badge

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Lucky 6…. Fortune Knocking Your Door


Communication has never been tougher earlier, what with everyone hooked onto mobile or tablet games. I myself spend hours playing games on my laptop, iPad or mobile to win elixirs, gold, money or points. Mobile and tablet games have grown exponentially in the last decades with people of all generation falling in love with it.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Peeing In Peace!

I remember my toilet  woes from the days when I got married and went to stay in my in-laws home which was in Byndoor, a tiny village on coastal Karnataka. Being brought up in a home which followed bathroom and toilet ethics, it was tough for me to adjust to a place where there were no rules for bathroom or toilets. Are there any bathroom and toilet rules and ethic you may ask in amazement, but once you give a thought to it, you will realize every home follows some of their own rules and ethics regarding bathroom/toilet behavior.
Check out which of these are relevant to your homes.
·         Do not knock on toilet door. When they are done they will come out.
·         Wash your hands thoroughly after using toilet.
·         Clean up your mess.
·         Do not waste water.
·         Do not talk when you are pooping or peeing.
·         Do not hover around when others are using the toilet.
·         Respect privacy.
·         Always lock the toilet door. You may embarrass others by exposing your awkward position to them.
·         Do not dribble on the floor.
·         Flush toilets after use properly.
·         Be fully dressed before walking out of toilet.
·         Toilet walls are not for your creative expressions. Leave them alone.
·         Make sure you have water/toilet paper clean yourself before starting your business.
My elder sister was in charge of our bathroom and toilet Etiquettes. She accepted no excuses. For me it was great shock to be in a place where people did not follow any toilet etiquettes. The first time I saw a woman walking out of the toilet holding her sari high and lowering it as she walked back to her home; I was disgusted. I also ended up walking in on people pooping or peeing because they did not lock the door. The annoyance of people calling you, knocking on the door or pacing outside the toilet when you have business to do is intolerable for those who have seen better conditions.  At times I would be welcomed by a load of crap left there without being flushed, or dots of urine spread around on toilet floor. I hated cleaning other people’s mess, but I could not do anything about it. It was just the way of life over there.
I could not wait to get back to my home and Pee in Peace. Though we take it for granted, having a clean toilet where you can cleanse your body of toxins is a great luxury. As I complained about the annoying toilet conditions, I wondered how it would be for people to have no toilets to perform simple function which cannot wait.
Girls like little Babli who have to use deserted places are not just uncomfortable, but also at risk of being attacked by rapists or molesters. If a change in toilet behaviors can be so annoying, I wonder how bad it is not to have toilets at all!
The danger of using open spaces for toilets for girls hit the nation when two young girls were audaciously attacked: raped and hanged from a tree, when they went out to perform simple bodily functions. They had gone missing on the night of May 27, when they went out to relieve themselves. Going out in pairs for safety did not work for them. How safe is it for women and girls to venture under the cloak of darkness before sunrise or after sunset to relieve themselves?
So far we had seen human dignity being lost; now it is their lives as well. We cannot blame our ever rising population for lack of toilets for everyone, since we see China has more than a billion people, but according to WHO only 1 out of every 100 people defecates out in the open; whereas in India, 1 out of every 2 people use open spaces for toilets. This is the highest rate in the world.
Another issue with open toilets is the health hazard associated with it. Leaving bodily wastes in open contaminates food and water, causing cholera or other diseases that kill 200,000 children in India; in addition, it shunts the cognitive and mental development of children like little Babli.
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak of non-government organization Sulabh International says only 30% of Indians have access to clean and safe toilets. Why our nation with so many exotic places of worship has ignored the basic needs of human?

Domex has started an initiative to provide toilets for girls like Babli under their initiative known as Toilet for Babli, where "You Click Domex Contributes". You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.  Let us make life better, safe and hygienic for Babli. 
 Your click can make the difference. 



Monday, October 27, 2014

Quikr- Deals Cannot Get Any Quicker Than This!

