Advantages of online bookstore

With the influence of online book stores in India, now you are not required to visit the traditional bookstores for buying your books, which in return save your times and do not bother you as with online bookstores you do not need to put in any kind of physical effort. Plus, while performing all your daily activities, you can also purchase books. Moreover, these online bookstores have 24*7 availability and also these give you a variety of books at a single platform. Also, here you can compare prices with different online bookstores from all across the world and can buy books online from any corner of the earth.

Bookish habits

In the present, it has been observed that people of the modern India and the world have formed reading habits. These days, we see people indulge in reading and enlightening themselves with knowledge about various things of their use. However, this reading habit of people demands a good deal of time for book shopping, but with the advent of the internet, people have started preferring buying books online as it is the best medium one can indulge in book shopping with the least of their time. Online book shopping is a great idea for it provides you with a vast array of books at attractive discounts and the books will be delivered at your doorstep.

An album of Desi Love Stories – Impulse by Reekrit Serai

Impulse revolves around an assortment of stories of contemporary India. The central theme of the novel is love, breaking the romantic notions of love to meet you head-on with the realities of the present era. We all have seen that most of these romantic stories end in tragedies, with just a few happy endings here and there. The novel has been penned by a 22-year old author from Chandigarh and the stories inscribed in it have been taken from young India by a young Indian.

The good

Impulse provides a relatable sequence of stories and these stories don’t have a historical far off angle to them and have been assumed to belong to this very land, India and the present time. The stories revolve around the common problems in a relationship like heartbreak, arrogance, ambition and obsession. The characters in these stories are young and unpretentious, along with that the author has kept a simple storyline with colloquial conversations incorporated in it as to make it simple and easy to understand. The Rajus, Nikhils, Yudhisthirs and Ashimas of the book could well be actual people. People you might know, meet or hear about in day-to-day life.

Another X-factor of Impulse is that, unlike many of the short story writers, Serai has managed to keep his short stories actually short, hitting the bulls eye by providing its very purpose. The stories in the book are short and crisp, with no unnecessary details and even no necessary details left out.

The bad

There is no doubt about the fact that simplicity is good for a story to be conveyed as it opens up scope for attracting the readers, but this is to mention that when things get too simple, people may lose interest. This is what happens with some stories in the novel, Impulse and after reading two to three stories, you will find every other story to be predictable. The author has written in a continuous style of writing  and continues with the same trend throughout his novel, by keeping the underlying voice of the stories is same, which in turn makes this book a little monotonous  in the mid way. Lastly, there are many characters in the different stories inscribed in the book, which looks and feels familiar.

The advise

The most interesting stories which I found in the book are “The eyes of Men” and “Page of life”. And if you like, love stories, just go and read this book, as you might like a few or all the stories in the book. So just log on to lelobooks, an online bookstore in India and get this love book at your doorstep at an amazing price. Hurry now and grab this desi Mills & Boon!

Crack NET And Make Your Career In Lecturership

Get set go you’re the National Eligibility Test, which is conducted twice a year by the University Grants Commission, is your gateway to become a college lecturer.  This year, the declared date is June 29 for the test for all the aspiring teachers in the country with the National Eligibility Test (NET) being held on the decided date. The mentioned test is conducted twice annually by the National Educational Testing Bureau of the University Grants Commission (UGC), is meant to decide the eligibility of candidates for lectureship. It also determines awarding of Junior Research Fellowships (JRF) to ensure minimum standards for the entrants in the teaching profession and research.

The exam of NET is conducted usually in the month of June and December in Humanities, which includes various languages such as Social Science, Political Science, Forensic Science Electronic Science , Computer Science and Electronic and Environmental Science.  The test includes three papers which comprise objective type questions, comprising objective type of questions and the Paper one is all about teaching and research aptitude. The test also includes questions like reasoning, comprehension, general awareness and also tests divergent thinking. The test contains 60 multiple questions, each of which is two marks and the candidate is required to answer any 50 out of it.

