Straight From The Heart

Author Blog Hop

I was introduced to this wonderful initiative by Namrata (Privy Trifles) who blogs at Memoirs of Me and you can find out more about her on this page.

Namrata has not only introduced me to the initiative, but also to few wonderful bloggers who make a difference with their words. Had it not been for her; I would have been travelling this 'blogging' journey without much company.
I came to know her when I had done prompts by Preeti Shenoy. From that day till today, my friendship with Namrata has taught me a lot, one of the things I learned from her is - Smile, always. Despite all the pain you might be going through, smile. It is not only healing for you, it also encourages and heals other people around you.
I felt honoured when she asked me whether I would do the interview for her.

1) What am I working on?

Right now, you can say that I am going through a phase of nothingness. Not doing anything specific. Not writing anything, not really reading anything - just trying to get in touch with my inner-self.
Right after this phase, I intend to compile all the short stories I have written and make it into a book.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I have always believed in giving more importance to emotions rather than the details. Like I have mentioned already, "Instead of writing about the color of lipstick the female protagonist wears, I prefer to write about how her lips quiver as she tries desperately to hold back the flood of tears from flowing out of her eyes and revealing her weakness to the person she wants to hide it from."

3) Why do I write what I do?

Writing is an important part of my life, I cannot imagine myself without writing. I write what I write because I want to. I NEED TO, writing is essential for my survival. On one hand writing allows me to vent out, put forth my views and on the other hand, the fictions that I write, give people a chance to escape from the realities of life and unwind for a while, go through the emotions of the protagonists, fall in love.

4) How does my writing process work?

I cannot really explain how it works for me. I do not write the words, words get written by me. Most of the times when I start writing a story, I do not know how the story would progress, leave alone knowing how it would end! As the blog name suggests - I write Straight from the heart.

I would like to tag two authors I know:

1. Tarang Sinha.

Tarang Sinha is a voracious reader, an avid writer and a very active blogger. A science graduate, she is now pursuing Diploma in Creative Writing from IGNOU. She writes short stories, articles, poems, and book-reviews. Some of her works have published in magazines like Woman’s Era and Alive. Her story “Dilemma” has been featured in a best-selling anthology Uff Ye Emotions 2.

Uff Ye Emotions 2 on Amazon.in | Uff Ye Emotions 2 on Flipkart
Tarang's Blog, Link to her Published Work and her Facebook Page.

2. Ruchira Khanna.

Ruchira Khanna, is an author with a beautiful soul who spreads magic through her writings at her blog called Abracabadra. Her writings grab a thread straight out of our lives and weave them in such beautiful lessons that they leave an unforgettable impression on a reader’s mind and heart. She has contributed articles in Life hack, Science of Soul, besides being a writer on Hub pages.

If asked to describe herself she says "I am a dreamer and writing aids me to express those thoughts inside me and help me envision a beautiful world."
She was recently interviewed by Writer's Ezine - an online magazine started by Namrata & me. Read the interview here and the review of her book here.
Choices on Goodreads.
Choices on Amazon.in
Choices on Flipkart
Review of The Adventures of Alex and Angelo: THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING IGUANA - children's book written by Ruchira Khanna.

Make sure you visit their blogs to read their posts as they continue this Author Blog Hop and answer the Interview questions!

A quick shot

Categorized into Photography

Post by Arti Honrao.

The Story behind WE

Categorized into Important, Inspirational, Sentimental Post

The thought of starting an on-line magazine was at the back of my mind for quite some time. Since the day I closed the publishing house I had started, to be specific. Those who have known me and been visitor to my blog know about the publishing house and the reason I had to shut it down. I was not only depressed, I was furious and guilty conscious for not being able to do justice to the work of authors I had published through my publishing house because of my inexperience in marketing/distribution.

During those ugly pessimistic moments, there was only one thing that was positive - my intention. I kept reminding myself that, whatever I had done, I had done it with good intentions and some day, the Universe will reward the intentions. I needed time to heal and once I was sure I was ready to step into publishing yet again, I bought the domain. Did not take much time for me to think of the name. It just came to my mind, as if it was waiting for the right moment to present itself. I took this as the first positive hint.

Even though I was full of ideas, even though I had the domain, even though I knew I could work on the template and take care of the back-stage. I needed someone who could run the show for me. As if, in answer to my request, Namrata stepped in. I still do not know how the conversation exactly started. We discussed WE and I showed her the Demo site I had designed and asked her what she thought about it. The Universe had started responding to my thoughts. Hence, I was not too surprised when Namrata thought that the idea was wonderful. I was joyous. Everything seemed to be falling into right places.

कविता..

Categorized into Hindi

एक कविता लिखी है तुम पर
तुम्हे कैसे सुनाऊ?
तुम्हारे आते ही धड़कने तेज हो जाती है
इस दिल को कैसे समझाऊ?

तुम्हे देख के खिल उठता है मन,
क्या करू?
आँखों में कैद है तस्वीर तुम्हारी
उस तस्वीर को कैसे मिटाऊ?

बैठी हु यहीं, यूँही, घंटो से -
तुम्हारे आने का इंतज़ार करते हुए
तुम्हारे ही कमरे में,
तुम्हारी ही मेज़ पर रखे पर्चे पर दिल का हाल बया करते हुए.
बैठी हु यहीं, के तुम आओगे और समझ जाओगे..
पढ़कर मेरी लिखी कविता, ख़ुशी से मुस्कुराओगे -
लगाकर मुझे प्यार से गले, अपने दिल का हाल सुनाओगे..
बैठी हु यहीं, यूँही -
उम्मीदों का महल हवाओं में बांधते हुए..
तुम्हारा इंतज़ार करते हुए.

Image source: Google Images

Originally from here

Life is Beautiful...

Categorized into Important, Inspirational, Random Thoughts, scribblings

Sometimes, you need to let life take its course, let things be the way they are, allow them to get sorted on their own. Life is always beautiful, just like these flowers, which I simply dropped in the vase instead of arranging and allowed them to arrange themselves. Aren't they beautiful?