A #PlayDate to Remember, with Dove and Indiblogger

May 25, 2014 9 Comments

Bloggers meet are always enticing, for it enables you connect with fellow bloggers and know the faces behind the names. Whereas Indiblogger meets are most delightful and a source of inspiration and aha, aspiration. They just get better by the day and beautiful by the evening. #Applause

One such meet was #DovePlay organized by the ever efficient, ever effervescent team of Indiblogger, on "Mother's day", 11th May 2014 at JW Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai.

If that is not special enough and if you may wonder, what made it special? Well first of all, it was an all "women" meet. Bah! it was not just a meet where you enter, attend some presentations, grab a grub, get some leftover T or "7% off on shopping of 2k" types gift voucher, say hi to few people and catch a taxi and go back home. Naaaah! It was none of the cliche that you can associate it with. It was actually a "Play Date" wherein Dove called all female bloggers [some even were flew in from different cities], indulged them in a day long fun, interesting games, pampered them with lovely haircuts and hair styling, made them gyrate their happiness on dance floor with DJ, eat-drink-be merry and drop home smiling with lovely goodie bags as token of appreciation, love and creating happy remembrance of the day. Waaah!

Interesting? Awe-inspiring? Aha...So, you wanna know all that we do on "A date to remember"? well sing along and yeah shake that biscuit baby...

A Date to remember
One fine day, I got an invitation in my inbox
What I read next was a rumble in bronx.
Indiblogger and Dove has organized a playdate
on 11th May at Mumbai JW Marriott

I reached the venue
in my "whites" and sound
and in the lobby some interesting folks I found.

Vineet, Karthik, Nandita & Renie,
And Sea of bloggers, Oh I knew so many!

Lo and behold, everyone's invited
bloggers from Mumbai, B'lore, Delhi, Kolkata
all got united

meeting everyone was so much fun
we completed registrations
and were on the run


Dress code was white
and the venue was bright
Selfie studio, photo booth,
colorful hats & glasses, were such a delight


Enter the Bandwagon
and get yourself seated
Wines were served
and with good snacks, bloggers were treated.

I saw one girl with multi color on her head
Pat another, with streaks of red

Here Here

and  Here 

Dove is the secret for this ladies' magical layers

Let's get to know each other
Time for Introduction but no boring lectures
All female bloggers Bindaas and Preen
were divided in a group of thirteen


















Together we play, together we run,
together we bonded, webbed a spun

Along came #Zumba, Along came Fun
Along came bloggers, one on one





Post the warm up session, the play date begun
we ran around the halls, for there were games to be won

Dove Zigsaw puzzle, Hoola Hoop,
Basket the ball and hair style in group

  


If that was not enough,
we were send to pool
To learn tips of bar-tending
and test our tool

Wines , margherita, Martini n Vodka
13 bloggers tried their magic totka

Haste no buddy, no worry but drool
as Dove got some hairstylist
to tend your hairs n style it cool

The day was lovely and evening got fonder
Dinner made its way, with live pasta counter

Soon all the bloggers hit on the floor
when DJ started playing, they wanted some more

Team Indi took all the request
with love and grace
hearts were filled with laughter and
smiles got wider grimace

Pose, click and shoot
Print your picture and untie your boot
for the joy was splendor and event a great fun
results were declared and prizes were won.

Memories were created and pictures were shared
For women felt lovely and being well cared



Behold my friend, for this is no end
how can you forget Indi team's "return gift" wala trend

Girls can't stop ravishing in hush and gags,
Surprise in waiting was the goodie bag
Indi T Shirt, Dove Hair clips
Shampoo and conditioner
and a hair straightener from Philips!!



That was not all that we took
but carried some good memories,
like roses in our book.

Indiblogger team, you surpass your own gleam
and get more better, stream after stream
If I have to choose that one meet
it will be #DovePlay that tops my Tweet!

You are like the rose that fragrances my hands, every time I touch.
You do things like those sweet remembrances that I cherish so much!

Much Love,

Ekta Khetan AKA Numerounity
________________________________

Aha! and my Dove Song [ a new era of swan song] doesn't just stop here.
Here's a cool collage of those unsung heroes out there.

Renie, Vinit, Nihal and Karthik
Nandita, Swati, Diana and dear Anup.
Let's start a new game, network and loop.



