Life and Its Experiments

Dar ke aage actually jeet hai …..

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December 13, 2014

Fear is a state of mind which makes you do things which you should never do. It is fear of losing people, fear of undesirable consequences, fear of society, fear of parents and a lot more which stops up from doing the right thing. We lie, cover up, hide things because of fear, but like every feeling can be overpowered fear is no different.

I recently stumbled on the below video of Mountain Dew which promotes the idea of rising above fear #RiseAboveFear, do have a look at it. For more details on this please visit https://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia

This reminds me of a time when I was scared to speak up for myself and today writing this post makes me so happy that I surpassed my fear and stood up for myself. I am an IT professional and I work for a renowned company. When I was in the last semester of my engineering I wasn’t able to clear any of the campus interviews so I couldn’t bag any job for myself. Most of my friends did and that made me really sad for myself. One of my uncles told my father that there are some job openings in the Department of Posts and my father persuaded me to apply there. Being a central government job my father was completely drooled over it whereas I wasn’t interested at all as I was highly overqualified for that job. Nevertheless when you don’t have anything in your hand you have to follow the elder’s orders.

I applied for the job and as expected I cleared it with flying colors. The college was over and I still had no job in my hand so I had to join the Department of Posts. I joined there as a Postal Assistant right after my college was over. Most of my friends were placed here and there and they were waiting for the joining letters. Days passed and I kept going to that place which I didn’t like a bit. There were people who knew nothing about the technology but would act so smart as if they knew everything and I was a novice there. The atmosphere, the work culture, the people I wasn’t really meant for it. I was just going there for the heck of going.

I was consistently applying every where else so that I could secure a decent job for myself. Knowing all my friends are shifting to another city and doing the kind of work they should do, made me so sad and helpless. Then the off campus hiring for Accenture happened and I bagged the job. It was October when I got the job and I got the joining in March, meanwhile I had continued my job in Department of Posts.

As March came closer I had to decide which way I wanted to opt. If it has to be my way then I needed to resign and if it had to be otherwise I had to say No to Accenture. At this point of time there were many people who tried to convince me by highlighting the benefits of a central government job and how a female’s future is secure in it. At times I realize our relatives and neighbors have nothing worthwhile to do except poking their nose everywhere else. I knew what I wanted to do and what exactly I wanted for my life but I was scared to face my father. The fear kept me silent for many days.

But one fine day it got me chocking so much that I kept my fear aside and confronted my father and my mother. I told them that I wanted to take this job and that this government job isn’t doing any good for me. My parents somewhere knew what I wanted but the lucrative government job kept them on. I stepped ahead of my fear and talked it out and in the end my parents agreed to what I wanted, I took the risk of leaving a secured job to follow my dreams in a world of uncertainty. The next day I resigned from that job and a day later I took the flight to Bangalore where I started my career.

It has been 3 years and 9 months since I am working and I am so happy and content with my life and the decision that I took long time back. So if you are stepping back because of some fear then take a chance, overcome your fear and you will definitely achieve victory.

This post was written for Indiblogger as a part of Rise above fear! contest.

GOSF isn't crediting anything in your bank account.

Editorial Muse

Ruby Singh

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December 12, 2014

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GOSF isn't crediting anything in your bank account.

GOSF is all over the place these days. There is no website which isn’t flashing the GOSF sale, all you have to do is open a browser and there it is tdaaaah. Even if you want to you cannot stop yourself as the ads and offers are so luring that you can’t help but click on them. That was all you have to do, now you have landed on the sale website and I am sure you aren’t going to checkout until you dig a big hole in your pocket.

Online shopping has anyways caused so much damage to the bank balance, this sale has been an icing on the cake. No doubt that these offers and discounts are attractive and you tend to fall for them but it doesn’t mean you end up buying anything. Just because it is on discount that doesn’t justifies its usability in any way. Just to reach to a certain amount, so that the discount can be applied we end up adding unnecessary items in our cart.

I am saying so because I have done that too and that’t how I have realized what this online shopping has done to us. On the other hand I have seen very sensible buyers too who were pretty proactive and prepared for this big sale. My flatmate is one of them, she had selected the items and added to her wishlist so that she can make the most out of this big sale without wasting even a single minute.

