November's Here Again

The month of love, happiness and cheer is finally here again. You might remember my talking about it with a lot of gusto last year. In fact that one's by far my most read post till date (refer to the side panel on the right for proof). That just indicates the fact that people, no matter where they live or what they do, definitely dig happiness in life. Everyone wants to be happy, to be made to smile, to have some reason to remain joyful every day of the year. Again, who wouldn't!

But it's been a year since that post. And like I've been reiterating a lot lately,

To some, a year is just another sixtieth of an entire lifetime.
To others, it's an entire lifetime in itself.

You would've guessed by now that this November I am not excited. Nothing's able to make my innards jump up with joy these days. Or weeks. Or was it months? Anyhow. I've learned a lot over these past few months. Still learning in fact. I'm learning the various avails of independence - emotional and professional - in making you a better, more self-aware person. I'm learning tolerance and total submission to the wildest wills of God. I'm getting used to the inconsistency and instability of life and its various aspects. Nothing's permanent. Things change a lot over time. And if one isn't able to deal with the changes, what did one really achieve in life, right?

It isn't like November hasn't come with enough causes of happiness to me. I just landed a job today. I've been traveling a lot lately, and another couple of trips are lined up in the near future. I also have ample stuff to write about, and am in talks with a magazine for an editor and a writer's job. My engineering is finally coming to an end in another few months. Life is gradually but steadily transitioning into one I have no premonition of. I should be excited, or afraid, or sad, or anxious of what's gonna happen. I am not. I'm more or less blank, regarding the present and what the future holds for me. Life never goes the way you most expect it to, then why even bother to have any expectations?

'Go with the flow' has always been my mantra in life. Let things happen to you. Get lost somewhere, make a lot of mistakes, do things you aren't proud of, learn from experiences, let time heal wounds and let your imagination run wild. But never regret anything in life. Enjoy every phase of it. And I guess that's what I'm really trying to do right now. Trying hard to adjust to things, to accept some changes and to be happy. But trying too hard never came with good results. I need to let go at some point, I've realized. Need to 'go with the flow' like I always do. I'm thinking too much, smiling too less. I'm giving leverage to people who don't really deserve it, thinking about things that shouldn't bog me down as much as they do. I need to liven up. Question is, how.

I don't expect an answer to it though. I know I'll figure it out soon enough. November's always been MY month. It sort of defines me, my life and my temperament. It cannot stay outside of me for long. And it has just begun. I'm sure things will look up, and I'll be back with a super-happy, super-excited post very soon. Come on, show your magic, November dear!

P.S. All opinions expressed above are a result of the innermost workings of my twisted mind. And exams are on, so my logic is anyway contorted due to an overload of information bytes and severe nerve fiber congestion. Do NOT attempt to read between the lines or ask me anything about it. Just wait for the sun to shine bright outside my window someday soon. Because for now, there's nothing but cold November rain.

Hair Spas and Chutzpah with Pantene and Indiblogger

It really goes without saying that Delhi witnessed one of the most exciting blogger meets ever on the 14th of October (last Sunday). It was indeed one of a kind and like no other meet we'd ever attended before. Putting it in words 10 days hence would be slightly difficult for me, but like they say, he (she?) who never tried never succeeded!

Nothing that day could have been more awesome than the paradigm shift in the venue of the Indiblogger meet from the morose, sad little Hotel Park every time, to the posh and opulent ITC Sheraton in Saket this time. It surely took quite a few breaths away, for we the blogger species aren't used to such magnificence :P So it was a really pleasant start to the day. The meet was being held in the 'Ballroom' that itself was very elegantly done up with sensuous lighting and 'green' as the theme, in keeping with the color of the new Pantene Nature Fusion products, that by the way are pretty good, as we got to experience soon enough. ;)

