Social etiquette of the 21st Century

As a society, we are bound to evolve. With the introduction of new technology, and it's constant evolution, the way we interact with each other has also changed overtime. Communication has many routes now, most of them being digital. And we have adapted to this change quite well.

The majority of 90's kids have experienced the advent of the telephone (in India), TVs getting thinner and school bags getting heavier. We saw the old phones, which had a wheel on them, then moved on to a key-pad system and then the 'cordless' phones. We can see that the cordless was the harbinger of the mobile phones we extensively use today.
So most of us (90's kids) remember that we had systems of missed calls, even before caller id's were in use, to signal a certain person's call. We've seen the God of all phones, Nokia's initial range of mobiles, and the games in it; most of us have played on it for hours, because the battery never ran out.

We have the front seat to this show and it hasn't ended yet.

As technology found it's way into our everyday lives, the way we handled things changed a great deal. So much so, that now you can even WhatsApp (btw, this word is a verb now) your kabaadi to buy newspapers from you.
 
So here's a quick observation on how I've seen the scenario change; some of these moves may result in social suicide in the Digital Age:-

*Disclaimer- Some things have been exaggerated for dramatic effect, please respond accordingly.*

1) Replying with "K" is generally an invite to getting blocked or never getting a message again.

Source Yeah K.

2) If you're talking to a person in real life, still you keep texting another person, be assured the former will get pissed off at you. This is really rude. Don't text someone else while talking to another in person. Please.

Source 

This has an explanation though (sometimes). I've done this to avoid talking to people. Sorry.

Sorry. (Source)

3)Incessantly texting someone, even after you can see they are busy otherwise. No.

4)Tagging in really stupid group photos when you're not even there. Huh.

5)*Purely personal* Using any type of wrong usage of a language, not restricted to English. Please read a grammar book.

*Burns with anger*

6) Texting in only emoticons/emojis. This confuses me a lot because I don't know what you're saying since most of the emojis have no damn relation to what you're saying. Please type something, you won't die from that.

You're not this cat. I hope. (Source)

7)*Another Purely personal* People who post ambiguous statuses, photos, etc. (FB, Insta, etc.). To quote the great Justin Bieber, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

8) Game invites. I'm guilty of these (in the days of yore), and I literally thanked the lord the day I read a post about how not to get them. Saved brain cells.

9) When people don't add any details to a photo you post on Insta/ FB. What am I supposed to understand?

Umm what? (Source)

10)When you type "Hi" or "Hey" and then don't reply for a 100 years. That's all you had to say huh?


In that case,

Source

That's all for now!

Stay Awesome \m/

The Great Indian Food Feat

There isn't a spelling mistake in the title. It is a feat to eat food in the traditional Indian manner. I don't know about others, but for me it is so.

In India, there may be weddings, birthdays or funeral wakes; food is always present. It is considered an essential part of the whole event. Especially in Maharashtrian households, a plate filled with food is very important.

In our culture, the ‘pangat’ system is where people sit in a line with their plates filled in a systematic manner. Rules are very rigid, though people improvise nowadays. Growing up in a foodie household, I was made aware that the system of everyone sitting down and eating is an integral part of any special event.

Be it a birthday, wedding or even after a funeral, people sat on the ground to eat food in strategically placed dishes in plates. We can find parallels in almost every other culture in the country as well.

Sadly, for me this practice of eating is almost always embarrassing; because it’s is a herculean task to finish the first serving on the plate and I almost never get second servings (unless they are forced on the plate). And since I am skinny, I am force fed.

So. Much. Food.

I learned the technique of firmly saying no from my experiences of eating in pangats.

It's not like this.

It. Is. This.

As the years went by, I started devising certain tactics to not be left red-faced. So here are my tips to survive an Indian style food fest! -

1)Finish the big things with the small things combined. For instance, eat the rice with the chutney. Salad with veggies and roti.

2)    If you can’t finish your sweets, eat them before anything else.

3)    Compartmentalize. Strategise what you will finish first, leave no dish behind!

4)    If you think you can eat more, only then ask for a second serving.

5)    You only get 20-30 minutes maximum to consume your food, use them wisely.

6)    Worst strategy told by elders is to swallow the food with water. Don’t gulp food with water; it will only fill up your stomach. You know what, just don’t drink any water until your plate is clean.

7)    You need to practice the biggest hand gesture you can make and the most sincere expression of having a full stomach if you want to avoid those pesky requests of “please have some more”.

8)    Sit next to a close relative who, if need be, will help by taking some stuff off your plate.

Hey dude, take some food off my plate. PLEASE.

Let my experience help someone!

In other words,

Stay Awesome \m/

(Gifs from www.giphy.com ; Images from Google)

Things I love about winters in India

Winter is coming.

There is no doubt that one of the most awesome seasons in all is the winter season. Especially for skinny people who are tired of being taunted on how malnutrition-ed they look (yeah that's me). So here's a list of things that I absolutely love about Winters!

1) The produce.

During winter, at least in India, some of the best produce can be enjoyed. The plumiest of tomatoes, greenest of spinach and the reddest carrots are available. They in turn lead to scrumptious dishes.

2) The food!

Continuing my above point, the tastiest dishes in the year are all made during the winter season. Gajar ka halwa , Makke di roti with Sarso da saag, and especially for Maharashtrians (that's me too :D) Gud ki roti with ghee or "गुळाची पोळी आणि तूप " are the tastes of the season!

Oh so delicious!

     

No Indian can avert from freshly prepared Gajar ka halwa!

The most awaited winter treat at my house!
तीळ गुळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला :) 

Enough about food, let's move on...

3) The Razai or quilts.

Almost in every Indian household there is at least on Jaipuri Razai, which is famed to keep you warm even in the direst of winter conditions.

DND

As a consequence, many a times people have missed reaching their work on time; Because they are so damn comfortable in bed! And before you think I get up on time, let me tell you... I'm no different Okay?! I love to sleep in the razai and would if I could, spend the whole winter days in it.. But then who'd eat the food? o.O :D

4) The weather.

Its no secret that the Sun is most beloved to us in this season. I have myself spent many a days trying to keep warm with sunlight, but it sometimes doesn't affect as much. I have spent at least a semester on my college campus basking in the Sun with my friends. :D
In winters the afternoons seem like mornings and the mornings seem like evenings, only one thing remains constant, the cold weather.

Now that we have established how we love to eat hot food in the winters, should we not also talk about the beverages? Heck no! So here they are...

5) The beverages.

Let's get back to food now :D

A hot beverage of any kind, be it tea or coffee, is dear to me when I am shivering with cold. And the bonus is the ginger that gets added to them! So refreshingly soothing.
And of course, soups taste oh so much better in the winters!


6) Christmas!

The most awesome part of winter season, besides the food, is Christmas time! I don't actually celebrate the entire festival, but I like to get involved in the festivities in my own way :D

So you can count on me to post a Christmas related article soon enough! 

7) New Year!

The beginning of the new year and the end of the old one is much fun for me, to make 'breakable resolutions', stay up late in the night, celebrate with friends and family; this is what the new year is all about!

All in all, Winters are a time to be happy, get healthy and stay awesome :D