Book Bond With Ashwin Sanghi - Prelude to Tata Lit Live

Photograph Credit: Vaisakhi Mishra

The most awaited International Literature Festival in Mumbai - Tata Literature Live has finally arrived. This is the Fifth consecutive year that the fest is being held, this year the dates allotted are Thursday 30th October to Sunday 2nd November 2014. The schedule is out and the venue is NCPA and Prithvi Theatre. Each year the festival has more add-on's that highlight the beauty of literature surrounding us and connects it to the masses with collaboration with media.

The festival is an enriching platter full of various speakers, award winning novelist, journalist et al. A sneak peak into the fest that connects over 125 artists under one roof. The speakers would be Amir Or - The multi-awarded poet whose written 18 poetry's in Hebrew and whose work has been translated in over 40 languages, the bestselling author Anita Nair, the young Eurig Salisbury who won Welsh Children’s Poet Laureate) 2011–13, Amish Tripathi, Ayaz Memon and Barkha Dutt to name a few.

As a prelude to the upcoming festival, the Tata Lit Live team organized a Book Bond meet and greet event with author Ashwin Sanghi (Chanakya's Chant and The Krishna Key), for bloggers in Mumbai. The event took place on 20th October at Vivanta by Taj, Mumbai. The whole session that lasted around say roughly around 1- 1.5 hours was a captivating and an interactive one.

It started off with Anil Dharker, Mumbai based writer, columnist and the director of the festival initiated the evening discussion. The session heavily focused on the Indian literature, our outlook towards it, the current and the past trends of publishing and the center of it all - The Indian Author and the Publishing Industry. The discussion sifted effortlessly on how we have evolved both as a reader and an author, still not losing touch with our history and the deep rooted mythology. There was a considerable amount of time devoted to mythology, as Ashwin Sanghi has structured his stories around them, countless discussions of God and sharing of funny incidences from both the authors and bloggers lives enlivened the evening.

One of the best part was that, this discussion had a bit of an informal touch where we came to know a bit more about Ashwin as to how he started of with being an accountant to a novelist. And how his maternal grandfather gifted him a book till he passed away. Now I'm not so good at remembering numbers but the round figure what he said was somewhere around 370 or 377, and the best part being he still has all those copies (he remembers not because he still has that book keeping streak in him but also because the books are numbered.) I was totally in awe of his grandfather and how he shaped Ashwin to what he is today, a brilliant author and an equally humble man!

Photograph Credit: TataLitLive

Coming back to the discussion, we not only came to know how the Tata Literature Festival was conceived or about Ashwin's journey but a lot of other minute things that we tend to neglect. The discussion was thrown open to bloggers, with several new questions that brightened the evening further. And giving a world view of different perspective. Along with prose even poetry was subject touched upon  where Anil Dharkar said, “Poetry is the final distillation of Literature, of thoughts. But very few get it and poets are even less.”

Anil Dharker officially announced the shortlists for 3 coveted Book Awards – Tata Literature Live!

1. Book of the Year (Fiction & Non-fiction),
2. Tata Literature Live! First Book Award (Fiction & Non-fiction) and
3. Tata Literature Live! Business Book Award

Photograph Credit: TataLitLive

Alas! All good things come to an end, and so did this evening. But is any literary event complete without a book? No right, the highlight of the evening was the autographed copies of ‘Private India’. by Ashwin Sanghi co-authored with James Patterson,

Awaiting the festival that commences tomorrow! Keep on reading and re-reading.

-Fatima

Social Media Week Mumbai 2014

I've always been interested in Art, Culture, Media and Literature. There is something about media that when blended with society brings about a change, a betterment. Being part of NGO's I can say I've been part of this social movement, bringing about change in the most basic of ways. Be it either teaching young shelter home kids or elders who wish to improve their communication in English so as to raise themselves to a better employment sector of our society. In a way, it helped me view the lives of people at the grass-root level thereby understanding them and bringing a smile on their faces. But despite all this, I never did get a chance to explore it in the media way, I always heard about various organizations fighting for trafficking or rape victims but never got a chance to interact with them directly. Then apart from that there is always a factor of blogging, being an avid blogger myself I wanted to socialize and venture more into this arena.

