Launching – The “Know Your Buddy” Tag

Hellloo all the Bloggers and readers around the world!! 😍

Hope you all are doing well and taking care of yourself. Today, I am going to post another collab post (Sorry all of you for spamming with the collabs in continuation) but you will not regret to read and participate in this amazing Collab Tag.

YES, a collab tag! I remember the days when I was new to the Blogosphere and didn’t knew anything about the tags and awards stuff. But then as time progressed I realized the importance of tags, awards and nomination stuff. These tags and rewards are important to recognize, appreciate and support each other in this Blogosphere. The awards and tags give you an opportunity to get in touch and know each other.

Collaborations too are not an exception to this amazing thought. So Tia and I decided to have a collaboration and she readily accepted my offer. Initially, we were short of ideas but then we came upon the idea of doing a Tag together (All thanks to her insightful post – 101 Blogpost ideas which came to the rescue 🙃 )

Tia and I literally worked from the past few months to introduce this tag and in the end the final draft came out nice and was worth the work. We are hopeful that you all will appreciate our work and support this tag to know our buddies from the whole Blogosphere world! 🌏🙂

Guess what, this is a collab tag, surprised right? Well yes, we thought to add a fun element to the tag and level up on the idea of tags. It simply means whenever you are nominated for this tag, you have to select a blogger in collaboration to do this tag and participate in the final roundup post.

So without wasting your time, let’s head over to the Tag rules, questions and nominees below. We both have answered the same set of questions, but I am posting Tia’s answer here. Just head on to Tia’s Blog – Blondey on a mission to check out my answers on the questions.

Rules for the tag!

• Tag the original creators of this tag – Tallblondetales and Proxywords – and tag the original posts from each of their blogs. If you do, you’ll be eligible for the roundup post and grand ‘Know Your Buddy’ tag winner! If not, you can still take part in the tag you just won’t be a contender for the overall winner. 
• Thank the bloggers who nominated you (and your buddy), share the badge and rules in your post. 
• Pick a blogger with whom you’d like to do this tag with, answer the questions together, and share each other’s answers on both the blogs.
• Nominate 10 new Bloggers and keep spreading the love.
• Notify the bloggers (tell them you nominated them) by commenting on one of their posts.

Questions & Answers (Tia)

1. What is your favorite blog post of mine and why? 

My favourite post of yours is ‘The Sky has no colour’. I’ve always loved poetry so I find it so fun to read these beautiful interpretations of nature in other people’s poetry and this piece really captured me. Not only does it have a really gorgeous message, but the way you talk about all the colours in the sky is just super stunning! 

2. What would you like to be known for – your name or your Blog name? 

Hmmm … I would be like to be known for my name, because that would mean all other brands attached to me would be recognised and somewhat known too. Maybe that’s just coming from my dream of wanting to be a celebrated novelist though …

3. If you had to swap niches, which niche would you change to? 

Good question! I think I would change from general lifestyle to specific university advice and guidance (I’ve been thinking of starting a sort of agony-aunt series on my blog with university advice, stories and tips – be sure to let me know in the comments section if you’re interested!) or maybe a Disney fan blog.

4. What is the weirdest comment you have ever gotten about your blog? 

I haven’t had that many weird comments on my blog, but I think the weirdest was when my ex tried to get back in contact with me by commenting on my blog … let’s just say it’s one of the few comments I have never ever ever responded to.

5.  Do you think cereal is soup? why or why not? 

I don’t think so – soup in my mind is hot, and has at least one vegetable (or fruit in tomato soups’ case) in it. If you’re eating your cereal hot (oatmeal is not cereal) and with vegetables in it then I’m a little concerned!

6. If you had a controller that has the power to rewind or fast forward, which one would    you press on WordPress? 

I’m not sure. I think backwards because I wouldn’t want to see the future, and if I rewind then maybe I could do things differently with my blog and some posts so it’s more successful and I can improve the blog as a whole.

7.  Your blog is chosen to sponsor a charity. If funds were not an issue, which charity or     issue would your blog choose to support? 

World Wildlife Fund (WWF), without a doubt. Firstly, it’s a charity that Sir David Attenborough is part of which is already a win in my book. Secondly, I have always been passionate about animals and wildlife, and over the years my heart has truly broken seeing the state of our planet due to human harm so I would love more than anything for my blog to support wildlife conservation, and hopefully make a difference in saving natural habitats and the animal species who live there.

