Be My Guest - Forever

Source: Pablo

He was jubilant that day. His simple, not so flowery and yet fancy in a way proposal was accepted. That evening he passed a long time staring across the 22 gifts he had received from 22 different people as a gesture of budding feelings of love over years. However, his philosophy when it comes to Love was simply, ‘Be my Guest’ and hence resulting in a break-up; some amicable and some hostile. But for the 23^rd time, he had allowed love to be his guest for the one last and final time as that day’s ‘Yes’ keeps reverberating every time he sees her.

This fiction is written for the Blog Chatter weekly prompt 'Be my guest'. 

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4 Rhymes That Cheers Up The Brat

Parenting is always a difficult task and when you are a parent to a toddler who is just a year and a few months old, it becomes all the more difficult. Within a year, you will need to start understanding the likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to food. I've been literally running after the brat with a spoonful of food in my hand but to no avail. The brat simply refuses to have any meal unless he is damn hungry and starts growling as if something has happened to him. 

However, I did found out a simple way out to ensure he eats on time and without much of an effort from my side. I discovered ChuChu TV - a Youtube channel which has some fantastic rhymes and songs for the children and thankfully even the brat approves by eating (with a lesser effort from my side and less stress on my forehead now), listening and dancing to the tunes. Moreover, ChuChu TV has always helped me when the brat is in the mood to be cranky and the rhymes instantly cheers up him up.

So here is a list of 4 rhymes that brightens up the brat's mood and so does mine.

1) Nursery Rhymes Party Mashup Mix

Yes, don't keep blinking your eyes after reading the above and especially the words 'Party' and 'Mashup', after all who doesn't like to party!! The brat definitely does and the primary reason being the fast and the peppy tune that keeps the brat engaged while I quickly push down few spoonfuls of food down his throat. 

Have a look at the video and I am sure even you as a parent will fall in love with the melody.

2) Wheels On The Bus Go Round & Round Song

Another rhyme which the brat has recently started adoring is the Wheels On The Bus. In just a month's time, he must have watched this video innumerable times and it has resulted in him performing some sort of an action while the same action gets displayed on the video. ChuChu TV has definitely mastered the art of indulging the kids with interactive ways and I can definitely see a positive impact on my brat's learning and understanding. 

Here is the video on how this rhyme is educating and entertaining at the same time.

3) Color Songs 

The color songs are the ones which I have started showing to the brat recently. He enjoys these songs but have started a liking for the 'Yellow' color song offlate. The one interesting thing the brat has started doing after watching these color songs is started wearing the over-size spectacles of mine whenever he sees them lying idle or sitting on my nose. Thus, an epic facepalm moment for me but nevertheless, I am loving it. :D 

The Yellow Color Song

4) ChuChu TV Surprise series

The another good thing which ChuChu TV has done is coming up with the Surprise series of videos where they give a perfect learning option for the kids. They have many videos in these series and the brat usually adores the Surprise Eggs Wildlife Toys among the others. Upon watching these videos, he has started to clap as soon as he sees the kids clapping in the video and insists that the ones surrounding him clap too! This clearly shows that ChuChu TV knows how to keep the engagement with the children in all the videos creatively developed by them.

Surprise Eggs Wildlife Toys

So if you are a parent, then don't rob the kids of such cute, inspiring, entertaining and learning video series. Trust me, ChuChu TV will definitely be an another teacher for your kids which the kids will definitely adore. In fact, the brat now wants to listen and watch these videos all the day long and throws up when I refuse. Such is the positive impact of ChuChu TV on the brat. So simply without wasting any time, head to their YouTube Channel and check out these rhymes and songs.

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Cover Reveal : An Autograph For Anjali

Releasing on March 7, 2016

Cover Reveal:

AN AUTOGRAPH FOR ANJALI

#AAFA : a Romantic Suspense

by 

Sundari Venkatraman

Sneak Peek

     Jayant Mathur is found murdered in his bed, shot at point-blank range with his own revolver. Though she’s extremely disturbed by his death, Jayant’s wife Anjali is way more upset about something else. Who stands to gain by killing the multi-millionaire businessman?

     Parth Bhardwaj is a friend and neighbour of the Mathurs. Parth is an author who goes by a pseudonym. He appears more than a friend to Anjali; while he’s also on good terms with her son Arjun who lives and studies in the UK. What role does he play in Anjali’s life? Jayant’s relatives are curious to know.

