As 2017 is drawing to a close, I have realized that I didn’t write about a lot of things – the heritage walk with Sahapedia in Khotachi Wadi, the 70s movie ‘The Train’ that I watched yesterday evening or the Marathi play ‘पती गेले ग काठेवाडी' that I watched last month.

What that also means is that I won’t have a dearth of subjects to write about during the first few days of 2018. :-)

So for this last post of this year, I am borrowing the words from a post a friend forwarded on Whatsapp:

We're all stories in the end

Just make it a good one

I hope to make mine....

Kulfi + Falooda + Rabdi @ Himalaya @ Gandhi Market!

In the words of Ameer Khusro (and with all due apologies):

Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast

(If there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this :-)

You Can Write A Cookbook - Kevin Wolfe
An Invitation To Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey
स्वाद संवाद: भाग १ आणि २ - वसुंधरा पर्वते
पार्टी पार्टी - निर्मला टिळक
खमंग - दुर्गा भागवत

भोजनकुतूहलम - इंग्लिश भाषांतर Institute Of Ayurved And Integrated Medicine, Bengalore इथे उपलब्ध
मांसपाकनिष्पत्ती (पार्वतीबाई), उपोषण पाकशास्त्र (दुर्गाबाई भट), गृहिणी-मित्र (लक्ष्मीबाई धुरंधर) - संदर्भ विभाग, मुंबई मराठी ग्रंथसंग्रहालय, नायगाव इथे उपलब्ध
सूपशास्त्र – रा. स. गुप्ते  - करवीर नगर वाचन मंदिर, कोल्हापूर इथे उपलब्ध

While going through 'Beginning Database Design' by Clare Churcher I came across the following gem:

"One of the sweetest ways to sum up the normal forms we have discussed is from Bill Kent. He summarizes the normal forms this way:

A table is based on
the key,
the whole key,
and nothing but the key (so help me Codd)"

Well Said!

https://www.loksatta.com/chaturang-category/khau-anandey/

https://www.loksatta.com/lokrang-category/swarbhaoyatra/

५. लोकमत दीपोत्सव (दिवाळी अंक २०१७)

अंकात काय आहे ह्याची खातरजमा न करता खुशाल डोळे झाकून विकत घ्यावा अश्या काही मोजक्या अंकांपैकी लोकमत एक आहे. गेली २ वर्षं मी दिवाळीला हा अंक विकत घेतेय. अजून पर्यंत निराशा झालेली नाही. ह्या वर्षी अंकात काय लेख असतील ह्याची भलती उत्सुकता होती. वाचायला थोडा वेळ मिळेल असं वाटलं तेव्हाच मी कपाटातून अंक काढला.

पहिलाच लेख आमीर खानच्या पाणी फाउंडेशनवरचा. सततच्या दुष्काळावर मात करता यावी, पाणी अडवून जिरवायचं महत्त्व गावोगावच्या शेतकऱ्याना कळावं ह्यासाठी काम करणारी ही संस्था.      ह्या कामात येणाऱ्या अडचणीवर मात करून त्यांनी हे काम कसं सुरु ठेवलंय, त्यात आलेले बरेवाईट अनुभव, गावातल्या लोकांची जिद्द, आपल्या समस्यांवर त्यांनीच शोधलेले अनोखे उपाय हे सगळं वाचणं विलक्षण रोमांचकारी आहेच पण खूप काही शिकवणारंदेखील आहे. सरकारची वाट न बघता आपले प्रोब्ल्मेस आपणच सोडवायचे असं एकदा ठरवलं की माणसं कायकाय करू शकतात ह्याचं ही संस्था एक उत्तम उदाहरण आहे.

बाबा, संन्यासी, साधू, महात्मे ह्या सगळ्या प्रकारांबद्द्ल नाही म्हटलं तरी माझ्या मनात एक प्रकारचा आकस आहे. ह्या सगळ्यांचे पाय शेवटी मातीचेच आहेत ह्याबद्दल खात्रीच आहे माझी. त्यामुळे 'पतंजली' च्या उत्पादनांबद्दल आधी ऐकलं तेव्हा 'घ्या, पतंजलीच्या नावावर पैसे राजरोस पैसे करताहेत आता' अशीच भावना झाली आणि ती अजून तशीच आहे. त्यात ही उत्पादनं कशी बनवली जातात, त्यात नमूद केलेले घटक आहेत की नाहीत ह्याची बाहेरच्या जगाला कुठलीही शहानिशा करू दिली जात नाही हे कुठेतरी वाचनात आलं आणि ह्यातलं एकही प्रोडक्ट आपण वापरायचं नाही हे मी ठरवून टाकलं. तरी एक कंपनी, एक brand म्हणून 'पतंजली' बद्दल उत्सुकता होतीच  . ती 'कहो न, करो' ह्या लेखाने थोडीफार शमली. कंपनीची सुरुवात कशी झाली, त्याचं व्यवस्थापन कसं चालतं, तसंच कंपनीचा चेहेरा असलेले बाबा रामदेव आणि आचार्य बालकृष्ण ह्यांच्यासंबंधी बरीच माहिती ह्या लेखातून मिळते. अर्थात ह्या दोन व्यक्ती आणि कंपनी ह्यांचा फक्त उदोउदो न करता त्यांच्यासंबंधात असलेले प्रवाद, काही टोचणारे मुद्दे ह्यांचाही आवर्जून समावेश लेखात आहे हे सांगावसं वाटतं.

कुठलीही गोष्ट कठीण नाही हे सांगताना 'रॉकेट सायन्स नाहीये ते' असं आपण सर्रास म्हणतो. हे रॉकेट सायन्सच नव्हे तर उपग्रह - मग ते भारताचे असोत वा इतर देशांचे - अवकाशात सोडणे ह्याबद्दल ख्याती असलेल्या इस्रो ह्या मान्यवर संस्थेबाबत लेख ह्या अंकात समाविष्ट केल्याबद्दल संपादक मंडळाचं खरं तर कौतुकच करायला हवं. रॉकेट आणि उपग्रह ह्याशिवाय सामान्य माणसाचं आयुष्य विज्ञानाच्या मदतीने सुसह्य व्हावं ह्यासाठीसुध्दा ही संस्था काम करते हे निदान मला तरी प्रथमच कळलं. इस्त्रोचा इतिहास, कार्यपध्दती, शिस्त, संशोधन ह्याविषयी खूप मोलाची माहिती ह्या लेखातून मिळते.

Sanitary napkins हा विषय शहरातूनसुध्दा फार उघडपणे चर्चिला न जाणारा. गावात तर ह्याचा वापर दूरच, ह्याविषयी फार माहितीही असणं दुरापास्त. अशी स्थिती असताना गावातल्या बायकांना वापरता येतील असे स्वस्त पण दर्जेदार napkins बनवण्यासाठी झटलेल्या अरुणाचलम मुरुगनाथम ह्या अफलातून माणसाची कहाणी विश्वास बसू नये अशीच आहे. घरच्या बायकांचा विरोध, समाजातून होणारी कुचेष्टा, आर्थिक ओढाताण सगळं सगळं सहन करूनही ह्या माणसाने आपली जिद्द सोडली नाही. आज गावातल्या बायकांना परवडतील असे napkinsत्या स्वत:च बनवतात, ते विकतात ह्या अशक्य वाटेल अश्या गोष्टीचं सारं श्रेय अरुणाचलम ह्यांना आहे. Hats Off!

ह्या लेखांव्यतिरिक्त ८०७ शाळांतल्या एक लाख तीस हजारांहून अधिक मुलांना सकस, स्वच्छ आणि ताजं गरमागरम जेवण रोज दुपारी पुरवणाऱ्या अक्षयपात्र ह्या योजनेची माहिती देणारा ‘अक्षयपात्र’, आपल्या अथक प्रयत्नांनी गावोगावच्या जिल्हा परिषदांच्या दुर्लक्षित शाळांचा कायापालट करणाऱ्या तरुण धडपड्या शिक्षकांवरचा 'डिजिटल शाळा', गुजरातेतल्या धुंडी गावातल्या सहकारी तत्वावर सौर उर्जा निर्माण करणाऱ्या शेतकर्यांवरचा ‘शेतात जेव्हा वीज पिकते', चीनच्या सीमेवर डोळ्यात तेल घालून पहारा देणाऱ्या भारतीय सैन्यावरचा 'बुमला पास', तसंच अन्नपूर्णादेवी, आलिया भट, रजनीकांत ह्या व्यक्ती आणि व्हीएफएक्स हे तंत्रज्ञान ह्यांच्याविषयीची माहिती देणारे लेखसुध्दा वाचनीय.

