Changing shopping scenario and #FlipkartKids

Kids these days,huh!

How many times have we uttered or heard those words :D

Well, this post is about a brilliant Indiblogger event I had the honor of attending a while ago- the Indiblogger #FlipkartKids meet, where, you guessed it, it was all about kids.

The Blue Frog in Mumbai, an avant garde club was the venue for the day on 19th Dec, 2 PM in the afternoon was when some awesome bloggers (mostly,mommy bloggers) congregated to witness the launch of 'Flipkart Li'l Stars-India's biggest online kids store'. Selfies with other bloggers, chit-chatting about all and sundry topics happened freely as brilliant food & cocktails kept us company on this afternoon. The main event was kickstarted by Kalpana Behara,an accomplished mommy blogger talking about her struggle and victories in the field of blogging. My favorite part of the event was the brilliant panel discussion with experts from Flipkart and brands like Disney and Chhota Bheem. A lot of facts came to the fore.

The world is changing so rapidly, it is the same with our kids nowadays. They are so modern, they grow up so quickly, they are very confident and they want nothing but the best and latest. If their friends all have Hannah Montana toy, they also want that. Nowadays Chhota Bheem is all the rage and it is something that all kids want too! There are themed birthday parties happening and kids are always in competition with each other on having the latest toys, even if it is from abroad.

The parents are also very aware nowadays and don't mind giving the best to the kids. #FlipkartKids is bringing a plethora of Indian and International toys and other paraphrenalia to India so that the kids can be in touch with their wants all the time. There are quite a few challenged involved, such as quality control, size problems when it comes to kids' fashion, problems in designing toys, toys and games for kids with special needs. But Flipkart and their sellers are taking care of it all. Even International brands that are not available in India are now being available on Flipkart for delivery to our confident new generation of kids.

Having been a part of this very lively and interactive session, it was now time for some fun in the form of music by Blender in the Code as well as games in the form of ad mad where all of us bloggers were divided into teams who had to make ads to sell products from Flipkart Kids section! Unlimited fun was had by one and all, the whole event made even more special with the interaction we all had,and the souvenir of Chhota Bheem soft toy given to us by Flipkart.

Waiting to shop from #FlipkartKids and to attending more such amazing events next year :)

I am lucky to meet someone #madeofgreat

Life is long and makes us go through so many different paths, makes us meet so many different people and some of them really make a big impression on us,don't they? Some people truly teach us they are not mere mortals made of flesh and blood but are #madeofgreat substance, something that makes them impossibly brave and courageous.

Meet Ashakutty Aunty. I met her through a friend in college who is her neighbour. Then it turned out that her daughter was my senior in college, so we also soon became friends and I realized she spent so much of her time participating in charity endeavors. Soon thereafter I came to know her mother's, Asha aunty's story. Know those women who are shunned by their family when they give birth to a girl? Yes, the same stories that we read in newspapers. Asha Aunty is one of those women. She gave birth to a daughter and was immediately asked by her in-laws and husband to throw her away! She was supposed to forget her daughter and move on in the quest to give birth to a son! But she refused. She ran away from that society, took her newborn daughter, joined those teeming millions in Mumbai who live in slums and started her life as a single mother. She worked 3 jobs, 18 hours a day, cooking and cleaning houses as a maid in the morning, sewing clothes in evening, giving basic maths education to kids in late evening, some embroidery work late at night and whatever else she could get her hands on, to make sure that her daughter was able to go to school, be independent and live a life of freedom!

Thankfully, she was supported by her own mother and some of her relatives who also chipped in from time to time. Luckily, her daughter grew up to be a brilliant student who got scholarship as well as part time jobs to help Asha Aunty in running the household. And after decades of struggle, Asha Aunty met a kind, compassionate man who decided to support her, without worrying about her past or any associated taboo and also adopted her daughter as his own. Soulmates meet at the unlikeliest of times!

