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Gravity: A Review

November 6, 2013, 5:10 am
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Originally published at viewspaper -"Gravity-A must watch"
 Gravity A review Gravity: A Review
Something More Than A Sci-Fi

Every time I think of Alfonso Cuarón’s film Gravity, I can feel the goose bumps on my skin. No words can describe how overwhelmed I was after seeing this movie. Adding to my excitement was Sandra Bullock (Ryan Stone) and George Clooney’s (Matt Kowalski) performance who played the characters of a medical Engineer and a senior astronaut respectively.

I have always been enchanted by the idea of space but never realised the many difficulties that astronauts have to face. I knew about the challenges but it was only after watching this movie that I realized, that going to space isn’t a joy ride. The picturisation in Gravity is such that you will not want to flutter your eye lashes lest you miss even a second of the film .

Almost all the reviews claim that Gravity is a science fiction movie (sc-fi). However,I can assure you that it is anything but sci-fi. The movie is realistic and does not restrict itself to talking  about the technicalities of space shuttles and rockets. It starts off as a documentary but as it picks up the pace you realize that the core factor of the movie is its emotional quotient.
The movie is all about Ryan and Matt’s struggle and how cleverly they plan to travel back to Earth. The hurdles they face during the journey are extremely dangerous. They oscillate between life and death every second making the viewers sit at the edge of their seats.
Personally speaking I was touched by Matt’s inspirational discussions with Ryan especially after he finds out that all their co-astronauts are dead, and even the chances of their survival are minimal. I was caught in  Matt’s charm and almost fell in love with Ryan’s and Matt’s attitude towards life and their courage.
As surprising as it may sound, I was literally in tears when Matt  talks to Ryan over the radio after she finally manages to go to Russian Soyuz. I can never forget the dialogue, “You should learn to let go Ryan.You can do it. It’s not rocket science.”
george clooney gravity Gravity: A Review
When a German astronaut Urich Walter was asked about his views on the movie, he said that it is tough for an astronaut to keep spinning or drifting in space as we see it in the movie. In fact, a fire in space doesn’t and cannot last for so long and therefore the crash that we see in Gravity should have killed everyone. On the other hand, he agrees that the movie is shot hyper realistically and there is no denying that it captures most of the facts.

Sandra bullock gravity Gravity: A Review
However, I did think that the movie ended abruptly. Houston is not shown at all and Ryan stands up as soon as she touches land, something which I don’t think is scientifically possible.
Despite its small flaws Gravity is sure to leave you stumped. I, for one, watched it twice and that too in 3D. This is indeed the most enchanting movie of the year and is sure to grab many awards.  So if you haven’t seen it yet then you better catch this epic movie today!
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Street food for the street smart Indians :)

November 7, 2013, 6:43 pm
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 Originally published at - "Street food for Street smart Indians"

With festivals around the corner one thing which we Indians cannot resist is binging on all the delicacies endlessly. We worry about weight but postpone the worry to the end of December or may be New-year so that we take the new-year resolution to reduce weight only to break it later on in the year when festive season starts  :- ) :- ). Jokes apart, the first and the foremost thing which people in India miss when they move to abroad is the food here. Street foods are lavishly spread everywhere in India. Street foods / fast foods are pretty famous in India as they are tasty, economical and comprise a wide variety including local , regional , national and international cuisines.
Everyone is well acquainted with chaat bhandaars in India. Chat ke thele (the mobile chat shops) are pretty famous here and if you haven’t tasted chat at least once, you are missing out the spice in your life! Just a memory of the tangy flavour tickles my taste buds and my mouth starts watering.  Pani Puri , Aloo tikki , Sev puri , Samosas, Pav bhaji, Vada Pav are few to name.  The masalas, chutneys, tamarind, black salt are all carefully selected and mixed in correct proportions to bring that godly taste to the dishes. It’s an art to make a yummilicious chat.

 Image source: Pani Puri
                                                                           

Image source : Indian Street Food vendor
Rajasthan and Maharashtra are famous for chats but  tasty chat counters are available in all the cities and the dishes are even regionalised as per the taste of localities’ and few foods are given local names too. My most favourite foods are Ragda Samosa and Mirchi Bajji . Mirchi Bajji is the south Indian nomenclature for the dish shared in the pic below.  It is the pic of a bajji made by me on a rainy day. The bajji / Bhajiya topped with onion coriander and nimbu (lemon) is heavenly. It goes well with heavy rain by your window side ;)! The more I write about chat, the hungrier I become.


Dosa is a famous street food in South India. One cannot leave Bangalore without tasting a Mysore masala dosa. Similarly the Mughlai Cuisine is famous in places like Delhi and Hyderabad. Hyderabad is famous for its Biryani but street foods like grilled chicken and widely available haleem during Ramzan month are also famous here. One has to go to Charminar in the festive season to have visual and tasty treats! We love our snacks with Irani Chai and Osmania biscuits in Hyderabad!
 Image source: Irani Chai and biscuits
We even have the chin-Indianese noodles everywhere. Many street vendors become famous for their Indianised noodles.  We turn it to an Indo-chinese dish as much as we can. Maggi is an instantaneous food present everywhere in India. Chinese may not be aware of maggi but here a person around every street corner knows what maggi is. When you visit mountain regions maggi is their street food, staple food, lunch, dinner and everything as it is easily available and is easy to cook.
Our street foods also comprise of momos, Lebanese rolls which taste yummy at Saket in Delhi. Momos is the most loved food by many in India.  We have varieties for all. Veg momos , chicken momos and chocolate momos- All these can be made in no time and you can gobble them to subside your hunger! We are particular about our chai and lassi too. We gorge on our paranthas and wash it down with lassi or fruit juices, nimbu soda or even chai. In Hyderabad tea is served even in weddings as it is believed that tea is good for digestion.
   Image source: Chicken Momos

If someone wants an elaichi chai, some other wants ginger tea or lemon tea. A chai vendor selling all kinds of tea is a common sight during tours and in railway stations and at many places when you are on the road. We have innumerable varieties of sweets too which grab our eye balls and we get drawn to the counters to have a piece or two. Jalebis, rasmalai, Halwa puri are few to name.
Image source:  Jalebi
If I keep on writing about street food in India my diet plan will go to toss and I will have to do a triple-work out in gym ;- )  For now I am taking a break to have some diwali festive delicacies ! How many ever Mc. Donalds or KFC and Dominos branches open up they can’t beat the street food in India! Enjoy your food and enjoy the festive season. Happy Diwali!
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Love makes life beautiful!

November 12, 2013, 6:02 am
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I was coming out of the conference room after an hour long boring session when Ria shouted running behind me.

Ria:" Meghaaa Meghaaaa!! What parlor does that Seema hit Yaar? She looks extremely beautiful these days. Have you observed the change?”

Me: "Extremely beautiful. What made you think so!?"

Ria: "Well. She got her hair straightened, her skin is glowing and her lip has a different shape now. 
Definitely she has undergone some surgery as well. Her dad is in real estate business and she has filthy sacks of money."

Me: “Ha Ha. OK!”

Ria: "You are smiling now. Be careful. She is after Rajiv, your all time Love!"

Me (rolling eyes): "If he is so much attracted to her beauty and wants her, let him go for it. I am not stopping. Anyway I neither know the right places to go for my beauty enhancement nor do I have the filthy money! "

Ria:  "Start knowing then. You are taking it very easy dear! That Seema is a daayan. She can go to any extent. You will repent."

Me: "Let’s see!"

Ria: "You keep seeing. You don’t know these boys. This day they are with one girl and if the next day they find a prettier girl they easily send the previous one to recycle bin."

Me: “Riaaaaaaaa! You are just being hyper. Even you don’t keep looking for guys who are not humorous, normal and shy or who have average looks. Do you? You have all your eyes for Rajiv, George or guys similar to them who have great physique, who are happening and chirpy right? Its natural baby! Stop blaming them.”

Ria: "Leave me. I am not serious about Rajiv, George or whoever. But you are serious about Rajiv, so it’s my duty to warn you as a friend. Your relation is still in a bud stage. Don’t allow some devil to pluck it. Anyway it’s been almost 2yrs. When are you guys going on a date at least?"

Me: “Oh my God! My dear poetess. Warning taken! Now stop scaring me. I will keep a check on him. Happy!?”

Ria : "OK! I am done for the day. Leave soon. Traffic sucks these days!”

Me: “After that onsite call I will also start.”

Ria:” Aahaaaaan! I know the real reason for the half an hour delay.  Carpooling with Rajiv and then traffic jam right?!”

I threw the stress ball on Ria’s back and said, “You can go now” with a mock scowl on my face.

Ria:  “OK darling! Have a happy and safe drive.”

Saying so Ria left for the day. Moments after she left Rajiv came to my desk.

Rajiv:" Hey Megha! Done with the call? So you are coming in the car today?”

Me: "Ya if you have no problem, I will get down at Abids."

Rajiv: "why will I have a problem? I hope you don’t have any issue. Today we have a new passenger!”

Me: “New. Who?!”

Rajiv gave way to her in to cubicle and it was quite dramatic when I saw Seema coming in to cubicle fluttering her eyelashes.

Seema: "Oh. Megha! I hope you don’t mind me joining you both."

Me:" Of course not! Why will I? I am neither the car owner nor Rajiv’s mother! "
(OH GOSH!  That was a bad line)

Somehow Rajiv and Seema managed a silly laugh.

“Ok Megha. We will be waiting in front of the building. Come fast. By the way are you going to shed your salary account today in Abids?” Rajiv spoke with a silly smile plastered on his face.

Me: “Just some essential stuff Rajiv.”

As they were leaving I was burning red due to jealousy. I observed how neat were Seema’s curves, her skin, blush and makeup which didn't wear off even by the end of the day or was she going for rounds of touch ups to the rest room! Her hair length crossed her hips and was so soft and straight that it looked better than the fake hair they show in shampoo ads! I immediately bent down as if to take my hand bag when she looked back giving a vague smile at me. May be she sensed I was gaping at her. I quickly gathered my things and rushed to rest room. I felt my evening image in the mirror extra horrible that day! I didn't bother looking again in to the mirror.

They were already waiting at the gate for me. And what I see as and when I reach the door is Seema sitting in the front seat! They were so animated in their conversation that I was unnoticed till I came and knocked on the glass window so that they unlock it. I sat in the back seat.

Seema turned her head in my direction: “Hey I will be getting down before your stop. So where you stay and with whom?”

After few formality questions she turned towards Rajiv and they were chatting and chatting as if nothing is happening around them. I tried concentrating on the music. But the song “Ajnabee mujhko itna bataa dil mera kyu pareshan hai” did not help me.

Finally her stop came.

Seema: “Bye Rajiv. Bye Megha. Thanks for the lift!”
Rajiv: “Thanks to you!! Grace of the car doubled today!”

I immediately looked at him with a jerk!

Huh. A GUY will be a guy.

Seema with her flushed cheeks due to the momentary shyness replied: “Oh! I am flattered. See you both tomorrow and I don’t mind beautifying things daily." She replied with the silliest giggle I ever saw.

She looked at me with a sense of pride or is it happening in my head? I coughed a bit as Rajiv started the car.

Rajiv: “Hey Megha. Come over to front seat no?”

Me: “No I am fine here,” with sternness in my voice.

Rajiv was bewildered and replied with an instant nod: “Okay”. I was giving single word replies to whatever he was asking.

