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Showing posts from 2013

Some days are just blah!

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It starts with a small itchy sensation in your nose and a scratchy feeling in your throat. You sneeze a few times and blame it on the dust and pollution and carry on with your day. You sniffle a few times and think that it will go away on its own. Such dumb thoughts lull you into a sense of security and you sleep off thinking tomorrow is a new day. Next day dawns and the scratchy feeling that you happily ignored is making your throat hurt like hell. The only consolation is that you now have a voice that is a cross between a squeak and a roar, which you plan to call husky. Your friends ask you to verify your identity because you sound "kind off weird","like Marlon Brando in Godfather". Any man would have given his left arm for such a compliment, but you just fume. You tell them they are jealous because your voice sounds sexy. You hear raucous laughter when you say that and even though you angrily want to bang the phone down, you stop yourself. You look at the d

Winner of Caption Contest 27 "You think you are funny?"

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Here are the winners of the Caption Contest 27  ‘You think you are funny?’ This time I have received a lot of interesting captions for the picture and it was quite difficult to choose the right one. But choose I had to and here are the winners.... A Walk into the Woods   :  A moment please, let me finish the 'Bhakt Count Update' report. Jairam Mohan  : "P resenting "Online Wealth Management Options by Goddess Lakshmi" Picture Courtesy : Fun2video.com Congratulations!!! Drop me a mail at  and I will mail you the trophy. Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest SOON.

A woman of many hues

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She was my first friend on foreign soil. She held my hand and was a strong support for me, when I moved to the UK and settled in a new job. Her name is Nirali Pandya and she plays many roles every day, that of a friend, a wife, a mother and an entrepreneur. I know her since the past 6 years and each day I see her achieving new milestones in her life.  Nirali at her desk When you meet Nirali, you can see the effervescence and the enthusiasm bubbling from her personality. Set within her small frame is the determination and drive to achieve her dreams. Coming from a Gujarati family, entrepreneurship was always in Nirali's blood. She worked for a SEO firm while in UK and so starting her own Web design and SEO company when she moved to India was a natural progression. Also it was important for her to maintain flexible work hours as she was juggling pregnancy, her business and home all at the same time. Nhance Web solutions Pvt. Ltd. started its operations in June 2009 from a

Caption Contest 27 "You think you are funny?"

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This is Caption Contest 27  'You think you are funny? Please give a caption to the picture below: Image Courtesy: Fun2video.com All the Best.  P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check  here . 

The Split 3

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Check out  Part 1 and Part 2  before you read this: Shruti walks briskly avoiding the traffic in the bustling market place. She is out to buy Lotus flowers, Tulsi leaves and Coconuts for the Ganesh Pooja next day. The Ganesh Mandal in the market is practicing their Dhol and Tasha routine with full fervor and Shruti can feel the vibrations of the pounding Dhol. She quickly finishes her shopping and hails an autorickshaw to take her home. At the traffic light the autorickshaw comes to a halt. As the driver waits for the light to turn Green, Shruti spots a familiar figure in the adjacent car. She does not recognize the car or the woman sitting next to Vikas. Shruti watches the woman talk animatedly and the way Vikas smiles at her as he replies. They are both engrossed in their conversation and don't see her.  Shruti leans back in her seat quickly so that Vikas does not spot her. Her heart is pounding and her mind is in a whirl. "Who is that woman?" and "Why is Vika

The Split 2

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Shruti's reverie was broken as Vikas walked in the kitchen and picked up his cup of tea and sat in front of the television, to watch a Cricket match. She sat at the dining table with her tea wondering when things had changed so much. She had started noticing his long absences just a month back. He was in the shower every morning or getting dressed by the time she got up. Most days he rushed out of the house without eating any breakfast and came late at night, after she was already in bed. On the face of it everything appeared normal and anyone who knew them would not find anything different about them either.  Shruti knew that something had changed imperceptibly between her and Vikas after the miscarriage. It was as if an invisible barrier had grown between them. Their conversations had become cursory and whenever they did talk, it was about mundane everyday things. Many times the  silence between them was so thick that she felt she could cut it with a knife.  Every

