Quotidian Tales

A perpetually hard thing to resist I have stayed alone in an apartment for five months. I interacted with people only over the phone or when I was outside for work or shopping. Nothing seemed unbearable, though my close ones advised me to be more social. I slept and woke up on time. I cooked and ate diligently to keep myself healthy. I took showers every day. I watched television, read books, pampered myself once in a while, and sincerely claimed that I was staying alone in an apartment. Now, years later, with age and comprehension, I renewed my understanding of my state back through those days. I discover that I was reasonably involved with society! A conclusion that formulated when I envisioned a speculative plot, where I carefully and deliberately eliminate all associations around me. In this plot, I am without society, and the picture looks entirely different. Much of me has changed. Now, I only eat when I am hungry. Pampering or grooming takes a backseat as ...

Make this a Christmas that you can happily recollect years later. The fancies may fade away as the little one grows up, but the love will remain. S omeone knows I am indeed special because his present for me is always exactly the one that I want! The whole year round, I am so worried about the little troubles I make - scared that I will no longer be on his nice list. As winter settles in, I try to be the good girl. I pray for Santa to overlook my little mistakes and like every year be more indulgent with me. Then one fine day before Christmas, I finally talk to Santa. All my worries fly away, and he magically ushers in the holiday spirit. I tell him about my family, my friends, about Christmas and the North Pole and also my present. I know Santa watches over me the whole year round and although I’m naughty at times, he believes in me and makes sure never to disappoint me during Christmas. I blindly rest my faith on him. Over and over again, following it through every year! S...

Tell us the titles and topics that you want to see as future posts in Quotidian Tales. Speculations that we can discuss. Please add them to the comment section. I t's unbelievable how time flies. You never know, and soon you become a year old or more effectively as for the group of Quotidian Tales, a year wiser! It has been a wondrous one year for us! We couldn't thank our enthusiastic readers and their friends and families enough. Barely could we reach out to each one of you who read Quotidian Tales and enjoyed it. So here we take the opportunity to thank you for showing so much love and support throughout the year. Each day, you motivated us to keep writing, which made this first year so much more manageable. We enjoyed and loved your comments and likes that spurred us to keep marching ahead. It was the beginning of 2019 when we procured thoughts of expressing ourselves. Soon our excitement started piling up in google docs. We at least had one new document each...

Fountain pens are traditional, durable, enjoyable and stimulating - An incredible writing instrument that engages you in a therapeutic hobby. R amanuj listened to the morning news. He was ready to head out to work with his cup of fresh coffee and a slice of cake. On his way out, he grabbed his keys and hurriedly picked up his precious possession. Surprisingly, it was one from his prized collection of fountain pens. Being an analyst by profession and having twin teens around kept him busy all day. It was amazing how he would manage time out of it to refill his fountain pen and consciously sit down with his special notebook to ink his daily gratification in distinctive cursive fonts. He named it his ‘inking indolence.’ He never had to practice it. It was his passion. Miraculously, he knew how to set aside his worries and unwind himself in a calm space with his fountain pen and notebook. Entirely focused on his handwriting and his pen and lost amidst a comfortable space, f...

Fancy feeling the fervour of cooking? Then don’t just satiate your taste buds but let the spirit of your kitchen brighten the hearts in your home. Set about with this sumptuous Mango Fish recipe. H ave you ever experienced the ecstasy of being able to cook something delicious, nutritious or even otherwise? If you have, then you are no stranger to the alluring sizzle and warmth of your kitchen. My two kids are always peeking inside the pantry to conceive a dish or meal that mom could cook that day. Once an image pops up, they are ready to deliver it to mom so that I get moving on my part of the project. The most familiar way my kitchen wakes up every morning, and I enjoy it. Sometimes, my food cravings also drive me to the kitchen to prepare something. If I watch a good cooking show or a food tour, I almost always spend an experimental and engaging evening cooking for my family. Being the heart of my home, I love my kitchen to be alive and animated every day. Hundreds of...

Register online and be a part of this exclusive event! T he event features Ms.ZSUZSA GAJDAN, whose artwork is inspired from her adventure of life. Covering more than 50 solo exhibitions, she has grown from artistic realism and gradually moved towards abstract expressionism. Click here to learn her bio and know more about her work. This event is organized by IMA'S and promoted by Quotidian Tales . A gorgeous morning illuminates the entire universe and makes every being happy. Without this seeping daylight, the complete ecosystem is dysfunctional. Similarly, in our society, if we can’t distribute our love, affection and well-being, the entire human community is jeopardized. This lack willingly encourages depreciation of human values. IMA'S (International Multispecialty Arts’ School) having felt the need, has emerged with a dream of bringing art into the community. Community development has always been a serious concern of IMA'S, and this initiative is a ...

