The Smart Balance by Ankita Aurora (Book Review: 4.25*/5)

1819th BLOG POST -->>

1^st Book of 2020! 

There is one thing for sure that awareness does make some impact if not much. I have read many books and articles on various topics where the author/writer has spoken many things on why to do something or not to do something. After some time, I, obviously, don’t remember all that they had said but atleast something from their book or article which stays with me and keeps on enforcing me to do right things. One such topics in recent times on which awareness is necessary is reducing the usage of the digital mediums that we use for our entertainment and I am glad many authors are writing books on the same. One such book which I just completed reading which is also the 1^st book of this year for me is Ankita Aurora’s “The Smart Balance” which is published by BlueRose Publishers in around 225 pages.

Speaking about this book, I am very glad that this book has new offerings than the other books which also speaks on the same topic of teaching readers to ensure that they are not getting too slaved by the digital devices around them but are also trying to be with people and nature around them. Generally, all the books only talk about Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram etc. whereas this book covers all kinds of digital medium which takes away our attention and ends up making us either mentally or physically unhealthy.

Author talks about how obviously social media are taking many of us towards depression considering people projecting themselves as happier than they are and the people consuming these contents feeling that they have nothing around to rejoice. I liked this whole section with which author started the book as author talks about many factors which are so true when we access Social media accounts. Post this, the whole video gaming fantasy has been discussed which made me understand the impact of it. This chapter made me realize that the book is speaking more than just Social media and Mobile phones.

Author also talks about how smart learning through technology is a great thing but how gradual the growing process of children has begun as they are directly given things on plate rather than them searching for the same and learning many other things in the process. Author also talks about the role of technology and its impact in our workplaces and from this chapter, I understood the kind of impact just reading and writing emails can have on us and our breathing. I am in a profile where I only have to scan mails and reply to them regularly and this chapter proved beneficial for me as I understood what I am losing by doing this basic task itself.

The book also talks about the diseases and health issues that we are ending up having just because of our unwanted extreme association with digital world – along with this we also get to know the new diseases that have got introduced in the medical field due to this. It is really scary to know about the consequences of being tech-savvy. And in the end, author talks about how we can balance the technology with our life and ensure that we are not impacting our life due to the inclusion of the same and I really found the section as a great solution provider of this major and dangerous concern. I liked the term “Digital Detox” and found the tools mentioned in this section which really seems easy to follow and you can sense its benefits. The last few pages tells us about the sources which helped author to draft this book.

Overall, this book is a knowledgeable piece of advice which all of us should take for ourselves and our next generation. I give this book 4.25* out of 5.

 Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA 

Sanchita Ganguly: "Gender Neutrality is as much about men as about women" (Interview)

1818th BLOG POST -->>

 So, when I read the book named “We-Men@Work”, I was very surprised to know how an author can write about the two genders and about the neutrality that is supposed to be there between them without demeaning any of them. Sachita Ganguly, the author of this book, had conveyed her message very well through her debut book itself which made me think of interviewing her which you can enjoy below…

Hi Sanchita, tell us something about your first book- We-Men@Work.

Hey Abhilash! We-Men@Work is a non-fiction book that is intended to act as a conversation trigger around Gender Neutrality at work places. It travels through my experiences of around fifteen years in agencies and corporate offices to curate instances that look harmless when looked at individually but tell a different story when put together. Though the examples given in the book are of Indian workplaces, the implications are true irrespective of any geography.

The topic is extremely close to my heart and my perspective on it has changed as I have grown in the system. Today I firmly believe that a “with” approach will usher in an era of equal opportunities faster than a “vs”. Although for that to happen we need many open and honest conversations around it and this book is one such catalyst.

Gender Neutrality is as much about men as about women. Biologically the two genders are different, not better or worse, just different – and accepting that makes the race to “Equality” futile. Thus “Neutrality” is the language correction required in our vocab to re-align our actions in the right direction I feel.

Since how long did you want to write books or it is just that the topic discussed in this book made you write your first book?

I do not think I have ever thought of writing a book as an adult and I have definitely never thought of writing a non-fiction book. I actually started off by writing the “About this page” for FB, three years back. I had intended to start a forum on the topic back then on Face Book. I was and am extremely passionate about the topic and just wanted to bring it out in open to discuss and learn together. The “About” section kept running into pages and at the same time many colleagues opined that no one would want to talk about these things openly. That’s when I decided to pivot the conversation on a book instead. With a two years old kid (then, now five years) and couple of job switches it took me three years to finally complete the book and launch it.

