LiveStrong

Photo via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/ad2c55">VisualHunt</a> We dash to stores to tick-off the final shopping list and bolt towards the various hoardings of " SALE ". Welcome to the  #DiwaliDash ! That month in the year, were any type of shopping isn't just enough! Going berserk is a normal emotion.  Ever wondered what defines success during Diwali? Is it purchasing  9/10  things in the various dirt cheap sales around? Does it also mean to be the  Fastest Finger First  on online sales, or is it about making the right choices under budgets? The idea of splurging during Diwali has become a tradition of sorts, and everyone comes up with an excuse - " It's Diwali, boss. " I ponder why?  While I'm no one to comment on an individual's spending propensity, the last minute Diwali Dash is a marketer's boon and retailer's field day. The hordes of people standing in queues, waiting to pay for items in the troll

Photo credit : <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bp6316/3429620785/">bp6316</a> via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/70b137">Visualhunt</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/"> CC BY</a> The feeling is special! It isn't too much, and it cannot be belittled too! Reaching a century is a milestone that needs to be celebrated, albeit in a low key manner, since this begins the journey of the next century, and hopefully many more.  From the time I can recollect my thoughts, I've simply admired the  Number 100 , because of the majestic feeling it has. It's considered a focal point, from where the pinnacle of success is more or less guaranteed.  Being a Centurion  is good, however living up to the task, is the next best thing to it. Here's why -  There will be people out there, who look upon to you for advice, especially those with tender minds, and who are young and naive.  

Photo credit : <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaskuo/5415037969/">TheCincyKid</a> via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/3cba76">Visualhunt</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/"> CC BY-NC-SA</a> That's what I love about a  tennis clinic . It gets people, known and unknown magnetize towards the game; to tussle childishly and learn a game better in the process. When people from different faiths, and walks of life pan-in together, with fitness and health on their mind; it gives everyone hope! P.S.- I too picked up a tennis racquet after close to decade, and must tell you, it felt like my love for the game was never lost!  The  #TennisClinic  saw a sizable crowd on both days, all ecstatic towards investing their weekend, in a healthy retreat; when tennis was not a  menace , possibly a penance towards ignoring  body training  for a while! Accredited coaches from 

                                     Photo via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/a29bd5">VisualHunt</a> It's nice to see the action unfold at a local tournament. For the game of tennis to feature in the popularity charts of young athletes, local tournaments, play an essential role! While boys and girls sweat it out together, the chances for them to beat the odds, and emerge as front runners for national and international tournaments gets higher. The good part to see is that the traditional male dominance in tennis is a thing on the past, thanks to better education of parents, on how well girls have been performing at the world stage.  What was once categorized as a #testosterone high male-only game, has almost equal participation from women, who bring grace to the game, along with different winning strategies.  The numbers recorded at local tourneys may still be work-in-progress, as compared to other tennis and sports loving nations, however th

Photo credit : <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/snakegirlproductions/37315995981/">snakegirl productions</a> via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/459d16">Visual hunt</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/"> CC BY-NC</a> My head spins on thinking about it. And is there a possibility that this exists?  Compassionate moves in a technology inspired world. I simply find it hard to comprehend. 90 percent would like to believe this doesn't exist. The other 10 percent are  perennial optimists !  In a world of cut throat competition and dandy democracy, there is no way, compassion can feature in the Top 5 emotions list of the C-suite. Advancements in technology are making or have made people more self-centered, materialistic and too  engrossed in their devices . Also, the idea of learning and sharing is met with a raised eyebrow, and at times mocked to an extent, where morals are que

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mad_african78/360707027/">Mad African!: (Broken Sword)</a> via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/cd0c2d">VisualHunt.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/"> CC BY-NC</a> Don't you just love this game?  Tightening guts, beautiful centre courts, energetic ball boys and girls, fit-as-fiddle players and enthralled audiences.  Welcome to the local tennis tournament, with much fan fare, spring-in-their-feet kids and equally ping-pongy parents. Tennis doesn't feature in the top 10 sporting careers in India, but boy, has it grown in acceptance.  Local tennis tournaments look easy on the onset, however have a lot of preparation and ground work to be done. It needs tightly sewn team work, proper scheduling of rosters and much more.  Beyond just preparations, it needs the right stakeholders to be a part of the action, backstage an

Meet the Marketers, Join the Dreamers! | Photo Courtesy: Member of the Audience at #INDCOM2017 | Shot on: iPhone8Plus I'm sure a lot of you, or rather, hordes of people around the world have felt it. That feeling of grandeur bubbling inside, like we were born just yesterday. The enthusiasm and ecstatic feeling of receiving an award is something no one prepares for. The thrill is incomparable and the eventuality is surreal. Did I mention galactic?  Awards nights aren't your regular bread and butter stories. You know, those ones where one knows, I'm gonna get it no matter what. Top that with a team, that has toiled and the hope is that everyone gets acknowledged.  Chronicling the feeling 8 hours to go Everyone seems to be laughing during travel and something inside makes them feel that magic shall happen tonight. The confidence is peaking, as a bunch of all-men are at the mercy of the jury members.                                      4 hours to go Lu

Photo credit : <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/luismarina/16627420965/">Luis Marina</a> via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/6d51ab">Visual hunt</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/"> CC BY</a> Phew! That was some ride. A trip from Mumbai to Pune, which generally gets covered in 2 hours, taking 4.5 hours can be an absolute pain. Especially, when members of the contingent are sleepy, and the night has fallen upon us.  It's got to be Mayhem, when one sits in the backseat of an SUV, with the hope that traffic on an Expressway, is just a notion.  With a jam packed SUV, and traffic, that showed no sign of movement, we, the delegation try to catch couple of winks to feel fresh, whenever we reached.  Those extra 1.5 hours in traffic, ought to have been the most sweatiest and stuffiest, I or anyone else had encountered. We'd only heard of expressways being choc-a-bloc, how

  Photo via <a href="https://visualhunt.com/re/934a90">Visualhunt</a> One of the best feelings ever! Being felicitated for dedication at work and the efforts in bringing success to an organization; as a  TEAM .  TEAM  awards are situation-ally comforting, and overtly cliched as well. At times, I wonder how does the credit for success get divided? Or is there a need for a division of any sort?  I consider it important to dissect praise for team projects. This is to ensure that no one feels left out, unloved or unwanted.  #teamdynamics Getting people to connect and realize the importance of the award is as important as receiving the award on the stage.  There cannot be a better feeling of seeing everyone's face in the team,  beam with pride and watch happiness, that multiplies with every smile.  It brings back childhood memories and rushes of child-like enthusiasm. What's enjoyable is the fact that, for 5 minutes, everyone forgets and forg

The loss of Tom Alter, is a big blow for the theater and film fraternity. A lot of people having been sharing how he was a guiding force for their careers, on stage and on the celluloid. Actors like Anil Kapoor , Anupam Kher and the likes, remember Tom Alter as an actor, who gave his best and changed our perceptions of a white man in Indian cinema.  Tom Alter - born to parents who were American Church missionaries in Mussorie, was cultured and educated in the prestigious Woodstock school. He was always awed by cinema and in particular, acting in theater, which was always his first love. The early '70s in India, had many superstars and Rajesh Khanna was one of them. Alter has gone on record to say, how Rajesh Khanna and his acting histrionics made him take to arts and acting in particular, leading him to join the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune in the mid '70s. This was to become his second home, and oracle of education.  His diction in Hind