10 Must Have Travel Accessories

So you have packed your luggage and think you’re ready to leave the moment your car arrives. But are you? Writer’s Pad brings you a check list of 10 things without which you wouldn’t want to dare to leave for a trip.

1. Cell Phone:
This is a bit obvious and you probably won’t forget to take it but let us remind you of its advantages one more time. Besides being your aid to contact people, your cell phone has an alarm clock, a few personal entertainment features and lots of music, thus allowing you to chuck two or three additional devices.

2. Emergency Mobile Charger:

emergency mobile charger (mplay.co.za)

If your cell phone is your best travel friend, then the emergency mobile charger should be your guardian angel! It uses standard AAA batteries and usually gives about 40 to 60 minutes of talk time with some four hours of standby time.

3. Travel Towel:
Made of super absorbent material, travel towels dry easily and don’t weigh much whether dry or wet. Besides you can fold it to fit your pocket.

4. Money Belt:
It is not particularly clever to travel with a lot of cash in your wallet, especially in crowded areas. Thus, wearing a money belt underneath your clothes is the safest way. You can also keep your credit cards, passport and important documents like permits in your money belt.

5. Lonely Planet:
The mother of all travel magazines, make sure to carry a copy of Lonely Planet with you.

6. Ziploc Bags:
These can be very handy as they let you pack your things in a sorted, organized manner. Pack your toiletries in one, your camera, charger, etc. in another and so on and so forth. This will help you to find your things quickly and easily.

7. Medication:
A must MUST have! No matter where you’re going, keep a medicine for every common health problem that may arise – headache, fever, nausea, indigestion… everything. Also don’t forget to carry a few band-aids, antiseptic ointments and pain relief spray.

 

Medicine kit for travelling (yurekpharmacy.wordpress.com)

 

 

8. Combination Locks:
Combination locks are more convenient than the usual locks since you don’t have to keep track of the keys. Use one on every baggage to prevent pick-pocket.

9. Hand Sanitizer
 A small bottle of hand sanitizer can be very helpful at times. If you have traveled before, then you’ll know what I’m talking about!

10. Swiss Army Knife:

Swiss Army Knife (aceros-de-hispania.com)

For safety, for emergency… the Swiss Army Knife has always been a traveler’s friend. Swiss Army knives come with screw drivers, nail files, knives, corkscrew, scissors….all that you may need in times of emergency. Some newer models also come with USB drives and LED torches.
Along with these, there are two other things that you should never forget to carry – a digital camera and a map. The pictures that you’ll take will last you a lifetime and serve as memories and an unambiguous, detailed map of your destination will help you find your way around the place.

Now you have an entire check list of the things without which your packing cannot be complete. What are you waiting for then? Throw in the things that you missed and Get, Set, Go!

Fairness Fetish In India

Try to list mentally the various fairness creams that are available in the Indian market. Practically each company has one under their brand name. That’s where the country’s fairness fetish has reached today!

(youthkiawaaz.com)

The idea of dark skinned people being somewhat inferior had been around since the Vedic Age. The colonization of India by fair complexioned invaders from the west drove this idea deep into the minds of people. Deep enough that even after the British left, this misconception remained and continued to build.

Supermodel Lakshmi Menon who has a typical Bangalorean dark complexion recalls that when she was in India, people would never want to hire her because of her dark skin. Most of the fairness cream advertisements depict a dark complexioned girl who is either not getting a good job or is not being able to find a groom because of her dark skin. There’s even an unbelievably baseless notion that darker people have dark intentions while fairer people have fair intentions!

The Science Behind Complexion    

For Heaven’s sake, complexion has nothing to do with your deeper intentions being reflected on your skin. It is plain biology. The pigment Melanin is responsible for lightness or darkness of skin. This pigment protects the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays and is activated by the Sun. This is why people in warmer places have dark skin. Besides sometimes, complexion is hereditary.

A Bit Of Truth

Fairness creams DO NOT make you fair. Most of the times they are simple sun blocks which inhibit the production of melanin to prevent further darkening. In addition to that, fairness creams often use chemicals like mercury and hydroquinone which are not only harmful but also result in further darkening of skin and premature aging.

