The Distinct Desire to be A Salesforce Literate

Learning a new skill is bliss. If the skill means a latest technology, it gives immense satisfaction and pride. Being it a simple individual, an Entrepreneur or well established business personnel, getting updated with the latest technology becomes essential. For every business, being it of whatever size and structure, the main factor is customer. Handling a customer is very sensitive. The most modern trends showered the magic indeed on customer relationship management.

The notable application which was invented as a result of such advancement is Salesforce. It takes and transfers every customer relationship management data in to the cloud, keeping them private and secure. Salesforce CRM comes up with numerous innovative ideas indulged within. It is not quite easy to master it on one’s own. A proper training must be undertaken to make it easy to handle Salesforce CRM.

Allotting a training package for the internal Salesforce CRM handling team, becomes essential to achieve the fullest utilization of the application. Many organizations possibly feel to do it themselves with the instruction manual. But the change in era has changed the lengthy instruction manuals to simple product details. The training to Salesforce CRM is unique and more complex. But the benefits that are residing within it are quite amazing. The most important benefits are brought together and listed below.

Return on Investment (R.O.I)

Return on Investment is one of the popular phrases in the business community. This is because of its incredible importance. Salesforce is not an easy investment. It should transform real business worth to offset costs. Motorola study is usually cited to understand this. The research put forth a result showing that for $1 spent on training yielded $33 as return. How great, isn't it?

As per HR Magazine, certain companies earned 24 percent profit margin which is higher than their $1,500 annual investment. Higher user adoption is one among the key advantages of Salesforce training. There must be a specific reason why Salesforce Application is purchased. To meet such objective, it should be used in a better way. Salesforce training promotes to use the system appropriately and facilitates more people to use it.

Homogeneity in Business Process

The technology must be used in a uniform way across the organization to meet the challenge of successful reporting and elevated user acceptance and adoption. Usually a business is constructed on certain standard business processes. Every organization has a unique objective which frames its vision and mission.  Such business process engineering is the most important factor for a accomplished Salesforce implementation.

It ensures that the platform laid is moving towards the achievement of the set goals. As technology develops, the business process gets evolved, which in turn changes Salesforce and its pattern of training. Thus it is important to assure that the official process is documented and the training moves accordingly.

Uniformity in Data

To take better decisions and to lay a perfect report map complete set of accurate and quality data is essential. Same data may be handled by many employees. It is necessary to reassure that all of them enter the same data with a same course of action. No data must be left considering that it is not important. It will be of use to another team.  So, proper care should be taken to log the available data in its relevant data field. This is a crucial component in the Salesforce training process.

Holding up a Long-standing Road Map

Organizations concentrate on increasing their customer base and fail to provide a proper and continued support.  Concentration must be put forward to grow the rate of internal sources and staff to match the growth of user base. Salesforce development must be directly proportional to the Salesforce road map and the user base. This can be made possible by building a team of qualified designers, developers and administrators to assist the internal employees, business process and technology during the initial phase and evolution phase to ease the new implementations and applications.

Salesforce Training Resources

The finest weapon in achieving a successful Salesforce training is utilizing the available resources to the fullest. The commonly available resources are,

1.      Local User Groups

2.      Salesforce Training Institutes

3.      Salesforce Administrator

4.      Salesforce Blogs       

5.      Online Training

6.      Salesforce Success Community

Exchanging tips and tricks are easier in the Local User Groups when compared to other resources. They meet at a fixed interval of time. The meeting focuses on a particular topic based on the type of users. SalesforceTraining Institutes offer customized Salesforce training with well-trained and experienced trainers. Salesforce Administrators have deep knowledge about the intricate details of Salesforce environment. They can be utilized to meet the requirements and challenges.

Salesforce blogs focus on the current trends. This helps the users to stay updated and extend their skill towards the latest best practices. Concepts of the Salesforce can be made accustomed to the team through online training. It is the easiest and simplest way. Customized curriculum can be created depending on the organization's business process and the level of Salesforce implementation. All the above mentioned resources incur some cost. But if it is needed to be free, one can opt for Salesforce success community to avail free training resources for Salesforce and master the best sales practices. Knowledge database exists in such community where one chooses articles of his choice.