After reaching the PG I was little skeptical. Is it beauty which is everything that attracts boys? I stood in front of the mirror observing my reflection. I am a mere 5’ 2” and my measurements. Gosh! I don’t want to relook at them. I can’t say I have a model like figure and I can be called chubby. My friends always say that I am cuddly and look like a cute teddy. My hair most of the times is messy. I have big eyes but never really took extra care of them and mascara to me is meant for weddings or parties. I have put my hands on hips turned around, clock wise and anti-clock wise and was not satisfied by my image. God, I never crosschecked too many times how I looked. I washed my face after applying the home facial, applied the night cream which was resting in the shelf from many days and tried to get some sleep thinking if Ria was true? And chanting, “TO HELL WITH RAJIV and all OTHER BOYS.”
image source: "here"

Next day morning I took extra care of my looks. I applied eye liner carefully. Took the lipstick which matched my red dupatta and applied carefully after I bordered my lips with the lip liner. I had let my hair loose. No, it’s not good so I had put the butterfly clip and good, it’s looking nice now! I looked at my nails and thought they need a manicure. After doing the final touch up I rushed for the bus.

Ria in Pantry: “Somebody told she did not care about being extra careful about her looks,” with a gleam in her eyes.

I sighed thoughtfully.

Ria came closer to me and spoke: “Is everything ok? Well I sense it’s not ok. Look who’s there.” 
She gave a fake smile waving at Rajiv and Seema who were coming towards us with juice glasses in hand.

Rajiv: “Morning! Ria and Megha .See, I have been discussing with Seema about tomorrow's event.”

“God. He immediately started conversation involving Seema. Did he observe that I looked good today?” I spoke to myself.

Ria: “What about that event?”

Rajiv: “I want Seema to anchor the show and Megha can take care of the participants' costumes and back stage works.”

Ria: “Why back stage? Megha is capable of anchoring. She even did for...”

I stopped her in middle and said: “It’s ok Rajiv. My plate is full. Anyway I can’t come for rehearsal. So it’s better I take care of back stage.”

Ria gave an irritable look at me.

Rajiv: “Sounds good! Chalo Seema you can rehearse for the anchoring. Ok girls. Catch you tomorrow.” Saying so they both left. She laughed loud and beat Rajiv at some silly joke the idiot cracked when they were leaving. I never had so many butterflies in my stomach and I never hated anyone the way I am hating now!

It was the event day and there was lot of buzz around. I didn't bother how I looked even though Ria advised me to wear that shining single tinkling anklet. "It’s the latest trend to wear a single anklet." She told. I just applied the daily lip-gloss and kaajal. Tied my hair with a band and wore a full white dress. After all it’s OK to look normal. I am a back stage material. It’s Seema who has to look good. I observed from the back stage how they were enjoying each other’s company and Rajiv was not even leaving her for a second. They looked like they are “MADE FOR EACH OTHER.” I turned away and somehow couldn't stand there even for a minute. I cursed myself for not hitting gym or parlors regularly.

 I was leaving the stage when Rajiv approached. “Hey Megha! Where are you running?”

 “I am not feeling well Rajiv. I will go, take some rest.” I lied.

  Rajiv: “Oh shall I drop you. I can manage. I will come.”

  Me: “No. It’s really OK!”

“Does he even remember tomorrow is my birthday.” I again thought to myself.

After reaching the room I didn't bother switching on the lights. I changed and had hit the sack ASAP.
 It was 5 min to 12:00. My roommates were still at the event. Probably DJ must be going on now and I imagined Rajiv dancing with Seema in his arms and immediately pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I switched on the light and fan in my room. Many colored papers with happy birthday Megha written on them fell all over me and there was a gift pack on my bed with an envelope under it.  On the gift it was written- “Not a big surprise. I know you love books. So this P.G. Wodehouse collection for you!” I was too excited to neatly unwrap the package. I tore the envelope hastily. It had a hand written letter with words carefully and neatly spaced.

Dearest Megha,
Firstly Many happy returns of the day!

The day I first saw you I never felt it’s new.
I could smile with you the way I do with very few.
When I first asked you if you could join the car sharing.
I was scared to death thinking if you saw me staring! 

With a side glance I saw that you were blushing.
Can’t explain the excitement. It was overwhelming.
You are shy, extra careful and you always hesitate.
Your honesty is your jewel and I always reciprocate!

You never tried for people to flank you.
This only made my immense liking grow.
The way you give a broad smile every day.
It twitches my heart and has a good play!

You are the most beautiful to me in this world.
Witty but innocent, talkative but silent, shy but bold!
People try proving their best to someone special.
They don’t mind the individuality they lose in that trial!

Mademoiselle, you don’t follow this norm.
You always stick to your decisions staying so calm.
It took 2 years and a figured woman to create the storm.
For the first time I saw you in mascara and the red lip balm!! ;)

Before the storm takes its toll.
I want to blurt it all.
I no more want to be just your pal.
I love you and will love you till the world’s fall!


I love you when you are in full bloom.
I would love you even when you wither.
I love you when you give me a smile.
I would love you even when you move away a mile!

I love you whatever is the length of your hair.
I love you if you have a complexion dark, dusky or fair!
Many many happy returns of the day darling.
If you could just open the door I would like to sing!

PS: Please take the platinum love bands wrapped in a separate box, not to add beauty to you but to add beauty to them.  My poetic skills are inspired by you. Please forgive me for the poor usage of words!
Platinum love bands gifted by Rajiv
Image source :"here"


That’s all, I ran to the door in almost two long jumps and when I unbolted the door, Rajiv , Ria , Praveen , Gita and other team mates were standing there holding cake, balloons and gifts and Rajiv was holding a bouquet. All were singing bday song in a high pitch. I let them in and gave a bear – hug to Rajiv. 
Image source:"here"
Image source:"here"

When I checked my reflection in the mirror it gave me a messy haired, withered, tearful smiling look back. But somehow I felt I am the MOST LOVED AND THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN in the WORLD

This post is written for Indiblogger's contest Platinum Day of Love !

Do visit the page - "Platinum day of Love" when you are here.


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Pelancongan Kepada Malaysia ( Tour to Malaysia) !

November 15, 2013, 9:36 am
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We went to Malaysia – Singapore for honeymoon on a holiday package with Welfare Holiday Tours whose offers seemed exciting in the beginning but we were dissatisfied by their implementation which made us hop around the places with certain time limit allotted to each place which was very less. 

As soon as we landed in KL (Kuala-lumpur) the capital city of Malaysia I was flabbergasted by the size of the airport and it took us some 15-20min to understand from where we need to collect the baggage. We boarded a subway-metro which took us to the point where we had to collect the baggage. The first thing we did was to search our cab driver who was holding a placard with our names on it. After a tiresome journey in Srilankan airlines and tasteless food we were so relieved to find him . Of course we had no idea then what all food options we would be having in the forthcoming days! The cab driver Raja is from Tamil Nadu and got settled in Malaysia . It was my first international visit so like everyone else I was also surprised by the clean – wide roads and neat traffic and more surprised by seeing too many Indians especially Tamilians who were settled there from long. I am not sure on this but may be as TN is the nearest Indian state to Malaysia Tamilians were high in number there.

Raja dropped us at hotel Ancasa saying another Guide Christopher will be picking us from hotel next day in the morning. Meanwhile we can roam on our own in areas around the hotel, he said . He told just adjacent to hotel there is China town which is good time pass as it is Chinese New year. We were greatly relieved as soon as we entered our magnificent and luxurious hotel Ancasa.  Our room was in 11th floor and the view was great from there as we were able to see a huge Bank – May bank and KL tower and also Petronus- Twin towers from the room window.
Below are the snap shots ofHotel An-Casa , KL tower & MAY-bank (in order) from the hotel room window
Another interesting thing we spotted was Mc-D from the room window so it was decided we would have lunch there as we reached very late and the free unlimited buffet breakfast closed by 10:30 and we were in no mood to try any new cuisine. So we headed straight to Mc-D and had the usual French fries and non veg meal along with coke which seemed heavenly then .
PS: I never liked MC-Donalds!

After a satisfactory meal we headed to China town which was all glowing in red due to various decorations as part of Chinese New year and there was too much of hustle bustle in shops . The note worthy things there were chestnuts which were yum and also guavas which were the size of small coconuts. The vendor who was selling them seemed to be Yo-Yo with all his DJ kind of pics pasted on his cart. He was very vibrant and gentle when he was dealing with us  and did not mind posing for us!
Chinese New year celebrations at China town
Chest nut and Guava Vendor
We roamed for an hour or so and in some shops we found it amusing and funny to see that there was a recorded tape of an old lady shrieking in a very happy tone regarding the sales/offers/products. She was shouting some thing like Pork for some ringgits and that offer was valid only for that day. I was not able to make out exactly what it is but understood only one thing that ringgit is Malaysian currency and 1 ringgit = 16 Rs and a word of advise here.If you keep converting a ringgit in to rupees you will never be able to purchase any thing there. Even if I converted I found some fruits/ food items and clothing (T-shirts etc) were reasonably priced . After purchasing chest nuts and T-shirts and having some juice we came back to hotel to rest for a while. In the night we came out on our own asking the Taxi for near by famous shopping center in KL and got down at BB plaza surrounded by KFC and the majority of the crowd were Chinese celebrating the Chinese new-year!
     KL-tower in the night
After roaming around and having some veg-roll from an Indian stall which was tasteless, purchased an orange juice to drain it. I purchased a leather belt and came back to hotel as we didn't find any thing interesting to buy .Below is the pic showing Malaysian currency.
Malaysian currency
Before describing the city tour we had the next day let me brief Malaysian History for those who are interested! Malaysia is a country in southeast Asia consisting of the southern Malay Peninsula and the northern part of the island of Borneo. Malays probably moved into the peninsula eventually reaching northern Borneo and displacing the indigenous Dayaks. Europeans arrived in the 16th century. Gaining independence in 1957, it joined with Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak to become the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Singapore gained independence separately in 1965. Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the largest city with a population of 24,800,000. This is what our guide MR. Christopher briefed to us on the first day of the tour which covered the city tour. For more information you can google.

Christopher also explained that the type of Govt in Malaysia is constitutional monarchy nominally headed by paramount ruler (commonly referred to as the King) and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a non elected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as sultans) except Melaka and Pulau Pinang (Penang); those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by government. Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls).

