Guide your help and her kids about education options and professional courses

#guideyourhelp

IMPORTANT. VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU WISH FOR A BETTER FUTURE FOR #INDIA.
Pls Share.

This is based on my recent experience when my moushi (shop help) was happy that local politicians and some well-to-do relatives suggested (or rather tried to convince) the following for her daughter who scored 64% in HSC Commerce:

- Now you should get a job and help your mother financially (moushi has been working hard all these years and thanks to her smart savings is capable of completing her further education)
- Complete your commerce degree and I'll get you a job (c'mon, when she completes her degree she can get a job for herself, don't try to show that you are doing a favour)

What irritated me most was that no one told moushi or her about options like CA, CS, law, etc. Not even their favourite class teacher! She completed 12th and had absolutely no idea about the study options with commerce! Why? Why didn't the educated nagarsevaks / vote-hungry politicians / teacher guide her about these professions? She has the same right to education as your kid. But she doesn't have access to career information as all the international-school going kids have. Maybe she feels that she just wants to pursue a commerce degree, but the decision should be arrived at after knowing about all the other options. Right?

So, if you have a househelp, office help, someone who picks your garbage, a gardener or someone around who is not as educated or informed as you are and has a school / college going kid, please read:

1. If you already didn't have conversations with them, ask them if their kids have appeared for 10th, 12th / final year.

2. If so, please guide them about the future education and career possibilities that are NOT RESTRICTED to 12th pass, normal graduation degree. Tell them about professional courses, scholarships, etc. Or guide them to someone who can. Encourage them and help them take an informed decision.

And yes, if you help someone, even financially, do not make them feel, even slightly, that they are under the burden of your favour. You are stripping them off their pride then. And that's not being helpful.

Just think if it was your kid, what all would you want her / him to know when it comes to education and career options, and you would know what to do.

Thank you.

It was unplanned!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have been missing in action in the wide world of blogging (one post each in 2016 and 2017... ouch!). A new little chapter began in my life in August 2016. I was totally new to the experience and taking one day at a time. I had anticipated an increased amount of work, but I had no idea about the quantum of efforts required.

With great responsibility comes great deal of work! (Spider-Man's Uncle Ben never mentioned that, right?)

So, well, I started Hopasholic (our gift shop in Panvel that has everything from party supplies to toys and accessories) in August 2016 and it has kept me busy all this while. Sourcing, pricing, selling, promotions and what not! Add to it some freelance writing assignments. And then I discovered the power of Instagram when my youngest customers said, "Facebook is old, we all are on Instagram, you should be there!"

What can I say, blogging took a backseat and it was totally unplanned. So, I am back to blogging either here or on my other blog Fibromyalgia Awareness and will try to write regularly, if not daily. That's the plan!

BTW A-Z challenge is coming up, right? Are you participating?

Life of I

Life of I (and Richa Parker)

Cast: Richa Parker, I

(This was definitely not our reference pattern when we did carpeting at our store!)

Blame it on our superb imitation flowers or the wood like flooring, two days on and the reptile feels home (I mean garden) already!

I tried to shoo it away, she didn't leave.

So I stepped out myself at intervals hoping that maybe she likes me and she might follow me out. Negative.

Now, we coexist at different corners ot the store.

I can't risk my sales every time I have to step out of the store fearing her. It's time to settle this. If we're going to live together, we have to learn to communicate. Maybe Richa Parker can't be tamed — but with my will she can be trained.

True story.

Gift shopping experience in Panvel

It's the era of online shopping. And we are all saving time and money with all those online 'sales'.

But there's something very special about visiting a brick and mortar store for shopping, isn't it? Especially when it comes to last-minute gifting and party preparations! Or home decor during the busy festival season for that instance.

Checking out individual products, holding them in your hands, feeling the texture, knowing the exact dimensions of the product... well it has its own benefits. Most importantly, it is a refreshing feeling, kind of a stress buster.

Hopasholic, brings to you this very experience and much more! It is an exclusive gift shop in Panvel that also offers a wide range of party supplies, artificial flowers and home decor products.

Hopasholic appeals to all your senses!

The sense of touch: All the products at Hopasholic enjoy an open display. You need not ask anyone to pick out something from a closed glass cabinet. You are free to check out the products yourself.

The sense of smell: There's a delightful range of aroma candles with pure essential oils to soothe your senses. Saffron, Rose, Lavender, Chocolate, Rose... just one whiff and you will want to bring those pretty wonders home.

The sense of sight: Walk in to the store and the tastefully decorated interiors will make you go wow! That apart, the handpicked selection of products will only want to spend more time at Hopasholic. While the collection of lamps will de'light' you, the array of colourful products placed against the soothing backdrop of white walls will refresh you.

