Every human has ‘n’ number of wants. If for one happiness is living in a decent 2BHK house with his family, for another, happiness is living a life of luxury in a 3-storey apartment. Happiness is something which every living thing strives for whether human or animal. One can’t expect to live a normal life without being happy. And so somewhere happiness is related to humans becoming greedy. I hear you ask why. Let me explain.

The biggest problem which we humans face is that we are never happy. If we are gifted a Nokia phone, we dream of an iPhone and are not happy with the Nokia. If we get a promotion at office, we think of that guy who got to go onsite next to the client and thereby sit gloomy all day. If we find a beautiful girl / guy to spend our life with, we still search for someone better all the time. There’s nothing wrong in dreaming and searching for something better in life. Everyone has the right to be happy and therefore do things which can keep him / her as well as others around happy. But in this happiness, aren’t we turning greedy? Why are we never happy with what we have? Why do we compare ourselves to others all the time? As someone has said, one only gets what is written in his / her destiny at a time; nothing more and nothing less.

Now think of the situation. You have reached a particular standing in your organization. But you want more and want it fast. And so you start pursuing unfair means and practices to achieve your goals. You feel that you are right because you are doing this for your and your family’s happiness. But isn’t this greed? Isn’t this a degradation of your moral values? Have your parents, peers and elders taught you this? Think of it.

Just think of the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket spotfixing case. A two time World Cup winner. A fast bowler who showed glimpses of his ability to tear through the opposition over the years. Whatever problems he had, he was still a decent bowler when on his day. But in just a couple of weeks; money, escort girls, a dream of a king size life and much more has destroyed his name forever. He was being paid a hell lot for just playing the IPL. But he wanted more. He wanted to milk the cow as much as he could as he knew that his international career was done and dusted with. But where did it take him? Straight to jail.

Greed is like a drug. It consumes people completely so much so that they cannot even come out of it how much ever they try. People surrendering to this drug dream of money and more money. They would do anything whether it is cheating, scheming, backbiting and much more to make that extra buck.

Such people always feel that money defines their status and power among their peers. And this is what makes their standing in life.

What drives you to work hard? What drives you to succeed in life? What is the one thing without which you wouldn’t be able to complete any task? The simple answer is – MOTIVATION. Motivation is the key to open any lock which acts as an obstacle for you to succeed. Without motivation, a person is like fish without water. Whether its completing a simple task or achieving something in life, motivation has a role to play all the time.

But the big question always remains – “How does one motivate himself / herself?”. There are three kinds of people – Those who are self motivated, those who need constant reminding by their family and peers and those who don’t care at all. The set of people who are self motivated are always in the race to stay at the top. They keep a track of their peers, friends, so called enemies and the likes. If they know that their peers are getting way ahead of them, they are always ready to go one up. The rat race is always on and they are an important part of it. This is more than enough to keep them on their toes.

Then there are those who always need someone to keep reminding them that success doesn’t come around by sitting and doing nothing. These guys would mostly never move an inch without their parents or friends giving them a daily dose. They are mostly lazy and want to have a lot of fun in life. But when they know that their backs are to the wall, they finally get going. It’s something like how most students enjoy throughout the year. But when the exams are on their heads, there is a mad scramble to go through every word in the book. But what matters is that they succeed in the end.

And finally there are those who sit all day long doing nothing. They snooze, eat and then snooze again. They just want to let their hair down and enjoy all the time. Even if their peers succeed and become CEOs, they would still not bother to move an inch. Try as you might, they wouldn’t listen to anyone whether it be their parents or friends. Such people are always in a downward slide which they refuse to accept and are never ready to learn.

So which one are you?

You know what is motivation. You just have to find out what motivates you to work hard and succeed. It could be really stupid but what matters is that it would drive you to the pinnacle of success!

He was the dude of the college. Whether it was his looks or the way he spoke to women; whether it was his personality or the aura he exhibited, there was something about him which attracted women of all kinds. There were hundreds who tried for just one chance to get to talk to him. There were others who wanted to spend some time with him over
coffee. And there were some who even went to the extent of wanting to touch him just to know if he was for real. It wasn’t always like this.

