DearZindagi - Owe you to our soldiers

 

Dear Zindagi,

 

                        I’m a middle aged woman and I have always wondered about life being so complicated due to my personal and professional problems but for the past few years, my viewpoint towards you has changed. I used to feel that I owe you as you have kept me breathing till now and you are in my hands and my responsibility. But it was in 2008 that I realized that I owe you to the soldiers of our country, India.

 

                        It was November 26, 2008 when I heard the news of bomb blasts in Mumbai and since I reside in Mumbai, I started trembling on hearing the news. I read about so many lives lost at CST station and that day marked the worst ever days of my life where I witnessed so many people dying and being killed mercilessly. I had lost hope in humanity that day and the tears in my eyes couldn’t stop flowing as my heart bled for those people.

 

                        It was then when the news reports showed how our police forces sent a red alert throughout the city and started the search operation to kill down the terrorists. My belief in humanity was retained when Tukaram Ombale sacrificed his life to catch the terrorists and he did this all for us, for saving our lives. Hearing about him facing the terrorists by his own and following them fearlessly and bravely makes him a jewel in my eyes. He followed those terrorists and then was shot by them but still he fought them bravely and gave up his life. It was because of his sacrifice that our police force caught one terrorist alive. I then saw how the entire police force and the soldiers of India united that day and entered the buildings and hotels to protect our lives. It was a proud moment for me when I saw how much they cared for our country and each life lost that day was a part of humanity dying.

 

 

 

                        After watching what happened that day, there came reports of so many attacks which took so many lives of our country and each life lost means my life, my zindagi is owed to them. The recent Uri attack too shook the nation and made us again respect them for their sacrifices. Had they not been there, we would have not been here. They join the army to protect their nation and country people and hence, my life is their gift and hence I owe it completely to them. I owe you Zindagi to the brave soldiers of my country who fight day and night on the borders to keep us safe and their sacrifices will always be remembered.

 

                        I used to keep thinking that we are responsible for our own lives but these incidents changed my perspective towards you, Zindagi. I learned that these angels 24/7 stand on the borders and fight those terrorists and evil forces by facing them and because of them we are still breathing and are able to live peacefully in our cities.

 

                        I’m sorry but I can’t thank you for being a part of me but I thank my soldiers and police forces that it’s because of them, you are a part of me. Jai Hind!

 

Love,

Luiza F….


I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda

Dear Zindagi - My untold story

 

Dear Zindagi,

 

                        It’s odd that I’m writing this letter to you as more than half of my life is over and I don’t know how many moments of you are still left with me. Still I have many things to say to you and tell you what I have felt about you.

 

                        My grand parents died when I was 9 and at that time, I could barely understand the meaning of life and death. I was extremely sad to see them die and my family told me that they have gone to sleep, a sleep from which they will never wake up and it’s endless. I was very angry and depressed as I wanted them back as they were my own. I told my mother that I cannot live without them and when I saw her trying to cope up with her pain, she introduced me to the term ZINDAGI (Life) and told me a lot more things about you. She told me that life never stops for anyone and it keeps moving till the last breath of a person. That time, I was unable to understand what did she actually mean.

 

                        As I grew older, I realized your importance and how you never wait for anyone. As days and years started passing by, I got scared about your end and the moments started making me feel even worse. I could not even life the moments I have with me thinking that you are about to get over and thinking about my death and it being painful is something I fear even today.             I know the fact that what starts has to end, what begins has to finish and what is born has to die, but still I am not able to let you finish whether it’s me or my family and kids.

 

                        I have watched you leaving many souls and everytime I felt that you will leave me too very soon. I understand that you can’t wait for anybody and everyone’s life is destined. Some people don’t even get to experience you. I used to feel that those who haven’t been born are lucky as life can be very painful if it ends before time and losing a loved one is the worse feeling ever. But then when I close my eyes, I feel that life is beautiful and everyone should get a chance to live instead of fearing it’s going to end soon. Why is it always confusing, Dear Zindagi? Why are you so beautiful but still so complicated?

                       

                        There comes a time when I want you to stop for a moment to let me think how I’ve spent you all these years but you keep slipping out of my fingers and I never get a chance to even rectify my mistakes. Like I make a calculation of my money, I feel like calculating you too but the figure is always negative like the years gone behind. I know that as I am not perfect, you too are not perfect and that’s what relates me to you. Still I feel that you’re so short and as I don’t know which second is going to be my last. Today you are here and tomorrow you aren’t but still I can’t get angry with you as you have given me all that I’ve wanted from you and for this, I’ll always love you.

