A shaky message from earth

As I felt the earthquake tremors today, and tried to rush down the stairs of my house, I thought about how the earth tries to send us a message which we often ignore...

Romeo and Juliet - Punjabi Edition

 A Comic inspired by my mum:

Ice-bucket challenge

Dedicated to ALS and the ice-bucket challenge. You don't have to dunk yourself in ice cold water to enjoy these.

You know you love books if...

#1. You experience contradictory feelings during and after reading a good book.

#2. You can tell whether you're talking to a fellow book-lover. Or not.

#3. You'd much rather read a book than do anything else.

Heads up for tails!

I love dogs and have quite a few friends who are dog lovers too. Here's a comic that expresses my feelings about dogs:

This comic is dedicated to all the dog lovers I know, as well as to Heads Up For Tails who invited me to their launch event last week. Here's a snapshot featuring the cute cupcakes and quotes from their store launch:

Happy petting, folks!

To Eat and Drink good is Travel made Brilliant

Being a food enthusiast, I have been lucky enough to try out delicacies from some of the most far-flung corners of the world. More than the taste though, it is how the food is presented that we remember or at least that is how our Instagram feed remembers it. So, when Marriott Hotels  asked me what makes Travel Brilliant, my mind was fixed to one basic thing that none of the hotels seem to be taking care of. And that is truly marrying traveling and food. 

Elbert Hubbard rightly quoted, “No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one”. This statement is probably truer, if you have had plenty of good stuff to eat and drink while you were on a vacation. It is probably the only time when we bother about nitpicking what we eat given how busy life generally has become. Therefore, one of the lasting impression of your vacation is what you ate and more importantly how. 

We are all powered by different fuels. Some of us love water, for the rest of us a cold bottle of Soda suffices. Some of us like something healthy like a milk product to accompany us, while for others, something refreshing like coconut water does the trick. The bottom line is we have diverse choices when it comes to what we want to carry when we travel. 

Wouldn't it be cool if the hotel already knew what rocks our boat and they could give us a well-designed goodie-bag which would contain all the necessary things that we need when traveling in the particular season in that city. Nobody knows better than the hotel staff what sort of things we might need. For example, a sunscreen in summer or a cold cream in winters could be included. Pack in a few wallet gums to keep the mouth fresh, a pack of snacks like Protein Bars, some wipes and other things that you might need, and it could well be the perfect thing to carry around as you explore new places. You simply need to unzip the bag to find the perfect things to refresh you and fill that hungry tummy while your eyes simply admire the city.

Marriott  Hotels would love to hear your opinions too on how you can make Travel Brilliant. 

Whatever your idea may be, when it comes to traveling brilliantly, go ahead and write to Marriott Hotels here. 

http://www.tripadvisor.in/MarriottTravelBrilliantly

Who knows, yours might be the idea they like and choose to incorporate in this new journey. You could also win free nights stays.

What does Diwali mean to you?

Here's wishing everyone a Happy Diwali filled with more of what's in the first panel :)

Window Shopping!

Inspired by my recently addiction to online shopping ;)

Sailing through choppy waters

Go fly a kite

Happy 66th Independence Day!

Dear Yahoo, Work is what you do, not where you go.

For a considerably long period of time (over 5 years now), I've been a full-time, remote-worker who works from home, a cafe, an airport, a co-working space or wherever else I may roam - in any city or country where I choose to be.

I love my job and what I currently do makes for a large part of who I am. The fact that I have the freedom and flexibility to do it from anywhere makes me love it even more. I get to work with multiple geographically scattered teams and audiences, across various time-zones.

Over time, I've come to enjoy the remote-working mode. It helps me achieve a balance between working alone with maximal productivity at some times and collaborating with people and teams using various collaboration tools at other times. Of course, I make occasional visits to our company offices as none of these are located in the city where I currently (choose to) live. These visits are helpful because I get to spend time meeting and talking in person, with the colleagues and teams who I work with and this helps us bond better before I get back into remote-working mode.

This method of working has made me a firm believer in the fact that people work best when they're given the freedom and flexibility to choose how they want to work. I'm thankful to Zoho, for giving me this freedom and flexibility and for their faith in me as a remote-employee.

Not all companies are as futuristic about their policies and culture. In fact, a couple of months ago, when Yahoo! made it mandatory for all employees (even those who were originally hired to work remotely) to work from Yahoo! office, it came as quite a shock to many of us who've chosen this working style and believe in it. I meant to share my opinion about Yahoo!'s move and I finally got around to doing it this week, thanks to a discussion about it with a friend yesterday. Here's my first Hitler video around this theme:

Yahoo! I hope this fish doesn't flickr

Anyone craving a chuckle?

Thanks to Femina magazine for featuring me in their main story last month (April 2013 issue)

And yes, the blog is still alive. More chuckles coming soon :)

What's in a Klout score?

I like how Klout tracks topics that a person may be influential about. Yes, they are sort of accurate about those (although, in no way would I believe I am influential about hospitals and vegetarianism!) But what I can't understand is the concept of simplifying "influence" to just a number. And here are some Klout comics inspired by true-stories.

India's Funny Women - Cosmopolitan Feature

Cosmopolitan Magazine ran a story on "India's Funny Women" this month, and I'm thrilled to have been featured in it. 

Thanks, Cosmo!

Engagement

"Engagement" and "Relationship-Building" as understood by so many brands and individuals.

Before you know it...

Inspired by my own tweet

Delhi turns 100 today

But why are we celebrating?

Sibal's Censorship

Kapil Sibal says the government wants to screen, not censor the internet. Is there a difference?

See also: The Indian Government is #nowlistening

Why I loved the Tintin movie

The experience was totally worth the wait: As a long time Tintin fan and having read and reread the Tintin comic books several times since childhood, I'd been waiting eagerly to watch the Tintin movie. And I finally did, last week. I can say the experience was totally worth the wait.


What I liked best: The fact that the movie recreates the Tintin experience very well. The overall effect and feel is such that it lets you actually live within the world of the comic book. The action and adventure,  the chase and thrill, the mystery and suspense, the comedy of errors: elements that are characteristic of the Tintin book experience are all intact! And the animation and 3D effects bring all these elements to life.


Character Depiction: I also liked how the characters were portrayed, each of them with their distinct personality traits clearly emerging in every scene. Tintin and his sense of curiosity and adventure with which he perceives everything around him. Captain Haddock and his drunken escapades frequently resulting in a barrage of typical Haddock abuses. The Thompson twins and their silly antics that land them in trouble every time. Snowy and his eagerness to help Tintin, often distracted by mere canine desires. The depiction does justice to each character. Even Nestor, Tintin's landlady and Alan (Haddock's first mate) have been perfectly rendered.


The only slightly disappointing aspect of the movie: In trying to combine stories from 3 different Tintin books, some of the smoothness in transitioning between stories seems to have gotten lost. In that sense, I wouldn't say that the movie is a faithful adaptation of any one book.


Overall, the movie is an absolute must-watch for anyone who has been in love with (or even remotely intrigued by) the Tintin comics! I'm definitely giving it a second watch. And it has also made me want to go back and read the adventures again!


On a related note: If you're a serious Tintin fan, read Michael Farr's 'Tintin: The Complete Companion'