Amina Thajudeen non-fiction, Poems

The Sound of the Broken Wand|Review

Blurb

Award-winning singer and songwriter Tiki Black blends her multicultural assets to create intricate lyrics and memorable music. Tiki now bares her soul with her first book, The Sound Of The Broken Wand, a beautifully written collection of poems and a unique accompaniment to her sophomore album. The artist weaves the wealth of her experience into each line, celebrating the magic of human emancipation, as it breaks the spell of survival and allows us to experience the infinite possibilities of life. 

My review

‘My existence was in question
Was I human? Automaton?
To rise above this condition
I needed emancipation.
They set me free in tight borders
Deemed me unique within the mould
They said me safe in that terror
And afraid of my own person.’

The Sound of Broken the Wand by Tiki Black is a collection of poems and one essay that reflects on every aspect of human life from birth to death and everything in between. The six themes that are used in the book are the blood, the cage, the mirror, the crown, the shoe, and the wand. The author meditates on each of these themes and the poems reflect those deep thoughts. They talk about life, death, love, refuge, power, debt, journeys, magic, reflection, and much more. The striking characteristics of these poems are they all carry pure raw emotions – the unadulterated, painful, and unacceptable part of our lives. These poems are sharp questions aimed at us. Why we are afraid to break the spell and get out of this survival mode? A single moment of bravery can grant us a lifetime of infinite possibilities.

To break this spell, we have to touch the uncomfortable side of our inner self. The one side that we hide from everyone. The one face you are afraid to show. The one side you don’t want to claim as yourself. But it is yours and you have to accept it. Deniability doesn’t serve you. Rather, accepting one’s dark side will result in liberation.

We all have moulded our faces to be in line with what is socially acceptable. But what if the true freedom lies in breaking this spell and embracing who we are? The world will be truly a better place if everyone accepts their uniqueness and encourages others the same. Tiki Black’s poems are a bold reminder of this fact.

What I loved most is the thoughtfulness of these poems. Each poem touches our minds in the deepest way possible. They present unique questions to us. Answering these questions opens new dimensions of our character and mind. At this stage, these poems are slowly transcended to the genre of self-improvement.
I really loved the multidimensional facet of these poems. Really enjoyable and thought-provoking read!

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Poems, poetry

Cracked Flutes: Blues from the Soul vol. 1 by Obed Ladiny | Review

Cracked Flutes: Blues from the Soul – Volume 1 is literary venture through the poetic eye as various aspects of brokenness in our society and in our own lives are explored.

Ladiny’s reflections are about the things that concern everyone in everyday living. He has penned emotionally-charged poems flowing with rhythmic cadence and beautifully expressed verse. These poems help readers think about the really important facets of life.

Thought-provoking and inspiring, this book is sure to find a place in readers’ hearts as they bask in a lyrical observation of life.

Title: Cracked Flutes: Blues from the Soul vol. 1

Author: Obed Ladiny

Pages: 99

My review

Have you ever heard the songs from cracked flutes? How do you feel about them- disturbing, out of tune, desperate? But they are original, right? You may not like them but they do exist in this world.

One big cracked flute exists in our heart. It receives every beat down and thrashing. It hopes to produce melodious songs one day. But all that cracks can push out are unholy sounds. Each one represents the darkness looming around the past. These poems bear those songs.

Truth is not sweet. It is rough and brutal to consume. The pain is excruciating. It will overflow through our veins. These poems give you the same feeling. Oppression, colour, pain, anger, dilemma, greed, dreams, despair, sadness…everything is poured through words. They have a disturbing flavour of rawness. The emotions behind these words will strike straight through your heart.

Living each moment in your personal hell is not a good sight. How to get out from that ditch? Pour your heart out to a paper and fill it with void instead. That is better. These abstract poems are deciphering these emotions. They derive different meaning each time you read them. They safeguard some unexplainable magic under their wings for this.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Poems, poetry, Quotes, Self-Help

One Sacred Moment (The Mystical Traveler #5) by Fawn Moran| Book review

One Sacred Moment is the fifth volume of inspirational poetry in The Mystical Traveler Series. If you’re looking for insights that deepen over time or kernels of truth you won’t forget, this is the book for you. Like the book says, “Come to the table, The one set for two. Open to the moment. You needn’t prepare. Your special guest is the Presence we share.”

“Fawn Moran has managed to distill so much wisdom into phrases that open doors that we thought were closed. Reading her words, or better still, reading them out loud, brings a resonance in the heart that remains. The distillation has clearly come from many hours of plumbing her own depths. This is not a collection of ideas—it’s a collection of Truth revealed. Try it. You might end up becoming what you were seeking.“
Mary-Margaret Moore,Spiritual teacher, workshop leader, counselor and author of the Bartholomew books

Title: One Sacred Moment (The Mystical Traveler #5)

Author: Fawn Moran

Pages: 72

My review

Poetry is the expression of deep-rooted creativity. It is the projection of one’s own heart and mind. It is the uncovered truth of our inhibitions. One Sacred Moment is a spiritual journey. The beauty of poems lies not in the words but the underlying meaning. In a sense, it expresses the raw unadulterated version of ourselves.

