Forever Friends #together

In college, I was nicknamed as "Captian Cool" and my best friend Sharanya was nicknamed as "College Beauty". We were not just best friends, but batch mate, bench mate, classmate, roommate and bus mate. The list goes on as we were destined to be paired in every event that happened. Not just these situations which made us the "Forever Friends" but the innate love we shared for each other. 

At first, any girl in college would be jealous of  her flawless and spotless skinny skin beauty. The first few days we were around together, I saw her drinking only water when we have oily stuffs. No wonder the waters keep her fresh and flawless. Slowly, as we were paired up many times, I came to know her more personally and started admiring her. The bonding started to grow fast and thick. 

The attraction we had for each other grew as days passed and we then were the Best Buddies. She would say, she admires my inner strength, confidence and smartness, but I was never flattered. But I knew deep inside, how she truly valued each of my opinion and the importance she gave. We felt like two blessed souls to have each other. Our network of friends started growing jealous on our friendship as we excelled and shined in every activity in college.  

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Senior year in college was coming to an end and we knew how far each other has to go for our next phase of life. We shared different passions and interests in spite of being together all the time. Back in our mind, we were feeling low and depressed thinking about our separation but was confident we would be in touch and could meet sometime soon. The day finally arrived when we had to depart. 

Deep inside we both new, distances could never separate us and was optimistic about our friendship. But the reality had something different for us. Things changed when her marriage was arranged suddenly and she had to leave with her husband to London. She planned to do her MS in London so the chances of travelling back to India or spending some time over a phone call was feasible. I, "The Captian Cool" choose to work a foreign company which was a great offer one would never give up. 

Could you still think our lives would be the same when we were living in two different time zones with a busy life filled with commitments and responsibilities?

Lives got better, new place, new friends, new entertainments, and fun changed the days when we missed each other while eating or taking a decision or when buying a new dress or when deciding where to eat dinner. We never knew what we had been missing until we faced some extreme unfortunate situations. Life's toughest time remembered the missing shoulder to cry, the one who give me the strength to stay hopeful, change my outlook positively and be my side to support always. 

Eight years passed with few calls during festivals, "Hey How you been doing?" " How's your kid?".

The most memorable day was when I received the call from our "College Beauty" shouting happily that they would be settling down in India soon. And the most memorable moment was when we met each other. 

Shouted in joy and we hugged each other. I even started crying like a mom when she sees her child for the first time. Years made us stronger, grow older and wiser but our friendship for each other was the same. 

The confidence and the strength we got in being there for each other is enormous and unmeasurable. The hope of being Forever Friends in spite of the journey we travel gave me the feeling of togetherness always.

Togetherness gives you an optimistic approach towards life to conquer and win all endeavours.

Yes, this is the power of being #together!!!!

Look Up and Enjoy the love!!!

#StartANewLife with your bold move

Sometimes when people say and quote status's like Life is fun or Life is blessed I wonder in what state my life is to. I am not jealous about their happy life but questioning about the hurdles life has laid on my way. 

Born in a big family with 6 siblings and then graduated with difficulty in short of finances. Married at n very young age of 17 and a mother of 2 children. I knew what I really wanted but do I have the support that I want in my life? 

Hurdles are there in everyone life but bringing the change in our own life is always difficult. I had to take my kids to school daily and then have to pick them up also. I had to manage the family by cooking, cleaning, and taking care of everyone need. Where do I have the time for myself? 

I never had the time to cook and eat my favourite food in spite of cooking food for entire family, never had time to go pamper myself in a beauty parlour and so on. My husband was understanding but even he could not help me in my daily chores or take us for a holiday. 

I thought deeply on who could help me have a life of my own. The answer to it was very simple but complicated. The one and only person who could help in my life is myself. I had to correct the path I wanted to walk in my life. I had to change and suit my life according to the way I always wanted. 

I wanted to take the bold step of giving my life a life!!! I spoke clearly to my family how I wanted to do my masters so as to have a strong career. My family was very convinced. It was a bold move to go study in a college with two school going kids at home. Either his family or my family was there to support us. Initially it was a bit scary to be through all the daily chores at home, teach the kids school work, and study my subjects. 

But as life moved on, everything became much easier. I was managing everything so happily with lots of energy and enthusiasm. The entire family was uplifted and had great spirits. Within two years, I passed with distinction and a job in hand. My bold move not only gave me the chance to study and pass with flyi9ng colours but also a high profile job which I always dreamt off. 

The job well suited my family and my kids school timing. We also relocated to a nearby place to my office. Found new school for kids which they liked very much. My husband had to travel bit far but we managed to buy a second-hand car for his commute. With income from two in a family we were slowly able to fulfil our family's basic needs. 