Blogadda came up with the innovative contest for bloggers last week with collaboration with Quikr which was named #ShopQuikr. It was time to shop and have fun as well. I am not new to Quikr. Though I have not bought many things from Quikr,I have sold few things over there and made good money out of the sale as well. I don’t mean I made thousands but it meant a lot because I could get rid of unwanted things lying around the house and also earn some bucks by just posting free ads on the website. Most of the things we put out for sale were those that were not being used anymore and so were kind of garbage.
Buying products on Quikr was a new experience for me. So I decided to have a look around the range the products available on the site. It was difficult to make a choice of purchase there because I did not have any product in mind when I clicked on the website. This was not the familiar online shopping store for me, but one of the top classifieds platforms where the buyer and seller connected through the medium of the Quikr. The products could be viewed online, but the deal had to be done offline. I am used to finishing off the deal online, so had some doubts before venturing further.
Since I was at the computer table, I decided to look around for a computer table, since my old table was depleted and falling apart. It also made this corner of my home look unkempt with its height and way it was made.

Surprisingly I found quite good offers of computer table as well as chair for as less as Rs.2000-3000. Unfortunately most of the products were sold by the time I got in touch with the seller. Unexpectedly I saw a brand new computer table for just 3000/- with home delivery offered by the seller.
Link :http://bangalore.quikr.com/New/1001-10000/Home-Office-Furniture/w218?l=Condition-Price&page=5&page=2


I dialed the number of the person who lived in Hebbal, which is in another part of Bangalore.  The deal was done in minutes. I was not sure that he would transport the product all the way to Hulimavu which is quite some distance. But, keeping his word, this seller delivered the product to my home the same evening for no extra charges. This was one of quickest and easiest online deal I have ever made. Now my laptop has a matching table and also lockers to keep my Pen-drives and other computer accessories safe.

Now that I had got what I wanted it was time to have fun by surfing through the 13 categories and more than 150 sub-categories of products to choose from. There were wide range of mobile phones, laptops, real estate deals and also cars and bikes for sale at reasonable prices. Some smart people have posted products which cost you less in market when you buy them new. Is this the way of fooling people or have they bought this products from places which charge customers more? I am not sure.
I wanted my second purchase to be in the used item category because that would complete my shopping experience on Quikr. There were quite some good products I wanted to buy, like a bean bag, center table, shoe rack etc, but I had to purchase my next product in the range of 1800-2000/- rupees according to the conditions of the contest. Hence I made use of the filter available on the website to choose latest products posted in the range below Rs.2000/-.
Finally after being told by the sellers that the products I am looking for was not available anymore for about 7 times, I found an attractive 3 shelved glass table which caught my fancy. I actually did not have any idea where to set this table up in my home or what exactly to do with it, but I knew I would end up buying this product since I loved the way it was made.
Link: http://bangalore.quikr.com/table-with-glass-shelves-all/table-with-glass-shelves/x23?sx=true


I called up the number of the seller, who did not respond to the call. I was wondering whether to surf further for other products, when the owner called me back. I informed that I had seen the ad on Quikr about the glass top table and was interested in buying the product. She was a sweet speaking girl called Leena, who told me that the price would not be negotiable because the product was sparsely used. She was moving out of town; hence, she was selling most of her household furniture along with this tiny table. The owner was a situated in Murgeshpalya, again a far off place from where I stay, and this time around I had to arrange for the transport of the table. Again the deal was finalized in less than 5 minutes.
 After asking her to keep the product reserved for me, I asked my brother and son to pick up the table. The seller sent over her address through sms, we went there, paid the lady in cash, and brought the table home. It is as simple as that.
I set up my speakers on the table for now. I may find some better use for it in future.


Shopping on Quikr is quite quick, because most of the deals can be done within a day. This is much faster than the online shopping where the products may take more than 10 days to reach your doorstep. The tagline – ‘No Fikar, Bech Quikr’ looks appropriate as well since most of the products I tried to purchase were sold out when I tried to purchase them. One of those ads was just posted 2 hours ago. That means the used product was sold out in less than 2 hours! So I think it is time for me to check out what unused products are lying around my home to post ad on Quikr. After an awesome experience shopping, it is now time for some awesome experience selling products.

