The Goal - Eliyahu M. Goldratt

I began this book after a hiatus from readin for about 6 months...
First up, the title  was unusual from the usual fiction I read and so is the content!!.
As I went through the book, it became clear... it is fiction with a Goal..aptly matching the title.
The Goal here is to introduce new concepts on a topic which may seen complex on the periphery for a industry layman like me yet a read makes it simple to understand!

Meet My F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Until an year ago...when the word FRIEND popped up in front of me...the first picture that came to my mind...was that of my current closest friend..n then slowly the pictures of the people whove been so close...the people whove been my world...from the kindergarden swings,the horse back rides to the school canteen to the college campus and hunger point flooded the mind with memories gallore!
But today..U say FRIENDS and I am in different world altogether...

The World is set at CENTRAL PERK ...centred around the orange couch...

Gunther just served a pack of delicious muffins n 7 mugs of steamin hot coffee placed on the table neatly. Yes NEATLY coz monica is around ;) and 7 ofcourse because 6 of my favourite frens have joined me :)
Hey...wud u like to join in too?
Yess...then grab that stool which Pheobie takes while singing and Join In!
Hey meet Ross... errr Dr. Ross Geller...he works wid dianosaurs..n his favourite past time is
gettin divorced...the last count was 3..any updates on that front Ross ;)Ross "Played" the piano as a child and created a cartoon character "The Science Boy".Sad that Pheobe who lived on the streats as a child mugged him and took the magazine away (and we wer saved from the character :P) And yes..talking about Ross's Childhood.. he had this crush on Rachell which went for lyk forever...Rachell...Rachell Who? Ohh...Forgot to mention her...well she went to the same school as Ross and was, his Sister,Monica's best frend. The two wer quite amazin as frens.. though starking differences in personalities...Monica was fat as a child..while Rachell was this bombshell at School (She even got a nose job done!). Monica this hyperly organised gal n Rach the wealthy daddy's daughter whose biggest nightmare was Wat if she dint find matching earrings for the dress she just bought!! Talking of childhood freinds there was another couple..it was Ross n Chandeler Bing..(No Not CHANDELEIR or Ms. Chanadeler Bong ;))...they went to the same college in an era wen Ross's hair matched a beehive and Chandeler imitated some rock star..yeah...he was none of it. Whenever Chandeler visited Ross at Thanksgiving(which he hated bcoz of the history of the occasion) he would make fun of Ross's fat sister! But Monica seeked Revenge after losing a 100 pounds and Chandeler losing his toe!! ;)But all of this was years ago...long before the lot moved to NewYork..to work..to be independent. Here life was different as they took to their respective professions...Ross worked in a Museum after completing his PHd in Paleontology...and was married to Carol.. They eventually split becoz of "Similar Interests" :P...both liked women...a looot!
Monica was thin and a Chef..an irony really! She shared her flat wid Pheobie..the maverick.. the streat kid...whose mother commited suicide...she set her life her way..N yes she is Flaky too! A masseuse by profession and Musicc being her passion...she sang to her own tunes ! Did I
mention that she married a frend to help him...gave birth to her brothers triplets...A gem of a
person wid a heart of gold but sure you cant predict her moves! Hey m missin someone... Ofcourse how not to speak of JOEY! The darlin n the kid of the group...Well even the adoption agency thought the letter of recommendation they recieved was from a child ;)...O oo...dont dare to hav a bite from his muffin ...bcoz...Joey does Not Share FOOOD!!
Monica switched her flat mate wen Rachel joins her in NY(running away from her wedding)... meeting the rest of the lot for the first time...Well that was not the only time Monica switched her Flat Mate.....later she lives with Chandeler when they "Move In" a year before they get married :) Yes the best frens being the best lovers as well! :) N they wernt the only lovers in the group..ofcurce Ross n Rachel wer on the On -Off - Off -On - On a break - Off to Paris relation for looong...The result was as sweet as Emma entering their world! and they ultimately deciding they cant live widout one another...Rachael at different points lived with Pheobs, Joey n Ross too...she being the luckiest in the lot to hav stayed wid everyone...discounting Chandeler...she cudnt hav managed wid his sense of humour :)...The most fitting flat mates were Chandeler n Joey...made for each other... lyk an old married couple...they loved each others company...the recliners(rosita)...baywatch...the joey special pizzas...Chandeler cares for Joey lyk a father..offering him moral support for failed auditions...money...free food(quite a lot! ;))...and a place for growing old too! I dint mention what Joey does...well he can eat and date ;) yeah these are his 2 fortes...try challengin him at either...How ya doin?....ehhh :D...N try challenging Monica at anything...I bet shell get the better of you at almost anything...bouy she is competitive...an advise...avoid playing pictionary wid her...or anything for that matter :P...Michael..(Pheobes husband) gotta taste of it at the TT table too...but bouy he was almost an equal..quite wat Pheobie would settle for :) Try challenging Chandeler at his awkwerd and mind boggling jokes :)....try challenging Pheobie at her singing wid the guitar...try challenging Ross over puttin someone to sleep...(try one of the lectures by Proff. Geller)...try challenging Rachells Charm...I bet..U'll get it no where...Coz I now..the reason of their uniqueness is their togetherness...they complement each other to make the Magic work!

