Book Review : And Then One Day : A Memoir by Naseeruddin Shah

Title: And Then One Day 

Author: Naseeruddin Shah
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 369
Rating: 5/5

Autobiographies have their own charm. These are not merely inked words but a person, a compelling tale of someone’s whole life.

I was super excited when I started this memoir of Naseeruddin Sir; He did loads of movies, left us jaw-dropped. So, it was kind of treat to read him, to know him in his own words, This book gave me a feeling that Naseer Sahab   Reiterating  without any fear , he tore up pages of his life with such an honesty like it a sort of game. Must say he played elegantly.  Respect!

In his memoir he talked about his family members how he was so connected with his mother, about his school days fun, addiction for movies since childhood. His struggle while he was trying to make a space for himself in that Dreamy world, Bollywood.  His love life and failures.The way he called himself ‘raw boned face’. Where his damn classic humor make you laugh, on the other way his dark side left you amazed with a bit tears. When he mentioned his time with Om Puri, Shabana Azami, Gulzar Saab and Shyam Benegal, You try hard to imagine behind the scenes.

Sharing Few Lines here...  This made me surprise “is he a professional writer?”

·         First wonder goes deepest; wonder after that fits in the impression made by the first.

·         There can be this kind of exchange of energies between actor and audience. The finest definition of theatre that I have come across is ‘one actor-one audience’. Implying of course that any meaningful interaction between two people anywhere fits the definition of ideal theatre, with the same qualities needed of both participants as are required from them in an actual theatre. Theatre really is a one-on-one experience.

·          I have been grappling for years with the question of whether experiencing difficulty dealing with real life is what drives people to become actors. Though it is far from resolved in my head, looking back at some very worthwhile actors I have known closely, almost every one of them seems to conform to this pattern. It does seem like an aberration of behavior to want to be someone else all the time, and I think it happens to people who, like me, can find no self-worth early in life and thus find fulfillment in hiding behind make-believe.

·         Now I was actually standing behind the curtain. I was there! I took a long while savouring the feeling that there were people out there who were curious about what we were doing, about what I was doing. I kicked the hem of the curtain to make it billow and make them wonder even more. That’s what the inside of a mother’s womb must feel like. Warm, safe, comfortable. You have no weight, no cares. The outside world is outside. It can get to you only when you let it. Then the curtain opened. Suddenly, the womb was gone and I was staring into a black void. Never having been onstage before, I was blinded by the intensity of the lighting, but then I felt the boards under my feet.

·         the opportunity to lead their lives the way they had chosen to. Seldom have I encountered such contentment in people at the end of the road; the complete satisfaction of knowing you have done whatever you could with your life.

·         The only thing that interested me about life, I remember, was watching how people behaved. If I had been blessed with any ‘gift’ at all, it was an ear for the spoken word. I can still actually recall the grains in a voice I have heard fifty years ago.

·         An actor’s output hinges totally on being cast right, on how the scene is written, what the character is asked to do, how he is guided to do it, often even on how he is lit.

·         I have always had doubts about the existence of God but I do believe in the power of prayer; praying not as in groveling for something but exuding positive energy, and the prayer is answered by receiving it in return.

·         But though I have to live with the knowledge that the scar tissue of my earlier indifference will never disappear.

A classic Read!

Book Excerpt : The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma

Title: The Leader Who Had No Title
Author: Robin Sharma
Genre: Self Help, Motivational
Source: Kindle Edition
Publisher: Jaico
Pages: 171
Ratings: 5/5

I read it somewhere that some people act and inspire while few are like mirrors they reflect, reflect the positivity, optimism and give doses of hope to those who needed the most.  Robin Sharma was one of them.  A man with powerful words.

This is not a kind of book, we read and forget.  We can learn something from it, every single day.  The lessons in this book are all about taking ownership of your life. It reminds us that we still have potential to conquer the world.

Here I’m sharing few quotes of his book.

