Destination Infinity's Blog, page 44

Why should Salespeople always Stand in Shops?

I understand why salespeople in shops need to stand while attending to a customer, but why should they keep standing even when there are no customers in the shop?

Try standing in a place for one hour. Can you imagine how difficult it is? How can we expect salespeople to stand/walk for 8 hours everyday?

Think about this: Only if the sales persons are fresh and relaxed, they can give a good experience to the customers. Making them unnecessarily uncomfortable is going to inconvenience the customers, and reduce business for shop owners.

I feel, shops should give a chair (or at least a stool) to all sales people where they can sit until a customer is near them. Once the customer is in their vicinity, they could stand.

Is this simple tip, that will enhance the efficiency, maintain good health, and improve business, so difficult to implement? Why have the insensitive shop owners not implemented this yet?

Destination Infinity

Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy #1): Book Review

Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi is the first book of the Shiva Trilogy series published by Westland Books.

Book Rating: 4 Stars.

Book Review in one line: I loved the book, but it could have been shorter/tighter.

I like historical fiction books that have been written after exhaustive research. From the day I listened to Amish at the Hindu Lit for Life event I wanted to read this book. I finally bought the audio book version from Flipkart. So I finished ‘listening’ to it.

I think this was one of the best selling books in India back when it was launched, that too by a debut author.

Here is the book trailer:

What I liked about the book: A fresh Mythological subject that is NOT Ramayana or Mahabharata. Those two epics have been done to death, I am not sure why Amish chose to rewrite it for the millionth time with his current series!

Although character development is not excellent, it’s still good. The author takes us into a believable journey into a period that is so far back – 1900 A.D., and makes us believe these events may have actually happened. Historical India has been constructed well.

I also like the way the story developedwith right amounts of twists and suspense. I was anxious to know who was behind this, who was the traitor, etc. Strategically, the author has not revealed those crucial points in the first book. Result? I bought the second book and have read 50 pages already!

The best thing about the book, I feel, is the solid philosophy. When Shiva comes of age, we also do. And we feel we have traveled and learned along with Shiva, during the journey. Achieving that with adult readers into their 30s is a huge feat. I applaud the author for getting the message across very effectively without boring me.

What I did not like in this book: The book should have been at least 30% shorter. Some sections just drag on without much action or suspense. War strategies and scenes have been over-simplified and that makes war scenes (at least the final big one) unrealistic.

I hate books that leave the reader in a cliffhanger. But this once I forgive the author because the second book is already available

WordPress Theme with Sections & Animations on Front Page: SKT Themes

Recently, I volunteered to create a website for my School. Since I am familiar with WordPress, and it is the CMS used by more than 60% of the websites in the world, we decided to go with it.

But since WordPress is basically a blogging platform, we needed a nice theme that not only gave us an option to have a static front page, but we also wanted it to look professional and modern.

We tried a few free themes, but were not satisfied with the results. That is when I came across SKT White Pro. There is a free version of this theme in the WordPress.org theme repository, but it doesn’t have the front-page sections option with animations, which is a major feature. So we decided to go with the paid Pro version of the theme.

What I loved about this theme is, it not only gave a full-page slider on the front page, but also gave user-selectable sections below it. I could decide which section holds which type of content. I could hide certain sections if I didn’t want to. I could duplicate certain sections or I could even insert a third-party plugin to create a new type of section.

Do you want to know what’s the best part about this theme? The animation effect. That’s right. You’ll find sections, or elements of certain sections, jumping out at you as you scroll down. It creates a cool effect for visitors and makes the site look modern!

Of course, you can create any number of pages you want. And you can create any number of posts you want. However, posts are not displayed on the front page unlike a traditional blog. It can be displayed within one of the sections, if you wish. So the website basically looks like a traditional website with a frequently updated blog section.

While designing the site, we decided we wanted to have the main menu above the large slider on the front page. So we contacted the theme creator for making this change, who did it for us in a couple of days. The support provided by the theme creator is good. If you want, you can also buy other recently released themes from SKT Themes which come with the main menu on the top, by default.

