My Look Up Story

While the search for a house to rent or buy has almost always been a cause of much stress to most of us, it is heart-warming to see real estate portal housing.com adding a touch of humaneness to the process. Their Look Up stories talk of optimism in not just the 'housing' domain, but also focus on the importance of positivity and optimism in making the world a better place to live in.

While browsing through their website, I couldn't help going back in time and reminiscing about the days when I needed a huge shot of optimism to wade through the waves of pessimism I was stuck in. There are times when we are so down and out and depressed about life in general that even the best of good news fails to cheer us up. We fail to see positivity around us and keep harping about the negatives. It's like we have some invisible blinders on that keeps us oblivious to all the good stuff, the blessings and keeps in focus only the stuff that cause stress and turmoil. Not too long ago, I was caught up in a similar fix - fretting about every little thing that did not go my way, in fact even the slightest of deviation from set plans would make me go into spells of self-despair and bitterness. For days, I would sulk about this and that, and wonder why everything could not turn out the way I wanted them to turn out. In short, I always wanted the remote control in my hands. Until I met Aarti Goel, an independent working woman, travelling to Lansdowne with her family.

We had stopped over for a tea break at the same dhaba and since my friend and I were the only other people eating there, her family invited us to join them for tea. And there it was, sitting with them that I discovered that the husband whom I had started addressing as Sushil bhaiya only had one hand. There was an awkward silence after this discovery, and it was Aarti who dispelled the quietness that had suddenly taken over our group. Calmly she narrated to us how many years ago her husband had met with an accident, resulting in the loss of an arm. Initially she found it difficult to get over the cruel incident and faced difficulty coping with the unfortunate developments. But she soon realised that the onus to reclaim her family's happiness was on her. She had to get a grip on not just her life.

Aarti had to start from scratch. While earlier she was dependent on her husband for all things big and small, she realised now it was time to take the steering wheels in her - quite literally too. She learnt driving and was soon assisting her husband in his office work. From a happy-go-lucky middle class wife, she slowly and steadily transformed into a woman of the world, someone who did not give in or blamed fate for her sorry state of affairs. Rather, she rose to the occasion and like the turned around tables in her favour.

I believe Aarti Goel's story is a story of optimism not just for me but for all who have a tendency to wallow in self-pity over slightest of difficulties. Hope this story inspires you too to stay positive and take life's unexpected turns in your stride.

Photo courtesy: Inspireleads

Dry Aarav, Happy Aarav!

‘What makes your little one truly happy?’ This question from Pampers India actually got me curious about what makes kids happy. Since I have never really had much experience with ‘little ones’, so this question was a little tricky for me. I passed it on to the best person who could tackle this question with expertise – my mother. She has just returned from abroad after spending 3 fun months with her toddler grandson, Aarav. I was sure she will have a clear picture about what generally keeps babies happy.

'Mummy, what keeps Aarav happy?'
'But he's a happy baby...always happy and chirpy. Why do you ask?' she gave me a confused look.
Oh yes, from the photos that I have seen, I could recall that Aarav is almost always on his toes all the time - crawling around, sometimes making brave attempts at walking, toppling stuff, giggling and generally being a fun kid. 

'He is not a picky eater either and in fact quite enjoys Indian food...very fond of paranthas...,' mummy had slipped into flashback mode, trying to recall all of Aarav's big and small habits, his silly shenanigans, his happy frolicking, his riotous laughter and his fondness for upbeat music.

Ah, I realised I actually needed to rephrase my question to understand babies better. And of course all parents and grandparents would classify their 'aankhon ka taara' as a happy kid. No-one would want to describe their baby as a cribber or a howling expert notorious in their mohallas for his howling skill. Anyways, I digress here. Coming back to Aarav and his grandmother, since Mummy was singing paeans about how good natured Aarav was, I wondered what made this happy child upset.

'Mummy, what makes Aarav upset? What makes him cry?'
Oh, he only cries when he's hungry or needs a nappy change!' Bingo! Now this was quick. Though honestly I was expecting a more dramatic answer, like 'oh he cries when the pressure cooker whistles', 'he howls when the dog barks', 'he gets cranky when India loses a cricket match'. Okay, okay...I made the last one up, but you get the drift, right? :P

'At home, there are just two thumb-rules to keep in mind when looking after Aarav. He only cries when he's hungry or he is wet. So we made it a point to always keep him well fed and change his diaper at regular intervals,' mummy explained. 'And guess what he enjoys doing the most once his two important needs are sorted?' Of course I knew, for I had been getting updates over the months. Let me share the fun details with you too - once Aarav's tummy is full, and he is done with his shower and diaper change, his favourite past time is to observe his mother and grandmother cook in the kitchen. Yes, he is a new age kid. He insists to sit on the kitchen shelf and keeps a keen eye on everything that goes into the kadhaai! Though it's too early to say if we have another Vikas Khanna in the making! 

