BOOK BLITZ: A Diary Of Crime Stories By Sonia Rao

I’m so excited to present to you my second offering – A DIARY OF CRIME STORIES – a collection of 3 gut-wrenching crime stories with colourful characters and shocking twists. Hope you enjoy reading them (If you do, pls do feel free to share it with family and friends and drop off a couple of sentences on Amazon too.

Get this book on Amazon or read them for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

I’d like to give a very special thanks to Rubina Ramesh and The Book Club for featuring my book in their Book Blitz and thus helping my book baby reach out to a much wider audience of readers and fans.

Here are presented some details about the book.

 

A DIARY OF CRIME STORIES: 

GUT-WRENCHING STORIES OF COLOURFUL

CHARACTERS AND SHOCKING TWISTS

by

Sonia Rao

 

 

Blurb

• Did or didn’t a 5-year-old boy, who cannot hear or speak, witness a murder? And if he did, how dangerous can it become for him?

• CCTV cameras prove that a robbery was committed by a young analyst. But if she didn’t, then who did it?

• Love brings together hearts, true! But did you know it could destroy lives too?

What is a diary? It can be described as a personal book or even a safe space in which one can record one’s experiences, thoughts and ideas of both one’s outer and inner worlds. What is around us affects us. One aspect of outer world includes crime. This can take many forms: assault of all types, murder, and even fraud. Be it a differently-abled child or a woman undergoing domestic abuse, obsessive love that can lead to fraud and breakup of lifelong friendships or then honour killing – because you are not allowed to decide whom you can love and marry. Be it a modern world, urban or rural, every crime story affects us collectively.

This Diary Of Crime Stories is a collection of 3 gut-wrenching crime-reads that will leave you on the edge of your seat, with their colourful characters and shocking twists & turns, asking for more.

Grab your copy @


Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

About the author

 

“Sonia Rao is a writer, editor, and award-winning blogger. Her fiction has appeared in many prestigious anthologies such as Voices Old & New and Jest Like That (edited by renowned editor-writer Shinie Antony).

As NaNoWriMo’s Municipal Liaison for all-India and founder of the Wrimo India group on Facebook, Sonia has motivated thousands of people in India to write a novel every November since 2011. She has also curated and edited the first Wrimo India Anthology, Vengeance—A Sting In Every Tale.

Sonia likes to believe she is ‘high-minded’ but strangely, her fave hobby is thinking up torture devices for those autorickshawallahs who consider the roads to be their personal spittoon. Who knew?“

You can stalk her @

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How To Write A Novel In 30 Days – 5

 

 

    WRITER’S BLOCK

A writer’s eye looks at things in a different way than a layperson’s would. Hence her head is full of ideas and it would take lifetimes to actually use them all in the writing. But sometimes, this faucet seems to be tightly closed. And try as they might, the writer is not able to wrench out a single word. This situation is fondly called, Writer’s Block. But this need not be a permanent state of being.

(If you are a writing your first novel, the first draft would mostly flow out. As is popularly said, everyone has atleast one story within them. Make the most of this beginner’s luck).

 WHY THE BLOCK 

The most common reason for a block is not knowing enough about the subject you’re writing on. If it is fiction, then perhaps you are not completely clued in to your characters, their likes and dislikes and their propensities. Going deeper into their psyche could give you enough matter to break any blocks in your mind about them.

Yet another reason for the Block is not believing that you have a story to tell, especially when you read the books written by the writers whose writings you idolise.

But the fact is that if you felt within you a spark (to write a novel)that wanted to burn bright then that is a sure sign that your story is worth writing.

Sometimes the writer gets into the rut of misconception that every word that flows out of his pen into the page must be brilliant and final.  Every writer knows that words have to be written and then re-written a number of times before they flow and you know you’ve got the best words that will work for you story. This is VERY HARD WORK. So avoid the self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviour which prevent you from writing, and blaming ‘Writer’s Block’ for it.

Stop thinking about what the world will think of your story, whether they will like it or not, whether they will approve of it or not, whether they will still respect you after you write your story or not (hey, do you really need such people in your life?).

 BREAK THE BLOCK

Just write the words that excite you, that want to be written by you.

Write like no-one is going to be reading what you have written.

