tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36561610436090320322024-03-13T07:56:53.521-07:00Little Moments of BlissAyushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-67869315913779854692015-02-28T01:22:00.000-08:002015-02-28T01:22:20.330-08:00Get Quikr, No Fikar, Bech Quickerr..<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
All those reading this should thank the Almighty for bringing them
into this world at the time when it has been blessed with the Internet.
Everything has been compactly fit into our palms, totally rendered at our
convenience. Bills can be paid, food can be ordered and is promised to be
served to you at your doorstep in 30 minutes or less, you can see and talk to
your long lost cousin at the mercy of a few free apps, the only thing for which
we needed to go out of our houses was if we wanted to buy anything. Over the
past few years, online retail and online classifieds have left no stone
unturned in conquering this milestone too and making our lives easier than
ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dAUQF4svJ48/VPGIno7mfFI/AAAAAAAAFvs/zryuOOJpG4A/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dAUQF4svJ48/VPGIno7mfFI/AAAAAAAAFvs/zryuOOJpG4A/s1600/download.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o8CZmubR390/VMy-Gar9gxI/AAAAAAAAFms/vUMPL-QyctQ/s1600/quikr-home-lifestyle-1.jpg"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><v:shape alt="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o8CZmubR390/VMy-Gar9gxI/AAAAAAAAFms/vUMPL-QyctQ/s1600/quikr-home-lifestyle-1.jpg" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o8CZmubR390/VMy-Gar9gxI/AAAAAAAAFms/vUMPL-QyctQ/s1600/quikr-home-lifestyle-1.jpg" id="Picture_x0020_2" o:button="t" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 68.25pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 300pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:fill o:detectmouseclick="t">
<v:imagedata o:title="proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-o8CZmubR390%2FVMy-Gar9gxI%2FAAAAAAAAFms%2FvUMPL-QyctQ%2Fs1600%2Fquikr-home-lifestyle-1" src="file:///C:\Users\MYPC~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg">
</v:imagedata></v:fill></v:shape></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Earlier, buyers/sellers contacted each other through phone calls
or emails, which took 2-3 days per transaction for the simple reason that calls
can come at inconvenient times and a seller can miss out on a potential buyer
due to this.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Quikr Nxt</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>has entered the market with a trump
card that would take it to new heights of success, i,e<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Online Messenger Chat</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>between buyers and sellers at any time
of the day and thus eliminating the need to call or drop in an email. The need
to share your contact number with complete strangers disappears. The only point
of reference is the Quikr ID. Email spamming can also be put to a stop. Users
can make their listing private, which hides their mobile numbers and email ids.
Not everybody likes to share their contact number with the world at large.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Since one of the best features of Quikr Nxt is that the buyer can
mitigate the risk while buying by asking the seller to send a picture of the
product from a particular angle or to send a video of the used products and
share it with them, <b>if I’d have to sell
my car and get something better in place of it</b>, I’d take complete advantage
of this feature. The day I learnt how to drive on my own, without my dad
sitting next to me on the passenger seat, I was overwhelmed with elation, and
that sense of independence hasn’t left me since.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
With the common man's budget, and the prices of fuel sky-rocketing, we now have a quicker way to buy second-hand cars in good conditions that can conveniently be used for family vacations that would bond the family together. It is extremely hassle-free. First all,<b> I’d make a complete
video</b> of the car inside out. Everything from the seats to the steering to
the complete outlook. Sharing details over a video can be a very big advantage
to me since any potential buyer can see the car in real time and that makes a much
better impact than talking on a call and listening about the product.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Everything about performance specifications will also be clearly
mentioned since the new way is the chat way. Pictures of the car from all
possible angles will also be shared with the buyer, he should realize that he’d
get complete value for his money.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br />
Even while buying, these features could be of great help. Some people are very particular about spacious cars with enough room for them and their friends. All those needs can be seen and taken care of.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_dizGi2q21k/VPFtnG_6DWI/AAAAAAAAFvc/wyyigSJxhPk/s1600/brandcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_dizGi2q21k/VPFtnG_6DWI/AAAAAAAAFvc/wyyigSJxhPk/s1600/brandcover.jpg" height="175" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Selling a big product like a car at a reasonably good price
without revealing my identity would be a boon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
Do visit and experience the next generation of buying and selling.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.quikr.com/"><span style="background: white; color: #3463b1; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">http://www.quikr.com/</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif;">. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-o8CZmubR390%2FVMy-Gar9gxI%2FAAAAAAAAFms%2FvUMPL-QyctQ%2Fs1600%2Fquikr-home-lifestyle-1.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o8CZmubR390/VMy-Gar9gxI/AAAAAAAAFms/vUMPL-QyctQ/s1600/quikr-home-lifestyle-1.jpg" -->Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-8843079180083944732014-05-12T06:29:00.000-07:002015-02-18T04:54:56.254-08:00Little by little, day by day.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
No combination of 26 different alphabets can ever capture even a sliver of what this feeling is, but it needs to go into the books as a beautiful beautiful memory, so here's your glance into it.<br />
<br />
So, It happens like this.<br />
<br />
Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and in the middle of that nowhere you meet someone. For some inexplicable reason, you feel more connected to this stranger than you do to anybody else. Little by little, day by day, you grow to love this person more than you love yourself. Steadily, you start to feel that they're the center of your universe. Your happiness, your sorrows, your smiles, your tears, your days, your nights, everything is for them, everything is from them. They embrace your darkest fears and make you smile at odd hours. They're the one that you want to be painfully honest to, no matter how embarrassing it is. They're the only person who will drop everything just to be with you when you need them, no matter what the circumstances. You no more fear the perilous times, because they've always got your back. With them, you just want to let it all out, and breathe, hold them really close on the rooftop at 3 in the morning, kiss them and tell them all about how beautiful life is with them. They make you want to gravitate into a passive world of sweet oblivion where you fulfil all your wildest fantasies.<br />
<br />
If you ever feel blessed enough to meet such a person in life, never let them go.<br />
<br />
Because you don't just automatically love someone. You slowly learn to place your trust in them, they make you feel wanted, they make you feel loved, they make you want to levitate with all the happiness that you can't contain within yourself, your face hurts from all the smiling, you never want them to let go of your hand because their fingers intertwined with yours silently tell you that you're special to them, and thats when it hits you, that you aren't delirious with joy for no reason, its love.<br />
<br />
You fall in love with them the way you fall asleep, slowly, and then all at once<span style="font-size: x-small;"> *</span><br />
<br />
They make you realise that "I miss you" is the most beautiful sentence anyone can ever hear from another person, knowing that your presence makes somebody happier. In french, they say "Tu me manques", which means "You're missing from me", and it is a lot more apt, because they become a part of your being.<br />
<br />
Love is as scary as it is beautiful. Letting yourself be simply yourself and expecting someone to love that side of you is terrifying. But there is so much to be gained, much more than there is to be lost. Love fills up your heart with a feeling that can only be filled by the sheer simplicity of unconditionally loving someone and being loved in return. Its the little things that make it worth it; the surprise kisses, the warmest hugs, the stolen glances hidden from everybody else.<br />
<br />
Being your true self for someone is completely frightening, but the feeling that engulfs you when someone embraces you at your most vulnerable low, is Love.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
PS they say never fall in love with writers, they make demons look beautiful, if anyone's reading.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
PPS Summer of 2014 will always be special. It is this season that I fell in love with a wonderful person , and somehow, he loves me back too.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Fault in our stars</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-31435760688235201222013-09-30T11:14:00.000-07:002013-09-30T11:14:34.056-07:00Alexis's Graduation Speech.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">S04E23.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">“</span><span class="quote" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: none 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">There is a universal truth we all have to face whether we want to or not. Everything eventually ends. As much as I’ve looked forward to this day, I’ve always disliked endings. The last day of summer, the final chapter of a great book, parting ways with a close friend. But endings are inevitable. Leaves fall, we close the book, you say goodbye. Today is one of those days for us. Today we say goodbye to everything that was familiar everything that was comfortable. We’re moving on. But just because we are leaving, and that hurts, there are some people who are so much a part of us they’ll be with us no matter what. They are our solid ground, our north star. And the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us. Always.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">”</span></span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-top: 10px; outline: none 0px; text-align: justify;"><tbody style="margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: none 0px;">
