The Claim by Sanjat Bordia

About The Author:

Charted Accountant by profession and a book lover by heart, Sanjay Bordia is making his dream of writing come true with this debut book. He can be reached via his official website - http://www.sanjaybordia.com/

About The Book:

The Blurb:

The recent foray of ‘3M Chandani Group’ in the life insurance sector is besieged with a large insurance claim.  All evidences and documents are in order but there is an eerie feeling that something is not right.  The case lands on the table of ‘Mohan Mohanty’ the ace internal auditor of the group.
Will Mohan be able to unearth the truth?  Laila and Iceberg, two trusted assistants of Mohan are confident that with Mohan at the helm of affairs truth does not need to worry.
And the investigation begins, which takes Mohan and his team to a village hospital where Compounder Tara Nath fixes the posting of Doctors. The team of auditors meets Madan Prasad, a sculptor who creates wax statutes which can chase London’s Madam Tussaud out of business.  The team has to find out whether branch manager, Sunil Shinde, is a victim or a culprit.
Time is running out since Mehra family, the parents and brother of the deceased, are threatening to go to media and courts, if the settlement of insurance claim is delayed further.
Mohan has to act fast and come out with clinching evidences or pay the insurance claim of Rs. 10 Crore.

The Cover:

Having received the pdf copy for review, I looked for the cover at Sanjay's site. The cover page is quite normal and may or may not prompt the reader to pick it up from the book shelf. Also, although, it does depicts some puzzle, but could have been much better - may be some hint to the clue without revealing it before its mention in the book.

What I Felt About The Book:

I would not lie that my thoughts of initial two chapters were not very motivating for the author. As the story proceeded and the turn of events were unfolded, I gradually got hooked to it.

What I Liked About The Book:

1. I was in love with Laila. Her immediate urge to eat anytime, anywhere added the required little amount of humour to the narration. Other characters were also plotted nicely.

2. The small inclusive suspense plots added every now and then solved the purpose of giving a new short story to the reader and soon the reader is back to main story line with a fresh mind. I liked the idea and enjoyed it thoroughly.

What I Did Not Like About The Book:

Predictability - Yes, any regular reader irrespective of his or her interest in thrillers would be able to predict the turn of some events. But this did not stop me from reading further.

To conclude, I found the book a major candidate for big Television programs like crime patrol series. Had the author been able to make it unpredictable, it would have been a big screen blockbuster.

Congratulations for a decent debut and best wishes to Sanjay Bordia for his future writing projects.

The Book can by purchased by following links

Amazon-Paperback    Amazon-Kindle Edition      Flipkart

Note: I received a PDF copy of the book for an honest review

Why Pay Tax?

“Hey, have you filed your returns for the year? Last date is in a few days.”

“Leave it buddy. It does not matter. Moreover, It’s we the salaried citizens who pay tax and suffer on top of it.”

“Yeah, that’s true. The business class people do not even think about it or pay bare minimum.”

“Moreover, tax has already been deducted from my salary each month. Who wants to get into filling up those useless long forms and submitting them?”

I am sure everyone must have seen/heard/participated in some conversation similar to this. ‘Why should I pay the tax and on top of it, file a return for the same?’ is one question all of us ponder over sometime or the other.  Below are some of the reasons which encourage us to pay the income tax:

1. Standard Proof for most complicated facilities
1. Want a Loan? ITR  - Income Tax Return is the first document any legitimate organisation asks for. Producing the valid document completed more than half of the process.
2. Want a VISA? Again, all embassies around the world ensure that the person they are granting permission to enter their territory is safe to land there. The ITR document again helps a lot in proving your credibility and ensures that you are financially sound.
2. Want your money back? Our eyes open up wide enough with curiosity on getting the money back. Filling the ITR can also earn us some money. When I filed my ITR for the first time, I got a check of Rs. 180 from Income Tax office as I had paid that tax extra as per my claims and savings. It was a small amount, but the salary was also small that time!
3. Want a better future for you kids? All of us want the best future for our children. We work day and night to ensure that they get the best of education and life. We cut on our own expenses, give up some luxuries and save for their future needs. During all this, we subconsciously fail to realise that the economy they would be living in should also be insured. We would definitely want them to live in a much better environment then today. We must know that the tax we pay is the money government use for basic amenities like-
1. Safety – We would never ever want ourselves to be bombarded with weapons and bombs. Government uses the money we pay in tax to strengthen various means of defense.
2. Infrastructure – We are still far behind when it comes to roads, buildings, bridges and the most talked about – public transport.
3. Money – India as a nation can take loan itself from international organisations like the World Bank etc. Please be informed that they are not a charity organisations and they bear their own terms of interest and serve a defined tenure failing which further have penalties.
4. Nature – Floods, earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunami, Thunder Storms – Name any major natural calamity and there would be at least one place in India which is prone to it. So, while we enjoy and be proud of our varied land, water and air every few kilo meters, we must accept the benefits as well as the disasters these climatic conditions throw upon us. The better the government is equipped with resources quicker would be the response time and relief during such situations. Pay the tax on time and do your bit!