     Jayant’s brother-in-law Rana is convinced that Parth and Anjali are the murderers. But Inspector Phadke has his own doubts about this theory. In comes Samrat, the private detective who appears as quiet as a mouse. Will he be able to find the murderer?

     Will Anjali find happiness and peace? 

About the author

An Autograph For Anjali is the sixth book authored by Sundari Venkatraman. This book is a romantic suspense. Other published novels by the author are The Malhotra Bride, Meghna, The Runaway Bridegroom and The Madras Affair – all romances. She has also published a collection of romantic short stories called Matches Made In Heaven. All of Sundari Venkatraman's books have been on Amazon Top 100 Bestsellers in India, USA, UK & Australia, many times over. 

Sundari Venkatraman would love to hear from you @

Facebook| Twitter | Amazon | LinkedIn | Website | Google+ | Pinterest

Other books by the author

The Malhotra Bride

Meghna

The Runaway Bridegroom

Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters From India (Box Set)

Matches Made In Heaven

The Madras Affair

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Spotlight: Defiant Dreams

DEFIANT DREAMS

Tales of Everyday Divas

EDITORS

RHITI BOSE

LOPAMUDRA BANERJEE

CURATED BY: Incredible Women of India

PUBLISHED BY: Readomania

The Stories in the Anthology are...

1.Built From The Ashes – Radhika Maira Tabrez – Life brings widowed Nikita at the doorsteps of her estranged in laws where she finds a new meaning to life.

2.It’s Not The End – Kirthi Jayakumar – A fresh start changes the foundation of what might have been the beginning of a bright future. But it’s not the end. 

3.She Chose To Live – Debosmita Nandy – She shines even when she is betrayed by love, uprooted from home and misunderstood by all.

4.Bidisha – Paulami DuttaGupta – Insurgency tore her life apart, will Bidisha be able to forget her past?

5.The Drug Addict – Santosh Bakaya – A 19 year old turns to drugs after her parents death in a Mine blast, this story shows how she turns over a new leaf.

6.Safe Passage – Sanghamitra Bose – She survives extreme betrayal and is determined not to let it happen again.

7.The Bride – Esha Chakraborty – ‘The Bride’ toasts to a new beginning!

8.Dear Rangama… – Sutapa Basu – An 18 year old bereft of family and friends, navigates her and her unborn child’s life defying all malignant forces. 

9.Unfound: Searching For Home – Vasudha Chandna Gulati – Can a child with two sets of parents still feel alone? It is Riddhi’s search for a place to belong.

10.The Journey of Two women – Deepti Menon – Two Divas on divergent paths dare to dream, defy the world and carveout their entwined destinies!

11.A Second Chance – Arpita Banerjee – A girl pays for her innocence once, but becomes strong enough to avenge a betrayal, second time around.

12.Dharmambhal – Bhuvaneswari Shivakumar Shankar – Can one ever recover from the trauma of domestic violence? A namesake finds courage from an inspirational story. 

13.The 40s – Ramaa Sonti – Story of a woman craving for love and attention, one who falters, yet takes the situation in her stride with the virtue of her wit and determination.

14.Amlanation – Anirban Nanda – An acid attack, a play of fate, the emotional trauma of both the attacker and the victim. 

15.Please Leave Your Sex Outside – Aashisha Chakraborty – What made a woman a top automobile entrepreneur of the country?

16.Tara – Geeta Negi – A simple girl from a remote hilly village discovers her womanhood while standing firmly against patriarchy.

17.Anjali Chakraborty – Tanushree Ghosh Dhall – A woman who is neither a mother nor a wife epitomises love, sacrifice and support. 

18.Yamuna Maa’s Hand – Mahesh Sowani – Two patrons, one rich another poor, use their funds to support poor women to be independent. 

19.Once, For a Change – Moinak Dutta – A fashion designer proves her mettle by taking up a challenge. 

20.Pregnant Dreams – Sridevi Datta – A woman’s dreams and desires faces trials in the real world.

21.Second Innings of Ma – Namrata Chauhan – An exceptional bond between a mother in law and a daughter in law, proving women are soft but never weak.

