For The Love of.......Irrfan!

#RIPIrrfanKhan

एक छोटी सी हिंदी कविता: हमारे इरफ़ान 

(1)

April 29^th, 2020

“Irrfan Khan passed away in Mumbai.” – 2:39 A.M.

Read: 6:25 A.M.

Today began with that message, sent about 4 hours before sunrise, from a friend in India. The urgency of sharing one’s grief with a confidant was palpable. This is what happens in times of personal loss. The first response while coping is to share your shock with someone else.

Maybe they would know how to make sense of this all!

But I did not know what to say. I read it, went back to bed, held my wife’s hand, who was still asleep and laid there with eyes wide open.

Yes, this felt personal. Very personal, indeed.

“हम अपनों के हाथों ना मरने वाले मुन्ना, हमें कोई बहुताई बड़ा बदमाश मारे तो मारे.”

(2)

Instantly, the heart ached.

And continued to ache for the rest of the day. Life went about as usual. The office. The work. The routine.

But the Earth did not move. The world did not face a deadly and invisible foe. People did not bicker and trolled. COVID-19 became dormant. Communal, political, racial and xenophobic divides ceased to exist.

Shared grief. Shared memories. Shared laughter. Shared experiences. Nothing else.

“सुनो पंडित, गोली वोली ना चल्लई तुमसे...मंतर फूँक के मार देयो...”

(3)

Nostalgia.

Irrfan passed away during the COVID-19 lockdown. This ruled out any excessive fanfare, funeral procession, incessant media coverage and all other grotesque ostentations associated with celebrity deaths. He left as quietly as he had arrived.

All of us have our favorite Irrfan moment, dialog, scene or a movie. But none of could exactly remember when Irrfan entered our conscience. 

In that sense, Irrfan is, like favorite music or first love. 

It almost does not matter when this love affair began and peaked; we are just grateful that it exists – like a beautiful prologue for our lives.

This also, immortalizes him.

The music ends, silence follows. First loves remain unfulfilled, life goes on. The sweet taste of nostalgia remains.

(4)

Not since the 2011 cricket World Cup triumph, do I recall, my world in such congruence. Although in grief, the harmony, especially nowadays, was still a sight to behold. Tributes, video clips, memories, status messages, personal and group chats, social media of every kind, was just about Irrfan.

Such is the power of this Artist, even when deceased. And I capitalize the A in Artist, intentionally.

He won hearts, and not until today, did many of us realize, how deep his performances had touched us. Today, one word that has been repeatedly used to describe Irrfan, has been, understated. While others might find it paradoxical for showbiz, I believe that is exactly what Irrfan aspired to be. Had he not been more about the characters he portrayed, than the actor that he was, he would not have connected the way he did.

And then, we would not have felt this hollowness and the void, that we are feeling today.

We never met, talked or interacted with him, but we knew someone who resembled someone that Irrfan had seamlessly played. He was the one. Some bristling student leader reminded us of, Ranvijay Singh, in Haasil and Maqbool felt like the Zenith of all complex mafia characters ever. We all wanted to be friends with that careless yet conscious and instantly lovable, 38-year-old bachelor, Monty, from the Life in a Metro, and we felt the conflict of that Pakistani patriot, Captain, from The Mighty Heart. 

We had met people who looked and sounded like Raj Batra from Hindi Medium and had been to schools that he was fighting against.

And in The Lunchbox, we saw the urban loneliness that we have, either seen, been living, or feared in the future.

He was the real Madari, who invited all of us in his immortal performances and we willfully participated.

So, who was acting in those 149 movies? The Jaipur born, NSD trained actor, who was probably living his long-harbored dreams, or the millions of Indians who saw themselves and their lives being portrayed, through him?

Indians, just Indians. No labels. No strata. Just a shared love, called Irrfan Khan!

And then came, today.

United, we stood, in grief and mourning the one human, among the stars. The one that looked like us.

Maybe just for a day, but, yet again, the Master Actor, diverted all of us from our earthly displeasures. and took us along on a ride to simpler times, like he had done countless times in those movies that embodied the soul of a nation -filled with laughter, some tears, and lots of nostalgia.

