My Art On Cover Page- 2

My art has appeared, once more, as the cover page of a paperback. The book 'Philosophical Musings for a Meaningful Life: An Analysis of K.V. Dominic's Poems' has been published from USA. 

This portrait of Dr. K V Dominic has been sketched esp. for cover purpose. Medium is pencil color.

The book is available on Amazon

Second Book Available in India Also

My second book 'Swati's Marriage and Other Tales of India' is now available in India too on Amazon.in.

Please do visit my Author page 

My Second Book is Out!

I have a reason to cheer. By the Grace of God, my second book ‘Swati’s Marriage and Other Tales of India’ is out.

It has been published by Modern History Press, USA and will be available in India very shortly.  I am extremely thankful to Mr. Victor Volkman of MHP who made this book possible.

This book is a collection of 11 short stories that revolve around the lives of Indian women belonging to all social classes. It is not easy to be a woman in India and this book, through fictional stories, tries to explore various aspects of their lives, decisions and situations.

This book is available on Amazon.com

At Last

 

At last,

Over his crumpled letters

She walked away

Pic Link

Silence

This silence in your eyes

Numbs my words

And

Haunts my dreams...

Pic link

Book Review: The Golden Gate

Title:         The Golden Gate

Author:     Vikram Seth

Publ.:        Faber&Faber

ISBN:       9780571200382

MRP:        Rs 295

Pages:       307

                                        

Today I wish to review my very latest read for you

It’s a novel in verse by the inimitable Vikram Seth

About young pals-John, Liz, Janet, Ed, Phil and Sue

Set in 1980’s, story unfolds in city of the golden gate

When a lonely John sets out to look for an apt partner

Pressed by Janet, his ex-a sculptor and band drummer

They come across a plethora of people and situations

Find old friends, heartbreaks, odd and taboo relations

Apart from jealous cats, wines, iguana, art, revolution,

Sleights, breakups, confessions, marches and confusion

Author’s lucid verses keep the reader glued to the tale

He finely etches all characters and lives in good detail

Our author was born in Kolkata, West Bengal in 1952

Though an economist, he entered literature, a field new

His first novel, this came out in 1986, by Faber&Faber

And since has won hearts of its readers the world over

Composed in 14-line sonnet form; inspired by Pushkin

After author read both translations of ‘Eugene Onegin’

So now, I have one more title to appreciate and collect

No brownie points for guessing, it is ‘The Golden Gate’

                                                                  

Escape

I am a droplet,
Trapped within my self
I am steam in a cauldron, 

Struggling to escape

Art

Art renders immortality; it ensures that even when the physical body is decayed, abstract ideas and thoughts continue to live through centuries. It conveys the world the unique notions and ideologies that someone, somewhere had ages ago. Even today, when we read a book, listen to a melody or appreciate a painting by gone artists, we are actually interacting with them. Through the language of art, we can converse with them anytime. So, this is a small poem in which ‘I’ refers to all artists.

Poetry is my spirit, in words I lie

I am made of thoughts, I never die

For I am a notion so how can I?

You can always meet me in pages

For I am eternal, I live through ages

A Valuable Present

Once upon a time, long back,

He presented a posy of deceit

Thorns veiled in beautiful roses

Trusting him I wore it as wreath

Tears, pain, it did cost me grand;

Hard way life made me understand

That pain too, is a valuable present

For Mag 301

Good to Gold!

Mornings are always a time to cheer and rejoice for me mainly because of two things- firstly, to be thankful to God for a new day of life and secondly, because a new day ensures we inch more towards our goals with a fresh mind and body. It is a blessing to enjoy a tight sleep and to get up with a happy heart and fresh mind. I think, every new day is like a blank paper sheet or a canvas and we must fill it with striking colors to create a happy picture of our lives.

The first thing is freshness of mind and soul that comes, apart from a good sleep, from good hygiene and cleanliness. Unfortunately, most people spend hours scrubbing their faces but ignore oral health. A good brush like Colgate 360 DegreeCharcoal Gold toothbrush can sweep all the staleness away, leaving you with a fresh mouth for rest of the day. It does a lot more with its charcoal bristles; it thoroughly cleans gums, tongue and cheeks too. Also, it looks very lovely.

In my case, for a morning to be good means that it should have following things-

A good hygiene routine- Cleanliness makes one confident as all the staleness of the previous day is washed away and one is ready to take on new tasks. As I said before, an effective cleanliness routine must involve a good oral care as well.

