Abha Iyengar's Creative Writing Workshop

https://www.facebook.com/events/484807848256335/484807851589668/?notif_t=event_mall_comment

• • May 26 at 10:30am until June 16 at 4:00pm

• 26/5/2013 to 16/6/2013. 4 Sundays in air-conditioned premises from 10.30 am to 4 pm. 4 different topics: Basics of creative writing/ short story/flash fiction/memoir. All packaged together. Writing exercises, interactive and critique sessions, writing markets explored. Tea/coffee/cold water provided. Lunch: Bring your own sandwiches :). Or, if you give advance warning, and speak with me, something may be arranged at the venue for you at a nominal price. Age: Anyone above 18 (if 17, speak to me and I will let you know) and below 100. (If 101, talk to me and I'll let you know). :) Basic requirement: The course is in English, so a grasp of the language is required. Apart from that, a desire to write is essential. Total Cost of 4 full Sundays where you learn and interact with a small cohesive group: Rs. 5000/- Interested? Please email abhaiyengar@gmail.com. Or call 09873266466 Limited seats, so book early. Early bird discount for the first 3 birds who book: 5% Where? For the first time in East Delhi. It's hot but happening. Any other doubts: call 9873266466/email: abhaiyengar@gmail.com I'm there. Abha

All of It Returned

She looked like a sun dried tomato. Her puckered skin, dry and rough, made me wonder what I had seen in her twenty years ago, I must have been really silly. She came towards me licking her parched lips, pushing them out and pulling them in. Her hair was wispy, underneath it her scalp shone in the mid-day heat. The Kerala sun was far from merciful, and I was thankful for my Adidas cap.

“Here,” she said, “I saved these for you.”  She opened her light brown palms, etched with lines. There were some dried herbs in her small hands. Her hands were green-veined and brown from working the fields. That’s what she did now. I noticed her bent back.

I grabbed the dried leaves and brought them to my nose, and smelt once again the chicken coconut curry. I rubbed the leaves against my mouth and nose as if willing the aroma to remain on my skin forever.  

In a frenzy, I grabbed her hands and put them against my face.

The leaves were dried and crushed with time and fell like green ash. Her hands against my face were hard, unable to shape themselves against my skin. She pulled them back, embarrassed. At one time, she had cupped my face in her hands every day before sending me off to school.

Hair of black water running down skin of moonlight, eyes that lit up the nights when she sang me to sleep. Smell of chicken curry spiced with herbs from her body as her small hands stroked my hair, damp with sweat. She took care of me while father taught what being a Christian meant to the people here, hoping to change them and  mother wrote from England, hoping I was being well looked after.

*****

© ABHA IYENGAR, 19^th May 2013 http://flashmob2013.wordpress.com/

The Mouth Says it All

It is not often that we pay attention to our mouth. It helps us speak, smile, eat, spit.  If we are smart, we watch what we speak, careful not to hurt others, but also speaking our minds and telling it like it is. Some of us speak a lot, some of us don’t speak that much but still manage to convey our feelings and thoughts.

The smile says it all. It is a way to greet old friends and make new friends. It is an expression of happiness. When we do not smile, then we are angry, sad, depressed, or if we do it on a regular basis, we will be called glum and unhappy.

We are what we eat, and we eat through our mouths. So what we put inside our mouths affects us and our health. If we gorge on oily, fattening foods like pasta and samosa, then we become obese. If we eat healthy meals of whole wheat, vegetables and fruit, we become healthier, slimmer.

Sometimes we eat some bitter stuff and we have to spit it out, that is the fastest way to get rid of bitter and awful tastes from the mouth. Sometimes we have to swallow bitter pills which are for our own good.

The fact is that the mouth is the gateway to our system and our health. It affects how we look and feel and behave. If we are fit, smiling and expressive, it is our mouths that are responsible. So we have a responsibility towards our mouths.

Regular brushing is important and so are regular dental check- ups. Do not ignore the signs of toothache, or bleeding gums or a shaky tooth. If the alignment of your teeth is not right, get it fixed, for the right bite helps you get your chewing right. Attending to your gums and teeth is important because as I said, the mouth is the gateway. Infections from the mouth travel to the rest of the organs if one is not careful.

So do not for a moment think that the bleeding gums will be where all your pain and discomfort will remain, it is not so. You may also get bad breath due to this, and it may even lead to tooth loss.

