Sharing: Becoming a Published Author

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Sanya is a young 22 and totally lost when she leaves home in London to holiday with the Sharmas in Mumbai. Believing herself to be in love with Arth, she finds that she is more attracted to Ansh, his twin. Watch Sanya bloom under the love and nurturing offered by Ratna Sharma, the twins’ mother and how she evolves into a confident young lady. Will she find love?

That’s for you to find out when you read my e-book named Double Jeopardy.

It’s finally happening after waiting for 13 years.

It has been my dream to become published since the year 2000 when I wrote my first romance novel. Writing was a bolt out of the blue for me as I could never string two sentences together before that. But that did not stop me from dreaming of becoming a published author the moment I finished writing my masterpiece.

I did get The Malhotra Bride published at a cost only to realise that it was a waste of effort, time and money. Well, that’s water under the bridge and I don’t want to concentrate on that any more.

Indirom is a fresh chapter and I finally have found the right platform to publish my work. The publisher has the perfect tagline – romance for the Asian soul.

I have been a fan of romance since the age of 13 and avidly read Mills & Boon as well as many historical romance books. For all that, I found that my daughter was never interested in reading western novels. The moment I penned my first novel, she read it very enthusiastically and so did some of her friends who could never relate to western characters. That’s when I realised that there was a huge market out there for romance novels with Indian characters.

But getting published was a different ballgame altogether. I had tried a number of Indian publishers as well as foreign ones – the first one beings M&B, of course. But all I can say is that my file consisting of rejection letters grew bigger and fatter.

Did that stop me from dreaming of getting published? Never! It was obviously the call of the soul as I just could not give up my dream.

Well, Indirom happened to me after 13 years, in the year 2013, in answer to my prayers. Just as I have always believed that something will turn up for me, some day.

It was a lucky day when someone contacted me via LinkedIn all thanks to my friend Nilima Kadam Mohite’s recommendation calling me ‘Indian Mills & Boon Queen’ and as they say the rest is history.

My e-book DOUBLE JEOPARDY, can be purchased on www.indirom.com from February 17, 2013 onwards. The website will be officially launched on Valentine's Day with 14 books available for purchase.

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You will be able to purchase my e-book Double Jeopardy and other romance novellas if you CLICK HERE

Film Review: VISHWAROOP

THE FILM IS A DAMP SQUIB

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Rahul Bose, Nassar, Shekar Kapur, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah,
Director: Kamal Haasan

It has been a while since I watched a film in the theatre as I find that most of them are too violent for words. I have kept away from the big screen since four months which is some kind of a record.

I was to have seen the Tamil version of this movie on the day of its release at Chennai. Well, the plan fell apart when the film was banned from the theatres. Yesterday, Kamal’s interview with Arnab Goswami was quite moving with the actor doing his best to hold back his tears. That’s when Venkat and I thought that we should watch it if and when it released. Well, it did today and we went for the evening show.

THE STORY: Nirupama (Pooja Kumar) has a doctorate in nuclear science and is married to Kathak dancer-teacher Vishwanath (Kamal Haasan). It’s a marriage of convenience for both of them as Nirupama had been keen to move to the USA to complete her PhD while Vishwanath appears to be a Transgender. Nirupama plans to ditch her husband for her boss. She hires a private detective to find something against her husband that would help her file for a divorce. The detective is killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and Vishwanath and Nirupama are kidnapped by terrorists. That’s where Nirupama discovers that her husband is not quite what he appears to be.

I will stop here to avoid giving out spoilers. The film belongs to the crime fiction/thriller genre.

MY PERCEPTION:

Well, let me give the positive feedback first.

• The film is not too long and runs for about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Thank God for that!
• There is but one song that has been choreographed by Birju Maharaj and the 58-year-old Kamal Haasan’s Kathak performance is excellent. All other music is only in the background.
• The cinematography is superb.
• Editing by Mahesh Narayanan is perfect.
• Rahul Bose has done quite well as the villain.

Now that I am done with all that, let me get to the minus points.

• I am amazed that Kamal Haasan and his brother had the gumption to invest about a hundred crores in this film. Well, one cannot deny that it has been well-researched. But it ends abruptly, leaving the audience wondering what the hell they paid Rs. 220 for! And to think I waited four months to watch this one on the big screen!
• The film is totally violent after the first couple of scenes. At the end of it all, if we had good triumphing over evil, it would have still been worth a watch. But…. ?
• I can accept that there is no glamour at all as that could have taken away from the film’s main story. But the end is so lame that one wonders what one had been waiting the whole time for.
• Actors like Nassar and Shekhar Kapur have been wasted with minuscule roles that have no impact.
• While Kamal Haasan has acted well, he looks too old for the role of an active RAW agent. Why don’t you grow up, man?
• Films like Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod are drawn on similar lines. While Salman’s flick went on to mint more than 100 crores, Saif Ali Khan’s thriller did not do that well at the box office. Well, both these films are way better than Vishwaroop. They definitely had much more entertainment value. Need I say more?
• It’s best that I don’t say anything about Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah. You can’t call them sidekicks nor can you call them glamourous. I wonder where that leaves them!

