Here’s how Cashify helped Rhea arrange our reunion party!

My school friend, Rhea invited me and several other friends of our 2008 ISC batch to a grand reunion party at her house this month. She stays in Mumbai and we met after about four years. The party was amazing and all of us enjoyed to the fullest. I couldn’t believe that Rhea had thrown such a grand reunion party for all of us. 

“Thanks for the party, Rhea. It was so generous of you to spend so much from your hard earned money for arranging this party.” I said before leaving her house.

“Nothing like that! There was an old Samsung smartphone of mine that was rotting in this house. I got my hands on the phone and voila! I arranged this party.” Rhea said with twinkling eyes.

“What are you talking about? You managed to get enough money by selling off your old smartphone. I can’t believe it.” 

“All thanks to Cashify!” Rhea beamed.

“Now, what is Cashify? I tried to sell off my old phone so many times, but the deals are so bad that I wish to donate it someday.” I muttered.

“Okay. Let me share with you my story!” Rhea said.

Rhea: “It was a beautiful autumn evening

When I was busy with house cleaning;

It was then I noticed my old Samsung phone

Abandoned by all, to a corner it was thrown;

The phone was in a good condition

Selling it off became my mission;

I planned to throw a grand reunion party

If I have some cash handy.”

Me: “Wow! Then, how did you try to sell it?

Rhea: “I posted a status on my social media sites

Mentioning about the phone and its highlights;

But no one seemed interested

I could see my plan getting canceled.

That was when a guy messaged me

His interest in the phone brought some positivity;

I decided to meet him the next day

Without wasting any time at the nearby café."

Me: “What happened when you met him?”

Rhea: “He looked decent and I was hopeful

I wish I had been careful;

We exchanged pleasantries and I showed him the phone

He looked at it and told me I seemed very familiar and known;

I smiled without knowing what to say

He said he was interested in buying the phone that very day;

I was overjoyed and thanked him

When he asked me out for dinner with him;

I left the café, visibly upset

Denying his offer and request."

Me: (Laughing) "That was hilarious! What did you do next?"

Rhea: “I decided I have to forget

My plans of selling off the phone via internet;

Luckily, I met my cousin that evening

Everything changed after that meeting;

She introduced me to Cashify

The ideal destination where people can sell and buy;

I selected my device and got the best device price

Cashify arranged a free pickup after I accepted the price.”

Me: "Wow! This sounds so cool. I haven’t heard of such a useful website where you can sell off your old smartphone so easily. So, did you get paid finally?”

Rhea: “Instant Cash was handed to me

At the time of pickup which was free;

I was delighted when I got the cash

I arranged the reunion party in a flash;

You must check out Cashify to believe my story

It will make you happy and let you never worry

#CleanUpCashOut with Cashify

To all your smartphone selling woes, now say goodbye!”

After hearing how Cashify helped Rhea arrange our reunion party, I couldn’t resist myself from checking out this website. It is so simple selling off your old gadgets on Cashify. You just need to select what you want to sell. If it is a mobile phone, you have to first select your device. 

After selecting your device, you need to answer a few, simple questions. You need to state if it is possible to make and receive calls from your mobile phone. Then, you have to carefully choose the functional or physical problems of the cell phone to get the accurate price. Next, you have to select the accessories of the phone that are available. Finally, you have to select the mobile age and choose the appropriate condition of your phone from the list given.

You will get the device price as soon as you answer these simple questions. Thanks to Rhea, I could also sell off my old phone through Cashify at a decent price. So, what are you waiting for? I am sure you too must have a few gadgets languishing in your house that is just adding up to the clutter. Go to Cashify right away and sell off your old gadgets. Use the coupon (CLEANCASH) to get additional 250 INR on the sale of your gadget. Doesn't it sound perfect?

#CleanUpCashOut with Cashify this season!

No hassles, no woes!

Say hello to Cashify and goodbye to all your worries!

When a bibliophile tries to sell her old Blackberry!

I always believe in having a clutter-free home. Therefore, before every Diwali, I try to get rid of all those things that are no longer serving me. I donate a few things to the needy and sell other useless stuff.

Now, before smartphones made us crazy and dependent on them, I had a number of phones with QWERTY keypad. I especially loved my Blackberry during that time, but after I got my first smartphone, I realized my Blackberry no longer served me. So, I decided to sell my old Blackberry with QWERTY keypad before Diwali. I think the year was 2014.

At first, I told my younger cousins that I am ready to sell my Blackberry and if they would be interested in buying it. I was initially hopeful as they were really eying my phone, but their responses were extremely discouraging.

Cousin 1: Please Di. This is my birthday month. Gift it to me.

Me: I am trying to sell this.

Cousin 2: I will give you all my Harry Potter books in return of the phone.

