Life in the Sunshine - RK's review

    


Why did I read this book?

2 to 3 years ago, this book was suggested by someone to me. I tried to remember who had recommended it to me, searched through my FB messages, and checked with a few book-reading friends who would suggest new books. But I did not succeed.

When I was suggested this book, I had an interaction with the author. As far as I remember, I had a chat through Facebook. It was the time when I was trying to publish my first book. I texted him and got to know a few details about his writing and informed him that I will connect with him after reading his book.


Recently, I decided to read all the books that I had wished to read and this book is one among them. The main reason to buy this book is that it spins around Cricket. Being an ardent street cricketer and die-hard cricket fan, I cannot ignore reading this after knowing that it is based on Cricket. Also, I liked the cover page and the choice of colour for it. Impressive!



Did I like it?

The writer should be around 45 years of age who have been following cricket since the 1983 World Cup. The story began with three kids who love playing street cricket, their practice sessions, and their efforts to buy a bat, ball, and stumps. Between every chapter, the book embraced India's run on international cricket during the 80s and 90s. The book highlighted how Pakistan was stronger those days to knock India in ODI matches.


Though few conversations did not amuse me and they were tedious, the narration on international cricket kept me going and made me turn pages.


The excitement while reading went to peak once Sachin entered into the international matches. Chapters detailing two world cups 1992 and 1996 became my favourite as I, being a '93 born, did not get any chance to watch or read about those world cups. It was inspiring how Pakistan and Srilanka managed to win their world cups.


Until then, I was not much hooked on the story of the three friends. But once the kids grew up, entered into college and the inter-hostel cricket tournament began, I was delighted as it reminded me of my college hostel's flood-light cricket matches. Their preparation and progress in the tournament were interesting to read even though it was a well-known tale that we have seen in all the sports-based movies.


During the final match, it was an interesting read when the hero motivates him through the world cup performances of Pakistan in 1992 and Srilanka in 1996. The flawless narration made the last over of the match to be a nail-biter. Supplementing a short love story turned out to be a good idea to please the readers. The final speech in the final chapter is notable and it motivates the readers.


So now, you might have a question. 'Should we go for this book?'


Go for this book if you are among the ones who accept wins and losses equally during cricket matches.


I wish to connect with the writer of this book to share my feedback but I had missed his contact. Please let me know if he is your friend/colleague or if you are the one who suggested this book.


Your decision to read this write-up warmed my heart. Thanks for your time.


Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"



















Neha - Yet another love story - RK's review


Why did I read this book?

I came to know about this book through my friend almost a year back. It is her husband's first book. I had decided to read it at some point in time. Last week, she informed me that her husband has published his second book. That's when I remembered his first book after a year and I wanted to read it first before reading his second.

Also, I connect myself whenever I hear about authors publishing their first book as I knew how it feels when presenting the first book to readers.

If you are among few, or maybe many, wondering how I knew that feeling, I would like to tell you that I have published a book, The 41-minute Journey

Sorry, you have to believe it.

I have also read the author's few reviews of movies and books from his blog constantscribbles. So I had some expectations of his first book, ordered it, and started reading.

Did I like it?

I had thought why did he call his book 'Yet another love story' as it sounds to not prefer this book. But that's the hint for how the author wanted to showcase his story. He does not want to show his story as a different or new love story as it is not and he wishes to portray it as one another ordinary love story as it is. He has also admitted it in his initial note in the book. The author sets the right expectation for his story in his note.

'How an author can get this much confidence to almost criticize his book in the name of setting the expectation?' I thought.

With all his notes (alerts), started reading the book. After reading a few chapters, I tried to realize the narration style but I couldn't as there was none till then. The story is being narrated by the author itself, not in a linear fashion. Not in a non-linear fashion either. It was kind of non-linearly non-linear. The author not only narrates the story but also talks to you. I really mean it. If you get a chance to read, you will also realize it.

Each chapter deviates from the title of it and does not get back on track immediately. Instead deviates further. I felt why he has to detail things that are not relevant to the main story. I realized I might lose interest if the style is going to be the same throughout. I also worried, if I lost interest and did not like the book, how will I say that to my friend. She is someone who reads all my writings and gives me genuine feedback. It would be so harsh to say that I did not like her husband's first book. I could also not lie that the book is good because that is the biggest betrayal a reader can do to the writer. And I cannot do that being an aspiring writer.

With all these thoughts, I continued reading. As the author mentioned (in the book's title), the story was not different from any other love stories we have read or known. But, shortly while reading, I realized that I should not look for the story in this book, but for the author's narration. Though it is non-linear raised to the power of 2 or 3, I felt I was being slowly adapted to it and started liking it.

There are places I laughed not only at the conversation between his characters but also at his conversation with me (readers). The flow of the story is nothing new but still, something pushes me towards the end not just to know the climax but also to know how the author has handled the climax.

I liked the climax very much. I felt relieved that I don't have to give bad comments about the book to my friend. I am happy that I got a chance to know a story through a different narration.

Though I haven't read a lot many books but just 20, I never came across such a style of narration. Still, I cannot call it a style. It opened a new door for me into the writing world as it had broken various traditional ways of writing. Appreciate his guts for this attempt.

Looking forward to reading his next book, 'Summer Camp'.

Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"

Friends from various ends - Chapter 6 of 6


To read from Chapter 1

“What happened to you Anvesh?” Neha asked.

“Actually, I did not expect...” Anvesh started.

“Hmm, you can feel later. Now it’s time to celebrate!! Cut the cake man”, Arun pushed him.