The Split

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Part 1 I am making the filling for Ukdiche Modak, a sweet made as an offering to Lord Ganesha on Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival celebrated by Maharashtrians all over the world. One needs to use deft fingers to mold the hot rice paste into domes, filling it with the sugar and coconut mixture. My hands are moving with practiced dexterity as my mind moves unfettered to places in the dark recesses of my mind, when my thoughts are broken by the door bell.  Radha bai opens the door and says 'Tai, saheb aale' (madam, your husband is home). Vikas walks in with his laptop bag and picks up the mail lying on the coffee table. He looks tired and had hardly been home these days. His excuse is "there is too much work at the office". Without giving a glance in my direction, he drops his bag on the sofa and goes to the bathroom to wash his face. Radha bai puts a vessel on the gas stove to make tea for us.  I had hired Radha bai to work with us full time, six months back, i

Some bit of drivel and other wow moments

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I know, I have been blogging sporadically and not visiting other blogs. The dwindling comments on my previous posts are a testimony for this erratic behavior. Okay... I have to admit, I have been plain lazy, distracted and having quite bit of fun.  What when the elder sis comes to India, with my adorable niece and nephew (twins). Life just came to a standstill, for me, when I went to my hometown and met these munchkins. I had forgotten what fun it was to be a child and to draw and color and play hide and seek. Among numerous rounds of playing UNO and putting mehendi on tiny chubby hands...time just flew by. Sticky kisses and the sound of "minnie mousie" (that is what they call me) is what I miss the most now. Going on shopping trips to our old college day haunts and new malls with sis darling consumed my time. It is been good two weeks since I am back home, but I am just not able to shake off the hangover of those two marvelous weeks. Doing bucket loads of laundry and dus

Winner of Caption Contest 26 "You think you are funny?"

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Here is the winner of the Caption Contest 26  ‘You think you are funny?’   This time I have received couple of comments on my Linkedin Page and the winning Caption is from  Mujib Ahmed Khan : Cleanliness Drive...!!! Congratulations!!! Drop me a mail at  and I will mail you the trophy. Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

Caption Contest 26 "You think you are funny?"

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This is Caption Contest 26 'You think you are funny? Please give a funny caption to the picture below. Picture Courtesy: Google All the Best.  P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check  here . 

Top 10 tips to become a Successful Freelance Writer

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I often get queries from people asking me advice on how to became a freelance writer. I feel it is quite flattering but at the same time becomes difficult to explain each time. To make it easier on everyone, I figured it made sense to write about the top 10 tips to become a successful freelance writer and next time someone asks me, I can just pass them this link. These days content writing has become one of the most common freelance activity one can do, sitting in the comfort of their homes. This does not mean anyone and everyone can become a successful freelance writer. Though it sounds easy, you need to possess a certain skill set to be successful, just like you need for any other job. Image courtesy: freedigitalphotos.net Here are the tips for you: 1) Love for writing: You need to love writing and have a flair for it. If you eat, sleep and dream writing, then this job is perfect for you. Not only will you need that passion but also the creativity to write on a var

Winner of Caption Contest 25

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Here is the winner of the Caption Contest 25 ‘You think you are funny?’   Shivani:  UKAL BADEE KEE BHAINS Congratulations!!! Drop me a mail at  and I will mail you the trophy. Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - A Book Review

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I read this book mainly out of curiosity for it's name and the name "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" is quite so apt for the book. The movie release also prompted me to read it. I believe in reading books and then watching movies, as most times the nuances in a book are lost in translation during the making of a movie. The entire story of "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" is a narrative by the main character called Changez a Pakistani man, to a stranger who is an American. The setting of the story is a single evening in a Lahore Cafe where Changez tells the American about his life in America, his love affair with an American woman and finally the reason why he abandoned his life there and returned home. The entire story is in a monologue format and not once throughout the book do we see any words being spoken by the American. After a while you get the feeling that Changez is narrating you his life's story.  The book is simply brilliant because of the way

Caption Contest 25 "You think you are funny?"

