Wrapping up 2022

The year 2022 has come to an end. The year started on a good note where most of the people were vaccinated and the covid counts had also come down. Students started going to schools and colleges. It was great to meet people in person. Tourist places opened up and festivals were celebrated with full enthusiasm.

The pandemic years taught me nothing should be taken for granted. One should not leave anything for tomorrow. So I documented my bucket list for the first time. One of the wishes was to write a book. I started writing. It is very easy to start on something but maintaining consistency is a challenge. There were days when I was looking for an excuse to skip writing. Thanks to my mother who always motivated me to keep going. She would say “This is the best opportunity to write since you are at home”. It requires efforts to fulfill a wish. Finally I was able to accomplish that. I was able to find a very good guide through my publisher. The book “Genie without the Lamp” was completed and published in October. It was a great moment for me and my family.

We should not ignore the wishes that come to our hearts. It is a good practice to write them down. Sometimes they give direction to our lives. Writing this book helped me avoid all the negativity around because it kept me occupied. I thank my mother and sister for being with me throughout this journey. This is my best memory of 2022. I pray 2023 turns out to be even better.

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That interesting Series

April 23 was World Book Day. It was declared to promote the love for reading and writing books. There is some genre of book which pulls us towards reading. For me it was detective stories. I was introduced to the world of mystery by the “Famous Five series” by Enid Blyton. I still remember how I came across this series.

I was in fifth grade. It was in the first library class of the first week of academic year. We were allowed to wander in the library and issue a book of our choice. The books used to be kept in cupboards with glass doors. I don’t have words to express the excitement of opening each and every cupboard. I thought I would take the first book which makes me curious enough to read it. I went across the library openning each cupboard and looking through rows of books. There was one book which caught my attention “Famous Five: Five on a Secret Trail”. I was going through it when the teacher announced “We only have 5 minutes left. Please get your books issued by the librarian”. I had already made up my mind. I went to the librarian and signed the register. She too was impressed by my choice. It was so interesting that I completed it in a week. I realized this was the 15th book of the series and decided to read the entire series starting from the first book. In the next library class a week later I knew which book to issue. This time i went through each cupboard looking for “Famous Five: Five on a Treasure Island”. I finally saw that book through the glass doors of a cupboard. That was the only cupboard which was locked on that day. I requested the librarian to open it. She informed me it was locked because the key got misplaced. I requested her if she could look for it once again. If i had a chance to meet her, I would have asked how she felt when a fifth grade, two pony tailed girl in a uniform asked her to search for a lost key. She asked me why I was so bent on getting that cupboard opened when all the other cupboards are open. When I told her the reason, she asked me to wait and started looking through all the drawers. Suddenly she found the key in one of the drawers. I followed her to the cupboard, she opened it, I immidiately pulled out the book as I had memorized the location of the book and said “Madam, could you please issue this book for me”. She smiled and issued the book.

I recently found a book by Enid Blyton among old books gifted to us. Her works have always moved my imagination. Even today I would sit and read her works. Those books introduced me to the pleasure of reading the entire series. This was my story of how I found that interesting series which increased my love for reading. On this World Book Day, I would request everyone to just wander in the library and pick the book of their choice. You never know the treasure you may find. Happy World Book Day.

A day for Books

Today is World Book Day, a day to celebrate books and the love for reading. I was always fond of reading so the presence of this day simply means a lot to me. Whenever I go to a new city, the first thing I look for is the library. I still remember the first book exhibition held in office. It was my first year of job. I was still learning to live in a new city with room mates. Books were my best friends. Smartphones had not yet entered the markets then. I went around the books and the first thing that caught my attention was a Pocket Dictionary or a Mini Dictionary. My eighth grade English teacher used to say “If possible, always keep a Pocket Dictionary with yourself”. Like an obedient student I bought the dictionary.

This Dictionary was a huge help everytime I came accross a new word. During the same time one of my room mates was preparing for open tests for Management studies. One day she was confused about a word while solving the english questions. I had pulled out the dictionary, found the meaning and helped her solve the question. I could see the appreciation in her eyes when I completed. I told her once you find a meaning using a dictionary, you will always remember it. From then onwards, she too used to follow the same method. A few weeks later there was a long weekend, all of had planned to go home. Before leaving, she too bought the same Dictionary. Books allow one to inspire others. I still love the fragrance of fresh binding. There is a book for each mood, whether sad or happy, bored or relaxed, fiction or non-fiction, etc. Whenever I find a person liking a book that I like, I immediately am able to connect to him or her. People say with the advent of various gadgets, the habit of reading may get impacted but I feel the excitement of having an interesting book will always remain the same. I would like to keep this day to set up a checklist for reading for the entire year. That would help us in continuing this hobby. How do you think one should celebrate the World Book Day?