The sense of sound: Enjoy the melodic sound of wind chimes, shop for cute musical gifts and hear the laughter of your kids as they enjoy the amazing musical toys at Hopasholic.

Now you may ask what about the fifth sense of taste! Well, all our customers have said that we have an awesome taste when it comes to product selection :) So that's assured!

So, gift yourself that much needed retail therapy for real! Visit Hopasholic and experience the joys of shopping and window shopping :)

Address: 17, National Palace II, D Wing, Takka, Panvel, Navi Mumbai.
Landmark: State Bank of Travancore (SBT)

Locate Hopasholic on Map.

Say "Haanji" to the Superfast 4G

An airline just announced a special offer of flight bookings at just Rs. 799 (of course, with the infamous asterisk symbol indicating "taxes excluded"). It requires you to simply download the app and the offer is valid for just 24 hours. You know the drill that happens across the nation and you know how the Murphy's law loves you - Thousands would book the tickets and all the best dates and locations would be unavailable before you know!

So, you decide that this time you would not waste any moment and book that long pending Goa trip right away. You wonder why you never had that airline's app on your phone (c'mon, why would you if they never announced such a tempting offer until this day!).

So you take the usual path:
Play Store -> Search for app -> Install -> Wait until that irritating blue line completes its journey over the grey line at a snail's pace so that the Open App button appears!

Ouch! Those few seconds / minutes feel like a lifetime, isn't it? Even after the app starts, entering those dates, checking availability, blah, blah, blah... takes forever. And needless to say, by the time you find what you want, Murphy's law wins hands down and teases you with "Not Available"!

And there goes Goa!

C'mon! You can do better.

Haanji, now the superfast 4G has arrived! It is the answer to your every "If only..."

• If only, that latest game downloaded faster.
• If only you could find the nearest best restaurant as soon as the hunger pangs attacked on that long road trip.
• If only the movie downloaded faster.
• If only I could book the tickets before they were sold out.
• If only my GPS loaded faster.
• If only all my 100+ party pics got uploaded while I was still partying!
• If only I could whatsapp my boyfriend that dad is home before he rang the bell ;)

Yes, Airtel 4G has arrived and how! It's your wish come true at the blink of an eye. Don't take my word for it, the Airtel Challenge proves it all - If your network is faster, they'll pay your mobile bills for life! That's how confident they are, so the 4G definitely is way faster than whatever you have experienced till date.



And here's the icing on the cake - You can enjoy #Airtel4G at the SAME PRICE as 3G!!!

Still feel it is too good to be true? Well, how about visiting your nearest Airtel store for a demo of the fastest network ever! Just step in to the store on your way back home today and your internet speed would always bring a smile to you.

Save it!

What is probably the most commonly saved thing in the Universe?

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Five-Sentence Fiction: The Red Lipstick

He entered the house full of a dozen women and faked a smile. They kept staring at him and then they looked at her.

She was embarrassed and furious at the same time. He opted for a jeans and a tee instead of the formals she had instructed him to wear, but at least, he could have wiped off the red lipstick, especially when she had told him earlier that she would be inviting her friends over.

She had told them that he was an investment banker, but he loved being a clown and wearing that red lipstick!

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Shared with:  Lillie Mcferrin's Five Sentence Fiction for Lipstick

The cat who couldn't frighten a mouse away

She brought home a new mouse, white like a snowflake and with a surprisingly long tail. Her cat didn't like how she spent all the time with her new pet now. She petted the mouse all the time... while working, while reading and even while eating.

The envious cat couldn't scare the mouse away. It waited for the right moment and eventually, when she went to the balcony to attend a call, the cat chewed away the mouse cord!

Image courtesy of Rosemary Ratcliff at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Five-Sentence Fiction: Excel with a smile

She decided to wear one of the four XL-sized tees she had bought online. She missed fitting in the medium-sized outfits stuffed in her wardrobe. Oh, the side effects of medication!

The tags of the new tees irritated her and she just couldn't remember where she had kept the scissor. She wore a new tee nevertheless and accessorized it with her smile, like always.

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Note: She had Fibromyalgia, a chronic illness with umpteen symptoms including excruciating widespread pain, hypersensitivity and memory issues.

Image courtesy of anankkml at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Five-Sentence Fiction: Penny

He knocked on her door in his trademark style, "Penny, Penny, Penny."

She didn't  answer the door. He tried several times, but in vain.

She had gained pounds and didn't relate to the word Penny anymore.

Bazinga!

