The 25th Celebration of Love

I dedicate the following poem to my parents, whose selfless and splendid love towards me, I greatly appreciate. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I thank my parents and relatives for a wonderful and a memorable 25th evening here in Jodhpur. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

On this very day, 25 years back...
The Almighty himself redefined love...
Of liking and learning, there was no lack...
Their affection, as peaceful as a dove.

I write this poem, a satisfied son...
How could I have existed without you?
Without you, there would have been no great things done...
And there wouldn't have been this poem new.

Bilaspur was where it all began...
And then Vizag was where we all went...
There emerged an another kid, now a man...
We made wonderful brothers, in our happy tent.

Nagpur was the next city in line...
The five odd years we spent there were the best...
Hyderabad, the city of pearls, was just fine...
To move out, for us, was indeed a real test.

Today, in Jodhpur, in this beautiful resort...
On Christmas eve, and six days away from New Year...
The zeal and zest, today, shouldn't fall short...
My best wishes to mom,dad and all the ones dear.

Canvas Network :Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC's The Walking Dead by UC Irvine

A Massive Open Online Course on a TV Series was least expected and perhaps one of the more exciting things to happen in the world of online education. Being a follower of the TV Series, I decided to take the course hoping it would be as interesting as the TV series. I was pretty impressed with the U.C. Irvine instructor line-up, they had a social science lecturer Dr. Joanne Christopherson, a public health doctor Dr. Zuzana Bic, a mathematician Dr. Sarah Eichhorn and a physicist Dr. Michael Dennin - all plotting and planning to educate us to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Tigers At Home, Timid In Another Dome

An ODI series win against Australia and victory against the West Indies was a perfect home season for India. At the end of the home season, India were numero uno in the ODI team rankings by a huge margin,10 rating points to be precise.The future of Indian cricket looked very promising and everyone was expecting a good show by the Indian team in South Africa and New Zealand.

                                           

Right after the conclusion of the 3rd ODI between India and West Indies, Virat Kohli had repeatedly emphasized on the significance of the South African tour. He had said that his team would do well in the all-important tour of the rainbow nation. Little did he know what horror and humiliation had to follow. India need to ask themselves a bunch of questions before they take on the Proteas for the test series.They indeed have a lot to ponder on.

#16 Doctor Fate vs Doctor Strange

After Zatanna faced off against the Scarlet Witch, it is now the turn of the male magicians to prove their mettle through spells and blasts.

Name : Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange
Affiliation : The Avengers
Background: Stephen earned his medical degree in record time and entered a five year residency at the New York Hospital where his talent allowed him to become the top neurosurgeon before he turned 30. Once quite wealthy, Dr. Strange spent all his money after a debilitating car accident which had rendered his nerves seriously damaged. He spent his last amount looking for the Ancient One, the mystic protector of the Earth Realm, hoping for a miracle. After being exposed to the mystic realm, Strange accepted the Ancient One's offer of tutoring him and soon became a Sorcerer Supreme.

Name : Kent Nelson
Affiliation : The Justice League, Justice Society Of America
Background: Kent Nelson was the son of an archaeologist. When on a trip to Mesopotamia, he found an ancient immortal Nabu, from planet Cilia, trapped in a state of animated suspension. When he freed him, the lever accidentally released a poisonous gas which killed his father. Nabu decided to mentor him and teach him the secrets of the universe. He was given an amulet, cloak and a helmet to serve as an agent of Lords of Order and a champion of the Good, Doctor Fate.

LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!!!!

Jack Straight From The Gut by Jack Welch with John. A. Byrne

Harsha Vardhan Reddy

Harsha is a final year student of Mechanical Engineering at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus. He has led various student initiatives in the past three years in Pilani and has just finished his summer internship at Accenture Management Consulting. He was also the head of AIESEC chapter at BITS Pilani.

This is the autobiography of Jack Welch, the chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001 and one of the biggest corporate icons of twentieth century. First of all, let me just say that this book certainly justifies its caption. It is written with great honesty and is neatly divided into various parts, each part representing different phases of Mr.Welch`s life. As expected, it invariably consists of GE from beginning to end.

