My Friendship with Yoga - Book Launch

“My Friendship with Yoga” by Revathi Raj Iyer launched on 10th January, 2017  Pic (L-R): Revathi Raj Iyer (Author); Dr S N Pandey (VC, Indira Gandhi Technological & Medical Sciences University, Arunachal Pradesh); Prof Sumanyu Satpathy (Former HoD- English, University of Delhi); Dr Chandra Mohan (Advisor, International Higher Education, Central University, Gujarat) ……… “My Friendship with Yoga” by Revathi Raj Iyer, published by Lifi, was launched at the New Delhi World Book Fair on Jan 10, 2017 amidst the presence of distinguished guests from academia and yoga practitioners earlier associated with AYUSH. The book is about the author’s progression from learning under an instructor to achieving confidence in self-practice and sharing this experience with the readers. When asked as to what inspired the author to write this book, she said: “The general awareness of yoga is tremendous all over the world. It is important to stay committed and maintain a consistent practice in order to reap the benefits of this tradition. Many of us may acknowledge this fact, but are not able to devote time and make an effort towards a dedicated yoga practice, for various reasons. I learnt this from my fellow students which triggered in me the desire to start writing ‘My friendship with yoga,’ from a seeker’s perspective. I also believe that yoga is not only about asana (postures), but also about a spiritual path towards self-discovery and awareness of oneself. In this context I have drawn inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita as this ancient epic brings out the nuances of ‘Yoga Saastra’ which are the Scriptures on yoga, to develop a receptive, calm and open mind that wishes to learn and evolve.” “My friendship with yoga” is well-structured and unique in the sense that it comprises three parts. The 1st Part is the Narrative which combines the physical and spiritual aspects of yoga, wherein a selection of topics along with interesting anecdotes have been covered. The 2nd Part has more than 80 postures with steps to attain these, guidelines, tips, techniques and benefits; keeping in mind yoga enthusiasts, beginners as well as those who have been practising yoga. The 3rd Part consists of the much desired weekly practice schedule. This has been written sequentially with clear instructions to enhance one’s practice. In the Foreword, Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, President of the Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh mentions: “This book contains practical hints on yoga and has been written in such simple and lucid language that everyone can easily understand and apply the principles in their day to day life.” Prashant Iyengar from the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune, describes: “This book is a significant contribution to modern literature in Yoga. It is indeed a commendable effort to cater millions of Yoga aspirants of all ages and skill levels. The author has shared her thoughts and experiences from her Yoga practices and has adopted a very lucid style which is praise worthy.” The author, Revathi Raj Iyer, is a freelance writer, book reviewer, company director, service volunteer and yoga/fitness enthusiast. A long stint in Fiji Islands is where she began to learn yoga, pursued the training in New Zealand and continues her passion after moving back to India. She lives in Ahmedabad and is working on her second book. My Friendship with Yoga is available on: www.amazon.in, www.flipkart.com, www.dkagencies.com Report by: U Atreya Sarma, Editor (News & Events) based on inputs received - Published in Muse India - 2nd February, 2017 #museindia #newdelhiworldbookfair #ndwbf #newdelhibookfair #lifipublications #chirminey #revathirajiyer #expressionofpearls #yoga #rimyi #sivanandashram #rishikesh #himalayas

Copyright ©2017 Muse India

Book Review - I won't give you a leg up, Mr Death

An engaging and powerful tale of the harsh reality of life with a brilliant portrayal of characters and mesmerising backdrop

It may not be far from truth that each one of us may have a family member, friend or an acquaintance who has either succumbed to the unfathomable malady of cancer or lucky enough to have emerged a survivor. The author, Arunabha Sengupta, has deftly interwoven his practical expertise and imagination in his debut novel I won’t give you a leg up, Mr Death, a fiction with an incredible touch of realism that adds authenticity to the characters and their emotions. I reckon that the realism of this fictional piece is also owing to the fact that a few of the characters are based on the author’s personal encounters and the backdrop of the story is based on real life, masked a bit, so as to not resemble a memoir; as acknowledged by the author. The book couldn’t have had a better title to show the optimism and fight put up by the protagonist against all odds and his approach to living life when death looms large, not knowing when it would show up.

The author Arunabha Sengupta, is a cancer surgeon from Kolkata and a consultant to cancer hospitals of repute. He is also associated with social service organisations and has brought out in writing as well as his lectures, societal issues related to cancer. Hence equipped with more than adequate knowledge, expertise and experience – the author has been able to do justice to the details demanded by this grave issue and narrated the incidents with sensitivity that one can empathise with; all of which makes the book enthralling from start to finish.

“‘Those who are diseased and down, they are also fighting.’ A poet, himself a cancer patient, told me once. ‘It is also wrong to assume that the patients think of their diseases only. They think of many other things,’ he said. Many of them remain alive to their aspirations and dreams, respond to tenderness, fall in love; a few resolve not to allow the disease to dominate their lives.”