8.  If you two were to be buddy characters in a movie, which characters would you be     and why? 

I think maybe we’d be Sully and Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. Work really well together, help balance each other’s weaknesses and having some good style humour between us!

9.  Which is the most boring part of posting blog posts for you, or what part of posting      a blog is the laziest according to you?   

The editing phase. Writing blogs is really fun, but after that’s done and I have to format it, add a description, come up with tags and all that is my least favourite part. Probably because I’m really bad at it – that’s why my blog is still quite basic because my technical and tech skills are extremely basic…

10. What are the unwritten rules of your blog? 

I’d say that only sharing positive, or constructive comments, as well as being friendly and kind are unwritten rules of my blog because the internet is so full of nastiness, at least in this space we can all be positive. I think another unwritten rule on my blog is symbiotic support – if a blogger supports me then I do my best to support them back, and I hope vice versa applies too.

11. If you could transform into any animal, what would it be and why? 

I love so many animals so this is really hard. I think I’d have to go with a dolphin though because they are fun, friendly, playful and just adorable. Plus I’d love to be able to swim and jump around like dolphins can 🙃

12. If your blog had a superpower/magical element, what would it be? 

I think if my blog had a magical element to it, every like and comment would have a corresponding positive impact on the planet. Maybe a like equals planting a tree in the rainforest, a really nice comment slows the melting arctic sea ice just a little, that sort of thing. Can you tell I wish I could wave a magic wand and just erase all the human harm done to our planet and all the animals??

13. What reminds you of me? 

A hug – positive, supportive and always there when you need it!

14. If you were given the power to exchange Blogs for a day, which thing will change or       adapt first?  

Hmm I think I might change the format a little so I can access more blogs without   having to scroll through other blogs, and I’d post more because I really like your posts   there just need to be more of them in the world!

15. What new username would you give to my Blog?

Wow it took me a really long time to think about this but I think I might rename it the    Word-Smith or something along those lines.

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Loved drafting all these questions and reading Tia’s answers. I too was in love with my poem “The sky has no colour” when I finsihed writing it. Also, dolphins are really humble and playful just like you. I really loved the name of blog you suggested – Wordsmith; it means a lot and has a very powerful meaning. Thank you so much for answering these questions. If you all want to see my answers, please visit Tia’s blog post here.

Now time for the Nominees !! 👏👏

Nominees

So, Tia and I decided to nominate the same 10 Bloggers since we both have many mutual bloggers in the Blogosphere. So here are the nominees!

Happy Panda

Maggie – maggie’s doodles

Evin – A Curly Sue’s Ramblings

Aditi – What are you up to during the lockdown??

SamSahana – Diary of a Dreamer

Sep – Bookishly Yours

Jahnavi – Love13Reading

Bee – from Mind. Beauty. Simplicity

Abigail – Me & Stuff

Safa – POETIC_HEART

YOU ALLL!!!

Yes, you all are nominated for this “Know Your Buddy” tag since we have kept the open nominations too.

We welcome you all to participate and make new buddies. Please note that you have to do this tag in collab and all the 15 questions are locked, so you have to answer those 15 questions in your posts.

Below is the list of all the questions for your reference.

Questions

1. What is your favorite blog post of mine and why? 

2. What would you like to be known for – your name or your Blog name? 

3. If you had to swap niches, which niche would you change to? 

4. What is the weirdest comment you have ever gotten about your blog? 

5.  Do you think cereal is soup? why or why not? 

6. If you had a controller that has the power to rewind or fast forward, which one would    you press on WordPress?

7.  Your blog is chosen to sponsor a charity. If funds were not an issue, which charity orissue would your blog choose to support? 

8.  If you two were to be buddy characters in a movie, which characters would you be     and why? 

9.  Which is the most boring part of posting blog posts for you, or what part of posting     a blog is the laziest according to you?    

10. What are the unwritten rules of your blog? 

11. If you could transform into any animal, what would it be and why? 

12. If your blog had a superpower/magical element, what would it be? 

13.What reminds you of me? 

