More people, more selfies, more enjoyment - mobiistar!

I make your happy times last forever

a nostalgia so deep

a reminiscence so tangible

I make every moment, a memoir

untouched by time or distance

looked on ever so fondly

like a precious soul of princess

embedded in a silhouette of a queen

a twin sister, a bond

an omnipresent friend 

I am priceless yet so precious

I am a selfie!

A happy memory can warm up one's heart even on coldest of days. Every memory is precious, some more than others. The ones we capture through our phones are indeed more dear to us because they are more vivid, having a story, an incident hidden in those colours and expressions. 
Like this one :

A happy, happy selfie! This one is from my college days when I was graduating to be a doctor. 

Contrary to the popular belief that medical college students are bookworms and nerds, we medicos believe in enjoying every moment to the fullest. After all, who can appreciate life more than us?

No wonder, a selfie a day keeps forgetfulness away!

As Joseph B, Wirthlin once said 'some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heart-warming'.

I feel the vividness lies in the details. In those smiling faces, in those expressions of trying to shrink and fit in the frame. As I said, every selfie narrates a story of the time that went by when it was taken. 

This one was of a friend's birthday party and we were all trying to fit in. I am the one in pink scarf. Some of us could snug in easily ( like me;)), others had to manage with only a part of them, a few others after trying too hard to fit in, had to compromise on only their shadows being a part of this memorable moment. 

While taking the selfie, one of us joked,  'yar hum to aa nahi rahe, haath upar kar lo, attendance lag jaegi! ( We are not able to fit in the frame, let's just raise our hands to make ourselves present like we do when giving the attendance) 

This was the selfie that followed

So many raised hands and ghost faces! I luckily managed to grab a major chunk of screen space once again! 

No wonder, this will always be a memorable photo for me. Reminding me of how we enjoyed our colleges days in spite of being neck deep busy with duties, patients, diseases and books. 

But, I so wish that we could have clicked a better selfie, so that those ghost faces too could become a part of this saga and complete the story. 

Haven't we all at some point of time, wished the same? If only we could sneak in a few more of our loved ones? Or if only we could get a clear picture? Why can't our phones be like our memories,incorporating every single one of those cherished souls and all of their enthusiasm and zeal? The struggle is real and it deprives us from having a great selfie experience. 

Fortunately, this era of technology and development hears us and our concerns. 

Mobiistar, a Vietnamese brand comes with a vision to 'enjoy more'.  The mission of Mobiistar is to expand the horizons of mobile technology adoption by providing affordable and uncompromising user experience to consumers.

It basically aims at giving users like us a more enjoyable and meaningful selfie experience.

It has front, dual selfie camera that captures a 120° wide-angle shot. So one can now click selfies without the worry of leaving anyone behind.

I wish we had a Mobiistar during those days, so that my poor friends wouldn't have to trade-off by raising their hands and marking their attendance, instead they could be a part of the complete picture.

But better late that never, making memories is a life long process and there are millions of them still waiting to be created. 

With mobiistar, there will be no more ghost faces and incomplete stories. Just memories, many more, as vivid and accommodating as they are unforgettable. 

With mobiistar dual camera, we could have incorporated those flying caps :)

A selfie that captures all!

To know more about the phone or the brand check out their website : @mobiistar.
Can't wait to make those lively colourful, wide angle memories? ( me, neither!) mobiistar and flipkart have joined hands to launch series of smartphones in India. You can keep a check here : flipkart.com-mobiistar


It's time to take more selfies and enjoy more!

Today is a new day!

As soon as I boarded the Hyderabad-Rajdhani express, tears welled-up my already moist eyes. I could see my mom’s sad face through the train’s Pyrex glass, it spoke of emotions untold. 

For an instant I wanted to run to her and then run back to my home. The train started moving inch by inch and I closed my eyes ever so tightly to not let any emotion, not even a thought get into me for a long time.

 When I opened my eyes, the train had picked up speed for a destination which was soon to be my destiny.

