Work from Home — Productively!

With the threat of COVID-19 looming large over all of us, the importance of social distancing — right away! — is of top priority. While some of us have no option but to endure and accept the risk of travel, a lot of us have the fortune to Work From Home.

Work From Home is good, comfortable and helps you avoid the commute. There’s also the luxury of having fresh, hot meals at home. Work From Home also has it’s downsides, though. Lethargy, multiple distractions, prolonged lunch breaks, and more!

I started my venture at home, shortly after my Masters. With multiple tasks at hand, product development underway and costs kept to a minimum, work-from home was the best option.

The past week has been pretty reminiscent of this early stage of my startup, and here are 5 tips that helped me stay productive during this phase.

1. Have a designated work space — Your bedroom is not the place you should sit and work at, because your body associates it with your ‘chill space’. You can clean your dining table and re-purpose it as an office desk. The couch in your living room also makes for a good work space.

2. Plan your day — Planning your day, goes a long way! Based on the number of hours you work at the office, make specific time slots during which you will work.

It’s equally important to pencil in designated break timings. For every 2 hours of work, take a 15 minute break. Catch up on the news real quick, interact with a family member, and get back to work when the break is over! Steer clear of social media and TV.

Stick to the schedule, and watch your productivity grow!

3. Prioritize your tasks — Work can get particularly complex when you’re handling multiple projects, filling in for co-workers, or when you have multiple deadlines. The best way to tackle this is to first make a list of all tasks for the day. Follow this by numbering them in order of importance or urgency. Next, tackle the tasks in this order.

You can also number your to-do-list as per the time taken to complete each task. Complete the most time-efficient tasks first, and then move to the time-consuming ones.

4. Change out of your pyjamas! — Now this is an important one. Working in your sleep wear, or lounge wear, can make you lethargic and unproductive, because your body associates this clothing to rest and winding-down. Slipping into your most basic jeans and t-shirt can do the trick! No need to spend time on formal wear, and definitely no need to ruin well-ironed outfits.

5. Have designated timings for social media & streaming services — All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy — we’ve all heard this quote through the years. Now’s the time to put it into effect! Schedule your Netflix/Prime Video/Hotstar time during meal times or — the most efficient — post-work! Chalk in designated timings to check social media, and turn off notifications for personal accounts. One thing that’s helped me in particular, is putting timers on apps like Instagram and YouTube through Digital Wellbeing on Android.

If you fully commit to these tips, I’m sure you will ace Work From Home! Feel free to comment with your tips and tricks.

A plug for my brand is in order here — Ladies! If you find it difficult to predict and manage your period, subscribe to The Pink Box! We send our subscribers a curated set of period essentials and goodies, to make those dreaded 5 days healthier and more comfortable.

Lastly, cover your mouth when you sneeze, sanitize your hands, and avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth. Stay safe, everyone!

The table by the sea

T’was the season of looooove!

I was inspired to write a short story centered around love. When I sat down with a pen and my notebook in hand, it came to me naturally. Here goes..

They walked into the restaurant, hand in hand. Hand to waist and arm to back, rather..

Their names were on the register, and within seconds, they were guided to a suitable table.

They were at a pretty place, on a pretty night in August.

He pulled the chair for her before settling into his own. The steward poured them some water.

The hour that followed was magical.. A little bit of red for the couple, paired with seafood and meat… Wine and dine, indeed!

xx

They walked towards the gazebo, hand in hand. Hand to waist and arm to back, rather..

The table on the deck was inviting. The view, even more so. It was breathtaking.

The blue sea and the orange sky met beautifully at the horizon. Dusk was her favorite time of the day.

They approached the table and he pulled the chair for her before settling into his own.

It was going to be an amazing date – they were sure of this.

There was another thing that they were sure of… She was going to be his anchor, and him – her rock.

xx

Hope you enjoyed the read! Comments and criticisms are welcome 😀

My Dream 2050

Hello everyone!

The Diwali holidays are fast approaching, and Semester I here at SIBM, Pune, has just concluded!

With some baronial changes in my professional life, and a lot of personal growth, I can say that it has been a true roller coaster ride. The Semester concluded yesterday with a farewell to one of our most loved professors, and a one-on-one viva with one of our most respected professors. Term could not have ended in a better way!

As a throwback to this semester, I want to put up something that’s been a part and parcel of the journey.

One of our assignments in Global and Indian Mega trends was to write a page on “My Dream 2050”.

So here goes…

MY DREAM 2050

I’m walking the reader through my typical day in the year 2050.

“Good morning, Reign”, I instruct my voice control. He turns on the lights in my room and the window blinds draw open.

I step off my bed and reach for my daily morning glass of water. The edge of the glass lights up at my touch and I touch the calibration mark that says “100 ml”. The water filter, activated by Reign while turning my lights on, pours precisely 100 ml of water in the glass.

