I am A failure…………….. By AkhilSharma

                                    

Man’s Testament

Question not, but live and labour

Till yon goal be won,

Helping every feeble neighbour,

Seeking help from none;

Life is mostly froth and bubble,

Two things stand like stone,

Kindness in another’s trouble,

Courage in your own

                                                             Adam Lindsay Gordon.

I am A failure by Akhil sharma is a fictional biography .Akhil sharma deserves a hearty appreciation for his outstanding courage to fix such a title and write about the same in a incredibly phenomenal way.

Generally many autobiographies, biographies are written by famous personalities reflecting their life experiences, but to write about failures, requires a special inner strength and strategy.

The author is quite successful in penning this book with lots of messages and information and also conveyed in a nice way that failure can happen to anyone and it’s not particularly you – the only one suffering from the effect of failure. There are many in this world facing the same problem of Failure and the way we deal with it is different

‘’Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.  Ambrose Redmoon.

Apart from a prologue and epilogue, this book holds thirteen chapters, dealing with different aspects of Failure. I quote from page 202-“”We all always want to keep success close to our heart and our heart closed to any failure.”’ true behaviour of a simple human being. Want of success is neither a sin nor a crime and it is quite natural for a human being to hope for success in his life, but what‘s the hindrance? What to do and how to accept the failure and how to prepare oneself to face it? All these are the normal queries and answers to these depends on the perception of the individual. Here the author emphasizes to accept &face the Failure.

Akhil Sharma’s book carries varied &unique concepts of dealing with failures by an individual from his childhood days to his adult hood. At that juncture he says that “Childhood beliefs once formed are so strong that even today, I believe in it. hence started my life long struggle for success.””  So, please provide children the more, the better, and the best morals and values.

                    Impact of success &failure of a child on his parents :

“”my parents were even more happy than me. Being from a middle class, they were paying heavily for all my failures. For once, they thought that now my life was all settled and they needed not to worry any more. Believe me, the experience was not as sweet as they thought and they often felt like unemployed from the department of worry for their child.””

Learning English language and English communication skills over telephone are the notable point in the book about a language.

Hindi words like Ishq, mushk, aukaat , tedhu, rakshabandhan, char din, char log, and char baatein, khatiya, fata poster, nikala mentor, vasudaiv kutumbakam added fine touches here &there.

Caller id- in telephones, love poems, movie songs, telephone lines- private &social fixed lines, watching tv serials, inter school rivalry, dowry in the form of free call credits &study room table &chairs, dairy farm all these are the most prominent issues in those days, its effects in his life are cleared stated.  

Walking dust bin, dressed up like onions, friction is a funny paradox, smile of encouragement, lie build up & lie buster, ambitions are like elephant’s teeth, the ones for display and the real ones are amazing concepts dealt in the book.

“when I failed to get rid of my disability, I failed to consider it as one””,  His jaw dislocation reminded him of the famous MONALISA painting, where Mona Lisa’s expression changes if looked at from different angles. I am actually the living MONA LISA of God-Da- Vinci painter. The only difference is that the gender has reversed and the canvas is live.””  Puts forth the idea of acceptance &power.

“”If you started cheating in life, life will start cheating on you. Later he also realised

And felt good about being able to pass in the exam without cheating. This incident gave me the confidence to abandon cheating at all. “”  dictates Moral boost

‘’Little did we know that the more you hurry for success, the more the success hurries away.’’  Presents about Hope and failure

“”I believed that I was a dark horse, partly because of my capabilities and attitude and mostly because of my skin colour. Still that stable one never visited me in my stable.””   Thoughts on Expectations and failures, fight between heart &mind, dealing with weakness, differentiating motivation and inspiration, aspirations,  Intellect &courage, are purely structured for the readers to understand and proceed further.

“”Success not equal to our hopes”” by Shakespeare in Troilus and Cressida

The ample proposition, that hope makes

In all designs begun on earth below,

Fails in the promis’d largeness: checks and disasters

Grow in the veins of actions highest rear’d:

As knots, by the conflux of meeting sap,

Infect the sound pine, and divert his grain

Tortive and errant from his course of growth
(Received a copy of the book from the author in return to a honest review)

LITTLE MARYAM BY HAMID BAIG

                                          

“”The wound is the place where the light enters you.””-Rumi,   is the quote that welcomes the reader’s into the world of LITTLE MARYAM.   Rumi-  a 13^thcentury Persian poet with immense talent and power to put the complexities of human life in few words. “”Brevity is the soul of wit.””

His works are translated into many world languages. Rumi’s quote is an apt opening for the book.

LITTLE MARYAM BY HAMID BAIG has two parts, SAADIQ HAIDER is the title of the  first part with ten chapters. MARYAM is the name given to the second part of the book with seven chapters. LITTLE MARYAM is Hamid Baig’s debut novel. The author has lead the novel in a steady phase with clean &clear plot, appropriate descriptions, diligent characters all in a compelling style.

The term Literature generally refers to any written or spoken material in any language. It encompasses every sphere of human life like culture, tradition, history, psychology etc. Poetry, short story, drama, novel etc are the various genres in the world literature. 

Literature is the most effective mode of expression to represent this world. To depict the human life in all its richness, it uses a distinctive form to expresses various emotions and feelings. These varied emotional expressions are called RASA (FLAVOUR), Sentiments in English literature. The Nine emotions included are termed  as NAVARASA. They are (SHINGARA) love, (HASYA) humour,(KARUNA) grief, (RAUDRA) rage,(VEERA) valour, (BHAYANAKA) fear,(BIBHATSYA) disgust,(ADBUTHA) wonder and (SHANTHA) tranquillity. Love is of two folds- love in union and love in separation.

