Book Review: Vijayanteyum Omanayudeyum Loka Yaathrakal

       Those who are living in Kochi/Ernakulam might have heard about this couple atleast once. They have been the subject of numerous newspaper articles and television shows. If I tell you that this book is about a Vijayan-Mohana couple who run the tea shop called ‘Balaji Tea Stall’, in Salim Rajan Road, Kathrukkadavu,Ernakulam, it might not ring a bell. But if I rephrase my statement a bit and emphasise again ‘this’ is ‘that couple’ who use the savings out of their earnings from their tea stall to fund for their world travel, I’m pretty sure that atleast some of you will recollect their story.’Vijayanteyum Mohanyudeyum Loka Yathrakal’, as the title suggests is an account of some of the travels done by this lovely couple.

         The book starts off depicting the childhood of Vijayan and how he was fond of travels right from his school days. He also recollects his love for movies and his spendthriftness during his early years. The turning point in Vijayan’s life as he himself has recalled in this book happens after the entry of Mohana into his life.The next few chapters are short descriptions about the various travels they have made till date.

          Coming to the positives, the book is highly readable and is totally unpretentious. There is no attempt to portray the couple as overtly virtuous or create an artificial halo around the couple.Vijayan and Omana have been honest enough to confess their limitations and the mistakes which they have made in life. So, when Vijayan says that he has been highly indisciplined till he met Omana or when she recalls about the bad experiences she had to face soon after her marriage, the reader can totally relate to it.The language is quite simple and conversational and the narrative smooth and crisp.

The production quality of the book(Vee cee Books Kochi and Anaswara Offset Printers,Ernakulam) is top notch and the beautiful pictures which have been included in the book also enhance the reading experience.

           On the downside, though this book belongs to the ‘travelogue’ genre, descriptions of places and the historical aspects behind  these places  hardly gets place in this book.Avid travel readers will find this book a tad disappointing.Instead, if you approach this book as memoirs of Vijayan and Omana and their life experiences, you can finish reading this one with a smile on your face.I'm giving this book a 3 out of 5.

-nikhimenon

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Book Review: Hydrangea by Lajo Jose

           Hydrangea is Lajo Jose's follow up to his highly successful 'Coffee House', the second book in journalist turned private investigator Esther's crime series.Like his previous work, Hydrangea is also an investigative crime thriller, but unlike 'Coffee House' which had a heavy 'S.N. Swamy-K.Madhu' movies' hang over to it, 'Hydrangea' is modelled mostly on the western 'stalker' crime thrillers(Lars Kepler's book with the same name seems to be Lajo's reference point for this work, as the similarities and inspiration are pretty much evident).
           So, the plot goes somewhat like this- A serial killer is threatening the city with his maverick crimes and the modus operandi is pretty weird, he shoots a short video of his unassuming victim pretty much before the actual act of crime and sends it to the city police chief ,virtually challenging them to stop the crime from being committed. But since the videos don't leave much clue about the victims except for a grainy image of them in their cabins, the police also can't do much about it.Private Investigator Esther and the firm which she is working for,headed by Ali Imran also gets entangled in this rigmarole and their task is cut out as the killer is on his violent spree!
           Lajo Jose has definitely improved when compared to his debut novel and this time around his plot is sharp and the narrative is also quite fast paced.The pointless banter between Aparna and Esther has been trimmed down for good this time around.The characters of Ali Imran, the lady IPS officer and that of Esther were quite poorly developed.And last but not the least,Lajo's obession with his debut work is quite evident with multiple instances of that book being referred to in Hydrangea, which to be honest, was a bit irritating, after a point.
         But whatever said and done, I enjoyed reading Hydrangea.Though it's heavily inspired by the Western thrillers of similar genre , Lajo has delivered a decent addition to the almost extinct Malayalam Pulp Crime genre!

I'm giving it a 3 out of 5!

-nikhimenon

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'My Story' Song and the 'Controversy'!

Prithvi is no Ranbir and Parvathy is no Deepika. I genuinely dislike this song video.The atrocious choreography ,fake expressions and the song itself is quite irritating!