The book is an exciting tale about an Irish boy from Massachusetts, climbing up the corporate to the highest of positions. The book gives a great insight into the early years of Jack and how his years at high school and college helped him in building a philosophy. Jack, starting as a chemical engineer at GE was initially frustrated with the bureaucracy and even thought of quitting. This is exactly what he goes on to change as the CEO and make GE a dynamic and “boundary less” organization.

Protest Against Smelly Stubble (P.A.S.S.)

If you ask me to list out some of the problems which are nation's top priorities, Corruption, Rape and Rising Prices Of The Common Indian Food will definitely be my guess but Smelly Stubble; naah not so much. Well, you may argue that I am not a woman or that I do not have the capacity to grow hair like those of the sadhu babas but surely that doesn't mean that it calls for a movement against stubble grown by men.

For those of you who are still unaware, Gillette has started a movement - Protest Against Smelly Stubble to arrest the growing trend. They have brainwashed doctors, Bollywood and Tollywood actors and actresses to drive forward this propoganda and hope it will catch onto the local people too. They hold conferences and meetings in major cities where the actresses cite various stupid reasons to not let their men grow a stubble and then force their supporting male counterparts to shave on the set.

Hope and Courage

When absolutely nothing seems to go your way.....

When an unknown, unexplainable force keeps you from moving ahead.....

When failures are all you are going through.....

When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul.....

When you start questioning your abilities.....

When unintended accidents have taken their toll.....

When you throw a dice but never get a six.....

When the All Mighty, with you, starts playing tricks.....

It is then that you've got to stay undeterred and undiminished.....

Its then that you've got to say,"Tides will turn".....

And hope for good.....

After all, succeeding an odd number is always an even integer.

Your fate will get even with time.....

If it doesn't, then its not THE END.

The Giant Elf : A Satire On SRT

Imagine yourself to be a 5 foot 5 inch dwarf, facing hostile short-pitched stuff on the wickets of South-Africa or England. One hit on the head and you'd question,"Why has God made me so small?",or instead,you'd be utterly surprised and ask yourself, "How did the ball climb so high?". Add to that, the pacemen taking advantage of your short stature and giving you a long scary stare after every bouncer. At the end of it all, you'd reach the conclusion,"Cricket is not my cup of tea". This is what one would expect from a normal low-height Indian. Sachin, apparently, had a different mindset altogether. What was a shoulder-high short delivery for a tall Australian, would turn out to be a big wide in the case of Sachin and this thought probably gave him the confidence to go on and achieve,what he ended up achieving.

#15 Wonder Woman vs Hulk

Wonder Woman uses her lasso to bring a victory for Justice League in the Match #9 against She-Hulk. While the other Avengers members accept it with grace, Hulk really isn't going to digest his cousin's defeat. He flares up and charges at Wonder Woman.

Name : Diana of Themyscira

Affiliation : Justice League

Background : Born as a princess in Themyscira, an ancient Amazonian tribe of Greek Mythology, she was carved from the clay beaches of the island by her mother and Queen Hippolyta. She was given various powers by the Greek Gods and ultimately donned the costume of Wonder Woman to act as an ambassador and emissary from Themyscira fighting against crime along with Justice League.

Name: Dr. Bruce Banner
Affiliation : The Avengers
Background : An emotionally reserved genius scientist, Bruce first transformed into Hulk when he was subjected to a gamma bomb explosion as he tried to protect Rick Jones who had wandered into the testing range. The Hulk possesses a little of Banner's memory and intelligence, and is easily enraged making him a menace to the society. After the Asgardian trickster Loki trapped Hulk into destroying a train, Hulk joined the likes of Wasp, Iron Man , Thor and others to take revenge on Loki.

LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!!!!

