Fascinating Quest

#askvarsha contest
Ask Author Varsha Dixit a question on your blog and she will answer you in her own unique way. Watch out this space for more. Only the best questions will be selected.

My Question for #askvarsha is..

Hi Varsha. It's a pleasure getting to ask you this question.

"I think deep but write light!" This is how you describe yourself.

Much as I love your 'light' writing (though I have to insist that your characters have a depth to them that contrasts with the word 'light'), can we look forward to stories on serious subjects written by you?

RIGHTFULLY WRONG, WRONGFULLY RIGHT by Varsha Dixit


Blurb
Love is in the air again…this time it’s steamy, bold and manipulative!
Gayatri and Viraj both are products of childhood trauma. Yet they were able to survive, one because of her shrewdness and the other because of his genius. Rightfully Wrong Wrongfully Right, the final part in the best selling ‘Right and Wrong’ love trilogy is the story of these two damaged souls.
…

Title: That Same Old Love Author: MV Kasi Genre: Romance

Mahi is back in her hometown, Hyderabad, after having spent years in the USA. Having struggled through insecurities, disappointments, and pain of familial relationships, she wants to let go of her past mistakes and start over.

Samrat, who had been a victim of Mahi's selfish pranks, is now a tycoon and also her neighbour. He obviously doesn't believe that Mahi has, or can, change since he last knew her in college.

The attraction between the two is sizzling from the very beginning. As they cross paths often, it is fun to read their banter.

That Same Old Love is a story in which each of the characters, however fleeting a place they may have, has a strong presence.
The secondary plots, such as Sidhu and Ananya, or even the cursory mention of the story behind Samrat's parents leave an impact in the mind of the readers.

This is why That Same Old Love is an enjoyable read, even though the author has given it this humble title.

This …

This week's Tan Renga Challenge at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is a hokku by Jane Reichhold.
The challenge is to add 2 lines to it.

The host of Carpe Diem, Chévrefeuille has taken the hokku forward beautifully.

the open window
screened with a web
leaf shadows                          (Jane Reichhold)
the buzzing of a fly stops
a spider's dinner                  (Chèvrefeuille)

I tried quite a bit but couldn't come up with something that I felt was half as good.
Anyway these are the result of efforts.

the open window
screened with a web
leaf shadows                          (Jane Reichhold)
Moving shadow, spider scampers
-wind's mischief, o sun's routine  (Nimi Arora)

And here's another one -


the open window
screened with a web
leaf shadows                          (Jane Reichhold)
eagerly waiting eyes hope unscreened                  (Nimi Arora)


Prompt by and Shared with-
Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #108

When one lost pencil
was my biggest worry
I wish I could be six again
to enjoy losing the small things

A scribble on a piece of paper
-my most cherished treasure
I wish I could be six again
so I could appreciate those riches

A friend's sad expression
was enough to make me sob
I wish I could be six again
so I could feel freely again

Excitement of school picnic
would keep me awake
I wish I could be six again
to have those first experiences again

My small, secure family
was my world
I wish I could be six again
and not know to ask for more

© Nimi Arora

the struggles gleam from each wrinkle -smiling lady
©Nimi Arora

Prompt by and Shared with-
Carpe Diem #1001 Blackthorn

The Theme Week #5 at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is about Ascension.

The dictionary meanings of Ascension include:

the action of rising to an important position or a higher level.the ascent of Christ into heaven on the fortieth day after the Resurrection.The host of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, Chèvrefeuille has broadened the spiritual threshold of this subject. He says: "...ascension describes how we humans can ascend to a new dimension through spiritual growth."
Guru Nanak Dev ji has written about five realms or stages of spiritual progress leading man to the Ultimate Truth. (Source) The realm of righteous action (Dharam Khand)The realm of knowledge (Gian Khand)The realm of spiritual endeavour (Saram Khand)The realm of grace (Karam Khand)The realm of truth (Sach Khand)The journey through the five stages is not an ascension into some higher regions beyond our lives and our world; rather, it is based on drawing the Divine into the human situation. (Source: Sikhism, An Introduction by Nikky-Gun…

Title: Eternal Mercury Author: Elaine Pinter

Eternal Mercury is an emotionally charged story of love.

It begins with the word 'Perfect'. That's how Chelsee Taylor describes her life as the book begins. She is about to graduate from high school, her childhood friend Max is now her boyfriend, and her life ahead is all figured out.

In the beginning, even as Chelsee describes her 'perfect' life, as she tells that she is always smiling, as she explains the heady feeling she gets every time Max kisses her, surprisingly, it doesn't read as a cheesy account coming from the inexperience and illusions of youth.
Rather there is a serenity that rings true.

Eternal Mercury has a short preface that describes an accident.
Thanks to this preface, the author manages to keep you on tenterhooks despite this serenity, waiting for that crash to happens.

It starts as a sweet story of young love, and moves on to one of loss and pain.
When Max dies and Chelsee can still feel his presence, the …

Title: Jamba The Joint Family Author: Sriram Balasubramanian
Jamba The Joint Family is the story of Karthik, his grandmother (Jamba patti) and his extended family. 
The book is written in Karthik's first person narrative.

Karthik has his priorities perfect, unlike most people in reality. 
He loves (or rather worships) and appreciates his grandmother. 
"I could not admire a person more. I could not adore a person more. I could not love a person more, and I could not care for a person more. Jamba patti was a gem and my guiding light."

He has no grudges against his parents, who couldn't spend much time with him. 
He moans about the extended family but clearly is fond of them. And in some cases, would rather tolerate them than disappoint the others in the family.
He is a good guy, sensitive beyond his years, and yet so naive.

Jamba starts with a pre-script, giving a glimpse into the crisis that is to follow during the course of the story. A crisis, which the protagonist believes i…

standing tall the shadow awaits a tired back
©Nimi Arora

Title: Encounters - Someone's Always Waiting... Author: Sumana Khan
Encounters is a collection of five stories that the author describes as 'uneven, quirky creations'. 
I like this description... though the I would primarily describe them as touching (at times, disturbingly so), warm (even as they give you goosebumps), and unexpected.

Each story has a pivotal encounter that changes the life of the protagonist.

Stories of varying lengths, they are for believers... believers of the fact that there is a lot that we don't know.
We expect things to be a certain way. Encounters draws you into a world that questions the 'normal'.

Each story is a story of love, but they are not love stories.
Encounters questions our definitions of 'normal'.

Tales of strong individuals who have experienced the mystical presence, the emotions resulting from the encounters are the common theme of these stories. These are unusual stories of certain chosen ones. Stories on the fringes of the…