So yes, the bottom-line is that there are many things that keeps babies happy and beaming, but nothing makes them more comfortable than a happy tummy and happy bummy! And this video by Pampers puts this point across so beautifully!

This post is a part of Pampers India's Dry Baby, Happy Baby campaign, in association with Indiblogger.

A New World - Where the Mind Would Indeed Be Without Fear

Given the complex times we are living in, ever so often we hear ourselves and others sigh about the sorry state of affairs of the world, the seemingly never-ending violence in the name of some cause or the other and the pressing need to be on our guards all the time. While our vigilant mode is (almost) always on, be it out on the streets or in the confines of our homes, we all on the side wishfully keep thinking of a better world – one where there is peace and happiness. I generalise of course, but we all want peace and happiness in our lives, don’t we? I am assuming the collective answer to be one big yes, and please pardon me if you don't concur with the assumption.

And now that I have comfortably assumed that we all wish for peace and happiness in our lives, I am also pretty much sure we all have a rough idea of the kind of world we want to live in. And since in the the virtual world, everything is a possibility, popular bloggers' network Blogadda has given bloggers a prompt to write about their idea of a perfect world - the kind of world they would want to create and live in. And so here I am, giving my perfect world a shot at existence.

Here's the World, Remade!

To me nothing epitomises the idea of a perfect world better than Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's poem 'Where the mind is without fear'. The poem is everything I would want my new world to be.  And so if I am the creator of this new world I will make sure that the ideals listed in this poem are incorporated to the tee. But then again, the idea of course would not be novel, for before humans decided to play God, and started the never-ending game of one-upmanship, this was how the world existed - pure and unbroken.

Coming back to playing the creator, while 'Where the mind is without fear' would be the guiding principle, the following pointers would form it's foundation - 

1. A world without boundaries - In the world's new version, the concept of boundaries would exist just for the cricket fields and not for land demarcation. All land would be common and the earthly denizens would have access to all parts of the world. Nobody would have heard of visa and everyone would be free to roam the world and see all it's glorious wonders.

2. A world without religion - Religion has torn this world apart, with mass murders happening in the name of God. In my new scheme of things, there would be no such thing as 'religion'. Everyone would respect nature and would be free to express their respect in the way they deem right. There would be no maddening frenzy to 'convert' others to believe otherwise. 

3. A world without money - Another spoilsport. Will have to leave this evil thing behind when I create a new world. There would be no need of currency in fact, for everything would word around goodwill.(*Godly giggle*)

4.  A world without fear - Fear too would be an alien or rather non-existent feeling in the new world. Everyone would be free to do as they please, and enjoy the new world to the fullest without any worries. And with no trappings of religion and money, they would as it is have nothing to worry about.

A world of abundance

6. Abundance of Food - In my remade world, no human being will ever die of hunger or malnutrition. They would be plenty of food for everyone and nature's food bounty would be free for all. There would be plenty of land for everyone to grow food together. 

7. Abundance of Freedom - In the new world, there would be no discrimination in the name of man and woman. Everyone would be equal, working together to move forward in time. There would be no concept of race or region either, and everyone would be living on an equal footing.

8. Abundance of Happiness and Harmony - Since the new scheme of things would leave the terrorising concepts of religion, money and hunger behind, the new world would have an abundance of happiness and harmony. Everyone would work together without selfish profit motive and would help each other to keep moving forward in time.

Of course it's all utopian, but then  I am sure if we all pitch together, bit by bit, in the long, some of it can become a reality. Till then, let's keep perfecting our individual Utopias.

My 'Befikar, Umar Bhar' Bucket List

For most of us common people, or aam aadmi as they say (the term is in vogue now), life is a vicious circle of mundane inanities - office-home-grocery-cooking - and then the next day, the same routine. Trying to make both ends meet takes away a big chunk of our time, in fact why just a big chunk, it in fact takes away almost all of our time.  And day after day after day, life keeps passing - spent in a flurry of day-to-day activities. 

