The lotus of the heart – realization stories – I (Audiobook) – Gayatri Majumdar

Award-winning poet and writer, Vinita Agrawal writes about The lotus of the heart, “Its fulcrum is the process of looking inward. These are realization stories that happen at unexpected bends of life. Just as much on busy streets amidst bright lights as in the inner sanctum of an ancient monument by the light of a solitary diya. They are relatable experiences, yet unique to Gayatri because they spell the definitives of her journey. She also weaves in the solitaryness and isolation that this pandemic has evoked. A rampant virus, an uncontrollable pandemic and a single soul out on its quest for the true meaning of life come together beautifully and evocatively in this series of essays. These are depictions of her sincere contemplative processes.

‘There is no where to fall.
You are the safety net that will prevent the fall 
even if you do.
You are safe every where.’”
Sensitively narrated by Ravi Shanker, the audiobook cover is designed by Nitya Swaruba.

About the author

As editor, publisher and founder of critically acclaimed Indian literary journal, The Brown Critique for over two decades (1995–2015), Gayatri Majumdar published hundreds of established and emerging poets from India and other countries. She began her career as a journalist in Press Trust of India and The Independent (India) in Mumbai. Her career also encompasses leadership in the publishing industry and work in NGOs. She was also Assistant Editor of The Indian P.E.N and was a freelancer radio jockey at All India Radio in Mumbai.

Gayatri’s seven books include A Song for Bela (a novel; Sun Publishing, 2017); poetry collections Shout (Sampark, 2000), I know you are here (Red River, 2019), The Dream Pod (Copper Coin, 2022), A warm place with no memory (Red River, 2023& longlisted for The Wise Owl Poetry Award in 2025); non-fiction The lotus of the heart (2021) and Brown Critique Home anthology (co-ed., 2021). Most of her books are available on Amazon. Her poems and prose have been published in major Indian and international journals and anthologies.
As co-founder of ‘Pondicherry Poets’, Gayatri has been curating the annual popular Pondicherry/Auroville Poetry Festival over the past several years. 
Sonali Chanda writes about Gayatri’s book of poems, "A warm place with no memory:"

“‘The boat anchored in my window pane
for nights now under the waning moon-
considering her options, lost in thoughts
stuck as if in an asylum…’

I didn't read any Indian poet whose poetry brought out such thoughts, where 'a boat stuck in a windowpane and lost in thoughts whether it's stuck in an asylum'. 
From these lines, one can imagine Majumdar's vastness of thoughts which flowed from material world towards a different mystic world.”

Gayatri lives in Pondicherry, India and is associated with Sri Aurobindo Society, specifically handling publication of books, e-books and audiobooks (AuroPublications).  

Duration: The audiobook has a total running time of 3 hours 8 min 4 sec. The zip containing the audio track is available to download.

Note: Only 3 attempts 

Details:

ISBN: 978-93-842-16-04-7
Languages: English
Published: Brown Critique Books
Narration: Ravi Shanker
Cover art: Nitya Swaruba
Upload & Technical aspects: Surendhar S and Saranya A
Provider: Aura
Price: Rs.320/-