Tomorrow, we shall be divided again, and this time we will not have our shared bond.

The world would seem weaker and we, less loved.

Rest in Peace, Irrfan.

“मुहब्बत है, इसलिए जाने दे रहें हैं...ज़िद होती तो बाहों में होते...”

#RIPLegend

The Man Who Dressed In White: A Life Worth Writing About - Part II

Read Part I Here

The Man Who Dressed In White

“Nana, why do you always wear white clothes?” I asked with the energy and impatience of a 10-year-old in summer vacations. It amused me because, after all, white is not a color often associated with the profession of law. Dark coats with darker conscience, right?

He smiled while not breaking his stare at his files and did not answer. One or two of his clients, or fareek, as he called them, might have reacted with a muted laughter, but I was not going to pay any attention to them. His ignorance probably vexed me a little, but I let that go, for the time being.

Later that night, I asked my mother the same question and her answer surprised me more than the milky white clothes of my grandfather ever did.

Vakeel Saab, as Nana was called, both with respect and affection, by almost everyone outside of his immediate family, was born in a modest family. He was the oldest of the 4 sons and second of 6 children. His father got night blindness, when he was still in his thirties. Nana and his immediate younger brother, had to grow up before their time. Education was paramount but so was the sense of responsibility towards family. Their youth was spent juggling duties, personal ambitions and collective responsibilities. The folklore of people studying under candles and streetlights, in distant villages in the India of 1940s and ‘50s, to win over their circumstances with a smile and no complaints, was true here as well.

In all this, he could neither afford nor focus on his wardrobe choices. But it was still something to worry about, especially, because he was in a public profession. He chose white because he could repeat the same clothes without being noticed. The pretense and perception of well-being was significant, even then. In those days, my mother often recalled, my Nana probably had only 2 pairs of white clothes that he wore till he could.

The years of scarcity made way for a lifetime of prosperity for both the brothers. My Nana earned his Masters and Law degrees, and worked quite literally till he was conscious, while his brother went on to have an illustrious career in the US with a Doctorate in Chemistry and served as a professor at University of Florida. But the impact of those formative years remained, and both willingly followed a simple lifestyle.

The colors of the lives that followed, never overshadowed the White that had defined his roots. Men like him, truly deserve to be called, the Sons of Soil!

His white clothes were not only a reflection of his resolve and simplicity but also told the tales of a generation’s sacrifices and resolve in the face of adversities. It is them who built this nation. It is their values that we all take pride in calling “Indian family values”.

They sowed what we reap, and that is a lesson I never forget.

Epilogue

My grandfather passed away last year. Over the past year, my family and I, have talked in detail about his life and legacy. But the fundamental shortcoming of reminiscing and discussing one's legacy is that it starts from the point of them passing away. We tend to gravitate towards the world that they left behind more than the memories they created on the way!  Thus, the beautiful intricacies of their life often go unnoticed.

So, to honor his life, over the course of next few weeks, I would be posting short anecdotes signifying how I would like him to be remembered.

While these stories are personal and unique, I am sure they would resonate with a larger audience. The emotions, experiences and challenges of the Greatest Indian Generation inspire us all and we grew up listening to them. It is, therefore, my sincere hope that in the life of my grandfather, my readers would find the stories of the great patriarchs and matriarchs of their homes too.

Read Part I Here

The Undefeated: A Life Worth Writing About - Part I

The Undefeated

His walk had the enthusiasm and exuberance, uncharacteristic for an Intensive Care Unit (I.C.U). At least it felt so to the two sets of eyes that looked at him when he entered the room. Strangers walking in and out of a room in a hospital is not unusual, but his gait seemed to have disturbed the monotony that had defined the past 2.5 months for these women.

Therefore, he was received with more irritation than skepticism. Brief introductions ensued and the young man continued towards the bed.

An old and frail man laid there. Unconscious.

They could sense the familiar unease in him, that every visitor had shown, in the months gone by. Reactions of disbelief, shock, trauma and grief had become commonplace.

This could not have happened to “Him”.  “He” was indestructible, and the laws of Nature were not supposed to get to him!

The young man, initially perturbed at finding him in this situation, steadied himself and addressed the ladies.

