SPOTLIGHT: Why Jayant Kriplani Wrote Cantilevered Tales...

Well, in the history of my blog, this is the first time some one, other than me, is writing on this blog and I am happy that, that some one I could personally relate with - Jayant Kriplani. I have admired him from 'Khandaan' days on TV to '3 Idiots' short role and now that he is a fellow author, my respect for him grows. So here he is, talking about...

Available at Amazon

The story behind Cantilevered Tales

- By Jayant Kriplani

Why did I start writing this set of short stories that became one long story? 

I don’t really know. I was on way my back from somewhere by train and at Howrah Station a group of taxi drivers tried to extort a higher fare from me.  This was before the time of pre paid taxi booths.  Rather than shell out five times the fare I thought I’d take a bus. It was peak hour in the morning and though I did get a seat since the bus started from there, I hadn’t calculated the length of time I’d be sitting in the bus on the bridge. Forty five minutes of inching along later I heard a voice behind me say, “AitakiHaora Bridge na Laora Bridge?”

I knew exactly what he meant.

I knew then that I had the beginning of a story.

“Where are you getting off?” I turned around and asked.

“High Court,” he replied.

By now we had reached the East end of the bridge. It still looked like we’d be on the bus for another 45 minutes.

“Walk?” I asked him.

“Let’s,” he said.

And that as they say was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

His name was Khokon. He lived in Santragachhi. And because of that immortal first line, I called the protagonist of my story Khokon. In the book though, the line belongs to his colleague Ashutosh.

Some time later, I overheard a group of people talking about saving a water body from some unscrupulous builder. Arun Lal the cricket player might have been a part of the group but I’m not sure.  I started keeping tabs on them. Not because I was interested in saving the environment or even that small little lake.

I am not a crusader.

I hate getting involved with issues.

But if you live in Calcutta, even for a short while, trust me, you’ll get involved.

More power to the builder I thought after I first saw the lake if you can call brackish acres of sludge a lake.

What did interest me were the disparate lot of people, and some desperate ones among them, who were determined they were going to save a stagnant water body from becoming an office complex. Frankly in my opinion that lake had outlived its usefulness to be anything at all.

I didn’t give a damn what happened to the lake.

But over a period of time I did start worrying about the people. And of course fell hopelessly in love with them. Their wellbeing and their good health became a matter of great concern to me especially since I saw the array of ‘villains’ lined up against them.

So rather than concentrate on Builder v Helpless Citizen – enough stories had been written about them, I concentrated on their stories and their histories.

This is their story or should I say these are their stories.  Some of the people are real; some of the people who come to their assistance are thinly disguised caricatures of people I admire; some are just people I met on buses and trams in my journeys across the bridge who wormed their way into the book.

And that is how this book got wrote.

Book Blurb

CANTILEVERED TALES IS A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE, THEIR QUIRKS AND WHY THEY BECOME WHO THEY BECOME. AND LOTS OF LAUGHTER!

I overheard a group of people talking about saving a water body from some unscrupulous builder and started keeping tabs on them. Not because I was interested in saving the environment or even that small little lake. What did interest me were the disparate lot of people, and some desperate ones among them, who were determined that they were going to save a stagnant water body, which in my opinion had outlived its usefulness as anything at all, from becoming an office complex.

This is NOT a Builder v Helpless citizen epic. In fact that is the least important part of the book. This is about a group of inept people who you want to reach out and protect but you discover are more than capable of taking care of not just themselves, but of you too.

Author Bio

Jayant Kripalani is an Indian film, television and stage actor, writer and director. Known for his work in TV series like Khandaan, Mr Ya Mrs and Ji Mantriji, he graduated from Jadavpur University with a degree in English Literature.

He has played character roles in movies like Heat and Dust, Rockford, Jaane Tu. . .Ya Jaane Na, 3 Idiots and, most recently, Hawaizaade and The Hunger. He has directed and produced a number of films and is actively involved with theatre. He

wrote the screenplay for Shyam Benegal’s film Well Done Abba. He is the author of the heartwarming and nostalgic New Market Tales, set in the historic New Market area of Kolkata in the 1960s and 1970s. His recent foray into writing performance poetry has brought him acclaim in poetic circles around the country. When he is not in Calcutta, he is either fishing in Himachal, pfaffing in Bombay or being a beach bum in Goa.

Click here to by 'Cantilevered Tales' by Jayant Kriplani

________________

– by Shashi 

Works for Cushman & Wakefield

Speaker | Author of “Songs of the Mist” & "Kuhase Ke Geet "
Haiku Poet | Writes India’s #1 Spiritual Blog “Shadow Dancing With Mind”
(Global Ranking #36)

List of SPOTLIGHT authors of 2017

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Humanitarian... - Mary Felciani       Cantilevered Tales by Jayant Kriplani

SPOTLIGHT: Juliette’s Angel: Death Desire Destiny - Memoir by Juliette Power

Spotlight is my small effort to support upcoming authors in their effort to reach their readers. And yes, it is FREE, however to be featured in this section, you need to go through a selection process, please click here for details.

