Monday 25 May 2015

Revealing Cover: Chamber With Mirrors by Nuran Barengi



About the Author
Nuran Barengi:
Born in 1968, Ergani/Diyarbakır, she went to the primary school of the neighborhood until its third year, as she had to leave her birth place because of her father’s assignment to a new governmental post in Ankara where she continued her primary and secondary studies. During her graduate years she worked in the Ministry of Finance while pursuing her studies at the Faculty of Economics. The Ministry of Finance, the Treasury Under secretariat of Prime Ministry, the General Secretariat of the Administrative Council of Public Banks and The Agricultural Bank of Turkish Republic were the organizations at which she occupied important posts, which was followed by her research work, in her capacity of a staff member, at the Economics Department of the Boğaziçi University.
During her stay in Ankara, Mrs. Barengi, took singing lessons and dabbled in jazz music, studied ballet, went into journalism, and dipped into dramatic art. Married and the mother of two children, she lives in Istanbul, Turkey.
The interest she cultivated in arts and social sciences ever since she was in her teens played a decisive role in the development of her mental framework and in her undivided attention bestowed upon current social affairs. Philosophical issues particularly steered toward concepts of universal balance, of butterfly effect and of infinity have been the basic components in the formation of her spiritual framework and contributed to the many a perplexing problem related to human relations. An observing mind, coupled with an enthusiasm to experience life profoundly unleashed in her a resolute energy resulting into poetic creations. All these tributaries converged into the formation of her character reminiscent of streams flowing into the vast main.
Prizes and Shields
1.      Literary prize awarded on the World Women’s Day on 8th March, 2012, on the occasion of the festival organized by World Film and Arts Foundation and the Aznavur Sanat for prominent women who have contributed meritoriously to the development of fine arts and social media.
2.      Shield of gratitude offered by TUMBIAD (April 2012) for her integrating thorny social issues with art in her poem entitled Deprem (Earthquake) dedicated to the children, victims of the Van earthquake.
3.      Shield for her contribution, in her capacity of contributor, to fine arts on the occasion of the Mothers’ Day, 12 May 2012, organized by the World and Anatolian Federation for Social Assistance in which took part local and foreign prominent members of the society.
4.      To figure in the book entitled Gülbaranın Gülleri edited by Sedat Eroğlu, is a sincere tribute and joy for Nuran Barengi; it is a work that took the author ten long years for preparation. The book reminds the future generations that Diyarbakır-Ergani  has  been a center from which eminent men and women of letters, sciences and arts as well as politicians came out to contribute to the general culture of the land.


About Our Translator

Ahmet Ender Gürol

Ahmet Ender Gürol born in 1931, a prolific translator and lexicographer, has over a hundred books to his credit. Among the books he has translated from Turkish into English we can name The Time Regulation Institute; The Peace in Mind; The History of the 19th Century Turkish literature of A.H. Tanpınar; Istanbul was a Fairy Tale of  Mario Levi;  Locked Lives of T.Afsin Ilgar; In The Name of The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit:  A History of the Crusades, of  Doğan Yurdakul; The Crimean Times of Sevim Çokum; The Frankfurt Journal of A. Haşim; and  Murat IV of Turan Oflazoğlu.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In my journey from prose to poetry in the Chamber with Mirrors my inquisitive approach to life as a human being in the first place and then as a woman and mother
“I release my amniotic fluid to me heart
To free my neck from the chord around my neck”
The struggles i indulged in to see that ‘beauties’ come out with flying colours as sempiternally reflected in the image of our soul of the coexisting Good and Evil ....
In the Room with a Mirror of Leonardo da Vinci, is it possible that the fact that a person standing in the middle of a room whose walls are of mirrors clad claims that he can have endless viewpoints which it inspired the title of the present book may be the outcome of an endless repetitions of projections representing the infinite?
The fact that exchange of looks with you in the course of my journey along the lines of poetry I have just embarked on will ever fire my imagination is a source of intense joy for me... I thank you all so much...


