A Long To-Experience list, just one life!

I can keep looking at the stars for they make me happy.
They are like, a lot, and too beautiful.


Forever #obsessed #Gemini! #sketch #sketching#pencil #art #midnight #weekend#TooLostWithinMyself #LoveForSky #NeelaAsmaan

(Dhamek Stupa during sunset)

(ruins of Sarnath & the setting for the monks to meditate - the park)

(A view from the Vyas mandir-back side of the fort)

(In and around Vyas Mandir)

(the backside of the Observatory, a photo shot from the boat)

(Intricately carved windows of observatory museum ahead which Flows the Ganga)

(view atop the observatory)

(Tamaatar Chaat/Dina Chat Bhandar)

(Banarasi Thandai | Rabadi Lassi | Masala Lemon Tea)

With chaos taking place in her heart, she bid him a peaceful goodbye!

It hadn't even been a year since they moved apart and the reason why it happened, must be better left unsaid. It was the first time they were meeting each other and probably the last time too. However none of them dreamed that their first meeting could be this awkward.
Why do we all need a closure, and why that closure never really shuts everything off. That's what she was thinking, out loud in mind. Neither she wanted to talk about it nor did he care to mention this at all. 
They were here to meet each other, to see the person they fell in love with even long before they met. They both were there to end a relationship that lasted longer than their true feelings. 
It was easy for him to say "I love you but, there is nothing that can be done"; Darn! it was difficult for her to grasp what he just said. Her whole world sank in a breath. Took her that whole night to recollect and accept what she heard. From him.

*Doesn't love find its way. You may give up on people but You just don't give up on love. Okay, so may be he just gave up on me...* 

Alright, you open your closet, you couldn't find anything to wear except those two shirts you already wore to office last week. Now it's girl thing that you don't want to repeat the same cloth too soon, but the comfort these two shirts bring is just unmatchable.
Well you mustn't underestimate the power of the style that shirts bring in your dress sense and yes there are ways which help you wear your favourite shirts without being too boring or flashy.

Changes in your overall appearance and the way you accessorizes make a huge difference in how a shirt looks on you.

Try rolling up your shirt sleeves in different length every time you wear it, a little above your wrists, up your elbows and if possible above your arms.


Pair it up with a pencil skirt with the shirt well tucked, accessorize it with a big buckled or a thin belt. You can try knee-length and ankle length skirts as well.
Include layering in your fashion style. Wear a well-fit tube/tank top in white or black with unbuttoned shirt and see your glamour quotient goes up. Camouflaging is a no-no. For checks/stripes shirts, team up with a pair of jeans and a tube top (plain black or white) and bright colourful tube tops if the shirt is in single tone.


Wear hair bands, scarves and hair clips to change your look when you wear shirts. One different look that you can totally try on would be a high bun and winged eyeliner in navy. A style you can pull off any given day. Simply chic.

Let it go old...Nothing is better than sleeping in a baggy old shirt (be it yours or your partner's). It makes you look cute and hot both at the same. So, keep the shirt for such better use and buy some new shirts :D

Image credits: Google.com/tumbler/getty personal & for no corporate usage.

So you are in your 30's and till now you were fine being single with no notion to settle down like ever?Then comes a day when a girl just happens to you out of nowhere. Yes, you were not looking for a relationship but she turned your world upside down and you are just loving it. Though, you wonder how did it happen especially when you were enjoying your single-hood, busy buying crazy stuffs like that telescope on auction or n number of headphones for no reason, spending money with no thoughts of saving any for future and converting your room in a small zoo by having variety of pets like dogs, aquarium and a parrot. And yes, not ready to change yourself for anybody.
But now, you want to change yourself. You are planning to expand your house. Looking at couples makes you want to reach her and claim her yours. And kids, Oh my god, you are witnessing too much cuteness showering from those little creatures playing in a nearby park. Settling down which was never on your list, seemingly you are ready for it.Well not to forget, lately you have been day-dreaming of having a baby girl with the girl you're in love with.
Hang on! Are you really sure that she is the one or you are just imprisoned of an emotional breakthrough. Changing yourself seems fine to you now, but don't rush to settle down before you do a little fact-check and these reasons may fall true for you.