“I am one of His assistants and was fighting a case on His behalf in the State High Court. He prepared the whole case and trained us for every eventuality. Even though he was not present at the hearings, it seemed he had played it in his mind, all along.”

He paused, looked at Him again, smiled and continued.

“And WE WON!”

The case hearing had been recorded and he had come a long way to play that for Him. He put the headphones on Him and played the recording from his phone.

His face beamed; His fist unclenched; His fingers moved; He may also have smiled a little.

And just like that, He – Advocate Shri Pratap Chandra Mathur – my grandfather – my dear Nana, while in a coma, registered another win in his name.

Till the end, he remained undefeated.

Life 1: Death 0

                            

Epilogue

My grandfather passed away earlier this year. Today, December 27th, is his birthday. Over the past year, my family and I, have talked in detail about his life and legacy. But the fundamental shortcoming of reminiscing and discussing one's legacy is that it starts from the point of them passing away. We tend to gravitate towards the world that they left behind more than the memories they created on the way!  Thus, the beautiful intricacies of their life often go unnoticed.

So, to honor his life, over the course of next few weeks, I would be posting short anecdotes signifying how I would like him to be remembered.

While these stories are personal and unique, I am sure they would resonate with a larger audience. The emotions, experiences and challenges of the Greatest Indian Generation inspire us all and we grew up listening to them. It is, therefore, my sincere hope that in the life of my grandfather, my readers would find the stories of the great patriarchs and matriarchs of their homes too. 

The Fathers Who Raised Us

A dedication to the fathers who raised grateful kids and build proud families. In memory of the inspirational patriarchs, weight of whose gratitude, we realize every single day!
Happy Fathers Day

Prologue

We tend to look at our childhoods from our mother’s eyes. For most of us, the attachment to the Creator comes naturally, while it needs a certain amount of growing up to really appreciate the role of our other half!

But if you grew up in the India of the 80s and the 90s, that gratitude also comes bearing the realization of how much times have changed, for the better, of course.

I am going to make a few generalizations, based on my knowledge, experiences and interpretations. Barring a few specifics, I would expect them to be applicable to vast majority of Indian middle-class households.

“The complicated joy of being a father, is traveling two roads every moment-both looking forward as I watch him grow up while glancing backward at the boy I once was.”

An Indian father in those decades, was a young man caught between two ideas of India. One was that of his parents- who had seen and overcome times of national insufficiencies that had made them naturally circumspect. The other, was his own, in which he, along with his generation, envisioned breaking the socialistic cocoon of post-colonial India and dream bigger than his parents ever did.

In a few years, in the new millennium, this man, now a father of teens, was about to be introduced to another India – global, rootless, loud, brash, brave and uncompromising. Imagine keeping up with the times when the world changes around you, so dramatically, and so many times, in a span of one-half lifetime! The paradox is akin to enjoying the calmness of Sunil Gavaskar bat for 5 days, with Kishor Kumar playing in the background, immediately followed by the shock and awe of watching an IPL Super Over to the blasting tunes of YoYo Honey Singh!

Add to this, the responsibilities of raising self-sufficient kids, building proud families, keeping up and passing on parents’ traditions, maintaining a social standing and making a professional career amongst all, and we may start to see your fathers in a new light.

The illusion of joint-families was still going strong when men of this generation became fathers. If we ever found them lacking in expressions, especially of love and affection, this was a major reason. It was not the norm to spend an entire evening with just your wife and kids; one had to pencil in time for parents and social discourse. It was also unusual to buy presents for just your children, and often, you had to entertain the other kids in the house too! And remember, the circumspect parents are still very much a part of their daily lives. So, spending money for pleasure of any kind, was frowned upon, and often loudly so.

Another aspect of parenting that often goes unnoticed is, professional lives. These men were fathers in a pre-open market and sixth pay commission era. Their monthly salaries were a mediocre 4-digits, part of which, once again, went towards joint families’ expenditures. But we still got toys, didn’t we? Also, new bags, shoes, water bottles and stationery, each school year. And somehow, there was still money left for Mathematics tuition, if needed! Thinking of your father as a magician, yet?

