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Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley inaugurates Paytm Payments Bank



Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon’ble Union Minster of Finance, formally inaugurated Paytm Payments Bank today, marking a major milestone in the history of India’s financial services sector. 

Also present on the occasion were P. Vijaya Bhaskar, Former Executive Director of Reserve Bank of India, Dilip Asbe, Interim CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO of Paytm, and Renu Satti, MD & CEO of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd.

Speaking at the event, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, "India is at a cusp of a financial revolution. The demography and access to financial services will create a ton of jobs in the country and Paytm is very proud to be a part of this financial services revolution. Paytm Payments Bank will work towards creating a massive number of jobs in the long run."

Renu Satti said, "Paytm Payments Bank is the country’s largest mobile-first, technology-led bank. By virtue of reaching every nook and corner of the country, we will be able to bring the large un-served and under-served population to the mainstream economy. We are committed to offering the most transparent, safe and trusted banking to masses."

Paytm Payments Bank is India’s truly mobile-first bank with zero charges on all online transactions and no minimum balance requirement. The bank has been designed to help achieve financial inclusion in the country and is in line with Paytm’s mission of bringing half a billion Indians on to the mainstream economy. 

The company has planned an investment of $500 million in KYC (Know Your Customer) operations. It is setting up KYC centers across India to complete KYC for customers and make them eligible for a Payments Bank account. 
Important Features of Paytm Payments Bank:
·         Quick and paperless account opening 
·         Earn interest on your savings account 
·         Zero-fee account, no minimum balance requirement 
·         Every online transaction (such as IMPS, NEFT, RTGS, UPI) will be free of charge 
·         Free personalized RuPay digital debit card 
·         Withdraw cash from any ATM;
·          Access to personalised banking at more than 100,000 Paytm ka ATM locations across India.

About Paytm Payments Bank
Paytm Payments Bank is India’s only mobile-first bank providing zero balance accounts and zero digital transaction charges. With Renu Satti as its CEO, it is headquartered in the National Capital Region, India. Paytm Founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns majority stake in the company, and the remaining share is owned by One97 Communications Ltd. Paytm Payments Bank aims to build a new business model in the banking industry that is focused on bringing financial services to hundreds of millions of un-served or underserved consumers across India.

About Paytm
Paytm is India’s largest mobile first financial services platform offering payments, banking, lending and insurance. Paytm pioneered and is the leader of QR based mobile payments in India. With the launch of Paytm Payments Bank, the company aims to bring banking and financial services to 500 million un-served and under-served Indians. Paytm is founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma and is headquartered in the National Capital Region, India. The company’s investors include Softbank, SAIF Partners, Alibaba Group and Ant Financial.

The Indispensable role of Micronutrients in your Child’s Growth



It goes without saying that a newborn baby is dependent on good parenting for physical growth and psychological development. If you are a parent of an infant, you would know a great deal goes into raising a baby. As a parent, if you are concerned about the most essential child care tips you should pay heed to, you have come to the right place. Today, we will discuss the immense importance of micronutrients in a child’s diet for proper brain and cognitive development.

A new born baby requires optimum nutrition to meet the needs for proper physical and mental development. The nutrients required are categorized into two parts, namely - micronutrients and macronutrients.

Micronutrients are those nutrients which one requires in small quantity. They have a vital role to play in the all-round development of a child. Neglecting the need of these nutrients in your child’s diet can result in developmental issues like stunted growth, or developmental disorders like Niacin deficiency.[1]

Micronutrients for Proper Physical Growth and Psychological Development
Compared to body cells, brain neurons are more susceptible to dietary chemicals and nutrients. It has been stated that 70% of brain development occurs during fetal life and the rest takes place in early childhood (pre-school years).[2] This awareness is important, to assure that new mothers do not miss including micronutrients in the daily diet for infants. Negligence in proper diet of a child can result in the sub-clinical micronutrient deficiency, also referred as ‘hidden hunger’.
Hidden hunger can affect the full genetic potential of a child for proper physical growth and complete mental development. This happens because micronutrients are responsible for enabling the body to produce essential enzymes and hormones, for proper physical and mental growth in a new born baby.

Role of Micronutrients in the diet of Toddlers
Micronutrient comprises of vitamins and minerals, and each of them has a different role to play for different body functions. Following are the roles of important micronutrients in the human body:

Vitamin A strengthens the immune system and improves vision. Vitamin A is also required for stronger bones. Egg yolk, whole milk, spinach, broccoli and oranges are good sources of vitamin A.

