Tushar Mangl

Sharath Komarraju's book Tree Bears Witness was released last month and I just copy last evening. Liked it so much, I finished it in a single sitting. So what's the book all about? Emperor Akbar has just married the Rajput princess Hira Kunwari and one of the wedding guests ends up dead. The man, Sujjamal is also the princess's favorite brother but disliked by most of the party. That he is found dead in mysterious circumstances in his own palace could have serious implications on the political and personal life of the King.  Himself a suspect, the King turns to his favorite and reliable courtier, Birbal to solve this mystery. Even for the witty Birbal, this is a challenge. For, the garden in which murder happened, the two guards on duty have different versions to tell. The murderer simply vanished into thin air.  Everyone from the King to the cousins of the dead man, to King's half-brother. Motives aplenty but how the murder was done, remains elusiv...

DLF 5 and Tasting India Symposium recently organized an evening session with a featured talk with the great Madhur Jaffrey (the global first lady of Indian cuisine) and Kaveree Bamzai, the reputed editor of Robb India.                                                     It was 8. 15 by the time I reached the famed DLF Country and Golf Club, the venue of the talk. The courteous staff at the place welcomed me into a meet and greet party. The guests were all assembling, sampling some fine wine and Indian starters. I met people I knew, circulated around and saw Kaveree and Madhur sitting in a corner, talking. A friend and I debated to intrude or not, but eventually, we just went ahead to introduce ourselves. And like good fans requested a photograph for memory which was so graciously permitted, that it left us truly humbled.        ...

I know I haven't been writing too often and 2017 was just a dull year on the writing front. I finished with Hey Honey Bunch last year this time, and haven't written anything exciting ever since.  The year is passing by and it's almost over.  It has been a good year as far as workshops which I have conducted, which have been quite well received and I have met many warm people in due course and I swear, when they write back to show their new blogs or any positive feedback, it softens my heart and touches my mind too. Now that I want to focus back on my writings, I might cut down on the workshops. Let's see where the path leads to. On the personal front, like I wrote above, met loads of new and awesome people this year, especially over workshops and due socializing. We introverts are a sad minority which no one wants to acknowledge or accept. It is like you are afflicted with a disease and everyone should feel sorry for it. Still, to go out and come across so...

Olive Bistro at Cyber Hub in Gurgaon has been serving top-notch Italian food for long. It has plenty of space at the corner of the Amphitheatre side, right on the first floor. The ambiance is perfect with an option of spacious outdoor as well as indoor seating. The staff and service is par excellence. I even met chef Jeevan who manages the kitchen and ensures quality and tasty food. Especially the desserts. I think desserts are the chief highlights of their menu. The Godfather is their signature dish which comes in a cool looking pet jar which holds one of the best Italian Tiramisu's you would have had. Mr. Chocolatius is the thing for all chocolate lovers, this is a chocolate fondant with a rich fudge as a center and comes with a scoop of ice cream. The dash of blueberry sauce just adds to the rich flavor. The sizzlers are new addition to the menu and frankly they do not live up to the lofty expectations. The other items on the menu are still way better...

Chaayos recently celebrated their fifth birthday and crossed the 50 outlets milestone. One of the highlights of their success is to successfully innovate their menus with changing of a season. With the monsoon menu now retiring out, I recently went to taste their brand new winter menu. The menu consisted of many superb items, including Gur Wali Chai Gur Wali Chai, is your normal tea with jaggery added instead of sugar. The consistency of tea and preparation is perfect as always. Paneer Bhurji Bun Paneer Bhurji Bun, reminded me of home. Cottage cheese scrambled and prepared well and spread over a bun. Chicken Cutlet The best way to start the meal. I had The best way to start the meal. Little spicy to my taste, but those who like spicy stuff, especially in winters this is a great snack. Chicken Keema Loaded Open Parantha The open paranthas are the highlight of Chaayos menu. They are crisp, tasty and base just fades back to let the toppings ...

Borderline personality disorder has been the theme of many books but Shabri Prasad Singh brings out a fresh perspective to it with an intriguing story, mostly based on reality.  It is a woman's emotional journey through the borderline disorder and the emotional upheaval it causes.  Borderline is about life of Amrita Srivastava. It is the journey of her mentality, her being and her soul. The book begins with Amrita's backdrop, her birth and family history. It shows the basic settings of a tender close knit family and how the family breaks apart due to a terrible divorce which impacts Amrita mentally. Thereon Amrita is fully reliant on her father and she worships him. Upon moving to America for further studies Amrita falls in love, due to her dependence and growing insecurities, the relationship does not work. Amrita comes to India on a holiday only to find her father dead the next morning. This turn of life shatters her everlastingly. She cannot move pa...

On the occasion of the World COPD Day, I visited an initiative by renowned air purifier company, Blueair. At Cyber Hub Gurgaon, the company set up a home experience zone with its entire range of air purifiers which is quite huge. COPD is basically Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Air pollution is a major health and environmental problem today. People with respiratory problems, especially children are quite at risk. The levels of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 have serious health implications such as asthma, bronchitis, chronic respiratory symptoms including, shortness of breath etc. Leading doctors and environmentalists, educated people at the event and urged them to take steps to control and combat pollution. I also met, Mr. Arvind Chabra, who is the country head, Blueair India. he emphasised the need of recognising indoor pollution which is way hazardous than outdoor pollution. Because of the simple fact that we spend most of our times indoors than outdoors and that in...