Our first stop was Istana Negara which means National palace, the royal residence for the King and queen. They did not allow us to enter inside , so we took some snaps at the entrance of the palace where there were boards with details of the palace, constitutional monarchy as well as the hierarchy of all the sultans who ruled till then.
Istana Negara Entrance
Our next stop was a monument built in the memory of dead warriors in 1st and 2nd world wars. You can check it in the image below.
War memorial
We in Game OVER tee shirts bought at China Town :P
Then we visited Masjid-negara which means National mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world. As we entered inside we realized that wearing a burqa is must to walk inside till the point where tourists are allowed. All foreigners maintained hijab as they entered inside. It was very bright to watch all sea of people dressed in purple hijabs.
Masjid-negara
As told by our guide Christopher and as we roamed we realized it’s a strict Islamic country and we were told that there Muslims are even punished if they are caught eating food in day time during the month of Ramadan! They can carry food items to their homes but shouldn't eat in open. There were even Islamic museum and one of the largest bird watches in Asia but due to time constraint we couldn't stop by!  Our next stop was the world famous KL tower or Telecommunication tower which is the seventh tallest tower in the world used for broadcast purposes with an observation deck on the top most floor and a floating restaurant.The tower also acts as the Islamic falak observatory to observe the crescent moon which marks the beginning of Muslim month of Ramadhan.(go to wiki for more). The tallest telecom tower is Tokyo sky tree in Japan.
This KL tower image is from wiki
We went to the top most floor of the tower from where we had amazing views of the KL city. Petronus towers were also visible from the windows of the KL Tower.Check the snapshots below!
Petronus towers
KL- city view
We had lunch in Little India where there were shops selling clothes from Mumbai, Kerala etc. We had some south Indian food which tasted lousy! Next stop was obviously Petronus/twin towers .The night view of Petronus towers is extremely beautiful. There are offices inside and you are not allowed to go in. Tower 1 has Petronus offices and Tower 2 is given for lease to other offices like Accenture, Mc Kinsey etc . It was the tallest building in the world from 1998 to 2004 till it was surpassed by Taipei-101 in China but they remain the tallest twin towers so far. Both towers are connected by Sky Bridge and it’s an amazing sight to watch in the night where the zenith of the towers shine like twin stars competing with the sky!


That night we picked up courage and tasted veg noodles full of vinegar in China town. They were edible but the surrounding crab and frog dishes were not so welcoming. Hence we finished the dinner asap and enjoyed the rain outside. Being a tropical country there is sun as well as a daily evening drizzle in Malaysia. The two day stay was enjoyable with occasional drizzle , little India (which almost gave the feel of home :)) , China town, visits to all the tall towers and knowing the country's  history! 

One more thing is hibiscus is national flower of Malaysia and we could see lampposts in the shape of hibiscus almost everywhere and you can see the hibiscus flower on the currency note too!The 2 day stay was noteworthy if we keep aside the food and the whiffs or sight of the food ! We thought may be they will react in a similar way when they come across Indian spicy food.:)

The next day we packed and were all set to go to “Genting Highlands” .Its my most favorite place in the whole trip . On the way we also visited “Batu” caves which is to the north of KL city where there is a Hindu shrine of lord Muruga. 

It acts as a focus of Hindu  festival Thaipusam which was happening when we visited Malaysia . You can witness many Indians there , mostly Tamilians and it’s a famous pilgrimage site for Hindus all over the world. While climbing the steps to go inside the cave you will come across many ferocious monkeys scaring you and trying to snatch things from you .I almost ran on the steps to escape from all the mischievous monkeys! Outside there is world's largest Lord Muruga’s golden statue which is 140 ft tall , a golden shrine and inside the caves also there is a shrine.
Lord Muruga at Batu caves
If you travel further north you will reach Genting highland-resorts with a Theme park also called as Genting Island which is more like a man made island developed to attract the tourists! As we were taking many hair pin bends and were about to reach Genting highland there was a remarkable drop in temperature and we didn't feel like having the local cold drink Kickapoo which we bought at Batu caves as it was burning hot there. We felt as if season changed from summer to winter in minutes and we started groping our bags for sweaters and shawls.

The main attraction of Genting is The First World hotel which held its place  in the Guinness records as the world's largest hotel in 2005 . it was the largest hotel till 2008 when The Palazzo of Los vegas replaced it. Now The first world hotel is the 4th largest.

Nevertheless if you go to Genting should stay in this place which is like a township full of entertainment and fun. We thought of going for foot massage and fish pedicure but we felt we had no time and to be honest we didn't feel like spending a lot on it ;)


Below the hotel is a 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2) plaza called the First World Plaza, housing shopping malls, arcades, foot outlets, Starworld Casino, and the Genting Indoor Theme Park. It has a mini stage for weekly performances (such as magic and music shows) at Time Squares, surrounded by a replica of the Statue of Liberty and an Oscar statue. Other attractions include the Watersplash Pool (an indoor water theme park for children), Genting Sky Venture (Asia's first free fall simulator) and a Cineplex. The colorful building below is the first world hotel and as it was too foggy and nothing was visible from our room which was in 20th floor!
First world hotel
We visited Robert Ripley’s Believe it or not museum and also scary house which was lot fun! Like in any scary house there were only visitors who were scaring each other and it’s needless to say Ripley’s was very interesting .It was fun to know some facts, face some illusions and solve puzzles , capture our shadows , feel dizzy inside a room as it was slant and many more. We spent long time there.
At Ripley's
At Ripley's Believe it or not
Genting sky way (Cable car ride) was good and theme park was extremely interesting to people who want to enjoy all the rides where as I was just spending my time clicking pics here and there and observing people who were having food, the odor of which was so unbearable to me that I had to cover my head and nose with my scarf. I saw people eating some thing called herbal egg, a boiled egg dipped in brown solution packed in a plastic bag!! Well I don’t want to mention the smell of it  :)
skyway ride
We were very relieved when we found a North Indian food outlet in a vacant unoccupied corner among all Chinese, Thai food outlets. I couldn't bear the smell any longer so we almost ran to that outlet and ordered some biryani and pakodas and satisfied our eyes , nose and stomach even if the food was not so great! After a half-hr to 1 hr stroll in and around the hotel we came back to room and packed our bags as we had a bus the next morning to Singapore. Genting highland was awake even after midnight!

Our memories from Malaysia are firm and wide awake even now. All in all Malaysia is  a historic country populated by very kind people. People wear amazing traditional silk- ware and pretty women there wear the baju kurung, a knee-length blouse worn over a long skirt and also wear beautiful silk scarfs. Malaysia a country filled with attractive colorful flowers mostly orchids and has beautiful beaches. The add-on during our trip was Chinese new-year which made Kualalumpur even more bright with beautifully decorated lights, lamps and dragons .The time we visited Chinese new-year was the year of black dragon.
Few words I learnt from the Malay language are

Negara- National
Keluar – Exit
Kedai – Shop
Maaf- sorry
kiblah (also an Arabic word) - Orientation or direction of Mecca
terima kasih – Thanks!

A word of advice : Do carry lot of fast food along with you if you go to Malaysia. It can range from fruits to biscuits.

All in all I loved the Malaysia trip as I love exploring new cultures , traditions and ways of life. As we explored we understood Malaysia is an Islamic country and has rich culture and history which will not bore you. Any new place rejuvenates me and I came back with many memories. I would love to visit Malaysia again to get amused by the KL and petronus towers and to stay for long and enjoy the beach and understand the people and everything  but this time with a better plan .

The only dissatisfaction was the holiday package and the airlines we chose for our trip. 

How I wish we should have opted the “ World’s Best Online Travel Fair"- AirAsia but as we can't go back in time I will remember to fly with "AirAsia" the next time I plan a trip!


That’s all for now friends and terima kasih for reading my post !!

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Moral policing on Social networks

November 28, 2013, 5:14 am
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Originally published at "Half Baked Voices" 

 Social network has become the outlet for rants which can be shared with at least 500 odd friends and get little solace and peace. However there has to be little control on what and when to post. There were many social network crimes or cyber-crimes since the advent of Facebook , twitter, Myspace and many more social networking sites in to people’s lives.

Sometime in September 2011 a boy has put status message on FB stating he dumped his girlfriend. Immediately after that Malini Murmu an IIM Bangalore student committed suicide amid these FB messages! There are many more such cases which lead to family devastation like a boy informing her girlfriend that he is going to kill himself on FB and doing the same, a girl reporting every one that she is about to die, so on so forth. In daily news you will come across many such hard to believe crimes and suicides over the social network the reason for which is a subject of interest to psychiatrists. The impulse people face these days on facebook and other sites is unmatchable! Social media does assist the police to catch the criminals. Many people foolishly leave their footprints on social networking sites and it has become easy to catch the criminal.

The question is how much can the moral police stop crimes driven by emotional trauma? Will their laws be able to stop crime? Will this change the mind-set of people?
Everyone must be aware of the old news where two girls were arrested on the grounds of moral policing by the police of Thane station in Mumbai and just 9 days after that arrest one more guy was arrested on the same grounds!

A girl, Shaheen Dhadha posted on Facebook post Shiv sena leader Bal thackeray’s demise, the summary of which is “Do we really need to shut down the city “criticising the bandh in Palghar immediately after his death. Her friend Renu was also arrested for liking her post. As if it would stop the thinking process the police arrested them and after the uproar they finally closed the case saying there won’t be a charge sheet. 9 days after that incident, Sunil Vishwakarma a 19year old was arrested as he posted abusive comments on Raj Thackeray. Vishwakarma stated, his account has been hacked and he is not aware of such post! Now the question is did the arrest of Renu and Shaheen subside the actual crime? Everyone has an opinion on anything and everything and voicing it seems utmost important these days. Here I am totally not supporting the people who have put status updates, neither am I supporting the political supporters or police officers who traced the update and thought an arrest would resolve the issue. Freedom of expression and speech always have too many loopholes in India and to that matter anywhere in the world. Sometimes an anti-religious post may lead to a massacre too! The vandals have destroyed Shaheen’s uncle’s hospital even after her apology and also traumatised her.

 Freedom of speech is actually not a welcoming act! I saw that many people posted anti thackarey comments that day. I wonder if police traced every such anti-politician or an anti-social post. If they do that daily they have to plan endless arrests and the cyber-crime cells will fall short once the victims are under arrest. May be they can build a moral police station and a sky scraper with prisons so as to accommodate each and every criminal!

I am glad government has at least taken an action against the khaps stating that their hasty arrest was uncalled for.

Above is a cartoon showing the silly arrests. This has been circulated on Facebook feverishly to oppose the arrest.

A PIL (Public Interest Litigation) was filed in Supreme Court challenging the IT act by a Delhi university law student Shreya Singhal. The vagueness of section 66(A) act which actually is a law against any electronic post which is gross, evil or menacing was questioned and Supreme Court sent a notice to centre, 
Maharashtra, TN, WB, Delhi and Pondicherry govts over this petition. They asked Maharashtra to explain the arrest. I felt glad that there was at least some revolution against these meaningless arrests against the point of views. I agree with Shreya when she says there should be some safeguard against the acts but it should not be vague. To know more read and watch at http://ibnlive.in.com/news/outrage-over-fb-posts-arrests-led-me-to-file-pil-against-it-act-du-student/308261-3-244.html.

There should be an amendment of Section 66(A) of IT act or at least proper investigation and sensitisation before they arrest. Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi also filed the petition against the same law when he was allegedly arrested for his cartoons which show the corruption in India. He stole the lime light and entered the big boss season 6.So in a way the arrest helped him
Many months back even West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee requested police to help her in tackling the cyber-crime as an anti- Mamata Cartoon was circulated over the net.


Not only in India but also in other countries like UK and the USA, few arrests follow the social network posts(http://lifestreamsdb.blogspot.in/2013/01/jacob-cox-brown-arrested-due-to-his.html)!  

Satirical and Iconoclastic or rude comments can be ignored about trivial issues. Banters or humours on serious issues can be tolerated even if it is painful or unacceptable but when these comments go out of hand and take some ones lives or disturb social harmony, a proper investigation has to be done and the poster’s previous records must be studied to know if this is the crime worth an arrest! I wish the government and the police concentrate on more serious crimes than a mere status update. They should use social networking sites in a more useful way and arrest the actual criminals who are pouncing on the peace of the nation. I wish they channelize their skills in that direction. However, I am not supporting the way youngsters use or misuse the social network. A politician himself or another celebrity may escape after posting an annoying view point on twitter or shouting openly in TV but it is tough to do the same for a common man!

