Magical Jar

Arun Chandra   Balaji V.   Nishadi Thantrige   Miriam Otto   Ismet Diab   Shruti Jayakumar   Talitha Doss   and   Reena Doss

Magical Jar takes us through a kaleidoscopic journey on clouds of dreams and hope weaved by the words of seven poetic geniuses who deal with themes as varied as their imagination. The jar of poems is like a bottle of tonic that rejuvenates tired hearts and souls and dispels fear of any kind filling us with hope and the courage to just be ourselves...and share our struggles as we share our joys. The illustrations by Talitha and Balaji V. enhance the beauty of the magic. A must read to explore the magical world of poetry.

-Latika Ojha

Magical Jar brings together 7 wonderfully talented people who, through their words, photos, and art pieces, take you on a journey of love, faith, connection, and ultimately, of hope. Never has a title been more appropriate, as magic is sprinkled throughout every page of this wonderful book. Using their individual gifts, the TOH team of Talitha Doss, Shruti Jayakumar, Ismet Diab, Miriam Otto, Nishadi Thantrige, Balaji V. and Arun Chandra collectively create a world that encourages you to never give up on your dreams or yourself. As an advocate of Mental Health Awareness, I found the gentle, lovingly hopeful way that mental health issues have been explored here to be particularly noteworthy. They urge you to hang on to your dreams, even if the world deems them impossible. And encourage you to believe that no matter how final failure may seem, you have the power to turn it into a new beginning. Words, images and beautiful art blend seamlessly within these pages, creating a wonderful flow that will carry you to the last page without you realising it. I’d wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone. No matter your taste or where you are in life right now, you will find something here to relate to and delight in the unique spell this magical jar weaves around you. I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite lines : 

“Maybe there are people that make you flicker like a light that is about to vanish. Avoid the ones that are not good for you even when it is hard, even when you're used to them. Trust that you have a source of shining light within you. One that never runs dry like the moon in the night’s sky.”
-Miriam Otto @miriamo77 

“Together we flow, pulled into the magical mystery of love and I lean on you like the days lean on the sun, and the nights on the stars.”
-Ismet Diab @shespeaksyoursilence

“I sit in silence, hope and wait for that setting sun to come for when that bridge is lowered down, my dreams begin to run!”
-Talitha Doss @colourmecrazy30

“I am erased by your exit because I know not how to be here when you are not.”
-Nishadi Thantrige @asmyheartbeatson

“Life is a travel episode across the hilly road—embrace it, face it with heads held high. Never take a U-turn, ever!”
-Shruti Jayakumar @soulful_ballads

“I need a friend who needs one too, because everyone else wants a friend for a photo.”
-Arun Chandra @elsewherewriter

-Shruti Sharma

"We don’t have to look for magic, for magic has a way of finding us” True to your words my dear friend Ismet, this Magical Jar found its way to my heart! A warm feeling of gratitude flows towards this generous group of friends sharing “soft gentle magic through (y)our words and art” as Reena puts it before opening this collective present by stating a simple truth : “Life is not simple” Indeed, Arun sees life “like undertaking a journey in the desert” and for Shruti it “is a travel episode across the hilly road”. To help you make your way through life, this jar is a true gift full of dreams and hopes. When you start reading, your own “dreams begin to run”like Talitha’s inspiring words and drawings. I find it difficult to “pick my favorite color”as Shruti does. Balaji’s colors encourage us to let loose and “drift away” hanging on to our “true calling” as Miriam says. If like Arun (you)”don’t want to let life’s obstacles define (you)”, then listen to Miriam and “trust that you have a source of shining light within you”. Reena reminds us that “it’s okay to not feel okay” and that “hope exists in these moments of despair” so eloquently depicted by Nishadi’s poem : “I was suffocating(…), and you breathed into me a brand new life, full of hope”. Arun is right when he says “hope is the thing we always keep”. When life gets hard, we should follow Shruti’s advice and “stay calm, stay still” before doing like Ismet’s gypsy princess “tuning (y)our heartbeats to the silence of the night” and then, following her cyan mermaid, “diving deep searching for the pearls of life”. We have to believe in Talitha’s “moon fairy” “bathing (us)me in hope’s new light” as Nishadi puts it, showing us the way “To Eden” so beautifully depicted by Balaji. While Shruti shares with us the recipe for a “love jam jar”, Miriam encourages us to create our own magical jar and tells us how “she reaches inside her heart, showing compassion for the world”. That is exactly what our world needs most today : compassion, connectedness, sharing…friendship!Today, more than ever, like Arun and Shruti we “need a friend””comforting each other during moments of grief”, a friend described by Nishadi as one whose “existence shines like a beacon in this maze”. “Together we flow, pulled into the magical mystery of love” as Ismet says believing that “magic will always lead you to love”. Talitha’s “rising phoenix” inspires us to “rise above (our)my fears” as described in Ismet’s powerful poem. After enjoying the fruit of this wonderful art collaboration between those amazing artist friends, I can only echo Reena’s call : “please stay connected” and Miriam’s plea : “please promise you’ll never stop dreaming”! And here is mine to you : Please don’t hesitate to open this magical jar and share it with your friends ! Again, a big thank you to this wonderful “dream team” for this “magic in a jar”

