Monday, June 30, 2014

How I got introduced to a whole new world of shopping!

You know what? I have always wanted daughters. They are precious and they make you shine and glow like you are in love with life forever. Such are my cute little daughters, Renee and Alisah. They are not my replicas but little individuals who make me a complete woman that I have always wanted to be since childhood. You know, there's a certain charm when you live your life with your daughters. It brings back your memories of being a daughter, little girls who love to dress up, put on a little make up and walk around the house as the family's little princesses.

The same feeling came back when I see Renee and Alisah. My princesses! And when they are a beauty queen's daughters, it is quite evident that they will be looking their best and get dressed up in the prettiest attires and accessories. And, it is not the former beauty queen who's saying it, but their mom, I just shopping for them! No matter what!
Photo Courtesy: childhood-images.blogspot.com


Renee is a grown-up girl now. She knows what looks good on her and what should she wear at different occasions. And the doting elder sister that she is, she sometimes takes me by awe when she suggests what Alisah will wear to look prettier than her. On one of the many occasions that we were having one afternoon before a social gathering which we all were invited to attend, Renee suggested that we shop online to save time and energy. I wasn't that comfortable with the idea because I am not sure about the sizes of the products, the fitting and most importantly, quality of the products. How do I know if they were genuine products from the brands that we choose from? What if the products are not of the best quality? Nothing matters than the safety. I was apprehensive but Renee wasn't. Her confidence and the twinkle in her eyes made me listen and give it a go. And there she ran to get her iPad and give me a feel of online shopping. What followed next was completely unexpected!

Renee logged in to Baggout.com which is a product aggregation and cashback website developed for the crazy online shoppers (read, Renee!). With over 500 online retailers like Myntra, Jovi, Flipkart and many more, this turned out to be a one-stop shopping destination which had so many products from different brands. I was awestruck to see all kinds of products that we needed simply listed out and giving us the opportunity to buy from wherever we felt was good. Some great products and accessories to buy now and save for later buy. Well, Renee had already made a list of her own and I just had to give a assertive nod. With each product, the description was available along with necessary details. We could do a filtering search and find the clothes, shoes, and accessories that we wanted for all three of us. All we needed to do then was to click on buy and fill in our details. These retailers made sure that there's a return policy if the products are not good and fitting properly. To top this experience, a cashback coupon was issued in our names and we got the same refunded in the next 48 hours. I must say, quite impressive!

Photo Courtesy: Getty Images


Renee isn't a beautiful daughter only; her intellect and inner beauty is what makes her a wonderful human being. She introduced me to this impressive website and I am now completely glued to it. Yes, I also have a list of my own now.

Shopping relaxes you and when you can do it so conveniently, it is all the more good. I bet all the new age mothers and women are loving it and it's time, that I introduce my mom to Baggout.com now.

Do share your experiences of shopping through Baggout.com!

~ Sushmita Sen


[This is a work of fiction and an entry for the Baggout.com blog contest]

Friday, June 6, 2014

I am ready to be super workaholic with ASUS Transformer Book T100!

Why do you need a fancy one when the purpose is all the same? I was asked when I had set my eyes on the Nokia mobile phone which had a radio and white light on the background. It didn’t look like the others and I was sure that it will set me apart from the rest of the crowd. There! My love for portable gadgets started with this nice little phone. And with time, of course, the phone became obsolete and got replaced with a smarter device that can do much more than its basic functions.

Like the mobile phone, every other year, some or the other gadgets got launched. For music on the go, there was a MP3 player worth 4GB space with a voice recorder and a radio too. That made my evening train and bus rides entertaining and definitely, not letting me sleep and miss the stations and stoppages. No, I didn’t have a smartphone then and was quite content with the normal phones. The world of applications that just did more than what a device can be expected to do, were not yet introduced to me.