• Marry her cause she isn't a goddess, she is a diva who lives on her own terms and respects yours too. Comfort zone or space bubble you both have talked it through and are ready to offer unasked space to each other.
• Marry her cause she is philosophically challenged and made of tough reality. "Never change yourself for anybody", seems no true to you guys anymore. Change is inevitable. You are changing yourself a bit and she too compromises whenever need be.
• Marry her if she is totally okay with you falling asleep while your are on Skype with her. How many hours? Doesn't really count. She is happy to be with you all the while you are sleeping and may eventually fall asleep too.
• Marry her if she is the one who asks you to checkout random girls in a mall. She pinches you and point out the girls who ogle at you and giggle. You know that moment you fall for her all over again.

So it's time! Bid adieu to #Orkut as Google has announced that their Once-The-Most-Popular social media platform shall go extinct from September 30th, 2014. Yes, the vary social media platform that  once let our hearts pound and broken online ;)
Well, I am sharing something I drew in 2009 for the love of Orkut.
If Gabbar Singh was on Orkut, that's how his profile would've looked :D

Feeling nostalgic? Do share your thoughts here.

Writer's note: Before Facebook invaded our lives, Orkut was a place to be. In the the times of cyber cafes when knowing how to use internet was a matter of pride, Orkut was a forbidden fruit that everybody wanted to taste and if once tasted, they just couldn't get its taste off their mouth. Those were the days when people sat in cyber cafes and were costed quite a lot for just a few minutes to check their scraps. You could see the A4 size printouts on their walls displaying the rates one needed to pay for different Orkut activities for a stipulated time. Scraps, photo albums, favorites, fans, friend list, communities, messages, everything was bewitching. More the numbers, prouder the person used to be. The madness was overwhelming, if you were members to a few communities which were so lively back then. It would make you forget the time you've spent.
Remember testimonials? One thing that was a craze. Having highest number of scraps was like a race we all wanted to win. Calling up friends just to make them write testimonial(s) following the barter system :'D. I think for us, the 80's kids, first encounter to the internet world was about myspace and Orkut, and so was the first introduction to social media. Through Orkut started the "will you fraandship with me" era which continued with Facebook and further. Nevertheless Baap baap tha!

-With love,
An ex-Orkutian

It was a bright sunny day of March. To reach the destination, I took varied means of transportation that comprised, changing a bus, two autos, and a strode to be taken in the end. After boarding off the second auto, I had to walk down a long road. Unfortunately, the auto dropped me at a wrong place saying, "bas yaha se seedha nikal jaao madam, aaram se pahunch jaaoge". But, after taking few steps I was sure that I was lost, I dint find any other transportation available. Anyway I kept marching ahead on the road. Suddenly, close to a widespread construction site beside the lone road, I saw a bunch of men standing. As I neared, I found them grinning and staring at me. They must be 7 or 8, I remember. I looked around to the farthest point my eyes could reach and found nothing, no other human, or any vehicle.
"What if, they do something to me? I can't do anything in spite of being bold. Perhaps a bleak shout in that isolated area." The thought seized me. Out of my surprise, my heart throbbed for a while. With that growing sense of fear, I walked down the road. Anyhow I reached to the institute, gave my entrance test and came back home.
Though nothing bad happened, but at times, just a thought of it scares me for moments. I never found myself so vulnerable or helpless in my whole life. Even all the money I had couldn't have saved me, if...something wrong had happened.

PS: For the first time in my life, I literally felt, to be a woman is a curse.
(Image courtesy: Aaliyah - Enough Said Cover image)

