22 Dec 2017

#325 Year 2017 at a glance

Year 2017 at a glance

Before the flight of 2017 takes off and land on the runway of 2018, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of them who formed an integral part of my life in 2017.
GoodBye 2017 and Thanks for all memories!



A genuine wish of prosperity, good health, fortune for all beautiful and supportive people out there who in spite of miles away from me keep motivating me through their good wishes and blessings....without which I would have never grown strong and independent enough to face the battles of life.. words will always fall short to showcase my gratitude to them.. consider it as my humble attempt to thank you all.. 

It proved to be a great year for me providing me a mix of failures and success. Whenever I felt down with the failures the unexpected moment of happiness replaced the feeling of dejection that each failure produced. I learnt an important lesson of nurturing the feeling of patience and hope that the best is yet to come. This feeling kept me going and helped me to successfully get over tough times. I started few habits this year and the significant one being; enlisting success, failures and wishes to fulfil in future within a deadline (in my personal diary) as Counting blessings make life more worthy of living.I’ve always believed in happy endings, so I’m only going to mention those tasks which I managed to accomplish this year.


“Even if most days can’t be half as good as today, it’s days like this that make it all worth it.” 
― Crystal Woods, Write like no one id reading 2

My Writing Endeavour

1)     Articles and poems published in
·        Agnishatdal Annual Digest 2017
·        Agnishatdal Book-2
·        Magh Issue of Agnishatdal
·        Falgun Issue of Agnishatdal
·        Jyeshtha Issue of Agnishatdal
·        The Season
·        The bibliograph
·        The shades of life-2
·        The Quite Letter
·        The Stage

     2) Giveaway Contests won: I received a total of 8 books (by participate in different contests) out of which four are paperbacks and rest are in e-book formats. It’s a completely different feeling when the signed copy of the author reaches your doorstep.

3)     Explored different writing platforms
 Mirakee:
My Mirakee Profile

ü Received a published writer badge(after applying for it by providing the list of my publications)
ü Winnner of #tpmdnanotale #tpmdmusing
ü Number of posts:627    Followers:1137

YourQuote:
My Account in YourQuote

ü I wrote 15 quotes and gained 25 followers.

Quora:
 This is what I received from Team Quora as a highlight for 2017

 

4)     Blogging Arena
·        Blog adda's wow (Writing Over the Weekend ) post: Received  10 WOW Badges for my 10 posts
·        Received Dear Zindagi Merchandise from BlogAdda
·        Received TOP POST Badge in Indiblogger for the post : A peep through my window


5)     Writing challenges completed
For each day, a prompt was given to write.
·        One week Writing prompt (September)
·        Write Tribe pro blogger challenge (October)

6)     Featured post:
Poetry Goals in Project Moet in Facebook

7)     The journey of reading


Good reads profile: 2017 reading challenge accomplished!

8)     Writing Contests won:
·        PoemOContest0
·        PoemOContest2


9)     Other non-reading and writing endeavours

·        Music App
ü Smule: A wonderful platform for singers and I feel so blessed to have got wonderful chances to collaborate with singers from different parts of the world .It’s because of Smule I learnt songs of different languages such as Bangla, Marathi etc


ü The True School of Music: Completed the courses in Hindi Music and received Grade-1 and Grade-2 certificate  

·         I tried my hands with calligraphy, doodle making, learning Deutch, touch typing



    10) Published Interviews:
·        with Sharmishtha Basu
·        with Preethi Venugopala

11)Last but not the least, I received a bunch of heartfelt comments for my works.


Currently I’ve completed the 3rd semester of post graduation in Power Electronics, waiting for another semester to complete this degree. I’ve a job offer in my hand now yet I want to explore more in the field of my expertise.

I don’t know if I’ve utilised each set of 86400 seconds of 365 days well but all I can say is that it proved to be a very happening year for me in its own way. I learnt that the company of oneself can be very very addictive! I realised the importance of hobbies to break the monotonousness of life. Then my sincere attempt was to keep myself engaged in various activities lest my mind should turn into a devil’s workshop. There’s so much to accomplish in days to come and miles to go before I sleep!

Signing off for 2017 now! I hope that your experience of 2017 would have been as much exciting as that of mine.
This is how the wall of my room looks like! Words inspire me!

© Swati Sarangi
22.12.2017

#324 Giveaway of Coffee Date


The owner of the signed copy of the author.. :) 

26 Nov 2017

#319 A center for fitness enthusiasts

A centre for fitness enthusiasts
Image result for fitness painting

A call for all fitness enthusiasts out there!

Who does not want to be fit and fine but are you all ready to invest enough effort which is required to make you fit and fine? If your answer is in affirmative, then you’ve found out the destination to live your dream.

Fitness is a word that everyone is acquainted with. It is not confined to any age group. It’s like a balanced diet to a family. A family can never be considered to be a happy one if one or two of its members are ill. So, fitness is definitely a factor for the well being of a family.
          