_______

“Faith has wings” - Juliette Power

“Shashi, no other book has a real photograph of an angel on its cover,” said Juliette as we started our interaction for her Spotlight. That made me sit up and notice that there is something that I do have in common with her. Spirituality and love of the Himalayas. As my own Spiritual Fiction book ‘Songs of the Mist’ has the backdrop of the Himalayas all across as the Monk takes the protagonist ‘Ashutosh’ for a journey across peaks and valleys, her book too is all about her trek to Mount Everest and the villages, sights, and people met along the way.

“I am nothing special. A wife, mother; a factory worker turned writer. I am merely the protagonist who showed off one day and climbed Everest. And a year later, I inadvertently manifested an angel,” Juliette Power

As my interaction went on with Juliette, the author told me about one particular incident that changed her life. She told me that before her mother died, she told her, ‘You have an Angel and the angel will keep you safe.’

Juliette’s mother left behind ten children. As a child of suicide, she needed something to cling to, so she carried that belief all her life. One night, she remembers that up near the Arctic Circle, she was drawn outside by the Northern Lights. So she pulled a small patio table out onto the grass, and, with time delay flashing, laid the camera on the table with the lens facing to the sky.

What happened next brought tears to her eyes…

“I turned over the camera, and an angel filled the screen. Shashi, look at the angel’s swollen stomach. It’s a pregnant angel. My mother was nine months pregnant when she died.” - Juliette Power

While Juliette’s human story is laid bare, including her monumental mistakes and regrets, the power of synchronicity, destiny and reincarnation are carefully explored in this book.

BRIEF NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After her mother’s tragic suicide, young Juliette Power dropped out of high school, ran away from her Melbourne housing commission home, and changed her name to an actress off a soapie. A factory worker by day, Juliette never dreamed of writing a book, let alone three. But her adventurous spirit and extraordinary, often other-worldly experiences drove her on. Trekking Mount Everest sparked Juliette’s World Memoir Trilogy, with book 1: Juliette’s Angel: Death Desire Destiny.

With her life reflecting a Hollywood movie, Juliette couldn’t deny writing her story. In addition to her memoir trilogy, Juliette Power’s Little Book of Angel Inspiration is available as a companion book to Juliette’s Angel. It contains photographs of her Everest trek, Juliette’s inspirational quotes, and never-before-seen images of an angel manifesting.

Juliette Power lives among the gum trees with her hunk-of-spunk, Johnny, in Brisbane Australia, and divides her time between adventures and reality while writing her second memoir, Castaway Great Barrier Reef. When not surviving storms on deserted islands or struggling to breathe on the world’s tallest peaks, Juliette can be found online at www.JuliettePower.com

HER INSPIRATIONS

“Experiences inspire me to write. The urge to share valuable lessons learned. Funny situations. Triumph over tragedy. How it is possible for a child of suicide to successfully navigate life, despite adversity and be happy. The Everest trek sparked my memoir. Must be something magical about the Himalayas. I never dreamed about becoming an author prior to that journey. Sometimes the course of your life is permanently altered. The path you thought you were taking changes. Then to top it off, an angel appeared. Apparently, the universe has its own plans.” – Juliette Power

“The purpose of my writing is to share the experience of not only believing, but knowing that there is eternal life. That the soul continues beyond the veil of death.” - Juliette Power

CHALLENGES

The biggest challenge was going deep within to relive my mother’s suicide, her funeral. Standing beside my mother’s open grave as a trembling child unraveled me. There was no one to hold my hand. To write honestly, you have to feel, smell and experience it with every cell in your body. As a runaway teenager, thousands of miles away, I fretted for my family like a puppy lifted from its litter.

"To write the trek, I had to retrace arduously every step up and down the mountain again. High altitude is not for sooks. I almost died.” – Juliette Power

QUOTES FROM THE BOOK

a.         "Bonnie gives me that ‘Uh-oh’ look and giggles nervously."   I love that quote as it sums up the fun and bond a mother and daughter have while experiencing the unexpected.

b.         "I did not lose my mother; I know where she is. She did not pass on or pass over like other mothers do. My mother is not resting in peace. No. My mother is dead. She committed suicide." This quote is important for me to communicate the fact that death can be denied in, or excused away by euphemisms in many Western cultures. Buddhists prepare for death all their lives and recognise that death and reincarnation is the meaning of life.

c.         "Everyone comes to Everest with a dream: trekkers want base camp, mountaineers seek the summit, pilgrims strive for enlightenment, and others need to find themselves. Not me, I only came for a walk." Or so I thought. This quote accurately sums up my ego and ignorance at the beginning of the trek. The Himalayas are life-changing, I’d heard that before but dismissed the notion. Finally, I discovered it for myself.

d.         "Mystical auras gather, preparing to delight on this sacred, silent night. Unborn souls flash as light beams, projected against a glittering velvet sky.  Directing and seeking, they cradle spirits tight." The moment heaven and earth collided above me and an angel manifested in the sky.

