My new online magazine and portal for Indian women, Naaree.com, launched today.

I’ve often said that building a community is important to the success of your online business. So I built something I’m passionate about - a community that will inspire Indian women to rise above challenges of family and society, and live lives of purpose and fulfilment.

Read the press release announcing the launch here:
Naaree.com Celebrates The New Indian Woman

Thanks, Rajesh, for featuring us on Alootechie.

I’ve just reached home by the Central Railway, which fortunately was untouched by the serial blasts in trains on the Western Railway in Mumbai during peak hours. And yes, I’m safe and sound, but over 100 people who were killed and 300 injured weren’t as lucky.

I was in the Times of India building attending a Tai Chi class when we heard about the blasts. The phone lines were jammed and the only thing I could think of was getting in touch with my family to let them know I was safe.

I’d planned on staying over with a friend so I could avoid the trip home, but the phone lines were jammed. Because services had stopped on the Western Line I thought the commuters left stranded would make a beeline for the Central Line, so I decided to wait out the rush at the Cafe Coffee Day outlet opposite CST station. I learned later that there was no rush, as most commuters avoided the trains altogether, expecting more blasts.

As I sat at CCD waiting for my cappucino, I was shocked by the attitude of the staff, when they were unwilling to keep the television on so we could watch the news. Their argument was that people were gathering outside the cafe to watch and their “rules” did not “allow” them to let that happen.

I was almost yelling when I explained to them that at a time like this, no one gave a damn about their stupid rules and told them they were behaving like a government office. And what was wrong, I asked them, if people did gather outside to find out what was happening on a day like today?

Disgusted by my experience with CCD, I headed for the nearest Barista, where the atmosphere was definitely less elitist and I could watch the news in peace.

Just like adversity brings out the best (or worst) in people, disaster brings out the best or worst in a brand. If CCD were my brand, here’s what I would have done in a situation like this.

I would have opened up the cafe to the public, allow them to watch the news, charge their cellphones and even offered refreshments on the house. And I would give my managers a lesson in treating people more humanely.

It’s better to be kind than to be right, and if you want people to love your brand, a little charity in times like these would not be out of place. In fact, any smart business house would take this opportunity to display a little humanity and to show they have a heart.

But why target CCD alone? Although Mumbai is the country’s financial capital, with some of it’s richest and most influential citizens, the fat cats with their fat purses seem to lack basic charity at a time like this.

I mean, would it have be so hard for cellular service providers like to provide free SMS, calls and increase their capacity to transmit calls at a time like this? Reliance, Hutch, Airtel, are you listening?

It was good that the BEST came to the rescue of stranded commuters, but it would have taken very little for BPOs or other business houses to provide additional transport. Do they even care?

After today’s disaster, I truly believe that business leaders in Mumbai have very little heart, and even less desire to make a difference to the city that helps them thrive.

Shame on you, CCD! Shame on the business leaders who completely failed to demonstrate true leadership at a time like this.

And shame on the politicians who are more concerned about statues being defaced, and disrupting our lives with threats of protest if the culprits of the blasts are not caught. As if the harrassed citizens of Mumbai don’t have enough to deal with already!

In the midst of all this chaos and gloom, it’s still the ordinary citizens who are the biggest heroes, and Mumbai’s saviours. I salute them and all those brave and kind souls who stopped to help the dying and injured.

Too bad I can’t say the same for our business and political leaders.

Tags: mumbai blasts

In the past few months, although I’ve been working pretty hard, I’ve been blogging very little - at least about marketing. When I lost my husband in June last year, I counted on my work to keep me sane.

But in the last few months, I realised that I needed to take time out to heal and to renew myself. One of the triggers for taking it slow was my realisation that my priorities and my purpose had changed… a lot!

With a new internet marketing startup, an office to setup and clients to service, I started spending more time in the real world than the virtual one.

It’s been a new phase of personal growth and evolution for me. A new life… new goals… a new way of thinking. I started a new blog to chronicle that journey and I’m enjoying every step of the way.

