storyteller – soniasmusings

O for Gaurav Kap(OO)r

I discovered Gaurav Kapoor through one of his epic YouTube videos on Royal Enfield bikes. This video made him quite famous though it also invited some hate comments (the sassy performer went ahead and made a second part on this issue). This witty comedian with a sharp sense of humor is found speaking on topics ranging from smartphones to destination weddings, Lifebuoy soaps, motorcycles and Bollywood in a hilarious tone. He prefers to call himself a storyteller and manages to find light-hearted fun content even in the most mundane things. He was selected to open for the show of international comedy sensation Russel Brand in India.

Gaurav Kapoor - Source: Comedy Munch — Gaurav Kapoor – Source: Comedy Munch

Kapoor is considered as one of the rising stand-up comedians in the country. His top-notch performance has already earned him a debut stand-up special show on Amazon Prime called ‘Hahakaar.’

This is the fifteenth post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge based on the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona.’ I will see you tomorrow when I disclose the featured funny man in my post for P.

You can read the previous posts in the series here. Don’t forget to click on his video below for your daily dose of laughter.

The ‘little’ reason that inspires me to become better

2018 ended on a high note for me. I was hoping for 2019 to have an equally great start. After welcoming the new year by organizing a picnic with friends followed by a family get together, we returned back to Kolkata in the first week of this month. The pending writing assignments got me busy immediately after and then it was time for the toddler to get back to his preschool post the holidays. My 3.4-year-old happens to be one of the most gentle, caring and compassionate souls in my life till date. In an era of eroding humanity and decaying conscientiousness, he is unbelievably empathetic and understanding for his age. It wouldn’t be unfair to say that I am learning to be a better person through his actions.

The sick toddler cudding his new friend — The sick toddler cuddling his new friend

Within three days of joining back preschool, he fell sick because of a stomach infection. We had to coax him to skip classes on Thursday and Friday to help him recover. It saddened me to think of the consequence of this sudden illness. In all probability, he was likely to miss the preschool carnival scheduled on 12th Jan (yesterday). When he woke up yesterday morning, I was furiously typing on my laptop trying to attempt writing a few words for my second novel. I had expected him to start nagging me to stop working and attend to him instead. But to my surprise, he asked me if we could go to the carnival for a little duration.

The kite made by him with Aunty M's help at the carnival — The kite made by him with Aunty M’s help at the carnival

Continue reading “The ‘little’ reason that inspires me to become better”

Memories from 2018 – Recap series (Aug & Sep)

After bringing out some extremely special memories from January, February and March, April, May, June and July, I move on to talk about an eventful August and delightful September here.

AUGUST

August has always been about my mother’s birthday and my motherland’s independence day. Till date, I celebrate her birthday by cutting a cake hoping that her soul finds peace in her heavenly abode. But this year, August became a landmark month in my life after winning the Lights, Camera, Chatter contest by Blogchatter. As winners, we had the opportunity to perform our pieces live on camera. Through this forum, I transformed from a story writer to a storyteller this year. I have been thinking of doing this more often through my some selective storytelling sessions on my YouTube channel in 2019.

SEPTEMBER

Continue reading “Memories from 2018 – Recap series (Aug & Sep)”

The importance of a mindful break in the life of a solopreneur – Guest post for A to Z challenge blog

A couple of days back, I won a slot for writing a guest post on the international blog for the A to Z challenge that takes place in April every year. I chose to write on a topic that has become extremely important in my life recently – the importance of mindful break.

My journey as a writer began in September 2017 but the pace increased to a crazy dimension when I participated in the A2Z challenge in April this year. As per the rules of this challenge, I was publishing articles every day of the month except Sundays. I ended up writing twenty-six posts in the month and reading even more posts per day. May was even more hectic as this was the month when I made my debut as an author with my novella ‘Deal of Death’. This was followed by the Write Tribe Festival Of Words in June that needed me to write every day for a week on certain creative and photo prompts. July was about Bar-A-Thon wherein I was writing every alternate day for two weeks at a stretch. August turned me into a storyteller on camera after I won the Lights, Camera, Chatter contest by Blogchatter and the event Breaking Barriers by Women’s Web in Kolkata made me take the plunge into becoming a public speaker. September was about My Friend Alexa campaign turning me into a flash fiction writer as I experimented with a particular theme. This was the phase when my articles were getting their due recognition and I ended up winning badges on BlogAdda, getting featured posts on Women’s Web and having top posts on IndiBlogger. I was flying high.

Read the complete article here –

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2018/12/the-importance-of-mindful-break-in-life.html?m=1