But finance was not the only aspect. If your fondest childhood memories of home, are with the women of your household, there was a good reason for it.  This was also a time when jobs, private or government, did not acknowledge the significance of fatherhood. Hence, there were no provisions for paternity leave, family leave or work from home. The only savior were the LTCs (leave travel concession) offered by a few employers, mostly banks, for paid family vacations. Of course, only annually though!

That generation chose jobs over careers for the most part. Partly because, their elders, belonged to a guarded society often seeking stability over ambition and they passed on that wisdom. But also, because now, as fathers and parents, they sought the same stability for their children. Hence, a transfer, even the ones that were byproducts of promotions, were perceived as the biggest career challenge, especially in the middle of a school year. A job switch was a strict no-no!

Another lesser appreciated factor is language. This generation was mostly taught in vernacular but were forced to make careers in English. They then raised a generation obsessed with, and often judgmental about, English. Once again, they found themselves caught between changing times, trying to impress their parents, peers and children, all at the same time!

Epilogue

The Indian millennial (born after 1982) fathers have the luxury of being focused on just a few things in life. Make no mistake in appreciating how this generation is changing the course of Indian history by being resolute, industrious and unbelievably aspirational. But their liberties as parents cannot be understated. The MNCs ensure that they now have both money and time to start and raise a family. Society in its traditional form does not exist anymore. Hence, the norms, expectations and obligations that it brought along, have greatly been reduced as well. The biggest factor of all, though, is parental support. Most couples now, cannot imagine starting a family, without foreseeing uprooting their parents for months at stretch, to help with the babies.  

The challenges of our fathers were not limited to their younger days. The battle is still on. Now in their sixties and seventies, they are still trying every bit to be better in their new roles- as grandparents! Trying to be more involved, more understanding, less overbearing and sharing the burden (joy!) of raising families of their children. The modern life now demands of them to be tech savvy as well.  And, boy, are they winning on that front, or what!

The doggedness, adaptation and prioritization of our fathers is something to be inspired by. Their ability to learn new things and explore new places while of reminiscing the bygone era, is astonishing.

While Mothers make homes, Fathers build families. It is in their eyes, where we celebrate our successes and mourn our losses, the most. It is the reassurance of having those eyes watching us forever, cautioning us on every step and cheering for us when no one else would, that saves us from ourselves.

May they always watch over us! Like my favorite photo below! 

Amen!   

A Blogger's Motivation

Prologue

#Bloggers are simply complicated! Yes, figure that one out.

Writing completes us. Yet, we find a million reasons of not being regular at it!

Social media recognition charms us. Yet, we cite this as our most common distraction preventing us from doing the very blogging that gave us the recognition in the first place.

We are intellectual but conflicted; social but aloof; creative but easily sidetracked and enthusiastic but cynical!

We are unique, in every sense of the word, aren’t we! 

Bloggers, however, always strive for motivation, which comes in all shapes, sizes and forms.

The Story

#Blogchatter has been a reliable source for a healthy dose of motivation all year long. From weekly doses of #MondayMotivation and Twitter chat, to annual blogging festivals like #AtoZChallenge and E-Book Carnival, Blogchatter has been instrumental in providing the Indian bloggers with plenty of opportunities to find their groove and stay inspired.

With #BlogchatterProjects, last year, the good folks at Blogchatter, served an excellent campaign for bloggers of all genres, styles, interests and preferences. It was aptly called projects because, like a well-executed professional project, it applied the “horses-for-courses” approach. While the freedom of choosing topic, designing campaign and committing to blog only four times a month, made sure that all the creative faculties of authors were satisfied, Blogchatter itself took care of the promotion and strategy.

The project approach worked perfectly for me as I often find the balancing act of creating content and promoting it, much harder than my peers. This shared approach took that burden off me and let me venture into writing for a genre that I had never explored before.

I had always been interested in leadership, management and personal development. I had undergone professional trainings to hone these skills and was motivated to share them further. I chose “Leadership Lessons from Everyday Life” as my project topic and decided to share my views and learnings. I also challenged myself by sharing these posts on LinkedIn and amongst my professional network, thus, taking my blogging to the next level. This was the second time in one year that I had been motivated to do so. Earlier the E-Book Carnival had inspired me to share my work with my parents and family for the first time in 8 years of blogging.

