ABHIJITH V MOHANAN - 5037

Malgudi​ ​days Malgudi​ ​Days​ ​is​ ​a​ ​collection​ ​of​ ​32​ ​short​ ​stories​ ​taken​ ​from​ ​two​ ​collections​ ​of​ ​his​ ​“An​ ​Astrologer’s Days”​ ​(16​ ​stories),​ ​“Lawley​ ​Road”​ ​(8​ ​stories)​ ​and​ ​eight​ ​new​ ​stories.​ ​Though​ ​they​ ​are unrelatedand​ ​independent​ ​short​ ​stories,​ ​they​ ​are​ ​blended​ ​together​ ​through​ ​Malgudi. The​ ​characters​ ​in​ ​the​ ​stories​ ​are​ ​simple​ ​city​ ​folk​ ​whom​ ​you​ ​come​ ​across​ ​everyday​ ​in​ ​real​ ​life. There​ ​are​ ​no​ ​super​ ​heroes​ ​or​ ​villains.​ ​No​ ​kings​ ​and​ ​king​ ​makers.​ ​No​ ​beautiful​ ​damsels​ ​in distress.​ ​Yet,​ ​the​ ​characters​ ​are​ ​very​ ​live​ ​and​ ​make​ ​the​ ​reader​ ​aware​ ​of​ ​their​ ​presence.​ ​Who would​ ​think​ ​of​ ​writing​ ​about​ ​“….one​ ​of​ ​those​ ​commonplace​ ​dogs​ ​one​ ​sees​ ​everywhere​ ​–​ ​colour of​ ​white​ ​and​ ​dust,​ ​tail​ ​mutilated​ ​at​ ​a​ ​young​ ​age…..bred​ ​on​ ​leavings​ ​and​ ​garbage​ ​of​ ​the marketplace….”​ ​or​ ​about​ ​Kannan​ ​who​ ​“…​ ​sat​ ​at​ ​the​ ​door​ ​of​ ​his​ ​hut​ ​and​ ​watched​ ​the​ ​village​ ​go its​ ​way.​ ​Sami​ ​the​ ​oil-monger…​ ​coming​ ​up​ ​the​ ​street​ ​driving​ ​his​ ​ox​ ​before​ ​him…..”​ ​This​ ​is​ ​RK Narayan​ ​for​ ​you.​ ​Simple​ ​stories​ ​about​ ​simple​ ​folk.​ ​It​ ​shows​ ​how​ ​closely​ ​he​ ​has​ ​observed​ ​life.​ ​He has​ ​not​ ​missed​ ​anything.​ ​Nothing​ ​is​ ​too​ ​small​ ​or​ ​too​ ​insignificant​ ​for​ ​him​ ​to​ ​write​ ​about.​ ​He breathes​ ​life​ ​into​ ​all​ ​the​ ​characters​ ​he​ ​handles​ ​making​ ​them​ ​living​ ​entities. His​ ​stories​ ​are​ ​simple​ ​and​ ​short​ ​where​ ​the​ ​central​ ​character​ ​faces​ ​some​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​crisis​ ​in​ ​life​ ​and either​ ​resolves​ ​it​ ​or​ ​lives​ ​with​ ​it.​ ​He​ ​meant​ ​his​ ​stories​ ​to​ ​be​ ​“…..​ ​in​ ​tune​ ​completely​ ​with​ ​the​ ​truth of​ ​life,​ ​truth​ ​as​ ​I​ ​perceive​ ​it….”​ ​The​ ​reader​ ​may​ ​read​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​into​ ​the​ ​stories​ ​depending​ ​on​ ​his experiences​ ​in​ ​life.

Abhijith Chandran (5053)

Never Coming Back By,Alison McGhee Leaving home is a contradiction in terms; we can never truly leave behind the place that shaped us, nor the people who played a part in our molding.Never Coming Back explores that most unbreakable bond forged at home, the bond between mother and daughter.In this emotional continuation of the story she began in Shadow Baby, Alison McGhee transports us back to the Northern woods of Sterns, New York, and the Winter women, Tamar and Clara. Clarahad escaped to Florida after college and lived there for years until Tamar’s recent erratic behavior is given a name—Alzheimer’s. Early onset. Not words anyone ever wants to hear, especially someone who feels the weight of words like Clara does. As her mother’s mind and thoughts shrink, Clara’s expandswith memory and feeling and unanswered questions.In Clara’s recollections, we see Tamar before her illness took hold: acerbic and guarded, burdened by life experience as well as the choices she made that she was unable to help her daughter understand. The precocious 11-year-old Clara inShadow Babyhas turned inward, defending herself against tragedy. Curious as a child, with a never-ending wellspring of wonderings, now-32-year-old Clara hides her deeper adult anguish behind well-chosen words, sarcastic “Jeopardy” references and a wire tattoo symbolically holding her together. Her anger at Tamar’s potential role in Clara’s breakup with Asa, her first love, fuels Clara’s initial interactions with her mother, until Clara slowly begins to see with a new perspective—someone else’s perspective, her mother’s perspective.McGhee’s own gift for words takes you to the very heart of this tense yet tender relationship. Through vivid and meandering dips into memory, McGhee draws us into Clara’s rapidly shifting thoughts as she tries to piece together previous assumptions with new discoveries. Encouraged by her friends and Tamar’s confidante, Annabelle, Clara learns more fully the true power of words, both spoken and heard. On this journey of return, Clara finds herself on the path toward redemption, acceptance and love. Abhijith Chandran 5053