<tr style="margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: none 0px;"><td style="border-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px !important; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 10px 0px 20px; width: 1px;" valign="top"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">—</span></td><td class="quote_source" style="border-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px;" valign="top"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alexis Castle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-17401882412039584612013-09-25T10:11:00.000-07:002013-09-25T10:11:17.020-07:00Another year passed by..<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FQG-52UNCPA/UkMVH3Y45yI/AAAAAAAAEwA/2F_EjiTc7v4/s1600/IMG_1915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FQG-52UNCPA/UkMVH3Y45yI/AAAAAAAAEwA/2F_EjiTc7v4/s400/IMG_1915.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
And I turned 24. Of course I don't look 24, I'm a girl after all. Its been a good year. I holidayed in Mauritius, and trust me, its a pretty little island with crystal clear waters and the best chicken sausage ever, Mom Dad gifted me a MacBook, I'm comfortable with my job status, if not satisfied, I have the best of the friends from all worlds, and I've become a PotterHead too.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Stable, is the word I am looking for. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Although a little unstability wouldn't hurt, if anybody's listening and understands what I mean. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X5-LWPj5kZo/UkMW3thDX5I/AAAAAAAAEwk/yyC86p_RFZg/s1600/IMG_2115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X5-LWPj5kZo/UkMW3thDX5I/AAAAAAAAEwk/yyC86p_RFZg/s400/IMG_2115.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Also, Mom Dad completed 25 beautiful years together. Thats my Dad giving an awkward hug to my Mom upon my family's insistence. Cute enough for today ?.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Stay Blessed.</div>
<br /></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-24544158269604728772013-07-31T11:26:00.001-07:002013-09-25T09:43:12.280-07:00Menstruate. With Pride.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Amma, my frock is stained again" </i>she said with a little unknown fear in her heart.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Whatt !!?? Why can't you be more careful ? Bibiji gave me this frock for you last week only. and from where should I bring more cotton ?" </i>Amma shouted.<i> "Go and wash that green rag that you used yesterday, put it out in the sun to dry and then use it"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"But amma, I'm not feeling well, it itches and my stomach hurts" </i>she cried.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Then what do you expect me to do ? Wash your period stains ?" </i>Amma replied with little emotion.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>She held her tears and turned away.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
******</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am writing this post for the<b> <a href="http://www.ftideacaravan.com/" target="_blank">Idea Caravan Initiative</a></b> by <b>Franklin Templeton</b> India and <a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/" target="_blank"><b>IndiBlogger</b></a>. They have partnered with <a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=84" target="_blank">T<b>edXGateway Mumbai</b></a> in December 2012 and have provided us with inspiring videos of young minds struggling and succeeding in making and being the change that they want to see. Menstruation still is considered as a taboo in many urban and rural parts of our country, I would like to contribute my bit to the right to sanitary "mind and body" for every woman by this post.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">IS IT A TABOO ? OR HAVE "WE" MADE IT ONE ?</span></i></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><br />
</i></u></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Menstruation or Periods is one such topic which is rarely been talked about. Let alone been talked about on a world-wide platform like Blogger. When I was a kid, we only had one TV at home, and as soon as the StayFree or Whisper commercial came on, Dad would hurriedly look for the remote and change the channel. I never asked any questions until the day all the girls in my class were told to stay in the classroom during the lunch break. Some of us looked curious, some knew what was going to happen. We were given proper knowledge by a counsellor about a phenomenon that was going to happen to us every month for a significant numbers of years to come. To be true, I was in shock. I wondered how would I bleed for 4 days a month and still be okay ? She also brought a sanitary pad with her and showed it to us.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was then that I knew why mom didn't go to the temple for those 4 days a month and why she would feel sick in her stomach.<br />
<br />
A colleague of mine shared her first experience with me and I was shocked to learn the ways of our society in that age. She's in her fifties. She woke up one day and found out that her clothes were stained red and that something was definitely wrong with her. She ran to her mother and her mother's reaction was "Achaa, ho gaye ?" She gave her some cotton from the cupboard and hushed her to the bathroom. Nobody taught her how to use one, for how many days would it last or how badly the cramps would hurt.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><u>RAGS ? NEWSPAPERS ? PLANT LEAVES ? ASHES ?</u></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
If men could menstruate, they'd either associate with power justification or luxury, never with hygiene. Wish women could do that. Factually, I am sure that a hundred percent of women reading this article have never used anything except sanitary pads during their periods. But do you ever give a thought to that 75% of our country's female population who use saw dust or rag materials to cover their pubic area during their cycle ?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
It is still seen as a luxury in their lives. <i>AN UNNECESSARY LUXURY ITEM</i>. Money still poses a problem. Can you imagine a life where you're denied the right to healthy clean sanitary pads and are forced to use cloth ? Among many other reasons, I respect my mother for giving a pack to our domestic help every month for herself and her daughter. She gives her a pack of Stayfree- 20 napkins for Rs. 60. That brings the average cost of one napkin to be around Rs. 3, and still Mr. Babbar claims he can provide that same woman in the same country with a balanced meal in Rs. 12.<br />
<br />
I will not venture into facts and figures, I will tell you a true story that happened in the school that I teach in. I teach computers to classes VI-VII. This is the exact age group of girls reaching puberty and having their first period. One of them came to me last month and said "<b>Mam, I think I am suffering from periods. Can I go to the medical room ?</b>" The irony of the statement was that she thought it was some kind of an abnormality and she was unfortunate enough to suffer from it. I sat her down after she came back, and listened to what knowledge was given to her. She was confused and I had to tell her that she wasn't suffering from anything, that it isn't a disease and she is a healthy lovely girl.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mr. Muruganantham has made an unusual brave effort on his part and I applaud him for it.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pg_R9kv6X2E/Uf3fqrPr9pI/AAAAAAAAEto/5M9DgWxy-BE/s1600/Desktop5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pg_R9kv6X2E/Uf3fqrPr9pI/AAAAAAAAEto/5M9DgWxy-BE/s640/Desktop5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><u><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED</span></u></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><u><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">The Four A's - Availability, Affordability, Accessibility, Awareness.</span></b></u></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><u><br /></u></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A country where politicians claim they can get a complete balanced meal for Rs. 12 in a city like Mumbai, what can a rural woman's expectations be ? Awareness is next to nothing, and it is no more than a man asking for a condom. They'd rather have babies than use protection. We say we're evolving, I beg to differ. Advertisements are flashed, hoardings are put up but asking for a sanitary napkin or a condom is still considered as a taboo.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Arunachalam Sir pointed out the fact that almost all women of our rural population would rather buy milk for their family from the money rather than spend that same money on sanitary napkins, I'd agree with him. Although <b><u>Menstrual Cups</u></b> can be used. They can be washed and re-used which takes care of affordability. People like Mr. Muruganantham and more young minds like them can make then available at low cost. <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup</a></b> can be visited for more.<br />
<br />
Women Empowerment is a topic that is more written about and less done about. Every woman has a right to sanitation and she must be provided with one. A healthy country is not the one with wealthy politicians claiming to do their best, it is one where a common man is confident enough to get his basic needs fulfilled.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><u>If you want to think over a task, give it to a man, If you want it done, give it to a woman.</u></b></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><u><br /></u></b></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If we start looking for issues to fix in this country, we would never decide upon one. Every other issue is more appalling than the previous one. But if you want change, you have to make it happen. Contribute your bit. Women should step up, do their little bit and it shall spread on its own. Provide you domestic help with proper education and sanitary napkins, ask them to talk about it to their daughters and other women in their locality.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/u1iWhljEbTE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