Ahhh.. I think Ive said quite a lot...though it seems like nothing to me...I can talk for hours n
hours abt them...n ive jst introduced u to Ross Until now!

Over the years...theres so much to frens that its like a celebration of life...even a thought abt
them makes me smile...like it would to a million others...LONG LIVE FRiENdS!

Now..I see a little bit of these 6 in my real freinds too :)
N ppl...

Ill be there for U...Coz I know ull b there for me too!! :)

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

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By RICHARD BACH

Well well..this has been my latest read. It is unbelievable to find a book as thin as this one to make so much sense! It competes with Who moved my cheese(WMMC) in regards with the no. of pages..but is a sure winner...thanx to the innumerable pictures of the beautiful Seagull! Well if u r wondering wats this Seagull thing...then heres the Curtain raiser for U... A seagull is a bird!( Similar to WMMC again..there the main protoganists were mice :P )

So through the tail err tale of a Seagull, Mr. Bach has taught us some worthy lessons... These are

- Questioning

- Being Fearless

- Practicing

- Quest for Freedom

- Self Belief

- Affection/Love

- Forgiveness

The seagull named Johnathan had always been different. His interests lied in Flying while the members of his community were busy in hunting and fighting for the little food available near the shore. He was scolded by his parents for behaving "differently" and pressurised him to choose an apt future for self. John obliged but he knew his heart lied in flying, n practicing the art to know the limits he could reach. He practiced hard, faultered many a times but ultimatlely corrected and polished his skill. But this more than angered his 'Elders' and the folk and they labelled him as an outcast.

Dejected and hurt, he moved away from his pupil and started practicing in the far lands. Days n Years passed and he could now fly at the terminal velocity. He had acquired the skill of a master and was really happy to be doing what he loved most.
He gathered that it was out of boredom that his other folk had such short life spans while he managed to have a healthy,long life span.

Some more years passed until he was escorted by two extremely skillful gulls to a land where he would find more Outcasts like him. On reaching there, he thought he had entered heaven, but it was a new world where the gulls of similar capabilities as him lived. He was glad to be a part of the world where there was so much to learn and explore. He met an elder named chiang, who tought him to fly with infinite speed,to leave behind the bounderies of space and time that had bound him.Now John himself trained the 'freshers' in the new world and helped them with his knowledge.

Even though John was having a beautiful time he wished he could do something for his folk who still live in ignorance.The people who live to eat n not vice versa ;).
So along with with 7 of his students he decides to travel back to his Old world.The Old World people got umbraged to see an OUTCASTS in their land. A rule was passed of Total Ignorance of The outcasts lest face Outcastism themselves.

The Eight Gulls start practicing everyday n display their mersmerizing flying skills to the other folk.The Folk slowly start getting tempted to the art n secretly ask for lessons. This enrages the Elder folk n they attack John.However, John forgives them as he is affectionate towards his pupil. This makes the folk of his old land make the choice of learning the new skill..to chose freedom over tradition and learning over ignorance.Thousands of the common gulls decide to unravel the facets of flying, something they never dared to explore earlier.