Unexpected discoveries

Just as bees are drawn towards flowers, I am drawn towards book fairs and always end up shopping. These books are scheduled to be read after the library books. A new set is issued every time a visit to library happens for book returns. The experience of browsing through shelves of hard books has its own charm. With the library being closed, I was beginning to miss this experience which made me sad. To divert my attention I began organizing my closets. To my surprise I found many books(bought from fairs) that are yet to be read. I also found a Rubik cube which I had once bought but that too got buried in the closet.

We are often so affected with one setback that we ignore everything else. If one would just divert the attention they would find many unexpected discoveries which may be wishes, unfinished goals, etc. It might seem hard particularly in the current scenario but what is life without ups, downs and challenges. While organizing any closet, the first step is to empty the contents. As soon as the contents are out, the overflowing closet suddenly appears spacious. Then we keep things based on utility. Once done, it seems so hard to believe there was no space. Needless to say, the look of an organized closet gives the same sense of achievement as completion of a long cherished goal. In the process, there are byproducts like lost articles, memories, etc. How would it be if we treat life after setbacks like an overflowing unorganized closet. We take out everything and start arranging from scratch. Don’t you think once done, we maybe close to our goals or motivated towards bigger achievements. Let us take this opportunity to re-organize our lives, we never know what unexpected discoveries we will make.

An event for Readers

Have you ever felt an event was organized for your hobby. I enjoy reading. Every summer book exhibitions are conducted but this year I had the fortune to enjoy an event for Reading. The Summer Reading Extravaganza was held on 9th July 2019 at the Carnegie Mellon Library. There were different events like voting for favorite author, chess competition, library tour, food trucks, etc. The best was the puppet show which had 5 stories each with a unique message. Although there were chairs in the room, the kids were overjoyed when it was announced that they can sit on the carpet just in front of the stage. One cannot miss the excitement in their eyes. It was so infectious that it brought out the child in me.

We used to spend the afternoons at home during summer vacations. I would end up with sun stroke every time I went out during afternoons. So I would spend hours reading different kinds of books and children magazines. The library also organized a Summer Reading 2019, where one can register and enter the books they read. There are targets and prizes for readers. I too registered for this activity. Personally I felt as if my hobby had become a person and was inviting me to pursue it. Incase I slow down there are reminders on buses, library walls, etc. Many of my friends enjoy reading but were not aware of this event. These are the events where the kids should be taken as they meet books in a different way. I thank the library and the city for organizing such an extraordinary event.

Heart winning Event

This years shopping

There are so many questions in mind when one is moving to a new city. ‘Will I be able to adjust here?’, ‘Will the city accept me?’, etc., are just a few of them. These questions make a person nervous, which was my condition when I moved to Pittsburgh. Three weeks after I came here, a book fair was organized by Half Price books at a nearby hall. The streets were lined by small boards mentioning the sale. The moment I saw the boards, I felt so glad. The sight of a book fair always fills my heart with joy. It reminded me of the bookstalls at my hometown and cleared all the uncertainty and nervousness immediately.

The fair also consists of records and dvds in addition to books. The hall was extremely crowded when I entered. My excitement was boundless at the sight of rows and rows of books. There were books on fiction, cooking, photography, science, self help, etc. The collection had classics like works of R.L Stevenson, Jane Austen as well as new age authors like Danielle Steele. I discovered so many new authors here. It felt so nice to see so many people who enjoy reading. People had their shopping carts full of books. You can speak to any person and get knowledge on authors. People had come with their toddlers. The excitement of the children at the site of books was marvelous. I was moved to see parents encourage their kids for reading even in this age of gadgets. This event connected me to the city in such a way that I never felt I was new here. It just became my heart winning event.

This fair happens only once a year and I make it a point to attend it. These days people have to move to new places for job. When that happens, one should not crib about missing the old place but look out for events in the new place. These are the windows to the culture of the city. They are an opportunity to relate to the city. In fact they give us a chance to find new things about ourselves. So the next you face a transfer, remember to check the events that take place in the new city. You never know, the city you are going to may just be the one, most suitable to you.