‘तिघी' मध्ये ३०० हून अधिक वडाची झाडं लावून पोटाच्या मुलाप्रमाणे त्यांचा सांभाळ करणाऱ्या थिमक्का, तरुणाला लाजवतील अश्या चपळाईने योगासनं करणाऱ्या ९८ वर्षांच्या नानम्मल आणि वय वर्षं १०६ असतानासुध्दा शेतात चूल पेटवून स्वयंपाक करणाऱ्या मस्तानम्मा भेटल्या. ह्या तिन्ही आजीबाईना अक्षरश: लोटांगण घातलं मी मनातल्या मनात. हे वर्ष संपत आलं असताना ह्या सगळ्या भेटल्या ते बरंच आहे. पुढच्या वर्षीचे संकल्प तडीस नेताना कठीण जाईल तेव्हा ह्यांची आठवण केली तरी पुरे :-)

फक्त शर्मिला फडके ह्यांचा अमृता शेरगिलवरचा लेख मला खास आवडला नाही. तिच्याविषयीची फार माहिती नव्हती.....नुसतेच शब्दांचे बुडबुडे.

एक मनोरंजक पण माहितीपूर्ण अंक वाचल्याचं पुरेपूर समाधान ह्या अंकाने पदरात टाकलं. दिवाळी अंकाकडून आणखी काय अपेक्षा असते?

An Era Of Darkness: The British Empire In India – Shashi Tharoor

Ghachar Ghochar – Vivek Shanbhag

Dragon On Our Doorstep: Managing China Through Military Power – Pravin Sawhney & Gazala Wahab

The End Of Karma: Hope And Fury Among Indian Youth – Somini Sengupta

Reporting Pakistan - Meena Menon

The Indian Middle Class – Surinder S. Jodhka & Aseem Prakash

Never Marry A Woman With Big Feet: Women In Proverbs From Around The World – Mineke Schipper

The Great Railway Bazar: By Train Through The Asia – Paul Theroux

https://www.loksatta.com/khau-anandey-news/articles-in-marathi-on-hurda-party-1598075/

Supernatural S13, E09

Question. Am I the only one or does anyone else here think that the writers seem to have lost the plot entirely by bringing dinosaurs into it? Really. The scene in which people climb out of the giant footprint wondering where they are is as old as, if not older than, the prehistoric creatures. Wonder what's coming next. Aliens, maybe?

Another question. Why do the angels need Jack to swell their ranks? If they look upon humans as frail beings, isn't it rather beneath them to seek help from someone who is half-human? I wonder why no one makes an attempt to contact Amara. I have a feeling that she is gonna make an appearance in this season - sooner or later.

And now we are told that something terrible is coming. I don't know how bad it is going to be for Sheriff Mills or the Winchesters. But I am sure it will be pretty bad for the viewers, if the recent twists and turns in the storyline are anything to go by.

Principles of Software Engineering and Design - Marvin V. Zelkowitz, Alan C. Shaw, and John D. Gannon

Software Systems Architecture - Eoin Woods and Nick Rozanski

Testing Object-Oriented Software - Bob Binder

Quality Software Management - Gerald Weinberg

Kishor Magazine Archives

http://kishor.ebalbharati.in/archive/

Crossing to Safety - Wallace Stegner

Refactoring Databases - Scott Ambler

Agile Database Techniques - Scott Ambler

The Object Primer - Scott Ambler



Barracoon: The Story of the Last Slave - Zora Hurston

Stet: An Editor's Life - Diana Athill

Alive, Alive Oh! - Diana Athill

Somewhere Towards The End - Diana Athill

Good Times Bad Times - Sir Harold Evans

Photos from a village weekly maket

Saw a shooting star blaze a trail across the night sky yesterday. My very first. Sadly, I was so surprised that I didn't remember to make a wish :-( Now I got my list pat down. Does that mean that I won't see one in near future? :-)

Supernatural, S13, E08

I have one word for the Winchesters - Stupid. If they had to play heroes to save the damsel in distress, at least they could kept enough of a presence of mind to grab the spell's parchment before it became toast. All that cherry pie could have addled Dean's brain!! And Sam was too intent on saving Smash to think of mundane things like getting hold of the spell which could have helped them track Jack.

Oh, and BTW, if Sam could establish the veracity of the one half of the spell, why couldn't he use the same source to get his hands on the whole of it?

But ain't complaining. No Asmodeus. No Lucifer. And No Arthur Ketch. Wish they would all just disappear.

Utsav - Thalis Of India (Epic Channel, 9pm)

I have been watching this program with great interest these days. It features thalis (a meal consisting of many dishes) from different parts of India. All Indians are aware of the stunning varieties in food habits across the states. But I was amazed that within a state too thalis can differ in such a huge fashion.

The case in point is Jaisalmer in the state of Rajasthan. One of the episodes showed its non-veg Rajputana thali which had 3 types of meat - the famous Safed Maas (white mutton curry), Jungali Maas and a dish of dry mutton. But the Bhatia community from Jaisalmer is totally vegetarian and so is their thali. Indians are known for their sweet tooth but I was surprised to find that one of the thalis from the Andhra (I forgot which one) doesn't have any dessert. They end their meals with bananas instead.

The program also covers recipes of a dish or two. I remember two of them in particular. One was a sweet halwa made from - mutton. Yep. Mutoon. The usual suspects in any Indian dessert were all there - ghee, sugar, milk, khoya, dry fruits, cardamom powder and saffron water. I guess Kewra water was added as well to make doubly sure that the smell of the meat was totally eliminated. The person preparing the sweet told Chef Kunal Kapoor that no one will be able to guess that it is a meat preparation unless you tell them so. To be frank, the dish didn't appeal to me and I felt nauseous when I saw chef Kunal eat a spoonful of it. :-)

The other dish - Jungali Maas - was prepared by the heir of the royal family of Jaisalmer. I had never before seen any meat preparation with just 4 ingredients - mutton, salt, ghee and lots of red chillies. Of course, salt was added too. And garlic - but only because the person preparing it loved the taste of garlic in it.

If you are a foodie and would love to know more about the rich culinary tradition of India, you better tune in to Epic channel every night at 9. It's half an hour well spent.

Supernatural, S13, E07

Okay. Just how many characters do the series' writers plan to drag back from the seasons gone past? As long as it was a one-off instance like Missouri Mosley, it was fine. But now the characters are popping out of the woodwork faster than the speed of light. First it was Michael, albeit from a parallel universe. Then it was Kevin Tran. And if that wasn't enough, Arthur Ketch is back - to my utter and complete dismay, if I may say so. What's more, he is working for Asmodeus. I have no idea how or where he made that connection. But to borrow Dean's words, it don't sound good for the Winchesters. At all.

Add to that the fact that Lucifer is back into the real world. With his powers diminished. Asmodeus has him locked in Hell along with Castiel and the Winchesters (as always!) are blissfully unaware of the whole mess. Oh, and Jack is nowhere to be seen. Things couldn't get any uglier. Or could they?

There is no trace of the only 3 people from the past who I would love to see again - Crowley, Mary and Rowena. Of course, I know Crowley cannot be back because Mark Sheppard has ruled out that possibility already. I hope Mary will hitch a ride out of the parallel universe with Michael. Will Rowena make her appearance in next episode? The Winchesters really need someone in their corner, even if it is someone as selfish as her. Given the time lag between the US and Indian telecasts, I guess only Wiki can tell :-)

Till date, I haven't been able to reconcile myself to the fact that Jack is Lucifer's son - biology squarely dictates that he is the president's child. Unless, of course, the mortal biological rules don't apply to the angels!

Supernatural, S13, E06

Just when you heave a sigh of relief that the Winchesters have got their (and mine!) favorite angel back in their camp and all's well with the world, the writer had to throw a curveball. I was not surprised that the case was used just as a backdrop. Afterall, there are only so many ghouls and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night in the world.

