36th Edition of Shadow Dancing With Mind

It feels great that my book “Songs of the Mist” is finally published and this month it reached the bestseller rank of 29 at Amazon, in Self help section. This blog has been a great source of inspiration and kept me going when things seemed to stall in my writing effort. I am grateful for the support my friends, followers and readers gave me over the years. Today, after a long time, I am collating the 36^th Edition of Shadow Dancing with Mind. Hope you like it and please do check out these pages as I am working on Chennai Colors posts on IndiBlogger’s Renie Ravin, How to publish your book, The similarities between The Big Bang and the primordial sound ‘Om’ etc. in coming weeks. Please don’t forget to check out my ’10 Tips on the Art of Writing’, which is collation of my learnings while writing my first book.

1) READER: A DebutCollection of new Authors

For last few months, I have been collecting some Debut Novels by some of the new Authors, I have across through my social media interactions. Finally I have been able to read them and this post shares my thoughts on their beautiful work of passion. This is my tribute to their undying devotion towards writing and creativity. Hope you will enjoy reading my thoughts about them and their work. Please do leave a comment and if you like what I have written about their books, check them out too... Click here to read more...

2) Chennai Colors: Aseries about amazing and creative people of Chennai

Dr. Chithra Madhavan: 9 tips on writing about Temple Architecture and Heritage buildings - A Leading heritage historian and Authority on Temple Architecture & Heritage from Chennai adds to the colors of Chennai by revealing ancient sculptures and uncovering amazing stories found hidden in the sanctum sanatoriums of popular as well as lost Indian heritage sites. Click here to read more...

Dr. Anita Ratnam: Inculcate passionate-curiosity to write about art - Colour of Chennai is somewhere between red and orange - a highly respected performer, writer, speaker and arts entrepreneur and culture mentor, set the tone of this edition of Chennai Colors, as she picked the color ‘Arakk-Munjal’ – a hue somewhere between ‘Vermillion and Mango Orange’ as the color of Chennai. Click here to read more...

3) ABOUT BOOKS

10 Tips on the Art of Writing for New Authors

Writing a book is an exhaustive and lonely struggle, which becomes painful in itself if you are not passionate about words and enjoy the stories it brings forth from the depths of your heart. As I finish writing book-2 in “The Monk Key” series, I have realised that my perspectives about writing, life and living has completely changed. These upcoming three posts “About Book” is my attempt to share those learning with my friends, readers and aspiring authors in order to save their valuable time in reinventing the wheel. Click here to read more...

INTERNATIONALKOLKATA BOOK FAIR

The beauty of the languidly moving vehicles - zigzagging through numerous city jams, but also zipping across the under ground the first metro rail and an IT hub that’s humming to take over the world, from the outskirts of the city. That’s Kolkata for you in nut shell but for me it’s more than all that. And visiting the city on 30th and 31st January, 2016 for the International Kolkata Book Fair on the invitation of my first book "Songs of the Mist" publishers Notion Press, is an amazing opportunity to recharge my soul... Click here to read more...

Hindu Lit ForLife: And the winner is Easterine Keri

As usual, I could pick out the winner of the Hindu Literary Prize this year too and it was a pleasure to show the tweet to the winner Dr. Easterine Keri, (Since she does not have a twitter account) I had sent an hour earlier than the announcement. She is a very soft-spoken and highly sensitive person and interacting with her was such a pleasure. Click here to read more...

Songs of the Mist Dedication

It gave me immense pleasure that after almost two decades I could go back to the Deva Bhoomi and offer my   gratitude for the blessings and the strength to bring the book "Songs of the Mist" out and unveil at the most pious place among the vedic chant at Parmaarth Ashram, with the blessings of H H Swami Chidanand Muni ji. Click here to read more...

4) CURTAIN RAISER:Blog Now Live Forever BNLF

An international conference on Blogging, conceptualized and hosted by IndiBlogger on 31st Oct - 1st Nov, Mumbai - Influential bloggers from the global online community are gathering this weekend at The Lalit Hotel, Mumbai to interact with the thought leaders and powerful speakers from the world’s emerging change agent- Blogging. Click here to read more... 

5) STILL LIFE

Bhagwat Gita inall it's splendour

There can not be as better day than the auspicious day of Krishna's Birth - Janamashtami, to talk about the universally renowned jewel of India's Spiritual wisdom in all its splendour as an Art Edition brought out by Nightingale. As my friend T Suresh has been singing praises of this edition, displayed at Odyssey, at Chennai; I planned a visit to see, hold and feel this beautiful edition... Click here to read more... 

The OtherSide...

Whenever I am in Delhi, its become a kind of ritual to a take time out from work and visit the bird sanctuary across the Noida Highway from my house in Mayur Vihar and try to spot kingfishers, Duck bills, pond herons and Nilgais etc. On the way back from one such visit, I happen to pass along a small construction labourers settlement on the banks of Yamuna River, as the beautiful Sun prepared to 'set' on the high-rise modern Delhi. Click here to read more... 

6) HAIKU MASTER:Yamaguchi Sodō (1642 -1716)

A series on discussing Haiku Masters and their poetry….

A friend of Bashō, Sodō wrote one of the most famous Haiku of all time. Click here to read more...

Hope you have enjoyed this edition, look forward to your comments. Please do share...