At times when these mundane inanities get the better of me, I try and take a step back and amuse myself with random musings. I day dream, I build castles in the air, I imagine a better and relaxed future, and I create bucket lists - bucket lists that keep me going, keep me full of hope and positivity and give me zest for life. And I have firm belief that my bucket list can become a reality, if I plan my financial future with care - spend money judiciously and be prudent in investments. Of course that would be a near ideal situation, a life free of constraints and limitations. And if this comes out true and then I have my bucket list ready to fully exploit the good fortune I will find myself bestowed with.

So here are the top 5 things on my bucket list that I will want to strike off right away, when given a chance: 

1. Travel as much as I can - Topmost wish on my bucket list is to travel as much as I can. I do not wish to travel the world, no, but rather have the luxury to travel any place that catches my fancy, and be able to independently spend quality time there. A month in a quiet Himalayan village one time and wandering around busy Varanasi ghats the other, that's the kind of travelling I would indulge in.

2. Open a book cafe - To own a book cafe of my own is a long standing dream, and if I really get to secure my future, I will make sure that this dream comes true. A cosy book store cum cafe in a peaceful part of the city would be like my own little heaven. Everyone would be welcome to spend quality time there, browse the fine selection of books and sip endless cups of piping hot masala tea. 

3. Start a subsidised kitchen for daily wagers - Another long cherished wish is to start a subsidised kitchen or canteen for those who have to work very hard to even put a together two square meals for their families. A kitchen running without any profit motive and providing simple but healthy and filling meals can be of great help to such people. What an incredible opportunity it would be to help feed poor people and earn good karma in return.

4. Have enough savings for sundry whims and fancies - My bucket list also features sundry whims that catch my fancy very now and then. Go paragliding in Sikkim, cliff jumping in Hrishikesh, be on a broccoli and corn diet for a week, go shopping all 7 days of the week for a week, so on and so forth. The whims keeps evolving every other day for it also keeps me entertained during boring times. 

5. Own a mountain retreat - A cosy little cottage high up in the mountains - now that's a grand wish. And very fanciful too. I am sure many of us have this fanciful wish running in their hearts and minds. If there were no constraints limiting us, we'd all love to own our own piece of paradise somewhere in the mountains.

So these were some of the topmost listings of my bucket list. I understand it's easy to dismiss bucket lists as fanciful ideas, but in fact our bucket lists should rather inspire us to plan our plan our financial future in a such a manner that these fanciful ideas actually become a reality.
In this context IDBI Federal's quirky 'Befikar, Umar Bhar' video has has got people to sit up and  do a think through about their financial scheme of things. 

Hope this video inspires you too to start working on making that bucket list come true.

This post is a part of IDBI Federal's Befikar, Umar Bhar Happy Hour campaign on Indiblogger.
Photo courtesy: Life Story

My First Love

It was the best of times.

Full of self-conscious blushes, shy smiles and untameable giggles.

It was the best of times.

Brimming with delicate dialogues and clumsy passion.

It was the best of times.

And it hid in its bosom

the worst of times to come.

My first love,

the one full of blushes, and smiles, and giggles galore,

the one that promised a happy home and more,

that love - 

it died a death quick and crude,

without a reason, without a clue

and left behind an eternity to brood

about this whim they call love -
an experience I can only rue.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.
This week's WOW prompt is 'My First Love'.
*Inspiration derived from Charles Dickens' iconic opening lines in 'A Tale of Two Cities'.

Going Sleek With Incredible ASUS!

As a travel blogger who is constantly on the move and has an innate need to capture all big and small travel stories in photos and words, I often find my enthusiasm marred by lack of effective gadgets that are easy to carry around. More importantly my laptop – it’s a bulky piece and more often than not, I prefer leaving it at home rather than lugging it all around in my backpack that any-ways remains stuffed with other sundry travel requirements. My laptop is not just bulky but has battery issues too. So rather than carrying a burden of a laptop on my back, I prefer to come back from the travels and then transfer all the data on it once I am back. This of course, takes the surprise elements out because by the time I am back home after days of travel, old photographs begin gathering the proverbial dust and the old fun stories too have lost their charm.

It's because of these sad after-stories that I am almost always on the lookout for news of newer and better gadgets and computer devices. And today when a tech-savvy friend introduced me to a couple of ASUS netbooks, my curiosity got piqued - for they indeed look like what I have been looking for! I have specially been taken in by the charms of the sleek and powerful ASUS EeeBook X205TA, the stylish and lightweight, netbook, perfect for someone who's always on the move and needs a powerful portable computer device. 

