Pondering Two- A Blog Review by The Secret Blog Elves

So it’s the holiday season and everywhere I look there’s so much happiness and warmth. It’s the Christmas cheer and truly following the Xmas spirit, we lovely women at Indiblogeshwaris, have decided to extend the festivities to our blogs by spreading love and reading other blogs. Blogs that otherwise, in all probability, we would have never come across.

And that’s how I bumped into “Pondering Two”, a blog that’s run by a wonderful couple, Hetal Kachalia and Rohan Kachalia. The first thing that came to my mind when I started reading their blog that it’s quite user friendly. The template used is a simple one with not much of widget-cluttering. I liked the simple and no-nonsense tone of the blog. Also the share buttons are right there at the top of the post, which is a very clever thing to do, it reminds your readers to share the posts they like.

The posts are related to love, romance and life that the authors weave beautifully in short stories, poems and Haiku. There are also quite a few book reviews that are detailed and informative. I would suggest the authors to change the font and increase the font size of the posts. I loved the many Haiku on the blog and ones that caught my attention were this and this one. 

I also liked the fact that the authors always respond to the comments on their posts which I attempt to do, but sometimes due to lack of time, I fail in replying to the kind comments of people who take time out to read my blog. 

I also loved the short stories that are penned in the blog. They revolve around the theme of love, marriage and romance. I was quite surprised when I realized that the blog is just a year and a few months old but the kind of reader base it has garnered and the number of posts written are applaud worthy.

I was little disappointed that the blog has not been updated for quite some time now. But I guess everyone needs a little break in life. I sincerely wish that the Hetal and Rohan write more and share their stories and proses more in their blog. 

So hop on to the lovely blog and read some great posts by Hetal and Rohan. Here are a few of their posts that I read and loved.

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/2013/10/moments.html

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/2013/07/my-lifes-essay.html

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/2012/12/a-letter-from-me-to-you-you-you.html

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/2013/10/the-arrival.html.

Have a merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous New Year!

Women Entrepreneurs In India- Featuring Preethi Maitri Prabhu from Indya Kaleidoscope

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken, 1920

It takes a lot of courage to walk down a path that’s less trodden, more so if the path is strewn with difficulties and snags. But women with determination and passion for their dreams are not easily deterred by obstacles. Instead they just roll up their sleeves and tackle the problem head-on. And these women then go on to make success stories out of their lives.

One such woman I know is Preethi Maitri Prabhu, founder of the Indian arts and crafts store Indya Kaleidoscope located in Bangalore. Preethi and I were classmates, but after graduating we failed to keep in touch (my loss). Few years back, thanks to Facebook, I found her and added her as a friend. That’s when I became aware of her endeavor to help rural artisans in making an earning. She left her comfortable job in IT so that she could follow her dreams of keeping alive the many traditional but rapidly vanishing art practiced by artisans in remote areas of Karnataka and neighboring states.

She directly sources the products from the artisans avoiding middlemen who are known to exploit the naïve craftsperson. As part of her job in IT sector, she used to travel a lot and her love for art made her visit the craftsmen, whose plight moved Preethi to an extent that she decided to help them sell their handicraft items by making them available in the market directly. The fact that there was a huge demand for the beautiful, authentic handicraft pieces also helped her in this cause.

Her love for interior decoration and her passion for Indian culture and architecture abetted her dream to open her own store.  Her vision took form in the shape of Indya Kaleidoscope store which started operations on 14th December, 2011.

Preethi has a lovely store at Koramangala and one glance at all the colorful and vibrant artifacts that adorn her store makes you want to raid the store. Her blog also gives useful décor ideas that are relatively inexpensive, simple but amazing DIY concepts and also information about places in Bangalore where one can buy ornamental pieces for home décor that does not necessarily leave one bankrupt.