I walk to the bathroom and pick up my brush. I’ve got a big meeting today, so I click on the ‘Brush + Whitening’ setting on my brush and dip it in water to activate it. There’s a steady foam around my teeth as I run the brush across, and I can see my teeth visibly whiten as I’m done with each section.

‘Gone are the days of Whitening toothpastes with shade cards!’ I think to myself.

After my 5 minute long bath, I feel renewed. Something I do every day is think about how the technology today is helping us save water. Citizens everywhere today take steam baths. The steam is made of cleansing nano particles that clean the person up to down. All we have to do is stand in the bathing area, and click on the duration of the bath. Hair washes are easy too.

‘Gone are the days of spending 30 minutes washing your hair. Dry shampoos were the best innovation of 2015’, I think to myself.

I walk down the stairs and enter my kitchen. It’s a Thursday morning, and Reign knows its scrambled eggs day. A conveyor belt of sorts takes a fresh egg from the kitchen and brings it to the automated cooking assistant. It does the needful.

I could’ve opted to have a SMART-Breakfast, but I like the first meal of my day to be a real meal. SMART here stands for Simplified Meal & Analytical Revolutionary Table, and it’s a little pill that’s basically your entire meal.

Washing down my breakfast with a cup of hot tea, I proceed towards my closet.

I’ve decided my outfit for the meeting last night, and on a moving laundry line, Reign brings it out of my closet. It takes me under 10 minutes to get ready for the day. I proceed towards the elevator, while Reign preps up my car in the garage.

“Reign, to office please”, I say as I get into my car. It’s an automatically driven Lamborghini Aventador. In a matte black, she’s a real beauty.

The drive to work is smooth. Mumbai is now a Smart City, and 7 am to 9 am is designated for office goers. Everyone has an automatically driven car.

‘Gone are the days of being stuck in traffic for an hour. In fact, there’s no traffic at all!’ I think to myself.

I reach my work place at Bandra Kurla Complex in 15 minutes, and as the Aventador pulls into the parking area, Reign informs the people at work of my arrival. My daily routine leads me to believe they’ve prepped for the meeting, with my presentations automatically uploaded to the office cloud.

I enter the conference room and Monarch, the smart assist at my work place, takes over. He activates the hologram at the centre of the desk and pulls up my presentation.

“Thank you Reign, thank you Monarch”, I instruct them and they power off for the next thirty minutes.

I have a successful meeting with my co-workers and a few potential investors. They’re happy, and we’re going to receive twice the amount of funding we hoped for.

I go to my cabin next, where Reign has readied a mug of hot coffee for me.

“Coffee, Reign”, I say out loud, and the mug, placed under the coffee machine, is brought to my desk.

Looking outside my window, I observe the Mumbai City skyline.

I resume my work soon after, with assistance from Reign and Monarch.

It’s SMART-Lunch time soon.

“A bacon cheese sandwich, Reign, thank you”, I say out loud, and a pill pops up from a little niche built into my desk.

“Gone are the days of cooking your lunch at 7 am, and packing it to office”, I think to myself.

I chew it for a good 5 minutes, and my lunch is done. It tastes like bacon cheese sandwich, and is equally filling.

At 5 pm, Reign reminds me it’s time to go, and I ask him to wind up my files. The hologram bounces shut into one corner of the room and bids me Goodbye.

Reign has already revved up my car by the time I reach the parking lot, and again, I’m home within 15 minutes.

It’s SMART-Dinner time, and Reign has it ready on my kitchen table.

“Gone are the days of cooking dinner soon after work”, I think to myself.

As I eat, I ponder over how, at 56, I’m popping a SMART-Dinner pill, and how my mother at the same age would insist on cooking elaborate three-course meals for dinner.

I have another quick steam bath, and retire for the day.

As I climb into bed and pull the sheets over me, a sudden wave of nostalgia hits me.

“The brown box, please, Reign”, I instruct, and the storage space under my bed opens like a drawer. I pull out a book from the box, and run my hand over the cloth bound hard cover. It was gifted to me forty three years back.

‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, the cover reads.

And I end my day reading a real, physical book, with paper and words printed on it, after almost two decades.

Hope you enjoyed the read! All comments, critical and otherwise, are welcome!

Thank you for reading, and have a great Diwali!!

My Dissertation on Social Entrepreneurship – An Overrated Phenomenon

I got into SIBM, Pune!

More about that enthralling experience in a later post..

As part of the Pre-Induction course given to us, we had to write our own dissertations! Being a student of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, my topic was Social Entrepreneurship – An Overrated Phenomenon.

At the risk of sounding boastful, I’m going to proudly mention that I was one of the two winners of the dissertation for this topic 😀

So here goes, my first dissertation ever!