Yummy mocktails and juices were being served around the tables. Bloggers were all decked up and clicking away furiously! The whole setting somehow felt like a big fat Punjabi wedding reception to me. Can't help such thoughts, they're ingrained in these Punjabi genes! But on a sadder note, I don't know what in the name of God made me dress up in traditional attire that day. Big faux Pas...because as it turned out, the photographer didn't even bother to click me. Not even once! And hence I don't have many pictures of mine to show off. :( Anyhow, there were a couple of canvas graffiti walls in the corner where bloggers were already busy spray painting their messages. Struggling for long to find space for my message, when I finally did find some, I didn't know what to write! 'This is amazing' is what came out on impulse. Looks pretty good to me :D

The meet started with our smartass emcee Anup whipping out his usual wisecracks and a lady from Pantene introducing the product. (Or something like that, I remember only vaguely.) Then came the fun part. We were all asked to grab a balloon each from under our chairs and a toothpick from off the table and make a dash! Toothpicks flew, balloons burst with ear-shattering booms and bangs, and excited laughter rang throughout the hall. The last three men women standing each got amazing goodies from Pantene. Wait, wasn't it that mini massager or something they got? I am so jealous. So the fun went on, goodies were given out to many lucky ones (not me this time!) and another activity came up soon. We were now supposed to pick up 'toilet paper rolls' from the repository of weird stuff (a.k.a. our table), choose a wannabe 'mummy' (the Egyptian one, you dirty minds!) from amongst us, and then roll them over in toilet roll until they looked like a real mummy. We chose our dummy and turned her into a mummy in the most organized way possible. We titled her "Indiblogger's Taj Mahal - Masterpiece in White", and who else but yours truly herself came up with that nonsensical yet sensible title (mental applause)! :P The mummies were then judged on random basis, though the one who finally won was indeed deserving, 'cos she was the youngest attendee at the meet, all of thirteen years!

What followed then was a round of questions on science and nature and I fortunately was the one to win a little goodie for correctly answering the question for our table. The goodie was quite wacky in itself - a bottle opener in the shape of a key, with the company name 'Suck UK' printed on it. LOL! We could not stop laughing for quite a while on that one. The next twist in the tale came with the traditional '60 seconds of fame' section, where this time round we were supposed to introduce ourselves and then say out loud the tongue twister or crazy movie dialogue displayed on the screen for us, BUT with the expression indicated alongside. That was a lot of fun, with the best one being when one of the awesome bloggers yelled out "Main tumhare bachche ki maa banne wali hu" while keeping an angry face. Hilarious! And with that we broke off for lunch, which was a nice spread, though it was all Indian fare this time. No continental --> disappointed --> ate less! Kyunki daal roti to har roz hi khane milti hai ghar par! :P

Post lunch, a pretty Brazilian belle from Pantene called Lais Koelle spoke to us about Pantene's history, the new Nature Fusion range and all the intricacies associated, which was quite a lengthy session in itself, only to be followed by a vigorous series of Q n A with the perpetually curious bloggers. I must say, we ladies do ask too many questions if given a chance! :P

And then *drumroll* my number came! Oh, didn't I mention before? Upon entry into the hall, each attendee was handed a piece of paper with a number written on it. As soon as the number flashed on a screen at the front, we were supposed to go into the back section of the hall where a Hair Spa had been set up for us. Super cool, isn't it? :D So when my number popped up on the screen, I moved my lazy ass into a comfortable reclining chair at the back and got a lovely hair spa treatment done while the attendant girl kept talking to me about my professional aspirations and her own (she was a DU student). :P The spa was relaxing, but the relaxation shortly turned into vexation when the girl with the hair drier did not know how to even operate it or to do my hair. Particular that I am, I politely took it from her and gave myself some nice hair drying on my own while she looked on with a funny expression. :D