If I ever have a daughter, I will celebrate her first period.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-35723157344354834382013-07-31T10:38:00.001-07:002013-07-31T10:53:49.169-07:00The red gold.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.socialblood.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="84" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CYdmxf8qXkA/UflKbPI-tzI/AAAAAAAAEso/JMGCFlqF1I4/s640/Cature.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zhKEwx74xA8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Your boss is surely going to fire you one of these days" Kalpana predicted.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>He chuckled, enveloped her from behind,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>and said "And to what will I owe that pleasure Miss ?"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"You're late, almost everyday, If I were your boss, I'd fire you" she said, and kissed him while fixing his crooked tie.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Is Gian ready ? I'll leave him at the crutch on my way"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Yes he is, don't drive too fast. Love you."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>A half an hour later, Kalpana received a call from the local hospital. Her husband had died, due to lack of availability of his rare blood group AB-,</i><i> in the same fatal accident that had left her 3 year old crippled for life.</i></div>
<i></i><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><i>*****</i></i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Papa, do we really need the needle this time also ?" She pleaded with her pale eyes and her limp hand reached for her father's.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"Yes dear, but I promise it will hurt less" he reassured her firmly.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>The nurse struggled a little to find a vein and then pierced her tiny hand with a needle that would give her one more month to live. She was suffering from an inherited single gene disorder, Thalassemia. </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9MAbaVKeZzM/UflDQqOWBJI/AAAAAAAAEsY/4Jmv9axG_RY/s1600/Thalassemia-Patient.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9MAbaVKeZzM/UflDQqOWBJI/AAAAAAAAEsY/4Jmv9axG_RY/s320/Thalassemia-Patient.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">This little girl needs 30 units of blood<br />every month.</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>*****</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What would have happened if Kalpana's husband would have received the blood that he needed in time ? What would happen if this little girl's father had some way of knowing that he didn't have to worry about arranging blood for his daughter every month ? Things would be different. Their lives would be different. To have someone you love, die in a bed because the hospital ran out of their blood type is the kind of feeling that follows you to your grave. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A special mention to applaud <b>Franklin Templeton Investments</b> in their brilliant initiative to bring about a change. I've seen all the videos that were provided at the <a href="http://www.ftideacaravan.com/" target="_blank"><b>Idea Caravan</b></a> Site. I can't say I wasn't moved by the others, but I chose this particular one because I could actually, practically join the cause and make a difference, rather than just voicing my views about it on my blog.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We tweet all day long, visit our friend's profiles on Facebook, like pictures, pitch in witty comments. I would like to thank <b><u><i>Karthik Naralasett</i>y</u></b> for thinking outside the box and creating a platform for emergency blood needs that saves lives. He has created a Facebook group where people can post their emergency blood needs with the required blood group and interested donors can reply to the requests as they please. I haven't seen a much better use of social media till date. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='400' height='330' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cz7qSYIEi14?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Visit <a href="http://www.socialblood.org/" style="text-align: left;">http://www.socialblood.org/</a> now and save a life.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b8-XA_J7bN0/UflLTqjQQII/AAAAAAAAEs4/jZung_wHj60/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b8-XA_J7bN0/UflLTqjQQII/AAAAAAAAEs4/jZung_wHj60/s640/Capture.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i> </i> <i> </i> <i> </i> Written for the <a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=84" target="_blank">IndiBlogger Contest</a> : <a href="http://www.ftideacaravan.com/" target="_blank">Franklin Templeton Investments</a> partnered with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhKEwx74xA8#at=296" target="_blank">TedXGateway Mumbai - An Idea by Karthik Naralasetty. </a></b></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-889112699764882512013-07-04T01:43:00.001-07:002013-07-07T05:10:20.517-07:00HandMade by Carousel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o9Al8YB0f3s/UdUGwpB3k1I/AAAAAAAAEqM/Nmi7hzJnodk/s720/971152_487451131324740_748557474_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o9Al8YB0f3s/UdUGwpB3k1I/AAAAAAAAEqM/Nmi7hzJnodk/s640/971152_487451131324740_748557474_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
A very dear friend of mine, Twisha of <b><a href="http://onelyfmanymoments.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">OneLife.ManyMoments</a></b> has dared to live her dream. And I want to help her realize how great it is.<br />
Its the first step.<br />
And all great things start with that one little step.<br />
Visit her <b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/HandmadebyCarousel.India?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a></b> and have a look at all the quaint little things she hand picks.<br />
Its like weaving magic into your home decor.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2h-Q6aTQhWk/UdUH1k5PGfI/AAAAAAAAEqc/dLHnl8Vzqvs/s640/28998_456780524391801_1555125173_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2h-Q6aTQhWk/UdUH1k5PGfI/AAAAAAAAEqc/dLHnl8Vzqvs/s400/28998_456780524391801_1555125173_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nZc0CN_H-9U/UdUH1sDZbyI/AAAAAAAAEqY/cIFNin_qoOs/s720/165925_456768501059670_632079176_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nZc0CN_H-9U/UdUH1sDZbyI/AAAAAAAAEqY/cIFNin_qoOs/s640/165925_456768501059670_632079176_n.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She is simply looking for beauty - the kind that can't be explained - only felt.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Uy1_5Xl2xM/Udlan4MJvCI/AAAAAAAAEr0/qFhElp2D4mg/s1600/blog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Uy1_5Xl2xM/Udlan4MJvCI/AAAAAAAAEr0/qFhElp2D4mg/s640/blog1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XNL_Q4Qld18/UdUJHbcUawI/AAAAAAAAErY/g2pnLSQltfY/s1350/bloggg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XNL_Q4Qld18/UdUJHbcUawI/AAAAAAAAErY/g2pnLSQltfY/s640/bloggg.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iU40XsbnBq4/UdlZk04jtZI/AAAAAAAAEro/jO4xBRtn4zA/s1600/8691_499651643438022_1131439705_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iU40XsbnBq4/UdlZk04jtZI/AAAAAAAAEro/jO4xBRtn4zA/s640/8691_499651643438022_1131439705_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I got this box customized for my sunglasses :) Can you spot mine and my blog's name in the doodle ? ;) Quirky, ain't it :)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
By now, I'm sure you're dying to know from where to shop.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://carousel-1415.itshandmade.in/">http://carousel-1415.itshandmade.in/</a></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
there you go :)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Thank me later :)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You know where to find me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Love. </div>
<br /></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-4893501407728943002013-06-21T08:06:00.000-07:002013-06-21T08:08:01.620-07:00Attraversiamo.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Attraversiamo is an italian phrase, that means 'Lets Cross Over'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A couple years before, I wasn't even acquainted with this supreme world of blogging.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I will not cook up a story as to how I started blogging because I quite frankly do not remember.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I wrote my very first post for my mother and that was the day I knew that this would become irreplacable for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Two years ago, I dreamt of a happy place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Two years ago, I created a happy place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And you're in it right now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My blog turned 2 this June and I can't believe that it still can lift up my spirits when I'm down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Its a gloomy milestone and I'm just <i>crossing it over</i>. Hope they're many more to come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>PS Title Courtesy - Eat Pray Love.</i></span></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-30720633970885896672013-06-01T08:36:00.000-07:002013-06-01T08:47:15.148-07:00Snow on the Sidewalk.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We all have scars.<br />
We all have stories.<br />
Some make sense, and the rest, just don't.<br />
Sudden. I guess that's the word I'm looking for.<br />
Maybe, it would have been a lot easier, if life was a movie.<br />
I wouldn't have to worry about my hair, my shiny career,<br />
or about finding the right guy,<br />
and just when I'm at my lowest,<br />
he'll pull out a Cartier and sweep me off my feet.<br />
Or, I could learn how to play a guitar.<br />
I'm in a bizarre state of mind. really bizarre.<br />
I ordered 'Angel of The Dark' off the internet,<br />
because its got fragments of my favourite writer in there somewhere,<br />
but I don't think I'm going to read it.<br />
I don't want to write any more.<br />
Everything I loved doing has lost amusement.<br />
