Somewhere

Somewhere In The Past:

            As the clock strikes six, the newspaper strikes the door. Each morning, standing half way across the street, precariously tilted on his bicycle, with a folded roll in one hand, is our newspaper delivery boy. So much for his aim, paper lands everywhere other than being inside a gate of its designated house. His aim in vain, his double delivery in pain. After a few more failed attempts, miraculously the paper strikes the door at the designated hour of the clock – Six. The paper strikes, he continues to bike. Next house, new aim!

            A few minutes later, our doorbell goes. This time it is our milkman. With a smile on his face and a packet in hand, he rings the bell. The door opens and his smile widens as he hands the packet and pockets the money. Off he goes to the next house. Packet to Pocket!

          A few more minutes go by and this time it is our unmistakable vegetable vendor woman. A calling so loud, sunshine or cloud, each day she comes like a clockwork mouse. With fresh produce and a stale breathe; her fervor to sell the vegetables is undaunted. Anew zeal, an old deal!

And this is how my day used to start…..

Somewhere In the Present:

            A loud alarm sound in the otherwise quiet house is the only noise I wake up to. I switch it off and there is an unbearable silence again. But my constant companion – My Mind never disappoints; it comes up with various ways to shun this uncomfortable tranquility. A new plan, a new day!

      A few minutes later, I descend the stairs to enter my kitchen. Neither does the newspaper strike nor does the milkman ring the bell here. So, I start to juggle my utensils around to get rid of the torturous silence. Those few minutes of pots and pans talking to each other is like a feeling of me standing there eavesdropping? My morning dose of gossip!

    A few more minutes, I exit the kitchen and the same silence at bay comes and envelops me into a big cold hug. Well, now what does my mind cook up? One day at a time!

And this is how my day starts….

The Land of Tulips

Flowers have always intrigued me since my childhood. Be it the plethora of colors or the variety, flowers always bring out the serene side of me in its midst. Having said this, how could I miss the Tulip Festival. Chance less!

So, the day the Tulip festival started, I was there, surrounded by the beautiful tulips around me in superfluity of colors. Red, Yellow, Pink, Orange, Violet, the sight all around was colorful. And, to see such alluring surroundings, was a joy in itself. Everywhere around, we were encompassed by these spell binding beauties. A walk among the tulips was the most captivating few steps taken in a long long time. 

The most interesting was to see the working windmill in the midst of tulips. I have never seen a windmill ever, forget up close and inside. This windmill made wheat flour and the tour up five floors was an experience in itself. 

Tulips have fascinated me so much, this summer I intend to grow them in my backyard. But my backyard stories will be for another time.

Nail Art

My fascination for growing nails started right out of school, I just couldn't wait to graduate to start school, just so that I could grow my nails, file them in perfect shape and color them my way. Trust me when I say, I have been known as the Long Nails Girl and that name has stuck on. 

Right from those initial days up until today, the most unique aspect to my proclivity has been growing nails in only my Left Hand, I never have been able to grow my right hand nails and they just refuse to co-operate. So, it is just one hand and how I absolutely love painting them in different patterns and colors. 

Back then, my nails used to grow really long and last and they would hardly break. But, by chance, a nail broke, I used to weep profusely. Boy, weep isn't the right word to describe my outburst. And, that broken nail used to be treasured with utmost care. But now, neither does my nail grow so long nor does it want to last long. The only common factor from the beginning to today has been the fact that I still change my nail paint once in three or four days. I love designing my nails and I always keep them neat. And, when one breaks, I let the other nails be. And yes, I do not weep anymore over a broken nail. 

Shine On Sunshine

How does it feel to live in a place, where the sun hardly shines? Dull,gloomy, gray, lackluster and what not. Words fall short.
The rising sun brings in so much happiness, hope, avidity, excitement and a new day to begin. There is a jump in your step with rays of sunshine. There is color, fervor and glimmer around. 
But, if you have to crave for sunshine, its a different story altogether. The few times the sun decides to do a favor, all you can do is quickly soak up the sun in whatever ways possible. Even the sun may feel appalled, but so be it. 
Not all are privileged to see sun shine every morning. There are days when the sun refuses to ascend and we are left in pile of gloomy days. 
So the next time, sun rises, get out, soak it up and enjoy the beautiful rays without having to fret about tanning, because you know somewhere int he world, people are yearning for the sun to show some clemency. 

Stories on Canvas

I have been sketching for a really long time now, but my appeal towards paint is minimal. But, the fact being, I am a person who loves colors. I have never been able to put any color on canvas and this time I made up my mind that I would paint a story. 