Pimple, sense and sensibility

To begin with, I am not much of a pimple person. I have hardly sprouted half a dozen pimples over the years and they have been tolerably manageable since they do not explode all at a time. Truly, now when I come to think of it, I feel that I have been extremely blessed to have a face that does not share any admirable affinity with this dreaded round ball. Yet, on occasions when a stray pimple has come like an uninvited guest, growing shamelessly over a happy face, it has disrupted my day severely. Though at the back of the mind, one knows that a pimple, much like time, is evanescent and will go away soon, yet one has to acknowledge that its destructive power is undeniably supreme, again much like time. My face is not accustomed to living with a pimple and hence any sudden hijack by these unwanted devils makes me completely jumpy. My day gets troubled and my mind gets queasy. Going out of the house poses a huge mental challenge especially if such a going out entails an encounter with a woman of an agreeable denomination.

I recall an instance when I was so appalled at the rude arrival of an ugly pimple right at the outset of a date that I had tried to prick it using my talons. Unfortunately, I found that I possessed no talons and whatever nails I actually possessed could help me no more than a talon would have had. For pimples, I realized are like women- they must be handled with care, with sense and sensibility (credits: Jane Austen), softly, methodically and certainly not harshly. A cream or lotion was the need of the hour but since I stocked no such anti-pimple weapon, I had to make do with a regular cold cream. It would not quite serve the purpose since its job is not to kill the pimples but to warm the skin, yet it would somehow darken my fair-skinned face somewhat and help me to camouflage the pimple to an extent.

During one desperate day when a pimple rattled in out of the blue, I pressed it so hard that blood and pain began to ooze out. That was another instance when I realized that a pimple is really designed on similar lines to a woman. No matter how much you try to suppress them, you will fail, and the blood and pain will only be yours.

No, I am not trying to make any patriarchal statement and the similie is a marriage between jest and creativity, but there you are. I did my explaining and I am positive you too got the drift. Pimples are bossy, irritating and hard to get rid of- just like a girlfriend, which goes on to show why a girl and a pimple walk hand in hand.    :P 

[So, a pimple specialist can only treat you out of it. This product could help. 

For reading skin care tips and tricks, read some popular posts at NoPimplesNoMarks.com .]

She desired for me both

Not every mother has her boulevard littered by hurdles, not every woman loves her child as much as she hates her life. But for my mother, my house was certainly an unaccustomed earth. Born and brought up in a family not impoverished, she was flung into a marriage where promises bore little fruit. Her husband (my father) was never good with money. He lost what we had, gained nothing in return. There were rifts in their relation, gloom hovered on all sides. This was her house, her new house, a house where promises bore little fruit.

I happened to be an only fruit. It was important for her to sow me, to reap me, to toil from dawn to noon so that she can savor the sweetness by her dusk. But life, even in its most mundane form, can be terrifyingly demanding. Her fruit could hardly be nourished without funds. The school fee, the tuition fee, the money for clothes and all my needs. She could compromise, sacrifice on quality and on comforts to tend only to the basics. But no, she did so not.

For her, it was not about ‘this’ or ‘that’. She desired for me both ‘this’ and ‘that’.

She sacrificed leisure, she discarded luxury, good clothing, delightful food, even good sleep. But they all belonged to her. The loss was all hers, the gain all mine. I profited from her misery, she drained her life to feed mine.

South Point (one of the top schools in the country) is where I went, branded games I played with my mates, Moustache I draped on my legs, Bata adorned my feet, and imported apples were the daily rites.

Yes, there was the easy way out. To separate from my dad, redeem that lost life. But no, she did not walk that happy path. Not out of love for a man, but out of love for a child. Her child should be spared no physical luxury, should be accorded no emotional misery….

For her, it was not about ‘this’ or ‘that’. She desired for me both ‘this’ and ‘that’.

[This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus]

From dusk to dawn: Story of the lady who loved literature

There are women who are striking, there are women who are gifted and then there are women who are tough. But one cannot be tough without having gone through the grinds of examination that life has the habit of conducting at the most unexpected of times. And ages.

So, there is a young woman who, being a young woman that she is, could have chosen to pursue a degree of a lucrative kind without being bothered about poetic notions like passion and pleasure. In fact, many men must have told her so. But there are some (there is one, at least) who marvel at the decisions she has taken. It does require a steeled resolve and every morsel of determination to brave the daily storms of life and yet walk through the moment with a gritty smile, and emerge on the other side triumphantly.