Today, Asha Aunty spends her time helping those who are stuck in a hopeless situation. It includes children from underprivileged backgrounds, giving them education and support, plus cancer patients plus homeless people who need a helping hand for a second start in life. It is her belief that we are put on this planet to absorb other's pain as much as possible and spread joy wherever and whenever we get a chance and this is exactly what she does.

I have had the pleasure of meeting her quite a number of times over the years and every single time, I am struck by how calm she is. Not a hint of anger or frustration! Her belief in Karma makes her strong enough to be forgiving of everyone, including her first husband! 'He did what he did, God knows everything, I have nothing against him or anyone else', is her answer every single time anyone asks her a question about her painful past. Her vision is of moving forward with only one aim-to help as many people as possible. 

We all have troubles in our life and even the smallest of problems seem so gigantic,don't they? But meeting Asha aunty has helped me look at life in a new perspective. It has made me calmer too, and more inclined to use all my resources to help others in whatever capacity I can. That is why I consider myself lucky that I have been able to meet her and learn from her :)

I am thankful to Tata Motors for helping me bring this #madeofgreat story in front of everyone and so happy that they have partnered with Lionel Messi, one of my favorites, to be their Global Brand Ambassador. They have a brilliant contest going on where YOU, my dear readers, can Win an Amazon voucher worth 750 for simply answering the question 'What do you think of Tata Motors' association with Lionel Messi'? Hurry, as the contest closes on 26th November 2015 at 11.59 PM :)

Life made easier with Airtel 4G

Life in 21st Century is tough. This is the real digital era. We have smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, laptops ruling the roost and everyday,new digital technologies make their way in our lives to de-clutter it, simplify it and make it better. The world is a small place and connectivity is at its all time high.

But all of this goes to naught if our internet connection speed does not catch up with the times! And unfortunately, it hasn't. For example-take the singular case of me trying to make one blog post. I write it, then I put in links, pictures or videos and then upload it. The whole process should ideally take me as much time as my brain needs to think and my fingers need to type. BUT I spend at least 5 minutes staring blankly at the screen while the pictures/videos upload merrily. Ok, sometimes I utilize that time to make me a nice cup of coffee, but that does not make the process any less annoying.

Or take a simple work day. I have to meet clients to give them presentations and so I need internet on the go. Being stuck in a traffic jam, I want to utilize that time to update my presentation or browse some worksheet or check my emails or write a speech or maybe even watch a video. The number of times I have cursed at my phone as the connectivity speed is almost nil at busy traffic intersections, are too many to recount.

That is why I am overjoyed at the news of Airtel 4G making its appearance :) Finally, internet at speeds that I deserve, that I need and that I wish for! Superfast connectivity is not going to be a fluffy dream anymore. Just last week, an office colleague of mine was talking about Airtel 4G  -about how he got a free 4G SIM home delivered by simply tweeting with the hashtag #GetAirtel4G on twitter! It intrigued me and I asked him if I could see the 4G speed in action for myself. Imagine a mp3 song being downloaded in 4 seconds flat, or a mp4 video in 25 seconds flat! Watching youtube videos is a breeze as is downloading any app now. Watching him perform these activities in seconds, what earlier would take minutes & hours, I am sure it is going to make my life easier too.

I will be stuck in traffic and still be able to make snazzy presentations & share them quickly with my colleagues. I will be on the move and seamlessly connect with my emails, even the ones with heavy attachments, or even update my blog in a heartbeat. Downloading songs, movies or watching them stream will no longer be a pain! Very importantly, I stayed away from mobile banking all this while because of poor connectivity and regularly dropped connections, but no more! I can be a financial whiz kid while on -the -go too :) And for a travel junkie like me, travelling would be a pleasure when I have the whole world of sharing and connectivity at my fingertips-at super speeds :)

Working on the go, Entertainment on my fingertips, with Airtel 4G I am ready for a new chapter in my life. After all, it comes only at the price of 3G!

No More Crashing, Honey!

Fatso, Fatso, Fatsooooooooooooooooooo!

The words still ring in my ears.

