4 Fun Ways to celebrate an Eco-Diwali this year

4 Ways to a fun Eco-Diwali

Hey guys! With Diwali tomorrow, I am sure you all share my excitement. Diwali is by far my favourite festival, and so it was for many more people, until a few years ago. But now, it is not; all because of the noise and pollution created by the crackers burnt. The smoke released is harmful for our lungs and is an invitation to diseases such as Asthma. The old and elderly, along with the patients suffering from various diseases also get affected by the high intensity of noise.

And in who's name are we doing this? Culture? Diwali? Our religion never taught us to harm not only our fellow living beings, but us ourselves, in the name of 'celebration' and 'joy', and as for Diwali, it was just celebrated to welcome back Lord Rama and Sita back to Ayodhya after spending 14 years in the forest. Now, we have turned it into a nightmare. This Diwali, I encourage all the readers of this post to celebrate Diwali in its true spirit, to burn out the bad thoughts, not crackers.

Here is a list of a few ways how you can celebrate an Eco- friendly Diwali this year:

1. Go traditional on rangolis this year

Skip the artificial colours this year and opt instead for organic materials like pulses, leaves, flowers, twigs, pebbles, and even seashells. This will also give you an opportunity to go to a local park or garden, exploring and collecting different things.

2. Try balloon crackers

Is the 'pop' sound and glittery sparkles all you burn crackers for, then, this one is for you.

Take a balloon and fill it with glitter or confetti using a funnel. Now fill the balloon with air. Tie a knot and you are ready!Pop these balloons for a glittery surprise!

You can also fill larger balloons with toffees and candies and gift them to small kids or even adults with a sweet tooth and they will be sure to love this.

3.Pop air packets

If you have been shopping online from sites such as Amazon and Flipkart, you probably know what I am talking about. Take the air packets, which are just a larger version of bubble wrap that come with the packages delivered to you to protect the item you purchased. You can jump on these to pop them and even involve small kids who would totally love the idea of these air crackers.

4. DIY things

Not only will this keep you occupied (And for a good reason), but this will also help save money. Instead of spending a fortune on decorative diyas, torans/bandhanwars, and other such items, try making them yourself this year.

Buy plain diyas and paint them to jazz 'em up. You can also recycle old things and DIY your way to amazing knick-knacks. For example, use your old bangles to make a tealight holder. Stack them one on top of the other making creative patterns, and stick them together using super glue or a hot glue gun.

Use old CDs for their rainbow shine and stick beautiful stones or pearls on them. Hang or stick them outside and admire the beautiful reflection they give of the shining diwali lights. You can also give it a go at making your own confetti by cutting shiny wrapping paper or just plain colourful ones into small bits. If you want to go totally Eco-friendly, try using recycled paper for this.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and you can have limitless fun without resorting to sound and environmental pollution. You can try packing or making your own gifts. You can also search online for more such craft ideas or use your own imagination. I hope you have a blast celebrating eco-Diwali this year!

Here is a challenge...convince five people to celebrate eco-Diwali with you this year and you will be doing noble work on a pious occasion this year. Please do share your ideas on fun ways to celebrate eco- diwali in the comments section below.

HAPPY DIWALI !!!!!

All Types Of Chairs

   All Types Of Chairs

-A poem by Tanvee Maheshwari

All types of chairs,

High and low,

For adults and children,

Lined up in a row

  Some are blue,

Some are red.

                 Some are as long as bed

                                                                                                                             One for my study table,

                                                                                                             Two for spare

                                                                                                              Some for high,

 And some for a low fare

                                                                          Big and small

                                                                          Round and square

                                                                          Four, Five, Six –

                                                                          All types of chairs!

- By Tanvee Maheshwari

Leadership Skills Series #10

Leadership Skills Series #10 ~ Setting Goals

This, is a must do. However, a bit complicated. There are two aspects to this - Organizing, and doing things step by step. But first, let us talk about setting goals. Setting a goal means setting a target, or rather a end goal you want to achieve, which can be a project, a part of the project, or something else altogether. Organizing can be done by various methods including scheduling, setting deadlines, giving the team members equal work, gathering all your materials and resources into separate topics, etc. 

Doing things step by step is universally understood, but let me explain it otherwise. Here, it means to do things in a sequential order. First, express the information related to the first topic of your project, then move on to others and keep explaining how the separate topics are interconnected.

