Preeti Shenoy's Blog, page 15

The Stench of Death; A blackout poem. Day 2.

My daughter and I spent some creative  time together today, writing black out poetry.
We then read it out loud to each other. We really enjoyed the challenge, and came up with unique, thought-provoking unusual  poetry.
If you wish to know more about Blackout poetry, please check out the link.

Here's one of my poems I created today:

The Stench Of Death It was a mundane Monday eveningMy brother wasn't answering his phoneStrange I thoughtHis bedroom light was on but his door was lockedMy friend broke open the doorWe found him thereSlumped over in his chairHis body coldMy handsome brilliant brother Whom everybody loved had decided that the world would be better offwithout himI clumsily triedto do somethingThe ambulance arrivedThe hospital was filthyGarbage strewn around, giant bandicoots and cockrachesscurrying aboutThis must be a mistake I thoughtThey dragged the body out of the vanand tossed him on the floorof the filthy hospital corridor I pleaded with themI pleaded with them againWhen I returned there was a pool of water, blood and bodily fluids The stench was unbearableThe stench of death

**************© 2019 Preeti Shenoy
kindly do not reproduce without permission__________________________________
Have you ever tried your hand at black out poetry? Or had you read any or heard of it?
Tell me in comments below :)Also tell me what you thought of my poem.

New post tomorrow! So be sure to come back here.

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http://preetishenoy.com/

Sail with me into 2020! Blog marathon starts today!! (yay!) Day 1.

Hey guys!

How have you been?

I am sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I intended to. Life took over; I lost two family members unexpectedly and suddenly. Then I had my lit fests to attend, plus of course I was working on my new book which will be out in the last week of April 2020.
My children (both of who don't live in India) are visiting me now, and I am neck-deep in work.

But yet, I thought I would start a blog marathon, because I am not happy with the number of posts for this year. The best time to start anything is NOW. It's never too late for anything. So, here I am!

For those who are new to my blog marathons, it just means that you will get a post in your inbox every single day for next 30 days. Just click on the subscribe button at the top of this page. That's it!

Some days I will probably just post a photo; Some days it might be a poem.Sometimes it might be an art work, or something new I discovered. But it would be a new post every day :)

I know many of you have been waiting for this. I know this as you have messaged me asking me to start a blog marathon. So here it is. Your wish is granted :)

Do leave me comments, so I know I am not talking to a Blogospheric wall.

See you tomorrow!
Love
Preeti

pic credit: murthy and pradeep


   New year Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash           
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Poker Face: The Inspiration behind the short story by Preeti Shenoy

Hello there,
Time flies. It's been a while since I have written here. My last posts were in May, when I did the blog marathon, where there were 30 new posts, each day.
After a two month hiatus, I am back here! (yay!)  I haven't been idling these two months though. I have been working--- and this time I have a short story for you: Poker Face.
It was published a few days ago and it has been getting some rave reviews.



I am happy because this is a very unusual story. It has a surrealist  element to it. It is the story of a young girl, fresh off a break-up who keeps finding playing cards in her path.


I want to tell you the inspiration behind this story.
Some time back, I had blogged about how I kept finding hearts in my path.
This phenomenon continues to this day. I keep coming across random heart patterns. I  thank the Universe and consider myself blessed.
I am sharing with you a few photos that I clicked:



These are all photos that I clicked whenever these hearts popped up in my path.Mostly they happen on my walks with my dog--and I walk her twice or sometimes thrice a day.  I have many more such photos! A ginger peel, which I peeled was a perfect heart. A oil drop that splashed on my napkin from my essential oil diffuser was a perfect heart. They have started popping up with such regularity that I am not suprised anymore.
I take it as a sign that I have to give back the tremendous amount of genuine, sincere love that I receive from my readers on a daily basis, and I try to do that through my instagram handle. People who follow me there know that I reply to all messages, and I share a lot of my day, my reading lists etc.

Just as I had made peace with the fact that Universe has blessed me with hearts, playing cards started popping up in my path! It was the most bizzare thing I have ever experienced.

One card was a ten of hearts, another was a nine...and one more card that popped up, I shall not reveal as that would be the spoiler to my short story. I wondered what the cards were telling me to do. I had always been fascinated by  Tarot, and had got several Tarot cards four years back. But somehow I never got to doing anything about them. (Click on the word Tarot if you want to know what tarot is about)

When the playing cards turned up, I began doing Tarot courses, I began reading up about them, and I devoted myself completely to learning the Tarot. I have been practising and am getting some eerily accurate readings.  I have read the cards for many of my friends, and the friends of my children. (At some point I plan to do it professionally when I am  between writing my books)

The same day that I found one of the playing cards, something happened to me, which was related to the cards! (Again not giving away what it is, as it would be a spoiler to the story).

