Utmost Feelings – Anthology

I’m ecstatically happy to share with you the news that an anthology that I’m a part of, “Utmost Feelings” with the theme ‘Love’, has been released.

It’s been exactly a month today since the launch (29th June 2021). But, I wanted to share this news only after I received a paperback copy. The delivery was a mess, unfortunately, and I got my copy only a couple of days ago and hence the delay in the announcement.

Attached with bittersweet memories, this book will always remain special. Astha, the girl who initiated the process of compiling this book is no more with us. Today marks the end of three months since her demise. But still, the legacy of her dream lingers in each word that the book holds. I heartily appreciate the efforts of True Dreamster, the publisher, who took Astha’s wish forward and presented this bouquet of love to her family as a tribute.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to every person who’s a part of this wonderful project and all supporters.

Co-authors from WordPress

• Writing feels good – Astha  
• Caring for Art – Kumar Harsh  
• Crazy Nerds – Anisha  
• Develop.Inspire.Transform – Jeff Flesch  
• Heartlight Poetry – Sacha  
• Intangible Mysteries of Soul – Sowjanya 
• Let’s read our words – Roshni 
• Navin’s Poetry – Navin Manik
• Offshore Writings – Preetha David & Samuel Lawrentz 
• Oishmortal – Oishwaria 
• Proxy Words – Ashish 
• Spiritual Fantasia – Linda Jessica Wang 
• Tacit Verses – Tanushree 
• The Glittering Soul – Diana Menezes 
• Unique Times – Cindy

Co-authors outside WordPress

• Ashutosh Joshi
• Debashreeta Nanda
• Hiba Lakshmi Mohan
• Irtiqa Noor Ansari
• Neelam Gupta
• Parvatha Varthini
• Radhika G
• Rudrali J Gor
• Sandeep Chouksay
• Sandra Prasanth
• Shruti Kumari

Purchase Links:

Paperback:

Amazon IN | Shopclues | Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon AE | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon ES | Amazon IT | Amazon JP

E-book:

Amazon Kindle | Kobo Books | Google Books | Google Play Store | Barnes & Noble | Payhip

Credits

Image designed by True Dreamster .

Word Eater

What if words have fragrance? 
What if inks have flavour?

My meals would be nutritious;
And my desserts, more sweet.

Savoury victuals!

Credits & Footnote

Inspired by Sammi’s ‘Weekend Writing Prompt #215’. 

Academic Integrity

I have my own moral principles, and one of them is not to copy in an exam, or do any sort of plagiarism. Whether it’s a class test, term test, an assignment or finals doesn’t matter to me.

I’m someone in the top strata performers. I listen to lectures diligently. When there was a surprise test a few weeks before the finals, I failed at school. I didn’t regret it because I knew I deserved it for my preparation level. There have also been times when I’ve stood alone at college for non-submission of assignments. This made me lose marks in the internals. However, I’ve been happy for not choosing to compromise on my value.

I was tampering with this value – my academic integrity – in other means somehow, under the guise of being good. Little did I realize it until I got punished for being good.

Draft

dusty paper wraps

unloved flowers of word garden

weed like survival

---

Haiku inspired by  Ronovan’s ‘Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt’ – dust and weed.

Hereon, for at least a month, I’ll be publishing two posts a day – one at 12:01 AM and 12:01 PM IST.

Library Love

Untouched books crowded his shelves, shiny leather spines and faded first editions, meticulously dusted and never read.

He knows he’s in deep trouble now. A few months back, he came across a girl in the library he visits. He stalked her timings for about a week, not with wrong intentions though. With his observations, he started reading books in her often-visited genre. He initiated casual conversations one day and they gradually became friends.

She offered him book suggestions which he really enjoyed. She is someone who just doesn’t focus on the content or is bound to the works of one favourite author. She explored varieties. At times, she used to choose a book, just because the cover is attractive.

Gift a Book

Hey everyone!

It’s an announcement regarding a reading initiative by a friend of mine.

Gift a Book is a two-way facilitation platform in which a willing book donor can surprise a school-going kid by gifting a book. Both the donors and kids interested in receiving a book can register themselves on the website, which is to be launched on 15th August 2020 at 05:00 pm IST.

