Category: A2Z Challenge

  • C has to be for Coffee

    Love for Coffee

    When your social media bio says “coffee, camera, ink-pen and me” you can’t write anything but coffee as your article about ‘C for….’ on day 3 of A to Z challenge. Hell yeah, I am caffeine addict without withdrawal syndromes 😉 😛 Once you wake up in the morning, it’s almost heaven when you smell the roasted beans you put in for a fresh brew. As soon as that aroma hits your nose, your brain feels happy. This is so powerful, it even keeps the deadly ‘Monday Blues’ at bay. For years this has been my morning freshness trick. But I recently came to know about the science behind it. Thanks to this same A to Z challenge. It introduced me to amazing blogger, YouTuber Karnika Kapoor and she talked about Coffee and Climate Change in one of her video.

    Coffee has been a major part of my life just like books. And the combination of an interesting book and cup of coffee is ultimate hit. And if it’s raining, I just love to pour myself a cup of hot and strong coffee, pick an interesting book (mostly it’s one of the rereads), and sit by the window enjoying words with this heavenly drink. While browsing things about coffee, I came across one amazing painting of old Turkish coffee shop created by Chevalier Auguste de Henikstein made in 1826.  

    Interieur dun cafe Turc by Chevalier Auguste de Henikestein

    I think ever since the first coffee shop opened, it was the center for community gatherings or place where friends can meet and have lengthy discussions. The tagline of widespread Indian café chain, Café Coffee Day is really true and very cleverly thought. “A lot can happen over a coffee” You may propose your love, you might sign the important business deal, or you can sit and chat for hours with your buddies. Even if you are alone, cafe never fails you. Constant hustle bustle keeps you company. For me cafés are the places of discovery of characters in my stories, even many of my stories are spun around coffee and cafes.

    Coffee bearer by John Frederick Lewis

    Nowadays, I am craving to do buddy reading of some interesting book sitting on a window ledge while it’s raining out and mugs full of hot coffees are adding more sparkle to the reading session. Will this wish get fulfilled in this rainy season?

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 3 challenge. “C for Coffee”

  • #AtoZChallenge – B for Books

    It’s day two of A to Z challenge and alphabet of the day is B. There is no chance of me choosing anything but books for this letter. If you can’t find me working or sleeping, I must be engrossed in a book.I think it was summer vacation, and I was just browsing through the cupboard full of books. My granny got a huge collection of Marathi books. There were books with many fascinating covers, but one caught my eye. It had one unusual leather jacketing. Brownish yellow, hard bound. The name was not inscribed on the cover. And out of curiosity, I picked it up. It was the huge book, quite heavy for my little hands. Must be around 1000 pages. I sat in front of that open cover and opened the book. It was ‘श्रीमान योगी’ by Ranjeet Desai. It’s biographical novel about Chatrapati Shivaji. As I dived in the book then and there, I couldn’t control myself and kept at it. Even mom’s lunch calls were bouncing off my ears. I think I managed to finish it within 3 days.

    After Ranjeet Desai, a list of favorite authors kept increasing. P. L. Deshpande, V. P. Kale, Vyankatesh Madgulkar, Shanta Shelke are all time favorite Marathi authors. I can read their work anytime and many times. I am so convinced that many of the stories by P. L. are now stored in my DNA.

    English literature came in my reading list with a gift of ‘Wise and Otherwise’ by Sudha Murthy in my second year of graduation. Soon I have finished all of her books which were published by then. I know, I have joined the party of English literature very late. Hey, it’s never late when it comes to books. My friends who were reading English literature for a long time often taunt me about reading some of the books which they have finished in their schools. I humbly and proudly return those with my long list of Marathi authors I have read. By now, my most enjoyed work is by Ruskin Bond, Agatha Christie, Sudha Murthy. Especially, they way Ruskin takes us on the tours of Dehra, or any other Himalayan town is fascinating.