'The Little Master' Part 2

I watched with joy as the West Indian batting line-up fell apart but as soon as the 9th wicket fell, my eyes became watery and I got a lump in my throat. I waited for the inevitable to happen as all sorts of ridiculous thoughts came to my mind. Finally, off a Shami in-swinger, the formidable 24-year cricketing career came to a close. As Sachin walked towards the dressing room one final time, he burst into tears and with him,cried a billion people. He had been playing the sport constantly for the past 24 years; it was difficult to imagine cricket without him. Sachin later went on to deliver a farewell speech, an emotional one indeed.

My Son Failed By An Inch : Chapter 12

I Kissed Him Goodbye

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Water drops tick my skin and the wind tries to induce a tickle but fails to do so and I stand near the Santo's coffin and the priest tries to intimate the Lord about his arrival. I was looking at him; he sleeps so peacefully and without any hassles. He left me wondering if I was as spiteful and despicable as I am feeling now. He left me asking why I hadn't told him the truth about his mother. He left me guessing what I could have done to help him stay at the zenith of his career and hold him from succumbing to his greatest fear, the fear of failure. All it took was an inch to fail. The rain drops got heavier and the wind blew stronger as petals and leaves caressed Santo’s body and bid adieu to a world; a world that instilled hope and fight in him and when he met with his destiny, took his values as a token of sacrifice to induce pleasure that was painful and unworthy. They were about to close the lid. I ran to the coffin and asked the boys to wait; I wanted to see Santo for one last time. I could neither stop the tears that kept rushing nor resist the guilt of failing him. I bent closer to him and kissed his forehead as a symbol of our love that went beyond the pitch and preaching. Finally, the lid was closed and the coffin was lowered. I had nothing but a fistful of soil to give him as the last offering. It was done. Santo was done. I went to Alberdo and asked him to go back to Spain with Danilo and Liusio. I walked back, head hung low and eyes swelling in shame and sorrow, heart trying to beat out the grief and mind hovering over all those questions that shall haunt me for years to come.

'The Little Master': Part 1

In the cold winter nights of December in the year 2003, when the chill in the air lulled everyone to sleep, I stayed awake. It was during the World Cup, that very year, that my father instilled in me an enormous interest towards cricket.Though I give my father the majority of the credit, there was one other man who ensured my eyes were glued to the television set. He went on to score a total of 673 runs in the World Cup tournament and won the 'Man of the Series' award but most importantly, he won my heart. Sachin Tendulkar made me a cricket-crazy person. He gave me something I could build a career in - Cricket.

Evolution Of Comics Through The Ages : Post 1980s

Jason Shayer

Jason Shayer is an expert in the field of Marvel and DC Comics. He has half a dozen short story credits and is a regular contributor to Back Issue! magazine. You an find him nostalgically revisiting the 1980s in his Blogs - Marvel 1980s and DC 1980s

In the previous article about Comics Evolution, several highs of the comic book industry have been highlighted along with a few lows but none lower than what hit in the early 1990s. The 1990s were a decade of surplus and greed as all sorts of promotions, like die-cut covers and hordes of family related titles (like the X-Men, Batman, and Superman titles), flooded the comic book market and led to its significant downturn as the speculator boom imploded on itself.

The explosion of the X-Men titles was led by Jim Lee and Chris Claremont as they launched another monthly X-Men book, simply entitled The X-Men, with variant covers. This event proved to be Marvel’s most popular as the sales figures were reported to be over 8.1 million copies. DC Comics responded a few years later with their Death of Superman story-line which culminated with Superman #75 which sold 2-3 million copies. While it was a commercial success, what proved to be entertaining and rewarding for fans was that the follow up story-line, which introduces four different characters, all with their own approaches to carrying on the legacy of Superman.

Tall Man Small Shadow by Vipin Behari Goyal

Tall Man Small Shadow starts of very smoothly showing a happy family where the young girl is just about the best possible fir for the handsome guy next door. The chapters are short and crisp. The slow narration is filled with rich imagery which really brings out the cheerfulness in any human being. The introduction to the characters is quite delightful and their emotions and feelings are well portrayed. The author also analyses simple situations through multiple points of view which results in the reader getting a wholesome picture of the effect of any situation on the society.