You can read my previous posts on the Leadership Skills Series ~

1. Time Management
2. Be Calm
3. Respect 
4. Mind Making
5. Ability Awareness
6. Confidence
7. Imaginize
8. Sincerity and Punctuality
9. Teamwork

Leadership Skills Series #9

Leadership Skills Series #9 ~ Teamwork

 Teamwork..... A word, or rather a quality schools try to develop in you. Isn't it? But there are rarely a few cases in which they succeed. Tell me.... why not all? The answer to this question is as simple as that teamwork, comes from inside. You cannot force it into one. In a team, there is never "I" or "me", there is only "we" and "us".

 A team should work together in harmony, efficiently, rather than spending all their time quarrelling and back stabbing.

As the leader of the team, you must be responsible enough to break fights and make peace. When you manage properly, teamwork is your gateway to success. It will be really difficult for one person to do all the work so you must divide it properly and equally. That is why teams are made, plus, you all will always be there to cover each other's backs and this may otherwise turn into friendship.

You can read my previous posts on the Leadership Skills Series ~

1. Time Management
2. Be Calm
3. Respect
4. Mind Making
5. Ability Awareness
6. Confidence 
7. Imaginize
8. Sincerity and Punctuality

Leadership Skills Series #8

Leadership Skills Series #8 ~ Sincerity and Punctuality

To be a succesful group, all of the group members ( including you ) must be sincere and punctual. Now, we all know thet these are two seperate topics, but somehow, these topics are interconnected. I will tell you how. 

You should show sincerity in all your work. Some of the things you can do to show sincerity are doing things on time, applying extra effort in work if possible, and adding multiple media resources to the disired project. For example, you could display some information through a powerpoint presentation, a model of a structure, tabular chart on paper, or a skit. However, it depends on the project.

Switching over to punctuality. One of the most important things in sincerity is to not wait for the deadline and do things as soon as possible. Which leads to being punctual in your work. So, like I said in my last post, set a time line for everything according to time limitations.

You can read my previous posts on the Leadership Skills Series~

1. Time Management
2. Be Calm
3. Respect
4. Mind Making
5. Ability Awareness
6. Confidence
7. Imaginize

Leadership Skills Series #7

Leadership Skills Series #7 ~ Imaginize

Having troubles achieving goals again? Don't worry, I've got your back. Whatever is the desired target, before starting it, imagine how you want your finished project to be, and then do it. It is very important to do so as you will know every detail of how you want to do it. But, like I said in my last post, don't be confused between two things. 

Another thing you can do is to sit down for a minute, and brainstorm ideas. Just think about your project, and don't rush, let the creative juices flow.

Also, not to lose track of time, set a timeline for every thing. Lets say you have 5 days to complete a project. So the first day, you can collect material and information, next, you can make changes and think if any other media resources are required, and so on.

You can read my previous posts on the Leadership Skills Series~

1. Time Management
2. Be Calm
3. Respect
4. Mind Making
5. Ability Awareness
6. Confidence

Leadership Skill Series #6

Leadership Skills Series #6 ~ Confidence

Out of all the previous leadership skills, this one is something you need to really work upoun. You must appear confident in front of others, whether it is your team members, or your assistant. This will help you in gaining trust of your fellow mates as they will think that you are confident enough to save their back at hard times and support them. This will also inspire best effort from others and make the other team members confident.

However don't get so confident and supportive that they get totaly dependent on you. All this is very important and cannot be taught at a workshop. Remember, confidence comes from within. Some of the ways to increase your confidence are to be positive and remove negative thoughts. If you believe and trust in yourself and revise and practice, you will surely succeed.

You can read my previous posts in the leadership skill series ~

1. Time Management
2. Be Calm
3. Respect
4. Mind Making
5. Ability Awareness

Ladership Skills Series #5

Leadership Skills #5 ~ Ability Awareness

Ability Awareness, Hmmmm..... a complex word, isn't it ? Well, the meaning behind it very simple and possesing this skill is even simpler. All you have to do is observe and make a list of the abilities and limitations of your fellow members of the group. Then use the abilities in a way that is related to your project and try to avoid giving them a task related to thier limitations.

However, don't forget that even if you are the boss, keep a note of YOUR own abilities and limtations. If you are daring enough, try to ask the group members for their views on your abilities and limitations and how you could improve.

You can read my previous posts in the leadership skils series ~

1. Time Management
2. Be Calm
3. Respect
4. Mind Making

Leadership Skills Series #4

Leadership Skills #4 ~ Mind Making

To be an effective leader, you must be a mind maker. set your mind on one thing and follow it and only it. You shouldn't be confused between two things - like either this or that. Be confident, firm, and sure about the the thing you have chosen, now you don't want to wrong later on. 

Remember, never doubt on the decision that you have taken, believe in yourself. However, this doesn't mean that you are not open to new ideas. You can totally rock some changes, but again, don't be confused between 2 things.