“But... Arun!!” Anvesh started saying something. But this time Rohit interrupted.

“Hey, Anvesh!!Why are you feeling too much? We are running out of time. Come on!! Let’s Party!!” Rohit exploded.

Anvesh smiled and started cutting the strawberry-flavored ice cake. Aditya was expecting that he would be given the first piece as he was the one who gave the information about Anvesh's birthday. Arun was also in the race for the first piece as he bought the cake. But Rohit was not thinking about anything. He was 100 percent sure that he would get the first piece for no reason and he remained chill with his mouth waiting to open.

Anvesh made the first cut. Neha’s eye glitter. Anvesh carefully took the first piece and gently kept in his mouth. All of a sudden Rohit and Arun gave him a shot in his back. Anvesh did not open his mouth to shouting as he was eating.

“Hey guys, stop”, Ramya said.

“Hey!! It’s a birthday blast. He should get it”, Rohit and Arun said in unison.

“Please be quiet friends. I need to sleep”, Sumit's voice sounded from last.

“I need to share something with friends”, Anvesh started after eating the first piece.

“Yes. You can share. Before that we can share the cake”, Tarun gave his idea.

“You are the man Tarun”, Rohit said.

Arun pushed Anvesh aside and made many small pieces from the cake and distributed them to all. Aditya was happy seeing Anvesh smiling. After finished eating, everyone waited for Anvesh to share his feelings.

“I am happy to be here right now. It’s my pleasure to have such friends like you people. But to be frank, today is not my birthday. Only according to my Transfer Certificates, today is my birthday.”

On hearing this, Aditya turned the statue. Arun looked at that statue and waited for it to react. Rohit walked back and stood in the last row. Neha and Ramya looked at each other as if they had never met before. Others waited for Anvesh’s next word.

“Though I should have not revealed this to you, the reason why I  revealed is, it’s been only a day since we started our friendship and I don’t want to celebrate this for a fake reason. But I felt today was the birthday of our friendship and that’s why I cut the cake happily. So Come on!! Let’s party for this wonderful day”

“If you have told this before then we would have been in the race for cutting the cake”, Neha said openly. Laughter filled the air.

“Anvesh, I am happy to be in this LG. We need some medium to stay connected and also for passing information”, Shanu said.

Anvesh was happy. He was expecting someone to ask this. ”Facebook?” he suggested.

“Hey, Anvesh I think you need some updates. Nowadays people use WhatsApp more than Facebook.” Shantini said.

“Great idea!! Let me create a group right now. Shantini you are the spoc. Give me everyone’s number.” Jayanth said.

“No problem Jayanth. I will do it.”, Shantini replied.

“Ok. If you don’t give, I will take from the group once created. So simple”, Jayanth thought.

“Anvesh I think you don’t need us hereafter in your mission,” Arun said.

“I am happy that I was also one of the reasons for this successful mission,” Rohit said proudly.

“Wait friends. Suggest some group names for our Whatsapp group”, Anvesh asked Arun and Rohit.

“Aarti Sahu, you are very good at these things. Can you suggest?” Soundhar said.

Everyone jumped into this task. Jayanth posed like a painter and started thinking.

“LG-2014”, Rohit suggested.

“Not bad Rohit. Very worst!!” Suman commented.

“Friends forever?” Aarti suggested.

“Nice. Say something related to all of us”, Chinmey said.

“Inseparable INFORMATICAns?” Suchitra suggested.

“Friends from various Ends?” Shantini suggested.

“Wow!!” most of them screamed and the name finalized.

July 7, 8.30pm

‘Shantini created the group “Friends from various Ends”

  Shantini added you’,

Anvesh got this message. All 33 were added to the group.

‘Hi frndss,’ Anvesh posted his first message. All started texting.

Jayanth was busy saving all contacts. Anvesh felt his mission was accomplished. He kept his phone aside and closed his eyes to thank god for his support.

July 7, 9pm

‘Mak created group “Reshmi bday plan”

 Mak added you’, Anvesh got this message.

‘Frnds tomorrow Reshmi’s bday. So I created this group. Let’s plan for her bday here. So I didn't add her. After hr bday celebration I will delete ths grp. So suggest your ideas here for tomrw celebration…’ Mak posted the first message.

‘😊’ Arun posted.

‘😊😊’ Rohit posted.

‘😊😊😊' Anvesh posted.

‘She will be here by tomorrow evening’ Sushree texted.

‘Hi Sushree’ Jayanth posted.

‘Jayanth!! Don’t try anything here. Suggest only ideas’ Shantini warned.

Messages piled up in Anvesh’s Whatsapp inbox. Anvesh’s face resembled a happy smiley.

“God, I think I don’t need your support. My friends will take care. Good night”, Anvesh uttered

----- The End------

Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"

Friends from various ends - Chapter 5 of 6



The next day Anvesh tried to speak to Neha.

”Excuse me, I am Anvesh. I am.,” Anvesh started.

“Yeah. What can I do for you?”Neha questioned in reply.

“Yesterday I was interacting with everyone. But I missed you.”

“So?”Neha questioned after staring for a while.

“So? I will come to the point. I want you to be one among us,” Anvesh said.

“One among us? What do you mean by that? You want me to be a human being as if I am an animal now?” Neha's voice raised.

“No. Neha. Not in that way!!”Anvesh voice shattered.

Anvesh thought of Neha as 'Aarti Sahu from Karnataka. He could see her eyes turning red like Tamil actor Vijayakanth's eyes. He made himself ready to block the slap from her.

