मारिया...(My Hindi Translation of Maria by Parvathy)

This is my Hindi translation of a beautiful write up Maria, written by Parvathy. You can read the original post HERE. She writes beautifully. Here's another translation that I did before. 'माँ, मैं और मसाला चाय'

मारिया,

इक रोज़ मेरी किसी से बात हुई कि दिल टूटने के बाद फिर से किसी पे भरोसा कैसे किया जा सकता है…

ऐसा तो नहीं कि सिर्फ इश्क़ में मिलने वाला दर्द ही दुख देता है?

कई और चीज़ें होती हैं जिससे तक़लीफ़ होती है ―जैसे, किसी जगह को अलविदा कहना।

वो पल जब आखिरकार आपको खुद के और किसी अपने के दरमियान एक लकीर खींचनी पड़ जाती है।

जैसे, ना चाहते हुए भी कहीं दूर चले जाना।

उस चीज़ को पाने की कोशिश करना छोड़ देना जिसे आपने कभी दिल से चाहा था।

कई ग़म होते हैं इस दुनिया में, 

पर मोहब्बत में हम जिस दर्द से मुख़ातिब होते हैं, वो सबसे ज़्यादा चोट पहुंचाता है।

मैं नहीं जानता कि फिर से यक़ीन करना कैसे मुमकिन हो सकता है।

शायद हम भूल जाते हैं कि हमारा दिल एक न एक दिन दुख से उबर ही जाता है।

हम उम्मीद के एक क़तरे को थामे रहते हैं,

तब भी जब लगता है कि सबकुछ ख़त्म हो चुका है, ये सोचकर कि एक दिन चीज़ें बदल जाएंगी।

मुझे लगता है कि हम इस तरह ही जी पाते हैं,

आगे बढ़ने की हिम्मत जुटाते हैं और फिर साँसें लेना नामुमकिन सा नहीं लगता।

मुश्किल से मुश्किल दिनों,

और हताश पलों में भी नहीं।

मेरे ख़्याल से अलविदा कहना,

क्योंकि आपको पता है कि यही सही वक्त है,

बड़े साहस का काम है।

जानते बूझते उसे जाने देना

जो कि शायद कभी आपके दिल का सबसे खूबसूरत हिस्सा था।

आगे बढ़ना, फिर से खिल पाना।

पर मन के धागे का एक छोर छूटा रहेगा कहीं,  इस आस में कि कोई इसे फिर से बांधेगा। दिल का एक खाली कोना हमेशा इस इंतज़ार में होगा कि कोई उस सूनेपन को भर देगा।

या फिर हम ज़िन्दगी ये जानते हुए जिए चले जाएंगे कि मन की नीरवता शायद कभी ना भरे। और ऐसा हो तो कोई बात नहीं, है ना?

हमने कभी टूटकर प्यार किया था,

और किसी ने हमें भी उसी शिद्द्त से चाहा था,

क्या ये काफ़ी नहीं?

पता है,

कल मैंने पहली बार एक गाना सुना,

औरों के लिए पुराना हो शायद, पर मेरे लिए वो गाना नया था।

उसे सुनकर मुझे तुम याद आ गयी।

जाने कितनी छोटी-छोटी, नयी सी बातें हैं

जो मैंने एक बक्से में सहेज कर रखी है।

ताकि जब हम कभी मिलें तो उन्हें तुम्हें दे सकूं।

अक्सर सोचता हूँ,

कि क्या तुम भी ऐसा करती हो।

कसम से, मैं ज़िन्दगी काट नहीं रहा,

जी रहा हूँ।

और मुझे उम्मीद है कि बारिश में

तुम्हारे पैर अब भी थिरकते होंगे।

तुम्हारा,

अमोर


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The Write Path: Reading Like a Writer

(I love this quotation. Found it on Pinterest)

I remember co-writing a short story with my cousin for a story competition conducted by Nandan (a children's magazine we used to read) and then discussing a suitable title for that story. The stories published in Nandan used to have funny titles so we, two little girls, were thinking on similar lines. It was a silly story, I am sure of that. And obviously, we didn't get any prize for our writing skills.

It does not mean that I have always wanted to be a writer. Writing (or translation) was never on my mind as a career. One thing that has been constant in my life that I have always loved to read. And I never thought that I was doing something special. I just enjoyed reading. I remember once someone said, ‘Kuchh aur na mile to ye baithkar advertisements bhi padh legi.’ 

