Is there an alternative to Adytude

Is there any similar website like adytude.com which allows to Watch advertisement s and earn coupons and gift cards.  This is one of the question which I have been getting at different forums.

If there is any similar kind of website. Not exactly. But websites like toluna.in gives incentive for completing surveys and questions. But the payout is very slow. To accumulate Rs. 200 voucher it will take a lot of time. Sometimes between 3 months to 6 months
So go for toluna if you have a lot of spare time and you want your opinion to be counted

Stanley's Space Voyage

 I have read it somewhere "There is a little bit of children in all of us" thats why we still love to play games, have some mischiefs in life. Whenever we are at the beach  we see that not only the kids but also the grown ups are also making sand castles, playing all sort of games. 
So when I received the new packs from Colgate the child in me made all sort of childhood fantasy games which we used to play with those fictional characters, some inspired from cartoons, some inspired from the comics book we read. This time the colgate packs have the characters like astronauts, space, aliens, space hovercrafts and the planets. Being a movie buff the recent movies like The Martian, Arrival (2016) Apollo 13, the packs was a great way to create my own space fiction. The characters were all inspired from various films.

My First story had two characters Stanley the Hero and Alien.
Stanley From the film  The Mask

Aliens (Abbott and Costello) from the film Arrival

The characters are basically  comical like Stanley which has been played b the great Jim Carrey in the film Mask and the aliens are from the recent oscar nominated film Arrival. The two aliens in the film has been named as Abbott and Costello the great stand up comedian.

Our hero of the story Stanley goes on a space adventure with his favourite spacecraft apollo 113 along with his hovercraft to a distant Saturn planet. Till date this is the biggest space mission by man. the early report indicates there are Aliens living in Saturn.  Stanley and the space team dont know more about the aliens. Are the friendly or are the  dangerous Stanley has to find that out. Stanley has his machine gun which he is carrying to defend himself in case of an assault by the aliens.

After reaching Saturn, Stanely moves in his hovercraft to reach out to aliens and know more about the planet his hovercraft is equipped with all the facilities and direct communication to the space centre in earth. After seeing the alien Stanley tries to communicate with them. Both the Aliens Abbott and Costello got a frightened and surprised after seeing Stanley, Stanley also got surprised after seeing the aliens. After some time Stanley came out of his hovercraft and tried to speak with them. Thanks to the universal language they could exchange communication between them. Thanks to this space odyssey we now know more about Saturn and its inhabitants.

If I had wrote the same story when I was a child I would have written there was a fight between Stanley and the Aliens but now the the child in me see no enmity. we can co-live in this beautiful universe created by the supreme power.

“I’m blogging my #ColgateMagicalstories at BlogAdda in association with Colgate.

Serene Stay at Trident Bhubaneswar

Scenic. Serene. Sublime. That's what Odisha is a state filled with temples, beautiful beaches and numerous national parks. So when we planned for Odisha during winter. We decided to stay at Bhubaneswar. Surprisingly unlike other capital towns Bhubaneswar not had a big list of 5 star hotels, on the other hand just one. It was Trident Bhubaneswar. The booking was smooth and easy thanks to makemytrip. Our expectation was a decent hotel with comfortable stay along with a lot of sightseeing. Honestly we were planning more on the outing aspect at various temples, monuments rather than the stay.

Our journey started with a very positive start. When we arrived at Biju Patnaik international airport, we were surprised to see the development in and around the airport. Biju Patnaik international airport is one of the beautiful airport recently developed by Airport  Authority of India. Our hotel Trident was 20 minutes from the Biju Patnaik international airport and situated in a peaceful corner of the city. When we reached at the hotels we were surprised with the oasis of luxury, set amidst landscaped gardens and fruit orchards


The Restaurant was a great place to dine with great food and architecture all around. The Konark wheels have been designed so well that give the ambience so class and elegance. The spread had variety . From the omlettes to bakery products everything was spot on here. The staff were very much cordial and friendly to make our dining experience better.

One of the high point of the food at Chandni Restaurant, Trident was the authentic Odia cuisines. Odia non veg foods are one of most underrated food in India. I found this cuisine tasty as well as healthy. Trident promised the fresh catch from the Bay of Bengal or crabs and lobsters from the famous Chilika Lake. and honestly it was as fresh as one can imagined the low spice in Odia cuisines with the fresh catch from the Chilika made it a stumptuous meal. The desert was the famous Roshogolla and Chhena Poda. 

