The Red Heart

As the last week of January arrives, we can feel that love is in the air. The gift shops, restaurants and malls get embellished for the Valentine’s week and the more specifically for the Valentine’s Day. The red hearts look beautiful all around and it can transcend anyone into a romantic mood, even if the person is a hardcore workaholic. 

Valentine’s Day is a perfect day to propose a person you have a crush on. The mood and ambiance of the day makes the setting romantic and ideal. A Valentine’s Day proposal should definitely be thoughtful, creative and romantic. If I am going to propose my crush on the Valentine’s Day, my proposal will surely be crazy and fun-filled which can surprise him and make him blush uncontrollably with happiness. Since I am a little crazy, I would love to see my crush smile and blush with my proposal. (And did I mention: My crush has a dimple too?) So, I would try my best to make him flash his dimple often and go totally pink on Valentine’s Day. Because I believe the more zany the proposal, the more romantic becomes the Valentine’s Day.

Here is what I have thought about surprising my crush on the Valentine’s Day. I would click plenty of pictures of my crush on these days whenever I am hanging around with him. I have to complete my task of clicking the pictures before the Valentine’s Day. I will then make a collage of all his pictures. The collage will be heart-shaped. Then I will print the collage and conceal it with a red heart-shaped paper. I will ensure that the heart-shaped paper will be of the same size of that of the heart-shaped collage. On the top of the red paper, I will write the message: Flip the cover to see how my heart looks like.

(Image Source: all-free-download.com)

On the day of Valentine’s Day, I will meet him at a coffee shop and will tell him: You wanted to know who I am thinking about these days. Here is your answer. Please don’t get startled. Saying these words, I will hand over him the red heart. His face would be full of doubts and I will carry a serious expression so that I don’t spoil the surprise.

I am sure as and when he will flip the red cover, his face will be full of smiles. I would love to see him mush out completely with the sudden proposal. I won’t let that smile fade and when he will look into my eyes, I will sing a few lines of the romantic song “Truly Madly Deeply” by Savage Garden to intensify the romantic ambiance. Since I know that he loves to hear me sing, a romantic song in my voice will complete the proposal beautifully. 

I hope the Valentine’s Day gets special for both me and my crush with this proposal. Can’t wait for the Valentine’s Day!

For more such crazy proposal ideas, visit: http://cupidgames.closeup.in/

This post is written for a campaign by Indiblogger in association with Close-up Cupid Games.

The Great Indian Litterbug (TGIL) speaks

(Picture source: http://greatindian.timesofindia.com/)

Interviewer: Tell us, how are you feeling today to be called “The Great Indian Litterbug”?

TGIL: I never wanted to be ordinary, you know. I always wanted to grab all the attention of the world. And today when I see the country knows me by the name The Great Indian Litterbug, I feel so proud of myself and for all my deeds.

Interviewer: How did you embark on this journey, Mr. TGIL?

TGIL: Well, where should I start from? Hmm…let me start with my school days. Mom used to give me bread and bananas for lunch break and I got an uncanny happiness in throwing the banana skins all over the classroom, escaping everyone’s eyes. Some days my classmates used to slip on the banana skins and some other days the teachers used to have a great fall. I used to laugh my heart out and started understanding the fun of littering.

 

Interviewer: That was an amusing incident. Well, any memories of college days, Mr. TGIL?

TGIL: Ah! Yes. There are plenty of them. I became a Romeo in my college days and used to scribble the names of my love interest in the bathroom walls, in the classroom desks and the classroom walls. Later, I also started writing lyrics of Bollywood songs wherever I noticed a clean white wall. You see, I made so many women smile by this action. I feel so proud.

Interviewer: Do you have anything to say about the Swachh Bharat Campaign?

TGIL: It is a funny campaign. I think in this selfie era, people want to take a selfie with the broom and so they have named this selfie-taking campaign the Swachh Bharat Campaign. 

