Manali Manan Desai's Blog, page 60
August 28, 2020
Inside the Minds of Authors ~ Podcast With DC Gomez, A USA Bestselling Author
Michelle Obama says,
“Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right?”
I was someone who used to be afraid of just this, which is coming out of my comfort zone and trying out new things. However, I have grown as a person in the past few years and have learnt to embrace change with open arms.
In my bid to try as many new opportunities out there in order to promote myself and my work, I recently agreed to do a podcast with a fellow author. She runs a podcast channel by the name of Inside the Minds of Authors.
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She is DC Gomez, a bestselling author from USA with an inspiring backstory of her own.
https://dcgomez-author.com/In this podcast, we got to know each other’s backgrounds about writing and personal lives and then I read out a few microtales from my book The Untold Stories.
You can check out our full conversation by following below mentioned links to two of the most major streaming platforms, Spotify and Apple Podcast.
Apple PodcastSpotify
The episode is also available on DC’s own website, the link for which is mentioned below:
DC Gomez
If you enjoyed those tales, you might want to check the book I read out those tales from.
Amazon IndiaAmazon.comUkiyoto worldwideUkiyoto India
When You Believe in The Theory of Constant Learning and Growing ~ A Pediatric Dentist & Decor Enthusiast Shares Her Story
Ernest Barbaric says,
“Create. Not for the money. Not for the fame. Not for the recognition. But for the pure joy of creating something and sharing it.”
In our #FridayFeature blog focusing on the #WonderWomen segment, we’re proud to present a creator who does dabbles in multiple professions for the joy of it. Meet, Dr. Eera Paul, who is a Paediatric Dentist by profession and a Décor Enthusiast at heart. She is a Consultant Paediatric Dentist in a corporate dental chain, and she also pursues her love for décor via an online platform by the name of Eera-Expression of Love.
How does she manage between these two varied professions over and above her personal life responsibilities? Let’s find out in her own words.
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“I am Dr Eera Paul, Paediatric Dentist by profession and a décor enthusiast at heart, residing in Mumbai. I have always been an ambitious girl with the quest to excel in whatever I dreamt of personally and professionally. I belong to a very well-educated family of doctors and engineers. My decision to pursue medicine came from the fact that my sister is a doctor, MD Phd and my brother-in-law is MD too. I was the first one in my family to study dentistry. I did my graduation BDS from one of the most prestigious colleges in India. After my BDS, I joined CMC as a resident. The universe conspired my wish to pursue my masters MDS in Paediatric Dentistry. After completing my MDS, I joined Axiss Dental as a Consultant Paediatric Dentist and was a visiting consultant in two of their branches.
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My research papers are published in many national and international journals. I have also actively participated in workshops and presented my research papers in International Paediatric conferences. I am registered on portals for online consultation. In 2014, I got married and shifted my base to Mumbai and am currently working as a Consultant Paediatric Dentist in a corporate dental chain in Mumbai.
The process of becoming a doctor meant unending hours of studies and commitment (12 years). Being surrounded by people pushing their limits, it subconsciously became the new normal. Until one fine day, I met with an unfortunate accident, but I prefer to see it as a blessing in disguise. I had a bad fall resulting in coccygeal (tail bone) injury, which meant-bed rest for weeks & no patient consultations either.
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During this time, I realized that besides treating patients and taking care of my erratic schedules, I didn’t have much to look forward to. Though I had achieved my biggest goal, I was regularly missing out on small joys of life. Unknowingly, in the race to become a doctor, my hobbies & passions had taken a back seat. I had been a ‘boiling frog’- heat had been rising so slowly that I didn’t even notice. This realization ignited a spark in me and I promised myself to be proactive, to live vividly, explore wholeheartedly and let the happy woman take charge of this life.
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I took my most difficult decision to change my job from Regular to Consultant basis wherein, I could fix my own appointments, which freed up a lot of time that I invested in myself. I started meditating, reading, painting, gardening, and engaging in DIY’s. I did whatever I could to make my transformational change a joyful and pleasurable experience. During this time, I tapped into this dormant passion of home décor which I never really paid any attention to.
