A Pinch of Humour

Meanwhile,  amidst everything serious, and the earth rotating on the axis of Corona, I thought of adding a pinch of humor and wit to our world !

On planet Facebook, some ladies are nonchalantly sharing their "saree clad" pictures. They call it a "challenge".  Really! If that's a challenge, I wonder then how our mothers and grandmothers had been living such challenging lives. They also say, that these pictures are posted to bring smile on their friends' faces in these gloomy times. I awe at how people are doing data entry jobs for free! On a sarcastic note, how do such moronic ideas click to only certain humans. 

Nevertheless, sarcasm is like electricity, half of the country doesn't get it.

Meanwhile, as one of the popular jokes states, people are busy vanishing maida and sooji from the earth, by demonstrating their culinary talent. Opened Whatsapp status this morning to see one of my friends just burped of Biryani, the other posted 5 photos of some ugly looking deep fried snacks and someone just prepared fresh out of oven half baked chocolate cake garnished with Gems.

Looking at the messages on my Whatsapp and Telegram groups, I got a mischievous idea. I clubbed multiple messages together, copied and shuffled them. This created a humorous chain. Read below to gain a smile -

Any good tailor nearby? Hi, we shifted here yesterday, waiting to catch up...

This is ridiculous, some dog pooped in front of the club house?  Please assemble in front of the Club House for flag hoisting.

My son's crocs are missing from the playground. Please suggest some good temples nearby. 

Can someone suggest the nearest gas agency. The flush of my toilet is not working... ?

Someone has parked their car in my parking. Please contact me if someone wants to buy my 2BHK.

The maid Jaymala has not yet arrived. If someone has a spare granite slab, please DM me. 

Please don't feed pigeons in the balcony. The builder has reserved that area for STP.

What are the charges for vegetable chopping every day? It is clearly mentioned in our sale agreement.

I wonder if we are going to emerge alive out of this pandemic. Ever wondered that we never remain satisfied with whatever life gives us. What has come, shall go someday. These times, may be good or bad, your perspective, but shall end someday. And that day, we may miss how staying home was a bliss and not a punishment. Though, a balance is a must, but remember there have been days when we longed for staying back, away from the life's race. 

I read this somewhere, sometime -

वक़्त अच्छा जरुर आता है....

बस कमबख्त वक़्त पर नहीं आता...!!

पल-पल तरसते थे जिस पल के लिए...

वो पल भी आया कुछ पल के लिए...!!

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Your Story...

Each one of us is a walking story. All the stories are entwined with each other. You come across other people's stories for a few chapters. Some rendezvous are brief, some last for chapters. Some chapters are wonderful, some are painful. You will have moments when you just want to turn the pages of certain chapters too fast, and want to read a few of steadily and happily. Some chapters make us cry for weeks, the others fill us with a lifetime of joy. A bad chapter may not be the end of your story. Keep reading!

The beginning of your story is always soothing, carefree! You learn so much about yours and others' stories in the beginning. The words keep pouring in at the beginning of the story. Gradually, you get accustomed to your story. This is how it works. You can't change the end, for it's already engraved in the chapters. You have to soak yourself truly into what you see and feel. Some stories end too soon, whereas some last longer. To make your story famous, you have to read it loud, louder, loudest. Nobody can open a certain page of your life and say they know you. Similarly, you may find someone else's story more interesting and blissful from a distance, you never know what their journey was about!

Moments come and go in the lines of those chapters. Nevertheless, you cannot skip chapters. This is how the circle of life works. You have to read each and every line. You have to meet all the characters. We are villain in someone's story, and angels for the others. Stories keep the earth rotating. Some days there is sunshine, and sometimes just frost spread all over. We have to live it all, for there is no means to jump over to the other chapter. Time goes on at its pace. 

It is you who is living your story. You are the hero in your story, and it is unique in all the ways, just like you. The genre of your story may be humor, adventure, mystery or a history. But it can never be a fiction! Your story can definitely be a legacy for generations to come, if you live it so. You have to leave the traces of your moments to make it an inspiration.

Why not multiply the intensity of happier moments in the pages of your story, and read and re-read it! Heal your bruises and replenish yourself while turning each page of your story.