He had come as a shy and introvert guy who never even spoke to women let alone befriend them or have a girlfriend. His life revolved around studies, classes, assignments and the likes. But when he faced rejection for the first time in life, he realized that he had not bothered about creating a personality. He didn’t have a sense of style or a persona that people craved for. He didn’t know how to talk properly to anyone let alone his classmates. And so he revamped himself completely so much so that the girls began to go weak in their knees waiting to see him everyday.

And he loved every bit of the attention he got. If today it was one girl, tomorrow it was another. He had spoken to so many women and dated quite a few among them. Relationships with the most interesting ones lasted for a few months while some lasted for days. There were so many women in his life that he forgot their names or what they spoke about. There were times when he would say the same mushy things to many of them without even taking notice.

He had became a sort of casanova who didn’t care who he dated or who he spoke to. And the same had become of the rest of his life as well. Earlier, he was very careful in not hurting friends. But now he knew that to succeed in life, one had to make compromises even if it was leaving friends or loved ones. Sometimes he forgot promises made to loved ones while at other times he forgot how his friends helped him in their earlier times. He had forgotten that love and friendship was also important in his search for success and money.

But then he didn’t bother to remember because he had faced rejection! And rejection was something he couldn’t take..

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

Buying a self-improvement book is not difficult now. You can just have a look in the market and you may find numerous such books adorning the shelves of bookstores around the world. Considering the huge competition in every field today, people want to get successful and compete with each other as fast as they can. Self-improvement books help you to develop an all-round personality. If you really wish to get the information on the topics of your interest, then you need to search a suitable book for yourself. The book you buy should be easy and reasonable to understand.

While buying such a book, your thought process should be clear on the exact information you are looking for. Without being clear, you can’t choose the most suitable book for yourself and would rather waste money in buying something else which gives no benefit at all. Reading such books will motivate you to lead your life with confidence and to achieve the desired goals. Many people have lots of dreams and goals but they are unaware of how to reach those goals and fulfill those dreams. These books help them to make a plan of action to reach them.

Achieving your desired dreams and setting goals is actually a difficult task if you don’t have a mentor. One needs proper guidance for it and that’s where these books come handy. Many of us have questions about life, careers, relations, personalities and much more. These books help us a great deal in finding the answers to them efficiently.

Such books are available in all languages written by many well-known authors. There are so many authors around that we end up getting confused on who’s the best one. So we need to check on which is the most preferred author among the readers and then go for it.

Contributed by:
Durgesh Bang likes to read and write non-fiction books which are useful in our life to achieve success, bring happiness and for self improvement and personality development to achieve desired goals.

‘Clear Line of Fire’ is Badrinath Nuggehalli’s first novel. He has dabbled for many years in advertising and marketing and has also started a marketing consultancy (Aqumena) of his own in Mumbai. This is his first novel. Does it work? Let’s check it out.

The blurb goes like this -

For the first time in history, the USA and Russia have perceived a threat from Indian military technology. They must put it down.

Clear Line of Fire is a fast – paced thriller; the action moving across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Washington and Moscow as well as the cold mountains of the Kumaon range.

The cover page and the general font of the book is quite presentable. Rupa Publishing have done a good job in making the prospective reader want to pick up the book from the shelves in stores.

The concept of this novel is quite interesting at the outset. The plot is captivating and gripping making the reader want to go on. The story moves at breakneck speed across locations. There is so much happening all the time that one can’t afford to miss even one bit. Badrinath seems to have done quite some research in the politics of the subcontinent, army jargons and the likes. This shows in the content throughout his book. The narrative is well structured with a clear line of thought. There aren’t too many subplots to confuse anyone.

There are so many sequences in the book which may not be entirely fiction. Corruption, Sabotage, Media games, financial scams, there’s all this and more. The book opens your eyes in many ways to the dark world of politics and defence and the games people play just to get some monetary benefits and enjoy their lives.

