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March 27, 2020

Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020 critique by Labanya

Agnishatdal Magh 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique by Labanya


Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020

https://gumroad.com/l/RUPvJ

Agnishatdal Magh 1426, January 2020

https://shoptly.com/i/nis


Hi friends, let us begin!


The ezine begins with a tribute to Hemchandra, again I knew nothing about him. He started the shwetambara sect of Jainism and ensured its strong foundation in Gujarat. He was a great scholar and writer too. Once this country was full of scholars and teachers in real sense!


That strange circus show by saptarchi: I will say this one was very provocative! One do wonders these days that what exactly do the ministers do for betterment of the country when they are not out wooing the votebanks.


Masai by Brieuc Martin Onraet: Can’t say I will eat traditional Masai food or live in their traditionally built homes but every civilization is fascinating to me, as long as they don’t harm others. That is when I feel annoyed or agast!


Vikrama aur betala by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: I read these stories as a kid and quite enjoyed them though the riddles were pretty tough for me, have not read them since then will have to try and see if I get a hindi/English copy of the original. I just love Raghu’s stories, they are such complete reads!


Surprise Quid Novi by Troy David Loy: Surprise was a surprise for sure! Imagine looking at the sky and discovering it was actually someone’s face or part of that!


We reincarnate by Dom Collucci: human existence truly is a puzzle to thinkers!


Bitter Pill dose 27 by Bitter Pill: politics 2: Agreed, this tango of communists and BJP in Bengal is worrying everyone with a brain! Indian politicians are destroying this country and the population is either hitting jackpot with them or starving, dying!


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


The Drovers by Pat Ritters: good that she did not disappeared right in front of him! That would have scared the kid to death I suspect!


Dirkball 10 by Robert Sherriff: Cute painting, will be checking out rest of his books.


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:


Three beautiful cards, lovely ones at that!


In the treats section Agnijaat and Agnishatdal Book 11 has been announced. We will get the links in Falgun issue though.


Logan’s time by Dayna Leigh Chesser sounds like a fascinating read. A trip into medieval Scotland! I love that country a lot because of its scenic beauty and of course its majestic castles. There was an interview attached of course, glad to know a bit about the author.


Tree becomes a soul by Dom Collucci- Quite an admirer of Dom’s writing, I am damn sure that this book will be a gem worth keeping!


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.


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


Lachchu Maharaj- it was great to know about him, I have not even heard his name I believe. I will see if I can get more on internet.


Wes Craven horror movies truly were a bit different than bandwagon! I liked many of them quite a lot.


Annapurna Devi- I have heard that her talent was wasted by some personal reason, had she been performing in public she would have outshone her brother or ex husband Pt. Ravishankar. I personally feel talented artists should share their talent with public.


Lucy Show- Watched an episode and quite enjoyed it. She was funny!


Dosa is absolutely delicious! Sambhar is bonus with it.


Minutes Together: Royal marriage was a sad story with poetic justice or sort of justice at the end.


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


Indian history is an interesting read! One will say Abdali used India as his savings account, whenever he ran out of money he extracted some from India. Boy! What a…..


Wayward brahmin- Fascinating story, these stories say so much about the wisdom of those who shared these stories!


Words- baby animals are more beautiful than human babies!


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

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Published on March 27, 2020 21:52

March 26, 2020

Agnijaat Magh 1426, January 2020 critique by Labanya

Agnijaat Magh 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

https://gumroad.com/sharmishthabasu

Critique by Labanya


Agnijaat Magh 1426, January 2020

https://gumroad.com/l/bJPEQ

https://shoptly.com/i/nir


Indie Author Speaks 10: After previous month’s adventurous post this one was a reminder, don’t go overboard when you are pursuing your dreams or hopes. Thredda certainly had some very wise words to say.


Acid tongue: I believe every woman will agree how manipulative women can be often, their tongues are good adversaries of bestial strength applied by men to control everything around them.


Techbabble: I personally firmly believe that behind all big talks the apps installed in our smartphones see, hear, read more than they should! God only knows how much more hackers accomplish if they hack into our systems!


Push sale: Well I think it is a field of expertise of India, in business and in personal life. Look how they give dowry to get good matches for their mediocre or substandard daughters, or how they give bribe to get government jobs or contracts! So it is no wonder that shopkeepers get benefited by the same!


SOS: shrewd manipulators very often are undetectable. Their prey realize that scary truth after getting devoured but it is always smart to safeguard ourselves.


WOW: Agreed. I too believe one can be a sage after performing all his or duties to social life.


History of India: A meticulous study of Indian history I presume, this is the first part of the article, explaining the effect of environment on people.


