Share a Book India Association

India, not a country to be visited, but a country to be felt.

The mother who cradled the most valuable and most efficient stuff in the history of mankind. The birthplace of Sanskrit, the origin of all other languages. The giver of the most brilliant of the brilliant minds in the world. To keep the streak going, the base of the nation and the builders of the future should be refined.

Our dreams as children were something of an art, something immaculate. We could reach as high as the sky, as deep as the ocean and as wide as the universe because we read the stories with intellectuals, gurus, prince and princesses and believed that something magical happens to everyone. In this advanced world let the children see the unseen and grow beyond restrictions. 'Cause then that is what will give us our next Newton, next Ramanujan, next Shakespeare, next Mozart and next Picasso.

Help Build Empires of Mind!

Hey fellas! Planning to do something splendid this Christmas to be in Santa's good-list?! We serve you with an opportunity right from our door to yours.

SABIA has now come to you Mumbaikars to give you a shot at helping the kids learn and grow in the metropolis. All you have do for now is put a book in your backpack, drive to the school and enlighten the children by reading to them the stories at your disposal. Spend a mere of 2 hours from your busy schedule with the children and feel the warmth this winter season!

A few days into the exam week, everyone finds their life thrown all topsy-turvy. And I am no exception. Like I said in my previous post, my exams started on the 22nd of October and it shall continue till the 5th of November. In the midst of this period, I have got an event in my university that I will host, because we will be having two Kiwi professors with us. And then I also have a seminar to attend and that will be for 2 days as well. And even though it might sound very easy-peasy, I will have to prepare my speech and also do some research and study for the event in my university, and then some more research and study for the seminar I will be covering on those two days. Apart from these, I still need to continue also my reviewing work, my job here, and also the gym life. So one might be wondering how I do that. Well, the trick is a simple two-word secret. Can you guess what it is?

TIME MANAGEMENT! And that’s it yes. I have always maintained my bullet journal, yes, and that is the reason why I always stay so organized. Having all the events written down really helps. And I am sure everyone who maintains a system of some sort – whether it is on paper like me, or on line in their computers and phones, shall agree.

If you are a beginner I shall really recommend using the blocking method, where you block out a specific time period with a colour, for say- the time you will spend working in your school, or be sitting for the exam and so on. Doing this really helps you find out the free time that you have and thus proves very productive. PS. Please do not forget to take into the consideration the time you need for commuting, eating and sleeping.

Talking about sleeping, I personally run on 5-6 hours every day, but I think that it should be at least 7. Also, don’t forget your meals. Keep good care of your health. Because honestly, if you’re lying sick on some hospital bed, do you honestly think you can do whatever you need to do? No, right? So your health should be your foremost priority.  

Always keep the materials for the next exam with you. Supposing you’re done with the day’s exam and you find that the next class won’t be held. So instead of wasting your time, you can simply go over the materials for the next exams. So that by the time you sit for it, you’ll be twice as prepared.

Relaxation. This is one thing that should not be forgotten. I personally use the university bus to commute both up and down. So in the morning when I have an exam scheduled, I just go over some notes in the bus itself. Supposing I do have an exam but later in the day such that I will have time to study for it again, I make sure to just plug in my earphones, listen to some music and chill. And I always listen to said music, and doze off while coming back home in the bus. Your mind also needs rest, make sure you give it that.

Ever since my exams have started, my routine has gone haywire. But, nonetheless, I have been trying to cope and I’m doing pretty well. All thanks to my bullet journal. As an avid BuJo-ist, I have a great deal of dependence on my journal. And moreover, as a really forgetful person also, this has helped a lot. So let me begin.

I have full day of classes at the university after the exams are over, so that is why my work hours are still the same. I just get on the bus in the morning, study if I have an exam first thing after I reach the uni, or listen to music if it is later in the day and that’s it. After the exam is over, it is a regular day of classes for me and sometimes I do get free periods, during which I study if I have an exam in the afternoon shift, or an exam on the next day. If I don’t have either I just pick up the book I am currently reading, be it a review copy or a personal choice. On the way back home from uni, in the bus, I always sleep with some music on.