“Please don't try to play with any other girl by saying this,” Neha ordered.

Anvesh gave nods for whatever she told.

“This is the first and last warning Mr.Anvesh,” Neha concluded.

Anvesh never had such a weird experience. He came out of the hall. Arun and Rohit followed him and laughed loudly.

“Excuse me Neha!! I am Anvesh,” Arun said.

“ So what?? Don't follow me!!” Rohit said in a female tone. Both of them teased Anvesh as he was insulted by Neha.

“Excuse me Mr.Arun and Rohit!!” Neha's voice sounded.

Arun and Rohit turned towards her. SSPPLLASSHH!!! SSPPLLAASSHH!!

“Don't try to imitate me,” Neha ordered after slapping them.

Both kept their right hand in their right cheek so that others could not see their red-colored cheeks.

“What a shot!!” Anvesh shouted.

“Hey, Anvesh you missed it. It was awesome when she slapped. Am I right Arun?” Rohit said smartly.

“Please leave me. I don't want to be in this Mission,” Arun cried.

“Hey, Arun!! Try to enjoy what you have and what you GET as I do,” Rohit said.

Anvesh was confused about whether to continue or drop his mission. But he returned home happy as he escaped from SLAP.

“Neha, I don't know who you are? Where are you? But I am coming to you. Once I get you, I will slap you,” Arun said.

“ Neha, I am waiting for your slap,” Rohit said happily.

It was a week since Arun was thrashed by Neha. Rohit had decided to take Anvesh and Arun for his friend's birthday celebration.

“Anvesh, Today is June 30th. My friend's birthday. Come let's go for the celebration,” Rohit said.

“Hey, we are not interested to come Rohit!!” Anvesh replied.

Arun thought for a while and asked, ”What's your friend's name?”.

“Rekha,” Rohit replied.

“This single word has a lot of power Mr.Rohit. When we have the celebration?” Arun jumped in excitement.

“5pm sharp.”

“I will be there by 4pm,” Arun replied.

This conversation gave Anvesh an idea for his Mission. He decided to make some birthday celebration plans so that all his friends could be invited and become a little more closely. He got the Employee details list from Spoc Shanthini.

First, he scanned Neha's details. But her birthday was in December. Then he checked her colleagues, Suchitra and Reshmi's birthdate. Suchitra's birthday was on June 16, a week before their ILP training starting date.

“Just Miss!!”Anvesh felt. After a few seconds, he screamed” WOW!!”. Because Reshmi's birthday was on July 8 and there were only seven days left for that day.

Though he can plan for the celebration, he wanted to know whether Neha would come for that or not. But he was not bold enough to approach her. Anvesh explained his idea to his Mission mates. “Arun it's your duty to arrange for the celebration,” Anvesh said.

Jul-1

Anvesh could see Neha talking with Suchitra. “ Oh!! Fine,” he felt.

Jul-2

Anvesh could see Neha eating with Shanthini. “Much Better!!” he felt.

Jul-3

Anvesh was shocked to see Neha sharing her food with Shanu and Fariha. “Already all four states are united!! But how come??” he questioned himself.

Jul-4

Rohit was having coffee with Neha. Anvesh this time confused. He decided to investigate this issue with Arun. But Arun left office early as he wanted to go to his hometown for the weekend.

Jul-5 and 6

Rohit did not utter a word about his 'coffee with Neha'. Anvesh also decided not to question him.

Jul-7

Anvesh was searching for Arun in office. Arun did not attend the first session in the morning. “He might be late from his hometown,” Anvesh thought. It was 11am. Break time. Anvesh was expecting Arun to inquire about the birthday celebration, the next day. Rohit never spoke a word with Anvesh from the morning. Anvesh was more confused about the happenings.

“Hey, Anvesh!!” Arun's voice sounded.” Here is the cake!!” he said and showed him the Strawberry flavored cake he bought for tomorrow's celebration.

“Hey, Arun!! Why did you buy a cake today?? Tomorrow is her birthday. Right?” Anvesh asked.

“Yes. But she is going home tomorrow. So it would be better if we celebrate today,” Arun replied.

“Okie. Then did you inform all our friends?” Anvesh asked. By the time he completed his question all their friends assembled for the celebration.

“Okie. Where is Reshmi?” Anvesh asked eagerly.

“She went home yesterday evening,” Ramya replied.

“What? Arun aren't you aware of this?” Anvesh asked in confusion.

“Yes. But the cake is not for her. It's for you,” Arun replied.

“Ya buddy. I am the one who informed our birthday about our friends,” Aditya, Anvesh's close friend said.

Anvesh had no words. He was just looking at everyone's face.

Continue reading here - Chapter 6 - Last Chapter


Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"

Friends from various ends - Chapter 4 of 6



What did Anvesh do? Could this stop him from going ahead with his mission? 

“ I will explain,” Anvesh said and started to explain the reason why Aarti shouted at him. 

“When I saw her she looked tired and seemed to be sick.

I asked her if she needs some water. And she readily said Yes!

I gave her my bottle. She returned it after drinking sufficient water and thanked me for that. 

In return, I introduced myself and asked her name too. She said that she was Aarti Sahu from Odisha and checked the time on her phone. 

I asked her if she has any of her college mates in our LG. 

She replied that she was not well and tried to rest on her table.

I asked her if she had consulted any doctor and also informed her about the presence of a doctor in the training place and told her to consult him.

Since she ignored my advice I just started to force her again and again ignoring her words of irritation.

Finally, she shouted at me to Mind my business.”

