Neha Sharma – The Rise Insight

“A Thursday” – Movie Review

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The best time to write a movie review is soon after getting done with watching it. Especially so, if it leaves you spellbound! Let me introduce you to one such freshly-released Bollywood flick – A Thursday. It’s a coincidence that last year these days I wrote a review of another power-packed movie called ‘The Last Color.’ To which I am receiving a whopping response even today. A set of coincidences are associated with me watching ‘A Thursday’ on a Thursday itself, but that’s a different thing. So, here I go with my opinion of the movie – First of all, kudos to Yami Gautam for being so awesome throughout the show. Quite frequently, she had to switch between the mode of a loving teacher and someone who was holding hostage 16 innocent kids. At places, her dialogue delivery is beyond brilliant. Although it appeared that she had to work hard to achieve those furious expressions, given her stunning real-life appearance, she has done an excellent job of bringing them out. I recall the time I once met her face-to-face at a mall in New Delhi, during the shoot of her first Bollywood break. She looked like a princess in real life too. And then you see her in this kind of role, managing it with grace. Now let’s talk about the movie. As it begins, you will wonder why they have taken the head cop as a lady. The one to hold hostage is a female herself. Until you find out that the PM of the country has been taken as a woman too. And you conclude that the movie is now going to revolve around women-empowerment. And yes, after watching the movie, you will be too speechless to declare it feminist or something. The way Naina Jaiswal (played by Yami Gautam) walks around inside the accomodation after putting forward her first demand, will every female-viewer of all the ill-judgements she had to bear so far in her life. In that particular scene, she looks like a fierce and furious wounded lioness – silent in appearance but her roar echoing in the ears of every Indian citizen at that moment. Naina’s conversation with Shalini on a prime time show will remind you of anyone who took advantage of you when you were going through a crisis. Moreover, the movie gives out the message that not everyone taking therapy or counselling to achieve better mental health is crazy. But all these points are just icing on the cake because the main message conveyed tops them all. To avoid spoilers, I’ll leave it unspoken right here. Such a grand movie with rather simple dialogues, yet so impactful. My favourite dialogue is the one delivered by the PM in the movie, which goes like this: “Emotions can be an asset.” The way she tackles the whole case based on emotions is mind-blowing. It’s hard to think of a point where this movie could have done better. If you haven’t watched it yet, I recommend you do so. If you have watched it, I would like to know your opinion about the movie. I hope you had a wonderful Thursday! 🙂

Pankaj Lochan Talks About His Latest Book ‘Sigma: as life sums it all…’