It's Hindi Diwas last month on Sept 14th and being an ardent linguistic person, I felt obligated to celebrate the day for the love of Hindi. I chose twitter as it's the place where I get instant feedback and some intelligent conversation.
Few weeks before the event, I wondered whether #HindiDiwas too make it to the trending saga of hashtags on twitter. (It did not, Sigh!)
Nevertheless, with all the vague anticipations, I started tweeting. RTs & mentions kept flowing in and I found a sudden transition of Indians into regionalists, asking me to stop imposing Hindi 'on them'. The people I engaged and the outcome, to an extent was more negative than how I expected it to be. Well, it was out of my surprise, because I surely wasn't promoting Hindi but tweeting facts about Hindi language. All I meant was that Indians should respect Hindi which is the official language of India, but all I concluded is that an Indian prefers English over Hindi and if you dare to favor Hindi, the same person will start favoring different regional languages in India and bicker about Hindi. Though I still don't get the idea behind such a split thought-process. People can blurt out that Hindi isn't our national language, but have no idea that it's the official language of India. At one point my mind went to a state of disbelief and confusion that how to respond to them. Though I responded anyway because it's a social media practice that one should respond every conversation, provided the argument makes sense. (by fitting into 140 characters if its twitter.)
How can you be so proud to be an Indian if it sounds 'cute' or 'not-a-big-thing' to you when you fumble while speaking Hindi, but embarrassing if its English. When 41% of population in India speaks Hindi & those who understand it are more than 65%, why there isn't one language that can be learned, spoken and taught to every Indian just like other countries? Why can't Hindi be eligible for this (Or Sanskrit for that matter. No, it isn't funny). It's curiosity and curiosity is quite human. Anyways, if people can keep fighting over 'India' and "Bharat" we can surely see more such things peeking up.

Anyways, at the same time on twitter when I had having such confrontations coming by, I did get some positive feedback and appreciation too, across the country. I considered this as a success for all my endeavors.

PS: I love languages, be it Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Urdu,... French or Latin, and... I Love our India.


Image courtesy: Screenshot is just one example taken out of my twitter handle. I've kept the image here this large intentionally to make it legible.

This time, I am here with a guest blog post on love. Interesting, ehh? Here the term memoir is being expressed in a subjective manner. Have a read and smile if you find it worth.

Here it goes:

At times, when they keep telling her to forget him and that the time will heal all the invisible wounds she has, she perplexes, nothing but just perplexes with a faded smile thinking...How can I?!.
She has made peace with it that the past would never make a comeback. The good old memories. She keeps on wondering that why is it just not happening, why is it so hard to safeguard her present by a haunting past?

OK, so she may forget him, but how would she forget that first feeling and that he was supposed to be her 'everything' for ever.
She is all ready to forget the talks but could she destroy the whole room where she sat to have those endless conversations till wee hours ending up missing her beauty sleep?
She is ready to forget that awkward rendezvous at an airport that still means a lot because she met him their for the first time, but could she just bomb down that airport so that she wouldn't have to fly from there, ever or without recalling their first meeting?
She can delete those heart-melting songs from her playlist but could she ever ignore the lyrics she accidentally comes across to?
She is ready to forget that candle-lit dinner she had, but could she quit going out for dinners with someone else at all?
She is ready to not think about him but what to do with memoirs that are engraved in all the places they had been at, all the days they spent, and those moments she learned from to become a better her?
How could she not visit those places again, living those dates every year, and reliving those moments every now and then?

Change is inevitable so it's all right that she keeps changing as the time passes by, and doesn't look or walk in her old self in public. But could she ever turn back to what she has  transformed into, from a girl-never-been-in-love into the girl-who-knows-love?
Questions come and go in her mind but what doesn't change is its permanent occurrence. Life is a weird beautiful case that has no solution but there's a dire need to accept what it is and will always be.

मैं ढूँढती हूँ तुझे उन जगहो पर जहाँ तू हो नही सकता. (I look for you in places where u can't be)
दिल ही तो है, क्या समझाना इसको, ज़िद करता है, करने दो, खुद-ब-खुद समझ जाएगा.

खुद की मनमानियाँ कभी पूरी हुई हैं भला, ये मनमानियाँ तो खुदा की होती हैं, होने दो.
दिल ही तो है, क्या समझाना इसको, ज़िद करता है, करने दो, खुद-ब-खुद समझ जाएगा.

पुरानी किताब से सरक कर गिरा पैरो में ख़त उसका. सोचा फैंक दू,
पर पढ़ के मेजपोश के नीचे रख दिया फिर कभी ना पढ़ने को.
दिल ही तो है, क्या समझाना इसको, ज़िद करता है, करने दो, खुद-ब-खुद समझ जाएगा.


