22 years of going strong

Hugs and Kisses to you my love 

On completing 22 years of accepting each other forever the way we are 

I still remember that fateful night 

That made us accept our hearts’ desire 

I replay it in my mind a hundred times 

And still smile reliving those moments 

How young, how naive were we

But our love knew how to transcend all boundaries 

From that day, till today 

We have weaved our nest inch by inch 

Need I say how fulfilling is this journey 

Let’s be together like this for many more decades and centuries 

Happy Love Anniversary once again sweetheart 

Together we are really going strong 

Respecting and loving each other 

Despite being so different and sometimes even being wrong 

In our every day hustle bustle 

There are many things that go unsaid

So today let me take the opportunity 

Before it is too late 

Thank you for being kind and caring towards me 

For this I will forever remain grateful to you 

Thank you for all the smiles you give me 

For they are the primary reason I feel like living 

I also genuinely want to say 

I am so proud of your accomplishments 

Not many in this world can fulfil their dreams 

Like you have done 

And you may not know 

For I always nag you

But on this earth I am the one who is happiest to see 

the heights that you gradually accomplish 

Of course for the days we fight

I want to delete them from our life’s flash drive 

I honestly don’t like when you get bossy

Because I always know that internally your heart is as soft as wax and I know my Shobhi 

I honestly love you to the moon and back 

And believe you are the best thing that has happened to me in this world 

I would rather not spend life’s journey with anyone else but you

And I love to keep saying you are mine and I love you

The story of my story in The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers

 

First things first, I am really thrilled that my murder mystery(if I can call it one) is published in ‘The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers’ released by Readomania alongside many eminent authors and I honestly feel I got lucky.

My story in the book ‘Secrets of Nandini Rutuja’ is a tale of a reclusive and aggressive teenager who loves lizards. She has lost both her parents and has for long confined herself to a room with zero human contact. She only communicates with lizards and surely hides some dark secrets. Read this thriller and delve into Nandini’s world to fathom the dark truth of humanity.

 The book is garnering good reviews from the readers and I still feel so nervous contemplating every day if my story was good enough, if I would have penned a different plot, or maybe I am not cut out for this genre. The imposter syndrome is real guys and it hits hard.

As some of my reader friends rightfully pointed out, this is the genre they had least expected from me because I am a soft motivator and nonfiction writer mostly aiming at women empowerment and self-improvement. I have become complacent with them and though my straight from heart,  pieces still inspire me, I wanted to walk out of my comfort zone. Thus when Blogchatter announced the entries being open for their forthcoming Thriller Anthology somewhere in March 2023, I let the idea sink in for a few days before I decided to submit my entry.

I went back and forth with my decision before convincing myself that I was taking up this challenge to surprise myself and my readers if my story got accepted by the publishers. Otherwise, it shall be a great learning experience and a worthy trial.

Once I decided I had to think of a plot and my protagonists. This is the only place where my earlier experience helped and also kind of became a hindrance. In the earlier 7 books that I had penned, inspiration mostly occurred to me from 2 a.m. to 4a.m. in a trance-like state that I had developed with perseverance which happened here as well. I have never doubted myself before but what I wanted to attempt here was different. So the fact that I didn’t feel the same confidence pulled me back again and again and that is what was different this time though honestly the love for the written word was still the same.

Finally I started imagining a reclusive,  aggressive, and disturbed teenager and let her character evolve in my brain. I named her Nandini Rutuja and Nandini would advent in my dreams often. How she would love to have a pet Iguana was all shaped up in my brain. One fine morning, after doubting myself for the umpteenth time, I sat down and penned the story in straight fifteen minutes and never changed a word.

I made my family read it and like my audience, they too could not accept I would write something like this. I didn’t think twice and submitted it at the spur of the moment knowing that it was an immature act and that who writes such a story.

In some months I was informed that it was selected as one of the top 15 picks to be published in the Blogchatter Anthology and I wondered what was in it that would stay with the readers. I also feel it was only a naive first attempt and I can really try my hands at much deeper darker murder mysteries and thrillers now. Thankfully you all been generous enough to shower your kind words on this one too and I am only humbled.