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Pankaj is a writer, music enthusiast and a philanthroper who is very passionate about climate change initiatives at fundamental level. He grew up with parents who always taught him the larger meaning of life and ensured he was observant to the extraordinary in seemingly ordinary things and people in life. Pankaj feels that his wife Piyusha and daughter Prisha bring out the best in him and his writing. Professional Background: Mr Pankaj Lochan has more than 2 decades of experience with organizations like Tata Steel, Dr Reddy’s and JSW Group. He joined his current role as Executive Director & Group CHRO with JSPL from Ambuja Cements where he was working as President – Manufacturing. He has worked in various functions like Manufacturing, Projects, Human Resource, Research & Development, and Business Transformation etc. Pankaj is an engineer by profession and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT-BHU and has also done his management education program from IIM Ahmedabad. Pankaj has authored several books in the field of TQM and HR and holds several patents and copyrights in the field of manufacturing and Total Quality Management. He is a Master-black-belt in Six Sigma and also trained in other improvement methodologies like Lean, TOC and TPM. Pankaj has also been trained on Open Innovations from the Haas School, Berkley and on TQM from Japanese Union of Scientists & Engineers (JUSE), Tokyo. Neha Sharma: First and foremost, Congratulations for doing a wonderful work authoring this splendid work called Sigma. I am sure a lot of positivity must be pouring-in related to the book. Am I right? Pankaj Lochan: Thank you so much! I am getting a lot of positive feedback from a lot of people – they’ve liked the whole concept of Sigma. Neha Sharma: What would you like to say about the Sigma concept in the shortest possible or may be as the gist of the book? Pankaj Lochan: SIGMA is about the “cause” & “Effect” in life; something that we don’t understand clearly. The retributions that we receive in life can only be commensurate with our due efforts. We shouldn’t expect more. Neha Sharma: I was amazed reading the long-list of your qualifications and achievements in life. In what ways, do you cherish the values the rest of them carry while balancing with your accolades in writing? Pankaj Lochan: I only value my being a good human being, and that’s precisely what I value in others too! All other virtues that come by my educational or material accomplishments maybe relevant today, may not be relevant tomorrow. But my “goodness” as a human being is there to stay! Neha Sharma: What inspires you to start with a new idea, each time to write? Pankaj Lochan: Everything around has become so complicated – food, our living, our relationships, our society, our work environments. They are far more stressed or expanded that what we require. I want to educate people to simplify things – and make things easier in the world. Sigma is the first step in simplifying relationships and straightening our deeds. Neha Sharma: Who is your role model in the field of writing, if any? Pankaj Lochan: I’m mostly into ancient Indian literature – Vedas, puranas, Upanishads etc. The Shruti and smriti literature inspires me. I also respect contemporary, modern literature. Neha Sharma: Do you have a dream book which is yet to be penned-down by you? If I may get a clue, what is it about? Pankaj Lochan: Yes! The ones written and in the offing are mostly about relationships at work, society and home; The dream book would be about a model code of conduct for the modern urban workplaces. I don’t have the architecture in mind, but will certainly come up with it. This book is where my two fields of work (my earlier books) will merge – my books/work on management practices and those on human & societal relationships (like Sigma) Neha Sharma: What advice would you like to offer to aspiring authors, about tackling the infamous writer’s block as well as otherwise? Pankaj Lochan: I think all of us must connect and write from a basis – “our philosophy”. As long as that happens, the writers’ block doesn’t happen. I also appreciate that pure fiction / genre writers may face this problem. They just have to do some radical thinking/living to get new ideas and overcome the block. Neha Sharma: Given the 24 hours in a day, what time suits you the best for writing? Pankaj Lochan: Anytime an idea occurs to me Neha Sharma: When did you start your writing journey? Were you going through a good or challenging phase when you started? Pankaj Lochan: I wrote more in difficult times. I get more ideas when I’m stressed. Neha Sharma: What suggestions would you like to share with those writers who have completed a work and are now on their hunt for a good publishing team? As in, what criteria should they set to zero-in at one. Pankaj Lochan: A great publishing team does wonders to your work, like in my case. However, I strongly feel you should rely on your work quality only. Long-term success through quality work is like butter in milk; I will always float up! Neha Sharma: Thank you for your times and efforts to make this interview happen. Wish you all the best for all your present as well as future endeavours. Pankaj Lochan: Thank you. I wish you all the best too! Be well, healthy and happy!

Pankaj Lochan’s ‘Sigma: As Life Sums it All…’ A Noteworthy Work Based On Karma Concept

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This book – ‘Sigma: as life sums it all’ by Pankaj Lochan, published by Evincepub Publishing – is a little different from what has already been written.

Be Negative – Blog by Neha Sharma

Blogs, Covid-19, Health & Fitness, Lifestyle

On a more serious note, Corona the pandemic has returned with a louder bang. The situation is worsening day-by-day. So much so that we have to ponder at least twice or thrice before uttering the phrase ‘be positive’ to anyone.

Be Negative

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Remember the times when each time we came to know of someone’s blood group as B+, we chirped and cheerfully said, “Be positive, nice!” Sigh, those times are gone. Hardly anyone knows for how long. On a more serious note, Corona the pandemic has returned with a louder bang. The situation is worsening day-by-day. So much so that we have to ponder at least twice or thrice before uttering the phrase ‘be positive’ to anyone. The fear is prevailing in thousands of spoken and unspoken forms. Everyone is coming to know of more and more own people falling prey to the disease. From farther relatives to close loved ones, any set of individuals and families could be heard as getting added to the list. God forbid, no-one knows when s/he gets attacked by the lethal virus. Negative is the new Positive Corona has become the most-discussed topic globally. Probably this is the first time in our era that universally we are panicking with the word ‘positive’ and either silently or expressively all the time wishing to stay ‘negative.’ If we get through medical tests for Corona that is. For the first time in our lives ever, we are getting frightened of even simple symptoms like throat infection, which we used to sometimes even overlook earlier; and it got recovered all on its own. Back in olden times, ‘conjunctivitis’ was only ‘conjunctivitis’ and not a symptom of the pandemic taking over. Of course, we have been missing our normal lifestyles we used to follow prior to the epidemic. We don’t easily dare to say it out loud or admit the fact but actually, ‘Negative has almost become the new Positive.’ Before disagreeing to my words right away, take a pause and ask yourself whether now you find solace in the word ‘Negative’ and feel goosebumps listening ‘Positive’ or not. Is it not true that we are all in fingers-crossed mode and wishing with every passing moment to stay negative. So why not rather wish the same for everyone who hasn’t yet got affected by the deadly virus while also praying for wellness of everyone who has (gone affected). Sometimes it’s all in the way we say Instead of saying ‘be positive’ to anyone aroud us, let’s say, ‘stay negative to the pandemic tests but keep your spirits positive.’ It’s a different thing that the people who qualify to be vaccinated are getting that done or not. Alongwith exploring all the medical support and preventive measures possible, we all must mutually keep wishing well too. When nothing else works, kind words often do. Many a times, they act as a much-needed emotional support. More often than not, miracles happen with words and gestures. Amidst all this, I emphasize, let’s remember to remember taking all the precautions sincerely. Let’s continue doing our part to fight the circumstances with zeal and good sense. I wish we all ‘be negative’ to the disease with positive spirits. May peace prevail. 🕊️