Vitamin D plays a role in regulating calcium levels in blood and is also good for healthy bones. The best source of vitamin D comes from sunlight. However, foods such as tuna, salmon, orange juice and breakfast cereals are the best food options to get Vitamin A.

Folate or Folic Acid is a micronutrient which helps in cell division and the synthesis of DNA. Legumes, grains, and leafy vegetables are good sources of Folate.

Calcium is an essential micronutrient, important in the formation of bones and teeth. It also plays a role in maintaining healthy cellular metabolism. Dairy foods are major sources of calcium. Kale, Chinese Cabbage, and Turnip are also enriched with this essential nutrient.

Iron is responsible for carrying oxygen to different parts of the body, apart from supporting the development of the brain and nervous system. Beef, liver, oysters are rich heme iron sources whereas tofu, spinach and legumes can be consumed for non-heme iron.

Zinc is also a micronutrient, which is important for normal physical growth. Foods like oysters, beef and legumes are good sources of Zinc.

A healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition are the pillars of proper physical and psychological development of a child. Not including these essential micronutrients in your child’s diet can lead to issues like, impaired physical or cognitive development, also referred to as stunted growth.
Hope this article has been able to provide some important insights about your child’s proper micronutrition demands and how to cater them.



[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02725658
[2] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02725658

Cold Stone Creamery - The Favourite Brand of America is now in India



Cold Stone Creamery, America's most loved ice-cream brand is now in India. We all have had ice creams of various flavours from various brands for ages but I bet not all of them would have been the same as Cold Stone Creamery is.

This conglomerate has been introduced in India by the renowned Lulu Group through its subsidiary Tablez which is known for introducing Toys 'R' Us. The brand also owns Peppermill, Bloomsbury's apart from owning the franchisee rights for other brands such as Galito's, Genghis Grill,Grimaldi's, Famous Dave's, Sugar Factory, Pancake House among others.

Cold Stone Creamery has got more than 1,000 stores in the U.S. and currently has 7 in India with 1 in Kochi(which is also its Head Quarters), 5 in Bengaluru and 1 in Chennai. They are also planning to expand it across India with close to 200 stores coming up.

I was invited to check the functioning of the store and was really thrilled to get to know about the concept.




The store gets the milk solids from the U.S. and they are very much sold on the same day which means the cream you have is not more than a day old. Since Bengaluru has 5 stores, they also have their production facility there where the preparations are made and sent across to other outlets including Chennai.

What makes Cold Stone Creamery special?

Unlike few other brands, the milk used in the preparation is rich in fat which is as high as 14% This ensures that you get the real taste of the cream and not just the compressed air & ice-solids. The real taste of it comes from this cream and is kept intact since they are deep frozen and hence you will not find the store staff using scoops since it cannot be scooped but they use flat ladles to break it up.

They have their own tried and tested formulae which offers various combinations in the ice-cream though you as a customer is also allowed to make one on your own. I tasted Founder's Favourite and it was divine. You can find more about it on my Zomato ratings.

There are wide range of flavours available along with toppings. Also on offer is the Ice-Cream cakes.
Neighborhood - my support system

Neighborhood - my support system

How friendly are you with your neighbors?

When this question arises, many of us are left baffled since we hardly know any. I was born in 1980 and I had the opportunity to be raised in a house which had almost 10 sections that were being let-out and hence I can say with confidence that I knew a minimum of 10 families. But it did not end there. Almost the entire street knew me. This came with few pros and cons. Pros being that I always felt safe and felt happy and proud at times that everyone knew me and the Con is that I could not do anything mischievous as I knew for sure that the complaint would land up directly with my dad.

Having said that, I now live in a gated community where there are more than 300 families but since it is an apartment, I hardly know 10 families. However, one good thing with the apartment life is that you can get to see each other during functions and festivals. Perhaps that is the only occasion where we all can meet.

Now let's go back again to 80's and 90's. Those days were fun since during each and every festival, we were pampered with various delicacies. For Bakrid and Ramadan, it was delicious Biryani & Haleem, For Christmas and Easter, it was cakes and Easter eggs. And for Hindu festivals, we used to get delicacies and various varieties of sweets. It was almost like an Extended Family back then and food bonded us together.

I still remember one of my tenants used to pamper me with home cooked food when my mother was away and I liked her rasam(Indian soup) and potato fry that she made every now and then and sent it to me.

