Book Review- Animal Farm

So to explain what exactly prompted me to pick up a classic, especially one as non traditional as Animal Farm I'm going to have to give you a back story and also explain why you may be seeing a multitude of book reviews on my blog. My friend and I were chatting one evening about the books we'd read and despite my being a voracious reader, I was blown away by the types of books she'd read, and the speed at which she read them. She mentioned then that to encourage her teenage daughter to read more classics and more literature (rather than the 50-types-of-trash that seem to be so popular these days) she started a book club with her for 5 weeks (the daughter was soon off to boarding school) where they picked a book to finish each week after which they'd had a discussion on their literary consumption. What a fantastic idea, I thought aloud, and asked if she'd want to have the same set up with me. I love to read but recently I'd just gotten downright lazy at it. Watching mindless TV shows just seemed to take up way too much of my time and even when I was reading, I seemed to veer towards the "Best Sellers" section at the bookstore rather than picking up anything substantial and worthwhile. Since she hated most fiction unless it fit in the classics genre, I knew I'd be exploring books outside my comfort zone, yet the types I'd always wanted to explore, and hence our 2 person "book club" was born.

So.. Animal Farm. Definitely outside my literary comfort zone! Most of you would have heard of the book, and a lot of you read it at school or college. I'd heard a lot about it and knew that it was a simple story, steeped in imagery and was about, as the name suggests, an Animal Farm! The book is only 90 something pages so is a very quick read, and can almost be a mindless children's book if you read it as is without trying to really read between the lines. It tells the story of a bunch of animals that drive out the owner of the farm they are housed in and decide to run things themselves and take matters into their own hands if you will. The short simple tale has many subtexts to it, which touches on communism vs socialism, on politicians vs the masses, and at it's very core, human social interactions and what happens when equality is assumed amongst a group of people who, given their abilities, socioeconomic status, education and upbringing, are clearly not equal.

But to really read the book and not go into it's history and the story it was meant to originally portray (despite your own interpretation of it and how it relates to the modern world) is to do it grave injustice. Honestly, I didn't really research the book and the history, despite knowing that the story was meant to portray the Russian Revolution. Luckily my friend is sort of Google Queen and had gone deep into the history of Russia and researched the book to correlate it to events and I was pretty impressed as to how Orwell had through a simple story, depicted the rumblings and undercurrents between the masses that took place during and after the revolution. They are many writings on the same, but if you've read the book already or intend to, you can check out this link that lays it out quite simply- http://www.slideshare.net/middletons1/russian-revolution-animal-farm 

All in all I'm glad I didn't read the book in isolation and had someone who did the research and explained a lot of things to me. All in all, I wouldn't say this was a great read like Palace of Illusions which I couldn't put down, but it was more of an educational read and I'm glad I took the time out to go through it.
If by any chance you'd like to virtually be part of our book club and share your thoughts with us, do let me know and I can post the names of the book as we're about to start on them, or give you a short list on what we're planning on reading next. Also if you guys have any recommendations, do let me know and I'll be sure to check them out!
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Book Review- The Palace of Illusions

A few years ago a Pakistani friend of mine suggested I read "The Palace of Illusions." I mention my friend's Nationality as said book is based on the Mahabharata and is written from Draupadi, the female protagonists point of view. I was extremely intrigued and had come home and downloaded it on my Kindle and then promptly ignored it, while I had probably gotten submerged by other books and useless TV shows. Then last week I was over at another friend's home who is Indian, an atheist, extremely intelligent and one of the most well read people I know. "You have to read this book," she prodded, sometime after she quoted quantum physicists and some mumbo jumbo about protons and ions and lots of research she had read before she decided to convert to atheism. So a Muslim and an atheist both prodded me to read a book based on the a story of a war which is the setting for the most religious of Hindu scriptures- the Bhagwad Gita. I was extremely intrigued and started on the book the next day itself.
If you're a frequent reader of this blog, you will know I worship Vikram Seth and that "A Suitable Boy" is my most favourite book of all time, a book I reread for the third time over the summer. All I can say is "The Palace of Illusions" either shares that top spot with ASB or could possibly have dethroned it altogether. If you're reading this and you're a Hindu, the story this book is based on is possibly quite known to you. Draupadi is married to five brothers, the Pandavs, and they go to war against their cousins, the Kauravas. If however, you haven't a clue about the story of the Mahabharata, that one line is quite possibly all you need to know before you read the book. How then, can one of the best books I've ever read be based on a story I already knew? Therein lies the brilliance of the book. Divakaruni, while writing this book, takes creative liberty in taking you through the detailed story and emotions of the protagonist, exploring a love story within the Mahabharata that isn't often spoken about or commonly known, and gives you a vivid picture of the occurrences as they happen. And her writing... aah her writing! The writing is pure poetry and is especially heightened almost reaching a dramatic crescendo at the end. My friend reread the book with me and in a quick swapping of notes yesterday, we realized we both cried at it's end, more because the words moved us so rather than because of the story line- one we both were quite familiar with. When "A Suitable Boy" ended, each of the three times I read it, I had been left with a feeling of emptiness as I felt a world that I had been built for me and suddenly vanished and I had been left alone without it; Most people would know that feeling which could come at the end of a great book or great movie. At the end of "A Palace of Illusions" however, I finished it on a complete high, feeling completely satiated and satisfied and almost privilidged to be allowed to witness glimpses into such personal moments of another's life. Strangely, both my friend and I had the same reaction to the end. Something about it makes you want to sit in thoughtful silence after turning the last page.
In my book reviews I really don't like giving spoilers or giving too many details away about the storyline as I feel one doesn't enjoy the book remotely as much if you know what's going to happen next. If that is what is holding you back, I suggest you put your misconception aside and still give it a shot. Had someone given me that advice, I'd possibly have read the book years ago when its first rave review had made me download it. Now, as you can guess, I can't recommend "A Palace of Illusions" enough! Very rarely does a book come into your life and make you feel like nothing will ever be the same again. I dare you to read it and not feel the same.
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Book Review- Laws of the Spirit World