Blogadda gave me this opportunity to attend social media week, (me thinks if I didn't get this opportunity I wouldn't have found time in my schedule to even attend it). The Social Media Week was held in Mumbai, at Novotel Hotel, Juhu.

So, I registered for 4 events that could fit my schedule but call it bad luck I could attend only 1 of them as I fell ill on the third day of the event :-/ and have just recuperated just yesterday. (Started off with mild fever and cold and went onto allergies that eventually banned me from leaving the bed). So end of this sob story, let's continue on the workshop I attended.

   
This is the pass I was given at the entrance and could be used for attending all the workshops and events. The event I attended was "A Perfect Bite" - A masterclass on Food Blogging by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal. Ring a Bell? Nah..Okay let me stop the misery, she is a food blogger, an amazing one at that. Her blog is full of small notes and filled with personal touches as well as mouth watering recipes.

What I remember the most of her amazing session is this line, "Being a curator of information." She began the presentation by focusing on what is Blogging all about, how to be a blogger, make a blog and other smaller things that make a blogger.

Ten minutes post  this, the presentation on Food Blogging finally began. Never being a food blogger, this one had me hooked; I wanted to know that how's and what's of food blogging. And who better teacher than the speaker herself.

Some of the points she spoke to be a Good Food Blogger were; Being a writer, A recipe creator, Food Stylist (how you present it to your audience), a photographer (very essential), Designer (plating and all is important) and finally a marketer. And finally every post should motivate the reader, motivate to try the recipes and eventually experiment their own recipes.

I would like to end this post on both a happy and a sour note. Happy because I agree with the speaker, that Blogging gave me an identity. And sad because I really wanted to attend this event,  "CASE STUDY ON CITIZENS AGAINST RAPE, MOLESTATION & ATROCITIES (CARMA)" The speaker also the founder of CARMA Ashwin Mishra is a friend, we used to teach at MAD together and I had heard a lot about his organization with him, but sadly bad health made me miss this one; one which I deeply regret.

But I sincerely thank Blogadda Team for giving me this opportunity to attend this event, even though I attended one, it helped me realize that media is what we make of it.

-Fatima  

North & South

What happens when things collide? When two extremes cross each other? Either we are shocked and bewildered or it's a pleasant surprise full of euphoria! This is exactly what happened to me on a certain 23rd August when I after lot of coaxing and cajoling by my blogger friends decided to lift my lazy self on a fine Saturday morning, boarding a Southbound train to go Colaba Causeway the shoppers delight in Mumbai. But I don't really love shopping so what could be of so much interest there that I dragged myself all the way till Churchgate that didn't tempt me into getting into an empty Northbound train..Obviously a cell phone store Univercell Sync nestled in the historic side of Mumbai, right next to Regal Cinema! <Shoppers Delight>

I'm sure you must be wondering, what's so different about this new store  that could set it apart from the already existing mobile stores all over? Well you got to visit to it :D but since, I already visited it; I take it upon me to be your esteemed tour guide and help you navigate through the store.

One of the best things of Univercell Sync is that you get everything and anything about phone under one roof; be it accessories, comparing different models, being able to choose the best one you prefer out of the rest, simple clarity if you are confused as to what to purchase. So, lets go step by step. The store in general is divided into 6 major sections.

1) Snap n Share:

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so it is told. For someone who loves clicking photographs be it selfie or otherwise, this is the one section where they need to hunt for the best phones in market irrespective of the brands. Rest assured you need not go online to compare the picture quality, the screen size etc it's all there at your disposal.

2) Muzik :

If music be the food of love, play on. Shakespeare believed in it, and chances are even you do. If, you're someone whose life is music- heart and soul. This is definitely where you can get not only the best sound quality phone depending on your taste but even all the accessories required; earplugs, headphones, soundshooter and even speakers.

Can you imagine, that there can actually be a whole section dedicated to phones just based on their sound quality? Well I couldn't before I experienced Univecell Sync.

3)  New New Brand New

  

This is one of those sections that houses the latest models of phones in the market. These cell phones are the ones which are new in the market with promising features and quality. And the best part about this section is, it catches your eye the moment you step inside. 