It is really good to recollect my farewell day when I completed my degree. I invited my friends to my home and we all went to the terrace. There was karaoke and lights being set-up already and I arranged for Kurkure and Samosa since it was the most preferred combo for my friends who had it till their tummy was full. It went well with soft drinks. We had fun-time together by dancing and singing till we all got exhausted.

Food is obviously that link that keeps us with each other - there is no bond greater than eating together. I remember, in early 2000s my parents had won the bid to keep stalls exclusively for savories, chips and other items in the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation. Though we had our own brand of snack varieties back then, it was Kurkure which was selling like hot cake. One of my tenants, who has also worked for us as the Manager for the fair, used to call the snack as "Kurkur" which made us laugh each time he pronounced it but he was never bothered correcting. We had a barter system with the nearby sugarcane and fish shops.

We would give them few packs of Kurkureeach time and they would reciprocate by giving us their famous sugarcane juice, fish fry etc., in exchange. We met new people and made new friends with our snacks barter.

Since time immemorial, it is only food that made a human being content at any given point of time. We made lot of friends and got lot of memories with Kurkure and when the fair closed, we sent the unsold packs to UdavumKarangal- an NGO which takes care of orphaned kids which brought more smiles on their innocent faces!

MP Poonam Mahajan to give away the 3rd MG Mehta Human Spirit Award to wheelchair Olympian Deepa Malik


Women power all the way!

Google.org grantee, Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust,  conferred its prestigious M.G. Mehta Human Spirit Award to Rio Paralympics silver medalist, Deepa Malik.

Giving this award away on November 21, 2017, will be Hon. MP Poonam Mahajan, also the National president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

The Trustee of Ratna Nidhi Trust, Asha Mehta will also be on stage, making it a trio of powerful women, contributing to, and leading society towards positive change.

We are grateful that Poonam Mahajan, a young dynamic leader of the new face of India, is giving away this award. We believe that more social good can be done, if NGOs work in partnerships with the Government,” said Asha Mehta, Trustee Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust.

"We chose Deepa Malik for the 'M G Mehta Human Spirit' award, for her exemplary achievements. We confer this every year as we approach World Disability Day (observed on December 3) to a deserving individual who is a role model to persons with disabilities in India," Trustee of Ratna Nidhi Trust, Rajiv Mehta added.

Past recipients of the MG Mehta Human Spirit Award are Padma Shri awardee Ms. Arunima Sinha and paralympic cyclist Mr Aditya Mehta. The Chief Guests in the past have been  Shri. Ratan Tata and Shri.Anna Hazare respectively.

Deepa Malik,  who has been honoured with the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award in 2012 will be travelling to Mumbai to attend the ceremony. 

Lets reclaim our lost green through Regreen Chennai Marathon


Cyclone Vardah that hit the East Coast on December 12, 2016 was a green disaster for Chennai. More than a lac of trees were either felled or destroyed, seriously damaging Chennai’s green cover. Temperature levels have risen as a result posing new challenges to public health, drinking water security and food security. Coupled with unplanned urban expansion, air-conditioners, destruction of water bodies and marsh lands, this crucial loss of green cover further increases the disaster vulnerability of Chennai.

Re-Green Chennai is envisioned as people’s participatory movement involving widest possible stake holders, replant a Million well grown saplings, while in the process creating massive awareness about urban disaster risks and ways to be prepared for them, creating a pool of technology and information enabled disaster volunteers in multiple locations, and bring in personal attitude changes that in the long run will critically contribute to urban disaster risk reduction.


PROGRAM, NOT JUST A PROJECT

ReGreen Chennai is a ten years program. A healthy environment requires a green cover of 33%. What Chennai had before Cyclone Vardah was just 4.5%. Post Vardah this has further got eroded. ReGreen Chennai would join the initiatives of the Govt, Corporation of Chennai and several non governmental organizations and strive to reach the target of 33% green cover in ten years, along with creating sustained awareness and action towards rain water harvesting, waste water management, general water resources management, and support to suburban agriculture.