22.Here I Come Benaras – Avanti Sopory – Is marriage the only identity of a woman? A widow in Banaras finds her identity amidst strangers.

23.To Be Or Not To Be – Paromita Mukherjee Ojha – An act of crime, a betrayal rips her life apart, now she must rise up to the test and face the realities of life. 

24.Some Porridge and an Education – Sreesha Divakaran  – Shanta leaves behind her village and her drunken husband to earn a livelihood for herself and provide education for her son.

Grab Your Copy @

amazon.com | amazon.in

Meet The Editors 

Rhiti Bose 

Rhiti Bose is a writer/blogger/reviewer who is also the founder and Chief Editor of the e-zine Incredible Women of India. She has a first class Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Madras. She has done her Teacher’s Training, PGCE from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and holds a Child Psychology, Psychotherapy and Counselling Post-Graduate Diploma from The School of Natural Health and Science, London, UK. She has 6 years of experience in Education/Training. She has spent two years working with The Refugee Council, Sheffield, UK mentoring and counseling Bangladeshi and Liberian refugee children.

Her works have been published in Femina, feminafastfiction.com, learningandcreativity.com, redomania.com and she is also a part of short story collection, An Atlas of love, published by Rupa. Her poems are a part of poetry collections Kaafiyaana and Umbilical Chords: An Anthology on Parents Remembered.

When not reading, writing or curating stories for IWI, you can find Rhiti watching Bollywood masala movies, baking or playing with her children. She believes in kindness and love and hopes to spread the same through IWI. She currently resides in Bhubaneswar with her husband, daughter and son.

Rhiti also blogs at The Scattered thoughts of Mrs.Bose.

   

Lopamudra Banerjee 

Lopamudra Banerjee is a writer and translator, currently based in Dallas, USA. She has a Master’s degree in English with a thesis in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her unpublished memoir Thwarted Escape has been First Place Category Winner at the Journey Awards 2014 hosted by Chanticleer Reviews. She is an editor of Learning and Creativity, an e-zine for the literary and creative souls.

Her poetry, stories and essays have appeared at many print and online literary journals and anthologies both in India and the US. Her poetry has recently appeared in The Significant Anthology, Umbilical Chords: An Anthology on Parents Remembered and Kaafiyana, published by Readomania. Her English translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s novella The Broken Home is being serially published at Café Dissensus. She has received the Critics’ Award at Destiny Poets International Community of Poets, UK and also a Certificate of Merit as part of the Reuel International Prize 2015 for Writing and Literature. Her husband is an IT professional and they have two beautiful daughters, Srobona and Sharanya.

Meet The Team 

Similar Dreams

 Defying Distance 

          

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Taandav - A Short Film Review

Life has its own strange yet unique ways. On some days it will shower you with praises and on some days it will bring you down with all the negativity surrounding you, thereby leading to an increase in frustration levels among us. But when, those frustration and built up anger within you rises to a point where you cannot bear it anymore, you try to break free from such emotions. 

In Taandav, which is a short film of just 11 minutes, director Devashish Makhija has beautifully captured this essence to break free from your stress and worries. Produced by Muvizz.com, this short film stars ace and renowned actor Manoj Bajpayee in a lead role.

Taandav revolves around a Head police constable, Tamble played by Manoj Bajpayee who is going through a rough phase in his life. His daughter and his wife, both of them are a bit pissed off with him. His daughter wants to go to a private school. But, the school management asks for a huge amount in form of donation which he cannot afford. This, in turn pisses his wife off and the daughter. 

The offspring of 'honesty as a virtue', Tamble refuses to distribute a huge amount of cash recovered from a police raid among himself and his colleagues who were present at the raid. He does so, in spite of knowing his poor financial condition and giving a golden chance of having her daughter study in a private school a miss. 

Tamble happens to be on a patrol during  Ganesh Visarjan and this his where his mind meanders to the above thoughts. Suddenly a quarrel erupts between two people amidst all the din and they approach him for a settlement. Instead of settling the argument, he takes his gun out and asks them to dance to the tunes. Shortly, he himself joins to the party and performs a taandav. This is without any doubt, the best few minutes of the film. 

The direction is spot on as it brings out a lot of emotions without having to say much. The way in which Devashish Makhija has brought out such diverse emotions within a short span of 11 minutes is superb and commendable. It probably shows what story-telling is all about. 