4) Popularity:

This section has the popular phones in the market. Right from Nokia Lumia to a Nexus or a Samsung phone. Another feature of this section, is that it's visible from the outside <reminds me of window shopping tempting the shoppers to have a more closer look> 

   

5) For You & Me

As the name suggests, this is the aisle where you can view and compare phone that can everyday average user needs. Pocket friendly and covering every aspect required in a phone. Phone in this arena include models like Samsung I8262- Core Duos, Samsung Duos S and even brands like Karbonn and Micromax that have recently emerged in the Indian markets.

6) Tab Zone:

 This is an area that concentrates more on the tabs that are currently in market. The main focus of this section, are kids, as these days the classrooms are more eco-friendly and e-based. This zone helps them experience the different tabs and their efficiency depending on their usage.

In addition to all this, the store is very simple and the decor as well as the placement of the phone is very subtle and sophisticated without any clutter. There are fun zones like the emoticon wall covered with all sorts of emotions for us emotional people :P I personally liked the store, it was both cozy and friendly even the store people seemed at easy and knowledgeable <most important isn't it :D >

So next time, you have a confusion which phone to buy and dunno where to go; hop into the nearest Univercell Sync store and rest assured you will be leaving the store with a good phone and a smile on your face :)

 The Address to the Store I visited is given below:

          UniverCell,
          Cecil Court Building,
          Next to Regal Cinema,
          Cause Way, Mumbai.

P.S. - This post has been written as a part of the Univercell Sync Mumbai Store Review for Indiblogger.com

-Fatima

The Wizard of Oz err Skyscanner

Her: Dude I'm tired, I need a break. I so so wanna go on a holiday!

Me: Duh, didn't you just go to Kashmir and Goa? It's me who needs a break...poor me couldn't even go to Goa Zest trip :-/

Her: Yeah, poor you. *lost in a faraway land* You remember we had this bucket list back then in our 12th std.

Me: I do, visiting so many places. Though I so wish I could go to Leh Ladakh or Sikkim now. 

Her: Omg omg! You are a genius Fati, let's go to Sikkim. 

Me: Hey Varsha take a breath, what are you saying? You've office I have college. How on earth? When..

This is how it all began two months ago, impromptu out of the blue deciding that come October we'll be packing our bags and going to Sikkim a place from our bucket list. Booking Airline tickets, car travel, hotel booking, sightseeing.. Ah! Easy Jet Set Go. It's a smart fast forward world, travelling is such a cake walk.

The Tsomgo Lake, The Rumtek Monastery, the Flora and Fauna...gosh the evening sky, the simple way of life..away from the hustle bustle of Mumbai... I could just imagine how blissful our trip was going to be!

*What was I thinking? Was I in my right mind? Why-o-why did I agree with V that I'll plan our whole trip, right from bookings  to everything else :-/* 

This is exactly what I was going through since two days, what for a mere 4 day tour. I just couldn't decide which flight to book, or which is a good hotel everything seemed like a big fat jumble mumble. Let, me let you in on a secret or the root cause of everything evil; I and Vaisakhi we are a little stingy and combining together we had only Rs. 1 Lakh to spare.

Frustrated to the core and on the verge of scrapping our trip or just yelling at someone. I suddenly came across something, something that seemed like a rainbow in the cloudy gray skies. It felt like magic, like it had a magic wand that vanished worries replacing them with joys and mirth! A wizard to aid me weave my modern travel tale, it felt like I was Glinda and the rescuer the wizard of Oz or in my words skyscanner.

Everything that seemed like an impossible task earlier now seemed to vanish in sight! Not only was I able to book my airplane tickets, I also pre-booked our car service and did the hotel bookings. And that too in a record time of 1 hour (well had to consult it with Varsha the developer too :D ) And at last I went on jotting down the places we would definitely visit.

Hold on a moment, you don't believe me do you? Gosh do not worry I knew you wouldn't and hence I have evidence to prove my truth! *she couldn't believe me too :P*

Actions Speak Louder than words so I will do my travel wizard do the talking :)

Mumbai -- Bagdogra Airport -- Car/taxi to Gangtok -- Enjoying Sikkim -- Returning back home

First thing First - The Flight Bookings: Mumbai to Bagdogra flights are the fastest ! There were plenty of flights, sadly none were direct. While going it was less time, but while coming home it was more. Then it dawned, this is like a blessing in disguise as we decided to meet our friends from Delhi during the 2 hour halt at Delhi airport on our way home. And the best part...it was cheap? Yes and also it was so easier to compare ..no need for tedious algorithms or comparing techniques.

