Make Time for Books

              I hear a lot of time people whining about no time to read and they are so convinced that it has become a mind block for them. One of the top contenders for the place of excuses is being busy with a full time job. Well, I think all of us have full time jobs and all of us lead busy lives. But here are a few tips to tackle this situations:

1. Learn to read everyday
         - The key is to try to read every single day. Put it down in your schedule and make it a routine. Start with atleast 20 pages and eventually increase it to 50 pages on a day to day basis.

2. Put your phone away
         - Phone has become a distraction in our lives and we are constantly fidgeting with it. This makes us hard to stay away from our phones. In order to do this, try to put your phone in a different place or turn off notifications to avoid distractions. 

3. Start with an author/genre of your interest
        - It usually so happens (when one isn't a voracious reader) that a book is picked and half way through the grip is out. so to begin with start with a genre of interest or perhaps an author whose writing is of interest. 

4. Join a Book club
        - Being a part of book clubs is another interesting way to start reading books. One the club comes up with titles and authors that we wouldn't have come across and two the discussion in a book club is always about books. 

Happy Reading in 2019!

Friends - We all need them for life

               Friends - I feel is a very beautiful connection that we establish. Some friendships happen in school, some in college and surprising some even at work. But friends are a very important pillar in everyone's life. Now here are a few tips on keeping those friendships intact,

1. Pick up the phone and talk to your friends often - We all may be connected socially on various platforms including the most popular form - WHATSAPP. But there is nothing like having a nice conversation in between as well.

2. Try and meet your friends - We all need that f2f conversations with our friends. There is something very serene and soothing in having mindless ramblings with our buddies. Just meet, chat and laugh away for a few hours, brings so much solace from within. 

3. Learn to listen - It is essential that we all take friends for granted and always in a hurry to tell what we have too. But it is pivotal to even listen to what they have to tell us. 

4. Don't be in a hurry to react - Listen patiently and don't be a hurry to react. Response is the key.

5. Show love, care, concern and respect.

6. Be empathetic. 

7. Build trust and make those friendships strong so that they last a lifetime.

Cheers to all my Friends and for the most amazing friendships I have with each and everyone of you in my life!

Ways To Expand Yourself - Flap a little harder

         As the first month passed by, I sat and pondered about the ways to expand myself. I collaborated these ways to flap my wings harder,

1. READ READ READ - I feel reading is the key to a lot of openings in life. Some books are the biggest motivators while some are huge game changers. Whatever maybe the pick, books will always be my mind opener.

2. Try something new - We always want to be in our comfort zone and rarely do we want to venture something different. But this year, I want to do something new and I have started with Yoga.

3. Listen to Podcasts - Podcasts are informative and listening to them while we are driving or jogging is combined productivity.

4. Meditation - A soothing form of inner healing and calming. I try to meditate a few minutes each day.

5. Exercise - Extremely important to be fit physically and I am still struggling to get a foothold with it. But that is something I have been trying to work on.

6. Invest in a Skill - A new skill is always an intelligent tool to carry and one must invest in learning a new skill. This helps us to be updated and well informed. I am back with a Tech book this year to learn a new skill. 

7. Not to forget a Hobby - A hobby is always that smooth essential that one must lean towards. It helps relieve stress. I am still not sure which way to lean towards as I have two interests that I want to pursue - Badminton or Bharatnatyam/Kathak.

8. Ask for help - I have realized that I find it extremely uncomfortable to ask anyone for help. But this year, I have decided that I will reach out for help as and when I feel the need. It is paramount to seek help when time arises.

That's it for now!

Ode - As I Look!

This is my first poem for the year titled ,

*AS I LOOK*

As I look into my heart,

I see my path part,

A straight road for a long time,

Now looks not so fine,

I peep once, it indeed is my path!

As I look into my heart,

I intend to find my dart,

Even though there is no locus,

I have to pick together my focus,

I peep twice, it indeed will alter my path!

As I look into my heart,

I have to fight hard to an unwilted start,

The road will have to seem more clear,

I will march on with no fear,

I peep thrice, it indeed will be made a clear path!

It had been a while since I wrote a poem and yesterday a friend of mine and I decided to write. Hence, stemmed out this poetry at that session. 