Preferences change: A pretty personal essay about how authoresses’ views about human beings and mates have changed over years. We do change with time, we should and should try to change for better I guess!


Fun and Frolic section:


Click go the shears by Pat Ritter: Is it a song or the name of the novel is based on a song? I think the latter!


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.


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


10 silly questions: Don’t we all have these questions for the movie makers who treat their viewers like imbeciles!


Indian Raga Now:


Kishor Kumar- One of the legends of hindi movies, he has sang many songs, acted in many a movies and was a great comedian and fantastic singer when it came to light songs or romantic songs.


Chhabi Biswas- He was super amazing, mind-blowing!


Princess and the frog: another hilarious movie with a good storyline from Disney.


childhood: favorite days for most of us! Those days filled with blessed innocence!


Youtube channel: Already checked them all out.


Storytime:

The admirer: This one was lighter side of a really annoying/grim side of Romeo Juliette syndrome of Indians. It has always ticked me off greatly when absolutely unworthy men thought they could woo, stalk or heckle me! Even the rickshawallas and beggars of India think they are Amitabh Bachchan (inspired by him and likes of him of course) and can chase the daughters of millionaires! The result of refusal is not very good when it comes to middle class girls though! I so wish Indian movies were not provoking these things all the time!


Saraswatipuja: the puja of all writers and artists I guess.


Theme: space- space is fascinating! The more I watch documentaries on it the more I love to watch them! Just can’t have enough of them! It is a very lovely collection of works and artworks by SB, loved the paintings especially.


The cartoon: Good one.


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

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Published on March 26, 2020 21:52

March 25, 2020

Agnishatdal Poush 1426, December 2019 critique by editor Sharmishtha Basu

Agnishatdal Poush 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique:


Agnishatdal Poush 1426, December 2019

https://gumroad.com/l/umPGr

Agnishatdal Poush 1426, December 2019

https://shoptly.com/i/mon


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


Balukabela by Labanya: Beautiful, haunting poem, how we try to leave our marks in the world indeed!


Rupjibi and Kalamjibi by saptarchi: The way the media tries to manipulate us these days for own financial gain of course is tragic. There was a time when we used to believe things told in newspapers, used to think that writers write about what they truly believe are good for the society! Now, so many of them write for money that they have hog-washed the others!


Masai 1 by Brieuc Martin Onraet: We know so little about African tribes, An interesting insight in one of its most famous people- the Masai.


Games Ghost Play 3 by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: Now, did not see that one coming! Ha! Just loved the twist of the tale!


Quid Novi by Troy David Loy: This month Quid novi tells us a bit about other characters Troy has created, amazing tempest and little known Agni!


A dwelling for within by Dom Collucci: Wise and beautiful as always! When we know our own heart things often become clear for sure!


Bitter Pill dose 26 by Bitter Pill: Religion: Well I share BP’s utter mistrust and dislike for Indian politicians. The way they harm the country is beyond petty reprimands!


Clippings by Freya Pickard: Freya is one amazing author! It is quite an treat to read her works for free!


The Drovers by Pat Ritters: Glad that Harry’s father asked him to stay close by.


Dirkball 9 by Robert Sherriff: another cute painting!


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!

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Published on March 25, 2020 21:52

March 24, 2020

Agnishatdal Poush 1426, December 2019 critique by Labanya

Agnishatdal Poush 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique by Labanya


Agnishatdal Poush 1426, December 2019

https://gumroad.com/l/umPGr

Agnishatdal Poush 1426, December 2019

https://shoptly.com/i/mon


Hi friends, let us begin!


The ezine begins with a tribute to Bharatendu Harishchandra, I knew nothing about him, will be checking out his poetries in net. If I can get English translations, though not very fond of reading poetry translations, they often miss the essence.


Rupjibi and kalamjibi by saptarchi: Well, as we all know that media is a business we have stopped believing in the things they try to force us to believe, actually I don’t believe almost anything they try to convince! I always look for the hidden strings. It is sad that at a time journalists and movie-makers changed the society for better! They fought for causes and tried to open our eyes FOR OUR BETTERMENT.


Masai by Brieuc Martin Onraet: I remember the scene from Out of Africa, the Masai warriors dressed up in feathers. This was an interesting insight. I did not knew that they have firmly kept their ethnicity alive. Quite a pleasure!


Games Ghost Play 3 by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: Hilarious ending! Did not see it coming!


Quid Novi by Troy David Loy: another short insight into the characters Troy is building, Mira, Tempest and Agni. Will love to read more about them!


A dwelling for within by Dom Collucci: a beautiful poem from a wise soul. Once we know ourselves so many things become crystal clear.