Over the years of writing this blog I've written a lot about my roller coaster ride with all things spiritual- at times I'm totally obsessed with alternative therapies and reading up about different subjects to do with God, the Universe, the unknown and all else that comes along with it.. and then I'll go into a phase where I think it all is hogwash and get completely turned off the "business" of spirituality, because that's exactly what it is- a business. I am in a bit of an in between phase right now, where I am getting curious again but am able to separate the message from the person and prefer to get my knowledge from books rather being disappointed by the speaker of the knowledge. Anyhow, a few days ago I decided to pick up a book relating to spirituality and "Laws of the Spirit World" is the first book I came across on my bookshelf. I've always been curious about death and the afterlife and this particular book is one that I've heard so much about over the years, that I was actually surprised I had it and hadn't read it earlier.
Most people have a notion about what happens to them after they die- Some base it on what they've heard or learned, most base it on what it is their religion tells them, and a lot of people just don't think about it at all. I belong to the 1st category, where I've always wondered and been curious about what happens to us, and I guess after losing my Father ten years ago, I started to actively search for answers. I've read a lot of books on the subject, and through my practicing of Hypnotherapy (I'm a certified clinical hypnotherapist) have studied a lot about life between lives, etc. In short, "Laws of the Spirit World" was not the first encounter I had with the subject.
20 pages into the book, I absolutely loved it. The book is one that has been narrated to the author, Khorshed Bhavnagiri, by her 2 sons that passed away in a car accident. They, through "automatic writing" talk about what happened to them immediately after their demise, what they felt like, what they experienced, and what they've learned during their time on the Other Side, etc.  There was a lot of stuff in the book that absolutely resonated with my beliefs and explained them in an absolutely beautiful way. The book for example talks about the motive behind people's actions and says that people sometimes even help others or do charity for all the wrong reasons, and that's almost worse than not doing it at all- I completely agree with that. It also talks about what happens when you sleep, the different realms spirits reside on, the concept of rebirth, etc. Very intriguing and thought provoking stuff.
As I got more into the book however, there was a lot of stuff in it that didn't resonate with my beliefs. For example, I do not believe in the concept of hell, whereas this book seems to belong a little too much to the, "do this, or else..." mentality. I also believe that Karma is nothing but a set of experiences- if you do nice to someone, you need to experience, in one of your lifetimes, somebody doing something nice to you... it sort of balances itself out. I also don't believe there is necessarily "right vs wrong"- sometimes a person's circumstances are such that affect their actions. Anyhow, the book talks at various times about how helping an "evil" person is a sin, how one must expose evil people to warn other people against them, etc. I've seen too many "spiritualites" in Dubai taking a few weekend courses and suddenly claiming (and believing) they are the authority on what is right and wrong, so I clearly am jaded and think that in the grander sense, we are no one to put labels on people. I believe forgiveness and love is all that people should strive towards rather than trying to figure out whether the people they are helping are evil or not.
Anyhow, I don't mean to make this review about my spiritual beliefs but I didn't know how to get into the review without highlighting a few of them. Bottom line, read "Laws of the Spirit World" with an open mind, especially if its your first foray into the subject. Read about what's being written and absorb what you resonate with and discard what you don't. The subject in itself is fascinating enough for you to want to give it a whirl, and if nothing else, read it as if its fiction if it goes against your religious beliefs. For those who are interested in exploring the subject further, do check out "Sounds of Silence" and "Journey of Souls" as well, and of course, "Conversations with God". Suggestions for books on this or related subjects are most welcome too!
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Camera comparison between the Galaxy Note2 and iPhone5

In my previous blog post I'd done a quick review of the Galaxy Note 2 and I assumed I'd use it for a while and then go back to my trusted iPhone 5.. that has not been the case. I'm actually shocked by how much I love the phone despite a few shortcomings. There are a few things I really miss about the iPhone5 and the stunning image quality from the cameras is one of them. I promised to take a few pictures from both cameras and am actually pretty amazed as to how well the iPhone 5 has performed. Here are some test shots taken in different lighting conditions that my gorgeous model Chintu posed for me in-

Taken with the Note 2 in a dimly lit room

Taken with the iPhone 5 in a few minutes of the earlier one in exact same lighting

Same lighting conditions- with flash taken with the Note 2

Same lighting conditions- taken with flash on an iPhone5. The top part is blurry as I think he realized in time to avert his gaze so as not to get blinded again!

Taken with the Note 2 in a well lit room with lots of natural sunlight

Same picture taken with an iPhone5

And it's in direct sunlight where this is very little difference between the 2- This is taken with the Note2

And this one with an iPhone5.