 

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP – AN OVERRATED PHENOMENON

An innovation

Recently, there was news of an eco-cooler developed in Bangladesh. The device is simple. All it requires is a grid to be made out of plastic bottles and installed in place of windows. The hot air, which enters the open end of the bottle, gets compressed at its neck and becomes cooler, lowering the room temperature by about 5 degrees. This is a simple device that doesn’t even require electricity! Just a good understanding of basic laws of physics.

Each eco cooler that is installed gives us three basic benefits. An affordable cooling solution for those who cannot afford electricity run coolers; lesser dependence on CFCs, i.e. no contribution to global warming; and a lesser load on electric supply.

This eco cooler is a simple, yet innovative example of social entrepreneurship.

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Social Entrepreneurship refers to business techniques and solutions that aim to solve pressing issues in the society. Unlike most businesses where the mark of success is profits, social enterprises measure their success by the positive change they bring in our physical and non-physical environment. They bring about these changes through innovative solutions, and profits are simply added bonuses or rewards. Social entrepreneurs worldwide are taking issues into their own hands rather than leaving them to the local governments and civic bodies to tackle.

The Ashoka Fellowship is an organisation that recognises social entrepreneurs.

The essence of social entrepreneurship is not in solving multiple social issues at once. Neither is it to increase the number of beneficiaries.

The essence of social entrepreneurship is in tackling a definite number of social issues, with a fixed number of beneficiaries. This helps the enterprise focus on a certain group and align their business operations accordingly.

What sets apart social entrepreneurs is their vision and the commitment to it. They have a drive to solve social issues, which enables them to be passionate about their cause, think creatively, and think fast.

The need

Civic bodies and governments do their best through various campaigns and programs to elevate social and living conditions of its citizens. But, the beneficiaries are far too many and far too widespread. This makes it difficult for the effects of these programs to reach all targeted beneficiaries. Sometimes, the benefits do not trickle down to people lower in the social hierarchy.

This is where the essence of social entrepreneurship comes in – a fixed number of issues to tackle for a fixed number of beneficiaries. Many authors and economists have propounded upon the importance of this.

Is Social Entrepreneurship an overrated phenomenon?

The answer is No, it is not. We will now discuss why.

The survey & inferences

I conducted a survey recently to gauge the understanding and opinions of the general population on social entrepreneurship. It amassed quite a few responses, and over 96% of the respondents believed that it is a phenomenon very much needed in the world today.

   

Out of three types of entities mentioned in the survey – governments, NGOs and business/social enterprises – respondents believed that enterprises were most likely to solve social issues and were the most transparent. This shows a high degree of confidence of the general population in social enterprises.

However, respondents believed that masses were likely to find NGOs more reliable and committed to the cause than enterprises. This may be because the common man believes that when it comes to an enterprise, profit, rather than an intention to bring change, is the driving factor. They also connect with NGOs better since they work at the grassroots level. Hence, it is essential that social entrepreneurs today operate their business activities in a way that builds confidence among the masses.

The speed bumps and roadblocks

But, realizing social change is not easy. There are multiple factors that hamper the process-

• Acknowledging the problem – The community has to accept that there is an issue that needs to be resolved. If this is not done, the benefits/solutions will neither be accepted, nor will they realise their full potential.

• Receptiveness of the community – For change to be made, the community has to accept not only the change, but also the methods employed to realise that change. They have to be open to new ideas and solutions.

• Inconsistency in measuring change – Social change is intangible and extremely subjective. This makes it difficult for entities to measure it.

One of the questions asked in the survey was what issues did respondents think social enterprises today must target.

A majority of respondents believe that climate change is the most pressing issue that needs to be tackled first and foremost.

 

An example

Social entrepreneurs have targeted a number of issues, small as well as monumental ones. The solutions to these are, more often than not, simple and cost effective.

An excellent example of an Indian social enterprise is Frontier Markets – a rural marketing, service distribution and sales company. They work towards providing rural households access to social impact products at affordable prices.

Frontier Markets was founded by Ms. Ajaita Shah in 2009 and it started operations in rural India. They are working with clean energy products like solar lighting and smokeless stoves.

The Conclusion

The world we live in today is progressing fast, but is also leaving behind certain sections of the society. Each of us must contribute towards bettering the lives of our fellow citizens.

Social enterprises are important to the economy because they work towards skilling people & creating jobs; bringing new goods and services to the market; and helping create & deliver social impact products.

Following factors contribute to the growing need for social enterprises today-

1. Innovative products & solutions

2. A pressing, global need to solve social issues

3. Success stories of social enterprises world over.

A number of organisations, publications and awards recognise social enterprises globally, like the Ashoka Fellowship, Forbes Magazine and the Social Enterprise Awards Australia respectively. Such organisations give impetus to rising social entrepreneurs.

Based on the discussion above, we can reasonably conclude that Social Entrepreneurship is not an overrated concept.

 

So, did you like it? Did you like it? I’m all ears to comments and feedback!

I cannot end a post without a gif, can I? 