Interviewer: So, you don’t take this campaign seriously?

TGIL: Are you serious? If people think that great fellows like me will stop urinating on walls or stop spitting on roads, then they need a psychiatrist for sure. How can we afford to destroy our talent just like that? This took so many years of perfection and now they want us to adopt cleanliness.

Interviewer: How tough is the competition to be the best Indian litterbug?

TGIL: You won’t believe how intense the competition is in every city. Every city wants to produce the best Indian litterbug. I am so happy that I could make my city proud by achieving the title of The Great Indian Litterbug.

Interviewer: Congratulations! What were the special things that you did to achieve this prestigious title?

TGIL: See, I made sure to empty my bladder in the road every time. Even when I was lazing in my home and the pressure started building on my bladder, I walked outside and urinated in the open. The fun obtained in urinating in the open air is incredible. Then, I threw the garbage of my home in the open road everyday so that the street dogs could play with something and the crows could peck at something. (See! I am so charitable!) Apart from this, I also did with true devotion all the general stuff that the other litterbugs do like throwing away fruit skins, water bottles and wrappers on the road.

Interviewer: You will be providing a great challenge to the Swachh India Campaign. We would be waiting to see who wins in the race.

TGIL: Do you have a doubt? Of course, I and my fellow followers will.

P.S. This post is my humorous take on The Great Indian Litterbug.

It is written for #TheGreatIndianLitterbug campaign of Times of India in association with Indiblogger.

You can find out more about The Great Indian Litterbug here: http://greatindian.timesofindia.com/.

Is laundry only a woman's job?

76% of Indian men feel, laundry is a woman’s job. Well, is laundry only a woman’s job? Definitely no. And neither is cooking nor doing the dishes or raising the kid. 

More than 2/3rds of Indian women feel, there exists inequality at home, between men and women. In today’s world, when men and women are both financially independent and both have careers and jobs, then why there should be any inequality with doing the household chores?

When I glanced at the statistics that emerged in Ariel’s survey, I was not exactly shocked but was extremely dismayed.  85% of working Indian women feel they have two jobs, one at work and another at home. And as I contemplated about the statistics, the shouts and arguments of my neighbor came to my mind. 

My neighbor is a newly married couple. The girl and the guy loved each other since their college days and finally got married last year. Both of them are software engineers and they leave the house for office around 9am every day. The girl wakes up at 6am and prepares the breakfast and lunch. They return around 8pm and after that, the girl again gets back to preparing dinner and doing the laundry. The guy just sits in front of the television without ever extending a helping hand. The girl gets frustrated and indulges in a squabble frequently. I can hear them shouting at each other most of the days. There is hardly any harmony in their home. When I asked the girl why she does all the household chores, she replied that her husband cannot cook nor do the laundry. Once or twice she asked for help but watching how miserable he was at those tasks, she let him watch television or laze around. More than 2/3^rds of Indian men prefer to watch TV than to do the laundry.

I feel that this is the most irksome excuse that a husband can give for not helping his wife: that he cannot cook or he cannot wash the utensils or he has never operated the washing machine. There is a thing called learning. Even if he hasn’t done in the past or doesn’t know certain things, he can surely learn it up rather than being so nonchalant.

Especially when a woman is physically not well and is still expected to do the household chores, it is objectionable. Since childhood, I have always seen my Dad cooking and doing the laundry whenever required.  Every man must be brought up with the upbringing that there is nothing wrong or humiliating in doing the household work. If a woman can play the role of an earner along with homemaker, then why a man cannot be a homemaker along with being an earner?73% of married Indian women feel a man prioritizes relaxing over helping with household chores.  

When a married couple divides the household work and helps each other in every aspect, the relationship becomes profound and the couple looks more endearing. I have seen that the couples who cook together and do the other household work together are so much happier and content in their lives. The harrowing feeling of inequality is not there in their homes and so there are hardly any complaints against each other. There is a breeze of harmony prevailing in such homes.