This was the story of my story in The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers and now when I look back it was so much fun penning it though honestly I still have butterflies in my stomach every time someone says they are on it now. 

On another note, I have read this book and the stories are so worth a read. I have enjoyed them every bit and they have stayed with me.

I am grateful to Blogchatter for having published them. They are indeed sassy and saucy soaked in different shades of life. I wish them many more literary outings like these in the future. You can order a copy of The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers here.

5 Strong Easy-to-do Ways That Have Prevented Me From Sinking Emotionally In Difficult Times #TrulyYoursEmotionalBlophop

Hello October and my precious people, in this emotional wellness month which also happens to be my birthday month(yes my birthday still excites me), I want to celebrate with you, the joy of being a writer, which gives me wings to express my real honest pure emotions, as much as I want. I attribute my emotional wellness to it. It helps me share my soul with the universe without any fear. The very fact that today I can embrace my emotions is the custodian to the long battle I have had being an emotional person who is known to be vulnerable to the world and who trusts everyone easily. I on the contrary always thought my emotions were my strength. They make me compassionate ever-loving and giving. They also make me cry easily but when my pain peaks my tears dry up like when I lost my mum sixteen years ago. Why does that happen, because we live in denial. I have shared my coping mechanism later in this post, straight from my heart in an endeavor that would help someone in need. 

Why being a best friend of self is Important

 

Life has been a roller coaster for the past few years and I have not been able to catch up with it but I am still trying to show up every day. I put up a brave front almost always and face life head-on as it comes each day. Some days I lose it, even shed tears sometimes but I let it pass in the hope of a better tomorrow because no matter how rosy a picture we paint, this is how life is. In fact, the challenges it poses for us make it worth living. If everything would have happened according to what we desired we may now be able to enjoy them in a real sense. So there is a simple mantra I have learned to live by

.

Life is beautiful, God is kind, take one day at a time 

The difficulties of today may soon melt away and the darkness shall soon give way to sunshine

because nothing else is working for me. From being trained in a Japanese organization where we devoted 70% of our time to planning, I have taken a 360-degree turn to only dwell at the moment. 

You can read my earlier posts in this series here:

1. The Power of Speech

2. 6 Ways to Use Your Internal Strength to Overcome Non-conducive External Factors

3. The Power of Suggestions to help the ones you love, tap the power of their subconscious

4. You Become What Your Mind Thinks Of You

I had a beautiful settled life in Pune surrounded by my students, and my academy, which gave my life meaning. After giving up my dream job in Ikea of Sweden, this is the best thing that has happened to me. I love being a positive change in people’s life and that is what I aim to do with my writings and in my Endometriosis Support Group or whichever way I can. (This is why I am hosting an exclusive blog hop with my friend Rakhi Jayashankar in October which is an emotional wellness month and how I feel emotional wellness and intelligence are most neglected in India).

Life was modest in Pune for a decade and being a girl who thrives on little joys of life, I liked my low-profile life and money never meant anything more than the necessity to survive. In July 2019 I had my major endometriosis surgery and in September 2019 I shifted with my bag and baggage to Delhi. With my students many of whom became my friends for life, I left my life, my heart, and my new home back and was welcomed to the extravagant Delhi with open arms but I could never really fit in and stay mostly confined indoors soaking in my own company. I often ran to spend months in Vadodara Gujarat and Goa whenever I got a chance perhaps because at heart I am a nomad who never really settles at a place.

Though I am proud that in the past year, I have genuinely evolved a lot mentally and in a safe space after a long, yes life is still a battle but the mind manages it mostly. My mind encourages me to go on self-dates where I choose to go to a beautiful cafe or garden and spend time with myself penning beautiful thoughts for my articles or books or penning fiction sometimes sipping my favorite coffee or a Belgian chocolate shake. I don’t plan or strategize anymore, I just dwell in that moment, those 30 minutes to 1 hour that I steal for myself, and then get back to my routine responsibilities.