Nuran  Barengi's feminine approach to life is so delicate that one feels as though a butterfly has just touched one's heart; hers is a sentimental collogue with her soul. She has the unaffectedness of Orhan Veli, while aspiring to Karin Boye's passionate expression at the same time. She touches the limits of eternity in her poems bordering on prose at times in which she captures moments of everlastingness. With consuming interest and curiosity, I am looking forward to see where Barengis' path will lead to in the end. 
~Özkan Mert
Turkish Poet

Sunday 17 May 2015

Meet: Mahua Sen:Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Mahua Sen was born in Bihar and grew up in New Delhi. She is the second daughter of Dr. SM Chowdhury and Mrs. Krishna Chowdhury.
Mahua is a Post-graduate in Journalism and worked as a Journalist and a Banker. She is the author of a poetry book named 'Insights', published under the flagship of Authorspress, which received much appreciation. She is also a freelance writer and contributing author of many books. She used to play with alliteration and metaphors ever since a tender age. She  is an avid reader and a music-lover. She believes in the simple joys of life.
Mahua lives in Hyderabad with her husband, Utpal Sen and her four-year old child Raunav Sen whom she calls her ‘Sunshine’.

To know more about Mahua Sen, mail her at sen.mahua5@gmail.com

Meet: Sunayna Pal: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Sunayna Pal, born and brought up in Mumbai, shifted to USA for a little while after her marriage but misses Mumbai terribly and awaits her return. She has PG degrees from XLRI and Annamalai University and worked in the Corporate World for five odd years but quit it in 2009 and embarked on her heart's pursuits.
She started “Art with Sunayna” (artwithsunayna.wordpress.com) to teach and sell art for NGOs. She is also a certified graphologist (sos4graphology.com) who helps everyone to understand themselves better by using a mix of graphotherapy, healing and affirmations and corporate to hire better.
In midst of all this and being a home maker, gardener and photographer, she also finds the time to write. She loves to write from her daily life experiences. Sunayna was the Mumbai reporter for Evergreen Magazine. Many of her articles have been published in TOI, New woman, Women's era and she is a proud contributor at many other e-magazines and sites and the anthology “Mighty Thoughts” and “The second Life.” and is eagerly awaiting few other publications.
In her little spare time, she also maintains a blog at mannkiwindow.wordpress.com and can be contacted at sunayna.pal@gmail.com She is currently writing a fictional story slightly inspired by her experience in the USA.

Meet: Jyoti Jain: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Jyoti Jain, born and brought up in Rajasthan. She graduated in biology but at her graduation she felt that science wasn’t for her. She found her true calling in writing so she converted her hobby into a profession. Our amateur and wonderful writer is pursuing her P.G. in journalism and mass communication. She is also a writer at surabhi publications.

Meet: Debdip Maitra: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Debdip Maitra is just another middle class boy currently pursuing B.Tech in
Mechanical Engineering. A hopeless romantic, he believes in being down to earth,
and letting his words & actions do the talking. A passionate quizzer, he also loves
reading, and can hardly spend a day without music. Basically laid back by nature,
you’ll nevertheless find him quite vocal about the things he is passionate about!



Meet: Neha Rautela: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Her poems have appeared in International anthologies and Journals.
'In Our Own Words' , ‘The Art of Being Human Volume 4 -An Anthology of International Poetry’  publications of Brian Wrixon  Books (Canada),  PEN International Austria's book on  Malala  ,  Lovelets –by Butterfly & The Bee and All About Books Global, India , Persona by IIM -C , Synthesis- duet poetry by Poiesis ,Zest of Inklings,  Harvest of New Millennium to name a few.
  She truly believes that art is cathartic and loves to indulge in colours . She is a dog lover and stands for being kind to animals.

Meet: Nikita Goel: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


I am a Writer ,Blogger , Reader ,Teacher and a Counsellor. I am a hardcore believer of Karma and Law of Attraction. I preach to the World that all the Universe , including stars, sky, planets and moons work for you through your mind."What you think you become " is my way of living Life. I am hopelessly Optimistic. I am someone who would be there welcoming the new world when everyone around would be mourning the end .There is an eternal quest about knowing myself. There is a lot I learn about myself from people I meet , books I read and places I visit. I am self- obsessed and God says I am his favourite child. Three words that describe me best would be - Believer , Doer and Keeper.
My Blog "The Enchantress " is about celebration of Life. It's about being yourself and accepting every inch of who you are .It talks about happiness being inside you and God being not at churches. It's about a girl who is reluctant to grow up and how she deals with adults around  trying to change her. She is a Misfit, she belongs to nobody. She stares at the sky like it's her home. She years to be somewhere ,She belongs to the ANGELS. It's my LIFE through my eyes and I hope to read it to my grandchildren someday.
I have been Blogging since pretty long , may be 4-5 years .It's not about liking / loving for me. Writing is to me what Breathing is to You. I write because If I don't I would die. I often feel an urge to write when I am sitting with friends or dreaming at midnight or having lunch at a fine restaurant. It comes anytime and every time to me. It's a way of worshipping God.

