Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 291
June 28, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #16
“She was like the hurricane”, he grinned
Soft at first, like the autumn breeze
Embracing you in its balmy wind
Giving the dying air a new lease”
First few lines of poem number sixteen in “Death & Darker Realms”. I still remember vividly what inspired this poem – the 2014 cyclone Hudhud. Was in Vizag at the time. A bunch of our windows had been shattered by the winds and a huge tree in front of our house had collapsed. First there were pleasant winds and soft showers, lulling you into believing there’s beauty in it. And then the storm would suddenly unleash its fury.
For the full poem, you could get a copy of “Death & Darker Realms” on Amazon. Following are some country specific links –
If you are not into poetry, then maybe you could check out my debut fiction book “Love, Loss, Lockdown“, a collection of short stories set against the Covid19 pandemic.
Bulbbul – A Review
With just about 90 minutes runtime, the new Netflix film Bulbbul seemed promising from its trailer. It has been directed by Anvita Dutt, who is also credited with the screenplay. And the screenplay is quite irritating.
The overtly red tones over the sets to symbolize horror and the overwhelming amount of smoke pervading the sets make no sense. The big problem lies in the fact that the makers seem to be confused about whether they wanted this to be a horror film or a thriller. This confusion comes across in the screenplay. And the slow pace, despite the short run-time, doesn’t help.
Set in the early 1900s, the story follows Bulbbul, a pre-pubescent girl who is married to a very rich and significantly older man, but finds herself falling in love with his younger brother. ‘A child bride grows up to be an enigmatic woman presiding over her household, harboring a painful past as supernatural murders of men plague her village.’ – says the Netflix description.
Tripti Dimri who plays the titular lead character is truly the hero of the film, her metamorphosis from a shy, demure girl to a confident, cocky woman is worth applause. Rahul Bose doesn’t have a lot of screen-time, despite playing twin-brothers, but does his parts well. However, as Bulbbul’s husband, his character arc is phoney.
Somewhere towards the climax, the movie does have its high points. There was one scene that gave me goosebumps, not the scared kinds, more like the ‘woah’ kind. But even that scene was quite predictable. Oh and that’s another big trouble with the film – it’s pretty predictable. In the very first ten minutes there is so much foreshadowing done, that an avid movie watcher can easily forecast a lot of what is going to happen.
While it might be the case that the makers deliberately tried to make the whole plot mysterious and open-ended, but it comes across as a muddle. If you want to make a horror film, go all out with the crazies. If you want to make a thriller – keep it real. They just blur the lines and mess up a film that had a lot of potential. However, it is definitely worth a watch. And those who are open to artistic liberties might even like it a lot. Guess I would give it a 6/10.
P.S – On a completely unrelated note – I published my second book – ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’. It’s a collection of short stories, so check it out if you are looking to read something new.
June 27, 2020
Love, Loss, Lockdown
It’s been a week since I published my second book ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’ and the family has started asking questions like “how is the book doing?”, “How many copies did you sell?”. Awkward.
“Quite frankly, my poetry book did better in its first week,” is my standard response. And also the truth. My poetry book even made it to Amazon’s ‘bestsellers’ list within the first week. No such luck with the new one.
Not like I am not aware of how difficult it is to gain any visibility as an independent author. Especially for someone writing general fiction. In a world where people would rather watch a quick film than read a book, sometimes I dread that there will come a point in the future where the writers versus readers ratio will become lopsided. Like 500 million writers catering to 400 million readers.
I really can’t decide if it’s a boon or a bane, the fact that my writing break has coincided with a pandemic. For those who aren’t aware – I quit a rather nice job with a leading national TV news channel in August 2019. The idea was to do a little travelling and then focus on writing. I published ‘Death & Darker Realms’ in December. Finished a novella (which I still have to proof-read) by February and then the Covid-19 pandemic virtually shut down my nation by March end.
Days before the national lockdown was announced, I thought to myself “hey, maybe I could do a short story collection loosely based on the pandemic”. By May, I was done writing ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’.
While paperbacks are available in U.S, U.K and some other countries. For some reason, Amazon does not publish paperbacks in India. And I do have a publisher to print paperbacks in India, but they are based in Chennai, a major metropolis, where a lock-down is still on, so they cannot make deliveries right now.
A lot of those who live in India keep asking me for a paperback version. And while to some I simply say ‘nope, no paperback in India’. For those who are closer to me, I take the liberty to launch a bit of a rant, “there is a lock-down still on in some parts of the country, non-essentials are not being delivered. I can’t complain about the lockodown when my book is loosely based on the same damn thing, can I?”
Although I totally understand people wanting a paperback, because till early 2019, even I had a mental block against e-books. And now I am so comfortable with e-books now that I don’t even bother with my kindle and just read them on my phone (on the kindle app)!
Anyway, if you are still with me, please grab a copy of “Love, Loss, Lockdown” and help support an independent author. It’s a collection of 10 short stories. Following are some country specific links –
If I’ve missed your country, look for it on Amazon or on your kindle store.
A Whisper From Me To You
Just finished reading book number 38 for the year. It’s called ‘A Whisper From Me To You’ by Indie author Andrew Allen. It’s a short stories collection that was quite a breeze to read. Two of them reminded me of a brilliant animated series I saw recently on Netflix and thought they could make for pretty cool animated adaptations too.
My favorite was one with the wolves and pigs, a fun story with a witty twist to an age old tale. Most stories in the book are very different from each other and explore varied themes.
What I really liked was the fact that the author chose a diverse timeline to set them in. While the first story starts with a space pod set in a distinct future, the last one goes back to medieval times when witches were burnt at the stake.
Glad I stumbled upon the book on twitter!
P.S – On a completely unrelated note – I published my second book – ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’. It’s a collection of short stories, so check it out if you are looking to read something new.
June 26, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #15
“Your familiar scent
Too far has been sent
A whiff does come back
But love it does lack”
These are the first few lines from one of the shorter poems in “Death & Darker Realms”. It’s a collection of 40 poems.
This one has been inspired from long distance relationships. Have you ever been in one? What are your thoughts about it? Because there are two contradicting phrases that can define them. Either “out of sight, out of mind”, or “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. You either end up loving each other more, or the distance grows into your heart as well.
Also, if you are interested in discovering new poetry, please grab a copy of ‘Death & Darker Realms’ on Amazon. It explores themes like death, depression & dysfunctional relationships.
Following are the links –
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
P.S. You can find me on Facebook, GoodReads and Instagram
June 24, 2020
Introducing Marx – Sort of
I had seen a copy of ‘Introducing Marx’ lying on the bed of a friend over a year ago. Somebody gave it to her as a birthday gift.
“Was Marx himself a ‘Marxist’? Was his visionary promise of socialism betrayed by Marxist dictatorship? Is Marxism inevitably totalitarian? What did Marx really say?” read the blurb of the book.
It’s an illustrated book that introduces readers to Karl Marx and his thoughts on communism, socialism and modernism. Just like the title suggests, it’s for people who do NOT know much about the 19th century German Philosopher.
If you consider yourself a ‘noob’ when it comes to Karl Marx, this book is for you. Even thought it is a small book, it took me about three days to finish it, which isn’t bad at all. It was an eyeopener to learn how disillusioned Marx was with the communist ideology.
The book succinctly explains how Marxist ideas were twisted by certain leaders and philosophers to their own cause. Loved a panel in the book that showed how Marx once famously said “if they are Marxist, then I am not Marxist”. Another enjoyable quote from the book is about how he called religion “the opium of the masses”.
However, throughout the book, it felt like most of his ideas were fleetingly covered and I would have probably preferred more insights as a reader. But like I said, if you don’t know much about the man, this book could be a good start. It’s a three on five from me.
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P.S – On a completely unrelated note – I published my second book – ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’. It’s a collection of short stories, so check it out if you are looking to read something new.
First Reviews Out
Why is it so hard for new writers to establish themselves in the general fiction genre?
We will discuss that some other time I guess. A few people seem to have already finished reading my debut fiction book. So the first review for ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’ is out on Amazon. A five on five. A little too generous perhaps? Good for me! (Blurred out some spoilers.)
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A very close friend of mine on the other hand, who also finished reading the book in two days, couldn’t put up a review on Amazon. So she put one up on GoodReads and gave it a four on five. Haven’t put her entire review out here because it has some minor spoilers.
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If you are looking to read something new, I am obviously going to urge you to read my new book. So please grab a copy of “Love, Loss, Lockdown” and help support an independent author. Following are some country specific links –
If I’ve missed your country, look for it on Amazon or on your kindle store.
June 23, 2020
Dear Dad…
Bollywood enthusiasts would know Arvind Swami from Mani Ratnam’s ‘Bombay’ and ‘Roja’. But very few are aware that the actor starred in the 2016 film ‘Dear Dad’, a LGBT themed film; a fact that is conspicuously missing from the movie’s wikipedia page.
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Here’s what the film is really about – A couple decides to get divorced after the husband Nitin (played by Arvind Swamy) comes out of the closet and embraces his homosexuality. He then goes on a road trip with his teen son to let him know about the divorce and his sexual orientation. But will he be able to pick up the courage? And how will his son take the news? That forms rest of the story.
The film completely falls on the shoulder of Arvind Swamy, who carries it with grace. Actor Himanshu Sharma who plays his teen Shivam comes across as your average irritating teenager. The rest of the cast doesn’t get much screen space and are passable in whatever little role they have.
Director Tanuj Bhramar delicately handles this issue and does not succumb to the temptation of too much drama. However, the film does suffer from a slow pace. For example, during the long drive, the camera constantly pans to show a bobble-head figure of Sheldon Cooper, a character from the popular American series ‘Big Bang Theory’. For most Indian viewers the symbolism might be lost – that the actor who plays Sheldon Cooper is gay in real life.
