The alarming rise in ‘teen’ crimes have encouraged me to look at my role as a parent in a new light. There is no denying that prevention and awareness are only sure ways to keep our children safe. But over-protecting our children or forcing them to stay away from the world is no way going to ensure that they stay safe.
In the years gone by, TV shows like Saavdhan India and Gumrah have helped spread awareness and also alertness about the crimes happening around us. Though I am not a big fan of watching such shows, but my family does watch them and we discuss the cases often to stay cautious in our day to day lives.
Recently, I chanced upon the book “Gumrah – 11 Short Teen Crime Stories” by Ira Trivedi. The blurb on the back of the book read:
“…if we are not careful about who we trust, we could be used or even harmed.”—Chetan Bhagat, from the Foreword
Drawn from real-life events, and based on a popular tele-series Gumrah by Star India Pvt. Ltd this book holds tales revolving around adolescent crime, deceit, treachery and bad judgement. In ‘Soulmate’, a case of sibling rivalry leads to disastrous consequences, while in ‘Heartbreak’, the dark side of the nicest of people is exposed. ‘Naaz’ reveals how cultural differences can sometimes lead to danger and ‘Double MMS’ shows a college girl’s stabs at popularity going horribly awry.
Written by bestselling author Ira Trivedi, Gumrah: 11 Short Teen Crime Stories is a must-read, with every story revealing the consequences of wrong choices. Like the show, the message of the book, aimed especially at the younger generation, is: ‘Be aware, be prepared, be safe!’
While watching crime TV shows with their sensationalism and often gory graphics I am often left panic struck or at best avoiding watching these with a kid in the house. I was fascinated by the idea of getting to read the stories from the popular series as a book.
I was well aware that Channel V’s intriguing ‘teen’ crime tele series, Gumrah- The End of Innocence had stunned the nation and astonished viewers with real-life thought-provoking youth crimes. That had taken my interest in reading the book based on it, notches higher.
The book cover has a picture of a pain-struck, depressed, troubled teen sitting in the centre of tracks painted in blood-red conveying the crime theme of the book well. The book opens with a foreword from Chetan Bhagat underlining the importance of the fact that there is no definite set of rules that one can follow to remain safe, and yet enjoy a good social life.
The stories, as promised, reveal the consequences of wrong choices made by the teens in a variety of scenarios. All eleven of them tap on a different problem and the most important similarity in them is the fact that it takes just one moment of weakness to make someone go ‘Gumrah’.
Each of the eleven stories are written in a simple, easy to understand language fit to be read by parents and teenagers with equal ease, facilitating understanding the circumstances well. The narrative is engaging and the book makes for a breezy read but every story leaves the reader with a view to help teens differentiate between perception and reality of the real world. The beauty of the book lies in the fact that it avoids a documentary approach keeping the narrative interesting throughout.
The book however fails in delving deeper into analysing the situations in a way that the reader (especially the children reading the book) could see how the situations could have been handled better or in a more sensible way in the given circumstances.
In more than one story where the perpetrator of the crime has been shown to narrate from a mental asylum the one notion that rises commonly is that such crimes are committed by those suffering from mental ailments. Those are the moments where I cringe because though there is no denying that a criminal mind can never be thought of as normal, but who possess it is not written on people’s faces.
These kids who are now criminals were once just like any other child of their age. I would have appreciated focus on areas (or at least a mention of the areas) where the parents or families of these children could have acted differently to change the course of events.
There is no denying that most of the stories are chilling, gruesome and even horrific but they make for an important read for parents and young adults to give them a scoop of the reality of the world we live in.
The stories shall stay with me for a long time because they’ve been drawn from real life incidents, they’ll serve as a constant reminder of not making the same mistake of not letting my child be made aware of such happenings around us.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading short crime stories and especially all parents and teenagers because this book is more about being prepared for the unknown dangers lurking in known people around us.
About the Author – Ira Trivedi is the best-selling author of four books, most recently of India in Love, a seminal work of non-fiction on India s social revolution and sexual violence. She has been called one of India s most important youth voices. She recently won the UK media award for her story on bride trafficking and was honoured at the House of Lords in England.
That’s a great review. I would love to read the book but I agree that it’s important to share what led to a criminal behaviour – was it a troubled childhood, abusive family or something else.
Each story does briefly talk about the sequence of events that led to the crime but doesn’t go beyond to analyse how a teenager could have acted differently in the given scenario. Being impulsive, driven by peer pressure and lacking in experience and maturity, young adults reading the book need to see these heinous acts in a guided view than just being told this is wrong or right.
