Monday Blues: Dare to dream

Let it be very simple. Let it be big. Let is be difficult. Let it be anything you think you want to do. May be it is too tough to do or too difficult to achieve but if you have it in you and pursue it, make it your dream. A dream worth living for. A dream to achieve and you will find ways to do it. But the first step is the toughest to take. It is a big leap. Dare to dream and you have already started off on that journey.

I have a secret to tell you and I am sure it will help you to dream and achieve it too. Have a specific dream. Specific to the color, size, brand, look and feel. It will help you make your dream better and live to see it turn to reality.

Let me give you a personal example. Years ago I had this dream of winning twin awards. Not one but two. Every time I thought of it I always had some notion that I wanted two. I always imagined I would be holding them and also remember the smile. Now I forgot the dream for sometime till I won the awards and was on stage to receive them and here is the picture. Dreams come to reality when you build foundations under them with hard work and determination. Dare to dream. Care to achieve. Want to read some success stories? Check out Talk To Tiger.

Selfie with daughter

#mankibaat #selfiewithdaughter She makes me complete #thelittletigress @theliltigress #betibachao

The #LiveLodgycal experience @ Blogadda

Day -12: I am on my twitter app updating myself and I suddenly see the tweet from Blogadda. Something exciting is happening and I am invited to be some of the select few. How can I say no? I decide to skip the session of RTI at my law college and jump on the bandwagon. 

The Light Liders

Day 1: It was a good day to wake up. Last night it had rained and the cool original Bengaluru weather was welcoming but the excitement was more about the hot humid Goan weather that would invite us in some time. 40 (top) bloggers from all across the country woke up early and gingerly finished their tasks and moved towards the respective airports to board Air Asia flights and headed to Goa. While the flight was uneventful, there was very high expectation in the air about what the Renault Team with their new MPV - Lodgy would have for us along with their co-conspirators - Blogadda. Now we all know the hospitality of Blogadda and we were only ready for being pampered. I personally was coming off after 72 hours work shifts and had left my little one at home and it was a promise to come back as soon as I finish my testing and review of Lodgy.

We landed on time in the little Goan airport and stepped into the arrivals lounge when the Team #LiveLodgycal were ready to receive us and we were ushered into the waiting bus and wow we had 20 more people to join us in this crazy drive. I dozed off on the bus to reach the hotel and was ready to experience the fun and the famed five star service The Leela Kempinski Beach Resort. With the floral welcome came the coconut drink and off we went to the rooms to fresh up. The evening was fun too as we were introduced to all the bloggers and the meet and greet ended with a small brief about Lodgy and the specs of the MPV. We were repeatedly reminded to have fun and not worry about the vehicle or anything else. 

The BlogAdda team were more than willing to ensure this would happen. We wanted to go to the beach but the weather played rough and it was almost impossible to walk on the beach without moon-walking. A quick dinner and a dip in the warm tub got me ready for bed but the excitement was just too high that we got up early and went off to get hands on the New Renault Lodgy. Boy this was going to be fun. 

Day 2: We were a team of four with Neha Mathur, who while not riding SUVs and MPVs cooks a mean dinner and is known for her food recipes, Hina Gujral, who has fun and frolic with food when she is not admiring the beautiful Nainital, and Giridhar the brain behind one of the top techblogs in India, and we were 'the Light Riders'. We got the higher end vehicle to tryout and we were already to ride quick and light after a filling brunch. Burp! 

The vehicle was flagged off and we zipped off on the moist Goan roads and were quickly greeted by drizzles and showers that made the driving more fun. The events planned all along with the way and we made good progress. Once we reached the Cavelossim - Assolna Bridge we had to stop and take a break. Break from tweeting, clicking pictures, tagging and retweeting and having awesome fun. The four of us had the best of times during that drive. We had Ankita to help us out with the route and it was beautiful. The view was too damn awesome. You have to stand on the edge there look at the lone fisherman in his boat under a palm hat and rain drops hitting your face and you are the only human amidst the massive plantations, flooding river and a cloudy sky. Damn it was fantastic.You got to be here to see this. And then we zoomed off to the venue – The Lalit Ashok. We went off to the beach and there were 15-20 ft high waves and a strong wind blowing at you. With all cameras being guarded all the bloggers were taking pics and strolling on the beach. My shoes got to kiss the ocean and the fun was I could click this picture. 

