Author: Akhil Nanda

I am Still Trying To Write ...

Favourite authors! – Observations & Analysis.

Over the years, I have enjoyed reading a few authors again and again and here i have shared some of my favourite authors and what to expect of them when you read their book.

Murakami :The Writing style of Murakami is simple, yet has a depth in the stories and narration that makes you loose yourself in the world he has created for the reader. Books worth reading from the author : Kafka On the shore, Strange Library, Men Without Women, Norwegian Wood and The Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Seshi Yokomizo: His stories revolve around A Detective, an island, A large joint family and a family member that’s missing for years. Books worth reading from the author: The Inugami Curse, The Devils Flute, The Honjin Murders

Ogawa : Her stories are about Memory Loss, Death ,Relationship with the past and life in Japan. Books worth reading from the author: The Housekeeper & The Professor and The Memory Police.
Keigo Higashino : His Content is about A detective like no other, a story set in Japan, And how science & Physics studies are used to solve the mystery.
Books worth reading from the author. Malice, The Midsummer equation and Salvation Saint.

Perumal Murugan : His stories are set in South India with A woman as central character.
It’s also about how the society perceive people who behave and react different from the society norms. Books worth reading from the author. One Part Woman & Poonachi

Pico Iyer: His Writing style soothes you and calm your nerves, the elements are always nature and a beautiful setting.
Books worth reading Art of Stillness & Cuba by the Night.

Satyajit Ray: A detective, who with the help of his team solves mysteries in India. That could be based on simple objects or family disputes, through his observations. The Complete Adventures of Feluda Vol 1 & Vol 2

Ravi Subramanium: It’s about Banking Scams, Friendship, and the Race to succeed to
The top. If God was a Gamer & Bankster

Henning Mankell: A Story set in Sweden with connection in Africa and a foreigner who has travelled and started living in Sweden. A neighbourhood that has been peaceful and an alcoholic Inspector.
Books worth reading Sidetracked & Faceless Killer

Jo Nesbo : A police inspector, who handles cases around Sweden & internationally, And some one within the field is responsible for the crime.
The Snowman & The Bat

Agatha Christie: Stories about a detective that’s smart enough to know who might be responsible through his style of investigation. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Lucy Foley :A Thriller without a detective, but has the same surprise and interest for the readers. The Guest list

Paula Hawkins: A writers who’s first book was an introduction to thrillers for me , the way they should be written and since than haven’t found anything like the Girl on the train.

Elif Shafak : A story set in Turkey, keeping in mind the challenges faced by woman for woman’s right. Books worth reading The Gaze & Bastard of Istanbul

Malcolm Gladwell: A writer who uses psychology as the backdrop to explain the fundamentals of human behaviour & Success. Blink & Tipping point must read books.

Paulo Coelho: Writing that keeps you searching for more, And leads you to a journey of self discovery. Alchemist & Birda

Best Books on Food!

Taste by @stanleytucci.
A book, that you would enjoy reading not just if you like eating, but if you like cooking too! The tone used in the book, the way it has been written, takes us back to his childhood days and memories! This book has Taste on every page, while some pages are sweet, some are Bitter. The whole read is a meal! You wouldn’t like to miss it!

The Food Mood Connection by @drumanaidoo
Haven’t you always said or heard? I am in the mood to eat this meal today for lunch, Breakfast or Dinner.
Well! Food and Mood does have a connection and this book highlights how it affects us. An interesting book on focusing correlation between Mental Health, Food and Diet.
Research and written by Uma Naidoo who has studied nutritional & lifestyle psychiatry at Harvard.

Pancake in Paris by @craigcarlsonauthor
A story of an American who lived his American dream in Paris!
By starting a cafe – Pancake in Paris!
This story is about how he succeeded in living his dream and the challenges he faced in getting the right ingredients and introducing a Breakfast meal that wasn’t part of the French culture.
A good American breakfast.

