Sharmishtha Basu's Blog: Sharmishtha Basu writes, page 135
March 13, 2020
Agnishatdal Agnijaat Kartik 1426, October 2019 critique by Troy David Loy
Agnishatdal Kartik 1426 Critique
Agnishatdal Agnijaat Kartik 1426, October 2019
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by
Troy David Loy
https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
Iravu vanakkam. Naandaan Troy. Let’s look at those things about Kartik’s issue that really jumped out at me! First, there’s…
Let us Begin… Our Virtual Trip to India Here we see a young woman in traditional garb and a good balance of cool and warm shades.
Chandidas While pinning down his identity has shown difficult, as has establishing fact from legend in the man’s life, he nonetheless had a powerful effect on the arts, literature, and religious culture of the time. That’s kinda cool! A true culture-maker!
Farce in name of justice Government corruption is on the rise throughout the world, and here, Saptarchi writes on that of the state government of Uttar Pradesh. Governments don’t like people covering the dirty things they do, and will go to any length to keep things quiet, the sign of a weak state when even the suppression goes public.
Berlin, 2, Part 2.7 Brieuc continues the tale of his mother, newly arrived at Berlin, a Berlin devastated by Allied bombing with ruins, wreckage, and bodies aplenty. And then there were the negotiations…How did they turn out? Find out next issue!
Games Ghosts Play 1 Raghu tells a story of an apparition, of a friend of his seemingly deceased…Who, or what is behind this strange manifestation?
Happiness is a minority Dom offers verse on the Few, the Rare…The Happy…
Bitter Pill, Dose 24: Religion 7 BP comments on the tendency of Europeans to turn away from gods, especially the increasing secularism of Western European nations, and the religious vitiation of European Christians.
YouTubia: They Come Back The Authoress tells us about a movie about a psychologist who takes in a traumatized child – ghosts are involved, but not evil murderous ones! This looks worth checking out!
Gopi Krishna Cool! Here’s a professional dancer I’ve the good fortune to hear about in this issue. Thank you to the Authoress for this one!
Rahul Sharma, Santoor Legend This guy is good, to seemingly impossible levels of good with this instrument, and my time spent on YouTube is all the better for it. Here’s a link I’ve found: https:// http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTmACn6dkNE
Happy belated birthday to Dom for this month; I hope yours was filled with good fortune and cheer!
Minutes Together… I enjoyed the mix of light and dark shades as well as the rich colors in the foreground in this image. Are those earthen lamps in the background, around this tree trunk? I suspect so! Good work! I enjoyed both of the creator’s poems this month, both Bengali and Hindi, and as well, there’s… …
Mayer Mukh Labanya’s poem here is very well done!
Kalipuja This is a beautifully colored image of the fierce yet benevolent Devi Kali. You do NOT want Her getting angry with you, and the easiest way to avoid THAT would be to not do evil things.
Dipawali Here’s a lovely painting of earthen lamps lit for the festival. I’ve seen, elsewhere, photos taken from space of a nightside India lit brightly!
India This Month Here, the Authoress tells us of the distinctions between India’s in general and Bengal’s festivals for the month, something exceedingly good to know!
Pieces of Past: Ancient Religions 7 Here, we find out some very important details of ancient Mesoamerican cultures, the worship practices and some of the gods they revered! I’m less ignorant, just a wee bit less, than I was before!
Story from Ved and Puran – Sage Agastya drank ocean We are treated to a tale of a man with the power to not only drink the entire ocean, but digest it too! I hope those demon critters he exposed to attack were dispatched quickly!
Words: Character and Reputation Here’s some good advice, which jibes well with Stoic philosophy, as the only thing really under our control is our character, not what others do to affect our reputation. Concentrate on changing that which you can, seeking your virtue, not things you can’t, like what others think of you.
So, this is it for Kartik 1426’s issue! Please join me again in Agrahayan, and in Sorrugon, Tf. Tk. Tts
March 12, 2020
Agnijaat Kartik 1426, October 2019 critique by Troy David Loy
Agnijaat, Kartik 1426 Critique
Agnijaat Kartik 1426, October 2019
https://shoptly.com/i/jo7
https://gumroad.com/l/xzpKY
by
Troy David Loy
https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
iravu vanakkam. naandaan Troy. Welcome to Kartik 1426’s Agnijaat issue! Please join me in a look at some of this issues’ highlights!