The paper two consists of 50 questions which forms the category of objective type, here also each question carries two marks. Then, moving on to the Paper three, it has 75 objective type questions from the given subject chosen by the candidate and here also each question, carries 2 marks. It is to be noted that all the questions in paper 2 and paper 3 are mandatory, as it covers the entire syllabus. These papers are subject specific, aiming to test the knowledge and understanding of the subject chosen by the candidate. The questions in these two papers are related to the subject and all about its factual information, conceptual information and tests the applied knowledge of the discipline.

The candidates who have cracked the NET have stated that it is one of the most competitive tests in the country as it carries vast syllabus. Thus, as the second NET exam, which is being held twice in a year, is fast approaching, it is necessary to get prepared for it. So, just get ready to attempt this year NET exam and make your career in Lecturership. So just grab your competition books and get ready to crack the exam. Books available at lelobooks.com, a leading online bookstore in India. Hurry Now!

BOOKS TO FETCH IN ON YOUR ROAD TRIP

Summary: Books that will not only make your trip a delightful one but also will be accompanying you all through out your journey as your best buddies that will not leave you in getting bored off as will fetch you with some interesting things.

We, the Indians are indeed a privileged lot. In addition to being treated by the fantastic weather all year round at one or the other place, as India’s location lends itself idyllically, as a foundation for amazing road tripping. Burning a little rubber of your wheels  across the gorgeous countryside, you will get to witness some of the most spectacular and magnificent wildlife, beaches and hill resorts in India that will take you to the other world.

Thus, be it a wild encounter in the depths of Mudumala woods or a convoluted feast amidst tea plantations in Nilgiri hills or a session of meditation amidst the Himalayas, or an insight into Rajasthan’s rich cultural heritage, or the colors of Delhi belly - whatever rocks your boat; all you need to do is to fill your tank, hang your backpack, put your boots on and hit the road.

Just hit the road and consider to have a few items which will accompany you and make sure that you do not get bored off with your longtime road trip. In case you yawn a bit in your journey, just grab a book from some of my selected books as I have chosen books that are about some movement, about some place, about what it takes to get somewhere and the most important thing what happens when you do. Moreover, you can find your most preferred books from lelobooks, a leading online bookstore, where you can also purchase books online and get your book at the doorstep.

 1. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

In my context, this novel is from a genre of chick lit and is truly the queen bee. The book with an intriguing story left me behind laughing out to the core, with a character that resembles to every other woman out there. As all of us females uses  some of that sharp humor and dry tongue every so often, don’t we? Just give it a thought as you will find Miss Jones in you at some or the other point of time.

2.  Keep Off the Grass by Karan Bajaj

The book will surely make you love with it and remember, do not read this book for the protagonist Samrat, rather read it for the characters played as his friends in the novel, especially Sarkar, who for me steals the show. He is a simple guy, representing the  those bespectacled guys out there who hold close the condemned path from an IIT to an IIM and onwards.

The above stated books are a must-carry books that will not only give you an additional thing to be indulged in and make your trip entertaining, but also will tell you a few things that you can do while on your trip, to make it even more interesting. So just grab your book from lelobooks by indulging in online book shopping and avail exciting gift hampers.

Retelling of Indian mythology

O Rama of unequaled prowess,
This aerial car shining like the sun,
Moves as one pleases, wonderful and excellent;
This Pushpak of Kuber, robbed by Ravan in battle,
Is retained here for your sake;
The yonder aerial car, looking like a cloud,
Stands here and by which transport,
You can reach Ayodhya without any trouble.
May prosperity attend you!
- Valmiki Ramayan

The above verse describes the Pushpak Vimaan, perhaps the most famous airship mentioned in the ancient Hindu literature. Many Sanskrit epics contain references to such flying machines called the Vimaans/Vimanas. These Vimaans were said to be able to travel into space between different planets and were used by various denizens of the higher Lokas. In this post, we shall analyze the evidence in favor of such flying machines being available to the ancients and their similarities to the modern air crafts.