___________________________

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My Cricket Pick with TxtWeb

May 18, 2014 4 Comments


Cricket is Craze, Cricket is Daze that do not Faze...Cricket is a maze that set a traveler ablaze n engage. Cricket is a Rage!  Yes, India is a cricket crazy nation and I should be telling you something that you do not know. Awesome. Well, I intend to do exactly that. For India is a cricket crazy nation  but yours truly never liked any sports other than soccer and Lawn tennis in her life so far.


I even bore the constant zap zap of formula 1 season in India and men, must say that I did not enjoy it beyond a point. But Cricket? Oh no, I never liked that sport, even though an entire generation at my home, neighborhood, office, college, city and say entire country was going gaga about it and how.

I still did not buy the notion except the fact that as a marketer, it gave me one good medium to plan and execute my ad campaigns around it.

And one day, the inevitable happened and I, yours truly, not just sat through an entire cricket match but watched it with bated breath. Well cricket does that to you. It grows on you. Leg by leg, arm  by arm, wide by wide, ball by ball, catch by catch and yes off course, boundary by sixer.

It started when I got an exclusive invite for the day long ceremony of Sachin Tendulkar's Farewell- "Salaam Sachin" in Mumbai. Well if Cricket is a religion in India, then Sachin Tendulkar is the God! The conference, needless to say was filled with cricketers around the world. Though the detailed discussion on leg cut, off spin, midriff etc did not make much interest to me, what got me glued was the emotions in air that traveled across Nariman Point to this "Nari's man". Point hai mate!

Post that I watched couple of match [forced] with my friends and must stay that I started loving it. The sense, the tension, the nos, the moving overs, the gliding bats, the striking runs, the amazing catches, the damn it drop, all of them made me bit away my nails, sit glued to the TV screen and relish the sports that I never found sporty indeed.

Cricket, Premier Leagues and My Fav Team Rajasthan
There 's one thing that every cricket fan [read every Indian] will swear by in this country and one across borders. Yes, the legendary India Pakistan match. Apart from the xcitement, I felt these matches brings many many negative vibes between the already erring, at loggerheads countries. I once wondered that what if instead of playing against each other, if these layers play together? would that harness more positive energies and bring peace? May be a certain Mr. Modi [not the #NaMo wala] heard my heartspeak and came up with the brilliant concept of Cricket Premier League.

So when Premiere League came, along premiered many Bollywood Stars with their own team. Being in Kolkata, the obvious choice was Kolkata Team but then the hidden Rajasthani in me rise it's head royally and got me totally hooked onto them for entire season, season after season. It is a club built on strength, courage and fighting prowess. The Royal brand stands for its resilience, intensity, commitment and "never say die" attitude like true Rajputana warriors from the brave land of Rajasthan.


So, my favorite team is "Team Royally Rajasthan". They earned my first attention not cause I belong to Rajasthan, nor does the lovely Ms Shetty who is the owner of the team. The team was full of game, glitz, glamour and gossip and offered all round entertainment...Yeah "Mano-Ranjan" ke "maai-baap". From Shilpa's svelte figure to the swing of the ball on match, their bowling prowess, batting seductress, "fielding" energy and above all sportsmanship. They got me hooked, booked and glued to my TV [a trait that I generally hate doing]. Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Stephen Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Iqbal Abdullah, Kevon Cooper, Rahul Tewatia, Karun Nair are few names of this formidable team.



Their team spirit, energy, raring to go indeed came handy and Voila, before India could bat an eyelid, this team batted , bowled and caught their efforts to Victory! Great Show team.. and it wasn't a one time victory or luck by chance but their consistence performance has kept them in top rung, series after series. This year they are on top 3 slot.

And while I write this post, the charmers won their Thursday, May 15th match by 62 runs...Voila...Balle Balle or should I say "Khamba Ghani" Victory!

Shane Watson, Smith, Faulkner are just names that can send cold sweat in opponents' spines. It is not just Aussies who rules the roost in RR but the presence of former Indian Skipper Rahul "the wall" Dravid as the team mentor who keeps the team going, charged, energized and "Live your dream", the logo of the team.