I have never been very good with sales even if I manage to buy something eventually either it is exchanged or returned. I am sure I have company here. So in another few hours the sale would be over and things will get back to normal. So here’s how you can make the most out of this yearly GOSF sale.

Buy as per your needs, don’t splurge there will always be another sale remember Christmas and new year is around the corner.
Restrain from spending 900 just to save 200, it is an unnecessary spending of 700. Simple maths you see.
Compare the prices across various sites so that you don’t end up paying extra money.
Don’t be greedy remember greed begets greed.

I know I am pretty later for this post but like they say better late than never.

Wishing all the readers a happy and sensible shopping.

YES or NO to Pre-Marital Sex ?

Ruby Singh

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December 10, 2014

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When I heard about this contest I was sure that I am definitely going to write about it. I took so many days to think over it not because I am not aware of my take on this issue but because I wanted to write facts and points which were not said or written before. I didn’t want to mention all the trite things which might take away the impact that I want to make through this post. First of all the answer to this question is very subjective and you will come across a variety of answers for it, but the contest strictly says “Are you for it or against it?” so I am going to stick to my point of view.

I am perfectly okay with the idea of pre-marital sex, I am aware that a lot of people consider it as a taboo and restrain from talking and expressing their views about it. But this is my den and I am free to express my opinions in all the possible ways. So coming back to the point I think it is completely harmless if two people are in love and they decide to take it one step further. The willingness of both the parties is something which matters not the opinion of others.

Whether to have sex before or after marriage is completely an individual’s prerogative. There is nothing wrong in a consensual sex whether we do it before or after marriage. People around us makes so much hullabaloo about it whereas we have much more important things to talk and shout about. We stand against the pre-marital sex but we do nothing against a man who rapes a women, force himself on her body and soul. Don’t you think we are missing out on the real subject and making fuzz about something which is very normal and should be catered with a lot of respect and candor.

I don’t promote sex for fun and one night stands. I am religiously against it. I believe that whoever is destined to be with me for the rest of my life should have a spic and span future with me. For me his past remains into past because the present and future holds more significance for me. We live in a world where people fall in love every day and every human being is driven by the idea that love and only love can heal their brokenness. So for me as long as the intention behind sex or rather making out is love and commitment, it is absolutely harmless in my eyes.

We can never prognosticate our future and so if future has something else for us then that is the destiny that was well in place way before we were born. It is important that we leave past in the past and move ahead. Life is very long and if you have had sex with someone else before marriage because you were hopelessly in love with each other there is nothing you should feel bad or sorry about. You were in love you did what you had to do. People do crazy things in love, all you did was just a sign of a passionate lover.

I might have drifted a bit from the topic because I get swayed away when we talk about love. So I am totally for the topic and I would like to spread the word that pre-marital sex isn’t any taboo. It is okay to let loose and let go of yourself until the force behind it is raw love and nothing else.

While writing about this issue I cannot help but mention the intriguing book “A Passionaate Gospel of True Love : A Mystical True Love Story” by Poonaam Uppal. You can have a detailed look on book here.

This post was written as a part of YES or NO to Pre-Marital Sex a contest by Indiblogger.

Thank God the No-Shave November is over…

Ruby Singh

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December 3, 2014

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Thank God the No-Shave November is over…

At times I realize we have crossed the limits of blindly following the west culture. Making a great hullabaloo about the “No Shave November” is the recent one. It has gone viral over the internet and various social networking sites. What really annoys and irritates me is that 90% of men are ignorant of the real reason why this month is celebrated in such grand scale in the west.

No-Shave November is actually a program ran by an American Cancer Society annually in the month of November to spread awareness about Cancer. So basically when you sign up for this program you don’t shave, don’t cut your hair and restrain from grooming yourself and all the money that you would have spent on all of these should be donated for cancer awareness for the whole month. You show your support by growing hair which the cancer patient lose.