Due to a physical disorder, she cannot commute. Otherwise, she could have so easily got into a good college for chasing a degree in literature, her foremost love. But encumbered by this problem, she couldn't. Jadavpur University (JU) is just a stone’s throw away from her place. But one of the toughest things in academy is to get a seat in literature in this prestigious university or else she could have so easily persevered with that dream. But what I have observed, over the years, is that luck doesn't really favor the brave (whoever made that maxim certainly erred big time). On the contrary, people become brave precisely because luck never favored them.

So, disheartened at not being able to find a seat in literature, she ought to have succumbed to misery. Right? 
Of course, she had the option to reduce her standards and do a sit-at-home course by signing up for a distance degree in this subject. But that wouldn't have been acceptable to her conscience. 

At the end of the day, she was as far away from a degree in literature as dusk is from dawn. But some people can stay docile throughout their lives and it is only when a dark storm approaches that they realize how resurgent, how resilient can they be!

She created a second dream for herself.

"Dreams must be nurtured," I have heard from those myriad philosophers and poets. But what I have learnt from her is that "dreams can be created, reinvented." So, she submerged herself in history, her second love. She plunged into the task, cracked the entrance exam and found herself that rare seat in JU where having failed to qualify for literature, she ensured that she qualifies for history.

Around five years later, she is the most favorite student of her departmental head. As she sits on the brink of doing a PhD in the subject, I sit here beside my window and admire the choices made by her.

As for literature, she hasn't given up on it. Her heart, somewhere, is still loyal to her first love. But it’s not a question of ‘literature OR history’ for her but of ‘literature AND history’. She reads her beloved books daily on bed before closing her eyes for the day.

 She didn't die in literature, but was born again in history.

She smiled through the storm and eventually pushed me to claw out of my gloom, encouraging me, helping me find a seat in JU, emboldening my eyes to dream for literature. In her eyes, I see my eyes and in them I see her dreams taking flight.

She is the 'she'

She created her own dawn after life heaped dusk at her.

  [“This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus“.]

Honey, I am home

Honey, I am home.

So?

What so?

What should I do if you are home?

Don’t be a nag. I merely announced my arrival. You don’t really have to do anything.

Huh, what’s there to announce then? You just got home. It’s not that you won the World Cup or something.

Yes I know I merely got home. But I thought it would delight you to hear me again.

You thought wrong.

Ah, but last evening you seemed to be pretty gung ho about my return. Were you not?

Please. That was a mistake.

What mistake?

Never mind.

No tell.

Naa leave.

Don’t act like an irritating woman. Tell me what mistake.

Okay listen. It was a mistake on my part to harbor hopes of a romantic evening with you.

But I did romance with you… Umm…I mean we went to that movie, right? You should be 

happy. The movie was good. Ranbir was amazing in that movie.

Yes, only he was.

Now what is that supposed to mean?

Don’t act oversmart you man. You know very well how itchy was your face. Had I known you won’t be shaving, I wouldn’t have gone to that movie or any movie for God’s sake.

You woman, how dare you accuse me after having a fully enjoyable outing. You ate the whole cake and now you say it was disgusting. I hate you, you WOMAN.

You dare not call me WOMAN in that stinky voice of yours.

I will. Do what you want.

GO TO HELL. I don’t care for any goddamn movie anymore. Come home at midnight for all I care. And just not come anywhere near me. You are as stinky as your week-long beard.

40 minutes later:

Ahem, I have shaved.

So?

What so?

Why telling me? Why do I care?

Umm ya, I was just feeling hungry. Umm so I checked in to see if you are there.

I will get you something from the kitchen. Wait.

Ahem.

YES?

I was wondering dear wifey if that newly opened restaurant is really as good as they say.

Yeah, I was wondering the same.

Should we not go and see?

We can.

I think we should dine out tonight at that place. Will that be okay with you?

Ya

Hmmm

Mmmm

[This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette]

I have written this post acknowledging the tag of Surbhi Bafna's Santi Claus

Why Sherlock Holmes couldn't settle down?