Meet: Elora Rath: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Apart from being a writer and poet at heart, Elora Rath juggles her life between preparation for PhD and job search simultaneously. Hailing from the small township of Dhenkanal, she finds herself in the temple city Bhubaneswar for the heck of a successful career with her family by her side. She comprehends her innate urge and creative passion towards writing is solely inherited from her mother who rejoiced liberal arts as a medium of expression of her soul. Apart from writing prose and poetry in English, Hindi and Oriya to pen down her bleak emotions on a blank sheet, she also has a keen interest of indulging herself in dancing, singing, photography, travelling, internet surfing and cooking in her free time. She believes life taught her more than what she could have ever learnt from a very tender age and the reflections of which can be traced in her writing which picks up delicate issues and small charms of human relationships as a core concern. A real life modern relationship article of hers has been featured in the book called “21 Things about Romance” by Grapevine India Publisher. A fictional story from her pen is featured in the book named “Fusion: A mingled flavour mocktail” by Dream House Publication. She has contributed and got selected to be part of 17 other anthologies by now. Being an avid reader and an ardent fan of Cricket, WWE, Romantic Comedies and bollywood masala movies, she finds herself incriminated in any of the above mentioned guilty pleasures when she gets a break from her favourite activities besides work.

Meet: Arish Dhawan: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Arish Dhawan is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering and originally hails from Bathinda. A poet by birth and blogger by chance who meant to stumble upon a website named Blogger.com and that changed the way of his life forever. Arish has been a part of 4 anthologies (both national and international) so far. An ardent blogger at www.preciousglories.blogspot.com
He could also be reached at arish.dhawan92@yahoo.com

Meet: Ravouf Jan: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Ravouf is a teacher by profession and a writer by heart. She writes in English as well as in Urdu, scribbles whatever comes to her mind and whenever her hearts tells her to do so. She loves to play with the words and sometimes they say a poem or sometimes run random to tell a short story
She believes writing is the best form of self expression and by doing so a writer elates manifold.

Meet: Jonali Karmakar: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Jonali Karmakar is a post graduate in English Literature from Indira Gandhi National Open University. She developed a penchant for writing early in her student life. She is a multilingual poet, writer and editor. She loves to escape into the worlds she creates. Everything that she writes becomes a part of her and she wants her readers to know the woman behind those words. Her work has been published in international anthologies and e-zines.
She can be reached at:  karmakarjonali@gmail.com


Meet: Manaswita Ghosh Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Manaswita Ghosh is a journalist and works with The Telegraph Calcutta. She is a writer, poet and an editor. Penguin Books India, British Council and Talent Flush Creations have published her in the past. Her interests include reading books and travelling.

Meet: Mandeep Kaur Heer:Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

'Mandeep Kaur Heer' is a postgraduate in Commerce and Human Resource Management. She lives in Delhi and teaches underprivileged children. Her interest areas are Interior Decoration, Creative Economy, Guidance and Counselling, Innovation in teaching strategies, Appliqué to Spirituality and Mindfulness. She is keen to develop curriculum modules infusing art, theatre, music and poetry in Education and done such experiments too. She writes in Hindi, English and Punjabi.
The subject areas of her writing are : life, relationships, love, romance, pedagogy, spirituality and mindfulness to humour.
She is an admirer of art and keen observer of life who finds herself penning down her thoughts. She enjoys good music, learning new things and real conversations. Nature and life inspire her. She loves rain and she loves autumn. Infact she loves every season of life.

She says "Writing to me is like rain showers on a sultry summer and sunshine in a chilly winter. It gives me a sense of free bird flying in the sky or a butterfly enjoying the beauty of a garden. Writing is my liberation, salvation and celebration."

Meet: Jitendra Pathak: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

 Jitendra Pathak, born on 20 August. He has been pursuing B.E. in ECE stream from Dr. B.R. Ambedker University, Agra. He basically like to do poetry in both languages; Hindi and English. His genre of writing poetry are: social, romantic, religious, philosophical and sometimes it involve these all together. His view of writing says that 'writing is a part of life comes in words which has lots of experiences and more than just a thought. So, selling of these things sometimes hurts me a lot because these are not for sell, rather share them and enjoy the sheer joy of happiness. Writer don't create a story, rather, story create a writer.' He says himself a cocktail of philosophy and literature, and when you mix them together then he prepares; a poet.

