#hindiaudio #growupmessy #kidsstory
young teen
My Year Round-Up 2019
2019 has been a very memorable journey for me both professionally as well as personally. Professionally I got the chance to participate in a few literary Meet and Kids Carnival. Also I got a chance to perform based on my voice. Personally, the year has been a milestone in my life. I was blessed with some of the most beautiful moments of my life. I have seen the work of art on paper coming to existence in structure formation in the real world. A dream come true. Emotionally I am satisfied with the progress in which the structure is shaping up eventually. So without wasting time lets unravel the mystery.
January
I was invited for storytelling in Kids’ Carnival 2019 organized by Vichakshan Jain Vidyapeeth. I got an opportunity to share stories from my books Grow Up Messy! and The Santa’s Gift.
Students of the school
February
It seems I didn’t do anything that month. Probably exam time ate up all my excitement to look forward to life. Aaouch!
March
Yeah, I can hear the birds chirping. Of course the arrival of springtime. And who can forget the festivals of color HOLI. Had a fabulous time with gulal, pichkari and baang thandai. Did you have fun?
A weekend trip to Vizag and Araku Valley with family friends needs a special mention. It was never so hotter before in the Valley.
Rama Naidu Studios, Vizag
INS Kurusura Submarine Museum Vizag
Fish Trailor, Vizag
Tribal Museum Araku valley
April
“The Booknerds organized a hangout dedicated to children books and authors at Little Flower School, Dehradun. The event focussed on the reading culture and reducing screen time among kids. In the panel were some prominent authors, Ratna Manucha, author of more than thirty books and principal of Little Flower School, Paromita Goswami, author of Grow Up Messy and Roshen Dalal, a prolific writer and historian. Students from Olympus High School, Little Flower School and Doon International School were present at the event.” _ The Booknerds.
It was such an esteem moment to meet some of the prolific writers, Roshen Dalal and Ratna Manucha. Neha and Rohan the founder of the Booknerds really need a lot of applause for taking the initiative.
I got the chance to meet my childhood friends who have always been the anchor of my life. It never felt like we were meeting after twenty-five years.
May
Released the preview of the first book of my upcoming jungle series.
The TIMEPIECE.
Available for free download.
Released the first book of jungle series.
The Clockmaker
June
Had a storytelling session in a summer camp organized by Chalk and Dust
Hosted my first Summer camp – Gathri for kids. It wasn’t successful yet it gave me a good experience.
July
The Clockmaker comes out to be # 1 in amazon.in the horror category. This was the first time one of my books grabbed that position.
August
Unplanned trip to Sirpur on occasion of 15th August and Rakhi.
Laxman Mandir
Stone carvings at Laxman Mandir
Released my Second book of the jungle series
A Night At Achanakmar
September
Practically no contribution professionally. Motherhood takes precedence here and time to catch up with my son’s demands.
October
With the onset of Navrathris and the knocking of Durga puja round the corner, all jazzed up for shopping. This year donned mostly shopping glass bangles.
Enjoyed fabulous time during Durgapuja with boudis and sarees.
November
Diwali celebration marked the biggest celebration of the year.
Had a quick getaway to Barnawapara forest. This time we stayed in a resort and enjoyed the fabulous natural setting and wildlife.
It was also the time when I cleared the tests and got selected for All India radio.
December
The month celebration starts with my birthday which falls on the eighth. Enjoyed picnic with friends.
Announced the release of my next short story.
The Kiss of the Death.
To be released soon.
Had my first radio show on the AIR. Also got the opportunity to record my first song for AIR.
Old radio
I wish for a solid beginning in 2020. May my manifestations be granted from the spiritual world to the 3D. Los of expectations and aspirations for the coming year 2020.
Have a set of books to be published. My music career gracefully elated. The kids club more active with lots of events and last, peace and harmony should prevail in all parts of the country.
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Ebook Giveaway for Reviews
Limited time offer!
#newrelease #freealert #paranornal #supernatural #Thriller #preview #theclockmakerprelude
THE TIMEPIECE.
Kindly review my book on Amazon and goodreads.
Grab your copy @
http://getbook.at/TheTimepieceapreview …
Thank You
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Book Quotes 3: The Clockmaker
A glimpse to what my upcoming book is about. Any guess?
