Before I go to Sleep - A book review

I have always tried to imagine the mind space of an author who writes triller! I mean, its enthralling to imagine, how he/she builds the plot. Tying the knot and gradually and deliciously uniting it for the reader. This thought has always intrigued me as a lover of thrillers. In fact as a kid and even today, I dream of meeting Satyajit Ray and asking him of the processing that happened in his grey matter to create Prodosh Mitra, aka Feluda.  Alas, this dream cannot be true!

Recently I have been reading one thriller after the other, and my recent finished read was S.J Watson's Before I Go To Sleep. This book which was published in 2011, is now a famous motion picture, starring Nicole Kidman. The book is an international bestseller.However these cannot determine, whether you like a book or not. 

So I, without any preconceived notions started my journey with Christine Lucas, the main protagonist. Christine or Chrissy as her friend call her, is a patient of acute amnesia. A medical condition wherein she is unable to retain her memories. Each day is new to her, alien to her, fearful to her. The books starts with one such day, when she wakes up feeling twenty but soon is confronted with her own self, an unknown, withered, her, in forties. And then there is a man, sleeping by her side, in a bed,in a house, in a world unknown to her. Ben! He claims that they have been married for years. But where are the years, lost into oblivion, in the darkness of the unfetchable layers of her memory? She feels claustrophobic, there are photographs of them together, of unknown happy moments. Is each day, this pathetic? Is each day the same for both of them, one trying to remember and the other trying to remind! But there is more to Christine's life.

The largest part of the novel, is the journal Christine writes to capture her day to day life. Each day she unfolds her life, through the pages and appreciates her existence. Each day she learns of the lies Ben tells her, she knows of her past. The attack that snatched away her being. She also knows, that he knows nothing of her writings. Don't trust Ben is what her journal tells her. But then whom to trust? She is alone! 

The best part of the novel is that, it slowly and steadily grows on you and makes you feel a part of the mystery of her life. It is gradually scary. The climax, is dramatic and cinematic. Wonderfully portrayed! Though a smart reader will know what is coming before it actually does, yet the scene compels to read. The story has a happy ending, union of loved ones. It is a story of love, madness and betrayal...welcome to the jigsaw puzzle of Christine Lucas's messed up life of forgotten episodes!

If you like thrillers, this book will excite you. You will love the journey though it kind of slows down at times. But may be the changing pace of portrayal is the beauty of Watson's creation. And I would like to add, that if you compare the book with the movie, inspite of the elaborate casting, the book wins the prize.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Wanderer's Love

My husband who is busy with his PS4 game, Witcher for quiet some time now, wrote this one for me...to reduce his sins of dedicating more time to gaming than me!!! Thought would share with you!!:-)

Winds from the red sea, calleth my name,

The infernal perils run across my vein,

My fate stitched to the odyssey of the bold,

Yet as I wake up on the bed at dawn,

I need to hold your hand,

And sleep by you to eternal bliss,

As I appreciate, it was just dream of a witcher!

Then I squeeze myself near you with fear,

What would I do, had you not been there?

I can't fight the peril for sure,

And only can love you to my deepest desire!!

Avishek Sengupta

Avishek Sengupta

As Euphoria Flows - The Irish House, Kala Ghoda

Starting with last selfie we took that night

I have been in Mumbai for quite sometime now, like two and a half years, but frankly I have not witnessed much of the famous night life of this city, which literally never sleeps. Plans and plans and more plans, but execution very remote. Most of our parties are house gatherings, which off-course I simply adore, after all what can be better than sitting in the cosiest corner in the world, called home and sharing a drink, and many heart-felt feelings with people you bang on. Yet at times, madness, glitter, lights and that perfect high of euphoria, beckons mysteriously and alluringly. The chance to dress up and confidently rock the dance floor!

A few days back, some of my closest friends in Mumbai, a gang of lady chemical engineers had planned to spend an ecstatic evening together. Me and my friends Krishna, Priti and Prabhjot, had ultimately narrowed down to “The Irish House” Kala Ghoda, for that most awaited evening, ladies night out.

It was a freaky Friday, we winded our work quick and called for the day, to reach Prabhjot and Krishna’s apartment, they are roomies. We basically wanted to give ourselves time, to shed off the tiredness and look just the way we wanted to. But as you know, when four pretty ladies decide to dress up and spend an evening of euphoria, choosing the dress, shoes, accessories and the make up takes time, much more than we could actually think of. And we are proudly no exceptions either ;-).

The first phase was wearing the piece we wanted to and getting opinions of how it looked on us, then it was time to do the make up. Our dear friend Priti had brought with her, an attractive spread of great make up items, we were her first attempt of trying her hand on them. Well, we were the lucky guinea pigs. And actually we turned to be lucky, because she really did work well with our faces. I too extended my expert hand for eye make-up ;-), and then the magic wand turned, and there we stood happy to pose for selfies.

