Fellow Traveller

You need not gawk at me in a freaky way

neither should you keep me at bay

I am a lass, with maybe, not so pretty a face

but I didn't seek your advice, even if that's the case

Yes, I know you are blessed with a flawless appearance

that I fail to achieve,even with endurance

But I am second to none

When it comes to fun!

I used that ointment for a year,

I applied this and that, whatever I hear

I did all that my skin could bear

Alas, the pimples wouldn't disappear!

People give me tips all over the city

They don't understand, I don't need their pity

I cry to bed with self doubt,

And wake up with just another breakout!

I have not seen a clear face in the mirror, now for a while,

And have to keep going,yet another mile

So for now,can you all let me be,

For healing takes time, can't you see!

My face not radiant, the reasons I can't trace

My skin is different , the hormones, not in place

I sleep with a clean face, and wake up with an oily one

The glands so active, always ready to give me a run!

The best part is how does a pimple manage to pop out on birthdays

And never forget to ruin valentine's day!

And I think it's every girls desire to have a face, spotless

To dress up and look flawless!

Yet it never forgets to depress me

I have learned  to carry it off with glee

It gives me the incitement to switch to a healthy way of living

 I take loads of fruits and water drinking!

I don't want those fake sympathies

Or those face packs and home remedies

I have tried and tested everything which can't get ickier

And now is the turn to switch to Garnier!

I would also like to have a day , a week, a month and a year

When I can look gorgeous, without any concealer

Love myself for who I am, for , now i use this face wash

Which purifies my skin , and leaves it as fresh as a lemon dash!

I emailed this poem to my spouse for his critique, the response I got made my day. Have reproduced it below,

"The poem's beautiful, and so are you
How flawless you are, you have no clue"

This post is a part of contest on IndiBlogger sponsored by Garnier Pure Active Neem face wash.

Stain or strain?

Many of us grew up in homes where the  toil of our mothers often went unnoticed ,our homework was incomplete without the sound of her bangles clinking against the unwashed dishes and her fight with the germs we brought with us on our school uniforms while playing around with friends and imaginary characters, never seemed to cease. Yet, we found her with the most sparkling smile around, running behind us with a glass of milk we never agreed to drink , and the effort to fulfill everyone's desires with equal attention without a frown on her face. And yes we always found our houses, spic and span. Yet staying back at home was considered as doing nothing and enjoying! Where a man's job starts from 10 in the morning and ends at 6 in the evening, a woman's job starts from the minute she wakes up till she tucks in everyone at night! But with the love and affection she does it, is taken  for granted, and never valued!

I remember, my first management class, where our professor asked us to give an example of a perfect manager! When all of us gave names of famous pesonalities,  our professor failed to agree and said, "a mother". Yes, she is at the helm from the socks in the laundry basket to the lunch box in the school bag, which we never bothered to be pleased about. Instead,without any guilt, we never stopped adding tasks in her to-do list!

Well, the latter day, witnesses different household routines, but not unequivocally.Now, when women have stepped out of the houses and took charge of earning bread and butter,certain notions need to be altered.  Gone are the days, when a male-bread-winner-female-homemaker arrangement was followed. Still, we don't invent our routines from scratch, it is formed from our upbringing and we also find it convenient to fall back on one of the off the shelf cultural models, which imposes a woman to take charge of the household chores.

I have friends, the single ones, who used to do their laundry and cleaning on the weekends. But the moment they have a wife around,they are not ready to adjust with a dirty pair of jeans, rather they  want that particular shirt clean and ironed, and also those pair of trousers every alternate day! Why the things can't be done the way they were being done earlier. Because now they have a female in the house who should be doing the laundry, which is the only way she can show her love, care and affection or was it a part of her job description while signing the marriage certificate! Or is that the only reason they got married? Indeed, the answer is yes! And when women who speak against such issues are asked to keep a mum by elder women in the house who have thought their existence was defined by doing the household chores. 

I really like men , like my husband, who feel equally responsible for the household chores. When I do something for him, this is how our conversation goes,

he says sweetly "Although I like it,but please don't spoil me" 

and I smile back at him and say " I am doing it today, don't expect me to do it every time, sometimes I will do for you, but you don't stop doing it!" 

I think such men make the best husbands, and always treat women with equality! I think a marriage should be based on such intimacy and reciprocity rather than fulfilling the functional needs.

Still, 76% of Indian men think, laundry is a woman's job, so basically a working woman has two jobs, one at home and another at work, and what does she achieve out of it, a tiresome day, a frustrated night and in short, a longing for enjoyment in her life, because 24*7 she has run an errand, and when does she get a a break? Never! Because even on a day off while the kids and men are busy relaxing , her job gets augmented, as that toothsome dish needs to be cooked or that heap of clothes need a wash or she gets busy to organising her room so that on week days the husband can mess it up. Those who still think that marriage is a need for economic security and children and washing those dirty pile of clothes, I pity you!

