Preeti Shenoy's blog.

For the last 31 days, I have been putting up a new post every single day! PHEW!! I have received many mails from all of you, and some of you have been supporting me solidly by leaving a comment, on each post of mine. Deepti Tanna, Sanjay Dua and Prathima Joishy are some of the names I am now so familiar with, in my comment box.
🙏🙏🙏 A big thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Today is also the last day of my vacation, and I return back to Bengaluru tomorrow.
I can't wait to be reunited with my darling Lostris. Waiting eagerly to meet her.

Today we went to Sialkuchi, a weaver's village, and I bought tonnes of Assamese Sarees. There are different kinds of silks like Muga silk, Eri Silk and Tasar. The cotton  handloom sarees --I just fell in love with them. They are unlike sarees I have seen anywhere else. In future I will be wearing them , and shall post pictures on myInstagram page. Follow me there, if you want to see me showing off my Assamese saree collection.😜
I also shopped a lot. Bamboo p…

Today is Satish's birthday.


We visited the Kamakhya temple, and Balaji temple and offered prayers of immense gratitude for all that is going right in our lives. I think it is extremely important to.
At Kamakhya temple, Guwahati.India is so incredibly rich in culture, it will take many lifetimes to discover all of it. #travel #india A post shared by Preeti Shenoy (@preeti.shenoy) on Aug 30, 2017 at 8:41am PDT

Till tomorrow!
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ps: Get my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

Today we drove from Cherapunjee to Guwahati. On the way we stopped at Shillong peak, which is inside an Air Force camp. You have to give your original identity documents to be allowed to go inside. Inside, it is a beautiful campus, and I passed Kendtiya Vidyalaya Shillong, and it brought back fond memories as I have done all my school years in various  KVs all over India. The uniform has changed now, from what it used to be..But Kendriya Vidayalas are truly amazing schools.

We checked into our hotal at Guwahati and explored Pan bazaar and Fancy Market. I discovered a book shop and wandered in. It turned out to be one of Guwahati's oldest book shops. The owner Mrs.Kumar was delighted to see me. She brought out all my books, and I signed them. It was wonderful chatting with her. There is something amazing about connecting with people you have never met,but who shower you with so much love, because they have read your books.

Guwahati is very humid and very  hot, and you can see me a…

We began our day with a trek down the mountains, through the pine forests. We didn't have a guide. Satish and I decided to explore the path on our own. It was slippery in many places, and we had to be certain of our footing, else we would have tumbled down. Tall coniferous trees formed dense canopies, through which sunlight couldn't trickle down. Ferns, spider-webs, mushrooms and pine-cones dotted the path. It was dark, damp, green and oh so pure. We walked down slowly, and a magnificent sight greeted us. I am sharing a picture I clicked.


We climbed back, contented happy souls. We found a vantage point from where we had a view of this very lake that we had trekked down to. I stood there and made a painting.


After breakfast, we left forCherrapunjee.

Just before we reached Cherrapunjee, we took a diversion went to The Garden of Caves in Laitmawsiang. The sight is mesmerising, stunning, fascinating. It is a must-do if you ever visit North-East. The main attraction is the natural…

Life is really slow in Shillong. It hardly moves, just like the placid waters of the numerous lakes that flank it.
I sketched this morning, when a beautiful antique cupboard caught my eye, at the resort where we are staying. Here's what I painted.



 And I sketched in the evening too.
I would have loved to share that as well but the wi-fi is very slow, and it takes forever to upload. Hence I shall share it when I get back to Bangalore. You can follow my Instagram art handle for more of my illustrations.

We wandered around in Shillong market place today.



I love exploring new places. I shopped for some local wooden handmade stuff. One thing you see in Shillong is perfectly carved wooden eggs! I bought a set for myself.

We had a lovely, leisurely lunch at beautiful place called Cloud nine, which had large open windows that gave us  breathtaking views of the Khasi Hills. They had a live band as well, and the singer was mellifluous in his rendition of some great classic numbers.