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Shashi 

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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35th Edition                                                                  37th Edition                      

HAIKU MASTER: Yamaguchi Sodō (1642 -1716)

Haiku Master Series IV

A series on discussing Haiku Masters and their poetry….

Yamaguchi Sodō (1642 – 1716)

 A friend of Bashō, Sodō wrote one of the most famous Haiku of all time.

me ni wa aoba / yama hotogisu / hatsugatsou

A view of greenery,

a wild cuckoo,

the first bonito

It’s one the finest haiku where the seasonal word Kigo is beautifully used. Usually the classical Haiku has one seasonal word (Kigo) but this one has three, which talks about summer enjoyments for eye, ear and tongue. The small tuna fish, Bonito, is a delicacy as it appears first in summers, as well as the most famous of bird of summer, Hotogisu (discussed in the Haiku Master Series III) as the green pasture appears.

yado no haru / nani mo naki koso / nani mo are

In my hut this spring,

There is nothing –

There is everything!

A beautiful example of paradox, where you say something seemingly absurd e.g. in the haiku, you say you have nothing still you have everything. Here Sodō seems to enjoy his spiritual contentment over the poverty of the things in his hut, which has everything that he / his soul needs in his joy of spring.

ume no kaze / haikai koko ni / sakan nari

A plum scented wind

In the land of haikai

Blows triumphant.

Sodō, during a Renga session with his friend Bashō, who wrote this in reply to his 7-7 link

Kochitozure mo / kono toki no naru

Even for the likes of us

This is the spring of the age.

Celebrating the joy of the haiku poetry writing at the time.

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Hope you have enjoyed this series, the next H M Series IV will talk about the most celebrated Haiku Master Bashō, please do check out.

__

Shashi 

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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HAIKU MASTER SERIES III

HAIKU MASTERS SERIES : Sōin & Saikaku - The Comical Renga Masters

Haiku Master Series III

A series on discussing Haiku Masters and their poetry…. This discusses the very popular and prolific Haiku Masters who aimed to move away from the serious 'Bookishness' popular in Japanese poetry in the 17th century. Sōin founded the Danrin school of Haikai poetry, where as Saikaku created the 'Floating World' genre...

Nishiyama Sōin (March 28, 1605 – May 5, 1682)

Sake hitotsu / nodo tōru ma ni / tsuki idete

While a shot of saké passes the throat, the moon appears

This haiku is a fine example of the lightness intended in the comical renga style, which Sōin popularized to move away from the serious bookishness popular in Japanese poetry at the time. Here Tsuki idete can also be interpreted as a pun for an erection.

Hototogisu / ikani kijin mo / tashika ni kike

‘tis the suckoo –

Image curtsy Paghat

Listen well!

How much soever gods ye be!

Hototogisu, translated as cuckoo, wood thrush and sometimes even nightingale, is virtually synonymous with haiku. It is said to die after singing 8008 times. Hototogisu is also known as the ‘bird of time,’ ‘messenger of death’ and ‘bird of disappointed love’, and flies back and forth from this world to the next.

Brief Bio…

Nishiyama Sōin founded the Danrin school of haikai poetry, which aimed to move away from the serious 'bookishness' popular in Japanese poetry at the time and become more in touch with the common people, infusing a spirit of greater freedom into their poetry. Sōin's haikai (comical renga) became the transition between the light and clever haikai of Matsunaga Teitoku and the more serious and aesthetic renku of Matsuo Bashō.

- Image & Text curtsy Wikipedia, click here to learn more...

Ihara Saikaku (1642 – September 9, 1693)

kokoro koko ni / naki ka nakanu ka / Hototogisu

Is my mind elsewhere

Or has it simply not sung?

Hototogisu

This is the earliest known verse of Saikaku, referring to the Confucius thought that if mind is elsewhere, one will look but not see, listen but not hear as well as to the rarity of the hototogisu. The beauty of this Haiku is that it almost imitates the birds call.

Yoshiwara de / budō shōri o / ezaru koto

In the Yoshiwara

The way of the warrior

Cannot conquer

In the pleasure district of Edo (Tokyo), commoners such as Saikaku and samurai were equal in buying or vying for the favors of women.

Ukiyo no tsuki / misugoshini keri / sue ninen

I had two last years

of extra gazing at

The moon of the Floating World.

Saikaku’s last poem written at the age of 52, extolling the pleasure of two extra years of living, as at the time the life expectancy was 50 years for men.

Brief Bio…

Ihara Saikaku (1642 – September 9, 1693) was a Japanese poet and creator of the "floating world" genre of Japanese prose (ukiyo-zōshi).

He first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku and later studied under Nishiyama Sōin of the Danrin School of poetry, which emphasized comic linked verse. Over the course of a single day and night in 1677, Saikaku is reported to have composed at least 16,000 haikai stanzas, with some sources placing the number at over 23,500 stanzas.

When he died in 1693, at the age of fifty-one, Saikaku was one of the most popular writers of the entire Tokugawa period. At the time his work was never considered "high" literature because it had been aimed towards and popularised by the chonin. Nevertheless, Saikaku’s work is now celebrated for its significance for developing Japanese fiction.

Bio and Image Curtsy Wikipedia, click here to learn more...

Hope you have enjoyed the 3rd post in the Haiku Master Series... Next HMS will be published in the 3rd week of July. Till then live in interesting times...

__

Shashi 

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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HAIKU MASTER SERIES II                                               SERIES IV