These inspirational poems hold pristine energy, waiting to be unleashed to our flesh and wounds. It is hard to rebuild a broken heart. But every wound will heal if the right treatment is provided. The scars will fade one day. But it is the scars that signify our existence.

Dedicating whole life to selfless service is one of the greatest sacrifice we can ever perform. By doing this we can immerse our soul to divinity and unburden ourselves from everything. It is the path to salvation. We achieve it at our own pace and through our journey. These poems are the expression of that spiritual journey. They are unique because they are not crafted but emerged from a deeper state of mind. The truth is very difficult to express, as always. It needs time and patience to put together words around the emotions encountered during ones own spiritual endeavor. They are difficult to decipher. But they will make you think. They will push you to go farther. No two experience is same.

Meaningful read. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Poems, poetry, Self-Help

Curse of Curls by Marian Hanna MPH|Book review

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Curse of Curls is a probing piece that mirrors the inherent biases in our diverse world and rightly deciphers them.

Using curly hair as a symbol, Hanna understands the prevalence of stereotypes, which constantly dislodge the truth and forms our judgment of what is right or wrong.

Curse of Curls asks vital questions such as – Why are we naturally averse to something we do not know? Why do we deny ourselves the chance to learn, grow, and embrace new perspectives? Why can’t we embrace other outlooks to life? Why must one be looked down with disdain for the other to be rated highly?

My view

Curse of Curls addresses one of the most important issues of modern society, stereotypes. Judgment and body shaming is one of the most prevalent virus in our society. Instead of accepting the diversity, we have made a class difference with them. This narrow mentality is the root cause of every problem in the world. The author is trying to preach about the essentiality of a broader mindset that accepts everyone by acknowledging their difference. The best example that the author has been chosen to express this issue is the biases towards curly hairs. The author presents both sides of the story addressing the little girls who are prone to these stereotypes from an early age.

This beautifully written writing piece talks about empowerment through embracing our differences. Through addressing children’s the author is trying to eradicate these stereotypes from its roots. Apart from the writing, I also liked the illustrations included in the book.

Rating 5/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Motivational Quotes, Poems, Self-Help

Rhythm of Spiritual Beats by Srinivasan Panchanadam Nathan

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Book name:- Rhythm of Spiritual Beats
Author:-  Srinivasan Panchanadam Nathan
Publisher:- Educreation Publishing
Language:- English
Book length:- 140 pages

“…Stretch your wings and fly high
the cage is open, you need not sigh
build yourself as beautiful as you want,
pain your inner self deep till the dawn…”
– Rhythm of Spiritual beats ( Srinivasan Panchanadam Nathan)

This an elegant collection of short poems. I’m impressed with the empowering nature of the poems. Usually, the subject of poems is somewhat around the deepest emotions of humans such as love and grief. But in this collection, I have seen many poems with hope and faith. This is surely the rhythm of spirits which keeps saying not to quit. I felt that poems are well built because they are gazing into the soul and not wandering through outside life.

The language used was elegant, lucid enough to convey and powerful enough to trigger hope in readers.
Many poems in this collection are so memorable. I’m sure that, I will remember them for a long time.
The illustration given along with the poems are very nice. They are appropriate and breaks the monotonous nature of poems. I really liked some illustrations. This is actually a good trend these days. Two different sides of art in one bunch is appreciable.

Altogether it is a nice collection of short poems. Recommended to every poetry lovers out there…

Rating:3.5/5

Buy here: Amazon

Amina Thajudeen Fiction, Indian Authors, Quotes, Self-Help, Uncategorized

“April is lush” by Aditya Tiwari

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You tell them

that you are fine,

but these are

just your

little lilac lies

-April is lush (Adithya Tiwari)

April is lush is a collection of poems written by Aditya Tiwari. The first impression of this book is its cover and title. There is nothing graphic about the cover. But somehow I liked it a lot. The tinge of red merged with black yellow, green and grey colors is the expression of the author’s poetry. This somehow gives us a hint of a rainbow without opening the book. The seasons of human life, from a pupa to a beautiful butterfly or the different emotions one has throughout their life. The definition of the rainbow is limitless. The title is also apt for a poetry collection which describes very fragile emotions of human life.