7 Reasons why Life is like Lego

Yes, I jumped on the ‘7 things’ bandwagon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

As a kid, I had a pink coloured, teddy bear shaped box, which was my box of Legos. I had a bunch of those familiar yellow blocks, some green coloured ‘grass’ pieces, and little Lego men!

Lego time was the best time.

Recently, I was assembling Iron Man with mini Legos and it dawned upon me – Life is like Lego!

Here are 7 reasons why –

#1     Some of us come with a manual

You’ve got your brand new box of Lego. You peel away the plastic cover and open the box. You’re introduced to a glossy sheet with instructions. Follow the instructions, and you’ve got yourself something cool!

A lot of us are born with a plan laid out for us. Study till you’re 25, then join the family business; study for xyz professional course; meri beti badi hokar doctor banegi, etc.

A bunch of us have followed the course charted for us, and boy, have we built something great for ourselves, or what?

Best example, though fictional : Naina Talwar. Modern School.

(Source – http://45.media.tumblr.com/f9402d97738147e8418285d714a20ac0/tumblr_n38nld0jSa1rkw3cco2_250.gif)

 

# 2     Some of us may choose not to follow that manual

Let’s assume someone got me a set of Lego – the one that builds a house.

But what if I don’t want to build a house? I could use the parts to build a barn, a building, a ship, a race car, anything I want! As long as I’ve got an idea of what I want to build, I can build it with the Legos I have.

Admit it, you’ve had that one rebellious phase in your life where you didn’t want to take the path chosen for you. You wanted to do something else, you wanted to be someone else, and you went for it!

You choose to go your own way and you get to be creative, you learn to take risks, and you learn to maneuver some risky terrain.

Go with your instincts and build something wonderful!

Best example, fictional again : Farhan Qureshi

(Source – imgur)

# 3     Every little component contributes to the big picture

Did I mention the Iron Man lego?

I lost one little block, and it ruined Iron Man’s gun arm! That block, just about one cm², was such an essential part of the whole set.

Incidents that seem menial and unimportant always contribute to the story that is life.

Get this – In the 4^th grade, I was punished for not getting my grammar book, and that’s when I met one of my best friends. In the 11^th grade, I met the other one. This was due to lack of space in a classroom of over 100 students!

 

# 4     Patience is a virtue

From 15 minutes to an hour, it can take you a bunch of time to build your Lego. You don’t leave it unless you’re summoned for lunch or dinner 😛

When you need to navigate through rough waters, patience is all it takes.

All we’ve got to do is keep moving. Try till you succeed, and at the end of it, you’ll build what you want, with perfection!

Unless you’re a Timelord, of course, in which case..

(Source – http://pa1.narvii.com/5850/aa7a34e4e567d7e7c54a9a893cce01676155822c_hq.gif)

# 5     You might not see how individual pieces contribute to the goal

“Tiny little yellow pieces, tiny little red pieces.. How exactly do I build Iron Man with this?”

*half an hour later*

“Look! I built mini Tony!!”

We’ve all been through highs and lows in our life. We might not see how these impact us, but they do.

For example, let’s assume you’ve just had the worst fight with someone. How does his contribute to anything?

Well, you learn to be more tolerant, and you definitely learn to be sassier during the next fight!

#6     The pieces WILL poke you

If you haven’t stepped on Lego, you haven’t known true pain.

Those little pieces are evil! How can something that’s essentially a toy be so sharp? Luckily, here’s something that’s got your back..

A lot like sharp Lego, there are things that will poke you, or people who will hurt you.

Deal with it like you’ve stepped on Lego – Curse it and move on!

 

#7     What you build might break, but that’s okay

Oh that moment when you’re almost done and the whole thing crumbles…

(Source – imgur)

But do we stop playing with our Legos? No. We pick up the blocks and rebuild it, with greater determination. We build something sturdier.

You will build things in your life. Relationships, your career, a painting, maybe even a sculpture! And there’s a good chance it might break, and that’s okay.

Why? Because now you know what went wrong. You can troubleshoot, and build something better!

From simple things like trying out a new recipe to monumental ones like career choices, this rule applies.

Don’t lose heart, ever. Pick up the pieces and rebuild it 😀

 

Legos, in my opinion, are the best thing ever. They’re fun to play with and they help us get creative!

Legos are life.

(Source – http://img.pandawhale.com/post-38447-everything-is-awesome-gif-lego-GdJw.gif)

#GirlLove Part 2 – A Collection of Warm and Fuzzy Stories

❤ ❤ Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤ ❤

Dear Chromosome No. 23 XX,

In my last post titled #GirlLove, I wrote about spreading the love – beginning with our own kind. Since I put up the post on Feb 13th, i.e. Galentine’s Day, I included a few memories and thoughts on female bonding and positivity, and here are some more 🙂

 

From Zinky D’Cunha..

