The Secret

By Samyuktha J

my response to the book I'm reading which really pissed me off with serendipity and positive thinking when what the world needs right now is constructive action. 

A picture speaks a 1000 words

An action speaks a 100 thoughts

How you treat your mother

speaks more than your tweets

On Feminism.

So rise and shine

And wake up to this universal truth

Packaged as a secret

To make you excited~

Action counts more than thoughts!

All the wishful thinking in the world

Will conspire against you

If you don’t walk the walk

Yellow brick road or not.

Serendipity may await the believer

At the end of the magical rainbow

Along with pots of gold.

Wash your face with the raindrops

And look at the reflection in the dirtypuddle

A lazy hypocrite praying without acting

Should not claim a windfall at all.

Also for Poet united's midweek motif The awakening

Modern Kindness

What is it to be kind ,

In this mocking (modern) 

Day and age?

To smile at a stranger 

Give them the heeby jeebies 😬

Be a loyal friend 

Who money can’t amend

To trust in humanity 

And better side of this 

Cunning(human) populace?

To just be decent 

With no strings attached .

To be good 

To more than just your blood.

And to do all this

Even when no one is really watching.

(I think I can’t come up with a better picture for this poem. Two of the kindest souls 😚)

Okay my kindness quota for the year is over 😂

Pitch dark

A shadow has crept over my soul

Inching through my defences

Making me darkness herself

I wallow in grief over things lost

In the invisible bonfire

And try to survive on the warmth of embraces

Of kindred spirits

Only that it feels like a stranglehold

And I push them away with a

Weaponized tongue and my newfound strangeness

Friends and foes are all the same

Only difference is the name.

I burn through whatever light I get

Worried I might never see again

In haste I commit little crimes

And wallow once more again. 

Before~

The comfort of the creamy curd rice

Rolling on the floor , watching TV

Using Laika as my squishy pillow

Sleeping through life

And moving in my own jolly pace

Reminiscing about a happier childhood

With the same bunch of friends ,

Dipping Fries on cheese

Unbothered about kilos and hours

Driving on my scooty ,

Wind washing away my starting jitters ,

Sitting with my special friend on the cool mud

Of  my Bessie beach ,

And trying to tell him that

The Big Things in Life are actually Very Small

The montage that passes through your eyes

Before any nerve wracking moment is

A Random rhapsody of your lived moments ,

So live your life friend

Like the waves before us

Rise and crash and touch some lives ~

Mistakes make great stories

Worry only about being true to your self.

He smiled a quiet smile

Placed his hands behind my head

Leaned forward

And shut my mouth in his style

What was I saying again?

Sharikrida : A game of Political intrigue

It is not every day you get a chance to review a book before it gets officially released and I’m very pleased to announce that I got one such chance. So here comes , the first official review of the book!

Sharikrida , is a book authored by Krishna Trilok and published by Zuna Publishers. The book is set in the future where monarchy and kingdoms rule India ( now called Vehya ) again.

Btw don’t worry, this review is Spoiler Free!

The basic plot is that there are six kingdoms which rule the vehya subcontinent and the supreme ruler is chosen by a game of Sharikrida , a live action chess and strategy game. There is also a running thread about King Bharin Shah of the North fighting for justice against the evil supreme ruler Kesara Gaderia and his evil Shvagnin / Chessmaster .

As you can see , the book conjures up its own world effectively. The author has put in great effort constructing this fantastical realm so comprehensively that you want more stories from this world. Trilok should make a Trilogy!

Things which impressed me about the book especially were :-

1)      Original fantasy elements steeped in Indian mythology tapping into our rich culture

2)      The author’s English which is impeccable and beautiful. I love it that he hasn’t try to dumb down his language.

3)      The way he describes food. I had to constantly reach for snacks when he started describing lamb delicacies.

All the characters are well etched and the action set pieces were very thrilling. I felt that the book kept building its world and moving its story at an amazing pace. However , after it reached it feverish pitch and ultimate peak I felt that the sudden back story plateaued it a bit and made us think – which leads you to predict the twists.

That tiny complaint apart , this is an excellent book. I honestly think that the beginning portions were India’s answer to Game of Thrones ( a much leaner and focused version ) and the author has amazing potential to reach greater heights if he is ready to leave the safe road and start attacking ( like one of his characters said)

The book deals with governance and morality boldly and King Bharin Shah especially delivers a lot of noteworthy quotes. The implied Gender Equality in the book was beautiful to read too.

All in all , a wonderful book which you must read if you like fantasy or action or politics or thrill or just a different story. I also must say , I love the godfatheresque turn the book took and its ultimate ending. It was like there was always something up the book’s sleeve.

Loved the book!

Verdict : Read it. 4/5

You can pre order from December 22nd!

Fairy Tales turned Nightmares

A guest post by the supremely talented Tanushree Nigam. Do check out her blog here. 

The world where Jasmine is forced to migrate as Aladdin has been bombed to shreds by Alibaba and his forty thieves.

The world where Hamlin lies in ruins because Snow White and Cinderella’s evil step mothers have been directing drones at innocent Pied piper’s, who are now swaying little children away by the sweeter-than-drones music of Jihad,

whilst Snow White and Cinderella are busy posting pouting selfies on Insta.

The world where the seven dwarves moved to the city because their forest has been long turned to fuel the factories which they now are employed in, factories run by Sauron, Dark Lord of Mordor.

The world where Rapunzel never fails to put on her red riding hood to cover her luscious locks, lest radical wolves devour her because she was ‘asking- for-it’.

The world where Beauty married the Beast disguised as a Prince, and continues in the abusive relationship to save her Sleeping Beautiful Aurora afflicted with sleep disorders due to substance addiction.

The world with a Narnia with witches rampant, lions extinct and the wardrobe under the stairs where the boy who barely lives, grew up too soon to believe in magic after the war took away both his parents.

The world where apples are poisonous, Hansel and Gretel are sodomized and murdered by cannibalistic humans not witches, where ducklings are objectified and called ugly on the basis of colour and the little mermaid perished in an oil spill.

The world with fairy tales turned nightmares.