After the delicious food it comes to digestion. TRident is full of amenities for that. If one want to unwind at the pool the pool is more than welcoming. the fitness centre had almost all the facility of a modern jym. But the 900 metre jogging track meandering through the fruit orchards was my choice to rejuvenate and refresh my mind. The leisurely stroll in the jogging track is a moment to cherish.

Overall, The Trident, Bhubaneswar gave us a great time, we enjoyed the stay, the food and the hospitality. It was a Scenic. Serene. Sublime Holiday destination for us.

“I am blogging about my luxury stay experience for an activity at BlogAdda in association with MakeMyTrip“

#MMTLuxuryStays #makeMyTrip #Bhubaneswar #Traveldiaries #OdishaTourism

Big B Tweet on Vodafone & Response of JIO and RCOM Free connection

On 31st Jan 2017 Amitabh Bachchan tweeted that he is having some issue with Vodafone connection
Amitabh Bachchan ‏@SrBachchan  

VODAFONE WE HAVE A PROBLEM ..!! ALL SEND MESSAGES COMING FAILED .. RECEIVING SMS BUT NOT GOING .. HHEEEELLLLPPPPP !!!

Immediately R Jio replied that they are ready to serve with a new connection along with hasslefree activation.
Reliance Jio ‏@reliancejio

@SrBachchan Sir, we would be happy to deliver a Jio SIM to you & activate it instantly through our Aadhaar based eKYC home delivery process.

Then came the Vodafone reply from Roshan
Vodafone India ‏@VodafoneIN  16h

@SrBachchan We understand how frustrating this is. Rest assured that our team is already looking into this. - Roshan

After some time The complaint was resolved. And Big B tweeted the following.

Amitabh Bachchan ‏@SrBachchan  
VODAFONE PROBLEM SOLVED ... THANK YOU .. ALL SMS GOING THROUGH NOW .... BAAAADDDDUUUMMBBAAA ...!!

Surprisingly the next day Reliance Mobile owned by Anil Ambani Tweeted that They have delivered a new 4G SIM to Big B. and also took a pun at the Vodafone's Pug with hashtag #PUGPUG

Reliance Mobile ‏@RelianceMobile  2h2 hours ago

@SrBachchan A #Reliance4G SIM has just been delivered to your doorstep. Enjoy the seamless speed & connectivity. #PugPug aapke saath hamesha

Now We are guessing which connection he is using Vodafone ?Reliance Jio ? Or Reliance communication.

Love Of warmth moments

There are many moment in my life which are ''Magic of warmth moment'' but one such special moment which is very close to my heart is from the love of my life i.e. my very loving and caring husband.

On our second marriage anniversary my husband gifted me one smartphone which was very costly. Most important was not the cost but the the love with which he brought this beautiful gift for me as he don't believe in giving gift on special occasions rather making that moment special by celebrating those moments in different and memorable way. After one month of my anniversary, when I was returning from the office and I was about to board a train then my husband called me and i took out the phone from my bag and told him that after boarding the train I will call him, then I put my phone in my bag. After boarding the train I went to take out the phone for calling him, at that time I realized that my phone was stolen from my bag. That time I got so panicked of thinking about how my husband will be reacting on this. Suddenly tears roll down from my eyes and my heart was beating fast. I got numb at that time. Nothing was coming to my mind except only one thought that how I am going to get back my phone so that I will not hurt my husband. I was continuously crying then suddenly one lady co-passenger asked me what happened to me then I told her about the incident and she gave her phone to me to call on my number. I called one my number and it came switched off then I got down from train at next station and rushed to the railway police station. After reaching there when I told about the incident they told me that I have to go to the same station where my phone was last seen and there I have to lodge the complaint. Again I board another train back to that station. Meanwhile, when all these things were happening I was just fearing about how I am going to tell about the incident to my husband, so I was fearing about calling him but when I got late to reach home he called me and when my phone came switched off he got so worried about me. After reaching the station where I started my journey, I went to the railway police station, there they asked me to submit all the details of the phone like the bill and IMEI no. which I had at my home, so I had to call my husband. When I called him, the first question he asked to me was where I am. I responded him that I am at railway police station and I started crying without saying a word further. Then he got worried and asked me if everything is alright or not. I told him how my phone got stolen and then he console me and told me that he will be reaching there by half an hour.

When finally I saw my husband I thought that he will be so angry on me but he rushed towards me and hugged me tightly and told me that he is so happy that nothing has happened to me. He told how worried he got when he was calling me and my phone came switched off. He told me that phone doesn't matter him in comparision to me. When he said all these things I got so relieved. This was the life's Magic of warmth moment in my life.  