I will never be able to pick one because most of my best memories have come with my bunch of girls! School shenanigans, college, work, book club… at every step I met women who can make any day amazing and they never stop to inspire me.

Take the case of this post: The women writing these experiences are some of the strongest I’ve seen and spending time with them is a blessing. You’ll inspire the real GIRL LOVE!

Happy Galentines Day, ladies!

xx

Priyanka (Pink) Payal writes..

Every day that I spend with one of my best girlfriends turns out to be spectacular. I like chilling with my friends more than actually doing anything about town because we so rarely get to spend quality time together.

Like the time I went to stay at my friend’s place and we spent the whole night catching up and laughing at the silliest things, or when I sat with my soul sister at Marine Drive and just stared out at the sea, or every time I Skype with her (and it ends up going on for 3-4 hours!) because she’s not here in India.

I’ve shared every secret with her – happy, painful or sad – and they’ve given me enormous strength to face my demons. Sigh. The world would be a terrible place without my gals. 🙂

xx

Srish Arya reminisces..

Girlfriends are like your mom, boyfriend and mentor, all in one. They’ll chide you when you make stupid mistakes, give you the best advice when you’re in a dilemma and love you more than anything in this world! They’ll get senti when you get married, hate your husband for taking away your precious girly time, but they’ll always be your go-to people.

There was this one day when I was feeling particularly low because nothing around me seemed to be right, when two of my closest girlfriends dropped in and took me to Carter road. We went food hopping (Pita bread & hummus, burrito and dumplings), we gossiped, judged people on the street together, had yogurt, took a walk by the beach and reminisced about college times. And suddenly life seemed good…it felt like things would fall into place and everything would be alright.

That’s what girlfriends do to you. They make your life one giant celebration that you can look forward to when you have nothing else to be excited about! So, Galentines all the way! 😀

xx

Sinister Baloney’s fav memory would have to be..

My 18th birthday! (Actually, 2 days before that!)

I woke up at 5 am and caught a Virar super-fast of 5.30 with a few of my college girlfriends.

I wasn’t very close to them, but we had a lovely time at Marine Drive and I am really glad that they woke up at 5 and bunked college for me!

But that was not the best part of the day!

When I came back home (I was made to come back because one of my friends was a mole!) I was welcomed with the most amazing surprise (you guys nearly scared me to death!)

That was the best birthday I’ve ever had! And it’s something I’m never going to forget!

xx

Aku Agrawal writes..

It’s been more than a year since I’ve known my friends Boo (Khushboo), Divya & Bianca, and we’ve spent a lot of good times together. But the moment Bianca left for Canada, we thought that we might all stop being friends 😦

But what happened was completely the opposite. We became even closer! And closer with Bianca. Not excluding her. We Skype with Bianca as often as possible, and we always make time for it, like today evening.

All of us met at Boo’s place and we had some wine, pizza, some coffee and some juice, and we woke up Bianca and we asked her to Skype with us! And there we were, all of us together again. It was so much more special cause we’re usually Skyping from our own separate homes.

We were talking about everything we could think of, right from work to our lives, just like we were back in college!

We always have these great dinner plans and parties, etc, but this one time, just being there with some pizza and wine, and your best friends – even though one of them is on the other side of the world, and feeling that she’s right there with us – was amazing. It was great, and it’s one memory I will cherish forever! ^.^

xx

A note from Prads Bolinjkar..

When it comes to having friends, I have been nothing but lucky. Friends who have stayed, friends who were not able to stay around but have stayed in touch, friends who may not be in touch on a daily basis but are an integral part of my life. There are just so many people who have been there for me and a part of my journey.

I think this bond is the easiest to form and the most difficult to let go of. It’s the people we choose to be our family and this is the family that also stays by your side without any questions, at any point of time. This is the family who get to see the quirky and insane facets of your personality, it’s the family who lets you be you, and it’s the family who helps you know yourself. It’s one crazy joint family minus all the formality drama.

As Candace Bushnell says in the Sex and the City movie, “Maybe Girls are our real soulmates and guys are just someone to have fun with”. It may sound like a pro feminist quote but it’s honestly been so true for me over the years. I may have met different people and have had multiple girl gangs, but each one is equally special to me and I have had my fair share of memories with all of them. They are my 4 am people, they are my shoulders to lean on, they are the ones with whom I am allowed to do crazy things and it’s not just one person!

All of them have been so pivotal in my life, in shaping a part of who I am and they will continue to be there in every step of my life, big or small, is what I can say for sure.

xx

DJ (trust me, she’s not in the music business) Janvi wrote this and fueled a bunch of memories from school..

A fancy dinner with our friends is just fun and since we are of the so called ‘legal’ age now, getting drunk is even better! All that pretty dressing, with our hair so tamed and our shoes on point, yet I wish someday my schoolies would reunite or we could relive the afternoon meals that we had in school.