The truth is. I am a fat girl. I was born this way. When I was 5 years old, my parents took me to a pediatrician who thought I was a chubby boy and he told my parents, 'Don't worry, his baby fat would melt away when he grows up and plays cricket or football.' Then my parents told him that I am a girl and he was like, 'Ohhhhhhhhhh'.

I did grow up to play football and cricket, but the baby fat never really melted away. I was always the plumpest girl in my class. Up until the age of 10-11,everyone called me a teddy bear since I was a rolly polly child and we all love such chubby kids,don't we? But then came the teenage years and as if pimples weren't enough to make me feel bad enough, there came those rings of 'fatso' in my neighborhood whenever I went to market to buy veggies or fruits or bread. Even my mom's aunties started asking my mother if she was helping me go on some medicine to lose weight or if she was looking for some gym to enroll me in. 

The worst part was, nobody in my family before me has been born fat. My dad is athletic but far from fat. My mother was actually underweight before marriage and it was only after I was born that she started resembling a normal,healthy human. So everybody would just see me and my parents and assume that I am fat because I spend my days eating and doing nothing else.

Well, I did everything possible.

I ate as less as possible. I ate as much karela and bhindi and all the healthy veggies as I could. I said no to chocolates. I had ice-cream once a month. Even when we would go out on picnics or sleepovers, my friends would indulge in samosas and chole bhaturey while I would make excuses and eat watermelons in a corner. But I still remained 'fatso'.

By the time I reached college, I was desperate to find a cure and turn into a 'hottie' with a figure like a model. I read about all kinds of crash diets and in a moment of utter desperation, even tried some of them. For a week, I abstained from all solid food and had only fresh fruit juices. Result? I fainted on the 7th day and had to be taken to hospital for intravenous glucose. The medicines to recoup my health made me gain even more weight than what I had lost in that horrible week. Then I went on an alternate-day-eating diet where I had normal food one day and only water the next day. Again, I started feeling weaker within 5 days and my parents made me stop all this nonsense crash diet obsession. 

The only ray of hope-my parents. They never made me feel bad because I am fat. They never loved me any less! When my parents quizzed me on why I was doing all that and I told them it was because I wanted to be thin, they asked me to be patient and trust the age old wisdom, starting right from having a glass of warm water every morning with a spoon of honey. I had always seen Dabur Honey on a kitchen shelf and read about the benefits of using Honey in the process of dieting (Honey Diet ,if you may!) but never really tried it!

Well, I started with the morning ritual and guess what, within 3 months I had lost 6 kilograms of excess body weight-which might sound less to you-but considering how stubborn my body fat is, this is a miracle. Not only this, I feel more energetic, stronger from inside, I am not bothered by diseases due to low immunity anymore, my skin feels better, I do not have acne anymore and there is a general spring and vibrancy to my lifestyle. I credit all this to Honey and that is why I have vowed to never even look at a crash diet again!

Surfing Without A Break, Life Uninterrupted!

AAAAAAAAAND IT'S A SIXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!

How many times have we heard of these exact words in our childhood and still smile at the mere memory?

How many days, weeks, months have we spent with our buddies and cousins and in general, anyone and everyone, discussing if the umpire's decision was right or not?

How many neighborhood banters were based on whether it was a 'No-Ball' or not?

Yup, too many priceless memories and beautiful smiles hinge on all this. Cricket is not just a hobby or thing, it is a relentless passion,pursuit and indeed, a religion in India :)

I remember so many of my exam days,completely ruined because of some important match or other! One eye on the TV and other on the notes,does not really make it any easier to comprehend anything. Oh,the number of times I have almost flunked my school tests because of Kapil Dev and Saurav Ganguly!

And then I came to college. Things have got to be better here, right? WRONG! Here comes Sachin and all my plans of weaning myself away from the lure of cricket are gone to flames. I don't care if I am dying of appendicitis or writing my graduation practicals finals, I had one ear on the pocket transistor and another on whatever the task at hand was.

