Festival preparations: Why we do it?

Humans have celebrated festivals since time immemorial. Festivals are the most important as well as the most basic form of celebration. From the earliest humans of 10,000 BC to the mobile-phone-slave of today's era, festivals have always been an intricate part of our species. Festivals define us, our identity and our civilization. Festivals tell the world "who we are" and what "we're capable of!"

In addition to culture and celebrations, festivals have also been used to signify power and strength. In Spain, encierro OR Running of the Bulls - a practice that involves running in front of a group of bulls is observed on the seventh day of Sanfermines festival. Many African tribes tattoo themselves or go hunting during special festive days, to show their physical prowess.

Festivals are also a reason for all the ecstasy and fun. In fact, it is this happiness that makes us want to sweat a bit more in planning for the festivities so that we can enjoy them on the big day. Imagine how much planning it would go in organizing the La Tomatina Festival. Can you think of the logistical nightmare that organizers of Oktoberfest go through before the beer-chugging kicks off?

Samba dancers starts their choreography for the Rio Carnival, months in advanced; and an elaborate and detailed groudnwork goes in to prepare for the Chinese New Year. 

Not just that, even in India, the sculptors start working on Ganpati and Durga idols months in advance, before Ganeshotsav and Durga Puja. We start polishing our kite flying skills from as early as December, before the Makar Sankranti arrives on 14th January. And who can forget being dragged in the Diwali cleaning work by our mothers when all we wanted to do was play with our friends during 3 week Diwali vacation!

Irrespective to where you live, which religion you follow and what customs you observe; one common festive activity binds us all is the preparation! Everyone wants to celebrate their festival in the best possible way and hence, we work tirelessly to make sure the big day is celebrated in the most spectacular fashion.

Irrespective of how exhausting and hectic it gets, in the end, when it all comes together and you see your loved ones appreciating your efforts and enjoying the festivites that YOU planned, it all pays off!

It's notable that while we make sure everything is aesthetically pleasing during the festivals, we often overlook the sense of smell. But now, there's a fairly easy way to do it. Just one "swish" of Aer and your guests will smell the festivities even before they see it. Have you tried it yet?

How do we associate fragrances with festivals?

What is Nostalgia? The feeling you get when you see, hear, smell or feel something that makes you realize that you've already seen, heard, smelt or felt something similar.

By this definition, fragrances are integral to your memories. They hold the DNA of the very memory that's preserved in your mind. When we encounter a familiar scent, it acts as a catalyst; the brain goes in overdrive and starts opening file cabinets associated with that scent. Thus triggering a backlog of emotions in the head, which is too large to process on time. The result: half-awake, half-asleep sense of nostalgia where the person loses his sense of time. This nostalgia might last a micro second, a minute, an hour or even a month. 

Nostalgia is like a drug, it makes you do the things that you can no longer do and go to the places that no longer exist. But it's not necessarily as bad as it may sound. And just like every drug, this one also make its user (all of us) addicted.

Now, what if I told you that you experience nostalgia on a daily basis without even realizing it? There are so many smells around you, that reminds you of life's biggest and most joyous moments.

The most joyous moments in anyone's life are festivals. That's because weddings and births happen just once in a while but in our culture-rich country the festivals a lot more often. Each festival has a unique flavour - an peculiar aroma, attached to it. 

Imagine! You're walking by a shop and you smell the unique scent of a brand new piece of clothing; and it instantly reminds you of Durga Puja and when bought a new saree.

Imagine! You stop by at a dhaba along the side of the higway and truck driver next table orders thandai and you're instantly transformed back in time when your uncle prepared bhang for your and your friends during Holi.

Imagine! A baarat is dancing on the streets hampering the flow of traffic. Your car crawls next to the dancers who couldn't be less bothered by who's watching them; suddenly, the traffic comes to a screeching halt because someone decides to fire a series of 5000 minibombs in the middle of the road. The smell of the burnt gunpowder throws you back in time when you were 9 and couldn't hold your excitement knowing that the evening before your Diwali vacation, your dad were going to bring firecrackers for you.

But now, you don't have to pass through a crowded market place, eat at a dhaba or get stuck in a traffic jam to relive your memories. Whether you're at home or in the car, the gorgeous scents that keep you happy and can be with you, by your side, always. And this has been possible thanks to the brainy people behind the Godrej Aer. Check out their entire range of fragrances and see which one throws you back in time. 

So, what's your drug, again!

