Need your help fellow bloggers!

Hello my fellow bloggers!

I recently attempted to write a blog on growing safety concerns for women in India. It was part of a competition and although the deadline was just in 12 hours, I thought of challenging myself. I wrote a piece, but you all are the real judges.

I would be obliged if you click on the link, like it and leave a comment on how you like (or dislike) it.

🙂 It’s important to me, so please visit the like and LIKE it.

https://www.facebook.com/events/183605251839824/permalink/185323025001380/

Thanks a lot..!!

God Bless.

The Olfactory Factor : insight on Arabic perfumes #Gulf Times

When Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, looked at her bloodied hands and cried that all the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten them, perhaps she too knew that the scent of rose, jasmine and amber have the mystical power to wash away almost anything.

Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began in ancient Egypt but was developed and further refined by the Romans, the Persians and the Arabs.

It’s an Arab tradition to use aromatic oils as a base for perfumes, called attar. The word ‘attar’, ‘ittar’ or ‘othr’ is basically an Arabic word which means ‘scent’, derived from the Persian word ‘Atr’, meaning ‘fragrance’.

A 9th century Abbasid scientist, Abu Yusuf Yaqub bin Ishaaq al-Kindi, is considered the founder of the Arabic perfume industry.

Ittars, long been considered one of the most treasured of material possessions, are popular not only in Qatar, but throughout the Middle East. These natural perfumes are affordable because they are so concentrated that a small bottle will last for several weeks, if not months.

For the same reason, they are usually offered for sale in small quantities, traditionally in decorated crystal cut type bottles or small jewelled decanters. Due to the purity and the nature of oils, there is very little chance of spoilage.

Additionally, since these perfumes are highly concentrated, a small drop makes the aroma last the whole day. It is also amazing how the aroma’s intensity changes with the changes of body temperature. Their peculiarity is that they are made only from natural ingredients and doesn’t contain any alcohol.

Perfumes are very powerful agent in our social life.

Read more here :

http://www.gulf-times.com/fashion%20and%20style/237/details/351204/on-the-perfume-trail

   

Article in Gulf Times : All that blings is Gold

Gold never goes out of style. It can be worked into nearly any shape, from tiny strands that do not break easily to thin sheets, nearly anyway a jewellery artisan desires.

Gold is bought for a variety of reasons such as for auspicious sentiment, as an investment, hedge against inflation, asset allocation etc. It also carries a high perceived value and an emotional quotient. It reinforces closeness of relationships. Gold coins in smaller denominations are also considered apt for corporate gifting and rewards for contests or for commemorative giveaways.

In betrothal, an important part of the Chinese wedding tradition, four pieces of jewellery including a gold necklace, a pendant, a pair of earrings and a bangle are selected by groom’s mother and presented to the bride. The golden colour symbolises wealth and happiness.

One of the ancient traditions of Western Europe which is still going strong today in the Christian community is the idea of the engagement ring. It was way back in 860 AD that Pope Nicholas I proclaimed that not only was an engagement ring required to seal the agreement to be married, but that the engagement ring must be made of gold.

The making of the ring out of gold signified that the groom was willing to make a financial sacrifice for his new bride-to-be. Since then engagement and marriage ceremonies in the West include a small piece of gold jewellery.

Italian gold jewellery, on the other hand, is synonymous with style and Italy is well known for its yellow gold jewellery and classical designs. Italy is known as the world leader in gold jewellery production for its outstanding technical skills. Gold charm bracelets have a strong presence in Italian gold jewellery.

Everyone likes to make a statement and wear jewellery with a meaning behind it. It is an intelligent way to show one’s history or beliefs. A good example of this is the symbol of an inverted hand, where the hand extended forward is a symbol of divine force. Another example is Celtic jewellery where the Celtic knots can symbolise the eternity of life.

