Ideal Yatra!

Life itself is a yatra from birth to peace. We knowingly or unknowingly travel to new destinations with or without our own will and explore the hidden beauty of nature created by the supreme power, God. Out of these yatras we like (at least forced to like) almost all the yatras, but only a very few are our favourites. It’s our Ideal Yatra!

In these 28 years on earth I had been to several places, explored the beauty of nature and have my own favourites. My visit to Poovar Island, Trivandrum, is one of the ideal domestic yatras I had been to, along with my wife. It took five emails to book a floating cottage in Poovar Island and a visit to yatra.com to book the flights. The experience of booking the flight was good: searched for domestic flights, typed source and destination location, date, no. of passengers and hit on ENTER. In almost five minutes I had my confirmed returned tickets in my inbox. I was the happiest man!

On the day of the journey, my brother took us to the airport in the car… we found Chennai Airport so beautiful. Luckily we checked in online (Air India Web check-in). Though we reached at the last minute, still we quickly passed through the security checks and boarded the flight right in time… all thanks to Chennai traffic and surprise diversions.

The flight journey to Trivandrum was smooth and good. Luckily, there was no turbulence. In my previous International flights, I had the worst experiences with seatbelt on all the time. As soon as we reached Trivandrum we got into the cab arranged by the Poovar Islands Team; a kind gesture by the team for the honeymoon couple. Followed by the cab journey, we took a boat to the Island viewing the seas I had previously seen in the maps.

Living in a cottage floating on water was an amazing experience for us. My wife was scared at the start, but within a few hours, she got used to it. In fact, on the second day we sat on the backyard of the cottage keeping our legs inside the water. The days flew faster than we imagined. Be it the candlelight dinner, the specially decorated honeymoon cake, or the backwater ride on a small boat, it was an incredible experience! Not to forget the dining experience, the mouth-watering cuisines, the photogenic surroundings and the amazing seashore that gave us a lifetime memorable frozen moment in my camera lens.

Though we made our itinerary to cover the entire city, the serenity of the Island did not allow us to go outside. On the last day the team arranged a cab for dropping us back to the airport. On the way the cab driver, Sriram Anna, a kind-hearted human being, took us to a famous Vinayagar temple, the chocolate shops and dropped us in the airport. The return flight journey was bit emotional, as we missed the cottage a lot. We decided to visit again and maybe in a few months’ time, we may visit again.

Thanks to Yatra.com for being a part of our ideal yatra. Explore more about Domestic Airlines. Happy Journey! Keep Smiling!

I'm back!

It’s been three long years since I attended a blogger meet. Life in Germany kept me occupied enough to make sure that I cannot travel to India whenever there’s a blogger meet or the famous BNLF meet; I surely missed the fun, but not anymore. I’m back to India. And this time, when the IndiBlogger announced The Horlicks #Immunity4Growth Blogger Meet, I was about to travel to Chennai. I cancelled the trip to attend the meet along with my wife Vidhya. And I am super glad as I met my wonderful friends – CS, Leo, Anoop, Farida, Rizwan, Sarabjeet, Vidya Sury and many more.

Before I share my experience, I would like to apologies to my blog and my readers.

Dear Few Miles,
Apologies for leaving you untouched for five long months. I was occupied with other priority tasks and the relocation to India kept me busy. During the transit time, thanks to the wonderful Vodafone Team for keeping me disconnected with the virtual world.
I wrote offline. I wrote for a bigger dream – Coffee Date – soon to be published by a traditional publisher. That’s the reason I addressed to you and not to Isha. Because this is the longest break I’ve taken right from the inception of Few Miles. So I am really sorry. I promise not to leave you again even when I write my next book.
And yes, I’m back!
With Love,
Someone is Special.

And to my readers, sorry for keeping you wait for five long months. I was busy writing my first book for you. I will get it published soon.

Coming back to the meet, right from the registration to Goodbyes, we felt excited meeting so many wonderful bloggers and friends. As soon as we entered the hall we met Farida and Vidya. We exchanged greetings and whereabouts, after which we occupied the table just before the last one. CS and Leo, joined us shortly. I felt very happy!

The meet opened with Anoop as usual rocking the stage, followed by introduction of Super Moms and Super Dads. Once the introductory session was over, Jill Castle, nutrient, Horlicks Team, an active blogger from USA, spoke about the importance of immunity for growth, the role of nutrients, the category of children, types of deficiency and its effects on growth, and how to deal with these issues.

When Jill spoke about deficiency of Vitamin D in India more than in Western Countries, I could only disagree to the percentage shown in the PPT. I agree, deficiency is everywhere. But we have good Vitamin sources and practices. Unfortunately, the knowledge is not getting transferred between generations. That’s why we need good tasty supplements like Horlicks to enrich the nutrients and immunity and help Children grow taller, stronger and sharper. Because once you are strong inside, you can grow outside healthy.