Anish.K.S 5039 I Too Had A Love Story, I have read this book when I was in 11th class. It is written by Ravinder Singh. This book is his debut novel and is based on a true even that occurred in his life. The book is dedicated to the loving memory of the girl whom the author loved and could not marry. The story begins with a meaningful line 'not everyone in this world as the fate to cherish the full form of love, some are born to experience the abbreviation of it'. The story revolves around Ravinder (the author) and Khushi and describes the sweet and heart touching memories that they had spent together. This book plots the love story of Ravinder and Khushi. They both met Each Other through an online Matrimonial website. Actually they don't met each other other but they were connected through that site . They chatted each other and gradually through the conversations both of them fell deeply in love even though they had not yet met each other. There relationship extended to their families as well.Their wedding was fixed. But unfortunately Khushi met with an accident just a day before their engagement and took her last breath in the hospital bed. The author describes all events very beautifully and one can feel the feelings of the author by reading the book, nothing else can give the feeling unless you read the book . So I suggest this book as an absolute must-read for people who love love stories

ANJITHA K.S -5051 YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE (1984)

This book gave me the key to release all things negative. Enjoyed this book a lot. It hit some things for me that i needed to hear. They struck a chord with me anyway.
You Can Heal Your Life is the message of a person who has crawled out of victimhood, and this aspect of it has had enormous appeal, particularly to women with similar histories. The essence of Hay's teaching is love of the self and evaporation of guilt, a process that Hay believes not only makes us mentally free but physically healthy, as the study of psycho-immunology attests. Affirmations are vital in becoming the person we wish to be, and the book contains many to choose from. All the familiar self-help messages are given attention, including breaking free of limiting thoughts, replacing fear with faith, forgiveness, and understanding that thoughts really do create experiences. This book will not be for everyone. It is quite New Agey, fitting into the 'journey to wholeness' mould of writing that is now so common, but remember that Hay was a pioneer of it. For those who have read a number of self-development books, it may seem a bit simplistic and contain nothing new - it is certainly no intellectual undertaking to read it. On the other hand, it has a directness and enthusiasm that makes it stay in the mind, and intuitively makes sense.  In the true spirit of self-help, the book is not content to fix problems but to strip all authority from them. This outlook, which on first consideration seems naive, is in fact philosophically rigorous: dwell on your problems, and they become insurmountable; consider your possibilities, and they provide hope and motivation. Millions have had similarly difficult lives as Hay's, but not everyone has the will to leave their problems behind or even the knowledge that they can; deprivation forms the illusion that 'this is all there is'. Hay's insistence to herself that pain and setbacks would not define her, led her out of multiple psychological black holes. Her book has the credibility of the successful escapee. This book will change your life. This book more helpful a common sense guide to loving yourself... I am so thankful that Louise hay brought it into the world.” NICE BOOK”

P.S. I Love You .... Joanna Elvis 5048

                                    P.S. I Love You   
                                                              by Cecelia Ahern 

Book review  by Joanna Elvis 5048

        

                              Cecelia Ahern, the 22-year-old daughter of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, writes with insight beyond her years in her debut novel, P.S. I Love You. Cecelia Ahern was born and brought up in Dublin. She is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over twenty-five million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been adapted as films and she has created several TV series. 

                      

                                  

 

Holly Kennedy, 29, has just become a widow when the novel opens, her husband Gerry her best friend, lover and soul mate having succumbed to a brain tumor. Holly slogs through aimless days and nights with only memories to keep her afloat until her mother reminds her of an envelope she received in the mail just before Gerry's death. The notes inside are labeled with the remaining months of the year, March to December, and each one contains a tip, written by Gerry as he was dying, to help Holly get on with her life. The first instructs her to go shopping for a new outfit, which gets her out of her dirty jeans and Gerry's T-shirts; July's note sends her on a vacation to Spain for a week with her two best friends, September pushes her to get out and look for her "best job ever," and December, the last note, encourages Holly not to be afraid to fall in love again.

                    Gradually, Holly emerges from her depression. Armed with a new job in charge of advertising for a trendy magazine, she is constantly busy with her long-time friends, who serve as the vehicles for Ahern's comic side. They drag Holly along to "hen parties," shopping trips and balls against her wishes. Side plots focus on Holly's family, who include her doting parents, a stodgy older brother who emerges as one of her staunchest supporters, and her younger sister, pink-haired and flaky, who can always make Holly laugh.

                          The book shows how families can be brought back together in hard times and how friendships can be stretched. The characters felt so real that I was carried along on the roller coaster of feelings that Holly was having, often bringing me to tears. This is testament to how effective Ahern is at evoking emotion thorough her writing.Well-crafted, beautifully written and deliciously romantic. If you need a good cry, a good laugh and an insightful look at family dynamics, then this is the book for you. For everyone who has lost someone or who fears losing someone, you need to read this!

 

GREAT EXPECTATIONS-charles dickens [ATHUL V.S-5050]

     BOOK REVIEW :  GREAT EXPECTATIONS- CHARLES DICKENS
                                            ATHUL V.S-5050


Pip, a young orphan living with his sister and her husband in the marshes of Kent, sits in a cemetery one evening looking at his parents’ tombstones. Suddenly, an escaped convict springs up from behind a tombstone, grabs Pip, and orders him to bring him food and a file for his leg irons. Pip obeys, but the fearsome convict is soon captured anyway. The convict protects Pip by claiming to have stolen the items himself.