-nikhimenon

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Hyde Park

                                Hyde Park is the largest of the Royal Parks. It's one of the important tourist destinations right in the heart of the City. Spread over about 400 acres,the park is indeed a really beautiful place and is also the habitat of many species of birds.You have to either get down in Hyde Park corner to reach here or take a bus from Victoria.Diana Memorial fountain,The Serpentine,Peter Pan are a few of the attractions in the Hyde Park.A few pictures are being shared here.

-nikhimenon

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Oxford Street/Oxford Circus

Oxford Street is one of the richest streets in London.Please note that this is different from the city of Oxford University of Oxford.The toy store,Hamley's is located here.

The Tube Station

- nikhimenon

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Green Park!

Green Park is one of the eight Royal Parks in London. It's indeed situated in the heart of London and is a habitat for many species of birds.This is more of a picture blog on Green Park.There are many ways to reach the Park,the easiest is to take a tube to Green Park station which is in the Victoria Tube Line.Spread across 40 acres,this is also the smallest/shortest park among the royal parks.

The Tube Station

Welcome to Green Park!

The Walk

The Park!

                   

The place was filled with tourists,it's a beautiful place indeed!

-nikhimenon

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The London Bridge!

Well,this is mostly going to be a photo blog post(which basically means that you will have to bear with my non existent photographic skills !).London is quite full of places of historic importance and  beautiful tourist attractions.People from all over the world come here to have a glance of the most iconic tourist spots.

1.The Tower Bridge(London Bridge)- The bridge opens up to make way for the big ships/boats which are trying to cross the river,which indeed is a beautiful sight!

2.The London Eye-This is something like a giant wheel which give the full view of London.Situated just beside the river,gives a beautiful view of the city indeed.
3.The Parliament-Well,I don't have a picture of the parliament yet,but this is where it's situated and there are some beautiful statues of the world leaders here.

4.The Palace-I'm sure that many of you might have seen this image somewhere else,but I believe no post about London is complete without these pictures.

5.The Gardens-I forgot the name of this garden ,but that doesn't matter,right.There is a nice kid's play area also inside and I bet your kids are going to love this place.

6.Thames-Do I need to say more?

7.The Streets on a Sunday Morning-It's actually full of tourists from different parts of the world(they aren't there in this picture though!)

8.Victoria Station-The national rail trains to various parts converge here.
9.The Roads-They aren't very crowded, right?

10.The Heron-This one is so used to humans ,I believe!Doesn't mind posing for a snap or two!

11.The Big Ben-They are renovating it.But that hasn't reduced it's charm in any ways!

-nikhimenon

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London!

(This is going to be a pretty long post.If you are a native of London or/has been staying here in London for a while,this post is probably not going to interest you much.If you are new to the city or happen to be one who has been thinking about visiting this city, I strongly recommend that you read on).

                                It's been a week here in London.The weather is pretty okay, not very cold or very warm. Getting used to the transport system was the first and the most important thing which I had to sort out in the initial days. I will be penning down a few things which I noticed during the first week of my stay here. Hoping that these gyaans might come handy for those of you who plan to visit or stay in London in the near future.

1.Get used to the transport system as early as possible-Unlike in India, here, there is a very good public transport system and almost everyone uses it. They have this thing called the 'Oyster card', which basically is something like a 'season ticket' and looks like a 'credit/debit card' (obviously without the Visa/MasterCard logo in it!). You can either use it on a pay as you go basis or as a season ticket. The card works in tubes,trams,buses and even in the overhead national trains.You just have to show/swipe the card in a yellow automated card reader which is there in the entrance of the tube station or in the entry door of the public transport bus which you get into. The fare for your each journey will be automatically deducted from the card.Always rember to show the card at the entry and exit points of the tube station, else you will either be charged a penalty of 80£ or will have to face prosecution.

2.Stick to your time-The British are very punctual , so when they say that they will meet you at nine,they do actually mean it. Don't turn up late for any of the important meetings or classes as far as possible.

3.There are a lot of Indian restaurants out here-If you are badly missing Indian food, you can always step into any of the Indian restaurants out there in your locality. There are many out there. If you are here on a budget, then you can get whatever you need from the local Indian store out there and prepare your own meal at home.

4.The British Chips and Fish- Almost all the places here serve the famous English 'Fish n Chips' on Fridays. If you are into fish, u can definitely give it a try.