Some workout- Only some minutes of warming-up exercises can do wonders

Newspaper- My mornings can never be complete without newspaper in my hands.

Now, using Colgate 360 toothbrush, I ensure my level of freshness is doubled and I feel cleaner than before. Nothing is worse than a toothache and infection. Various tooth related issues, even the severe ones, can be prevented just by using a good and effective toothbrush. Most of those available are of hard plastic and are not designed according to the contours of the teeth but Colgate 360 is very different. Hence, using it, I can turn my otherwise good mornings to #Colgate360GoldMornings!

 too, can turn you good mornings to Gold ones!

#Colgate360GoldMornings

Visit- facebook.com/ColgateIndia

I agree to ensure (to the best of my abilities and circumstances) that this blog post remains accessible in an un-altered state for a minimum of one year.

  

A Stitch in Time

No words can convey my frustration with something I am about to discuss. On a leading Hindi entertainment channel, a show has taken absurdity and nonsense to a whole new level. I am pointing towards a reality contest that requires children to show their acting prowess in order to bag roles in TV and movies. Children can be seen imitating adults, giving out precocious performances and displaying their dexterity in romantic acts. This needs to stop right now. I will honestly compare such things with a slow poison that, in marathon, renders the body hollow and devoid of vitality. I do not see actors and models in poor light but I am dead against the popular notion that being successful is being famous.

Such things, like a slow hammer, shift the orientation of children to the world of glamour and then fame becomes everything. Most starry-eyed reality-show contestants (mostly teens) come from middle class households. They can be commonly seen displaying insolence towards culture and education and are willing to stoop to obnoxious levels to gain small modeling and/or acting assignments. I think, anyone who has education and lives a debt free life with dignity is on a much higher pedestal. We must ensure that our compass of morality and thought must point in the right direction at all times, otherwise we all will be happily strolling towards our doom. As they say, a stitch in time saves nine.

Is it not akin to not taking required care of seeds in time and then fussing over shoddy crops?  

Someday...

Just felt like doing something slightly different :)

'Someday,

on a lovely mountain

I will dance in rain’

No matter how I am

This hope keeps me sane...

Be More

I say, it is a high time to look ahead

For time slips faster than one can grasp

See through mists of hurt, open your eyes

It’s time to discover treasure that within lies

You are not just a lonely soul, a broken heart

Be much more; go ahead and make a new start

 

(Pic Link)

Revamp

Finally, after weeks of procrastination and delays, I got a new haircut the day before yesterday. Even though the hair-dresser cut my manes slightly shorter than I had asked him to, I am fine with it. Firstly, because, a little error is often natural in such services and secondly, because a change isn’t that harmful even though if it is by chance or in my case, by mistake. So, my long straight hair is now layered and short but look cared for like well-kept pets.

A new haircut is capable of giving you a complete revamp. I think long, straight styles give a more traditional appeal and make you look disciplined and homely while cropped ones give a professional feel and make you look ‘corporate-ish’. Similarly, girls with golden streaks and with rebounded hair give out very ‘catty’ and ‘high-maintenance’ vibes. Hair styles reveal a lot!

By the way, I feel really bad for the people of North Korea, for their eccentric dictator, Kim Jong Un has coerced everyone to imitate his own hairstyle (except women and bald men). For them, keeping any other hair-style attracts severe punishment!  (Pic from here)

Faded Stars

The trailer of the upcoming Hindi movie ‘Fitoor’ is impressive. Katrina looks enchanting but blank as usual while the major attraction is the Ashiqui 2 male lead Aditya Roy Kapoor who perfectly fits into the role of a Kashmiri boy. I have noticed there are many actors who are not only underutilized but unappreciated as well. Some of these have an awesome talent (and looks too!) that can give the top rated actors a run for their money. One amongst this depressing list is ‘Commando’ actor Vidyut Jammwal who impressed everyone with his round-kicks but has not received much work in mainstream Bollywood. The female lead Pooja Chopra too has now faded somewhere. Similarly, there are others that I think got much less work then their talent promised. Dia Mirza was a good actress but she too, just like Sushmita Sen and Paoli Dam is nowhere to be seen. Sadly, this list is endless.

Tea Glee!

Nothing in the whole world, for me

Can bring in the very same serenity

I get from a tiny cup of morning tea

When the sun remains slightly sleepy

And the fog still hangs on every tree

I look through hazy pane, my mind free

And those minutes spent sipping that tea

Stand above an age spent in heaven in glee!

Image from here

Leap

Ignoring past

Ignored by present

Ignorant of future

I take a leap

                        For Mag 300