With passage of time and the advent of internet, things became better. Hey,now we have google along with so many internet sites, news sites where we can catch hold of latest scores, previews and analysis of each match. But hey,now I am working and I don't seem to have access to everything at one place. I am also travelling a lot, I am spending time stuck in cubicles and I cannot spend so much time hopping from one site to another. After having almost ruined my entire academic career running after cricket, am I now forced to take a break for fear of almost ruining my career too?

Absolutely not!

This is where my favorite UC Browser comes to my rescue! With the advent of UC Cricket, my life is literally now LIFE UNINTERRUPTED :) Live scores, Latest News, Videos and MORE, all at one place, all at the tip of my fingers! So even when I am stuck in traffic, or in a boring meeting with a large group or just in my cubicle during a particularly lazy afternoon, I no longer need to panic because I am left adrift without access to anything that I crave. AND to top it all, I am saying goodbye to the slow browsing that has been my bane since the beginning of internet! As my sister rightly said after browsing through UC Cricket, 'Hey, if it is cricket,it has got to be UC Cricket!' A boon for cricket lovers and fanatics alike! I am just glad I found it before I started sending resumes to all the cricket playgrounds around the city, for anything to stay close to my first and last love-Cricket!

My Mom,My Expert

Really, who else is there on this planet who understands us better than we understand ourself? Who else is there to listen to our cries before we cry or pray for our happiness while we go ahoy in life absolutely unfettered,without even looking back for a moment? Yup,our mothers. The person crafted by God since he could not be everywhere Himself,right? Right.

So why should my mother be any different? My mom, my Maa, the one person who can read my soul like an open book even though I am still stuck at the first chapter.

I was 7 years old. I remember her arguing with my dad. My dad is an awesome person, but like many other awesome persons on this planet, he also loves to abide by the rules of the society in which he lives. Not my mom. She breaks them as per her convenience. That is what she was doing that fateful day.

My dad was saying something along the lines of- 'Arre,what will others say? You know how people look down upon such things here...'

And my mom retorted,' I do not care. Others do not take care of her, she is my daughter! She is going there and that is that...'

I had no idea what they were arguing about. Mainly because I had no interest in focusing on anything other than the episode of Shaktimaan that I was watching right then and also because mom had taught me to not eavesdrop into other people's arguments and this was when I actually listened to her (wink wink).

But I did not have to wait for long. Barely 15 minutes had passed before my dad stormed out of the room, crossed the living room in 2 long strides, turned off the TV, turned towards me and nearly growled, 'Get ready,NOW'.

I did. 15 minutes later,we were sitting in a car, zooming towards my dad's office area which was puzzling for me, since I knew his office remained closed on the day Shaktimaan was telecasted. However,I had no idea of intruding upon the cold war brewing between my dad and mom by asking about where we were going. 

15 more minutes later and we were standing on the grounds of a nearly dilapidated,yet imposing, building near my dad's office. It was a dance school. Oh,so this is what they were talking about! You see, we lived in a society that looked down upon the performing arts. Dancing, singing, acting were referred to in derogatory terms by my dad's family, my mom's family as well as the neighbors in our apartment complex, and the general populace of our social class. But ofcourse,I was a 7 year old child. Trying talking about socio-politico-religious compulsions of this mad world to a 7 year old child! All I knew was, I LOVED to dance. From a very young age, I had loved songs and watching Bollywood movies was an obsession with me. In our family, my dad's family would only ever listen to classical music and ghazals of Pankaj Udhas. But I think,from the time I was 3 or 4 years old, my mom had started buying Hindi film songs of Mithun Chakravarthy and Jackie Shroff starrers since she loved to see my little toes wiggle to the beats of those disco songs. So,obviously, she thought it was best for me to start getting classically trained from a young age. Ergo,here we were,getting my name enrolled for the Bharatnatyam classes at the said dilapidated dance school.

This is the first instance I remember where I saw the fighter in my mom. My memories are a bit hazy but I remember everything important. 