THE STORY
Death Desire Destiny

When an angel appears—a mystical journey powered by grief and blind faith.

A woman grieving her mother’s suicide; a Mount Everest trek leading to a mystical moment in time.

Juliette Power has a secret. She holds it in her hands. After a lifetime spent ‘staying strong’ as a child of suicide, while trekking Everest, Juliette surrenders. One night she asks God a question and He replies.

As a child, I knew three things for sure:

I had an angel

I loved my family

My mother was about to die.

‘Stay strong,’ my father said on the morning of my mother’s death.

So I did.

What I didn’t know was that my mother’s suicide would spark a chain of events that would shadow my life. Ultimately, blind faith drove me to the ends of the earth searching for proof.

Juliette and her daughter Bonnie leave their men and jobs in Australia and fly to Kathmandu to meet a guide they found on the internet. He leads them on a trek to the top of the world. But Mount Everest is as dangerous as it is magnificent, and Juliette’s world comes crashing down when she discovers she’s not as strong as she thought.

Juliette confronts her fears, before realising her destiny in the fiery, frozen wilderness of Iceland.

Where do we go when we die?

What if you asked God that question?

What if He replied?

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JULIETTE’S WRITING

Juliette likes to write by the back door. With it open wide so fresh air drifts in, and so she can hear the kookaburras in the gum trees laugh and the bush turkeys strut by. Her memoir took three years to write. She worked with a professional editor for over a year to bring the manuscript to industry standard.

Juliette’s Angel is the first book in Juliette’s World Memoir Trilogy. The second book, CASTAWAY Great Barrier Reef is up to the fifth edit and due for release later in 2017. She says that this is what happens when you return from bonding with your older daughter on Everest and find your younger daughter on the couch.

Then it’s onto HONEYMOON with My Sister. It’s what happens when you win a wedding and honeymoon in the South Pacific, your husband says ‘I won’t’, and your sister says ‘I do!’

She informs me that all these are true stories but she is not sure of the timeline for HONEYMOON, which basically depends on the progress of CASTAWAY.

“While timelines and goals are important, it is also important not to rush art!” - Juliette Power

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HER

Follows Eckhart Tolle, watches Dr. Phil, dances to Lady Gaga, loves Brad Pitt. Admits her mistakes. Shows off. Lives with gratitude. Accepts what is.

TWO BIG THINGS OF HER LIFE

Apart from finding my soul mate and becoming a mother, my biggest two achievements would be the ability to accept what is and to live with gratitude.  I accepted my mother’s death before she died. That achievement steered me and helped me to help others during bereavement and tough times by accepting the impermanence of life. I learned gratitude at a young age. My mother’s abrupt death, and knowing she was about to die, made every moment with her even more precious. I hurried home from school with my brothers, a Mantra playing on a loop in my mind, ‘Love her while she lives’.

I take nothing for granted today. I feel gratitude has had a big influence on my happiness, which I use to inspire others.

HER FAVORITES

GENRE: Memoirs

True stories fascinate me. Particularly memoirs. I love to see lessons learned from adversity. What makes people’s brains tick, and what inspires them to thrive. 

BOOKS:

"RECKONING" by Magda Szubanski. Magda’s father was a Polish assassin. Magda is a famous Australian comedienne and she wove her story of a confused young girl, using humour, into a colourful life.

Another memoir I’ve enjoyed is "Blind Descent", by Brian Dickinson. Several years ago, Brian climbed Mount Everest with a Sherpa guide. The guide was forced to descend due to illness and Brian found himself alone and blinded by a storm near the top. It’s a story of faith, resilience, and sheer determination to survive. I guess, with my history, these types of books intrigue me.

TO BUY HER BOOK “Juliette’s Angel: Death Desire Destiny” … CLICK HERE

__________________________________________________

– by Shashi 

CEO & Partner Interior Contracts Firm ICUBE Projects

Speaker | Author of “Songs of the Mist” & "Kuhase Ke Geet "
Haiku Poet | Writes India’s #1 Spiritual Blog “Shadow Dancing With Mind”
(Global Ranking #36)

List of SPOTLIGHT authors of Jan and Feb '17

__
Shashi

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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"Rikta' by Manisha Sree         "The Politics of Unity" by Michael Cuddehe

SPOTLIGHT: ‘Rikta' by Manisha Sree

Spotlight is my small effort to support upcoming authors in their effort to reach their readers. And yes, it is FREE, however to be featured in this section, you need to go through a selection process, please click here for details.