So regular brushing with a good toothpaste like Colgate, and regular check-ups at the dentist will surely help keep such problems at bay. Bleeding gum or tooth pain is a warning sign given by the body to take action. We often neglect our teeth and gums, thinking that the problem will go away. We rub some mustard oil with salt on the gums, or some clove oil, and hope that matters will resolve themselves. However, it is best to consult a dentist and nip anything in the bud. S/he will guide you as to which toothbrush to use, which toothpaste (you get a wide variety now for sensitivity or repair or whitening and one for Pro-gum Health too by Colgate) is best, and the kind of treatment that may be required.

I have learnt the hard way about taking care of my mouth. I had swollen gums and a sore throat that I ignored. The problem spread to my kidneys. It was only when my ankles began to swell that I consulted a doctor. I was very young and had ignored the tell tale signs that my mouth was giving me…swollen gums and a sore throat. Luckily I was in good hands and got cured, but it was something that could have been avoided if I had not ignored the early warning signs given by my body.

Infections travel through the blood and can affect the bones too. We are often unaware of the simple fact that every part of our body is related.

So remember that it all starts at the mouth, so we need to look after and take care of this very fine part of us. Of course, do not ignore any warning signs that any part of the body gives. I paid heed to the swelling in the ankles and took immediate help.  But if I had paid heed to the infection in my mouth, things could have been taken care of well in advance and would have saved me a lot of suffering and anguish.

That is what we need to do. Begin at the mouth. The moral of the story is: It all begins at the mouth, so the first step to taking care begins here.

*****

Read more about this at Colgate’s healthy speak blog. This blogpost has been written in response to Colgate’s ‘The Moral of the StoryIs…' contest at Indiblogger

Flash Fiction Chronicles: Rumjum Biswas interviews Abha Iyengar

Link: http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/april-abha-iyengar/

Rumjhum Biswas:  When did the writing bug bite you and what happened next?

Abha Iyengar: On September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers fell, I was in the middle of writing my first story to be sent online for a writing competition. So I remember the time well. This was the start of my online writing contributions. Before that, in the non-virtual space, I had published a few poems in Femina, won a Haiku writing competition, but these were flash-in-the-pan things. I was not very encouraged by the desultory response of the Indian magazines and journals till the internet bug bit me. International literary journals snapped up my writing and now I have this rash of writing that never leaves me ever since the bug bit. Thank you, Internet Writing Bug.

RB:  Did anyone mentor you or encourage your writing as a child?

AI: My father bought us books by the dozen. My mother never insisted we do household chores so I spent my time reading and day-dreaming. And of course, we borrowed and swapped with friends and did whatever was required to get our hands on books and comics. I grew up in Calcutta (now Kolkata), which has literature coming out of its pores like breath. We received beautiful books as prizes at my school there, and I won many. I read Lorna Doone and A Tale of Two Cities in class 5. In class 7, I had this very smart, short-haired teacher of English who wore hipster cotton saris and smoked cigarettes, and she  loved my essays (e.g. ‘Autobiography of an Old Shoe’). We kind of worshipped each other. I think I realized then that I could write.

I do not believe, however, that any one writer has influenced me or that I have wanted to style my writing after anyone. I think all my reading leads to my writing.

RB:   Tell us about the writers who inspired you when you were young?  Who are the writers you feel you have learned from/influenced your writing?

AI:  Younger days I loved Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, P.G. Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle, Guy de Maupassant, Premchand. At age 13, I read Harper Lee. I could not get over Scott and Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. Then there was a spate of Leon Uris, James Hadley Chase, Harold Robbins, Arthur Hailey, John Grisham, a novel a night.

Saadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chugtai, I read later, and I think their kind of radical, truthful and hard-hitting writing is the kind of writing I always want to do. Neil Gaiman is a favourite and so is Paolo Bacigalupi. Angela Carter. Elif Shafak. Khaled Hosseini. Closer to home and recently, Jerry Pinto. The writers whose work I enjoy are too many. I do not believe, however, that any one writer has influenced me or that I have wanted to style my writing after anyone. I think all my reading leads to my writing.

Flash is all about jumping in. You need to jump into the story, into the action.

RB:  You love flash fiction and have published a book of flash stories apart from your many publications. Tell us about your journey into this form.

AI:  Flash was all the rage online at the time I began writing and still is. My first flash ‘Tunnel Vision’ got accepted at Insolent Rudder. My writing was called ‘visceral’ by the editor (a compliment I have not forgotten) and after that there was no looking back.

I find writing flash is the easiest and best thing for me. Also, if there is any labour in it, I don’t feel it, it is totally a labour of love.

