If Reading is like inhaling and Writing like exhaling -- do readers just inhale and writers just exhale?

Dear Viewers,

Here’s wishing you all a very happy and productive 2021!  Thank you for your continued support and readership of our blog leftrightthodasacenter which you can now view on Facebook also.  We are beginning the New Year on a positive note with a brand new post dedicated to you. It was inspired by Sinchita’s article The Trouble with Authors (which you perhaps read on Facebook, if not, you may read it here) and Ms Gunjan Joshi and Ms Satabdi B Raghani’s comments on the Facebook edition of the same.

Both Ms Joshi and Ms Raghani are authors/writers in their own accord.      

Gunjan Joshi has been a previous contributor to these pages (Read her post ThePursuit of Making Shoes Taking Myriad Shapes).

Going on to the current post then --

Reading and Writing: Two Sides of the Same Page? 

               

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

Wrote Omar Khayyam of Fate….but as most readers will agree, it could very well have been about our favourite authors, who have all of us at their mercy.  Nothing we can do can change “even half a Line” in what they write — but the question is do we want them to? Indeed, not only do we not want them to change “even half a Line,” we want them to write more of the same, which all our “Tears wash out (even) a Word.” Such is our helplessness…in fact, even as I write this, I can see myself curled up with my best-loved story, going straightaway to those favourite bits on the already tear-stained pages, that make me smile or weep, and actually smile or wipe away tears though I might have done the very same thing just the last week.  I feel sure that there must be hundreds of such “helpless” people out there, who do just that and, some, emboldened by admitting to the action (like me), do it unashamedly and don’t care what anyone says about it. That is the kind of power authors wield over us.

“If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field/That is for ever England” wrote Rupert Brooke of an English soldier, who dies in a war fought on distant shores far away from England, and lies buried in an unmarked grave in the open fields of that foreign country, that he says will remain “forever England.” There is a similar corner in our heart that is “forever yours” dear authors.  It’s sacrosanct to you; no one else enters there, but you.

And yes, wherever we go your characters come with us, “immortal,” (as Gunjan says) omnipresent, becoming part of our lives; in Sibani's words “blending in beautifully with every living being” we meet….we see shades of them in people, flowers, birds, animals that come our way forever afterwards. They never die because they are invested as Sibani feel, “with a piece of (the writer's) soul and breathe its air.” And particularly when the story is fresh in our minds, as Gunjan would have us believe, they start “dominating” us.  We even "are these people at any given point of time – besides being everything else that we are!" And disentangling ourselves from them becomes "harder and harder" for us too. You (authors) "create their world, but once the story is over, you shift+delete and can never be a part of their journey anymore" (The Trouble with Authors). But unlike you, us “helpless” readers can’t shift+delete ever; we remain part of their journeys forever.

Writing a sequel or a series would make us even more “helplessly” involved with them, I am sure. 

Finally, I would say if “Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it,” (The Trouble with Authors) then  reading a book is like that child having a rebirth? And as many times a book gets read, by the same person or by different people, it has that many rebirths.

What do you think?  I would love to read your views in the comment section.

The Trouble with Authors

A writer’s journey is difficult on different levels. It may be more so for women authors writing fiction! When you start out, it’s easy as a breeze. You’re in control, all-powerful. There’s a whole new world inside your mind. And in this world, there are people whose fates you can determine, who will do what you make them do, who will live and act like you want them to.

Really? NO!

It’s only until you reach the second or third chapter. And then you realize you’re not the one in control; they are! This world and these people are no longer your playthings; they are living, breathing entities that rule your heart and mind. You cannot give them just any story. You have to give them the story they deserve. Then on, it’s a difficult ride. You live their life, think their thoughts, feel their feelings. You laugh with them; you cry with them. And if there are two people on two sides of any spectrum (like it was with Swayam and Mrinmayi from Cadence, Interrupted!), then you are both these people at any given point of time – besides being everything else that you are!

It’s a joyride undoubtedly – and unlike any other – but it gets harder and harder by the end. At least, for me; and I’m not talking about the difficulty of finishing a story (thankfully, I haven’t been there yet).

