Finally the rains are here!

It’s that time of the year again when the whole nation will rejoice. Every year the entire nation waits with bated breath for  monsoons to hit the coast of Kerala and celebrations begin as various farming communities depend entirely on monsoons for their yields. A great monsoon season has a very positive impact on the economy of the country too, if one were to go with the past experiences.

Such is the magnitude of the magical season that, every year, the date of the monsoon’s arrival is a highly speculated affair but then it’s very rare that someone gets it bang on! The arrival of monsoons is signaled by the pre-monsoon showers that induce a sense of merry and thrill into people of all age groups. It is not surprising to see many people  soak in the rain drops while they walk down their home.

Monsoons have also intrigued authors, inspired filmmakers and entranced dreamers, luring the nostalgic and tempting the curious who draw inspiration from the calmness of the environment. The connection runs deep with the film industry too where romantic scenes and stories are inspired by the magic of the rainy season.

This song must take you back to the good old days!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXLzfldeDcM

It’s indeed a mystery as to how the monsoons have become such an integral part of our country’s geography and culture. It’s little wonder that it is the most anticipated event of the year. While India reels under a severe drought condition, this year’s monsoons will play a very significant factor for millions who depend on water from naturally flowing rivers.

Infact the heat waves in north India have disrupted normal lives and left people suffering for weeks. The meteorological department has predicted that the heat waves will continue even in the month of June.

Time for the umbrellas to be out.

What’s more important is this year’s monsoons is also necessary for all city dwellers facing acute water shortage. Did you know that the KRS dam at Mysore, which is Bangalore’s only source for Cauvery water has reached record low levels.  Only the rain gods can now quench the thirst of the city’s swelling population.

Hoping the monsoon brings happiness and prosperity by heeding to the prayers of everyone.

While everyone is nursing different expectations from the monsoons, I am awaiting the season for an all together different reason: to see the landscape come alive with lush greenery and feel the cool breeze tickle my lungs with happiness. Ah, finally the summers are going to vanish and the sweet smell of soil will fill the air.Time for a cup of tea and pakodas? What say!

The festival of lights signifies the victory of good over evil; there are many interesting legends that further add to the significance of the festival but the focus on positivity remains the same.

During this time most homes are decorated with clay diyas to welcome the goddess of wealth Lakshmi and special prayers are offered to seek abundant wealth and prosperity for the coming year. There is also a lot of ‘peth pooja’ ( read feasting) on a wide range of sweets and desserts that are specially savored during this occasion (my personal favorite ).

Infact the festival had grown to become one of the most lucrative times for the market as people go on a shopping spree and spend on everything from clothes to furnishings.

However, the festival is now becoming one of the most polluted events of the year! Firecrackers that were essentially used to drive away evil spirits has now become the highlight of the festival for most people.

It’s no surprise that many spend lavishly on fire crackers and enjoy the spectacle of lights, sound and smoke. Brighter the sparkles, louder the noise the greater the thrill for them!!

In the mist of all this fun and frolic we tend to forget the about the damage to environment, discomfort to various species of animals, contamination of water and soil etc. With each passing year

most cities are creating new records of air and noise pollution on festivals like Diwali.

http://youtu.be/_NlH4lbTxb8

It’s also very common to hear stories of fire mishaps, accidents and injuries fire crackers cause every year. So we decided to give you some tips to ensure a happy and safe Diwali!

• Avoid bursting crackers in narrow lanes or compounds. Always prefer open spaces.
• Be with children while they enjoy their dhoom dhamaka time.
• Avoid using bombs that produce loud sounds. (Do close your ears too!)
• Maintain distance from fire crackers.
• Always ensure there is a bucket of water close by.
• Immediately visit a doctor in case of any injury.
• And the best thing to do is NOT burst fireworks at all!! ;D
  

  Will you say NO firecrackers this time?

Yes, who says diwali is only about crackers and not about celebrating human bonds of togetherness! So go eco-friendly by saying NO to crackers this diwali.

