Sharmishtha Basu's Blog: Sharmishtha Basu writes, page 132

The lotus of fire 2020

The lotus of Fire

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00o8m3o5e

This year the book has changed its mood, you will enjoy a set of poems written about God’s beautiful creation- nature. The sets are sky, fort, ocean, rain, desert, flowers and river plus a few extra poems.

There are different themes and poems written on those themes. I rather enjoyed this trip of imagination. Hopefully, you will like them too. When you have finished the book do write me an email expressing your opinions, I will be much obliged!

The earlier year books will be published in shoptly and gumroad with the same name, that is the 2019 version of The lotus of fire will be published in Shoptly and Gumroad as The Lotus of Fire 2019. 2019 will be the first bunch. I may add the earlier years later, but the coming years will be regularly published in Shoptly and Gumroad.

It will be a good idea to keep the older versions around I believe.

Agnishatdal Falgun 1426, February 2020 critique by editor Sharmishtha Basu

Agnishatdal Falgun 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique by SB

Agnishatdal Falgun 1426, February 2020

https://gumroad.com/l/PpWy

Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020

https://shoptly.com/i/owh

By your good old editor! Few words about the works of my much cherished authors. So the critiques will be honest, short and sweet!

Rituraj by Labanya: A beautiful poem celebrating spring- the festival of love, youth and colours!

The great Indian nautanki by saptarchi: The farce goes on and on for sure, one wonders when Indian public will grow up, wake up and utilize their rights to create a better country!

Masai by Brieuc Martin Onraet: Brian’s photographs and his writing both are amazing, usually one shines at one side! He is one amazing author with magic fingers when it comes to photography!

Vikrama aur betala by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: Don’t remember this story, so I will be waiting for the next issue quite eagerly. Human beings and their almost always coveting what their neighbours have!

The Meera by Troy David Loy: Troy is an amazing author when it comes to sci-fi and after Saru this is the next character I can swear he is enjoying writing! Let us see what Meera has to show in future!

Kungfu breath by Dom Collucci: When it comes to poems about nature no one can beat soulbro. I just love and adore his poems revolving around nature. He turns them into magic.

Bitter Pill dose 28 by Bitter Pill: politics 3: How communists destroyed the crown jewel of India!

Clippings by Freya Pickard: Another fascinating newsletter. Freya has changed the style of her newsletters, so this section will stop soon.

The shearer by Pat Ritters: New Story! Now, waking up in jail without remembering why is certainly a living nightmare! That too in that stinky one! Well, waiting to read what caused the imprisonment!

Both feet gounded by Citizen Null: Well, repeated a post by Citizen Null, politicians are so alike all over the world are not they? One should show them their right place!

I believe that will be it for my critique as an editor, you will have to read the rest in Ezine. Of course there is truckloads of more works there!

Thursday Rhymes 2.4.20

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have a great day full of joy and laughter!

lots of Love.

Sharmishtha Basu

htttps://gumroad.com/sharmishthabasu

https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu

https://paypal.me/sharmishthabasu

https://patreon.com/sharmishthabasu

https://www.amazon.com/author/sharmishthabasu

Agnishatdal Falgun 1426, February 2020 critique by Labanya

Agnishatdal Falgun 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique by Labanya

Agnishatdal Falgun 1426, February 2020

https://gumroad.com/l/PpWy

Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020

https://shoptly.com/i/owh

Hi friends, let us begin!

The ezine begins with a tribute to Jaydeva, well, I think many have heard his name, I belong to that category, I have read a few works [translations] by him too. They are pretty nice. These poets are true gems and their talent is pretty enviable!

The great Indian nautanki by saptarchi: Only if it was not performed at our cost!

Masai by Brieuc Martin Onraet: skip the spears, they slightly look like Buddhist monks.

Vikrama aur betala by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: Sounds like a great story in progress and Mr. Kuppuswamy is a great storyteller! I am all curiosity about what will happen next!

The Meera by Troy David Loy: Just loved the way she tackled the jackass! Served him right! A great character in building Mr. Loy!

