eff it

Saying ‘Fuck It’ is like massage for the mind –
Relaxing you, releasing tension, giving up on things that aren’t working.

John C. Parkin argues that saying Fuck It is a spiritual act:
That it is the perfect western expression of the eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realising that things don’t matter so much (if at all).

This is The Fuck It Way.

Zen and the Art of Actually Getting Some Writing Done

This is an excerpt from a magazine called Mindfields which carried this write up in their last issue.

How to Write and Why Bother
There is a novel in everyone – not to mention the short stories, poems, limericks, essays, haikus and a host of other genres that can emerge from anyone’s life and observations. But unfortunately, there is also a terribly critical and rigid ‘editor’ inside most of us. (Read further)

From Page 3 of the same write up:
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Zen and the Art of Actually Getting Some Writing Done

text: Gouri Dange

Never throw away anything you have written
Or anything that you have edited out of your writing. Put it away in some suitably named folder. You’ll be surprised at how it will turn out to be useful one day. Much like the fabric scraps that a good seamstress never throws out, and one day turns into a brilliant patchwork quilt.

Keep a pen and paper handy at all times
If a Dictaphone, palm top, etc works for you, then those too – at your bedside, in your car, in your pocket. When you have a germ of an idea, scribble down at least a couple of keywords, so that you can jog your memory later. We’ve all experienced how truly brilliant themes/thoughts simply evaporate by the time we actually sit down to flesh them out.

Feed and fuel your imagination
Listen to music, go watch a film, sketch, doodle, skim read, play a game, worry a sudoku puzzle, cook, meet friends, take the dog for a run. Being secluded while you’re writing is not always a good idea. You will find sustenance and inspiration from the oddest, most unexpected sources. Serendipity, they call it.
Give yourself permission to write
The right to write. Too many of us place far too many embargoes, bans, fatwas on ourselves, refusing ourselves entry into some imaginary club to which we will never let ourselves qualify for membership. Start with giving yourself complete consent to write.

Choose your first critics with discrimination
The ones who will critique your material. If you do show your writing to someone, don’t breathe down their necks for feedback. And when it does come, listen, really truly listen. Avoid the temptation of paying attention only to the good feedback.

Winner of the 2007 Banff Photography Award

“I captured this image with strong winds at my back, near the craggy summit of Oregon’s Iron Mountain during a solo ascent in January. I got a little more exposure to the elements than I had anticipated, following a significant snowfall and ensuing blizzard conditions with temperatures around 0° F (-18° C). On my return from the summit, I stopped at this dramatic pinnacle, roughly 200 feet (61 m) high, which is the remainder of the mountain’s volcanic core. Bracing myself on the leeward side of a thick wall of short alpine trees, I was able to pull out my camera and wide-angle lens long enough to fire off several frames with a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the blowing spindrift. I felt that the image captured the excitement, the challenge and the beauty of experiencing winter in the mountain environment. ”

Marc Adamus, 28, is a full-time landscape photographer based in Corvallis, Oregon. His photographs have been published extensively worldwide in a large variety of media, from magazines to books, calendars, posters, cards, etc. Marc’s photography comes from a life-long passion for wilderness adventure. His unforgettable style is one of big, bold, dramatic and dynamic images utilizing amazing light and rare conditions. Marc will stop at nothing to capture an image that defines a place at magical moments. He totally immerses himself in the landscape, often preferring the mountains and winter. Marc’s passion for nature and his drive to photograph it are evident throughout his work and have earned him acknowledgment as one of the most exciting and talented new landscape artists of his generation.

Tips on getting published in India

Tips on getting published in India by new author Karan Bajaj whose first book "Keep off The Grass" is due out soon..

Karan's Biographic Sketch

‘It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.’ Muhammad Ali

Writing is just a job as well. Until you get a publishing offer, that is; after that it starts becoming pretty fun. Hopefully, the information below will help you increase your odds of getting published in India:

1) Be prepared to wait

You will likely start dreaming of your overflowing bank account and the litany of literary prizes-Booker, Pulitzer etc.-to follow the moment you finish your masterpiece. Well, do be prepared to dream for just a while longer. If you aren’t Shobha De’s offspring or someone with similar publishing connections, the earliest your book will hit market from the day you get done with your final draft is 12-18 months (this is the fastest processing time from securing an agent to getting a publisher and finally getting published in India). Worse, if your book is being published in the U.S or Europe, the whole process takes 24-36 months on average. Patience is one of the best virtues that an author can develop given the amount of waiting involved in this game- waiting to find an agent, waiting to find a publisher, waiting to get published, waiting to get reviews from top magazines, waiting to finally make some money etc. etc….

