An Excerpt And A List

                   Am I stuck with writer’s block? One may wonder, considering the dwindling number of blog posts I have been churning up during the past couple of months. But the truth is that, my mind has been shuttling between matters concerning something very important in my life- A milestone in itself. 

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Read the rest of the post on my new wordpress domain - An excerpt and a list

Love And Other Enchantments - The Dream Ship

In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned about a short story anthology, titled Love and other enchantments which has been sailing, albeit along crests and troughs, for a few months now. Two days back we received the design of our book's front cover.The publishers had asked us if we had any particular suggestion regarding the diagrammatic representation of our collection, and we had conveyed the theme that was brewing in our minds. The theme was solely love and its essence, although a bit skewed towards the poignant nature of it, more than the picture of mushiness that most people tend to associate love stories with. And this is owing to the fact that each story in the anthology is soulful, portraying the sheer intensity of the varied shades of love, rather than focussing merely on the exhilarating nature of it. 

Here, take a look at the design and you will know :- 

I would like to thank the publishers- Blue Rose Publishers for being thoughtful enough to listen to us and for having come up with a cover design, which exudes evocativeness as much as subtleness. And it should not be left unsaid the sturdiness of our group - The Fictitious Five, members of which being along with me, Akash Deep, Anuj Kumar, Ishan dafaria and Tanima Kedar, because of which, despite having had conflicting ideas at times, we could dissect each one's opinion to reach a fitting conclusion. 

Having let out a few nuggets about my new venture, I would also like to add that, our dream ship is now on its final lap, gearing for release, which should happen in a couple of weeks. 

Stay with me for more updates :)

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Of Dreams And Life - Friday Musings

                                               Dreams form an inevitable part of a human's life. They inspire us, prompt us and ignite us with the much needed impetus to move forward surviving all odds to finally make the desire a reality. We don't always end up with what we dream, but at other times we do. We aren't offered opportunities in a platter most of the times, but at other times, we stumble upon opportunities while carousing our way through the life pathway. Life is such - weird, instinctive and purposeful - all rolled into one. 

So coming to the purpose of this post, a lot has been happening in my life lately. Being someone who loves reading blog posts with thoughts detailed in an alluring manner, my heart nudges me to do the same, as I outline the incidents one by one.

To Life!

Moving across the cacophonous lives of people displayed on the medium, I take a minute to adsorb in the many vagaries of life. In the frantic hurry to grab limelights, nurturing an implicit intention to be noticed in the crowd, aren't we knowingly or unknowingly forgetting the truest joys of mankind? To be appreciated is anyone's secret desire and it comes without say that there is indeed no harm in it. But, have you ever wondered that, perhaps, there exists an invisible fine line between a desire and greed?

The October That Was !

Months fly by in a jiffy. Harking back, they seem to dissociate into powdery thin bits of the past, those moments that arrived into your life with magnanimous gestures. Few of them manage to remain equally important several days from the happening, but few others fail irrevocably. Maybe it's an idea worth upholding to jot down nitbits from the past,however trivial they may seem in the big picture, so that several years down the lane you would find yourself sweeping away the dust from the attic only to confront the long forgotten gems of your life, the things that made you who you are. 

Of Rain And Life

“I hate rain!”. I stated quite blatantly as the steady downpour dampened my voice. The person on the other end of the phone exclaimed in disbelief. Quite obviously so. For I myself is yet to see atleast one person in a group of five who doesn’t hold the mystifying physiology of earth, that is rain, close to his or her heart. He went onto dissect in fervor the many pros of rain and how it pacified him, refreshing his body and soul, while i blabbered on the many cons like how a rainy day created a havoc in my life, especially when it announced its entry early in the mornings while i am all dressed up neatly for a fresh beginning. 

The Silver lining

                                  There comes a day, as the body's work cycle makes a complete circle, when you feel the drive draining from your body. And by drive here i mean the demand of your inner diligent self to be the best in whatever you do and not that spark in you to be alive and smiling. Losing it is not worthless, nor should it sound tardy, for once in a while it would be the best sidetrack you take to reach your milestone the earliest, for it serves you just like a few second stop to recondition serves a racing car.

If a thought or an idea keeps ticking, nagging you at the back of your heart, consider it being deserving enough to be fulfilled. Whether true or not, this nugget has guided me for long since it dawned on me one fine day when the teen in me used to worship every paulo coelho book that came my way. The idol has since been replaced by quite many other authors, yet the nugget has managed to stay put.

So, as my biological clock started pushing and shoving me to take a break, i found my brain involuntarily polishing the nugget which got buried beneath an unnamed sulcus some time back. 

