The Story Of Life...

This post has been declared as one of the Winners, albeit Early Bird, in the IndiChange Contest hosted by The Story Of A Suicide and IndiBlogger.

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What is Life? 

It is contained between B and D. 

Between Birth and Death. 

But between B and D is a C. 

What is a C? 

It's a Choice. 

Our Life is a matter of Choices. 

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Each of our lives is a reality to be experienced. It is also true that one's life is not a black box in its entirety. Fortunately or not, we inhabit a society are expected to abide by societal norms and take into consideration, that are deep seated into our mindsets, from the moment we acquire the capability to comprehend them. 

Also, we are one of the two sides of a scale, that is a relationship. We are not solitary beings, but have a multitude of inter-personal relationships to cater to, while subconsciously agreeing to embark on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. Each one of us has a role to play in every other person's life, whomever we come across. 

However, the most important fact of our lives remains that each stage of life has a lesson for us to imbibe into ourselves and learn from as we herald one of them and bid farewell to another, throughout our lifetime. 

Charles Swindoll had said that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. I could not have agreed more, as each incident acts as a stimuli for us to react, guided by our heart and mind. More often than not, we are caught at a fork in the road. We are perplexed, confused by the plethora of reactions, sometimes an emotional outburst resulting as a consequence of a stressful situation. 

Often, we are able to navigate our way through the maze. Often, we are not. We end up losing track of how we wanted to tackle a particular situation versus what was meant to be done. The way out is introspection and advice. Advice from our parents, friends, our confidante, someone who is able to comprehend our dilemma and guide us out of it. Introspection towards the pros and cons of the way in way in which we react can often chalk out a way toward the workaround. 

Nothing happens until we are able to decide as to which way our life moves forward, though. It is also true, that bad decisions make for good stories. Stories that make way for good decisions, as good decisions come from experience, which in turn comes from bad decisions. :)

Ups and downs, highs and lows are all part and parcel of life, as a consequence of the decisions we make and abide by. However, no circumstance is worse enough for one to decide to commit suicide. However evident it may seem that suicide is the way out, it is not. For it is the one bad decision that would not make for a good story and certainly not pave any way for any decisions thereafter! 

Suicidal tendencies are silent killers, finally culminating into the terrifying act, that has repercussions towards one's family, friends, near and dear ones. It leaves them dumbfounded to discover such a harsh truth. After all, suicide appears to be the ultimate escape. However, escapism is easy, no doubt. But, it takes courage to beat adversity in the face! :)

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The other day, I had come across The Story Of A Suicide, a novel penned by Sriram Ayer and illustrated by Ghana. The moment I sat down to give it a read, I was impressed by the fact that it brought to the fore, an unexplored dimension of what goes on inside the mind of a person who is led to believe that suicide is the ultimate answer to all questions.

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How does the mindset work and why does it work in the manner it does? I was intrigued by such queries and I decided to go ahead. The name itself, was interesting enough to prompt me to take the plunge. 

Turns out, it is a narrative encompassing the lives of four individuals, youngsters, whose lives cross each other's path on the premise of love, passion, revenge and deceit. Focusing on the lives of Hari, Sam, Charu, and Mani (in that order). It is a depiction that mirrors real-life. The mannerisms of the youth of today's times have been depicted prolifically, with the extensive reference to gadgets, blogs, social media interactions, Twitter Mentions (using @)  and Twitter hashtags (using #). Quite commonplace, and relate-able in today's social media-savvy era. 

Social media is already touted as the harbinger of change, acting as a bearer of public opinion, and the novel depicts just that. Also, being adolescents, The Story Of A Suicide relates the changeover from school to college life to the dynamism and excitement of a teenager. From the hostel culture prevalent in premier institutes in the country to the typical aggregation of peer pressure to the involvement of youth in new relationships to the affinity towards newer (and often misguiding) passions and desires, the portrayal of these real-life scenarios provide a reminisce of college life for most of us. 

The novel also explores various personalities, mindsets, feelings, emotions, reactions, and incidents in the backdrop of realism across a span of thirty-one chapters. The fact that it begins with a Diary Entry addressing the World, and with the proclamation of the fact that the individual is going to die is itself gripping and leads the reader to explore Who it is and Why is he/she proclaiming so. 