Kalipuja A digital painting of Goddess Kali in one of her less combative moments. Even a Destroyer of Evil needs time for reflection!
Indie author Speaks, Few Tips 6 The Authoress notes the challenges of success on the Internet, of pursuing one’s dreams and making it happen.
From the Quill of Femme Sole: smell the coffee Digital quote pic of a young woman enjoying play in a small boat, her hand splashing the water gently
Techbabble: Think twice A warning of the annoying consequences of merely formatting a USB drive without first manually deleting files.
India Now: cracker menace A reflection on the use of firecrackers in celebrating Dipawali, of other ways of enjoying the festival without making a lot of noise and frightening pets. I know the feeling well, in our American celebrations of Independence Day on 4th of July or New Year’s Eve, when my cats are prone to scramble for a hiding place when the popping begins!
My Pen: bad sales pitches A musing on the manipulative self-promotions and marketing of cynical website owners, and the cluelessness of the ads they spam people with.
Nature @Kolkata in Kartik Nature can be tricky, and here the Authoress notes the monthly strangeness and the hope of something cool and pleasant as things progress.
Indian Raga Now – R.D. Burman Coolness! After doing a quick visit to YouTube, I found a collection of Burman’s Bengali songs here, these composed, but not sung by him: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=L7Iygvdn7DE
Spotlight On: Guru Dutt Thanks to the Authoress for noting the accomplishments, the giftedness, and the tragically short life of this director!
Sweet Memories Kartik: Kamalpur Here, the authoress offers a look at favorite homes of her past, in both Kamalpur and Burdwan, with little doubt both grand places.
SBPnB from Patreon October 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?
Annnd, that it for this issue! Join me again for the critique of issue Poush 1426! Tf. Tk. Tts.
March 11, 2020
Thursday Rhymes 12.3.20
have a great day full of joy and laughter!
lots of Love.
Sharmishtha Basu
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Thursday Bouquet 12.3.20
have a great day full of joy and laughter!
lots of Love.
Sharmishtha Basu
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Agnishatdal Ashwin 1426 Critique by Troy David Loy
Agnishatdal Ashwin 1426 Critique
Agnishatdal Ashwin 1426, September2019
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By Troy David Loy
https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
iravu vanakkam. naandaan Troy. Let’s see what lept out at me in Agnishatdal’s Ashwin 1426 issue!
Chaitanya A biography of a Hindu mystic, a remarkable man whose influence on Bengali Vaishnavaism, and his sect and spiritual movement, appears mostly a result of his students’ work after he died. Still, his influence is felt. What struck me was his relatively modern understanding, for the time, of epilepsy, when Europeans were still attributing such seizures to things like demons.
How conveniently they die: S4 S4 notes the suspicious turns of events when witnesses die or disappear in cases against Indian states, and failures of the media to report on them
Berlin 2, Part 2.6 a tale, from the tail end, of WWII, when Brieuc’s mother, was assigned and on her way to interpret for the commander of the Free French Forces in Germany.
Tenali Raman turns to sleuthing 3 Raman continues his testimony in court and the conclusions drawn from his investigation, the outcome enhancing his court status and reputation as an inquirer and thinker. Well done, Raghu!
Happiness first, wealth will follow Dom here gives some verse on The Secret, ‘nuff said.
Bitter Pill Dose 23 | Religion 6 BP notes the dangers of online religious fanaticism, of fire breathing zealots who damage their own cause in attacking perceived enemies of the faith.
Changeling Freya gives the story of someone drawn to the sea, and who, transformed, becomes one of its denizens!
Many thanks to Sharmishtha for the birthday wishes! It was a hectic time as we transitioned from our old home and moved much further South, but the celebration was fantastic!
Robert Englund I’ve only seen one Nightmare on Elm Street movie, but enjoyed Englund’s performance as Freddie even then. I can only imagine the tedium in applying the makeup he wore for his role, in a movie industry not yet using such computer animation technologies as motion-capture. It was his acting ability that really made his role as villain, or perhaps true movie-monster!
Bengal This Month The creator offers her hopes for the coming Durgapuja, of relative peace in a city of boisterous celebration!
Pieces of Past | Glimpses: Ancient Religions 4 Here, we get a look at the great religions founded in India, Hinduism and Buddhism, and those in early China, with the practice of ancestor worship and the notion of “Tian” (heaven).