WHAT REGREEN CHENNAI ENVISIONS TO DO

uPlanting a million well grown trees in five years in the districts of Chennai, Kanchipuram and 
Thiruvallur.

uPlanting a million Palmyra seeds along the - Adayar, Coovam and Kosathalayar rivers and all  
water bodies of these districts. Palmyra trees are excellent flood walls and their economic benefits are many.

uPreparing and spreading 2.5 million seed balls in the next five years, in the districts of Chennai, 
Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur.

uMaking roof top gardens and kitchen gardens a mass movement.
uSustained awareness, seminars and campaigns in schools, colleges, institutions, and among  
corporates.

uCreating ultra-dense, bio diverse small forests in the three districts which would function as  
oxygen pockets, facilitating fine blend of bushes, small trees and trees that create canopies.

uSustained campaign on water harvesting, water management and strengthening suburban  
agriculture as Chennai’s food security net. 1000 small ponds in Chennai suburbs in ten years.

uOrganizing technology, human and financial resources to pursue the vision plans in a systematic manner.


WHY THIS PROJECT WILL SUCCED

uComing together of many accomplished civil society organizations as joint stake holders. So far 27 organizations are part of the ReGreen movement.
uThe project was launched on July 07. Thus far 55000 trees have been planted and 21 seminars conducted. The ReGreen program has gained traction.
uPeriodic review and consultative meetings. So far more than 20 such meetings have taken place.
uMore than 250 volunteers, committed and experienced, have already enlisted themselves to the initiative.
uMore than 500 Schools and Colleges have been already lined up us confirmed participants in the project.
uLong term vision.
uCore operational team has evolved.



WHAT WE HAVE DONE THUS FAR

The core vision was formulated in January 2017. Since then more than 20 discussions, colloquiums, seminars have been organized to define and design a road map for the effective and purposeful orchestration of the ReGreen Chennai project.
  

ESTABLISHMENT OF REGREEN CHENNAI NURSERY IN ALWARPET, CHENNAI

This nursery, specially created to make saplings easily accessible to people, can hold up to 12000 saplings at a time. Similar such nurseries would be established in various regions and locations of the city.


LAUNCH OF GROUND ACTION

Actual tree planting movement began on July 13 with a ReGreen seminar for the Eco club students of Holy Angels matric HSS,T.nagar, followed by tree planting. Mr.Deivasigamani, President of the Farmer’s Federation and actor Ragava LawrEnce planted the first sapling along with the students. Since then many schools including the Vidyodaya school campus which Jewel of India Rabindranath Tagore once visited and called it the ‘Shantiniketan of the South’ have been covered.


MORE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES 

Every day a minimum of two Schools or Colleges get awareness talks and tree planting. The momentum keeps building.


IN MEMORY OF DR.ABDUL KALAM

Students of Maharishi Vidyamandir, Sri Sankara Vidyalaya, PSBB Millennium School and Advent Christian School organized a Relay Tree Planting exercise on July 27. All in all 15 School’s participated.


STRENGTHENING THE POOL OF VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers play a defining role in making a movement successful. Hundreds of students have been enrolled. What we see here below is the motivational session for the volunteers from Stella Maris College. The Faculties too are well aligned.


REACHING THE SUBURBS

Regreen Chennai believes that the suburbs hold the key to Greencover. We have earnestly started the mission in places like Nedunkuntram, Minjur, Perungalathur, in partnership with local NGOs.


STRENGTHENING THE WATER BODIES 

Tree Planting along the bunds of lakes and water bodies achieve many function. It strengthens the out layers, preventing seepages and even disasters. Importantly it brings in people’s direct involvement that plays a check on encroachers and reckless realtors.


REDISCOVERING THE PALMYRA

Palmyra is ideal for TamilNadu. It lives 100 + years, doesn't need much water or upkeep. And it’s a tremendous source of livelihood for rural poor. We have collected thousands of seeds to be laid along lakes and water bodies.
We envision to plant a million seeds in five years.


THE AUGUST MOMENTUM

C.S.I Ewart Mat. Hr. Sec School.
Jerusalem College of Engineering.
St.Thomas Mat. Hr. Sec School.
Women's Christian College. Month of August witnessed huge momentum building up, particularly during August 15. This momentum is further being accelerated keep the onset of monsoon as important moment for tree planting.


RAINWATER HARVESTING

ReGreen Volunteers dug a model small pond on September 24 at Piruthi Village in Vandavasi. Providentially it rained just after we dug the pond. With one hour rain 5 Lac liters of rain water was harvested. This could be a game changing model for water harvest management in TN. ReGreen Chennai intends to escalate small ponds in the Chennai suburban areas.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

uSponsor a 6 feet tall tree at the cost of Rs.100.
uSponsor a seed ball at the cost of Rs.5.
uSponsor a Palmyra sapling at the cost of Rs.6.
uSponsor a home herb / plant like Thulasi at the cost of Rs.10.
uSponsor a seminar at the cost of Rs.5,000.
uSponsor a suburban nursery that would support a poor farmer in distress at the cost of Rs.1,00000
.
uSponsor a small dense forest at the cost of Rs.3,00000.
uSponsor a Rain Water Harvest pond at the cost of Rs.70,000.
uSponsor a Marathon, or an awareness event.
uMake a general contribution for Campaign and Management. 

