Book Review – Revenge of the Naked Princess

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Oswald Pereira is the author of the widely acclaimed crime thriller ‘The Newsroom Mafia’. ‘Revenge of the Naked Princess’ is his second book. This time he has delved into the history of how Portuguese were involved in the forced conversions of Hindus to Christians. The topic sounds quite unique and interesting. Does the book work? Let’s check it out.

The blurb goes like this –

On a hot, humid morning in May 1545, a joint conversion brigade of the Portugese King and the Pope set out to spread Christ’s message of love and compassion, but they leave behind a deathly trail of murder and mayhem. Armed with a monstrous cannon and scores of firearms, the brigade raids Princess Darshana Kamya Kathodi’s palace in Tana carrying for her and her people the King’s inviolable conversion order… sealed by the Pope’s promise of a new heaven.

The beautiful, 18 year old tribal princess fights back with her ace archers’ poison arrows. Revenge of the Naked Princess shows how brutal forced conversions can blur the line between religion and carnage.

This historical page turner by veteran journalist-turned-novelist Oswald Pereira comes after the success of his widely – acclaimed, best-selling thriller ‘The Newsroom Mafia’.

Book Review – The Karachi Deception

‘The Karachi Deception’ is Shatrujeet Nath’s first novel. In the past he has delved into business journalism and was the Assistant Editor at Economic Times. This novel is published by Grey Oak Publishers in combination with Westland Books and seems to be another addition to the list in the growing and upcoming military thriller genre in India. Does it work? Let’s check it out.

The blurb goes like this -

Project Abhimanyu – an audacious plot hatched by the RAW and the Indian Army intelligence to assassinate Mumbai’s dreaded underworld don Irshad Dilawar, who’s hiding in Pakistan and assisting the ISI in its proxy war against India.

Major Imtiaz Ahmed is picked to lead the special ops mission deep inside Pakistan – but the ISI and Dilawar are several steps ahead of the Indians. Beaten at every turn, Major Imtiaz is faced with the horrifying realization that Project Abhimanyu has been compromised…and his men are being lured into a deadly trap.

Set against the backdrop of global terrorism, Shatrujeet Nath’s debut novel is a quintessential spy thriller where nothing is what it seems – and treachery is a constant companion.

Guest Post: Top 5 cities to visit this summer!

What does the summer of 2012 have in store for travelers like us? Which cities are calling out our names? Which hotels are clearing up their reservations? Which beaches are welcoming the bright and shining sun? The top cities to visit across the planet always remain unlimited. But we have tried to name the top five this summer. Whether its shopping that drives you or cultural heritage that attracts you, whether its nightlife you are looking for or history is our cup of tea, we are sure that a lot many of you would agree with this list.

10 reasons why I still call Muscat home despite so many changes in the past few years!!!

Muscat has changed a lot in the past couple of years. Rents have shot up sharply, the cost of living has become crazzzzyyyyyy, salaries are not increasing proportionately, there is plethora of construction (read CONCRETISATION) going on, my residence visa will get over next year and I wont be able to renew it to a residence one unless I work or study there – Muscat is literally changing by the minute like most of the countries in the Middle East. Its been 5 years since I left Muscat to do my undergrad and postgrad education. With just a year left for me to finish, as I look back even today I can find reasons and more reasons to call the place I left 5 yrs back my home despite tremendous changes!

Following are 10 of the reasons why I still call Muscat home..There will surely be more of them but these are the ones I can remember at the moment

1. I was born at Khoula Hospital, Muscat on 1st Feb 1988 which indirectly made me an Omani and since then its been an amazing journey of falling in luv with this place. My parents have lived in this place for the past 34-35 yrs.

2. Indian School Muscat was where I spent the 15 yrs of my school life and it was an experience which I can surely never forget.

3. Looking at the barren hilly geography from the top through the airline window makes me feel as if I am back home.

4. The spik and span roads, man made greenery and picture perfect buildings and cleanliness bring old memories back.

5. The Rose Garden, Naseem Garden, Riyam Park, Kalbooh and other such places makes me remember the good old days at ISM when we used to go for picnics to these places and just enjoy like hell

6. The various supermarkets like Lulu, Carrefour and blah blah with all those amazing juices and other products from the Gulf remind you of such amazing stuff available here.

7. The food I get here in my house in particular be it the simple sabzis like cauliflower, brinjal etc seems so different and delicious than anywhere I get in India. Even the food outside with is cleanliness is no much for India at all.