Vogue India cover featuring 5 dusky models (splurgerina.com)

Not all the scenario is this deplorable though. In April 2010, Vogue India made a bold move by featuring five dark skinned models on its cover. Anil Chopra, CEO of Lakme, said on Indian fashion week, “More than half the girls are on the duskier side. I sit in on the judging panel every year and not once have I heard a comment about skin colour.” But obviously,India has still a long way to go when it comes to overcoming fairness fetish.

Dear all, beauty is only skin deep and your complexion determines nothing. If the world is ready to look beyond your dusky skin colour, why aren’t you?

How To Child-Proof Your Home

Who doesn’t love children? The rejuvenating sound of their laughter, their innocent eyes, their invincible energy and desire to explore…. your child gets you going through the entire day.  But this very energy and adventurousness that seem to add years to your existence can be hazardous to your child. The first step to protect your children from the many dangers lurking around your house is by childproofing your house. Let Writer’s Pad tell you how…

Childproofing cabinets with locks (directbuyarticles.com)

In the Kitchen:

Install locks or safety latches in all the cabinets. A lot of spices that we use can be potentially dangerous to your child, for example the red chilly powder that you love adding to your food. Keep the stove burners locked and keep kitchenware and appliances out of your child’s reach.

 

 

 

In the Bathroom:

Again, lock or install safety latches in all the cabinets. Keep the toilet lids closed to prevent your child from falling into it. Make sure the bathroom floor is always dry to prevent your child from slipping.

 

Around the house:

Safety caps for plugs (squawkfox.com)

If you stay in a two storied house, install safety gates in the staircase. Always keep appliances like iron or hair dryer unplugged. Do not give your child toys that have small movable parts that he or she might feel like putting into the mouth. Install safety caps into plugs that are never used. When it comes to sharp things like knives, blades and scissors, just keep them out of sight!

 

 

 

It is important to understand however that it is not possible to childproof the house completely. Therefore try not to leave your child unattended, for constant supervision is the only way to ensure your child’s safety.

How To Popularize Your Blog

Blogging can be fulfilling as well as rewarding. Some people blog to satiate their passion while some do it as business. To be successful in this business, however you’ll need more than just hard work and consistency.  A blog without traffic is like a tree without fruit. A good traffic and a loyal blog audience is quite essential. Here are a few of the ways by which you can popularize your blog :

(creative-webblogging.com)

Appealing Content
Write on topics that will interest a large number of people. Continuous informative posts will help to build a loyal audience.

Search Engine Optimization
Submit the sitemap of your blog to major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo so that your articles appear in their search results.

Other Blog Links
Add links to other blogs on related topics to your blog and get them to do the same for you. This way their viewers will also be able to view you.

Comment
Comment on other blogs and invite them to visit yours. Like this you can build up a strong blogging network.

Appropriate Tags
It is easier for search engines to trace tags . Including appropriate tags in your blog will help get some additional traffic.

Guest Blogging
Another way of sharing audience is by guest blogging.You can post articles on your friends’ blogs and they can do the same for you.

Social Networking Websites
Facebook  and Twitter are easy and free platforms to publicize your blog. Create a fan page and when people join it, they can see regular blog updates from you. When they find an interesting topic, they’ll read. If they like what they see they’ll keep coming bag.
In the blogging world , keeping to yourself will get you nowhere. Sharing is one of the keys to success in this business. So share, comment and spread love and why not start right here right now?

How To Bag A Freelance Writing Assignment

It is no secret that the internet is the best platform for popularizing businesses. For the purpose of advertisement, business enterprises are on constant lookout for writers who can present their information in a way that would reflect positively on them. Most of  the enterprises prefer freelance writers for such works because freelancers don’t expect hikes or monthly bonuses and get paid for exactly what they do. Freelancers are those who work for different companies at the same time without being permanently attached to any.

(canvassdata.com)

With the numerous freelancers from around the world looking for jobs over the web, the freelance job market is extremely competitive. Fret not though, Writer’s Pad is glad to bring you a few tips on how to bag freelance writing assignments.