Indian Festivals and Scents

There's no denying that Indian festivals are a visual delight. The grandeur, elegance and pride that every festival brings with it is inimitable. From the glittering night sky of Diwali to the colourful skies of Makar Sankranti and from zealous anticipation of Santa on Christmas to the auspicious moon sighting on Eid; these unmistakable sights and sounds have been hardwired in our brains. However, there is one more important aspect of our festivals that we often disregard, that is, the sense of smell. 

Close your eyes and try to imagine what you'd smell when you celebrate various festivals.

Makar Sankranti: It's the 3rd week of January and the Winter is in its full bloom. The morning mist accentuating the sweet fragrance of tulips as you get ready to hold battles in the sky  with your sharper-than-a-ninja-sword maanja. The chemicals in the thread, and the mild sense of glue on the kites rushes you with that extra dose of adrenaline to 'seize the day.' Contrasting sweet smells of apples and sugarcane gets you through the day as you celebrate the triumph with the best of winter vegetables whose flavoursome smell has meddled the air.

Holi: It's quite easy to overlook the sense of smell when you're surrounded with the entire array of rainbow spectrum. But try to remember what you smelt in that split second when someone poured a bucket of water over your head and you closed your eyes. You smelt colour. You didn't just feel the texture of powder and water being applied on your skin, you also sensed it with your nose. That day, while immersing yourself in the festive spirit by having the famed bhaang, you first smelt it before you even saw it.

Ramzaan: Ramzaan doesn't follow the weather pattern and seasons, however, the sense of smell is the strongest during this holy month since fasting and feasting are two sides of this holy coin. Take a walk outside a mosque after the evening prayers and you'll smell the best kababs, nalli niharis & seviyans. Chances are, you'll get a whiff of a delicacy even before you'd see it. 

Diwali: The festival of lights is a treat for the eyes. But even in all this, the aroma sits behind the optics, quietly, helping it in enjoying the festive spirit even without letting it know. The unmistakable smell of the burning ghee in diyas, the saliva-inducing aroma of mithais and the familiar smell of fireworks all tells your brain that you're taken over by the Diwali spirit.

Each year we strive harder to celebrate our festivals in the best possible way. We do it by buying new clothes, renovating our houses, buying gifts, eating delicious food and doing a host of other things. What if I told you, you can enjoy the festive spirit year round? Yes. Godrej has brought you Aer to keep you rejuvenated and spirited irrespective of the time of the year. Not only that, they also add to your festivities with those mystifying scents. 

Indian festivals are not just rich in culture and traditions; they're an attack on your sensory organs, but in a good way! They're a visual treat, a musical delight and an aromatic exuberance. Let's celebrate them with Godrej Aer!!

Off to the Land Far Far Away

My favourite adventure was the time we went to the Land Far Far Away.

Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Peter Parker & I have been best friends since childhood.

All of us were excited about this trip since we were planning it since a long time but all of us were busy with our work, saving the world, fighting villains and being friendly neighbourhood superheroes. We finally managed to take out time from our busy and mildly exciting schedule and decided to head to the exotic land of Land Far Far Away in Tata Safari Storme. 

At the break of dawn, we set off. Since Bruce and I are insomniacs, we were sleepy during morning time and hence Peter decided to take the wheel. He was in for a treat. The car's fantastic handling and the ability to run over potholes meant, one would never want to leave the driver's seat. At first, we thought it was Peter's condition wherein his fingers get stuck to any and every object is making him control the steering so well. But i later found out, it was all thanks to the beautiful leather finish on the steering wheel that lets the driver grip it beautifully and stay in total control. 

Few hours into the drive, we felt Dinosaurs in our stomach; hence, decided to grab a bite or four. We stopped at Restaurant StaleFood. From the name, we had absolutely no idea what type of food we’d get. The waiter whose name was R. Gandhi suggested we try Rahul Roy Spring Rolls. When asked what they were, he told us that the chef made these Kebabs lipsmackingly good the first time he cooked but has never been able to repeat the same taste. We skipped those and instead ordered Bhagyashree Samosa. They looked good from outside but were fairly undercooked from inside. They were more-or-less just a flash in the pan. After filling our stomach with a bowl of Saunf (Fennel seeds), we marched on.

