Nidhi Srivastava's Blog, page 11

My Bookstagram

I would give my Instagram account an applaud today. Without an intention to be a Bookstagram, I became part of a hashtag community. People need the zeal to follow your passion. Instagram was a picture-sharing platform a few years ago. It started providing livelihood to people and turned them into influencers. Looking at their picture-perfect life, you might have felt jealous. But, influencers do dedicate their time and creativity to shoot pictures, reels, and videos. If I look back at my Instagram account, I will give a pat on my back. I have evolved through time, which is evident on my Instagram. People have clicked the perfect Instagram picture or even a Pinterest equivalent set-up. I haven’t done great justice to the Instagram-worthy photos. The reason is I am a nerd, not a photographer. Instagram has evolved with the introduction of various new features for users. However, it is no longer a place with only pictures. It might be a stress-buster to watch reels and videos. In hindsight, it might take a toll on your mental well-being. I won’t delete my account as many people do to take a social media break. My work keeps me busy, and later I get occupied with my books. My Bookstagram account is very special to me. I cannot think of my life without my books or my Bookstagram account. I haven’t managed to have enough followers, though it doesn’t matter. At times, the appreciation from authors matters in the posted book reviews. I have interacted with many authors via Instagram. It is a privilege to be associated with authors and budding writers on this platform. I am trying to work on my social media skills. Hopefully, next year we might be able to see better content on my Instagram. This was a random blog for my neglected Instagram.

Follow Nidhantrika, if you love books.

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What would be your next read?

I would love to address that writers aren’t rich. I would love to draw attention that publication houses are in the process of rejecting manuscripts every day. Do you know why? All renowned publication houses are running towards celebrities to bring their stories to the market. Do you think Kareena Kapoor has a budget crisis in her life? The publication house still processed her book about pregnancy and motherhood. I haven’t read the book so far. But I am confident that it’s the story of every pregnant woman across the world. If you discuss your mother’s pregnancy, you will come to know the gist of Kareena’s book. Few writers were born with the magic of the pen, e.g., Ruskin Bond, Enid Blyton, Khaled Hosseini.
During the lockdown, the trend was common where you would have seen many famous artists publish their books. It is a sheer disappointment that budding writers, owing to another form of nepotism. During the pre-pandemic days, publication houses conducted various book launches for celebrities. I did my book launch over a video call. People might refer to the point that many artists in India have graduated from renowned foreign universities. Do you think they have the right to meddle with a talented writer’s dream? I don’t think Saif Ali Khan has done an incredible job in his personal life, with two wives and four children. Hello! Saif did miss checking the population of India.
Do you know whose story you must read to the nation? The love story of an NSG soldier whose entitled to have limited leaves. Publication houses should bring out stories from a commoner’s house. Would you like to read a story about a woman who has struggled every day in the pandemic giving matrimonial interviews? Do you wish to read a story about society killing childhood? Do you want to read about the story of a father who gave up his house to get his daughter married? Well, the answer to all these questions is NO. People want to read why Priyanka Chopra didn’t marry Shahid Kapoor! (P.S. I love PC but not her book) You wish to read about the lives of Kardashians. It’s crushing to see the publication houses practicing celebrity book marketing.

Podcast for today

I recall my pre-covid office days in Bangalore. I took the metro as the first mode of transportation every morning. Then, I walked through the most beautiful park in Central Bengaluru to reach my workplace. It was a tiring journey, though breathing fresh air seemed like a privilege. I quit my job in 2018 for various reasons. The weather in Noida/Delhi wasn’t suitable for my health was the utmost important reason. When I started working in my current organization, I felt positive vibes walking into my life. I have clicked pictures during my walk towards UB City. In the evening, when we walked out of that workplace (which is also the most famous mall in Asia), we would feel under-dressed to be there. When we walked out of the office, people came pouring into the party. One fine day, I spotted the famous football player Mr. Sunil Chhetri along with his wife. It was too late by the time I recalled his name in my head. They walked ahead towards their gym. IPL would have been a season to see many players in the UB City walking in their shorts and hoodies. I miss that vibe Bengaluru brings in my life.

