Preeti Shenoy's blog.

A few days ago, my daughter gently admonished me for being very matter-of-fact when I reply to people on social media, or when I text people. She said I was like Sheldon Cooper. This is how I responded to that on my author page on Facebook The last I checked, the post had got more than 1296 'likes'. Of course I was joking in the above post.  But it did  set me thinking though. I think it is very important to keep in mind a few things  when we communicate with others, especially when one is writing/texting/ messaging on viber/whatsapp or whatever IM you use. Whether you use a lot of smileys and emoticons or whether you are Sheldon-Cooperish I think the following 5 things will go a long way, in making you feel good about yourself, when you communicate. 1.Mean what you say : When a friend texts and asks you for a favour and you are too busy, don't feel bad to refuse. It is okay! It is better to give a realistic picture and say no rather than give a false commit

I am distraught, despondent and disturbed as I write this. The local newspaper (Bangalore Mirror) for the last three days has been carrying the story of Monali's suicide in detail.  My children (both in their teens) and I were horrified when we first heard about this incident on Monday. In case you haven't read it, click here to know the full story. The newspaper yesterday said that the school did not even declare a holiday and it was business as usual, and the school denied having anything to do with it. Her death went unmourned at school . Click here to read that story. And today her father has broken his silence and spoken out. There is also the full text of both letters that the school had issued Monali.  Click here to read it all. I am shocked at the language used by the school. It is made out as if Monali committed a grave crime. My heart weeps for Monali's parents. What a ghastly ending. A young life, full of promise snuffed out. For what? ! For her '

In the past, I have posted many pictures of my organic terrace garden. Satish and I have managed to succesfully grow Tomatoes, Brinjals , Mint, Amaranthus, Beans, Bitter gourd, Bottle gourd, Green chillies, Celery, Parsley , Rocket leaves, Lemon grass, Basil, Fenugreek (methi) to name just a few! It's almost like a farm that we have on the terrace of our 14th floor penthouse. When we started off this organic terrace garden, we had no experience whatsover. I was inspired by this video. (do watch it. It is about 18 minutes long and worth a watch. very inspiring) We initially tried to grow carrots but we failed miserably. We had no clue how exactly to go about it. All we knew was that we were doing something wrong.Then we started researching online and I found there was a wealth of information available there. I also stumbled across this wonderful group on Facebook, which I am now a part of, and they have so many tips for beginners. Armed with those, we began. We start

Two of my titles are in the Nielsen top ten today.( Hindustan times--10th Jan 2015) #LifeIsWhatYouMakeIt has been ranked #1 Evergreen Title of 2014 by HT-Nielsen. @crossword_book @landmarkstores pic.twitter.com/sQcJXZPabr — Srishti Publishers (@Srishtipub) January 3, 2015  One is the evergreen 'Life is what you make it' which incidentally was No.1 highest selling book of 2014 (see tweet above from my publishers) and the other is ' It happens for a reason' which is my new book that has been getting some fabulous reviews.   You can download the first few pages (with a personal note from me and a signed photo too!) of the book by clicking here.  A lot of people ask me how it feels to be this successful. Honestly it feels great. (How else will it feel?) But I do feel that many miss seeing the hard work, grit and sheer determination and the effort  I put in, beneath the glamour of success. Some attribute it to luck and good fortune. Some even hav

This, being my first post for this year, let me begin by wishing you a Wonderful new year! New beginnings are always exciting and there is certainly something about the date 1st January. Some believe in making new year resolutions and some don't. The ones who do not make them say that technically  you can start your resolution on any day of any month---you can make a fresh start on 19th October or 20th June or any random date that you think of. But somehow, it just isn't the same. At least for me.  I do believe in making new year resolutions. I think they are important as they reflect the commitment that we are making towards our personal growth. We want to change things. We want to do better that we did in the past. And that is always a good thing--whether made on 1st of May or 20th June or 1st January (my personal favourite). This year I have resolved a few things-- which I am happy to say, I have followed till date. I am usually strong willed like that. Once