Tuesday, November 18, 2014

A click for cleaner safer India #ToiletForBabli Initiative

India is a country of contradictions. On one end, we talk about technology, space travel, world class education and becoming a world superpower while half of our countrymen do not have toilet in their house.
This reminds me of an incident when I was travelling by bus from Mumbai to Shirdi. It was fun trip and we were out for a vacation. We were passing time enjoying and singing with friends when the driver stopped the bus for a break, apparently because the driver wanted to answer nature's call.
But what was notable is he simply got down, turned to the corner of the road, opened his zip and started his business on a tree trunk. But did it come as a surprise to most of the people in the bus? No.
It is so common to see men emptying themselves by the road-side, along a wall or by the tree.
Following him many men in the bus also got down and dispersed inside the trees polluting different trees and grasses.
But what about women, I asked. And got the reply from a lady sitting on the next seat - "Tum bhi chali jao na". She was a rural looking woman, darker complexion, colorful synthetic saree tied loosely and head covered by a veil.
"What?" I am not used to relieving myself in the open. I cannot imagine living in a place where this is a common practice, every day.
That lady asked her daughter Babli to get down and go in the field and Babli happily obliged.
It was disgusting. I got up and asked the driver to stop over a dhaba or petrol pump nearby so that the girls can also be comfortable.
And this is what I got in reply - "Madamji, Idhar hi side me chali jao ped ved ke peeche"

There are millions of such Babli's who do not have access to proper sanitation. If you happen to walk around the slums in the city during mornings, you will find men, women, children squatting by the road, each with his own water mug separated by few feet doing their business without any shame.
This is the major reason why so many children in India suffer from diarehhoa, cholera, worms in stomach and so many diseases.
The government allocates funds for making healthcare accessible, but what about funds for making toilets which is the root cause of diseases.
Not only diseases, there is a risk to safety and privacy of women too. Recently there was a case in Uttar Pradesh, two girls were gangraped. They were going to the toilet (in the open fields).

It's high time this issue is addressed. There is no point blaming the government, each one of us have to do something. Increase awareness, keep our surroundings clean, educate our maids about healthy sanitation practices or just contribute in the Domex #ToiletForBabli initiative.

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.

This post is written for Toilet for Babli contest on Indiblogger in association with Domex India.
 

My dream 24K home with Porcelanosa

"He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home"

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
 
 
Since my childhood, whenever I imagined my dream home, it was a amall mediterranian villa by the side of the beach. But life is seldom matches those dreamy childhood imaginations. After my studies I settled in Bangalore where there are no beaches and given the real estate prices, you cannot afford a villa that too with a mediterranian feel would be impossible. A medium sized apartment in a decent society is where dreams meet reality.
 
I had almost adjusted in real world when something struck me. Why not turn my decent medium sized apartment into something more like my dream house. So when Porcelanosa offered to make my 24Kdream home using their world class interior products, I thought why not give it a try.
 
The most important aspect of my home would be Kitchen, coz thats where my heart lies. I am a foodie and I love to cook, so I spend most of my weekends trying new recipes in the kitchen. The kitchen should be such that it provides space to my creativity along with manageable shelves, modular design and worktops which can handle my experiments with food.
 
Browsing through the catalogue of Porcelanosa, amongst the umpteen designs, I would choose the grey Roble Humo Vintage design for my kitchen as it reflects elegance and style. Since I have an open kitchen, I would select Seven Roble Coco Vintage dining setting to match with my vintage kitchen where my family can sit and enjoy those piping hot chocolate muffins as I bake them in my open kitchen.
 
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The second most priority place for my home would Bathroom since that's the place where I can be myself, sing to the tunes of splashing water, relax in my bathtub with lavender scented shower gel or simply freshen up after a gym workout. I would go for a Victorian single bathtub design as it will go well with my overall vintage grey interiors and a nice rain shower for my daily bath.
Though most people would like to decorate their living room first, but it comes at a later priority for me. I do have friends visiting over every weekend, so I would love to have a soothing feel to my living room with minimalistic decor. The furnishing should bring out a calming and relaxing feel, so I would choose wall designs and floor tiles with softer shades and colors. Since Bangalore is has a cooler climate, a natural wooden floor finish would add to the warmth and an overall feeling of wellbeing. Wall tiles matching with the flooring would add to the beauty of my living room. A comfortable sofa and bean bags in darker shades would complete the get up of the room where me and my friends can sit for hours and enjoy latest flicks on my home theatre system.
 
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I am not a typical girl but I would still love to have a large cabinet for my clothes and accessories and a large dressing table to match the overall style of my bedroom. A Foc Blanco Artico wardrobe would be perfect since it is compact and does not crowd my bedroom and it has umpteen drawers to store multiple small items in separate compartment. To top it, the wardrobe would match my vintage interiors in kitchen and bathroom.
 
Image Source
 
Well, all in all these are the things I will need to make my dream house interiors. Ofcourse, there are many other things that I would like to choose from the awesome range of products from Porcelanosa once I start to re-decorate my home.

Visit http://www.24kliving.com/. for more information.

This post is written for My dream 24K home with Porcelanosa contest on Indiblogger in association with Porcelanosa and http://www.24kliving.com/

Monday, November 10, 2014

Book Review: God Is A Gamer


Book Title: God Is a Gamer

Author:

Published by Penguin Books India 2014
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The Premise: "God Is a Gamer is a world where money means nothing, martyrs are villains, predators are prey, assassination is taught by ancient Greeks, and nothing is as it seems".

Intelligence agencies are tracking the murderer of Gillian Tan, a senator with close relations to the White House. Meanwhile in India, a phishing scam in a reputed international bank causes lots of turmoil at high level management. A gaming company launches a Facebook based gaming app but gets involved in illegal bots to bring up on no.1 downloads list. Former CEO of the bank, a very powerful women, who is said to have liaisons with the finance minister, is found dead. Is her death just an accident, a suicide or a well-planned murder?

In the mean while an ATM heist takes place which loots people with millions of money. Who is involved in the scam? Does he have any relation with Cotton Trail, a website with dark intensions, where anything can be bought from drugs to prostitution, using virtual currency bitcoins and that too anonymously.

Somewhere else in the world Laptops are heating up and blowing when in sleep mode. Does it have any connection to any event sabove?

Is there one mastermind behind all this or many?

All these questions unfurl as we read page by page of this awesome novel.








My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
 



This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books