Stay Updated
Keeping a constant track of freelance writing jobs will help you understand the trend of the market and to be on top of industry news.

Start a Blog
Mentioning the link to your blog on your CV will let your employers get an idea about the variety of subjects you’ve written on, which in turn will convince them in your favour.

Build a Network
Make contacts with other freelance writers. Create a database of big and small enterprises on the Internet and get in touch with people you think might help you get on board. Building a strong network could get you freelance opportunities.

Apply Early
The enterprises get hundreds of applications and it is not possible to go through all of them. To ensure that your application is viewed, apply early.

Prepare Each Application Separately
Every job has its own needs. Customize your cover letter and CV for every job accordingly, highlighting the separate set of skills as and when required.

Lastly, make sure that your CV and sample article is free of errors. As it is the competition is cut-throat, and you don’t want to give the employers reasons for not taking you.

Keep these points in mind and all the best with your freelance writing career!

How to Write Great Blog Content

How to Write Great Blog Content : @ProBlogger.

Monsoon Fashion – Do’s and Don’ts

(fourlettersword.blogspot.com)

It’s July and while Monsoon has hit some parts of the country, other parts still await its arrival eagerly. But it’s never too soon to stock up your wardrobe with fashion items that you’ll need this season. Writer’s Pad brings you a set of Do’s and Don’ts of Monsoon Fashion…

Don’ts

Stay away from knits and linen since they tend to stick to the skin. Denim, once wet tends to stay wet for a long time, so if u cannot avoid wearing it, try not to get it wet.

Leather is an absolute no-no! The moist and humid weather aided with the mud water will kill your leather.

Don’t wear light coloured clothes, especially for the bottom. These will get stained by the mud and dirt. Besides light coloured materials become transparent when wet.

Don’t add on to the gloom of grey clouds by wearing dull colours. Think bright!

Do’s

Designer Deepika Govind suggests wearing high quality cotton and natural fabrics like bamboo fibre in Monsoon. Crepe silk and gabardine can be considered too since they bounce of water.

Who said rain coats aren’t trendy? Check out the rainwear designed by Christopher Raeburn. Well, you don’t have to get a Christopher Raeburn but you can buy rain coats in bright colours and stylish prints.

A Christopher Raeburn raincoat (futurefrock.wordpress.com)

Wellies and rain boots are must-haves. They not only look super but also protect your feet and bottom wear from mud. Besides they can be cleaned easily.

Rainboots (shoprainco.com)

Invest in waterproof watches and plastic or metal accessories. No wood and no fabric, you can save all that for later. Did you know you could accessorize with a very stylish umbrella too?

Stylish Monsoon umbrella (aliexpress.com)

As mentioned earlier, go bright when it comes to colours. Go for fuchsia, blueberry, lime, bright yellow, olive-green and any bright colour that you please. Neon shades and fluorescents will work great too. Have you tried colour blocking yet? Now would be the time to start.

Monsoon is cloudy and gloomy and in Indian streets, pretty dirty. At the same time, Monsoon is the season of rain, the season of romance and rejuvenation. So if you have to protect yourself from the mud and sludge, do it in style. Most importantly, don’t forget to enjoy yourself!

Top 5 Tips For Budding Writers

William Wordsworth said, “Writing is a deeply immersive experience. When the words are flying, the house could be burgled and I wouldn’t notice. ….writing is a way of escaping the quotidian.”  Writing is much more than a series of ornamental words arranged in a sentence. It is how a writer expresses the finer details of his emotions. This post is dedicated to those young budding writers who are as passionate about writing as we are…

(7boats.com)

Some are born with a flair for writing while some grow a passion for it in the course of their lives. However writing is an art perfected by practice. Writer’s Pad brings you tips on how to master this art:

1: Read a lot
Reading the works of great writers not only inspires but also educates you in the field. It’ll increase your vocabulary and perfect your grammar. Remember, the more you read the more you learn.

2. Write a lot
As mentioned earlier, practice makes one perfect. So write a lot. Write about a variety of things to sharpen your skills and broaden your horizon.