As you can tell, the iPhone 5 could very easily replace someone's digital camera and its quality in darker conditions really is phenomenal. It's not that the Note2 has a bad camera at all. It's just that the iPhone5 is, well, much much better. There was another picture that I took which shows the seat number in a dark movie theater that just came out as a black screen on the Note2. Maybe it's unfair to require your phone camera to take perfectly decent pictures in horribly lit conditions but Apple and Nokia have pushed the bar just that high so that is the benchmark that other phone manufacturers will now get compared to.
I'm actually contemplating buying the new iPod Touch to carry around with me for the 2 reasons I miss the iPhone most- the camera and the iPod functionality. I have been carrying the 5 in my handbag for the gym anyway (while not using it as a phone) and would appreciate something thinner and lighter, occupying less space. Having said that, the new Touch has a 5 megapixel camera as opposed to the 8 in the iPhone5 so I need to have another shootout to compare the two. Watch this space!
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Both the iPhone5 and the Note2 are available at Jumbo Electronics outlets in the UAE

My Galaxy Note 2 review-

While the iPhone5 was one of the most awaited phones on the market, I had secretly yearned for the Galaxy Note 2 for a few months already. Having used, and been surprised by the first Galaxy Note last year, I was quite curious to see exactly what Samsung would come up with next, given that the S3 was a phone almost every Android user raved about and that the Note 2 would not only have the newest Android software (Jellybean) but also a faster processor and better camera.

So as I focus my reviews on the non-techies, let me try to keep things simple- this phone is FAST (techies note- quadcore Exynor and twice the RAM fast) and bloody cool. Yes, it still is incredibly big and Samsung is the pioneer with the predecessor of this device to serve up a complete separate line of devices to lust after- the phablet (phone+tablet). If you're reading this review and already think the new iPhone 5 is way too big for your handbag/pocket, stop reading this review right here. This thing is large and will look a bit comical if held up to your ear. Over the past few days every single person who has asked me about whether they should get this phone has been met with two questions by me- "Do you use a headset to speak on your phone a lot? And do you read a lot on your device?" If the answers to both are yes, this may just be your dream phone.

As mentioned earlier, this device is a bit too large to hold up to your ear, although I have quite a bit I must admit, not having had my headset on a handful of times. So if you use a bluetooth or wired headset to talk, you're good to go. Secondly, if you are in the habit of reading a lot on your phone- be it emails, Facebook, Twitter, or just random articles from Zite/Pulse while away from your computer, your eyes will thank you for being able to read on the gorgeous screen. Playing games, watching movies, it's all really great to do on the device. Being able to watch moving on a pop up window while working in the background is even better! The Note 2 allows you to do just that.

While most people will like this phone just to be able to have a bigger screen, the stylus (called S Pen) is also really great to use. You can download a whole bunch of sketching applications or can just use the "S Note" app that came pre-installed in the phone which allows you to let your creative/artistic style run wild. Of course, you could just use it to hand write notes in a meeting, and maybe this is a good time to add, the handwriting recognition on this thing too works like a dream. Anyhow, back to using S Note, I made the following "drawing" in under 2 minutes .Please excuse the childlike artwork.. was just playing around on the phone to demonstrate and email to a friend what the phone could do and used the illustrations that are a part of a huge selection of images available for the S Note app-

While "S Pen" has dozens of uses and shortcuts that you can read about in a detailed review of the phone posted up on Engadget today (I'll link to that at the end of this review) the most useful one is the S Note app popping up each time the stylus is removed from the device. This also works while one is one the phone and a tiny post-it sized note pad pops up which will allow you to easily jot notes or phone numbers while on an existing call. Very, VERY handy. The camera on the Note2 is an 8 megapixel one and is quite good. I'm planning to have a separate post on that comparing it to the iPhone5 in various lighting conditions. (I'll give you a hint here- the iPhone5 can't be beat in low light conditions)

It is only fair for me to mention the hiccups I've had with this phone though... On two separate occasions I was unable to call or text a particular contact on my phone. Meaning that on those occasions (these are 2 separate people) I was able to call and text other people except for the person I was trying to get in touch with. Texts wouldn't go through and calls would just say "call ended" without any attempt to reach the other party. I do think though this was the fault of a buggy software and check back in a few days to see an update on whether its happened again. I also do think at worst its just that I had a faulty device, but as I said, I'd like to give a full disclosure on my experience so am mentioning it anyway. Also the buttom buttons are too closely placed to the edge of the device which is great as it means more screen space, but be ready to get annoyed with yourself for accidentally pressing them a lot!Also "S Voice" the Siri type "assistant" is beyond rubbish on the phone. Complete waste of time and memory (on the device that is).

Having said that I really enjoyed being able to surf, watch video clips, read and play games all day (basically I'm a heavy user) while at the end of the day glancing at my phone and only seeing 50 to max 60% of the battery used up! The battery on this device is INCREDIBLE.. the best I've seen on a mobile device! My iPhone4S (and iPhone5 for that matter) starts showing signs of death at around 6 or 7.. usually before I get home, if that's any indication. The million dollar question I seem to get asked- iPhone5 or Note 2? Not an easy question at all as both have their pros and cons and I promise to do a separate comparison post soon and maybe show some videos of the device side by side. In the meantime check it out at your nearest Jumbo store why don't you? (Shameless plug for the day: DONE!) ;)

 Here is an in depth video of the Note2 on Samsung's YouTube channel-

You can also check out Engadget's detailed review here
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My iPhone 5 review!

Photo taken from CNET

I waited with bated breath three days ago to finally receive the box of my favourite toy- the highly anticipated iPhone 5. Nothing gets me more excited than new gadget days and obviously a toy like this which is a hot commodity worldwide, is one to be especially excited for, and I was no exception. I've put the phone through it's paces and instead of just giving it a rave review based on its looks and the fact that I'm the epitome of an Apple fangirl, I wanted to really test it out to give it a fair assessment.

