The Mahabharata Murders by Arnab Ray - A five star thriller, no less

Arnab Ray, probably better known by his blogger persona "greatbong", has pulled up another gem out of his hat with his newest murder mystery thriller - The Mahabharata Murders. 

Both the author and his works, are unlike what sells like hot-cakes these days among the Indian English readers and can genuinely be compared to the international best sellers of similar genres. His previous one, the mafia saga Sultans of Delhi - Ascension is another pointer in this regard.

Coming back to The Mahabharata Murders, it is one of those kinds of novels that grabs you by the neck and doesn't allow your attention to veer away even for a minute. Extremely well paced, the author takes you on one hell of a ride and the way he has developed the storyline, the readers can visualise, as in a good screenplay, the different situations unfolding in front of their own eyes. The heady combo of one of the greatest epics intertwined with the dark underbelly of Kolkata underworld, with the most unlikely of homicide detectives battling her own personal demons and trying to catch an extremely clever serial killer, who believes himself to the reincarceration of Duryodhana, makes it unputdownable.

The classic double twist in the end (I could sense at least one of them, but wasn't prepared at all for the second) will leave the readers in shock and awe.

Again, probably no literally work is fool proof and at least in one of the murders, the justification seemed weak. But, the complete package is worth its salt!

Overall, this is a must read and I can vouch that both the time and money of readers will be well spent.

I sincerely hope that Arnab comes up with a sequel of Detective Ruksana Ahmed's exploits in a forthcoming novel. I also hope that this gets transferred in to the visual medium, either as film or a television series.

Review: Karbonn K105s and Technical Specifications

Let's get it straight. The Karbonn K105S is only a basic phone available at rock bottom prices. At the same time, it is sturdy and boasts of good battery back-up.

It carries a 1.8-inch TFT display rendering images and videos at a resolution of 128x160 pixels with a measly pixel density of 114 ppi. It has a very basic VGA digital camera at the rear end that can capture photos at 0.3 megapixels.

However, the phone offers you a microSD slot that enables you to enjoy an extra storage space of up to 16GB which can accommodate sufficient number of songs and videos. The basic connectivity features packed in the device include GPRS and Bluetooth.

The 1050mAh Li Battery ensures that the it will last for at least a day on a single full charge. The phone supports multiple languages, has an FM Radio and a torchlight.

However, the ringtone is not always audible, especially when you are outdoors and you need to keep the vibration mode on too!

In case you are looking for a back-up phone, which does not require charging every alternate hour, you can go for the Karbonn K105S. It can be easily carried around due to it's small dimensions. The support for multi languages makes it a handy buy for Indians. It also gives you a lot of space for keeping track of your favourite songs and videos.

K105s Black

Karbonn K105s Mobile Phone Information:
(From Amazon.in)

Technical Details

Item Weight: 159 gm

Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 9.7 x 5.6 cm

Item model number: K105s

Wireless communication technologies: Bluetooth

Connectivity technologies: GSM(900/1800 MHz)

Special features: Voice Calling, Dual SIM, Music Player,Video Player, FM Radio

Form factor: Candybar

Weight: 160 Grams

Colour: Black/White

Battery Power Rating: 1050 mAh

What's in the box: Handset, Battery, Charger and User Guide

Warranty Details: 1 year manufacturer warranty for device and 6 months manufacturer warranty for in-box accessories including batteries from the date of purchase.

Kejriwal sees Modiji's hand in banning of cough syrup. Says, will go on a coughing strike!

Originally published at:
http://my.fakingnews.firstpost.com/2016/03/16/kejriwal-sees-modijis-hand-in-banning-of-cough-syrup-says-will-go-on-a-coughing-strike-2/

After the Government of India came up with a list of 329 drugs to be banned in India, including cough syrups Corex by Pfizer and Phensedyl by Abbott, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal has taken a very strong exception to the case.

Mr. Kejriwal, who is known to survive on his daily dose of anti-cough medicines, has been left

Courtesy: http://www.rajendrashende.com/
Original Photo can be found here

fuming. He, along with some of his ministerial colleagues see this as a clear and vicious attempt my the NDA government at the center to muzzle his voice by denying him his daily dose of medication.

Speaking to yours truly, a livid Kejriwal said, "First they went after innocent kids (at JNU) and now they are trying to play the same dirty tricks to stop me from raising important issues like azaadi inside India from different ills that plague the country. This clearly shows the fascist tendencies of the government and makes it crystal clear that they will try out all the tricks in the book to silence the opposing voices."

On further prodding, he ranted said angrily, "Everybody knows ... ke main har waqt khaas ta rehta hoon. If such good quality medicines are banned and I do not have access to them, then how am I supposed to give krantikaari interviews in news channels or raise slogans against the tanashahi of the Modi government?"