14. If you were given the power to exchange Blogs for a day, which thing will change or      adapt first?  

15. What new username would you give to my Blog?

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That’s all from our side. Hope you liked the tag name and the overall concept. Do share your views in the comment section and feel free to nominate yourself.

We had so much fun collaborating and initiating the “Know Your Buddy” tag. We hope to see the tag doing rounds in the Blogosphere and reading your amazing posts on this tag!

Let us connect on Instagram too!

proxywords_ashish

Stay connected for more posts to come. See you in the next post! Thank you all again for your support and love. Please keep supporting 🙂🙂

©Ashish Madan Kale

A Collab on Quotes with Sep!

Hello All the awesome Bloggers and readers!! 😍 Hope you had a great weekend 🙃

Here I am with another collab as promised in the goals this year in My 1 year Blogging Anniversary post. Today, I have collaborated with a wonderful fun loving person on this Blogging platform; yes you guessed it right from the title – Sep from Bookishly yours.

We had to brainstorm an idea to have one common point, but ultimately we found our way out. Do check out her Blog if you haven’t already and give it a follow for a beautiful journey and fun, full with energy posts.

So our whole idea was that we gave each other 10 topics and we had to put up our favorite quote for the respective topic. The fun thing in this collab was we decided to also put up our favorite quote in the Blog theme of other partner so that when Sep posts my quotes on her blog it doesn’t seem strange.! Exciting right?

Also, we added a fun element to our collab by adding a surprise 11th quote which will be dedicated to each other, but we haven’t revealed it to each other till we post this, so it’s a surprise for both of us on each others Blog (I am just heading to her Blog right after posting this 🙂)

So, in short the feature image for this post is designed by SEP. Also, the images you will see below are also designed by her on the topics I suggested her to write on.

Head over to Sep’s blog to see the feature images and quotes I designed for this collab. Hope you like them too! ❣️

Sounds confusing? Don’t worry, just enjoy Sep’s quotes and images below on my suggested topics ❤️

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Sep’s Quotes

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1. Future

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2. Yourself

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3. Time

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4. Trust

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5. Love

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6. Karma

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7. Passion

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8. Soul

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9. Childhood

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10. Peace

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11. Surprise Quote for SEP!!

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That’s all from my side on this collab. Now just heading over to Sep’s Blog to see the 11th quote. Please check her post here to check my favorite quotes on her topics!

Let us know if you enjoyed our collab and quotes. See you in the comments section!

Let us connect on Instagram too!

proxywords_ashish

Stay connected for more collab posts to come. See you in the next post! Thank you all again for your support and love. Please keep supporting 🙂😇

©Ashish Madan Kale

Story of LOVE!

Hello All the awesome Bloggers and readers!! 😍 Hope you are having a great weekend 😇

It gives me a pleasure to share with you that I received my first ever anthology submission “Remember the roses” paperback book this week. Also, received the second anthology book “Utmost feelings” paperback book on the same day 🙂🙂 . It is a great feeling to be a published co-author of any book, was not even in my dream that I will pen something and it will get published. All thanks to you all for your constant support and encouragement to write more of poems and posts ❤️❤️

I am very much grateful to you all and the compilers, project heads and publishers of both the books. So, I thought of sharing a poem from one of the anthologies here with you all.

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Story of LOVE

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I was there as a witness;
When you two souls met for the first time in college.

I was there
When you two were nattering and exchanging squints in periods,

I was there
When you were partaking your food in the canteen,

I was there
Staying awake when you were texting all night,

I was there
When you bunked classes to watch romantic movies,

I was there
When you satisfied your caffeine cravings in the Starbucks,

I was there
When you had your spars and quick patch-ups,

I was there
When you had your first snog,

I was there
When he proposed to you in front of his friends,

Also,

I was there
When you refused his proposal and decided to break up.

Yes,
I am “LOVE” between you both!
Resurfaced to declare that I am still present here.

So go nowhere;
and let me blossom between both of you till eternity!

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Hope you like this poem!

Connect with me and this blog on Instagram!

© Ashish Madan Kale

Stay connected for more collab posts to come. See you in the next post! Thank you all again for your support and love. Please keep supporting 

Collab Poem on Monday!