One day Pip is taken by his Uncle Pumblechook to play at Satis House, the home of the wealthy dowager Miss Havisham, who is extremely eccentric: she wears an old wedding dress everywhere she goes and keeps all the clocks in her house stopped at the same time. During his visit, he meets a beautiful young girl named Estella, who treats him coldly and contemptuously. Nevertheless, he falls in love with her and dreams of becoming a wealthy gentleman so that he might be worthy of her. He even hopes that Miss Havisham intends to make him a gentleman and marry him to Estella, but his hopes are dashed when, after months of regular visits to Satis House, Miss Havisham decides to help him become a common laborer in his family’s business.
With Miss Havisham’s guidance, Pip is apprenticed to his brother-in-law, Joe, who is the village blacksmith. Pip works in the forge unhappily, struggling to better his education with the help of the plain, kind Biddy and encountering Joe’s malicious day laborer, Orlick. One night, after an altercation with Orlick, Pip’s sister, known as Mrs. Joe, is viciously attacked and becomes a mute invalid. From her signals, Pip suspects that Orlick was responsible for the attack.
One day a lawyer named Jaggers appears with strange news: a secret benefactor has given Pip a large fortune, and Pip must come to London immediately to begin his education as a gentleman. Pip happily assumes that his previous hopes have come true—that Miss Havisham is his secret benefactor and that the old woman intends for him to marry Estella.
In London, Pip befriends a young gentleman named Herbert Pocket and Jaggers’s law clerk, Wemmick. He expresses disdain for his former friends and loved ones, especially Joe, but he continues to pine after Estella. He furthers his education by studying with the tutor Matthew Pocket, Herbert’s father. Herbert himself helps Pip learn how to act like a gentleman. When Pip turns twenty-one and begins to receive an income from his fortune, he will secretly help Herbert buy his way into the business he has chosen for himself. But for now, Herbert and Pip lead a fairly undisciplined life in London, enjoying themselves and running up debts. Orlick reappears in Pip’s life, employed as Miss Havisham’s porter, but is promptly fired by Jaggers after Pip reveals Orlick’s unsavory past. Mrs. Joe dies, and Pip goes home for the funeral, feeling tremendous grief and remorse. Several years go by, until one night a familiar figure barges into Pip’s room—the convict, Magwitch, who stuns Pip by announcing that he, not Miss Havisham, is the source of Pip’s fortune. He tells Pip that he was so moved by Pip’s boyhood kindness that he dedicated his life to making Pip a gentleman, and he made a fortune in Australia for that very purpose.
Pip is appalled, but he feels morally bound to help Magwitch escape London, as the convict is pursued both by the police and by Compeyson, his former partner in crime. A complicated mystery begins to fall into place when Pip discovers that Compeyson was the man who abandoned Miss Havisham at the altar and that Estella is Magwitch’s daughter. Miss Havisham has raised her to break men’s hearts, as revenge for the pain her own broken heart caused her. Pip was merely a boy for the young Estella to practice on; Miss Havisham delighted in Estella’s ability to toy with his affections.

As the weeks pass, Pip sees the good in Magwitch and begins to care for him deeply. Before Magwitch’s escape attempt, Estella marries an upper-class lout named Bentley Drummle. Pip makes a visit to Satis House, where Miss Havisham begs his forgiveness for the way she has treated him in the past, and he forgives her. Later that day, when she bends over the fireplace, her clothing catches fire and she goes up in flames. She survives but becomes an invalid. In her final days, she will continue to repent for her misdeeds and to plead for Pip’s forgiveness.
The time comes for Pip and his friends to spirit Magwitch away from London. Just before the escape attempt, Pip is called to a shadowy meeting in the marshes, where he encounters the vengeful, evil Orlick. Orlick is on the verge of killing Pip when Herbert arrives with a group of friends and saves Pip’s life. Pip and Herbert hurry back to effect Magwitch’s escape. They try to sneak Magwitch down the river on a rowboat, but they are discovered by the police, who Compeyson tipped off. Magwitch and Compeyson fight in the river, and Compeyson is drowned. Magwitch is sentenced to death, and Pip loses his fortune. Magwitch feels that his sentence is God’s forgiveness and dies at peace. Pip falls ill; Joe comes to London to care for him, and they are reconciled. Joe gives him the news from home: Orlick, after robbing Pumblechook, is now in jail; Miss Havisham has died and left most of her fortune to the Pockets; Biddy has taught Joe how to read and write. After Joe leaves, Pip decides to rush home after him and marry Biddy, but when he arrives there he discovers that she and Joe have already married.

Pip decides to go abroad with Herbert to work in the mercantile trade. Returning many years later, he encounters Estella in the ruined garden at Satis House. Drummle, her husband, treated her badly, but he is now dead. Pip finds that Estella’s coldness and cruelty have been replaced by a sad kindness, and the two leave the garden hand in hand, Pip believing that they will never part again.