The Bhagvadgita – A Lucid Presentation: Book Review

Blogs, Books, Literature

Dr. Sachchidanand Padhy, author of the book ‘The Bhagvadgita – A Lucid Presentation’ has done a splendid job bringing out this easily comprehensible version of the divine ancient scripture.

Designed and Destined for Greatness: Book Review

Blogs, Books

The author Johly Beicchualai has done a wonderful job with writing this book. Having been written in a simple language which is meant to convey strong and useful optimistic messages to all its readers, including beginners, ‘Designed and Destined for Greatness’ published by Evincepub Publishing has come out to be a masterpiece. This book has been described as the story of the man who wrote this book. And it will definitely lead the readers to greatness of they follow his secrets, ways, means, tools, and lessons that he had learned the hard way instead. It is the story of a man who could laugh and smile even when adversities and grief haunted him. This inspiring persona was undefeated by poverty, wealth, fame, misfortunes, money, and power. Once upon a time, he used to live in luxuries, falling down almost to the extent of losing everything he possessed, including his reputation. After having a nervous breakdown, he had lost his consciousness and faced a blankness, emptiness in his head. He had lost his sleep for nearly five months. One day he found-out the secret to a new life. He had found Jesus Christ and from that day onwards, he became a new person and slowly he began to lead a new life. According to the author, the first step and the most important thing in life to achieve greatness is finding one’s true self. Undeniably, all of us have dreams and desires. Everyone has a desire to be great, do something so that the world will remember us and to reach the peak of our career. Hardly anyone would desire to be mediocre. He quotes Mahatma Gandhi, “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world, but in being able to remake ourselves.” In this book, the author has thrown light upon some crucial questions like, ‘Why did God create us?’ He says that some people also wonder, ‘Why did God create us when he already knew that we were going to sin?’ A couple of other questions being ‘How did God create us?’ and ‘Why did God take all these troubles to create us?’ The readers are meant to get motivated with profound messages in the book, like the one that follows: “You were not small! You were God’s greatest creation, a masterpiece, a class in itself. You were created very special. You were magnificent. You were God’s greatest focus of his love. You were a miracle. Your creation is one of the greatest success stories in the history of creation. All other things in the world were just the by-products of your thinking and actions. You were meant to be great because you were created by the greatest of greatest, in greatness, and for greatness.” Numerous powerful quotes also have been mentioned in the book, like – “Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.” —George Bernard Shaw The author also talks about changing oneself and how it requires a complete transformation of the heart. He brings to our notice how a new heart is welcoming to various new learnings in life. How a new heart beholds beauty in everything and everyone it comes across. He says a new heart appreciates the beauty of life and is optimistic in everything it does. As he walks on every day, new experiences give him a sense of purpose in life. Mesmerizingly, the author has dedicated a complete chapter to the power of words and has even described how words, basically, came into existence and how artistically they control our lives. Equally beautifully, he has managed to make us peep into ourselves and analyse own weaknesses and strengths. In this context, he says, ‘Our weakness, when closely examined and studied analytically, were often the unknown fountain of our greatest strength.’ How motivating! What if all of us start working towards turning our weaknesses into strengths and contribute our bit in making this world a better place. Last not yet least, the author talks about self-management and puts forward the notion that it is one of the most rewarding management concepts, while time management is a misconception. No-one can manage time. It is time that changes everything, and nobody in the world can change the concept of time. The only thing we can do is change ourselves when our activities come in contact with time. All in all, the book itself has turned-out to be great and is sure to lead its readers towards greatness. Title Designed and Destined for Greatness Author Johly Beicchualai Publisher Evincepub Publishing Reviewed By Neha Sharma, The Literature Times Order Book Amazon Link