Same here, I too tend to freak out watching such shows. And to me the written word always has a lasting impact, I’d recommend you to give this book a shot for general awareness 🙂
Someday when I can muster the courage to read them, since reading can be more traumatising as per my experience, I will definitely pick up this book.
I agree reading can have a lasting impact but this book is written keeping young readers in mind therefore the narration is rather simple and to the point.
I have little patience with the shows though I do see the importance of raising awareness about sensitive teen issues. Most of the shows only serve to sensationalise the episode. I like what you said in your review. A deeper understanding of how/why things happen or why kids behave the way they do would of course be useful.
I totally agree with you. The sensationalism inspires me to avoid all reality shows & crime shows. But, reading books like these every now and then do give me a needed dose of things to be extra cautious about.
That’s a great review! But it sounds like a deeper analysis of the motives and strategies for dealing with situations would have been good additions. Also, mental health issues do not always equate crime – if the book portrays that (as it seems to from your review) that is quite a fallacy.
It rather hints that criminals on many occasions suffer from undiagnosed or left untreated mental disorders. All criminals mentioned in these stories are juveniles who were sent to correction centres but many amongst them needed treatment in mental asylums to help them recuperate and understand the gravity of their heinous crimes.
Your review inspires me to read but to be frank, I dont like to read stuff that tends to leave me feeling said.. But then, these things are a reality and have to be accepted. I think, I will get hold of this book.
I totally agree with you Archana. I too used to shy away from books like these but have changed after realisation dawned over me that perhaps reading these isn’t as disturbing as watching the TV shows slathered with sensationalism.
When singer/songwriter Pat Terry takes the stage, he brings his history with him. Those who followed Pat’s music in the seventies and early eighties will recognize the songs that blazed a trail for the new and rapidly growing Christian Music genre.
Country music fans may be familiar with the songs he authored throughout the nineties for other artists like Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, Sammy Kershaw, and Kenny Chesney. Indeed, the last 35 years have been quite a trip for a songwriter who credits
The Beatles 1964 appearance on the Ed Sullivan show as the initial catalyst for his desire to make music. Six years after that British invasion, a new found Christian faith added another layer to Terry’s creative direction and was reflected in the work that followed.
Starting in 1973, Terry wrote and recorded six albums with his own Pat Terry Group, one of the pioneer groups of the first wave of the then fledgling Contemporary Christian Music genre. Several of his songs from that era became CCM standards, including “Home Where I Belong”, which has been covered by a diverse list of artists from pop singer B.J. Thomas, to current gospel favorites, The Gaither Vocal Band. The eighties found Terry in a more rock oriented mood. With iconoclast artist/producer Mark Heard behind the boards, he recorded three ground breaking solo albums which redefined his sound and brought in a whole new generation of fans.
Then in 1986, Terry took a hiatus from touring and turned all his attention to songwriting, which landed him squarely in the middle of Nashville’s music community. From the nineties to the present day, his songs, including three number one country hits, have been recorded by a variety of country superstars, including, Travis Tritt (“Help Me Hold On”), Tanya Tucker (“It’s A Little Too Late”), and Sammy Kershaw (“National Working Woman’s Holiday”). Other artists who’ve covered Terry’s songs include Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, John Anderson, Tracy Byrd, and Confederate Railroad.
Coming full circle, Terry has recently gone back to his singer/songwriter roots, releasing his own new CD entitled, “Laugh For A Million Years”. The album features 11 new songs, including his own version of “Someplace Green”, which was recently made popular by “The Oak Ridge Boys”.
John Dahlz was the overall winner of the 2012 Vineman Ironman on Saturday, July 28. He swam 2.4 miles in the Russian River (half against the current and half with) in less than 49 minutes. I took exactly an hour longer. He biked 112 miles on the hilly roads of Napa Valley in 4 hours and 57 minutes. I rode the same course in 8 hours. He ran the 26.2 mile three loops through the back roads of Windsor, California in 3 hours and 52 minutes. I ran – walked much of it – in a painful 6 ½ hours. Most of us would agree that John Dahlz is a hardcore athlete…
I was way too sick to have begun this race, but had trained too long and too hard to walk away from the start line. Four days before the race I contracted…a sore throat…that turned into a chest cold…that – by race day – had gone full blown head cold. Amazingly, I was able to cough and spit and blow my way through the swim and bike legs with little discomfort. But by mile three of the run, the sickness overwhelmed me. It was like having the flu…times ten! Determined to finish, I trudged on. By mile fifteen, my pace had slowed to the point that I knew I would not make the ‘time cutoff’ required to begin loop three. The thought of quitting entered my mind…but I walked on. When I actually missed the cutoff – and knew that I would be ‘officially’ listed as DNF (did not finish) – the embryonic thought of ‘giving up’ grew. A friend, who had accompanied me to the race, simply asked me, “Do you want to finish?” And then offered to walk the last eight miles with me. My only sane thought seemed to be, ‘who quits a 140.6 mile race with only 8 miles to go’. Coughing, straining and puking…I dragged myself through the final miles. To my surprise, the finish area was not empty when I arrived. I crossed the finish line and a volunteer draped a medal around my neck…handed me a finisher’s t-shirt…gave me a hug and said, “You are an ironman.” John Dahlz finished his race in 9 hours and 29 minutes. It took me almost 17 ½ hours.
