::: BEAUTY LIVE IN THE WORLD :::

Inspiration for writing, says Faulks, is a process of turning things around all the time. "When you are a writer, you think about of writing all the time, whether you are sleeping, eating, drinking, it is all you think about. You are always processing ideas and thoughts."

His books are read all over the world, and what he feels has made a connection with the readers in his writings is "the language I use".

"I also take them into areas of experience and feeling that are unfamiliar to them."

It was at the age of 14 that he decided to be a novelist as he was inspired by Charles Dickens and DH Lawrence, among others.

He spent a year after university to write a novel. Two years later he got a job running a small book club called the New Fiction Society.

In 1979, Faulks joined Daily Telegraph as a junior reporter, but dedicated his evenings to writing books.

He was living a simple life without much amenities.

And with no TV at his place, most nights were spent writing.

It was his fourth book that he finally felt was good enough to be published.
When he got news from a publisher about the book which he titled A Trick of Light, he said he felt like it "was the beginning of something after long dark days". Faulks also worked as a feature writer for the Sunday Telegraph and then joined the Independent as Literary Editor. He later wrote a monthly column for The Guardian and a weekly for Evening Standard.

Amidst all this, his novel The Girl at the Lion d'Or came out in 1989. However, it was his widely acclaimed novel Birdsong that got him into the spotlight after which many novels have followed which have made it to the best-seller list.

To be a good writer, he feels one should never write about one's own life.
"Write about unfamiliar things -if you are a man write about a woman, if you're from the 20th century, write a story based on the 19th century," he advises.

And there are ways to help you get it right, talk to people from the place or time, check up on the Internet and find out more about it and maybe you can even ask the people from that era or place to read your script to make sure it feels real. When you are young, you should venture into different areas and try to write different things and later on when you find your ground, write what you are best capable of.

For a novel to be good he thinks that the words one chooses are very important.
"It should give pleasure in themselves, it shouldn't be only informative, like someone giving directions, it should be more than just plain information. One should write sentences that are interesting and exciting to read. It should be a huge leap of imagination."

Talking abut his own works and his writing style he elaborates, "If it pleases me, then only can it please the reader. One should write at the highest level, push oneself very hard to please the reader."

While one should not undermine the readers intellect as well, one should always keep in mind that the reader is more clever than you, advises Faulks.

In 2006, Faulks was approached by the late Ian Fleming's family and asked if he would write a one-off James Bond novel to mark the centenary of Fleming's birth. He accepted. Though his books have been made into plays, TV series and of course the wellknown James Bond book Devil May Care, he says, "Most people think that if a book is made into a movie, then you have reached the greatest height, but actually it's the other way round. The book is the top of the mountain. It is very unusual that the movie is better than the book."

Dismissing all the dark moments and the difficulties a writer goes through he says, "It is a sense that the world is not what it should be that makes you write, because it is only through writing that you can make it a better place, it gives you a sense of determination of mission."

What do you do inside your adobe the whole day? This is a question thrown at me wherever I go. I smile in reply without offering an explanation.

Of course, it is a very rhetorical question, of course, which does not call for a reply. Anyway, what do I tell them?

Tell them I spend my time reading.

That I am a kind of " readoholic! I may have invented a word but it does describe me completely. Me and so many others like me, I suppose, are irrevocably addicted to the written word. If there's something to read, I read it.

If someone has taken the pains to write and print something, surely we are obligated to award it a little bit of out eyeball time. And this, in a nutshell, is what keeps me housebound most of the time! Consider this, we get newspapers delivered at our doorstep every day. While other family members simply glance at the headlines and toss the paper away, I feel I must read these from the front-page to the last. And, since one does not read old, yesterday's newspapers, I sit surrounded by the sheets for hours on end every morning and mid-day, speed reading like a maniac. And then, there are books from the British Council Library on my bedside table. My table lamp burns bravely late into the night as I tackle the stack.... So, tell me, where do I find the time to hobnob with the neighbors, sip tea sitting in the warm winter sun, or snatch a siesta in the afternoon.