A sequel has been planned. Is Kamal turning senile?

VERDICT: After all the hype with the ban and tearful press conferences, the film is a damp squib.

RATING: **Shaky

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

How I envisage life on EARTH on December 21, 2012!

Strangers hug each other

Archangel Michael: We have told you often, you are and will continue to be the cause of all the rest. Your questions remain. When? You are the key. What? You are the key. How? You are the key. And the larger the scope of change you look for, the more of you are part of the key. Do you understand? So if you are looking for huge changes, spend time giving energy and thought to what those changes will be.

Archangel Michael

Click here for reference link for the above-mentioned quote.

I was quite excited to read this message from AAM as I had been planning to write a blog on what I feel will be the scene on December 12, 2012. What comes after that date can of course only get better.

Click here to read what my Antaryaamin has to say about the onset of the Golden Age.

It’s barely a week to the dawn of the Golden Age on December 21, 2012. Can you feel the excitement in the very air we are breathing in?

I can hear my heart thudding louder than ever and my pulse fizzing in anticipation of the great times to come.

A few scenes that I could envisage in my mind’s eye:

• The air feels so clear and invigorating with not a particle of dust. Pollution is a thing of the past. Can you imagine that!
• The sky is a brilliant blue with fluffy clouds floating around
• The trees and plants are a brilliant green with love emanating from them as they sway in the gentle breeze with joy
• There is no honking as people are not rushing any more to get from one place to another. They take more time to experience the atmosphere and all things around them
• Automatically, the lack of noise brings forth the sounds of birds singing and squirrels screeching
• The very air is filled with excitement, joy, harmony, unity, balance, love and peace
• All the terrible insects, pests, viruses, etc. have all gone back to where they came from and Pandora’s Box is finally shut tight, not to let any of these out
• The Doctors are super-excited as they write out discharge sheets for every single patient in their hospitals. All medical tests turn out negative and everyone is given a clean health chit. Well, maybe some of the gynaecologists will find themselves busy as they help welcome new citizens into the world.
• No report of a single death
• The Police Department enjoys leisure as not a single crime – theft, rape, murder, whatever – is reported. Accidents are unheard of!
• The Military, The Air Force and The Navy are deployed on peace missions as war has ended forever in the world
• The Fire Department is celebrating the dawn of The Golden Age by singing and dancing with joy
• The Mainstream Media has been going about their work as usual while the newspapers go for print till the Zero hour. Suddenly, everyone AWAKENS at 00.01 AM on 21.12.2012 and they call off the printing of the papers as the news is all negative. There are no printed newspapers available on December 21, 2012 while online updates - all positive - appear as if by magic while everyone in the industry has been working hard through the night.
• Strangers stop to grin at one another and share warm HUGs

Into this scenario glide in our Star Brothers and Sisters on their Spaceships to dance along with us in JOY! 

I invite each and every one of my readers to share their views as comments on what they can foresee for December 21, 2012.

The Oncoming GOLDEN AGE

Picture courtesy: http://www.vibrakeys.com

Third Dimension

The third dimension is where we are existing just now, that is, the earth as well as all the living things dwelling on her. This is called the Physical Dimension or Physical Plane, where every being has a well-defined physical body.

This is also the dimension of Duality. Good-bad; beautiful-ugly; day-night; light-dark; truth-lies; etc; etc; etc. exist on this plane. The positive aspects cannot be recognised without the negative aspects on this dimension. This is also the Karmic Plane.

Fourth Dimension

This is the Astral Plane. This is where the spirits go for rejuvenation after death. There is no physical body as that has already died and only the soul or light body is present on this plane. The soul undergoes a lot of experiences and teachings – all wonderful – as it continues on its journey towards the LIGHT.

Fifth Dimension

This is the Mental Plane. This is where the Earth and all of us are headed towards. This is the plane where we can create anything and everything with our Minds. There is only the state of ONENESS and we will live in absolute joy and harmony. ‘Lack’ will disappear forever.

