The Great Indian Kitchen, directed by Jeo Baby starring Suraj Venjaramoodu and Nimisha Sajayan, attempts to portray the prejudices against women in our society, highlighting the misogynistic attitude towards women that prevails even in this modern era. Does Jeo Baby succeed in his attempt to put across the message effectively?

If I asked you- what’s the most important thing I should do if I want to make sure my site or app is easy to use, what would be your answer? ‘Consistency’, ‘Easy navigation’ etc., right?! But, Steve Krug, the renowned usability expert has one simple answer- ‘Don’t make me think’. And that’s the title of his book, too, which is from a very common sensical standpoint as it reflects people’s natural inclination to expend less effort in using anything. With first edition of this book published almost two decades ago, the concepts are still relevant today as much of how humans think and behave have largely remained the same since time immemorial. 

Most of us know or atleast would have a broad idea as to how Indian courts function. Undue delays, huge costs, multiple adjournments and resulting frustrations are some of the characteristics that define our Judiciary. While we accord great respect and look up to courts, are they living up to the expectations? Are they delivering the right judgements and more importantly, are they monitoring the adherence to such orders issued by them? Arun Shourie raises more such relevant and valid concerns in his book “Anita Gets Bail- What are our Courts doing and What should we do about them.“

‘Finance’ is one field where the sheer usage of the term could give jitters to few. Just like how food, cloth and shelter are the basic needs, knowledge of finance and its management are essential to every individual. Do you know what is certain about our life – the fact that it is uncertain! Sounds cliched but a fact is a fact. As the world is embracing pandemic, which resulted in job losses and downward spiraling economy, we also witnessed that the stock market hit rock bottom in March-April 2020 and as I write this post, is trading at all-time highs. Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) best defines present-day world. How do we guard ourselves financially  in the VUCA world so that we can have a peaceful sleep at night? Morgan Housel has the answer in his book “The Psychology of Money”.

Not all books can be reviewed. This was the realization that dawned on me after reading this book “Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate” by the world-renowned yoga teacher Sri B.K.S Iyengar. Each and every sentence that I read urged me to highlight it. So, for a change, instead of reviewing, I will share some of the excerpts from the book which are close to my heart, as a two-part post. Each one of the quotes is akin to a pearl from a necklace that should be read, re-read, re-re-read, in an infinite loop as we slowly digest the essence of the quote. 

Not all books can be reviewed. This was the realization that dawned on me after reading this book “Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate” by the world-renowned yoga teacher Sri B.K.S Iyengar. Each and every sentence that I read urged me to highlight it. So, for a change, instead of reviewing, I will share some of the excerpts from the book which are close to my heart, as a two-part post. Each one of the quotes is akin to a pearl from a necklace that should be read, re-read, re-re-read, in an infinite loop as we slowly digest the essence of the quote. 

Did you just buy something in one of the festival flash sales and repented your decision because soon after the purchase you realised that it wasn’t something that you really needed? Wondering how it happened! You just fell prey to one of the weapons of influence-‘Scarcity’. Dr Robert Cialdini, a professor of Psychology, in his book ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’, lists out six powerful weapons of influence that are employed by people around us including salesmen, teachers, parents, children etc to persuade us and surrender to their requests. 

As all of us are diligently washing our hands using soap to ward ourselves off the preying Corona virus, let me share some secret with you!! Our body houses almost 1 trillion bacteria gleefully dangling and swimming inside our body. You may exclaim “Gosh!” but a fact is a fact. There is much more that Bill Bryson, the author of ‘A short history of nearly everything’, throws light on from formation of universe, discovery of elements, to evolution of humans. Game for a fact-filled ride?