Me: Um..that sounds good. But you only have the first 3 books. Are you trying to fool me?

Cousin 3: I don’t need this phone. Dad will gift me a smartphone if I score 80% in my board exams.

Me: Such a demanding kid you are!

The conversation with my cousins went nowhere. I understood that I have to think of something better to sell off my Blackberry.

I knew it would be useless trying to sell it to my friends as all of them had smartphones. I decided to list it on sites from where I can sell it. As my Blackberry was in a good condition, I quoted 3000 INR and listed it on the selling websites. I waited for sellers to contact me, but even after 10 days, I got no reply.

So, I reduced the price to 2500 INR and then waited. Finally, a seller messaged me and told me he is interested in buying my Blackberry at 1200 INR. His negotiation infuriated me. I was not at all ready to sell my Blackberry at such a low price of 1200 INR.

Finally, I thought to take help from my friends. One of my friends wanted to buy it for her sister. I was relieved and told her I am ready to sell it at 2500 INR.

“I have a better idea.” She said.

“What?” I was curious.

“You are a crazy bookworm and I am a book hoarder. Why don’t you take 10 of your favorite books from my library in return of this phone?” She said with a twinkle in her eyes.

I was speechless at her proposal. The fact that even after trying so hard, I cannot make any money selling off my old phone pinched my heart.

“It’s actually a perfect give and take offer. I need your old phone for my sister. And you want many of the books that I have in my library. Think about it.” She continued, looking at my crestfallen face.

She guided me to her library. As I looked at her enviable collection of books, my heart leaped with joy. I selected 10 books that I always wanted to own- books by my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho, Nicholas Sparks, Jhumpa Lahiri and Dan Brown.

I gave her my Blackberry and finally returned home with the 10 books and a toothy grin.

After that incident, my father tells me that I am a disaster in selling off my old gadgets. Well, he is right, but he cannot say that to me anymore! Why? Because, now I have Cashify, where selling used mobile, tablet and iPhone is so easy and completely hassle-free.

So, if you can also recollect one such failed attempt at selling off your old phones, you should immediately check out Cashify. For the lovely readers of my blog, I am sharing a Coupon Code (CLEANCASH). If you use this coupon code when you are selling your gadgets, you will get an additional 250 INR on the sale of your gadgets.

So, what are you waiting for? #CleanUpCashOut this Diwali!

The book that I have always wanted to write

I was in my sweet slumber

A stranger to myself in this world;

Your fateful golden touch

Awakened me like rare bliss

I discovered myself.

For me, there is no joy greater than writing a novel. A story that I conceive from nowhere in my subconscious mind and see it developing on the white pages give me a sense of thrill and excitement. The characters that become an inseparable part of my life help me to see myself in a new light. I believe each time I write a story and create a character, I rediscover myself in a new way.

I have always wanted to write a novel that has a lot of poetry in it. When I saw this exciting “Get Published with Story Mirror” contest on Indiblogger, I thought about the book that I have always wanted to write, but for some reason or the other couldn’t do it.

The book tells the story of a young, beautiful girl who is a successful television actor, but suffers from depression since her teenage days. A very disturbing childhood along with failed relationships had made her a victim of chronic depression. She tries to cope with it by keeping herself busy at work, but she cannot come out of the clutches of depression no matter how hard she tries. She finds it extremely difficult to love and accept herself the way she is.

Although she has a smiling countenance, she knows how broken she is from within. During one of her shoots at a hill station, she comes across a man who is a brilliant poet. They meet each other at such a juncture when both of them want to give up on their lives. But as they talk to each other, they find comfort. It feels like home. There is an instant connection between the two of them.

The more she spends time with him, the more she realizes how similar their life experiences and nature are. She finds an enormous freedom in the knowledge that she is not alone in the world. There is someone who has gone through equally tormenting things that she has gone through in her own life.

For the first time in her life, she confides to someone all her deepest fears, insecurities and anguish. He teaches her to see life in a new light: to love and accept herself. She slowly starts seeing life in a different way, where she refuses to be the victim of her own story. As she falls in love with her own self, she realizes that somewhere, down the line, she has also fallen in love with the man who has helped her win in her battle against depression.

When she decides to confess her feelings to him, she realizes that he is a poet whose occupation is to weave beautiful words. She realizes he might never be able to return the love that she has for him. The mission of his life is to pacify every hurting soul. He finds salvation in providing peace to other aching hearts through his poetry. It breaks her heart as she realizes she can never get him all of her own, but she is indebted to him for teaching her how to love herself. No one has taught her that in the 25 years of her life.

This novel will also have a lot of poetry along with prose. I remember reading Rabindranath Tagore’s “The Last Poem” which is a beautiful amalgamation of prose and poem. I had always wanted to write a novel like that. If Story Mirror gives me the opportunity, I would put all my heart and soul in writing this book.

