1700 in 70 a Walk for a Cause by Gita Balakrishnan (Book Review: 3.25*/5) !!!

2107th BLOG POST

12^th Book of 2024

 

There are times when you leave any kind of physical activity and you need a great boost to get up and restart. There can be no better medium than a book to give you that push which can help your procrastinated state to moot your status quo. Thankfully, I got my hands upon 1700 in 70 by Gita Balakrishnan at the right time. This is an autobiography written by the 53-years old woman who walked 1700 kilometers in 70 days to let the world know the importance of designers and how designs can lead to betterment of citizens living with and around us.

 

This 180-pages book is a very unique work in its own sense as authoress doesn’t try to explore much about her life but gives us a glimpse of it and then begins to talk extensively about her walkathon journey. Reading about her past makes you feel uncomfortable in the beginning but it moves you because she has moved on in life after being victim to a horrific incident like rape. It is so courageous of her to talk about it and let the world know what happened with her. She also mentions how the accused came out on bail. This tells the bad state of our judiciary system and how it can make a person suffer more than the event itself.

 

Not only speaking about her walking experiences only, Gita starts the book very nicely in terms of giving us insights on how she prepared for the same in terms of physical activity, nutrition, diet, sponsorships, social media activities etc. It tells how there’s a whole lesson of management even about such events which makes us assume that the book is only about an individual activity. One great thing that authoress have taken care is about the way chapters are planned and executed. The short chapters discuss only a small segment of this long timeline which helps us understand about her 70 days long journey in parts of a week or so. The language used to narrate her tale is also reader-friendly which makes it an easy read for all the ages and class of people.

 

The illustrations in the book helps us understand the path she covered in and through multiple states of India. It makes it easy for us to understand her journey when we read the chapters as we get the visualization of the path she has covered during this endeavor. She regularly mentions the name of even the small villages, towns and cities and explains us about its locale details, cuisines, houses, constructions, issues and people. She even mentions some local people who are going through some tough activities for the betterment of their self and society as well.

 

As I have myself visited some of the places in Madhya Pradesh such as Datia, Orchha, Jhansi etc. hence I was able to comprehend the accuracy with which Gita has described all these places and their specialties. She also keeps us updated about the kind of physical and mental challenges she had to endure through this painful journey and how she overcame them regularly. It must be applauded how she doesn’t boast much about herself but maintains the tone of letting us touch her experience of this walkathon and the grit and passion that goes to make it happen.

 

Talking about the drawbacks, I only felt that authoress spoke very less about the purpose of her walk i.e. designing element and the multiple issues which the designers, artists and artisans must be going through in our country. She touches upon a few of them but this book sounds more about just the walking experience and less about the purpose of it. As a reader, I wanted to understand how a designer must be collecting details while traveling through different landscape of India but I only got a little of it. Other than this, reading the book has been a motivation and I rate it 3.25 stars out of 5.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE

 

Thanks!

 

WRITING BUDDHA

Completed 15 Years of BLOGGING...

2106th BLOG POST

How do I speak and express my mind – my heart- my feelings at this moment? What do I decipher of anything and every thing that has happened out of one casual event? I don’t know how it all started and continued and reached up to this place which has given some recognition and appreciation. And few people who think that what I say is of some prominence and consists of trustworthiness. Even if not liked, the honesty and capability to express is loved. All of this has come upon me without even believing that some day the status quo would reach this milestone. I never planned. I never goaled for this. But as it is said, your purpose for existence always exists. You exist for a purpose. You may not find it but it finds you. And once you get connected with your purpose, everything becomes unstoppable and remarkable. This one event and possibility is just that. Example of this phenomena. A pillar that shall keep telling people that the divine always plans it for you. You just have to give it a chance.

 

And so I did! 15 years ago! On this very day –  31^st July – in 2009 – I wrote my first blog post without even knowing what exactly this is. I understood Orkut. I understood a new similar place called Facebook. I heard about Twitter but never tried. BLOG- a word I didn’t know what it meant. I found an advertisement on Orkut for it and somehow clicked and wrote my first blog post. Saw it live on a web page and got excited that something I wrote is out there for everyone to surf. And then I had so much to say that I thought let’s just start writing and expressing whatever goes on in this so-called mind – which can also be called garbage. Yes, because few blog posts are just that and nothing else. Haha!

 

The Blog turned out to be a definitive personality-changing event in my life. It changed the way I thought. It changed the way I perceived things. It changed the way I consumed contents. Everything became a matter of exploration and further deep-diving. Everything now started seeming to me like someone similar to me trying to express their thoughts. Since then, I never ridiculed and insulted anyone’s creativity in loneliness. If I start a book, I finish it. If I start a movie or web-series, I watch till its last minute. If I listen a song or watch it on Youtube, I complete it. Never have I ever forwarded any movie or changed any song in between. Why? Because I see myself in the creator of this creativity. I know they are expressing themselves through acting, voice, painting, writing, lyrics, music etc. They are speaking about their experiences – often pain and incompleteness.