“I’m blogging about my #MagicOfWarmth moment at BlogAdda in association with Parachute Advansed Hot Oil”

DEAR ZINDAGI - Wish to live in the present without worrying and expectation.

DEAR ZINDAGI - Wish to live in the present without worrying and expectation.

I would like to write a letter to DEAR ZINDAGI on two things they are Expectation and Living life in the present without worrying.

Mandy Hale, the famous writer in her book, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass wrote 

“Dance. Smile. Giggle. Marvel. TRUST. HOPE. LOVE. WISH. BELIEVE. Most of all, enjoy every moment of the journey, and appreciate where you are at this moment instead of always focusing on how far you have to go.”

We always dreamt and worry about what we dont have. Instead of living life in the present and enjoying every moment we focus on the future. there is 
there is a beautiful song by DORIS DAY - Enjoy Yourself , It's Later Than You Think. It has some beautiful lyrics that emphasizes on living and enjoying your life in stead of worrying  about the weather or about becoming a millionaire or  which are as follows 

Enjoy yourself while you're still in the pink
Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself
It's later than you think.

You work and work for years and years
You're always on the go
Never take a minute off
To busy makin' dough
Some day, you say, you'll have your fun
When you're a millionaire
Imagine all the fun you'll have
In your old rockin' chair

You worry when the weather's cold
You worry when it's hot
You worry when you're doing well
You worry when you're not
It's worry worry all the time
You don't know how to laugh
They'll think of something funny when
They write your epitaph

You work and work for years and years
You're always on the go
Never take a minute off
To busy makin' dough
Some day, you say, you'll have your fun
When you're a millionaire
Imagine all the fun you'll have
In your old rockin' chair

Enjoy yourself it's later than you think
Enjoy yourself while you're still in the pink
The years go by as quickly as a wink
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy yourself
It's later than you think.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy yourself it's later than you think

Alexander Pope once said “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”  In life we expect from everyone from our spouse, from our parents, from our office/boss from the friends even the 4th seat in the packed local from 3 strangers. But when we do not get it from them we get disappointed, disheartened. This disappointment take away the beauty and charm from the present


I will try not to worry about what I dont have and expectations from other rather focus on living the life in the present and enjoying the moments with love, kindness, humbleness & happiness. And try to remember Van Morrison's famous song which read as My mama says, There will be days like this.

DEAR ZINDAGI, THANK YOU
For everything in life.

Love You Zindagi

“I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda“

The World Smart City Awards at FIRA Barcelona. Spain.

The World Smart City Awards at FIRA Barcelona. Spain.

This year a new category has been introduced, which is INNOVATIVE GLOBAL SOUTH AWARD FINALISTS,
The new award this year looks at innovative ideas that address pressing global challenges located in the Global South (Asia, Africa and Latin America).

Two of India's cities are in the INNOVATIVE GLOBAL SOUTH AWARD FINALISTS They are Bhubaneswar from Odisha and Chennai from Tamilnadu.


The six finalists are

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. Bhubaneswar- INDIA
MicroClinic Technologies. Nairobi- KENYA
Transparencia Mexicana. Mexico City - MEXICO
Kabadiwalla Connect. Chennai – INDIA
Socièté d'aménagement Zenata (SAZ). Mohammedia – MOROCCO
VM9. Nova Friburgo - BRAZIL




Smart City Bhubaneswar: Achieving Social Equity through New Urbanism in Action

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. Bhubaneswar- INDIA
Bhubaneswar's Smart City proposal focuses on developing a model for achieving social equity by placing children at the center of its transformation building upon the New Urban Agenda's three-legged approach- local fiscal systems, urban planning, and basic services and infrastructure.

Kabadiwalla Connect. Chennai – INDIA

Kabadiwalla Connect is an award winning urban waste management solutions provider in Chennai, India. Through technology, we leverage the circuits of the existing informal waste ecosystem to help send less recyclable waste to the landfill.

Also in  CITY AWARD category Pune city from Maharashtra is in the finalist. Thiscategory is Awarding Cities that demonstrate strategies, initiatives and policies that are established and have been developed for their citizens.

Reimagining Puneto become India's most livable city

Pune Municipal Corporation. Pune – INDIA

Detailed city profile of Pune and largest ever citizen engagement in India formed the basis of the proposal. Pan city solutions were developedfor maximum impact and local area solutions were designed for replicability. Puneranked 2nd in India's Smart Cities Challenge to winfunding of Rs. 1000 crs.

Image courtesy facebook page of  (http://www.smartcityexpo.com/awards)


http://www.smartcityexpo.com/awards

Vigilance awareness week Pledge and MTNL Mumbai.