    The bookworm by Carl Spitzweg

    I am constantly fascinated by books. Ok, ok, you can call me a bibliophile. I often visit bookstores, the smell of new books takes me to another level of joy. Those new pages feel amazing when you flip them. I couldn’t leave the store without buying at least one book. Maybe by the time I turn 40, I can start my own library. I have been writing about the books I liked From my bookshelf, and since January 2017, I am tracking my reading on Goodreads with 2017 Reading Challenge. Like English and Marathi, I would like to venture in Bengali and Kannada literature. Bengali and Kannada literature is very rich with thousands of books. I am really looking forward to learning those languages and take dive in those books. Would you guys like to join me in the amazing journey?

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 2 challenge. “B for Books”

  • #AtoZChallange – The Journey

    Shrill horn was blown on time and she moved, slowly. I felt the initial jerk as her engine pulled the connected wagons. Slowly she was picking up the pace and I started looking out from the window. I started the journey to my hometown after almost one year. It was nothing but struggle since I landed in this sleepless city of Mumbai. When you have to move to a different city, it’s gruesome to adjust if you have not a single familiar soul. Things go to a higher level if you are moving in against your wishes and plans are altered entirely.

    It is hard to accept how the destiny can change everything in just a moment with its mighty force. Or should I say, Nature can turn things upside down in just one blow? The day was Lucky and Unlucky for me. Lucky, just because I am alive and breathing to tell you this story and Unlucky because I lost my everything. I lost my entire family, my home, my workplace everything turned into a heap of rubble with just one earth tremor. I lost many of my friends on that day or after some days when they had paid their share of pain and suffering.

    I am alive just because I was on the ground playing cricket with my 5 friends. Everyone was happy, enjoying their Sunday and the next moment, it all shook and dust clouds and screams rose up in the air. It was not making any sense. A day or two passed in shock. All 5 of us huddled and was sitting in community hall amongst all other survivors. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. It was an awkward silence. Staying in hometown was depressing. As soon as we came out of shock, we decided to shift to other towns. They all chose places where their relatives lived. Two of them have moved to Delhi, one is in Ahmedabad, and one in Chennai. But I took the different path.

    I gathered what I could and took the first train to this city of dreams. I still get those horrifying dreams of the day. We have hardly talked with each other in last year, but since last week we have been talking about all the trauma of coping with loss, how we all are struggling to accept this truth. And then the plan came on the table about facing our demons at the same place where they were created. No doubt, the battle is going to be fierce but we can’t run away from it forever. In two days, the year will pass after that tragedy. And we all have started the journey, to the same destination. The journey to accept the reality and to move on.

    ~~~

    I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 1 challenge. “A for Acceptance”

  • #AtoZChallange 2017 – Theme Reveal

    #AtoZChallange 2017 – Theme Reveal

    Hello fellow bloggers and my lovely readers, this year I am participating in #AtoZChallenge. It’s about publishing posts daily based on the themes starting of containing English alphabets A to Z over the month of April, excluding Sundays. Before this challenge, I have never written anything having a deadline to complete and submit. As I am being a novice to this daily writing structure, this #AtoZChallenge is a tough job for me.

    I have been writing something or the other for last 10 years. It all started with Marathi Poetry. I still remember the first ever piece I have written. It was the day of “Guru Purnima” when disciples give something as offering to their masters, teachers or guru.  I have never imagined that I could come up with something of this sort. Our college has organized a function to celebrate the day, and people are doing something or the other for the event.

    Suddenly something struck in mind and I wrote a poem about the importance of Guru in person’s life composed in a very traditional meter of Marathi poetry called ‘ovi’. Since then I have picked up the habit of penning my emotions. From the poem, it went on to writing short stories, short articles about current affairs. Then started the journey on the road of blogging where we all meet and enjoy the wordy affairs.

    We all live in the vibrant society. We always have a fresh stock for story ideas daily. It will be wrong to put such vibrant surrounding in a predefined mold. I am keeping myself out of any bounds of specific topic or genres, you might get a poem one day and another day will bring the story out of it. So guys, wish me luck as I am hoping to survive this challenge in my maiden voyage. See you all on the voyage, hope you all will enjoy the cruise with me.