If you are frowning at the idea of a ‘no cracker’ diwali and don’t want to miss out on the fun, do your bit by adhering to the Supreme Court order of not bursting crackers between 10.00 p.m and 6.00 a.m. This would certainly help the cause.

So make this festival a safer and enjoyable diwali for everyone around you. Light diyas, get in touch with your old friends and remember to cleanse your mind of all the negative thoughts that affect it!

Happy Diwali Wishing you a year filled with new beginnings and beautiful memories.

Don’t forget to tell us if you are celebrating a ‘no cracker, no pollution’ diwali this year! Cheers!!

India's controversial official entry to the Oscars!

reaction the movie generated among audiences, many of whom went to watch the movie only because their friends asked them ‘not’ to miss it.

The simple and heart touching story of universal love has not only won hearts of film buffs and snobby critics, but also got nominated by the Film Federation of India as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best foreign language film category!

This is surely a huge achievement considering there were 19 other critically acclaimed movies that were competing for the prestigious award nomination. Paan Singh Tomar, Dirty Picture, Kahaani, Deool, Eega, Vazhakku Enn 18/9 and Akasathinte Niram were in the race, but it was the charm of ‘Barfi’ that worked!

Infact the soul-stirring rom-com is a complete entertainer with songs for every mood. This song in particular deserves a special mention.

http://youtu.be/4RBIwnM0ulk

All though the film has crossed the magical Rs 100-crore mark it’s still in news for all the wrong reasons: Plagiarism.

Yes. There are serious accusations that Writer- Director Anurag Basu lifted several key scenes of the movie from cinematic creations from around the world. It all started with a blog on Tangeed.com that gave scene by scene examples of plagiarism.

In no time the links went viral on the virtual world, leaving many fans of the sweet ‘Barfi’ feeling bitter (me included!).

Infact many are of the opinion that the movie must not be representing the country at the Oscars because it clearly wears western impressions on its sleeves. There are others who feel that Director Anurag Basu must be lauded for his unconventional take on the lives of

the differently- abled.

We leave it to you to decide if the several scenes of the movie are inspired or copied.

http://youtu.be/0Zk_IK0Yo8A

So what do you think? Its also ironic that the social networking platforms that were initially abuzz with appreciation for the movie, became the medium for harsh criticisms too!

Don’t you think this controversy could have been avoided if the movie gave due credits to the movie it claims to be ‘inspired’ from. Anurag Basu, writer and Director of the movie has said “It was my shortcoming…I couldn’t think original about it…”

All said and done, the movie surely deserves appreciation for a refreshing take on the lives of disabled people and having conveyed it with minimal dialogues. It now needs to be seen if the movie qualifies for the Top 5 Oscar nominations in the Best foreign language film category on January 10^th 2013.

Till now only three films Mehboob Khan’s ‘Mother India’, Mira Nair’s ‘Salam Bombay!’ and Aamir Khan’s ‘Lagaan’ from India have managed to get to the final round of Oscar nominations.

However not a single Indian movie has bought the Golden lady home!

If you are ‘Barfi’ fan, you can customize t-shirts, coffee mugs and posters about the movie on www.allthingscustomized.com and support its Oscar nomination. Aakir support dena toh banta hain na?

Meanwhile, the movie will be competing with 72 movies from around the world. We wish ‘Barfi’ an eventful race at the Oscars! What do you think about the movie?

'Coalgate' is touted to be the biggest scam ever.

Just when the country was trying to make sense of the anti- corruption movements of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev, a shocking revelation by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has shocked the nation.

In a report about coal mining irregularities, CAG (an authority that audits expenditures of central and state governments) has blamed the UPA government for allocating coal mining licenses to private and public entities without publicly auctioning them to the highest bidder. This fraudulent practice has allegedly cost our national exchequer a whopping Rs 1.86 lakh crore rupees!!! (Infact an initial leaked report put the figure at 10.76 lakh crores.)