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कागज़-ए-ख़ाली

मुद्दतों में उठायी कलम हाथों में, 

देख कागज़-ए-ख़ाली हम खो गए,

लफ़्ज़ों के आईने में देख ख़ुदा को,

ख़ुद ही की मौसिकी में मशगूल हो गए,

मन को तराशा बेबाक़ अल्फाज़ो में, 

कांटे भी फूल हो गए,

एक बूंद गिरी स्याही यूँ दवात से,

फिर छिपे सारे राज़ गुफ़्तगू हो गए,

क्यूं ना करें इन पन्नों से बातें,

ये ही है जो रूठा नहीं करते,

स्याही की छाप से जब पन्ना रंग जाता है,

मन से निकला हर लफ़्ज़ कागज़ पर रम जाता है,

बोल उठते हैं शब्द, जब ये कागज़ हवा में फड़फड़ाता है,

इत्मिनान देता है कागज़ का टुकड़ा जब मन भर आता है,

एक कहानी और कहानियों में कई कहानी,

मन की उड़ान की रफ्तार लिख कर है दर्शानी,

दौड़ भाग में रहते व्यस्त करते हर दम काम काज,

छोड़ के ये सब मद मस्त हो जाते हैं आज।

बुनते है आज ग़ज़ल सुहानी या कोई कहानी,

बातें जानी या अनजानी जो है हमें दुनिया को सुनानी।

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फ़ुर्सत

चलिए कागज़ पर कुछ अल्फ़ाज़ लिखते हैं

धरती जो कर रही आराम उस पर साज़ लिखते हैं,

आश्चर्य में पड़ गया विज्ञान,

प्रकृति ने किया वो संग्राम,

आदमी आदमी की मौत का हो रहा कारक है,

घोर कलियुग का ये आग़ाज़ दिखता है,

प्रकृति के प्रक्षालन का ये संयोग सच्चा है,

दूरियां बढ़ने का योग अच्छा है,

देख लो मोबाइल टीवी या अखबार,

प्रवचन का लगा है अम्बार,

हाथ धोएं, किसी को न छुएं, बुखार ना होये,

ख़ुद की बनाई जेल में गुम होये,

जीवन मे नहीं बस सिनेमा, मॉल और पार्टी हॉल,

फुर्सत भरे दिन रात मिलते कहाँ है हाल फिलहाल ,

बच्चों को घर के काम का आनंद सिखलाये,

Playstation और iPad को दूर हटाएं,

क्यूं ना आज अपने शौक फरमाएं,

परिवार में किस्से कहानियों की चौपाल बैठाएं,

अब मौका मिला है तो फायदा उठायें,

कुछ लम्हें अपनों के साथ बिताएं |

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Book Review: The New Rules of Business

Book Name - The New Rules of Business

Author - Rajesh Srivastava

Publication year - 2019

Pages - 326

This book is penned by Rajesh Srivastava who is an IIT and IIM alumnus. The bio of the author is indeed impressive, he has a lot of feathers on his cap. All the knowledge and experience that he has put into the book is amazing. He is an accomplished manager and brand creator.

The book has a very rich content, with each chapter being a different and a new rule of being successful in your business. Each chapter has a guideline presented interestingly, along with real examples and stories. It's not just one story but multiple stories together. Though I am not from a business background, and have received no formal education in business, this book caught my interest. I could think from a consumer perspective and relate to the stories of the businesses. I stand at the other end of the business-consumer flow, but found it all to be captivating. As a customer I never knew how much research and efforts were put in the background to sell a product to me. Moreover, the newer ways of winning customers written in this book are worth knowing and relatable to me now.

The sixteen rules of business are apt and interesting. It helped me dive deeply into what the businesses we admire did to reach where they are. The world is evolving, the customers are changing and hence, to grow a business stale rules may not work. This book gives us a wonderful insight into those rules and ideas.

I am not sure what they teach in MBA programmes worldwide, but definitely can bet that this book sums up such courses practically. This was the first book of its kind that I ever read, but definitely looking forward read more from the author.

