What credibility does Mr Rahul Gandhi, a leading light of the Indian National Congress (INC) and scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family have? At 50, the “youth icon” has never been a Minister in a State or Union Cabinet. But he is a law unto himself! All his power stems from who he is by virtue of his birth. That he ( born in 1970) publicly tore up an ordinance, in 2013 shaming the Congress-led Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ( born in 1932) speaks for itself. Continue reading “Credibility Is The Name Of The Game”
Author: Prem Rao
Author, Blogger, Book Reviewer, Coach, and Podcaster
Speaking of my school days, you will find a number of posts of my life as a school boy in my old blog, “Looking At Life”. I don’t use that much anymore, having consolidated all my writing and blogging work in this website/blog.
A few recent events flooded my mind with many memories of my days at School. For us ” School” meant The Lawrence School, Lovedale, where I studied from 1959 to 1967.
The first was the recent passing away of Mr N S Selvapackiam. The second was the return to Facebook of Mr V M Mohanraj. The third was, in these days of Covid19 and Lockdown, the creation of an on-line Virtual School Assembly by some enthusiastic Old Lawrencians like Kartik Raghava Murty and Gul Panag. Continue reading ““Looking At Life” My Days At School”
I am so happy and proud that I was involved in the writing of an informal history of my Alma Mater, The Lawrence School, Lovedale. It was Wing Commander Joseph Thomas, VM, IAF retired, 10 years my senior at School, who first spoke to me about this endeavor. He introduced me to Nitya Cherian Matthai and Thomas George, both then on the School Staff who had access to the rich treasures of the School archives.
Nitya Cherian Matthai ( Class of 1977) flanked by Wg Cdr Joseph Thomas VM IAF (Retd ) Class of 1957) and Prem Rao ( Class of 1967). Picture by Beena Belliappa (Class of 1970).
Continue reading “Two Lovedale Stalwarts: Mr Prince & Mr Matthai.”
I had heard about Twinkle Khanna of course. I knew she was the daughter of famous parents both from the Indian film industry: India’s very first super star, Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, of “Bobby” fame. She was a film actress herself. More recently, I knew of her as the wife of a major modern day film hero, Akshay Kumar. But I was biased, I confess, like many of my generation. In our days, we never associated Hindi film stars with writing books! Continue reading ““Mrs Funnybones” by Twinkle Khanna”
At times, writers are struck with that age old dampener: the writer’s block! It feels almost as if you have hit a dead end running! The thoughts don’t flow, the words don’t come out as effortlessly as they used to. In short, you are irritable and frustrated.
The fascinating thing about writing, like many other walks of life, is that what works for one author need not work for another. Some are morning people. To be at their best they need to be up and about early . A famous management consultant and writer once told me that he gets more done between 4.30 a.m to 7.30 a.m. than he does in the rest of the day.
Others may prefer working late at night. For these owls, the quiet of the night is the time they pound out the words while the world is seemingly asleep. Continue reading “Fighting Writer’s Block”
To most in my generation, the story of the RMS Titanic is not so much associated with a book as with James Cameron’s blockbuster movie of 1997. However, even as kids we had read about the mighty Titanic and how she met her end in 1912 on her very first voyage. You will know, I am sure, that her end came when she crashed against an iceberg in the ice cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Over 1500 went down with her. Though this accident took place over 100 years ago, it still continues to fascinate those interested in such stories. Continue reading ““Titanic: The Story Of The Unsinkable Ship” by Hourly History”
If you are from India or have followed events in India wherever you are in the world, the very mention of 1984 is bound to bring back horrific memories. You will probably remember the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi, India’s then Prime Minister, and the consequent massacre of the Sikhs, especially in and around New Delhi, the nation’s capital. Many books have been written about this tragic incident in our country’s history. In my view, “1984: India’s Guilty Secret” by Pav Singh (published by Rupa, 2017) is, one that lays bare what actually happened in just four days that year. Pav Singh is based in the UK and spent a full year in India researching material for this book Continue reading ““1984: India’s Guilty Secret” by Pav Singh”
Have you noticed that generally you cannot talk about Israel without the Mossad coming into the conversation? So deep has Mossad- the Israeli Secret Service – caught the imagination of people all over the world in its six decades of existence since its inception in 1949. Michael Bar-Zohar, (a veteran of many wars for Isreal, with an in depth knowledge of the espionage industry, and a close aide to the legendary David Ben Gurion) and Nissim Mishal, (an eminent TV personality in Israel) have collaborated to write, “Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service” . Continue reading ““Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service” by Bar-Zohar & Mishal”
Mr J Bernard West spent most of his working life in the most prestigious address in the United States, if not in the whole world. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, popularly known as the White House is the official residence of possibly the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States of America. Continue reading ““Upstairs At The White House” by J B West”
I have been an admirer and keen follower of Osprey Publishing as they have published many books relating to a period in history which has always fascinated me, namely World War II. Winston Churchill immortalized the fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force in 1940 during the Battle of Britain. In his inimitable style, Churchill said, ” Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” The RAF pilots came to be known as The Few. Continue reading ““To Defeat The Few” by Douglas C. Dildy & Paul F. Crickmore”
