Sneha Jaiswal's Blog, page 295
June 1, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #4
‘Before the umbilical cord was shorn
Mother had made her mind clear
‘Anna I’ll call her’ she said that morn
I cried, mother too shed a tear’
These are the first four lines of the fourth poem in ‘Death & Darker Realms”. It might start off as a seemingly innocent verse about a mother naming her child. But names can be so much more. As we grow up, some of us might begin to dislike the ring to the moniker we had no role in choosing. Some of us are teased endlessly by a little twist in the pronunciation or spelling.
When I was ten, two kids in my boarding school would call me ‘snake’, because they couldn’t think of anything intelligent. I used to find it bizarre and just ignore their silly attempts to make fun of me. Where is ‘Sneha’ and where is ‘snake’? But we were ten. Although, some others had it worse.
The poem also deals with bullying, body-shaming and bulimia. Issues that a lot of us face, either when we are younger or even when we are happily settled in well-paying jobs.
The page from a graphic novel serving as the background in the picture might seem random at first glance, but it’s a visual metaphor that might make sense when you read the entire poem.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, please go and buy ‘Death & Darker Realms’. The ebook is available on Amazon/ Amazon kindle.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
Please check your country’s Amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app.
May 31, 2020
Pom Poko – Review
Pom Poko is a 1994 Japanese Animated film from the repertoire of Studio Ghibli. Directed by Isao Takahata, this one might have racoons as its heroes but hits you right in the feels.
While it’s not as fast paced as all the Japanese action anime shows of today, Pom Poko is a beautiful long film that reminds us just how messed up the world has become because of the speedy development us humans seek everywhere.
The film starts off with a happy children’s song and raccoons hunting for food in a lush countryside setting. But the green surroundings that they spend blissful evenings in, is invaded by monstrous machines meant to cut down trees to make way for modern residential buildings.
The raccoons of Pom Poko are no ordinary animals, but have the power to shape-shift. And they want to save their habitat from being annihilated by rapid industrial development. The idea is inspired from Japanese folklore about how some raccoons turn into humans during the season of spring and sing songs.
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With the help of some experienced raccoons, all the young ones begin to train to shape-shift into humans. They then try all kinds of tricks to stop the construction work that is eating away their home-land. What follows is hilarity, craziness and a clash of two worlds.
This film is adorable and all the animal characters are ‘oh so cute’. But I felt a sense of desolation throughout the movie and that is kudos to the makers, for being able to make the viewer see the despair of mute animals, whose homes are cleared every day by projects involving deforestation.
Pom Poko is a shadow war between innocent animals and cunning humans. And what’s truly beautiful about this Ghibli creation is that despite the plot involving a lot of fantasy & fun, it it manages to be real and grim at the same time.
I cannot remember the last time an animated film moved me so much. Except for the fact that some viewers may think that Pom Poko’s pace is rather slow, this one is a gem.
Also, towards the end, things get a little bizarre and outlandish, just like most Ghibli films. But that’s what I like about them!
May 30, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #3
“For him, I almost forgot my own self
But in years life made him wise
For him, I erased who I used to be
And he finally saw at what price”
These are a few lines from poem number three in “Death & Darker Realms”. This one is about how often, both men and women, tend to lose too much of themselves in a relationship.
It’s hard to remember the exact inspiration for the poem, because there are enough people around us, who turn into strangers when they become too involved in an all-consuming affair.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, you can find the e-book on Amazon. It has 40 poems dealing with death, depression & dysfunctional relationships.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
(Please check your country’s amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app)
May 29, 2020
5 Songs for the Summer
Maybe this is too late a post. Summer is slowly fading and monsoon has begun knocking doors in my part of the world. But the pleasant showers have blessed only select regions and the rest of India is still battling the blaze of an angry sun. As if all the anxiety, paranoia and despair surrounding the COVID19 pandemic wasn’t enough. And then there are also the locust swarms.
What a shit year.
But there is always music to distract us. A friend had asked me for some suggestions and I thought maybe I should make a post out of it too. So here are 5 songs that I have been playing a lot on my phone these days.