This is not something I’ve seen many writers share. However, I must confess I’m definitely sad when I put the last period after the last word of a book. It’s like being in the most intimate relationship of your life for months and years, and then suddenly it’s not there. Publishing your work is like ending all activity in your relationship – shift+delete everything - phone numbers, contact details, social media, and then pack your bags and leave the town. Of course, you will remember. These people will remain a part of you forever, but you will not be a part of their journeys anymore. They will continue with their lives in their world – that you created but that is now totally, exclusively theirs.

I don’t know if writing a sequel or a series can take away this desolation, but can an extension replicate the original? Maybe, a writer friend who has written a sequel or a series can enlighten me, or maybe I should write one and find out!

And Truman Capote takes it a notch higher:

“Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.”

Well, this was just musing I put down on paper after sending my fourth baby out into the world – From the Stars We Stole.

It’s been yours since this Christmas.

Get your copy here

Reviewing From the Stars We Stole, a fabulous book by Sinchita Ganguly

What a story! Aai shapath…sab kuch hai isme – situations ke maare do lovers, family members jo ban gaye dushman, dhokha dene wale dost, badon se samajhdaar bacche, bedroom scenes ……….you name it. Believe it or not……..songs bhi hain! But the story, boss…the story!! That’s where the similarity between this and a phillum ends.  Because this is bilkul hatke without any emosional atyachaar or faltoo bakwas.  One hundred percent punch-packed kahaani.  Ekdum jadoo hai jadoo…….aisa magic hai, jo poorey 2020 mein missing tha.  Absolute page-turner, patakha kahani until you reach The End and then you wish the story had never come to an end. If you ask me, that’s the ONLY tragedy in the story……that it comes to an end. It’s a real challenge to put this book down without finishing the story first.  I’m sure you are thinking kya phenku review hai – Read the story and then kasam se, khoob beetegi jab milenge phenku do do! Aap aur mein!! Fans forever

Find the trailer here

Order the book here

Kolhapuri chutney/dry spice mix

Description

This is a traditional spice mix of Kolhapur.  We Kolhapuris (आम्ही कोल्हापुरी) cannot cook without this spice mix.  This mixture contains most of the spices used in Indian cuisine and one need not add anything else to the recipe after adding this.  Kolhapuri rassa and sukka recipes are incomplete without Kolhapuri chutney.  Local Kolhapuri people generally prepare this in large quantities (5-6 kg of chillies which yields about 10-12 kg of chutney) in the summer and store it in large china containers.  The chillies and spices are pounded (not ground in a flour mill).  The pounding gives a distinct flavour to the chillies.  My mother-in-law used to own a pounding machine that she operated in a room attached to the house.  The aroma of the chutney floating through the house during the summer months was mesmerising.  Today, I am bringing to you a recipe she taught me that has been graded down and can be prepared at home.

Ingredients:

Red chilli powder - 500 gm

Refined cooking oil - 1/2 L (approx)

Rock salt - 500 gm

Dry coconut - 150 gm

Ingredients for dry roasting:

Coriander seeds (dhaniya) 75 g

White sesame seeds (til) - 75 g

Ingredients to be roasted in a generous amount of oil

Bay leaves (tamalpatri) - 5-10

Black pepper  (kali mirch) - 3-4 (if you do not like it too spicy, skip)

Cloves (laung) - 8-10

Cinnamon (dalchini) - two 2-inch pieces

Black cardamom (kali elaichi)- 5

Green cardamom (hari elaichi)- 8-10

Star anise (Badam phool ) - 2

Mace (Jaipatri)- 2 (also called Ram patri or Ram phool)

Tailed pepper (nakeshwar) - 1 tsp

Asafetida (hing) - 1/2 cube (usually 1 inch x 1 inch)

Turmeric stick (halkund) - 3

Nutmeg (Jaiphal) - 1/2

Black stone flower (dagadful) - one pinch

Mustard seeds - 2 tsp.