Yes, the lunchbreaks.. We were a group of nine! Everyone had their special delicacies. The menu, to be specific, was pav bhaji, tomato soup and rice, garlic bread with toppings, black daal and rice, paneer ki subji, mom made pizza, sandwich, and last and the most favourite – idli and tomato chutney, which was to die for! Where could you get such a vast menu? On two benches and nine chairs.

No 7 star cuisine could make us so happy! Eating happily as the bell rang, not caring about how we looked with braids and ribbons in our hair and the school uniform… It was those 40 mins of long break which brought the 9 of us together, even when we were in different classes due to the subjects chosen. We would eat and laugh happily.

There are many memories, but I still miss eating lunch with my schoolies and I hope to get such a day back. No brewery, cupcake, or wine and dine could ever replace this.

xx

From the desk of Ritz Arya..

So this friend I had an amazing time with is almost half my age, and she lives quite far away. It had been a while since we’d met.

One night we had a conversation. She wasn’t feeling very high and happy in life. We made an impromptu plan to meet at around 11.30 that night. The next day, she travelled to Kandivali – all the way from Vashi – and landed at my place at 8.30 in the morning! We didn’t know how the day was going to play out, but one thing after another, and another, and another, led to such a laugh riot! We decided to take off and go to National Park and met some kids there at one pada. The kids played some pranks on us with some exotic plants! They asked us to press the plant, which opened up like a caterpillar, and we just jumped up high, and the plant fell from our hands because of our reaction. We were laughing like crazy. We saw pumpkins, and bhindi, and these other amazing home grown vegetables. We played with little kids too.

Going ahead to the next village, we bumped into some photographers along the way. They said, “Hey, we’re just shooting some people, and we’d like to know what is the one thing that’s made you happy in recent times”. We got covered on a Facebook page called ‘Colors of Happiness’.

Later, we went to High on Tea for brunch, laughing throughout, as if someone had released laughing gas instead of tear gas, for no reason at all! It was very therapeutic.

There was a beautiful sense of satisfaction after spending 4-5 hours together. We didn’t need to say anything, but we knew that something had really changed in our friendship, and the bond had grown deeper by simply laughing together all day long. We hadn’t shared any deep secrets, not done anything too special. It was just a random day that had changed our friendship, and I love her to bits.

xx

I am grateful to each and every one of you who took out some time to contribute to this post as well as the last. I had the best time reading all of it!

Shout out to all the ladies out there!

Lots of pyaar,

S

 

P.S. Since my posts are incomplete without a gif and I believe that every woman out there is amazing, beautiful and strong, here’s Wonder Woman.

Source: popkey.co

#GirlLove

Okay people, get your minds out of the gutter.

Girl Love is not what you’re assuming it is.

Source: http://www.etsy.com

 

Let me clarify what #GirlLove really is and why it is relevant to each of us.

Ever found yourself chilling at a café or a bar when this girl walks in with a couple of guys and you brand her a ‘bitch’ or ‘slut’? God forbid that girl wears something that stops above her knees, cause then she’d be a ‘mega slut’. Oh my God, she drinks? ‘Giga slut’!   (geddit? Mega..Giga.. :P)

“Urgh, she’s such a bookworm”

“I bet she shops at Fashion Street”

“She has no life”

“And she came back home at 4 am!”

“She got the job because of the length of her skirt”

“Did you know she was chatting up that guy yesterday?”

Have you uttered similar statements?

If No, that’s great!

If yes, ask yourself why. Was that necessary? Maybe it elevated your ego for a few seconds, but did it impact anything meaningful?

While travelling the world, YouTuber Lilly Singh (@iisuperwomanii) saw the gravity of girl on girl hate and wanted to quell this. She started #GirlLove where she would post a picture of her and a girlfriend, and write about why she appreciated and loved the latter. That’s where I got the hashtag from.

Why do women hate on other women when we should be standing together to crush the patriarchy? Ask yourselves why we’re bringing other women down.

Beauty, money, popularity…aren’t these menial when it comes to sisterhood, harmony, friendship and bonding?

If we want the world to see us as equals, we must first see each other as equals. No sense of one-upping the other.

Let’s be a little more appreciative and a little less judgy about other people in the world, beginning with our own kind.

My friends and I picked up a concept called Galentine’s Day from a TV show. It’s a celebration of your female friends on the day before Valentine’s Day. This is one small step towards putting an end to girl on girl hate.

On 13^th Feb 2015, a couple of us met for lunch and exchanged small gifts, like bookmarks and the sticker below-

Source: http://www.feministapparel.com

As we’re halfway through Galentine’s Day 2016, let’s initiate and spread the love among ourselves.

Here are a few memories and anecdotes by, about and for women –

 

From the desk of Sanaya Ferns..

This is how I met my best friends.