The ASUS EeeBook X205TA is not just compact and elegant, but also boasts of an great tech specs, has Windows 8.1 OS, comes with 11.6 inch screen, and is super lightweight - weighs less that 1Kg! And since battery life in current laptop is my particular concern, I looked up the battery details on this one and found that X205 comes with a 2-cell battery that is equipped to provide up-to 12 hours of battery life. Also the ASUS WebStorage allows a user to sync all personal files between the personal devices, making file accessing and sharing easier.

Another ASUS product that has got me tempted is the ASUS All In One PCET2040. The brand is promoting it as a simple, versatile and powerful personal computer, and from the looks of it, this device indeed looks like a must have for people like me, who want their gadgets to be simple and easy to use and yet be super efficient and savvy.

Here's a look at it's technical specs -

• Intel Pentium Quad Core J2900 Processor
• 2.41 GHz with Turbo Boost upto 2.66 GHz
• 2GB RAM
• 500GB Hard Drive
• 19.5'' HD 1366x768 LED-backlit Non-Touch
• Windows 8.1 BING 64-Bit Operating System
• Intel HD Graphics
• 1 x 3-in-1 card reader
• 1 x audio jet
• 65W Adapter

Besides the fact that ASUS All In One PCET2040 is an incredibly fast and powerful device, the innovative Gesture Control feature too has got me excited about this one! One can control the multimedia players or even browse the internet from up to five meters away from the computer. Now that would be fun!

So battery eating, bulky laptops - your time is up! Make way for the incredibly sleek, powerful, versatile and fun ASUS instead! Way to go!

How Do I Love Thee?

How Do I Love Thee? Let me count the ways
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace!

Ah, I know I know, I have borrowed Ms Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous sonnet for expressing my love for that special someone I have a huge crush on, but, but, but...fret not, for plagiarism is not my way, and this beautiful sonnet is just my primer, helping me channelize my deep emotions and sometime soon I intend to use this love and energy to put together and magnum opus of my own...one on love and his myriad ways...one in which I will pour my heart and emotions out and propose to the crush of my life. 

But the till the time inspiration strikes and I sit down to put my thoughts on love together, I have been inspired to try some fun ways to propose too. You see since Valentine's Day is just the corner, the move messenger Cupid is working over-time to inspire people to make 'The' move, ahem, ahem...and your truly too has been a victim of his arrow too. And spicing things up is Close Up's fun Cupid Games campaign! Check out this hilarious video to see what the campaign is all about -

Hmmm...you got it right, alright! It's all about taking the dare to propose to your crush! And you see, besides the cupid's vicious arrow, it is this video that has inspired me to get going! So how I am going to propose to my crush! See, I have got it all figured out (wink! wink!), and here's what I will do! 

Put it out in the newspaper!
A full page proposal in the newspaper would be daring, quirky and lots of crazy fun! I can already imagine him breaking into a beautiful smile and nodding in appreciation!

Record it for the Radio!
So 'he' is tuned in to to his favourite FM show featuring retro hits, Kishore Kumar singing...O mere dil ke chaine, chain aaye mere dil ko...and the music fades and there I come on-air...doling out all my love for him! Oopsie, doopsie, it's got me blushing already! Do-able! Very do-able! 

During a trekking expedition!
So we are on an arduous trek, and summit the mighty peak together and there I go, all ready flaunting a proposal flag at him.  Something like - Let's trek through the life together! Hmm...serious, but bold.

Bless the Cupid Games campaign to fill me up with these fun and unique proposal ideas. Trust me they are so much better and energizing than your mundane - Will you marry me? And now they, they have got me in the mood, let me think of some more daring and quirky proposal ideas and zero in on one.

What? The Magnum Opus? Well, it can wait!! :)

This post is a part of Close Up's Cupid Game 2015 campaign, in association with Indiblogger.
Photo courtesy: Love in India

The Curious Case of the Great Indian Litterbug

The Great Indian Litterbug,
he amuses me much.
His curious case befuddles me too,
the country is in his clutch!

Ah, that was a pathetic rhyme I know, but I guess not as bad as the state of our streets and roads oozing with the love constantly being left behind by the Indian Litterbug. Ah, before you wonder who this seemingly larger-than-life sounding gentleman is and try to put two and two together, let me do the honours - here's a video introducing him.

So you see, here he is, THE OMNIPRESENT, OMNIPOTENT - the Great Indian Litterbug, forever armed with powerful gears to litter the road. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan be damned, he says, for no abhiyaan or mission can come in his way to keep our oh-so great country littered and teeming with filth.