Invite for ‘Gift a Book’ Launch event

Here’s the Zoom Meeting link for the launch event to be held tomorrow – ‘Give A Book’ Initiative Launch.
Meeting ID: 915 4639 5522
Passcode: 6Fv6uR

One-Liner Wednesday #9

Library Love

Love stories can begin either ways in a library – when you open a book to read the pages or when you close a book to read the eyes!

Credits

This is in response to the ‘One-Liner Wednesday Prompt’ by Linda G. Hill. The challenge is to write a motivational or funny one-liner inspired by the given picture.

Rain – Six Word Stories #15

Petrichor scent: aromatic alarm for rain.

Forget your umbrella to invite rain!

Pluviophile yearns for lullaby of rain. 

Coffee, Tea, Or Me?

Sunny came to his balcony with a cup of tea to read in his morning hours. He spilled it entirely on the floor accidentally.

He stood up to make a cup of instant coffee to save time.

The book in hand that usually speaks through printed words, seemed to question him

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

Warning:

• Save some tears before getting into Hogwarts now. You’ll most probably cry at the end for ruining your childhood or teen memories.
• Spoilers Ahead! (They may not be in order, though.)

Forget the playful Harry you have in mind. Now, try imagining him as an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic and the father of three school-going children. Initially, even doing this seemed quite difficult for me but was also slightly convincing that muggles aren’t the only species who are overworked. All our wizards from the original Harry Potter (HP) series are very well placed in their professional sphere.

The book starts with the elucidation of the stranded father-son relationship between Potter and his second son, Albus.

Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal

‘Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal’ is a Tamil ‘Sahitya Akademi’ award-winning novel, writen by Jeyakanthan in 1970. The title of the book literally translates to ‘Some people at some times’. ‘Of Men and Moments’ is an English translation of this book by K.S Subramanian.

To start with, the novel is not any extraordinary story. It captures the chequered life of Ganga, the protagonist. Stumbling into sex with a millionaire playboy as an innocent teenager, she is disowned by her family. A benevolent maternal uncle shelters and educates her in a different city. He’s erudite but lecherous. She becomes a higher official in a respectable job when the man of her life (Prabhu) re-enters, now with added dignity.

Can you even imagine a relationship between a victim and her rapist?

World Book and Copyright Day

What is the ‘Book Day’ about?

Here’s a snippet from UNESCO in its original words:

“World Book and Copyright Day is a celebration to promote the enjoyment of books and reading. Each year, on 23 April, celebrations take place all over the world to recognize the scope of books – a link between the past and the future, a bridge between generations and across cultures.

By championing books and copyright, UNESCO stands up for creativity, diversity and equal access to knowledge.”

An interesting fact:

23rd April is a symbolic date in world literature. It is the date on which several prominent authors, William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died.

Waiting For Love

She was living in a world of fantasy, forgetting the real world around her.

‘ It’s hard to let go of your essence.
You are walking through my mind even at my workplace.
Can’t wait to get home soon and grab you fresh.’

She was going insane since she opened the notification.

Quotes That I Love

It has been a while since our last post. Both Anisha and I have been a bit busy with our final semester. But now, the holidays have begun and its time for celebration. I am going to clear off a lot of books from my to read list. To embark on this magnificent celebration,  I would like to show some of my favourite quotes.

This quote is to remind us that everyone has a destiny,

Boy: But what if I can’t?
Alchemist: Then you’ll die in the midst of realizing your destiny.that’s a lot better than dying like millions of other people, who never even knew what their destinies were.–” 🙂
–Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist” 

This line portrays a woman as an unstoppable force, something complex,

“So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”
-John Green, Looking for Alaska 

Perfect Girl

Re-reading something I love…

Haruki Murakami holds the power to enthrall me with his words.

Just by using a simple, sentence he transports his readers to a completely new dimension. Obsession isn’t a strong enough word to explain what I feel about his writing . Since my exams are over, I decided to relax by re-reading a few of his works. It still gets to me like the first time. Maybe he holds magic in his pen. A web that pulls me in like a whirlpool into  an unending abyss .

I was reading his short story about how he met his 100 percent perfect girl. I love the way he describes her.

Just perfect.

He doesn’t remember how her nose looks, he doesn’t say that she was an extraordinary beauty, just that she was perfect for him.

How To Survive Your Sisters

Natalie is planning the perfect wedding. She knows what she wants, until her family comes into the picture. This book focuses on one of the greatest enigmas in the world, the relationship between sisters. The MacLeod family has four girls who are very different, and when they gather together a whole lot of hilarious craziness ensues.