Neha's Notebook

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini It hurts more to have something and then lose it, than to not have it at all. But life, at all times, causes us to believe in it, to grapple its experiences, identities, joys and pleasures; and just when we’re fully indulged in its illusory ecstasy, life slips in quietly, reappearing in its shadowy form, and knocking the door of our heart, it whispers in our ear, “Hey, that’s it, buddy. The show’s over. Time to return!” Life, in fact, is a cruel creature with a charming face, who, lends us all that we need in a given moment, only to take it away, just when we are beginning to grow fond of it. And like a slaughter to a lamb, it slices the delicious crumb of this teeny-weeny world that we’ve created for ourself, and we, are forced to return to where we have come from; our heart, the true home. The Kite Runner, too, is one of those works of fiction, which takes you to glimpse this great field of life, where you lose when you win and

    #1 A WORD IS A FORM OF ENERGY! The ancient Indian sages say that a word is not just a word, but a form of energy which carries within it the potential of transformation.   It is only through the words that people like writers, poets and storytellers are able to weave magic through their writings, poems and stories!   #2 GRAMMAR IMPLIES ‘THE LOGIC OF LANGUAGE’! In Indian texts, grammar is referred to, by the terms such as “Vyakaran”.   The Sanskrit word Vyakaran implies separation, distinction, discrimination, analysis, explanation, logic" of something .   And so, Grammar can be understood as the science of studying the logic or the structure of language !   #3 THE SCIENCE OF GRAMMAR IS APPROX. 3000 YEARS OLD! Grammar is one of the most ancient sciences dating back to the Vedic period. This field of grammar also makes up one of the six Vedangas in the scriptures of Vedas or Vedic Studies.   Grammar or Vyakaran is related to the fourth Vedanga of

The Tainted Throne by Alex Rutherford The crevices splintered into the fabric of a soul that is fragmented and wounded with lovelessness and anguish, cannot be filled as likely as an ointment may fill the wound of a flesh. The reaction to which, usually, is a tainted heart…and so, a tainted throne too! ‘The Tainted Throne’ is the fourth book in the ’Empire of the Moghuls’ series written by Alex Rutherford. Consecutively, the novel depicts the story of the fourth Moghul emperor Jahangir, followed by Babur, Humayun and Akbar. Post the death of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar, the dynasty of Moghuls tripped in imbalance; like a goblet of poison skiddering sideways and spilling itself till the entire sky was gathered with venomous shadows of doom and gloom. Punch-drunk by negligence, impulsiveness and lust for power, the map of the Moghul empire began to experience cracks, here and there, until, it neared its tearing downfall followed by total collapse. Jahangir a.k.a

Slurping steamy spiced noodles from a bowl while heavy monsoon rains drip outside… Relishing a fold of butter-soaked crispy-flaked potato parantha on a wintery Sunday morning Sipping a glass of iced rose sherbet to relieve summer afternoon’s burning heat Chewing onto a herby, cheese-dipped pepper-flavoured pizza crust on a movie night Munching from a box of crunchy chips along with your best buddy Relishing a raw juicy salad of freshly cut fruits & veggies Scooping a spoonful of nutty chocolate-dipped fudge bar melting on your tongue….   There is certainly a certain kind of pleasure in food; that can never be underestimated. This feeling of pleasure causes the topic of ‘food writing’ one of the most evocative forms of writing. In fact, writing about food is as exciting as the food itself! In this video, I am presenting the top-secret ingredients that make a piece of food writing as delicious as the food you’re writing about! So, let’s breeze through these!

WHAT IS “RASA”? “Rasa” is a Sanskrit word which implies the meaning “nectar”, “juice”, “essence”, “taste”, “sap of grain”, “flavour”, “consciousness”, “bliss” and likewise.   The concept of “rasa” points to the ‘ emotional flavours’ crafted and encrusted in a poem or a piece of writing, by the writer, with a reader/recipient/aesthete “sensitive enough”, to feel/absorb the emotional flavour represented through the work of writing or poetry.   The evocation of rasa is a result of a skillful application of the infusion of emotions and moods into a brilliant piece of poetry, drama, visuals or any other art form.   A connoseiur in the field of understanding rasas is known as rasika.   10 POINTS ABOUT “RASA THEORY #1 Rasa theory is an ancient theory in the fields of Indian Poetics ( Kavya-shastra ), Indian Theatre ( Natya-Shastra ) & Indian Aesthetics ( Saundarya-shastra) .   #2  It was first brought up by Bharata Muni – An ancient sage known as the “fathe

Ruler of the World by Alex Rutherford When we think of the Mughal emperor Akbar, what we usually think of is, “ Akbar, the Great! ”. In fact, even the name Akbar implies the meaning “great”. Withal, in reality, emperor Akbar’s life was not ‘all-great’. Rather, it was a bittersweet symphony playing somewhere between a trumpeter's buzzing tunes of achievement and a sitarist’s mellow drones of loneliness. But of course, a stark personification of greatness, it was, though. Akbar’s father, Humayun, died as abruptly as an avalanche, one evening in Delhi’s Red Fort a.k.a. Purana Qila . He was only twelve-years old at the time of his father’s death. This was the time when the Moghuls were only re-settling their empire in the Hindustan provinces. Their rule was still quite vulnerable to threats. And so, to protect this boy emperor from a giant score of enemies lurking everywhere around them, Akbar was hidden from the view of the public and secretly ridden away from th