The arrests just for expressing on social media are funny as there won’t be any chaos prior to the arrest. Cyber- bullying should definitely be stopped with necessary actions but a silly FB update should not be blown out of proportions in my opinion. After paying 15000/- cash and facing immense mental trauma the girls Shaheen and Renu were released and I still have no clue how the status is more intimidating than this arrest. I have not even read the full status update yet and I feel many have mental strength enough to stick to their own opinions irrespective of statuses!

Lastly I want to end the article wishing that a democratic law should be framed, for which people raise voice and law should be segregated from political groups. Simultaneously I want to suggest to the youngsters to be little cautious before dumping the personal rants which are of no use to anyone. Voice of Youth is definitely appreciated but not the personal life updates or any outrageous statuses .Protect your accounts from hacking. Keep changing your passwords. Do not put too much of personal information on facebook and other sites including your email ids and phone numbers. Be selective about whom and why you add. Safeguard yourself from being victimised online!
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The Face-book of life

December 9, 2013, 4:12 am
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Photograph was a rarity before facebook. As and when I remember facebook I remember hundreds and thousands of faces swarming in front of my eyes. I remember them just the way they look on facebook. It might be their 10 year old snapshot or a mug shot or the pic of a baby in cradle. The baby can be their new born or sometimes their sister’s / brother’s new born. There have been incidents when I got utterly confused on seeing an image as I was not sure whether to wish them congrats on the pic or message and be sure first! Whatever you click goes in to Facebook. Everybody thinks he is an ace photographer once he receives a couple of good compliments. I am not complaining here. I am guilty myself as I click a picture and assume it has come out gorgeously! Posting and liking photographs is everyone’s priority task on FB.  


Before Facebook Photos were meant to be circulated among close friends or they were uploaded with restricted permissions. Now with huge facebook network and 1000 odd friends they are open to many to like and to post comments. Facebook deserves it’s nomenclature as it literally is the FACE-book.

Face book serves multiple purposes. It is the rant platform, the PDA (public Display of Affection) platform, the makeup and break up point, the friendship point and also a wall on which one can scribble, play around and paint his/her own graffiti all the time! Before the advent of facebook we had orkut which was not that interesting. I remember an interesting RIP Orkut image shared all over the net once people stopped using it.

Before facebook opinion was given only when asked for or when it is important. Now everyone gives an opinion on anything and everything and facebook acts as a catalyst when they want to express it as it is exposed to a huge audience.  The age old adage that “Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one,” is proven every day on facebook. Before facebook, friend’s circle was a close knitted one. Now everyone has a minimum of 200+ friends and their details are tough to track and remember. Before Facebook a 9-11 year old kid was not too much involved in online friendships. Now frand-shipping is an easy peasy task which will be shipped to your Face book profile on your desktop/laptop seconds after you accept the friend request .

Please do read the rest of my article and drop your comments at the Half Baked Beans blog!
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Joy and Hue of Christmas!

December 14, 2013, 2:31 am
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“Jingle bells, jingle bells
 Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh!”

Christmas every year reminds me the sleigh, reindeers, Santa Claus, snow, North Pole and the dreamy celebrations there with fog and mist and everything which will change the mood and bring the festive spirit in me! Advent  is a season observed by many western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of nativity of Jesus at Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated in various ways throughout the world ranging from hanging the Christmas wreath which has many legends linked to it that say holly is the most known Christmas greenery and Jesus’ crown is made of it and holly berries represent his blood, the Christmas stockings which are hanged so that Santa Claus can fill it with fruits, toy, gifts, candies, Candy canes and also lighting the Christmas tree and adorning the houses with the Christmas star. Specially In India where the festive season starts in October   itself with Dusshera followed by Diwali- the festival of lights and then Christmas with glittering trees and stars it seems like the nation is in all time celebration mood.
A still from Polar Express Movie

With the advent of this festive season markets and malls bustle with crowds irrespective of the religion who are seen purchasing stuff to celebrate in their own way. You can see Christmas trees and lights on almost every mall with discounts, offers and vouchers. It’s pretty exciting to do shopping in the festive season and get dressed in the best way exuding style and elegance. Christmas is celebrated with thrill and pomp where families prepare a big Christmas dinner, bake cookies and make fudge. I still remember the doughnuts I used to hog when my best friend used to bring them to school post-Christmas. The hectic shopping activity is never ending and brings smiles throughout the season. In India most exhilarating celebration of Christmas can be seen in the vivacious state of Goa. A large number of domestic and international tourists flock to the beaches of Goa during Christmas festival to watch Goa at its cultural best. It’s celebrated in various states in various styles.

Read the rest of the post at"Half Baked Beans"
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My "Bucket-List"

December 16, 2013, 6:28 am
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If any of you watched the sweet movie Dasvidaniya you will instantly remember a boring Vinay Pathak who loves making to-do lists . He finally starts living life only when he knows that death is waiting for him just around the corner . Whether death is waiting or not every person should have a bucket list  the way Morgan Free man goes on a road trip to live his life irrespective of his terminal illness!

Anyway today I too want to give my top ten wishes in my Bucket list. Why ten ? coz round figures are good and listing all the wishes I have is impossible!

1.)  To own a house. Not a duplex (Yes I am scared of big houses.). A decent 3-4 bed room house with a huge balcony surrounded by all kind of trees and a fountain outside the house or atleast a pool where I can sit and read for hours together. A fancy book rack with a sitting area like in the pic below would be better. I will design the house of course with the help of others but I would love to give all my attention to it and ya I want a fancy sound of music hanging in the hall and each room would be decorated depending on the taste of the one who owns it!
My Dream sitting area and book rack
 2.) To save a huge amount of money(if possible) which I can use on a world tour. If not a world tour atleast a tour to all the exotic places. Italy , Japan , Canada (Niagara Falls), Australia (Sydney/ Melbourne) and many places in India are in my hit list. Have road trips, do trekking, pitch in a tent in a mountain area and there are many more things linked to traveling which I want to do.

3.) Plan a get together where I invite every one, all near and dear , close friends , foes , cribbing relatives and every person who means some thing to me and give a speech totally dedicated to the selfish morons and heartless asses. I want to dedicate the speech to them in front of the crowd. I believe that open rebuke is better than secret hatred and I have my speech ready too. If only I get such a chance I know I will rock it!

4.) To learn some form of dance and learn to sing in a way that people ask me to sing again .

5.) To die slim is a priority wish. To watch my weight and keep a check on my health and not die in such a way that it would be tough for those who carry my body to cemetery! Also want to have a natural death , a painless one. It would be better if it is in sleep. Cannot bear a painful traumatic death!

6.) To be interviewed once I become an author or some one important. No . I don't want to be on a TV show as such (I won't mind if I come on TV :-)) but in a news-paper or at least on an e-paper I want to see my interview covering a good 2-pages. I have imaginary Q and A ready in my head.

7.) To meet and hug Shahrukh Khan, Tom Hanks, J.K.Rowling, Khaled Hosseini ,George Clooney and Will Smith (If not all then atleast the first one :P ) !

8.) To visit London and get clicked on the sets of Harry potter and at platform 9 3/4 wearing the robe and the Gryffindor scarf
Diagon Alley. Image Source: GOogle


9.) To cook better than my husband and excel in Chicken Biryani :-/

10.) To write a book which people will "remember."

What are yours ?

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No Loss with T.O.S.S.!

December 16, 2013, 9:00 am
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"I thought I was walking in a desert of thorns.
Then I realized I was sitting next to him in mid of traffic and horns.
I thought someone placed a sand paper by my side.
I tilted my head to see that his cheek rubbed mine which made me chide."

These were the poetic lines I jotted down once I met him for the first time. How silly it is right? There is no love or romance in my poem. It just reflects my disgust and my deep desire to see him clean and shaved.

 "I hate that unclean stubble!" I expressed what I felt the second time we met. He knows by now that I can't fake emotions.

"But darling it makes me look hot." He promptly replied.

"Only burning that stubble will make you look hot." I responded.


We both lunched silently.

Then someone announced somewhere in the mall. Prizes every week. This is a T.O.S.S fight. Take Out the Smelly Stubble. Whoever is clean shaved can walk on to the dais and grab a prize. All you have to do is be clean and smell good. You should come and touch our organizer and Sponsors and share the picture on Facebook. The more number of likes you get, the more number of goodie bags you will win. You should wear a T.O.S.S. badge everyday to hold a solid chance to daily win a voucher. Depending on your consistency we will gift you a home theatre by the end of the month! Hurry NOW!

Even before the announcement ended I saw him running to the rest room to shave off his stubble. He ran to the dais and won a goodie bag. So more than me and my love the TOSS made him look handsome!
A T.O.S.S. Win.
Click on the image for clarity

I wrote this post as a response to Ekta's tag. How ever I am not tagging any one as I don't know many who are participating and cannot follow up!

This post is a part of the Protest Against Unclean Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda.
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T.O.S.S. Ka Boss - Part 2

December 17, 2013, 2:43 am
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Continued from No loss with T.O.S.S. (part-1)

So the T.O.S.S. ka boss Mr.Rahul left the mall in a merry mood with his girl friend following him.

Once back home, he unwrapped his goodie bag and checked the contents like a child. He carefully checked each item and went in to bathroom to clean his 7 O'clock stubble.

His girlfriend Geeta was impressed. She called up Nisha, her BFF (best friend forever) and whispered in the phone.

Geeta : " Hey Nisha. You know what? Today he shaved."

Nisha : "What the hell! How did it even happen?"

She narrated the whole T.O.S.S. saaga patiently to Nisha.

Geeta: "I must say yaar. His clean shaven look bowled me over!"

Nisha: "I know. So click a pic na. A couple pic and upload it on facebook. You were dying for a perfect pic with him :)," said Nisha in a joyous mood.

Geeta: "That's a cool idea. Chalo. I will click it and what's app you in a while."

Rahul came out of the bathroom and his clean shaved avtar was really cute. Nisha lovingly looked at him and came forward with her I-phone for that perfect click.

He stopped her and said, “Hey. No clicks now on facebook. Let me first upload the pic I clicked with T.O.S.S. folks.”

Geeta : "But what will go wrong with just one more click?"

Click on the image for better resolution
Rahul: "If you upload and tag me people will rush to like your pic and mine will get ignored. I should get as many likes as possible to win the prizes. Remember?"

Geeta : @#*@#)!


To be Continued...

This post is a part of the Protest Against Unclean Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda.

 I replied to Heena Shah Dhedhi'stag here. I am tagging Heena Shah Dhedhiback :). I am also tagging Ekta Khetan, Kalpana Solsi and Bhavya Kaushik here.

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The New Yoga Tablet for all with "Chitti's" renovation!

December 18, 2013, 9:26 am
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 Not every one's day starts with a unique Yoga pose.
The day need not start with a tablet taken as a daily dose.
 Fellas and Chicas these days grope in the dark for their smart phone or a tablet.
 With sleepy eyes and a dizzy head every one checks for some update!