All in …

Greetings from Meghalaya. True to it's name, it is a place kissed by the clouds. As I type this, from my picture window, the rain falls gently outside making a pitter-patter sound. It feels like I am living inside a poem.

We drove from Shillong to Mawlynnong, which has earned the moniker of Asia's cleanest village. The drive itself was arduous, as the mountain roads are terrible. Since I ave been so many times to the Western ghats in South India, this just seemed like a poor cousin in comparison. The roads in South India are much much better. After a bone-rattling torturous car ride, we arrived tired and hungry. We ate at a small restaurant (sticky rice, watery dal and some kind of delicious chutney made of onion, tomato and green chillies loosely pounded). Then we began our walk to see the living root bridges.

That was AMAZING. It is a sight worth seeing. I felt the forests in Avatar movie had come alive from the sets and had been resurrected here. I couldn't help marve…

Those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram know that I am on a vacation, in the North East of India.

It's a BEAUTIFUL place! For lots of pictures and real-time updates, follow my Instagram stories.

I am sharing two pictures with you that I clicked.



Isn't this heaven? 

More tomorrow!
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check out my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

Death puts many things in perspective. All of us know it lingers just around the corner, yet we live in denial of it, not thinking about it, not considering it, as it is not a palatable topic. Rarely do we discuss it in detail, as it is not your average dinner-table conversation, slipped in between the starter and the dessert.Death is alwaysfeared, revered, and if at all talked about, it is in hushed tones, a lowered octave, and with a sombreness to match the gravitas of the unavoidable.
Yet, it is only when we accept the possibility that it could be just round the corner, are able to fathom the urgency to live life to the fullest, and be in the moment, not worrying about the infinite possibilities and the what-ifs.
One of my closest friends( we have been friends since we were 10) lost her mother yesterday. I feel so sad as I write this. Aunty was one of the sweetest people I knew.  Whenever I visited my friend, aunty would be ever-smiling, ever-welcoming.  It is rarely that someone  who…

My post for today is a poem I wrote for Conde Nast traveller


**************************
If there were no borders
No visas or passports 
And if countries were not 
Guarded like forts 

If distances were traversed 
As easily as thoughts
If life wasn’t a mass of
 Tangled up knots 

If unravelling a thread
 Didn’t lead to mayhem
If there was only us
And if there was no them 

If I was free as a bird
And at will I could fly
Then no force would stop me
 In your arms I would lie 

Or if I could teleport at will
 I’d turn up every day
We would talk face to face 
You would ask me to stay 

Instead I count the days 
Till I see you again
Each moment that ticks by
 Brings a fresh wave of pain 

We promise each other
That we will meet soon
We exchange countless texts
 And gaze at the same moon 

Across thousand of miles 
With each other we converse 
The laments we bury
The desires we nurse. 

And yet above all,
Two hearts thud in unison 
In secret they opine
I am already yours
You are already mine 

**************© 2017 P…

Sharing four photos from my CRAZY HECTIC day yesterday, which began at 4.30 am and ended past midnight.

 At the lounge at Bangalore airport.

 Spotted Rajini mama!!


 Delhi Airport.



Delhi is so hot and humid compared to bangalore.


More tomorrow.
Today I am EXHAUSTED.

Some days back I had blogged about a miniature garden I had created.
Today, I made another one!

Here are the pictures.


 I made the mushrooms, and the house with clay! Then I painted it :)



The above gives you an idea of the size.

I am so pleased with these tea-cup gardens.
Since they do not have a drainage hole, there is a lot of layering to be done---activated charcoal, pebbles, horticultural fabric, potting soil mixed with perlite etc.(I bought all of those things today, from a local garden store)


It was such fun putting this together. Now all I have to do is wait for the fairies, pixies and gnomes to arrive ;-)

I have an important meeting tomorrow (pssst--it has to do with my next book!).
And I have to wake up at 4.30 am as I have an early flight to catch.