The crux of the program is missing and people take pride in posting pictures in full grown beard and mustaches. I haven’t heard of a single man who has actually done it religiously. If you are one of those few ones, you have my respect. Apart from the ignorance about the real issue what irritates me even more is that it has come up as a good excuse for not shaving for an entire month. I see so many men around me looking all messed up and shabby. Thank God the No-Shave November is over.

A colleague of mine was summoned by his supervisor, he asked him the reason behind his shabby look. To his question he responded in a lot of panache saying “it is for the No Shave November, don’t you know about it”. My seat was two cubicles away from his and I could clearly overhear the conversation. The supervisor then asked him back “do you mind telling me what it is”, the naive colleague of mine took no time to spill all of his ignorance in front of him. I couldn’t hear much after that but the last thing that I heard was my colleague saying “I will take care of it from the next time”. I couldn’t stop laughing and that was the moment I decided this incident is worth a post.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at Blogadda, in association with Gillette.

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I tag my blogger friends –

Anoop, who writes at TRANQUIL yet Alive
Nabanita Dhar, who blogs at Random Thoughts—Naba and
Asmitha , who writes at Asmithaaa to share their take on #WillYouShave activity. The word limit is 300 words. When you write, please mention that you picked the tag from me.

Here are the suggested prompts for the write-ups –

For men –

Missed chances – Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a non-shaven face.
Luck of confidence – Will you leave your fate in the hand of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well-groomed face to be your best every day.

For ladies –

An instance when stubble came in the way of a man’s chance to make a good impression.
An instance when a well-groomed look ensured that they stuck gold on an opportunity given to them.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at Blogadda, in association with Gillette.

NSDF Vision : Safe driving culture in India

Editorial Muse

Ruby Singh

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December 2, 2014

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NSDF Vision : Safe driving culture in India

This post is completely dedicated to Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) and its various initiatives. This forum came into existence in 2012. Started with just three cities NSDF has now spanned across eight major cities in India. NSDF aims at instilling safe driving behavior in India so that the accidents and deaths caused by traffic can be reduced. This forum promotes safe driving promotion activities by conducting live stimulated experiences around the usage and significance of seat belts and air bags. To know more about NSDF and their initiative visit here.

NSDF has come up with another initiative which contest on the fact that road safety is not one man’s responsibility whereas it is a team effort and I am contributing to this initiative through my post by listing various steps which would help in ensuring road safety in India. The points are as under:

Lane base driving: I strongly believe that there should be different lanes for different kind of vehicles. There should be one lane on the extreme left which should be dedicated to the two wheeler only and they should be strictly forbidden to enter the other lanes. Among the four and above wheeler vehicles also there should be lane assignment for heavy weight and light weight vehicles. The chances of collisions and accidents will drop down exponentially if everyone follows the lane assigned to their vehicles.

Installation of traffic cameras: I understand that the traffic policemen are human and there is a possibility they might miss on anyone breaching the road laws, so there should be traffic cameras installed on every signal and there should be through investigation of the video captured by these cameras every day. Vehicles not following the rules should be identified and the drivers/riders should be fined with handsome penalty. Doing so will make them realize that there is someone watching them on the roads and so from the next time they will not dare to break the law.

Proactive checks on helmets and seat belts: Though helmet and seat belts are made mandatory by the Government still people find a way to skip it. There should be more vigilant checks for drivers not wearing seat belts and riders not wearing helmets. For two wheeler helmet should be compulsory for the pillion rider as well. People not complying with the law should be fined heavily so that they don’t repeat it.

seat_050614-1 — http://www.daijiworld.com/

Usage of mobile phone should be forbidden: It has been seen that majority of the road accidents take place because the driver was on the phone or was sending/reading the messages. The selfie culture has added to the road rage, there should be strict actions against people talking on phone while driving. When spotted doing so the concerned person should be fined heavily and a police complain should be registered so that is he/she repeats the mistake there would be a way to track it down and impose even higher penalty.

no-dialing-no-texting-LVHR408 — http://homecraftedmom.com/

More traffic signals and speed breakers: Talking about the main road and high ways we have ample amount of traffic signals to keep the traffic in control but still there are many areas in which there aren’t even a single traffic signal because of which the traffic is highly mismanaged and which ultimately leads to more accidents and deaths. A committee should be made to identify such areas and then the necessary actions should be taken in order to install traffic lights and construct the speed breakers.
Helpline Number: A traffic or transport helpline number should be activated on which the public can call up in case of any emergencies or road block. Often people park their vehicles at forbidden places without any information, a helpline number would help in reporting the traffic police about it so that they can take appropriate actions against it. We often notice drunk driving and do nothing about it, a helpline line number would encourage everyone to report such cases so that the ensuing accidents and mishaps can be contained.
More breath analyzers on the signals: I have noticed that we have very few cities wherein the drivers and riders are regularly checked for alcohol consumption. This practice should be reinstated and should be carried out very seriously. 50% of the accidents take place because of drunk driving, a consistent check on this would definitely help in bringing down the accident count.

Vehicle Tracker: A tracker should be designed to keep all the records and whereabouts of a vehicle. Generally whatever action is taken, it is taken against the driving license of the individual but I am proposing a tracking system which is pertaining to the vehicle’s RC number. If a fine is imposed on a driver then it should be logged on both the license number as well as on the vehicle’s RC number so that if either of entities are fined multiple times then it is properly logged and necessary actions (increased fine and legal action) are taken against the driver as well as against the vehicle.

I wish and hope I see all the above mentioned points getting materialized in the near future. There are many things which aren’t feasible considering innumerable aspects but even to cover a mile you have to start with a small step.

This post was written as a part of Nissan Safety Driving Forum for Indiblogger.

Its time to speak up. Montu will speak now.

Lifestyle

Ruby Singh

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November 29, 2014

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I am writing this post to show my support to the #AbMontuBolega campaign. This campaign is all about speaking up against the people who are insensitive towards various public issues, the recent being the Swach Bharat campaign. We live in a free country and we all have freedom of speech, this campaign is encourage everyone out there to exercise their right of speech for the wellbeing of India and its citizen. It is an initiative which aims at inspiring people to not to be at the receiving end and raise their voice to bring in the difference.

To know more about this campaign do visit their official website http://www.abmontubolega.com also you can connect with it on facebook by visiting their page here and their twitter feed here.

I would like to share an incident which is very relevant to this campaign. We had our team dinner and so we left a little early in order to combat the traffic and reach the venue on time. We left from Noida at around 5 PM for Connaught Place in New Delhi. Connaught Place also known as CP is a shopping and eating hub for people from all over the NCR. We had decided that we will first go to the India Gate spend some time there and by 7 PM we will do for dinner. We were circling here and there in search of parking but we couldn’t find any and the traffic was at its peak. At a signal while we were waiting for the green light, one of my colleagues saw that a person from the adjacent car dropped a juice box on the road. Roads around India Gate are very clean and the traffic is very well managed. The moment she saw him doing that she screamed out of our car “haven’t you heard of the clean India campaign, can’t you wait till you spot a dustbin. How about I throw something in your car?” The guy sitting in the car got furious and he responded saying “why don’t you mind your own business and let me do my job”. Before we could say anything more the light turned green and the traffic started moving. Needless to say, that car got away in no time. We then started discussing about how ignorant people have become and how they don’t hesitate even a bit littering every now and then.

Nothing much happened at that time, he did what he had to do and we couldn’t stop him but the fact that someone from us spoke against it will always remind him of his deeds. The next time he thinks of doing something like this he will definitely think of what my colleague told him and I sure he will restrain from doing anything of this sort. I learnt a lesson that day that I am not going to stay quite if I see something like this happening around me. I realized that it is important to speak up, people know everything but they need to be reminded again and again just like the iron gets rusted when not used regularly.

This post was written as a part of The Power of Voice to Clean India for Indibloggers.