Sherlock Holmes is one fictional character who has transgressed every conceivable line of society, culture, language and class. Speculations around him have always courted newspaper headlines since the late 19th century when Arthur Conan Doyle fathered his most popular character. In recent years, the detective's character has been revamped owing to a few unfaithful portrayals by movie and TV stars. Perhaps, Doyle would be turning in his grave right now, given that the Y-gen girls cannot stop giggling over Holmes' rumored liaison with his companion Dr. Watson. Doyle never even hinted at the homosexual tendency of Holmes. On the contrary, he had sent a teaser down our bladders by making the sleuth a self-admitted admirer of one Irene Adler (who appeared in the short story "A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July, 1891).

Holmes never settled down though. Was he really in love with Irene or was he merely an admirer of her resourcefulness is something which should be left just the way it is- unsolvable and speculative. What is clear though is that he had a knack for getting too absorbed in thoughts while working on a case. Today's average college-going girl may not have really given him any brownie point for staying ungroomed. Ironically, girls do seem to have a mental orgasm everytime Benedict Cumberbatch parts with one of his devil-may-care smirks. But a real-life Holmes would definitely have been in need of a Gillette razor. A couple of swipes and there you have a face so smooth, slippery and kiss-ready that even Miss Adler would have done much more than saying, "Good night, Mister Sherlock Holmes."

So, when Robert Downey Jr. missed a great opportunity to bed Irene Adler in the movie, it was a clear "case of lost opportunity" and must have something to do with his unkempt, unhygienic look.

 Amazingly, the book Holmes, cites Listverse, was squeaky clean.

"Sherlock Holmes is actually described in The Hound of the Baskervilles as having a cat like approach to cleanliness"- Listverse.com

Like most popular literary characters, this one too seems to have been hit hard by the media makers. Seems like the 'real' Doyle's Holmes did shave regularly, though he couldn't have had access to the sophisticated shaving products we have today. Alas, he could so easily have been a married guy today.

Image source: Google

Pages cited:

1. http://listverse.com/2013/02/11/10-common-misconceptions-about-sherlock-holmes/

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Adler

[This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette]

Missing (episode 19)

Team: Tete a Ten

Read episode 18 here

The car was returning home carrying with itself a child who was reunited with its parents and the parents who were reunited with each other. As Shekhar smiled inwardly, half lost in his musings and half lost behind the steering wheel, Tara logged into Facebook.

Her timeline was deluged by messages from friends, from strangers, from known and from the semi-known. Though some of them were mere perfunctory formalities, she generously shared her gratitude with everybody, thanking each one for being by her side in her moment of terror.

She also ran an eye through the inbox and it was then that Jennifer's message resurfaced.

"Did you inform Jennifer," she swiveled her quizzical eye at Shekhar who was driving languidly, his face writhing in joyful relief of the kind only a father who has lost and regained his child can experience.

"Jennifer? Ah no, I think you should personally call her and let her know dear. We owe our Roohi to her-"

"Yes Shekhar, we owe our life to her," said Tara almost cutting him short. For a moment, she felt shaken but it was not the kind of quiver one associates with terror or with pain but the kind one associates with an orgy of unexpected happiness. It was a universe later that Shekhar had called her 'dear' and perhaps without even realizing so.

Partially drowned in her reveries, Tara dialed Jennifer's number. It was a peppy song intended as a ringtone that somewhat pulled her out of her reveries.

"Hello. Yes Tara, did you find her," Jennifer rushed straight to the point without wasting precious seconds over pleasantries. "I am trying to share the picture with as many people as possible. I hope to-

"You can relax Jennifer. We have found her. We have got Roohi. She is sitting by my side. Oh no, she seems to have fallen asleep. Poor child. I am so thankful to you Jennifer. Shekhar says hi too. He will call you once we are home, he says. Tell me Jennifer, what can we do for you," Tara felt a rush of kindness for this new woman in her life. She was a God-send, she kept telling herself.

Tara spoke some more during which the person on the other end of the receiver took the good news in.

"I am so glad and relieved....and happy that you found her," Jennifer finally found her voice. It was a happy shock which had kindled in her a bubble of new-found energy.

"But, is Roohi okay," Jennifer's tone suddenly turned grave. "Who was that man? A kidnapper? Did he harm," she let the sentence float in the air unfinished.

But Tara soon quelled her fears. Over the next few minutes, she recited the story. "So you see, Cyrus is not the criminal type. He just happened to be there. On hindsight, I am glad he found her instead of some mad man getting hold of our Roohi."

