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Showing posts from January, 2017

‘All The Bright Places’ by Jennifer Niven

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GoodReads I haven’t read a book that describes depression better, without any prejudices, without being judgmental, without any ill informed facts or misconceptions. No book had been so understanding, consoling and comforting. It deals with suicide thoughts, living life to the fullest and that sinking feeling – that indescribable emotion that brings in the void, the emptiness, the loneliness, and wretched thought of abandon, without any reason . I am grateful to have read this book. I am immensely thankful to the author to have written this. I wish it reaches more and more readers than it already has. Let there be awareness and love without bias. Let these thoughts not be just labeled as ‘weird’ or ‘sick’ or ‘mental illness’ steeped in shame, embarrassment, and fear of alienation. Violet Markey is devastated by her sister Eleanor’s untimely death due to a car accident, of which she’s a survivor. She feels she’s cheated Eleanor somehow by being alive. Life is not the same

I Am Rooted, But I Flow

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Some weekends are about poetry analysis or paraphrasing with my sister and pondering over philosophical ideas and spiritual discourses. Today was one of such days. Nothing cliché about it, it is just something we sisters thoroughly enjoy and connect deeply with. I would like to share with you some of the profound thoughts I read in The Speaking Tree someday. “A dimension beyond physicality has infused itself into this wonderful mechanism that human body is. This dimension is the very source of life. It is this that truly makes us who we are. This is why human beings seem to live in a constant struggle between the physical and the dimension beyond. Though you have the compulsiveness of the physical, you also have the consciousness of being more than just physical. There are two basic forces. Most people see them as being in conflict. One is the instinct of self-preservation, which compels you to build walls around yourself . The other is the constant desire to expand

All Signs Lead Back To You

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I have always had a liking towards tales with themes of partings and meetings. So this story did hit home almost instantly. And when the author is Aniesha Brahma, I don't really have to think twice before picking it up. Diya is deep, complex, and a complicated mess. She believes everything in her life comes with an expiry date. She builds more walls around her than bridges. She lets no one in on anything that's important to her, or that she holds close to her heart. Yet the one person who has been through that barrier, Nina- Diya's best friend, calls her that once-in-a-lifetime friend - whom you should never let go of however many times she shuts the door on your face to shoo you off. She may seem selfish and careless but beyond that fake calm exterior is a weak vulnerable person.  I l oved Diya. I could easily connect with her, being the almost philophobic person that I am. Ashwin is caring and loving. He tries his best to understand Diya, when she cuts off all

Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

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  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

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