I’ve been focusing to a greater extent on my personal and spiritual goals, absorbing the wisdom of some of the greatest self-improvement gurus. It took me a while to recalibrate my goals, redefine my sense of purpose and rediscover my motivation.

What now brings me the greatest sense of fulfilment and joy is bring a better mom to my daughter, helping my clients grow their businesses, and building superlative relationships with the people in my life.

It’ll take me some more time to regain my blogging momentum, but I’m getting there.

* The words Blog and Podcast entered the lexicon and generated reams of pixel space and column inches.

* Bloggers were named People of the Year got book deals and got dooced.

* RSS became the new email - at least to those who understood what it meant.

* Google took over the world and became another Microsoft.

* Adsense spawned millionaires and click fraud.

* Yahoo and MSN launched their own search engines and gave Google some much-needed competition.

* Spam websites and splogs became a menace - and just as rapidly dropped out of sight.

* Broadband, Multimedia, Rich Media, Behavioural Targeting and Wikis came into their own and will be around through 2006 and beyond.

Personally for me, 2005 has been a year of momentous change - loss, grief, peace, success. I’ve been through it all.

I’ve grown as a person in ways that only life and experience teaches.

I’ve learnt a lot about happiness and love.

I’ve learnt to value what matters most.

I found peace and contentment in unexpected places.

And learned that they were within my reach all the time.

As 2005 draws to a close, and I get back to the task of running an SEO and online PR firm, I thought I would pen a few lines for you wonderful people.

Read them on the New Year Greeting card we designed.

And now for my final article of 2005. Feel free to reprint it on your blog or newsletter.

I’m posting this late because I have a sick child to go back to right now. I’m not really having a very Merry Christmas, but I do hope yours is wonderful.

Merry Christmas to all of you great folks who read this blog.

I don’t have any fancy cards or freebies for you this year, but I do have something very personal. A little piece I recorded (yes, I play the guitar) - one of my favourite carols of all time.

The audio quality isn’t good. Its one of my first recordings, but do click on the icon below and allow me to bring some Christmas spirit into your life.

I’m just back from a relaxing weekend in Goa, stayed at the Taj Fort Aguada resort, with a lovely view of the sand and sea (and lots of activities to keep a hyperactive 6-year old occupied, thank heavens!) . We even had a Halloween party - pumpkin carving and everything. My daughter was delighted.

We’re celebrating the Festival of Lights in India. Its a time of joy and even the terror attacks in New Delhi have failed to dampen the spirits of people here.

So here’s wishing everyone a Happy Diwali. May your world be filled with light, peace and joy!

Things are still not back to normal in Mumbai’s financial capital. The city that survived bomb blasts, terrorists and other disasters, was brought to its knees by a few inches of water. It speaks volumes for the sorry state of the infrastructure in this megapolis.

Schools have re-opened, thank goodness! Keeping a hyperactive 6-year old indoors all day is asking for trouble. But people are still pretty subdued and lots of shops and establishments are shut. It’s like they’re still in shock. Like they never believed this could happen to them.

Communications are still shaky. Mobile connectivity is weak and ATMs were ruined by the floods. You never realise how much you depend on electronic communication and gadgetry until it becomes unavailable to you.

Makes you realise that all that talk of electromagnetic pulses used in electronic warfare is not just science fiction. At such times, it’s the good old modes of communications - like landlines - that prove the most reliable.

The surburbs were hardest hit with the flood waters reaching up to the first floor in areas like Andheri. Some homes were flooded in Vashi, including those belonging to my friends. We were lucky because our sector is a little higher than others. The waters reached higher than they ever had, but our homes were spared.

Others were not so lucky. Fires and landslides followed the floods. Hundreds have died. A friend of mine was aghast to see fire engines being diverted, to pump water out of basements in the bungalows of ministers and the moneyed class, instead of rescuing people. Another example of the screwed-up priorities we live with.

Read more accounts of Mumbai’s Terrible Tuesday here.