·         I sometimes reflect on the fact that we generally take the people we love the most for granted. Until we lose them. Then we take long, silent walks and pray for a second chance to treat them the way they deserved to have been treated. Please don’t let that sort of regret infect your life.

·         Perhaps one of the best gifts my parents gave me was a love of learning, especially through books. Relentless learning is one of the main traits of an open and powerful person. And an obsessive and ongoing self-education is one of the greatest survival tactics to get through turbulent times.

·         I actually feel quite young. Age is just a state of mind anyway—a label the tribe uses to pigeonhole people and to place limits on all they can be. I choose not to govern my life according to labels

.

·         We all need to lead where we are planted and shine where we now find ourselves.

·         Embracing uncertainty is a precious gift. Most of us get so scared the moment we face the unknown. We shouldn’t, though. It’s really nothing more than the beginning of an adventure. And our growth coming to get us.

·         Remembering the shortness of life strips away all the distractions of life and reminds us what’s most important. Visiting your mortality reminds you that your months are numbered.

·         Each of us can make the decision to love the work we do and perform it so well that people can’t take their eyes off us.

·         I learned to love literature, great music, and beautiful art. I discovered life’s simplest pleasures are life’s most precious ones.

·         ‘Lucky breaks’ are nothing more than unexpected rewards for intelligent choices we’ve chosen to make.

·         Never play victim! It’s impossible to build a tribute to success on a foundation of excuses.

·         ‘Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds.’ Just go do your work as well as you can humanly do it. The rest will take care of itself.’

·         “And if you stumble a bit along the way, well, that’s all part of the game. You learn to walk by falling. You learn to lead by trying. But every misstep brings you closer to the perfect step. And if people don’t quite understand what you’re up to, why let them bring you down? Great people construct monuments with the stones their critics throw at them, you know. And critics generally criticize you only because, at some level, they care. When they stop saying anything, it’s because you no longer matter to them. It’s when no one criticizes you that you should really be worried.”

·         Leadership really is about closing your ears to the noisy voices of others so you can more clearly hear the mission and call within yourself. Makes me think of the words of Dr. Seuss: ‘Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

·         Most people hide in their shells when the going gets rough. They push away anything that pulls them the least bit out of their comfort zone. And sadly they also push away their chances of growth.  The brave eat their fear before their fear eats them.

·         The secret to moving through hard times is to just keep moving forward. The singer Joan Baez put it perfectly: ‘Action is the antidote to despair.’ In challenging conditions, just stay in movement.

·         Please start working on yourself today, because life waits for no one. It speeds along on its own merry way with your cooperation or without it. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you know must be done today. Tomorrow just might never come. That’s reality.

·         Communing with nature is yet another effective way to get your creative fire burning and keep you excited about achieving great things at work.

·         Do something every day to improve your lifestyle. You only live once, so why not enjoy it completely?

A Must Read and a Time worthy Book!

Author Info: 

ROBIN SHARMA is one of the world's experts on leadership and personal success. The author of eight major international bestsellers, including The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, his mission is to help people and organizations get to world class.

Book Review : Shikhandi by Devdutt Pattanaik

Title: Shikhandi And Other Tales
Author: Devdutt Pattanaik
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Mythology
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 164
Rating: 4/5

When I was in fourth standard, Firstly I met this word Mahabharata... I found a book of same title when mumma brought the school syllabus. After reading loads of fables I think that book really astonished me. That’s why, When I was reading this book “Shikhandi by Devdutt Pattanaik “ i could connect with it because Most of the names seemed known. I heard a lot about Devdutt’s mythological work but first time got the opportunity to read him. He seemed such a knowledgeable person when it comes to ancient India thing. As Business standard review states “This book does a great job putting across a collection of stories that capture the essence of ancient Indian society’s approach to sexual behavior. And apart of all these else, it establishes that Indian society was not coy about sexual attitudes.”  