Now, if I don’t have an exam on the next day, I head over to the gym directly after getting off the bus, but if I do, I obviously don’t. I have a pretty relaxed schedule this time so I am able to go the gym as well. I come home and then get freshened up, have my lunch, rewind by watching a YouTube video or two while I have my dinner, and then promptly get to work- study, study some more if I have an exam on the next day, do some review work, and lastly, I do indulge in an hour of gaming before I fall asleep.  

As a person from Assam, a state in Northeast India, my mother-tongue is Assamese. I use it all the time to converse with my family, relations friends and so on. The other languages I use verbally are just Hindi and English. That is it. But when it comes to reading and writing, I admit I am much more comfortable only English. And that simply is because English was after all the first language I was taught to write while in school. I studied Assamese till class 10, and then continued to use it while reading and writing but only for my dance lessons. So that was until a couple years back. However, the last time I wrote and read Hindi was in Class 7 that is some 6-7 years back. Understandably, I’m better versed in Assamese than I am in Hindi at the moment.

Today, I am really trying to reverse that. As an Indian, I think it is only reasonable that I should know to read and write in English (because let’s accept it, it is a global language), then Hindi (because it is the most common language in India), and Assamese (because it is my mother-tongue after all). So to correct myself, I have decided to take up these vernacular books in December. In preparation, I have already bought a copy of Sarat Chandra Upadhyay’s  Devdas, and borrowed a collection of Mamoni Raison Goswami’s novels from my aunt.

So I recently was forwarded a picture message on WhatsApp, claiming that Henry Fischel was the first person to invent the concept of examination. Now I do not know how true that is, but honestly, let me tell you, if he really is who the message claims he is, and I had a time machine with me, God couldn’t have saved him. Or any other students’ wrath, I bet.

So today is the day my exams begin. My mid-semester exams to be specific and I am so not ready! As you all know, many of us celebrated the Durga Puja this past week and honestly did not have any energy left to do anything else. And now, it is D-Day for me. I am honestly much tensed, as expected, and while I also keep my fingers crossed, I have studied a lot during the weekend. Well, not so much on Saturday because like so many others, I was recuperating from the Puja hangover.

I’m generally a person who kind of like appearing for exams but this time, I’m so not! It is just that we had such a dearth of time to prepare that I’m dreading it. Nonetheless, I shall obviously try to do my best.

Anyone else having their exams at this time too?? Don’t forget to share your thoughts on this below! Like and reblog!

Love,

When I was young, we had a maid – a nice young girl, who was accomplished in all ways except one – she could not read nor write. And so the young ambitious and righteous me took it upon myself to educate her. And so, every afternoon, I taught her the alphabets, (she had a fair idea of numbers), and then we progressed to words. Unfortunately, before I could completely teach her the sentences, except the basic ones, she had to leave. Nonetheless, looking back, I am happy I tried.

In the present times, I suppose the only way I promote reading actively, is by selling my books to interested parties. And I am so happy to see that so many kids my age are excited to buy them from me, that some even come up to me and ask if I might be interested in selling them a particular book.

Durga Puja has ended. It’s a sad day today indeed, and the thought that it shall arrive again next year that truly consoles our minds.

Everything in life ends, but I suppose the most important thing is to enjoy them all as they come and not think only of and dread the inevitable end. Doing that would only reduce any thought of happiness one might have at the present.

Loss is inevitable, right? We say time heals everything, and we so pray and hoe that it is true. Why then, does it take such a long time to do so? Don’t you think it would be better- to have a clean cut than a painful one?

Durga Puja, also called Durgotsava, is an annual Hindu festival in the Indian subcontinent that is hed to honour the goddess Durga. It is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are typically special and an annual holiday in regions such as West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Odisha and Tripura where it is particularly popular. Celebrated during September-October, it is a multi-day festival celebrated with great pomp and show. In the contemporary era, the importance of Durga Puja is as much as a social festival as a religious one wherever it is observed.

Durga Puja festival marks the battle of goddess Durga with the shape-shifting, deceptive and powerful buffalo demon Mahishasura, and her emerging victorious. Thus, the festival epitomises the victory of good over evil.