 FREE THE WRITING

A practical way out of the Block is by free writing. Set a timer for 15 minutes and write whatever comes to mind about a subject of your choice, perhaps the character who’s causing you distress or even your story. Write uninhibitedly and soon you might find gems that could give you a breakthrough.

 What are the methods you use to get over Writers Block?

 (Read How To Write A Novel In 30 Days – 1, 2, 3, and 4.

How To Write A Novel In 30 Days – 4

DO YOU HAVE A WRITING BUDDY?

“Anything you do deeply is very lonely. There are many Zen students here, but the ones that are going deep are very lonely.”

“Are you lonely?” I asked him.

“Of course,” he answered. “But I do not let it toss me away. It is just loneliness.”

~ Wild Mind, Living the Writer’s Life by Natalie Goldberg.

Writing is a solitary pursuit. The visualization and the capturing of the inspirations and the impressions, all need to be done in quietude. But many times, we need a certain push that only another writer can understand and provide.

It is a proven fact that accountability can make the difference between the success and failure of a venture. Going on a diet? Going to take 10,000 steps daily? Going to write daily?

Accountability will make you feel like taking action even when you’d rather just watch television or surf the net.

These are buddies. Gym buddies, diet buddies, walking buddies, writing buddies.

Identify one such friend, or two. Whose writing strengths match yours. Then, fix up the time and amount of writing you will do.

It could be timed writing. Or even timed editing. Buddies remind you of your writing goals when you forget them. And they goad you to follow up on your promises you made to yourself and to others. They read what you’ve written. They tell you what is working and what isn’t. When they give a patient hearing to your ideas, the vision becomes clearer and the story becomes stronger. We can never be objective about our own writing. Our buddies point out to us our weaknesses, whether it a skewed POV or a rambling text or even a sequence of plot events which is implausible.

In the earlier days of publishing, editors at the publishing houses took on the role of writing buddy, in a way. Through encouragement and regular but constant goading, they ensured the writers completed writing their books. In fact, well-known Canadian author, Mark Anthony Jarman, in a writing workshop by Avid Learning held at the Kalaghoda Art Festival, revealed it was thanks to this unceasing badgering by his editor that he was able to complete writing most of his books.

Writing buddies are invaluable. If you don’t have one, you need to get one ASAP.

But remember, worthwhile relationships are never one-sided.

Will you be a great writing buddy, too?

Read How To Write A Novel During NaNoWriMo – 1, 2, and 3.

 

How To Write A Novel in 30 Days – 3

Like I promised last week, here I am with some light to throw on PHYSICAL CREATIVITIES.

Ask hundred people the definition of creativity, almost eighty would say it is about “thinking out of the box”.

All this while one would have thought that this box referred to must be some hypothetical box, which one had to jump out of if one had a wish to be creative.

But what would happen if you were actually put inside a life-sized box? A sealed box. Bet you’d try all the creativity at your disposal to get out of that box. Besides of course, hammering on the sides with your fists, hoping SOMEBODY would hear you.

Jokes aside, according to research done, those outside the physical box scored more points on creativity, than those inside it.

Here are some ways in which physical actions can jog your creativity into higher gear:

• Write standing up:
  Ernest Hemingway did it. So did Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf. Have you tried it?

• Write with your non-dominant hand:
  The discomfort and unusualness of using the non-dominant hand opens up untraveled pathways in the brain, giving you a piece of writing that might either be utterly worthless or a super-precious gem. At least it allows you to bypass your oft-used clichéd words, phrases and ideas.

• Lie down under the stars:
  On a dark, starry night, go to a quiet, open space (preferably a garden) and even if you don’t lie down, atleast throw back your head and savour the unending vastness of the black night interspersed with the sparkling stars. You’ll forget all your worries and stress when you realize how microscopial they are in the face of the gorgeous beauty of the Universe. This letting go ( of control/worry/fear) is what will allow your creativity to manifest – not just in writing, but in every aspect of life.
  

  Pic Source

• Go for a walk, but CARRY a voice recorder:
  No, not that sort of a walk where you burn 300 calories per mile (or whatever the exact figures are). More like an amble. An aimless walk, gentle steps, your mind travelling all over the world, especially into the world of the stories you’ve written or even plan to write. Stopping to stare at a particularly intriguing flower, or a bush that sprouts fragrant flowers only at dusk. All the while, talking into the recorder. Allowing the words to come to you instead of trying to drag them towards you. Talk without judgment. You will soon know which words you must keep and which you can delete.