Its all swept away, like snow on the side-walk.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-31635017332396140732013-04-04T11:09:00.000-07:002014-04-08T07:24:24.222-07:00A braided gesture of Love.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/badges/145x175_dove-indiblogger-beautiful-braids-runnerup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.indiblogger.in/badges/145x175_dove-indiblogger-beautiful-braids-runnerup.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>This post won the runner-up prize in the said contest.</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-91yVxfgLmL4/UWrtcrKnmqI/AAAAAAAAEUs/v8A9972QUuY/s1600/tbrn252l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-91yVxfgLmL4/UWrtcrKnmqI/AAAAAAAAEUs/v8A9972QUuY/s320/tbrn252l.jpg" height="320" width="308" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Some days I am a curl,</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>while others, I merely swirl,</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>They say, I am a sweet lullaby,</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>or that, I am a braided gesture of love,</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>perhaps, it is just <a href="http://www.dove.in/en/Products/Hair-Care/Split-Ends-Rescue/Dove-Split-End-Rescue-Shampoo.aspx" target="_blank">Dove</a>.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Sometimes strictly parted on the side, sometimes seductively falling over one eye, sometimes wet, sometimes rigid, sometimes tied up in a high ponytail, sometimes braided together into a french bun, sometimes tousled in the front with a fishtail braid over the left shoulder, sometimes the usual bombshell waves, sometimes polished, yet sometimes casual. Your hair define your personality, more so, they define you. A messy braid resting on the nape of your neck will make you your man's guilty pleasure even on the most unlucky day of your life.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I have been raised by a loving punjabi family and a strict Convent school. And by a convent, I'm not intending to imply towards nuns and discipline, I mean a compulsory pair of braids with a precise middle parting. I've lived, loved, grown, and also matured in braids. The way they frivolously hung over my neck gave me a beautiful carefree feeling. There are certain things in life that look better when put in perspective, one of them is my hair. Its like they have a mind of their own, they know when to be mean and when to be subtle, when to be nervous and when to be at their cautious best. Nonetheless, over the years, I've fallen in love with them.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hair, I believe, have a mind of their own,</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">They twirl, they dance;</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not always prim, not always proper,</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">It can make you drown, into its serene expanse.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
To be honest, I've never had long hair, even though I'm proud of my Indian woman mindset, that loves her silky smooth hair flowing carelessly in the summer breeze. And when they do oblige me by growing beyond a certain length, I have to chop them off because, Hair, is a funny thing, they curl, swirl, twirl, dance, straighten, perm and among other things that you and I thought they could never do, they now <i>split</i> too.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The first time when I heard of split ends, I was a careless teenage girl, and was shocked to know that a thin healthy strand of hair could betray and split into two if deprived of proper nutrition and care. Through Indi, Dove has always encouraged me to talk more and more about my hair, and it always sends me into a cute memoir of a fuzzy-hair-girl flashback. But split ends, they're new to me. Just when you think you're doing everything right, your hair smite you in the face with a wake-up call.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I started working as a teacher last year. Stress levels rose, sleep hours got cut, pollution poured in, causing my healthy hair to revolt back in unsympathetic split ends. Chop chop, snip snip. My beautiful braid from 2012 had to be disguised into regular shoulder length waves that I now have. I wish Dove had launched its Split end Rescue System back then, before I got my cut, but better late than never, and I couldn't be more thankful. Braids are supposed to have a beautiful beginning and beautiful ends. And it's possible now, 4x times less split ends with the new Dove range. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i> I, mostly, do not have a clue as to what is the criteria for calling one's hair happy, but what I do know with certainty is that when you are happy, your hair bask in your glory.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Friends shot envious stares, relatives wondered,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Only because she grew up, with tresses so long,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
They did all, but could never find the answer,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
To, how on earth were her hair so strong?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hair, weren't much of an issue,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Until the day, time flew by and stress flew in,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Bringing along, <b>dryness, damage, split ends</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And hair, Oh so thin!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Reminiscing about old times,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When her hair shone with pomp and glory,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Nostalgia overcame, and she knew,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A change was needed, to rebuild her damaged hair story.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And then, came along DOVE,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
With its enriched conditioners and mild fragrance,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A shampoo that <b>coaxed the split ends,</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
and taught them once again, what was LOVE.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y6GTZnL6NXg/UV22VKJ_82I/AAAAAAAAESc/0D5H1tkQbHY/s1600/dove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y6GTZnL6NXg/UV22VKJ_82I/AAAAAAAAESc/0D5H1tkQbHY/s1600/dove.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This post is in association with <a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=74" target="_blank">IndiBlogger</a> and its <a href="http://www.dove.in/en/Products/Hair-Care/Split-Ends-Rescue/Dove-Split-End-Rescue-Shampoo.aspx" target="_blank">Dove Split End rescue system</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-19198578285230316992013-03-24T04:13:00.004-07:002013-03-26T08:53:20.427-07:00Jack is Back in the Corporate Carnival - A Book Review.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pre5IS1S6qg/UU7aaFZbbbI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/ppJ3Fo9Qr1g/s1600/corporate-carnival-630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pre5IS1S6qg/UU7aaFZbbbI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/ppJ3Fo9Qr1g/s400/corporate-carnival-630.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Publisher - HarperCollins</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Publication Year - 2012</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
ISBN-13 - 9789350293515</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
ISBN-10 - 935029351X</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Language - English</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Binding -Paperback</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Number of Pages - 307 Pages</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>About The Author (Source – From the Book)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
About the Author (From the Book): P.G Bhaskar is a twenty-first century banker and in that capacity needs everyone’s empathy. A chartered accountant, he left India for Dubai in 1992 and, what with one thing and the other, stayed put, watching the city grow. He now lives there with his wife and teenage son.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Bhaskar is one of the modern world’s thinkers and philosophers. He thinks deeply about several things, including but not limited to, the ups and downs of Indian cricket, why Pluto stopped being a planet, who chose February to have fewer days than other months, and his frequently missing handkerchiefs. He has come to no conclusions on these issues, or indeed on any issue. Nevertheless, he continues to ponder. In the meantime, he has decided to write books, despite being warned that nobody below the age of seventy-two reads nowadays.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There are weekends when you don't have enough time to do everything on your to-do list and then there are those when you don't have anything productive or fun to do. I would advice you to pick up Jack is Back in the Corporate Carnival for one such day and enjoy the scent of the printed page.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The author succeeds in his effort to bring a smile on his reader’s faces. The story starts with a little healthy bickering between a couple but traces of humor start to appear from the very first page. I would honestly let you know I haven’t read any of Bhaskar’s previous works, so I was not familiar with his writing style and persona.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The book claims itself to be the ‘Funniest Book of the Year’, so I was looking forward to it. Books hardly succeed in making me laugh, I don’t know, whether that’s a problem with me or the books that I read. I found myself smiling through various pages of the story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The summary tells you every little thing you need to know about the plot of the novel, so no surprises there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If you’ve read me before, you’d know, I am not a fan of ‘Hindi excerpts’ in an Engligh novel, so that was the only turn off for me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Pick it up I’d say, if you’re looking for a light read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I apologize for the late review, IndiTeam.</div>
