Doing nothing

Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing.  But given the cheesy character I am it’s hard for me to stick to one type of a routine. So recently, when I stepped out to travel I decided to do something out of the box . Given we read about this phrase so often that at times we also confuse if it’s really possible to think or do anything ‘out of the box’ .  Many of my fellow writers and bloggers are very passionate about writing or sharing .  

Recently when I got a call from a fellow friend he shared how he writes one post everyday . This post can be anything from an experience or a share or just a simple one line quote that he may have read .  For him this is his ‘out of the box’ way of writing .

During one of my recent trips a dear friend told me how she was struggling to figure out what kind a job she should be doing. She has juggled in a number of roles and yet the satisfaction was lacking . So , she decided to backpack and go to the serene surroundings of North East India and see if the answer comes to us. She is now doing what she calls as ‘nature’ photography and as I see very happy clicking the same . This was the ‘out of box’ thing for her.

As you are aware the wedding season is on currently and it’s a festive mood all around. When I asked my old school friend why he was settling down he said that both he and his wife love and appreciate wildlife. They charted out a wish-list of sorts of the best wildlife destinations across the world are aiming to have minimum one stroked out every year . This is the ‘out of the box ‘ plan for them .

My maid’s daughter sings beautifully and luckily out of all the people she sings to I am one of them . So recently I gifted her a casio of sorts and the smile on her face was priceless .  She told me that she has enrolled for her singing training in her school and soon she would start learning . Needless to say, she wants to be a singer but a singer who sings for others and not necessary for the materialistic things which people usually do. This is the ‘out of the box’ thing she wants to pursue.

Delhi winters means movie time . In case you also plan to do nothing may be watching the #HorribleBosses movie series can be a good way . Though , I loved watching  #ThisIsWhereILeaveYou  a tad bit more.

Wedding Time Out

The Delhi wedding season is on and like it promises every year it adds a dash of elegance , new trends ,  flowing money , fusion cuisines and somewhere in all of this -  two people getting together with a full public view .

I have been privileged to be a participant in these spectacular grandiose events and I must share my thoughts on the same .  Wedding these days have become a once in a lifetime affair.There are two school of thoughts who believe and vouch for their respective says - the first one says and believes in making it a grand affair since you only marry once . The second school of experts believe this is a sheer waste of money and effort and a simple wedding ceremony is the way to go .

Now my view to all of this is two folds . I understand and echo the former bit that this is a once in a lifetime affair . But , is it worth to spends such huge portions of personal wealth on things which would fade away the very next morning . The amount of spending on food , decoration , clothes , jewelry and the array of functions planned can actually make your 'to be wed and to come in times ahead ' children say - "My gosh ! We have so much money !! "  .

The second school of thought is somewhat my way and hence preference.  Simple things are always remembered fondly and this is my personal experience.  Giving away food for the needy , clothes for the street folks goes a long way than spending on a designer wear which may go out of fashion by the next weekend .  Also children nowadays are well matured groomed and have a decent earning power to ensure they have good life ahead . 

These are only thoughts . Now comes some fun part of these big gala events .  I never knew , till I did it myself that doing something crazy may be childish can actually be so much fun. It can be as simple as making a balloon fly up and watch it go high up in the sky . I understand , that this was part of the decoration but letting go of something is also so much fun , isn't it ?

Being and having known either the bride and the groom so well can actually make you burst out all those hidden secrets that they may have forgotten in the era gone by.  

Another key takeaway of all these events is networking . You meet those 'wedding people' as I call only in wedding and everytime you meet them you understand life moves so fast. The elder folks are now more elderly and some can't even walk . The young ones are now in colleges and hooked to their iPhones . The newly married ones last year are now expecting  . Everything and everyone has moved ahead in some way or the other and its fun to see how life transforms every single moments. 

Functions like these make you steal those ' me - time ' or 'time -out ' sessions . You can plan to attend these weddings with your friends / would be spouses ( depending on how serious you both are :P ) . You can also participate by taking ownership on any of the series of events that are planned or for that matter just ensure to be by the side for anything and everything.

One thing I can echo is that these wedding will ensure you feel all charged up . Be the glitters , the shimmers , the dance , the music , the food and in between all of this the chemistry between the bride and the groom - after all , as they say , "abhi toh party shuru hui hai......"  