Though the book is quite amazing, there are still a few loose ends. Satyan is just supposed to be a dynamic entrepreneur of today. But the fact that he easily fights off and gets through all the muck in the political world as well as survives the trouble from USA and Russia is quite hard to fathom. Nothing much is explained towards the end on what exactly happens after the Russians and Americans knew that they are unsuccessful. There also isn’t a great deal of explanation on what happens to Satyan’s business partner cum friend Jake Mehta other than in the end.

Satyan is quite awesome as the dynamic entrepreneur of today who revives his father’s electronics company and reaches the verge of becoming the biggest private party in the Indian defense industry. Rubita is effective as the feisty TV presenter and Satyan’s better half. She helps him overcome all the difficulties. There is Jake Mehta whose Satyan’s close friend from the US. And then there are a litany of politicians, corporate honchos and bigwigs many of whom are corrupt and always part of the system which they don’t believe can change.

All in all, don’t miss this one if thrillers are your cup of tea.

Rating – 4/5

Directed by Mohit Suri and produced by the Bhatt family, Aashiqui 2 has been in the news since the time it went on floors. Starring Aditya Roy Kapur (Action Replay and Guzzarish) and Shraddha Kapoor (Teen Patti and Luv ka the End) this musical is not really the sequel or remake of the superhit movie of the 1990s – Aashiqui. But instead it aims to relive those Aashiqui moments 23 years down the line. Does it succeed? Does it make you fall in love all over again? Does the music live up to its promise? Let’s see?

Rahul (Aditya) is a famous singer who conducts music shows across the globe and has millions of fans. But his habit of drinking too much is leading to his downfall. Slowly but surely, his career starts sliding until he finds Aarohi (Shraddha) at a bar one fine day singing one of his songs even better than him . And then and there he decides that his mission in life would be to see her happy and give her all the success which she deserved. But slowly as her career starts rising, he becomes a fading star and jealously begins to creep in. Sounds similar to ‘Abhimaan’ or ‘A Star is Born’ or even ‘Sur’, isn’t it?

The problem is not that the story is ‘inspired’ per say. But the issue is with the overall treatment. The pace of the flick is slow throughout and is always interrupted by the songs. The dialogues are poorly written and moreover the wafer thin script has nothing much to offer. In a movie like this, one needs to feel for the couple and needs to lose himself / herself in their romantic world. But sadly that never really happens. The proceedings remain dull and dreary leading the audience to point of irritation.

The actors seem to be sleepwalking through their roles. Aditya tries his best but does shouting throughout come in the zone of acting? One can feel the trouble and problems his character goes through but the poor script doesn’t allow him to do much better. Shraddha looks good but honestly needs to work quite a bit on her acting skills. Their chemistry is one of the rare high points of the flick. But again, their love has such an old world charm to it that in this fast paced world, people wouldn’t really have the patience to sit through it. I surely didn’t. Mahesh Thakur and Shaad Randhawa are quite good but they can’t really do much.

The songs whether it is Tum Hi Toh or Sun Raha Hai or even Bhula Dena are quite good. Music is the sole saving grace of this flick. But seriously, what were they thinking? They could have as well released a music album rather than make a movie.

Expected much better from Mohit Suri and the Bhatts. Disappointing!

Rating – 1/5

It’s been sometime since Nokia joined hands with Windows to come out with phones having the Windows OS. The first series of phones with Windows 7 and 7.5 didn’t do too well. There were issues of every kind and Nokia was slowly but surely moving towards disaster. Then came the Windows 8 series enabled phones beginning with Lumia 920 and 820. Lumia 920 has garnered great attention throughout the world with its specs and particularly the amazing camera it has. But the critics were still out saying that Nokia needed to come out with affordable Lumia’s for markets like India and China which are the fastest growing on the planet.

Lumia 620 is the first in the range of the affordable Lumia handsets. So what all does it have? If you are not looking at the black colour, at first glance you would surely notice the colourful back cover. This is the first Lumia handset which comes with changeable back covers (Cyan, Lime Green, Black, White, Magenta, Yellow). The screen size is quite handy at 3.81 inches. It packs a 5MP primary camera and a 1.2 MP secondary camera. This camera is quite good for this price range (Rs 14,200) that is if you are not looking at Indian models like Micromax, Karbonn etc like me. It provides you all the features like Panorama, Face Detection, Multiple Shots, Auto Focus with touch etc.