 

Your’s forever,

Luiza F….

I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda

Calorie Count: SaffolaLife and Blogadda Initiative

There are many facts that can cause heart trouble or a heart attack at a young age. Although the number of cases wherein young females and males below the age of 25 suffer from a heart stroke are less, these figures are concerning.

　

Where it's staying active, eating better or being happy, all these factors contribute in some way or the other to the calories we gain and burn and hence I would like to share how I've managed to maintain a healthy life by calculating the calories (CC=calorie count) I lose and gain during a day.

　

Happiness (CC: 207 calories burnt)

1. In the morning, I wake up and leave for my laughter club session. This session helps my entire day to go well. We workout for 30 minutes and even walk about for 15 minutes, hence my calorie count is -87.

　

2. In the night, I practise yoga for 30 minutes and more than an activity, I view it as a way of letting my stress leave my body and just thinking about good memories that can bring a smile on my face. It helps me to stay positive and get good beauty sleep of 8 hours. During this activity, my calorie count reaches -120.

　

　

　

Diet (CC: 1067 calories gained; 65 calories burnt)

　

1. For breakfast, I consume a scrambled egg (38 calories).

　

3. My lunch diet contains chicken (250 calories), one bowl of rice (204 calories) and two bananas (89+89 = 178 calories). Hence, my calorie count is 632 calories.

　

4. My dinner diet contains half bowl of rice, fish (206 calories) and 1 banana again. It makes my calorie count 397.

　

5. During the day, I consume 5 cups of green tea which makes my calorie count 65-.

　

　

Activity (CC: 984 calories burnt)

1. I make breakfast for the entire family and as per the time I consume while preparing the breakfast, here is my calculation of calories. I spend 25 minutes preparing 3 cups of coffee, two cups of green tea, 2 scrambled eggs and 5 toasted breads. The calorie count is 20-.

　

1. Ironing my clothes makes my calorie count is 7- in 5 minutes. Packing my bag and leaving for office makes my calorie count 5-.

　

2. To reach the nearest bus stop, it takes me 10 minutes and hence my calorie count is 22-. Travelling and reaching my work place which takes an hour makes the count 27-.

　

3. I work constantly for 4 hours which makes my calorie count 352-.

　

4. Working for another 5 hours in the office, makes my calorie count 440- and travelling back home makes my calorie count -27.

　

5. Household tasks like walking, mopping (43 calories) and cleaning the dishes (34 calories) make my calorie count -84.

　

　

　

Hence on a regular day, I burn 189 calories and this is my method to keep my heart healthy. The main pointers I would like to highlight are: 30 minutes laughter exercise, 1 bowl of chiken or fish, 4-5 cups of green tea and 30 minutes of yoga. These factors play a very important role in your diet and health and help you remain healthy and fit. The websites that help me check on my calories are: http://calorielab.com and https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/foodcalories.html

I am joining the Saffolalife #ChhoteKadam initiative in association withBlogAdda and follow these small steps for a healthy heart.

Tips to keep the heart healthy

With regards to working women or men, very few of us can spend time on ourselves and our health. The max we do is to eat healthy food but that's not enough. We need to have a balanced diet as well as take precautions in our day-to-day life and avoid doing things that can harm our health and most importantly our heart. It's recorded that people above 40 are prone to heart diseases and hence we need to follow some steps to keep our heart healthy...

With regards to working women or men, very few of us can spend time on ourselves and our health. The maximum we do is to eat healthy food but that's not enough. We need to have a balanced diet as well as take precautions in our day-to-day life and avoid doing things that can harm our health and most importantly our heart. It's recorded that people above 40 are prone to heart diseases and hence we need to follow some steps to keep our heart healthy...

　

Stay Active: Age doesn't matter; work matters

　

I've always believed in doing household work as it's a stress buster for me and plus it keeps me active and it's something I love doing. I work outside as well and on weekends, I spend time cleaning my house and making food for the entire family. Doing housework like chopping, cleaning and cooking helps to keep our muscles working and it's better for the heart too as it helps in burning calories. I work for atleast 3 hours daily to stay fit and listening to music while working motivates me a lot. Besides doing housework, I also practise yoga and breathing exercises to help me reduces my stress and keep my blood pressure level normal. This is the first step I take for a healthy heart and body.