Which is your favourite creativity-inducing physical activity?

Read How To Write A Novel In 30 Days – 1 and 2

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN 30 DAYS – 2

There are two types of people in this world:

• Those who like a well-ordered, disciplined life and
• Those who always crave excitement and a routine life bores them almost to death.

We will talk about the second group because the first group has everything planned out and doesn’t really need any further inputs. Mostly.

So the people who crave excitement try to find it in dangerous sporting activities such as bungee jumping, river rafting or even sky diving. The more adventurous ones even take it up as a profession. Such as bullfighting.

And if you are an Avenger or a Superpower-person, you get your thrills in kicking the a** of those mammoth antagonists that more often than advance towards you from the horizon, stomping over buildings and buses and scattering  laypersons like ants whose piece of candy has been snatched away.

Photo source 

Those who cannot physically access these activities try to find excitement in activities like substance abuse and other type of addictions.

These are the Excitement-Junkies (EJ).

These activities can be life-threatening (except if you are an Avenger or Super-power person) and most of us don’t want to lose our lives in pursuit of excitement. What options do most EJs have, then?

Here is where NaNoWriMo comes in.

Photo Credit: NaNoWriMo

If you are a creative person and ever felt the call to write a novel (which is also why you are reading this article), the ‘Deadline’ is the device that will bring to you all the excitement of a battle without endangering your life.

30 days of writing, a minimum word count, not doing your daily minimum, the word-backlog piling on, the approaching deadline and the thrill of validating your novel a few minutes before 11:59pm on 30^th November. Slaying a dragon couldn’t give you this kind of a high. EJs of the world, rejoice.

Conversely, writing to a deadline is also ‘being in a Zen state’ or ‘being in the moment.’

Okay, let us try an experiment.

Open a New Word doc. Or a blank page in your notebook.

Now write 500 words of a story using these words:

crash, crumpled paper, straw, gravel, ochre.

There is no time limit. Begin now.

Finished? Not yet? Why?

Okay, let that go.

Open another New doc or blank page, as the case may be.

Set the timer on your phone for 15 minutes. Ready?

Now, using these words: social worker, mop, hotel room, beeper, write a story of 500 words within 15 minutes, beginning NOW.

With a deadline looming ahead, your inner editor does not get an opportunity to barge in with its deprecating words. And with limited time at your disposal to finish the story your mind gets totally involved in the task, relegating all extraneous thoughts to the back- burner. Isn’t that what meditation is all about. And really, if after a gap of time, say a few days or months, you read what you have written, you’d be quite pleasantly surprised. “Have I written this?” is one of the most common expressions that describe what you feel.

But if words like meditation confuse or scare you, then consider deadline being the weapon that can wipeout the curse of “one day.” According to Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo, the world is full of “one day novelists” – those people who proclaim to the world that ‘one day, they will write a novel.’

That day is the 1^st of November. Get ready for it.

P.S. The prompts given above are from http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/ It is a very good idea to write to prompts (within a time deadline). This exercises both both your physical and mental creativities. Try it.

More about physical creativities next week.

Hopefully, you have signed up at NaNoWriMo already. If you are on Facebook, check out the Wrimo India Page too.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please feel free to share this post (Go on, share it) but only with relevant attribution and with a link to this blog. Failure to do so will invite the evil eyes and you know how tough it is to get rid of those!!!

 

Tornado Giveaway 2 Presents Book 12: JAYA: AN ILLUSTRATED RETELLING OF THE MAHABHARATA by Devdutt Pattanaik

Go to Book No. 11

Check all the Books Here

 

Name of the Book : JAYA: AN ILLUSTRATED RETELLING OF THE MAHABHARATA

Author: DevduttPattanaik

Read some reviews:

1. Tnahsin Garg

2. Abinav Agarwal

3. Dippy

The Story :

High above the sky stands Swarga, paradise, abode of the gods. Still above is Vaikuntha, heaven, abode of God.

The doorkeepers of Vaikuntha are the twins, Jaya and Yijaya, both whose names mean ‘victory’. One keeps you in Swarga; the other raises you into Vaikuntha.