_______

“Don’t know who tagged women as devious human beings, they are mostly simpletons" - Manisha Sri

My publisher ‘Story Mirror’ requested my views about ‘Rikta - Towards Completeness’ to be published along with the book, as it falls into the kind of genre I love reading. Fortunately, the book was also released along with my book ‘Kuhase Ke Geet’ at Mumbai University. last month, when I promised Deven Bhai - Founding Partner of Story Mirror, that I will write a proper review as well. After a long tour and many workshops later, finally I could find some time to write about it. So here it is and hope you all will like it.

My interaction with Rikta, over long distance calls from Malaysia, where the author Manisha currently lives, I did realise the passion she has for writing and sharing her stories. Her unique story telling style in simple Hindi/English mix language - coined as Hinglish, makes it a good read. As it comes straight from author inner reflection, I am sure many of the young women will relate to it at a deeper level. Well that does not mean I did not connect as well. I enjoyed reading it and more so my interaction with her, trying to probe her thought process that provides the foundation to her writing.

“For me, writing stories is speaking heart, speaking pain and the joy which is dancing around me all the time.” - Manisha Sri

Manish says that 'Rikta' is the story of the emptiness that lies in each of us, with hope that someone, somewhere will be able to complete it and fill the void. 'Rikta' is not merely a story it is like the very life, the air everyone breathes. The characters of 'Rikta' are people like you and me and that makes 'Rikta' a story, not of its characters but ours too. It's a story of a mother's struggle in Mumbai and her discovery of herself.

BRIEF NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Manisha Sri is a scientist, did her M-Tech from IIT - Roorkee and went on to work on various Oil Exploring firms like Essar. Before this book, she has also written Zindagi Ke Gullak, based upon her poetry. She also writes for various radio talk shows. She currently lives in Malaysia with her husband and a child.

HER INSPIRATIONS

Life…dancing around me is the only inspiration. I can see all these emotions but when it comes to express my pen is my only lifesaver.

CHALLENGES

Some characters are really confused. I wanted to sort them out but then the originality comes into challenge. Life is all about confusion and there sorting…. Rikta - the novel is the best example of this.

QUOTES FROM THE BOOK

a.      Tear drops have their own karma; some dry out as drops of salt while some turn out to be precious pearls.

b.     Time cannot stand by too much happiness; it has to intervene.

c.     You cannot question the existence of anything just on the basis of the fact that you haven't ever seen it.

d.     Humans have always been puppets in the hands of the Devas, subjugated and terrorized by the Asuras. But not anymore

THE STORY

Rikta is the story, which I experience around me when I was in Mumbai…. It’s not my story. It’s everyone's story …story of every couple who are struggling for their needs but not understanding there needs…once they understand ….yes, the journey of Rikta is complete.

The perfect setting for her to write is complete silence and peace of mind. In the relative calm of her character’s life dancing around in her mind, she can type away stories, poetry and fiction to her hearts content. Manisha says that she is writing because she cannot shout or raise her voice but her words do that. They are strong and loud too.

When I asked her if some one asked her to stop writing, she responded that she might stop for the world but no one can stop her thought process. She believes that we all have tiny writer living in our hearts, hiding from the outside world. The only difference is that some can express it so they are writing and some only think about it.

“I might stop writing and join the different club, in which I will think and store my thought till the time that person will understand that he is taking my breath away by stopping me to write. Trust me if the person is really loveable and respectful he will understand one day and will never let me die. I may stop writing because relations are above dreams. Dreams can be seen and fulfilled later, but not the love.” - Manisha

Given an opportunity and time she would like to write each and every unsaid story and present it to the world. She wants to write that part of love story which is said many times but still some portions are left unheard.

Listen to Manisha speak about her book Rikta... Click here

TWO BIG THINGS OF HER LIFE

First is to born as daughter and second is to born as mother.

HER FAVORITES

GENRE:

I love poetry and fiction both

BOOKS:

My faviorite books are “Chodah Fere” by Shivani, “Gunaho ka Devta” by Dharmveer Bharti  and “Raseedi Tiket” by Amrita Pritam.

TO BUY HER BOOK “RIKTA - Towards Completeness” … CLICK BELOW
@ Story Mirror
@ Amazon
@ Pustak Mandi

__________________________________________________

– by Shashi 

CEO & Partner Interior Contracts Firm ICUBE Projects

Speaker | Author of “Songs of the Mist” & "Kuhase Ke Geet "
Haiku Poet | Writes India’s #1 Spiritual Blog “Shadow Dancing With Mind”
(Global Ranking #36)

List of SPOTLIGHT authors of Jan and Feb '17

__
Shashi

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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"The Resurrection of Evil" Neelabh | Juliette Power's Death Desire Destiny