Silence Kills, Speak Up

Silence can be deceptive. Speak up, you may never get a chance to say what you wanted to.




Night – The Shield

6 broke the Silence...wen wud U?

Seems like the blogging bug has yet again bitten me!

It’s 5.45am as I start writing. Should I say it to be early morning or late night? I would prefer the later since the Night has not yet got over for me. Yes, you got me right! I have been awake all night continuing my urge to read books. Perhaps reading books over the last few weeks was making me ready to resume blogging which has been my biggest passion. Completed reading ‘34 Bubblegums and Candies’ by Preeti Shenoy. Will come up with a review for the book in another blog soon though. For now I have a different agenda.

Well coming back I wouldn’t completely give it to my reading urge though, for keeping awake all night. I had completed reading by 3am. To cut short, I kept myself awake to drop my friend at the airport half an hour back.

The bike ride after I dropped him at the airport back to my flat took me around half an hour as I needed to cover 25kms.  It’s still dark outside, my city being on the western part of the country where sun rises generally after 6.30.

I could feel the cool breeze kissing my nose, cheeks and ears as I cruised on Hero Honda Karizma! Kind of bike it is, you would never know you have crossed 80KMPH until you peep into the speedometer. Having kept awake the whole night I kept my speed within limits thanks to my frequent conscious effort to look at the speedometer. The air was fresh and there was this subtle silence except for the soothing engine sound which made my mind ramble around. There have been times when I have been on bike rides on night outs but I had always been accompanied by friends since bike rides have always been bliss specifically in the night when there is very less traffic and no pollution. Given that night life in Pune is good, it’s considerably fair enough to move about during anytime of the night enjoying with friends. I have always enjoyed night life in Pune with friends. And if it’s on a bike then there can be nothing better feeling than this. But today was different for the reason that I was alone with myself and couldn’t find any element which could disturb talking to me.  

As I gained pace and moved ahead the dark blue sky which was yet to be illuminated, shined upon me with its darkness and there was no trace of moon. The complete darkness had its own charm unlike those days when you would feel the urge to see the moonlight sky. The darkness that prevailed along with the pitched silence made me realise how close I was feeling to my own self. That was a kind of feeling which I had never felt before. But it was good and felt nice. There was no other thought that crossed my mind except that I enjoyed every part of the ride. No song playing in the mind, no hurry to reach home, no worries to bother about and complete blank mind could make me feel like Night has worked as a shield to all our botheration, worries and sorrows. They say with sun rise, Day brings in happiness, hopes and all beautiful things and you feel like singing it’s a New Day, It’s a New Life! But it was not the case with me. The moment I thought about dawn, sunrise and the beginning of a new day my blissful state seemed to be threatened. I withdrew the thought of break of dawn. I wished the Night should prevail till eternity so that I would be shielded of my sorrows, worries and responsibilities. Speaking right now I might sound like an escapist! It might seem like I never want to face my hurdles of life but if I go back to that state when I felt this, I suppose I wasn’t wrong if I wanted these to be at bay far away from me. Who would want worries to be a part of life? If it’s Night which plays the shield and works as a knight in shining armour then I would prefer Night to Day! Doesn’t that sound better? How do I gain by facing my problems and solving them? Yes, they do get resolved, but then it does keep you occupied with hundreds of thoughts. It keeps you alert throughout the Day. You struggle, fight and come out successful but how does it help? Can anyone resolve all the problems and guarantee that problems/botheration/issues/worries/sorrows would never come back? But Night does give you that guarantee of being shielded from all of the above until it exists. Even when you sleep you sleep tight. People suffer from sleepless nights because they are occupied with their problems that they would have to again face the next morning once Night is gone. So it’s not the Night but the Day that keeps them awake. The fear, the thoughts makes you sleepless.

Come Day, you again start running in the rat race and it hardly matters who wins. What matters is who manages to come out of it. He is the true winner. And I felt like a winner because I could see myself out of the race. Now I don’t fear waking up in the morning and facing issues since I feel out of the race. I am just waiting for the Day that has crept in by now to end and Night to take charge where I can again live the life which makes it worthwhile.

Truly, this bike ride did make a difference. I now wait for yet another Night to set in, another 12 hours to go. The timer is set!

Authentic Thanksgiving :)

2 broke the Silence...wen wud U?

Heya!

Now I couldn't find any suitable title for this post. ;) After, all the efforts that Sarah Hina took to come down and give her best for her post, I couldn't find any better way than this to thank her for this kind gesture.

It was her sincere instant response that made it possible. It was a great feeling to find a guest post from someone whom I have been following for quite sometime. Frankly speaking it was not long back that I knew Sarah but her first article on Aniket's website had made me an instant fan of her writings. And finally as she accepted my request, it made my day!

As it all went fine and got posted, the first thing I checked in the morning was my blog and it was there! I had never done so in my whole life even if it was my own blog! But that I was expecting to see her post I couldn't wait and it was a super duper moment! And I thank Sarah for making it so wonderful that it was.

@Sarah: I have been on and off my blog but this was the best moment which I have experienced through these 4 years of my blogging experience. It was my blog's 4th Birthday on 16th August and I too hadn't realized this until now when it struck me suddenly. So, nothing better gift that I could have expected on my blog. A BIG THANKS to you for making it so very perfect! Coincidentally it was the 4th year completion and what a way to celebrate it!

I extend my heartiest thanks to you for your gesture and efforts that you have put in to make this possible. Having book signing and releasing your first book this month 2010 is not a small thing. I understand how busy you must have been. You contributing to my blog during this rush hour of your own life, I suppose there can not be any better act of humbleness and hats off to you for that. If you could do this for someone else i.e. finding out time to publish the article and follow it closely answering to the feedbacks, then I should also at least do that for my own blog.