But despite his myriad ways to keep his surroundings God-awful, the Great Indian Litterbug is beyond my comprehension. For the life of me, I fail to understand this man and how his mind works and what keeps him going!  He uses the roads as his spittoon,  the pavements and the roadside walls as his urinal, and the streets at large as his garbage bin! Sigh. No pleadings, no threats, no sarcasm works on him. No mocking either - you write on a wall

Gadhe ke poot,

Yahaan mat moot

but no, he has to moot (pee :D) right on that wall, right under those words berating him. He's an idiot, assh*le aright, for all he cares. When a man has to go, a man has to go, you see. When the nature calls, the call must be answered right away, that's his logic and you dare not defy that. Cleanliness is next to Godliness bullshit be damned too, such preachings are for the books, and of course the phoren countries, he argues, and not for the desis like us. Duh, sir.

Do get to know more about the Great Indian Litterbug and his many shenanigans, you can check out this quirky website - The Great Indian - but readers, I plead you, yes I plead you, do not, I repeat do not, in any way be influenced by the Great Indian Litterbug's reckless abandon. Do not be taken in by his filthy ways. For you see , he is 'like that only' - and you are not him, and he is not you. (I assume, I hope!) You know better, no? On that note, let's all come together to decipher the curious case of the Great Indian Litterbug, and pledge to be  part of our Prime Minister's Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan, for his clarion call for cleanliness is addressed to every single one of us.  

This post is a part of the Great Indian Litterbug campaign by The Times of India, in association with Indiblogger.

Making Road Safety in India a Priority

'Two cops killed as drunk cabbie hits barricade.'
'18-year old Delhi University topper run over by a speeding car.'
'Noida biker dragged to death by a speeding car.'
'DTC buses cause 239 accidents in 5 years due to rash driving.'
'Hit on head in road rage, man in coma.'

Headlines such as these are a regular affair for us. Open any newspaper on any given day, and you will find news on similar lines filling up the city section. In fact, if I were to be brutally honest, I will say that there are times when headlines such as the ones I have mentioned above fail to leave any impact on our hearts and minds. We just glance through them - untouched, unmoved, indifferent - and move on to other bits. Or may be sometimes if the accompanying image is grotesque enough, we might let out a shudder or two, and lament about fate to the unfortunate victim in passing, and then move on. The point I am trying to put across is that - we just move on, we never learn from them. Do we?

No, you are wrong if you think drinking and driving is the only mistake one can do.  Or that besides drunk driving, speeding on the road causes accidents. Many other big and small negligences on the road can not just cause accidents but also cause great inconvenience to others on the road.

High time we learn some driving etiquettes 

Road rage, cutting corners, overtaking, unnecessary honking, jumping traffic lights...and yes, Yo Yo Honey Singh blaring out of those rolled down windows. High time we learn some driving etiquettes and make road safety a priority. Here are some steps that can go a long way in helping with road safety:

1. Buckle Up! Always, always, always wear your seatbelt while driving. Even if you are just taking a short trip down the road. One cannot emphasize the importance of a seat belt enough. And now just the driver, ensure that everyone in the vehicle is buckled up!
2. Indicate Your Intentions! Always use indicator to make fellow motorists aware of your next move on the road. But of course, use them judiciously, and not just to justify your sudden/rash decision to take a turn or stop in the middle of the road.
3. Feeling Drowsy? Take a a Break. While on long drive, if you are feeling even a wee bit sleepy while driving, please take a short break to refresh yourself. You can also opt to go off the road and take a short nap, before resuming your journey.
4. Do not drink and drive. This sounds rhetorical, but we all know many a gory accidents on the road were result of a tipsy driver behind the wheel.
5. Keep that phone away. Many a terrible accidents have been a result of that quick and easy text/whatsapp message one wanted to send, or that innocuous phone call one wanted to take or make.
6. Following lane discipline is another must. Many unpleasant incidents on the road can be avoided if people use some common sense and follow lane rules. If you wish to change lanes, please use the relevant indicator to let the vehicles behind you be aware of your intentions.
7. Say a big NO to tailgating. Always maintain safe distance from the vehicle in front of you so that there's enough room between the two vehicles in case the vehicle ahead has to brake suddenly.
8. Go easy on the horns please! We are a country obsessed with honking! Whether there is space enough to allow us to pass, irrespective of the fact that the red signal has caused the traffic to halt...we honk. One annoying habit we most definitely need to get rid of.
9. Be courteous on the road. Since we all know good gestures on Indians roads are hard to come by, whatever little comes your way, acknowledge them. And yes, please return the favour too. This will help make Indian roads a happy, or rather a less angry place.
10. Please obey ALL traffic rules. Yes, all. It's very tempting to jump that red light in the middle of the night, when you see that straight empty road ahead of you, and say to yourself - 'oh, how does it matter, there's no traffic at this hour,' but then you never know on which empty road another such vehicle, ignoring similar red lights will come down to meet you head on. 

