Ekta | wisdomekta

  "It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover is a story packed with fast-paced, riveting drama and the painful truths of a woman’s struggle to break the cycle of abuse and rise above to create a safe life for herself and her child. As claimed by the writer, some of the incidents mentioned in the book are based on the relationship between her mother and father…which was indeed a shock-enhancer. This book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors. This story is all too common and familiar… yet kind-off forbidden to be discussed and addressed; it is a brave attempt by the author to bring forth an honest and unbiased picture of people who do and of people to whom these things happen. We often hear incidents like the ones discussed in this book, but how many times does anyone truly understand the inner struggles of the people involved and their helplessness to get out because they don’t have support from friends, family, and society? Without revealing t...

  “Bharat as a civilisation was a reality, and reducing that reality and near-unbroken lived experience to a mere talking point to score brownie points over one another was more proof of expediency than real conviction in the values the Indic civilisation stood for.” During class 9th, the history lessons taught me that the Mughals, Afghans, and, lastly, the Britishers who invaded India had pronounced and positive effects on our overall development and progress. My little brain tried to mug it up, but the heart thought, “ were we that backwards!! ”. The reason for this heart-thinking was my mother. My mother, who is a core vedic follower and a Sanskrit philosopher, on the one hand, wanted me to learn all the historical “bookish” facts due to academic reasons. Still, on the other hand, she was the one who told me “real” facts about “gold-bird: India”. She introduced me to the lives and works of Shri Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Shri Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and other patriotic personalities. Sev...

  Mahabharata gives the raw material to fuel any writer's fantasy. The portrayal of any character of this “maha story” is… in itself… a book. Missal has given yet another exciting tale to the life of Karna. The young writer Kevin Missal used the plot and the character “Karna” in the most beautiful yet assertive way. Karna, to me, is an underdog with much scope to tell his story and leave a mark on the reader's hearts. He was a loner… cursed student… received betrayal from the woman he loved, and was ostracised from society for being the son of suta and yet outshined his name. The book tells Vasu's survival, initial endurance, and lifetime longing to belong and be loved. The book was a not-so-short read with an intense portrait of the hero. The revolves around the tale of his claim to Anga-the lost province of his father, Adirath (Yes!! The description of Adirath as the king of Anga and his becoming of the chariot to Hastinapur Samrat… is a fresh perspective, along with ma...

  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...