Thursday 7 April 2016

F is For the French way




is for the French way





the French are way too cool

The French way is always way too cool -
to drop each Aitch is a consistent rule;
so haute couture is ‘aute,
and it’s  ‘oat’ not ‘ought’ - please note
and Henry’s ‘Enri and Hercule’s ‘Ercule.

The haute babes are mad for the French accent
when it comes out of the top end of a gent;
as it travels down for sure
it heightens the allure
exponentially for each inch of descent.





As a child I Found France Fascinating - my very earliest reading experiences include A Tale of Two Cities and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  If you think how tenuous the connections between an Indian child and France are, it's a bit odd.  (There are parts of India which the French colonised and profoundly influenced, but I have never travelled there, and there was no satellite TV or Net back then). 

A Few authors, Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo, Romain Rolland, Francoise Sagan, Maupassant, etc were there on my Father's shelf, and a cheap Framed print of the Mona Lisa hung on a wall, and he took me on a visit to Paris when I was tiny, and that's all Folks.  Sum total of the tangible items on which the Fanship was based.  In my mind, From the litterateurs to the art and artists to Food and Fashion, the French were supposed to be the last word in a kind of artistic, Fastidious sophistication. It takes so little to Form an impression, Favourable or otherwise. Frightens me sometimes. Do you agree? Do you have similar impressions based on a couple of childhood experiences?

I also have some Fabulous news to share today. 




This anthology is out now, and my poem titled Solitary Confinement is part of it.  Fistpump!!




Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 








59 comments:

  1. Good luck with the Anthology, Nilanjana - hope it does well for you. Loved today's poem :)
    Jemima Pett

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    1. Thank you on both counts. Glad you enjoyed the poem :)

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  2. Fist pump for you! Congratulations! I have a copy of Love Stories, will need to get this one too. And yes, a review is coming. Your story was the first I read of course. Wonderful, as we all knew it would be. Did I ever tell you I'm a fan? Well, I am!
    Loved this one, but odd as it is, the accent does not add to the allure, at least for me. Unless it's Hugh Jackman, but I still don't think it's the accent! :) For him, I might actually swoon, and he wouldn't even have to open his mouth. LOL

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    1. Yup, I prefer my men with their mouths unopened too :) tall, dark, handsome and preferably silent! :D But then I am well past my haute babe days, assuming I ever was one.

      Delighted to know that you liked 10 Love Stories, didn't see that coming! :) Thank you for that vote of confidence - it's a particularly special thrill when friends like my work. And thank you above all, for your support and friendship always. Cannot begin to even find the right words!

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  3. Congratulations! Awesome you're in the anthology.
    Maybe you need to take a trip to France some day?

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    1. Thank you! I went back as an adult too, but can take any number of trips there in a heartbeat.

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  4. Fantastic news about the Antholody. High Fives, to go with the Fist pump.
    First, Fast impressions scare me too. Sometimes right. Sometimes in the Final analysis and epic Fail.
    Which your limerick is not. Another truly Fine take on the challenge.

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    1. Thank you. For the high Fives. And for being here.

      We often just go with the Fast, First impressions without taking the time to analyse if it's true or False, don't even get to know that it's a Fail. Truly scary!

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  5. Congrats on the anthology news! I also have always been mesmerized by the French way. . .and my impressions of my childhood home (Georgia in the US) was that it was too hot, too small town and I wanted to live elsewhere. Love the limericks.

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    1. Thanks DG! Georgia sounds like a place I'd love! No place on earth too small town-ish for me. Great to visit the cities of course, but good also to go back home to a tiny, quiet place. Rather be a Forest than a street always! :)

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  6. Fistpump to you for having your poem published in the anthology! Great success. As a youth, I did my traveling through books. Your choice of A Tale of Two Cities was also one of my favorites. Later, I fell in love with the artwork of the Impressionists.

    Gail’s 2016 April A to Z Challenge
    Theme: The Fun in Writing
    E is for Eastern European Ancestors
    #IWSG

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    1. I totally do my travelling through books/words still when I am not travelling, which is most of the year :) Thanks for your visit and warm words.

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  7. Congratulations on the anthology! What Fantastic news! I hope this anthology travels Far and wide among readers - maybe even as Far as France!!

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    1. Thanks Susan! Do the French read books in English? Chances of getting lost in transit and translation on the way there :D

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  8. Aitch. Love it.
    Congratulations on the Fab news!

    Cheers,
    Seena
    #AtoZChallenge- F is for Free Advice

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  9. The french brings up all kinds of thoughts.

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    1. Yup, not all of them for articulation in public too :D

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  10. Congrats on the news.You very well deserve it

    Please drop by at:
    http://livetolovelifecrazy.blogspot.com/2016/04/eempathy-z-challenge.html

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  11. Congratulations on the publication!! I do love visiting France - not the cities but the countryside, especially in the south where all the lavender grows. Bliss.

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    1. Yeah, I am a country girl at heart too, cities only tolerable because they have the niftiest bookshops with their smell of new and old books.