My bold move to breakout from the shell of family and being an women, changed our lives completely. My new life gave my entire family happiness and success.

Look ahead and  #StartANewLife.

Our Little One

In the early months after birth, I would keep talking to my little one Ria. She would keep listening as if she understands what I am talking to her. Actions and our love conveyed more than words. 

Around 4 to 5 months, she started getting more interest in objects and toys than faces. This started as she started to use her hands better, so she became fascinated by grasping objects and hitting things, she started exploring the little world around her. Sometimes it was very difficult to get her attention when she plays with her toys. 

As we celebrated her first birthday, Ria was very naughty and a hyperactive kid. I felt as if my life was endless running behind her. She would pull down anything on her way, would grab anything and try to eat it and so on. Apart from all this Ria had her own happy moments which she just loves. 

Few of the happy moments which makes Ria joyous are

Jumping to few TV commercial ad's

Music makes Ria run around. She loves few TV commercial ad music, she would come running to the tv from where ever she was playing. She jumps to the music and shakes her body for those weird ad's which I wonder why she likes. We have also recorded her favorite Tv ad's and would play it for her when she is cranky or not well. 

Funny Faces

Ria loves when her daddy makes funny faces. She would watch him very carefully and then start shouting and laughing. She would sometimes start beating her daddy with those cute tiny hands. It happens when she becomes overjoyed. Ria likes it only when her daddy does it, once when her grandfather made funny faces, she gave a stare and never cared to look at him again. 

Baby Bouncer

One of the life saver of many moms is baby bouncer as it frees up mom to do the daily chores while it keeps the baby comfortable and happy for hours. It's like her own sweet time, she keeps talking to herself and plays with her little toys in the bouncer. She would laugh aloud sometimes seeking our attention. 

Playing Peekaboo

Ria loves to play peekaboo, she understands how objects can disappear and come back again. She enjoys to play with anyone and this would settle her calm in a place for some time. Again she will start rounding the entire home and come back to play peekaboo. At times when she is very bored, she would start playing peekaboo herself with my shawl. 

Ria enjoys all these only when she is happy on the inside and outside. She is in full swing when her tummy is full and diaper is dry. She gets comfortable with herself when the diaper is dry and comfortable. If not, Ria will be very cranky. Diaper plays an important role in keeping a child happy. Pampers baby dry pants promises dryness for the baby on inside. Its magic gel locks in moisture keeping the baby dry on the inside. Wearing pampers gives the baby comfort to sleep, having a good night sleep baby wakes up happy and fresh for the next day. 

Playing with our baby and spending all my time with her is one of the most valuable things in my life. We have recorded and photographed every happy moment of her which is deeply valued. 

See this video of how happy the baby is when getting up in the morning

Mom's around the world must be thankful to pampers for keeping their baby dry and happy for hours.

Do visit their site here: Pampers

A Cup of Coffee to a Great Life!!!

Story of an young man who always muttered at his bad luck and meaningless life. He had everything though not in excess, he frowned all day about his life. His life was miserable after he faced some failures continuously. He gave the hope and confidence with which he had success all these years. He started seeing life differently and so it happened. The young man is none other than me, Rajesh. But I was fortunate to have changed my life with a little hope which then built success bridge for my life. 

One day, I happened to meet my senior at college in a coffee shop, he was dressed very trendy and looked so cool, I remember how he used to be very shy during college days and never had an social circle. I quickly went near him and he was surprised to me, he has come for an office meeting and happened to grab a quick bite in the coffee shop. We were elated seeing each other after a long time. Everyone would love when they find someone who they knew in a different city. 

As we started chatting, our coffee and sandwiches arrived, we discussed from our campus to professors and canteen to batch mates. This guy was so cool, definitely not the guy I had known in college days. I was so curious and slowly started to ask how such a transformation in his lifestyle happened. He was laughing and told he expected me to ask this. He shared his secret mantra of positive thoughts which lead to positive actions. He shared how miserable his life was in his office when people teased him and did not get recognition from work, later how he worked on his negative thoughts and imagined good things happening to him which slowly started changing the entire situation around him. He started having friends, his talent was appreciated, and later he kept working on his positive thoughts and was very optimistic which changed his life completely. 

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He asked me to practice and practice till I achieve what I wanted. After seeing the transformation my senior had undergone with his optimism about life, love and relationships why can't it happen to me also. My problem in life was I did not get the job I wanted, I was rejected in many interviews where us my friends got selected and had an offer letter. I had an family to support who had taken education loans for my studies. All this responsibilities where burdening my mind which created a negative mindset of what if I don't get a job. Slowly the negative thoughts corrupted my mind leading to my failures.

