Life - or something like it

I often get queries from people asking me advice on how to became a freelance writer. I feel it is quite flattering but at the same time becomes difficult to explain each time. To make it easier on everyone, I figured it made sense to write about the top 10 tips to become a successful freelance writer and next time someone asks me, I can just pass them this link. These days content writing has become one of the most common freelance activity one can do, sitting in the comfort of their homes. This does not mean anyone and everyone can become a successful freelance writer. Though it sounds easy, you need to possess a certain skill set to be successful, just like you need for any other job. Image courtesy: freedigitalphotos.net Here are the tips for you: 1) Love for writing: You need to love writing and have a flair for it. If you eat, sleep and dream writing, then this job is perfect for you. Not only will you need that passion but also the creativity to write on a var...

All of you must have heard the news that Google is phasing out Google Reader by July . When I heard the news, I was a bit worried as it meant that I will lose out out on reading blogs that I follow very diligently.                                                                                                                 RIP Google Reader Photo Courtesy: Freedigitalphotos.net After checking online for various options to Google Reader, I finally signed up with Feedly. All of you who want to move from Google reader to Feedly , you can find the guidelines here . To know about various options for Google Reader, go to  Mashable website Since I use Chrome as my browser, I just had to add the F...

Wine is bottled poetry - Robert Louis Stevenson A few days back, I had a chance to see the Four Seasons Winery of the UB group at Baramati near Pune, Maharashtra. Being related to the chief winemaker, Abhay Kewadkar, has its perks. Hubs and I travelled to Baramati one fine morning and reached the Winery in around two hours. The minute you get close to the Vineyards, you can see a majestic  building surrounded by vineyards. The building is styled as a French château and looks really pretty. The Winery has fourteen suites where people can come and live. The suites are luxuriously decorated and very comfortable. The suites overlook the vineyard and each one has a balcony where you can sit and enjoy the beautiful view of the rolling hills and the vineyard.            Beautifully landscaped interiors inside the Château The lovely stained glass windows Another beautiful piece     ...

So you have decided to take in some Sun, Sand and Surf and are set to have a fun day on the beach. Pardon me, Mumbaikers, this post ain't for you. We all know the state of the beaches in Mumbai. For you to have fun on a beach, it should first resemble a beach and that is the most important part of the whole fun part. And remember how much ever we love to ape the West, never ever visit the beach in Summer when in India, like they do. All you will get, is some charred skin and your will totally end up looking like a peeling carrot. Don't you think we are brown enough already? Try to visit a beach in the winter, that is when you will have the most fun. There are some cheesy things you have to do on the beach. It is compulsory to do them else your body will be fed piece by piece to Zombies. Don't worry, I totally made that up. That is my hangover talking, after watching too much of the fabulous 'The Walking Dead' . So back to the Beach, here is how to to have f...

Ever since I have been married, my home has been a magnet for guests. Not a month goes by, when I don't have someone or the other from relatives and friends coming over for a stay. Hubs and I do love entertaining and we have a constant stream of people coming for Lunches and Dinners. I have entertained a lot of people over the years and have faced people who were perfect guests and the ones who managed to raise my hackles with their antics. It is fun to mingle with friends and family over good food and lively conversations. Though sometimes these engagements can become a thorn in your side, when guests do not follow proper etiquette. They forget the basic manners needed to be a good guest.  For all those uninitiated, who don't know how to be a good guest, here are a few tips to help you be a good guest and not a pest . Walk in with a gift : I have observed that my mother never goes empty handed whenever she is invited to someone's house. She always takes a gift to...

Online Chatting is like having a conversation with someone.There is same amount of investment of emotions, time and instead of voice you are belting out your thoughts on the chat window through a keyboard. Just like in a face to face chat there are some etiquettes and rules which need to be kept in mind on an online chat. When I first started chatting way back in 2000, there were very few people who were into chatting and the people on my chat list was less than 10. The only person I chatted with on a regular basis at that time was my older sister who was living in USA. We did not need to follow any particular etiquettes, neither did we know any acronyms like LOL’s or ROFL. But we had fun chats which felt like actual conversations, we fought, laughed and shared our life. These days with the explosion of internet in every corner of the world, my chat list is bursting at the seams. The rules have changed and chat etiquettes have been forgotten. Over the years, I have seen people...

