U.S. Fresh Fruits organises Fruitathon to give a push to #MayTheFruitBeWithYou

So I’ve been off the blogging/vlogging scene for a while now- partly because I had been sick in between and partly because I was having some never before experiences.

What experience you ask?

*drumroll* A FOOD CHALLENGE!!

Yes, I took part in a food challenge and it was a completely out of this world experience. The US based company called ‘’Fresh Fruits’’ as been running a social media campaign #MayTheFruitBeWithYou

As a part of it, they organized a food eating challenge called FRUITATHON and I, being a blogger, got invited! Intrigued by the concept of it all (because let’s face it we rarely see anything like this in Chandigarh and this event was technically in the suburbs of Mohali), I decided to give it a try and took my brother along.

So we are at this pizzeria and this sweet person, who actually invited me, Akshita Bali explains me that there will be 3 teams of 4 people each and 4 rounds. Each member from the team was supposed to play one particular round

What those four rounds were?

Round-1 called Shake It Up- Apple and Pear Milkshake

We had this huge glass of milkshake that one person from every team had to finish- and our teammate gulped it down in a matter of seconds! And still finished second (What?!)

Round-2 called Salad Salsa- Apple and Pear salad

So I was playing this round since I figured if I have to shove food down my throat, it might as well be something healthy and boy, did I regret it. This HUGE bowl of salad which none of us could finish was probably the most amount of fruit I’ve had in one go. And again we finished second. 

In hindsight, having so much salad in one go is TOUGH!

Round-3 called Dip-alicious- Biscuits with applesauce and fruit toppings

The hunk of our team decided to go for this round and boy, did he not disappoint. I kid you not, but he finished those two trays of snacks in less than 7 seconds! If you honestly see the video, it’s a blink and a miss and you won’t even know what happened! We finished first, of course while the other two teams couldn’t even finish the task.

Round-4 called Muffin Topper- Muffins with apple and pear filling inside

And for the final round, my brother took the lead. 13 muffins. Humongous task. And he ends up choking on the second or third one! (LOL in hindsight). But after some expert advice from the Dipalicious guy, he was on a roll. Add to that in the final minutes of the round, all the team members were asked to join in to finish the task and we ended up being tied first!

What else does a kid need? Except some muffins!

PHEWWW. Soon after the results were announced and *drumroll again* we won! And what did we win? More apples! God. And I did not even want to look at them in all honesty. 

Kudos to the winning team!

So why am I writing about this? Because I think this was a great event, an amazingly planned and executed strategy to grow awareness regarding the health benefits of fruits and the need to incorporate them in our daily lives, no matter how hectic our schedules!

Until the next post, #MayTheFruitBeWithYou

BONUS!! 
Check out my vlog for the event here!  

The recent Bangladesh terror attacks bust the Terror has no Religion myth

So I am writing this only because a reader asked me to share my views on the recent terror attacks in Bangladesh. Why did I not write on it myself? It’s for reasons that will soon become apparent in this blog post.

We all know what happened- terror has shaken up Bangladesh twice in the past week and the apparent perpetrators of the attack, the Islamic State (more popularly known as the ISIS or simply the IS), has warned of more attacks.

What do I think of it? My own analysis of it?

Not something you would like to read if you’re too sensitive and are a part of the ‘All Lives Matter’ bandwagon. I belong to the thought that believes ‘terror has no religion’ but I am slowly beginning to question that. Really? Does really terror has no religion?

When there is a terrorist pointing his gun at you asking you to recite a verse from the Holy Quran, can we still say terror has no religion? All those people who died because they could not quote the Quran, would they or their families still believe that terror has no religion?

Now don’t get me wrong, a particular terrorist group does not brand a whole religion as terrorists. Just because I talk of the Islamic State here, and I say that terror indeed has some link with religion, I am not brandishing all Muslims as terrorists. Just like the existence of Bajrang Dal does not make all Hindus a bunch of idiots indulging in moral policing or whatever the BS they regularly keep on doing.

But we have to understand here that a problem exists. And I’ll tell you why. For long we had been coming up with this argument that impart education. Once you get these people educated, they’d stay away from guns and violence but the fact that the most attackers in this act of violence were well educated that sent this theory for a six.

So where does it leave us?

What my little mind can make of it, I have come to think that there exists two extreme schools of thought in every religion. One that is practiced by all of us in our everyday lives- where we believe there is ultimately one supreme power though our paths may be different. And the other that believes there is only one God and it is their God. 

And no, it’s not the preachers of religions alone but our Holy Books that have gone wrong in places, the Bible tells you that it is wrong to practice homosexuality, the Gita tells you that it is imperative for you to have a son to reach salvation and the Quran tells you that it is okay to abuse your wife. The preachers apparently seem to be preaching just what they are reading and nothing else. These books which were written centuries ago presumably are not in sync with the modern times we’re living in. There’s no single Caliph that can rule the world or nor your single definition of ‘Ram Rajya’. It’s sad that we keep updating our literature with the modern times but never our religions. And what happens when you let water stand in a place for too long? It stinks.

The only time it flourishes lives is when it flows and changes and adapts itself to the changing course in front of it.

Why you should date someone who will tell you how they feel

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.” — Dale Carnegie

The say love is hard. It’s a series of chemical reactions in your mind and body that could potentially land you up in a situation where you may or may not want to bed (depending upon where you are).

An exhilarating experience, as told by some, with a few bumps along the road. Whilst we try to make things easy for our partners and ourselves (unless you’re a damaged person seeking drama in your relationship) there are times when we fail despite our best efforts.

Why does that happen? Why do we fail?

Because contrary to popular belief, feelings matter.

Because we fail to communicate. We fail to say what we feel. We fail to do what we feel. Feelings and actions, they say, make or break your relationships but of late, we’ve all been conditioned to hide our feelings. Because if we hide our feelings, we protect ourselves from a potential heartache. But that is what it is…a ‘potential’ heartache. You can’t know love if you are not willing to test the waters; if you are not willing to risk yourself a heartache once in a while.

No matter how far you grow in your life, professionally and financially, true growth comes from within, when you treat sadness with the same respect as you do with elation. When you brave a broken heart, the same way you would tend to a happy memory. That is what measures your true growth. And screw societal norms that you cannot cry or you cannot leave your heart vulnerable because crying is beautiful, giving your heart to someone and expecting them to keep it with love and care is brave not cowardly.

There is nothing more meditative than strings of pearls escaping your eyes for they cleanse your soul, they vacate your soul of all the negativity that has built up and to let you know that in spite of all the heartache, you will get back up as an injured warrior who may have lost some battles every once in a while but who will ultimately win the war.

There is nothing more brave than getting your heart broken and collecting all the pieces, getting back up and loving someone with the same intensity, same passion once again, if not more.

You may emerge hurt sometimes out of such an experience, but it will help you grow, it will help you to expand in ways you could not have imagined because baring your heart and soul to someone, to show them how you really feel, is really special. And worth the heartache. Every. Single. Time.

“There’s one sad truth in life I’ve found
While journeying east and west –
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox