Posts

Showing posts from March, 2014

Book Review: The Temple of Avinasi

Image
Synopsis:   “From the ashes of Epic Wars shall the great Lord of Dark rise, So terrible his wrath, every protestor shall demise…             Ripped apart would be the Shield and the protecting forces,         A whole world shall fall, mortal or otherwise…” “A heroic tale timed in modern age -- a battle of existence between evil and the good, bred on the ashes of the four thousand year old legendary Epic Wars. The ‘Immortal Protectors’ of the Temple are finding it hard to maintain control over a new rising evil power, far greater in magnitude than the previous war. The Shield that protects Earth from external attacks had stopped the invading Dark Seekers, also called Nishachars -- a fled group from some distant dying planet -- for long. Until four thousand years ago … when the shield was ruptured, and the entire mortal world turned on the edge of demolition. It was then the immortal protectors, the Light Seekers, more commonly known as Devs, along with the remaining army

Doodle II

Image
Doodling away my time in AEC class!!! This doodle is made by Lipsa , a dear friend... She's just superb in Mehendi designs, and anything beautiful... Give this doodling masterpiece all your love... and do leave a word....She'd love to hear it and so would I...

Watching Queen..

Image
I loved Queen. It’s a really good story about rediscovering the self and feeling the freedom- freedom from all the baggage of reservations and inhibitions that we carry with ourselves. Living her whole life under the set norms and decorum, Rani is a very cultured Indian girl. The best daughter her parents could ever have. She had never imagined that she would be jilted at the altar, and her dream shall come to a standstill. But she decides to come out of her brooding self and leave behind her trauma. She packs up to go on her preplanned honeymoon, alone. In Paris, she meets VJ, who proves to be a great friend and companion. She saves Rani from trouble, helps her enjoy France where communication in any language other than French is difficult; and helps her come out of her self-conscious and shy self. That is clearly visible when a drunk Rani talks her mind incessantly for the first time in days to anyone who’s listening, and dances her heart out like no one’s watching witho

Writing a New Chapter to Their Half Stories..

Image
Patachitra are paintings made on palm leaves. They are created using a sharp tool to engrave the drawings and then color in filled in. These paintings are limited to religious and folk themes. The Gita Govinda composed by Jayadeva is one of the popular themes in the traditional patachitra paintings of Orissa. Other themes are inspired from the Mahabharata, the Jagannath cult, and Vaishnavism. The art has been unique to the Raghurajpur artist's village, near Puri. Every family in this village has devoted their life to this art form. Every generation in the family, learns and practices this skill and passes it on to the next generation. They spend days together to make a perfect, flawless Pata, making intricate patterns and designs. They even make the colors they use. The art, therefore, is their way of life. It is their main occupation. But these artisans do not get their labor’s worth. Though their art is widely appreciated on an international level, they ar

Time's Lost Atlas- An Anthology Worth Reading

Image
The Book Blurb: “Ready to travel to Pakistan, London, Nepal, China, New York, India, in one single book? With 11 stories encompassing 11 major events of the last decade, this anthology is a concoction of tragedy, romance, mystery and thriller, brewed to perfection to ensure a nail biting experience. Reminisce and relish the events which shook the world. Breathe the freshness of past, dive into the reasons that shaped the world as it is now, walk through your bygone times, fly across the continents marking your longest journey ever- for you hold the Time’s Lost Atlas in your hand.” My thoughts: The name of the book speaks of something lost in time, or of some things perhaps forgotten. It is the debut book by the Half Baked Beans Publishing. I like this name. ‘Half Baked Beans’- to me it means something that’s in process, midway in the journey of ‘baking’, not accomplished yet aspiring. Many thanks to Namrata for introducing me to this wonderful collection of short

Some Gratitude, and Bloglovin'

Image
I have been doing book reviews for quite a while now. It feels great to receive books for review. I am being noticed here, in the blogging world. And there has been a steady growth in the popularity of Magic Moments. I'm so glad. Thanks to Write Tribe , The Tales Pensieve , and Netgalley . My urge to be heard is getting fulfilled now, little by little, gradually. I have made some blogger friends too and have had so much to learn from them. It has been a great journey. Expressing my heartfelt thanks and gratefulness, I take this opportunity to spread some blog love. Dedicated to a blogger friend Namrata aka Privy Trifles-her blogger persona. I love her posts , love all her writings . Her self-made quotes and humane opinions on life are deep and thoughtful. To some it may feel like over expressed feelings, exaggerated thoughts and emotions, and gratitude over done, but for me it’s just the perfect set of words I'll ever want to hear or read. She keeps it stra

Baramulla Bomber- A Science Fiction Espionage Thriller

Image
“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 and Kashmir holds its secret.” I received the book from the author Suraj Prasad through The Write Tribe Book Review Program.  I had liked the cover page of the book, and the blurb on the back. The mentioned genre ‘Science fiction Espionage Thriller’ also piqued my interest. Being a Dan Brown, James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi fan, the thriller genre is one of my favorite. And that coming from another debut Indian author, with an Indian backdrop to the story made me apply for reviewing the book. In a Brief: “Quantum Physics meets Bible and Vedas in background of Kashmir and cricket.” This is what the book can be described as in a single line. There is some kind of an impending war and political broil in between nations- India, Pakistan, and China, concerning Kashmir in the story,

Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

Image
  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundhati Katju

Popular posts from this blog

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Empress Ki : A story of an epic scale

E[x]ploring Odia Literature Through 'Punyatoya'

Latest Binge - Emily in Paris

When Breathe Becomes Air

The Baztan Trilogy

Remnants of a Separation - A Review