To be kind to everyone - Short Story

"Bhikkhus, it is not easy to find a being who has not formerly been your mother...your father...your sister...your son...your daughter..."

If the above words of Buddha are true, then how can we be unkind to anyone? I came across this story while searching for some answers. Buddhism, though I am no Buddhist, is full of subtle powerful teachings that can be imbibed without following any rituals. I am in the stage of life where burdened by responsibilities, I might ignore my elders, parents, and in-laws, their advices, might find their habits irksome and might hurt them. This story teaches me filial piety. I understand now that we may have differences with people including our elders but that doesn't mean that we should stop being polite, kind, caring or dutiful towards them. And also that we can never repay the debt of kindness of our parents, all of them :)

Private India - Book Review

Rating

Plot - 2/5
Language - 2/5
Pace - 3.5/5
Hype - 4/5
Overall - 2.5/5

Prelude

Private India, latest in the Private series by James Patterson, co-authored with Ashwin Sanghi, is a story set in amchi Mumbai. Those familiar with the Private series might find it at home, those not - this probably is not one of the best introduction to the concept. The fundamental requirement of any story is a plot. And when a story grows to be a novel, it requires some sub plots. And then the craft of the writer comes into picture to tether the sub plots together with the underlying plot, taking the reader through ups and downs, twists and turns and a satisfying climax. Though the coming together of names like James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi would set the expectation of a crisp thriller baked to perfection of style and genre. Sadly, this one falls short. It is apparent that Ashwin wanted to try out something different from his usual mythological thriller genre. This one is a fairly straightforward serial killer story, with a small twist about terrorism, which does not work.

Karma and Fate

Corporate world or any world as I see closely can be very harsh with ego clashes among people to win the rat race. Hope these lines written by Piyush and me will show some way through the maze.

When someone tries to boggle you down

smile and giggle and take him as a clown.

When someone races and push you hard

let him go ahead, while you take a stand guard.