‘Looking back at the Hindu mythological past, just have a look at this cool dude with a majestic  kingdom, where all people liked him. But, his step-mom or something like his aunt, was kind of a bitch as she coerced her husband, the father of this cool dude to send the latter in the jungles. This cool dude was Ram or I should better say, Lord Rama for like more than 10 years or so. He decided to get along with his brother and wife on their request and had a great time together.’

We all have seen that many people come up with the retelling of the classical Ramayana, which is now popular on various social media platforms.  The point of this humorous snippet was to draw attention to an omnipresent phenomenon in Indian literature today –retelling of mythology.

At Lelobooks, we regularly review the latest books published by both new and experienced authors and has made this trend a popular one for some time now. More and more authors are coming up and taking upon themselves the task of re-construing classics and mythological figures, and giving us contemporary translations of them. For a relatable example, look no further than the Shiva trilogy as it surprised me by the portrayal of Sati, which has another angle that led it to be one of those stories which are different from the bedtime stories that I has always listened to.

So just see what is actually behind this trend? Are we just running out of new material and turning to tried-and-tested sources of wisdom for new stories or are we re-uniting with our pedigree in a newfangled way, while bringing in our thoughts to what might have been? As born and brought up in this cultural country, I would  like to believe and accept our gods and heroes in a more human light. These days, younger readers prefer their heroes to have both the shades of innocence and greys, including calmness and contentedness on one hand and human passions and weaknesses along with flaws and idiosyncrasies, on the other,  in order to civilize rather than glorify them. The whole process will make the people able to understand the how and whys of mythology with a more realistic and logical approach, in preference to recognize through unquestioning compliance or fear is fascinating and is also a positive development.

Author Devdutt Pattanaik is famous for his commonsensical and straightforward portrayal of the figures in ancient wisdom, and he goes so far as to state that mythology can be used as a tool to foster better business practices. This points to an interesting transition in the place accorded to mythology in our lives – from a means of remembering what has passed, to an almost textbook-like material which is very genuine and offers us something concrete that is very applicable to our daily lives.

So give it a thought that will this continue in future as well? Are we going to have more and more wannabe authors taking to ambiguous ancient texts in a bid to make a name for themselves? In light of the success that the present ones are enjoying will bring some change in the world? Well, it depends on how skilled the versions are. For every success story, there is also a handful of books that didn’t make it big, in spite of having tried out the same basic formula. While it lasts though, let’s enjoy the kaleidoscope of insight that this genre provides!

If interested in the genre we have highlighted, then explore this genre of books available at lelobooks.com, an online bookstore in India, which includes Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana and Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel.

Tips for the online survival of your company

The companies out there which are available in the web world are seeking various strategies to promote the theme of their websites to clients. Everyone in the market is striving hard to make their presence and make a mark in the online industry. Moreover, to make a mark in the internet world to fall in the eyes of the Google and search engines. With the release of updates by Matt Cutt, Google has made it clear that it is going to eradicate old SEO strategies such as directory submissions, bookmarking and many more. Now Google is focusing on websites which have links conveying ‘quality contents’.

Google crawls those websites first which have original contents and resulting to the maximum Google searches of these websites. According to the latest trends in Google, there has been a little stress on the small and medium businesses which are available on the internet and in order to cope up with it these companies lay stress on content marketing, especially on content development, which is one of the most important reasons. When developing content for your website, make sure to highlight those points which attract the attention of Google. However, with the advancement in technology Google Matt Cutt are making things complex and convoluted for SEO professionals. It is a pretty difficult task as to make Google an acquaintance of your website and in order to be friends with Google, a website should be updated with SEO strategies.

Preserve your website with fine quality

While developing content for your website, make sure that you are not giving too much importance to your company. It will make your visitors to go away. Content on the website should have some sort of value and worth as to attract viewers. Be original and avoid the ’cliche languages’. Promote your brand image in such a way that it should interest the visitors. Give your website, such a representation that it looks different in terms of arrangement of contents. Just eradicate that content which have less value and is not worth keeping on your website. For example, if you are planning to open up an online bookstore, then you should keep in mind as not to add the products which show clichés.