77% of Indian men depend on women for doing the laundry. At least every man should try to wash their own clothes and not depend on the woman for laundry. He should also know a little bit cooking so that if the woman feels sick, there won’t be any problem. Feeling that laundry and cooking is a woman’s job won’t make any man sound or look great. Instead of sticking to prejudices, he must shed the false beliefs. A true gentleman is someone who helps his wife in raising the kids and in the everyday household work. A true gentleman believes his wife to be his equal and treats her in that manner.

“I am writing for #IsLaundryOnlyAWomansJob activity at BlogAdda.com in association with Ariel.”

Self-discovery: Journey from "Or" to "And"

We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.”
― C. JoyBell C.

This quote holds very true for me. I will tell in this post how. I did my graduation in microbiology despite having an insatiable passion for literature. My favorite subject was English in school days and I always dreamt of becoming a writer. I have loved taking part in the creative writing competitions and my teachers also thought I should study English. I got English (Honors) in Presidency College but my relatives told that I should study Science as it has better job prospects. 

I was naive and thought that studying science would be better. I enjoyed my subject thoroughly but my inner voice always tried to convey me some message which I rudely ignored. When I was in my third year, I realized how unhappy and unfulfilled I was. It was not because I hated my subject though the long practical hours used to irk me but the thing was that I was feeling confined to only identity: a student of microbiology…an aspiring microbiologist. That’s it! 

Despite having a wide range of interests and hobbies since childhood, I could focus on none of them as my studies used to cost me all my time. I couldn't even read books that time apart from my academic books. The long hours of practical classes were also messing up with my health. Finally, I decided that I won’t continue my Masters in Microbiology. While I was preparing for the entrance examination of MBA, I decided to write my first book. I was petrified and apprehensive as in the last three years, I haven’t even written a journal. It was extremely tough in the beginning.

 Relatives and neighbors used to tell me that I took an extremely wrong decision. They were shocked to learn that I was not doing masters in Microbiology. They ridiculed me telling that I am totally directionless and wasting my Dad's money. They used to tell me, “You won’t get a publisher. You are just wasting your time.” Some used to say, “Why do you read so many books? What are you getting out of it?” Some others used to say, “You are totally lost. You were such a good science student. God knows from where this inclination for art and literature crept in your mind.” 
 

I ignored all these people who were constantly being an obstacle to my self-discovery. Honestly, I also didn't know if I had it in me to become an author and a writer. However, I followed my heart and tried to polish my craft every day. That helped me to carve an identity for myself.

When I was doing the Marketing Internship in Outlook, I realized that it was not my cup of tea. That was the time when people used to tell me "Just take a decent job and concentrate on that. Why are you so unsatisfied with everything? You have written a book and now forget about it. You can't follow your dream and also earn a decent living." 

I was disheartened by such remarks but I didn't let it affect me.That is when I started learning about SEO optimized content writing, editing and copy writing. That has become my profession today. It became possible because since the last 2 years, I kept on polishing my craft. A lot of reading and writing helped me to follow my dreams and earn my living simultaneously. I could also give time to a variety of hobbies that were left abandoned for a couple of years. 

There was a time when I could only see darkness around me. I was skeptical if I was capable of anything but following that inner voice helped me discover light at the end of the tunnel. I learned that only when you dare to leave your comfort zone, you would be able to discover your hidden potential.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
― Aristotle

I am glad that I could realize my inner calling. It’s said that all human beings are send with a gift from the Almighty. Understanding your gift and using it to your fullest potential is the purpose of life.

I am still unpacking my gifts and I wish when I leave this earth, I would be able to use all my gifts to the fullest potential.

Now I am an author and content developer and blogger and singer and book reviewer and poetess. 

This was my journey from “Or” to “And”.

It's me at Henry Island, a beach located few kms away from Kolkata

You must follow your heart and #UseYourAnd There should be no space for “Or” in life. 

“This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus“.