You can read my previous posts in the Leadership Skills Series:

1. Time Management
2. Be Calm
3. Respect

Happy Leadership !!

Leadership Skills Series # 3

Leadership skills #3 ~ RESPECT

Respect, is one of the most essential things that gets you everywhere in the field of leadership. You must respect each and every individual in the group. This will help you be more frank with all your colleagues, plus, they will also respect and honour you as a leader.

Though, always remember that you might be in charge, but we're all born equal. Ensure that there are no fights in the group for any possible reasons, may it be the division of work, or the matter of who is worth what. So always remember, respect, relax, and sometimes, reconsider.

I hope that you guys learnt something from this post and will be eager for more. So don't forget to check out my last post, Leadership skills series #2, and I will see you next time. Bye guys!

Leadership Skills Series #2

Continuing with my leadership skill series, here is the 2nd lesson.

LEADERSHIP #2 ~ BE CALM

It is very important that leaders have a sense of natural calmness. It doesn't mean that you should not get excited, but leaders face many stressful and irritating problems. At this time of distress and uncertainty, most group members look up to leaders for help.

You must be calm and gentle to your fellow colleagues because unwanted scolding and arguments lead to bad results as well as bad relationships with team members. You may want to take some time off to unwind and relax, even if a deadline is approaching. For this, my post on how to relax will help you. 

So keep a smile, believe in yourself and trust each other and your group will too.

HAPPY LEADERSHIP!

Leadership Skills Series #1

Introducing the Leadership Skills Series

Hey guys! Everyone wants to be a group leader, but when it comes to actual leading, many people, even the experienced ones aren't able to handle the problems. So today, I would like to share a few basic tips on leadership skills for kids as well as grown-ups~

#1 - Time Management

One of the most important skills of leadership is to know how to manage your time. You should learn this, as most projects require a lot of hard work and time. You must make sets of time for everything. Try not to be behind schedule and inspire your mates to do the same.

'Better three hours too soon than one minute too late' , a beautiful quote by William Shakespeare tells us about the importance of even a single minute lost. Time is very precious, once it is lost, it cannot be regained. Everybody has equal time and the one who uses it the most productively is worthy of being a leader. So, to conclude this brief explanation, here is a one line tip-

 You should use your time judiciously and that will make you a better leader.

Top 27 Summer Boredom Busters - Your Ultimate Summer Bucket List

27 Things to Do While You Are Bored in Summers

Hey Guys! So, recently my exams ended. Yeah...right?

But the excitement lasts only for a while.

Until you start getting the Annual Boredom Syndrome. In my post on 'How to Make New Year Resolutions', I gave you guys a rough idea of what you could do while you are bored. However, these were large ticket items.

So, let's beat some boredom and here are 27 cool ideas for what you could do as a kid or teenager while you are bored in the summers:

1. Have an evening rooftop party
2. Make drawings with sidewalk chalk
3. Have a water and color fight
4. Play paintball
5. Play messy twister
6. Pick an official Summer 2017 song
7. Go to the water park or hit the pool
8. Eat noodles / spaghetti
9. Make different bracelets
10. Have a sleepover                                                                      
11. Eat ice cream soda
12. Make a DIY or craft
13. Host a party at your house for no reason
14. Make a blanket fort
15. Learn the basics of a new language
16. Make popsicles
17. Create a YouTube channel
18. Try to do Calligraphy
19. Make and eat jelly
20. Eat loads of Ice cream
21. Blow bubbles
22. Play Wii or Xbox
23. Walk around streets doing nothing
24. Have a successful prank
25. Go cycling
26. Try Juggling and Bottle flipping
27. Make a Summer scrapbook

So, I hope you guys will enjoy your Summers. 

Keep having fun and get ready for my upcoming Leadership Skills Series !! Do check my blog every Sunday at 9AM IST (3:30AM GMT) for updates.

Mother Earth

Mother Earth

- A poem by Tanvee Maheshwari

The world gets ready for doom
Any doubt about this has no room

With tempest and storm

And tsunamis that warn

When Earth says enough is enough

And Nature decides to play rough

There shall be gloom and pain

And all this, in vain

So, please heed the words that I say
Have fun and respect Mother Earth every day

By Tanvee Maheshwari

Happy Birthday, Big Bro, Tanish !

On the occasion of my elder brother, Tanish's birthday; here is a short video clip made by him a few years ago.

Hope you enjoy the video, "Flyman Helps Ms. Sharma". I hope all men follow the moral taught by my brother in this short story :-)

Happy Birthday Tanish !!