How I Quit Google to Sell Samosas @munafkapadia
The Story about Borhi Kitchen – A home experience of cultural cuisine, that started a decade ago and gained popularity for the food and the experience it, it later also grew with food experience as a delivery service and for Catering at events! With a simple idea of bringing in local cultural food. This is an inspirational story set in India, Mumbai since it’s also a challenge to diversify from well-paid jobs to starting something of your own. This book also highlights the challenges one faces in the Food & Beverages and Hospitality business.

Forgotten Foods @taranahusainkhan
A book on looking back at some of the food specialities that aren’t very popular these days and are well known only in certain parts of the country.

Merry Christmas – Not A Movie Review!

Merry Christmas by Sriram Raghavan!
When you watch a movie and instantly remember the source of inspiration.
You know exactly what the result would be and how the story would unfold.
But, at the same time you always feel the Book would be better! I remember Reading the book last year. And a while later Realised the simplicity of the story. This is a slow burn, French Noir But having been adapted to the screen it could have been a little more edgier. The story is about two strangers who meet each other. One who is revisiting his home after 7 Years And the other who is out for dinner.
They both go to the latter’s house and enjoy a drink! Then she remembers she has forgotten something and they go looking for it and are back home only to discover that her husband is killed ! This is when the story unfolds… And then this incident happens again With another man
The plot thickens and slowly the mystery unravels. Merry Christmas is an inspiration and adaption of Bird in a Cage by Fredrick Dard a French noir writer and the film is now streaming on A popular Ott platform.

South India Travels!

View of the Backwaters

Kochi! Kerala! Backwaters! 

It might seem The southern part of India is my favourite. But, even I am not sure, what influences me to travel to that part of the country! 

It was work for one part of it, It was sightseeing the Other Time and it was food and rejuvenation for this time. 

All the sides of the South have so much to offer! Just like the other states of India! But, the flavours in the South are all so different. 

While the common element remains the coconut in the flavours, Pepper and Masala in each of these states enhance the taste of the food. 

South Indian Food

Kochi! Was such a food experience. The freshness of seafood, The softness of meat & Pork.  The sharpness of Pepper and Rice and fullness of Appams was a treat every meal! 

Backwaters Calmness and quietness through the journey in the boat was an experience of Stillness in a world of technology. 

The Night at the Allepy snoozed us at 10 after another meal of Fish & Vegetable Stews! 

The next morning we were back from the shores, not sure if we were ready to travel back into reality! 

The heritage property where we stayed for another day in the city, was a museum with Vintage Cars, Camera, Projectors and an antique Radio system! 

The whole Kochi experience wouldn’t have been complete without exploring Art Galleries & Independent stores that had so much to offer! 

In terms of coffee, the Monsoon Malabar Roast is something you would enjoy the most. The Saltiness coming from the moisture in the air is what makes the coffee flavourful with the spice & nutty notes.  

Stay:

Bloom Boutique hotel

Kumarakom Lake Resort & Boat

Eat:

Kashi Art Cafe: Asian Food & Eggs

Pandhal Cafe : Pizza, Tacos, Desserts, Coffee and Berry lemonade.

Brunton Boatyard: For South India food

Jew Town Cafe : Cold Coffee

French Toast : Coffee & Desserts

Shop:

David Hall

Pepper House

Jew Town

Hampi! 

Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

Another city in the South was more about architecture and History with beautiful historic temples like Virupaksha Temple, Hemakuta Hill and Hazara Rama Temple are a must-visit on your visit to Hampi. 

The Eco-friendly hotel at Hampi, felt like a restored heritage hotel, but in fact, was designed from scratch. 

At Hampi, we were truly a tourist in our incredible India. 

Hampi, had suddenly seen a spike of interest globally even the G20 was hosted in the city in 2023. 

Stay:

Evolve Back Hotel

Bangalore! 

Bangalore Palace

The IT hub! The widest roads in a metro city! 

Where the joke for the city is.

IT professionals travel for about an hour on average to make apps and work for companies that promise delivery within 10 min. 