I rate this book 4 on 5 and recommend for those who are serious about building and growing their business, and are willing to adapt fresher ways to build it well.

Thanks to Shweta from Glad U Came for sending this book for review. 

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com

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Book Review: How to Be a Likeable Bigot

Book Name - How to Be a Likeable Bigot

Author - Naomi Datta

Publication year - 2019

Pages - 216

Genre - Sarcasm

The book is a collection of essays on vivid topics like workplace, parenthood, technology etc. The satire and humor in the book is exemplary. The essays are highly relatable, neither too lengthy nor too small. The author presents a very witty and bold outlook to something we are or that we come across on a daily basis. What occurs to almost all of us, and is a part and parcel of our existence, generally goes unnoticed. This has been beautifully thought over and captured by the author. This book brings the extra ordinary out of the ordinary!

It is very evident how the amount of patience and iterations on the content eventually got bundled up in the pages of this book. Naomi seems like well read and well referenced author. Lot of knowledge and exposure can only result in such quality content. At the same time, the reader also has to have knowledge to understand the content.

Unlike usual indian authors, Naomi came up with a distinct thought process. She has used good verbiage and vocabulary. The sketches before every chapter are creative and self sufficient to convey the crux of the what you are about to read.

For someone who cannot focus and read through a thick book containing a single story, this book is a right option with separate essays. Each of them are independent of one another and can be read in any order.

The genre is very much relatable to me, not only because each of the chapters is close to my existence, but also because I too write a lot of satirical blog posts on the contemporary world. I also closely observe the regular phenomena and draw my inferences into such satirical write ups. I was actually reading the lines loudly in my mind, with all the pauses and expressions, which made me enjoy this even more!

The content is crisp. You would never be bored of it. Overall it is a refreshing read.

I rate this book 3.5 on 5. I recommend this for those who appreciate and understand satire. Not everyone enjoys being made fun of. This book is not meant for those who read only fiction or philosophy. Consider this as a series of blog posts compiled carefully and presented in a light hearted way.

Thanks to Blogadda for approaching me to review the book.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com

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Life as 30

CAUTION: The content hereafter may damage your optimism, sanity and immaturity.

Today I proudly and successfully complete 3 decades of my life.

I have reached an age where ideally I should not be too excited about my birthday and consider confining myself to my home, avoid birthday wish calls. I must get rid of answering the recurring question on my birthday plans and not to succumb to the pressure of celebrating the day like other homo sapiens !

But it's okay to think adversely and find my ways to be happy :)

I have also reached an age for which they advertise the anti-ageing creams, and when I end up to a beauty store next time, I must apparently pick up an Olay total effects cream, and hair color may be... Despite this, I still get marriage proposals or get called Santoor Mom.

Much has happened and a much is yet to happen. My identity is a married-engineer-working-mom-part-time-writer. Given all my experiences with this planet so far, I have enough Grandma stories to tell to my unborn grandchildren.

My body is ageing, hair fading, dark circles darkening and mental cache filling. I no more "cross the bridges when I come over them". I have to be prepared for that may come over to me.

"पहले मैं होशियार थी इसलिए दुनिया बदलने चली थी, अब मैं समझदार हूँ इसलिए ख़ुद को बदल रही हूँ"

I am permanently unimpressed by a lot of stuff and unaffected by a lot of occurrences. Advices pour in from all directions, but now my brain knows what to absorb and what to reflect.

One bitter truth of life that I learnt is your friends may not stay with you forever, your family shall. The teenage fantasy of "friendships forever" is a forgotten dream now! One gets back to the family over a course of time.

When we were kids, a broken pencil and a lost eraser were enough to call it a bad day. While growing up, life threw challenges called exams and peer pressure. Once you overcome this, you are made to believe that getting into a good Alma mater will make your life better, and that it is the last problem that you shall have on the earth. False. Getting a job happened to be the next great struggle. Next, fight for high packages and better jobs had to be the real and final challenge by the time you turned 25. When thats fixed, a distant cousin's wedding (who later got divorced), had to result into sleepless nights for your parents and eventually happiness-less days for you. Well, looked like marriage was the ultimate solution to all your problems, but then came the demand of having an offspring because you MUST have one, for all obvious reasons. Ahaa, that doesn't bring an end to the life's challenges, but is the advent of it. Every age and phase of life has its own challenges and fun. 30 years are enough to know and learn this.