Two canvas boards were bought and now was the humongous task to bring it to life. The Story of my Canvas - A story in every painting!
 I had a white board , few colors, a pastel and a few brushes in front of me. Now with all these equipment, I had to narrate a tale. With each stroke, a block was formed. Lines manifold to form shapes. The myriad of colors on my white canvas had its own story in every block. The different colors, shapes and the angle in which it touched each other was a bright spin of tale. Each block, each color coding and my imagination running on the board, was an alluring way to bring my creative to life. 

Whatever may be my imagination to creation on canvas, there will always be life on a white canvas board. Brought to life with colors, each stroke will come together seamlessly to create a beautiful outcome, an outcome of the artist's visual erudition. 

Now that I have begun this beautiful association with painting, I look forward to continue this newfound love. 

Deep Penchant for Chick Lits

Chick Lits - These two words just light up the bulbs in my reading area. For being a voracious one, chick flicks have become an inseparable part of my reading life. There are a list of authors whom I have come to like dearly and to name a few,

1. Sophie Kensella
2. Jennifer Weiner
3. Candace Bushnell
4. Emily Giffin
5. Adele Parks
6. Helen Fieldling
7. Lauren Weisberger

I get so involved in walking down these books, that I wear the hat of my favorite character and cruise along. The humor, the wit and the all the countless expressions makes me reel with happiness. Page after page the joy I acquire is immense. The more I read, the more I want to read. And, someday I hope to become too, after all, Hope is a Waking Dream!

Friends are for Life

Friends - This seven letter word is very powerful. All of us have our set of friends we cherish. The penchant for friendship we share is a bond unbreakable. 

The Seven:

F: Fight, but stay.
R: Rage, but prevail peace.
I: Impart, but with ease.
E: Elevate, but be rooted.
N: Notice, but speak up. 
D: Diverge, but emerge together.
S: Shine, but sparkle too. 

Which ever stage of life we are in, always treasure the friends who have come along to be a part of your journey. They make our journey even more memorable.

One Of A Kind Experience

Working with  words is my passion. I started writing in High School and ever since my association with words has grown deeper and fonder. They transport me into a world where I am the architect of the characters. From Prose to Poetry, the journey has come a long way.

A couple of months back, I happened to come across a Writers Group. I had never been in one and wanted to know what exactly is a Writers Group. I joined the group, to begin with, out of sheer inquisitiveness. But as I continued being part of the group, I started looking forward to those two hours we would meet once a month. On one of the days, our group leader happened to share an info about Writers Conference. I was all perked up and promptly made a note. I registered myself for this event determined to attend it.

A few days, I attended this Writers Conference and again, it happened to be my very first. The six sessions that were brought to the table, was beyond words. The perspective to writing for each person is so different the the analysis to it is another world altogether. My penchant for writing has grown in leaps and bounds and these groups and conferences makes me want to be an even more staunch writer in the making.

So for all you budding writers out there, if there is a Writers Group, go ahead and be part of it. The things you observe and learn, will definitely sharpen your writing skills even better.

Profoundly Wise

We all have some thought provoking, mind altering conversations with our spouse. During such conversations, somethings are so well said that they emboss in our minds forever. 
I was having one such conversation with my spouse. I was scouting for a course that I wanted to enroll into, but for some strange reason, the course wasn't offered. As I sat, venting this out to my spouse, one evening, he said something to me which got my antennas in alert position.

We are all racing blindly towards the corporate ladder. Be it a new learning, a new role or a new a new company, we all compete fiercely. But what we fail to see is the Efficiency. Now what is this Efficiency?

High Efficiency is less input, but high output and this is the case which we all should aim towards, but in real, we do not.

Medium Efficiency, is less input, moderate output, and we try to be in this scenario.

Low Efficiency, is high input, low output, and most of the times we are all walking in this path.

Always remember, we should strive towards High Efficiency.

Now, this is one advise that I was so impressed about that I decided to blog it.

Rule of Ten

1. Unleash your creative side - Pick up a new hobby.
2. Spend some time with yourself - You are your own priority.
3. Love yourself - Only then will you love others.
4. Don't let work rule your life - Family and Friends need you time too.
5. Go on a trip - Let your hair down.
6. Connect with your near and dear ones - time is the essence.
7. Social media isn't the window to the real world - Look far and beyond your phone.
8. Do something new - Change is essential.
9. Worry about yourself - You can't keep pace with others.
10. Live life - Some day you will wake up to wonder where all that time in the world whizzed past by.

