The Perfect Indian Homecoming Experience

Author : Mahimaa Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 6/17/2013 9:32:00 PM

'It has been a trying week. Too much of writing to do; too much of traveling around as well. No wonder a severe back ache has been my constant companion for the last three days. To make things even more taxing, my much-talked-about-but-rarely-seen NRI uncle and aunt from the US announced their long-awaited arrival to India yesterday. And now my grandparents are hoping to host them for lunch, first at their own place, then at ours. As if one extravagant show of Indian hospitality wasn(...)'

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The importance of finding yourself

Author : Mahimaa Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 6/15/2013 5:55:00 PM

'I have always been a closet philosopher. But like I said, only in a closet. Most people do not know the philosophy that I live my life on. They only see me as a fiery comet, a rolling stone that goes her own way and does what she likes, and fortunately gets lucky every time. It isn't however like that. I have made more mistakes in my life than a lot of people manage to make in over 40 years. But I have worked to get what I have, and to be who I am. It isn't luck that bides by you in(...)'

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Diagnostics from across the seven seas - made easy with WeChat

Author : Mahimaa Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 6/14/2013 10:07:00 PM

'I have been a fan of the medical drama House MD for as long as I can remember. It was a phenomenal show, defying all network TV conventions and setting a unique example of an entirely different kind of entertainment. So potent has its effect been that even now whenever I watch an episode I often dream of it at night. Last night brought into my sleep another such dream, only, this time spruced up with a most unexpected twist.So here I am, one of the esteemed members of Gregory House'(...)'

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Book Review: The Homing Pigeons - Sid Bahri

Author : Mahimaa Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 6/11/2013 5:40:00 PM

'A book that comes with a personal handwritten note by the author is almost always a pleasure to read and review. In the present case, luckily, the content greatly complements the author's note too. Because the book definitely made me happy.Wading through the bottomless ocean of contemporary Indian writers churning out books revolving around common subjects like recession, life in engineering colleges, love affairs and separation, one fine day I came across an email offering me to re(...)'

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Book Review: The Secrets of the Dark - Arka Chakrabarti

Author : Mahima Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 6/8/2013 9:56:00 PM

'They say not every man that eats can make a good cook. Likewise, not every man that watches mythology can make an epic writer. And I learnt it the hard way.I'd say the worst part about being a reader and a book reviewer is that you are sometimes forced to read stuff you'd never otherwise have spent any effort or time on. Also given my propensity not to put down a book halfway, once I've picked it up, causes me a lot of torment at times. I completed reading one such book tonight. Now(...)'

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Once bitten forever shy.

Author : Mahima Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 5/29/2013 2:28:00 PM

'Yesterday morning I was driving back home from Agra on the smooth Yamuna Expressway. There was wind in my hair and a glow on my face. The exam on Sunday had gone quite well and we had left for Agra right after it, family and I, for a much-needed two-day break. We stayed at one of the best hotels of Agra, treated ourselves to great food, frolicked in the pool, danced and played games and felt utterly rejuvenated after a day and a half. So much so that visiting the Taj Mahal(...)'

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When life gives you lemons and you've got no sugar for lemonade!

Author : Mahima Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 5/23/2013 2:28:00 PM

'Life lately seems to be going along a totally different tangent from anything I'd ever expect it to be. It's like I'm being showered with the choicest of lemons and I don't even have sugar or water to make lemonade out of them. Hapless, hapless days.So right after I wrote here about my sudden craving for world travel and the lack of resources preventing me from doing that, life threw another big rock in my face. The family gossip tree came out with yet another juicy piece of gossip (...)'

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If only I had money...

Author : Mahima Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 5/19/2013 6:36:00 PM

'If only I had money, I'd turn a globetrotter, leaving everything and everyone behind. *sighs*. And no, not that cool-dude-photographer kind who travels around the world with a camera in hand, observing anything and everything through his lens. If I were to travel, I'd keep the camera aside for most of the time, only taking it out once I was sure I'd captured all the magnificence through my eyes and stored it in my heart.Umm...wondering what's wrong with me? Why the sudden craving fo(...)'

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Book Review: Salvation of a Saint - Keigo Higashino

Author : Mahima Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 5/3/2013 9:51:00 PM

'Being a blogger has had more perks than I had ever imagined possible before creating this blog. It was only a means of self expression for me back then. How much it has indeed evolved over these three odd years, with it now being a source of some amazing new literary works for me to read. And trust BlogAdda to come out with the most varied genres of books when it comes to their Book Reviews program. Despite a severe shortage of time that is currently keeping me from reading or writi(...)'

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Book Review: Tantra by Adi

Author : Mahima Kohli      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 4/8/2013 10:44:00 PM

'There are some books that you'll go to any lengths to lay your hands upon, and then there are those other books which land into your hands on their own, without your ever having wanted to read them. Of the second category, you aren't really sure whether it'll enthrall you, amuse you or just leave you cold and unmoved. And so you don't bother. But life has its own way of playing with you, and that it most religiously does.Tantra by Adi, strangely as it has been titled, is one of thos(...)'