This post is a part of Quikr.com activity at BlogAdda.com

 'Free Shopping Fiesta campaign of Quikr.com'.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Indoor to Outdoors

I very often come across the ads about energy drinks or other energizers which give you enough strength to keep going even as you are ready to crash. I have never taken refuge in those energizers because my kids have done that for me. They can keep me awake the whole night, push me to walk that extra mile, motivate me to fly high and also keep my back from breaking with the last straw. The last thing I want is to see them sick or sad. I love to watch them glowing in complete health and smiling their days away. Being first or winning accolades do not matter as much to me as to watch them smile.
Now that they have grown up, they have become my support system in a different way by lending me a hand in managing my life. In fact, I shudder to imagine my life without Rayyan, who is a great help to me in everything I do.
My kids have faced different challenges in their lives but they have dealt with it at their best. Farheena, though a special needs child has seldom seen the doctor with a cold, fever or cough. She has been to the hospital only for her special needs which includes physiotherapy, speech therapy or the triple fusion surgery on her foot. If not for those challenges, she has been one of the healthiest children I have come across.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t so fortunate with my first born son. Though Rayyan was smart and healthy kid, he suffered from continuous bouts of cough, fever or colds which kept him away from school. My parents were very reluctant to let him go out much, because they were afraid he would catch an infection. The indoor made him more vulnerable to infections and he was sick so often. This finally turned into a vicious cycle which went on and on without an end.
I knew I had to take him out and make him play in dirt to get him fit, but I could not do that without giving my parents a heart attack (or they attacking me for trying to kill their precious grandson). One fine day, I was struck with a bright idea when watching the idiot box. There was this ad of Dabur Chyawanprash where the grandma lovingly fed her grandson the halwa to increase his immunity. I remembered how my parents had tried to make Rayyan eat the Halwa, but he refused because he was a fussy eater and did not like the consistency of the halwa.

I took Rayyan into my confidence and told him that he should promise his grandparents to take the Dabur Chyawanprash regularly so that they would confidently allow him to play outdoors. The boy agreed and we presented our plan to the grandparents. Rayyan will take the Dabur Chyawanprash regularly and they will allow him to play outdoors, be it in rain or sun. The grandparents were happy and said yes to this. Slowly Rayyan changed from a weak and sick boy, to a healthy outdoor person who loved cycling, walking, playing football, climbing trees and swimming.

His journey with outdoors activity began thus and recently ended with his 4 day cycling trail on the Western Ghats which was called ‘Ghats2Ocean’. 



He seldom falls sick and has great stamina. He can go cycling, walking or working for hours without being tired. Finally, today he has ended up being the only fit and healthy person in my family. The rest are either couch potatoes or sick every other day with something or other. May be I should show them the Dabur Chyawanprash ad to bring about a change. 

https://www.liveveda.com/daburchyawanprash

Thursday, September 25, 2014

The Spellbinders: Chapter 18 - The Shadows Gather

We are a team called The Spellbinders who have been bound together by our team spirit, sense of humor and camaraderie. We are collaborating and writing a story for the Blogadda challenge "Game of Blogs". I feel we have successfully met the challenge of BA who asked 10 cooks to cook a broth with the ingredients they provided.  To know about us, join us here.

 
The story so far:

The Shadows Gather


Malik woke up sweating.  He, never in his memory, had such a horrible dream.  He got up from the chair he was sitting and moved painfully to his bed, but did not lie down.
He turned on the news channel on the television.  The reporter had a garish blue and red screen to her side where graphics of a group of hooded figures did a strange dance around a skeleton.  The ticker tape said, “Little Girl saved by divine intervention from Tantrics”.
He winced.  He knew the story, a girl had been lured away from a fishermen’s village in coastal south India.  She had been drugged and tied to a stake while she was being knifed, slowly and deliberately.  Her brothers had followed thinking it was some kind of a funny game. But the sight that awaited them was horrible. Alarmed one of them ran back and got the whole village to attack and rescue the girl.  Those freaks that were doing this had fled by then.  It had a dark, moonless night.  The brothers remembered that the people were heavily cloaked and their hands were tattooed.  The freaks even sang and danced like some scary shadows thrown by flames on a windy night.
“Mind Freaks,” Aryan had called his book.  Well, he did have a freaky mind and extremely weird taste in research.  What was more disturbing was that just as he found Aryan’s research, this case had been picked up by the TV news channels.  Coincidence?  Or divine design as the news reader called it.  He drank two glasses of water and shook his head.  Sleep was impossible now.  The body of the girl found in Mumbai had knife marks too.


