BOOK REVIEW – Asha Ke Pankh By Neelam Saxena Chandra

Title:              ASHA KE PANKH

*

Language:    HINDI

*

Author:           NEELAM SAXENA CHANDRA

*

Publisher:       AIRAVAT PUBLISHING HOUSE

*
Pages:             108

*

Release :         2015

*
Price:              INR 150

*

Genre:          POETRY

**

 

**

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neelam Saxena Chandra is an engineer by profession. She works as an officer with Indian Railways. Writing poetry and fiction is her passion. Neelam has been nominated in the list of 100 most well known authors in India by Forbes for the year 2014.More than six hundred of her stories/poems have been published in various leading Indian as well as international magazines/journals/anthologies. She has published seventeen books..Neelam is a record holder in the India Book of Records for being the author with highest number of publications in a year. She has won several awards including an award in a poetry contest by American Embassy, Premchand award by Ministry of Railways, Rabindranath Tagore international poetry award, Freedom award by Radio city for her lyrics.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

 

The book is all about keeping the hopes intact while sailing through the storms of life.Optimistic approach gives all the strength to believe in the beauty of dreams and follow them relentlessly.The emotions from day to day life are picked up in a prolific manner and are put in black and white quite creatively in the form of poems. Along with a few poems from guest authors, Neelam Chandra Saxena has given a chance to some of the budding authors to get their work published in her book( one of those lucky amateur writer being me ,Geeta Suri),though the theme remains the same ie. HOPE.

 

The poems entwines the nature as the true Guru which  enlightens us through tough terrains of life.Every element of nature gives a message of Hope , happiness and hardiness .

 

POSITIVES

Book Cover :  Book cover is one of the paintings of the author herself. The vivacious colors are intelligently chosen depicting a new dawn with a girl on the swing of Hope amidst nature.

Book Title   : The title of the book has its own beauty which incites you to lay your hands on the book.

Title of the poems :  The title of every poem is well thought of  to be different and unique in its own way.

Language : The poems are easy to be understood by all age groups .. though the reader will have to drill oneself if S/he is not so well versed in Hindi Literature.The reader will of course add some beautiful words in her/his vocabulary bank.

 

NEGATIVES

The essence which piques the interest with every flipping page  was somewhere missing down the line. Few of the poems infact did not even touched the theme . The author has been quite imaginative in weaving the words  but as a reader I could not find the WOW factor in the book.

 All in all it makes a good read. “Lamhen” and ” Amaltash ke phool ”  touched my heart.

RATING

3.5 /5

P.S  My heartfelt thanks to the author Neelam Saxena Chandra for sending her book to review and above all ,keeping all the patience as I took too long to publish it. I apologize for the delay.

 

**

THE WORLD REMADE

Let’s focus on  the Euphoric, Magical, Powerful, Beautiful thoughts of life and reinvent an entirely new world of our imaginations….Whenever we focus with conviction on anything, it really does happen.

Visuals seems to be more appealing  than words….So, here is the World Remade (by me)

 

When you show deep empathy towards others, their defensive energy goes down and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.                                 STEPHEN COVEY  

 

With love around ,happiness blossoms.. and then Joy comes tumbling after…

. . 

   

The emotions instilled and feelings generated by a tight hug ,a pat or a wink by a friend of the real world has the power to change the life …..  

Soil and Soul are tugged together .. Let the soul breathe fresh with the sustenance of green around.

..   

The unseen bars and chains still pulls women back from spanning her wings in the unlimited sky…Narrow orthodox minds still sucks..

  … 

Mind and soul being completely under the clutches of glitterati world .. Their liberation is a must.

..                 

Nuggets of wisdom and knowledge bites  can enlighten ,amuse and enrage positive thoughts which can reinvent various arenas of life.

The need of the hour is having more of rational thinkers, who can enlighten the path towards peace and spirituality.

 

I think , I have said it all…..It’s not a fantasy world at all…We can certainly make it, with  faith , action, perseverance and patience..and the best moment to start working on it is NOW…

(This time, instead of putting my thoughts into words, I chose to sketch which gave me immense pleasure and creative satisfaction)

“I am participating in the #TheWorldRemade activity at BlogAdda in association with India Today #Conclave15 “.