Destination Infinity

Actor Vikram’s Video Song on Chennai Floods: Spirit of Chennai

Actor Vikram, along with many cine stars across India, has made a video song on the recent Chennai Floods: Spirit of Chennai. The song is embedded above. Though the visuals are good and the song is nice, I wish it was shorter than 11:00 minutes. This is his message through the song,

“இங்கு மழை பெய்து மனிதம் வளர்ந்திருக்கிறது. ஒரு கார்கில், ஒரு பூகம்பம், ஒரு சுனாமி, ஒரு மழை வெள்ளம் – இதுல எதாவது ஒண்ணு வந்தா தான் நாம ஒண்ணு சேரணுமா?”

That’s why it rains. That’s why there are calamities. That’s why there are challenges in life. Otherwise, there will not be much of a scope for ‘humanity’ to ‘grow’. Don’t you think?

Destination Infinity

Sunrise pics @ Besant Nagar Beach, Chennai

Today morning, I went to a photography shoot cum beginner training class with Chennai Photographers to Besant Nagar beach. We were first asked to shoot sunrise pics and then we had a detailed photography basics session. Here are some of the pictures taken by me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Destination Infinity

Photo credit: By Destination8infinity (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Empowerment of Women in IT – 10th Anniversary Celebrations

ewit: Empowerment of Women in IT recently organized their 10th Anniversary event at Raintree Hotel, Anna Salai. Being a blogger, in spite of not being a woman, I too got an invite. So I thought why not go and present the highlights of the event to my readers.

ewit (or) Empowerment of Women in IT is a voluntary and non-profit organization run by a group of senior women professionals in the IT/ITES industry. Their objectives are –

To expand the women workforce at all management levels; to sustain & flourish
To enable women to tread the career path by equipping them with necessary skills
To facilitate women’s quest for a better ‘work-life’ balance in IT/ITES sector.

That’s Ms. Sharada Ramani, President, ewit, introducing the vision, key objectives, activities, and achievements of the organization. She also spoke briefly about challenges faced by women working in the IT/ITES sector like stereotyping, working in the nights, long shifts in different time zones, frequent travel, sexual harassment, returning back to career after taking a break, underestimating one’s own potential, etc.

Then we got to see this video that mocks double-standards in the matrimony market. Have a look at a part of it –

It seems this video went viral on social media and its creators, three students from IIT Madras, were facilitated by the organization during this event

&PicturesHD #HDfirst will premiere ‘Tamasha’ on Saturday, 30th April at 8 PM

&picturesHD – India’s premium mass Hindi movie channel keeping its promise of #HDfirst will premiere ‘Tamasha’ on Saturday, 30th April at 8 PM.

Directed by the luminous Imtiaz Ali, the Deepika Padukone & Ranbir Kapoor starrer is a movie about the journey of someone who has lost his edge trying to behave according to socially acceptable conventions. It is based on the central theme of abrasion and loss of self that happens as one attempts to fit in society. Here’s why the film is a must watch!

Reasons to watch ‘Tamasha’ on &pictures HD

1. You feel trapped in your monotonous 9 to 5 Job

Imtiaz Ali revealed that the concept of the film comes from the fact that some people are not used to their full potential if they do not find the path that they are suited for. One such character is Ved (enacted by Ranbir Kapoor), who is in a world which is not suited to him. He portrays an inner fight between acceptance of societal norms and pursuing one’s passion. We relate to his dreariness… which we sometimes conveniently refer to as ‘schedule’.

2. You believe Travel can change your life

Imtiaz Ali’s films are known to be around the change that travel and exploration can bring in one’s life. And Tamasha is no different. It is interesting to see how the movie explores new lcountries with love as the core theme coupled with many twists and turns. The exotic locations of Corsica, Tokyo, Delhi, Shimla and Kolkata blends into the movie beautifully and gives the movie a deserved texture.

3. Meet Don and Mona Darling

The characters in the movie come alive and how! Deepika as Mona Darling and Ranbir as Don are very fresh to watch and are the pulse of the movie. The bohemian, starry eyed – Don is a treat to the audience and the fashionable Mona Darling is no less. Together, they set out to explore the picturesque French island with terms and conditions applied, ofcourse!

4. The soulful music of Tamasha

With Oscar winning composer A R Rahman having curated the music for the film, it is definitely one the biggest reasons to watch the movie. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics touch the soul and add a new dimension to the story. From ‘Matargashti’ to ‘Heer Toh Badi Sad Hai’, the songs evoke a series of emotions in the hearts of the viewers. The music with the amazing visuals will definitely leave audiences spellbound.