Time to retrospect

March and April are the months where most of the local new years take place in India. Just last week, we celebrated “Gudi padwa”, “Ugadi” and “Cheti Chand”. We will have the Baisakhi, “Poila Boishakh” and Vishu in the coming weeks. These new years have a bigger influence on our social lives than 1st jan. Firstly they create a festive atmosphere where people go to meet their families. Hence on these days, the roads are generally desserted. The sweet shops are full of delicacies. Everyone seems to be dressed in bright outfits.

I take this time to review my progress on resolutions taken on 1st Jan. In most of the cases I had given up but this year I came across a book, which gave a nice method of dividing the resolutions to different quarters of the year instead of taking them all at once. Well I did that and took just 2 resolutions in the first quarter. Well I have not been able to complete both but I have been able to pursue them which is still better than the previous years. One of my last year’s resolution was to blog. Well I have been able to blog at regular intervals, thanks to <a href="”>articles on pursuing blogs and the funny stories.

Let us hope I complete my this year’s resolution and welcome the next year with a renewed enthusiasm to improve myself.

Mark of success

This Friday I visited the library after a long time. Among all the magazines, the October’2013 issue of Fortune caught my attention. It had a photo of Sheryl Sandberg on its cover.

I issued the magazine. The first thing I read was the article on Sheryl Sandberg. It mentions almost all the responsibilities she handles at Facebook. Along with it she also wrote her book Lean In which is a bestseller. She did not stop there, she also started LeanIn.org. She is working even while she comes to office. After reading this I thought, we all get so many opportunities but all we do is procrastinate. For example the library is barely 10 minutes walk but I always have an excuse to not go but I can always manage a reason to have an icecream from the nearby shop.

To be successful one needs to be persistent. Even after achieving so much, she is still working on new things. At the same time she is also managing her family. This is a mark of success. We all begin things but soon give up and that is the reason we are not able to get our dreams. Thus to be extraordinary we need to do something extraordinary daily. I too have resolved to read the monthly journals on time. Lets hope I remain stuck to my resolution.

How my boring bus ride became interesting

I was coming from Mumbai to Pune. It takes around 4-5 hours due to traffic in mumbai. Once you are out of mumbai, the mumbai-pune expressway is just too good. The bus passes through lonavala. I was as usual sitting in the bus fiddling with my cellphone which was running short of battery.

I didn’t realize we had reached lonavala. All of a sudden the bus stopped. We all looked up. After 15 minutes someone came and said, something went wrong, it is being repaired. We all got down from the bus. It was monsoon and lonavala was at its best. The clouds falling over the mountains was just mesmerising. There was a beautiful fog. I realised what a beautiful scene I was missing. Today we have become so accustomed to our gadgets that we just ignore the simple beauties of life. I gave up all the worries, kept my cellphone inside the bag and began to enjoy the ride. A little way further, the bus stopped at a restaurant. In that beautiful cloudy, foggy yet breezy weather, I had onion fries and a cup of steaming hot tea. There was a small bookshop there. As I was going through the books, my eyes fell on a book “Anything for you, mam”. I bought it and began reading. It was a cute, urban love story set in the backdrop of engineering college. The book made my ride even more enjoyable.

After coming home, I couldn’t help writing a review on that book. But I would’nt have enjoyed the ride so much had the bus not stopped. As murphy’s law states “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. We must accept this and learn to thank anything and everything that happens.

Day 3: What’s on your mind?

Garden of Thoughts

Today’s challenge was to write on why I wanted to start this blog. It took me to my most cherished hobby, reading. I am a voracious reader. As the time goes by I forget the reviews of the books. I wanted to share reviews of the books I read and keep them afresh. Since I wanted my reviews to be available anytime anywhere, I started my first blog sanchitasarkar.wordpress.com. Soon it became a hobby. I also received appreciation from many people.

One Saturday morning in september’2013 I got up from sleep and saw clouds in the sky. It was a beautiful morning, cloudy sky, cool breeze and a holiday. I sat with a steaming cup of tea and a book on the balcony. I felt absolutely relaxed and stressfree. Somehow I wished I could capture that moment somewhere with whatever I felt. It was at that I felt like writing my thoughts on other experiences as well. That is how I got the idea for starting this second blog. A photo album only preserves the photos but not the feelings but a blog preserves what you write. Moreover with the advent of smartphones blogs can be read anywhere. This blog will also serve as an album of some of the most amazing experiences I have had.

I have kept the photo containing flowers of various colors to indicate that the blog will contain my thoughts on everything I see or feel. I participated in this competition because I wanted to improve my blogging skills as well. I must say yesterday I learnt a lot about using widgets. I hope to learn more about blogging.