Of course, I have some friends in Delhi but the way I have started to enjoy my own company is therapeutic, I am genuinely now my own best friend. I love how whenever I have peaceful early mornings to myself, I chant in silence with Alexa or do Yoga. Long nature walks in the jungle behind my home alone listening to old Hindi songs like that in the movie ‘Guide’ or black and white Hindi songs instantly lift me up and make me smile. This is how I secure my mental health during the endo flare-ups I undergo every month so often in the last fifteen years of my battle with endometriosis.

Being my own best friend has healed me and empowered me and this friendship is forever because it has become my guiding light, particularly as I advent in my forties. My writings are not only the softest most earnest pieces of my heart but also they are my channel to share with the world all that I wish it to know and learn from or gain from. This anecdote too was meant to reach all of you. Thank you for taking out time to read me.

If you like what I write, you can grab copies of my seven published works here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny, Empowered Women Empower Women, Soulful Letters On COVID, for My Future Grandchild, I Live to Love You and Soft Strings Of My Heart 

Also, as the founder of the Endometriosis Support and Awareness Group of India, I would love for you to join me in my mission or approach me for any women health-related assistance you seek.

    

Understand your child's internet usage with Happinetz

As parents of the current generation the biggest challenge we face is how to keep our child's internet usage safe and regulated. We understand that the child's internet usage is bound to increase as he or she grows up with the online learning boom and the advent of social media. As a mother of a teenager I hope that he has enough judgment to decide on what content not to click on, which knowingly or unknowingly, he might come across while surfing for online education or for doing his assignments.

When we adults fall prey to the enticing advertisements that keep popping up on our screens, how can we be sure that the innocent kid at the cusp of adulthood might not check out the same out of curiosity? I have always secretly wished for a convenient method to filter what content reached him. My second worry is the number of hours the kids clock on the internet these days. The Internet has become their comfort space not only for studying but also for playing as well as for social interactions.

Today I want to share with you how I have found an innovative solution to the above problems that can regulate my child's internet usage safely as per my desire. I have connected a device known as Happinetz Box to my home router which exhaustively filters all the inappropriate websites and apps from reaching our children when I connect their devices to it through Wifi. In simple words, Happinetz Box provides Safe Internet for Kids by connecting to our home router, wired or wirelessly.

Monitor your child’s internet usage as a guide and not a controller

I am so impressed by this box because it gives us immense flexibility as parents to decide what content will reach our kids on a macro level and at a micro level we can blacklist or whitelist certain websites as per our child's internet usage requirement which can be age specific. I control all of this with the help of the super user-friendly ‘Happinetz App’ on my phone which is my magic wand to understand my child's Internet usage behavior in utmost detail.

Additionally, Happinetz helps us set customizable time slots when our child can access the internet which in the case of younger children can be the discretion of the parents while in the case of teens can be mutually decided. For the time that they are on the internet, we get a real-time report generated of the websites and apps they visited and the time their devices were on the internet. Several graphs and pie charts generated, analyzing the comparative usage help us guide our kids better and enforce discipline amicably because we can show them real data of the time that got wasted on non-fruitful activities.

Exhaustive multi-level filtering system

This is what makes Happinetz stand out. It is not a device for surveillance but for guidance, it helps us teach our children judgment because the sudden onslaught of irrelevant content on the internet can be baffling. Happinetz renders a safe internet environment for them and helps parents get rid of all their worries because they are extremely sure that the two most dangerous categories of adult content and security breach content are always blocked under all circumstances.

Will you believe me if I tell you that Happinetz monitors and tracks more than 110 million websites and more than 22 million adult and malicious websites are blocked by default by it which makes me feel empowered as a parent for I know the strong tech team behind is working for our internet safety 24x7 with its state-of-the-art technology. It has brought so much peace in my life and eased my burden so much just like a 2 a.m. expert friend.

The insights that Happinetz generates for me, showing at length, all the websites accessed by my kid help me open a bidirectional dialogue with my child on the topic of using that particular website to what limits more objectively. This makes him take responsibility for his actions and decide his screen time hours as well. Once he follows it religiously, he gets rewarded with a pick from Happinetz Reward Cardz which rewards him with eleven adorable options to choose from. This gives him a sense of achievement too while obeying rules becomes his lifestyle. Thus I feel every parent must install Happinetz in their homes.