<br /></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-39668842935673399392013-03-24T03:45:00.000-07:002013-03-26T08:53:00.438-07:00Chilli, Chicks and Heart Attacks.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bw7tnf_r0eY/UU7QGKK-fuI/AAAAAAAAEOo/EUkm7c26uZw/s1600/51qLeIHUo0L._SL500_SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bw7tnf_r0eY/UU7QGKK-fuI/AAAAAAAAEOo/EUkm7c26uZw/s400/51qLeIHUo0L._SL500_SS500_.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Publisher<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-Westland</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Publication Year<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-2013</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>ISBN-13<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-9789381626887</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>ISBN-10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-938162688X</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Number of Pages<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-320 Pages</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>About the Author - (Source : Internet)</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sanjaya Senanayake is one of the millions of South Asians who was born outside the revered continent and brought up in the West. In keeping with this inauspicious occidental origin, Sanjaya has spent his life rebelling against all that is South Asian. Indeed, despite his conservative parents pleadings to become a movie star, watch football and marry a bikini- clad blonde, he thumbed his nose at South Asian convention: Sanjaya is now a doctor who loves cricket and is married to a girl named Dilukshi.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Being a die-hard Grey’s Anatomy fan, I had a lot of expectations from our dear protagonist, Dr. Manju Mendis, a Sri Lankan living in Australia, and I can happily say, I have not been disappointed. Sanjaya clearly leaves no doubt from the very start, that this is no diary of a hospital intern. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first surprise that met me was the name Manjula. A very dear friend of my sister’s is named Manjula, and I was surprised to know that the story is about a guy, not a girl. With the desperation of hooking up with somebody, and making it big at Australia’s top public hospital, this story is one hell of a roller-coaster ride.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As many occasions, he finds himself amidst a series of ill-fated misadventures. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t perplexed at first, but the author has made a wonderful effort. It takes a lot of courage to put your words to life and I appreciate Sanjaya for it. It can easily be called a year of hysterical madness for the protagonist.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The backdrop of being set in a medical background, was the main attraction for me. I have been watching Grey’s and Private Practice since years now, and I can almost tell you why is castor oil used to induce labour or that Dr. Addison Montgomery can perform surgery on an unborn child. The medical procedures described in the book felt almost real. The description of the characters is surreal and it will make you want to meet them in person.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Though the story might be a little predictable at places, you will anyhow enjoy reading it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Beware! Of the most interesting sex scene description you might have ever read. Again, to each, his own. And, I didn’t know they had a ‘Celebrity Ward’ in hospitals. I’d definitely pay my respectful visits to Dr. Spyder ! He definitely seems worth it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the span of a year, Mendes has to learn how to confront fraudulent specialists, self-important clients, and an imperious set of immigrant relatives. Also, he must find time to sustain his fledgling relationships with patients, colleagues, celebrities, and most of all, a girl with a troubled past.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I’d rather call this book, The misadventures of an Intern.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-7240014572579403992013-03-12T09:19:00.000-07:002013-06-01T07:42:35.162-07:00Back to the Beginning.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9kqvY0dwDhg/UT9JozSQMxI/AAAAAAAAEN4/k3l8FW6-TCU/s1600/tumblr_mjarcc9RMk1rkrr5go1_500_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9kqvY0dwDhg/UT9JozSQMxI/AAAAAAAAEN4/k3l8FW6-TCU/s400/tumblr_mjarcc9RMk1rkrr5go1_500_large.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I, am on the verge,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
have been, will be,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She, is a temptress,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
my untouched chardonnay,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I still, am on the verge,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She whispers love,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
with open arms,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a proud charade,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and a kind smile.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She confesses,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'I am a camouflage,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
nestled under the veil,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
of an unsung promise'</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am on the verge.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
have been, will be.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She, is <i>The Beginning</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>My Beginning.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>My Outlandish Beginning.</i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
<b>PS - This is my 100th post (:</b></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-10912964726498904582013-02-14T06:57:00.002-08:002013-05-25T21:38:39.779-07:00Everyday you breathe, Some days you live.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bonjour mon amis !</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
From the bottom of this blog's irresponsible writer's heart, A very warm and special 2013 to all of you. Okay, I do realize the fact that my wishes are a little 2 months or so late, but they're heartfelt, genuine, and I know that's all you care about.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My year started with the sudden death of the head of my family, my Badepapa. Although it did put certain things into perspective but the loss is huge. I've never seen my family in this much pain. Its almost like they're aching physically. I wasn't very attached to him but knowing that he's there, supervising everything and everybody, was a comfort like nothing else ever will be. He might have been my dad's elder brother by blood, but he was always more like a father-figure.<br />
<br />
His death made me realize several things that were never of much importance to me. I care more now. I tell my loved ones, my family, how my life would be incomplete without them, whenever I find an oppurtunity, or sometimes even when I don't find one.<br />
<br />
I try to live, as much as I breathe.<br />
<br />
It has been more than a month now and life is starting to take back its toll on everybody. Of course, things won't ever be the same but that sadly, is the tragedy of life.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsIgSh6rNn8/UU7wXpd683I/AAAAAAAAEQY/od5a3V2QcO8/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsIgSh6rNn8/UU7wXpd683I/AAAAAAAAEQY/od5a3V2QcO8/s640/DSC_0036.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'll see you all next time.<br />
Take Care.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-57733051807989198622012-12-27T01:08:00.000-08:002013-06-09T15:03:36.268-07:00If only, she would abort her girl child to protect her from rape..<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg_C1tsHI2k/UNwoWr4GwaI/AAAAAAAAEFo/hbCzpU2d98s/s1600/Capture+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg_C1tsHI2k/UNwoWr4GwaI/AAAAAAAAEFo/hbCzpU2d98s/s400/Capture+(3).JPG" width="302" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unwanted as a baby, insulted as a girl, raped as a woman and silenced as a lady. When did our definition of a woman undergo such a sea of changes ? Expected to give up her career to raise a family and complete all her chores on time, never asked for an opinion, not allowed to enter the temple in her periods as if it is something she does against God's wishes, dutifully provide the family with healthy sons that grow up to be as insensitive as the others, beaten, burnt and raped. When did we lose our humanity and fell so low that we stopped respecting and started raping the womb that gave us birth ? Many of you might be offended by the title of this post, but I stand by it with all my courage. I would be least surprised if a pregnant woman decides not to have a girl child for the fear of what happened to a 23-year old student in Delhi. Being her age, I can't imagine the trauma that she must be going through.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The media is hungry for that one sensational byte, one statement from the family, one more picture! They manage to ignite a protest, start support groups online, abuse the accused on social networks. But what good does it bring to the victim ? She has become the talk of the nation, but how is it helping her ? Not long ago, a girl from North East India was publicly molested and beaten. The case became viral on Youtube overnight. Banners were hanged, posters were painted. What good came out of it, still manages to stay a mystery. A german woman was raped and murdered in Goa last year and instead of justice, advice was served. Tourists were asked to dress and behave according to the Indian customs while they were in India.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Protest infront of India Gate, 22nd Dec, show your support". I received this text a few days back, asking me to show my support for the gangrape victim. Many of my friends swore that they wouldn't miss it for the world. Although it did make me think, were they excited because they thought it was cool that they were protesting for a cause for the first time ? or were they angry because an innocent 23-year old was gangraped and thrown out of a moving bus ? 'All the female politicians must be raped', this filth also made it to every youngster's phone, as if the recent happenings weren't disgusting enough. Just this morning, I was informed that the punjabi rockstar Honey Singh has composed a song on the victim, depicting his rage and suppressed anger. All I felt upon hearing it, was humiliation and shame. An obnoxious Bollywood star saw this as an opportunity of promoting his latest movie. The opposition sees it as a means of initiating a political riot. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What fears me the most is that have we started taking pleasure in the victim's misery or do we enjoy the blame-game ? Some blame the accused, others blame the city altogether.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The main accused, Ram Singh, the bus driver, said that he only did this because his friends thought he was not man enough to have sex with a woman. How does forcing yourself on a woman prove your manhood ? How does that third leg give them the advantage of being superior over women ? Of all the rape case accused that are arrested, almost 70% accept that they did this to show her "her real place". But then, how does forcefully inserting your penis into a vulnerable woman's vagina do that ?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The body, the scars, they all might heal, but will the soul ever heal ? I myself live in a conservative North Indian Punjabi family. I'm not allowed to leave my house alone after 6 in the evening. Even if I have to got to the nearby chemist, I take my brother along. It never makes sense to me, but I do the needful to ease out my parents' worry. But what if a gang of six decide they want to rape me, will my brother be able to protect me ? You see ? right there, something is wrong at the bottom of it all. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The current maximum penalty in rape cases in India is life imprisonment. Officials say that death sentence has been put on the table and it might be served in extreme rape cases. What I want to know is that, what will be the criteria of deciding which case is an extreme and which isn't. <br />
<br />
Is a woman raped by one man for ten minutes any less haunted than a woman gangraped by 6 men for an hour ?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This post is my not-so-poignant ode to the dying human spirit.</div>
</div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-63566401727624587272012-12-20T07:28:00.003-08:002012-12-24T09:03:11.840-08:0014 Hours - A Book Review.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L9FRfa96Vvc/UNMok_akDTI/AAAAAAAAEDg/08HDM6fDzHI/s1600/14-hours-an-insider-s-account-of-the-26-11-taj-attack-275x275-imadethuqvagyq5r.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L9FRfa96Vvc/UNMok_akDTI/AAAAAAAAEDg/08HDM6fDzHI/s400/14-hours-an-insider-s-account-of-the-26-11-taj-attack-275x275-imadethuqvagyq5r.jpeg" width="255" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Title : 14 Hours - An insider's account of the Taj Attack.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Author - Ankur Chawla</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Publisher - Rupa Publications India</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Genre - Personal Experience</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
ISBN - 9788129120656</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Pages - 162</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Rating - 4/5</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>About the Author [Source : Internet]</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Ankur Chawla went to school in Delhi and then graduated from the Institute of Hotel Management, Shimla. He was selected as an operations management trainee with the Taj Group of Hotels. He has worked at different Taj properties, including the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, for almost five years. Ankur has, over the years, also played musical instruments such as the tabla and drums, participated in theatre, acted in documentaries and undertaken several public-speaking and marketing engagements. He currently holds a managerial position in the food and beverage department at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>Summary</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>A stark and compelling narrative , this is the story of a man who battled immense fear and peril to emerge a survivor.</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Ankur Chawla says ' Working in a hotel prepares you for many things, but not this. I could hardly agree more with him. 26 November 2008. Mumbai was terrorized to its core and Ankur Chawla has given us the insider's account of those dreadful 14 hours in there. I did not want to judge this book like any other books that I read, simply because of the sheer soul Ankur has tried to put in. If he is anything, its brave for me. If I would have been in his place, I wouldn't have had the courage to re-live the trauma even after several years. I applaud him for the genuine effort. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
This book is a tribute to those who died in the attack and a salutation to the spirit of those who survived.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
At times, when I closed my eyes, I could see the shady figures dancing around with rifles and the grey bagpack.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
The story has been heard numerous times, in snippets, on various news channels and read on laudable newspapers, but what they could not provide was the first-hand account and the racing heartbeats of the people fighting their fates against this unfortunate mishappening inside the Taj.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
About being totally honest, I do think the book had some glitches and grammatical errors, but of course writing a book, specially the one with these kinds of feelings attached can be really hard. Perhaps, maybe Ankur could have hired somebody to do a better job at it. Still, this does not affect my rating of the book and neither does the sentiment lose any of its original value.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
It was a tragedy that we may never even wish upon our foes. I hope Ankur regains his 'before-incident' chirpy self, although we all know that is easier said than done. Mumbai had been terrorized and so was the rest of the country.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I can only wish peace.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
My rating for this brave narrative would be 4/5.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
This review is a part of BlogAdda's Book Review Program.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Participate now to get free books.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><i>Comments have been disabled. I can be reached <a href="http://littlemomentsofbliss.blogspot.in/p/5-5-7-9-2-1-33-3-3-6-service-to-others.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></b></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-75745600692508954492012-12-01T09:47:00.002-08:002012-12-20T07:05:35.417-08:00The Bankster - A Book Review.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kHu6jkdK7gA/ULo_nX9JltI/AAAAAAAAD_s/Q-ubBo_xe28/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kHu6jkdK7gA/ULo_nX9JltI/AAAAAAAAD_s/Q-ubBo_xe28/s1600/0.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Title: The Bankster</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Author: Ravi Subramaniam</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Publisher: Rupa Publications India</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Genre: Fiction</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">ISBN: 9788129120489</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Pages: 358</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Rating: 4/5</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i>About the Author (Source - Internet)</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Ravi Subramanian an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, has spent two decades working his way up the ladder of power in the amazingly exciting and adrenaline-pumping world of global banks in India. It is but natural that his stories are set against the backdrop of the financial services industry. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Dharini and daughter Anusha. In 2008, he won the Golden Quill Readers Choice award for his debut novel, If God was a Banker. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">To know more about Ravi, visit www.ravisubramanian.in or email him at info@ ravisubramanian.in. To connect with him, log on to Facebook at www.facebook. com/authorravisubramanian or tweet to @subramanianravi.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Bankers build their careers on trust, or so everyone thinks, till a series of murders threaten to destroy the reputation that the Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) has built over the years. Who is behind these killings, and what is their motive?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">When Karan Panjabi, press reporter and ex-banker, digs deeper, he realizes that he has stumbled upon a global conspiracy with far reaching ramifications a secret that could not only destroy the bank but also cast a shadow on the entire nation. With only thirty-six hours at his disposal, he must fight the clock and trust no one if he is to stay alive and uncover the truth.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Bestselling author Ravi Subramanian, a master storyteller of financial crime and winner of the Golden Quill Readers Choice Award, returns with his most gripping thriller yet.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i>Summary</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The book begins with three parallel stories and then in the mid-way is left with two stories. The parallel stories are that of Joseph Braganza in Angola, Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) in Mumbai, and Krishna Memon in Devikulam, Kerala.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">The author writes about the sad state of affairs of the rich trying to get richer through frauds. Like many other readers, what hit me the first time I saw the book, was its title. It isn’t the banker, it’s the bankster. The name itself has put in a lot of weight and suspense to the story.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">GB2 is the main centre of the story, a reporter from TOI, the nuclear power plant story, many stories have been intertwined with each other and Ravi Subramaniam deserves a great round of applaud for it.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Infact, what isn’t clear until the end is what exactly is the crime and what has menon got to do with it ?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">I won’t unfold the rest of the mystery here, In order to know more, buy the book from your nearest book stores, or online from Flipkart.com.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i>This review is a part of BlogAdda's Book Review Program.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i>Comments have been disabled.</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-27050772283583621202012-11-20T07:36:00.000-08:002014-04-08T07:22:20.322-07:00The Wedding.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Excitement. Happiness. Nervousness. Bride. Groom. Heart. Lights. Shine. Music. Booze. Dance. Laughter. Giggle. Dreams. Insomnia. Exhaustion. Love. Food. New. Beginning. Colors. Heightened Emotions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is the Grand Indian Wedding.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My sister got married to the man of her dreams yesterday. I wish her the best of all worlds. Shes gone and I can't seem to contain the emptiness of my home. I guess, I shall eventually fall back on my regular blogging schedule. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