As Devdutt explains ‘’ Shikhandi was a man trapped in women’s body. While storytellers mentioned him as eunuch. This is not an academic book seeking to prove, or disprove, anything. This is a celebration of stories narrated by our ancestors that are rarely retold publicly as they seem to challenge popular notions of normality. I have no control over political propaganda. I have no control over a reader’s perception. Dirt is ultimately an invention of culture. Besides:

Within infinite myths lies an eternal truth

Who knows it all?

Varuna has but a thousand eyes

Indra, a hundred

You and I, only two.

  

·         Discoveries and inventions of humanity are shared over generations through stories, symbols and rituals. These connect with the conscious mind as well as the subconscious mind. Mythology is the study of these stories, symbols and rituals. When these stories, symbols and rituals become rigid, enforced by a body that claims access to a supernatural authority, they constitute a religion.

·         Hindu mythology subscribes neither to the biblical framework where law is the solution to humanity’s woes nor to the Greek framework of oppressor and oppressed. Life is not a problem to be solved. It is a sight to be seen, and contemplated upon, so that we see ourselves truly and eventually open ourselves to joy without seeking change in the world. Hence, the great value given in India to darshan, the act of seeing.

Devdutt explored beautifully, How Shikhandi became a man to satisfy her wife,  Aravan whose wife was a complete man,  Aruna who became a woman when the sun paused and many more short stories of platonic friendships.

Besides this Devdutt mentioned that  ” In Chola bronze art, Shiva is shown wearing earrings meant for men on the right ear and earrings meant for women in the left ear. Thus he displays his comfort with male and female, or rather, with mind and nature.

At last when you’re on last page of this book, you left blank and a question hovering around your mind  “How accepting or tolerant was ancient Indian society of the LGBT Community?” 

Book Excerpt : The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho

Title:  The Fifth Mountain

Author: Paulo Coelho

Publication: Harper 

Genre: Motivational, Inspirational

Source: Kindle Edition 

Pages: 119

Rating: 4/5 

Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain is a quaint theme work. As I know him as a writer of motivational books who weaved essential life’s lessons into his extraordinary stories. The Fifth Mountain is different though. He fictionalized the biblical story of Elijah and a Jew.  Book is all about faith, trust issues regardless of religious convictions.  I don’t want to distort the skeleton of a book by précising the story but genuinely want to share few points which really make us think actually what  we are doing with our life.

·         “If god is all-powerful, why doesn't He spare the suffering of those who love Him? Why doesn't He save them, instead of giving might and glory to His enemies?”

·         “Here in this land there was once a river.” But the only thing that mattered about a river, its flow of water, would no longer be there to quench their thirst. Souls too, like rivulets and plants, needed a different kind of rain: hope, faith, a reason to live. When this did not come to pass, everything in that soul died, even if the body went on living; and the people could say: “Here in this body there was once a man.”

·         You have discovered how everything is simple. Having courage is enough.

·         This was freedom: to feel what the heart desired, with no thought to the opinion of the rest.

·         They had achieved everything they desired because they were not limited by the frustrations of the past.”

·         “Remember the good things you have done. They will give you courage.”

·         “What are you doing?”

      “I have nothing to do,” she replied.

      “Then learn something. At this moment, many people have stopped living. They do not become angry, nor cry out; they merely wait for time to pass. They did not accept the challenges of life, so life no longer challenges them. You are running that same risk; react, face life, but do not stop living.”

·         “All life’s battles teach us something, even those we lose. When you grow up, you’ll discover that you have defended lies, deceived yourself, or suffered for foolishness. If you’re a good warrior, you will not blame yourself for this, but neither will you allow your mistakes to repeat themselves.”

·         “A child can always teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.”

·         Until now only the children have been able to overcome what took place, because they have no past—for them, everything that matters is the present moment. So we shall try to act as they do.”

·         “And a warrior is always aware of what is worth fighting for. He does not go into combat over things that do not concern him, and he never wastes his time over provocations.