Of dignity and Disgrace

Blogs, Lifestyle, TLT Specials

Womanhood is usually synonymous to sacrifices. Sometimes she has to sacrifice her wishes, sometimes identity while sometimes she has to go through a complete makeover to make it big in life which means losing herself, of course. A few sacrifices bring her some gain, making it worth taking all the pain but one is not always fortunate enough for that to happen. Some losses are irreversible. The massive loss for anyone is the loss of a loved one. But then, it doesn’t differentiate between genders. Therefore, even though the inevitable loss, we won’t count it in! We are talking about womanhood and the most irreparable a woman can go through in life is the loss of dignity. And no, one not has to go through rape or acid-attack to lose it necessarily. Merely, being herself is enough. If you are married, just try not giving in to the traditions and rituals you can’t digest, you’re there. If you’re unmarried but have crossed 25 years of age, you are already there. If you are about to cross the standard maximum age to get married, as set by our society and have chosen to marry later or not at all, then see the magic! 😀 So, I repeat, you don’t always have to go through rape or acid-attack to become infamous. The lowest level of this loss is felt by a woman, each time she comes to know she has been bad-mouthed. And when it becomes a daily thing for someone, then blah! After one point of time, it feels like attaining liberation. The gossip-mongers will come and go, but if one feels liberated this way, then perhaps this is also a huge gain. Why not, thus, make our biggest weakness into the biggest strength and stop bothering about what our opponents are saying at the back. It isn’t possible to please everyone, anyway. When I had realised this harsh truth in life long back, I had decided to draw an imaginary circle with my loved ones or favorite people inside while acquaintances and everyone outside. Of course, that time, I had taken my family and close friends inside. It’s a different thing that I had to re-shuffle the names and re-set the boundaries a couple of years post-marriage. But the gist of the matter is that anyone outside my imaginary circle can not bother me, merely, by back-stabbing me. It would take you something to enter it and have that happen. If you know you are outside and still feel that something you said is bothering me, believe that it’s only temporary. I maybe just waiting for the right time to let it go and soon it won’t matter anymore. Somewhere I had come across this particular quote about the insiders, long back. I find it relatable and profound. What about you? Article by: Neha Shamra, The Literature Times