I remember the way she held on to her ground even under growing opposition. First it was my dad,then came my dadaji, my dadiji, the whole extended family from my dad's side who refused to even consider the idea of sending me to a 'naach-gaana' place. Even my mom's side of family was not overtly thrilled even though they did not make much fuss but I remember my mom meeting everyone with a curt 'No Discussion' on the topic.

I remember my mom telling me the story of her childhood where she used to watch Hema Malini and Vyjantimala's movies at her friends' places because she wasn't allowed to do so at her own house,and how she would dream of dancing but ofcourse she was never allowed to nurture this dream and to make sure that she did not take any 'drastic step' (of maybe getting self-enrolled into a dance school?) she was married off while still in high school. Obviously, what better way to make sure that a woman 'does not cross her limits' than to marry her off in India?!

I remember how this 'dance school incident' was the first one where I saw my mom being a true warrior,not one who goes around totting a gun but one who sticks to a very finely refined compass of moral right and wrong and never gives up principles and values.

I remember how about 2 years later,my mom also applied for a job at the same dance school, in an administrative position, so she could stay close to me as well as to her first love-classical music and dance. I remember how her eyes sparkled when she saw all us little children in our dance uniforms and ghunghroos.

I remember how our neighbors grudgingly gave my mother the respect she deserved when I started performing at our colony's Durga Puja and Kali Puja ceremonies. That was when they realized that my mom wanted me to worship arts the way Lord Shiva, The Nataraj does, not make me a 'naachne gaane waali'!

I remember how some years later, our neighbors started asking my mother for advice on various matters,not restricted just to the dance class but general queries on how to navigate administrative bureaucracy in various places too since by then she had gotten promotion in her choice of vocation all based on her hard work and dedication.

I remember the way my mom used to be a perfect housewife and a perfect working woman in those days. Waking up at 7, taking me to school, doing all housework, going to job, coming back at lunch time to pick me up, take me to dance school, bringing me back, helping me do my homework, making dinner, helping me prepare for extra curricular and co-curricular activities. I wonder how I never thought of her as Wonder Woman then! She truly was! I never missed school or dance school, never missed submitting a homework on time and never got anything less than 90% on any of my exams.

I remember that from this instance on, she was always my rock, my pillar of support, no matter what I needed to or wanted to do, no matter if the whole world stood against me, she was always there and she still is.

I remember a 100 different incidents but I also remember this is where it all started. The realization that God really could not be everywhere and so he made mom. Specifically,my mother. Even today,her enthusiasm for life and her quest to change whatever stifles her (or by extension,any fellow human being) remains unbridled. And the fact that she is such a passionate,never ending warrior makes her eternal and ageless. Of course, there are some signs of ageing, but thanks to Godrej, at least her hair never shows any signs of ageing. So there it is, my mother, my warrior, my expert!

Together we can overcome anything...

It was just another regular day. Not a dreary cloud in sky. Cheery, nice day. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. I went to class. I was in High School. I entered the class and immediately found Goku (my best friend) in his favourite place, immersed in a book like always. We had a little ritual amidst us. He always reached class first and no matter how much I tried, I could never wake up as early as him and catch the same bus as him, as a result always reaching just a few minutes before the class bell rang. And every single day he would have some smart comment waiting for me as I would enter my class and I would throw my heavy bag at him. Regular friends we were you see.

But not that day. I entered, walked the whole 10 steps to my seat, put my bag down and waited for the smart – mouth to put forth a mildly insulting comment related to my inability to wake up early. I waited a whole 30 seconds. Nothing! This was a first in the history of humanity Ladies & Gentlemen! We had been studying (and fighting) together for almost 2 years now, how could he just deviate from our well established routine like this?

‘Earth calling Goku’ (His real name is Gokul, in case anybody is wondering).

‘Oh, hi’ (back to his book)

‘All right there? Got a Prozac overdose?’

‘No. Just my father died’.

Now how do you respond to something like that. Not that I had never witnessed or heard about death before. But this was too much. One would expect the news of death of someone’s grandparents. But father is too much for anybody to bear. Too much, too soon. This was not right.