 

A Precious Vote

A Precious Vote 

You,the children, 

Don't have a vote, 

But of your needs, 

We must take a note

You are our future, 

and will make our country great,

We must start with you,

we must educate!

Children need to play,                

This, we must facilitate              

So cast your precious vote right,

Do it NOW, why the wait??      

- A Poem by Tanvee Maheshwari

How to Relax in 10 Easy Steps

Hey Guys !

It's that time of the year when exam fever is at a high.

So, I thought, not just in exams, but even in jobs, the work load can get a bit too much.

Sometimes, you just need to vent it out and chill.

Here are my Top 10 tips and tricks to help you relax ~

#1: Put on some classical music or something that you find blissful and gives you pure peace.

#2: Light some aromatic candles

#3: Put away any electronic gadgets

#4: Make yourself a cup of tea, coffee. Or hot chocolate with marshmallows, if that's your taste

#5: Forget about any pressure or load on you

#6: If you find #5 difficult, try to meditate

#7: Sit on a cozy couch and chew gum

#8: Doodle something random

#9: Wear a face mask or get yourself a good night's sleep

#10: Munch on some chocolates or eat something sweet

Now, sit back and relax !!

Out of my window

Out of my window

A poem by Tanvee Maheshwari

Out of my window,

I see day and night

I see the sun and moon 

and how they spread their light

Out of my window, 

I see grasses growing tall

I see trees bearing fruits,

and when those fruits fall

Out of my window,

I see history being made,

when god suddenly appears

and the foundation of love & peace is laid.

~ by Tanvee Maheshwari

5 Amazing Life Hacks

Yes, life hacks, ways or little tricks to make your life easier. 

Here is a list of 5 life hacks that you should know:

1. To fill in the cracks and ditches in your lips, smile while applying lipstick/lip gloss or lip balm

2. Use old buttons as earring holders

3. Use the inside of a banana peel as an emergency shoe polisher (does not apply for fabric or canvas footwear)

4. Put your phone in glass to crank up the volume- perfect for people who snooze past their alarm

5. Before throwing an old post-it note, swipe it between keyboard keys to remove crumbs, dirt and lint.

So, hopefully these life hacks will help you lead better lives and till my next post, goodbye!

How to make New Year Resolutions

New Year resolutions……well, not an easy list to make when it’s the end of a year and a beginning of one while you’re so excited. But hey, worry not because I’m here to help you. 

Here is how you can make your New Year resolutions easily

MAKE A RESOLUTION THAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY FOLLOW AND MAKE IT EASY

Many times you make tough resolutions and leave it like that. End of story. Each time you go through your list, you think it is hard to do so you just leave it alone and at last, it does not get accomplished. So, in order to prevent that, have a short, sweet and simple resolution

DO NOT RUSH FOR TOO MANY

Don’t rush for 20 not-so-good resolutions when 4-5 resolutions will do, just as long as you follow them ; )

MAKE A CREATIVE ONE THAT YOU HAVE A KNACK FOR

Just ask yourself, ‘You can make thousands of resolutions, but will you have the same spirit and energy level for each one?’ Didn’t understand? Let me give you an example-

If you look through your list, and see one resolution, you leave it for another time looking for a more interesting resolution, but no, you should have a resolution that at the moment you look at it, you jump off your seat and think, ‘this seems interesting, let’s do it right away. ‘

 DON’T AIM FOR BIG RESOLUTIONS

It isn’t a necessity to make a resolution that will have an impact on your whole life,

Even a small resolution like, do so and so craft , or visit so and so place, should be more than enough.

SOME IDEAS

Lastly, here are some ideas for New Year resolutions that you can follow:

• Go Eco-friendly and use only paper or cloth bags
• Make DIY pom – poms
• Keep a personal journal or diary
• Visit _______ (your dream destination here)
• Pick up a hobby
• Do yoga / exercise
• Lose weight
• Read more books
• Join any workshop / summer camp / classes
• Make a bucket list and tick something off

Thanks for reading my post. I will be back soon. Until then, HAPPY NEW YEAR and happy resolutions :-)

A Friend Indeed

A Friend Indeed

A Poem by Tanvee Maheshwari

You are my Friend,
Who loves to defend,
Me from my problems,
So warm hugs I wish to extend!

Our journey is long,

Sometimes we are right,

Sometimes we are wrong

We shall stick together,

No matter whatever,

May it be any weather,

Always and Forever.

You are so beautiful,

You are so cute,

And if there is one person,

For whom you always root.

You know I am talking to you,

Dear Friend,

On this special occasion,

I wish to salute you.

For you are my Friend,

Who loves to defend,

Me from my problems,

So warm hugs I wish to extend!