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Oct 30, 2015

CURTAIN RAISER: Blog Now Live Forever BNLF

An international conference on Blogging, conceptualized and hosted by IndiBlogger on 31st Oct - 1st Nov, Mumbai

Influential bloggers from the global online community are gathering this weekend at The Lalit Hotel, Mumbai to interact with the thought leaders and powerful speakers from the world’s emerging change agent- Blogging.


The BNLF event, as promised by the organizer’s IndiBlogger, is going to be…
- The most disruptive conference on blogging
- The only congregation of global speakers on blogging hosted in the Indian subcontinent
- Unique combination of Bloggers, Content creators, Content marketers, Agencies, Speakers and Investors in blogging among the attendees
- An event with in-depth techniques and insights from some of the most experienced in the industry
- A place where you will be finding the ways to help you build a rewarding career in blogging
...the place where every note is a keynote

Thanks to Anoop and Renie, I have had the pleasure to interact with some of the Key Note Speaker’s to understand what makes them click…

HIGHLIGHTS
 
IMA Marketer of the Year - 2015, is a career storyteller who has worked as a journalist, a nonprofit executive, and a content marketing strategist and consultant. The Content Marketing Institute acknowledged him as a 2014 and 2015 Top 100 Most Influential Content Marketer.

Everyone is an influencer to somebody. You, too.

By the way, chasing trending stories is quite OK, as long as we have something of value to add. Being unique counts.
- Christoph Trappe: To read more, click here…


A speaker, consultant and an internationally recognized marketing blogger who is Ranked #8 on Forbes” The World’s Top 40 Social Marketing Talent” – 2014

I would encourage any blogger to think big, be global and be true to your purpose.

Creating an online digital brand means that your voice will be heard even when we no longer breathe. So the web will indeed create a form of immortality or legacy for bloggers.
- Jeff Bullas: To read more, click here…


Blogging for more than a decade, writing three best selling books, a PhD in computer science and to top it all, a Bengali living in USA - The perfect recipe for making “Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind” the most widely read blog of the Great Bong.

I think we are. It's not perfect, and nations seldom are, but we are doing more things right than we are doing wrong (and yes we are doing a lot of things wrong).

Anything you write online stays there, it is technically immortal (unless an alien strike or a zombie apocalypse) takes the Internet down forever). Whether this immortality is always a good thing.... I am not exactly sure.

India is not perfect, and nations seldom are, but we are doing more things right than we are doing wrong
- Arnab Ray: To read more, click here…

A blogger, who managed become India’s most celebrated Author with her six best sellers, listed among the Forbes List of 100 most influential celebrities of India (2013) edition.

The important thing is to choose a good publisher who believes in the book as much as you do and is willing to go the extra mile for marketing.

Blog regularly. Be genuine. Be Nice. Be yourself!
There are so many people who try to copy the personality of a successful blogger/writer. That’s a big put-off.

If the book doesn’t strike a chord or the reader finds the quality poor, he/she is not going to pick up another book by you.
- Preeti Shenoy: To read more, click here…

A Bengali born in Delhi, who is unable to befriend people more interested in the number of bedrooms in her apartment. She vents her angst writing damning posts on her blog and praying no one reads them. But then people do read and relate to her so much so that she has been winner of numerous awards. She has contributed articles for IBN live, NRI Section of TOI and currently blogs for Huffington post.

Indian bloggers can make a difference. At a time when news is more of subversive, divisive propaganda and news channels a constant cacophony of misplaced indignation, we can be the voice of reason… The blogging community is yet to take their role as influencers seriously.

Bloggers can be the voice of the people, we can be the platform for debate.

As long as we wait for men to treat us as equals, we will never be empowered.

Never underestimate the power of your words, the reach of your blog.

- Purba Ray: To read more, click here…
__
Shashi 
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya

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Oct 24, 2015

DURGA PUJA 2015: Bihar Chaupal celebrations at Chennai...

When people are away from their home and settle to far off places in the country and abroad, the festive occasions are the times when they reconnect with their culture and sanskriti. Over period of many decades, the people from Bihar in Chennai have been keeping alive their local traditions and customs through collective efforts by celebrating major festivals and one of the biggest in the list is Durga Puja - 10 days of cultural activities and fun. These are occasions when we reconnect with our routes, meet long time friends in an atmosphere of fun and spirituality. This year, too, we have had a grand Durga Puja celebrations through our Bihar Chaupal - Chennai forum.



The festival Durga Puja is about the worship of Goddess Durga, who is takes her fierce form to kill the demons. Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the India. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State of West Bengal, but it is also the most significant socio-cultural event in North India, with its various form of celebrations. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and in Bangladesh. Below is some of my impressions from the festival, hope you will enjoy it and may Durga Ji bless you with health, wealth and happiness and bless you with victory and success in every field you aspire to be…

The Kalash Sthapana..
Celebrations started by our esteemed Guests
Sh. Hemant Kumar Sinha I.A.S and Sh. Abhash Kumar I.P.S
Welcomed to the Puja by Sh. Shobhakant Ji
And the fun begins..
Garba...
Foodies..
And daily aarti and prasaad...
Part of the Bihar Chaupal ...

VISARJAN
AND THE TEAM...

Save your seat for 2016...


Finally leaving you with the final moments of the Visarjan, as Durga Ma leaves to be with us again next near... Please do join for 2016 Durga Puja Celebrations at Bihar Chaupal Chennai. Jai Durga Ji




__
Shashi 
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya


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Bhagwat Path



Oct 20, 2015

READER: It's raining books in Chennai Blogger's Club...

