To My Daughter

A lil something I want to share. Its the stuff on the card my parents got me long ago :)It ranks first among the cards Iv got because everything it says has been true in my case. Love ya Ma!

Hope you enjoy the read.

To My Daughter, With Love, on the Important Things in Life

A mother tries to provide her daughter with insight
into the important things in life to make her life
as happy and fulfilling as possible

A mother tries to teach her daughter
to be good,always helpful to other people,
to be fair,always treating others equally
to have a positive attitude at all times
to always make things right when they are wrong
to know herself well
to know what her talents are
to set goals for herself
to not be afraid of working too hard to reach her goals

A mother tries to teach her daughter
to have many interests to pursue
to laugh and have fun every day
to appreciate the beauty of nature
to enter into friendships with good people
to honor their friendships and always be a true friend
to appreciate the importance of family
and to particularly respect and love the elders of the family
to use her intelligence at all times
to listen to her emotions
to adhere to her values

A mother tries to teach her daughter
to not be afraid to stick to her beliefs
to not follow the majority when the majority is wrong
to carefully plan a life for herself
to vigorously follow her chosen path
to enter into a relationship with someone worthy of herself
to love this person unconditionally with her body and mind
to share all that she has learned in life with this person

If I have provided you with an insight
into most of these things
then I have succeeded as a mother
in what I hoped to accomplish in raising you
If many of these things slipped by
while we were all so busy
I have a feeling that you know them anyway
One thing I am sure of, though
I have taught you to be proud of the fact
that you are a woman equal to all men and
I have loved you every second of your life
I have supported you at all times
and as a mother, as a person and as a friend
I will always continue to cherish and love
everything about you
my beautiful daughter.
__________________________________________Susan Polis Schutz

Navarasa

Navarasa

Thats the title of the book Im yet to pen. Iv got the idea clear in my head, have a few scenes running in my head and most probably would start penning it from May 20th once my papers are done with.

The book if things work out as planned would have 12 stories-9 concentrating on the navarasas,2 on 2 other emotions which are used more often in literature and one grand finale in which I wish to incorporate all 11 emotions.

For the benefit of those who dont know the 11 emotions-

• Sṛngāram (शृन्गारं) Beauty

• Hāsyam (हास्यं) Laughter, Comedy

• Karuṇam (करुणं) Compassion, Mercy

• Raudram (रौद्रं) Fury

• Vīram (वीरं) Pride, Heroism

• Bhayānakam (भयानकं) Horror

• Bībhatsam (बीभत्सं) Disgust

• Adbhutam (अद्भुतं) Wonder

• Śāntam (शान्तं) Tranquility, Peace

• Vātsalya (वात्सल्य) Parental Love

• Bhakti (भक्ति) Spiritual Devotion

Whats interesting here is to think that Iv hardly been writing stories for 4 years now during which I have managed 12 stories so far of which only 3 have seen the light of web while the other better ones met with sad demise into the dustbin or more dramatically thrown to fly with the gusty winds of the monsoon. Yet never did it till 2 months ago did it strike me to do a book. True, my best friend, all credit to her had been telling me, warning me even not to dispose of the stories, each of which have a very special place in my heart saying some day I could get to edit them and publish them as a book. Too bad I didn't listen. Then again, if I did listen, I wouldn't be myself would I? ;)

The timing of the idea striking is fantastic. As recounted in mind's eye-There I was sitting in the 2nd bench,left hand corner of the classroom in a seemingly boring e-commerce class (trust me even I have no clue how this specific teacher manages to make most pulsing topics dead) when the idea strikes hard. A few scenes start swimming in mind's eye and under the pretext of taking down notes, I jot down those few snippets and the excitement didnt quite die down for a week or more after that before I got buried under some other work to do which was challenging enough for the time being.

Now that Im almost done with my "other work" and am in need of a new tough challenge, I might as well start!

Just wondering though- How many would buy if I do manage to get it published? :D