Smartphone Experience Redefined

      I have been waiting to buy a new smart phone from a long time. My current smart phone keeps on hanging every now and then, irritating me to no end. Also, the camera isn't really great, which denies me the pleasure of capturing beautiful moments of day to day life. While looking for a new smart phone, I asked my friends' help who suggested me ASUS ZenFone. I looked up a little and read about their upcoming phone ASUS ZenFone 2. And after reading the features of this new phone, I am completely sold. I have made up my mind. This is going to be my next phone and I'll be eagerly waiting for the launch of this phone. Here are a few reasons why:

1. RAM: It has 4 GB RAM, as opposed to the 512 MB RAM my current phone has. With this, most of my irritation about the phone crashing is going to disappear. I can just imagine how brilliant the speed will be. I get excited just by thinking about it.

2. Camera: It has a 13 MP front camera and 5 MP secondary camera. It might sound usual but wait till you hear all about it. The PixelMaster camera captures stunning, high-resolution photos with zero shutter lag. Not only this, but the industry-leading Low Loght mode employs pixel-merging technology to capture up to 400% brighter photos at night, or in low-light scenes, without the need for a flash.

3. Battery: The one thing which we lack in today's life is time. We are all busy running after things that time is a luxury most of us cannot afford. But ZenFone 2 has a solution for that too. With ASUS BoostMaster Technology, one can charge the phone super fast. The battery can be charged to 60% within 39 minutes. This is speed at its best. I can only imagine how much time it can save, from sticking near the charger point, waiting for the charging to be completed.

4. Dual Sim: Almost all phones have dual sim technology these days but what makes this one stand out is the dual active mode that it supports. If you are on a call on one Sim and you get a call on the other, then there is no need to miss it out because the dual active feature of ZenFone 2 switching between calls on different Sims with ease.

5. The Company: I believe in the company. I have seen my friends use ASUS ZenFones and FoneTabs and they have all given positive reviews about it. So I am sure that ZenFone 2 is just going to take this to another level.

So these and many more features have prompted me to wait for the new ASUS ZenFone 2, which sure is going to take the smart phone experience to a whole new level.

PS: This post is written for ASUS ZenFone 2.

My First Smart Phone With Moto E #ChooseToStart

I read today on Facebook that a person spends 70% of his/her lifetime in recalling memories and thinking about a perfect hypothetical situation in their mind. I do that a lot! I love remembering and reminiscing about the happy moments of my life- the first day in my new school where I met my best friend with whom I’ll be celebrating two decades of friendship this year, the first time I had a crush and I proposed and he rejected (ok, that’s not a memory I love to recollect but it brings a smile on my lips), the first day of my dream job, the first salary check for a total sum of 4000/-, the first time I held my baby in my arms. But these days it’s not necessary to recollect everything from memory, which gets overloaded with excess information as we age.

With smartphones becoming more affordable and essential, it’s easier to just click photos and whenever you feel like going back to that particular moment just take out your phone and relive the moment again.

Of course the advent of the smartphone era dawned upon us only few years back and till then we had to make do with the grainy photos taken from a 2MP rear camera and if anyone would have uttered a word called selfie, we’d have probably misunderstood it for a kind of shellfish. Now even my 90 year grandmother knows how to click a selfie.

I got my first smartphone in August, 2012, a gift from my husband and it took him a couple of months to pay back the EMI which he had taken to buy the phone. Yes, buying a smartphone then cost as much as an entire month’s salary. For the first few months I didn’t know how to operate my smartphone. Whenever I tried to receive a call I had to swipe at the screen multiple times to answer it correctly. And the size of the phone was totally another matter. Sometimes I had to hold my phone in both hands while talking, because I was used to my palm-sized miniscule phone with a screen that was the size of my thumb.

Although there was an option to connect to internet on my phone, I never used it much. I preferred browsing using my laptop. And I didn’t know how to use the front camera. It was only when selfies became popular that I realized the worth of a good megapixel front camera.

It took me several months to become used to smartphone but once I got the hang of it, I became addicted. A smartphone has made life so much simpler and convenient. Ordering food, booking cabs, chatting with friends on Whatsapp, listening to online music, connecting to social media networks on the go, writing my blog posts, clicking pictures of perfect moments, watching videos with my daughter, playing online games-there is an app for every task in the smartphone. In fact the only thing that I use my smartphone very sparingly is for calling because I’m not a very call-friendly person. But still my smartphone is beside me at all hours of the day. Irony, isn’t it? But that’s the magic of smartphones-they are devices not just for calling but they offer entertainment and they keep me informed about what’s happening around the world.