‘Sorry’

‘Don’t worry; he was never much of a father’

Okay, so we were best friends. We did not grill each other’s personal history like they do in those cop shows. Nearly 2 years of friendship and not once did I talk to him about his mom or dad. We even had a few birthday parties at his home, all conveniently on days when his parents were out of town and so again, there was no need for a cop level grilling.

Anyway, trying my best to not burst into flames with shame and guilt, I asked him if he wanted to talk about it. Turned out, he did. We bunked all our lectures for the day and went to the nearest shopping mall we had to find the quietest corner in the food court in which to talk about our life journey so far. Turns out, his dad had turned alcoholic soon after he was born and his mother died of child-birth complications. So he was being brought up by his father’s elder brother (who had officially adopted him later on too) and so all the dealings he had ever had with his father were a customary ‘namaste’ or two in various family functions. That is it. A whole lifetime of burden, feelings, sadness, inexplicable tragedy and tears came out pouring in that afternoon.

What most affected me in the whole episode was I looked at him and our friendship in a whole new light. His experience did not merely move me, it transformed me. Strange how I could find optimism and strength in a tragic episode like this, but I did –optimism that this friendship is truly the rock of my life, something that I never take for granted, and that truest friends make you feel like anything is possible, they are the true angels giving wing to your dreams. Suddenly no problem seemed unsolvable, nothing seemed improbable. It is not something I can explain in mere words but surely, anybody with even a modicum of feeling can understand this. I am sure many such experiences are waiting out there ready to be unleashed in an avalanche of memories. Try checking Housing.com if you need motivation to remember them!

That First Step I Took!

Our world is a strange one. Especially when looked at it from the point of view of a family. We love each other, we have each other’s backs, we want the best for each other-and then sometimes, in this very rush to want ‘the best’ for loved ones, we end up killing their dreams mostly in the name of ‘log kya kahenge’ or ‘society kya sochegi’. Thankfully I have got the most amazing parents in the world who have proved time and again how they really love and support me unconditionally, no matter what I choose to do with my freedom and independence.

After completing my graduation, I had several options in front of me. I could go ahead and do an MBA for which I even got a scholarship and it would be the easiest way to earn millions within a short span of time, an option that most of my classmates chose to indulge in. I could also start a job with one of the financial consultancy firms that had come to our campus for placements and get a job experience for 2 – 3 years before getting my MBA degree which would increase my earning potential tremendously. I could also join my uncle’s travel agency and make an easy life, later on doing MBA in a niche subject like –international tourism and go on to establish my own business later in life. But I was not happy with any one of these options. Because I had always dreamt of doing something in the field of charity and volunteer work. I had been associated with quite a few NGOs all during my college time and wanted to make a career in this very field. I was also interested in marketing so I thought, why not take up a regular marketing job which would also give me ample time to devote to causes of my choice and slowly, I could probably make the transition to NGO sector permanently.

Of Course, this dream of mine came under severe criticism from almost all my friends and some acquaintances. Come on, I was a full scholarship student, I won Gold Medal at University in my chosen subjects, I was valedictorian in high school as well as college. One does not simply throw all this away to do some ‘charity work’, they said! NGOs don’t offer any money, any security for future. There is no place for a brilliant person there. Better to work in a high paying job and give some money to charity every year.

However, as I said, my parents have been there to unconditionally support me. They did not ask me to choose a career based on ‘security’ or the millions that I could mint there. Rather they asked me to listen to my conscience and choose whatever makes me happy and feel fulfilled. I zeroed down on an Online SEO Marketing job-since I have always been interested in internet, computer, online search marketing and such topics. This job may not earn me as much as most of my classmates from college, but it gives me satisfaction and also sufficient time to work with some international NGOs who work for causes close to my heart, such as-environment, children’s education, orphans’ adoption and so on. I still remember the day I made this decision and took the first step to really living my life the way I want to :) That is a feeling I hope everyone gets to feel in this lifetime as a human on this planet.

