Monica's Archives

Growing up in India naturally means growing up with the two epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata) that shape our cultural story. “The Forest of Enchantments” is a version of Ramayana from the perspective of Sita. The Ramayana is no new story. We all know every bit of it – the marriage of Ram and Sita, their exile to the forest, Surpanakha’s infatuation with Ram, the battle that follows and the final victory of good over evil. But this book written by “Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni” has the voice of Sita which charts the course of her life. Blending in with the story are other characters we often hear less about – Urmila the loving sister; lonely pining for her husband Lakshman, Kaikeyi: protective and witty who out of her misguided maternal love brings misfortune to her sons and husband, the elegant Kaushalaya silently enduring her husband’s indifferent treatment towards her, the innocent Ahilya condemned to suffer for a crime she did not commit, the beautiful Mandodri and the secrets s...

“You Can Win” is a motivational book written by Shiv Khera. This book was recommended to me by my father, who is a management consultant. I am glad I read the book as it has changed me quite a lot. I have started looking at everything in a positive way, which helped me personally and also in my profession. The book is divided in 8 chapters which focuses on building a positive attitude, winning strategies, motivating yourself and others every day, building positive self-esteem and image, building a pleasing personality, forming positive habits and character, setting and achieving your goals and doing the right thing for the right reason. The book provides a great learning experience for those who want to achieve success and positivity in their life. Main attractions are short stories from our everyday life which can empower anyone. I got involved in them as if it all happened with me and helped me to understand more clearly the situations we face in our life. The auth...

This is a great book for people who are interested in yoga but do not know much about it. This book was suggested to me by my sister, who is practicing yoga since almost 7 years and now is a certified yoga trainer. By the name I thought it was another book on how to do yoga poses and their benefits. But this book has permanently changed the way that I look at yoga. When I started reading, I got hooked to it; it was difficult to put it down, as I wanted to know what happened until I got it. This book confirms the concept that every human being has a purpose, a unique gift, to use in their life to benefit them and the lives of others that they may not realize until sometime along their journey, they are called upon to use their gift. The book goes into some of the inner practice and how powerful it can be when done along with the outer practices of yoga poses and stretches, enhancing their effects. It explains some of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The book, in the form of a story, ma...

Whenever I used to go for an outing or a party, my make-up used to be patchy. Face used to be dull and dry. I thought it is because I have normal to dry skin. I use to see patches on my face and at times at the end, there would be no makeup, it used to vanish resulting in a very dull look. Then, I tried a foundation primer from Smashbox. “Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Radiance” Primer creates an extra layer between our skin and makeup. It is used to help makeup last longer, smooth the skin surface, and even out the skin tone. I applied this primer after my CTM regime i.e. cleansing, toning and moisturizing. It has an orange tint in it, of which I was a little afraid of first, but when applied, was easily spreadable and there was no orange tint on the face. Only a pea size amount was enough for face and neck. Leave it for a few minutes to dry completely. It feels velvety smooth and evens the skin tone. Then apply foundation and rest of makeup.   ...