Hello, Anxiety – Phum Viphurit
This song has am amazing Daft-Punk/Disco vibe to it. Phum Viphurit is a Thailand based artist and has a voice that will throw you off, in a good way. Because he looks like a cute teen college boy, but sings like a seductive Jazz God. Almost.
2. Cake by the Ocean/Ghungroo Mash up – Penn Masala
I discovered the Acapella collective ‘Penn Masala’ way back in 2009 when the film “American Desi” played on HBO. There was a really cool mix of a Bollywood song called ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ in the film and I frantically googled to find out the MP3 version. That’s how I came to know about them.
While the members of the collective keep changing, one thing is constant – the awesomeness of their covers. Love this cover.
3. Death With Dignity – Sufjan Stevens
‘Spirit of my silence…. I can hear you… But I’m afraid to be near you… And I don’t know where to begin… And I don’t know where to begin. Somewhere in the desert there’s a forest… And an acre before us… But I don’t know where to begin…”
These are the lyrics of the song and it makes me feel like I am sitting by a stream and somebody is singing close by in the woods. It has a dreamy tune and a calming effect.
4. Closer by Chainsmokers – Retro ’50s Prom Style cover
Trust YouTube’s algorithm to randomly suggest you songs that are fun. This one is a really fun retro cover that makes you start tapping your feet around the house.
And the entire band is so adorable, they swing happily throughout the cover and their energy is infectious.
5. Le Temps de l’Amour – Françoise Hardy
I heard this song first in 2014 and it’s back on my list after a long time. No clue what the lyrics mean. Don’t care. It’s just got an interesting beat.
And that’s the end of the list. Have a great weekend!
May 28, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #2
“But most minds weak
Fickle, cajoled with ease
Never the same streak
Each day a renewed lease”
A few lines from the second poem in “Death & Darker Realms'”. It’s about death and how we forget it’s always looming, in the next corner perhaps.
I can’t really remember when this one was penned. But it’s one of the more newer poems in the collection, possibly written in 2018/2017.
If you are interested in discovering new poetry, you can find the e-book on Amazon. It costs less than a dollar.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
(Please check your country’s amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app)
May 27, 2020
Decoding Insta Promos
Like all social media platforms, Instagram allows you to promote posts if you have a business profile. While I should have tried it way back in December, when my first book ‘Death & Darker Realms’ was published, as the old saying goes – better late than never.
Yesterday, which was a Monday, I decided to do a little experiment and see if paying for an Instagram promotion is worth it. And if boosting a post helps in getting your profile some visibility. So this write-up is for anybody who is interested in know how that works.
To be able to promote a post, your Instagram profile needs to be connected to a Facebook business page. I have a Facebook page called Writer_Jaiswal and linked my Instagram profile to the same.
The cheapest promotion offer costs a little over one dollar (Rs 95 with taxes) for a 24 hour promotion. According to Instagram, this ad is capable of reaching a maximum of 300 people. So I opted for the lowest denomination for a post that talked about my poetry book.
Here is the deal, my Instagram page is very new and had only 61 followers. On an average, a post of mine gets 10-22 likes. So it was easier to understand how much the promotion was actually helping me.
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Before opting for the paid ad, I saw a video by a popular blogger, who had paid 10 dollars to promote a post and see how much it helped her. At the end of the 24 hour promotion, she gained a few followers and according to the promotion statistics, she got only 11 profile hits through the promotion. She probably gets way more than that on an average anyway.
Coming back to my post. After the 24 hours were over, I had about 595 likes. But here is a BIG BLUNDER that I committed. Instagram says that you can pause your promotion anytime and resume it whenever you feel like it. What I thought was that I could spread those 24 hours over a bunch of days. So when at one am in the night, the likes stopped coming on the post, I paused the promotion and thought about resuming it the next day. By then I had used up 9 hours of the promotion. Through the night, my promotion was paused for about 8 hours. When I woke and resumed the promotion, it showed that I had only 7 hours left to promote, not 15 hours. Which means, if you pause your promotion, that doesn’t mean you save the rest of the promotion time. So I lost 8 hours worth ad time.
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Well, but that still doesn’t change the fact that I had over 500 people like my post because of the promo. That’s a lot more than Instagram estimated. And is a decent amount of visibility for an unknown user. Although, as far as followers are concerned, only 4 new people followed me after the ad.
