I am Indian

 “Are you from China?” 

 “Can you speak Hindi?” 

“What does snake meat taste like?” 

“You must be a Buddhist!” 

“Is your dad in ULFA?” 

“Are you a Chinki?”

 “Oh! so you must eat momos for breakfast, lunch and dinner”

Most of us from the North East living in other parts of India are used to this line of questioning from well-meaning friends to curious colleagues and at times the nosy neighborhood Aunty.

I am a petite 5’2 with hooded eyes, blunt nose and reddish brown hair. I wear shorts and speak English with a slight American accent and I am an Indian from the North East.

Zapstore – The future of online shopping

Have you ever been confused by the number of choices offered by online shopping websites today? If your answer is yes, then look no further the future is here.

Say good bye to hopping between various websites trying vehemently to keep track of the best items to figure out the better deal and say hello to Zapstore – an integrated platform for e-commerce that brings together all your shopping needs (from your favorite websites) in one place.

The Story of a Suicide

Trust me, I know how it feels. 

I know how it feels to cry in the shower so no one can hear you or wait to close the doors of your room so you can fall apart. I know how it feels when everything hurts so much that all you want is for it to stop. I know exactly how it feels.

I know how it feels to be lonely in a crowd or how exhausting it is to pretend that you are fine when your world is actually falling apart. I know how it feels when your smile no longer reaches your eyes because you are breaking inside. I know exactly how you feel.

Because I have been there.

Escape the Ordinary

The gentle waves of the Bay of Bengal softly kiss my feet as I slowly make my way down the beach, leaving a trail of footprints in the golden sand. A touch of crimson lights up the turquoise blue waters at a distant horizon. The serenity of dawn is broken only by the occasional chirping of a bird or two. I savor my solitude while I can.

Introducing the All New Datsun Redi-Go

Nissan has launched the Datsun Redi-Go with today’s generation in mind. The youth of today or the ‘ready-to-go’ generation that the people at Datsun likes to refer them as being always on the go deserves a machine that combines comfort and luxury with the best in Japanese technology at …let’s not forget… incredible prices!

"Fun. Freedom. Confidence. The ultimate Urban Cross - Datsun redi-GO - the capability of a crossover with the convenience of a hatchback."

Content Marketing Made Accessible

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell” – Seth Godin. 

A Press Release is your one way ticket to publicity. It is a sure fire way for your business, product or service to gain valuable PR. And what better way to spread the word than a posse of relevant influencers publish your press releases in less than 72 hours.

But how do you go about finding these influencers? The answer is simple – IndiPR.com

Nature: Conserve, Share & Care

I looked out of my window. Several years ago, the view outside was straight out of a picture postcard. Set against a background of blue green mountains and dense evergreens, a host of wild flowers – snow white daisies, pale yellow marigolds and bright red poppies – carpeted the ground. As a kid, I had spent many raucous hours playing there with my friends and as a teenager I had spent many peaceful hours reading under a birch tree. It was Paradise.

Summer Camp

If you're peppy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)

If you're peppy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)

If you're peppy and you know it, then your face will surely show it

If you're peppy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap clap)

Christina, Emily, Florence & I have friends since our first day as kindergarten. We called ourselves the ‘Peppy Four’. We had adopted the slightly modified nursery rhyme as our anthem and our dearest dream was to go on an adventure like Enid Blyton’s Famous Five... Five on a Treasure Island was unanimously voted as the best story ever!

My Gold Mornings #Colgate360GoldMornings

“The best way to start the day is with a cup full of positivity,” my mother always said. I agree. That and a cup of coffee.

When I was younger I hated getting up early, especially during the long winters. The prospect of living my warm bed was to get ready for school was positively appalling. I would beg my mom to let me shut my eyes to five more minutes of dreams and on days she relented often resulted in me barely making to my classes on time.

Zombie Apocalypse: A Zica Adventure.

Pippa and I had barricaded ourselves in our third floor apartment. The sofa, a book case and a chest of drawer had all been piled up against the front door… just in case.

We sat in absolute silence only broken by the occasional growl outside.

“Please let this be a nightmare,” I prayed silently.