　

　

Eat Better:

　

I buy mostly ORGANIC products whether it's olive oil, honey and even vegetables that may be expensive but it's for the good health of my family and hence the necessary nutrients that the body should get but they don't get due to the foods being contaminated is eliminated by my this step. It's better we only buy organic products and give our heart and body what's necessary for them. I also drink green tea daily that helps me burn calories. This is the second step I take for a healthy heart and body.

　

　

Being Happy: Laughing exercise

　

I am a member of a laughter club since 2 years and every morning at 6:30 a.m., the young and middle aged residents of our area get together and practise this laughter exercise for 30-45 minutes. This is the best exercise for me as I don't need to stress my muscles or lift weights to stay fit but just laughing can work wonders for me. Ever since I've started this, it has reduced my stress and I've also read that it raises the levels of good cholesterol. It's the best method we can ever follow for a healthy heart. This is the third step I take for a healthy heart and body.

　

　

I shared few tips that I follow to keep me and my heart healthy and these methods have been the simplest ones for me at my age.

I am joining the Saffolalife #ChhoteKadam initiative in association withBlogAdda and follow these small steps for a healthy heart.

WOW Entry: An empty train

Empty train - This thought itself feels so lonely and empty as I am used to travelling in trains where there are way too many people jammed inside one compartment that all people stand on each others foot and those who stand envy those who have seats, almost cursing them in their minds to get down. LOL!

　

Jokes apart, there have not been many experiences that I share in an empty train but if I had to, it would have been as follows:

　

It's midnight, about 12:30 a.m. and I've just reached the Marine Lines station. I get off the taxi and pay the driver while constantly looking at my watch. Yes, the pass is here and now I just need to rush to the 8th platform and get a train fast.

　

It will be empty definitely as there is nobody at the station as well. If it had been 5-6, I sure wouldn't have managed to get in the train and then getting off at Dadar would mean committing suicide, I tell myself and laugh.

　

"Mam, would you like to buy bhel?" A hawker asks me. "You are here at this time?" "Yes, mam. I get buyers at midnight too and hence stay here till 1:30." I smile and buy one packet and then hear the train's whistle. Finally, the train has arrived and as I had known, the train is empty. I smile at myself that today there is nobody to accompany me and it's just me in the entire compartment.

　

How this compartment used to be full of people talking, quarrelling and struggling for a seat! It's irritating when I am in such a mess but this empty compartment is really boring. I don't even want a seat now and that's the feeling.

　

The train leaves the station and I keep watching the surroundings and enjoy the fresh air that made me take out my shawl and cuddle myself. The journey that seemed boring and lonely earlier is now feeling bliss and peaceful. It makes me think that in our daily life, how many moments do we spend alone and not worry about our own troubles? None.

　

The train keeps moving and horning and the announcer goes on "Please report any unclaimed bags and..." I hear the announcement just to pass my time and move about the compartment to check the ads pasted there that were half torn and scribbled on but I did spend time in checking out each ad wherein people advertised their services like teaching, restaurants, property owners and some had ads of cosmetics. It's surprising for me as I have been travelling by trains for so many years but I never got a chance to go through these ads.

　

The train halts at a signal and as I finish reading the ads in the compartment, I start to think how scary it feels in the middle of nowhere. I keep praying that the train starts soon as it was already 12:45 a.m. and I need to reach home fast. I cannot afford to wait any longer. And due to fear of any con man entering the train, I bow my head so that nobody from outside can see that I am alone in the compartment.

　

Two minutes have passed by and the train finally starts moving and as I sit down back on the seat, I notice the dirt on the floor. Chocolate wrappers, food grains and left overs of all the people who have been in this compartment. Not only do I notice the dirt on the floor but also the seats have scratches all over and the window frames are too dusty and dirty.

　

I look back at my seat that had footprints on it and I get up and prefer to stand, instead of getting my dress marked with stains. "You don't feel me worthy to sit on, right? My state is really bad, I know." I turn back and wonder whose voice was that and notice it wasn't coming from a human but it was the seat that was trying to communicate with me.