Me finally ready, in blue AND maxi dress

Another one

Selfie time-Pretty ladies

(From left in clockwise direction Krishna, Me, Prabhjot and Priti)

Planned at 8:30 pm, we left at 9:30 pm, expectantly! We reached the venue at around 10:15 pm, it is worth mentioning, we were lucky to get quite empty roads. 

The Irish House, was a good choice, thanks to Prabhjot. The ambience and specially the music was awesome. They played all the famous, english numbers which compels you to hit the floor and feel the enjoyable fang of palpable euphoria. And so we did, dance and dance and dance, till you break the floor, was our aim. And fortunately though we did not quite break the floor, but broke one goblet for sure.

Me and Krishna

All of us at the venue

The food and beverages unfortunately were not that great, magarita, mojito, Irish coffee, along with chicken popcorns, drunken prawns and nachos all tasted just kind of OK, nothing remember worthy. However this was just for the restauranteurs to improve upon, it hardly mattered to us.

Serious posing this time-loved it ;-)

;-)

Overall it was a night of complete fun, and pure enjoyment. Unaware of who watched us, we girls had an awesome night of dance, rejoice and free-spiritedness. Looking forward to more of its kind.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

I want to BNLF

“When the days are dark and the nights are long,

You give me strength to carry on”

When I was a kid, I wanted to study science. It was like a prestige issue. After all I was a very good student. But my Father thought differently, he said that I should study literature. Today he is no  more with me, the rough tides of life have snatched his physical presence away, forever. But what it could not snatch, is his words, his opinions. Those live with me. Though I went on to become a Chemical Engineer, completely unaware of the longings of my inside, today I appreciate his understanding of me. About one and half years back, I came to know about blogging. Since then it has been my companion, through thick and thin. My vent, my voice, my travel diary infact my cherished means to emote. Currently I am also working on publishing my first work of fiction. Thanks to the enormous blogging sphere, the generous readers and thanks to Indiblogger, for letting my creative juices to flow and touch hearts. I write everyday, my mind is a thoroughfare of imaginations and narrations. They flow laminar even when the turbulence of stress hampers my reasoning, just because it is solace to me, my stress-management you can say.

Expressing and narrating is one part of the story, the other part is reaching out to people. And for that Indiblogger is a powerful tool, I believe. Ever since I am part of it, I have met interesting people from different school of thoughts, I have known a lot about the massiveness of this blogging environment. However I still feel, I know very little. I crave to indulge into discussing my passion with people who share it. Indiblogger has been arranging many blogging meets, but time and venue did not suit my possibilities and I missed the opportunity each time. But now I really do not want to miss attending BNLF.

Blog Now, Live Forever or BNLF what a thought-provoking and apt title for an event like this. Want to congratulate the creative minds that went into naming it. How true, if you think deeply. Many of us have been writing since many years, narrations which sometimes got lost when wind blew away the paper or we had to reboot our computer. Loosing a creation is like loosing a jewel, whose worth is only known when readers read it, appreciate or condemn and then it goes on to become a memory. But blogging has given us the opportunity to live forever through our creations, which do not dread the fear of getting lost. 

BNLF, an event built, executed and hosted by our very own Indiblogger, is being called the most disruptive Indiblogger conference so far. This very fact excites the expectations of bloggers like me, besides it being held in Mumbai and being a Mumbai Blogger, I just cannot believe to have missed being a part of it.

My crave to know more about the stalwarts of the bogging empire, pulls me to attending and living every moment of the conference. They rightly say “where every note is a keynote”. The conference aims at bringing under the same roof, the pioneers of the industry, building an unique comradeship of eminent bloggers, content creators, investors and marketers. An opportunity of listening to global speakers and interact. It is like a dream come true for people like me, who worship the passion of painting feelings with the master stroke of words, but are new to this concept and want to learn more and more. BNLF will definitely help me in finding an enriching career in my passion. When achievers like Anshul Tewari, Arnab Ray, Kannan Gill,Christoph trappe, Priti Shenoy share their views and experiences, I am sure the take-aways will be worth a fortune. I am really looking forward to spending one of the most productive days of my life so far. 