Meet: Diwakar Pokhriyal: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Diwakar Pokhriyal is a writer by passion. He has completed his engineering from NPTI Delhi & MBA from Great Lakes Institute of Energy Management Gurgaon in field of Energy. He has written 9 poetry books and 1 short story collection which are published. He has been a part of 59 anthologies/magazines with writers around the world. His works are also included in various websites. He is also a part of "Limca Book of Records - 2015" as he participated in "Synthesis - The First book on duet poetry". He has won “Poiesis Award for Excellence in Literature-2014” for his short story. His work was selected by Aseem Ahmad Abbasi (famous lyricist) to be included in a Hindi poetry anthology. With a touch of music in him he is also a member of GRV Band as a rhythmic guitarist and song writer. The songs can be enjoyed on You tube channel of GRV Band.

Meet: Surbhi Thukral: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Surbhi Thukral is a marketing professional turned writer. She has worked with corporations in India and the UK. After gaining success in business writing, she is determined to make a mark in the field of fiction writing. She holds Masters in Business & Management from the University of Strathclyde, UK. She can be reached at Thukral.surbhi@gmail.com

Her work has been published in the Harvests of New Millennium, EWR: Short Stories, Taj Mahal Review, A World Rediscovered (An Anthology of Contemporary Verse), eFiction India, The Indian Trumpet, 2013 New Asian Writing Short Story Anthology, Minds@ Work 2, Seasons of Love, Fusion—A Mingled Flavour Mocktail, The Orange Frame Literary Review, Her Story: Is Not Always a Story     and Upper Cut: A Change India Initiative.


Meet: Hitakshi Bawa: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm



Being bubbly, carefree and full of life, Hitakshi Bawa hails from the Capital of India, New Delhi. Along with working as an Executive Administration in a MNC, she is also pursuing her MBA from AIMA. Ever since she became a self-made young woman, Hitakshi has been an avid reader, always eager to grab her favourite authors’ books and leave an impressionable review. Playing with words, sharing her emotions and expressing her thoughts, gives her immense happiness. Her poems always make the readers feel good. Her short stories were published in anthologies like ‘Syahi’ and ‘A Zest of Inklings’
 Just like any other girl of her age, Hitakshi digs her moods in chocolates, balances her beautiful self on stilettos, shopping galore with friends and getting photographed from all possible angles. A down to girl at heart, rich in moral values and loyal in any relation she forms, Hitakshi unwinds her weekends at home with her small and loving family.
Connect with this beautiful, budding author with her words as she shares her ideas with you on almost every social platform like her blog @ www.hitakshibawa.com. Join her on Facebook under the name of Hitakshi Bawa and on twitter with the handle @hitakshibawa. Leave a message, discuss your ideas, take her views and be interactive with the multi-talented, enterprising and happening Hitakshi Bawa.

Meet: Dilip Mohapatra: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Dilip Mohapatra, a decorated Navy Veteran started writing poems since the seventies. Post His premature retirement from Indian Navy in the rank of a Commodore, he held senior leadership positions in the Tata and Suzlon groups of companies. Currently he is the Chief Mentor and Strategic Advisor to KIIT University, Bhubaneswar.

His latest poems have been featured in many literary journals of repute in India and abroad, like New English Review, Indian Review, Chiaroscuro Magazine, Helix Magazine, BlazeVox , Muse India, Statesman Festival issue, Kavya Bharati, etc. Some of his poems are included in the World Poetry Yearbooks, 2013 and 2014. He has two poetry collections to his credit, titled 'A Pinch of Sun & other poems'         and ‘ Different Shades’ published by the Authorspress India, New Delhi. He is currently working on his third project: a fiction. He lives in Pune with his wife, Tara.

Meet: Anuja Bhatia: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Anuja Bhatia is a 20 year old girl who is pursuing English Honours. She is basically from Faridabad and loves to write poems. One of her poem has already been selected for an anthology. She aspires to become a good writer and be popular among the masses. She has a positive outlook towards life and finds her happiness in small things.

Meet: Enakshi Johri: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Active blogger and writer, Enakshi Johri, is a regular author for Indus woman Writing. She is a postgraduate in Biotechnology and is an aspiring writer. She has written several articles, stories and poems and most of her content has been published in the ejournal of IWW (Indus Woman Writing). Currently, she is working as an Academic content writer with the leading firm. She has contributed in three Anthologies so far. She loves watching movies, reading books and playing basketball. She is a creative thinker and a passionate writer and loves to pour down her heart in form of words. She shares her experience and her perception through her website (http://aliveshadow.blogspot.in/).

