Naina Gupta's Blog, page 2

Hello fellow bloggers ...

... Even though my blog posts have been really few and far between as of late. I am still trying to do this balancing act of working, writing and blogging. Sadly the blogging took a back seat, even though many things happen in life that I want to blog about.

Currently I am working in a job that drains me of whatever energy I have. And what sucks the most is that I found out the person I have replaced left the job because she went on to write full time! And I don't even work in publishing. If I did then it would make sense, but in this case it's just an annoying coincidence.

I really want to make the effort to do some blogging. I ended up lagging behind on the blog world by the end of last year. I want to make the effort to catch up with you, and all the fantastic things you get up to. Wishing you luck with your edits, wishing you luck when your book comes out and celebrating with you when you do well in sales. And I need your help as well when I go through the same thing. I am a little behind schedule, but don't worry Book 2 is on its way, just a little patience is appreciated.

Anyhow I hope that you are well. Fill me in. How are all of you doing, in both of your writing and your personal life? Sometime this week I will drop in and comment on your blogs. I want to at least blog once a week just to keep up with you guys.

All the best   =)

Forgive me blogger friends ...

... for my lack of posting as of late.

Recently, I have a new job (yay!) but bad news is that I have been unable to sit at my computer and write up blog posts, because I am trying to catch up on all the book-writing that I would have done during the week when I used to work part time.  Even on the weekend, I haven't had the chance to sit at my computer for that long. Over the summer I had wedding after wedding, and functions, and parties.

It doesn't mean I haven't thought about my writing friends. Something would happen and I would think to myself ... Ooh I must blog about that. Sadly I just haven't had a chance to. Or I wonder what you guys are up to.

While it is great that one part of my life is going well, I miss you guys. I miss interacting with all my writer buddies, reading about your writing journeys and feeling the ... empathy between us as we discuss our writing insecurities and problems; no matter how big or small we were all there for each other. I would love to sit through and read through as much of your blogs as I can over the next few weekends - even if that means waking up at 5:30 in the morning on a day that most people would have a lie in.

So, writer friends with full time jobs. How do you keep your two lives going? Any advice for someone trying to juggle writing and working at the same time?

Summertime: Southbank!

Well Summer time is finally here I think.

That is, until the rain starts pouring down and we all forget what the sunshine looks like.

As any British person will know, when the sun comes out you do everything you can to enjoy it because you never know when the weather will be like that again. So here are some photos from when I spent some time by the Southbank.




View from the Bridge (whoops, I forget which one)



Sitting on the deckchair outside of the Forbes bookstore eating an ice cream and reading my kindle in the sun.

People painting flags on the ground





The London Aquarium, I recommend a visit

Overlooking the Southbank from the Westminster Bridge








We may not get a lot of sun over here in the UK, but when we do have it, it's great. Look at that beautiful blue sky.

Wedding Season is upon us

Hello fair readers,

Wedding season is upon us. We have had three invitations through the post so far, and are aware of four others that are going to take place later on in the year. I said this last year, when I was young I had been to more weddings in one year than some of my friends had been to in their lifetime. Over the bank holiday weekend we had an engagement to go to (although I had a prior commitment to another family member on the other side so some of us went to one thing, while the others went to the engagement ceremony - sometimes you do get double booked).

Weddings make your family think about your life, as well as using the occasion to scout for other prospective brides and grooms for people. There are some people that we know back in India that have asked us to find someone for their family members. When you are next in line, which thankfully I am not, people do ask when your wedding will be. Even though you may not feel that you are ready to be wed yet, Indian families seem to think that everything should happen in some kind of order. If you have ten cousins, and you are the fourth eldest, you have to be the fourth person to get married otherwise there must be something wrong with you. If you are from a family from arranged marriages - which, once again, thankfully I am not - then some people are so silly that they will not attempt to find a partner for the fifth in line unless number four gets married. There is such a pressure to tie the knot these days.

Luckily, and I say this after my arranged marriage post some while ago, I am not from a family that will pressure me to get married until I am absolutely ready. They had a love marriage so I will never be made to go down the arranged part. My parents know that I am not in the right situation in my life, therefore my marriage will have to take a back seat until I am ready, settled, and able to support myself so I do not have to rely on another person.

As I said, wedding season is upon us, so get ready for a series of posts detailing wedding ceremonies.

Good day to you all!

Missing the Sunshine

It's raining, it's pouring, and it's been raining for weeks.
So to bring a smile to your (and my) face, I bring you another picture post from when we actually had nice weather earlier this year. When it was 20+ degrees, I went for a walk around Kensington Gardens and took a lot of pictures

Remember when it was spring?