The Durga Puja festival dates coincide with Vijayadashami (Dussehra) observed by other traditions of Hinduism, where the Ram Lila is enacted — the victory of Rama is marked and effigies of demon Ravana are burnt instead.

The primary goddess revered during Durga Puja is Durga, but her stage and celebrations feature other major deities of Hinduism such as goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth, prosperity), Saraswati(goddess of knowledge and music), Ganesha (god of good beginnings) and Kartikeya (god of war). The latter two are considered to be children of Durga (Parvati). The Hindu god Shiva, as Durga's husband, is also revered during this festival.

It is said that during this time, the goddess Durga has come with her children to visit her mother’s place. The festival begins on the first day with Mahalaya, marking Durga's advent in her battle against evil. The mantras start early in the morning on this day and everyone has either turned up the radio to full volume, or have already visited the temples themselves.

Starting with the sixth day (Sasthi), the goddess is welcomed. And the festival formally opens and celebrations begin in elaborately decorated temples and pandals hosting the statues. Lakshmi and Saraswati are revered on the following days. The festival ends of the tenth day of Vijaya Dashami, when with drum beats of music and chants, Shakta Hindu communities start a procession carrying the colorful clay statues to a river or ocean and immerse them, as a form of goodbye and her return to divine cosmos and Mount Kailash. She finally returns to her husband. The general surrounding turns pensive and tears can be seen in the eyes of many.

With autumn, comes the most anticipated festival of the year for most Indians. Most of you might already know of the #pujo craze that is sweeping away the people with great pomp and show. West Bengal is notorious for the amazing preparations that come up every Durga Puja. Yes, Durga Puja.

Let me tell you something more about it today.

Durga puja or Pujo is a time of the year when cities come to a standstill- offices, schools and basically everything is closed, there are major sales in all retail stores, bazaars and of course online stops as well. As an Assamese (I hail from Assam), this is one festival I look forward to every year. And why, you might ask. It’s because this is simply contagious. Ever since the month began, there was the anticipation in the air- people were talking about Puja and I was not exempt from it. You buy new clothes, new jewelry, new everything- you go on full house renovation and then decoration mode and then go buy tons of new things for friends and family. Of course that’s just the topping, the before-party you could say.

Today is shasthi, or the 6th day, when the Puja begins. The roads are all lit up by miles and miles of fairy lights. There are huge arches put up, all sparkling and new and there is music all around. On the footpaths you see beautiful men and women, all decked up to see the puja pandals (Thank God it’s not hot anymore). And then, when you get together with friends you go pandal-hopping which is basically you go on a sightseeing sort of spree, visiting all the puja pandals that come in your way.

And the jalebis?! Let me just stop and control my drooling. There are so many sweet shops making fresh new jalebis and it’s wonderful really. There are throngs of people at these places, all excited to get their share of this yummy sweet!

Since October is here, I thought why not write a recommendations post for horror reads! I know that so many of you prefer reading spooky novels during this time, as Halloween approaches, and so, here it is! Hope this post inspires you to pick up a few books!

Frankenstein – written by a young (read, teenage) Mary Shelley, the backstory to this gothic horror novel is just as interesting. The book from where “You are my creator, but I am your master. Obey!” came from, Frankenstein is a literary masterpiece.

 Dracula – a classic vampire story is Bram Stoker’s masterpiece set in England as well as in Transylvania. The descriptions of the environment itself are enough to give you the spooks.

 Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier’s best-known work, Rebecca is a visually stunning, full of imagery, the perfect horror novel, replete with mystery and romance.

 The Haunting of Hill House – One of the greatest ghost stories of the 20th century, Shirley Jackson’s book has also been adapted by Netflix now!

 We Have Always Lived In The Castle – Another one of Shirley Jackson’s book, We Have Always Lived In The Castle is written in the voice of eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood, who lives with her sister and uncle on an estate in Vermont. Six years before the events of the novel, the Blackwood family experienced a tragedy that left the three survivors isolated from the rest of their small village.