“Why on earth, life bestowed me with such a big change?” I thought to myself.

Although I had always secretly desired to live alone and experience the satisfaction of being on my own. “oh! What a pleasure it would be to do everything according to my moods and whims” I used to say. But today when life had finally given me a chance of liberty and freedom, I so desperately wanted to undo this change. Yes, we homo-sapiens are wired that way. Never content with the current situation.

Days passed and I still couldn't admit this change of being away from family and my city.

My training had already started and I was thankful for that. At least half of the day passed pleasantly at work. 

Whenever my mom or dad called me, I would find it so hard to swallow my tears and hide the hoarse voice, crying in the middle of every sentence.

Back in those days I felt that my misery would continue for an entire period of 2 years and it had started to affect my training too. When I was in Delhi, I had underestimated the hardships of living alone and now I was regretting that very thought.

Time continued to pass at its own pace. I finally made some friends, all of them from different cities of India living alone like me but certainly not anyone seemed as miserable as I did. So that was when I decided to let change seep in through me. To accept it and let it walk besides me in life. Not just today or in this city but all through my life.

I began enjoying roaming about the city on my own, company of good books, pleasures of cooking and eating on my own and above all enjoying my own freedom. Each passing day, I was thrilled at how much life could offer if only we kept this internal resistance to change at bay.

My training is over and I am finally going back to Delhi in 2 weeks but these 2 years at Hyderabad will be etched in my memory forever. They have taught me a million things and made me learn the eccentricities of life in infinite ways. I am no more a shy, imbecile girl who took months to accept a change in her life. I am confident and ready to face life head-on.

I now truly believe that if we have the optimism and courage to #StartANewLife each day, I am very sure that life would be generous enough to grant us with not just one but many hundred reasons to do so every day.

Housing.com helps people wanting to start a new life. Check their website -https://housing.com/in and also the video below -

Dear broken heart

Dear broken heart

Nostalgic, I am beginning this letter. Amidst my moist eyes flow the carefree and bygone days of innocent and insensitive childhood.
Ah! You were so strong and lively like April days! Full of warmth, joy and hope. Weren't you? Beaming with positive energy, running like the bright rays of yellow sun. Too delighted to know the subtle nuances of life. Too occupied in your own existence.

But, the rays of this crisp and bright sun slowly yet inevitably began to change direction. Paving their way to noon. When the sun shines violently and piercingly hot! It was puberty time. You jumped into the hormonal rush. This whirlpool of hostile hormones. A few nano-grams of rise in them and love touched you.

That soft, irresistible, maddening touch of love. You lost all control over thyself. Didn't you oh my dear heart? You misunderstood and started believing life to be a bed of red roses- fresh and fragrant and dare I say you were wrong in your assumption, until one fateful day. The day when thorns of the same roses pricked you, deeply and painfully.

How can I forget the first time you broke? When eyes shed tears of turmoil, mind too numb to console you. You fell apart.There was anguish,melancholy,dejection,fury fear, hatred. Feelings seemed to be scattered and toppled over each other.
The agony was immense and intense. The year passed at an average pace and soon April days were back. What happened in between is a tale of tears, woes and hopelessness and you wouldn't want me to repeat the same to you am sure.

So the sunny April returned with a new zeal and hope! You were happy again. Humming tunes of spring and flowers and gay days. Bustling with rejuvenated energy and radiance. Ready to dance again. Ready to LOVE again!
Although somewhere a deep scar had settled which refused to heal yet you moved on.

Some months past and harsh winds of solitude knocked your door again. Chilling you nerves and shaking you all over. You broke again. This time the jolt was even more powerful, the crash louder and pain penetrated deeper.
All hopes of recovering or reinventing happiness were lost. It is the end, mind had said. But was it really?

Oh! my dearest heart I remember every single night you spent crying and wetting the pillow. Sometimes regretting, sometimes shouting and most often sitting in solitude, pondering over what went wrong. I wish I could heal you, treat you! This sickening feeling of lost love is beyond all repair. Except for time. Time is the drug we need. And strangely its about time that you understood it.
This time the scar had grown terribly. Healed only superficially. You now fear rejection and dejection. You can't love boldly but weigh in the hits and misses. You weigh the loses and love seizes to mean everything it did yesterday.

