ANIRUDDHA SASTIKAR

Are your experiences useful to others?

To the above question, most of us would nod a YES! Right?

Indeed, the experiences we all get from whatever we have done in the past and whatever we are doing or whatever we are going through today is a good teacher. Sharing good or bad experiences with others prepare them mentally and physically, provided they are prepared to learn from them. They get insights on how to handle or manage typical situations or on how tasks can be completed successfully.

But the tough part is how many people connected with us directly or indirectly benefit from our experiences. The numbers might be very less. Why?

It is simply because they think their education or task management skill is superior to experiences of others. They aren’t prepared to accept anything beyond their mental or physical reach.

However, there are few who are always on their toes to learn from their own mistakes and grasp everything from the experiences of others. Although the numbers are very few, they succeed in whatever they are doing or are planning to achieve. They never take credit for their success. In fact, they openly accept constant learning from others.

You know, such breed is very rare.

So, how would you know whether your experiences are useful to others? Here are few pointers which can tell…

4 solid reasons that forced me to quit Facebook

fb_deactivated

Login. Like. Comment. Share. Post. React (of lately). Logout. Login again. Well, the entire blue universe knows this cycle. It is like a GIF. A continuous loop. It goes on and on. The probability of end doesn’t exist. I felt good to connect with long-lost friends and re-connect with forgotten family members, and, of course, make new friends, virtual though. Facebook allowed me to easily connect with like-minded people, enabled me to join groups of things that are of interest to me.

I recall joining Facebook around 8 years ago, I think it was 2010. Since I love to write I thought of exploring this platform too. I was quite active on SCRIBD before signing-up on Facebook. The experience on SCRIBD was totally different compared to Facebook. Constructive criticism and proper guidance existed on SCRIBD then. Not sure whether it exists now. SCRIBD gave me hands-on experience in writing poems, stories, blogs etc. I do not use SCRIBD anymore, but I still have a lot of articles on the site.

Click here to read what forced me to quit Facebook.

Of wristwatches and personality

The wristwatch in the picture was gifted by my Dad when I passed grade 12, 25 years ago. The make is TITAN.

TITAN is a leading and well-known wristwatch brand. A brand jointly created by TATA and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).

time Read more and a poem that I wrote dedicated to this masterpiece.

How would you react on seeing misspelled words?

Misspelled words are a big NO for most of us, but for writers and readers, it can be a terrible experience.

Even a single letter here or there can miscommunicate or script out a meaningless sentence.

By profession, I am a content writer with a private company, and I take extreme care with spellings while writing blogs, copy, or writing emails. And by passion, I am a poet, so, I can’t afford to misspell a single word.

I have come across many signboards or store names, which are blatantly misspelled. Like the one in the picture below. The picture is of an apartment building close to my home.

See photo and read more…

Personally, I hate to see spelling mistakes. They make me angry.

Do accidents alter your self-confidence?

I know, the answer to the title is very much a “Yes!”

Yes, accidents – small or big do affect our self-confidence, especially when the mishap occurs when we are least prepared. That’s the reason they are accidents, but we go in complete shock when the smash happens with something we are fond of doing – riding a bike or driving a car for example.

Physically and mentally healthy may recover quickly after a small or bearable accident. People opposite to that might require more time to come out of the shock.

However, traumatic accidents spare none. Apart from disturbing normal flow of life, they ruin the victims and lives of others. While those who survive – they either lose their confidence completely or are left handicapped for life. It pains to see handicapped survivors.

Sharing my own experience of a bizarre accident that I met last week.

I was on way to my office on my two-wheeler. I was at a crossroad signal, where I was supposed to turn right that led to my work place. We have timer traffic signals in Ahmadabad at most junctions.

My experiences with self-publishing…

Self-publishing is tough. And marketing self-published book is even tougher. One needs to know the basics, such as – trim size, pricing the book, marketing the book on different platforms including social media etc.

Although a novice to publishing, I self-published “Maiden Musings” nearly five years ago using Createspace.

Along with a paperback, I also wanted to make it available on Kindle so that people who wish to read the book on their smartphones, tablets, or Kindle device they could. I did publish it after a month or so, but the layout was completely wonky and not worth buying.

I kept the project live for few days and then I unpublished the book on Kindle just because I did not want to disappoint readers.

Keeping pace with times, I again explored publishing “Maiden Musings” on Kindle through KDP. I read and understood all that was required to make the book presentable, readable, and enjoyable.

I took over 8 days to structure the book as per Kindle standards and this time – I was successful.

Glad to share link to “Maiden Musings” – Kindle edition. Priced at Just $0.99.

MaidenMugins_Cover

…paid immortality

…while standing in a long
never lasting queue

at Supreme’s palatial home

a feeble call
entered my
(Y)ears

“Hey!
It will be eons
till you reach the hell
in there
I can make it faster”

“Why do you say that?
and
who the hell are you?”

“Do not ask
who I am
just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’
to my offer
Mortal”

Confused
I stood my ground
on deciding

With a sigh
I gave up
on waiting

“Okay!
What’s the deal?”

Click to read full poem…

Why so pensive…?

As a child, I would love to hear the word “pensive” from others but wasn’t knowing the exact meaning then. My father trained me and my older brother to refer the dictionary every time you hear a new word or you may just go through it and increase your vocabulary.

I liked the idea and followed his advice.

I used to read more of dictionary and less of other books. It was here my father corrected me. He said – “If you do not read, your stock of words is of no use. They will pile-up in your brain and rot. So, put them to good use. Think on a good topic; write on it and let the words flow freely.”

Thinking and writing were new to my senses, but I worked on it.

I failed on many occasions.