Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Touch of Life #BringBackTheTouch


Sarah was depressed. Not for a day or two, but since 5 months. There was no reason for her depression. From the outside, nothing seemed to be shady. She had the perfect job in an ad agency. She was pretty, talented, smart and sensible. She had worked hard for the past 5 years in her job and she was a go-getter ever since she was a child. Sometimes, success makes you lonely and it was the same for Sarah. She was a loner. She never had friends. She never had a social life. She never interacted. She spoke less and kept to herself. But she was the best at work. Not that she never had the urge to make friends or share her deepest problems with anyone, she just felt she never had time for it. And by the time she felt that it was necessary for a friend, she had forgotten how to make one.

After attempting suicide a number of times in the past month, she realized that she needed a lot of courage. She finally decided to jump from the bridge near her house and end her life. It was a breezy winter evening. She wrote a suicide letter in black ink saying that no one was responsible for her death and folding it into two she gently placed it near the lamp on the study table. Latching the door, she decided to walk her way to death. All the memories from her childhood flashed before her eyes. She remembered her parents and her brother whom she loved so dearly. She pictured their faces when they would see her dead body. Nothing could stop her from choosing her destiny.

It was late in the night and the bridge was almost empty. She climbed on it and walked to the edge. Saying a small prayer, she said sorry. Turning around, she confirmed that no one was around. Gathering immense courage she pushed the lower half of her body to take a leap into the sea with open arms. It was as though she was embracing death. At that minute she felt a touch. She felt a hand clasp her. She felt touched. A quick shiver ran through her spine. She felt like a coward as she was caught doing the most dreadful thing.

“Hold on”, she found a male voice behind her.

“Do not jump!! I will hold you”, she turned to see who the savior was.

Behind her stood a young lad in his late 20’s, who stood there holding her hand in amazement. She turned and he was lost in a stare-off for 30 seconds. He helped her on the way down from the bridge and dropped her to her place without uttering a word. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them left each others hand as well. There was a strong unspoken conversation that had taken place with that touch.

The next morning, Sarah found a bouquet of flowers at her door with a small not in it. “Smile, for not everyone knows that he would live the next day” – Love, Roy

Roy stood below her balcony to wave her a good bye. This happened for a couple of days. Everyday there was a new note. Sarah didn’t make up her mind to speak to him. Finally one morning, when she opened the door instead of the usual flowers she found Roy standing.

“I just moved in as your neighbor a day ago. Can we be friends?” Roy tried to charm Sarah.

The reluctant Sarah finally opened the doors of friendship. She had found a friend, she had found a confidante and she had found the love of her life. A few months passed and Sarah and Roy were found walking by the bridge where they had first met. This place no longer haunted her anymore. She thanked God for having given her Roy. The touch of Roy’s hand reminded her everyday that there was hope in the life that she had lost. The touch brought her happiness and vanished her fears and depression. The touch rekindled her zest for life. It was the touch that brought life into her drooping existence.


This post is inspired by a topic at Indiblogger Happy Hours called #BringBackTheTouch  http://www.pblskin.com/
 

 



Saturday, November 8, 2014

Love Lasts Forever... - #Book Review

Vikrant Khanna, a contemporary author pens his third novel based on marriage and mistakes. I received "Love Lasts Forever" from Blogadda as part of their Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers.

Title: Love Lasts Forever (only if you don't marry your love)
Author: Vikrant Khanna
Genre: Romance and fiction
Publishers: Srishti Publishers
ISBN #: 9789382665175


The Blurb: Eighteen-year-old Ronit falls madly in love with Aisha the moment he meets her at his graduation day from a naval college. He believes he has found his perfect soul mate, and come what may, his love for her will last forever. Seven years later, he gets married to her. Big mistake! A week later, he completely hates her and believes she has turned into a devil.
But his perception about love and life change when he hears the poignant love story of Shekhar, his Captain, on a ship that later gets hijacked by the pirates of Somalia. As they are left fighting for their lives; they confront if love truly can last forever…? Or does it get too late?
Summary: The book begins with Ronit (the main protagonist) sailing on a ship for work purpose and his continuous rants about his wife. His ship goes on to get hijacked by pirates exactly when he is immersed in listening to the story of the Captain of the ship, who was divorced for over 3 decades. Ronit on the other hand, who was in love with his wife for 7 years and married for a few months, wants a divorce. Do the perspectives change? Does Ronit get his divorce? Or Does the Captain's story rekindle the lost love in his life?
The Turn on's:
1. The book teaches you that love is not the only ingredient required to make a marriage successful. Marriage needs a lot of hardwork, patience and perseverance. Ronit's story could happen to any of us. Every married person can relate to it. 
2. The plot would get you attracted at the very first place and make you want to pick this book for a comfortable read.
3. The story of the Captain nudges you at your heart. You will find tears rolling at the end of the Captain's story. Vikrant's does a fantastic job at this. 

4. The tortures by the  Somalian pirates make your heart reach out to the people who put their lives at risk at the ship.
The Turn Off's:
1. The story could have been narrated from Aisha's(Ronit's wife) point of view as well. I felt it was just one-sided and at times you would find yourself hating Aisha for the way she was.
2. The story that is written from a male point of view sometimes fails to relate to you and you find it to be very fast paced. 
Apart from these two negative aspects of the book, I found it to be a book that you can flip through and pick up points to make your relationship better.
My Verdict: 3/5

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for BlogAdda Indian Bloggers Participate now to get free books!


Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Charm Bracelet

If you have watched the movie, "If Only", then you wouldn't have missed out the second last scene of the movie where the hero gifts the heroine a Charm bracelet at dinner. I had watched the movie ay 6 years back and ever since then, I had developed a craze for Charm bracelets.

According to tradition Charm bracelets are generally worn to ward off any kind of evil. But later it turned out to be an accessory and fashion jewelry.

I chose the later and wanted to own one. After having spent years in searching for one in India, I gave up. A few months later my cousin who had moved to the USA (who knew about my craze), found a website where you could choose “Charms” of your choice and make a charm bracelet on your own by ordering on the website.

What followed next was choosing the charms, and ordering a sterling silver simple bracelet to hang the charms. My cousin ordered it online and got it delivered to his address and later sent to me as a gift. This is how my Charm Bracelet looks.



The Charms that we selected are below. Every Charm relates to me in some way or the other Here’s my explanation for every charm, on my bracelet:

 1.  Moon – The meaning of my name, “Cynthia”, originated from the name of a Greek moon Goddess who lived on the mountain Kynthos.

 2. Cousin – This was for my Cousin, who gifted it to me .

3. I love to Blog – This is self-explanatory.

4. Cross – This depicts my love for Christ.

 


5. Peace Angel – I believe that a guardian angel exists for each of us.

6. Princess Crown -  I am the a princess to my parents.

7. I love to shop - My love for shopping. I think that's every girl's love.

 8. Mother - Chinese symbol for Mother


How did you like my bracelet? Let me know your comments.
And you can refer to these websites if you want to create a bracelet of your own.
http://www.charmfactory.com/
http://www.chains-and-charms.com/
http://www.bluenile.com/