A new journey begins for a new Durga designated to vanquish the new Asura, more appropriately, Asuras. A fter a precious interim of ten months, my little Durga was coming home. The joy was immense as was my anticipated relief. Through all my years, I never missed the opportunity of being in the proximity of the unique festival, the Durga Puja. Its exuberance overwhelms me every year and I respond to it ecstatically. But that year, it didn't even seem that the celebrations were going on. It didn't depress me though, for once, as I lay in bed away from the festivities that fostered the Feminine Energy of existence. Such was her captivity. No lesser than the one Maa Durga exercises on her devotees, I pondered. I could feel her twisting and jabbing in my belly. Little could we wait to see each other. According to Hindu mythology, Durga is created by the Gods to slay the evil demon, Mahishasura. She was born with astounding beauty and power, empowered by the colle...

I am happy the way I am. I will not let others decide how I should look or appear. "B adi mushkil baba badi mushkil Gore gore gaalon pe hai kaala kaala til" ~ a song from the movie Lajja , (a 2001 Bollywood drama) in which Madhuri Dixit had performed. I am a big fan of Madhuri Dixit. Her distinctive dance moves and animated expressions seriously make many skip a heartbeat. This song from the movie Lajja, is even more special. Because there’s Me in it somewhere. My parents were ecstatic to have me as their firstborn. "How gorgeous she is... and her dot... the most heavenly brown that can ever dwell on an earthling!" Conch shells were blown as Baba picked me up towards the slit of light from heaven to declare… "She is a princess, born to live happily ever after!" The breeze slightly ruffled the curtain to ratify the blessing that imprinted itself on my heart. Well, that’s the dramatic start that my dot had! Adorable, in the eyes of the hap...

The mind’s eye can yank you from reality into an alternate world in seconds. T he mind is a magician. It harbours the special but mysterious power of imagination. When it gets to work, it makes us see more than what could possibly meet the eye. A stage show with the world’s finest conjurer will pale in comparison. Take, for example, the stunning photo here and what my mind made of it. To borrow the name Netflix gives the alternate reality in its runaway hit, Stranger Things , I went ‘upside down’ with it. As my mind’s eye zoomed in on the photograph, I was left staring at the vast blue sky. One fine line was scoring it -- a jet plane -- piercing through the light, fluffy clouds that punctuated the brilliant blue. And then...in the blink of an eye, I was on that plane. No more gazing up through the photographer’s lens but looking down. I saw the calm ocean, peeking from under the clouds. A tiny speed boat grazed the water like a flying fish. I was completely ‘upside do...

Teachers and parents have their work cut out to shape our kids for an AI world. C hildren are the future. Shaping them, along with their parents, are their teachers. But when Sophia, the world’s first humanoid, grabbed headlines three years back, it threw a challenge to the teachers of today. Among the various areas where Sophia could be of use, forecast by creator Hanson Tech, education was one. Artificial intelligence (AI), of which Sophia is one of the finest examples, is permeating every sphere in our lives. Its expanding reach is shrinking the scope for human employment, through automation. Teachers could soon find themselves replaced by AI. IBM’s AI tech, Watson, is famed for being able to beat human intelligence. AI’s appeal lies in being super-fast with 100 per cent accuracy, an enormous memory and malfunctioning that is logically deducible, unlike a capricious human temper. People will have to come up with new ways to add value to their profession to stay on th...

Making a craft with your child is a meaningful way to engage him...and much more... I t is always difficult to spend quality time with your kid. I make sure, I never miss one such possibility. I usually take up a tiny project with my son every month. I plan it so as to distribute the activity almost through each day of the month. This allotted task gives us a new topic to discuss and work on, together. My takeaway. The happiness and enthusiasm that fills the tender one during the conversations that go along with the creation. My son was actively involved at every step… his ardent love for this simple craft (that) filled me with a sense of accomplishment. Our May project was to fill a glass jar (a long-forgotten gift from an old friend). How should we fill it was the main challenge the two of us faced. A two-day long rigorous discussion followed. It looked like a professional team doing a much-needed requirements analysis prior to a project. Of course, it was mellowed dow...

A dream has the power to become real. Nourish it to inhabit in it. I believe in dreams. It is a great way to utilize your mind when you are sleeping. And the best way to push yourself when you are awake. Our dreams have the potential to create our reality. At least that’s what most of us like to believe. In our dreams, we see things happening. In our awakened state, we endeavor to transform those pleasant happenings into our reality. But sadly enough, when it comes to implementing those vignettes of our dreams into our conscious life, it becomes very complex and tiring. Mostly unattainable and almost unreal. The harsh realities of the matrix of our existence come into play. Those which had never been a part of our dreams. You can’t give up on it till you get to live it….Knowingly or unknowingly they give us the purpose to move on. A dire consequence. Our bodies and minds are quickly overwhelmed. First, due to the sheer frustration of not being able to fulfill our dreams...