Author: Devasree Guggiri

The grieving soul

Posted on by Devasree Guggiri

The scars run deep and ugly

The wounds fester and thrive

There is a lot more that the eye fails to see

There is a lot more beneath the facade

The hope for a better tomorrow is bleaker than it was yesterday

Forgive me if I make you gloomy

There’s a gnawing at my heart

Which refuses to go away

However hard I might try

A few attempts have been succesfull

Albeit for a short period of time

Slowly but surely it’s crawling towards me

I finally gave in embraced it like a sister I never had

Startled I was, by the warmth it gave me

For I expected it to drown me in grief

Perhaps this is what truth feels like

Or maybe not

I will never know

Mahabharata : The story we are told Vs what actually happened.

Posted on by Devasree Guggiri

There are two best versions of the classic Mahabharata I’ve read so far. Of course tweaked with a little fiction by the authors. Nevertheless, they capture the true essence for which the story Mahabharatam stands for.

The palace of illusions by Chitra Banerjee and Dhuryodhana’s Mahabharata by Anand Neelkantan..did you know that there’s a place in Kerala, where Dhuryodhana is worshipped and that his name is Suyodhana? I am as surprised as you are..from a very young age I was taught that Dhuryodhana is the evil one who snatched away what was rightfully the Kingdom of Pandavas and that he was hell bent on destroying them. There are two aspects, the good ( Pandavas ) and the bad ( Karavas) . But how much of this is true? With age, I learnt that not everything is white and black, its always shades of grey.

As we further explore the story by Mr. Neelkantan, he doesn’t justify the wrong doings of Kauravas nor does he glorify the deeds of Pandavas. Somehow, the classic literatures, or the folklores always seem to overlook the misdeeds by the Pandavas, for example..how they’ve time and again upheld the caste system. We’ve all felt sympathetic towards how Karna was treated while subliming the fact that our favourite Pandavas were staunch followers of the caste system. The temple for Suyodhana, it was built because he refused to follow the caste system and broke the barrier many a times during his rein as a prince and King. I asked my grandmother, who told me so many stories about Mahabharata, if she knew this, she didn’t. We always overlook the sly tactic the Pandavas employed to win the Kurukshetra war, how the righteous Yudhishtar lied to his Guru about Ashwatthama ( apparently the elephant) being dead or how unjustly Dhuryodhana was killed by Bhima ( the rule of the mace state that no player should hit the other beneath waist), I don’t even want to get started on the injustice done to Karna by Kunti, Dhronacharya, Bhishma and Krishna himself. I actually stopped reading the first part halfway because I couldn’t see myself taking the side of Dhuryodhana, that’s what Anand Neelakantan’s book does to you. He makes us look through the veil of ignorance we cast upon ourselves.

Maybe, just maybe this is how we humans justify our actions? In the name of Dharma, Krishna justifies everything, and in the name of Karma, we tend to justify our deeds. To understand the depth of his content, perhaps one should read the other versions, only then I feel his work can be truly fathomed. The Palace of Illusions would be a good choice.

Menstrual Health

Posted on by Devasree Guggiri

I recently came across an article about the major dump yards across India and the waste distribution amongst them. I was surprised to see that, sanitary napkins are one of the major contributors to the non biodegradable as well as bio medical waste and also a major cause for the spread of diseases amonst the rag pickers.

I started digging deeper into this. You’ll be astonished just as me after you finish reading some of the facts I’ve fished out of the internet.

The regular sanitary napkins in use right now are non biodegradable and are just as harmful to us as they are to the nature. The chemicals used in them lead to various underlying health issues, this is because the rules for the use of chemicals haven’t been updated since the 1980’s.

Moving on to their degree of environmental friendliness. They take approximately 800 years to naturally decay. The current waste disposal system in India does not segregate the degradable waste from the biodegradable and also bio medical waste from the non bio medical waste. All of them are clubbed and dumped as a whole, which is one of the reasons why there are fires in the dump yards, as we often see in the news. The bio medical waste which generally includes sanitary napkins and blood soaked cotton etc are supposed to be incinerated to destroy the pathogens. They are required to be heated upto a temperature of 800 celcius. unfortunately there aren’t many plants in India equipped with such technology, due to which they are disposed along with the other waste Dump yards accross major cities like Delhi, Mumbai ,Ahmedabad and Kolkata have proven to be dangerous to the rag pickers and the residents surrounding ( as it leads to ground water pollution ). Even in smaller towns like Tirupati, the dumping yards size is increasing exponentially.

