BOOK REVIEW: RAINBOWS AND ROSES

Linda Dobinson‘s Rainbows and Roses is just like the title cheerful and lively. In her poems/ rhymes she gives the reader a glimpse of her beautiful garden- the daisies, sunflowers and the birds, eagle and sparrows. Her mood and her garden changes as per the season. In summer, she is happy and cheerful and winter gloomy.

Her kitty rhymes are so cute and cheerful that they make me read loud and hop and skip like a little girl. They are so well written that I imagined a nanny reciting them along with children learning to rhyme and roll their tongues. And with narrative poems like Tale from the night and Tabitha, I am sure kids around the world will listen to their nannies recite and giggle and rhyme along

And readers should definitely not miss Linda’s TinkleTinkle little star. It is twisted so cleverly. Haiku lovers will not be disappointed with her nature themed haikus. They are very descriptive and flow so well. My favourite poem is the lyrical poem ‘Meet me’. It is the only lyrical poem in the collection.

Linda’s book is must for all kindergarten schools because they are  clever, witty and have their charm of their own.

BOOK REVIEW: RAINBOWS AND ROSES

Linda Dobinson‘s Rainbows and Roses is just like the title cheerful and lively. In her poems/ rhymes she gives the reader a glimpse of her beautiful garden- the daisies, sunflowers and the birds, eagle and sparrows. Her mood and her garden changes as per the season. In summer, she is happy and cheerful and winter gloomy.

Her kitty rhymes are so cute and cheerful that they make me read loud and hop and skip like a little girl. They are so well written that I imagined a nanny reciting them along with children learning to rhyme and roll their tongues. And with narrative poems like Tale from the night and Tabitha, I am sure kids around the world will listen to their nannies recite and giggle and rhyme along

And readers should definitely not miss Linda’s TinkleTinkle little star. It is twisted so cleverly. Haiku lovers will not be disappointed with her nature themed haikus. They are very descriptive and flow so well. My favourite poem is the lyrical poem ‘Meet me’. It is the only lyrical poem in the collection.

Linda’s book is must for all kindergarten schools because they are  clever, witty and have their charm of their own.

BOOK REVIEW: BOUQUET

When I flipped through Subhrajyoti  Parida’s Bouquet, I found plethora of praises by authors and writers . And I wasn’t sure if I could add more to the reviews and foreword. But nevertheless I give you my opinion of this fine collection of poems.

                Subhrajyoti like a florist arranges his rhymes and verses in a bouquet and gift them to his readers. Some of his poems are wild and some are nurtured in a botanical garden. A reader would definitely enjoy these various themes and a reader is free to choose their favourite flowers- the poems.

His poems are written in most simple language and in rhyming schemes and follow a pattern. And the book is divided in 7 sections and this is has made me easier choose my favourite poems. Themes do overlap sometimes. Most of his poems complain about the society, humans destroying Mother Nature. The poet raises social issues like female foeticide and also environmental issues. I see immense passion flowing especially when he writes about environmental issues.  On lighter note, Poems like chocolate and lollipop made me feel hungry.

In the section emotions, I found a strange lump in the throat of the writer. I am not sure if it was compulsion to rhyme or a lack of words when writer’s pen is overwhelmed with emotions. But this made me feel empty and I wish they were expressed more freely.

My favourite sections were life and small poems. I really enjoyed them. In fact I wish they were arranged in the beginning.

Book review :Symphonies of Love

I have received a signed copy of this book from the author.
My expectations:
When I saw the title of the book, Symphonies of Love, I expected love or romantic poems. And seeing a thin 60 pages book of poems I expected it to be short read and probably wouldn't be enough for a reader. 

As I began reading the book, I found many poems on love but not Hollywood/Bollywood love but the love for God. Mr Bernard has reminded me of my childhood days with his poems. I studied in a convent school and I realized Jesus was part of all my prayers. And also I realized love is just not between two people from opposite sex. Love is for GOD, for parents or any place. 
As I read more and more further I saw themes like relationships and loving praying God. I did like a poem my darling. It was rhyming. And sounded sweet. Almost all his poems do not rhyme but they flow really well. 

His poems show strong influence (positive) of christian upbringing with terms like Satan, Judas, Jesus, priest, holy mass, cassock used in his poems. His poems are recommended to any child in the world. They have a positive message of love. Even his poem Our Romance, (which is repeated twice in the book) has no sign of eroticism. Hence the book can be read by all age groups.

When I reached middle of the book I saw no symphony of love but a poet wanting change in the world. He has expressed strongly with his simple language. I like the poem 'World of my own'. He has cleverly used the line " to change it, to mend, to make it my own." He is a philanthropic poet wanting and seeking a better world. He made me look at Warriors in a different light in the poem "Murders at War". The poem "life is just like that" "December days" and most of his poems are general and makes reader easily connect with him. I liked his poem Simple plan which is written with great simplicity but has wisdom of words. 

Most poets write a lot on mothers. It is always easy to express with mothers.But Mr D'sa has dedicated not once but twice to his father. He also has poems on death handled well. 

Symphonies of Love ends with the poem Journey of Eternal Happiness. It rhymes and I really liked it.

There are 3 sketches by Paru Salman in the beginning and the end. They are good but they could be easily missed. Why not include them in the middle ?

The book looks small like I mentioned before but its a disguise and can fool anyone. It has great content and I think the number 51 is just right not less not more. Quick read but lasting impact!

