Namita Das's Blog, page 78

Achievements – 2021

While working on my next book, I was feeling anxious for the past few days. Despite having a clear outline, I was procrastinating. The thoughts that frequently passed my mind were like it’s useless, why am I even doing it, what am I going to achieve and the worst one was that I sensed I was heading nowhere.

This morning, I was scrolling through the social media when I came across a few gratitude quotes and one of them mentioned, to look back from where you started. At that time, I decided to sit and list down a few good things that happened to me in 2021 and this activity was the best thing I did for myself. It has pumped in and filled up the enthusiasm that I was lacking. I was worried about now but when I watched through the last 12 months I realized, I have come a long way and if I could make it through these, I can achieve a lot more in future.

So here I am, sharing 12 of my significant achievements from this year –  

Debut humour novella ‘It’s Punny Oops I, mean Funny’ published by Kiwi Books India.‘Keen Little Kuku – Alphabet Story Book’; a storybook for early readers and pre-schoolers published by Target Publications.Horror comedy novella ‘Who Ate Our Food?’ published by Ukiyoto Publishers.The short story ‘Happily Technically, Ever After’ sequel to the debut novella published by Kiwi Books India.Got verified blue tick on Twitter profile @namitadas21Also, got verified on Google and the knowledge panel claimed.Participated in YathaKatha Litfest, COBWEB Annual Festival, Shelfe Book Festival and Delhi Book Fair; at most places, all copies I sent were sold out.Judged a Novel writing competition for StoriesbyCHildren.com for the age group 11-14 years.Wrote 12 blog posts (inclusive of short stories and poems.)1 Horror short story (my first attempt in this genre) published in an anthology by Ukiyoto Publishers. ‘A Jar Full of Joys’ – a compiled humour anthology with 13 stories published by Inkfeathers Publishing.Last but not least, read/ listened to a total of 104 books. (Don’t go bonkers, it includes short ebooks and comics too.)

If you have been feeling the same way I did this morning, then just relax and sit back. Grab a notepad and start jotting down all the good things you remember from the past year. Don’t forget to share the list as well as how you feel about the list.

Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw

This seems to be the oldest romantic comedy that I have read.

It’s a play staged during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgaria war, not really a book. It felt more like reading a script yet it was amazing. There was some confusion built in the story about who would finally marry whom but it was quite predictable.

Raina is engaged to Sergius who is out fighting in the war but she falls for Captain Bluntschli who sneaked into her bedroom trying to escape the Bulgarian troops. Sergius on the other hand shows love interests in Louka, a servant at Raina’s.

The love quarrels were cute even though it also depicts cheating by both Raina and Sergius. Some places it was quite comic, the way Catherine, Raina’s mother tries to shoo away Captain Bluntschli when he visits them unannounced or when Raina accidentally calls Captain Bluntschli a chocolate cream soldier in front of her father.

It’s a nice short one time read.

Some lines that I liked the way they are written.

complacency of the servant who values himself on his rank in servility,naturally unambitious except as to his income and his importance in local society,to live up to his imaginative ideals, his consequent cynical scorn for humanity,fight when I have to, and am very glad to get out of it when I haven’t to. You’re only an amateur: you think fighting’s an amusement.

Available on Amazon Kindle Edition, Hardcover and Paperback.

50 Greatest Short Stories by Terry O’Brien

I wouldn’t say all stories are good and engaging but this indeed is a great collection.

I loved rereading (had read this long back) the story of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

This book is a mix of genres and below are the stories I liked reading the most.

The humorous ones were The Lottery Ticket by Anton Chekov and My Own True Ghost Story by Rudyard Kipling. The ones that scared me a lot were The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs and The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence. The Cactus and The Gift of the Magi, both by O.Henry just made me go awe. The Model Millionaire by Oscar Wilde and The Last Leaf by O. Henry touched my heart.

It’s a good read, you may skip the story that doesn’t entertain you and read the ones you like. This one has to go to the bookshelf of every avid reader.  

Available on Amazon Kindle Edition, Paperback and MP3 CD.

Beating the baby

Little Mr Tots who is picking up new words is wandering in a garden of Mahabaleshwar. Many families were enjoying creamy ice-creams and sherbets. Mr Tots was playing and running around with a kid and his baby brother. He suddenly came back to Mr Husband and said, “I want to beet the sto baby.”

Perturbed Mr Husband responded, “You want to beat that strong baby. Why? No, we don’t beat babies, you play with them.”

“But I like to beet.” Revolted Mr Tots.

Mr Husband nervously looked at me with a call for help and I sat there chuckling enjoying the show. “Help me here, will you?”

“Honey, he wants to eat the strawberry.” Said I pushing a plate filled with fresh red strawberries.

“Yay! I love to beet strowbaby.” Jumped and clapped Little Mr Tots plopping one strawberry into his mouth.

Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny by Sadhguru

I have always admired the way Sadhguru speaks and hence I went for the audiobook version of the book rather than paperback or ebook. I am a bit disappointed with the narration as it was just like reading through a script monotonously, with no appropriate pauses, it just went on and on.

Coming to the content, it was profound and needs a calm mind to understand what is being said. Karma is the work that we have accumulated over births and not just in this waking life. Some places felt too hard to grasp, especially reincarnation, visions from old lives, yogis holding on to life or taking samadhi, etc. It was too deep for a practical person like me to take in.

The part that I loved was the explanation where he said, it’s not past or future but I am what I am based on NOW. Although it also contradicts the point that Karma is an accumulation of all births.

Available on Amazon Audiobook and Hardcover.

Killed with a Pen!