5.The free 'Metro' and the 'Evening Standard'- Well,this is one thing which I liked a lot.If you are a commuter, everyday you will get free tabloids in the mornings and in the evenings along with weekly magazines.There are racks outside each tube station and inside each bus/tram from where you can pick your daily free copy of the tabloid/magazine.

6.The 'People'- The native British people are very polite, well mannered and cultured. But beware,like in any other country,not all people are good though.

7.There are 'strikes' in London-If you have been thinking that strikes and 'dharnas' are only seen in developing countries,you have got it terribly wrong.These things are there here too.

8.The traffic culture-One thing I think I should emphasize here is the way they treat the pedestrians.In every major crossings, you will see a system like this (above picture) which enables the pedestrians to cross the road in a safe and timely manner.If the signal for automobiles is green,you just have to press the button over there and wait till the green signal for the pedestrians shows up.And remember,if there are no signals in he lane which you are trying to cross,the cars and motor cycles will wait until you have crossed the road!

9.Tesco- They are a chain of hyper markets like our Reliance fresh and Lulu which stock almost all the daily essentials.

10.Lyca and Libera Sim-If you are from the Indian subcontinent,these are probably the best mobile sims which you can get hold of.They have got some really good plans which you can avail of and it really makes your calls to India quite cheap.

-nikhimenon

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Thoughts on James Patterson's ' The Thomas Berryman Number'

               I am no fan of James Patterson.I have read a couple of his books before and  found them to be totally mediocre.Picked up this book as I was told that this had won him the Edgar award for the best debut (way back in the 70s). May be at that point of time, people might have enjoyed reading this work ,but for a reader like me who belongs to a different era , the book was not at all relatable.With a confusing and snail paced plot,this debut work about a hitman and his escapades is at best left untouched.

-nikhimenon

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Hobbies: On Travelling cheap and some gyan!

Image:shutterstock.com

                       Quite often people ask me about my Hobbies. Frankly speaking, I still don't get the idea of terming/dubbing something a 'Hobby'. Oxford defines Hobby as something which is typically done during one's leisure time for pleasure. It also gives reading as a typical example for it. But then if you ask me, I totally love reading and make sure that I spend atleast an hour or so every day in reading. I make sure that I get time to read every day and it doesn't necessary mean 'leisure time' in the conventional sense. Again, travelling is something which I love in equal measure and in this age, where there are awesome websites which give goibibo coupons, which offer discount coupons, travelling is not a really expensive affair. One can fly and stay at affordable rates at holiday destinations without really digging a big hole in one's pockets! The other day, one of my friends was telling me how cheap it has become to travel to exotic locations which was once considered a privilege of the rich and the super rich. Whatever we may call it, activities like travelling and  reading definitely help in refreshing ourselves and breaking ourselves from the routine and mundane activities of day to day life.

                       In a way, if we look at it, both travelling and reading have many things in common.Travelling helps in exploring and experiencing  hitherto unfamiliar geographies while reading is a sort of travel through the minds of vivid characters.Eminent psychologists are of the opinion that travelling and the experiences acquired thereby inturn helps in building and refining one's own personality. A couple of days back when I was browsing the net, I chanced upon this quote-

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine

Quite true,indeed?! I think,travelling has a lot of benefits.

1.It helps in discovering new places,food and culture
2.Helps in making new friends (and obviously foes!)
3.Helps in realizing one's true potential.
4.Enables one to think 'big'
5.Helps to let go petty things from 0ur minds and focus on bigger goals
6.Helps in realizing how deep you love your home and your near and dear ones!
7.Helps in creating financial discipline!

What say you?

-nikhimenon

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In Focus: Sidney Sheldon's Reckless by Tilly Bagshawe

                               
                   Tilly Bagshawe has been writing in Sidney Sheldon's style for some time now.Though none of  her five 'Sheldon' books managed to impress me much (I am yet to read her 'Tides Of Memory'),I've already got hold of a copy of her latest 'Sheldon' novel,'Reckless'.The book is the follow up to her 2014 work,'Chasing Tomorrow' which featured one of the most iconic characters Sheldon ever created-the ambitious Tracy Whitney.

Reckless
Pages:400+
Tilly Bagshawe
INR 399
Harper Collins India
2015


-nikhimenon

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