This centre for fitness constitutes a group of fitness experts, doctors, dieticians, trainers who are going to guide you through your journey to fitness and there will be separate batches for different age groups. Let’s pledge to make the nation healthy.

So a cordial invitation to all to join the inaugural ceremony to be scheduled on 1st of Dec at Galaxy Palace. Other relevant information regarding timing, strength of batches, membership fees etc shall be discussed over there.

Till then for any other queries please contact +91 98xxxxxxxx or drop your queries at contact@centerforfitness.com

Looking forward to your participation! 
Creative advertisement for a fitness centre

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

©Swati Sarangi
26.11.2017


Edit : I got WOW badge for this post.
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19 Nov 2017

#317 Top Indivine post

A mail like this in the morning makes my day..

A badge for which I craved ! :D

It feels immensely great when my post has been appreciated in one of the leading blogging platforms. This has always been in my wish-list to get the badge of top post in Indiblogger. This makes my day. 

Thanks to the team of Indiblogger for the honor.

Read my post winning the Top post badge here-

This is how it looks like to be on the first page of Indiblogger:


18 Nov 2017

#316 A peep through my window

A peep through my window
Image result for peeping through the window

Observation is a unique way of looking at God’s creations.  The things appear with their innate beauty and charm when we try to observe them silently for some time. The beauty or charm that those things confide in them, start to inspire the observer, that were once obsolete to him.

In my room, I’ve put my study table close to the window. The time I open the windows in the morning, I find two benches kept in front of my eyes. There comes a guava tree in proximity with those benches providing a shade to those who sit on these benches during the days of summer. Yes, you have guessed it right. It’s a small park that my act of peeping through the window of my room leads me to. Not many people come here; it seems to be an abandoned one, surrounded by boundaries of the houses. I imagined the scene when the park would have got filled with people of different age group; number of toddlers with their parents, old age people who have come with their friends for appreciating the beauty of the nature, couples sharing love with each other. In the evening, the park would have got a great venue for hangout for teens when they had found the stalls of different vendors selling mouth watering delicacies; snacks near the park.

Image result for benches in park

I’ve spent almost 2 years watching this abandoned park through my window. Sometimes, there’s a rustling sound which is produced by the movement of people over the leaves that have left their origins. I become anxious to watch those fellows who actually remember this place. Days after days when I sit near my window to watch all those before my eyes with different emotions of mine inside my heart, I can conclude that this park has proved to be a faithful companion for me; staying the same in all seasons as if it has beautifully proclaimed, “For men may come and men may go but I go on forever” [Lines from the poem Brook by Alfred Lord Tennyson]

A queue of small red coloured ants carrying things heavier than their weights distract me from my series of thoughts and remind me of a famous saying, “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” I could sense the commencement of evening and without any delay, I started to pull the windows back so as to prevent the uninvited scourge of mosquitoes to enter my room.   

I also realised how important it is to peep through the windows of our hearts; an act of observing inner feelings without any sense of judgement. Yes, there’s always a need of self introspection, I believe. It acts as a remainder; a guidance to what should actually be done in one’s life. The process of peeping through the window of our mind and soul is little bit different from that of the peeping through a physical window of my room as former requires a meditative perspective and most of the time, it is a challenge to concentrate on our inner thought amidst so much noise.

The act of peeping through the window takes me to my memory lane where a similar incident from the past gets revived and I feel very grateful to those inanimate things doing wonders. Never had I known the power of observation until I started to peep through my window!


Look Outside Your Window. WOW.
This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’ 


Edit:

I received the top post badge in Indiblogger for this post.. :D 


©Swati Sarangi

18.11.2017

10 Nov 2017

#313 Stop not when you're tired

Stop not when you’re tired


Ruk jaana nahin tu kabhi haar k
Kaanton pe chalke milenge saaye bahar ke
O! Raahi ..O! Raahi..

 Don’t stop by assuming yourself as being defeated
On walking over the thorns, you’ll get to face moments of happiness
Oh! Traveller ..Oh! Traveller...

One of the songs that effortlessly flashed in my mind at a lightning speed the moment I saw the topic is the above one. I am not only energised by its powerful melody but also enchanted by the melody of the song.  The song has been a part of the movie Imtihaan written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and music direction of it was done by Laxmikaant Pyarelaal. Who can ever miss the most melodious voice of the era, of Kishore Kumar?

Let me share the tale of my recently found love for the app, Smule, in brief.  I came across this app containing karaoke of various songs few months ago. I enjoyed recording songs in it to the core and the features it contains, adds flavours to the voice being recorded.  Not only has it improved my knowledge in lyrics of different songs but also helped me to collaborate with brilliant singers across the globe; something that I always wanted to do! I recorded this song on the day of Teacher’s day, 5th September as a tribute to all those teachers who motivated me to never give up in the struggle of life and continue to move forward with all might.

