Scammed

Title:           SCAMMED Confessions of a Confused Accountant

Author:        Anonymous

Price:           INR. 175/- (Available for INR. 131/- @ Flipkart)

Publication: Silverfish Westland

Hitesh Shah is one of those employees who have a lot to show as far as work is concerned but when it comes to achievements, they have one thing to show, disappointment. Ridiculed by colleagues for being a nerd, exploited by boss, rebuked by parents & ignored by the fairer sex, Hitesh’s life is at a point where nothing is going good for him.

And then his fortune turns, an assignment here & a chance meeting there and he is facing the biggest opportunity of his life. He gets a job offer to lead a business venture suggested by him to a sleazy businessman with political connections. Grabbing the offer he goes full on to utilise his advantage. He moves out of his parents’ home, buys a pad for himself, manages to hitch on with a beautiful model, succeeds in his venture & gets featured in all major business magazines and then begins the downfall.

He is accused of a financial scam which snowballs into humongous proportions. The police is behind is life, media is against him & he the poster boy of new age businessman is the most convenient scapegoat that the politicians are staring at.

Can he survive the fall?

Or rather is he really innocent?

And if he is, can he prove it?

Or will he become another success story which had gone wary?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

One of those typical contemporary Indian writing, this book is a quick read. The author who wishes to stay anonymous has used enough tricks to keep you glued. The writing is lucid and twists n thrills aplenty. There is no dull moment in the book and makes for an interesting read.

There were questions in my mind about the speed with which an ugly duckling turns into a swan but I ignored them, yes the same Bollywood logic of ignoring logic. The reason why this book works despite this flaw is because there is a bit of reality in the book.

A rare corporate thriller from Indian Contemporary Writing camp surely makes it a must read for people who love the genre of fast paced books.

My Rating 3/5

Home Search Chronicle Part III - This one is for the Brokers

Yes am back with the series, you can read the Part I & Part II here n here

As you all are aware that while we were searching for a flat to buy we were also looking out for a rented apartment. Due to the horror stories that we had heard about & based on our own experience we did not want to go through a broker. A word was passed to all our friends, colleagues & I was keeping an eye on our internal office magazine. My hubby & father in law took on the daunting task of visiting all the societies near our home.

Luckily my FIL’s search struck gold and we were informed of an apartment available in the vicinity and that too through a man who was a neighbour of the owner. We were happy. Negotiations were on and we went to check out the flat. The owner was not there but this guy showed us the flat and towards the end muttered to my FIL, “I will take one month’s rent”. Needless to say my FIL was shocked. See, we were always under the impression that this guy was doing a good deed but the fact that he had interest in the whole affair came as a surprise to us. Anyways the deal finally didn’t work out and our stay also got extended for some months.

Couple of months later when it was again time to move my hubby contacted the same guy. You must be wondering why we contacted him when we knew he was a broker. We thought that at the end of the day the guy looked genuine & was doing his job only. Upon contacting him he showed us as an apartment which was fitting well with all our needs. Rent was reasonable; we would have stayed in the same where we were staying & though there were some compromises which we had to make in the house but we decided to give some advance and seal the deal.

And then began the game of brokerage. This guy demanded 2 months’ rent as unlike the normal practice of one month rent. My husband bargained asking him to settle for 1.5 month’s brokerage & to get the rent reduced accordingly. This guy reverted to us a day later and confirmed that the deal is ok and my hubby promised that next day he will hand over an advance to him.

Next day he went to give him the money but he requested my hubby to come the next day. So next day he goes there again only to find another broker with this broker. Yes, one pe one free types. Now, this guy was a rude one, he again started bargaining over the brokerage but my hubby stuck his ground and asked these two buggers to settle amongst themselves. Needless to say they had a heated argument after which the new broker barged my hubby with things like, “you will have to come tomorrow for police verification (next day was Friday), you need to pay the brokerage in cash only and the same goes about the deposit.”

