Tuesday 29 April 2014

Book Review: Done with men by Shuchi Singh Kalra

Source: Google Images
Title: Done with Men
Author: Shuchi Singh Kalra

Cover: Interesting
Language: English

ASIN: B00GO3H88Y
Flipkart Pricing: Rs 90

Publisher: IndiReads Incorporated
Quality of the book: Good

Fonts: Readable
Characters: Two main characters

Narration: First person
Flow: Smooth



Monday 28 April 2014

Make lemonade


Now this is one proverbial phrase that has been tweaked a lot for motivation and fun purposes. Those who know me, know that even I have exploited this one a couple of times. But before we go into my take on the phrase, let us understand the origin.

It was in 1915 when Christian anarchist writer Elbert Hubbard wrote an obituary for actor Marshall P. Wilder and used the lemon-lemonade connection for the first time. It was written to show how the dwarf actor had risen above his disabilities and stayed optimistic.

Friday 25 April 2014

The thing about Punjabi weddings

As I open the door, I see the mailman impatiently tapping his foot giving me the ‘what-took-you-so-long’ look. “bolo bhaiya” I say, he hands me a large lavish basket and signals me to sign across my name. After he left, I walked over to my bed and opened the delicately packaged basket, it had an invitation accompanied with a champagne bottle and assorted chocolates. The card simply read ‘Prerna weds Arjun’, it was finally upon us, it was our drama queen’s wedding day.

Wednesday 23 April 2014

A reason to celebrate

There is a common phrase in Bengali, “Baro mashe tero parbon” which roughly translated means thirteen festivals in twelve months referring to the innumerable festivities we Bengalis (or for that matter Indians) celebrate. This phrase accurately describes the festival loving country ours is. We Indians, I believe are a merry lot, we love our festivals, the celebration, gaiety and the fun associated with all of them.

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Book Review: ‘Love, That Shit!’ by Chandru Bhojwani

‘Love, That Shit!’ by Chandru Bhojwani is published by Om Books International (2013), and is priced Rs.165 for paperback and Rs.157 for the kindle version in Amazon.in. It is a non-fiction of the self help genre. I received the ebook from the author for the reviewing purpose.
 
Source: Google Images

Sunday 20 April 2014

Womaniya

Mankind comprises of two components. They are man and woman. Neither is complete without the other. It is on these two components or wheels that the carriage of life runs. Had God deemed women unimportant, he wouldn’t have created them. Evidently, God has wished woman to be there and to walk shoulder to shoulder with man. Moreover, without the company of woman, man would have had to feel the pangs of loneliness and boredom.

Saturday 19 April 2014

Life without Facebook


“ I’m going so fast that I can’t slow down
It’s hard to get up when you’re spinning round and round
I’d tell you the news but nothin’s changed
I’d sing you a song but they blew it away”
        -California Waiting by Kings of Leon

I can’t even sum up Facebook in two words put together ( Face and Book) , the way Mark Zukerberg did thinking, ‘ Hey, this is Facebook, a simple name to simplify your life.’ Oh Mark, I wish it was that simple. While driving in a fast lane, I might just pop in my password and take a stroll down my Wall thinking if I can’t call up my best friend, I could always write on her wall right? This process might also gain some attention towards the new Display Picture I just uploaded (especially from my ex who  has ‘un-friended’ me but somehow still is in the friend list of my best friend). See, how useful Facebook is?

Friday 18 April 2014

7 commandments from Queen

                           


Bollywood keeps surprising you from time to time. Whenever you start feeling that they are short of ideas, someone comes up with a brilliant one that makes you marvel at the sheer creativity and artistic approach. It is always nice to go for a movie on the weekend, just to refresh and enjoy a little. The problem is that we don't have many options these days as far as the Bollywood movies are concerned. As, apparently all of the Bollywood movies give you the same impression these days. That's why, it is always good when you get a chance to watch a Bollywood flick that justifies the talent that our Bollywood has!

Thursday 17 April 2014

When life gives you lemons


Ingredients:

·         1/2 lime
·         1/2 cup grapes
·         apple (cored and sliced)
·         One 1/2 inch fresh ginger
·         1 cup water (sparkling) 

Directions
:
Juice Grapes, apples and ginger together and add lime juice of half a lemon. Pour in your favourite glass and fill to the top with a cup of sparkling water. Add a slice of lemon on the side and Voila!

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Book Review: If I die Today – Shashi Deshpande

Book Details :

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: RainLight (2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8129120496
• ISBN-13: 978-8129120496
• Product Dimensions: 20 x 13.4 x 1.8 cm
• Amazon Price : INR296

Source: Google Images

Sunday 13 April 2014

Learnings from Queen

A girl form a conservative family gets dumped by her going -to-be-groom a day before her wedding, she is all broken. She loved him. What happens next? She decides to go on her honeymoon all alone. A honeymoon with herself! This journey turns out to be superb. 

On a personal note, while watching this movie I got a blast from the past. I realized how I have myself gone through everything that Rani did. Some streams of emotions touched so real and relatable notes that they gave me both Goosebumps and tears together.