Quite similar to the 2G spectrum scam, the allocation process was neither transparent nor full proof. The government not only gave coal blocks at throw away prices to over 150 companies but also to companies that had never engaged in mining before. Ever more worse is that many of the companies have still not mined the ore – a big reason for the country’s power crisis that resulted in a disastrous blackout some months back.

However, what has shocked many people is the name of PM Manmohan Singh in the coal mining scam. For a long time now the PM was hailed as an honest leader heading

a corrupt government but the fact that the PM held the coal ministry between 2006 and 2009 has raised questions on his clean image.

Infact news reports in international media like the Time magazine and Washington Post have criticized the PM for being an ‘Underachiever’ and ‘Tragic figure’, which has further dented his image. As we know this isn’t the first time the present UPA government has witnessed a scam of such magnitude. Other big ticket scams like CWG scam, Adarsh scam and 2G spectrum allocation scam has already seen political heavyweights land behind the bars.

Here’s a recap of other corruption scandals that rocked India.

http://youtu.be/Ep8tbW8Fthk?hd=1

But this time the Coalgate scam is turning out to be a political scandal. While the Opposition parties (BJP in particular) have demanded the PM’s resignation, the government has hit back by calling for a full-fledged debate in the parliament. The political backlash has taken the issue no where!

In between all this hoopla, it’s the parliament that has suffered the most. While the month long monsoon session has already come to an end, protests from the opposition ensured a highly unproductive assembly session. Out of over 100 pending legislations only 4 bills have been passed this time.

While everyone is busy discussing the financial and political implications of the coal mining scam, the issue of environmental harm to forests is being completely ignored.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace India, an environment NGO has started the ‘Save Junglistan’ campaign to draw attention towards the disastrous effect of coal mining on the country’s forest reserves. A signature campaign urging the PM to save forests is also on. They plan to submit the petition when he hosts other countries for the United Nations Convention on Bio-diversity in October this year.

For now the ‘Coalgate’ scam is being investigated by the CBI and some cabinet ministers are under the scanner. But the question ‘When will India see an end to such corruption scams?’ still remains absurd.

Do you have any thoughts on the issue? Feel free to share your views!

Wikipedia states that “At the turn of the 21st century, designing custom t shirts online became more popular. Popular websites began to use digital printing (such as Direct to Garment or DTG printing) to allow customers to design their own t shirts online”.

Koi doubt mat rakhna (means: have no doubts, in Hindi) that creating and wearing a custom t shirt is getting popular in India. After all, it is a t shirt with text and images, of your choice, imprinted on it. In other words, a custom t shirt is exclusively designed by you. It is therefore unique and expresses your individuality.

You can create a custom t shirt online easily – try AllThingsCustomized.com! This website

AllThingsCustomized.com - Online Customization Store in India

provides a versatile customization tool that allows you to create custom t shirts for FREE (there is no obligation to buy)! All you need to do is have an idea of what you want on your t shirt. With an idea in mind, use the customization tool available at AllThingsCustomized.com to convert your idea into reality!!

How to Design a Custom T shirt at AllThingsCustomized.com

The customization tool is nothing but an easy-to-use, free, t shirt making software. Begin by selecting the t shirt type – choose color and t shirt type (men, women, or kids). Next, add text and images to your custom t shirt. You can also format, align, and rotate both text and images to create that perfect customized t shirt. The final step is to apply the design onto the t shirt and click the “Buy Now” button. If you are not confident about your designing skills, but understand what you want on the t shirt, the design team at AllThingsCustomized.com will be happy to help you.

Customization Tool AllThingsCustomized.com

Subsequently, if you buy a custom t shirt at AllThingsCustomized.com, the tee will be delivered to your address within 7 to 10 days. So, what are you waiting for? It is time you stopped wearing those t shirts that are manufactured in bulk and available at every store! It is time to wear a custom t shirt that is trendy and expresses your individuality. The icing on the cake is that the custom t shirt (priced at Rs. 399 for a single-sided customization) is delivered to you at your doorstep, anywhere in India.