If I have to sum up his attitude it was as like, “you pay me the brokerage & deposit but the headache of a police verification, agreement signing and all is yours but you should do it as per my convenience and time. And you have to listen to me because I am the one with the keys.” Hubby was agitated and they finally settled to finish the formalities on Saturday afternoon.

Friday morning we get a call from the broker with whom we had been interacting informing us that the deal stands cancelled as the owner has given the flat to someone else. When my hubby protested on the unfairness of the scenario all he said was “I know sir that this is not done but this is how it is and nothing is in my hands.”

To say that we were angry would be an understatement. We were in a happy space that we have found a house and everything is settled but this was a jolt which brought us back to square one. What was more infuriating was the premise of the whole deal. I mean you are at the mercy of the shoddy brokers and you cannot say anything at all. It takes a call for them to cancel deals on their whims & fancy leaving us stranded in the process.

There are many examples of the arrogant attitude that the brokers show. For example my hubby was inquiring about a particular society when this slimy looking guy entered the scene. With gelled & back combed hair this guy looked straight out of a C Grade Bollywood movie but attitude unmatchable. The price he quoted for his flat was 1 crore. Ha! And that was a shoddy society. His justification was “this is what I take & I am not bothered about what facts you present. If you can, take it at this price but don’t expect me to bow down.”

Unfortunately in Mumbai the rent or purchase price is not decided by the condition of the property but three factors

• Location
• Location &
• Location

So if your flat is in an area which is in the vicinity of all amenities (read local train station, nearness to city & malls) you can charge the running rate despite the fact that your flat might be in a dilapidated state and if by good fortune your flat is in a good condition then you have the license to ask for the upper limit of the running bandwidth of rent. Unfair? Read on.

My husband was talking to a colleague who stayed in the same area

Hubby: Do you know any flat in this area? We are interested in buying one.

Colleague: Hmmmm…. Let me think

And he walks off only to come back some 10 mins later.

C: I have a flat there & I was thinking of selling it off.

H: Oh where?

And the colleague tells him the specifics and the society turns out to be one of those old dilapidated ones.

H: What is the price that you are expecting?

C: 80 Lakhs!

H: What? But that is the rate for the big towers with all the amenities.

C: See, this is the rate of the locality. As it is this building will be coming up for redevelopment and you will get a good return.

Husband was left speechless.

I mean WTH! You want to sell what is yours at an inflated price because you feel that the buyer might benefit later so why to leave my pound of flesh???

Totally unfair but this is how the Mumbai real estate functions. Buyers are at the mercy of builder/ broker. The deal can be cancelled by the later if the former fails to pay on time but nobody can say anything to them if they are at fault. Infuriating no? I mean we shell out our hard earned money but have no control over the final product.

Sometimes I feel where has the conscience factor gone?? People have become heartless as far as money is concerned. They are concerned with their profit, nothing more and nothing less than that. This is one sector which is full of crooks and I am yet to meet a broker who I feel I can trust. These cheats sound so convincing and helpful when on phone, they will have JUST the apartment that you want & in your budget but once you meet them ha! The dream apartment was just taken away, why don’t you see this one? Sir, this is the best one, better than what you were wanting, ya price is a little higher but sir see na, the location is fantastic, & the builder is good.

WTH!!!

Will finish this post with this incident

A friend received an SOS call from her broker requesting them to rush to a spot; he had JUST the house for them. My friend dropped everything and went there & her husband came out from work. When they met the broker he was standing in front of the building in question and said, “Ma’am this is the building and see it is in front of Sri Devi’s house.”

My friend said, ok! But can we see the flat now?

Broker: Err! The owner is not there right now so we cannot see the flat, but Madam, see the location it is right in front of Sri Devi’s house.

My friend was about to blow out and asked him, “If the owner was not there why did you call us so urgently?”

Broker says, Ma’am! I wanted you to see the location.

And I rest my case…..

More to follow on the series...

