Tears of My Motherland
is an emotional read. It strikes a chord with every reader and takes them
into a hitherto unknown journey. That is what makes the book unique.
Heart of the matter
Short stories, poems, book reviews, travelogues and everything that touches the heart.
Thursday, 7 January 2021
Tears of My Motherland - Book Review
Tuesday, 21 July 2020
Saturday, 18 July 2020
Learn film making at the cost of a pizza
Deep down everyone hankers to make a movie someday.
But many of us have neither the resources nor the time to invest in a film
making course. For all those people whose dream of making a film has remained unfulfilled
for the aforesaid reasons, there is some good news. Shamiana has brought its
film making courses to your home.
Now you can learn filmmaking sitting at your home. No
fancy equipments are required and you can shoot your film on your mobile phone
at your home. The fees of the course are nominal and anyone can afford it.
The course began on zoom sessions. I was apprehensive.
I knew nothing about making films, leave apart making one on the mobile phone. But
once the session began all my apprehensions were put to rest. The trainers were
extremely friendly. They introduced us to various concepts of film making in an
easy and understandable manner. We were free to ask as many questions as we wanted.
Even if the question was a basic question, it was answered with utmost
sincerity.
We were shown various equipments used for film making.
At the same time it was no selling. We were told that the equipments were not necessary
and one can make films with just a smart phone, which all of us have.
We were introduced to various video and editing apps.
We were told about the importance of sound. We learnt three scenes which can
save a movie. It was emphasized that though technicalities are important, the performance
of the artists is important too. If you pay too much attention to technique,
the performance may be compromised somewhere.
I am thoroughly satisfied with the course and I am eagerly
looking forward for the next session. To book your seat click here
Monday, 15 June 2020
Hats & Hoots and Humiliation - Book Review
Hats & Hoods and Humiliation is an interesting book
written by a child prodigy named Hiranya Verma. My first reaction after reading
the book was impossible, a ten year old child cannot write such a book that offers
a plethora of practical insights into dealing with daily problems.
Given the age of the author, the book concentrates on
the issues faced by young children and even adolescents. The book offers practical
advice on how to handle bullies, crushes and heart breaks. The ten years old author is a highly matured
person. She says, ‘Someone wants to ruin your day, but don’t let them. Simply
laugh. But don’t bottle up your feelings either. Remember, the balance between
your emotions.’ She offers relationship advice too. She offers solutions to most of the problems.
She reaffirms that your joy is not dependent on what others feel about you. At
the same time she emphasizes the importance of apology and confession.
I have been living on this planet for thirty-six years,
and obviously, I am senior to the author by many decades. Yet, let me candidly admit
that I have learnt a lot from this child author.
The book is extremely well written. It is edited
professionally and has an attractive layout. Buy this book, it will cost you
less than a coffee, but enrich you by many bounds.
Alex - book review
Alex by Simon Prathap is a thriller. It sits comfortably
on the shelves of thrillers as well as horror genres.
The protagonist Alex gets a series of dreams where he
is asked to murder one of his family members. While his friends try to help
him, a child with super natural powers creates problems for him.
What I liked about the book is its intriguing plot.
What needs improvement is editing. There are numerous typos in the book. With another
round of editing, the book will be a page turner for sure.
Wednesday, 10 June 2020
Realization during Lockdown
What
an irony it is that work is always valued, but household work is not only
grossly undervalued, but even looked down upon. Fortunately, I was not the one
who underestimated the household work. I have lived alone for a considerable
period of time and have done all the chores by myself. Yet, it is equally true
that post marriage, most of the household work was taken up by my wife. While I
would be watching TV, she would be frying fresh batch of pakodas for me in the
kitchen. While I would be surfing the net, she would be feeding the baby. Occasionally,
I would help her out. But doesn’t the word occasionally say it all.
This
lockdown changed the things for good. I was at home all the time. For the first
time I saw all the effort that my wife undertook for the house. No selfish
motives, no salary, no promotions, yet she continued to do the dread, uninteresting
work every day and night. For all those men who ask their wives, what do you do
the whole day, I ask them to give their wife a day’s off and do all the work by
themselves.
Secondly,
the house-help had stopped coming. The gym was closed. One fine day sitting with
the calories counter in my hand, I calculated the calories burnt in doing all
the household chores. They were far more than those which I would burn lifting
the weights or running on the treadmill. ‘I will do the laundry and cook the
dinner’, I said. ‘Thanks, but I will do it myself.’ She said. But I did not
stop to listen to her. I was already picking clothes from the laundry bag.
As
I did those manual chores suddenly my heart was filled with joy. Yes, I was providing
the family with finances. But the joy of contributing to the family with physical
labour is something which cannot be described in words. At the same time, I must
also admit that the initial joy soon faded out, and the work became a routine,
monotonous and boring activity. My wife was doing this for all these years. My
heart was filled with gratitude and tears welled up in my eyes. I committed to myself that I would continue doing
these two tasks even after the lockdown was lifted. I promised myself that I
would make it a lifelong task.
P.S.
I don’t have a washing machine, so I manually wash the clothes. If I win this
contest, I will wash in the machine.
ShareTheLoad #ShareTheLaundry #ShareChoresMultiplyLove
Wednesday, 3 June 2020
Editing Bootcamp - Book Review
Editing Bootcamp by Dola Basu Singh is a book of great help for newbie authors.
The book explains the various types of editing – developmental editing, line editing,
copy editing and proof reading.
Though the book is titled Editing Bootcamp the book
deals with various stages of creative writing. It explains the common structure
formats of creative writing. The book also explains the various point of views
from which a book can be written. The book also gives insights on crafting of characters
and plot. Setting, conflict and dialogues also find explanation in the book.
If you are a new writer, I am sure this book is a must
have for you. The book is simple and error free. Honestly speaking I was
looking for errors. Afterall this is a must for a book on editing. But I couldn’t
found a single error. That speaks volumes about the book.
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