My belief in Happinetz is further reinforced by the fact that it is developed by a set of smart parents (who are also engineers) whom I have known personally for several years and who would launch a genuine innovation to society only if they were 110% sure of its effectiveness. I am so proud of them that they identified this need and burned the midnight oil to give us a solution to the problem of our child’s internet usage which has been a challenge for most of us.

Also, did I tell you that Happinetz is a Mode Based System? It has 3 modes, kid mode, teen mode, and parent mode and each mode appropriately corresponds to a certain age group. Each mode has its own filters and customizable settings to help suit a parent’s needs. No App installation is required on the kid’s device and we can connect as many as 10 devices at a time to the Happinetz box. It is highly adaptable and works on all browsers and devices.

2-step, 5-minute installation of Happinetz

Buying Happinetz is very easy. We can buy it at the link here. They are running a great inaugural discount too. Happinetz comes in impressive packaging which contains Happinetz Box, Power Adapter, Ethernet Cable, Happinetz Reward Cardz, 6-month subscription with access to all features.

Installation of Happinetz is a cakewalk and takes at most 5 minutes in total. We need to plug in a cable between our internet router and the box and power up the box with the adaptor provided. It can also be connected remotely to the router if desired. Next, we install the Happinetz app on our phones and connect our kid’s devices to the Happinetz Wifi after switching off Mac Randomisation on the phones and tablets, for laptops and television sets this step is not needed.

I have found the detailed videos on Happinetz YouTube channel super helpful in answering all my questions. Also, we can ask for real-time assistance on the Happinetz website. I deeply appreciate how they assist us until our last need so that the purpose of Happinetz to give us happiness is served perfectly. Just remember to let your kid’s devices be only on the Happinetz Wifi and all other passwords must be changed and data connection not given to help us gauge the child’s internet usage perfectly.

Once the device is up and running you will be surprised at how easy it is for you to monitor and safeguard your child’s internet usage and feel so free and liberated. Honestly, Happinetz is a perfect gift for us parents, to keep the most important little humans in our lives safe and happy while on the internet, and empowers us like nothing else.

Need I say, I am such a proud Happinetz Parent. What else could have I asked for other than #SafeInternetforKids? I highly recommend it to every parent because Happinetz is the need of the hour. To order it straight away, click here.

OMG2 Review: I am glad the subject of Mandatory Sex Education In India Got Raised

I am a strong advocate of meaningful cinema and really appreciate how Indian cinema is finally coming of age by picking up strong subjects. I generally don’t write reviews of Bollywood movies, barring a few, which I believe need to be talked about and people must be inspired to watch them. Lately, I watched OMG2 because I liked the first installment of the franchise and I had heard that it is about sex education in kids.

I am so glad a sensitive subject like this got picked up and was done due justice to. The movie highlights how a young teenager gets trapped and falls victim to his own ignorance. The movie talks openly about concepts like masturbation and penis enlargement and brings forth a genuinely disturbing situation(being expelled from school) for his naive simpleton parents who lived in Ujjain where even talking about these things was a sin. Obviously, the kid had no education about these and was instigated by his friends to try different things who later shot his video and made it viral.

This movie is about the fight of a father in court against the school, the system that does not teach his child about his own body and its biological processes, and also against those who sell the child cheap drugs and other treatments for the enlargement of his genitalia. He also holds himself responsible for not giving his son the right exposure.

Honestly, this movie is an eye-opener. Even if it is given an A certification by the sensor board, all parents must watch it because it reminds us strongly that our sons and daughters must be given proper sex education, at length, at the right time, for their right growth. All of them must be taught about puberty and reproduction. It makes us realize that the changes in them can baffle them and with wrong answers to their questions on Google or elsewhere they may get misled badly. Many of us know this but don’t know the right way to talk about this to our children but once it is taught in a dignified manner as a proper mandatory part of the curriculum, it can help open a bidirectional dialogue at home too as the kids will not find the subject taboo, only to be talked in hushed voices to peers who themselves may not be sure of several things. 

