My Brief History by Stephen Hawking

                                           The book 'My Brief History' is - a very short autobiography of Stephen Hawking . In my opinion, he is probably the most renowned scientist in the world today, partly because of his disability and partly because of his commendable work in theoretical physics like black holes, time travel and quantum theory. The book is about his life's journey from his childhood (in postwar London) to his ground-breaking work in cosmology and quantum physics.The book is a small memoir, however it gives us valuable insight into the life of Stephen Hawking. My Brief History is a great read for those, who are fans of Stephen Hawking and those who would like to know more about  him.

                                          The book starts from the youth days of Hawking, when he had passion for working train models, boats, planes etc. as he himself describes that he had "an urge to know how systems works and how to control them." From his school days when his father wanted him to pursue Biology as he believes there were more jobs in it while Hawking found biology uninteresting, a subject that was a bit too descriptive to him. He chose to study Mathematics and went on to become a renowned figure in the world of physics. The following chapters described his struggle when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. His deteriorating health lead him into depression from where he needed motivation to fight all odds which came in the form of his first wife Jane Wilde. Life took a turn for the better and he started devoting himself to his work and thus attained marvelous achievements in his work. 

                                        This book is a subtle reminder of how impediments made Stephen Hawking only more resolved, more determined to rise in his life as a role model for millions worldwide. As he himself describes in the end  "I have had a full and satisfying life. I believe that disabled people should concentrate on things that their handicap doesn't prevent them from doing and not regret those they can't do." A wonderful , inspiring book, a must read for all.

Intricacies Of Life

                                            Its been almost a month and events that unfolded in last thirty days ,have shaken my belief on myself, my thought process which i have boasted in silence, was lying in tatters. It can be easily summarized as month of reckoning, the life seemed to have taken a complete circle and made me stand naked to face the intricacies of life. It seemed someone smirked and challenged me to continue to follow the philosophy of life that developed over a period of time after my unfortunate accident 17 years back.

                                         The month started(early October) on promising note, ushering in hope, a dear one who was languishing for last two years in pitch darkness was finally on the verge of discovering one of the most beautiful gift to mankind, to see the rainbow of life once again, in its full blossom. The festival of lights graced family with restoring eyesight to my father . It was even more joyful as it was the first Deepawali of my angel, my little sunshine. The karma finally paying heed i thought, the cycle seemed to have turned for the better. The philosophy of karma, is a borrowed concept for me, gradually cleaning the cobwebs of mind and firmly shaping my outlook for life.

                                          Karma, i am told has everything to do with how we lead our life. Karma (past deeds as well as present) determines your present and future, so basically one decides his own destiny. With time, i developed strong affinity with this principle, and adjusted accordingly. Even death of an elderly during this time didn't alter my belief, neither did i question the timing. But the horrific accident and pain endured by my loved ones, the hour which i have to sit alone, waiting for news about on accident, jolted my belief on theory of Karma for good.

                                     These theories, in my opinion are nothing but attempts by humans to find reason where nothing exists. These theories are nothing but attempts by humans to find rationale where nothing actually exists. These theories like religion are fake. What is there to say? There is only so much anyone of us have, any control over good or bad , we are puppets who play according to circumstances. We all have to learn to move on, giving too much credit for things, we were mere spectators off is silly. You just embrace the reality and move on. I mean what fucking alternate does one really has? Guess there's nothing like destiny, just circumstances unraveling before us , nothing to do with past or anything like that and how you react becomes your fate.

Movie - The Next Three Days

                                                  Firstly let me clarify, it is a romantic movie. True feelings of a husband towards his wife, kid and family and the resolve of a husband to do whatever it takes in an unprecedented circumstance to get back his wife and unite his family, rest as we say is just a story beautifully woven around this theme. A remarkable movie with spine chilling suspense . The Next Three Days, Russell Crowe plays John Brennan, a college professor whose wife has been wrongly arrested for killing her boss. When all legal avenues exhausted, John decides as a last resort to break her out of jail where she was imprisoned for life, without inferring about consequences.

                                                 Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks did justice to their characters. Both the leads gave an inspiring, powerful performances that makes this movie a treat to watch. It's one such rare movie where one questions life, the good and bad things that happen to us, and how we handle it. How would one react to unbearable circumstances when life takes a turn for worse? A great movie to watch .

Crusader or Conspirator by PC Parakh

                                 This book is about the person P.C Parakh, his long journey in the higher echelons of power as an administrator. We can safely say, book isn't just about the coal scam popularly known as 'Coalgate' scam but about his stint as a member of famed 'Indian Administrative service and struggles involved therefore . Author's official journey from a junior officer stationed at Andhra Pradesh to reaching the top post at the Center, with insight information about how corruption has gradually infected and corroded the civil administration. The author describes his tirade against corruption (justifying word crusader) throughout his carrier, also highlighting efforts put in and endorsed by few other honest individuals who valiantly withstood pressure tactics, threats and intimidation from different quarters but didn't succumbed into corrupt practices.

                                 From working with some of the biggest Indian politicians, starting with Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh to bigwigs in Coal ministry like Mamata Banerjee, Shibu Soren and Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was also the Prime Minister. The author highlighted indirect corrupt practices of Mamata Banerjee to blatant misuse of authority by Shibu Soren, Madhu Koda and deafening silence of former PM on corruption who otherwise was efficient. In 2012, a corruption scandal over allocation of coal blocks to private companies was unearthed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) valued around 1.86 lakh crore (over $ 30 billion), the biggest scam recorded in Indian History. The government had picked favorites and avoided open and competitive bidding while allocating coal blocks which would have generated far more revenue thus benefiting certain individuals while depriving state its rightful revenues.

                                    Author indicated after the public outcry, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's premier investigation agency was unleashed to defame every honest individual associated with coal ministry tarnishing the image of some very competent people of indisputable integrity.The author himself is a supposed victim of this official witch hunt and accuses the former CBI Director Ranjit Sinha to be either incompetent or hand in glove with conspirators. This book gives ample evidence of corruption institutionalized in our system in general and innuendos about conspirators of coal scam in particular. The author, a retired top bureaucrat suggests implementation of certain pending necessary reforms for containing corruption and making administration efficient , free from political interventions and threats. A must read for everyone to understand the working of the administration, the pressure under which civil servants perform.

Image courtesy:- google
Readers can write to me at - garv560@gmail.com