Toil

A long walk in blooming greenery

With wild oak trees for company

Wind whispering secrets to lilies,

And streams humming tunes lazily

Isn't a solitary long walk catharsis

Relieving soul of many a menace?

Hold on! There is to it another face

Real truth is that life is a mad race

Toil is fated for us all, you and me

We have to work, quite inevitably

Be in office or in dust, we've to see

That kitchen fires burn comfortably

And this slog sucks each second

Of our rhetoric mundane being

Years pass and leave most of us

With mere dreams of walk-in-woods

Image- patheos.com

Bits & Pieces 4

Tu Mera Hero!  (You are My Hero)

Someone I know is all set to tie the knot with her intimidating and macho boyfriend very soon. This girl has been through all his temper tantrums and slaps, bouts of extreme possessiveness but still, like a dim-wit follower of a local pseudo god man, she is hell bent on marrying the boy who she  believes, is a hero and will make her life a secure heaven. Anyways, it is just one story amongst the millions where girls easily or rather willingly marry boys who are involved in brawls and even heinous crimes like rapes. The basic feeling that runs deep down is the point of ‘safety’ which, to most girls, means only physical strength and a dominating personality. 

Image- art.wallpaperhd.rocks

I feel such girls themselves lack confidence in their own selves or maybe they are too insecure and shudder at the very thought of a big bad world out there that gets them naturally and mindlessly attracted to men having such terrifying personalities. Surprisingly, they are often happy in facing physical abuse and severe excoriations all their lives and barter dignity for a sense of safety.

I discussed this with my friend and she gave me a solid suggestion for their wedding gift that made me laugh my ribs out! “Why don’t you gift her a year’s supply of Volini!”

Good one!

***

Didi! (Elder Sister)

On One sleepy afternoon, a few days back, two cute little boys rang my doorbell. I answered from inside and one said ‘Aunty, ball aa gai hai, please de do’ (Aunty, please return our ball) but before I could utter a syllable, another one promptly interrupted in somewhat hushed tone and said ‘Pagal, Aunty bolega to nai milegi, didi bol’ (Dumbo, she won’t return if you’ll call her aunty, instead call her didi). And both cried in unison ‘Didi…didi please ball de do’ and honestly, I could not stop giggling for an hour or so! Such instances of pure innocence can make one smile even after years pass by.

***

Blossoms!

I have of late grown quite fond of flowers and have even memorized the names of various types with much interest. I can name them like kids can tell you alphabet table- excitedly, in a single breath! Blossoms add a dash of color and style in other wise wilted and annoying days of scorching summers. I easily identified a wild flower growing in my neighbor’s garden. It was a white petunia (in pic) and for some reason seemed to me like an infant, too cute to avoid! There is another plant called ‘Chinese Lantern’ (in pic below) that has a box like net that covers the fruit and looks beautiful in fiery orange! Now, I have added to my ‘to-do’ list this task of buying new flower-plants from nearby nursery and placing them in beautiful pots (gamla) that are easily available in the markets now. I have plants in plastic pots but still I feel earthen ones are better. I prefer flowers in pots because of the ease in carrying and also you can arrange and place them as and where you wish, unlike rooted ones.

Images- castleofcostamesa.com and www.whiteflowerfarm.com

***

Airtel My App

In these times when almost whole the world is on the apps, or applications that run on smart-phones and can get you rid of many hassles, it has become quite convenient to download specific apps and get going! One such wonderful application is ‘My Airtel App’ that helps in managing numerable things like recharges, buying products, tracking bills and reports and many more things that we often need and utilize in day to day life. We all know Airtel as a company that provides quality services and products and one of the leaders in mobile networks. This free application has various smart features but these three attracted me the most-

1.     Airtel Surprises- User can receive coupons for every recharge! I often use recharge services and that means one coupon every now and then. Moreover, these coupons can be chosen from various categories like entertainment, shopping, food, wellness and the like. Top brands such as VLCC, Café Coffee day, Amazon, Flipkart and many more can be browsed for redeeming the coupons which I think is wonderful!

