Content Cure — Of Mossad, Unicorns, and Green Gables

Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal (non-fiction)

From the use of biological weapons to surgical strikes to honey traps, this book has all the spy novel ingredients! It reads like a James Bond novel — each chapter has the potential to be a TV series or movie. And indeed some chapters are already that — with ‘The Spy’ based on Eli Cohen’s true story of spying in Syria, and ‘Munich’ based on the hunt of the deadly Black September terrorist group after the massacre of Israeli Olympians at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The book is gripping enough to make you read it in a single go. And will leave you heavily impressed with Israel. Here is a country which was created around the same time as India, and despite being ‘resource-less’ and being surrounded by unfriendly neighbors, has managed to become a superpower. The perseverance and patriotism of Israel is unique! As a corollary, I have been hearing a lot about the Israeli tech industry in the recent years (they have 20 unicorns already) — and this book has inspired me to read up more on it (any recommendations are welcome!)

If you like spy novels, if you love James Bond or Mission Impossible, if you want an exciting holiday/ weekend read, if you want to understand Middle East dynamics better, then pick this book up!

Big Billion Startup — The untold Flipkart story by Mihir Dalal (non-fiction, biography)

Like many of you, I thought I knew the Flipkart story already. One of the most talked about startups in the Indian ecosystem, the best exit story which India has seen, breeding ground for many other startups... I had assumed that there was not much new to learn from reading this book. But how wrong I was!

The author does a fantastic job of detailing out all of Flipkart’s struggles in the journey to become India’s biggest e-commerce startup. Synonymous with Flipkart’s struggles are the growth stories of the founders — Sachin and Binny Bansal. The pace of the book is exceptional, and despite knowing the end-game (the Walmart acquisition), it kept me glued with its twists and turns. I won’t disclose too many anecdotes here and take away from the joy of discovering them as you read — but just two to pique your interest.

• Flipkart had a third founder who succumbed to parental pressure and quit
• Flipkart nearly sold to Infibeam for 5% stock!

The book also made me reflect on how the startup ecosystem has transformed since 2007 when Flipkart was founded:

• ~50M internet users then, ~500M internet users now
• 0 unicorns then, 25+ unicorns now
• Companies chasing VCs then, VCs changing companies now

…and it is only the End of the Beginning

If you are keen to understand the India startup ecosystem evolution, if you enjoy learning about how companies scale, if you are a startup founder, if you want to read something to inspire you to ‘dream big’ and ‘do big’, if you enjoy ‘middle-class to riches’ stories, pick this book up.

Anne with an E (Season 1–3, Netflix)

For anyone who read the Anne of Green Gables while growing up, this is a must watch. Watching a character who was in your imagination spring to life in such an outstanding fashion is pure joy. The story is about a 13 year old orphan (Anne) who gets adopted by a brother-sister duo (Matthew and Marilla) on a farm in the heavenly old town of Avonlea in Canada. Anne then goes about making Avonlea her own, with adventures and mis-adventures, despite many people labeling her as ‘trash’. Anne’s drive to bring fun and joy into her life each day is inspiring.

What is most beautiful is how the makers of the show have modernized the themes that Anne fights for. They could have stuck to the script and not discussed any thorny issues, but they chose to go above and beyond. We have a gay character coming out of the closet, a black character being discriminated against and then integrated into the main cast, injustice against Indigenous people, and even discussion on #metoo. In each of these situations, it is the kids who bring in an unbiased, fresh perspective and teach adults how to look at things differently. A relevant reminder in today’s troubled times!

If you have young children to whom you are trying to impart a sense of fairness (and discuss difficult topics), if you like watching historical fiction, if you have always loved words and have a fruitful imagination, if you get angry by injustice, then watch this. Especially if you have loved the Anne books, or Little Women, or Pollyanna, or An Old fashioned girl, then surely watch this!