Business with Books...

As we all know, the indiaplaza offer for harry potter and the dethaly hallows attracted the attention of quite a large number of readers. And around 15k copies have been preordered and successfully delivered. For those who have dipped too much into the book here is the recap of the offer.

• 35% discount
• Delivery on the same day
• Free shipment
• 6 months book club membership in indiaplaza
• Gift vouchers
• Game CDs and many more...

As their website hits were quite high they want to make hay while the sun shines. In order to promote their sales they started to give offers for other bestsellers as well. A typical bestseller would have an offer something like

• 24 hours shipment
• Free of shipment charges
• 20-30% discount

Not only me any bibliophile would have been happy looking at these offers. Buying books via this portal comforted to a much larger extent. As I bought new books at discount prize without the slightest repentance of promoting piracy. But that didn't last long. After completing harry potter I took my list of 'whats next ?' and picked a few for ordering it at Indiaplaza. But there was not even a trace of such an offer. Its all vanished like magic. Every book had this note "ships between 3-16 days and shipment and handling charges Rs25 additional !!"

But thank god, i got the free book club membership for the next 6 months. I still have an assured discount of 25% on any book I buy.

Federer Rocks !!!

It was late Sunday evening. Averse to go to office the next morning, bored of flipping through all the TV channels and moreover driven by an avid need for Monday to be a holiday, would be my possible mental state on a typical Sunday night. That Sunday was no exception although something more gripping and more engrossing averted me. That was Wimbledon mens finals between the Swiss and the Spaniard. This match was so crucial for Federer as winning it would earn him the glory of winning five successive Wimbledon titles in a row make him on par with Bjorn Borg. But having Nadal, the king of clay as the opponent, who had a vehement desire of proving himself on grass court, it was not an easy task for Federer. They had won 2 sets each and it was the final deciding set. Even now none of them were able to break the opponents serve. They were 3-2(Fed-Nad) and it was Nadal's serve when the ball turned court. Fed broke his serve and gained hope of winning the match. The next point was very easy for Federer as he is the man of aces. Thus it became a momentous day for Federer.



Andy Roddick just says "Here's my racket. I won't need it any more."




Federer, currently holding a record of winning 11 grand slam titles must win 3 more to equalize the tennis legend Pete Sampras. Though he is the king of grass, he faces a tough time in clay courts. Its quite difficult to serve an ace in clay courts and that would be a probable reason for his failure there. He must start defensive plays rather than relying on aces to become the king of tennis.

Federer Rocks!!!

My Memorable Birthday

I am from Chennai. Though my parents' native is Vellore, they settled in Chennai before my birth. My school, my college and my first job were all in Chennai. So i never got a chance to stay away from home till the age of 22. As i was not a hostler during my college days i never experienced or gave birthday bumps, nor thrown the rotten eggs and tomatoes. On the day of my birthday i generally get up early (as i am a software engineer now i felt thats worth mentioning :-)) and take oil bath. i will go to temple and then fill my belly with the sweets my mother had made. This is was the routine till last birthday but I never knew that for my next birthday i wont be with my parents. Everyone says the only thing that is permanent in life is change. Thats true. I got a new job and relocated to Hyderabad by Jan 2007. As i am going for CAT coaching in the weekends it was little difficult for me to frequent my home. But as i had a big circle of friends, enjoyment was not a problem for me.

Last week(4-6-2007) i celebrated my 23rd birthday, a memorable birthday i would rather say as it was a birthday full of surprises. First of all i never knew i would be celebrating my birthday till 11 pm the previous night. It was decided during the dinner at pizza hut. My friends invited me to their house for celebrating my birthday.

"Nope he cannot come with you guys", said a shrill voice, "he needs to accompany me back home", solicitous about reaching home. She added few more, "Else i will also join the birthday party celebration at your residence".

My friend quite intimidated by the deal she put forth said, "I will drop you at your home in my bike", and saved the day.

It was 11 pm, all bakery were closed at that time. They don't know what to do. At this time the hero of our gang came up with an ingenious plan. Why should we cut cake why cant we cut an ice cream bar??? Agreed, but where to go for ice creams ?? He had an answer for that too. Having a very generous heart, he made up his mind to sacrifice his half eaten ice cream for this noble cause. It was two minutes before midnight and everything was set on table. At the stroke of 12 i cut the cake sorry the ice cream into 4 equal quarters. Then we started to take snaps with each other and finished the ice cream. It was birthday bumps next. Thank god they were too gentle. Finally the celebrations ended with a pleasant chat. I thank my friends who made this birthday different :-)

Mozhi : The language of optimism

Mozhi, meaning language, portrays the secrets behind an unsual language : the argots of the mute. The movie is like sensing a fresh aroma amid the commercial tamil cinema replete with violence and vulgarity. Director Radha Mohan has fabricated this gripping tale suitable for all age groups.

Karthik (Prithviraj) and Viji (Prakash Raj) were working with music director Vidyasagar, as keyboard players. They both move into a new flat much to the annoyance of the flat secretary who despises the frivolity of aimless bachelors. As luck would have it, their flat is opposite to the secretary's. Things always go wrong between the two and the secretary which peeves him more. One day Karthik sees Archana (Jyothika) on the road thrashing a drunkard, who ill treats his wife. Quite impressed by her candid and bold nature, Karthik instantly fells in love. In the pursuit to find her identity, he comes to know that she is a deaf and dumb girl. Yet, he is firm about marrying her much confused about expressing his feelings. Sheela (Swarnamalya), best friend of Archana comes to the rescue and helps Karthik to speak and understand sign language. Slowly Karthik and Archana become good friends. One day when Karthik played his notes, Archana was able to shake her head in resonance to the music by merely feeling the vibrations. Awestruck at her response, Karthik proposes her. Unable to withstand the shock,she slapped him with ire. What made Archana to spurn Karthik's love ? and did Karthik convince her ? forms the rest of the story.

All four of them have done their roles exceptionally well and its really tough to single out who is the best. Jyothika has acted just fair enough to suit her character. Prithvi has performed exceptionally well this time while Prakash Raj's wit is like garnishing the pudding with cream.

The music and lyrics are really a treat to the hears. Music Director Vidhya sagar has done a good job. Katrin isai..., Pesa madandhai..., are noteworthy.

The movie shows us agony, fear and sorrow but in a positive tone. How humans must perceive them ? and the reality is they no longer stand as show stoppers for a happy living. After seeing this movie one will feel light in their hearts and all the things around him will appear good. And hats off too the team who gave such an engrossing movie.

Mozhi is a must watch movie.