Author: Deeya Nambiar

I believe in taking every day as a learning phase, and exploring my writing skills. I have enjoyed the challenges as a journalist, content writer and college lecturer, and at the moment am living life analysing the extraordinary in the ordinary!

Want to Write, But Don’t Know How

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Writing comes naturally. I agree. But when a student asked me, “How to write?”, I had to think differently. Reason, writing may come naturally but what makes a good writing requires serious preparations.

Learning to write well involves mastering the language, practicing daily and expressing well. Here are some tried and tested simple steps. For a quick read, I restrict them to FIVE points.

1. Reading improves language: Writing requires a good command over language and grammar. Whether you are planning to write in your mother tongue or English, it is through reading articles/ books regularly that, you can strengthen your language.

2. Begin slowly, but write daily: Forget what you have been doing all these years. If you are determined to write, make it a habit to write everyday. Always remember, practice makes a man perfect. In fact, it is by practicing that you develop your own style of writing.

3. Endless subjects and creative thinking: Without wondering “what should I write about”, select your subject/topic from things that inspire you. It can be a newspaper article on wrist watches, beautiful scenery on your way to a holiday destination, the baseball game you had viewed on the internet or your pet dog that keeps you company. Use words to the best and think creatively to make your subject interesting.

4. Re-writing, a practice tool: Sometimes, you may lack the confidence to deal with a subject on your own. However, you can make an attempt to rewrite an article from a newspaper or magazine, and realise your strengths and weaknesses.

5. Presentation and content matters: The aim behind writing is to convey your subject/topic very well. But it is a good presentation of the subject that draws attention of an audience. There is nothing to worry if you manage to write only a few sentences as a beginner. Gradually, you will master the art of expressing in pages.

Writing is a slow and steady process to a sure win. There are no short cuts to good writing. Hence, if you are a beginner, it is essential to remind yourself to be patient and keep working hard towards your goal.

Love Romance, Forever

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mills & Boon

“Have you read Mills & Boon ?”. A friend once asked me. “No,” I said. Surprised she looked. “Really!. Never.”

“Yes. Really,” I said.

Apparently, the stories to do with romance were earlier restricted to fairytale and classics. And there was Shakespeare. But I swear upon Jane Austen, and Pride and Prejudice will always be my favourite.

Much later in life, the same friend decided to lend me a romance-fiction from her Mills & Boon collection. As a reminder, she insisted on the works of Betty Neels, Anne Hampson, Helen Brooks, and Penny Jordan. Treading through the names, soon I found myself on reading-date with an endless list of authors!

As a matter of fact, I went to the second hand bookstores in search of earlier editions of Mills & Boon. I had taken a liking to reading those descriptive and expressive clean romances. All the more, it was a deliberate choice, because I could feel the authors in their work.

They did complete justice to their writing.

It was never those casual meandering with words, but complete involvement, exploring the emotions and lives of people. The best part is, I could enjoy every single element – visualise the people and places, understand the emotions and sentiments, relish the flow of words, and know the mind of authors.

Little wonder, Mills & Boon has grown to become the undisputed leaders in romance and fiction writing.

More recently, I got introduced to the works of American author Nicholas Sparks. Wonder how well an author can understand love in its various shades, stages of life, and the spiritual meaning to the word itself.

Indeed, love is an emotion beyond words. Indeed, the new generation authors have  different perspectives to love. Nevertheless, romance and love will work its way into the hearts of audiences across the globe.

My search for the old copies of Mills & Boon continues.

Who Gives Birth to Whom?

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mahim “A child gives birth to a mother.” The quote runs below a public work of art on the way along side the western express highway in Mumbai. A prized location, the sculpture of the mother-and-child stands tall, seemingly linking the roads to Mahim, Bandra and Worli-sea link.

It is hard to miss, especially if you are on a religious trip to visit the famed Siddhivinayak temple (Lord Ganesha) at Prabha Devi , St. Michael’s church in Mahim, and the Durgah of Mahimi in Mahim. Each of these places is historically relevant. For instance, while the church is one of the oldest existing Portuguese buildings, the Makhdoom Ali Mahimi’s Durgah is a reminder of the great Sufi saint and scholar who was also the “first commentator of the Holy Quran in India”.

Coming back to the mother-and-child sculpture, I happened to take a sparing look at it once, when stuck at the traffic signal. Appearing to be of a mother holding up her child, the metal sculpture is devoid of any distinct features or facial expressions. Yet, surrounded by the bed of greens, the mother and child cut a happy picture of the nurturer and the nourished.

A few minutes distraction from the traffic snarl, the sculpture and the quote, “A child gives birth to a mother”, kindled my mind. Mother and child – who gives birth to whom? Undoubtedly, each gives birth to the other. Undoubtedly, the mother and child relationship rooting to birth can be correlated to the relationship of a creator and his creativity. Nevertheless, it takes the creativity to give a name to the creator, and a purpose of life.

Wonder, what could have been the mind-set behind its creation and its location? The sculpture of mother-and-child will withstand the years to come. Like the many curious onlookers, I may perceive the duo in a different light, on another occasion, a different day.

Siblings

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Where do all the years of growing up together go? Why siblings become strangers with time? The gulf widens never to be united. They part ways. Relationship? What is it? They ask. Their ego’s decide not to mend their ways; and they die silently, wishing things would have been otherwise.

The next generation, devoted to their parents, hold on to the grudge. They being young, may have attempted or wished to bring a reunion but are reprimanded. Often, “you are a child, and you don’t know anything,” with these convenient words, the parents convince them. Ergo, the children follow their parent’s path. Years go by unhindered. The matters of heart lie uncorrected. The blood ties move into complete strangers.

Their families may never be able to erase the ‘good times of togetherness’ but at the same time may end up not knowing their immediate cousins too well. Somewhere down the line, the third generation may even laugh at the silly matters complicated beyond repair.

The siblings are no more around. Their children have reasons to unite. Some mend the broken relationships. But some others hold on to the reason of “having no wish to hurt the sentiments of their dead parent/s”. Days of beautiful relationships are gone. Whose loss is it?
Wonder, when siblings grow up, why do they not wish to take up hurt feelings and fight it out as they had done in their childhood?
Let their souls rest in peace.