Welcome to Sarath Babu's Lifestyle Blog

Title - When Change Happens…A Story of Organisational Transformation Author - Lalit Jagtiani Genre - Management / Self Help ISBN - 978-1-945926-23-5 Many of us have read books on principles and techniques of management. I am not an exception. When I received the book, " When Change Happens… ” my intuition said that this would be a different one altogether. I was right. What is special about this book? The book is on change management and some techniques around it, which the author (details about the author are shared at the end of this post) has focused on.  What makes the book special is the author’s unique telling of an otherwise heavy and seemingly rigid subject, making the content more appealing, almost to the point of it being inspiring. Yes. You read it right. The book is a short novel in which the protagonist, Matt, takes the readers through his journey of organizational transformation, which he is assigned to deliver. I could connect with ...

Title - Compensate The Past Author - Mohammad Israf Genre - Fiction Publisher - Good Times Books Pvt Ltd ISBN - 978-93-840436-2-9 The novel is a simple story which has a simple message "Aim for the stars" which is what the protagonist Rajat does. He falls in love with Taniya who also accepts his proposal. He had a good friend Abhi who stood thick and thin in what ever he did. Rajat had a troubled childhood. His mother raised him and his siblings single handedly when his father passes away. Rajat joins a premier institute and at the time of completion, gets a plum job which he rejects. Why did he do that? Rajat also faces rejection from Taniya all of a sudden. Why? Rajat does few things to compensate the past. What was it and what did he compensate? Did he win back his love? Read this story to find out more. I liked the concept though it was bit old. My ratings are only for the story and I felt a better editing would have made the story a more...

TATA Motors which actively promotes its products via online and offline is back. This time, they are organising events across India in prominent malls in various cities. All you need to do is to visit the mall during the scheduled dates, click a selfie with TATA Tigor and share it on your social media pages tagging TATA Motors and using the hashtag  #TigorStyleback   What you need to do is mentioned in the below pic: Whats up for grabs? You can win some styling vouchers from ZARA. For #Chennai, the event is scheduled on 3rd and 4th June in Express Avenue, Royapettah. For terms and conditions and for other venues, visit this link to understand more ->  bit.ly/TigorSelfieTnC The event has already kick started in few cities which saw active participation. Are you all set to visit the EA Mall and get lucky?

8  year Yash  Chaudhri  was one of the persons waiting for an extension to his unstable foot; before crowdfunding helped  Ratna Nidhi Trust fit him with prosthetic limbs. Yash’s parents are just one, among many worried parents; whose children are born with a disability; and cannot afford to treat them. Rajiv Mehta, Trustee Ratna Nidhi, who helped the family says, “ Yash was very confident about his abilities. He got engrossed in books, thought he was just like anybody else& did not want anybody to pity him for his condition. That's how all people with disabilities are. They need our understanding and support, not our pity. Conservative estimates of the World Bank and World Health Organization suggests that there are about 70-100 million individuals with a disability in India. How do we mainstream them?” Rajiv Mehta’s Ratna Nidhi has received a grant from Google.org to develop 3D scanning software to scan residual limbs and print pro...

Title - Butterflies,Parathas&The Bhagavad Gita Author - Dr S Hariharan Genre - Self Help Publisher - Amaryllis ISBN - 978-93-81506-93-6 Many of us would have read Bhagavad Gita. I have read 2-3 different versions including the famous Bhagavad Gita - As is by Shri. Srila Prabhupada of Iskcon. I have always cherished the knowledge that the book imparts on any of its readers which has universal approach and appeal making it to be considered beyond any religion, culture and customs. When I got this book, little did I knew that I would be going through a different discourse altogether. The book is not just another version of Bhagavad Gita. By incorporating couple of protagonists namely Venkat aka Venky and Santhosh aka Sandy, the book talks in great detail about some of the important verses mentioned in the Gita. These guys who were into medicine viz Dermatology and Psychiatry respectively gets entrusted with a job of translating the Gita by their beloved m...

Title - A Leap Within Author - Ameya Agrawal Genre - Self Help Publishers - Kalpaz Publications ISBN - 978-93-5128-121-4 I was surprised when I read the book. This was or the fact that the author is just 21 but when he started writing this book, he was just 19. I could see a great amount of maturity in Ameya Agrawal who has meticulously presented the facts with some brilliant short stories, examples and anecdotes. Many of you would have red the short stories and examples cited in this book in some place or the other but what I liked the most about the book is the usage of such stories. It was used at the right place making it blend with the information, that author wanted to put forth. The book can be classified under self help coupled with management as it talks in great detail about the management aspect as well. It gently touches upon worldly behaviour and with few poems here and there, it would be a breeze for the literature lovers too. Though this should not ...

Title - Quarter Life Crisis Author - Anshuk Attri Genre - Fiction Publisher - pblishing ISBN - 978-81-93324-82-0 The book has a story which would serve as a learning factor for many of the youngsters who commit a mistake during their teens and repent later. The story touches upon the raw factor of being in relationship at a young age and getting pregnant on top of that. While this may be a common scenario in western countries, we in India are still not moved towards that phase. The protagonist, Prachur liked and was in love with Neera. Their parents knew about this in little and did not show any negative signs towards it. Prachur had a loving parents and a sister - Innaya who always supported her younger brother. Prachur had some friends in college. Neera's friends Yukti and Yashika played some role in the story both in the beginning and also in the later half. What they did is something very relevant to the flow of the story. Prachur was shocked to fi...