Onions - 250 gm

Ingredients to be added raw

Garlic - 100 gm (peeled)

Ginger - 100 gm (washed and skinned)

Coriander leaves (washed, dried and chopped) - 1 cup

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 75 g

Black cumin seeds (shahjeera) - 1 tsp

Method:

1.  Peel and slice the ginger, peel the garlic, peel and chop the onions, slice the dry coconut in thin slices.

2.  In a pan, dry roast sesame seeds until they splutter.  Set aside.

3.  Dry roast the coriander seeds till the aroma is liberated.  Set aside in a separate plate.

4.  Ensure the rock salt is absolutely dry (you can dry it out in the sun or roast in a pan).

5.  Check your cumin seeds.  If they are not very crisp (usually happens in cloudy weather/monsoon) warm them up for a couple of minutes in the pan.

6.  Heat approx 100 ml of oil in the pan.  Roast the dry coconut till golden brown in colour.  Remove from oil and set aside.

7.  In the same pan, add in some more oil and roast each of the ingredients under the heading " Ingredients To Be Roasted In A Generous Amount Of Oil" (excluding onions) one by one in the order they are listed.  Add in oil as needed.  You can collect all of the oil-roasted ingredients in the same container. 

8.  Add in rest of the oil and roast the onions on a low flame till golden brown.

9.  Let all the ingredients cool down.

10.  In a mixer grinder, finely grind all the coriander seeds.  Run the powder through a sieve.  If there is too much residue in the sieve, grind again with some salt.  Run through the sieve again.

11.  Grind the sesame seeds with a handful of salt to a fine powder.

12.  Grind the dry coconut slices finely with some salt.

13.   Grind the oil-roasted spices (add in the cumin seeds) finely with some salt.

14.  Drain oil from onion.  Grind the mixture of oil, garlic, ginger, and coriander leaves with all the remaining salt to a fine paste.  DO NOT ADD ANY WATER.

15.  In a large bowl, add in the chilli powder, coriander powder, sesame powder, dry coconut powder, and all the ground spices including the ginger/garlic/onion/coriander paste and mix uniformly.  Add in the oil drained from the roasted onions and mix again.  Cover with a clean fabric and set aside to cool down for 10-12 hours.  Store in an airtight container.  Stays well for over a year.

Tips

• Adding salt while grinding helps to make a fine powder or paste of the ingredients without having to add water. 
• When using this spice mix in your daily cooking, skip salt or add minimum salt after tasting.  You will get an idea of the amount of salt needed after cooking a couple of times.
• Do not store the mix in a metal container as the salt will corrode the metal.  Ideally, it is stored in chinaware, but Tupperware or food-grade airtight plastic containers should also do.

Of Admissions Consulting

Yesterday morning, I received a long-pending testimonial from one of my old clients who has gone to Harvard. The message was personal; so, I’m not going to repeat it here. What I do want to mention is a phrase he used – ‘Life Mentor’ – that reinforces the one thing I’ve always believed about being an admissions consultant.

Ours is a queer and demanding profession. For six months a year, and arguably, the most happening six months for an Indian (July to January), we forget everything. Family and personal commitments take a backseat resulting in missed holidays, rushed festivals, skipped meals, shortened storytelling sessions, and not to forget, the perpetually postponed beautician appointments J We plunge headlong into the mad rush of one deadline after another, innumerable brainstorming and strategizing calls, editing of countless documents, and fact finding and researching on numerous programs, universities, and professions. Nearly every season, we think, “That’s it! Next year, we’ll do something else!” But we still carry on beating all odds, working round the clock, living a lopsided life, prioritizing ‘clients’ above all.

Then, why? What makes us carry on year after year, dreading the ‘peak season,’ waiting for it to get over, and then missing it when it is actually over?

Sure, we work for money! But money alone cannot motivate the overcoming of such challenges as we do every year. Speaking for myself, there are three answers to this.