*** This is a Watsapp conversation between a brother and sister.

What the heck?
Why do you always have to be a mamma’s boy?
I have told you 100 times.
Don’t talk about my stuff with mom.

Chill, Sis.
She is not angry with you.

No, don’t chill me.
Just don’t go running to mom about everything.
At least for my stuff.
If you, do it again you won’t see a good day.

Why? What are you going to do?

I will kill you.
I am warning you.
Don’t mess with me.

Oh! Ah! I am so scared.

I am not joking.

Yes! I told you I am sooooooooooooooooooo scared.
But tell me how you plan to kill me?

With my pen.

So, my sister who cannot stay in a room with a cockroach is going to kill me.
That too, with a pen. What are you gonna do, stab me with your pen?
Wow! Brilliant idea.
I think you need some rest
Come over, I will order pizza.

In an hour.
You will be killed.
Just wait.
You won’t even realise and you will be dead.

Whatever, I am waiting

1 hour later

I killed my brother.docx
DOCX File

What the hell is this?
Listen, it’s not funny.
Who writes all this stuff?
Plucking eyeballs, chopping fingers.
This is so inhuman and brutal.
You really need help. You are a psycho.

No!
I am a crime fiction writer.
This was the new story I was working on.
Gosh! You are so scared. Hahaha.
I just got my live feedback.
See, I told you. I will kill you with my pen.
This new stylus pen works so well on my Ipad.
Anyway, I will be there in 30, get my pizza ready.

No, don’t come.
I am going to Mom.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

It is a lengthy book. Read/listen at your own pace.

When I first started it, I was under the impression it will talk more about the history of evolution from monkeys to humans. But I was totally surprised by the facts that were discussed there. How did religions start, what divided them, what is the reason for legal marriages, simple living to complex lifestyle, taxations, and a lot more.

I loved the book a lot and recommend it to be read at least once. Eagerly looking forward to Volume 2 of this book.

Available on Amazon Kindle Edition, Audiobook, Hardcover and Paperback.

It’s Chicken Soup for the Soul day.

A day to remember all the contributors of Chicken Soup for the Soul – book series, the stories that helped look at the deep emotional issues and find inspiration to overcome those and live a joyful and content life.

Today is the day to celebrate yourself and nurture your soul. Do something today that you have been avoiding, do something that makes you happy.

Share your uplifting story with others and let them know they are not alone. Wishing you all a fulfilled life.

As I wait for my Chicken Soup, ending this with one of my favourite quotes from Chicken Soup for the Soul –
Slow down and take the time to see. Take a moment to see what is going on around you right now, right where you are. You may be missing something wonderful.

The Gita (Amar Chitra Katha) by Anant Pai

Gita Saar has been explained by many in varied forms but this book outstands all the narrations.

With bright illustrations and within 34 pages, the complex fundamentals of Gita have been explained. A good book, especially for our little ones when we are trying to introduce them to the life concepts described in Gita.

Available on Amazon Kindle Edition and Paperback.

Stories We Never Tell by Savi Sharma

The story isn’t something new, we have read and heard and watched it several times.

Two stories are going on parallelly, one of Jhanvi, an influencer who is trying hard to deal with infidelity and success simultaneously, and Ashray, an orphan who is also trying to overcome heartbreak and just then his mom (the one who adopted him) passes away. So, nothing unique. It was stretched a lot especially Jhanvis drinking habits.

The good part of the book was the end, the journey of recovery. It did embark a spark of hope and positivity. Otherwise, it’s just another self-help with some fiction thrown into it.

Some noteworthy lines from the book –

There are moments of realisation in our lives that force us to make decisions about our future. Good decisions. But even the good ones can be tough when you fear letting down people who have been good to you.Hard work. Perseverance. These are things we can control, and with enough of it, success is inevitable. Or at least that is what we are told, and, in this instance, it certainly seemed to be true. Luck and being open to opportunities are, of course, a part of it, but without the hard work, without drive and perseverance, luck and opportunity mean nothing.those people who are successful, those who actually manage to achieve what they set out to do? Those are the people who get up every day and work hard, work persistently, to ensure that they surpass those who continue to only dream.The truth is that grief is immeasurable, insurmountable at times, and life will never be the same again. You will be changed; it will never be the same again even if you choose to pretend you are unchanged.Isn’t friendship strange? The notion that two or more people can find each other in the maddening crowd and exist together, to make each other happy, to offer comfort and support in ways that our blood relations never could. That a love could be forged between two people, a love that exists not to perpetuate the population of humankind, but rather to allow us to bond with another person who completes some part of us that we have lost along the way.people would come and go, but our happiness was ultimately our responsibility.‘Life is fleeting, it is temporary, and it should be spent loving the people you choose to let into your life. Everyone who enters your life must leave it eventually. How you choose to spend your time with them is entirely up to you.’There are moments in our lives that change us irrevocably; these moments come without warning. Sometimes they are avoidable. Other times, it is a cruel throw of the dice.No one ever fully recovers. Recovery is a process, ongoing and always changing. The things that set you off before become irrelevant and other things become important; life will always have something else that it throws at you. Challenging you to rise or daring you to crumble. Resting is not a sin, hiding for a little while to recover, regroup and find the strength to move forward again is fine, but hiding forever? That isn’t an option. That isn’t a recovery, it is defeat, and defeat isn’t an option when you love yourself.When someone you love is in pain, it transfers over to you. An intangible thread of hurt that binds the two of you in an unspoken truth. That truth is that no one can ever fully heal without accepting help from others, and accepting the need to be whole once more.

Available on Amazon Kindle Edition and Paperback.