#295 Book Review

Canvas of a mind

Author: Purba Chakraborty

Genre: Fiction- Mystery/Romance

Format: Paperback

Pages: 168

Publisher: Becomeshakespeare.com

Star:4.5/5 (Self)

Review: This fiction has been categorised into 28 chapters. There is a heartfelt note to the one the novel has been dedicated to. The author acknowledges everyone who helped her to come up with this novel.

The plot revolves around the life of two sisters, Akashi and Ipsha who are residing in the lap of beautiful place called Kalimpong. Their parents died in an accident, since then the elder sister Akashi who is an assistant professor in a college now, has been playing the role of guardian to her younger sister, Ipsha who is in 12^th standard.  Akashi faces a breakup with her boyfriend because of issues in the long distant relationship. Before she could fully get over that, she encounters another tempest of her life. Ipsha  gets trapped in the romance of a stranger who keeps stalking her, observes her every action, interacts with her through love notes and plays a very enchanting tune in harmonica to woo her.

Once Ipsha grabs the chance to know about the stalker who claims to love her and he introduces himself as the son of famous businessman Akhilesh Walia , Arjun Walia who has come to Kalimpong for some business purpose.

After a lot of attempts of persuation from Ipsha to meet Akashi, finally Arjun agrees to meet Akashi. Akashi prepares a delicious dinner for all of them. When Ipsha introduces Arjun to Akashi,Akashi is startled at the familiarity of Arjun’s face but is unable to recall . At the end of their meting session, Akashi starts playing the piano and both of them start singing melodiously.

The next morning, Akashi to clarify her doubt, reaches at the hotel where Arjun is staying and asks him to confess about his real identity.  Akashi’s research of previous might about the Walia group of business  Arjun confesses about everything  , how he once accidentally dropped a packet of drug in the purse of Akashi at railway station once and now has come to get that packet. In the process of stalking Akashi, he falls in love with her younger sister, Ipsha.

One day when Ipsha is with Arjun on a date, a group of goons arrives to threaten Arjun. A fight breaks out between them and in that fight Arjun jumps off from the cliff and dies. Ipsha being shocked at that incidence, when returns back to the home, locks herself up in the room. When police comes to enquire about Arjun, Ipsha reveals that Arjun has escaped through the window.

The next moment an intense argument crops up between two sisters as a result of which Ipsha slits her wrist. Then Ipsha is taken to the hospital where her treatment starts. Akashi , on insisted by the doctor, reveals everything about the incidence and through medical reports it is brought into Akashi’s notice that Ipsha has always suffered from Schizophrenia . The doctor advises Akashi to shift to a different place so as to keep Ipsha out of the some of the haunting thoughts of her past. Vihaan plays the role of the savior at that crucial point by inviting them to stay with him at Delhi.

At Delhi, Akashi gets Ipsha admitted to an Art School where she starts to enjoy learning different skills of painting. Fast forward… Akashi on her wedding day , is gifted a beautiful painting by Ipsha. That painting is drawn by the collective effort of Ipsha and Arjun, a boy whom she befriended in art school. The story ends with an optimistic note that whatever we keep painting in the canvas of our minds, will come true one day.

My Experience: First of all, Thanks to Writer’s Ezine for conducting a giveaway contest through which I earned this novel. My joy knew no bounds when the autographed copy of the author arrived at my doorstep and little did I know it then that I would very soon start to appreciate this miracle. This novel became my best companion during the journey I travelled. It maintained the mystery till the end which kept me engaged till my journey ended.

To be frank, I liked everything about this novel starting from the design of the cover, the title, lucid description of each chapter etc .I like the way in which each chapter has been started with few words which seem more like quotations to substantiate the essence of the chapter.

Thumbs up to the description of bonding between two sisters and the responsibility that the elder sister bears for being the sole guardian of her sibling. I liked the narration about the beauty of the place. Through meticulous description of words, I could very well imagine the breathtaking beauty of place situated among the lap of nature miles away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city life. The framing up of dialogues are much appreciated.

Kudos to the writer for her tremendous effort to bring out this novel in the best possible way. I would strongly recommend it for others to read who want a blend of mystery, romance and narration.

© Swati Sarangi

27.09.2017

#294 Writers of SOL-3

Page of Shades of Life in FB

#293 Stay healthy and fit with Saffola Oil

Stay healthy and fit with Saffola oil

Health is not an option but a priority. We invest money very meticulously, but why

don’t we take a little extra effort to acquire a healthy body? It’s the biggest asset and that’s why health is a synonym for wealth. Being healthy can make you more energetic and focused towards your goal. And an efficient mind resides in a healthy body which is a secret to attaining success. Adopting healthy lifestyle is not that difficult task to perform. Yes, it’s within our reach. All we need to do is to plan daily accordingly we can take out some spare time for doing exercises or joining some classes of Yoga etc.