Kungfu breath by Dom Collucci: What a beauty! Love clouds! This poem captures their beauty and the mystery around them beautifully.

Bitter Pill dose 28 by Bitter Pill: politics 3: How Bangladeshi communists butchered West Bengal- our generation [honest ones] will sign any paper that claims that!

Clippings by Freya Pickard: This sounds like a great newsletter, I will subscribe or ask Agni to give me her copies!

The shearer by Pat Ritters: New Story! Now, waking up in jail without remembering why is certainly a living nightmare!

Both feet gounded by Citizen Null: New author? An interesting piece, it appears politicians all over the world are getting over-confident. Someone should do something about that! Snip them back to their real sizes I mean!

In the end I will talk about Agni’s works in short-I have been requested by her to do that, to highlight the work of other authors in Agnishatdal, I will talk about her works in Agnijaat.

Treats:

A shot of Dakshineshwar temple and pitiable condition of “real Ganges” in hyper Hindu India!

In the treats section Agnijaat and Agnishatdal Book 11 links have been provided.

Between two fires by Tony Williams sounds like an interesting read. The interview of the author was truly enjoyable!

The final death by Andrew Mowere- Sounds like a fun read! Just love fantasy stories, especially if they are well-written! The interview with the author was much desirable bonus!

Pikatron by Troy David Loy sounds like a great reading material with fractals as added beauty!

The wraith- It was indeed a cute, heart-warming movie with some jump scares of course. Dearie, you repeated this post!

SBs’ book in amazon, sounds good! Will be checking on them, maybe grab a copy and critique them too!

Binadin Maharaj- Never heard his name. How callous we are when it comes to our talents! Look at YouTube it is filled with Western artists and their works! Wish we were like them!

Tales from dark side: Will check out if I can manage a few episodes or more in YouTube, and another slip Agni! You forgot the title. Seems you were written by Spring bug this month!

Biswajit Roychoudhury- Never heard his name. Gotta check YouTube.

Youtubia-Black Sunday- Will check out! Add a little gist of the movie/series if you can please!

Sambhar Vada is absolutely delicious! Sambhar is bonus with it.

True Treasure David Attenborough: He absolutely is!

Minutes Together: the story this month was truly heart-breaking.

Loved the Bengali poem and the hindi poem both. Thank you for adding my work in your ezine Agni.

Al Biruni sounds like a great scholar, to think he learned Sanskrit well enough to translate books to Persian! Really jealous!

Yayati- Indra really was not a good character at all!

Words- beauty! Maybe it is just a figment of our imagination!

Ponga Pandit- another good set. So sounds like communist propaganda!

The sketches all through the ezine were pretty!

That is it I guess! See you again next month, and thank you Agni/Sharmishtha for translating my works!

Yours sincerely,

Labanya

Thursday Bouquet 2.4.20

[image error]

have a great day full of joy and laughter!

lots of Love.

Sharmishtha Basu

htttps://gumroad.com/sharmishthabasu

https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu

https://paypal.me/sharmishthabasu

https://patreon.com/sharmishthabasu

https://www.amazon.com/author/sharmishthabasu

Agnijaat Falgun 1426, February 2020 critique by Labanya

Agnijaat Falgun 1426, February

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

https://gumroad.com/sharmishthabasu

Critique by Labanya

Agnijaat Falgun 1426, February 2020

https://gumroad.com/l/PpWy

https://shoptly.com/i/owg

Indie Author Speaks 11: This month it is about blurb writing, I am absolutely lousy at this art, that is, I have never written a book blurb but scored miserably at their academic counterpart-gist. Never scored more than 2/3 in 10 marks! I certainly may end up practicing the skill. It may be fun.

Acid tongue: I don’t think men are as jealous of other men as women are of other women, I believe inferiority complex and weakness are basis of this trait and women have been abused too long thus have mastered these two vices real well. No matter how much they succeed they rarely let go these two vices.

Techbabble: Microsoft Word editors are horrible! Honestly!

