Shubham Choudhary's Blog, page 5

Holiday, the Airbnb way!

I am not much of a traveler, although most of my friends are. I am the kind of person who likes to stay at home and read a book and go on the occasional vacations. The idea of travel does entice me, but in the past my experiences with travel and accommodations haven���t really been a pleasure. I feel that Indian tourism was in a strict need of reforms. Given that we earn huge revenues through tourism, I can totally say this feeling was shared by many. Then came a revolution and now we have a startup for practically everything. You can search for a place, see the directions, get a hotel, get a guide and everything at discounts. Still, what we lacked was something that minimizes your effort.

I had no idea about how popular Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.co.in/?af=3330229&c=IndiBlogger )was across the world before I came to know about it through Indiblogger��. Seeing the amazing concept it brings with it, I am just embarrassed about my poor GK now. Erm��� moving on��� Let me tell you something about Airbnb. It is an amazing concept where you can search for your dream vacation and make it a reality at the least prices. It not only gets you all the listings in your area of interest, with the reviews and detailed pictures and verified profiles, you also get assurance that everything is safe and just what you want. Moreover, there are awesome offers and discounts! What else would an Indian mind want, right?

When I signed up, I saw this referral program where you can earn just for signing up and then I earn because you signed up. Cool, isn���t it? Let me do some self promotion here and get you the link : www.airbnb.co.in/c/schoudhary47?s=8 . Do sign up, not because I want the money, because I want you to experience an all new way of holiday enjoyment!

When I was browsing through the website, I couldn���t control but make a small wishlist of my own. Take a look. https://www.airbnb.co.in/wishlists/46632664. This wishlist has the top 5 places I want to visit someday in my life; Venice, because that���s a place closest to love for me; Madrid, because Cristiano Ronaldo set foot in that place; Wembley, well, since I was a kid, the Wembley stadium is one thing I always dreamt of going to; Shimla, I believe that���s another heaven after Kashmir in India, don���t you?; And last but not the least, Manchester, I guess everybody already knows the reason here but let me tell you the two words anyway: Manchester United!

So, isn���t the list awesome? And if you saw the prices, that���s totally affordable too! In case you feel like making yours, don���t fret, go ahead. It���s pretty easy and amazing. Good luck and happy holidays! :)

Tagged: Airbnb, holidays, indiblogger, shubham

The new way to luck!

I���ve been a stock market enthusiast for a long time; can���t say the same for lotteries though. ��So obviously it bugs me when people compare the two. For a layman the stock market does sound like a game of luck but I believe that one needs to appreciate the kind of hard work and calculations that go behind the art of investing. But this isn���t a tutorial on the stock markets, this is something different. This is about a new innovation that I came across thanks to Indiblogger and FatCat gaming app. This is something that will make people like me a fan of lotteries, because now even that can be won with a bit of logic (And well��� a bit of luck.)

When I first heard about it, I was really intrigued. What is it? I asked myself. And here���s what I found out.

FatCat is a gaming app with two built in games, Lucky 6 and QuizApp. While QuizApp is a simple thing where you answer a question and if you���re lucky enough to make the cut, you win the ultimate prize, Lucky 6 is what got my attention more. It is a stock market based game where you have to select a list of six companies out of a given list. You need to make a smart choice by studying the markets properly because you win or not will depend on the performance of these companies. And if your selected companies end up being the top 6 of the markets, you win! Simple as that!

As per the app homepage:

Lucky 6: Combining the fun of games with life changing prizes

Playing games on your mobile is fun, but what if you could play a game AND potentially change your life?

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our Fat Cat app with an innovative lottery-style game called Lucky 6. It’s simple to play: just pick six of your favorite brands, and if their stocks see the highest gains on game day…you win! And here’s the best part: our prizes are things that can really make an impact in your life. We’re giving away everything from large cash prizes to luxury holidays.

This thing is quite a new concept; at least I am seeing it for the first time. And it has to mean something when I say it since I am the kind of person who loves playing phone games and stays connected to the internet almost all the time. As we Indians love new concepts, I think this app can be a good success in our country. Seeing the current flow of awesome reviews for this, I can say it is happening already.

If I had to say the best features of Fat Cat in a nutshell, I���d say it���s a simple app with a complex style. The usage is pretty easy. You log in, you select your favorite six companies and let the stock market open. If you do well, your name appears in the top scorers. If you win, you win! There���s more to it if you���re the sharing kind. All you need to do is to refer a friend of yours and tell him your username. When he creates his account he puts your name as the referrer and you get to win when he wins. Now that���s the easiest way of winning if you ask me!