There are very few professions that give a person the ability to touch other lives in the deepest, most tangible ways. Ours is one of those. We deal with dreams. And we make them come true. We help people find their truest voice, uncover their greatest strengths, and take them where they want to be. It can be an undergraduate degree when they create for themselves a launch-pad for greater success; a research program through which they are capacitated for original contributions to any field of their choice; or advancement programs through which they build skills and knowledge that will take them to greater heights or on a new path they want to chalk for themselves. We stimulate thought and action and map them to the right direction, ensuring they are set for the success they have dreamt of. It is the attitude of the admissions consultant that makes all the difference here. You have the opportunity to be a ‘life mentor’ – as my client mentions J - and for me, that is the greatest motivation of all in being an admissions consultant.

The second reason – learning. Yes, it is perhaps the only profession where you get to learn about all other professions! The Arts, the Sciences, Engineering, Technology, Commerce, Management, and all the diversified interdisciplinary domains there are. We guide actors and directors, economists and scientists, leaders and path-breakers, social activists and entrepreneurs  – in that phase of their careers when they are waiting for their potential to unfurl and begin their journeys to their cherished goals. But that is not all. We learn about people and from people – enthusiastic youngsters, seasoned professionals, passionate researchers, men and women, dreamers, lost souls, and focused achievers. We deal with them all. We learn about cultures and nations. We learn about vocations, ambitions, and ideals.  We learn to articulate and to listen. And we grow in myriad ways (apart from sideways, in our chair, of course).

The third reason – challenges. (With due respect to all men in the profession), most admissions consultants are women! Does that say something? Yes, the gender that thrives on challenges of the most complex kinds. Those who know to push their limits, reach outside their comfort zone to bring out the best in themselves, multitask profusely both mentally and physically, be decisive under the most trying of circumstances, and nurture others. That’s admissions consulting for you! When twenty-four hours of the day are not enough and you got to decide between masala dosa or cheese sandwich (the latter giving you half an hour extra to finish one essay), a naamkaran ceremony or half-day picnic (where you can wear your jeans and carry your laptop or at least finish one brainstorming session!), and the children’s park or a badminton match (obviously the former because then you can think of your next application strategy while your child plays). But that’s not all! You have your clients – the ones who don’t talk and the ones who talk too much, the ones who can’t write and the ones who send 5-pagers for 100 words, the ones who don’t know a thing and the ones who know it all; and, the ‘best’ part, the nosy parents and the NRI sisters. For each one, you have a different strategy and it must come to you in the blink of an eye. Because there is just no time!

In sum, an admissions consultant is your ‘nutty professor’ – by which I mean she is going nuts herself but still knows to guide you with composure and tact. She is your mentor, sounding board, and jack of all trades, literally (aspiring to be your master….ahem, just saying!)

So there! Having said all that, I realize I have just had a cathartic moment! Now I feel so much better and well prepared for the coming season J Let’s rejoice then and believe that we are a lucky lot. Our job is tough but our job is more rewarding than many others. We see, we learn, we grow. With every season, we become better. And as we shape other lives, we shape ourselves too – becoming fiercer and stronger, versatile and focused, empathetic and energetic (and not to forget – more apple-shaped or pear-shaped, as the case may be).

Before I conclude, in case you’re wondering what Po and Shifu are doing in my post, that’s what my client calls me – the Shifu to his Po – and that’s no less than the crown of lifetime achievement sitting ‘fat’ on my head (though I have no intention of retiring anytime, soon or late)!

What’s your take on admissions consulting?

The Pursuit of Making Shoes Taking Myriad Shapes

Can the intricate winding streets of an Indian metropolis carve the career of an explorer? How can a city that has been the focus of the satirical outpourings of numerous authors become the fancy of an archetypal small-townie? The quest for the answers to these questions can be cut short if one turns his or her attention to the journey of Pooja Thakur, CEO, Praefinio Footwear. 