Quoting Kirthi Jayakumar, who is the Campaign Manager for The Story Of A Suicide: 

"A young person decides to commit suicide. Who is this person? Why does he/she want to die? Where do they come from? Why are they upset, depressed and torn apart? And what drives them to it? Does he/she really die?"

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"I am sad. I am tired. Helpless. Disillusioned. Paranoid. Unhappy. 

Sorry, it would not do justice if I just gave only one adjective to describe my hurt." 

The multitude of emotions in the above line depicts the demotivated, helpless and pained state of mind and heart. The narrative reached its superlative twice, for me.

First, with the letter that Hari writes to Sam, establishing the first connection between two individual characters. 'Our Secret' shows signs of seeing light.

Second, when the drama scales the height and 'Caesar Meets Draupadi'.

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The fact that The Story Of A Suicide is "the first ever book presented online, the first ever book that you get to read for free, without even having to pirate a copy, the first ever book that you’ll leave bookmarks all over without do-gearing or marking blue flags on" is welcoming. 

The 'How Do I?' pointers that accompany each chapter are reflective, introspective, and serve as a counsel. The questions highlighted would make some of the disillusioned youth, reading the novel, that they too, were seeking answers to some such troubling queries. 

The Story Of A Suicide highlights the fact that today's generation is expressive, independent, fearless, dynamic, but at the same time, spirited. Bound by a world that presents them with unexpected challenges, and pressing expectations, today's youngsters form for a disillusioned lot. Figuring out their purpose in life, today's youth is constantly faced by a predicament. The difference of opinion with their elders also conflicts their personal opinions, at times.

Clouded by concerns the multiple facets that make them the individuals they are, be it about their education, relationships, jobs, sexuality, bullying, or abuse, they are audacious enough to say it in the face of adversity - Try Me! - instead of - Why Me? - thus coming to terms with the vulnerability that deters them from achieving their dreams, and keeping it at bay. They are thus, at a constant war, with their own selves!

The novel would aid such youth to come to terms with themselves and resolve to carve an identity for themselves with positivism that makes an effort to oppose the negativity that the world around us is brimming with.

Also, the Audio Book hosted on SoundCloud that is poignantly conveyed across, with the right tone and expressions (narrative alongside each chapter by Uday Danda) is what makes one feel that the screenplay comes alive from across the room! :)

I had listened to the novel rather than reading it, and believe me, it was not your computerized text-to-speech but it was as if the novelist was speaking out the contents of his literary marvel that touches upon a critical subject.

With a team of twelve individuals who have given shape to the novel and brought it out for the world, The Story Of A Suicide makes for a promising read, complemented by fitting visuals, metaphors, tone, and imagery, along with a diction that establishes a firm connect with the dialect of today's youth. 

On the other hand, realization of the importance of 'I' in one's life is essential. As it is 'I' who assumes responsibility for my actions, decisions, emotional outbursts, and it is 'I' who has to bear the consequences of the same. 

It is 'I' who has to care for myself, none else is going to come and do that for me. After all, 'I' live in a big, bad, selfish world. To each one their own, because this is a society that 'I' aspire to survive in, not a factory churning out robots as per a predefined mold! 

'I' must however, also keep in mind, that as rosy as the picture may seem after one takes a spur-of-moment decision, it doesn't take long enough for it to take the shape of regret in the long term.

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Your skin is not a paper, don't cut it, 

Your face isn't a mask, don't hide it, 

Your size isn't a book, don't judge it, 

Your life is not a film, don't END it. 

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P.S.: Images attributed to The Story Of A Suicide. This post is written for an IndiChange campaign, hosted by IndiBlogger and NalandaWay Foundation. 

Life Is Similar To A Semicolon

This post has been declared as one of the Winners in the IndiChange Contest hosted by The Story Of A Suicide and IndiBlogger.

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L;fe ;s s;m;lar to a sem;colon. 

It could have been ended, but it wasn't. :)

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The Story of a Suicide is written by Sriram Ayer and illustrated by Ghana. Illustrations are as fabulous as the story. The story is more than what that title says. It is about hope and a stimulus to the youth to bring them to a level where they are empowered to stay alive, motivated, and strong.