December 21, 2012

• This is the last date of the Mayan Calendar
• This is also the culmination of the Kali Yuga, a cycle of 5000 odd years
• This is also the end of one large cycle of the four yugas (Sathyuga, Tretayuga, Dwaparayuga & Kaliyuga) consisting of 26,000 years

Beside all these, there is one more importance attached to this date. This is the exact mid-point in the age of the Universe. The Universe has reached its middle age since the Big Bang Effect.

Sri Bhagavan of Oneness University says, “The Neanderthal man could never have imagined life in the 21st century. In the same way, the 21st century man cannot visualise life after December 21, 2012.”

There are a number of angles to this and loads of information on the internet. I prefer to read and believe what resonates with me – gels with my instinct and feelings. I watch videos of Sri Bhagavan and listen to his teachings rather than read what his followers say as these are mostly their personal interpretation of what He says. Then there is www.the2012scenario.com that brings together original articles as well as a number of write-ups from around the internet. These are all positive and hence my favourite.

Sri Bhagavan of Oneness University is the tenth (Kalki) avatar of Lord Vishnu and He has come down to save Mankind from the clutches of Kali just as predicted in Hindu mythology. What proof do I have?

Well, when I first went for a class at the university in 1997, the first thing we were asked to do is ask God for proof that Bhagavan is what He claimed to be. Rameshji, the teacher who conducted the class, insisted that if God is as powerful as we believe He is, He can definitely give us proof that He is what He is. We did not have to believe blindly.

This definitely struck a chord within me as I have never believed in formal prayer. I have always been what one would call a rebel. I have always believed in God but refused to follow any ritual unless I could understand what it was all about. Asking for proof is what I did and I definitely received what I asked for.

Refer link: http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.in/search/label/Spirituality

Refer link: http://ascensionmiracles.blogspot.in/

Well, to get back to the subject at hand….

There are different schools of thought about whether the earth is going to the 4th or the 5th dimension on December 21, 2012.

Some claim that we had entered 4th dimension on October 28, 2011 and have faced an extremely turbulent period on our way to the 5th dimension that we enter on December 21, 2012.

There is The 2012 Scenario that goes with the idea that the earth will just move through 4th dimension in a flash before entering the 5th on December, 2012.

The ultimate destination is the 5th dimension, of course. Even if it is the 4th, it is a pure positive place of ONENESS, where Duality will not exist. This is a concept that is very difficult to grasp as we have never ever experienced this in our human state.

I believe this is the first time – an experiment – when beings move into the 5th dimension with their physical bodies. Of course, our bodies have been slowly converting from carbon base to crystal base over the past few years. Each individual’s conversion pace depends on their karmas, diet, spiritual nature, time spent with nature besides other things.

But everyone who is alive at that point in time will definitely transit into the GOLDEN AGE. Can’t wait for it!

Film Review: OMG OH MY GOD!

The film brings forth TRUTH!

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Prabhu Deva, Sonakshi Sinha, Mithun Chakraborty, Govind Namdeo, Mahesh Manjrekar, Om Puri
Director: Umesh Shukla

Well, I am back to the world of blogging after a very long time – a month and a half, actually – and this one is a review of a film that touched my heart. I simply loved OMG that sounds like a clarion call for the advent of THE GOLDEN AGE. Read on to find out more…

THE STORY

Kanjibhai (Paresh Rawal) owns a shop selling idols of Gods of various religions along with other items used in rituals. He is a typical business man who would not think twice about cheating people to make more money. More than that, Kanjibhai does not believe in anything without proof. This includes ‘God’. He opts to remain an atheist as no one is able to produce the proof of the existence of God.

During an earthquake, Kanjibhai’s shop crashes down, breaking all his stock to smithereens. He is set back by more than 40 lakh rupees while he has a loan on his house. The insurance company refuses to pay him any compensation insisting that the earthquake was an act of God and the policy does not cover such a circumstance. Finding himself and his family just one foot away from being left out on the streets, Kanjibhai decides to sue ‘God’.

That’s when Krishna Vasudev Yadav (Akshay Kumar) comes down to earth to help the atheist. Now why would God do such a thing? That’s for you to see the film and find out.

MY PERCEPTION

I simply adored the concept of the film. And it was quite well made. Paresh Rawal has sailed through his role as Kanjibhai. The character is so realistic and truthful and probably brings forth a number of questions that most of us want to ask but dare not do so. Kanjibhai takes a hit at blind faith, rituals that have ceased to be meaningful and the power of God-men. All these have been my personal pet peeves. Is it surprising that I just loved the film?

The film runs for just about 2 hours and has been made quite well. While it’s quite heavy on the dialogue side, there is no other way the director could have got forth what he wants to tell the public. I heard that the film has created a load of controversy in many places. If you see the film, you will not be surprised why that must be so.

