#WINxpress At Ahmedabad - Blogadda

"I love meeting new people; I think everyone has a story to tell. We should all listen sometimes." -- Kim Smith

How true it is! There are so many stories out there which just need a patient hearing. Blogadda, the leading platform for Indian bloggers came with such an event to gather bloggers from around the city of Ahmedabad. It was an attempt by Blogadda to inspire the budding writers and instill the spirit of blogging with a new fervor. "Let blogging do the talking" was the motto of this event. The team of Blogadda believes that there is no inspiration without motivation and sharing your views makes a huge difference, so they had invited six eminent bloggers and writers who were carving a niche for themselves in the world of blogging.

The event was decided to be held at Cafe City Monk, Ahmedabad, a lovely place with a lovely ambience for book lovers and writers. Why?? See the place yourself.

I entered the cafe and was happy to see the wall art and dangling books and lamps. I was new to this city so didnt know any of the bloggers here. A gentleman kicked off a conversation and he was none other than the CEO of Blogadda, Mr. Nirav Sanghvi. Such a humble and grounded person he is. After a little chit chat about his journey, I felt happy to know the person behind this platform.

The session started with the introduction of Team Blogadda through a small video covering their journey till now. After that we had an ice-breaking session. We were divided into groups and one person from each group had to tell a secret about one of the persons of his/her group. After that, people from all the groups were given 10 minutes to mingle with each other and find out who that person is who had been mentioned a few minutes back. This became an interactive session amongst the bloggers. 

Then we had sessions from the speakers who were invited to share their two cents about their blogging/vlogging journey and tips on how to make it more effective.

Following were the speakers:

Juhi Bansal – http://www.closetbuddies.in/

Rishabh & Nirali Shah – http://gypsycouple.com/

Paresh Godhwani – http://pareshg.com/

Amit Panchal – https://twitter.com/AmitHPanchal

The session continued with every speaker sharing his/her strategy and fellow bloggers asking their queries. Meanwhile, the snacks were being served to satiate the hunger pangs.

The much awaited interactive Session with Raksha Bharadia, author of 'Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul' kickstarted. She read out a very inspiring short story and I went gaga over her story telling art. Such an eloquent speaker she is. Then she asked each of us to write a short story. She picked up one of the introduction from the audience and told how effective she would have written it. Likewise, she proceeded with the body and conclusion of the story. It was an eye-opening session. She effectively taught us the art of story composition by an example.

The session ended with a round of snacks and goodies for every attendee. Did I mention about the twitter activity. Well! there was a twitter activity announced at the beginning and I was one among the winner for my perky tangy tweets :) Thanks Blogadda for WINxpress event.

Gracias!
 

MOMS

This post is titled as MOMS. Why?? 
Are you expecting an article on mother, her selfless love and her charismatic persona? Today is not Mother's day and actually it doesn't need a day to write about our lovely and powerful super Moms. 

Here is the acronym for this post -
M - Mothers
O - on
M - Makar
S - Sankranti

Today is Makar Sankranti, 14th January 2017. Since morning, music and kites have made their way in the air. This festival is called Uttarayan in Gujarat  which marks the day when the sun begins its northward journey and enters the sign of Makar (the Capricorn) from the Tropic of Cancer. The sun moves from Dakshinayana (south) to Uttarayana (north) hemisphere. 

Comes Uttarayan and people, young and old alike, can be seen holding a bunch of kites running upstairs adjusting the google over eyes and cap on head. Children are found dividing themselves into pairs, one who will fly the kite and one who will hold the phirki. Often this turns into a funny brawl with elders settling the quarrel asking them to settle for turns  with each getting a chance to fly the kite. The elder siblings or friends set up a good music system on the terrace and the entire colony( residential area) seems to groove to the peppy numbers as well as popular folk songs (garba songs). 

Today I woke up (read as late) to the Gujarati music being played loud amidst the yells of "kaypo chhe", "e lapet", "phirki vet phirki" . As I stepped out , the sky was full of colorful kites. All were so full of enthusiasm and great fervour. Never have I seen the uncle to the right so energetic and lively. It seemed as if someone has turned on the vibrant mode (after Vibrant Gujarat) and people are bathing in laughter and colorful threads. The girl on the left holding phirki was cheering her brother to fly the kite more high. A gang of friends at the back had arranged all the snacks and were dancing to the tunes of garba while cheering others for cutting the kite. All this was the scene on the terrace. People had buzzed in numbers over every terrace with kites flying high. 

Every Indian festival has its own special sweetness and a dedicated sweet to sweeten it more. So down the stairs, into the kitchen, were the mothers who were toiling since morning to prepare snacks and the special Sankranti meal for all. In my house, the Aunty and elder sisters who have come to celebrate this festival were seen parading up and down taking plates full of snacks and water bottles. I went to them and offered my help. I asked them ,"Why dont you join all on the terrace? It would be more fun." 

"I have to prepare undhiyu and chikki. Jiggu loves it", came the reply. And there stood a mother who was busy making the special meal for her family and listening to the low-pitched laughter and banter of her family up on the terrace. I was so moved by a mother's response. She sacrifices all her fun and enjoyment for the sake of her family. Never does she complain. Instead takes pride in serving them with all her love.

The kite flying and dancing continued till mid-noon when it was the lunch time. Everyone came down to smack their fingers into delicious savories. The yummy aroma has already aroused their taste buds and everyone ate to the full. The children rushed again towards terrace to compete the kite flying with their friends and neighbors. 

The Mom stayed behind finishing the kitchen work. I asked her again,"Please come now. You also fly the kite." She laughed and said,"No dear! I'm so tired now. My legs will break away." I was taken aback and felt sad. How a mother takes everything and never complains. But we are always on with our complaining mode. 

This Sankranti I decided to send out a message to everyone reading this post - Please include your mothers and elder female members of the family in the celebration too. They are not only to make delicious meals for you. Give them a helping hand. Take them with you on terrace and enjoy together. I bet this would be more fun than it had ever been. Dedicating this post to all the lovely moms and female members of the family who let go their celebration for the family and feel happy with the aroma diffusing in the air of kitchen.

And yes the celebration continues till the sun set. The kite flying competition gains momentum after the lunch, with tummy-filled and refreshed. At the end, crackers are burnt and a lantern is lit. This is a truly mesmerizing tangled moment which is my personal favorite. At the end of the day, Sankranti marks its lightning and blooming presence with a magical atmosphere in the sky.

Gracias!