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  12. fist thump indeed, well done you:)

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  13. Congratulations! I love blogs all about poetry :) you'll see some on mine too!
    [Renée] from SpokenFingers
    Spoken Fingers ~ Life, Understood
    Quotes and Thought Provoking Words

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    1. Thanks. My A-Z has always been about poetry exclusively.

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  14. Your poetry is wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed it. And Alexander Dumas has always been one of my favourite writers.

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    1. Oui! D'accord! :) Count of Monte Cristo is to die for!
      Thanks for visiting.

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  15. Going the French way are we, tres bien mademoiselle....there I've expended my knowledge of French on you! And like you and Francais, I was enchanted by English literature and its description of the countryside, so much so, my friends used to say...'angrez chale gaye, tumhe chod gaye!' Congrats on the Anthology!
    @KalaRavi16 from
    Relax-N-Rave

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    1. I was equally mesmerised by the pair of them. Angrezi aur Fransiya, kitabon ki duniya hi kuch aisi thi :) thanks for being here.

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  16. formidable (I just said it the French way) for your poem in the anthology. Very cool a la the French way. Even cursing in French sounds lovely. Clever work

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    1. I don't speak French at all (but I understand formidable said the French way :) it is a lovely mellifluous language to listen to even if one doesn't follow a thing!

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  17. Great post and poem! My cousin up and moved to France this year for a job and she loves it. I'm only a little jealous. ;)

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    1. Ooh she's one lucky woman! I'd invite myself over pronto if I were you :)

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  18. Love your poem and best of luck with your new book! In my early years I had a romance with a French gentleman--it was fantastic!

    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge http://www.kathleenvalentineblog.com/

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    1. No one does romance like the French, or so their reputation goes, and you have actual proof!!! C'est magnifique!

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  19. I love the French way. I lived in a Normandy farming village for many years, and I so miss the way of life. Right now I live in easy reach of ferries and the 'chunnel', so often just pop across for a proper lunch. Vive la France!

    Keith's Ramblings : My short story has 3 obscure F's

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    1. You are so lucky to be able to go back to a favourite place when you want! That's a rare privilege indeed, not granted to many. Enjoy!

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  20. Yeah, fist pump for you. I'm never sure how I feel about the French or France but they have influenced many parts of the world.
    Susan Says

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    1. That is indeed beyond question, many of the European nations have actually...thanks for stopping by

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  21. I was always fascinated by France and the French as well. For me I think it was the kings and castles. And congrats on being in the anthology!

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    1. I know! Those gorgeous turrets and the opulence of the interiors! Glorious. Thanks for being here.

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  22. Have you ever been to the Shakespeare & Co Bookstore? Love it.

    Joy @ The Joyous Living (F: Fritzl Case)

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  23. Congratulations on your inclusion in the book! Enjoyed today's poem, too, by the way. ("Aitch?" Love that.)

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  24. Loved today's poem! I've always been fascinated by the French as well. I took two years of French in high school because I loved the language.

    Congrats on getting published!

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  25. You deserve a double fistpump! Congratulations on being published in this collection.

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  26. Thank you all! @ The Silver fox, Jerralea and cleemckenzie

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  27. Nice poetry 👍😊
    PositiveVibes ✌
    I welcome you on my blog
    smartshivani.blogspot.com

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  28. That's wonderful Nilanjana. How do you manage that - so well fitted yet all starting with F :)

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  29. Thanks Shivani and Parul, there are little people inside my brain who keep arranging and rearranging their Furniture and loudly quarrelling all the time. I just record that :)

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  30. The Count Of Monte Cristo is on my to-read list. I promised myself that I'm going to alternate my reading between a contemporary and a classic...it hasn't happened yet...*sigh*
    I LOVE Paris. It's my favorite place. I was fortunate to visit the city in my late twenties...a long time ago.
    A re-visit is overdue...but funds are non-existent.
    Congratulations on your piece in the anthology! *fist pump*
    Is it on Amazon?

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    1. I so hear ya on the funds part :D Paris is not a cheap city. The other day I came across a quote - 'if travelling were free, you'd never see me again' don't know where it's from but totally resonated :D

      Yes, on Amazon in all countries where Amazon operates - I know it's right now on India and UK, but should be in all others too in a few days.

      Thanks so much for being here, Michelle!

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  31. Congrats on the anthology entry! way cool! Gail at Making Life An Art

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  32. Congratulations Nilanjana!! So not surprised though :) I've read only your fun poems so far, would be interesting to see something on Lonely.

    I wrote about my own experiences with the Frech in this article : https://wordpress.com/post/durbadhyani.wordpress.com/1780

    Have never visited France so far, unfortunately.

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  33. T'es FORMIDABLE Nila

    I enjoyed it thoroughly. Bravo

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  34. T'es FORMIDABLE Nila

    I enjoyed it thoroughly. Bravo

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  35. Congratulations, goes on my reading list :) From a Fan

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  36. Congrats on publishing in the anthology! An excuse to toast with some champagne! I had the pleasure of vacationing in France a couple of years ago - it was a wonderful trip. The French countryside is beautiful. Happy Writing!

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