Showing posts with label contest and prompts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contest and prompts. Show all posts

Apr 6, 2014

Was it a trap?

I stood in front of it; mesmerized by how it functioned without flaw…it looked too right. I kept staring for a while before declaring that it was a trap.

My brother looked at me as if I had lost my mind. He, four years older than me, prided himself with knowledge of technology. Whereas, I at the age of five still wasn’t introduced to the term “Science”.

He looked at me with all the confidence and said “just do it”. Then he took my little hand and made me take a step forward.


Half jumping, really scared, even before I knew it, I was standing on a step and the escalator was safely moving.

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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Linking it Wednesday Prompt -11 at Write Tribe.

I am taking part in Ultimate Blog Challenge and A to Z Challenge this month.

Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here

Please take out time to read more about the featured blogger for the month of April here.

Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here.

Mar 24, 2014

The greatest love...

He prided himself with his skill to open strangest locks. Trained by local goons, his skill was now an asset to the country.
So when he discovered Sally’s little box with a cute heart shape lock, he set out to his task. 

He tried to open it for hours. She at last found him, stepped in front and used her little hairpin instead of the key and it opened. Letters from her parents stored inside.

She snapped the box shut saying “the greatest love of all is of parents, and it is so strong that no one can unlock it”.
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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Linking it to Write Tribe's 100 words on Saturday

Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here

Please take out time to read more about the featured blogger for the month of March "Aditi Kaushiva" here.

Also, check out the post by a non-blogger who penned down her feeling.


Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here.

Mar 20, 2014

Millionaire by Chance

My elder brother had taught me to deal in my business. I couldn’t thank him enough ever in my life. But as many realizations come to us late, this also came last year, eight years after my brother died.

I hadn’t seen my father. My brother was all I had. Ten years elder, he was my only parent. He worked with a scrap metal dealer and supported my education. I wouldn’t say I was a bright student.

When I was fourteen and I got into a fight with some kids in neighborhood, at the time when I was supposed to be in school, my brother decided, I didn’t need education anymore. He started taking me to the small store, which by then he had started independently.

School had fed me dreams and I wanted to be a pilot. The small garage turned into a scrap yard was a nightmare. I spent more time dreaming than working.

For years my brother patiently taught me the value of different metals and deals that made bucks. Although I learnt the fine tricks of the trade, my heart was never at work. I picked up several jobs, at times more than one in order to make enough buck to avoid sight of that yard.

My brother worked hard at his business. Even with differences at work, we were really thick together. He supported me and my family while I fancied a good job and end of misery.

At forty, a sudden illness, and my brother could no longer work as hard as he did. I reluctantly joined him.

We then began to deal with gold and other precious metals. Few years in business, my brother passed away and I was left on my own to deal with the business.

A small Easter egg, I bought in a bric a brac market, sat in my shop for long as I tried to fetch a good price based on the costing my brother taught me. To my frustration, I couldn’t find a guy who would purchase it for a decent price. I believed it could give me a profit of few hundreds and was made of some good gold.


However, unable to find a buyer who would melt it down, it sat on my kitchen top. On a dull evening, my inquisitive streak from school kicked in and I tried to google the words engraved in small letters.  

The result was this –



And the rest is history…

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Above is a fictitious account of events that led to finding of the Faberge egg, turning a scrap metal dealer into a millionaire overnight.


Based on Write Tribe's Wednesday prompt # 9

Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here

Please take out time to read more about the featured blogger for the month of March "Aditi Kaushiva" here.

Also, check out the post by a non-blogger who penned down her feeling.


Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here.

Mar 6, 2014

The search for inspiration

For last twelve hours I have racked all corners of my brain trying to search for inspiration, while the inspiration was right there in front of me.

I blog (ha! as if it is a secret) and I blog mostly based on prompts and inspiration from others. Did it ring a bell? Yes, inspirations.

While there are many who inspire me in my real world, there are many who inspire me blogosphere.


Corrine Rodrigues – We all know her. Her blog Write Tribe (this post is also for that na!) constantly keeps supplying us the prompts and other reasons to blog.

Jairam Mohan – His research behind his each post is impeccable. He is my inspiration when it comes to planning and organizing. 

Richa Agrawal – Talk about someone who is active at all fronts. She blogs, reads, travels, manages groups on social networking websites, tweets and keeps bringing new stuff to the table constantly. You can expect her to ping you on whatsapp and remind you about something that has been due for a while.