Priti Shenoy

Blogging had come to me unknowingly, I never quite thought it will become that breathe of fresh air. And I also believe, that when it has come, it has come for a purpose. I believe I am going to make it big one day and will be able to reach out to many. I write and write till oblivion, but that’s not it. In this era of advancement of technology and thoughts alike, it is very important to know the environment. I just started towards taking steps to publishing my first book and understood the importance of marketing, saleability issues. The same applies to blogging, I believe content is the keyword, yet many aspects remain unknown to even good content givers. I do not want to be one of the many, who write great but never get noticed. I dream to reach out. BNLF conference will be that opportunity for me to know, paths I should traverse and ones to avoid. I want to know the pros and cons. I want to know the market scenario. I want know the stories of the people who have made it large. So that I can live my passion, till the day I breathe my last. Looking forward to constructing a career in blogging for which BNLF conference will be a milestone.

I would like to end by thanking Indiblogger for taking the initiative and humongous efforts towards BNLF, looking forward to witnessing this extravaganza and being a part of it……….

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

MY HOME, MY REFLECTION

I am creative. At least people around me think so. However, I am not sure, although I feel an urge to paint my feelings with words, fill my blank canvas with colours. These words, these colours are mine, very mine. Is this creativity? May be! 

Since I was very young, I wanted my space to look unique. Whether it was a small shelf, which Baba told me was mine or later my room. I remember how meticulously I would work towards making it my signature. And after completion I would admire, spellbound at my creation. So I believe I have a bit of right to call myself tad creative. Don’t I? 

Two years back, just after few months we had shifted to Mumbai, my husband I purchased a house, our own house. It was like a dream come true. The 16th floor apartment in Thane, with the jaw dropping view of the Western Ghats gradually evolved from a house of cement and concrete to our home, Aritra and Avishek’s. The evolution was laminar and delicious. Unfolding gradually the beauty of togetherness in a corner, which we could call our own. So it goes without saying, it is special, very special. May be in future we will buy bigger houses, but first love is always dear.

Buying a house in Mumbai, drains you of your money, and hence doing the interiors took a back seat. Yet I love my space, the paintings, the chandelier I love them all. Each corner of my home is a reflection of me. But I dream to do it better, chic and drenched in serenity. My dream is clear and palpable, which I want to share with you.

Starting with the living area, for which chic is the word. Every corner should adorn elegance. I want the curtains to be in black and red with a tinge of golden here and there, black couch with red cushions works for me with background wall paper in earthy and golden colours. A beautiful, preferably Ganesh Pyne painting is what I dream of. The lights will be mostly in yellow, a crystal chandelier, focus light on paintings and an adorable lamp shade by the couch.  An intricate play of dark and light will infuse that mysterious charm that defines me. A black glass dining-table, and an astray shaped centre-table is what I want. The television will be wall mounted, on black wall paper. I prefer a red carpet under the centre-table. Chosen show pieces can find place, only if they can match my taste.

Then my bedroom, for which comfort and romance are the words. A king size bed, comfortable and soothing wall colour preferably pink, even if you call it cliche, an entire wall with wardrobe with preferably glass sliding door and a huge dressing table is my idea of that special space of mine. Oh! the curtains, they should be lacy and mischievous for that moment of arouse, preferably in white. An elegantly framed wedding picture will find its place on the biggest wall. 

The corridor wall will be effectively utilised for tasteful paintings and family album. I want few of the paintings to be aligning with my love for Bengali culture, preferably old Kolkata depicted on canvas, or the night beauty of the Howrah bridge.

For the guest, room I believe access and comfort are the words. I will ensure that it is the one with attached bathroom. It should have a queen size bed and an almost empty almirah for their things. The walls I wish to be in hues of blue and a thought provoking handcraft preferably from the North-East should add that class. 

There will be elaborate use of led-lights, flowers and plants here and there in the entire HouseHold. I love continual touch of festivity, it fills me with effervescence and call my creative juices to flow.

Our Homes are a bit of us, the kind of relationship, thought or upbringing we posses, reflects in what we make our homes look like. It may not be lavish, or exquisite but it should be you. Though I elaborately described my ideas on interiors, yet I feel the best piece of decoration is the ambience. Love and respect will induce that positivity to your household that will make it look like a dream, your dream.

Its me :-)

“I am participating in the  Upload and Transform #HomeCanvas activityin association with Godrej Interio and BlogAdda. If you are not blogging, you can still be a part of this activity. Here’s how”

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Here comes 4G!! The revolution!

Speed is the word that describes today’s society. It is an era when the rabbit wins the race and the turtle lags behind. We want to fight against time and get the best deal in a lifetime. I believe being a Mumbaikar in the last two and half years, I have really learnt to value time more. Infact I will confess that when I spend unproductive hours, I do feel a fang of guilt inside. Frankly I have no idea whether this is good or bad, but it is what it is and it is SPEED.

