Thoughts

Gearing up for the last quarter

Posted on by Archana K B / 0 Comment

Three more months to go. For the year to end. I had made up several goals in the beginning of the year, but the round up will have to wait.

For now, my mind is buzzing with the variety of challenges this month. Several bloggers are gearing up for monthly challenges in October and I am so tempted.I am already doing #100happydays in instagram, which is logged using tumblr.

The #fmsphotoaday photo challenge by Fat Mum Slim seems very easy especially since its just a matter of taking a photo in any form. The prompts are very easy this time, the alphabet game. Along with it, I wonder whether to add my own twist of taking photo of either something that starts with the alphabets or something that represents pictorially the alphabets themselves. As if showing the alphabets in pictures.

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That would be interesting, right? I have seen them in some of the Flickr games.

And then there is the five minute friday for 31 days continuous. Daily blogging would be over in five minutes flat. Like this. Sounds easy right?

So ready to jump?

books/Reviews

The Helpline by Uday Mane

Posted on by Archana K B / 0 Comment

HelplineBanner

The Blurb

Samir is suicidal. Rachael works for a suicide helpline. Fate connects them through a phone call. And so begins Samir’s story of love, longing, errors, regret and a girl who changed his life. As his story reaches its conclusion, Rachael will know the true reason behind his suicidal tendencies. But this suicide helpline is not any ordinary service. There is more to the mysterious and yet so convincing voice of Rachael. As this new mystery begins to unfold, Samir is going to discover three things:

What is The Helpline?
Who is Rachael?
What is Samir’s own identity?

Every year, several teenagers in India attempt suicide because of failing relationships, dwindling careers, parental pressure or the competitive world.
This story is about one such teenager, his early problems and the hurdles to cope with them.
This story is about finding hope in the struggle.
This story is about fighting for what you believe in and discovering your true identity.
This is not a story about falling in love.
This is a story of rising from a failed love story.

Meet the Author

Uday Mane was born in Pune and raised in Mumbai. He works as a marketing professional during the day and a storyteller during the night. He is an avid reader, and loves to collect classic books.

The Helpline is his debut novel that was launched in March 2014 at the hands of Padma Shri Paresh Rawal.

Stalk him @ Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

My Review:

I loved the way the love story between Riya and Samir developed, focussing on the pure love feeling, rather than the intimacy and physical attraction of teenagers as in many other novels. The build up of the refreshing love story was very casual and slow enough or rather step by step. The complexity of a disabled child with Downs Syndrome, and how positively they treat this child in between their feelings of love, and his role in keeping them together is beautifully etched. The small details described in a poetic way, be it Riya’s dreams, Samir’s hesitation, and the involvement of Nana in their lives, all added to the script and did not seem much boring. The writer has great potential, and it shows in the plot. While the character Rajesh, and his usage of swearing may put you off, his story on the harsh reality of life and his raw speech has lots of truth in it. The bonus point of the book is that you get two beautiful and memorable sweet short stories incorporated into it to show that the protagonist is a writer. I also loved the friendship between Samir and Neha. Some friendships really can pull you up from the well.

The twist regarding the helpline was unwarranted and seemed unnecessary. There were some printing mistakes like misplaced words which can irritate the grammar-oriented readers.

I do not care much about the book cover, because I normally go by the blurb rather than the cover. Here the blurb focusses more on the suicidal tendencies and the helpline, rather than the love story and other personal struggles which forms the bulk of the book, which is quite misleading. Nevertheless I am happy that I went with my instinct to have it reviewed by me.

My rating : 3/5

Buy the books at Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Flipkart

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Bangalore life/Personal

Microblog Mondays – 100happydays challenge

Posted on by Archana K B / 10 Comments

Day 3/365 - Ride in the Shopping Cart.. (Explored)

Yesterday, on Sunday, September 21st, I forgot to take a snapshot for the 100 happy days challenge I am doing on instagram and tumblr. Was it because I was not happy the entire day? No. It was because I forgot to think how to frame the moments and feelings which made me happy yesterday. We went together for grocery shopping, and though its a mundane task, but when carried out with family its quite enjoyable. There is a peculiar joy in getting lost among various options at the counters of big supermarkets. You can enjoy the AC, the music, the lights, the offers, the thrill of finding the least priced object One of the happy moments of the day indeed.

Grocery Store Design | Interior Decor Design | Aisle Signage | Market Decor Upgrade

But since I missed posting the photo on the exact day, I technically failed at the challenge.

Nevertheless, I am going to start again, not counting the days, but counting for happy moments in the daily life. I hereby say to myself, its okay to forget taking a picture, if at all I had lived in that moment. This challenge will be helpful to me to retrospect daily for the happy moments, if not at the moment, but at the end of the day or even the next day.

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Linking into #MicroblogMondays at Stirrup Queens.

films/Reviews

Finding Fanny – The search for love

Posted on by Archana K B / 6 Comments

Though I am not a fan of Arjun Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, the inclusion of these commercial actors in the film, “Finding Fanny” along with the senior actors, set the expectations of the film very high. And that was the major disadvantage for such a fresh short film, trying to go commercial.

The reviews were not good, but still the theme sounded promising. A group of five people set on a journey to search for childhood love, Stephanie Fernandes, or for short, Fanny. As expected, the film was not about finding Fanny itself, but rather the journey of finding the love, and how the people find love and other experiences through the journey.

The roles for Savio and Angie depicted were not at all meant for Arjun Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. They did not blend at all in the film. The long love-making scene and the long lingering talking after that, was totally unwanted in the film. If they wanted to show the camaraderie among the friends turning to something else, it could have been portrayed much better.

That being said, the roles of those young people in the film who brings together the other old people together for the journey is apprehensible. They portrayed a young fresh romantic version of love, while older people and their experiences gave more depth and shade to the portrayal of love. The whole film was amalgamation of different shades of love and the associated emotions with a dash of comedy. The characterization of lustful Don Pedro, played by Pankaj Kapur and the quirky innocent Ferdie by Naseeruddin Shah, and the bossy Rosie played by Dimple Kapadia was commendable. The film touched upon philosophically on various feelings of love, like being cheated, or the endless lonely wait for loved ones, the result of greedy lust, importance of trust and friendship in couples, and making an effort to get love.

The film does have the old Goa charm to it, and hence can be watched like taking a mini Goa vacation. But maybe a one-time watch, unlike the real Goa which will leave you wanting for more.

Rating 2/5 !

Quotes

Writing to heal

Posted on by Archana K B / 4 Comments

I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.
? Anne Frank

I started having a journal, inspired by “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, in my high school. I did not understand what she wrote about the governments and the politics, but I did remember, she describing love, and fear of staying under hiding, how she conveyed it all in her little diary. I started doing the same. Hiding the notebook away from my parents and writing secretly.

Till one day I started this blog under a pet name. It had the same feeling of writing letter to faraway pen-friend, though I didn’t had one. It was therapeutic.

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Linking to 100 words on Saturday by Write Tribe.

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