Read more here :

http://www.gulf-times.com/culture/238/details/350374/gold-is-never-out-of-fashion

My article in Gulf Times : Finding dream furniture

Even with Qatar Census revealing that more than one million nine hundred thousand people reside in Qatar, it is hard to estimate the number of households in this small country on the Arabian Gulf. A home to many expatriates, Qatar has seen an influx of population in last few years. Even natives who travel all around the world finally come back to settle to the place they call their “home”.

But what makes a simple four-walled abode a place to live is its interior — the families living in unison despite their own individuality.

While a master bedroom represents the views and conviction of the nurturers, a kids’ room symbolises the playful tender years. Every member of a family has his or her own taste which is gracefully reflected in the furniture they pick for their rooms.

See the full article here :

http://www.gulf-times.com/culture/238/details/347938/finding-your-dream-furniture

   

Did you do your homework?

Most of us relate to homework with school.

Door Bell.
Mom opens the door to a bunch of kids who ask if their friend can play with them.

Mom calls out his son. Asks if he finished homework and makes a decision of letting him play based on that crucial answer.

Indeed. Like many kids, even I have made excuses like, yea mom I finished – even though it wasn’t. Or told her I’ll come back and do it, even though I know I’ll be too tired and eventually I’ll be rushing through it in the morning before school bus arrives.

As a pre-teen I dint know how long this habit or culture of homework will last.

I know now.

I never stops.

It keeps coming and keeps coming.

And if you feel you got no homework, think again.

Homework culture was inculcated in school life, according to my understanding, so that students can revise what they studied in school that day, and maybe use it to think further i.e. extending the boundaries of logic/reasoning/thinking.

Though most students argue, this is unnecessary, and many countries even execute such rules of “no-homework”.

But don’t the elders or policy makers of such states realize what inactivity they are pushing the younger ones into? With a habit of no homework, how will one to learn the art of retaining information and reproducing it whenever necessary? How will one learn that a basic equation or logic can fit into more than one things? How will the younger generation be pushed to think out of the box?

To give an example, will an entrepreneur have no homework? Will he not come back home and think/note his daily learning? Will he not make a mental account of the data he processed the entire day?

Or will a manager not recall after going home, about the deals he signed or the papers he filed or the people he dealt with?

The thinking process after coming home initiates a lot of healthy thought process. Some conscious and some sub-conscious. If I can go back home today and recall the mistakes I made, most likely, I will not repeat those mistakes.

See how it works –

• I think of my mistake.
• I track back my path, what led to what. (which will require remembering past events too)
• I make a mental note that there issues led to a bad decision.
• Then think why did those things happen? What led to them?
• Reach the major root causes.

The next time any of those causes or any scenarios which can lead to those come up, I will be mentally prepared with an algorithm. That now this can happen and then this can happen – which happened last time too – which eventually led to that loss or wrong decision.

So this time, I will take an alternate path to do my work. I will ensure the same mistake is not repeated because I remember where it led to last time. And because I did not cease to do my homework.

Take another example, imagine if doctors don’t do their homework. If they don’t recognize us the next time we meet them. Or worst case – they are not able to cure us because they cant remember what our symptoms mean! Probably if a doctor sees a peculiar case or a new symptom, he would go read/research about it or consult fellow doctors. But if he doesn’t do his homework – doesn’t consult nor any research, imagine the risk on patient’s health.

So not only doing homework, doing it timely is also important. And that is a habit developed in us during our tender years in school. Maybe we shrug at helping the kids around us to do their homework, or let them go easy if they don’t, but it the long run it will leave a negative impact on their personality.

Additionally, it is important matured people do their homework too. Maybe its just a lazy office job, maybe its just a cooking lesson, maybe its just a walk or a chat with a neighbor which happened that day, revise it in your head before sleeping. Take a small note of something you casually noticed but dint feel important that time. Think about your right and wrong decisions.

Most likely, it will help you sometime somewhere someday.

P.S :

In near future (April end) I am writing a series of “un-posted letters” on my blog and inviting guest posts for the same.