My first smartphone is still with me; I haven’t bought a new phone because it was a gift from my husband and probably I’m waiting for him to gift me another one J

But it’s definitely time to upgrade myself to a better smartphone and the below image of my phone should justify my decision J

My next phone has to be sturdy because I carry my phone all the time and when you are around a hyperactive kid aged 3, there are more chances of your phone getting smashed/cracked/broken. (That’ll explain the above picture)

The new Moto E meets all my expectations and it offers cutting edge technology with user-friendly features in affordable price. The bright and colorful bands are easy to swap and give an extra dash of style and oomph to the phone. These patented bands come with a unique ridged pattern providing a better grip- a useful feature for me with a proven talent for cracking phone screens when chasing errant brats with phone clasped in slippery hands.

I also travel a lot and I’m scared of missing out on contests while I’m away from my home. My current phone has 3G networks and as for the speed of connectivity, the lesser said the better. As a result I lug my bulky laptop everywhere. How I wish that I had a new smartphone with a superfast connectivity using which I could submit a blog post in time. This is where Moto E fulfills my wish because with an ability to connect at 4G speed, I’d never have to worry about missing out on a contest. I can listen to music, connect on social media sites, read books on Kindle app and watch videos without being interrupted by the annoying buffering icon.

But when I’m constantly on the phone, I’d be worried about the battery life. I don’t want to carry my mobile charger everywhere, nor do I want to curb my fun because I’m worried about the battery on my phone going kaput. Moto E comes with a 2390 mAh battery that promises to last a full day so my recharging worries can be laid to rest.

But what good a smartphone is if I cannot click stunning photos? Moto E comes with a 5 MP rear-facing camera and a second camera in front which makes it perfect for clicking selfies or making video calls. Another feature of Moto E is Quick Capture which allows you to switch between front and rear camera just by twisting your wrist twice. That’s a wonderful feature to have for mothers like me who see a precious expression on their child’s face and wish that they had a smartphone to capture the moment. No more missing out on picture perfect moments when I have Moto E with me!

Images captured using my smartphone

The first picture that I clicked using my Smartphone

A smartphone is not just any phone. It unites the world together in happiness and grief. It allows to you to share and learn.  It becomes a true companion offering you entertainment and ability to connect with your loved ones even when you are far away in a distant land. A smartphone, in the present age, has become the smarter way of living.

All images sourced from https://www.motorola.com and http://www.startwithmotoe.com/

#ChooseToStart

http://www.startwithmotoe.com/ 

Discovering Far East Cuisine- Singapore The Food Paradise

Traveling and exploring new cities is fun and helps me to escape from the daily stress of routine mundane life. When visiting new countries for the first time I also try to learn about their culture and their tradition and if given an opportunity I love to savor their local cuisines. For a foodie like me, visiting a place where devouring delicacies is a national pastime and food is a national obsession is like attaining Nirvana. Yes, I’m talking about Singapore, the land of Fast East where food is used to promote diversity and global cultural interaction.

Singapore is an ethnic potpourri of the neighboring places that includes India, Malaysia, Chinese and it has reinvented itself as one of SouthEast Asia’s bustling and dynamic cities. While Singapore boasts of 5 star restaurants that dish out multi-cuisine delicacies, the local authentic food can be relished at open air hawker centers that are business areas for street stalls. Amidst these street stalls one can drool over spicy, aromatic food that is influenced from variety of cuisines ranging from Malay, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.

A hawker center in Lavender, Singapore

Although Singapore is widely known for its sea food delicacies, I, being a staunch vegetarian (Ok, I am known to saunter around stalls serving boiled eggs, so staunch is not an appropriate word for me), started searching for local Singaporean vegetarian dishes. And the first dish that I loved is Nasi lemak which is a rice dish cooked in coconut milk and typically eaten for breakfast. Nasi lemak in Malay means oily or fatty rice but it also means rich or creamy in texture because the rice is soaked in coconut cream and then steamed to perfection. The steamed rice is then served on a banana leaf along with various side dishes like boiled egg, hot spicy sauce, cucumber slices, anchovies and peanuts.