K is not okay, kwel is not cool

Editorial Muse

Ruby Singh

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November 28, 2014

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I was going through the list of contacts in my whats-app and suddenly I saw a contact with some weird looking status message. I thought maybe she has learnt some new language and that is some wisdom in that new language. I was shocked to see the complete message, it was some famous adage but I couldn’t comprehend it because of its brevity and abbreviation. The other day I was having some conversation with one of my juniors and I really had a tough time talking to her, not you would ask why ? then the below image will give you your answer

The text messages, the status messages have crossed the line of compression. At times I have to read it twice and thrice to get the real meaning out of it. The language is so compromised now a days. I am not saying that I never did the same. Earlier when there wasn’t any whatsapp or all the other online messaging applications we used to send text messages which had a word limit. The moment you cross that word limit the message count used to increase and accordingly the charges were also calculated. So to avoid paying more for the messages I used to use abbreviation and short forms like “nethng” for anything, “wat” for what and lot more so that I can accommodate the whole message by paying less. That made sense as I used to get limited amount for phone recharge and all I was trying to do was to save on some bucks but what has gone wrong now ?

Today every phone is a smart phone and every service provider gives access to internet in throwaway prices making the service reachable to every class in the society. So by spending a small amount of Rs 100 you have the data usage power of up to 2GB (might vary from subscriber to subscriber) which is way more sufficient than the usage. Using this data power you can send unlimited messages, upload unlimited photos without paying any extra penny. When we have the freedom of expression with absolutely no overhead of money then why this bizarrely invented abbreviations ?

I have observed that a lot of people, mainly the teenager and early twenties think that it is cool to write like this and that writing complete words and sentences would make them old fashion and out of the league. I feel that we disrespect the language but the very next moment I feel everyone is entitled to their ways of communication and its brevity.

Of course I cannot ask someone to change the way they text someone but this post might make them think over it and you never know they might agree to my point as well. I am sure my post has definitely reminded you at least one such message or a person who has this messaging habit.

If you agree with my perspective, I would request you to share this post among your friends, you never know it might hit the right people.

Bring back the touch and warmth.

Editorial Muse

Ruby Singh

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November 19, 2014

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They say that people forget everything but they never forget how you made them feel. This is the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw the below video.

To know more about it do visit #BringBackTheTouch. This takes me back to the times when I was having a tough time with my life and was trying to pace up in order to be in line with everybody else. I had almost started living like a machine who knew exactly where to start and where to finish. Weekends were the only time when my body could rest a little but then it came with its own pending errands to run. I never realized that my life has taken this turn until my friend caught hold of me.

The other day I was juggling with many documents, I was trying to find something and even after an extensive search I couldn’t find it. Out of frustration I threw everything on the floor and started crying. In no time my friend came in and she made me sit on a chair. She got a glass of water and asked me to take deep breaths. I was already annoyed and wasn’t appreciating his kind gestures much.

I had a sip of water and then she held my hands and asked me to relax. I immediately said I have no time to relax I need to find that document and then I have some work to finish as well. She went a little bossy with her raised voice and asked me to sit down again. I got a little shocked as she has never been like this with me before, but without taking any chances I sat back right there. She again held my hands and said take it easy, it is alright. Cut some slack on yourself. You don’t have to all correct in everything. Allow yourself to act like a human not a machine.

I was all quite and I calmed down. I remember she took my left hand in her hands and said “Just calm down, take it one by one”. She didn’t say something out of the world or she didn’t instill some wisdom in me that never knew before but it was her touch which made me realize many things. There is a reason why a tight hug makes you forget all your worries, a pat on your back makes you high, a gentle brushing on your arms makes you feel protected. The reason is nothing else but the human touch and warmth, a assurance that someone is there makes you do wonders in your life.

This post was written as a part of Bring Back the Touch for Indibloggers.

Babli says no to open defecation.

Uncategorized

Ruby Singh

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November 18, 2014

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India’s 70% population lives in small villages and agriculture is the only means they earn the bread and butter of their lives. I am writing this to throw some light over a problem which has been under cover since a long time and that is open defecation. People living in urban areas and earning well enough to afford a proper toilet are not even aware of the existence of this problem but the rural population faces this day in and out.

Open defecation is not only something which is obscene and makes the place look bad but it is a mine of diseases and various other health problems. People living in villages are used to of this process and they hardly find anything wrong in it, when I asked few people on the railway track as to why don’t they switch to proper toilets they said they have been openly defecating since ages and nothing has happened to them yet. Another point which came up during the discussion was that they don’t have enough funds to even afford a toilet. Just because nothing has happened to them yet they are ignorant of the fact that it is the main cause of major life threatening diseases.