The results were amazing! The idea of choosing a specific #hashtag for every campaign let us track our progress and that itself was an unbelievable experience. I used #WritefullyYours for the blog and #LeadNow and #LeadershipNow for my posts for the campaign.

In the first week of the campaign, I wrote about “Leadership Lessons in Everyday Life” and #LeadershipNow reached over 78,000 people with 213,000 impressions. The hashtag #WritefullyYours reached about 67,000 with 194,000 impressions.

 

 

My next post – “Growing Old vs Growing Up – The Need for New Leaders” was also hugely successful with the hashtags #LeadNow and #WritefullyYours reaching over 55,000 people with over 80,000 impressions.

 

 

But the most heartwarming reward was to be top post on #Indiblogger. I had been blogger for 8 years, and among my many rewards, being a top voted post on Indiblogger was always lacking. With #BlogchatterProjects, I achieved that twice in a row!

 

 

Reminiscing the projects would be incomplete without mentioning the connections that I built in those 4 weeks with the fellow project participants. The variety of topics and the diversity of candidates was astonishing. It was both humbling and inspiring to see the sheer talent in the mix. To name only a few, we had @arvjpr documenting Jaipur in photographs, @SKparenting blogging about kids’ #STEM skills development, @ranveer_78 trying to make #PoetryPositive, @PiyushaVir giving tips on how to become a writer, @ravishmani giving people opportunities to feature in a book by sharing their stories, and one of my personal favorites, @nehatambe interviewing people following alternative careers! Yours truly featured in one of the posts by her on Food Science, that I guest wrote in an interview format. I later was into another LinkedIn post.

Epilogue

Blogchatter Projects was a campaign that made me grow as a writer. I could reach the avenues that I did not know existed by writing on topics I never even considered writing on! Talk about next level!

Blogging is a professional hobby. Yes, figure that one out too! But its so, isn’t it? It takes passion, effort, networking and, every now and then, re-inventing! This campaign gave all of the opportunity to be all of that and more.

It was a great idea and I eagerly await Season 2!

Bring it on, bloggers!

Register for Season Two of #BlogchatterProjects here -> Link
 

 

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Featured Posts

“Leadership Lessons in Everyday Life”

“Growing Old vs Growing Up – The Need for New Leaders”

Introduction to Food Science as a Career Option

 

Growing Old vs Growing Up - The Need for New Leaders! #BlogchatterProjects #LeadNow

Source: Google Images

 

A funnier way to wish someone on their birthday is to tell them that growing old is compulsory but growing up is a choice! The implication being, while one cannot prevent aging, getting expectedly mature with that age, is an individual choice. Corporations work in a similar way where the age is often used as a justification to resist change in the status quo. Thus, a refusal to mature with time and not welcoming new leadership, is commonplace. In my opinion, if you spared a dollar, each time you heard - “that is how it has always been done, here!” -  you would be very rich, very soon!

The credibility that comes with the age of a company, is unparalleled and much respected. It is also one of the biggest contributors to its brand value. However, just as in our lives, age is nothing more than a proof of survival. While survival indicates fortitude and endurance, it neither tells the story of the state of management (akin to “quality” of life) nor is it an omen of things to come, pertaining to the health of the company.

This is an important distinction for young leaders to understand as, both the lure and the ease, of falling for the status quo, could be dangerous. Add to it, the resistance, and despite of all good intentions, this could be an uphill battle for a young professional.

Source: Google Images

 

How does this translate for a young professional?

Show up and start small!  Yes, it could, and probably should, be that simple.

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle

Leadership does not begin with titles. Anyone who can take upon the onus of inspiring others whilst developing a strategic plan with a long - term view, could be a leader. What they need to recognize is their circle of influence. Stephen R. Covey, in his famous book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, simply defines circle of influence as the things one has control over. Very often, we lose energy and time, focusing on factors outside of this circle (known as circle of concern) and thus, never realize the individual impact of our working style. In this circle, you must encourage, influence, gauge, and lead with vision and strategy.