Nasi lemak served with anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg, lamb curry, cucumber, and 

traditional chili paste.

In another variation, the rice dish is also served along with fish cake and because of its versatility Nasi lemak can be eaten at any time of the day and not just for breakfast.

Nasi lemak is traditionally sold wrapped in banana leaves

Nasi lemak, served with fish cake, ikan bilis, egg, and buah keluak chicke

Another dish that caught my attention was Rojak which is a traditional fruit and vegetable salad and if you are thinking that a salad is boring, then think again! Because Rojak is an eclectic mix of fritters, boiled vegetables, cucumber, bean sprouts all stirred in a spicy, sweet peanut sauce. Now that’s a perfect combination of heath and taste, isn’t it?

Indian rojak in Singapore

In some SouthEast Asia cultures, Rojak forms an important part of traditional prenatal care and ceremony where a special fruit Rojak, consisting of cucumbers, pineapple, deep fried tofu and bean sprouts are mixed with a dressing of sugar, chili, lime juice and shrimp paste. Another variation of Rojak that interested me was the Rojak Juhi, which contains fried tofu, fried boiled potatoes, cucumber, noodles, lettuce and cabbages with a dressing of peanut sauce, vinegar, chili and fried garlic. Isn’t the description itself mouthwatering?

Fruit Rojak in Singapore.

Now even though I’m a vegetarian there was this dish that I came across which almost made me want to jump over the fence and join my meat eating friends. And that dish was Bak-kut-teh. The name itself is fascinating. Bak-kut-teh is a Chinese soup that literally means “meat bone tea”. The soup is made of pork ribs simmered for hours in a broth of herbs and spices like anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds and garlic. The soup is also made more delicious by adding other ingredients like mushrooms, fried tofu and finally it’s garnished with chopped coriander leaves and green onions. The interesting fact about the name of this dish is even though Bak-kut-teh has tea in its title, there is no ingredient of tea mixed during its preparation. The reference to tea is because men used to sip on a strong Chinese tea alongside this soup in order to dissolve the generous amount of fat in the pork consumed. Hmmm... Tea with soup? A strange combination!

Bak kut teh

For a non-vegetarian foodie, Singapore can be a Mecca of sorts because there are so many lip smacking dishes to relish and enjoy. A few of the dishes I’d have tried out had I been a meat-eater are

Hokkien mee which is a dish consisting of egg noodles or rice noodles stir fried with egg, slices of pork, prawns and squid.

Hokkien mee

Mee soto which is a spicy noodle/soup dish made of noodles along with slices of tomato, boiled egg, bean sprouts, peanuts, cabbages and beef or chicken meat. Broth is then poured over this combination to give it more soupy texture.

Mee soto

Nasi goreng which literally means fried rice and is made by mixing stir fried rice with shallot, garlic, tamarind and chili and it’s usually accompanied with egg, chicken or prawns.

Fried Rice in Singapore

I also liked this sweet dish called Cendol, which is a traditional dessert made with ingredients like Coconut milk, jelly noodles made from rice flour, shaved ice and palm sugar. Cendol is also served with Vanilla ice-cream topping which makes the dish more mouth-watering.

Cendol

The amalgamation of Singaporean culture and Western influences has brought out different twists to traditional dishes resulting in new and experimental cuisines with a lingering authentic taste.

Singaporean cuisine is a blend of spicy, saucy, sweet and aromatic flavors and it is guaranteed to titillate all taste buds. No wonder Singapore is heralded as the “food paradise” and Singaporean government even celebrates a day in July as “Singapore Food Festival”. Sigh! Well, we need all 365 days of a year to appreciate the delightful Singaporean cuisine.

Meme created by me

P.S- I've never been to Singapore but all the necessary information were referenced from Wikipedia

All images have been sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_cuisine

http://discover.stayfareast.com/

Together We Can

For every girl marriage evokes mixed feelings in her heart-while she is happy and excited to be part of a new family, she is also sad to leave behind her own loved family members- her parents, siblings, grandparents, her cousins and her aunts and uncles. While some do understand the pain and anxiety of the new bride in this strenuous phase of her life and help her to adjust and cope, there are some who take pleasure in embarrassing her and making her feel awkward. The only person that the bride is most comfortable with and expects to be at her side is her husband. And it’s the husband’s responsibility to ensure that his wife does not feel ill at ease in her new home.