You are there,

Sparkling in every verse

That I write;

Sometimes, as a romantic muse

Other times, as a painful memory

You make me a poet

Because you are my poetry.

I only miss you

When I am not writing;

You dwell in the crevices of letters

And in the intricacies of my words

I only miss you

When words fail me

As you are my poetry

I am your moonstruck poet.

 (From “The Heart Listens to No One by Purba Chakraborty) 

IndiPR.com: the new brainchild of Indiblogger

Indiblogger launches IndiPR.com which is designed to help businesses get their press release published by top bloggers. Whenever a new product or service is launched by a company, a press release is the first order of business. IndiPR.com makes it possible for businesses of all types and sizes, including start-ups to have their press releases published within 72 hours by relevant influencers.

How does IndiPR.com work?

In order to make it simple for businesses to get their press releases published by relevant influencers, IndiPR.com introduces the Automated Influencer Targeted Engine or AITE. 

Once a business uploads their press release at IndiPR.com, the AITE will proceed to accept applications by the relevant influencers. On the basis of internal ratings and rankings, it will efficiently shortlist bloggers. The influencers, on getting shortlisted will publish the article on their site.

Within 72 hours of uploading the press release, the business will have its press release written by relevant influencers. IndiPR.com is easy, quick and hassle-free.

Let’s hear what the co-founder and director of marketing at Indiblogger, Anoop Johnson says on their ambitious new venture:

“With a starting budget of just USD 150, a business of any size will be able to get their press releases published by influential bloggers with a few clicks.”

How will marketers benefit from IndiPR.com?

It is a very time consuming process for marketers to find the right influencer for their product or service. Even if they find some relevant influencers, it is quite cumbersome for them to target and contact each influencer. The co-founder & business head at Indiblogger, Karthik DR says, 

“The amount of time that people spend in trying to identify and contact influencers is huge. With IndiPR.com, you don’t have to worry about any of this as the system just needs your press release. The rest is history.”

Therefore, the digital marketers will be able to generate a lot of awareness about their new product or service through this platform. IndiPR.com will help businesses efficiently with content marketing.

How will bloggers benefit from IndiPR.com?

About bloggers, the founder and CEO of Indiblogger, Renie Ravin says:

“We believe that this system will help Influencers with fresh and new content on their site every day. In a way, you could be writing about the next Google without even realizing its immense potential.”

Influencers will always stay updated about the latest news on the planet with IndiPR.com. It will let influencers attend the trendiest launch events and get great creative assignments. IndiPR.com will carry more than just press releases in the future. 

IndiPR will benefit both the marketers and the influencers in a systematic and convenient way. Businesses and startups, interested in getting their press release written by top bloggers can contact Anoop Johnson at contact@indipr.com. 

A lovely evening at the #BergerXp Indiblogger Meet

I used to really get upset whenever I saw my blogger friends from Delhi and Mumbai having a gala time in the Indiblogger meets. But finally a ray of happiness hit my life when I saw about the Berger Express Painting Indiblogger Meet that's going to take place in Kolkata on 12th September. 

So, yesterday was the big day. Although I have been blogging regularly from mid 2014, it was my first Indiblogger Meet. The experience was amazing and I am still brimming with happiness, recollecting the memories of yesterday.

 Just the beginning!

As I reached the Oberoi Grand, Kolkata, I met a very dear blogger friend, Maniparna whose blog Scattered Thoughts has always been a great inspiration for me. We regularly follow each other's blog and therefore, it was great meeting her in person. She recognized me instantly and made me feel like her sister. We connected really well and here is a selfie that we took before entering the Ball Room for the event.

 Maniparna and me

I also met and connected with many more blogger friends, one of them was coincidentally, my classmate from school, Kirti. It was really nice to meet her after 7 years. There were some bloggers who recognized me through my blog and there were some bloggers whom I recognized through their blogs. Overall, it was great to meet so many talented bloggers. I wish I could click selfies with all of them.

Somorita, Kirti and me

There was also a vibrant photo studio where we posed for pictures and we got the photographs before leaving the venue.

 Posing with our best smile :)

Finally, it was time to enter the beautiful Ball Room of the Oberoi Grand, Kolkata for the event. As we entered the room, we were totally enthralled to see the ball room embellished beautifully. We could see our tweets in the large screen. 

The beautiful ball room

The event started on an energetic note as Anoop made all of us sing.We completely enjoyed starting the event with rock music and shouting Yeah Yeah Yeah! 

It was followed by a wonderful interactive session where the bloggers introduced themselves, shared their blogging stories and gave some blogging tips. I really enjoyed this part of the event the most as I got to learn so many things and I was inspired to the core. 

There were bloggers who were as young as 16 and 19 years old, but so full of spark and confidence. It was amazing to hear them speak. I didn't even discover my writing skills completely at this age, and these bloggers are so focused at such a young age.