It is worth mentioning, that this era of rapidity, is also an era of internet. If I ask you, can you think of spending a day without touch of internet? I believe, the answer will be mostly NO. Well, there definitely can be exceptions, but as we know they don’t make the rule. And we bloggers are children of internet, we pursue our passion or profession through it. Hence its importance is omnipresent, this very second when I am typing this post to place it in my blog, or when you are reading it. There is no denial to the fact, that we kind of breathe more internet, than oxygen these days.

And again internet and speed kind of complete each other, like a couple. One without the other, Nay! Not good! And this aspect of technological advancement is moving from one milestone to another. From 2G to 3G and now comes the era of 4G. Earlier downloading a movie was like an overnight affair, but with 4G it will happen may be in minutes. Some we children of internet are really heading towards good time.

For me, internet forms the basis of my blogging space. Not only that blog or web log itself is an internet affair, but the research for my narratives, viewing documentaries etc. all require internet and in good speed. Besides my husband is a movie buff, in all senses. So reduction of downloading time will be a healthy way of avoiding domestic clashes between us, when one of us leave our laptop in office. But jokes apart, speeding up internet will save a lot of time in work and personal fronts. Afterall almost all our works require either downloading of some document or browsing the internet. It may be viewing cooking over YouTube and trying to replicate it, downloading some romantic movie to appease partner after a quarrel or working towards the making of a great read. Life will definitely ease out.

The first name that is marking the beginning of this revolutionary era of 4G is Airtel and if you want to know more about it, please click on the link below:

AIRTEL 4G

Time passes and newer and better technologies replace the old and obsolete ones that is called progress I believe. So let us all be part of this revolution and cherish it.

 

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Life-Style Management

No, neither I am a psychiatrist nor a an expert of human psychology. I am just a meagre part of the corporate world that faces the epidermic disease called stress. Or rather a victim to this disease with little or no idea of how to combat it. But my ignorance on this subject reduced to a commendable extent today. Because my entire office hours went into indulgence in a session called “SELF MANAGEMENT or LIFE-STYLE MANAGEMENT”. Right from naming the session to its execution every aspect was aimed at fetching a bit of solace and knowledge of knowing one own self. And hence the name was changed from generic “STRESS MANAGEMENT” to as mentioned. The  session which started at 10:00 am ended at 6:00 pm only breaking  for lunch in between. But surprisingly differing from many sessions I have attended or taken on different subjects, this one continuously flowed laminar with the thought process of the attendees. There was no loss of track, interaction or involvement proving the interest building capabilities of the presenters. Dr. S. Sivaramakrishnan and Dr. Ashish Chakraborty have really gifted an informative and innovative session, which as a professional and working wife, I feel I am benefited. Certain take aways I want to share with my readers.

1. Man has evolved from primitive to the modern human, every human organ has undergone evolution to adapt to the changing vulnerabilities around. However a part of our brain called “Hypothalamus” has remained the same.
2. Hypothalamus which is the organ related to emotions, is only tuned to  deal with physical stress, true for the environment a primitive man awas exposed to.
3. But today, the main stress is psychological, but the secretions from this extinct organ in us is aimed to combat physical one. It secretes adrenaline and corticosteroids. 
4. As the severity of stress in us increases, the secretion of corticosteroids increases and adrenaline decreases.
5. It must be remembered that both these hormones are not required as our stress does not require physical efforts to fight with it. Yet the problems created by adrenaline is reversible while corticosteroids implant irreversible health issues like hypertension and coronary diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis etc.
6. Hence stress management is very important to have a healthy life. But how? Some tips I collected:

1. Any negative feeling will generate these hormones, hence it is not possible to eradicate them
2. But positive thinking, less cribbing, less negative discussions can lessen corticosteroids secretion.
3. Continuous 40 minutes exercise everyday is a must for healthy living. As it flushes the toxins out of our system by sweating and urination.
4. But don't exercise before two hours after a meal and avoid exercising from 3:00 am to 6:00 am. This time is most vulnerable to coronary failures, as less blood is pumped to heart during this time. The blood flow is diverted for digestion and later assimilation.
5. Persuasion of hobbies is the best stress buster, indulge and rejuvenate.
6. Smoking kills, it actually does.
7. Social drinking is fine but do not make it a habit. Avoid drinking alone and never drink under stress, these lead to alcoholism.
8. Stop over stretching, know our limits and also respect them. Remember you are not born to appease.
9. Red Wine, Fishes and Exercising give you good cholesterol. But don’t take advantage and become a drunkard.
10. Avoid multi-tasking as much as possible, both physically and mentally. It is stressful.
11. Ageing is inevitable, but don't age prematurely by over stress.
12. Sleep quantity and quality both matters, hence don't neglect this aspect.
13. At last, love yourself and respect your identity. Inculcate good habits and evolve. Change yourself, but remember never try changing others. You can only motivate by being exemplary. 
14. 

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta