A good book after a long time

I am currently reading Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru. While I am only 60% through the book, I am quite pleased with it. Perhaps because I had very low expectations to begin with. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that it is after a very long time that I am reading a work of fiction that I really liked.

The novel is structured somewhat similar to David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. It is a collection of incidents across time, from 1760 to 2008, all linked by a certain place in the desert in Nevada. The characters are all delightfully real, and eccentric to boot. The stories range from the painfully real, to somewhat kooky. However, all enjoyable.

Clearly a work of great imagination. I actually found it much more believable and contemporary when compared to, say, Salman Rushdie's magic realism.

Won't divulge the plot too much, since a lot of the pleasure I get from the book is in the unlayering of the events that happen, without following a linear pattern. Recommend that you read the book too, and hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Delhi

Delhi is one place I always feel happy to go to. Surprisingly, a lot of this has to do with the airport. And the roads. I feel optimistic and happy whenever I am in Delhi - perhaps one day the rest of the country will also be like this? I like Delhi because it is prosperous. And improving. All the time it moves forward.

Obviously it also helps that my family and all of my close friends are in Delhi. My daughter was born in Delhi. The wife and I romanced in Delhi before marriage and set up home together there after marriage. I love the chill of winter and the searing heat of summer in Delhi.

This visit, it took me a long time to travel within the city. I witnessed a few traffic jams. And the weather was unseasonably cold. I was not able to meet my usual gang due to the short trip. Still, back in Chennai, I look back fondly on the visit.

In my heart, Delhi is always home. I cannot but pine for a return to Delhi

Things I am looking forward to

I am not on Facebook (yet!). I probably never will be, at least not till I'm forced to get on to be in touch with my (then) college-going daughter. However, this does not prevent me from getting swept in the hype of the proposed mega IPO for Facebook, supposed to launch as soon as this week; with the listing in a few months. The media is already calling it the biggest IPO in history (and perhaps future as well). Let us see how the markets take to this mega company, which in all probability does not make any money, but will be valued more than Walt Disney, Bank of America and much more than Reliance Industries or ONGC

One thing I regularly do when abroad is to visit Starbucks. Both the wife and I (the wife perhaps even more than I) love the coffee there. Therefore I am excited to learn that Starbucks will open its first store in India in a few months from now. I just hope they are able to keep quality consistent. The Baristas and Cafe Coffee Days started with promise, but have degenerated to extremely patchy consistency. I hope Starbucks is able to avoid the franchisee route and offer the same QoS that one gets in the US, Europe or Singapore