Some pleasantries later, they disconnected and while Tara returned to her tranquil world inside the warm car, Jennifer hung up still feeling jittery. "Is the man truly what he shows himself to be or is there more to it than what meets the eye," she soliloquized.

Roohi seemed fast asleep, back to her quiet dreams which a child of her age is entitled to. Meanwhile, Tara found herself leaning closer and closer to Shekhar till her head rested on his shoulder. Her hair bristled against his face, triggering a reaction which had erupted after several years. Two lips found each other and much like Roohi, Tara slipped back to some much-needed dreams. A kiss later, they kissed again which was followed by another long kiss.

Tara was privy to the message which beeped on her phone. But the reply she sent was quick and short as Dr. Aryan Ahuja found out leaning back into his heavy armchair in the deeper confines of his own home. The doctor was another lone figure in this obstreperous world. His admiration for Tara was silent but strong. Tara too had found solace in his warm words during her years of marital exile but their relationship had always been strictly platonic.

As Dr. Ahuja was reflecting about Tara, his pensive recollections were rudely intruded by a call from the hospital.

"Sir, some lady by the name of Jennifer is trying to contact you desperately," said the receptionist over the phone.

"Who? Jennifer? Okay, give me her number."

A few seconds later, Jennifer's phone screamed.

"Hello. I am Dr. Aryan Ahuja. Am I speaking to Miss Jennifer."

"Umm... yes. Jennifer here. Hello, Mr. Ahuja. I was trying to reach out to you-"

"Yes, tell me. How can I help you," the doctor politely enquired.

"I wanted to enquire about this man. Umm... Cyrus is his name. Do you know him?"

A pregnant pause ensued. Courtesy was gone when the doctor spoke next, "That's none of your business."

The call was disconnected. Jennifer continued to hold the phone to her ears for some time, quite dazed by her own thoughts. 

Read episode 20 here

[“Me and my team are participating in ‘GameOf Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”]

  

-Ritesh Agarwal

Missing (Part 6)

This is part six of a story that I am writing in collaboration with some very talented writers on Blogadda.com. Our team name is 'Tete-a-ten'.

Read the previous part of the story here

3 am, Ballad Estate

The trees around her looked as mournful and dark as the night into which their fate had driven them. As Tara sat down gingerly behind the bushes to relieve herself, she could smell the pain of the moon. Though it had dutifully turned its face away, going behind the clouds in a rare display of gentility, Tara felt a rush of gratitude towards Shekhar who stood between her and the car, thereby according her the privacy which she needed not. Coz the darkness was terrifyingly intense and it was only the silhouette of the sky which was visible under the stars. But his gesture which, even though could have been passed off as a mundane code of propriety, didn't go unnoticed and touched her in a way she had fathomed not.

And then she heard his voice; a soft hum and though their lamentable situation didn't offer any occasion for such a cheerful burst of singing, it did forge a small smile on her face. Though no one, not even the trees which sat nearby in loneliness, neither the stars that twinkled above gently and nor Shekhar could see that smile, she felt surprised with its suddenness, and more importantly, with its exuberance. She knew, with a sudden wave of happiness, that she had smiled in so natural a fashion after a long time and even though the day was a harrowing one and the night ahead seemed long and sad, she felt that she had earned something back; something which she had been missing all these years without actually knowing what she was missing. The humming may have seemed inappropriate to some and a way to vent out tired emotions by many, but Tara knew the real reason behind it. Shekhar's few seconds of singing and whistling thoroughly coincided with her relieving herself against the dry leaves and she fell in love with him, once again after so many years, for saving her the embarrassment of the noise made by the water's rustle.

The beauty of that moment was evanescent. She was up on her feet in no time, and once again her heart relapsed into the mournful mood of before. But this time, there was a spring in her stride as she tottered back towards Shekhar, her fingers wrapping themselves around his, as they walked back to the car. Each of the two had lost a daughter and found a partner that night. Yet the night was not over yet. And with it, there was hope and with hope, there was a deep sense of sorrow for a loss which seemed more and more prominent with every passing hour.

The night had begun with Jennifer’s account and her description of the man and the place where she had seen them. She had a photogenic memory and her portrayal of the man helped the cops to create a rough sketch. Tara and Shekhar and their friends, of course, had to search every inch of the place and the surrounding areas till the night was consumed or the child was discovered.