PS - Have any of you ever gone through a phase where you fall from a good '10 posts a month' to a 'rare single post a month' ?, where you want to write and yet don't find anything convincing enough ? Share a tip, if you have.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Its one of those days for me and I shall kick its ass soon.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Love.</div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-31932932353697346522012-11-09T06:03:00.001-08:002012-11-28T06:15:30.186-08:00An Embrace.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>An embrace</i> is sometimes all that we need. Breathing and melting into it, drowning into its sadness. Maybe, or maybe not ? Else, how do you manage to get past the enormous loss of a loved one. It is a tad bit uncouth, although I don't know whether on God's part or destiny's. This month, 3 of my students at the school have lost their fathers. I won't say I know what kind of a storm is whirling inside them, because I don't. Their loss is humongous and I can't even begin to imagine what pain they must be going through. Living through a time like this at an age where football seems to be the most important thing in the world is unfair. I don't know whom to blame, but what I do know, is that nobody deserves to go through a time like this. Just the thought of losing anybody around me makes my eyes water. They say, its just a phase, I don't trust them. How can you get past a phase where somebody loved you more than their own lives ? How do you forget your first super hero ? How do you gather the strength to make it all seem better when clearly it won't ever be the same ? Nobody can.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>I pray for them and wish them all the best in life.</i></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-57022643342992724732012-10-26T06:40:00.000-07:002012-10-26T06:49:48.712-07:00Delicious Ambiguity.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The best thing in life <i>is not knowing how its going to end</i>. This way, hope and love always find a path to struggle back in. As the years pass by, we are often engulfed in a quagmire with ourselves, amidst that whiff of a smoke and those beautiful laugh lines. They make us look older, also wiser, but do we care ? Our sense of right and wrong develops a smarter perspective, only to unfold the real us. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What a frivolous conundrum this life is.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is strange, how our ideals shape themselves according to our comfort. Not everything right deed springs up an innocent smile, not every wrong deed weighs heavy on the conscience. I don't know why I am being a philosophical nerd here, but the irony of this fact is that there was a time when all that I'm writing right now would have put me to sleep in no time. Change. That, I suppose, is what I'm talking about, or atleast I'm trying to.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Change, has never really been my thing. I like routine, waking up to the sound of the same alarm tone everyday, running late for work. I let comfort settle a layer deep inside my skin. And when the situation demands to peel it off, I feel this infuriating pain that stings me at regular intervals.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stories. Did you know, every man has a story to tell ? No matter how dark, no matter how twisty, there is always a story somewhere in that nondescript part of their brain, waiting to be told. Stories, that were woven with great precision, intertwined with an accurate dose of happiness and tears. They make them want to jog down the altar that leads to happy memories, memories that are stained with flaws, flaws that seem to be the closest possible entity to whats real.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some, inherit the richness of time. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some, fly away with that broken wing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But then again, The best thing in life is not knowing how its going to end. Or rather, how your story is going to end.</div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-46436957929707918812012-10-02T10:57:00.000-07:002013-07-25T01:39:24.545-07:00Innocence [55Fiction #10]<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5AoROZoYvho/UGsINJ0ne6I/AAAAAAAAD24/RozTnr-kBaY/s1600/318442_2455936130914_1627423912_2332604_418284910_n_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5AoROZoYvho/UGsINJ0ne6I/AAAAAAAAD24/RozTnr-kBaY/s320/318442_2455936130914_1627423912_2332604_418284910_n_large.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">How fast
they grow up, not a second to waste, not a second to breathe.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Those tiny palms, now filled with
henna, those tousled hair, now puffed up with accessories, those muddy toes,
now modestly polished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Life passes
us by in a jiffy. Halt for a moment today, and caress the scent of their
innocence.<u1:p></u1:p></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-82736644430417744492012-09-26T05:43:00.000-07:002012-09-26T05:49:04.374-07:00Just Married, Please Excuse.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JDWTLVUxirk/UGL5jab9UVI/AAAAAAAAD1I/hyoi5vjPO2o/s1600/artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JDWTLVUxirk/UGL5jab9UVI/AAAAAAAAD1I/hyoi5vjPO2o/s400/artwork.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
'Just Married, Please Excuse' is a very simple attempt to throw humor at the concept of marriage in India by a Gurgaon based housewife, Yashodhara Lal. Vijay(V) and Yashodhara(Y), two young individuals who happen to have fallen for each other, get hitched together after only a few months of dating. Even though Yashodhara, 23, feels she is too young to fall into the trap, she still gives in. Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, the greatest cities of India, are where the story sets its pace. I might even call it a love story, but then again, it was too cheesy to be one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With all the little glitches and steep turns of marriage, they find solace into each other arms, right before the big twist sets foot into their lives. Yashodhara gets unexpectedly pregnant, she is shocked but Vijay is extremely happy. He makes sure she is showered with utmost love and care during her pregnancy. It is only after the baby comes into their lives that they start arguing about every little thing, from 'her name' to 'how to take care of her'. And to know the story behind why the baby gets named 'Peanut', you have to buy the book and read it for yourself.<br />
<br />
This is where the erratically funny counselor steps in with the funniest way to deal with her patients. She constantly advises V and Y to go for her 12-step program. If nothing else, you have to pick this book up for her. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was apprehensive before applying for this book, not just because of the topic its based on, Marriage, also because it is an Indian author creation. And this has been said with no offense to any Indian authors who might be reading this. I mostly enjoy international suspense and thrillers but this sure was refreshing, plus it was a signed copy, which makes it a little precious for me to own.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The use of the very famous Hinglish language by Yashodhara in the story was a big turn off for me. I had to drag myself to the next page whenever a Hinglish dialogue passed by. If I wasn't obligated to write a review here, I probably would have stopped reading after all. But then again, to each, his own. Many Indian readers might find that amusing and I respect that fact. The book also had a couple of grammatical mistakes which were entirely unexpected giving in the number of times it must have been proof-read.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: Just Married, Please Excuse</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Yashodhara Lal</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: Harper Collins</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Price: INR 199</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Number of Pages: 264</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Fiction</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">ISBN: 978-93-5029-227-3</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-18001217692357357572012-09-22T06:29:00.000-07:002012-12-20T07:12:45.620-08:00The Krishna Key - A Book Review.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7RZuvCwjCig/UNMqtYBUVHI/AAAAAAAAEEQ/YfmHbg-iIT4/s1600/ashwin-sanghi-book-the-krishna-key.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7RZuvCwjCig/UNMqtYBUVHI/AAAAAAAAEEQ/YfmHbg-iIT4/s320/ashwin-sanghi-book-the-krishna-key.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u>Book Summary of The Krishna Key</u></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Five thousand
years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought
about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its
fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a
fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age—the Kaliyug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u>About The
Author (Source : Internet)</u></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ashwin Sanghi is
one of the well known writers in the Indian literary scene, and an author of
thriller fiction. He shot to fame through his first release, The Rozabal Line.