And thus saw the entry of these gems to the seemingly unenthusiastic world of another unrelated genre of books. An amalgamation of fiction and non fiction ( if medical books can be tagged so). 

Down with 'Another man's wife' i am already the happiest soul in the world. Sometimes, a book can fill that much dreaded vacuum in you like no other thing can - atleast in its own reassuring way. 

Sadly, i had to take to the new habit of reading a book few pages at a time owing to the many constraints.Harking back, that too had its perks. It helped me savour every page in its entirety as i was in no hurry to lap up the whole book in a few hours time, which used to be my habit otherwise, more due to ardor than impatience.

That said, let me wrap this account up. There is more to read and even more to learn. 

But before you go, is there something new you did this week ? Or maybe a new book you read ? Tell me about it:)

Wiping Away The Dust

One whole year. Unbelievably so ! A year passed by sans a single post on my blog. A year passed by with no creativity firing up my grey cells. A year passed by engulfed in the smoky mist of white coats. A year passed by trying to decipher the course of nerves, the worth of ganglia and the mechanisms that keep humans breathe with peace. A year since i embarked on my post graduation course in ENT surgery - A lot to say, a lot to share.

I wouldnt be here yet if not for two incidents that occured a period spanning the last two months. 

*  My school reunion that happened last week
*  For that wonderful, smoldering mail from The Tamarind Rice team ,letting this proud spirit know about their decision to showcase her article At The Bookshop at their literary meet ' Literary Lapses'

School reunions always arrive carrying a mixed bag of emotions . Nostalgia mounting beyond seams can be overwhelming at times and at other times they can leave you all brooding when reminded about the good things that withered away over the time. And this time, it came as a common query - ' Why dont you write these days, Maliny?' 

Oh, i missed writing ! I did. But these were months when the thought of sitting lost in a fluffy cushion typing away word after word, spewing posts felt like a luxury. 

And i am not yet sure how long away is my next post. Nevertheless, i badly need to satisfy my itch to write something this very moment and that too,with all my heart. Now that i have done it there are few words to describe exactly what i feel right now. Enlightened, maybe?

There are times when you need to sail with the wind. So that you derive as much power as you can to sail against it when your mind years for it the most. There are low times. There are duties to be performed. There are goals to be achieved. There is a time to toil. There is a time to let free. There is a time to celebrate.

Life runs a course. This moment,i realise that sometimes,it is fine to abide by the rules of fate. Sometimes it is alright to float and not to fly. But never let the spark die out. Let it burn within in the lightest of the shades. You never know. The very next minute might very well be the that perfect polishing moment you had waited for all along. 

At The Bus Stop

Image Source : here

As was his routine for the past few weeks, he waited for her expectantly at his usual position near the bus stop. ' The month of March has always been the most grueling, ' he concluded, as a drop of sweat trickled down his temple. The scorching rays showered by the ever blazing sun, sans mercy, shrouded a needle sharp blanket over the earth. To add to the inconvenience,  a gush of sultry humid breeze would swish its way past the people at regular intervals of time.

 It was the busiest time of the day - the morning hours when people scurried fast in groups for their work. He registered in amusement that the events that unwound around him daily had an unerringly etched out pattern. The restaurant run by Kalaam, the one at the junction, which flocked the most number of customers, would be the first to signal its functioning. The deafening metallic shriek of the rotten shutter made sure that any one in half a kilometer vicinity were notified of the hotel’s availability, the first thing in the morning without fail. He was aware of this fact, for he was always the first customer to savour a share of food from the hotel.  

The telephone booth run by the raspy voiced man who reeked of alcohol any time of the day opened next. He despised the tone of  nastiness that outweighed that man’s sarcasm, whenever he called out to him and said, " Why do you keep focussing on this junction Raghu ?. I am sure that you are jinxed. My customers are dropping day after day! " .

Raghu coughed out loud as the smoke which was propelled out from the bus which came to a screeching stop at the bus stop choked his nostrils. 

‘ Where is she ? ‘. He felt a whirlpool of emotions somersaulting inside his head.

She was working as a sales girl at the nearby textile shop. That much he knew for once he happened to overhear that detail while she was talking to her friend. Every time she passed by her, his otherwise numb brain cells seemed to be blossoming by the mere fragrance of her scent. Her voice was mellifluous, sounding young and her speech, deeply enriched with the sweetest of notes. The fact that the wild clutter of her glass bangles soothened his ears much more than the innocent chuckle of a baby intrigued him for he was well past his prime in the ledger of age roll.  He never deserved to fall for a girl that divine as her. Yet, she mattered to him the most, he knew. 