RB:  What is a typical writing day for you like?

AI:  I grab the day by its shoulders and try to write as much as I can. The thing is that the best ideas come to me when I am going to bed, and then I have to pen the thoughts down, for they never come back. So I scribble something half-asleep and then try to decipher it next morning and am amazed at what I have written. I do not remember those visitations in the morning.

E- publishing is the best thing that has happened to writers. Writers don’t have to wait anymore to be discovered by traditional publishing houses.

RB:  In the workshops that you conduct for fiction and poetry, what is the most common drawback that you find among your students?  What advice do you generally give to aspiring writers, especially for flash fiction?

AI:  Some students are self-conscious and hesitant. The word ‘I can’t’ is often on their lips. That changes when they realize that they actually can write. The shattering of inhibitions occurs in my writing class.

Flash is all about jumping in. You need to jump into the story, into the action. You don’t have the time nor space to use too many words. Also, there is a plot, a story line. For me, the title is of grave importance, for where words are scarce, the title can hold a lot of meaning. The last sentence has to be a kicker. It should be the final punch that makes everything fall…into place.

RB:   Tell us about your experience with e-publishing. Do you think this is what is best for flash fiction books?

AI:  E- publishing is the best thing that has happened to writers. Writers don’t have to wait anymore to be discovered by traditional publishing houses. The huge time benefit is there, apart from everything else. It is a good thing not only for flash fiction books but for all books.

I send myself long messages as I travel in an auto etc. Sometimes I lose my way because I concentrate more on the writing than on where the auto-driver is taking me. Or he bills me too much. But a story on the move is worth it, isn’t it? You lose some to win some.

RB:  What flash fiction genres do you enjoy reading and of course writing most?

AI:  Weird. Funny. Black. Touching. Not really genres, but there you are. Slot as you will.

RB:  Is there a flash fiction genre that is more popular than others? Do you agree? What do you think?

AI:  Yes.  Flash takes very well to weird and surreal. I am so clued on to that.

RB:   What is the shortest flash piece that you ever wrote? How did it challenge you?

AI:  I wrote a 50 word story called “The Masterpiece” for Blink Ink’s Special Noir print issue of September 2011. No challenge. I love cutting out the excess, trimming the story to size. For me it is a very expressive mode.

RB:   Do you have a special place for writing? What do you do when inspiration strikes you? Are you one of those always-carry-a-notepad-and-pen writers?

AI:  My laptop looks for a fine, flat surface to sit on, I look for some quiet in the environment, and voila, we are in business. I do have a desk, and it usually works as the flat surface. I work from home, so when everyone leaves for the office, I get my quiet time. Of course, I have to choose to ignore the doorbell and other such sundry intrusions.

I am one of those carry-your-mobile-on-the-fly writers. The tech-savvy kind. I send myself long messages as I travel in an auto etc. Sometimes I lose my way because I concentrate more on the writing than on where the auto-driver is taking me. Or he bills me too much. But a story on the move is worth it, isn’t it? You lose some to win some.

RB:   What are you working on now? Any plans for a second volume of flash?

AI:  Most recently, I have a story featured at Flash Frontier.  There are, of course, all  kinds of collections that are to happen: flash, short stories, poems. A novel. Nothing is ever enough. The Bug is insistent.

Read more works by Abha Iyengar at:

• www.abhaiyengar.com
• ‘SHRAYAN‘ an adult fantasy novel at Amazon Kindle:
• ” Flash Bites” a flash fiction e-collection on Amazon Kindle, BibliocracyE,  andsmashwords
• ‘Yearnings‘, a poetry collection

******

Rumjhum K Biswas has been published all over the world and has won prizes for her poery and fiction, including first prize in the 2012 Anam Cara Short Story Contest. Lifi Publications India is publishing her novel Culling Mynahs and Crows and also her book of short fiction The Vanishing Man and Other Imperfect Men this year.

At the Hyderabad Literary Festival

My interview on author TV at the Hyderabad Literary festival. I talk about my fantasy novel SHRAYAN, and other things to do with writing.

Do watch!


http://alpha.authortv.in/author/abha-iyengar

Thanks...

ABHA IYENGAR talks on Shrayan- writing the novel and the character

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YPo78un5ok

Watch!
:)
Abha

SHRAYAN, the story of someone who tries to fit in in a world unwilling to accept him. The story of growth, realization and self-acceptance. The story of what we become while searching for who we are. BUY NOW!