The City, that’s clean & Green! A metro you would like to stay in if you have a choice! 

The food options are many to choose from! 

Andra-style south Indian food being our favourite. 

But, the dessert and baking goods are one of the best in the city! 

The city has a palace, whose architectural structure is like a British-style castle. 

Eat:

Beema’s for Andra Food

Nagarjuna for Andra Food

Airlines for Dosa

Milano for Ice Cream

Corner House For Ice Cream Sundaes

Fia’s for Parsi Food

Lazy Suzy – for Cocktails

One 8 Commune – Rooftop Bar

Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka- Book Review! 

Book that was recommended by a friend, who was reading The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida A Booker Prize winner book by the author. The author of Chinaman too!

The moment I heard about the title! The Australian bowler Brad Hogg came to my mind a bowler who is known as the chinaman bowler.

The book was indeed the concept of the spin Balling and Bowler but in contemporary fiction writing.

Chinaman is a story about a retired sportsman W.G Karunsena who is dying.

He spends his final months drinking arrack. ( A traditional alcohol from Sri Lanka) upsetting his wife, ignoring his son & tracking down Pradeep Matthew an elusive spin bowler whom he considers the greatest Cricketer in the world.

On his Quest to find this unsung genius, W.G. uncovers a coach with six fingers, a secret bunker below a famous stadium, an LTTE warlord and startling truths about Sri Lanka, Cricket and himself.

The Book is one of the best books on Cricket and Sri Lanka I have come across and read.

Explaining, the whole concept of the game. The rules and the type of delivery bowled by a spinner.

The writer also believes what a perfect team should look like by giving his breakdown.

A perfect team should be:

  • Two solid openers 
  • Three Aggressive batsman 
  • Two genuine all-rounders
  • One Agile Wicketkeeper 
  • Two unplayable fast bowlers 
  • One Genius Spinner 

The book is thought-provoking for a fan, reader and as a player from the sport. On the value and respect the sport offers. 

“But, once in a while, the very best of them will bowl a ball and bring an entire nation to its feet. There isn’t any practical use in that, but there is certainly value “

The book also touches upon The Superstitions in cricket , the Betting & fixing. 

The way he describes a single over is like a team going to war. 

“An over is six bullets in a gun! I don’t mind firing some into the sky if one hits the target” 

The struggles to keep dreams and hope alive for the sport We play because we have talent & passion. 

But, talent will leave the game if you earn no money 

With the pressure, outsiders have to deal with to prove themselves , Tamils have to be twice as good as Sinhalese to be recognised 

A few true incidents in the sport are highlighted too one of them being the use of 

Aluminium Bat by Dennis Lillee an Australian cricketer   in 1978 Ashes used an aluminium bat. 

On racism

On changing rules:

Whites have been writing the rules for centuries. It’s time we added ours. 

The writer also in the book compares cricket to other sports like  Table tennis: You switch services every 5 points and race to 21.

Badminton: You fight for service. only service grants you points.

Tennis: Four units of 15 constitute a game.

Games accumulate into sets.

Some keywords of the game: 

All arounder:

A genuine all-around should be able to make the team on either bowling and batting skill alone. A genuine one is as rare as a punctual Sri Lankan.

Maiden over: A over of six balls when there aren’t any runs scored.

Follow on: When the team can’t score the sufficient runs required for the other side to play.

Carrom Ball: The ball is released by flicking of finger between the thumb and a bent middle finger in order to impart spin.

Chinaman: Is considered to be a leg-spin delivery by a left-arm bowler

The Lissa Ball a type of delivery was invented by Clarrie Grimmet Aussie player in 1930. Snapped his fingers along the ball axis and made it skid off the pitch, keeping low and often connected with the wicket.

Floater: A Traditional chinaman, but bowled with an open chest and shrug of the shoulder causing the ball to linger in the air

Double Bounce Ball: The Mystery of Mystery Balls. A ball that bounces and changes direction twice.