Well its a #paranormal #thriller Indian #drama.
THE CLOCKMAKER
(Jungle Series Book 1)
Releasing Very Soon
Watch out for the book characters next
and
the Book Trailer
Check out the book excerpts here
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Book Review : The Santa’s Gift By Jonny, Reviewer at Litpick
How does it feel when a young reader as old as 13 years reviews your work?
Feeling awesome! Thank you Litpick for this wonderful opportunity
Title : The Santa’s Gift
Blurb:
What is the pursuit of happiness in the journey of parenting?
Toby takes things for granted.
Mamta is having tough time coping up with it.
Can Santa’s arrival really change their life?
Read the complete review here
Buying link
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Rakhi Bonanza Offer ! Don’t miss
With the onset of festivals here is the first gift for you. This Rakhi surprise your brother and sister with these two short reads.
The Wedding Gift is YA read (80% off )
The Santa’s Gift is 10+ read (Free download)
Enjoy !!
Follow the links below :
THE WEDDING GIFT
THE SANTA’S GIFT
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Photoshoot of the Clockmaker
Excerpt: The Clockmaker – A spark in the rain
Here is a small excerpt from my upcoming novel THE CLOCKMAKER. Hope you enjoy it.
***
It had started raining since the evening. A heavy downpour followed by drizzle. With the onset of the monsoons it was predictable. It was chaos everywhere. The routes were jammed due to water logging on the streets and the traffic came to a standstill in a short while.
Vicky was waiting for Kavya in the parking lot. He knew it would be difficult for her to drive back to her house in her scooty in this weather. So he waited there to help her out.
Kavya came out of the institute in a while. She was very upset to see the chaos on the road. It was already late and she didn’t want to keep her mother worried at home. She called her up to inform that she would be home late due to the traffic.
She pulled her bag above her head and ran to the parking lot. She was almost drenched by the time she reached there.
“Damn. How am I going to make it to Noida in this weather?” She cussed.
“May I help you?”A voice asked from behind. It was Vicky. He had gathered a lot of courage to say those words to her. His heart was racing fast as he waited for her answer.
Kavya turned around and saw a guy standing. His nervous black eyes were the first thing she noticed. It matched his anxious voice. She remembered seeing the guy in the class. One of the back benchers. She dismissed him immediately saying, “No. Thanks,” and turned back. She started her scooty and drove off without giving a second look to him.
Vicky sighed as he watched her go. “Damn! How stupid I looked?”
He said to himself and started laughing. “You need lessons from your old man again,” he reminded himself. His Nanu had been of great help to him when he set out to make his first girlfriend at the age of thirteen. He started his bike and trailed Kavya which he often did without her knowledge.
Kavya couldn’t reached very far. The route she usually took was completely jammed due to the rains and there was no sign of relief any time soon. Most of the people were already reversing their vehicle. So Kavya also thought of doing so.
She took a right turn and didn’t notice the speed bumper ahead. Before she could apply the brakes she lost her balance and bumped into a standing vehicle. The impact threw her out of the bike on the water logged road.
The vehicle was a brand new car and the impact broke one of its tail lights.
Kavya stood up shivering – more from the shock of the accident than her wet clothes. She was drenched completely and her hands and knees were bruised.
Instead of helping her, the driver of the car, she had bumped into, got down and started arguing about the damage done to his vehicle. The poor man was concerned that the car owner will deduct the damage from his salary. People started gathering around and it terrified Kavya more . She was so terrified that she hid her face in her palm.
Vicky reached there in time and found Kavya panic stricken amid the crowd. He didn’t lose a second and took the situation in his hands.
He got down from his bike and yelled at the crowd, “She is with me!” Within a few strides he stood right in front of her.
Kavya heard a familiar voice. She opened her eyes slowly and was curious to find a guy standing in front of her with his back towards her. His broad shoulders shielded her completely from the crowd.
“I will take care of it. Just don’t worry.” He stated.
Kavya remembered the voice. It was of the same guy in the parking she had met a few minutes ago. But his voice sounded so authoritive now.
He spoke something to the driver and he went away without saying another word. The crowd too disbursed immediately.