5. Dream team – Imtiaz Ali, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone

You cannot deny the sizzling chemistry between Ranbir Kapoor and Deepike Padukone. But that apart, it is undeniably one of the best performances of Ranbir Kapoor in a really long time. And the queen of beauty Deepika Padukone will make you fall in love with her once again through Tamasha. Add to it, the sheer brilliance of Imtiaz Ali and its bound to be magical!

Agar Tum Saath Ho and Matargashi are already my favorite songs from this movie. Looking forward to see and review Tamasha shortly

North Indian Food in Chennai: Uttar Bhojan

If you are looking to eat authentic North Indian food in Chennai, Uttar Bhojan maybe a good option. Today, we had a bloggers meet at their head office in Valasaravakkam, and boy weren’t we impressed! Yes, that’s GULAB JAMUN you see in the above picture and we ate three plates of it. All of us together, not me alone

Meraki: Art Projects by Stella Maris MFA Students (Exhibition)

Meraki, an art exhibition by final year MFA students of Stella Maris college was held recently at the Lalit Kala Academy, Greams Road, Chennai. Various themed art exhibits by the students were on display and I was mighty impressed with their artistic talent. All the exhibits were good, but I can display only a few on my blog. So here goes…

The exhibit in the above photo shows beautiful patterns engraved in metal lampshades. The one below shows birds-themed pillow covers.

The project in the above photo shows beautiful Tamil typography designed by a student. The below photo shows objects and designs inspired by books like Harry Potter series, Game of Thrones series, Perry Jackson series, etc.

The above photo shows pillow covers emblazoned with the beautiful Malayalam font. The below picture shows how a woman needs to arm herself to prevent harassment in public places (symbolic).

The above exhibit shows bags with images that represent how society chains people and restricts them. The below exhibit shows kids’ dresses inspired by the imagery and dreams of the student during their childhood.

The above project shows a ‘dollhouse’ that shows how we are live routine and mundane lives but still manage to celebrate and find meaning for our existence through art. The below installation is creative & funny. If you know both English and Tamil, you’ll enjoy these T-Shirts

I am sorry I didn’t note down the name of the individual artists, so am not able to credit them. If you are the artist and are reading this post, please leave a comment below with contact details (whatever you prefer to appear next to the photo showing your exhibit), and I’ll include it here in the post.

I sometimes wonder why we look to the west for inspiration in art, and such exhibitions prove me right. Way to go!

Destination Infinity

Fiction on Domestic Abuse: The Other End of the Corridor

The Other End of the Corridor is a fiction book written by Sujata Rajpal. It deals primarily with domestic abuse and one woman’s journey through it.

Our Chennai Bloggers Club organized the book launch event for this book, ‘Sense and Sensibility’, held at Odyssey book shop, Adyar, Chennai. The book launch was hosted by the author Sujata Rajpal and Sharada Vijay, author of ‘Make it 2’. In the photo you can also see Bragadeesh Prasanna, an upcoming author himself, and the Co-admin of Chennai Bloggers Club.

There was a brief discussion about domestic abuse in Q&A format, between the two hosts. They spoke on various topics including what leads to domestic abuse and how people (women and men alike) can cope up with it. Then there was a Q&A session where both the panelists answered questions from the audience.

From the book blurb:

“When your dreams are tainted with lies and deceit, you have no other choice but to walk to the other end of the corridor.

Leela has nothing extraordinary about her except the dream to become famous. Her desires take wings when she gets married to a handsome boy from a respectable family in Delhi. But her dreams are shattered even before they have a chance to take flight.

She happens to meet two friends from a long forgotten past, which infuses hope and opens new avenues to realize her dormant aspirations. Leela delves into previously unexplored paths of deception and forbidden passions that only make her stronger.

In an attempt to rediscover herself, she falls in love with life and with herself but her life takes a sudden turn again…

No matter what, Leela will continue to chase her dreams.

Where does this journey take her?”

Destination Infinity

PS: Odyssey Adyar is a large and an awesome bookshop. I went to this shop for the first time, you all should go there sometime too…