While I was getting my hair spa done, the last fun activity for the day was on in full swing. The participants were apparently given some flowers, netting, bubble wrap and other weird stuff and were supposed to create a bouquet or flower arrangement out of it, as well as prepare a story or jingle to go with it, including a set of five given words somewhere in it. As fate usually has it with me, I missed out on the flower arrangement part but came just in time to completely change and turn around in a minute, the jingle that my teammates had prepared in that whole while. And then we strode to the front and recited our funny jingle in full Punjabi style :D. The winners of the contest were definitely the best of the lot in creativity (but not us) and were picked by Lais herself. Following that, a very popular fellow blogger turned author Yashodhara Lal gave us a very enlightening talk on living our long-suppressed dreams and not waiting for the quintessential "right moment", because it never comes while one day life comes to an end. She also took us through a quick presentation of how to go about being a writer and especially what NOT to do. Her words were very inspiring for a lot of bloggers there, though as for me, I have my plans of living my dream of being a writer pretty sorted out. The meet ended with Ms. Lal handing out signed copies of her book 'Just Married, Please Excuse' to the bloggers (no, not for free, in case you were wondering) and everyone hugging and getting photographed with everyone else.

My favorite photo from the day, with two of my favorite people from the blogsphere.

We left for home with hampers from Pantene and another very wacky goodie - a paper lantern that, as I've come to understand, flies away into the air once it is lit. I am keeping it saved for Diwali next month; will try my hands at it on the festive occasion and write about the proceedings here! It was a really good day in hindsight. And it ended on a very exciting note wherein I complained to Vineet Rajan (the guy in the photo above) about having been made to wait too long for a meet in Delhi, to which he said very mysteriously that Delhi is in for a lot of fun surprises in the near future. Promising words indeed...keeping my fingers crossed! :D

~Yours Truly~

Weird instance of my sadistic humor!

I can be a real bad ass sometimes. Or a tease, or just really goofy - whatever it is you'd choose to call me after reading this post.

So around this very same time last year, I came across this wonderful blog that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The guy does write well (at least he did back then, since I haven't read his recent blog posts) and the blog was very interesting. But then something happened and my mind took a totally sadistic turn. It was nothing much really, I just happened to stumble upon a page on the blog that said 'Would love to know you:)'. Check it out, you!

Just one look at this page was enough to turn on that goofy button inside my head that turns me into a real troll. And so I set upon writing him some 'feedback'. I don't know how I came about writing all that stuff I did. Let's just say I was in exceptionally high spirits that night. Or maybe I was just high.
;)

Dude, your blog is great. I happened to drop by your blog as a result of a random visit to blogjunta, though God knows why I went there in the first place. The blog layout, the theme and the way you've described yourself and your "vows" were what caught my eye and made me stay and browse, more than your so-called "weird, supposedly humorous" new post. :P
Well...the post was very nicely written and that gives me an idea of how well you must write. I'll surely come back tomorrow to read more, as it's a little late right now and my eyes are drooping. Not that I sleep early or anything, but maybe I saw something that kinda made me sleepy. Which reminds me of the post which I was talking about. It was, as I said, nicely written. And the ending kinda made me think, "was this for what I read through this whole page?" But anyway, I'd like to read more posts to know more and be able to bug you more through this "feedback form". Wow, I love the concept. For now, goodnight and have a great day, maybe until you read this "feedback".

P.S. I took the pain to write so much in order to help realize your inner hopes/dreams/expectations of receiving lots of feedback through this simple form that you've painstakingly installed on your lovely blog. And I included those quirky and unnecessary details because you said above that one could write to you just about anything in or out of this planet. So I just felt like writing something. Not knowing what to write about except for praise for your blog, which I hope I have made very clear by now, I wrote anything and everything that came to my mind. Hope you don't mind. We're bloggers, and by that relation, fellows of the same fraternity on the internet, and so we have a certain responsibility towards each other. You getting me I hope.

Anyway, now I really can't stay awake any longer. Your profile might end up remaining open on my screen and I might fall asleep onto the keyboard. I wouldn't like that at all. Would you? I hope not.