The Albert Memorial right opposite the Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Palace, before it re-opened

Walking around the park

 Daffodils! The sign that spring is was here!


 The Round Pond, where you can find swans

 The Serpentine Bridge

 The Italian Fountains

Looking out from the fountains








One thing that I love about London is that I will always stumble upon something I have never seen before. I had never seen the Italian fountains, in fact I didn't even know they existed, and while walking around Kensington there they were. I spent about an hour sitting on the benches and watched the world go by.

Notice the blue sky in those pictures? I haven't seen blue skies in weeks.

How about you? Have you stumbled across a part of your town you didn't know existed?

Deja Vu

When I was writing book one, I had to deal with builders in our house building a loft conversion. This time during book two, I have to deal with the next door neighbours' builders knocking, sawing, and sanding away in the part of the house that is right next to my bedroom. Every time I feel ready to write something, noise comes in from next door that breaks my concentration and annoys the heck out of me.

So tell me readers, what do I do to not feel so distracted while I am trying to write?

I am asking for ways not to feel mentally distracted. I do not like to move my laptop away from my current location so going out to a cafe is not an option for me right now. What works for you?



p.s. I plan on spending tomorrow morning commenting on all of your blogs. 

Arranged Marriages: The Rationalisation Technique

Some of you may remember a post I did last year about the time someone came to the house who was thinking of fixing me up with one of their relatives. Although this technique is a rare one, I labelled it the 'suprise technique'. One that leaves you a little bit blind-sided, especially when you are not even thinking about marriage yourself. Luckily for me, nothing came out of that meeting. Also, no one in my house was aware of the intention of these people when they came to visit us that day.

Since I am of the 'age of consideration', this will probably end up being a series of posts. Not one that will happen on a fixed schedule of course, but if it happens, then I will write about it.

So without further ado, today I bring you a new one: The Rationalisation Technique.

The rationalisation technique happens when you:
a) Don't want an arranged marriage
b) Are not even thinking about marriage yet

In this method of marriage, your parents will try to compromise with you, and it usually involves the word 'but'. Let me give you some examples ...

"I know you said you don't want an arranged marriage but [person] just asked me about you."
"You don't have to get married, but there is no harm in looking."
"I know you said you weren't ready yet but you don't have to get married straight away."
"You said you didn't want an arranged marriage, but there's nothing wrong with just talking to them and then deciding what you think."

And so on and so forth.

It is not uncommon for parents to use the rationalisation technique. This week, I got the first one. Even though I have said I am not thinking about marriage yet, and my family know that I am not ready, when an opportunity to fix you up with someone arises or someone is asking about you they will still do their best to let you know. It's like when a lawyer gets some information and they have to tell their client about it. It is a similar thing here.

By trying to make a compromise you, as the one who will get married, still have the overall power about your marriage but your parents are just trying to give you that gentle nudge. Thankfully with the rationalisation technique, you have the opportunity to persuade your family into your way of thinking and the topic of whoever asked about you will never be raised again.
There is also another fine opportunity to do what your parents want, by talking to whoever or look around, and just say no anyway. Win Win.

Interview and Review

Hi everyone!

Here is me talking around arranged marriages and the culture behind my book at the Daily Dodo

Thanks to Laura for the review of The Bollywood Breakup Agency, and it was great talking to you   :)

A Very Colourful Festival

This week was the Hindu festival of Holi

It is a fantastic day where people throw colour at each other - friends, family, neighbours, strangers, whoever. It is something that you have to see so, to allow you that, I have picked some Holi related Bollywood Songs for you to watch.

Although I suggest keeping your speakers down for songs 1 and 4, as the recording of some of these old songs can sound rather distorted on a loud volume










Doesn't it look like so much fun?
*throws virtual colours at all of you*

When the day job takes over ...

When I was writing book one, I worked in the evenings which gave me a lot of free time during the days to write. It was a retail job so I was able to just go in, do what I needed to do and leave with no stresses and worries whatsoever.

At the moment I am working elsewhere on a flexi-basis three full days a week, in a job which clogs up my brain when I am not at the office. Therefore the whole writing thing has been going very slowly. I wake up early and by the time I get home I am so shattered that I fall asleep quite early in the night. I have no energy to write like I used to.

I worry about losing my writing mojo and am worried that the thing that I have to do is taking over the thing that I want to do. I am way behind on the target that I had set for myself and I wanted to be a lot further in my writing than I am now. There used to be a time when I would be on the tube and I would have that amazing urge to write something that I would scribble all over a notebook that I would always keep in my bag.

Readers I need your help in getting that back. I have got two weeks off in April and I plan to write as much as possible. Do any of you have any advice about getting my writing spurt back?