Online

Online means on the net.Well ,nowadays almost everything  is online  ! Maybe not in the real sense & yet in a virtual sense !

My kid looks up her answers on a tutorial site .She says she finds  her textbooks uninteresting.I had appeared for a legal entrance test.I studied some case laws online.I even gave mock entrance tests online ! I ordered bare acts that I needed for my preparations on the net ! It saved me the commute, in train ,to the book shops at the other end of the city.This meant, that I was fresh after I shopped on the net ...no tiredness of traveling on hot summer day ! I compared prices & opted for the most reasonably priced !

I have taken to online shopping.More than shopping outright,I do a lot of window shopping selecting,comparing ,before I pay up.Payment of bills of services, is so convenient as it is all online now.I stay in a rented flat & I am able to pay power& the internet bill online even without registration ! All without moving any inch from my chair in the comfort of my home !

My teenager has even bookmarked chess game online.She plays it on the laptop, whenever she wants to.She has fallen in love with chess after a friend taught her the basics !

My husband books all our travel tickets online.It is convenient.Moreover ,if carefully planned ,it can lead to big savings !Since my hubby is travelling most of the time,emails are a big comfort.They help us to keep in touch.

Sharing photographs is so easy on the net.Moreover ,photos need not be printed.They can just be shared online.So much saving of paper- green effort.Even recipes can be shared.I hardly knew cooking ,I have become better now all due to looking up tried & tested recipes on the net ! I have learnt baking as well !

You can find answers to most of the queries which arise on. line.Even if you need to look up names for newborns ,the net gives so many options for namkaran !

Even virtual aartis,pujas can be done on the net ! Google maps has made it possible to have virtual views of most the places on the net !

I have met so many friends on the net, while I blogged that they are more than my real friends ! I think ,there is no end to the things we can do online.In this context,I read a quote in the Times of India today ,"I like my new telephone,my computer just works fine,my calculator is perfect ,but  lord,I miss my mind !"...Author unknown.

Now, only, if I could join some weight loss program  online (sitting on my chair in my home   ) which makes me lose weight offline ! And before you feel ,I am going crazy & making you go off your mind,I better stop !

This is my blog post for "O" for the A to Z Blogging Challenge.

Sharing blog posts of fellow bloggers :

Rajrupa Gupta

Swati Nitin Gupta

Instantaneous

The times we live in, are impatient times.We are impatient about each & everything.We want instant results to problems which have been there for a long time.

This is the age of the net.We want to talk to others instantaneously .We have the mobile & other internet tools like skype,google talk,yahoo messenger,etc.One click & connections get made for chatting ,talking,sharing photos,ideas etal.

There are instant food mixes available to satiate our hunger pangs .They are very convenient & reasonably priced.About nutritional values,there is little doubt, that they are mostly absent.

We want to earn money fast.So we are willing to go to any extent.We are willing to pull others down ,project ourselves,adopt all illegal means,etc.There are no full stops in our craze to get rich & successful.We prefer shortcuts to success rather than the long winding roads to joy.And once we get there,we feel all the more insecure.So another rat race begins & the vicious cycle continues.

We prefer live shows that are being telecast now.Our kids also expect their demands to be fulfilled at that moment.Because ,children ape us.When they see us on our mobiles ,laptops,tablets,kindles etc,they imitate us.

Why this craze for everything instantaneous ?Is it because, we are very insecure, about what will happen tomorrow ? We are all stressed out by instant updates about our lives & those of others.Unfortunately ,all this fast life has robbed us of perseverance,patience,persistence,etc..We are unable to concentrate on any task at hand.So ,the results are just about there.They lack the  brilliance & passion of times gone by.

Let us learn to be patient & persistent with the tasks on hand....kids,family ,work ..in fact everything.The outcomes will be much better & simply excellent.Let us try to believe, in the present rather than worry about the future.Towards,this end ,let us spend some time, in quiet contemplation.Let us remember  that even if we win all the rat races,we will  still remain rats.

This is the ninth post for A to Z Blogging Challenge,2014.

Showcasing blog posts of two fellow Bloggers :

Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli

Nithya Raghunath

Elixir of life !

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

I love books & so do many others.Books provide us companionship at all times & places.When we read books ,we are not alone.We have a friend and a confidant in the book.

Books give us immense joy as we read them . Confucius rightly said ,"You cannot open a book without learning something".They help us with learning & educating ourselves.Books help us in getting creative &  get us thinking.Books divert our attention & relax us.They may give us solutions to problems & by this, I do not mean guides & keys ! 

There are self help books,books on crafts & arts ,story books,books on facts & figures,account books,science books ,etc.There are so many varieties to choose from.There are coffee table books & books with illustrations and lovely photographs !

We may not be able to own all books we want & need.We can borrow from friends & the library to  read & stare.In this age ,our matchbox like houses, seldom have space to accommodate all the books we would love to read & store to re read.

Unconditional acceptance is what books give us.There are no demands by books,isn't it ? We, of course, demand to be enlightened as also  entertained by books.Seldom, are we disappointed by books.