Even my first laptop, was a nice swanky one. It helped me ease my work pressure and work on the go, at home whenever I took a day off and stay connected through internet services. Time passed again, not more than a couple of years may be, and I bought myself a smartphone. The idea was to stay connected with every one and not miss any opportunity of interacting with people. But struck me the most, was getting a portable device that can help me complete my work or work on my assignments even when I am travelling. No, the smartphone can’t help me in this case and I can’t get over the feeling of typing the letters on an actual keyboard.

And, I guess, my wishes are ready to come true. When IndiBlogger sent a mail asking us, the bloggers, to write about what I would want to do with a Transformer Book T100 (the ultraportable laptop with 10 inch tablet), if I had it with me, I felt like my entire work life will get a transformation with it. The detachable 10 inch screen will make it a tablet with the Windows 8.1 and Microsoft Office 2013 helping me work on the go, and attaching it back with the keyboard will make it comfortable to use when I am working at my desk or need to write more than only the usual mails. Even the built-in apps like Kindle and others will make it easier for me as I can choose not to carry my Kindle device every time. One device and I am royally taken care of!

Only a tiny little concern! I might get scolded more than usual by Mom because I might not just let go off this nice little portable device and choose to breathe, eat and live with it. That’s ok! Yes, I am ready to transform.


Check out the features of ASUS Transformer Book T100 here

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Untimely

The news wasn’t entirely unexpected. The news wasn’t welcoming. The news turned out to be the worst ever that my ears could hear. A part in my heart was not ready to hear it but it reached me. I never wished, till then, that I will have to go through it. I wasn’t happy at all.

I waved him a customary goodbye like any other day. The usual handshake to be precise. He went in the car to a place where I was told, I cannot accompany him. I didn’t want also. A few hours later, I hadn’t heard anything from him. It was making me restless. There were no mobile phones then. So, I waited for a call. No one called. Only I saw the car come back. Not him, but others came out of the car with expressionless faces. No words. No sound. No emotions.

They walked inside the house. The only words I heard, “we are with you. We couldn’t do anything.” I didn’t understand. I asked again. They only shed tears. I still didn’t understand. I asked repeatedly again.

This time, not one but many people started walking into the house. I couldn’t understand. They were not telling me. Suddenly someone said, “What an untimely death! His daughters are still young. Why did he die?”

And that was the most horrifying sentences I heard first time in my life. They were talking about him. Him. Only him. Why him? Seriously, why him?


Television Serials and Sitcoms

A few good things always cheer you up. For me, television serials and sitcoms are one of the many of those good things. These are not real and imaginary, but they somehow become a part of my daily existence. The characters do not know me, but I know them as I do my family members.

My association with television serials started with the epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana that were shown every Sunday mornings from 10:00 am. As children, we were instructed to maintain pin drop silence and listen to the characters speak. It didn’t matter that I understand what they said, but the grandeur and the connect that my family members showed with these two shows were enough for us to watch it quietly. These were followed by the weekly serials that, as children, were allowed to watch: Dekh Bhai Dekh and Zabaan Sambhal Ke (Mind your language). These were the comedy serials made appropriately for family viewing.

With time and introduction of cable channels, I got hooked to the other new ones. These were I dream of Genie and other English sitcoms dubbed in Hindi, Hum Paanch, Kyunki Saans Bhi Bahu Thi, Kutumb, Kahin to Hoga and the many other Ekta Kapoor serials. I got hooked to them so badly that every time the favourite characters cried or were in bad situations created by the evil characters, I used to get upset and waited for the next episode to see what happened to them.


Progressing from the Hindi serials, the western ones that caught attention included Friends, The Big Bang Theory, How I met your mother, Grey’s Anatomy, etc. And with YouTube and multiple television update websites, I do need a television to watch them. I now use the idiot box more for the movies and other programmes that sounded boring sometime back. However, the love for serials and sitcoms still continue. Guess, the art of dramatic story telling is difficult to let go of from this brain. ;)