Hello all the awesome Bloggers and readers! 🙂 Hope you are doing well and getting back to work after the cease in the recent COVID cases in some countries 🙃

Today, I am about to share a wonderful collaboration poem on Monday’s with Soni’s thoughts . This collaboration is a part of the gifts offered by Soni for coming in the Top 8 of her Writing Contest on the theme of Nature. She also gifted an art piece for all the winners in the writing contest. This post was hold back for a long time and here I am posting it now, hope it’s worth the wait!

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Story of Monday

Soni’s thoughts part

The prepossessing sun woke up…
letting the enervated moon to sleep…
To welcome a new day, Monday…
new aspiration on our way…
Kick start our new day of the week….
Energy, passion at its peak…
Gazing at the gleamy sun…
We feel a ray of inspiration…
The commitment towards work…
with a revitalizing mind moving forward…
New goals to achieve…
to finish them with a zeal…
Such a motivational day…
Life seems to be full of exuberance yay…
Monday used to be fantabulous…
before pandemic it used to have its glamour.

Ashish – Proxywords, Proxy Words part

The situation after the pandemic turned grim….
Mondays were not seen anywhere to scream….
All days felt like a Monday…
Since the time work from home paved its way…
The enthusiasm and Monday blues both are so missed…
A long, tiring week along with a fun weekend seem to desist…
No motivational Monday quotes on the board…
And no fresh starts to the week as everyone around here are bored…
No readying in the formals after the late night weekend party…
Who cares when I have to go barefoot at the table arty…
I miss that early breakfast and the perfect Monday cup…
So much that I am reminded every single day by the daily hiccups…
No day can beat the Monday moods…
The aura it has in its roots…
Ohh I miss the Sunday countdown…
For the Monday walks in the realistic town!

Don’t worry,
the Mondays will once again gain their prestige…
Once we don’t provoke the virus and appease!

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Hope you liked both the parts and our take on Monday.

We all know how much we missed the Monday part after the pandemic started. The daily hustle and bustle on a Monday morning for all the members in a family is a scene to behold. I know not everyone enjoy the Monday blues, still everybody missed it during the lockdown.

The wait of a Friday evening is also a thing which all of us love to enjoy; the Friday evenings or Friday night out party and then enjoying the weekend with full zeal. Then after the fun weekend comes the most difficult part of accepting the end of the weekend on a lazy Sunday night.

We always start a countdown of Monday from the Sunday morning. Though we hate the countdown, but are always enthusiastic about the whole day when the day dawns. We always ask a friend or a relative how was your day generally for Monday alone when it’s the start of week.

This importance of Monday was however realized especially by the working class in the lockdown period. All days pretty much looked the same as all were working from home and even some had to stay in the meetings on weekends.

But, now that all the offices and workplaces are slowly opening up, (hope they don’t get closed now, never!) the Monday will dawn and be the most motivational and enthusiastic day of our lives and also prompt us to realize the importance of weekends!

We wanted to post it purposely on a Monday, so that it lifts your spirits up. Hope, it did the work and we hope you enjoy the day! Thank you so much for reading!

Let us connect on Instagram too!

proxywords_ashish
sunita.nanda20

Stay connected for more collab posts to come. See you in the next post! Thank you all again for your support and love. Please keep supporting 🙂🙃

©Ashish Madan Kale

Family – The whole world

Hello All! 😇 Sorry for not being here around in a while.

That’s the reason I am posting this poem on family i.e. dedicated to you all; my online and offline family. The family that loves you unconditionally whether you post often or not, they are always there to support you ❤️❤️

The love of a family can never be accounted – It’s endless and priceless. They are present for you at all times – whether good or bad. They are not just people who care for you, but souls that are connected to your inner soul.

The importance of a family is realized only when you go away from them for a while. Till then, they are taken for granted in your list. But, understanding and having faith in your family is the best decision you can make.

Staying with your family is just like the being the inner part of the coconut which is covered by the hard shell of your family. Nobody can cause a harm to you when you are protected by such a hard shell.

This poem is dedicated to those selfless persons in a family. Hope you will enjoy reading it. Thanks!

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Every human being needs a family,

To have fun and stay happy;

It doesn’t matter if you are silly,

Family will support you unconditionally.

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Sometimes there may be differences,

That will present you more chances;

To strengthen your bond,

and LOVE in this relationship donned.

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When any problem supersedes,

Family comes in to accede;

No task seems colossal,

Your family is there to tussle!