Despite the ups and downs, leveraging each moment you are breathing and being thankful for all that you have, is the key to a beautiful life.

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Mommyness

Sometimes you look into the mirror and don't recognise the person you see. The tired body, stooping shoulders, greasy hair and a drained mind; the paling skin due to receding hormones and dark circles due to infinite  hours of nursing at nights. Sometimes you feel like you are the only one awake in the world at those odd hours in the night. And then you soothe yourself by saying that there are millions of other moms across the world sailing in the same boat.

There was a time when I was the youngest amongst my team mates in the office, a free bird. I could party anytime, work for long hours and go back home, eat and dive into my books! I often awed at moms around me and wondered on why they were always in a rush, puzzled and weary. I questioned in my mind as to why they left office early, does a child really require that much of maintenance and attention!? I never knew the battles they had already fought even before reaching the workplace in the morning, and that so many others were awaiting them for the later part of the day.

Realising that a tiny human is entirely dependant on you for everything, makes you feel burdened and overwhelmed at the same time, all the time. Holding your pee, you have to be on your toes to provide for the little person, who seems to be growing so slow. There is always a bunch of laundry to be swirled and splashed. The empty tins of baby food asking to be refilled and the stack of soiled diapers waiting to be recycled! The same question that you have to ask yourself every day for the rest of your life is what to cook for dinner. The monotony of life seldom leads to the thought of absconding to my old life, the carefree one. 

They say, "it takes a village to bring up a child" But there ain't always one! Enormous pressure is put on the parents while we try to make up for what entire communities used to provide. Advices keep pouring in. They tend to judge you on why your child is at the care centre and why you do not nurse your baby that often, why is the baby leaner compared to other children of his age and how he could have been plumpier if the quality of your milk was better! You are being held accountable for all that is not happening and all that is happening! And they brutally push you into a guilt ride.

With my child beside me, I open Facebook and see how my girl gang is out on a holiday and how others are out for an adventure trip which I had never been for long. How from being a voracious reader and movie buff , I've turned into someone arranging baby laundry, surfing for baby poop color indications, exploring recipes for a healthy baby and shopping for economic diapers!

"Turn your face to the sun and shadow falls behind you".

A plumpy child is not always a healthy one, but an active one is. Working mom is never a vamp, she is quarreling with the world each day for the baby's bright future. A daycare baby is not to be sympathethized but congratulated for being independent way before his peers.

All my dismay vanishes when I see the little one grinning at me after a tiring day at work, when the baby chirps mummma and phahhapaa (Papa) unexpectedly, when he crawls towards me and smiles for no reason, when he grows a new tooth or makes a new sound, when he clings to me tightly and makes me feel he is elated on me being around him and that he prioritises me over anyone else. All becomes worth it. He will not be a baby forever, and the innocence would fade gradually. The joy that he brings to us is second to none.  My house feels full when he is around. I am sure he too shall be proud of his parents when he grows up.

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Book Review: City of Nine Gates

Book Title: City Of Nine Gates

Author:  Pankaj Rajput

Edition Language: English

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 308

Firstly, a big thanks to Blogadda for sending across the book to me for review.

To begin with, the first thing I loved about the book is the quality of pages and the appealing bright cover.

This book written by Pankaj Rajput is a work of fiction which efficiently merges mythology with philosophy and modernism with spirituality. It is a perfect treat for the mind and a great source of motivation for the conscience. Its a spiritual tale taking you to a dream world.

With meticulous usage of language, following the contemporary style of verbiage and simple dialogues, this book gets a plus. I specially adore the names of the characters like Gyan, Niyati, Vishwas, Buddhi, Manas etc. Unlike commonly used names in other Indian fictions like Raj, Rahul, these names suit well to the intent of the book.

The book takes you to another universe while you are reading it. It keeps you holding throughout. It is like a fairy tale, plotted well. The sequence of events is nice. It feels like the reader is watching a movie!