The compilation of this would have letters you never posted…the ones you wrote/wanted to write to your mother/teacher/neighbor/boss/husband/friend/ex but did not.. There is no need for names, you can address them to “an inspiring soul” or “a long lost friend” or “love of my life”..

Leave a comment in case you’re interested to be a part of this.

Month of March : “In Print”

Month of March

Week 1

Cover Page :

Cover Story :

Week 2

Cover Page :

Cover Story :

Week 3

Cover Page :

Cover Story :

Week 4

Cover Page :

Cover Story :

Overwhelming joy of seeing my name IN PRINT.

Thank you MONTH OF MARCH.

How smart is our cell phone habit? : my article in GULF TIMES

When decades ago, Nokia was introduced with its catchy tag line “connecting people”, who knew mobile phones would eventually become more than just a necessity? For years after the first mobile phone was introduced, it remained a luxury item, out of reach to most middle-class users. With the advancement in technology, the number of players in the market increased and mobile phones became more affordable, and therefore ubiquitous.

The first phones had just the bare minimum function of dialing or receiving a call. Later, there was a phenomenal growth of SMS or Short Message Service. With these two functions, the requirement of a “mobile telephone” was met. And today, ‘smartphones’ feature many different useful functions like alarm, calendar, portable camera, Internet connectivity, media players, video recorders, and even GPS units.

Lately, the mobile phone industry took a step forward to introduce smartphones. And like every new product in the market, it remained exclusive for the richer class of customer. In the last few years, however, even this trend has completely changed.

More than two dozen companies have now introduced affordable smartphones in the market. So how has this trend affected the recent generation of users?

Read more here :

http://www.gulf-times.com/technology/233/details/347049/how-smart-is-our-cell-phone-habit?

Please “like” , “share” and give your feedback on the article on the link above.. I would appreciate it 🙂

Also an extensive list I prepared for this article :

Applications to check out

General (an app for everyone)

Wikiweb — a Wikipedia app that serves up the usual content crowd-sourced from willing bodies around the world and also visualises the connections between articles.

* * *

For young kids (age 5-10)

Eye Paint Animals — discovery tools aimed at energising kids to play, create, invent, explore and learn in enjoyable ways without the limitations of set parameters.

Native Numbers — provides a deeper understanding of number concepts and imperative math vocabulary; builds a strong foundation.

Red in Bed — teaches kids about the colours of the rainbow; each colour gets its own musical note, too.

Bee’s ABCs — singing along to the alphabet song, spelling simple words and learning about pronunciation.

I See Ewe — explore more than 50 shapes, colors, objects and animals; adjustable levels of difficulty, verbal prompts and four different languages included.

Preschool Jobs — learn and explore various professions such as a doctor, astronaut, rock star, police officer and a construction worker, see their work environments and examine the tools that they use each day.

* * *

For middle and high school students (age 11-16)

Tense Builder — teaching the tenses; includes the English words that do not follow the rule, otherwise known as irregular verbs.

MyHomeworkApp — keeps track of homework, projects, tests, and other assignments; set reminders for when things are due, set level of priority and keep track of schedule of classes.

TED Talks — customised quizzes, discussion guides, and other supporting materials to facilitate making a great lesson plan.

Ankidroid — perfect for exam cramming; helps students memorise anything through information flashcards which they can create themselves. Once loaded they can quiz themselves anywhere, anytime.

Wolfram Alpha — uses a vast database and various algorithms to answer to any questions of wide range like physics, chemistry, astronomy, maths, etc.

Khan Academy — over 2,500 free videos on everything from basic maths to venture capitalism

Languages — a fast offline translation dictionary app

* * *

For students appearing for tests (age 13+)

BenchPrep — choose your course (high school, higher education, graduate and professional), choose your device, and study independently or with friends.

SAT Vocab Cards — browse and quiz on 1,000 high-frequency SAT words for free, with 1,000 more available for purchase.

