Books read in 2023

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" Martin Luther King Jr

When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight. - Thich Nhat Hanh

 ~Highly Recommended~

  • Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl
  • Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (Maus, #2) - Art Spiegelman
  • Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Maus, #1) - Art Spiegelman

~Worth a Look~
  • The Silk Roads: A New History of the World - Peter Frankopan
  • Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From - Tony Joseph
  • The Complete Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
  • A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time, #14) - Robert Jordan
  • Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time, #13; A Memory of Light, #2) - Robert Jordan
  • The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time, #12) - Robert Jordan
  • The Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time, #8) - Robert Jordan
~Pleasure Reading~
  • Reverse Innovation in Health Care -Vijay Govindarajan
  • India vs Pakistan: Why Can t We Just be Friends? -Husain Haqqani 
  • Evolution of Geographical Thought - Majid Husain
  • Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World -Adam M. Grant 
  • Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time, #11) - Robert Jordan
  • Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time, #10) - Robert Jordan 
  • Winter's Heart (Wheel of Time, #9) - Robert Jordan
  • A Crown of Swords (The Wheel of Time, #7) - Robert Jordan
  • Lord of Chaos (Wheel of Time, #6) - Robert Jordan
~Avoid~
  • Egghead; or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone - Bo Burnham
  • Public Policy in India: Oxford India Short Introductions - Rajesh Chakrabarti

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Kanpur Coaching Gurus

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Memories of coaching days at Kanpur are inseparable from me. I have done a separate post on Kanpur coaching mandi only. The most remembered image of my coaching days was the advertisement of Ankush Bhatia by Pran classes, and it was pasted on each wall of Kanpur. His photo was spread at distant corners of the city, showing All India Rank 51. Never seen any local marketing campaign like this. Sometimes, I recall the rush of students from one coaching center to another for seat capture, xerox copying of assignments, and 'out-of-course' study material. The JEE course was never completed on time in the Kanpur coaching mandi. At the end of March, the mad rush to complete the course began with various test series taking place simultaneously. I could not forget that pressure till now. I will never forgive Anish, Pankaj, and Vishnoi sir for combining their individual treats into 1 party for JEE-qualified students. For information on the pre-2000 AD days of coaching mandi, check this l...
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Lyrics of Title Song from Bharat Ek Khoj

सृष्टी से पहले सत्य नहीं था, असत्य भी नहीं अंतरिक्ष भी नहीं, आकाश भीं नहीं था छिपा था क्या कहाँ, किसने देखा था उस पल तो अगम, अटल जल भी कहाँ था सृष्टी का कौन हैं कर्ता कर्ता हैं यह वा अकर्ता ऊंचे आसमान में रहता सदा अध्यक्ष बना रहता वोहीं सच मुच में जानता. या नहीं भी जानता हैं किसी को नहीं पता नहीं पता नहीं है पता, नहीं है पता........... वोह था हिरान्य गर्भ सृष्टी से पहले विद्यमान वोही तो सारे भूत जात का स्वामी महान जो है अस्तित्वमाना धरती आसमान धारण कर ऐसे किस देवता कि उपासना करे हम अवि देकर जिस के बल पर तेजोमय है अम्बर पृथ्वी हरी भरी स्थापित स्थिर स्वर्ग ओर सूरज भी स्थिर ऐसे किस देवता कि उपासना करे हम अवि देकर गर्भ में अपने अग्नी धारण कर पैदा कर्व्यपा था जल इधर उधर नीचे ऊपर जगह चुके वो का एकमेव प्रान बंकर ऐसे किस देवता कि उपासना करे हम अवि देकर ॐ ! सृष्टी निर्माता स्वर्ग रचायता पूर्वज रख्सा कर सत्य धर्मं पलक अतुल जल नियामक रक्षा कर फैली हैं दिशाएं बहु जैसी उसकी सब में सब पर ऐसी ही देवता कि उपासना करे हम अवि देकर ऐसी ही देवता कि उपासना करे हम अवि देकर......
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Kanpur Coaching Days

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Within a radius of one kilometer, Kakadeo is the hub of the coaching mandi for JEE, MBA, Medical, etc having at least 20-30 coaching institutes. The classes are run by individuals teaching a single subject with a completely one-man show. Few people object to the name ' mandi ' but it's like a fish market only. Coaching Mandi is the perfect name for it because the teachers are earning the butter, not bread for them. When you go for admissions, people try to admit you to their institute with false advertisements and lucrative trial offers. It's altogether a mandi in which every teacher just wants students' admission, not in JEE, but in their institute. It was an urban legend that girls were used to seduce boys for admission in a few coaching centers. I and my friends tried in vain to find such lethal hunting beauties. My encounter with coaching mandi begins with JEE preparation. Nalanda Hotel, Pamela Restaurant, Agra sweet house were my favorite places there. For othe...
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Kanpur Coaching Mandi

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For previous article on Kanpur coaching mandi, go through this label of Kanpur Series . Hot News:  IIT Entrance Examination (JEE) of the seven teachers together to prepare a joint platform sigma - IIT JEE is made. Students will get a place to preparing for the three subjects without straying around and meet all the facilities. In addition, due to the joint will reduce the fees too. Sigma of the joint forum of the physics teacher Anish Srivastava and Raj Kushwaha, Ashish Bishnoi and Anurag Bishnoi of mathematics and chemistry of Pankaj Agarwal, Nirmal Singh and Sanjay Chauhan's. Small - small batch (one hundred to two hundred) in the three subjects under the same roof will get a chance to prepare for. Three different subjects to students before a total of 51,300 rupees to pay the fees now total 45,000 fees will be charged. Sigma's head office 117 / N / 581 Raniganj (Kakadev) will be. Old Time:  Even after paying Rs 8,000 for each of the three different JEE subjects, most of the...
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90 के दशक की बाल और किशोर पत्रिकाएँ

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रेलवे स्टेशनों पर ए एच व्हीलर की दुकानों ने कई पीढ़ियों को पाठक बनाया और किताबों को लोकप्रिय बनाया। दुकान के बाहर सजी बाल पत्रिकाओं के बीच में 'चंपक' दिख गई जो अब ए फोर साइज में छपती है। हमारे समय में यह किताब के आकार में छपती थी। इसके साथ याद आ गई पराग, नंदन, चंदामामा, लोटपोट, ट्विंकल और ढेर सारी कामिक्स सीरीज। इन पत्रिकाओं के साथ बीता बचपन यानी जीवन का स्वर्णिम युग। दिवाली—पर जब हम ट्रेन से यात्रा करते थे, पिता जी अक्सर हमें रास्ते में पढ़ने के लिए किताबें लाकर देते थे। वे आम तौर पर "चंपक" और "नंदन" जैसी किताबें खरीदना पसंद करते थे, क्योंकि उनमें कई छोटी-छोटी कहानियाँ होती थीं और एक के बाद एक पढ़ते-पढ़ते समय जल्दी कट जाता था। छोटी बहन चंपक की कहानियों से बहुत खुश रहती थी, जबकि मैं कॉमिक्स का दीवाना था और बार-बार उसी रोमांच का इंतज़ार करता था। एक बार मैंने हिंदी में He-Man की कॉमिक्स खरीद ली—ट्रेन की पूरी यात्रा में वह किताब मेरे साथ रही और मैं उसे बार-बार पढ़ता रहा। जब हमें बैठने की जगह मिली तो भी मेरी रुचि कम नहीं हुई; मैं लगातार कॉमिक्स में खोया रहा और व...
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