Promote your website content by creating a large community

Create your brand image, which will create your market value through your website, which can be possible only by advertising and promoting contents to a large community. Moreover, in order to market your website you need to socialize the contents available on your website through the SEO techniques like valuable blogging, while making your presence in the social media. Google gives prime importance to websites that share valuable and important contents to a large community. Build a massive community through blogging, press release, articles in order to do sharing, which in result by getting active in social media networks such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, linkedin, YouTube, etc. Create and share your content by sharing it with others. In addition to this, just keep on sharing with others while commenting on others blog posts and question forums, which will keep your website contents and links active, resulting in increasing the ranking of your website. Like, just in case you have an online bookstore in India, then you can make it global and reach out to the maximum visitors and readers through these social media networks as these days people find buying books online as the best option in their busy lives for its 24*7 availability.

Keep your contents lively

You should also consider that a website should also have an option of live chat along with sharing your links on the platform such as Google Hangouts and receive feedbacks as well as comments from connected communities. Moreover, this is an advanced formula of the content marketing and it increases the chances of your contents to reach out to the maximum visitors, which in result also give a boost to the brand image of your website. With that, not to forget about commenting on the posts of others as well, only then you will be able to maintain your presence on the internet world.

Be genuine

This is the universal fact that every time you cannot be 100% original with your ideas for the content in your website. Many a time if you notice that we all elaborate or modify the without completely copying the content from other websites. Even if you are putting an idea that has been used before, make sure that it is represented in an innovative manner or else the content will lose its value and ultimately reducing the ranking. With this, I would like you to know that even if you have opened up online bookstore, the books and the content on it should be of high quality so as to make your customers convinced about buying books online from your online bookstore.

To wrap up with the things with the last word about content marketing is that it is a fast growing trend and the new updates of Google add fuel to its growth. So, just simple blogging and article submission techniques will not work out for increasing Google ranking as Google also demands innovative corporate content writing techniques.

Develop your vocabulary by surfing through Online Bookstores

Ever heard  about browsing through some online book store and improving your vocabulary? Browsing through online bookstores is an excellent technique and at the same time it will give you a chance to find  some exciting and wonderful novels and intriguing literature at your fingertips. This is one of the most innovative and entertaining way to educate and, at the same time have fun with your family members.  All you need to have is a dictionary, a thesaurus, paper and pencil or Word document, time and of course little patience and with time you will learn from books online.

With the introduction of computers and the  internet, the lives of people have become far easy  and convenient, which has changed our lives in a drastic manner. Even though libraries and brick and mortar bookstores still exists in the market, yet online book stores in India have gained their market in the current scenario as it provides great convenience and choice at a single platform.  Now, you can learn easily in the luxury of your home just by clicking your mouse. Moreover, with this online book shopping facility, now you do not need to take some time off from your busy schedules and can buy books online at any hour of the day that too without any physical effort.

Pros of surfing and learning on the web world

The bookstores available on the internet not only give you the facility of its 24*7 availability, but also allows you to find out  descriptions, the synopsis, excerpts, reviews, feed backs and editorials of almost all the publications and you can pick and choose the book required for learning. The main motive is to learn new words, their meanings and how these words can be inculcated in the sentences. Moreover, it will help the children in improvising their reading skills. This technique helps in gaining confidence in oneself as with a greater level of understanding and knowing of how to apply particular words in a sentence, only improves his writing and verbal communication skills.

The strategy

Get some time off after your work and keep yourself away from television and things which keep you occupied and distracted. Just devote your 30 minutes, on surfing through these online bookstores on your computer system. Then, further select a subject in order to browse through different sections of books such as fiction, non-fiction, horror, or children.

Now select a title and start reading the synopsis, excerpts,descriptions, and editorials in search for unusual words. Next, look up the word in the dictionary for finding out its meaning and a thesaurus for related meanings and add to the selected word in your list. Follow this process for 30 minutes every day and revise the meaning of the words regularly. This way you will have fun with learning, thus you are building your vocabulary.

The most unique part in this type of learning is to find word followed by finding its meaning and definition, you have  already stored some information about it I your mind. Further writing and revising process reinforce the thought process and with this the hard copy of your learning will always be available to you for the usage of words. Make your learning process enjoyable and be creative with it.