3 Reasons reason why "S" gets kicked out

Ever wondered why was the letter "S" spared from the names of some numbers? Why aren't 200, 300, 400, etc. called Two Hundreds, Three Hundreds, Four Hundreds and so on?

Perhaps, the letter "S" was too overworked among the set of consonants.

My belief is mostly based on my own baseless logic and one fact. 

1. Most of my friends' names begin with the letter "S" or have the letter "S". For instance, my friends include Sushmita, Sudakshina, Sandeep, Sagarika, Sanjeev, Sakshi, Salma, Saru... the list is long and as I would have said in a speech had I received an award, "I am sorry if I missed anyone's name here!"
2. The plurals! Poor "S" got its ass kicked like how! Thank God for Men, Women and Children who saved some usage of the letter's plural overwork!

Of nightmares, losses and a reality check

I woke up to a nightmare of losing someone very close to me. Perhaps it was the effect of watching back to back episodes of Monk last night. But it felt so real...

God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramanian: Book Review

Book Title: God is a Gamer
Author: Ravi Subramanian

Genre: Thriller
Pages: 310
Binding: Paperback

Rating: 4 out of 5
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BOOK REVIEW:

I like thrillers. Especially, if they are fast and can keep me guessing. God is a Gamer is just like that. It keeps my hand glued to the book and meets my expectations.

Here’s what I think of it.

Duplicity - Chapter 18

     Team: Writers’ Express

Read the previous part of the story here.
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       Tara went through some of Cyrus' blog posts again and paid attention to what his readers had to say. She was not surprised to see that the comments on his posts were very strong. 

      While the readers loved his writing style, they objected his views on how the criminals could have gotten away with their wrongdoings. Many condemned him for writing from the perspective of saving criminals. The comment threads were long with some writing swear words while others warning him that they would report his blog. Yet, Cyrus had not replied on any comment. 

Duplicity - All Chapters

For all those who are reading Duplicity, the collaborative story by Writers' Express, this is where you can find all the links to all the chapters. Each chapter of Duplicity has links to to the previous and next chapters as well.

Duplicity Chapters:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

Meet our awesome team:

Duplicity - Chapter 9

Team: Writers’ Express

Read the previous part of the story here.
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     After Tara found the shocking evidence in Cyrus' backpack — the three photos and Jennifer Joseph's visiting card — she started calling Shekhar frantically. When Shekhar did not answer her call after her several attempts, she realised that he must have kept his phone in the silent mode as he was watching a movie with Roohi.

    She could not afford to waste any second, now that she was convinced that Cyrus was a dangerous person. She started imagining all sorts of things - What if Cyrus intended to cause some harm to Roohi? What if he attacked Shekhar? What if he found her alone at home and killed her?

Duplicity - Chapter 8

Team: Writers’ Express

Read the previous part of the story here.
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When Tara realised that Cyrus was not at home in the morning, she was pleasantly surprised. She realised her behaviour was rather rude. She should have controlled herself since Roohi was around. She also felt bad that she didn't even offer him dinner the previous night. Shekhar was right, it was so unlike her.

Duplicity - Chapter 7

Team: Writers’ Express

Read the previous part of the story here.

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Jennifer was worried. Ever since Maya told her about the guy who was not returning her calls, things were getting weird. Maya was adamant about Jennifer accompanying her to Delhi the very next day, no questions asked. Jennifer agreed simply because she did not want to leave a depressed Maya alone.

Celebrating Blogging with Game of Blogs: Duplicity!

DUPLICITY
Chapter 1: Pawan Hegde | Chapter 2: Partha Sadhukhan | Chapter 3: Sujata Tawde | Chapter 4: Shilpa Halwe | Chapter 5: Manjulika Pramod | Chapter 6: Shazneen Pathak | Chapter 7: Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli | Chapter 8: Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli

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There is so much excitement write now... I mean right now ;)

I am participating in Game of Blogs (#CelebrateBlogging), an interesting collaborative story writing initiative on Blogadda. Random teams are created by Blogadda and we weave a story together with our team members. The interesting bit is that every team will work around common characters provided to us! So it will be exciting to see how a particular character will have different roles in each story.

There are lots of rules and, of course, eliminations over three rounds and three weeks. An excellent jury makes it all the more exciting!

I am glad to have a wonderful team of bloggers as we craft our story - Duplicity.

Our team - Writers' Express

Our story follows after this post and we will be sharing the links on Social Media as well. Do read and we hope you like it!

Filing Returns or Returning Files?

It occurred to me
while watching X-Files

I had sent him some
very important files

So I called the tax guy
who was all smiles

As I said with confidence,
"Return my files, return my files!"