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Book Review - Hey Dad! Meet My Mom


Title - Hey Dad! Meet My Mom
Authors - Sandeep Sharma & Leepi Agrawal
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Gargi Publishers
Cover Design - Jimmyeric Films & Media
ISBN - 9788192960982

This book is a one of its kind with the story line which you would have not guessed it. Being authored by two authors - Sandeep Sharma and Leepi Agrawal, the story will keep you guessing till the end.

Puneet was the protagonist of the story who had great looks and a well paid Bank Manager job. He falls in love with a girl called Myra. He also has good friendship with Maya.

When things were about to get materialised with his engagement with her, Puneet sees his son Rishi who arrived from the future. You might ask if this is a Sci-Fi story. This isn't one but yes, he sees his son who talks and converses with him. Infact it is this son Rishi who made Puneet fall in love with Myra but now he wants his dad's decision to be reversed.

Why?

When Puneet tries to find out the reason, he stumbles upon a secret which was hidden from him for more than 10 years. What was he secret? Did Puneet and Myra ended up marrying each other is the story.

The story has some god logic and has never deviated from it. The events that takes place has complimented it really well in all the places it deserved. It would satisfy your expectation of reading a story which differs from others.

The book is available on Amazon

Book Review - Teenage Diaries


Title - Teenage Diaries
Author - Saurabh Sharma
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Frog Books(a LeadstartCorp company)
ISBN - 978-93-52017-26-3

Have you ever felt like missing your schooling days? Would you want to relive those memories? If your answer is YES to any one or both, your search ends here.

With Teenage Diaries, Saurabh has created a beautiful story with few characters. The protagonist Ghanshyam along with other main characters like Vikram,Tanya, Rishabh, Rahul, Aneya, Sneha, Sandy, Armaan, Pallavi, Aakash among others.

What I liked the most about the story is the simplicity and the way it was narrated. The story has essentially covered all that we all would have witnessed or experienced in our schooling life including the likes of playing book cricket, FLAME among others.

It talked in detail about the first drink, smoke, love, kiss, friendship, being adventurous in school apart from bunking, fights, confusion, excitement etc which has added more value to the story. It may not be a typical reflection of all of us but for sure the story has some traces of us in it.

Initially I felt what would be there in this 319 page book and was bit bored but as I sat and started reading it, I could not stop reading them until I completed it. The story has melancholy and tragedy but it has a positive ending.

Buy the book and re-live your school memories.



The book is available on Amazon.

Book Review - Those 7 Days


Title - Those 7 Days
Author - Anmol Rana
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Petals Publishers
ISBN - 978-93-85440-37-3

A brilliant story that would make even an iron heart melt. Anmol has brought up a beautifully scripted story talking about the life of the protagonist Vishwas as to how he faces the outside world in just 7 days.

The story also stamps it clearly on the fact that the beauty lies not from outside but from inside. Vishu just like a normal guy gets tempted by his co-traveller when he travelled from his home city Dehradun to New Delhi to join work. His dreams lived for short while.

In Delhi, he meets up with another girl Vaijanthi and again he falls for her later to realise a stark truth about her which comes as an absolute shock. He gets entangled into some complication and his mentor rescues him who tried to persuade him for her sexual desires.

On the other hand, Vishu had a good friend back in his hometown. The girl - Shailaja gifted him something which he did not even bother to open for 5 days. When he opens it, he saw something. What did he see? Did the ever smart, tall, handsome and well paid Vishu found his true love is the story.

Hats Off to the author who has brought out the emotions of the characters through this novel in a well orchestrated and also in a subtle way. I am certainly looking forward to the release of his next novel.



Portronics Announces “CLAMP”



Portronics, a prominent leader in the innovative and portable digital product market, has added “Clamp”, the universal car mobile holder to its existing series of elegant car mobile holders.

Clamp, the car mount mobile holder, has a unique push-fit design that can be easily attached either vertically or horizontally to any car air vent simply by rotating the 360 degree adjustable clip. This cell phone mount for car comes with one side spring loaded arm to fit any smart phones and navigation devices of upto 6 inch screen size. Clamp comes with 3600 rotation allowing the ease of visibility at all the times and at all the angles for viewing maps and driving safely without the need to hold the mobile phone in hand.

The cushion inside the clamp of this universal mobile phone holder for cars prevents any damage to the expensive smartphones against any jerks on bumpy roads and due to its tight grip. On top of this, the clamp comes with a soft-textured rubberized padding on its inside, which does not leave any ugly scratches on it. The clamp can withstand the extreme heat inside your car during scorching summer afternoons or freezing winter nights.

It is extraordinarily light weight and does not load the air vent blades. Also, the length of the clamp to fit on the air vent is sufficient to allow powerful air flow inside the car without blocking the flow.