Simple pleasures in little things

When you meet someone after a long time say a gap of close 4 years  , there is something about both the people that is visible in the eyes of each other . You may say that in this world and era of online and social media you are never really far away but then I am strong believer of face to face interactions . 

Something similar happened a few days back .  I wouldn't call this person a friend since we have known each other for about close 12 years now .  We have seen each other grow up , have had our fair share of fights , happy moments and more importantly being their for each other when needed the most . 

That day when I was at the airport waiting for her flight to land all I could think was in the time gone by I have never really missed her .  Yet, the last time I saw her was close four years . Thats a near 1460 days .   The moment we saw each other all that we could do was just smile . There were people , family to be precise and hence it was a quick in and out.

I could see that there were a lot of questions , queries , may be answers in her eyes and irrespective of a close 7,270 mi distance she traveled there was not a sign of sleep .  

Like I say , there are moments you should not let go just because there is no time , or its too late or there always is a tomorrow . So we decided to have a late night coffee with Karan session and ensure we don't waste time sleeping . Delhi , at late night is not the best of the place but then who really cares . 

The amount of effort you put to keep yourself happy is the same you put to keep yourself sad. Choice is yours!   

We chatted and chatted and chatted . We talked all things random and most importantly I learnt in such conversations where the excitement levels are very high one needs to be a very patient and an active listener . Thoughts , words just flow by as if there is no tomorrow . We go back in time then again in the present and keep on oscillating . We realize there is so much more than the mundane tasks we do . There is so much that each other can teach , share and talk about . 

Its fun to say the least .  Late night drives in and around Chankyapuri are always fun . The flowers in full bloom , the neat streets and the calm all around . 

These are the people , the times which one should really cherish in life and look forward to . Withing few seconds you ease out , calm down and have no thoughts of all the negativity which was going in and around you for all this while . The daily work routine where days pass faster than you think . 

Of late , I have been meeting or interacting with people who live in their own world. These people are as I say - lone warriors .  They need you but they need you just as a tick mark activity in their life. They are dominating , poor listeners and most importantly extremely sensitive  by nature . Though you may feel they like you or may be more , but believe me they are not worth your time or effort . Let them go and pass by . They are just the dark clouds before a beautiful rain descends .

Little things should never go unnoticed - Always remember . Those who make your efforts go unnoticed are surely not meant to be with you. 

Keep it simple and enjoy the little things in life. 

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In case you too like listening to songs , check out my current  favorite song - LINK 


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Also wishing everyone a very happy Sri Gaura Purnima festival and happy Gaudabda New Year. May Lord Chaitanya bless us with the devotion and humility to be engaged in his service.

A short and beautiful video on who is Lord Chaitanya and why did he appear- LINK

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And where did we go for the coffee -  Read my Zomato review here 

God is a Gamer - Book Review -

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It’s a different feeling when you get to read a book authored by an ex-banker and that too an ex- Citibanker  .That makes things a little different. You tend to be at a level of connect ( may be biased )  from other fellow readers since in this case , I too , am a Citibanker and hence the way things work in the book or rather operate make it an easy flow for me to relate , understand and at times connect well .

It’s also heartening to see that a banker who has decades of experience can actually write , be creative and more importantly pen down a thriller of sorts . That’s a rare combination and hard one to get .

As for Ravi , he needs no introduction and in case you would want to know him better you can always read here – link .

To tell you about myself, I'm a writer / blogger at heart and one thing which I love is to share my thoughts over an array of genres across a universe of people I have met till date and continue to meet . My writing works are showcased here  . Besides this I love anything to do with branding , marketing and product management since that is what I do for a living .

Coming to the book ,  I would want to play this smartly since I do not want to let the story drop yet I want people to set their expectations right at the very start .

If you are passionate about the corporate world , life in and outside it , you like meeting people who hold offices of power and you yourself are someone to whom authority is important , then this book is a good read for you.  If you are someone who is alone in life chasing dreams and think and ponder what all have you lost in the life gone by – this book is for you .  If you are looking what it takes to be a single parent and have those frequent clashes with your children -  this book is for you .  If you want to know what is it for those who have high libido levels but for whom companionship is the least important thing in a relationship between a man and a woman – this can be an eye opener . It’s also a book which tells people closest to you are and can be the major reason for your erosion . In short,  it’s a mix and match of interesting characters across the globe as you will travel .