It was a little, brightly-coloured radio in a colourful cover that caught my attention as I sat next to Pooja, elegantly perched on a couch in her home in an army cantonment, away from the cacophony of the metropolis. The second thing that caught my attention was a shell, which she told me she had collected from a beach long ago. I concluded my observation with the realisation that hoarding antiques was one of her favourite leisure activities. As we sat discussing the invaluable endnotes and the creative dexterity of Chiragh-e-Dair (The Lamp of the Temple), one of Ghalib’s long epochal poems, she sipped her tea thoughtfully and plunged into a reverie, going back in time to 2016, when she began her journey of designing shoes with just two shoe-makers.
Without a degree in footwear designing to fall back upon, the only thing she had to go by was the numerous pairs of shoes she had bought as part of her preliminary research, to dissect and observe their anatomy. Adding to her woes was the distance that she had to cover frequently between wherever her husband was stationed to her prospective factory. Her travails eventually paid off when she established a manufacturing unit in Delhi with twenty workers that produced footwear for almost all major e-commerce portals for children such as hopscotch.com, firstcry, and babycouture.

Her first brand was a sole-less shoe for infants called Bootie Pie. “Kids usually absorb the world through images. Hence, I wanted to make something that would engage and hold  kids’ attention while being affordable for their parents.” She recalled how as a child, all she did was drawing and painting. “I vividly recall my favourite characters from stories such as Peter Pan, Matilda, Heidi, and The Secret Garden only through their caricatured imagery. I aspire to bring this unique imaginative quality of children and its delicate nature into the entire range of my footwear.” She confesses that she felt deterred on several occasions when she had to wander about alone late on dark winter nights to collect sampling material for shoes from unsafe, ghetto-like localities, while her own home in a distant cantonment waited for her lifelessly. Today, as she launches a new brand of footwear called Pabla for kids, all these recollections bring a smile to her face.
Pooja’s road to being an established children’s shoe manufacturer now begins with sketching random designs, synchroninsing her idea of a pair of shoes with that of a shoe-maker, extending to copy-writing taglines for her brands and attending unplanned meetings with buyers. She confides with a child-like smile, “My grocery lists at home often end up becoming my idea journals for my shoe designs.” 

Apart from her work and the passion of collecting antiques, painting still occupies most of Pooja’s leisure time. This was evident from her paintings ranging from scenes at a fish market in a coastal town to the profound face of Buddha in meditation that adorn the walls of her home. She adds, “I am a quintessential small-townie and love accumulating designs and colours from small markets, preserving pickle and papad recipes inherited from mothers and cooking at home. Art to me dwells in the colourful paraphernalia of the small towns and villages of our country.” Does she have any favourite small-town markets? “Difficult to choose one, but I like Aminabad in Lucknow, Kinari Bazaar in Agra, Lakkar Bazaar in Shimla and the likes,” she adds quickly. 

She reverts to being her meditative self, emphasising that the privileged section of society should realise the significance of giving back to the economically weaker sections. Earlier, her efforts were confined to the welfare of her workforce, but now she has decided to focus them on financing the education of as many girl children as possible. I tried to delve into further details, but she was reluctant to reply because of her belief that an act of kindness should always be silent. Elaborating a little, however, she said, “I draw my inner strength from my hard-working and dedicated team who work non-stop during tough phases of production. To honour their perseverance, I started a salary system of payment in my unit because there is usually no salary system for the unorganised workforce in our country.”

And who or what is the inspiration behind her zen-like attitude while she handles the crazy commotion of the production floor and the demands of being an army wife? This has always been her father and her husband, she replies-- while the former always believed in her dreams and ideas of doing good for others, the latter stood by her unfailingly through all the ups and downs, every peak and trough, of her journey. 

“Our duties transcend us and develop a heightened awareness about our capabilities”, she concludes like a Tao monk.  

About the Author

Gunjan Joshi is a Delhi-based editor of a monthly, a part-time columnist, and an art and literature critic. An ardent lover of books and nature in general (and the Himalayas, in particular),  she admires classics in every form.  Bliss for her is psithurism emanating from old Deodar trees, reading a fine literary journal in a quaint village in coniferous surroundings and a display of archaic military chivalry.

NOTE:

This article is a reader contribution and all views and opinions in the article are those of the writer alone.  Other readers who may be interested in contributing to this blog may mail their articles with a short biography and a profile pic to left.right.tcenter@gmail.com.  The right to publication rests with the blog owners.