Difference in size between the 4S and the 5 (photo taken from CNET)

There are a few things that I love, and a few things I am not particularly thrilled about on the iPhone 5. Let me get into the obvious ones that people have been raving after- it's light (noticeably so! in fact shockingly so!) and the extra screen space is a most welcome addition. The camera is supposed to be better but honestly I haven't used it enough to see the difference. However, I recently tweeted some links to articles (this is one of them) that shows the camera in action and it really looks amazing. The body of the iPhone as well is absolutely gorgeous, especially in black. I must advice those who are looking to get it in white before they have a look at the device- I had a white 4S and ordered a white iPhone 5 and when I held it, it didn't look or feel "new" enough for me. The black with it's brushed metal back and black sides looks much sleeker and different and hence I swapped my phone in for that one, and I'm so glad I did.

Now here come the bits I'm not really liking- There is no LTE on Etisalat at the moment. I have the phone and hence can confirm I'm still surfing on old 3G speeds. Speed on the phone is one of the key selling points of it worldwide and unfortunately we are as of yet unable to take advantage of that. I was also not thrilled to have to experiment and cut up my nano SIM card for it. I understand that it takes up space and was a necessary move for the phone, but for someone who swaps out phones constantly, it is an inconvenience to say the least. I still carry in my wallet an outer shell cover to turn a micro SIM into a regular one, just in case I have an urge to swap phones somewhere. You can then understand my frustration. One more thing I didn't realize till I actually cut my SIM and had the phone functioning properly- despite having a factory unlocked device from the UK, I was unable to activate FaceTime on it at all. So while OS6 allows for FaceTime over 3G as well as WiFi, Apple/TRA have figured out a way so that even devices not sold here have a block put on them. If you're one of those like me, who had a factory unlocked unit from elsewhere and had FaceTime on your 4S, please note: As of now, I have not figured out a way to activate it on my iPhone 5! Big bummer. Huge. Don't even get my started about the new adapter. In these 2 days already I've had two situations where I needed to charge my iPhone and realized, neither my office nor my friend's home (places I was) had a charger for the new iPhone. Painful and inconvenient and unnecessarily so. Another huge gripe I have with the new phone is it's headset placement at the bottom. I'm very used to, while driving in my car, holding the iphone the right way up and swiping to take a call without looking at the screen... that is no more the case. Also, since I use a wired headset to talk on said call, I usually have it always plugged in to my phone. With it placed at the bottom, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to hold the phone and type properly, hence leading me to constantly have to yank out the headset and put it back in. Again, unnecessarily inconvenient.

To add to my woes it doesn't help that my particular unit is a bit buggy at the moment. The first night I plugged it into my computer to charge as I always did my old iPhone 4S and in the morning, the battery had actually drained through the night. This is with it actually showing up the charging symbol on the phone so it's not like I hadn't plugged it the right way in. A quick reboot though solved the situation and it charges fine, but after reading some reports that people have been having trouble charging it through the computer, I've stuck to it being plugged into a wall socket. This morning I tried to type some things into the screen and it actually wasn't responding to my touch for a few seconds as well... something I'm hoping was a one off. Please let me point out that it is not uncommon for certain handsets to have glitches and I'm sure thousands of others using the iPhone 5 have no problems doing so. I'm mentioning this for full disclosure on my experience as well as an issue of a warning for those who don't want to wait for those who buy the phone from the official channel once its launched. No warranty can be a pain.

I know it sounds like I have only negative points to talk about and I really don't... the device is great and as I said, I love the look and feel of it. There are LOADS of reviews online from people who are absolutely crazy about the device and all the features it offers. I really wish LTE (or what everyone I've been speaking to is terming "4G") was available from the start for me to really tell a difference in operation as most of those reviews are raving about the blazing fast internet speeds. I have heard however, that both Du and Etisalat have confirmed it in the future. The look of the phone can't be beat and is an absolutely gorgeous GORGEOUS device and really, FaceTime wasn't available to most phones in the UAE anyway.. it was just a matter of time they caught up to the rest of us. As for the nano SIM, Apple are trendsetters and after they went Micro in the 4, didn't like everyone follow suit? As for the adapter, almost everyone I know who has a 4S now is looking to upgrade and very soon charger problems will be a thing of the past.
Yet, there is one small question keeps niggling at me and I can't quite find the answer. Why am I missing my 4S so damn much?
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UPDATE!!!- Just to let you know, both FaceTime and iMessage on my UK-originated device are now working just fine on the Etisalat network!

Microsoft Surface- a sneak peak..

As the release of Microsoft's Surface inches closer, there is a certain buzz taking place in tech blogs about this little device. For those who don't know what it is, it is Microsoft's entry into the tablet space, a space that is obviously mostly taken over my Apple, with Samsung and Amazon gunning for the iPad's market share. Apple however has plans to invade their territory instead with a highly rumoured iPad Mini to be released before the end of the year that will compete with the lower priced Android devices currently on offer. I read a story earlier today that Microsoft will be giving all its full time employees with a Surface which I think would be great not only for employee morale, but will improve visibility of the product and promote the product through word of mouth. Microsoft after all, isn't exactly a small company! The nifty little device is going to be launched on 26th with a previously rumoured price of 199USD with Steve Ballmer recently going on record with the Seattle Times suggesting it will cost somewhere between 300 to 700 or 800 USD.
If you haven't already seen pictures of one, the device has a 10.6 inch screen, a kickstand and will run Windows 8. The USP of the device of course remains its tactile multi-touch keyboard, which seemingly has left a lot of tech critics very impressed. We will see details in a month when the device is actually available, but in the meantime here is a video to whet your appetite.