Once the presentation was over, we had an interaction session between nutrients, doctors and Horlicks Team. It was a good enlightening session, though I do not want to press more on it as it would sound more like a promotional post rather than an experience. We had a quiz after the session which Saby’s team won. Our team got four or five points I guess.

What I missed or got changed in the meet was the interaction session between bloggers like it used to happen before years – where bloggers go around with a chart and pen, meet fellow new bloggers, share URL, twitter handle and other info. It certainly helped find new friends. What happened in this meet was an interaction session over dinner. Most of the bloggers, including me, was busy eating the delicious dinner served instead of moving around to meet and greet people. The best part of the meet was my conversation with CS on writing and books and with Leo on Haiku and SOL Launch. It’s such a pleasure to meet and thanks with them.

After the dinner we received gift hampers from Horlicks (a pack of two Horlicks Bottles). Thank you, Horlicks Team.

It was a good experience overall! #Immunity4Growth Meet Rocks! Thank you IB Team for making it happen. I am looking forward to meet bloggers again and this time, I wish we have a proper interaction session.

I am feeling good to publish a post after a long gap. See you all soon with another interesting post. Till then take care.

Love

Info:- 55-Fiction refers to fictional writings bounded to a maximum of 55 words.

This week I am back with yet another 55-Fiction. This mysterious girl, her love for rain, and her wish, is finally fulfilled. However, I am going to continue this story for two more weeks with a small twist. Wait and watch...and thank you in advance for reading.

I have a good news for you. My wife Vidhya and I, secured Level B1 in German Exam. I have posted a status on Facebook, embedding the post for you :D

Yay! We did it Vidhya! <3 Certified Level B1 in German <3 Celebrating the result of hard work, 6 months struggle,...

Posted by Saravana Kumar Murugan on Thursday, December 17, 2015

I am publishing 55 Fiction every Friday, as a Tribute to Late G-Man, the man behind my love for writing 55-Fiction. Join me if you like to write 55-Fiction. Keep reading and keep watching this space for more surprises.

Namma Chennai! Singara Chennai!

Namma Chennai! Singara Chennai! My favorite city in the world!

I can list thousand reasons to show my love for Chennai, and I am sure all Chennaites will love the reasons because it would be the same for them. We Chennaites, are proud of being a Chennaite and a Tamilian. So I am not going to write it.

வந்தாரை வாழவைக்கும் தமிழ்நாடு – அன்று
வந்தாரை வாழவைக்கும் சென்னை – இன்று

This is 100% true. I have heard this from hundreds of people who travel from small villages and towns of India to Chennai. In Chennai, you can survive with nothing at all. Maybe, I will write a separate of post on this. For now, I will write about recent Chennai rains and the floods, that rocked Chennai yet we showed the world, why we are proud of who we are.

Last month, when the monsoon started hitting hard at Chennai, we, the people of Chennai, did not sink in the rain, instead we sank the religious difference in us and showed the world that Unity is Strength and Humanity is God.

The rain God came down to Chennai answering the decade’s prayers (it rained now and then in the last ten years but not like how it used to rain years before) from the people of Chennai. Since it was for a decade, the city roads got filled up very soon (not sure what happened to draining systems drive), then when it was about to fill up the ponds, rivers and lakes, (Thanks to Urban Development Drive that transferred Nature’s property to individual’s property), it lacked space, so it entered the homes, colleges and all occupied properties, and rest of all the other available places for stealing the Nature’s property – A Good Lesson Taught By God! Highest rainfall in the last hundred years.

We will learn from our mistakes, but it was a testing time for us. Thousands of people lost their houses, household items, clothes, food, cars, pets, money and everything, and a few of them lost their lives. Roads got washed away, bridges broken, reservoirs and dams overflowed, rivers flushed away everything. The city came to a standstill, with no power, no money, and no food. It sank, literally.

But did we allow it to sink completely? No, definitely no… National Disaster Rescue Team, Indian Army, City Police, and a lot of good hearted people came down to streets to help the needy irrespective of creed or caste. We rescued people from their homes using boats and moved them to safe location, we saved the dying animals and handed it to over to good hands, we provided food and water to people who got struck with no power in their houses, we swam in neck-deep, hip-deep, and even in 12ft to 15ft water in some areas to help the needy.

We did everything to help us in these troublesome times. We formed human chain to rescue, ordinary people became super heroes, celebrities became saviors, social media became helplines, hashtags like #ChennaiRains #ChennaiRainsHelp #ChennaiFloods became news, photographs captured history, maps became flood maps, bloggers became news reporters, and what not…?