What’s more, a custom t shirt is also an ideal gift. Just imagine gifting a friend a custom t shirt with his/her favorite quote on it. Your friend will cherish the gift not just because it showcases the favorite quote but also because you have taken efforts to design the t shirt.
Remember, there is no obligation to buy custom t shirts that you create at AllThingsCustomized.com. So chillax, seize the opportunity to have fun while creating custom t shirts now!!

You can even click on a corporate t-shirt or mug template using the widget below:

On the Indian Independence Day the show’s first season came to a much celebrated end. Many feel the show has changed audience perceptions about the ‘Idiot box’ and turned lazy Sunday mornings into a family time.

The show highlighted issues that were often swept under the carpet and rarely discussed openly. Social evils like Female foeticide, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, dowry and honor killings are issues we all were aware of but we didn’t take any aggressive action against it.

Then came a TV show hosted by a movie star with well researched topics, heart touching stories and thoughtful discussions. The country woke up on Sunday mornings to bitter realities of our society. Don’t you think the show does deserve accolades for having bought significant issues back to the mainstream?

Satyameva Jayate Women's T-shirt. AllThingsCustomized.com

Interestingly the show has been remarkable in terms of its reach. It’s for the first time in Indian Television history a program was telecasted in 8 languages. Not only was it telecasted on Doordarshan but even aired through the All India Radio to reach the entire populace of the country.

All of this started with a simple and highly unusual ad campaign. The concept of the show was kept a secret and it worked wonders! The show opened to a record braking TRP of 8.7 and immediately struck an emotional chord with people, many of whom went on to

share their personal experiences on the show’s website.

Infact the soulful songs that were performed at the end of each episode were an instant hit.

This song in particular was praised by many!

http://youtu.be/BKzZNLByngU

Having got highly positive reviews from all sides, it’s no surprise that the show received massive response on the internet (The official website of the show crashed when the show premiered on TV). It also received over 10 crores in donation for various causes and more than a billion imprints on the virtual world.

The show has its share of critics too. Many have argued that the show generated hype because a Bollywood star hosted it and people would eventually forget the issues . Some also feel Aamir has played it safe by taking up issues that have a general consensus against a particular injustice. Infact an episode on medical negligence highly upset the medical fraternity of the India who felt the show defamed their profession.

But the show saw official reaction too. The Rajasthan government promised to set up fast track courts (to handle cases of female foeticide) and the bill on child abuse was also passed in the parliament. That’s not all, the SMJ team was also invited to the parliament for an interaction about their show on ‘medical negligence’.

Meanwhile the show has raised questions on various institutions of our Democracy. The media in particular was found guilty of not highlighting socially relevant issues that the show discussed.

Aamir had initially said ‘Dil pe lagegi , tabhi baat banegei’, and right he was!

News has it that the channel will soon launch its second season. What issues do you think the show must discuss? Share your views with us. You never know if Aamir’s listening.

Crores of Indian Rupees have been illegally  diverted into bank accounts of Indian politicians, government officers and administrators through scams associated with 2G Spectrum, Commonwealth Games, Telgi,  Bofors,   Satyam, etc, etc!

It is, therefore, not surprising that India was ranked 95th among 178 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index of 2011. This is the right time for India’s anti-corruption drive to gain momentum! Visionary leaders such as Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, and many more are leading the way. They are fighting corruption through protests and hunger strikes. However, this is not enough and Anna Hazare has now decided to join politics! Baba Ramdev has restarted his second agitation against corruption and has once again been taken into custody. In the midst of such revolutionary proceedings, “We the People of India” must play an active role in curbing corruption at its roots!

This Independence Day, you can do your bit to fight corruption! Participate in Design Aur Jeeto, an online t-shirt designing contest. The new theme of the contest that is conducted by AllThingsCustomized.com is Bharat Minus Corruption.