His emotional connect with the girl started blooming one fine day when she offered to lend him a hand seeing him in a meddled scenario. Since that day, without fail, she used to pause at him to share a word with him in her usual enigmatic voice. The emotional chord that connected him to her strengthened as this daily routine of her's started intriguing him. Gradually, before he knew, she was everything to him. An affectionate mother, a playful sister, a loving wife, every worthy relation that he was forced to live without. She opened to him an enchanting world of never ending love to quench his parched life – all with those few words sprinkled with compassion.

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Meantime, a few kilometeres from the town, Sita was worried beyond limits. She checked her watch impatiently. “ I am late ! " Sita thought in utter despair.

 Being late for her job was simply something she couldn’t dare to do  , especially when she was offered a salary hike for her flawless service at the textile shop. The last few weeks had been strange. As if the angel finally decided to cocoon her with all sorts of blessings, luck had been approaching her from every untapped crevice of her life. Having tasted the bitter phase of life Sita never expected much from her life. With an ailing mother to look after, she weaved little dreams for herself. Quite unexpectedly now, with her shop offering her a promotion as the one of the heads of the sales section, her future was turning to be rosier, for once in her otherwise thorny life .  The employee whose position she was taking over, was expelled for being up in news for his nefarious deed of trying to trade his one month old baby for a lump some amount of money.  Hard to believe such monsters even existed, Sita had opined on hearing the news. But then, ‘ Truth is stranger than fiction ‘  isnt ?. She remembered recalling a proverb the next moment that she had learnt way back in her school days. Truth was definitely stranger. Miraculous at times, devastating at other times.

Fifteen minutes later, Sita scampered her way though the crowded bus, the travelers yielding away from their uncomfortable, yet unavoidable embraces, and alighted the bus when it paused at her stop. 

                                                                   
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To know the rest of the story, keep waiting. An improvised, altered version of this story is going to be part of an anthology!

Against the stormy wind

Image source : Google

                                    The crimson sky had started spreading its wings . I cringed my eyes to check my watch . It was half past six . A rather cheesy music started blaring loudly from behind me . I glanced back , almost startled at the pitch of the sound ,only to be welcomed by a pan stained row of teeth jeering at me . Avoiding him, i adjusted my dupatta playing deftly in the wind and hovered over the group of people waiting impatiently for the bus . 

                                  ' The Bus ' failed to prove worthless of the long wait . With barely 30 seats and double the need , i strived hard to strangle the cuss which was emanating from the crevices of my mind . Struggling as i might to balance myself , i fumbled inside my hand bag for the wallet ,when i heard the ticket collector exploring his way skilfully through the crowd . Paying for the ticket , i placed myself at a safe corner of the bus , not a tad bit interested in suffocating myself to death . I never noticed the man sailing his way towards his target until i felt a hand snuggling close to me . Revolt did i , as best as i could, throwing a deadly stare at him , and clutching my handbag close to me . I let out a sigh when he disappeared in a scurry behind the thick veil of bodies clinging  onto each other . 

                                  Reaching my destination , my college , i strolled back unaware of the many cold eyes prying on me . Near the Indian Coffee House inside our campus , i stumbled upon Vinay , my batchmate . 

" Hey !  . What is a female species doing outside the hostel at this time of the hour ?! Its past nine ! ."  He asked , a dubious expression dancing on his face  .

 " You do realise right that a Paediatrics professor is staring at you coldly from inside the coffee house . Decent women never wander around once the daylight recedes " .He advised in between suppressed chuckles . 

" Spare the nonsense Vinay . Nothing can matter to me today , though i do carry a pepper spray in my bag ! You know,  i managed to grab a pass today to attend that Conference on Book Writing organised  by ABC publications ! Such an evocative session it was ! " I beamed . 

" Okay , now tell me you havent gone out of your mind , Neetha . I hope you are well aware of the Medicine PG sessional exam which is due next week . With such an important exam honking loud around the corner what were you thinking you while you went wasting your time on some silly book session ?! " 

" Its not that i am not preparing for the exam. I am ,trust me . But does that mean i should sacrifice something close to my heart just because everybody else here is burying their head inside the textbooks day in and day out . Is it some kind of an unwritten rule that medical students should sit mugging up for ' twenty five ' hours a day ! " 

" You do as you wish . I cant bother fighting with you at this eleventh hour of exams . See you later . Ciao " . 

'Eleventh hour ?! There is still a week to go for the exam '. I buried that thought inside me as he raced away on his Pulsar scared of losing yet another minute of his precious study schedule . 

Reaching my room i saw Kavya , one of my room mates , swelling up in resentment . 