Sid Balachandran – Have you seen his blog? Quirky, witty, clever, variant and lively.  A person who can manage social networking as well as blog if not better. You can count on him to remind, reply, comment on all posts on blog as well as Facebook. At the moment he is feeling inspiro-confused ;)

Sakshi Nanda – Did you get a chance to read what I told her after she guest posted on my blog? Well read this and you will know why she is inspiring - Thought I should tell you that I am still overwhelmed by your efforts to write a guest post, actively reply, publicize and manage everything else around the post. It was great to have you on my blog :) guest blogger ho to aisa :)

Well there are a few more whose content inspires me (and actually makes me realize how much I need to work) by how well are they researched and formed. But that’s way too long to put it over here.

Lastly to the one whose post was my inspiration to write this post.

Srilakshmi – Her post on the inspiration that came in form of her mother and her sister inspired me to write about those who in their un known ways push me to do better and bigger in the blogosphere.



Mar 5, 2014

Book Review - To kill a mocking bird

I recently finished reading “To kill a Mocking bird” (50th edition) by Harper Lee and the prompt for review has come just in time. Yes, it is astonishing that I had not read this book for so long. But even though they keep telling that don’t judge a book by its cover; I do so more often than not and end up delaying many reads like that.

When I began reading the book, I had to force myself to keep going. I was surprised that how people liked it. But when I shared my thoughts with others, many said that they felt the same thing and I must not give up.


The story revolves around an eight year old girl Scout and her brother Jem. Their obsession with a neighbor who never stepped out of his house was sometime hilarious, sometime boring. As the story goes along, the case of negro alleged for a rape evolves the characters and makes the story gripping.

The second half of the book is so gripping that it was tough for me to put down. A tale so innocent yet so profound, is a wonderful mix which rightly makes it a bestseller for many years.

My rating for book is 4 out of 5.
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Linking it to Write Tribe Festival of words Day 3 and the prompt today is Book review.

Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here

Please take out time to read more about the featured blogger for the month of March "Aditi Kaushiva" here.

Also, check out the post by a non-blogger who penned down her feeling.

Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here.






Mar 3, 2014

A dream that never came true

She had called her father twenty times by the time they reached airport. Her mom reasoned that he must be still in office and they were way too early.

All thanks to her excitement. Her dreams of visiting Disneyland were coming true. Ever since she was four, when she first saw pictures of her cousins visiting Disneyland, it was her dream destination. Twelve years after that, it was finally coming true.

Her mom had surprised her with three tickets to HongKong and Disneyland for her sixteenth birthday.

Everyone teased her that at her age she should have grown out of that childhood fantasy, but it was as strong as ever. Disney was the start to her dream of being an animator and at sixteen she was crystal clear towards her ambition to work for Walt Disney.

They checked in swiftly and waited for her dad to arrive before they proceeded for security. Little more than an hour was left to board their flight.

Her enthusiasm was slowly giving way to worry. Forty minutes to boarding and still no sign of her dad. His phone was now switched off.

Thirty minutes to boarding, they called his office. They explained he was on leave. Twenty minutes to boarding, they passed through security and emigration.

Keeping their fingers crossed, they checked with his colleagues and friends. No one knew where he was.

They were announcing their flight. However, neither of them could move without her father.

Her mom called the driver. He said he had dropped boss at the airport about six hours ago.

The airline staff called for their names.

A message beeped.

Her father had landed in Dubai. He had left them and moved to Dubai for a new life with his girlfriend.

She stood there, weeping. Fully knowing, that she didn't want to visit Disneyland ever in her life.

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This post is written for the Project 365 program at We Post Daily aimed at posting at least once a day, based on the prompts provided.  The prompt for today is "No, Thanks - A destination you would never want to visit and why?".


Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here

Please take out time to read more about the featured blogger for the month of March "Aditi Kaushiva" here.

Also, check out the post by a non-blogger who penned down her feeling.

Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here. 

Feb 3, 2014

The beauty of most beautiful lady

The Vogue had titled her as one of “the ten most beautiful women of the world”.

Maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmata of Jaipur was known for her elegance and beauty. Her petite figure wrapped in chiffon sarees, a pearl necklace that adorned her slender neck created a fashion statement in its own.

A polo player, member of parliament, a woman known for her beauty and brains. Even in her wrinkled face and body that was fighting with diseases and old age, she looked beautiful.

I had seen her in pictures and interview. I also saw her in real. But to me she looked most beautiful when she pinned a good luck badge on my dress, wishing us young girls luck to go out to the world and live our dreams.





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The post is based on Write Tribe Wednesday Prompt 5 She looked most beautiful

Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here.


Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here.



Jan 18, 2014

The little surprise

She walked small apprehensive steps. Scared of the darkness around her, she called out to her family but no one answered.
Frustrated at the fact that no one remembered, she walked to kitchen and got herself a glass of water.
Little did she know that the family was ready to surprise her on her birthday.