Mine was an arranged marriage and my husband has a large extended family. When people joked and said that it would take at least a year to get to know all the members of my in-law’s family, I could feel my apprehension growing. My own family is a small but well-knit one and I was not really proud of my nonexistent social skills. I’m what you’d call as an introvert but I decided to keep my best foot forward and make an effort to please my in-laws by getting along with all.

After my wedding I bid a tearful adieu to my family and started my journey towards my new home. I sat with my husband as all his relatives came and introduced themselves. I tried to remember their names and how they were related to my husband. There was this lady, who was a close relative and while everyone was being extra nice to me, this lady started making snide remarks. She kept taunting me with a smile on her face. I tried to ignore her remarks in the beginning but after a while it started getting on my nerves.

Next morning there was pooja arranged in my new home and unfortunately this lady volunteered to help me get ready.  She started insulting my family by remarking on the poor quality of my saris and jewellery. That’s when things went beyond my tolerance level and we exchanged few words. I was really hurt because I didn’t know what I had done to antagonize her. When I talked to my husband about it, he said not to worry about it and not to react back. I was really disappointed and upset because I had expected my husband to stand up for me. I was silent and withdrawn for the next few days and if people realized it, they did not comment.

After few days my husband and I had to visit my family to complete a wedding ritual. I was happy and eager to be welcomed back with open arms. When I saw my mother, I couldn’t control the tears that welled up in my eyes. I chatted with my cousins like we had been separated for years. My brothers recalled all the funny incidents of our childhood that helped me lighten up. I felt my worries giving away with laughter and the fun that I was having. It was a perfect day and with the love and warmth that I received from my family I felt my strength and resolve returning.

In the evening we all went to the beach where I had spent many of my childhood evenings. My mother pulled me aside and asked me how I was doing in my new home. I confessed about my predicament and explained the hurt I had felt when my husband hadn’t supported me. My mother then advised me that the key to a successful marriage was communication and mutual trust and respect. She explained that it was normal to feel awkward in the initial phases of marriage but with time I’d feel as comfortable with my husband’s family as I was with my own.

Her wise words put me at ease and I vowed to be patient and strong. That day I spent with my family remains etched in my memory because I realized the importance of love, support and acceptance. The day that I spent laughing and having fun relaxed me during a turbulent phase and made me understand that life is a bed of roses and thorns and the bad days are needed for us to appreciate the good moments. 

https://housing.com/

Starting a New Life in a New Home - #StartANewLife

When I got married and moved to Bangalore, my husband and I shifted to a brand new home and though our first home was a rented one, we were terribly excited. I had so many ideas on how to decorate our house and the new items that we would purchase for our home. When we went shopping for furniture and electronic gadgets I was like a kid in a candy store. There were so many options to choose from and I liked all of them.

But soon I realized that staying in a rented place comes with its own share of disappointments. Of course you are not burdened with a hefty EMI, you have to just hand over the rent each month and forget about it. No matter how much I renovated our house and tried to mark it with my individual taste and creativity, at the end of the day the fact that the house is not mine always crawled into my thoughts. And there were restrictions- I couldn’t choose the paint, I couldn’t hammer the nails to hang the photos, I couldn’t add any additional furnishings other than what was provided by our owners.

Then in just one and half year, we decided to undertake a huge financial risk by taking a home loan and buying our own piece of heaven. We settled on the 4^th floor 2BHK house in the apartment at V B Layout. Honestly I fell in love with the area as soon as I saw it and after living for 4 years I still vouch for it as it's one of the best residential areas. It has parks, schools, restaurants, shopping malls and movie complexes all within short distance. It even has a library- JustBooks within walking distance. My husband thinks that it was the last point which clinched the deal for me J

We were worried about the home loan and the number of years it would take to pay back the loan but we knew in the long run it was a good investment. So after heavy discussions we decided to take the plunge and buy our flat.

The day of GrahaPravesh

I was super excited and almost every weekend I insisted on driving to our apartment and inspecting the progress, all though our floor was still in initial stages of development. We decided on the woodwork-the wardrobes, the TV unit and the kitchen cabinets. A few months after we booked our flat my husband and I got the biggest news of our lives.

I was pregnant!