Nikhil Ratnaparki deserves a special mention. While he does not have too many dialogues, his expressions say it all. I have seen this actor in many films, but somehow have never been able to find his name in the list of casts in imdb.com and Wikipedia. Surprising!

The film brings to light a number of instances where people have suffered losses without being compensated by their insurance companies. They have no help from any source. These are definitely based on real life situations and move one to tears. A hard-hitting truth!

We have seen Akshay Kumar as a Khiladi and also as a comedian – sometimes stretching into mindless comedy. But in this film, in the avatar of Lord Krishna, the actor is subtle with very little to talk. He is simply amazing and somehow managed to instill God’s faith in the person watching the film.

VERDICT: If you are open to seeing a different point of view that will awaken you to TRUTH, then you should not miss this one. I will go so far as to call this a futuristic film.

RATING: ****Snazzy

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

Travel: SARAS BAUG IN PUNE

Saras Baug Ganesha! Ganpati Bappa Morya!

After we got off at the last stop in Pune, Vini and I took a rickshaw to Saras Baug near Swargate. This is supposedly one km from Deccan. I am not quite sure what this means, but I am sure the information will help someone making a trip to Pune. If you check on Google for Pune sightseeing, Saras Baug is one of the places that come up a lot on the first page.

Various sections of the garden

We arrived at the gates to be greeted by a ‘mela’ atmosphere. I understand that it is a regular thing there. There were mobile merry-go-rounds; a guy making cotton candy; a number of food stalls and of course a couple of shops selling flowers and ‘thalis’ to offer Lord Ganpati who is the centre of attraction in this garden.

Lily Pond with lots of fish

The whole garden is quite big with a lot of trees and stretches of grass – simply beautiful! There is a pond in the form of a moat that surrounds the hillock where the temple is. The sad thing is that the pond is quite dirty while being full of lotuses and lilies. There were a lot of fish – all of them grey or black in colour. I could not help comparing it to the pond that I saw at the aquarium in Langkawi, Malaysia. That was so clean with a number of colourful fish in it. But they probably spent a lot of money to maintain that one while the local pond just managed to survive by itself, I am sure.

The black bird's antics in the water. Don't miss it taking off in the third picture

A small black bird – maybe a duck as it kept swimming inside the water – entertained us with its many antics. It moved stealthily underwater looking for fish. It kept bobbing its head up and looked pretty cute. Suddenly it flew out of the water with a small fish in its beak and managed to swallow it at one go. Awesome show!

The entrance to the temple

A set of staircase goes up to the temple. You are warned to hold your breath tight while climbing these. This is because of the stench caused by bird droppings. I know all about those who want to yell that one should not criticise temples. Well, I am not criticising the God, only the way the place has been maintained.

I believe the temple is very old and is open all seven days of the week – from 5 am to 12.30 pm & later from 4 to 9 pm. The place was quite crowded on the Sunday I visited. The temple looks prosperous, so why doesn’t someone maintain the surroundings? I am sure Lord Ganpati with his long nose must be quite disgusted with the smell.

Inside the temple

In the meanwhile, one of the devotees who was praying hard – I saw his lips moving continuously – and circumambulating the Lord made it a point to stop me – not once, but thrice – from taking pictures. He was very clear about this rule and kept pointing out a notice board to me. I could only see one which showed a picture of a red slash over a mobile phone, nothing about cameras. I waited for him to leave before taking my pictures. The Panditji and two workers near the sanctorum did not have any objections to my using the camera. Our country will make for a better democracy without these moral police, I am sure.

The outer Prakaar

Lord Ganesha in the main sanctorum was made of marble with a golden crown. His trunk is curled to the right same as at the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. This is not the most common form, I believe. We had a wonderful darshan despite the crowd and I could go around the sanctorum for three rounds.

I could not get any literature on the temple as the office was closed being a Sunday. The Panditji was helpful enough to give me info on the timings as he told me that it was a very old temple. The outer praakar was quite big and neat and was in an oasis with so many tall trees surrounding the area. It was very peaceful just walking in that area.

Rangoli at the temple

Some people were making a beautiful Rangoli on one side with the forthcoming Independence Day as the central theme.

There is a small room that has been converted into a museum that held a few shelves full of Lord Ganesha’s statuettes. I just had a look from the outside as there did not appear much to see. One is allowed inside for a charge of Rs. 5.

After spending some time in the temple, Vinitha and I went down the staircase to reach the ground where we went in search of a toilet. There was one at the left corner of the garden. While the doors had no handles and there were no lights, the toilets were very clean and there was water. It was worth paying Rs. 3 per person for using it.