My mouth was salivating as I opened the container sent by a friend and the tangy and pungent smell hit my nose. Ahh! the smell of the sweet and sour taste of the Paani ( Spiced Water for a street food in India called Paani- Poori) hit me with a force. It brought back sweet memories of stuffing my face with street food countless number of times, when I was in India. Today, I ate ‘Paani poori’  after a gap of nearly 3 years and the whole experience was orgasmic and beyond description. I still have the lingering taste of the dish in my mouth. Despite having innumerable restaurants and fast food joints, Indians love their street food. It is one of the best and cheapest way to enjoy the cuisine of a pa rticular community and in turn the culture of that region. To enjoy street food in India, you have to let go of your inhibitions about hygiene and concentrate only on gratifying your taste buds. You have to be like a warrior who is ready to weather anything and march into the unkn...

I know you have come here expecting some dirty talk, right? Let's get down to it then...why waste precious time. I have previously written about this topic albeit, a bit clinically. It is time to give some personal touches now. While growing up, I was a clueless doofus...clueless in terms of birds and bees. Most of the information I had, was provided either by books or by equally clueless friends. My first ‘X-rated' book was 'Lady Chatterley's lover' and I was rocked to my hinges after reading it. It was too much to take in, at first go. I had sneaked it off from my father's collection (I am positive, he still does not know that I have read it).  As Indian families are, mine was also quite conservative about this topic and I gathered the information mainly from books (TV was extremely sanitized during my teenage) and never had anyone informing me of the nitty gritties of 'Sex' (There, we are already talking dirty...aren't we?).  I had my chance ...

                                                                                                                                                                       Welcome to my 'how to series'. I know all of you are waiting with bated breath for my pearls of wisdom.  We have already covered ' How to make cottage cheese ' some days back. Today you will learn tricks on 'How to clean your Microwave’. If you don't have a microwave, go and buy one, you 18th century dweller! How can you live without one? oops....my foot is in my mouth, as usual. After being domes...

For all you globetrotters, here are a few pointers for people planning to travel to the queen's country. Each country has its own peculiarities. For e.g. India is a vibrant throbbing mass of humanity. It is exploding with colors, customs and smells. Travelers to India have to deal with a lot of customs they find curious. Similarly, if you are coming to UK you need to keep some things in mind. 1) Language : Yes, they do speak English here, you've heard right. There will be times though when you will shake your head and start feeling little bit like a blockhead. The local accent colors the language and makes it sound nothing like the 'Queen's' English. The farther you go away from London, the weirder the accent. God only will help you with the Scottish and Irish Accents. Do not get offended and bash someone up because they called you 'Lov' or 'Lovey'. This is not eve teasing. These are just terms of endearment used by people. 2) Cities : London is not ...

I know most of you will raise your eyebrow looking at the title. After all, you know of my fiascoes with Cooking 1 & 2 . In spite of many years of cooking (palatable food), I still am uninitiated and clueless about a lot of cooking skills. It so happened that nearly a litre of milk had survived near the expiration date and something needed to be done to finish it fast. I keep getting pearls of wisdom from friends who are excellent cooks and know all the tricks to make excellent food. One of them is my eldest sis and she suggested that I make Cottage Cheese (Paneer) from the milk. Here are the tips for the Recipe (For Disaster): 1) Firstly never ever go for suggestions from great cooks. My sister made it sound as if it's a 'game for my left hand'. I, in the heat of the moment actually started believing this nonsense and took up the challenge. 2) Always use a thick saucepan which is deep enough to hold the milk and leave an inch or two of empty space for the milk to boil...