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Based on prompt - Little did she know, 55 on Friday by Write Tribe.
Part of Tell a Tale Weekends  on my blog.

Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here.


Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here.

I dropped my shoes

Mom always told me the story of Cinderella and her sandal. She was very pretty. Mom told me she looked like me.

My mom is in snow land now. I miss her but Dad says she is close to us, but we just can’t see her. The new aunty tells me that she will be my mom. But she doesn’t know any stories like my Mom. She lives in the city. She lives with a boy. He is very bad. He broke my doll and twisted my arm when we went for dinner at their place.

Yesterday dad and I came to see my Nani. She lives in hills. Snow land is very close to her house. I asked dad to take me to snow land. We went there today morning.

When dad wasn’t looking, I dropped my shoe there. Mom said that the prince charming had found her shoes in snow land and come to fetch her. I am sure my mom will find my shoe and will come to fetch me.

   

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Based on Write Tribe Wednesday Prompt - 3 provided by Vidya Suri. 
Part of Tell a Tale Weekends  on my blog.

Have you found Shades of Life on Facebook yet? Please check it out here.


Guests are always welcomed at Shades of Life. Drop me a line at sugandha118@gmail.com and I would love to share your thoughts here.

Dec 4, 2013

Flipkart vouchers

What does one do with unexpected vouchers? That was the question put in front of me when I received a mail from Indiblogger. I had won a voucher worth Rs. 1,000 as a runner-up in Smelly to Smiley contest.

Of course the entry for this contest was written long before I decided to not write for any more contests. Prompts are welcome still, but contests are out of my blog space. We will get more on this sometime later.

Anyway, I received this voucher in my inbox and as happy that I was, I was also left in a state of confusion.

Let me put it forthright. I am not an online shopping person. It may sound ancient but that’s how it is. I need to see, feel, try the product before I buy. I need a hundred percent guarantee. I had once bought a pair of shoes over internet, and the number of times I had to go back and forth trying to get a right fit, put my excitement to rest.

Another reason I never shop online is because the unfinished purchases then haunt me wherever I go. I book travel tickets online and I am currently super irritated by seeing Cleartrip in every ad space on every website.

The only exception I have made in past is when it comes to buying a book. When I really need some book which I don’t get at Full Circle (some of you know what full circle is, for others I plan to review it soon), I order it online. But I haven’t come to terms with the idea so far. The whole experiences of being able to pick the book, read the synopsis, flip pages and read paragraph or two, smell the binding glue and scent of the store that has settled within the pages is missed out when I order online.

Hence, after a bit of turmoil, it was decided that books it will be. Here is what I ordered.

-         Sita – Devdutt Pattanaik
-         Dream new Dreams – Jay Paush
-         Countdown – Amitav Ghosh
-         In an antique land – Amitav Ghosh

I received three of them yesterday.

Although, I missed out on the experience, but my wish list was delivered right here on my desk and that elated me no less.


I have another voucher, waiting to be spent and I could use some suggestions. What are your favorite picks for online shopping?


Linking it NaBloPoMo - 


Nov 24, 2013

Girl who introduced me to Gandhi

I once attended a local book club. We met every Saturday and read a chapter or two from the selected book. We then sat and discussed the author and the plot for about an hour. We read classics and non-fictions. Biographies were my personal favorite.

The mission of the group was to encourage more and more people to read. From what I joined as a group of four, it eventually grew to become a group of thirty five. However, as the group grew, quality of books that were read diminished.

Eventually I began to feel frustrated. I had paid up my fee for the year, but I now lost interest. The book club was not helping me any longer. Sloppy mystery books and ugly romances were not my taste.

In particular, I hated a couple of girls who could never comprehend a chapter in one go. I discussed the issue with the coordinators. They requested to join in for couple of more weeks and see if they could help. Rather than agreeing on to the first book that came their way, they requested everyone to get their selections and ask for an open voting.

One by one, each of them were presenting their suggestion. A murder mystery, a raunchy romance, all too boring. I didn’t vote for any. The only girl who was left was the quietest in the room. I sighed.


But when she presented her book, I looked up in surprise. This time, she raised the bar. She presented to us “My experiment with Truth” giving us crisp reasons to read it and gathering maximum vote.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Oct 26, 2013

Where is the A? Winner announced :D

Remember “Where is the A?” I am sure you do. If you don’t I am slightly disappointed but I will still give you the link to go through it, before you continue here. Click here to read “Where is the A?”