But I was mad that the Winchesters and Castiel kept treating Jack with kid gloves. Merely saying that it was an accident was a surefire way of amplifying his guilt. They should have explained to him that he had aimed his powers to disable the ghoul when the security guard decided to step in. It was clearly no one's mistake; he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

How I wish Kelly was alive! Maybe the Winchesters should have kept the shapeshifter Mia on call to fill in for her when needed. I rather suspect that Kelly will be sorely missed in the near future.

The Will To Manage - Marvin Bower
The Mobile Manager - Eugene Jennings
How graduates scare bosses - Edgar Schein
Executive Stress - Harry Levinson
Managing For Results - Peter Drucker
New Patterns Of Management - Rensis Likert
Managerial Talent - Edward Ghiselli
The Human Organization - Rensis Likert
The anti-leadership Vaccine - John Gardner
The Two Faces Of Power - David McClelland
On becoming a middle-aged manager - Harry Levinson

Donald Bartlett’s Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness
Packard, D. (1996) ‘The HP Way’, HarperCollins, New York
Black-Box Testing: Boris Beizer
The CRC Card Book - David Bellin and Susan Suchman Simone
Cook's Illustrated The best recipe Boston Common Press
Adaptive software developent - james p. highsmith
Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships (2003).
Hargrove, R. (1998). Mastering the Art of Creative Collaboration, McGraw-Hill.
Weinberg, G. M. (1999). Egoless Programming. IEEE Software. January/February: 118-120.
Davidow, W. (1986) ‘Marketing high technology – an insider’s view’, The Free Press, New York

अर्ज किया है.....

कभी कभी लगता है की......जिंदगी कुछ कुछ खफा है....
फिर ये सोच लेते है की....

अजी छोड़िये भी...
ये कौनसा पहली दफ़ा है...

(Forwarded)

Testing Object-Oriented Systems - Robert V Binder
Semper Fi Business Leadership with marine corps way - Dan Carrison and Rod Walsh
The Innovator's Dilemma - Clayton M Christensen
Leading at the edge of chaos - Daryl Conner
Principles Of software development - Alan Davis
Leadership is an art - Max Depree
A discipline of programming - Edward Dijkstrra
Mr. Bunny's Big Cup o' Java - Carlton Egremont
77 sure-fire ways to kill a software project - Daniel Ferry and Noelle Frances Ferry
Handbook of walkthroughs, inspections and technical reviews - Daniel Freedman, Gerald Weinberg
The corporate Mystic - Gay Hendricks and Kate Ludeman
Managing technical people - Watts Humphrey
Zen Computer - Philip Toshio Sudo
Are your lights on? How to figure out what the problem really is - Donald Gause and Gerald Weinberg
The practice of programming - Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike
The art of computer programming - Doland Knuth
The hacker's dictionary - Guy L Steele
The psychology of computer programming  - Gerald Weinberg
Software project survival guide - Steve McConnell
Simplify your life: 100 ways to slow down and enjoy the things that really matter -
The secrets of consulting - Gerald Weinberg
Understanding the professional programmer - Gerald Weinberg
Simplicity - Bill Jensen

भूतान – भूमतंग, योन्गाद, त्राशिगंग, संदृप जोखर, जांबे लाखंग, जाकर झोंग, ताम्शिंग लाखंग देऊळ, मेबर तेशो उर्फ बर्निंग लेक, मोन्गरचा रविवारचा बाजार, बुमदालिंग (बर्ड वोचींग)

व्हिएतनाम – हानोई (होन किएम लेक, म्युझियम ऑफ फाईन आर्ट, Water puppet theatre, हो ची मिन्ह स्मारक, वन पिलर पागोडा, टेम्पल ऑफ लिटरेचर, बाय दिन्ह टेम्पल, त्रेंग आन ग्रोटोज) दानांग, होचीमीन, कंबोडिया, हालोंग बे क्रुझ, बन चा (ग्रिल्ड पोर्क नुडल्स), फो नुडल सूप, एग कॉफी, कोल्ड नुडल्स

इस्त्रायल - नेगेव वाळवंट, मसादा किल्ला, डेड सी, एन अवादात नेशनल पार्क, माखतेश रेमोन

साउथ कोरिया - sea-parting

रायगड (पालीजवळ उन्हेरे गावातली गरम पाण्याची कुंडं), रत्नागिरी प्रचीतगड किल्ला (कंदारडोह हा महाराष्ट्रतला सर्वात मोठा धबधबा, कातळसडे), रायगड लिंगाणा किल्ल्याच्या पायथ्याशी पाणे दापोलीजवळून वाहत जाणार्या काळ नदीच्या पात्रात 'वाळणकोंड' इथला डोह, वरदायिनी देवी देऊळ, हरिहरेश्वर Honeycomb Weathering, कल्याण-अहमदनगर महामार्गावर अणे घाटातला गुळुंचवाडी इथला नैसर्गिक सेतू, संगमनेर तालुक्यातल्या पेमगिरीतल्या मोरदरी  गावातला महावृक्ष, पेम्गीरीचा किल्ला (भीमगड/शहागड), नगर जिल्ह्यातल्या पारनेर तालुक्यातलं वडगाव दर्या (दर्याबाईचं मंदिर, लवणस्तंभ), पुणे जिल्ह्यातल्या तळेगावजवळच्या घोरावडेश्वर डोंगरातली प्राचीन लेणी आणि अग्निजन्य गुहा, पुणे-नगर रस्त्यावरच्या निघोजाच्या कुकडी नदीतल्या पात्रातले रांजणखळगे, नाशिकमधल्या ब्रह्मगिरी/त्र्यंबकगडवरच्या शंकराच्या जटा, अहमदनगर जिल्ह्यात रतनवाडीच्या सामद गावापाशी असलेली सांधणघळ (नोव्हेंबर ते एप्रिल)

राजापूर तालुक्यातालं कशेळीचं कनकादित्य मंदिर (रथसप्तमी उत्सव), आरवली आणि माखजनचा आदित्यनारायण, परुल्याचा आदिनारायण, गावडेगुडे, नेवरे, कायाळघे, आजगाव, सातार्डे, खारेपाटणे इथला आदित्यनाथ, मुरुड, कुर्ध्ये इथला सुर्यनारायण, संगमेश्वर कर्णेश्वर मंदिर, रत्नागिरी भैरी देऊळ

अमृतेश्वर मंदिर (रतनवाडी, भांडारदरा, अहमदनगर),आयरेश्वर मंदिर (नाशिक-शिर्डी मार्गावर सिन्नर बस डेपोच्या अलीकडे , नाशिक), गोंदेश्वर मंदिर (सिन्नर, नाशिक), लक्ष्मीनारायण मंदिर (बहादूरगड, पेडगाव, तालुका श्रीगोंदा, अहमदनगर), कोपेश्वर मंदिर (खिद्रापूर, तालुका शिरोळ, कोल्हापूरपासून ६५ किमी), कुकडेश्वर मंदिर (जुन्नरपासून १८-२० किमी वर चावंड किल्ल्याजवळ पूर ह्या गावी), सिद्धेश्वर मंदिर (अकोले, अहमदनगर), जगदंबा मंदिर (अकोले तालुक्यापासून १५-१६ किमी वर टाहाकारी गावात आढळा नदीच्या काठावर), माणकेश्वर मंदिर (माणेगाव तालुक्यातल्या झोडगे इथल्या टेकडीच्या पायथ्याशी, जिल्हा नाशिक), अंबरनाथाच्म शिवमंदिर, भुलेश्वर मंदिर (यवत, जिल्हा पुणे)

गोठलेल्या झान्स्कर नदीवरचा चददर ट्रेक, pengong lake काठी तंबूत राहून नदीच्या तळ्याकाठचा ट्रेक

सोलापूरच्या अलीकडे ३० किमी वर लांबोटी गाव (जय शंकर - मका चिवडा, गुलाबजाम, चहा),  तुळजाभवानी मंदिराच्या जवळ असलेलं हॉटेल दुर्गाई (मटण थाळी), सोलापुरातल्या मोहोळ तालुक्यातल्या कोळेगावात सुगरण रेस्तोरांत (खेकडा भजी, कडक चहा), पुणे सोलापूर हायवे वर चिलापी मच्छी फ्राय), भिगवणपासून १५ किमी वर 'हॉटेल श्री' (मिसळ आणि कडक चहा)

४. मुशाफिरी (दिवाळी अंक २०१७)

भटकंती ह्या विषयावरचा कुठलाही अंक माझा खास आवडीचा. म्हणून मोठ्या उत्सुकतेने वाचायला घेतला.