I'm super excited to get my hands on one of these! Probably even more so than the iPad Mini! If this functions well, it will be quite revolutionary indeed!
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My review of the "Cooler Cleanse"

So if you've been following me on Twitter you'll know that I recently completed a 5 day "Cooler Cleanse." There are actually many different types of cleanses one can do and this particular company sends you a package of all the freshly pressed juices and other stuff you need to drink to follow it right. I've read a lot about the Blueprint cleanse but never been curious to try it, but when a friend of mine mentioned he was on this one, I was quite intrigued.
First let me explain what prompted me to do a cleanse at all. I'm currently in NYC and unfortunately while I'm here, I tend to eat a lot unhealthier than I would at home, especially during dinner time and over the weekends. I wanted something to give me a break from all the junk food, and just give my system a rest for a while. I find that when I'm on a junk food diet, my body craves more junk, but whereas  when I'm eating "clean", my body seems to favour fresh foods and salads naturally. I was hoping that would be the ultimate outcome of my cleanse, at least for a little while! While I have a lot of weight to lose, I really didn't do the cleanse for weight loss, as I realize that it's probably water weight that is being lost, and that will come back on with one bowl of hot and sour soup! Yet, every single person who messaged or asked me about the cleanse asked me questions like, "So is it working? Do you see a difference? Have you lost weight?" As I said, that was not my ultimate goal, and honestly, I didn't weigh myself before, during or after the cleanse, so I don't know I even did lose anything. In my opinion, if you're doing it for weight loss, don't bother.
Ok now let me get to the part about why I decided to do this particular cleanse as opposed to a DIY at home one or any other ones out there. The cooler cleanse has quite a low portion of the juices coming from fruits- I liked that, as it means their sugar content is lower. I liked that all the stuff I was drinking was freshly pressed or came from fresh ingredients, and they weren't powdered shakes that I was drinking mixed with diuretics or anything else funky out there. The Isagenix cleanse is another popular cleanse out there with powders of a patented formula.. While some may be tempted to try that, it's not for me! The main reason I liked the Cooler Cleanse was also that in total your daily intake was 1200 calories, which for me was a huge positive. I don't want to be doing a weird cayenne pepper and syrup cleanse that may make me drop weight and completely screw my metabolism in the process. 1200 is actually a LOT of calories and almost half of that comes from the final drink of the evening which is either a brazil nut or almond nut milk which tastes like a milkshake. It's very satisfying and is something to look forward to during the day.. and it also means you don't go to bed hungry.
The cleanse has an option of doing a 3 or 5 day cleanse and I opted for the 5. I think the next time I'd much rather do the 3 as I think it is adequate time to give your body a break from eating solid foods. The company sends you 6 drinks to have a day (I took a picture of the box shown above) and you drink one of these every few hours. You get a sufficient amount of vitamins from all the vegetables they use as well, so you're really not depriving your body. You are supposed to ease yourself into the cleanse which of course I didn't do.. which meant I had headaches the first day and was absolutely MISERABLE the second.. like I couldn't step out of the house miserable! By the third day however I was fine, and so on. I did however, ease myself out of the cleanse for the first two days after. It's a different story that I had a scrumptious Five Guys burger on the 3rd day post-cleanse! :)
If you live in the US, definitely check the company out which has actually been started by Selma Hayek. It's a great way to kick start a healthy lifestyle as it will leave you feeling energized by day 5 and by the end of it, you'll be glad you did it!
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For information on the cleanse, check out their website www.coolercleanse.com
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Book Review- A Suitable Boy

I'd read A Suitable Boy twice when I was at boarding school, many many moons ago. To say no other book or writer has had the effect on me ASB or Seth have had may sort of be an understatement. My first reading saw me have sleepless nights and finish the book in 4 days, and my second reading took me a generously paced 5. I've wanted for years to go back and reread the novel but had visions of me not being able to sleep and being a social recluse for days on end and I kept putting it off. Last summer in NYC however, I figured it would be the perfect place and setting for me to embark on it again.. I had the time and definitely the inclination, and hence went out and bought the book. Unfortunately it wasn't up till last week I was able to grab the book off my shelf and give it a go for the third time around. I finished it in 6 days.

The book is so much more than it's description- a story about 19 year old Lata whose mother embarks on a journey to find her youngest daughter a suitable groom. The story is about that yes, but is also about the families involved, the cities involved, the entire political situation in India at that point and the fabric of Indian society in general. The book weaves such a rich tapestry around you, paints such a beautiful picture that you're almost sad and bereft when it's done.

When I decided to reread the book this time, I wanted to be reminded by what made me fall in love with Seth in the first place. I after all, used to have a framed letter from him hanging up on my wall through my college years and a laminated picture of him in my wallet (please try to not judge me). Yes, the book is absolutely beautifully written and I found myself getting lost in the characters and feeling their emotions so deeply almost as if I knew them. But what struck me as most weird was my realization of how well the book ages and how I've aged with it. To put into perspective, the first 2 times I read the book, the internet was not commonly found and I had no access to it while at boarding school. Yet, reading the reviews on amazon.com will show you that there is no part of the book even now that seems in any way outdated or irrelevant. This is something I'm hoping Seth will be able to replicate in the sequel to the book that he is working on, named A Suitable Girl and due to be out next year.