Friday 11 April 2014

If money did not exist

If money was not the factor, would you still chase your dream?
-The Jokerr

Hypothetically speaking ofcourse, but would you? I wonder. Most people I know are passionate about money. But what I figure, what they are really passionate about is a certain life style, status, material things they can acquire with money. There’s this hilarious saying that : Though money can’t buy You happiness, it is always better to cry sitting in a Ferrari than in a regular car. Right?

Wednesday 9 April 2014

The queen of Arcadus


Once upon a Time there was a mighty King who ruled a wonderland called NoNeverLand.

One day after a heavy afternoon lunch, the king felt particularly inclined to a deep slumber. Since it was a hot day and most of his attendants were dozing off in the effect of a scrumptious royal dinner themselves, the king, tired of fanning himself for so long thought that maybe it would be appropriate for him now to tip-toe across the hallway to his room for a power nap. So off he went, really slow, one concerted step ahead of the other, taking care to not wake the guards up, careful not to tangle the royal nape at their sleepy legs. He did care a bit too much for his subjects, you see!

Tuesday 8 April 2014

Book Review: Time's Lost Atlas

About the Book:

Title: Time's Lost Atlas
Author: Various Authors. (Anthology)
Compiler: Harsh Agarwal
ISBN: 9788192692
Publisher: Half Baked Beans Publishing
Language: English
No. of pages: 252
Year of Publication: 2014

 
Ready to travel to Pakistan, London, Nepal, China, New York, India, in one single book?
With 11 stories encompassing 11 major events of the last decade, this anthology is a concoction of tragedy, romance, mystery and thriller, brewed to perfection to ensure a nail biting experience.
 
Reminisce and relish the events which shook the world. Breathe the freshness of past, dive into the reasons that shaped the world as it is now, walk through your bygone times, fly across the continents marking your longest journey ever - for you hold the Time's Lost Atlas in your hand.

Monday 7 April 2014

Forever: a short story

Anshu promised a million things to Tara. Tara loved him. They were childhood friends. They grew up together. Though when they separated because of Tara's dad's transfer to another city did they fall in love. Interestingly even though at school they only shared a common friend circle, later they were the ones who stayed in touch, connected well and became best friends.

For one long year Anshu loved her without confession. The distance was painful. He wanted to hold her in his arms, look in her eyes and say the three magical words. But soon he realized it was not happening in the near future. Tara went for a family vacation. It was a long trip. They could not talk. After many days when Tara's number flashed on Anshu's phone he was overwhelmed with emotions. Tara has asked him not to call her whenever he knows her parents will be around. So it was obvious Anshu could not call her when she was on a family holiday. Tara's parents never connected with her. They loved her ofcourse but they belonged to two paradoxical ideological sects. They failed to relate. Where Tara went on a trip was a coastal land. A serious mishap happened. All the media and news covered it. Tara's phone lost network. She could not call anyone. Her parents' phone too had the same issues. Anshu loved her too much to land her in any trouble by calling her himself. This man who was an atheist went to the temple and prayed for hours. He wanted back his sweetheart safe and happy.

Their vacation was extended ofcourse but to no good. Luckily with Anshu's prayers she came back as he wanted. Anshu could not resist after that. He proposed her.

For five months he waited. After that Tara took her time. She said yes but decided to say I love you only when they meet. For one and half years they did not. Though everything was planned. They were getting married. Anshu's family and Tara's brother knew and favoured everything. Anshu called her up one day. He said “I am coming to Delhi in July. Her happiness had no bounds. She repeated those wonderful words a thousand times to him that she had forbidden herself from saying. Anyways it was a cliché. She had said it many times already. After all they had been together for one and half years. Anshu had bought her a ring, bent on his knees and proposed her on video chat. She had given him a million hugs and kisses there. They shared everything. Before going anywhere, Tara would first show up on video chat so that Anshu is always the first to see her pretty side. Anshu loved her. She loved him.

The day they met, Anshu did not get her the ring. He hit her and pushed her rather. She kept crying amidst a huge crowd. It’s Delhi. Nobody cared, sadly, not even Anshu this time.
The other day Anshu broke up. He dropped her.

It was December when he had called her to announce the meeting. What happened in six months? He got into drugs. He became addicted. Hostel ruined him. Smoke became his new love. Drugs became his new soulmate. He started hating being loved. He became rough. He lost himself. And Tara lost him. She tolerated a lot of verbal, mental and emotional abuse. But she waited. She was patient. She believed the day will come when Anshu will put that ring into her delicate finger, she will kiss him, hug him and everything will get back to normal. Though, the worst happened. The fairly tale day turned out to be a catastrophe. She got abused physically too.
"My ring"
"What ring?"
"Anshu?"
"What? I threw it long back. I need to get drugs. I am rotting in Delhi at my relatives'. Mom has damned me to stay here for two days".
He met her probably for some pleasure. But she was now pale, dull and monotonous for him. He left her the other day. That meeting for Tara was everything while for Anshu it was reduced only to get a chance to breathe some fresh air, get out of his relatives place and smoke.