I  knew now for certain that the cards were asking me to take action. So, I wrote the short story, and I learnt Tarot. After I did that the cards stopped appearing.

So, this was the inspiration behind the short story, which you can read on Google Play as well as on Kindle app. You don't need a kindle to read the story. You can simply read it on the app.

Here are the links:

Kindle: preeti.io/pokerface

Google Play: Preeti.io/poker

So now you know the inspiration behind the story. If you do read the story, do remember to leave me a review on the site; It helps others discover the story, and it helps me too.

I shall blog again soon.
Till then, stay blessed, stay grateful and connect with me on my Instagram :)
And as always, I would love to hear what you have to say; So tell me your thoughts in my comment box.

Love
Preeti
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http://preetishenoy.com/

All good things come to an end

Hello there!

The month comes to an end today, and so does my blog marathon. I can't tell you how HARD it was this time, especially as I have a LOT of stuff going on the personal front. I won't lie--it was a burden on some days. But I don't think I have compromised on the quality of the posts even for a single day.

Haters think that just because I write 31 posts in 31 days, the quality will suffer. I am very objective when it comes to my writing, and I am my own worst critic. I can safely say I passed :) Don't you agree?

It was GREAT pleasure to read all your comments. A special mention to Alka Tiwari, Anoo MK (Thought is Free) , Indu K Raghavan, and Shally who commented on almost all posts of mine. I think Alka and Indu managed to comment on every single post. I am very grateful to  all of you who commented as it was very encouraging to read the comments. Every day I would wait for the comments  eagerly. 

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. We've been communicating with each other via this blog, for 31 straight days now! Isn't that something?

As today is the last day, I thought I would share three of my recent artwork with you.


A portrait I made yesterday.




A page from my illustrated journal, where I used the paper  bag that the fried were packed in! :)

And  finally leave you with a picture I made today.



I won't say goodbye, as I do intend to blog. (who knows, I might even do another blog marathon, before the year ends!) But if you want to keep in touch with me on a regular basis, then follow me on Instaram
 I do post very regularly there, especially in my stories. (My 'wake up life is calling' morning story is very popular!  Many tell me my voice fills them with positivity..I am so glad!)

So bye and take good care of yourself !

Love
Preeti
_________________________
ps: Buy my books: preeti.io/amazon
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http://preetishenoy.com/

Kerala beckons you -- lesser known places in Kerala to visit in June

Clicked at Calicut, when I attended the Kerala Lit fest.Everybody has a favourite memory associated with their vacations destinations. Sometimes it is a childhood memory and at other times, it is a ‘dream-vacation’ they could finally afford. For me, the most indelible memories remain the time I spent in Kerala, annually, each year ranging from 15 days to two months, as both of my parents grew up in Kerala, and any chance they got, they returned to their roots. I have been to most places in Kerala and I can vouch that whoever came up with the caption ‘God’ own country’ did do justice.
Right from the time your flight hovers over Kochi , Thiruvananthapuram or Calicut (now Kozhikode), airports the stretch of green carpet that spreads out underneath you, is a splendid sight. The best part about travel in Kerala is that any place you choose to visit, it would not take you more than 8 hours, as the distance from Kasargod in Northern Kerala, to Trivandrum in Southern Kerala is just 560 kilometres, easily traversable by road or rail.
There are many reasons to visit Kerala in monsoons, the foremost being the sheer beauty of the place. During monsoon, the greenery takes a new hue, hitherto unseen, and even though I have seen it many times, it never fails to take my breath away.  The dreamy visions of stunning landscapes that seem to leap out a water colour painting, lush green paddy fields, crickets and a myriad insects chirping,  while the rain falls outside, while you are ensconced in the safety and comfort of a shelter, as you sip on a ‘nadan chaya’ (local Kerala tea) makes me want to pack my bags and take off to Kerala, in the next flight, even as I type this.
If that isn’t reason enough, to visit Kerala during monsoon, then the massive discounts that you can avail of, will definitely be a draw.  Kerala, at other times of the year is expensive. But come monsoon, and you get the special rates, as the resorts slash their prices. Most schools in India, reopen in June, which makes it impossible for families with children to travel. The monsoon hits Kerala, around the same time resulting in low occupancy rates, which means a great deal for travellers.
Ask anyone if they have been to Kerala, and nine times out of ten, the destinations they name would be Munnar, Kumarakom and Kovalam. Everyone would have heard of these. But among the lesser known jewels that Kerala houses are three of my favourite spots--  Ponmudi , Nelliyampathy and Kuttikanam. Ponmudi  is a hill station, about 56 kilometres from the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram (or Trivandrum if you find that hard to pronounce). With its tea estates, mist covered valleys, and picture postcard views, a monsoon vacation here, could be best described as idyllic, unhurried and out-of-the-world. Nelliyampathy is another fabulous destination, with its cloud-caressed majestic peaks of its hill ranges, nestled in which are the tea-estates. I remember a particular vacation I took, where we roasted cashews that we plucked, in bonfires which the staff had lit. To reach Nelliampathy , one has to travel by road from Palakkad, and there are ten hairpin bends on the road. As you navigate each one, the air becomes purer, and takes you that much closer to paradise. There are bio-farms located on the way, and the Palagapandi estate  also en route, has a quaint bungalow built during the British rule in India, which is now converted to a private resort.
Kuttikanam is a village in Idukki district, which is about 3500 feet above sea-level. The nearest city is Kottayam. It is a picturesque plantation town, soaked in the fragrance of cardamom surrounded by lush green hills.The best way to find authentic places to stay would be to visit the Kerala tourism website  www.keraltoursim.orgwhere you could search for accredited  service providers for hotels, resorts and homestays. Since the accreditation is done by the Tourism department, you can be certain of the quality, competence and trustworthiness.
While the tourist brochures, tout rains as romantic, make no mistake, the rains in Kerala can be brutal. They are incessant, continue for weeks. But the sheer magnificence of the place, far over-shadows the rains.  If you like to watch the downpour, Kerala in monsoons is alluring, mesmerising, bewitching.  It remains a place that haunts your soul and makes you want to come back, year after year.
______________________________________________Ps: Many of my books feature Kerala. Read A Hundred Little Flames which is set in a village in beautiful Kerala   pps: This piece was written on a special request by Financial Chronicle.