Hell Houses: Modern builders really don’t know how to build houses that will last, be comfortable and suitable for the area in which they are built! I can vouch on that too! They just use same materials and other things everywhere I suspect!

SOS: Not very fond of manipulators, too gullible thus really hate them!

WOW: Oh yes! Anyone who has conquered desire and anger is blessed and indeed a sage! Are there any?

History of India: Harappan civilization is fascinating, but it is still being unraveled, a meticulous book on this topic written by an actual historian will be really cool!

Bhaiphonta: Apparently Agni was in real hurry last month, I skipped it in the first miss but now I think I will point it out, hey! You did not changed the titles of the essays twice- first in techbabble and then in my pen, well, I know all about bhaiphonta. One of the favorite festivals of Bengalis!

Fun and Frolic section:

Closing the gap by Pat Ritter: This one sounds like a story written by a noble heart, it is sad when parents fail and kids run away from home and end up in hell, not always are the children responsible and other way round. But before becoming parents adults should do some soul-searching whether or not they are really parent materials! Kids are not pets or toys, play with them and then just feed them or pack them up in boxes! These days if you observe kids you will know one thing-most parents are worthless! Sorry parents! You guys are mostly pitiable or worse, despicable!

Agnijaat and Agnishatdal Book 11: Both pieces are pretty serious! BP talks against brainless mingling of everything and everyone, FTQFS is about bestial nature of human beings. This month we got the buying links of the books too and the actual covers.

Pikatron July 2018 critique by Editor: Will have to get the newsletter from Agni.

10 unforgettable movies: Will check them out!

Indian Raga Now:

Amit Kumar- I too like Amit Kumar’s singing more than I like Kishor Kumar’s.

Anil Chatterjee- He was a very talented actor, wish he had acted in many more movies.

Zootopia: sounds like a fun movie.

Sweet blessings: I too feel envious of those who took birth on special days, especially Hindu religious dates I mean.

Youtube channel: Already checked them all out.

Storytime:

Wolves: This one was downright creepy! Honestly, who knows who is picking up the phone or answering our smses! Creepy pasta!

Shivratri: I sort of love Lord Shiva. He has sacrificed so much, so many times for us, human beings, it is impossible to not love him!

Theme: moon- show me a person who is not goo goo eyes about moon! I will feel a bit sorry for him or her.

The cartoon blackhole: hilarious and hatrick! You did it again Agni, congrats! You did not change the title!  good that you changed it in the index, I had to crawl back there to see the name of the cartoon!

In the end quite enjoyed the Ezine, and its colourful sketches/paintings specially!

That is it I guess! See you again next month, and thank you Agni/Sharmishtha for translating my works!

Yours sincerely,

Labanya

Patreon October 2019 Critique by Troy David Loy

Patreon October 2019 Critique by Troy David Loy

https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy

@

https://patreon.com/sharmishthabasu

Agnimalya October 2019 Critique

Duties Tandra has a problem relating to her husband. In this piece, her sister Chandra gives her advice on how to fix that. I liked this one, particularly the wrap up at the last line.

Elevator Sanjay and Debotosh have an interesting relationship, one is the braggart, the other the passive listener. When Sanjay claims to have come to great wealth through marriage, Sanjay’s colleagues get suspicious. What’s really going on here? What of Sanjay’s bride, Ragini? What of Sanjay’s ambitions? Debotosh gets the better deal out of this, while Sanjay crashes and burns! Exceedingly cool!

Evil Python Three older women tell the tale of an evil fellow and a virtuous girl, of how he hounded her, and failed to snag his prey. Interesting.

Eyes Tilak and Chandan work together, and when a girl at the office starts messaging Chandan, Tilak decides to steal the girl for himself! It doesn’t work out very well for Tilak and Chandan becomes his boss years later, when Tilak’s deceptions are exposed! Chandan is the one who wins out here!

Fairy Bride A fellow hangs out at an enchanted lake, and hatches a plan to wed a fairy by first stealing her wings. His idea works, at first, but his bride is miserable, and he’s not doing well either. This ends poorly for the fellow when the fairy bride turns on him and his neighbors in a most unpleasant way!

