“Break the chains!” were the cryptic orders of Queen Victoria Empress of India In December 1867, a force set sail from Bombay, under Lt Gen Sir Robert Napier OBE, to bring to heel the Ethiopian Emperor Twedros and subjugate his Abyssinian Empire. The Abyssinian Campaign, involving the greatest force to sail under the British Empire, led to death, desecration and loot. The looted ancient treasures of Ethiopia ended up in England, in Museums and private collections. The desecration of Churches and loot unleased ancient prophecies and unnatural deaths over the years. A group of youngsters in London involved in the movement for return of the Ethiopian treasures discover the deaths and the prophecies that have continued to the present day. What starts as an innocent interest, turns into a sinister involvement that threatens to consume them. Vikram’s great grandfather had taken part in the campaign into Abyssinia. Catherine is the granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst, the world-famous champion of Ethiopian rights, Aferwork has a blood line connected to the unwed wide of Emperor Twedros II. One of the Regiments brings back a processional Cross from the Church at Magdala. The Cross has a curse…it lives… The sons continue to pay for the sins of their fathers. The curse eventually consumes the protagonist as he gets possessed in a horrific ending.

This story was written to a competitive prompt on #ArtoonsInn for the #Navarasa competition.  Prompt – Your protagonist travels to a new country for the first time. What emotion takes over their life? I chose disgust’ as an emotion.  ————————————————————————————————————————-   Change is hard. But relocation – that’s harder, because …

Book title – Excess baggage Publisher – Black Ink       Author – Richa S Mukherjee Genre –  Drama, humour    Pages – 328 pages   Language – English Available on – Amazon.in Purchase Link – https://www.amazon.in/Excess-Baggage-Richa-S-Mukherjee/dp/9353579732/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1T8BO33IHYIKT&keywords=excess+baggage&qid=1665057578&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjYwIiwicXNhIjoiMC41MSIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=excess+bagga%2Caps%2C357&sr=8-1 ************************************************** Excess Baggage is a book that is consummately Indian in its flavour. I daresay that there …

  Book title – Cosmic Vibes – from chaos to quietude Publisher – Literature’s light        Author – Shristee Singh Genre – Poetry     Pages – 81 pages   Language – English Available on – Amazon.in Purchase Link – https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/9391301118/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1   ——————————————————————————— Shristee Singh’s debut poetry book titled – Cosmic Vibes, from chaos …

Book title – A window to her dreams Genre –drama Publisher – Readomania        Pages – 320    Language – English Author – Harshali Singh Available on – Amazon.in Purchase link – https://www.amazon.in/Window-Her-Dreams-Harshali-Singh-ebook/dp/B06VT8GR1F/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1451VWSMJ1D93&keywords=a+window+to+her+dreams&qid=1658801198&sprefix=a+window+to+her+dream%2Caps%2C268&sr=8-1 _______________________ At the heart of this book is an ancestral Haveli, 150 years old that stands as a testament …

Today, if our next generation is failing then the onus of that failure is not on them. It is on us because we have failed both as parents and as humans. The question is, are we willing to open are eyes and do something about it?

What I enjoyed most about the book was the amount of information it left me saddled with after I finished reading it. I found myself thinking about the life of Telgi, his circumstances, his motivations, his penchant for expensive things and his eventual downfall. Long after I finished the book, I was left ruminating over the psychology of the fraudster. What went through his mind as he perpetuated scam after scam? Did fear never cloud his planning? Was he so drunk on the success of his frauds that he was unable to stop? What prompted him to keep going – greed or the lure of power?

Apparently, according to the study, ‘dog lovers’ tend to be more lively and interactive. Such hoomans are more energetic and outgoing and pay more attention to civic rules i.e., are conformists (probably because they are so well trained in picking up dog poop!).  ‘Cat lovers’, on the other hand, are more introverted and passive. Such people prefer spending time indoors (sometimes they are reclusive) and quite often shun physical activity. According to the study, the ‘cat people’ also tend to be non-conformists, preferring to be expedient rather than follow the rules.

As a recruiter I find that women more than men are struggling to cope with this re-opening of offices. Let’s face it, working women pull a double shift in any case, don’t they? They have both the house and their office work to manage. Additionally, they bear the weight of expectations from both the family and their superiors because judgement is never ending. Saddled with a multitude of responsibilities, women need to discharge them all with an equal measure of competence - right? Being subpar is NOT an option!!

Why must we unclothe a woman in the name of fashion? Why must we measure her beauty based on how comfortable she is in her nakedness? Why does nudity define the beauty of a woman in the fashion industry? What purpose is this nudity serving except titillating the male audiences?