Nobody should think about committing suicide as this is not an act of courage. First of all a person should avoid such situations where one's self-confidence borders the extent of void, and the person is forced to believe that it is best not to stay hand in hand with life. There are many ways of doing it. There are many ways of staying alive in this real world without losing a bit of courage and hope. The only thing required is a sound mind - positive thoughts and will-power to stay strong under all circumstances.

The Story of a Suicide by Sriram Ayer is a story of four main characters – Sam, Charu, Hari, and Mani. All four have lead their own life, have their own routine. And none of them on this Earth is devoid of any stresses or issues in life. Each of them has to face a number of problems from time to time. And each one carves her/his own way to deal with such situations and keep negativity at bay.

The most important thing is to never give up under such conditions as depression in life. If we keep fighting and aim towards success, no failure can deter us for long. That is where each of the thirty-one chapters of this fantastic book keeps conveying from time to time. Each chapter intrigues and prompts to introspect. That way the book is a must read for all youth and parents, especially. On a second thought, I think everyone should read this book.

Being a teacher there have been many instances in my life where I have seen students sink into depression and helplessness. They reach to an extent where they see no way out of their problems. This makes them surrender totally and ultimately stop trying to find the way out of the maze.

At times, it is their friends or peers that have an involvement in such situations. Another important factor that can bring youth to this corner is pressure from parents. Though time has changed and parents are much liberal now, but there have been many instances when a young boy or girl is rejected in the family because of various reasons. That rejection causes negative impacts in life. And at time it reaches to an extent where suicide seems the only way out to be away from such situations.

The Story of a Suicide by Sriram Ayer is woven so artistically to create a kind of situation in front of the reader with a set of pointers at the end of every chapter. That set of pointers is a unique feature in this book. These pointers help in realizing the crux of real life where similar kinds of situations arise.

These situations like social anxiety, peer pressure, cyber-bullying, bullying, sexual harassment, rape etc. are such that the victim starts living under guilt. This starts drifting him away from life. This book motivates  and helps to stay away from such guilt and harbor positivism.

Believing In Magic, With #ColgateMagicalStories...

Children are bundles of curiosity. Add to that, creativity, and you'll have an unbeatable combination. Kids always have stories to tell, and an intrinsic curiosity and creativity fuels the budding storyteller in them. More often than not, they come up with imaginative accounts of the most unimaginative scenarios, incomprehensible to us as adults. What I most like about kids when they turn storytellers is that all such stories have the twinkle of innocence in them. Such stories are accounts of mischief, albeit with a message. It is always a joy to enjoy and appreciate a story coming from a child, as opposed to narration from a childish storybook, isn't it? 
It was no different when my six-year-old niece came home a couple of weeks back, on a long weekend. After an hour of her arrival, the doorbell rang for a second time, that day. Being her chirpy self, she ran to the door, prompting me to receive whatever had been brought forth by the person delivering couriers. 

The package was from Colgate and it aimed at inviting #ColgateMagicalStories. The moment she saw the word Colgate, she excitedly proclaimed that it was a gift from her toothpaste brand because she had been wreathing in pain from an aching milk tooth, the previous day at my cousin's place. She liked to believe that it was a surprise for her, to soothe her pain and proclaim the Tooth Fairy's arrival. 

Indeed, the entire package was coming her way, and ensured for her, a fun evening with art 'n' craft and stories. I cut open all the packs for her (that was 'Parental Guidance' for her) and her excitement grew gradually. The next moment she was jumping in joy on seeing all the cute sea animals drawn on the four different packs and it piqued her curiosity to derive meaning out of the titles of the packs, namely Coral Reef, Treasure Hunt, Sea Magic, and Pirate Ship. 
So, here goes the #ColgateMagicalStories she created, that evening. Enjoy it as I did.  She recognized Blackbeard's ship that was analogical to the huge cruise she had been on, last month, on her vacation.  

She read and analysed that Sadie was an adventurous soul helping Blackbeard discover a hidden treasure. 
One of her school friends has a pet parrot and she began squawking on seeing one drawn on the pack too. She also had a story to tell on how that pet of her friend's had learnt to mimic her. 
She established a connect as to how the comical parrot could guide Blackbeard through rough waters by alerting him against approaching enemies. 
Upon seeing the mermaid, she was awestruck as to how we could assume half-human - half-fish form. Nonetheless, I thought I'll have to tell her about Disney's Mermaid some other day. 
She made the mermaid live in the sea castle with her best friend, Dolphin by her side, also making her own the treasure chest Blackbeard was looking for. Blackbeard successfully reached the treasure by following the Treasure Map that he had charted, with help of his sea friends, Shark and Crab. 
Killer Whale and String Ray blocked his way to the castle to protect the mermaid and her treasure. In the ensuing tussle, the ship hits a big rock and is transformed into wreckage in no time. 