While Ariel is busy fighting against those tough stains, I think India should scuffle against the prejudiced mindset of people, and let men do their own laundry because an unwashed shirt does no harm, but a biased frame of mind does.

I am writing for #IsLaundryOnlyAWomansJob activity at BlogAdda.com in association with Ariel.

Bolt And Beautiful

Beauty & The Bolt.

At the risk of sounding superficial, I would have to confess my jaw dropping reaction to the dashing car that is TATA BOLT. Coming from a novice car aficionado, I judge any car by how it looks, at least in the beginning. And, I would say, TATA didn't leave me hanging. Bolt, reminiscent of the flagship's much appreciated model of Indica, has been neatly styled, and reminds us of the brand that the conglomerate has created. Design additions like the blackened C-pillar, projector lamps and alloy wheels, to name a few, give it a dash of sporty spunk leave the Bolt looking edgy and crowning it as the King of Hatchbacks in this segment.

Bolt comes with rugby bucket hugging shoulder seats which doesn't leave me wanting for more comfort from my driving seat.The steering with mounted controls and a whooping 95% steering retain ability, is such that a petite person as myself can drive this car enjoyably, not less than any Herculean built man, like our dads(or boyfriends, maybe(wink))! And this unimaginable feat has been made possible by the tilt steering wheel and height adjustable driving seat. Talking about the steering wheel, I cannot not mention the ease of maneuverability this car effortlessly provides.

Moving on to the favorite feature of any car, the feature turning any ordinary ride into a reenactment of 'Mahabharata' among the kids, all over the world . Sibling rivalry will never be so tame with Bolt's infotainment sytems, sourced by Harman providing a plethora of options, such as video playback through USB or SD card , Aux-in ,Bluetooth streaming , effective voice recognition, touch operated AC controls,  and good audio output and clarity with eight speakers in total, giving an all rounded satisfying experience.

Come, Let's go on a ride.

Bolt comes with many unique features such as standard dual-airbags, a new generation ABS system and navigation screen installed with MapmyIndia app offering a generous four years of free service which can be accessed with any average smartphone making sure that you are never lost.


With Multi Drive function, Tata introduces a premium feature, which had eluded, since its invention, the hatchbacks and could be witnessed only in luxe automobiles. The function comes with three driving modes – City, Eco and Sport suiting the driving conditions and your itinerary for the day.

To speak about the technicalities under the hood, Tata gives us a tried-and-tested top of it's line Quadrajet diesel engine, or a turbocharged ‘Revotron’ in the petrol version, both mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. With a 1.2-litre unit for 88bhp, 5000rpm and 140Nm of torque, Bolt enhances the suspension and aims to get a slightly stiffer setup to improve handling. In addition, you also get an independent MacPherson system with an anti-roll bar, in front and at the rear.

Capacious interiors of The Bolt 

With a boot so cute, I would rather
sit in the boot than on the seatsl! 

This car offers many upsides one of the major of which is oodles of cabin space which makes long rides rather pleasurable. The rear seats are well cushioned and have adjustable head restraints providing ample head and shoulder room accommodating as many as three adults comfortably. The boot may not be as impressive, but the 60/40 split in the rear seat comes to the rescue.
 

 

Tata Motors’ intentions for the Bolt are clear and daring, they want the car to appeal to those passionate about driving.

Whether its your turn for kids' carpool or that old retiree couple living next door needs a quick ride or there is a friend in need or your relatives are in town or if you're single and ready to mingle on the backseat, be rest assured Bolt will never disappoint you. Bolt will ensure a bump free ride a staple requirement for driving on Indian roads.

I would really picture myself driving this car,and this coming from a highly unenthusiastic driver, says plenty about the car.

#SelfieWithBOLT

"The Tata Bolt has got character, and that allows it to stand out.This is a car that will get noticed, there is no mistaking that positively glowing and well etched front face. The slight power bulge on the hood, the wrap-around headlamps and most of all, the bumper with the inverted smile and the scooped out recesses to house the driving lamps give it some serious aggression. This car means business and it looks the part too."

- Overdrive.

"Spacious, comfortable, well equipped, and now better built and engineered, the Bolt, at an expected starting price of Rs 4.3 lakh, is likely to be tremendous value for money. The car feels robustly put together, quality levels are much improved and the turbo-petrol engine does the job for everyday motoring. This car delivers more car per car; exactly what Tata has always promised and delivered."

-Auto Car

“This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda.”