I know this article is coming very late. It should have been delivered a few months back. However, my anger has not subsided yet.
I wanted to write about it especially when #internationalwomensday is being celebrated all over the world. You will agree with me that it is always the mother who shapes up the thoughts and action of a child. The first lesson a child gets is from his/her mother. She might teach her child by telling stories, assigning them duties, punishing them, helping them , mentoring them. So throughout our life at any one point of time we do remember her teachings and thank her for that. That’s the role mother play in our lives.
So I consider myself fortunate that my Ma taught me to be independent in thoughts, choice, opinions, finance, decisions just about everything I can think of at this moment. She had never questioned…
As if losing her parents and her voice in a childhood accident wasn’t cruel enough, Anita Batra now has to come to terms with her twin’s death and help her sister’s partner get a new lease in life.
Adopted by the Verma Clan after his parents died in an accident, Dr. Salim Verma finally finds love and a chance to be happy only to lose it in an accident he himself survives.
When fate strikes a final blow and brings two strangers together, Salim can’t help but punish Anita and make her tread through the hell he himself was in, while all Anita wants is to help her sister’s partner start afresh, no matter what the cost.
Will Salim ever be able to ignore Anita’s resemblance to his dead girlfriend and fall in love with her instead? Will Anita be able to reveal the real Salim hiding behind the monster? Will they be able to embrace their tumultuous attraction for each other despite their terrible start?
Yours To Love Yours To Take is a heartwarming saga of love and sacrifice that will reinstate your belief that love conquers all.
It would be great if you can add this book to your TBR.
Here is a passionate romantic who loves literatureand has created many happy ending in her imagination, for every movie or book with a sad conclusion.
She soon began to create her own characters and situations, creating plenty of romances and happy endings to satisfy her imagination. “But for my laziness and diffidence,” says Reshma “I would have penned umpteen stories of unexpected pairs meeting and falling in love, overcoming troubles and hurdles to unite for a lifetime.”
A voracious reader, Reader, Reshma is a poet as well, and feels that she would be blessed as a writer if she could bring a happy content sigh on the readers lips.
Title: The Money Lender Tales from a small town in South India
Author : Manju Nambiar
Genre : Collection of short stories
Blurb: Short and Fun read! Truly Entertaining and Witty.
The book is a collection of short stories, narrated through the eye of a small town money lender. As the story unfolds, we get introduced to the unique characters in the town and their bizarre issues. How the money lender provide solutions to their problems in the most humorous and practical manner form the crux of the book.
My Take:
The book is a collection of short stories from the perspective of the money lender at Gulf Town, a small town in Kerala. The author succeeds in weaving great stories based on turmoil of relationships of people in this small town with the money lender in a pivotal role. Most of the stories are a small pack of surprises.
The book is recommended for anyone enjoying short read.
Blurb: Say hello to Ernie Fish, the famous cat expert and his two cats Giri and Garby. And there’s a dog too. Join them on their adventures as Ernie Fish’s own cats prove his theories wrong, give him advice, and even sing! Every short story in this collection is full of meow.
My Take:
So you love cats?
Great! Then this book is meant for you. With cat expert Ernie Fish the author takes you to a roller coaster hilarious bumpy ride mentoring cats with the help of his pets. Of course Ernie Fish knows his job as an cat expert however, he faces many embarrassing situation because of his pets Garby and Giri. And joining in the gang of cats is Gugulu, the friendly neighbour dog.
The language of the book is narrative and is a collection of short stories. A very short read recommended for anyone who loves to interact with furry buddies.
Before I tell you what the movie is about I would like to share my experience of going out to watch this movie.
Ten years into marriage now and I have skipped all the movies I ever wanted to watch on the silver screen. The reason is not different than many of yours. I love to watch off beat movies mostly and that does not pull in family viewing at all especially when you have kids in the house. So in theaters, I always end by watching movies which are treat to eyes of the kids which implies superman, flying Jatt etc. While I usually watch my TBV list on TV with CDs – pirated most of the time.
LUMB was a big change from all these things in my life. I boldly announced to my family that I am going to watch this movie in the theaters. Period! They glared at me for a while but then set me free. Yes FREE. I could go out watch my movie now. No baggage attached. No hard feelings like how could I do this to my family-taking the liberty and all. But you heard me correct. LUMB trailers got me to say that and with no baggage attached.
So now the first hurdle was crossed. which meant I had to watch it alone if my family was not coming along. ALONE! Nah. I turned to all my girlfriends on my phone contact list. Sending messages in Watsapp groups to make a team to go out to watch the movie in the hall.
Surprisingly, even after so much hoopla many of the women on my list had never heard of the movie. And those who did had some kind of excuse or the other to skip it. However, they did assure they would love to watch it. However, I know the situation would have been different if it was a different movie like romance or masala bollywood films.
LUMB is based on a social issue and it is not just off beat but related to of woman’s sexual desire. It is a dark comedy. Nevertheless, I kept asking them out. So finally after pitching around thirty or so ladies in my groups, three finally came forward.