THE BLACK DESIRE

Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there’s shadow – no, not just shadow, but fullness. You’ve got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that’s real.     – Amy Grant

The talk of the town is BLACK…

Black is abstract yet attracts……it’s secretive yet seductive..

Black is evil yet powerful…. it’s whimsical yet magical

Black is arrogant yet elegant,…….conceals yet reveals

Black is death,Black is rebirth ;Black is old,Black is bold

Black is absence of all colors yet it completes the picture

*******How I wish, I might have had a complete transformation into an elegant yet mischievous, wicked-witch wearing an all black attire from head to toe don with a crooked nose, pointy hat  to cast a spell on Blogadda team and cause a magical mayhem ( turning them into frogs ( Bwahaaaa..aa) 😉 ) for not fulfilling my desperate wish of having a great weekend at Goa(it would have been my first time in the entire  lifetime to visit Mumbai and Goa as well) with some awesome bloggers, that would have added some zest to my anyways boring life. Look , how BLACK my inner-self can be ..( He he ).Do I sound as a narcissist? Aah! My unyielding desire to grab the spotlight got flushed away in the downpours. It was a complete Black Out and I lost all my zest of participating in other contests. Though, I  thought of skipping this one too, but, since I had already drafted it before #zestupyourlife post(except the the paragraphs in Azure ) ,so , pushed myself hard to post it .

 Call me a black sheep of your(Blogadda) family or blacklist me because of the BLACK speculation above … I could not resist putting down my feelings in Black and White….. Swearing hard this time not to participate in any of the contests even though how luscious or heart captivating are  the dishes being served by Blogadda, because I know, once again my Black luck ….eesh…sorry… Bad luck shall stand tall as a demon in front of my winning deal and my small little heart shall have to bear the thunderous pain..********

So ,here are the BLACK-LISTED items … Oh!! sorry again.. here is the list of BLACK items( tangible or intangible, believable or unbelievable) I desire  …

BLACK desire #1    BLACK ROSE

Nature again… of course it cannot be BLACK.. but Black makes it complete. I am talking about the Black beauty of the garden. Red roses are said to be romantic and yellow graces the friendship . How about a Black Rose ? Have you ever thought of proposing someone with a Black rose.. So unusual .. isn’t it? But I like unusual things, incidents and people. Although, I have bushes of Red , yellow, orange , white and pink roses in my garden ,I still wish to have atleast one bush of Black Rose among them as their friend.

BLACK desire #2    Predominate the BLACK PLANET

Not only the humans segregate the evil , the bad, as BLACK, but even the celestial family has a black sheep among them . THE BAD GUY …THE PLANET SATURN which is said to  bring in bad luck and bad omens with him .It is said to be “the malefic amongst the malefic ”  . I strongly desire to have the super power to control this BLACK Planet and position it in such a house  where the BLACK turns into the colors of integrity, fame, spirituality,love ,success and all the positives in one’s life.

BLACK desire #3     BLACK Beauty Spot

 A question which intrigues me many a times, is whether  the beautiful ladies are generously gifted with the beauty spot or the beauty spot makes them genuinely beautiful… still digging the grey matter …Another wierd desire … How I wish,I would have had a mesmerizing black beauty spot on my chin to flaunt my charm which could escort  me  to the queue of beautiful ladies ( of course with the same heart as I have now which is as pure as a dew drop.)

BLACK desire #4    BLACK vodka

Adhering to style and sophistication,liberation is #whattheBlack desire of my heart is. I wish to chill out with my friends someday having few shots of black vodka and booze out. Party hard,laugh out loud- so much so that the Black curtain drops in front of the toil and troubles; dance,as if I am the queen of hearts;live every moment,as if I will die tomorrow. Liberate , liberate and  liberate…

BLACK desire #5   BLACK Apple IPAD

Don’t Blackball me for not being a gadget geek. I don’t change my gadgets with the change of seasons. This is the reason why every eye  ogling at me has an expression that I am completely behind the times.Let me share  a secret with you that I am deeply ,madly in love..hmmm.. in love hmmm..in love…. with the lean, the thin ,the powerful , the BLACK Apple IPAD .It’s possession will enthrall me to the core.

