Amruta's Writing Block!

Trying to find a balance between my need to communicate, to be in control, and to get over my writer's block – all to fulfill my dream of being the new kid (or old lady) on the "writing block"… Yeah, yeah, I do sarcastic comedy on the side! :D

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  • Book review: Born a Crime (Stories From a South African Childhood)

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    Amruta

    Author: Trevor Noah Date of Publication: 15 November 2016 Genre: Autobiography, Social commentary Legacy:  This is the first book by the author who is a renowned comedian and TV host Intended Age Group: Any “We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited.” This thought embodies the book. I read this one because it was recommended by a very socially aware friend – I usually steer clear of biographies. And I must say I am grateful to her for… Read more

  • Movie Review: Dangal

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    Amruta

    Okay, first things first. Dangal is an excellent movie – entertaining, sensible, inspiring, and, surprise, surprise!, a very clean PG movie! I had a lot of mixed feelings about going to watch Dangal. I’m not a big fan of Aamir Khan (I do concede that he is an amazing actor, of course. Still, we cannot be fans of each and every amazing talent there is, can we?) and I’m wary of sports biopics. (Mary Kom was good but Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and MS Dhoni were strictly average. Also, the screenplay-ed stories of living people always seem weird to me) But… Read more

  • A new project – to improve the old one!

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    Amruta

    Hey friends! I have been thinking about revamping my blog for a long time now. Presentation, look-and-feel, colors, and so on. But I have realized that the most important thing I need to revamp is the content. Being a technical writer and an aspiring writer/editor myself, I think I should refresh my old blog of 9 years – by editing and revising the existing posts first. This WordPress site has seen many locations: apartments, workplaces, buses and rickshaws, even, as I wrote posts on the fly. Especially during my initial years, I wrote from my heart ( You may read… Read more

  • The Hysteria (and atrocity) of Mob Justice

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    Amruta

    A few days ago, India was shocked to hear the news of a mob of 200-odd people in UP beating to death a man who was rumored to be consuming beef. While there are many different serious issues involved in this situation, including why the beef ban makes no sense, and how the temple was used for entirely ‘un-temple-like’ matters, this post is about the mob and its mentality, and the reasons behind this mentality, if any. India is no stranger to the concept of a mob. From the time of our struggle for independence from the British, mob demonstrations, protests, meetings, and rallies have… Read more

  • Eight years!

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    Amruta

    So, WordPress just alerts me that I have been with them for eight years! :O Hard to believe… so to acknowledge these eight years, here’s a link to my first blog post: https://amruta.wordpress.com/2006/10/31/is-life-really-so-bad/ Hope you like it; or at least, like my later writing! 😉 Read more

  • The Birthday Blog Post

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    Amruta

    This was meant to be an actual birthday post, meaning it was supposed to be posted on my birthday, which was yesterday.  However, as most of my activities are these days, it had to be postponed. Thankfully, I can accredit it to my daughter, and not to my usual procrastination. 😀 Anyway, yesterday’s the day I turned 31, finally severing all my ties with my twenties. (No, I can no longer say that I was in my twenties  just until a few days ago! 😛 ) In other (more real) senses, too, this birthday was of quite some importance to me. For one, I… Read more

  • Mesothelioma Awareness

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    Amruta

    Recently, I was contacted by  Heather Von St. James, a triumphant survivor of mesothelioma. She wanted me to spread a word about this rare form of cancer. I must admit, I had never heard of mesothelioma before. Mesothelioma is dangerous, yet avoidable. It mainly occurs due to asbestos exposure. It has been cured in rare cases, like that of Heather. It was quite inspiring to read about her victory over it. For information about Mesothelioma, please visit http://www.mesothelioma.com/ Also, stay away from asbestos! Read more

  • My childhood rain memories

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    Amruta

    It is that time of the year, again (In India)! 🙂 Yes, the monsoon season, indeed. As my readers already know from several of my previous posts, I love the rain. Rain reminds me the most about treks, chai-pakodas, the ‘terrifying and soothing at the same time’ property of nature, and the romantic breeze, of course; but I have talked about those things previously. Today, as my life currently revolves around my cute little 2 months old daughter, I have decided to write about my childhood rain memories. I think I did have a gala time with the rains during my childhood,… Read more