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You are brought up in this family as God’s gift,

Don’t need any introduction here to knit;

The house is only a place to go if you are living alone,

It becomes a home where the love of a family is honed.

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Family is a hidden treasure,

Where LOVE is not a measure;

All the members are like the thread around a spindle,

The LOVE in a family is “unconditional”.

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Do you find the above words relatable? Do you love your family? Are you staying with your family? You live in a nuclear family or a joint family? Do share your views on the above poem and these questions in the comment section.

Connect with me and this blog on Instagram!

See you in the next posts to come. Thank you all again for your support and love. Please keep supporting 🙂🙃

©Ashish Madan Kale

My 1 year Blogging Anniversary!!

What is Blogging? 🤔

Am I really starting to write a Blog? 🙄

What is WordPress and how is this platform? 🧐

What topic I should write first, is it compulsory to write an Introductory Blog? ❓

Should I write on app or directly on website? 🌐

At what time should I post the Blog? 🕛

Will I even get a like or a comment? 👍 💭

Will I be able to continue writing a Blog or should I drop this idea? 😐

Waitttt…. The questions are not for this post. These thoughts ran through my mind exactly a year ago.

These are only a few of them though. There were a number of questions that ran through my mind while starting to write and posting my first blog on this platform. If you haven’t read my first post, do have a look here – Friends – With you, for you and a part of you!

So, Yes! Proxywords has turned one on 23rd June 2021 to be precise and my first blog post was on 26th June last year. I just cannot believe that this Blog has turned one and we are here celebratinnggg ittt!!!! 🤩🥳

The thought of starting a Blog popped up when one of my friend suggested me to do so. All the questions above had answers since she was already associated with WordPress and helped me to square down the topic of first blog and all the app functions.

There was no planning even in years to come, to start a Blog or even write anything. This was just an instant decision and we made through, with one year down the memory lane!

Though I never had a Blogging schedule for my blog, but you definitely supported my blog throughout the journey and reaching this milestone. Today we are a family of 300+ followers on this blog and many other members on WordPress who are not following but have liked or commented on any of my post!

I was away for 6 months in the one year alone, due to other engagements. But I recently started posting more often and hope to continue and improve this trend. I am loving to post more often and engage with more audience and bloggers. I am also active recently on Instagram and I am loving it!

Also, the Blogging journey gave me the opportunity to try some poetry with inspiration from many Bloggers – to name a few Jeff Flesch Navin, Navin’s Poetry dakshali27 Offshorewriter, Offshore Writings Filarance, Words of me Soni Cool, Soni’s thoughts Cindy Georgakas, Unique Times and so on the list is unending!

The blogging platform also gave me the opportunity to participate in three anthologies which I had never imagined I will ever participate. One anthology is live as you know – Utmost feelings – By Astha Srivastava. Do buy this anthology from Amazon!

I am working on some collaboration posts which will be fun and you will see them more in this coming year.

My Blogging Goals for another year!

• To have my own domain name and hosting.

• To post more often and try to have a Blogging Schedule.

• To engage and follow with more audience.

• To do more collaborations and guest posts.

• To be more active on social media platform and promote my Blog.

Important update!

In this year, with the start of this Blog, I have started another website in collaboration with my friends. Most of you must be aware of this, but still sharing our website link – Chalkout & Instagram page – Chalkoutin . Do visit, follow us on WordPress and Instagram and shower all the love as you always do, will surely appreciate that!

Connect with me and this blog on Instagram!

What do you think of my Blog? What do you want to see more on this Blog? How many years have your Blog completed? Waiting in the comments section!

See you in the next posts to come. Thank you all again for your support and love. Please keep supporting 🙂🙃

©Ashish Madan Kale

Night – A light amid the darkness!

How are you doing all the awesome Bloggers and readers? I just cannot resist calling you all awesome as you all are! 😍

Here I am with another try at writing a poem after two of my previous ones; I’ve failed in life! & The sky has no color! which you all loved and appreciated 🙂❤️

I have also submitted this poem as an entry in one of the anthologies. Hope you will like it too as the previous ones!

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The night
A period from sunset to sunrise;
Everything seems light
The day ends welcoming the night Skies!