Open defecation leads to many communicable diseases and makes the environment unhealthy. Open defecation is identified as the main reason behind the majority of water born diseases which primarily includes diarrhoea. The main targets are kids and women. Every year more than 3,00,000 children are reported to be dead because of these water born diseases. Kids are the future of our country and we need to do everything to safeguard it.

I as an individual might not be able to visit every single village out there and provide them a fully functional toilet but I can at least take part in the initiative by domex. For more details about this initiative visit Domex. It is very important rural population understand how serious this problem is and how much damage can it cause to them and their next generation. It is less about money but more about awareness. Just because they don’t know about the dire consequences, they don’t prioritize the construction of toilets. Ignorance should not be bliss for them anymore. I am sure if they are aware of this serious problem they would say “No” to open defecation.

I hereby urge all the people out there to spare some time out of their busy schedule and at least educate about the issue and its consequences to one person daily. I am sure the message will reach out to a larger audience and necessary steps will be taken to curb open defecation. I cannot construct toilets for them but at least I can associate myself with movements working towards it and aim for a no open defecation future.

Every single individual has a power, power of word and power of expression. I hereby again urge you all to be a part of this change. You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

This post was written as a part of Toilet for Babli for Indiblogger, a healthy initiative by Domex.

The momentous role of Chai (tea) and Chai (tea) stall

My experiences

Ruby Singh

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November 11, 2014

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The momentous role of Chai (tea) and Chai (tea) stall

Tea or Chai is the one of the most popular hot beverages in India. It has a special place in every age group barring the young kids who should still stick to milk. After water it is the first thing that is offered to our guests. It takes away the tiredness and make you more alert and agile. Now that winters are going to be on full swing, the numbers of tea cups in a day is definitely going to go up. It is such a basic and yet so significant element of our lives that you would find it everywhere ranging from high class niche corporate offices to traditional central government offices and from college canteen to roadside stalls, tea has its own unbeatable presence everywhere.

I am an I.T Professional (I guess I have mentioned it before too :-P) and my work involves looking at the screen for long hours and keep moving the fingers. But we do have breaks one of which is for lunch and other for tea. The mornings are full of energy but as the day passes the body is fatigued and needs something which would rejuvenate the mind and body. The first thing which pops up in our head is a hot steaming cup of tea. I go for tea breaks with my colleagues (they too are tea lovers like me) twice in a day. We don’t have a very well equipped canteen so we walk out of our office premises and go to a tea stall to have tea. If you are wondering how the tea stall looks like below is the image.

One day while we were heading back to our office after the tea, I started thinking what would it be like without these chai stalls. The chai break not only infuses some energy but it also gives you an opportunity to get up from your seat and stop staring at your computer screen for a while. It gives you time to talk to each other face to face rather than chatting through your organization’s chat server. I personally look forward to the tea break time every day. We do have our lunch breaks but tea break has its own charm and longings. I would like list out few points as to why this break is so important for all of us:

Gives a break: Once the lunch is over, we are glued to our seats and the chai break is an easy way out for some time off. It makes you take your eyes off of the monitor for sometime.
Time for talking: During the lunch time we don’t talk much abiding by the basic table manners but chai break has no such limitation. The conversation grows with every sip.
Everyone’s favorite: I know quite a few people who don’t drink chai but fortunately all of my colleagues are chai lover just like me so even if there is a crunch situation going on we still manage to take out time for our evening chai.
Light on pocket: The biggest benefit of being a tea lover is that you don’t have empty your wallets for it unlike various other fashionable coffee joints where you end up splurging all your money.

Nowadays there are so many different varieties of tea in the market like Lemon tea, honey ginger tea, tulsi tea, flavored tea etc. Still there is comparison to the conventional tea with a hint of ginger. That is my all time favorite. Have a look at it below.

I am sure you all will also have a chai story to share. Drop in your experience, would love to hear from you all.