May 1: International Labour Day

“If the workers took a notion they could stop all speeding trains; Every ship upon the ocean they can tie with mighty chains. Every wheel in the creation, every mine and every mill; Fleets and armies of the nation, will at their command stand still.

“There is power in a band of working men, when they stand, hand in hand. That’s a power that must rule in every land.”

Joe Hill

May 1 is marked as International Labour Day, also referred to as May Day. It celebrates the struggles of the working class and the efforts of labour unions. Labour Day is an annual public holiday in many countries. In India, Labour Day is referred as AntarrashtriyaShramikDiwas or Kamgar Dinand was first celebrated here in the year 1923.

It is also referred as International Workers' Day or just Workers’ Day. 

For most countries, Labour Day is synonymous with, or linked with International Workers’ Day which occurs on 1^st of May. For other countries, Labour Day is celebrated on a different date, often one with special significance for the labour movement in that country.

For example, this year China is celebrating May 5 as International Labour Day as May 5 happens to be the birth date of Karl Marx, who propounded the economic theory of labour and capital so closely associated with communism.  In Canada and the United States, this holiday is celebrated on the first Monday of September and is generally considered as the unofficial end of the sunny days, with summer holidays ending and students returning to school around then.

Labour Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken.

Bill Dodds

During industrialisation, in beginning of the 19th century, the industrialists used to exploit the labour class and made them work for up to 15 hours a day. The workers rose against this exploitation and demanded paid leaves, proper wages and workday breaks for the workforce.

The eight-hour day labour movement advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. The Labour Day annually celebrates the achievements of the workers.  

While the day has a different significance in different countries, the main reason for Labour Day is unfair treatment of the labour class.

What does labour want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; morejustice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures.

Workingmen are at the foundation of society. Show me that product of human endeavor in the making of which the workingman has had no share, and I will show you something that society can well dispense with.

Samuel Gompers

Labour is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labour, and could never have existed if labour had not first existed.Labour is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Abraham Lincoln

 

May 1 was chosen to be International Workers' Day to commemorate the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago. In that year, on May 1, there was a general strike for the eight-hour workday. On May 4, the police acted to disperse a public assembly in support of the strike when an unidentified person threw a bomb. The police responded by firing on the workers. The event led to several deaths.The incident is remembered as the Haymarket Affair, or the Haymarket Massacre.

International Workers’ Day was officially recognized in 1889 at the International Socialist Congress in Paris to commemorate the Haymarket Affair.  Following more violent protests in the US, the Socialist Congress of 1904 made it mandatory to stop work on May Day, calling on“all Social-Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class of the proletariat, and for universal peace.”

Workers of the world awaken. Break your chains, demand your rights. All the wealth you make is taken, by exploiting parasites. Shall you kneel in deep submission from your cradle to your grave.Is the height of your ambition to be a good and willing slave?

Labour Day or May Day has been a focal point of protests by various socialist and communist groups and is an important holiday in communist countries like China, North Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union countries.

 

Here’s wishing that you are finding happiness and satisfaction in the work that you do. Happy Labour Day, everyone! (particularly, housewives)

This day is a reminder to housewives not to despair.  Do not lose hope thinking that this world does not remember you and your endless slaving (Labour by any other name would still mean the same, right?).  Here is a whole, entire day, actually a holiday, dedicated to you.  It’s celebrated all over the world in honour of workers and their right to the eight-hour workday.  So stand up (no, actually sit down) for your right to rest, relax and recharge.It’s a reminder every year that 

“There is power in a band of working (wo)men, when they stand, hand in hand. (when they sit with their feet up). That’s a power that must rule in every land.”

Let’s paraphrase (with due apologies to Joe Hill):

If housewives took a notion they could stop all their speeding husbands; Every office upon the earth they can tie with mighty chains. Every wheel in the creation, every mine and every mill; Fleets and armies of the nation, will at their command stand still.

So come on!  You only need to believe in yourselves and take the notion.  Any takers?

Image credits:

destinyconnect.com

hiveminer.com 

freepressjournal.com