सगळ्यात आवडलेला लेख म्हणजे अर्निका परांजपेचा 'हादगा'. तसा तिचा ब्लॉग मी अधूनमधून वाचत असल्याने तिच्या लेखनशैलीचा परिचय आहेच. हत्तींचा सांभाळ केला जातो अश्या ठिकाणी काम करायला ही मुलगी गेली ह्याचं खूप कौतुक वाटलं मला. तिथले अनुभवसुध्दा तिने छान मांडलेत. ‘भूतान' ह्या देशाविषयी खास आकर्षण असल्याने 'अस्पर्श भूतान' हा लेखही आवडला. तीच गोष्ट 'इस्त्रायल' वरच्या 'मरुभूमी, इस्त्रायलची' ह्या लेखाची. भूतान आणि इस्त्रायल दोन्ही देश एकदा पाहायचेच असं पुन्हा एकदा ठरवलं.

एव्हरेस्टबद्दल बरंच वाचलंय. तिथे चढाई करायची वगैरे ह्या जन्मी तरी शक्य नाही. पण निदान बेसकेम्प पर्यंत तरी जाऊन यायला हवं असं (एक अशक्य वाटणारं!) स्वप्न आहे. थिएटरमध्ये एसी जास्त असेल तरी लगेच सर्दी होणार्या मला हे कसं जमणार हा कळीचा मुद्दा असला तरी एखादं तरी अशक्य स्वप्न असल्याशिवाय आयुष्याला मजा नाही. हो की नाही? पण ह्याच कारणाने 'एव्हरेस्टच्या पायथ्याशी' हा सायली महाराव हिचा लेख मोठ्या उत्सुकतेने वाचला. तिने एक शेरपा सोबत घेऊन एकटीने हा ट्रेक पूर्ण केला हे वाचून आश्चर्य नाही वाटलं. बायका मनात आणलं तर काहीही करू शकतात ह्यावर ठाम विश्वास आहे. खूप कौतुक जरूर वाटलं.

‘व्हिएतनामाची जादुई झलक', ‘रंग रशिया' आणि 'नैरोबी - अशी आणि तशी' ह्या लेखांनी ३ नवे देश माझ्या लिस्टमध्ये समाविष्ट केले. ‘सागर दुभंगतो तेव्हा' मध्ये साउथ कोरियातल्या sea-parting ह्या अनोख्या निसर्गचमत्काराबद्दल वाचून एकदा तिथेही जाऊन यायला हवं असं वाटतंय.  :-)

‘दुर्गम किब्बरमधले चार दिवस', कोलकात्याच्या कॉलेज स्ट्रीटवरचा 'कोलकात्याच्या इतिहासाकडे नेणारा रस्ता' हे लेख माहितीपूर्ण. तर 'आश्चर्य सह्याद्रीच्या आडवाटावरची', ‘तिलारीच्या जंगलात' आणि 'सांधण घळीच्या पोटात' वाचून आपल्या 'दगडांच्या देशा' महाराष्ट्राबद्दल नवी माहिती मिळाली. ‘व्हेली ऑफ फ्लॉवर्स' माझ्या 'Places to visit before you die’ लिस्टमध्ये असल्यामुळे 'पुष्पविश्वाचा सोहळा' हा लेख मोठया उत्सुकतेने वाचला.

‘संगम सफारी' हा नद्यांच्या संगमांची माहिती देणारा, ‘सूर्यमंदिराची अनोखी कहाणी' हा देशातल्या सूर्यमंदिरांवर आधारित, ‘चित्रकाराच्या गावा जावे' हा हिरोनिमस बॉश ह्या डच चित्रकाराच्या कलाकृतीची माहिती देणारा असे सगळे लेख अतिशय वाचनीय. ‘देवळांच्या देशा' ही महाराष्ट्रातल्या देवळांची फोटोमुशाफिरी आवडली. खादाडी हा अतिशय प्रिय विषय असल्याने 'पुणे-सोलापूर रोडवरची खादाडी' भावला.

पूर्ण अंकात फक्त ‘लेह, लदाख, आणि स्वत:शीच संवाद' वाचून थोडी चिडचिड झाली. लेखिका पुण्याची असल्याने असेल का? ;-) विनोदाचा भाग सोडला तर लेखिकेने एकुणात लेख 'बघा मी एकटीने जाऊन कसा प्रवास केला, अमुक केलं, तमुक केलं' ह्या आविर्भावात लिहिलाय असं वाटलं. पूर्ण लेखभर मला कशाची भीती वाटत नाही,  मी पाण्यात आत्मविश्वासाने वावरते, मी खमकी आहे, मी एक बाई असून हा प्रवास केला असं माझ्या मनातसुध्दा आलं नाही अशी स्वत:ची एव्हढी टिमकी वाजवली आहे की वाचायलासुध्दा कंटाळा आला शेवटी. एकंदरीत हा असला स्वभाव घेऊन ह्या बाई एकट्याच सगळीकडे जातात ते बाकीच्यांवर उपकारच आहेत म्हणायचं.

असो. पुढल्या वर्षी हा अंक नक्की घेणार.

https://www.loksatta.com/lekhaa-news/food-speciality-in-aurangabad-shahi-food-1589788/

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/QdWbf4DI5TntzyaSnMyhXM/A-trip-to-the-Sundarbans.html

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/vGOh6JHuRnHy7OIpjcaWkN/Whose-Bandra-is-it.html

https://www.loksatta.com/lekhaa-news/pondicherry-food-culture-south-food-in-pondicherry-1593628/

The Essential Cookbook series from Penguin Publishers

Kashmiri Cooking - Krishna Prasad Dhar

Flavours Of Avadh - Salma Husain

Food Path - Pushpesh Pant & Huma Mohsin

Onion-free Indian Non-veg Delights - Malini Bisen

Film Stars' Favorite Recipe - Saida Begum

The Hangover Cookbook - Jack & Jill Smedley


Done: The Secret Deals That Are Changing Our World - Jacques Peretti

India's Most Fearless: True Stories Of Modern Military Heroes - Shiv Aroor & Rahul Singh

 

Supernatural, S13, E05

I think I can breath easy now. It is pretty clear that neither of the Winchester brothers can die or stay dead for long. The show just won't go on without them, right? So when I saw the whole Reaper saga rehashed in the flashback at the episode's beginning, I just wondered whether it would be Sam or Dean who was going to end up dead. I, however, didn't move to the edge of the seat holding on to my breath for dear life. The Winchester boys are not mortal - at least till the last season of the show. And I hope that's not in the offing in the near future at least.

I ain't complaining about yet another case. God knows we all need a long breather from the entire Lucifer-Prince Of Hell-Apocalypse saga. But a psycho doctor doing lobotomy on his patients? C'mon that sounds like a third-rate slasher movie. If you have run out of American folklore, feel free to dip into the vast store of myths and legends of other cultures. Hope you aren't taking 'America First' too seriously :-)

Has Billie put on some weight? I also found it rather hard to believe that she was clueless about how the doorway into the other universe opened up. That room with rows upon rows of books detailing different ways in which Dean could shuffle off his mortal coil seemed rather comical. So also the sight of the Reaper who went shouting at the top of her lungs that Dean Winchester was in The Veil - whatever that means. Good to know that the Winchesters are needed to keep the Universe running but I wonder whatever happened to the 'consequences of cosmic proportion' that she had promised when Castiel bumped her off.

The highlight of the episode, at least as far as I am concerned, is that Castiel is back. The Winchesters would have, no doubt, managed without him. But the equation against Lucifer seems more balanced now.

I am glad Dean got his win.

Don't Just Roll The Dice - Neil Davidson

One of the articles that I read recently contained a reference to this book. So I checked it out. Just 70 pages so easily digestible over a couple of days. And the subject is software pricing.

Davidson begins with a short dose of economics. Nothing complex. Just a few basics like the Demand Curve. The second chapter on Pricing Psychology makes an important point that in order to price your product right you need to be aware of two things - one, what is your product and two, what is its perceived value to the customers. Then it goes on to explain how people perceive values and how that can be influenced. Chapter 3 covers pricing pitfalls like e.g. setting the price too low or too high.

