Monday, April 30, 2012

Story Published in Aama Odisha







Bijaylaxmi Sarangi, Editor of Aama Odisha: A quarterly published, bilingual (Odia & English) e-magazine, in which you can find thought-provoking stories, perceptive articles and beautiful poems, has selected my story Lesson of life, to publish in her e-magazine. Thanks Bijaylaxmi!

You can read my other creations HERE.


Victory











Eyes set on target
Heart filled with optimism
And zest, craft victory



Written for: The April Heights



So, this is the last prompt of Haiku Heights – The April Challenge. It’d been a wonderful journey. I enjoyed writing for The April Challenge and it's been a pleasure reading beautiful haiku by many nice…really nice writers!

I would like to thank all the people who graced my haiku/Poems with their nice and encouraging comments.







Sunday, April 29, 2012

End of hopelessness





 Desktop Wallpaper · Gallery · Travels 
 Early Morning in Alsace




Let the despair sink
With the sun, end of a day
End of hopelessness


Absorbing the warmth
Of marvelous dawn, glory
Of a fresh new start


 
Look ahead, towards
A new path, destination
Waits with open arms


 
Embrace it with smile
Try to accomplish the aim
Hopeful mode of life



 Written for: The April Heights
Shared @ Poets United






Saturday, April 28, 2012

Clarity






Clarity in thoughts
And insight, rewarding path
To wise decisions


Written for: The April Challenge






Friday, April 27, 2012

Temptation





Renovation of
Shattered hope; temptation of
Tasting sweet success.



Written for: The April Challenge








Thursday, April 26, 2012

Togetherness



Melody of life
Wrecked by cries of sorrow, heart
Seeks togetherness


Home filled with mirth and
Melody, togetherness
Is a true blessing!



Written for: The April Heights








Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Kismet






Serendipity
Is rare, it needs hard work to
Chisel the kismet




Written for: The April Heights






Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Bliss of...





Bliss of cherishing
Dreams is so fascinating
Keep dreaming always


Bliss of achieving
Success evokes feeling of
Triumph, keep trying


Bliss of being with your
Dear ones, is such a blessing
Treasure those moments




Written for: The April Heights










Thursday, April 19, 2012

Honey Bees






They set example
Of hard work and team effort
Produce sweet results!




Written for: Haiku Heights April Challenge









Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Ghoulish fear frightens





In eerie silence
And darkness, white with fear, heart
Yearns someone to be with

Seeks touch of solace
Some light and conversation.
Ghoulish fear frightens

Written for: The April Challenge




Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Wonder





Earth filled with vivid
Colours, scent and creatures
Wonders of nature!

Gazing at the dusk
In silent wonder, bathed in
Serene ambience!

Emotion churned, tears
Sprang and blurred the vision, I…
Wonder, why this now?



Written for: The April heights
Shared@ Poets United







Monday, April 16, 2012

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Alive





Sinking confidence
Fades optimism and hope
Keep your trust alive

Patience is the key
Failure may depress you, but
Keep your dreams alive




Shared@ Poets United
                 Haiku My Heart







Saturday, April 14, 2012

Friday, April 13, 2012

A smile so divine










A smile so divine
Warmth of feather touch, a child
Can win million hearts



Written for: The April Challenge







Thursday, April 12, 2012

Imagination




Vague ideas turn
Coherent, words embellish
Poems merrily

Imagination
Keeps the words playing, creates
Fine piece of writing!



Written for: The April Heights










Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Heartfelt endeavour




It’s possible to
Fulfill your dreams, success needs
Heartfelt endeavour


Possibilities
Widens with every genuine
Effort you apply



Written for: The April Heights
Shared @ Poets United







Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Is This Love and Autumn - The Last Leaf: by Arti Honrao










I finished reading this book by Arti Honrao, a compilation of two stories Is This Love and Autumn: The Last Leaf.


‘Is This Love’ tells the story of true friendship and platonic love of Sheetal and Vishal who share a flat in Mumbai. They promise to be friends forever but gradually they start to feel differently for each other yet unable to express their feeling. It is a story of struggling with one’s feelings, heartbreak, misunderstanding, sacrifice and above all, true friendship and love.

I’ve read some creations of Arti Honrao on her blog 'Straight From The Heart, and liked them as she has a neat style of writing and this one is also well-written. I liked the character of Vishal.


Autumn: The last leaf is an eccentric story blended with love, friendship, a murder and mystery. Neha often sees dreams that come true. She gradually starts to love her best friend Vishal and before she plans to confess, he is married to Sheetal. Then something happens that completely upends the story. The end of the story is totally unpredictable and gripping.

This story is also nicely written but I did not like the idea of keeping the same names of the characters. Initially, I presumed it the sequel to 'Is This Love'.

It bothered me immensely that the publisher has wasted so many pages. Also improper punctuation marks disrupt the flow of the story.  But I liked the cover and title of the stories especially ‘Autumn – The last leaf.’

Overall for me, it was a simple, quick and really nice read.