Story from Ved and Puranas: Sage Agastya and Vindhya mountain Here’s a tale of an ancient sage and his encounter with an angry mountain. That it leads to such a colorful expression is fascinating!
Words: Milky Way The Authoress relates some of the fantastic findings that have been made of our home galaxy, one out of trillions in the observable universe alone – observable, as the universe beyond what we can see is almost surely vaster still!
Let’s Be Together I love this month’s closing image, with a selection of lovely earth colors to bring out the feel of being in nature.
That’s it for this issue. Join me again for Agnishatdal in Kartik 1426, and until then… …Tf. Tk. Tts.
Agnijaat Ashwin 1426 Critique by Troy David Loy
Agnijaat Ashwin 1426 Critique
Agnijaat Ashwin 1426, September2019
https://shoptly.com/i/dfu
https://gumroad.com/l/gjIUz
By Troy David Loy
https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
iravu vanakkam. naandaan Troy. After a far, far too long hiatus, let’s go over a few of the outstanding points of Agnijaat’s Ashwin 1426’s issue!
Indie Author Speaks: Few Tips 5 The Authoress offers useful suggestions for managing tasks, and so doing, managing our time. It’s good that she emphasized the importance of considering possible obstacles.
From the Quill of Femme Sole: What a life! This one’s a digital painting in which the Authoress offers thoughts on being single in a world when marriage has problems of its own!
TECHBABBLE: sixth Sense a commentary on the horrors of Windows 10. Who knows what will fail in a machine with this – ahem – update!
India Now: Carrots and Donkeys Here, the Authoress comments on Independence Day, and on how the expense of celebrating it that would be more wisely spent fixing the country’s problems. Worth thinking about!
My Pen: Sleaze The creator’s thoughts on the nature of porn, politics, their repugnance, and similarities between them.
Teresa Schapansky Interview Here is a view into the life of the writer of “Memoirs of a Pakhtun Immigrant” through a brief chat with the this eZine’s creator.
Return to Reality A few words on the unrealistic themes of modern Hindi movies coming out of Mumbai.
Spotlight on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan A few words on Nusrat’s life, and the evolution of his music as he aged, and the style he took up, especially the devotional qawwali tradition of Sufi Muslims.
Sweet Memories: Sky It’s a blessing indeed, spiritual or secular, take your pick, when one can see the sky at night, to see the stars, some of which are long dead despite their brightness in Earth’s sky at the moment. Here, Agnijaat’s creator gives a few words on her recollections of skywatching in Hyderabad.
Festival of the Month: Durgapuja The Authoress recounts her impression of the festival, in both past and current, local celebrations, her feelings and the conflicting approaches of revelers in Kolkata and elsewhere.
This month’s theme is fire, with… One: a cinqku with digital painting of what might be this eZine’s avatar, surrounded by flames. Two: a haiku on the dangers of even a mere spark in setting things ablaze. Three: a cinquain and digital painting on the need to respect fire, or suffer the consequences! Four: A quintilla and painting on the duality of water and fire, as even water with the right things dissolved in it can be lit afire. Five: A quintain and painting of a perhaps metaphorical, perhaps not, dance performance. Six: Diamond verse and painting on the meeting of a moth and flame. Seven: Seventeen verse and painting of a firefly, one of the night’s most fascinating insects.
Fir Milenge – Till We Met Again Digital painting of a young woman seemingly atop a hill, perhaps. Nice! So, that ends this issue’s critique. Join me here again, and till then, in Soruggon, Tf. Tk. Tts.
Happy Holi!
Few shots from my window, safely tucked away from colours! Apparently this year corona had the final laugh, did not see many holi revelers out there, only kids were having some fun!
It really picked up a nice time to show up! Bad virus!
Hope you enjoyed Holi in your own way if not by dipping in colorus!
Have a blessed time ahead!
March 8, 2020
March 7, 2020
Come smile with me 8.3.20
have a great day full of joy and laughter!
lots of Love.
Sharmishtha Basu
htttps://gumroad.com/sharmishthabasu
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https://paypal.me/sharmishthabasu
https://patreon.com/sharmishthabasu
https://www.amazon.com/author/sharmishthabasu
March 4, 2020
Thursday Rhymes 5.3.20
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
Sharmishtha Basu writes
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