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Once this epiphany hit home; home décor became my passion, I never really had to struggle to set my base on social media platforms. Everyone has always been generous enough to support and encouraged me to try new things and do better.
I am inspired and pleased by all things beautiful. Decorating my home is my way of expressing my creativity and that’s how my Instagram handle @eera_expressionoflove was born! When it comes to home styling, I am constantly arranging, rearranging and decorating my spaces. I personally believe that colors influence the soul so you will mostly see happy and vibrant colors in our home through art and décor.
I create digital content and share my ideas of home decor, DIYs, space styling, artworks through my social media handle @eera_expressionoflove on Instagram.
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Whenever I look back on my journey, my heart is filled with content, happiness & gratitude. Also, I have met many likeminded people, who have now become good friends. It’s really overwhelming to see the positive response and love I have received through my online home décor passion project.
I have been blessed with a very caring and loving family. My love for plants and garden décor comes from my dad. My consistency and dedication of pursuing things is something for which I get inspired from by my mother. I can never thank my husband enough for always encouraging me. Besides being my biggest supporter, he’s my biggest critic too.
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Our home is a reflection of us and our inner selves. I am a true believer of the quote – “Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love”. We may have different thoughts but, when we come together, it turns out to be beautiful. That’s exactly what our home and interiors are; a Mélange of different things coming together and becoming beautiful yet comforting! So, when we say we are coming back home we are literally coming back to ourselves.
I believe in the theory of constant learning and growing. I learnt that while professional success is important, it isn’t the “Be all and End all” of life. It is also about those small joys that add meaning to big successes and make those achievements even sweeter.
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The mantra that has always been with me and I hold it very close to my heart is
“FOLLOW YOUR SOUL. IT KNOWS THE WAY”
This is my story of transformation, where I don’t have to dread what I have to deal with on a daily basis. I get to go to bed knowing that the next morning will be good as here I am, living LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!
Lastly, I would like to leave everyone with this thought:
“WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO, MAKE SURE IT MAKES YOU HAPPY”.
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To drop in a message to Eera, check out her work as a paediatric dentist and a home décor enthusiast follow the links below:
Eera- Expression of Love Instagram pageFacebook pageSpactre
Eera’s works and contributions as a dentist have been published on various national and international platforms and journals. Here are the links to a few of them:
WHO Regional Office for The Eastern Mediterranean
Eera’s home décor works featured on noteworthy platforms:
The Ideal Home & GardenUrban Company HomesLLB MumbaiMy Apartment BalconyHome Centre IndiaDécor DramaCraft SutraInterio BoomHomes4Forever
Other professional and personal social media handles:
August 26, 2020
Interview on The Notorious Reader
Note: This interview was originally posted on The Notorious Reader website
Short stories have a way of staying with us. Even though it takes less time to read them, they leave a lasting impression on our minds. When we heard about the recently released collection of short stories by Manali Desai, we at thenotoriousreader knew that we have to talk to her about her writing style and her books.
Having tried her stints in marketing and teaching, Manali finally answered her life’s calling through content writing. She plunged into being a full-time freelance writer and editor. Apart from her ad hoc assignments, she also runs her blog A Rustic Mind on which she shares her travel experiences, life anecdotes, and inspiring women stories. Her penchant for writing led her to publish three solo books and two anthology books, alongside also editing a book for another author. Manali has been two times bestselling author on Amazon via her books The Untold Stories and the recently released The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories. These little achievements alongside the reviews and feedback she receives on her writing, help her stay motivated to continue her writing journey. You can know more about her or follow her works through her social media handles, all under her pen name A Rustic Mind.
What inspires you to pick up your pen and write?
Honestly, there’s hardly anything else I can do professionally (and I’m saying this out of experience because I have tried doing all kinds of odd jobs) so earning my daily bread by writing is a huge motivation. Besides that, my biggest inspiration is life itself; the everyday experiences of each person are so varied, that it intrigues my curious mind to explore as many stories out there as possible.
Can you please give us some more information about your latest book?
My latest book The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories, released on 15th July. This book has been a result of my creative writing, for which I got time after a long time during this lockdown. Most of the stories in this book are a result of my imagination which found new wings because of staying home and getting a fair bit of free time than usual. These are flash fiction stories that range across all genres like romance, mystery, thriller, coming of age, and much more.
