Tushar Mangl Media

Curfewed Night is Basharat Peer's first book. It is narrated in a form of a survivor story whose live revolved around some of Kashmir's toughest times. The book mirrors the h ypocrisy of Kashmiris , enjoying subsidised schooling, government jobs, studying in state run Colleges and never being grateful about it. Instead we have romanticism for AK 47s and pride of militancy. The book also throws light on the total aloofness of Delhi politicians towards the hatred of Kashmiris. This is reflected in Army's treatment towards the Kashmiri populace, the torture and rapes. The army it seems has been stuck into this wonderland with no particular sense and plan to do something. Its prerogative is to maintain 'peace' but what can it do for the turmoils within? Read this book, if you want to feel sympathetic towards the Kashmiri cause. Which is to have everything and to do nothing for it. Indeed, when I was reading about the tortures and shoot outs, I wondered, why would...

At a time when the society is discouraging surge pricing by taxi operators, the Indian Railways  has shocked one and all by asserting its monoplistic structure.  It has introduced surge pricing, on so called premium trains even though they are actually overpriced shoddy trains which are preferred by people mostly due to the alternates. The last time I travelled in a Shatabadi, the window in the toilet was absent. Instead they had fixed a paper carton like the ones we use for packaging to fill in the gap. The alternate trains are more shoddy have a poor time table and very badly managed. In most of such trains the tickets are not even checked properly. Thus allowing more indiscipline and chaos. So, by the reason of railways, since it is a monopoly why not loot people in the name of surge pricing? And what better time than the festive season when people are going home to bring this measure in? The central government was expected to bring in effeciency to railways to cut...

Navjot Singh Sidhu has finally opened up his cards by creating a rag tag party of rebels. He has also picked up a unique name, Awaaz e Punjab, as in voice of Punjab. While it remains to be seen, how many more dissidents he is able to attract, he already has created ripples in political circles. He is an astute politician and this can be gauged from the fact that he disassociated with BJP when the writing on the wall is clear that its ship is sunk. Also he has created this new front with Bains Brothers and Pargat Singh. Not known much beyond their political constituencies but they are significant people. With them, he has shown that he is ready for entire Punjab, as he is active in the Majha region, Bains Brothers are active in Malwa region and Pargat is an MLA from the Doaba region. All three regions covered. Also important is the muscle power and financial power of this new front. These leaders also enjoy a cult fan following, which could make a difference on the ground reali...

A beautiful but heart wrenching story of Sona and Shammi how they diverge only to meet in another form years later. Dhirendra Tiwari has penned down an excellent and gripping story. The title seemed odd at first but as I turned pages I realized it does suit the book very well. If you are fond of rom  stuff, this one is for you. Publisher - Srishti Pages - 232 Price - INR 195 Recieved a copy from the author courtsey of the goodreads giveaway program. 

Yes, finally I got around to getting a new look and feel for the blog, although some readers think it resembles the old one too much. Also, did I mention that I joined the Instagram bandwagon? Well, it is no Flickr or Picassa but it works okay.  They say, its filters are amazing, I didn't find them as advertised but yes, they made a difference or two to my photos. I can put one here as well.  A photo posted by Tushar Mangl (@tusharmangl) on Aug 27, 2016 at 3:33am PDT On the reading side, I am going through the Jodi Picoult collection. I have put it off as long as I could, knowing how depressing it could be. But she is a gifted and very astute author. The other day I was at his famous book store, going through the best sellers, they had lined up near the door. Suddenly this guy enters with a heavy backpack on his back. The guard, in his politest best, asked him to submit it with him, but the guy with an attitude that would throw a romance novel's alph...

Brilliant setting but story stretched too long without any reason.Also things have been picked from author's other books too. As in why in every book the defendant has to keep lying to the lawyer ad then both have a fight whether the defendant will testify or not. It seems to have become a recurring theme in all her books. Remember Nineteen Minutes?

Electricity plays a major role in any elections in India. Not surprisingly therefore, when facing prospect of defeat in elections, last time when Congress was in power in Punjab, it decided to offer free electricity to farmers. But the gimmick did not work as expected and the Congress lost the elections. The Akali - BJP combine came into power, promising better power scenario to Punjab populace. Again things never went as per plans. The idea was to make Punjab a power surplus state. A noble idea and the strategy was good too. As power shortage was severe, the government took steps to set up massive thermal power plants with private players in the driving seat. This idea could work as the government itself had little money and power for industries or home use.  Then, the sorry tale of land acquisition started. Villagers refused to part land. Simultaneously the coal scam rocked the nation and rocked the boat for grand power plans of Punjab. Which also envisaged exporting ...

If you look at the M & A activity in the past few months, it seems like an era of independent free internet is slowly coming to an end. Linked In was bought in by Microsoft, Yahoo an iconic brand of the nineties was sold out to Verizon and Monster another survivor of the dot com bust of nineties finally went to hammer. It seems as if the surviving spirit of these and many like them is waning. Look at how Uber, although now a major player but once a struggling start up, conceded defeat in China as players with deep pockets closed ranks to check it in. Indeed it seems as happens in a true capitalist world, the big boys with deep pockets and perpetual line of credit seems to be showing who the boss is, with curbs on smaller different players. Take the case of Go Javas, a logistics firm, which was supposed to be bought by Snapdeal but once talks failed, again supposedly Go Javas lost the e-commerce giant's account. So, where does future lie for upcoming tech firms? Most of...

An amazing book by a gifted writer. Is it really love what we feel for a person so close to us? Does someone really mean they love you, when they say they do? What do you do when a person says they love you but refuse to share some very important things which are bothering them? Although you share everything and never lie to each other? Does that really belie the very undertaking of love? The claims made, the vows taken? This book leaves so many questions open but very little answers. Perhaps as it is in most cases, the answers lie deep within us. Or the answers really are out in open and we refuse to interpret them, to accept them? The Pact by Jodi Picoult is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that explores the complexities of love, family, and the human psyche. The story centers around the lives of two families, the Golds and the Hartes, who have been friends for over a decade and whose children, Emily and Chris, have grown up together. However, when Emily dies in an apparent s...

Imagine the plight of those people who are in tremendous pain but nothing can be done to reduce it, simply because they need organ transplant. If you look it at common sense level, the solution is so simple. Get people to donate organs when they are no longer alive and hence don't need it. In today's times, one would be shocked to see how many well educated people are so unware about organ donation. And these are the people whom we count on to change the world. After all, if such educated people cant understand the simple fact that you no longer need your organs after death and that they can be used to help others. Gift your Organ is one such organization which is pushing for this much needed awareness. It is co ordinating and enabling pledging of organs through its online portal http://www.giftyourorgan.org/ I mean, why is it so difficult for so many of us to give up something which you wont even feel about when donation is done?

I am not someone who is quite comfortable with the hills, but mountains somehow always remind me of them. People say one should be careful during travelling to hills due to landslides etc. The penchant of destroying our environment is so ingrained in Indians that the mountains once so lovely are now bare and crumbling. Which causes problems during monsoons. Other than that I love the mountains during rains. In plains we have so much water logging and sewage overflow. In hills, the water just flows, reminding us to keep flowing. The weather chills down but the trees and the rest of the flora comes out so fresh, so clean, you can actually breathe the freshness in. The other reason is the humidity. Somehow the humidity associated with rains, in plains or near oceans is almost absent in the hills. All the more reason to enjoy the rains without worrying about the follow on of the humid weather.