- PonderingTwo October 2014 ~ Pondering Two The title of your home page

Monday 20 October 2014


"Health is wealth" is the age old idiom which stands tall even in this technology era. And it is this technological era that makes us so addicted to the gadgets and gizmos that we eventually tend to forget and neglect about our health.

People now-a-days are in a rat race to earn money for a better standard of living, to enjoy the various lavish facilities that technology has to provide. So where the parents of Daksh my neighbors who left their five year old kid under the supervision of a maid and choose to run after their career and money. But what they forget at the end of the day is that this rat's race takes a huge toll on their health and body and thus sadly fail to realize that true wealth is with family, friends and good health. 

Often we see parents neglecting their child for some or the other work/professional reasons and this do have a negative effect on the child's health. One day Daksh came home from school and slept citing headache. The maid simply allowed him so without even checking and finding out the reason for the headache. That evening he was fine, smiling and chirpy as usual. But little did any of them knew that the seed of a possible illness had already been planted and deep rooted into his system. 

Children at such tender age need the most of the nutrition for their good and balanced growth and to evolve as a healthy child free from various illness and diseases. But that was the only thing which Daksh missed desperately; a frequent plate of good, nutritious and healthy food. And most of the time it was breakfast that was given a skip. Thus what seemed like a one off headache to their parents turned into a chronic one with him frequently complaining about it and eventually missing his school, hampering his studies.

Few days later, a call to their parents from the principal of his school bought their attention towards their child's. Apparently Daksh had just collapsed while playing in the open ground under the sun. His parents simply couldn't believe that his son was highly malnourished despite being rich and affluent possessing world's best living standards. After consulting with the doctors it was found that he was highly under fed with his stomach being empty most of the time. And even if he had something once a while it was mostly outside food like wafers and chips that kept his hunger satiated. This resulted in his immunity from diseases dropping significantly.

This incident came as an eye opener for Daksh's parents. They took the doctor's advice of giving proper nutritious home cooked food and a tablespoon of Dabur Chywanprash daily to increase his immunity by 3 times if not more. The reason for doctor's advice to take Dabur Chywanprash is it's time-tested, age old formula which includes close to 40 natural ingredients and herbs like amla that acts as an antioxidant and helps in building the child's immunity. 

Few months later, the result was extraordinary for them. Daksh had improved very well in terms of immunity and with frequent timely and balanced diet, his body was now acting as a shield and protecting him from illness and diseases that keeps children low and on to the bed. Smiles had now been increased ten folds with a healthy Daksh and a much healthy and a happy contended family. Thus, helping the family to live the life to its fullest and never have to face a dull day in life with respect to health.

Pic Courtesy - www.dabur.com

This post has been written as a part of Indi Happy Hours #ImmuneIndia in association with Dabur India and Indiblogger

Sunday 12 October 2014









Blurb:

(From the foreword by Kris Saknussemm) As with all the poets I most admire, words are living things for Tikuli. But as you will come to discover, they are never deployed for their own sake. She uses them to tell stories. The images, scenes, characters and fragments of visionary empathy that you will find in this book are all rooted in her native India-and yet they reach out far beyond national and cultural boundaries. They do so because they have an interior cohesion of spirit. Her subjects are often the dispossessed, the lost...the abused. There are undercurrents of sorrow and anger. And yet love shines through, even when it seems to be fading away. Above all, there's a powerful sense of hope at work-a conviction in the redemptive strength of poetry.


Today at PonderingTwo we have Tikuli, the author of the poetry book 'Collection of Chaos', sharing with us some interesting things on poetry and her journey as an author.




In conversation with her in an attempt to know her more in her own words:

'Pondering Two' welcomes you. It's pleasure hosting you on the blog and thank you so much!



1) Tell us about your journey from being a blogger to a published author?

