Destination Infinity's Blog, page 65

#Song of the Week: Takku Takku Takkunu (Sigaram Thodu)

‘Takku takku takkunu’ from Sigaram Thodu (Tamil movie) is as (differently) catchy as a song can get! The music for this song has been composed by D. Imman. Though this song is not great, listen to this song for the sheer creativity of the song makers And kids will love it!

Also try to listen to Pidikkuthe song from the same movie, if you like melodious songs.

Destination Infinity

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on February 01, 2015 08:12

Quikr NXT: Chat with sellers before buying

Quikr, as you all know, is India’s most popular Online classifieds website. You can buy old/used products in good condition (needless to say – at a great price) or new products, depending on what you might need.

Quikr has recently introduced a new feature called Quikr NXT that allows buyers and sellers to chat with each other, on their desktop website, and mobile website, and mobile app.

A few sellers have enabled this option and buyers can send them a message to which they may reply immediately if they are online. Buyers and sellers can also exchange photos, and the saved chat history can be accessed later on.

This is a useful feature to have especially when buyers have not decided whether they want to buy something, or if they want more details on a product that has been advertised by the seller.

Since online chat is relatively anonymous, buyers need not disclose their cell phone numbers to the sellers, and hence can avoid disclosing their phone number and avoid any calls requesting to buy.

Chat, as you can guess, is faster. If the seller is Online or gets notification in their mobile, they can immediately reply which makes the decision making/buying process faster and easier, both for the buyer and seller.

I checked on their site and a few sellers have enabled the chat option. Buyers just need to click on the ‘Chat now’ green icon, and provide some basic details like email and phone number, to start the chat. Once the seller replies, the buyer will be notified. If the seller is available, the conversation can happen immediately.

I think chatting is a good option mainly for the anonymity it provides. While evaluating products, when we ourselves have not decided on whether we want to buy a particular product or not, it’s easier and safer not to give our mobile/email address to sellers whom we don’t know.

Also, this will enable the buyer to evaluate the seller. If the seller has enabled the chat option, it means he/she is active on the site and are eager to do business. If they reply immediately, or even if they reply late, but reply with all the necessary details, that also means they are proactive and are interested to do business.

It’s important to evaluate sellers, especially when they are unknown people. Their response to our questions or requests determines how they will respond when we meet them, and if they will respond at all! I think chat is useful to determine the sellers who are active and take that extra step to ensure good/timely communication with customers, which is critical for customer satisfaction.

Having bought a few items from Quikr, I know how useful this feature can be. Besides, a phone call costs money and chat doesn’t cost a single rupee. If you want to evaluate many sellers, chat/email option might be a money saving proposition, in addition to saving time.

Go ahead, hop on to Quikr and try the chat feature today

Destination Infinity

Disclaimer: This post has been written for indiBlogger Happy Hour contest sponsored by Quikr.

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on February 01, 2015 08:10

Very Inspiring Blogger Award: 7 Things About Me

I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger award by Deepika, and as a part of the award ceremony, I need to tell seven things about myself. So here we go –

I am generally serious & quiet. I prefer to be alone. But if I need to talk for one hour non-stop, be humorous, and be among many people, I can.
I don’t interfere with others’ work, and I expect others not to interfere in my work.
I am a professional blogger, freelancer, and an aspiring author. I love being different from the majority, and I don’t mind going against the tide – even if that means a lot of sacrifice/efforts without much returns.
Nowadays, I am forcing myself to do amusing/fun things because that seems to be helping me do my work better and more efficiently. Otherwise, I don’t mind working throughout the week – although I don’t do that nowadays, mainly for health reasons.
I love music. Nothing relaxes me and uplifts my mood like good songs. I like both Hindi and Tamil movie songs.
I don’t lie (mostly), and hate people who do.
I over-think, and over-analyze. Nowadays, although, I am trying to go with the flow and listen more to my heart/intuition. Because of over-thinking, I take a long time to come to a firm decision. But once I decide, I am determined (and even stubborn) with the execution, irrespective of the immediate results and who-thinks-what-about-it.

Destination Infinity

PS: By commenting on this post, you have agreed to get tagged by me and take the tag forward in your blogs

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 27, 2015 03:13

Amish Tripathi: What’s the Next Book/Series? (2015)

Amish Tripathi is the Indian bestseller novelist and author of the popular ‘Shiva Trilogy’ Mytho-Fantasy-Thriller book series. In fact,

“The Shiva Trilogy has become the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian publishing, with two million copies in print and over 50 crore rupees in sales.” – Wikipedia page on Amish.

See the below video ‘The Journey of the Shiva Trilogy’ if you need any convincing on how good/successful Amish Tripathi’s first novel series was,

A few days back, Westland, the publisher of Amish Tripathi’s books, sent me a secret package that had some clues to what Amish Tripathi’s next book/series might be about.