Meet: Nehali Lalwani : Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Born and nurtured in Nadiad, Gujarat, Nehali Lalwani has completed her B.com honours, Diploma in Labour Practices and Masters of human Resource Management. She is carefree and expressive by nature. Pouring out her feelings via numerous romantic poems and stories has been Nehali’s forte that makes her a zealous writer.  Her short stories have been published in several anthologies.
 She loves writing. She believes it is fervour; an urge; something that gives her vista to convey her viewpoints. Her philosophy of life says that love, though unfulfilled it never dies.

Meet Anisha Singh: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Anisha Singh  is  an  aspiring  writer   who  writes  about  contemporary  issues  and  women centric stories in general. She mostly writes short stories, book reviews and also writes poems occasionally. Two of her short stories “The Lion’s Grove” and “The Green Umbrella” have been published in different anthologies. She is also an active contributor at Morsels & Juices which is a platform for amateur women writers from across the globe. She holds a graduate and a post-graduate degree in English Literature. She believes that the responsibility of a writer is to write about the realities of life and bare human emotions.

Meet Purba Chakraborty:Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm


Purba Chakraborty is a content developer by profession, author by passion and a blogger by choice. She has authored two books “Walking in the streets of love and destiny” (2012) and “The Hidden Letters” (2014). Many of her short stories and poems have been published in magazines and anthologies namely "Stories for your valentine", "Fusion-A mingled flavor mocktail", “eFiction” and "Writer's Ezine".

Meet Sagher Manchanda: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Sagher Manchanda is a promising fiction writer and has an impressive hand at writing poetry. Born in New Delhi, India, Sagher completed his schooling from St. Joseph's High School, Solapur, Maharashtra. At present, he has applied for Arts in a renowned college in Pune, where he is residing these days. During his school days, Sagher showed special interest and enthusiasm in writing imaginary or fictional essays and stories. It was after high school, when the writer-bug in him flapped his wings and led his passion of writing to a higher level. Topics viz. Life, Ethics, Suspense, Mystery and Humour are his fields of interest and being an active blogger he has written much on each of the subjects. Sagher has won the 2014 Saarang Poetry Award by IIT Madras. He is an internationally published writer, and his work has appeared in various anthologies. The specialities that his readers notice in him are varying concepts in every new story or poem and also he weaves the thread of life and lessons through each of his write-ups. This ultimately tickles the readers with uttermost excitement while reading his work. Sagher Manchanda works under the pen-name, 'Sagher' and prefers to be addressed by the same in the literary field.


Meet Simran Kaur: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Simran Kaur is currently studying in 12th standard has contributed her poem for the novel 'Bizarre Emotions', Aagman literary book and for various online magazines. She is sensitive and aspire to work for the society for a noble cause. She has a great passion for writing poetry and has inherited this talent from her Grandmother. According to her '' Writing is best way of powerful expressions and only lucky ones are blessed with it''. She can be easily read on her blog 'My Friendship' where she frequently pour down her thoughts and feelings especially about 'Nature, Love, Relations and Friendship'. Besides that she loves doing photography and cooking.


Meet Rahul Ahuja: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

Rahul Ahuja is from Surat located in Gujarat. His abode is his own world of imaginations. He feels that poetry is a fortuitous journey. Poetry is the only medium with which he can express his views and feelings. He is an avid reader of poetry. May it be a crumpled leaf, floating clouds or trees, he loves to capture the essence of nature in the lens, which has also inspired him to pen down his thoughts. Poetry with a slight dose of fiction is what he craves to write. Apart from this he loves to appreciate art and believes that everything around us is art and poetry. He also maintains a blog - http://canvasofpoetry.blogspot.in/



Meet Sabi Shaikh: Contributing Poet for Rhymes and Rhythm

We take this opportunity to introduce you to the Author of “Via Delhi – A twisted tale of Love” which is receiving an outstanding response nationwide, Sabi Shaikh. A charismatic lad who has loads of positive energy and the charm to get you addicted to his witty and unique style of writing. He hails from the city of Mumbai but has been residing in Hyderabad from the past 8 years. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing from the ICFAI University. His biggest dream in life is to write scripts for Bollywood and win the Filmfare someday. He is also an avid animal lover and a huge fan of Mother Nature. He lives his life by a quote, “Impossible is just a word ... Means nothing.” Apart from writing, Sabi enjoys watching movies, listening to music, spending time with his loved ones and sweating it out in the gym.