The above mentioned opening note by Arunabha Sengupta emphasises the spirit, mind-set and maturity with which this fiction has been written and this can be witnessed throughout the book. It is impressive as to how the author has not let the story flag at any point of time. This is largely because his portrayal of characters is very strong and convincing; and they come alive as one delves deeper into the book. The author is eloquent and has demonstrated his flair as a writer, whilst describing the places and incidents, and interspersed these appropriately to complement the story.

I particularly liked the breezy and cheerful style adopted by the author. This bears a reminder that one has to make the most of living but at the same time accept the fact we are all mortals and cancer is one such disease which comes with no warning signals. But that does not mean we take it all lying down. “I won’t give you a leg up, Mr Death” should be the spirit by putting as much distance as possible between the beginning and the end, by living it up.

Set in the late nineties, the story unfolds with the protagonist Kanu Chatterjee, an Amsterdam based ad-man and photographer, whose life is about to change. After the loss of his wife Ludwina under tragic circumstances and his son Nanu moving away to the States, Kanu shifts to a modest apartment and one day returns home after a biopsy hoping that the start of his ulcer might not turn out to be serious. Just as Kanu is gearing up to reluctantly plan for the future forced by circumstances, the truth hits him hard when he is diagnosed with cancer of the throat. He realises that his retirement from life is now a question of time. Plagued by the thought that he ought not to end up like his wife Ludwina and a secret stashed from his son Nanu, surrounding her end, Kanu prepares to rock his unsteady boat and changes course.

Fear of death in an adopted land and having lived away from India for four decades, Kanu displays the typical Indian diaspora trait and decides to return to his homeland, India. Nanu gives him the option of getting treated in New York and Kanu accedes to this but the desire to come back to his roots outweighs everything and he returns to Calcutta. However, facing some resistance and misunderstandings by his cousin and family, Kanu decides to seek asylum in Monabari, a small town blessed by nature’s beauty and here is when a new leaf turns as he begins to re-discover himself. Amidst the suffering of the people dying of cancer, he forms friendships and suffers losses too. The subtle bonding he develops with Kalyani portrays a compassion and love between the two. He gets the affection of the locals.

Monabari enchants him and his penchant for photography revives. Kanu looks at the brighter side and being one with nature helps his own journey of enjoying life, despite all odds and his impending death. His son Nanu visits him and initially feels that his father would have had a more comfortable life with him in the States. Slowly his perception changes and the story begins to take shape from the eyes of Nanu who is visiting India for the first time. He understands as to why his father chose to come here. The story gets exciting with unexpected happenings at Monabari which Kanu has not anticipated.

The conflict between giving peace to the body and soul by pulling the plug and the humane angle of mercy killing has been well articulated by the author. There are moments of sadness as one reads the plight of the patients. However this does not make the book depressing as the author puts things in perspective as part of life and human existence although it makes you wish that Pandora had not opened the box. It is quite likely that the author has drawn inspiration from Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal an insightful non-fiction about the inevitable aspect of growing old and grappling with infirmity. A quote from Gawande’s book describing cancer is noteworthy: “But the disease, while slowed, continues progressing, like a night brigade taking out perimeter defences.”

I won’t give you a leg up, Mr Death starts to grab attention in the first two chapters itself and gets intriguing as the story deepens. A good book to settle down with a hot cup of tea and accepting the harsh reality of life with a positive bent of mind.

{First published in Muse India - Jan/Feb issue}

#expressionofpearls #bookreviews #fiction #poems #limericks #anecdotes

Happy New Year - 2017

The countdown to the New Year begins...

Jingle bells, jingle bells, all the way they – jingle, jingle, jingle
As the grand pa clock chimes - ding dong, ding dong, ding dong
The countdown begins - tick tock, tick tock, tick tock
We will soon bid good bye to 2016 to wake up to another new year
With renewed faith, dreams, desires and hope
It is time to gift wrap 2016 with all the memories - good, bad and ugly
It is not too long for the New Year to unwrap and give us all a chance
To express - love, warmth and tenderness 
Reunite - with the ones we have lost ties with
Build more memories – good, better, best
Let us feel happy and cherish the kindness of time
Let us spread cheer and warmth
Jingle bells, jingle bells, all the way they – jingle, jingle, jingle
As the grand pa clock chimes - ding dong, ding dong, ding dong
The countdown begins - tick tock, tick tock, tick tock

#christmas #newyear #2017 #santa #whitewinter #carols 

FLAT OUT TALI - A 'Cool' initiative by Ms Tal Eyal of Auckland, New Zealand

Friends,

"Flat Out Tali" by Ms Tal Eyal is a modern solution for women who have survived the trauma of breast cancer and mastectomy and have made a choice to not have their breasts reconstructed, for personal reasons. Having had to face the surgery with a brave face and filled with joy and gratitude that life has given them a second chance, another challenge tiptoes into their lives. 