Oh!! Now I am having a total of 6 desires including to be a BLACK wicked witch…  🙂 He he..( I added this desire after #Zestupyourlife contest) It’s entirely within  your discretion to consider any five of the above. 

P.S  Blogadda Team  – Requesting to  take everything on a lighter note. I don’t have any intentions to hurt anybody’s sentiments or feelings.

Image Courtesy :  Google Images

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

The Peppy Five- FOR ZEST! WITH ZEST!

While we search for the picture perfect of life to befit  our dream-frame,we simply run, run and run, turning a blind eye towards life’s miracles which lies within our proximity. Plannings fail, dreams topples on the stairs of reality and at times over-triggered grey cells guzzles away all the amusement of the moment.

To ignite the spark in our life, sometimes even a cherubic smile work wonders.Adding Happy moments to someone’s life might be another trick to ZEST up our lives.It’s one’s own perception. We just need to have an eye to elicit and a heart to hold those magical moments,splendid situations and peachy people.

So, here are the  five mystical, magical recipes which spice up my life. Who knows they might be yours too :). So, read ahead to know, if we fall for the same flavour.

1.    The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. Anne Frank

Gazing an alluring sunset standing amidst the waves on a sea side while listening to twitters and chirps, actually adds some meaning to my life. If not always I can be on a beach side ,only a nature walk turns me on. Walking barefoot on the lush green nature carpet ,drenching myself in the downpours , making paper boats ,playing hopscotch, talking to the flowers ,responding to the kuhooo of ‘Koyal’, scolding the parrots who eats away all the guavas and mangoes in my garden; adds buoyancy to the mundane routine and  Zaps me up . For ZEST ! With ZEST !

2.  “Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.”― Robert Fripp

Music when flows through the senses strikes every chord of heart and soul. When the dancing diva Madhuri Dixit gives a language with her own rhythmic style and statement ,it is all the more enchanting and divine. Whenever I listen or watch  any of her songs, it’s so very difficult for me to stop myself to be on the floor, dance out all the dullness and recharge my soul.For sure which” perrrfectly” adds a spark to my life. For ZEST ! With ZEST !

3. “Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it.”  – Danny Kaye

Strokes of brush dipped in bright vibrant or dull pastel colors allows me to be, me and myself . Whenever I splatter colors on the white canvass my heart skips a beat in delight and transfer me to the seventh heaven where I have the magical wand to paint my dreams as I wish them to be and pour all my feelings into it.That joy of creation is an awesome punch for me to get going. 🙂 For ZEST ! With ZEST !

4. ” Telling stories,throwing surprises and laughing with family and friends,precious moments you will never forget. “

Planning surprises for family N friends(F n F) –Whether it be a surprise tour to embark on an enthralling journey of fun and excitement to explore places and people, or it be a surprise visit, an unusual party without any reason or anything that jolts     F n F  and amaze them to the core. You can’t even realize how effortlessly those eureka moments of charismatic expressions and reactions from them, ZEST up my life to extremes.Those Kodak moments are always missed to be clicked by a camera but they take a road through my eyes and are saved permanently in my heart.   For ZEST ! With ZEST !

5.  “When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.”—The 14th Dalai Lama

To make a difference in somebody’s life with small random acts of kindness  – May it be  serving cold water in hot summers on the railway station to the passengers or distributing books among the underprivileged students,or be any small thing that someone needs .  Those satiated hearts and smiling faces gives a terrific yet soothing bounce to my heart. For ZEST ! With ZEST !

There are even more shots which adds various other dimensions  to my life,but I restrain myself sharing only THE PEPPEY FIVE-For ZEST! With ZEST!.

Ring the bell, if any of the above gives a punch to your life as well. I am eager to know about it . For ZEST ! With ZEST !

Image source : Google Images 

This post is a part of the #ZestUpYourLife activity in association with TATA Zest and BlogAdda.com

 

SHE IS A TRUE MARDAANI

 It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends. – J. K. Rowling…..…                                     And even more to stand up to your life partner.

Her mind was shuddered yet she was poised; She was empty handed yet she had no regrets; Her heart bled yet she kept smiling….