Saying this, Anvesh completed the 5 minutes flashback.

“Oh! Nothing much happened?! Chalo Fine,” Rohit dismissed.

There was absolute silence for 2 minutes.

“ God! what's this? What about my Mission? Why are you letting me down?“ Anvesh was depressed.

Anvesh, Rohit, and Arun gathered for a meeting.

“I think we are going on the wrong track,” Arun said.

“ I think the same,” Rohit said.

Anvesh was very silent when Arun and Rohit were speaking. He made a plan and unfortunately, it went in vain but fortunately, the same plan promoted his Friendship Mission.

“ Hey Anvesh, I am Priyadarshini. Just ignore her. Don't take it seriously,” Priyadharshini tried to console Anvesh.

“Yeah man, she will be back to normal within 10 minutes. And I am Shantini, Aarti's close friend. I will talk to her,” Shantini said.

“ Oh, That's fine. Don't mistake me,” Anvesh said happily.

“No! You don't mistake her, Please. She will be alright,” Chinmaya said. 

All friends of Aarti, from Odisha, asked Anvesh not to take the issue seriously and they treated him as one among them. And Anvesh also introduced Arun to those Odisha guys. Now Anvesh and Arun were very happy as their Mission was getting accomplished. 

In the meanwhile, Aarti looked at Anvesh and started walking towards him

“ Oh God, She is coming. I'll leave,” Arun said with fear.

“Hey Let me join you”, Anvesh said and joined Arun.

But Aarti walked fast and stopped them.

“Sorry, Aarti. I will never do this again,” Arun said as if he only had done that. His voice shattered. He was about to cry.

“Sorry Anvesh, I just shouted at you because of my headache. Please Don't mind about that,” Aarti Sahu said softly.

“GOD NEVER LETS ANYONE DOWN,” Anvesh thought and didn't reply to her He was just watching the sky.

“What? What you are saying? What happened to you?”Aarti enquired.

“Nothing, It's ok Aarti. I am happy now,” Anvesh replied.

So Odisha was completely in their rhythm.

Arun took Rohit and Anvesh to his friends. They were having breakfast in their training hall which was actually prohibited.

“Hey Arun, come on have it”, Vennila said and gave her a box.

“Suchitra, Why don't you bring some good 'Poories'? ”, Ramya said even after eating all 8 Poories Suchitra had brought.

“ Give me some water Please”, Suchitra asked Reshmi.

Arun decided to introduce Anvesh and Rohit to his friends. But,

“Excuse me, associates, How dare you have your food here?” Karan, their Technical Lead, a voice came from somewhere all of a sudden.

What would happen when the trainees violate the rules? 

Karan's arrival made Suchitra hide her box and Ramya swallow the ninth poori. But they were caught red-hand. 

“Having food inside the office is strictly prohibited. Isn't it? Even though you people are aware of it, how dare you break the rules?”Karan asked angrily.

“Sorry Karan, we didn’t find time to have it in our hostel. That’s why,” Reshmi said.

“Don't give me silly reasons. You are professionals. Behave in the same way,” Karan said.

“We? Professionals?..,” Jayanth asked Soundhar.

“So all of you will have to meet Lalitha, your senior faculty, at 3pm”, Karan ordered.

Soundhar planned to escape and cleared his place immediately as if he didn't have the food.

“ Soundhar, clean it properly,” Karan said.

Soundhar was shocked.” Excuse me?” he asked after he checked his table.

He was confused. Though he had cleaned the table, somehow Karan had found him. He enquired Jayanth about Karan's superpower.

“ He didn't ask you to clean the table but your lips”, Jayanth said.

So all of them were asked to meet Lalitha at 3pm. Suchitra had already started crying. She was worried about her job. Ramya started to sleep after crying for three hours. Venilla, being a brave girl, tried to console everyone.

It was 2.55pm. Karan signaled them to meet Lalitha. Venilla led everyone to Lalitha. 

“ Oh, you are the associates who had your breakfast here. Am I right?” Lalitha asked strictly.

“Y..y..y..e..e..s”, Jayanth's voice shattered.

“Aren't you aware of the rules?” Lalitha asked.

“Again the same question...? How many of these people would ask us the same question when we commit a mistake!”, Revathi thought.

“Y..y..e..s..s Lalitha”, Jayanth replied.

“ I don't want to waste my time in inquiring you people. Just do what I say. So you are 9 in number. How much time will it take for you to complete the JAVA assignment?” Lalitha asked.

“ Five hours”, Reshmi replied.

“ Fine. I want them to be completed by 6pm today. I will be leaving at 6.30pm and I want you people to submit the assignment by 6pm. So please Go and start your assignment immediately,” Lalitha ordered.

All were worried about completing the assignment within 3 hours and just started to think about an alternative job instead. Though Jayanth was very studious, he would not do it within 3 hours.

“ Giving assignments on the very first day is a violation of rule”, Ramya shouted, out of pressure.

“ Violation?? Then, what about the poori which you had in the training hall?”Jayanth said.

“Ok friends let's start doing our assignment now so that we would complete at least 75% of the work,” Venilla said.

All of them started with the assignment. But they knew that they would not complete. Still, they wanted to give their best.

“Remember! Suppose you fail to complete your task by evening, definitely, you will be terminated,” Karan's voice sounded cold.

Arun decided to ask his new friend Tarun for some help and approached him. He accepted with pleasure and informed his Andhra friends and asked them also to help Arun's friends. Arun felt very happy and got relieved that his friends would not be terminated.