Soon after lunch we went on to proceed back and we convinced Archanaa to come with us to shoot the video bits while we were driving. And again we stopped to have a break at the bridge. This time the rain stopped and we were again in for some nice treat. We clicked a couple of pictures and were sitting there while others joined us and we all sat there just looking at the sun set in the horizon at his own pace. Once it sank in we pulled some stunts on the Lodgy we are not really allowed to do to see how it performs in pressure on the wet sludgy roads in rain. The vehicle performed well and I have a separate review coming up for the same. Once we reached back, I went out to do some shopping and got back to go to the beach and off to dinner and the party. 

Blogadda team was very particular in making us feel very comfortable every step of the way. We had an awesome musical night planned with Frontline, the best of the bands in Goa performing for us and the real fun started with bloggers started to take the mike and belt out smooth numbers like professionals. The highest point was when Neha clean bowled everyone with her incandescent deep voice and the whole of Bollywood came on to the floor. After a light dinner we bid good bye and went off to rest our tiring feet and had specific plans for the morning to shoot some short films on the beach. 

Now I have to mention the place specifically as they had one of the best resorts in India and we were really enjoying the hospitality. Once we rested our bodies we woke up to a hard hitting rain in the morning and yet we went off to the beach to have some fun and were joined by Santosh and Prashanth. We shot some funny videos while having too much fun, too much to be read as the cold swift rain hitting at you as you try to stand straight. We went off to the hotel, freshened up and packed and were ready to have a sumptuous breakfast and the Lodgy’s were missing but we had enough to talk about politics, food, travel, wildlife, life and philosophy. 

The flight was delayed but we had some fun waiting for it too. We reached Bangalore and traveled back with Garg Ankit, Piyush, Pariknnita and called it off. This was really a fun experience and it was awesome to the hilt. Thank you Blogadda for pampering us and keeping us happy, busy and engaged. It was more a fun event than 40 bloggers working for something. 

We made 45 new friends - Tina , Pranav, Atul, Manjulika, Aditi, Neha, Senthil, Rutavi, Debojyoti, Sammy, Ragini, Prateek, Murtaza, Piyush, Nirav, Madhu, Deepak, Satish, Rekha, Roshan and Omkar. Now Harish, Ankitha, my bags are packed and am ready for the next adventure. Thank you Renault and BlogAdda for everything. 

#LiveLodgycal #Peace.

I was a part of the #LiveLodgycal Drive by BlogAdda.com in association with Renault India. 

Stop your excuse and get going!

One afternoon in October 1931 Amy Carmichael (1861-1951) fell down and broke a leg and dislocated an ankle. Complications set in which, added to her thirtysix years of unbroken service in India, left her an invalid for the rest of her life. 

Yet from her bed — often lying completely flat — she continued her ministry of rescuing temple girls in Dohnavur, South India. She kept in touch with the outside world through her correspondence and, with help, wrote thousands of letters. 

Already the author of many books, she wrote a further thirteen books during this period, as well as revising her other titles and producing more poetry.

Quote for thought!

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still!

Product review: Ambipur Air Effects

"Fish! Fish for dinner today!" 

This is the announcement that greets me as I reach home and I say, "I know! I could smell it at the parking lot!"

Let me confess, I love fish. But then I love the smell too. The real smell stays longer than we all like it. A typical family has several odors that they live with every day. Fish is just one of them. Eggs, milk, last night's curry, the undiscarded pizza box, nappies, tissues, papers and what not! We all know the weaknesses, then leave it to settle on its own and then start to live with them. The next step is to get used to the smell so much that you wouldn't even notice it anymore. Unless until you walk out of the room for some time and come back. Yep, you grow to love the smell (that was sick right?)



Do you know indoor air quality is one of the most concerning issue we all choose to ignore? Modern life exposes us to a vast number of harmful toxins every day. The air in enclosed spaces likes homes and offices has 2,200 times more concentration of toxins than the outdoors! While you must always look at enhancing the natural flow of air and light into the rooms to ensure they are healthy and disease free, you might also depend on various solutions to solve the odor problem. The market therefore has new tools and technologies that promise to help. At least in terms of smell, the Ambi Pur Air Effects is one such product designed to reduce all the odors that plague your homes in one smooth simple swoosh of Ambi Pur!