They say why O why have you turned so weak? Almost a coward? Or maybe too selfish to think beyond your own gains?
But my lovely heart, I know and I understand you. I have seen the ups and downs you faced. I feel your scar and the hidden old pain arising out of it. You are not a coward or a selfish little thing. You are vulnerable and wounded. Its almost natural to be your guard and sensible too. Although I know it still my advice may seem a little too unexpected to you. But bear with me, for I only wish the best for you.

DON'T stop loving. You are unguarded and fragile, which makes you worthy of more love. More kisses and more hugs. The risk in thinking selflessly for someone else maybe huge but believe me, thee are so many like you, wishing and waiting for someone who could gallantly face the risk.

And as they say, when you nurse a broken heart, you heal yours too. So isn't this risk worth being taken?  Get up dear heart! Pray, I ask you to walk out of that walled room and face the winter fog bravely and April shall arrive soon. Sooner than you think and when it sees you glow with so much sunshine and love, I bet its here to stay. Stay forever!

Wishing you warmth and affection
Me

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Sense of an ending...

Tears rushed through her lonely eyes

remains of a lost faith

piercing depths of her soul

this eerie sense of an ending

Cracked lips unable to tremble

silent sobs synchronous with beats

flowing like red in her veins

this eerie sense of an ending

A mayhem of incessant voices

murmuring from nowhere to nowhere

wrapping her like a volcano

this eerie sense of an ending

Crawling stealthy breath after breath

conspiring with time and mind

numbing her from toe to head

this eerie sense of an ending

Tightly gripping every muscle

twisted cords of realization and remorse

shaking her reason of existence

this eerie sense of an ending

Attaching firmly beneath her skin

million cells of painful memories

shielding all hope and happiness

this eerie sense of an ending

 Enveloping even her shadow

like the calmness of a night

terminating life moment by moment

this eerie sense of an ending. 
 

Right to imagination - A book in every child's hand!

"The stories of childhood leave an indelible impression, and their author always has a niche in the temple of memory from which the image is never cast out to be thrown on the rubbish of heap of things that are outgrown and outlived". - Howard Pyle

Books and stories carry in them a sense of ever lasting nostalgia. Reading and listening to the tales has been the most treasured and beautiful moment for most of us since childhood days. Isn't it? 

Cinderella, snow white and Rapunzel's dreamland, the adventures of tom sawyer, Panchatantra, Akbar-Birbal's tales of wit and wisdom, Nancy Drew's mystery missions- these and many more story books are my most prized possessions. They made me learn as I grew and gave power to my imagination and expression. Am sure your experiences are much the same. 

But don't you think that every child deserves the pleasure of experiencing the joy of reading a good book? Yet not all are fortunate. Stats shows that about 300 million children all over India have NEVER held a book in their hand. The happiness of sitting cuddled up in bed and enjoying the adventures of Arabian nights eludes them. Fairies don't accompany them in their dreams with any magic or miracles. 

This is not 'just' about right to education or literacy. The cause in question is simpler yet significant, that is a book in every child's hand. No matter which language or expression, how big or small, cheap or expensive - a story is all that matters. 

THE PROBLEMS :

1) Good books today are basically available in Hindi or English. but with 22 official languages and about 1600 dialects. How can only two languages suffice?

2) Cost- Big publishing houses sell books at expensive prices which cannot be afforded by most of the population.

3) Literacy rate is still low specially in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh , Bihar and Jharkhand so spending time or money on reading is out of question until proactive steps are taken to build and sustain interest among children.

4) Lack of quality education - Research reveals that 1 in 3 school going children cannot read fluently. Children who are unable to read are unable to learn, as they can't understand what is being taught to them. And that contributes to high dropout rates in schools.