Anvesh and Rohit were also happy. Already Odisha was in their rhythm and now Andhra associates were helping Arun's friends. 

It was 6pm when the assignment was completed. Venilla submitted the assignment to Lalitha and she was shocked to know that they had completed it within 3 hours!

Associates from Tamilnadu thanked Tarun's friends. Then they introduced each other. 

So Anvesh felt that 90 percent of his mission was completed as associates from Andhra, Tamilnadu and Odisha were completely in his Friendship mode. But he was worried about Neha who was from Karnataka. Only she was left out as she was the only person from Karnataka.

It was 6.30pm. Every associate started to leave the office with their new friends from other states. But Neha was walking alone. Anvesh decided to talk with her the next day. 

Will Neha catch up on the track or will she be the only villain in the story??

Continue reading here - Chapter 5 of 6

Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"

Friends from various ends - Chapter 3 of 6



“ Excuse me, I am Anvesh from Andhra and He is Rohit from Odisha.”

“ Oh!! and I am Arun from Tamilnadu. Nice to meet you guys.”

“ Thank you. I need a favour from you.”, Anvesh said.

“ Oh!! Sure. Tell me,” Arun replied.

“ I have planned a Mission and I want that to be accomplished.”

“ Mission??!”, Arun asked.

“ Mission in the sense, a Task. The name of the Mission is 'Initiate and Immediate'.”, Anvesh started.

“ Could you please explain clearly?“ Rohit asked.

“ Yeah... In total, we are 34 in number. Out of which 16 are female and 18 are male.

Out of 34 associates, 10 are from Tamilnadu, 14 are from Andhra, 9 are from Odisha and the remaining 1 is from Karnataka. “

“ So we are from various ends of India!!”, Arun said.

“Yes!!”, Anvesh replied.

“Oh!! Were you calculating 'this' in the morning?! Hmm. Great! Go ahead.”, Rohit said.

Anvesh felt happy that the two guys were on his path.

“ I used to look for unity among everyone around me in schools and colleges. Now as we are going to be together for 3 months of training, I want to bring unity among all 34 associates. For this Mission, I needed someone who could easily mingle with others and make friends easily. I was watching you since morning and found that you both were up to my expectation.”, Anvesh completed.

Rohit and Arun looked at each other with pride.

“ I really feel proud of you as you are interested in such good work.”, Rohit said.

“ Ok listen. Usually, everyone hesitates to begin their conversation with an unknown person. But once they get started, they would easily become good friends,” Anvesh said.

“ Yeah, you are right.”, Arun said.

“ So our aim is to initiate the conversation whenever there exists a hesitation between any two of the associates,” Anvesh explained his first aim. ”And it is normal that we help our close friends when they are in trouble, but now we have to start helping all the unfamiliar associates immediately, whenever they are in trouble,” Anvesh explained his second aim of the mission.

“ Hmm. So this is called Mission 'Initiate' and 'Immediate'? Fine,” Rohit said.

“ So we are going to unite people together and help them be good friends. I feel really happy to do this.”, Arun said happily.

“ Yeah. I have a little experience with this. I have helped my friends in their love.”, Rohit said.

“ Ya Anvesh, It is easy to make 2 or 3 and sometimes around 7 or 8 people to get united. But 34...? Is this possible?”, Arun asked.

“It's quite difficult to do, but if we do this then that would be an achievement,” Anvesh replied.

“ Fine Anvesh. We are doing it!!”, Rohit and Arun said in unison.

“ Ok friends, Training is about to start and it's the right time to begin our mission,” Anvesh said.

“ Initiate. Initiate. Initiate. Initiate.”, Arun told himself.

He was expecting someone from any state other than Tamilnadu to sit next to him so that he could begin the Mission.

Fortunately, Shanu from Andhra sat next to him.

But,” Excuse me. Could you please shift your place? So that I could sit near Arun”, Ramya asked Shanu.

“ Sure.. “, Shanu replied and took a seat near Anvesh, her friend.

“Hey. I got a seat near you. “, Ramya said happily to Arun.

Arun sarcastically said, “Oh!! Great achievement!! “

He was scolding her for missing a conversation with Shanu.

“ Hey, Arun, could you please tell that tongue twister once?”

“ Hmm... Tongue twister.....!! I said, please leave me.”

Ramya was rolling on the floor and laughing at such a silly joke.

“ Oh!! If everyone here would be like Ramya, laughing even for a silly joke, then we could easily accomplish our mission.” Arun thought.

“You have a good sense of humour, Arun.”, Ramya said loudly.

“But you don't have a good sense of humour”, Arun said plainly.

“ Ok. Come on. Tell me that tongue twister... I am waiting”, Ramya said.

“ Hi.” Tharun, from Andhra, interrupted. 

“ What a surprise!!”, Arun replied.

He was planning to initiate a conversation with someone but that happened naturally.

“ I just wanted to share something with you.”, Tharun said.

“ Oh okay sure. Go ahead.”, Arun said happily.

“ I love speaking by using Homonyms.” Tharun started.

“Homonyms?”, Arun stopped him.

“ Words with similar sounds. Like Accept and Except.” Tharun explained.

“ Ok Ok Fine.”, Arun nodded.

“ I found that your name and my name are Homonyms.”

“ A..r..u..n. T..h..a..r..u..n “, Arun checked and smiled as they are homonyms.

“ Hey Tharun, you are so sweet.“ 

“ I wanted to share this with you. That's why I had to interrupt.” 

Arun didn't want to miss this opportunity. “ Never mind. Friends? “ he asked.

