Kiss of Love

Source: Google

An unusual feeling gripped me.

The insides started to tremor.

Breathing became erratic.

Fingers started to stroke.

Intimacy felt.

Pushing her back

Closing in

We kissed.

Love...

This post is attempted for the Write Tribe, where the prompt is to write a Nonet poem.

P.S.: A nonet poem has been attempted for the first time. So all the suggestions are highly welcomed :) 

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Book Review : Baramulla Bomber

Author: Clark Prasad

Published by: Niyogi Books

ISBN: 978-93-81523-97-1

Genre: Fiction/ Thriller

No. of Pages: 314

Price: INR 395

Synopsis:

An ancient weapon from the Vedas and Bible

Once hunted by the Nazis

Powered by the sound of the universe

Reborn with the help of Quantum Physics

Going to be unleashed onto the world

& Kashmir holds it’s secret

The only way

Multiple intelligence agencies are tracking Mansur Haider, a god-fearing aspiring cricketer from Kashmir. His girlfriend, Aahana Yajurvedi, is trying to locate her missing mountaineering team, which vanished after a mysterious earthquake struck Shaskgam Valley. Investigating Mansur and the Shaskgam Valley incident is Swedish Intelligence Officer, Adolf Silverskiold, whose only relationship to god consists of escorting his girlfriend to church.

To save the world

A dual China-Pakistan battlefront scenario facing the Indian Home Minister, Agastya Rathore, whose ancestors carry a prehistoric secret linked to the stars. He is faced with the challenge of finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir crisis.

Is to challenge one’s faith

Which Biblical Weapon was tested in Shaksgam Valley? Why is Mansur Haider important? Is there a solution to the Kashmir Crisis? Can destiny be controlled? Does a cosmic religion exist?

Review: Baramulla Bomber. What a name! It is said that a good title works wonders irrespective of the plot and believe me Baramulla Bomber has an interesting plot to narrate apart from the captivating title. And so when Blogadda came up with the review, I applied immediately and thankfully was chosen for reviewing the book. And am pretty pleased to have read this book!

It does take time to read 300+ pages but not even for once you will allow yourself to put the book down. Infact I regretted many times after putting the book down for various reasons as you always start thinking what will be next in the plot. Such is the plot filled with Vedas, science fiction, espionage, quantum physics, cricket and politics. All nicely put together to what is called ‘Baramulla Bomber’ – Part one of the trilogy (Svastik Trilogy).

The beginning is where the royal descendants meet where a blasts take palce and most of them dies, apart from the one Abhimanyu Kashyup. And from there on he vows to keep the secret discussed alive as the plot starts to keep the readers engrossed into it unequivocally.  

The plot is racy with a nice timeline at the start of every chapter that helps in easing the confusion with lots of plots, people and places put together simultaneously. The plot is based in India and Sweden.

What amuses me is the way the author has kept on introducing new characters in a subtle way without even once letting the readers to flip back pages to remember the names of the character. Apart from that the humongous amount of research that has gone into it has made the plot look rich filled with substance worth reading.

I didn’t find much to criticize as I was left spell bound after finishing the book.

Writing: The writing is crisp and clear without any grammatical and other errors which shows a good proof reading is done. The tone of the language is pretty Indian which is nice.

Overall: A must read science fiction espionage thriller, which will keep you at tenterhooks and eagerly awaiting for the second part of the trilogy. A thriller of a novel not to be missed!!

Ratings: Highly recommended.

5/5 *

 This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

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The Arrival

‘The weight has increased tremendously since we last met’, said a burly voice assumingly looking not so pleased with a crinkled brow.

A cute chuckle adorned the cherubic face.

A slight twinge inside and there came the deafening ‘aah’ as it moved, signalling that the time has come to relieve from the physical exertion.

This time will surely make it outwards. I knew it was my last day there as I could sense the coldness of fresh air blowing inside through the orderly incision.

Heart began throbbing with the passage of every second.

‘Congratulations! You’re blessed with a baby girl’.

This post is written for Write Tribe where the prompt being 'I knew it was my last day there'.

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My Delhi Manifesto

Source: Google

The National Capital Territory of India also know as Delhi is the world's second most populous city and largest city in terms of area. And with such credentials comes huge responsibility when it comes to the governance part, infrastructure and maintaining law and order. 

A wonderful city with some breath taking historical monuments such as Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar etc. along with some delicious cuisine worth tasting it has off-late started to lose its sheen with the tags such as 'Rape capital of India', 'Delhi's killer buses' and 'Epidemic zone'. 

Also the highhandedness of the various civic authorities in dealing with various social issues is putting a huge blot on the faces of dilwalo ka shehr along with the capital of the country too. As it is rightly said ‘There’s no nation that is perfect, it has to be made so!’ and so here I am, as a citizen of this country presenting in front of you my Delhi Manifesto!

