Banker to the Poor: The Story of the Grameen Bank

This is my first try on auto biography. Beautifully inspiring book! I loved it to the core. It gave me another way to think about poverty and wealth and capitalism. Fills me with lots of practical hope and confidence. Its all about the courage of single person that can change the universe. This is a story of a man who thinks outside the box and never gave in to criticism nor did he stop at the borders of Bangladesh. It's much more than just economics, about human spirit and most of all, having faith. Its more about Microlending that about Muhammad Yunus. I like the idea of empowering women and the fact that banks should not only be for those who 'have' money.

This is how the existing model of loans in most of the commercial lending institutes or Banks work. Borrowers approach the bank for money, they are asked for income proofs, paper work and collateral (guarantee), which as per the author makes it ‘anti-poor’ and ‘anti-illiterate’. The more you have the more you get; if you don’t have it, you don’t get it’. For the poor however, then the only option is to approach local middlemen who ofcourse charge higher interest rates. If payments are not done – the mortgaged assets are seized and they end up doing slavoury for their entire life. It is said 'poor fall into a trap and death is the only way they can get out.’

How Microcredit in Grameen Bank works:

1) Loans are given out only to the most destitute.

2) Loans are given only to women, by engaging them in self-help groups.

3) Loan payment schedules are fairly simple and repayment amounts are small

4) Continuous visits to assess & assist them in any problems.

5) No paperwork; No collateral is asked for.

Overall, a beautiful read.

One Excellent quote in this book

If you take the speed of a horse, the majesty of a lion, the courage of a tiger and the elegance of a deer, in theory you might have a super animal,but in practice it might never get off the ground.

My Rating:

The Monk who sold his Ferrari : A Review

When one of my friends asked if I have read this book, I said I don't like self help,spiritual and motivating books, coz I can't take all the gyan such books try to teach you. But I am glad, I read this. Quite an Inspirational read. Its surely going to change my attitude towards life. I found this book very energizing, giving me a lot of inspiration and motivation to go on and many answers to my questions. A blueprint for successful living, I would say. Now I am going to download it from iTunes and listen to it again with my iPhone.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma is a self-help book that resolves around the adventure of a successful, work-obsessed lawyer in the Himalayas where he found out the true meaning of life. The lawyer, Julian Mantle, realizes his problem after a heart attack and decided to give up all his possessions to seek a more meaningful and youthful life. The book is about Julian meeting his colleague after a long time; Julian tells how he has changed because of what he experienced and gave suggestions on how to live and deal with situations in life. The book provides practices to lower stress, make you feel happier and to improve certain parts of your body that would allow a more youthful life. It also presents the practices step by step showing what one is good for.

The book is full of aptly chosen practical quotes each of which is an inspiration in itself.

"Never regret your past. Embrace it as the teacher it is."

"'Never be a prisoner of your past. Become an architect of your future." 
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. "  
"The average four year old laughs 300 hundred times a day. The average adult - fifteen times. " 

My Rating :

 

The Pilgrimage : A Review

This is the 4th Paulo Coelho book I've read, and my least favorite so far. I may be little harsh in saying this, but I really hated this book. I know the character in this book is on a spiritual journey to find himself, but I thought It would be similar to "The Alchemist" with some philosophical thoughts. But the story made no sense, and key parts of it were left unexplained (what is RAM? what is The Tradition?). Here Paulo Coelho details his journey across Spain along the legendary road of San Tiago, which pilgrims have travelled since Middle Ages.The entire book is mostly about rituals and "The Tradition" whatever that is. It was difficult for me to get into the book, but I got through it. The only good quality was that it was short and went quickly. I think this is his first book as a writer and probably one of the reason that it failed to make an impressive mark. I could see his evolution as a writer after this.

Only one thing to quote here..

When you are moving toward an objective, it is very imporant to pay attention to the road

My Rating :

Life of Pi : A Review

I read this book because it was recommended to me by a good friend. I had mixed fixed feelings about it. I'll admit that it took me a while to get into it.  The guy won't shut up about animals! There is no story, even when I read through the first half.The first chunk of this book does suck. About half way through I just wasn't sure if I could keep reading. But I'm actually glad that I did, because it really stretched my mind. I'm still not sure what it was all about!

It's about a teenage boy stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with several animals. The ship Pi's family is riding on to Canada will sink. Pi will be  left  alone in the Pacific Ocean on a life raft with Bengal Tiger.  A boy, zebra, hyena, orangutan & tiger on lifeboat. The hyena kills the zebra and the orangutan, and the tiger kills the hyena. Tiger and boy remain in boat. It is a tale of survival and man’s interaction with himself and the wild. It is a lesson in zoology and spirituality. First few chapters seem to go nowhere,story falls in place later. Nice tall tale with a spiritual twist. I did NOT expect that ending. But it turned out to be a great book. Its about survival, faith, sanity, endurance. Makes me wonder how much have we got?