The black roads
With headlights and street lights along the pathway.
The radium codes
Reflecting the light and directing our way.

All the people
Returning to their homes in this dark night.
The baby birds’ little
Waiting for the food and their mother to return to their nest.

The rural part
Seems to have slept early with all the hard work.
While the urban part
Busy in partying and clubbing all the night and twerk.

Many visiting dreams
While some are awake with their mind that screams.
Those dreaming are living the nights
Those awake are counting the minutes and hours.

Not all nights are dark
With darkness and negativity all over the night.
The beautiful nights are bright and make their mark
As the moon and silver sparkling stars on the black canvas smite!

Talk to the moon
And don’t blame the night for all the darkness.
The thing you should adapt soon
Is to find light amidst all the blackness! 

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The nights are often considered in a negative way. Yes, that’s because all the robberies and murders take place in the dark nights. The situation is not the same now, the robbers are also executing daylight robberies. So, we can’t just blame the night, as it is not the only cause of all the negativity and darkness.

There is a light at the end of tunnel, so is the light amid all the darkness at night. The streetlights, headlights, the moon, the stars and all the household lights together spread the light to show us the path in this dark night.

It is up to us to guide our way through the light or just stay in the darkness and execute all the bad deeds. On one side, there are negative energies in the form of darkness spread all across and on the other hand a positive approach waiting for us to walk on its way to spread all the light.

We have to choose the right way to find our own light in this darkness!

I hope you liked reading my take and the poem.

What are your views on night? Do you enjoy nightlife? Do you find the light or just wander everywhere blindly in this darkness? Do share your views in the comment section below, can’t wait to hear from you all!

Connect with me and this blog on Instagram!

© Ashish Madan Kale

I love this song! Posted here since it is somewhat related, anyway enjoy listening this song.

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Utmost feelings – Compiled By Astha Srivastava

Utmost Feelings – Coming soon (Book Cover)

As most of you already know, do check out the upcoming anthology Utmost Feelings compiled by our beloved Astha Srivastava and spread the word. The anthology will soon be live and will be available on all the online platforms!

The anthology is dedicated to Astha Srivastava who unfortunately is not in this world but her memories are always with us and will stay in the form of this anthology.

If you want to convey your feelings towards Astha or want to share your love for Astha to her family, please share your words and feelings by filling out this form. Her family will be happy to know how her WordPress family loves her. Thank you!

The Aesthete Blogger Award

Hello, all the awesome Bloggers and readers! I know I need to change the same intro now, but don’t know what else should I start with.

I have already posted blogs on the awards I got nominated for, earlier in my journey and squeezed all the awards in two posts – Liebster Awards (#1, 2, 3, 4) and 4 in 1 awards. Check out the posts and answers if you haven’t already!

After these posts, I had decided not to post any award post on my blog. But, after receiving the recent lovely nomination from Sep (Bookishly yours) for the Aesthete Blogger Award, I couldn’t resist but post this on my Blog. This will be a very small post.

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So, here we go!

The Rules…

• Use the official logo/graphic of the award and display it on your blog.
• List the rules.
• Show some love to the one who nominated you!
• Mention the creator (Ashmita@ the Fictional Journal) and link it back to the original post.
• Tell me something about this world that you admire.
• What is your favorite form of creativity?
• Nominate 7 lovely people and notify them by commenting on their posts; spread some love!
• Ask your nominees 4 questions.
• Share something you created. (can be anything!)
• And lastly, just so you know: I LOVE YOUR CREATIONS!

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Love to the nominator: A huge round of applause to Sep from Bookishly Yours for the amazing nomination. Please do check her blog and follow her; she is a huge book lover, music lover, art lover etc. You can go on naming things and she is up there. You can check out her website and explore more of her bookish world!

Something I admire: Well, something that I admire about this world (that’s a very wide perspective) – My family. They are the most selfless person on this world and they always love me unconditionally whatever may be the circumstances.

Favorite form of creativity: Creativity is in various forms. My favorite form of creativity that I am presently practicing is writing and creating content. Writing is a creative form which is helping me to communicate with the world (a wider perspective)

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Sep’s Questions:

If you could do one thing without the fear of Covid. What would it be?

That’s a hard first question to answer. Owing to the present situation, there is nothing you can do without the fear of Covid. Still to answer your question; I can wash my hands with soap/sanitize with sanitizer to ward off the fear of Covid. 