1) The eighth most populated metropolis in the world and one of the most heavily polluted cities in India, time has come to transform the city to bare minimum environmental polluted city.   

2) Controlling pollution wouldn't be possible without observing a proper hygiene and cleanliness regime that doesn't allow epidemics to break with ease and comfort. And hence spitting, loitering, defecating in the open would attract a heavy fine and if no money to pay then a compulsory public service w.r.t to cleaning of roads, public places be given as a deterrent and punishment for a minimum amount of six months.  

3) 'Atithi Devo Bhava' is what we as a country have always believed in and believe so. So any incident involving tourists and foreigners will be dealt strictly with a non bailable warrant to be issued against the offender in support of adequate proof. 

4) A complete ban will be imposed on the posters and various advertisements related to various parties and instead posters on cleanliness, road safety, stop violence against women, Atithi Devo Bhava and public welfare schemes will be put up.

5) Various crimes especially those against women be met with severe punishment and to treat each and every offence as 'gravest of the grave' and punishment be accordingly given with huge sums of money as fine.

6) Numerous workshops and exhibitions be held for showcasing the rich culture of the metropolis along with the arts and crafts of skilled technicians specializing in Zardosi and Meenakari.

7) Entire accounts of the various parties be made public with proper receipts of donations and expenses incurred and duly audited by an independent auditor such as CAG.

8) Also every party worker, MLA, corporator etc. will have to be compulsory visit their constituencies and interact with the people to find out their problems at the root level on a weekly basis and submit a report to the CM on a monthly basis updating the problems, steps taken, solutions offered and job done with full public satisfaction.

9) Being a citizen of India first, it will be the top most duty to see that each and every citizen be it in Delhi or elsewhere possess the 'Election card' or 'The Voter-Id card' so that each and every individual can 'vote' for their candidate and hope to see a brighter future for a good and better city and nation as Hanouz Dehli dour ast.  

This is My Delhi Manifesto in association with BlogAdda.com.

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Timepass Chocochip Cookies - Doodle Recipe

What do you do when suddenly in the midst of sleepy afternoon, the door bell rings and you brace yourself out of the duvet only to find your best friends standing in front of the door, talking animatedly and giggling? You definitely would welcome them in, rush inside to make yourself look presentable and ...

... O shit! I don't have enough ingredients to make some good light evening snack!!What will I offer them now? What shall I do? You start pondering with these questions and then with the pop sound of your finger snapping, you allow yourself to smile and heave a sigh of relief. Idea! 

As you allow yourself and your friends to some light gossip and heavy laughter, you also multitask by making some light Chocochip Cookies along with tea. 

And this is how you prepare the Chocochip Cookies...



Let us start with the ingredients required for preparing the cookies.

1) 1 cup flour

2) 3/4 cup butter

3) 3/4 cup powdered sugar

4) 1/4 tsp baking powder

5) 1 tsp cocoa powder

6) 2-3 tsp milk

7) 100 gms chocolate pieces

And now the method...

1) Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius at convection mode.

2) Beat butter and sugar untill light and fluffy.

3) Sieve flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a bowl.

4) Mix all the ingredients together along with chocolate pieces and knead a soft dough.

5) Roll the dough and cut into cookies with the help of biscuit cutter. (Or else simply roll      out small balls from the dough)

6) Pierce them with the help of fork to make an impression.

7) Place biscuit atleast 5 cm apart giving enough space for expansion.

8) Grease the non stick tawa and place cookies on it and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for         20-25 mins on rack and your Timepass Chocochip Cookies is ready to be served hot and     fresh.

My Doodle recipe is a part of Easy Doodle Recipe contest at BlogAdda.com in association with TastyKhana.com

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Moments

To -

The Apple of my eye

How easy it was to say ‘Yes’, sitting across each other without even knowing anything about each other (likes, dislikes, hobby etc. doesn't count), putting a blind faith on each other’s commitment to stay healthy as a beautiful couple once the garlands have been exchanged. Well, that’s what arranged marriage is all about. Isn't it?

But what turned in your favour was the effervescent self, rich with positivity mixed with a tinge of blush as our eyes met and the curve of the lips when it parted to speak and smile. Of course the flirtatious nature of your long lustrous tresses did play a hand in it when some of the strands kept on caressing my cheeks as we had sat for the customary chit-chat.

That moment and the moment when we blinked together and said ‘yes’ were few of the moments that are still fresh from the oven, baked with pure feelings with the crispiness of our chit-chat filled with your invigorating beam.