5) Awareness - There is extreme ignorance about all such issues so the movement fails to pick up momentum.

6)Apart from this, the ever increasing population only tends to create a huge gap in the demand supply ratio.

With these issues in mind a non-profit organisation called Pratham Book was set up in 2004 as a part of Read India movement. PB was established as a not-for-profit public charitable trust to reach children whom the market ordinarily would not and, therefore, to democratize the joy of reading.
There are still very few publishing houses willing to provide affordable content and that too in multiple English languages.

Pratham Books logo

Pratham books have come up with some extremely creative and innovative solutions to cater the problems in hand. Some of these are :

1) Selling books in sachet form that is, a four page book for just Rs.2. An amount which any young reader across the country can afford. Around 8 million such cards have been sold.

2) Bilingual books - books in two languages at a price of one. They also help children to learn a second language, and in the non-English medium world, bilinguals are being used to learn English.

3)Creative commons - they have put up many books in several languages under the Creative Commons license. This creates a multiplier effect where the books get converted into new forms and many derivative works get produced. So there is content available for iPads, iPhone, e-readers, audio-clips and digital content for the visually-challenged. 

 4) They have also started a new venture called 'Annual World Storytelling Day contest' where readers can remix their illustrations to make new stories. This exercise has given them over eighty new stories. It works beautifully on two levels: by using the same illustrations to make new stories they have reduced the cost of producing content and for a single publisher, coming up with 80 new books would have easily taken a few years, not to mention the costs.

All these and many other innovative approaches have been welcomed and have received an enthralling response. In the last 6 years, pratham books have published over 215 titles in up to 11 languages and have spread the joy of reading to over 15 million children.

Their mission is simple -'Indian content for Indian children'. Proving books which are both linguistically and regionally relevant. 

Now coming to the most important aspect. WHAT YOU AND I CAN DO? 

1) Know and share - Beginning from the basics, this is indeed the most important facet for tackling any issue. Get aware and let people know. Be it verbally, through print media, technology like E-mails, social networking sites, blogs etc. 

2) Read 'them' a story - Just to create interest and open a world full of imagination in front and fantasies for them. Your single story can change someones life! In the words of B.F. Skinner 'we shouldn't teach great books, we should teach a love of reading'.

3) Gift a book to someone today - Words and actions should go hand in hand for a practically productive outcome. We all have children around us, identity those who need it the most maybe your maid's daughter or the rag picker on the road and just present him with the pleasure of reading and learning.

4) Go to a nearby village or areas which await the joy of reading and distribute them books. photocopied or picture or pamphlet books. They need not be expensive or with long stories.

5) There is huge content available on the net which means you have access to stories on your laptops, ipads, mobile phones etc. Download and share it around.

Or you can JOIN THEM DIRECTLY BY :

1) Read about them @ Pratham books

2)If you would like to be a part of Read India Movement as a writer, illustrator, publisher or volunteer, email then at info@prathambooks.org or click here or more details.

3) There are many other ways in which you can help like library in a village, fund a book, teach for India etc. Check it out here @ Engage

As I mentioned before its not just about the right to education but the right to imagination! 
Before ending I would like to leave you with a thought

children are like water

bottle them up and they stagnate

let them run wild and they make a mess

guide then and they

bring life to all they touch!

Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012.

Hear Rohini Nilekani (founder chairperson of Pratham Books) talk on the same issue in the video clip below. Youtube link :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHqFGA78sEU

For you, my friend :)

Cruel and harsh

Life is strange

promises of forever

in seconds they change

I fell apart 

like autumn leaves

down in the valley

dreams buried deep

and slowly but surely

life pulled me up

God seemed to hear again

faith re developed

I woke up again

to new beginnings bright

a stranger from distant land

caught my sight

in initial phase

I failed to recognize

our relation groomed

in its own stride

little by little

he touched my soul

his caring gestures

and ways unknown

I am healing now 

of my past pains

with your support

infinite strength I gain

You are a blessing

God's choicest gift

I will forget you not

even if our paths drift

you hear me steadily

night and day

you held my hand

in the summers of may

I can never repay

the unconditional love

its a heavenly bond

from paradise above

in you I trust

with you I fight

you judge me not

just suggest me right

I feel protected

a feeling divine

in your thoughts

I forever wish to be entwined

its true they say

life's ironical equation

you gain some. lose some

mathematics of relations

even miles apart

today or tomorrow

I can look up to you

in woes and sorrow

no words seem apt

no verse precise

which will explain

your place in my life

a promise eternal

I wish to make

never ever my friend

will this bond break.

