It’s been an amazing journey from the moment I started writing this book till the time getting it to reader’s hand. Without your gracious support, this book would have been a bit little different and definitely missing some interesting conversations. We are all leading a busy life, living under a perpetual scarcity of time, especially when we are living in a city like Mumbai.
This book came to me in no time and very effortlessly. Just by living simple beauties of life that are often kept aside in the name of career, jobs, and ever-lasting list of important matters. We fail to remember that they are not going to end and we keep postponing some beautiful moments of our life. By this I don’t mean a lavish and luxurious holidays, but may be just 15 minutes of childlike peace, actually like infants, not even childlike. Like a 6 months or 1-year-old baby have full faith in life and people around. They don’t worry that they will be taken care of or not. There is complete peace, there is an innocent smile and laughter, innocent playfulness. As we grow old, we keep building layers, a layer upon layer, layer upon layer, and we don’t even realize that an innocent child residing in each one of us is buried under those layers.
When I decided to write this book, I created a purpose and that drove the entire process from day one till date. The purpose of this book is to live life experiencing simple pleasures of life like a long drive, music, feeling the rains, feeling the music, writing letters, reading books, expressing and communicating. Love, smile and happiness are very over-rated today. ‘I Love You’ has become so common that it has lost its essence. Smile is quite a fake emotion to look good and happiness is overrated by saying, ‘Don’t worry, always be happy’. This book brings an authentic smile in you when you read it. It will bring you JOY and redefine charm of LOVE. The book will scratch your few memories and bring a smile on your face.
Today we all talk about giving. Receiving is almost a forgotten gesture. Receiving love, gifts, smile, etc. Last year, when I was in Amritsar, I came across a college going age boy selling documentaries DVDs. I found it interesting and bought it. I even saw postcards bunch; I was in two minds on buying it. I thought it will be waste of money as I am not going to use postcards. I still asked for price. While I was evaluating it in terms of use but somewhere in my heart I wanted to buy it. I ignored that feeling. After completing the DVD transaction, boy left and after taking couple of steps he came back. He gave me one postcards packet and said, mam please take these postcards as a gift. I had big broad smile on my face. I thanked him and took a selfie with him (thinking if I ever feel like writing an article on this incident in my blog). Now the value of postcards is not something that I cannot afford. I was just in 2 minds. But it’s just that I received it as a gift from a stranger.
Same day, I had some time to visit Golden Temple and Jallianwala baug. In Jallianwala baug museum, there was a notice “PHOTOGRAPHY STRICTLY PROHIBITED”. I always click pics coz even I never know if ever I write articles on that in my blog. From museum I bought few books. One was in hindi, “Letters written by Bhagat Singh”. It’s not published in English. First time I bought a Hindi book. After completing the transaction, I asked him if I could take pictures. He looked at me for few seconds and then said, ‘fine’. Bang on! I was just too happy. This was also receiving.
I had a similar incident couple of years ago when I was in Leh Ladakh. I was mesmerized by the monasteries there. The monks read Buddhism prayers from a small rectangular size books written in Pali. I don’t know Pali but I wanted to have that book. I asked one of the monks from where can I buy it. Monk said, you don’t get this in shops and you can’t buy it. You only receive from monasteries when they think you are worthy to own and take care of it. When I finished praying. I sat for few minutes at monastery, closed my eyes and felt the serenity. When I got up, one of the monk handed me their prayer book in Pali and said, keep this with respect. I was speechless at that moment. Today at home, I have a prayer book, the kind that monks use in monasteries. I am a knowledge junkie and hence I buy lots of books. I spend more money on books than on clothes. And receiving this as gift was the beautiful and simplest pleasure of my life.
No wonder there is saying – Don’t spend on luxury, spend on experience.
This is a kind of feeling this book is all about. Simplicity, beauty, kindness, unconditional love, surrendering to the process of life, have faith when there are no evidences to believe.
Whenever you read the book, do have a cup of tea or coffee. And if it rains, it’s an additional bonus. You will fall for an old-world charm in the story, Rajvir, the letter-writer and Taashvi. And you will listen to music differently after reading this book.
And if you really think that the book made you smile and lived up to what it promises. Do share it with your loved ones. It’s a wonderful to gift a smile to someone. And please do write a review on goodreads / amazon / twitter if you loved the book.
I am happy to gift a smile to you today. Nothing fancy, thriller, twisted or brilliant story. Just a heart to heart conversations hidden in every heart. Simplicity simplified.
Lots of Love and Smiles,
Rimple Sanchla
Twitter/Instagram: @AuthorRimple