 A doctor prescribes a tablet as a cure for your fever or any other ailment.
 I prescribe the yoga tablet as a dose for your daily entertainment.
 A doctor prescribes Yoga for your health and well being.
I prescribe the yoga tablet which will help you in sharing and caring!
click on the image for a better view. This is made by me with the help of toondoo.com

A  tablet is a house wife's key to success.
She can browse easily and know many new recipes.
Even a grandma can play diner dash or angry birds.
A tablet keeps her occupied and she can easily read and type the words. 

A tablet is a boon to the corporate offices.
A manager can check his mails and also create documents.
Many useful apps come to his rescue every day.
With the flick of a finger, work becomes child's play!

A politician can always tune in to news with the help of easy to browse apps.
He can type out his speech and also know who, what and where which fills the gaps.
One can travel to any place easily with the help of the maps.
Your day to day activities can be planned online with out any lapse!

Grand pa can get in touch with his friends on a tablet by social networking.
He doesn't miss his young days any more with all the fun and the talking. 
Now he feels easy to nurture his hobbies and habits like reading and writing.
With his favorite to-do things he keeps busy and it is never tiring!

Kids should also have special tablets to use, which will help them to learn.
It is so much more fun to let them browse once in a while and avoid their yearn.
With few restrictions on web and OS they can enjoy many fun apps and feel privileged.
Along with parents they can also use their tablet with out being caged!

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Everyone's life was happy and happening due to their affordable Yoga Tablets. 

Days went by and lenovo's sales were great. On one fine evening in Bangalore a weird man wearing a long over coat entered a Lenovo store in a bustling mall. He was wearing sun glasses even in the evening hours. Every one started staring at him as they felt he might be a robber. Entire staff kept a close eye on him due to his suspicious get up and body language! He stopped at the Lenovo Yoga Tablet which was kept in the display and stared at it earnestly for a long time. Finally the lenovo vendor confronted him and spoke to him.

Lenovo Vendor: "Excuse me Sir. You need any help?"
Chitti replying to the Lenovo vendor. Click on the Image for a better view
The man: "I don't need help. You need my help."

LV: "Sorry sir. I didn't get you."

The man : "Don't you recognise me. I am Chitti the robot. I was on news all over the TV from  a week." Saying so he removed his glasses.

The vendor almost fainted looking in to his eyes which actually were mini monitors displaying so many things.

Chitti : "Don't be shocked. There is no such thing which I can't do and I was happy and surprised on seeing the features of Lenovo Yoga tablet. It is so flexible, sleek and has so many features. Its design is unique and battery life is excellent which makes it different from all other tablets. My boss and my creator RajniKanth thought of taking this project of further improvising it ."

The vendor recollected the news he watched day before where it was mentioned that Chitti helped a doctor during a critical surgery and also saved people in a fire accident. Vendor was speechless. Another person from staff approached Chitti. He was sure that Chitti has some mental problem!

"But sir, who gave you permission to come to our store ? This tablet is perfect. Improvising this tablet is impossible."

Chitti: " IMPOSSIBLE is not present in the dictionary of my creator Rajni. There is nothing which Rajni-Can't do and I follow his foot steps." Saying so he gave way to one and only RajniKanth.

Click on the Image for better view
Rajnikanth entering in to the store

By now every one in the store and also people in the mall started surrounding Chitti and Rajni as they instantly recognized them. The store got jam-packed with audience. Every one took out their mobiles and tablets to click the super star. The crowd was chanting and shouting "TALAIVAA" pointing Rajnikanth.The word was getting echoed every where in the mall. Lungi dance started playing some where. 

Rajni silenced them by just a single wave of his hand. There was pin drop silence when Chitti started his presentation by projecting it on a near by wall. He used his eyes as LCD projector lenses. Every one was awestruck and heard silently to what all Chitti explained.

Chitti patiently explained that his motto is to improvise an awesome device like Lenovo tablet and make it the best in the market.

He explained what all modifications he can do to the tablet. He said that he will increase the resolution of the camera and see that the display becomes eye soothing. He said increasing the speaker volume can be an add-on to the tablet. He listed the changes which can be done to the tablet but did not reveal how he is planning to do those changes!

Chitti said , "As to how I am going to make all these changes will remain a trade secret between me and the Lenovo personnel. Of course Master knows it all."

Every one in the crowd applauded. The sounds and the cheers was deafening. 

Chitti silenced them this time. He took a green chip from his coat pocket and gave it to the manager of the store.

"This chip has the renovation details. I have one copy and we will start working as and when we get approval from the concerned authorities." Chitti announced as if it is already decided.

The Bangalore store owner got an offer which he can't refuse. Soon meetings were held and after many brain storming discussions at Lenovo's Head Quarters at Beijing-China , Chitti and Rajni started working with them. 

After tweaking few features of the Yoga tablet it was finally re-released in no time in Beijing and then in U.S.A., U.K. and India and all over the world. The new improvised version has an excellent display screen ,best sound quality system and a HD camera with high resolution. It was light as a feather .They were made of light weight metals (the exact metal used in its build was kept a secret) and came in various sizes and shapes. One can fold it and put easily in the pocket. The water proof and fire proof covers are complimentary on purchase .The sales zoomed up all over the world.  It was all in the headlines of various news papers that Ashton Kutcher sure was a good brand ambassador but Rajni's intervention spiced it up. The extra good features of Lenovo Yoga tablet were just too tempting to ignore. Rajni became the permanent brand ambassador for Lenovo!

Every one's life was double happening after the Rajninvention :)

"Lenovo is a great brand. It has some super cool features. The strength and resilience are worth mentioning. Of all the tablets we chose to work with Lenovo as we believe in it. We love their caption which says lenovo- For those who doand we did it."  said Rajni and Chitti in unision to the TOI reporter on dec 17th evening at the success party thrown in their honor at Beijing by Lenovo's Chairman and CEO, Mr. Yang Yuanqing

"Our next project is still in a bud stage. We are actually planning to renovate the tablet so that it supports holography and who knows we may adapt it for time travelling as well in the forth coming years." said Chitti to an unknown resource!

Rajni and Chitti also suggested a tag line for Lenovo!

lenovo - For those who know "wow"!

We have to wait and see the wonders a Lenovo tablet can do!


This post is submitted for the #BetterWay  contest. Check more entries at "YOGA TABLET- A #BetterWay is here"contest byIndiblogger . Do visit-- Lenovo's face book page

On the eve of his 63rd bday on Dec 12-2013 I also dedicate this post to Rajnikanth for his energy and unique style :) Thanks for reading!

PS: All the images of Rajnikanth are googled and modified by me. The first cartoon is made by me with the help of toondoo.com
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To T.O.S.S. or not to T.O.S.S.- Part 3

December 19, 2013, 8:05 am
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Read part 1 at No loss with T.O.S.S. (part-1)
and   part 2 at T.O.S.S. ka Boss 


Geeta's Facebook wall got flooded by the comments from all over the world. She was surprised on seeing the response Rahul was getting.

Rahul was overwhelmed too.

Geeta wanted to throw a party to Rahul as he finally got rid of the stubble. She might not be the reason but she was thankful to T.O.S.S. for bringing joy in her life and decided to celebrate.

Geeta : "Let's go to the Great Kebab Factory. It is my treat."

Rahul smiled to himself and thought,"My clean shaven look must have bowled her over!"

He spoke to her : "Really! You never spend a penny on me . How come a party now?"

Geeta gritting her teeth : "Just think it is a party in advance as you will any way win!"

Rahul gave a stuble free kiss on her cheek and said , "I love you dear. You are the best."

Geeta blushed at his gesture. They both started to the Great Kebab Factory. They ordered a soup and veg salad first.

Rahul to waiter : "Does your veg salad have broccoli in it? I want it with out broccoli. Also avoid leafy vegetables! "

Geeta gave an irritated look. "What is it with broccoli now?"

Rahul: "Arey! I should not have vitamin rich food. Also no egg, meet , cheese or any thing which is rich in vitamins or folic acid till the contest ends. I read some where that all these foods help in faster facial hair growth."

Geeta rolled her eyes and replied, "Now you are being obsessed with this contest Rahul. Take a break man!"

All of a sudden a crowd gathered around Rahul and started asking him if he was the same person from the TOSS's facebook click. Geeta wanted the evening to end ASAP!


Click on the image for better view. Made with the help of Toondoo.com

To be continued..


This post is a part of the Protest Against Unclean Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda.

PS: This is written in response to SomeOne Is Special's tag. 

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The T.O.S.S. Tips - Part 4

December 23, 2013, 1:05 am
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Read part 1 at No loss with T.O.S.S. (part-1)
         part 2 at T.O.S.S. ka Boss 
 and   part 3 at To T.O.S.S. or not to T.O.S.S.


As and when they finished eating, Geeta stormed out of the restaurant. She walked straight to the car without speaking a word.

Rahul: "Now what? Why are you so angry with me?"

Geeta's phone rang. It was Nisha again. She was not in a mood to talk but lifted it anyway. She took few steps forward so that Rahul doesn't overhear her conversation.

Nisha: "Hello Geeta. Sorry for disturbing your dinner. I need some help yaar?"

Geeta: "Ya tell me. What is it?”

Nisha: "You know Pavan na. He never shaves dear . He says the stubble makes him look cool and I hate that unclean stubble!"

Geeta: "So?"

Nisha: "Can you make him talk to Rahul once. Is the TOSS thing still on? I badly want him to get shaved ;(. "
Geeta: "Not again Nisha. I am already facing the brunt of the TOSS. Rahul is so obsessed with his clean shaven look now that I don't even feel like talking to him about this. Any way you can find all details on their facebook page. O.K. I have to disconnect now."

Saying so Geeta disconnected. She came and sat in the car.

Rahul: "Why are you so pissed off babe? Who was on the call?"

Geeta: "Nisha called me. She wants to know the tips to participate in TOSS."

Rahul " Oh My God! Did you pass on any tips? Please make sure to not disclose any thing till the last day of the contest."
Click on the image for the better view

Geeta did not speak much after that. They silently drove back home. Meanwhile Pavan cleaned his stubble and was all set for TOSS!

To be continued..

I would like to acknowledge the tag by Cifar in this post.

This post is a part of the Protest Against Unclean Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda.
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I felt I was insane till I met her :-)

December 23, 2013, 9:12 am
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It was raining cats and dogs. I and Deepthi were getting back from our evening tuition. We both had bicycles but just to spend long time together, we used to walk holding our respective bicycles. Some times we had a cycle race between us. She on her lady bird and me on my Miss India cycle used to rule the streets. Almost every girl who did schooling in 90's knows these bicycles which used to give a stylish look to us. My Miss India exactly looked like the one in the below pic but was a brown colored one!
Image source: here .

 That day we were just tired due to a long Physics lecture. Before we could decide light is a particle or a wave we realized it travels faster than the sound , due to an eye blinding flash of lightening in the sky followed by a thundering roar. We were in the mid of the road and trees started swaying wildly and we were not even able to hold the bicycle firmly. We got drenched in seconds. We rushed in to the near by video rental shop (Yes it was late 90s and a video cassette rental shop was a common sight at every bend of the street). A black and white Telugu movie was playing in radio. It was an audio movie. My grandpa used to enjoy those movies to our utter amazement. I used to think, how weird is it to enjoy an audio movie in the era of Television ?