SATLadder — a competition-based question answering structure including over 2,000 SAT questions.

MCAT — features over 2,000 flashcards so you can study on the go.

GRE Word Boost — with 500 essential GRE words in its database, study and quiz anytime.

* * *

For teachers

ClassDojo — teachers can create a free account, add their students’ names and customise the behaviours they want to encourage. During class, positive behaviour is reinforced by dishing out feedback points to students; these feedback points automatically compiles the data into reports, letting teachers monitor progress, trends and share information with parents.

* * *

For parents

Famigo Sandbox — a brilliant and free way of making your Android device safe for your kids. It includes a free app of its own for kids to play as well as listing certified safe apps for parents to browse and choose from. There are no ads or in-app purchases and you get shown games and activities that are platform and child specific.

App Timer Mini (ATM) — simple tool to track user’s time on selected apps; the app timer can be set for all the apps, based on how much time should be spent on each which will be shown on the screen while you are using an app.

* * *

Other fun apps

Auryn Ink — digital watercolour-painting app; feels like real watercolour painting, right down to choosing between wet or dry canvases, and watching the paint dry on the page.

Tapestry — offers short stories from various authors, displayed full-screen rather than in e-book style layout; readers are encouraged to give feedback to the authors too.

Celeste — combines 3D graphics of the heavenly bodies with fun facts about astronomy; aim the device’s camera at the sky and see exactly where each object is located, day or night.

Famous Artists and Their Paintings — learn about more than 100 famous works of art from Michelangelo, Rembrandt, da Vinci and more and test your knowledge with a time-trial quiz.

Britannica Kids — encyclopaedias come alive on a range of topics; info presented alongside videos, games and quizzes.

Robots for iPad — learn about electronics and robotics through videos and interactive examples of more than 100 real life robots like Sony’s Aibo dog.

How it Works: Machines by Geek Kids — get an introduction to engineering and learn how various machines work by taking them apart and reassembling them.

****

Feedback . Feedback . Feedback .

The world on my plate : My article in newspaper

People today can travel anywhere around the globe traversing geographical boundaries. And with them, travel their culture and food. The number of foreigners working in Qatar has led to the eating habits of people here being influenced by food from all around the world. Various cuisines and outlets now open in the country have been adapted to serve nationals as well as expatriates from Asia, Europe and America.

Without a question, a dish or a restaurant is selected primarily based on its taste, cost and convenience to eat.

Read more here :

http://www.gulf-times.com/food/235/details/345782/-the-world-on-my-plateA side-bar which appeared in actual newspaper but not in E-version:

FAMOUS CUISINES

Falafel – traditional Arab food – deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, beans, or both; usually topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce

Samosa – fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, ground lamb, ground beef or ground chicken

Kebab – wide variety of skewered meals cooked over or next to flames

Indian chaat – a mixture of potato pieces, crispy fried bread, gram or chickpeas and tangy-salty spices with sour home-made Indian chili, fresh green coriander leaves and yogurt. Popular variants include Aloo tikkis (garnished with onion, coriander, hot spices and a dash of curd), bhel puri, dahi puri, panipuri, dahi vada, papri chaat, and sev puri.

Sandwich – consists of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them

Spring roll – large variety of filled, rolled appetizers. Kind of wrapper, fillings, and cooking technique used vary considerably from place to place

Croissant – butter-layered yeast-leavened dough rolled and folded several times in succession to give a flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry

Donut – deep-fried from a flour dough and shaped in rings or flattened spheres that sometimes contain fillings

Fresh juice – prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetable flesh without the application of heat or solvents

Milkshake – sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce

Steamed corn – kernels taken off a sweet corn cob or cut off and boiled or steamed

Risottos – rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based

Pizza – oven-baked, flat, round bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings

Pasta – made from an unleavened dough of flour mixed with water and formed into sheets or various shapes, then cooked and served in any number of dishes