Soon, Clark Kent started developing green rashes all over his face. It turned out, all the Saunf (Fennel seeds) that we hogged on to, to fill our stomach; was responsible for it. Fennel seeds are rich in Potassium – K. The ‘K’ replicated the effects of Kryptonite, the only substance he’s allergic to. We stopped the car and got Clark out in the sun so that he can regain some of his strength. Instead, he became unconscious, fell down, hit a rock and ruptured open his forehead. We were in the Corny Dog district and there was no civilization in sight. As a quick-fix, Peter Parker weaved a web on his forehead to close the skin opening and stop the blood flow. Being the best driver amongst us, Bruce Wayne took the wheel and started zipping mile after mile.

  

Soon we reached the village of Giggling Hyenas. As we entered the village we saw a shepherd who was playing with his pet bird while his sheeps were grazing in the grassland. He introduced himself, and told us his name was David while his pet is called Dickie. He became concerned opon learning about our situation, he gave us directions to the house of the village's only hakim - Doctor House. While leaving he told us that the way to Land Far Far Away is full of obstacles and only the most ardent travellers will be able to reach there. We left for Doctor's clinic as David shepherd continued playing with his Dickie bird. 

*knock knock*

Dr. House: “Go away, kids. I’m out of candy.”

Me: “Doctor, we need your help. Our friend is sick.”

Dr. House: “This trick won’t work on me, again. Go away.”

Bruce: “Doc, help us. You’re our only hope.”

Dr.: “What’s wrong with your voice? Did you drink phenyl?”

Bruce: “No, this is my actual voice.”

Doctor: “If your voice is not the issue then what is it?”

Bruce: “Another friend of us have an outburst of algae on his face?”

*Dr. House opens the door*

Doctor: “What?”

Peter: “Yeah. Look at him.”

Dr. takes a look at Clark and says, “You idiots, it’s not algae. It’s just a case of greenosymphomitis. Meaning, he’s allergic to most things green.”

“Take this red velvet cup cake, it’ll balance out the green,” he added.

Within no time, Clark’s rashes disappeared. We thanked the doctor and got going.

Manier miles down the road, a giant 230 ft. cow-statue atop a 150 ft. plinth welcomed us. It was the town of the Holy Cow. Any travellers who pass through the Galactico Highway 666 doesn't cross over before offering 1111 coconuts to the Holy Cow temple. But since we didn't have time for it, we struck a deal with the head priest of the temple. We promised him to get a 1112 likes on his temple's facebook fan page. All we had to do was post a picture of the cow with the message, "LIKE Holy Cow Official Fan Page or else bad luck will haunt you for 7 years." Within 93 seconds of posting this message, the FB Page got flooded with fans to the tune of tens of thousands. To celebrate this momentum occassion, the head priest declared it to be a National Holiday in Holy Cow. Holy Cow!

The priest wanted us to be a part of week long festival to celebrate 50,000 facebook fans but since we were getting late, we respectfully declined their invitation. Also, Bruce starts shaking uncontrollably upon seeing more than 19 people in one place.

We kept heading North thinking we'd reach Land Far Far Away in no time. But nature had other plans for us.

The terrain kept getting uglier by each passing kilometer but the Tata Safari Storme just soldiered on without battling an eye.

Even on steep slopes where the gravel would make it impossible to grip for normal cars, Safari's Hill Assist Control kept the driver in total control.

We kept on driving for days and nights at end but the Land Far Far Away kept getting further and further.

From chills of snowpeaked mountains to heat of barren land, Tata Safari Storme braved everything that was thrown at it.

We kept going and reached far off places but never the place we wanted to be at - the Land Far Far Away.

We went to Lasha and asked about Land Far Far Away, they said, they haven't heard of it.

We went to Hong Kong and asked about Land Far Far Away, they said, it was a place that shouldn't be talked about.

We went to Beijing and asked about Land Far Far Away, they told us that it was a forbiddened land and one shouldn't go there.

We went to Kuala Lampur and asked about Land Far Far Away, they asked us to return back since we'd never reach there.

We went to Bangkok and asked about Land Far Far Away, they warned us that that journey shouldn't be attempted.

We went to Shanghai and asked about Land Far Far Away, they threatened not to set foot on the hallowed land.

We went to Taipei and asked about Land Far Far Away, they told us that it's a land that's not supposed to be found.

We went to Tokyo and asked about Land Far Far Away, they informed us that we'll find the place ONLY if the land wants to be found.

With honest intentions, we soldiers on, for days, weeks & months at end in search of the Land Far Far Away.