It’s important to note that this film was made before India’s Supreme Court decriminalized gay sex (yes, it used to be illegal). So it was a bold attempt by the makers to tackle the issue. The movie has some really emotional and touching moments that express how stifling being in the closet can be.
While it’s been some time since I saw this film, it came back to my mind after a gay friend on Instagram asked for some LGBT Indian film recommendations. Most LGBT films in India are dark, depressing or too cliched. In comparison, Dear Dad, despite floundering in parts, is a commendable effort that deserves to be watched.
And since it’s still Pride Month, if you are open to watching a Bollywood film, go check this one out. It has a believable and sweet climax.
Why choose to self-publish?
One fine day I woke up to a message from a dear friend of mine.
“Hey! I was just thinking yesterday and wanted to ask you that why did you and want to self-publish your writings. I’ll tell you why I am asking because if you write something for just your friends and family then maybe It’s the right choice, but if you want to put it out there, a publisher will give you a better platform and feedback on your work, which are both great things.”
This was a month before I self-published my second book, which is also my first fictional endeavor – ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’, a collection of short stories loosely set against the Covid19 pandemic.
I will be honest, at one point, I was very confused if I should submit the manuscript to traditional publishers or just self-publish. It’s true that if the book was accepted by an established publishing house, the book would get a LOT more exposure than me doing it by myself.
But here is the problem – every publisher says they are going to take at-least three months time to evaluate just your sample chapters. The bigger ones like Penguin take six months. Did I want to wait for so long to just know if my book which is based on the pandemic would be approved by one of them?
There were two options for me – send a book proposal to a bunch of publishing houses and wait for minimum three months to hear for them. Or self-publish and use those three months to promote the book in whatever little ways possible just by myself.
My decision to self-publish was sealed when I read about an author publishing a long-form novel set against the pandemic. That book came out in May.
“An author has already published a book based on the pandemic. If I decide to wait for publishers for the next three months, the market will be flooded by more books based on the pandemic and my book will just be lost in the pile,” I explained my friends and family.
I believe that my book will not become irrelevant once the current pandemic becomes ‘stuff that’s only mentioned in history books’. However, the sheer fact that I’ve been able to put out a book set against the lockdown, while most places in the world are still in a state of lockdown, makes it a lot more relevant for the current times.
Let me clear about one thing though – the pandemic is just a very minor theme in the book. Kind of like the novel ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’, the book is about love, cholera is just happenstance.
Also, I am extremely impatient, it’s not a virtue and might cost me a lot in the long run, but I just don’t have it in me to wait for so long to hear from a publisher. I will probably fall into those category of writers that live impoverished all their lives and become famous only after their death. Maybe.
If you are still with me, please grab a copy of “Love, Loss, Lockdown” and help support an independent author. Following are some country specific links –
If I’ve missed your country, look for it on Amazon or on your kindle store.
June 22, 2020
Love, Death & Robots
‘Love, Death + Robots’ is an adult animated series spanning 18 episodes and each one of them is a stand-alone story by itself. It’s more like an anthology of short stories by different makers. And here’s fair warning – don’t judge it by the first one.
I think the first episode of this series was its weakest link. It’s about a cup of yogurt trying to take over the world. Whimsical, weird, but on the boring side. Despite being just 5-6 minutes long.
Things get a LOT better from the second story onward. My favorite one was about three robots exploring a museum that showed how the world was when Humans still existed. It was very witty and humorous. What can be nicer than a world without us?
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The makers tried to include every fictional kink that comic and animation enthusiasts are into. You have dystopian futures, shape-shifters, space-drifters, sexy robots, Chinese folklore and death-matches. The episode called “Good Hunting” is a stunning blend of Chinese myth meets cyberpunk. It’s brutally beautiful.
Out of the 18 shorts, I just didn’t like two. There is one episode called “Alternate Histories” that was even shittier than the Yogurt one. While the concept is really interesting – a virtual reality platform let’s you see how things would have turned out if something was changed in the past. For example – how the world would have fared if Hitler died early. While the concept is intriguing, the story and execution was crap. Even the animation wasn’t impressive.
A lot of the other shorts have surreal animation work and are a treat to look at. Two-three of them have endings that are open to interpretation. I like such endings. The overall tone of the series is pretty dark and some of them are deeply philosophical, with not too subtle existential messages. Especially the one called “Zima Blue”.
If you are into animated shorts, stream this one. It made my food/tea breaks fun. And I need to thank fellow blogger Arvind Rao for suggesting me this one. I am looking forward to Season Two. Netflix has already approved it.
P.S – On a completely unrelated note – I published my second book – ‘Love, Loss, Lockdown’. It’s a fictional collection of short stories, so check it out if you are looking to read something new.