His books are characterized by extensive research, and they're fast paced
political or historical thrillers.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ashwin is an
entrepreneur by profession but writing historical fiction in the thriller genre
is his passion and hobby. Ashwin was educated at the Cathedral & John
ConnonSchool, Mumbai, and St Xavier's College, Mumbai. He holds a masters
degree from Yale and is working towards a Ph.D. in Creative Writing. Ashwin
lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika, and his son, Raghuvir.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u>My Review</u></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Given the literary history of the author and his
title of ‘Dan Brown of India’, my expectations from this book were high since
the minute I signed up for it. This is my second book that relates itself to
the great Indian Mythology, and that is a surprise in itself, because of my
interest issues. But nonetheless, you haven’t lived enough until and unless you’ve
explored all the flavours on life’s platter, and my taste buds are very
cooperative.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Krishna
Key is no doubt an intriguing read. Ahswin’s writing style will hold your
interest right uptil the last page of the book, not to mention Dan Brown will
always occupy one little corner of your mind, no matter how hard you try to
concentrate. The way the final loose edges of the plot have been brought
together into a thrilling conclusion is commendable. The amount of research
that has gotten into the making of this book is worth giving a mention here.
Pictures have also been provided that help the reader get a better perspective
as o what all is going on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Glimpses
of a poor proof-reading can be seen in a few places if you read the book
carefully. The story struggles to keep in place because these mistakes can be a
big spoiler for some. Names of characters have been mixed up in a couple of
places. The errors were simple and should have caught the much deserved
attention of the writer’s or the publisher’s pen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
may not give a very glowing recommendation to this book for you if you’re not a
Dan Brown-thriller fan. I may as well end up calling this one as a work of fan
fiction.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u>My Rating</u></i> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3/5</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>This book was reviewed as a part of BlogAdda's Book Review Program.</u></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u>Participate now to get free books.</u></i></b></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-24538997448596341882012-09-16T10:54:00.000-07:002013-05-25T21:49:22.612-07:00The Slum.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
I see their clenched stomachs, impregnated with pangs of hunger,<br />
But it also carries great strength, the one that urges them to earn every little morsel.<br />
<br />
I see them dancing and bathing in the pools of mud,<br />
But my contemptuous darting glares never seem to disrupt their innocent smiles.<br />
<br />
I hear the pain and anguish of a molested daughter,<br />
But the tenacity of togetherness heals her wound.<br />
<br />
I feel their bare chapped feet, running on my skin,<br />
But they leave the essence, of the touch of a pristine baby.<br />
<br />
I smell the fear, of their hut collapsing on a rainy day,<br />
But their palace stays intact, blessed by the power of their prayer.<br />
<br />
I know that fortitude, the one that controls their darkest emotions,<br />
But it also tells me, that they are broken inside.<br />
<br />
I support the colossal bamboo that serves as their only toy<br />
But their empty eyes fail to hide, that longing for something more.<br />
<br />
I wonder, how would it feel,<br />
If only for a day, I could Soak no more.<br />
<br />
I see them cry, I hear them laugh, I soak it in,<br />
For I am the Slum.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u7:p></u7:p> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<u1:p></u1:p><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PkMGrm_eZwg/UFYSC60nw-I/AAAAAAAADxs/Q0nUoqA698M/s1600/A-child-looks-on-from-his-008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PkMGrm_eZwg/UFYSC60nw-I/AAAAAAAADxs/Q0nUoqA698M/s640/A-child-looks-on-from-his-008.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656161043609032032.post-34426861040611862112012-09-16T09:02:00.001-07:002013-06-09T15:15:39.263-07:00A Paralled World.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;">Comments have been disabled, discussion might disrupt the message I'm trying to convey here.</span></i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When the red light goes out, a parallel world gets in. The kind that is well guarded and well measured, except to the customers that pay. There exists a story of great mystery and intrigue, for this is the world that trades lust for money.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They come,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They go,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
leaving behind some debris,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
some pain,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
some money.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Looking every bit like a desperate Indian bride, she battled her self-esteem and walked into the room. It smelt foul; like a chemical; like sex. The fear, the turmoil, the storm inside her heart that used to resurface whenever she climbed the staircase to this room had settled. The tasteless decor of red velvet was sprawled across the tainted bed. The walls were a nude yellow and the paint was fresh. She missed the old chapped landscape of the room. It recognized her and she didn't bore any shame in baring all in front of them. They seemed to absorb what was left of the excruciating pain she once felt. At first, the burns on her face seemed to repel him but still he unhooked her bra and got down to business. He knew his pocket allowed him only 200 an hour and this was the the only brothel in town that was eager to serve his needs at this price. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth were vaguely visible. She wondered if he had any kids or if he was married at all. Apart from all those lustful glares, she thought she saw a glimpse of a clumsy kind man who pitied her condition, but very well knew that he couldn't do much about it. She liked the ones who pitied her, a tear or two made sure they were back within a week. He paid to spend an hour of desperation with her, and to her he would always remain a capable client who could afford her rate and whom she had to please in every possible manner so that he frequently comes back asking for more.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
His hesitant polite manner told her that he was not one of those demanding customers who extracted worth out of every minute that they were paying for. As soon as he climaxed, he slid off her chest. It had only been twenty minutes but he started dressing himself. 'Naam kya hai tera ? Agle hafte fir aaunga' (<i>What is your name ?,</i> <i>I'll come again next week</i>). His voice caught her off guard and he was no more the shy stranger. She muttered her name under her breath. With an awkward demeanor he kept the two folded hundreds on the edge of the bed and turned to leave. 'Agar use pata chala ki maine tumse paisa liya hai to mujhe maar daalega' (<i>He would tear me into pieces if word of my ever touching a cent of that money got to his ears). </i>Now she knew, he was a novice.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i>He looked at her with an almost guilty expression and picked up the money.<i> </i>Apart from the faded moaning, this was the first of what she had ever spoken to a client, she never wanted to; she never had to. Their ignorance towards her feelings had made her strong and she intended on carrying on this strength within her forever. People had been calling her profession dirty and shameless, the irony was that the ones who paid for having sex with her had no dirt on their collar, all of it was served on her platter. She got off the bed, changed the bed sheet and prepared herself all over again looking like an Indian bride for another 200 an hour companion.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She felt sleepy and thought she would call it a night after this one. It had been six long months but still she was never able to entertain more than three men in one night. She knew this was her weakness and that it cost her a lot of money when compared to all the other ladies. Her employer called in after a couple minutes informing her that there weren't any more men asking for her that night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She <b><i>soaked the pain</i></b>, fed her baby, ate her dinner and slept a dreamless quiet night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ONd1JTjVe7w/UC8tWpSExdI/AAAAAAAADoE/9MPfbXvn-O8/s1600/2012-03-19T033621Z_1_CBRE82I0A0Y00_RTROPTP_3_NEWS-US-BANGLADESH-PROSTITUTION.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ONd1JTjVe7w/UC8tWpSExdI/AAAAAAAADoE/9MPfbXvn-O8/s640/2012-03-19T033621Z_1_CBRE82I0A0Y00_RTROPTP_3_NEWS-US-BANGLADESH-PROSTITUTION.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Government of India has listed prostitution under its list of victimless crimes. Is it really a victimless crime ? If no, who is the real victim?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
**</div>
</div>
</div>
Ayushihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09780198835944363751noreply@blogger.com