The Grand OZ Heist on Thursday May 11th
Team RR is a mystery, an enigma. Full of life and still intriguing. For it aims to give the best of cricket, best of game and best of sports. Who but RR could have done this. On 11th May 2014 they have done the unexpected. Faulkner and team stole the show with their 190+191 =381 runs in Chinnaswamy, making the opponents Bangalore Babu bite the dust. Tsch.. "Persistence" is another laurel that my favorite team posses.



Let me remind- Faulkner, when played last time in Bangalore, scored the fastest ODI 100 for an Australian. Indeed the soil of India, indeed the sportsmanship of James Faulkner and indeed the team spirit of RR that creates such a magic and make cricket premier league interesting. The Mayhem they created in last 6 overs- 14,4,21,23,21...and Voila...Victory was theirs.

Though I surely missed Yuvi playing for RR but then players like Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair kept the flag high and ensured that the match unfold a dream for all the viewers.

Now that is what cricket is all about. Excitement, mail biting excitement, turn of the game at every single stroke, creating frenzy in stadium alike as for viewers watching from home or outside like malls. Here's demonstrating their fan following and and ability to make matches interesting from the shot that I clicked at the huge Infinity 2 mall at Mumbai Suburb Malad.





These are the stuff dreams are made of. Even though when cricket League stopped enticing as much as it did, there's one team, one match that made people swarm a mall like flies on a weekday to catch glimpse of an otherwise written off match.

Isn't that amazing? Well cricket lovers, what are you waiting for. Raise your voice and say-

No Jhol but Halla Bol

For Team RR will return back on 19th May 2015 at Sardar Stadium to play against Mumbai team... Whoever wins, one thing you can be sure. My team will not let you down. My team is Royal, my team is Royally Rajasthan!

_____________________________________________________
So what if you cannot watch the match at stadium? txtWeb brings you a host of apps and best of cricket fun at the comfort of your mobile. To know more, read below and yes do cheer for RR and Numerounity!

This Cricket Season, look no further than txtWeb on your mobile to capture the best Cricket fun.




  • Get Cricket scores on the go, SMS @cri to 51115 
  • Catch up on cricketing action SMS @highlights to 51115
  • Enjoy latest cricket news  SMS @crinews to 51115
  • Be your own cricket star SMS @superover to 51115
  • LOL with Navjot Singh Siddhu SMS @sidhu to 51115
 Valid on  Airtel, Vodafone, Idea & Tata. Upto Re 1/SMS 

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Play Mother's Day Contest #ThatsWhatMomSaid with #iNumerounity

May 11, 2014 , 0 Comments

Guess who is the one who is who with from the time you wake up to the time you sleep? Shadow? No... House helps? No...Your mobile? well not with everybody..Then?

Ok, another clue...who is the most important part of your formative years?

Your friends? Umm they keep on changing... Your teachers? The change more often too.. Your health drink? hahaha no..not in every case?

Third clue- Who knows you better than anyone else?
Your Mirror? Naah! Your Banking partner? Oops no...Your spouse?  No way... Yourself? Not really.

Last Clue- whose love is most pure and unconditional?
Your Internet guy? Must be joking... Your expensive maid? whaat never! Your mobile phone? Well it's battery drain sooner than you can imagine

Hmmm... The answer is - Mother, your mom! Your constant companion, the one who knows you better than you, your most reliable partner and off course, the one who loves you purely and unconditionally too!

Mother works very hard for us. And to say that we celebrate "Mother's day" only once a year to comemorate her "round the clock", unpaid, devoted, unparalleled, non stop contribution to our life, is little too less. Well, however I say that even if you take time out for this one special day for your mother, I am sure, the trend will grow and we will value our mother more, each passing day, each coming sunray. Every sunshine, in all gaiety and dine.

Enough said. Let me share a video with you that I stumbled upon youtube this morning. Lets have a look.


Well this video reminded me of so many things that my own mom says. The "Jaldi, Jaldi" is actually her next fav mantra post her morning prayers. I can so much relate to this and am sure you too can.

If you do and if there's that one special one liner that mom mouths, do share it here- http://thatswhatmomsaid.in

Who know if you can be among top 3 people to win a 10K voucher here? May be that is a way we can take part, win, splurge and make a memorable "Mother's day" for our mom.