We crossed many deserts, mountains, bridges and rivers; braved many snowstorms, avalanches, snowstorms, landslides and thunderstorms. 

The nature tested us in every which way, but in the end, it revealed it's most beautiful secret - the Land Far Far Away!

We reached the destination on the full moon night, and the entire landscape was bathed in pearly white glow.

But it was in the morning that we completely noticed the beauty of this place which has been the stuff of the legends.

As the first sunbeam hit the land, the nature's most beautiful spectacle came to life!

From a small crevice through the tent, I peaked out and saw flutter of some prayer flags

I went out and saw God's messenger fly above me; as if congratulating us on our exploration. Just then realized that it was none other than Dickie bird. Wait a minute, does that mean that David shepherd is God?

Is that why David told us that if we ever reach the Land Far Far Away, he'd be there since he could easily beat us in a race to the Land Far Far Away? Is it possible that this is the same shepherd who walked the earth 2 millenias ago? Well, we'd never know. All we knew was that all four of us were at the most beautiful place on the earth, that is, IF we were still on the earth.

We decided not to think too much about it and just enjoy dance of the sunshine on the pristine blue waters.

It's believed that these flags carries the prayers to the heaven. Well, I don't really believe it. Simply because, HEAVEN IS THIS! 

There can't possibly be a more beautiful place in all of the three worlds. 

For sure, this journey wouldn't have been possible without the fantastic Tata Safari Storme. To know more about this beast of an SUV, log on to www.tatasafari.com and check out what more inhuman feats it's capable of doing.

Future Of Shopping

Over the past few months mankind has done a lot of stupid things and people have started to wonder if we as a race have already peaked. Let's keep that for discussion for another. For now, let's talk about what's good about our species as agreed upon unanimously but the entire population: 1. Jennifer Lawrence 2. Aston Martin 3. Curiosity.

Welcome back! Now, since you're back after drooling over #1 & #2's images on Google, let's talk about #3. Curiosity is one of the best things about human kind. It is this curiosity that makes us want to ride a tractor on Mars, dive to the bottom of the ocean to find out Kate Winslet's sketches and give Miley Cyrus a chance to perform on stage to find out the depth of the human stupidity. All these won't have been possible without us being curious. People have often been curious about their future. In fact, this has given rise to a new industry consisting of astrologers, palmists, face readers, tantriks, tarot card reads and others. Though it's not yet officially recognized, according to a research the "Curiosity Industry" is 10 times more profitable than IT, Pharma, Petroleum, Infrastructure and Auto Industries combined.

The other day, I also got curious to find out what curiosity feels like. I started wondering about future and how we the every aspect of our daily life would be different than what it is today. Say, in the year 2030 how would be eat, shop, communicate, commute and work. I believe a bunch of these issues will be solved by eBay.

Picture this:

- You wake up. You go to brush your teeth, but you're out of toothpaste. 

So what'll you do? You'll log on to eBay, and choose whichever toothpaste you're looking to buy.

Since we'll be a lot more environment conscious, we'll never throw away our empty toothpastes but just refill it. That too from the comfort of your home. Just place it in a toothpaste vending machine and the chemicals in the machine will blend in the toothpaste of your choice and refill it for you.

Based on whichever toothpaste you want, you will buy it from the respective company, say, Pepsodent, and then that company will send a set recipe (closely guarded secret of the company) of the paste to your TVM, which will then read the instructions and blend all the ingredients+chemicals and churn out the paste for you.

- Now it's time for your morning coffee. 

So will you make it? Simple, go to your eBay and buy yourself a coffee.

Go to the eBay shop of your favorite cafe - Barista, Cafe Coffee Day, Starbucks or any other. Select your cafe and your fav. coffee and after check out, your system will instruct your coffee machine via bluetooth as to which coffee to make and how to make it. Hence, you never have to worry that your homemade cappuccino never tastes as good as Starbucks'. Once you've bought the coffee, Starbucks will tell the coffee machine the type of beans to grind and the amount of milk and water to add and voila! Your cuppa is ready!

What's more, you don't have to take the pains of selecting the coffee every morning when you're getting late for work. Just set up a monthly pack of Cappuccino and set the time in your Account settings and everyday, without you logging on, the Coffee Machine will be make the coffee and will be ready for you when you wake up. We do have coffee machines with timers available but this one will give you coffee from whichever cafe you want. You can even program upto 30 different settings for different days of the week for different members of the family. So now, on Mondays, you can have capuccino from CCD while your wife can have Decaf from Barista, while on Tuesdays, you can have hot chocolate while she's have black tea. And with so many different settings (30 in total), you can even program it to have different types of coffee on different days. All of this courtesy of eBay.