Though the spiritual charisma of Lavanya charmed me, looking at her, I always felt that there is an inundation in her which is desperately seeking an appropriate outlet. Probing her for a number of times she agreed to unveil the emotional whips and lashes she surpassed bravely.

After getting married to Lucknow based Niketan, Lavanya accepted every new person in the family with an open heart and mind, handled every situation very calmly,but what was getting above her head were those abusive snide remarks from her husband every now and then .It was even more horrible when her father-in-law’s sweet coated remarks aggravated the situation every time. The scoffing rate went higher day by day. The only way to keep the relationship pacing was to IGNORE and AVOID. So, she did that, but at every ignorance her soul was awarded an extra scar. Still nothing stopped. It grew even more gruesome. Indirect physical abuse was their next trick. Sweet with words and  posing that they are taking care of her they gave the medicine while she got hurt one day. That medicine left  her unconscious for two full days.. and when she regained her consciousness, she overheard the conversation  of her husband with her father-in -law.

IN CONVERSATION – LAVANYA’s HUSBAND AND FATHER-IN-LAW 

Her husband (to his father) I have fulfilled the last wish of mummy (who has been bedridden since last 4 years) by getting married although I never wanted a wife in my life. Moreover, she hasn’t brought any gold or cash along with her ,so  is useless for us “Aurat to waise bhi pair ki jooti hoti hai ” . From now onwards she is just a toy to play… And if you also feel like playing with her you can, while I am not here…

It was like a horrendous nightmare for her… Those spine chilling, filthy words gave a head rush once again… But from that moment onwards she had to be alert and even more calm and normal to handle the situation. She posed to be sleeping for some more time to plan to save herself. After some time she stood up from the bed, behaved normally so as to hide about her being aware of the reality.

In the evening she took permission to go to the temple for some time so that she can talk to her parents who could help her come out of  this problem. But, they were in Hyderabad for few days.. After talking to their daughter they started off  immediately from there so as to reach her as soon as possible. Lavanya mustered all her courage and thought of buying red pepper powder to keep along with her to help her face any kind catastrophe.

As soon as she stepped back into her house an unexpected  pandemonium broke out. Her husband quickly bolted the room from inside where her father-in – law was already present. Her sixth sense warned her of something unusual. She quickly took out the red pepper powder and threw in the eyes of both father and son. They went wild,snarled at her, pulled her hairs, tried groping her, but, suddenly in between all this, Niketan left Lavanya with his father in the room and bolted from outside.

Here I interrupted her to ask, that Why Niketan went outside the room?

Lavanya said, all the pepper powder she flung must have went into his eyes so he might have gone to splash his eyes with water.

That shameless old ba****d came forward to yank her clothes away. He was successful in pinning her down.His every pore oozed out brutality. She shrieked in agony ,she wailed,she squawked and fearfully begged for a few minutes, but within fraction of seconds a spurt of vigor recharged every single pore of her body. A sadistic smile curled her lips up. She was transformed into a powerhouse ready to burst.She kicked that old man between his shins with full force umpteen times till he fell flat. Now she stood up, tried opening the other door(back door) which was luckily not bolted from outside.To rescue herself, she quickly took her wallet, ran towards the taxi stand, took a taxi to the railway station and boarded one of the trains which was about to leave in a minute. Along with the departure of  the train  from the Lucknow station,the anger, the fear,the deep gasps of breath,the incessant flow of tears,the sweat on her face;all slowly took a tranquil tone. Explicitly etched on her face was the sense of relief to have fought with grit and quick wit against the beasts in the human skin.

After inquiring with her co-passengers, she informed her parents  that she has boarded the train for Nainital and asked them to take a route to that city. She was safe, but it took her eight months to regain  her emotional balance. she filed a complaint with the police and fought for her rights.

It was my honor to have lived with that woman for a month.I salute to her valor and sense of wisdom.My senses went numb knowing that such beasts are living and living with pride..  Every time I listen to such episodes my soul squeals to geld such fiends to the same hawk and buzzard they put women into.

SHE IS A TRUE MARDAANI . She inspired me to never avoid a single abuse. STOP it on the first step..Raise your voice so much so that even the deaf can hear..