गुमे बंद लिफाफे सी ज़िंदगी, कभी तो पहुँचती के जहाँ का पता था लिखा, अब कौन उसे समझाता कि वो पता ही बदल गया.
दिल ही तो है, क्या समझाना इसको, ज़िद करता है, करने दो, खुद-ब-खुद समझ जाएगा.

बादल का छोटा टुकड़ा जो देखा आसमान मे उड़ता हुआ, सारी रात जगा बरसात देखने को.
दिल ही तो है, क्या समझाना इसको, ज़िद करता है, करने दो, खुद-ब-खुद समझ जाएगा.

अच्छा हुआ आँख फडकी, तूफान के आने का अंदेशा पहले ही हुआ. एक आख़िरी बार दिल संभाला, जो फिर चूर हो के बिखर गया.
दिल ही तो है, क्या समझाना इसको, ज़िद करता है, करने दो, खुद-ब-खुद समझ जाएगा.

उसकी परेशानियो का इलाज तो हकीम लुक़मान के पास भी नही, तू नाहक इस दिल को दोष देता रहा.
दिल ही तो है, क्या समझाना इसको, ज़िद करता है, करने दो, खुद-ब-खुद समझ जाएगा.

(Photo credits: Own painting)

More often we lose something or someone in the path of life and interestingly, we know the reasons behind.


We stumble, wander, break down and we know why.
A few vague decisions taken entirely on our own may not be fruitful and disappoint us and we know that too.

People keep on telling us that it's all our fault, it's us who put everything on stake and that we could have tried different means. It's not that they are wrong, but their ignorance that whatever #$^%!~ they are trying to console us with is something we already know. I guess there is no end to their preaching and our own teachings to us.


Nothing happens without our consent either consciously or subconsciously and we know it. When people go through a situation (anything I mean) it is necessary for them to get a little breathing space of their own. All they need is just a little bit of lone time to come out of it. Too much interaction can lead one to either be repulsive or a silent storm that would explode if pushed any further.

The gist is, if we understand anything or everything, it is advisable to understand the fact too, that in most of the cases a person doesn't need constant preaching and "talks" but a comforting silence of one's presence in his life. Ends here!

P.S. You know why Time is said to be the best healer, why a person who is depressed find solace in isolation. The answer is right up there.
Finally ends here. ;)
(Photo credits: a page from my diary with a preserved gifted flower and some scribbling.)

It is not always necessary that what you chase for, is what you believe in. Your interest in something doesn't prove your belief or conformity to it.
Its obvious, its knowledge, its curiosity, its Human.

P.S: Having said that, don't be judgmental!
(Photo credits: Own painting)

That 34 minutes power outage at Super Bowl played a favorable role for the brands. Power of social media has turned much stronger with the creative spontaneity of new brands at Super Bowl. The bang on concision worked wonder for the brands through social media, costing no extra buck.

 For those who think that Super Bowl is just an annual American Football game event, must know that it offers a lot more. A total of approx. 4 hours event is actually a catapult for the brands, where they reach to a huge audience with their advertisements. It provides a chance for tremendous advertising and brand promotion. Brands churn out their creative ads which are not supposed to release anywhere, but exclusively at the Super Bowl and having said that, the recent reports say, 42% of total conversation at Super Bowl was only about the commercials.  Hence, it won’t be wrong to say, that the most important part of Super Bowl is ‘Commercials’. Again, the statement can be proved with the fact that, this year, a 30 second commercial spot cost an awful amount of $4 million and claimed it an all new record. Adding to it, this year, Coke bought three 30 seconds spots spending approx. $12 million.


Let’s talk what and how had it happened. Anyone who follows Super Bowl and advertising can easily recall the ‘Blackout’ and Oreo’s recent social media act. Oreo hit the hammer at the right time with an impressively stark idea shared on twitter, when a sudden power failure doomed the event for about 34 minutes. “You can still dunk in the dark” proved that how brilliantly social media can pull off an opportunity, to reach the audience via social media, if you are quick and attentive. Oreo gained more attention with its rapid action during blackout, then its way expensive regular Super Bowl commercial. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons of how last Sunday ‘blackout’ had been the trending Super Bowl topic on Twitter, with 231,500 tweets per minute. Oreo’s quick call-to- act went viral which received 15,698 RTs on twitter, 20,000 likes on Facebook and 1000s of like on Instagram, which has been incredible till before.