How is my tea cup garden? Tell me in comments!
Till tomorrow, may your day be magical.
Good night!
_________________________________________
check out my books: http://preei.io/amazon

With a very good friend of mine. She and I always have a wonderful time when we connect. We so get each other ! I think it is important to have friends like that. Who bring out the fun side in you . And with whom you can laugh like a loonie 😊Vani, here's to our friendship!🥂🍷 A post shared by Preeti Shenoy (@preeti.shenoy) on Aug 20, 2017 at 5:12am PDT

Today's post is this picture with my friend Vani Mahesh. I met her today and we had a great time.
 Do check out her site.
Chances are, you have already read something Vani has written! She is the writer of so many Amar Chitra Kathas! She is also an autthor.

A new post tomorrow.
Till then---have a restful time.
____________________________
check out my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

Some people think that you just have to make weekend plans. They aren't happy unless they go out, do something with friends, watch a movie, hangout at a mall or some such activity.
A common question you hear people ask is 'What plans for the weekends?'

I think it is perfectly okay to stay at home on the weekend, and do things that give you joy. I am always grateful for the peaceful days in my life. Today was one such.

In the morning we harvested this from our garden:

 They are completely organic. And the entire garden is tended to by Satish and me. If you want to see more pictures of my garden from today, go HERE


In the evening we went for a nice long walk, along with Lostris, as soon as the downpour stopped.

The sunset was so beautiful against the urban sky, I stopped to stare. And I clicked a picture. Here is a photo I clicked.




Now I am going to read.

How was your Saturday? Was it peaceful? What did you do?
Tell me in comments.

Till tomorrow, stay peaceful!
Love
preeti
…

For the last few days, I have been wanting to make a miniature garden in a container, and I have been heuristically combing the Internet for information about it. This morning when I went on my walk, I found some moss --thanks to the incessant  Bangalore rains of the last two days, and I knew the time had come to create my miniature garden.


Here is what I made!


You can see the little sea-shell path leading upto the tiny house. The sea-shells, I had collected from the Maldives.  The rocks that you see, I collected from the road side, and the plants were existing ones that I had in my garden.

To give you an idea of the size of the container, I clicked another picture:


You can see how small the container is.

Now I am all set on creating another one, this time in a slightly bigger container.

If you too want to create miniature gardens. click here.

If you liked my garden, do tell me in my comments! I look forward to hearing from you.
Till tomorrow, take care!
Love
Preeti,

_____________________…

Every morning, when I wake up, there's always a good morning photo from my mother. We are all a part of a family whatsapp group--my tow children, my husband and my mother. My children are extremely close to my mother, and she in turn adores them.

This morning, for the good morning photo she sent the above photo which she clicked in her village in Kerala. Her message read 'help, help a birdie is missing. Please help me find her.'

I was the first to find.

If you do not know where the birdie is, scroll down for the answer.





Go on , keep scrolling


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>







>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Go on






>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Some more






>>>>>>>>>>>> Don't be lazy, scroll!





Here is the birdie!






I couldn't help thinking how fortunate I am, to have a fun-loving mother, who …

Continuing with my reading spree, I  started another book today. This book I am reading is actually a young adults book, by Eva Ibbotson. It is called  'Monster Mission.'



Earlier, I had read herSecret of Platform 13.  

 And I fell in love with her writing, instantly .

All fans of Harry Potter (I am NOT a fan of those books) would immediately say they find the concept similar  to the first book in the   Harry Potter series, (as there is a platform on Kings Cross station on platform 13 which leads to a different world)  but the fact is Eva's book had come out three years before Harry Potter books did.

Eva has a good case for suing for plagiarism if she wants to, but she dismissed it, by saying 'We all borrow from each other as writers and I would like to shake her hand.' My respect for Eva Ibbotson  went up tenfold when I learnt that.