Bharat Minus Corruption Online Contest AllThingsCustomized.com

Use this unique opportunity to kill two birds with one stone – spread anti-corruption messages on Facebook and win a t-shirt that you designed!

Currently, the leading design has captured over 49 Facebook Likes. Remember, the t-shirt design that you create is automatically posted on your Facebook wall. You need to spread your design on Facebook and win the competition! Hurry, the contest closes on 20^th August, 2012.

Go ahead, imprint and spread Bharat Minus Corruption t-shirts. May yours be the winning t-shirt design!

All t-shirt designs are inspired by 15^th August – Indian Independence Day – as per the contest rules. Maa Kasam, the 100 and more t-shirt designs merge Indian national symbols, slogans, and colors brilliantly ! The colors of the Indian flag – saffron, white, and green – and the image of India’s greatest leader and visionary, Mahatma Gandhi, dominate most designs.

Among the current top ten, nine t-shirt designs feature saffron, white, and green colors. Santosh Smarty and Ashok Gates – who are among the top ten – complement the tri-colors with images of Mahatma Gandhi.

Bhoomi Batra – the only lady in the top ten – adds Mahatma Gandhi’s popular quote “Be the Change You want to See” on her t-shirt design. Rajkumar Gaikwad (ranked three in the top ten) features Anna Hazare on his t-shirt with a “You Can Stop Corruption” statement. Ashok Gates and Harshi Shah (both in the top ten) have designed their t-shirts using the theme of secularity and united India!

These designs are just among the top ten, most-liked, t-shirt designs! If you are not in the top ten, the countdown has begun and you ought to get maximum number of friends to click the Like button (for your t-shirt design) on the contest landing page of AllThingsCustomized.com ASAP. Remember, the most liked, top-ten, t-shirt designs will be declared winning designs of Design Aur Jeeto for the Independence Day theme contest. These t-shirt designers get their winning designs printed on good quality t-shirts and shipped home.

If you have not entered the contest yet, do not fret! There are still 48 more hours to go – you can design a t-shirt and get your friends (and their friends), relatives, and every other acquaintance to like your t-shirt design! For instance, you can impress your friends by adding regional text (using the customization tool of AllThingsCustomized.com) to your t-shirt design.

Here is wishing all the participants the very best! May the Independence Day lead you to victory!

In the midst of all this cacophony, you cannot lose the patriot, responsible citizen, and proud Indian in you! Design Aur Jeeto online contest, conducted by AllThingsCustomized.com, gives you the opportunity to design (and win) t-shirts that express your thoughts about India’s Independence.

Bharat Minus Corruption Online Contest AllThingsCustomized.com

Seize the opportunity to create awesome Independence Day t-shirts using the store’s versatile customization tool! For example, you can design a t-shirt by adding personal thoughts on India’s Independence or popular Independence Day quotes, poems, and/or messages. Make use of the customization tool’s multi-language feature to add text in regional languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, etc. Complement the text by uploading colorful images, such as, India’s national emblem and flag. This is just an example to get you started. It is up to you to unleash your creativity, and win a t-shirt prize for Independence Day.

Design Aur Jeeto has already begun. The contest’s theme is Bharat Minus Corruption. The contest that began on 10th August, 2012, has received some amazing t-shirt designs that advocate anti-corruption in India! As of now, the leading design has over 25 Facebook Likes. Remember, the t-shirt design that you create is automatically posted to your Facebook profile. You need to spread your design on Facebook (through Likes and Shares) and top 10 designs (that get maximum likes and shares) win the competition! The contestants get their winning designs shipped home! There isn’t much time left as the contest closes on 20thAugust, 2012.

Go ahead, spare sometime and ponder about how corruption is India’s biggest hindrance to development. Imprint your thoughts on a t-shirt. Get your friends to like and share your cool design and you might just win! May the Independence Day lead you to victory !