Artlexicons

  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.