The next chapter is about advanced pricing techniques such as different kinds of versions and how to use them to steer the customers to your intended price point, Bundling, Multi-user as well as Multi-site licenses and free trials. It also has a section on pricing models. The last chapter sort of ties the whole book up with the product pricing checklist. If you are too busy to wade through even 70 pages, just go through this checklist.

In a nutshell, this is a good book to turn to if you are looking for an overview of software pricing as well as a few pointers on how to (and how not to!) go about it. Sure, it contains examples from real world to illustrate concepts but there are no detailed case studies. That said, this would be a good first step in the study of software pricing before turning to bulkier volumes.

P.S. Somewhere in the last chapter, the author says 'It's more useful to fix the problem than to understand why it's broken.' That's the only advice that I found hard to digest.

5th Mega Exhibition of minerals, fossils and antiquities

Where: Kalina University Sports Complex

When: 14-17 December

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/dkKR8FmVU2Sbwblxuzve5L/Delhi-to-Kasar-Devi-Natures-canvas.html

Man’s Search for Meaning - VIKTOR FRANKL

Love And Capital: Carl & Jenny Marx & The Birth Of A Revolution - Mary Gabriel

Behind The Scenes: Contemporary Bollywood Directors And Their Cinema - Ayesha Iqbal Viswamohan, Vimal Mohan John

The Third Curve - Mansoor Khan

Learning Sanskrit - Class 18

The teacher covered the remaining 2 forms of past tense - one is past tense where a prefix (उपसर्ग ) is used along with a verb and another one in which verb's present tense is used with the word 'स्म' to convey past tense.

And that was officially the last part of the portion! The next 2 classes are for revision and doubt-clearing. Exam is on 9th December.

Can't believe I finally managed to get back to learning Sanskrit :-) With the basics in place, I guess I should be able to manage more advanced studies on my own with a correspondence course or two. That will be on the agenda for 2018. :-)

Supernatural, S13, E04

One more case. Looks like there is God afterall. :-) I understand The Empty being a place that predates even God. But it is hard to buy the concept that it is also the place where the angels and demons go to sleep forever after they die. So they get to sleep peacefully for eternity while we poor humans will either have to wait to be judged on the Judgement Day (as per Christianity) or be trapped in a cycle of births and deaths till our Karma is cleansed (as per Hinduism)? Not fair!

But I am glad that Sam convinced Dean to take Jack along with them on the case. In the absence of Castiel - who had promised Kelly that he would look after Jack - Sam is certainly looking after Jack well and exerting a very positive influence on the kid. If Jack is destined to foil Lucifer's plans, all credit should go to Sam.

I also liked the exchange between the Winchester siblings in which Dean asks Sam to keep having faith for the both of them. What's more, Dean did right by acknowledging that Jack did good on the job.

And as if all this wasn't so very soul-satisfying, Castiel has made it back to Earth. Just wonder how he has managed to come back in the same form, especially since his body was cremated? I don't have any complaints about that though. ;-)

Now that Mary is alive - even if in a parallel universe, and Castiel is back, can we also have our King of Hell, aka Crowley, back? I miss his dry wit terribly. And there is no denying that he was a huge help to the Winchesters.

P.S. I chuckled when Dean said that whatever is burnt stays dead. If that were really the case, there wouldn't have been so many tales of ghosts and other things that go bump in the night in India. :-)

Supernatural, S13, E03

Missouri Mosley. Now I wonder who she is. Wiki to the rescue. Looks like a character from Season 1. No wonder I don't remember her. Hell, I don't even remember which season I started watching this series from. It wasn't definitely from Season 1 onwards though.

Be that as it may. I heaved a mighty sigh of relief because - Hurray, it's a case folks! For the next hour or so - no angels, no demons, no Prince of Hell, no Lucifer and no fight to save Mother Earth in general and mankind in particular. Can we have more of the same for next 5-6 episodes please? :-)

And then I grinned, and grinned and kept grinning. Looks like my favorite angel will be back afterall. The missing third of the series' eye-candy. But I thought you cannot bring back dead angels. Jack rocks baby!

Supernatural, S13, E02

I am sorry but who is this Donatello again? Can the story-writers give us viewers a break and STOP dragging characters from seasons long gone past back into the plot? And can a human being survive without his or her soul? I mean sure, there are people who behave as if they have sold theirs to the Devil or whosoever is the current reigning king of Hell but come on, no one can function without any soul.

Hmm....wonder whatever happened to the other Princes of Hell. Did Lucifer bump them off before himself getting bumped off into some parallel universe? Dean is getting on my nerves now - especially his know-it-all attitude has me rolling my eyes all the time. Little Sammy has all my sympathies but I guess the whole Armageddon plot is getting a little stale.

I could have sworn I had seen Michael getting killed so had to check wiki to realize that this Michael belongs to the parallel universe. So their are God and angels and demons in the parallel universe as well? Whatever happened to other religions' concepts of God? No room for Krishna, Allah or Zarathushtra, to name a few? To borrow Dean Winchester's favorite expression - Seriously?

I Am A Troll - Swati Chaturvedi

Gujarat Files - Rana Ayyub

The Scam - Sucheta Dalal

The Paradox Of Choice – Barry Schwartz

The Art Of Choosing – Sheena Iyengar

Calculating God - Robert J. Sawyer

Learning Sanskrit – Class 17

The teacher had already told us that she would need the whole of November to cover the Past Tense. We didn’t have any class in the first week because her son’s birthday was on the day of the class. That means it would take 3 classes to cover the topic. Class 17 was the beginning of it.

As with earlier tenses, we learnt the 9 forms for both परस्मैपद and आत्मनेपद. We spent the rest of the class formulating past tense of one verb each of परस्मैपद and आत्मनेपद in each of the 4 Ganaas i.e. 1, 4, 6 and 10.

The teacher also informed us that she won’t cover any new material after the last class in November. 1^st and 2^nd class in December would be used for revision and clarification of doubts, if any. Most probably the exam would be conducted in 3^rd week. The result would be declared 2 weeks after that i.e. hopefully before 31 December.

Can’t believe the course is about to end.

Learning Sanskrit – Class 16

There were just three of us in this class – apart from the teacher that is. Even the two school-going kids, who had religiously attended every class till now, were absent. The teacher covered an important topic – two actually.

The first topic was ‘Indeclinables’ - these are called ‘अव्यय' in Sanskrit. They are so called because they don’t change based on tense, plurality or gender. e.g. नम: should be used with 4^th case of the noun i.e. the form शिवाय of noun ‘शिव'. There were a dozen or so of such indeclinables.

The second topic was which cases should be used with which roots. e.g. the root / verb क्रीड, which means to play, uses 3^rd case of a noun e.g. कंदुकेन क्रीडति means ‘playing with a ball’. A dozen or so verbs to be learnt. What fun!

३. सामना (दिवाळी अंक २०१७)

खरं तर बाकीचे अंक विकत घेतले तेव्हाही मी सामनाचा अंक पाहिला होता. पण मजकुराची खात्री नसल्याने विकत घेतला नाही. नंतर लोकसत्तातलं परीक्षण वाचलं तेव्हा एकदा वाचून बघावा म्हणून घेऊन आले.

पहिला लेख अपर्णा पुरोहित यांचा. ह्या मालेगाव स्फोटाप्रकरणात अटक झालेल्या कर्नल प्रसाद पुरोहित यांच्या पत्नी. ह्या सगळ्या प्रकरणात कर्नल पुरोहित ह्यांना कसं हेतुपुरस्सर अडकवलं गेलं ह्याबद्दल त्यांनी ह्या लेखात लिहिलं आहे. खरं तर आजकाल अशी परिस्थिती आहे की कोण खरं बोलतंय आणि कोण खोटं हे समजणं निदान सामान्य माणसाच्या तरी आवाक्याबाहेरचं आहे. त्यामुळे फक्त नाण्याची दुसरी बाजू म्हणून मी ह्या लेखाकडे पाहिलं. 'असंही घडलेलं असू शकेल आणि ते घडलं असेल तर खूप दुर्दैवी आहे' अशीच प्रतिक्रिया झाली.