You can also learn  some techniques through books by experts. So, just place your order at lelobooks, a leading online bookstore in India, where you can get a wide range of books on tips on how to browse and learn simultaneously. Also avail huge discounts on various categories and genres of books. Hurry now and get your book!

Surprise your mother on Mother’s Day with token of love

It is said that a “Mother” is the unsung hero of each one of our lives. She loves unconditionally,  sacrificing everything in order to enrich the life of her offspring. Thus, showing some appreciation to our mother is the least we can do as even our lives would fall short in front of their sacrifices. Although, the appreciation towards our parents should be shown everyday of our lives, still I find it a great idea for extra appreciate my mom, this year on the special day dedicated to mothers.  I have no idea how hard yet amazing motherhood would be, but I know that it is one of the most beautiful feeling a mother possesses, and this fact gains my love and respect for my mom (and anyone out there who has ever raised a child) which is growing more and more with each passing day.

Mother’s Day is just reaching and in order to thank my mother for all the love and concern, I have decided to give a blow to the passion of my mother as she loves to read in her free time (which has become a long past) with all our responsibilities and has left her passions far behind. So, here I am dedicating this article to my very own mom and all other moms out there who loves to read with these amazing reads. Happy Mother's Day to my very own wonderful mom and all of you mamas out there!

How (Not) to Murder Your Mother by Stephanie Calman

The book has given a humorous, amusing and touching take on the mother-daughter relationship, which has been penned by bestselling author Stephanie Calman. On her complaining relationship with her mother, she comments: “We have some things in common. For example, we both make our scrambled eggs without stirring them and we’ve both dated heroin addicts. But it’s not really enough to get us through a weekend.” Present her with vigilance! Loads Of laughter! Indulge in online book shopping and surprise your mom with this special book at her doorstep.

How Not to be a Perfect Mother by Libby Purves

The book will provide you with a fresh look and will bring the process of parenting classic up-to-date for a new generation of mothers and mothers-to-be. The book will provide you with an overview of an irreverent and humorous look at the trials and tribulations of motherhood, Radio 4's Libby Purves has created an invaluable survival guide so that even the most unpromising Madonna can cope with the baby years.

The novel covers the topics such as pregnancy, preschoolers, sibling fights, fraught outings, nannies and careers. Truly an invaluable guide to be an imperfect mother and, most importantly, enjoying it.

Will raise a smile with exhausted young mothers everywhere. Available at Lelobooks, a pioneer online bookstore!

 Momnesia: A Humorous Guide to Surviving Your Post-Baby Brain by Shannon Payette Seip and Adrienne Hedger

The novel, "Momnesia" is stuffed with all sorts of laughing matter, as any new mother will find herself with the characters. New reports show that women experience absent-mindedness, including memory loss, lack of sleep, hormone overload, and an incapability to contemplate, at some stage in pregnancy and shortly after giving birth.

But this book is the perfect story of hilarious elements and is a perfect chronicle of how-to guide to help mothers retrieve their brain and conspires to extinguish a new mom's brain. For any new mum showing signs of ... forgetfulness. What rises in its place is a brain that's fuzzy, and focused only on the basics: food, poop, and sleep.  Momnesia is a sweet and funny gift that's perfect for celebrating baby showers and congratulating new moms. Buy books online and surprise your mom with this hilarious book as it is an easy win that will cajole and inspire her.

 The above mentioned books are some of the most hilarious, witty entertaining yet truthful books which will help your mother to recall her time. So, just grab your desired book for your mother from lelobooks, an online bookstore in India. Avail attractive discounts on the occasion of Mother’s Day and make your mother feel special. Hurry Now!

Tips to start an Online Business with the least resources

Ever thought of starting your business in the web world? Then, obviously you would be familiar with the advantages and benefits of having your own website, in order to establish the presence of your organization in the online world. Conversely, there might be certain factors that would be holding you back for example the potential start up costs involved, lack of knowledge or lack of time, leaving you behind with the unfulfilled dream of getting globalized through the internet world.