He walked out where the police jeep was parked.  His driver was asleep in the garage.  He shook him gently and said, “Sorry, but we have to go.”
The driver grunted and got up.  Working with Malik even for a short period changed people.  They became used to erratic behavior from bosses.  He drove Malik to the hospital and once the man entered, he curled up on the back seat of the jeep and slept.
Malik walked into the ward where Aryan was resting with a book in his hand. For once Malik’s stoic face carried a gentle smile. Aryan Ahuja, the young bespectacled mischievous man was quite different from the serious book he held in his hand, “The Devil on the Doorstep - My Escape from a Satanic Sex Cult”. So far Aryan was the only person related to the case that Malik had some positive feelings for; the rest were rotten apples, in one way or other. Slowly in his mind, Malik did a serious evaluation of the people he had met during the course of his investigation.
His initial softness for Shekhar had broken when he found out how much he hated his girl and his peculiar response at her birth. A father of a loving girl, he couldn’t imagine what man would do that and for what reasons. The thoughts of his lovely Ruks made his heart feel so warm.
Tara was selfish woman who could step on heads to reach her goals. Though she was a mother who was undergoing the trauma of not knowing where her daughter was; for Malik, she was a pawn to be used to solve the mystery of not just missing Roohi, but also the murders of many 9 year old girls which had taken place in the past decade with some eerie connection between them.
Jenny was nothing more than a gold-digger.
Cyrus was just a spoilt rich brat who was studying law, but at the same time he thought himself to be above law. ‘God save his clients’ said Malik to himself with a chuckle that escaped his lips.
But here was a man who could help him in many ways to throw some light on the people connected to this case. Wasn’t it a blessing from above to find a neighbor to Datta’s and also childhood friend of Cyrus, who studies people? Malik considered Aryan his trump card in this game filled with dark mystery that brutally killed girls who had not enjoyed the world even for a decade. He wanted to put the killer behind the bars, to show him what pain is.

“Hi, couldn't sleep?” Aryan asked in his usual mischievous way, before adding with exaggerated wonder written all over face, “and how come they allowed you to see me?”
Malik shifted a bit uncomfortably.  “Um, how are you feeling now?” he asked Aryan.
“Oh, I see.  The policeman sneaked inside.  Scared of the nurses?”
“Very,” said Malik laughing openly now.  “You definitely are better.”
“I am on my way to recovery, but the pain is still bothering me” said Aryan wincing.
Aryan liked the gusty policeman who had what Aryan called the coconut personality, all hard on outside but soft from within. Cyrus hated this habit of his, to examine everyone, see through the exterior. He said it was like disrobing people in public. He had a talent for this, something that he did not learn on purpose. He could see people for what they are, unlike Cyrus. This was the reason why Cyrus found Malik to be a very annoying person. 
Malik took a seat beside him and peeked into the cover of the book, “The Devil on the Doorstep - My Escape from a Satanic Sex Cult”.
“More of the freaky minds for you Mister Aryan? Huh? I couldn’t believe that such people exist among us” said Malik as a chill ran down his spine.
“They do exist Sir,” said Aryan, as his eyes lost its mischievous look, “At present I am reading account of Annabelle Foster who was made to sleep with1800 men by her mother even before she was out of high school. Her freaky mom followed a satanic cult that had weird sex orgies included in their rituals.  Fortunately she escaped at the age of 18.”
“Her mother?” Malik almost shouted before checking himself by reminding he was in a hospital, that too late in the night, or was it early in the morning?
“Yes her mother” answered Aryan with deep pain resounding in his voice.
“Your book and research have opened up a world I had not known before and honestly I am sensing fear which I am not familiar with”, said Malik, remembering the nightmare that had woken him up.
“You have my research papers?” Aryan faked anger.
Malik though taken aback initially could see through it. “Yes” he confessed sheepishly.   “Your work is the reason why I am here at this odd hour”.
 “There are dark forces out there Mr. Malik, something that you haven’t seen in the people you have locked up behind those cells. Those are normal criminals with simple motives, here are the people who have more serious issues with darkest psyches we have ever seen”, Aryan was lost in some thoughts as the words escaped from him.