Can you please tell us more about the main characters of the book?
In all the eight stories, the lead characters are mostly female. There’s Ria, a newlywed young woman who finds herself adjusting to a new household and the way they like their food, which is completely different from how she likes it. There’s Prerna, who is about to take a solo trip after overcoming many hurdles, first with her own self and then with society. There’s Maanvi who has been bogged down all her life living under the pressure of ‘Log Kya kahenge’. There’s Sakshi, who is struggling to find a way to look at the positive side of things, despite having everything going her way. And my most favorite is Tanvi, who struggles to make the world understand that her male best friend, Mayank, is not her love interest.
Why did you choose to write about these particular topics?
Well, that’s because they’re all connected to me somehow. They have a bit of me and all those women who I have had the good fortune to meet and know. Each of these stories will be relatable for most women out there (especially Indian women) The only stories that would not fall under the ‘slice of life’ category from this book are ‘Warned in Love’, ‘A Fairy Tale Christmas’ and ‘No Witnesses’ because these belong to the, horror, fantasy and thriller genres respectively. I wanted to explore these because I had never written in any of these genres before and felt like challenging myself to write something new.
Why did you choose this particular genre? Will you be trying your hand at any other genre?
Most of these genres are something I explored for the first time as a writer. I’m thinking about and looking forward to trying out magical realism next.
When should we expect your next book? What will it be about?
I’m in talks with a few publishers about a non-fiction book based on the lives of inspiring women. That’s all I’m allowed to reveal at this point, sorry. Let’s hope things get finalized soon!!
If not a writer, what would have been the career of your choice?
The retirement plan is to run/own a bookstore or library, so I guess you can call that a second career choice.
Can you tell us about your favorite author/ authors?
Other than the biggies like JK Rowling, Enid Blyton, Salman Rushdie, and Arundhati Roy, which I grew up reading and then read in my early 20s, these days I’m reading quite a lot of books by new and upcoming Indian as well UK and US authors.
What do you like to do when you are not busy writing?
90% of the time if I’m not writing, you can be sure that I’m reading. Besides that, I enjoy traveling, painting/crafting, or binge-watching any series I might be currently hooked to.
Are there any words of wisdom that you would like to share with our readers?
Focus on the little things that bring you happiness, that’s where your calling and purpose lies.
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Links to Manali’s latest book The Art of Being Grateful & Other Short Stories
Amazon IndiaAmazon.com
When You Believe There Are No Shortcuts In Life ~ The Communication Head of A CSR Initiative & The Founder of a Decor Venture Shares Her Story
Malcolm X said,
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
In our #WisdomWednesday blog focusing on the #WonderWomen segment, we present the story of a woman who believes that education is the answer to every problem out there be it poverty, casteism, corruption or crime. Meet, Sharda Chandrawat, who follows her heart and her strong beliefs, on the professional front, via not one, but two fields of work. She is the Communication Head for Mahindra CSR Initiatives and the Founder of The Kalpa Tree.
At her job as a Communication Head, Sharda strives hard to provide free education to those in need, especially young girls; and via The Kalpa Tree, which is a home décor and styling venture, Sharda pursues her passion for aesthetics and art-related + DIY stuff.
How does she manage time between these two varied fields of work and what motivated her to plunge into these? Let’s find out in her own words.
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“I am an English Literature and Psychology major and frankly I had no interest in branding or communication during my college years. It was however during my college final year that I realized the importance of marketing and the impact a thought-through communication plan could have on people’s mind and that’s when I knew that I had to enroll myself for an MBA program. There has been no looking back ever since.
I would say the home décor and styling came as a part of the package. Even when I was a child, aesthetics were very important to me. My room looked quite different from the rest of the teenagers in my group as I focused a lot on styling. I was always inclined towards art related stuff and engaged myself in a lot of DIYs. During my college years I even designed a few dresses for my friends and family and during my MBA too, I designed a few of my friends’ stores; one was a furniture store, and another was an apparel store in Jaipur.