Where the Bulbul Sings

Title:       Where the Bulbul Sings

Author:   Serena Fairfax

Price:      INR. 645/- (Avlbl for 613/- at Flipkart)

Publication: Cinnamonteal Publishing
 

Set in the last days of British Raj, Where the Bulbul Sings is the story of three generations of an Anglo Indian family. Hermie, a headstrong Anglo Indian girl, feels that the small town of Ajeemkot, where she stays with her parents isn’t enough for her to fulfil her dreams. She decides to move to Delhi in hope to find a rich British man and a way to move to her home, Britain.

Life however isn’t as rosy as it seems from far, she struggles, takes up the job of a nanny to make ends meet. Along the way she meets Edith, a German who was exiled from her country during the world war. Two become friends for life.

Having turned her back from family, Hermie could however not serve her ties from her mother and her illness makes her take a profession which gives her a past that she must hide at any cost. Riding over all the difficulties in her life Hermie manages to woe a Britisher & gets married to him. She keeps her past hidden even hiding the fact that she is an Anglo Indian, not that her husband couldn’t guess it.

Life moves on, her husband passes away, she was leading a tranquil life when past catches upon her. A past which has a love child, a niece & the danger of her carefully crafted image of being a memsahib questioned.

And then there are the side stories of Edith, HH (the Prince of Walipur), his wife, Son Rahul, Hermie’s niece Kay which keep the story going.

What happens further in the story is for you to read.

My Verdict

Covering an era, this book moves at its own pace, detailing the life & times of Hermie. A little slow in the beginning the book catches upon my fancy when it enters the present era. Though I enjoyed the book but when it comes to reviewing it somehow I am unable to writing anything great here, I wonder why.

*Spoiler Alert*

My only issue with the book was the misleading blurb at the back of the book. When you read the blurb you feel some major drama is about to happen or some earth shattering confrontations will happen but the whole opening up of the secret & the wrapup thereafter is is just so lame.

*Alert ends*

That said the book makes an interesting read and gives us a peek into the world & psyche of Anglo Indians. How they felt when they were considered as poor cousins of Brits and how they fared after India became independent. It also gives us a peek into their culture & ways. A well written book without major fuss and drama, worth a read.

My Rating 2.75/5

Overwinter

Title:         Overwinter

Author:     Ratika Kapur

Price:        INR. 495/-

Publisher: Hachette India

Edition:     Hardback

Ketaki has had a volatile relationship with men. Ranging from having a solely lustful relationship with a guy called Krishna to a purely platonic one with Adil. Not that she has never been a stable relationship, she was once living-in with a guy called Lara when she was based abroad. But it was one man who dominated her life & relationships, her uncle Deepak and when he meets an accident and slips into coma, her life comes to a halt.

In between trying to get a reaction out of her indifferent Massi (Deepak uncle’s wife), to fielding matrimonial alliances from her Mamaji & handling her own emotional turmoil over the health of her uncle, her hands are full. To make matters worse her father comes down from New York and drops a bomb on her by revealing a well-kept family secret. A secret which not only makes her question her relationship with her uncle but gives her a reason for the indifferent attitude that her Massi has towards her husband.

Will Ketaki be able to break over the wall that her Massi has created around her?

Will she be able to get answers to the questions which keep moving around her mind?

Will manage to get into a stable relationship despite the instability that she has seen around her?

Read the book to know more.

My Verdict

Set in Delhi this book is a volatile read. Ranging from being dark, contemplative, introspective the book has many emotions. The author doesn’t give too much emphasis on the past but its shadow never leaves the book. Delhi has been portrayed quite well in the book but unlike her contemporaries the author’s portrayal of the city is quite subtle.

I loved the book for the way the emotions & mental trauma has been handled. There is no major confrontation, no hohallah but you can feel the turmoil each character is going through.

A must read book about how human emotions can be manipulated with and how just far man can go to fulfil his/ her whims and desires. The best part about it is that is not judgmental, the author leaves it on the reader to decide what is right or wrong, all she does is narrating a story and I must say well narrated. We need more such writings to take Indian Fiction forward.

My rating 4/5

P.S. The book was Longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2010