‘ट्रोल' म्हणजे मराठीत सांगायचं तर 'जल्पक' हा विषय आजकाल बराच गाजतोय. ह्या विषयावर चक्क तीन लेख अंकात आहेत पण त्यातून हाती फारसं काही लागलं नाही. नाही म्हणायला मा

ननीय पंतप्रधान आक्षेपार्ह पोस्ट्स टाकणाऱ्या लोकांना ट्विटरवर फॉलो करताहेत हे कळलं. अर्थात त्याचं फार काही आश्चर्य वाटलं नाही म्हणा. बेताल वक्तव्यं करत सुटलेल्या आपल्या भक्तगणांना अगदी अंगाशी येईपर्यंत न आवरण्याची त्यांची वागणूक पाहून एकुणात सगळं प्रकरण ध्यानी येतंच.

भविष्यातलं आयुष्य, मुक्या लोकांचे जग, इथे अवयव बनवून मिळतील, वस्तू पॉपअप करतील हे लेख खास वाटले नाहीत. इंटरनेटवरून माहिती गोळा करून लिहिल्यासारखे वाटले. त्यामानाने मराठीची महानदी, आपलं सोशो-मोबाईल आयुष्य आणि उत्सव आभासी होताहेत हे लेख आवडले. शिरीष कणेकर ह्यांचा मधुबालावरचा लेख छान वाटला.

कथा विभागात बाप्पा पावला ही एकच कथा आवडली. ‘गणवेश' ची सुरुवात चांगली झाली होती पण शेवट ढेपाळल्यासारखा वाटला. ‘तो आणि ती' चा शेवट अपेक्षित तरी कथा छोटीशीच असल्यामुळे बरी वाटली. डॉ. सलील कुलकर्णी ह्यांचा 'अनोळखींशी बोलू काही' मात्र खूप आवडला. स्पृहा जोशीच्या लेखाचा विषय चांगला होता तरी लेखन खुपच विस्कळीत वाटलं. कवितांचं आणि माझं फारसं जमत नसल्याने 'कविकटटा' नुसतं चाळलं.

सत्तेत राहून भाजपावर टीका करायचं सेनेचं धोरण मला कधीच पटलं नाही. त्यामुळे उध्दव ठाकरेंच्या ‘संपादकीय’मधल्या सापराज, ‘चोपडी' पूजक, नागोबा, छप्पन इंचाची छाती वगैरे शब्दाना माझ्या लेखी फारसं महत्त्व नाही. बाकी 'राजकारण चुलीत घालून फक्त जनहिताचा विचार करणारे आज कुणीच उरले नाहीत' हे त्यांचं म्हणणं मात्र १००% खरं आहे. पण त्या 'कुणीच' मध्ये आपणही येतो ह्याची जाणीव त्यांना आहे का हा खरा प्रश्न आहे.

पुढल्या वर्षी हा अंक आणायच्या भानगडीत पडणार नाही हे नक्की. ह्या वर्षीचे १०० रुपये अक्कलखाती जमा केले आहेत.

My Enemy's Enemy: India In Afghanistan From The Soviet Invasion To The US Withdrawal - Avinash Paliwal

Revolutionaries Of India In Soviet Russia – M.A. Persits

२. महाअनुभव (दिवाळी २०१७)

लोकसत्तात आलेलं अंकाचं परीक्षण वाचून हा अंक घेतला. मला नीटसं आठवत नाही पण बहुतेक २०१५ किंवा २०१६ च्या दिवाळीतसुध्दा हा अंक घेतला होता. पुढल्या दिवाळीपासून ह्यावर लक्ष ठेवायला हवं.

सगळ्यात आधी मला आवडलेल्या लेखांबद्दल. अतिशय आवडलेली गोष्ट म्हणजे रत्नाकर मतकरींची 'डोरोथीची गोष्ट'. ‘विझार्ड ऑफ ओझ' ह्या चित्रपटाबद्दल नुकतंच वाचलं होतं. त्यामुळे देशातल्या सद्यस्थितीचा संदर्भ घेऊन लिहिलेली ही गोष्ट जाम भावली. माननीय पंतप्रधानांना कोणीतरी भाषांतरित करून ऐकवली पाहिजे. ‘घाटमाथ्यावरून चालताना' हा प्रसाद निकते ह्यांचा त्यांनी दोन-अडीच महिने सह्याद्रीच्या घाटमाथ्यावरून चालत एकट्याने केलेल्या प्रवासावरचा लेख प्रवासाची आवड असलेल्या कोणालाही आवडावा असाच. द्वंद्व ही अभय बंग ह्यांची आणि 'आमचं त्रिकुट' हि सिद्धार्थ अकोलकर ह्यांची अश्या दोन कथा प्राणीविश्वावर आधारित आहेत. बुलबुलच्या तीन पिल्लांना मोठं करायला अकोलकरांच्या लहान मुलाने आणि सगळ्या कुटुंबाने जे कष्ट घेतलेत ते 'कबिल-ए-तारीफ' नक्कीच.

खारफुटीच्या जंगलांबद्दल खूप काही छापून येतं. पण त्यापलीकडे मला त्यांच्याविषयी काही माहिती नव्हती ती 'खारफुटीच्या जंगलात' ह्या अनिल अवचट ह्यांच्या रिपोर्ताजवरून मिळाली. दुसरा रिपोर्ताज हा आदर्श पाटील ह्यांचा 'न संपणारा वनवास' - कोयना धरणामुळे विस्थापित झालेल्या गावांवर आधारित. विकासाच्या नावाखाली सामान्य माणसाचे जे हाल होतात ते अचूक समोर मांडतो. डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प प्रेसिडेंट झाल्यापासून न्यू योर्करबद्दल बरंच वाचलं होतं. पण त्याचा इतिहास 'निळू दामले' ह्यांच्या लेखातून कळला. मेरील स्ट्रीप वरचा राजेश्वरी देशपांडे ह्यांचा लेख बरीच माहिती  असूनही थोडा विस्कळीत वाटला. शरद पवार ह्यांच्या कारकीर्दीचा आढावा घेणारा सुहास पळशीकर ह्यांचा लेख, ना. धो. महानोरांविषयी माहिती देणारा रामदास भटकळ ह्यांचा लेख, इस्लामपूरमध्ये राहणाऱ्या अन्वर हुसेन ह्या चित्रकारावरचा शर्मिला फडके ह्यांचा लेख आणि पश्चिम महाराष्ट्रात टायरचे बांध व्हावेत म्हणून झटणाऱ्या संपतदादा पवार ह्यांच्यावरचा गौरी कानेटकर ह्यांचा लेख हे सगळे वेगवेगळ्या विषयांवरच्या माहितीच्या शोधात असलेल्या वाचकांना पसंत पडतील असेच आहेत.

श्याम मनोहर ह्यांची 'योग्य तेवढे प्रेम' ही कथा काही कळली नाही. मध्यमवर्गीय पांढरपेशा समाजाला कधीच न दिसणारं असं जे एक जग असतं त्याची ओळख जयंत पवार ह्यांची 'मोरी निंद न सानी होय'  करून देते. पण मला असं अति-वास्तववादी काही पहावत किंवा वाचवत नाही. त्यामुळे ती फारशी आवडली नाही.

हे अपवाद वगळता अंक 'पैसा वसूल' होता ह्यात काही शंकाच नाही.

http://www.loksatta.com/lokbhramanti/

http://www.loksatta.com/lekhaa-news/khau-gali-in-chennai-street-food-in-chennai-sundal-chennai-food-1568721/

http://www.loksatta.com/lekhaa-news/article-on-kolhapur-food-kolhapur-fast-food-kolhapur-speciality-kolhapuri-misal-1576015/

A Passion For Excellence - Tom Peters

Agile Software Development Ecosystems - by Jim Highsmith

User Stories Applied for Agile Software Development - by Mike
Cohn

R L Ackoff (1978), The Art of Problem Solving (John Wiley, New York).

My Startup Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley - Ben Casnocha


Some Patterns for Software Architectures - Mary Shaw

Stop Setting Goals if you Would Rather Solve Problems - Bobb Biehl

Goldratt, Eliyahu M. (2006). The Haystack Syndrome: Sifting Information Out of the Data Ocean. North Riven Press.

The Craft of Software Testing - by Brian Marick

Antipatterns: Refactoring, Software Architectures, and  Projects in Crisis - William J. Brown, Raphael C. Malveau,Hays W. "Skip" McCormick III, and Thomas J. Mobray
Kasse, T., McQuaid, P., ‘Software Configuration Management for Project Leaders’,
Software Quality Professional, September 2000.

Sutherland, Jeff (2013). Finish Early, Accelerate Faster.