Today, I tuned into a podcast run by an Indian gay couple. I came across the podcast shuffling through in April 2021. I am a straight person. I listen to this podcast as there are social issues discussed prominently in the podcast. Today they aired Season 2 of their podcast after July 2021. People from the gay community can bring immense positivity to your lives. They can impart lessons to everyone out there. I believe there is a lot to learn from queer folks as they have been fighting a battle of identity crisis within. In today’s podcast, a key takeaway was to maintain a journal. Sometimes, we hold the answers for our problems. I would recommend you to listen to their podcast, even if you are a straight person. They might bring positivity or just a smile to your life.

We missed his growing year!

The weekend was a busy affair with locking on the house color schemes, self-pampering, and a hell of household chores. We get one Sunday together with family. Today was a hectic one with guests coming over and a non-stop inflow of snacks and chai. I caught a breath in between and switched to Netflix, as I couldn’t read a single page. Ironically, I keep my reading seasons for the weekend, and it pass-by faster than a rocket. No, I didn’t watch Squid Games influenced by Instagram. Yesterday, I missed blogging as I spent time in the self-pampering session. It was the first of its kind where I took time for myself.
“Stuck Together” is a movie based in France about people stuck in the pandemic. Everyone should watch this movie as it covers all emotions ranging from anxiety attacks to FOMO. The Netflix movie has drawn attention to the problems people faced during the pandemic. Piles and piles of garbage lying around and no caretaker to take the trash away. The movie highlighted situations when people refused to believe the pandemic or existence of coronavirus. It draws attention to human behavior and their fear of death. Everyone lost someone or had someone who suffered from the virus. We are still in a phase of denial to wear masks with a minimum percentage of disease cases. I am not sure when do we stop wearing masks. At some point in time, this virus brought out the monster in us. We fought with each other as we were irritated being locked inside. People also did revenge travel in 2021, which is to an extent responsible for the prolonged pandemic. I was looking forward to meeting my nephew in the year 2020, and the plans got ruined. Eventually, we would survive this pandemic. But, the childhood of my nephew won’t return. We have missed holding him around us, and this pain of separation by international borders is beyond what words can ever express.

Phoenix

The weekend has arrived. I have to finish watching the series Crown on Netflix. Weekends bring joy and anxiety to everyone’s lives. We have chores piled up for the weekend. Everything gets pushed automatically to the weekend. Last weekend, I finished watching a web series and reading a book. This weekend would be monotonous. I can’t end my Friday without appreciating the joy of receiving gifts.
In my family, my parents don’t use social media. Back in 2011, a few insiders started dissecting my social media posts and pictures with friends. I have mentioned this incident in my blog earlier. Insiders interrupting my social media wasn’t a challenge for me. I conveniently stopped posting on Facebook (gossip station of the modern world). A cousin of mine has also quoted that, “She is online 24*7 on Facebook, and that’s the reason why prospective matrimonial proposals are failing.” I hope that person gets my message that I already know people’s thoughts about me. I have seen enough failures in life. I have shown every emotion on social media. But, there were multiple rejections in the past two years that haven’t reached the social media posts. I don’t hear any perceptions about those days of my life.
I would call myself privileged that I have cousin brothers who love us. I am glad to have friends who stood by me during my darker days. Today, when my family has achieved a milestone, some people are clapping hard at our success. Today, it is my turn to brag about my achievement. I am making a loud announcement to let people hear the Phoenix.
On the other note, I would like to brag about my thoughtful friend who has gifted us with the most beautiful gift. I would like to surprise everyone when the day comes for the grand celebration.