But one thing that I realized later was that reading voraciously can steer you toward the path of writing.

I read for pleasure, to be honest. The book has to be entertaining, however, I have evolved as a reader over time. I have learnt to experiment with the genres. While I enjoy the book as a reader, the writer in me cannot help but think about the craft of writing or analyze it critically. And sometimes I read a book for the sheer beauty and crispness of the writing, even if the story is not very entertaining. 

Recently I was reading a book called ‘Night and its Longings’ by Philip Cioffari. It's a mystery with a hint of romance: about the disappearance of a woman, Vera. And her husband, feeling helpless, reaches out to the woman’s ex-lover seeking help.

It was 82 chapters long, painfully slow for this genre. An impatient reader that I am, I began to lose interest after 42 chapters. But I managed up to 42 chapters because the writing was so beautiful —the imagery, thoughts, emotions…

So basically, now I read like a writer. Beautiful writing makes me feel so good. It inspires me to work hard as a writer. It tells me not to fall in love with my own writing; I have a long way to go. I need to learn and grow. 

Reading a well written book is kind of studying the craft of writing. And it took me a long time to understand that. I've come to realise that no creative writing course can teach you what reading a good book can. 

2023 was very enriching for me as a reader, writer and as a translator. I feel thrilled and thankful for my latest translation, which is ‘Ramrajya’ by Ashutosh Rana. It's an amazing book and translating it was such a wonderful, fulfilling and enlightening experience. 

I did a Bookish Q & A Post last year.

There was a question: Favourite new author 2023

And my prompt response was: Arunava Sinha, Madhulika Liddle and Jerry Pinto. Mainly because of their writing ― neat and crisp sentences, engaging writing style that flows so smoothly.

Now that I am a translator, I naturally feel drawn towards translations. Interestingly, Cobalt Blue by Sachin Kundalkar, translated by Jerry Pinto and Simsim by Geet Chaturvedi, translated by Anita Gopalan were my favourite translations and books last year.

Not that translations are new to me. Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is one of my favourite writers, and I grew up reading his books and stories in Hindi. Of course they were translations. But I didn't realize that at that time. Now I feel bad that those books never mentioned the translator, and I didn't care.

So, now my reading pattern and choices are slightly different. I want to read, rather study, all those books on my TBR, for reading good books is one of the most effective ways to grow as a writer and translator.

Would like to quote Arunava Sinha from his recent insightful interview (on the website of Himalayan Retreat): 

‘You won't always find a word to word equivalent. But translators read. Writers need to read maybe a thousand books for each book they write. Translators probably need to read five thousand. Just read hugely. Both in the language from which and into which you’re translating. You will find words, expressions, and phrases popping and jumping out at you. If you don't read (almost maniacally), it's not going to work.’

Written for: The Write Path Blog Hop, hosted by Swarnali Nath

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Book Review: The Black Orphan by S. Hussain Zaidi

Book: The Black Orphan 

Author: S. Hussain Zaidi 

Publisher: Harper Collins India 

Pages: 218

Price: ₹ 259 (on Amazon. Kindle version available)

About the book

A bold and daring cop.

A passionate human rights lawyer.

And a deadly terror plot.

It's love at first sight for DIG Ajay Rajvardhan of the National Investigation Agency when he sees attractive young lawyer Asiya Khan in court, defending a young woman the NIA has arrested on charges of terrorism. They are on opposite sides - he specializes in taking down terrorists while she defends those wrongfully arrested by the authorities - but he finds he is unable to get her out of his head.

Even as Ajay and Asiya are drawn closer, a web of crime, deception and intrigue weaves itself around them and threatens to take them down. A serial killer is on the loose, murdering India's most famous nuclear scientists one by one. And something far worse is brewing in the bylanes of Mumbai. Time is running out for Ajay and his associates, Deputy Commissioner Sagar Pratap and Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, to find the mastermind behind these incidents and stop them.

Inspired by true events, this riveting tale of love, terror and revenge is Hussain Zaidi at his best.

About the author:

S. Hussain Zaidi was an investigative journalist (with newspapers like The Asian Age, The Indian Express) before becoming a writer, scriptwriter, publisher, producer and mentor to new talent. 

His first book Black Friday was made into a critically acclaimed film by director Anurag Kashyap. His book Mumbai Avengers was adapted into the Hindi film Phantom. A web series based on his book Dongri to Dubai (produced by Farhan Akhtar) will soon be released on Amazon Prime.