Here’s the box I got:

And here’s what it contained:

If you are not able to read the ancient-looking manuscript, here’s what it says:

“This amulet is strong. It commands respect and isn’t too easy to figure out, is it? Light but not really so, one can say that it is much like the rulers of the dynasty it hints at. The capital of an important kingdom in the history of ancient India, this city has a great past. If you give it a close listen, you might even hear in its streets, the voice of the pleasant-faced king himself.”

While I was wondering what this clue (and the symbol) might mean, I attended The Hindu Lit Fest 2015 in Chennai, where I caught Amish Tripathi in conversation with Bharadwaj Rangan.

To his credit, Bharadwaj Rangan tried to extract some details about Amish Tripathi’s next book during the discussion, but Amish was tight-lipped and only said that his next would be a series, not a stand-alone novel. But Amish told us the official announcement for the next book will be made during the Jaipur Lit Fest 2015.

The Hindu reports from the Jaipur Lit Fest that Amish Tripathi’s next book will be a fictional interpretation and fast paced adventure based on many versions of Ramayana. So finally we have it: The book/series is going to be based on Lord Ram, and Ayodhya should be the city mentioned in the above-shown cryptic clue.

The first book in the new series is titled, ‘The Scion of Ishkwaku’ and it is expected to be released in the second half of 2015. I admit I have not read Amish’s Shiva Trilogy yet, but I guess I have enough time to do that, and then pick up the next book when it’s out later this year.

Here’s the video trailer of the first book in the new series:

Isn’t it cool? Who else is looking forward to Amish Tripathi’s new book series?

#WhatsNextAmish? and #WhenAmish?

Destination Infinity

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 27, 2015 03:06

Gudiyam Hills/Caves Near Poondi, Chennai

Before a few years I went to a trek in Parvadamalai, near Tiruvannamalai. After that experience, I decided NOT to go to ANY trek in my life Recently, when I befriended a group of trekkers, I caught upon their enthusiasm and decided to try a (relatively small) trek closer to home. The result was a trek to Gudiyam Hills/Caves, 10 K.M. from Poondi (via Tiruvallur), 60 KM from Chennai. Go to Poondi reservoir and ask a few people (not one) for directions to Gudiyam Gugai from there. It can be tricky!

We were a gang of 19. We went in two cars and two bikes from Adyar -> Guindy -> Porur -> P.H.Road -> Tiruvallur -> Poondi. At Poondi, someone told us that vehicles can go right up to the entrance of the caves. My spirits were up – I thought this was going to be a simple(r) trek. When we reached the parking clearance (2-3 cars can be parked there) we were informed we need to walk for 7 K.M., both horizontally and vertically, to reach the caves!!

Initially, the path was plain and inviting, as shown in the first two photos. I thought O.K., it’s going to be a normal walk. After a few K.M., the path was filled with pebbles and rocks. Now I realized how critical it was to wear proper shoes with big soles. In spite of it, my legs did pain.

As we were moving, we saw a path going in/up on our left. We decided to explore it, and walked up. It was slightly difficult – but was not the most difficult part of the trek, which I realized shortly. The person in the above photo is 65+ but he walked with such ease and enthusiasm, that all of us (read: me) had to hang our heads in shame!

This large open cave greeted us when we reached the top. I have shown it in two photos because my camera couldn’t capture the entire cave in a single frame! This is our gang. They went above this area to explore the view while I decided to take some rest below this cave

Then we came back to the original path and started going forward. The path inclined up slightly, but the elevation was not steep. So except the pebbles and stones in the path, the walk was not that difficult. Then we reached inside another large cave where some people had set up a Temple. Here it is:

Here’s a view of the rocky hill from within the cave:

At this point, I thought: Wow, I made it – that was not so difficult. Little did I realize what was going to come when I innocently decided to go further up along with the group.

How’s that for a path?? The entire path went (somewhat like this) steeply up, and there were creepers in between, thorny plants on the sides, and rocks all along the way! If you thought going up took a lot of effort, getting down was also difficult as a small slip was sufficient to create an injury! Since we were a group, we kept together and it was easier to traverse. Now I realized why full-sleeves and water were critical for such treks!

On the way, we found a small path going right and found this viewpoint. It’s better than what you find in the above photo as I was not able to capture the entire scene. After this we kept walking up and came to the climax of our trip. They asked me to climb this ‘small’ rock after which, it seems, there was a good view:

Needless to say, I REFUSED even to go near that rock, forget climbing it!! We walked to another point in the side to get a similar view. From there we were able to see the brave-hearts who climbed the rock. Here they are: (that 65+ person is also there!!)

Hmmm…

The Gudiyam hills/caves are a geologically important site because it was the settlement of Paleolithic human beings, who lived before 1,00,000 years. Some stone tools and weapons used then have been unearthed. There is an interesting story behind the formation of these caves too. You can find the significance of Gudiyam caves in the below (excellent) embedded video made by Archeology Dept (9 minutes):

Destination Infinity

PS: I was down with cold/fever for two days once I returned. Still I think the trek was worth it. Maybe because of the amazing group

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 27, 2015 02:59

#Song of the Week: Beparwah (Baby)

‘Beparwah’ from the Hindi movie ‘Baby’ staring Akshay Kumar & Tapasee Pannu is the latest song in my loop. The surround beats effect in the beginning is too good. The song starts slow but picks up pace soon enough. I think the shift from the slow to faster pace crates a good effect. The beats are too good. The music for this movie (songs) has been composed by M. M. Kreem & Meet Bros Anjjan. This song has been sung by Apeksha Dandekar. Super

Destination Infinity

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 27, 2015 02:49

Traditional & Modern: Same?

