Bangalore life/blogathon/Photography/Thoughts

eXperiments

Posted on by Archana K B / 3 Comments

#atozchallenge alphabet X archanaonline.com

This week, we finally took a plunge.

An unpacked new OTG(Oven Toaster Grill) box is staring at me in the hall as I write this post. In most of the blogs I stumble across, I have seen many references to baking, as a skill or as a hobby. To pacify my creative side, I tend to do try such things at least once. So this week, the Google and Evernote will work harder to give me streamlined baking recipes. Though I have a sweet tooth, the main intention is to create one-pot dinners and snacks to save my time!!!

Since, this week also marks the end of the A to Z challenge, I am thinking of next set of experiments to keep my momentum. This would be the second blogathon I attempted this year, the first one being in January. And I realize “free-writing” is the genre I would really love to focus on this blog. And occasionally, the spread of 55-fictions and long descriptive stories. Yes, I could get hold of one category I love through these writing experiments.

Now, its been a long time, that I wanted to do a photography based challenge. From the time I had been active on Flickr after the photography classes, I had stumbled on many challenges on photography too. I am more inclined towards the phoneography, since its more practical with a toddler around, and with the plenty of instant effect/photo editing apps available in the store. But instead of the popular iPhone, it would be with a Nokia Lumia 520.

What say. which challenge are you gearing up next?

blogathon/Internet/Links/Thoughts

Small Whispers

Posted on by Archana K B / 2 Comments

#atozchallenge alphabet W archanaonline.com

For the letter W, I had the story theme “Waiting” in my mind. I tried to do a story based in Venice or London, where the main lead is waiting at the same place for the partner, recollecting all the moments they cherished. That would have been a sad or poignant theme. But over the weekend, I was in a happy mood, which is not that common, and so did not wanted to get into the sadness mood, to dug out the words.

Then there was the theme or writing itself, and my thoughts on it. I thought I could shower some blog love on Write Tribe community and other bloggers, but that would be repetitive and very common topic.

And then I chanced upon the whispers. The verb, noun and the product.

Long back when we were asked to write inspirational post on Women’s Day, I had encountered on an article about Murugananthan and his business story of creating sanitary napkins.

That would be one of the basic inspirational steps towards woman empowerment. India as a country may boast of the metro cities, the culture, the religions, and the history, but the sad plight of women living in the villages, who still doesn’t have enough amenities, is something we need to be bothered about.

This article from Menstrupedia, yet again shows how modern and new people are yet to embrace the topic more freely, just like other so-called taboos like sex. (Did you saw the Ranveer Singh ad?)

The steps surely leads to a better future…

blogathon/Stories/Thoughts

The perfect vacation

Posted on by Archana K B / 11 Comments

#atozchallenge archanaonline.com alphabet V

The clear memory of the moments spent with him on that fateful night on the beach shack tingled her senses and sent waves in her body.
Similar waves which crawled upon the sand to touch their feet, as their feelings and the relationship slowly took a different direction over the conversation.

vacation five-sentence-fiction

Unable to resist, she called him up again to plan for another meeting the coming winter. She smiled to herself, as he revealed how he too was craving to meet her very soon..
She then sat down to chalk out the alibi plans to escape from her husband while she met her lover in the dreamland.

***
Linking this to five-sentence-fiction prompt by Lillie McFerrin.
five sentence fiction

blogathon/Stories

The Blue Umbrella

Posted on by Archana K B / 6 Comments

#atozchallenge archanaonline.com alphabet U

She always carried a blue umbrella. It was a lovely shade of memorable blue resembling the clear sky…

Clad in black purdah from top to bottom, revealing only the black staring eyes which spoke to me, she passed by everyday, while we boys sat on the wall, ogling the girls.
She was my first crush!

55 fiction badge

PS: Inspired by the bollywood movie name, The blue umbrella. There is also another animated film with the same name released in 2013 under Pixar Studios.

blogathon/Stories

Playing with Time

Posted on by Archana K B / 9 Comments

#atozchallenge alphabet T archanaonline.com

It was a fine summer evening. We had just came back home from the park. The little one was so hungry that I had to give in to her demand for cream biscuits.

She sat comfortably in the sofa, with the two biscuits I gave in a bowl, and started working on it. She slowly pulled them open, and licked the cream off. Then she returned them back to me after the cream got over.

“No dear, you need to finish the biscuit too. ”
“But I don’t want it, ma”

“If you want the cream next time, you need to finish the non cream biscuit too”
She started munching on it hesitantly.

I explained to her in an attempt to make her happy.
“You know, When I was younger, I used to do the same. Open them and have the cream and biscuits separately. But I kept the cream for the last bites.”
“Why do you keep it for the last?”
“So that I am left with the sweetness in my mouth..”

She started thinking.
“What if someone takes the cream away from you. Or it falls down. Then you won’t be able to eat it na..
And anyways, if you drink water afterwards, the sweetness will go amma…”.

That was profound.

“Hmm.. Have it your way then, but do finish the biscuits in full. You should not waste food.” I was happy to get the ball back in my court, but the few moments in between kept me thinking.

What about that old saying by Aristotle, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is always sweet”. Maybe it doesn’t apply to the games played with time, especially in the matters of life…

blogathon/Thoughts

Concept of Spirits

Posted on by Archana K B / 2 Comments

#atozchallenge alphabet S archanaonline.com

There was a time when I was confused with the religious beliefs and presence of God and their need in our day to day life. I was religious, and still am. But the way I conceive all these things in my mind has changed. Is that what they call personal growth? I believe so. Where the state of mind is able to grasp all the various confusions and pacify itself with its own understanding. This sounds so spiritual, though I am not spiritual completely.

Following the Reiki episode, I went on to read the famous book on reincarnation, “Many lives, Many Masters” by Dr. Brian Weiss. And below are the points which came to my mind about the book.

– supposed to be a true story, hence cannot complain on the clarity and the continuity
– feels more like concentrating on the Masters messages rather than how Catherine gets rid of fears.
– supports the theory of Reiki and other Spirits, which enables us to understand some correlation in how people see ghosts or spirits, the communication with those spirits, as in films.
– explains many para psychic capabilities seen in human beings; establishes there are different senses indeed
– mostly conveys the message preached in religious teachings, like karma
– so many levels and planes, – conscious, unconscious, sub conscious, super-conscious minds
– reinforces the will power – ability to come back in life, get well on own etc
– some past lives visited again and again but different scenes
– no rebirth in form of animals depicted. The past lives are reported only as humans.
– always appears as servant or doing good deeds. She never becomes “villian” or the bad character in any lifetime.
– only few people from present life is visible in past lives, not all
– unable to comprehend how names and years are able to recollect
– no facts are presented which shows the events match with history.. based on the environment of the year or some other person’s lifetime etc.. It seems the soulmates book by the same author shows some relevant information in this regard

The concept of spirits and soul is sometimes very soothing and refreshing among the complications of various era, the various religions, caste and gender. Its like explaining the theme of a novel in two three lines. The questions may do remain still, but they are little different from the questions which I asked myself previously. That’s a sure sign of growth.

Quoting from this blog,
Change is the only thing constant, and growth is the only purpose.