Something was amiss in the happenings of the past few days, but he could only sense it; there was no way he could pinpoint it. That made him very uneasy. It was like having something on the tip of your tongue but being unable to utter it out loud.
“I feel so helpless being unable to catch the killer who is mercilessly killing small girls so brutally that even Shaitan would shiver in his boots. Over the last decade I have seen connection between 8 girls killed without motives in a similar way. The evidence points at some kind of sacrifice taking place, which makes me wonder whether more than 1 person is involved”
Aryan was listening with intent and he again had that uneasy feeling of sensing the connection but unable to identify it.
Malik continued, “I think you can help me in this case with your extensive knowledge about such cults and their ways”.
“Sure Malik Sir,” Aryan said with all the assurance he could garner while being helpless on a hospital bed.
“But if you are to help me in this case, you are supposed to keep your personal relations of being the best friend or neighbor aside”, Malik said trying to measure how neutral Aryan could get.
“I will sir”, said Aryan imitating a soldier reporting to his superior.
They both relieved the escalating tension and laughed. But, Malik was serious once again. 
“You mentioned that some people are born with devilish trait and some with divine traits in your research. I cannot believe that. All men are born equal” said Malik, trying to recall some points from Aryan’s research papers.
“There are evidences that prove that to some extent. I am still doing my research on it”, replied Aryan.
“Do you believe in the Satanic Cults? In our era?” Malik still had trouble to believe about the shadowy figures that killed young girls.
“I have heard there are nearly 10 different cults operating from Kochi alone”, said Aryan.
“You must have heard about the girl we rescued last week”.
“Yes, I did. Hope she recovers emotionally from this trauma” said Aryan. He continued, “I was discussing the seeping of satanic cult into Fort Kochi with Cyrus few months ago. He took time to go there and get some photographs as well, but he did not find anything fishy”.

“What makes people worship Satan?” Malik was thinking aloud.
“That is not as complicated as you feel Mr. Malik errr Sir. No matter what religion you belong, your worship gives spiritual power to the good Supreme Being. But you need to follow a moral and chaste life to be in the good books of God. Satanic worshippers are people of dark mind. They cannot abide by the moral ethics hence they are trying hard to make Satan the spiritual authority”.
“Do educated people believe in such rubbish Mr.Aryan?” asked Malik not being able to accept this.
“Oh yes! There are many young, educated rich brats in the cult” answered Aryan; very sure of what he was saying.
“You mean people like Cyrus?”
“Yes ‘like Cyrus’, but not him”, and then continued, “Most of these people are pleasure seeking hedonists, who hold various memberships in their cult. They try to reverse the power of divinity by doing everything considered sacred in the reverse order or in a contradicting way. The prayers are recited backwards, they follow incest, cannibalism, drinking and many do many more activities which is forbidden in religious books”.
“Do you really think that normal people can become cannibals by choice Mr. Aryan?” Malik was finding it difficult to accept the dark side of humanity he was being exposed to.
“Drinking blood is a must in all satanic cults. How far is cannibalism from that?” challenged Aryan.
“I don’t know what to say. I can handle the toughest goonda on any day, but this is something I am not ready for”. Malik was looking ill at ease and did not want to hear more for today.  He felt sick but he had one more thing to request.
“Can you sign a slip for me?”
“Are you robbing me of my fortune?” Aryan asked his mischievous grin back on his face.
“Actually I took your books and papers to study.  I need you to okay that for me.”
“On one condition,” Aryan said.
“Which is?” Malik asked.
“Come and visit me again Malik Sir, and when you do, get me biryani and kebabs.  Hospital food sucks,” he said with a wink.
Malik laughed and said, “It’s a deal.”

