Artlexicons

If nobody remembers you, do you even exist?  Memory is a fragile thing. You might remember a traumatic event from decades ago but forget what your best friend in high school looked like. But how would one live in a world, where everyone you met forgot you the second you were out of their line of sight. Book: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue puts an interesting twist to the phrase “Out of Sight, out of Mind.” The book sets the mood for a country-girl who wishes to explore the world but is limited by the narrow-mindedness of her family and society. Life for young Addie, if she obeyed the existing norms would end with her getting married, having a kid and “being settled.” But such a life, she feels would dim the spark in her, and would such a life really be worth living? A life that she didn’t chose for herself? She makes a deal with the devil, trading her soul for immortality – a healthy, long life for as long as she wants it. Unfortunate for her,...

Mobile journalism is the best and the worst thing to have happened in the 21st century. Best because it has provided a platform to the talented individuals with a knack for storytelling to work among people, for the people and be different than the agenda-setter mainstream media. Worst because its accessibility and ease-of-use make abuse of its power easy and widespread. But for those, who are genuinely interested in doing mobile journalism (by which I mean journalism solely on social media platforms even if you’re using a camera), there are some things you must keep in mind.  Now why am I the best person to talk about this? Mainly because I’ve been a student of journalism and I started doing journalism even before studying it. The knowledge I’ve gathered is an accumulation of theoretical and practical tips which I’m planning to sum up for every newbie so they can avoid rookie mistakes.  Do this: 1.   Learn about the platform before starting: Each social media platform is...

  A serviceman cleans the air-conditioner in scorching heat The Winter capital of J&K is used to the Kitni Garmi hai season and celebrates it on the Tawi-river’s shore during Bijli gul weekdays and Light kab ayegi weekends. With a heart full of hope and a couple dozen calls to the lineman and 1912 (toll-free number), every family has at least one tradition they follow during summers. Calling the serviceman to get their air-conditioned ready for the impending heat wave. These unsung heroes are so booked during the month of April and June that by the time they arrive to their 7 th customer of the day, they are usually showered with curses while already being drenched in sweat. As I see Mr Rakesh squeezing his cloth mask till sweat dripped from it to the floor, I realise their tale is one that needs to be told. Cleaning out wasp nests, pigeon nests and sparrow nests from air-conditioners is a routine matter for these well-stung heroes. “ Har season mei tamoodi toh katti hi hai,...

Pallavi Sareen   In the lush green village of Kalihand, residents commemorate their deceased by planting trees, the fruits of which are meant for friends, neighbours and travellers. Jammu: “When someone dies in our family, we plant a tree,” said Nath Ram (75), a resident of Kalihand village in Doda, a remote district in Jammu and Kashmir. Spread over 572 hectares, the village is located 25 km away from Doda town. Surrounded by lush green trees and rugged mountain slopes, villagers in Kalihand have a unique culture of commemorating the dead by planting a fruit tree and watering it for at least a year or longer till it bears fruit. Nearly a third of the population in the village are Hindus who follow this tradition.  “ Shastron mei likha hai ” (it is written in the scriptures) and “ punya ka kaam ” (it is virtuous work) are two phrases repeated by the priest and locals alike while explaining the origins of this practice and its link to funerals. Pandit Daya Ram, the village prie...

‘Jeevika’ roughly translating to livelihood is enhancing the lives of small and marginal farmers in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir. The multipronged strategy was conceptualized by Udhampur’s District Development Commissioner Dr Piyush Singla to store discharge of perennial water bodies in a ‘pond’, made of polythene sheets. The water would then be supplied to the farmers’ fields through a drip irrigation system. These Polythene ponds would increase the assured irrigation of Agriculture land cultivated by small and marginal farmers while also ensuring a sustainable ecosystem that conserves water. Given the fact that Udhampur district is predominantly agrarian where 80 per cent population resides in rural areas and is dependent upon agriculture as their main source of livelihood, the initiative will enhance the water usage capacity and help in generating sustainable livelihood.

Dear Arundhati Roy The words you wrote over twenty years of your life summed in the book ‘The ministry of utmost happiness’ gave me an understanding of Kashmir that was clearer than my experience of living in this state all my life. I was 13 when I started reading and in six years of me burying my head in fiction, I hadn’t yet found a voice that resonated with me more soundly than yours. Once while randomly browsing youtube I had come across an interview of yours and was more amazed by your hair than anything else. It took me just 30 seconds into the video to realize whatever you were saying matched exactly what was in my head. Only you could put it more blatantly and gloriously than my 19-year self could. I got your book as a gift on my birthday. It was the first and only book of yours that I read. How funny is it, that you might be reading my words for the first time on your birthday as well? The letter was supposed to be a short birthday greeting. I am sure you got many f...