Anyway coming back to the rainy day , the old movie was a quite famous one and the only choice we had was to listen to it and wait for the rain to stop. As we were trying to dry ourselves many college guys rushed in to the shop and we started giggling. Teenage silly girls we were who giggled for no reason. Every one was drenched  and it was quite embarrassing to me. I started looking in the opposite direction. A guy was holding an umbrella which he offered to us. Deepthi was trying to look at me as if to get approval. I gestured her to not take their help and muttered, "No thanks." Saying no thanks to many was a style statement to us then. Deepthi glared at me as that was the only option we had to get out of the shop and reach Deepthi's home which was near by.

The guy insisted. I again rejected. The guy said, "Take it. I anyway don't have hair on my head to get drenched or catch cold where as you need it. I can collect it later. " That made me turn around and the way I madly laughed scared the customer who just visited the video parlor! You may call it a dramatic special effect but a song started playing in the radio in Telugu which when exactly translated goes like this, "The words a female speaks have different meanings. If she says YES it means NO. If she says NO it for sure means YES," and the song went on and on.

The guy recently got his head shaved. "His exam results must be nearing and he would have been to Tirupathi to donate his hair to God." We whispered to each other and giggled again. The guy sensed that we were cracking some joke on him, gave a sharp turn and replied, "I donated my hair but it was due to some other personal reason and not due to exams." I gave an embarrassed smile and conveyed thanks for the umbrella and we both briskly walked towards home.Once we reached home we realized that the guys were also coming in the same direction. My James Bond brain started thinking fast and I came to a conclusion that they were stalking us. Deepthi ignored my thoughts and passed on her cutest smile to them. As they approached us we realised that they all stay in a pent house opposite to Deepthi's . 

We returned the umbrella and thanked them. We came inside and again laughed for long with out any reason. We had some lovely Bhajjias and chai made by her mom. The rain subsided. We went upstairs and danced like mad while it was still drizzling. May be we wanted to feel like the bollywood heroines by getting drenched in the rain. It was late evening and we switched on a light bulb on the terrace. As and when we switched it on the light on the opposite terrace or rather the pent house was switched on too. It immediately caught our attention. We glanced in that direction and the first guy and another tall lanky guy who seemed to be his close friend, both smiled broad and waved hi. I easily get embarrassed and go in to my shell where as Deepthi is pretty cool. To my horror she was waving back.I was lurking in the shadows while she walked till the parapet and had a brief conversation with them. I was scared like anything when she even disclosed my name to them.

I scolded her for doing the same when she came back. It was a biggest adventure to me in those days - disclosing my details to strangers. She asked me to chill and we went on with our daily routines after that.From that day I observed that the umbrella guy and the lanky guy came out and sat near the light bulb almost every day as and when we came upstairs with our books and the mat for the combined study! At first it scared me but later we both enjoyed the attention. We got so used to the scene that if one day we didn't see them on terrace we used to wonder why there was no attendance that day. The next day their faces used to break in broad smiles and slowly I started acknowledging too. Deepthi taught me the fact that- - It is ok to talk and be friendly with guys. I was 14 then and was still under the apprehension that it was always good to stay away from the trouble , that is from the guys! I soon realized I was wrong. I made some great friends among boys and sensed that some times they are more warm-hearted than girls and 9 out of 10 times there is no scope of jealousy or competition!
Sorry. Don't have a good quality pic as of now. Our Xth standard pic (on the last day of the school). Thats me and deepthi standing from L-R (red circles). We were not happy as we were leaving school and as we couldn't stand next to each other.

Days turned to months and years and we became the bestest buddies. Whether it was a mischief or an adventure or just a silly execution of a stupidest plan, Deepthi was always my partner in crime. She became a pillar to me. When ever Mathematics scared me during exams I used to take my bicycle out and rush to her home. The coolest and calmest Deepthi always came to my rescue. She used to translate the construction steps in geometry and explain to me in the easiest possible way.


  • She used to laugh loud at my idiotic jokes.
  • She was my first ever buddy with whom I spoke my heart out, with whom I spoke about "boys".
  • We had common crushes, common ambitions , common jokes , common fears and much more in common.
  • We stayed in a school during our Industrial trip to Hyderabad. I was almost in tears as bathrooms were dirty and water was icy cold during the chilly month of December. It was her silly jokes and support which kept me alive that time!
  • Deepthi- the name brings back a surge of memories. We used to be in touch even during our graduation. She always used to cut a joke that we should pair up if we don't get a perfect guy in our lives. I actually loved that idea. Then we didn't even think of the section 377. LOL!
  • Deepthi's distant calls were the longest calls I ever took once she left for the U.S.A.! I was in touch with her till 2009 but in late 2009 she stopped calling. I tried my level best but lost touch with her. I got busy with my life and she got lost in nothingness. For some reason she doesn't use facebook and her email ID is not functional. Her old number did not work. I am still hunting her down with the help of common friends.
Image source : here


Thanks to the Dove Guessing Game with my friend! contest by Indiblogger as I again remembered that I need to track her! This time I am going to call her home town and find out about her :)

This post is a part of the above mentioned contest (#DoveFaceTest is the hashtag). Do visit the Dove Cream Beauty Bathing Bar link when your are here. Thank you all for reading this :)
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Life Under Microscope - My views :)

December 24, 2013, 8:16 am
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For the Indibloggeshwari's secret elves activity, I got Prasanna Rao's blog to review. She blogs at Life Under Microscope .Indibloggeshwaris is a group I love hanging around ,hence when I got this opportunity I just had to take it as it is the group where I always come across many interesting , creative , intellectual , humorous , emotional and all kinda ladies. It is not an exaggeration if I say "It is the best ladies hang out in the world."

Oops I am drifting away from what I have to do. I am supposed to review Prasanna Rao's blog here. So let me do it with out delay :)

 Firstly I love the blog name as it describes what she does on the blog aptly. We watch life under a microscope and reproduce the image with better resolution on our blogs and hence the title is a good one! I read Prasanna only during some contest where she was one of the runners up on Indiblogger and didn't get a chance to read much after that. Thanks to this activity as I got an opportunity to again read her writeups!The way she has written on various prompts is interesting. I have read most of her december prompt posts. My most favorite post is the one written on the prompt - Music

Her posts with the tag love and under fiction are interesting. You have good imagination Prasanna. Keep them coming :) I loved the platinum story narration. God bless your family with love, happiness , success and prosperity:). I  see so many book reviews on the blog. So book lovers this is the right place for you all where you can get first hand reviews of all the new releases! The way you imagine and write for the contest prompts is also commendable. I liked few posts written for Blogadda's WOW too. Keep them coming and I wish that your creative juices should keep flowing ! The toondoo cartoons and stories are also good. Do make more of them!
Life Under Microscope - Preview
How ever I have few observations to make on the look and feel of the blog.

1.) It would be good if the back ground is little dim so that the font stands out. It will be soothing to read. Fonts should be slightly large.

2.) You may create more pages on top, like you have done for the recognition and contact me. Create a page for your most favorite posts like say for books and stories. That will help the readers to easily browse and read.

3.) The labels can move to the right hand side bar of the blog where one can prominently see them.
Life Under Microscope Preview


 4.) Include all the winning badges in the recognition page or some other awards page , again for easy viewing.

5.) Maintain atleast 2-3 posts per page. Clicking on older to read another post every time will be tough as many don't usually click to read the previous post even if they want to! Its your wish if you don't want to maintain that way but ideally 2-3 posts per page will be good!

6.) A cool back ground and a neat header will beautify the blog !

Try to change the look and feel this newyear and I am sure you will love it!

Lastly I want to say that I am glad to know a blogger whom I didn't read much. Thanks for this opportunity my dear bloggeshwaris. You ladies rock. Hop on to Life Under Microscope  for interesting views, travelogues, stories , book reviews and many other simple anecdotes expressed in a colorful way.

Forgot to add that she clicks great photographs too. Check out the posts with label photography! Keep them coming :)

Lastly I want to wish Prasanna and all the Indibloggeshwaris a merry christmas and a happy and prosperous newyear well in advance. Wish you good luck for all future endeavors.
You all Rock. Merry Christmas to all unique and talented Bloggeshwaris
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If wishes are stars my gift would be a galaxy!

December 27, 2013, 10:26 am
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God cannot be every where and hence he created mothers they say.
A mother's job is tougher than a God's as a child needs her every minute of every day.
We seek God to fulfill our wishes and join our hands to pray.
A child searches for a parent when ever he has wishes and even when he has to play!

In future when I become a parent I want to gift my kid a life with happiness to the brim.
He would be a toddler when I would love to sew a colorful sweater for him.
I would love to gift him books at an early age and educate him the good and bad.
I would teach him the values which may not be in books and always cheer him up when he is sad!

I would not want him to study for exams and score marks , ranks or get a medal.
Instead I would love to gift him the best education which makes it easy to solve the life's riddle.
I would want my kid to be the one who takes a stand and decide the best for him/herself.
While doing it I will give him freedom but will not mind being a secret elf !
Gift of love. Gifts for eternity. Image source : here

He might demand for a bike or she might demand for a piano or a guitar.
She might want to plan future investments or he might want a fancy car.
I would love to gift them the courage to dream big and to strive to make it true.
I would love to see them crossing big milestones of life in joy and hue!

I would love to gift them kindness and generosity by which they can succeed.
At the same time I would teach them to say "No" when ever there is a need.
I want them to be strong and also soft at heart and deal with mind-heart conflicts.
I want them to remember the lessons learnt in life and be equipped to face the tricks!

I want to gift them great health, important than wealth and see that they always remain fit and fine.
I want them to wear a smile, release the stress and learn that a stitch in time saves  nine. :)
If wishes are stars I want to gift them a galaxy where they will always be intent.
On one fine day I want to look back at my life, smile broad and become content!


This post is a part of the 1001 Gifts Activity by HDFC Life in association with BlogAdda




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Twist in the T.O.S.S- part-5 - The End

December 30, 2013, 11:27 pm
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         part 2 at T.O.S.S. ka Boss 
         part 3 at To T.O.S.S. or not to T.O.S.S.
  and part 4 at The T.O.S.S. Tips 

It is the finale day. The counting of votes started on facebook. Rahul was praying since morning and  kept all the good luck charms near to him.

Geeta was getting hyper due to his feverishness.

Geeta: "Rahul, You want Maggi or bread omelette for breakfast?

There was silence. She turned around and saw a stern faced Rahul staring earnestly at the monitor.

"What's wrong with you Rahul? I am talking to you!"

Rahul: "Nothing. I am just waiting for the results. Today is the last day.”

Geeta: "You are behaving as if it is your Engineering entrance exam result.  You are getting on my nerves now yaar! "

By the end of the day Rahul was walking on his toes waiting for the results.

Finally the moment came and results were declared on the T.O.S.S.'s facebook page.

Rahul screamed, "Nooooooooooo. How is this possible? Your friend Pavan won the contest."

This time even Geeta was taken aback.

Geeta: "What the hell? There must be some mistake. Check properly!"

Rahul stormed out of the room, grabbed the mobile and shouted at the T.O.S.S. folks.


  Rahul: "How can you do this? He joined the challenge late and I have more votes."

T.O.S.S Person: "Sir, but you did not wear the T.O.S.S. badge yesterday and day before. Also we observed that you had light stubble 2 days back."

Geeta opened the website to read the details.

It was written, "Pavan with a clean shaven look grabs the T.O.S.S.'s bumper prize. Heartiest congrats to him. Let us hear what he has to say."