It comes in four attractive colors to suit your car and personality. These are Red, Black, White and Yellow. You can buy all these colors to suit mood of the day.

Pricing and Availability:
Portronics CLAMP is available at a very attractive price-point of INR 199/-, on leading online and offline stores. To know more about its features and availability visit, http://www.portronics.com

About Portronics India:
Portronics has been a market leader in the digital-portable product market space in India. For about a decade, Portronics has been touching and transforming the lives of our customers, making them more productive, happy and healthy. A firm believer in simplicity as the ultimate form of sophistication, Portronics brings exciting, innovative, visually appealing and fun to use digital-portable products with superior design and great user experience.

With a PAN India presence, Portronics has been successfully delivering its products and services across India for over 10 years. For more information, visit http://www.portronics.com/


Book Review - The Fragrance Of Rose: Beauty-Dignity-Ambition


Title - The Fragrance Of Rose: Beauty-Dignity-Ambition
Author - Chirajit Paul
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Srishti Publishers & Distributors
ISBN - 978-93-82665-90-8

What do you do when you are born as a woman and had no parents to support you especially when you are grown up and look beautiful? Will the world spare you? Though there may be arguments that the place or country where we live is safe,we know what is the reality.

Would you be asked to compromise to go up on your career especially in the media? You may recall some of the recent happenings where few celebrities has raised a voice against this issue which is been happening behind the iron curtains.

The protagonist of this novel, Rinita faces the above. She had couple of good friends Chaitali and Mahesh since her childhood who supported her as long as they were together. Will they stay together forever?

When Rinita joins the company where Chaitali worked who was known for her stubbornness in not budging for sexual favours, she gets demoted. Rinita gets her place even before she could get compromised. What made her to do this and why?

Having escaped from there, she goes to a different place altogether where she finds the same humiliation. Having made up her mind and determined to come up in her life, she faces the reality. Did she manage to realise her dream? If yes, how did she come up? Who helped her? Who did she settle with finally is the story.

Chirajit Paul has penned a beautiful novel which brings out the stark reality. I was also surprised that it was his first creation which shows how much time and effort had gone into this beautifully scripted novel. Give it a read. You surely won't regret.

The book is available on Amazon.

Book Review - Despite Love


Title - Despite Love
Author - Siddhartha Srivastava
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - NotionPress
ISBN - 987-1-945926-58-7

This story by the first time novelist Siddhartha Srivastava who is in his 12th Standard has impressed me a lot and I am sure it will impress the readers too.

I will not reveal the plot of the story. What I can say is this " One of the best stories I have read in recent times with related events coupled with incidents which serves as a backbone for the successof the story".

When Rishabh falls in love with Smriti and also landed a 7 figure salary with Google, everything seems to be falling in place. He also had good friends Ankit and Aradhya and these 4 shared anything and everything among them right from their college days. As their career set them apart, after a while, they plan for a reunion. Rishabh also had two good friends cum colleague Asheesh and Amita in Google.

It is over here, things starts going awry. Each one gets killed one by one and the way this was narrated in the story made me feel that I am watching the famous sequel "Scream" though the plot of this story is entirely different.

Why would they get killed?
Did the protagonist Rishabh survive?

The ending was a real good one though I could guess the killer after a while but it got confirmed only in the last chapter. The story is about Love, Hate, Murder and Deception as was rightly mentioned on the cover page coupled with lust and greediness.

Read the story today to find out who the killer was and the motive of the killer.

The book is available on Amazon.

Book Review - UNNS:The Captivation



Title - UNNS:The Captivation
Author - Sapan
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Inspire India Publishers
ISBN - 978-93-85783-87-6

What is UNNS? I had been wondering as to why this title for the book until I read it in full and realised that nothing could have fit better than this title. This is a story that would unfold various emotions like love, break up, betrayal, disappointment to name a few. Sapan has done a splendid job in weaving the story to near perfection.

Initially the story begins with a love affair between Atharva Rathod and Meher Qasim in an unexpected way. Meher leaves to Germany without letting Atharva know as her parents did not approve of her love. Things take a different turn when Atharva stumbles upon Meher after 12 years in Germany. He faces a betrayal over there from Meher. 

Why did Atharva go to Germany?
What did Meher do?

After few more years, Atharva goes to US and destiny has it the way that Meher comes to his place.

Was Meher stalking Atharva? If yes, for what reason?
Did she understand his true love for her?

The story is full of twists and turns that would never fail to surprise you. A perfect read from the beginning till the end with the speed picking up literally after few chapters which gets maintained till the end. A story with a difference is what I can say :-)

The book is available on Amazon.