8. Its the only city in the Gulf to have not one but two temples – that of Shiva and Krishna and maaaan the temples are soooo amazingly built with ACs…..:)

9. Despite the starting of the Southern Highway and couple of other roads to ease the traffic, the main highway from airport through Qurum and Ruwi to the Bustan Palace Hotel remains the heart of the city’s road network.

10. All in all each and every place from Corniche to the Airport just makes me feel that this country is my home land and here is where I feel a strong peace of mind and relaxation.

Tomorrow I may not end up working here as one never knows whats in store with life. But one thing is for sure, Muscat was, is and will be the closest to my heart always despite its many million changes and shortcomings…

The destruction that Cyclone Phet left behind across Oman! (Part – I)

Is Oman becoming a victim of global warming without being the one who caused it?

I would like to give some background on Oman before moving forward. Oman is a hilly land no doubt. It isnt exactly a desert as is thought of across the world. Yes, it is hot and humid. But having lived in this country for the past 22 yrs, I can safely say that it is the most beautiful place in terms of natural beauty in the GCC or for that matter the entire Middle East region with man made greenery and beautiful landscaped mountains, rocks and gorges. Recently even the Sultan has given an order to plant thousands of palm trees.

The weather here differs in different places. Up north in Muscat, Sohar, Nizwa (other cities in Oman) the climate is hot and humid in summers while cool in winters. While down south in Salalah, it is affected by the monsoon in the months from June to September. So its really interesting to see different kinds of vegetation across the length and breadth of this country. When it does rain here (which was uncommon in the past), the wadis overflow onto the roads and there are great chances of accidents. The water flow in the wadis sometimes gets very fast and dangerous. But even these occurences were rare in the past.

But over the past couple of years, things are changing thick and fast. Cyclone Gonu which tore through Muscat in 2007 killing hundreds in its path was the strongest cyclone packing winds of over 150 kmph in the Arabian Sea in over sixty years. It led to a damage of approximately 4 bn US$. At that time it was called a once in a 50 years event. But 3 yrs down the line, as Cyclone Phet approaches the shores of Muscat, can we still call it a once in a lifetime event?

Cyclone Phet was initially a category 5 storm packing winds of upto 250 kmph. But as it entered Oman through Sur and Masirah it dropped to Category 3 (180kmph) and then Category 1 (110kmph). Whether it still causes widespread damage or not is still to be seen. But the biggest question is whats going on around the shores of Oman to create 2 cyclones in 3 years?

The simple answer is GLOBAL WARMING! I know a lot of people would surely think that nowadays scientists do think this is an answer for every problem but seriously speaking in this case, this is a possibility. This year the Asian subcontinent is facing a severe heatwave which resulted in increasing the sea temperature by 2 degree celsius. This resulted in a high temperature difference between the Earth’s surface and the tropopause.

As someone gave an answer on answers.yahoo.com -

A storm is powered by a layer of warm air underneath a layer of cold air. The cold air is denser, so it wants to sink, while the warm air wants to rise. This manifests itself as a vortex, with warm air rising up the center, and cold air sinking on the outer parts of the vortex.

Like any other heat engine, the power output is increased when the temperature difference is increased.

This is what must have happened with Cyclone Phet. I am sure a lot people would disagree saying this is a conspiracy theory and all that. But this is true and its happening.

Oman needs to prepare adequate infrastructure to protect itself in the coming years from such events. It is fast becoming an example of global warming caused due to the fault of other nations. (For your information Oman is one of the most cleanest countries in terms of environmental damage per capita in the world). In the next couple of years we can see more events of cyclones and storms occuring in the Arabian Sea.

That’s when the Omanis wont call it an unusual weather event, but a more than usual one!

Muscat – A place which taught me LIFE!!!!

1st February, Khoula Hospital, Muscat – A person called Aseem Rastogi was born.  Muscat – A name which immediately brings MEMORIES to my mind. Memories that have been filled with joy, love, fun, sadness, care, friendship, good times, bad times, amazing times, ok times and what not!!

While coming by plane (read Oman Air) into Muscat, the first thing one notices about this place is the amazingly hilly terrain and that too completely barren hills. Obviously you guys will wonder whats the beauty in seeing barren hills. But my fellow readers, I would like to state here that the Sultanate of Oman is the only country in the Middle East which concentrates on its natural beauty as a source of tourism even in today’s world of malls, multiplexes and concretisation of cities be it Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait all of them. It is perhaps the only country in the world which has a desert, barren hills and also a monsoon climate for about 3-4 months a year (in Salalah – the 2nd biggest city).