After a brief pause induced due to a bout of coughing, he continued, "This kind of unilateral steps, without taking the opposition in to confidence, does not bode well for democracy and also shows the intolerance of the government to anything that it does not like."

When I asked him about his next course of action, Mr. Kejriwal categorically stated (only pausing briefly in between to cough out loud), "Hum dharne pe baithenge ji! We will not allow the government to push its agenda unopposed and I, along with my party members, will go on a "cough unto death" protest till the decisions are reversed."

He did not allow us to ask any further questions and got in to his car to head for the place of protest. We will keep you updated on the happenings as and when we get to know the next part of the story news.

Till then, stay tuned!

Inundated with Candy Crush Saga, Farmville 2, Criminal Case requests? Block Apps by following these easy steps

These days, it's hard to avoid the continuous stream of requests that are directed to any user in the social networks, especially Facebook. Inexplicably, these requests normally come from the long lost school friend with whom you had last interacted a decade ago or in Indian case, your brother-in-law's sister-in-law's aunt and generally urge you to play Candy Crush Saga or Farm Heroes Saga or Criminal Case etc.

There are two ways to deal with these annoying notifications they send you on Facebook - 

1. Unfriend and Block the person or
2. Block the Application

If you follow the first option, the chances are that you'll be left with next to nothing friends on the social networks. So, the better option will be to block the application, so that it cannot send you further requests and/or notifications.

The process of blocking Candy Crush Saga/Pet Rescue Saga/FarmVille 2 or any such game from sending future notifications from friends takes all of 60 seconds at the maximum. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

Step 1: Login to your Facebook account. Of course, that is necessary. :)

Step 2: Go to any of the Invitations, which has been sent to you by a friend.

Candy Crush Saga Farm Heroes Saga Pet Rescue Saga Criminal Case

Step 2

Clash of Clans Diamond Digger Saga Top Eleven Be a Football Manager

Step 3: Left Click on the 'x' button, which is marked in the picture below. 

Clash of Clans Diamond Digger Saga Top Eleven Be a Football Manager

Step 3

Pet Rescue Saga Trivia Crack Dragon City Hay Day

Step 4: You will be prompted for further action. Choose 'Block Candy Crush Saga' or whichever annoying game you are trying to block.

Papa Pear Saga 8 Ball Pool Subway Surfers Bubble Witch 2 Saga

Step 4

Papa Pear Saga 8 Ball Pool Subway Surfers Bubble Witch 2 Saga

Step 5: You'll be further prompted to get a confirmation on whether you would like to Block the App. Just Click on 'Confirm'.

Criminal Case FarmVille 2 Texas HoldEm Poker

Step 5

Criminal Case FarmVille 2 Texas HoldEm Poker

Step 6: Once you have completed the Steps 1 to 5 successfully, you will get the following confirmation message. Click on 'Close' and you will not be bothered by these notifications in the future.

Pet Rescue Saga Trivia Crack Dragon City Hay Day

Step 6

I have personally used these steps to get rid of the annoying notifications from all the unwanted games on Facebook. Now it is your turn to employ these simple steps and to live happily ever after!

shovon chakraborty Candy Crush Saga Farm Heroes Saga

Pet Rescue Saga Trivia Crack Dragon City Hay Day

Operation (Flood) Accomplished - Rest In Peace Dr. Verghese Kurien

Amul Girl cries for the first time,
since her appearance in 1960s.
Image Source: Amul Website

The year was probably 1987/88, and I had seen a film by Shyam Benegal, titled Manthan, which coincidentally shares it's year of birth with me. In those days of Door Darshan, anything other than Krishi Darshan was eagerly lapped up, but a song from the film remained with me. This very song, Mero Gaam Katha Parey, sung by Preeti Sagar, would push me to watch the film again, years later, in around 1994, and I became a fan of Dr. Verghese Kurien.

shovon chakraborty

If there's one single person ever, who has changed the entire landscape of a whole region, thorough his sheer persistence and relentless pursuits of the vision, which he believed in, here was the man. He took on the middlemen - the wholesalers, the moneylenders, and even the age-old feudal structure, present in the villages, in and around Anand. Nobody, from the moneyed classes, were happy with him. But his efforts resulted in the flowing of not red blood, but white milk, and led to a historic revolution among the local untouchables and the economically backward communities. Dr. Kurien lead from the front to create iconic institutions, such as, Amul, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Institute of Rural Management - Anand (IRMA) and many more. His open brief to Sylvester daCunha resulted in the creation of the "Amul Baby" or "Amul Girl", perhaps the most iconic Indian brand symbols.