Unable to sneak a glance of my Love on the D-day in spite of being present in the same venue, sitting almost 200m apart it was cruel. But as it is said ‘The fruit patience bears is sweet’. And so holding on with the rush of emotions in my heart, I continued with the rituals and traditions. And then came the moment to reckon. The sight of You, looking resplendent as always with a sort of cheeky smile adorning your lips that made me fall head over heels in love with the most beautiful lady I had ever seen. That enigmatic moment can never by captured by any artificial lenses but it has been captured by my eyes and stored in the safe custody of my heart eternally.

Although you were adorned with jewellery but I was and still left amazed as it didn't gleam even for a second as it ought to in front of your electric smile. And at that moment itself I had promised myself to do whatever it takes to keep that smile on your face.

That awkward moment is still to be cherished when I had my eyes fixated on you as I stopped midway with garland held in my hand and your head slightly bowed forward which was coherently followed with lots of oohs and aahs.

As we advanced with the proceedings, the slight brush of our fingers gave an extreme pleasure as it was the start of our journey – a journey heaving with promises and selfless Love for each other.

And then came the final moment when we posed for the camera, obeying and following the instructions that came from the principal photographer. But what followed in the end was something that none present over there would have imagined. A kiss on the lips as we melted in each other’s warmth unknown to the surroundings.

‘A photograph can capture the souls but it cannot capture the feelings and emotions that the souls go through’. And that precisely is the sole reason of writing a letter to you which will be held closer to our chests leaving with us the moments to re-live and cherish ceaselessly.

From -

The Pineapple of your eye

This post has been written for Write Tribe Letters Unsent prompt 4 where we were supposed to write a letter to our love either current or ex and this is my attempt to write a letter to current spouse.

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Bouquet

Courtesy : Write Tribe




Bouquet of foliage
Unlocking the butterfly
Dreams galore

This entry is a part of a contest held at Write Tribe where a haiku has to be written based on the photo prompt.

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Book Review - English Bites!

It is said that 'Presentation makes a first and a lasting impact.' And if you receive a book in such a beautifully covered manner wrapped with a ribbon along with a personal note, it surely does have an impact. For once I must admit, I was pleasurably surprised by the packaging. And this, did generate a more sense of enthusiasm in me to read the book as I cut through the covering slowly, making sure that the damage to the cover is bare minimum, thus preserving the entire packaging for some nostalgic moments to be cherished with some bites of cookies and English. 

Synopsis - Is the English language your biggest nightmare? It was Manish Gupta's, the author. Until he decided to cheat and beat the system. Today he is a smooth-talking banker and has come out with a unique English learning guide that is easy to read, super effective and hilarious. So whether you're a vernacular speaker, a GRE/GMAT/CAT/XAT aspirant or just a language nut, English Bites! will expand your vocabulary and improve your verbal ability. And there are chances that you might fall head over heels in love with this language.

Author - Manish Gupta

Published by - Penguin India

ISBN - 978-0-143-41900-6

Genre - Non-Fiction

No.of pages - 334

Price - INR 250

Review - Are you paranoid about English, then grab the book is what I would say. And precisely what I did when the author asked for a review of the book. Having studied in vernacular language, I can understand what one goes through when it comes to reading and conversing in English. And I still fear them. But the book has given me a way to learn and master this nightmare of a language with easy ways to expand my word bank coupled with fun learning tools like jokes and anecdotes.

The book is a result of the author's tryst and his journey with the language. From his school days right till he became a banker, the book shows how he mastered the language and can confidently use the language. The book is full of examples and anecdotes from the author's personal experience which massively helps in understanding what a word actually means. The book starts of with a guide and turns out to be a mini dictionary with numerous new words which can be used in daily life. Also apart from the new words, the book also reveals some interesting trivia about the language. This all in all provides a new dimension at the way at which English as a language can be studied and learnt.

The USP of the book is the footnotes explaining the meaning of the words used. A perfect and a smart way to explain a language without allowing the readers to use the dictionary for reference.

What amazes me is that someone who was not so well versed with the language has eventually mastered the language to such an extent that he has penned an entire book on the same and shows the amount of love he has developed for the language. This also proves that what the author has written will indeed work provided it is read chapter wise, slowly and not at one go. 

Overall - English Bites! is one such book which you will definitely like to visit again and again if not for mastering the language then purely for the rich treasure of the words you will learn. A must read for all the English language haters and lovers too. Probably as I said you might fall head over heels in awe with this language.

Rating - Highly recommended. 5/5.

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Two Souls One Heart

Source: Google

perpetually

pounding heartbeats synchronized 

as unity

with roots of love strengthening

the lacunae that it once left

This is the Third part in the series of #Micropoetry depicting 'Love at First Sight and After'. The previous parts in the series can be read:

• Part 1 - Love at First Sight
• Part 2 - The Plunge

Please do leave your footprints. :) 

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