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Illegal entrants--a poem

Restlessness Desire Longing Are now constant companions Travelling with meWithin meThey have made themselves comfortable
They arrived as touristsOn a travellers  visaBut somehow managed to linger onNo force could banish them
My heart , my thoughtsAre yours nowMy soulSubsumed, consumed, blazingBurning 
I live in restless hopeI  longingly dream Of making the journeyAcross the milesThe desire to be with you And to linger on.
Just like my  travelling companionsI hopeTo stayTill eternity In your arms.
____________________ ps: This was a poem commissioned by Conde Nast traveller **************© 2019 Preeti Shenoy

 

For more poems click here. Some poems have already appeared in print. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

© 2014 Preeti Shenoy
 
For more poems click here. Some poems have already appeared in print. Kindly do not reproduce without permission. - See more at: http://blog.preetishenoy.com/2014/08/...


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Is the Indian woman truly free?

 Most of us have been conditioned to NOT say no. We're afraid that we will be disliked. We fear confrontation. We are mostly conditioned to put others before ourselves. This is especially true if you are an Indian woman, and more so if you are an Indian mother.

Countless Hindi and other regional cinema, advertisements and popular media has elevated mother to the status of a 'all bearing, ever-loving, ever-forgiving, sacrificing, selfless soul.' Social conditioning too is such that women feel an urge to shoulder the major responsibility in the house. If socks and underwear  or any such thing are missing or misplaced, it's always 'Ask Mom.' Instinctively we try and 'fix things.'



I have spoken to countless women who travel for work, and most of them 'make arrangements' to have the house running smoothly. They put systems in place. They have people living with them.They instruct their house-helps. They have sorted out  child-care arrangements.

To this day, I haven't yet come across any Indian man who has to do that when he travels. He just takes off and leaves it to the wife. Even if the wife needs to get to work, she manages the home perfectly. If she is a housewife, then of course it is seen as 'her job.'

People treat you the way you let them. In marriages, how spouses treat each other is a pattern of behaviour  that has evolved and emerged, over the years. In most marriages, there is a subtle 'balance of power' that comes into play. Moreover, if the financial control is with one partner the balance tilts favourably towards the one holding the purse strings.

The labour force participation by women in India is one of the lowest in the world. According to world bank data, for India it is just 22.1 % Just imagine! Nearly 80% of working population is male. Were India to balance her workforce, we would be 27% richer.

From what I have understood (from personal interviews, where I have spoken to many many women), Indian women 'adjust' because they have no choice. They aren't earning enough to support themselves and their children. They are afraid of social stigma. They have no parental support. They lack financial awareness. So they stay in marriages which are stale; They immerse themselves in their children and home;  'It isn't so bad,' they tell themselves (or each other).

They mostly say YES, because the can't say no. It's easier to 'adjust' and be ever-loving, ever-forgiving ever-sacrificing. After all, you are exalted or  even deified for it. Never mind  if your soul is slowly dying. You will be remembered for your sacrifices. At least by the cinema and ad-film makers.

____________________________________________
ps: My book 'The Secret Wishlist' is about a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage. The book resonated with thousands. It was while doing my research for this book that I first started speaking to women about these things.

Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash

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A one word challenge for aspiring writers.

There's a site called  One Word. It's a lovely practice tool for writers. The instructions are simple. You will be given a word at the top of the screen, and you have one minute to write about it.
You can't think, as the timer starts as soon as you see the word. You have to start writing immediately.