For young professionals, leadership begins with effective project management. Even if you are in-charge of only one project, you can be a leader in that by focusing on the right things. Reassessing your role and responsibilities, with a larger picture and a long-term view, is the first step of being an effective leader and a better employee. Project management across teams, helps in both, understanding the perspective of the company and the opportunities of change.

One of the most significant lessons from project management resides in team building. Having the right people in the right jobs, and entrusting and empowering them, is a virtue that must be realized by all aspiring leaders. Project Management is demonstration of team work and a good leader is an integrator of people. To make people feel listened to, understanding their perspective and to get their point across others, on their behalf, are all seemingly obvious, but surprisingly rare qualities. The ones who can hone in on these small things, can make up for great leaders of the future.

“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.”  - Ann Landers

Changing the mold of status quo is a gradual process. It probably would start with a small group and a project with limited scope. But it is the skills that you display and develop in the process, that would account for greater successes. Make best of such opportunities early in your career to develop interpersonal and leadership skills.


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Read the first part of the #LeadNow series here:-
http://www.prateek-mathur.com/2017/12/leadershiplessons.html

 

#Leadership Lessons in Everyday Life - #LeadNow #BlogchatterProjects

Leadership is probably one of the best explained, yet one of the least defined, of all the corporate strategies. I would extend this to personal lives as well where the need and definition of a leader and leadership are constantly discussed but seldom elucidated.

Why is it so?

In my opinion, the first and the foremost reason for this is the fact that leadership is often viewed as a natural trait rather than a skill that can be instilled. It is often suggested that either someone is a born leader or not. The ones who believe they are not, become followers by default.

The second reason is simply the nature of the skill itself. Every leader has a unique style and philosophy and hence, the definition of leadership, often, varies.

While both aforementioned points hold true, they do not present the complete picture. Certain fields like sports, the armed forces and politics, are fertile grounds for natural leaders who possess the innate ability to revolutionize the status quo. However, in all other professions, and in our personal lives, this trait should be nurtured and progressed.

What is the need for someone to be a leader?

Data suggests that, currently, more than 50% of the world’s population is under the age of 30. We live in the time when all aspects of our lives are dominated by this group and it is clearly illustrated by the ever-evolving daily means and norms. With changing times, the leaders, the led and the leadership would evolve as well. The world order is changing, and this is the time to emerge and lead.

On the personal front, the need for leadership is more consistent and perennial. Only when one learns to recognize the moments to lead, that they get to take charge and live a life where circumstances do not get overwhelming and they emerge unfazed. Personal leadership also teaches mindfulness, enhances empathy and widens world view.

What is this series of write-ups about?

I firmly believe that leadership can be inculcated in committed individuals. Its seeds can be sown simply by helping them recognize the small things that account for big successes. From captains motivating their teams to strive for greatness to First Responders rallying strangers in time of a crisis, there are stories, role models and lessons of leadership in our daily lives.  Through this series of posts, I would like to share views and experiences, seek opinions and build a mutually fruitful dialogue about recognizing pivotal moments and lessons crucial for development of this skill.

The posts would be available on my personal blog for the #BlogchatterProjects campaign. I would also be sharing the same on my personal LinkedIn page. Follow the hashtag #LeadershipNow  on social media to stay abreast with the campaign.

Let’s begin the conversation.

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We Have Been Independent; Now, Let's Be Free !

Pic Courtesy: India Today

It is that time of the year again when patriotism runs high and hypocrisy runs higher among Indians. The expression of hyper nationalism, exactly and only, twice a year, desecrates the celebrations of August 15^th or January 26^th. Social media takes this hysteria to new levels every year, when sharing misquoted, misspelled, and often untrue, quotes by famous and dead personalities and uploading photos with or of the tricolor becomes a 12 hour rage.

Such is the window of this patriotism that if you have not changed your display picture or shared a patriotic message between 7 AM and 10 PM on these days, you better be ready to be labeled nothing less than a traitor, anti-national and, especially reserved for people of a certain religion, terrorists!

There is nothing inherently wrong about celebrating national pride and wearing patriotism as a badge of honor. But to do so without introspection- a conversation even- is as hollow as the promises made by the people unfurling the tricolor at the Red Fort. 