There are several other measures that can help reduce unfortunate incidents on the road, but even if follow the ones listed above with diligence, it will go a long way in ensuring safe driving experience for us all. So let us promise ourselves to do our bit in ensuring that Indian roads are a safer place for us to drive on. 

While the onus of learning and following traffic rules and driving etiquettes to the tee lies on us and us alone, the Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) initiated by Nissan Motor Company Limited, has taken up the exemplary task of sensitising people about road safety measures. Under its Blue Citizenship CSR umbrella, NSDF works to build awareness of safe driving in India. Let's us hope that a combination of our own efforts and the expertise and guidance from NSDF helps us make road safety not just a temporary concern but a permanent habit.

About Nissan Safety Driving Forum

The Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., conducts the Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) in India as part of its safety driving promotion activities. The program began as an annual activity in 2012. In its initial phase it covered three main Indian cities – New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai – and since then has gradually expanded to several additional cities across India. This year, NSDF would reach 8 new cities – Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Vadodara, Nagpur, Chennai, Mangalore and Kochi. In addition to sensitisation of wearing seatbelts, NSDF also conducts live simulated experiences to understand how safety features function through a simulated car crash. A 360-degree turn over highlights the use of seatbelts, while sessions on road safety emphasises on road etiquette to stay safe.

This post is a part of Nissan Safe Driving Forum campaign in association with Indiblogger.
Photo courtesy: Zee News

Blogging to Help Feed a Child

The ubiquitous looking kid working in the dhaba I had stopped at was done serving tea to the table assigned to him, and sat in a corner with a forlorn look in his eyes. I kept looking at his sad face for a while, and then got lost in the maze of travel photos I had in my phone albums. The reverie only broke when I suddenly had a feeling of someone peeping at my phone from behind my shoulders.  It was that same kid, now giving me a sheepish grin at having been ‘caught’.

What a heart-warming grin it was, lighting up his face, bringing many a twinkle to his eyes.  Still grinning, he commented how ‘badhiya’ the photos were, prompting me to pull a chair for him and asking him to sit and check out more of the ‘badhiya photos’. In between showing him the travel photos, I learn that his name is Suraj and his parents are daily wagers working on a road maintenance project down the same highway.  With pride in his eyes he shares that he has studied till class 2 and that there were two peacocks and 5 rabbits in his school.

School was fun for Suraj, but unfortunately it did not last long, for his parents could neither afford the school fees and stationary expenses, nor could they earn enough for the family of 4 to have three square meals daily. And so the school had to be abandoned for the sake of stomach.

The desolate and bereft look was back on his face.  All of 11 years old, he was working full time now, at the dhabha, doing miscellaneous  tasks all day long – all for a salary of Rs 500 per month and free food.  How incredibly sad is this. While we pause not a second before doling out cash for that sumptuous meal, or that overpriced donut, there are kids who go through such relentless struggles to just stay afloat. School is nothing but a fanciful idea for them.

While this incident I have written about presents a bleak picture about hunger winning against education, the Akshaya Patra Foundation is making ‘the fanciful idea of school’ a happy reality for kids like Suraj. This NGO runs school lunch programme across the country, with the vision – No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.

Hunger has eliminated the word classroom from Suraj’s world. Can we all not come together and help remove the word hunger from every classroom and every less privileged student’s heart and mind? Yes, we can, and here's how -

• By being conscientious and thoughtful in how we spend money.
• By not wasting food.
• By donating to the noble cause of eliminating classroom hunger. 

You'd be surprised to know that Akshaya Patra feeds a child for one whole academic year for Rs. 750. Isn't that incredible, the fact that the amount you would probably spend on your one restaurant bill can help a child stay in school for one year. Hope this inspires you to donate for this worthy cause. And yes, I am doing my bit too - for every post I write, Blogadda will sponsor meals for an Akshaya Patra beneficiary for an entire year, as a part of Bloggers Social Responsibilty. It's a happy feeling to know that the words you are weaving will help feed a hungry child, and will help her stay in school for another year.

I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and Blogadda.