If we bring out some facts, every month 432 million sanitary napkins ( non biodegradable) are disposed. Which should not be taken lightly. Not many women are aware of this fact.So, now we move onto the underlying health issues due to the the sanitary napkins in use right now, they can cause serious health issues in women because of the chemicals present in them.There are toxic chemicals in Disposable Sanitary Napkins ( inclusding major brands like Whisper, stayfree ) which on prolonged usage can be absorbed by the vaginal and labial walls, especially as the skin in these parts are highly vascular with a tendency for greater absorbency. You might be wondering…how are they even approved if they contain harmful chemicals? The current system which regulates hasn’t been updated in more than 2 decades, which is but obvious outdated..due to which these chemicals are still present in the napkins used today.

Some of the alternatives in order to take care of our menstrual health as well as the environment are using biodegradable napkins, which are purely made of cotton and get decomposed easily. I’ll be attaching a link here ( also, entirely made in India )

https://www.vogue.in/content/7-environmentally-friendly-sanitary-napkins-that-are-made-in-india

While we’re on the topic of menstrual health, here are some remedies one can apply during their cycle, I personally tried these and they have proven to be helpful.

  1. Use a heating pad and place it on our stomach, spine or wherever it hurts the most.
  2. Try sipping hot water frequently.
  3. In case you feel like eating chocolates…give in to your cravings 🙂 unless you have tonsils or cold.
  4. I don’t generally advise people to take medicine but in case of unbearable pain, one tablet of Mephthol shall do. But be careful, don’t get addicted to it. It’s never wise to rely on any medicine.
  5. Meditation helps to control your crankiness or mood swings.
  6. Last but most important is sleep..sleep as much as you want. Guilt-free. We deserve it :D.

A peek into Sidney’s literatue world

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Sidney Sheldon. This name needs no introduction yet here I am, writing about his books. One of the best authors of the contemporary world and my all time favourite. My first book was ” The sky is falling” . It was everything a nerd like me could ask for ( fun fact – I skipped my lunch to finish the book!). It has mystery, romance, a fabulous narration of every minute detail and the element of surprise. One common attribute of the author is that you can find a strong female lead in almost all of his works, this might not be a big deal right now but it was much needed in the 1970’s and 80’s. I applaud the author for that.

This post will be about the set of books which I believe everyone should at least take a glance at ( in order to keep it simple, I’m just mentioning his 3 best books; again purely my opinoin)

Rage of Angels – Hands down, this is one of the best works of Sidney. This novel was written in the 1970’s but somehow it seems relevant even today. Jennifer Parker, this name will stay with you long after you finish reading the book. This book is about a law graduate and how she loses all that she holds dear with every innocuous decision of hers. I was an emotional wreck after I finished the book. The best part is that, the author makes sure that he presents our leading lady in an authentic way. She has her flaws, she makes mistakes yet she never quits. Afterall who isn’t flawless?

Nothing Lasts Forever– Another master piece, this book revolves around three female doctors. The book opens to a scene where one of them is accused of killing a patient for his money, surprisingly you don’t see her denying that fact. As we slowly progress further, with every witness trying to prove her guilty, the knot is untangled. Do try not to read the ending out of curiosity (unlike me ). This book should be your first choice if you love thrillers.

The Naked Face – This was his first novel, and one of the very few novels which has a male protagonist. Our lead is a psychoanalyst, a handsome one.He is being hunted down by mysterious people, and they don’t mind going to extreme lengths to see him dead. It seems quite bland when I try to describe the plot without giving away spoilers. Give it a go and you won’t be disappointed.

Fun Fact : His debut book was nominated for one of the prestigious awards “Edgan Allan Poe” a feat acheived by no other writer as a debutant.

PS: Tilly Bagshawe writes sequels to Sidney’s famous novels, check out her books if you want to dwell deeper into Sidneys world. Also, if you liked Rage of Angels, you should go for ” The stars shine down”. Their plots are quite similar .

Like a Pheonix, I rise again.

Posted on by Devasree Guggiri

I started this blog with the intent of writing about the books I love, later I realized that I could put this blog to a better use by writing my life experiences, I’ve been meaning to write about a lot of things starting with molestation, anxiety issues and panic attacks. I will write from my experience of facing them. This lockdown has given me the time to not only reflect upon them but to also spread the message. It took a lot of time and courage for me to even think about writing these. As the clock strikes 3 AM, I write my story of the first ever sexual abuse I faced.