Gratitude is a way of reducing the importance
of what somebody has done for you

My Son Failed By An Inch : Chapter 11

Yes Santo, I will read it later

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It was six in the morning and I was sitting there, watching the first ray of light pierce the clouds that ominously blanketed the sky and was praying to the Lord hoping he would give me a ray of hope and clear the clouds of despair and desolation that have clustered in my mind. I remember telling Santo, “Santo, you must know that there shall be times when things go wrong. It is the Lord who reminds you of what your strength is. Your faith in him will only make you stronger.”

I have trusted Him for many years. This time, things went awfully wrong. But I only get weaker with time. He must have given up on me too. That is no worry……
“But please Lord, don’t give up on Santo. He’s your child now, an orphan. I beg you to
look after him as I may not be around for long. My eyes carry bags in them and my
limbs can’t move. I am starting to wither and surrender to age. As you feed on my soul, please nourish Santo’s. I beg you from the bottom my heart.”

The Ostracized Lady

In the mirthful Mahabharata,you surely must have explicated,

The despoiled Draupadi with her five consorts,

Had an odious outing, a demoralizing one indeed!

Oh! Poor woman! A tribulation of sorts!

"What's not alluded to in Mahabharata,you can never find in Bharata."

So veracious yet so vexatious,

Is this a democracy where the weaker sex is exploited?

Don't let her suffer! We ought to be dissentious!

Evolution Of Comics Through The Ages : The 1980s

Jason Shayer

Jason Shayer is an expert in the field of Marvel and DC Comics. He has half a dozen short story credits and is a regular contributor to Back Issue! magazine. You an find him nostalgically revisiting the 1980s in his Blogs - Marvel 1980s and DC 1980s

Over the last 75 years, numerous surges and retreats have affected the comic book industry, both creatively and financially. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Silver Age of comic books heralded a successful surge as DC Comics rebooted several of their Golden Age characters and Marvel Comics adopted a fresh, new character-driven approach.

Marvel Comics experimented outside the super-hero genre in the 1970s, successfully tapping into the fantasy genre with Conan the Barbarian and the horror genre with Tomb of Dracula. In the early 1970s, Marvel Comics legendary artist Jack Kirby defected to the competition, DC Comics and created the Fourth World line of books, featuring the Forever People, Mister Miracle and the New Gods.

In the late 1970s, Jim Shooter became the editor-in-chief for Marvel Comics and ushered in what I would argue was the most significant surge of creativity since the Silver Age explosion. We had Frank Miller on Daredevil, Walt Simonson on The Mighty Thor, Chris Claremont and John Byrne on the Uncanny X-Men, John Byrne on the Fantastic Four, Roger Stern and John Buscema on the Mighty Avengers, Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. on Amazing Spider-Man, and Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz on Moon Knight  just to name a handful. My personal bias is showing through here, but that sheer creative energy is difficult to match.

Behind Blue Eyes

When I embarked on the journey called life,

On a rainy Friday morning of July,

Joyous people began entering the site of joy,

Oh! How they flattered my mother!!

"He'll grow up and revolutionize the world",some said,

While others found my semblance appealing,

"His jolly face resembles that of baby Krishna of Vrindavan."

Delhi Metro Diaries

Amazing things tend to happen at the most unlikely places if you just have a knack for looking around. Maybe you don't even have to look around and the situation shall just present itself to you as I found out that day at Rajiv Chowk.

As I was getting onto a metro towards Sikenderpur, I had no idea which direction I should head to, so instead of referring to the Delhi Metro Map, I popped this question to the old man wearing a white sprawling kurta and donning a huge military moustache. He smiled and commented that he was heading the same direction as well and that we should take the metro towards Huda City Centre. I was pretty happy and congratulated myself for saving the time of breaking out of the line and go looking for the map; little did I know that I was going to learn a very important metro lesson in my life.