Book Review - Another Tale of Two Cities



Title - Another Tale of Two Cities
Author - Ezhuth Aani
Publishers - Inspire India Publishers
Genre - Fiction
ISBN - 978-93-85783-86-9

The story is an exceptional novel that was woven based on few historical facts coupled with some amazing imagination from the author. Though author wants himself to be excused in case of giving an incorrect info on Buddhism, to my knowledge, I do not feel that is the case.

The story is set on the past which is supposed to be happening in Cambodia where two princes Adithya and Mahendra goes on a journey to find better prospects and coalition for their country. While Adithya goes to Srilanka and India and meet the King and The Emperor and could also manage to get their promise of being helped at the time of need/requirement, Mahendra goes to China and learns the technical knowhow of few aspects.

While Vajragnani is the Guru and was revered, he had a beautiful daughter called Mandagini. Adithya and Mandagini loves each other but when Adithya sets on a journey, he meets up with another dazzling beauty called Visaka. Though his mind was still attracted towards Mandagini, his heart wanted Visaka but he learns about some truth after which he repents for having looked at Visaka with lust.

Mahendra on the other hand was forced to do something against his will and wish. He returns to Cambodia after escaping from China and makes his country real strong. Adithya reaches after 2 years. Most of them by then assumed he was dead. He faces couple of truths which literally shatters his world.

However as a real patriot, he vows to protect his country. Did he manage to strengthen his nation and if yes, at what cost? Did he manage to marry Mandagini?

Read this historical fiction which would not only make you to enjoy the story but also will empower you with lot of information on Buddhism.

Author has woven a story with great precision and I was surprised to hear that this was first published in Tamil and I really cannot imagine as to how the story would have sounded in the native language which surely would have been a hit. The story was given with detailed elaboration of history coupled with the events and would serve as a dual benefit of satisfying one's taste of reading a great novel along with treasure trove information about Buddhism and the culture of South East Asian Nations making it a perfect read for those who loves History.



The book is available on Amazon.
Best Smartphones with Iris Scanners: The next big thing you want in your Smartphone

Best Smartphones with Iris Scanners: The next big thing you want in your Smartphone

The advent of smartphones within the country has brought about a paradigm change in the lifestyles of Indian consumers. But with the rise in online transactions, mobile-based banking, and the amount of personal data stored on mobile devices, there have also emerged serious questions about the security aspect. It is to address these qualms and to make mobile usage more secure for its end-users that very few brands have integrated iris scanners in their smartphones. The IRIS scanner allows you to unlock the smartphone by just looking at it. The module scans the iris of your eyes, which obviously is unique, and uses it as a password to secure the phone like a fingerprint sensor can. Here are the top-notch smartphones with iris scanner that you can buy within different price ranges.

itel it1520

itel Mobile, the hi-tech innovative mobile brand from Transsion Holdings Conglomerate, has integrated iris scanner in its flagship smartphone, it1520. Available at an extremely competitive price point of Rs. 8,490, itel’s it1520 is currently one of the only few smartphone models in India to come equipped with the high-end retinal scanning technology.

In addition to iris scanner, itel it1520 comes loaded with 13 MP front and back cameras with LED flash, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 1.3 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB internal storage (expandable by up to 32 GB). The 4G smartphone is one of the most powerful smartphones in the sub-Rs. 10,000 category, and is hailed for providing cutting-edge, high-quality features in the budget smartphone segment. 
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TCL 560
Chinese Multinational TCL Corporation launched its first smartphone in India – TCL 560. The budget smartphone is priced at Rs 7,999. TCL 560 features a 5.5-inch HD screen with a pixel resolution of 720x1280p. It packs an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front camera with flash. TCL 560 weighs 156 grams. It comes with an iris scanner, which unlocks the smartphone using eyes. TCL 560 is powered by a 32-bit quad-core processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The battery is 2,500mAh.

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LYF Earth 2

Reliance Digital’s LYF Earth 2 come with a retina scanner apart from supporting VoLTE and a fingerprint scanner. LYF Earth 2 flaunts a 5-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) IPS LCD with 445ppi, 2.5D curved glass and Gorilla Glass protection. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor paired with Adreno 405 GPU and 3GB of RAM. Also on offer is 32GB internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 64GB using a microSD card. The Earth 2 comes with a 13-megapixel front & back camera with LED flash. The rear camera also features laser auto-focus, 4x digital zoom, HRD, panorama, and 1080p video recording capabilities. LYF Earth 2 is priced at Rs 20,999

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Microsoft Lumia 950

The Lumia 950 or Talkman sports a 5.2-inch display with 2560 x 1440 pixels of resolution. Under the hood, one can expect a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor coupled with 3GB RAM, 20-megapixel rear snapper, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 32GB storage and a 3,000mAh battery. Though ZTE has already introduced he iris scanner, it is still not a commonly found feature and could turn out to become a USP of the device. The Lumia 950 is priced at Rs. 26,700

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Book Review - Super Couples


Title - SuperCouples
Author - Prachi Garg
Genre - Non-Fiction
Publisher - Shrishti Publishers & Distributors
ISBN - 978-93-82665-89-2

After the successful Super Women, the review of which can be found here , Prachi Garg has yet again given another inspirational but a different book this time. It is none other than SuperCouples.