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While I always carried this sense of styling and decor with me I never thought of taking it to a public forum until the nationwide lockdown happened and I had more time to focus on this. I like the whole idea of décor and am extremely passionate about styling spaces, and that’s how The Kalpa Tree was born. The name Kalpa Tree, is derived from the popular wishing tree- a tree which is known to fulfil ones wishes. Since I was giving wings to my wishes and passion, the name Kalpa tree seemed like a perfect choice.
Right now, the biggest struggle is maintaining a balance between my corporate life and my passion project The Kalpa Tree. But somehow, because I love them both equally, I’m able to focus on each of them without compromising on any.
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The turning point was realizing the realities of the education sector. My first job was into banking sector and I also used to volunteer a lot during those times. It was one such exposure that lead me to thinking about how our education system needs to hit a refresh button and there on I left my banking career to work in education sector. However, I soon realized that education wasn’t accessible to all and how a lot of children never got the opportunity to go school and I decided I wanted to do something about it. You call it will of God or sheer luck that soon after I got an opportunity to work with Mahindra group as the Communication Head for KC Mahindra Education Trust and I absolutely love what I do here helping little girls get an education. I have always believed that education is the answer to every problem out there be it poverty, casteism, corruption or crime.
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My mom is my biggest motivator; I have learnt patience and perseverance from her that we barely see in people these days. The journey so far has been good and my only future plan is to be a better version of myself. I however, plan to take The Kalpa Tree to new heights and open a décor studio and store sometime in near future.
My biggest learning has been that,
There are no shortcuts in life.
Besides home décor and education, my other passion is food. I am a big foodie and I like to try out all kind of cuisines.
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My passion for art gave birth to The Kalpa Tree which is my dream project. I like to mix colours and challenge the routine décor scene with my quirky yet class décor ideas. I also do a lot of home décor and improvement DIYs and am a proud plant parent.”
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To drop in a message to Sharda, check out her home décor and styling posts via her passion project The Kalpa Tree, follow the links below:
The Kalpa Tree Instagram handle
Sharda’s home décor work has been featured on quite a few online platforms. Here are links to some of the most noteworthy out of these:
Urban Company HomesThe Special DecorationOneBohoStreet by Noemi BeresRedecor My Home
Other personal and professional social media profiles:
LinkedInInstagram personal handle
August 22, 2020
In Conversation With Esha Pandey
In this week’s Author Collaborative session on my Instagram handle, I spoke to author of multiple books, Esha Pandey.
I read her recently released book, Truly, Madly, Crazily in Love and absolutely loved it.
When I reached out to her for being a part of this segment, she graciously agreed. And here we are!
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We both have read each other’s lastest released books, and here are our unbiased reviews of the same.
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After reading, we both were curious to ask each other about the books and also of course about our writing processes and journeys.
Here’s what each of us asked the other.
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You can have a look at our full conversation in the video below. I highly recommend watching it if you’re looking for tips on how to go about publishing your book traditionally and what the entire process entails.
Interested in checking out our books? Here are the Amazon India and Amazaon.com links:
Truly , Madly, Crazily in Love on Amazon IndiaTruly , Madly, Crazily in Love on Amazon.comThe Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon IndiaThe Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon.com
August 21, 2020
When You Believe That You Must Fight For What You Want ~ A Trainer & Co-Founder of A Startup Shares His Story
“Great work is done by people who are not afraid to be great.”
In our #FridayFeature blog focusing on the #MarvelousMen segment, we bring to you a man, who similarly believes in bringing out the best potential in humans. Meet, Trainer and Public Speaker, Shridhar Waghmare.
He is the Co-founder of Dreamhunt India, a start-up firm which helps and guides people to tap-in to their skills and potentials and become the best version of themselves. How did Shridhar start this venture and what kind of struggles did he overcome at a personal and professional to become one of the most renowned trainers of the country? Let’s find out in his own words.
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“I was always extremely passionate about leadership and human potential development. Right from my early college days I was associated with a marketing business. Back then, I attended many sessions about success and fulfilment.
The more I attended and learned from these workshops and sessions, the more I felt that I this was my life’s calling and that I could do something similar as well. I knew I had the ability to help people realize their true potential. Hence, I started my venture Dreamhunt India with my partner, Manisha Bhati.