The protagonist of the book is a millionaire named Gyan, who is an atheist. He is a a naive and young man who after a journey through city of nine gates transforms into a man who is aware of his potential, and above all of himself.

Gyan is an archaeology enthusiast, joins his friend and team in the excavation of a hidden city. On a secret trip to the ruins, Gyan finds the wisest sages at the city entrance and the history of this discovered city from the sages. While he was being awarded the entrepreneur of the year, he ended up reaching to the city of nine gates, following an explosion on the stage itself. I don't want to be a spoiler, so leaving the rest for the reader to experience!

The content of the book clearly depicts that the author has done extensive research and iterations of the content to create the ultimate piece of work that he has done. The Sanskrit glossary at the end is also a helpful reference.

Although I like most of the aspects of this book, but I would have had a better reading experience if the spelling mistakes at certain pages could have been proofread and rectified. I hope this will be fixed in subsequent editions.

I rate this book 4 on 5 and recommend it for all the youngsters who are looking for spiritual and motivational treat for their mind.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

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Divit's World at Eight Months

Mom is feeding me some paste with something she calls as purple spoon. Yakk, this doesn't taste great. These big people need to understand my choice. By now I know that feeding time means learning A,B,C,D and Johnny Johnny Yes Papa. And of course, the dog says bhaau bhauu and cat says meoww meoww. The thirsty crow is thirsty everyday, and slow and steady tortoise wins the race daily. I smile on hearing all this, because that makes you people happy and think that I am eating well. Oops! I turned my head towards that big illuminated object on the wall and leaked the paste out of my mouth, to my side. Look at Mumma's eyes, she seems angry... Never mind, all I have to do is smile or cry, either ways, I win!

They call me "Divit". I think that's my name, just like Mumma Daddy's names are Mumma and Daddy.

Mumma and Daddy go to a place called office.These people are talking about their day. I can't make sounds like they do. All I can do is say hummmmm, ummmmaa, bubububu, ahaaaan (clearing the throat), unngeee, giiiiiii, ammaaa, tattattata and so much more.

This world and its objects sound interesting. Those strange things that my tongue touches these days hurt me sometime. But they help me produce new sounds. And I want to chew everything with them. I want to chew my toys, and the bedsheet, and Mumma Daddy's dresses and tresses, the TV remote, my hands and even my feet! How can you really know something if you haven't put it in your mouth!

I am so curious to know how this world works. I want to see and touch and taste and hear everything.

Yesterday I went outside with Mumma and Daddy. There was so much light.There were so many big people. So many things running, some small, some big. Big people were sitting on those running things. Those things were making noise also. There were some big people who were walking like Mumma and Daddy with two feet. I have got 2 extra feet unlike them. I like walking, I mean crawling with those. I also try to stand and walk like these people. But when I try to hold the sofa and stand, I fall down. It hurts on my head and I cry. Mumma Daddy rush to me, lift me and take me to the window to show light and big people. I open my eyes wide to see them. It is wonderful!

Nowadays, Mumma and Daddy play a weird game with me, they hide behind the wall and appear again. They believe I am giggling back because it pleased me. Nah!

At my daycare, Atharv also has 4 feet like me, but Ahaan, Ayub, Amairaah, Kiara, Faaz and the aunties have 2 feet! They are different.

Few days back, something was running out of my nosy all the time. That thing came in my mouth also, it was so tasty. Mummy Daddy were wiping it with some soft soft thing.

Mumma Daddy are taking me into the room where we sleep. I hate sleeping, why do we have to sleep. Mumma and Daddy are saying "Good Night Divit". Oh no, please please Daddy don't pat on my side, please don't sing that lullaby Mumma. It will make me sleep. I have an idea, if I cry I can stay awake for little long. They soothed me. I am turning now, I like to sleep on my tummy. They are patting me again, Oh no, please I want to play. Zzzzzzzz I am not sleeping. No mosquitoe net please... No...zzzzzzz. khrrrrrrrrrrr...

2 hours later.

They are still sleeping, I slept enough. Time to scream the house down. They are awake now, whooppiiee. I am the Boss of the house!

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