P.S. This poem is a dedication for someone whom I can safely call my 'best friend'. He is also a blogger and when it comes to blogosphere I guess people know him better than me (specially girls;))since he churns out absolutely amazing love stories ! 

Apart from that he is a great person, the 'too good to be true' kinds. Even when I irritate him like hell with my absolutely random and at times mindless stories he will listen so very patiently as if he were genuinely interested. Remain the same and continue to listen to me :P

I know this poem depicts not even a tiny part of who you are but still can't write better so please accept it :)

And this post is special for one more reason - It is my 100th post...taaddaaaaaa *drum rolls* :D

A note of thanks to all those who read and appreciate, believe me every single word of yours matters. When I joined blogging I never thought I would be able to carry it for sooo long but the constant motivation and love encouraged me to share what all my heart embodies here on 'Embodying Emotions'.

THANKS A LOT FRIENDS :D

OK since its sounding more like a 'self proclaimed winners' speech (which are always so irritating AND boring) I stop here and now. Will be back with a new post soon. Till then hasta la vista dearies :* :))

Leaving you with few lines that I felt will some up all those 'genuine friendships' in the world....

Not just today.....

Its not today that you left me

a long time has passed

memories and memoirs have faded

in the ocean of life, big and vast.

Its not today that I cried

hiding myself in the dark

sobs and tears are a familiar part

and cuts that leave a mark.

Its not today that I pasted an empty smile

for the fake world to see

all they know is a happy girl

who cares what's going inside me.

Its not today that I tried to let go

all that life bestowed

in the form of sufferings and pain

and hurdles on the road.

Its not today that I accepted

what life presented to me

you and I were different people

and were never meant to be 'we'.

Its not today that I heard 'let go and move on'

from folks to whom it matters not

time can never be a healer

but a mere illusionary guard.

contour of memories

An indistinct frame

follows me

although petite but

with an aura of authority

drawing a sharp notice

its clumsy and curious being

with an untimely arrival

like a wintry mist of familiarity

Carrying a heavy luggage

a bandwagon of emotions

throwing me in a dudgeon

deep, dark and silent

like splinters in hits

or a void of realizations

a 'breathing' bullet

piercing and lingering

a flight of retrospection

caged and restricted

it takes me to a place

so familiar yet so hostile

I have known it well

as a frequent visitor

who unlike my own shadow

walks besides me

Never will this image

leave me in solitude

in moments of serenity

it will hunt and haunt me

As time flows by

I am afraid that it shall rule

my forlorn nights

and long summer days

this contour of memories...

PS : I found this pic a little creepy and the ironical part is, although my poem endorses such an abstract idea, it somehow depicts it pretty well. Google, you intrigue me!

Its a climb....

I know people change. Change so subtly that is takes days to believe the existence of something that was imperceptible before.

I know people turn their back.I have seen them hiding their faces like the evening sun which dips ever so slowly somewhere in the horizon and darkens all that's around, while you stand patiently for the dingy light to be thrust upon.

I know people back stab.I have felt them poking those incessant punches on me like the merciless winds in a vast, hot, sandy desert which away extracts all moisture and vitality and depresses one deep in the restless sand.

I know it because life blessed me with relations and thrust upon me the intricacies of dealing with people. People who promised to never change and relations which were as sturdy as huge mountains. But nothing can change the nature of change for it has to change!

And its no more surprising yet an irony as to how the most toughest of glasses shatter easily. Promises that define our being, are our strengths and hope dissolve as soon as we lean onto them perfectly.

