The Gift of Music!

I remember it was Nitin's 16th birthday and he asked me to gift him wireless headphones. I searched everywhere for it, but couldn't find a single shop in Bhopal selling wireless headphones. It was the first time when my grandson asked me for anything and I couldn't manage to get him what he asked me for. It was in early 2000's and I had no idea about the trends and what technology was there in the market. In my time, I used to listen to transistors or cassette tapes. Maybe, that was the reason for lack of market knowledge.

Me and Nitin
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Nitin listening to music on Radha's headphones
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My grandson Nitin came to know about wireless headphones from one of my friend's grand daughter 'Radha', who visited us in Bhopal just a month before Nitin's 16th birthday. She did her graduation from USA and bought the headphones from there. Radha stayed with us for a week and as she knew Nitin had great interest in music, so she lended her headphones to Nitin. Nitin has always been a shy boy who had very few friends and most of the time he used to spend on studies. When I gifted him the wired headphone, he didn't show disappointment and accepted the gift with great happiness. Though he was happy, I knew he wanted something different and far superior and magical than what I presented him with. It wasn't a time when e-commerce sites entered into the Indian market. It was more of a time when we used to ask our friends to send us the branded products from bigger cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata etc.

Time to plan a surprise
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Years went by and many things have changed since those days. I've grown old and my Grandson is a working professional now. He plays guitar well and still have a thing for music. He is the lead guitarist of his office rock band and loves to play rock, but his real love lies in soft music. I always listen to his compositions, whenever he visits me. His music fills great joy in my unhealthy and an old little heart. His 28th birthday is just round the corner and am planning to give him a surprise. What I couldn't do 12 years ago, I want to do it now. I want to make my grandson happy by presenting him with the gift which I promised him 12 years ago but couldn't manage to. I know it's a bit late, but I want to make sure that the gift is worth the wait. Since, I'm just a normal Grand Father and doesn't possess super powers of a computer expert, I mostly refrain myself to take advice from the right person over phone or in person. And I couldn't have asked for a better person than Radha to take help from; who introduced Nitin to wireless headphones. Radha like a wonderfully kind hearted person first gave me the overview of some of the best options available in the market and then helped me with the selection.

BOSE Showroom
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Since, we wanted to choose the best wireless headphones, we didn't go in depth of the search and chose 'BOSE'. Bose being a premium brand of audio equipment, not only offers great value but also offers 'Trust' associated with its name for decades now. When Radha asked me to check the BOSE Quiet comfort 35 wireless headphones II, she suggested me to visit the Bose showroom and experience the magic of sound. Though I had no clue about the technology and specs of the product, I trusted what Radha told me and visited the nearest Bose showroom. Thereafter, what happened at the showroom can't be explained here in words as it was a musical experience, a mesmerizing one! It was beyond my imagination because I wasn't expecting it to be so unreal. How can there be no sound heard other than the music, even when I'm passing by crowded street? How can a person talk and even send and receive text messages through a headphone? Also, how can a person say 'No' to features like Bluetooth and Google Assistant? When I experienced all these features in the BOSE QC35 headphone, there was nothing left in there to contemplate more about. I bought the Silver colored BOSE Quiet comfort 35 wireless headphones II and get it packed.

Finally, I bought the BOSE headphones for Nitin
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Nitin had no idea that what surprise was in store for his 28th birthday. As soon as he blew the candles and cut the cake, I gave him what he asked me 12 years ago. Tears of joy coursed down his cheeks and he hugged me tightly and said "You remembered it Dadu!" and I hugged him back and said "How could I not!".

Big Bear Hug!
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Check Out BOSE Quiet comfort 35 wireless headphones II to know more about the new Headphones from BOSE.

 

 

Regrets: Dream Desire Destiny by Shahrukh Ahmad #BookReview

If you are an entrepreneur or planning to set up your start-up in near future, then this debut novel "Regrets: Dream Desire Destiny" by Shahrukh Ahmad is the perfect book which will give you ideas about how a person starts a firm from initial level to the million dollar company. Its basically the story which rotates around Sameer; the main protagonist of this novel. He is an enthusiastic person when it comes to business, and a person who has a haunting past which he hides from everyone. He has a best friend and business partner in Nishant, who is more than a brother to him. And a caring girlfriend in Preeti, who loves him madly.

Its a story of Sameer's life, in which his desires, dreams and his accomplishments are showcased. A story where love, friendship and aspirations of Sameer are blended together in a wonderful manner. And above all the message which Shahrukh has tried to convey thru this book, is portrayed perfectly.

Now the things which I like about the book

1) The book is very well paced. Its a light read, and at no point you feel like taking pauses in middle.
2) It has a story which any college going student can easily relate to. The experiences shared of Sameer's collge life are very realistic and very much relatable.
3) The story is new and fresh. It has all the ingredients like love, friendship, pain, broken relations and chase after dreams. Shahrukh has wonderfully mixed the ingredients and made this book a perfect recipe from reader's perspective.
4) This being author's first book, I must admit that editing team has done a very good job.


Now the things which I didn't like about the book

1) I felt that Preeti's role was very strong, but somehow Sameer's and Preeti's relationship was not explained properly. There was no mention of their budding relationship after the chapter where Sameer stays at Preeti's place and then leaves for Indore the very next morning. What happens after that and how their relationship comes on track afterwards, is one thing which I felt was incomplete in the narration.
2) The cover is not very appealing. Its okay but could have been better.

Final thoughts

Overall, I would say that this is a light read that engages the reader completely. You can feel for the protagonist when he suffers from his darker side as well as you can show your anger when he takes wrong decisions and regrets later.

I would give it 3.25 stars on 5.

A nice read!