Pens and Pages

First published on Springtide on 12th December 2014 Perhaps it is not the right time to share what I faced in Delhi, not after “the Uber incident”. But then, there’s never a right time. And no matter what hour it is, reality is always the invincible truth. I’ve been staying in Mumbai from the past one year. I’ve been to Delhi before, but from Mumbai my first visit would be only last week. It was at around 4:45pm when I took a train from INA metro station to Kashmere Gate. I had to transport my luggage from my friend’s place at Yamuna Vihar to another friend’s place at Katwaria Sarai. It was my first evening there in Delhi and I did a quick imprecise calculation and assumed that I’d reach Katwaria Sarai after picking my luggage, at around 7:00pm. I assumed that dusk would fall at around 7:00pm like it is the case in Mumbai. I was a little disappointed to realize that by the time I reached Kashmere Gate it was almost dark although it was only around 5:30pm. ...

First Published in   Springtide - Inspiring Youth Igniting Minds   on 11th December 2014 Author: Bhavya Kaushik Published by: Petals Publishers First Edition: December 2014 Number of Pages: 200 Language: English After hurriedly reading the blurb on the back of The Infinite Equinox (TIE) first, my inattentive mind assumed that it is the journey of a girl from the streets of India to a well-settled life in Seattle. Only after I reached mid-way of the journey of TIE did I realize that it is not just a single journey – there are two. The first being the escape of the protagonist from the cruel begging rackets prevalent in the country and the second being the quest of the protagonist to find her origins not only for mental peace but also to be able to survive. It is essential for Tamanna, the protagonist to find her parents or siblings in order to survive the cancer she was detected with – Leukemia. Being abducted at an early age, Tamanna has ...

I bleed blue, I bleed it all out; A single gun-shot, And a deep wound. Like a broken ferry on a vast, vast sea; I tremble, I shiver, Drenched in the cold memories. They still know your name; They ask where are you. For I was you then- Complete, Unsullied. For they still are there In the old battlefield, Fighting another war. I've changed; I've been soiled. I've bled all hues; I've seen it all. My sore wound rots; I await no war. Sullied, Smeared, I collapse, I shiver. Broken and twisted - I am you now.

Everyone must have a different Utopia. And if I had a place in mine, it would be all filled with food and books and food and books, an occasionally a movie or two. When I was in my final year of Engineering in Guwahati, I “nurtured” the habit of going out to eat every day and for a movie, every alternate week. When I landed on Mumbai, to my utter delight I found that only a kilometer away stood the building of my dreams – the Movie Hall. No wonder, Saturday and Sunday evenings were spent watching the latest show in the Movie Complex. Eventually, some of my friends and I decided to go for a movie on every Friday evening, after office hours. Bookmyshow came into picture and hours were spent deciding on the perfect time to leave office and on reaching the place before the trailers are shown. As we realized we are spending a lot of money on our movie-affair we relied on discounts and coupons – early bird discounts at the hall and Rs. 50-100 off on CupoNation . Now that ten mo...

Initial release: November 4, 2014 (London) Director: Christopher Nolan Screenplay: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan Cast :  Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Michael Caine,  Jessica Chastain,  Wes Bentley, etc. My Ratings :   4.7/5    5/5 They make movies so larger than life, and then they throw us back into reality, leaving us wondering about it all that happened in just a span of a little less than three wee hours. Watching Interstellar was more than just fun - it was thought-provoking, and for an emotional fool like me, it was emotions-provoking too. A story well-thought-of, a movie well-made. The 169 minutes I spent watching it made me awe at the immensity of everything. There are times when I think that the human race just screwed it all up by inventing money and making us all so materialistic about trying to achieve something great in this illusion called life. But there are times like t...

They say that if you take care of the present the future will fall in place. I doubt it. Almost two months ago I was all at sea on what to do to make my future better than my present. "Priorities" was the word and I had a handful, all at the same level. I took some time and prioritized them into various levels, my first priority being "today". A week later, I was happier than never before - fewer worries, fewer goals, all focused. Two months have elapsed and now I feel I am just stuck with today. I don't know what's in store for me in the future (Well, nobody does). But even my today is slipping out of my hands. I'm losing my grip. I am losing control so I am letting it go. But sometimes, I repeat, sometimes life's not so much of a fairy tale when you let go of things. May be you need to let go of only the wrong things and stick to the right things and hold them till your hands bleed. My hands aren't bleeding. I let go a...

In a lazy afternoon, my friend and blogger, Rafaa Dalvi called me up to ask if I'd like to go to attend an event the next week. I was too sleepy to be excited about it. I said no. He, then, explained that the event was not a regular one but an exclusive meet with author of Chanakya's Chant, Ashwin Sanghi. A year back, I had participated in a story-writing contest and Ashwin Sanghi was the judge. My story bagged a position in the list of top 25. The memory of the book, Kaleidoscope, where my story was published, was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the name, Ashwin Sanghi. I changed my lazy mind and said, "yes, I'd love to attend the event."  The next ten minutes was spent telling all my colleagues that I'm going to meet Ashwin Sanghi at Vivanta by Taj, Cuffe Parade. Proper Invitation (including mails and phone-calls) by the Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest Team followed. The feedback on their way of inviting - great...