I know it because I have leaned onto such promises completely and in a few moments there was a loud thud. so loud that it lost its audibility maybe. For nobody heard anything. But I know it because I felt the silence.

A missing part.

A dissolved promise. 

A dead relation.

Its at times surprising as to how relations build up. The sweetness tends to be dissolved in innumerable and never ending expectations. 

Expectations that climb a ladder of shattering hopes and broken promises.The trouble is we cant do much about it. Its spontaneous. No matter how tough you appear to be, you are bound to expect and be disappointed in return. I know it coz I have had my share of shattered hopes and expectations.

And not just for once but innumerable times.

I wont label my life as one of extraordinary pain or change but yes, I can proudly say that I have had my share till now. No wonder there is more to come. For the pages of destiny cant go blank.They have been filled with an ink that outlines my life. The fact is that I don't have a choice , neither does life have, we both are being played upon by something superior. For 

"he who makes my woes for me

will think about my woes

my brooding over them would be

a greater woe than those" :)

a love not forgotten....

Twenty stairs

a perching bird

I stand here

behind the church

one misty morning

you caught my sight

I still remember

that blue shirt with red stripes

again we met

in a party

destined it was

began our story

time flew off

in its habitual way

silent whispers

yet volumes they'd say

parched roads turned lush

wildflowers bloomed

moon crescented much

as our love groomed

I knew not

we created memories

someday it will

be my prized victory

you stole my soul

reasons unknown

my heart still yearns

distressed, forlorn

the places we strolled

the songs we sang

those long happy drives

on city's outskirts

and then suddenly

you had to leave

a bitter reality

to believe

called you were

to the war-front

axing my dreams

you walked off dear soldier

the day you returned

I was euphoric

running wildly

untrammelled and free

you stood there

a proud warrior

your smile shone

charming like ever

but..who was she?

I stepped back to know

maybe his mistress

the crowd implied

still and tizzy

I stood and watched

our past memories

dismantled and dislodged

you held her hand

and went inside

people followed 

ignoring my plight

you took oaths

of marital bliss

the church bell rang

uncertain of my grief

long years have passed

seasons flown and drown

oft-returning birds

yet a sturdy me

still stands there

twenty stairs

a perching bird

unforgotten you....undying love!!

 

PS : The image above is what inspired me to pen down this poem!

haiku challenge day-8

Life intervenes

celebrate and inspire the same

time and tide don't wait.

written for the

Bidding adieu to 2010 !

365 days ago we met

on a wintry and windy night

the town dazzled and skies lit up

and you entered in my life.

unaware, on unknown paths I traversed

erasing and creating memories

for gifting me a bag you said

"these are your share of gratification and grief".

you 'connived' with time

some shells of wisdom I did find

and then the days flew off

on remains of relations that I lost.

months crept in and our bond cemented

experiences inter-weaved- bold, new and vivid

a lonely b'day and some dark nights

I embraced all with amazement and delight.

I apprehended,

people we meet are like stars

millions of them in a galaxy

who alter their path suddenly

never returning back onto the trajectory.

I explored,

the vastness of my city

travelling alone, far and wide

free, like a young bird

who has just learn to glide.

I observed,

in astonishment the sea of faces

around me in malls and buses

each one so diverse and different

yet with a heart that beats in rhythm.

I progressed,

a step ahead in accomplishing my creams

a dream to serve my fellow beings

entering a world of distress and pain

devoting myself to the selfless lane.

I march,

ahead with a belief in heart

when its your time to depart

that I will stack up your memories

like leaves entangles the breeze.

Finally I say,

goodbye year 2010

goodbye my dear companion and friend

I will miss you a lot but I regret not

the gloomy, harrowing experiences you brought.

Letting you go with,

our parting wish that this new year

will bring in more enjoyment and cheer

not just for you and me

but all those who welcome it with glee!

A very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR to everyone :)

This post has been written for Blogeshwar and Anubhooti