My First Top Post at IndiBlogger!

Seeing my post on IndiBlogger (IB) Homepage for the first time was such a delight!
Four-months old in IB*, I was waiting keenly for the moment to behold this sight!

I captured the image and waited for my IB Top Badge e-mail with bated breath,
By the time I got it, for my post to remain as Top only few minutes were left!

Source: Excitedly self clicked!

Still those eight minutes were the sweetest so far in my IB existence,
Mantras to thrive here are- survival of the fittest, patience, persistence!

It was only divine justice that my 26 Jan post should be the chosen one,
The shiddat for this achievement, made me feel like I’ve run a marathon!

Why all the shiddat to come at the top- this has a simple answer,
For we all want to WIN, for everyone loves a winner ....!

Realization dawned about how IB’s is a huge give-and-take Universe,
How some great blogs are hidden from our eyes only due to low votes...

On the cusp of coming on the home page, my post has often been victimized,
Even if I’ve already voted for their posts, people abstain from voting for mine!

Republic Day: 26 Changes I wish to see in India

Source

Happy Republic Day to all! It's a day to introspect for our dear Motherland, though every day a few minutes should be spent doing so as dutiful citizens of our wonderful India. 

Below I present 26 changes that I wish to see in India:

1. Nonstop electricity to every village, house, farmer..renewable energy is best solution #StopClimateChange

2. Wi-fi in every city, town, village..just think of revolution that democratisation of information can herald!

3. Sufficient water for all- implement rainwater harvesting, prevent leaks, give incentives for saving water

4. Voting by every eligible citizen- #VoteForIndia, #VoteForStability, use #RightToVote & #BringChange

Little did she Know-2

On Valentine’s Day eve, Sneha was busy selecting a heart-touching card and an apt gift in the giftshop for Akash, her soulmate of two years, to surprise him when they met. She narrowed down on a heart-shaped crystal showpiece.

Source: http://corporategiftsvilla.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/DS1939-11.jpg

Little did she know

A brave analytical voice,

Was talking on real issues.

Not giving her name,

Yet brutally honest views.

As the powers got wind,

Her voice was muzzled...

She stopped blogging,

Deleted her twitter handle…

Suba

Hi. I'm a dog called Suba. Nice name no?! Sounds like a happy chirpy morning in Hindi, isn't it?! But actually it means-Street's unwanted bast**d animal. No, my parents have not named me thus. It's the people around who called me so all the time ever since I opened my small brown puppy eyes to the world, by the roadside. So one fine day, when I understood the ways of the street (I was only a year old then) I decided to make an innovative name out of the initials. 

Source: http://ellieandabbie.typepad.com/.a/6a01156f3d64c3970b01310f2563ef970c-pi

Actually, I’ve gone through so much in life so far, that I can easily write ‘Autobiography of Suba- the Street's unwanted bast**d animal’ which will be the hottest  bestseller in the world, overtaking all previous records. I’ll even win the ‘Dog Booker Prize’ for it.

BOOK REVIEW: The Honest Always Stand Alone – C G Somiah

Distinguished IAS Officer of 1953 batch, CG Somiah, who retired as CAG of India in 1996, has penned his autobiography in the form of the book ‘The Honest Always Stand Alone’. The title reveals a lot and matches my personal take in life too. That is why from Insights’ link on ‘Must-read books of Indian bureaucrats’, I picked this one (apart from a few others). Mainly portraying his career’s illustrious and most fulfilling achievements, this book has brilliant personal anecdotes and how being honest and upright, he has stood up to every challenge faced by him.

Recharge My Hair, My Life & Win!

I wanna recharge my hair so it blows carefree,
And doesn't get entangled and broken;

I wanna recharge my hair so it smells like heaven,

And makes love-with-my-hair by all, a given!

I wanna recharge my hair so it looks gorgeous,

Better than that shown in all the ads;

Love

Feeling particularly drained after office that day, Seema retrieved her old books and Oxford English dictionary gifted to her in Class VII by her father, to soothe her taxed mind.

As she opened the dictionary, out tumbled a most-touching love note written to her during school-days for the first time in her life, by Avinash, who now was the leader of a prominent new political party of the state.

She had lost touch with him and was smiling due to the train of happy thoughts in reminiscence, when the doorbell rang.

Book Review: Being Indian- Pavan K.Varma

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Amazon
We are Indian. Still, have we ever tried to analyze those fundamental traits which make us so?  Those compelling characteristics of our society and life as Indians, which refuse to leave us even in the farthest foreign lands? Pavan K.Varma, a seasoned Indian diplomat, gives an insightful and delightful analysis through his book ‘Being Indian’, on what makes Indians operate within and outside the chaotic democracy of a billion plus people, and why the 21^st century will be India’s, precisely due to those very same fundamental characteristics of Indians ingrained in their DNA.

This fantastic read consists of 213 pages, excluding Notes (consisting of an elaborate list of books/articles by established authors, leaders, administrators etc. referred for writing each chapter), Copyright Acknowledgements and Index. It is divided into six chapters starting with ‘Introduction’ where he tries to separate the reality from the image of India. He highlights what questions the book seeks to answer, methodology followed and basic traits of Indians such as retaining hope even in the toughest circumstances and resilience that comes due to continuous exposure to adversity, to name a few. Then through the next chapters i.e. ‘Power’, ‘Wealth’, ‘Technology’, ‘Pan-Indianness’, the author goes on to unpeel layer-by-layer the Indian psyche and how they tick and succeed. Finally in the ‘Epilogue’ the author suggests what needs to be done to unleash the potential of Indians so that the 21^stcentury certainly and much faster, becomes India’s.

Book Review: THE WHITE TIGER – Aravind Adiga

Flipkart

Aravind Adiga won the Booker Prize in 2008 for writing the book ‘The White Tiger‘. I was always curious to know what was in it, and how this first-time fiction won the prestigious award. Once I started reading the book, I discovered it was un-putdownable! Written in an angry rustic tone with a lot of dark humour and satire, the author convincingly tells the tale of ‘The White Tiger’, an entrepreneur in the IT hub of Bangalore in a most unimaginably creative manner- the entrepreneur speaks in the first person and narrates his story in letters written every night addressed to none other than- Wen Jiabao- the then Premier of China! The interesting title, ‘The White Tiger‘, literally means that rare ‘creature born once in a generation‘-a name given to the street-smart protagonist when he answered all questions rightly, posed to him, by the school inspector in a remote village of Bihar.

Everyone loves a Winner!

Everyone loves a winner. Looking at the rear view mirror of life, I myself find that I was the cynosure of all eyes when I came joint first in Xth CBSE Board Exams in Odisha (2001) and also when I was Pepsi Change the Game Contest winner and got to witness India's historic Cricket World Cup win (2011) from the stadiums starting from Dhaka to history creation at Mumbai!
     

Source: Amrita Sabat's Samsung Wave2 Phone!

My Social App to encourage more Indians to vote in General Elections 2014!

Image Source

How to urge more people to vote in General Elections 2014? I have thought of an idea for a special social App for encouraging people to vote. 

Currently people do not go out to vote because:
a) They do not have details of the candidates and are too lazy to find out and hence and also otherwise assume that ‘sab chor hain’(all are thieves) and do not step out to vote.
b) People are confused about the process- how to Apply for voter ID, where to go for voting, how to use EVM, what is NOTA etc. So, they ignore the process altogether.
c) People have to travel long distance to physically go and vote in their constituency.