·         “A warrior accepts defeat. He does not treat it as a matter of indifference, nor does he attempt to transform it into a victory. The pain of defeat is bitter to him; he suffers at indifference and becomes desperate with loneliness. After all this has passed, he licks his wounds and begins everything anew. A warrior knows that war is made of many battles; he goes on.

·         “Tragedies do happen. We can discover the reason, blame others, imagine how different our lives would be had they not occurred. But none of that is important: they did occur, and so be it.

·          “Take advantage of the chance that tragedy has given you; not everyone is capable of doing so.”

Really a worth read! 

About the Author - 

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author, who is known globally for his inspirational writing. He has received various international awards and his books have sold over 85 million copies and have been translated into several languages. Some of his other renowned works are The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes.

Book Review : Hawa Mein Shabd - Dr. Sarika Mukesh

‘उपहार’ शब्द अपने आप में ही खुशी का पर्याय है और उपहार में मिली किताब तो ज़िंदगी का सबसे बेहतरीन तोहफा (kind of blessing) होती  है।

डॉ. सारिका मुकेश जी का ब्लॉग पढ़कर यूँ ही पूछ बैठी थी मैं “Ma’am What is Haiku?”  और सारिका जी ने अपनी पुस्तक “हवा में शब्द” हाइकू-संग्रह उपहार स्वरूप भेजी। तमिलनाडू से राजस्थान तक का सफर करके आयी सारिका जी के इस संग्रह ने मेरे अंतर्मन की सतहों को छुआ।

डॉ. सारिका मुकेश एक अध्यापिका (V.I.T University) होने के साथ साथ एक लेखिका  (Poet) और बहुत ही खूबसूरत शख्सियत भी हैं। (Not only her words but her voice is full of Optimism, It’s like an honor to talk to her.)

सारिका जी के कविता-संग्रह “ख़िल उठे पलाश” व “एक किरण उजाला” के बाद यह “हवा में शब्द” हाइकू-संग्रह पढ़ने का अवसर प्राप्त हुआ, जिसके लिए मैं उनका तहे-दिल से शुक्रिया करती हूँ।

हिन्दी साहित्य जहां धीरे-धीरे अपनी पहचान खो रहा हैं वहीं सारिका मुकेश जैसे लेखक हिन्दी की जड़ों को अपने अहसास रूपी शब्दों से सींच रहें हैं, हिन्दी को मजबूत बना रहे हैं।

हाइकू मूलतः जापनी विधा है, संसार की सबसे छोटी पर अपने में पूर्ण कविता। यह मात्र तीन पक्तियों में केवल 17 वर्णों (5-7-5) में पूर्ण रूप से व्यक्त होत्ती है। सारिका जी का यह प्रयास काबिल-ए-तारिफ है! उनकी संग्रह से कुछ खूबसूरत हाइकू-कविताएँ..

तुम ना लौटे

गुज़रे वक़्त जैसे

रही प्रतिक्षा

तकते रहे

सब एक दूजे को

शब्द थे मौन

तपते होंठ

खिला हुआ गुलाब

बेचैन शब्द

खिला सा मन

दहकते अधर

गुलमोहर

बच्चे को लगे

सबसे महफूज़

माँ का आँचल

लिखने लगी

नभ पटल पर

गीत चाँदनी

यहाँ ना कुछ

गूँजते हैं तो सिर्फ

हवा में शव्द

ऐसी ही सारगर्भित हाइकू-कविताओं का संग्रह है “हवा में शब्द” जिन्हें पढ़कर मुझे निदा फाज़ली जी की कुछ पक्तियाँ याद आती हैं

“साहिल की गीली रेत पर बच्चों के खेल-सा,

हर लम्हा मुझ में बनता बिखरता हुआ सा कुछ॥

Blog link of Dr. Sarika Mukesh -   http://sarikamukesh.blogspot.in/

P.s – Congratulations Ma’am for “Sahitya Shri and Shiksha Ratna Samman”.  More power to your pen!