I have not yet completely achieved my dream,but I am on my way. I am learning the ropes, and I am also earning money because I understand the reality of having a good economic foundation before diving deep into any kind of dream world. I am working with NGOs and causes of my choice and consolidating my likes and dislikes and am already building on my ideas of starting my own network of philanthropic activities to aid humanity at large. I have moved to a new city, learnt to live independently and become more street smart than I could have ever thought possible. All this has been possible because I took that very first step :)

I love this video from Housing.com that celebrates this very same spirit of starting a new life :)

 

My Friend Gives Me Hope

Getting some free time in office is usually spent in browsing the net and finding out something new to appreciate. Today I stumbled upon something full of hope and optimism in the form of this-> Housing.com . It also made me think of all that I see and hear every day, so many stories of sadness and disappointments and how few stories of hope and upliftment! That is why I always cherish happy news more than sad news. I also cherish meeting happy people or people whose stories fill me with a kind of renewed vigour to live life. 

One such friend of mine on twitter is @sosweet196. She comes from a family which wanted a son and instructed her mother to ditch her in a garbage bag when she was born! Yes, she is from such a family! These are the kind of stories we read about in newspapers. People who even worship Goddesses but when it comes to having daughters in the family, somehow they feel ashamed or God knows what happens to them, they will not even hesitate to kill a new born baby! Thankfully, my friend’s mother is made of steely nerves and she refused to throw her daughter in the garbage. She was thus thrown out of the house and disowned by the whole village. This happened about 2 decades ago in a small village near Delhi. Her mother then plucked up her courage and went to Delhi and there, in a hut by the side of the road, she started bringing up her daughter with utmost resilience. Educating her, teaching her about right and wrong, working through 3 jobs just to keep the home going, sleeping 3 hours a day, washing utensils as housemaid, stitching clothes at night and what not! But all through this, she never taught my friend to hate anyone or take revenge from anyone. My dear friend Asha went on to become a full scholarship student in school and college and is today a smart, sensitive, intelligent, empathic, compassionate, kind, independent woman –happily married to the love of her life. More importantly, a few years ago, her mother too found happiness again when she married a kind, compassionate man who loved her and her daughter for who they are. Today, they are all together running an NGO for homeless people, victims of domestic violence and helping everyone in need in their neighbourhood. 

This is the kind of story that makes me believe in humanity. I have met this incredible family and I have seen their unconditional love for humanity, their compassion for everyone’s suffering and their relentless work for those in need. Seeing them smile and bringing smiles on countless other lips is a joy that makes me feel really fortunate to having gained such a friend. I hope this story also brings joy and optimism to countless others. 

I want to be Quicker..With Quikr NXT

'What is going to happen with this now'-asked my mom pointing towards the old cassette player that nobody was using at home since we had all switched to CDs and DVDs and now even they were lying unused since everything was in MP3 format on our phones!

'And this..and this!'-continued my mom pointing at old camera that we longer used since our smartphones were equipped with all the phone taking technology we needed in our everyday lives! And then those bulky old books that I never read anymore since I have switched to e-books!

Well,this was my annual pre-new year cleaning day-one day before the new year I go ahead and clean my whole room as some kind of pagan offering to the universe saying, 'Look, I know it is a new year tomorrow and I am starting this new year with a new slate and a clean room, now are you happy and can I please go on a date with Leonardo di Caprio this year?'

But I digress.

So there I was,cleaning my room and looking at the increasing mound of unused appliances, books, clothes and knick-knacks that were simply using up precious space in this home of ours that is already low on space!

What to do now,what to do, I was tapping my head for a solution to the problem all through the day.

Then,suddenly,it seems that the universe heard my plea and sent me a date with Leonardo..err..no it heard my plea on what to do with the unused stuff and sent me an ad for Quikr  where I could easily sell my unused or rather, used, items easily.

Umm,but how would it work? Really, think about it-I go on a website, I put up an ad about things I want to sell, and then obviously I would have to give my personal details like my phone number to enable interested buyers to contact me, right? 