-Amira Abdel Alim

The Magical Jar is a gift! It’s a beautiful, bright, sparkling gem! You’ll find gorgeous, enchanting poems and art about the moon, a river, a phoenix rising, shimmering stars, ocean waves, mermaids, and many more beautiful things to captivate your hearts. I am astonished by the abundant beauty and creativity gifted to us by these creative and talented poets and artists. Each page evokes beautiful childhood memories and the innocence of our childhood dreams and hopes, reminding us they are still alive in our hearts and our imaginations just waiting for us to rediscover them. Each poem brings joy and hope. The art is so beautiful and precious. Together they are delights and treasures, like found sea glass on the seashore, or seed packets of precious seeds given by a loving friend with intentions to delight you and give you something to love and to nurture, so you have beauty to look forward to each day. That’s what these beautiful poems and art do, they bring joy and inspiration, wrap arms around us and whisper, “Be yourself, your beautiful self.” This book invites us to use our imaginations, hold hands with our inner child, believe in ourselves, all the while offering us hope, like sweet lullabies. The creations invite us to use our 5 senses, to see the beauty inside of us and all around us. These imaginative poems remind us we can still believe in our childhood dreams, wish upon a star, turn mudpies into chocolate, and have tea parties with the queen. This book makes me smile and believe in magic. It’s a joy and a delight, I'll treasure always.

-Cleo Fernhill

In 2020, the year that changed the world forever, several talented people gathered together to address mental health issues. Their idea grew into more than an ordinary book; it's a compelling, powerful message, expressed through words, illustrations, and hope. Magical Jar: An artistic and poetic collaboration with seven friends united Talitha Doss, Shruti Jayakumar, Ismet Diab, Miriam Otto, Nishadi Thantrige, Balaji V., and Arun Chandra into one gentle light bringer that shares and gives unconditional love. The flow of magic penetrates every line, and a reader won't be able now to separate one voice from another, so flawlessly the poems and images intertwined with each other under one cover. The book approaches the problem of mental health from different levels. The main aim of Translations of Hope, the community behind the book, is an encouragement of those who fail again and again. Struggles are an integral part of everyday life, and this is normal to be fragile and to stand against the rough winds. The way out of guilt and regrets is the knowledge that in the end nobody would be left alone. Dreams help to ascent from the day-to-day existence, and their magic transforms the universe. The choice of a magical jar as a symbol of the book is not accidental. It's a metaphorical, colorful jar where all dreams, hopes, and stardust can be preserved for the people who need them the most. Even the common jar with the use of imagination can become a magical object. Once freed, the magic from the jar fills everything around it. Rivers, rain, stars, night and day; everything tells one thing: 'Remember you are welcomed/trust that you are home…' 'Magical Jar' can be recommended to anyone who has doubts about himself/herself. As the foreword says, 'So take this book along with you and during moments of doubt, know that it will help unravel and reveal all that you have been searching for.' It was my pleasure to dive into such a pure source of hope and magic.

-Darya Silman

A splendid collection! Refreshingly open and comfortingly supportive, the poetry and art in this booklet paint a vibrantly positive portrait of life that inspires and rewards hope.

-Sharron Green