The first I met at the age of 6. Runty, and with really bad teeth, I was an awkward child (soon to bloom into an awkward adult.. with dental work!). But one day, a tiny, determined little girl who seemed to dare the world to try and mess with her fought with someone to sit with me (setting the course for everything she’d ever tackle – she won, hugged me, and sat down like nothing happened!).

It seems silly now, but for the first time someone I barely knew liked me! Though we stayed in the periphery of each other’s lives, we weren’t really close till nearly 8 years later when we started hanging out. Many, (sigh…so many) years have passed since then but even now, she remains one of the fiercest, most loyal people I know, ready to fight anyone who’d put me down – even me.

The next was always around school, a popular girl who had a nice word for everyone, including that weird one who hung out with the nerds and delinquents, reading during breaks (but got braces finally!). Sure we talked on and off but nothing really clicked till one music class she caught me humming to myself.

“Hey, what song is that?”.

Quickly, I changed the subject. Singing like a toad to someone who hung with the popular choir girls was embarrassing. She insisted till I reluctantly sang out a bit. Waiting for the usual ‘snort and giggle’ I was surprised when she very seriously went, “I like it. Can you write down the name?”

And so we talked. And talked. About books, music, movies, TV shows and another common friend (someone I remembered from when I was 6…)

The three of us have gone through drunk nights, fights, deaths, road trips, hospital trips, lesbian rumors, heart breaks, assholes, not assholes, random classes, college, work and yet I look forward to so much more with them around!

As women, we teach ourselves to work hard for our independence. When faced with life, work (Beyoncé) we are determined to ensure our vulnerabilities are packed up and shipped out. Sometimes, this makes us underestimate the support system we have. The mesh of love, strength and “Oh thank God, I do that too”s we can weave together makes us better people. Look around at the women you care for. You may have found them in school or you may have just met them. They may be 2 or 7 or 20 but they are your tribe. And when you find your tribe, work hard to keep them because they’ll make you a better version of yourself.

xx

Mads Khadilkar writes..

I think I’ve been really lucky to have a lot of girlfriends in my life, so picking one moment over another isn’t really easy. But one that particularly stands out is when Pratiksha, Shreya and I went to Marine Drive together. It was a pretty shitty day and we just decided to bunk an entire day of college and head off to SoBo. Marine Drive is one of our favorite places. All three of us have very different personalities, but the one thing we definitely agree on is that there is nothing better than sitting by the sea, listening to the waves, wind in your hair, with some of your best friends. We talked for ages about pretty much everything, right until the sun started dipping below the horizon. A couple of selfies later, the horrible day turned into a mellow one, and brought us closer.

xx

From Wolfie Iyer..

I’d like to preface this by saying that I’m a sarcastic person with a darkish sense of humour. So, of course one of my best memories with my girl friends is the time Madsy and I spent a metro ride making jokes about this dead guy that we saw earlier. It’s not as awful as it sounds – we had passed through a funeral on our way home from seeing our friends, and the nervousness we felt at seeing the body and sensing the seriousness of the proceedings translated into making jokes about it.

“Are we going to hell?”

“Definitely.”

“Maybe we’ll see the dead guy there.”

(See? This is what I’m talking about)

It was 45 minutes of morbid, offensive humor. It was not sunshine and walks in the park. But the memory kind of gives me the same feeling, and that’s what sticks out. That’s why it’s memorable.

xx

AmrutVee R. writes..

Okay so let’s see.. best memory with your girlfriends..

I have two friends from my 12th std classes who I’m really close to – Anagha & Rutuja – and we’re all in totally different streams, so we never actually got time to catch up.

Ron had this cooking fest thing at Rizvi (his college) and he wanted me to come cause it would be fun, and I told these two girls that “Hey, we haven’t caught up in a long time, and also, there’s food, so do you want to go?”

We went to Rizvi, we got food, and they got to meet Ron, which was fun, and we went to Carter Road cause it’s close-by. We took loads and loads of selfies and we met a baby who was really cute, went to Wafflist and had waffles.

It was such a nice day because we hadn’t met in 6 months and we talking like it was just yesterday!

xx

From Nivee Nair..

My best Galentine’s memory is when I spent it with my older (single) cousin sister buying underwear at Linking Road when I was in primary school. We decided to chill in Bandra, a few days before Valentine’s. Every shop or stall we went to, the shopkeeper or seller would try really hard to sell fancy lingerie or some crazy kinky shizz.

My cousin later said ‘This was a stupid day to go out!’. It was entertaining watching people getting ready for Valentine’s Day, and we went home laughing about the weird lacy, feathery, leathery stuff that was there. Scarred me for life.

xx

Ash Nikam reminded me of this incident from 2011-

She had a brand new purple colored Scooty, and rode it to the bus stop to pick me up.

“I’m not getting on that”, I said, realizing I’d have to sit pillion.

“Shut up and sit”, Ash replied.