3. Word Control
Every word carries a different sense and a writer is expected to understand that. Do not go overboard with descriptive words and keep the writing style fluid. Which one would you like better, a writing that flows effortlessly or one that hurls words at you ostentatiously?

 4. Engaging readers
While writing a story, do not reveal information through narrative explanations and let it unfold gradually and organically instead. An element of conflict always interests people, so throw obstacles in the way of your protagonist.
While writing other articles, back every point with example or reason instead of making them sound like aphorisms.

5. Publish on the internet
In order to receive honest feedback, publish your compositions on a public forum or an on-line writer’s forum. This will also facilitate meeting of ideas and minds of strangers sharing the common passion for writing. Besides, you can learn from other’s works.

Writing can be both fulfilling and rewarding. Certain things nourish your existence and refine your being. The art of writing is one of those. Nurture your talent so that it never fails you. So why not start with Writer’s Pad today?

Social Media – Time for Businesses to Leverage Their Potential

Publicity is one of the key strategies when it comes to establishing a business. You can have an entire website dedicated to your enterprise but without publicity you cannot expect success. The World Wide Web and its usage has come a long, long way in the past few years. As it stands of now, the social media is possibly the best platform to promote businesses.

What is social media?
Social media is an instrument of communication that not only shares information but also allows interaction which could be as simple as posting comments. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Hi5, photo and video sharing websites like YouTube and Flickr and Wikipedia that allows interaction by editing existing articles and posting new ones, all come under the umbrella term of social media.

How does it help in business?
Take the example of Facebook. You create a page and invite likes. Once your friends like it, you ask them to invite more likes, who in turn invite more people and the action continues while your Facebook-like quotient soars high. By the end of it, there are at least a few thousand people who know about your business!

Why social media?
The reason social media is a great platform to promote businesses is because of the numerous people accessing it daily. Regular updates help you to keep in touch with the subscribers.
Social media lets your business reach millions of people
Simply put, on the social media you can advertise, publicize, facilitate feedbacks and improve the services provided by your business enterprise.
On social media, word spreads like wild-fire if you know how to spread it! Use this powerful and effective instrument to propagate your business.

P.S. Writer’s Pad needs some social love too. If you like our work, like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WritersPad or share us on Twitter. We appreciate your love!

Pictures courtesy 1, 2

E-Commerce – Fastest Growing Business In India

When was the last time you bought books from a bookstore instead of getting them from Flipkart.com? Or your handbag from a shop instead of having it shipped from bagskart? Yes, the electronic-media retail pandemic is catching up in India too, and why not, online stores offer a greater variety of merchandise and deliver the order at your doorstep.

Online shopping (redcherie.blogspot.com)

E-commerce refers to the business transactions conducted electronically on the internet. In the past couple of years, India has seen enormous growth in e-commerce which still continues unabated. Forrester, a leading global research and advisory firm reports in their ‘Asia Pacific Online Retail Forecast, 2011 to 2016’ that e-commerce market in India is set to grow at a rate of over 57% within the span of five years.

             The ever increasing popularity of internet retailing can be attributed to the demand and appetite of Indian consumers and the willingness of investors to invest in the media. The push-of-a-button order system of e-commerce seems most convenient for today’s crowd since it saves a lot of time. E-commerce gives a chance to all companies, big or small, to go beyond the geographical boundaries and reach the global market. The 24×7 business transaction rule also escalates sales and profits for the online retailers. For the consumers, e-commerce provides a panorama of things to choose from in the comfort of their homes and the price is often cheaper than the outdoor market.

Flipkart.com , a popular e-commerce website (lmg.letmeget.net)

             Sadly enough, this revolutionary trend in commerce is not accessible to the entire country as there are still places which do not have proper unperturbed access to the internet. But that problem is expected to be overcome soon considering the continuous advancement in technology. Besides the exclusively-online stores like Myntra , Urbantouch, Snapdeal, and eBay, other retailers like Shopper’s Stop with outlets around the country are also setting up e-commerce websites because of their popularity. It’s like they say on the new Google chrome advertisement – “the web is what you make of it”, the e-commerce trend is a satisfying and assuring example of mankind’s progress.