I wish you read this feedback-cum-introductory-cum-friendly-banter letter with some patience and certainly not a hot head. And I hope you haven't reached hell and so, can reply. I'll be waiting. :)

You might as well visit my blog too, only if you wish to, that is. There isn't any elaborate response/feedback form that I provide there, but you may mail me at my email ID. I'd love to reply and get talking. You're kinda handsome too, BTW. ;)
Now again...goodnight!

That's it. that's just it. Every time I read it, I cannot help but wonder at what weird twist of my mind it could've been that made me write all that. That too to some innocent fellow blogger who must've put up that feedback form on his blog with a totally different intention altogether, maybe not even expecting someone to actually write to him through it. But the guy was a sport. He replied back through email, and in fact seemed really happy to have received my feedback! :P He even flirted a little. It was a fun little conversation we had on email. Now that I look back upon it, I find it an amazingly fun experience. Don't know what else to say about it. Cheers to my occasional weirdness that sometimes turns into awesomeness! :D

Choices

There are always two alternatives
To every decision big or small
The choices we make at every step
Will define who we are and what we get.

There are two roads at every fork
Diverging towards different ends
It's the path we choose to take
That will seal the destiny we make.


One choice will be easy
One road smooth and straight
It'll promise you ephemeral pleasure
But not an end that you can treasure.

The other choice will be onerous
The road jittery and uphill
The pinnacle would however afford
You a key to a blessed world.

The weak of will and purpose
Will always find the first choice right
But the one who treads the easy way
Loses sight of the goal and goes astray.

The one with purpose and strength of resolve
Will however choose the road less traveled by
For only he who can overcome hassles great
Will build for himself a serene fate.

For the love of everything that is So Delhi!

I am happy today, for the sole reason that all the hard work of this summer has paid off, and the website I was traveling and writing for has finally seen the light of day. It's up and running (in BETA mode though) and looks fantastic! I reckon I haven't really talked about it in specific terms as yet on my blog. Here it is then.

The website's called So Delhi and is basically a comprehensive, complete and exhaustive web portal on everything that's Delhi. It has everything one would want to know about the real Delhi - the best food, places, art and entertainment, recreation options, the city's history, culture, traveler tips and safety precautions, travel and hotel bookings, basic information about the city's infrastructure, insider tips and what not! But we all know all that information can be found on the Internet, then why is THIS so special and unique?

That is because even though all that information, or at least most of it, could very well be found on Google, but it would invariably be very scattered and hard to find, taking up a lot of your precious time. To find good food reviews, you'd have to choose one of the many different food review sites, and probably visit a handful of them before you're actually satisfied. And then to check out the best places to visit in Delhi, you will probably have to spend hours searching for genuine first-hand reviews and tips and might still not get reliable information on how and where to go. And that's precisely where the idea of So Delhi first originated from. The portal collects ALL of the aforementioned information, and much more, and presents it in a coherent, reader-friendly manner in one place where an enthusiast can find anything and everything in a very easy and organized way. I remember when I first held an informal sort of a meeting with its founders - a trio of young, well-educated and successful people - they were so focused about what they wanted from the portal and why they wanted to build it, I just knew this was going to succeed. And here we are, after long months of working together - and we're So Delhi!

The site's still being done up, and lots of empty spaces and minor glitches remain. But the overall impact at first glance is great. Check it out for yourself!

The green, white and black theme and the convenient organization of articles and reviews everywhere is really a winner, as is the content, as you'll find out once you go through the website.

Some of my own articles that have been uploaded include those on Red Fort, Purana Quila, Humayun's Tomb, Sacred Heart Cathedral, 3 Gurudwaras, a few museums and some general themes like pharmacies, Delhi Metro and civic bodies (NDMC, DDA). Several others still remain to be uploaded. And since I was obviously paid to write them all, they would not be credited to me on the website. But a few of my photographs are up there along with my name underneath. (For example, here and here). Proud feeling indeed!

