When the Gods choose to bless you.....

I wasnt much of a temple goer except for ocassions.

Then this Lady and the Gentleman in the pic below decided that they will make me go everyday.

How??

Read on++ Travelling to work place needs me to go from my place to Hebbala and catch the University shuttle there.

I take the public transport till Hebbala. Usually, there is a 20-30 min wait there. The Uni bus is usually cayght in a jam. I cant risk starting late because++

Could not meet many kind folks of Varanasi who messaged me. It was a short and power packed trip. Forgive me this time 🙏🏽.

Hoping that Baba Vishwanath ji calls me there again 🙂🙏🏽.

https://twitter.com/Sai_swaroopa/status/1589182435329478657

Loved bonding with @priyankadeo over motherhood, writing and so many topics that were dear to me!
Hoping to meet you again soon Priyanka 🙂🤗

That question about Sita-Rama separation. I had almost decided to not answer the question reason beingthat my Svaadhyaaya of Ramayana has not reached the stage yet. But this is also an opportunity to consolidate my (limited) understanding of that painful episode.
So here goes+

https://twitter.com/Sai_swaroopa/status/1522411618587447296

Aspersions on Sita Devi'a character are not just raised by a drunk washerman. They are echoed by many nobles in the court, much to Rama's anguish. It is after that painful discussion that Rama decides to leave her in the forest. He endures a lot of pain himself but the point+

When I was newly initiated into Srividya, one of the lifestyle advice given by my guruji was to start and end a conversation with "SriMatrenamah".

When we encapsulate a conversation with the names of our Ishtadevata, we tend to be conscious about what we talk, how we express++ ++and hence, gradually watch ourselves, reduce the negativity in our speech, have a positive effect on ourselves as well as on others (Hopefully).

In many ways, we bear that ambassadorship of the Sampradaya we follow and our being positive and inspiring matters++

Actually @palkisu 's words of caution to girls to hold on to their jobs reminded me of a hillarious anecdote that happened with a friend.

His mother was employed with a PSU (Either BSNL or LIC I forget). He has childhood memories of aunty waking up super early, getting food+ +lunch boxes ready, do pooja and leave by public transport. Come back, juggle chores again.... Typical.

He knew the clothes, books and a lot he enjoyed came from his mother's extra financial push. Like any son he felt grateful and *in his own way* responsible.

This guy grew+

On this #InternationalWomensDay let us bust myths about women. The one myth that touches my raw nerves is - "Women can multitask"

The phrase is used so commonly even by well meaning folks, many times as a compliment.

But folks, there is no such thing called multitasking++ ++What is usually mistaken as multi tasking is actually task switching - where the brain juggles attention between tasks, balancing the critical phases.

It is quite harmless when handling two non critical tasks when one of them is almost involuntary. ++

#Mondaygyanforcreatives
Will try to share about Author and Book marketing today.

Who among us wouldnt like those thousands and millions of sales and some promising advances?

We also know that brandong of that scale costs a lot of money. Yes, it does.

What I shall share+ +today is not a secret to become an overnight bestseller but the stuff needed to make a life as an author.

Whats needed to make an impact on readers from a fundamental perspective?

1. A great cover (assuming you have already written a nice book).

A book cover must convey+

Srimatre NamaH

Attempting a thread on the Hindu fasting on Ekadashi.
I did see a couple of interactions over this topic.

Confession : I am only a couple of Ekadashis old in the fasting zone. Never fasted much before.

So I connect to the skeptic's doubts here. Read on. My knowledge of what I am going to write is taken mostly from my Guru ji's interactions and some other pravachanas.

In Srividya, the fifteen tithis of a fortnight have fifteen tithi nitya devis, each presiding over a tithi.

On Ekadashi, the Devi is Neela pataaka - नीलापताका

Whether one is a supporter of Varna vyavastha or a critic, the reading and understanding of Varna system has to be done along with Ashrama and Purushartha.
Without those two, the comprehension of Varna system is dangerously half baked.

#ReadingRajadharmaparva Most of the online supporters of Varna system are too afraid of Ashrama discussions because it calls for a daunting amount of rigour in practising.

And most critics done even understand the badics if Purusharthas and keep barking "brahminical patriarchy" at every unrelated event

#MondayGyanforCreatives - Author Income

Sharing the bits I know about Author Income that eventually becomes a point of discussion in writer circles.
How much do authors earn?
When can I grow enough to become a Rowling or a Stephen King or an Amish?

Coming to Basics+ Traditionally published newbie authors start at around 8% royalty. That is, sale of a book priced Rs. 300 at full price fetches the author Rs. 24

If your monthly sustenance budget is say Rs. 50,000, you need to sell 2084 copies that month (and at full price) ++

Shamika ji, you are doing a great job narrating Mahabharata to your son.

And it is a common issue with first time listeners.