This is a nice and innovative idea with a lot of potential. I���d suggest you definitely give it a try. Do check out http://fatcatgaming.com/ for more.

Tagged: competition, fatcat, indiblogger

A cleaner India.

I am sure many of us are familiar with the quote “In India, It’s not okay to kiss in public, but you can piss in public.” Although it was said with humor but there is a good amount of reality in it. And to think about our so many villages where there is still a long way to go to have proper furnished dwellings and sanitation systems, the heart cringes a little.

Recently I got an email from Domex, it said something about how one click of mine could help contribute towards a cleaner and healthy India. I didn’t know too much about this problem at that time except the fact that our villages do face problems of open defecation and it needs attention. But then I did some research and found some staggering results. In our villages this problem is not just widespread, it is one of the biggest cause of diseases and safety issues. 597 million people, which is almost half our population face the lack of sanitation facilities and do not have proper toilets to use! This amount is more than the population of many developed countries.

This was enough to make me think that we seriously need to do something about it. And being a blogger, spreading the word is the first thing I wanted to do. Needless to say I am glad that Domex and Indiblogger gave me that chance. The #ToiletForBabli initiative by Domex is a great way to tell the people like you and me about the hazards our people living in villages face on a daily basis. Starting with the basics, this is something that won’t take more than a minute of yours. You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

Thank you Indiblogger.

There are more ways to help of course. Some that I could think of being; donating to the cause so that the people there can live in a safer and healthier environment, visiting one such village yourself one day to see the problems being faced by them, spreading the word so much that the government takes a step themselves. Do tell me what you can think of, I believe together we can bring the change everyone talks about.

I know this blogpost wasn’t the usual fun and crazy, but I also know that if I have even one person realizing the gravity of this situation through this, I did my bit.

In any case, do support the initiative and share it. Help Babli, she’ll be very happy :)

Tagged: domex, india, indiblogger, issues

Hope.

She sat on the airport, waiting for him.

It was almost empty, with one or two people appearing every now and then.

“He’s not coming ma’am, the flight couldn’t take off due to bad weather. Maybe tomorrow” The janitor said.

“Maybe tomorrow then.” She said with a dejected face and went away.

“Till when are you going to continue that? It’s been a month” The other janitor asked him.

“I don’t know. Since the day he dies, my words seem to be the only hope keeping her alive” He replied.





And hey, Now you can also follow my blog “The resonant thoughts “on Quora to read more such stories :)
Tagged: airport, Fiction, very short stories

When life becomes Quikr!

How many times does that happen in your life that you want to do something and out of nowhere an opportunity comes up giving you just that chance? I don’t know about you but in my case that number isn’t very large. But thanks to this stupendously amazing blog that I have, I got a few such chances this month. This is an account of something Blogadda and Quikr did for me this week. Being the kind of guy who rarely wins stuff on his blog, this was a refreshing change!

My relationship with Blogadda goes way back… I remember that time in 1857 when I used Blogadda to promote my posts about the Revolution… erm wait… we’re talking about the present birth! But five spicy Saturday and tangy Tuesday picks isn’t bad huh. So even in past two years, Blogadda people have been quite generous to me. But this time it was something different. Diwali had just gone and I was slowly getting back to blogging. I had just written “The plan” and went to Blogadda to submit my story like always. What I saw there was the Quikr contest… a contest where all you need to do is to buy something and they’ll pay you for that. Not to mention if the post is good, (like this one *coughs*) you’re in for even more awesomeness and awards!

So I applied and just the next day I got a call that I was shortlisted for the contest… amazing, no? Now comes the herculean task of buying something. As much as this contest sounds like a woman’s paradise, I am not very good at choosing stuff quickly. But as they say, behind every successful man, there’s a shopaholic sister. So my sister came to my rescue and suggested that I do something that I had been waiting for a long time. What’s that thing, you ask? It was buying a TV for my home. What!? You don’t have a TV!!! Well, we do, but it just isn’t the good old CRT. And apparently my parents’ love for their old TV hadn’t killed itself, the TV did though.