And one person also bought my book. So that was awesome. I guess, I am going to try and do a promotional post on the weekend again.
In conclusion, I think that the Instagram promotion tool is best for beginners who want to gain some visibility.
And now for some promotion out here too – if you are interested in poetry, please go and buy my book ‘Death & Darker Realms’. The ebook is available for less than a dollar (Rs 49) on Amazon/ Amazon kindle.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
(Please check your country’s amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app)
May 26, 2020
Death & Darker Realms #1
‘I won’t live your dreams
Or your unfulfilled life
Why make me suffer education?
If all you wanted in the end
Was for me to be a wife…’
These are the first few lines of the first poem in my poetry collection ‘Death & Darker Realms’.
It’s perhaps the longest poem in the book, spanning over 80 lines. And was penned in my diary when I was 18 or 19-years-old. That wasowas a decade ago. My grandfather was the first person to read it.
Anyway, this is me trying to promote the book. I will be doing it a lot more these days, so bear with me.
Anybody who is interested in poetry, you can find the e-book on Amazon. It costs less than a dollar.
Following are the links – (the paperback is available on Amazon.com)
(Please check your country’s amazon if I haven’t listed it or just on your kindle/kindle app)
May 25, 2020
Writing for kids
A college friend of mine is a teacher and has asked me to write essays or edit stuff meant for school kids several times. And most of the times I have said ‘no’.
While as a reader, I still consume a lot of literature that was originally meant for kids; when it comes to writing, I don’t think it’s in me to pen stuff for kids. Whenever I sit down to write, the first urge is to either write something depressing, dark or morbid or the other end of the spectrum – something too realistic, bordering on mundane.
Kids want fun stuff, magic, fantasy, adventure, action. Fantasy fiction is still a genre that youngsters love. Adults tend to gravitate to the genre to escape realities of a normal life.
In 2015, there was an opening in a very popular Indian comic company for a writer and I decided to apply. The stories in their comics were fun and the age group they targeted was about 7-12 I think. When it was time to send out a resume, I realized that all my short stories were absolutely inappropriate as samples.
But I applied anyway. After a few days they called me to their office and asked me to write two short stories on the spot for kids. And being the morbid idiot that I am, while I did write the stories, both of them had a death in it.
The guys at the comics were honest enough in telling me that while my writing was not bad, they didn’t think I could actually write for children. Something I already figured out but gave it a shot anyway.
After that written test in 2015, I don’t think I have ever written anything that could classify as ‘children’s literature’. It’s probably going to stay that way.
May 24, 2020
Castlevania Fan Art
I have only been doing one minute doodles the last few days. The last decent piece of work I sketched was a wallpaper art work of Castlevania – a really cool animated series based on Dracula.
Here’s the first pencil draft
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Then all of it nicely bordered and finished off with a black pen.
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Since I do not paint much, I ended up using a mix of paints and water pencils. And this is how it turned out –
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May 23, 2020
Are You My Mother?
Most graphic novels are the kinds that you could binge-read and be done in a few hours. That’s not the case with “Are You My Mother” by Alison Bechdel – a stunningly honest memoir that explores the writer’s relationship with her mother.
The book took years to write and can only be truly appreciated if it’s read over a few days. It delves heavily on psychoanalysis to draw parallels between the two key protagonists. Donald Woods Winnicott’s theories find a lot of space in the panels, especially what he said about the ‘true self’ and the ‘false self’.
Virginia Woolf is another figure who influences the narrative to understand the writer’s interactions with her own mother. Bechdel talks of how Woolf was obsessed with her own mother and could get past her unresolved issues with her parents only after writing the book ‘To The Lighthouse’. It makes the reader rethink their own ties with their parents through a whole new lens.
Just like her first memoir ‘Fun Home’, which was very raw and personal, ‘Are You My Mother?’ too gives us a front row seat in the head of the writer. The way Bechdel is able to share such intimate parts of her life is just awe-inspiring. A comic panels are goofy, witty and full of life. As a reader, you might find yourself laughing out loud at the humour of every-day life.
Bechdel also brilliantly brings out the despair, desolation and deep envy writers tend to feel about their more famous peers in the panels. I only wish I had bought this book a lot earlier.