Second thing- Going from Bagdogra Airport to Gangtok:  Now this is important, if we don't reach Gangtok we don't get to see Sikkim plus we can't splurge more..uhu how are we to travel the exotic land then ! So then, I search the car hire section! Lo and Behold, not only am I able to book a cab but hey it was almost just Rs. 2200 approx so it was effective, the best thing was it wasn't about to shoot up around Rs.3000 :D

 Hotel Reservations: Princesses need royal treatment and hence, the perfect hotel for the perfect girls. We decided a well connected hotel that even serves breakfast was a good option. Dual beds and beautiful gardens..hard to resist.

For 3 nights, Rs.1 short of Rs.30,000 (Rs. 29,999) was a blessing !

Being the less spending people we are, I looked into our expenditure
Total Money Spent: Just Rs.73493 *Is this for real? 1 hour ago I could fit anything in our budget and now our kitty has some money left..miracle!*

Can't help but share how much we saved, an oh my dear god amount of Rs. 26507

Just think now, we have so much saved that not only can we visit our favorite destinations but can also do a little shopping. Which girl doesn't love to shop and when there are not one but two, you can imagine :D

When now I'm busy packing up my bags, coordinating with V and checking if everything is in place. But I promise you, when I'm back I'll share all the beautiful pics of all the beautiful places we visited!

As I sit, to pen down my diary for the night I see this post of mine written some time ago! Feels like a complete circle, I wished to visit Sikkim and my wizard made it all possible! Who said magic is wands and fairies, a timeless folklore written to soothe young children. I felt that too earlier, but skyscanner made me believe, believe that magic exists, if only we know to look for it! Magic is indeed there and it's Special!

There are places and then there are places. Every person we meet has a story to tell, likewise every place has a story of it's own. Some stories we are able to see and read about in scriptures while the others are only to be felt. Every time we talk about travel all I usually hear is "I wish to go to Venice or I so wanna go to Malaysia or Dubai" but me I beg to differ. I wish to experience and explore my own motherland before I venture outside. There are loads of places that I visit and capture in my memory album, though there is one that outweighs the rest. I read this on some website about this place, "Good things come in small packages that's what describes Sikkim the best." And believe me nothing describes it best!


This post is a part of Skyscanner travel wizard activity at BlogAdda.com

-Fatima

Magical Black

I simply can't get enough of black and my list just keeps on increasing, someday it is black coffee (which is readily available) then the order day it is a black audi (a distant dream). With all my wishes cramping up and no space to store, I thought about penning it down in a list, at least 5 of them which I think every girl should have.

1. Black Iphone 5S: There is no comparison to Apple, it is by far the best in the market and unfortunately the most expensive one. Where people around me are gushing on the golden Iphone or the Silver one, all I wish for is the black. Not only does it add to the alluring mysterious classic factor, you aren't tagged girly or common by everyone.

2. Black MacBook Air: I am a gadget freak *alright not that much* but when it comes to computers and mobiles, yes I am. And just like my craze for a black Iphone, I equally yearn for the MacBook Air in black. My best buddy loves the silver one and keeps on gushing about how sexy it is, but hey isn't my favourite black supposed to be that? Duh! And I so so wish that the Apple people start creating one in black. *praying hoping wishing land*

3. Black Watch: A watch is an item that describes your personality, at least I am someone who looks at people's watches and tries to decipher them. Wearing floral watches is fun, but sometimes in a formal setting a black classy Titan watch can do wonders.

4. Black Bose AE2 Headphones: Music is my life, or at least I consider it to be. And what better way to enhance the experience other than buying a Bose one. Although I agree white is in vogue, nothing beats the ever trending black. You don't even need to bother if it get stain marks *if you are not an organized person and tend to keep things anywhere without a care it matters.*

5. Black Gucci Bag: Girls and shopping are synonymous, I am no different than others in this one. A black Gucci bag not only sounds cool, awesome and costly but it is worth it. Flawless black can be teamed up with any color dress and tada you are the spotlight of the party.And I so so wanna buy one someday.  

-Fatima

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at  BlogAdda.com