It was a rocking day for me and I gladly announced to my family that finally I got my movie mates. Venue and time of the show was decided. But on the due date, two of the three friends gave the same excuse which the others had given before. I can understand that.
Even saying about it to someone who had seen the trailers that you were going to watch it raised brows with a naughty smile. However, the film is anything but naughty.
I was wondering if I had to watch it alone again. I did that once many years before my marriage and was in for a shock after sitting in the theater. It was Amir khan movie – 1947, The Earth. (Very difficult to watch alone because of its rawness in portraying the incidents during partition of India ). So I was caught up in the same fear even after so many years. Of course both the movies are totally different. However, the thought of having a stranger sitting next to me in a darken hall was still very uncomfortable for me.
I reached the venue in time and was very glad to find the friend waiting. We watched the movie together and enjoyed it too. By the time it was over, it was late in the evening and drizzling too. We exchanged goodbyes and headed back home. She with her family and I in my scooty. Driving past the convoy of trucks on the national highway with beads of rain drops splashing on my face and wetting my clothes. Luckily there was no street light on at that moment- I want to remember LUMB for giving me those moments – my moment of lipstick wale sapne.
Ratna Pathak in Lipstick Under My Burkha
My Review of the movie: I loved the movie. Especially, the character played by Ratna Pathak – a middle aged widow dreaming of love life. Of course, the movie has lots of other relatable characters too, chasing their dreams. Even when their dreams comes crashing down instead of losing hope they chase a new one. Never stop dreaming it says. For nobody can take that away from you – Your Lipstick Wale Sapne
“If you don’t fit in with your peers, you get depressed” – Sudesna Ghosh, author of Just Me, the Sink and The Pot.
Sudesna Ghosh
Today we have with us of our blog guest post author Sudesna Ghosh (Sue) a writer based in Kolkata. She was born in the United States and moved to India when she was 9. After completing high school there, she went back to the US for her higher education at the University of Rochester. She has also penned What Would I Tell Her @ 13 and News Now, along with several short stories. When Sudesna isn’t writing, she tries to do her bit for animal welfare.
Her recent release Just Me, The Sink and The Pot is a children and Young adult literature targeting the theme of body shaming in kids.
Your book talks about teenager issue of getting stressed because of physical appearance. How does it affect the overall self-esteem of the child in the near future?
Body shaming and body image issues effect people of all ages. It is one thing to dislike a thing or two about your appearance, and entirely a different thing to be obsessed with disliking your body and its imperfections. These imperfections of course come from society’s definition of beauty.
When a child grows up knowing and being told repeatedly that she is ‘different’ and that she doesn’t meet the standards of beauty, the child can do either of two things – learn to ignore it and maybe even laugh it off, or believe everyone else and develop low self esteem. The latter happens often and coming out of it isn’t easy unless you have a LOT of support. Support from parents, from teachers, from mental health professionals, is necessary to survive in the battle against negative body image.
Children, especially teens, are in a phase of life where fitting in is important. If you don’t fit in with your peers, you get depressed and dislike yourself for being different. The bad news is that there will be bullies who make other kids feel terrible about the way they look. Yet there is good news too; we as a society are speaking up about mental health issues in India. While depression and anxiety can result due to multiple reasons, I believe that even children/teens are getting professional help these days if needed and of course, if the adults in their lives are perceptive enough.
Growing up with body image issues has taught me one thing better late than never: there are overweight girls and women everywhere but everyone has a different level of self confidence. Confidence takes time to build and is easier to have no matter your weight as you grow older and realise what is really important to you and your life. Children are just starting out, learning about the world and trying to make themselves be liked – low self esteem can develop and should not be ignored.
JUST ME, THE SINK & THE POT
by
Sudesna Ghosh
Blurb
Meet Pamela, an overweight girl who’s looking back at her school days. From longing for a Valentine to dealing with a sibling who hates her, Pamela has a lot to deal with. She even has a special bunch of friends at home who she can turn to – but they aren’t the kind of friends you’d expect. Life sucks when you’re fat. Can Pamela ever be happy?
Read an excerpt of the book here…
One day a classmate asked me, “Where is your lunch?” I told her that I had already had it and went back to my fake laughter and smiles. The others chatted and laughed while they ate from their tiffin boxes. Some brought samosas or ice cream from outside the gate. My hunger pangs got worse as I saw all the food and smelt the delicious odours around me.
The ice cream cart was run by a sweet old man who knew me since I’d started school. He would ask me some days, “Child, you don’t want your favourite orange stick?” I would say no thank you and smile before running away from him and his cart. One day he seemed to be desperate to make me have an ice cream. “Child! Come here and have an ice cream. You don’t have to pay me,” he called out. I smiled, turned around and went to hide in an empty classroom. Two minutes later, I shrieked; the old man had found me. He was carrying a dripping ice cream for me. I started laughing. Then I started running away from him. The old man started running after me!
My classmates were shocked. The sports teacher was happy to see me run for the first time – I had never run before because fat moves when you run. Everybody would laugh. The lunch break ended with me accepting the mostly melted orange stick from the kind ice cream man. We were too tired to talk about the whole event. But it did make me a bit popular that year, with the school Yearbook including the story and a picture of me running away from a 6 feet tall man holding an ice cream.