Navigating Troubled Days

I stand in front of the mirror dilly dallying over a strand of straying hair. Music wafts in through the slightly opened door, some Bollywood number about long lost love. I feel the beginning of a headache as I try to block out the cacophony of excited voices outside my room.

Raja Dada is getting married in two hours. I can’t call in sick at my own brother’s marriage.

“Get a grip,” I tell myself.

The Proposal

Fourth February, 2011

I decided to leave work early today. By early I mean, in time for dinner rather than the usual last cab before midnight. The project for March was of mammoth proportions and even with sixteen hours working days we were only just meeting deadlines.

So, could I afford to leave work in time for dinner? No, absolutely not.

Lyrics & Music

Years ago when my world was ruled by pigtails with ribbons and arithmetic homeworks, one summer, I had decided that I wanted to be a musician. A world renowned one no less. Kids my ages where dreaming of becoming doctors and pilots, but not me. I dreamt of standing on a stage with red velvet curtains in front of a thousand people … which was at least twice the number of people at my school, so yes to me it was a very huge crowd … and sing my own songs. My dream performance would invariably end with me being carried off the stage by my fans chanting my name over and over again.

Remembering Dadubhai

My earliest memories of my grandfather involves an old rocking chair. He would sit in the sunniest corner of the rambling old verandah reading the newspaper often accompanied by a steaming hot cup of Darjeeling tea and occasionally supplemented with a bowl of muri (or puffed rice, if you will).

Awakening the Netbook

The desert is endless. The sands stand still, save for when they shift ever so slightly in the evening breeze. In front of me there is a solitary figure walking hastily towards the horizon. She exudes an aura of royalty. But if you look closely there is a weariness in her gait, a sense of broken heartedness even, perhaps from all the battles she has seen.

She is not really alone. Her companion is short, almost like a child, armored in a white with orange patterned suit. ‘It’ seems to be rolling along speedily to match her stride. I call her companion an ‘it’, because it is most certainly not human.

“Who are you?”

“I am no one.”

“What am I doing in the desert?” I ask myself. The sun has disappeared completely beyond the horizon. There is an eerie red glow in the luminosity of twilight. I watch mesmerized when suddenly a streak of brilliant scarlet cuts across the dark skies.

I wake up with a start. It was just a dream after all!

Shillong: Scotland of the East

Tucked away at an elevation of 1496 m, Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is set amidst thick pine covered hills. This magnificent hill station is also known as the ‘Abode of the Clouds’. It is said that Shillong’s beautiful lakes, waterfalls and rolling hills of conifers reminded the European settlers of Scotland, hence it had also earned the sobriquet ‘Scotland of the East’. The British legacy is still visible in the architectural design and food habits of the locals.

A miracle called Compassion

In 1995 I was twelve. Keya, my little sister was four. It was the year Keya started school. God! She was so excited. She loved everything about school right down to the homework assigned at the end of the day.

As for me, I was annoyed to be saddled with a little sister even in school. Not that I saw her much, or at all during school hours. It just irked me that my parents expected me to keep an eye on her. Don't get me wrong. I loved her but I rather spent my free time hanging out with my friends than baby sitting even in school!

The Call of the Wild

Kaziranga National Park, the home of the famed One-horned Rhinoceros (also called the Indian Rhinoceros or the Asian One-horned Rhinoceros), is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of Assam. This expansive grassland is the home of two-third of the world’s One-horned Rhino population.

LG NEXUS 5X: The Dream Phone

I take my smartphones very seriously. And why not? It has replaced my watch, my camera, my music player, my calculator, my phone book, my diary, my calendar - well, I could go on and on but I am sure you already know what I mean.

Image Source: Firefly Daily

Celebrating Smiles!

~* This post was declared a Runners Up in the 'Let's Put A Smile On That Face' Contest organised by McCain & Indiblogger. *~

My little sister was born at the stroke of midnight. So every year on her birthday we would throw her a party at 12 o clock – a small family affair with balloons, steamers, candles, cake and of course snacks... lots and lots of snacks.

My parents were spending their summer in London, so this year it fell on me to uphold this sacred family tradition.