Pies – baked dish made of a dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients

Pancakes – thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan

Scones – single-serving cake or quick bread made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent

Puddings – sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, or a mousse, made of bread or rice

Muffins – semi-sweet cake or quick bread that is baked in portions appropriate for one person

Cakes – form of bread or bread-like food normally with a round shape

Schwarma – meats placed on a spit and may be grilled, eaten with bread, tomato, and cucumber with toppings like hummus and pickled vegetables

Barbecued chicken – chicken parts seasoned and coated in a barbecue sauce, then grilled or smoked

Slurpees – frozen flavored drink

Ras Malai – consists of sugary white, cream or yellow colored balls (or flattened balls) of fresh cheese soaked in clotted cream flavored with cardamom

Other Photographs which are not included in e-version of paper:

Reaching out through blogs : My article in the leading newspaper of Middle-East

Since I started working as a part-time free-lance writer for Gulf Times, life seems to have taken an exciting new turn..

After the article for working women in Qatar, I have now written about bloggers in Qatar. In this country, blogging is still not considered as a “cool” or beneficial way of social interaction and with my article I try to clear those myths and misconceptions.

Read it here –

http://www.gulf-times.com/technology/233/details/344940/reaching-out-through-blogs

Although Gulf Times did not include photos of all the amazing bloggers I got in touch with, I will attach their photos here as a token of thanks for their contribution.

 

# all photos belong to the rightful owners

Women at Work – My article in Newspaper

As a free lancer, I published an article for Gulf Times the leading newspaper for Middle-East.

Please click on the link and view it :

http://www.gulf-times.com/culture/238/details/344654/women-at-work

# Feedback appreciated
#Happy.Women’s.Day

#Best.Friday.Ever

Art-of-Learning

How do we learn?

Answer is simple. We learn from our mistakes.

We may conclude- “All is well that ends well” or even before it “ends well”, we start introspecting. Questions like, “Where did I went wrong? What could have been done differently?”.

But the moral of the story is not generally so straight forward. We do not conclude that these were the reasons of our success. Rather we learn – these were the reasons which were stopping me from being successful.

Many would agree the idea of success is a controversial one.

Some say success is achieving your goals and living your dreams. Others may argue, taking the non-convention path and making your own unique story takes you to success.

Regardless of which path we take, it is rare that success comes along easy. People say that do what you love and then dots will connect automatically. People tend to over-believe in whole concept of “connecting the dots”. You create your own fate and its your hard-work which will pay you back, not some super-natural force.

Even Steve jobs himself, who supposedly coined this phrase of ‘connecting the dots’, he did not leave the university, but instead stayed there as a drop-out and worked hard. Its his efforts which fetched him the success and in turn “connected the dots”.

Unlike the courses and syllabus we learn in high school, learning from real life experiences is not that difficult. We have no pressure to mug up instances as to what to do when, it comes naturally, instinctively. Like “C” comes after “B”. If we face a situation once again, we’ll know ‘what not to do’ and most of the times that will pay off.

So maybe, we can start taking risks – calculated risks. Take up a new job, make a new investment, pick up a new hobby, start stopping by at different supermarket or buy a different brand of a product. At the max what can happen – we will be wrong. So at least we’ll know this was wrong. We won’t regret that we never tried it.

Imagine what would be today’s world if Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg had not dropped their normal course of life and taken up this one. They took a risk, they must have made mistakes, but they never hesitated in burning the night oil, they never hesitated in changing themselves whenever required and most importantly, they had a dream on which they never gave up.

History is full of instances, where people made mistakes, but rolled up their sleeves and learnt from them.

It’s time we do too.

Are you one amongst them?

Often, we make choices; a few unsure ones too.

The ones we don’t know where it leads to.

The ones which may be deciding a course of our lives. Or may turn our careers in 180 degrees.

The ones we later – either boast or regret.

.