The fragrance is slightly mild and pleasant depends on what quantity you use. The lesser the better as it neutralizes the unpleasant odors and brings in the freshness of what you have chosen from the Ambi Pur arsenal. They have a variety of fragrances to cater to your tastes. The ones we liked are the Blossom and Breeze and Lavender Vanilla and Comfort, there are some exotic ones too that promise to take you to the land of your dreams. If you feel you might get bored with just one, pick up more fragrances. While Ambi Pur would help you remove the bad odors right away, always look to keep our place clean to keep it fresh and disease free. Cleanliness is next to Godliness and for all others like me, you have a solution now. Fresh up instantly and see the difference. You don't have to live dirty you know! You can change from #SmellyToSmiley.

I am blogging for #SmellyToSmiley activity at BlogAdda.com in association with Ambi Pur.

Rising Star Marketer of the year 2015

I won... Rising Star Marketer of the year @ National Business and Service Leaders Summit 2015. Special thanks to Mom, dad, Sarah Vamshi, The Little Tigress for bearing with me.

Special thanks to my team at Samskruti Builders especially Kiran Hulimani, Venkat, Kavitha, Chandra Mouli, Premila Anthony, Veenaexact Kulkarni,Nadiya Sathish, Sudha, Venkata Tejosh Paladugu for letting me be smile emoticon

The award was presented by Maninderjeet Singh Bitta Mandira Bedi DesignsBrands Achiever

13 Things to do when stuck in traffic in Bengaluru

I love Bengaluru. People, culture, food, climate and the opportunities. I also like the traffic. What do you do when you are stuck in traffic? I meant #BengaluruTraffic but I guess you can do the same anywhere. Here are some interesting ways to pass your time and don't feel the pinch of waiting in line. Where do you get stuck everyday? Silk board? Marathalli? Bellandur? Malleswaram? Jayanagar? Wherever, hope these would help you. Just kidding ;P

Do share and pass on if you like them. 

1. Grow a beard. Before you reach your destination given this mayhem of traffic, I bet you will have one to sport soon.

2. Talk to someone in your next vehicle and woo them. May be you should fall in love! Same place tomorrow?

3. How often have you contemplated on changing your hair color? Streaks may be? You have enough time to color, let it dry and wash off. May be someone would come up with this idea soon.

4. Your vehicle has been crying out for help and its true color is hidden under the dirt. How about giving it a quick bath right now? BTW, did you need one too?

5. When was the last time you wrote a letter, a love letter to your special someone? Why not write one down? No, not an email form, the good old snail mail with your hand on paper.  

6. Well, I got to confess, it doesn't hurt to shed a few pounds. Get up and flex your muscles. May be if you do that every time you get stuck in traffic, you might actually lose some weight. 

7. For the chefs among you, why not carry some fresh veggies and prep for dinner? Slice, dice and mince and you are ready to whip out a mean dish by the time you reach home.

8. Anyways you end up screaming and murmuring somethings good and bad to your neighboring vehicles. How about chucking out the bad words and learning sign language? You would be a better communicator you see!

9. Put your knitting skills to test. Knit knit and knit and you might as well have a sweater ready by the time you get home.

10. You needed it. You deserved it. Take that nap. Right now. Go on, crank up the air conditioning and close your eyes.

11. What was that move you learnt earlier today in the yoga class? Try it out. Step out and try if you need more space.

12. Carry old soiled dresses in a bucket in your car. Soak them on the way to work and wash them on the way back. Viola!

13. Since when is that idea pending in your brain? Why not put it to paper and bring out that next best seller I want to read? Start with a doodle.

Here is one bonus one for you.

14. Relax. Too much work is hurting you. Here is some popcorn, watch that movie. 

And the last one will blow your mind!

15. Call home and settle that fight. Well let's hope you win. All the best. I am dropping off here.

#ConsumerPsyche #BengaluruTraffic #TrafficJam

Why you should give away some stuff!

I am bad at cleaning. So I am extra careful when it comes to keeping things in a certain way. You may say I have slightly over reactive in terms of having things done my way. But that changed when I moved to a sharing accommodation when I went to college. I have shared my room with several students of different cultures and have had to adjust in a small almirah or cupboard provided by the hostel authorities. Thought this was only for a short time before I moved on to a personal space, this was a challenge and I had to make adjustments when I moved in. I found the solution to this problem and found a good one at that. Give away some stuff. Give to the needy, to an orphanage or to anyone you think it might help out. Check out on facebook or twitter and see if you can find someone collecting for a cause and give it out. 

What can you do when you have a lot of clothes and very little to wear? What can you do when you cannot throw anything out and think you may use them later? What would you do if you had to clean up stuff in your cupboard? What if there is a solution! Well there is! I found this in an article at RewardMe.in. The post gives you six simple ways to sort out the mess in your wardrobe and yet be ready for turning out well groomed. Here are the six laws to determine how you Liana's laws of dressing would help you make the tough decision of throwing away stuff. 