The realization that we would be starting our new life in the new home along with our baby was the icing on the cake. We had to change our plans a little bit and the second bedroom was now converted into a nursery/ guest bedroom. We shifted to our home in November 2011, when I was 9 months pregnant and my daughter was born in March.

I love my house because it’s a place where I can just be, I can relax and unwind after a tiring day. The feeling of coming back home after visiting my mother’s place or my in-law’s place is one of pure joy and delight. Unlike my husband, I can spend days in my house as long as I’m provided with good books and endless supply of tea.

My favorite corner of my house is my bookshelf that I bought last year. I love turning my eyes towards it every now and then and admiring the rows of books that stand proudly on the shelf.

My precious bookshelf

Our new life in our home has brought so much joy and happiness and even though our EMI cuts into our monthly expenses it’s totally worth it. I think the decision to buy my own home was the best decision I have taken in my life.

https://housing.com/

The little things that keep my little one happy

‘How time flies’ I wonder looking at my 3 year old daughter talking nineteen to the dozen about the incidents that occurred in her school. Ever since she was just a year and half old baby she goes to daycare and contrary to the opinion that kids with working parents grow up to be spoilt brats, my daughter grew up to be a very cherubic and highly-spirited girl. She enjoys going to school and playing with other kids.

I think she has taken after her dad, because he is an extrovert and very outdoorsy person, preferring to roam around and meet his friends during his free time. I, on the other hand, love to curl up my feet at home with a hot cup of tea and a good book in hand. My daughter loves company and she can talk non-stop for several hours. Whenever a guest visits our house, my little one turns on her hyperactive mode, shifting into her perfect host avatar. She loves showing off her new toys and books and engaging them in conversation.

I always joke that we don’t need any form of entertainment in our house because our daughter provides it for us. She keeps us in splits with her antics. She also knows when my husband and I get angry and then she comes near us and gives us a kissy on the cheeks. She has become an expert at gauging our moods.  

My daughter Advika

So it’s extremely painful when I see my active daughter lying listlessly on the sofa whenever she falls ill. It’s difficult to confine her inside the house normally, but when she falls sick she looks so dull that it breaks my heart.

Although she may have not inherited my introvert nature, she goes after me in matters related to sleep. I love to sleep and in fact I possess this incredible ability to sleep at any time of the day or night. My daughter also loves to sleep but when she was a baby she used to wake up often during the night. My mother-in-law and my husband advised not to use diapers for her because they were scared of rashes or she getting used to diapers. As a result she used to wake up whenever she wet the bed and although we used rubber sheets to protect the bed linens, my daughter used to wake up because of the discomfort.

This happened for few months and I noticed that because of improper sleep and rest, she became cranky, dull and inactive. Her teacher in daycare also complained that she used to be drowsy throughout the day. She started eating less because of which her health started suffering.

That’s when I decided to try out the new Pampers pant style diapers that promised to keep the baby dry all through the night. I was happy when my daughter started sleeping soundly and woke up feeling dry and without any rashes. She was chirpy and got out of bed feeling fresh in the mornings. Soon she returned to her usual active self and I was very happy.

I think for any baby to grow into a healthy happy kid, proper rest, nutritious food and stimulating interaction and play are very vital.

Pampers Baby Dry Pants

Finding Strength in the Middle of a Storm #lookup

This incident occurred in the early months of the year 2007. My mother was soon to retire from her bank and I was busy and occupied in my new fledgling IT career that was going splendidly well. On one particularly warm night my mother asked me if I wanted to accompany her to drink tender coconut from the nearby shop. It was almost 8 o’clock and my mother’s night vision isn’t great, so I agreed to go along. My friend and I were continuously messaging each other on phone about office work and I was not really paying attention to where we were going.

On our way back, I took the short flight of steps leading down to our building and my mother took the small sloped driveway that had sand scattered over it. I was busy chatting with my friend when my mother slipped and fell hard on the cement pavement. It took me few seconds to realize what had happened. My mom had fallen on her back and since the landing was hard she must have broken some bones. She found it impossible to move because of the searing pain in her back.

Ever since I was a little child, whenever I saw my mom in pain or suffering due to injury my mind goes blank and I panic. I just cannot think straight. And that day too, when I saw my mother in tears, a cold terror gripped my heart. I ran inside our house and called out to my brother and we somehow managed to take her to the hospital. All through the ride my mother gritted her teeth in an attempt to bear the pain but assured us that she was fine.