Monday 27 April 2015

E-Version of Papercut by Philip Thomas Launched

First Step Publishing is happy to announce the launch of E-Version of Papercut Written by Philip Thomas on Google Playstore.
You can grab an E-Book by just Following the Q R Code or by the following Link CLICK HERE
Papercut is an Anthology of Poems written by Philip Thomas.
Book will soon be available as a paperback version in all major online stores.

Title: Papercut

Author: Philip Thomas

ISBN: 978-93-83306-23-1

About the Book: Paper Cut surrenders to nearly all emotions and weaknesses of a man and rise from it. The author draws inspiration from situations and experiences around him. While, a poetry collection Paper Cut manages to create characters, characters that author expects the reader will connect to and empathize to. Sara is one such, she is, was and always will be the most inspirational to the author.
Though Sara is one girl, the works depicted here does have the essence of most of the women in author’s life. The works which doesn’t have a living character, or a protagonist, the author tried making up for it by giving it a “character”
The works explores and exposes the author’s weaknesses and faults as human but also depicts his desire to come out tall of all the imperfections, and how he is hanging in there while he has absolutely nothing to show for all the efforts, but still hanging in there.
And thus he share’s his life in form of a verse with you.

About the Author:  Philip Thomas, born in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, has completed his graduation in Commerce and is currently working as an Office Secretary in an Engineering College. He has, thus far, in his personal collection well over 200 poems in both English and Hindi. More often women are the central character of his poems.
His writings also advocates of hope and love for life.  Paper Cut being his first work to get published has his selected poems written over a period of 7 Years.

Saturday 18 April 2015

Book Launch of "The Purple Moon"


Venue: Kitab Khana
Opp Flora Fountain, Fort Mumbai
Date: 15th April 2015
Time 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm

On a beautiful sunny day in April, a book consisting of 100 Poems which emote different phases and sentiments of love, Titled "The Purple Moon" written by "Neelam Saxena Chandra" was Launched by Ms Rita Hemrajani  who has held many reputed positions in the Indian Railways, and is currently the Director of Administration at the Films Division, Mumbai. In her vast career profile, she has contributed a lot to the Central and the Western Railways, and has directed films titled “100 years of Indian cinema and “Train within 24 frames”.  along with,  Mr. Mohammed Ali Shah who is a Bollywood actor and a talented theatre artist. He has had a legendary life and a heavy timeline of life. From being an English Literature graduate and alumni of IIM Calcutta, to serving as a major in the Indian army at the J&k border, Mr. Ali has proved his mettle as the most eligible all-rounder we have known till date. He has appeared in films such as Haider, Agent Vinod and is all set to star in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Vidyut Jamwal starrer- Yaara, where he plays a significant role. He has also been a part of many stage plays, like ‘Caine Mutiny Court Marshall’ directed by famous actor Mr. Naseeruddin Shah, who also happens to be Mr. Ali’s uncle.

Going through the title Neelam Saxena Chandra explained how this particular title was chosen. Its during her courtship days that the poems were written. Many poets idealize moon in form of poetry, and for her the colour of love was purple. This title was given to her by her husband.

As the event continued Mr Ali read out the very first poem of the book.

The moon appears purple
Since I have met you.

What,

You think I am crazy?


Hmm…
In love, the colours change
And the eyes see what they wish to.

I still remember
That it was a Thursday when I met you
And there was an instant connect,
As if some peace of mind
Has descended upon me.
I got a feeling
Of fulfilment – a spiritual fulfilment,
And everything looked purple-
Including the moon.

Yeah, I love you
As much as I love the purple moon.

Rather,
The purple moon
Looks like the symbol
Of our love.

After all,
In love as well as in the purple moon,
There is mysticism and magic
And both are as charming as ever


With over 20 published titles Neelam Saxena Chandra holds the Limca Book of Records and the India Book Of Records for the most published titles in a year. which is so very ironic that she is published with First Step Publishing, holding records for The most published poetry books in a year and Shortest titled Book by Limca Book of records and India Book OF Records.

The poem which has caught my interest in the book is titled "The Ink"

The ink

Shall freeze one day,

Or it may lose
Its colour
And while words get written
They may remain invisible.

It could even be
That the hands quiver
And refuse to deliver
What the mind says,
Or the eyes just can’t read
The written words.

Will you be by my side-

Reading to me,

Writing for me
And give my ink
Some colours?