April AtoZ Challenge 2016

It is the time of the year when the sea of bloggers will put their best and blog for the things that they love to write, all through the month of April. Yes, the annual AtoZ blogging challenge is back and I have enthusiastically signed up for the same. 

Although, I was a part of this challenge a couple of years ago but unfortunately had to opt out of the challenge. During that time, I could see bloggers whining about the sheer pressure to produce posts day in and out, that too without compromising on the quality. 'Fatigue' and 'lack of creative ideas' were the most discussed words during that time and I am sure even this time those two will be the most discussed and cursed words.

So to avoid going that lane, I have chosen to write what bests suits me. Some of you who know me will have a better idea of what I am going to blog during this challenge. Others who don't, kindly be assured that whatever I am going to write, it will be straight from my heart. 

One important tip that I as a blogger would like to share with you is that, whatever be the circumstances just avoid to quit the challenge. Even though you have missed a couple of days, come back to where you have left and continue writing. This will ensure that you build a discipline around yourself and strive to continue it all through the month of April.

So what about you? Don't wait now and take up the AtoZ Challenge by signing up here.

Good luck to those who are participating in this challenge and see you around with wonderful posts!

I am staking claim to AtoZ challenge with the Blogchatter community.

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The Bibliophile Dress-Up Guide: When Books And Looks Go Together!

For those who haven’t come across the term Bibliophile; it means to denote a person who has a great love for books. Somewhere deep down, avid readers can completely relate to being called bibliophiles. Our deep seated love for books and their ubiquitous presence in our lives makes us what we are today! We may be referred to as nerds, but most of us know how to balance the brains with ample beauty. So, cherish your love for the written word, and let your attire do all the talking! Shop online or from exciting markets for all these fab edits and more.  

1.       The jean-clad bibliophile!

We love to carry a big bag that can accommodate our little knick-knacks, and most importantly our precious books. So Grab a roomy tote bag, put on a loose interesting shirt; maybe smattered with some subtle embroidery and slip into your faithful jeans for the all-time go-to look of a cute girl. Let your hair down, keep the accessories minimal and exude great confidence.

2.       The flirty-skirt look!

Who says that bibliophiles have to mandatorily stick to the plain old? There is an impression that we can never get rid of our nerdy specs! While that might be true, I can also vouch for the fact that there are many ways in which we could innovate and wear ditsy skirts to make an impression!

3.       Never change my stripes!

Wearing stripes is a matter of pride! Like a leopard never changes its stripes, you can stick to your stripes too. Flaunt the smart color combinations; highlight your appearance with a pair of round nerd- chic framed glasses. Add a cute peter pan collar to your striped shirt, team it up with high-waist jeans and look effortlessly cool.

4.   Slide on some skater dresses!

 Feel flouncy and light in your interesting plaid skater dresses, round this off with lethal, ankle-length stilettoes, and make a daring debut as a bibliophile if you haven’t already! Let your hair down and fall in love with your books all over again!

5.       Unapologetically ‘me’!

When the pleasures of life become intermittently to books, you become carefree and fancy-free! Let your easy-going look speak for itself, and add your boyfriend jeans to your bibliophile wardrobe. Whip out your checkered shirt yet again, combine it with an irresistible pair of boyfriend jeans, and strut around in your spotless white sneakers to make quite an impression!

So go right ahead and assert your remarkable bibliophile profile wherever you go!

*All images courtesy pinterest.

About the Author

Mallika Chakrawarti is a designer, writer, and travel enthusiast. She is currently working with Jabong.com as a writer and is passionately involved in curating and forecasting fashion trends.

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I Want To Take My Blog To The Next Level #Blogchatter

I was tagged by Vikram to write this post.

Hola everyone. Hope you and your blog/s is/are doing good. In case it is not, then I welcome you with wide open arms under the umbrella which is labelled as 'I Want To Take My Blog To The Next Level.'

In the below video, you will clearly see my condition when it comes to blogging and the reason why I want to take my blog to the next level.

So if you are also with me, surviving under the same umbrella as me and wants to take your blog to the next level, then let us stand united and come out with some tried and tested solutions to it. What's say? Are you game in this?

I now tag Karan to write his take on the topic.

I want to take my blog to the next level with Blogchatter 

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Love, Again - Spotlight

LOVE, AGAIN 

BY 

SUMEETHA MANIKANDAN & 

SHRRUTI PATOLE CLARENCE

Blurb 

Life is tough, and it becomes tougher when you need to make life changing decisions. Would you dare to love again? Would you allow yourself to be loved and to be cherished again? Many of us turn away from life, thinking that it is not for them but some take a leap of faith rewrite their story for the sake of love? 