Bitter Pill dose 26 by Bitter Pill: Religion: These politicians! Their brazen greed and corruption can cause severe depression to anyone looking for a cleaner, better India!


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


The Drovers by Pat Ritters: Great story this far, right when I was thinking that Harry will have to walk away from his parents his pa asked him to stay nearby. I rather am enjoying this fascinating story!


Dirkball 8 by Robert Sherriff: Cute painting, will be checking out rest of his books.


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:


Happy birthday again Brian! Wish you the very best in life!


In the treats section Agnijaat and Agnishatdal Book 11 has been announced. We will get the links in Falgun issue though.


Book trailer- sounds great!


Aqson by Koel Sreejib sounds like a good book. I will say I rather loved the way Koel portrayed mythical characters in her book. Will try to check out the book. There was an interview attached of course, glad to know a bit about the author.


Changes by Carolyn Page- Sounds like a journey into enlightenment, a wise soul guiding others! It had an interview too, a beautiful one I will say.


Pikatron by Troy David Loy sounds like a great piece of read!


Hammer house of Mystery- will check out a few movies.


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


Achchhan Maharaj- it was great to know about him, I have not even heard his name I believe!


Pierce Brosnan as James Bond- He was hot as hell!


Ali Akbar Khan- Will have to check YouTube for his music, good to know about the musician a bit. I have only heard his name.


Pebble- She is full of curses but awfully cute!


Idli- I love the sambhar that comes with it!


Minutes Together: Money Money Money is a scary story and as far as newspapers say it is a horrific reality to many youngsters desperate for job in our super-corrupted country.


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


Ancient religions by Joshua Mark was an interesting read!


Garuda- Fascinating story about Lord Vishnu’s vahana from puranas!


Words- nothing annoys more than absconding sleep.


Ponga Pandit- loving the cartoon strip!


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

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Published on March 24, 2020 21:52

March 23, 2020

Agnijaat Poush 1426, December 2019 critique by Labanya

Agnijaat Poush 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

https://gumroad.com/sharmishthabasu

Critique by Labanya


Agnijaat Poush 1426, December 2019

https://gumroad.com/l/jKvWy

https://shoptly.com/i/mom


Indie Author Speaks 8: Being a much timid person I don’t think I will dare to do what Doris Gross the founder of Fempress Media and Mrs. Globalicious did, but I do believe we should be our own mentors, because who will know ourselves better than us? I always advocate for safe risks too, to pursue your dreams if they are offbeat!


One boat please: Don’t I agree with these words! I grew up with a “staunch women lib advocate” who married a caveman for social recognition only I feel, and before that she spewed venom against men but was surrounded by them all the time, serving her hands and feet! Ha!


Techbabble: I believe this is another one that ticks us off these days, the way things are getting shoved down our gullets by force. Even if we pay for those articles! Monopoly is the worst thing!


poverty: Try to live an honest life in India and you will know how poverty kills souls, the rich keep the poor folks poor to exploit them in every sense! Especially to do their dirty jobs! Had they been not poor they would have most probably never had been so complying! Hope so at least!


SOS: Grew up with one! She used to make others work for her and whenever an outsider showed up she used to convince them that she did all that!


WOW: Very soothing! But I am too tangled in attachments!


Goa Inquisition: Things people did, are doing and will do defiling the name of God and religions! Human beings are simply bad seeds!


Everything in time: So close to my heart! I believe in keeping multiple options in hands, so that if nine go wrong you can bank on the tenth!


Fun and Frolic section:


The drover by Pat Ritter: Reading its first chapter and I thoroughly enjoyed the piece. It is a fascinating journey into the life of Australian cowboys and girls!


Agnijaat and Agnishatdal Book 11: Both books sound pretty serious!


Patreon August 2019 critique by Troy: Great critique, the stories sound very interesting!


10 serials: Have to check them out in YouTube and see how many I will enjoy!


Indian Raga Now:


Nitin Mukesh- tried a few songs, love his voice. Sad he sang so few!


Johnny Walker- Loved his songs a lot!


Up: Watched it, pretty cute movie.


Something divine: Oh yes! Such things are blessed by God! To think you witnessed a butterfly laying egg and you could nurse them to become beautiful butterflies, all of them! Wow!


Youtube channel: Already checked them all out.


Storytime:


Red roses: This was really, really heartwarming!


Poush Sankranti: delicious!


Theme: Forest- Love trees. God how I will so love to spend a few years near a forest! So very much! A very lovely collection of works and artworks.


The cartoon: This is something that have made me pretty angry too, if you watch the documentaries on wildlife you will start believing that it is mostly death, gore and violence out there! There is not much beauty in the wilderness!