Pavan: "I am thrilled by this win. This prize truly goes to my girlfriend Nisha. My true victory is the fact that my clean shaven look bowled her over. Thank you T.O.S.S. team!"

Geeta avoided Nisha's continuous phone calls.

------ THE END ----------

Word count : 300

PS:  The cartoon is made with the help of toondoo.com

I  want to acknowledge Manjulika's tag in this post. Thanks for this fun opportunity BA team :)
Happy newyear one and all!

This post is a part of the Protest Against Unclean Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda.


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"A Newyear Note" - My 2013 round up

December 31, 2013, 3:48 am
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The clock is ticking away. 2012 ."OOPS! I mean, 2013 so far has been a good year". Even before I say this , the year is about to end. I am writing this article before the clock ticks 12midnight on Dec 31st 2013 to prove that I can run a race along with time. Hence this extra effort in writing this blog post before 01-01-2014 even if having a fistful amount of time is getting tough these days. I wrote a post "The Gurgaon Diaries" sometime early this year but it feels like yesterday. The Gurgaon Diaries post summarizes my stay in Delhi in 2012 just after my wedding. Now that 2014 is nearing and my wedding anniversary is just round the corner I thought, why not summarize the year 2013 in a different style :) I never take resolutions on Jan 1st as I love doing random things. I always pray to God for good health and happiness the way it is mentioned on any new year post card on the day 1 of every year :) But 2013 has been a good learning year for me.  The lessons learnt and the realizations I had may turn to resolutions for the coming year. The top ten happenings and few lessons learnt in the year 2013 are like below. If you strike a chord with them I would be glad. This post has both optimistic and pessimistic stuff which happened in 2013 blog-wise and otherwise ;) . If you are a highly optimistic person and can't read a serious note on the eve of new year's day you may skip the post!

The opinions and views expressed in this post are purely mine and most of this post is about me!

1.) We flew to Bangalore with lot of dreams soaring high in the sky and I fell in love with the city, climate and the frequent drizzles till date. After many years I didn't even switch on the fan in the month of the May!
We had a bad owner experience in the first week and didn't like the rent policies, heavy movie fares and regional feelings few have here.

2.)As always my blog was my savior and this year has been special to me as I was added to a group on FB - "Indibloggeshwaris"- women of tough-stance!I realized I can be both sane and insane here and was super glad to see that there are actually many people like me around! I got my daily dose of gyan , fun and sense from this group. There usually are good vibes and warmth with in the group.
I got emotionally attached to one or two bloggers which didn't do much good and I realized I shouldn't draw conclusions quickly(both good and bad) and I shouldn't get carried away and cling to them emotionally!

3.)This year is again special as I won a couple of prizes on Indiblogger and some other blog contests (by Jabong and Purplle.com ) . I was overwhelmed as I left the thought of bagging the prizes. Competitions always keep me going when ever I have writer's block but winning was like icing on cake.
I witnessed too many bloggers blogging about the contests .Many declared that the process of selecting the winning entries is all bogus. I too nod at this as I felt the same at many junctures. A recent winning entry on blogadda.com strengthened the feeling. But few bloggers took an extra mile and passed the commandments and the fundamental rights of blogging that people who blog for contests should quit blogging. That definitely was a bummer and I realized there can be many complications in people who seem sweet and warm outward. Even the congrats conveyed by few was stifling! I personally liked Indiblogger's TEDx Videos (Franklin Templeton) , My Yatra and futuristic shopping contests! I like the contests where I can write and it helps me put a full stop to writer's block most of the times even if few contest topics are lame!
4.) Sadly I didn't do much of reading this year as most of the year went in settling down, trying for a job and freelancing.
Planning a reading schedule this year as I realized I shouldn't link it to all other issues. Planning to be more productive and to make myself more useful in whatever possible way :)

5.) I knew too many bloggers this year. Each came in a unique package with their own baggages. I was loved and liked by few which made me feel good. I loved many of their write ups. I participated in  the April A to Z challenge and was overwhelmed when many showered their praises on me (I never had so many visitors on my blog) .I felt -"May be I really do write good :) :)" . I wrote a total of 164 posts this year (including this) which is double to what I wrote in 2012-  To me it is a Biggg achievement !

Too much of love is always jinxed. It didn't take me much time to realize this. The stark fact which almost gave me a halo around my head is that , "People who appreciate you in a second can also depreciate you in a nano second."


6.) A bitter taste still lingers in my mouth when I remember an interaction I had with a renowned blogger who treated me extra warmly till that date. I also came across few old and few good friends behaving in a formal and a weird fashion all of a sudden. May be all are fighting their own demons or may be the number 13 is not auspicious as per the age old belief 
 Taking things easy became an every day practice to me. I was pleasantly surprised when many new/old bloggers and new/old friends stood for me. I don't want to tag any but my heartfelt thanks to all of them!


7.) We celebrated our first anniversary in 2013 but we didn't travel as much as we did in 2012. This definitely disappointed me.
The visit to Wonder la , Nandi Hills and ShivanaSamudram made me glad. I fell in love with Bangalore yet again.
Beautiful , foggy Nandi Hills

GaganChukki Falls of ShivanaSamudram

8.)I was told , "I write heart felt posts. I have good sense of humor and my randomness is my USP by many "good" bloggers and was encouraged by many to kick start the process of getting my poetry book published."
 I gathered the information for getting my poems published but haven't kick started the process. Hopefully I will budge this year :( !

9.) Tooooo many weddings happened this year. The songs which are playing in my mind are - Band Baaja Baaraat, Saajan ji Ghar aaye, Didi Tera Dewar Deewana, Dulhe ka sehra suhaana lagta hai . Gud naal Ishaq mithaa ohooooooo :P and many more:) I am still in celebration mood. I am attending weddings since the month of March. May God bless the new couples( My bro and My husbands' brothers and few friends and cousins got married this year). Heartiest congrats to all who became Mommies and Daddies too!
I hogged and hogged on food which is bad :( ! The time has come for self control and hitting the gym back in a vigorous mode.
Our Flat decorated on my brother's wedding


10.) Last but not the least- Something which was uttered by my Mom after her recent visit to Ongole( the town where I spent my childhood) and after facing few folks with Jalebi feelings in heart - She was saying that some 15 years back, houses were small and hearts were warm and big . Now houses are bigger and hearts have become narrow ! Even if I felt it was cinematic then I later realised it's a harsh fact ! May be it is lack of time or the competition in life or the overpowering jealousy but many peoples' hearts have become narrow! Great expectations from others and least responsiveness from their side. Crying over others victories and never acknowledging them during their happy moments are few other symptoms of HNS- heart narrow syndrome ! There are many other symptoms which I am skipping for now . Final thought is that emotional detachment is needed as and when time demands it or else you will live in the caves of the past and never see the light of the future!

 Yes few hearts are narrow but even in the present time and age few warm and empathetic hearts mesmerize and inspire me!

Finally I want to end this note on a good note. You might have got it by now , what I am trying to convey here. I will just say it anyway. Where ever there is good there is bad in the waiting list and vice-versa. Pros-Cons, Good-Bad, Beautiful-Ugly , Honest-Dishonest(fake), Love-Hate are all intertwined.
It may sound philosophical but yes that's how it is.

Whenever you feel too good about yourself or about something you did, be sure that few will be just lurking behind you to pull you down.
When ever you feel beautiful , be sure that ugly hearts try to spread their disease rapidly.
Whenever  you love some one don't think it will  always get reciprocated.
Where ever there is pros there is cons too. Where ever there is new , there is some thing old too. 

Be thankful for whatever good happened to you in this old year -2013. Do not get worked up about 2014. By the end of next year the problems of the year which passed by will seem trivial , funny and may be not like problems at all! Keep smiling to keep going.



Finally Good bye to the bad parts of the year like  friendships which never lasted, misoverunderstanding (misunderstanding overly- a new word coined by me a couple of days back :D ), virtual realities and the true lies. Remember the good parts of the year like friends who lasted for a reason , season or may be for much longer, people who listened to you even when you were silent, parents and siblings who never left your side and so on so forth. Try to multiply the goodness in the next year!

Welcome to the year of betterment .Ya. I know. We say this every year, but I have a feeling that this year will be and has to be better than the last!
Wish you all a merry Christmas and well a very Happy new year (2014) in advance.

A quote which I used to love but can't stick to it any more.

  • “People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway." - An excerpt from Mother Teresa's quote. Sorry Mother Teresa. It is very tough to implement this. :)

A quote which I want to tweak -
  • "Justice delayed is justice denied----> " Regret delayed is regret denied."  If you have any regrets let the other person know well in advance. Do not beat behind the bush and suck their blood !
My favorite quotes for this year --
  • "You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."--- John Wooden
  • "You got a dream. You gotta protect it. Never let any one tell you you can't do something. Not even me"- From-- Pursuit of Happyness

  • A big Lesson Learnt : Things which come to you easily are most of the times jinxed. The efforts you put to get something will surely give you satisfaction even if it is jinxed.

Along with health and happiness I pray to God that we all find good compatriots , good vibes and possess the positivity to shadow the bad!

Before I make it sound like a project document want to end it here ;)

My song for this year

Wish you all a merry Christmas and well a very Happy new year well in advance.

Love
Afshan

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"If it has to be for you, it should be by you!"

January 3, 2014, 9:39 am
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Its the era of digital revolution. The world has traveled from the pigeon to post card , from All India Radio to Ipods and tablets and from telegram to twitter. There is no need to write pages on how digitization influenced every one's life.It is the era of tablets and smart phones. Every one wants to finish a task easily by  flicking the index finger on their smart phones. The number of people using smart phones and apps is rising as days pass by. People may not be aware of AAP but evey one is aware of an app :) 
Click on the image for a better view
It is not an exaggeration if I say that some of our youngsters are  laid back. They prefer being couch potatoes and staying blissfully unaware of what is happening around them, playing games on the same smart mobiles rather than thinking of the productive ways of using it. Politics is a bigger thing , many especially those who are working in I.T. are not even aware of a fellow colleague's name. We are so entangled in the social web that we don't have time to actually socialize and think of smaller and bigger issues in front of us.

 I am guilty myself as I don't think much about the importance of Voter id, voting and how huge a difference it can be if all the youngsters can vote! I voted twice till now after I turned 18 (the eligible age to vote). Reasons are many like not being in the city during that time, having exams, so on so forth. I first sensed the importance of social mobile apps and social network during Nirbhaya's case. The candle light marches and fight for the justice continued with anger, fervor and seriousness with the help of the social mobile apps. I got many smses and also messages on FB.  Many groups were formed during that time. People fought for justice endlessly. Many foot in mouth statements uttered by the brigade who live in fools paradise were also criticized and they were put to shame with the help of social media and its easy accessibility on mobiles, tablets, ipods and anything which is smart enough to help us get in touch with the big Bad(good) world outside!