I just want to play my part in ensuring freedom of choice (for all genders) to usher in a thriving working environment for all the genders without threatening each other’s progress. Deep seated biases shouldn’t guide our actions and detrimental shortcuts, that undermines merit, shouldn’t lure us. This desire was enough to drive me to pen this book

How did you research for this book as it talks about many concerns when it comes to Gender Neutrality?

To be extremely honest, there was no active research involved. I love to read and a lot of facts and theories that you read somewhere remain with you since they touch you somewhere deeper, so such facts have been reproduced in the book. But more importantly all the instances discussed in it are first hand and fourteen years plus is a long- long time to face gender related concerns in person if you are a working woman. Besides going through life-phases like marriage and maternity, gave dimensions to my experiences of gender issues at workplaces.

So most of the content of the book is pure experience and the inferences are mine which I believe were easy to derive given that the topic is so close to my heart.

How did you ensure that you don’t end up demeaning men while talking about uplifting women in society? How difficult it was?

It wasn’t difficult at all. I believe language is an extremely powerful tool. It plays a critical role in expressing our intent, which in turn drives all the action. I firmly believe that Neutrality is the answer to expedite a word of equal opportunities (which BTW the World Economic Forum has predicted will take another 208 years for USA).

It was very obvious to me that in the universe of workforce, where majority is of men, one cannot ignore them. We need to look at things from their perspective as well since the context of society has changed for both men and women. More importantly being an optimist, I am almost always sure that everyone wants a better life quality so the question to be answered was “how”.

Lastly, my experience tells me that gender biases are gender un-biased so irrespective of we being men or women or any other gender, need to fight those deep seated biases is common. The fact is everyone can prosper together. Unlike the law of energy, good quality of work life is not an either-or game. This belief gives a lot of freedom to act in the right direction.

How did such unique title come to your mind for this book?

Like I said, I love to read. I believe my thoughts have been shaped by the various books I have read from my childhood. The passion to read gave birth to my extreme love for word-play. I love to dissect words and make up stories about how they would have been derived from the sub-words. I know it sounds crazy but I look for stories everywhere.

We-Men@Work name came to my mind three years back, long before the first chapter was written. It was supposed to be the name of my FB forumJ. I always found “Women” an intriguing word since it includes “men” in it. So what better to pitch an inclusive plan of action that this word itself with minor tweaks that brings out the message loud and clear!

What was your state of mind when the Me Too movement was on its high in our country considering it speaks about men-women relationship in our corporate structure?

Sexual abuses are more common than they are talked about. Right from home to crowded stations, it is a disgusting reality we are living with. The corporate structure is not an exception. The fact that POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) was introduced in 2013 (way before Me Too movement) acknowledges this reality. The policy became gender neutral recently though.

So Me Too did not shock me at all. I have been witness to few POSH cases and I know how it can be played both ways. It did frustrate me though. In the more controlled environment of office, it becomes a power game along with a gender game. Someone at a higher hierarchy generally dares to abuse people with an assumed confidence of the victim not reporting it or worse he/she will not face any consequences even if the act is reported.

It is disgusting and it is all around us. Like any other crime, I do not see even this getting eliminated but the perspective of looking at victims in this crime is convoluted. So if by policies, social media support and lifting taboos from subjects that are anyway known to everyone there is hope to make it as shameful a crime as any other for the perpetrator ( and not the victim)

How was your experience in searching the publisher for your book after completing your book?

Once I finished the book and started to figure out things I felt like writing the book was the easier part. It was in my control. I had no clue that there is a full-fledged industry out there related to book publishing. There is editing, book designing, cover designing and tons of other things involved. I was lucky that a dear friend offered to design the book for me so I did not have to explore much on that bit.

Coming to publishers, I had sent the first draft to few publishers early last year but did not hear back from them. Patience is one virtue that I lack. Once the book was completed (editing, design), I reasoned that the topic is non-fiction and controversial , additionally it was my debut work and my designation still doesn’t fall in the CXO category so I skipped approaching publishers and decided to self-publish. Reading that publishers did not take up “Immortals of Meluha” and Amish had to self-publish initially further convinced me to go for self-publishing rather than trying again. I was in a hurry to bring the topic out. I chose to self-publish on Notion Press (hard copy) and Amazon (E-copy). I have not taken any additional packages so far so publishing was zero cost for me.