Continue reading - Chapter 19 - The Rising Moon - By Bushra M


Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

THE SPELLBINDERS: CHAPTER 9 – The Runaway Brat

                                    Team: The Spellbinders

Here are the links to the first eight chapters :
Chapter 8  - When Dreams Came True by Deepa Dutta Chaudhuri

  The Runaway Brat

Shekhar got up and stretched his thin frame.  Again he had spent hours at the computer and not written anything.  His life, like his unfinished manuscript was a mess. Should he just tear his life to pieces and shove it down the throat of the dustbin? Everything happening in his life was way beyond his control, especially the attraction Tara had for DD. The sparkle in her eyes that he had seen at the launch of YTV for DD haunted Shekhar like a witch’s curse. Shekhar groaned and banged his head against the desk.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Saturday, August 30, 2014

The Human Touch @ UniverCell Sync

Let me start my post with a confession. I am online shopper who has come up with quite some posts regarding online shopping experience. This is my first post regarding my experience in gadget store.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Advantage .1


If you are wondering what the advantage of .1 is, it is the great leap of advantage you have over windows 8 when you lay your hands over windows 8.1.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

My Alter Personality

Many people say that they know me quite well. When I ask them what they know about me they usually come up descriptions that t I am stubborn, I am brave, I work hard, I blog, I have survived cancer, I am doing my M.S, I love my kids, I am lucky,  I am overconfident, I am counselor etc etc. It is kind of assumed by people who know me that they know everything about me. How wrong they are. I am much more than what any one person can know.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Color Black Revealed

Pierre-Auguste Renoir said, "I've been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black."
Black, the mysterious color! What does it indicate to you; mystery, elegance, power, secret or authority? Since ages unknown, Color black is one of the most misunderstood colors as people often relate it to dark. Though pitch darkness looks black, we should notice that it is not the color, but our lack of inability to see in the absence of light which makes darkness eerie. Many of the established civilizations in the past have held the black in high esteem. For example - Native Americans had high opinion about the color black. They considered it to be color of fertility since black soil gave life. In Japanese culture, black is a symbol of nobility, age and wisdom, thus black belt is given as a mark of highest achievement in martial arts. The color of the Abbasid Caliphs was also black, which is why we see the black flags so frequently in Arab countries.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Doing Justice to Life

If you care to do justice to your life, then live your life to fullest and also allow others to live their lives to the fullest as well. The new mantra should be, "Live happily and let others live happily". I consider anything done halfheartedly as not done at all.  I do things with a passion and add a dash of humor to spice things up. I took life calmly until it started throwing challenges at me. Instead of buckling under, I just started on the adventure of life fighting my way through it and enjoying it like a video game. Gone are the days, when I used to brood over things. Today, I cling on to happiness and fun like a hungry baby clings to mother’s breast.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

First Prize Goes to Rayyan

Lost in the laptop is a short movie which brought first prize for Rayyan in his final year in Arena. The 4 minute plus video was something he worked on in his free time for months. He started it as a fun activity but then completed the movie on a bit of serious note. What I appreciate about Rayyan's work is his dedication and patience on working over a project. I am proud of the way he completed his animation course. Rock on Rayyan.... you have miles to go!



Here is the link the for more movies from Rayyan the Animator................


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Laptop in my purse….

You must be wondering what a big purse Farida carries around that can actually hold her laptop in it. Wait people, don’t jump to conclusions. I am talking about the Dell Venue pro (with windows 8.1)which I received from Ripple Links and Dell for review

Friday, July 11, 2014

Change................

Change! Isn’t that what is life all about? Yeah it is. The past few months have seen a lot of changes taking place in my life or specifically, in the life of my children. They have moved on from preparation stage to starting their careers. Farheena has successfully completed her course in FAME India and moved on to their vocational center. Rayyan has completed his animation course and moved on to starting his career as an animator.

Friday, June 6, 2014

You are not lost to us as we remember you every moment!

Did we actually lose the most loveliest person in our lives 18 years ago? I don't think it is possible to lose someone when you think of them every day.

Actually we think death is the end; but, is it? I don’t know. Death has not been the end when I lost my sister 18 years ago. It was the beginning of something painful and sense of loss which kept changing as the years passed by.