I usually pick a book ( and I am a voracious reader , as my peers call me ) which makes something to learn / know about and also make it an interesting read . The concept of BITCOINS is fun and introduces us to what possibly could be the future payment solution . The plot unfolds with a high ranking executive of  a top MNC bank who only is interested in reaching further top at any cost . The story moves to the US senate and life abroad which is also no different from the one we are having in India these days.  As they say mess happens and then we see the involvement of two of the best investigating agencies of the world – FBI and CBI. Life moves when sparks fly in Goa and plot thicken with bomb blasts , a robbery abroad and a suicide / murder in Mumbai and the world of online gaming and IT firewalls.

For me personally, though it was a nice read but I felt there was too much happening in the story and so many characters actually made it a little complex and at times hard to follow .  I liked the new trends that were being used -  Facebook , gaming community , the entire online banking payment systems , drugs , politics , affairs and betrayals and also the ways wherein some luxury brands ( Indian and global ) have been mentioned upfront / advertised in a way and the way Socrates features in the book ( which I liked as a key highlight )

There were loose typos /  spell check all through and I could only take note of a few below ones :

1) Pg. 236 - 'Three of his neighbours, who has seen the ghastly attack, went along with him and signed off as witnesses.'
2) Pg. 261- 'This in a disaster.'
3) Pg. 304- 'They had started seeing each ('other' missing) after the party.


Though ,unable to see a connect as to why the title is - God is a Gamer - since he plays with us ( humans ) . May be !

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This review is a part of the biggest http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank"> Book Review Program

for http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Blue sky - A canvas you have

During one of my many travels a dear friend seemed a little lost. We were driving all the way to Kotgarh also called as the apple valley of India since its famous for its apple orchards. 

She told she was just looking at the sky as we crisscrossed between mountain roads curling like snakes round and round. It took me a while before I could make sense of what she was saying or doing, to be more specific . 

Sky – of all the things in the world how can one look at the sky . It’s blue and at times pale. That’s it . 

Nothing more to be written or seen for that matter. But I guess I was wrong . I would be honest. I have watched rain drops falling or dropping ( as someone calls ) by my windows- home or car . And yes , I have and can just see them fall for hours . They are just so beautiful.

But , Sky . 

Now I know why sky and I’ll share my thoughts with you .Sky is one of those rare elements which works hard in the background but never get the light – limelight . The sun , like we all see is part of the sky but what we see and remember , usually is the Sun. Similarly , the beauty of the moon would never have been written if it never had the sky as a background. Stars , never twinkled if it’s not for the sky they seem studded upon. Not only this . 

Even the dark colored not so good looking clouds of rains and thunder hold no relevance if it’s not for the sky .It’s a like a big canvas which is there for everyone and every element to come and shine and come alive . However, how many times we ignore the humble sky .

Same is with life. We grow , learn , mature and feel we are on top of the world . But often we forget the numerous sacrifices may be, our team , our spouses , parents , teachers made for us ,to be in the light. During this entire journey we never come to appreciate all these wonderful people who were working hard all this while without anything in return . These are our skies . They make us shine and come out in this hard to distinguish world. And yet, we forget to thank them , spend time with them , acknowledge them and most importantly cherish them .

So the next time you see the sky don’t ignore it as a pale looking canvas. This is what you should strive to become and work towards for every moment. Life is all about being humble and being helpful. 

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When I made my friend read this piece she actually had tears. Girls ! I tell you are just so cute at times :)

Be your own support system

The story of thanks . At times , we all need support systems in some form or the other. I used to be of a very different school of thought some time back but then someone made me realize that it’s not so tough to confide with someone about what you feel.  For many of us sharing our thoughts, what we are feeling, why we are feeling a certain way doesn’t come easy and hence all the more need for these folks to talkabout  .

Support systems usually are people (warm-bodies ) as I call who LISTEN to you patiently without an intent of not responding or reacting to what you say . I agree, they are a hard find but I am sure you will have them around you, knowingly or unknowingly.   I , by nature don’t speak or share much with others since it doesn’t come to me naturally . But whenever I do, believe me I am the most talkative of the lot :)

A random discussion with an old friend sometime back made me realize that all this while I have been sharing with her most of the things and vice versa . I don’t know when did I started doing so but in the process it felt both of us knew so much about each other that it was really fun just being ourselves.