Even through existing self-publishing platform one hardly earns anything but Amazon can change this game like they did for e-books. I am really happy with Amazon KDP and I wish they soon extend their services for hard copy books. That will make life a lot easier for new writers like me.

What would you like to tell your readers why should they pick this book of yours?

If someone is planning to enter the professional world or are in the professional world (at any level) , this book is for them. Secondly it is for all the parents who are crafting the society of tomorrow because like everything else practicing gender neutrality starts from home.

This book will take 4-5 hrs of your time but what I can promise them is that it will definitely open up avenues for them to talk about or act so that they can be the catalyst in turning the workplace into an equal opportunities playfield. Practicing mindful behaviour is easy, if only one knows what can hurt whom.

As parents don’t we try our best to ensure a better quality of living for our next generation then why not extrapolate that mentality at workplaces?

They might agree or disagree with me but that will trigger conversations. I believe change will be brought in one conversation at a time, one instance at a time and we all need to work together for the same

What is the next book that you are writing upon? Can we get a sneak peek on the same?

It’s just been a little more than a month that We-Men@Work is released so currently I want to focus on this book and more importantly on the cause. I am writing articles on the topic at various digital platforms, speaking to colleges to arrange for a talk to sensitize young minds on Gender Neutrality and running the LinkedIn forum on the topic https://lnkd.in/fNcpZvS  to spread the word and trigger as many conversations as possible.

Having said that, I had a fiction book in mind next when I was approaching the end of authoring this book. I wanted to write short stories of few women loosely based on people I know and their experiences. But once We-Men@Work was released, I got messages from a lot of people expressing that though the instances in the book are all personal, they would love a sequel where the span of book spreads wider and covers multiple related experiences of other people. So frankly I am undecided yet about my next book.

Movie Review: Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior: Power-packed hyper-nationalistic movie! ***½

1817th BLOG POST -->>

It’s very sad that most of us are not aware of the personalities who played major role in giving India the independence which almost seemed impossible centuries back when continuously some or the other foreign powers kept ruling us. Tanhaji Malasure is one such important character who played an important part in the history of state of Maharashtra and as I have lived in this state since my childhood, I had atleast heard his name if not about the battles he fought under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He was the most trusted lieutenant and friend of the king and played an important role in the battle of Sinhagad on which the movie- Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is based upon.

Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is a very power-packed movie where right from the start, you see each and every visualization moving fast and keeping you glued to the screen to see how our warriors are saving our forts and citizens. The movie is released in both- 2D and 3D formats – I went for the 3D version and I must say I enjoyed watching it. The glasses did wonder to the VFX and digitalization used in the movie. The movie being of less than 140 minutes makes it very crisp and to-the-point. Yes, in the beginning of the 2^nd half, it does become bit slow but that is needed to ensure the climax of the movie has an impact during the closure of the movie on the audience.

The action scenes are amazing. Actually, movie talks more in actions and less on historical facts hence even after watching the movie if someone shall ask you what you got to know about Tanhaji, you shall not have much to say except 2-3 points but you will only end up essaying how courageous, will-powered, loyal, trusted, brave, self-motivated warrior he was. The movie teaches us how one has to be aligned with the thoughts of the leader and have the same goal as him to ensure incessant success. It also tells how a leader should empower his key resources that they can battle the war being a leader themselves not wanting any guide above them.

Talking about the background scores and songs, they add value to the movie which makes the whole impact with you as there were moments when I just wanted to get up from my seat and watch those powerful fighting scenes with loud chant and all. The movie, with its actors’ performances and aesthetics, makes you emotionally charged up with hyper-nationalism. And this is also the intention of the makers.

About performances- Ajay Devgn as Tanhaji Malasure is as always, inspiring, convincing and perfect. Saif Ali Khan as UdayBhan, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s general, has also played a very dangerous villain with his scary looks, dangerous decisions, ruthless killing attitude and respect for no one else than himself. Kajol with her limited timeframe still manages to add value with her wonderful chemistry with husband, Ajay Devgn, and her admiring acting skills. In the last scenes of the movie, the way she has carried the whole thing is a very beautiful work. Special mention to Sharad Kelkar – WOW! As Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, he has just made me want to go back to that century and witness the powerful man myself.

Overall, the movie is watchable and unmissable. I give the movie 3.5 stars out of 5. Just if the makers ensured there were enough historical facts than only actions, this could have been a landmark movie.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA 

I am just a Nameless Emotion..