If you've made it this far into 2020 without knowing what it is like to binge watch various shows on OTT platforms like Netflix, Prime and Disney+ Hotstar, my condolences. You don't know what you're missing out on.  But even though Netflix has revolutionised the way we watch content, giving space to diverse content, some of its choices are questionable. Dropping Bojack Horseman after the sixth season and now cancelling Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act are two of those major bad decisions that Netflix seems to have made. In the case of Bojack Horseman, however, at least there was closure.  But with dissenting voices getting crippled across the globe, Patriot Act was one such uncensored show which dared to speak truth to power, in a hilarious manner. It was the first US talk show hosted by an Indian American and South Asians couldn't get over it. Even the desi teens in the U.S loved hearing a familiar voice who had gone through familiar situations. His take on political hot...

It is unnerving but not unexpected that modern-day erotica is becoming mainstream. It started with Fifty Shades of Grey, continued with 365 Days which topped the Netflix chart as most-watched movie for weeks at length and so I decided to read some new adult romances to understand what the obsession is about.  The closest thing to 365 Days is The Italian Billionaire's Kidnapped mistress by Kyra Radcliffe .  A look at the Book blurb will show you exactly what I am talking about. You can go to Amazon to buy the book or take a look at the sample chapters.  Book Excerpt: Tori Parsons thought she had it all ... until her fiancé, Cesare, broke her heart and left her at the altar. When she discovers Cesare is to marry another woman, she  crashes the wedding, determined to call it off.  Enter Alfonso Marchese, the handsome billionaire brother of Cesare’s new bride. Alfonso will do anything to protect his family, and the last thing he wants is to see Cesare’...

Photography/Blog Article Written by Karla M.Cortes With Freelancing boom, comes new avenues The US has experienced a freelancing boom within the past five years with over 57million Americans doing freelance work. Freelancing encompasses a variety of industries that range from construction to writing. Yet there is one freelancing field that constantly gets looked over in the writing industry. That field is proofreading. With every great book comes an even greater proofreader. The person behind the scenes, making sure every comma, word, and phrase is properly conveyed and emphasized for the reader’s experience is much more needed than you’d think. In short, there is and will always be a market for proofreaders.

I have had so many friends from Ladakh who studied twice as hard when they came to Jammu. Whether it is the difficulties with language or acceptability, or simply the pain of being away from home, it makes focusing upon studies harder.  Today, when I saw a Ladakhi girl, Stanzin Sharap, top Class 12th in Jammu Zone, I was ecstatic.  On a similar note, I was watching the movie “Axone” and it gave me a reality check about the troubles people from North-east have to undergo, the cultural differences and the general apathy of people in a strange city. I remembered when I was in college, I used to go out of my way to befriend classmates from Ladakh who used to remain huddled together among “their own”. And I never found anything but kindness and compassion in them. My friends and I would compliment their dressing style, their hair and their voice, on their face AND behind their backs. Because to us, being different didn’t mean being odd. But I realise now that one person’s...

Add to Goodreads Buy on Amazon My Rating: 1/5 stars “Women are stuck in a cycle of insecurity perpetuated by the way men treat them, and we are constantly fighting to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we are okay.” ―  Tarryn Fisher,  The Wives Book Blurb: Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him. But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married. What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you’ll ever read. My Review:  I refuse to believe that this book is written by Tarryn Fisher. Tarryn, who is known to write amazingly villainous protagonists that fill you with dread as much as they invoke empathy sorely disappointed me with "The Wives", especially the character of Thursday.  Having read every single book written by...

The general meaning of “static” is fixed or stationary while “dynamic” means flexible or capable of change. The terms are used in different contexts but when it comes to technology or media, Static Media means the kind of media that is not interactive, whose composition cannot be changed and which is less complex in its functionality. It remains the same for a long time. It is more stable because there is no possibility of change in its basic form. For example, a newspaper will remain the same and though its content may be changed from time to time, its basic format, layout, composition, production will remain the same. Once it is printed, there is no scope for any change or modification in it. Dynamic media, however, are more complex and can be customised according to the user. Its characteristics are not fixed and can be changed from time to time. It is flexible and can easily be changed or modified. Dynamic media uses dynamic content that is constantly updated according to t...