Yes, you can select your own templates, moments, upload images of your's and your mom's and tell us the things she says. Not just that, you can also make and share a "Mother's Day's" card for her here. So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up! I am waiting for your responses and yes, I will be seeing thema ll too there. Happy participating!

Also, Happy Mother's Day to all the MOm's in this world and some above as well. I hope one of you is listening me out too :)
___________________________________

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Beinteha - A Poem in Urdu

May 08, 2014 , 2 Comments


तेरे ख्यालों से महकी 
यह वादियाँ मेरे मन की 
तेरे इशारों से खिल उठी 
मुरझायी कलियाँ मेरे निशांत - ए -चमन की 

कि आ जाए तू आज़ कहीँ से खनक के 
तो चहक जाए यह गलिया जीव-ए -गुलशन की 

तेरी जुस्तज़ू में बैठा , तेरा दीवाना 
तेरे तस्सवूर की आस लगाए 
खाक हो जाने को बेक़रार ,
मुज़तर, मुशताक तेरा परवाना 

आरज़ू- ए -दरख्तो को इस क़दर ना सुलगा 
मुक़्क़बिल कर इश्क़् को, बढ़ने दे बेइन्तहा 


अपनी मशरूफ़ियत से कुछ फुर्सत लम्हे निकाल 
कि ग़ालिब दीदार हो जाए तो कुछ बात बने 
दिल के इस पुराने लाल घर में,
उन्स की बहार आ जाए, तो कुछ बात बने। 

__________________________________________
बेइंतहा = Immense
___________________________________________

I love Urdu language as much as I love Hindi and English.For me there is no sweetest language in the world than Urdu. Urdu is "lafz" aka "words", Urdu is "Lihaaz" aka Respect, Urdu is "Uns" Aka Love.

This poetry is from my limited collection of Hindi-Urdu basket. Hope you will like it. Do lemme know your feedback.
________________________________________
इंग्लिश ट्रांसलेशन 

your thoughts fragrant, the meadows of my heart
your expressions bloomed back again, those dull buds
that grows in the garden of my heart......

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The Page Will Turn

May 04, 2014 , 14 Comments

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 46; the forty-sixth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Courtesy; Magpie tale

This chair has wings of vulture,
laden with ladles all over
Ladles that adds nothing to beauty
ladles laden with heavy bureaucracy

Behind the ladles, middle the seat
lies a device, if you can see

The eye that sees via it's "circle"
an invisible mouth that do not speak
but daggers the tongue behind the wings
The wings of Vulture

The wings should set you free
The chair needs to reinvent
itself and the entire nation

awake and await
The page will turn
A new Page will turn

Nepotism and Red tap-ism
need to be clipped
they encroach like the vulture's wing
gulps, usurps and swings

The voices have began to emerge
and chair would need to change
Let the freedom
finally beget
let this nation celebrate

The page will turn soon
Politics need to change its face
The powerful chair needs a haul
it needs renewal & upgrade.

let God set this sail.
O' rays of light, dawn upon my nation
Give my country a new hope of dawn
a new sunshine, glory & jubilation

[This year, in all its likelihood, a page will turn in the book of Indian politics. The downfall of Congress, or rise of Common Man AKA AAM Aadmi Party [AAP] or BJP gaining momentum with it's #Abki baar Modi Sarkar campaign will see a more flourishing space in politics, winning more seats. Time will tell. All I pray, my dear lord, let my nation stay awake.]
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Participation Count: XX


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Book Review: Rafa Dalvi reviews "The Other Side"

May 04, 2014 2 Comments


Title: The Other Side
Author: Faraaz Kazi, Vivek Banerjee
Publisher: Mahaveer Publishers
Genre: Horror
ISBN: 9789350880760
Price: INR 150