1816th BLOG POST -->>

The happiness and sadness are a periodic cycle which comes and goes as per it’s will. If you and I can change it, then there’s no fun in living. It is only when things strike you at unexpected hours do you realize the kind of change it has done to you. The most that I saw myself changing was a decade back and I don’t think I have ever seen such low ever in life after that. Even before that during childhood there has been many humiliating incidents but I never broke then. I always felt that life is easy but it is only when I was 17 years old when I couldn’t register when I went so deep while diving into this thing called life that I couldn’t handle it and wasted my years coming out of its depression.

That is why I relate with the movie Kabir Singh so much. The madness and aggression that the character of Kabir has is always there within all of us but we can’t live the way he started living by throwing things away just like that. We have a society around us about which we keep thinking and can’t express our pain and frustration the way Kabir does. That is why after that incident I became an emotion myself. Yes! I know saying this is odd but I became a person defining and understanding whom has become difficult. I know I am sounding poetic but I will say it today without any shame. I am what you can only think but can’t hold and say this is it.

Every person who considers me close to them will agree that after meeting me, they just couldn’t think of ever getting separated from me because they get a person who talks about himself the way no one does and also understand the person sitting in front of him the way no one ever understood them. This empathetic value in me is because of the number of books I read. There are so many characters I have met through the books that no other person in real life has been able to shock me with his/her behaviour. I have seen all these people in the books I am always peeping into. Hence, the mind and soul in me which talks with anyone does it the way the character is being treated in the book and is able to leave an impact that the person believes that the person he/she just met is not a person but an emotion he/she would keep wanting to experience.

I have analysed myself a lot from 3^rd person’s point of view and I can only say that whatsoever I do, I ensure that there are no regrets ever of not attempting something. I might succeed. I might fail. I might end up hanging in between of success and failure but I end up putting myself into the shoes and walking the future which I keep analysing in my mind all the time. And once the future becomes present and then past, I know, it was all the illusion the mind had created and nothing is ever permanent. Everything is just passing by. If someone has gone today from this planet, what are you crying for. One day even you are going to go. Are you here to stay forever? No, right? That’s when I realized if I ever leave, how would I be remembered?

I believe I shall be remembered more as an emotion- an emotion which is not happiness, ecstasy, sorrow, joyfulness, anger etc. but something which is distinct in itself. People would want to hate me but they won’t be able to because of that genuity and gentleness that I carried with myself even when I did things wrong. I may have troubled people but I have also given them the moment of their life. I may have hidden things with people but I have also shared something with each closest person that I have shared with no one else. There are times when people have broken me but I never complained about them but considered it destiny and walked with smile on my face. When I abuse twice in each sentence, the person knows these are just words and, in the heart, I am only expecting good to happen with everyone including myself. 

It’s New Year and I hope that with each year the Emotion that I am keep on becoming stronger that whenever someone experiences it, they shall remember me only with some kind of awkwardness that they are all bare in front of me and nothing is hidden. Similarly, they could also experience me bare but still, they won’t be able to understand what this emotion actually meant. I am that character of your favorite book who keeps everyone happy but no one ever understands if he is himself happy or not. A reader just lives that character during the journey of reading and after that for whole life, always remembers that character in terms of emotions and not as a person. Yes, I am that character only. Oh Sorry, Emotion!

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA 

Remembering 2019 and Welcoming 2020 in my own way...

1815th BLOG POST -->>

The idea of New Year is so intimating, right? I always wait for the New Year whenever the countdown starts and I believe in starting a New Year with celebrations- be of whatever kind they are rather than just sitting like every day and treating it very casually. Last night, I went to a hotel to celebrate it with my friends, ate a lot, danced a lot, roamed on streets, sat under the clouds, enjoyed the cool winter breeze and felt all the vibes that kept telling me that there’s one more chance to up your game and better yourself and become what even you have not thought about yourself.

Because I reached home late and also as I am running with fever, I took a good sleep and woke up on 1^st January, 2020 in afternoon after which I lived the 1^st day of the year by reading a bit, now writing this blog post, meeting my friend and talking about life and its challenges, breaking up with one best friend due to a decision I took last year which went wrong though I don’t regret much about the decision, went for jogging for an hour, worshipped two temples and thanked God for taking care in 2019 and assured the Supreme power that I’ll do the best I can for the universe through my small life, laughed, cried, wished many people etc.

