Book review: FK Knows by Shailendra Singh

Shailendra Singh, the author has attempted to provide a self help book with an indigenous flavour( to be specific- I would say in "Punjabi" flavour. If you have had a few Punjabi friends, you would know what I mean).

If you have read books like " The Monk who sold his Ferrari", " 5- point someone" - you wouldn't find the concept of this book entirely new. The difference of the book lies in the way in which the concepts have been presented.

Shailendra Singh (the back cover of the book states that he is a uber successful entrepreneur although this is the first time I am hearing his name) in this book tries to help the readers on the following :

1. Finding yourself (because you are probably lost)

2. Following your heart a.k.a live for yourself and not for others

3. Achieving your goals

4. Living life every moment as it comes by

The book has around some 70 odd chapters and the author recommends that the readers take long breaks between chapters. He also states that the logic contained in his book might disrupt your pre-conditioned assumptions about the world.

Why I would probably agree to the author's first statement, I don't see anything that is " path-breaking" in this book which is told for the "first time". 

The way the book unfolds is a bit unique. The language, dialect used to get into the story line is also interesting. (You may call it the "theme" line if you want since this is not a story book).

The author talks about his own story of having had a "successful" life till his forties. The loss of his father coupled with degradation of his own health makes him realise the void in his life and he is not really happy. The author out of his experience states that one should be living his own life by following one's heart. 

The examples quoted would be quite relatable to most of Indian readers. This is because our lives are driven mostly by our parents decision than our own. The author wants the reader to take control of ones life, make a "to do" list and then go towards achieving the list. The author also provides a few examples from his own "to do" list. 

There are many books, movies, articles that tell you to " follow your heart". If you have already realised that and expect further more from this book, you may be a bit disappointed. The author talks about his experience of reliving his life by visiting all the places from his place of birth to figure out his happiest moments. This way to figure out passion may or may not necessarily work out for you. 

After talking about the main message of "finding yourself" and " follow your heart", the author jumps on to random topics of self help and provides you enough gyaan with smaller chapters till the end. I feel that the book loses its steam half way and becomes a bit monotonous after the first few chapters. The language used gets repetitive and there is an overdose of the word "FK" which may actually tire some readers.

Probably, young readers might find the language and style used very interesting till the very end. This book makes a good one time read. For young readers this book can be like a good bhangra song played on the dance floor by a DJ. This book might help you pep up your spirits. Definitely a good attempt by a first time author.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Punishing non-performers.

When you deposit your money with a bank, you presume it would be safely returned to you. How many times do you check whether your money is put to good use by the bank?.

You may ask " why is it important to do that?'. It is really important because, the bank may go bankrupt if it is doing some irresponsible lending. This can lead to loss of your deposit ( I am not in for arguments like government will back it up, deposit insurance,etc,etc as it is not good for the economy in the long run)

So, it is very important to punish the non-performing banks by withdrawing your deposits from them or at least making a conscious decision of making no further deposit with a non-performer.

Look at the NPAs ( Non Performing Assets- bad loans) of the banks, if they are continuously on the raise ( when compared to industry standards and other banks), you should start treating your bank as a non-performer.

If you do not do this, it helps the people of the following kind

"Those who take loan with political pressure and don't pay back, helps the real estate guys who can keep the prices high funded by bank loans and never bother to pay them soon, helps the industrialist who run a show business and do not care to pay even their employees."

So, you are helping these guys when you don't punish non-performers. Next time, when you see an article about you bank's NPA - " ACT ON IT". Punish the non-performers.

Healthcare - one coin, two sides.

One of my friend's dad was admitted to a "posh" hospital  for treatment . The treatment went on for 3 months and climaxed with a surgery. The " Surgery package" ( surgery + 4 days in critical care+ 3 days ICU) was priced at 7.5 lakhs. This was to be  prepaid before the surgery.

My friend paid the amount and the surgery was done. After two days in critical care, my friend's dad passed away. Logically, you would expect a refund of money from the hospital as the ' package' was  prepaid  7 days. 

When my friend reached out to the hospital cash counter for a refund, it turned out to be an anti-climax. They had an ad hoc bill for 4.5 lakhs. He was also told that he cannot take away the mortal remains of his father unless he paid the full  amount. After a lot of "negotiations", the amount was reduced to 1.5 lakhs and the "deal" came to an end.

