My house craves for a traditional flavor!

I simply love festivals and feel so lucky that I am born in a country which celebrates so many festivals in a year.
Being a Bengali, the biggest festival we celebrate is the Durga Puja and this year, the commencement of Puja is from 29th September. Every year, me and my family indulge in a lot of shopping to adorn our house in new flavors before the Puja. I love shopping for my home as it is my sweet little Arcadia. I love to try different flavors of embellishment in my home as I believe variety is the spice of life. However during the festive season, I prefer to give my house a beautiful ethnic touch that goes well with the festive mood.

When I stumbled across Blogadda's new contest "Re-do your house", I was delighted. With the wide range of beautiful products from makemyhouse.com, I am supposed to choose three items. The products were so beautiful that I had a tough dilemma to choose only 3 products.

The first product that made my eyes transfixed to it is the 925 Silver Fish Mouth Silver Flower Pot 15070.
I always have an affinity for flower vases as I love flowers. From roses to orchids to gladiolus to daisies, flowers cheer up my mood like nothing else. And a classic flower pot made of silver is something that will enhance the aura of my home. Silver is one of my favorite metal as it has a calming and soothing effect. I would keep this silver flower pot on the coffee table of my living room and fill it with different flowers everyday.

Next I would choose Aapno Rajasthan Wood Clay Keri Floor Art (Rangoli). I love to make Rangolis and make one every Diwali. They add so much positivity and color to our lives. When you look at a beautiful rangoli, you forget every petty worries you have. They are like a ray of sunshine. But unfortunately, handmade rangolis do not last for more than three days. So I would choose this floor art to embellish my house. I would place it in the entrance of my house to greet good luck and guests. The vibrant shade of yellow and the white kundans studded on the floor art enlarges its beauty.

Lastly the product that stole my heart was The Yellow Door Round Oil Burner. The wonderful abstract design of this ivory white oil burner captivated me. I would place this oil burner in the corner of my living room. I would choose an aromatic oil to light it. The beautiful soothing glow it will emanate along with a pleasing fragrance would fill my house with beauty and divinity. 

With these three beautiful products, I wish to give my house a great ethnic and beautiful touch in this festive season. I can understand that my house is craving for a traditional flavor now. 

This post is a part of Makemyhome activity at BlogAdda.com

Letter from Rani!

Yesterday, I watched Mardaani.
Rani Mukerji has always been one of my favorite actors. After her electric performance in No one killed Jessica, I was waiting eagerly to watch another of her power packed performance. And Mardaani in every aspect fulfills my expectations.
Rani's super cop performance is dynamic and stirs your soul to shed every bit of fear and inhibition. There are some worth-whistling scenes in the movie where the bad guy is beaten into pulp by our own Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani).
And another thing about Mardaani that gains brownie points from me is that there are no stupid songs in the movie to interrupt its flow. The plot is engaging and focuses solely on getting hold of the criminal.
Seriously, in today's world where crimes against women are crossing all figures and boundaries, every woman needs to shed her inhibitions and fears. They need to speak up!
If a man teases or tries to touch a woman against her wish in a public place or a public transport, there are many women who will ignore it in the fear of getting involved in further problems. I have myself seen so many women keeping shut when they are abused or touched against their wish. The man who teases this woman feels that he is the winner and continues his ritual with the second woman he comes across. But if every single woman speaks up at every wrong doing, this world will no more be an abode to crimes against women.
Anyways, that is quite unlikely to happen but we can hope for the best and bring a change in ourselves as much as possible.

The best moment of yesterday was as I reached home after watching Mardaani still pondering over Shivani Shivaji Roy's daring act, I checked my email and was overwhelmed to find this: Letter from Rani

 I jumped in joy that my blogpost about my best friend, who is a real Mardaani got applauded by the entire Mardaani team.
Priyam was even more happier than her act of bravery was recognized.
That we both could share a common joy and triumph was something absolutely amazing. It was my writing and her deed.
Here's the blogpost which I wrote for the Mardaani Blogging Contest:
A super girl with a mettlesome heart

May all women of this world have the heart to protest against every injustice inflicted on them and speak up for their rights!

A dear wish!

In my aunt's house, there is a small girl of ten years old. She is an orphan. My aunt was searching for a house maid when the cook of their house brought this girl to her. My aunt was reluctant to keep such a small child for the housework but when the cook said that she had no one in the world and not even a house to live, my aunt felt compassionate towards her. The girl stays in my aunt's house like a family member. My aunt has admitted her in a nearby school and tells everyone that this little girl is her responsibility. I really admired my aunt's deed.
One day, I visited my aunt's house and felt extremely hurt to see that the little girl was washing cups and plates kept in the kitchen.
On asking my aunt, she told me that she never gives the little girl any huge task to do. She only does little tasks in return of which my aunt is financing her education, food and clothing.
The reason I felt bad is that my aunt's 22 year old daughter never bothers to even taken a glass of water on her own whereas this 10 year old child keeps the house clean, gives water and tea to the guests and does other general work. I understood that my aunt has kept the girl for her own benefits.