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

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Published on March 23, 2020 21:52

March 22, 2020

Agnishatdal Agrahayan 1426, November 2019 by Labanya

Agnishatdal Agrahayan 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique by Labanya


Agnishatdal Agrahayan 1426, December 2019

https://gumroad.com/l/QYloB

https://shoptly.com/i/kjc


Hi friends, let us begin!


The ezine begins with a tribute to Debendranath Tagore, I knew very little about him, now I know a bit more and will be checking out more in net.


Farce in the name of justice by saptarchi: The politicians who turn people against each other using one excuse or other should be sentenced to life.


Berlin 2: Part 8 by Brieuc Martin Onraet: Mr. Onraet is a great story teller and I am reading his blog https://equinoxio21.wordpress.com, a fascinating blog because he is a stunning photographer too. The story ends with a tinge of sadness because the lady telling the story passes away! May God rest her soul in peace!


Games Ghost Play 2 by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: A ghost chatting with you as if nothing has happened! Straight from horror movies! I know it is a funny story but had the guy been really a ghost that would have been something for sure!


Quid Novi by Troy David Loy: Meera sounds like an interesting character. I like the way Mr. Loy writes!


Truth sticks by Dom Collucci: Very true and wise! Only if the last laugh was laughed by it too! Mostly the damage done by lies is too much!


Bitter Pill dose 25 by Bitter Pill: Religion: Good points! I believe the fault lies with human nature, not the code of conducts it follows!


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


The Drovers by Pat Ritters: Great story this far, Pat is a fantastic story-teller for sure! It is sad if you have to move out of your parents at 17 and face the world on your own! Things differ so much from society to society!


Dirkball 8 by Robert Sherriff: Cute painting, will be checking out rest of his books.


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:


Happy birthday Brian! Wish you the very best in life!


In the treats section Teresa’s book’s critique and her interview has been repeated. I have already talked about how great the book sounds!


Book trailer- sounds great!


God to universities by David Sidney Harris sounds like a good book.


Pikatron by Troy David Loy sounds like a great piece of read!


Kevin Richardson the lion whisperer- we need more like him!


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


Shambhu Maharaj- it was great to know about him, I have only heard his name.

Mission Impossible saga- They are fantastic thrillers!


Allauddin Khan- Will have to check YouTube for his music, good to know about the musician a bit!


Georg Eichberger- He plays great!


Recipe- not my pot of soup!


Minutes Together: King meets queen is a nice story! Hope these things happen in reality too!


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


Ancient religions by Joshua Mark was an interesting read!


Tarakasur- Indra was one twisted God! Another great story from puranas!


Words- It indeed is good to forget sometimes!


Ponga Pandit- loving the cartoon strip!


The sketches all through the ezine were pretty!


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


Yours sincerely,

Labanya

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Published on March 22, 2020 21:52

March 21, 2020

Agnishatdal Agrahayan 1426, November 2019 by editor Sharmishtha Basu

Agnishatdal Agrahayan 1426

( https://shoptly.com/sharmishthabasu )

Critique:


Agnishatdal Agrahayan 1426, November 2019

https://gumroad.com/l/QYloB

https://shoptly.com/i/kjc


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


Banshpati by Labanya: Opened a floodgate of nostalgia. These birds are so pretty!


Farce in the name of justice by saptarchi: The politicians who turn people against each other using one excuse or other should be sentenced to life. Right now, Bengalis should be ashamed because they are rioting! What a shame!


Berlin 2: Part 8 by Brieuc Martin Onraet: Thank you for sharing this piece of history Brieuc, you are one amazing story teller! Though this one ends with sadness still it was fascinating!


Games Ghost Play 2 by Raghunandan Kuppuswamy: Ha! It was a miracle that the narrator did not run away when the “Ghost” approached him and started talking!


Quid Novi by Troy David Loy: Meera is a great character in building and I am sure it will surpass all Troy’s previous characters!


Truth sticks by Dom Collucci: Wise and beautiful as always! Dom sure knows how to combine beauty with wisdom and give them an ethereal touch! Great piece!


Bitter Pill dose 25 by Bitter Pill: Religion: Human beings love to lynch each other at any excuse, we have to work on that tendency! Forgetting the labels used for satiating bloodlust!


Clippings by Freya Pickard: Freya is one amazing author! It is quite an achievement to work day in and day out in your BnB and write these fantastic pieces! Kudos!


The Drovers by Pat Ritters: Heart goes out to Harry! Working so hard at such a tender age and then asked by parents to move out of family dwellings! He certainly has lot on his plate!


Dirkball 8 by Robert Sherriff: another cute painting!


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!

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Published on March 21, 2020 21:52

Sharmishtha Basu writes

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