PATIENCE: A LITTLE BOOK OF INNER STRENGTH- SESHIL RAJ (5055)

PATIENCE: A LITTLE BOOK OF INNER STRENGTH- SESHIL RAJ (5055)

    Patience, A Little Book of Inner Strength by the late Eknath Easwaran (1910-1999) is a book of “pocket wisdom” regarding a difficult virtue and its relationship to strength, kindness, and compassion. This little book of wisdom is full of insights and advice from one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers. Patience is the ornament of the brave, Easwaran's wise grandmother used to say. In relationships, patience is the mark of love. Patience is also the mark of love, says Easwaran - with our children, our parents, our partners, our colleagues, and our communities. Easwaran is one of the twentieth century's great spiritual teachers and an authentic guide to timeless wisdom

                                           In this little book, Easwaran lifts our spirits and gives us courage, with insights and advice, stories, and inspiration from the world's saints and sages. Just keep trying, Easwaran says, and you'll find there's no end to your patience - no end to the wisdom, love, and compassion in your heart. The truths placed in this book, he claims not to to be his discoveries, but they were based on the timeless wisdom of the great saints and sages who are the world’s spiritual geniuses-compassionate Buddha, Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, and mahatma Gandhi. Here you will also find stories he heard from his grandmother, who was the wisest person he have ever known. Just  as it is good to be patient with others, it is good to be patient with ourselves. We can all be haunted by our past mistakes, by the amount of time and energy we have wasted, but we must accept ourselves with all our strengths and weaknesses. One of the positive ways which he suggests to improve the quality of our daily living tomorrow is in the light of what we have done today, to examine ourselves at the end of the day whether we were patient to see where you can improve. The book is at its strongest when Easwaran speaks of patience as perseverance — when he explains that as one practices the virtue, one’s stamina increases with the exercise. Clearly, just as one’s physical health increases with exercise, one’s spiritual health does as well.

7 STEPS TO BECOME A LEADER- Bharti Anju Kumari ( 5054)

God leadership skills can add a positive dimensions to a person's life. These skills can help us to generate productivity at workplace and happiness in society .
7 steps to become a leader takes you step by step into the intricacies of becoming an effective and competent leader. The essentials of leadership explained in this book will help you to awaken and develop your inner powers and abilities,making you sensitive to changes.
Within each individual there is a leader waiting to be developed. Yet there has always been a great shortage of good leaders in every sphere of life.
Everyone aspires to be a leader ,but only few know how it can be achieved.
It takes courage to come out of one's comfort zone.it also requires courage to take initiative,and do things that others do not dare to.it is not sufficient to take a fresh and courageous approach towards situations and people.it is equally important to see a purpose in the new initiative.
"The power of words is immense.A well chosen word has often sufficed to stop a flying army,to change defeat into victory,and to save an empire.
                                        -- Emile de Girardin

Stefeena Elizabeth

One Crazy Summer 😎

-by Rita Williams

When Delphine and her two younger sisters, Fern and Vonetta, head out to Oakland to meet up with their runaway mom after four years, they're not sure what to expect. Will Cecile greet them with a big hug?

Yeah, nope. In fact, she doesn't seem keen on getting lovey-dovey at all, instead sending the girls to Black Panther summer camp everyday. (Fun fact: This book is set in the 1960s.) This isn't your average foursquare-playing, lanyard-making, starting a vicious prank war against the cabin next door only to discover your long lost twins live there summer camp, either.

But it's not what the girls expect from the fighters for Black Power either. Delphine might have heard on the street that the Black Panthers are known for violence, but that's not what she and her sisters get a taste of at the camp. They join tons of other kids and a kind, welcoming teacher who teaches them lessons about unity and taking care of the planet. The closest to violence they come is learning to protect themselves against it and learning what their rights are in case someone (ahem, police included) decides to target them because of the color of their skin.

Which isn't to say it's all sunshine and rainbows. Members of the Black Panthers intimidate Cecile into using her little printing press to make flyers for them, and one of them incessantly makes fun of the girls for not being "black enough"—but they also provide a place for kids to go all day during the summer. They feed them, teach them, and keep them from getting into bigger trouble, which abounds in run-down Oakland.

Delphine isn't just surprised that the Black Panthers aren't who she expected them to be, though; her mom isn't who Delphine anticipated, either. Cecile sends Delphine out to the local Chinese food joint to get dinner every night instead of cooking for them. She's super particular about no one going in the kitchen—ever. She has a printing press in there where she prints her poems under the pen name Nzila.

Over the summer, Delphine wears Cecile down on her strict rules. She's not warm and fuzzy by any stretch of the imagination, but at least Delphine is allowed to venture into the kitchen and cook dinner every night so they don't have to eat greasy food anymore. Plus, Cecile gets the girls a radio to entertain them.

One day, Cecile gets arrested, simply for her poems. It turns out the police don't like people hearing how much power black people should have, so they lock Cecile up and throw away the key. Delphine and her sisters stay with a friend from camp until their mom is released from jail. They are performing at a big political rally on the weekend and have to rehearse anyway; together, they recite one of their mom's poems about black power. Everyone hoots and hollers, especially Cecile who's let out of jail just in time to see the girls have their fifteen minutes of fame.