 

Every creator always derives his creation or art or piece out of that missing part of his life. The incompleteness speaks because completeness gives satisfaction. Satisfaction can never create anything. It makes a person peaceful. One starts enjoying the pleasure that it derives. No one wishes to struggle after that. But when there’s a quest that has not been achieved – or lost after being an egoistic owner of it – it brings the most emotional aspect out of you. It then makes climbing mountain or dreaming of becoming President or achieving fame possible for you. Because that burning sensation will not go until it has been achieved for what you moved from your comfort zone and stepped on the road which has multiple turns that can often lead you towards wrong destinations. But if you keep trying, it will help you reach the place that gives you the purpose- to live – to laugh – to smile – to survive – to inspire – to be wholesome.

 

Most of the Blog Posts that has been written here is with the same thought process and that’s the reason many people have clicked with it because it resonates their own emotions – not once but multiple times. After writing for more than 2100 times here, there are many who have read almost all of them. Is it because I write well? No! It’s because I write what most of us feel. All of us are incomplete. All of us are questing for something. All of us are hungry. All of us are hopeful. All of us are dreamers. All of us know that without being a team, we shall continue being a lost soul. We keep on searching for someone alike to understand us. And whenever someone finds a creator speaking their own language, the connection establishes and never breaks. It strengthens only to make the consumer strong and the creator stronger.

 

In 15 years and with 2100 blog posts, I can find myself closer to my soul multiple times at various junctions of my life. This has happened only because I have all of you with me. Our souls have connected. Because your soul has called for my soul, it has awoken and made me realize its presence. I meditate. To know what more it needs – what it requires to survive – and get entangled of its life and death process in a human body- and stay an accomplished example for everyone to look at it and what to become alike. All of this – spirituality and religiosity- has been possible only because there’s a space called WRITING BUDDHA where the Buddhism within me is able to Write and vent out – good and bad – beautiful and ugly – and every extreme of all types of spectrums.

 

I wish all of you stay with me – your soul keeps on getting strongly bonded with mine. Wish all of us grow together – materialistically and spiritually – and reach the zenith and enjoy the power divine has blessed us with – and left for us to identify, search and become that power. Let’s become powerful enough to be happy, joyful and blissful.

 

Thanks everyone for the 15 years! Please stay by and along!

 

WRITING BUDDHA

Sapno Ke Pankh – Choti Si Asha by Surbhi Mittal/Abhay Sahare (Book Review: 4.5*/5)!!!

2105th BLOG POST

11^th Book of 2024!

 

I read another book this weekend named “Sapno Ke Pankh – Choti Si Asha” which is written by Surbhi Mittal and Abhay Sahare. I read the Hindi version of the book as I wanted to understand how does this language entertain children through story books. I must say I am really impressed with the ease of words used by author which will help kids to understand the story and learn new words as well.

 

The book has been published by Sonalika publications who have again ensured that their children story book is written with great illustrations. This time the credit for the illustration goes to Eva Manral. I liked how she managed to illustrate all the arts and pages giving it a bit of Rajasthani traditional theme which matches perfectly with the story. Even the cover page of the book looks like a piece of art which you can hang in your bedroom.

 

The story is nicely based on a girl named Asha who loves the puppetry show she watches every day while returning to school. One day her school announces to participate in a competition where they need to present a story using a prop. She wishes to do so using a puppet but she gets upset knowing that she doesn’t have one and she might not have one due to her financial issues at home. She gets home and speaks to her grandmother about this. Eventually, how her grandma helps her achieve her target is what this story is all about.

 

The story gives a lot of lessons through its non-preachy tone and I must applaud authors with respect to how they managed to do so with such a short story. The book gives a perspective on how every kid must have a good habit out of their academic world which makes them curious and excited about learning the same art themselves as well. Author tries making children aware about the financial issues that their parents must be going through which will make them more compassionate about them and understand the difference between wants and need.

 

The story is based on a great bond that Asha shares with her grandmother which acknowledges the world-known fact of necessity of bonding between grandparents and grandchildren. Through grandmother’s ideation, book tries to teach kids about the environment-friendly alternatives they can prioritize rather than buying everything from market and adding more environment concerns. This synchronizes so well with the objective of Sonalika Publication which wishes to participate in social issues.

 

In the climax, author justifies that one can win in any competition with their efforts and not by expensive materials presented by directly procuring from market. Author herself gives a moral of the story that one needs to face a problem and find a solution rather than getting panicked. At the end of the book, there are couple of exercises and puzzles to keep children interested in solving them and get closer to the story.

 

Overall, I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5. Recommended for all the kids above 3 years of age.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE

 

Thanks!

 

WRITING BUDDHA