When does Excellence overshadow Excellence?

How do you measure achievement over achievement?

Something great over something great that occurred previously?

Is such a task doable or does it diminish or lessen in our eyes what was great then...that now plays “second” fiddle to the next great new thing?

Sisyphus may provide a preliminary answer…that greatness is an ongoing, repetitive task, possibly never fully achieved…close but not accomplished. The achievement is in the ongoing effort to reach an impossible goal, possibly undefined.

So, I repeat a question that I always have put out there. Where am I going with an opinionated statement?

Here is the simple answer.

Anita Nahal.

Anita Nahal, PhD

An aaduna contributor, Dr. Nahal has re-burst on the literary scene and may have overshadowed her previous work with a current intensity of creative thought that has continued to evolve and has become enrichened by her diversity in content with simultaneously published work.   

Her new works reflect her expansive creative thought and diverse multiplicity of spirit and innate, welcoming ability to weave words and themes into vibrant fabrics of literary wonder.

·         Hey...Spilt milk is spilt, nothing else (a collection of poems)

For readers outside of India:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K3QYMHN  

For readers in India:   http://www.amazon.in/dp/B07K3QYMHN          

·      Life On The Go, Flash Fictions from New Delhi to America, Vol 1 

(a collection of flash fictions)

For readers outside of India:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K3R3BR1

For readers in India:   http://www.amazon.in/dp/B07K3R3BR1

And you do not have to take my word for it.

Her recent books have been noted as required reading for a course on “The Multicultural Society” under the section, ‘Voices from within- the literary voice of migration & acculturation’ by the University of Utrecht’s Department of Interdisciplinary Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences in The Netherlands.

What did I mention about achievement overcoming and surpassing achievement?!

  

You decide.

  

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Anita Nahal, Ph.D., CDP, is a poet, flash fiction writer, children's books author, D&I consultant and professor. Her first collection of poems, Initiations was published in 1988 by Pitamber, New Delhi, and three children’s books were published by Madhuban-Vikas, New Delhi between 1993-1995. You can find her recent works in Aberration Labyrinth, Confluence, Better Than Starbucks, aaduna, River Poets Journal, and Colere. Nahal received an honorable mention in the Concrete Wolf 2017 chapbook competition. A second book of poetry and Nahal’s first collection of flash fiction are due for release later this year, and she is busy working on her first novella. Currently, Nahal is an adjunct professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Washington DC. Some of Nahal’s former positions include: Mellon Fellowship program administrator, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington DC; assistant provost for International Programs, Howard University, Washington DC; visiting associate professor of History at SUNY, Binghamton, New York; and associate professor of History, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, India. Dr. Nahal has been a visiting scholar of gender at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, SUNY, Binghamton, NY. Nahal is the daughter of the Sahitya Akademi award winning Indian novelist and professor, Dr. Chaman Nahal and Dr. Sudarshna Nahal who was principal of a K-12 school. {Both parents are deceased.} Anita resides in the U.S. with her son, Vikrant and daughter-in-law, Sumona.

  

Here are thoughts from other third-party critics and observers:

Folks say Anita Nahal’s poems reflect a, “…sense of imagination that goes beyond traditional and contemporary poetic bounds.”  That they have “…lyrical quality and soothe the soul,” and are like “whispers to the heart.” 

And, about her flash fictions folks say, “captivating,” “gripping,” “deeply sensitive,” “short, sweet and deep,” “adorable,” and “leaving them speechless!” Nahal, they say, has the passion of poignant story telling, making people actually visualise them, and having a “been present in the story effect!”

Nahal’s poems and flash fictions cover myriad issues such as immigration, race, ethnicity, womanhood, single motherhood, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, gender, color, age, love, divorce, motherhood, fatherhood, homelessness, and cross-cultural surprises, and shocks. Diaspora elements are strongly present in Nahal’s writings. 

Nahal’s writings roam in the realm of thoughts, feelings, dreams, daydreaming, and universalistic unplanned moments…very ethereal, airy and magical at times! Her poems and flash fictions touch your heart… some will make you laugh, some will make you think, and some might even make you cry.

Anita Nahal is a prolific poet and fictionist, who has achieved excellence in poetry and flash fiction, the latter being the latest genre trending in fiction writing today. She has creativity in her genes. Her father, Chaman Nahal, was a well-known novelist. I am sure, her pen will become more prolific, making the literary scene richer and life beautiful.~ Subhash Chandra, Critic and Author

Anita Nahal’s poems and flash fictions are extremely valuable contributions to the literature on immigration and diaspora writings. I absolutely recommend this, her second collection of poems, as uniquely insightful, with a warm empathy for the human condition. Anita is a combination of a social scientist / historian / cultural / human analyst…a culture broker with diverse experiences…being somewhere but from somewhere else, sharing a rich nomadic perspective - a genre hopper / mixer! And Nahal writes more so with a keen eye for everyday encounters, like Humans of New York - weaving tapestries of historical/social facts with existential issues and ilemma's that should resonate with all audiences. ~ Dr. Gerrit B.M. Dielissen, Professor of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Anita’s poems and flash fiction are very relevant literary contributions as she immerses herself in her characters taking us most intriguingly with them in the journey of soulful, everyday life discovery! This is her second collection of poetry, and with this she strongly establishes herself as a reputed poet in English and Diaspora writings. The pencil images in most of the poems lend visual beauty to Nahal’s work, and her poems are incisive reflections on human existence. ~ Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur, Former Professor of English, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi

Anita Nahal's poems and very short stories are like whispers of my heart! The details are in some case left to the imagination of the reader, and in some cases, graphic and so vivid...as if I am there! Anita's work reminds me of her father, and my Professor Chaman Nahal, the novelist par excellence. ~Satya Narain Sharma, Former Associate Professor of English, University of Delhi    

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