It was amazing to hear all the bloggers speak. Each of them had a different yet interesting blogging story. It was extremely inspiring to hear veteran blogger, writer and photographer Rangan Dutta speak.

The blogging tips shared by the bloggers were really amazing. There was a blogger who said that it is extremely needed to market and promote your blog in the right way. There was another blogger who said to keep the posts short and crisp, so that you can grab the attention of your readers. Someone said that it is necessary to have an individuality so that the readers find your blog interesting and different from others.

Talking about my blog

When I got a chance to introduce myself and my blog, I felt really happy to share about how I became a blogger after being an author. I talked about how my blog helped me to discover another facet of mine. My blog reinstalled my passion for poetry, as I was only into writing full fledged novels earlier. Now I write everything from micro fiction to poetry to novels and that's because of my blog.

After the amazing fun and interactive session, Berger showed us a wonderful presentation of their Express Painting which is faster, cleaner, better. There are some great tools such as Sander, Mixer, Paint Sprayer etc. which can make the process of painting so much hassle free and better.

After their presentation, they divided us into ten teams for some fun activities. There were two activities: one was sanding in the shortest time possible and the other was painting a social cause within thirty minutes. I was a part of Team Flash and all the members of my team, Kirti, Shruti, Sneha, Dev were so enthusiastic. 

Our team gearing up for sanding

For the painting round, we chose the message "Love is the color of the world". When all the colors of the rainbow come together, we get a single white color. Similarly, when there will be no differences among people on the basis of caste, creed, sexual orientation and religion, the world will be painted with the color of love and it will be a happy world. People should be given the right to choose their partner irrespective of any social dogmas. 

The painting done by our team

Team Calcutta Palette bagged the winning prize. They depicted the social cause : Female Foeticide. All the teams came up with wonderful paintings and overall it was an enriching and fun experience.

Finally, a grand buffet was served and we were given goodie bags from Berger. 

The goodie bag!

I would really like to thank Berger and Indiblogger for gifting us this lovely evening. I hope we have many more such amazing Indiblogger meets in Kolkata in the forthcoming days.

The group pic

A dazzling candle, an inspiration!

You held my hand, showed me new horizons

You were the lighter that ignited the flame in me.

(Image Source: here)

These lines are extremely true for the person who inspires me to be a better blogger with every passing day.

I started the blog Love, laugh and reflect in April, 2014 to just connect with my readers and write about my books. Yes, you heard it right. I was not at all a serious blogger one year back. I was an occasional blogger, whose main focus was writing books. 

Once I wrote a post for Indispire in July, 2014 where the topic was Are people losing the habit of reading? That was the first time when Gaurab Mukherjee visited my blog and commented on my post. Since then, whenever he found a post of mine good enough, he has left an encouraging comment. 

Soon, my second book, The Hidden Letters released and Gaurab was extremely kind to spread the word about my book and review it on his blog. I was a fan of Gaurab’s writing and after reading my book, the admiration and appreciation became mutual.

He was such an intelligent, easy-going, grounded and helpful person that we became good friends in no time. Shortly, he asked me why I do not write for the contests of Indiblogger and Blogadda. I told him that I am a content developer and I cannot manage time. He told me to give it a thought and assured me that I would surely win. I listened to him and wrote for the contests. And surprisingly, I managed to win 4 contests in three months. This definitely intensified my interest in blogging.

Earlier, I was quite reluctant to publish my stories and poetries in my blog as I wanted to save them so that they could be published in some anthologies. Gaurab eradicated my notion by telling me that I am just obstructing my creative expression by thinking in this manner. It made me think deeply and from thereafter, I feel more comfortable publishing my creative writing in my blog than waiting for some anthology to publish them. He encourages me whenever he likes a story or article or poetry of mine without failure. 

Gaurab also helped me to improve the look of my blog, enhance my Alexa Rank and interact with other fellow bloggers. He showed me that blogging can be such an enriching and beautiful experience. Honestly speaking, he made this passionate author a passionate blogger. And today, my blog means so much to me. It is as dear to me as the two books that I have written.

I am a big fan of Gaurab’s writings and I consider him my mentor. His short stories and articles are extremely thought-provoking, honest and soulful. I always look forward to reading them.

Check out his wonderful blogs:

Processing Creativity 

Processing the Life 

Today, I would take this opportunity to express all my gratitude to Gaurab Mukherjee. Thank you, from the core of my heart!

A dazzling candle, that’s what you are

Who don’t hesitate to lit another candle in need

Therefore, you shine brighter everyday

By spreading your light and illuminating people in need.

 I’m blogging for #YouMakeMeWIN to honour  Gaurab Mukherjee who has influenced me and deserves to be nominated at WIN15.