What’s the closest thing to magic?

As Elon Musk says and since I am an Engineer – Engineering is the closest thing to magic that exists in this world.

Which movie really took you by surprise, and changed your view point forever?

Since I watched this movie again nTH time recently, I will say Shutter Island!

What is a weird food combination you enjoy?

That’s piping hot Gulab Jamun (Milk solid based Indian dessert) + Ice cream.

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Nominees:

Poorwa’s Blog — Sudeep’s Journal — Soni’s Thoughts — The Gondwanaland — Beyond the lines — Valorous Bird — A writer’s Deli

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I selected the nominees randomly in my reader’s section. It’s hard to nominate seven out of many awesome Bloggers, so feel free to nominate yourselves and tag me in your post and answer the above questions from Sep (I loved these questions). Thanks!

Hope you liked this post, the lovely questions and the answers. Do let me know your views or answers in the comment section!

Let us also connect on Instagram!

© Ashish Madan Kale

Name – An Identity

Hello, all the awesome Bloggers and readers! This post was on my mind from the past few months, but have drafted now and posted. Hope you all are doing well and staying safe and also got vaccinated.

Name – I want you to just envisage the first thing that crosses your mind when you are reading this word (P.S: Don’t rush forward).

I bet most of the people on this Earth would have fantasized about this quote/dialogue in their minds when they see this word.   

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet”

Yes, you all predicted it right. This dialogue is from the famous William Shakespeare’s play Romeo & Juliet; we all are acquainted with. As you hear the word “Name”, this reference pops up in your mind.

Can you imagine a world with no names? Yes, that’s a hypothetical situation we are referring to. Nobody knows when the origin of names started; maybe before the written and oral history, that surely had names.

According to Wikipedia, “A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context”. So, if the term is not present, as in the hypothetical case we are referring to; how will the external observer identify the entity?

The problem will not be restricted to people, but every living and non-living entity on this planet. Be it human beings, animals, planets, companies, etc. everything will become complicated. Imagine, you are working in the office and you have to call the assistant to the Manager. You would say “Hey you, the tall guy with the French beard; can you please call the one with a warm skin tone and curly hair”. This is just a small sentence. Or you have to say “Please pass on the apple from the fruit basket” or “Buy the Samsung (or any other brand) refrigerator from Amazon, they are hosting the Christmas sale”.

I bet the most troublesome part would be explaining to a friend to watch a movie/series with no movie/series name, nor you have the character’s name. How would you define Iron man, Captain America, Spiderman, wonder woman etc., without naming them and just going out explaining their powers and then conveying what you want to say? The fun thing is you cannot savor your perfect cup of Starbucks coffee; because guess what, the staff asks for your name first to write on your cup (though they don’t write the correct spelling of names).

Many famous rulers, kings, prominent leaders, freedom fighters, scientists, politicians, etc. with no names would never be an inspiration to all of us. Your favorite books and authors would be hard to list and discuss with no names. The rivers, mountains, states, countries would be hard to differentiate with no names.

 I know this will be a very complex process. That’s why Shakespeare’s quote above, only applies to the play Romeo & Juliet. In real life, Name is the whole world and identity as quoted in the definition. So, what’s in a name? Well, everything is in a name!

A name reveals everything about a person, object, animal, place, or anything. A name reveals the personality or qualities of a person. When you call out a name of a person, you have an associated image of that person in your mind and that strikes through your mind. This is the power of a name. We always relate a name to an attribute in our mind through which we can quickly recognize any person or a thing. 

Whenever we meet a new person, maybe in an interview or at the reception of an office, the one thing that we start our communication with is exchanging our names. Exchanging our names gives us a sort of familiarity and we become comfortable for further communication. 

There are many common and uncommon names of people, place or a thing. Most of the common names are easy to pronounce but the uncommon names are not pronounced properly since they are either long or complicated to interpret. The pronunciation of names varies with geographical location or even within the states of a country. A person in the USA may not pronounce an Asian person’s name and vice versa. This may sometimes lead to name shaming too. Pronouncing a person’s name wrong is the last thing you want to do. If there is nothing in a name, then why we are annoyed when somebody misspells or mispronounces your name? Just because we are very much possessive about our name as it’s our only first identity in the society.