- Okay now you're hungry and looking for some breakfast.

So what'll you do?  Simple. Stand in front of your wall - which also projects images from internet , and by tell whisper it to the voice assistant hidden in the wall to take you to eBay. (Not to mention, the phrase "deewaron ke bhi kaan hote hai" will became a reality in 2013).

Since it's your breakfast time, a simple "hand to mouth" gesture will be sufficient for eBay to take you to your fav. deli/breakfast place list. Once there, select whichever breakfast you feel like having. Just like the coffee, here too the bluetooth will send instruction to your automated 3D food printer. The food printer is capable of reproducing from a combination of 18000 textures, 42000 smells and 57000 colours. Any combination of these textures, smells and colours can be processed instantly by the Intel i91 chip that's inside. The 3D printer has edible dyes and edible paper to replicate real food to 99.97% detail. Not just that, just so that you also get nutrients with your food, the 3D Food Printer will inject vitamins, minerals, carbs, fat, proteins, amino acids etc. in the food that the product coming out of the food printer will be exactly like the real food even in nutritional value.

Guess, what? As an exclusive feature to eBay, you can even tune the nutritional value. So, just because you're on a strict diet doesn't mean you can't have a rich pastry. eBay's partnership with all the fast-food and restaurant franchisee ensures that you get the exact taste what you'd get outside but without feeling guilty. So now, for the first time, you'll have liberty to eat that cheesy burger and those fries but with 90% less fat content. Diabetes is no longer going to stop you from having that chocolate mousse. All thanks to 3D Food Printers and eBay.

- So breakfast is done, what next? You're right, next is riding a horse.

But wait, you don't have riding shoes. Nor you have riding pants and riding jacket. So, what should you do? Simple, head to eBay and check out the latest range of shoes and attire. And what next? No, you're wrong. It'll be stupid to have a bluetooth enabled giant textile machine and a shoe maker (or whatever it's machine is called). Why would you even thing about that? So after you've chosen you shoe, just place the order. The webcam which till 2013 was used for Skyping, now also scans you from head to toe and takes exact measurement of your body. This info is now sent to nearest automated garment factory. This one factory will be able to sew any type of cloth in any fashion in minutes.

This means, 1. Not bothering that an item bought online might not fit you. 2. Never having to worry about a particular store not stocking all the items.

Designers' showrooms will be replaced by state-of-the-art, fully-automated garment factories which would be much more efficient. Since the transportation of ready-made clothes is out of the question, the clothes will be much more cheaper. No itinerary overhang, hence, you don't have to worry about a store stocking out-of-fashion garments but last season's stock ain't sold. 

Now, the entire collection is online, everything is in stock and everything fits. Just choose your garment and leave the rest to eBay and the designer. 

- So what will you do after the horse riding? No, you're wrong. Not lunch. You feel off the horse and broke your ankle. You don't know how to ride a horse, remember? So now, it's hospital time.

The doctor thinks your ankle is badly injured. He needs titanium plates to insert in your hell and ankle. But since the nation is planning to launch a rocket to JackSparrow - 4th planet of the star NinjaAssassin, the titanium is scarce. Due to this scarcity, it's prices have gone so high that to buy you, the doctor might have to sell your liver. So now it's a battle between football and vodka. Just then, doctor has an eureka moment and decides to buy those titanium cufflinks that Sir Ravindra Jadeja wore in his 15th 007 movie 'From Rajkot With Love', that are up for auction on eBay. He used those cufflinks to hold your ankle in place. Because, why not? If they can hold His Highness Sir Sri Sri Lord Ravindra Jadeja's sleeves in places, can't be just stick a mortal human being's bones?

Since the surgery took so long, you access eBay app from your mobile - a piece of foldable screen twice the size of a credit card, and order Chicken Tikka from Copper Chimney. But since doctor has asked you to cut down on spice, you customize your food - tune down the masala factor and raise the proteins & vitamins. And when you reach home, all you have to do is hop (like, literally) to the 3D Food Printer, take out hot food and eat it.

This is a typical day in the life of a homo sapien sapien bluray.

