Vaishnavi Nageswaran Writes

THE ALCHEMIST   This book is written by Paulo Coelho, who is a Brazilian author, got into spot light with his book The Alchemist . His themes often revolve around spirituality , self-discovery and personal transformation. Coelho initially released his book with little success but got to fame after being re-released by Harper Collins selling world wide and translated into more than 80 languages.  Coelho got the Guinness World Record for his book The Alchemist being translated the  most that too by a living author. Pursuit of Dreams This book The Alchemist is a timeless tale of self-discovery, following the journey of Santiago, a young shepherd from Spain, as he pursues his personal legend- his life's purpose. Santiago dreams of a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. This prompts him to leave his comfort zone and come out of his small world. The Language of the Universe It is a blend of magical realism with philosophical teachings. Santiago meets a se...

  VICTORIAN LETTER WRITING ETIQUETTE "To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart."                          -Phyllis Theroux What is letter writing? Letter writing is a conversation carried out by two individuals through pen and paper as if they were talking in person. History of letters                                                 Before the Victorian era, not just posting but receiving letters was equally expensive as prepaying was seen as a sin. That is when Queen Victoria took over. She drastically decreased the postal rates. This is the time of all kinds of literary renaissance which also includes epistolary renaissance to an extant (you will see). Quality of the letter matters. "write a good letter, a letter that is at the same time long enough...

                           MILTON-A-THON On the occasion of 350th death year of John Milton, I thought of writing about a read-a-thon [reading marathon] that is conducted every year during this time. So for context, Milton-a-thon is an event where people come together to read aloud and recite passages from the great works of John Milton, most notably his epic poem "Paradise Lost". It is often held at universities or literary events. This is a way to celebrate Milton's contribution to literature and engage with his complex and powerful poetry.  Though Milton-a-thon often pay homage to Milton's life and his works, they  are not necessarily held on his death or birth date. The timing can vary depending on the organising group or the institution.                            Some places and groups that organise Milton-a-thon are Local Universiti...

  A Welcome Note on the Occasion of Kalamdawat This Kalamdawat, I got myself a brand new laptop with all my savings, made my mum buy a new notebook for my writings and had a very accidental but hopefully a useful purchase which is a writing diary for writers and poets (hoping to have a sustainable writing routine). For those who don't understand what I'm talking about, here I am to help you understand a little bit better about the Chitragupta puja/ Kalamdawat is. It is a tradition where every year during the second day of waxing moon phase also known as Kartika Shukla Dwitiya, the day after Diwali, people honour Lord Chitragupta, the record-keeper of human deeds .  Some people, exclusively writers and artists see it to be the most significant one of all the pujas not just personally but professionally as well. This is the day when the writers get new stationery while the artists get new art supplies and worship them as they are their tools and means of income. Some people...