My First Anthology: #published

Yay!!

The second edition of Ebook carnival by Blogchatter is here and my first Hindi poetry anthology has been published  on their website. It is a one of its kind initiative by blogchatter team to put together an assortment of all kinds of  Ebooks by bloggers and writers alike. These 33 books will be available for free download on their website for two months. You may download them for free for a soulful reading over the vacations.

Here’s what this book is all about: 

Download here

“This book is a collection of Hindi couplets, poems, haiku, etc and each composition is a reflection of a virtuous moment from the author’s life. This is not merely an anthology but a journey through the rainbow of the author’s mind. If you love Hindi poetry, this one is for you.”

Follow the link for a peek and I am sure you will love it 🙂   Download here:  मन मन्थन 

I will be posting reviews of three selected books on my blog over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for some fun:-)

Looking forward to your comments, feedback, and reviews. Kindly share with your friends on all social media platforms, I’ll be waiting for you all there.

Poets for peace

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Praxis Magazine has released the peace-poem-2016 which is a collaborative poem comprising of more than 250 segments contributed by #poetsforpeace from around the world.

Peace is always beautiful

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I am #proud to be a part of this initiative and that this small step may fuel the pursuit of peace globally. Kudos to the efforts of #Praxis team, the poets and anyone & everyone who played the smallest of part in this endeavor. Please read and share it to spread the message…

Here is what I had to say…

Why do they crush innocent lives?

Foster violence and glorify knives,

Killing people in HIS name,

HE who loves everyone the same,

Splitting up hearts with borders and regions,

Dissecting names to dye them with religions,

Millions live in fear, dying an inch every day,

Carrying the burden of lives they lost on the way,

Why do they want Jesus, Muhammad and Shiva to compete?

They only end up humiliating the gods with their deceit,

Often we forget the WHOs and WHATs that we have lost,

Not knowing exactly how much this violence would cost,

Peace can only be a distant dream,

Until we step up to the occasion like a team,

Let’s pray those poor souls may rest in peace,

Let happiness prevail and violence may cease,

Violence may cease…

***

– Amit Prakash (doc2poet)

      You may read the complete poem @ http://www.praxismagonline.com/peace-poem/ or download it as pdf from the following link: http://www.praxismagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Poets-for-Peace-September-21.pdf

Picked & Published: #Doctors

 

Presenting my composition, a tribute to the doctors and in fact all the medicos, which found a place in the annual collection of shortlisted poems selected by the jury of poetry society of India. I couldn’t win though, but it is a huge motivation to keep trying. Here it goes:

We are the Doctors

---

We  are  the  healers, we  cure,  we  care,

Cope  with  plights,  only  few  would  dare,

We  are  everywhere; so common yet  so  rare,

The resilient, eccentric & beyond compare,

We who missed the dusk of adolescence;

Solving MCQs  & juggling  books  for  reference,

Suffered in saudade  to  don the white coats,

Trying  to  be  resolute  while  riding  many  boats,

We  study  not  only  medicine, but  law  to  stats,

Playing multiple tricks with solitary hats,

For us, winsome moments are like spam,

And life is only what is  left  between  exams,

We  who  graduate  as  our  friends  finish  PGs,

A  suffix for  our  names, sure  doesn’t  come  easy,

Can’t  take  shortcuts; we  must  take  the  longer  route,

MD, DM & more; we study  till  there’s juice in the fruit,

The  Stethoscope  is  our  crown, a  cachet  you  can  bet,

It  is  ‘THE  RESPONSIBILITY’; and as  big  as  it  can  get,

We  treat  people  irrespective  of  caste, colour  or  time,

Doesn’t  matter  if  covered  in  vomit, blood  or  slime,

Because saving  a  life  is  worth  every  dime,

And  we don’t hesitate to  put  our  own  lives  on  the  line,

Friends  and  family  spend  the  nights  alone  and  dizzy,

‘Coz  we  are  notorious  for  being  perpetually  busy,

Live like luftmensch; whom people often misconstrue,

As we associate  first  rains  with  malaria  or  dengue,

We  are  the  misfits, flamboyant but  nerds,

Willingly sitting in  cage  but  immanently free  birds,

We   allow  for  prejudices  and not  be  judgmental,

Specialise in handling  mobs while  being  gentle,

We  must  always  be  composed  and  calm,

And it’s not  always  easy; ‘coz  yes, oh  darn!!

Deemed  gods  when  we  save and  killers  if  we  can’t,

But we try & make a wish; which only the gods can grant,

We  are  the  doctors; the  healers, protectors,

Spreading smiles, we are just the vectors,

Reverence is what we seek, but a smile may sure suffice,

We only want all to be safe; healthy, wealthy and wise,

Healthy, wealthy and wise…

***

The all India poetry competition is happening this year too. http://www.indianpoetry.org/ALL%20INDIA%20POETRY17.pdf Don’t miss the deadline, Good luck:-)

Divergent: #AloneInWorldOfTechnology

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The world of internet has opened up endless possibilities but at the cost of humanity and compassion. It has been found that it is easier to say things via texts which we will never dare to say face to face and it has paved the way for the mutual divide. Mankind have always been divided into religions, races, regions etc but things have gone worse now. If the divide earlier meant countries or colonies, it has now de-evolved into a chawls with dormitory beds and courtesy has become extinct in the process. Now there are bhakts, feminists, leftist, something or the otherists. Constructive debates are rarely seen and free thinking is treated like common sense.

When so many are lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.

1. It is more about instant gratification.From fast food to 4G internet we expect everything to move at lightning speed but love is all about a slow burn, a gradual progression of feelings built on a basic foundation and nurtured over time.
2. We are gradually turning into a selfie-obsessed, like-craving battery operated smart phone operators.
3. It has created an unrealistic, virtual world where interaction is nothing more than likes, pokes and shares.

         And the situation is worst for the divergents’ and the commons, because most people fail to understand that we can take sides with two groups at the same time. I may be a potter-head, feminist and poet all at once. I may even switch sides depending upon a particular case (unless, of course, if it was an unbreakable vow). Yes we can, but obviously we will be frowned upon by all alike and I think its fine.

के अधूरी है बात, जब तक आँखों में उनकी तस्वीर ना बने,

और बेमाने  हैं जज़्बात, गर उनका गम  मेरे दिल की पीर ना बने…

After all this I am still part of these social sites only because I can see some good in here too. “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act upon. That’s who we really are.”

This post is written for Indispire Edition 149: In this world so connected with technology,we have actually lost our real connections.Technology has actually surpassed human-interactions.Real time Conversations became texting and Feelings became status updates.What you feel ?Share your views on it #AloneInWorldOfTechnology

This post has also been published on thatmate.com @ https://thatmate.com/2017/01/22/why-we-are-alone-in-the-world-of-internet/