Not all autorickshaw drivers are bad

Autorickshaw drivers are a much-maligned lot. Very rarely do we come across one who is not rude or arrogant. But there are exceptions, which give us the much-needed hope.

The following is a Facebook post by Rita Senthil Selvaraj, who works with Cognizant Technology Solutions, posted in the last 24 hours.

I was for sure lucky today..
took an auto from koramangala to yemlur(my house), in between it started raining heavy. somehow i reached home safely and the driver u see in photo dropped me till the door step so that i don't get drenched. I was so excited to see baby that i made the payment and left my iPhone 4 (Gifted by my hubby on my birthday) in the auto..
after almost 35 mins I thought of making a call to my parents and here i don't find my phone. my hubby Senthil Selvaraj called from his cell to trace the phone n luckily the auto driver had kept the phone safe with him which he received.. he was dropping someone to whitefield but he promised that he will return the phone after the drop.. imagine heavy rain and the driver was so kind and honest that he dint think of his comfort.. he was not carrying any phone of his own. it took almost 1 hr for him to come back.. we generally dont trust auto drivers as they keep asking extra money, late night work and what not.. so with that mentality we used find friend and find my iPhone apps to trace the phone and the route of my iphone was sure to my house.. in that heavy rain he did come home and returned my phone..
We should seriously appreciate such people on earth.. and we do.. this auto driver's name is Zamir auto number KA 03 9847.. Thanks Zamir for being so honest and trustworthy.. and also to be a reason of making my day lucky.. 

Not all absent-minded people forget their phones in autorickshaws. And, rarely finders take the trouble to return the phone to the owner. Zamir's effort needs to be lauded. Hope we have many more people like him.

Giveaway! Time to celebrate!

Hey Lovelies!
As I said I finally graduated college on May 16, 2013! To tie in my celebration and Family Ties' second edition I'm throwing a big giveaway. I want to share my accomplishment with everyone, there will be more than one winner. I'm trying Rafflecopter for the first time so it's going to be interesting, and I'm excited. I would have done this sooner, but needed Family Ties to be ready, and it was worth the wait. The prizes are still pretty awesome, sorry that there isn't more, but I'm still applying for teaching jobs so I'm on a limited budget.

Terms:
1. USA residents only, shipping reasons.
2. You can enter everyday, once a day.
3. Not a term, but I'd appreciate it if you helped share :)

Prizes:
Big Prize: Signed paperbacks of End of the Line and Family Ties, + $20 gift card for Amazon + ecopy of Best Friends

Signed paperbacks of End of the Line and Family Ties + ecopy of Best Friends

Signed paperback of either End of the Line or Family Ties

Ebook copy of End of the Line and Family Ties

Ebook copy of either End of the Line or Family Ties


End of the Line
When so much is lost how does one to have the strength to move on? At seventeen Lauren was prepared for yet another year of school. Then asteroids hit, killing all of those she knew except for a few other teens from her neighborhood. Joining forces with her classmate Aaron, they work together on the journey in the hopes of finding more people that are alive. On the way, threats of starvation, illness, and freezing to death don’t compare to the danger of Dean Manson. Manson is an ex-con out for revenge against Aaron. With so much working against them these teens fight for everything even if it means denying their feelings just for the chance to see a new day.

Family Ties
Stories told by word of mouth can get twisted or lost. Abby grew up hearing about her great-grandmother Emma, a royal who left that life to come to America. Yet when Abby takes a summer job with her best friend Cory, she feels eyes on her. When she is kidnapped after leaving work, Abby learns there may be a hidden part of her family tree...

Best Friends
Travel through Jordan and Michelle's friendship. Jordan has just moved back to her hometown with her daughter and she reflects on major points on her friendship with Michelle.

LASTLY GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The platform ticket dilemma

My wife and I were at the Banaswadi Railway Station, Bangalore, this morning to receive my in-laws who were coming from Kerala by the Garib Rath. As we were about to enter the platform, my wife nudged me to get the platform tickets. At that point, a thought flashed my mind.
Since anyway no official checks exiting people, should I bother to buy them? At bigger stations like Bangalore Central and Yesvantpur, usually there are officials checking passengers and visitors at the couple of exits. But Banaswadi station being a small one, there's no boundary wall. And, people walk out of the station through the open space on one side of the building. It's impossible for anyone to check exiting people.

But the counter-thought was: irrespective of whether there is someone to check or not, I must buy the ticket, since that's what I am supposed to do. Also, by not buying the ticket, I am being corrupt in a way, as I am depriving the government exchequer of a legitimate income.

I walked up to the counter and bought two platform tickets. By the way, it's Rs 5 per ticket.

Cover Revealing

Hey Lovelies!
So today I'm doing a cover revealing of Family Ties! The beautiful photo was taken by Regina Wamba she owns Mae I Designs. I highly suggest that you check her site out because she does amazing work. This will be the cover for the second edition of Family Ties

Stories told by word of mouth can get twisted or lost. Abby grew up hearing about her great-grandmother Emma, a royal who left that life to come to America. Yet when Abby takes a summer job with her best friend Cory, she feels eyes on her. When she is kidnapped after leaving work, Abby learns there may be a hidden part of her family tree...

Proof!

Hey Lovelies!
I will eventually get better at this posting business! However I wanted to share, that I will be posting a cover revealing soon for Family Ties' second edition, but the proof for it is currently in the mail! Eep! So exciting! However I graduated College since the last time I posted, I am officially a college graduate, working two jobs and applying to every possible social studies teaching jobs for grades 6-12. I am learning more about towns in this state that I didn't even know existed.
~Ottilie

Bangalore's voter apathy

(Crossposted from Kaleidoscope)

Many feared that the voter turnout in Bangalore city had plummeted to a new low yesterday. But the figures put out by the Election Commission paint a different picture. A little more than half the city voted, 52.8 percent, five percent more than the 2008 turnout. But Bangalore Urban continued to record the lowest turnout among the 30 districts in the state.

I don't find anything surprising in many city dwellers shying away from exercising their franchise. There are many reasons why voting isn't a priority for them. 
One is the general cynicism about politicians and the system they operate in. Many people don't believe that merely voting will bring about any change in the society. They argue that the changes they are desperately looking for are apolitical development-related ones, like infrastructure; and accountability of public servants. These are in no way related to political ideologies; and many feel politicians have collectively failed to do the least that is expected of them.

There’s no choice either. Most candidates fall far short of minimum expectations. Politicians hardly inspire. There are so many cases of lawmakers turning into lawbreakers. There are honest, educated politicians with good credentials who are committed to bringing about quality changes in society. 

But they are a very small minority. Besides, we have many examples of such well-meaning public servants being beaten back by the system.

All parties finally turn out the same. No party has acted in a way that inspires when it comes to, for example, corruption allegations against one of its men.

There are also many reasons why village and small-town residents are less cynical. One, there is lesser disconnect between them and politicians. Two, their expectations are fewer. Three, when it comes to voting, the "herd mentality" works to some extent in small towns and not in cosmopolitan areas like Bangalore where people are individualistic in their thoughts and actions.

Having said all these, did I vote yesterday? Yes, I did. Was the choice easy? No, not at all. But the process was.

I thought if most politicians shun their part of the work, should I shun mine too? Voting is the easiest part in the democratic setup. I didn’t want to fare poorer than most politicians.

Some Indie Love

Hey Lovelies!
I just got a new indie book in the mail a couple of days ago and I was thinking of the other indie authors that need and deserve some love. I was thinking about what Indie Books I even had. The new one I received was Recalled by Cambria Hebert, the author of the Heven and Hell series.

The Indie E-books I have:

just to name a few...