Not just that… Government announced flood camps and medical camps, Telecom providers announced free talk time, EMI’s slashed, Banks worked on the weekends, mobile ATM’s and what not? We saved us. Not only from the floods, but also from the aftereffects diseases. After twenty days of rains and floods, we came down to street, cleaned the roads, removed the debris, disinfected the places, and made it livable again. Though it is in the process, still we can proudly say that we will bounce back soon. For more updates check Chennai Rains.

We had a Drive, a Design, and we connected to deliver better. Remember, we did not sink in the rain, instead we sank the religious difference in us and showed the world that Unity is Strength and Humanity is God. We're made of great. Read more #madeofgreat stories at http://madeofgreat.tatamotors.com/.

image courtesy

Though personally, I was not there in Chennai, still I did all my best possible help to all the people.

Wait

Info:- 55-Fiction refers to fictional writings bounded to a maximum of 55 words.

This week I am back with yet another 55-Fiction. The love for rain. The love she had. The second post of the series. I will continue next week to announce the climax. Thank you in advance.

I am publishing 55 Fiction every Friday, as a Tribute to Late G-Man, the man behind my love for writing 55-Fiction. Join me if you like to write 55-Fiction. Keep reading and keep watching this space for more surprises.

Rain

Info:- 55-Fiction refers to fictional writings bounded to a maximum of 55 words.

This week I am back with yet another 55-Fiction. The love for rain. Oh yeah, rain... my home town, Chennai is flooding because of torrential rain that poured down continuously for the past fifteen days. My family members and close friends are safe. However close to 270 died in rain related incidents and close 10,000 people lost their homes and belongings. I request everyone to #PrayForChennai :D Thank you in advance.

I am publishing 55 Fiction every Friday, as a Tribute to Late G-Man, the man behind my love for writing 55-Fiction. Join me if you like to write 55-Fiction. Keep reading and keep watching this space for more surprises.

Winter

Info:- 55-Fiction refers to fictional writings bounded to a maximum of 55 words.

Every time I try to get back to serious blogging, one or the other stops me. I do not want to escape saying I am occupied with work or other priority tasks. I am not going to find out the reason instead I will try to blog regularly. I am planning to post 55 Fiction every Friday, as a Tribute to Late G-Man, the man behind my love for writing 55-Fiction. Join me if you like to write 55-Fiction. It has been almost two years since I wrote a 55-Fiction. Pardon me, if it is not good. Keep reading and keep watching this space for more surprises.

Hold My Hand

This post has been published by me as a part of Blog-a-Ton 57; the fifty-seventh edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with ​Madhu Vajpayee, the author of Seeking Redemption and Shades Publications, the publisher of Friendship- Bonds Beyond Time.

He closed the gate, stood there, looked on his right, and then on his left. On seeing a speeding car, he said, “Hold My Hand”. She didn’t.

“Hold My Hand, dear. Let’s cross.” He repeated his words. She didn’t. He turned back to shout at her. And on seeing the word at the gate, “Graveyard,” he realized that she is no more. A teardrop escaped from his left eye.

He wiped off the tear and walked across the road. In the midway, he felt her fingers in his, it was… her soul. Her soul smiled and he smiled.

“Together forever!”

Info:- Drabble refers to fictional writings bounded to a maximum of 100 words.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Participation Count: 40.

Real Togetherness

It’s not every day you get to watch an advertisement that is worth watching again and again. “Kissanpur – Discovering Real Togetherness” by www.kissanpur.com is one such wonderful AD I watched today on Facebook. The AD is about bringing people together with the help of nature. An old man enters in to a lift where no one cares to greet or smile at each other, followed by a few instances where everyone lives only in their digital world, and this hurts. A group of kids along with the old man bring together the society with the help of nature, and that’s the best part of it. This reminds me of an incident that happened exactly two years ago that helped bring people together and defined the meaning of real togetherness.

It was a summer season. The time was around six in the morning when we four friends initiated an idea to clean the poorly maintained big pathway in the center of our society. We brought the necessary tools from our houses, and started working on the task. We first collected all the garbage in a bin bag, removed all the unwanted plants, and sprinkled germ killer all over the place. It took almost three years to complete this task. We then painted the wall tricolor, and wrote Tamil proverbs on the wall. We planted a mango tree in the dedicated corner and created fence around it. We did all these in a single day. The next day we fixed a big waterproof box naming it “Suggestion Box” with a digital lock. We bought two new benches and placed it opposite to each other and in the middle we placed four pots sowing different plant seeds. All of a sudden the deserted place became a centre of attraction to the people in our society.