My Son Failed By An Inch : Chapter 10

The Aftershock

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The phone rang…

I was unsure if I had the courage to break his mother’s death to him and if this was a good idea. A famous and fierce voice greeted me and left me guessing…it was Danilo Mendes was on the phone…
“Hello” I said in a shivering tone.

“I am sorry sir, Santo had an accident. I request you to come here immediately.”
I stood there in daze and couldn’t hold the phone as it was heavier than my heart and let it slip through. Down on my knees, my body felt paralyzed and I could not speak.

Soon, I landed in Madrid, which seemed a hostile place like never before. It was snowing and the sky was as black as a skillet. Tears froze in my eyes as I gathered strength and wished he’d be okay. I took a taxi to the hospital where he was admitted and hurried through the media and fans with a stick that no longer bore my burden and started to crack. Danilo was there and he spoke to me about how all this happened. 

Director's Cut - 50 Major Film Makers Of The Modern Era by M.K. Raghavendra

Harsha Vardhan Reddy

Harsha is a final year student of Mechanical Engineering at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus. He has led various student initiatives in the past three years in Pilani and has just finished his summer internship at Accenture Management Consulting. He was also the head of AIESEC chapter at BITS Pilani.

A book by M.K. Raghavendra is bound to be good. Being a national award winning film critic, he is a well known researcher and has written extensively on the World and Indian cinema industry.

In this book he has delved into the lives of the 50 greatest film-makers of all time and has shared short but precise and concise essays about them. It represents the approach to film criticism and research that all the idealists out there talk about. Films are much more than a medium of entertainment and critics should not view them in separation of the social, political, historical and economic factors inevitably associated with any industry. Mr. Raghavendra takes a scientific and holistic approach in helping the reader to understand the evolution of different film makers. I am especially impressed with his choice of film makers which represents a very diverse and exciting composition.

My Son Failed By An Inch : Chapter 9

The Call

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“Hello Santo, how are you?”

“I’m sorry sir but this is Pirri Gratisso. I manage Mr. De Souza’s work.”

“But where is he?”

“He’s out sir.”

“Since when did his phone become yours? Where is he”

“I am sorry sir but he asks me to answer his personal calls while he goes on for a drink.”

“Then you must know who I am.”

“I am sure you are someone of utmost importance to him as your caller ID says Godfather.”

“Yes. You tell him to call me back, first thing when he returns!”

“Of course sir. Anything else?”

CLT20 2013-Who's winning it?

The Champion's League T20 being held this year features top domestic teams from India and other cricketing nations. This series, consisting of squads which stood first in the domestic league tournaments in their respective nations, promises intense competition among the teams and as a result, a lot of excitement and drama.                  
               

With the qualifying round of the tournament already done with, the stage is set to get only bigger and better. Moreover, given the fact that four IPL teams are contesting in the main draw, stadiums are expected to be jam-packed and TV viewership is envisaged to be large. Although the Chennai Super Kings with the Debonair Dhoni as their captain are the favourites to win the cup, other teams aren't far behind by any means. For instance, the Otago Volts from New Zealand, for whom qualifying into the main draw was duck soup indeed, have a winning streak of 13 matches right now and the way they're playing, it hardly seems it's ever going to end! It would come as no surprise if the Volts go on to clinch the title. Also, the other three IPL teams, especially the 2013 IPL winners, the Mumbai Indians, would be fancying their chances to lift the trophy. Not very far behind are the teams from South Africa, the Lions and the Titans. The Lions, who finished second in the CLT20 last year, would be hoping to go one step further this time around and win the championship. The Australian teams too, though both of them playing the CLT20 for the first time, would be wishing to repeat their ancestors' feat. The Carribean team, Trinidad and Tobago, which ended up runners-up in the 2009 season, would definitely leave no stone unturned in the attempt to win its maiden CLT20 title.

Once The Best, Now Among The Rest...

In tennis, Roger Federer has undoubtedly been a force to reckon with. His impressive stats speak for themselves as 17 grand slam titles,77 ATP titles and a win percentage of 81.3% is no mere feat. Many commentators and tennis players regard him as the greatest tennis player of all time. It's only his recent form which has stopped him from living up to the expectations of his fans around the world.