Vigilance awareness week is observed by Central Vigilance Commission every year in India. The observance of the week creates awareness among Government Departments, Institutions and people to check corruption at every level. It inspires the system to implement preventive measures effectively, so that transparency and accountability can be maintained in the governance. The basic motto of this week to create a corruption free society.

This year the Vigilance week was a little different from the previous years. CVC initiated a concept of integrity pledge where citizens and organisations can take the integrity pledge. For this an website was created where individuals and organisations can take e pledge.

                                               http://pledge.cvc.nic.in/

The site is as follows

Lots of citizens and organisation took the pledge. Also people shared the certificate in their social media like facebook page, twitter page etc. So those of you who have not got their certificate about vigilance awareness can get by clicking the link.

MTNL The Navratna telecom PSU observed, Vigilance awareness week from 31. October 2016 to 05. November 2016. For this  Essay competition for students during Vigilance Awareness Week  at  Bhavans college.

Release of  Vigilance Information booklet by ED, MTNL, Mumbai. Shri Pravin Punj. GM Vigilance, MTNL Mumbai Shri P.K. Adhikari, DGM Vigilance Shri T  N SATHYAMOORTHY and other officials were present in the Release of the booklet.

Vigilance Awareness week inaugural function by ED, MTNL, Mumbai

MTNL Swachhta Abhiyan at Gateway of India

MTNL Swachhta Abhiyan at Gateway of India

MTNL carried out Cleanliness Drive at Gateway of India, Mumbai today. Shri G.K.Upadhyay, Member (Technology), Department of Telecommunications, New Delhi and Shri Pravin Punj, Executive Director, MTNL Mumbai, Senior Officers and about 100 MTNL employees in uniform picked up rags and cleaned the precincts of Gateway of India. Posters, Banners and Placards were also displayed to create awareness about Cleanliness and its necessity. The cleanliness drive brought forth participation from general public and tourists as well.

Shri G.K.Upadhyay, Member (Technology), Department of Telecommunications leading from front and cleaning the adjacent garden to Gateway of India.

 Shri Pravin Punj, Executive Director, MTNL Mumbai, also cleaning the adjacent garden.

 Shri G.K.Upadhyay,  Shri Pravin Punj,  along with senior officers of MTNL Mumbai.

MTNL employees cleaning the surroundings.

MTNL employees along with the banners and slogans about cleanliness.


This was the beginning of “Swachhta Pakhwara” being celebrated from 1 st to 15 th November in MTNL Mumbai. During this period all the employees have been requested to ensure cleanliness in Offices and Telephone Exchanges as well as in campus and their surroundings. A pledge was administered to all the officers and employees to devote at least 2 hours time every week towards the activity of cleanliness, besides creating awareness in this regard.

Sania Mirza- Sanjay Manjrekar tweet and the troll.

Twitter is increasingly becoming a hater's paradise and trollers heaven (especially in India). I would not be surprises if very soon most of the brands as well as celebrities, sportsperson, thinkers etc.

Just see a sample tweet e.g.

Here you can see that Indian Tennis player Sania Mirza tweeted that 


Sania Mirza

Verified account@MirzaSania

Today I complete 80 consecutive weeks as the number 1 player in d worldits been an amazing journey and just inspires me to work harder @WTA

Just to correct him ex-cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar corrected that No. 1 doubles player

Verified account‏@sanjaymanjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar Retweeted Sania Mirza

No 1 doubles player you mean. Congrats!

Seems like a genuine reply/correction and and a wish.

But the trollers had a fun day see these tweets

Sanjay Sawant ‏@Sanjay_Uvacha 6 hours ago

@sanjaymanjrekar Do you always need to nitpick?

Sachin Khurana ‏@Sachinkhurana06  

4 hours ago

@Sanjay_Uvacha @sanjaymanjrekar old habits die hard.... the most irritating person on TV. Sudhar ja bhai mere @sanjaymanjrekar

Ashay Sahasrabuddhe ‏@iashay  6 hours ago

@sanjaymanjrekar this is typical Konkani खवचटपणा. आवडलंय. @MirzaSania congrats.

IamArien ‏@dubaidreamscity  10 minutes ago

@sanjaymanjrekar @MirzaSania boring as his commentary.... he always wanted to be @sachin_rt but end up becoming an average commentator..

Dr.Arshad Mir ‏@Drmirarshad  40m40 minutes ago

@sanjaymanjrekar @MirzaSania @WTA medicore cricketer, medicore commentator, medicore tweet....#SanajyMedicorekar

And there were many more, from his commentary to cricketing skill to regionalism the trollers started trolling him for all the reason. Recently Pritish Nandy also in his article wrote how Twitter is having a slow death.