As we proceeded towards her home, we approached a dug up road, and the ride got bumpy. At one point, I felt the scooter tilt, and for some reason, I got off it! This led to some crazy imbalance, and the Scooty (with Ash on it), landed on the road 😦

Later on, when it was time for me to leave, I somehow convinced Ash to teach me how to ride the Scooty. I have no idea how she trusted me with her scooter after the incident in the morning!

After an initial 3 seconds of pure thrill and a sense of accomplishment, it was time for me to steer the Scooty to the left and again, I lost balance! I got off with the motor still running, and the poor vehicle moved a few meters forward, did a brilliant skid, and landed on the ground again 😦

The next day, rumors were rife in Ash’s building that her friend had an accident xD

That day set the base of our friendship – accidents, clumsiness, scratches, bruises, but most of all… trust.

xx

Kruthika aka Bangsy’s cheesy quota of the day-

I cannot pick a single memory, because almost each one that I have had with my girls has been special

Starting with the best friend, Sne, even though we make one every other week, if I had to pick just one, it would be her birthday in 2010. She is a Christmas baby; hence the night started with Christmas Mass (which has been preceded by a evening full of wardrobe obsessing and regular refrains of “I don’t have anything to wear”) After the Mass, there was the usual pouring in of friends with cakes, gifts and general merry-making.
The final part of the night, we ended up playing Never Have I with the boys in a shady bar; so shady that we exited it using a back alley because there were cops outside. The cherry on the cake: Sitting on the hood of the car and having donuts right in front of the cops.
We have celebrated many birthdays since we have known each other. But this one will always be special for me, and not just because of what happened, but because of what it gave me. An old acquaintance was renewed that night which then blossomed into one of my most steadfast friendships. The night gave me Amit, who is now my second pillar of support, along with Sne.

A discussion of memories with my girl friends would be incomplete without a mention of this insane group I met at a Whovian screening. We were brought together by a TV show, but there is so much more that has kept us together, still.

I have two memories that stand out.
First being Tiramisu Twosday, a dessert crawl, where we went tasting Tiramisus (duh!). The We being Hark, Ash, Sanaa and Smau (honourable mention)
The desserts could have been the highlight of the evening, but experiencing this with the girls, was something else altogether.
The second memory is a very recent one. The day when Snux and Ziny went shopping along with me, on a random whim. It still amazes me how a simple activity like shopping becomes so much fun when you are with the right people for it.

Why I love these memories, is because I absolutely love them in these memories for just being what they are.
Never have they failed in bringing a smile to my face.
Never have they failed in making me forget everything that ails me, with all their stupid antics.
Never have they let me down whenever I needed them.
And the evenings were just some of the many instances of just that.

xx

How heart-warming are these stories! Let’s create some of our own, within and beyond our pack ❤

Spread the love!

Xoxo

 

GIF source: http://www.tumblr.com

 

P.S. I’m posting a few more stories tomorrow, so watch this space! 😀

Hello 2016

Yayy, it’s my first blog, wheeee.

I’m going to begin this the way everyone begins their New Year:  Resolutions.

Ikr, like

(Source & credits: http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2015-02/10/21/enhanced/webdr01/anigif_enhanced-buzz-31771-1423622240-4.gif)

Go ahead, smirk a little, we all know what we know about New Year Resolutions. They don’t last for a week, let alone a year!

Honestly though, do we make resolutions that are realistic? Or do we blindly set targets for ourselves that we know, somewhere, aren’t achievable? It’s so much easier to drop it off midway when you know you weren’t being realistic to begin with (or that you were probably drunk at the time).

So as is obvious, I’ve thought this through. I’ve made 3 New Year Resolutions for 2016, and here goes..

Numero Uno – Eff the negativity!

I’m going to cut out all the negativity and make sure I send out good vibes. Positive vibes only.

Deux – Acceptance & appreciation.

None of that ‘New Year, New Me’ for me. Instead, I’m going to learn to accept myself the way I am, and be more appreciative of the people around me.

Check out this bookmark my friend Sanaya made for the T.A.R.{who}.D.I.S Book Club (https://twitter.com/tarwhodis).

# 3 – I really need to start jogging. I can’t rely on good metabolism forever. I have heart disease in my genes 😛

*insert pretentious but inspirational quote about health*

 

My goal will be to imbibe these resolutions. ‘Resolutions for 2016’ must not, and will not, turn into ‘Resolutions for 2017’. I want to make these simple little things a part of me 🙂

Here’s something I came across.  It’s something I believe in, and I encourage everyone to do this.

(Source & credits: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a4/a0/10/a4a010561c88e8bf293ed58dafc8091e.jpg)

Guys, watch Parks & Recreation okay. It’s the best. (Still sore over Amy Poehler not winning the Emmy last year.)

Lastly, thanks for reading, you guys! Let’s bring in 2016 on a fresh note 😀