When we reached the orthopedic doctor, he advised us to get a series of tests conducted after which he confirmed that my mother had fractured her backbone. What made things worse is my mother’s old age which made healing slow and her brittle bones that may have had a severe impact due to the fracture. He further warned us that if my mother did not undergo complete bed rest for the next 6 months, there was a danger of paralysis. My blood ran cold and I almost fainted listening to his words. I regretted for not taking care to see where my mother was walking. When we went on walks, I always reminded my mother to walk carefully or alerted her if there was a slippery area.

After reaching home my brothers and I realized the gravity of the situation. I didn’t have the necessary skills to manage a house or cook meals and I hadn’t really bothered to learn because my mother took care of us. Not only I had to cook, clean and look after the house but I also had to take care of my bedridden mother. We couldn’t afford to keep a full time nurse and a cook but our neighboring aunty offered to cook lunch for us for a paltry pay for the next few months.

I lost count of nights when I cried myself to sleep. It was difficult to see my normally active mother in bed with a cast around her waist. She took absence of leave from her bank and my brothers and I took turns to apply leave from office. In the beginning I was clueless about how to care for my mother or how to balance my office work and home. My poor brothers never complained once about eating overcooked dal or half burnt chapattis. After one particularly harrowing incident in kitchen I was ready to call it quits. My life was a mess because I couldn’t concentrate in office and at home I only thought about pending work and imminent deadlines. I cursed myself for my negligence and blamed myself for my mother’s injury. I was filled with negative thoughts and was on the brink of depression.

Then one day when I was at home, my mother called me to her bedside. She had tears in her eyes. I went into panic mode and asked her if she was in pain. She just took my hand and kissed it and thanked me for looking after her.

She said that she was sorry for what happened and she should have been careful about where she was walking. She said because of her mistake her children were suffering and she had to be dependent on them for every tiny little thing. She promised to get better soon; in fact she resolved to heal even before the doctor’s timeline of 6 months. She wanted to get better because she didn’t want to be a burden on us. She thanked me because I was looking after her like a child- feeding, bathing and even helping her in the toilet without uttering one word of complaint. And she said that she was proud and fortunate for having a daughter like me.

Needless to say we were both in tears and hugging hard like our lives depended on each other. And in a way it did. My mother’s words filled me with optimism about our dismal situation. I knew that I was doing best to my abilities to help my mother.

I prepared a schedule and got up early everyday so that I wouldn’t be in a hurry. Saturdays and Sundays I learnt cooking from a book that I bought. I helped my mother to take few steps everyday and spent some time with her talking or watching television. Gradually my mother’s injury healed and in 4 months she was walking around the house.

Even now my mother proudly recalls about the way I took complete care of her during those days. Only I know about how mentally weak I had become and how my mother’s kind word had filled me with optimism and hope for the future.  It had given me the strength to survive in the storm that had threatened to play havoc in our lives.

This post was written for Look Up Stories

The Journey Of A Single Woman

Everybody has an inspirational role model in their life; someone who inspires them to do better, a person who they look up to and wish that they could be more like them. For me, that person is my mother. I have blogged so many times about how my mother started working after my father’s death and raised me and my brothers. It was not an easy task but she stood tall during tough times and today all three of her children are well settled. I owe a lot to my mother who strived hard to provide the best possible education to me. She made sure that I realized the importance of financial independence for women, citing her own example.

Yet there were times when I felt that had my father been there for me, I would have faced less unpleasant incidents. Growing up, I realized on more than one occasion, that some men in our society think that just because a woman is without her husband/father/son she is vulnerable and easy prey and such men consider women as the weaker sex and without a male beside her she is fair game.

I remember this incident that happened when I was studying in 11^th. My brother and I were preparing for our exams in our home, when my mother returned from her bank in the afternoon with a visitor. She said that the gentleman with her was my father’s best friend when we were living in Bangalore and he was also a professor in college. He was visiting Mangalore for official purposes and he had some work in evening. Till then he would rest at our home. He seemed to be a jovial man and reminisced about the good times he had shared with my dad. He also offered to help me with my Mathematics syllabus since he was a professor on the same subject.