I’m truly proud that I read this book in the pride month. LGBTQIA+ community has been sidelined in literature too as well as in other fields. Their voice s important as much as ours. That’s how we can merge them to us. Being a queer writer, Aditya’s pen bleeds the emotions of utmost difficult phase in human life. The emotions are raw and thus makes it most desirable. The power he attained from broken and healing throughout the phases of his metamorphosis has been strengthened his literary senses too. This has been evident from the small poems he wrote.

The poetry collection also includes poems on love, loss, heartbreak, trauma, woman and self-worth other than LGBTQIA+ thoughts. The flow of poems is what I admired most about this book. The phase of love and loss is always a favorite subject for poets. Its because it is the truest of all emotions one has. But the specialty of Adithya’s poems is he tried explored the phase of grief much more than others. The poems on trauma and loss have tons of difference. The small differences in our thoughts and emotions during the phase of loss is essayed beautifully in these small poems. This makes the poetry long-lasting in the thoughts of readers even after turning the last page.

The language used in poems is simple making even a beginner understand what it is meant. This is a must-read for every poetry enthusiasts.

Rating: 4/5

Buy paperback here
Buy Kindle edition here
Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Poems

Knots by Deblina Bhattacharya

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Title: Knots

Author: Deblina Bhattacharya

Format: Kindle Edition

Language: English

Blurb

“These knots that do bind
Make thee one of a kind”

Knots is a collection of poetry and prose about love and heartbreak, tragedy and grief, survival and loss. It’s a journey through the numerous knots that we tie in life, and the ones we tangle and untangle with. It explores the realities of mental illness & suicide, social taboos & violence against women, pain & darkness, self love & healing in all its naked glory. The rhythm of Knots resonates directly with the poet’s heart, conveying to the readers that there is a way to untangle every knot in life, but sometimes, some of these knots are what we are made of.

My review

“Knots” is a collection of short poems written by Deblina Bhattacharya. The poems travel through a wide range of topics. The poems are arranged in 7 main sections such as heartbreak, love, fantasia, darkness, pain, lost and healing. I found a smooth flow of words throughout the book. The author starts her writing from heartbreak. The words are much intense at this point. This intensity gets diluted as the pages turns. In the second section, she remembers the various acts of love she experienced in her life. Every reader can relate to one or two poems here. The poems are much realistic in this section. In the Fantasia section, the true creativity of the author emerges. The expression of the magic of an imaginative world is very good. In the next two sections, that is darkness and pain, one can feel the darkness which is engulfing life. In the next section lost, I found a ray of hope. The hope emerges in the route of lost. The healing section is a perfect end for this emotionally high journey. I really loved the poems in the last section. It is really is the healing of a wounded soul.

The poems are written in a simple and lucid language. The arrangement of poems is commendable. Each section in the collection is starting with a  thoughtful quote relevant to the respective topic. This may leave you in thoughts for a few seconds. After you turn the last page, this book will surely give some serious insights into our life. Recommended for all poetry lovers.

Rating: 4/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Indian Authors, Poems

To Petrichor: The divine essence of dust by Riddhi Pranay Wagle

 

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Author: Riddhi Pranay Wagle

Publishers: Blue Rose Publishers

Language: English
“O! Thou symbol of serenity,
That keeps hiding a universe
Of mindful ideas,
Always discussed in the state
Of inebriation of blue rains,
Of dark soil and wet-less water;
That seems more intoxicated
Than all the ideas of Love……”
-To Petrichor (Riddhi Pranay Wagle)
I like poetry above all other forms of literature. It is because a collection of poems is not an expression of one’s creativity, it is the expression of one’s own soul. The poems will touch your heart if and only if it is pure. You cannot write a poem with your brain, it must come from your heart. This is the thought I had when I finished this book. For me, it is so difficult to review a poetry book. Because it is very hard to judge one’s thoughts and memories which forms a poem.

“To Petrichor: The divine essence of dust” by Riddhi Pranay Wagle is a collection of 62 poems. The book is divided into 3 major parts such as “Rotation of the love circle”, “Leaflets of life” and “Odes, to the fables of serendipity”. In the “Rotation of the love circle”, the author includes her thoughts on the most written emotion in the world, love. She tried to explore all the experiences one can possibly have in love. The journey of love from the moment it blossoms to the end when it dies. In “Leaflets of life”, she explored all the minor and major details of human life. This section is covered with the thoughts on dreams, failure, heartbreak, memories and more. The last part includes some of the strongest poems in this collection. We have heard a thousand times that ” a pen is mightier than a sword”, but how often a writer uses that pen to raise his/her voice against injustice. In this small collection, the author has given space to raise her voice along with other works. This kind of dedication has to be appreciated. The poem “To the Daughter of India” speaks volumes.

This is not a book made out of a piece of writings written here and there. This is a serious work. As she said in the preface, she has been framing her poems since grade six. She was dreaming to be an author since then. The dedication of the author is clearly visible when you turn the pages over.