Ernest Hemingway said "There is no friend as loyal as a book ."I think the best thing in life is / are  books as they are for a lifetime ! Many book can be read many times over.Each time ,we may come across some new idea which the author intended & we failed to  get it the last time we read it.

In this age of the internet,books seem to be losing to the net.Many books are downloaded on electronic devices & can be read online.Many book stores are closing down.People seem to have decreasing attention span to appreciate books.Still ,all is not lost.

The fact, that books are being downloaded on the web, proves that there are readers who feel printing on paper is anti green & prefer the net !

I am lucky, as I have started reviewing books gifted to me by BlogAdda. I get to read the latest books by so many writers.Incidentally ,book reviewing may get other wannabe readers interested in reading ! In essence,I stay in touch with  what is happening in the world of letters.Hence,I am in tune with  the times, on the net ,with the net & by the net, by blogging reviews of books  !

Net mania on the mobile !

                                                                        

I am hooked to the net, like others.I chat ,share & browse the net for hours together.It is an addiction, so bad ,that when I am away from the net ,I feel disconnected .In other words,I am having withdrawal symptoms !


I have fun on the net- I am sharing information with my friends & like minded people.I get news, the moment, it gets made -the net is so fast ! This is, what is, so exciting ! Moreover,I can chat with with my friends on skype,google talk ,facebook etal -even my friends who are abroad ! Distances have melted & the world wide web is there, in our own homes - in fact , in  our rooms !

I used to worry about my being disconnected when I would travel from home.Now with the vodaphone service ,that is no longer true. I can continue my chat with my friends & keep then updated & get them envious about all the fun, that I am having as I travel.I can even pay my pending bills,recharge my mobile on the go ! I can listen to music & upload photos of places which I visit.Then sharing them on the net is just an app away ! This is Life !



The Vodaphone dog is so loyal & helpful -always there for us: Main hoon na ! It assures us, that it is there always-willing & ready to help us get on, in this net savvy world !

The numerous apps keep me in touch with the world wide web .The alarm on my phone wakes me up.Reminder notes help me greet my friends & dear ones on birthdays & anniversaries.Reminders also assist me in functioning better.I can read reviews of movies & books on the phone .This helps me decide which ones are worth my time.Then another app & my movie tickets are booked !

My kid loves the games on my phone & is always fiddling with it.I love reading & can read so much.Moreover, as net & the mobile get connected,I can share what I read, with others ! The exchange of ideas makes our lives so worthwhile !

I have even got some interesting offers on the net through my cell ! Now ,that is what I call Paisa vasool !  Where ever we are in the real world,we can access the world just by pressing a few buttons & sometimes ,just a button ! The cell has made us all Super Humans vide the net !

The net.

I think the net has revolutionised the way we communicate with each other in the last ten years or maybe longer.I said last ten years because I understood this phenomena quite late & have got hooked ever since.

I email to all on my list without discrimination & also chat .I have signed up for twitter as also facebook.I have also started blogging.All this networking has helped me to fight loneliness & boredom.It has opened new doors for me ( not windows !).Like,I have started taking snaps of rangolis which I draw & created various albums with rangolis as a theme.Further,I have started inserting images of Rangolis on to my blog as well.This has also helped me in updating my soft skills.

I also keep searching for recipes needed on the net.This has led to discovering some very good blogs on cooking.This in turn has encouraged me also to try at being a blogger on cooking.I am really amazed that so many people  invest enormous amounts of time &  labor on their blogs.The cookery blogs are so vibrant with wonderful photos as an accompaniment.

I have formed a loop in which all my cousins & relatives get to see photos of extended family.I also update them about promotions,births,marriages in the extended family.In this age when ,we can no longer meet each other physically,this is the best way to keep in touch.

I was able to take part in an online novel writing contest last year as I read about it in the Times of India.Though,initially,I was unsure about the story,my  efforts, my perseverance lasting till the end,I was able to complete it . I even received a certificate from the organizers of the contest for successful participation & completion.All this has endeared the net to me.

I also read about an Indian site wherein,I had to upload my novel & I did that.The site is under repair now but till it worked,I pestered all my e-mates ( all on my email list ) to post their comments on the site.I  strongly suspect that my emates have a hand in the site undergoing repairs !I am sure that more than me,they want my book to be published so that I will get busy.Then,I will be tied up & there will be no bombardments from me.

But then I am   incorrigible ! Now,I have started posting my comments on  various sites.Then,I email all to inform them that my comment has gone live on the site.My e mates are fed up,I am sure of that.They are praying for  my computer to crash or maybe that  I go on a holiday etcetc.But then ,my addiction has reached such  a situation that I went to  cyber cafe  when my system was down.So there is no reprieve.

My brother insists, that we talk on the computer only as this is cheaper.With the web cam on,we can even look at each other as we talk.It is as good as meeting each other -of course, separated by screens.

Now,there is talk of email also disappearing as youngsters find it too be too slow.They are in favour of texting,messaging etal.That is why,even I have signed up on social networking sites.So,those of you,who thought that my mail will meet a slow end,beware! I am earnestly preparing for the next onslaught !