So, presenting the recording of the song through app, Smule, in my voice with a talented co-singer before you all. I hope that you’ll enjoy listening to it.

This song has been described among the motivational songs of Bollywood. So, how can I ever miss it in my playlist and learning it was a completely delightful act. Each word of the song has a deep meaning.  We are like travellers, traversing through various frames of time and space. We face many challenges during our journey which either make us or break us. The impact of the challenges that we come across during the journey is solely based on the choices we make in labelling them.

It’ll be unfair if I don’t translate the entire song which serves as a powerful dosage of motivation. Here it goes:

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Sooraj dekh ruk gaya hai ,Tere aage jhook  gaya hai
Jab kabhi aise koi mastaana
Nikle hai apni dhun mein diwaana
Shaam suhaani ban jaate hain, din intezaar ka
O Raahi ... O Raahi..

See, how sun has stopped as if to bow down before you
Whenever someone determined, sets out on his path
Evenings appear even more fascinating even through waiting for the next day
Oh! Traveller... Oh! Traveller.......

Saathi na kaarwaan hai, yeh teraa imtihaan hai
Yoon hi chala chal dil ke sahaare
Karti hai manzil tujhko ishaare
Dekh kahin koi rok na le tujhko pukaar ke
O Raahi... O Raahi...

Oh! Friend ,this is not caravan but your exam
Keep going with the hope in your heart
Your destiny is calling you
Be cautious lest you should not be stopped by anyone.

Nain aansoon jo liye hain , yeh raahon ke diye hain
Logon ko unka sab kuchh deke
Tu to chala tha, sapne hi leke
Koi nahin to tere apne hain sapne ye pyaar ke
O Raahi... O Raahi..  

The tears that your eyes hold are like lamps, enlightening your path
After returning everything of others
You set out on your mission with the dreams of yours  
Even though no one is with you yet your dreams accompany you
Oh! Traveller ... Oh! Traveller.....

So, stop not when you’re tired, stop when you are done- Anonymous



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

©Swati Sarangi
10.11.2017

#312 WOW Post-7

3 Nov 2017

#311 The Timer

The Timer
Image result for The timer

I’ve a set of thirty minutes to write this post. When I convert this duration into seconds, then I’ve an entire set of 1800 seconds. The moment I finished this conversion of minutes into seconds, my mind gave me an indication of having surplus of time because of the figure along with the hint of the rate of passage of these seconds. I’m now more focused on what to write as I feel that I won’t be left with much time to redraft or correct anything. So, my level of consciousness with each thought and the way that can be expressed through words rises.

With this thought of timer, I wonder how our lives are no different from the stage whose plays are well timed and yes, we are the actors. The director has designed everything perfectly and the allotted time can never be distorted or changed. Like each particle of sand falling down to the lower chamber of an hour glass, each second of our lives passes by and most of the times we are unconscious about it. We tend to think that we have much more time to accomplish tasks which we think we can, until certain deadlines approach and intimidate us. Without the knowledge of certain time frame or deadlines, it becomes difficult to focus or use our potential to its maximum.

I wonder how efficient our lives will turn out to be when we set the timer for each task we want to accomplish. The timer has to be set inside the mind for obvious reasons. This will enable one to completely drive out the background thoughts and focus more intensely in meeting the deadlines. This is what I’ve realised over this on-going session of thirty minutes. One more important aspect which is associated with the concept of having limited time is that our thoughts get more streamlines. We tend to limit all sorts of background thoughts which are irrelevant in completing the task so that the probability of achieving it becomes high. The background no longer disturbs us when we indulge ourselves completely in a task. I have luckily experienced this state during my school days and my stay at home. As I stepped out of my home to embrace the life at hostel, I felt a hell lot amount of distractions.

Our mind is constantly in motion. It produces zillions of thoughts each second which is difficult to be deciphered. It keeps on creating or recreating circumstances which are mostly imaginary. An idle mind is devils workshop, this is something we have been hearing since ages but a wandering mind is equally unproductive. Setting a timer or constraining time limit to perform a task will always act as a filter for irrelevant thoughts leading to the state of distraction from the main stream. It will not only help us achieve our goals but also let us discover our potential without thinking much. Planning is always an important thing but too much time spent on planning does not result in fruitful implementation.  

Mind, Oh! My mind,
Why do you wander so much?
Whenever I try to control you
You produce even more thoughts than before
Is there a simple rule to conquer you?
I have tried to search for many clues
But got none as a result.

I would like to conclude this post with this line, “The one who has conquered his mind can conquer the world.”

P.S: I enjoyed writing this post and it is a one-time drafted post. Each word of this post has been written by setting a timer of thirty minutes and adhering strictly to it. Thanks to my typing speed because of which it has been possible for me to complete it within the prescribed limit.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’ 
WOW - 30 minutes timer to just write!
 ©Swati Sarangi
03.11.2017


Edit: I got the WOW Badge for this post.. Happy me! :D

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