Delphine and Cecile decide to keep in touch now that the summer's done. Cecile still doesn't really want to be a mom and take care of the girls, but Delphine isn't as angry with her anymore either. She knows Cecile cares a lot about Black Power and is working hard for the cause

BOOK REVIEW- "ANGER AND FRIENDSHIP" Aiswarya Anilkumar(5036)

ANGER AND                      FRIENDSHIP
                    This isa short message about how anger can defeat friendship.No one loves the man whom he fears.HENCE WE CAN SY THAT FRIENDSHIP CAN ONLY THRIVE IN THE SOIL THAT IS TOTALLY FREE FROM ANGER.So friendship and anger is just like crop and weeds.For the crops to yield the weeds should be separated and burnt.Friendship cannot survive where there is anger.We all have a desire to make good friendship bt to bring that into reality anger is ahindrance.If a person doesn't have the capability to control his anger then he cannot make lasting friendship.Hence the great challenge in front of us is to streangthen our fiendship by controling all our temper,conflicts and misunderstanding.Love,   trust,kindness,mercy,compassion,forgiveness and understanding are ery much important for a stable friendship.IF ALL THOSE QUALITIES ARE PRESENT IN US WE CAN VERY CONFIDENTLY SAY THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATELY OCCUPPIED OURSELVES WITH PROPER CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILL.THE GREATEST PART IS THAT IF WE MAKE A FRIEND WHO HAVE VIOLENT TEMPER WE MIGHT LEARN THER HABIT AND NOT BE ABE TO CHANGE.Hence while choosing friends our first concern should be to make sure that they are not too hot-tempered.We should bear in mind the often repeated saying,"TELL ME YOUR FRIENDS.I WILL TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE."
                 So don't mix up anger with friendship.A good friend is a connection to the life in the past,a road towars the future,and a key to sanity in a totally insane world.Do try to control your temper to make good friends.ANGER DOESN'T SOLVE ANYTHING,IT BUILDS NOTHING,BUT IT CAN DESTROY EVERYTHING.So its better to cry when you are angry,because anger hurts others while tears will flow silently to the soul and cleans the heart.

KEYS TO LIFE’S THRILLS- STEVE BERT(5032)

 

KEYS TO LIFE’S THRILLS-  STEVE BERT(5032)

  Keys to life’s thrills, written by S. Devaraj, helps provide as many exit points as possible so that, through self introspection on 15 specific areas of our life, the worst within us leaves us speedily, thus allowing the best within us to bloom and shine bright, spreading rich fragrance all around.

                                    Human nature is a mixture of good and evil. As such we have within us the capacity to do good as well as the tendency to be bad-an ongoing battle between the animal and the angel within us. And so, there are moments when we allow the hatred and selfishness within us to get the better of us. Our discipline, and character and personality depend upon the level of success in our day-to-day fight against the animal that prompts us to indulge in things evil. When the level is very high, we become great like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. But when the level drops very low, we become intolerable and undesirable people, fit to be condemned and isolated by the society in which we live. There is no gain saying the fact that, imperfect though we all are, we differ from one another only in the level of our efforts to develop the virtues of respectability and reliability, thus becoming increasingly loving in our day-to-day life and thus more acceptable. He have chosen “pride and arrogance” to be among the fifteen important areas to be attended to for our overall growth. If we defeat the feelings of pride and arrogance, we’ll certainly be in a position to remove everything that is imperfect within us.

                                  This book will assist you in the self cleansing required and you’ll certainly be able to discover the pretty you that is waiting to be brought out!

THE ALCHEMIST - KRISHNA PRABHA - 5020

                 
This is the story of Santiago, a shepherd boy who dreams of traveling the world and discovering treasure, and is courageous enough to walk in the direction of his desires. In order to realize the best that his destiny has to offer, he travels from his home in Spain, through the markets of tangiers, and into the great  Egyptian desert. He gets experience love, loses and makes money, learn a different language, meet different people, find himself in pleasant and not-so - pleasant situations. His journey is full of adventure and lessons, while he also find the privilege of meeting a king, a desert woman and an alchemist, each adding to his life new turns and perception                                                     
                   The book emphasis the value of spirituality, faith, hope and love through symbolic narration of a fascinating story of an ordinary boy with extraordinary beliefs. The book says that "To realize once destiny is a person 's only real obligation". It not just "says", it makes you believe.                           

                  On the way to the pyramids, he meets an English man in search of an alchemist living at the Al-Fayoum Oasis. At the oasis, Santiago receives an omen of an impending attack. After Santiago defends the oasis, the alchemist agrees to take him to the treasure. At last, Santiago reaches the pyramids. A group of men happens upon him and beats him savagely when they  find no treasure. One of the men tells Santiago about a dream he had about a ruined church in Spain. Santiago realizes the treasure has been buried there all along. He returns home to find the treasure buried in the church where he used to sleep.                                 

                       There are a lot of things about life that you learn in this book. One of the most important things is to find your ambition. For all of us, there is a treasure hidden somewhere. All we have got to do is to use our instincts and find it. Times can be hard on but we can't accept that as our fate. We need to step up and continue searching for fighting for the truth. Every person that's born here has got something special. It may take a while but it has to come out and people will see his potential someday. The things that the boy learns on his journey is the treasure that was meant to him. He never sought an ambition. He thought that riding his cattle in the grass is what's meant for him.                                                 

                      A dream makes him realize that he should stay here forever because there is a treasure out there for him. He needs to set out on a journey that will open up secrets he could never learn with cattle. Of course, there are omens that would show him the way. They could come in any form and he needs to recognize them. The greatest line from the book is meant for all of us "When you really want something, the universe conspires in your favor". So what do we need to do? We should never set back and let things happen to us. Never stop the search to find your ambition in life and always try to achieve it.

LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS-REVIEW - ANCY POULOSE 5041

LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS

Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic overcame his disabilities to live an independent, rich and fulfilling life while serving as a role model for anyone seeking true happiness. Now an internationally successful motivational speaker, Nick eagerly spreads his message: the most important goal is to find your life’s purpose and to never give up, despite whatever difficulties or seemingly impossible odds stand in your way.

He tells the story of his physical disabilities and the emotional battle he endured while learning to deal with them as a child, teen, and young adult. “For the longest, loneliest time, I wondered if there was anyone on earth like me, and whether there was any purpose to my life other than pain and humiliation.” 

Nick shares how his faith in God has been his major source of strength, and he explains that once he found a sense of purpose—inspiring others to better their lives and the world around them--he found the confidence to build a rewarding and productive life without limits. Let Nick inspire you to start living your own life without limits.

Nick offers practical advice for realizing a life of fulfillment and happiness by building trust in others, developing supportive relationships, and gaining strength for the journey. He encourages by showing how he learned to accept what he could not control and focus instead on what he could.

This book ,definitely, is a perfect motivator that will boost the self confidence in you.

      SANDRA BABU ~ 5066

                        "WHITE TIGER "- A Reflection ....

Aravind Adiga

              The 'White Tiger” written by the Indian-Australian author Aravind Adiga, is a debut novel published in 2008. It won the 40^th Man Booker Prize that year itself.

                             The White Tiger is presented as a epistolary novel,a series of seven letters written over a period of seven nights. It's just an excuse,of course, for the narrator Balram Hawai to tell his story. Balram is writing to the premier of China, Wen Jiabo, who is to visit the city Balram lives in –Bangalore,India—in a week's time.What made an Indian entrepreneur living in Bangalore to write such a lengthy letter to the chief of China,describes the condition of India and is the central theme of the story.

                                  Balram explains that something in China is missing in India and vise versa,thus makes occasional comparisons between the two neighbouring nations but ultimately proves that to be feeble excuse for him to unburden himself, and because the premise is so poorly utilised undermines such novel. The story circles around the crime he has on his hands and gets to it in good times ,as he recollects the whole story chronologically.

                                      He was his parents' 'munna' in a tiny hell-hole called Luxmangarh, a place in India, where opportunities were limited. Balram calls himself 'half baked', like many others in the country,not allowed to finish school,with only smattering of all sorts of knowledge. In fact he was smart lad, and that was even recognized by a school inspector,who praised him as 'WHTE TIGER',”the rarest of animals”-the creature that only comes along once in a generation.

            The novel explains how family becomes a priority for Indians which makes their every actions focused on the happy faces of family. But here the protagonist slowly creates a distance from his family. Being a chauffeur of Mr. Ashok and Pinky madam(his wife),he eventually gets in Delhi comfortably far from  his demanding family.

                Balram explains why Indian servants are so honest:because of what he calls Rooster Coop. No matter what the opportunity,a servant won't take advantage of his master. A bag containing a million dollars can be entrusted to any servant,he claims,because doing anything improper would have a terrible consequences. The servant might get away with it but:

     "only a man who is prepared to see his family destroyed, hunted, beaten,and burned alive  by the masters,can break out of the coop. That would take no normal human being,but a freak,a pervert of nature."   And Balram eventually became such a servant due  to his experiences which made him kill his master,Ashok.

                                                                         

                                                                            Yes,The White Tiger 'says a lot' about contemporary India,but it tries to do so far too hard. Adiga has definitely the talent and courage to open the devastating but blinded conditions of India to the public. In the novel,Adiga makes Balram say,'I am tomorrow' which may not be correct at least for some reasons while looking into the developing nature of India...But to an extent its true as whatever development comes,the marginalized people are left to be the same.

                              Through the novel Adiga examines issues of religion,caste,loyalty,corruption and poverty in India. Ultimately Balram transcends his sweet maker caste and becomes a successful entrepreneur, establishing his own taxi service. In a nation proudly shedding the history of poverty and underdevelopment he presents himself as ,”Tomorrow”. To conclude Aravind Adiga's White Tiger is a brilliant social critic which unties the life of ordinary people of outskirts who eventually get transformed to a 'city man' in its real sense.

THE INVISIBLE MAN - ABHIJITH NARAYANAN - 5061

Introduction

The Invisible Man is a science friction novel by H. G. Wells. The Invisible Man of the title is Griffin, a scientist who has devoted himself to research into optics and invents a way to change a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse it.

Main characters

Griffin - Griffin is the model of science without humanity. He begins his road to decline in college when he becomes so obsessed with his experiments that he hides his work lest anyone else should receive credit. When he runs out of money, he kills his own father-a crime that makes the rest of his crimes pale in comparison. He goes from scientist to fanatic when he begins to focus all of his attention merely on the concept of invisibility and neglects to think about the consequences of such a condition. He may not have had any intention initially of trying the potion on himself, but the interference of his landlord and prying neighbor lady motivate him to cover his work and remove himself from further confrontation. The evil that he could commit does not occur to him until after he has swallowed the potion and seen the reaction of the landlord and others. The irony is that his invisibility is good only for approaching unseen and for getting away. Any gains from his crimes are useless to him. He cannot enjoy any of the normal comforts of life-such as food, clothes, and money. He cannot eat without hiding the action, as the food in his system will render him visible. Clothes, when he is able to wear them, must be used to cover him from head to foot in order to conceal his real “concealment”--hardly a comfortable state in the heat of the summer. He can steal money, but cannot spend it on his own accord. Thus the condition that would make him invulnerable also renders him helpless.

