In conversation with Parimal Kalikar: Author of The Godly Blunder

Parimal Kalikar graduated in Hotel Management and earned his first buck as a bell boy at a five star resort in Goa. Even though he pursued his master’s in Human Resource Management, he worked as a credit cards salesman in a multinational company. After leaving his lucrative job in 2009, he decided to pursue his dream of writing and owning a business. His hobbies include photography and listening to music.

You can read my review here - “A Godly Blunder”.

1. What drove you to write?

I always liked writing essays and penned random thoughts. I dreamed of publishing my novel one day, but never did I imagine that it would happen so early in my life.

Penning down my thoughts excites me and I enjoy it immensely. And so the move was made to give this career a try.

Book Review – A Godly Blunder

“A Godly Blunder” is Parimal Kalikar, a hotel management graduate and a former credit card salesman’s first attempt at writing. Truthfully speaking, I hadn’t heard of this book even once before he contacted me to review it. I found it a bit different immediately after reading the synopsis and couldn’t say no. Even though I already had around 6-7 books in my ‘To-read’ list, I couldn’t resist picking up this one ahead of the others.

The blurb goes like this -

Oliver, a quality control manager in a premium car company in Germany dies in an accident and reaches heaven. He is enjoying the lavish lifestyle of a movie star..till God decides to send him on a short ‘assignment’ due to a technical snag in the Soul Management System (SMS) of Swarga. He wakes up in the body of an Indian middle class man Siddhesh. Thus starts his rollercoaster journey to India. He is baffled by the extent of corruption and dishonesty in the country as he is warmed by the affection that binds Indian families. To add to his woes, his two maverick escorts from Swarga keep disappearing without notice.

What happens at the end of the unusual assignment? And what happens when God tells you that you don’t need Him? A Godly Blunder is a hilarious ride to heaven and back to earth, which will keep the readers amused all the way.

In conversation with Puneet Gupta: Author of The Suicide Banker

Puneet Gupta is a career banker with experience of over fifteen years in India. Presently working with one of the largest banks in the Middle East, he has retained his passion for writing, trekking and painting. ‘The Suicide Banker’ is his first novel.

1. What was your inspiration to write? When did you decide that you wanted to put your thoughts into words?

When I think of it, more than inspiration, it was my frustration that forced me to write. During one of my stints with a leading bank, I felt hopelessly frustrated with the way the business was being conducted and when nobody heeded to my voices, I took to pen.

Initially I had no plans of making it a commercial venture but when I read a leading Indian mass fiction writer, I suddenly realized that if he can become a successful writer, why can’t I?

Book Review – Tanzeem

Tanzeem is the fourth and final installment (After Lashkar, Salim Must Die and Blowback) in Mukul Deva’s series of military thrillers. He has written these books at such breakneck speed that he released the 4 books over a span of 4 years from 2008 till 2011. I like many others am in love with his Tom Clancy style writing. And ever since I read Blowback, I was waiting for the day I could lay my hands on Tanzeem.

The book begins where Blowback ends. After the confrontation with the heads of the Indian Mujahideen, Iqbal, the undercover Force-22 operative decides that he needs to go into the heart of Pakistan and take out the killing machines with his own hands. Despite attempts by the top brass to prevent him from taking such a decision, he doesn’t heed their warnings and takes on the arduous journey. The rest of the story deals with how he succeeds in finding and befriending the group of terror masters waiting to unleash a wave of urban global terror. Does he succeed? Is he killed? You got to read it.

Book Review – The Suicide Banker

After “If God was a Banker” and “Devil in Pinstripes, “The Suicide Banker” is the third novel I have come across on the inner workings of the banking world. But this book was sent across to me by the author himself as he seemed impressed with my unbiased book reviews. So I began reading the book in the hope that I would find something different from the earlier banking tales. Does it succeed? Let’s see.

10 reasons on why I would prefer to settle down in Pune!

Having come to India in 2005 for my graduation, the number of places I have stayed / visited since then, I hadn’t even seen a third of them during the pre – 2005 era. From roaming around most of the places in the South to visiting Kolkata and Guwahati in the east to staying for 2 years in an around the West, I have seen a lot this country has to offer.

Learning to live in the terror democracy of the world!!

As our lovely home minister, P.Chidambaram was busy boasting about how Mumbai has not been attacked by terrorists in the last 31 months since the 26/11 incident, terrorists were laughing at his statement. They must be discussing among themselves on how lucky they are that such politicians are ruling the roost in this country. They must be wondering at the idiocy of such horrible claims when all citizens themselves agree that terror attacks are prevented not because of good intelligence but terrorists themselves not planning any such acts.

Book Review – Blowback

“Blowback” is the third in the Lashkar series by Mukul Deva. With his amazingly vivid descriptions of what goes in the mind of a terrorist, to how terrorist attacks are planned to even describing weapons in great detail, Mukul has brought alive the concept of military thrillers in India.

6 years of college life – A life well lived!

Going for long walks with your girlfriend or best friends, going to movies after bunking classes, coming late to hostel, fighting with the warden, sleeping while the faculty is telling the most important of things, ogling at all the possible girls in your own as well as the junior batch, coming late to class so frequently that the day you come early, the faculty is shocked out of his / her daylights – College life is about all this and more.

Re-lay roads across India the Pune way!

This is an open letter to the Maharashtra Government or any top authority in Pune!

Sir / Madam,

This is the story of the way two roads have been relaid or are being relaid as we speak in Pune. One is the Pashan – University Circle linking road while the other is the road which links Symbiosis International University at Lavale to the rest of the city. So what’s so special about relaying roads? Aren’t they done very frequently because of rains and a variety of other reasons? Yes there is something special about these roads. Or so to say something special which I have noticed. It may have happened before too. But then its not everyday you see such things.