Faith Abhirup and Sunetra have a discussion of on the matter of romance, one with a questionable woman that both know to varying degrees, with the higher degree being Sunetra’s knowledge. But is this really the case? Abhirup finds out in a pleasant way when the evidence speaks for itself!

Fake Pearls Mrs. Majumdar has difficulty marrying off her son, on account of his preferences, and hatches an extortion scam to fix this! This was enjoyable, even with difficulty telling who was who toward the end.

Fake Tapan, Debam, and Debamita are involved in a complicated dance of romance and deception. When Tapan enlists his brother to help him rope in Debamita, things go bad for Tapan, when Debam and Debamita fall for each other, leaving Tapan out of the equation, and loveless as a deceptive, scheming little brat.

Fateful evening Sithi is suddenly worried for her marriage after a phone call seemingly from an old flame of her husband’s, and an unexpected taxi trip causes her to fear for her and her daughter’s lives! But this one ends well, with a nice twist at the end – well done!

Father Mr. Mitra’s children, now adults, are angry, among other less pleasant feelings for their father, over, of all things, his desire to remarry in his later years. But young Tina puts their selfishness in full view with a few harsh but well placed words. This one ends nicely!

Oh father! A scheming daughter and equally scheming father hatch a plan, but does the daughter consent to the plot? She does, and this opens the possibility of a further instalment.

Coming Kingdom October 2019 Critique

Fire Shanta is experiencing strange things, while her husband Mridul dismisses them, but soon he begins to see, hear, and feel the same things! Who, or what, is their ghostly visitor, and what does it want? In an apparently cursed flat, the couple decides to leave, and move somewhere safer!

Fluffy Young Rick is being followed by something…a hungry puppy he feeds outside of his community’s gate, and with moving impending, he decides to adopt him. All went well with this one. Very heart-warming!

Game of Love Shruti decides to play with a colleague’s heart to clear the field for her own romantic designs on her boss. Entrapping young Shree, and tampering with her work, things look pretty grim for Shree’s situation. When their plan involves playing with her boss’s heart, Shruti wins out…or DOES she? Years later, the payback hits when Shruti’s husband learns the whole story.

Ghouls Mr. Ramatosh has a problem; his daughter has been abducted, and the threats for silence keep coming in. When he sees her in a newspaper a year later, he reads of her death.

Give and Take Jyotika and Pallavi talk of marriage and unrequited love from an old flame. It does nothing to sway Jyotika, nor is it intended to. Some conversations need to be had nonetheless!

Golden Dreams When Deepak lands a job in Afghanistan, things seem well for his future, and in finding a husband for his sister back in India. But something is terribly amiss when it becomes obvious that things are not as they seem! Can it be that he was lured to Kabul by unscrupulous men, to be dumped after falling into a trap?

Grandpa Little Mina needs a present for her Grandpa, something pretty with a flowery fragrance! This one ends on a happy note!

The Great Outing When a married couple decides not to have children, all seems well for them, until their second honeymoon, when they find–gasp–actual children during the trip!

Greed A widower wants to remarry, and he knows who he and his daughter love, but his mother and sister reject her for another, one with a larger dowry. Lust for wealth can be the downfall of any arrangements for a spouse!

Guilt A hit and run accident spurs a while spent elsewhere for safety. While the guilty party avoids even the long arm of the law, this proves an exercise in character building he won’t forget!

Handcuffs A “family business” of questionable ethics winds up getting a lot of people in deep trouble, only to have one of their own land in the hands of the police.

Handsome Conjuror Shilpi meets a handsome photographer, and suddenly, her husband’s bank account is haemorrhaging money! What’s going on here? It turns out that Shilpi’s been blackmailed, and the photographer is a bit looser than he appears when first met, but Shilpi’s husband comes to the rescue once he gets the full story. I rather enjoyed this one!