　

I take few steps back and the voice continues "Do you have time to hear my story?" "Yes, of course" I say and the seat continues. "I wasn't like this before and it's just 5 years back when I was fixed into this compartment with covers on and I was spotlessly clean. I was happy to be a part of this train until on the first day I noticed 20-25 women running towards me and roughly sitting on me and hurting me. As time passed by, I started getting dirty with stains and scratches and people started treating me very badly. Everyone here used to compete for a seat but nobody took time to bother about my state. It's my duty to give comfort to people but unfortunately, nobody gave comfort to me. Some were nice to not put their shoes on me while some weren't. People came, they threw the waste wrappers and papers below me and some even spit on my hands which makes me feel very bad. Very rarely did I get cleaned and most of the time I had to bear the harshness of the weather too like rains, storms. I remain wet till the morning till the time the sunrays fall me on and dry the droplets. Within a month, I looked old and dirty and today it's been 5 years and I've already turned too old that you preferred to get up. Same is the case with my dear friends, the windows, the walls, the fans and the railings. All were new like me but now they all have turned old and dirty. I am not complaining but I never ever got to share my story with anyone as everybody seemed so busy in their life. Who would take time to hear my story then? It has become a routine for me now and when I don't see people on me, that's when I get tensed. I know you feel lonely over here but I share the exactly same feeling as you do. I have got so used to the voices of humans that I miss them a lot from 1:40 to 6 and now when you get down, I'll again feel lonely."

　

"I'm so sorry to hear your story. As we all keep thinking about ourselves and leave you all dirty but today I realized that it's you who suffer too." As I keep thinking about my loneliness, I today realize that the train too feels empty and lonely. "The next station is Dadar..." the announcer says and I listen to that and wish the compartment adieu as I get off the train with a smile and memories to take with me.

‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’

SMWMumbai - Sessions held at Hyatt

SMWMumbai was a gathering of all social media experts and those who need and use the social media for their businesses and brands and I being the later one had an amazing experience getting to learn about social media and its usefulness from many speakers at SMWMumbai.

　

There were a total of 13 sessions wherein each session left an impact on me and made me get to know tips and methods to connect with social media and make it a part of my life. They are as follows:

　

1) Monetisation of Digital Content:

Mr. Satya being the head of YouTube made us learn how to earn revenue from our ads and how we need to choose ads that match our videos. He explained how we can create Youtube channels and how Youtube lets a user skip an ad to watch the video which is why we need to make the ad watchable and choose sensibly to earn revenue. Youtube also gives us a stats that helps us check the sources of traffic that our video/ad receives.

　

2) Marginalisation of Creativity

　

Mr. Prahlad Kakkar was introduced as the creator of ads and he was the best person who could take us through the journey of how ads have become advanced and an important part of our day-to-day life. He said that enterprenuers have fear lateral thinking that ads a value to the work. Uniqueness is because of passopn and a mentor creates a great idea which the business of ad makers. Mr. Prahlad said that creativity has value today and each ad should may not have a repeat value but it should remain intact in your mind.

　

3) Crisis Cooperation

　

The three speakers asked the audience whether they belong to which section of crisis and while some said they are donors, there were many who were related to victims of natural calamaties. The speakers belonged to NGOs and they mentioned how tough it is for them to manage rumors, extract accurate information and not keep quiet about the calamity but keep giving out information so that the world can be updated about such calamaties. They also mentioned how important it is for them to close a loop and they are trying their best to use social media like twitter to connect to donors and seek help from them. Sonal mentioned about a sad event where politics also played a part during these natural calamaties and the needy ones did not get the required help.

　

4) Faces behind the Mask - Social Journey of Humans of Bombay

Karishma explained her journey wherein she tried to talk to strangers on the streets and she met a lower class woman who shared her intimate details with her. She said that it was a great experience for her to talk and connect with people on social media sites and learn about their life. She said she had a Facebook page wherein she shared the stories of 10 people whom she had met and she added a logo that was subject to copyright but still she managed to catch the attention of users who took interest in reading about those stories.

　

　

5) Celebrity Monetisation, Engagement and Content ownership on Social media #CelebSocial

During this session, many topics were raised about celebrities being responsible for the ads and their agreement to such ads and the speakers were clear about celebrities contribution and how does it affect the users. Mr. Lavin mentioned that social media has made everyone a publisher and it is necessary to lock in people who work for you for a minimum of a year, so there is a sustained image.

　

　

6) Influencer Marketing – The new unicorn in India's Digital Landscape


　
Here I got to learn that influencer marketing is for smaller businesses too and not only large businesses and credibility is an important factor for all influencers. It was said that influencers need to know their interest and get the right opportunity for marketing and it is necessary for us to research well to become an influencer. Some examples shared were based on their personal experience and they mentioned how we need to have an interest and the right knowledge to become an infleuncer.