Toxicity has a new name

During the pandemic, I have adopted the habit of watching vlogs. I saw one of my friends watch a vlog while having his breakfast. These vlogs might be entertaining and knowledge-worthy. Today, I watched a vlog of a famous YouTuber in India. He took the channel to address mental health and social media toxicity. Social media brought the term – ‘Influencer’ into existence. We often forget that social media influencers are also human beings. The YouTuber spoke about the audiences’ reaction to his vlogs. He shares a piece of his mind that documenting his life is the bread and butter. People have been spread negativity across every video, which might be true or false.

I related to this content of his vlog. I have been attached to social media to escape reality. But I realized that it isn’t an escape route. Social media has its pros and cons. It’s on us how judiciously we make use of our resources. Various accounts got created on Tiktok, YouTube, and Instagram during the pandemic. Everyone wanted to showcase a part of their life on the internet. People hated each other for not sharing their content or hitting a like button. My cousin has stopped talking to me as I didn’t share his YouTube videos on my social media. He is not even mature enough to have a conversation about it. His younger sister has blocked us on WhatsApp. I don’t even get time to open my WhatsApp or look at their status. So, is it the fault of my job? Well, no!

Being an elder, I should let go of this behavior. I called my cousin brother seven times or maybe eight on Rakshabandhan, and he never responded to my calls. That’s when I decided not to allow trash people to walk over me again. We give families and friends a hundred thousand chances to redeem themselves. But, all the behavior is for your social media attention, then please stay out. I don’t want to come in between your fantastic YouTube career! Just an example of social media toxicity getting into our home doors.

Ink and Paper

Writers love the backspace bar on the keyboard. I have hit the backspace at least three times before starting this blog. Many writers stated that aspiring authors should stop reworking their drafts. It sounds fair to me. If you keep editing your drafts, you will be in the process of modifying the plot frequently. Every writer has a lesson to learn from their successful and failed manuscripts. Courage helps a writer build those manuscripts into a book. Every writer tries to be the next JK Rowling. However, the writer ignores the individuality of their manuscripts.
I have written a few stories in the past three months. Every night I would manage to write around 1,000 words, and in the morning, I would trash the write-up. After a while, I was disappointed in my creativity, and that’s when I stopped research for my next manuscript. I remember when I was co-authoring my book, I picked up a chapter from my trash. A writer should start connecting dots and shape their drafts. You would be able to save a lot of characters. I know I did rescue a great character in my plot.
As we are heading to the year-end, I am drooling over Christmas book releases. Goodreads has beautiful recommendations with holiday season vibes. Many writers are gearing for their Holiday releases. The covers are mesmerizing, and I wish someday I could write a holiday-worthy novel. For now, I would love to drool over Jenny Colgan’s book. Oh! Have you seen the Magical Harry Potter release by Bloomsbury this October? The book is stunning; I bet on that. I wish my nephews were old enough to read Harry Potter. I would have sent these gorgeous illustration books to them. Few bookstagram accounts from the USA and UK make me jealous. The book collection released during this holiday season is a vibe. I hate that I have to wait till next year to have those books in India.

Autumn

Next year, I don’t want to hold up to my old routine. I got forced into a schedule that I didn’t appreciate. I want to go back to the days when I could read happily. My TBR is waiting for me in another city. With my accident, everything fell apart once again. I was satisfied in a life where I ate my meals watching FRIENDS episodes. I got up in the morning, did all chores, went for a walk, and hit the shower later. I spent my evenings with books. This year I wanted to finish my research for the next project. I wanted to work on travel blogs this year. But this year was a bummer! Yesterday, I finished reading ‘The Comfort Book’; quite a reality check. Now, I think it’s okay to stare at a blank page for hours before you start writing an epic story. I appreciate the author’s perspective about comfort food. For the last two years, I have missed eating burgers from my favorite place in Bangalore. There are few places which give a sense of calmness. I have missed being myself.
Though, I am glad I spent the most amazing days with my family. I witnessed family dramas and enjoyed festivals. I am happy that the accident happened and we bought treasure for ourselves. It has been a rollercoaster ride, where I dreamt something in January and fulfilled it by August. I cannot believe my stars, but my friends remind me that I have achieved my goals. It is a mixed bag of emotions. I am supposed to return to my base location and live by myself. After another year and no marriage on the charts, people have another reason to ask questions about my bachelorhood. The last three months pass by quickly, and we start gearing up for the new year.