The thought of covering Couples who were successful in their business is Unique. I am glad to see the stories of Swaty Bhargava of CashKaro among others. Having said that, I am equally glad to find the inspiration behind the start of SoulFlower and few other brands.

To tell the truth, I have not heard about some of the brands but this book made me to understand as to what they actually do. The coverage is really an appreciable task as the book has captured the likes of eCommerce, Healthcare, Social Welfare, Health Care, Event Management, Digital Solutions to name a few.

How some of the ideas were conceived and how these couples faced their initial challenges is a lesson for all those who are dreaming to go for their first start-up venture. It would be immensely helpful to you if you give it a read prior to venturing into it..

The book is surely an eye-opener for me. I am sure, it will be the same for lot of others out there as well.


The book is available on Amazon.

Book Review - The Four Patriots


Title - The Four Patriots
Author - Sumit Agarwal
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Rupa Publications
ISBN - 978-81-291-4204-7

An amazing novel by Sumit. The first half was like an aeroplane running on the runway and the second half was similar to the take-off as it was fast paced. The story revolves around 4 characters Aditya, Raghav, Salman and Varun.

While each one has a different background and the story is set in different cities including Lucknow, Varanasi, New Delhi and Mumbai, these youngsters gets to join Naya Bharat Dal. By overcoming their own limitations in their personal life, these men becomes MP's and later Ministers in the Central Government with one of them even becoming a Prime Minister.

The story brings out the conspiracies that were hatched in the political arena by bringing defamation, kidnap, killing and attempted murder makes one understand the sheer grit the protagonists exhibit in defying the odds.

The story does not have a suspense element but that wasn't a deterrent factor to the flow which makes this novel a great read.

The book is available on Amazon.

Zeta : An App For Convenient Payments



Times have changed and  so has the financial world. With everything available at your fingertip going cashless is a viable option. Talking of online payments, recently I was checking this app called Zeta – it is an app exclusively created to make digital payments easy, inclusive and valuable for corporations, employees, and merchants across India. This product revolves around one key idea i.e. spending and receiving money should be easy, fast, and hassle free.


This app is co-founded by Bhavin Turakhia (CEO) and Ramki Gaddipati (CTO) of Directi in April 2015, It currently has over 500 employees spread over 11 major cities in India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Nashik, Baroda, Kochi and Ahmedabad.
                        

The factors that impressed me were these: 1) Optima 2) Spotlight and 3) Express.


Optima makes it practical for employees to take home Rs 80,000, or above, more every year in way of tax savings. For corporations, it offers the unique advantage of managing all grants digitally on one single portal, which is a step, heading at bringing down time, costs and resources involved in managing employee benefits. The Optime suite includes digitized solutions for meal vouchers, medical reimbursements, fuel and conveyance claims, LTA, communications reimbursements, tax-free gift vouchers, gadget purchase reimbursements and more.


Spotlight offers a customizable one-stop gifting solution that addresses all kinds of gifting requirements for corporations. The suite of solutions include 1) Instagift - the best option for one-time gifting, 2) Digi Gift - great for repeating gifting programmes and 3) Incentives - cash grants disbursed and managed digitally. All Spotlight grants enjoy wide acceptance in India and can be used via the app as well as physical cards.


Express is a smart phone-based meal ordering and payment solution that is revolutionizing the corporate cafeteria space. Zeta Express is complemented by the Zeta Express Kiosk, which is an automated cashier that eliminates the need of queuing up at cafeterias.


Apart from its varied range of offerings, Zeta also offers a unique payment suite comprising - the Zeta app, a Mastercard-powered physical card, Super Card and an NFC-enabled sticker, Super Tag, through which all Zeta grants can be used and accessed.

The Zeta Super Card is a Mastercard-powered physical card with robust anti-fraud security measures that allows users make payments across 11 lakh+ outlets as well as online stores. The Super Tag, is a one-tap payment solution that makes payments possible in seconds using near field communication (NFC). The Zeta app, which recently touched 100k downloads, is available for free downloads on Android, iOS and Windows devices.


Overall a good app, you may want to explore it due to its convenience and speed.