As the two slipped back into the car, their sleepless eyes met the sleepy ones of their friends who had sacrificed their happy night in order to be with them in their desolate one, so what if the search so far had been nothing but futile. The car started from where it had stopped, gathering speed with every step it took as it entered deeper into the death of the night.

In the past few hours, they had already scanned all the hotels and inns where they thought she could be found. Of course, there was the police which must be on guard and could be expected to check all these places but the parents of a nine-year old cannot be expected to sit at home when their child may be writhing in some grave danger.

"Shekhar, where do we find our small Roohi in such a big city," the pain was inherent in Tara's voice.

Shekhar smiled dolefully and pressed her shoulders, "We will find her there. Look."

There was an old decrepit mill which stood straight ahead of them. It had a haunting look about it and looked in perfect concordance with that deserted place.

"Can Roohi really be there," Tara played along, both of them quite tired of their painful search and creating a false hope to cling for survival. 

"Yes," Shekhar said. His words, though held no conviction of truth, had never felt so warm and endearing to Tara than they felt at that moment.

The car was driven right till the point it could access. It parked itself and the search party alighted hurriedly. The mill was ransacked in minutes but no, she wasn’t there.

"We are looking at the wrong place. There would have been a vehicle of some sort if that guy had brought her here," chipped one of Shekhar's friends wisely.

"Yes, but now that we are here, we should scan the area thoroughly," said another from the hunt party.

The team spread in every direction, the couple running towards the back side of the mill into a boring-looking warehouse without actually thinking where they were going.

"Roohi Roohi," screamed Tara at the night in a desperate attempt to satisfy her soul. Little did she know and little hope had her heart cultivated of the response her voice was searching for. And when it came, it was bliss.

"Mummy, what are you doing here," came a voice followed by two pudgy steps. "Oh wow, dad is also here."

Read the next part of the story here

[Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us]

~Ritesh Agarwal

Email: ritzy182000@gmail.com

Goa honeymoon: Will Skyscanner make my dream come true?

I always craved for a Goa trip and those who have read my bucket list are already cognizant of my honeymoon plans. Given that I am at the twilight of my 20s, perhaps the day is not far when I shall allow my nagging parents to get me hitched. Though I may be as recalcitrant as my pet rabbits if I want to (stubbornness is my forte, some say), if I give in to my parent’s wishes, it would be purely because it would be a precursor to a honeymoon I have always held a strong fascination for.

Assuming I will be taking a trip to Goa on 15^th May 2015, I just made a rough calculation of my cost via Skyscanner

Kolkata-Goa (return trip): Rs 11,967 per adult. It will be Rs 23,934 for the two of us.

Hotel stay at The Hawaii Comforts; Rs 15,345 for 7 nights

Car booking: Rs 25,336 (Intermediate class)

Total: Rs 52,648

I am in love with nature and it would be a sin to miss out on Goa’s lakes, wildlife sanctuaries and those age-old churches. I am sure my future wife too will cherish sightseeing with me. Since, I will be choosing an economy class for the two-way flight, I felt it only right to book an intermediate car for the sightseeing purpose. After all, my wife should not feel uncomfortable during May’s heat.

Yes, May may not be a great time to go for a honeymoon. But it is a crowd-free month and one which can help save a lot of money.

As shown above, Skyscanner has planned out a 7-day itinerary for me such that my travel, hotel stay and sightseeing plans will boil down to Rs 52,648.

Given that my budget will be only Rs 1 lakh, this rough estimate enables me to plan better and keep aside a substantial sum for shopping, binging, partying and boozing *winks*

Had it not been for Skyscanner, it would have been difficult for me to predict an estimate and I may have holed out more money than I would wish for. 

This post is a part of Skyscanner travel wizard activity at BlogAdda.com

Mardaani sisters: The unsung Heroes

This is no piece of fiction. So if you came looking for a spicy story, you arrived at the wrong place. However, the story I am about to narrate is no less inspiring, even interesting and perhaps even as enthralling as a bestselling novel.

I have my mother who at one point of time stayed submerged in chronic depression. With a child on one hand and no means to support on the other, she found herself at a crossroad where all roads led to death. But she fought back every strand of depression, she battled the financial crisis simply by seeking pleasure out of her baby’s smiling face, she weathered the black storm which an unhappy marital life brought, she stayed hungry to feed her child and stayed awake to see him sleep.