Liana’s Laws of Dressing

1. If the outfit shows up before you do, put it back. Let others see you — not your great red suit.
2. Let go of items that are stained, soiled or worn out. Look your best no matter what. People around us notice far more than we think.
3. Take a hard look at what’s not been worn for a year. Can it be revived? Will it ever fit again? Was it a purchasing mistake?
4. Dispense with what's unworn and outdated. Have you worn it recently? Remember: It’s a closet, not a museum!
5. No reason to wear black. Black is the absence of color. What’s your own personal black? Burgundy, navy, plum or teal?
6. Buy staples that are classic and high quality. Update your wardrobe staples with new accessories.

Let me tell you the advantages in giving away some stuff. You get a lot of space! It helps to have some extra space in your cupboard. You can buy more stuff. Get updated and upgraded. Help someone out and rock doing that.  Go on open your cupboard. Time to reward others and reward yourself too.

Get more fashion advice and tips from here.

“I am participating in the ‘Ready For Rewards’ activity for Rewardme in association with BlogAdda.”

Book Review: Elijah... Among the Shades of Time

I am a literature student. I know it is tough to write. Especially if the story is a known one. Known one for about 4000 years. From one of the most famous books. Take one of the most famous battles of epic proportions and try and breathe words into the scenes. How do you do that? How do you attempt something so ginormous and yet come out a winner.  You don't write it. It comes to you. One page at a time. Once scene to another. You live it. It is a rare experience and Susy could make it happen. I am talking about the latest book from Susy Matthew - Elijah: Among the Shades of Time.

Taking a story right out of the historical chronicles in The Bible, Queen Jezebel and Elijah fight it out in their quest to prove the supremacy of the God they believe in and how they turn the favour of the people, Susy does an amazing job handling various complicated characters. This is a rare topic as you would have now imagined and is for the serious reader who likes the heavy stuff and actually enjoys his history and literature. But Susy makes it easy for you. Adds a bit of love, romance and explores the hard facts as they are and could have been. This makes the story easy on your mind when you venture in to it. Though the obvious love story lures you to believe that this is just another book, it actually helps you soak in the seriousness of the times and how futile several of the adventures were. After all those were the times of the mighty kings and the subjects. How Elijah, one of the most powerful prophets in the Old Testament, turns from a reluctant follower to a formidable hero and leader and helps bring in the Lord - Yahweh's will is the crux of the story.

The book is a fast read and paces the story well so that you are in sync with the timelines and are kept engaged to understand what is happening around you. The kind of dread that Queen Jezebel's actions bring up in you is superb. With her command on the intricate details about the levels of the demonic world and the futility of being in the illusion of command is handled quite well. For those of you who like to understand the power of bodily aura, projections and enjoy a thrill in seeking the pleasures beyond the visual, obvious, this book is a delight as it serves you quite a handful. The war in the physical world is just a reflection and a minor representation of the war in heavens but that doesn't make it any less interesting. While I am tempted to reveal the main plot, I don't want to take away your joy in reading and let the story unfold. Despite all the historical significance, a dash of the world of witchcraft, demonic control of the dark world, secretive mystic sisterhood of Baal, a theme of love and a raging war, Elijah promises a racy tale of the fight between good and evil, a story of intricate supernatural manifestation that is served in a small book you can't resist.

A welcome approach to bring out the usually ignored and untouched stories from the ancient books. Susy Matthew does ample justice in representing the landscapes of ancient Israel, culture, relationships, values, family ties and much more. Pick it up today from flipkart by clicking here.

Rating: 3/5

Pic is from here.

From the source

Always. Check the source. With a pinch of salt. The message can be distorted. Not can is always already distorted. Arguably one of the best ads I have seen in recent times and Veja hits it out of the park.

Talk about creativity and expression. Different people, different art forms, different views. Take a bow.

Monday Blues: Awesome Monday

Witnessing the bright blue skies on an early morning ride is always splendid. The creation is reborn every day, every hour and with every season. The same enthusiasm, charm, rise and hope makes it even more lively. The canvas is the same, artist is same too but the picture changes. Constantly. New. Bright. Fresh. This Monday, let us wake up and move forward with renewed youth, vigor, enthusiasm, passion and pursue our dreams like there is no tomorrow. Today is the day. Not tomorrow. Make it fresh.

#MondayBlues #ConsumerPsyche