Visit www.regreenchennai.com today to register for the Marathon. Your participation can make a difference.

Dates Kheer


Ingredients
Dates :1 cup
Milk :1/2 litre 
Condensed milk :1 cup
Sugar :1 spoon 
Cardamom powder:1 spoon 
Ghee: 2 spoons 
Cashews and kismis : as required 
Method 
Soak dates in warm water for half an hour. Boil the milk. Blend soaked dates with cashews and raisins to a fine paste. Add this blend to the boiled milk. Boil altogether till becomes slight thick. If reuired, add sugar ( though it’s not compulsory as we get sweetness from dates and condensed milk).
Add condensed milk and stir.Once it is done add cardamom powder. Garnish with roasted cashews and raisins. The product is rich in iron and can help the children beat he deficiency effectively. Moreover, they would love this for sure. Give it a try. The kids would love it for sure and would keep asking for more.
To know more, head over to http://www.livogen.in/iron-chef

Prem Nath Film Festival on Zee Classic




Prem Nath, the iconic villain actor needs no introduction. He ruled the bollywood through his versatile roles in 1970's and 80's. Despite being the most terrific villain, he has also performed as a comedian. Some of his movies like Sanyasi(1975), Karz(1980) would be remembered forever. His career has spread over few decades with some 150 movies to his credit. What made Prem Nath most successful among his peers is his versatility since he showed difference in each and every movie with his style. 

It would be surprising for the younger generation to know that despite being cast as a parallel lead in Raj Kapoor's Aag(1948), he chose to become a villain later on, instead of becoming a hero. Being born in November, he also breathed his last in the same month. 

To remember this legendary actor and his contribution to the Indian cinema, Zee Classic has came up with new proposition called Woh Zamana Kare Deewana which will air "Prem Nath Film Festival" for 4 weeks starting 11th November 2017. another special feature of this program would be a special feature called "Amar Prem Nath" which is being conceptualised by his son Monty Nath as a tribute to his father. 

Being a film maker himself, this program would talk about in great detail about the journey of the actor Prem Nath and how he went on to become India's much-loved villain. Amar Prem Nath would feature the rare interviews of Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Manoj Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Subhash Ghau, Amrish Puri which were not seen before.

Commenting on the airing of this feature, Monty Nath said, “Even in his time, Dad was a visionary. His approach towards movies was very different. He didn’t want to be the hero, he just wanted to entertain everyone. He soon realised that playing the antagonist brought him real thrill. Amar Prem Nath is my way of showing the world what kind of person my father was, and I am really thrilled to be able to share this film with the younger generation and everyone. I would like to sincerely thank Zee Classic for celebrating my father’s life journey!”

 Not many know that Prem Nath was the maternal uncle of the Kapoor family – Randhir Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor.

Randhir Kapoor said, “I am very honoured, elated and thrilled that Zee Classic is airing a movie on my uncle, Prem Nath. There never was and will never be a replacement, at least not yet, to the kind of entertainer my uncle was. The fondest memory of my uncle was working with him in ‘Bobby’. I have done several movies with him but this one in particular is very close to my heart. As an uncle, he was very loving and extremely fond of me. I will always be grateful to him."

Shashi Kapoor said, “He would work as an extra for Rs.75. His lunch usually comprised of sugarcane juice and ground nuts. I still remember that he and my elder brother, Raj, would travel in a rickshaw with loud speakers to publicise the play in small towns. Raj Kapoor and Prem Nathji were not only related but also enjoyed each other’s company; they were young and full of enthusiasm. They would say, ‘Come on people, come watch the play presented by Prithvi theatres with famous actors – Raj Kapoor and Prem Nath’. They would seldom mention the name of Prithviraj Kapoor. After getting his first break in the movie Ajit, he had to return to where it all began. When RK films was being conceptualized, it comprised of the theatre group members like Shankar Jai Kishan, Ram Ganguly and Prem Nath himself.”