So, next time whenever you need an inspiration to pay tax, think twice about these small yet big enough reasons.

 I’m taking the #TaxPledge to file IT returns with the easy Income Tax efiling option from H&R Block at BlogAdda.

Reflections A to Z Challenge April 2016

This is not a typical reflections post. I took a deep breath and wrote this post which looks more like a letter to myself. Finally, rather than hosting it on my own blog, I took a much deeper breath and sent it to A to Z team so that I can share the lessons learnt.

To Succeed I MUST recognise my Failures.

~Amita

Here goes my reflection to A to Z Challenge and first Guest Post –

Lessons from the Failure

1. Plan - Plan, draft and schedule your posts
2. Open Up - Seel Help
3. Be Confident - Do not take success for granted

Hop on to the link to read the complete confession.

Did you survive the challenge? Have you also felt the same anytime when you thought of your commitments?

Please be kind and pardon any silly mistakes. I am all ready to improve.

Do leave your valuable comments. I love them – all of them.

India's First Female Fighter Pilots - Dream Come True

Last year, I posted about my surprise discovery of the fact that India though being one of the leading nations in 21st century, still did not have “Female” fighter pilot.

Today, my happiness touches no boundary as I post my straight from heart words dedicated to the three ladies who have created the history. Flying Cadet Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh have been formally  inducted in Indian Air Force fighter squadron on Saturday - 18-June-2016.

Know your limits,

I was told once.

Sky doesn't have one,

I wondered.

Know your limits,

I was told once.

Sky doesn't have one,

I marveled.

Eyes focused,

Mind alert,

Wings wide open,

I take the flight.

The path is impossible,

Explicated everyone.

Sun shines because it burns itself,

I remarked.

Flying high,

Higher than cloud,

Above the mountain,

Over the ocean,

I twist and twirl,

Showing my beam.

It's not your forte,

Orated the laws.

Gravity is already conquered,

I pondered.

Grounded to earth,

Wings spreading again,

And again,

I head upward.

Enemies beware,

Fearless soul,

Goddess of courage,

Empress of the skies,

Is here.

Women pilots have been flying helicopters and transport aircraft since 1991 in the IAF - Indian Air Force, but the fighter crafts were still a dream for us. After some initial reluctance, IAF finally opened the cockpit for females on an experimental basis for five year.


They will be now posted to either the Bidar or Kalaikunda airbase and would undergo "transitional" fighter training on the Hawks. The advanced jet training (AJT) is a one year training which includes learning intensive combat manoeuvres and armament firing. It ensures that the rookie pilots can handle old fighters like MiG-21s as well as new multi-role ones like Sukhoi-30MKIs and Mirage-2000s.

I have no doubts that the experiment is going to be a major success. Three cheers for the trio.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Man is the only creature that consumes without producing.

I read this book as a result of my Good-reads updates. The active readers in my list had rated this book Five out of five and thus, I had to read it. I am so glad I accepted their recommendation.

The blurb says:

Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." This 1945 satire addresses the socialist/communist philosophy of Stalin in the Soviet Union.

Animal Farm is a little satire story which reflects the society so truly with a pinch of humour. It's a short story with a very strong, bitter but true message.

Power obviously lead to more power. Too much power often leads to decision making for oneself without taking  other into consideration. This eventually makes the position and the person sitting there fulfilling his/her own personal interests and increasing the conform level for oneself only.

Ethically, this is very wrong since the power was initially granted to him/her as a result of other's trust and faith that it would be used rationally.

Like all my friends, I absolutely loved this short and quick read. I cannot help but share the seven Commandments which evolved to greed with time. They were fun and deep in my heart I was forced to think, if animals really think of same towards we humans:

The Seven Commandments

Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

No animal shall wear clothes.