I do this exercise from time to time. If you want your entries saved, you can create a free account. You can also read what other people wrote.


I did this exercise today.
The word I got was PLANTER.

Here's the piece I came up with:

The planter lay shattered.
It took me a few minutes to even figure out what it was. His eyes were blazing. It did not even strike me that he had hurled it at me and I had ducked instinctively.
It would strike me later that what shattered that day was my soul.

 Then I asked my son Atul to do the challenge. Here's what Atul wrote:

Potty the planter was a small, queer looking man. Well that is if you could call him a man. He was more like a small dwarf. A small dwarf with Elvish features. He was very peculiar indeed and loved planting plants. He would walk along the edges of the enchanted forest and plant a seed day by day, slowly expanding and growing the size of the great big trees that towered over canopy garden.

I loved his piece, and you can also  find his submission on the site.

My son then asked my husband to take the challenge! Here's what my husband, Satish wrote:

I always wanted to be a farmer and a planter. I would like a huge 100 acre farm with lots of greenery around it. The house would be in the center and surrounded by lots of planters. There would be lots of fruit trees and lots of vegetable gardens and peace and tranquility all over.

Isn't it fun?



New post tomorrow.
Till then, stay creatively challenged! :)
Love
Preeti
________________________________________

buy my latest book: http://preeti.io/awake



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http://preetishenoy.com/

How hard are you willing to crack the whip?

Whiplash --a movie which I watched recently left me thinking. How far is a person willing to go to achieve the pinnacle of success? Where does one draw the line to achieve excellence? What price are you willing to pay, to make it worth it for you?  Does success demand great sacrifice?

If you haven't watched it, do watch the movie. It is a movie that makes you uncomfortable, and makes you think. I will not go into details about the movie, for fear of spoilers.

Personally, I believe that in order to achieve success in any field, one has to continuously be at it. Especially when the going gets tough or seems impossible. You have to have a spirit of 'I will never give up, no matter what.'  It is persisting even when everything seems bleak.

As a writer, I have face innumerable rejections. My book Life Is What You make It was rejected more than 40 times--not only by Indian publishers but also publishers abroad. Today, it has sold close to a million copies and continues to top the bestseller list week after week.  I remember how dejected I used to feel each time a rejection email arrived. I also  knew I did not want to take the path of self-publishing. (If you are a serious writer, I would suggest you do NOT self-publish, instead wait till you are accepted by a traditional publisher.)

I wish I could tell you it is  easy. But it isn't. There are no short cuts. It is just persisting and persisting, even when all hope dies. It is waiting patiently till a small crack of light appears.

I posted a video today of me working, on my instagram which I am sharing here. My son shot this one, while I was writing.

View this post on Instagram


As a writer, I am *always* working. I have neither Saturday nor Sunday nor any holiday. I write every single day. For me writing is as essential as breathing. That’s how I have written 12 books in the last 12 years. The latest one is #wakeuplifeiscalling , a sequel to #lifeiswhatyoumakeit Read it yet? Type preeti.io/awake in your browserA post shared by Preeti Shenoy (@preeti.shenoy) on May 26, 2019 at 4:11am PDT

When we look at anyone who is on top of their field, we often forget the amount of TIME and EFFORT they have put in. We do not see the tears of frustration, the frightening all consuming self-doubts, the pain, the persistence, the will to go on even when the end is nowhere in site. They make it look easy and effortless. But it isn't!

If you wish to be at the top--one has to be prepared for a lot of sacrifices, effort and discipline. There are no shortcuts, and that is an uncomfortable truth.  
Whiplash reflects this.
_____________________________________

ps:  Wake Up Life is Calling has received Over 300 fivestar ratings on Flipkart. Grab it at 108/-  and pay cash on delivery: preeti.io/wakeupf





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How to make a portrait (with steps)

For today's post, I thought I would share with you the various stages of making a portrait and explain the steps:

Step 1.
I draw an outline in pencil. The outline has to be accurate. You can use the pencil to measure proportions. Mostly it is  years and years of practice to get it right.



Step 2.
Once I am satisfied with the drawing,  I loosely block in the colours.


I use Sakura Koi watercolors and Pro-arte brush. My sketchbook is moleskine'. I use a lot of water and paint lightly. See--I haven't used any black yet.


Step 3: I deepen the shadows.

This makes the lighter areas stand out. I add  one more layer of colour. I use a hair dryer to completely dry a layer before adding another.

Step 4.

I add in the blacks. The portrait is already beining to look lively.


Step 5. I refine it further.


Hope these steps made the various stages clear.

In the other news my book #WakeUpLifeIsCalling is topping the bestselling charts (at no.3) for the 5th consecutive week.


Life is what you make it is there too :)

______________________
ps:get the books: preeti.io/amazon



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