So here’s the thing. I needed a TV to gift it to my parents, one that gives the feeling just like the old one used to give. With the job and everything I just never got the time to go out and search… and hell knows how many shops I would need to visit to buy a TV at a reasonable cost! Sounded like a lot of work and being an engineer, it was strictly against my ethics. So here’s something I need, and here’s an opportunity, mix them up and what do you get? Wasting hours online to find a good product. Or at least that’s what I thought. And like Chandler would say, “could I BE more wrong!”

The original advertisement.

I had seen a lot of ads of Quikr on Television but I never checked it. Maybe the Indian mentality of “used products are always bad” stopped me. But to prove all this wrong, one experience seemed enough. When I went to Quikr, first thing I did was to select my hometown and find a TV according to my requirements. This is the page I set my mind upon: http://jaipur.quikr.com/TV-DVD-Multimedia/w15222202008 .

I was amazed to see that in every category so many ads were posted like every hour! I talked to around 7 people about my requirements and finally settled on one. It was not only close to my home but under my budget and in a great condition too! After I talked to the person who posted the ad, I gladly used my negotiating skills (How I wish they were useful in my company!) to bring the price down further and feel good about myself. Once it was done (which took less time than it takes me to make an omelet).

Once this is all done, guess what happened next? I’ll let the picture speak for me this time.

It’s not the best gift, but the perfectly timed one for sure. Damn I can speak a lot!

I am yet to believe that this whole thing took barely two days. And most of the things I did were online. I could say I wanted to promote Quikr but with this experience I am pretty sure their work is promoting them. With such a gigantic user base, they don’t really need me to promote them. Now that this one is done, I have made a list of things I am buying next. I’ll just tell you all a few things to keep in mind if this is your first time buying/selling on Quikr.

As a buyer, don’t believe everything the seller says, do your research. Don’t pay up first and try to buy only from ads that look authentic. Rest assured, your experience will be awesome!

As a seller, make sure your number is verified and your ad has images, not to mention a good language. These were the things I noticed before buying something myself. Above all, be real, don’t cheat and keep the website just the way it is.

To end it, here’s the contest link, for those who were wondering: http://quikr.blogadda.com/.

Stay tuned to Blogadda, they just never run out of these things. And in case you want to know what I am up to these days, make sure you have liked this and followed me on Quora :)

PS: I guess by now you know: This post is a part of Quikr.com activity at BlogAdda.com

Tagged: blogadda, contests, ecommerce, prize, Quikr

The plan.

Mumbai. Marine drive, 1 A.M.

They say it’s a city that never sleeps,�� and they aren’t wrong apparently. Yet there was something unusual about�� what George just saw.

“Is that man trying to commit suicide?” He asked himself and went towards him, thinking he could do something about it.

“Hey” George shouted… “Yes, you… what are you doing?”

“Nothing”�� that’s what the man said… but he was visibly scared like someone�� caught him in the act. He was pretty sure George was a policeman.

George went closer to the guy… “Well your nothing looks like suicide to me sir.”

“No. I swear. I was just trying to look into the sea.” His voice started shaking.

A smile came to George’s face, his voice softened, “You can tell me what’s wrong. Trust me, I can help you”.

There�� was something about George that opened up that man… The�� expressionless face now started showing some emotions… “You are right.�� I was trying to kill myself. I came to this city 3 months back to�� become something and now I am a nobody. I have lost everything I had and�� I don’t see any way out.”

For a moment George didn’t know how to�� react. “I don’t know about you, young man, but I have seen similar�� situations back in the day. One thing I know about life is that you�� aren’t solving any problems by ending it, you are just choosing to�� ignore them for eternity, thereby proving yourself a loser for a�� lifetime. What can I call you by the way?”

The guy just looked at George like he wanted him to go on. “Sameer” he said.

“Look�� Sameer, if I begin telling how many flaws are there in this self –�� destructing plan of yours, we’ll probably need all night. I mean, who�� thinks of killing himself on the freaking Marine Drive! But that’s not�� what I’ll do… I’ll just say that no matter what your problem is, you�� can always solve it with a peaceful mind. Killing yourself won’t take�� you anywhere”

“I guess you’re right. What was I thinking! What would my parents do without me! I am so sorry” Sameer looked scared.

“So I believe you’ll be going back home and start a new life where you don’t kill yourself later?” George still had a smile.

“I believe so too. Thanks. You were of a great help to me.” Sameer smiled back.