Much Awaited - Shopping

                  This blog is dedicated to my shopping spree. Here is my list since the beginning of New Year,

1. A pair of Coral colored pants
2. A beautiful fuchsia colored sequence kurta
3. A lovely pair of orange shoes
4. A maroon skirt
5. A blue  flap kurta
6. A red asymmetrical kurta
7. A coral pink tail cut kurta
8. A whole lot of jewelry
9. Cross body bag
10. A lovely red lipstick


Decent list in an entire month :)

My Birthday - Feb 2

             
        This blog is about my birthday - Feb 2. Every year I wait from Jan 1st for my birthday and I actually count days. This is something that I have been doing for the longest time. This year was no different from last year. 

I woke up to my parents wishes and then had my grandmother call me to wish me. Feels good to have her around. Of course, I had to doll up. Mum had got me a skirt, my aunt a kurta, I bought a dupatta. Teamed them together with of course the highlight being my jewelry. Oh! that craze continues for life. I was all set to go out with my family for lunch. We chose one of my favorite places and had a beautiful time at lunch.

But that's not the highlight. The highlight was, my cousin sister and me having a three hour long video call. We share our birthday. After a very long time, we connected at a personal level again (knock on wood) but that feeling of having a heart to heart conversation is priceless. 
Last but not the least, all my friends from around the world, took time out in sending me their wishes. So touched, blessed and pleased! A big thank you to each one of you! A loud shout out to my family and lots of love always to my sister. 

A day well spent - February 2nd!

Jan Month - Books Read

Alright, as promised, here is the list of all the books I read in the month of January. My Set target was 5 books and let's find out how many I managed to devour,

1. Heads You Win --> By Jeffrey Archer 
2. Relationship --> By Sadhguru
3. Emotions --> By Sadhguru
4. Don't Tell the Governor --> By Ravi Subramanian
5. The Forest of Enchantments --> By Chitra Divakaruni
6. Wonder Girls --> By Varsha Adusumilli
7. A book on Egypt

Now, out of all these books I read, my most fav was undoubtedly Heads You Win. The least fav was Don't Tell the Governor. 

I had a lot of points to take away while reading Relationship and Emotions. It was an eye opener in so many ways for me. 

The Forest of Enchantments was a very nice read and she is one of my fav authors. 

Wonder Girls was a book I read on Juggernaut app and it is an inspiring book. this book reminded me of Rashmi Bansal's books I read. 

Today is Feb 1st and I have started with my new book for the month. Let's wait and watch how many I manage in this month!

That's all for today!

Happy Reading!!

The Last Day of the Month - Bye Bye January 2019

     

          January 31st - 2019, it's the last day of the month. At the end of every month, I will review how my month has gone by and here is the synopsis for this month,


1. Read 7 Books
2. Started work out from last week for 60 mins per day
3. Meditated 5 mins every single day
4. Have posted a blog every single day


So far, I have managed to stick to what I had decided at the beginning of the month and I have finished my first month successfully. I am going to be posting about all the books I have read this month tomorrow in my blog.  Stay tuned!

Now, let's see how the next month - February unfolds!

The Movie -Manikarnika

              Yesterday I watched Manikarnika. As I sat watching the movie, I was so involved and transported back in time that I felt like one of them in the movie. While watching the movie, a few points dawned on me,

1. Manikarnika is Rani Lakshmi Bai
2. Ranki Lakshmi Bai is Jhani Ki Rani
3. A Great thinker - A Voracious Reader
4. A warrior par excellence
5. Sword fighting skills were extremely noteworthy
6. A brave woman to whom the duties and responsibilities came first
7. Courageous 
8. Progressive thinker 
9. An inspiration
10. Led by example


As the movie progressed, it made me feel that Rani Lakshmi Bai was an extremely courageous woman. She sets the bar high and emerges victorious each time. A big salute to this woman who fought so courageously and dies while fighting for our motherland.

Khoob Ladi  Mardaani,
Woh Toh Jhansi Wali Rani thi!

Lastly, a loud shout out and applaud to Kangana for her spectacular performance. 

My Take on Book # 2

           This book review is on the recent book that I finished - The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Divakaruni Bannerjee.

This book is from the POV of Sita and I must say the author has done a fine job in churning out this book so well. It's not an easy task to write Sita's view and make this the pivotal of the book. But, she has done it fabulously. Every chapter deals with Sita and around Sita. From what I felt, Sita was a very fine woman of intelligence and vigor. A brave woman who serves as a role model to the womanhood. 
One may have read Ramayana, but this book is a definite recommendation to understand the story from Sita's view point. 
Her ability to think, ability to act, and ability to stay calm is commendable. With grace, finesse and dignity, Sitama undoubtedly is woman to look up to at all times in life. 

Recommendation - High ; Do Read