He then turned back to face Kavya. “Are you alright?” He looked concerned.
Kavya looked into those eyes once more but could not hold his gaze for more than a few seconds. She was ashamed of her rudeness earlier. She nodded looking down.
Vicky bent down and picked up her bag from the road. He looked around for her scooty. It stood a few meters away. Someone in the crowd might have picked it up. He went to check it. He started the engine and it roared. He looked at Kavya who was still standing there where he had left her. The rain water washing off the mud stains off her fair skin. He then noticed that she was shivering.
He came over to her and took off his rain jacket and offered it to her.
“Your scooty is fine.” He informed her.
Kavya remained silent. She knew she couldn’t make it home alone but she didn’t have the courage to say it. She started weeping.
“Damn! No! What happened? I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you anyway.” He was confused.
Between her sobs Kavya said, “No I am sorry for my rudeness. Please take me home. I can’t ride my scooty.”
There was silence for a moment.
Kavya wasn’t sure anymore what to expect and Vicky was speechless hearing her words. How much he had waited for a moment like this and now he was zapped. He could feel the blood draining his ears and cheeks red as his heart raced.
Then she heard him say. “Don’t worry about your scooty. I will get it picked up by my friend. Come on lets go.”
Kavya followed him quietly to his bike and pillion rode the entire way to her house in Noida. Nobody spoke in between. They spoke only for directions.
Kavya was still in shock and Vicky too cautious of her nearness to him. And it drizzled all the way.
When Vicky stopped the bike in front of her apartment Kavya got down and throwing a small, “Thank you,” behind her ran inside without looking back.
Vicky stood there watching her enter the building. He looked up towards the sky and a smile swept his lips while the rain drops splashed on his face. He started the engine and biked all the way home in super speed.
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Ma ki Seekh! – A mother’s Teachings
I know this article is coming very late. It should have been delivered a few months back. However, my anger has not subsided yet.
I wanted to write about it especially when #internationalwomensday is being celebrated all over the world. You will agree with me that it is always the mother who shapes up the thoughts and action of a child. The first lesson a child gets is from his/her mother. She might teach her child by telling stories, assigning them duties, punishing them, helping them , mentoring them. So throughout our life at any one point of time we do remember her teachings and thank her for that. That’s the role mother play in our lives.
So I consider myself fortunate that my Ma taught me to be independent in thoughts, choice, opinions, finance, decisions just about everything I can think of at this moment. She had never questioned my abilities of decision making and taking its responsibility too. I might be correct or I might be wrong. But whatever the result, I know it’s mine and Ma had always been proud of me.
However, I have come across many girls and women who are not fortunate like me. They are dependent. Dependent on their folk be it father, husband, brother, friend or just about anybody else who influence their life in their thoughts, choice, opinions, finance, decisions just about everything I can think of at this moment. So it won’t come as a surprise to me if this article that I am writing after really getting furious, thoughtful and compassionate, won’t ever reach the people for whom I am writing this. Probably because they don’t use internet, they don’t read blogs, they don’t discuss topics like this or maybe it is not important for them at all.
Imagine a scenario. A girl in her teens getting ready to go out with her female friend. Maybe to tuition classes, birthday party, mall or just about anywhere where SHE IS ALLOWED TO GO AT THAT TIME OF THE DAY. Her mother’s words would be one of these, where are you going, this is not appropriate dressing, with whom are you going, come home in time. This I think every mother does to her daughter and there is nothing bad about it. For the sons the question set will be a little different or none at all. Anyways I won’t doubt a mother’s advice or questions to her child.
My article relates to a different scenario. A daughter experiencing her first menstruation cycle or maybe it is one of her best friend who is experiencing it for the first time. This is definitely a topic of discussion among the teenagers. It could be frightening sometimes like – I was leaking in the classroom or I stained my bed or I am not feeling well. For a girl who is new to this or hasn’t still gone through this phase yet is sure to have nightmares. I had too.
One of my classmate was married off suddenly. Well not really. It was a ritual which they were celebrating when the daughter bleeds for the first time. The ritual is almost like a marriage ceremony when all the relatives and friends are invited and bring gifts for the girl. The girl is dressed like a bride minus there is no bridegroom. She is confined to her room all the days of her first bleeding and none of the male member including her father is allowed to see her.