Now let’s talk about the Windows OS. Some people say that its new and many applications won’t work. There are some others who say that the number of apps in the Windows store is very low compared to Android. Yes the apps are less. But how many apps do people generally use? I personally believe that the number of apps is a huge myth. It’s more got to do with the fact that if everyone is buying an Android and people want to join the bandwagon. All the basic apps like messengers etc. are present in Windows. Each app on the Windows store is particularly checked and made secure.

As indicated by technologists, Windows OS and iOS are currently the most secure platforms on mobile. There is no lag and almost a buttery like feel while using Windows. The ‘Live Tiles’ feature is quite awesome as one can customize it according to his / her requirements. Office 365 allows people to create their Word Documents or Powerpoint presentations on the go. The fact that Windows is so light compared to Android, the processor makes the usage even more smooth and simple.

The other Nokia features like Nokia Drive, Cinemagraph, Nokia Music, City Lens all take the experience of this phone to the next level. Nokia Drive lets you download the whole map of a particular city ir country in the world letting you use it offline. Nokia City Lens helps you find the nearest restaurant, cinema, mall etc. even while you are offline through its compass feature. Nokia Music has got to be one of the best online stores for any kind of music.

Let’s look at some of the cons which people talk about :-

1. One can’t send predownloaded files through Whatsapp – One needs to go to the files in pictures or other media (video), hold the button and click ‘Share on Whatsapp’
2. Worst games – Yes most of the games are paid. If gaming is what you are looking for, this is not the phone for you.
3. Battery – Yes the battery is not that great. But tell me which phone at least at this range has a very great battery. Honestly if one uses Internet a lot, the battery does go down most often than not across phones.
4. Lack of good apps – Yes, Windows has lesser apps than Android. But one can still find the basic ones. And new ones are continuously coming as the platform evolves.
5. No MKV format supported – Windows Media Player doesn’t support the mkv format currently which could be a problem in watching videos
6. No File Manager – Honestly its not a problem for me in particular.
7. No FM – This would surely be covered in the next update. But honestly with Nokia Music and so many songs already on my phone, why would I need the FM?

Windows OS has an amazing UI and with the Clearback Display of Lumia 620, this is a killer combination. I am of the opinion that the cons as are pointed out will slowly but surely be covered in the future updates of the OS.

Go for this one for that exclusive feel! Give Nokia a chance. You won’t be disappointed..

Rating – 4.5/5

Rishi Vohra recently relocated back to Mumbai after completing a Green MBA from San Francisco State University and a Masters Diploma in Environmental Law, prior to which he has had a successful career in the Indian entertainment industry. Having been a guest columnist for various newspapers in India, he currently writes for delWine and is a Certified Specialist of Wine. ‘Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai’ is his first novel.

Source: http://www.jaicobooks.com/j/Book%20Rev/Once%20upon%20the%20Tracks%20of%20Mumbai%20Hi!%20BLITZ%20Nov%2012.jpg

He is here with us for a short tete-a-tete.

Aseem: Take us through your journey from the entertainment industry to releasing a novel.
Rishi: Well Aseem, it was a long journey. After my B.S. in Corporate Finance / Film making from the U.S., I moved back to Mumbai. I started of in ad films and then moved on to feature films as an assistant director. Side by side, I was also independently directing music videos, TV shows, stage shows, live events, and promos. During this time, I realized that writing is where my passion lay. So I kept writing as I proceeded to San Francisco to study an MBA in Sustainability. During that time, I wrote a novel and pushed it for publication while working / studying. Though it was rejected in the U.S. and other foreign markets, several Indian publishers showed an interest in it.

Aseem: Was it a natural progression for you to write a novel since you were already writing newspaper columns?
Rishi: I never chalked out a path in writing. But I guess that that’s the national progression for any columnist. But most of my columns are related to wine, so for me both were totally different and unrelated.

