Sharmishtha Basu's Blog: Sharmishtha Basu writes, page 193
August 11, 2017
Agnijaat Ashar (june) critique by Troy David Loy
Agnijaat Ashar 1424 Critique by Troy David Loy @ https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
Self Publishing Ideas 1 – choosing the platform:
This is a useful how-to for publishing things online yourself. I’ve never tried Createspace, as my first platform of choice was KDP. The former may be a good choice for any print works of mine. Must read more on formatting on both it and the latter during off hours!
Rani Durgavati:
The fact that this 16th Century queen fought and forced the retreat of a vastly more powerful foe as many as three times is a remarkable feat in itself, especially Akbar’s imperial forces. I noticed that in many places in history, killing oneself rather than surrender to an enemy with less than honorable treatment of prisoners, even brutal treatment, is arguably the better option. So it was with Durgabati.
Psychos and Morons:
Queries of phone hacking? It boggles the mind why anyone in their right mind and not working in a criminal organization or the Intelligence community would want to. Then again, this post is not titled Sane Folk and Geniuses, as the final two answers show.
These people need to “exploit” their own grey matter before asking this sort of thing in a public forum, much less expecting an answer.
Caste System 6:
The Authoress discusses the exploitation of certain castes for political gain and the decline of Indian intellectuals as a real force in governance and critical evaluation of policy. The control at the village level by politicians serves to cement this in expedient but unethical ways, and not for the long-term wellness of the state of the country.
That inner voice:
The Authoress discusses a phenomenon well-documented in the scientific literature: that there are thinking processes going on beneath the threshold of our conscious awareness. And this thinking can make itself known through vague feelings of wrongness or sudden awareness of things not previously known or thought, but often verifiable when investigated carefully. If it’s knowable then it can be shown. Scientific skeptics (skeptics who are scientific, as opposed to those who merely “skeptical” of
science) are familiar with this as well, and stage conjurors skilled in mentalism use this in their performances.
BAKHTI SAINTS: Ramananda – Glimpses of Indian History:
Being one of the most influential religious leaders of his day, one who contributed to not just one, but TWO religions is a remarkable achievement. His use of common language in preaching was evidently an effective way of getting his message to those he wanted most to receive it. The fact that he chose devotion to Rama and Sita over Vishnu is MOST interesting as well.
Nature @Kolkata in Ashar:
The Authoress notes the recent monsoon season and general trend toward cooler weather in Bengal. Of Interest are the festivals this month, Rathyatra and Eid ul Fitr, as well are mentioned Nagpanchami and Gurupurnima, those last two noted in previous issues of the Twins.
INDIAN RAGA NOW:
A critique of popular Bengali and Hindi music as the state of those arts currently stands. Some of it good, some of it less so, often MUCH less so, as trends have gone on since the Seventies. Something work considering when buying albums online.
SPOTLIGHT ON – Gheorghe Zamfir:
Pan flutes are cool, and this artist plays one. It was well worth the brief instant invested to check him out…Oh, LOOK! Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=1mHuf8owjoQ Give it a listen, as the music is incredible.
Window to West – Beauty and the Beast:
I’ve yet to see this myself, but worth buying online, and I’ve a good idea where…The Authoress discusses briefly the actors and feel of the movie. I must watch!
Sweet Memories – Sharmishtha Basu Day: The Day of the Lotus – Happy Sharmishtha Basu Day: A prayer and poem celebrating the Authoress by one gregory57 of intentblog.com
Runaway:
A cow debates an egret on the wisdom of escape from his owner, with the egret having the sounder reasoning.
actual culprit:
Never steal snake eggs using a proxy, as this tale suggests, especially magical ones whose mothers are protective of their eggs! Steal once, pay twice!
With the theme this month being summer, there are seven items: a brief poem; a digital painting reminding me of a boy with surfboard at shore; a diamond verse with something delicious (Mango icecream!); a 7 x 2 diamond verse reprimanding the Sun for being a jerk; a short story about nasty shapeshifting critters and the error of dismissing the advice of elders (There’s a reason they get to be old!); a longer verse on the heat and misery of summer heat in the city; and finally, a short but succinct essay on four causes of summer annoyance in Kolkata. Quite good!
That’s it for the month! I’ll see you soon, for Shraban, 1424!
Agnishatdal Shraban critique by Troy David Loy
Agnishatdal Shraban 1424 Critique by Troy David Loy @ https://www.amazon.com/author/Troyloy
Mangal Pandey:
Here was a good soldier who nonetheless put his people first rather than obey orders he knew were wrong. Evil is actually pretty banal, not dramatic or spectacular because it doesn’t need to be. Some of the worst evils in history were committed by those who were “just following orders,” or going along with the crowd like lambs to the slaughter. Pandey was a patriot who followed his conscience rather than his chain of command, and his death was a ripple that in time became a tidal wave.
Balgangadhar Tilak:
Tilak was an accomplished man in many fields, and a true revolutionary. His work in mathematics served well in his writing regardless of his detractors, which doubtless were many.
Budapest Missives 4:
Julia’s image is haunting, with the close-up Moon in the background a very effective evocative touch.
Red Heels Pt. 5:
An invitation to a date at a Cuban restaurant turns bad as our heroine suffers a
kidnapping attempt on the way there. Dressed to kill, with weapons-grade heels in her defense, she attempts to fend off her assailants…
Patterns:
Eleanor’s image shows some interesting repeating symmetries with some subdued and very earthy tones.
Breaking a windfall:
Raghu tells a story of a lucky old man who finally wins big, much to the distress of his doctor, which winds up hospitalizing someone, and not the one you would expect given one’s age!