It had taken us a little more than an hour to see Saras Baug and visit the temple. We came out and decided to try out the food stalls right at the entrance. These were but shop space with tables and chairs placed on the platform in the front. A plastic awning covered the whole area as it was the rainy season, I presume. It kept drizzling intermittently and the weather was just perfect for a holiday.

As you can see, all the stalls are named Kalpana - serving chaat, pav-bhaji, juices, etc

We had a bhel puri and a cheese pav-bhaji between the two of us washed down by Musambi juice. I finished it off with an ice-cream while Vini had a mango milkshake. Not too bad for a road-side stall and the bill was quite reasonable at Rs. 275 with a few extra pavs thrown in.

We saw another customer with a Labrador pup and could not help petting the little one. I believe Bozo was just one month old and he was so sleepy. Not that it stopped us from cuddling him. He was so cute!

With Bozo

As it started to rain heavily, a rickshaw cruised along to where we were sitting and the driver agreed to take us to Koregaon Park, that too with the meter on. Not a bad deal, I thought!

Travel: A DAY TRIP TO PUNE

The Volvo that brought us home from Pune

Vinitha and I had been planning a day trip to Pune since three months and were just looking for the right time to go. I had done a bit of research on the net as to the places to see in Pune and both of us also consulted a couple of friends who are familiar with the city.

Last Sunday worked out for both of us and we left in the morning by Neeta Volvo. Luckily for us, we just had to cross the highway to the other side to catch the bus. I believe Neeta Travels has a bus leaving for Pune every hour. We missed the 7.15 am bus by five minutes and they let us take the next bus which arrived at 8 am. A one-way ticket to Pune by this limousine costed Rs. 300.

Entrance to Saras Baug, Pune

The journey lasted for about three and a half hours with one stop at Lonavla for breakfast. The route is pretty scenic and as the weather was simply gorgeous with mild rains, we had a beautiful onward journey. Of course, the two of us spent a large part of it sleeping was another matter altogether.

I was wide awake about an hour before we reached Pune and was quite thrilled to see the greenery and some waterfalls – there weren’t many as the rains have not been grea so far this year.

Temple of Lord Ganesha at Saras Baug, Pune

We reached Pune a little after 11 am and got off at the last stop. The bus driver told us it was the closest point to Swargate. We took a rickshaw from there to Saras Baug. The rickshawala refused to switch the meter on as it was Sunday – that’s what he claimed – and charged us Rs. 100 for the ride. All the rickshawalas in the area then – must have been half a dozen – appeared to be in cahoots. We did not want to hang around bargaining and left by one of them. Considering the distance travelled, I guess it must cost 40-50 rupees under normal circumstances.

Lane 1, Koregaon Park, Pune

We had a super day beginning with a darshan of Lord Ganpati at Saras Baug, a walk around the garden itself, lunch at the café outside, a ride through Pune Cantonment – an amazingly beautiful and peaceful area – by rickshaw and a visit to Koregaon Park.

At Koregaon Park, we spent some time shopping for shawls and costume jewellery. Then we went to the CCD there to escape the rains and spent some time there. Vinitha was quite upset that the German Bakery that had closed down after the bombings has never opened its doors again. We enquired about the meditation retreats at Osho Ashram, walked through the peaceful lane adjacent to it (Lane 1 of Koregaon Park) and checked out Hotel Sunderban for a future stay.

Hotel Sunderban, Koregaon Park, Pune

Vini remembered having stayed at a low key hotel around the corner and we went in search of it. We found South Court, a lovely old mansion tucked away in the left corner of the same lane. It was under renovation and had a lovely olde worlde feel about it. We could not check out the rooms as they were all occupied.

We returned to Hotel Sunderban and visited the spa there for a foot massage. Finally, we had a yummy dinner at Dario’s Restaurant and Bar – the Italian restaurant at the same hotel before leaving to catch the return bus from near Pune station.

South Court, Koregaon Park, Pune

A rickshaw dropped us at the Neeta Travels outlet and we had once again missed the 7.30 pm bus that we were booked on. Both of us were not too worried as the travel agent in Mumbai had told us very clearly that we could always catch the next one as there were many buses going to and from Pune. I believe the number of services on a Sunday were more than the other six days of the week.

Dinner at Dario's Restaurant & Bar, Hotel Sunderban, Pune

We had to wait for almost an hour while we were carted to another point at BC Coco RTO petrol pump to catch the bus. Our Volvo finally left at 8.55 pm and after a stop at Lonavla, we reached Sion at 12 midnight. We were lucky to be dropped right outside our lane and got home in barely three minutes.

What a super day!