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From Goldilocks to dreadlocks, and back again!

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 4/3/2013 10:49:00 PM

'I've talked about my childhood here a number of times before. I was a happy kid. Happy with life, with school, with the cartoons on TV, and with everything else. But then again, I was a tad too lost as a kid - I knew not the first thing about keeping things around me organized, or presenting myself well, or oiling and caring for my hair or so much as even standing in front of the mirror and analyzing my looks. I was just happy to be. Though kids of today, I tell you - they're smarta(...)'

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Living in a dream

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 3/25/2013 10:44:00 AM

'Between all the drudgery and soul-depressing monotony that days seem to have been comprised of lately, life does surprise you at times with such bright days as that make you feel alive again. One such day was the Saturday that passed - the 23rd of March - when thanks to Penguin India's Spring Fever festival at the IHC Delhi, life brought me face to face with the creator of my favorite piece of literature, the much-acclaimed Vikram Seth. The book, after that, is easy enough for my re(...)'

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Ring the Bell - Bring the Change.

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 3/9/2013 11:26:00 AM

'So my blog has been in hibernation for some time. My IndiRank has dropped. My readers are probably as far from my blog as I am from finding Neverland. Nevertheless, I am not asleep. I'm alive and well (not always well, but yeah..!) And I'm occupied with so many things in life that I know anything I manage to write amidst all of this would not do justice to my blog. So I've been on a break of sorts - until now.It was Women's Day yesterday. A day that every literate and well-informed (...)'

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Leaving...

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 2/19/2013 7:53:00 PM

'The dead of the night jolted to lifeAs noises abound in every directionHe shouted, she screamed, they foughtAnd the little one stood in a corner and watched.Packing had never seemed so easyJust shoving it all in without a glanceHe strode out the door, banging it hardAnd backed out his car and left.She slumped in the chair and criedThe little one still rooted to his spotHer muffled sobs and teary eyesConfusing him inside.He was his dad, she was his momHe always took them as oneWhy'd (...)'

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If only wishes were horses.

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 2/14/2013 6:08:00 PM

'It had always been a hurried morning routine for B as far back as she could remember. She'd get up at 8 while her alarm went off at 6.50. She would then reason with herself - it's too cold and she's late anyway - and with a promise of doing it in the evening, she would give the bath a miss and hurriedly get dressed and would be ready to leave in 20 minutes. Breakfast would invariably comprise of a McEgg burger and a cup of crappy coffee from the McDonald's at the Metro station, befo(...)'

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Birthday birthday, happy happy!

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 2/7/2013 7:03:00 PM

'There are some people who have been part of your life for just too long. So long that you tend to take them for granted. Or forget to tell them how much they mean to you. It isn't everyday that you thank God for the big blessing that these people have been to you. And that's when you realize, birthdays are just the time to do this, and more!It's 8th February today. A gem of a person came on to this earth years and years ago. And we met, what, some 7 odd years ago? Now, many friends (...)'

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Book Review: RIP - Mukul Deva

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 1/31/2013 9:39:00 PM

'It's raining books. Literally. So much so that I've had a shelf full of brand new books lying unread for a while now, and yet I have no time to even touch them, as the BlogAdda folks have gotten super generous lately and are showering more and more books on this poor soul. But I've stopped applying for any more reviews now, for some time at least. This one's going to be my last book review for a few weeks to come.So finally I had a really good read after a long long time. Probably a(...)'

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Book Review: Alchemy (edited by Sheba Karim)

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 1/26/2013 7:41:00 PM

'Most of us have read the occasional love story. Some even swear by the genre. And yet not many an average reader, more so of my age, has read a full-blown erotic story or novel. Admittedly, not even I had, till about a week ago. It isn't a commonplace genre of literature in the Indian society as yet. You see, sexual awakening is a total hush-hush process in our country. Most of it stems from visual aids and information available on the internet. Literature in the form of an aid in s(...)'

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Book Review: Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai - Rishi Vohra

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 1/23/2013 10:17:00 PM

'Every now and then a movie based on a novel is made. But not many books are written to recreate the charm and magic of the 70 mm reel on paper. No sir. Not that often. And this is where this book takes away all the brownie points. So much, so that even though I am not a sucker for Hindi film romances, this book touched a chord in my heart.Once Upon The Tracks of Mumbai, much like its lifted-off-a-movie-yet-creatively-modified name, is a formula-based filmy story with a filmy pl(...)'

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Now Featured on The Independent, UK!

Author : Mahima      Blog : Welcome to My Paradise      Date : 1/10/2013 7:17:00 PM

'I've been meaning to write on a number of subjects ever since the new year took off. But time does not permit me any more. And it's gonna remain the same for a month to come. I'm missing my blog already. So much to write, all of a sudden, and so little opportunity. Sigh. A book review has been long due, then there's a fiction story, and I guess I haven't even wished my dear readers a happy new year yet. On that note, here's wishing a very happy and prosperous new year to every one. (...)'

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