Aseem: How difficult is it for a first time author to set sail on the journey of publishing a novel? What all challenges did you face?
Rishi: I guess it is kind of difficult because your manuscript is one of the fifty that publishers receive each day. Your subject matter has to be interesting and really stand out for a publisher to take notice of it.

In my case, I faced many challenges, both before publication and after. I realized the amount of effort and resources it takes to market a book to a pan India audience.

Aseem: The main character of your novel is described as autistic, schizophrenic and psychotic. Considering that this character type is quite rare in the Indian literary industry, was it a challenge to describe how he feels, how he behaves etc.?
Rishi: That was the toughest part, Aseem. And it took an immense amount of research, both primary and secondary. Through the help of the psychology department at my university in the U.S., I interacted with many students with disabilities. This and other factors helped me shape up Babloo’s character.

Aseem: Your love for Mumbai is evident from how beautifully you have described the city. So what does Mumbai mean to you?
Rishi: Thanks for your kind words, Aseem. Mumbai means just one word to me – home.

Aseem: So is this story inspired from real life incidents?
Rishi: Not at all, Aseem. It’s complete fiction though there are some glimpses of my life in the book.

Aseem: Considering the Bollywood-ish touch to the story, do you plan to make this one into a movie anytime soon?
Rishi: Yes, I do. A prominent director just got in touch with me and expressed an interest in the book pending the approval of his main actor. So I’m waiting to hear back from him. Otherwise, I haven’t pitched it to any filmmaker as of yet.

Aseem: Do you plan to become a full time writer one day?
Rishi: I would love to!

Aseem: Any upcoming books we can look forward to?
Rishi: Yes, there’s another book based in the Hindi Film Industry. I have yet to place it for publication.

Aseem: Your take on the Indian literary market today?
Rishi: The literary market is booming. Though it has its upsides, the downside is that books don’t have a long shelf life in bookstores and the author has to put a lot of effort in publicity to make his / her book stand out amongst so many others.

Aseem: Reading or Writing – You prefer?
Rishi: Writing.

Aseem: How do you spend your free time?
Rishi: Mostly with family and friends. I like trying out new things all the time. Like recently, I watched an IPL match at Wankhede and I don’t usually watch matches live. Mostly, I like being around people. But when I’m all alone you always catch me with a book in hand.

Aseem: What’s your message for first time writers as well as your readers?
Rishi: For first time writers, you will get published. Just keep at it! And keep reading as it only improves your storytelling and writing skills.

For my readers, thank you for reading my book, making it a bestseller, and turning this writer into an author. I love you all!

Thanks Rishi for the lovely interview. We wish you all the best for your future books and other endeavours.

Bruce Willis makes a comeback with another ‘Die Hard’ sequel. Though the iconic action sequences of the earlier films are present in this latest sequel, you cannot wonder whether it was necessary to make yet another movie with a tired old formula. Mind you, the box office collection record shows that the producers of the movie are laughing all the way to the bank. There are other examples like the ‘Harry potter’ franchise and the ever green ‘James Bond’ movies which in between them have grossed several billion dollars.

But not all the sequels of an original hit have been as successful. Of course, nobody intentionally wants to make a bad movie but some sequels seem utterly unnecessary and very inept. Here is the list of 5 such movies which suffered from a steep lack of quality from the original movie.

1. The Next Karate Kid

Source: http://www.projections-movies.com/images/nextkaratekid.jpg

The sequel to the much appreciated ‘Karate kid’ movie had a female protagonist this time who learns the art of Karate. Mr. Miyagi teaches yet another student the nuances of self defense (stifling a yawn). We all know that Hillary Swank went on to win two Oscars in her later movies but she would have regretted signing this one. She did reasonable justice to her character but we did miss Ralph Macchio of the original series.

2. Speed 2: Cruise control

Source: http://assets.hulu.com/shows/key_art_speed_2_cruise_control.jpg

Sandra Bullock did all she could to maintain the tempo of the original movie in this sequel but alas, how one craved to see Keanu Reeves again taking control of a bus that could never stop. Can’t blame the producers of the movie though as Reeves chose to back out of the movie. At hindsight it was a very good decision by him. Reeves is a stellar performer and managed to keep the audience at the edge of their seats throughout Speed 1. Speed 2 lacked the steam and energy of its predecessor big time.