The Redeemers by Suresh Taneja

The very subject of this book seemed fascinating to me. India has been a home to the problems of corruption and malpractices. These issues have become rampant and deeply ingrained in our culture. The redeemers is a story of how a few young friends embark on a journey to liberate the country from the clutches of these problems. At the heart of it, it is a story of hope .

The protagonists fight from their heart and soul while facing the rage of corrupt souls and dealing with devils. And, they win over them in a delightful fashion. Eventually, it takes 20 years for the country to get the status of what USA enjoys now. The countrymen enjoy the lawful lives and feel proud as they take some time out meet and look back at how these events took place.

Kanha Wildlife Sanctuary

A thick labyrinth of woods,

An enigma of sorts,

A crepuscular heaven enshrouded in divine flora and fauna,

There is no talisman in the world as Kanha.

The placid barasinghas to the noxious tigers,

A harangue of fowls to a nuzzle of elephants,

The obdurate wolves to the tenuous deer,

A lackluster being is unanimously forgotten when you land here.

Heading to the woods on a halcyon dawn,

Encounter a mother deer exalting her dear fawn,

A hedonist’s adept abode to alight,

As if, a dear son, his mother’s sight.

English Bites! by Manish Gupta

Initially, I was a bit skeptical about the book as I had never read language-improvement books before. I used to hate all my grammar text-books as I didn't have the slightest clue that I would one day become a blogger. A book which tries to teach you stuff will always have a certain degree of formality which I more or less hate. Plus, I have grown up reading storybooks and crime novels throughout my life, this was bound to be different.

I was right, the book does score in terms of its uniqueness. It is not typically like a GRE/GMAT/CAT guide but aims to make the reader learn new words and improve his/her vocabulary through experiences drawn from the author's life. Each and every experience is humorously portrayed and contains difficult words with a glossary below to explain their meanings. While I can't say that I am overly fond of the footnotes as it does hamper the reading a bit, they do help you when you are stuck with the meaning of a particular word. He explains them beautifully in the footnotes with detailed explanations of the usage of the word in sentences.

My Son Failed By An Inch : Chapter 8

Old Men Old Habits

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As you get older, time means nothing. Because there is less you can do and lesser you need to do. An arm chair and a walking stick are the only material possessions you can brag about and time, it is your ally as it brings back fond memories heals the sour ones and helps you connect to your creator before you meet and thank him for the wonderful years on this planet. But for Santo, time was the fiercest foe; it never let him sit down for a moment and think what he was doing, He had to battle against it to gain fitness and to work on his technique. He wanted to do so many things in so little time as he had to party, go for long drives, pose for magazines, answer the media and in the process, he never spoke to himself. That is what time did. It never game him a chance to speak to himself. Contemplate. Think about his future.

He gradually saw me as an archaic person trying to preach outdated principles from India sitting in an armchair and watching the sun rise and fall into the ocean while he was busy trying to catch up with the merciless pace of a sophisticated world that was far more interesting and happening. I tried to catch up. But time told me I was too late and languid. I had to let Santo choose.

Corruption free sports: A dream ?

Indian sports has suffered a lot due to corruption in the sports administration. It is time to end it.

For the last 8 months, no Indian athlete has represented the country officially in any multi discipline events. This is because the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) was suspended from the Olympic movement for being corrupt and not following rules as laid out by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The reason for suspension is due to IOA's poor ethical and governance standards.

#14 Hawk and Dove vs Iron Fist and Luke Cage

Hawk and Dove, Justice League's militant and pacifist superhero team take on Avengers members Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

Name: Henry Hall and Donald Hall
Affiliated To: The Justice League
Background: Hank (Henry) and Don (Donald) are brothers who represent contrasting ideologies and transform themselves to superheroes by speaking their aliases - Hawk and Dove respectively. By the power given to them by the Lord Of Chaos and Order, the Dove is a symbol of non-violence who seeks to resolve matters peacefully while the Hawk is more aggressive and uses his brute strength to beat super-villains.