　
7) True Wanderer: Fueling 5 Years of Social Journeys

　

A session filled with enthusiasm and appreciation as the winner of Wrangler 2016 was gifted a bike on the stage and the speaker Krishna Dorai mentioned that Wrangler intends to give the cowboy experience to the Indian consumer. He said that the winner had won a title to feature in the guiness book of world records and there was a twitter campaign too held during this session.

　

8)Talent Sourcing through Social

　

Big data recruitment was shared by the speaker and how we can see many community engagements on Twitter which are shared by big brands like CIA- creativity delight. He said that some tweets are always remembered as they bring out a different meaning and people always remember the source of these tweets which is how we source talent through social media.

　

9) "It’s Good to be good "


　
K V Sridhar shared some facts like how we pay premium for brands and not for commodities. He mentioned the need to make more people interact with brands for affinity towards the same. K V Sridhar mentioned that nobody believes in advertising these days but they believe in brands and hence there are many factors that have changed their perspective.


　
10) Can social intelligence soon replace conventional marketing research techniques

　

The session revealed that social media intelligence is popular today as it is very fast, cheap and the data shared is genuine. Social media replaces techniques and hence we have social listeners today due to social media as it replaces marketing. The speakers said that we need to drawvaluable insights, pick and test it as a proof of working social media and marketing work together. We need an expertise to do that and social data is taken and decisions are made.

　

11) User-Generated Content: New Data, Best Practices, and Concerns

The session started with the speakers talking about how Yes Bank sponsors short films to bring them to the notice of many users and it enhances talent of many new creators who create content on social media. Namrata mentioned that she had to redefine experience and that reprioritizing took 8-9 months and the brand won awards for data insights. Brands like starbucks believed in engaging with social media and redesigned their data and made data appear intelligent.

　

　

12) Social Media For Artists

Amit Yadav, a song writer, opened up about Ranveer Singh makes him sing on red carpet and how artists connect to social media and become more brave rather than being shy on social media. The speakers mentioned that artists tweet for themselves like Amitabh Bachchan and for artists, music does well due to social media where users buy music online and listen to their songs.

　


13) Okay, Social Media is the greatest. But what comes next?

　

Mahesh Murthy said that there will soon come a time where businesses will operate virtually due to social media and influencers will get credible. Niches are social media and the use of social media infrastructure is very important for us and sexuality has helped social media. There was a Q&A section where a question about influencers getting messages from unknown people pitching their business ideas and Murthy advised us that we need to share our contact as we got the ability to block unwanted or spam using social media.


The evening ended with the founder of R Sqaure's speech wherein he said that the insights shared at during the 5-day event were great and the next year would bring us more valuable tips and information about social media.

Learning about Personal Branding at #SMWMumbai

I am really grateful to Blogadda and Kavi for making me aware that we can personally brand ourselves and the tips shared during the Masterclass session was really informative and helpful.

Twitter Handle:

Kavi spoke about how a twitter handle can make us a brand and like I have my twitter handle, people who actually know me by that name and it will be my identity just like a brand has its identity.

How do we define ourselves:

 

Kavi explained how users can be categorized as Prisoners, Holiday, Experts or Explorers and how we can move from one stage to another with the help of personal branding. He gave us an example wherein he heard an individual for 3 hours by hearing a sessions on Youtube and this is the way we as brands express ourselves. He also taught us how we can be purposeful by blogging about one topic that we have chosen to represent ourselves by tweeting or using a hashtag that defines us. He also gave an example of an individual representing his brand by the color and using a particular color for all his work and it was the theme of his website. It made me understand that I can also do the same to choose one theme and just focus on that to get a better identity.

Platforms and their selection:

Kavi spoke about 5 different platforms and them being a part of our branding. Like I connect myself more to twitter than to facebook, I could choose my platform as Twitter and explore my ideas via tweets. It would help me as a brand and as an individual. The main stream of work should be chosen via our platforms.

1:9:90:

This was a very interesting formula given by Kavi wherein he explained how we can identify people as 90% who just consume, 9% who curate and collect information and 1% who create stuff and how we should identify ourselves as to be known better.

Markets are what people are:
Kavi explained how people buy from people and the market is what people are in reality and hence we should build a proposition for ourselves and let our work do the talking. We should also reimagine our work and not stick to rules.

Working out loud:

Kavi introduced this book "Working out loud" by John Stepper and how does this book help in personal branding. It was interesting for my to get to know about this book and it has been added to my reading list already.

Who?

At the end of the session, Kavi explained that we should recognize who are the people who connect with us and they are domain specific, people who we know, people who share and people who respond.


It was overall a great session on Personal Branding with Kavi and Blogadda.