Pages: 320

Blurb:
"A slow rasping sound made me turn. I jumped back, the cell phone leaving my hands and smashing against the concrete floor. Someone was seated on the chair, rocking back and forth. Through the fallen light, I could see those hands placed on the arms of the chair, two gruesome wrinkled limbs with ugly boils plastered over the black skin. The red bangles on its wrists shone in my eyes, momentarily blinding me. That thing and I call it a thing because I could sense it wasn't human as no human could have such a hideous form, as vile an existence as the one seated opposite to my horrified self."
From a honeymoon in the hill that goes horribly wrong to an obsessed lover who wants his first love in life and in death; From a mentally deranged man who collects body parts of various women to stitch together his dream girl to a skeptic who enters a mansion of horrors to win a bet and much more, this book is filled with scenarios that are guaranteed to give you goose bumps and sleepless nights.
'The Other Side' is a collection of thirteen tales of the paranormal; a world that our eyes refuse to see, our ears deny hearing and our senses ignore the feel of. This is a book for someone who is brave enough to take up this invitation to journey through uncharted waters along with the authors, who were inspired by some bizarre experiences to pen down this work where the lines of reality have been blurred by the footsteps of imagination.
Each story takes you on a tour de force of unadulterated horror and draws upon the deepest fear in the human mind- the fear of the UNKNOWN!

Review:
Faraaz Kazi and Vivek Banerjee team up to pen down an anthology of thirteen (spooky number isn’t it?) horror short stories. Each story is independent and the plot isn’t related to each other in any way.
The cover of the book is very apt and really suits the genre, giving the readers a peak as to what to expect from the book. The selection of quotes before every story is very good and adds a lot of flavor.
The anthology is well-written with good narration and interesting scenes. There are many instances in the book that would succeed in spooking the reader and making the body hair erect. The reader will have no problem in believing the unbelievable.
Moreover, the prelude and the epilogue are unique with the authors Faraaz and Dr. Vivek being the protagonists in them and the authors deserve a pat on their back for thinking this through. The epilogue provides the perfect end to this scary book. Overall, it promises a fulfilling read. I hope the authors write a sequel and continue the good work.

Rating:
Prelude: 4/5
That fateful night: 3/5
The long weekend: 3.5/5
The man who did not fear: 2/5
Strangers in the night: 2.5/5
The muse comes calling: 4/5
The lady in the pub: 2.5/5
A mother’s love: 3/5
Red Bangles: 3/5
The Mark of the Beast: 3.5/5
The Mystery Lake: 2.5/5
Possession: 3.5/5
Unfulfilled Desires: 3/5
Dream Girl: 3.5/5
Epilogue: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Author’s Bio:

Faraaz Kazi
The recipient of the YCOF National Excellence Award and the winner of the National Debut Youth Fiction Award 2013, Faraaz Kazi is also called as 'The Nicholas Sparks of India.' A certified soft-skills trainer and a three-time post grad, Kazi operates his own academy in Mumbai and is the Founder and CEO of DigiImprint Solutions, a social media agency for personal and corporate brands. He also consults for a few public relations firms and publishing houses. He is fondly referred to as 'The Young Marketer' and operates a revolutionary blog with the same name and writes for major media houses.
Kazi is a fellow member of the esteemed 'Film Writers Association of India'. 'Truly Madly Deeply', his debut mainstream romance novel is the only Indian book to be nominated in seven categories of the Goodreads annual readers' choice awards, apart from being the first Indian novel to win the 'Best Debut (Romance)' during the same awards and is also the only Indian book in the 'Top 100 YA Global Fiction' list. He is a voracious reader and counts singing as his second love. He is one of the most highly followed figures on social platforms from the literary world. He can be reached at contact@faraazkazi.com. To know more about him do log onto faraazkazi.com. Of course, he does 'face' books and 'tweets' when he is not speaking.

Vivek Banerjee
Vivek Banerjee is a pediatrician by choice and a writer by chance. His debut novel The Long Road, which was well received by the readers, was published by Cedar- an imprint of Pustak Mahal in December 2010. He has contributed short stories to Chicken Soup for Indian Doctor's Soul (Westland), Shades of Love (Grapevine India), Kaleidoscope (Parlance publishers) and Shades of Sin (APK Publishers) and litizen.com. He blogs at drvbanerjee.blogspot.in/. You can mail him at drvbanerjee@gmail.com

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This book review is for a special friend [yes] Nimi Vashi from Reader's Cosmos and special for many reasons. One, it is a first ever a "guest post" on blog from a dear blogger friend Rafa Dalvi, he blogs at http://rafaadalvi.blogspot.in/ [do visit his blogs for some wonderful short stories n reviews] and we both attended the Book launch in Mumbai together.  

Thank You Rafa.

Fellow Readers, if you are interested to write a guest post for numerounity, do write to me.

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