This is about 2030. However, if you're curious to know how you can buy on eBay right now, check out: bit.ly/eBayCheck_Extention

The Mud Rush Monsoon Edition: Downright Dirty And Fantastic

It is a general consensus that Monday is the worst of all the weekdays while Friday is the best one. And if you’re asking, “Why is that so?” then you probably are a toddler or an alien. Or someone from Middle East; in which case, for you, Saturdays are Mondays and Wednesdays are Fridays.

Either way, weekend is when people get an escape from their routine, mundane work life and recharge their batteries. With regards to that, there are two types of people in the world:

1. Those who curl up in bed with a book or a stock pile of DVDs and relax all through the weekend. 

2. Those who set off on an adrenaline-pumping adventure during the weekends, and get ready for upcoming week in full spirit.

This post is about those 3000+ Type II people who participated in the Monsoon Edition of The Mud Rush. Mud Rush is for those who like to usher in the new week with a testosterone busting weekend adventure. 

The Mud Rush is a military boot-camp style run where the runners encounter various obstacles throughout the course of the run. As a run, you need to cross these to the best of your ability by either climbing, jumping, sliding, crawling, swimming or any which way possible. After the tremendous success of the first edition of The Mud Rush which took place at Kolad, the bigger and better second edition of The Mud Rush was organized on 31st October, 2013; at the picturesque Jadhavgadh Fort. 

The 6.3 km. long obstacle course at this 300 year old fort tested the participants physical as well as your mental endurance. In this edition of The Mud Rush, the runners were made to overcome 21 obstacles. This was a significant rise in the number of obstacles from the first edition of The Mud Rush which had only 15 obstacles.

While the course was designed to test your stamina; the sequence, placement and the type of the obstacles made sure the participants stayed interested & entertained till the end. The run is not time-trial, so that not only participants take their own sweet time to finish the course, they also get to enjoy every minute of it. The run also promoted team-building since you not only run for yourself but you also motivate and cheer for others. Grabbing a stranger's hand to pull them out of the ditch, showing others the best technique to clear an obstacles and cheering a rusher who's struggling soldier on were some of common scenes played through the entire day. The Mud Rush is a place where the strangers become friends and friends become motivators.

If you thought that The Mud Rush is only for the youngistan, you're mistaken. There was a 65 year+ grandma crossing the obstacles like a pro alongside her daughter and other family members. It's scenes like these that make the entire event worth it.\

And at the end of the race, every participant with rewarded a medal - as a token of appreciation of their grit. And not to forget - a chilled beer. You start the run with Red Bull (gives you wings!) and you end it with a Kingfisher; with so many wings around, how can you NOT have a heavenly experience? (Okay, I know, bad joke. Sorry.)

If you thought The Mud Rush is only about fun and frolic, you're mistaken. The good guys at The Mud Rush partnered with Multiple Sclerosis Society of India (MSSI) and their brand ambassador Milind Soman was present at the event to spread aware about this deadly disease.

Clement D'Souza

The rush didn't just end there. The rushers were rewarded with some foot-tapping, booty-shaking, electrifying music. At the EDM Sundowner Party, Clement D'Souza, Anish Sood, SEQU3L and Ajit Pai's tunes kept the crowd grooving for the rest of the evening.

Anish Sood

Anish Sood

Needless to say, The Mud Rush Monsoon Edition was one helluva experience. I got bruised, tired, even bled; and by the end of it, got downright dirty, in literal sense. But honestly speaking, I wouldn't want it any other way.

P.S. Thank you to Photokatha for associating me with the Mud Rush and arranging for the transport.

Social Media Week Reporter

Reasons why I should sit on the flight to London from Mumbai as be your Social Media Week Reporter:

I have ISO:9001 certified social as well as media skills. During my visit, I will spread Indian culture (social skills) in UK using various mediums (media skills). Both the countries can learn so much from one another For starters, here's what UK can learn from India (and this is strictly from social & media point of view):

1. On the wall of Buckingham Palac, it should be written "Do not pee here." << Social message

2.  Britishers should find new mediums of communication. Like Indians, Britishers should also make good use of graffiti to pass messages. Eg: Writing "I love you Sonal" on Stonehenge is an new way of communication that Britishers have not known before. Not to mention it's environmentally friendly.

3. While the world is going crazy about Google Adwords & Facebook ads, there's a lot that can be learnt from the way Indians do marketing. Imagine, after riding in the London Tube, you realize that there's an imprint of Kaya Hair Clinic, Andheri (East), Mumbai; on our palm because you had grabbed the handle? At the SMW, I can not only be the report but can also teach & introduce such marketing techniques to British entrepreneurs so that they can make their brands more social. And in this case, a lot more personalized too. Literally!