My Thoughts

‘Innocents who are caught on the wrong side of the law are in that position because of their association with the guilty. In my all years of service, I am yet to see a person who was innocent AND surrounded by innocents.’

This is my first book by Hussain Zaidi and I really liked it. It starts well, with a solid, action-packed operation.

‘He had held many identities in foreign lands but his codename tonight was Ghazi, the Arabic word for warrior.’

Talking about action scenes, there are several such scenes and they are very well executed. 

The writing style is easy and engaging. The chapters are short and crisp; they end with intriguing cliffhangers that keep you hooked. 

Characters: both Ajay and Asiya are strong and smart characters, exactly what a story like this demands. The secondary characters support the story well; they all have significant roles. 

I won't say it was totally unpredictable (except for one particular character) but there were some shocking moments. 

One thing that surprised me, especially coming from a publisher like Harper Collins, was a couple of proofreading errors. The book is so gripping that it really didn't matter, but I noticed, so you know what I mean…

Overall, it was a very well written, interesting and gripping thriller. I really enjoyed it. If you're one of those who can read without any interruption (I can't do that anymore), you might want to finish this book in one sitting.

This is part of the Blogchatter Review Program.

Movie Characters with Books

 

This post is inspired by Madhulika Liddle’s post ‘People with Books in Hindi Cinema’ (A two part post). Of course, her post is more detailed and brilliantly researched. I really enjoyed that post (click the link to read it), so here I’m trying my version. :))

Love Story by Erich Segal: Mujhse Dosti Karoge. 

This is not a very successful film, but I like it. And in this film Rani Mukherjee is seen reading this book. In another scene, Uday Chopra wants to buy a book for her. Love Story. And she says, ‘Mere paas already ek love story hai.’ 

I am not sure about the text in the image because I haven't read this book. It's a hugely popular and well loved book. I bought it many years ago but I couldn't read it. I think I was too quick to give up, so maybe I can try again.

Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes: Me Before You

Me Before You is one of my favourite books. And the film adaptation is also good, particularly Sam Claflin as Will Traynor (my favourite fictional male character) is bang on!

So, Emilia Clarke is reading this book when she is looking after Will. 

I haven't read this book though. I have a novel titled Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes, which I bought in 2012, but I haven't read it. 

Raseedi Ticket Amrita Pritam: Soni

Soni is a lesser known but nice crime movie (on Netflix). It's about Soni, a policewoman who is very courageous, fearless and honest, but cannot control her anger and beats the shit out of someone who does something bad/crosses the limit, which often causes trouble. Her senior tries to defend her, and there's a scene (in the end) where she gives 'Raseedi Ticket' to her and asks her to read. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an image. Raseedi Ticket is Amrita Pritam's extremely popular autobiography. I haven't read it though.

Norwegian Woods by Haruki Murakami: Wake Up Sid

Again, one of my favourite movies! I have seen this movie multiple times. There's a scene where Konkona Sen comes home to find Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) reading a book. Honestly, I wasn't sure if he was reading the very same book but I did some research and found out about the book. In fact, there are other instances where characters from this movie are seen with books. 

Norwegian Woods is an immensely popular, well loved book, a love story, but I haven't read it.

Unnamed Book: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. 

It's my favourite movie! I can watch this movie over and over again. So they are in Spain, staying in a hotel, when they talk about Abhay Deol's fiance (Kalki) and whether he is happy about this relationship. Farhan Akhtar, to avoid this conversation, starts reading a novel. I tried but I couldn't find out the title of that book.

Emilia Galotti by G E Lessing:

The Reader

I have watched this movie (based on a book with the same name, set in the period of post WW2) but it's not really my favourite. The movie is based on a book 'The Reader' by Bernhard Schlink.

So, obviously (as the name of the movie suggests), the protagonists are often seen reading books (actually the guy reads to the much older woman he loves, as she is illiterate). But there's a particular scene where the title of the book is visible. Well, kind of. I tried hard to get the name.

Set in Italy, the book is a play, basically a political commentary based on 'the myth of Verginia'. Published in 1772.

The Jury (Or it could be The Judge because it's not visible after ‘The’) by Steve Martini: Dil Chahta Hai

Again, a favourite and fantastic movie. During the popular song ‘Jaane Kyun Log Pyar Karte hain…’ Preity Zinta is seen reading this book on the train. I haven't read this book but it seems like a popular legal novel. In fact, Steve Martini is known for writing legal novels.