Ever since I was eighteen years old, a wish crept on my mind from the depth of my soul. I always wanted to adopt a girl child. Seeing this ten year old girl in my aunt's house, this secret wish of mine somehow intensified further.
I had promised myself that once I gain financial stability in my life, the first thing I will do is adopt a 5 year old girl child.
Though I am financially independent now, I feel that I should have enough savings and stability to take the responsibility of a child. Whenever I see an orphan child, my heart overflows with an unsaid anguish.
I am longing to have my daughter with me whom I can love unconditionally and free her from every misery and woe. And I know that the day I will be able to do so, I will be in a state of euphoria. I know that the happiness I will gain that day by holding my daughter in my arms will be of the highest kind.
In the future, I will get married and will bear a child but the happiness of mothering a child who has no one in the world and giving her a life full of love and security will surely be greater for me.
My family supports my decision happily and I hope the day comes soon when my daughter will be with me.
My life will seem worthy and truly satisfying to me that day.
I hope this dear wish of mine gets true soon and I can name her IPSHA which means wish.

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Buy my latest book here: The Hidden Letters...

Taken for granted!

What is love, if not respected?

What is respect, if never expressed?

Yet there are innumerable hearts

Who take another heart for granted.

So easily, so crassly.

Love demands gentle wisps of care

A trifle word of comfort,

Yet enslaved by the myth of staying busy

It gets neglected and overlooked,

Enforcing it to suffocate and perish.

Absence of love perhaps hurts

But disregarded love stings,

There is no affliction that can ever match

To the malady called "Taken for granted"!

All about my 2nd book ~ The Hidden Letters...

So yesterday I got the author copies of my 2nd book, "The Hidden Letters".

When I opened the parcel and took one book in my hand, I was speechless for few minutes. My Dad and granny were celebrating my achievement but I was just sitting quietly ogling at my book. When Dad told me to say something, I just broke down and started crying. I recollected the entire journey of this book and the pebbles and stones that were constantly thrown at me during the process.

I started writing the book "The Hidden Letters.." on January, 2013. From the month of March to June, I was down with several mental and physical agonies inflicted by people who were then closest to me. Despite those numerous scars, I did not let my pen stop running. I completed writing the book by June, 2013. I submitted the manuscript to some of the traditional publishers on July and on the month of December, I was told by Bluejay Books (sister concern of Srishti Publishers and Distributors) that my script has been approved and that they have decided to publish my book. I signed the contract with them on February, 2014. When I was told to choose a designer for the cover, I thought of a friend, Sayon. He also created a beautiful cover for my 1st book but unfortunately it was not approved as my 1st publisher (Diamond Books) had a permanent designer who creates all their covers.

 Sayon agreed when I told him to design the cover of my 2nd book and told me about Arunita, a painter. I had earlier seen Arunita's paintings on Fb and have always admired them. These 2 individuals, worked day and night for my cover, was extremely patient whenever I told them to change this or that and finally, the cover was approved by my publisher. I cannot really thank them enough! They were God sent. The editing procedure started on May and by June, the editing was finished. My editor, Stuti was brilliant and cooperative. She polished the script and made it beautiful. After finalizing the cover and the script, it went for print on the month of July and finally I got the author copies yesterday. It was a journey of more than 1.5 years and the feeling was surreal. After crying for a few minutes, I smiled and celebrated like crazy. It was a journey worth celebrating.

I was also content because I realized that I had improved to a large extent from my 1st book, Walking in the streets of love and destiny. I pray when I get my 3rd book in my hand, I can say that I improved hugely from my 2nd book, "The Hidden Letters..." I feel so grateful to the entire universe for letting me experience this moment of happiness and contentment. 

Here is a small teaser of the book:

The blurb of the book reads:

She is a successful author, a loving wife and the world's best mom. Her doctor husband dotes on her, her teenage daughter idolizes her and her readers yearn for her writing. Shouldn't all that respect and love make her happy? 

Yet, she is devoid of inner peace. In the wee hours of the night, her slumber is disturbed by horrifying nightmares. All her harmony is abducted and lost amidst the bunch of hidden letters kept in her cupboard. Those letters were written long back by her cousin, presently a patient at a mental asylum in Kolkata.

Haunted by her inner demons and tired by the long-time secrecy, she decides to put end to her misery by surrendering to her husband and daughter, The Hidden Letters... 

Will she lose her husband's love and daughter's respect? Can she forgive herself for her own selfishness which rendered her cousin's fate malignant?

The protagonist of this book is inspired from the character of my mother. I wonder how her reaction would have been if she was in this world today. I have also fused some of my character traits in her. So basically Mrs. Anaya Chatterjee is a blend of me and my mother. Though I have created this character, she has also inspired me to be a stronger and a better human being.

I would be more than glad if you order the book here: The Hidden Letters...