Mumbai is limping back to normal after what was recorded as the highest-ever rain in India’s history - a deluge that left the city completely paralysed.

According to the news reports (which I only just read as phone lines and all modes of communication were down), the city received the heaviest rainfall within a 12-hour span in the last 31 years.

The highest-ever rainfall recorded in a single day in India shut down the financial hub of Mumbai, snapped communication lines, closed airports and forced thousands of people to sleep in their offices or walk home during the night.

Troops were deployed after the sudden rains — measuring up to 94.4 centimeters (37.1 inches) in one day in some areas of Mumbai — stranded tens of thousands of people.

We’ve had no power since yesterday. The lights have only just come back on and I’m still unable to download my mail. Even the newspapers haven’t come in today, so I had no idea what’s been happening in the city.

Lucky for me and my family we were safely ensconced in the comfort of our homes, but the entire city was flooded, and shops in the market nearby had their goods destroyed by the water which seeped in.

In the meantime, you can read the news reports of how people coped with the torrential downpour here, here , here , here and here.

If you’ve written to me in the last couple of days, please be patient. I will definitely get back to you as soon as possible.

Where are we going? What do we want from life? I started asking these questions of myself over two years ago when a health condition made me come face to face with my own mortality.

Since the death of my husband last month, I have asked this of myself again and again. I’m not sure of the answers yet, but I’m getting there…

For some it might be love that makes the world round. It’s certainly something all of us crave.

Not romantic love, but the sort that envelopes us all. Binds all humanity.

I’ve had a few setbacks in my business this month - things that would have upset me immensely earlier.

But because I am a little older, a little wiser than what I was two years ago, I can now shrug them off and say “C’est la vie.” Shit happens! But life has to go on…

Some of the things that I’ve drawn inspiration from this month.

The Interview With God - View the presentation. I loved it so much I bought the screensaver. My favourite line:

To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.

A friend recently introduced me to the Landmark Forum. I plan to do one of their programs this month.

Since I was a little girl, books have been my best friends. You can never be lonely when you have a good book to read.

Books that I read/am reading this month.

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny by Robin Sharma

It’s Not How SMART You Are It’s HOW You Are Smart by Jeanne Anne Craig, Ph.D.

If you have your own grief to deal with or are still looking for your path in life, I hope these will help you as they are helping me.

Parting thoughts:

Cherish each day, every moment. The present is the only reality we have.

At the end of the day you’re not going to ask how much more money you could have made or how many more hours you could have worked, but you will wish you could have given more of yourself to those who love you.

I don’t usually write about things that are very personal on my blogs, but I’ve decided that its much more therapeutic for me to get back to some form of work, especially blogging, which I really enjoy.

I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, for your wonderful words of support and the beautiful sentiments you left here and sent me by email. They truly helped lift my spirits at a time when I needed it most.

I will always remember my love. He has not gone away. He is only in another dimension - one that I cannot see or touch.

I can still feel his presence. I know he is always here with me and my daughter, watching over us like he always did. I know I will see him again.

I keep thinking of the good times we had, the many years, the warmth, the caring, the laughter, the happiness, the sorrows, the fun things we did together. The “second honeymoon” we went for on the weekend before he passed away.

The music we listened to the day before - Willie Nelson, John Denver. That day we did something we hadn’t done in years - browsed for books together - and bought a bunch of them to add to the mountain of them already on my reading list.

We were married for 12 years, together for 18. Fell in love listening to the Beatles, when we were in our teens, barely out of school.

Norwegian Wood was “our song,” but I remember most of all the way he used to sing “Hey Jude” to me, loudly and off-key.

I want to leave a tribute for him here. Its a song I recorded for him - the one he sang for me on the way back home the day before he left us to go to a better place.

For you my love, wherever you are now.

Life is continuous.
The flower may fade but the fragrance floats;
The body may disintegrate,
But the immortal fragrance of the soul
Always will remain.

From the book “What becomes of the soul after death”
by Sri Swami Sivananda.