We were too young to understand all this and believed she was married off until she returned to the school after few days, a little embarrassed. She didn’t hide anything from us but what we understood from her tale was terrifying, for me at least. And then one day it happened to me. I started crying thinking something was wrong with me. As a dutiful mother my Ma answered, ”It’s okay! You are an woman now. ” Between the sobs I did ask her “Then what was I before?” She said, “You will understand when you grow up. Period.” That was her way of educating me about the most important phenomenon of my life . I don’t blame her because she too had learned the same way, when she grew up.
Like her there are lots of mothers who may have given more or less similar answers to their daughter’s query. I have come across women who are pretty confused as in how to address their teenage children regarding sex education. But why should I only bracket mothers here, it should be parents as a whole. Most of the parents shy off or shoo off or divert the questions of their teenage children regarding sex education. They leave it to the mercy of school or text books to educate their child regarding this topic or maybe in the hands of time.
In most school syllabus, Biology subject has chapters with elaborate understanding of human organs and its function. There is chapter on human genital parts and its function too. However, this chapter is mostly skipped in the classroom discussion due to our mental inhibition maybe. We are just not comfortable discussing it in the open. However, that does not stop the curiosity. In the absence of proper education these teenagers now either turn to internet or friends which unleashes a different zone all together. The world of half knowledge or fun and pleasure. So the most important education in a child’s life that is sex education is not taught at all but left at the hands of life’s experience or half knowledge.
From here I will go back to the girls. Those girls who are not allowed to make a choice. Turn eighteen they are pushed off to marriage. Mind it they have no knowledge of the most important education of their life and they are about to start a new chapter in their life. Here comes the Ma ki seekh again, mother’s teachings. “Be good to your mother-in-law, respect all the elders and give affection to all the young ones in your sasural, in-laws place, your man is everything to you now, always keep him happy. Don’t ever, do anything in your sasural that will bring bad name to your parental home.” Finally the innocent, young, sanskari, virtue, girl is off to her sasural amid vidai, a tearful journey of leaving her parental home.
So now what. Does she know anything about contraceptives or how to use it? How can she, she had never asked anyone before nor had anybody told her about it. Neither can she ever question her husband who himself may be in the same bandwagon as her. He is sankari too you see. So being a good wife she conceives within a month or two. Great celebration time! In our part of the world the next nine months people will ecstatically wait for the newborn to be a boy. What if it is not? That is a separate section altogether. So our good girl who is not even twenty years of age mothers her first child. And just like her mother, she will rephrase the lines to raise her child.
This scenario is not confined to the people of lower strata only. Educated from well to do families also have cases like this. But what if she was given sex education and all the information relating to it. She could have had a choice of actually parenting a baby according to her comfort level. At least a girl should be given this choice whether she wants to be a mother now or later because not just physically she has to prepare herself mentally also to raise a healthy baby. At least she should have a right to it.
But who will educate her of her right to motherhood or her choice. Her mother who had been her driving force behind all her thoughts? Her friends with whom she had shared so many secrets? Her teacher?
Sex education is also any child’s right and I feel it is first a mother’s duty to educate her growing child. Now how she can teach? She has to be bold enough to answer all the question her child might think of pertaining to that subject. If need be she should direct her child towards the right source from where the child can get complete knowledge about the subject. It should not be a taboo. It is a RIGHT
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TV, Mobile & Kids. Is that you?
I have a kids book reading club and most of the time I have the parents asking me this question time and again, ” How to make the child interested in reading books?” So I have written this article for them which I am sure can help.
Two decades back it was an easy sight to watch a child with story books in hand. We have grown up reading Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Enid Blyton and Mills & Boons. Reading books had been part of our lives and there was so much we imagined when reading these books. Right from fairy tales, to magical world to adventure stories of the sea, books had given us a big world of imagination. The characters stood alive in front of our eyes taking us to a new adventure along. Our summer vacation always started with a to-be-read list of books. Comics like Amar Chitra Katha, Chacha Choudhary, Tintin, Phantom were a big favorite of children at that time. Even the adults indulged in story telling sessions. I remember my childhood when all the children of the colony would assemble in my granny’s room in the evenings to listen to her stories. She would narrate tales of mythologies, folklore and fairy tales and all of us would just listen to her mesmerized.