I took up the responsibility of my failure and started to change my attitude towards life. I was confident of getting a better job of what I truly deserved, so I admitted that all these failures were reasonable for my success to get something better. I kept applying and reapplying jobs. I never gave up searching and my parents were worried. I still never gave up when I received a call from a consultancy guy. I was very delighted and went there. He fixed up an meeting with the HR and the meeting went smoothly. They were very satisfied with my performance. Later in a week's time, I received a call from the same consultancy guy and he had fixed up an appointment with the top MNC company which would be everyone's dream to work with, my optimistic attitude boosted my confidence to another level. I was elated and shouted in joy. I never knew for what profile I had been called, yet my confidence about the future was high. 

The next day, I was all prepared for the big day, I extremely did well the interview and was shell shocked while I received the order. I had been appointed for an top level profile which I could have achieved only after 3 years of experience if I had been placed through my college. Tears rolled down my eyes in joy, in pride and in confidence of what the future had been holding for me. The one moment of success changed my life completely.

My optimistic approach towards life showed tremendous performance in my work-life, had promotions, bought a new car, then a new home, my parents loan was settled, admitted my sister for her MS degree in fashion designing. My life changed the lives of many around me. My friends were waiting to get some reference from me who earlier mocked at my failures. 

One story of life which I would cherish forever!!!

Optimism brings in all that you desire in life and ask for. I shall no longer have the fear of future for I am transforming my present to the way I desire. 

Make sure you visit Housing.com who is bringing optimism to the world and to help the world live better. 

The man behind my happiness

As I watched the video of #MyFamilyMyPride ad film, it refreshed my memories back to the man of my inspiration. Do watch the amazing video yourself before reading the story of my dad and his lessons for me. 

This wonderful advertisement would have definitely reminded you about the important person in your life. 

From my young age, my dad has been my identity with which I associate with, he has been my friend, love and a enemy. He was a self-disciplined person who was conscious about his thoughts, words and action. He was a role model not only for me but many in my family. He spread love, intelligence and courage everywhere he went. People would come for advice on land dealings and cases. Some even feared about his presence in respect. 

I wanted to be just like my dad, to see every challenge as an opportunity and change it into success. But I had the fear of failure, which never let me come out of the shell. I could not go swimming in the fear of drowning, I could not drive my bike in the fear of falling down, and so on which my father learned very soon from my actions. He knew how he trained me to be brave and face extreme situations yet this fear has invaded deep inside me. Boys my age were bold, strong and challenging while I never took up any challenges that was on my way. 

My father wanted me to learn through actions rather than advise or words which would never help me overcome the fear. An incident, which changed my life forever and that changed me to a positive person full of sparks and glow. We went to my grandmother's place where she does farming and owns a few rental shops. I had a sibling too, so we roamed around the farm and take bath in the water tanks. There was a small well where everyone would swim, play and bath but my fear never let me enjoy it. I would ask my cousins to tie a small rope around my waist and go inside and play with them. They would tease me for still being a child-like person but I never cared because of my fear. 

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As we were playing inside happily splashing water on each other in a safe mindset of having been tied to the small support in the well so I could manage. After a while, I realized that it was set loose and all this time, I had been swimming myself. I panicked the very moment and I saw my father beside the support where the rope was tied. He was having a pride of letting go of my fear and shouted "You young fellow, come on, you are doing great!!". Oh yes!! I no longer panicked, I struggled through and developed the water confidence in a fun filled moment where my cousins motivated me to try harder to withhold and this moment when I realized my potential and inner strength of the person I am. He let my fear burst out, he knew I was capable but it was my incapability to accept it. He taught a lesson of how capable I am. 

That borderline of fear I crossed to become successful was very thin but my failure to understand was thick which my father bridged. From that very day, I gave everything a shot, more of a chance to find where I stand and had been experiencing remarkable success. 

I am so grateful to have such a powerful and inspiring person in my life!!! I attribute for everything I am to him now!!!

Do check out HDFC Life page where they give you the complete solution for your family's happiness in this beautiful life journey. 

Post written for IndiBlogger and HDFC Life. 

I assure that to the best of my abilities and circumstances that this blog post will stay in an un-altered state for a minimum of one year. 

Ready to Upgrade?

Month on month new cars are coming to the market, people want to upgrade stuffs and accessorize them to suit their style. Guys like me get the best deal when such upgrades happen, we would like to buy them in second-hand. Going to college, I could afford a second-hand car which is better than my old car. Now, it's like upgrading mobiles year on year. Right, it's my PG and I definitely must upgrade my car to be the hero among my friends group. Gone are the days when we see a broker or wait till we see an ad for buying and selling used cars, everything being digitalized and the internet in every mobile makes it easy and reliable with platform's like Quikr. 