Below are given some ways to experience a healthy lifestyle-

Ø Wake up early- We all are very well acquainted with this famous quote by Banjamin Franklin, “Early to bed and early to rise. Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”  Waking up early will schedule the day and will make one active.

Ø Exercise daily- Exercise is a key factor to a healthy life. You need to maintain a schedule for a workout. If you are quite busy with your profession, don’t worry. You can carry out small workouts for few minutes also like sitting posture workout, little push-ups if there is ample of space around or leg workouts. There are numerous videos available in youtube. You can watch those or install your virtual trainer through app.

Go for a morning or evening walk for intake of fresh air.

Ø Sleep for 6-8 hours- Sleep is very necessary as it speeds up body mechanisms. After doing a lot of work, the body requires rest so that it will get ready to perform another set of tasks. Don’t neglect it. It will adversely affect your health.

Ø Take your meal properly- Make a proper diet plan. Follow it regularly. Your diet should contain lots of vegetables and proteins. Avoid consuming liquor and junk foods. Try to eat a heavy meal in lunch and lighter in dinner. It will just balance your body. Drink about four litres of water daily. You can have a cup of milk over coffee or tea twice a day.

Ø Spend quality time with your family- It has been revealed from a study that spending a quality time with your family members reduces stress and make you feel satisfied. You experience contentment when you find your voice is heard and respected. You can share your worries freely with them. They act as a stress-buster.  

Saffola oil is designed to meet your healthy lifestyle.

What makes you to choose Saffola Oils among rest?

• The power of Blended Oils: Multi-seed Technology1 gives you goodness of two oils in one. 
• Losorb Technology 2 ensures a lower absorption of oil in your food4. 
• Power of Antioxidants: Saffola oils are enriched with an Antioxidant bundle to enhance the fat quality and to provide optimum nutritional benefits.
• The Nutri Lock Technology protects the natural goodness of the oil

The ultimate goal of life is to stay fit and enjoy each moment of life fully. As the jingle of Saffola oil tells to take a step, push your body little for workout daily to fill your heart with happiness. Don’t stop, just try a little harder and that’s all.

I am joining Saffola #ApneTareekeSeHealthy initiative and sharing my ways of being healthy in association with BlogAdda.

SWETA SARANGI

16-9-2017

#292 A healthy notion

A healthy notion

The pace of world is getting fast day by day and so are the lives of people who constitute it. People from all walks of life are trapped in the busy schedule of their lives. Even toddlers are not spared from this competitive arena. In this fast paced life, we somehow neglect our health and unconsciously develop a lot of health issues. So, it’s very important to keep both body and mind healthy as a sound mind rests in a healthy body.

For this, one needs to keep a watch of the lifestyle which he is leading. It’ll give him enough insight to incorporate some of the healthy changes that will enable him to maintain a healthy lifestyle on a long term. The set of practices that one must follow definitely varies from person to person depending upon his profession.  For example, the habits of students will definitely differ from that of working professionals.

I’m a student now. Certain practices that I follow are written below:

1)    Getting up as early as possible.

2)    Devoting sufficient time for a sound sleep

3)    Following morning rituals which includes a session of prayer, meditation, exercises, walking or playing badminton, repeating  a set of self affirmations

4)    Taking proper diet in right time

5)    Sitting on a posture of Bajrasan for 5 minutes 2 times after lunch and dinner.

6)    In the evening a session of prayer, meditation and exercises

7)    Reading few pages of motivational books after the dinner

8)    Maintaining a diary so pen down my feelings

9)    Night rituals include prayer, planning for the next day in advance, practicing the feeling of being gratitude  and setting up the alarm for an early start for the next day.

It’s equally important to maintain a good mental health.  An idle mind is devil’s workshop. To keep myself up always engaged in some useful activities, I always try to prioritise my schedule. I maintain a pool of hobbies which include reading, writing, singing, painting and pursue them in my spare time. I have chosen a set certain guidelines to myself which always remind me that the entire responsibilities of my life is in my hands and no one  is to be blamed for it. This reduces my ability to be dependent on the surrounding and work consistently in removing my follies. To maintain a peaceful state of mind, I keep myself away from negative feelings that arise from comparing me with the others. Everyone is unique in his own ways.  I try to self discipline myself through consistent practice of certain activities.

Practice makes a man perfect. To achieve something, we have to carry those practices required to achieve the goal tirelessly till its accomplishment. I feel that the above mentioned ideas are productive enough to be considered as notions for a healthy lifestyle.