This was not the way I’d dreamed the day would go. In some ways it was an uglier finish than I had imagined. I am a runner. I worried for weeks about the swim and the bike. I knew, however, that once I got to the run I was in my element. I had envisioned – over and over again – sprinting across the finish. In other ways, however, it was a beautiful finish. A long walk with a friend and fellow warriors, the grace and true understanding of finish line volunteers, and the knowledge that even when the world – or at least the race officials – tell you you’re beat…you can keep going. It has been said that when you’ve finished an Ironman, you have the strength to tell the rest of the world to ‘go to hell.’ It’s true. Reflecting on my journey – months of training, hours in the pool, miles on the bike, step after step after step of running, and 17 plus hours facing down every demon I have – I really don’t give a damn that the ‘Results Page’ of a website labels me as DNF. I finished. Even when it seemed I had no legitimate reason to finish…I finished. I am an Ironman.
I wasn’t the only athlete waging war in the darkness. Keeping pace with me was a lady…carrying an inhaler…fighting asthma for the last 8 miles. Others were on the course limping – impaired along the way by injury or cramps. Others had missed time cutoffs for other reasons, but were pressing on…silent, slow, steady, determined…to be Ironmen and Ironwomen. Suddenly, it was an honor to be among such a crowd. John Dalhz won the Vineman Ironman, July 28, 2012 in 9 hours and 29 minutes. A lot of people would say he is a hardcore athlete – and he is. But the unknown ‘hardcore athletes’ were the ones who pushed their bodies into the late hours of a cold night…and finished the course…not for prize money, but for the pride of knowing we could finish – Ironmen and Ironwomen.
I like that God persistently pursues lost sheep and lost coins and lonely runners at the back of the pack…
This past weekend, we wrapped up the Sparksessions Conference 2014, the first and only beauty/fashion blogger conference in Toronto. Having attended last year’s conference, I knew that I had to be at the session this year – there are tons to learn, many new and old faces to see and putting a face and (actual) name to a social media handle!
Having attended both years conferences, I can tell that the team put a lot of time and effort into improving the experience from every angle. The event was more than double the size of last year’s, but it didn’t feel like it; I still feel that I can find/talk to anyone on the Spark Sessions team while meeting new bloggers. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that, even though attendance more than doubled, they’ve also scaled up their resources, making it a very enjoyable event.
What do you have when you combine 250 fashion/beauty bloggers across Canada, a weekend filled with learning and networking, and a swag bag so heavy that I can work out with it? Spark Sessions 2014 of course!
The weekend was packed with tons of activities, the agenda was comprehensive and covered a lot of “hot-button” topics and relevant issues for both bloggers, and marketing/PR companies in the blogging industry. Each discussion brought together a team of expert panels, those who have extensive experience in the field of blogging, and have had experience in working with both sides. Though each topic was very specific and detailed, it was always engaging, and interactive. I think I can speak for the entire group of attendees that there was never a boring moment – there was always something new to learn, even for bloggers who have been blogging for years like myself.
While we didn’t cover very technical details like SEO (we did that last year), we definitely touched on it a lot and covered the topic at a high level so as to give a little exposure of the topic to everyone. The conversation of each topic was very specific to the beauty/fashion industry and that made it incredibly relevant and actionable. The pace and flow of the entire conference is commendable – each topic built upon the previous panel session so as to give you a thorough, 360-angle of everything there needs to be learned about “beauty and fashion blogging”.