Raising the Curtain – Short Story

Literature, Short Stories

I know it is cliché to say he smiled with his eyes; but, he smiled with his eyes. Unfortunately, the rest of him was saying, “I have had enough. I just can’t take it anymore.” He was confessing his misdeeds and their consequences to Ayan, his best friend in a restaurant. Srijan was now exhausted of all the games being played by Tia lately. The culprit was now behaving like the victim. Yes, Srijan himself was the one blamed for all the hustle-bustle he was going through. He had thought of preying on Tia who looked like a delicate girl to him. But he was mistaken. Now, Tia was all set to teach him a lesson. She had just begun with exposing his true self to his friends. He could see what was coming next and hence was fearful. “Coming!” Srijan’s parents were taking a good Sunday afternoon nap when they heard someone knock on the entrance door. It was his mother who had responded to the call as she woke up. “Namaste, Aunty. I’m Tia. You might have heard my name from Srijan some time. May I come in?” Tia tried to say everything with calm and composure while actually, she was fuming on the inside. “Sure, beta. Come, come. Yes, I have heard your name from him till sometime back. These days he is running busy building a career, no. He rarely gets the time to chitchat with us about anything.” Srijan’s mother said, signaling Tia to have a seat and putting the window curtains to the sides. “What would you like to have?” She asked Tia while serving water to her. “Nothing, thanks, Aunty. I need to have a word with you. Could you spare a few minutes to sit and talk to me, please?” Tia said after drinking water. By that time, Srijan’s father also came and joined them. Tia started describing her woes given by Srijan to his parents, saying, “It would have been great if he would be focusing on his career, but that doesn’t seem the case. I request you both to listen to some curtain-raiser audios I have in his voice. Here I go.” And she played a couple of recordings on her phone one-by-one. Captured by their mutual friends, the recordings exposed his bad intentions of fooling around with Tia, with her body as well as money, and plans of leaving her mid-way then. Srijan’s parents couldn’t easily believe their son was up to something like that. But Tia convinced them by repeating the audios as many times as they wanted till they didn’t believe. They asked Tia to leave and called up Srijan to reach home asap. “Tia has cheated on me. I can’t hold on, I can’t let go. I don’t know what to do.” Srijan continued. After listening to the cooked-up story by Srijan, Ayan said, “Is that all? Or you have more to say?” “I don’t know. I.. I just don’t know what else to say.” “Good. Now stop pretending and tell me what actually you were up to.” Ayan interrogated. “Up to? What do you mean?” Srijan enquired. The next moment, his phone rang. His parents were calling. They told him about Tia’s visit and asked him to reach home quickly. By the time he hung up, he had understood the plan executed on him by Tia, mutual friends and his own best friend Ayan. So, he looked up at Ayan with a pale face and a blank mind. Ayan knew the matter and hence said, “So, Tia has cheated on you, right?” “No. I mean yes. I mean no. Damn!” Srijan knew he was badly stuck. He pulled his hair in disgust and then covered his face with palms on the table. “Stop pretending now and come with me. You have fooled everyone around. It’s time you got your life-lessons.” Ayan said while pulling Srijan’s hand and taking him along. “But, but you are my best friend. How could Tia take you in her favour! I expect you my side.” “Side and all? Now your parents will explain all this to you, don’t worry. If you call me your best friend, you would be aware that I am never in favour of an unjust person. I wanted to listen to your side of the story and you lied to me all through.” “Who told you that?” Srijan was taken aback. “Your eyes! I’m working in the police department, buddy. Why do you forget that? I can sense your lies merely by looking at you. And your biggest misconception was that you could take me into confidence for doing all this. Now you are gone.” Nevertheless, Tia, mutual friends, Srijan’s parents or Ayan didn’t need to take any action on Srijan, as such. Just surrounding him from all corners, reminding him of his bad acts and plans while warning him strictly was enough. Srijan completely transformed after that. He finally focused on his career now. Tia came out as a smart and brave girl who didn’t fall victimized by his bad intentions. Short Story By: Neha Sharma, The Literature Times

The Last Color – Movie Review

Bollywood, Entertainment

It’s February – the month of romance as people call it. They believe love to be in the air all through this month. Most of our society’s privileged category is going mushy while sitting in the comfort of his/her office/home and maybe still complaining. But it’s noteworthy that a not-so-blessed section in here is also living the kind of hard life that others can not even imagine. Stories like the movie ‘The Last Color’ comes likes an eye-opener in the context. Most importantly, highlighting the torture that widows have to go through in areas like Vrindavan and Varanasi, the movie also gives a glimpse of that being experienced by the ‘untouchables’ and ‘transgenders’ of our country. Amidst all this, the team behind this masterpiece hasn’t forgotten to also throw the light upon lives of those wives and daughter-in-laws who are being suppressed by their families only because they are women. Most of the performers related to this movie seem to have done their part impressively, depending upon years of experiences in the field. The movie loses one star in the ratings accompanying this review, because of a couple of reasons. One being that it leaves the audience curious to know the story of Chhoti after her fateful day. How does she start from scratch and then reaches the heights? A tightroper in her childhood, how does she manage to turn herself into literally ‘untouchable’ as an adult by the society? The other one being how does she come to know it’s Chintu, her lost childhood friend, when they collide after growing-up? The audience knows because few scenes from the past story flash on the screen immediately but why does she start blushing? It leaves the audience guessing and looking for an answer. Overall, it may induce goosebumps for many viewers while giving scope to many others for finding faults. It has brought up some otherwise neglected issues, and it should be said that we need more of such movies to make this world a better place. ‘The Last Color’ based on Chef Vikas Khanna’s novel, takes it right from widows not even being allowed to have something to eat of their choice and gets to let them play colors on Holi. It should rather be considered inspirational and undeniably a must-watch for those working on bringing about a change. Title The Last Color Main Cast Neena GuptaAqsa Siddiqui Director Vikas Khanna Produced By Jitendra MishraBindu KhannaPoonam Kaul Music Mahesh Bharti Reviewed By: Neha Sharma, The Literature Times

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