The Chennai Blogger’s Club has been breeding ground for ideas, creativity and action for many years but recently there’s a marked trend of Blogger’s becoming authors. There are many success stories of blogger’s turning into Authors from Jeff Bullas to Arnab Ray - The Great Bong and our Chennai Blogger’s club has not been left out of it’s own share of celebrities, too. So decided to showcase some of them in this post. (Please note, Dhasa is not a member of CBC though). Friends, Fellow Bloggers and Published or Aspiring Authors, here you go…
 
The Authors from Chennai Blogger's Club
Ganga, Dhasa, Kavipriya, Rajesh and Eshwar
Probably the first one to publish from the Chennai Blogger’s Club. The author has two award winning short films to her credit and now has published two successful books. Apart from being a technical analyst and short filmmaker, she is writer for life. A simple girl with complicated dreams for the rest of the world.

Her two books ‘Just You, Me and A Secret’ and ‘A Minute To Death’ are beautifully crafted work of fiction
that remains life like. Reading through the book, I realised that she has a great potential and will be one of the good author’s to come out of CBC Group. Loved the some of the lines from the book…

“Love is blind and hence he decided to learn braille with her. Let their lips love, Let their legs fight, Let their hands talk, let their virginity rest in peace.” - Ganga Bharani

As Rilke said, “To be an artist means not to compute or count; it means to ripen as the tree, which does not force its sap, but stands unshaken in the storms of spring with no fear that summer might not follow." and I feel that her next book, which is promised to be released in a year or so, will see her reaching across further heights.

When you have the deepest desire to be what you want to be in life, I feel one usually succeeds to ‘Be’ and Ganga Bharani is one such person. As she says in her book “A Minute To Death’ through one of the character, Riya…

“I will even die to become a writer” - Ganga Bharani.

An interesting twist in the tale and casting simple life aside, ‘HAVOC says hi’ does says so in the games of mind. Interesting read and with some interesting thoughts that got me to read the book. A love story with the underlying thrill, where the hero goes through the challenges, with the girl really knowing his love for her.

“Her fragrance was all around the air. It had the force to push through the opposite wind and reach me.” - V J Eshwar

“Lost from the reality and hope which was nowhere to be found for her. Hope came in the form of a three words from a guy whom she barely remembered.” - V J Eshwar

A Chennai based business analyst and a guest writer, who is ambivert and a pampered southpaw. She possesses a flair for carving creative ideas and runs a blog that talks about professional ethics. I met her at one of the CBC meetings and then we connected again at the Author’s group, where we critic some of our writings. Reading her fast paced book, ‘I Don’t Wear Sunscreen’ was a pleasure. I could relate to the main character ‘Laksha’ very well as she ended up in the same profession as mine - Interior design. I liked the characterization of her boss a lot, but that is not the story. It is about the pain, which comes out in the end of her childhood friend. It is about a struggle where you fall and then get back up again, to the surprise of your friend who has a huge jealousy quotient stacked up within, against her friend.

“Some times, life probes you and sometimes, life turns resilient.” - Kavipriya Moorthy in ‘I Don’t Wear A Sunscreen

Life is interesting in the book and full of hope as Lakshya’s mother says in the book …

“Life pulls down every person to the least possible negativity and thrusts them outward to shine…. Seize the moment and grow, that’s all you can do and that’s why you are born.” - Kavipriya Moorthy

Absolute truth and I loved the words…

A professional blogger, whose blog is quite popular among CBC - where he is known as Destination Infinity. He
says, he had to become an Author because people did not believe that there is something called professional blogging. And we, bloggers are grateful that you are, Rajesh and have proved many times skeptics wrong that the blogging is an unprofessional occupation. As he is the most knowledgeable person in terms of Social Media, when he decided to write a book, he went to the source and brought out a book with the best returns. This in turn opened the doors of many new authors to write and publish their own books.

Coming to his book, ‘The Archers Revenge’ which is a fast paced political thriller, where the friends you find on your way, turn out to be your adversary’s turned back into being a friend you thought them to be, to begin with. A tale of revenge, intrigue and traps, this one finds you following the strategic actions by a son to avenge his father, bringing the down fall of a political master, stooped low in corruption and crime.

“You should first weaken them (Enemy - The Minister), make them vulnerable, and then strike.” - Rajesh Kollu

In the book, I find an interesting way of numbering the chapters in a kind of ‘Count Down’ style that got my attention and the plot creation and in the end tying up all the lose ends made me feel satisfied.

“… not as comfortable as a hotel room, but it’s more comfortable than a prison” - Divya to Aryan in ‘The Archer’s Revenge” by Rajesh Kollu.
 
Another professional, who has come up with an interesting collection of short story ‘Among The Stars’ with lot of beautiful interwoven thoughts. And that exactly is the essence of what I liked in the book. I think Dhasa has a lot to say and looks like that he has to really get into writing a novel. As the themes that he pursues need the whole canvass to paint.

Looking forward to reading him again.



A blogger, turned standup artist turned an author is an interesting Take 3 to come up with a book titled ‘Make it 2’ and probably she will join in to become one of the famous bloggers/authors line up in the Indian Blogging scene. Since the book is not yet
launched so I only get to see the blurb on the book yesterday when we met for our Blogger’s club meeting at Menchies on Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Chennai. Not the usual love story, I think, but the special take on the love with lots of wit and sarcasm thrown in… Looking forward to reading her book.
__
Shashi 
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya


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Philosophy Part III - Modern World