Love, Again is a double header book bringing you two stories about chancing love again -These Lines of Mehendi by Sumeetha Manikandan and A Tulip in the Desert by Shrruti Patole Clarence.

Buy @

Amazon.com | Amazon.in

Meet the Authors 

Sumeetha Manikandan 

Sumeetha Manikandan is a freelance writer and an author who loves to write and base her plots on the tambrahm community of Mylapore, Chennai. She is the author of ‘The Perfect Groom’ that has been a bestselling ebook on the top 50 charts of Amazon India ever since publication.

An avid reader, she loves to read across different genres – romance, historical fiction, non-fiction, mystery, fantasy etc. A history buff to the core,

she is currently translating Ponniyin Selvan – the evergreen tamil classic epic history by Kalki Krishnamurthy into English.

Married to film maker K.S. Manikandan, Sumeetha lives in Chennai, along with her six year old daughter.

                        

Shrruti Patole Clarence

Shrruti has been a voracious reader since early years and took to composing poems when she was very young.
An Aviation Manager and 10years with various airlines, she has been on a sabbatical for her two son's aged six years and 1 year respectively.
She enjoys this welcome break from career, to be able to pursue her passion, writing!
She has to her credit 6 short stories featuring in different Anthologies all published this year, one of which will soon be seen as a short movie.
And Love, Again a double header romance Novel publish date 25th May 2015, with her story A Tulip in the Desert will soon be seen on the stands!
Her lyrics feature in the theme song of group Young Indians – an off shoot of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries).
Her poems feature in Zest of Inklings and a Hindi poem in an e-book – Ehsaas, judged by eminent Urdu and Hindi screenwriter, dialogue writer and playwright - Javed Siddiqui.


Shrruti is a warm and friendly person who loves music and watching sports when she is not writing.

                 

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NutriSattva was born of one such desire to go back to our roots. We bring you a range of healthy laddus which are a balance of complex carbs and proteins not to forget the micro nutrients they are fortified with.
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Win the products for NutriSattva 

(India only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Who Am I?

Winds - The leaves started to inhale deeply, fluttering in happiness and swayed showcasing the merry face. Just beneath the leaves, near the huge and heavy trunk of the trees were the army of ants. Suddenly all of them squeezed into a tiny hole underneath the tree and heaved a sigh of relief.

Change - Far across on a busy street lay a beggar resting his back on the walls of a huge commercial complex. Being a weekday evening time, he saw many feet walking pass him without even acknowledging his presence. Barely having anything to eat, his heart was already tired of crying and moaning alone in silence. Just then a person came from inside the building, took the man along with him, inside the huge cafeteria of the company and offered him a cup of tea with biscuits along with a job of a security guard.

Image & Perception - Faraway in a rickety room of a rickety building a couple made love. He to quench his thirst, she to meet the expenses of sending her child to school. A few days later the child was offered a scholarship. She now sells vegetables at a market and enjoys a comfortable living away from that rickety room and building into a whole new world of happiness.

On the day, someone thought of waving some wand of sorts by blowing some cool breeze thereby being an agent of change. 

So who am I?

Source

I am an agent of change. 

Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the better.

Sometimes for the betterment of someone while sometimes not.

Change is constant. Change is always across or in front of us. Sometimes we are the direct recipient of it, sometimes not. Sometimes we don't even realize that somethings around us are about to change or rather have changed. So whatever it is, be ready to accept change. You never know when and who can be your agent of change!

"This post is a part of the prompt of the week, ‘Who Am I’? , by the Blog Chatter online community of bloggers in Twitter which meet every Wednesday at 8.30 PM IST discussing various blogging topics on twitter.”

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Book Review: Logically Stupid, That's Love

Author: Shikha Kumar

Publisher: Shrishti Publishers

ISBN: 978-93-82665-56-4

Genre: Romance

No. of pages: 292

Price: INR 250

On the jacket: He flirted with her for five days; she waited for him for five years, only to be shattered irrecoverably one day. Logic seems to be winning the battle, until destiny refuses to move on and adamantly brings them face to face again.

In life's moments of struggle and comfort, the heart and mind must join hands to combat.

A love story dedicated to the generation that never values what comes easy. Wish a few logics  were a little less stupid. But nevertheless... Logically Stupid, That's Love.

Review: You always feel better after reading a nice book. Sometimes it will leave a spell on you. It won't go off from your mind that easily. And Logically Stupid, That's Love is one such book that I picked up this year and it had a spell on me. As I kept on flipping the pages, reading the story of Kartik and Sahana, I did feel a tug of emotions brewing inside me. Alas, it all came to an end with a happy yet a dramatic climax. 