No animal shall sleep in a bed.

No animal shall drink alcohol.

No animal shall kill any other animal.

All animals are equal.

Below are some of the other absolute winner one liners from the book:

• Four legs good, two legs bad.
• Man serves the interests of no creature except himself.
• Four legs good, two legs better! All Animals Are Equal. But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.
• All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

This book is so much more than a fairy tale. It's one of those books, which can and must be read again and again.

Jaccha - Local Haryanvi Song For New Mothers - Part 3

In continuation to "Jaccha" series, I move forward to write another beautiful song sung on the occasion of the arrival of baby boy in family.

There is a custom that on the birth of a baby boy in family, the sister in law (sister of husband) receives lots of gifts from her bhabhi (new mother). Also, Swastik symbol is made outside the room of mother out of cow dung which is called the "Sathiya". This song talks about these customs. Read on and have fun. Read the summary at the end in case you do not understand the language...

Ibke brass tere hoja re bhatija,
Dungi nanand tane sone ka hasla.
Ibke brass tere hoja re bhatija,
Dungi nanand tane sone ka hasla.

Ae ri Sathiya pe, chadai silki sari,
Nanand tane razi kar du ri.
Meri Sathiya pe, chadai silki sari,
Nanand tane razi kar du ri.

Ibke baras mere hogya ri bhatija,
Dede ri bhavaj mane sone ka hasla.
Ibke baras mere hogya ri bhatija,
Dede ri bhavaj mane sone ka hasla.

Ae ri Sathiya pe, ghada de silki sari,
bhavaj mane razi kar de ri.
Meri Sathiya pe, ghada de silki sari,
bhavaj mane razi kar de ri.

Nanand tera Bhai, ae ri naate se,
Nanand tera Bhai, ae ri naate se,
Ae ri mere Konya, Maa jai Bahan,
Gori ri kyun ghar ne lutave se.
Ae ri mere Konya, Maa jai Bahan,
Gori ri kyun ghar ne lutave se.

Pehlan te tum maaro badai,
Pehlan te tum maaro badai,
Den ki bariyan karo safai,
Den ki bariyan karo safai.

Ae ri mera sasra thodi so door,
Bhavaj mein ibe ghar jaaugi.
Ae ri mera sasra thodi so door,
Bhavaj mein ibe ghar jaaugi.

Those who can read Hindi and understand Haryanvi, below is the translation in Hindi.

इबकै बरस तैरै होजा जो भतीजा,
दुंगी ननद तनै सोने का हसला।
इबकै बरस तैरै होजा जो भतीजा,
दुंगी ननद तनै सोने का हसला।

एै री सथिया पै चड़ऊं सिलकी साड़ी,
ननद तनै राजी कर दूँ री।
एै री सथिया पै चड़ऊं सिलकी साड़ी,
ननद तनै राजी कर दूँ री।

इबकै बरस मेरै होगया री भतीजा,
देदै  भवज मनै सोने का हसला।
इबकै बरस मेरै होगया री भतीजा,
देदै भवज मनै सोने का हसला।

एै री सथिया पै चढ़ा सिलकी साड़ी,
भवज मनै राजी कर दे री।
एै री सथिया पै चढ़ा सिलकी साड़ी,
भवज मनै राजी कर दे री।

ननद तेरा भाई ऐ री नाटै सै,
ननद तेरा भाई ऐ री नाटै सै,
ऐ री मेरै कोना मॉं जाई भाण,
गोरी री क्यूँ धन नै लुटावै सै।
ऐ री मेरै कोना मॉं जाई भाण,
गोरी री क्यूँ धन नै लुटावै सै।


For the benefit of others, below is the summary in English.

The new mother to be has promised her sister in law a traditional necklace of gold in case she gives birth to a baby boy - which would be her sister in law's nephew. She also promised to gift her a silk sari if she gives birth to a baby boy.
Now when, she has been blessed with one, her sister in law is asking for her gifts.
The sister in law tries to make some excuses that her own brother is denying the same. He is saying that she is only a cousin, I do not have a sister from my mothers womb. Why are you wasting the money.
The sister is law is upset and says that you guys boast about first and when it's time to fulfil the promises, you are looking for lame excuses.
She says that my husband's home is near by and I am leaving do my home right now.


Little household fights between sister in law and her bhabhi have always been a matter of fun. Songs like these add spices of taste of them.

Read more of them here:
Mouth Watered New Mother
Plight of poor husband