On hearing this story, we easily start blaming the government for not providing quality healthcare to the citizens, donations paid to medical colleges, tales of heart less doctors et all . But a near term solution is definitely not in light.

Here comes the other tale.( where we ignore the right treatment because it's so "clean & economical" )

Mr.X is a distant relative of mine. He is a qualified pediatrician. Believes in ethics and provides prudent advice.

He never recommends any medicine unless essential, refrains from using injections ( unless necessary) and gives away sample medicines for free, etc. I have no doubts on his capability. But his career has been less lucrative because of his simple and straight forward approach. At least from my assessment, people are not so comfortable consulting a doctor who turns you off  with no/minimal medicine!. Hospitals which employ him , turn this person  out when they find that he doesn't meet their "targets" for scans and X-rays.

But this person runs a peaceful life  ( of course, with patronage of some prudent patients), Since his needs are limited. ( No greed , so low need :-)) 

I feel that people too need a change of attitude towards " What a good treatment is".

Healthcare - Same coin - Two sides :-)

Bumper money - How long does it last?

   ET carried an articled on "Contrasting fortunes of farmers selling land in cities" a few days back. This article captured the current state of people who had sold their land a few years ago and made a  few crores.

While a few had invested the money prudently in some money making assets, many of them had blown of the entire cash. Extravagant living, alcohol addiction and over confidence due to sudden inflow of cash , have led many into complete bankruptcy.Many who lost their money are now jobless and see no future at all.

"Getting the money you want" is just the first step. Preserving it prudently for the rest of life is another ball game all together. Money, either earned through hard work or through a lottery need to be treated with respect. It doesn't mean complete abstinence from luxury but use of some wisdom  in the way money is dealt with.

" Sustaining what you get" is the next big step after the first big step of " Getting what you want". ( a.k.a "Yogam" and "Kshemam" as quoted on our ancient language)

So, money management skills come handy even after you earn what you want.

crores, crorepathi, how to earn a crore, crorepathi to bikari, crores, karodpathi

Chanakya's New Manifesto - Book review

To start with ~This book (Chanakya's new manifesto to resolve the crisis within India) is not a novel. It is an answer to the question,"What would Chanakya do if confronted with the various crisis that beset contemporary India ?" - " Of course, from the author's point of view".

Pavan.K. Varma, the author who is an ex Indian foreign service officer, picks up five main areas that are to be addressed to resolve India's modern day problems. The author talks about governance, democracy, corruption, security and building an inclusive society. Chanakya's new manifesto, as laid down by the author is classified into the five topics stated above. It is a proposed blue print for change. The underlined assumption is that " we cannot continue as we are and must gather the resolve to bring in effective governance, a true democracy, a corruption free state, a security conscious nation and an inclusive society. If we fail, India may never succeed. Our future is at stake. "

The author starts each chapter with a quote from the Artha Shastra, walks through the history and current state of India ( related to the topic under discussion) and then provides "what should be done now", in very clearly jotted down bullet points.

If you ask me to pick one best suggestion that is stated in the book, I would pick up the following without any doubt.

 

"Point 2.8 under Democracy - The current practice which allows parties not to identify donors contributing less than Rs 20000 must be scrapped. This is the principal (but not only) channel for parties to collect vast amounts of undeclared funds. Every paisa given as a donation to political parties must be accounted for and transacted through auditable and transparent bank transactions"

When suggesting things on governance, the author feels that each coalition like UPA or NDA must publicly announce a common governance agenda, with indicative time frame for specific deliverables. Pavan . K. Varma's book Chanakya’ new manifesto also prescribes setting up a five member Governance Appraisal Panel (GAP) which will independently evaluate the performance of the government and submit annual report to the President of India.

The author has boldly expressed his views in all of the chapters either be expressing views on the need to support the Jan Lokpal bill or condemning the dynasty rule in the country, the author is pretty straightforward.

This book is more for a serious read and not one of those kinds with which you plan to pass time. Even if atleast 50 % of the prescribed actions in the book are attempted to be implemented, then it would take India a long way in the path of development.

So, if you read this book, it is not enough to treat the content lightly but we need to try to convert some of the ideas into action. It is possible only if all the citizens (atleast the educated ones), act in cohesion, unison and wisdom to bring about the much needed change that India needs.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!