Yes! It can be extremely shocking to come to terms with 'not being able to' dress up, as before. Although statistically there may be fewer cases, however the fact remains that even young girls have had to go through this trauma of breast cancer. 

All these young, old and renewed women with a zest for life, are trying to build up a whole new wardrobe. Here is where "Flat Out Tali" comes to their rescue. 

I was intrigued and touched when I first read about this initiative by Ms Tal Eyal who lives in Auckland, New Zealand and is a cancer survivor. She opted to 'go flat'. This enterprising and optimistic lady is related to me remotely, my daughter's sister-in-law's mom :) and has struck the chord not only in my heart but millions of women out there.

This is what she has to say:

FLAT OUT TALI was conceived in February of 2016. It came to life following my sudden experience with breast cancer, bilateral mastectomy, and my choice to “go flat.”

Soon after, I encountered a problem which I hadn’t anticipated - how difficult it would be to find feminine, stylish women’s tops to wear after the surgery. It was summer in New Zealand, and after a frustrating and upsetting trek through almost all the shops at several malls, I ended up buying some Men’s T-shirts, which, no surprise, were better suited to my new shape.

In a culture that so often associates femininity with sizable breasts, I could see a need for some happy alternatives. So . . . FLAT OUT TALI has been created to transcend that norm and offer a contemporary and chic collection of stylish tops, dresses, and accessories for women with flatter physiques (as a result of mastectomy like myself, or those who were simply smaller breasted).

As important as it is for women to look good, I especially want FLAT OUT TALI to empower women to feel good about themselves — and truly love and appreciate all the wonderful qualities they possess — whatever their physique. For many years, I worked with women as a counselor and group facilitator; today, FLAT OUT TALI enables me to proactively combine my creativity and fashion sense with my core values and beliefs and share them with others in a way that will benefit us all.

FLAT OUT TALI’s designs for flatter women offer superior quality, classically fashionable, New Zealand-made, smart-casual garments using luscious fabrics, intriguing patterns, and higher necklines. Our accessory range includes long, versatile scarves and unique jewellery along with our fashion tips for flattering a flatter physique — and much more. 

FLAT OUT TALI is located in Auckland, New Zealand and our collection can also be viewed and purchased online at www.flatouttali.com

#breastcancer #mastectomy #empowerwomen #fashion #lovelife #livelife #flatouttali #goingflat #breastcancerawareness #breastcancersurvivors #expressionofpearls

My musing as a book reviewer

When the editor of Muse India, a Hyderabad based online literary journal, invited me to join their panel of book reviewers, I was delighted. This meant a lot to me as I was and still am on the cusp of entering this expansive world of writing.

I have been a die-hard book lover with my favourite titles and authors, just like most people who love to read. But this was different. Here, I was getting a chance to read books with a critical eye, huge responsibility! An obligation to express my opinion on the works of writers who have spent vast amount of time on research, conjuring up plots, creating and giving life to characters in order to whip up a good story or a brilliant prose.

The journey of hope, despair, faith, patience, prayer, dose of good luck and what not, in having the manuscript accepted by a publishing house, could have been a struggle for aspiring writers. And for the fairly established writers, the level playing would have been different. They are morally committed to not disappoint their readers and the pressure starts mounting. The moment they attain the celebrity writer status, everything reaches a crescendo.

Writers feel pressured to the core by media, publicity, fans and their own drive to excel that in order to preserve their sanity and creativity; they disappear in safe houses and retreats until they have finished their book at peace. This is where some writers also fail. There are several writers who have been consistently good and their books sell stupendously. They must have mastered the art of coping up under any circumstances, I reckon.

Reviewing works of an author, aspiring or established, is by no means an easy job. It requires objectivity and an astute sense of attention to details.

I take my role very seriously. I typically read a book as any other reader first. Then when I read it the second time and the third time, I start making margin notes. If it is a non-fiction I do my own research even before starting my first read of the book, to understand the subject matter better so that I can review it with adequate prior knowledge. My legal training has taught me this.

Let me share a few books that I have reviewed:

1. #Checkmate - by Hrishikesh Joshi, published by Frog Books, an imprint of Lead Start Publishing is a bold novella with violence, passion and wildness.

2. #Zorami (a redemption song) - by Malsawmi Jacob, published by Morph books, an imprint of Primalogue Publishing Media Private Ltd is a tale inspired by the struggle for independence by the people of Mizoram.

3. #New songs of the survivors {the exodus of Indians from Burma} - by Yvonne Vaz Ezdani, published by Speaking Tiger Publishing Private Ltd pieces together the reminiscences of courage, faith, hope and human endurance by the refugees and the Forgotten Long March coined by historian Hugh Tinker.