SBPnB October 2019 Critique

Hatred Raj and Arindam are colleagues, and rivals, the one hot-tempered, the other a venomous schemer. What happens when that rivalry leads to broken hearts, and whose?

He An abandoned man, homeless and hungry, wanders the roads begging for alms. But one day he comes upon a home whose residents change his life, and this time for the better!

His choice Jyotishko, Ramendra, and Debesh are close friends. When Ramendra dies, leaving behind his only daughter, Tamalika, his two living friends seek a suitable husband for her, a thing that despite a few setbacks with Debesh’s sons, works out well by the end!

Holding hands Mehul runs into trouble on a rainy day, trouble addressed by a protector, who becomes much more to her months afterward. Excellent!

Ideal match The Wicked Three tell the story of a marriage that may or may not last, with interesting relationship dynamics!

Imitation The Wicked Three make another appearance, this time gossiping over a rivalry between two younger women, and a mimicry of one by the other out of malice!

Innocent love Animesh and Rita have an unusual marriage, one with open secrets if there be such a thing! Rita misses her husband deeply, and finds out more of her husband’s past, a story that leads to a happier outcome!

Insane A marriage can be a complicated thing. When one man falls in love with another woman, he suffers, but endures, loyalty to his wife despite loving another woman. Is his wife truly insane for letting him go? NOT!

It’s my life Reshmi and Prabhat are asked to marry, but tragedy strikes in their relationship, and Reshmi marries another. With a sick mother and sister, Prabhat recovers, and falls for his nurse Maya. Will he marry an older woman, however young she looks? This one ends happily!

Patreon September 2019 Critique by Troy David Loy

Patreon September 2019 Critique by Troy David Loy

https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy

@

https://patreon.com/sharmishthabasu

Agnimalya September 2019 Critique

A Love Story Preeti has a message for Korak, from an admirer, but who is it, her co-worker Mayank? There is skepticism from Korak at first, then the next day she receives a text message on her phone…Is it Mayank?

A Sad Case An army officer is under suspicion, and is caught spying for terrorists! – But is he, and what’s really going on? Find out!

Business The lovely Renu has been catching hearts lately, and the riches of her scammed and murdered victims! The outcome is not good for this one, not from a perspective of justice…

Call of Death Anu, Alok, and Sanjay are all up to no good, but Anu has found a new victim for the trio, or has she? Things are not as they seem when she betrays her business partners, only to get scammed herself!

Chandrama Debdeep has a problem, of summoning the courage to propose to his true love Chandrama! Will he conjure up the will to do it?

Charity Sucharita recognizes a man she knows…or does she? There’s suggestions of scammy dealings when both he and the man she “mistook” him for are soliciting money to pay for expensive “medical” treatments for another. What’s really going on?

Child of Lust Mrigank seems the perfect man to young Sashi, and to most other women as well, but what’s up with him? Is there some hidden danger? Some secret best not known? It’s better than you might think!

Children Debanwita loves children, but something keeps her away from them, willingly on her part. What could that something be? Hint: a literal twisted sister and evil sister in law are involved in some pretty dirty family dealings!

Confirm Shanta and Jitendra, two troubled lovers drawn apart are reunited after Jitendra’s failed engagement to another. Why? Can the two succeed where once sadness ruled? It’s better than things might look.

Control freak A wealthy industrialist has a bit of a problem controlling others, and when a wilful son nearly kills himself because of his father’s strictness, the father learns that parenthood is not ownership!

Haiku Duo Here are two haiku pics, with a tricky mermaid and river of volcanic lava. Good stuff!

SBP&B September 2019 Critique

Devil’s Own Sitendra is in a bit of a fix, the apparent patsy of a marriage scam involving his son…. It turns out that the scammer is in fact he during a rigorous questioning, and confuting evidence, evidence damning indeed!

Didimoni Haru sees who could be the love of his life, a young woman as lovely as Saraswati herself. But is this love to be requited? What happens when mutual admirers part for months after seeing each other? This one has a sad ending, but that’s good sometimes.

