It is the end of April, and it's time for my monthly roundup!
Firstly, a warm welcome to all our new readers! Explore stories in the catalog and enjoy the free reads to get a taste of this magazine-style publication filled with original perspectives on ancient and modern culture, travel, and business life in India.
For example, take a look at a light-hearted yet fact-based piece on the challenges of public spitting, which received positive feedback from many readers.
This week, I’ve unlocked three new articles , along with our evergreen ones under ‘Free Reads.’
A heartfelt thank you to the new paid subscribers and those who gifted subscriptions. Your support is invaluable and encourages me to keep writing and sharing my unique stories.
In April, I published my longest essay yet, a six-thousand-word exploration of the incredible story of a living but invisible saint born in 1575. This piece is part of my new series, "Mysteries of Faith," where I discuss the myriad ways Indian spirituality and faith is preserved among its people even in modern times.
My focus shifted towards real-time cultural posts, highlighting special holidays observed in the Hindu faith, including birthdays of key deities celebrated matter of factly as they arrived in succession in April. I explained the multiple new years traditionally observed in April, along with festive rituals and special meal menus.
I also celebrated a milestone of one hundred articles published in under four months -that’s 100,000 words, enough to fill two standard novels!
The one-hundredth story was about the first recognized writer from ancient India in the tales of elephant-God Ganesha.
Many readers enjoyed two ancient epic stories, one of a son devoted to his parents, and a cursed prince and the other of a mischievous God, accused of stealing.
I ended the month with a story about my eventful walk in a local park in an IT city that mixed nature and real-life stories with visuals that became an instant hit.
Here's what readers had to say about this month’s stories:
Thank you to each of you for your comments and for taking the time to read my stories. Special callouts for the following for your insightful feedback and support!
, , , , ,For those of you who prefer to read quietly, I hope you enjoyed the stories. If you ever want to read a paywalled story, please DM me, and I'll be happy to unlock it for you.
If you have any feedback or requests for stories that interest you, please join the chat as well!
New this month: I have created a separate tab for roundup posts under ‘Musings’ to make them easier to find.
Upcoming Posts: I’m still working on the following posts. Let me know if any of these interest you more than the others, and I'll prioritize their writing order if possible:
Modern India (paywalled): Unraveling the epics and their relevance in modern life, where I cover why ancient epics still matter today.
Business India (paywalled): A day in the life of a digital Indian, where I'll walk you through how startups and copycats are changing daily life experiences in India, from digital payments to food ordering, fitness, and healthcare.
Ancient India (free): The continuing series of the Prince who sets out to find his kidnapped wife. Read the first post in this series.
Until next month’s update, fare thee well!
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Always looking forward to more, Jayshree 💙🙏💫
Thank you for the shoutout.