Well I had a great fun playing the little game. Didn’t you? Some of you came up with real innovative sentences and others did some highly intellectual write ups.

In last two weeks, I have read through the comments several times, laughing away to glory at the wittiness of the people around me. I loved it and am sure my judge also did.

It is time to announce our winner – there were a couple of guesses but the winning entry is –

“Life goes on without the letter which begins the string of letters just like it never ever existed, not being missed even once while typing out this sentence, induces one to think we need to look into life from other corners.”

It is done by Aswathi Jerome, popularly known as Pins and Ashes. She has a wonderful blog with the name Vaayadi Pennu ;)
  
Well, I don’t let my winners go so easily. Therefore, I have asked Aswathi some questions. Here they are –

1. Why the name Pins and Ashes?
2. We know you have an awesome blog. What is it that you love to blog about the most?
3. Do you have a facebook page that we can like?
4. Do you like reading? Blogs or books, your choice?
5. Your top 5 blogging friends?
6. You top 5 favorite blogs? (if possible, give us the link too.)
7. We know that you are awesome at contests and prompts. Anything that you would like us to write about? (in case you have any I will put up a linky)
8. Why the name pins and ashes?
9. Can we please have the link to your favorite post from your blog.
10. A bit more about family, friends and life off blog, if you like.

I am sure we will soon come back with an answer to above questions.

Aswathi here is your button - *Drum rolls please*






Oct 25, 2013

My love...

Oh those horses were so beautiful. And those landscapes, they were breathtaking. There I was, I was that horseman and fell in love with him. I extended my hand and touched him, traced his smooth jaw and patted his horse.

And then I turned the page and fell in love with a new page again.

The 55 fiction is based on the above photo prompt provided by Vidya Suri on Write Tribe.


55 on Friday #WriteTribe

Oct 20, 2013

The luncheon - A WOW entry

I have always believed that knowledge is divine. I have a compulsive disorder (not medically proven, but I think so) of finding out more about everything that I come across.

I like to know where my food comes from, where my clothes come from, more about the places I like, background of people I like, places I might never visit, new ways, new things, history, plans, etc. and for all of this I have one stop – “Google” the god.

I believe my world will come crashing down if this search engine stops working someday. When I come across something that I need to Google, I can’t wait. My hands twitch and I start typing the key words on my phone irrespective of the place I am (I love my Google more than a dinner date)

So here is something that makes me laugh and embarrassed at the same time. But I found this occasion to share with you all.

I was travelling to Scandinavia, and it was my first trip to Europe. I took a flight from Delhi at about two o clock at night and reached Frankfurt at ten am IST. I was so late for my connection, that I didn’t get a chance to even grab a coffee. I am one of those people who cannot eat or sleep on board, so here I was, without anything for last eight hours.

When I got out of the airport in Bilund, the bus that was supposed to take me to the city was about to leave. The next bus was after two hours. Not used to the chilly wind of November, I preferred to take that bus than to get some food and wait for two hours.

When I reached my hotel, it was about two pm GMT. So basically I had only had some four bottles of water over last seventeen hours and I don’t need to tell you that I was famished.

Hotel denied any sort of room service (and it was horribly expensive) so I, along with a colleague decided to walk down to a restaurant.

The server who came to serve us didn’t know English, and I didn’t know Danish. In some sign language and after seeking help of another customer, I tried to explain my server that I was a strict vegetarian and I didn’t take chicken, meat or fish. He nodded happily and pinpointed to a spring roll in the menu card. I trusted his decision and ordered one.

When the dish arrived it had a lot of greens inside the rolls and even on the sides. I happily finished mine within next two minutes, while my colleague struggled to finish his chicken dish.

However, there was the name of the dish that had stuck with me. The dish was called “kammusling grønt forårsrulle” which translated into scalloped veg spring roll. I believed that scalloped vegetables was a a method of cooking. But remember the Google lover in me? Sadly, my data plan didn’t work on international roaming, so I waited to find more about origin of the name scallop and about this dish when I reached hotel.

As soon as I reached hotel I Google’d the word. And two minutes later I was running to the loo, trying to puke out everything I had just consumed.

My colleague takes pleasure in narrating the incident again and again, and he always ends it by saying that when it comes to food you have already consumed, ignorance is indeed bliss he thought to himself as he saw me trying my best to puke and crying over the new found knowledge.

For those who want to know what happened, the dish is actually called scallop veg spring rolls, and scallop is type of sea food from the oyster family whose meat I had just consumed.

( I found the picture on Google, it isn't exactly how it looked, but somewhat similar.)

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. We give out a creative writing theme each weekend for Indian bloggers.