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This is Caption Contest 25 'You think you are funny? Please give a funny caption to the picture below. Image Courtesy : Google All the Best.  P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check  here . 

Lootera - A movie review

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I had read mixed reviews about Lootera so I was a bit hesitant to watch it. I went with an open mind and boy I was not disappointed. Lootera is based on O'Henry's short story "The last leaf". I had read this story during my school days and as such knew the plot of story. I have not seen Vikramaditya Motwane's directorial début "Udaan", but had heard a lot of praise for it. "Lootera" stands the acid test and is one fine piece of art. The film is set in 1953, during the time, when Zamindari abolition act was about to be passed. Varun (Ranveer Singh) is an archaeologist who comes for a dig to Pakhi's (Sonakshi Sinha) fathers land. Their encounter slowly blossoms into romance, which later turns into betrayal for Pakhi, when Varun disappears from her life. Their next chance counter is after a year in a remote cabin in Dalhousie when Pakhi is struggling to deal with her emotions for the man she once loved and Varun seeks atonement for his mi

Winner of Caption contest 24 ' You think you are funny?"

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Here is the winner of the Caption Contest 24 ‘You think you are funny?’   Seena :  "Special Recession Offer - Hire One get One free - Gardener cum Barber - comes with own tools ". Congratulations!!! Drop me a mail at  and I will mail you the trophy. Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

Caption Contest 24 "You think you are funny?"

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This is Caption Contest 24 'You think you are funny? Please give a funny caption to the picture below. All the Best.  P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check  here . 

Sab Chalta Hai

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The "sab chalta hai" attitude of Indians is quite famous and many even take pride in having this state of mind. Have we become a society which is used to accepting a mediocre quality of life? Are we so immune to this attitude of our fellow countrymen that we don't stop to think twice whether it is right or wrong? Image courtesy: www.mutiny.in Everyday we face these situations, where "thoda adjust kar lo" has become a slogan of sorts. I believe that unless we live in a different country/place where things are much better managed, we can never know the difference.  I have noticed these very annoying habits amongst people and they remain the same wherever you go in India. 1) What Queue? : People have no patience to wait in a queue for their turn. I have seen it happening at a number of places. People will push and shove you to be first at the movie ticket window or they will completely bypass the entire line and form a second line in front of that window

Winner of Caption Contest 23 "You think you are funny?"

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Here is the winner of the Caption Contest 23, ‘You think you are funny?’   Rachna Parmar :  Your tooth is just a stone's throw away! Congratulations!!! Drop me a mail at  and I will mail you the trophy. Hope to see you in another round of Caption Contest this Wednesday.

Caption Contest 23 "You think you are funny?"

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This is Caption Contest 23 'You think you are funny? Please give a funny Caption to the picture below. Image Courtesy: Google All the Best.  P.S: For those people who would like to know the rules, please check  here . 

INFERNO by Dan Brown

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If you are a die hard fan of Dan Brown then you will find his latest book "Inferno" a thrilling ride. I for one had to remind myself, to finish reading the book and put up the review for those unsuspecting people, who will pay through their noses to buy it. Though it is on the New York times best seller list , the book failed to impress me. The book starts off well where Robert Langdon, the famed professor of 'Symbology' from Harvard, wakes up in a hospital suffering from amnesia and has a metal cylinder in his possession, which contains clues to solving the mystery. Robert Langdon fist appeared in the Da Vinci code. He teams up with a young doctor Sienna Miller in a journey, which moves from Florence to Venice and then Istanbul. Image Courtesy: Dan Brown official website As with his other novels, the plot remains the same, where it is a race against time, to save the world from imminent doom. Langdon using his knowledge of symbols finds clues, which are ba