Manoj Bajpayee, as usual steals the show from the word go. 

Moreover, the soundtrack by Nucleya adds a punch to this tiny pocket bomb called Tandaav. 

The movie depicts the struggle of an aam-aadmi and how breaking free from the shackles of stress is important. In this film, Tamble breaks free from the stress, frustration and all the negativity by performing a Taandav that destructs the negativity around him.

In case, you haven't watched this tiny pocket bomb yet, you can do so now! Simply click on the below given video and enjoy!

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Book Review: Sands of Time by Neelam Saxena Chandra

Sands Of Time 

by 

Neelam Saxena Chandra

Blurb 

'SANDS OF TIME' is a collection of twelve interesting stories which bring out the different moods and moments in the lives of women.

Watch it 

Book Review

Sands of Time is a collection of 12 stories that has a central character revolving around the lives of women in different situations and circumstances. The integral part of the collection is that, it shows women as a strong character in most of the stories and urges the readers especially women to not be afraid to voice their feelings and opinions. 

Moreover, in all the stories, the authoress has highlighted the social stigma that still persists in most of the households and how women silently practice them. From these stories, the authoress urges to break free from all those things that does not let you to move forward in life. 

The protagonists in each of these stories is unique but will still give you a feeling that you have heard about it or probably even seen a woman going through such a struggle in life. 

The language is simple and is easy to read. The stories in the book are small in length but large with the impact that it has on the minds of the readers. So a round of applause for the authoress who has tried to bring the core issues revolving around women in front. 

Sands of Time is probably a collection of 12 lessons learnt and to be practiced equally by people from all walks of life.

Some Facts About the Author 

NeelamSaxena Chandra, an author of thirty-two books,is a record holder with the Limca Book of Records for being the author with highest number of publications in a year in English and Hindi (2015). She works as Joint Secretary (U.P.S.C.).  She has won award in a poetry contest by American Embassy, Premchand award by Ministry of Railways, Rabindranath Tagore international poetry award, Freedom award by Radio city for her lyrics. She was listed in the Forbes list as one of the most popular seventy eight authors in the country in 2014.

Awarded by eminent poet/lyricist Gulzarji in a Poetry Contest organized by American Society on the topic ‘Poetry for Social Change’.

Received the Rabindranath Tagore International poetry award -2014

Awarded PremchandPuraskar by Ministry of Railways (II prize)

Awarded by Children Book Trust, India in 2009.

Neelam also debuted as a lyricist in Shankar Tucker's composition 'Mere Sajan sun sun' and the song has won the 'Popular Choice' award  in Folk Fusion category in Radio City Freedom Awards.

Neelam is a record holder with Limca Book of records for highest publications in a year in English and Hindi.

Neelam and her daughter hold record for being the first mother-daughter duo to write a poetry book for the book 'Winter Shall Fade' in Limca Book of Records, Miracle World Records and India Book of records.

                   

         

Check out The Book Club Tour Schedule 

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We leave you with a wonderful song penned by Neelam Saxena Chandra

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FYND - To Find Your Perfect Style

Move to FYND and find your perfect style!

Who doesn't like shopping? In fact, we all love shopping. Gone are the days when you need to walk in and walk out of stores only to find that perfect product to your liking. But, with FYND you can simply browse through the products and have a super fun and easy shopping session.

Now, why and how can I say this is because:

1. The Fynd app has all the major brand stores brought together. So it is an app for those        who are brand conscious and brand lovers, like me 

2. The Collections tab will list down the top collections based on the promotion activities which are carried on

3. Easy payment gateway

Apart from the above, the best thing in the FYND app is the Feed section where it throws up the latest trend in fashion based on your recent views and other criteria like age and gender. Along with that there is a small writing on the square wall that will perk you up with a tinge of humor as you keep scrolling down to view the products. Probably, that is one of the best things apart from the above mentioned points in the FYND app, at least for me. It has managed to amuse me time and again when I log in to the app. 

The other part which most shoppers now-a-days are used to is huge discounts and FYND is no different. Not only this, since the last few months there were plenty of campaigns running like 'Festival of Fashion', 'Love Date' 'Office Happy Hours' until this weekend and so on which were targeting a particular set of people looking for such kind of products.  