Now John has reached a stage where he has learnt all about kindness, love and affection and hence is invited to another new world...where he would have newer things to learn...and yes a step closer to perfection...a step closer to the real Heaven!

Jab We Met

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What is it with this movie?

I have watched it umpteenth no. of times n can watch it a million more times.
And then its music..its simply fantabulous!

I never get tired of listening to the nagada number or the aao ge kab tum melody.And then theres Tum se hi…Mohit Suri’s voice just blends in like butter on a hot baked bread!

The direction n dialogues by Imtiaz Ali…Simply Mind Blowing!!
This guy has got some brains …his earlier flicks Socha na Tha n Saathiya wer equally awesome. He knows the youth psyche n portrays it well!

Then theres Aditya Kashyap…In which factory has he been churned out from!
He looks dashing, behaves sensibly, earns a million and sings so well … Watta guy!
Yar aise ladke train pe hi milte hain kya? ;)

I’m sure every girl who watched the movie would have taken some part of Geet with her.
The vivacious sikhni is simply adorable. She’s chirpy, loves herself deeply ( mein apni sabse favourite hoon ;) ),modest...( Bhaiya ab mera hath chod do..mein itni bhi sunder nhi hun ), kiddish and she is completely kkrazzy.
I wish I was just as crack as her if not more :P

JWM Gyan –

- Jawan Ladki Khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai

- Ratlam Ki Galiyon se gujrein to Hotel descent na jayein!

- Bhatinda jayein to ganne ke khet zaroor dekhen (Ask anshuman about the where abouts ;))

- Methods to get over ur ex-> jala do Sali ko…ya…phone karo :P

- A mast bargain-> 1 roop ke sath aadhi geet muft muft muft!

- Jab b tum kuch sachi mein chahte ho,actually mein, to wo tumhe zaroor milta hai

- Next time u board a train, keep a check, may be your Adi Kashyap’s waitin for u ;)

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The Alchemist

Hmm...This is some book!

I mentioned about this book in my earlier blog "The fifth Mountain" ,I mentioned as to how much I hated this book...well now I'm dedicating an entire blog to this book!

Well I re read the book for the simple reasons ...

a) Found it in my cousins book shelf

b) A very thin book :)

c) I barely remembered it

d) Had loads of spare time

e) Everyone says Alchemist is a gr8 buk..

So, Mr. Cohelo here I am trusting you one more time....

Well Alchemist is a very simple story,simply told...no flashy words so is an easy read.

It is a story of a boy in the pursuit of his destiny, now he dares to follow his dreams and what he learns on the journey towards the hidden treasure his destiny has in store for him.

The shepherd boy is happy with his flock of sheep until a day he sees treasure in his dreams.The dream is reoccurent which disturbs the boy a bit. The boy decides to visit a gypsy women to get the dream interpreted.The woman tells him to go to Egypt and that is the place where his treasure lies.He doubts the woman and decides not to believe her.


The moment he thought of forgetting all about the dream,the shepherd met the king of Salem.The king of Salem helped people realize their dreams by helping them and pushing them just when they are thinking of giving it all up.The King assured him that his dream was his destiny and he ought to follow it.He told that the omens would guide him to reach his treasure.The shepherd new nothing about Egypt except that the place had Pyramids which were famous. He knew that traveling to Egypt would require a lot of money and was confident that a trade of his sheep would yield him enough money.And hence his quest for treasure begun.The shepherd traded his sheep for money and decided to set off for his journey to Egypt.But as destiny would have it,all his money was stolen and to his dismay the boy finds himself in a foreign land with no money,no sheep,no food.

The shepherd realizes there is still something that he has not lost.His will to work. The boy decides to work somewhere to earn enough money to buy his sheep.He began his work as a cleaner in a crystal shop and later worked hard to improve the sales in the shop to earn handsome profits.Meanwhile he learned the local language and enjoyed his work.He learned that although the place was different from where he came from yet there is a universal language that governs everyone. After about an year he earned enough money to travel to Egypt and hence he set forth.

The journey to Egypt was in a caravan.The caravan had to cross the desert on camels. The desert was a deadly place to go as there was danger of plunderers and desert wars.He had an Englishman for company who wanted to be an Alchemist,someone who could turn lead to gold.
The silent desert teaches him the universal language he had once heard of.He became friends with the desert and began to read the omens set for him. The Englishman was in quest for an Alchemist who lived in an oasis in the derest to learn the art from him. The war broke out in the desert and they took refuge in the oasis.