As I mentioned earlier, I was also pretty taken aback to see how I had aged with the novel too. Between the 3 potential suitors Lata has, there is Kabir, the Muslim boy in her college she is in love with, Haresh- the shoe-maker that her mother finds the most suitable and Amit Chatterjee, her sister in law's brother who is a charming, witty poet. Aah Amit Chatterjee!! Though Seth denies fashioning the writer after himself, I honestly felt the most connection to this lovely character and during my previous reads, was Team Amit all the way! This time however, maybe because I was older, I was able to look a bit beyond what was immediately on offer and understand a bit better what qualities she should be looking for in a life partner. As I was probably younger than 19 the first two times I'd read it, my view on what to look for in a suitable boy were obviously a lot different than what they are now and I found her choice a lot more shockingly agreeable this time around. I wasn't expecting that.

In any case, if you're looking for a good summer read that will encapsulate you into a whole new world, look no further. It is my most favourite book hands down, and I can't recommend it enough!
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Greetings from NYC!!

Ok so I have been terribly lazy at blogging recently despite promises that I will eventually get back on track. Now that I'm spending some time vacationing in NYC however, hopefully I will get some more free time to share my thoughts with you all. I've been playing around with tons of gadgets and gone to some fabulous new places that I should have been blogging on, but as they say, better late than never. A recent purchase, a Sony digital camera purchased from the SonyStyle store in NYC (the DSC RX100, which was yet to be released in Dubai at the time of my departure) had someone wondering whether I'd done a review of it on my blog yet. They soon realized that my last post was in April and tweeted the same to me. "Erm.. Good observation?" I wanted to sheepishly reply.

I'm in NYC now and it just seemed to be a shame to be surrounded by so much fashion, food and entertainment and not share my experiences with you guys. So if you were a regular on here, hopefully I'll give you reason to keep coming back. The city has been mega hot and sticky (except for today when it was pissing down with rain) and I've been spending a lot of time indoors, especially during the day. I took a monthly membership at the LA Sports Club close to my building yesterday, so I intend to spend some quality time getting healthy too. Speaking of my apartment building, the gorgeous picture above is actually a picture of the place. Please pardon me if I've posted one before and don't remember. I've recently been suggested a course of almonds for my memory loss. The building houses celebs like Beyonce and Jack Welch and I know used to be home to Flavio Briatore.. not that I've spotted anyone worth noting. Then again, my almonds haven't kicked in, so maybe I've ridden the elevator with someone famous and haven't noticed?

Will be back soon I promise. In the meantime, why not follow me on Twitter?- www.twitter.com/kchhabria 
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PFW and Chloe!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in Paris for the Paris Fashion Week in the second week of March. I'd been in New York over the summer many times during the Fashion Week there but had never managed to make it to any of the shows and so really, my only exposure to any Fashion Weeks was the difficulty I faced in getting dinner reservations! Naturally, when my sister asked if I'd like to accompany her to Paris during PFW with the chance of maybe attending some shows there, I jumped at the opportunity! 

In my previous post I talk about me being like a kid in Disneyland for the first time, and it's true.. If Disneyland was a giant fashion obsessed bubble! I'd come down to my hotel lobby (I stayed at the Ritz Paris this time) and would have Anna Wintour, Andre Leon Tally and Hamish Bowles chatting only 3 feet away from me and I'd try very hard to keep my composure while breathlessly BBM'ing my friend Ceebo Shah, the fashion obsessed blogger from lastniteindubai  as I just had to obsess to SOMEONE so I could look completely unfazed externally. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll maybe remember my excitement! Everywhere I went I'd see the faces I only saw and read about on blogs and in fashion glossies and I think seeing Marc Jacobs wandering entourage-less at the Hermes store on Rue de Fauborg will count, hands down, as one of the best moments of my life!

At the end of it, we got to see the Chloe and Chanel shows.. Chloe was Ab Fab and was electrifying as it was my first Fashion Week show ever. Here are some pics from the show, taken on my new fave gadget, my Sony NEX-7 and the fantastic zoom lens that I "borrowed" from my store for the trip :) Since you can go onto style.com and pretty much look at the pics of the clothes, here are some of my personal pics and some of the "people watching" that I did!

My sister Komal outside the show

Komal and I, waiting for the show to start

My sister and brother in law

Anna Dello Russo

The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman

The original Streetstyle King, Bill Cunningham

The Queen and High Priestess of Fashion, Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington

Vogue FR Editor, Emmanuelle Alt

Chloe Designer, Clare Waight Keller

Familiar faces from Dubai, Tala Samman with gorgeous Mom, Lina

Non-blogging and Life!

I was speaking to a friend a few days back and she was telling me about what she thought the year 2012 was all about. Some people consider it to be the end of the world, some people think it's going to be a shift of energies in a positive way and some, merely a year of change. My friend, having sadly, recently lost her Father a few weeks prior, was sharing about how 2012 according to her, was a year which gave clarity to a lot of people on their lives going forward. Strangely, she believed that a lot of people would experience a lot of change in their lives which would dictate what their lives would be like henceforth, and she said she noticed an increase in deaths, births, marriages and surprise divorces taking place. While I think that any finality in life is only the doorway to a new beginning and hence don't agree with her understanding of "how things are supposed to be," I do think 2012 has been a year of change for me and for a lot of people around me. For some, it's been a great year, and for a lot, it's been their worst year yet. Both can obviously change as we're still in the early stages of the year (or so it seems, thanks to the surprisingly lovely Dubai weather) but I think it definitely has been a year of "happenings". Or maybe because I've had a lot "happening" in my life which is why I see the same in others, just as my friend sees "finality" in the lives of those she looks around? Who knows.