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen, Another BRAINWASH song!!

Pen Pineapple Apple Pen (PPAP)

Another BRAINWASH song!!

In a week there are about 45 million views

Watch it here

Uber moves Shalini and Dharam (Pros & Cons)

Uber has started its new campaign on the theme, Uber moves Shalini and Dharam.


Like most of the mother Shalini's mother also looking for a suitable match for her. While commuting through UBERPool She is showing in various options which Shalini is rejecting. and Dharam has also booked the pool to whom Shalini's mother is asking various questions and his visiting card. When Dharam's destination arrives he says instead of you if Shalini calls me it would be better...and the advertisements ends with a beautiful smile.

Life is full of surprises - and you never know who you'll meet next! On your next uberPOOL ride - you could bump into your next boss, your next investor, or even your new best friend.

But In the youtube video there is a comment which reads as What if Dharam turns out to be a stalker and troubles Shalini's life instead? :D
And another comment reads as Agar agle 2 ride me meri girlfriend nahi bani to uber driver aur uber ki *** *****.

Although the ad honestly tries to capitalise on the strangers and surprises but there are some nasty surprises also.

Wild Tales (2014) Relatos salvajes (original title) Review.

Wild Tales (2014)  Relatos salvajes (original title)

This film is about Six short stories  "Pasternak" "The Rats" "The Strongest" "Little Bomb" "The Proposal" "Until Death Do Us Apart The wedding" that explore the extremities of human behavior involving people in a difficult situation. Some parts are short while others are a little long but each and every part will keep you curious and excited throughout the movie.

The starting part starts the tone for the movie in an airplane where a model & music critic kind of flirt with each other and while doing so they found out that they know a person named Pasternak both. The model's ex-lover and the critics who skrewed his work. Also others join in who have been associated with Pasternak in the past, his school teacher, friends who bullied him, his friend who stole his girlfriend etc. What will happen ?

This is the start of the movie, Welcome to Wild Tales.

The other parts The rats set up in a cafe will showcase the reaction of an old woman. A girl whose family has been harassed by the loan shark. The loan shark visits the cafe in am rainy afternoon and Wild Tales. What Will happen ? Welcome to Wild Tales.

The Strongest will showcase an incident of roadrage and both the drivers reaction to it. What Will happen ? Welcome to Wild Tales.

Little Bomb is my favourite in the Wild tales saga. How an ordinary citizen rises above the harassment done by civic authorities and will he be able to take revenge ?  Welcome to Wild Tales.

The proposal is also well made showcasing the greed of human when one person is in distress. Will the rich man succumbs to the greed of the police and lawyer ?  Welcome to Wild Tales.

The last part is the longest with some excitement one can imagine. In a big fat wedding the brie finds that the groom has cheated with her ? And the girl is a guest in the wedding. What will the bride do ? will she break the marriage off ?
What Will happen ? Welcome to Wild Tales.

Director:  Damián Szifrón

My ratings 8.2 out of 10

Tokyo Story (1953) Review.

Tokyo Story (1953) Tôkyô monogatari (original title)

Director: Yasujirô Ozu

Stars
Chishû Ryû as Shukichi Hirayama
Chieko Higashiyama as Tomi Hirayama
Setsuko Hara as Noriko Hirayama


An old couple visit their children in Tokyo to have some moments of togetherness. Will their children welcome them with open heart and take care of as it should be ? Sometimes. As every village folks The Hirayama wants to visit Tokyo where his Doctor Son, Stylist Daughter and widow daughter in law lives/work. But after reaching they show the bustling, crowded and polluted Tokyo the biggest surprise was that his own children and grandchildren dont have time for them. on the other hand the widow daughter in law with her meagre income and tight schedule tries to her best for the old couple. The children books a cheap hotel with hot spring bath for their parents, but due to high music, booze and young crowd this also went horrible for the Hirayamas, so much so that they plan to return to their village. What happen in the last ? watch the movie to find out. One thing I like about the Hirayamas that the oold couple always had the jolly face even if they have nowhere to go, both were a pillar of strength and support for each other,

Some movies are so hard hitting that they force you to think. Well Tokyo Story is one such movie, It makes you to sit and think what you are doing for your parents ? is it enough ?

Or as Noriko put it out "as children get older, they drift away from their parents"

Just think and watch the masterpiece by Yasujirô Ozu

My Score- 9 out of 10