I Remember

I  remember all those growing up years when my mother used to come pick me up from school. Each day she used to be there much earlier than my final bell waiting for me. For some reason, if I got a little late, I would see my friends would be crowding near her and chatting. She definitely was way more popular than me among my friends. 

Now, when I look back fondly, I do not know how fast all those years have sped by me. Those innocent school days with not a worry in the world, so carefree and radiantly happy. I remember, during rainy season, for some strange reason, I used to love splashing water by jumping into the stagnant water puddles. We used to have competitions as to who splashes water the farthest. The walks with my mother under the umbrella, talking about all that happened during my day while never missing an opportunity to jump into every single puddle of rain water. 

All my school years, my mother relentlessly have come every single day to pick me up. The most fantastic growing years of my life and best school days ever. 

I wish I could go back in time and re live all those days, but then I think, if we all kept going back in time, then what fun is there to living life and plan all that we do about a Distant & Unknown Future. 

Best Friend's Release Technique

Best Friends - No matter what happens, nothing changes with them. It's true with my Best Friend too. I have known her for half my life. We met way back in my 11th Std and have been together ever since then. It's the ease with which we are able to pick up the strings from where we left, no matter how long it has been. We try to spend a few minutes each day talking and we talk A to Z. One such interesting conversation happened last week. 

We were having a very intense discussion on married life and spouses. She said a very interesting thing that got me thinking. She said, 

- We need an outlet to let go of our rantings and venting to release the built up steam. 

Now, come to think of it, it is such a true statement. Isn't it? What we do, is rant and vent in front of our spouse and many a times he may not even be paying heed to it. If we all have that one person that we goto and vent out our negative emotions, I think it gets a wee bit better. Now, I do not say, it is the best solution and works for all, but for those to whom it works, it works well. A release for your pressure! Think it over. 

A Book that Moved Me

It's very rare that I write about a book I read, that too for a person like me who is a book addict. But once in a few books. I come across a book that just stirs my soul and moves me in a way where I am all teary eyed by the time I wrap the book. Once such book, was a long awaited - Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. 

In my previous post, I had mentioned how a writing should move the reader and this book is the perfect example to it. From the first page till the end, this book gripped me so tight that I just couldn't put it down till I was done. She has brought out emotions so strong in her writing, that it was definitely bound to leave her readers, like me, with tears. Now, since I know the thought and an example of the demonstration of it, I for sure will incorporate adding more feelings to my writing. 

 I have always wondered, how some authors demonstrate such fine feelings in the their books. How do they stir the readers emotion? Somewhere, I have begun to realize the essence of feelings and emotion is a cardinal to good writing. As I read more, I hope to come across more such thought provoking matter to fine tune writings.


To all my fellow readers, if you have not laid your hands on this book, please do it now. I can't wait to start the sequel to this book titled - After You! 

Thought between Lines

I have joined a Writer's Club, and this is actually my first one. We meet once a month for two hours and I can't tell you all how much I look forward to it. It is like an elixir of my Writing Life. I sit there gleaning every bit of information that we as a group share, however tacit it may be. 

Each time we meet, we bring a piece of our work. The work we bring is critiqued by the rest of the members. Like always, I bring a poetry each time we meet and like it happens, I got one this time too. After I was done with my reading, a member gave me such a thought provoking advise, that I had to blog about it. She said 2 things,

1. A poem needs to build feelings.
2. An important feeling a writer wants to leave a reader with.

These two sagacious thought provoking remarks go to me angle my writing differently. The essence to good writing is to let the reader feel what we write. 

To all those who write like me, here are two wise cents from a very kind member of my writer's group to incorporate. 

Happy Transformed Writing Folks!!

P.S: A big shout out to all the members of my Writer's Group.

There is Indeed Magic

              It's been so long since I posted a blog. I watched this movie called :The Magic of Belle Isle, and I just couldn't resit the urge to write about it. 
I absolutely enjoy watching movies, but how many times do we come across a movie that leaves us wanting more. The desire to watch more such movies that carve a space in our hearts. This movie has just done that. 
For all of us who love to write, once in a while we come across this phenomenal movies like Magic of Belle Isle, which makes us run right back to working with words. And that is exactly what happened to the writer within me. (I am posting this blog right after I watched the movie.)
Every time I sit to write, it is because of an inspiration that brings out the words. They flow like a brook within me. When I exhaust my muse, the brook within me dries up. 
From the start till the end, there wasn't a single dull moment to this movie. It stirs up your mind and plummets you right back into your world of writing. There is indeed Magic in this movie. 

For all you fellow movie buffs, go watch this movie.

One last take away from the movie: Never stop looking for what's not there!!