The wonderful brass collection-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The amazing IK Products-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

Vibrant Cushion Covers-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The products that were available at the Garage Sale-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The amazing IK Products-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The amazing IK Products-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The amazing IK Products-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The amazing IK Products-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The reading Ganapathi-https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

If the above pictures didn't make you drool, I know you are lying :-)

The products in her store are priced in the range of र 50 to a few thousands of rupees, the prices are low, as Preethi wanted to ensure that the art collection available in her store can be afforded by all.

Indya Kaleidoscope was featured in Good Homes magazine last year.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

Preethi was also featured in Deccan Chronicles where she talked about her love for art and her inspiration to open her dream store.

Source:https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

I also know ( from her Facebook updates) that recently due to an unfortunate water-leakage problem at her previous store location she underwent a lot of anxiety and stress in finding another suitable location and she had to shut shop for few days to relocate.

But like a phoenix she rose again. And this time around her store looked more lively, more vibrant and dazzling. She even had the marvelous Bodhi tree repainted in her new office and it does look resplendent.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The old and new Bodhi Tree, source: https://www.facebook.com/Indyakaleidoscope

The fact that even though the store was closed, she continued to deliver the products ordered by the customers, talks a lot about her dedication and commitment.

Very few people can chuck out a comfortable life to follow their heart, to live their dreams. And very few can actually make a success of their dream. And Preethi, with her infectious enthusiasm and her mulish dedication, has made her dream come true. And the icing on the cake is, through her venture, she is supporting hundreds of artisans in making a living and keeping their art alive. And she is making a positive difference to their lives.

She is indeed an admirable woman entrepreneur of India.

To have a look at the amazing products that are available at her store and from the various sources the items are procured from do read this entry at the IK blog-

http://indyakaleidoscope.com/blog/2011/11/products-indyakaleidoscope/

A special thanks to Preethi for allowing me to use the fabulous pictures of her store from her Facebook page.

Written for the Indiblogeshwaris Ladies Independence Special Contest in association with http://womenentrepreneursinindia.com/

A Potpourri of Memories

One day when someone asked me ‘what is life’, I was flummoxed? How do I describe life? How do I describe living? It’s not something I think often, I just live, right from the moment I was born, to the day I’ll die, as written in my fate. I live without thinking, because that’s what I’m supposed to do. That’s what I was born for, right? 

But if I could prophesy my death, then would I be happy at the way I have spent my life? Would I look back into my past, reminisce about those sweet moments spent with loved ones, repent those harsh words or deeds committed in fit of anger, wish to relive those moments when I was on cloud nine, maybe the day I fell in love or the day I first saw my baby’s face. A potpourri of memories, zip -zap through my mind, as mentally I race through my own life, until I find that moment where I can dwell my thoughts on.

I close my eyes and listen to the below song and what do I see within my mind’s eye.

I see my dad lifting me and throwing me high, higher. I see myself laughing and giggling because I blindly trust my dad to catch me before I fall down. 

I see myself crying over my dad’s body, because he’ll no longer be there to lift me up, to make me laugh.

I see myself sitting on my mom’s lap and wiping her tears, asking her what’s wrong, only to learn that she had had a bad day at work and she’s terrified of spending a long life alone.

I see myself as a confident young lady walking across my college gates, determined to make my life a success.

I see myself happy, jubilant in my office on my first day at work. I know I have made my mom proud.

I see myself falling in love, exhilarated and excited, dreaming of a future.

I see myself broken, with tears in my eyes and pain in my heart and my love leaving me forever.

I see myself looking up into the eyes of the kind man who holds my hand and promises to take care of me and love me until death do us apart.

I see myself holding my daughter, cuddling her, feeling the warmth of motherhood gush over me.I promise to be a great mom, just like my mom was to me.

I see myself praying to God, for giving me what I deserve and for answering my prayers when I needed HIS help the most.

What does this song do to me? It makes me nostalgic as I walk down the memory lane finding comfort in those cherished moments, trying to recall the grief I suffered and trying to relive the magic of life.

This post was written for That Tuesday Thingy Premiere hosted at Indiblogeshwaris.