I must mention that I have read both books, and the similarity ends there. Rowling's book is completely different from Eva's.…

Today, as it was independence day,  I did a Facebooklive video session.
It was fun talking to all of you, real time. If you missed it, you can watch it by clicking the link above. 


I also finished reading a novel today. It is the 19th book that I have read since 1st January 2017. If you have been following my blog, might you might  remember that I had started a reading wall at the beginning of the year.
I am glad that my reading wall is filling up fast!




If you too want to make more time to read, here is a piece I wrote on medium:

5 easy ways to read more and transform your life. 








And if you want to see some books I really enjoyed, I am currently in the google play store :)
Please go and have a look.
Here's a screenshot.



What is the book that you are currently reading?
Tell me in comments! I would love to know.

______________________________
Till tomorrow: Keep reading!

Check out my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

My post for today is this walking companion, who insisted on accompanying me on my morning walk :)

Of course it helped that i had bribed him with cat food, minutes before this video was shot :)



He didn't know he was being set up.
But even if he did, I don't think he would care!

New post tomorrow.
Good night folks!
____________________________________________
 Check out my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

My heart is still thudding after Game of Thrones--episode 4, Season 7. What a show!

So thought I would do a fun post today, and hence decided to do a Sunday Stealing(click on link to know more)


Here are  my answers to the questions they asked.

1.  What is the favorite piece of art you own.

An original painting by Niall Young
It's a hyper pointillism piece and I was with him at Trafalgar square, viewing the scene he brilliantly captured in his art work.


2.  The most expensive bill you paid last month.

Ha! My children's college fees! (both are studying in a foreign country)

3.  What’s the last thing you apologized for?

 To my daughter this morning.What I apologised for---Well, here's an assignment for you. use your imagination and write a story on it :) (In other words, no, I am not revealing that)


4.  If you could do today over, would you change anything?
Yes, I wouldn't have eaten those french fries out of greed :P



5.  What is the largest TV screen in your house?

65 or 56, not…

My post for today would probably seem shocking to many. I have written about Incest, and my views on it, in detail. If you click on the above image it should enlarge.

If you are unable to read it even after you enlarge it, then please see  here.


_______________________________
check out my books: http://preeti.io/a

A friend is one in whose company you can be yourself without any pretence. With whom you can share your innermost thoughts without fear of judgement. With whom you have a great time whether you do something together or just nothing at all. Most of all someone who lifts up your spirits and makes you feel good from the inside. Here's to our friendship Suma! @thelittleyarnowl A post shared by Preeti Shenoy (@preeti.shenoy) on Aug 11, 2017 at 6:19am PDT


This is all I did today, apart from a few work calls. It was a day well spent! More tomorrow. ____________________________

Check out my books on Amazon:http://preeti.io/amazon

Pedro de Sousa



Today, I received this mail from a reader. (shared with permission)

I just read your blog on friendship. 
You have always portrayed friends in a positive light... Except for the one in the novel 'tea for two and a piece of cake' .  Personally I have like the worst kind of experience when it comes to this ship 'friendship' ..  I do not know whether it is because I go out of way to help people.  What would your advice be in the following situation?
I was very close to this girl.  And we became close because she was going through a bad phase in her life.  And I was always there, no matter whether I had an exam or whether I was sick.  And she never cared what I wanted.  And then finally I came to know that she used to talk bad about me....  I was very hurt.  When I confronted her she chucked it off..  I went under depression.  She now treats me like it's my fault.  I also said sorry. 
Now I guess she doesn't need me anymore. Hope you doing w…

Today was a whirlwind of a day for me. I started my day at 5.30 am.

I went for my   run/walk.(I run/walk every  single day).

Later in the morning, I met two good friends of mine, both authors, at a pub in Bangalore. We had a great time.
Right next to the pub was a wonderful little store that I discovered, which had the prettiest, cutest, the most well designed pieces for your home. I felt I was in wonderland as I explored the store.
I  couldn't resist buying  three really pretty containers, for growing Mint, Basil and Parsley. I shall share pictures, after they grow a little bit. I also bought a miniature watering can. A tiny one which is smaller than your palm!