She tried to reach him every day for three months thereafter. One day he finally picked up the phone just to make Tara realized he is sleeping with someone else – daily.  

Tara's education was done. She wanted to marry him in three years, when both of them will be ideally settled. Anshu was initially in a hurry to marry her while Tara convinced him to settle down first. Eventually it was only Tara who wanted to get married. She was ready to give up all her dreams; she did not even want to complete her studies at the first place. It did not happen.

A few months later  when her brother visited her, he asked "When is Anshu meeting me? When is my princess' future groom showing up?" she stayed silent. Tears spoke. He hugged her and said "marriages are made in heaven". Tara grew up. She grew up to realize a prince will come. She can’t chase one. He will come when he has to. We cannot run ahead of time. Marriage will happen and it will happen to the one it has to.

The bottom line is, no matter what plans we make for ourselves, life is full of surprises. Not every love story is a fairy tale. Not every love story has a happy ending. Though, until a story is complete it does not end. A chapter may end at an abrupt note but a story does not. “Marriages are made in heaven”. It’s so true. No matter how much you give in love, only if you have to, you will get married. There is a divine control, a predestined fate, a readymade plan for all of us. Marriage is a big deal, it is a second life and we get it only the way it has been determined. The hardest part maybe waiting. But, it will happen only when it has to. While the wait is worthwhile, the impatience is futile. No one can run ahead of time and catch hold of that special person. 

And eventually no matter what we have earlier planned, we know why it did not work out that way, we know what our story had to be, we know why we got what we did, because in the end that is what had to be. 

Marriages are made in heaven, truly. All we can do is keep dreaming, keep expecting, keep patient, keep waiting, and it will come when it has to, answering every question.

Like Anshu and Tara who met when they were ten. Who remained friends for twelve years. Who fell in love. Who decided to get married. But ended up nowhere. They may be strangers today but that is not the end. It happens that we meet someone we think is our soulmate but that is only to understand they are not. They are not the type of people we are meant to be with. Marriage will happen. There is somebody for each one of us. A forever together story is meant for us, each one of us. And that will come at the right time, in the right place, the right moment. And when it does, there is nothing more beautiful in our lives, nothing else.


Ojaswini

Sunday 6 April 2014

This is in continuation of this post -

http://halfbakedvoices.blogspot.in/2013/07/rise-and-rise-of-garbage-bin.html

Last year I wrote an article for Half Baked Beans, trying to figure out the reasons behind the success or rather behind the ever increasing success of Garbage Bin. This year I was lucky enough to get a chance to have a banter with the man behind the grand success of Garbage Bin! 

Saturday 5 April 2014

If Only

Dear 16 year old me,

Hi! I’m your future and let me tell you the view is great from here. Life’s a climb but it is worth the view. So let me tell you something, it gets better, all of it. It does. I know sometimes Life feels like an endless road and you find yourself walking alone along it’s path. But you are never alone, NEVER.

Friday 4 April 2014

Book Review: Nazaqat

Blurb:
 

Naazani, a shy girl with a lonely childhood, was born and brought up in Dehradun. She moves to a metropolitan for further education and gets absorbed. In a series of events, she decides to adopt prostitution and becomes one of the most successful high profile escorts of the city with the help of her manager Sharat.

In a quest to be successful, she leaves her friends behind and dedicates more time to her profession. Nazaqat witnesses a police raid at a nearby place and the real scenario of prostitution terrifies her.She decides to take a stand and do something about it. However, Sharat convinces her that she is not powerful enough to make a difference.

Nazaqat retires and pool all her money and starts a restaurant – Joy foods in partnership with Sharat. The business grows and soon enough they have numerous outlets in various cities and Naazani Singh Shekhawat emerges as a significant entrepreneur of nation.

To cherish the old memories, she organizes a group together and calls all her old friends. Next morning, it is found that something drastic happened the night before. 

Meanwhile, she invites an author – Matthews, who is an old acquaintance to pen down her own biography. He visits her each night and in a series of ten nights, her story finds its crescendo.Will prostitution be legalized?  What’s her intention with the biography she is planning? What shall be the fate of Naazani Singh Shekhawat aka Nazaqat?

Nazaqat is a very detailed and carefully woven story which is a unique blend of thrill and drama. It is a refreshing story about a girl who adopts prostitution on her own will and starts a quest to legalize prostitution in India. While it’s entertaining because of the commercial voice, it also addresses grave issues of feminism, prostitution and homosexuality in society.

 
Source: Google Images

Thursday 3 April 2014

Memories memoir

I remember not forgiving my mother for months when one winter evening in the hills, she gave my green woolen skirt to a woman to cover her child. I had argued, “Did you not find anything else worth giving in the entire house?” Though, I had outgrown and didn’t wear that skirt, but still countered that it was my favorite. Eventually, I grew up being emotionally attached to all sorts of things, right from little teddy bear key rings to soft toys and certain clothes et al. But with passing years, it became difficult to mother so many things that had emotional value attached to them, and what worse, I had no choice.
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