My sister and I were born 3 ½ years apart. For 6 more years, my mom did not get pregnant. We grew up together and almost shared everything. An apple would be cut into equal halves and we would each have a piece which was the rule made by my sister. Off course my sister believed in being fair and so it was the person who did not cut the apple (or whatever it was) that got to pick the piece, moreover, we would have to cut them alternately.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Land with Days Dedicated to Bathing

I have had my close encounters with the smelly kind … very close encounters for my comfort. I come from a family where people would go hungry but not without a bath, particularly my elder sister and my dad.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

What's in a Name?


How important are our names to us? Many people think that our names decide our fate and have strong influence on our destiny. I don’t. Do I love my name? Not much. Would I be something different if I was not called Farida? No. I would still be the weird crazy person I am now, no matter what you called me. It is like what Gertrude Stein said, “"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose."

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Social Media - Now for Banking!

I have attended many Indibloggers meet so far, but last Sunday the Kotak Mahindra Bank’s #JifiIsHere blogger meet was completely outstanding. It was amazing to see that keeping up with their agenda of socializing banking through facebook, the event was organized in three cities, bringing together over six hundred bloggers through one unique interactive experience online.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Going further from each other to get closer

I have been married for 24 years. It comes as a big shock to me whenever I realize it has been so long that I have been married. "Why shocked", you may ask. For one thing I always wanted to pursue science and marriage was something I did not want to get into, because I felt it would cripple my wings. Though my mom had me emotionally blackmailed and cajoled to finally say yes, I developed cold feet and wanted to run away from everything 3 days before the D day.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Destination Disneyworld


If I had to pick a destination to travel in 2014, I would surely pick to visit Disneyworld, Florida with my family and friends.

I haven’t traveled much in my life, at least not in real sense. If I did, then there would be a travel blog describing my experiences from different parts of the world. My travel has been through watching videos, reading books and lately by Google search. The one great travel time I remember is spending 4 months in USA with my friends. That came out as a courtesy of stay allowed to us by Paula and Jay Gerding, Heidi King and Judi Friedkin. Though I haven’t been able to visit many lovely places in India or for that matter Karnataka, somehow my enthusiasm to visit Disneyworld finally came true in 2008. That one day tour of Disneyworld has been one of the most memorable moments of our lives.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Indispire # BackFromTheDead

Today I want to share a story poem with you. I know it is such a torture to read lengthy works but this is something very close to my heart and today I feel like sharing with you people. I usually write something very short but one day this just came out of blue and it is so relevant to the topic #BackFromTheDead. 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Breaking The Barriers- Building A Home With A Heart

Building a Home with a Heart!
I don’t have a home, but I have a dream. A dream of building a home with a heart.  A dream of a special home for my special needs child. The theme of my home would be independence for all….

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

A Dream- PhD in Cancer Counseling in University of Greenwich

If ‘I’ could study/specialize in any subject of my choice in UK, what would it be, where and why? Before answering those questions I would like to say a few things about myself and my life as a student. I am not a young student but a woman nearing my fifties.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Be a Mirror that Reflects Light Once Again

Earlier, I had written a post about a group of women who were still fighting for their freedom, even after 65 years of Indian Independence. Few days ago I visited the site of Milaap, and it was sheer pleasure to see that they were fully funded. I am not sure how big my contribution has been in the cause, even then I feel a sense of achievement. I am happy for these women. 
Success is the greatest motivator, and being motivated I wish to see another group of women achieve their goals. Kavita Sanadi and Group . 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Save Money When You Do What You Like To Do...

If I do this through Cashkaro, I will be saving money !
It is not new for people to read about my online shopping experience. I have always loved the convenience of checking out large stack of products and picking them from the comfort of home. It not only saves me time and money, but also gives me wider range of products to choose from.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Be a mirror that reflects light

Medium_borrower

Sometimes what you hear or read makes a great difference to the way you look at things. It has happened to me quite often. Once I read a quote which said, " There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it”.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Drum Roll Please.. Janaki is here....

Janaki Nagaraj
Today I have the honor of introducing you to a beautiful and generous blogger, Janaki Nagaraj, I met last year. I got to know her through a crazy group of women called Indiblogeshwaris.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

My First Guest Post on Janaki's blog

I have a weird way of writing my blog posts. They do not go down well as guests posts. But Janaki being the generous person she is, allowed me to do a guest post for her.

AddThis

Rayyan Lost in Laptop

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
badge