And then again, I am blessed with a memory lien a sieve. I tend to forget the plots of stories so rapidly that it is possible for me to re-read these again and again with undiminished pleasure. I forget, after a while, who married whom at the end of some stories, and who murdered the woman in the library in a whodunit. Other may not understand the compulsive reader who forgets what has been read giving reasons to go for it once again.

 

What do you mean, "I don't believe in God"?

I talk to him every day.

What do you mean, "I don't support your system"?

I go to court when I have to.

What do you mean, "I can't get to work on time"?

I got nothing better to do

And, what do you mean, "I don't pay my bills"?

Why do you think I'm broke? Huh?

No, peace sells...

It is high time we raised our voice not only for the rights of a daughter but also for her duties. A daughter, who has enjoyed equal status as a son, should get the right to take the responsibility for her parents. Most daughters, who are willing to take the responsibility, find themselves helpless in the face of social and family disapproval. Sometimes, a daughter shrugs off the old and infirm parents as no concern of hers, as she is married and belongs to another family. However, the same daughter will not hesitate to claim her share of her parents' property when the time comes! The law has given her the right to claim a share in the family property even when she is married into another family. Why then should society hold her back when she wants to share the responsibility of looking after the needs of her aged parents?

The rights and duties of a daughter must go hand in hand. Every society evolves with the changing times. Social norms that were acceptable in the past no longer hold good today. Gone are the days of joint families and large households. Especially in urban areas, small nuclear families form a large portion of our society. In these small families, the old people do not find an acceptable place. Advanced medical facilities along with health-consciousness have increased the life expectancy of middle-class Nepalese. As result, we have a growing population of senior citizens today. And a sizeable number of these senior citizens have not only worked hard for society but have also done a great service to the nation by maintaining small families.

Those who have brought up only daughters and married them off, often lead a lonely and neglected existence, since daughters do not feel responsible for their well-being. There are thousand of senior citizens in our country who feel abandoned, yet helpless in the face of outdated social customs according to which they cannot depend upon their daughter in the time of their need. The changing social scenario demands a change in our social thinking. A daughter should have no hesitation in visiting her parents when they need her. Both sons and daughters should shoulder the responsibility of old parents amicably.

We have fought for the right of our daughters. Let us join hands and raise our voice together to give her a chance to perform her duties with dignity.

Have you ever tried catching a butterfly? It perches nimbly on a flower, gently folding and unfolding its wings while you approach it noiselessly from behind and, just when you think you have caught it, it flies away-a transient flash of colorful wings, enticing yet mostly unreachable. Well, that's what happiness is like. The more you chase it, the more elusive it gets. At the risk of mouthing an oft-repeated (but little heeded!) cliché, I will say that happiness comes from within. In fact, sought outside one's being, it is akin to a mirage-you just don't seem to attain it! You, and you alone, have the power to make yourself as happy as you wish to be! Truly an awesome thought?

So, how can you be happy? By not trying too hard, for starters! By lightening up a little and overlooking minor setbacks and hiccups instead of treating each of them as a major disaster. The world gives a hoot whether you smile or frown—so why not increase our face value by smiling? If you can only learn to laugh at some things, the scenario would not seem so grim all the time! Actually, I wasn’t too sure that I could do it but my mother made it sound quite easy—so I decided to give it a try. Once I had resolves to find my happiness in day-to-day events and activities, I realized that there are indeed several other ways to make oneself happy. If you can train yourself—via meditation, positive thinking, or whatever— to find inner peace and calm, then you will attain happiness far more easily than others.

It involves making peace with yourself, accepting who you are and not worrying about or fighting unknown or unseen demons.

No doubt, it is tough, but I believe it is worth trying. And, above all, count your blessing—it will immediately put your heart in the right place and fill your soul with humility and gratitude for all the things you have, things which you need to be thankful for but have only taken for granted so far. And, even if things are not as hunky-dory as you’d like them to be, be grateful for the fact that you are at least alive to know that they are not. Would you rather be dead? Think about it. All these are but small ways of achieving happiness, but they can boost your self-worth which, in turn, can motivate you to go beyond your best in your life and in your relationship, that is a reward worth vying for.