Ajay's Book Review

Following up on the book "India's Most Fearless" this book brings more courage stories from the Indian Armed Forces. The points that strike you while reading these stories are the details and backstories to the simple news update which we get every few days about soldiers being martyred on the front lines. When we hear news about a soldier sacrificing his life for his motherland the news does not tell the details of the operation where the officer put his own life to protect his jawans. Deep down he knows that the life of the men he commands is his responsibility and that if something were to happen to them he would not be able to face himself. The stories of the 2 men who in order to save the submarine crew isolated themselves in the compartment with fire inside the submarine and kept battling the fire to save the submarine makes you wonder how one can put oneself in danger voluntarily. The story of a Garud commando who could not sleep until he avenged his fal...

The book gives the reader an insight into the minds and lives of those who sacrifice everything for their India and its citizen. The book begins with the thrilling third-person account of the Surgical Strikes on Pakistan based terrorist launch pads which is followed by Myanmar Surgical Strikes. The narration of the events beginning with the URI terrorist attack and ending with the press conference by the Army and government on the surgical strikes across the LOC (Line Of Control) grips the reader and keeps him on the very edge. The chapters are narrated from the perspective of Major Tango and Lt Col Delta who led the commandos on the strike on terrorist launchpads. The details of the attacks give an insight into the level of preparation and competence of the PARA SF Commandos. It highlights the mental strength and robustness of the men who make up the Para SF commandos. Indeed their valor and courage exemplify the saying for the para SF commandos “ Men apart every man an...

The holy grail of self-help books. This book is among the most recognised books ever written. It was written in 1936 has sold more than 15 million copies, went through 17 editions, and although was written in 1936 is still one of the best selling books of 21st century which effectively makes it the best selling book of all time. Having known these facts I would like to if I may present a concise review of this book.  The author in the book gives easy and simple tips to help one in interpersonal relations. Although they may seem basic and quite obvious, implementing them in daily life is a challenging task. The book is quite useful for everyone and cuts across all age groups and other differences. After reading the book I have tried to refrain from saying critical things to anyone. I try to put myself in other person shoes. What the book teaches you is to be able to see life and others from different perspectives. One of the things which bothered me was...

Karna the Mrityunjay Before I review the book I would like to admit that I do not frequently read or review fiction books, having said that I want to say I did not regret one bit of my decision to read this book. The story of the protagonist who embarks on the journey to retrieve the Kavach and Kundal of his Mahapurush is a great example of how sometimes the journey is in itself more rewarding than the destination. The protagonist rises up to the challenge of finding one of the most potent weapons that humankind has ever seen and stops them from falling into wrong hands. The author has beautifully woven together the characters from the past and the present that sometimes, it is hard to believe that they do not belong to the same time period. One of the things that reached out to me was the humanity in the heroism of the protagonist, he is pushed down multiple times. Wherein he doubts himself if the hunt is really worth it but every time he picks himself RIGHT up and cont...

A rare insight into America's prized possession, SKUNK WORKS. Skunk Works, the legendary R&D centre, a dream of so many aerospace engineers producing state of the art weapons and surveillance systems that are probably 8-10 years ahead of the world. From building the worlds first and only operational Mach 3 aircraft that could fly at altitudes just shy of space, needing the pilot to wear pressurised suits to the worlds first operational stealth fighter which remained a mystery to intelligence agencies around the world until it took out the most defended capital, Baghdad, during Operation Desert Storm. I have been wanting to read this book longer then I would like to admit. Having been a lifelong fanboy of the SR-71 blackbird and the F-22 Raptor I constantly stumbled upon the term "Skunk Works" in literature while reading about the planes. This book was literally the first suggestion I got as I started researching about Skunk Works. The book enchants you from...

A worthy tribute to one of the greatest daughter of India. I came across the book after watching Raazi movie and wanting to know more about this girl and her family who sacrificed so much for India. The novel is based on the real-life story of a young Indian Kashmiri girl who sacrificed everything to serve her motherland by becoming a spy for India’s external intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) by marrying into a high ranking Pakistani army family. The girl's father had been working for RAW for some time setting up the network in Pakistan to gather intelligence and send it across the border. But when during a routine health checkup is informed of having cancer and knowing he has very time left decides to ask his daughter to finish the mission he started. His wish becomes stronger when he realises that Pakistan is preparing for something big for war. Sehmat is married to the Pakistani army family where she quickly gains the affection of all the family member...

KINDNESS IS WHAT FLOWS THROUGH THE BOOK. When I started looking for a book on spirituality, Yogananda’s “Autobiography of a Yogi” was the most recommended book on the subject. Indeed the book was outstanding and left me intrigued about Yogananda and I began looking up more about him on the internet. During this research, I came to know about Swami Kriyananda and stumbled on this book. This book is a collection of experiences of people with Swami Kriyananda mostly through Ananda. Through the book, the reader gets an insight view into the lives of people living in Ananda. The book is a tribute to one of the greatest disciples of the master. The reader gets an understanding of how the smallest decisions made by Swami Kriyananda always had master's (Yogananda) teaching embed in them. The book brings out the conflict between SRF and Ananda, and how Swami Kriyananda handled the legal process gracefully while keeping the master’s teachings for peace in his conscious. The book is a gr...