Night in love with a dream*:
Dom’s verse touches both heart and mind, and makes use of repetition and form in very effective ways, as good verse does.
Kevin Cooper’s Interview with Steve Page was interesting, and I’m intrigued about the idea of a full-length novel written entirely in verse as Page has done.
Vishwanathan Anand:
Here was until only within the last few years a world champion chess-player, and in any event, world-class. While I’m behind on my practice, this is good encouragement to take up Mac Chess again, if nothing else for the cognitive exercise it affords!
Night M. Shyamalan:
I’m unfamiliar with most of his movies, having only seen Lady in Water with friends one evening. I enjoyed that at the time though, and will check out the others on IMDB.com
Abhijeet Bhattacharya:
I’m listening to his music as I type this, and find it not bad at all, quite good in my view. There is that recent controversy of his on Twitter, but I prefer to separate the art from the foibles of the artist. It broadens horizons. There’s a link to a playlist of his songs here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtrnPKaGBgs
Shraban Recipe: pumpkin specials 1
Pumpkin is good stuff, and this recipe gives a great way to prepare it Bengali-style! Will add this to my repertoire of tasty pumpkiny treats if I can draft Christopher into lending his skills and spices to the effort!
The Chase:
A thief gets into a tight spot during a heist in this story from an upcoming book. The authoress shows her narrative skills in playing out the man’s predicament, and the outcome of his task!
Bhandananda Uvach 4:
Hatemongers are ubiquitous in politics, as the current excuses for leadership in many countries show. It’s a call for the sane among us to take notice and act, before it’s too late!
Harini: The doe, & Gharonda – the nest:
Two nice pieces of verse, in Bangla and Hindi respectively, making effective use of form and theme, which can be taken any one of different ways depending on perspective
Bengal & India This Month:
With Rakhi, Jhulan, Indian Independence Day, and Janmashtami being celebrated this month, the first of these is by far my favorite, and the third a sound reason for learning history, not the revisionist facade often presented in the media, but a good, solid time spent studying the best examples in the field.
Pieces of Past: Chandragupta Maurya
As the first emperor of nearly all of pre-colonial India during the late centuries BCE, he must have been quite an effective ruler. Interesting that he decided to liberate himself from the world, to put it one way, by starving himself once embracing Jainism.
Story From Ved and Purana – Mysteries of Draupadi:
Very interesting tale here, as it further illuminates a better understanding of how Vedic cycles show the relatable nature of Hindu gods, making it one of my favorite South Asian religions!
That about wraps things up for this month, so, my fine humans, I’ll see you again the very next!
Tf. Tk. Tts.
From the Editor-creator of the Ezine aka Sharmishtha Basu:
If you want to encourage the struggling artist and writer with your huge-hearted generosity:
https://www.paypal.me/sharmishthabasu
https://www.patreon.com/sharmishthabasu
The first annual digests of the Ezines:
Agnijaat Annual Digest 2017: Sfulingo 1
Agnishatdal Annual Digest 2017: Agnidal 1
August 9, 2017
Thursday Rhymes 10.8.17
In the pitch dark
A dog barks at distance,
His sound reassures not feeble hearts,
But spreads a tinge of uneasiness,
Wondering what is he barking at,
Something human or inhuman,
The fireflies glow in darkness
Like distant stars in faraway sky.
Far away on the river bank
A funeral pyre burns,
The chanting of the party
Sends a shiver down the spine,
The wind rustles the bamboo grove
It sounds like thousand whispers
A leaf rustles a leaf falls, another brushes body
As if thousands of ghosts encroach upon him
From all sides, hidden in pitch darkness,
He pulls his tattered blanket around his body
And waits for morning light!
When everything will be normal again,
The birds will sing and sun will shine,
Dispersing the terrors of night,
Now he waits and prays
That all his fears are baseless
And those are just leaves and wind,
And fireflies, not specters of the night
Closing upon him as he lays
Huddled in his tattered sheet
Waiting for the morning.
August 5, 2017
August 2, 2017
Thursday Rhymes 3.8.17
The ruins of the old house stands alone by village road,
dirt road that gets deserted right after night fall.
The house looks at the orchard across the burning ghat,
small huts, kids that play there at night, make him sigh.
A century ago, that orchard was not here, there laid the river,
It roared like a lion in monsoon, its water lapped his walls,
with million crystal tongues, it tried to bring him down,
but he won, man-made dams stole the might of the mighty river,
it shrunk beyond recognition, now, once in a while it displays,
tamed version of its wild face, once in a while, when sluice gates
are opened after a hearty rain fall.
But it never touches the walls of the house like before, it gushes
past the orchard, he only hears its tamed roar.
Sometimes he thinks if man had not tamed that mighty river,
it would have won by now, he would not be standing here.
For his caretakers have deserted, abandoned him.
July 29, 2017
July 26, 2017
Thursday Rhymes 27.7.17
White sand on river bank spreads for miles
Old banyan tree grows on one side,
has been standing there for centuries
Its surrounded by trunks that once were aerial roots,
They cluster around the old tree like young sentinels,
guarding an old king on throne.
The river is shallow but wide, crystal water sparkles
in moonlight, one can see the fishes swimming during daylight.
Men and beast can easily cross her on foot.
In summer dogs swim in her water for hours, sometimes they
sit down in the water for a little respite.
Kids play in her water for hours, there is no fear for drowning,
thus no adult supervision, it’s all childish and rowdy fun.
There is no scope for fishermen in summer, winter, though they try
to take their boat to deeper spots, where a little hole has stored
a little extra water, there they throw their nets and wait.
The farmers carry their vegetables in small baskets to the town
on the other side of the river.
Sharmishtha Basu writes
- Sharmishtha Basu's profile
- 23 followers