So, have you read any of these books? Or watched any of these movies? Which one is your favourite?

Written for Bookish League hosted by Ritu

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Nutrition Drinks for Kids: Complan’s Role in Supporting Growth #63PercentMoreProtein

It's a truth universally acknowledged that when mothers get together, they mostly talk about their children. And one of the hottest topics is their children's eating habits and nutrition. Children must get a balanced diet that includes lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and a small amount of healthy fats. 

A balanced diet will provide virtually all the nutrients that children need. Here are some nutrients that are most important for kids’ growth.

What nutrients are most important for kids’ growth (source)

• Iron - This nutrient helps children make red blood cells, which carry oxygen in the body, and it helps them grow. Without it, they can get anaemia.

• Vitamin D - This builds strong, healthy bones.

• Calcium - It also builds strong bones, which store the nutrients for years.

• Healthy fats - Good kind of fats are key for brain and nerve growth. They also help with healthy metabolism, and letting the body absorb vitamins.

• Vitamin C - This nutrient helps kids build their immune systems, promotes healing from cuts and scrapes, and gets their bodies to absorb iron.

• Proteins - It builds muscles and other tissues in kids’ bodies. Plus, it helps them boost their immune systems.

How can you ensure your kid is getting these nutrients?

Conversation with a Friend: Introducing Complan

My childhood friend and I met after a long time. Two giggling girls (a story for another time) were now young mothers. As the evening darkened outside, our conversations eventually meandered towards our children.

'She doesn't eat anything. She wouldn't even chew properly. Sometimes I have to grind her food in a mixer grinder,’ my friend said.

As clichéd as it may sound, it's the truth. There comes a phase in every mother's life when she struggles to feed her child because the child wouldn't eat anything. I have experienced this personally.

And that's so stressful because it happens at a certain age that's most crucial for children's physical and mental growth. 

Making use of Complan

'What do you do to compensate?’ I asked, looking at the petite little girl who was playing with the frills of her frock.

My friend replied, ‘I have started giving her a nutrition drink.’ 

'Which one?’

'Complan,’ she said. 

A smile played on my lips at the mention of the brand because that was probably the most popular brand we had heard of. I remembered the famous advertisement: 'I'm a Complan girl; I'm a Complan boy!’ featuring Shahid Kapur and Ayesha Takia.

'I did my research before choosing it. It's scientifically formulated,’ she said as though reading my mind.

She told me that Complan has 34 vital nutrients including 100% milk protein and it contains 63% more protein than other nutrition drinks. Complan is clinically proven to support 2x faster growth.

‘And the taste?’

'She loves it!’ My friend added enthusiastically. ‘I add Complan to milk and she doesn't complain. I'm so relieved.’

Encourage Varied Food Choices

Children are rambunctious, so they need more energy. They are sometimes finicky. I remember the time when my son refused to eat anything. I would make different things but he wouldn't eat. I didn't want to waste food, so I ended up unnecessarily eating the leftovers.

They need something that tastes different from usual everyday meals. Nutritional drinks can make the milk tastier and healthier.

Conversation with a Neighbor: Exploring Nutrition Drink Options

Later on, I was talking to a neighbour. 

'Does your son drink milk?’ she asked. And I was a little surprised. I mean every child drinks milk.

'My daughter refuses to drink milk; says she doesn't like the taste. It's so difficult because milk is such a common and important part of a child's meal. I read somewhere that milk protein is important for kids.’ She informed me. And then I realized that not liking the taste of milk is not that uncommon. 

'I am planning to give her some nutrition drink, but don't know which one to choose. Adding a nutrition drink changes the taste of milk. So she might start drinking milk.’ She looked worried.

I checked the website of Complan before suggesting it. It was good to know that Complan has 34 vital nutrients including carbohydrates, proteins and fat, and is fortified with vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, vitamins A, C, E, and many more.

'I’m not sure about other drinks but Complan is a good option. You can easily add it to milk to enhance the taste. Tried and tested by my friend,’ I said.

Our child's nutrition, growth and development are extremely important, and to ensure that, we need to be extra careful about the meals we serve to our children.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the blog content are independent and unbiased views of solely the blogger. This is a part of the public awareness initiative supported by Complan.