Title - The Break-Up Clinic, A Novel Author - Dr Govind Sharma IAS(RETD) Genre - Fiction Publisher - NotionPress ISBN - 978-1-947137-66-0 The book wouldn't come under self-help says the author. Dr Govind Sharma is a Medical Doctor who retired from the Indian Administrative Services in Feb 2016. No one could write a book like this which went deep into one of the trouble which our society is facing - SUICIDE. Through this book, by weaving a short novel comprising three characters - Ajay, Karan and Nisha, the author has meticulously made it clear the main reasons for the cause of tendency to commit suicide and how it gets treated in the clinic. The three protagonists comes from a different background but failed in their respective love life. I also came to know that there are six different reasons - 3 for men and 3 for women for causing the suicide and also came to know about Freud Analysis which would serve as an eye opener for any one and every one. With th...

Being a freelancer, I have all the time in the world. However, having said that I must also admit that it comes with a lot of responsibilities. I would not call it a daunting task unless you tend to take things personally. To the world, we are a happy couple and I would not deny that. The fact that I have been married for 7 years without any hiccups stands as a testimony to that. Since we are yet to become parents, most people tend to think that we are recently married, which we never deny unless they pose some specific questions. Let’s quickly go through my To-Do List for the span of 24 hours in a day. Do make a note that I mentioned 24 hours because some of my friends think that I have more than 24 hours in a day - regarding which I have nothing to say. :-) There are Pros and Cons in my profession too but as they say, "the grass is always greener on the other side". Today's Agenda:  Wake up at 7AM. My clock starts ticking from then. The previous night I ...

Title - The First Trillionaire Author - Sapna Jha  Translation - Alok Jha Genre - Fiction Publisher - The Write Place ISBN - 978-9-38443-995-8 An excellent story that I have read in recent times. I was surprised in the first place that the story was written in Hindi by Sapna Jha and has been translated by Alok Jha. While I have not read the Hindi Version, I am sure, the English Version has produced the story intact. The story begins with Sahil, a simple girl who clears IBPS exams and joins East India Bank. She is a devotee of Goddess Durga and wanted to donate big amount to Vaishno Devi and other temples for which she wanted to earn and become the first Trillionaire. The idea was sparked in her mind after she reads about the total wealth of the World and she wanted a portion of it. She had a tough childhood with no memories about her Father since he was dead even before she was born an her mother faced all difficulties as a single mom to raise her. T...

When the floods devastated Chennai in December 2015, it had literally shut down the source of income for many household. The effect was felt throughout Chennai as it did not spare even a single area. Lot of individuals and companies involved themselves towards the upliftment of the affected class. SMILE Foundation was one of the organisation that took the initiative to bring back the lost hope among the families. Though the organisation is working across various geographical areas, this time they established training centres in Mammandur, Salavakkam, AP Chatiram & Nelvoy road. Some 235 deserving women candidates from across 12 villages were identified and were given stitching training under Project Thiramai . As a part of the project, an event was organized on 10th May 2017 where all these 235 women were given certificates and sewing machines to self sustain and support themselves. The event was attended by dignitaries from the State Government. The members who were pre...

Mynoo Maryel, Visionary Founder at The PoEM Foundation (PoEM=Palace of Extraordinary Miracles) and author of deeply inspiring international bestseller 'The BE book’ was conferred the Women Economic Forum’s prestigious award of Iconic Leaders Creating a Better World for ALL to recognize her contribution in the philanthropy space. Mynoo was conferred the honor in a gala event on Friday in the capital. Some of the other awardees included Dr. Marissa Pei, Life Coach & Positive Talk Radio Personality and Suchitra Kaul Misra, President - Community Services of Bangalore. “I am honored to accept this recognition. Our focus at the PoEM foundation is on the 'full spectrum well-being' which includes physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, environmental, social, occupational and financial well-being. At the foundation of all this is dignity and enriching lives,” said Mynoo. Mynoo further added, “I dedicate what we are doing here to motherhood and mothers. T...

I along with fellow bloggers had an opportunity to visit the Five Star outlet in Besant Nagar. The showroom is located in Besant Avenue near Royal Enfield showroom. Unlike other places which operates on kiosks model, this place is a dine-in place. It has a facility to accommodate even 15 people at a time. What items did we get to taste? 1. Crunchy Masala 2. Thai Crispy 3. Hot 'n' Smokey 4. Chilli Nuggets 5. Spicy Fingers 6. Chicken Popcorn 7. Hungry Bird Burger While we see about the food items in a while, I would talk about the store. The store offers a free wi-fi and payment can be made via JdPay. The store is available on Swiggy which means one can place online orders too. Needless to say, the store is present on Zomato as well.  Do leave your review about the store. What are the take away from the event? There were few. Firstly we had an opportunity to taste the above mentioned delicacies and needless...