In spite of his predicament, Griffin at no time expresses any remorse for his behavior or for the crimes, which he merely describes as “necessary.” His only regret is frustration over not having thought about the drawbacks of invisibility. For nearly a year, he works on trying to perfect an antidote; when time runs out for that activity, he first tries to leave the country, and then, that plan failing, tries to find an accomplice for himself so he can enjoy his invisibility and have all the comforts of life as well. He goes from obsession to fanaticism to insanity.

Marvel - Mr. Marvel is the local tramp. He is harmless, eccentric, fat, but not nearly as stupid as Griffin thinks he is. He is smart enough to know when a good thing has happened to him; the stories he tells to the press bring him much attention and sympathy. In the end, he gets to keep all the money Griffin stole, and he contrives on his own to keep the books of Griffin’s experiments. He becomes the owner of an inn as well as the village bard, as it is to him that people come when they want to know the stories of the Invisible Man. In spite of his earlier torment, he is the only one who actually benefits from Griffin’s presence.

Kemp - Kemp is referred to as “the doctor,” but his degree seems to be an academic one rather than a medical one. He continues his own study in hopes of being admitted to “the Royal Fellows.” His own experiments and fascination with science enable him to listen sensibly to Griffin, but in spite of being rather contemptuous of his fellow citizens, his common sense and decency prevent him from being a part of Griffin’s schemes. Kemp is also the only “cool headed” person in the town once the final attack begins. He runs to escape Griffin, but as soon as Griffin catches him, he has the presence of mind to turn the capture around. He is also the first to realize that even though Griffin is invisible, he is injured, and, ultimately, dead.

Summary

A mysterious man, Griffin, arrives at the local inn of the English village of Iping, West Sussex, during a winter. The stranger wears a long-sleeved, thick coat and gloves; his face is hidden entirely by bandages except for a fake pink nose; and he wears a wide-brimmed hat. He is excessively reclusive, irascible, and unfriendly. He demands to be left alone and spends most of his time in his rooms working with a set of chemicals and laboratory apparatus, only venturing out at night. While Griffin is staying at the inn, hundreds of strange glass bottles (that he calls his luggage) arrive. Many local townspeople believe this to be very strange. He becomes the talk of the village with many theorizing as to his origins.

Meanwhile, a mysterious burglary occurs in the village. Griffin is running out of money and is trying to find a way to pay for his board and lodging. When his landlady demands that he pay his bill and quit the premises, he reveals part of his invisibility to her in a fit of pique. An attempt to apprehend the stranger is frustrated when he undresses to take advantage of his invisibility, fights off his would-be captors, and flees to the downs.

There Griffin coerces a tramp, Thomas Marvel, into becoming his assistant. With Marvel, he returns to the village to recover three notebooks that contain records of his experiments. When Marvel attempts to betray the Invisible Man to the police, Griffin chases him to the seaside town of Port Burdock, threatening to kill him. Marvel escapes to a local inn and is saved by the people at the inn, but Griffin escapes. Marvel later goes to the police and tells them of this "invisible man," then requests to be locked up in a high-security jail.

Griffin's furious attempt to avenge his betrayal leads to his being shot. He takes shelter in a nearby house that turns out to belong to Dr. Kemp, a former acquaintance from medical school. To Kemp, he reveals his true identity: the Invisible Man is Griffin, a former medical student who left medicine to devote himself to optics. Griffin recounts how he invented chemicals capable of rendering bodies invisible, and, on impulse, performed the procedure on himself.

Griffin tells Kemp of the story of how he became invisible. He explains how he tried the invisibility on a cat, then himself. Griffin burned down the boarding house he was staying in, along with all the equipment he used to turn invisible, to cover his tracks; but he soon realised that he was ill-equipped to survive in the open. He attempted to steal food and clothes from a large department store, and eventually stole some clothing from a theatrical supply shop and headed to Iping to attempt to reverse the invisibility. Now he imagines that he can make Kemp his secret confederate, describing his plan to begin a "Reign of Terror" by using his invisibility to terrorise the nation.

Kemp has already denounced Griffin to the local authorities and is waiting for help to arrive as he listens to this wild proposal. When the authorities arrive at Kemp's house, Griffin fights his way out and the next day leaves a note announcing that Kemp himself will be the first man to be killed in the "Reign of Terror". Kemp, a cool-headed character, tries to organise a plan to use himself as bait to trap the Invisible Man, but a note that he sends is stolen from his servant by Griffin.

Griffin uses Kemp's gun to shoot and injure a local policeman who comes to Kemp's aid, then breaks into Kemp's house. Kemp bolts for the town, where the local citizenry come to his aid. Griffin is seized, assaulted, and killed by a mob. The Invisible Man's naked, battered body gradually becomes visible as he dies. A local policeman shouts to have someone cover Griffin's face with a sheet.

In the end, it is revealed that Marvel has secretly kept Griffin's notes; but since they are written in code, he is completely incapable of understanding them.

