Book Review - Breach by Amrita Chowdhury

In my day job, I see my clients, mostly global pharmaceutical majors, call out data security as one of the key drivers for their enterprise information management programs. The topic is more relevant now than ever with clinical trials being conducted across the globe, with varying degrees of data security controls. Trials need to be fast in the face of competition, and blockbuster drugs are short-lived in the face of challenges posed by generics.

The premise of Breach is something I could instantly relate to. And then what I loved about the book was the way Chowdhury weaves a brilliantly executed conspiracy around what could have easily degenerated into a dry discourse on cyber crime and pharmaceutical procedures. The narrative is fast paced, the language lucid, the characters human.

In the garb of a cyber thriller, Breach is also an emotional story. I lived those few days with the protagonist of the story as he battled the crisis at work with his relationships bearing the brunt. Chowdhury beautifully portrays how relationships are put to test under difficult circumstances, and we get to know ourselves best when we are out there - all alone, with storms brewing all around us.

I did not see the twist at the end coming. And when the 'villain' of the piece and the emotionally charged motive were revealed, it all made so much sense to me.

Last but not the least, it was interesting to note the transformation of Madhu from a tentative small town girl to the confident, 'almost tech-savvy' metro girl. Well, maybe, we will see the complete transformation in a sequel?

Give this one a read!

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Book Review - Poems by Subhadip Mukherjee

Ernest Hemingway said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Reading the poetry of Subhadip Mukherjee in his book ‘ ছেঁড়া চিন্তার Scribbles’ (Offtrack Publishers, co-authored by Dr. Kausik Ghosh), I am convinced that he is bleeding. And that’s good news. Subhadip is a nagorik kobiyal. His poems hold mirror to the stifling urban life with its rat race, with its mindless pursuit of materialistic ambitions, and with its consumerism. নাগরিক ব্যস্ততা নানা জটিলতা... দাশু বারবার কিস্তিমাত He mocks the same judgemental urban society right in his introduction when he says: যদি তাকে চিনে থাকো যদি তাকে জেনে থাকো Boss, বেশী . মিশোনা তার সাথে সামান্য নেশা হবে ... তুমিও " খারাপ " হবে দেরি হবে রোজ রাত্তিরে Subhadip’s poems paint love in its myriad hues – from extreme euphoria to brooding despondency. Subhadip depicts the unadulterated purity of love when he says: তুই ক্লাস নাইনৈর খাতার...

The Sinners: Extract #1

Aarti was with Vikram in her one-bedroom flat. It had been raining for quite some time - the dirt washed away, street lights reflected on the wet roads. There were distant rumbles in the evening sky, sounding almost ominous. Very few cars sped down the empty road below. The room was half-lit by a single lamp on the study desk. It was just the two of them inside the flat. They had returned a while back after dining at the Marriott in Juhu. “I’ve been missing you for days, Vikram! I don’t remember when we met last,” Aarti’s voice rose a couple of notches, the resentment in her tone pronounced. “And when we met today after weeks, we ended up fighting.” There were beads of sweat on Aarti’s temples and above her lips. She was visibly tense. There was a bad taste in her mouth, not the kind you carry home after a dinner at the Marriott. Vikram tried to pull her closer but Aarti freed herself and walked away towards the desk. She looked away, trying to hide the...

Decoding Marriage - An excerpt from 'An Autumn Turmoil'

Most of us have a glorified idea about love. I think it comes from the staple diet of Bollywood movies we are all brought up on. Couples strolling on the beach, watching the sunset together, whispering promises of eternity into each other’s ear, and making love on satin sheets in wooden cottages overlooking the Swiss Alps. But life does not play out like this. The movies do not show the truth, what happens backstage. The love fades. The promises lose meaning. And the lovemaking goes from being a passion to a duty, something a married couple ‘is supposed to do at bed time.’ Before long, you reach that stage, where you can count the number of times you do it every month on your fingers, with a couple of fingers to spare. And you surrender to the monotony. The husband and the wife start living separate lives under the same roof – all in the name of security, comfort, marital bliss and sometimes, the fear of what ‘everyone would say’. Abhishek and I are fast approaching that stage in...

Mukherjee Musings

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