Independence, in a political context, is nothing but self governance. While irrespective of the time passed, this remains the crowning jewel in the proverbial crown of any nation; it is bound to lose its relevance if it is not put in context.

Freedom is the metrics that puts independence in context and gives it a perspective.

Freedom is – “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another”.

We have been independent for 70 years, but are we free? Do we have freedom of thought, expression, lifestyle and protest?

On surface, all these answers would seem positive. But we need to look deeper.
(Click on the links below for reference news items)

• If you do not believe in questioning your government’s actions or motives, you are not free.
• If you equate being an informed and inquisitive electorate to being a roadblock in the government’s way, you are not free.
• If you do not realize that greater the majority, greater should be the accountability, you are not free.
• If you let your press get away by being the mouthpieces of politicians, you are not free. (Also, this)
• If you let people sway you by rhetoric without proof, you are not free.
• If you are not raged by the government’s attempts to edit history to suit its narrative, you are not free.
• If you normalize tragedies and take “this has happened before” as an acceptable excuse, you are not free.
• If you are still voting your caste or religion, you are not free.
• If your first reaction to every tragedy is to see who is in power at that place, you are not free.
• If you are alright with censorship of ideas and expression, you are not free.
• If you condone differences in rights of citizens of your nation, based on caste, sex, religion, or sexual orientation, you are not free. (Also, this)
• If you trust every piece of propaganda news thatcomes your way, via text messages or social media posts, without as much as “Googling” it, you are not free.
• If you feel it is your duty to defend the people you voted for, no matter what, you are not free.

We have celebrated many Independence Days before and we would continue to do so because of the brave men and women who defend us and our borders. Our freedom is, however, our responsibility. One can only be free if there is will to be so. We are fortunate to be a part of a country that has a constitutional framework that lets us be freer every day. This is not about starting a revolution but about the desire of being more informed.

Accepting the status quo is not making us better and we must live in a dynamic state of getting informed and questioning further. The real celebration of our Independence would be making this Motherland richer by being a worthy electorate.

All you have to do is ask questions and seek answers!

Let freedom be upon you!

#BookReview - "Dark Poetry" by Ishieta Chopra - #BlogchatterEbook

#EBook #FreeDownload at http://bit.ly/2uLLMtg

About the Author

Ishieta Chopra, a practicing Numerologist, Tarot Reader & Reiki Healer & Master, she has set up Isheeria’s Healing Circles to help people Learn, Heal & (Re) Design their lives through the Esoteric Arts and Healing Methods such as: Numerology, Astrology, Feng Shui & Tarot Readings, Reiki and various other Healing Methods. A Life-long learner, she is an MBA (Marketing & Finance) and currently a student of Law, with over 17 years of professional corporate experience and finds her true calling in the Esoteric Arts and Writing.

She writes at www.isheeriashealingcircles.com

Book Blurb

“Dark Poetry” is Ishieta’s second #ebook in the #BlogchatterEbookCarnival, along with “A to Z of Healing”. Her range as a writer is best evidenced by how different these books are from each other. “Dark Poetry” is a unique compilation of 26 poems written as a part of #AtoZ Challenge in April 2017. It includes one poem, the length of which I would classify as #micropoetry, for every letter, encompassing one deep and dark human emotion.

About the Book

One of the first thing that struck me with this book was its cover. Adorning the mystical cover is “Pegasus”, the majestic flying White Horse from the Greek mythology, riding the ocean. The cover is intriguing and invites the reader to explore the dark yet beautiful and unique work of the poetess. The poems are hard hitting and appeal to the deepest of human emotions. Alternately, they also uncover the darker sides of storytelling. It is unusual to find poems with the titles such as Corpse, Dancing Death, Echo and Jail which are 4 of my favorite poems in this book. This unfamiliarity is the biggest USP of this book as the reader gets one unexpected work after the other.
#AtoZ challenges can be tiresome for both the writer and the reader. I felt that in parts in this book as some of the topics seemed repetitive and the poet seemed limited by the theme of writing for a new letter every day.
Barring a few, however, I enjoyed all the poems in this book and would recommend this book as the change you might be looking for.

