Book Review: Footprints On The Sand Of Crime

When one talks about reading books, one always goes for known authors/writers whose books are popular. It saves one from disappointments.

Then again what happens to those budding/potential writers or someone publishing a book whose name you have never heard like ever...

The beauty of reading  from these unknown writers is that they bring fresh perspective and different ways of story telling then one has been used to.

Remember the world has a population of more than a billion and each one of us has a story to tell using our own imagination, experiences and unique way of putting it out for the readers to read.

Why choose to restrict yourself to a few when you can explore around the unknown to learn more or understand better perhaps.

I decided to take the plunge with the book Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen by Porus Munshi. It did not disappoint.

For the second book, I picked up Footprints on the sand of crime by Ramakant Kulkarni. It explores the crime scene in India from the experiences of a police officer and touched upon a few criminal cases handled by him. The book was first published in 2004 and has been in reprint.

It is so ignorant of us that while we watch so many western detective/crime tv shows/web series but we hardly know anything about the Indian crime scene unless one has started watching Crime Patrol.

The book touches upon the journey of the author from joining the police force to moving up within the ranks and his encounters with the crimes taking place. 

Be it the international criminals Walcot and Danze or arresting the serial killer Raghav Raman. 

Every case has been detailed with the trail that led them to the assailant which certainly makes an interesting read.

There are some cases which makes you wonder was killing the person worth it? Be it the case of a prostitute who was living a happy married life after leaving her past behind or the murder of a women bus passenger.

The author has outlined his progress in the police force to CID. It  certainly makes it worth reading as one gets to learn more about the working of the police force.

He has expressed his distraught over re-investigations of cases or investigating one of their own. He also informs us how getting crime solved did not led to justice unless its proven in the court which can be tedious and sometimes the accused goes scot-free.

He sheds his insights into the Raj Bhavan burglary & Indira Gandhi's assassination of which he was a part of.

The book summarizes the author's journey and the insights into the select cases. The writing is also lucid which makes it easier for the readers to comprehend.

Would recommend this book if you want to learn more about the Indian crime scene.

P.s. The author has passed away almost thirteen years back.

Book Review: Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen

Have started reading books after a very long hiatus from last year and its been a mixed bag.

I ensure that the book I pick up for reading is completed. Then again there are challenges wherein I have found difficult to finish books. I literally have and had to give up on them. It happened back to back and I wondered if I lost my touch with reading.

Thankfully, I was wrong and got back in the reading mode with "Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen" by Porus Munshi, published by Collins Business.

India is known for its "Jugaad" and this book attempts to explore few of them who were in a position to make life altering changes for the organization/people they worked with.

It takes us through these case studies or should I say orbit shifting moments as the author  Porus Munshi likes to call it.

The book covers 11 personalities from different walks of life, who despite their challenges overcomes them through their sheer innovation, persistence & perseverance.

It was Govindappa Venkataswamy stubbornness to cure needless blindness that led to the creation of Aravind Eve Hospital. Known for its high quality, high volume, low-cost service delivery model all of which was learned by observing McDonald's service efficiency. It certainly makes a fascinating read if you have not heard about it.

 The Trichy police case study showed the way wherein community policing had a larger impact on combating crime and other issues. To such an extent that the crime rates dipped to the lowest as compared to the ratio of cop to people.

Similarly there are other case studies which includes Cavinkare, ITC;s E-choupal, Bosch India, Titan Edge & Surat city transformation.

The author has kept kept them light-hearted and  easy to comprehend. He has made sure not to go into the nitty-gritty and kept it simple for readers understanding.

I liked the case studies of E-choupal, Trichy community policing, Surat city transformation, Aarvind eye hospital, Su Kam & Shanta Biotech.

They show the grit & resolve of these individuals who have risen above the challenges with their innovative ways breaking the barriers of societal thoughts. Paving the way for path breaking products, processes & ideas into use.

The book makes an interesting read if you like to read about ways the Indian jugaad works.

It's certainly worth a read.

P.S. You can buy the book at Amazon on https://amzn.to/38OQrvH

Dreams Do Come True

Sudhir was taking a piss in his toilet with the door open. When a women in her mid thirties appeared in a black sari with red border, her hair open and a red big bindi on the forehead staring at him.

He turns around and there is no one. He thinks about it being weird and all and goes back to sleep.

The next night he gets woken up in middle of his sleep, seeing the women again standing in front of him, next to him sitting on top of him. This continues for a few nights.

He gets up in the middle of the night, looks around and there is nothing. It shook him so much that he dreaded to fall asleep.

His performance at work slumped, sleeping at work, low productivity to such an extent that he was told to take a few days off to get things in order.

Sudhir being an atheist, thought maybe taking a break was not a bad idea. Lying on his bed, he wondered about the women in his dreams, Was she a figment of imagination or did she really existed? He could not recall seeing her ever. Answers eluded him.

He switched off the lights of his room, hoping to catch up on his lost sleep. Though on the back of his mind the thoughts of the women in sari wont go away.

The next day people were coming in and out of his flat, as Sudhir's body was carried out into the ambulance. Police presence was there making inquires. 

Murmurs were heard that he probably passed away in his sleep. The landlord informing the police that over five years ago a women had died in a similar manner.

A colleague overheard the conversation to whom Sudhir had confided into about seeing the women. He wondered if only Sudhir had paid attention to his dreams from coming true.