Reviews on the website - its content, layout, convenience, look and feel - would really be appreciated. You could actually visit it and rate the articles there according to how useful and accurate you found them. And as is our custom, I would definitely not mind some feedback on my own work too. Bouquets and brickbats equally welcome. Cheers! :)

I'm a model now!

LOL. The title makes me double up with laughter every time I see it. Well, technically, I did model for a big brand recently, no matter how small (or unpaying) the contract might have been. But it still sounds so funny and impractical, at least to me.

Okay, facts first. Some time ago, right after the Dove Indimeet I'd attended in June and had written about here, I was approached by the Indiblogger guys with an offer to model for Dove's online advertising campaign. They said 5-6 female bloggers from the whole bunch of Indibloggers had been shortlisted for the campaign (compliment taken!) and I was one of them. I was asked for some photos of mine and deliberated with upon the style and text etc of the ad I would be appearing in.

That was however a long time ago. Way back in July.
Last I heard, the advertisements had been run on a few websites and neither Dove nor Indiblogger had cared enough to even inform the models that their ads were up, so that at least we could have had a look at ourselves being flashed somewhere on the web! But anyway, I pestered Renie Revin about it recently, and here's the result - a couple of screenshots of one of the websites where my ad was run for some time. Can't say it's much of a big deal, but it's the first time I have been offered a modeling assignment (LOL again :P), even if only online (not even print!) and short-duration. But I was happy to see my face up there along with the 'Dove' tag. Kind of a nice thing to have happened to me. :)

Take a look!

It isn't that hard to find me on those pages...or is it? I know, with so many beautiful women there...it just gets hard to know which one's me, right? Haha! And that blurry little text alongside my picture says 'Mahima, Author, Lifestyle Blogger'. They chose to make me an author!! That is so cool. I love Dove. No, really, I do NOW.

Now, considering that this is my second post in the last few hours, it must be evident that I am super vella today. Or maybe I'm just running away from some more important and pressing things to do and to think about. But whatever it is, I'm just glad I managed to write two posts within one night. *pumps fist in the air*

Feedback on the above pictures invited! How do I look? Model-like, no? (LOL...again :P)

My First Poem

I'm sure the title gives you a fair idea of what is going to follow, but for the sake of literary congruence - I'm all nostalgic today. And that I am pretty often these days, ain't I? Well, what to say...I just miss those days when I was a little happy kid with no serious issues or hassles, no real responsibilities or heartbreak in life. I would laugh innocently, play all day, study as if it was a storybook I was reading and cry only to get people's attention. But then, don't we all miss those times every now and then? :)

So today, while I was sitting all alone, pondering over where my life has brought me and where I'm headed, what else but the first poem that I ever wrote just decided to make an appearance inside my head. I thought I'd share it with you all, even if for nothing else but the sheer embarrassment at its randomness and my weird little imagination.


(Disclaimer: I don't remember how old I was when I penned it down, but I couldn't have been any older than 7-8 I'd say.)

The Funny Man

There was a man
Who slept in a pan
He ate fruit peels
And rode on seals.

Once he caught an animal
And thought it was a hare
But when he went back home
He saw it was a bear.

Wasn't he a funny man?
The man who slept in a pan!

*phew* That was liberating. Cute, wasn't it? :P But for someone who dreams of being a Booker prize-winning writer someday, 7-8 years is a tad too late to start writing, don't you think? Not really for me. Because I was always more of a story person than a poem one. I started writing stories of my own almost as soon as I learnt to make sentences. Before that, I used to make up stories in my head using common objects I could see around me (eg. A scooter, a lizard or a chapati) and narrate them in whatever little language I knew, to anyone who was willing to be entertained. And boy did I not have a huge audience! I do hear I was very cute back then. Just wish I could revisit those days and see myself as a puny little kid with curly black hair and mischievous eyes. :)

PSST...now that we're at it, why not take a look at the little 'me' that I've been talking on and on about?

Well...all thoughtful and pensive at an early age - that would be me.

And THAT would be the usually happy, super excited and mischievous me. :D