Moreover, the one major thing which differentiates FYND from other major shopping apps is the 'Fynd-A-Fit' section. It is a part which will help you to select the best size for you. We all want to wear such clothes which will fit according to our body type and selecting the size online poses a big problem. The team at FYND has identified this major problem and a solution for this too. FYND now allows to pick a product of your choice with the flexibility of selecting two sizes for the same product. Isn't that something really cool for online shoppers like us?

The good things in the FYND app not seems to end and I am pleased to state that how happy I am when I came to know of the lifetime return policy. Yes! You read that right. Lifetime returns for all the customers. The refunds will be initiated in two working days and credited into the same account from where the payment was initiated. In case of COD, the bank account details need to sent across to them to complete the process.

Now coming upon the payment part, FYND has launched a revolutionary one touch payment system called as 'Flashpay'. The thing in flashpay is that, it allows you to store your debit/credit card details and you need to only enter the CVV number before making the payment.

The delivery system is also super fast. They claim to deliver in 4 hours on an average or at the most in a day's time which is really quick. 

The only roadblock in the process is that, someone may walk in to the store where the store is also selling the products on the FYND app and purchase that product. Thus, rendering your choice of product not available once you have made the payment. This is something which the team at FYND needs to look into. 

The app is only functional in Mumbai and is soon planning to launch in other metro cities.

So what are you waiting for? Just downlaod the app on your android or iOS device here and start FYNDing! The first time customers also get a 500 INR discount on the minimum purchase of order worth 2000 INR. So hurry and start FYNDing!

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Color Me Rich by Mohan Deep

Color Me Rich 

by
Mohan Deep

Blurb 

A sensitive love story of a handsome and talented struggling painter Akash Saigal. What happens when he marries an extremely rich and beautiful artist and art investor Zenobia Taraporevala?

Grab your copy @

amazon.com | amazon.in


Prologue ( A teaser)

J J School of Art, Mumbai.
Taking a charcoal pencil, Akash Saigal started drawing the wood-and-stone structure, popularly known as „Kipling Bungalow‟. He was sketching sitting on a bench on which, in another era, K K Hebbar, M F Husain, Syed Haider Raza, Sadanand Bakre, V S Gaitonde, even Dadasaheb Phalke had sat with their sketchbooks, sketching the house where the author of The Jungle Book was born.
Ganpat Gupte appeared along with two of his gang. Gupte was the nephew of a minister, or so he claimed, and had the arrogance that comes with power. 
“Ae Akash, kae karto?”
Akash looked up at the trio and said, “Nothing much. Just a drawing.
“Okay. What is the day today?”
“I should have known.Tere ko blue shirt hai na?”
Akash didn‟t get the connection, but Gupte‟s chamchas laughed knowingly.
The three boys sang in unison, “Monday, blue shirt. Tuesday, black shirt. Wednesday, blue shirt. Thursday black shirt. Friday, blue shirt. Saturday, black shirt. Sunday...laundry!”
If Akash was hurt, he didn‟t show it. He laughed sheepishly and continued sketching the bungalow.
But he would never forget this.

About the Author 

Mohan Deep, is an Indian author, painter and Feng Shui Master. Mohan Deep is the author of ‘The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala’ (1996), ‘It’s My Life’ (Novel) (1997), ‘Simply Scandalous: Meena Kumari’ (1998), ‘Eurekha!’ – an unauthorized biography of Rekha. (1999), ‘Four Options’ (2000), ‘Feng Shui for the Bold & Beautiful, the Rich and Famous’ (2001) and ‘Nehru and the Tantrik Woman’ (2002). After a sabbatical of a decade, during which he touched upon the lifves of people as a Feng Shui Master, he is back with The Five Foolish Virgins, a book of fiction, to be launched in April 2013. Mohan Deep is arguably the only Indian author to write what is often described as controversial, unauthorized star biographies in India. Columnist-journalist and former editor of 'Illustrated Weekly of India', Khushwant Singh called him 'a truly gifted gossip writer'. “The maverick writer”, like columnist-reviewer-poetess Tara Patel described him has also been called William Goldman of Bollywood’s stars (By Behram Contractor, the Editor of Afternoon Despatch & Courier) (Source) Kitty Kelly of India (By R K Bajaj, the Editor of ‘The Daily’). Interestingly, almost every book he has wrote/penned has invited controversies for its bold content.

                          

         

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