When you are aware, you can hear silence.

I don’t think I would call myself spiritually inclined. It’s a big word. I’d just say that I live in awareness, or at least try to, most of the time. Spirituality to me is to be aware of you, your deeds and emotions. And, that awareness is possible when you can silence your mind. And, once you are aware, it becomes easier to listen to the silence. It’s a Catch- 22, you see. But, it only takes a moment to break the code and enter the portal. It’s the moment most spiritual books and guides talk about. There is no particular faith that I follow. I am one of those people who like to march to their own drum beat. To my way of living I apply synchronicity, the power of intention, positive thinking, focus, charity, love and silence. If I were to put a name to this belief system, I’d call it Mayankism, because it is a way of life that is personal. When I was writing Love from the Sidelines, my debut novel, I had no idea how to go about getting it published. But, the intention to get it out there is what drove me. And, once I finished writing it, it’s almost as if the entire universe conspired to make it happen. The mind, they say, is a monkey And mine is an untamed one. If I can just manage to keep it silent, I consider myself, or the spiritual self. To get to that silence, I have tried various techniques. Painting a canvas really works for me writing my thoughts on paper also helps free my mind of clutter. But, the best technique of all, that I use to stay in touch with my ‘spiritual’ side, is to breathe. And I mean really BREATHE.

Kala Ghoda

TV actor Mayank Anand launched his debut book Love from the Sidelines about man-woman relationships amidst an almost all woman ensemble. Present were his good friends from the TV industry- Shraddha Nigam Sunjana Gulia and Benaf Dadachanjee- who offered a helping hand and incidentally read excerpts from the book too. Dolly Thakore on her part raved about the book and the multi-talented new generation of youngsters (such as Mayank) and even read a few poems from the text. One noticed Ananya Banerjee and art gallery owner Vickram Sethi listening in intently. A short and snappy function in all.