2) Find a literary agent when you are done

Technically, you don’t need a literary agent to get published in India since most Indian publishers accept manuscript submissions directly from authors. I would highly recommend getting one though. Agents are a vital resource for the first time author-they carefully edit your masterpiece, aggressively market it to major publishers, and negotiate the best possible deal for you (the ‘best deal’ is still peanuts by the way- I am confident that no one can make a living off writing in India. More on that later).

Unlike the U.S which is abounding with literary agents, I know of only two in India. I have had the privilege of working with the first; and have heard good things about the second.

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1: Renuka Chatterjee; Osian Literary agency(www.osians.com)
With over 15 years of publishing experience with big names like Harper Collins, Roli Books etc.; Renuka is as good as they come. I highly recommend her given she convinced both Penguin and Harper Collins to bid for my book in record time despite me being a complete nobody in the writing field. She wasn’t successful in selling international rights for my books (I attribute this to my book being too Indian a story, versus her selling abilities; she is pretty well connected with global publishing houses).
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2: Jacaranda Press(www.jacranda-press.com)
I didn’t get a chance to work with them, but I have heard good things from various sources. If Renuka rejects your book, this may be the best place to go (the only place, I guess!)

3) Contact a publisher directly

If you decide to bypass an agent, or they don’t pick up your novel, there is still hope. You can visit any major publishing house’s Indian website-Harper Collins, Penguin, Rupa&Co., Random House etc., to get instructions on how to submit your manuscript for consideration. A word of caution though. Like most institutions in India, publishing houses have no concept of time as well. You may have to wait six months or more; only to finally get an e-mail from the publisher saying they aren’t interested in your magnum opus.

Wait-don’t burn your manuscript if you got that e-mail! You can try some of the new crop of publishers in India-Indialog Publications, Shrishti Publications etc. - since they seem to be publishing almost everything that they can lay their hands on. Although the editing values, art, and distribution systems of these publishers are nowhere as robust as the big ones; your book may just turn out to be the sleeper hit of the year. Abhijit Bahaduri’s ‘Mediocre but Arrogant’ based on life in XLRI, published by Shrishti Publications, sold more than 50,000 copies-a stellar amount by Indian standards where anything that sells more 5000 copies is considered a bestseller. Point is, you can never predict the market, and even an average book with a mediocre publisher can sell more than a well written book by an A-List publisher.

The Million-Dollar question (hardly!)

I am sure you are curious to know what the light at the end of the tunnel is, and how much one earns as an author in India. While everyone hears mostly the well publicized cases of Arundhati Roy getting a Rupees 1 crore+ advance for the ‘God of Small Things’, and Chetan Bhagat making a couple of crores from ‘Five Point Someone’; these are the exceptions rather than the rule. In reality, the caricature of a hungry, starving, miserable author is quite true.

In the best case scenario, you will get paid an advance of Rupees one lakh or two against royalties, and if your book is a super-duper bestseller in India (>10,000 copies), you might end up with another lakh in your bank. Hardly worth your time-right? Wrong. The light at the end of the tunnel is the intangibles-seeing your name in print, the cosmic completeness of creativity, a feeling of living a life less ordinary, and other such immeasurable, unquantifiable factors. Highly recommended and well worth it-if you are not trying to feed your family with your writing in India, that is.

Shahid Datawala Match Book

Shahid Datawala’s book Matchbook—Indian Matchbox Labels

Ask him why he chose matchboxes as the theme for his first book and the 33-year-old photographer says, “I’ve been something of a magpie, collecting tidbits. When I saw two matchboxes called New Shape and New Skip right next to New Ship, I was fascinated.”

Thus began a decade long journey of collecting matchboxes from across the country—from shops, street corners, wastepaper bins, everywhere. “I viewed them from an artist’s perception and found their logos and artwork very interesting,” he says.With the help of illustrations of animals, objects, people and even advertisements, Datawala’s month old book unfolds an undiscovered world of matchboxes. “I have highlighted aspects of a matchbox we don’t pay attention to,” he says. For example, few of us know that strike patterns vary some have fine lines, while others are heart shaped


Designed as a large matchbox, complete with slipcase and striking edge, Matchbook is the first-ever collection of Indian matchbox labels.

Curious and visually stunning, matchbox labels come in a staggering variety of designs. A well-established brand quickly spawns imitations and variations as small producers compete with the large in an anarchic marketplace.

The book showcases almost one thousand colorful members of this extended family, including such brands as Cheetah Fight, Judo Deluxe, Tip Top, and New Shit. The introduction provides an insight into India's complex match industry, where an unjust economy throws a shadow over the vibrant graphics it produces

Indian Ocean Short Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdHN2rigECE


Short documentary on Indian Ocean. Shot on location at the Kosmic Studio, Vardepalayam, while they were recording their album Jhini
Link on YouTube : From The Depths