I've been very busy traveling since the start of the year and my two major trips consisted of my month in the US (which I blogged about) and a very exciting trip to Paris during the Paris Fashion Week in March (which I shall be posting about very soon!) I had gone to Paris with one of my sisters and her husband, so it was great to get that bonding time with them, and had another very dear friend visit for the weekend whom I was seeing after 4 or 5 years! She is like family to us so it was lovely to spend time with her.. all this taking place during PFW which I had never experienced before! My sister got us invitations to go for the Chloe and Chanel shows which literally was a DREAM COME TRUE for me and I was as excited as a child at Disney World for the first time! More on that stuff later! And on my travel schedule, I leave to go to Beirut in a few days and it's my first ever trip there, and I come back and soon leave for Japan, so have lots of traveling coming up in May. On the work front, I'm working on a whole bunch of exciting projects and 2012 has been really, really good there with a lot of ideas that I'm hoping will take fruition soon. Personally I've met tons of new people recently which is strange since I'm not very social... but I've been enjoying going out and meeting some fabulously interesting folk. Let's just say I've been really enjoying myself which a perfect mix of random fun nights out partying and serene evenings spent with loved ones. Life has been good... Which is probably why a lot of blogging hasn't been taking place! As much as I love to share all my thoughts and happenings in my life (which is why I'm a blogger in the first place!) there are some journeys in life that one needs to go through alone, and keep them private. Part of my journey has been that, and the other part... well I've just been too busy living life to be bothered blogging about it :) Either way, I'm hopefully back and will attempt to get back into the swing of things. For all those who have asked me either face to face or over emails/Facebook/Twitter why I haven't been writing anymore, Thank You.. It's been very heartening to know Kiran's Corner has been missed and hopefully is now back for good! :)
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Gulf News Article: Digital Technology boosts Education

This is the article from my column that appeared in Gulf News yesterday that talks a bit more about my week at HBS. Hope you guys enjoy it!

I am currently in New York as I write this, having returned from a brilliant week spent at the Harvard Business School (HBS) in Boston. Having been there for a similar course three years ago, I was familiar with the set-up of the place, the astounding level of its faculty and the immense amount of work required in preparation for the course. Known for its case-study methodology, a week at Harvard means about a month's worth of spare time of a phone book-sized reading material that I had printed, highlighted, made notes on and digested. I headed there with my spiral-bound case book and thought I knew exactly what to expect till the opening session made me realise a subtle change in my surroundings — in three short years, education had gone digital.
As the days went by, it was easy to see the subtle changes the executive education arm at HBS had made to keep up with technology and to promote a paperless learning space. While paper had been relied upon to previously rate the faculty and class discussions at the end of each day, these were now emailed to us. A huge file with the bios of other course attendees had welcomed me to the course three years back. These were now replaced with a USB flash drive that was given to us at the end of the course, that in addition to the bios, had vCards of each of the attendees.
The drive also contained all slides from the presentations made by the professors in class so that instead of taking notes, we could focus on the intense discussion being held, because CEOs or not, HBS professors do cold calling upon students, and paying attention is not optional!
While all of this is standard upgradation you'd expect from a tech-friendly school, what really hit home is the level of tech sophistication shown by my fellow course attendees. Notepads and pens had been almost eradicated and replaced almost exclusively with iPads and in some cases, styluses for those who wanted to still "write" notes instead of typing them out. Pen-shaped devices like the Pogo stick or the Bamboo stylus by Wacom are popular choices for those favouring this method of input, whereas a whole host of note-taking apps on the iPad are available, the most impressive being one called "Noteshelf".
The app has the ability to write text in a larger space and then shrink it down to a size more comfortable while reading, which is a great way to solve the problem one has with printing the material handwritten on any other app only to have your writing unnaturally large on paper. Also while I'd stuck to wasting trees and highlighter ink in an effort to read the course material, a surprisingly large number of fellow classmates had stuck to their iPads to read their cases too.
While I'm fine with reading entire books on my Kindle with ease and even moving to online subscriptions of my favourite magazines on Zinio, I do so only for books that aren't available in the bookstores or publications that are either too expensive or too outdated on the newsstands in Dubai. When it came down to reading hundreds of pages worth of study material on which I'd want to scribble and make notes on, the thought of using an iPad had honestly never occurred to me!
Ahead of the curve
With all this move towards technology in class, it was only fit then that one of our cases was based on the popular magazine, The Economist, its popular iPad app, and how it's handling the shift of edited news going towards the online space. The magazine is a great example of how traditional media will move going forward, and the publication already seems ahead of the curve in terms of merging technology with quality edited news content.
Also fittingly Apple announced its iBooks Author app and plans to revolutionize the textbook industry during the week I was at HBS. A fortnight back I would have been one of the naysayers who would have said technology is fantastic, but I doubt digital form of studying will ever replace the interaction one requires with a textbook to really absorb the written word. Now, given that most of my classmates were all probably in their 40s and early 50s and not exactly in the age bracket of what you'd call early adopters, I realize that I would have had to eat my words.
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You can check it out on the Gulf News website here
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My week at HBS!