I get these same questions so often that I decided to turn this into a blog post:
I have a manuscript. How do I self-publish it?Before you self-publish this:
* If you have writer friends, get them to beta-read your manuscript.
* Get your manuscript edited.
* Get your manuscript proofread.
Then:
* Commission an cover for ebook (print/paper book cover will be separate).
* Get the book formatted for ebook (and print/paper book, when you’re ready for it).
* Create an account on Amazon and upload formatted ebook file.
* Set a price and make it ready for sale with a click
Do I publish as an ebook, or a print book?* Start off with the ebook.
* Get it formatted as an ebook.
* Upload to various vendors like – Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, pronoun.com etc. You cannot upload to many international vendors (like Apple) directly. * When…
I have a kids book reading club and most of the time I have the parents asking me this question time and again, ” How to make the child interested in reading books?” So I have written this article for them which I am sure can help.
Two decades back it was an easy sight to watch a child with story books in hand. We have grown up reading Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Enid Blyton and Mills & Boons. Reading books had been part of our lives and there was so much we imagined when reading these books. Right from fairy tales, to magical world to adventure stories of the sea, books had given us a big world of imagination. The characters stood alive in front of our eyes taking us to a new adventure along. Our summer vacation always started with a to-be-read list of books. Comics like Amar…
1944, Kohima — a small, sleepy town in northeast India. Subhash Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army (INA) along with the Japanese, are on the brink of bringing the Empire to its knees and forcing the British out of India. But, inexplicably, the tables turn. The INA’s advance is thwarted and the victory march to Delhi is halted. Seventy years later, the British admit that the Battle of Kohima was the greatest battle they had ever fought. Even more so than the battles of Waterloo and Dunkirk. Was it then that old Indian curse — betrayal? Someone from within Netaji’s own ranks? Were there forces other than the British, waiting in the shadows closer to home, who stood to gain even more from the INA’s defeat? Or was it just love that irrevocably altered the course of India’s destiny? The Wrong Turn: Love and Betrayal in the Time of Netaji, is a sweeping tale of passion set against the freedom struggle. Debraj, the rakish playboy and scion of a distinguished Calcutta family, and Nishonko, the fiery revolutionary sworn to the cause of the INA, must not only fight their common enemy, but also for the love of Aditi, the rebel with the healing touch. A haunting tale of love, friendship and betrayal of an entire nation, The Wrong Turn veers inexorably towards a poignant redemption.
“The Wrong Turn is a story that traverses the cities of Calcutta, Singapore, Rangoon and Kohima caught up in the blaze of the Second World War. It is about the clash of four desperate forces as they come together in Kohima to vie for the brightest jewel in the crown — India. Victory will come to those who possess not just the coldest steel but even colder hearts.”
SANJAY CHOPRA is an airline pilot and author of two collections of short stories. Said and Done and Tailspin stories . He believes that his office forty thousand feet in the sky and his travels provide him with a view that fuels his vivid storytelling that cuts a wide arc through time and space.
His stories have won the Invisible Ink, the Millennium writers and Southport awards in the UK and USA. In the words of his readers, ‘He is a storyteller like those of the old days, yet his stories are as modern as tomorrow.
He lives in Mumbai with his wife Tisca Chopra, an actress and he is currently working on a film script and a web series.
You can stalk him @
Follow the Authors of The Wrong Turn @ Pinterest
“This was a story waiting to be told. So much about Netaji was smoke and mirrors, partial views foisted on us by the British and other vested interests. Here was a man who was a personal hero, who was part of the lore of my childhood. And here was a chance to set the narrative straight – through the lens of a very human yet universal story of love.” During a school project on ‘The most memorable day of my life’, NAMITA ROY GHOSE wrote about a Russian girl on the day WW2 ended. She got her first rejection slip from the teacher for making things up. Ever since, Namita has established her storytelling skills through her scriptwriting, screenplays poetry, fiction, legendary advertising campaigns, and as a renowned advertising film director. A Creative Director with HTA, she left after 13 years to start her own film company, White Light, one of India’s top ad film outfits. A social activist, she is the founder of Vanashakti, an NGO that works to protect the environment. Namita has done pro bono work on issues like domestic violence, child welfare, sexual harassment and forest preservation. She is an avid traveller, a photographer, foodie and teacher.
You can stalk her @
Praise for the book
Vidya Balan: “I like historical fiction. This one is just gripping, racing along like a thriller. I am sure people will love it and I wish Namita and Sanjay all the best for the book”.
Shekhar Gupta: “Gripping reading. This is one writer duo with story-telling imagination and uncluttered turn of phrase”.
Jug Suraiya: “A sweeping saga of war, love and betrayal, set at a climactic point of India’s fight for freedom”.
Lord Meghnad Desai: “An absorbing and indeed thrilling story of one of the most crucial events in India’s history”.
Play the game of Raffelcopter and win signed copies by the author and Amazon Gift Cards a Rafflecopter giveaway