Oreo has surely set a brilliant example as to how far and fast must brands race their brain to seize and utilize an opportunity with the help of social media. That can only happen if they keep themselves updated and proactive to leverage every next opportunity.

When we say social media, we mean about a medium which has the power of instant reach, real-time engagement and flexibility. Be it real time engagement, advertising & promotion, or the crisis management, social media is the one really effective tool.

In the end, as what tide came up with its ‘We can’t get your blackout, but we can get your stains out’ ad at Super Bowl, Social Media can definitely take over such mishap and make the best out of it, along with how brands are leveraging social media as the ‘Wonder of instant advertising’.

"सुनो द्रोपदी शस्त्र उठा लो, अब गोविंद ना आयंगे...
छोडो मेहँदी खड्ग संभालो,
खुद ही अपना चीर बचा लो
द्यूत बिछाये बैठे शकुनि,
मस्तक सब बिक जायेंगे
सुनो द्रोपदी शस्त्र उठालो, अब गोविंद ना आयेंगे...
कब तक आस लगाओगी तुम, 
बिक़े हुए अखबारों से,
कैसी रक्षा मांग रही हो
दुशासन दरबारों से
स्वयं जो लज्जा हीन पड़े हैं
वे क्या लाज बचायेंगे
सुनो द्रोपदी शस्त्र उठालो अब गोविंद ना आयेंगे...
कल तक केवल अँधा राजा, 
अब गूंगा बहरा भी है
होठ सील दिए हैं जनता के, 
कानों पर पहरा भी है
तुम ही कहो ये अश्रु तुम्हारे,
किसको क्या समझायेंगे?
सुनो द्रोपदी शस्त्र उठालो, अब गोविंद ना आयेंगे|
-Unknown Author.

 Sharing this wonderful piece here.
Even at the time of Mahabharata, Woman was not "Sammaanit", and treated as a reward. Neither they wore a jeans nor the guys ate chowmein. Time has changed but mentality hasn't. And then "They" say "Kalyug hai".

Perhaps there isn’t any answer to it, why if something ends it doesn’t feel good.
Is it because eventually it gives you a reason to stay attached with, and occupied?
Leaving out a lot incomplete gives you pretty enough time to avoid boredom from doing nothing. Indulging yourself in too much stuff possibly gives you wicked headaches, but surely soothes some bad sections of life.

There is a bunch of people in your life that actually serves the noun 'perfectionist’ to you...
People who want everything happen to be the best in life and to reach there, assay back and forth to improvise. Getting things done, balancing life & relationships. Every second you find them doing so well and then you wonder, why such things never happen in your life. (It is more like believing that 'good' things only happen to other people.)
When we look at what's happening in others' worlds, we fool ourselves by believing that their lives are straight or less stressful. We have no idea what is actually going on in someone's world.

Indeed they are perfectionist, the ones who stand best+among+all.  Quite amusing to give a thought to whether is it really true from their perspective.
Other might look upon them as admirable personalities but it is not what they consider themselves. Perhaps they might also intercept some things (willingly) and think, "stop looking at us as role models, we aint that perfect and nobody can ever be. Get a life! We also grew up in leaving things incomplete, unfinished and left out at sudden point. Semi-colored paintings, incomplete sketches, half choreographed songs and yes half read novels."

And if you understand this, the list can be surely continued.....a well initiated novel with a lost thought, said to be broken relationships (which are left or quit by one or all and not by "the destiny" by the way. What an irony :D). It doesn’t make sense to be a perfectionist instead its always good to move on the road towards improvisation.

Improvisation is better than being perfect or to be called a perfectionist. Ever seen a Zen circle? It is an unfinished circle, imperfect still an ideal form of drawing.. What is unfinished is actually constant and this is how it should be.

Hence we all are perfect in our imperfections. So, seems perfect? ;)
(image credit: Google.com | quote: self))