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Our struggle wasn’t any different from other start-ups. Everyone who has been part of any kind of start-up, knows that the struggle is very real. Setting up a business without any prior knowledge was very tough. We made a lot of mistakes and there were quite a few errors in judgement as well.
Because of this our sales struggled. However, we ensured that we were making at least some profit. This wasn’t stable though. In order to sustain, I took a personal loan and my partner sold her gold to fund our venture as no bank was ready to finance a start-up. I still believe any start-up is always in a struggling phase, at least in the initial 5-8 years.
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But now we have gathered momentum. Our business has picked up pace and after some time with our continuous efforts we were awarded by WOW magazine as the best training institute in Pune. But our real turning point came when we were awarded by ‘Yourstory’ media house as the best start-up in Education and Learning Category in MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) segment. That changed everything for us. We were recognized at a national level. Since then, we have been featured in various magazines pan India.
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My motivation comes from a strong self- belief and solid confidence. Also having a partner like Manisha Bhati who is a walking motivational machine herself is an added plus.We have been graced with many prestigious awards like Best Training Institute, Best Start- up in Education and Learning category under MSME segment.We’ve been featured in prestigious Magazines like Yourstory, WoW publications and Femina. Dreamhunt India, myself and Manisha, have been felicitated by many other accolades as well.
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Our aim is that we want to continuously a build solid company. We want to be known as transformational company and I personally want Dreamhunt India to get featured in magazines like, Success, Forbes, Inc and many more. Through our continuous efforts and our growth, we are on our way and I’m sure we will hit these milestones someday, if not sooner, then later, for sure.
In a business field where start-ups are popping up every now and then, hard work should be a norm because it is only this which helps sustain businesses. Also one must plan before taking any jump. In order to achieve success, remember to fight for what you want or get what you don’t want. I believe that Everything is a risk so just make sure you take big ones.
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Don’t be afraid of failures, instead look at them as a learning step and think that embarrassment is empowerment. Just thinking and not doing never helps so don’t over analyse because we don’t have much time and taking quick action is the only way to keep going and growing.
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To drop in a message to Shridhar’s via his business profiles of Dreamhunt India, or inquire about the services of Dreamhunt India, follow the links below:
Dreamhunt India websiteDreamhunt India YouTube channelDreamhunt India Facebook pageDreamhunt India Instagram page
Dreamhunt India has been featured on multiple platforms. You can have a look at these below:
Dreamhunt India feature on YourStoryDreamhunt India feature on YouTube channel of Karo Startup
Other personal and personal social media handles:
LinkedInFacebook personal profile
August 19, 2020
When You Love To Convey Your Feelings Through Writing ~ A Corporate Employee & An Author Shares His Story
Ernest Hemingway said,
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
In our #WisdomWednesday blog focusing on the #MarvelousMen segment, we bring to you a man who believes in this quote and implements it too. Besides doing a fulltime corporate job, he dabbles in writing, and has recently released his debut novella, Maybe Love, Maybe Not.
Meet, Santosh Tiwari, who has a fulltime desk job and is also a writer and an artist. How did he into the field of writing and how does he manage time between these varied professions? Let’s find out in his own words.
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“Hi, I am Santosh Vihari, a twenty-three-year-old guy from Hyderabad, India. I’m a commerce graduate and am currently working for a corporate. This is my profession, but I’m a writer by passion too. I write micro-fictional tales, quotes, and poems and I usually go by the pen name ‘being_sv’.
Through my writing, I love to convey my thoughts and feelings. I prefer tea over anything & coffee over tea while writing. I claim that all that I write is fiction and no story is my own. I was the co-author of the anthology titled ‘It All Started with You’. My upcoming works as a co-author include short stories anthology and three other poetry anthologies. My first and second micro-tale was published by ‘The Scribbled Stories’ on social media in the year 2018 as a fan post. Currently, I am a fan writer for ‘We Switched’ and ‘The Project Quote’. I also write on ‘Terribly Tiny Tales’, ‘YourQuote’, and a few other writing platforms.