George�� looked at him as he walked… towards his home maybe… George’s mind�� imbibed a feeling of satisfaction. After all he had saved two lives�� today. Sameer wasn’t the only one who wanted to kill himself tonight.

It�� was only after looking at Sameer that George realised how naive his own�� plan was.

Tagged: Fiction, mumbai, Short story, Twists

The happy child!

I must warn you before you start, this isn’t a regular funny post like I usually do. But at the same time I am not advertising too. Just that I’ve been falling sick too much lately that I just bought a pack of Dabur Chyawanprash and next thing I see is indiblogger happy hours. One thing leads to another and here you are, reading this gem of a post by me. Am I not awesome? Ok don’t answer that. Although I do want you to answer this. How do you like your kids at home? Healthy and smiling or frail and sad?

It is true that kids are like a battery for the machine called home. And kids falling sick, brings down the energy level of the entire family… not to mention it gets them worried to the core. When the kid is like me, these things happen like every week. Oh yeah, you’re reading the guy who could personally hold the record of falling sick the most number of times in the world, if only he was not too sick to claim it!!

But it’s not all bad, it’s just that I happen to be allergic to more number of things than usual. And when there’s too cold outside, my sick cells crave for more problems! I remember how I used to have that one spoon of chyawanprash everyday in the morning to make sure I didn’t catch a cold. I always thought it was more of a psychological effect than physical, but now that I travel a lot and well, have a little more knowledge about the human body, I can see where I was wrong.

Before coming across this amazing post on Indiblogger, I had a conversation with my mom where she asked me to start eating Dabur Chyawanprash again. I’ve been eating that since I was a little child. Turns out the few days of the year I wasn’t sick, it was thanks to that. Have you thought how much one loses with a sick person in the family? I cannot remember the number of times I was absent from school because I had a fever. Although that’s one thing I never hated. But apart from that, the continuous headaches, cold, the unwillingness to move, not feeling like talking to anyone… now you don’t want that in a kid, do you? I mean, that he’ll do anyway when he hits puberty. Erm… kidding…

Do what Madhuri says man! Isn’t she beautiful!?

As much as I hate taking large pills, once you fall ill, there’s hardly a way to avoid that. But to think about it, when we grow up, the large pills we took as children are big reasons of kidney and liver failures. How about replacing the pills and chemicals with something as natural as Amla and other amazing herbs?

If you haven’t fallen in love with the idea already, I am sure you’re the tough one with an amazing inbuilt immunity. But I’d still tell you this, a small microbe is all it takes to take down the strongest of men. Extra protection is always recommended! So that’s it, I am off to a good health and so is my little nephew, hope you’re too. Before you go, do check this out. A stylish way to give you some health info. https://www.liveveda.com/daburchyawanprash/

The vision.

“David… It’s time to do your homework! Come on in.” Marge said.

“But mom… I am about to win! Just a little more time.”

“But you’re playing alone! No more excuses David… come in!” She shouted.

With a dejected face David came in. “We’ll continue tomorrow” he whispered. He had to give up, after all he couldn’t convince Marge for what she couldn’t see.

I’ll be coming up with more posts by the end of August, hope you’ll like those! :)

Tagged: very short stories

A hundred thousand thanks!

Before you go ahead, I must warn you, this post is just a rant. But then again, I must have forced you to read it, what choice do you have!

This month has been good for many reasons. To start with, I completed my first year on Quora this month. And just when I thought I wasn’t getting enough visibility, my Quora stats touched a million views. That’s 1 followed by six zeros by the way, took me a while to believe. Not only that, I got my 1000th follower as well this month, which is not much compared to some users but for my mom it was something to laugh about for more than 10 minutes! June 2014 also marks the beginning of the World cup Football, my love for which is not a secret. And to add to it, my performance in office too was less dismal as compared to last few months.

But that isn’t why I write this post. There has been something much closer to my heart and more important than anything else for me. Something that marks the onset of my writing which has nothing but improved in the recent years. And this June of 2014, that very thing, ABugInMyMind, crossed a 100,000 views. Now pageviews is something highly controversial and most bloggers tend not to be affected by it. But when it is about something so dear to you, why not post about it, right?

 

 

 

ABugInMyMind is not just a blog, it has been way more than that for me. A platform to tell people my thoughts that have no value anywhere else, a place to display my otherwise useless creativity and most importantly, a place where I go to when I want to take a small break from this world (the other option would be a coma which I wouldn’t prefer). Next month, i.e, July 2014, it will complete 3 years in the world of blogging. Not a long time for a blog of course, but yet it makes me feel old.