Every person may not love her/his birth name. Everybody has the right to change one’s name legally at any phase of life, there are no limitations.

A woman changes her name and accepts the family name of her male spouse after marriage. The change of name can be her initial name, middle name (taking name of her husband) or last name (last name of husband’s family), or these.

According to an article on bbc.com – “In the US, most women adopt their husband’s family name when they get married – around 70%, according to one of the largest data analyses in recent years. For British women, the figure is almost 90%, according to a 2016 survey, with around 85% of those aged between 18 and 30 saying they still follow the practice.”

But some women, especially renowned women, are conscious of their name and also want to accept their new family name. For example, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai after marriage registered herself as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Similarly, Priyanka Chopra changed her name to Priyanka Chopra Jonas. These celebrities didn’t change their earlier names as the name was their identity, but also accepted their husband’s family surnames.

Similar is the case for a company/business name. A company name is a brand which they are selling. Whenever we hear a company name, the process of its good and bad deeds runs through our mind. The name of a brand is its whole and sole identity. A company is always conscious of its name and logo. The company name has its brand value hidden. A company is always famous by its name.

Many companies also have abbreviations for their names. They designate the abbreviations for complicated and lengthy names of their founders or owners, which are difficult to remember. Many examples are L & T (Larsen & Toubro), BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG), H&M (Hennes & Mauritz), HP (Hewlett Packard), Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited), Lego (Leg Godt), JBL (James Bullough Lansing) and so on…… So, may it be abbreviations, a brand name is important to grow your business.

Everybody knows the power of branding and Nestle Maggi is the perfect example. India’s food regulation had banned Maggi in 2015 for the presence of excessive lead and mislabeling of MSG (added flavor). The ban was for six months and the company recalled 38,000 tonnes of Maggi samples from retail stores and dispose of them by incineration in cement mixers across the country. However, the company was back to business in November 2015 and became a leader by re-establishing 60% of the market share in the year 2017. This could be possible only because of the power of branding and the name of Maggi.

 A name maybe your birth name, nickname, domain name, brand name, abbreviation etc., all are concentric circles to a common center, i.e. your identity. A person or anything is distinguished and known by its identity.

Let me know your views. What do you think of your name? What nicknames you have? Do you have any business name? What are your views on branding?

Thank you for reading till the end of the post!

© Ashish Madan Kale

The Two Faces of Nature!

Hello, all the awesome Bloggers and readers again! 🙃 Yes, I am writing and posting after a long time, but here I am again. Hope you all are doing well and staying safe amidst the waves of this pandemic. 🤞

Today’s post is in response to the writing contest organized on Soni’s blog (Soni Cool). I wrote a short poem keeping it as simple and realistic as nature and mother earth is!

I hope you like my take on Nature and enjoy reading the poem. The poem is arranged in a pictorial form just to enhance and understand the feelings behind the words.

These are the two faces of Nature. Human beings are always attracted to the beaches, mountains, hill stations, etc. when they want to spend time alone or take a break from their normal routine.

When one visits these places maybe in the period of holidays or when they are on a break, they appreciate the importance and beauty of nature. When a child is hurt, she/he goes to his mother to get the wound addressed by her magical powers and care. Human beings too follow the same approach and reach to mother earth to do away with their problems and tensions.

The only thing is, the recognition is for a short while and we take it for granted. We go back to the urban jungle and start executing activities that contribute to its destruction. We suddenly lack the importance of nature and what it contributes.

This realization is important and is a need of the hour for a better future. It is this influence of humans that goads nature to show its second face of destruction. The pandemics and catastrophes are just a start to this journey. We should realize and support the face of nature that leads to construction so that nature supports us back.

Ironically, a single drop of water that satisfies the thirst of a human being can turn into a disastrous form of floods and Tsunamis.

Yes, Nature has two faces: The pretty one and the ugly one, the disasters! Love the first face and be prepared for the second one!

Mehmet Murat Ildan – Quotestats.com

Do let me know your views and thoughts on the above submission. Also, share your thoughts on Nature. What is your perspective about Nature? You can also participate in this writing contest on Soni’s Blog – visit here. The deadline for submission is 31st May.

Follow the blog for future posts to come!

©Ashish Madan Kale

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