However it failed to impress me in few scenarios. When I read a book, I like to get sucked into the world. I don't want to constantly be reminded that I'm sitting in a location reading. I want to be with the characters. This book kept me at a distance.

Only one good quote to list here...

"When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling." -- Yann Martel, Life Of Pi

My Rating :

The Kite Runner: A Review

This novel fascinated me. What a powerful story. I didn't think I was going to like this book as much as I did when I read the first few pages. But I am glad I read the whole of it.  I loved the protrayal of the Afghani culture, the relationship between a father and a son, friendship, betrayals, essence of humanity.It gives a deep insight into the recent history of Afghanistan,culture and differing ethnicities living there..It was moving, thought-provoking, and engrossing. It wasn't what I would call "action-packed", but I was overwhelmed with curiosity about the fates of the characters and that's what kept me reading.

The Kite Runner is about a young boy, Amir, growing up in a wealthy part of Kabul, Afghanistan, the only son of a popular and rich entrepenuer, who betrays his best friend and later has a chance to redeem himself. As his father's best friend, Rahim, says, "There's a way to be good again." The rest of the story follows Amir and how at the end of the book he goes back to Afganistan from his home in America to see his father's friend who tells Amir something he should have known his whole life.

Some Interesting quotes in this book..

"For you, a thousand times over."

"Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors."

"When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal a wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. There is no act more wretched than stealing."

"All my life, I'd been around men. That night, I discovered the tenderness of a woman."

My Rating:

The Zahir : A Review

This book starts with a mystery, A woman leaves her husband with no explanation. She leaves no note, no messenger, takes nothing, just seems to disappear. He finds himself in the journey and learns he needs to look for her because he loves her, not because he is obsessed.It really attempts to analyze how we fall in love, as well as how we maintain it. We never realize how we are drifting away from it when we start taking things for granted. We only realize the importance of it when it is over. This book was not of the same quality as Alchemist but still presented some noble and elevated concepts as presented in all of paulo's books. Typical Coelho...lots of really good quotes.

"When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive - I'll find love again."

"That is why it is so important to let certain things go. To release them. To cut loose. People need to understand that no one is playing with marked cards; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Don't expect recognition for your efforts, don't expect your genius to be discovered or your love to be understood. Complete the circle. Not out of pride, inability, or arrogrance, but simply because whatever it is no longer fits in your life. Close the door, change the record, clean the house, get rid of the dust. Stop being who you were and become who you are." 


My Rating :

Eleven minutes : A Review

This book is a story about Maria, a young girl from brazil who do not settle for being just ordinary country girl. Her jouney begins when one day she went for vacation, and a stranger offered her to working abroad as a dancer. Her life changed on the day she accept the offer. She leaves her country for adventure, possibly to become a model or a famous actress, but ends up becoming a prostitute for a year. She learns a lot about sex and what it actually means. There is a difference between sex for the sake of sex, and doing it with meaning. In this journey she will fall in love with a painter Ralf and the story goes on. Discovering Ralf makes Maria discovering about herself. 

Another thought provoking book from Paulo coehlo..I would say Coehlo kicks some serious ass about and love and sex in this book.. Why is it that we all long for love, yet it is so elusive to so many? Is sex an expression of love or merely a physical act? These are some of the questions that were addressed in this book.

I did find several quotes that I really liked in this book...

"The strongest love is the love that can demonstrate its fragility.."

"Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.."

"I am not a body with a soul, I'm a soul that has a visible part called the body."

My Rating :

The Alchemist : A Review

I am a big fan of Paulo Coelho's work. I can say that he is my favorite author. I discovered this author when I visited my friend's house on a boring sunday, and since then I must admit that I am love in with his books. I finished this book in two sittings on the way to my hometown. This review has been long due now, almost two months.

The Alchemist is all about following your dream and about taking the risk of following your dreams, which is actually so difficult to do and there are very few people in this world who actually do, I mean risk it all, just to follow your heart and your dream. It was written from the point of view of a traveling shepherd, telling us how he dealt with problems he encountered through his journey. When he had dreams about a hidden treasure, he had to chose between living his normal, plain shepherd life, or to follow his heart and search for a treasure that he wasn't 100% sure that even existed. He decides to leave everything behind sells his flock of sheep and leaves Fatima, the beautiful girl he fell in love with. He was robbed at the beginning of his journey and recuperated by working with a crystal merchant. When he finally reached the pyramids in Egypt, where the treasured was buried, he was robbed again.While he was digging for the treasure he finally realized that the treasure that he traveled so far to find, was hidden in the place he started all along, There are a lot of hidden messages and themes here...one needs to be fully present to fully appreciate what Paulo Coelho is doing.

Some really good quotes in this book..

"when you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it"

"-What's the world's greatest lie? the boy asked, completely surprised. -It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."

My Rating :