According to Techopedia, “Transmedia is commonly defined as a narrative or project that combines multiple media forms.” Transmedia is the merging of various media forms to share one narrative across. It follows the principles of media convergence wherein similar content is shared across different media. The name itself suggests that Transmedia means “beyond Media”, that is beyond a single medium. At the most basic level, transmedia stories “are stories told across multiple media. At the present time, the most significant stories tend to flow across multiple media platforms.” The Digital era has made sharing Trans-media narrative across multiple media easier and it is important to impart content this way because it has a wider-range. Within a few seconds, the same kind of content can be shared on different platforms in text, image, video, audio form or a mixture of it all. Transmedia narrative goes beyond boundaries and is not restricted to just Digital Media or old Media. ...

Add to Goodreads Buy on Amazon My Rating: 5/5 stars “What happens when people open their hearts?" "They get better.” “Despite your best efforts, people are going to be hurt when it's time for them to be hurt.”   About the Book: A magnificent blending of the music, the mood, and the ethos that was the sixties with the story of one college student's romantic coming of age,  Norwegian Wood  brilliantly recaptures a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love.  

Sixteen people died after they were run over by a goods train in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. But before the details of their gruesome deaths are analysed, let’s recall some other gruesome things that have happened in the past few months. A video surfaced on social media showing how people of China skinned, boiled and ate dogs. It turned the stomachs of the animal lovers and even some others who don’t associate with such labels. How dare the Chinese commit such atrocities! These innocent creatures, what is their fault? But when the Coronavirus Lockdown began in India and it was seen that many labourers who were starving or walking miles and miles to reach their homes were dying, a common question that was being asked was “Why don’t they just stay where they are?” It is easier to pose those questions when the dead are not known to you. If anyone has had a death in their family; with a smoker dying of lung cancer, a person dying of cardiac issues, a person facing severe illnes...

New Media Ecology: Before understanding New Media Ecology, it is important to understand the term Media Ecology. The term Media Ecology emerged accidentally through an exchange of letters between Marshal McLuhan and Neil Postman. In a letter exchange, McLuhan wrote the terms Media and Ecology separately and Postman remarked that Media Ecology can be a theory. Marshal McLuhan Media Ecology, besides being a theory became a Doctoral program in the University of New York namely “Ecology of Media” that aimed at observing, researching, understanding and developing concepts that would be the sustenance of the theory. [1] “Media ecology looks into the matter of how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling, and value; and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival. The word ecology implies the study of environments: their structure, content, and impact on people.” [2] Marshall McLuhan has made a great contribut...

A computer is an electronic device which can be used to process, store or transfer data. A basic computer model consists of hardware and software. The external elements of a computer or its physical structure are known as hardware. For example Motherboard, Graphics card, Keyboard, CPU etc. Software is a set of instructions embedded in a computer system through which it accepts and acts on commands. For example: Word processors, games or web browsers. The operating system of a computer is also considered as software. A computer has evolved over the years in size, proficiency, functioning, shape and every other aspect. Despite technology making old computers obsolete with new models, the necessity of computers hasn’t died yet. Even with laptops (which are considered a modern form of computer) and mobile phones which are basically compact computers, an entire computer setup with monitor and CPU is still used in office spaces and by those requiring higher features than flexibility....

These images were part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. Three Jammu and Kashmir-based photojournalists— Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan and Channi Anand won prestigious Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of Kashmir’s lockdown after the dilution of Article 370. Border Security Force (BSF) soldier keeps vigil near the India Pakistan border at Garkhal in Akhnoor, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of Jammu.  Photo by Channi Anand Kashmiri Muslim devotees offer prayer outside the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani in Srinagar, Kashmir. Hundreds of devotees gathered at the shrine for the 11-day festival that marks the death anniversary of the Sufi saint. Photo by Mukhtar Khan A Kashmiri man walks on a snow covered footbridge as it snows in the interiors of Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir.  Photo by Dar Yasin Six-year-old Muneefa Nazir, a Kas...

You don’t expect a Pulitzer Prize winner to walk you to the door and wait till you have left the sight on a day which is supposed to be HIS ‘big day’. But that is exactly what Channi Anand does and that is exactly what Jammu’s hospitality is all about. He welcomes all the love and appreciation that comes his way while ignoring the feeble attempts to overshadow this victory through means of regionalist hegemony. “It’s a matter of prestige for all of Jammu and Kashmir. This award is for all the journalists working here,” he says as his family makes all attempts possible to make him look camera-worthy. Usually the one behind the camera, he was shy to speak up about his journey. He is used to letting his photographs do the talking and while receiving the most prestigious awards for journalism was a dream-come-true, he had little to say about how all the events unfolded.   “The award ceremony began at 12 at night and I was awake till 3 am. As soon as my name was announced, I ...