2.     Secured Payments- These days, with the advent of online payments, electronic theft and phishing have become common as well. So if an app provides a safe payment mode, there could be nothing better! One can have PCIDSS certification as well as real time bill tracking. Any bill, be it that of DTH, landline or mobile, can be paid within seconds with utmost security by this App.

3.     Movies and Games- If you use Airtel’s DTH service then you can easily order movies with this app. For gaming buffs, games too can be ordered with this app. Moreover, programs can be recorded as well. I am a movie buff, so this seems amazing to me!

This app provides a smooth and user friendly interface along with a plethora of features like faster checkout by storing card details, checking recharge history, addition or removal of services, one-touch internet and alerts on various things like due bills, low data etc. All these facilities can be used on your smart-phone! I remember an awesome Airtel ad where a wife whose husband is her junior in office uses Airtel services to surprise him with a superb dinner! This company has emerged as the market leader in mobile and communications domain and now this app will further elevate the company’s popularity.

This application can be downloaded from the company’s website for free. Once downloaded, the app will give two options- ‘Proceed’ or ‘Take a Tour’ and when you click the former, the app will ask for user’s Airtel details. Once the details are verified and registered, one can use the app easily! The other option, ‘Take a Tour’ will give you an introduction to all the features of the app.

This app has made managing Airtel products and services a cakewalk. All features are available on Android at this point of time and other versions are to arrive soon.

Explore and download this mobile application @ http://www.airtel.in/myairtel

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Image from- indiblogger

TWT Review

Thank you dear uncle Ashok Prasad for this review of 

'The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories'  :) 

'Before I embark on reviewing this volume,let me make a declaration. Ankita is known to me and I treat her like a daughter. I have been a witness to her growth in the literary circles and it was a matter of enormous personal satisfaction and pride. to note that her first volume of short stories has been released . If therefore ,to some,if this review is lacking in total objectivity,I humbly plead guilty.

Debutante story tellers often tend to start off with diffidence and it is only with the passage of time they muster requisite confidence to be able to convey their message with elan. One of the strongest aspects of this volume is that Ankita does not suffer from this handicap. She retains a flow through all the stories and I doubt if anyone ,unless so advised, would be able to decipher that this is her first effort. For that attribute alone, she needs to be commended.

The 11 stories in this compilation cover different situations but Ankita has been able to deal with them with equal flourish. By far the most moving of the stories was The Wedding Trousseau -in terms of the plot, the narrative,the flow ,the excellent and eminently readable vocabularic selection and a thoughtful conclusion.

One other story The Site Visit dealing with the issue of  adultery was perhaps the most moving but its conclusion left the reader wanting to know more. Leaves was another very commendable effort dealing with a day to day situation that most can identify with in a deeply analytical manner.Perhaps Ankita should have taken up psychotherapy! My own edited compilation viz Literature and Psychotherapy has one story which deals with a very similar theme but Ankita does it here with more sophistication.

She also has not fallen into a trap that debutantes often do i.e. meticulous concentration of quality in the earlier stories which tapers as the book ends.Her last compilation Just Perfect is an example of an author who has striven for uncompromising quality control throughout.

I can foresee a budding story teller with abundant promise. I wish her the very best!'

A Virtual Cup Of Coffee!

Sometimes having coffee can be such a wonderful experience! However, here I am talking about 'A Virtual Cup Of Coffee' with madam Geetashree Chatterjee that was an interview that we thoroughly enjoyed. 

I am posting the link of our wonderful chit-chat regarding publishing, writing and my book 'The wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories' along with her lovely review. Do check out!

Over A Virtual Cup Of Coffee and  Book Review

Ask Like This!!

A friend asked if I’m married or single

I looked at him and said with a giggle-

It is better to ask like this, chappie-

That if I am married or still happy!

Image- http://images.clipartpanda.com/smiley-face-with-tongue-sticking-out-4TbKMn6Gc.jpeg

You Averred...

You averred your verses were penned for me

That I was the beam in your nights black

But, whenever I called you with a plea,

Love, I could only see your back...

Image from- http://fashions-cloud.com/pages/m/man-walking-away-from-a-woman/