making Rs. 6 for ourselves whereas if employed Re. 1 hence a profit of Rs. 5.

Cool! Isn’t it! Just imagine the kind of wealth that would be amassed!

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

Google finally launched the much anticipated web browser on 2 september. It is called

With Chrome, Google has entered into almost all the areas of internet be it email, chat application, video sharing platform, social networking sites, online advertising technology and now web browser.

Sometimes my radical thinking forces me to think and think really hard -

Is Google going the Microsoft monopoly way ?

Well the ardent followers of Google ( including me ) would put up an argument that all the things are open source and both of them are pole apart. Accepted but if we observe the nature of both the organization, similarities could be drawn.

1) Both are dominant in their core-competency areas i.e. Microsoft in desktop OS and Google in the internet world.

2) Both would go to any extent to save their turf which was pretty evident from Microsoft tactics in mid nineties and recent strategic play by Google in fending off Microsoft bid for Yahoo.

3) Both made sure that they leave no stone unturned in expanding their presence in big way.

Now one may say that what’s wrong with these things and besides these look pretty innocous. Also every big organization is bound to do all these things to keep its territory intact. But these facts discomfort me -

1) Google has the largest database of email addresses larger than some of the big state organizations. Just imagine if, God forbids, somehow this database is leaked, what hell will break loose.

2) Today, Youtube consumes the amount of bandwidth which whole internet used to take in 2000. I don’t even want to think about it!

3) Every new famous and genuine internet discovery comes under the Google umbrella.

I wish all the good luck to Google Chrome and really hope that future doesn’t repeat history.

Enjoyed it! Why not share!

I had the opportunity to attend the second session in CEO talk series organized by IAMAI. For those who don’t know what IAMAI (like me ) is, it stands for Internet and Mobile association of India which is non for profit organisation looking to enhance the online and mobile value added services sectors. For more details, visit the website.

This session featured Mr. Harish Behl, CEO of Smile interactive technology group. To visit their website, click here. Most of us wouldn’t know what this group does or what all are the companies under their umbrella. For starters, this group is into the domain of internet and has interests in digital media, software, online travel technology and internet marketing. They have 5 companies under their umbrella-

      1) Quasar: India’s largest digital media company. It has some of the biggest clients in the market which include Microsoft XBOX, Sony, MakeMyTrip etc. It is a one stop shop for digital media which includes media planning, creative aspect and the technology. WPP has recently purchased 75% equity stake in the company. To know more, visit this.

    2) Tyroo: This is probably the biggest Indian ad network. Other famous ad networks which we would have heard of are Google Adsense and Kontera. Yahoo has built up a strategic alliance with Tyroo. To know more, visit their website.

    3) Zoomtra & Zumtra: Zoomtra is online travel portal whereas Zumtra is the technology base for helping travel companies go online. MakeMyTrip is one of the famous companies which has used the technology. Their websites are Zoomtra and Zumtra.

   4) StudioSmile: It is an incubation centre for young entrepreneurs and is started with a vision to help young entrepreneurs realize their dreams. For more info, visit this.

Well that was about the group of companies and now something about the session. Session was primarily related to his journey through the thick and thin and the outlook of internet industry. A very important learning which came out of the session was these 2 equations which sum up everything.

Great Idea + Great team + Bad Timing =  Flop Business

Average Idea + Average team + Good Timing =  Great Business

which essentially means that there is a always a right time for any business idea. If any idea executed before the right time or after, it is doomed to fail. Hence for budding entrepreneurs, it becomes critical to evaluate the right time for their business idea.

Regarding the outlook for the internet industry, he shared one interesting anecdote which happened during his meeting with the chairman of WPP. During one conversation, the chairman happened to mention 2 important observations about the industry at large.

      1) There is a shifting of wealth which is taking place. Shifting of wealth from west to east. So history is taking a full reverse cycle.

     2) The world will move from reality to virtual and next billionaires would be from the virtual world.

Interesting thought! I must say. Never thought like that before.

He also touched upon general fundas for budding entrepreneurs which I will be covering in the next post as it warrants a totally new post.

Overall the experience was enriching to meet a person who is very practical, hand-on in approach, street smart and to whom business means

Profit = Selling Price - Cost Price.

Simple! Isn’t it!

Enjoyed it! Why not share!