As soon as I got back home,  my dog was waiting and I walked her. We went for a long walk. Each time she explores the same path we have walked on, thousands of times by now, we discover something new.

The one thing that I do, when I walk is listen to podcasts.  I highly recommend listening to podcasts, over listening to m…

Are there any words that you hate for absolutely no reason at all? Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to words or usages?

I do! And these are just personal idiosyncrasies. They have no logic, no reason, no rhyme. I certainly wouldn't be able to explain why I feel this way towards certain words, but I do. (poor word--it's not your fault word; We just aren't meant to be together. It's not you, it's me :-) )

Here are a few words which instantly make me  freeze the moment I hear some person use it.

1. 'Cool': I have no problems with the word Cool when it is used to describe a climatic condition (The cool breeze felt like a soft caress against my face)  or the temperature of a drink (The cool water quenches his thirst) . I also have no problems when it is used to indicate that you admire a person or a thing. (He is so cool.  You can do the headstand? That is so cool!) But I have a big problem when people use it as a response to something you said.
'I w…

A reader shared the above photograph of her two babies reading my books!!! How cute is the above?!!
I can't get over it. :)  A BIG thank you to their mother for sharing this precious, sweet, priceless moment.

Here's what she said:



Any guesses on the book names? :)

Tell me in comments.

I have to wake up tomorrow at 5.30 am, as I have to leave home to 7.00 am for something that I have at 8.00 am.
I am so tired today, I need to rest.Trust your day has been good?

Good night folks.
More tomorrow.
Love
Preeti

My post for today is what I posted on Instagram. A longer post tomorrow.
Happy friendship day!
Lots of love
Preeti

A friend is one who helps you look inwards and and when you are ready to soar, is there cheering you. Happy friendship day! Hope you had a great day with your friends. I did 😊 A post shared by Preeti Shenoy (@preeti.shenoy) on Aug 6, 2017 at 7:10am PDT

My post for today is my column in the Financial Chronicle.

Read it HERE

Hope you have had a great Saturday.
 Here's a picture I posted from my day today, on my Instagram.

Follow four things in life. 1. Be kind 2. Be grateful 3. Avoid that which makes you unhappy 4. Find joy in small things And you will find that Life is Beautiful . Have a great weekend! A post shared by Preeti Shenoy (@preeti.shenoy) on Aug 5, 2017 at 1:55am PDT

See you tomorrow folks! 
Happy weekend!

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 check out my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

This morning I harvested red globe radish from my organic terrace garden.  I have never eaten radishes that fresh, and that delicious.

For those of you who want to know more, here are two links for you.
This link tells you about how I first started a garden--and how i failed miserably.

 http://blog.preetishenoy.com/2014/07/blog-marathon-time-again-post-1-organic.html

This one tells you about how to start one yourself, even if you have a teeny weeny balcony, you can grow so much stuff!

http://blog.preetishenoy.com/2015/01/on-starting-organic-terrace-garden.html

Enjoy!

Till tomorrow, be cheerful and may there be peace in your heart.

____________________________________________
Check out my books: http://preeti.io/amazon

I got the above mail yesterday. (The mail is shared with permission). I want to tell all of you, that I reply personally to all my mails, and I haven't hired an assistant to do so. Even though I get many mails like these, each and every nice mail I get, I hoard like a squirrel, during my dark writing days.
When I am down, mails like the above pep me up.
If you want to write to me, my email id is ps(at)preetishenoy(dot)com
However,  also want to clarify that if you are writing, asking me to read what you have written, I would politely point you to this post.  Today, I got a mail from a reader who  after praising my books and writing, asked me these questions, about writing, as this person wants to write a books.
I thought I would share my answers in a blog post, as I get asked these questions over and over.

1)What should be my approach as a beginner?
 The first thing would be to read. Read everything you can lay your hands on. Read different genres. Read, read, read.