Elderly people gathered there every evening and started speaking with each other. Day by day the count increased, and we used this as an opportunity to bring out the hidden talent in each person of our society. Slowly it attracted the youths and even the kids as well. Everyone started revealing their hidden talents like dancing, singing, reciting poems, acting, etc., It helped kids and youths to familiarize with elders and in turn elders understanding the passion of their kids. We even recorded events and reached people in the digital world. By this way we came together every day, spoke with each other, shared our passions, and created opportunities for a bright future. In the meantime, the mango plant became a small tree, the seeds we sowed turned into colorful plants, and this added beauty to our Crazy Corner.

Thus, we experienced the real power and meaning of real togetherness, in this digitally connected world.

Follow @KissanIndia Tweet #RealTogetherness

♥ 6 Years ♥

Six years in Blog-o-sphere. I am super-duper excited! It sounds like yesterday I started writing at my blog, and I never thought that time would fly this fast. The journey from an unknown writer to the compiler and editor of two books is exciting like heaven, and I wish this journey continues forever till eternity. This would not have happened without the constant support of my sweet mom, my wonderful wife, my other family members, my editors – right from Vinit Bhai (Uff Ye Emotions 2 Editor) to all the eight wonderful sweethearts I have worked with so far, my wonderful publisher Sachin and PG, my blogger friends for staying with me right from day one – Leo, Zainab, Rachana, Jingle, Simran, Ayushi, Pranali, Aish, TF, Saru, Brian, G-Man, Amity, Vibz, Nanka, Scribbling Gal, Dreamy Girl, Cloud Nine, Sri Valli, Panchali, Norman, Ellecee, Sulaiman, Namrata, Anita and my anonymous readers whose emails I always treasure.

Thank you all for making this journey special. Special thanks to IndiBlogger, for the grand platform, to Blog-a-Ton, for everything I own from them and to BlogAdda for announcing my name to blog-o-sphere in 2010.

And I made this collage to recall all that happened from day one. Hope you will like it :D

I want to celebrate this day in a unique way. That’s the reason I invited the contributing authors of Friendship- Bonds Beyond Time anthology to share a few words. Thank you Simran, Mahesh, Prakash and… (I'll add more as I receive) I hope you enjoyed reading them :D

Happy Birthday Few Miles by Simran Kaur

I heartily congratulate you Sarav for not only completing six golden years of blogging but achieving more than that. Few Miles, a perfect epitome of love and romance won my heart right from the first time I visited it. Every memory of it is still fresh in mind and it feels good to revisit them every now and then...celebrating our friendship. It's not just a blog but a beautiful home of emotions weaved through words alone. The best part...It's been five years and we still continue to cover miles after miles together. I feel fortunate to be part of this wonderful journey. Wish you many many more success miles to cover in coming future.

Let your pen speak
all that you hold in heart
because there are millions
who live by it part by part

Let your pen speak
those unsaid words
because that's how
this journey started
as a bud...

Let the bud of thoughts
come out and flourish
because it is meant
to spread happiness
and cover yet another
mile of love and peace

While I walk down the memory aisle...there is this beautiful reminisce...one that inspired me to write...to dream...to...

Posted by Ayushi Khare on Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Alive by Mahesh Sowani

I stand beneath the Peepal Tree
Its rustling lively green leaves
Make me realize its life
It has been here for ages
And so am I
It is alive
And so am I
While I have been alive for such long
Why did it take so long
for me to realize its liveliness?
May be
It was always what it was
I had to make efforts
To be what I always was

Prakash Guru

Life is beautiful because it is made up of people albeit some are good and some are bad, while some are just amazing and I was lucky enough to meet two of the most amazing people, yeah Sachin and Sarav. When Sarav asked me to write some words on the occasion of 6 years of Few Miles, an incredibly well constructed blog with posts that shall make you revisit it every now and then, I felt like a tyro in front of this humongous blog. If it was not for the efforts of Sarav, Shades Publications would have been still crawling. No doubt Sachin and I were always there from its inception, but it was Sarav who brought about a change by his witty imaginations and methods. On this occasion of 6 years of Few Miles, I wish and hope that shades shall walk a few more miles and may be till eternity in the hands of Sarav and his team.

Thank You Sarav for everything, a prolific writer but more than that an incredibly great human being. I wish you all the success and happiness in your life.

As a token of friendship, I have hosted a very small giveaway on Goodreads. The giveaway is open for all Indian Residents. They giveaway closes on November 30, 2015. The results will be announced on Goodreads and the book will be sent to the winners.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Friendship Bonds Beyond Time

by Saravana Kumar Murugan

Giveaway ends November 30, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

I love comments. I will be back with an interesting post soon.

Till then, take care.

Have a great week ahead!

Prost! (Cheers)