iforthedetail

I was looking for a book for my nephew. A book which he will love reading. A book from which he will learn something. I browsed through the catalogue and found variery of books for young readers. Most of these were fantasy novels or fairytales. Most books were written by foreign authors. While browsing, I found the ideal book, "Malgudi days" by R K Narayan. Just the cover brought back plethora of memories. I used to watch the series "Malgudi days" on TV. I was in school and this series used to be showcased on Sunday mornings. Each episode would be for 30 minutes including advertisements. It would include adventures and experiences of characters from a finctional town of Malgudi. The stories were believable and characters were relatable. Stories were short and simple, sometimes with serious undertones.  As the book arrived, I jumped on to reading it. I finished it, reminiscing my childhood days. I remembered the stories which I had watched on TV. Even aft...

A woman's life is undoubtedly difficult; pregnancy and postpartum phase being the toughest of all. Physical pain, exhaustion, stress, lack of sleep, change of routine, hormonal changes, weakened immunity, and many more unexplained health issues over the horizon. New mothers find the postpartum period strenuous not only because of the body that works against them but also due to newly imposed restrictions. Most families do not allow the new mothers to step out of their homes for at least 40 days after the delivery. Main reason is that the mother's immunity is low and she can easily catch any infection, which could get transferred to the baby as well. However, it is also believed that the new mother's aura (not a Gen Z term but the protective spiritual layer) is weak and negative energies get attracted to them. Many new mother experience unexplained, often negative presence around them in the postpartum phase. Kartiki (pseudonym used for protecting the identity) my friend rec...

All 80's and 90's kids (now adults) will forever cherish the 2000's era of Indian films. The filmmakers of this era were trying to carve a different path for themselves - switching from the " Masala " films to the content based films. Filmmakers wanted to skip the dance numbers and songs keeping the film tightly bound around the narrative. Most filmmakers were experimenting with different concepts, ground-breaking ideas, and darker themes rather than making the same romantic films. The early 2000's also marked the return of horror or supernatural genre of films. One of such iconic horror films was " Bhoot " (2003) which gained popularity and became a cult classic.  Bhoot (2003) was directed by Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) who was one of the top movie makers of 90's and 2000's. RGV had made a horror movie in the previous decade called " Raat " which itself was a classic horror film. RGV after a stint of making crime thrillers made Bhoot  an...

Each place carries certain type of energy. Some places carry positive energy, where we feel happy, at peace, or relaxed. Whereas some carry negative energy, where we feel suffocated, anxious, or uncomfortable. For some of these places, the history is known and hence we can deduce the origin of the negative energy. For some places the history is not known hence what originated it completely remains unknown. Despite of knowing the origin, the presence of the negative energy in certain places affects the individuals who come in contact with them. My friend Prachi (pseudonym used to protect the identity of the individual) experienced the presence of a negative energy. This is Prachi's paranormal experience. Prachi had recently started working in a multinational organisation. Prachi who belongs to a small town had to relocate to a metro city for her job. When Prachi moved to the city, she was staying in the organisation's employee quarters till the time she found her a p...

In India, we come across a vast variety of folklores. One of such scary folklores is " Chakwa ". Chakwa is a paranormal entity that creates illusions and will deceive its victims. Generally, they are harmless and release their victims after they are entertained.  Most victims of Chakwa have similar experiences. During the late night rides, they see a rabbit or hare running in front of their vehicle. After this the rabbit disappears and the victims are trapped in a travel loop. They repetitively reach the same spot after driving for a long time and do not reach their destination. Once released by the entity, the victim's journey continues without any hurdles. Yet, my colleague Bhuvan (pseudonym to protect the identity) had a unique experience with Chakwa. This is his paranormal experience. Bhuvan was studying engineering. His college was in a small town, away from any metro city. He used to stay at a hostel. The distance between the college and hostel was approximately 2 m...

I have met many unfortunate people who lost their mothers in their childhood. Their childhood was grief sickened. Either they were raised by their relatives (like aunts and grandparents) or their father remarried and the stepmother became the female figure in their lives. Experiences with the stepmothers were mixed, mostly positive, excluding one particularly spooky. This is a real life story narrated by a colleague, Seema (pseudonym for protecting the confidentiality). This is the first person encounter of Seema's stepmother. Seema was 3 years old when her mother died after an acute illness. Seema had an elder sister who was 6 years old back then. Their grandparents were elderly and frail, while their other relatives stayed in different cities. After evaluating all options, Seema's dad decided to remarry, so that the stepmother would take care of the daughters.  As described by Seema, their stepmother was cordial. She would take care of them very well. She was lovi...

Not all days are the same. Some days are good, some days are bad. When the day is good we see that the sun is shining bright. Flowers are blooming. Nature is colourful and delightful. Weather is pleasant.  Everything goes well. Everything goes as per the plan. There are no delays. There are no cancellations. Everything fits into the frame. Everything is within our control. The day is filled with positivity and happiness. On a bad day the sky is cloudy, grey, and gloomy. Flowers are dead just like our dreams and hopes. Nature is dreadful and awful. Weather feels unpleasant and looks like sepia filter has been applied. Every effort goes down the drain. Nothing goes as per the plan. Every move is a disaster. Everything is out of our control. The day is filled with negativity and unhappiness. Is it really the day or our perception of the day? Sometimes it takes only one thing to go wrong and the whole day turns into a sad circus. If the day begins with a mistake the whole d...

The book " The Brahmastra Unleashed " it's written by D Sivanandhan who is the former police commissioner of Mumbai and former Director General of Police Maharashtra. This book is a first person account of how the Mumbai underworld was destroyed by the Mumbai Police. As someone who is born in 1980 and grew up in 1990s in Mumbai, I am very well aware of the underworld situation in Mumbai back then. In 1990s Underworld was not exactly hidden. The underworld was not in the background, rather was "the main character" of Mumbai. One was not required to search for the underworld, rather the underworld would come chasing someone at their own doorstep. Traces of Underworld could be found in any lane, any road, any corner, any shop, or any building - practically everywhere. Everyday some or the other person would come face to face with the underworld activities. No one would know when they would witness an underworld activity that could lead to their apparent...

Happy International Women's Day! Are you not happy? No? Let me give you the reasons to be happy. Indeed be happy for being born instead of killed in the womb for being an XX instead of XY.  Be happy for getting educated, many have lost their lives for that privilege.  Be happy for being able to be qualified to take a job, many have fought for this right. Be happy for having the freedom to dress as you please, many countries do not offer that freedom.  Be happy for your smooth, soft, and spotless skin; acid attack victims are deprived of this joy. Be happy for being able to raise your voice, there are many waiting to silence you. Be happy that you have the privileges such as driving, voting, or stepping out of the house on your own; I do not need to tell you which countries ban these for women. Be happy for having the financial independence, for you do not have to prepare a pitch for asking for money. Be happy if you became a solo traveller, this is a rare type of freedom....