It was a very sunny day, I was an excited twelve year old boarding the bus to visit my Grandmother along with my aunt and two cousins, One was of my age and the other was quiet young. My aunt took the younger one and sat two rows behind us while me and my cousin sat on the two seater with him being on the window side. Little did I know that this would turn out to be a nightmare that would haunt me for years. We happily pointed at weird mountain shapes, laughing at each others silly jokes and slurping on a pack of frooty, a man whose face I clearly remember even though it has been 9 years , he boarded the bus mid way and stood beside me and started touching me inappropriately, the first time he did it, I froze and thought to myself, maybe it was an accident and moved a bit far from him..it happened again..I wanted to scream, yet no voice came out. I placed my arm in such a way that it would block his hand..that wasn’t going to stop him..he pushed my arm away and kept doing it again and again..I couldn’t stop him or the tears that kept flowing from my eyes. You might be wondering, why didn’t she shout? or ask her cousin to switch places? or call her aunt? This is where my story is an important lesson, to all of us. Please keep in mind that I was a 12 year old kid, who knew nothing about sexual abuse, who didn’t know that what that guy did to me was WRONG. All the time I kept thinking if I somehow provoked him? 12 year old me did not know that it was not my fault. I asked my cousin to switch places, but he was a kid too, he didn’t want to. I constantly kept fidgeting in my seat, moving away from him, as much as possible, at one point, what he did, hurt me physically, it was then I snapped out of whatever things I kept blaming myself for. I rose and went to my Aunt by pushing him aside forcefully. The next moment he got down by asking the bus driver to stop. It was in the middle of nowhere. NO, I did not tell her, because I did not know how to.

From that moment onwards, I was always conscious about my body, always insecure, it took me years to finally get over it. The sad part is, that wasn’t the only sexual abuse I faced. There were many after that.I stand up for myself now, I wouldn’t hesitate to kick him in balls if something like that were to ever happen.

I request all of you to educate the kids around you about good touch and bad touch, tell them that it is never their fault, tell them that there are monsters out there. DO NOT hesitate, no kid should ever face what I did. It is with this intention that I decided to write this. Even after all these years, thinking about it sent shivers down my spine and the tremble in my hands refuses to stop.

Indian Mythological Fiction

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This is one such genre which I’ll never be bored of, reading about all the characters my parents used to tell me numerous stories about when I was a little girl. This is indeed a treat for mythological lovers like me. Today I’ll be writing a review about my recent addition to the bookshelf. Kalki By Kevin Missal.

Kalki is a trilogy written by the author Kevin Missal. The author subtly included the 21st century conducts into the daily lives of the mythical personalities. This books wades its way through mystery, fantasy, family, beliefs and is intricately woven with the characters we can all relate to in some cases and in others to whom we look up to; like the mighty Hanuman or the mischeivous Krishna. I’ll try my level best to give the review without revealing the story! The best part about this trilogy is that after you finish every part, you keep wanting for more. The author uses the element of surprise to his advantage.

The series has Mahabharata, Ramayana, the tales of Asura and the stories about the avatars of Vishnu blended in it. The first part i.e The Avatar of Vishnu starts of effortlessly, introducing all the pivotal characters the series will revolve around. Just when you think you know what’ll happen next, you couldn’t be more wrong. The author keeps you hooked on to every chapter, you will see yourself itching to read the last page and at the same time stopping yourself from doing so. The characters Kalki, Arjan Kripa, Kali,Padma, Durukti are all relatable. You find yourself rooting for them, sharing their grief and wishing that the book had a better ending. The writing of the author is simple yet sophisticated, he doesn’t make use of knotty vocabulary . One reason why I enjoyed reading this book was that the author made sure he steered his way clear from the path of triteness. While I do enjoy the ocassional cliche’s we come accross any novel, this one had the least amongst them so far. Kudos to the author. As much as I loved reading the triology, I was pretty disappointed with how he ended the things. Maybe that’s because after a point of time your brain simply refuses to admit the fact that more of your favourite characters have been mercilessly killed. Jusk kidding. Except that I’m not.

On a scale of 5, I would rate this book a 3.5. Happy reading folks! My next blog would be about the novels by Nicholas Sparks.

A tiny introduction about me

Posted on by Devasree Guggiri

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities-JKR

The above quote is from Harry Potter. My entry into this world of fiction started with Harry Potter. I’ve never looked back after that. Then came Sidney Sheldon, Agatha Christie, GRRM, Divergent Series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, Percy Jackson, Nicholas Sparks, Sudha Murthy etc.

I’ve been reading since I was in the 6th grade, it was and still is my happy place. So this blog is all about those books which had an impact on me. Which changed my outlook towards life in some cases ( The last Lecture).I’m not a big fan of self help or motivational books, reading them gives me migraine, so this blog won’t be dealing with any such genre.

The idea of blog stemmed from a very innocuous statement made by one of my close friends, being the biblophile I am, I kept pestering him to read my favourite novels, and he being the lazy guy he is, asked me to write a review of all the books I’ve suggested. The audacity! But then he did me favour.

Some personal info about me..I’m a final year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering at Ahmedabad. I’m a huge nature person,I was born and brought up in Andhra Pradesh. I love dancing and hanging out with my friends.

I hope you enjoy my blog and read at least one of the book I’ve written about. Thank you for visiting!