That’s one way to do so. A next level of sharing  or venting out can be writing .  Agree this is a trait one is born with and not necessary you can develop but it’s a good thing to write or share about . When writing you have at your will your undivided attention , you let your thoughts gather and settle down and most importantly problems now come with solutions  . In the end , you also help those who may be suffering from a similar dilemma and hence it’s a positive deed that you do.

After all , most inter-personal problems, be it at home, work or outside, occur when we are unable to control our emotions at a critical time.

Siblings ;  that’s a high risk high gain stuff. Siblings these days are very smart and hence you need to be guarded as to what to say , to whom and when . You never know when, even though unintentionally they might just say something you never expected them to say or share .

If the above three don’t work then believe me you just have a passing thought and nothing big. Before it makes itself into a snowball effect , let it go . 

Not all things in life are to be solved  . Some just need a bit of ignoring . Not everyone you meet  you would fall in love with and marry . There is only one and hence keep it for the best .Not always is a good thing to share or talk to someone about how you feel and why you feel the way you feel . For some it may be just a tick mark activity and for some no option but to listen to you thinking when you would finish.  So , start speaking and sharing and when you find no one to speak to I am all ears .


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On a lighter note farzi cafe seems to be doing a lot of rounds these days .  Here is my review on Zomato .

Love Zomato ? Hate Zomato ? Now , Karans feedback for Zomato !!

Its been a long time since I started reviewing places on Zomato and my interest into the world of gastronomy or molecular gastronomy ( the new trend ) started  . A big credit of this goes to Zomato in bringing out the foodie in me . As part of the process , not only I have learnt that there is more to a restaurant than just going there and ordering a meal and paying and coming back . A lot more things happen in between all these stages and I am sure , as Indians we all love our food and knowing the places where its served best - just helps .

And in this step-up , I always believe there is no better way than a feedback to make things more smarter and more friendly . After all ,Zomato is for foodies like us and we also need to do our bit for the big Zomato family that we all are a part of . So , here are some thoughts I felt like sharing with all ( on a special request from the team at Zomato : ) )


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Three features I love 

1. I like the fact that Zomato has played interestingly in the larger benefit of the foodies . Not everyone needs to be a member to be able to read reviews , browse places and check out what other foodies are writing about .  In this way they capture and build both type of target audiences -  Active writers /  reviewers and also those passive folks who just want to browse and pick up a quick place. A win-win for all . 
2. Collections -  A kudos to the entire team at Zomato and specifically to the folk who thought about this . It saves a hell lot of a time by clustering places basis a key genre and thereby narrowing the search all together .  A 'wow'  in terms of customer experience and innovative thinking. 
3. Foodie levels -  The foodie ladder is a thoughtful way of ensuring 'serious' foodies continuously do their bit of fair reviews and keep on climbing the ladder .  The four levels are good enough where Zomato ensures that the interest is build up and there are points for everything that one does. 

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Three features I think we can have / refine them to be better 

1. Photos  - My personal experience , uploading photos is a pain since half of the time it gets rejected due to a lower size file or something on similar lines  . Zomato needs to work to ensure the 'photo' option factors in almost all formats and the size limit something that has 99% success rate .  A big reason why I have stopped posting pictures even though I do click them . 
2. Twitter -  Zomato needs to be integrated with Twitter as that has a big chunk of audiences , globally & locally and far better than the Google+ . Currently the integration to find friends is only available on Facebook and Google+ . May be a next step would be to have LinkedIn as well as an option along with Instagram . 
3. Zomato foodie card - This is something on mind for a long time and I feel Zomato should work in creating a proposition for only genuine and top foodies as there way of appreciating them .This could be criteria based  - Only big foodies and above can apply.The proposition could build in plug-ins like: 
1. Exclusive invites to new restaurant launches in respective cities ;
2. A fixed savings of 15% or above at ALL Zomato featured restaurants;
3. Invites to Zomato foodie meets and a chance to may be featured in the Zomato restaurant guide.

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Hope the above helps in a tiny way to ensure we continue to do what we do best - serving foodies and building the food culture locally available  ,globally.