Whenever I think of social mobile apps, the only app which comes to my memory is the facebook app. It is the widely used app to spread opinions , angst , share the views from anywhere anytime ,to change something and also to not change something. Facebook is the messiah to many. Needless to say it revolutionized life. Second comes twitter. For those short sweet or may be sour, bitter and hot statements twitter can be used. I never felt like using it a lot as the 140 characters limit my expression but I keep seeing the tweets. Twitter helps many politicians to stay close  to people and influence them. Check this to see the twitter profile of Aam Aadmi Party. How ever twitter is not efficiently used by all the politicians in India. I wish that the leaders who actually want to involve the young people in their movements and let them know their ideas and ideologies should use twitter. Below is the snapshot of world famous politicians from the U.S.A. using twitter for power including Barrack Obama
Check here for more. Image source : here
Few politicians like Narendra Modi took twitter's support to involve youth but many still are not aware of it ! I came across an interesting article which gives the six reasons why Indian politicians should tweet.  Use of social network apps definitely helps to know peoples' pulse. It makes them feel that they know their leader thoroughly and personally. After Facebook and Twitter, I feel other social mobile apps which we can use to involve and influence youth are the chat apps like Whats'app , we chat and also you tube and Google+. How ever one should use the social media marketing effectively to get great results. Too many apps some times spoil the broth :)
A boy helping a politician
Click on the image for better view :)
To the question how I will influence India's youth to vote in General elections 2014? the answers are many and they are not so simple and easy. While many of the youngsters and also elders are hungry for the change- (the recent win of AAP goes to prove this) few are still reluctant to change. Those few are too lazy to think on serious matters like politics , corruption, power , leadership and whys and whats of it! No need to dig in to the matters deeply but it is highly important for the youth to  equip themselves with current affairs and happenings across the country.

Given below is a sample conversation which many adolescents keep having !This is my own chat thread. Names are changed for convenience. Due to education, jobs , marriage and various other reasons all the friends stay away and can get in touch once in a while only with the help of social mobile apps like Gtalk, Whats app or we chat.

On one fine evening Leela pinged us to inform a good news on WeChat.

I got a notification as I was wrapping up the work at office.  Leela broadcasted a message to the group.

Leela: "Hello all. I have a great news to share."

Rakesh , Jeena and Siva immediately replied while few others were dormant.

Rakesh: "What ? What?"

Jeena: "Spill the beans babe. Is it marriage on cards?"

I yawned thinking, when will Jeena come out of the marriage matrix.

Leela: "Hell.  No. Who will get married so fast? I am going to the U.S. of the A. man. A long term onsite opportunity. I finally got VISA."

Me: "Wow Leela. That's indeed a great news. We should celebrate. When are you going to join?"

Leela : "Thanks for the wishes. September 2014. Why?"

Me: "Oh. Great. If its sep 2014 you will still be able to vote in April-May 2014 for Indian General Elections."

Every one typed at a time.

"What ? Are you serious?"
"Have you lost it?"
"You kidding buddy :P ?"

Leela : "I thought you wanted to plan a trip or some thing Afshan. So funny you are. Nothing can happen to this country. No one can change it. That's why I am going to the U.S.A. lady. The freedom one experiences in that country is matchless to any other country." pinged Leela in our group chat window.

One minute every one was calm. I typed.

Me: "Every country has its pluses and minuses Leela. It doesn't mean there shouldn't be a miniscule effort from our side to make it better."

Leela : " Uffo. Ye lo. Rang de basanti ki Madhavan aagai. Now don't lecture me O.K.?"

Me: "I am not lecturing yaar. I am just trying to educate and motivate you and trying to let you know the importance of the votes. We don't play a role in selecting our constitution and we blame it. Its not done. Do your duty. At least try and then blame. That is my policy."

Leela : "So , what do you want me to do madam?"

Me: "Know your right. Use your power. The voting power. I don't want you to be a social activist or a politician but I just want you to vote. I think that much you can do. The nation is changing. At least I can see the border of the horizon. Can you guys see that?"

As no one typed I sensed two possibilities. Either every one is listening with rapt attention or they must be ignoring me.

Leela : "So you say that just by my vote I can change the nation :P ?"

Me: "What if ten other people think just like you Leela? I am saying about the possibility of change. Change is inevitable if you want it. Like Gandhiji said why don't you try being the change you want to see? We appreciate the cleanliness of the U.S. roads but we dirty our own roads. We appreciate the freedom there but we don't speak a word when some one opposes some one's freedom here."

I went on

Me: "Many organizations have been formed to involve the public in general and specially the  youth via social media and social mobile apps Leela. Just check this out- "iforIndia'. They have a facebook page too where you can voice your opinions on political leaders and the constituency. Check it out. There are many members in it."
Image source : "here"

Leela : "O.K."

Me: "Also all of you, if you are not a part of Change.Org do register now and see how many are struggling for a change there. You can do it from mobile as well. It just takes a minute."

Leela : "hmm"
Jeena : "Fine."
Rakesh: "O.K."

Me : "There are many such organizations which are trying their best to reach out to huge number of people. If you don't use a smart phone you can still access them from your laptops and desktops."

Rakesh : "Good to know all this Afshan but do you think our votes and involvement will bring a good time in the country!"

Me: "It will definitely bring. Like its said in the image I shared above. You can expect a change for sure and fight for it confidently only  if you are involved. Every one does day dreaming Rakesh."

Leela, Jeena , Rakesh , Siva: "OK Afshan. After talking to you we all feel that we should really give it a try. Thanks for this."

Me : "I am so glad to hear it. Not only this I am planning to start a FB page just for friends where you can be part of it too, share your opinions , gain knowledge and know others thoughts and decide firmly as to whom you should elect and why. 18 doesn't mean you are of marriageable age. It means you are a major and you reached the vote-able age!"

"Aye Captain!" Every one replied in unision.

Me: "And this time you can use the NOTA option (None of the above) which is also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote. If there are majority NOTA votes variety of decisions will be taken . You can read it all at NOTA. Read about the NOTA usage this year here."

Leela : "By the way. Why don't you think of forming a party. You are so passionate and I feel you sure will be a ray of hope to the nation."

Me: "Ya. But I singly can't . People like you , me and many other youngsters can surely bring a change if they join hands :) "

Siva : "I feel like dedicating a song to you from YUVA. Here you go and I promise to use my voting right :) "

I was happy that day. I am sure they will definitely use their voting right in the coming elections. I will for sure spend time to remind them. To motivate and inspire few friends from closed circles I will follow the below steps

Image source : here
  • Create a facebook page or  group to increase the awareness among friends and others.
  • Send them reminders for the last date of registration of voter ids (which as of now is over) and remind them to vote on the election day and let them all know about the elections schedule.
  • Broadcast messages using chat apps like WeChat and request them to not forget their right to vote. Send inspirational forwards which can increase the awareness
  • Simply use every opportunity available on the mobile to inform , inspire and encourage as meeting in person is tough in the day to day rush :) 
  • Last but not the least I will try to voice my thoughts and opinions using twitter and the hash tag . Do check my tweets @afshu18
  • Now if you have really read my post do acknowledge it and share your views rather than just blindingly #votingforme on Indivine. India needs votes and not me :) I am content if my post has slightly created awareness! 
Thanks for reading this.

PS: The cartoons above are made with the help of toondoo.com and bitstrips

This post is part of a contest by Indiblogger in association with WeChat - Indian General Elections 2014 with Social Mobile Apps #VoteForIndia

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“The art of remaking- A ready made Business”!

November 1, 2013, 9:40 am
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Originally published at "Half Baked voices Blog!" 

Remaking a movie is a huge business. Since my childhood half of the movies I watched are remakes. They either get welcomed with a red carpet or get bounced at box office.  Copying from Hollywood is an art in India.  Oops! I should not call it copying. Remaking a movie is a stylish way of saying that you have copied!  Sometimes copying is done with permission and many a times they are simply copied. Their songs, posters, dialogues or the full length-movie, everything can be easily remade by our film makers. Recently I came to know that my favourite movie Zindagi na milegi Dubara’s poster is similar to a 2005 movie – Lords of the Dog town’s!  Now the yet to be released Dhoom 3’s poster looks like it is inspired by The Dark Knight Rises. Of course it is edited a bit .




Anything and everything made outside India is taken and blended with the local nuances to make it appealing to Indian viewers. Few things from here are also copied there but we master in remaking! We inhale and exhale movies in India so we always fall short of movies.  We cross all the boundaries and copy English, French, Korean and many more movies.
If you keenly observe eight out of ten movies you liked would have been copied or should I say inspired from Hollywood!

Sometimes we are content with all the regional flicks. South Indian movies are remade in Hindi .Few Hindi movies are made in various states in their respective film industries and one more trending and money saving style of making movies is to just dub the dialogues and not change the actors. The movie gets released with a funny title and funny songs. Maine Pyar Kia was kind of a trend setter and every one followed suit. Maine Pyar Kia was a huge hit. Till date whenever I see a white pigeon I remember the song Kabootar ja. Not sure of the lyrics in Telugu but I am sure they must be funny! Rajnikanth’s latest Robo/Robot left me in splits when I heard the songs in Hindi. Kilimanjaro Ladki parbat ki yaaro , jungle jungle pukaro , yaaro !! Like really? I can’t even decipher the original song and Hindi translation increased the fun factor in the song. Nevertheless the movie was a huge hit in all the languages wherever it was released. There is no need to specially mention the Rajni factor in the movie.
But this trend became so popular that all the south Indian movies are being dubbed to Hindi and released in U.P, Bihar and many other states. Even if some are not released in the theatres they are regularly telecasted on the small screen. The titles are utterly funny. Badle ki aag , Sabse bada dilwala, Mazduron ka daata are just few among many such movies. Surprising fact is it is a flourishing business as many viewers are liking them :- (
One more trend which started is remaking the old blockbuster movies. New actors who fit in the role are handpicked and the movie is remade with the same story line or with some minor tweaks in the story. DON made in 2006 with SRK in the lead role was originally played by none other than Amitab Bachan in the year 1978. We all know this fact. The new one was made with an interesting plot. However DON 2 didn’t meet the level of Don. There are many remakes which got bombed at the box office. Zanjeer (originally Amitab’s movie) in which Ram Charan Teja acted is a fresh example. There are many such lousy remakes like RamGopal Varma ki aag which spoiled the master piece Sholay, Chashme Baddoor which was not even near to the original one, so on so forth.
It needs lot of re work to even make a remake work! It needs a good team and loads of creativity used in the right direction to make it an interesting watch.
The remake of French Kiss- Pyar to Hona hi tha is an unforgettable one. Till date, the song aaj hai sagaai is played in weddings, whereas skipping the discussion of remake of my sassy girl – Ugly aur Pagli (Mallika Sherawat starrer) is a better decision.  Dil hai ki Manta nahi is a movie loved by all. It is a remake of the movie, “It happened one night.”  Check out the posters below.

Even the super hit Dilwale Dulhania Lejayenge is inspired by a movie “The sure thing” in which John Cusack acted. We all know how much DDL is loved by the movie goers. Jab we met is inspired by “A walk in clouds” but it also came in the news that Jab we met inspired a holly wood flick “Leap Year”. We all get inspired by each other :- ). Chak de India is inspired by Miracle on Ice. Similarly there are many such good movies which are inspired by Hollywood films. Remakes don’t work always but people watch it with the curiosity to see how it is made. More than half of our movies are remade.
Every year the champs of film industry jot in their notebooks (U me aur hum), travel back in Time machine (Love story 2050) to check the repository of old movies and they come up with an already used idea. They present it to us topped with Indian spices. We are the God Fathers (Sarkars) of the remakes. Kuch to hai in our filmmakers as they know what to do last summer, this summer and every year and then they forget what they did like a Ghajini(Memento)  :- )
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