After my mother went back to her work he sat down with me to assist me in my studies. But he had a different agenda on his mind. Soon his stray hands and greedy eyes made his intentions clear to me. The fact that he was my father’s best friend and yet he could molest me in my own home, in my brother’s presence was inconceivable to me. My mind filled with red rage and while I was still trying to process the horrific happenings, my brother grabbed the man’s collar and kicked him out of our house, throwing some punches in between.

That one incident shattered my confidence and broke my self-esteem. My adolescent mind was grappling with the truth that if a man who claimed to be my father’s friend was capable of such appalling behavior then how I would survive in the outside world that was probably filled with more such men.  Isn’t it safer to marry and become a housewife than work in a hostile environment where women are perceived for their physical statistics or considered to be mere eye-candy? I was very confused, angry and depressed.

It was my mother who helped me deal with this incident by assuring me that not all men look upon women as sexual objects. She gave me examples of the men working in her bank who considered her as their peer, men who worked along with her and supported in her journey as a single working mother. I looked at my own brothers and friends who respected women and believed that women should be given equal opportunities in all professional fields.

Slowly my self esteem grew and I looked back on this unpleasant incident as something that happened with an uneducated and unscrupulous man. With my mother’s guidance I understood that I or the absence of father figure in my life was not a reason for what had occurred. Had my mother not discussed with me and instead chose to ignore the matter, then I wouldn’t have gained my confidence back to complete my Engineering degree and mould my moderately successful career in IT.

And though I still come across such men like my father’s “friend” every now and then, I know that raising my voice and fighting back for my dignity will shame them and put them back in their rightful place.

This post was written for HDFC Life Sar Utha Ke Jiyo Happy Hour contest hosted by Indiblogger.

Buying My New Car With Quikr Nxt

These days everything has become so damn expensive that to buy reasonably priced household items like a refrigerator or an oven requires considerable financial planning. When such is the case, buying a new and unused car seems almost like a dream, a dream that is out of reach from the hands of a middle class man.

So is there no solution for the common man who wants to upgrade to a better and new car for his family? Does the family all bundle into their small, compact car with no leg space without complaining because they know that they cannot afford a new car? Will the common man throttle his desire for new car? Don’t underestimate the power of common man! J

Because we now have quick and easier way to buy second-hand cars that are in mint-new conditions and at affordable prices too. Yes, I am talking about Quikr website where buying/selling old and used items is hassle free and user-friendly with a new feature- Quikr Nxt. So that’s where I logged into when I wanted to upgrade from our old Maruti Omni to a new, spacious and efficient car.

For decades my family drives a Maruti Omni which was quite practical for our large family and we have gone on many memorable family vacations in this car. We used to throw a spare bed in the boot space and the kids used to have a fun time singing to songs and creating a ruckus in the back of the car. I also wanted to buy a Diesel car, considering that price of Petrol has been skyrocketing in the past few years. 

Source- Indiblogger.in

Buying a car through a website is not very conventional, so many people would still prefer to go to second-hand motor dealer showrooms, but in this age where everything is available for purchase online without any hassles, how can buying a car be left behind? Quikr Nxt allows me to chat with the seller at my convenience and since I am a person who prefers to chat rather than call, I can initiate the deal through chatting. Also Quikr provides a host of options when selecting a new car, including cars from different brands, options to choose between different fuel types, cars with various features, with different makes, year and the flexibility to select cars that falls within my budget. Which showroom would give me so many plethora of options to select my new car?

Using Quikr Nxt feature I can chat with different sellers without having to worry about remembering each conversation and the different price quoted from sellers. Since the conversation happens through chat I just need to look at the chat history to compare prices.

Since I am particular about going for a spacious car with enough room to accommodate my large family, I can ask sellers to send photos of interior of the car. For any additional information, I can chat and ask for details.

Also since the primary use of the car would be family vacations or use of the car for official trips for my brother-in-law, the car should give good mileage and should endure rough usage and at the same time it should be luxurious enough to ensure smooth travel. Without Quikr Nxt it would have been cumbersome to call each seller and ask for these particulars which would satisfy my conditions. But with Quikr Nxt I can just chat and send my query across to a seller if I’m interested in buying the car he/she is selling.

With technology life has become much easier and hassle free. Quikr Nxt makes way for smooth and convenient buying/selling experience and it is indeed a boon for people like me who hate being on calls for long duration with strangers and are hesitant to share phone numbers in online portals.

This post was written for Quikr Happy Hour contest hosted by Indiblogger