Well, not anymore! With Quikr NXT I can simply negate the need of giving my phone numbers to strangers! Ta-da,the solution to all my predicaments is here-

First, I was worried how to give my personal number on a website-knowing fully well the kind of people that lurk online! There are many stalkers, perverts and criminals who can easily take anyone's private details and use them in achieving their own conceited, criminal, disgusting aims. I do not want to fall prey to such people. Quikr NXT helps me do just that by gleaning out all the unwanted elements from my contact pool!

Second, I am a woman, trust me, when I say this, being a woman is hard stuff. We need to be like ninjas all the time. I have seen some friends of mine being harassed and stalked for no fault at all (like being a victim of any crime could ever be the victims' fault!) simply because some 'romeo' got a hold of their phone number. Why only 'romeos', there are plenty of prank callers who simply get some kind of weird satisfaction giving 10,000 prank calls, missed calls, 'wrong number' kind of calls, especially to womenfolk everyday, Who wants to be at the receiving end of these? Quikr NXT understands this better than most people and brands out there!

Finally, I am also a busy woman. Like every human out here in the 21st century, I am involved in multi-tasking every minute of every day and I simply do not want to schedule my life around an ad on a website for selling my used items. I am in conferences, meetings, talking with friends and family, spending some quality time with loved ones and yes I do dedicate a small portion to doing some official work which is when I decide to take calls, read official emails and Quikr NXT gives me the liberty to chat with interested buyers when I decide,as per my convenience thus making it all about me-which gives me so much satisfaction, I don't think English language has enough words to describe that!

Oh,and I get to use it on my laptop, my cell phone which just makes convenient technological integration a wonderfully viable part of my life.

So what NXT? :) I have already put up ads for all my used items (lying unused right now) on Quikr NXT and guess what,in past 10 hours alone, I have got more than 15 interested messages which I am replying to according to my own convenience and I have never been happier. This surely is a revolutionary step in India's online classified market and something I am personally going to use a lot in coming days,months and years.

Crushing Games- for my crush!

So I was just browsing through the Internet world and here I stumbled upon this beautiful sire,no really, you should check it out :) Cupid Games and my brain (on a lazy saturday morning working on an overdose of caffeine) started to work feverishly! How would I play such crazy cupid games for someone I have a massive crush on? Well, well, well, the game gets interesting!

I could start by giving him prank calls and sending him flowers,deodorants and so on,as an anonymous admirer. But then, I did have a good exposure to the harmful side-effects of 'stalking' as it is perceived in normal,sane society,through movies like -Darr! So yes, anonymous admirer angle is off.

I could simply land up outside his home with a big jukebox over my head blaring all corny,cheesy songs from the 80's and 90's that I can find! But I am no John Cussack and this would kind of make me the man in the relationship-and while I have been called a man in worse situations, I would prefer to stay true to my gender and behave like a lady!

Hey,I could go with one of those sky-writing things-you know the one where you hire a helicopter and they proclaim your love in front of everyone by literally writing it high up in the sky! But that is wayyyyy out of my budget!

I think I am going to keep it simple :) I am going to first take a very good friend of my crush into my confidence that I am indeed clinically certified sane and what I am about to do will not harm any living being in any manner! I would have to do this in order to get him to get my secret crush to the beach on a lazy sunday where I would prepare a nice, homely picnic basket lunch for us both and offer him a big goodie bag which would contain a judicious (not creepy) mix of his favorite music, some funky posters, some cool (and within my budget) gadgets and a nice bunch of love notes (cheesy? yes! Romantic? YES!)

AND I would invite all his best friends (after we have finished our lunch,ofcourse) to go on an activity that he enjoys with his best buds-say bowling and chugging beer while bowling-because,I think this is the biggest fear guys have,that they will have to say Good -Bye to their friends while in a relationship and that is something I never want to be responsible for!

And finally,we can end the night on a sweet note by walking side by side,under a moonlit sky,on a boardwalk, just the 2 of us!

I think I am going to go get everything prepared for this :) Thank you Indiblogger for giving me this opportunity to actually dream up something useful!