  • A Brand New (Mother of a) Role! :)

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    Amruta

    Literally! Yes, I am happy to announce that exactly a month ago, I assumed one of the most important roles I will ever play in my life. I gave birth to this sweet little girl that you can see in the accompanying photograph, Ananya. Her arrival was nothing short of a mini-tsunami of change in my life, and Mayuresh’s. From the moment we had a slight doubt that the little present (or future, should I say?) was on its way into our lives, nothing remained same as before.  Lifestyle, pastimes, physical condition, mental state, plans, priorities… you name it and 360 degrees… Read more

  • Jab Celsius and Fahrenheit met!

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    Amruta

    I had heard about Chicago’s cold winters. I had survived a couple of them. But nothing could have made me imagine the kind of cold that would come in, jab Celsius and Fahrenheit met! Yes, that’s right. For those of you who did not know (and that includes me, until recently) at -40 degrees Celsius,  the Fahrenheit scale of measurement catches up (or down, whichever way you like it).  I guess the world is so damned frozen by the time the scale hits -40, that Mr. Celsius and Mr. Fahrenheit no longer have the energy to diverge! Hahaha, just kidding! It… Read more

  • Happy New Year 2014!

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    Amruta

    Hi friends, Before anything else, let me wish you a very happy new year! May the year bring plenty of health, happiness, success, fun, and laughter in your lives! 🙂 I know that a new year is just a statistical tool to help us keep track of time, and the Gregorian calendar (by which the 1st of January becomes the first day of the year) does not even mark the change in a season, but mere mortals (and procrastinating ones at that) like me do like to have landmarks and deadlines in life, to keep us on track. A new… Read more

  • Racism? How beneath our own race!!!

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    Amruta

    Here’s a transcript of an interview between a journalist and a typical young, educated, white-collared Indian. Q: Do you think Indians, especially those of the younger generation, are racist? A: No way, man! It is well-known all over the world – We don’t indulge in racism! We are all-embracing… In fact, the only race we do believe in is the race for betterment, for success – financial, social, traditional, emotional, and cultural! (They don’t call us the Gen-Next for nothing!) Plus, our culture is the greatest of all, re! Look at all those stupid Americans and Australians… harassing not only Indians, but… Read more

  • Soothed by Thrills…

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    Amruta

    Have you ever felt thrilled and soothed at the same time? Well, I tried skydiving a few days ago. Although the experience merits a whole separate post, there is one thing I’d want to distinctively mention here.  The skydiving experience was by far the most thrilling AND the most soothing experience that I’ve ever had! Why thrilling? That is easy to explain – the adrenaline rush that I felt as I stood at the open door of the plane,  ready to jump; the goosebumps the size of elephants I got when I saw people before me jump and hurl spirally downwards; the anticipation… Read more

  • Kai Po Che? – The decline of traditional sports and games in India

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    Amruta

    [This is my first post featured on the TheFrustratedIndian website] So, what is your favourite game, I asked my neighbourhood children at a party in India. “Angry Birds”, said a 7 years old boy. “I love cricket”, said another 14-years old girl. “To watch, I mean, you know… IPL and stuff… it’s so exciting”, she added. With a lot of exclamation marks in my mind, I decided that they are just children and don’t really think before answering. But then I thought, even if they were adults, would their answers have been any different? Do we ourselves have had any… Read more

  • My first snowy accident!

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    Amruta

    Yeah, so I have never before driven in snow. Yeah, so I should not be over-smart and offer to drive my husband to places… Yeah, so I should not try to swerve the car as soon as I see the turn for the destination. Yeah, so I should not brake hard when there is significant snow accumulation on the road… Yeah, so I should not panic and start screaming and crying when the car hits the curb and climbs on to the walkway. Yeah, so I should not be over-smart (again) and insist to walk back home, while the poor… Read more