Vishnu priya T S (5049) YOU ARE BORN TO BLOSSOM

You are born to blossom

This book is a  vision of developing a new India with the help of the education sector, which has tremendous resources. In You Are Born To Blossom: Take My Journey Beyond, Dr. Kalam describes the various stages of human life by using a tree as a metaphor, and says that different age groups require different kinds of learning methods. Dr. Kalam also speaks about his own experiences as a schoolboy. As the President of India, he had visited thousands of children across the country, and realized that there is an urgent need to provide quality education and guidance to students. You Are Born To Blossom: Take My Journey Beyond also highlights how the Information and Communication Technology sector can help bring about societal transformation. Dr. Kalam says that it is essential to develop diverse individual talents, and to take into account the moral and social values of our country when developing our systems.  Take My Journey Beyond consists of eight chapters, some of which are Nurturing A Garden, In The Childhood Garden, and Education As A Spiritual Journey. The authors say that it is time that the education system aligns itself according to the needs and challenges of the present day. This book will inspire readers to use their talents and skills to help India grow as a nation.

He visualizes Information and Communication Technology mining the rural talent. Here, Kalam presents his dream of schools in India at 2020 as symbiotic nerve centres connecting teachers, students and community; personifying knowledge that exists in the world. He also makes a loud and clear call to accelerate the process of societal transformation. This would involve raising the standards of governance and safeguarding the sanctity of public institutions. The book uses the metaphor of a tree to describe the process of knowledge bearing fruits of prosperity in the contemporary globalised world where different phases, formative, adult working life, and post-50 experienced senior citizens, call for different kinds of learning. The book refers to a contextual contribution of a large number of Indian scientists and artists and proves that there is no age bar to blossom. He advocates creation of conditions that favour growth of diverse individual talents akin to a garden and calls for a scientific mind-set guided by conscience, consensus and by actions that take our social and moral values into account in building our own systems.

,

“Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success......APJ Abdul kalam”
Vishnupriya  T S  (5049)

                                                                                                     

Liya Das 5043.........DIVERGENT

        Divergent –Veronica Roth                                

                       

Divergent is about a girl called tris. She lives in are world which has a divided society Beatrice does not fit in any of the society. So she is forced to live a life she does not want. So she decided to find where she belongs and leaves her family behind and venture out alone. Each year the 16 year old of the city take a test which will tell them which of the five factions they confirm to after the test they will attend the choosing ceremony were they get to decide which faction they want to belong to Beatrice is an ahnegation raised girl who grouse up with her brother calebher  mother and her father who is a city leader. But Beatrice unexpectedly turns to dauntless and cateb joins erudite .

                        After jumping into a train ,jumping off a train and then off a building Beatrice enter the dauntless compound , where she meets her instructor four; he ask faer for her name , but Beatrice hesitates , then says “tris” despite brutal dauntless training and being bullied by her fellow initiates , tris still find time to fall in love with four. But when erudite threatens to take down tris’s previous home, her love for four has to wait. J won’t give any spoilers  but I will say what happens is pretty awesome. This book is a master piece that hook you all the way through. If you are interested in watching movies like things games will definitely love this story and characters.

                         It is a amazing story that out who you are really are and what it is like to fall in love. In a society divided into factions all are forced to choose where belong. And the choice Beatrice prior make shocks everyone, including herself. During extreme ignition test, tris must determine who her friend are and whether she can trust the man who both threatens and protectts her. The positive thing related to this story is that it will help or make us to do thing or our life tasks according to the way or idea that comes on our mind. It will help us to find ourselves to find out who you are and who you want be……………

Liya Das

Second yr ….b.com tax (A)5043

Roshna xavier 5044..........RIDING ON WINGS OF FIRE

Riding on wings of fire

                         

                                    : An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam                   

                                                                                               

"The trouble is that we often merely analyse life instead of dealing with it. People dissect their failures for causes and effects, but seldom deal with them and gain experience to master them and thereby avoid their recurrence. This is my belief: that through difficulties and problems God gives us the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins."...

Fire has no structural boundaries, no religion, no caste, neither assumptions nor presumptions, so was the true son of India the Bharath Ratna laurate Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. Wings of fire one of ever ground-breaking bestsellers among Autobiographies portraits not an analysis of one's own self but a contemplation of Kalam's life and experiences with a total optimism to ignite the hearts and minds of crores of Indians from every walk of life, young and old alike. The autobiography of APJ Kalam written together with his a decade-long colleague in Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Arun Tiwari probably misses to highlight the cynical thoughts of a dedicated scientist normally struggles in the clutches of bureaucracy and corruption of a pathologically infected political system. This was not intentional but the narration of his life always overpowered by his devotion towards the positive attitude towards life which was seldom discouraged by the negative sparks around. So the book's partition into the sections of Orientation, Creation, Propitiation and Contemplation from his early life and career to scientific and technological indigenous innovations for our country's defence as well as space research programmes of course deserves its meritorious applause. It is all about positive outlook towards life which surpasses the son of a less-known  boat owner in Rameswaram to become one of the prominent Scientists in India and even the truly deserved position to become the President of India. The book shares glimpses of the religious harmony in his native village, his personal failures and struggles to find his own self  in order to unite with the SELF in a very vivid manner with a strong back bone of scientific innovations, inspiring testimonies and annotations with heart touching personal experiences to boost the young mind of India. The book inspires the reader and leaves him / her to ride on the wings of fire and at the same time challenges him / her to share the responsibility to mould his / her life as wings of fire themselves.

By Roshna Xavier

5044