I am joining Saffola #ApneTareekeSeHealthy initiative and sharing my ways of being healthy in association with BlogAdda.

©Swati Sarangi

16.09.2017

#291 Fresh air for life

Fresh air for life

Air pollution is often associated with the outdoor but one should not underestimate the effect of household pollutants. Indoor air pollution can be defined as the characteristics of air such as physical, chemical or biological surrounding where you are residing in your house, institution or commercial facilities. Although, these do not seem to cause much hazard to health but in reality they actually do. Fresh air is as much as important as clean water for sustaining life on earth. Living in a developing urban area has not only improved our living conditions with the onset of technological developments but also affected the inhale of quality air.

Why has there been so much emphasis on quality of air? A study has revealed that indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air and definitely it will have some severe effect on people’s health. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. So, it is important to understand and control common pollutants of indoors to reduce the risk of indoor health issues. Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later.

In developing countries, approximately around 3.5 billion people are susceptible to indoor air pollution as they completely rely on traditional fuels such as wood, charcoal or cow dung as media for cooking or heating purposes on daily basis. This has also raised an alarm of increasing concentration of pollutants as a result of production of smoke which is confined to the surrounding of house. In 1992, World Bank has placed indoor air pollution as the fourth most global problems in the list of environmental problems especially for developing countries.

Developed countries are not spared from the influence of household pollution. Although the causes of air pollution are different, yet the percentage of pollution is high. Efficient use of energy in household is a major problem which can contribute significantly to indoor air pollution in a way of making house airtight by curbing ventilation. The use of synthetic materials for building and furnishing and the use of chemical products, pesticides, and household care products have found to contribute to indoor air pollution.  Smoke from Tobacco generates a wide range of harmful chemicals and is known to cause cancer. Biological pollutants include pollen from plants, mite, hair from pets, fungi, parasites, and some bacteria. Most of them are allergens and can cause asthma, hay fever, and other allergic diseases.

The concern of World Health Organisation to air pollution can be viewed through its publication of the first edition of Air quality guidelines for Europe in the year 1987 containing health risk assessments of 28 chemical air contaminants. In 2000, WHO published a second edition of the guidelines and a “global update” was published in 2006. The second edition focused on the pollutants considered in the first edition. The global update focused on a small group of pollutants (particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide) The WHO air quality guidelines have played an important role in providing information and guidance for regulatory authorities working in the air pollution field. In Europe, the guidelines are now seen as the key source on which the European Commission’s directive on air quality is based.

The working group defined the following criteria for selecting compounds for which the development of WHO guidelines for indoor air could be recommended:

Ø existence of indoor sources

Ø availability of toxicological and epidemiological data

Ø indoor levels exceeding the levels of health concern

Based on the data, there is division of pollutant into two categories. Group 1 included pollutants for which WHO guidelines for indoor air were needed such as benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, randon, trichloroethylene. Group 2 included pollutants of potential interest such as acetealdehyde, asbestos, glycol, ozone, hexane, xylene, toluene. 

Thus, acceptable indoor air quality can be achieved through source control and pollutant dispersion, and in particular through:

Ø application of low-emission materials and products;

Ø proper selection of the devices and fuels used for combustion indoors;

Ø the venting of products to the outdoor air;

Ø ventilation control

Royale Atmos is a paint that reduces harmful air pollutants and makes the air cleaner. Additionally, it also absorbs various foul smells & makes the air fresh. Thus, for the first time, Asian Paints presents a paint that not only looks good, but also helps purify air and improve the air quality inside your home.

Breathe in fresh air with Royale Atmos Paint.
Royale Atmos paint

SWETA SARANGI

16-9-2017

#290 Happiness

Happiness is when the self autographed book of the author reaches your door

Find the list of winners here

#289 The misleading judgement

The misleading judgement

What you feel gets inside of you

Which forms the utter version of you

It might not be all what you see

Few things exist beyond your belief.

When you create a perception of others

That’s what your eyes tend to perceive

But what about soul’s vitality

Away from your sense’s credibility

Judging may be the easiest task

Ever you cared others to ask

The struggle they had to undergo

Again and again in their past?

Underlying facts and principles

Never get troubled so easily

By the tremors of unreasonable

Or unfriendly surrounding.

Experiences are the best teachers

One’s experience of life; irreplaceable

What you gain in life never gets lost

In the words of Bhagvad Geeta.

Random scribbling

P.S: Dedicating this poem which I composed in the waiting hall before my turn came up for the interview, to those who are too prompt at choosing the books by their covers.

Edit: The result of the interview came out to be in my favour fortunately!

©Swati Sarangi

03.09.2017