The oasis was a neutral ground and no war could be fought there.Thus was considered safe.The shepherd and the Englishman began their search for the alchemist.One day on the oasis the shepherd met an oasis girl and fell in love with her. The shepherd already had gained reputation in the oasis for his ability to read omens and thus was content and happy with his life there.The alchemist wanted to teach to only an able follower and thus he tested them and chose the shepherd capable of learning the art and so he decided to guide the shepherd to his destiny ie the treasure that lay hidden in Egypt.

The journey from the oasis to Egypt was adventurous for the two.They met plunderers on their way ad the understanding of the universal language became clearer to the shepherd. He could now talk to the sand and could be the wind himself.He became certain of achieving his target ie the treasure.

On reaching Egypt the shepherd was deserted by the Alchemist and was told to follow his destiny alone.

Will the shepherd get his treasure or all these sufferings would be in vain?
Well...read the book and you will know ;)

The Fifth Mountain..

This is the title of the new book I hav just read .. by PAULO COELHO. I had read one of his more famous books "The alchemist" some yrs ago..n aftr eading it I sweared not 2 read another buk of his ever! For I wasnt able to decifer that one..nor understand y ppl lykd it sooo much! The male protagonist spoke to "the sand" for full 4 pages there!...which I thought made little sense.

I had The fifth mountain wid me for quite some time now bt never really desired to read it..ofcourse for the reasons mentiond...but out of sheer boredom I decided to giv it a try..N I am glad I did it!!

The fifth mountain is set in the backdrop of Egypt n a place called Akbar(no connections to the King...Alas the only name in the buk that was familiar) and at a time wen mountains wer considered Gods..Battles wer fought for religion n Gods..to see whose Gods are the strongest!
(Here its about the Gods of the fifth mountain and the One lord)

Its about a guy named Elijah..his tyrst wid his destiny..his belief in his GOD..his struggle wid his God(referred as One Lord)..his realization of love n the true identification of self n the purpose of his existence.
The story is about this common boy Elijah who thinks he is uncommon for he is able to hear the voice of God...yet he discovers how common he is for he is a mere pawn at the hands of the Lord.
In his quest to serve God and to communicate his message of peace,belief and religion;Elijah lands in a foreign land called Akbar where he is taken care by a women(a young widow) and her son (As per Gods Orders).Akbar is about to be attacked and if attacked Akbar's loss is inevitable.Elijah along with the governer tries hard to evert a battle through negotiations,but The priest because of his false pride insists for a War. N thus AKBAR is attacked and ruined.Elijah losses the young widow in the confusion of the war .The young widow before dying says...Im not going anywhere..I'll always stay in Akbar.The boy (widow's son) insists on rebuilding Akbar as he thinks her mother is Akbar and so Akbar should be beautiful. But Elijah sees it as imposible as the city is grounded.
The events leave Elijah devastated and he breaks his ties with God and his angel.He believes that god had cheated with him by taking the young women away. Elijah now questions what his actual purpose for existence is.He questions himself if he has actually done anything in life worthy of courage.All he has done in life uptil now as in accordance with Gods will.But God Had Cheated him.So he shall find his own way now.
Self realization strikes him and he starts with the onimous task of rebuilding Akbar.
Akbar that is left with the old,the women,the children n heaps of bodies of the young men.
He convices the old to bring back the strength of their youth,the women folk to believe that there is a future for their children.Elijah finds joy in the new task he has assigned himself n discovers that this was Gods way of teaching him that "Past is Perishable..Look ahead"
He learns that even children can teach us things-being happy , keeping yourself busy and asking for anything without fear.
Elijah and the folks work day in and out to rebuild Akbar.He inspires ppl to learn Byblos or the alphabet and is named the governor of Akbar. Prosperity of Akbar is restored.
Now Elijah is revisited by the Lord's Angel to give him the message to return to his home and restore peace in his state by proving the existance of the One Lord.He is granted one power and one chance to do it.
Elijah willfully obeys and leaves......... leaving behind the city which taught him life.......