" Where were you all this time ! . Anita's marriage has been fixed and she took us on a huge treat today at Arcadia . Can you believe her luck . The guy is extremely rich and highly educated too . Oh, and to make things better , he is damn handsome as well . Can you imagine such a combination ! " . She seemed out of the world . 

" You should be sharing this news with your husband . Dont forget to include the last sentence " . I teased Kavya while i settled down on my side of the bed , pressing my face deep into the hollow of the fluffy pillow . 

" Yeah as if he would be bothered . Leave me , what about you ? . You have any idea how old you will be next March . 27 yrs ! ' Chee , you are a granny ! ' That is what we all are going to say on your birthday if you dont accept one of the proposals your poor mother begs you to accept , atleast by next year . " Kavya threatened in a playful tone . 

"  Kavya , dont you dare start on the subject again ok . If i am not bothered why would you guys be ! " . Also i am not simply sitting jobless and warming myself in the sun around here. I have big plans for myself . Will you be able to digest it if i say I managed to communicate with a publishing company today during the conference session . Finally the doors to my dreams are slowly opening their arms . Not that i am not planning to marry ever , but let us leave the marriage deal to God for the time being ok . " . I  pretended to close my eyes as if in a trance . Seriously , i never got along well with Kavya . 

" You dont belong here Neetha . Go , chase your destiny and all those crap you talk about usually . I, tonight , have a very important date with ' Harrison , The textbook of Medicine ' . Make it a point that you dont bug me more with your theories ".

                           Kavya retreated back to her study table . I too snatched a flourescent marker from my table and settled on my chair to devour the textbook . 

                          The next morning , while i was straining as i might to make out the kind of murmer humming through the stethescope , with an extremely confused patient sitting across me ,  Anita , my other room mate , nudged me softly from behind . 

" Come here , i need to ask you something " . She whispered in my ears . 

                          I glanced at the disheartened face of the patient and passed the stethescope to Naveen , my junior unit mate . " Try if you are able to make out the Ejection click . I hear just the Murmer " . 

                         Anita almost dragged me to the classroom and having closed the door behing she pounced on me , literally,with a question ,  "  Are You involved with Vinay ?! " 

" Oh my God , where did that come from now ! . Why would i be doing that ?! " I retorted almost shouting at the top of my voice . 

" I knew they would be lying . You know that Abhay right . The one who keeps a grudge against you for not being part of his college union . He saw you yesterday night outside the coffee house with Vinay . He and his friends have come to the conclusion that you are having an affair with him . What else would a girl be doing with a guy at that time of the hour  ! See how imaginations fly !"

" Well, so that is the reason behind Abhay smiling at me with a  ' i - have - won - over - you ' scoff when i met him at the Procedure Room today . Anita ,You trust me for who i am right . Thats more than i could ask for . Yesterday , on my way back here i could sense the stone cold eyes of the people trying hard to make me feel bad for being out there on the streets alone . And then Vinay came . He was showering me with preaches in his usual self worthy tone saying i was stupid to be chasing my passion while i could utilise that time to score better in my exams . And then Kavya tried to irk me with her mention of the ' Get - married - if you are 26 ' motto . And now that spineless Abhay with his sleazy conclusion ! To all these prancing minds i say , " Not to judge me through their eyes such that they could cleanse my soul free of its specks . I can very well manage myself and definitely no , i am not treading a lost path as they must be hoping . Maybe i am not practical , but then ,heeding to my heart has always been inevitable for my peaceful existence ". 

" Oh well i know you , my dear CHE ! " Anita punched me on my shoulder and passed a big grin . 
                     
 Right then , Naveen barged open the door and shouted frantically at me . 

" Neetha , the HOD himself has come to take the class ! Cant he just sit in his room and sign the ledgers . I was scared to the core that he might ask more about the case we were examining . Do have any idea what an Ejection click actually is ?! " 

I looked at his sullen face , " Ofcourse i know . Remember i am your senior ! Dont worry . I will explain on our way to the ward " .

Naveen gave me a smile of relief . " No wonder i like you so much ! " . He stated .

A momentary murmer of joy fleeted through my heart . I did have friends who loved me for what i was , absolutely . 


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A Wave Of Hope

Give me the privilege of a wish ;

No one knows my mind is in a swish ..

Give me a sunny day , a cozy night;

Oh ! When was the last time the hours felt light ?

This too shall pass , i have heard them say

Holding onto it seems hard , however much I try. .

Not easy to let it go , I know ;

But wait ! dont let your spirit sink low!

The next second might bring you smile,

Might just be the sweet trick of God all the while . .

So hope hope in times of low ;

The best is in store , we never know ! :)

You might also like  :  http://colouredbydreamz.blogspot.com/2011/12/november-in-my-mirror.html