P.S I don’t have her pic right now with me.

 

Hindustani har bolo ke munh hamne suni kahani hai

Khoob ladi mardaani wo to “MARDAANI ” wali RANI  hai…..

This is written as a part of I am Mardaani activity exclusively at BlogAdda.com for Indian Bloggers

 

 

BOOK REVIEW- BUSINESS DOCTORS by SAMEER KAMAT

Title:            BUSINESS DOCTORS : MANAGEMENT CONSULTING GONE WILD

*

Author:        SAMEER KAMAT

*

Publisher:     BOOKSOARUS

*
Pages:           240  PAPERBACK

*

Release :       2014

*
Price:            INR 250

*

Genre:         Fiction (Thriller)

*

About the author

Sameer Kamat is the founder of MBA Crystal Ball and Booksoarus. His first book, Beyond The MBA Hype published by HarperCollins, is currently in the third reprint. Business Doctors – Management Consulting Gone Wild is his second book.

*

My views

*

MANAGEMENT – MAFIA; Irrelevant relevancy indeed. This extraordinary concept rolled in a bit of humor makes you believe that a Management consultant can nurture ANY business that challenges him. Here the challenge was a bit weird because the business which was under a financial crunch taking its last few breaths and was desperately in need of a revival strategy was a mafia owned business of gambling, porn and drugs.

This Ivy League educated management consultant Michael Schneider, at the same time, was losing his existing clientele as a result of economic downturn in the consulting business of the corporate sector.

Stephen Woody, the mafia boss could not understand more than that he is desperately in need of someone who could instil life to his infirm business. Who other than a doctor for his business could do it better? This was actually explained to him by his wife Angie. 

Now he intends to hire Schneider associates to inflate his almost dead business. Though Michael was a bit reluctant at the first step, but afterwards reconsidered his offer for the sake of getting hefty returns which could surely keep his consultancy firm in good health.

Business Doctors : Management Consulting Gone Wild  – While reading this book was completely an enthralling experience, too many consulting jargon will surely put you off if you are a non-MBA. The flow of the story was overall good but it slows down a bit in between and becomes boring . However the plot is engaging, inappropriate paragraph breaks and alignment of the text puts you off track.

 All in all, the humor punches at right places makes it an enjoyable read.Go grab your copy.

RATING      ***/5

*

It is an author requested review.

*

Contact Sameer Kamat  :

Website | www.sameerkamat.com

Email | info at booksoarus dot com

Connect with him on Twitter @KamatSameer

*

DISCLAIMER : All the Book Reviews, Author’s Interviews , Articles written on this blog are unpaid assignments. Authors/Writers are not earning even a single penny for publishing them on their blog, neither in the present nor in the future.

 

Happy Meal with MY BOROSIL

Whenever I step into my kitchen, a sense of ethnicity takes my heart away. The visually appealing crockery window attracts me to stand and stare for a while and then allows me to cook. I actually talk with my kitchen wares at times… ( shh.. It’s a secret and now no more a secret)

Wonderful, so graceful. .stands confident and crowned in the peer group, glowing unblemished skin, virginity intact.. Hands just slip in to catch hold of it, seems to be delicate, aesthetically crafted by an artist.. So, here comes the show stopper for today’s evening, a set of VISION GLASSES, new member in the family of my crockery window…

The oldest yet the beloved and the healthiest is on the top charts of cool cool welcome drinks.. Works as an appetizer as well…

Fresh lime soda with a dash of black salt garnished with finely chopped mint leaves.. And when it is served in the slender  Borosil Vision glasses you can’t dare to deny picking your share immediately. I wished to serve the drink in Canard or Pyramid to add a tinge of sensuous appeal…. hmm.. no other option other than to manage with the existing ones .I promise the two will be the members of my crockery window soon.

Shahi Veg Pulao with Cucumber Raita accompanied with Fried Masala Papad Strips

This grand feast when served on the dining table just drools me.