Thanks for giving me a reason to have a refreshing start to this blogging arena, and I hope I can take this further with all the energy that you have infused within me. You showed me that we should give our cent percent to our passion even if there are hurdles and we don't find much time to invest in our day today life. Blogging has always been my passion and I got a reasoning to pursue this ahead just because of the confidence that your post gave me.

Thanks again Sarah!

Best wishes for the release of your book and be it a huge success.

God Bless You :)

Signing off,
Abhi

P.S: Happy Birthday to Swati (one of my best friends from my College days). She happens to celebrate it on 19th of this month. My best wishes to her and may God bless her! Miss You DEAR :(

Authenticity

13 broke the Silence...wen wud U?

She runs to the woods. Removes her clothes. Drapes herself across the moss of old dreams. Spreads her legs for a sun. Counts clouds through the canopy. Mosquito-bitten thoughts. Swat, swat. This air she breathes, recycled from laughter and holocausts. Her lungs, two butterfly wings dripping with concrete.

All these words, like trees in a forest. How much rain can be cupped in their leaves? Why am I, as a writer, driven to saturate, to make the branches bend with weight?

Does it make me lighter?

Is that the goal?

Sometimes, when I read others’ work, I feel like a child.

Sometimes, when I work, I am a child.

Perhaps there’s not much value in questioning our writerly instincts and motives. Maybe this is the true self-indulgence. If we simply follow them—if we’re authentic to our voice—some new facet of truth will be integrated into the human kaleidoscope. I admire Cormac McCarthy for his cool, lean sentences. I admire Michael Ondaatje for his brilliant lyrical flights. In the past, I’ve tried to imitate such literary giants. When really, there are seeds still to plant between their mighty trunks.

I’m growing more comfortable with my strengths and limitations. My forest is mine.

Yours is a song the wind knows. 

She lifts her voice with the birds, the cicadas, the heat waves of summer.

A world spins faster. 

----



Other stops on my Meet Me In Paris Blog Tour: Travis Erwin • Aniket's Plum Blossom Flash Fiction contest25 Questions for Author Sarah Hina  Author Spotlight 7SS with Aerin-Bender StoneJaye WellsPoem at The Walking Man'sPoem Blossoms at Joaquin Carvel's

Plum Blossoms excerpt read aloud by Sarah.

Buy Plum Blossoms in ParisAmazonBarnes & NobleFlipkartChaptersBordersYour Local Independent BookstorePowell's BooksBooks-A-Million

Great News - Guest Writer

3 broke the Silence...wen wud U?

Hello All,


I would like to make an announcement! We have a guest author on the blog and she is none other than SARAH HINA who is a 34-year-old writer, wife, and mother of two. Her debut novel, PLUM BLOSSOMS IN PARIS, is now available from Medallion Press.

It's an honor to have Sarah post an article on this blog, and I suppose this gesture from her has made me really ecstatic about it.

I would request all my readers to participate and pour in their comments for the post from Sarah.

Figments of Imagination or Reflections of Reality

2 broke the Silence...wen wud U?

Sometimes I wonder what is a creation. Is it just the result of imagination or the reflection of something which we see in reality?



off late I have been doing only two things -


1. My regular job at work
2. Reading books


Reading books has got into me for sometime now. Surfing the net, checking mails, chatting, talking over phone and even watching TV have bored me to the limits. And when I'm talking about reading let me be specific with it. It has only been few love stories now, but probably I would shift my gears soon to something different. But for now its love stories which have hit me like a wave of the sea. Yet to complete the books in my to read list.


I am simply awed by the books that I have read recently. I would prefer not to compare them to each other in any way because every piece is a result of the author's creation. And when it's creation of someone I have no right to compare when God even fails to compare among its creations.


Completed reading


'I too had a love story' by Ravinder Singh (yes for the second time of course). I had the same feeling after I finished with the book. However, I enjoyed reading it second time because I had known the ending and the whole tale earlier when I read, so perhaps I could relate to each and everything in a better way.


'A walk to remember' by Nicholas Spark was the next in the slot and though I had watched the movie in my first year engg ie long back, I still could connect to the whole of it. No where did I feel like I have already watched the movie, why do I need to read it any more. Books are better expressive than movies. I strongly feel that now.


'Dear john' again by Nicholas Spark, was the third book I have ever read from a single author other than Chetan Bhagat and I must admit I've become a big fan of Nicholas now. The next thing on the list is to go through all of his writings. Will surely get it completed soon. This book specifically moved me with the simplicity of it's writing and the portrayal of its characters. They are real to the core. Must read for our generation.


'A thing beyond forever...' by Novoneel Chakraborty came as a strong recommendation from one of the co-readers. Looked for the book the same day and completed reading it today. Not much of an effort though but it did give me a sleepless night after I stopped reading the 3rd section keeping the 4th for the next day i.e. today. Believe me I couldn't accept the fact that it ended. I wanted more from it and perhaps didn't want it to end. The best feature of this book is not the story, but the philosophy regarding life, love and God. All three of them so well gelled together that you could never escape anyone of it in your lifetime. Truly a master piece it does take you back to your school days and the early days of your adolescence.


After putting down these books in my shelf I would never dare to compare any of these to each other. And about losing these at any cost is not possible. So please be careful if you ever borrow them from me. Don't forget to return because I'm never gonna forget that you were the one who...


Lol! A feeling that sometimes always stays and you may have lost once or hundredth time... but it stays - Love