These were some ideas I thought of from the top my head. If you want more ideas, I'll make a presentation about it on the Mumbai to London flight and we'll go over it once I touchdown at Heathrow. Capisce?

Besides these, here are my additional skills:

1. I can write.
2. I can tweet.
3. I have typing speed of 50 WPM. 
4. I can click pictures.
5. I'm good at selecting filter. So much so that even my dreams have filter effects.
6. I can talk to girls looking at them in the eye.
7. I love Manchester United (English Club).
8. I love Force India (based in England).
9. I love Rolls Royce, Jaguar & Aston Martin (British cars).

10. I love Top Gear (Britain's no.1 show).
11. I have experience in live-tweeting big events and writing long blog posts on a daily basis at the end of the event. Yours truly has been the official blogger of Force India's One From A Billion Hunt - karting championship.
12. I can stay up for long hours. (Personal record: 46 hours)
13. Jet lag doesn't happen to me. I happen to jet lag.

14. I'm not too fussy, I can even stay in Fawlty Towers.
15. I'm not too fussy, I can travel by Business Class if First Class is full. If both are full, a small private jet would do just fine.
16. Having won contests previously, including a Nokia contest, I'm not new to winning and can easily handle the fame. (This blog won the first prize in the Indiblogger meet review)
17. I eat and drink everything, hence, no chance of offending the waiter or bartender, at the event.
18. Our family have always been Nokia loyalist. Right from my first phone 3310 to the Lumia 800 that I'm using right now, I've never used another phone. Ditto with my parents.
19. My concentration level is equivalent to a family of thoroughbred Gold Fish.
20. I was also been invited as a tweeting partner to a social media workshop organized by Digital Vidya, hence, I've mastered the art of networking as well as being social and courteous to people I have no intention of talking to.
21. My IQ level is more than INR value £ of although the later is trying real hard to bridge the gap.
22. I'm a biker at heart. Last month I returned from a 43 day, 5300 km+ Mumbai to Leh solo biking trip. If the event is far from the hotel and there's a jam, I can bike my way around the traffic and reach on time. Resourceful, right?
23. Having written technical articles earlier also, I'm now a pro at typos and errors. 
24. I'm not a Claustrophobic. I can sit in a conference hall and listen to someone talk without screaming and running out like a maniac.
25. I don't know how to operate guns hence, irrespective of how much I get tortured listening to the boring speaker, I won't kill anybody.

Still not convinced? Check out these testimonials from some of the greatest people from the world technology, who had the pleasure of gaining my insight and knowledge, and make billions with it.

1. He is simply fantastic, when it comes to technology. It was him who suggested that we should keep the "i" small. What a brilliant idea! ~ Stephen Jobsite

2. We were going down. Nobody respected our phones. But once when we were sitting at a bar, he arranged this tile pattern with coasters and that gave me us inspiration. Just then, at that moment, I told Terry, "This will be our next (mobile) OS." ~ Billion Gates

3. He's like the Dark Knight, he doesn't like taking the credit. He kept sending me these short SMSes about his daily chores - what he's having for breakfast, going to market, his interaction with the cute waitress, and such other stuff. When I got restraining order against him, that's when it hit me. He wanted me to build a micro-blogging site. It was his idea all along. ~ Business Stone

4. I've known him since the University. He used to ask me for numbers and photos of girls from my campus. I got of introducing him and the girls over the email. I wanted an alternative to "cc" & "bcc". After being his wingman for so many months, I decided to create this site and become everybody's wingman. All thanks to him. ~ Marcus Zuckerburger

5. That boy has got a fire in him. You must see the light in his eyes when he talks. To be honest, THAT has been the inspiration behind our Fire HD tab. Back in 2005, he visited our HQ once; our bottom showed "Green" during that brief 15 minute period. Since he couldn't come to California, we got to him; and that's exactly why we started the .in India website. ~ Geoff Buzy

These folks believe in me, and so should you. 

Despite my above accomplishments, I'm fairly modest. Hence, I humbly request you to send me to London as your Social Media Reporter. 

I've been working on this blog since weeks. In fact, I've been planning my post since a years. Ever since you started sponsoring Social Media Week, I knew that one day you'll organize a contest and will give me a chance to show case my meme creative/social media talent.