Rating

Cover – 5/5

Formatting and Editing – 4.5/5

Content – 3.5/5

Overall – 3.5/5

 Download this #ebook for #free at @blogchatter's website at http://bit.ly/2uLLMtg

#GuestPost - The Story Behind "Cantilevered Tales" by Jayant Kriplani

The Story Behind Cantilevered Tales

Why Jayant Kripalani wrote this book?

Why did I start writing this set of short stories that became one long story? I don’t really know.

I was on way my back from somewhere by train and at Howrah Station a group of taxi drivers tried to extort a higher fare from me.  This was before the time of pre paid taxi booths.  Rather than shell out five times the fare I thought I’d take a bus. It was peak hour in the morning and though I did get a seat since the bus started from there, I hadn’t calculated the length of time I’d be sitting in the bus on the bridge. Forty five minutes of inching along later I heard a voice behind me say, “AitakiHaora Bridge na Laora Bridge?”

I knew exactly what he meant.

I knew then that I had the beginning of a story.

“Where are you getting off?” I turned around and asked.

“High Court,” he replied.

By now we had reached the East end of the bridge. It still looked like we’d be on the bus for another 45 minutes.

“Walk?” I asked him.

“Let’s,” he said.

And that as they say was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

His name was Khokon. He lived in Santragachhi. And because of that immortal first line, I called the protagonist of my story Khokon. In the book though, the line belongs to his colleague Ashutosh.

Some time later, I overheard a group of people talking about saving a water body from some unscrupulous builder. ArunLal the cricket player might have been a part of the group but I’m not sure.  I started keeping tabs on them. Not because I was interested in saving the environment or even that small little lake.

I am not a crusader. I hate getting involved with issues.

But if you live in Calcutta, even for a short while, trust me, you’ll get involved.

More power to the builder I thought after I first saw the lake if you can call brackish acres of sludge a lake.

What did interest me were the disparate lot of people, and some desperate ones among them, who were determined they were going to save a stagnant water body from becoming an office complex.Frankly in my opinion that lake had outlived its usefulness to be anything at all.

 I didn’t give a damn what happened to the lake.

But over a period of time I did start worrying about the people. And of course fell hopelessly in love with them. Their wellbeing and their good health became a matter of great concern to me especially since I saw the array of ‘villains’ lined up against them.

So rather than concentrate on Builder v Helpless Citizen – enough stories had been written about them, I concentrated on their stories and their histories.

This is their story or should I say these are their stories.  Some of the people are real; some of the people who come to their assistance are thinly disguised caricatures of people I admire; some are just people I met on buses and trams in my journeys across the bridge who wormed their way into the book.

 And that is how this book got wrote.

Book Blurb

 CANTILEVERED TALES IS A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE, THEIR QUIRKS AND WHY THEY BECOME WHO THEY BECOME. AND LOTS OF LAUGHTER!

I overheard a group of people talking about saving a water body from some unscrupulous builder and started keeping tabs on them. Not because I was interested in saving the environment or even that small little lake. What did interest me were the disparate lot of people, and some desperate ones among them, who were determined that they were going to save a stagnant water body, which in my opinion had outlived its usefulness as anything at all, from becoming an office complex.

 This is NOT a Builder v Helpless citizen epic. In fact that is the least important part of the book. This is about a group of inept people who you want to reach out and protect but you discover are more than capable of taking care of not just themselves, but of you too.

Author Bio

Jayant Kripalani is an Indian film, television and stage actor, writer and director. Known for his work in TV series like Khandaan, Mr Ya Mrs and Ji Mantriji, he graduated

from Jadavpur University with a degree in English Literature.

He has played character roles in movies like Heat and Dust, Rockford,

Jaane Tu. . .Ya Jaane Na, 3 Idiots and, most recently, Hawaizaade and The Hunger. He has directed and produced a number of films and is actively involved with theatre. He wrote the screenplay for Shyam Benegal’s film Well Done Abba.

He is the author of the heartwarming and nostalgic New Market Tales, set in the historic New Market area of Kolkata in the 1960s and 1970s. His recent foray into writing performance poetry has brought him acclaim in poetic circles around the country. When he is not in Calcutta, he is either fishing in Himachal, pfaffing in Bombay or being a beach bum in Goa.