THE INDIAN COMMENTATOR

 

  This morning, I stumbled upon a live signing session by one of the best selling authors of the fantasy genre, Brandon Sanderson. The American writer also dabbles in science fiction, and his books find readers across the world.  Here is his advice for writing, which he delivers during one of his live book signing sessions. He conducts these sessions online, on Youtube, often. This one is the twenty-sixth live book signing session.  

#VlogReviews: Episode 3 To nictate while watching their videos is sacrilegious. Every second of their video content brims with clarity, energy, the spirit of adventure and foremost of all, positivity. E BULL JET is one of the most sought after Youtube channels in India, owned by brothers Ebin and Lipin, from Iritty, Kannur of Kerala state. E BULL JET introduced the concept of van life in India. Their videos are usually uploaded daily, by nine at night. Therefore, by the time this review appears on my blog, the video we discuss has become a day old and perhaps even older. On 22 January 2021, E BULL JET released a video, which was more than one hour of length and had a story that no other vlogger in India could tell.  The video showed the brothers journeying through the risky mountainous regions of Sikkim. This area is currently shrouded in a thick coat of snow. They drive up the mountains to reach the place known as ‘zero-point’ with Napoleon, their Force Traveller, their very own h...

  Sesquipedalian words in the English language are often difficult to pronounce neutrally, without the influence of the mother tongue. This is the real challenge, to make one’s speech of presentation attractive, long words and sentences are to be used in speech. This usage of long English words become efficient with proper neutrality in one’s accent. This can be achieved by practice. An easy way is to listen to the pronunciation of these words spoken by others with either a native English accent, especially a BBC or Oxford accent, or a neutral accent by someone who is well versed in English as a second language. The latter would be your surest path to achieving a neutral accent in the conditions you face in India, where English is a second language. The following are the symbols used as the phonetic alphabet of the English language. These are known as the International Phonetic Alphabet. The reason why the English language has a phonetic alphabet and another alphabet for writing pu...

The two primordial urges of man are to hunt for food and to show himself or herself to attract mates. These two urges are used by the modern man to find success and win elected contests in the new world. It is Sigmund Freud might say, a drive substantiates all our efforts to shine brighter than others in our field of activity. It could be the proverbial “pleasure principle”. It could also be the drive to influence others (mates, in the primordial context).  If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you must have come across my previous article. In the article, I discuss the vocabulary and pronunciation of the English language. The discussion stems from a question: Which is the best way to develop vocabulary? The answer was that it is important not just to build a vocabulary or to learn the meaning of new words, but also to learn how to pronounce these new words. In this article, we will discuss how to master your spoken English language skills.  The spoken language requires an ...

  Floccinaucinihilipilification means “the action or habit of estimating something as worthless”, according to the Oxford Dictionary. Turning a page in a dictionary might usually get you the meaning of the desired word. This is even easier in the digital environment where you just type a word and search or speak a word and search.  Meaning of the semantic identity of a word is essential in grasping the particular identity of the lexical item. To retain a word in memory, it is always good to learn the meaning in different contexts. Note the plural “contexts”. Just by referring to a dictionary, one may not be able to retain the word in memory. The memory of human beings works best when remembering narratives. This is especially true, as I had personally experienced when we prepare for examinations. However, in life so demanding, where good communication skill is essentially the quality of language we articulate, would a basket full of words suffice to our success? The answer to ...

For the first time, for my tenth book, I broke my convention. My convention was to release the book in quiet solitude. No one probably realizes that a new book has been released into the vast sea of other books, into a battle for attention by authors, reviewers, and publishers.  This time, I decided to ask my readers on Instagram their suggestions regarding the release date of the book. To my surprise, many responses came and all of them were extremely useful for me to fix the release date of my book. The book that I am talking about is my new book Stories We Live . The finalization of the release date of Stories We Live was inspired by this social media event. The question was asked, if they could suggest a release date, on Instagram, which was later shared on Facebook and WhatsApp.  Most numbers of suggestions were received on Instagram. The names that I would like to acknowledge here are, author Devika, my buddy Divyank, author Krithika Sharma, Deepti Gupta, Ashwini Iyer, ...

  Seagull= a popular name for a gull. Gull= a long-winged web-footed seabird with a raucous call, typically having white plumage with a grey or black mantle. Plumage=a bird's feathers collectively. Ledge: a narrow horizontal surface projecting from a wall, cliff, or other surface. Flap= (of a bird) move (its wings) up and down when flying or preparing to fly. plateau (N)- an area of flat land that is higher than the land around it. scold (v)- to speak angrily to somebody, especially a child, because they have done something wrong ascending (adj) - increasing in size or importance. gnaw (v)- bite at or nibble something persistently.  persistently (adv)- continuously trot (v) : run at a moderate pace daintily(adverb): in a careful way that suggests good manners Means (N): a way of achieving or doing something precipice (n) : very steep rock face/cliff  beneath (Preposition): under somebody / something Brink (N): the extreme edge of land Doze (V): ​to sleep lightly for a...

    Answer the following questions: Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? The seagull was afraid to fly because below him was the vast sea and he thought his wings would never support him and he would fall into the sea and die. What did the parents do to motivate the young bird when it failed to muster up enough courage to fly? They came around calling to him in a loud voice, scolding him, threatening to let him starve on his ledge unless he flew away.  3. How did the parents support and encourage the young seagull’s brothers and sister? They flew about with them, trying to perfect them in the art of flight. They taught them how to skim the waves and how to dive for fish. When his older brother caught his first herring and devoured it, his parents circled around raising a proud cackle. 4. Cite an instance which shows the pathetic condition of the young bird. When the sun was shining hot, the young bird felt the heat all the more because he had not eaten anything since ...

  Students of our time go through a plethora of concerns before joining courses for higher education. These concerns may include future career options, financial investment, the ease in the processes involved with the course, and personal preferences. One of the most profitable courses in recent years is MA in English with its scope, ease in handling, and usefulness in real life. Job opportunities were ample for anyone with an MA English qualification. The COVID-19 pandemic has somewhat transformed the area of higher education. Along with changes in many sectors, it has created a drastic change in the enthusiasm for Courses in Humanities and Arts for higher education.  It is quite organic a thought process that post-pandemic a society would affirmatively imagine a future interlinked with the pandemic. This is especially true for professional courses and the future career any graduate would want to choose. The medical profession has become a hot chocolate of choice for students...

  The Results of Roman Rule: Essay Question, Main Points Establishment of Roman institutions.  Romanization of Britain. Under the Roman military rule, the Britons experienced the peace that existed in various nations under Roman rule, known as Pax Romana or Roman Peace.   They built an excellent network of roads from London in all directions. They encouraged agriculture, commerce, mining, and industry. Commodities like corn, furs, pearls, and various metals were exported and luxury goods were imported.  They were great builders of forts at important places of the country to safeguard the country's internal peace and protect it from foreign invasions.  About 130 forts were thus built as a way of defence.  Agricola built a line of forts between rivers Tyne and Eden on the Roman road known as "Stanegate".  During Emperor Hadrian’s rule (from 117 to 138 CE) the famous Hadrian’s Wall was built in the North of England to keep away infiltrators.  Some of...