Shahi Veg Pulao is a wholesome meal  as it has Basmati rice along with a variety of fresh vegetables and dry fruits .Other than that the roasted dry spices season the dish so perfectly that its aroma creates magic and brings a beautiful smile on the faces. Florets of cauliflower, shreds of Red ,Green and Yellow bell pepper, green pearls (peas 🙂 ), finely cut cubes of carrot and paneer, diced onions, french beans, finely chopped ginger and a few cloves of garlic. When these vegetables are set to dive in the shallow sea of yellow butter with the tempering of cumin seeds, they all transform into a new crispy shiny avatar.

While this mixture is kept aside we take another pan with butter where we add all the spices one by one for aroma, taste and health; cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cumin seeds, bay leaves, black pepper, coriander seeds, turmeric powder; let them sauté for two minutes then we add chopped almonds and golden raisins to boast an extra handful of nutritive power to the dish.  Required amount of water along with the soaked rice and salt to taste are next in line.  the rice is perfectly cooked we add the above mixture of vegetables and carefully stir it. It’s ready to be transferred in the serving dish. Coriander leaves for garnishing have already been finely chopped.

Cold Cucumber Raita

Set half a cucumber to puree along with green chilli and lemon juice in a mixer. Add it in a bowl of curd, mix it well. Sprinkle roasted crushed cumin seeds, pinch of sugar and salt to taste. Refrigerate it for half an hour .Garnish it with mint leaves and you are ready with the awesome Raita to complement the Veg Shahi Pulao.

Fried Masala Papad Strips

Fry the strips of your favorite Papad. Sprinkle chat masala and you are done .No rocket science.

I am all ready to impress my friend with the delectable meal served in My borosil serving ware. Veg Shahi Pulao looks commendable in the deep round casserole. It was visually stunning when I poured Cucumber Raita in one of the Mixing Bowls. How I wish I would have had that trendy variety platter to serve masala papad strips, serving plate and small katoris to serve the meal….. :(.. chill guys .. Soon my wish will be fulfilled…

Till you savor the delicacies served on different platters on various blogs and I make some  preparations to catch you in the second round. Stay tuned..Stay Healthy …Stay happy

Book Review – RISE OF THE SUN PRINCE

**

Title:              RISE OF THE SUN PRINCE (BOOK 1)

*

Series:           RAMAYANA : THE GAME OF LIFE

*

Author:           SHUBHA VILAS

*

Publisher:       JAICO PUBLISHING HOSE

*
Pages:             217  PAPERBACK

*

Release :         2014

*
Price:              INR 250

*

Genre:            MYTHOLOGY

**

**

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

**

Shubha Vilas  – a spiritual seeker and a motivational speaker, holds a degree in engineering and law with specialization in Patent Law. His leadership seminars are popular with top-level management in corporate houses. He also helps individuals deal with modern-life situations by applying the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana and other dharmic traditions.

ABOUT THE BOOK 

The first book of the six volume series THE RISE OF THE SUN PRINCE  is essentially about the Baal Kanda of Ramayana by Sage Valmiki garnished with some anecdotes from  Kamba Ramayana. The sojourn of the engrossing description of the fable amalgamated with the provocative teachings through the footnotes distinctly declares it to be a page turner.

Retelling an old literary masterpiece is rather difficult than penning down a fresh new story,but the author has done this job with great perfection. The originality of the epic is intact, but “Jeevan Sutras” in every chapter nourishes the mind with the proper potion of wisdom to deal with the conundrums of life and inspires to follow the path of optimism, even during times of failures. It stands out of the various other modern interpretations as it has been restated as a spellbinding multifaceted tale with the narration being so captivating that you are hooked up to it till the end.

Magical words make the description so mesmerizing that you truly transmit yourself into that era, but still are able to connect with the present life’s quest. Simple yet lucid and convincing narration has been the highlight throughout. The drama and action in the saga is being unfolded skillfully in an alluring manner.

The various laws like law of sharing, law of dependence, etc. elucidates how these could be applied into all our relationships  for a smooth landing in every aspect of life.

The Book cover is quite appealing and is good enough to stimulate the intellectual tier and perk up your interest  to immediately lay hands on the book. No matter what age group you fall into, this book has the potential to guide you through life’s complexities.

I strongly recommend this book who enjoys reading Indian Mythology.

