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I’m Shakthi. I create and curate thoughts on the things that matter to me. Visit here to know about me and my interests. If you keep a blog or a website, please let me know. I’d love to look through your work.

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If books had love bites: a portrait of a well-loved book with page flags. . . . #bookblogging #bookstagramcommunity #bookstagramer #bookstagramindia #booksarelove #booksarelife #johngreenbooks #booksbooksbooks #readingislife #readingisfundamental

A Ramzan Book Recommendation: The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak⁣ ⁣ While I'm not a Muslim either by birth or by practice, I still appreciate the month of Ramzan which calls us to reflect on the deeper aspects of life like love, kindness, and meaning. This Ramzan I picked The Forty Rules of Love for a second reading. I'm glad I picked it up. There is hardly any other book (which I've read) that captures the spirit of Ramzan as this. The book is about love, freedom, and life. ⁣ ⁣ Set in the 13th century across Turkey and Iraq, the story traverses around the Sufi saint Rumi, his companion Shams, a Northampton married woman, a young Sufi, and the forty Rules of Love. ⁣ ⁣ I believe it will be a great and an apt glimpse into Islam for people who don't have much idea about it. To understand that it is all premised on love. ⁣ ⁣ Below are a few of my favorite quotes from the part of the book I have been reading recently:⁣ ⁣ But Rumi has a quality that very few scholars ever have: the ability to dig deep below the husk of religion and pull out from its core the gem that is universal and eternal.⁣ ⁣ Intellect ties people in knots and risks nothing, but love dissolves all tangles and risks everything.⁣ ⁣ But eventually it is best to find a person, the person who will be your mirror. Remember, only in another person's heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you.⁣ ⁣ Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied.⁣ ⁣ East, west, south, or north. No matter what your destination, just be sure to make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, you'll travel the whole wide world and beyond. ⁣ ⁣ The whole universe is contained within a single human being - you. Everything you see around, including the things you might not be fond of and even the people you despise or abhor, is present within you on varying degrees. . . . #bookshelves #bookrecommendations #bibliophile #booklove #readingsaveslives #thefortyrulesoflove #elifshafak #elifshafakquotes #ramzan #ramadan2019 #ramadan #ramadan_nights #bookstagramer #bookstagramindia #sufism #rumi

If you listen to people around you discussing election results, you sense that most of them experience elections as a competitive sport.⁣ ⁣ They cheerfully applaud the valiance and the strategy of the winner while deriding the loser (the opposition). ⁣ ⁣ As though there was nothing at all at stake. ⁣ ⁣ As though it was only the opposition party that lost and not the noble ideas and the values they stood for. ⁣ ⁣ As though the collective future of them and their children had nothing to do with this grand event. . . . #IndianElections2019 #elections2019 #politics #kittenpics #catpic #cutecats #peoplepower #voteresponsibly #frustratingday #letbettersenseprevail #secularist #beingliberal #liberals #secularindia #theideaofindia

Netflixed "Knock Down the House" last night. I wanted to watch it for AOC, but I discovered other woman - Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, Paula Jean - who had dared greatly to run against the establishment and had lost the primaries. @knockdownmovie ⁣ ⁣ The courage of these women inspires me. I think it's when Paula loses the Primaries, AOC tells her about the importance of her running: a hundred of them had to put up a fight for one of them to win. @AOC ⁣ ⁣ I particularly liked when AOC tells how being a waitress was a great preparation for being a Representative - 18 hr work days, taking the heat (from the cooking area), and used to being ill-treated.⁣ ⁣ Loved her witty truth when she said "working class" are rightly called so because work is what they do all their waking life. . . . #alexandriaocasiocortez #aoc #knockdownthehouse #girlpower #daringgreatly #democracy #powerofpeople #netflix

On a Ramzan Friday last year, I had visited Delhi's Jama Masjid during the breaking of fast. It was an experience that stayed with me - food, family, community, and devotion. It was spirit-magnifying. I had written about the experience. Do give it a read, you may find the link my bio. . . . #ramadanmubarak #ramadankareem #ramzan #ramadan2019 #iftaar #ramzankareem #spirituality #mosques #mosquesoftheworld #foodandfaith #spiritualplace

Met these two incredible FoodTruckers today @the_foodtruck_ . They've been running this for a year and a half now. ⁣ ⁣ A few weeks ago, I was contemplating a novel where the protagonist (a woman) runs a food truck. I was going to call the book 'The No.1 Ladies Food Truck in Jeddah.' But then I realized that I had never really properly observed a food truck before. Today I decided to make a stop at this food truck to dine and get to know food trucks better. ⁣ ⁣ These are what I noticed: ⁣ 1. the truck was a converted Force Traveller painted in a bright yellow with ubiquitous lighting.⁣ 2. There is lots of stainless steel wherever you look inside the truck⁣ 3. Two is probably the ideal number of workers on the truck - more than two people on the truck's cooking area would restrict the movement thus making them less productive.⁣ 4. I found it rather disconcerting that the counter is rather tall for even a person of above average height. ⁣ 5. Then there was the music - the latest English pop chartbusters. ⁣ ⁣ There is another thing that I noticed: one sweats profusely inside the truck - the effects of summer in a tropical coastal city.⁣ ⁣ I liked the food which was a fried chicken breast with a layer of cheese sauce. But as I paid my bill, the FoodTrucker insisted that the next time I must have the pasta which was their signature dish. I said I would. ⁣ ⁣ But the food didn't really matter to me. What I loved was the vibe - that of two young people putting their head up, living and sweating their entrepreneurial dream. That made my dinner satisfying. . . #foodtruck #entrepreneur #foodblogger #foodpreneur #foodtruckers #livingyourdream #inspiringpeople #chennaifood #foodtruckindia #streetfood #entrepreneurlife #livinglife #entrepreneurgoals #alexandermccallsmith #theno1ladiesdetevtiveagencyofbotswana

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Some Interesting Reads

Three reads I cherished this week on the web:

8 Things John Green Taught Me
William Dalrymple in Damascus: The Final Refuge of Christians in the Middle East Under Threat
The Need for Eloquence: The School of Life

Some of my work

Becoming Michelle Obama: Lessons for Life
An Hour at the Mosque: A Ramzan Diary
Thirteen Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis

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