Ekta | wisdomekta

  Given my respect to the epic writing in form of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey, which is a staple of leadership and life best practices, I found the theme of this book by his son, Stephen M.R. Covey: “Trust and Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others” fresh and thought-provoking. The book seems to come at the perfect time. Our world is facing unprecedented changes, and we can no longer rely on the management and leadership practices of the past... practices that still guide many organizations today. The post-covid working world, as well as our personal lives, has changed forever and to thrive in midst of these changes, the principles governing the employees or family need to get deepened, broadened and aim at becoming realistic. Covey acknowledges that these “leadership basics” aren’t novel, but points out that though many leaders talk about inspiring and trusting, few actually do. He offers the solution to the future of work a...

The day dawned crisp and clear. An early morning routine was underway as I had decided to take that daily grind of preparing for a self-set marathon head-on. Today, my eyes are set on 10k. With a focused mind, I started, enjoying the lush green of my current place of posting as the dappled sun shone through the trees, creating mysterious shadows. The soft breeze kept my exhaustion at bay and pushed me toward my goal for the day. As my run came to an end and I was nearing my abode, I walked past a house that filled the air with the most amazing aroma you could come across in Bhartiya families’ homes in the morning… it is that of the preparation of desi ghee parathas. The smell instantly took me down memory lane, the time wherein I am getting ready for school and Ma is preparing the paratha for breakfast, whereas Papa is busy with his share of chores…viz polishing shoes, making our pencils sharp… to get me and my siblings to school. Simply put, the whole house was always in a rush to ...

Pinball, published in 1980 by Japanese author Haruki Murakami is the second book in the "Trilogy of the Rat" series. It is preceded by Hear the Wind Sing and followed by A Wild Sheep Chase and is the second novel written by Murakami. The theme continues into Pinball 1973 which takes place three years after Hear the Wind Sing . This virtually plotless book alternates between describing the life of the narrator and that of his friend, The Rat. It tells the tale around the narrator's brief but intense obsession with pinball, his life as a freelance translator, and his later efforts to reunite with the old pinball machine that he used to play with. He works from ten to four in a comfortable office and earns a generous amount of money. Despite this, the narrator seems bored and somewhat dissatisfied with his life. The Rat still doesn’t know what to do with his life. He’s mulled over it and lost sleep at night thinking about it. At the end, still uncertain about what to do but...

  “Hear the Wind Sing” is the first read for the year 2023. The novella written by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami is the first one by this famous writer. It first appeared in the June 1979 issue of Gunzo (a local magazine) and in the form of a book the next month. Having recently read Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by the author, I figured I would go rearwards and start at the beginning, try and acquaint myself with his entire body of work. This first book is an uncooked write-up with a focus on the core human sentiment. The writing has beautifully grasped human feelings vis the immediate environment. The visualization is so vivid that it is like living the novel. The novella is Magical, mystical, and magnificent but otherwise seemed messy, middling, and monotonous. One of the most impressive things absent from Hear the Wind Sing is the plot!! …and yet it is one of the best-selling novels since 1979. The book is about eighteen days in a boy’s life before he return...

Here comes the New Year… packed with lots of hope, plans, and to-do lists. To some degree, the planning of the new year resembles the planning of scoring good scores in the examinations. Because to score high we plan to be sincere throughout the academic year, but at times ( which is like always ) there are few to multiple distractions, resulting in a wastage of time and energy and we somehow convince ourselves that “ it is okay ”. On identical grounds, the New Year resolutions are put together with utmost sincerity and affirmative thoughts, however, the zeal, and trance of enthusiasm sometimes continue till mid of the first month, and at other times it refuses to haul to the 2nd day of the New Year.  We get absent-minded and let life make decisions for us. By saying this, I don’t mean to downgrade the implication of New Year resolutions . It may feel like a lie, but you may consent that to bring some amends in life, we need strong resolve which can steer radar in the storms of ex...

  Monkey mind: Overwhelmed by multiple branches. Monk mind: Focused on the root of the issue. Monkey mind: Overthinks and procrastinates. Monk mind: Analyzes and articulates. Monkey mind: Distracted by small things. Monk mind: Disciplined. Monkey mind: Multitasking. Monk mind: Single-tasking. Monkey mind: Looks for pleasure. Monk mind: Looks for meaning. Jay Shetty, a social media megastar and owner of a podcast named " On Purpose ", is the writer of the book "Think Like a Monk". The book regales the tale of Shetty’s “Becoming a monk” story (but not in autobiographical format) and alongside presents the process of " how to become a monk in everyday life ”. Being an Indian and born in a Vedic family the concepts in the book are not pristine to me… few of the ideas like chanting in the morning, meditation, etc. discussed in the book are part of my life… yet I found this book simply good in presenting the old age concepts and presenting their practical approach ...

“No matter which way I look at it, it’s clear that Verity was a master at manipulating the truth. The only question that remains is: Which truth was she manipulating?” This was my first encounter with Colleen Hoover. “Verity”, a book that is popularly suggested on many online sites, is now added to my overflowing shelves. A mind-boggling story that moves toward an artful twist is psychological suspense with a striking ending. It seems that the book shall remain imprinted in my mind… well…at least till the time I read another great nail-biter . It has set a bar in the thriller genre in my reading fling. The book begins with Lowen, a stumbling writer, who is offered to become a “ ghost ” writer with Verity Crawford, a top-name author who is currently incapacitated to finish what this popular author started. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, keen to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. While sorting through Verity’s notes...