4. #Anusual {memoir of a girl who came back from the dead} - by Anu Aggarwal, published by Harper Collins is a true life saga of a supermodel and Bollywood diva who fought destiny and re-emerged from near death.

5. #The Spectacular Miss - by Sonia Bahl, published by Fingerprint is a chick-lit that is touted to be made into a Bollywood movie.

Book review of Sonia Bahl's 'The Spectacular Miss' by Revathi Raj Iyer

Sonia Bahl
The Spectacular Miss
Fiction
New Delhi: Fingerprint. 2016.
ISBN: 978-81-7599-341-9
Pages: 234. Price: Rs 250.

A ‘not so spectacular’ chick-lit with an overdose of humour

Sonia Bahl’s debut fiction novel, “The Spectacular Miss” loaded with chutzpah and wit fails to impress although it exhibits a skilful portrayal of characters. I am not quite sure if the author intended to whip up a chick-lit or it turned out to be so, but I believe that just as all other fiction, this genre requires copious imagination and style to make it a page turner, more so because it targets a selective audience. Humour is a pleasant ingredient which the author has sprinkled too generously, a bit cheesy at times; but that alone cannot compensate the lack of surprise or build-up in the story line itself.

Sonia Bahl who resides in Singapore, describes herself as one who stumbled through school, forgot to attend college and ended up in the best place in the world, writing ads for an advertising agency. Born and brought up in Calcutta, she has lived and worked in Jakarta, Miami, Johannesburg and Brussels. She quit her job as Executive Creative Director and started a rejection filled screen writing sojourn in the US. She has also written screenplays, magazine columns and movies all of which partly raise one’s expectations as she ventures into the literary field. Needless to say, it may take a few trial and errors to dominate this popular genre; and from that perspective the author’s first attempt is acceptable albeit with a pinch of salt.

“The Spectacular Miss” revolves around Nira, an eight-year-old girl, who is obsessed with being a boy for no compelling reason except being unable to pee standing up or having the liberty to pee in circles. I liked the ingenuity with which the author has coined a name for the protagonist Nira, being the first two letters of her brothers Rahil and Nikhil. Till the age of five she is at the mercy of her mother who dresses her up like a baby-doll. The rebel in her starts at six when she messes up her hair with scissors on hand. This marks the beginning of her tryst with boyhood.

A tomboyish Nira is part of a bro club, deft at karate chops, perpetually bruised and smeared with Mercurochrome that she even mistakes her first period for that orange liquid left unflushed in the toilet. Her adventures or misadventures, truancy and boy fights fill up the pages interspersed with few distasteful extremities such as when her mom-stitched knicker gives way precariously hanging between her knees when she is sprinting in a school race or when she is faced with a dilemma and disgust of having touched Josie’s thing. The analogy that the author comes up with the body part resembling a sausage, just for laughs, might shake up hot dog lovers. I wish the author had diverted her imagery in the mid parts where tedium and predictability starts to creep in.

The friendship between Nira and Bir Narayan, a buddy of Rahil, his utter disbelief that this eight year old is actually a girl, his appreciation at her first whistle, his naming her Nero, the way he steps in to help Nira overcome the knicker episode, sneaking her in as jockey at the races all of which seal a long lasting bonding between the two. Enter the vivacious Dipika Sen, a la Bo Derek, in Bir’s life resulting in sudden holy matrimony. Nira’s inability to cope up with her own hormones, Nick’s jabs and to Bir’s infrequent visit to her place reach a crescendo that drives her to make an impulse decision to become a doctor and off she goes to the UK. Bir still keeps zipping back and forth to keep the friendship alive and intact, loyal to his wife all the same. Somewhere along the line, Nick gets married and so does Rahil. Omer enters Nira’s life and as one would expect turns out to be gay perhaps to not stir the emotions of Nira, who is going through the rigours of becoming a doctor. Omer fills up the times when Nira is in need of a friend and craves for home cooked food. Her whimsical nature is not a passing thing but seems to hang on to her personality even when she transforms as a young adult and into womanhood.

The mid parts of the book are quite predictable and flagging in its ability to sustain interest. Humour is a continuous vein throughout the book to the point where it stops to tickle and makes one wish for something more. The story stretches and screams for a twist and turn. At that juncture, the author has thankfully risen with an unexpected twist, not quite befitting the character and shaping up of Nira, and thereafter the story picks up to a touching yet predictable finish. Let me not give away more as the readers might want to grab this book to form their own judgement. The buzz is that this book is being considered for a Bollywood movie. It is quite possible that a failed book could turn out to be a movie worth a watch, under good direction if made racy and interesting from start to finish.

{Published in Muse India - Sep/Oct, 2016}

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