Name: Carl Lucas and Daniel Rand K'ai
Affiliated To: Heroes For Hire, Avengers
Background:  In jail for a crime he didn't commit, Carl Lucas underwent an experimental surgery in exchange for parole which gave him steel skin and enhanced muscles. When a crime lord captured Cage's associates, he formed a team with the Iron Fist and took down the crime ring. Calling themselves Heroes For Hire they are mercenaries who pledge to do the right thing.

LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!!!!

Like the Wind..

Shashank Pandey

Shashank Pandey is a third year Msc(Hons) Biology and Mechanical Engineering student at Bits Pilani, Pilani Campus. An art enthusiast, he spends his time doodling and writing poems. His obsession with animes is very well known to his friends. He can be contacted via his Facebook profile .

Like the wind, or be its gust,
I gotta move on, I must..

Searching for accomplices,

I came across faces..

Faces which were never true,

Mask over masks, I couldn’t see through..

Leaving them behind and watching them fade,

Full of remorse, still no time for ballade..

Coursera - Competitive Strategy by Tobias Kretschmer

Having never done a Game Theory course before, I initially took the course just out of curiosity, but it turned out to be so gripping and interesting that I stuck on right till the end. The course mainly deals with the actions a player takes in different circumstances, evaluating payoffs and deciding market strategies . LMU Professor Tobias Kretschmer and the staff have worked really hard in creating an exhaustive content which is explained in a simplified manner.

Coursera - The Science of Safety in Healthcare by Cheryl Dennison and Peter Pronovost

Krista Urchenko

Krista is currently a Medical Laboratory Science student at The Michener Institute of Applied Health Sciences in Toronto, ON. She previously completed her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at the University of Manitoba in 2011. She also blogs about her adventures as a woman in science at MedLabMaven.com.

I became interested in Coursera courses after seeing another blog post about someone who had taken a course on criminology. As a current student, I thought it would be interesting to compare the quality of learning in this course to what I learned at my school and hence ended up taking this course.

I was enrolled in The Science of Safety in Healthcare through Johns Hopkins University. The content provided was very well done - full of quality video lectures by the instructors and information about how to create positive change to better patient safety. They supplied videos by other lecturers too including nurses, physicians and allied professionals. I could tell a few were record at lectures for their Medical Students.

Once Upon The Tracks Of Mumbai by Rishi Vohra

It had been a while since I read an indian author,the last being Vikas Swarup’s Six Suspects. As such “Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai” by Rishi Vohra brought me delight over anything else. Rishi  Vohra who has been a columnist for various newspapers in India, enters the Indian novel Industry with his ‘love against odds’ story of a middle class guy called Babloo.

Babloo’s an autistic middle class Mumbai-kar craving for normalcy and love. His love for Vandana, the hot chick of the locality makes him think about her all night long.

My Stroke Of Luck by Vijay Santhanam

Harsha Vardhan Reddy

Harsha is a final year student of Mechanical Engineering at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus. He has led various student initiatives in the past three years in Pilani and has just finished his summer internship at Accenture Management Consulting. He was also the head of AIESEC chapter at BITS Pilani.

Few minutes into the book, I realised that this is the kind of book which a person should get to read at least once in his life. Irrespective of which phase of life you read it in, it can have an everlasting impact on who you will be as a person. The book reiterates faith in humanity – what a man can do with determination and willpower. The inspiring difference is, it is not done in a way how Nelson Mandela`s autobiography can but in a way which inspires an ordinary man to realise his potential.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Gailbraith (JK Rowling)

The famous Harry Potter novelist is back. And back with a bang. A Pseudonym to relieve herself of all the pressure on her, seems to have done the trick for Rowling. In her latest novel which is a murder mystery, she seems to have rediscovered the magic she seemed to have lost after the Potter series, in her slack, disappointing adult fiction, The Casual Vacancy.