Things have changed today. Granny’s storytelling sessions are now replaced by games on iPad or smart phones, books have been replaced by YouTube and TV channels and our living rooms, which decades back used to be the meeting place of all the family members in the evenings has now been replaced by smart televisions that have two screens running with two different channels at the same time. Whatsapp and Facebook updates have replaced our family discussions. It’s only the TV or apps on Smartphones that do the speaking in the living room now while the family members are mute spectators only.
Children don’t read books nowadays because they have never seen an adult reading a book. I remember my parents always with a novel in their hand most of the time when at home. Whenever they got a time out of their work they would love to indulge in reading books, magazines or newspaper. So as a child, I was familiar with the presence of books at home. Right from spiritual to Epics to thrillers and dramas, the collection of books, by my parents was huge. However, if we talk about today, most of the parents don’t read books at home. They read emails, whats app messages or Facebook updates most of the time. So a child easily becomes familiar with these instead.
So it is us, the parents, the adults at home, whom the child watches and behaves accordingly. If you want your child to love reading books then you got to love it first. You can easily start this by choosing a reading den in your house. Remember, how your daddy loved to spend long evening hours sitting in the easy chair in the corner of the drawing room reading his favorite author. Find out a similar corner for yourself in your home. Here are few things you need to make yourself comfortable there. A chair to sit comfortably, reading lights and a book shelf where you can keep your favorite author’s book. Once you are ready, sit with your favorite beverage and make yourself comfortable with a book in your hand. The first day, the second day, the third day I bet your child will follow you there with his favorite story book.
Kids are like the wet cement. Whatever you imprint on their mind will remain with them forever. Your work does not end here. Once you find your child has shown interest in reading books you have to make his books accessible to him everywhere in the house. The reason because children are restless and they won’t spend more than few minutes in one place, unlike the adults. So make a similar den for them in those areas where they access more like the living room, balcony, their room, dining area or play room. Unlike adults they don’t need much, just the bookcase, couch or rugs with few throw pillows on the floor are more than enough for them. 
They will shift their positions many times while reading so they need space. One thing that you must always take care of is the reading light. Whichever place your child choose to sit and read should have adequate reading light otherwise it may affect the eyes. A bookcase near the child’s bed is always a good idea. You can always read him out a story before putting him to sleep. This will help him develop the habit of the reading book before going to sleep. As a parent, you have to ensure a good supply of books for your child. If the bookshelves don’t have new books the reading habit may suffer. You can do that by taking your child to bookstores once a month, or book fairs or you can even sign up with some children book clubs online. There are several Book Clubs online nowadays. Choose one which is nearby your area and join in the physical meetups. This will help increase interaction among the like-minded souls and the children will develop an interest in books in a better way.
Today ebooks are the trend in the market. When the world is digitized so are the books. With free reading apps, it is very easy to read books on iPad or Smartphone or any other gazettes. Moreover, it is easier to make children read ebooks as they are already gazette freak. Ebooks ease the need of stacking physical books. You can carry thousands of books at a time with the ebook readers like kindle, kobo, nook. Audiobooks are also in trend these days wherein a book is in audio format and the reader is a listener. This is especially useful for those kids who are unable to read on their own. By listening to the narration they can enjoy the book. It also enhances their listening skills.
Below is the list of few Indian writing paperbacks and ebooks that can be an interesting read for your child.
- Grow Up Messy! by Paromita Goswami ( Ages 10+)
- Malgudi daysby R. K Narayan (Ages 10+)
- The Rusty Series by Ruskin Bond (Ages 10+)
- The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, (Ages 8+)
- His share of sky by Rashmi Narzary (Ages 10+)
- Amar Chitra Katha is all time favorite of the kids and can also teach them mythology, Indian history, and moral stories.
- Bookasura #2: Koobandhee by Arundhati Venkatesh (Ages 3+)
- Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon (Ages 11+)
- Famous Five by Enid Blyton (Ages 11+)
- Nancy Drew by Carolyne Keene (Ages 11+)
All these books are available on Amazon.in.
***
Paromita Goswami 