26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks Anniversary - Ready For Another One?

26/11, the date when Mumbai terror attacks took place. The date which changed the perspective of the people of this country about terror. The date when Mumbai was shaken out of it's slumber and shown how vulnerable she was. The date when the collective responsibility of various organizations was put to test and most came out failures. Did I hear someone say they succeeded? I am sorry, but it is like saying that since the ultimate aim of life is death, everyone succeeds. Had we left the terrorists to themselves, they would have probably run out of ammo and starved themselves to death. Would that also be treated as success? I mean, who takes three days to take charge of and decimate 4 terrorists?

I am by no means trying to belittle the efforts of individuals, but as organizations, none of our esteemed ones succeeded.

One year later things seem to be the same. Congress - NCP combine the incumbent government during the terror attacks continues to be in power. Vilasrao Deshmukh the Chief Minister at the time of Mumbai attacks is now enjoying being a cabinet minister and is the Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

Shivraj Patil, the home minister of India who had resigned taking "moral responsibilty" for the incident continues to be a member of the Rajya Sabha and a respected functionary of his party. In fact Ashok Chavan, the current Chief Minister of the state called upon Shivraj Patil which is an indication of the clout Shivraj Patil enjoys in the state and the party. If luck has it, Shivraj Patil might even become Governor of Punjab (According to some news reports.)

The NSG which was ultimately responsible for ending the 26/11 impasse, has been given land at Marol and is restricted to only 23 Acres as compared to Force One (What's that? Vijay Mallaya's Formula one team!) who have been allotted 98 Acres in Aarey colony, Goregaon. The police force of Mumbai were largely spectators during the Mumbai attacks relative to what NSG was doing and now something tells the state government that the Mumbai Police will be able to counter any future threats and thereby relegating the NSG to a lower status. This in spite of the fact that Force One is a new force and yet to prove that it is a force to reckon with. Therefore, it is back to Mumbai Police.

RR Patil, the home minister who had resigned from his post in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, has been reinstated as the home minister.

The Maharashtra DGP at the time of Mumbai terror attacks was AN Roy. By a quirk of fate coupled with some politics, he was removed by the High Court and is again currently holding additional charge of the State DGP and is likely to be appointed DGP soon since he is the senior most IPS officer in the state, a rule that was not followed during his earlier appointment.

So we have all the people back doing their jobs they were doing back in Nov 2008. I guess we are fully ready for another 26/11. The only difference is that the fisher-folks colony near Badhwar Park, where the terrorists landed last year, is manned by Police. Maybe that will be enough deterrent for the terrorists to land elsewhere along the more than 700 kilometers of Maharashtra coastline.

originally posted at http://tapsandknocks.blogspot.com/2009/11/2611-mumbai-terror-attacks-anniversary.html

visit my website at http://www.taprial.in

Fort Hood Shooting - Major Nidal Malik Hasan - Enemy in the Ranks

They say fiction is a precursor of things to happen. What happened in the Major Nidal Malik Hasan shooting case at Fort Hood, is what my novel, Enemy in the Ranks, talks about, Infiltration of anti-national elements in the important establishments of the country. It is yet to be seen whether Major Nidal Malik Hasan was connected with any of the extremist groups. However if indeed he was, imagine the damage he could have caused earlier while being a part of the Army, without actually being blamed for it. Sabotage, espionage anything is possible.

Sooner or later, the terrorists are going to realize, they might even have already, that they can't be going loggerheads with an adversary who is much stronger than them. So the way out for them is to inflict damage while they are a part of the system. I am just thinking aloud, Why would Major Nidal Malik Hasan, if he was indeed an Enemy in the ranks resort to such an open shooting while he could have continued to achieve his aims silently? Maybe his cover was blown. What does a committed man, who knows his life was going to be miserable if he was ever caught alive, do in such circumstances? Well he takes down with him, as many as possible.

Maybe it did not happen that way. Maybe Major Nidal Malik Hasan was just a regular psychiatrist and a patriot who just lost it after counseling so many over the edge people. But the angle whether he was associated with any of the terror groups needs to be investigated for the simple reason that there might be others who are already there. An Enemy in the Ranks is a distinct possibility and we need to guard against it. This is a lesson all countries need to learn and take precaution against. An Enemy in the Ranks is the worst that can happen.

The book Enemy in the Ranks is available online. Buy it at the link on the left top of the page.

Rave Reviews And Journey So Far - Enemy in the Ranks

It's been a month since the fiction novel Enemy in the Ranks was released and despatched for distribution. The book got immediate exposure after being featured in the books section of the Mumbai Daily DNA. Check out the snapshot of the page below



It has still not reached any of the bestsellers list but it has got some rave reviews from readers. You can read them all on my webiste http://www.taprial.in

Here are a few of them

So engrossing, that I got late for office two days in a row!

Racy, fast paced and action packed. Reminded me of Alistair Mclean

Racy and pulsating - and great flow for a first novel!! Lucky that this is all fiction (hope so :-) - the end would definitely give some food for thought. Liked the subtle romance and the bollywood style 'coincidences' /incidental events to push the action ahead!! A thriller definitely!!

I got the book finally. Had little time since Diwali celebrations and kids/wife dragging me around , but whatever little I could read was spell binding , pacy and surely an indicative that your writing skills are top notch. Whatever I read so far , I see a great potential in you .. If I felt that Chetan Bhagat could round of all his narrations , your writing style is no less , in times to come , if you pursue writing , I see a parallel and equally worthy writer in you. Chetan Bhagat watch out !!! Strongly recommended.