In India, many feel that openly talking about it is averse to our culture but for the sake of our children, we need to embrace this change at the earliest. Indian Education System must integrate and introduce sex education in all boards as mandatory.

This is precisely the message in the movie and also the need of the hour. No wonder the movie star, Akshay Kumar, who has acted in movies based on some really worthy subjects like Padman, wants this movie to be shown in schools.

Acting-wise, the protagonist, the father is played by my favourite actor Pankaj Tripathi does not disappoint. Akshay Kumar though I felt had hardly 5-6 scenes. Most characters were nice and real and nonflashy. The simplicity and rawness of the characters in the backdrop of the Mahakal devotees community in Ujjain are beautifully weaved as the heart of India is still not modern in their hearts. You most definitely watch this movie and I hope you will definitely agree with me.

If you like what I write, you can grab copies of my seven published works here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny, Empowered Women Empower Women, Soulful Letters On COVID, for My Future Grandchild, I Live to Love You and Soft Strings Of My Heart 

Also, as the founder of the Endometriosis Support and Awareness Group of India, I would love for you to join me in my mission or approach me for any women health-related assistance you seek.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023

You Become What Your Mind Thinks Of You

Yes, we become what our mind thinks of us. I start this post with this powerful and capable statement for I know it is the biggest truth most of us are oblivious to, for the longest time and the sooner we learn to use it in our favour the better it is.

Post my earlier articles of this series on,

1. The Power of Speech

2. 6 Ways to Use Your Internal Strength to Overcome Non-conducive External Factors

3. The Power of Suggestions to help the ones you love, tap the power of their subconscious,

today, I wish to request you to aim high in your life and also think highly of yourself because what our 'mind' thinks of us is what it feeds our 'conscious' with. Like I have said in my previous articles, these thoughts then deeply sink into our 'subconscious' which has immense potential to make it come true if we genuinely believe in it. Our 'subconscious' further interacts with the 'universe' which conspires to make our 'manifestation' of our high aims and our self-worth come true.

This principle holds true whether we are a woman or a child or a man. Let nobody’s wrong notions about you pull you down at any instance. No one knows you like you know yourself and you know best what you want. 

'So, set your aim and let your mind believe that you will achieve it, come what may. Your mind is all capable of granting your wish'

But remember negative thoughts are much more potent than positive ones and can linger in our brain making us uncomfortable and disturbing our mental health. Our first goal, thus, is to free ourselves of all negative thoughts. Trust me when I say this, negativity can cause havoc in an otherwise happy and chirpy person’s life for no reason. Now how to do this, pls stay away from toxic people or any medium like some handles on social media who make you feel negative. 

'Surround yourself with people and things that make you happy and help you pull up and not down'

 This might look difficult at the start but you can do it, I am a live example in front of you. Once you are in the right company of thoughts and your mind is happy, cheerful, and ready to fly high, please take a pen and paper and write down what you desire in life. 

Tell your mind all that you wish to achieve. Let your brain churn ideas to fulfill those dreams, aim high, and get so busy in fulfilling them that nothing else matters and there is no room left for any loneliness or void or any negative thoughts that one experiences. Tap the power of your mind in your favor. I repeat you become what your mind thinks of you. It can help you sail through the most difficult times without losing your composure like a breeze. I have faced all of these really hard in my life to have discovered what really helps after a lot of research and self-introspection. You can reach out to me anytime if you need help. 

Our mind is all-powerful, it controls every single organ of our body through its subconscious. It can help us tap our inner strength that we ourselves might not know would have gone dormant. I personally know people who have tapped the power of their subconscious mind to cure themselves of diseases and pain completely. So, start working on training your mind today.

In this series, in my forthcoming posts, I shall write to you about the most powerful manifestation tools available to mankind. 

If you like what I write, you can grab copies of my seven published works here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny, Empowered Women Empower Women, Soulful Letters On COVID, for My Future Grandchild, I Live to Love You and Soft Strings Of My Heart 

Also, as the founder of the Endometriosis Support and Awareness Group of India, I would love for you to join me in my mission or approach me for any women health-related assistance you seek.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023