3. Evan Almighty

Source: http://myforge.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/steve_carell_in_evan_almighty_wallpaper_2_800.jpg

The less we talk about this film the better it is. Even a hardcore Steve Carrell fan would admit that this was a wrong attempt. The film was not comparable to the highly entertaining ‘Bruce Almighty’ starring Jim Carrey.

4. Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde

Source: http://www3.images.coolspotters.com/photos/139727/legally-blonde-2-red-white-and-blonde-profile.jpg

‘Legally Blonde’ proved that you cannot judge people by their appearance. Just because a girl is blonde and a fashion freak, it does not mean she has no brains. The movie was witty, well told and was a huge hit. But even though Reese Witherspoon delivered an equally good performance in the sequel, she alone can’t save a badly written movie. It lacked a convincing plot and had tiresome blonde jokes which were not even remotely funny.

5. Shrek the third

Source: http://www.dan-dare.org/FreeFun/Images/CartoonsMoviesTV/Shrek3Wallpaper800.jpg

We all laughed to our heart’s content and even empathized to an extent with the plight of Shrek in Shrek 1 and 2. His efforts to save the princess and be a good husband to her despite his looks and the constant hatred he encounters all through his life was depicted very interestingly and humorously. We can’t pinpoint to the exact reason, but Shrek 3 did not manage to impress us on any front.

Hope you had better fun reading this article than we had watching these movies.

Contributed by:

This is a guest post brought to you by Samantha Kirk, a writer for Dish Network. Samantha provides up to date content and information for dish satellite TV services, cable, broadband and dish offers.

Who doesn’t want to be happy? Don’t we search for happiness everywhere? Sometimes we search for happiness in our work while at other times we search for happiness in relationships. Sometimes we search for happiness in what others do while at other times we search for happiness in small pleasures of life. We humans have so many wants which keep increasing day by day and that’s why our search for happiness always keeps continuing.

‘Waisi Wali Khushi’ is a short film which talks about that happiness which Punit Malhotra (Director of ‘I Hate Luv Storys & the upcoming ‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’) is searching for. He tells ‘Masha Pour’ his story. He is tired of his hectic 9-6 job day in and day out. And one day he decides to leave for Bangkok to have some fun of his own. Till the day he takes off, he always believes that money is all that which can bring happiness to his life. He is part of the rat race which we all are part of. But then he decides to let go and unwind. He decides that enough is enough and starts living life on his own terms. The rest of the movie deals with how he actually finds his happiness.

We are all wanderers. In the search for happiness, sometimes we become so lost that we forget to live life. The movie is full of quotes and one of the best is – “When you stop surviving, you begin living’. Everyone has a ‘Bucket List’. But by the time we want to complete everything in that list, we are so old that its almost impossible. This short film has a simple message that one shouldn’t keep it too late. Enjoy every moment of life because you never know when would be the last. Punit found his happiness in breaking out of the monotony of his corporate job. Someone would find happiness in starting a business altogether while another individual may find happiness in seeing his / her friend happy. Happiness is subjective and what may keep you happy may not be the case with someone else.

The movie has a simple narration throughout and is very successful in bringing out the relevant message. Punit’s character is really believable as it represents the contemporary young man of today. He portrays the angst, happiness, boredom, delight and all that his character goes through, quite beautifully. With good looks and even better acting, Punit surely seems here to say. Masha Pour doesn’t really get much scope as the story is all about Punit. The fantastic background music from Ranjit Barot gives the film an altogether different feel. Samar Khan does a brilliant job as the director of this one. With a good script and a believable story, its surely one to look forward to.

Watch ‘Waisi Wali Khushi’ to find that happiness you have been searching for. Watch it to know that life is not all about minting money rather it is about enjoying the small pleasures of life!

This is the homepage for Large Short Films. And the link to watch this beautiful movie is here – Waisi Waali Khushi.

Rating – 4.5/5