Luckynumber13_Chai

Fly smart. Save more. It is a Friday and surprisingly not too crowded in the flight. Most of the so-called premium seats with extra leg room (for which they charge 100dhs extra) were unoccupied. So here was my chance to go and take a nap, whenever I wanted, during the 6 hour flight. I just had to be alert and not go into deep sleep, as these seats were close to the emergency exit door.  Few of the surprises were: Free food was served in this low-cost flight. You could watch movies for 35dhs. You could watch TV shows, listen to audio and also play games for 15dhs. You could easily spend an hour or two reading about the various destinations that Flydubai flies to and get an idea of what to do and see there. You would not expect well dressed and pleasing crew members, with such a cost-saving experience. And that's precisely what you get too. The temperature inside got too warm for comfort at times. That’s when we noticed that we were overdressed with thick woolen ...

There she was. A little over 90 cms and big adorable eyes. Talking in a cute UK accent "Mama, can we eat ice cream today?". Who wouldn't melt and run to get a bowl of ice cream for her. But her Mama did not budge. She took her aside and hushed something in her ear. She nodded and went back to playing with her friend and toys. It is close to dinner time. The cute little voice asks for something again a while later. "Mama, can I have a banana?". You would think her mother would go grab a banana to give her, but she still does not budge and says NO. The first thought that goes into my mind is"How cruel can parents get?!". I would be thrilled if my daughter asked me for food, whenever she was hungry, instead of me running behind her to feed her and waste 15 hrs from my 24 hour schedule. Since we were holidaying, we were always on the move and I did not get a chance to maintain the usual routine of food and feeding for my little one. Either we had to ...

You think you are brand specific? Think again! We were in the York designer outlet and window shopping, when we observed a long queue at one store. In my country, you would think they were giving out free food & beverages, when you see a queue that long. The store was Ralph Lauren, one of the most popular clothes brand in the UK. There was a guy (like a bouncer), controlling 2 long queues, on either side of the shop. I used to think that bouncers only work in pubs/discs and was amazed to find one here. His primary role was to allow only a certain number of people into the shop, so that it doesn't get crowded and the customers can peacefully shop, while the rest of them in the queue patiently wait for their turn to get inside. When a good number of people leave the store after shopping, he opens the chain and lets in another set of people. I truly admired the patience of those staying in the queue for a long time, just to get into their favorite brand shop.  In India, wo...

Who said there is no power cut in Malaysia???!   These were my exact words when we reached the Petronas Twin towers in Kuala Lumpur. You may wonder why? Read on. Spending a month in Singapore and having explored all the popular spots in the country, we were ready to explore a new place. We had a long weekend and the first choice was Bali, Indonesia. However, the only news in TV during the time, were that of the disaster that occurred in Japan and the neighboring countries in the form of a Tsunami. It was not a tiny disaster and was predicted to spread to Korea, China and Indonesia. This forced us to change our destination to a safer/closer place and we finalized upon Malaysia. It was a 1 hour journey by air and spending a weekend there would give us the benefit of not taking leave from work :) We checked into our hotel on Saturday morning at 6 am. Our priority task in the list were to see the famous Twin towers. So we  freshened up, had breakfast and headed off to the...

A mother was very proud of her son who was growing just the way she wanted him to. At the age of 5, he surprised her with every little word and gesture he showcased at home and outside. He was her prized possession and the eldest one among her children. He was a calm and composed little human being and exhibited interest in the aviation world of aeroplanes and helicopters. With the knowledge he showcased about these sky machines, she knew he would make a good material for NASA.  Mother was happy with the way her son was being a good role model for his little siblings. At the same time, she was also concerned with instilling some good values in him. She was on her mission one day and took him to his room for a private chat. She told him that he is growing up and needs to be more aware of his surroundings. She conveyed that it was important for him to be careful not to undress/change his clothes in front of strangers/outsiders, who are at home. While she was serious...

My cousin was coming to Bangalore on a vacation and asked me if i wanted something from Dubai. Since I have a baby and it is quite natural to think of getting something useful for the baby when someone extends such care, i told him to bring a particular baby moisturizer. The name was Mustella and i whatsapp'ed him the name. He agreed to bring it for his little niece. The day he landed and handed over the moisturizer, he narrated a story about how he got hold of Mustella. He enquired in about 10 shops without luck and started wondering if such a  brand existed. He showed the name of the brand to his friend, who confused him even more. The friend suggested to read it as "Must alla" which means "it is not a MUST" in English. Mr cousin was wondering if I actually meant telling him that i needed a moisturizer, but "it is not a MUST". Holy crap! P.S. Mustella is a baby moisturizer which has a lovely smell.

As Winston Churchill once said, “you make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.” This is exactly what the Sustainability team @ EMC aims at. We consider it a pleasure and a social responsibility to give back to the community we live in. And what better than provide a chance for the unfortunate kids to go to school, meet new people and get an understanding of life. The organization, that we are connected with, helps to bring in people with similar visions to donate money for the children’s education, healthcare & family counselling for a year. By giving them education, we are helping to build a “foundation”, which in turn helps in building the future of our nation.  Here is the story of an interesting journey of an individual and a TEAM. The beginning was interesting and someone caught me in the hallway and conveyed his opinion, which was that I could lead the initiative. God knows what he spotted in me? I was never inspired enough to get involve...