Meanwhile, two of his other friends, Star Fish and Puffer Fish help Blackbeard steal the Treasure from the Mermaid. Having nowhere else to go, Blackbeard returned to the wreckage with Sadie and his Parrot waiting for him. While he narrates to Sadie, the episode that ensued at the Castle, their Treasure is taken custody of, by an Octopus. 

The Octopus is successful in scaring the Puffer Fish, that defends itself by filling water in its stomach and called out to the Sword Fish passing by. It helped Puffer by lifting it on its sword-shaped bill, placing her on the huge Sea Turtle's shell and together, they all disappeared into the deep sea. But, the Star Fish faced the Octopus bravely, as it could regrow its limbs. 
While the Octopus was busy keeping Star Fish at bay, Blackbeard and Sadie returned to land, with their cherished treasure. 
I ended up asking my niece about Sea Horse's role and this is what she had to say. She told me that the male sea horse was carrying eggs in its pouch so it was resting in the coral reef. 

Meanwhile, a clever Lion Fish, with its needle-like spines aimed to harm Sea Horse. In the nick of time, however, Barracuda made a quick move and surprised the Lion Fish thus distracting it and foiling its intention to harm. All the animals that had helped Blackbeard, his parrot and Sadie, also returned to the Reef by evening. 
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Everyone clapped for her as the story ended on this note and she felt elated. Kudos to Colgate for encouraging the imaginative souls that our kids are! :)

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The Chronicles Of The Baking Championship...

IndiStar!

BlogAdda's Mention!

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This Is The Tale Of A Smart Baker...

Who Was An Efficient Cake Maker!

With A Dash Of This, A Pinch Of That...

His Skills Always Did Sweet Teeth, Attract!

The Countdown To The Baking Championship Was Fast Racing...

With That, His Heartbeat Too, Was Pacing!

With Very Few Days Left For Preparation...

He Aspired For A Perfect Evaluation!

After All, His Reputation Was At Stake...

He Had To Win, For His Rolling Trophy's Sake!

Picturing Into The Scene, We Discover His Pet, Feline...

For Excellence, She Helped Him Make A Beeline!

How Did She, Isn't That Your Question?

She Did It With Smarter Precision!

God Knows How, She Used To Be His Best Judge...

Salivating Always After His Special Chocolate Fudge!

A Smack Of The Servings, His Cat Took To Approve...

Or At Her Command, If She Liked To Disapprove!

However, Disappointment Was An Instance Rare...

His Mistakes Were Fewer, Owing To Proper Attention & Care!

However, Now Was The Time To Reduce Them To Fewest...

As He Readily Put His Skills To Test!

Now Was The Time To Cautiously Take Step Forward...

 Lest He Could End Up Descending Downward!

And Then, The Day He'd Awaited, Soon Arrived...

Anxiety Had Taken Its Toll, He Was Sleep - Derived!

Even His Culinary Practice Could Be Of No Aid...

His Efforts Were Left Dismayed!

In His Slumber - Stricken Position...

He Advanced Towards A Blurred Ambition!

Instead Of Descending, His Errors Followed A Curve, Progressive...

His Helplessness Thus Made Him Turn Aggressive!

To His Rescue, However, Came His Friend Furry...

To Lay To Rest, His Haphazard Hurry!

Her Streak Was The Smartest Of Them All...

She Was The One, Who Prevented His Fall!

She Was The One Who Innovated A Mildly Spicy Cake...

With A Completely Different & Creative Take!

How You Ask, Struck With Awe...

But Of Course, She Pointed Towards The Spice - Box With Her Paw!

That Is How The Idea Came To Being...

Which Stopped His Beloved Trophy From Fleeing!

This Is How 'Star Baker' He Was Adjudged...

The Creation, Ingenious It Was Judged!

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This post is a part of Write Over The Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

BlogAdda gives out a creative writing theme each weekend for Indian bloggers.