Another anthology

My poem is published in Life Nama which is available on  amazon. This is my 6th contribution in a group. I hope you buy the book.

Women Empowerment

Every day we see the news, listen to the radio and read newspaper about rapes and crime against women. And government comes up with lot of schemes and programs to save the girl child, education facilities and all. But is it really empowering women? To some extent it does. Without education I wouldn't be able to write these lines. But not fully even today educated working women are easy target. Before in the market of marriage a girl had to be beautiful and capable to producing babies and plus doing household chores. But now they want the girl to know how handle home and even work. No, I am not complaining about the burden on the shoulders. I am actually thinking if education really empowers women. Yes, it helps her get job. She can look after herself without a man. She can do everything . And it is true. Then why do we need men for? Just financial support and now financially capable women do not need men for that. Is the role of man's life just paying bills? Oh yes, sex .. So marry a man for sex and the rest we women do it. We women always needed love and so does a man need. Marriage is basically sharing responsibilities. Isn't it? Then why are we burdening our shoulders and telling men we don't need them?

So back to the real question, what is real empowerment? The ability to earn money and to do household chores or being able to voice out opinions or expressing individuality apart from beings Mrs. so and so. In spite of all why are we women not able to protect ourselves from rapist who are hunting women every day. Why are we being helpless in such situations? Yes, we are physically weak. I am talking about average woman like me not Mary Kom who can box men away. But if you go back to primitive times, weak animals like deer and cows had a way to protect themselves. Imagine herbivorous deer competing carnivorous Cheetah. But If you noticed the animals always had a instinct. They focused on hearing more than seeing.

So if we women are going towards logical brain. Our education trained us to think logically and taught us lot of things. Sadly there is no proper training to live in rapist world. Not all are trained in self defense. What if we take a break from this logic and focus on gut feeling and instincts we could save ourselves in this man made jungle. And if we understand Self defense and things like that perhaps that will be real empowerment then. And fairy tales will be a joke and we wouldn't wait for prince charming to save us!!!

A solution

We all search problems outside and not within. We go to Singapore or Japan to find solution to problems of India. I think that's how it is. We meditate less and debate more. In ancient days, Mahaveer, Buddha sat under a tree till they find all answers. Vedic Rishi knew more than scientist of today. But common man like you and I are so engrossed with petty things in life, we fail to see big picture. Our life is micro level but we assume it is macro.

I read in secret by Rhonda Byrne that law of attraction can be applied by a group of people. Maybe that is why group prayers are more effective. Maybe if all masses come together we may move mountains. To lead masses we do not have good leader from past century. After Gandhi in India, Mandela in Africa we never had strong and good leaders. And I also said it is Aquarian age even if leaders will come forward, masses are in no mood to bow someone. We don’t bow before our teachers or parents anymore. Those who do are hypocrites. Then how will the masses be lead? Should God whom I see as alien figure come down to earth and take the 10th avatar. Or maybe some planets are making us dance to their tunes in gravitational force. 

Our life as a human is a mystery to me sometimes. Sometimes they say destiny is in your hands. Sometimes they say it is controlled by Karma/luck/fate. Sometimes I feel if life is a gift then why am I not enjoying it? Why is working a suffering. When earth was young it had more resources and just Adam and Eve to enjoy it. Now there are less resources and more demand. Maybe that is the reason for clashes. Each one of us is working to reach top of the pyramid. Power is with minority. 

But maybe all this is MAYA the eternal illusion. Maybe there is enough for everybody and we fail to see any of it. We are so busy suffering with the problems. Our emotional fog does not let us see vast oceans. Maybe we never had problem. And it was something we attracted. Our mind is not at peace. Maybe if we all contemplate and meditate we can find solutions to our problems; Meditation is nothing but focus of minute things such as breathing. Our life would be better off. 

People like Kiran Bedi had started Yoga or meditation in Tihar jails. It shows spirituality would improve our life. When I refer spirituality, I do not mean religious dogmas. For me both are different.

We are running towards materialism (Rahu) but we should go towards spiritualism (Ketu) but with this nature we have evolved. We had the ape brain and reptile brain. We evolved after we had another layer of brain which had logic in it. So I think the bigger brain, then more problems. More power, more responsibility. Everyone is on this earth but we create a myth of pyramid of organisation. Power is itself a mirage. The day we wash off all our materialistic values like ego, greed and gluttony we shall find peace. 

Maybe that was the reason ascetics or Hermits left the social structure to be in forest. Like those Aghori babas or Adivasis. I feel they have simpler and less complicated lives. The best things in life fresh water, fresh fruits and fresh air are all coming free. The ingenuous tribes in Andaman and Nicobar don't even wear clothes. And we mock at them. We feel we are more sophisticated. We are so proud of our logical brain that we forget there is reptile within us which is simultaneously active. This brain needs to be fed properly.

This animal brain in us loses moral conscious and like a cheetah attacks a deer, the rapist attacks a woman. The hunter mind was dressed in corporate clothing but was always animal within. We all need to exercise this reptile brain safely. Like the indigenous people paint their bodies and dance free and wild with no restrictions. We all need it too. Today’s man is worried who will think what. And later they become hypocrites. Trust me even the most decent man can slip and commits crime when provoked and when there is no society around to control them. Anyone can become a criminal. People just look for a chance. So the reptile brain in us needs to release all the repressed emotions. It should be exercised in sports or art or music. The naked paintings would be a good way release terrifying emotions. Or repressed emotions would just lead to crime by white collar man and be covered by paying the black coat advocates.