Your novel is a different kind of a thriller - an indigenous one, set in the Indian navy -- and i am sure it will do well in the market and find its own readership - This one is from a journalist working with a leading newspaper of Mumbai.

Friends and relatives have also been largely impressed with the book and and say that they loved it and it has been one of the best they have read in a long time. However the veracity of these statements can not be verified, them being friends and relatives. However my biggest and the best critic, my wife, who had not read the book till the time we got the author copies, couldn't put the book down and finished it in one straight reading in about eight hours.

The book is now available in bookstores and many online stores. The online stores where it is available are as follows

http://shop.in.com/fiction/enemy-in-the-ranks-id-206814-catid-1345.htm

http://www.infibeam.com/Books/info/varinder-taprial/enemy-ranks/9788122310870.html

http://www.booksandlotsmore.com/books/main/BookDetails.aspx?bookid=18273

http://www.a1books.co.in/itemdetail/8122310877/ENEMY-RANKS/

http://books.rediff.com/bookshop/bkproductdisplay.jsp?Enemy-in-the-Ranks-Books&prrfnbr=83143349&multiple=&frompg=_

http://www.pustakmahal.com/book/book/bid,,9519C/index.html

The book is competing against the books by the likes of Dan Brown, Hilary Mantel, Jeffery Archer, David Baladacci and Chetan Bhagat but I am sure it will stand up to the big names. Wish me luck!

The cover Story of the Action Thriller Novel "Enemy in the Ranks"

After I completed my action thriller fiction book, "Enemy in the Ranks" and my publisher accepted the book, I thought the rest of the process would be a breeze. It was not. Even deciding on the cover was a major task. So let me tell the story of the cover of Enemy in the Ranks.

As you all know that it was about the Navy, so I wanted the cover to depict something of the Navy like a ship or a soldier and moreover since it was an action thriller I wanted that too be reflected on the cover.

Anyway since I was all too tired of the book at that time, I decided to rely on the publisher. He came up with the image below



The picture was bright and interesting, reflected the naval service, but somehow seemed more suitable for perhaps a coffee table book. I didn't dig it and asked my editor for another one.

So he sent me another one. This one with a ship seen through crosshairs. It was very dark and again it was not really projecting the theme of the book. Have a look..



This photo aptly showed the naval scenario and also went with the title of the book with the silhouette of the man, but somehow I was still not impressed and told him to get another one. My editor complied but the Artist obviously was not amused at my being so choosy. So the next one he sent me was a plain photo. Have a look




This photo was good with ships moving in a formation, but again there was no action being reflected. Moreover the lower portion of the photo reminded me of the Pirates' End of the world. So it was a no-no. After rejecting so much I was getting fidgety and asked one of my artist friends to paint something. He came up with something brilliant and at the first look the editor also liked it and after the publisher's artist had touched it up, it looked even better. Here is the photo




Ships, explosion, man in uniform, crosshairs and bright colors, we thought it had everything. We finalised it and were sure we were going through with this one, I even put it up on all the websites and my book trailer.

The book was sent to the Printers and while the inside pages were being printed the director of the publishing house called and told me that though the cover was excellent, somehow he was not sure that it would come out as well in the Print and just may look like blotches of paint here and there. He requested me to reconsider. I told him that I was not happy with the ones they had sent to me and that's why came up with the Painting. The director told me to give him a day. Next day I had five draft covers in my mail. Quite obviously the head honcho had decided to intervene himself. I selected one and after a few touch ups the cover was ready and this is what it looks like



Bright skies, dark silhouettes, guns, boats and a neat clean picture it sems to reflect everything I wanted. It has come out beautifully on the cover including some colors which you can't see on the computer.

Ultimately I was happy that the Director had decided to change the cover photo. The earlier one was a wonderful painting, but I guess it did indeed have too much of paint. Now let's just hope it was the right decision.

You can visit my official website at http://www.taprial.in

You can buy the book at http://www.pustakmahal.com/book/book/bid,,9519C/index.html

and

http://books.rediff.com/bookshop/bkproductdisplay.jsp?Enemy-in-the-Ranks-Books&prrfnbr=83143349&multiple=&frompg=_

Enemy in the Ranks is available online

Enemy in the Ranks, the novel is now available to buy online. You can buy it online at

http://www.pustakmahal.com/book/book/bid,,9519C/index.html

and

http://books.rediff.com/bookshop/bkproductdisplay.jsp?Enemy-in-the-Ranks-Books&prrfnbr=83143349&multiple=&frompg=_

The book is only Rs 195/- and you can also go to the publishers link by clicking on the image on the left.

Enemy in the Ranks - Official Website

Enemy in the Ranks, the new novel by Varinder Taprial now has an official website. The website has all the details of the book and also an excerpt. Check it out at

http://www.taprial.in

Enemy In The Ranks by Varinder Taprial

That's what my novel is called and yes I am getting published. It feels so great, that when my publisher told me that it has gone to print today, I was, like ecstatic. It is still some days before it is available in the book stores and online, but this is as much I could wait before telling the world that I am getting published.

The title of the novel is self-explanatory so I guess that is it as far as explaining the story goes. Yes, it is about infiltration.

I have made a book trailer for my book and am embedding it below. May I request you all to copy the embed code and put it in your websites and blogs to give it the exposure it deserves. Thanks a lot and I will write another byte to let you all know when and where the book is available in brick and mortar stores as well as online. Enjoy!!!!