The beautiful Omani hospitality starts in the air itself. Though Oman Air started way back in 1993, till about 2007 it was just flying to around 23 cities in the Middle East, Africa and the Asian Subcontinent. Since the last 2 years it has gone on a massive expansion spree ordering new planes, improving services and also expanding to new countries and cities across the world like London, Munich, Maldives, Kuala Lampur and more. The Muscat International Aiport is being revamped and expanding to handle more than 3000 passengers per day.

Muscat is one of the most cleanest cities in the world. The impeccable roads, the strict rules (yes so strict that even we INDIANS are scared), the efforts taken by the government to plant more and more trees and flowers and also maintainence of parks in such hot weather where temperatures in summer can reach up to 55 degrees is truly commendable.  There is one straight road from the airport upto the Bustan Palace Hotel (one of the best in the Gulf).

The earliest I remember was living in Al Khuwair. I dont remember much of staying in Walja. We stayed in Al Khuwair which was just getting developed at that point of time (1994-97). We moved to Darsait in 1997 to stay in one of the best and tallest buildings in Muscat and have been there ever since. The comfort one gets in that house is amazing to say the least. The full building is centrally airconditioned. So its like inside it could be as low as 5 degrees when outside its 55.

Indian School Muscat has been the my cradle of knowledge which prepared me for life. I joined on 7th July 1991 and left on 23rd March 2005. It was an amazing journey of 14 years wherein I met so many friends like Sindhuja, Aisha, Meha, Neha, Ishani, Ranjani, Suhas, Nandhini, Amit, Yaamini, Palash, Tarang and many more.

One thing I’ll always regret is the fact that I never took Music in 6th and forced mom to allow me to take up Art. I feel that if I would have taken music, then probably my vocal skills would have probably taken me somewhere much higher than where I stand today.

There were so many memorable times like the ones wherein I was awarded the trophy for the best academic performance that is in 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 11th. I still remember the time in 8th where I recited the poem “If” in class and how I was shivering out of extreme nervousness. I am sure Sindhuja and Aisha will remember this. This incident makes me laugh now thinking as to how shy and introvert I was back then. I mean god, I was so pathetic that I  had to go for personality speaking classes at that point in time.

The chance to go for the 3.5 week student exchange trip to Concord College, UK was the first big event in my life which helped me become much more confident about myself as I got a chance to interact with people from more than 100 countries and also to experience different cultures, climates and food. The times during 11th and 12th were probably the most amazing as we used to go to different tutions (yeah PCM everything) and most of the times other than during the ones during the tutions classes, was spent in chatting and discussing about every issue under the sun. The times spent talking to Nandhini, Ishani, Ranjani outside Preetha Maams tutions, Chitra Maams tutions and also their farewell parties will always live in my memory.

The most amazing aspect about Muscat is the comfort one gets there. I mean when I was there for me it was like, go and come in AC bus or van to school (ok not in 11th and 12th), sit in classrooms with two ACs,  sleep in AC at home and also in the evening go in AC to different malls like Lulu or Carefour or Araimi and what not which have ACs. I was basically living life king size.

Due to the Sultan’s brilliant vision, Oman has been able to stand by its charm of natural beauty rather than turning everything into concrete even after all these years. Its a country which boasts of mind boggling tourist sites like the Ras Al Hadd turtle nesting site, the Hooti caves (famous for natural formed stalactites and stalagmites), Jabal Akdhar (here the temp falls to about 1 degree in winter), Zero Gravity point in Salalah, water springs in Mughasyl, Salalah to name a few.

Even after living out for more than 4 years, whenever I see those barren hills from the air, I feel that I am back to my home-town”. Two things summarize Oman and Omanis completely: -

- It is said that in Oman if an Indian’s car breaks down on the highway, an Omani will surely help him rather than a Indian.

- In a recent survey in Muscat asking people whether they would like to see their city adorned with skyscrapers like Dubai (at the moment Sheraton Hotel with just about 25-30 floors is the tallest building), an overwhelming majority of 80% of the people voted against it.

One thing I’ll always regret is the fact that I never took Music in 6th and forced mom to allow me to take up Art. I feel that if I would have taken music, then probably my vocal skills would have probably taken me somewhere much higher than where I stand today.