In Vaikuntha there is bliss forever, in Swarga there is please for only as long as you deserve. What is the difference between Jaya and Vijaya? Solve this puzzle and you will solve the mystery of the Mahabharata.

In this enthralling retelling of India’s greatest epic, the Mahabharata originally known as Jaya, DevduttPattanaik seamlessly weaves into a single narrative plots from the Sanskirt classic as well as its many folk and regional varians, including the Pandavani of Chattisgarth, Gondhal of Maharastra, Terukkuttu of Tamil Nade and Yakshagana of Karnataka.

Richly illustrated with over 250 line drawings by the author, the 108 chapters abound with little-known details such as the names of the hundred Kauravas, the worship of Draupadi as a goddess in Tamil Nadu, the stories of Astika, Madhavi, Jaimini, Aravan and Barbareek, the Mahabharata version of the Shakuntalam and the Ramayana, and the dating of the war based on astronomical data.

With clarity and simplicity, the tales in this elegant volume reveal the eternal relevance of the Mahabharata, the complex and disturbing meditation on the human condition that has shaped Indian thought for over 3000 years.

You can also buy @

 

About The Author 

 

DevduttPattanaik 

 

Dr. DevduttPattanaik (born December 11, 1970) is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist and author whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, mythology, and also management. He has written a number of books related to Hindu mythology, including Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, a novel, The Pregnant King, and Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata (2010).He is the Chief Belief Officer of Future Group, one of India’s largest retailers, bringing the wisdom of Indian mythology into Indian business, especifically in human resource management. He also writes a column for the newspaper MID DAY.

He has also written a novel based on a tale from the Mahabharata titled ‘The Pregnant King’ published by Penguin Books India.

Stalk him @

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

Go to Book No. 13

 

Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word… Thank you for being a Reader… You keep the Authors motivated… This is our way of saying a Thank you 🙂 

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Tornado Giveaway 2 Presents Book 11: SOLDIER& SPICE: AN ARMY WIFE’S LIFE by Aditi Mathur Kumar

Go to Book No. 10

Check all the Books Here

Name of the Book: SOLDIER& SPICE: AN ARMY WIFE’S LIFE

Author: Aditi Mathur Kumar

Read a review:

Inderpreet Kaur Uppal
The Story :

A hilarious, heart-warming and one-of-it’s-kind story of a complete-civilian-turned-Army Wife. This story takes you behind the closed and guarded gates of a military station, giving you a fat-piece of the grand and mysterious life of the Indian Army Wifes.

“An Army wife is probably the only woman in the world who knows and readily accepts that she is the mistress, because, let’s face it, the Army is the wife and the wife gets all the damn attention!”

Pia is a regular, civilian girl with no connection to Army whatsoever. Then she marries Arjun, an Indian Army Officer.

For Pia, regular life is a thing of the past. She is now an Army wife. From ‘just Pia’ to an Aunty, a memsaab and – her favorite words in the whole wide world – Mrs Pia Arjun Mehra.

At twenty six, Pia finds herself having to suddenly be more ‘lady-like’; focus on themed ladies’ meets, high teas and welfare functions; and deal with long (unexpected) separations from her husband, extraordinary challenges, a little heartache, and, well, growing up.

In the mysterious and grand world of Army wives, Pia learns that walking in high heels is okay as long as you don’t trip on combat boots. She learns that ‘civil’ is also a noun, that JCO and GOC are (very!) different, that snacks are ‘shown’ and WTF is better explained as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Yes, it really is a new world!

Let this quirky, hilarious story of the first year of Pia’s Army-wife life show you that the spice to a soldier’s life is most definitely his better, very strong, bloody extremely elegant, never-cussing, witty, warm and passionate half, his Army wife.

You can also buy @

 

About the author 

 

Aditi Mathur Kumar 

 

Aditi was born on February 14th and since then it has all been awkward for her.A book-hoarder, an ex-advertising girl, a once-upon-a-time blogger, a fanatical Army wife and a real-life social person, She has now decided to write more.

So far, so good.