“ Yes!”, Tharun replied happily.

“ Mr. Anvesh. Mind your business!!!”, Aarthi Sahu, who was from Odisha, shouted suddenly.

All associates, except Sumit, were shocked to hear this on the very first day of training. They searched for Anvesh who stood near Aarthi Sahu. Her face had turned red.

Continue reading here - Chapter 4 of 6

Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"

Friends from various ends - Chapter 2 of 6



“ Oh!! Very smart. But don't try to be over-smart. “, Karan replied.

Karan tried to wake him up, but all his efforts happened to be in vain.

“ Can only a female voice wake him up? “, Karan questioned himself.

“ Sumit. Please wake up. This is our first day in training.”, Prasanna said politely in a female voice. 

All of a sudden Sumit woke up. Karan was confused. But Sumit was embarrassed to realize that it wasn't any beautiful lady and Prasanna had fooled him. Karan started laughing looking at Sumit's fuse-less face. Ravindranath, Chinmaya, and Vishwa started to laugh aloud to irritate ashamed Sumit. But Sumit, being a cool guy, just ignored everything and planned to make his next sleeping session. He was the man. 

Everyone started settling down. Since all were from various parts of the country, Karan gave them some time to introduce themselves.

“ Hey! I am Sushree. “

“ Oh! I am Reshmi. She is Revathi and we are from the same college. “

“ Wow!! That sounds good. I and Priyadharshini are also from the same college. “, Sushree said.

“ Nice to know. So, a few of you here are college mates. I am from GCT college and I am all alone from my college :( “ Mohana said sadly. 

Arun jumped in happiness when he heard that Mohana was from his college.

“ Are you from GCT? “ Arun questioned doubtfully. “I'm also from the same college!”

“ Yeah, but I haven’t ever seen you in the college before “ Mohana replied 

“ Ha Ha. I was coming to the college only during cultural programs “ Arun said proudly.

“ How is it possible? What a coincidence? It's unbelievable “ Three female associates were shouting at the other part of the room.

“ Hey, girls, what happened? “ Suman enquired. 

“ All of us have the same.. “ one of the three girls started.

“ Boyfriend? “, Koteswararao teased and giggled.

“ All of us have the same name, 'Aarthi' !! “, one of the three Aarthis said.

“ Oh!! same name?? OK.“, Rao replied plainly. 

When all of them were busy exchanging names, suddenly they got to hear a beautiful voice.

“ All..............is.............Well........,” Vennila screamed.

“ Hey what happened? “ Roopika questioned.

“ Since no one is asking my name, I just screamed to attract all your attention towards me,“ Vennila said loudly.

“ So smart. Okay! What's your name? “ Roopika asked to cool her down

“ Yeah! I am Vennila “

“ Wow..... I love Vanilla. “, Jayanth screamed.

“ Are you mad? I already have a boyfriend!“ Vennila declared just to escape.

“ Hey, relax girl. I am not talking about you. I too have a girlfriend. I just said that I love Vanilla flavoured Ice cream.”

Besides, one of the trainees was silently taking a headcount of all the associates present in the room. And no one knew the reason. 

“ 1, 2, 3, 4, …... 33, 34”, Anvesh counted.

“ Hey Anvesh, you need not take attendance. That is my job.” Shantini said.

Anvesh smiled and started to count again.“ 1, 2, 3, …... 14, 15, 16 “

“34? 16? What are you counting? “, Aditya enquired.

Anvesh ignored him and started to count again. “1, 2, 3, …... 9, 10”

“ What happened to him? 34? 16? 10?“, Vishwa asked Aditya.

“ Learning Numbers!! “, Aditya stated angrily.

“ 1, 2, 3, ….. 12, 13, 14 “, Anvesh counted 14 this time.

“ Hey Anvesh, I will teach you numbers later. Don't waste your time now. “, Jayanth tried to stop him.

Anvesh just smiled.

“ Your smile is very beautiful just like mine. So keep smiling always but don't start counting again.”, Jayanth said.

“The last count.”, Anvesh said and counted again.” 1 ….. hmm 1. ”

“ Thank God!! This time he stopped with just 1”, Aditya said.

“ Aditya, come let us go for our break. Let him keep on counting “, Vishwa said.

Most of the associates were leaving the room for their break. Anvesh was just watching each and every one.

“ I think he should consult a doctor “, Tarun said to Harish.

Except for Sumit, all others left the room. Sumit never takes a break while sleeping.

“ Hey, you look pretty!! “, Vasthav said to Shanu.

“ I knew it!! “, Shanu replied.

“ Oh!!! My mom keeps advising me to lie if that can make people happy. Are you happy now?”, Vasthav said.

Shanu kept quiet as she didn't know what to reply.

Anvesh was just listening to all these conversations. Besides, he was searching for someone. But he couldn't find it.

“ Yeah!, You are the one!!! “, Anvesh said happily to Rohit.

Rohit was confused. “ What? “

“ You are the right person for my mission. Sorry, our mission,” Anvesh said.

“ Mission? Are you mad? “, Rohit asked him.

“ I will explain it to you clearly. Wait let me pick one more guy.”

“ One more guy? Excuse me!! “ Rohit said.

“ Yes. One more guy. But no one here is up to my expectation “

Rohit had a doubt if Anvesh was gay. “ Oh... OK, I am leaving”, Rohit wanted to escape.

“ Hey Stop! Don't leave. I got him. What is the name of that guy standing next to Rao?”

“ Next to Rao? Hmm... I don't know” Rohit replied.