On the other hand, it may be possible that you might be already having a small business that is not present in the online world. Consequently, in order to create your online presence and get recognized in the global world and give a boost to your business, you need to follow certain important tips that will help you in starting your online business.

Deem over your target market

The first and the foremost step is to simply find out your target market, which means to know about the target audience of your business organization and you want to reach out to them. Moreover,  you want to make sure that you about your ideal customers. For example, do you want to target people who need help reading books  or want some information? Or maybe you want to target individuals who do not have the time for going shopping of books? Moreover, if  you do not define your target market, then your online bookstore will fade its presence in the market.

Get acquainted with your product/service

When it comes to figuring out how to open an online bookstore in India, you must know about your products and should be well informed about them. Moreover, if you are already having business running offline then you might give details about your local business, including your unique selling proposition (USP). You must also make sure that your product/service cater to the requirements of your target market. However, in order to open an online book shopping web portal, you make sure that you are passionate about it or else you would lag behind.

 Uncover an Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing is considered as a great marketing tool which is used to make money over the internet. In a brief statement, it refers the way to make money while selling the products and services of other people. The trap is to find an associate program which offers a product/service for your anticipated target market.

Create your Online Presence

After getting an affiliated program in place, you will be necessitating a website in order to make your presence and reach out to the global customers. After making your website, you can start off with social media tools and can drag more and more people towards your website. You can also create social media pages for your website like Facebook or Squidoo and can give a great start to your business.

After that you know all about how to start your online business and give a boost to it. Get ready to open up an online business of yours. There are many shopping stores which are available online such as an online mobile store, online shopping store, online bookstore etc. which may interest you and find a target market who can indulge in online book shopping and can buy books online which will lead you to success.

Book Review: If Its Not Forever Its Not Love by Durjoy Datta and Nikita Singh

These days, the market has been flooded with love sagas and at times, it creates a feeling of nausea to some while looking at the cascade of this genre of books at the stores. However, I would suggest you to not to consider this book ‘If it’s not forever, it’s not love’ by Durjoy Dutta in the category of those stereotypes mushy love stories and has been given a sensitive angle to the story by presenting the protagonist as a bomb blast victim striving to achieve salvation. As the title of the book suggests, the story celebrates true platonic love in the most enchanting form. The book has been penned by young writers and the story has been narrated in such a way that youth relates themselves with it.

When speaking about its performance, I would like to mention that it has been ranked as No. 8 by Hindustan Times in today's edition. The publisher of 5 bestsellers, Durjoy Dutta has an average fan base of 1,50,000 readers and Nikita Singh, the co-writer of the novel has 2 best sellers to her credit and has done an excellent job with her third literary work.

The story and narration of the book puts in the initial pages a sense of tension and trauma of Deb, which will give you a ray of hope, of the arrival of something fresh in the upcoming pages.there has been some funny element in the book which makes it more interesting to read. In addition, there are some jokes, I would rather refer them as PJ’s, which actually wins. This time, the authors have described the love story of Deb and Avantika in a different style and have portrayed the consequences of getting addicted to drugs is perfectly drafted, which interests me the most.  In particular, 202nd page made me jump off my bed.

When talking in detail about the writing style of Durjoy Dutta, he is trademarked for the too much sex elements in his books. However, his last book, You were my crush made me to think and buy this book as it had only story and this time no sex.

The book opens up with a scene of the bomb blast and the narrator of the story encounters it on his way to the office.  This time, the author has put in an emotional story and has related the story to what happens to the people in the picture. The central plot gave me a picture of the Tamil Movie Engeyum Eppothum, which dealt with the lives of people getting stuck in a bus accident.

The protagonist of the story, Deb, one fine morning goes to his office and on his way, he encounters, where he gets stuck with a bomb blast. Though nothing happens to him, he gets disturbed by the scenes around him. After a few days of shock, he again visits the blast site and finds a diary.