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Besides writing, I also love to draw some pencil sketches. This, however, is just a hobby, at least for now.
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My work identity is based on two titles, that of a corporate employee and a self-published author. My love for the written word is what got me into the field of writing. I am a micro-fiction writer; I love to convey a lot in little. I have been a fan writer for some writing communities since a couple of years and thought of giving wings to this passion my venturing further through book publishing.
I won’t call me journey in writing as ‘struggles’, but I have learned a lot here. I have met some great people on social media. My debut book ‘#Maybe Love; Maybe Not!’ is a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) kind of a book, where I did everything on my own except the editing part. I learned designing, marketing, and promotional stuff while working on this. And there were times where I could not find time to complete this novella, but I pushed myself to do it and here we are. I’m proud that despite struggle for time, I did it all! I believe struggles are nothing but some new learnings.
My self-published debut book ‘#Maybe Love; Maybe Not!’ was definitely the turning point in my writing journey. The motivation for this and my regular writing came through engagement with like-minded writers and authors. I attended the Detailed Novel Writing workshop conducted by Author Devanshi Sharma, in which she made me write this beautiful novella.
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However, this was not my first venture into writing. I in fact, started writing when I was 17. I started with one-liners. Slowly, I came to know about the Micro-fiction format and tried to pen down such, my first micro tale was published by ‘The Scribbled Stories’ as a fan post which crossed around 70k+ likes on social media. Later, I tried writing and started sending my writeups to communities like ‘WeSwitched’, ‘The Project Quote’ which got published on social media.
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When I came to know about the spoken word poetry, I thought of giving that a try as well. I went to YourQuote Open Mic to present one of my poems in an open mic conducted in Bangalore, Here I was given a Lekakh spotted badge. For a newbie like me, that was a blissful and motivating moment. After this, I eventually came to know about Devanshi Sharma and we met at a workshop. She mentored me on how to write a novella and now it is out there in the world for everyone to read.
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Besides this book, I have been a part of quite a few poetry Anthologies, the latest of which is ‘The Great Indian Anthology’ published by the Half Baked Beans.
As I am a Micro-Fictional writer, I have learned how to use words perfectly when writing.
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My motto in life is,
“Some things are best left unsaid, which is why I write.”
The future plan is to continue writing and to learn and grow as I go.”
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To follow Santosh’s written works, you can check out his social media pages below:
InstagramYourQuoteMirakeeQuora
Santosh’s works featured on major platforms:
We SwitchedThe Project QuoteWe SwitchedThe Project Quote
You can check out Santosh’s debut book Maybe Love, Maybe Not on Amazon
Maybe Love, Maybe Not on Amazon India Maybe Love, Maybe Not on Amazaon.com
August 18, 2020
In Conversation With Santosh Vihari
Last Saturday I spoke to Yash Pawaskar about his book Jazeera: Legend of The Fort Palace. Today. I thought I’ll chit chat with another fellow author whose book I recently read too.
Santosh Vihari, the guest for my today’s Instagram live session on #AuthorCollaborative segment, is the debut author of Maybe Love, Maybe Not. The book is a romantic one and quick read!
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Once I had read it, I had so many questions I wanted to ask Santosh about the book, its characters, his writing journey and much more. Turns out, Santosh had a few questions of his own around my latest book The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories.
Before I get into the details of our conversation, here’s a look at our reviews on each other’s read books.
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And, here’s Santosh’s review of my book.
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We both asked each other quite a lot of questions related to our books, our writing journeys, what inspires us to write and even handed out some tips to newbie and upcoming writers.
Here are the questions I asked Santosh:
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Santosh asked me the following questions:
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You can have a look at our full conversation through the video below:
Here’s where you can check out our books:
Maybe love, Maybe Not on Amazon India
Maybe love, Maybe Not on Amazon.com
The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon India
The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories on Amazon.com
August 17, 2020
When You Strive To Learn New Things ~ The Founder Of A Designing Firm & Co-founder of Multiple Ventures Shares His Story
Richard Branson says,
“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”
True to these words by Mr. Branson we bring to you our #MondayMotivation blog. I have been featuring women into various businesses and independent professions on the #WonderWomen segment on my blog since the past one and a half year.