The book is well edited and well framed. A reader can experience a roller-coaster ride when they read this book. Each part of the collection gives you that feeling. As I said earlier, this is because the collection of poetry is the inner voice of the author. This book is raising the bar for debut works.

This short read is recommended for everyone who loves poetry.

Rating:5/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Motivational Quotes, Poems

A Cynic’s Shadow by Yash Singhania

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Blurb: Have you ever seen
A smiling man cry?

Of course you have.
You are crying on the inside too..

A Cynic’s Shadow, is a collection of poems that explore the ailments of a melancholic man, whose enticing screams are beautiful when inked.

My Review

Amidst the sea of fog

I  saw the sun resurrect.
So weak and wan
Then so full of light and power.
Vaporizing the darkness,
Illuminating the sea of fog.
Raising our hopes
And opening our eyes.
Illuminating some dreams and
burning some.
Ending some cold nights
And birthing some bright days.

                             -Yash Singhania (A Cynic’s Shadow)

A Cynic’s Shadow by Yash Singhania is a compilation of 64 poems accompanied by beautiful illustrations that are projecting the meaning of each word in it. As said in the book, this writer’ words tend to seep in the readers subconscious, painting fantasies. Fantasies one can’t get enough of.

These poems are penned down when the author was on a voyage of the solitude of self-realization, partly lost and partly in immense pain. Finding light in a road which seems to be dark and being alone throughout the journey is more than enough to light up the creativity of one’s own self. As said by the author in the preface, he convinced his orthodox family into believing that he was destined for better things than CA. So altogether these poems represent his journey of chasing dreams and to remind everyone that, the hope still exists. When you skim through these lines you can feel the pain of a trapped man who was searching for a way out in his own mind.

The illustrations accompanied by each poem are a marvelous piece of art. Once gaze into its meaning, you can’t look away for minutes. These poems are surrounded by emotions rather than the deep meaning. When I progressed reading these pages, I felt like reading a diary rather than a piece of literature.

The title and cover were deep and represent one’s own journey to the inner self. If you are a poetry lover you can taste this one too.

Rating: 4/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Indian Authors, Poems

Unlocked Silences by Mukhpreet Khurana

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Title: Unlocked Silences

Author: Mukhpreet Khurana

Publishers: Notion press

Blurb: Unlocked Silences is a collection of abstracts, poems and excerpts written on tissue papers over a couple of years. It is a dive deep into the circles of emotion, empathy, acceptance, healing and insights into a different perspective towards life. In the voice of a budding adolescent, the book cascades into day-to day-shortcomings, carved into poetry and at the same time, embraces you in silence and stillness of thought. The book is an attempt to connect with the reader, to reflect upon them, unbiased and together and embrace a new beginning. With simplified use of grammar and vocabulary, this book seeks nothing but the companionship of all. With this debut book, the author aims to connect to one and to all in the message and purpose of existence, the aid of spirituality and an ode to a beautiful journey called life.

My Review

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“…Take the fall, for once and for all…

Know that you need nothing,

You need no one;

Lay in peace, sometimes

Lay in endless pain,

Celebrate every gain, dear one,

Thank every effort that went in vain….

I remember my flaws by a dominating perfection,

I remember life as a journey to be celebrated…”

 -The journey (Unlocked Silences) Mukhpreet Khurana

Unlocked Silences is a collection of poems, abstracts, and excerpts by Mukhpreet Khurana. I can’t start this review without praising the cover. It is unique and beautiful. Black and white combination is one of my favorite because it basically represents the tantrums of our own minds.  A book should be like that, bringing whiteness in the darkness. This color combination makes perfect sense with the title.

Every writer has struggled with their creativity. The unanswered questions and turmoil of emotions will be the cause to sprout creativity. So this is the breaking of silences. But this is not a mere breaking, it is unlocking. The author may have thought that this is an unlocking of his thoughts and he has to spread them in this world. Like that, this collection contains his thoughts ranging from healing, motivation, positivity to embracing fears.

This is actually like a rollercoaster ride, sometimes high, sometimes low. I think this is purely a reflection of the human mind including all our lives. All the lines are written with a meaning to reinstate belief in oneself and the rest will follow.

These deeper ideas are expressed through simple and smooth language but yet succeeded in producing an influence on one’s own mind. This book offers a path of healing, from hatred to peace.

Somehow, some lines are seem to be repeated, but it is aligned with the flow, so it never bothers the reader much. I felt this is like a walk of all the ill-emotions in our mind which keeps inner peace away, to the wisdom of our own mind.
I think this is a book for everyone because it is a collection of thought-provoking, light, and easy lines written to address one’s inner-self.

Rating 4/5

I received a copy of this book through the BOOK GENIE REVIEW PROGRAM