The authoress has brilliantly portrayed the central characters Kartik and Sahana. The plot itself is superb with full of twists and turns. The characteristics of the central characters gives it a shade of a love story which is bubbly and the one which is aptly suited in the 21st century. The authoress had a lot to tell in the story and for not even once I felt that she had gone overboard in detailing some scenes. Thus, it renders the book to be a quick page turner.

I am also amazed at the way that such simple English can bring out the best of the emotions in me while I was reading. Logically Stupid, That's Love is one such book which I may come back again to read only for the way in which it is written. Moreover, I didn't find any proof reading errors. 

Overall: Logically Stupid, That's Love is one such book that is perfectly suited to the Indian audience as it actually tells how Love happens in India. I would recommend people to grab this book and relish this beautiful love story.

Ratings: 

Plot: 4/5

Characterization: 4/5

Book Cover: 3.5/5

Writing: 4/5

Entertainment: 5/5

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Spotlight: Hope We Never Meet Again

Book Blitz 

Hope We Never Meet Again

by

SrinathKrishnamoorthy

Blurb 

A girl gets divorced just before her wedding!

A widow seeks answers for the deaths of her husband and son.

A mysterious man follows a convicted rape victim.

A stranger scribbles a number in a train.

Two hearts part ways with a final wish: Hope we never meet again.

Then, there is a phone call...

Varun Diwakar is your average, happy-go-lucky young lad with many a dream that most middle class youth harbour. But, he has a peculiar predicament. An accident changes his life forever and he discovers that he can travel into the minds and dreams of people - and in that journey, he discovers many untold stories, painful narratives and surprising twists. What triggers it all, is the death of a dear friend that Varun decides to avenge. What happens in the end? How are all these stories connected? Does love outlast death and time, the two great levellers, and become the greatest leveller, of all? Find out, as bodies keep falling and many a lives are at stake!

Grab your copy @

amazon.com | amazon.in 

Excerpt 

“Dreams are to be lived, not chased.”

“Sometimes you need to walk alone to be together with yourself…”

“Timeless love stories just have beginnings…”

“If you make your every today as safe as your yesterday’s… your dream of a better tomorrow will always remain a dream.”

“Well, history is more about heroes who rebelled and flourished than heroes who rebelled and perished. The ones that flourish became the songs and the ones that perished became the anthems. I strangely felt like a song that once craved to be an anthem.”

About the Author 

SrinathKrishnamoorthy was born in Palakkad, Kerala. He holds a B. Tech degree from Government Engineering College, Palakkad and an M. Tech from MA College of Engineering, Kothamangalam. He is an avid reader, blogger and a traveler. This is his first novel and marks his transformation from a software engineer to a story engineer.

Facebook Link : https://www.facebook.com/hopewenevermeetagain

Author's blog :https://srinathkrishnamoorthy.wordpress.com/

Media Mention

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Promise Me

In the sixth year of our blissful marriage, I think I could not have asked more from life and God himself. Two beautiful people for whom I wake up to; the kiddo and the big kiddo. The reference to big kiddo here is my hubby but let me tell you there is not a slightest hint of a kiddo in him. He is all too much of rules, manners and etiquette. How I manage him with all my foolishness, brazenness and of course wickedness, is a different story altogether. But I guess I am on the path of success. I can now see him mellowing down on rules and blending happily with all my gibberish talks and acts. (Victory Dance)

This didn't come overnight. In the past five years, we have had our share of pizzas, some too sweet, some too hot to handle and some on the verge of 'I am sleeping in the living room.' But all's well that ends well.

However, having said the above, I think I can definitely push my hubby for something more from him, if not from life and God. So here are a few of the kasams (vows) which I would like him to take and fulfill them.

Source

1) First crush is always first no matter what. So I would like him to understand that and allow me to watch all SRK movies. Moreover, even come along with me to the theater and watch the movie, learn some dancing and wooing styles from SRK and implement them. No need to tell on whom. (PS: I really loved watching Happy New Year) 

2) Take me to that roadside paani-puri wala and let me devour a complete set of 6 paani-puris once a month. 

3) You will not raise your brows and stare at me when I start singing pathetic of the lyrics loudly at home. (PS: I love singing almost all songs, but my current favorite is 'Tu Kheech Meri Photo')

4) You will be a sport, accompany me and the kiddo in dancing like no one is watching and dance till your legs ache along with us.

5)  Listen to whatever I have to say without reacting and stopping me in between although I know that most of the times it won't make any sense to you. But please.

The list can go on and on but here I am being generous. I know how difficult all the above kasams are for you to fulfill, but baby, as they say 'Little things matter much.' And let me tell you, by obliging on the above kasams you will definitely be #SadaSexy just as me. (wink)

“I’m blogging about the kasams I want from my man this Women’s Day with the #SadaSexy activity at BlogAdda in association with Set Wet.”

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