Summer







Angry sunbeams prick,
Umbrella and generous shade
Of trees give solace


Summer night, cool breeze
Touching tenderly, glance of
Full moon seems divine


Splashes of water
Ice-creams of different flavor
Delight of summer





Written for: April Heights
Shared @ Theme Thurday

Monday, April 9, 2012

What a Treat!







Walking on seashore
Inhaling the fragrance of
Nature, what a treat!


Memories, relished
With every approaching waves
Bring smile, what a treat!


Lying on hammock
With dark chocolates and romance
Novels, what a treat!




Written for: The April Challenge
                       Sunday Scribblings



Sunday, April 8, 2012

Destiny









Destiny plays mean
Games with life, watching remains
The only option



You try to struggle
But 'sometimes', helplessness seems
The only option




I'm absolutely not in favour of sitting something out. I'm always in favour of keeping your hope and courage alive and not giving up as I'm a very optimistic person. But I've seen many people trapped in the cruel tricks of fate and sometimes, no matter how hard they try, the situation seems out of control and they feel helpless and then hope, try, don’t give up, fight back, optimism etc. seem just mocking words and people keep thinking "Why me?".  Also, I’m talking about a particular situation in life that people may face (At some point of life, we all face some situations when after all our efforts we may not succeed)

I've written this haiku/poem keeping those people/circumstances in mind.




Written for: The April Heights
Shared@ Poets United


Saturday, April 7, 2012

Mahashweta: by Sudha Murthy





Recently, I finished reading Mahashweta by Sudha Murthy. Sudha Murthy is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation & wife of software industrialist N.R. Narayana Murthy.

Mahashweta tells the story of Anupama, an extremely beautiful and intelligent girl and her pain, her courage, determination and success.

Anupama who belongs to a poor family, directs and acts in Sanskrit plays. Dr. Anand meets her casually and instantly falls in love with her. Despite the differences in their status, Dr. Anand convinces her mother for his marriage to Anupama. After two months of marriage Dr. Anand leaves for London. Anupama was supposed to join him but her fate devises a cruel plan for her.  

After few months of marriage, when her husband was away, Anupama contracts Leukoderma, a skin disease. Her mother-in-law abandons her completely and Anupama returns to her own home but there also her step-mother curses her. Moreover, Anupama’s husband never replies her letters. 

Why her husband, who loved her dearly, is not responding to her letters? How she manages to rekindle her hope and collect the broken pieces of her life? 

Mahashweta is a story of success born of struggle, confidence and hope. It portrays the strength of a woman nicely. The writing is simple that makes the reading smooth and easy. 

Overall it’s a thought-provoking, quick and nice read.



Forgiveness





Sometimes, in anger
Tongue spills bitter words, guilty
Heart seeks forgiveness





Friday, April 6, 2012

Rekindle your hope





Escaping is not
A solution, rekindle
Your hope and fight back!




                      Poets United
                      Theme Thursday


Thursday, April 5, 2012

Mesmerizing dawn!







Elated waves of
Oceans, hitting the beach, smell
Of salty water

Resonance of froth,
Kiss of silky breeze, reminds
Special memories

Titian sun slipping
In embrace of horizon
Marvelous aura!

Marvelous aura
Evokes feeling of freedom
Mesmerizing dawn!




 Shared@ Haiku My Heart
                  Poets United
                 


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I doubt...








We’ve been friends, so far,
Started feeling differently
I doubt, is this love?







Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Keep the change: by Nirupama Subramanian








Yesterday I finished reading Keep the Change by Nirupama Subramanian.

While reading this book, I felt as if The (In)Eligible Bachelors by Ruchita Misra and No Deadline for Love by Manasi Vaidya have collided somehow. But as Keep the Change has published earlier I would consider it original.

This book tells the story of Damayanthi Balachandran, a simple but adventurous and intelligent girl, who lives in 32 Amman Kovil Street in Chennai and hates her name. At twenty-six, Damayanthi is single and her mother desperately wants her to get married. Damayanthi lands in Mumbai, to widen her horizons and to escape the arranged marriage.

In Mumbai, she lives in 124 Pine Crest with Sonya, her Ultra glamorous flat mate. Her life completely changes and she tries to change herself to impress her ‘maybe’ first time boyfriend.  She makes some really good friends and some wrong choices. Her wrong choices and office politics put her in trouble and she felts cheated but finally learns to face the reality.

This is Nirupama Subramanian’s debut novel and it’s definitely an entertaining read. The best thing about this novel is its clean and crisp writing style and enjoyable humour. I always found myself smiling (Sometimes laughing) while reading this book. The book is written in the form of letters to her best friend Victoria. Initially it seemed a bit irritating to me but after the revelation of Vic’s identity, which is the most surprising element of this book, it seemed oaky.

Overall, for me Keep the Change was a really nice and entertaining read. Looking forward to reading Nirupama Subramanian’s next novel.



Forgiveness




Harbouring grudges
Embitter relationships
Adopt forgiveness




Monday, April 2, 2012

Enchanting fragrance!









New leaves sprouted on
Deserted Champa tree, soon
Flowers will blossom


Tree decorated
With myriads of tender blooms
Enchanting fragrance!