But my question is, are you one amongst them? Are you in the rat race? Did you take the road less traveled? Or are you aping someone else’s decisions too? Or someone else making your decisions?

Population status of this planet is soaring as I type this, what I wonder is, am I one in a million or just, you know, one in a million?

How do you know? How do I know?

Then I think of our unsung heroes, the ones who died fighting for a cause, the ones who did not get the media/critic acclaim. Or the ones who got an Oscar/Nobel Prize after their death. Weren’t they one in a million? 

What parameter judges our performance? How do we really stand out? If 10,000 people know what we do? Or If we do what those 10,000 people want/expect us to do?

.

Million dollar question. 

Are you one in a million? Or just someone in the crowd who will die in nonentity?

Analysis of my 2012

 

So, we haven’t died and its almost the end of this superb year 2012. 😉

Whoever suggested the world will end, kindly tell me the new date to look forward to. I mean, seriously, I was waiting for something to happen, something bigger than a Tsumani or Katrina.

So, I understand lots and lots and lots of things have happened this year – but as part of me keeping a journal of 2012 I am going to pen down whatever I can remember now of my past one year.
Like I said in the “My Purpose” section, I want to remember the good things and cherish them even after a few years. A pity – I have a not-so-good memory so I have a very few things to say about each month.

It was New Year – YAY!

Ordered for a new phone and got it delivered – double YAY!!

A dull Valentine’s but sent out a few gifts

Came to know about options in MBA from India

Flew home (Qatar) for Holi and spent it with family

Got visited by my dad later in the month

Introduced my bosses to my dad and my work environment

A memorable trip taken 😉

Decided to <finally> pursue MBA

Started studying for it too (sigh)

The dreadful summers – long hours of job and tiresome running around my power plant

Almost an end of summers – and my will to work long hours

I completed my one year at my company – YAY!

Got my so called hike

Met with my best best buddy before he left for Minnesota

I started a new blog – this blog 😀

And I started knowing MN better

A superb response for the blog

Started updating poetry on my other blog too – frequently that too

Time was flying by – form my MBA entrance exams

I left my job, left the city I lived in – without even meeting the people I worked with

Came back to India

Wrote CAT 

Celebrated Diwali with two of my mom’s sisters and partially in the train

I turned 23 😉

Filled a dozen application forms and wrote 2 other exams

Got blog awards – Blog of the year 2012 1 and 2, Liebster Blog Award, Reality Blog Awards,  

Understood the importance of Thanksgiving

Realized I haven’t died yet 😉

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, officially, it will be an end to 2012. Secretly I am smiling inside, cuz I never thought I will be writing so frequently on this blog – but I am! Looks like the WordPress experience has been a great one 😉

So, in the good spirits and an open mind and heart for 2013, I hereby declare the end of this 2012!

The easily forgotten roadside thoughts…

Roadside thoughts.

One. How do they survive?

Two. Do they even get one day’s meal?

Three. Can they not get employed somewhere? Govt can employ them to clean roads, and pay them daily wages.

Four. What happens in winters?

Five. Were they born in poverty or they reached this pathetic condition later on in life?

Six. Will they be there if I come back after a week?

Seven. What if they need medical attention?

Eight. What happens when they die?

Nine. Does the world care?

Ten. Can I change the world?

Eleven. I am getting late for my job! Need to produce some electricity to keep our cities lighted. Probably I’ll catch a snack on the way. Hmmm…

Rainbows aren’t just in the sky :)

I took this pic at an oil-spill at my workplace 🙂 And I thought to myself, Rainbows aren’t just in the sky – it’s just a matter of perspective!

In our day-to-day life, we forget observe the beauty nature offers us. But such microscopic events (for me, at my workplace itself) brings us a moment of realization that sometimes we need to take off our blinders and live in the moment!

There is a saying in Hindi, “Dhoondne se toh khuda bhi milta hai” which means – If one searches intently enough he can find God too! 

All we need to find is our moment, and take a break once in awhile 🙂