I began blogging around eight years ago. Since last six years I have been on wordpress. The first two years were experimental. To be published is every writer's dream and I always wanted to see my name in print. These days with self publishing it has become very easy to get published but I feel well known, reputed poetry journals and literary magazines are the best places to start with. I began showing my work on my personal blog and then slowly shared it with writer friends and others and through them got into online submissions to good poetry sites. All this was a process of learning. I call them rooting years. Being open to learning and reviewing, editing, rewriting your work to polish it is a continuous exercise when you want to establish yourself as a writer. I am fortunate I have good mentors who not just critique my work honestly but also help me improve my skills. It is through them I got my opportunity to get published. James Goddard helped me with this collection from the inception till the publication. Many of the poems were written over the period of time and needed editing, polishing. He worked hard with me to make my dream a reality. Without him this book would not have been possibe. I am truly grateful for all the guidance and support he gave to help me break the barriers and find myself through my writing. 

2) How important it is for you to have Kris Saknussemm as your mentor and guide? And how did he help you in your journey as a writer?

Though our connection is virtual I feel I know Kris from another time and space. He is a great mentor and friend. He is one of the finest writers I know.  Kris has not just helped me evolve as writer but also as a person. Knowing him has been a blessing in more than one ways. It is said that when the student is ready the master appears. Some years back when I was struggling to learn the art of writing Kris nurtured me despite of his extremely busy schedule. I religiously followed his guidance and worked hard to do everything possible which he suggested as part of my learning. It helped me tremendously. He instilled in me a courage and self belief that changed my entire perspective of life. Mentoring is a time and labour intensive art. It isn't everyone's forte. Not many reach out to lend their support especially when everyone including yourself has given up on you. My interactions with Kris at many levels continue to guide me in my journey as a writer. Only once in lifetime one comes across someone like Kris who can lend you a hand and help you take those baby steps with so much encouragement and caring that you gain an inner strength to realize your dreams.  His presence in my life is a gift, something irreplaceable. During the compiling of this collection too both Kris and James continuously helped me to select, edit and present my work the way has been. Their writing, their way with the world, their gracious presence and uncluttered attitude to fellow writers, all these things helped me in a big way. 

 3) What made you feel the need to pen Collection of Chaos? And was it difficult penning poems one after another?

Collection of chaos is a journey inside the poet’s mind, her life and all that surrounds it. Each poem has emerged from the complex interactions of heart and mind, the struggles of daily life and a search for oneself beneath all the role-playing. The book wasn’t conceived as a whole but it’s a patchwork quilt of poems. It isn’t just the product of disciplined hard work and learning with an open mind but also of great mentorship. Sometimes you need more than your own power to make things happen. This book could not have happened without the support, encouragement and friendship that made me trust those people implicitly.  An artistic evolution is a dream work and each dream work is a team work. It was James who strengthened the desire in me to collect my best poems for a book. He offered to publish it too and gave me the greatest gift in the world. 

4)  Would you like to share some experiences while writing Collection of Chaos?

Some of the poems in this collection are very personal and drawn from my life. From my concern for women’s rights, my experience of unsatisfactory and troubled marriage, love for my children and the difficulties we all face in everyday life. Turning life experiences into verses and to speak about one's open wounds is difficult. There were times I left the poems halfway to collect myself and come back to them with calm and focused approach. 

 5)  Who are your favourite authors both from national to international?

It is very difficult to name just a few. I read extensively so choosing favorites is tough. Let me tell you those who have influenced me in recent years. Kris Saknussemm, Sebastian Doubinsky, Tabish Khair, Jerry Wilson, Matthew Revert, Ole Neilsen are some I can name here. Sa’adat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Amrita Pritam, Gabrial Garcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, Lorca, e.e.cummings, Naruda, Kamla Das, Jayant Mahapatra are some other renowned authors I love to read. 

6) Do you plan to dabble into writing fiction at some time apart from penning poems?

I do write fiction. I have written a lot of short stories and a few have been published in online journals. Most of my stories, memoirs etc are on my blog but I am working for a short story collection and a novel along with writing poetry. 

7) Do you feel that poetry as a genre needs to be encouraged to be published more and more? If Yes, than any advice you would like to give to the writers interested in publishing their work as poets?
   