IMHO, when a kid starts feeling strongly for Karna over the Pandavas, there is something slightly off about our way of narrating. Sorry if I am blunt

https://twitter.com/ShamikaRavi/status/1320767249242705921

Karna, though 'abandoned', enjoyed the love of his foster household.
The Pandavas lost their father and were in a hostile household where they did not know how and when the next murder attempt will be made on them.
It is natural for Kunti to feel more protective for Pandavas.

Those who decry Goddess worship in the name of crimes against women....

Their real objective is for the worship to stop and crimes to continue.

Otherwise they would take the opportunity to promote Goddess worship in order yo discourage crime.
#Navaratri Remember, India is the only place and Hinduism is the only civilisation that has Devi worship.

It is considered satanical by some misogynist religions. The so called progressives stand with religious misogyny today and are trying to guilt this very population+

Yesterday, soul sister @DimpleAtra had called for a solution we can come up with to battle the elitist gatekeeping in the publishing industry (Original thread by @sanjeevsanyal ). Here are my two paise + A. What can the writers do?
1. Write that damn book.
Believe me, in the last six months or so, I encountered at least ten writers with promise who are not motivated to write because of the uncertainty w.r.t publishing.
Any thing can be done only if you have a workable draft.

The left wing indulgence of 'Savitri shaming' is deeper than we all think. Let me recollect a conversation from past when I was struggling to get my early draft of Abhaya published.

I approached a certain literary agent who tried to influence my book towards 'left'.+ How his left leaning attitude made me dump the plan to traditionally publish it and instead opt for self publishing is a long story.

There is a Savitri episode in this long story 😊.

I had realised that this guy was trying to game my lack of access to publishing world and+

Shall compile my running thoughts about #Kurukshetra as I compile the numbers in this #thread.
There are three kinds of confrontations - I am terming them 1. duel = One to one
2. general battle = many vs many
3. and cumulative = one against many Deciding the victor in a duel if the opponent is killed or is forced to flee or is carried away by a friend of his or is spared by the victor.
#Kurukshetra

Have been tagged in multiple discussions related to #Karna in the last couple of days. Will attempt to clarify them in this thread.

Firstly, about the alleged discrimination he faced because of being a SutaPutra and not being admitted into Drona's Gurukula+ Let us first understand the role of a saarathi that a typical Suta was supposed to fill in.

A Sarathi readies the chariot. Makes decisions on the horses to yoke, number of bows and arrows to keep, how many kinds of arrows to keep and how many of each type. A wrong decision+

@KritrishaDivya Even with Arjuna holding off the full Kuru host, Drona proves to be a handful to the Panchalas, Bhima and the twins. They were like dry hay caught in fire that was Drona. Krishna sees the destruction suffered by Panchalas and gives an idea. #Kurukshetra #Day15 He says, in order to protect the remaining soldiers and stop Drona from fighting, let us have him believe that his son Ashvatthama died. Arjuna hates the idea. Yudhishtira is hesitant. Meanwhile Bhima finds an elephant named Ashvatthama and kills it #Kurukshetra #Day15

Whirling the Urumis, the warriors leapt into the air, challenging death When they met mid air, my heart stopped for a moment . With the Urumi wielding team of Kalarigram and their guru Radhika Gurukkal ( to my right)

ButvKarna sliced that arrow into 12 pieces, saving Drona. Drishtadyumna had to now fight multiple warriors Karna, Shalya, Duryodhana, Shakuni and others. But retreating was not the Panchala's way and he wounded tham back, all of them. #Kurukshetra #Day14 Drishtadyumna, while withstanding the cumulative attack, killed a warrior called Drumasena and broke Karna's bow, enraging him. Shalya, Shakuni, Ashvatthama, Duryodhana and Drona surround him. At that instant, Satyaki comes to Panchala's rescue. #Kurukshetra #Day14

Kripa countered Shikhandi, Shakuni fought Nakula. Dushasana met Prativindhya. Ghatotkacha was again stopped by Ashvatthama. Vrishasena countered Drupada and Virata had to fight Shalya. Nakula's son Shatanika tried to attack Drona but Chitrasena stopped him #Kurukshetra #Day14 Arjuna found Alambusha facing him and Drishtadyumna faced Drona. The battle restarted.

Yudhishtira was the first to draw blood in his fight with Kritavarma who severed the former's bow. The king took up another and wounded Kritavarma in arms and chest. #Kurukshetra #Day14

Karna stalled Arjuna for a while, but soon, lost his bow, horses and charioteer to Arjuna and ascended Kripa's chariot. Kuru soldiers retreated at this and were sent back by Duryodhana who came to the fore to fight Arjuna. #Kurukshetra #Day14 Ashvatthama stops Duryodhana from going on that dangerous mission and proceeds to fight. Till this moment, we realise he was as averse to fighting the Pandavas as Bhishma, Drona and Kripa were. His valour sees the death of eight Panchalas. #Kurukshetra #Day14