Author has taken stupendous effort in depicting SHINGARA &KARUNA RASA in the LITTLE MARYAM.

“”Open the book to page99 and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you””, said English novelist and poet Ford Madox Ford. This book bears testimony to this. The page 99 also serves the reader’s the taste and flavour of SHINGARARASA at its best.

The author uses the word KALPAVRIKSHA –a wish yielding tree, in three different places in the book in three dimensions which provides enough evidence for his wide reading and interest in other languages.

I quote from page 36,

“”Maryam is…well, she and her father are members of a higher class of people, Saadiq.  A class that you and I do not belong to”.

“”Baba, we don’t care about things like that. Maryam and I are the same, in our hearts. Society can dictate some things, but it can’t decide whether or not she and I can be friends. I won’t let allow it.”” 

Author showcases the bias in the society in the simple way &at the same time the heroic qualities of saadiq. Love transcends all barriers.

BIBHATSYA & KARUNA RASA together can be a tough time in one’s life. In the pages of 58 &59, the author has meticulously handled the situation. LITTLE MARYAM is a sensitive tale of life’s ups &downs. It brings out the intense emotions of painstaking and grief-stricken individual.  

‘”People are like stained –glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

                   (Received  a copy of the book from the Author in return to a honest review)

NEVER LEAVE IT…….

Life is full of ups &downs,

Girls are in frocks &gowns.

Inside, outside, rush, rush, rush,

Everybody in gush, gush, gush.

Shorter, taller, greater, smarter,

All in a fuss, fuss, fuss.

Brighter, lighter, purple future

Awaiting to hold it closer.

Building lots of crazy dreams

Marching towards a wonderful beam.

 Consider the crop up &hop, hop, hop

Remember not to sob, sob, sob.

Actions need to be strong &long

Intentions need to be clean & clear.

Then, catch the beam with golden touch

Riding on a horse back.

CARE & CAUTION IN USING GAS CYLINDERS

                               

Kitchen is a place in the home, where food is prepared for our loved ones. One needs to careful and cautious enough when handling gas stoves &gas cylinders. Safety needs to be ensured as more time is spent in the kitchen while preparing variety of dishes. Newly emerging apartments in the cities carry gas lines or pipes up to the kitchen and so the problems with the cylinders and regulators are mostly solved, were as homes with cylinders and stoves require to take few cautions:

Never place two gas cylinders together. Keep away one from the other.

Never place any weight over the cylinder, though it is empty.

Never lit diyas or oil lamps, close to  gas stove or cylinders. Not even the incense sticks.

Check rubber tube regularly for cracks, if any. Change rubber tube at least once in two years.  

Regulator needs to lock in completely in the cylinder, otherwise chances of gas leakage is high.  Change the regulator immediately.

When taking the delivery of the gas cylinder, check for the safety valve, if it is not o.k., return it.

Always have your distributor or dealers phone number and also know the emergency help line numbers which functions 24/7.

Clean your stove &burners regularly to have free flow of gas without any obstruction, which helps to have cooking faster.

                         

Wipe the stove &burners with cloth &don’t pour water over it.

If anything slips or spills over the stove, clean it immediately so as to avoid stains and marks which gets harder to clean after wards.

Always use the on &off knobs properly. When not in use, switch off the regulator.

Clean knobs regularly so as to avoid stickiness due to oil &other things.

IF YOU SMELL GAS………………

Ensure that burner knobs are in closed position

Open windows, if any,

 Do not light a match.

Extinguish all fires and flames.

Switch off the pressure regulator

Do not operate any electrical switches, remove regulator, fix the cap on the valve.

Move the cylinder to a safe and ventilated place. Do not bring any flame or fire near the cylinder.

Call your distributor or 24 hours emergency service cell.

TIPS FOR THE BEST USE OF TOMATO

                                            

Tomato is a well- known fruit or vegetable widely grown in almost all the regions of the world and consumed by majority of the world population. Tomato a berry variety, red in colour, bit tangy, with less sweetness, available in different shapes and sizes.

 Tomato is used in combination with other fruits &vegetables, included in cuisine around the world. Eaten raw or cooked, blanched or smashed, salads, soups, juices, chutneys, ketchups, sauces, cocktails &pickles are some of the dishes that are prepared with tomatoes. Canning of tomato is also done. Un ripened green tomatoes are also available in the market.

 Tomatoes can be easily grown in the backyards of the houses and even in the pots too. Tomatoes can be simply be stored in a room temperature and they don’t require refrigeration.

                                    

Plum, grape and cherry are the major varieties of tomatoes.

Moderate amount of vitamin C is present in tomatoes. Including tomatoes in the daily diet provides protection against cardio vascular disease and cancer.

                         

In south India, a dish named RASAM is prepared with tomatoes & is a popular dish and included in the daily menu.  With Green un ripened tomato, dal & chutney are also prepared, without adding tamarind as the tomato itself is sour.

Let’s get to know the preparation of TOMATO COCKTAIL:

# Select fully ripened tomatoes and extract juice.

# Simmer the tomato juice with spices loosely tied in a cloth bag for about 20 minutes in a covered vessel. (spices-clove, cumin, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander seeds, red chillies)

# Then add lime juice, vinegar and common salt.

# When all the ingredients have been mixed and the cocktail is ready for bottling

# Heat it to 82˚ to 88˚ c and fill it into bottles, which have been sterilised and kept hot for filling.

# Close the bottles and keep them immersed in boiling water for 30 minutes.

# Then allow them to cool and store in a cool and dry place.