Rating  4/5.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

**

DISCLAIMER : All the Book Reviews, Author’s Interviews , Articles written on this blog are unpaid assignments. Authors/Writers are not earning even a single penny for publishing them on their blog, neither in the present nor in the future.

WINNING – A MIND GAME

A GLOBAL PLATFORM TO IDEATE , DEBATE AND CELEBRATE.

“In 1995 I had $7 bucks in my pocket and knew two things: I am broke as hell and one day I won’t be.”

                                                                             Dwayane ‘The Rock’ Johnson

“One day I won’t be”  He said it all, in this killing phrase.

Johnson’s thoughts added robustness to his cache of the  positive energy  which embarked upon his character and thereby his destiny and unfailingly made him touch the pinnacle of success. He redefined his life’s equation to be an all time WINNER.

The element of spunk running down your nerves and the chunk of tenacity hitting the center spot of your mind is all about my definition of WINNING.

It’s simply a mind game. Focus befogged, and the goal is missed.

लहरों से डर कर नौका पार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती.

नन्हीं चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,
चढ़ती दीवारों पर, सौ बार फिसलती है|
मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,
चढ़कर गिरना, गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है|
आख़िर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती|

Translation :

The boat that qualms the waves
never gets across.
The mind that dreads and dares
has never been at loss.
The tiny ant, when it carries the grain
lays it up into the heights of the wall.
Falls slipping a hundred times,
Just as it tries again,
the faith in the mind
stirs courage in the nerves.
It soars and slips, then slips and soars again
Until its efforts have not been in vain…

The inspirational lines from a poem  by Late Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan enkindles vigor to accept the short term  failures with a smiling face as they are nothing, but the challenging milestones.The moment  your mind and heart  sets in consonance with the spirit to try again, after a fall , you WIN ..

It’s not about the number of awards being showcased on your name, it’s not about the inflow of fame and money, and it’s not about being in the first position every time. Winning is all about, how easily you carve your way through failures, how swiftly, but with all the dynamism you face the world each time you are being knocked down, how indubitably you shed your fears and inhibitions, and verge upon a new YOU.

Any exacerbating or ill-fated situation swishes you completely, but if your core strength is intact, it helps to overcome this fiasco. You find yourself transformed having an entirely new perspective towards life, adding more to your vertical and horizontal bandwidth.

“Never say no to new learnings and opportunities.” 

“Rediscover the awe-inducing power of looking at things with the spirit of a child.”

“Ramp up your expertise and resiliency each time, get back up and keep fighting.”

Every time you accept a challenge and fulfill it ;every time you hook up again to your dreams; every time you smile after being bumped into an unpleasant situation; the WINNER which is already inside YOU gets an extra barrel of oxygen  impregnating a headstrong spirit to begin the game of life all over again.

Seep into one’s heart, and touch the soul,

Keep forging ahead towards your goal.

Spare your comfort for others happiness,

Dare to dream ,and struggle seamless.

Lights, camera, action – BEGIN,

Say, I can do-  with all the zing.

It is possible – just imagine,

Push hard , hope high,

and let your heart sing.

Nobody is a loser, because

WINNING is your own measure.

 Write your own innings…

Syncopate it ,and  that’s  W–INNING..

This post is a part of India Today Conclave 2014 in association with Indiblogger.in

Image Courtesy :  http://conclave.intoday.in ,Google Images 

courtesy (Hindi poem and its translation)  : google groups

 Winning is renewing our covenant with future.Winning is being alive. In India Today Conclave, winners and visionaries from every realm of human experience would come together to create a wiser and brighter world than what we inhabit in today.

Share… What winning means to you ?

INTERVIEW WITH DEBUT AUTHOR – Dr. DEEPAK KRIPAL

Deepak Kripal

   Hold on to your breath , as I am going to introduce you with an author who has just broken the publishing barrier . His “never give up ” attitude rewarded him with his overwhelming victory of making his debut among the published authors with his book “The Devil’s Gate – An Impossible journey” .The book has already hit the online stores . Wishing his book to be a great success  and even more success in his  tryst with words.

I was spellbound after viewing the trailer of his book on YOU TUBE  and was eager to know more about his work ,though I am still waiting for its copy. You too have a glimpse of it ..