I’d take this moment to thank all the readers, friends and followers, in short all 3 of you who were supportive in this journey of writing. Kidding, there are more people of course, 5! Now being realistic, the blog has indeed made its place in the blogosphere with thousands of social media mentions and over 600 followers. The numerous posts that were recognized time to time are just a mark of the love the amazing friends of mine have shown to it. I can only hope that as life puts me to different tests, the blog continues the way it goes and does not stop. The last few months haven’t been productive for me in terms for writing, but here it is, a promise that it ends now. Not the writing, the drought. I’ll make sure the blog never runs out of new posts and write more frequently to get that old taste back.

It’s about time to end this blob of rants and free you from the clutches of this deceptive display of jactitation. Although before you go, why not take a look at my Quora profile. I am working on making it better bit by bit.

Again, thank you for this.

Tagged: ABugInMyMind, Annivarsary, football, Quora

What got me hooked!

I believe technology is the second best thing for the mankind, right after Mom’s home-cooked food. It lets us do things in a blink of an eye, technology, not the food. But to want more is being human.

Sometimes I like to hang out with my friends just to catch up with what’s going on in their lives. Those are the times when I don’t want to worry about my life’s problems or the regular work. Sometimes, I’d just have a pizza in peace. And let’s not even talk about the time when the Football world cup is going on. But the thing with life is that it is ruthless. No matter who you’re talking to, your phone could just run out of prepaid balance, your internet may go down, your phone or laptop battery may get discharged, your DTH connection may be interrupted… the list is just unending.

So the point here is, after all that I am getting through this amazingly advanced technology, why do I feel I am losing on so much? The answer seems to be simple… ‘Because just having a smartphone or a laptop does not mean you have the best technology with you’. Behold, in comes Asus T100!

Now I never tell people how much I am in love with internet. Well, ok sometimes I do. But just imagine its power. You can pay your bills, watch your favorite match, stay abreast with the news, chat with your family and friends and a lot more things, all while eating a pizza! You’re feeling hungry? I am sure there’s an app for that. Feeling bored? Voila, app for that too. (That’s why Mom’s homemade food precedes technology. There’s no app for that :(  ).

But no matter how great the software is, how speedy the internet is, there’s no point if you have to sit at a fixed place to use it or the hardware is just not good enough. With tech savvy and erm… Crazy people like me, you just need to have the best thing possible. Talking about the best, how about something with a small size that you can carry anywhere, compatibility with the best of windows, a battery that will run longer than you can imagine, speed that you’ll feel proud of and wait for it, a feature of conversions as per your wish… yep, a laptop, no, a tab? You got it! It really is Ultraportable!

 

You wouldn’t want that now, would you? GO OUT! Your tablet will stay with you.

 

I am a 23-year-old blogger who works in the IT industry, loves football and lives away from his family. So no matter where I am, I want to stay connected so that I can chat with my friends anytime, pay my bills, write immediately whenever an idea comes to my mind, make sure my favorite match moments aren’t missed and obviously, I need that all without the constant thought of running out of battery. And that’s what keeps me hooked to my favorite devices. May it be a phone or a laptop. But alas, they all have their limitations, which, let’s face it, none of us likes.

A gadget like the Asus T100 would be a boon for me. With its powerful processor and hulk sized battery, I am sure I’ll not have the power problem. Its portability options give me the chance to take it on the go wherever I want and still stay connected, not to mention its Office, Entertainment and internet options give me a range of things I can do. I am assuming when I have my hands on it, Mom’s food will be the only thing left that I’d miss. I wish Asus could do something about that too. But hey, I’ll video chat with her and learn how to cook, for as long as I want! I mean, it’s not like the battery is going anywhere… or I need to care about the bulky size and not take it to the kitchen! It’s slimmer than Scarlet Johansson for crying out loud!

I heard about it and the idea of this post came to my mind. One thing is for sure, I am definitely going to try this amazing master-piece of Asus. In case you’re intrigued, don’t hold it, go directly to this ( http://asusindia.co.in/T100/ ) and take a look, trust me, you wouldn’t be disappointed, to say the least. Although I don’t take any guarantee of heart racing or skipping a beat. Here’s a pic of this stunner.

Isn’t that beautiful?

Tagged: Asus T100, indiblogger, life, Technology