Stalk her @

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

Go to Book No. 12

 

Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word… Thank you for being a Reader… You keep the Authors motivated… This is our way of saying a Thank you 🙂 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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#TornadoGiveaway is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you 🙂

Tornado Giveaway 2 Presents Book 9: Love – Lots Of Volatile Emotions by Faraaz Kazi

Go to Book No. 8

Check all the Books Here

Name of the Book : LOVE: LOTS OF VOLATILE EMOTIONS

Author: Faraaz Kazi

Read a review:

Dipika Kumar

The Story :

From a man who lives in his past overhearing the whispers of the present to a woman who rescues dying souls through her blessed aura. From a little boy who must realise the truth of his life so that he can face the fears of the future to a pair of lovers who are reborn with little clue of what fate has in store for them. From a granddaughter who recollects the warm fuzzy days of her childhood to an old lady who still reminisces about the time she first fell in love. From a girl who must return to her roots to discover the reality of her true love to a stalker who tries to hide his worst secret, even from himself.

This promising anthology featuring modern Indian writing aims to capture love in all its raw forms and diverse states. For contrary to popular belief, love is just one word with many volatile emotions.

Join best-selling author, Faraaz Kazi in this journey through that one word that defines us all and one that we cannot define, as he unravels the mystery of love through a first of its kind work that features fourteen vivid stories that span across genres connected by that thing called LOVE.

You can also buy @

 

About The Author 

 

Faraaz Kazi 

 

The winner of the 2013 National Debut Youth Fiction Award and also the recipient of the YCOF National Excellence award in Creative Writing apart from being the first Indian author to win the coveted ‘Best Debut (Romance)’ title at the international Goodreads choice awards, Faraaz Kazi has been tagged as the ‘Nicholas Sparks of India’ by many and is rated amongst the top male romance writers in the country.A certified soft-skills trainer and a three-time post grad, Kazi is the Founder and CEO of DigiImprint Solutions, India’s first exclusive promotional agency for authors and artists that recently forayed into handling corporate brands. He also consults for a few public relations firms and publishing houses. Felicitated by numerous institutes, bodies and organizations alike, Kazi is a well-known name in the social media and literary fraternity. He is fondly referred to as ‘The Young Marketer’ and operates a revolutionary blog with the same name and writes for major media houses.

Kazi is a fellow member of the esteemed ‘Film Writers Association of India.’ Truly Madly Deeply, his debut mainstream romance novel is the only Indian book to have seven category nominations in the Goodreads annual readers’ choice awards and is also the only Indian book in the ‘Top 100 YA Global Fiction’ list. Kazi is a voracious reader and counts singing as his second love.

Stalk him @

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

Go to Book No. 10

 

Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word… Thank you for being a Reader… You keep the Authors motivated… This is our way of saying a Thank you 🙂 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#TornadoGiveaway  is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you 🙂

Tornado Giveaway 2 Presents Book 8: Kingdom Come by Aarti V Raman

Go to Book No. 7

Check all the Books Here

 

 

Name of the Book : KINGDOM COME

Author: Aarti V Raman

Read some reviews:

1. Sundari Venkatraman

2. Devika Fernando

3. Inderpreet Kaur Uppal

The Story:

How do you kill a man with no Achilles heel? You cut off his foot Tom Jones.

Set against the serene beauty of Kashmir, Ladakh and Tibet, Kingdom Come is a gripping story of death and loss, vengeance and retribution, love and life. Krivi Iyer is an embittered former spy and bomb defusal expert with only one regret. That he couldn’t catch The Woodpecker, a dangerous, mentally unstable bomber who ended his partner’s family. He has a second chance to go after his arch enemy with the arrival of Ziya Maarten, the manager of ‘Goonj Business Enterprises’ in Srinagar, Kashmir, who is alleged to be The Woodpecker’s sister. Except, Ziya is a beautiful distraction and not a terrorist’s sister. When a tragedy in London tears Ziya’s life apart, she can only rely on Krivi to give her the absolution and vengeance she needs to move on. Between training to be an anti-terrorist squad member and finding The Woodpecker, Ziya uncovers the secrets of Krivi’s tormented past. But will two tortured souls find the courage to love?

You can also buy @

 

About The Author 

 

Aarti V Raman 

 

Aarti always wanted to be either a lawyer. Or a writer. So she tossed a coin and picked writer. Or rather, it picked her. Since then, she has valiantly struggled to put words to paper and bring characters and stories alive that make people sigh and laugh and enjoy every moment of. She has studied Journalism from Mumbai University, Creative Writing at Deakin, and considers herself a student of life. Her three favorite words are, Happy-Ever-After.