OFFICIAL BOOK TRAILER _ THE DEVIL’S GATE_ AN IMPOSSIBLE….by DEEPAK KRIPAL

It’s completely my  pleasure and  privilege to confab with Dr. Deepak Kripal , the author of  “The Devil’s Gate – An impossible journey “…

So,let me shoot the questions..

1.     The first thought which appeared in your mind while holding your book for the first time.

    Is it really happening!

 2.     What is the inspiration behind “The Devil’s Gate: An Impossible journey’’?

There is no so specific inspiration as such. Just that a compelling story struck my mind that I had to pen down. I didn’t have any plans to write a book at this stage, but once the idea of this story came to my mind, I couldn’t help but write it.

 3.     Tell us something about your story (Of course, you don’t need to reveal the suspense).

What if, one day animals wake up and decide that, since humans are not listening to us, we should talk to the demons to let us co-habit with them? It’s an interesting thought with endless opportunities to explore. What happens after animals take this initiative and try to get help from the dead makes the base of the story. Many more things build over that which I can’t really reveal for obvious reasons.

 4.     Would you like to share any memorable moments while writing your book? 

Yes. While writing the story, one of the characters that I didn’t think would be there, appeared out of nowhere, as if I am not writing the story; the story was writing itself. That character is very important now, in the context of the story. I will not tell you the name of the character at this stage.

5.     Who is your favourite character from the book and why?

I love the character of Dug, for he is the simplest of all. You will know why I love him once you read the story. Though I would say that I love Katy & Billy equally; and you can’t help but love Cheeku.

 6.     Did you face any tumbles or blocks to make this “Impossible journey” a possible one? How did you overcome them?

To be honest, I didn’t face any major problems. Six publishers rejected me citing the reason that  my story didn’t fit into their publishing program. But I was expecting it since I was a new author and I had written a story on a rather unusual topic. But for my good-fortune, Leadstart Publishing decided to give a platform to this rather unusual story.

 7.     Which part of your book you like to read again and again and you feel proud of yourself to have written that?

I would have loved to tell you about that, but that, unfortunately, is part of the mystery, so can’t really tell you about that. I don’t want to spoil the fun. But I am sure you will know about it once you go through the story.

 8.     The title of the book is one of its own kind? So the story came first or the title?

The title came much later after the story was constructed. I don’t think that a title can give birth to a story. It’s the story that has to lead the title. That’s entirely a personal opinion though. If anyone writes a good story thinking about a title only, I’ll do nothing but salute him.

 9.     Who stood by you as a pillar of strength throughout the journey of making your dream of becoming an author, come true?

I worship friendship; and I am fortunate enough to have a lot of friends who never ask twice before doing anything for me. As long as I am alive, my friends are, and will always remain my strength.

10.  Why should I, as a reader, pick your book / or order your book to read?

If I am a reader, I would expect both emotional & intellectual satisfaction from a story, and those are the two reasons why you have to read my story.

 11.  Why did you choose this suspense/ thriller /fantasy as a genre of your debut novel? Why not some romantic or comedy or something else?

To be honest, I didn’t select any genre. If you ask me, I would create a new genre that would be called as ‘interesting’. I decided to write the story only after I was convinced that I would give anything to read such a story. I believe that there is nothing better than a good story, and that is what I intend to tell, a good story.

 12. Does your book have a slice of life in it?

      If a story doesn’t have a life, it shouldn’t take birth. You will see that the story of my book, though a fantasy fiction, comes from real life itself. Marx had famously said that ‘no idea can take shape in a vacuum’. I think he had a valid point.

I sincerely wish that his work receives warm accolades from the readers as well as the critics and he steps on to yet another ladder of success.

Heartiest Congratulations !!

********************************

To know more about the book or buy it you can visit

https://www.facebook.com/deepak.kripal

You can buy his book from  :

AMAZON, INFIBEAM, SNAPDEAL, FLIPKART, BOOKADDA, CROSSWORD, LEADSTART , REDIFF

Stay tuned to read my review of Deepak Kripal’s debut Novel  “The Devil’s Gate – An Impossible Journey “.

P.S  I extend my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Deepak Kripal for sparing time from his busy schedule to make this interview possible.