To accommodate the size of the attendees, the venue is much larger this time around, and I loved the new setting! The tables are excellent since I don’t have to worry about that awful chicken-scratch from balancing my notebook on my thighs, and it helps that we can always chat to people on the table. Everything went as scheduled and we always finished in a timely manner which is highly commendable. As someone who has organized a number of events and conferences in the past, I can certainly appreciate the hard work and dedication of the team in ensuring a smooth execution of the event.
If you want to get an idea of what the event was like as well as what was covered during the panel sessions, check out the #SparkSessions hashtag on twitter. In terms of the brands in attendance, there are plenty of new faces, and a number of old ones. Over the entire weekend, I felt like there was more than enough time to meet the sponsors at each booth.
The value of the Spark Sessions ticket is really different to each person, but from my experience, I would gladly pay much more than this amount to go to this conference. The conference was a valuable way to connect to local bloggers, add new blogs and twitter accounts to my reading list, and get in on the beauty conversation on a more professional level. In my opinion, you can always go to a “How to Build Your Brand” or “How to Network” or “How to Pitch to PR Agencies” conferences and events but in all likelihood, you would end up paying more altogether than going to this singular event. I’ve made some new friends and got to know more about my favourite bloggers through this event.
For those who weren’t able to attend, they would still be able to follow the conversation on twitter (#SparkSessions) which I thought was really awesome! There was also a ton of giveaway including 8 x Clarisonic to be won at the event (2 given away on social media), 2x$200 eLuxe gift cards and an $800 Keurig machine which apparently just came out.
I won’t even bother to count the value of products and goodies included in this bag, but I will tell you that it’s probably a lot! As mentioned earlier, I can do a pretty good arm workout with this bag, and a fellow beauty blogger Shawna decided to weigh the bag and found that it weighted close to 12.5lbs. Talk about some pretty awesome goodies!
This doesn’t even mention the little freebies each sponsor booth had – including samples from Pure & Simple, Benefit Cosmetics, Nivea, Garnier, Bench and Essie.
What do you think of “blogging conferences”? Are you thinking of attending next year’s conference? If you went to the event, what did you think of it? If I didn’t get your contact info, leave me your twitter handle and URL below, I’ll be sure to follow!
Grammy-winning Hindustani classical music instrumentalist Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt will be honoured with the annual Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award, Sursagar Society of Dilli Gharana has announced.
The two-day Indian classical music festival scheduled to be held on October 21-22, this year, will be dedicated to saint-musician-composer Pandit Kunwar Shyam, and celebrate the rich 'Guru-Shishya' tradition.
Best known for his Grammy award winning album "A Meeting by the River" with Ry Cooder, Bhatt, born in Jaipur, plays the Mohan Veena (slide guitar).
He has also been part of several pan-cultural collaborations with western artists such as Taj Mahal, Bela Flack and Jerry Douglas, among others.
Organised by the Sursagar Society of Dilli Gharana, the annual musical festival, will open with a vocal recital by Imran Khan.
Music speaks directly to the heart. This response, this echo within the heart, is proof that human hearts can transcend the barriers of time and space and nationality.
The voice has the power to transform life from within, to strengthen and purify it, Iqbal Ahmed Khan, General Secretary of Sursagar Society of Dilli Gharana, said.
A special performance Baithaki ka Bhav' by Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj is part of the line-up. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt will also be performing at the event.
Other highlights include a sitar recital by Adnan Khan and a vocal recital by Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan.
Founded in 1940 by Ustad Chand Khan Sahab in 1940, Sursagar Society aims to aims to conserve and promote an awareness of both the rich and heterogenous cultural tapestry through focus on the classical arts.
Enjoy your tunes no matter where you go with the Bang & Olufsen P2 Splash-Proof Speaker which features a built-in microphone.
Enjoy your tunes no matter where you go with the Bang & Olufsen P2 Splash-Proof Speaker. Using Bluetooth, this sound system achieves a seamless connection to your device. Totally portable, it’s resistant against splashes and dust to hold up to your every day. It even comes with a sleek yet durable lanyard for easy transportation. The P2 Speaker features premium materials such as pearl blasted alunimum and leather. It also uses rubber and polymer to stay durable and rugged. The P2 Speaker also comes in three sleek colors to suit your style. With a powerful 2200mAh battery, the P2 Speaker delivers 10 hours of music playtime. You can also use the built-in microphone to complete effortless hands-free calls. The omni-directional microphone also connects you to Siri and Google Now.
Hello there, It is that time of the celestial calendar that we here at The Gentleman reminisce or indeed biograph (using special gentlemanly bassoon-like graphing instruments) a particular gentleman. This particular gentleman was… Continue reading →