Rishi Kapoor said, “I haven’t seen any actor emote so well in my entire career. When the tailor brought the clothes for the role of Jack Breganza in the movie ‘Bobby’, Prem Nath uncle looked extremely disappointed and said that it wouldn’t go well with the character.  In a huff, he stepped into the car and drove off. Everybody on the sets thought that he was upset, until he returned an hour later. He was carrying a bag with a very old suit of his and said, ‘This is the suit that will go well with the character of Jack Breganza’. To essay the role of Jack Breganza, he lived among the fishermen to learn and understand the way they live and behave and observe the way they dress. He would really immerse himself into the character he was playing.”

Shatrughan Sinha said, “I have seen many of his films and admired his work like Barsaat, Rustom Sohrab and Aan have been terrific films. What made him stand out was that whatever he did, he was original. He was a very daring, authoritative powerful and an excellent man. He never aped anyone and neither was he jealous of any actor, in fact even the greatest actors would feel inferior to him. They say nobody is indispensable but with Prem Nathji that holds no truth.”

Dharmendra said, “His manliness was often the talk of the town and as college students we would always say that one should have a physique like Prem Nathji. Prem Nathji would do his stunts himself and never used a body double.  For the fight scene with him in the movie ‘Loafer’, he asked me not to use a stunt man and that we would do the fight scene ourselves. I agreed, although I was afraid that he is older to me and may get hurt.”

Dilip Kumar said, “He had the facility to do many different roles. Everybody was elated that Bina Rai and Prem Nath got married.”


Prem Chopra said, He was highly knowledgeable; you could discuss any topic with him. He was a very dedicated and devoted actor. Whenever given a role, he would research thoroughly to understand that character.”

 As you could see from the above,  most of the industry's who's who has worked with Prem Nath and has spoken about the iconic actor thereby recollecting their journey and time spent with him. There are many more celebrities who has spoken about him. It is a perfect tribute by Zee Classic who has decided to come up with this special feature for 4 Saturdays starting from tomorrow. It is going to be a festival for those who has missed it earlier and to those who wanted to rewind their past.

Schedule for the Prem Nath Film Festival

Date
Day
Time
Movie
Time
Documentary
11-Nov
Saturday
8:30 AM
Kaalicharan
11:30 AM
Amar Prem Nath Part 1
18-Nov
Saturday
8:30 AM
Kabeela
11:30 AM
Amar Prem Nath Part 2
25-Nov
Saturday
8:30 AM
Gautam Govinda
11:30 AM
Amar Prem Nath Part 3
2-Dec
Saturday
8:00 AM
Johny Mera Naam
11:30 AM
Amar Prem Nath Part 4


Do not forget to tune in to watch ‘Prem Nath Film Festival’ followed by a special feature Amar Prem Nath at 11:30 AM on Zee Classic every Saturday starting 11th November.

Book Review - Bheem : Destiny's Warrior


Title - Bheem : Destiny's Warrior
Author - Jyotin Goel
Genre - Fiction
Publisher - Penguin Books
ISBN - 978-0-143-33408-8

A novel that would give you the feel of reading the story which includes the characters of "Thor" and "Hulk" with a little bit of other characters which we have seen in super hero movies. Having said that, this novel is about our own mythical super hero BHEEM

While the prologue takes us back to the period of Ravana, the death of his sister Surpanaga unleashes a new curse which would put the mankind to the peril after few centuries. This takes into effect through time travel where the characters Bheem and Asvattama who comes later - during Mahabharata becomes the part of the legacy where as we know Bheem stood on the side of justice along with his other 4 others - Pandavas who fought against their cousin brothers - Kauravas. We also know that in the end the sons of Bheem gets killed by Asvattama who was considered immoral due to the jewel on his face which gets removed by Lord Krishna.

However, the story did not end there. These two characters survived the time and tide to be teleported to the present world where Asvattama who was affected by the curse of Surpanaga is trying his best to unleash terror on mankind. The instrument that was used by him in this case is a biological weapon which starts claiming hundreds of life without any cure.

On the other hand, there was a cure for this. The cure can be obtained from any one of the four keepers. 

Who are they?
Where do they reside?
What did they have it with them?

In order to find them, Bheem joins hands with Aviva Fein who is half Indian and half Israeli. Before they could get hold of these keepers, Asvattama gets them but there was one last hope.

Bheem finds it at the end as to who that person was.

Did he manage to save the world from the ultimate end?

Read this fast paced thriller which would keep you hooked from the beginning till the end. A perfect way to end it by the author and I must say I was thoroughly impressed with the way the characters were used and the sequence that happens.

A perfect treat for the novel lovers....

The book is available on Amazon