He reads the diary and gets engrossed with the story of the dead man and his romantic life. The diary is burnt at the ends and hence the ending is yet to discover. So, he sets out to find the story along with his girlfriend Avantika, friend Shrey and his crazy girlfriend, Tiya. The journey makes them travel all across India and in the process, they learn a lot about human characteristics and behavior. The story is crazy in nature and engrossed me with the word ‘Indirect Expenses’ from his MBA. What they find about the so called dead man and his life forms the rest of the story.

The book is just amazing read and is a good time pass. If you want to make your weekend an enjoyable one, then just place your order at lelobooks, an online bookstore in India and get it at your doorstep, as online book shopping will help you to get your products in the comfort of your home. 

Book Review: "The Vijay Mallya story" by K. Giriprakash

K. Giriprakash, the author of this great novel, which is no less than an epic sis the Chief of Bureau of The Hindu Business Line. He has been tracing Kingfisher for long fifteen years and has come out with his chronicle over Mallyas.

The book ‘The Vijay Mallya Story’ is an extraordinarily comprehensive and a vivacious chronicle of the life of one of most prominent and celebrated businessmen, The Vijay Mallya. The book has veiled the life span of this prominent personality along with that it showcases his amazing career spans three decades and is spread across multiple industries.The book covers childhood of Vijya Mallya’s childhood, his relationship with his father and his innate deal making capabilities. It tracks his spectacular rise with Kingfisher and how the airline led to his downfall.

 

K. Giriprakash has closely observed the career of Vijay Mallya over the last two decades, which has provided him with a unique advantage to draw an extraordinary portrayal of a this great personality who has fascinated every other man in the country.

Vijay Mallya, an industrialist, owner of I-League Team: East Bengal and Mohun Bagan A.C. and owner of IPL Team: Royal Challengers Banglore,  a member of India’s parliament.  He has many successful ventures in his hat. The book narrated by K. Giriprakash accounts an interesting and captivating phase of life of this King of Good Times. The author has well researched about his subject, which is no less than a business tycoon. The author has also described in detail the consequences which led Mallya’s company to failure as he bought bought Air Deccan with his eyes closed. His team never went through the books of the loss making Air Deccan before Mallya agreed to buy it for a total consideration of Rs 1000 crore in 2007. At least that is what the book, called "The Vijay Mallya story" suggests.

The book further states that Kingfisher was a gift to son Siddharth Mallya on his eighteenth birthday on May 7, 2005. And no one - not even the lenders, who were dubious, not other airline veterans nor close associates - would persuade against Mallya senior from taking the thrust.The book also has some hilarious illustrations, some of which expose appalling woolgathering and negligence to details. There is also the incorporation of the reasons which show why Vijay Mallya was never going to succeed in the airline business. In this book Giriprakash tries to sketch the man called Mallya. Mallya's most daring and also the most blunder-some venture has been Kingfisher Airlines, which stopped flying in 2012, with huge debts to banks, months of outstanding salary to employees and scarce hope of the airline ever bracing. Now, even the there was a time when Kingfisher Airlines reminded the toast of wealthy Indians who found never-before quality of service and class with the airline. Now, it only reminds one of unpaid employees, some of the largest Indian banks clueless about how to recover their moolah and an airline which has become redundant.

Was Mallya the only one who did blunder and took Kingfisher Airlines down? Or was the aviation business, with its huge overheads, thin margins and heavy Government taxation anyway a recipe for disaster? Did his buying action dilapidated Deccan Aviation prove to be the last nail in the Kingfisher coffin? Giriprakash has narrated many illustrations of how the airline was actually started on a whim, why and how it began to falter along the way, even as its service levels remained high and why it finally had to shut down.

Before reading this book have a look at memorable snippets from the book:

** Air hostesses delayed meals, not all passengers on a flight got to eat!

By 2010, apart from other problems, caterers were unwilling to supply meals on some flights because of non-payment by Kingfisher. "They supplied fewer food packets, which meant that not all passengers got meals, especially during late evening flights. On such occasions, the passengers had demanded that the pilot gives them an explanation in person. The air hostesses were trying their best to manage the situation. On some occasions, they would deliberately delay serving the meals so that not all passengers got them".