Stalk her @

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

Go to Book No. 9

 

Now for the Rafflecopter: Gather as many points as you want to. The more points you get, the more you have a chance to win it all. Show your love for books.. Tweet, Like and Spread the Word… Thank you for being a Reader… You keep the Authors motivated… This is our way of saying a Thank you 🙂 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#TornadoGiveaway  is an initiative of The Book Club. Click on the icon to go to the event page of the Tornado .. Lots of fun awaits you 🙂

The 3 things a travel writer must remember

(What is this about: Travel Writing Workshop conducted by veteran writer Dilip D’Souza as part of the Writing Workshops held in Asiatic Society’s Central Library by Avid Learning for the Kala Ghoda Art Festival 2015)

If you thought travel-writing meant just writing about your travels then you would be as mistaken as the hundred other participants that gathered one Sunday morning in the Durbar Hall of Mumbai’s Central Library to attend the Travel Writing Workshop by award-winning writer, Dilip D’Souza.

If this is a contrarian view then you would also find it unusual that D’Souza wore a bolo tie (a string tie with a moon and stars design, worn by the cowboys of Texas) because he hates ties but mainly because he wanted to hide a stain on his shirt.

And if you are a writer, you would be quite impressed with D’Souza’s empathetic nature as he set the ground rule that ever piece of writing read in that session was to be greeted by an enthusiastic ‘wow’.

So, what is travel writing?

How would you tell differently what hundreds and thousands have already told about the places you are visiting?

1) Travel writing is about ‘telling stories’

Aim of telling your story should be to get your readers to start thinking and exploring what your writing means to them. How would your reader walk or would he talk if he knew about your experiences? Let your reader make their own connections.
At this point, we had to turn to the person next to us and tell them our travel story (which made me realize I need a lot of practice in oral story telling).

2)Travel writing is about ‘sweating the details’

Observe details because these are the things that make your story unforgettable. We were asked to look around the room and observe the details we might not have noticed earlier. A question about the builder of the place got a lot of affirmative replies but my mind had remained glued to the majestic stairs at the front of the Library.

Some examples from various texts:  “We rushed to the man who sat in the office drinking a warm Coke, feet on his desk, and he told us that the pool was dirty so they had decided to drain it.” This sentence gives us a good look into the lackadaisical attitude of the man in the office. Another poignant example of a silent detail which speaks the words: In a house which has lost its young son to the war, the light switch in his room is taped over so that the light cannot be ever switched off.

3)Travel writing is about “doing the hardest thing in your life and that is making your story personal.”

Here a question was asked to Dilip D’souza (perhaps by me only): How much of the story needs to be fact and how much fiction? To which the reply was: Be true to yourself and only then can you be true to the reader.

Throughout the session travel writing excerpts of different authors were read out by D’Souza and a lot of learning took place as we analyzed the words and their meaning in that particular context. I was thrilled too that my deductions proved correct when I pointed out pieces which I believed were written by him.

At the end of the session, we had to write down our verbally told stories after making it more personal.

****

What I wrote in the workshop:

For someone who could get lost inside even a tiny, cramped office typical of Mumbai and need directions to the exit, it was foolhardy to venture alone towards the Metro Station after a memorable meet-up with friends.

But adventure beckoned and the road thronged with Sunday revelers added to the thrill of walking alone on a beautiful Delhi road. Till I realized that I was lost. A wrong turn, perhaps? Not a problem, I thought, taking out my phone to call the friend whom I was staying with, to ask for directions.

My Blackberry was dead. Completely discharged. It had been acting like a diva ever since I landed in Delhi. Dropped calls. Texts that could not be replied to because Madam BB decided to get ‘hanged’ at that particular moment and rendering futile all efforts at re-booting. I shook the phone, willing it to start. Nada. Suddenly, the revelers began to look loutish and the road looked like the path to hell. Where the hell was the Metro Station? It did not seem such a great idea to ask the people around for directions. In front of me loomed a large maidan which I was sure I had never seen before in my three or four trips to this side of Connaught Place. I did not remember my friend’s phone number.

I wanted to cry.