Those who follow me on Twitter will know I am currently in NYC after spending an INCREDIBLE week at the Harvard Business School in Boston. This is actually my second visit there, the first being three years ago which is actually where these pictures are from. I've forgotten to carry my card reader and hence had to rely on a few old pictures on Facebook to give you guys a feel for the place. My week long course is part of a tie up that exists between HBS and YPO (the Young Presidents Organization) and hence is open to YPO members only. HBS however have a whole bunch of executive education courses that can be found here that may be of interest to you guys, ranging from different time periods to various subjects at all different levels of business folk.
My Late Father had done a popular exec education course called OPM which stands for the Owners/Presidents Management Program. He has been wrongly accredited in the Press very often for being a Harvard graduate which sounds like he was there for his undergraduate education or for an MBA, but he really is an alumni from the school as graduating from this program. OPM lasts for 3 weeks each year for 3 years and is a phenomenal program that my Father absolutely loved when he attended, and always hoped one of us would make it to our MBA at HBS. Seriously, his fanatical love for the school showed in his HBS notebooks that he used at home to take notes on with his HBS pens that he picked up each time he visited Boston. While I never made it there for my MBA, I understood his love for the school when I went 3 years ago, and got a similar reminder again last week.
So you're probably wondering how beneficial a one week course could possibly be right? I'd probably get a few lectures in and maybe a couple of pointers to take home, and the hefty price tags listed next to the courses are for the suckers who want to feel smart and say they went to Harvard right? WRONG! It takes about a good months' worth of reading during free time to be able to prepare for the course as the exec education follows the famous HBS case study methodology of teaching. All the cases printed out account for approximately a phone book sized worth of reading material that you need to get through before you get there. Oh and don't even think about leaving anything till when you actually do get there as the days are LONG and I don't think we ever wrapped up group meetings a single night before 1 AM!
The teaching faculty there will probably exceed your expectation of what you think Professors could be like. Having done my Undergrad at Boston College which too is an amazing school and one of the best in the country, I didn't think I'd be as blown away by the HBS faculty as I was. They are simply brilliant, and while professors at lesser known Universities may be brilliant and able to effectively teach concepts, you quickly realize in under 24 hours why the HBS professors are the ones writing out and forming those key concepts. To give you an idea, Michael Porter, one of the Gurus of Marketing is a professor at the Harvard Business School. And before you picture boring stuffy geeks droning on in the classroom while you pinch yourself to stay awake, most of the lecture is discussion based, the Professors usually electrifying and you better be paying attention lest you want to look like an idiot when cold called upon. Yes, they will pick on you and you better not even think of coming to class late!
The kind of people you meet as well are an amazingly diverse group of individuals and I know friends who have recently been for the OPM in particular, and have met some extremely intelligent people and made some very close friends. If by any chance you are a YPO member reading this and have never taken advantage of the course, you are seriously missing out! The level of discourse in the classroom given the fact that you are probably sitting amongst people who are leaders of their industries, and quite possibly game changers in the economy of their respective countries, is what makes this a program you MUST experience at least once.
The take home from these courses are incredible and they are incredibly hard work. While it may not be possible for everyone to head to HBS to do  one of their exec education courses, if you are able to take out some time and head there, I can't recommend it enough. It really remains one of the best experiences I've ever had and one of the best investments I've made!

The stunning HBS campus, covered in snow in 2009

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Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!! It's currently 3 AM in the Big Apple (I am jet lagged having just arrived yesterday) and I decided it was time to write my New Years post. I've been meaning to share these videos for a while, but I figured this post would be the perfect time to do it. If you haven't seen them and have never heard of Ben Breedlove, can I please urge you to be patient and watch these! They will change your life!!





Ben passed away on Christmas day 2011 and this video was found a few days after his demise. I'd actually heard of him before and was amazed when I realized that this young boy was actually the same one who had an advice channel on YouTube with 2 of his other friends, giving advice to other teenagers about random life stuff and relationships. What a way to spend your life knowing full well that your own could be cut short any minute! A lot of attention has been poured on Ben and these videos with Kim Kardashian tweeting about him and Kid Cudi talking about Ben's vision and I dare say most people will be moved to tears after watching it. I know I was.

I hope I'm not sounding too morose to you guys as that is not my intention at all! I'm hopeful for a fabulous year ahead and have all my resolutions planned out in my head (and mostly broken already) and had a supercrazyfun New Years Eve spent with great friends in Dubai before I jumped on a plane and came to my favourite city in the world. If that isn't a fabulous start to the new year, I don't know what is!

When I watched these videos, as I said earlier I knew I wanted them to be part of my New Year's post. Instead of putting up my resolutions as I did last year, I just wanted to leave you guys with a thought- to celebrate your life. 2011 wasn't a particularly great year for me and while I'm hoping for a better 2012, I have no regrets about the year gone and am reminded of a verse from my favourite poem, A Psalm of Life-

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
        Is our destined end or way ;
    But to act, that each to-morrow
        Find us farther than to-day.

Our life is made up of losses and successes and both are just as important as each other. I believe that when we finally reflect back on our lives, our not-so-good years will be as important as our fabulous ones as those will be the ones to have shaped our character. So while I know the past year hasn't been a great one for a lot of people, let's hope for a better 2012 while ourselves participating in the script of our lives and being the best that we can be. As the poem says-

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
        Let the dead Past bury its dead !
    Act,— act in the living Present !
        Heart within, and God o'erhead !

Something to think about? Happy New Year All! :)
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You can read the entire poem on a previous post of mine here
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