From today onwards, I will also be featuring men who have done the same under a new segment #MarvelousMen. Our very first feature on this segment, will talk about the story of Vaishal Desai. He is an Interior & Product Designer and is the founder and co-founder of multiple business ventures. His primary venture is the Ateliers Design Studio of which he is the director and founder. Ateliers is an architecture, interior and product designing firm which provides end-to-end designing solutions for home as well as workspaces.
Besides this, Vaishal is also the co-founder of Kraftbuzz and Urban Kaarigari. While Kraftbuzz is a lifestyle brand focusing on handcrafted footwear, bags, accessories, beauty care products and safety essentials; Urban Kaarigari offers customized architectural and interior products.
How did Vaishal get into such multiple and diverse fields of business and how does he manage them all? Let’s find out in his own words.
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“Since my schooling, I had an inclination and liking towards good interior as well as architecture and design. Drawing was always my favourite subject even when I was in school. Following my instinct, I took up technical drawing as an optional subject in school and immediately I felt that excitement, which continues to spark even today.
By mid-2000’s, I had that option to choose and get into a professional course like interiors and architecture. This field started getting an acceptance and recognition in India, hence I got the opportunity to follow my passion and enhance my skills. Getting the support of my family in letting me choose this field and pursue a degree herein was of course an added advantage too.
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As for the challenges, well, interior designing as profession in itself has always been challenging and getting accepted as a professional in a genre like interiors is really a difficult task. In our country people don’t value a professional designer as they feel that designing is just pressing a few keys on the keyboard and it’s a quite an easy job. This made it difficult to get assignments, especially since I was a newbie. Gradually with time, things have changed and the future for this industry is now looking bright.
Though things are steady today, I remember when we had to things run post to post and struggle to make ends meet with earning as low as just 30k for the entire year.
Luckily, I had my family on my side who never forced me to quit. At occasions, I did get to hear that I could have done better if I had chosen a different field other than interiors. But this was out of the sheer care that my parents had for me.
I can say that it is because of this support that I have been able to sustain myself and expand my portfolio with multiple ventures. Though this is a proud worthy and gratifying feat, I maintain that I’m just trying to make a small name in the industry.
The turning point was between the years 2010 to 2013. Initially we were 4 partners at Ateliers and things didn’t fall into place in terms of work, so we mutually decided to part ways and keep our friendship intact.
Gradually I restarted Ateliers and things started to look better by 2015. My wife, Vidhi Parekh, came into the picture, and both of us settled down in Mumbai. Combined with her skills and passion, I got the backbone and support I had needed, on the business front as well as at home. Thanks to our combined efforts, we were able to take up more work.
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Kraftbuzz came to fruition because of her vision and passion for footwear. I am the business face whereas she is the creative face for it. In fact, for all my ventures, I rely on her for the creative inputs. Together, we make partners in the true sense, making business as well as home, a place to thrive and grow.
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Maybe I can sound too dramatic, but I am always eager to learn new things and tend to experiment with new stuff, and this keeps me highly self-motivated.
The journey has just begun, but the milestone has been setting up two separate firms ( Ateliers and Kraftbuzz ) along with good inventory and machinery setup and even decent logistics in place.
The future plan is to diversify my portfolio even further and to encourage like-minded artists to come onboard with us and help them grow as well.
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My biggest learning has been that
“Persistence is the key, and for things to fall in place, we need to believe in ourselves.”
I haven’t achieved a lot to boast about much, but all I can say is that, “We need to believe in our abilities and things will take shape for sure.”
My simple motto and belief is that,
“God is the sculptor and we are the clay; alongside his blessings and with our efforts as well as our abilities, we are being shaped every moment.”
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To drop in a message to Vaishal, check out or inquire about his business-related services, please follow the links below:
Ateliers Facebook
Ateliers Instagram
Kraftbuzz website
Kraftbuzz Instagram
Kraftbuzz Facebook
Urban Kaarigari Instagram
Urban Kaarigari Facebook
Business profiles on other platforms
Behance
Houzz
Other personal and professional social media handles:
Instagram personal handle
Facebook personal profile
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