** Mallya did not check Air Deccan's books before buying!

"Gopinath told a reporter later that what impressed him about Mallya was how badly he wanted the airline and how swiftly he had moved to bag the deal. When some reporter asked him whether that meant the deal had been made without any due diligence or checking the balance sheet, Captain Gopinath replied that it was true that during the negotiations, neither Mallya nor his officials ever asked to examine the books. They took Captain Gopinath's assurances at face value because they were eager to go through with the deal".

** Not just Mallya, even SBI did no due diligence before lending!

"In order to meet huge expenses which the airline incurred for paying high salaries and building swanky offices, Mallya had started borrowing from several banks (including the government owned State Bank of India), some of which extended the loan without adequate collateral. It looked as if some of the banks had extended loan to the airline based on Mallya's popularity and charisma rather than the real worth of the airline. When the airline started defaulting on repayment, some of the banks had very little as collateral to fall back upon".

To conclude, Giriprakash points out the obvious reasons about Mallya had everyone rooting for him when he began Kingfisher, ultimately squandered away this immense goodwill. The author says:

1) Mallya should have had a professional CEO running the airline instead of taking all decisions himself (CEO was first appointed only in late 2010)

2) What further alienated him from his friends in the corporate sector as well as political circles was a display of wealth when hundreds of Kingfisher employees had not been paid salaries for months Both these criticisms seem justified.

Get this book and unravel the life story of this prominent personality who, after gathering much goodwill, has squandered away all due to his negligence and blunders he made in his career span that led to his venture’s downfall. Avaliable at lelobooks, leading online bookstore in India and also avail attractive discounts. Buy books online and get them at your doorstep. 

Book Review: How Not To Make Money by Raj Kundra

Rajasthan Royals' co-owner and controversial British-Indian businessman Raj Kundra, who is also famed as the husband of the Bollywood personality Shilpa Shetty.  The author was heard being surrounded by the IPL 6 spot-fixing controversy has set up his literary debut with How Not To Make Money in 2013. Published in October 2013by Random House India, How Not To Make Money is a gripping thriller based on true events tracing the story of three childhood friends - Jai, Mike and Aziz. These three leading characters are three childhood friends who grew up in London together. The two of them, Jai and Mike are smugglers and the third, Aziz is a corporate lawyer, who attempts to help his friends and devise a foolproof scheme to get rich in the shortest possible time.

The book covers the story and scheme and has mentioned an undetectable, fool proof scam, for the boys to become rich. With the laid plans by the third leading character of the novel who is a lawyer, the boys had not counted on a few bumps along the way in the form of the intrepid fraud investigator who picks up on their trail, and Pam, the femme fatale whose sari blouses leave less to the imagination than bikinis, who has her eye set firmly on Jai. Knowing you have to risk it big to make it big, the boys put everything on the line in this high-speed thrill ride of a novel. But will they come out laughing or are they walking into a trap?

Kundra Stated about the book that it is based on his research on the Missing Trader Fraud that deprived governments in the UK and Europe of billions of euros in the early 2000s. The book also involves the main feature of taking advantage of the complex norms by which value-added tax (VAT) is levied and claimed by traders in European countries.

"How Not to Make Money will release only in India now, and Random House will see how it does before releasing it in other countries," said Kundra, who is being represented by New York and London-based literary agency Regal Literary.

My Take

Raj Kundra has done an impressive job with his literary debut. I wouldn’t say that the book is excellent or a trend-setter in Indian literature, but is undoubtedly strong enough for people to read it out and notice him as an author.  The genre – thriller chosen by him is lacking finesse, which need to be improved as to render it a fascinating end product and to quite an extent he has managed to do that. I did not like the usage of cuss words for I believe they are a huge turn off for a like me. The story is undoubtedly a page turner and edge of the seat thriller. The narration is too bumpy at few points, but it altogether makes it an enjoyable and funny read. Surely a one time read! Available at lelobooks, an online bookstore so just grab your book by purchasing online books and get your favorite books at your doorstep.