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” – Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.

I am participating in a Tablog organized by CBC (Chennai Bloggers Club) where many bloggers come together and write on a topic. The topic this time is: “Chennai – A blend of Traditional and Modern.”

We think traditional and modern are different. Yes – they are, but is there a common thread connecting the two? Are traditional and modern systems designed to achieve the same?

Traditional systems may change to modern ones, the old-order maybe replaced by the new-order, but the ‘order’ remains constant!

Here are five examples to illustrate my point. This is not specific to Chennai.

Schools: There maybe more schools and more course options now, but the only purpose of education (then, now) is to imbibe discipline into kids, not educate them. We believe discipline is important to maintain an order in the society?

Movies: Traditional movies have emphasized the importance of relationships; Modern movies also emphasize the importance of relationships. Maybe relationships are important for maintaining the order?

Comedy: Traditional comedy scenes showed a self-depreciating comedian; modern comedy scenes also show self-depreciating comedians. Self-depreciation is important to avoid excesses and hence maintain order in the society?

Socializing: Socializing has shifted from the Temple/community to the Internet, but what people do in social situations remains the same. We encourage people who have similar thoughts, and discourage people who deviate from the established order?

Religion/Work: Earlier, religion was used to keep people engaged/occupied, and now work is used for the same. Keeping people occupied leaves no time to disturb the order?

So what has changed? A lot! What difference has the change resulted in? Not much!

This is my perspective. I maybe wrong – I hope I am!

Destination Infinity

The previous entry for this tablog was by Umasree Raghunath. The next entry will be by Sulaiman Sait.

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 21, 2015 02:44

The Hindu Lit for Life 2015 – Day 1 (Highlights)

Visitors can post a letter to their favorite authors attending this year’s festival!

The Hindu Lit for Life is an annual literary festival organized by The Hindu (newspaper) in Chennai. They invite authors and notable literary/popular personalities from all over the world and organize book/literature-related speeches, readings, discussion sessions, author signings, etc. This year, The Hindu Lit for Life 2015 event is being held at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall at Harrington Road, Chetpet. In this post, I present some highlights from the Day 1 of this event.

The-Hindu-Lit-For-Life-2015-Ram-Nayantara-Seghal

Ram from The Hindu inaugurated the event, while the Chief Guest Nayantara Sahgal conversed with her biographer Ritu Menon during a session.

Eleanor Catton, the author from New Zealand, and the youngest Booker Prize winner at 28, in conversation with Parvathy Nair.

Jonathan Gil Harris, also from New Zealand, talking about Firangis who became Indian during the Mughal times and later on.

Rajdeep Sardesai, Meghnad Desai, Sanjaya Baru and Vinod Rai discussing on Good Governance in India.

Jung Chang on The Birth of Modern China, history of 19th Century Chinese ruler – Empress Dowager Cixi.

Nirupama Subramanian, Salil Tripathi and Samanth Subramanian discussing on India’s relationship with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Poetree – visitors can pen a verse or haiku and hang it on the tree!

There were a few more sessions that I was unable to attend – Feminine Form: Site of Violence about the feminist movement in India, and hurdles faced to bring equality; Author Chetan Bhagat in conversation with Karthik Kumar, etc. Sessions are being held in two pavilions – The main pavilion and The Hindu pavilion They are also conducting a few (writing/book-related) workshops during this event.

If you love books/literature, and you are in Chennai from Jan. 16 – 18, attending this event is a must. Entry is free for visitors but you may have to register in the lfl website. (Click on this link to get the schedule of events for all three days.)

Destination Infinity

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

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 16, 2015 07:34

Interesting Stalls @ Travel & Tourism Fair, Chennai

Nepal:

I went to the Travel & Tourism Fair 2015 held recently at the Chennai Trade Center, Chennai, India. Many state & a few country tourism boards (along with travel operators, resort owners, etc.) had put up stalls to woo tourists from here to their respective states/countries. Here are a few interesting stalls I found at this venue -

Odisha:

Himachal Pradesh:

Kerala:

Gujarat:

Karnataka:

Goa:

Jammu & Kashmir:

New Zealand:

So which is your favorite stall among these?

Destination Infinity

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

View more on Destination Infinity's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 11, 2015 06:24

Koothu @ Forum Vijaya Mall, Chennai

When I look at dance performance in the TV, I may not be drawn to them so much. But when I saw a live dance performance recently in the Forum Vijaya Mall, Vadapalani, Chennai, I (and so many others, as you can see in the above photo) were instantly drawn to it. I guess it’s due to the electric atmosphere of watching the dance performance with so many people cheering around me!