“ Excuse me” Anvesh called him.

Continue reading here - Chapter 3 of 6

Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"

Friends from various ends - Chapter 1 of 6



This is a story about a group of new IT employees from different parts of the country and how they developed friendships among them during their first month of training.

Every new joiner to a company can easily relate to this story. 

Author's note: 

I wrote this story in 2014 when I joined TCS. This was my first story and I did not have any writing experience before. I am working to update this story now in 2021 to minimize the errors and enhance the reading experience. Your valuable feedback will also help me here.

Editor: Neha Christina

Chapter 1:

TCE Solutions recruits graduates every year to work in their company. This corporate company had pride in recruiting Mr.Jayanth who was from Tamilnadu. He was the best fit graduate for an IT company. He had a wide knowledge of C, C++, JAVA, and INFORMATICA. It so happens that whenever a company has brilliant associates then obviously there would be at least a few below-average associates. This corporate company was not an exception for that. Mr.Jayanth was the head of those below-average associates. Ms.Neha, Ms.Ramya, Ms.Fariha, and Ms.Suchithra were a few of those associates. Yes, all were female associates and Mr.Jayanth was their guide.

All these associates were being trained in the BIPM stream. This stream included more than 30 associates from various states of India. It was the first day of their training.

“ Hey Neha, have you watched '3 Idiots'? ”Jayanth started.

“ Yeah Jayanth, around 5 times ” Neha replied.

“ Oh!!! Around 5 times?? So you have wasted...... Hmm 5*3,15 hours of your life Neha ”.

“ Hey Jayanth, that is my favourite movie. How could you say this?”

“ Favourite?? But still... How could you watch it more than once? “

“Thank god! I watched it only once.” Fariha whispered to Suchithra.

“ Hey Jayanth, 'Let us C' was your favourite book and you had read it 7 times right? “ Neha said smartly

“ Yeah, but... hmm that comes under education and you have wasted your time in entertainment! “Jayanth argued.

“ Oh, God!! Can you send someone to stop this unworthy argument? “ Suchithra prayed

Her prayer was answered immediately.

Another Trainee of that stream reached the training hall and walked towards Jayanth. Yeah, that associate was also a female associate.

So what next ??

As soon as she reached Jayanth, she said,” Excuse me, may I know in which hall the training for BIPM associates will be held? “

“ Yeah... You hmm..” Jayanth started.

“ In this hall only, it might take 10 minutes to begin,” Suchitra replied fastly to save the new associate from Jayanth.

“ So, will you be joining us for the training? That's great! Let's rock!” Jayanth said happily.

“ Thank you, I am Shanu. May I know all your names? “ Shanu said.

Everyone exchanged their names and settled down for training.

Arun and Soundhar entered the hall.

“ Soundhar, try this. kachcha pappad pakka pappad. kachcha pappad pakka pappad. kachcha pappad pakka pappad. kachcha pappad pakka pappad,“ Arun said within 2 seconds.

“ That's it. Very easy. Kachcha pappad pakka pappad. kappa pachchad kappa kachad pacha pakad,“ Soundhar collapsed.

“ Can I give it a try? I know Recursive function very well” Jayanth interrupted them.

“ Sure “ Arun nodded.

“Kachcha.............pappad............pakka..............pappad..............kachcha.......... pappad.........pakka............pappad....kach..” Jayanth tried slowly.

“ STOP. I think we need a speed breaker to control your speed. No. You are rejected “ Arun said as the meaning of tongue twister was spoiled by Jayanth.

“ kachcha pappad pakka pappad.. kachcha pappad pachcha kappad..cha Oh shit!! “ Suchitra tried.

“ I think we are having the best entertainment with these guys,“ Soundhar giggled in Arun's ear.

“ Ok guys, go home and try this. Now let us introduce ourselves “ Arun said.

Arun and Soundhar gave a handshake to all and sat near Ramya.

“ Mr.Arun I think only you can do the tongue twister very well. Will you practice daily? “ Ramya investigated.

“ KACHCHA PAPPAD PAKKA PAPPAD.. KACHCHA PAPPAD PAKKA PAPPAD.. KACHCHA PAPPAD PAKKA PAPPAD.. KACHCHA PAPPAD PAKKA PAPPAD.. KACHCHA PAPPAD PAKKA PAPPAD.. KACHCHA PAPPAD PAKKA PAPPAD.. “ a voice near the door sounded.

Arun was eager to see the one who could recite the tongue twister better than him.

Ramya was more eager than Arun and she was waiting for the door to be opened.

The door creaked. An associate entered the hall staring at everyone already present there.

Ramya was eager to know his name.

“ Hey KACHCHA PAPPAD, You are doing great dude! What's your name?“, Ramya eagerly inquired.

“ What's your employee ID? “, he questioned her.

“ 86325 and my name is Ramya. What's your name? “

“ Ramya, you are finished. He is our Technical lead, Karan.” Fariha whispered into Ramya's ears.

“Oh, God!! I am sorry Mr. Karan. I thought you were one among us. Please ignore this. “, Ramya tried to manage and immediately went back to her seat.

Mr. Karan noted something into his notepad. Then he introduced himself and asked the trainees to select the Module Spoc for their Learning Group.

After few suggestions from the trainee associates, Ms. Shanthini was appointed as Module spoc. She was very good in technical skills as well as in communication skills.

“Excuse me, May I come in? “, Rohit interrupted the session.

“ Ya Sure. Do you belong to this LG? “ Karan questioned.

“Maybe “ Rohit replied, which amused Karan since it was unexpected. 