At a time when her most convenient option was to surrender to a rope or a bottle of poison, she withstood the vagaries of time and fate hanging on to life with the mere hope that her child would one day grow up and lead a happy life.

She is not a hero because she chose to live; she is a hero because she chose not to die.

And there is her sister (my Masi) who raised her two daughters at a house where she was deprived of running water and electric connection after being deserted by her husband. Her heart must have broken into thousand pieces for all I know but she never let the smile fade out of her face. She raised her daughters and made them proud CAs. She treated me like her son and bought me my first bicycle and my first video game. She perhaps led the most miserable life a wife could lead but it is astonishing how that radiant smile on her face never dissipated.

She is not a hero because she chose to smile; she is a hero because she chose not to cry.

And these two sisters (now pushing towards the twilight of their lives) are the unsung heroes (Mardaanis) of my family, of my life, of my saga. I owe my everything to them.

This is written as a part of I am Mardaani activity exclusively at BlogAdda.com for Indian Bloggers.

Harry Potter and the secret of online shopping

“Harry, have you checked the cool jackets they are offering at Flipkart,” asked Ron with a wistful look.

“Ha, you seriously need one Ron, scoffed Hermione.

Harry interjected, “Hey wait, look at this what’s written in today’s The Daily Prophet.”

All three heads peered into the newspaper-

BAGGOUT.COM, THE NEW SHOPPING SENSATION WHICH IS TAKING THE WIZARDS AND THE MUGGLES BY STORM

“That sounds interesting,” said Hermione and peeked closer to read, “Baggout.com is the latest shopping portal to hit the town. It won’t be unfair to call it a shopaholic’s treat as it exhibits top deals from all the top online stores.

Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and more

You can exhaust your wallet and still explore

“Wow, that’s a cool jingle,” Ron looked up with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Wait there is more,” said Harry. “See, what it says.”

·        Browse products from all stores

·        Discover great products

·        Get cashback and coupons

·        See what your friends love

·        Buy products or save them for later

“Ooh, we can check what our friends are buying. I am dying to see what Fred is buying. All the hot girls at Hogwarts fancy him,” sighed Ron.

“Huh, I can smell smoke somewhere,” sneered Hermione.

“Oh as if you are not excited about the cashback offer,’ Ron shot back.

“Ummm ya I am, but I would first like to explore the whole site before deciding on my haul.”

“And Harry what are you planning to buy?”

“I dunno,’ said Harry with a confused look. “I wanted a new wand but I don’t think they will have that. So, I would buy himself some jeans and a pair of shoes. And Dobby was hoping for ten sets of differently colored socks. So ya that’s it.”

“If I were you, I would rather invest my father’s gold in a new bedding,” came a cold drawling voice from behind. “By the looks of your tattered four-poster bed, I can bet all my potions that Baggout.com would be a fantastic place for you to upgrade your room.”

“And Miss Granger,” Snape continued, “I think you better buy a table clock. Your OWL exams are just a few months away. I am hoping that you will not let your grades suffer from the atrocities of Mr. Weasley’s company,” he tossed a lazy derisive look at Ron before walking away.

“That son of a-

“RON, sssshhh,” Hermione pressed his lips.

The soft touch of her finger felt good. To his own surprise, Ron cooled down.

“Ah, do we have a problem here,” strode in Dumbledore with his ever-smiling face.

“Good evening Professor. We are just trying to figure out what to buy from Baggout.com, replied Harry.

“Ah, Baggout. Yes yes, that website has been all over the papers today. Professor Snape himself just ordered a bottle of shampoo and I think Mrs. Gonagall is eyeing a beautiful new gown for the Yule Ball,” he winked.

“Can you suggest anything for me Sir,” asked Harry hopefully.

“Harry dear, why don’t you explore what’s Trending NOW. The section is for newbie like you. It will help you to choose from an eclectic variety of merchandize. Go have fun. Meanwhile, I will go see if they have a good set of razors. My beard is becoming rather unmanageable these days.”

“Eclectic- now what does that mean,” asked a puzzled Ron.

“RON, it is high time that you open a dictionary,” yelled Hermione and tossed one at his head.

Meanwhile, chuckling loudly, Harry switched on his laptop and began exploring the goodies and deals at Baggout.com