Agnishatdal
Chaitra 1425 Critique
By Troy David
Loy @ https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
Agnishatdal
Chaitra 1425, March 2019
Namaskar! This month, the last for BS
1425, the eZine starts with a digital painting by the Authoress of a
young woman in traditional garb on a swing. I like the color palette
chosen for this, heavy with cultural symbolism, as well as the
definition of shapes, but the thing that stands out to me is the way
the nose can be “seen,” instantly “filled in” by the viewer’s
brain, simply implied by the way the rest of the face is shown.
That’s a skillful use of technique in a
digital painting.
Rajeshwari
Datta & Rama Majumdar: The entries for these two
performers of Tagore’s music here give valuable snippets of
personal history, plus good music lists of the songs they performed.
While this is good, and worth a close look each time, I also like the
earlier entries on other famous figures of history who made their
marks on India and/or Bengal in other ways.
The next image shows a sitting young
woman in pearls before a row of hedges or brush. The choice of skin
tones, dress, and lip coloring go well together, as does the
assortment of pearls around crown, neck, and arms.
The cook is a
spy 2:
In the conclusion of Brian’s tale
from his childhood, there’s both a good side and a bad one to this
episode in his life. The good news is the relative well-being, though
with some rough treatment, and safety, of the cook, Soriba. The bad
is the fates of many of the family friends still living in Guinea two
years after Brian’s family moved to Holland, a fortunate move for
the family,
I think!
The Raja and
the Swamiji:
A raja sees bad omens almost
everywhere, and seeks the help of a swami to solve the mystery. After
a brief misadventure with quickly dispatched bandits and a stone
afterward, he gets an audience with the swami, one that leads him to
suspect possible plotting against him by his own staff! This one ends
well for the raja. Excellent, Raghu!
Home in the
Heart:
Dom’s verse tells of an inner quest,
a hunt both for and within the human soul, deep within a metaphorical
heart, where he finds…What? Just read this one, much better than
the doggerel I’ve written!
Haters 7 |
Bitter Pill Dose 17:
BP ends this installment with advice on
dealing with those who spread garbage by throwing it at others, the
only thing they have to offer the world.
In this issue of the eZine is a mention
of a new book by Freya Pickard: Kaerling 1
Silver Fire, the start of the adventures of the twins Otta
and Erl, and a quest along the mysterious Unicorn’s Trail
instigated by a wandering God. This one sounds good, like much of her
other work! There are other books of hers mentioned as well,
including “The Essence of Thyme” and
“The Rusalka Ritual & Other
Stories!”
Who am I?
Zelda relates something about herself,
the uncertainty and drift that happens when searching for who we are,
who we “really” are, on a path that leads to more questions than
definitive answers! I hope to read more by her in future issues!
Weep not:
Lisa this time has a quote picture of
trees and the shadows they cast, and enjoins us not to weep for the
contrast of the shadows.
This issue also has an invitation to a
collaborative effort by Joshua Grant
on his site, of indie authors seeking more sales of their works!
This issue further announces the
soon-to-be-released Agnijaat and Agnishatdal
Book(s) 9, the latter sharing works by Brian, the former
due on the 7th of May! I’m looking forward to both!
Dirkbell, by
Robert Sheriff:
A children’s book about a squirrel,
this looks to be promising, as the hero seeks to resolve the matter
of an unruly puppy and the cat he frightened away. Will be succeed?
YouTubia:
Llama Arts:
The authoress discusses a cool YouTube
channel for scary stories told with animation, so I did some poking
about for the link, which is here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-
WWK1U5Nlds-ydZNCrkcg Zombie Alpacalypse
or Llamageddon? Why not both! Do check this channel out, and pay no
heed to my bad puns!
The authoress afterwards shares an
article about the Indian Classical dance prodigy Mallika
Sarabhai, and some commentary on actors Kevin
Spacey and Morgan Freeman. While I don’t recall seeing
much of Spacey’s work, I do remember Freeman as Alfred from
Christian Bale’s Dark Knight movie with Heath Ledger as the Joker.
Good stuff! There’s also a brief article on
Palghat R.
Raghu, a professional Carnatic musician and percussionist.
I’ll be looking up some of his stuff!
The Authoress gives her thoughts, and
some information of Boul singer Amar Pal,
and some commentary on the failure of Indian media market
forces in selective promotion of artists!
This month’s
recipe involves sautéed red chilli and boiled spinach,
eggplant, and potatoes. This one
might prove hazardous to cook in a contained space, with the chillis,
but sounds really good for those with good kitchen ventilation and a
love of spicy food!
This month’s
Bengali and Hindi verses are each in their own categories,
the first a divine tribute and both of them good!
So this is the
month of Holi, the festival of
Colors! I retroactively wish those who celebrated it the
happiest of times this year!
The Authoress treats us to Pieces
of Past, this time on the Bhakti saint Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu, whom is seems had quite an effect in his time as a
popular figure!
In this month’s Story
from Ved and Purana, it’s the tale of a snake prince who
becomes a human on the giving of a boon by Shiva. The fact that he
was first cursed by Shiva in a previous birth is interesting, as it
shows the need to keep a stiff upper lip when a God tells a joke,
unless of course, the God wishes you to laugh as the punchline is
directed at you!
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