WICKED PROBLEMS, RIGHTEOUS SOLUTIONS” - DeGrace & Stahl

J.R. Katzenbach and D.K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization

Rosemary Stewart, Managers and Their Jobs

Sune Carlson, Executive Behavior

Francis J. Aguilar, Scanning the Business Environment

Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power
--
Truman - by David McCullough

Hermann Hesse’s Journey to the East

Succeeding with Agile - by Mike Cohn

User Story Mapping - by Jeff Patton

Agile Product Management with Scrum - by Roman Pichler with Rakuten Kobo

Essential Scrum - by Kenneth Rubin

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - by Daniel Pink

Wisdom of Teams - by Katzenbach, Jon R. and Smith, Douglas K.

The People's Scrum - by Tobias Mayer

Software Project Manager’s Bridge to Agility - Sliger, Michele and Broderick, Stacia

User Stories Applied - by Cohn, Mike

Disciplined Agile Delivery: A Practitioners’ Guide to Agile Software Delivery in the Enterprise - by Ambler, Scott M. and Lines, Mark

Roock, Arne (2012). Stop Starting, Start Finishing! Lean-Kanban University.

THE LEADER WHO HAD NO TIITLE - Robin Sharma

Indira: The Life Of Indira Nehru Gandhi – by Katherine Frank

My Years With Indira Gandhi - by P. C. Alexander

Indira Gandhi, A Biography - by Pupul Jaykar

Indiraji Through My Eyes - by Usha Bhagat

Mrs. Gandhi – by Dom Moraes

Indira Gandhi: Letters To An American Friend – by Dorothy Norman 

 

Mrs. Gandhi’s Second Reign – by Arun Shourie

A Cabinet Secretary Looks Around – by B. G. Deshmukh

The Judiciary I Served – by P. Jaganmohan Reddy

Six Crises - by Richard Nixon

१. लोकसत्ता (दिवाळी अंक २०१७)

ह्या वर्षीचा पहिला दिवाळी अंक. अमिताभ आणि इंदिरा गांधी ह्या दोघांवरचे लेख आहेत म्हणून खरं तर घेतलेला. पण अंकाने बरीच निराशा केली.

प्रथम  इंदिरा गांधी ह्यांच्यावरच्या लेखांबद्दल. तसं मला कुठल्याच राजकीय पक्षाबद्दल फारसं ममत्त्व नाही. पण तरी भारताची महिला पंतप्रधान म्हणून थोडासा सोफ्ट कॉर्नर होता. ‘होता' असंच म्हणावं लागेल कारण त्या पंतप्रधान होत्या त्या काळात 'राजकारण' हा विषय खिजगणतीतही नसण्याचं माझं वय होतं. आणीबाणी वगैरे गोष्टींचा गंध नव्हता. पण पुढे ह्यावर बरंच काही वाचलं. विचार केला. त्यांचेच काय पण कुठल्याच राजकारणी व्यक्तीचे पाय मातीचेच असतात हे पक्कं लक्षात आलं. सर्वसाधारण भारतीय माणसात आढळणारी व्यक्तीपूजेची भावना माझ्यात आधीही फारशी नव्हती आणि नंतर कधीच निर्माण झाली नाही.  पण तरी आधी कधी न वाचलेल्या काही गोष्टी कदाचित समजतील म्हणून मोठ्या अपेक्षेने लेख वाचले. त्यातल्या त्यात माधव गोडबोलेंचा लेख आवडला. मिसेस गांधींच्या कारकिर्दीतल्या अनेक घटनांचं चांगलं विवेचन त्यांनी केलंय. सुजाता गोडबोलेंचा लेख इंदिराजी आणि डोरोथी नॉर्मन ह्यांच्या मैत्रीवर छान प्रकाश टाकतो. संजीव केळकर आणि शशिकांत सावंत ह्यांच्या लेखांतूनही बरीच चांगली माहिती मिळाली. विनय हर्डीकर ह्यांनी मात्र मिसेस गांधींवरचा खुन्नस काढायला लेख लिहिलंय का काय असं वाटावं एव्हढा विखार त्यात आहे. लेख थोडा निष्पक्षपातीपणाने लिहिला असता तर बरं झालं असतं.

‘बिनीचे पर्यावरणवाडी' हा माधव गाडगीळ ह्यांचा लेख थोडा विस्कळीत वाटला पण आवडला. वा. द. वर्तक ह्यांचा 'हिर्डोशीचा हिरडा की कोळसा' हा १९६७ सालचा लेख वाचून आजही परिस्थितीत  फारसा फरक पडलेला नाही, उलट ती अधिक भीषण झालेली आहे हे जाणवलं. ह्या विषयावरची आणखी पुस्तकं मिळवून वाचली पाहिजेत असं प्रकर्षाने वाटलं. ‘परतून घराकडे' ह्या लेखाच्या नावावरून परदेशातून भारतात परतणार्या लोकांवर असावा असं वाटलं होतं पण प्रत्यक्षात त्यात 'The Wizard Of Oz’ ह्या चित्रपटाची मस्त माहिती मिळाली आणि आपण अजून तो पाहिलेला नाही ह्याची खंत वाटली. ‘Over The Rainbow’ हे गाणं डाऊनलोड करून ऐकणार आहे. :-) गुलझार हा माझा खूप आवडता गीतकार. पण त्याच्या कित्येक गाण्यांची नव्याने ओळख मृदुला बेळे ह्यांच्या 'मुझको भी तरकीब सिखा दे' ने करून दिली. खरंच मला गुलझार किती वरवर कळला होता. आता त्याची गाणी नव्याने ऐकायला खूप मजा येईल. त्यांची 'यार जुलाहे' हि कविता दिल्याबद्दल तर लेखिकेचे शतश: आभार. आता त्याच्या कविता कुठूनतरी मिळवून वाचल्या पाहिजेत. नाहीतर 'बेवजह जिंदगी जा रही ही' असंच म्हणावं लागेल :-)

अमिताभ बच्चन हाही माझा आवडता हिरो वगैरे नव्हे. खरं तर कुठल्याही चेनेलवर तो कधीही दिसतो त्यामुळे आजकाल त्याचं अजीर्णच झालंय. तरी हिंदी चित्रपटसृष्टी हा नेहमीच माझ्या कुतूहलाचा विषय राहिलेला आहे. अमोल पालेकर ह्यांचा अमिताभवरचा लेख आवडला. केवळ एक नट म्हणूनच नव्हे तर माणूस म्हणूनही त्यांनी अमिताभचं चांगलं निरीक्षण केलं आहे. राज ठाकरेंचा  लेखसुध्दा आवडला. आधी 'राज ठाकरे' हे नाव वाचून हे मनसेचेच राज ठाकरे का हा प्रश्न पडला होता पण लेखातली खुसखुशीत भाषा वाचून खात्री झाली. त्यामानाने 'यार अमिताभ' हा सतीश जकातदार ह्यांचा लेख फारसा आवडला नाही.

श्याम मनोहर ह्यांना 'परिवर्तन' ह्या कथेतून काय सांगायचं होतं ते कळलं नाही. कॉ. सीताराम येचुरी ह्यांचा लेख वाचायची इच्छा होती. (साम्यवाद, समाजवाद वगैरे भानगड आहे तरी काय हे एकदा जाणून घ्यायचं आहे!) पण सुरुवातीचे काही परिच्छेद वाचून पुढे वाचावंसं वाटेना तेव्हा सोडून दिला. मुकुंद तळवलकर ह्यांच्या लेखातून  भूतकाळातल्या काही व्यक्तींची माहिती झाली तरी हाही लेख बराच विस्कळीत वाटला. अर्थात लेखाचं शीर्षकच 'आठवणी दाटतात' असल्याने थोडा विस्कळीतपणा क्षम्य आहे :-) प्रणव सखदेव ह्यांची 'गर्भगळीत' सुरुवात छान केली असून शेवटाला ढेपाळल्यासारखी वाटली. 