Book Review: The Comfort Book

At times you feel suffocated in your surroundings. In the morning, I was feeling anxious. I was angry about an incident and started punishing the keyboards for no sin. By the evening, I picked up this book by Matt Haig to pull myself out of a gloomy day. It is the second book that I have picked up by the same author. The first book – The Midnight Library, has a spot in my heart. Today, this book has made me comfortable about my existence. A series of the event make you doubt your capabilities. The past few months have been monstrous. Reading this book made me feel better. Some thoughts stay in your head for a very long time. The author has been through an illness, which he has described in his books. People have started normalizing speaking for mental health. This book has won a battle in this world of judgments. I am in all praises for this book. Currently, I read an e-book version. But I will buy a copy of this book soon.
I love to highlight few things from the book and about the author.
Matt Haig pays attention to emotions and objects. For instance- He described purple saxifrage in the book and the books that brought transformation to his life. I loved when the author preached to be selfish in life, to be selfless. He dedicated chapters to comfort food that he enjoyed during his illness, such as peanut butter, hummus. He did highlight cooking is therapeutic. I felt cooking was therapy when I got angry or sad; the food turned out delicious. I cannot praise this book enough. But I know this would be my go-to book when I am depressed. Right now, I am in splits, and my emotions are hard to be controlled. I am glad I read this book today; it has calmed my mind.

Few lines quoted from the book:

“When times are hard, we need a deep kind of comfort. Something elemental.
A solid support.”

Love is not something you deserve only if you reach a goal.

Our mind might make prisons, but it also gives us keys.

We are multiplexes of possibility

When we can’t speak, we can write. When we can’t write, we can read. When we can’t read, we can listen. Words are seeds.

No, I will no longer apologize for being myself.

The hardest dream of all to achieve is the dream of not being tormented by our unlived dreams.

Your self-worth is not found inside the minds of other people

Review Goodreads

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Sunday!

Today, it felt like an ordinary Sunday back in 2010. It’s a rare Sunday when I have ditched Netflix and surprised my TV set. Peeling garlic is a tedious chore, and I choose to watch any random movie for my company. I am glad I stumbled upon one of my childhood favorite movies – ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge‘ known as DDLJ. My heart feels happy watching this movie today. Movies back in those days may be stupid and sentimental. But it did make sense back in those days. 

I imagined going on Swiss rail just like the one in the movie. Now, I am wise enough to understand that it takes a hell of money to board and enjoy a Euro trip. I am convinced watching a movie which makes people fall in love, enjoy travel, and settle after a fight. During those days, this movie was a success, and it is also available on OTT platforms. Movies might transport you to a fantasy world, a bit similar to books. I remember watching DDLJ a hundred times, and it has never failed to disappoint me. As I watch the movie today, I want to have that much money to explore Europe. Watching this movie back in 2011 gave me butterflies when I believed in love. Today, it is a different story. I have grown wise or stopped believing in the power of love. The best part of such old movies – there are no awkward censored scenes while your parents are watching along. 

I have lost the count of times I watched DDLJ. The ongoing news surge with drug cases doesn’t make me a lesser fan of Shahrukh Khan. Well, Salman Khan killed endangered species, and his fans love him. Ronaldo admitted raping a woman, and his fans are still drooling over him. I am not supporting a drug case, but I would like to keep my love for Shahrukh Khan. If his children do fuck ups that is his jurisdiction, and now, it’s the country. Apology for going off-road on this blog DDLJ remains my favorite movie. I would fulfill my dream of traveling on a Euro rail someday. Just like Paris at the age of 80!