Wednesday 18 September 2013

विघ्नहारी गणपति


मूषक पर भ्रमण करने चला
मद-मस्त अपनी चाल में।
असुरों का संहार हो चला
पलक झपकते एक प्रहार में।।

उसका ब्रह्माण तो सिर्फ़ एक है
माता -पिता की छाया तले।
तीनों लोक का भ्रमण निष्कर्ष है
जो पाकर  भी कुछ न  मिले।।

है पूज्य जो सर्वप्रथम
होता है  जिसका सबसे पहले कथन।
उसके हृदय का द्वार  निष्पक्ष है
वह तो तेरे समक्ष है।


वह है गणपति गणेश गजनायक
विघ्नहारी विनाशकारक।।


गणपति बप्पा की जय हो।



Monday 16 September 2013

Book Review of English Bites!

Book: English Bites!

Author: Manish Gupta

Price: Rs. 250

Publisher: Penguin Books India


English is a funny language! So, Manish Gupta, the banker-turned-author, thought to make people learn & retain English vocabulary in a quirky way and not by rote.

When I came to know that the author is willing to give his book, through a dear friend Manjulika Pramod; I left a mail immediately in the inbox of the writer, and within two days the book was on my hand.

This lexical fiction has been told through anecdotes of his own life experiences where he has been in this journey to get the nuances of English since childhood days. Yes! You got it right. He is continuing his drive to bring out another book for the abecedarian (or even the proficient one) to get the best of the international language.


Any language is a vast place to learn, and it’s not feasible to retain every word. Here, this book comes to your rescue to get meanings, synonyms, contronyms, pronunciation, and origin of words through the methodology of etymology, mnemonic, and references to the websites and books which helped him achieve this command. He amazes you with the painstaking research of words he went through, and inspires you to do the same. 

I loved his poetic endeavors to make us retain the words in a beautiful way.              
One of them is here: A placid fellow with a complacent look
         tried hard to placate the implacable cook.  

The only thing which stings me is the railroad joke (page no. 108) he shared with his readers. It seems like an item song in a film like Madras Café. I wish it would have been omitted.

When I got this book with a gratitude note by the author, it made me little apprehensive about the book.  There it was written “Thanks very much” which is grammatically wrong. You may write ‘thanks’ or ‘thank you very much’ either of them, but the marriage isn’t on the cards. So, I decided to give full attention to every single word elaborated as a footnote by the author. Often, a slight misconstruction in a meaning brings out a different picture to the world.  But, later I didn’t find any other fault except one! The word ‘trivia’. Trivia means: things with little importance; small things/information having no significance. It’s meaning isn’t confined to just ‘small things’. In my opinion, minute details should be given heed while writing a self-help book, and shouldn’t be considered trivia which might otherwise bring disrepute.

But, that doesn’t undermine his book, because there is much more to learn. You are going to learn words without vowels like: cwm, lynx, cyst, etc., and words with maximum letters like: hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.  To get the meanings of all bold letters you shall have to buy this book.  


My suggestion shouldn’t be taken as insinuation. I don’t claim to be the master of the language. I’m still learning; so if anyone of you wants to leave any feedback, I warmly welcome you.



Tuesday 10 September 2013

Political Web


She is gorgeous & has smart traits;
she snuffs out dire straits.
She gets to the details of every case,
& doesn’t know how to whine for the grace.

Perturbed with her success at every stage,
they planned to rip apart her cleavage.
Designed a web for her to frame,
where consequences lead her to blame.

Her wit isn’t feeble enough to ditch,
she got the trap laid by the witch(es).
She rendered the play back with symphony,
& caught red-handed them with harmony.


Has this story thrilled you?

Get a crime-fiction thriller, Jacob Hills, on Amazon by Harper Collins here.



School Days


I yearn those days
when we were full of graces.
When we used to rib each other,
& then complain to the teacher.
When we exuded gassy elements,
& raised finger on classmates.
When we kept aping our teacher,
& were, still, fond of her.
When we were having our lunch before recess,
& never mind getting other’s access.
When we shared our answer-sheet,
& proclaimed proudly, I got the least!
When we used to excuse every minute,
& then announce, I am a gentle student!



Got nostalgic? Remember, how your friends used to fart & you have to bear that smell.  ;)

But now, you have an option. Try Ambi Pur. It keeps all yucky smells at bay.  :)






Sunday 8 September 2013

Shayari

हमने तुझे सलाम भेजा है,
दिल का एक पैगाम भेजा है. 
तेरे दस्तक से दुनिया हुई है बागबाँ ,
तुझे चाहने का मैंने छेड़ा है कारवाँ। 

तेरी राहों से जब भी गुज़रते हैं हम,
झुकती नज़रों से नमस्ते करते हैं हम.
तेरे बिना ये ज़िन्दगी जी न पाएँगे ,
तुझे पाने की हसरत लिए ही मर जाएँगे। 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda