Why November might be the best time to write?

Yesterday, I blah-blahed about all the obstacles in writing in November. Today, I realise that is gibberish. November must actually be the best time to write. I was at my desk at around 5.30 today morning scratching the pen on paper. Now, the time is nearing 7.30 and I have already completed a thousand words. My kids are still asleep, the day is just starting and I am already half-way across the mark.

Had this been March or July, this might not have been possible. I will be up at 6, cooking, cleaning, getting the kids ready for school, packing their tiffin boxes and doing the innumerable little things that make a home out of a house. So, may be, this is the best time to write...

1) I have no household responsibilities.

2) I have other people to distract the kids and be distracted by the kids.

3) I don't have school duties.

4) I am vacationing and have holiday immunity from my duties as a Management Committee Member. (A role I am playing in my residential apartment - additional duties... Phew!)

Isn't it funny how we can view the same thing as an obstacle or as a blessing? I guess it is how we perceive things that matter, more than the things themselves!

New Challenge

November 2013... A month I am looking forward to with longing and trepidation. I have taken up the NaNoWriMo Challenge this year!

I have this book inside me and the gestation period of this book has been longer than that of any known mammal on earth. It is finally time to give birth and that is just what I am going to do.

The challenge is big - 50000 words in 30 days!
The reward is bigger - a ready first draft!
But the obstacle is biggest - I am at my parent's place vacationing with my two playful boys!

I am not in the cosy writers corner of my house with a perennial supply of coffee. The boys have no school, classes or friends here. If I can actually pull this off, then I can pull off anything. This is the main reason why I want to do this. I want to prove to myself that I can write anywhere, anytime! Friends, wish me luck!

Jaipur Trip

Jaipur… It has been ages since a place has actually affected me so! The recent week-long trip we took to Jaipur was an eye-opener in more ways than one. I realized that ‘yes… I too needed a vacation!’ and that discovering a new place can freshen your mind and spirit.

A few days back, as I gazed out at the moon, my mind went back to the pet peacock at Bissau Palace that used to perch on the same branch of the same tree every night. The moon shone behind the peacock and it looked up at the sky in love and expectation. That sight was so eerily stirring that I just can’t seem to get it out of my head.



Next, it was the colours. The sarees at RTDC, the salwaars at Bapu Bazaar, the stone-studded bangles at Maniharon ka rasta – everything was an explosion of colours. The rainbow would pale in comparison. Retail therapy is the best in the world. Don’t shell out the psych-expert’s fees – just shop with it and all your troubles would melt away!



I am a foodie and I love to cook, at least the dishes that I enjoy gorging on! But, even I have never made or tasted a lassi like the one served up by the Lassiwallah at MI Road. All the cream in it was a sensual sinful indulgence. He does need to open a branch here, in Mumbai, as I don’t think I would be able to replicate his taste.



Another very very very important thing that I learnt from the trip is ‘though it looks easy and fun, travelling on an elephant is one of the scariest things that I have done in the recent years’ (Apart from the rock climbing and rappling bit!) I still at times shudder when reminded of those long ears caressing my calves… Eeeek!

Jaipur had something for everyone. Sanju loved the zoo and the animals, Aaru loved the music, dance and the puppet shows, I loved the culture, architecture and the people and Hubby was happily clicking photos of the various Jaipur buses! And to top it all, the kids had their beloved grandparents to share all their adventures. Sanju was happiest to bond with his favourite Chitthi and Chittappa. And, Jaipur rocks!






Lastly, Jaipur was inspirational. It has not only gotten me writing but has also taken me back to my easel after so many years. Thank God for that!

No maid... no writing...

My maid is not in town and my writing is really suffering for it.

It is not like I am washing dishes, swabbing floors or cleaning the clothes. However, just the act of managing some four different maids who enter at all odd hours is so tiring that I have absolutely no mood to write. It is like as if they have drunk away all my creative juices along with their enormous glasses of tea.

Just waiting for maid to come back. Now I realise her value and I promise to appreciate her better hereafteTill then, this weird form of writers block will continue, I guess! :-(

The Elements of Style (Book Review)

I love good English and aspire to attain the high standards that the language demands. This book is just another step in that direction.

In just 80 small pages, the authors have captured all that one needs to know to write well in the English Language. I bought the book after Stephen King endorsed for it in his book 'On Writing'.

I would strongly recommend this book for teachers, students, writers, businessmen and anyone else who needs to write in English.

Birth of A Brother

I remember, I think this must be my earliest memory, walking down the lane of my rental house holding a pillow in one hand and clutching my father’s hand with the other. My father had some rolled up bedding in his other arm. He walked jauntily announcing to the entire world that his wife has just delivered a son and that we were off to the hospital to be along with the mother and baby.

I don‘t remember the stay there or the fact that I named my brother ‘Aravind’, but I do remember having at least 4 Aravinds in my Junior KG class. So, it must be true. I must have named him. Not just that, he owes his birth to me. Let me tell you the story.

We were on the first floor of an old rental apartment and there were another half-dozen houses there apart from the landlord who resided on the ground floor. I was a lonely four-year old.

So, secretly, I used to pray to God everyday to give me either an elder sister like Ammu or a younger brother. I never wanted an elder brother who might bash me up or a younger sister who would snatch my lovely beads and dresses. Since God couldn’t turn back time, he satisfied my latter wish.

So, my brother owes me two things – his birth and his name!

My Pen (Poetry)

Hour upon hour, I perspire
to write something to inspire.
My world sure does conspire
to get my pen to retire.
See the household's mire!

No Nanny is on hire.
Fresh diapers the twins require.
I have to start the cooking fire,
fix the toy car's tire
and volunteer to create a society flier.
I take my daughter to practice for choir,
send off charity in the wire
and bake desserts for hubby's desire.

My pen calls out in dire.
It asks for writing to admire.
It may be the time of vampire
but I pick up the pen from the pyre.
Finally, I respire.

- Archana Sarat
Copyright Archana Sarat 2011