“Maybe?? At least do you have your Offer Letter?” Karan questioned again.

“My Friend has it “, Rohit replied.

“Who is he? Is he present here? “ 

“Ya, the guy who is sleeping in the second row? “

“Sleeping in the second row? How smart is he? I didn't even notice him sleeping. “ 

“You would not find him even if he was sleeping in the first row “, Rohit proudly said.

“Wake him up. What's his name? “, Karan's voice stiffened by Rohit's reply.

Who was that daring guy sleeping?

 Who was the boy sleeping?

“Sumit!!!! “, Vasthav, Adithya, Bhargav, Bhanu, and Harish called out in unison. 

Sumit was still sleeping.

“Is he still sleeping? “, Karan's anger aroused.

“Karan, only a female voice can wake him up. “, Tarun said as planned earlier. 

Continue reading here - Chapter 2 of 6

Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"

Half girlfriend - RK's review

 


Why did I pick 'Half girlfriend?'

You might know that I have a growing passion for writing. 

'Oh! you didn't know? Ok. So now you should be knowing.' 😀

I started writing a story based on Marathon all of a sudden for a specific reason, later I realized I had some interest in doing it and so continued writing more short stories.

Over the days, I had realized I need to read more to write better. Since then, I started to read books focussing to understand the style of writing, usage of verbs and tense, and characterization. 

I read three books from the author 'Arvind Narsima,' an author from Pondicherry, namely 'Arya - The new beginning,' 'The Aravan head' and 'The Chosen One.' Also, I am reading a self-help book 'The 5 AM Club' by Robin Sharma.

During this pandemic, I moved away from reading and I almost lost the habit of reading. After several months, only in April 2021, I resumed reading with the book 'Vaadivaasal' and 'The 5 AM Club.'

I read only 5 pages of the book 'The 5 AM Club' daily just to keep me motivated and continued to read 'Vaadivaasal.' Once I completed reading 'Vaadivaasal,' I ordered two books which I had wanted to read long back. They are 'Neha: Yet another love story' and 'Life in the sunshine.' 😕😏

I could hear a few of you thinking, 'What books are these?' They are from new writers. One from the husband of one of my friends and the other from a friend of my colleague. Being an aspiring writer, I am more excited about reading the works of new writers whom I know.

Please do let me know if you have written something. 😊

The books will be delivered only on May 9th. So I wanted to read something till I get the books. I had the following books at my home to read.

'Ponniyin Selvan - Part 1'

'The Monk who sold his Ferrari'

'Kuttrapparambarai'

'Half girlfriend'

I wanted to read something light as I just finished reading 'Vaadivaasal.' I did not find interest in the first three books for the mood I was in. I was a little hesitant about Chetan Bhagat's book. Earlier, I had read his books 'Five point someone,' 'Three mistakes of my life' and '2 states.' But I was not comfortable starting the book 'Half girlfriend' as I had seen many reviewers thrashing Chetan Bhagat for his writing over the last few years.

After a while, after gaining courage, I somehow started reading 'Half girlfriend'. 

'Did I like it?'

The contents on the back cover of the book were Ok. The Prologue was good. Slowly progressed chapter by chapter without any guilt for reading this book. All of a sudden, I felt disconnected when Madhav looks for kisses or hugs or sex from Riya saying he loves her madly. I could not accept such love always looking for a kiss or hug whenever they are in private. 

Maybe if I had loved someone and been in private with them, I might have easily connected to these romances. Laughs.😜

That was the point that kept me in check whether to continue reading or not. I paused my reading. 

'Should I continue?' 😕

I tapped my chest gently, saying 'All is well' and continued reading believing these romances will pass on soon. 

When I completed 75 pages, I was sick of Madhav for his desire to make love with Riya before loving her sincerely because I was only used to the love where boys take more time to at least touch a girl, impress her slowly, create trust in her, get her approval, and then only will be allowed to kiss. But Madhav kisses directly in lips and wanted to make love all of a sudden. I was worried that this sort of romance will happen every three to four pages. So, I closed the book. I regretted starting this book. I was upset. 😞

20 minutes passed. I looked at the book and picked it up. I skimmed through the next unread pages and found lines saying, 'Madhav and Riya broke up.' It had everything to cheer me up and gave me hope to continue reading. The plot deviated from love and the flow of the story was steady. While reading I was praying that Riya should not jump into any of the chapters. 🙏

Madhav went to Bihar. Gates foundation team will be visiting his school in few weeks. He had to prepare his speech.

All of a sudden Riya brought back into the story. But now, I was thinking 'How is she back from her married life?' and I did not hate her re-entry into the story. Sooner, I realized I could not stop reading and I wanted to know what will happen next. I was tied to the story except when Madhav romances with Riya. 

While reading, I became curious after reading the journals from Riya. It was the high point of the story and unexpected. At least, I did not expect it. From then, I was glued to the story. I decided to read till the end in one shot and did that easily.

Though the ending was like things that will only happen in movies, being a hard-core fan of such movies, I liked it and in fact, I wished for such an ending while reading. Most of the time, we, readers wanted to be happy at the end. I also felt that I should watch the movie based on this book to see how they have adapted it.

Overall, though there are a few boring chapters, the storyline was good. It did not deserve the hesitation I had before reading it.

Hope this write-up too did not deserve the hesitation you had before reading it. 

'No? you say it deserves?'

'All is well!'

Explore RK's writings:
3 books written by RK - "மாலை மாற்று", "22 Gifts" and "The 41-minute Journey"