Diptesh An orphan raised and trained by a generous man must leave the nest as a journeyman, to enter the real world. In his first exposure to the outside, he meets the lovely Meghna. but is this love found, or lost? When Diptesh lapses into a nigh-lethal fever, Meghna must reveal her feelings for him. This one ends well, in my view.

Distant Dreams Promit has a problem, as his heart calls him to the beautiful Jharna, due to marry another. What’s to become of this? Will Promit be lonely forever? What of Jharna, and the news she must give years later? What is the secret of Jharna’s absentee husband, Sanjay, and of her mysterious pregnancies? This one was grim in tone, but the end was much brighter than I expected!

Divorced Kankana has been shot, by those hired by a viper of a woman named Anurina, who sought to destroy Kanana’s life, and not just the social part either! But safety lies in remarriage and relocation with Anurina’s former husband and scam victim. I enjoyed especially the dialogue here!

Double Standard Nisha and Reshu give the tale of a society and those in it who worship virtue, yet work against it for profit and kicks.

Dowry Chandan has a problem: seeking a wife, and so do his parents for him. But once he weds, something is amiss! What is it, and what will he do when his bride is accused of… impropriety in morals…? Some things are complicated at best, and this is a fine ending for this issue!

Come smile with me 29.3.20

[image error]

have a great day full of joy and laughter!

lots of Love.

Sharmishtha Basu

htttps://gumroad.com/sharmishthabasu

https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu

https://paypal.me/sharmishthabasu

https://patreon.com/sharmishthabasu

https://www.amazon.com/author/sharmishthabasu

Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020 critique by editor Sharmishtha Basu

Agnishatdal Magh 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique:

Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020

https://gumroad.com/l/RUPvJ

Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020

https://shoptly.com/i/nis

By your good old editor! Few words about the works of my much cherished authors. So the critiques will be honest, short and sweet!

Khola akasher neeche by Labanya: I feel so jealous when someone talks about a night sky full of stars! I get so green with envy! I so miss those nights when we could lie on the rooftop and watch them twinkle. Oh I so miss that serene beauty. A fabulous poem by Labanya.

That strange circus show by saptarchi: Does not it tickle our wicked bones! To go to parliament and ask the ministers who runs the country when they are out on the roads for months trying to lure voters!

Masai by Brieuc Martin Onraet: one thing is for sure Masai homes and their food is not for me but their love to their own culture is priceless. I rather love to imagine a world where people will respect differences and let others be, I mean everyone will leave others alone, treat them with respect, if possible love or compassion! So even though I will say Masai lifestyle is too bizarre for me still it is their life and as long as they don’t harm others…

Vikrama aur betala by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: brought back childhood memories, I have read vetala panchvingshati in Bengali again and again, then there was that horrible TV serial, I can still hear the laugh of the vetala every time he flew back to the tree. Ha! Let us see what Raghu is about to share with us!

Surprise Quid Novi by Troy David Loy: Troy is an artist when it comes to surprises, surprise indeed was a scary surprise for Cato a bit funny for us!

We reincarnate by Dom Collucci: Human life is a strange journey, we think we don’t know anything or know everything, then at one moment we realize what we know or don’t know, or we just breeze through the life too busy to ponder about these issues! Amazing poem as always!

Bitter Pill dose 27 by Bitter Pill: politics 2: We who have been screwed by the communist government are already seeing red. We sincerely believe that these twisted sociopaths won’t get back to controls of this state by hook or by crook!

Clippings by Freya Pickard: It is like a fantastic collection of poetries and stories gifted to you every three months. Amazing works.

The Drovers by Pat Ritters: Loved this spooky twist at the end. Lucky kid that she did not vanished in front of his eyes. Ha! Another fascinating piece by an amazing author whose works may become school study materials soon! Way to go Pat! We all are praying that the offer you have received materializes with great success!

Dirkball 10 by Robert Sherriff: an adorable painting of squirrel family. Our prayers are with you Rob, you will soon come out of the rough patch you are going through!

I believe that will be it for my critique as an editor, you will have to read the rest in Ezine. Of course there is truckloads of more works there!