कविता मला फारश्या कळत नसल्याने त्या विभागाबद्दल काही लिहित नाही.  चंद्रकांत कुलकर्णी ह्यांनी मराठी नाटकातल्या बदलाचा चांगला आढावा आपल्या लेखात घेतलाय. मला स्वत:ला नाटक पहायला खूप आवडतं म्हणून हा लेख विशेष आवडला. ‘मंजिले और भी है' हा हिंदी चित्रपटसृष्टीतल्या बदलांवरचा अमोल उदगिरकर ह्यांचा लेख, ‘बदलणारं चित्र' हा चित्रकलेच्या क्षेत्रातली स्थित्यंतरं दर्शवणारा लेख वाचनीय. विजय केंकरेनी दत्ता भट, डॉ. श्रीराम लागू, मधुकर तोरडमल ह्यांच्यासारख्या नटाबद्दल लिहिलेलं वाचून आपण काय काय मिस केलंय हे जाणवलं. ‘हर्बेरियम' तर्फे आलेलं 'पती गेले ग काठेवाडी' बघणार होतेच. आता कसंही करून जमवायचं असं  ठरवलंय. 

जागतिक राजकारण हाही आवडीचा विषय असल्याने 'अनिश्चीततेची सावली' हा सचिन दिवाण ह्यांचा लेख खूप इंटरेस्टिंग वाटला. प्रशांत कुलकर्णी ह्यांची व्यंगचित्रे मस्त. वार्षिक राशीभाविष्य कापून ठेवून त्याची सत्यासत्यता पडताळून पहायची दरवर्षीची उर्मी ह्याही वर्षी दडपली :-)

अरे हो, अंकाचा सुरुवातीला सुधीर पटवर्धन ह्यांनी 'एनिग्मा' ह्या चित्राचं जे विवेचन केलंय ते मात्र साफ बम्पर गेलं. :-)

http://www.livemint.com/Money/wOHRlIjvFRhhrlsjhMpfZL/Books-that-your-fund-managers-read.html

Tent City - George Saunders

A Land Girl's Tale - by Mona McLeod

The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*uck - A Counterintuitive Approach To Living A Good Life - by Mark Manson

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust eBook: Michael Hingson, Susy Flory

Jim Farrell Books

Supernatural, S13, E01

I started checking TV guide of AXN from 12th October onward - the day the first episode of the new season was going to be aired in the US. When a week passed without any mention of the show in the guide I wondered if this season was going to be aired in India at all - but only in a half-hearted fashion. To be frank, I wasn't too keen on watching it - what with Castiel and Crowley both gone. They took half the fun of the show with them - not to mention one third of the eye-candy!

A week passed. Then two. By then I was convinced that Season 13 wasn't for Indian viewers. And then the day before yesterday (Friday), I saw Supernatural slotted for 10pm on Saturday. I won't deny that I smiled despite myself. Oh well, if the series gets too dark (i.e. if even one of the Winchesters dies!) I could stop watching.

So it was with considerable trepidation that I sat down to watch the first episode. As always, it began with a recap of the past season. Couldn't help but wince when Crowley killed himself and Castiel died. Those were two of my favorite characters - the writers had no business bumping them off, and that too in the same season. NOT AT ALL FAIR!

Okay. So Jack aka Lucifer Jr. has superhuman powers. Dean wants to kill him and Sam is rooting for him. No surprises there. It was funny watching Sam dive for cover every time Jr. so much as moved a muscle. Crowley would have been mightily amused at that sight. But I am with Dean as far as not trusting Jr. goes. Afterall he is Lucifer's son - even if he is looking up to Castiel as his dad. It was sad to see Castiel's human body getting cremated. Is he really not coming back? :-( I am not a very emotional person but Dean's prayers to get his mom, Castiel, and even Crowley, back brought a lump to my throat. Not sure why Chuck aka God is not helping the Winchesters. All said and done, it is His mess that they are trying to clean up since long. Hope there is some divine plan there somewhere.

Jack looks as if he is a little bit slow on the uptake. One would expect Lucifer's child to hit the ground running, isn't it? But his mannerisms are so like that of Castiel that I did a double take on more than one occasions. The same confused, unsure look that was the hallmark of the late angel. I am sure one look Jr. and Lucifer would order a paternity test :-)

I am surprised that Dean has assumed that Lucifer must have killed his mom. Mary Winchester is more valuable alive than dead to him. If Crowley were around he would have set Dean right promptly. In the meantime, I will pray for Mary, even if it is just for the Winchester Boys' sake.

Let's see what E02 has in store for us.

Immortal - by Krishna UdayaSankar (Spoiler Alert!)

Ashwatthama cannot be counted among my favorite characters from the epic tale of Mahabharata. Sure, he was a great warrior. I won't hold his fighting on the side of Kauravas against him. But his one heinous act of killing Draupadi's sleeping children (he mistook them for Pandavas!) at the end of the war didn't only stain his character for eons to come but also earned him a curse right at the hand of God - the curse to roam this earth for eternity, with the festering wound caused by the ripping of the precious stone out of his forehead. No solace, no peace, no mirth. Who can save one whom God Himself has deserted?

UdayaSankar has a different take on Ashwatthama's tale. He is immortal but not because of some curse. It's an experiment in Alchemy that's caused it, making him an aberration, an anomaly, a freak of nature. His present persona is that of Professor Bharadwaj - a historian who helps private collectors get their hands on obscure, but priceless, pieces of antiquities. Maya, approaches him for one such quest - Nagarjuna's Vajra, an instrument that's supposed to be capable of causing transmutation as well as bestowing immortality. As the legend goes, Nagarjuna had broken up the Vajra into 3 pieces, hiding them in different locations and the details of the same are now lost in the mists of time. Professor Bharadwaj, along with his colleague, embarks on the journey to locate the Vajra but someone else is also on this trail - to make sure that he doesn't succeed.

There cannot be any doubt that the plot has promise. Loads of it. But the problem is that the author has introduced unnecessary complexity at places. One case in point - references to scientists like Issac Newton, Robert Hooke and Niels Bohr and their work towards the end of the book. I really couldn't understand the point of it. The book also leaves a lot of questions unanswered like e.g. if Professor Bharadwaj did finally end up killing Maya why did he let her go earlier? What was he expecting to find in the final place that they visited? I also didn't understand what caused him to turn immortal.

If you are a fan of a fresh take on epics and mythological tales, this book is definitely worth a read. If not, it might leave you with a vague sense of disappointment, and lot of unanswered questions.

Day 1

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Day 3

Day 4

Do More Faster - David Cohen & Brad Feld

Just finished reading this book. Basically, it's a series of short advices by mentors and entrepreneurs alike from Techstars - a mentorship-driven startup accelerator firm. Those of you who know me must be wondering what I have got to do with Entrepreneurship. True, the idea of me starting a company sounds pretty hilarious. But maybe I will end up working with one in near future. And in any case, it doesn't hurt to know about things. One never knows when such knowledge may come in handy.

Okay, so the book is divided into 7 parts - Idea & Vision, People, Execution, Product, Fundraising, Legal & Structure and Work-Life Balance (yeah right!). In 'Idea & Vision', we get to read about interesting (and might I say, sometimes counter-intuitive!) suggestions like entrepreneurs should not get too secretive about their ideas (because execution, and not ideas, are important), concentrate on one pain area of the users and treat it well, avoid the temptation of adding too many features at the beginning, iterate often so as to get an early feedback and of course, fail fast.

The 'People' section is rich with gems such as Hire people better than you, Hire slowly but fire quickly, have a co-founder. engage a mentor and build a balanced team. Dharmesh Shah's checklist for co-founders is very informative. I couldn't help but smile at the first item on Greg Gottesman's list for great startup culture - No Politics! :-) But the rest of his list is spot-on.

In 'Execution' section, the advice ranges from the obvious 'Do it faster' & 'Use your head, then trust your gut' to more thought-provoking 'It's Just Data' - which tells startups about how to deal with conflicting information - & 'Process equals Validated Learning' which means knowing so much about your target market and potential customers that you can achieve growth rates that others can only dream about. As far as 'Product' goes, emphasis is on things like getting your product to customers early but with regular updates, focusing only on things that help you make progress and paying attention to key metrics about your customers. It also has one really useful article on what precautions startups should take while dealing with the big companies.

'Fundraising' gives good tips on when to go for fund-raising and when to avoid it. The essays titled 'Beware Of Angel Investors Who Aren't' and 'Get Help With Your Term Sheet' are a must-read. No essay from 'Legal & Structure' section should be missed by startup founders. And essays from 'Work-Life Balance' reinforce what they have always been saying about all work and no play making Jack a dull boy! :-)

In a nutshell, if I ever think of starting a company in this life, I would have a well-thumbed copy of this book somewhere on my desk. :-)