Yes, I do feel that poetry needs to be encouraged to be published and there are lot of publishing houses who keenly publish poetry. Writer's Workshop, Aleph Book Company, Poetrywalla, The 'Great' Indian Poetry Collective, Authorpress India,  are some of the names who are encouraging poetry publication. Even though it  has become easy to self publish these days I feel that before opting for a print publication one must explore the reputed online journals and magazines. There are quite a few good ones these days. Try and get published there. Get recognition and learn from the critique and then venture into print publication. Reading is essential too. These days a lot of new poets have emerged but hardly anyone reads. Everybody is in a hurry to see their name in print. That in my opinion is not a good approach. Learning is a never ending process and good writing can only come from extensive reading. 

8) Describe yourself in a sentence?

A dreamer and a believer. 

 9) One thing that comes to your mind when I say the following:
a) Author
               Struggle  
b) Poems
               Images
  c)  Books
               Home 
 d)  Life
               Love


A huge thank you for pouring your heart out while answering the questions and am glad that you enjoyed answering it. Wishing you all the very best for your future endeavors!! 



Buy this book from:



About the Author:


 


Brought up in Delhi in a family of liberal educationists Tikuli is a mother of two sons. She is also a blogger and author. Some of her short stories and poems have appeared in print and in online journals and literary magazines including Le Zaparougue, MiCROW 8, Troubadour21, The Smoking Book (Poets Wear Prada Press, US), The Enchanting Verses Literary Review, Mnemosyne Literary Journal, Women's Web.
Some of her print publications include poems in Guntur National Poetry Festival Anthology and much acclaimed Chicken Soup For The Indian Romantic Soul(Westland). Her work has also been featured on websites related to gender issues and child sexual abuse. She blogs at 
Stalk her @



THIS TOUR IS HOSTED BY:

 


P.S. Interested in writing poems? Then you must check The Verses Challenge









Blurb:

(From the foreword by Kris Saknussemm) As with all the poets I most admire, words are living things for Tikuli. But as you will come to discover, they are never deployed for their own sake. She uses them to tell stories. The images, scenes, characters and fragments of visionary empathy that you will find in this book are all rooted in her native India-and yet they reach out far beyond national and cultural boundaries. They do so because they have an interior cohesion of spirit. Her subjects are often the dispossessed, the lost...the abused. There are undercurrents of sorrow and anger. And yet love shines through, even when it seems to be fading away. Above all, there's a powerful sense of hope at work-a conviction in the redemptive strength of poetry.

Review:


The first thing that strikes is the Title - Collection of Chaos. Chaos? Yes. Chaos.

The property of a complex system whose behaviour is so unpredictable as to appear random, owing to great sensitivity to small changes in conditions is defined as Chaos.

This definition sums up the reason being using the word chaos, if not more. We, the humans, are a complex system whose behaviour is extremely unpredictable and gets affected with small changes thus translating into chaos all around us and in our minds.

Collection of Chaos is an account of close to 100 poems depicting chaos through the poet's meticulous eye for details that brings out the pain, the sufferings of the lost, dispossessed, of the abused and of love. Her poems quietly crawls into your system, into your imagination, into your world and surroundings and leaves your heart craving for more words, for more emotions and feelings.

A poem has to be an account of words and emotions that can transgress you to either startling reality or to the land of dreams and imaginations or both. And Collection of Chaos is definitely a book that allows you to travel through them. And it is through her striking choice of words that makes things so evident and lively, sometimes based on hearsay and arresting readers emotions on the other that works wonders for a poetry lover like me. And undoubtedly the taste of her writings definitely lingers for a while into your head. Collection of Chaos by Tikuli makes a satisfying read !!

Ratings: 5/5* - A must read for all the poetry lovers


Buy this book from:



About the Author:


 


Brought up in Delhi in a family of liberal educationists Tikuli is a mother of two sons. She is also a blogger and author. Some of her short stories and poems have appeared in print and in online journals and literary magazines including Le Zaparougue, MiCROW 8, Troubadour21, The Smoking Book (Poets Wear Prada Press, US), The Enchanting Verses Literary Review, Mnemosyne Literary Journal, Women's Web.
Some of her print publications include poems in Guntur National Poetry Festival Anthology and much acclaimed Chicken Soup For The Indian Romantic Soul(Westland). Her work has also been featured on websites related to gender issues and child sexual abuse. She blogs at 
Stalk her @



THIS TOUR IS HOSTED BY:

 


P.S. Are you interested in writing poetry? The visit The Verses Challenge