Source: IndiBlogger 

Quikr gives you all the details you require in your fingertips for easy researching and buying. Being a trusted site, it gives you the leverage to buy safely and also to sell your old car at a best rate which can never happen in dealing with brokers or agencies. You must have seen ad's from Quikr Nxt on Tv, where the dealings happen so smoothly without having to worry about broker fees and other charges.

Let me share in detail on how to I used Quikr Nxt to the best for upgrading my car

1. Unless you are looking for specific high-end limited cars, its best to buy the car from the city you live as it gives you the ease to do a test drive and take home. I wanted to buy the car from a Bangalore seller only so it would be easy for me to test drive the car. Quikr gives you an option to select the city and displays the best premium deals in areas near you on filtering. You can test drive the car, have a look at the interiors and car papers. It gives you a time span to decide after visiting few more listings based on your interest. Before finalizing my deal, I took time to see few more listings and discussed the dealing with the sellers clearly. 
2. Quikr has a wide collection of used cars in its database so you might think searching would be difficult, but it gives you the flexibility to refine your results. I was very specific in the brand I wanted to upgrade my car, so choose the brand, year, fuel type and colour. I was also specific in listings which were posted recently. After refining the results were displayed according to my specifications.

   

   Image Source: Quikr

3. Then, Quikr gives you the option to save the listings of our interest. I saved around five and then used Quikr Nxt feature to chat online with the sellers. This feature is so helpful as it gives you the convenience to chat anytime, any longer with a stranger yet in a privacy holding back your personal number. 
4. After the conversations, I was really satisfied with three sellers and they sent more images of the car interiors, exteriors, mileage etc. In which I was convinced with two sellers and the rates quoted by them. 
5. We fixed up a time to meet and then I drove both the cars. Personally I felt one car close to my heart as I started to drive and my heart was fixed upon it. 

The deal was successful and happened so quick with Quikr. Thanks to Quikr Nxt for the hassle free and smooth buying!!! Next I am going to sell my used old car through Quikr which will become someone's dream car soon!

So why waiting??? Buy used cars in best condition coming at good rates than using your old cars and servicing them!!! Someone might need your old one too! 

Are you ready to Upgrade like me???

Post written for IndiBlogger Happy Hours Contest of Quikr Nxt!!!!

I assure that my post will stay unaltered in the blog for a year and more. 

Pampering Bedtime Rituals

Mommies are always running around with their prince and princess around the clock. Do you think the mommies get the enough sleep body requires? Are they refresh and rejuvenated to take care of the kid? 

Image: IndiBlogger

A proper bedtime ritual is very important and should be followed. Some of you might think, it is not necessary, but they prepare your mind and body to sleep. This way the mind and body gets prepared, over time more organized and starts performing best. Proper bedtime routine gives you the peaceful sleep to get energized and be prepared for the next day. 

Babies require a proper bedtime ritual and as they grow their preference changes accordingly the bedtime ritual. I followed a bedtime routine for my boy when he was a child to ensure he gets proper good night sleep and wakes up happy which I am going to share now

Check this Pampers video, the baby wakes up so happy and welcoming dance which every mommy would be happy with.

Every mother longs to catch up some sleep when their baby sleeps, but they are so cranky and are super active in the nights. I was one who would wait for my little prince to sleep so I can get some sleep and later learned the way to make a routine for him which we both enjoyed and felt good. 

Daddy Time:

I feed him his dinner by the time his daddy arrives home so both of them get enough time to play around and have fun. He loves the warmth and comfort of his daddy hands. They snuggle, cuddle and talk with his parents as they live in a different place. 

Bath Time:

Give him a warm water bath in his favorite bathtub. His daddy prepares him for bath while I prepare his bathtub with his toys and bubble. Then both of us bath him while playing with him which he enjoys the most.

Night Dressing Time:
We then change him to his soft cotton night wears and wear pampers diaper so he gets an undisturbed sleep without getting disturbed because of wetting. Wetting sometimes causes nappy rash as his skin is very sensitive. Lucky to have pampers which gives full night support making him sleep comfortably.

Story Time:
We have few books with music which he loves to hear when we read it to him. His daddy reads the book explaining with actions which makes him laugh and cuddle.

Singing Time:
I sing him a rhyme to finish off the bedtime rituals. Sometimes I sing divine songs to nursery songs. In case if he is already in half sleep when hearing the story we play a soft music in our tablet. He just holds our hands and sleeps. We also make sure to switch off the light after reading book. Then we on the light lamp so he is prepared to sleep peacefully. We cover and cuddle him to sleep.


We love the bedtime rituals very much!!!

Love and fun in the morning with our happy prince again!!!

Post for IndiBlogger.