Thanks to my office that I get leave on the first day of the New Year otherwise I heard that many people have to work even on the 1^st January. Since childhood, I don’t remember a single day when I had to go to school/college/work on the 1^st January and wish that this shall continue till I am on the planet. Haha! Living the 1^st day as per your wish has its own charm in itself which can’t be described. It is a time when you sit and think a lot about how the previous year was for you. I am very happy with 2019 as it gave me a lot of opportunity to grow myself professionally and personally.

Talking about professional life, I got a great appraisal and promotion and loved it. I also learnt a lot of new things as several tasks came onto my desk which I had not performed earlier. In the 1^st half of the year, I handled client in an unexpected way but improved myself in the 2^nd half of the year and ensured that client is happy with my way of conduct and it also reflected in the way days started getting spent in the office. Earlier, I made friends in office which made tasks difficult but this year, I managed to keep things professionally itself which resulted in better management. It was a good year in terms of work I am doing and I hope this year shall provide me more opportunities in office.

Talking about blogging and reading, I managed to complete the target of 52 books and learnt a lot from them. I also saw a lot of stuffs online- movies, web series, reality-shows, vlogs, motivational videos etc and wrote about them. Talking about the blog, I managed to write only around 75 posts which is the least in any year since I started blogging back in 2009. This is because most of the times I didn’t want to fake myself up and write positive things when actually I was going through negative and stressful period in my life. Now when I was self-introspecting today, I felt I should have handled the conditions better which has made me turn on the laptop and write 1^st blog post on the 1^st day of the year even when I am going through a rough phase now. Also, I am happy that this year, I didn’t only write blogs but posted a lot of stuffs on Instagram too and got opportunity to do product reviews etc. Saying everything, the landmark of 1800^th Blog Post got achieved this year.

Coming down to my personal life, I got great experience of traveling to Sri Lanka- my first ever international trip. Though I didn’t write and share much about it but will do so once I get better. I also travelled to Delhi and met my childhood friends there and it was a beautiful time spent with them. I got to drive long from Mumbai to Nashik/Shirdi and loved doing 500 Kms in two days. I got to meet my idol – Robin Sharma who gave me new life a decade back when I had no purpose. I also attended two beautiful concerts- Kumar Sanu and Adnan Sami and both were cherishing time spent. I again got an opportunity to attend an episode shoot of Kaun Banega Crorepati and experience Mr. Amitabh Bachchan for 4 hours in front of me. This shall stay unforgettable and best moment of life.

We got our home renovated again. I purchased a new mobile for myself. I started the habit of jogging and running as a new lifestyle and I am enjoying it. I started consuming Black Coffee without any sugar etc. to avoid getting more fats. I made my dieting stronger which was very tough for me though it didn’t affect my body shape a bit. Haha! I have also started drinking only warm water. I stopped consuming cold-drinks every now and then. I only have it occasionally when I have no other options available. I started dancing just for fun and not professionally which keeps me excited and shared few of my clips on Whatsapp status and Instagram too. Haha! These are small things which got initiated in 2019.

The best thing about 2019 will always be the Youtube Channel named- Writing Buddha that I started and recorded around 5-6 videos for it. I request all of you to please support it and help me in growing the same.

Now talking about 2020:- This Year and This Decade is going to be great for me as I am in my 30s now and living it shall be about more maturity and zeal as there are certain things I didn’t do in my 20s due to the stress of studies, career etc. but I am going to make up for all of them in 2020. The 1^st goal is to get the best version of my body shape for which I have already started jogging, running, exercising. As I said above, my Youtube channel shall be of great concentration for me. I shall be focusing on completing 1900^th Blog Post this year. I would again be reading 52 books this year. I shall be attending the events etc. which shall help me experience or meet more celebrities. Instagram shall also see around 100 influencing posts. Meditation shall be part of life which I couldn’t do much in 2019. I will be traveling more and I think what I didn’t do in last decade, I would be ending up traveling more than that in this year itself.

And best of all of it, I am going to be part of 5 AM Club which Robin Sharma has been endorsing for so long and finally I would not be Night Owl anymore and would be Early Bird very soon. This year and decade shall more be about transformation. I am going through some rough patch which I believe should get resolved as soon as possible because now it’s high time that I take it as a negative thing altogether. I will let you know once this concern becomes history and I hit the end of the tunnel for the same.

With all of this, I would ask all of you to also share what you have in sight for this year and decade so that we get more ideas on how we can make our year special. In the end, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year 2020 and hope that all of us grow together in this and stay connected through the multiple platforms on which Writing Buddha is available.

Thanks a lot for reading the complete post.

WRITING BUDDHA