Book Review : Family Planning by Karan Mahajan

I got tired of reading non-fiction books. In last couple of years I read several books about personality development, leadership and personal finance. I finished reading some and gave up on others. So finally I decided to take a break from those books and read something different. So yesterday after doing 15 minutes of research in our small town library, I found Family Planning by a young author, Karan Mahajan.

I am glad this was my first fictional novel ( in my adult life). This short book is about a big, middle-class Indian family living in Delhi. The main character, Mr Ahuja is into politics ( ministry of urban development to be specific). Yet, the book is more about his personal life than his work life. Mr and Mrs Ahuja have 13 kids. The eldest is sixteen some years old. Mainly the story revolves around Mr Ahuja and his son. These are the main characters in the book. The book is bold and witty. Its content includes everything from sex-lives of Indian couples to the lives of urban Indian teenagers who start a rock band. There are several good laughs. It was very good and refreshing break to read this novel. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. It was sort of abrupt or may be it sneaked up on me because I read the entire book in less than 24 hours!

My rating : 4 out of 5.

Salutation to the Dawn

Hi All

I am curently reading a book in which I have found this interesting poem. Just thought of sharing it with you all.

Title : Saluation to the Dawn

Look to this day
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course,
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
But today well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

Read it over and over again, take some time to digest it and think over it. It is the essence of solution to all our worries. I would never have guessed it was written by a great Indian poet.
Any takers? It was Kalidas. He wrote this masterpiece several hundred years ago and yet till today, we fail to live by it.

Food for thought.

My 5 favorite readings of the week

Hi All

Every week, I will be posting 5 of my favorite posts from various bloggers. If at all possible, spend few minutes of your time to read them. It’s good stuff.

# 1 We deal with this issue on a regular basis.
http://moneysmartlife.com/lending-money-to-family-and-friends/

# 2 Some great tips to kick-off 2009.
http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/how-to-be-successful-in-the-new-year/

# 3 You are most productive when working with deadlines or under time pressure.
http://www.bripblap.com/2009/free-time-does-not-translate-to-massive-productivity/

# 4 From time to time we all need a reminder of these small things.
http://livingmyrichlife.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/why-im-already-rich/

# 5 Lastly, my favorite PF blogger JD has an excellent post – how much money would it take for you to compromise your principles?
www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/01/09/how-much-money-would-it-take-for-you-to-compromise-your-principles/

Have a good weekend!